Customer service in Halifax Essay

Customer service Customer service is any part of the service that customers receive from the staff of the business. It is also a way in which the organisation deals with its customers. Businesses need their customers to buy their products or use their services in order to survive and make a profit. The way that they treat their customers is therefore very important. Many businesses have a policy of customer service, which involves putting the customer first in all situations. Customer service involves: * Making sure the product range is available to the customer * Making sure the product is safe and reliable * Providing information about products and being able to give advice * Making sure the product range can be delivered if necessary * Providing credit facilities where appropriate * Providing after sales service guarantees It should be the aim of every business to provide the highest level of customer service. There are laws, which provide protection to customers buying products. Businesses should know what their obligations are under these laws.it will help them maintain a high level of customer service. Why customer service is important in Halifax Customer service is important to Halifax because it brings in profit (the more customers the more the profit). The customers provide income to Halifax. Halifax does so much advertising and looses money but because it provides good customer service, the money lost is replaced. Customers are also a source of market research information Customers ensure the survival of the business Because of good customer service, Halifax spends less effort dealing with customer complaints. Customers are relined and refrained in Halifax because they are treated well and are made to feel good and safe with their money and properties. Halifax’s image is improved This is because everyone knows that it provides good customer service. My friend told me how good Halifax is and I was attracted to go and open up an account with them the next day. I also told my boyfriend about it that also went and opened up an account with them. To build customer loyalty All Halifax’s customers are loyal to it and they keep on using more of its services. They enjoy them. Increase competition It is only natural that where there is an attractive market, competitors will seek to obtain profitable businesses. The newcomer may sometimes even have an advantage due to the fact that he may have benefited from the experience of the long established supplier. As the newcomers start from scratch, they can use the latest equipment, techniques and systems and can select staff to fit the image they wish to create. Good customer service also gives Halifax a competitive advantage over other banks or building societies. Better informed customers Customers know a great deal more about Halifax’s services than they used to, partly because of the competition and partly due to the extensive studies conducted by consumer groups, and Halifax staff. A great deal of information is also available over the Internet. The emphasis put into competitive advertisements also makes customers more aware of the aspects they should examine. Halifax is a very good example where public pressure has forced regulations ensuring fuller disclosure of costs and more realistic estimates of benefits. Product similarity From the customer’s point of view, who I interviewed, it is difficult to distinguish many of Halifax’s services from those of their competitors. They often use the same services perform the same tasks in a very similar way. As an example, I could look at the personal computer industry, where a large number of computers can utilise the same software programs. One of the few ways Halifax can differentiate thereselfs from there competitors is by means the image for customer care that they build up and the reputation for customer support that they have earned over time. Rinsing demand for improved support With the choice of supply sources now available to Halifax customers they know that they are in a buyer’s market and they are therefore demanding improved support from the Halifax they have selected. In general it has been shown that with a higher living standard, customers are willing to pay for improved support. For instance customers in the past may have been willing to wait for a week or two for a telephone to be installed whereas now they expect it to be done in as many days. Life cycle costs As many products are technically more soficicated, customers have become more dependent on the continuing support from Halifax to keep their services in operation. They are increasingly looking at the life time costs and Halifax’s ability to support their services efficiently throughout the life of that service. When a customer buys a car for instance, he will want to know how good the maintenance service is what the costs are likely to be the fuel consumption and the resale value after a certain number of years. Training the frontline This is important because it means good customer service in Halifax in a way that when all staff are trained, there will be good communication between the staff hence providing good customer service. Training helps Halifax maintain good service in different departments. For example technology, promotional, health and safety, money wise. Managers in Halifax identify training needs for internal customers and provide suitable training events. Halifax is aware that well trained internal customer service provides good external customer service. Identification of the situations that require staff to have contact with customers A customer is a person who requires a product in exchange for money or who uses a service. Staff can have contact with customers through so many ways these are: By phone This is normally used when one of them (customer/staff) needs to ask a question and get a quick response.because both the staff and customers cannot see each other, it is unable to observe the other person’s body language. Though this happens, customers are not left waiting. The member of staff says what he is doing and how long he will be. The customer is always being informed of the actions taken. Music is often played to customers kept waiting in order to give them something to do, i.e. listen to music. The staff make sure they do everything they can to make the customer feel valued. Through letters This is used when a permanent record is needed. Eg.where a letter head showing the Halifax logo adds credibility to the company. Sentences are always kept short in the letters. The subject is always introduced at the beginning of the letter so that the customers know what the letter is about. Through Internet This is used when you can not get someone on the phone. The email is given an effective tittle, which makes the reader want to open it. They are not typed in capitals because the reader may think that the member of staff is shouting. Face to face This is done when the customer is on the premises. Usually when delivering bad or good news. Also when a permanent record is not required. Or when