Friday, December 27, 2019

Totalitarianism In Fahrenheit 451 - 1899 Words

Totalitarianism is the most radical denial of freedom. It describes a society with no rights and no control over one’s own thoughts or actions. According to the Online Oxford Dictionaries, totalitarianism is, â€Å"a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state† (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com). In other words, totalitarianism is a society controlled by a government, composed of a limited amount of people, with complete control over the population. Throughout Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury entails of a society controlled by a totalitarian government, providing insight on how its mechanics function. Bradbury, a renowned writer especially for his visions of the future expressed†¦show more content†¦Fear is a common technique adopted by totalitarian governments in order to maintain control. Bradbury demonstrates the use of fear, in Fahrenheit 451, through the public burning of books; â€Å"Burn all, bur n everything. Fire is bright† (Badbury 58). Fire is big, bright and noticeable. Books are burnt for everyone to see, in order to create a population who do not rebel, since they become fearful of having their houses burnt down as well. After committing a crime, escape becomes the only option to avoid punishment, such as condemnation. However, the Mechanical Hound creates a sense of no hope for the population to escape, since it never fails demonstrated when the television report says, â€Å"[the] Mechanical Hound never fails. Never since its first use in tracking quarry has thus incredible invention made a mistake.† (Bradbury 126). The Mechanical Hound is flawless. With a sniff of a person’s scent, it can successfully track them without failing. Therefore, the public looses hope in liberation, making it futile to rebel. The consequences enacted by the authorities when one breaks the law causes people to refrain from revolting, enabling the maintenance of discip line through fear. In addition, fear helps mask the inadequacies of the government. The war is a tool used by the government, exemplified when Mrs. Phelps says, â€Å"He’ll beShow MoreRelatedTotalitarianism In Fahrenheit 4511482 Words   |  6 Pagesto adapt to an ever increasing prominence of technological advances that were changing their daily lives. Reliance on technology that is perpetually forced upon a populace in order to pacify them as depicted in Ray Bradbury’s â€Å"Fahrenheit 451†, creates seeds of totalitarianism that are allowed to be sown and thrive. Although written for science fiction pleasure; Bradbury externalizes a multitude of his own fears such as technology, censorship, and the ideas lured to ideas that exude a utopian faà §adeRead More1984 And Fahrenheit 4511505 Words   |  7 PagesOrwell, and Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, the concepts of totalitarianism and censorship are addressed in various ways. Both texts are of dystopian fic tion, set in post-nuclear war nations, although they are somewhat of a different nature. The concepts of totalitarianism and censorship are explored throughout the texts by addressing the issue of ‘knowledge is power’, the use and abuse of technology and the desensitising of society. Although these are mentioned in both 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, they areRead MoreThe Loss of Personal Freedoms in a Totalitarian Government Essays1810 Words   |  8 Pagesoccupation. In fact, these citizens have no rights. They cannot speak freely, they do not enjoy any personal freedoms or privacy, and the media is aggressively censored. This is the world of George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The protagonist of Fahrenheit 451 is Guy Montag, and he is a fireman. His job is to destroy books completely by setting fire to them. Winston Smith is the main character in 1984, where he works as a civil servant in the lower class ruling party. Both of theseRead Mor e`` Nineteen Eighty Four And Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury3066 Words   |  13 Pagesâ€Å"If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.† - Benjamin Franklin Explore the themes of individuality and conformity in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ and ‘Fahrenheit 451’ In ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’, by George Orwell, and ‘Fahrenheit 451’, by Ray Bradbury, individuality and conformity are presented as fundamental toward the stability of both societies: without the command over these two factors the governments’s influence on the masses would â€Å"break down†. Accordingly, in order to maintain dominanceRead MoreFahrenheit 451: The Future is Now Essay2640 Words   |  11 Pagessociety mirroring the world in Bradbury’s novel among other dystopian novels of the time. His society fits the idea of totalitarianism in the fact that it is a â€Å"form of government that theoretically permits no individual freedom and that seeks to subordinate all aspects of the individual’s life to the authority of the government† (Britannica). This can be seen in Fahrenheit 451 in the way people are controlled by the television and in the way firemen deal with people who possess books. It is alsoRead MoreGeorge Orwe ll s Fahrenheit 451 1092 Words   |  5 Pagesdystopian texts; 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Orwell’s 1984 was committed to paper under the backdrop of the Stalinist totalitarian regime in the Soviet Union, where the freedom of thought had been abolished; which parallels the fascist sovereignty of 1984, governed under the omnipresent puppeteer, Big Brother. Intended to be a warning to humanity concerning the â€Å"poisons of totalitarianism† (Orwell) which denies individuals of basic rights. Similarly, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was scribed during theRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale And Fahrenheit 4511560 Words   |  7 PagesThe Handmaid’s Tale and Fahrenheit 451 are similar novels because they both portray the disciplines in the humanities of literature and film. Both novels present issues that are related to the disciplines of government and political science. The protagonist in each novel is placed in a situation that they are powerless in which is due to the oppression of their dystopian society. Although everyone else has conformed to this n ew society, Offred and Montag have realized that the societies they areRead MoreThe New World And Fahrenheit 451 Essay864 Words   |  4 PagesTreasury, once said â€Å"if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything.† The formation of an individual’s beliefs, sense of belonging, and sense of community all stem from the realization of self identification. Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 both depict a futuristic society where self identification is either being stripped from citizens or has been completely eradicated altogether. The rise of technology in both societies has usurped the importance of knowledge and personal experiencesRead MoreRay Bradbury s Fahrenheit 4511528 Words   |  7 Pageshelped shape great minds and influenced the education system. Picture the extent of the effects of a world so insipid, one where socializing is no longer a norm and abstract thought is rare and frowned upon. That is exactly what Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 depicts through the perspective of its protagonist, Guy Montag. Through his eyes, we experience life with the consequences of the extinction of books. History itself has proven the devastating event that is book burning; Nazi Germany’s book burningRead MoreFahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury1038 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury demonstrates a different kind of censorship. He exposes an insidious censorship that is brewed from distraction. The distraction is achieved by the banning of books, claimed to be a step toward equality. But, Bradbury shows that without intellectual freedom, equality is an empty promise which leads itself to totalitarianism and rebellion. The society in Fahrenheit 451 despises book. One of the reasons why the population decided to remove published document

Thursday, December 19, 2019

I am The Universe - 891 Words

Everyone is responsible for their own actions. Moreover, Fate is just a scapegoat if something goes wrong. Captain Ahab, a character in the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville, is a victim of his own negligent actions. As a result, he faces an unfortunate death from the fury of the white whale. Ahab places all of his hate on the whale, whom is later referred to as Moby Dick, because he lost a leg to him. He thinks that Moby Dick represents all of the hatred and evil in the world, and that he must go and destroy it. Yet, he is fully responsible for his own death due to the fact that he overlooked the warning signs that Nature and God provided for him, lacked communication between him and his shipmates, and preferred to be isolated from the†¦show more content†¦It was Ahab’s way of still wanting to pursue Moby Dick rather than just hunting whales for a living. As well as ignoring the bad omens hurled at Ahab from Nature, he had also lacked a sense of communication. On the first gam that the Pequod had with the Goney, Ahab does not wish to board the other ship because of â€Å"the wind and sea betoken storms† (230). Ishmael, who is the narrator of the story, tells us that he thinks that â€Å"[Ahab] cared not to consort, even for five minutes, with any stranger captain, except he would contribute some of that information he so absorbingly sought† on Moby Dick (230). Ahab’s obsession of killing the white whale had clearly overpowered him to the point where he was not even willing to find out information about other news of any worth. Ahab continued to show his lack of communication by ignoring the many warnings exchanged by ships that have come across Moby Dick and had lost many crewmembers. One ship that had lost a member was the Delight had thrown the dead body overboard, so that the Pequod â€Å"was not quick enough to escape the sound of the splash that the corpse soon made as it struck the sea† (518). Yet again letting his monomaniac madness take over him, Ahab listened to his desire and continued on with sailing after Moby Dick. As well as lacking communication, to make matters even worse and to make him more deserving of hisShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Universe Defines Who I Am828 Words   |  4 PagesWho Am I You asked me to define who I am which makes me chuckle a little. I simply cannot define myself; everything else does. The way that I perceive myself does not define how everyone else in the world defines me. I guess you can say that the universe defines who I am and what I live for. We were all born and created for the same purpose. God himself gives us the opportunity to find out what that purpose is. When finding what that purpose may be, to me, is the only way to truly define who youRead MoreBased on the book I have read, Man The Universe, written by Mostafa Al-Badawi, I am overwhelmed.600 Words   |  3 Pages Based on the book I have read, Man The Universe, written by Mostafa Al-Badawi, I am overwhelmed. To be honest, this is my very first time reading such book, ilmiah book, because I know I really dont like reading at all. Not even reading novels. I have very least interest in reading! But since, reading this book is one part of the assignment to be completed in Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Malaysian Education, I still have to read it until the last page ofRead MoreDescartes Claim Of The Universe1211 Words   |  5 PagesDescartes’ claim of â€Å"I think, therefore I am†, is an attempt to establish a firm foundation for the understanding of the universe and explores the ideas of the self and what we can know to be real. However, there is one major flaw in this approach. That flaw is how we are to create this foundation when before it we had nothing and the paradoxes in the creating definitions of words. His goal is to better understand what he is in order to reestablish the foundations of his understanding of the worldRead MoreSpeech : Parallel Universe Is Exist1127 Words   |  5 PagesTitle of Speech: Parallel Universe Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience that Parallel Universe is exist. Thesis Statement: I am here to persuade you that Parallel Universe is exist, it is possible because the scientist discovery and theory. Introduction I. Attention-getter/Opener: I am going to tell a little phenomenon about something we might have had, the Deja vu. People some time have the experience of familiar with someone, or some scene, However, those people were never had a chanceRead MoreDescartes Claim Of The Universe1216 Words   |  5 PagesHow Fix a Universe That is Nothing but Paradoxes Descartes’ claim of â€Å"I think, therefore I am†, is an attempt to establish a firm foundation for the understanding of the universe and explores the ideas of the self and what we can know to be real. However, there is one major flaw in this approach. That flaw is how we are to create this foundation when before it we had nothing and the paradoxes in the creating definitions of words. His goal is to better understand what he is in order to reestablishRead More The Free Will/Determinism Paradox Essay1279 Words   |  6 PagesThe Free Will/Determinism Paradox Most of us humans, I would guess, prefer to think we have free will. That is, we prefer to think we are able to make choices or decisions based upon our own unique volitions. Such thought appeals to our vanities. If we make â€Å"good† choices and decisions, our self-esteem is elevated, and this gives us pleasure. On the other hand, most of our knowledge leads us in the direction of believing the universe’s functions are deterministic. That is, our knowledgeRead MoreA Interview On My Father s My Dad, The Owner And Founder Of Jefferson Midstate Auto Auction1212 Words   |  5 PagesI would like to preface this report by mentioning that this interview went nothing like I expected. At 7:00pm on Tuesday, March 21st I walked into the office of Brad Hults, the owner and founder of Jefferson Midstate Auto Auction (JMAA). Every Tuesday used car dealers from all over the Midwest come to JMAA looking to buy and sell used cars. My dad, an auto dealer himself, currently works there on sale days (Tuesdays) and it just so happens that my father has connections with Brad. I am lucky enoughRead MoreThe And The Space1044 Words   |  5 PagesStaring down the corridor I see a white blur. Walls are scattered with flickering lights and monitors. As I let go of the walls and push off the ground, I am free , as if I will never touch the ground again; I am floating limp above the Earth. Scott is here with me. Our suits resemble large puffy marshmallows. Mission Control briefs us before we begin. Sometimes it is like the guys back on Earth are purposefully trying to scare us before we begin. Protocols are necessary for our safety as we ventureRead MoreAnalysis Of Nelson Mandela s Death1603 Words   |  7 Pagespicture. There is a large group of people from the weird side of the internet who believe that we are living in a parallel universe. The theory is based on backwards equations and wild imagination of internet dwellers. Believers claim that their false memories of events or mis-spelling of words are not actually false memories, but instead evidence that we are living in a parallel universe. They call this, the Mandela Effect. The concept began with the misconception around Nelson Mandela’s death. For someRead MoreThe Law of Causation: Justification for the Beginning of the Universe?855 Words   |  3 PagesAdequate to the effect and it must precede or c oincide with the effect. For example, a butterfly flapping its wings cannot cause a hurricane, or pulling the trigger on a gun will cause it to fire. Causality can be applied anywhere in the known universe and it will always be correct, or will it? When thinking about causation, it seems that we apply this to life every day and don’t even realize it. For example, finding someone lying on the ground yelling out in pain from a fractured leg immediately

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Importance of Business Proposal-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Write a Business Proposal for any Significant Organisational Issue. Answer: Introduction This business proposal is about the incorporation of the digital marketing network in order to enhance the profitability of the business. It is found that those organizations that do not implement the digital marketing in their firm cannot be able to compete in the market for the long period [1]. Therefore, it is considered as the one of the main organizational issue that needs to be resolved in the prior manner. The organization belongs to the clothing sector and the researcher of the report found that with the help of the digital marketing the firm can improve the sales and can be able to promote the products in the most effective and efficient manner. Additionally, this proposal will also enhance the understanding of the relevant authorities towards the goals and objectives that need to be achieved by the company in the limited period of time. Furthermore, the researcher will identify the costing structure along with the timeline of the project activities that need to be analyzed by the management of the organization. However, this proposal will also discuss the benefits that can be attained with the digital marketing. As a marketing manager, the researcher will put the views that would support the incorporation of digital marketing in the business. This would also enhance the understanding of the higher authorities of the organization towards the significance of the digital marketing in this era. Structure It has been found that those organizations that are able to analyze the activities that are involved in structuring of the project can maintain their position in the market for the long period of time[2]. Considering this in mind, it is found that 3 phases should need to be followed in order to structure the digital marketing idea in the organization. Phase 1: A series of interviews with the senior digital and the non-digital marketers should need to be conducted which eventually help the company to lead to various sectors of the market in the limited period of time. Phase 2: A survey or the research should need to be done in order to highlight the main issues that are related with the digital marketing. Phase 3: An online survey should need to be conducted in order to gather the information regarding the feedback of the relevant customers by the relevant senior staff. This is how the marketing manager would make the structure for the implementation of the digital marketing in the clothing organization. Cost (Estimated) It is highly significant for the marketing managers do consider the cost for the implementation of digital marketing in an organization[3]. In addition to this, it can be stated that costing can be done on the rough market average. However, one cannot be sure to estimate the exact amount for this. Digital Marketing Contract Cost The contract for digital marketing revolves around the figure of $1000 - $5000 yearly. In the current scenario the companys management should need to sign the contract for the digital marketing. The Average Cost for Retaining the Digital Marketing Contract in Industry The average fees for the digital marketing contract in the industry is in between the range of $2000- $3000[4]. However, in Europe it is a lot lower. Cost for Having SEO and PPC services It is important for the organization to use all the services of PPC and SEO. It is due to the reason that it help the company to boost the performance of the business in the most productive and efficient manner. However, the cost of these services for the current clothing organization would be around $5000- $6000 annually. The researcher of the proposal has highlighted all the main costs of the project as the manager of marketing of the current organization. Therefore, the relevant authorities in the finance department of the company should need to take notice and evaluate the overall budget for the project. Timeline of the Project It has been observed that making the timeline of the project is one of the most integral elements for the formulation of the project[5]. In addition to this, it can be stated that timeline of the project helps the management to align their goals according to their priorities for the project. On the other side, it further assists as the guideline for all the employees, as by watching the time line the staff members can be able to know that what things they need to done first and what next. Considering the timeline for the current project, it is found that as the marketing manager one should need to prioritize the things in order to implement the digital marketing in the company in the most productive manner[6]. Set the objectives for Digital Marketing Implementation The management of the organization should first need to analyze the importance for the implementation of the digital marketing in this era[7]. Along with this, the benefits that can be attained with the digital marketing must be the objectives of the project; To capture the market for the clothing brand in the entire globe To enhance the profits by promoting the clothing company in many of the regions To improve the performance in the production by being in the market These are considered as the main objectives that need to be fulfilled by the organization with the implementation of the digital marketing. However, as the marketing manager the researcher is aware about the importance of digital marketing in gaining the attention of the audience in the limited but for the long period of time. Analyze the Past Performance of the Company The higher officials that include; the CEO, CFO, Managers and the leading authorities must need to examine the performance of the organization in order to have an idea in the most accurate manner[8]. As the marketing manager of this organization I found that it had become difficult to promote the product in the masses without the digital marketing. Hence, considering this in mind it can be stated that the implementation of the digital marketing would help the company to grow in the most successful manner[9]. In addition to that, it has been found that digital marketing also provides an edge to the company over the other competitors of the market. This is the main reason that most of the organizations now prefer to adopt the digital marketing techniques as it can help the management of the organization to enhance the level of their performance in the most productive manner. Set the Budget for Digital Marketing Implementation Setting the budget for the implementation process of digital marketing is considered as one of the main factors. The main reason behind this is; it provides the organization an opportunity to rule the market. Hire the Experts in SEO Services It is very significant to hire the experts for the SEO services as well as for the content development[10]. It is due to the reason that it provides the most effective way for the organization to improve their performance in the market as it captures the targeted audience. Select the Targeted Audience for the Digital Marketing The management of the organization should need to decide that who would be the individuals as the customers for their clothing company. For the current company, it can be stated that the targeted audience on the digital platform would be the youngsters who like to wear fashionable clothes. Involvement of Marketing Manager in the project The role of the marketing managers is referred as the main back bone for all the new projects. Marketing managers are the individuals who have the brief analysis of the market and they are also aware about the weak points of their organization in the market[11]. Therefore, they are most important persons for the formulation of the digital marketing plan. There are several reasons for this; one of the most important elements is that they can use all the techniques that are required to be used in order to beat the competitors[12]. For this project, the researcher as the marketing manager would suggest all the strategies that can be helpful in obtaining an advantage over the other companies. The marketing manager would also make sure that data which will be used on the social platforms are meeting the criteria of SEO standards. Along with this, the marketing manager would use all the techniques required to gather the attention of the targeted segment of the market in the most effective way. Benefit of the proposal There are so many benefits connected with the formulation of this proposal. The most highlighted benefit of this proposal is that; it provides the in-depth information about why an organization is required to incorporate digital marketing. Along with this, the significance of the project has been highlighted by showing the higher margin of profits with its addition. Also the investors and the other authorities can be able to know about the costing for the project. It is denoted that costing of the project should need to be done in the most effective way so the entire foundation of the project can be built on the most accurate manner[13]. As the marketing manager the researcher has used all the techniques and identified all the relevant issues that can be arisen with the implementation of the digital marketing for the clothing products[14]. The management along with the shareholders of the company is able to identify about the profits and loses that are connected with the project. Thi s is the most basic benefit that can be attained by the formulation or the creation of the proposal. Conclusion In a nutshell, it can be stated that digital marketing is the need of this era. It is due to the reason that it provides an edge to capture the targeted market in the most effective and efficient manner. Along with this, it also provides a platform to the organization to promote and sell their products in the market and among the masses. As the targeted segment of this clothing company are the youngsters so digital marketing would be the best platform for the company to promote their products on the social media websites. It is due to the reason that it is the most widely used platform in the entire globe by the youngsters. Therefore, it can help the company to increase their sales with the digital marketing. The management of the company can be able to resolve one of the most prominent organizational issue of less sale by adopting the digital marketing. References Ryan, D. (2016).Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., Brennan, R. (2015).Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education. Leeflang, P. S., Verhoef, P. C., Dahlstrm, P., Freundt, T. (2014). Challenges and solutions for marketing in a digital era.European management journal,32(1), 1-12. Chaffey, D., Smith, P. R., Smith, P. R. (2013).eMarketing eXcellence: Planning and optimizing your digital marketing. Routledge Signori, P., Flint, D. J. (2016). DIGITAL Signori, P., Flint, D. J. (2016). DIGITAL MARKETING INNOVATIONS AND THEIR ROLE IN SERVICE ECOSYSTEMS, THE EXCHANGE OF VALUE AND SOCIAL IMPACT.Tiziana Russo-Spenaand Cristina Mele, 259 Ewing, M. T., Ramaseshan, B. (2015). Integrated marketing communications: Conflicts of interest, politics and performance. InProceedings of the 1998 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference(pp. 265-272). Springer, Cham. Stone, M. D., Woodcock, N. D. (2014). Interactive, direct and digital marketing: A future that depends on better use of business intelligence.Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing,8(1), 4-17. Jrvinen, J., Karjaluoto, H. (2015). The use of Web analytics for digital marketing performance measurement.Industrial Marketing Management,50, 117-127. Percy, L. (2014).Strategic integrated marketing communications. Routledge. Stephen, A. T. (2016). The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer behavior.Current Opinion in Psychology,10, 17-21. Quinton, S., Simkin, L. (2016). The Digital Journey: Reflected Learnings and Emerging Challenges.International Journal of Management Reviews. Andrews, J. C., Shimp, T. A. (2017).Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Nelson Education. Chaffey, D., Smith, P. R. (2017).Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing and Integrating Online Marketing. Taylor Francis. Atkinson, D. (2016). CONCEIVING A MARKETING STRATEGY IN THE ERA OF DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES.Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, 386.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Lucozade Essay Example

Lucozade Paper 1: Introduction This report will critically be discussing the marketing strategy, position and the marketing mix employed by LUCOZADE and the use of some principles. Therefore, the analysis will help to identify how brand is positioned in the energy drinks market and how company promotes its product. After analysing existing marketing strategies, recommended future strategies will be given to advice companies of where the brands are leading to and how they will get there. 1. 1 Company Introduction LUCOZADE A pharmacist in Newcastle formulated Lucozade in 1927. He formulated an easily digestible glucose drink that could help recovery from sickness by providing them with energy when they did not feel like eating food. In 1938 the brand was bought by Beecham and was distributed nationwide, soon becoming renowned across the country as a trusted symbol of recovery. However, by the 1970s there was a decreasing role for Lucozade in people’s lives as the general population began to grow healthier as the incidence of illness became less frequent. As a result, sales of Lucozade began to drop. An initial brand repositioning, which remained rooted in health and recovery, sought to position Lucozade as a healthy provider of energy to help people recover from the natural daily lulls in energy they might suffer during the day. It was in 1982 that the most significant and successful re-positioning took place. ‘Aids recovery’ was removed from the bottle and was replaced with ‘Replaces lost energy’. Lucozade became a brand that could provide energetic, busy and successful people with the energy they needed to perform to their full potential. We will write a custom essay sample on Lucozade specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Lucozade specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Lucozade specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In 1990 the Lucozade brand diversified further with the launch of Lucozade Sport, a range of isotonic sports drinks. In balance with your natural body fluids, the brand promised to ‘get to your thirst, fast’. More recently, Lucozade Sport Hydro Active was launched in 2003. 1. 2 Report Summary The objectives of this report for LUCOZADE are: 1. To show how Lucozade develops its marketing strategy and identify the principles and processes involved. 2. To describe the tools and techniques used to produce a strategic marketing plan and show clearly how these have been applied. 3. To investigate whether Lucozade used option generation and evaluation in developing the strategic marketing plan. 4. To develop and produce a written strategic marketing plan for Lucozade. Section 2: Red Bull’s Marketing Strategy The UK total cold drinks market is large and competitive, with many powerful and famous brands with large marketing budgets competing for share. As a result, the market can be an ever-evolving test for brands that wish to continue to grow in a category that is currently worth ? 3. 55 billion. Within the cold drinks market, increases in the soft drinks category have been slowing. However, growth has been driven considerably by the Energy drink sector, which was worth an estimated ? 940 million in 2006 and has grown +26% since 2003. (Source: Mintel Energy Stimulant drinks Market Report August 2006). The Energy drink category continues to grow at pace with brand extensions and new entrants to the market emerging every year. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the category’s leading brands. (Source: Nielsen value share data, MAT to December 27th 2006). Since its launch, Lucozade has been the market leader in the Energy drink category with just under 60% value share of the category. Key competitors include Red Bull and PowerAde with 27% and 4. 5% value share respectively. 2003 also witnessed the introduction of several Private Label sport and energy drink launches from the major grocers. The rest of the market is made up with a plethora of smaller brands, predominantly operating in the stimulant drinks sector, and distributed via the Impulse channel and the on-trade environment. | |Red Bull |Solstis |Lucozade Original Energy |Purdeys |Red Devil |Feelfine |Tesco Kick | |Average price |? . 96 |? 0. 90 |? 0. 75 |? 0. 70 |? 0. 90 |? 1. 09 |? 0. 48p | |Pack size |250ml |250ml |380ml |330ml |250ml |250ml |250ml | Section 3: Strategic Marketing Plan 3. 1 PEST Analysis of Red Bull |POLITICAL |If Government imposes health and safety restrictions on the amount of energy drinks that should| | |be consumed, it would affect the amount of energy drinks that are bought. | |If Government introduce import/export charges on the energy drinks market, it may increase/ | | |decrease the amount of energy drinks that are imported and exported. | |ECONOMIC |Inflation would increase the price of drinks and at the same time, consumers’ real disposable | | |income will reduce. Therefore, consumers are likely to buy less energy drinks, as they are not | | |necessities. |SOCIETAL |If company decides to launch its product in a new country, its costs may rise, as it will have | | |to produce different language labels. | | |As the population of youths increase, energy drinks companies may see an increase in the amount| | |of drinks sold. | |TECHNOLOGICAL |More hi-tech technology may enable companies to produce more drinks at a cheaper cost and at | | |the same time improving the quality of the packaging. | |Companies can use the Internet to help advertise and promote its products. It can also sell | | |large quantities of its product direct to its consumers. It is a new way to communicate with | | |consumers i. e. cheap and efficient market research method. | 3. 2 SWOT Analysis of Red Bull Strengths 1. Red Bull is a leader in the ever-growing niche market of energy drinks. 2. The brand has a strong footbold in major markets such as Germany and UK and more recently, (since 2002), the vast US market. 3. Red Bull has a distribution agreement with Cadbury Schweppes; this is positive for further international expansion of the brand. 4. Its network of international subsidiaries are well-developed and will aid the company to effectively move products throughout the globe. Weaknesses 1. Since Red Bull is a private company, it has very few sources to generate capital for international growth and internal expansion in comparison with its public competition. . Red Bull has a lack of diversification in its drinks, although it did release its sugar-free version in 2003. Hence, the company is ‘missing out’ on potential profits that exist in other soft-drink sub sectors. 3. Red Bull firm focus on energy drinks, and hence, if there were to be a drop in demand in the future, it would be left highly vulnerable. Opportunities 1. Red Bull is still quite a new pr oduct in the growing functional drinks market, which leaves a lot of room for development in major markets (eg: UK and US) 2. Expansion of Red Bull’s original line may help to strengthen its customer base (eg: as was seen with the release of Red Bull Sugarfree in 2003) 3. The development of a functional drink is a possibility. Since Red Bull is normally consumed before participation in a sporting event, the company could create an apre-sport, hydrating drink that also replenished vitamis and minerals lost from physical exertion. 4. Continuation of its tradition of entering new markets through the process of on-trade, has potential on an international level. Threats 1. Many ‘copycat’ energy drinks such as Mad Bull and Red Devil threaten to take brand share from Red Bull. Although the company has won most lawsuits, litigation is expensive and the damages remain undisclosed. 2. Red Bull’s sales are threatened by the continued into the drinks market by key drink players such as Coca-Cola with its Powerade brand. 3. Since Red Bull is high In caffeine content and stimulant taurine, it is subject to regulation such as warning labels on cans which the EU imposed in 2002. Furthermore, the drink has been subject to negative press. For example, in Ireland, It was linked to the death of a student (1999) and a murder case (2001). 4. Many small operators also act as a threat because they have a high ‘cool’ value amongst younger consumers with whom energy drinks are popular. 3. 