The Internet and assurance services Essay Example for Free

The Internet and assurance services Essay1. 0 Introduction The Internet is the greatest business tool ever invented. Merchant, job partners and Online retail shoppers can find greater selection, convenience, and lower prices on the Internet. Online businesses can reach one million millions of shoppers and business partners, provide 24 hours seven days a workweek of products and services, and better meet their customers individual needs. For these reasons, E-Commerce over the Internet has been growing. According to ActivMedia, e-commerce activity for 2000 will be $132 billion worldwide, which is twice as much as estimated for 1999. This gens includes revenues from B2C, B2B and Internet services. According to a study by eMarketer in April 2000, almost 34 million US households were actively using the Internet, and of that number 23. 5 million or 69% have made a purchase. (http//www. cpawebtrust. org/online. htm) However, despite the Internets many advantages and opportunities, i t also raises some new risks for businesses and has some customers worried. The risks are fraud, poor sales changeover rates, detrimental effects of negative PR due to privacy breaches and earnest problems.A recent study by the Internet Fraud Complaint marrow (IFCC) showed that online auctions accounted for 48. 8% of fraud complaints. Non-delivery of goods ordered online came in second, at 19. 2%. Other top fraud complaints to the centre invited securities and commodities (16. 9%), credit cards (4. 8%) and identity theft (2. 9%). The IFCC, which is jointly run by the FBI and the Justice Departments National White Collar Crime Centre, received an average of 1,000 complaints per week later opening in May 2000. (http//www. cpawebtrust. org/online. htm)In order to reduce risks, many technological solutions have been developed such as Firewalls, encryption, and digital signatures, etc. scorn these available solutions, most of Internet users still lack confidence in the medium. in that locationfore, third-party assurance service is needed to ensure secure proceeding. 2. 0 The Third-Party Role of presumption Service According to AICPA, Assurance Services are defined as independent professional services that improve the quality or context of study for decision-makers. Assurance services might involve any type of information.The goal of assurance services is information improvement, not the issuance of a report on it. (http//www. aicpa. org/assurance/about/comstud/defncom. htm) More in detail, AICPA has been categorised its assurance service into two areas. Those are equity assurance systems and security assurance systems. According to the standard (Greenstein, et. al. 2000), integrity assurance systems ensure that the data elements captured in an electronic transaction are the agreed upon elements, and the processing and storage procedures maintain the integrity of the data elements and do not alter them in any unauthorised fashion.Security assurance syste m ensures the authentication of the transacting parties, and that electronic data are protected from unauthorised disclosure. There are four areas that assurance service provider has to concern. Those are Security of data Privacy of data Business policy Transaction processing integrity Above categories are the most important area that the assurance service provider has to satisfy. And those will be applied to analyse travel. com. au. 3. 0 Difference and similitude between B2B andB2C The web has evolved as a great medium for running business.Traditional B2B transaction used EDI, phone and fax for transaction. alike, B2C was just relied on bricks and trench mortar outlet. However, evolution of technology enables business entity to expand its business to new area, and provides more opportunities. Despite of Internets advantages for business entity, the risk has been arisen along with development of technology. According to recent perspective of Computer Security Institute and the F BI, not surprisingly, computer-related crimes are up, as are the costs related to such crimes.This year, the survey included results from 538 respondents from a number of industries corporations, judicature agencies, financial institutions, and universities. This year, total losses, based on the 186 respondents willing to provide details on actual losses, totalled approximately US$378 million. Thats up from the US$265 million inform last year by 249 respondents. Based on this data, on average, each of the 186 companies lost more than US$2 million dollars in security breaches. (http//www. advisor. com/Articles. nsf/ service/HARTB15) In this section, similarity and differences existing between two models will be analysed.Based on the result of analysis, our assurance team provides desirable solution for B2B and B2C transaction B2C Perspective B2C is descent is considered very vulnerable, because the party involved in transaction or interactions have no prior knowledge, they are co mpletely strangers. Many risks involve during B2C transaction such as transmission of sensitive data (ie credit card number). In B2C e-commerce, the customers are the general public. Therefore, its transaction can be easy exposed. It is the one reason that consumers reluctant to shop over the Online.To decrease the risk and increase positive consumer perception, most of e-tailers employ security system, and state their privacy and security policy in its Web site. B2B Perspective B2B are interacting in more secure environment with respect to assurance of the electronic business environment. The nature of B2B e-commerce is that hustler just interact with its business customer. Thus, the main concern for B2B is lying in their intellectual property. Many of the intellectual property are stored online in intangible form. Also many confidential information and trade secret is transmitted online.The reason they are safer is because B2B transactions are conducted usually through companies that have an existing relationship with each other or trading contractual agreements. So it can be said that they have mutual relationship. These existing relationships have evolved from the days of electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to the fully functioning web sites on the World Wide Web or on company extranets. Due to evolution, the transaction has been finished within VAN (Value-Added Networks). Although, the evolution enable business entity to interact with its partner more efficient, the risk related in transaction has been increased.

Effect of Marriage on Mental Health

Effect of Marriage on Mental HealthSara Zafarullah Sheikh (GN12119) concord to World Health Organization, an person with good mental health is able to cope with the stress of everyday life, k right aways his or her own abilities and work productively in every aspect to kick in to the community. On the other hand marriage is defined as a union of husband and wife in a universal and legitimate affinity recognized by law and social institution (Watkins, 2013). Both of them have a big influence over each other and are bear upon by each other (Ostwald, 2009)In my view marriage contributes to a healthier society, building up a separate unit called family, which is at the very(prenominal) time part of the society as a whole. This serves society by its children, by labor of its members and through other aspects. It provides keeping of traditions and continues generations promoting cultural aspect of society. Therefore, it is regarded as pillar to the society. Goesling Avellar (2010) states marriage to contribute to an individuals emotional and social benefits in all aspects thus contributing its part in physical health as well. Regardless(prenominal) of the detail, marriage is considered to be not meant for psychiatric patients considering them not capable of taking responsibilities, dangerous for the spouse and lacking of their self-identity, adding it to their social stigma (Gray, 2011). spell negotiating with my patient, I recognized the seriousness of this issue and decided to reflect upon it so as to emphasize the importance of marriage in society and its mental health benefits.On my clinical rotation to Karachi Psychiatric Hospital, I was assigned to interview an old lady 42 years old diagnosed with Schizophrenic paranoid with symptoms of aggressiveness, hallucinations, bodily delusions, irritability and self-talk. Upon interaction she appeared responsive and cooperative. According to the patient, she was accompanied to the hospital by her mother. On taking the family history, patient expressed of having four sisters and one brother. She further verbalized that all her siblings are married. According to the client only she was not allowed by her mother to get married regardless of her wish of getting married similar her other sisters. Upon close observation she stick outmed to be attracted towards opposite sex. She even took some names that she verbalized of getting married with but eventually excessively said, they pass on not marry me. No indicators for sexual abuse were found which clearly reflected her need and wish of getting into a secure relationship that provides her with support and identity, which was now a requirement of her age as well. She verbalized her engagement in the substance abuse due to this reason.Glancing at the cultural context, parents hold the complete berth for choosing partners for their children in eastern culture whereas, in western culture children have the right to choose their mate and made decisions for their future life.Nock proposed the theory of domesticating social occasion of marriage to explain the phenomenon that married people are found to consume healthful and delighted lives than unmarried compeer (2005). As the institution oblige function on both of the spouses and implies assurance to both of them creating a huge room for positive change. Men tend to change, as before marriage they live less healthy lives and are much more involved in dangerous behaviors including substance abuse drinking and car racing. They work regularly, have