documents have to be handed in for opening new accounts. Through fax This is used when speed is required and the information is not confidential. This applies to letters. Staff always contact customers about: * Details about the new extra services introduced * Their bank accounts * Their mortgages * Their complaints * Opening bank accounts * Overdrafts * Foreign exchange purchase transfer * Withdrawal or payment * New service products etc Ways in which Halifax meets the needs of its customers Halifax is a successful firm because it identifies who its customers are and what their needs are quickly. Needs of internal customers Needs of external customers Sick pay To make a purchase Holidays Need to obtain information about a product Pension Company cars To make a complaint Staffs discount To maintain ethical standards Working conditions e.g. Safe environment Specials needs like the deaf, blind, old, physically handicapped, or with children. Job security Food Decent wages or salary. Christmas presents and bonus/ end year party Staff facilities e.g. room, gyms, toilets. Training. Training of internal customers in all aspects of their jobs ensures that external customer needs are catered for, whereas good staff relations or industrial relations, effective communication and good company policies ensures the satisfaction of internal customer needs. Internal customers These are members of staff who rely on other members of staff to help them do their jobs properly. In Halifax, internal customers’ feedback is included in performance reviews. Halifax is now making input a formal part of a 360-degree feedback process, in which employees, peers and the manager all evaluate the performance of managers. In addition. Halifax talks to its internal customers during meetings and asks them about their needs and finds out how it can serve them better. ‘Always giving you extra’†¦ as long as the employees do it for their customers, they’ll do it for the employees. They’re looking to develop the best motivated and best rewarded team in the business, so the employees should expect plenty. Training, sales support, personal development, opportunity, great incentives†¦ you name it, Halifax goes that extra mile to make sure the employees have everything they need for a rewarding career. And that, of course, includes a benefits package they find hard to beat – by anyone, anywhere. It covers everything they’d expect (good salary, generous holidays) and plenty that they wouldn’t, such as bonuses and incentives, share schemes, discounted mortgages and plenty more†¦ all adding up to a total rewards package to match their total commitment. The following are part of Halifax’s human resource policies: Pay (plus bonuses) Generous Holiday Entitlement Shares Colleague Products Money Purchase Pension Life Assurance Flexible Working Flexible Benefits Recognition Our commitment Support when it counts Academy Pay (plus bonuses) Halifax starts by giving employees a highly attractive basic salary. They have bands, but there’s a lot of flexibility. So they’ll take into account the nature of the role, as well as the employees’ skills and experience. On top of this, everyone has the chance to earn more by putting in ‘extra’. So employees can earn a bonus for individual, team and company performance. Reach or exceed the employees’ targets for example, and the employees can expect to receive between 10% and 30% of salary – extra! Nice. Generous Holiday Entitlement The employees receive between 22 and 30 days paid holiday a year, depending on their role and length of service. Shares Halifax group wants employees to share in their success (they like smiling people). They won’t go into detail here, but there are various schemes where employees receive either shares or share options. It’s hugely popular. Largely because it can be hugely profitable for Halifax’s colleagues. Colleague Products Halifax is the UK’s number one for savings and mortgages, and have plenty of other products too, such as insurance and healthcare. All of which are available to employees at attractive, discounted rates. External customers These are individuals and business customers who buy or use the goods and services provided by an organisation. With staff who can speak a wider range of languages, Halifax and customer service has improved. They monitor holiday costs constantly to give customers a better deal. Plus, they can give customers a guaranteed minimum 5% discount on a wide range of brochure-priced holidays and charter flights! Halifax also meets its customers’ needs by giving eye contact, explaining transferred telephone calls to customers and colleagues, being genuine and sincere, knowing about their products or services, knowing about its policies, treating customers as individuals, and minimising queuing times. Home delivery For home delivery, orders placed in a branch or over the phone before 2.30pm Monday to Friday are usually delivered to the customer’s home address by 12 noon the next bank working day (excluding Saturdays). Orders placed on Saturday or Sunday are usually delivered by 12 noon the following Tuesday. All home deliveries are by Royal Mail Special Delivery. There is a charge of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 for all home deliveries. Home delivery is not available for orders placed online. Always giving extra to customers with particular needs Halifax group is committed to providing all their customers with excellent service, whatever type of relationship they have with them. They do their outmost to help all customers with special needs. Their cash machines are generally installed at a lower level to make them easier to reach, and the newer machines have been adapted for the visually impaired to use. Halifax has around 800 branches in the UK, most, of which are open plan to make it easier for customers to find their way around. The majority have a reception desk, with seating provided. And their staff are always on hand to discuss specific needs or answer queries. Wheelchair users Getting in and out of Halifax’s branches is usually easy, with level or ramped access from pavements. And, wherever possible, doors are automatic. Call Assistance At some branches steps are unavoidable, so a ‘Call Assistance’ bell system was installed, so that a member of staff can be called. Servicecall Some branches are fitted with the ‘Servicecall’ system, so that customers with a Servicecall transmitter can alert staff of their arrival. Lifts Where branches have split-level banking halls, Halifax provides internal ramps or wheelchair lifts. Low-level counters and counter queuing rails Lower level writing surfaces are increasingly being provided at the counter. All branches have counter queuing rails, often with lower level writing surfaces. Other banking options To help make it easier for all their customers to manage their finances at their convenience, they offer a number ways to access Halifax as well as via other large network of branches across the country: Online Customers can apply for a Halifax Current Account online. Then once it is registered