3 Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Here, the notions of market segmentation, targeting and positioning are key to the success of firms’ marketing efforts. Kotler and Armstrong (2004) provide a useful definition: â€Å"Dividing a market into distinct groups with distinct needs, characteristics, or behaviour who might require separate products or marketing mixes (239). Segmentation is important because firms cannot appeal to all customers at once, especially not with the same offering. Rather, firms need to design products and services that fit with particular groups of individuals. Firms can segment their market in a number of ways, including geographical, demographic, psychographic and behavioural segmentation. Kotler and Armstrong (2004: 239-244) provide useful definitions: Geographic segmentation: â€Å"Dividing a market into different geographical units such as nations, states, regions, countries, cities, or neighbourhoods†; Demographic segmentation: â€Å"Dividing the market into groups based on demographic variables such as age, gender, family size, family life cycle, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, and nationality†; Psychographic segmentation: â€Å"Dividing a market into different groups based on social class, lifestyle, or personality characteristics†; and Behavioural segmentation: â€Å"Dividing a market into groups based on consumer knowledge, attitude, use, or response to a product. † Firms may also choose to segment a market using more than one mode of segmentation, such as geo-demographic segmentation. In order to segment a market effectively, the segment must be measurable, accessible, substantial, differentiable and actio nable. Once segmented, a firm should target specific segments. Kotler and Armstrong (2004) provide a useful definition: â€Å"The process of evaluating each market segment’s attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter† (239). When firms evaluate the attractiveness of different market segments, they should examine its size and growth, structural attractiveness and the firm’s own objectives and resources. A large or fast growing market may not be the most attractive in the long-term or necessarily fit with the firm’s ability to take advantage of in the near-term. Structural factors, such as those discussed by Porter (1980) including barriers to entry and the intensity of rivalry amongst incumbents will also highlight the likelihood of a new entrant to appropriate existing rents. Ultimately, a firm must select those market segments that it wishes to target, which consist of groups of buyers with relatively homogenous needs or characteristics. The type of marketing strategy that should be employed will vary on the target market, but will broadly fit along four types described by Kotler and Armstrong (2004: 252-254): Undifferentiated (mass) marketing: â€Å"A market-coverage strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market with one offer†; Differentiated (segmented) marketing: â€Å"A market-coverage strategy in which a firm decides to target several market segments and designs separate offers for each†; Concentrated (niche) marketing: â€Å"A market-coverage strategy in which a firm goes after a large share of one or a few segments or niches†; and Micromarketing: â€Å"The practice of tailoring products and marketing programs to the needs and wants of specific individuals and local customer groups – includes local marketing and individual marketing. † Choosing an appropriate target-marketing strategy will depend on a number of factors. A firm’s resources will determine its ability to serve a wide (or otherwise) market effectively, whilst product and market variability will dictate the need to differentiate the offering and the specific types of customers that may be attracted to its attributes. The placement of the product within the product life cycle will also have an impact, as will the marketing strategies of competitors. Once a firm has selected the segment(s) within which it wishes to compete, it must then choose a specific position within said segment(s) where it will distinguish itself (Kotler and Keller, 2006). This is known as market position (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004): â€Å"Arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive, and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of target customers† (239). The requirement of market positioning refers more broadly to the notion of competitive advantage. Porter (1985) argued that the purpose of strategic management was: â€Å"to establish a profitable and sustainable position against the forces that determine industry competition†. As such, firms should first identify the unique structure of their industry, in terms of the five forces – the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, the threat of substitute products and the intensity of rivalry amongst competing firms – that influence levels of competition. On this understanding, firms should then choose to compete on the basis of one of three generic strategic, whether that is overall cost leadership, differentiation or focus (Porter, 1980). Failure to do so will leave firms â€Å"stuck in the middle† (Porter, 1985: 16). The analysis of the firm’s value chain, which exposes its primary and support activities and their contribution to value added, helped the firm to identify the most appropriate generic strategy, as well as adapt its value chain accordingly to better suit the selected strategy and build competitive advantage (Porter, 1985). In this respect, marketers should seek to establish a unique selling point (USP) and strong value proposition that stresses the rationale for buying one firm’s products over another. 3. 4 Red Bull’s Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Strategy ‘Red Bull gives you wings. This is Red Bull’s international slogan for its energy drink, a product which states not only to increase reaction speed and physical strength, but also to improve the concentration and alertness of consumers. Red Bull is a popular drink amonst men in particular, with its lar gest consumers consiting of athletes, students, and night-clubbers in need of a late night lift. However, the brand is marketed to ‘opinion leaders and hard-working people with active lifestyles’, as the company’s website claims. RED BULL with sugar: |Demographics |Men and women aged 16-29 | |Geographics |Mainly people who are situated in the city, as they are likely to be really busy and tired. Red Bull | | |seems to have a cooler in most bars and clubs in the city as well as in convenient stores. | |Psychographics |People who are tired / stressed and want to relax and have fun. | |Behavioural |Students and young professionals to boost energy during work long day at work. | RED BULL sugar-free: |Demographics |Women aged 16-29 | |Geographics |Mainly in the city where there are many young professional women. | |Psychographics |Drivers who are tired and need and increase in concentration. Women who want an energy boost but are | | |on a diet. |Behavioural |Women who own a car and use it often for long journeys or are always stuck in traffic after work. As | | |well as tired health | Red Bull is one of the dominant forces in the ? 940 million energy drink market. As of 2006, the market had grown 26% since 2004. *Lucozade holds a 60% market share. Its next biggest competitor is Red Bull, with 27% market share (Nielsen value share data, 2006). Lucozade was initially developed as a health recovery product. In the 1980’s it enjoyed a successful repositioning that made it one of the first products targeted at healthy adults who needed energy boost. Since that repositioning it has concentrated on building relationship based partnerships with sporting events, iconic athletes and cutting edge community happenings where it can emphasize its long company history, top notch science and consumer brand familiarity and fondness. Lucozade follows a strategy of brand product expansion. Its makers respond to, and in some ways, drive trends in sports, fitness and energy recovery. There always seems to be a new flavor or new product. These new product’s attributes mirror the changing values and needs of each target consumer. Advertising links the product with known characters that consumers can aspire to, or rely heavily on logical and educational information that emphasize the â€Å"smartness† of users. In contrast, Red Bull succeeds by remaining exactly the same. Consumers can choose with sugar or without. There is no other choice. Instead, Red Bull remains responsive to consumers by expanding the situations where using the product is appropriate. As founder Dietrich Mateschitz says â€Å"We don’t bring the product to the people, we bring people to the product. † Marketing messages are fast paced and quirky. They create lightly specific situations that consumers can relate to, such as driving fatigue, and link Red Bull to the situation as a solution. *Lucozade: Other energy drink brand Red Bull marketing maintains a sense of product mystique that makes consumers feel special, as if they’ve discovered something no one else knows about. Customers can relate to the experience they were having when they encountered the drink and they adjust their values to the attributes of the product. Section 4: Developing and Producing a Strategic Marketing Plan 4. 1 Effectiveness of the Current Plan |Product |Red Bull was launched 17 years ago in 1987. Since then, it has stayed focused on one product. One size. One | | |colour. One sticky, sweet taste. | | |However, in 2003 Red Bull launched a sugar-free version of its original drink. The ingredients are the same | | |apart from the elimination of glucose and sucrose. | | |Red Bull is produced from a number of key ingredients: taurine, glucuronolactone and caffeine. A combination | | |of these ingredients when consumed, should: | | |Increase physical endurance | | |Improve concentration and reaction speed | | |Improves vigilance | | |Stimulates metabolism. | | |Red Bull is packaged in a slim, sleek, silver can. It isn’t sold in a bottle and it doesn’t have script | | |lettering like Coke or Pepsi. This makes it different to other energy drinks. However, many competitors are | | |now launching products, which look incredibly similar to Red Bull. | |Price |Prices range from ? 0. 96 ? 1. 90. | |Promotion |Red Bull’s promotion campaign is sleek and small and original. Even its most profitable strategies have a | | |very low cost. | | |Red Bull has a very effective marketing force: student brand managers. They provide student representatives | | |with free cases of its energy drink and then encourage them to throw a party. By doing so, the good word | | |about Red Bull is spread quickly and cheaply. | |There have been rumours that Red Bull is unsafe for minors and that the drink was linked to the deaths of | | |various teenagers. France has banned the sale of Red Bull altogether. However, Red Bull remains a popular | | |brand and they say that the rumours add to the brand’s mystique. | | |Another way that Red Bull markets its drinks is through people who drive around in Mini’s and Beetle’s with a| | |giant Red Bull can on the back. They find people who need energy and give them a free can of Red Bull. This | | |is a way to introduce Red Bull to the masses. | | |Red Bull relies heavily on bars and nightclubs to help promote its product. Alternative sports have also | | |proven to be a successful product trial arena; the company underwrites a number of extreme sports | | |competitions. Events include the Red Bull Huckfest, a ski and snowboard freestyle competition held in January| | |in Utah; and the Red Bull ‘Flugtag’ (German for flying day), amateur pilots will create exotic flying | | |machines and attempt to soar off the pier. | | |Red Bull uses TV advertising as well, these all feature whimsical sketches of a mysterious Austrian artist. | | |These advertisements serve more to amuse rather than to educate or entice consumers. | Place |Cans of Red Bull and Red Bull Sugarfree are sold in over 100 countries and are mainly sold in retail outlets and | | |bars/clubs in the city. | It has been established previously that the Energy Drinks Market is competitive and continues to grow; there are numerous competitors who emerge each year. Because this market is so competitive, Red Bull need to adopt good quali ty marketing strategies. Red Bull is produced by a private firm, GlaxoSmithKline. Since Red Bull is a private company, it has very few resources to generate capital for new expansion projects in comparison with GlaxoSmithKline. Red Bull was launched in 1987, since its launch, Red Bull has developed rapidly and as a consequence, it has attracted many imitators. Despite these imitators, Red Bull has still maintained its market share. Red Bull has always been promoted with the advertising slogan of ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ and focuses on the stimulant properties of the drink. It hasn’t created new products or re-positioned from its original product. However, a sugar-free version of Red Bull