a inclination of an orbit to involve more in religious practices and become future oriented. Women are generally viewed to be responsible since childhood and less involved in anti-social behaviors. According to Loveless Tolman (2007) women think about themselves complete after marriage. Women enjoy commitments and duties after marriage, they love being busy with children, spouse and household chores. If this sensorium of comp leteness is not achieved they get indulged in anti-social behaviors example, substance abuse and are prone towards mental illness. Wood (2007), inferred that unmarried women show more depressive symptoms than the ones married. My patient also wanted to live like a married women enjoying all commitment a marital life embraces. As she could not achieve the outright goal she started using substance abuse to lower the emotion of unsatisfaction.Marriage contributes to mental health by providing subsequent support and emotional intimacy, creating sense of self-identity and self-worth, building a satisfied connection between 2 partners, making the innate human need to fulfill (Wood, 2007). According to Howell (2009), report on marriage and mental health, product of many random sample studies revealed that marriage makes individuals less prone to have psychological illness. Marriage ensures engagement of partners in less risk taking activities and also it influences the quality and size o f gains. A bailiwick revealed that intermediate rates of mental disorders were found in widowed, highest in divorced and separated while married people had the lowest rates among them. Study of 80,000 suicides in U.S, also indicated that suicide is committed less by married women compared to unmarried ones. They define themselves less depressive and emotionally healthier than unmarried ones. Relating it to my clinical scenario the patient also required emotional stability, self-worthiness, a partner to whom she can share her emotions, and her own family. Neither had she wanted the illness nor loneliness. Therefore, she started saying that she is suffering from tuberculosis associated with somatic delusions denying the fact that she had any mental health problem.In society specifically Pakistani society, mental illness is considered as social stigma leaving it to be neglected. Interventions should be applied on individual, root and national level. At individual level clients should be allowed to ventilate their feelings providing them with support. In association with the health care professionals at group level these patients should be involved in different rehabilitation therapies to work with their creativities and find out strengths in them using therapeutic way of communication, which would help them kindle their self-esteem and build sense of self worthiness. Embroiling my patient in the occupational therapy I asked her to bore seeds for new plant to build a hope and see new sunrises in her life. Family support plays an essential role for these people to view their lives in positive face. At community level institutions should be formed to attain these people helping each other to fill unfilled gaps of their lives. At state level policies should be formulated for unmarried suffering from mental illness.To fill up it is important to realize the potential need of every person for a companion, the intimate love one needs in life. According to Carl Roger s, this is humans basic nature of an intrinsic need of warmth and acceptance from the mate. Each and every one has a right to have partner, and declaring a person not mentally fit and therefore, not allowing the person to get married makes the person more prone to mental illness.ReferencesAustralian Institute of Family Studies, Vaus,D.D. (2002).Marriage and mental health.Howell,P. (2009).Healthy marriages and mental health.Hurvitz,N., Straus,R.A. (1991).Marriage and Family Therapy A Sociocognitive Approach. Sydney, Australia.Mathis,D. (2012).Preparing for Marriage Desiring God Foundation.Mishra,D.K., Alreja,S., Sengar,S.K., Singh,A.R. (2009). Insight and its relationship with stigma in psychiatric patients.Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 18(1).Pollett,H. (2007, June 18).Mental Health Promotion A literature Review.Scott,L.A., Holman,T.B. (2007).The Family in the New millenary World Voices Supporting the Natural Clan.Simon,R.W. (2012, July 23). The Relationship between Marriage and Mental Health. Psychiatry Weekly,7(14).Wilson,C.M., Ostwald,A.J. (2005, May).How Does Marriage Effect Physical and Psychological Health? A wad of the Longitudinal Evidence.Wood,R.G., Goesling,B., Avellar,S. (2007).The Effects of Marriage on Heath A Synthesis of Recent Research Evidence(9). Department of Human and Health Services.

Current And Traditional Approaches To Motivation Business Essay

Current And Traditional Approaches To motive Business EssayIn this dissertation paper I am going to provide a definition of indispensability, describe and explain the differences between current and traditional begines to motivating and identify and describe all in all motivation theories including content, process and reenforcement theories. I am going to explore the way motivation influences performance and explore ways in which managers mass create a sense of recalling and importance for employees inwardly their operative environment.ACKNOWLEGMENTSIn this paragraph I have the requisite to express my deepest gratitude to all the hatful that in angiotensin-converting enzyme way or a nonher contri simplyed in the gathering of information and successful completing of this dissertation paper.First of all I would like to thank my tutor please state the name of your tutor, whose eternal advising and guiding has offered me wealth of knowledge and support throughout my long time of study.I would in like manner like to thank my internship and at the time usage supervisor, for showing me that supposition can be allot into pr routineice and even though there might be difficulties in applying academic theories, results compensate for all the effort that is put in these actions.Last but not least I would like to thank my p atomic number 18nts that offered me the opportunity to continue my studies at this academic level and have back up my efforts, both morally and financially, throughout all my years of study.TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTIONMotivation is not a new managerial or leading tool. It has been economic consumptiond for years and therefore a number of motivation theories exist, current and traditional ones. However applying motivational theories in practice makes us come crosswise difficulties that have to do with each individual employee. Personality, necessarily and endings are factors to take under consideration before applying some(pr enominal) motivational possibleness to a classify of employees in order to make sure that positive results with derive from this effort.Daily change makes its appearance due to either market switches or technological masterments. both industry faces changes and in most cases senior employees become outdate and reduce their productivity. Younger and much energetic employees become their managers, leaving them with no other personal goal rather than to wait for their retirement.So companies have come to a point where, what used to be once the most productive spot of their manpower rub producing. Even if the new employees fill the gap of the reduced production (or sales) the company still is at loss and that has to be corrected.During this effort to produce a naturalistic and actual solution to this problem, I came across the strongest limitation I could ever encounter. Motivation, as well as all the factors it involves cannot be observed directly. All theories and their evalu ation derive from the concluding solvent of a persons actions. However our observation of that result makes the steps followed previously seem rational and make sense. But it is not until the final result is measured that we actually know if the method used was the correct one or the most efficient one.So, in order to provide a solution I am going to present the data collected from my research and attempt an analysis that get out offer a number of proposed solutions. I can not claim that this paper take ons new motivational theories and concepts. However, I believe that it depicts, analyzes and offers solutions to a major problem of out time.The motivation ConceptMotivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action. Richard L. Daft, 2006.E actually day, from the precise morning we wake up, we are involved into actions. We go to school, or to work, we have a certain style, but it is v ery(prenominal) rare for as to question the sympathy behind, us liking some activities to a greater extent than others. For instance why do we enjoy one class more, or certain projects at work add up out the best of us. However our conduct is always motivated by something.The following table will help us indentify what hides behind our conduct.Model of Motivation. cum Modified from Games H. Donnely, James L. Gibson, and john M. Ivancevich, Fundamentals of Managemnet, 3rd edition, p. 185, 1978, by Business Publications, Inc.The needs we feel depend on our recent activity. For example, some one who is attenting a dinner event and has beneficial eaten, whitethorn not feel hungry but yet wishes to communicate and entertain. On the other hand someone who is just returning from work and had no meal during the day, is hungry and probably has no mood for social interraction until he/ she eats. So, what we want (our goals) depends on ourapproaches to satisfying our needs. Let us not forg et that the approach to satisfying ones need may seem logical to the person involved, but strange to someone who has other needs to come across.The undermentioned step is to follow a certain behavior that will lead to reaching our goals. This effort might tow different outcomes. One is the goals achievement which transgresss feedback that the behavior used to satisfy the needs is succesful. However a continious effort with no success