for telephone banking they can do their banking online via Halifax’s website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Click www.halifax.co.uk for more details. They also offer a Share Dealing service online, and applications for other products such as Personal Loans, Credit Cards and Travel Insurance can be made via the web site. Telephone Halifax Direct is a 24-hour telephone Current Account service. Customers can use it for everything from checking their balance and ordering a statement to arranging an overdraft. Arrangements can also be made for customers to pay bills and transfer money to other Halifax accounts. All Halifax customers can telephone Halifax direct for other services, for example a Personal Loan or travel money. Customers who are hearing impaired, can contact Halifax Direct using textphone on 0845 732 3436 Contact Halifax They have undertaken an extensive disability awareness programme to help staff overcome the barriers which people who have a disability face. To help them continually improve their services, if you would like to make any comments about their site or the services they offer customers with disabilities, they request the customers to use this form. Philomena Gray, Disability Manager by e-mail: JayneO’Connell@HBOSPlc.com or at:Halifax plc Trinity Road HALIFAX West Yorkshire HX1 2RG How Halifax deals with customers’ complaints Once Halifax is prepared for any potential problem a customer may have brought to them, their next step is to use the company’s complaint system the company has in place for dealing with complaints. Halifax deals with complaints in many different ways. This can be done through: 1. The telephone 2. Face to face 3. In writing: typical written communications involve providing information on the services provided, prices of mortgages, statements of accounts and safety procedures. Because Halifax actively seeks and encourages complaints, they are able to understand and meet the needs of their customers. If a customer is dissatisfied and is unable to express that dissatisfaction, Halifax will never see that customer return. What is worse, the customer may also persuade potential customers not to stop within Halifax too. Customers with bad experiences were twice as likely to tell others about it as those with a positive story to recount. Customer complaints are viewed as opportunities to improve a service offered rather than problems ignored. The causes of the complaints are dealt with the and lessons learnt. Customers making complaints are seen as contributors to the process of improving customer services rather than awkward individuals who enjoy making life difficult for staff. By respecting customers and treating them accordingly Halifax is able to monitor and improve the quality of service offered. Many products arise because the law has been broken. There is a large number of laws that try to protect the customers. Halifax tries not to break the laws. The major consumers’ laws include; The descriptions Act 1978, which makes it illegal for Halifax as a business to give misleading descriptions of their services and products. The consumer safety Act 1978, which make sit illegal to sell goods, which may be harmful to customers. The consumer protection Act 1987, which makes it illegal, amongst other things, for a business to claim that its prices have been reduced when they have not. It also makes suppliers responsible for any injury that results from defective goods. The consumer credit Act 1974, which requires Halifax to have a specific licence because it offers credit otherwise they will be committing an offence. If the law has been broken, customers can take Halifax to court. This may cause the business money and give it a bad reputation. That is why they make sure that they do not break the law. Halifax also makes it certain that customers are happy with the services they provide. Details of all customers’ complaints are recorded. This is done so that there is a record of what action was taken in case the customer wishes to take the complaint further. Recording the data also allows staff and management to use it for capturing customer details. The nature of complaint and the service involved is recorded and quite often the name and address of the person complaining is recorded. Halifax has a special service desk for dealing with customer complaints, and also specially trained staff. When customers approach with a complaint Halifax staff make sure they: * Listen to them carefully * Reassure them that their complaint is being taken seriously * Decide on an appropriate action * Apologise if the business is responsible * Record the details of the complaint * Record the action taken Checking that customer’s complaint is valid Halifax won’t take customers’ complaint seriously if it’s something, which is not their fault. For example, if your current account has no overdraft facility but you regularly overdraw the account, you can’t really complain if Halifax charges you for doing so. If, however, charges on your account push the balance into the red, it should not charge you for being overdrawn. Halifax deals with complaints about something in relation to: * Customer expectations not met * Late delivery * Incorrect information * Waiting/queuing times * Attitude of staff * Faulty service products * Statement errors What happens next? If a customer’ complaint is something Halifax has the power to deal with, they will usually start by seeing if they can help the customer to resolve matters in an informal way. One of their staff (usually called a caseworker) will take a fresh look at the facts and let the customer know how they think the customer could reach the agreement. This approach is often called mediation. If a customer has a problem, Halifax can always help They aim to offer customers the best possible service, but there may be occasions when customers feel they have cause for complaint. If so, Halifax will always try to resolve the problem quickly and to your satisfaction. If the customer is unhappy with their response, he/she can take his complaint further through their complaints procedure outlined below. Following Halifax’s complaints procedure does not affect a customer’s legal rights. 1. Where the customer first makes his complaint Halifax aims to resolve customers’ concerns within 24 hours. Sometimes it may take longer to look into the matter fully. If this happens, they will let the customer know within five working days who will reply. The people a customer first raise the matter with are often able to help, but there may be occasions when a specialist area needs to be involved. If the customer doesn’t know who to contact, they can: * Call Customer Relations on 08457 25 35 19 * Textphone Customer Relations on 08456 00 17 50 (if you have a hearing impairment) * Write to them at: Halifax plc Halifax Customer Relations Trinity Road Halifax HX1 2RG They will then arrange for the right person to look into and respond to the customer’s concerns. 