Study of Starbuck Coffee and Gloria Jean Coffee

1. 0 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background of the assignment Coffee is one of the world's most popular beverages. Some claim it is the most widely consumed liquid in the world aside from water. Coffee is more than a beverage, however. It is a memory, anticipation, a lifetime of consoling moments of modest pleasure woven into our lives. Coffee's success as a beverage undoubtedly owes both to the caffeine it harbors and to its sensory pleasure.Coffee lovers come to associate the energizing lift of the caffeine with the richness and aroma of the beverage that delivers it. Coffee is produced from the seeds of a small red (sometimes yellow) fruit that grows on plants halfway in size between shrub and tree. The process that turns these seeds into beverage is a long and complex process, perhaps the most complex process associated with any major beverage.It is also a very labor intensive process involving a vast intercontinental collaboration that starts with the coffee grower, moves from there to th e picker, then to the mill workers who meticulously remove the fruit and dry the beans, then to those who clean and grade the beans, to those who roast them, to those consumers and baristas who finally grind the beans and prepare the beverage. Every act along the way can be performed either with passion and precision or with careless shoddiness.It is the cumulative quality of all of these creative contributions that together make the difference between a lackluster cup and a fine and distinctive one Starbucks, a corporation that has grown since its retail inception in 1982 to reach global stardom with over 6,000 shops worldwide, it is truly one of the most successful business ventures to-date. Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them along with fresh, rich-brewed, Italian style espresso beverages, a variety of pastries and confections, and coffee-related accessories and equipment – primarily through its company-operated retail stores.In ad dition to sales through our company-operated retail stores, Starbucks sells whole bean coffees through a specialty sales group and supermarkets. Additionally, Starbucks produces and sells bottled Frappuccino ® coffee drink and a line of premium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships and offers a line of innovative premium teas produced by its wholly owned subsidiary, Tazo Tea Company. The Company's objective is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world.To achieve this goal, the Company plans to continue to rapidly expand its retail operations, grow its specialty sales and other operations, and selectively pursue opportunities to leverage the Starbucks brand through the introduction of new products and the development of new distribution channels. The competitor is Gloria Jean’s Coffee was franchising in 1998, and opened 185 stores within 6 years where all are locally owned and operated by more than 100 franchisees. By 2003, Gl oria Jean’s Coffee has established stores in every state of Australia.The company has opened 906 stores and signed 34 Master Franchise agreements across 33 countries worldwide, its strength is built upon a strong recognized brand synonymous with coffee quality and industry leading franchise systems. Gloria Jean’s Coffees has played a major role in the development and growth of the retail coffee market in Australia. Our team of Franchise Partners is passionate about the brand and its products, and has the dedication and determination to succeed. To meet the rapid global expansion, the corporation unwillingly had compromised on some of its key success factors.This paper will examine these factors from the customer’s point, and how essential are they for Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s Coffee to retain its current customers. 1. 2 Objectives of the assignment The objective of this assignment is to achieve: 1) Analyze company A background STARBUCK COFFEE 2) Analyz e company B background GLORIA JEAN’S COFFEE 3) Compare and analyze between two company services retention. 4) Compare and analyze between two company services recovery strategies. 1. 3 The important of the assignment ) The output of this report will give us the clear view of both company perspectives in the customer retention strategic program. 2) Revile both company service marketing plan In addition to sales through our company-operated retail stores, Starbucks sells whole bean coffees through a specialty sales group and supermarkets. Additionally, Starbucks produces and sells bottled Frappuccino coffee drink and a line of premium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships and offers a line of innovative premium teas produced by its wholly owned subsidiary, Tazo Tea Company.The Company's objective is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world. [pic] 2. 0 STARBUCK COFFEE – COMPANY A 2. 1 Introduction Starbucks purchases and r oasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them along with fresh, rich-brewed, Italian style espresso beverages, a variety of pastries and confections, and coffee-related accessories and equipment – primarily through its company-operated retail stores. Starbucks is primarily known for selling coffee, but also sells other hot and cold beverages, pastries, sandwiches and other snacks.A â€Å"Skinny† line of drinks rolled out in 2008, offering  lower-calorie  and sugar-free versions of the company's offered drinks which use  skim milk  and are sweetened by a choice of artificial sweetener or one of the company's  sugar-free  syrup flavors 2. 2 Company background Starbucks, named after the first mate in Herman Melville's Moby Dick, was founded in 1971 at Seattle's Pike Place Market by three atypical businessmen, Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Zev Siegel. Starbucks mission is to â€Å"inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one nei ghborhood at a time. † Starbucks, founded in the 1970s, opened heir first location in 1971 in Seattle’s Pike place. In 1982, Seattle’s Best began to sell to restaurants and coffee bars. In 1987, the company’s name became Starbucks. The same year, stores in Chicago and Canada where opened. In 1988 Starbucks began mail-order sales of their products. Today Starbucks sells hot and cold beverages, complementary food items, coffee-related accessories and equipment, teas and other non-food products through retail stores in 37 countries. The company operates primarily in the US, is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and employs about 204,000 people.Starbucks has experienced expansion globally, and has created licenses throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, and maintains a 40% market share internationally. The goal of the company is to create brand awareness through the â€Å"Starbucks Experience. † This experience translates well, hel ping folks start their day with an aromatic cup of coffee, pleasant customer service, and each person’s finding a niche while enjoying their favorite drink and listening to music or reading a book. The first Starbucks location outside North America opened in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996.Starbucks entered the U. K. market in 1998 ,UK-based Seattle Coffee Company, re-branding all the stores as Starbucks. In September 2002, Starbucks opened its first store in Latin America, at Mexico City. In 1999, Starbucks experimented with eateries in the San Francisco Bay area through a restaurant chain called Circadia . These restaurants were soon â€Å"outed† as Starbucks establishments and converted to Starbucks cafes. In April 2003, Starbucks completed the purchase of Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia from AFC Enterprises .The deal only gained 150 stores for Starbucks, but according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer the wholesale business was more significant. In September 20 06, rival Diedrich Coffee announced that it would sell most of its company-owned retail stores to Starbucks. This sale includes the company-owned locations of the Oregon-based Coffee People chain. Starbucks converted the Diedrich Coffee and Coffee People locations to Starbucks, although the Portland airport Coffee People locations were excluded from the sale In August 2003, Starbucks opened its first store in South America in Lima, Peru.In 2007, the company opened its first store in Russia, ten years after first registering a trademark there. In March 2008 they purchased the manufacturer of the Clover Brewing System. They began testing the â€Å"fresh-pressed† coffee system at several Starbucks locations in Seattle, California, New York and Boston. Starbucks has always been a place where you can find the world’s best coffees. But in 1971, you would have had to travel all the way to our only store in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. [pic] |[pic] |[p|1970s | | | |ic|The first Starbucks opens. The name comes from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a classic | | | |] |American novel about the 19th century whaling industry. The seafaring name seems | | | | |appropriate for a store that imports the world’s finest coffees to the cold, thirsty | | | | |people of Seattle. | | |[pic] |[pic] |[p|1980s | | | |ic|Howard Schultz joins Starbucks in 1982. While on a business trip in Italy, he visits | | | |] |Milan’s famous espresso bars. Impressed with their popularity and culture, he sees | | | | |their potential in Seattle.He’s right – after trying lattes and mochas, Seattle | | | | |quickly becomes coffee-crazy. | |[pic] |[pic] |[p|1990s | | | |ic|Starbucks expands beyond Seattle, first to the rest of the United States, then the | | | |] |entire world.After becoming one of the first companies to offer stock options to its | | | | |part-time employees, Starbucks becomes a publicly traded company. | |[pic] |[pic] |[p|20 00s | | | |ic|The Starbucks phenomenon continues. As of this writing, Starbucks has more than 6,000 | | | |] |locations in over 30 countries.In addition to our excellent coffees and espresso | | | | |drinks, people now enjoy for Tazo ® tea | Logo description In 2006, Valerie O'Neil, a Starbucks spokeswoman, said that the logo is an image of a â€Å"twin-tailed mermaid, or siren as she's known in Greek mythology†. The logo has been significantly streamlined over the years. In the first version, which was based on a 16th-century â€Å"Norse† woodcut, the Starbucks siren was topless and had a fully visible double fish tail.The image also had a rough visual texture and has been likened to a melusine. ] In the second version, which was used from 1987–92, her breasts were covered by her flowing hair, but her navel was still visible. The fish tail was cropped slightly, and the primary color was changed from brown to green, a nod to Bowker's Alma Mater, the University of San Francisco. In the third version, used between 1992 and 2011, her navel and breasts are not visible at all, and only vestiges remain of the fish tails. The original â€Å"woodcut† logo has been moved to the Starbucks' Headquarters in Seattle.At the beginning of September 2006 and then again in early 2008, Starbucks temporarily reintroduced its original brown logo on paper hot-drink cups. Starbucks has stated that this was done to show the company's heritage from the Pacific Northwest and to celebrate 35 years of business. The vintage logo sparked some controversy due in part to the siren's bare breasts,] but the temporary switch garnered little attention from the media. Starbucks had drawn similar criticism when they reintroduced the vintage logo in 2006. The logo was altered when Starbucks entered the Saudi Arabian market in 2000 to remove the siren, leaving only her crown, as eported in a Pulitzer Prize-winning column by Colbert I. King in The Washington Post in 2002 . The company announced three months later that it would be using the international logo in Saudi Arabia. In January 2011, Starbucks announced that they would make small changes to the company's logo, removing the Starbucks wordmark around the siren, enlarging the siren image, and making it green. [pic] Starbuck mission Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Here are the principles of how we live that every day: Our Coffee It has always been, and will always be, about quality.We’re passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done. Our Partners We’re called partners, because it’s not just a job, it’s our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect a nd dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. Our Customers When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers – even if just for a few moments.Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It’s really about human connection. Our Stores When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life – sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity. Our Neighborhood Every store is part of a community, and we take our responsibility to be good neighbors seriously. We want to be invited in wherever we do business.We can be a force for positive action – bringing together our partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day. Now we see that our responsibility – and our potential for good – is even larger. The world is looking to Starbucks to set the new standard, yet again. We will lead. Branding strategies Three components to this experiencing branding strategy: ? First, coffee itself – offering the highest-quality coffee in the world,    coffee standards by controlling the supply chain as possible and the distribution to retail stores ? Second, service – customer intimacy ? Third, atmosphere. To make customers want to stay.Based on human spirit, a sense of community, the need for people to come together. Channels – Broad distribution strategy ? Want to reach customers where they work, travel, shop, and dine ? Good Location: Company-operated stores located in high-traffic, high-visibility settings ? Product mixed tended to vary depending on a store’s size and location non-company-operated retail channels, food-service accounts, domestic retail store licenses Good starbuck partner ? All Starbucks employees were called  "partners† -Most hourly-wage employees ? Generous policy of giving health insurance and stock options High partner satisfaction rate (80% to 90%), well above the industry norm. ? Lowest employee turnover rates in the industry (just 70%, compared with fast-food industry averages as high as 300%) ? Lower managers turnover rates & encouraged promotion from within its own ranks Delivering on Service and good measuring service performance ? Training: hard skills and soft skills ? Treated as a valuable customer (75%), friendly staff (73%) and highest quality coffee (67%). ? A variety of metrics, including monthly status reports and self-reported checklists. ? â€Å"Customer Snapshot† measurement toolLess competition ? A variety of small-scale specialty coffee chains (regionally concentrated). independent specialty coffee shops & Donut and bagel chains Strategic for supply ? Part time employees- Starbucks had lowest employee income rate of any restaurant or fast-food company b ut Starbucks offering health insurance and modest stock options to part-timers. ? Increased consumer participation- Starbucks does a nice job of encouraging this through its integrated marketing communications efforts. For example : has questionnaires in its stores urging customers to send in feedback about their experiences Facilities for future expansion The company's efforts to greatly increase its sphere of strategic interest by its joint ventures with Pepsi and Dreyer's, its move to sell coffee in supermarkets, and the possibility of marketing fruit-juice drinks and candy under the Starbucks label represented In order to sustain the company's growth and make Starbucks a strong global brand, that the company had to challenge the status quo, be innovative, take risks, and alter its vision of who it was, what it did, and where it was headed. 2. 3 Customer Retention Strategies When Mr.Schultz founded Starbucks and created its unique service experience which is based on a customer-d riven marketing strategy, fully understood the strategic importance of segmenting his target market, differentiating his products and thus achieving a successful positioning for Starbucks not only in its traditional markets, but globally. These strategies are to protect their current customers from deserting to competitors and to capture new markets. Starbucks’ unique blend of relaxing ambience and innovative coffee drinks positioned it as a leader in its category, and made it an all time favorite for millions of devotees around the world.The third place theme highlighted that Starbucks surpassed a place for just a cup of coffee, but instead it gave its customers the comfort of a home, excellent customer service, quality products and the feeling of being special. These elements made the Starbucks experience key in retaining its customers. Starbucks' overall retention strategy has cleverly covered the 5Ps, among others, as we will see below. Product Quality Starbucks trademark was the unique features of the coffee-based beverages. These innovative drinks have attracted new customers to experience luxury coffee drinks at affordable prices, in a very cozy environment.Starbucks created a coffee culture, educating its customers on the coffee types, origins, and the roasting process, thus building brand credibility and gaining clients’ trust in the brand and quality of products provided. Consistency Starbucks’ major coffee priority is the consistency of the product taste and quality assurance. Starbucks whilst priding itself as the best quality coffee in the world tries to control much of the supply chain for quality control and product assurance. Starbucks’ reliability and product consistency is driven by the super-efficient coffee maker machines.Besides making the same drink shot, it is noise-dampening, making sure the customer’s ‘experience’ is not disturbed by the blenders’ noises. Customized and Seasonal Pr oducts Starbucks’ brand name and popularity came through customizing the beverages to the consumer’s desire through offering flexible drink options such as extra cream, caramel syrup etc. Starbucks also introduces various and new seasonal products to differentiate themselves from its competitors and to capture new clients. The new drinks add to the overall experience of loyal clienteles and this specialization increases its competitive edge over other players in the market.Convenience Through Location Starbucks applied the first rule in opening a store i. e. a successful and strategic location, and for thousands of its stores worldwide, credit should be given to their sharp foresight in store-site strategy to reach its target customers and eliminating its competitors. Starbucks' store-site strategy is to have high visibility, high traffic and convenient location like shopping malls, bar districts and populated business towers, so a daily commuter will be delighted to s top everyday at the store for his Latte.The stores’ high visibility, convenience and accessibility in terms of its locations and amenities provided (comfy furniture, grand amount of seating, clean restrooms, etc) attracts attention and increases brand recognition and reputation, thus diminishing customer defections and increasing the stores’ traffic and sales. Strong Brand Equity The unique earthly-colored walls of the each store, innovative product display and cozy atmosphere, seasonal themes, promotions etc makes Starbucks a strong brand that allows for brand recognition and consumer retention.In addition, Starbucks promotes the idea of supporting the local communities by being a good neighbor, and aims to involve its partners in the decision making process. The image of Starbucks sustaining local coffee farmers and helping in grooming their crops builds the customer’s trust in the coffee bean superiority and Starbucks as a socially responsible corporate brand looking after the long-term benefits of the local community with the aim of growing together and not to exploit. (www. tarbucks. com). The store’s clean and hygienic image has added very much to the strong image of Starbucks; a survey states that 83% of the sampled clientele rated a clean store as highly important, a reputation which is equally important for Starbucks’ overall image. Customer Bonds and Loyalty Programs Starbucks recognized that one of the ways to obtain customer satisfaction is by manipulating their perception of equity and fairness in gaining maximum return for their money and loyalty.So, Starbucks introduced the Starbucks Loyalty Card which gives great benefits to its customers; ranging from syrup and milk options on their drinks free of charge, complimentary coffee refills and free beverage with whole bean purchases. The Starbucks Card or the Duetto Visa Card (a reloadable prepaid card/Visa credit card) binds the customer whereby they feel that the y are gaining more value for their money, being treated fairly by Starbucks and feeling appreciated by a better quality service in being a loyal and a regular client, thus preferring to stay devoted to the brand and gaining further benefits with their future purchases.Starbucks also created its own world culture by innovating new proprietary language for its products, to the extent of publishing a booklet for such vocabulary for its clients. This syntax enabled customers to choose the drink that suits them the most, thus creating a customization bond with Starbucks’ beverages and products. The mastering of this language is essential for the customer to get exactly what he wants, and since this lingo cannot be found out of Starbucks, it will refrain the regulars from flocking to other coffee shops.In addition to the customization of the drinks, Starbucks’ interior store design was carefully studied and aimed at reaching the human inner-soul, sending subliminal messages making the customer comfortable and at ease in enjoying his ultimate coffee experience. An Affordable Experience Starbucks market entry and key success was in providing high-end quality coffee drinks at affordable prices. This clever blend of unique quality drinks with a great ambiance and an excellent service made their pricing reasonable and fair for millions.The customer satisfaction on the overall package in exchange for the price paid is reflective in their patronage. Sustaining their prices is essential for customer contentment and retention. The Relationship with Customers Employees of Starbucks are a critical factor since they interact directly with the client. Starbucks’ strategy of creating a personalized service that is vital for the customer’s satisfaction is pivotal in ensuring his loyalty; personalized services include personal greeting, flexible changes to the drink/order and memorizing the favorite order of each customer, all with a genuine smile and fr iendly spirit.The human touch and customer intimacy is an essential element in the overall Starbucks experience by making each client feel special and well looked after. This point clearly marks Starbucks’ acknowledgement of creating relationships and having personal bonds with their clientele to deter them from changing stores. 2. 4 Services Recovery Strategies Starbucks interacts with customer in two ways. The first way is at the Point of Sale (POS). The interaction with the customer begins with the greeting, followed by taking the dink/food order, money exchange and leaving.Pleasant conversation is encouraged the regular customer. This build the idea of the third Starbuck phase for its ambiance meaning that a person has their house, work and Starbuck to make them comfortable. The second interaction is taken place over the phone or by email concerning question comments, or any complaint that they might have. During the first set of interactions, the customer has a high leve l involvement. The customer has all the choice in how they would like their drink made. There are no self-service or technology used in these interactions.The second interaction has medium involvement with the customer and has no face time. If a situation does arise, Starbuck has several different ways to rectify the situation. The first way is with their guarantee. This guarantee is that the customer drink should be made right in time and particular item needed by the customer. If not, let the â€Å"barista† know and Starbucks will give a remake it for the customer. This is also called within company â€Å"a right now recovery†. This allows the â€Å"barista† to remake the drink to any specification that was missed in the previous attempt for free.If the â€Å"right now recovery† is not enough to fix the situation, the supervisor will give the customer a recovery certificate. This is a coupon that allows the customer to receive any drink of their choice for free. Finally Starbucks also has the store managers as well as the district managers lave their business card in the store. This allows the customer to have direct communication with the management if any situation become out of hand. Online feedback at www. starbucks. com from one customer reads that â€Å"The licensed stores never had a conception of the â€Å"heart† of the business to start with.They are exemplary of everything that is wrong with current store operations. † [pic] 3. 