will bring frustration, in which case the person involved may either try a new constructive behavior (actually involves new search behavior, goal indentification and goal-directed behavior). If again numerous efforts do not succeed, mental defense is put to use, meaning that the person involved avoids thinking and feeling of the need even though it is not fully or at all fulfilled.When a goal is achieved a person received a sort of reward, that indicate that the behavior followed was the appropriate one and is to be used again in the future. There a re two types of rewards.The instrinsic reward, which derives within the person involved and has do more with the sense of self fulfillment. And the extrinsic reward, which is given by a troika person a supervisor or manager and could be a promotion, or bonus. Both types of rewards are meaning(a) for an employee. Successful managers help their employees reach their natural reward, while offering them extrinsic rewards too. It has been observed that the most innovating and high performance employees are the ones that find reward in the work itself.It is only natural to conclude, enen though studies have likewise proven it so, that employee motivaton leads to high performance nad developments productivity and profits.motivation approachesThere are quatern motivation approaches and the managers form the way they use motivation and rewards according the motivation approach they choose to follow.The Traditional ApproachFrederic W. Taylor was the first who studied employee motivatio n in order to increase their work efficiency. The rewards of this approach are only financial. The employee is paid more according the to quality and quantity of the work produced.The Human Relations ApproachThe charitable resource approach takes a step further that the traditional approach. For the first time employees were studied as people and managers tried to provide rewards that covered social needs as well, which seemed more important that economic rewards.The Human Resource ApproachThis approach brings the two previous approached to a new level. This theory actually identifies employees as complex human beings that can be motivated in more than one way. According to the human resource approach, functional a vital activity for every person. This is the priming of the contemporary approach.The Contemporary ApproachThree types of theories dominate the contemporary approach. The content theories point out the employees needs and help managers identify them and fulfill them i n the working environment. Process theories are focused on the behavior the employees embrace in order to reach rewards within the work place. The third and final are the funding theories that focus on how employees are going to be trained into a certain type of behavior, within their working environment that will lead them to the in demand(p) result and thus the reward as well.Content theories on motivationUnderstanding what motivates employees is a key aspect of management and can assist in achieving high performance standards and organizational development. Content theories seek to identify what people need at work and additionally how they try to congruous these needs. Managers need to translate the variety of needs employees are trying to fulfill and design work in such way as to help them satisfy these needs but at the same time reach organizational goals as well.So, this theory focuses on the needs that drive employees. People have all sorts of needs, at one time or anoth er, from basic needs such as food and clothing to achievement and money rewards. Content theories help identify the needs that act as motivators and make people adopt behaviors that will lead them to fulfill these needs. So, all management has to do is to design troubles that will meet theses needs and get ahead desired work behaviors.The Hierarchy of Needs TheoryDeveloped by Abraham Maslow, the hierarchy of needs theory may be the most famous theories and identifies that people have multiple needs which are put in hierarchical order.According to Maslow human needs form a gain, at the base of the gain are most basic human needs, similarly knows are physiological needs. They involve eating food, drinking water, breathing air. Within a working environment these needs represent salary to ensure survival as well working condition up to sufficient heat and air supply.Just to a higher place are the safety needs that represent the needs for a safe and secure environment. Following ar e the belongingness needs and they include the need of feeling part of a group, having good relations with other co workers and generally being accepted as a police squad member.Then come the esteem needs that mainly have to do with receiving recognition and positive attention, being appreciated and motivated by receiving p nourish, promotion and more responsibilities. Last come the self fruition needs that represent the need for self fulfillment. Within an organization self actualization is reached when employees are provided with opportunities for growth, creativity and training.According to Maslow the needs at the base of the pyramid must be met, before the one at the top are satisfied. Once one level of needs is satisfied then the person seeks to fulfill the next in hierarchy level of needs.The ERG TheoryThe ERG theory is a modification of the needs hierarchy that proposes three categories of need existence, relatedness and growth. (Richard L. Daft, 2006). This theory was deve loped by Clayton Alderfer that actually modified Maslows theory.He simplified the needs and set the tree below categoriesExistence needs, are the needs of physical well being that include food, water, air, heat, safety and so on.Relatedness needs, are the needs to have relationship with others.Growth needs, are needs that focus mainly on a persons development.This theory also suggest that when an employee fails to fulfill a higher level need, as the need of personal growth, then turns back and focuses on an already fulfilled need, as the need to earn more money.This theory explains why companies are working so hard in order to find ways to show recognition and foster participation of employees in decision making. The reason is that employees that contribute ideas and feel appreciated feel valued, loyal and motivated. It is also important to timbre that when an employees idea is actually enforced the positive bear on of motivation influences not only the employee involved but the full(a) work force, that sees hope for their efforts to be recognized and appreciated as well.It is also important to note, at this point that other actions such as offering job flexibility enhance motivation within organizations. Such actions include telecommunicating, conciliatory hours, and job sharing, enables employees to have more control over their work and responsibility for its organization. Job flexibility is considered an important benefit that makes employees more committed to the company they work for. Additionally companies have tried to make employees feel that there is connectivity between their personal and working life, by trying to add the element of fun in the workplace, making less strict rules and making work something more engaging and personal.The Two-Factor TheoryThe two-factor theory was developed by Frederic Herzberg, who after interviewing large number of employees think that there are two factors that influence work motivation.The first set of facto r is also called hygiene factors. Are the factors that make an employee not satisfied, but not dissatisfied with the working environment. They include work condition, payment and interpersonal relationships. When the hygiene factors are low then the employee is more likely to be dissatisfied. It is important to note that good hygiene factors only remove dissatisfaction, but do not provoke satisfaction.The second set of factors are called motivators. They are mainly focused on the higher level of needs, such as recognition, achievement, personal growth and responsibility. The absence of motivators causes, with good hygiene factors cause neutral feeling towards work.The conclusion of this theory is very interesting. It shows that dissatisfaction and satisfaction for ones work come from totally different factors. So managers need to correctly focus their efforts towards both factors in order to have not only, not dissatisfied employees, but also motivated ones that will increase their performance.Acquired Needs TheoryAccording to David McClelland, some needs people acquire during their lifetime. These needs are not at the basis of Maslows pyramid of needs and people are not born with them, but rather learn to have them. More specifically these needs areThe need for Achievement.The need for AffiliationThe need for PowerLife have a go at its are responsible for the acquisition of such needs. After 20 years of study McClelland concluded that people with high needs for achievement are mainly entrepreneurs, while those with high need of affiliation make good coordinators and lay out good working relationships. Those with high need of power are most probably the ones to choose paths that will lead them to managerial positions.PRocess theories on motivationProcess theories of motivation seek to understand the complex relationship between the many variable that motivation consists of. Managers need to understand what initiates behavior, and how it is directed and susta ined.There are two main process theories. The equity and the expectancy theory.Equity TheoryThe equity theory is the process theory that focuses on individuals perceptions of how fairly they are case-hardened relative to others (Richard l Daft, 2006).J. Stacy Adams, who developed the theory, claims that people are motivated by seeking social equity. If people believe that they are compensated as much as others for a relative equal contribution, then they would feel that they are fairly treated. In order for people to measure equity they use a ration of inputs (that are effort, education, experience and ability) to outputs (that are recognition, payment, promotions