was launched in 2003. This lack of diversification hasn’t affected the sales volume of Red Bull, but they may have missed out on potential profits that exist in other drinks sub-sectors. Red Bull is aimed at men and women who are aged between 16-29. It is targeted at those who are situated in the city as they are likely to be busy and tired after a long day at work. It is also aimed at students who go out to bars and clubs after a long day. Red Bull’s promotion mix: †¢ Internet †¢ Ambient media Red Bull is not sponsored by such organisations; however, it sponsors extreme sports events. Most of Red bull’s promotional activities revolve around sports, and in particular, ‘extreme sports’ which was sourced from the founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, who had a deep interest in snowboarding and skateboarding. These implications are very obvious on the company’s website which includes lists of the many athletes that consume red bull. Such sports include paragliding and surfing. The Red Bull ‘Flugtag’ proves to be a successful way of promoting its product. The ‘Flugtag’ is an opportunity for amateur pilots to create crazy flying machines and attempt to fly off the pier. This has proved to be very popular with many younger people and ties in with the fact that Red Bull has a very effective and low-cost marketing force: student brand managers. Red Bull doesn’t limit its activities to sporting events. It also focuses on promoting its products on school campuses where it pushes brand leaders to sell the product on site. An example of this is in Australia, where literature was handed out, claiming that Red Bull stimulates the brain cells, and therefore the capability to study. Although Red Bull is generally produced for consumption during or rior to times of physical or emotional strain, it also has a reputation of a mixer and hence, sponsors Red Bull Music Academy. Through these strategies, Red Bull can develop a relationship with its consumers and the events which they host provide a good opportunity for youngsters to experience new events and have fun. Even their television advertisements seem to humour the consumers rather than to promote Red Bull. However, because of its high content of caffeine, Red Bull remains in a niche market as it is unsuitable for children under 16, the elderly and pregnant women. 4. 2 Recommendations for Improvement After extensively analysing Red Bull I have come up with various ways in which Red Bull can maintain its market share within this competitive market. In the close future, Red Bull should maintain to develop its international scope, through entering new markets and increasing its strong grip in countries that it already exists in. The best markets at the moment would be markets where energy drinks are only beginning to takeoff (ie: Southern Europe), and not markets such as the UK, due to the ever-increasing pressure from rival drinks. In the US, the market where Red Bull has been gaining strength rapidly since its 1997 launch, space still remains for growth due to the fact that the brand was only available in half of all US convenience stores in 2002. Due to the ever-increasing popularity of energy drinks, the company’s client base also has room to expand and should continue to do so. However, the various lawsuits pursued by the company are indicative of trading difficulties, in particular, the protection of the Red Bull brand, and such difficulties are likely to continue. Red Bull’s 2003 release of sugar-free sub-brand does not appear to have boosted sales. However, despite the first ever variant in the Red Bull portfolio receiving a lukewarm reception, the company may try boosting sales with either another line extension, or even through the development of another brand entirely. Within functional drinks alone, the company has many unexplored avenues available to it, such as hydrating beverage for those fortified with vitamins and minerals. This could also be an advantage to Red Bull just in case the market for energy drinks decrease. In conclusion, strategies that manipulate the market share division are more appropriate to a mature product segment. As long as the energy drink total market grows, both companies should focus on solidifying their consumer base. After the growth of the product market itself stabilizes, than focus in marketing will change to emphasize product switching. Red Bull could develop a brand new product which it could market to its existing client base, but they would firstly have to undertake a lot of research to see whether the new product would be suitable.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Why had Henry failed to achieve his aims in foreign policy by 1529 Essays

Why had Henry failed to achieve his aims in foreign policy by 1529 Essays Why had Henry failed to achieve his aims in foreign policy by 1529 Paper Why had Henry failed to achieve his aims in foreign policy by 1529 Paper Essay Topic: History Henrys aims since he came to the throne in1509 was glory, he thought he could get this through vast amount of money. Henry at the time was almost broke and therefore needed glory quickly, and the way Henry came up with to make money and gain glory was via war. He needed to attack France but he had no money, Wolsey raised the funds and so became very close to Henry and he went on to gain glory. Although Henry was satisfied with the war he still wanted more glory and to be a dominant figure in Europe. Unfortunately Henry had not achieved his aims by 1529, this was due to a number of reasons, one being that the other powers in Europe were much bigger and grew faster than Henry so he could not keep up. One important reason for Henrys failure to achieve his aims were a number of set backs during 1509 and 1529. One of these set backs comes as early as 1514 where even though Henry has won the war between France and England he is still in essence broke, this makes it hard for Henry to have any impact on foreign politics and does not put him in a good position to go to war again. Henry gets an opportunity to become a leading figure in Europe in 1518 with the Treaty of London, but unfortunately the Turkish never really attack so Henrys power goes to waste. In 1523 Henry is on course for taking over France (being only 50 miles outside Paris with 10,000 troops) but his alliance breaks down and he is forced to retreat. This shows that he was close to being a dominant force in European politics but just missed out due to this major setback. Henrys lack of military power was another thing that set him apart from the rest of Europe. Due to the fact that Henry was not as big as the other countries and that he could not pay his soldiers as much Henry simply did not have as bigger army as other dominant powers. This depicted Henry as weak to his fellow leaders, thus making him seem unimportant and not worth taking too much notice of. Wolsey was one of the reasons that Henry did not achieve his aims, this is because however much Wolsey helped Henry he would always be against him due to his want of the papacy. This meant that Henry never got what he quite wanted, and his ideas were always slightly adjusted, thus never giving Henrys desired outcome. The relationships within Europe were another reason Henrys aims were never accomplished, Wolsey would make alliances but Henry would regularly fall out with the other leaders splitting up the alliances. For example in 1516 Henry weakens his alliance with the Empire by falling out with Max. The traditional view of France as the enemy meant that Henry never really had an alliance with France. The major blow was when Wolsey missed out on the France + Empire + Pope Treaty, this showed Henry was not a dominant as he was not respected enough to be asked into the alliance. Henry was competing against very powerful kings in Europe, thus finding it hard to make an impact on foreign politics. Charles the 5th controlled most of Europe making him very powerful militarily and dominating most of Europe. Whereas Henry had England which was relatively small and had a small population. Francis 1st has vast amounts of money that gave him respect and the ability to do things he wanted such as build an army or show off his wealth (the field of cloth and gold). Whereas Henry was almost broke and struggled to raise funds to go to war. In conclusion Henrys lack of power and dominance and the fact there were strong leaders in Europe meant he was not taken as seriously as the others, and he could do nothing to make them listen, as he simply did not have the resources to challenge them. The other greater powers meant Henry had no chance of coming into line with them as he could not grow in power quicker than them, especially with the money he had. If Henry had gone with Wolseys ideas totally then Henry may have found his glory in peace rather than war, and in turn saved more money. This would have meant he could have executed his foreign policy better. Unfortunately this never happened therefore meaning that Henry never achieved his foreign policy aims by 1529.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Indonesia - Suharto politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Indonesia - Suharto politics - Research Paper Example 3). This started in central Java when he involved himself in many enterprises that were very profitable thus helping in the funding of the poor military forces. This business with Islamic therefore strengthened his relationship with the Muslims thus making it easier for him to from alliances with them. Indonesia is also highly populated by Muslims who were looking for ways of making Indonesia a Muslim republic. Reasons Why Indonesians Mainly Opposed Communists Communism was strongly opposed by Indonesians because a military propaganda convinced international and Indonesian audiences that an abortive coup scheduled for September 30th, 1969 was coup organized by the communists. It was also reported that the murders and atrocities committed against many Indonesians were targeted at Indonesian heroes. The army led a campaign to destroy Indonesian society and communist party. In some parts of the country, the army organized religious, militia and civilian groups where communist vigilantes defeated the army, killing approximately half a million people. Consequently, Indonesian Communist Party was eliminated by political Islam and the military. Key Experiences that Shaped Suharto’s Politics Suharto had served in key military positions during the reign of Sukarno. On February 1966, he was appointed lieutenant General by the president. On the other hand, the March 1966 Supers mar decree transformed most of Sukarno’s power to Suharto giving him permission to do whatever he found necessary in order to restore peace ( Elson, 2001, p. 8). Elson further assesses that he also served in the Indonesian security forces that wee against Japanese here, he rose become the Major General when Indonesia gained independence. This gave him enough experience that shaped his political life. New Order Implemented under Suharto The new order implemented under Suharto was the building of a very powerful institution in the presidency of Indonesia. Therefore, Suharto isolated his rivals from the ruling elite and army and rewarded his loyalties with patronage. The new order aimed at achieving economic development, political order, and ending mass participation in political processes. The new order was featured in a weak society, corporatization and bureaucratization of societal and political organizations, with effective and selective opponents’ repression. Suharto’s order ensured a government that was authoritarian and military dominated. The order established two intelligence agencies; State Intelligence Coordination Agency and Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order for maintenance of domestic order. Position of Islamist Parties Muslim parties’ position was justice, democracy and gender equality. They encouraged female activists. These parties were more democratic and moderate than the other political parties. They radically criticized the position of Americans towards Muslims through peaceful demonstrations. The y also sought to recover the Muslim identity both in the social and political arenas. State of Economy Inherited by Suharto and his Key Reforms Suharto inherited a nearly-collapsed economy from Surkano due to social breakdown and political conflicts during Surkano’s reign (Miller, 2008, p. 5). However, Suharto revived the economy by controlling the 1965-68 hyper-inflation. Miller (2008,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria - Essay Example The problems that exist in the available data for ABR is the fact that the reported cases are just approximations as given by various national summary tables which are able to give only a rough estimate of the real burden of illness. Thus there is no great precision in these figures and the real number of infections and deaths are therefore definitely higher than the figures provided. This problem can be overcome by doing studies in limited settings such a single hospital or a cluster of hospitals where the actual figures are taken (WHO, 2014). Resistance can be tackled by using antibiotics only on prescription by a certified health practitioner, completing full treatment dose, even after healing and avoiding sharing of antibiotics with other people or taking leftover prescriptions. The methods that have little impact are the ones that are single and isolated interventions such as prescription and dispensation of the right drugs without much education to the patient. These studies lack accuracy since the data used is only estimates. An appropriate study should be done in a limited setting and should be conclusive taking into account the cost and specific type of resistance witnessed and by what particular bacteria (WHO,