0 GLORIA JEANS COFFEE – COMPANY B 3. 1 Introduction As one of the world’s leading providers of specialty-flavored whole bean coffees, Gloria Jean’s has been providing the ultimate coffee experience for over 29 years. In 1979, Ed and Gloria Jean Kvetko purchased a small gift shop in a quaint little town just north of Chicago. Deciding to share their secret for great tasting coffee, the store soon developed a loyal following as people came from all around to experi ence Gloria Jean’s gourmet coffees.Due to increasing demand and popularity, Gloria Jean’s began franchising stores in the mid-1980’s to entrepreneurs in the Chicago market who shared their passion for specialty coffees. Today Gloria Jean’s has grown to be one of the largest mall-based retailer of specialty coffees in North America. Committed to quality and selection, Gloria Jean’s is the premier destination for people who know and crave gourmet coffee. Each of our flavored coffees receives utmost care from harvest to cup. We meticulously roast and flavor to exacting standards, making Gloria Jean’s coffee the finest you can buy.Gloria Jean’s Coffees is known for its signature range of hot and cold coffee drinks including traditional espresso and ice blends; coffee beans, specialty teas, pastries and coffee accessories. (Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia 2008) 3. 2 Company background In 1979, Gloria Jean Kvetko founded Gloria Jea n’s Coffees with her first outlet opened in Chicago, USA, selling coffee and gifts. 1n 1996, Jireh International Pty Ltd, founded by NabiSaleh and Peter Irvine, purchased the rights to franchise Gloria Jean's Coffees in Australia.With stores in over 30 countries world, Gloria Jean's Coffees is one of Australia's leading coffee specialists and one of the fastest growing franchise organizations in the world. The company has opened 906 stores and signed 34 Master Franchise agreements across 33 countries worldwide, its strength is built upon a strong recognized brand synonymous with coffee quality and industry leading franchise systems. Gloria Jean’s Coffees has played a major role in the development and growth of the retail coffee market in Australia.Our team of Franchise Partners are passionate about the brand and its products, and have the dedication and determination to succeed. Gloria Jean’s Coffees is one of the top 30 fastest growing franchises in Australia a nd is also listed as one of Australia’s top 1,000 companies and top 500 Private Companies (Source: BRW 2007/2008). The company has been recognized for their systems, most recently winning the ‘Food Franchisor of the Year 2007’ in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Excellence in Franchising Awards and ‘2006 International Franchisor of the Year’ awarded by the Franchising and License Association, Singapore.Passionately committed to creating the ultimate coffee experience for every guest from bean to cup, the Gloria Jean’s Coffees difference comes from a true dedication to handmade coffee – from hand picking beans to handcrafting each individual cup. Gloria Jean’s Coffees is driven by a desire to be the most loved and respected coffee company in the world. They are committed to leaving a positive net benefit to both the communities from where they source their coffee and those communities they serve. With the sale of each cup, Gloria Jeanâ €™s Coffees helps to support local and international communities through their partner programs.Over the last year Gloria Jean's Coffees has made a huge investment in new resources, systems and tools that will take their franchise model to the next level globally. The team has put in place leading-edge platforms, systems and tools that have strengthened their business and created a robust model that can be implemented successfully and consistently across their overseas markets. Gloria Jean's Coffees provides ongoing management and support from the moment new Franchise Partners join the Gloria Jean's family. The Gloria Jean's Coffees  business model  is a  franchising  system similar to many fast-food chains.Franchise owners have to pay franchise fees and royalties on their sales as well as operating costs. The organization’s board consists of chairman Nabi Selah, and directors John Dwight, Peter Irvine and Andrew Tyndale. Product Coffee houses serve and sell a ran ge of espresso coffee drinks, cold drinks, blended and estate whole bean coffees and specialty teas along with pastries and coffee accessories. Gloria Jean's Coffees recently purchased through auction an allocation of the whole coffee bean that came fifth in Brazil's Cup of Excellence awards, Niche/Small Target MarketGloria Jean’s Coffee is currently targeting small market segment, young adults segment, which comprises people age 18 to 25 years old, compared to Starbucks, 15 to 64 years old. Besides that, Gloria Jean’s mainly focuses on female customers, where half of the sales came from that particular gender. Customers Are More Demanding Nowadays, customers are more knowledgeable towards coffee. Besides, there is no switching cost to other competitors. They know what different types of coffee taste like and what kind of beans came from where. Thus they only drink those that they prefer and they like.Customers are price sensitive, where a slight change in price might lead to change in preferred brand due to the low switching cost. This means that if customers do not get what they want from a brand, they will have no obligations to switch to the other brand, or they might as well buy coffee beans from supermarkets and brew themselves, which is one of the reason why sales is declining. Highly Competitive Industry There are a lot of brands that selling the same product, which is coffee. Most of it is already well established. Thus it is a highly competitive industry where all are fighting for a share in the industry.The reason for many companies being in the same industry is because of a profitable market and low entry barrier. Growth in specialist coffee shops such as Hudson’s Coffee and Starbucks Coffee took up a huge portion of the share in the market. Selection of Franchisee/Partners Gloria Jeans is very particular in selecting franchisees or partners. The company stands by their values, which is â€Å"Our partnerships are based on inte grity and trust†. They only choose those that they prefer and they feel good with. Logo description Gloria Jean's coffee  logo colors  are two  shades of brown, orange, yellow, and silver.The logo itself is a coffee cup with steam coming out of it. The motto is â€Å"escape the daily grind† are full of meaningful in a coffee lover life. [pic] 3. 3 Customer Retention strategies Operations Gloria Jean’s Coffees strive to develop their operations in retail business environment by using several channels. One of their distribution strategies is having a very well known third party companies that basically shares their beliefs, values, and commitment to quality. Gloria Jean’s Coffees also expanded their coffee business by making their coffee and coffee-related products available via mail order and the World Wide Web.This suits their main slogan, which is, â€Å"Making It Glorious† (Gloria Jean’s Coffees n. d. ). Donate / Joint venture with so ciety Our success is thanks to the communities that support us, and in return we aim to give back whenever possible. We strive to have a positive impact, both on the communities from where we source our coffee and the communities we serve. Gloria Jean’s Coffees’ core value of â€Å"Belief in People, Building and Changing Lives† Gloria Jean’s Coffees in Singapore has collaborated with World Vision International by sponsoring seven children through the Child Sponsorship Programmed.The Child Sponsorship Programmed supports the world’s less fortunate children from various countries by addressing the root causes of poverty and diseases, helping these children, their families and communities break the cycle of poverty, and empowering them to help themselves in the future. A Bean for a Dream for our sponsored children. When you buy a Happy Cookie at our outlet, part of the proceeds will go towards the outlet’s sponsored child. The bean represents t he dreams that you will help fulfill, and the card shows your support for the Child Sponsorship Programmed.Customer Service Due to the company’s ‘family spirit’, they tend to take customer service as an important role and expect their partners would share these values in the area. Since Gloria Jean’s Coffee houses around the world are known for providing a very friendly environment and offers a personalized service. Therefore, Ian Martin, group chief executive of Gloria Jean’s Coffee franchise said that, â€Å"At Gloria Jean's we don't talk about customer service because we don't have customers, we have guests. This is more than emantics – we don't see ourselves as retailers, but as a coffee house, serving guests, and you treat guests differently from customers† (Franchise Business 2007). This is one of Gloria Jean’s Coffees strength as it is proven that they do take their consumers seriously. Production-Operations Gloria Jeanâ €™s Coffees stores are typically more like a gift shop concept than a specialty coffee outlet. Stores vary in size and located in a variety of settings, including overlooking parks and gardens, the beach, and main thoroughfares. Most of the location chosen for their outlets usually is a metropolitan area which most of people usually go.They believe in the concept of higher volume, higher chances of having customers. The product mix varies between each store based on the size and location of the store. It was a take-away concept, which is totally un-Australian. Marketing Gloria Jean’s Coffees positions their products on quality and experience, rather than just offering coffees. A comparison of specialty drinks with its competitors reveals very minor differences. Gloria Jean’s Coffees’ image is one of the key elements to their success. The company has realized that people don’t only come for the coffee; they come for the atmosphere.People socialize, rea d, study, dine, or just enjoy the music while drinking their coffee. By knowing this, Diedrich Coffee try to make their stores unique in some way or another that will create a vibrant store atmosphere. Research and Development Gloria Jean’s Coffees consider research and development (R) as one of the main factor to be successful in the market thus they constantly urge their employees to be innovative and creative. This is evident through the continuous developments of new and exciting products, being the various drink flavors and coffee related products.By introducing more and more new products and by developing new distribution channels, it coincides with Gloria Jean’s Coffees goal of becoming the most loved and respected coffee company in the world. 3. 4 Services Recovery Strategies Caring for Upset Customers Now and again there are bound to be problems. A customer may be dissatisfied with his meal or may find the quality to be below his standards. There are special t raining for server and they have to attend it, in able to get confirmation of services. At Gloria Jean’s Coffee they are 100% sure servers know the best ways to handle customer complaints.Retaining upset customers can be a challenge. By putting in the effort and respect to recover distressed customers, usually Gloria Jean’s may be able to convince their customer to return to in the future. Customer Comment Cards Customer comment cards are recently use and most type of way in evaluating the customer experience. Customer comment cards are typically set out on the table or delivered by the server at the end of the meal. Customers can rate qualities of the Gloria Jean’s Coffee cafe, such as food presentation, menu pricing and server friendliness. 