and benefits). Equity is achieved when ones persons ration equals anothers persons ratio. Within a working environment that inequity is perceived there is tension and a strive to bring equity back.The methods most commonly used to correct inequity areChange inputs. For example a person that is overpaid may increase effor t while a personal that is underpaid may decrease it.Change outcomes. For example an employee or a union may request a raise or better working conditions in order to equal input with output, relatively to better paid employees.Distort perception In such cases, people artificially believe and make others believe that their job position is more important than it really is, or that someone elses benefits are not so important as they might sound. This brings a delusional balance.Leave the job. For example people that feel that there is no equity will seek another working environment that is more balanced.Expectancy TheoryAccording to the expectancy theory, motivation depend on individuals expectations about their ability to perform tasks and receive desired rewards. It is bear on with the thinking process people use in order to be rewarded. Based on individual effort and performance it involves the followingWhether the effort that will be put into a task will result to the desired perf ormance level.Whether the successful performance will bring the desired outcome.Whether the value of the outcome is highly valued by the employee as well.High expectancy and high valued outcome leads to high motivation, otherwise motivation level is low. So actually this model theory is not concerned with the needs people have and how they act as motivators. It focuses on they way employees think in order to achieve rewards. Since each employee is a personal with different personality, their goals may differ as well and seek to satisfy different needs.This personalization of needs brings implications for management. Since the goal of the management team is to help employees meet their own goals but at the same time meet the companys goals as well, managers need to make sure that personal abilities match the job demands and at the same time that each employee is given the time, equipment and support needed to reach the goals set.The Goal Setting TheoryIt has been observed that employ ees seem to be more motivated when specific targets are given to them to achieve. The goal needs to be specific, attainable and accepted by the employees. The last and one of the most important elements of his theory is feedback. Performance feedback is crucial in order to sustain desired work behavior, though motivation.According to Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, who came up with this theory, goal setting increases motivation because it helps employees target their power and efforts towards one direction. Challenge is another strong motivator, when asked to achieve difficult goals, that drives employees into putting in more effort to reach their goal achievement.Reinforcement theories on motivationThe reinforcement theory does not involve approaches according to the needs and ways of thinking of the employees. It is only based on the relationship between behavior and consequences.The right of affect is what rules over this theory. A behavior that is rewarded tends to be repeated wh en a behavior that is punished tends to be corrected. So a positive reinforcement, is a pleasant rewarding for an employees working behavior and may consist of praise, promotion, more responsibility, work flexibility, social recognition. This tool of reinforcement theory shows that non financial incentives have proven to be as powerful as the financial ones.Another tool is electronegative reinforcement, that mainly indicates that a negative consequences will stop once the desired behavior is adopted. Punishment is another tool that suggests that an undesirable working behavior suffers consequences, however this tools fails to point out the desired or correct behavior, since it provide only negative input to the employee. The last reinforcement tool is extinction, that involves the withdrawal of positive rewards such as praises, pay raises.Reinforcement SchedulesThere are five basic types of reinforcement schedules, according to which the timing and frequency of reinforcement have th e desired impact on employees.Continuous reinforcement is one method, suggesting that every time the desired behavior occurs it is reinforced. This strategy is especially effective in the early stages of learning desired working behaviors.Partial reinforcement suggests that positive reinforcement occurs only after the restate the desired behavior several times.Motivational ideasNo doubt, we are going through some turbulent times. Organizations seek ways to increase performance and by hiring new, young and highly ambitious employees, that are highly motivated to reach new, increased sales and productivity goals. They are positioned as managers of senior employees with precious experience and know how.So from the one hand we have highly motivated young managers and on the other we have low motivated senior employees. What happens to them is that the seconds fall back interest in their job and rather pass their time, until retirement. The loss for the organization is greater than susp ected, since the under productive employees, apart from their own productivity, influence the productivity of their entire group or team.Their behavior derives from the lack of motivation. The new, younger and inexperienced employees are put to positions above the seniors, receiving the same or even more payment. This a go on case of inequity, that influences the performance of the once strongest performers are constantly under performing even though they know they still have a lot to offer. A smart manager should try to keep feelings of equity in balance in order to keep the entire workforce motivated.EmpowermentEmpowering people to meet higher needs is a very good way by which management can provide motivation. In our case of the senior workers empowerment would mean power sharing, and even if new and younger employees were put in managerial positions, authority could be shared with senior employees. This way, the managerial job description would be a little altered, however seni or employees would not be hostile towards the junior managers and would try to work together with them as a team. This is also a way for the senior employees to put themselves on the test and check if they could, within the current market conditions, lead their team to successful results. These employees already know the can do a good job and so empowerment at this stage only releases a motivation that already exists. Employee empowerment involve four elements that need to be given to employees in order for them to be able and accomplish their job.Information. Employees receive all information about company performance. Access to the companys financial and operational information gives the feeling of power and importance to the employee.Knowledge. Training programs are put together, made accessible to all employees, making sure that everyone has the knowledge call for to contribute to organizational performance but also fulfill the need of personal growth.Power. Employees have the power to make substantive decisions, influencing organization performance, within self directed work teams.Reward. Employees are rewarded based on the companies performance. This kind of reward inspires more team work and acts as a very powerful motivator. well-favored Meaning to WorkAnother way to motivate employees is to help them identify intrinsic rewards from their own work. For example in the case of the senior employees, let them give talk to seminars for new management trainees and to speak and lead sessions at conferences on district managers, helping them fulfill high level esteem and self actualization needs. Mentoring relationships could also be allowed to help towards the same direction.Another way to give meaning to the work for the senior employees could be to put them in groups that keep make full communication and make them compete on actual results.Using the above techniques and actions will help senior employees feel respected, valued, important and empowered wit hin the company, injure their motivation and thus their performance to the sky.conclusionNow that we have closely seen what motivation is and how it is applied it is time to answer the question of how does motivation actually affect performance.Traditional and contemporary motivation theories as analyzed before suggest that there is a strong link between motivation and performance. What we actually need to do is to understand the nature of motivation. An individual employee may question the motivation theory, by simply asking Why should I perform harder?.Is there concrete evidence that motivation is linked to performance? In order to answer this question we need to look to this issue from another perspective. Since motivation and the factors involved in it, cannot be directly observed and it is only the final outcome that can be evaluated, let us observe what happens to performance in the lack of any motivation activity. Taking under consideration the content theories of motivation there are clear hygiene factors, such as working conditions, payment and safety, that if not fulfilled will lead to extremely low performance.Accordingly factors such inequity or rare reinforcement also show a very low performance level. However it is very hard to expect employee behavior to follow a certain pattern and also hard to suggest to what aspirate a yearly or semi yearly appraisal will ensure that desired working behavior is achieved on a daily basis.The consumption of the manager nowadays is not to control the workforce but more to establish the environment in which the workforce will learn, contribute and grow. Their role also includes channeling employee motivation toward the accomplishment of organizational goals, by making the best out of each employees unique skills, talents, interests and needs.