2. Customer Relations In the unlikely event that the customer remains unhappy, he /she can ask for his complaint to be referred to a Customer Relations manager for further review. If the customer is still not satisfied he can, at this stage, ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to help, or for service-related complaints about Halifax Estate Agencies Limited, the Ombudsman for Estate Agents The Halifax supports fully and is a member of both the Ombudsmen Schemes. These are impartial and conduct independent investigations. Ombudsmen addresses For most complaints about Halifax products and services customers can contact: The Financial Ombudsman Service South Quay Plaza 183 Marsh Wall London E14 9SR Phone: 08450 80 18 00 email: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk For complaints about Halifax Estate Agencies Limited: The Ombudsman for Estate Agents Beckett House 4 Bridge Street SALISBURY SP1 2LX Phone: 01722 33 33 06 email: admin@oea.co.uk Website: www.oea.co.uk Types of customer records Halifax uses Market research The final method of monitoring customer service satisfaction is through market research. Market research is a formalised method of obtained feedback and information from customers or potential customers about services that are available or soon to be made available. In Halifax, obtaining feedback from customers is essential in learning how to improve the service offered. The process helps Halifax to understand: * The nature of the service from the point of view of the customer. * What the customers are wanting. * What the customer thinks of the organisation. * What will make the customer feel valued? * What sort of initiatives the customers would appreciate. Halifax is able to show that business decisions are supported by information and evidence gained through research. Therefore through market research, Halifax is able to identify customers’ opinions about: * Interest rates charged. * New and existing services. * After sales service. * The quality of customer care provided by Halifax. Business decisions about these issues can then be made based upon the results of the research. Halifax sends out customer service questioners to 200,000 customers every six months, asking for their opinions on their branch. In addition, ‘mystery shoppers’ posing as potential customers visit and phone the branches to ask for advice. Each quarter, every branch in Halifax network receives two visits and two phone calls from the mystery shopper, who then fills in the research form and marks the branch on factors such as courtesy, speed, and phone handling techniques. All the results are included into a customer service index for each Branch. The findings are also published internally or all to see, with awards for those branches with the best achievements. The market research I undertook about Halifax provided some interesting results. I decided to measure how much customer satisfaction dictated future buying intentions. The research divided the customers into one of three groups: * Those with problem that had been resolved * Those with a problem that had been recently dealt with * Those whose experience of the bank had only been positive As was predictable, the customers who remained dissatisfied were the ones least likely to buy any more of the building society’s services. However, surprisingly, those customers whose problem had been dealt with quickly and efficiently were more likely to use Halifax’s services again in the future than customers who had never experienced a problem. 80% of the customers were happy and 20% were not happy. Among the unhappy customers some of them did not visit the branches often nor use Halifax’s machines. Customers responded positively to open, polite and helpful advice provided by Halifax, even if the outcome was not what the customer was seeking, e.g. applying bank charges. Findings similar to Halifax have emerged from other customer attitude surveys undertaken across a range of businesses. The results of my surveys indicate that by keeping the customers happy, the organisations will retain existing business and will increase future revenue from existing customers. It is essential that a manager act upon any feedback gained through market research. Customers who provide feedback through market research are usually given recognition by Halifax. I also found out that when Halifax do their market research through the surveys, they thank their customers for their time and effort. This is in the form of a card, letter, or telephone call. A number of methods are used by Halifax to find out what the customer thinks of and wants from the service. These include: * Postal questioners. * Personal interviews. * Telephone interviews. * Consumer panels. * Customer feedback forms. Complaints records In Halifax, recording customer complaints and implementing changes to ensure that the customer is not dissatisfied for the same reason again are ways to monitor customer satisfaction. Customers are provided with a system where they feel comfortable about recording a complaint. Only by doing so can Halifax ensure that they are fully meeting the needs of all their customers. When Halifax is dealing with customer complaints, they normally take the customer’s details. This normally helps them to be able to contact the customer when necessary and to know who they are dealing with. Customer Surveys Customer surveys are used to get inside the customer’s mind and learn what they are thinking about Halifax. Surveys can determine customer satisfaction, complaints, compliments and questions. Halifax likes to know what their customers are thinking because it helps them improve or tailor their services. Feedback can be a great source of information. Customer surveys can sometimes be a core competency of Halifax. Surveys can be administered online, in person or even via phone. Surveys should be constructed to pull the most valuable data from employees so that Halifax can later use that data for the betterment of the company. Savings and Debit cards When opening up savings or bank accounts, the staff records your personal details and keep them for further reference. At times this is used to contact customers to participate in surveys, to take advantage of new offers, etc. Internal Complaints When the employees make a complaint, Halifax also takes down their comments and again their details. Personnel records The personnel department keeps records of all employees on the payroll. This includes personal information (name, date of birth, address) as well as details of rates of pay, tax, and national insurance number. The records are confidential and should not be accessible to unauthorised personnel. These records are taken during recruitment. Recruiting When recruiting, managers take employees details for further reference. This helps them to know how much they deserve to be paid to know their retirement age, etc, which can be utilised by the firm to provide good internal customer service. The customer service provided in Halifax and improvements In Halifax, The desire to improve and be the best helps motivate staff by providing them with a challenge. It gives employees the opportunity to suggest ideas, use their initiative and participate in the development of the organisation. Excellent customer service provides a focus for all staff to work towards and results in increased job satisfaction for the employees, as well as increased customer satisfaction. Excellent standards in Halifax’s customer service can only be achieved by having a system that enables them to constantly review and improve the service offered. What is an acceptable standard for a customer today will not necessarily be an acceptable standard tomorrow. Constant improvement is essential. Because Halifax is an organisation seeking to improve the quality of customer service offered, it set quality service standards, which are: * Clearly explained * Realistic for employees * Easily measured Having clearly defined standards and a process to monitor those standards gives employees a goal to work towards. 