4. 0 COMPARATIVE ANALYSISThe definition of comparative analysis are the item-by-item comparison of two or more comparable alternatives, processes, products, qualifications, sets of data, systems, or the like. In accounting, for example, changes in a financial statement's items over several accounting periods may be presented together to detect the emerging trends in the company's operations and results. 4. 1 Comparisons Starbuck Coffee and Gloria Jeans Coffee in term of Customer Retention Strategies In order to maintain the customers for both companies in this industry, there have to make sure that their customers always satisfied with their product.The definition of customer retention strategy are helps the organization to keep their sales up, to create social and structural bonds and build engagement to delight the customers. The top strategies to retain customers are: market to the existing clients, connect with the customers, ask for feedback and input, share resources, reward customers for staying, be consistent in the approach and interactions, and follow through on the commitments, and keep learning. It is well documented that optimizing customer loyalty has a direct and positive impact on a co mpany’s financial performance and strategy.Increasing customer loyalty through improved customer experiences can be driven by the insight gained from a comprehensive customer feedback program. Below are comparisons table for both company. 4. 2 Comparisons Starbuck Coffee and Gloria Jeans Coffee in term of Services Recovery Strategies Service recovery has drawn the attention of researchers and academicians recently. The concept of service recovery is seen as both business practice and focus of  marketing study which has developed over time.Perhaps the strongest single factor  that causes service failure is the nature of service products themselves, which increase the possibilities of errors, or service failures, and therefore the need for recovery. Most scholars point out that the difference between tangible products and intangible services has increased customer awareness of the possibility of service failures either  from the operational perspective or from the custome r’s viewpoint and it’s difficult for marketers to understand and to meet customer  expectations. Besides, service variability has been identified as ongoing problem both for marketing and quality managers.Below is the table of both companies for services recovery strategies. 5. 0 CONCLUSION 5. 1 Conclusion for Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s As one of the famous coffee brand shop, the coffee shop does well in the field of marketing. According to the analysis of the shop’s situations concerning the marketing mix and positioning, a clear picture of the shop’s competitive advantages can be achieved. Generally speaking, there are some important factors that help the shop to achieve business success, which include convenient location, guaranteed high quality of both coffee and service and the Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s brand itself.On the other hand, this research also gives some recommendations to help to solve problems found during the course of research. For example, the shop should pay more attention to create a more comfortable environment in the guest area, and be more positive to introduce the â€Å"Member Card† which can help to build more stable and loyal customer relationship. 5. 2 Recommendation for Starbucks Coffee Based on the analysis, there are some issues should be taken into considerations to make further improvements for the Starbucks coffee shop.First one is based on the customers’ expectation survey. Some customers suggest that Starbucks should offer more comfortable armchairs and coaches, canopy and replace the outdoor floor with the wooden floor as same as the indoor decoration. In service industry, customers often look for tangible clues, namely physical evidence which can influence customer’s evaluation of service quality. In this case, there is knowledge gap between the service providers and the customers perceived service quality.More comfortable environment can help create frie ndlier atmosphere, which enhance the supplementary services by adding values to customers. It is more attractive to customers, especially when they want to have a relaxed time in this Starbucks shop except for a cup of coffee. Besides that, many customers were surprised when they heard that Starbucks also offer a reward card called â€Å"Starbucks Card Visa†, which, however, is not introduced to customers by staff, compared to the Gloria Jean’s positive attitude to introduce their discount card to customers.Loyalty reward programs can offer existing customers incentives to remain loyal and perhaps even increase their purchases. In this case, the coffee shop appears negative to reward their customers, which is easily resulting in customer defection because customers will feel like being defected when they get to know the truth. The shop should realize that existing customers are more profitable while winning new customers are costly. Thirdly, should pay more attention t o educate its customers about Starbucks’ coffee culture. Starbucks does well in brand building.Besides good coffee, it also provides its customers a very particular type of experience called the â€Å"third place†, a place away from their home and work, where people can meeting friends and business partners or just get relaxed by reading a book with a cup of gourmet coffee. This is the Starbucks’ positioning, the selling point. However, according to the survey results, no one knows it. The shop should realize that differentiation is most of the time why people buy. A clear concept of what the difference is will directly pull customers to come in. There should be a complete consideration about the cost issue before taking action. 5. Recommendation for Gloria Jean’s Coffee Product Uniqueness Gloria Jeans should opt for better coffee beans or a variety of coffee beans from around the world. Beans could be obtained from areas such as South America and Indones ia. These are the places that venture into to obtain variety of beans that suits the consumers. By doing so, consumers will definitely have a variety of brew that they could choose from, besides, the special beans could even provide a better taste of coffee for different types of consumers. Using low fat milk, creamer and artificial sweetener could benefit those whom are worried about obesity and have obesity problem.This specially caters to them as it is less fattening and less sweet, thus it could comply with World Health Organizations agenda of providing healthier food and beverages. Product Differentiation Gloria Jeans should provide food to customers instead of only cakes and pies. This is because walk in customers would find it convenient to dine in instead of just buying coffee from the outlet. Menu such as breakfast sets and set lunch should be provided besides serving light food such as sandwiches and cakes. Raising standards Most walk in customers look for a cozy and warm place to hangout when they enter the outlet.Gloria Jeans could provide a better environment for them by using comfortable sofas and furniture, warm ambience with music and also providing handicap facilities. This will improve consumers’ perception towards the outlet. Modern equipment such as The Clover, which is a specialized brewing machine that allows a barista to quickly deliver one freshly brewed cup of coffee at a time, would be useful. It takes quite some time for a freshly brewed cup of coffee to be served to customers with traditional equipments, thus it might lose some customers whom could not wait.Many people patronize coffee outlet is because it is a neutral place for people to talk about business and do their homework and assignment. This means that internet connection is very useful for them, including students whom usually do their assignments and homework at the outlet. Providing Wi-Fi service to them might benefit Gloria Jeans, as more people will patronize th e outlets for usage of Wi-Fi, which will indirectly linked to purchasing of coffee in the outlet. Increase baristas standards Providing further training such as entrepreneurship skills and management skills to baristas might improve their services.Baristas will feel more knowledgeable in handling situations that might occur. Giving baristas extra incentives such as entertainment allowance and company trips might boost up their morale, which might indirectly increase their productivity level and decrease the turnover rate. Widen the target market Gloria Jeans target market in considerably small, where there only target people aged 18 to 25 years old compared to other competitors. They could widen their target market to cater students as well as corporate business people.This can be done by widening the operation to hotels and resorts, healthcare, college and university campus environments and business and industry cafeterias. Besides that, they could provide kids menu, which could be favorable to those families that brings their children together to Gloria Jeans’ outlet. Increase Customer Awareness Gloria Jeans hardly did any advertising and promotions. They should advertise in local newspaper on their special promotions and their new products to gain customers awareness. Celebrity endorsement could also be useful in the sense that Gloria Jeans is their choice of coffee.This will gain attention of the fans of the celebrity and also people in public. Local celebrities such as Nicole Kidman is prove to be useful as a marketing strategy in the sense of celebrity endorsement. Social and environmental effort can be seen as a good way to increase customers’ awareness towards the brand name. Doing charity work such as funding the coffee bean farmers, building schools and clinics could be seen as a useful tool to gain worldwide attention towards what Gloria Jeans is doing for the world. They could also be part of Governments plan of reducing the consumpti on of electricity and water by doing so in the outlets itself.Customer incentives Gloria Jeans should reward their loyal customers with membership card or loyalty card to encourage them to stay loyal to the brand and also continue patronizing. These rewards will be beneficial to them and make them feel happy and treasured. They could provide them with discounts coupons and free refills for them who have the membership card, and encourages those that have not sign up, to sign up for these benefits. Franchisee Criteria Gloria Jeans has a strict policy in choosing franchisees for their business. This causes a lot of potential franchisees withdrawn from franchising for Gloria Jeans.The company should be more lenient towards the requirement in selecting franchisee or partners. But then also they have to do adequate power research on the background of the franchisee before choosing them. This is because they reflect the brand image of the company when they are operating under Gloria Jeans ’s name. Choosing the Right Partner From the problem regarding funding Mercy Ministry against anti-gay society, Gloria Jeans should discontinue the funding of it in order not to interfere with serious issues that could jeopardize the business.Instead, they should fund beneficial organizations such as Red Crescent Society and World Wildlife Fund. This will also help promote Gloria Jeans name worldwide, as a form of consumer awareness 6. 0 REFERENCE ? http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Gloria_Jean's_Coffees ? http://www. gloriajeans. com. sg/our-drinks/ ? http://www. starbucks. com. my/ ? theentrepreneurshipjournal. wordpress. com/†¦ /customer-retention-strategies ? www. slideshare. net/Spartanski/starbucks-case-analysis ? http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/gloria-jean-coffee. php