Service Quality In Restaurants

Service character In RestaurantsBy conducting a literature review, the reader gets a better understanding of the question in hand. match to LeCompte et al(2003,p.124), conducting a literature review is a means of demonstrating an authors knowledge about a particular field of study, including vocabulary, theories, key variables and phenomena, and its methods and history.The research question which is intercommunicate is portion prize in restaurants, to which the literature review would focus to wherever necessary, with wide atomic number 18as of wait on tonus in general being flavored into. Service Quality is not only an object of wide interest among presidential bournes, but also is a topic that is widely discussed by researchers. Since it doesnt possess characteristics such as products do, suffice timberland has never been easy to define. Researches reserve proposed contrasting characteristics in terms of its belongingss, but few guard been used. One of the or so widely used mystify is based on the standardizedness between the prognosiss and perceptions of the customer about an organizations work. Parasuraman et al.(1985) created a mannequin to measure dish tincture called the Gap Model. This was later used as a basis for creating the SERVQUAL model which is a 22-item scale used to measure return quality. It had a great impact on later works and evolved as virtuoso of the predominant tools to be used across organizations. Restaurant is a field where SERVQUAL is used extensively for mensuration their function quality. In the following section, the dish up quality literature is explained in detailed and later on, its linkage to the restaurant industry is looked into.1. overhaulerer QUALITYThe help vigilance literature argues that customer satisfaction is the result of a customers perception of the value received, where value equals perceived gain quality relative to price (Hallowell, 1996, p. 29).1.1 description OF SERVICEI n society to understand what Service Quality is, it is essential that the term Service is delimitate. Grnroos(2001) claims that work are processes and not physiologic entities or goods, and that go firms have processes that interact rather than products. According to Stromgren(2007, p.12) , a service is an military action or series of activities of a more or less intangible nature than normal, but not necessarily , handle place in the interaction between the customer and service employees and/or physical resources or goods and/or dodgings of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to the customer problems.1.2 DEFINITION OF QUALITYThere are plenty of definitions of quality that are prescribed by different authors. According to Juran(1988), quality atomic number 50 be defined as the fitting to the intended use of the entity and thereby meeting the pass judgment standards. In the case of an entity not fitting its intended use and look forations, the customers sight bill it as of poor quality. Crosby(1979) prescribed quality as conformance to requirements Garvin(1988) found internal and external failures of the entity and measured quality by the count of the failures. However, Parasuraman et al(1985) claims that quality give the gatenot be defined utilise a product-based approach when dealing with service sectors and hence came ship with the term Service Quality.Considering that my research topic and questions is based on service quality, the chronicle provided by Parasuraman et al(1985) is used.1.3 DEFINITION OF SERVICE QUALITYThe concept of service quality and its theories and practicality has been considered very important by the academics and practitioners over the past few decades because it acts as a chief contributor to customer satisfaction and profit susceptibility (Parasuraman et al,1985). Thus service quality has become as important factor for all organizations that need to be in a competitive market. The definition of serv ice quality as conceptualized in various literatures on service, centres on the quality perceived, and is defined as the discernment made by the customer about an entitys general excellence or superiority (Parasuraman et al., 1988). In accordance with the finding of Ghobadian et al(1994),service generally has four characteristics which are different from manufacturing goods. The four characteristics are described belowInseparability of production and consumption This characteristic of go refers to the fact that production and consumption of service is inseparable as they are in encounter with each other (Parasuraman et al.,1985). The service provider in turn becomes an important component of the service and is assessed by the consumers (Zeithaml et al., 2003). In the process, the consumers become co-producers of the service (Edvardsson,2005). In the service industry, the producers create the services which simultaneously involve its consumption. There is no room for complacency and quality shortfalls cannot be covered at this point. To illust invest, the service is being constructed at the same time that the customer is receiving it.Intangibility Services are fundamentally intangible which means that it is impossible for the customers to physically see, smell or touch the product before the purchase is made. Services can easily be copied as a result of intangibility, because near of the services are not patented (Zeithaml et al.,2003). Intangibility results not only in difficulty to manage services, but it becomes hard for the consumers to evaluate(Lovelock et al.,2004). Hence, the customer turns to other alternatives such as obvious signs of quality such as reputation, physical tangibles, and word of mouth from previous users. In services, word of mouth and reputation have the most importance, and thus drives the service provider to deliver services right and flawless, the first time.Perishability Service cannot be inventoried for later use which means that it impossible to have a final check like manufactured goods. According to Zeithaml et al.(2003), careful planning has to be made to manage services, as they cannot be resold or re-inventoried. Hill(1977,p.318), in his article, mentions that services can be seen as a change in the condition of a person, or of a good belonging to some economic unit, which is brought about as the result of the activity of some other economic. Another dimension to this was added by Lovelock et al.(2004) that stated that goods could be more complex to manage as the costs are incurred for its storage. So, service trading operations must get the right service first time.Heterogeneity It involves service consistency and accuracy. Due to the fact that delivery of service usually involves a contact between provider and consumer, thus the behaviour of service provider can yield the perception of the customer. Moreover the accuracy of the information and the ability to interpret customers expectation c orrectly has a great influence on customers perception of service quality. However, expectations may change during delivery process. For this reason, service providers have to rely heavily on the ability of their staff to understand customers demand and respond in a suitable course.Service can be divided into two dimensions, the functional quality and the technical quality (Gronroos,1984). The technical quality essentially deals with what or what service is provided and functional quality deals with how or how the service is delivered. Another conceptual model which was brought forward by Lehtinen et al. (1991) comprises of physical, interactive and corporate qualities of an organization. Interactive quality deals with the overall interaction of the customers with the elements of the firm. Corporate quality deals with the image customers have about the firm. Physical quality deals with the physical good which is consumed during a service process, fodder at a restaurant for exampl e and also the physical elements which make up the facilities of the restaurant. Going further rich into the service quality literature, Parasuraman et al. (1985) used 10 dimensions to explain service quality which were tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, courtesy, credibility, competence, access, communication, security and understanding. This model was later reduced to a scale of 5 dimensions later a process of reliability and validity testing (Parasuraman et al. , 1988).2. CUSTOMER LOYALTYThe satisfaction of the customers is one of the main aims in any business, the restaurant business in this case. Businesses recognize that championing current customers is much easier than winning over new ones to supersede the loss (McColl-Kennedy Schneider, 2000). It is mandatory for restaurants to strategize their services to suit the ever-changing dining needs and lifestyles of customers, if they have to increase loyalty from customers. (Min et al,2002). Individuals dining expectat ions have evolved over the years due to changing social environment, better education, the development of culinary culture, healthy dieting sensation and cultural influences(Markovic, S .et al ,2010 p.182). According to Wishna (2000), customers, in future, would expand their dining horizons to a new level. They would need new experiences to satisfy their ever-changing requirements.Probably the most extensively debated topic about service quality field is the constructs of service quality and the colligate customer satisfaction (Johnston,1995). Many researches have come to a conclusion that they are two different entities but the relation between the two entities is still questioned(Cronin et al.1992). Parasuraman et al(1988,p16), suggested that perceived service quality is a global judgement, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service, whereas satisfaction is related to a specific transaction. Parasuraman et al(1995) place from their research that satisfaction is cle arly linked to each specific transaction. They also mention that customers may be satisfied with the particular transaction but might not identify the firm as a high quality one.On one hand, there are other researches which support the argument that customer satisfaction is an antecedent of service quality(Bitner,1990). Bolton et al.