1. Providing information Staff in Halifax provides customers with information, by letting them know what the business has to offer. The information provided is mostly through leaflets and focuses on: *Lost or stolen cards. * Mortgages * Bank Accounts *Loans * Savings and investments *Insurance * Share dealing. The problem to some members of staff is that they provide wrong information to customers. This happens when they are not sure of the answers to the questions being asked by the customers. Halifax improves this by re-training the staff who have the duty of dealing with customer enquiries. They also provide leaflets containing information of the services they offer. 2. Giving advice Customers often expect advice about the services they know little about Halifax. This is likely to happen with mortgages. When people want to open up accounts from Halifax they expect to receive clear instructions and advice on how to use and maintain them. When a business or an individual goes to the bank, they expect that the staff will know a great deal about banking and that sound advice will be given. But in some cases it does not happen. This is because the member of staff gives wrong advice about the service provided and sometimes it leads to the customer changing him/her mind about opening up an account with Halifax. For example when I wanted to open up an account with Halifax, I was told to bring both my parents passports back with me. I was really shocked by that and was wondering why every Bank does not ask for that. Anyway I suddenly gave up because the passports where with the home office. After three months, I called Halifax’s head office to ask them why I needed my parents’ passports to open up an account yet I had my own passport. The lady on the phone said that it is not right and I should go back to them and tell them that. I spoke to the manager and she said that it is all right for me to use my own passport since I am seventeen. This is why Halifax should train the members of staff going to give customers advice and ensure that they have good knowledge of the service product and procedures. Halifax gives advice on What is the suitable account, loan or action? What is the best mortgage? What is the cheapest way to pay for mortgage? How to use the accounts and cards. How to store and look after the cards. 3. Tailoring the service to what the customer wants Halifax’s staff ensure that customers get what they really want and are satisfied with the services. They know that is what will make them come back again. So staff work out very carefully what customers want and need. They know that customers want to be served quickly and efficiently but sometimes the queue is too long because some tills are not utilised. This really annoys the customers and makes them to leave and maybe pay the money to another account they have in a different bank. Halifax should improve this by letting another member of staff cover for the other if they have gone for their breaks and by making sure that any member of staff who is off sick is covered by using staff who do shift work. 4. Providing credit facilities Halifax accepts payment in a variety of ways for example cheques, cash, account transfers. This makes payment more convenient for customers. In the 1990s, Halifax has been facing a great deal of competition and one way of attracting customers is to offer better credit packages than competitors. Actual details of credit terms have therefore become highly variable and now Halifax is trying so hard to provide the best deal. Halifax is required by law to publish the APR and this does allow some basis for comparison. APR (Annual percentage rate of interest). This shows the actual rate of interest that borrowers must pay on average over the full period of the loan. But in some cases, some customers do not receive their interests which cause complaints and this results to the business loosing customers if the others hear about one’s complaint. This is normally caused by errors on the computers, which they use to automatically offer interest to an account according to its type. So to improve this problem, Halifax management and staff should make sure that the machines are checked regularly to prevent unnecessary errors lik e that. 5. Credit They also offer credit cards to allow customers to buy goods and services and pay for them when they receive their statements from them, usually at the end of the month. When a customer uses a credit card to pay for an item the shop demands its claim for payment back to the Halifax that then pays the shop. Because Halifax must wait for payment from the customer, they usually charge the shop for the right to let customers use the credit card. This explains why the major supermarkets and a growing number of major stores are now offering their own credit cards. For some credit cards, a high rate is charged which makes Halifax lose its customers. They have improved this by putting the rates at a lower charge in order to attract more customers. 6. Administration This is the management of services that help to support the smooth running of department. Every department in Halifax carries it out. These general administration functions might include; 7. Reception This includes greeting people visiting a specific branch, dealing with their enquiries, and taking outside phone calls and connecting customers to right departments. It is also known as the customer service department. When customers come in the branch to make enquiries, in most circumstances there is a long queue. This really annoys customers in that they will complain and give pressure to the member of staff attending to them which will lead to her making mistakes and giving wrong or incomplete information to the customer she is serving. This can be improved by letting the members of staff who are available (not doing any work at that moment) to help out on the reception. This helps Halifax to deal with customers courteously and promptly. 