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Sherlock Holmes Essay Example for Free

Sherlock Holmes Essay The use of clues and red herrings this way creates a sense of atmosphere and suspense which appeals to the modern day reader because it is what most modern day stories include and as this was written in the Victorian era it is still giving the reader the sense of uneasiness; for example, In The Speckled Band, the gypsies are red herrings because Conan Doyle writes about them in a way as to suggest they are to blame for the crime however this only makes the reader build up false accusations against them and they become oblivious to the real criminal. The use of language is very interesting in Conan Doyles stories because there are many variations compared to the language we use today. For example in the speckled band Holmes asks Helen Stoner to take a seat but instead of using the phrase have a seat which we would use in todays modern language, he says to Miss Stoner pray take a seat which is a polite way of asking the same thing of someone. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries women were not treated with an equal amount of respect as men and so by Holmes addressing Miss Stoner in that way, it is an example of how he is unique and does not think less of women. The modern reader may struggle to understand some of the meanings of the phrases used because they have slightly different meanings to us now. For example, Holmes addresses Watson and says, I beg you will not disturb me, using I beg in todays society would have a different meaning altogether as it would seem as though you desperately want something. Also, the language tells us a lot about Victorian society, in the past people were addressed according to their class and this was determined from where you lived. The suspect in The Speckled Band is Dr. Grimsby Roylott; he commits the crime of murder because he wants to ensure he gains full entitlement to a large sum of money. Conan Doyle uses very powerful imagery to create the character of Dr. Roylott such as, He was a huge man.. face.. marked with every evil passion and also He strode out of the room. These two quotes are a few examples of the language the author uses to build up the readers accusations against Roylott and also to show how he placed himself above others and to show his importance. In the Red Headed League, the main suspect is John Clay; he works hard only for half-pay. This is similar to The Speckled Band because both crimes are money related. From the techniques Doyle uses, the reader is meant to think that Roylott and Clay are the villains but then he also uses other techniques to make the reader doubt their suspicion. This makes the story ending much more unexpected. The writer uses suspicion by making the suspects act in mysterious and different ways to everyone else. From the behavior of the suspects, you find out that back in Victorian Society many crimes were based on money and the belief that it was very important; this is a very big similarity between the two periods of time because in todays society the majority of crimes are still money related. The victim in The Red Headed League is Jabez Wilson; he is a shop owner who is being deceived by his employee, John Clay. He believes that John is doing photography down in the cellar, however he is digging a tunnel to the Bank. The victim in The Speckled Band is Helen Stoner; she comes home after questioning the mysterious death of her twin sister. The writer uses techniques to make the victims seem helpless in comparison to Holmes, such as making them seem desperate for his help as though they are incapable without him, which in effect emphasizes his great skills and capability at solving crimes. Also, Helen Stoner is made to seem weaker than Jabez which shows how women were given less opportunities than men and that men were thought to be more powerful and important. A motive is a reason for something and all suspects must have a motive in order to commit a crime. The motive for both The Speckled Band and The Red Headed League is money. In The Red Headed League, John Clay attempts to steal from the Bank of London and in The Speckled Band; Dr. Roylott attempts to stop his daughter from marrying in order to inherit money that they would be entitled from the will of a past relative. Holmes motive for solving crimes is for the excitement in each individual case not for actually solving the crime itself. He says to Watson that he suffers from ennuie meaning that he finds everyday life boring. The motives show how important money was in Victorian Society; the main reason for this is because it determines your class. All Sherlock Holmes stories have strong morals; these are serious messages that teach the reader something. Both The Speckled Band and The Red Headed League have the same moral and that is that money isnt everything. Money can get people into a lot of trouble, in these cases murder and robbery. This is important for Victorian readers because money is very much related to their lives and people were very discriminate about class back in those times; these morals can be seen as a warning to them. These morals would appeal to a modern reader because it is still valid for todays society. It is a way of distinguishing right from wrong and showing how crime results in punishment and that justice will be done. The morals dont seem harsh to me, I think they are fair. It is a strong message; however I think they can be interpreted differently in both the Victorian society and todays society. Back in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries money often determined peoples class which could affect their lifestyles however; many crimes are committed in order to gain money for different reasons. The key parts of the stories that I feel appeal to me, as a modern day reader, are the processes leading up to the crime being solved and the frequent use of red herrings. Also, the Short Stories of Sherlock Holmes would appeal to modern readers because they are of a detective genre which still relates to todays society. I would recommend these stories because they are very well written and are also educational and informative about Victorian Society. I preferred The Speckled Band because it had the most unexpected ending due to having so many red herrings in. I think that that makes the story more exciting and interesting to read. Adriana Romano 10N Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Citizen Service Centres (KEP): Perceptions of Customers

Citizen Service Centres (KEP): Perceptions of Customers 1. Introduction 1.1 Importance of the Research According to the philosophical bases of marketing customer wants satisfaction. As the consumer is the key for a firm, the voter is the central element for a government or party (Lock and Harri,1996).In this context the citizen voter wants satisfaction and searching his satisfaction from the services that are offered to him is ‘‘ a lens through which government and public managers can gain a better perspective on how citizens respond to the performance of public services, (Van Ryzin , 2004) and offers important findings for the policy makers. Citizen satisfaction surveys are frequently used by U.S. local governments and public administration researchers in order to measure the quality of local government services (Hatry et al., 1992; Miller and Kobayashi, 2000). A big number of U.S. cities use surveys regularly (New York , San Francisco, Phoenix etc.),in order to analyze in a descriptive and unvaried way , the level of perceived quality of services ,within a locality and over time (Van Ryzin et al., 2004). Recent studies have compared citizen satisfaction with benchmarks that were developed from data collected across many localities (Miller and Miller 1991; Miller and Kobayashi 2000), and have focused on the individual, jurisdictional, and city-specific determinants of citizen ratings of service quality (De Hoog, Lowery, and Lyons 1990; Hero and Durand 1985),like taxes and expenditure ,and also on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of respondents such as race (Schuman and Gruenberg, 1972). Other investigations have negotiated the citizen satisfaction from the police according to their ethnoracial characteristics (Brad W. S. 2005), or satisfaction from the education system or from hospitals (Amyx,Bristow ,2001, Suda Anita D.,1998). The importance of the public services quality became popular in the United Kingdom at 1990s when the political parties put an emphasis on the subject ,but even in our days the need for quality services that meet â€Å"customer† citizens needs and expectations, is more and more obvious .This need for quality public services is even expressed by the European Social Fund, as the implementation of the strategy and policies of the European Committee at Member States ,is strongly related with the public service organizations, which many of them are responsible for (ESF,2009). And although, in the marketing research exist a number of well-developed models of approaching customer satisfaction, there has been little development of a model that would test citizens satisfaction. As a result, it would be valuable to test such a model in the framework of Greek public services. 1.2 The Research Objectives The overall objective of this research is to examine the Greek citizens perceptions and expectations of service quality concerning the Citizen Service Centres (KEP) -a Greek public service based on servqual model. From this overall objective a number of more specific aims can be identified: Investigate consumer expectations towards the service offered from public services Examine citizen perceptions about Citizen Service Centres(KEP) Asses the factors that play an important role in the service quality of Citizen Service Centres (KEP) 2. Literature Review 2.1 Politics and the marketing concept It has often been argued that the application of ‘marketing tools and instruments in politics is nothing new (Perloff, 1999; Baines and Egan, 2001).In the last twenty-five years what have changed about the political marketing is not just the size of political marketing management but also the belief that political actors act and think in political terms. Political actors are them that they try to do marketing management in a frame of integration of marketing instruments in a coherent marketing strategy (Newman, 1994a; Dermody and Scullion, 2001). It is supposed that the selling of politicians and the selling of a product is linked (OShaughnessy, 2001) and that commercial and political contexts are essentially similar (Kotler, 1999). Many marketers believe that the tools and concepts of marketing can be transferred directly to the political arena (Lock and Harris ,1996) .The applications of political marketing are used as a tool of managing politics, developing policy (Nimmo, 1999), or even governing (OShaughnessy, 2003). The marketing concept in commercial terms is based on the principle that all company planning and operations will be customer oriented. As such the philosophical basis of the marketing concept is that customer want satisfaction (OCass, 1996). When a political party or candidate applies this concept to the political process, they must be in a position to adapt to and satisfy voters needs (Mauser, 1983; Newman and Sheth, 1987; Reid, 1988). For major mainstream parties, the overriding objective is to attract voters, win elections and hold power (Lock and Harris, 1996).In this extent knowing the degree of satisfaction of citizens seems to be important. 