Phenomenology and Healthier Organismic Self

Exploring the terminology of the word Phenomenology and its etymology, presents me with an overture dating back to a long tradition of philosophical literature. I find it very difficult to try and explain what phenomenology means, because expressing significant ideas of one philosopher, will exclude others, and my choices will contradict the very idea of what phenomenology is beginning to mean for me. Drawing examples from phenomenological theoretical sources, I shall integrate personal experience to support what I understand by the term phenomenology.In brief, I am going to start to explain what I understand about the term Phenomenology by giving answers with references from theoretical sources. I shall, in no particular order along this essay, give examples to support the reason why I think phenomenology is important in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Lastly, I intent to discuss my current ability to understand my own, and another person’s worldview with some examples.The ter m Phenomenology originates from the Greek word phainomenon, meaning appearance, that which shows itself, and, logos meaning science or study. As Hans Cohn puts it, â€Å"the Greek word ‘phenomenon’ is derived from a verb meaning to appear, to come into the light, and ‘logos’, on the other hand, is rooted in a Greek verb meaning ‘to say’. (Cohn, 1997:9-10). To me this suggests, come into light through speech, or enlighten oneself through speech. In simple terms phenomenology is the study of how things appear to be.In order to acknowledge the phenomenon of perception, Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), developed a method from his former teacher’s philosophical intentionality, Franz Brentano (1838-1917) that explains how reality cannot be grasped directly because it is available only through perceptions of reality, which are representations of it in the mind. This is a method that attempts to describe phenomena without prior assumptions, by rejec ting prior beliefs or consciousness about things, events and people.His aim was to find a way to transcend subjectivity and understand phenomenon through experience as the source of conscious knowledge (Dermot Moran, 2002:1-22). He intended by this to suspend or bracket events, to go beyond the usual choices of perception to describe the things as they really are. Husserl’s phenomenological method includes concepts of Noema, ‘the object of our attention, or, blocks of meaning’, Noesis to mean, ‘the experience as it is experienced and the act of consciousness itself, or, process of conferring meaning’, and Bracketing ‘an act of suspending our prejudices and usual interpretations’ (Van Deurzen, 2005: 154).At this stage, these concepts are helping me to frame old acknowledged ‘blocks’ and consciously describe them. It is also helping me to bring to my awareness some of my behaviour patterns, which I was unaware of, or aware in hindsight, but unaware of their reasons. Husserl’s method is ingenious in that it brings to light my ‘perspective dynamics’ (sense of reality, prejudices, family dynamics) and helps me to understand and realise how to locate my blocks. I can now begin to verbalise enigmatic reactions and unveil covert fears, when truth about my character and individual qualities begin to be more approachable and real.I very often have been lost in my own personal history not knowing any other way out of it. ‘This felt like a block in my life loosing touch, feeling alienated within myself and therefore, preventing the self to extend towards other people as fully as I would wish. In my understanding of phenomenology in the above example, my own blocks can prevent me from living in the moment of now. The examples that will follow, there are so many thoughts and emotions distracting me from the moment of now.Learning to make conscious my personal assumptions in the form of noem a, noesis and bracketing, an aspect of phenomenological reduction called Epoche, was to learn how to suspend prejudice, frame a particular behaviour in focus, and examine the way I view things and people. I don’t know if it is possible to translate this process of reduction in all layers of my behaviour. But what I do know, is that this reduction process has taught me to be aware, in a more awake state, of my hidden intentionality and to take responsibility, or better own my thoughts and actions consciously because very often I searched for the blame outside of myself.And the search was not to be found outside, but the understanding of those reactions is to be found deep inside of me. ‘Bracketing is necessary because the phenomenological inquiry is not mere fact-finding, it is the apprehension of intentional acts’ (Van Deurzen, 2005: 154). Husserl’s transcendental Phenomenology hasn’t particularly been followed by his students and former colleagues such as Martin Heidegger (Spinelli, 1989:2-3). A remark from Paul Ricoeur follows ‘that phenomenology is the story of the deviations from Husserl; â€Å"the history of phenomenology is the history of Husserlian heresies† (Moran, 2002:2).I find that Husserl’s at the time controversial scientific opinions allows phenomenological progression. But his findings are a good basis to question what our true values are, to allow us to investigate our potential to be good therapists. Why is the relationship between Phenomenological philosophy, Existential, Person- centred Counselling and Psychotherapy, important in counselling and psychotherapy? I very soon started to comprehend that phenomenology addresses key questions of human experience and that this attempts to examine the process of subjective human nature, without being indoctrinated by some fixed theory.Philosophers have written a great deal about the nature of the self, and it is useful for psychotherapists to refl ect if they are addressing human issues of existence from the right angle or just emphasising one from an infinity of possibilities, or simply if the theory needs progression. One concern that I think relevant to consider is that psychotherapy, particularly existential and person-centred counselling, focus on the promotion of the client’s autonomy (Sanders, 2004). Are the theories open enough to offer that autonomy, or are they in its effort to make sense of a state of mind, limiting its variability?In my opinion, it is essential to have an uncluttered mind which is free from unprejudiced assumptions when approaching psychotherapy and counselling. Existential therapists for example, put more emphasis on the existence, than on the essence through the phenomenological reduction, because they do not wish to suspend existence. Carl Rogers‘s (1902-1987) concept of phenomenology maintains that knowledge of individual perceptions of reality is required for the understanding of the human behaviour, and suggests that we live in accordance with our subjective awareness (Nye, 1992:97).Rogers believed that human beings need the right psychological and environmental conditions to allow the troubled self to change and find a healthier organismic self. ‘Necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change’ (Kirshenbaum & Henderson, 1990:219). There are three core conditions out of the six sufficient conditions: Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR), meaning truly accepting the person as they are with no pre-conceived judgements intruding in the process of the relationship between client and counsellor.Empathy, meaning listening carefully, leaves aside my conditions of worth, and, Congruence, meaning genuine authenticity within the counselling relationship (Hough, 1998:103-104). I found a way to process these conditions through phenomenology. I can see the parallel between person-centred and existential psychotherapy, because for examp le, Rogers’s therapy involves the therapist's entry into the client's unique phenomenological world, without attempting to search for unconscious motives, but rather concentrate on immediate conscious experience and expectations (Sanders, 2004:4).These conditions have to be processed within myself first, before I can attempt to offer them to other people. To me, there was an intellectual and emotional understanding of how to integrate Rogers’ core conditions when with other people, but I was missing the link ‘how’ to do it, because the theory felt all very delicate, non-directive and carved for those who were born with those qualities. I wanted it to be part of my daily make up, but I many times regressed to old habits, and felt I was back to square zero.This is the reason why I think phenomenology is important in counselling and psychotherapy. It is a method that allows us to strip down any masks or shadows we have and work on many of our unprocessed cond itions of worth, for a healthier organismic experiencing. I have been fortunate to find the path to work on my true self, and something definitely happened in my conscious mind caused by the above learning cues. I can honestly describe with some contentment that I am processing my projections successfully with my environmental relationships.The example that follows, describes a significant event that showed me I have brought into light what looked like a projection into my full conscious. Right at the beginning of the academic year, I used to hear one of my colleagues speak, and I used to feel some irritation. I didn’t know the cause. It was only after the third week that I questioned myself the reason why because the symptom persisted. I wrote on my journal: I feel I was quite disrespectful today towards ‘Blue Sky’ when she was speaking in the group experience. (Blue Sky is a pseudonym name.I give all my course group colleagues a pseudonym name to keep their ide ntity protected). I reflected on my interrupting her several times while she was speaking. Interrupting felt intruding because something was not flowing. I like Blue Sky but I have ambivalent feelings towards her. I still don’t know what and why I feel the way I do. She is lovely and warm and welcoming and emotionally intelligent †¦ Today, my tutors introduced philosophy to the group. It is fascinating to be introduced to the question about subjectivity.Our subjective truth is based on our subjective human experience. Is this going to help me to find out about my incognitos? †¦ I don’t want to be lost in my own personal history and yet I do want to know all those parts of me that hurt and why. In learning phenomenology and the wish to get acquainted with those parts of me that remain unclear, provoked some sort of brewing threatening sensation. Nevertheless, over the next few weeks I went through a very painful learning curve. Phenomenology helped me to disc over my irritability about Blue Sky.After class, we took the train together and we were talking fluidly, when all of sudden, that cloudy irritable sensation about her struck back again, and I noticed it affected my congruent and empathic responses towards her. She must have felt it because our conversation fell flat. When she left the train, I knew it wasn’t her doing. I knew I was transferring something berried deep in me. I couldn’t write my journal for the rest of the journey as I usually do, and was suspended over that event that just happened.I went back to that feeling that made me feel that way, and I connected the event. I knew somebody 24 years ago that looked like Blue Sky. I was struck by the physical and verbal similarities and even more surprised how the arms and body expressions are so similar. Why didn’t I see that before? She was my then husband’s ex-girl-friend. It was a very painful experience at the time, because she didn’t seem to be able to forget him, and I could see her pain, and with that she was hurting my relationship with my husband by not wanting to give him up.Linking the irritation about Blue Sky with a totally unconnected old event, is proof that unresolved emotional and psychological experiences impedes reciprocal interaction and communication with another person in the present. For this reason, I was so happy to release Blue Sky out of my perception, and see her for what she really is. On that same week another projection towards one of my tutors was resolved, and when I discovered what it was, I experienced that same relieved sensation. I am now able to see my tutor for whom he is showing to be and not for what I was projecting.To me this is a sign that I am learning to identify my introjects, and not just let the natural attitude react as the victim of my conditions of worth. I feel that I am growing towards my potential, in Rogerian terms called actualising tendency, for a healthier organis mic self (Mearns & Thorne, 1988:11-14). In Gestalt terms this is described as healthy cycle, the drive towards actualisation of the self (Clarkson, 1989:27). Although these projections were resolved, I continued to feel a threatening sensation that there was more to come and I even felt physically sick over a period of two weeks with sleepless symptoms and anxiety.I felt all my toxicities were coming to the surface as a result of this process and told this to the group. All the present negative experiences were mirrored in the way I was articulating myself. The group reacted very strongly when I used the word toxic to describe myself, and said that they didn’t experience me that way. It was with the group process that I realised I was using punitive self-description, such as ‘I am toxic‘, that were introjects from a significant other’s values imposed upon me.I was beginning to believe those descriptions about me, and owning them. My language was showing sel f-condemnation in front of the group, but in truth I was using the group as a healthy pillar, or in Gestalt (form) terms, healthy cycle, to test my organismic experience of failure, and to examine the accuracy of my introjects (Clarkson, 1989:27). What came to the surface was how I feel vulnerable and unsupported at home. This showed me a dysfunction in the boundary disturbance of my private cycle, and a disclosure of my coping mechanisms.By believing the negative description of my significant other, I’m taking in the other person’s projection. I showed therefore a coping mechanism called confluence, which is a merging sense of self with the projection of the other. Patricia Clarkson explains that Fritz Perls saw these coping mechanisms ‘only as neurotic when used chronically and inappropriately ‘†¦ they are useful and healthy when authentically chosen temporarily†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The other person‘s negative view of me is often things they cannot a cknowledge or accept in themselves.There are other three most important psychological coping mechanisms, out of the seven fixed Gestalts called, introjection, meaning to take in values without questioning them; projection, as explained above, and retroflection meaning inability to externalise emotion, the act of directing a difficult emotion such as anger at oneself rather than at somebody who has provoked the emotion (Clarkson, 1989:42-45). What I have learned from these experiences is how some of my own subjectivities and defences can get in the way of being open to other people.I would be carrying a false-self when offering non-judgemental acceptance, empathic and genuineness towards others, if I haven’t inwardly processed my conditions of worth. This process of dismantling my projections so intensely are absolutely essential in that I am responsible for knowing myself to the fullest of my capacity before I come in serious helping contact with clients. There is a danger of not resolving blocks that can interfere with a therapeutic relationship, in that clients can become the projection of the counsellor.This is why I think phenomenology is important in counselling and psychotherapy, because it helps us to put in practice the process of identifying our troubles and put it aside in order to be able to understand another person’s world view to the fullest of our competency. I do befriending volunteering once a week, and I noticed that my listening skills have improved and that my natural attitude for interpreting is decreasing, leaving room for the client to find meaning in the description of their feelings.I noticed that the quality of the relationship with some of my clients is deepening in that we are allowing more sensitive layers of hurt to surface. Clients on the search of a healthier organismic self will benefit the most from a therapeutic relationship when the counsellor can facilitate deepest understanding for the client’s percept ion of their world. This is only possible, if the counsellor has developed skills to discern about what is the client’s concern and what is the counsellor’s projection.A good relationship can only be built as far as a counsellor’s skills facilitate the client to feel the space is theirs to explore in the present. Irvin Yalom puts beautifully, ‘†¦ a therapist helps a patient not by sifting through the past but by being lovingly present with that person; by being trustworthy, interested; and by believing that their joint activity will ultimately be redemptive and healing’ (Yalom, 1989:227).Just as I thought I have learned a substantial amount of phenomenological theory to expand openness in my thinking process, with the aim to prepare me to understand myself, and then another person’s worldview, I read about Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980). I find Sartre’s concept of nothingness, that human beings are essentially emptiness and that we are constantly creating and reinventing ourselves, mind blowing. The human tragedy is that we aspire to being definite and fixed as objects are’; ‘†¦ human paradox: on the one hand we are nothing definite and, because of this, on the other hand we are able to become many different things†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Sartre would call what I described in the above paragraphs about introjects, ‘bad faith’ as an important human strategy. To be in bad faith is to perform role-plays in the here-and-now to cope with situations (van Deurzen, 1997:45- 48).In conclusion, phenomenology has opened gates to infinite possibilities of thinking consciously, supplying me with more space to understand how to be with other people. It is hardly surprising and I can understand why psychotherapy chooses to draw wisdom from phenomenological philosophy, because there seams to be a flux with no fix point to allow further exploration of the human distinctive many layered qualities. What is special and significant about this Phenomenological movement is its evolving history in search for truth in perceptions and beyond perceptions.My argument that my ability to understand another person’s world view, lies in my ability to comprehend and integrate all of the above discussed theoretical processes in my behaviour. The vignette ‘Blue Sky’ illustrates my present ability to recognise limits in my character and the willingness to change. I have set myself in an un-compromised path to know myself profoundly for both the benefit of my self-development and ultimately for the benefit of my future clients.I can choose the state of my mind and the emotions attached to it, and that therefore, interactions between me and other people will be of an egalitarian and mutual understanding. The examples I gave about my tutor and voluntary placement with clients, illustrate my endeavour to be fully authentic and transparent in all parts of me, including the understanding of relationship’s phenomenon. I could give other examples of how interactions with other people were successful, but they would have not demonstrated the difficulties and the painful metamorphosis I am going through towards the route of understanding myself, and others.