8. Security Ensuring the security of the building property and staff. If there is no security in Halifax, people’s money will not be safe hence loosing customers because all they want is security and trust from the building society. To improve this, CCTVs are installed in the building to keep track of all that is going on in the premises. Most people who come into the Halifax and find it untidy and dirty get the wrong impression and neglect opening up accounts with them. This has been improved by arranging for outside contractors to clean the building, and cater for staff. The clerical work of making records managing records, filling, photocopying. Organising meetings, keeping minutes. Ensuring that internal communications (within the department) operate smoothing. Ensuring the department staffs arrive on time, have the facilities they need and have been paid. Each department will operate in a slightly different way, so it is highly that different departments will have some administrative tasks that are unique to that department, e.g. The human resources department will have to ensure that it has a complete and accurate database of all employees, with contact addresses and telephone numbers. 9. Providing an efficient service This is done when keeping appointments, Replying to enquiries within the shortest time possible, Fast, efficient and friendly service, helping and assisting the customer, answering all telephone calls within five seconds and following the basic principles when communicating with customers on the telephone. Sometimes all this is not done by the employees. They become rude to the customers and act like they have been forced to do their work. They do this by being very slow when serving on the checkouts and not speaking loudly and clearly on the phone. 10. Ensuring that replies to requests for information are with the customer within a reasonable period of time e.g. three days. Documentation is always up to date and accurate. Letters are addressed personally, well typed and without spelling errors. 11. Dealing with customer complaints Sometimes customers’ complaints are ignored or forgotten about because the member of staff has too much work to do which makes the customers loose interest in Halifax. This can be improved by setting up a Procedure for dealing with customer complaints and problems and since sometimes the procedure is not followed, they should improve this more by establishing a customer service department in each store, appointing a member of staff to be in charge of customer services, Communicating effectively with customers and ensuring that customer complaints are dealt with to the satisfaction of the customer. 12. Reliable systems, facilities and procedures Sometimes when customers come into a Halifax branch to open up an account, they find that the phone or computer does not work. This annoys them and either walk out or complain to the staff, which will disorganise the other services. That is if the customer makes a scene. This is improved up setting up quick and efficient technology with good backup, making sure that customer facilities are kept in good working order, by understanding of procedures by all employees The financial sector is a fast moving and rapidly changing environment. Many of these organisations rely on call centres to handle the huge numbers of enquiries received. Unfortunately high staff turnover is a major problem within many branches, so recruitment of the right candidates as quickly as possible is essential. Recognising the need to make quick recruitment decisions, that are valid, objective and more cost effective, Halifax Plc developed a new recruitment process, which met their criteria. Some years ago the Halifax implemented a competency-based application form, using job relevant competencies that are scored through a standardised procedure, and found they could make initial selection decisions quickly, confidently and objectively. For this project the Halifax saw the need to review their competencies in the light of organisational changes. They reviewed their initial selection process, to ensure that the competencies to be used were still appropriate given organisational changes, and the increased organisational emphasis was on business related competencies. The first stage involved reviewing a number of job roles to identify the key job tasks. The results from this early stage were used to develop a telephone checklist. The checklist is used as an initial sifting mechanism, aimed at ensuring that applicants are aware of job demands before they are sent the application form, thus reducing the administrative burden. Before the final structured application form was written a concurrent validation was conducted on a trial group of current job incumbents to identify the key competencies. It was found that specific competencies from the application form correlated highly with manager’s ratings of performance, additionally these competencies also correlated highly with the Customer Contact ability test scores of job incumbents. This suggested that people with higher scores on the competency based questionnaire and the ability tests are far more likely to perform better in the job than those applicants who perform poorly on the competency based application form. The Halifax is just one example of where Structured Application Forms have been used successfully. 12. Employee feedback system An employee feedback system is a structured approach to recording employees’ views and suggestions about the service provided and ways in which to improve that service. In Halifax, employees deal with the customers’ daily and therefore are able to provide useful advice and information to the employer about the views of customers and whether the service provided meets the needs of the customers. Very often, the employees can make valuable suggestions about how to improve the quality of service offered. 14. Quality review system This is a structured system in Halifax that enables an employer to determine the quality of service being offered to customers and the response of customers to that service. A check sheet or rating form can be used to identify the key areas to be audited. The manager will use the form to review at regular intervals the standard of service provided and customers’ responses against the criteria. An employer quality review system involves the manager being out where the customers are and seeing the activities taking place. The system involves the manager observing, examining and evaluating the quality of service offered by different employees in different sections or departments. The manager also listens carefully to customers’ questions, because the issues raised forms part of the evaluation of customer service. A description of any legal constraints affecting the customer service situation There are five main Acts of parliament Halifax knows and they understand the rights they should give to buyers. Most of these Acts are joined towards firms that sell products rather than service products. The sale of goods Act 1979 and 1995 One of the most important Acts today is the sale of goods Act 1979. It covers the fundamental requirements of purchasers, i.e. that goods must be: * As described which means that they should conform their description for example water proof must