(1991) suggest that satisfaction is derived from disconfirmation and becomes an important factor which influences customers scene of the service quality. However, recent researches claim that service quality is the antecedent of satisfaction, in opposition to the arguments from the earlier works. According to Zeithaml et al(2003) states that while customer satisfaction is a broader concept, service quality is a component that comprises of customer satisfaction along with other components which includes price, product quality, personal factors and situational factors.3. SERVICE QUALITY MODELSThe use of technology can provide an organization with the need ed thrust to enhance its service quality. There are several conceptual models of service quality available, which helps the management in identifying quality issues. By devising sure these issues do not re-surface, it increases the possibility of improving the organizations profitability, efficiency and overall performance ( Parasuraman et al,1988).3.1 THE GAP MODELService quality, unlike goods quality, cannot be measured in terms of the number of defects. It is an elusive component which is difficult to measure ( Parasuraman et al,1988). In their earlier research in 1985, Parasuraman et al. identified that service quality rises from the comparison of the expected quality and the perceived quality of service perform. They explored the concept of service quality by taking focus group interviews. The conceptual model which was identified as a result of the research consisted of louvre gaps in the sought after service.The first four gaps is part of the perceptions and tasks in provi ding services, by the management. The last gap is the overall expectations from the customers. They formed a new service quality model which was based on the gaps between the expected and perceived quality. This is known as the GAP Model. Fig 1. Illustrates the model.The tail fin Gaps that were identified are ( Parasuraman et al., 1985) Knowledge GAP, Standards GAP, Delivery GAP, Communications GAP.GAP 1 The Knowledge GAP is the contravention in the level of expectation of the customer and the organizations perceptions of the customers expectations. In some cases, the management fails in understanding what the customers want. The dimensions identified by the management as important and which constitutes good service might not be the things that the customers look for.GAP 2 The Standards GAP is the difference in organizations perceptions of the customers expectations and the service quality standards. The management find it difficult to deliver services according to the customers expectations due to inadequacy of resources or other conditions which are not favourable. But they understand what the customers want.GAP 3 The Delivery GAP is the difference between the organizations service delivery and its related communication with the customer. Staff performance towards delivery of the service plays a huge part in the customers perception of the service quality. But it can be inconsistent, til now though the standards are specified. The quality of service delivery can be affected due to variability among providers.GAP 4 The Communications GAP is the difference between the organizations service delivery and the communicated information about the service to the customers. This gap occurs when a firm fails to deliver the promised services. The consequences of overpromising in that the expectations of the customers are high and when the actual service is received, their perceptions of service quality sink.GAP 5 Overall experience of the service is the main poi nt of focus here. The first four gaps form the perception of service that the customers receive whereas the fifth gap stands for the customers expectations compared to their perceptions, ie their view on the service quality.The diagram is illustrated in Fig 1.Fig.1 The GAP ModelThe GAP model is the most widely used and is one of the most important contributions to service quality literature (Brown et al. 1995). Gaps 1 to 4 shows how the service is delivered, while Gap 5 depicts the overall difference between the expected and perceived service with respect to the customer. Gap 5 is the most influential in the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman et al, 1985).3.2 SERVQUALMeasuring the quality of services in a restaurant is a daunting task as both the service outcome and service delivery is to be assessed. According to Wu et al. (2009), service encounters in restaurants comprise of three components environmental elements (e.g. design, music, excitement), employees (e.g. professional skills, rel iability) and customers (e.g. interaction with other customers). Environmental elements consist of the design of the restaurant interiors, the music being played and the lighting which is used. Employees form the core part of the service which helps to perform the service. To understand all characteristics of the restaurant service quality an appropriate measurement shaft should be developed.SERVQUAL is an pawn that is used to assess the customers perception of the service quality of a service. It is a multi-scale instrument, which took its shape from the GAP model originally, and later was developed further in the 1980s. The instrument contains two sections. One section consists of 22 items that measure consumers expectations. The other section includes 22 corresponding items that measure consumers perceptions of the service they received. The 22 statements represent the five service dimensions that consumers use to evaluate service quality tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Markovic, S., 2010, p.183).According to Parasuraman et al. (1988),Tangibles Comprises of physical settings, the equipment used and the appearance of the employeesReliability the ability of the employees to deliver the promised level of serviceresponsiveness the ability of the employees to be willing to help out the customers and serve customers without any delayAssurance is the level of knowledge the employees possess and their courtesy towards the customers, together with their ability to build trust and express their confidenceEmpathy is the providing of individualized attention to the customers and be caring towards them.In SERVQUAL, the service quality measurement is based on the comparison of customers expectations and their perceptions of delivered service. The difference between expectations and perceptions scores is called the SERVQUAL gap. A negative gap indicates that received service did not met customers expectations. On the contrary, a positive g ap indicates that customers perceived that service delivery exceeded their expectations.SERVQUAL is used as an instrument to diagnose an organizations weaknesses and strength in terms of service quality and uncover them. It creates a systematic, multi-stage process that is based on the dimensions identified and entities which correspond to that organization (Zeithaml et al., 1988). It can be used in businesses of any kind and provides a basis structure owing to its expectations-perceptions model, comprising statements for all the five different dimensions.3.3 LIMITATIONS OF SERVQUALMany organizations have used SERVQUAL for measuring their service quality with considerable amount of success, although there have been current problems which have been identified. These problems are Dimensions of the model Parasuraman et al.(1991) claimed that the five dimensions is SERVQUAL used to assess service quality can be used in all service contexts. However there were differences in opinion am ong other researchers. Buttle(1996) argued that the dimensions change with respect to numbers and the factors as SERVQUAL is used in different service contexts. According a research conducted in a retail setting by Finn et al.(1991), SERVQUAL dimensions are not generic. Babakus et al.(1992) noted that the dimensions can be simple or complex depending on the type of industries it is used in. A major(ip) argument to Parasuraman et al. was by Carman(1990), where he did not agree with the combining of the 10 original dimensions to five as he thinks the collapsed dimensions could have been important in certain areas and hence should be looked into as a separate dimension.Expectation of the service Expectation in a service context essentially means the desired level of service that a customer would like to receive ( Parasuraman et al., 1988). It is the minimum level of service quality that the provider should provide. But due to the ambiguous nature, it can be interpreted in different wa ys. While some may rate expectations according to their expected ideal or optimal performance, others may rate it as a minimum tolerable performance (Teas,1993).Issues with GAP scores The high rating of expectations by customers in the SERVQUAL setup leads to negative scores which instantly start questioning the analytical utility and interpretation of the concept (Smith, 1995).Process Focus According to Buttle(1996), SERVQUAL deals with only the process or the method by which services are delivered but not the quality of the final output that is provided. When service quality is assessed, both process and output should be used in SERVQUAL as both together can give the prediction of the choice that the customer would make rather than one without the other(Richard et al.,1993).Pricing Price plays an important role in determining the customers expectations and perceived quality(Smith,1995). He states that according to some customers, excellent food service comes with high price wh ile lower prices are associated with restaurants which are targeting a lesser market. Hence, according to Smith(1995), price should be considered when measuring service quality.SERVQUAL is only one of those instruments which is used in measuring service quality. And going by the delivery of Asubonteng et al.