Attitude Of Management Students Towards Entrepreneurship Business Essay

Attitude Of Management Students Towards Entrepreneurship Business Essay Entrepreneurship and small business creation are cornerstones of economic Development throughout the world. Entrepreneurial development today has assumed special importance, since it is a key to economic development. The impact of entrepreneurship education has been recognized as one of the crucial factors that help youths to understand and foster an attitude toward entrepreneurship. Management education provides a great potential for the establishment of new, small businesses. There is huge opportunity for developing management graduates as entrepreneurs. However, this potential is not exploited to its full extent. The purpose of the research is to examine management student’s attitudes towards entrepreneurship, as well as their views of entrepreneurship as career option and interest in entrepreneurial training. This study was conducted in selected districts of North Karnataka. A total of 200 questionnaires were sent to Management students and 152 students ware responded. Th e research shows that majority of the respondents are having positive attitude towards the entrepreneurship. (Keywords: Attitude, Economic development, Career option, Management students,Entrepreneurship.) â€Å"ATTITUDE OF MANAGEMENT STUDENTS TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A STUDY OF SELECTED DISTRICTS OF NORTH KARNATAKA† INTRODUCTION: Entrepreneurship has become an everyday buzzword. Policymakers, economists, academicians and even university students are talking about it. Today, entrepreneurship is regarded as one of the best economic development strategies to develop country’s economic growth and sustain the country’s competitiveness in facing the increasing trends of globalisation (Ooi Yeng Keat et. al). Entrepreneurship and small business creation are cornerstones of economic Development throughout the world. Entrepreneurial development today has assumed special importance, since it is a key to economic development. The objectives of industrial development, regi onal development, regional growth and employment generation depend upon entrepreneurial development. Entrepreneurs are, thus the seeds of industrial development and the fruits of industrial development are greater employment opportunities to unemployed youth, increase in per capita income, higher standard of living and increased individual savings, revenue to the government in the form of taxation and balanced regional development (Poornima Charntimath 2007). The impact of entrepreneurship education has been recognized as one of the crucial factors that help youths to understand and foster an Attitude toward entrepreneurship (Gorman, Fanlon Là ¼thje and Franke 2002; Norfadilah 2003; Nor Aishah et al. 2005). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) (2007) reports a constant growth of entrepreneurial activities in India. There are growing numbers of studies carried out to determine the influence of regional development and economic development, culture etc., on entrepreneurship.

Raga Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Raga Music - Essay Example The raga cannot be written down like other forms of music because of the complexity in its keys and notes; therefore, Persons interested in learning the music or understanding its meaning have to listen to it over a long period. Raga is associated with colors, animals, emotions, and magic among other factors (Titon 12). The notes, melodies, and organization of the raga are similar to those of the maqam music. The maqam is an Arabic music played in the Middle East region of the world. The music contains ornamental patterns and phrases that are similar to the Indian raga (Titon 12). This similarity between the two music genres indicates that there is a relationship between Arabs and Indian. The relationship is further manifested in the similarity in the cultures of maqam and Hindu. Researchers argue that the relationship between maqam and Hindu make it difficult to separate the two music. An example of a music that is categorized as maqam and raga is the Sufyana Kalam (Titon 15). The V edas culture that is practiced in India was brought about the Aryans who settled along the Indus valley during the revolutionary period (Titon 268). The Aryans intermarried with Indians while they settled along the valley, and this assimilated their culture into that of the Indians. The culture values horses and cattle besides agriculture. The culture believes in numerous gods and goddesses most of them which are made of calves. The Vedas culture also has hymns, which are in form of poems that the Indians recite in memory of their origin and beliefs. The culture also speaks the Vedic language, which was originally spoken by the Aryans (Titon 268). The Indian classic music, which contains consists of sounds of high and low notes originates from the Vedas culture. The Vedas culture believed that sound was the greatest charming thing to both human beings and animals. The culture had a theory known as the Gandhara Veda, which was metaphysics of various sounds (Titon 269). The sounds in the music differ according to the emotion that they expose, for example, tranquility, loneliness, and sadness among others. The classic music of India such as raga contains these elements of the Vedas culture. The music is based on the four Vedas hymns that contain the beliefs of the culture such as magic, gods and goddesses, and praising the calf among others. The Moghul Empire played part in the development of classic music in India, which is a fusion of Hindu and Islam (Toton 277). The rulers of the empire allowed the Islams and Hindus to mingle with each other in all aspects. Akbar, the first ruler of the Moghul Empire was also the first to show interest in images and texts of musicians. During the reign of the empire, the music was not sung, but rather it was spoken and written in form of texts. The rulers controlled music by allowing musicians to sing and dance within the royal grounds. The palaces of the empires were painted with images of musical texts indicating that they v alued music. The empire contributed in the development of the music by allowing musicians from Islam and Hindu origin to sing and dance together. Before the ruling of the empire, Islams and Hindus did not mingle with each other; thus, music was not common at that time, and it was prohibited in some regions (Titon 278). Karnataka Sangeeta is a classical form of music that is mainly sang in the southern parts of India. The music is a fusion of Persian and Indian culture. Karnataka Sangeeta is similar to Hindusthani music in that it is not preserved through writing; in this music, every performance is considered to be original and unique. The music is preserved in form of images and sculptures, which

Health and sefteay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Health and sefteay - Essay Example 2. Declining Balance Depreciation Method. This is an accelerated depreciation technique that calculates twice the value of the asset every year as an expense as compared to the straight-line method. The method is precise when the asset is expected to generate large revenues in its early life. The book value used in this method at the beginning of the depreciation year is the original cost of the asset while later in the year it is equivalent to the original cost less the accumulated depreciation. 3. Sum of the Years Digits (SYD) Method. This is also an accelerated technique for calculating the depreciation of an asset. It involves summing up the expected life of the asset for each consecutive depreciating year. For n years, the formula would be SYD = n (n + 1)/2. The depreciation is then calculated by multiplying the total depreciable amount of useful life of the asset by the remaining useful life divided by the SYD. The straight-line method is different from the other two techniques in that the amount of the deduction for depreciation is similar for each year of the life of the asset. This ensures that the method prevents bias in situations in which the depreciation pattern or the economic benefits of the asset are difficult to estimate. Hence it is most applicable where the useful life of the asset is long and when the economic benefits of the asset are difficult to estimate. The declining balance depreciation method is also referred to as double declining balance rate and it varies from the other methods in that it allows for larger amounts of depreciation during the early life of the asset as compared to later. It is most applicable when the asset is expected to generate a greater income during its early useful life. The Sum of the Years Digits (SYD) Method is different from the other two methods in that the numbers assigned to the consecutive useful years of the asset are summed up. For ‘n’ useful years, the sum of the