2.2 Citizen Citizen is every person of a state that has the citizenship of it (New Encyclopaedia, 2006). According the place and the time different criteria were used to define the citizen .The genealogical criterion, which is the oldest, the legal criterion and the economic (taxation) criterion .According to the first, citizen is the son of citizen that hasnt lost his rights. This definition was used in the ancient cities in order to distinguish the mass from the public. According to the second criterion citizen is each one that is recognized like that from the law. And finally, according to the last , citizen is each one that owns property or a quantity of goods and contributes to the governmental budget (Encyclopaedia Papyrus Larousse Britannica, 1992).Citizens have some rights and obligations .Their rights are political such as the right to vote, to be member of the jury or public servant , and personal such as the right to live ,to have free speech , to work, to live in freedom ,etc . ,that are protected from the state and are given to everyone. Citizens obligations such as taxation are set in order to protect the privileges that are offered to citizens from the government and they emerge from the need of the States existence (New Encyclopaedia, 2006). One of the governmental works is the provision of goods and services. All the modern governments take part directly to the economy by providing goods and services , organising industrial enterprises I promoting economic activities .Providing sanitary, education, and social insurance services , is one of the modern states concerns (Heinz Eulau ,1992). 2.3 Citizens as Customers, Customers as Citizens The classic definition of customer is â€Å"one who purchases or receives a product or service† (Carlson, 1997). The concept of customer is often more complicated in the public sector. For example, the city of Coral Springs in Florida, refined the idea by considering two distinct categories of external customers. Moreover, a building permit applicant is a direct customer while the applicants neighbors are among the indirect customers who will benefit if the decision helps to ensure a safer city and more appropriate land use and construction practices. But even with these refinements, â€Å"citizen† sometimes has a broader meaning. Citizens enjoy rights and take on responsibilities that extend well beyond those commonly recognized to customers (Popovich, 1999). Despite the passage of generations, the fact that government cannot succeed without the peoples trust and support, is a true even today. These essential elements of civil society shape the capacity and help determine the actual performance of government. Societys efforts to accomplish its highest priority and most practical goals are likely to fall short in the absence of the peoples agreement in the functions of government. As the customer is the key for a firm, the citizen -voter is the central element for a government. 2.4 Public services A service is a non material product (education, health safety etc).The meaning of public services isnt constrained in the area of Public and Αdministrative law .The public service is a known significance in the economy, as an appropriate tool of the states expansion in the social relations, for the preservation of stabilized provisions for the welfare state. Beyond the needs of the of practical policy, the interest of the political science with the expansions of the political philosophy is expressed , as the public service is characterized as the expansion of the state in its social activity . In other words , it is the way by which the state contacts the citizens in order to cover their direct needs .After the two World Wars this phenomenon is observed in the European area .In Germany , this works as ‘‘Anstalten (institutions) and the ‘‘ offentlichen Unternehmungen (public enterprises) . The administration (the welfare state) undertakes and guarantees ben efits even for the preservation of life of human who live massively in big cities such as transportation ,cleanliness , water , electricity etc. ÃŽ ¤he principles of function of the public services are connected with the needs and social aims that are tended to fulfil. Therefore, services are provided to everyone in the same way in order to cover the needs, under conditions that change from time to time (Encyclopaedia Papyrus Larousse Britannica ,1992 ). According to the Europa Glossary that is being updated given the recent signing of the Treaty of Lisbon ,the concept of public service is >. At the same time the Europa Glossary defines that continuity of service quality security of supply equal access affordable prices social , cultural and environmental acceptability Article 16 of the EC Treaty, introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam, confirms the role of public services in the European Union. The EU policy on operators of public services is still shaped by the desire to liberalise network public services and to widen the scope of competition on national markets, be this, in the areas of rail transport, postal services, energy or telecommunications>>. 2.5 Citizen Service Centres (KEP) The institution of KEP was founded in 2002, based on an idea of the Deputy Minister Mr Beno. The KEP were founded according to the article 31 of law 3013/2002 and were staffed with short term labour agreement workers, according to the processes of article 6 of law 2527/1997. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2007), over 60.000 of citizens visit every day Citizen Service Centres (KEP) for certified or not processes, ratifications of registrations, certifications of genuine signature and every kind of administrative information. The last three years 40 new KEP were founded and now they are 1035 at their total. The centres are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 20:00, and Saturday, 8:00 to 14:00. At Citizen Service Centres (KEP) citizens can:  · obtain information on what they need to do in order to manage their transactions with the municipality * submit applications for the processing of matters that involve the City that the KEP is registered and state agencies in accordance with joint decisions issued by the Interior Minister or other competent Minister >(City of Athens ,2007). Some of the procedures (about 1.014 at total) that Citizens can carry out at Citizen Service Centres are the following:  · The registration or transfer of registration of a passenger vehicle or motorcycle  · The issuance of a birth certificate duplicate  · The issuance of a criminal record duplicate for general or legal use  · The issuance of a marital status certificate  · The issuance of a birth certificate duplicate for those registered with the City of Athens  · The application for a rent subsidy for the year 2006 to Workers Housing Organisation beneficiaries (former recipients)  · The issuance of a registry birth certificate duplicate for an adult or minor  · The issuance of a public transport pass for individuals with disabilities  · The application for the seasonal unemployment benefit in accordance with Article 22 of Law 1836/89 OAED (Greek Manpower Employment Organisation)  · The issuance of a marital status certificate for individuals registered with the City of Athens (online)  · The application for a rent subsidy for the year 2006 to Workers Housing Organization beneficiaries (new recipients)  · The issuance of a marriage license duplicate  · The application for the OAED (Greek Manpower Employment Organization) family subsidy  · The issuance of a drivers license  · The issuance of a Type A military status certificate (full)  · The renewal of a drivers license  · The issuance of a registry death certificate duplicate  · The application for change in passenger vehicle or motorcycle ownership  · The issuance of a permanent residence certificate  · The issuance of a judicial interdiction certificate See Appendix 1 Progressively KEP were transformed to Centres of Completed Transactions, bringing the Public Administration more near to citizen. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2007), citizens trust KEP and are in general satisfied from them. Nowadays they have permanent staff which possesses about 2588 positions. The number of affairs that KEP handled the last years is presented at the table below: PERIOD NUMBER OF AFFAIRS SERVED CITIZENS 2006 3.042.509 1.154.554 2005 2.305.195 1.527.516 2004 1.643.313 1.316.505 2003 423.759 356.872 Medium number of affairs per day from Monday to Friday: 11.805 Medium number of affairs per day (Saturday): 821 According to the Ministry KEP are recognizable from about the 80% of citizens. Equally big are the visits to them that they exceed 60%, since they were enriched with new, more attractive for the citizen processes. But more interesting are the numbers linked with the subject of satisfaction of citizens, which according to the ministry exceeds the 90%. The problems that the Public Administration was facing when KEP were created were multiple. The most serious of them were the bad organization and the centralism of public services, lack of confidence in the government owned services, lack of evaluation, lack of meritocracy, weakening of ASEP, fragmentary, and consequently unsuccessful, efforts of application of Electronic Governing, absence of controls and sanctions and finally inflation of bureaucracy and corruptness. For this reason in 2007 a number of regulations of the article 15 of the law for Citizen Service Centres (KEP) were introduced, in order to fight the difficulties and dysfunctions of citizens service (Ministry of Internal Affairs, 2007). Some of the regulations were the following:  · The foundation of the Direction of Organization and Operation of KEP in the General Secretariat of Public Administration and Electronic Governing. The Direction was founded in order to guarantee the proper operation of KEP, but also their evolution in Centres of Completed Administrative Transactions, and the resolution of problems that emerges, because of their big number, the crowd of subjects and processes that they realize and the recent enlargement of their competences. The monitoring and the co-ordination of the operation of KEP is practiced , up today, at fragmentary way from the existing Direction of General Secretariat of Public Administration and Electronic Governing, fact which creates difficulties as far as it concerns the united confrontation of problems.  · The regulation of subjects of mobility of permanent personnel. The employees will stay in the KEP of their placement, for at least a five-year period, so that the experience, which has been acquired in the particular KEP, not to get lost.  · The simplification and acceleration of processes  · The restriction of joint responsibilities between the Ministries. It is indicatively reported that Minister of Internal Affairs does not act jointly in more than 25 different regulatory actions  · The obligatory deadline of 50 days for the transaction of the affairs of citizens  · The payment of complete compensation in the citizen in case of delay  · The self appointed search of supporting documents from the service on behalf of the citizen. 208 certificates can be requested from the service without the citizens presence, for 18 of them the self appointed search is obligatory. Indicative is the progress that took place in the case of self appointed search of certificates of birth from KEP, where, while in 2005 they had 231.327 certificates and medium time of transaction the 8 days, in the end of 2006 the transaction reached 432.188 certificates, that is to say almost double, with medium time of transaction the 5 days. Same is the acceleration as far as it concerns the certificates of familial situation, where while in 2005 were published 253.071 certificates, in 2006 until 2007, 373.219 certificates have been published  · The suppression of submission of supporting documents and their replacement with a personal declaration form for 7 cases  · The videoconference of administrative bodies  · The generalization of electronic communication and exchange of documents between the services. The network â€Å"SIZEFKSIS† ensures 50.000 digital certificates (under form of card) in civil servants equal in number. With this way is provided the possibility of electronic distribution of document, with simultaneous place of signature on this, with electronic way, without a problem of genuineness, after the distribution becomes from the above permitted employees with the use of digital certificate of (card). This electronic distribution involves big acceleration of process of publication and mission of document and contributes considerably in the fighting of bureaucracy.  · The application of a plan of restriction of state expenses and the enlarged public sector, by reforming the public services, so that they become more functional and effective  · The promotion of a regulatory reform, with the establishment of rules of good legislation as well as a system of evaluation of the results of legislative regulations in the competitiveness and the entrepreneurship The City of Athens operates a total of seven (7) Citizen Service Centres (KEP), one in each City District. Citizen Service Centres provide an online service for Athens citizens with regards the following: * City of Athens municipal roll certificates * Permanent residence certificates * Certification TAP property fee payment (in cases where agreement exists on the number of square metres registered with the Public Power Corporation and the contract of purchase) The Citizens Helpline 1595 provides information on documents required for all procedures processed by Citizen Service Centres. 2.6 Service marketing Usually marketing had been seen as having dual dimension.On the one hand, there is the notion which supports that the existence of an organization in economical and social content is based on the satisfaction of customer needs and wants, and on the other hand there is the â€Å" set of activities † which serve this philosophy in order to be implemented (CromptonLamb,1986). The marketing of services is a sector with particular characteristics .The expenditure on services is growing in most industrialized economies. According to the European Commission , â€Å"the percentage share of gross domestic product attributable to the services sector rose from 38 per cent in 1970 to almost 50 percent by 1990†. Crowell supports that â€Å"what is significant about services is the relative dominance of intangible attributes in the make up of the service product†. Services as a special kind of product usually they do not result in ownership but they can be linked to a physical good require special treatment. According to Jobber, as many offerings may combine tangible and intangible characteristics the distinction between them is >. For example, a marketing research study provides a physical good, which is the report that comes out, but also is the result of a number of service activities such as interviews with respondents, analysis of results, designing of the research, etc. Products such as a skirt or a pair of socks usually are not accompanied by a service so they can be characterised as pure goods, but also a visit to a doctor or psychotherapy can be regarded as a pure service as there is nothing tangible that the client receives. 2.6.1 THE NATURE OF SERVICES Service characteristics can be summarised to the following four: intangibility, variability, perishability and inseparability. 2.6.1.1 Intangibility As intangibility can be characterised the fact that services cant be smelled, touched, tasted or seen. Service is â€Å"a deed, performance or effort and not an object device or thing† (Berry, 1980). In other words customer cant evaluate a service before buying it and sometimes cant evaluate it even after consuming it. For this reason the challenge for the service providers is to prove the quality of the service by communicating tangible benefits to consumers. Another characteristic of intangibility is the fact that the service cant be owned so customers pay for the use of product or the performance. 2.6.1.2 Variability The provision of service quality may vary depending to the person who provides it. In other words important factors are the capabilities the person has, his physical and mental situation (tiredness, attitude etc.) the location the service is provided .So, in order to control quality variation , methods such as evaluation systems , tight quality controls and service standardization methods are necessary (Jobber,2004). 2.6.1.3 Inseparability In contrast with physical goods services cant be stored in order to be used later. Services are characterised by the â€Å"simultaneous production and consumption.† Because of this characteristic service providers role is very important to the satisfaction of consumer, as many times he is supposed to be himself the company in the eyes of customer (Berry, 1980). For this reason â€Å"the importance of service provider is an integral part of the satisfaction gained by the consumer†. The behaviour of the service provider is also important for the experience that the customer has for the provided service .So, great importance must be given to the training and rewarding of the staff and its selection (Aijo,1996). Another element that is connected to inseparability is the fact that the customer may experience the service in combination with other customers because of the nature of the service and the place it is offered. At this case marketing managers should take into consideration the role of customer interactions between them, but also the inter customer conflicts and nuisance (Barron et al., 1996). 2.6.1.4 Perishability Unlike the physical goods, services cant be stored in order to be used in the future or at peak times. So service providers should take into consideration the combination of demand and supply and use methods such as multi-skilling of the staff in order to be used at peak seasons or part time employees, supply flexibility, differential pricing and reservation system in order to minimize time waiting (Jobber, 2004). Today one of the greater challenges that the sector of services has to face is the increasing competition in combination with the growing expectations of customers and the developing demands of customers as service improves (Joseph Walker, 1988). 2.6.2 SERVICE MARKETING MIX Models had to explain the relationship between the market and the organisation in order to maximize the seconds performance (Gronrooss C, 1982). To certain extent managing services are more complicated than managing products, as products can be standardised. The standardisation of a service is far more difficult as there are more input factors i.e. process, people, physical evidence, to manage than with a product. The service marketing mix consists of the 7Ps model. These include except from the classical 4 Ps that stands for: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, three more Ps which are People, Process and Physical evidence. 2.6.2.1 People People participate and deliver the service experience, the efficiency and effectiveness, the availability and capability, the customer interaction and the internal marketing. Any provision of service includes as an essential part the use of appropriate staff and people. In order to gain an organisation competitive advantage it is important that it recruits the right staff that is well trained in the delivery of service. Usually consumers perceptions and judgements are affected by the employees they interact with. Consumers wait from the staff to have the appropriate attitude, service knowledge and interpersonal skills that they are paying for. So many organisations train their staff to certain standards. Physical Evidence Physical evidence concerns the place where the service is delivered, infrastructure, facilities, surroundings, essential evidence and peripheral evidence ,equipment and premises. It is an element of the service mix that contributes to the formation of the opinion of the consumer about the organization .So the judgments and the perceptions of the consumers are formed by the sight of the service provision .For example if you walk in an office you expect a friendly environment neat and tie. Process The systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service, constitute the process. So process refers to the operating process that takes the customer through ,from the initial contact till the service experience and evaluation , database management, service delivery, queuing systems, ordering ,standardization .The customer usually expects efficiency and quickness at the process of the service delivery and this fosters consumers loyalty and confidence in the organization. 2.6.3 Quality Quality is important to business organisations and their consumers, because quality products or services can and will secure consumers business. In addition, linking quality with expensive spending is not absolute, as price will not determine always quality. The high or low quality of a product or service is usually determined, â€Å"by how it made the consumer feel and whether consumer expectations were satisfied or exceeded† (Kotler P. et al, 2008). Quality was very popular in the marketing literature,  « where the notion of satisfying the customer was a dominant model of quality of service provided and consumer satisfaction  » (Raftopoulos V., 2005). The US Strategic Planning Institute in 1972 developed the concept of relative perceived quality (RPQ),  «that is the perception of quality as defined by customers, relative to the offerings of competitors. In other words quality is what a customer perceives it to be and this is a dynamic and complex notion.  » 2.6.3.1 Public service quality The need for quality public services is also expressed by the European Commission through the European Social Fund in its program for 2007-2013.The reason is that the quality of public services affects the implementation of policies and the strategy design as public sector organizations are responsible for them at a big degree at the Member States ,e.g. government ministries , local authority departments and special agencies (ESF,2009). The fact of how important is the quality of public services and the need to be improved, became popular, in Britain, at 1990s when the Government gave clear > on the subject, by the proposal of the Conservative Prime Minister John Major enclosed in his Citizens Charter White Paper (Prime Minister, 1991). The issue faced great consensus from the political parties as the same year both Liberal and Labour parties published their own citizen charter proposals. The citizen driven improvement of the quality of public services was a fact (Black et al., 1994). This policy which faced the citizen as user and needed the reporting of performance from the service providers was continued for a long period it was enriched with best value new policies and was popular as>.According to this concept public services is better to be managed than administrated (Black et al.,2001). At the same time another reason that public service quality is important is that the needs and expectations of the users change and increase. Service quality and how to measure it developed to be a critical issue ,so during the 1990s performance measurement techniques developed as a result of >such as government legislation ,regulatory activity by industry keepers and major policy initiatives, as Black St. et al. , characterize them, and not as a result of the needs of the service provider. Meanwhile , all the efforts of understanding and measuring public service quality where characterized as weak and an increasing interest for quality improvement models techniques , certification and awards developed .So a number of new significances appeared such as total quality management and continuous improvement, process mapping techniques, Institution Standards and Charters. The revolution of the commercial service sector that took place the previous decades influenced also public sector organizations that faced the need to provide quality services that meet ‘customer needs and expectations. As Wisniewski remarks, > (Wisniewski, 2001). The notion of treating the customers has started to change as they dont receive passively uniform services without their voice or influence being considered (Skelcher, 1992). At the opposite side, the adoption of traditional methods may lead to the delivery of a service distant from customer needs. So organizations many times, after a more profound search, discover that the needs and values of customers are different from what they assume before searching (Farquhar C.R. ,1993). In order to discover customer perceptions and collect data concerning the attitudes o