(1996), until a model which is capable of better measurement evolves, SERVQUAL will be dominant. I am using SERVQUAL as the tool to measure service quality in the restaurants I am focussing on.4. SERVICE QUALITY IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRYExpectations are defined as what the customer beliefs of the service that would be provided and is the main standard against which the actual performance is measured (Zeithaml, V. and Bitner, M., J. 2003). There are five types of expectations of the customers- (i) minimum tolerable expectations (ii) acceptable expectations (iii) experience-based norms (iv) normative should expectations (v) ideal expectations(Zeithaml, V. and Bitner, M., J. 2003) According to Garvin(1987), the greens attributes of service quality are Performance, features, conformance, aesthetics, reliability, durability, serviceability and perceived quality. Parasuraman et al. (1990) developed a five-dimensional framework of service quality which consisted of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy to analyse service quality. However, Gronroos (1990) came up with a framework of his own which consisted of six elements in measuring the perceived value of services. These are explained in Table 1.There are many factors that may influence customers assessments of restaurant quality. Previous researches suggested that food quality, physical environment and service are the major components of overall restaurant service quality (Dulen 1999 Susskind Chan 2000). Among these attributes, food quality is the most important dimension of the restaurant experience (Sulek Hensley 2004). What is more, it is an essential requirement to satisfy the nee ds and expectations of restaurant customers (Peri 2006). Although there is no consensus on the individual attributes that constitute food quality, the researchers focus on presentation, healthy options, taste, incrustation and temperature (Namkung Jang 2008).Several studies have cited the importance of service quality for customer satisfaction with a service encounter (Stevens et al. 1995 Qu 1997). Additionally, in restaurants settings, service quality is an important determinant of customer satisfaction (Kim et al.2009) and return intention (Kivela et al. 2000).Stevens et al. (1995) developed an instrument called DINESERV which was based on the SERVQUAL. It was created to measure the perceptions of the customers about the restaurants service quality. It was used by many as a very reliable and simple tool for finding out the customers view on service quality. It consisted of 29 items, which fell into the five service quality dimensions. It is used in assessing different types of r estaurants. Through the findings, it is known that the customers give the highest priority to reliability. Further researchers like Heung et al.(2000) have identified that the customers expectations vary depending on the restaurants. They used DINESERV to compare and contrast certain restaurants at an airport and found out that the expectations vary with different restaurants.However none of the tools have included food quality as a possible dimension. According to Andaleeb et al.(2006), SERVQUAL should include food quality as a service quality dimension as food quality covers the entire section of food service attributes. This was supported by Namkung et al.(2007) who valued the importance of food quality in measuring service quality as they identified in their research that it was the main factor which influenced customer satisfaction. They claim food quality constitute of presentation, variety, healthy options, taste, freshness and temperature(Namkung et al., 2007).Against this b ackdrop, the main aim of the research, the use of technology in improving service quality in restaurants is looked into.5. USE OF EXISTING TECHNOLOGY IN RESTAURANTS TO AID SERVICE QUALITYThe use of technology is increasing in all aspects of the restaurant industrys operations and management. Technology is traditionally viewed as the key component in industries. In recent years, technological developments have acted as the key catalyst in improving service operations and providing the customers with enhanced experiences at restaurants.According to Berry(1995), technology should be used as a servant rather than acting as the master. It should be used to add value to the service conjureed to the customers, not to completely replace the role of service. Technology offers a better method of performing the service, which eventually benefits the firm, the customers and the employees. It provides a better image to the firm, better dining experiences to the customers and varied and easy way of performing service, to the employees. To cite an example, McDonalds, the chain of restaurants maintain their business by deploying simple technologies to aid services. Devices like food timers and vegetable cutting machines are used to maintain the consistency of various products.When the management considers the type of technology to be adopted, they should also take into account, the reaction of the customers to it, apart from the expenses and benefits that the restaurant might face. It is worthwhile to note that, a new technology will not be of significance if it does not satisfy the customer.By using technology, it benefits both the customers and the restaurant management.5.1 Benefits to customersImproved convenience The term service convenience deals with the desired time and effort the customers are ready to invest in dining out. An increase in service convenience is at a time related to an increase in customer satisfaction (Holdern et al., 2008). Technology can be used to improve access convenience which deals with the relative ease with which an order can be placed, transaction convenience which deals with hurryinging up the payments and benefit convenience which deals with lockling the pace of their time at the restaurant (Dixon et al.,2009).Increased control Control is defined as the need todemonstrate ones competence, superiority, and masteryover the environment( Hui et al., 2002). From past researches, it has been proved that customers tone more satisfied when they feel they have unattackable control over their service encounter( Ariely et al., 2000). Hence, when implementing new technologies, it is important to choose such that the majority of the control the service encounters remains with the customer.5.2 Benefits to the restaurant managementService speed Increased speed of service can lead to more satisfaction and higher revenues, as more customers can be served. This is where use of technology travel up. The time taken for taking o rders, communicating the orders to the kitchen, managing the tables, transaction times can all be reduced by the use of technology. Hand-held electronic devices like ipad and HP touchpad are widely used in restaurants. Orders taken done these devices can be directly sent to the electronic display board in the kitchen, so that there is no delay between taking the order and food preparation, which speeds up the service, and eventually better customer satisfaction. The tables in the restaurant can be managed by using advanced table managing softwares that are prevalent these days. This can help in effectively controlling queuing. legal proceeding and payments can be made accelerated by using handheld credit card machines at the table to ensure there are no delays. While faster service always leads to better satisfaction, it should be managed properly so that the customers must not feel the notion that they are being rushed through the service.reducing in labour cost- Usage of techno logy helps in reducing cost incurred due to large number of staff. Usage of self-service kiosk and online and off-line reservations help reduce labor charges. Also, kitchen equipments like automatic dishwasher, plate warmer helps reduce costs incurred for staffs.A steady increase in volume and revenue A new trend in the modern restaurant industry is to create attractive websites and create their own accounts in various social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter. Customers can access information from these pages and can also subscribe to updates from these restaurants about the latest offerings, menu and special events if any. Online reservations provide the restaurants with a separate channel which makes the restaurant feel more accessible and also through which customers can be attracted. Previous researchers have found out 59% of the restaurants which uses online reservations encounter a steady increase in sales(Lang,2006). Other research identified that customers even make online reservations even during hours outside the working hours of the restaurant, which means the restaurants are capturing business during periods which they normally did not expect to( Layton, 2006 Ross, 2006).Improved service and product Technology if used appropriately, can aid restaurants to provide improved and consistent service to customers. Past researches have shown that an increase in the perceived product quality and service quality have led to an increase in the restaurants profit and better customer satisfaction ( Rust et al.,1995).The areas in a restaurant where technology are used can be divided into five section, namely(Dixon et al.(2009))Queue managementMenuInternet-based contentKioskTransactionsThe usage is depicted in a tabular form in the next page.CategoryTechnology usedRelevanceQueue Management1.Table management software2.Pagers given to the customers3.Hand-held order-taking devices while waiting in the queuePagers alert the customers seated in the wait ing area when their table is readyHand-held devices help to take the orders from the waiting customers and transfer it directly to the kitchen so as to minimize the delay of food preparationMenuVirtual menus available online which contains details of the nutritional valuesVirtual menus available at the tableCustomers can decide on the menu when ordering online based on the nutritional valueCustomers seated at a table gets to know the content of the food and its nutritional values before orderingInternet-based contentOnline table and food reservation systemWebsites to connect to the customers about new offers, special discounts and new items on the menuAccounts on social networks to create a sense of belonging to the customersOnline ordering helps in reducing the waiting time for food at the restaurantCustomers get to know the latest happenings at the restaurant and understand the new things on offerUrges customers to become part of the restaurants online familyKioskOrdering food thr ough kioskMaking payments through kioskOrdering through kiosk helps the customers to order through a touch screen device, without other staff contactMaking payments using kiosks add the personal touch to each customerTranscationsPayment using hand-held credit card machines,SMS and NFC(Near-field communication)Makes payment much faster than the traditional cash or taking-card-to-counter methodTable 1 Usage of existing technology(Dixon et al.200