London Olympics 2012 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

London Olympics 2012 - Essay Example This essay throws light on Olympics 2012, the history of Olympics, about London and the impact of this event on major stake holders in the host community. The researcher states that Olympic Games are one of the biggest international events. It features both summer and winter sports in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The games are held in every two years on even numbered years only. Summer and Winter Olympic games, alternate every next year which means that the seasonal games are held every four years. The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London, that is England’s capital city. London was elected to be the host city for Olympics 2012 on 6th July 2005. Their rival competitors were Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris. At least 4 voting rounds took place. London was headed by the former Olympic Champion, Sebastian Coe. It is stated that London is a metropolitan city and is claimed to be the largest city of Britain, its history dates back to the Roman Empire. In the past it has hosted Olympics twice. Over the last couple of years, the scale and scope of the Games has grown enormously. It is now represented by every nation on the block. This has obviously given rise to other challenges such as boycotting, fixing, doping and even terrorism. Olympics provide citizens of different nations a chance to represent their country and attain international fame every two years. Even the host country is given the opportunity to promote itself to the world and project it in a good light.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - Essay Example Just because a person carries out ritualistic actions or worries once in a while does not necessarily mean that he/she suffers from OCD. It is important to remember that a behavior is considered a disorder only when it starts to interfere with one's daily life - consuming every aspect of it and impairing a person's ability to perform regular functions (e.g., working, establishing good interpersonal relationships). A mother who double checks her child's safety belt more than once before starting her car does not automatically suffer from OCD just because a behavior was repeated. In contrast, an OCD patient may spend between hours to even an entire day worrying about something and/or thinking of ways to prevent bad things from occurring. Although OCD patients are aware that their lives are being disrupted, they have difficulty controlling these disruptive thoughts and behaviors ("Obsessive Compulsive Disorder", 2005). They know that these thoughts and actions are not normal but they cannot stop them. This is what differentiates these types of repetitive thoughts and actions from regular rituals that people perform to ensure order, cleanliness, and safety (e.g., checking for locked doors, arranging files alphabetically for easier access). There is a desire from the person to rid himself of these thoughts and behaviors, but this desire is overruled by his obsessions and compulsions. According t According to the American Psychiatric Association's Fact Sheet on OCD (2005), some symptoms may include but are not limited to the following: cleaning, such as repetitive bathing or inability to hold door knobs; arranging and organizing, wanting everything in a particular order all the time; mental compulsions, such as silently saying phrases or prayers to self; hoarding and collecting various items such as magazines and newspapers, forming piles; and repeated checking, possibly retracing driving routes. Foa and Steketee (as cited in Hilgard, 1953) discovered that the most common compulsions among the list are washing and checking. Almost always, these actions are carried out because of doubt. OCD patients always think that something bad will happen and do not to rely on their senses alone. At the back of their minds, they believe that there are always things that they cannot see (or foresee). For example, a person with OCD may always believe that germs are always there despite repeated washing, or he may think that he forgot to switch an appliance off even after checking the switch numerous times. Rachman & Hodgson as well as Stern & Cobb concluded that these patients are concerned mostly about: completing tasks, preventing harm (self and others), and contracting illness from germs (Hilgard, 1953). In the film "As Good As It Gets," Jack Nicholson's character is a good example of a patient suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He repetitively washes his hands, each time with a different bar of soap. It takes a long time for him to finally cease this hand-washing session. His cabinets were filled with an unending supply of soaps to accommodate this compulsion. Although seemingly extreme, many OCD patients exhibit behaviors that are beyond normal (perhaps even more pronounced than in this example), which shows that the disorder may really become an impediment to normal functioning, especially when the rituals take over most of their time and effort, robbing them of time to do

You have been recently appointed as Human Resource Managment (HRM) Essay

You have been recently appointed as Human Resource Managment (HRM) Director of a company which has recognised that it has problem with low workforce motivation - Essay Example Employee motivation is inducement or incentive which may be self-generated or influenced by external forces, that fuels satisfaction and inherent urge towards improvement in performance. Productivity is defined as â€Å"the efficient as well as the effective use of resources to achieve outcomes† (Berman et al, 2005: 309). Productivity depends on the quality of human resources, and their levels of performance. In contemporary organizations, there is increasing emphasis on implementing high performance work practices, taking into consideration all aspects of organizational operations. The purpose of this paper is to examine employee motivation and its impact on organizational productivity; suggest HRM policies, based on relevant theories, that can be introduced in a company with a problem of low workforce motivation and poor workforce productivity, for improving both motivation and productivity. To underscore the importance of human resources management in motivation and subsequent productivity, theories have been formulated on the content and process motivational models by various theorists such as â€Å"Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, Douglas McGregor, Victor Vroom, Lyman Porter, and Edward Lawler† (Petrick & Furr, 1995: 10). Earlier, the â€Å"content† theories attempted to explain motivation at work in terms of the events, goals, needs and motivators, and â€Å"process† theories were concerned with behaviour at work resulting from employees’ choices; and how different kinds of events, conditions or outcomes motivate behaviour. Thus, the work of the theorists Maslow, Herzberg and others underlined managerial concern for employee satisfaction towards motivation and improvement in performance and productivity (Lashley, 2001: 192). According to the needs-based theory of the process of motivation, it is initiated by the conscious or unconscious recognition of unsatisfied

Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Architecture - Essay Example According to Isozaki, the poetic imagination stands out as the only way to restore architecture at a historical moment especially after it appeared to be ruined by creative lethargy of late-modernism (Petit, 2008, p.153). The poetic work of Isozaki gives a complex analysis of the Japanese city in terms of reflecting to the monstrosities of the disastrous war. The monstrosities highlights the existence of human nature and should, therefore, be included in the image of architecture. Isozaki utilizes the human life motive to make people understand the relationship that exists between the finitude of human life and the precariousness of architectural fantasies. By importantly combining effects of distorting and moving mirrors, image, light and sound, Isozaki develops an effective and bodily experience that turns the mirror image of exhibition hence leading to the realization of abstract and sterile approach of architecture (Petit, 2008, p.153). The linking of the architectural developments to the past experiences, and the related aesthetic of fragmentation, characterizes the contemporary architectural works of Isozaki. In fact, he argued that for an architect to evade mass consumption that might be cast by the technocrat and not abandon design, then the architect must be ready to maintain a relationship with reality, which in most cases is characterizes by ironical and paradoxical (Petit, 2008, p.157). This paper tries to analyze Isozaki Frankenstein architecture project and trying to understand how the project is significant both in relation to the development of city and the emergence of diverse range of medium in everyday life. In trying to do so, several literature will be reviewed. The paper will then review the concepts from other sources in response to the question above. Isozaki utilizes the concepts of paradoxical reference to the past to demonstrate

Consumer Behavior Essay Example for Free

Consumer Behavior Essay Today’s customer is habituated with the sales promotion activities. So without such activities it has become difficult for companies to achieve their target. The term sales promotion refers to many kind of selling incentives and techniques intended to product immediate and short term sales effect typical sales promotion include samples in pack premiums values pack refund and rebates sale promotion can be apply to across to broad range i.e from chewing gum to household and car The other defining characteristics of sale promotion are its short term or immediate. For the present paper the researchers considers the household consumer for their primary survey as the products that they have taken into consider come under the FMCG. Major players of FMCG industry were: Top 20 FMCG Companies in India 1. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. 2. ITC (Indian Tobacco Company) 3. Nestlà © India 4. GCMMF (AMUL) 5. Dabur India Ltd 6. Asian Paints (India) 7. Cadbury India 8. Britannia Industries Ltd. 9. Procter Gamble Hygiene and Health Care 10. Marico Industries Ltd. 11. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. 12. Gillette India Ltd. 13. Godfrey Phillips 14. Henkel Spic 15. Johnson Johnson 16. Modi Revlon 17. Wipro 18. Nirma Ltd 19. Amul India 20. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd Literature Review The Indian FMCG industry is crowded with numerous national regional and local players. To win the consumer heart and retain the market share the competition amongst the various players. The major companies ruling the Indian market in the category of FMCG items is HUL Amul, Nirma and many more Every day the Indian consumer who watch television and listen to the radio are thrown in front of a huge clutters of TV ads and commercials by these firm with the same intention and common purpose of convincing the customer that products is the best since India is a country where profiles of the also vary significantly with age demography income level etc in order to cater to need And demand of the different customer India many sales promotion schemes are highly successful as the market is the price sensitive as well as highly competitive even difference in few paisa can provoke the customer to switch to different brand the concept of brand loyalty an brand attachment takes a back seat in this s ituation. When the consumer feel that there are getting something extra, but at the same cost, they do not mind switching from one brand to other. However even today there exist a class of customer who still consider quality and brand as the deciding factor but their number is comparatively less majority of consumer in India, till date consider price to be the most important and deciding factors in the purchase of FMCG goods Kumar And Das (2009) in their article â€Å"Impact Of Sales Promotion On Buyer Behavior-An Empirical study Of Indian Retail Customers â€Å"opined that today’s customer can greatly influence the manufacturer of the marketer regarding the size, quality, control of the product, price, post sales service, etc†¦. in the present study the author attempted to find out the impact of sales promotion on consumer buying behavior. Research Gap The study highlights consumer behavior and purchase decisions made during various sale promotion schemes after viewing advertisement and analyzes the effect of various marketing tactics used by different companies. It also investigates area like consistency of sale promotion schemes and availability of schemes along with the products to analyze their impact on the minds of the consumer. The study would prove to be helpful for the company in deciding schemes that attract consumer, their buying patterns, time period of the schemes availability by sale promotion, advertisement and other activity. Research Objectives The objective of the study are: 1) To analyze effect of sale promotion and advertisement on the consumer buying behavior and purchase decision of FMCG product. 2) To analyze relationship between sale promotion and consumer buying behavior. 3) Consumer behavior when they FMCG product. Research Model Hypothesis H0 :- Sale promotion of FMCG Product is not effect on Consumer Buying Behavior. H1 :- Sale promotion of FMCG Product effect on Consumer Buying Behavior. Research Design A research design specifies that method and procedures for conducting a particular study. The researcher should specify the approach be intends to use with respect to the proposed study, broadly research can be grouped in to three categories. 1. Exploratory Research Design 2. Descriptive Research Design 3. Casual Research Design 1.Exploratory Research Design An exploratory research design focuses on the discovery of ideas and is generally based on secondary data. 2. Descriptive Research Design A descriptive study is undertaken when the researcher want to know the characteristics of certain group such as age, sex, income, education level etc. 3. Casual Study A casual researcher is under taken when the researcher is interested knowing a cause and effect relationship between two or more variables. As pre my objective to know effect of Sale promotion on consumer buying behavior there are necessary to know their characteristics so that we make research to select Descriptive Research Design. Source of Data (1) Primary Data:- The primary data are those data which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happened to be original. For this research the primary data are collected. (2) Secondary Data:- The secondary data are those data which have already been collected by someone else and which have already passed through statistical process. Here we consider primary data fop research Research Instrument Research instruments is the tool by which the researcher can do research on specific problems or objective. The most popular research instruments for collections data is Questionnaire for a particular investigation. It is simple for a moiled set of questions presented to respondents for their answers. Due to this flexibility, it is most common instrument used to collect the primary data. During the pre-testing of questionnaire, we seen the reaction of respondents and suggestions required to make change in research instrument. Research instrument is the means by which we can observe the market station. In over project topic is Effect on Sale promotion on consumer buying behavior. So information of consumer buying behavior is taken by preparing the hard print of questioner for the collection primary data. Sampling Plan Sampling frame Sampling size It refers to the question â€Å"How many people should be surveyed?† Sampling Unit It means Who is to be surveyed†. Here target population is decided and it is who are interested to Purchase FMCG Product. Here we take sample unit as an Individual. Sampling Method Method for choosing the representative respondents call for in this stage, i.e., how should the respondents is chosen? The sampling procedure indicates how the sample units are to be selected. We can used Simple Random Sampling Method for survey. Reference Source 1) http://www.businessnewsthisweek.com/2009/11/top-20-fast-moving-consumer-goods-fmcg.html 2) Kumar Vishal And Das Gopal (2009)† Impact Of Sales Promotion On Buyer Behavior-An Empirical study Of Indian Retail Customers â€Å" journal of management vol.3 no.1 pp11-24 3) Indian journal of marketing nov. 2012 vol 4 pp30-3