mean that the items do not leak. * Of satisfactory quality in relation to the price paid, the description, age of the item. * Fit for the purpose for which they are intended which means that goods must carry out the purpose they are made for, i.e. a pen must make a clear legible mark. * The goods must be for a specific purpose the buyer has made clear to the seller at the time of the sale. The supply of goods and services Act 1982 The service standards are affected by this Act. It states that all services should be carried out: * For a reasonable charge * Within a reasonable time * With reasonable care and skill * Using satisfactory materials The consumer protection Act 1987 This Act relates to price and safety. The consumer protection Act is enforced by Trading Standards Officers. It is also an offence not to cooperate with Trading Standards Officers during any investigation. Under the Act it is an offence: * To mislead consumers as to the price of goods, services, accommodation or facilities (e.g. by missing out the VAT when quoting the price) * To mislead consumers over sale prices and claim exaggerated price reductions * To supply goods which are not reasonably safe. The trade description Act 1968 This Act is designed to prevent the false or misleading description of goods, e.g.: * Selling goods, which are wrongly described by the manufacturer. * Implied descriptions, e.g. a picture on a box, which gives a false impression. * Other aspects of the goods, including quantity, size, composition, method of manufacture etc. Usually the spoken word of the seller overrides the written description of the goods as the buyer can rely on the expertise of the salesperson. However, this is obviously harder to prove if there is dispute. The consumer credit Act 1974 This is more applicable to Halifax and requires all businesses, which offer credit to have a specific licence otherwise they will be committing an offence. The Act provides for: * Customers who sign credit agreement in their own home to be allowed a cooling off period of five days. During this period the customer can change her mind or cancel the agreement without any penalties. * Customers to demand within 28 days that retailers provide details of the name and address of any credit reference agencies, which have been used to ascertain their credit worthiness. It is an offence for a retailer not to do this. * The credit reference agency to provide full details to the customer if the request is made in writing, and small administration fee is paid. Any incorrect information must be corrected if further information is provided by the customer. * Advertisements offering credit must include the title charge for credit and the APR (annual percentage rate of charge). The Act also restricts the way in which advertisements are worded and the prominence of financial information relating to charges. * Sellers must provide written details of credit terms if requested by the customer in writing or orally, either in person or on the telephone, unless such a quotation has already been provided. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1978 Not only do employees have a right to expect employers to provide a safe, working environment, they also have a responsibility to ensure the Health and Safety for existing and potential customers. The Health and Safety at Work Act requires employees to: * Take reasonable care for the Health and Safety of themselves and others who may be affected by what they do and what they fail to do. * Cooperate with employers in fulfilling their duties for Health and Safety. Employees who fail to comply with health and safety regulations may be prosecuted. The requirements basically mean that employees must not act recklessly at work. They must follow safety procedures. They must take reasonable care in carrying out their duties and employers should fulfil their obligation as prescribed in the Health and Safety at Work Act. The sex discrimination Act 1975 This Act makes it illegal for anyone to be discriminated against on grounds of gender either directly or indirectly. Even if this is done unintentionally, the organisation is still guilty. So Halifax has to comply with the provisions of this Act. Race relations Act The race relation Act is very similar to the sex discrimination Act. It makes it illegal to discriminate in the work place on the grounds of race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin. Disability discrimination Act Under this Act it is illegal to discriminate against a disabled person in the recruitment and selection process, the contract of employment and the conditions of pay, provisions of training and promotion opportunities, treatment with the workplace. Halifax is expected by law to comply with the provisions of the various Acts. The Health and safety Act 1978 affects both the internal and external customers. Implications of not complying with the provisions of the consumer laws or legal requirement are: * Costs: legal costs of going to court and compensation. * Bad reputation: Negative / Bad publicity hence loss of customers leading to the company collapsing. The roles of the employees in providing good customer service Internal customers Halifax has so many different branches throughout the UK. All of these are internal customers’ to the regional or ‘head office’. Staff working for Halifax are the internal customers. Managers in Halifax want to get the most out of your employees. Generally, the better their employees perform the better their department or company will do. Recruiting the right people Recruiting the right staff is a crucial component of creating the workforce profile Halifax needs to achieve its organisational objectives and they take careful planning and consideration to recruit successfully. While Halifax wants staff who can do the job they’re offering and who are interested in it, the crucial factor in choosing the right team is personality. The managers can teach them the job, but they can’t teach them how to be the right person! Because managers are responsible for recruitment and selection decisions in Halifax, they are aware that hiring or losing staff can be costly, especially if they get it wrong. Smart appearance of all staff Customers will often assess the quality of Halifax by the appearance of the staff. This has been improved by providing them with uniforms which all of them have to wear and this helps the customers to recognise the members of staff easily. Politeness When employees understand and feel a part of the larger picture they provide better customer service because they feel better about their roles and understand the critical nature of their jobs to the overall success of Halifax. A positive and helpful attitude goes a long way toward having satisfied customers, and is important for a positive environment with co-workers. Employees in Halifax know that they should always be polite to customers and be very helpful. Arriving at work on time Employees make sure that they arrive at work on time because they know that if this is not done, they will lose customers hence