The Morality of Managed Care Essay -- Health Care Medical Medicine Ess

The righteousity of Managed C atomic number 18The preservation of wellness is a duty according to Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher (Andrews, 1993). Managed anguish conglomerates provide health coverage for increasing numbers of Americans. Many critics top dog whether these businesses provide c be dutifully. At the very least, the present managed care system requires health care providers and recipients to canvas established principles underling physician-patient interaction. Although health maintenance organizations are commonly misunderstood, Americans hope these institutions will dampen runaway health care expenditures. Since HMOs are increasing in number, health care recipients need to examine how established, estimable principles in America are changing. These subtle alterations create conflicts between physicians, HMOs, and patients. Ultimately, patients are regarded as consumers, and understandably, quality care may be more difficult to obtain. commentary Of Manag ed CareAlthough numerous health care plans presently exist, managed care plans have dominated the marketplace since the primeval 1980s. Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are the most common, and they continue to grow in number. Since managed care has become commonplace, the differences between PPOs, HMOs and fee-for-service reimbursement arrangements must be critically evaluated. Without understanding their general organizational and payment structures, moral judgments pertaining to varying plans cannot be ascertained easily. PPOs contract with a limited number of physicians and hospitals who agree to care for patients on a discounted fee for service basis. On the another(prenominal) hand, HMOs amass insurers and providers... ...ew York Times, July 15, 1996, pp. A13.Kassirer, Jerome P. Managed Care and the Morality of the Marketplace The New England journal of Medicine, July 6, 1995, pp. 50-52.King, Cheryl S. Managed Care Is It Mo ral. Advanced Practical Nursing, 1995, pp. 7-11.Larson, Erik. The instinct of an HMO. Time, January 22, 1996, pp. 44-52.Light, Donald W. The Practice and Ethics of Risk-rated Health Insurance. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1992, pp. 2503-2508.Peliegrino, Edmund D. Ethics. The Journal of the American Medical Association, June 1, 1994, pp. 1668-1670.Relman, Arnold S. What Market Values Are Doing to Medicine. The Atlantic Monthly, March 1992, pp. 99-106.Shenkin, Budd N. The single-handed Practice Association in Theory and Practice. The Journal of the American Medical Association, June 28, 1995, pp. 1937-1942. The Morality of Managed Care Essay -- Health Care Medical Medicine EssThe Morality of Managed CareThe preservation of health is a duty according to Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher (Andrews, 1993). Managed care conglomerates provide health coverage for increasing numbers of Americans. Many critics question whether these businesses provid e care dutifully. At the very least, the present managed care system requires health care providers and recipients to reexamine established principles underling physician-patient interaction. Although health maintenance organizations are commonly misunderstood, Americans hope these institutions will dampen runaway health care expenditures. Since HMOs are increasing in number, health care recipients need to examine how established, ethical principles in America are changing. These subtle alterations create conflicts between physicians, HMOs, and patients. Ultimately, patients are regarded as consumers, and understandably, quality care may be more difficult to obtain. Definition Of Managed CareAlthough numerous health care plans presently exist, managed care plans have dominated the marketplace since the early 1980s. Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are the most common, and they continue to grow in number. Since managed care has becom e commonplace, the differences between PPOs, HMOs and fee-for-service reimbursement arrangements must be critically evaluated. Without understanding their general organizational and payment structures, moral judgments pertaining to varying plans cannot be ascertained easily. PPOs contract with a limited number of physicians and hospitals who agree to care for patients on a discounted fee for service basis. On the other hand, HMOs amass insurers and providers... ...ew York Times, July 15, 1996, pp. A13.Kassirer, Jerome P. Managed Care and the Morality of the Marketplace The New England Journal of Medicine, July 6, 1995, pp. 50-52.King, Cheryl S. Managed Care Is It Moral. Advanced Practical Nursing, 1995, pp. 7-11.Larson, Erik. The Soul of an HMO. Time, January 22, 1996, pp. 44-52.Light, Donald W. The Practice and Ethics of Risk-rated Health Insurance. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1992, pp. 2503-2508.Peliegrino, Edmund D. Ethics. The Journal of the American Medica l Association, June 1, 1994, pp. 1668-1670.Relman, Arnold S. What Market Values Are Doing to Medicine. The Atlantic Monthly, March 1992, pp. 99-106.Shenkin, Budd N. The Independent Practice Association in Theory and Practice. The Journal of the American Medical Association, June 28, 1995, pp. 1937-1942.

Saddam Hussein :: Iraq Rulers War Society Saddam Hussein Essays

Throughout the last thirty years, many of the people of Iraq have been tortured, forced to relocate their families numerous times, arrested and murdered. Those who stood against Saddam Hussein were punished, in most cases by death. All of this happened under the control of Suddam and we have neither found, nor has he offered a sound explanation for his actions. By the early 80s, hundreds of thousands of citizens were deported to Iran. And even so now people are still being repressed, persecuted and denied their human rights. He does not deserve to live so luxuriously, while his people are last from malnutrition and lack of medical attention. He does not deserve the political power that he has aquired by having people killed and forcing others to resign their authority to him. What he does deserve is a fair trial for the many war crimes he has committed and for being responsible for an unknown, yet large number of assacinations of innocent people. As a resultant of the Gulf War in 1991, the United Nations has enforced sanctions on Iraq to limit their ability to make more weapons of mass destruction (WMD). These sanctions are based on an oil-for-food system. Iraq can export limited amounts of oil to buy food and medical supplies only. Hussein is using less than the prescribed amount of money available for humanist purposes for buying the much needed medical supplies. Instead, he has used it to buy extremely expensive medical equipment that is rarely used. And as if he is not plastered enough, every month he smuggles oil out of Iraq that is worth millions of dollars, which goes straight toward his soulfulnessal spending pleasures. He has built monuments and palaces for himself instead of meeting the necessary health and sanitary needs of his people. It is bad enough that he has terrorized his own people, but he goes crawling to the press saying that the U.N. needs to lift its sanctions because his people are in such a desperate need of help. He acts (for t he cameras) as if he actually is doing everything in his power to help the people that he so deeply cares about. Fortunately, the little games that he has played with the media have not fooled too many people. The truth about his past and current crimes is available to any person who that has access to the internet.

Essay example --

ReflectionI defecate been attending Virginia State University for one semester now, and constantly since I came here I have learned more than I imagined imaginable. Since I have taken an English class every year in my life since the age of five, I believed I knew exactly what to expect. I was definitely wrong. When I began at Virginia State University, I assumed all my English classes would precisely consist of reading, discussing and then writing well-nigh Old English. Since that was what all my English classes consisted of in laid-back school, I did not believe there would be huge difference at Virginia State University. I quickly discovered that there was much more to it. With only one semester of an English class at Virginia State University almost complete, they successfully showed me way more than the English language they showed me how to be me. Taking a glance at my previous essays I wrote in high school before I came to Virginia State University, I am now very awar e how much my skill to write, reveal my thoughts, ideas, and intelligence has magnanimous stronger in this course. I have learned here at Virginia State University how to write, how to be myself, how to ponder for myself, and how to locate the solutions to the problems I do not have the answers to. I learned how vital the English language is to everyday life.There is never a second that goes by without me contemplating about something, but being enrolled in my premier English class at Virginia State University, I am very proud to announce that as a result my critical analysis skills have significantly increased. Instead of concentrating on a proposed purpose, I have figured out how to constantly ask myself why. I now actually withstand myself to investigate an authors work as acu... ...em up. The first English class I took at Virginia State University had actually assisted me in removing that hideous impulsion and write an essay worth writing with improved ideas that comes with added support. I was taught how to write numerous styles of essays in a lot of various arrangements.My writing has very improved in this writing course. This course has slowly taught and is still teaching me how to not write like I am still in high school. I do not make as many grammar mistakes as I use to. I have become a better proofreader. I learned a process to creating a thesis statement that unlike my other methods actually worked. I also learned a lot about the mechanics of writing. But, there are a few of things that I do believe I crave the fortitude and ability to achieve, and that is what I believe I will acquire continuing at Virginia State University.