Management Skills in Security

Management Skills in Security Security Management Introduction Although historically security has experienced a relatively low priority in the corporation’s management structure, post the incidents of 9/11 in the US and 7/7 in the UK this situation has changed dramatically. Therefore, the position and skills of security managers is being looked at in a new light. Within this study, the intention is to address the question of whether managerial skills are of more importance than specialist knowledge for security managers. It is the author’s opinion that the likely conclusion of the research undertaken is that, although managerial skills are of paramount importance to a security manager, because of the delicacy of their position a high level of specialist skills are also essential. Security issues Essentially, security is deemed as being a â€Å"protector of resources† (van der Bijl 2005, p.75). As such, its task is to defend a business against loss, theft and damage. This task includes all areas of the operation, including systems, equipment, property, employees and customers. In the commercial sense, this protection level also extends to the future profitability of sensitive data controlled by the business. The security threat to any organisation manifests itself in a number of ways. In the physical sense burglary, criminal damage and attacks against the employee or customer can be a major problem, particular with an organisation such as the NHS (van der Bijl 2005, p.75), where of necessity there is a high degree of open access. In the non-physical sense there is the potential, particularly with the growth of information technology, for a growth in thefts of personal records, business data, damage, and disruption to internal systems. Incidents in any of these areas will have a significant impact upon the organisation in terms of trust, confidence and cost. Addressing these issues, particularly in larger organisations, requires the business to design and implement a security strategy that is efficient and achieves the desired goals. For this strategy to be effective there is a need for a managerial structure that is able to discern the resources required, including personnel, their tasks, operational procedures and deployment. Managerial duties In general terms, the role of a manager is to ensure the achievement of the objectives that have been set, either by directive from higher management or those outlined within his or her job description. This will include strategic planning, organising and coordinating the tasks, then monitoring and controlling the outcome. Therefore, it is important that the manager possesses the relevant personal and knowledge abilities to complete these tasks (Cowling and Mailer 2004, p.50). Although in many ways the duties of a security manager is similar to that of any other managerial position within the business, their role is defined by the specific sector and culture they are working in (Easterby-Smith and Lyle 2003, p.235). Because of the uniqueness of their position, a security manager’s initial task will be concentrated upon assessing the risk. Before a strategy can be developed, he or she will need to ascertain the nature, location and degree of any potential breaches of security. For example, if it is a physical danger they will need to know where the likelihood of this occurring is; what preventative measures, such as CCTV are in place, and how effective they are. Similarly, in areas such as information technology, the manager will need to assess whether existing protective IT measures are sufficient or in need of improvement. Risk assessment in security requires a high level of expertise and, although this can be undertaken by the use of outside consu ltants, it is equally important that the security manager has a reasonable level of relevant skills, as without these there is an increased potential for strategy failure (can der Bijl 2005, p.77). Only if the manager has some understanding of the risk assessment can he or she ensure the implementation of an effective protection strategy. Having established a strategy, the security manager will need to ensure that he or she has sufficient resources to match and fulfil the objectives of that strategy. In a commercial organisation, as Yu-lee (2002) shows, this is not always a straightforward task as there will usually be a requirement to match the cost of additional resources against the benefits they produce. For example, if deploying security lights it must be proven that they will reduce the incidence of crime and therefore benefit the business in ways such as reducing insurance premiums and raising consumer confidence, thus leading to potential increased profitability. The coordination of tasks, namely ensuring that the information and resources is delivered to the right place at the right time (Mullins 2004, p.421), is an area that also requires an element of skill and knowledge particular within the security industry. If the manager does not have an understanding of the purpose of the task, it is likely that this will lead to errors resulting from incorrect deployment of information or resources. Managing human resources One resource that is crucial to operational security is the personnel. Successful management of human resources is therefore a key skill requirement for the security manager. The success of any business strategy is directly related to the people that operate it, and security is no exception. Managers need to ensure that they get the best out of their employees in terms of their understanding, ability and dedication to the job they are employed to do, and much of this will depend upon the relationship that is developed. In this respect, a successful manager will adopt a leadership role that is a combination of the various leadership models, such as some of those described in the works of Laurie Mullins (2004, p.312). Understanding the needs of the workforce, and creating a harmonious working environment where all employees are motivated to work towards a common goal is the art of good leadership and management. This is especially the case in the modern environment where there is more employee choice (Mullins 2004, p.282). It is equally important for the workforce to feel that they have an involvement and future with the business. The manager can achieve this in two ways. The security manager can improve employee involvement within the organisation by delegation of tasks and encouraging their contribution, by way of ideas and suggestions, to the strategy formation itself. Not only does this empower the employee, it also leads to an expansion of potential solutions available to the security manager, therefore providing an increase in the number of solutions available from which to successfully address potential security issues that arise. Employee development is an equally important area of management duties. Employees will only be competent at their work if their knowledge and training matches the needs of the task that are set for them. Part of the manager’s role is to encourage the development of these skills. An effective manager will be aware of the value of this process, both for the future of the organisation and the employee, and therefore introduce an employee learning and development process as part of their operational strategy. This usually involves the introduction of structured training programmes catering for individual and group employee needs. In most industries, these training programmes will be organised using a combination of internal training, which will include familiarising the employee with the organisation’s policy and specific needs, and external training to ensure they remain updated on industry developments, including the use of modern technology. In the case of certain indivi duals, the training may also include succession targeted learning, where such individuals are considered able to be promoted in the future to management or leadership roles. The level of interrelationship between manager and employee can define good leadership, which in the author’s opinion is an essential element of a manager’s tasks. It is increasingly becoming the consensus of opinion that the quality of leadership is a necessary skill requirement for managers (Mullins 2004, p.284). The employment of the leadership skills described previously demonstrates the manager’s commitment to their employees and, in the majority of cases will produce a favourable result (Mullins 2004 p.316 and 422). In addition, it improves staff retention levels and provides for a level of strategy continuity that is essential in areas such as security. As with other management duties it is apparent that, in the case of managing human resources, there is a need for the manager to have specialist security knowledge. The evaluation of employee creativity and its benefits to the organisation is made more difficult if the manager does not have an understanding of the business special skills. A similarly difficulty would be experienced in the formation and conducting of internal training programmes. Without such knowledge, it is likely that the effectiveness and value of such training programmes will be reduced. Management and knowledge Knowledge, learning, and its management, is important in business. The better understanding brought about by knowledge will lead to a higher level of competency of managers as well as their employees and improve the performance of the business (Mullins 2004, p.393). Staff will react positively to a more competent and experienced manager than they will one who is lacking in the skills associated with their role. The other aspect of knowledge at management level is their increased ability to be able to monitor the strategy that they have implemented and evaluate the performance of their employees. A classic example of the disastrous effects that results from a lack of managerial knowledge can be found in the collapse of Barings bank in the early 2000’s. As Howard Davies explained at the time, this occurred because the bank’s management decided to diversify into an area of the business where they had little or no experience. This and the inability of their financial systems to deal with the new business left them in a position where they were unable to monitor the situation and staff activities until it was too late. In effect, the cause of this collapse could also be attributed to a breakdown in the operation of the internal security systems that these types of financial organisations normally operate. Just as important, as this case proves, is the need for continued learning. H ad the Barings management undergone a process of learning to achieve a competence in the new business skills, the opportunity for security breaches and danger of failure would have been identified earlier and significantly reduced. Conclusion From the research carried out for this study, it is the author’s conclusion that whilst it is essential for security managers to have management skills, their specialist skills are equally important in order for them to be able to effectively and safely manage their areas of responsibility. As van der Bijl (2005, p.77) observed in his paper on security in the NHS, a security manager without the requisite knowledge and skill is â€Å"as daft as employing a financial director without accounting skills.† Skill deficit in such an important aspect of any business, in my opinion would reduce the level and effectiveness of the security manager as much as the lack of management skills. References Bartol, Kathryn M., and Martin, David C (1998). Management. McGraw Hill College. UK. Bohlander, G. W., Snell, S. A., Sherman, A. (2004). Managing human resources (13th ed.). Florence, KY: Thomson Learning Higher Education. Cowling, A.G and Mailer, C.B (2004). Managing Human Resources. 3rd Rev. Ed. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. London, UK. Davies, Howard. (2001). Management skills and competencies in a rapidly changing financial environment. Egon Zehnder International Insurance Symposium. Munich, Germany. Retrieved 3 February 2007 from http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Library/Communication/Speeches/2001/sp78.shtml Easterby-Smith, Prof. Mark and Lyles, Marjorie (2003). The Blackwell Handbook of Organization Learning and Knowledge Management. Blackwell Publishers. US. Mullins, Laurie J (2004). Management and Organisational Behaviour. 7th Rev. ed. FT Prentice Hall. UK. Muncaster, Phil (2006). Challenges ahead for security managers. IT Week. London, UK Van der Bijl, Nick (2005). Security in modern healthcare. Hospital Engineering and Facilities Management, Issue 2. Yu-Lee, R.G. (2002) Essentials of Capacity Management. John Wiley Sons Inc. p. 150-153