loosing profits for they company. When they arrive on time, the branch is also opened on time. Teamwork Teamwork is an important part of building a quality Halifax. Having Halifax work like a team involves getting all of the team members to work together towards one common goal. Teamwork through employee training programs can help Halifax team achieve that goal. Teamwork helps the staff first identify the goal it is working towards, whether that’s increasing sales or improving customer service. Once the goals are identified, then they can work on whatever issues may be currently preventing them from achieving those goals. After those issues are addressed, the employees can more effectively work together as a team. Team works can build communication skills and employee motivation. Both of these items contribute to a more successful team and organisation. A successful organisation means more profits, happier employees, and fewer turnovers. The results from a team building exercise can actually help Halifax perform better as a whole. Halifax can benefit by taking time and resources to help their employees achieve their goals by putting them in training program and giving them skills they didn’t know they needed. Teamwork is part of an employee development program that can really benefit Halifax. Health and Safety Health and Safety policies are integral in Halifax business operation. They ensure that the law making employers responsible for the health, safety and welfare of all employees at work is followed. They also help employees to understand and accept their responsibility for their personal behaviour at work as it affects their own, and others’ health and safety. Good Health and Safety procedures ultimately save money and prevent lost time through injury and illness. Because Halifax has more than five employees, they have a written Health and Safety Policy and bring a published Statement to all employees’ attention. Employees are informed that behaviour against the Health and Safety policy is a disciplinary offence. Part of the Health and Safety procedure is to notify the appropriate enforcing authority for registration, at least one month before servicing starts. Authorities are: * Health and Safety Executive This body, besides providing information for businesses, ensure that Halifax meets the regulated standards for: * Escape routes * Storage of materials * Ventilation * Lighting * Hygiene Carrying out their duties All employees make sure that they carry out their specific duties. Managers should be able to carry out their duties by making sure that employees are happy. They can do this by: Motivation Halifax cannot succeed if their employees are motivated to do a good job. You can motivate employees in any type of work environment. Employee motivation is one of the many keys to Halifax’s success. Employee motivation can be achieved through a variety of ways. Employee training programs can be administered on a regular basis. Making an employee feel like they are an important part of Halifax also increases motivation. Appraisals In Halifax, members of staff are interviewed on a regular basis by their line manager and assessed on their performance. It is also an opportunity to discuss any problems and to determine any training and/ or training needs. Performance may be related to pay or bonuses. Care should be taken not present staff appraisal as a hostile or intimidating ordeal. Praise Managers make sure that they praise their staff when they have done well. This makes them happy and also do their job better because they know that their bosses appreciate. Training Managers in Halifax want to get the most out of your employees. Generally, the better their employees perform the better their department or company will do. In Halifax, it is not always possible to find someone who is perfectly suited to a job, with all the necessary skills and experience. They are likely to need some training. This is made even more likely by the fact that as working conditions change, due to new technology, reorganisation, expansion and so on, staff will need training to be able to meet the new challenges. Managers may also provide staff development to enable them to broaden their existing abilities and experiences and to help them achieve their potential for Halifax building society. Finally, motivated staff, teamwork, etc, ensures that employees are committed to their work. Commitment from and carrying out duties and responsibilities by all employees are the prerequisite for good customer service. Good customer service requires input from all employees, and not to be the duty of frontline staff alone.

Shopping Mall Descriptive Essay Brain Storming (Points)

Shopping malls are the important part of lives of some people in today’s era. An essay on shopping mall all the benefits of a shopping mall. The shopping malls are the places that are packed in weekends. The malls of today’s world are huge and provide all the products that a man desires as a source of entertainment. During weekends people come with the families for shopping and fun in the shopping malls. There are large in size with hundreds of shops. If one enters a shopping mall, he/she can get each and everything from household products to eatables in the same mall.These shopping malls attracts huge youngster crowd towards them Many people just come for window shopping to the shopping malls. These days the malls have become a good source of entertainment for everyone. There are many branded showrooms in the malls. Shopping malls have made the shopping of people very convenient as they get almost everything from one same roof. These shopping malls are constructed beau tifully to attract more and more customers. They have huge infrastructure.Descriptive essay on shopping malls explains the various aspects shopping malls whereas in opinion essay on shopping malls people/writer expresses his views on the shopping malls. Opinion essay on shopping malls explains the general view of the people regarding these malls. If the writer wants to write about the negative views about the shopping malls than he/she has tell about some particular aspects that he don’t like. If it’s so hard for you to write the descriptive essay on shopping, or if you haven’t a lot of time, you can buy essays at our custom writing service – Essays Lab.Opinion essay on shopping mall can describe the negative and positive aspects of the malls. Some people find the shopping malls as highest achievements of our civilization and some people are totally against this view and are very much irritated about few things related to the malls. The writer who has neu tral views about the shopping malls can write a descriptive essay on the malls. The descriptive essays do not have any argumentative statements. These essays can be written in paragraphs. The essay can be divided in introduction, the main body and the conclusion.The introduction should be very attractive mentioning the importance and usefulness of the shopping malls. The writer should be very clear about what he wants to write in his essay. The essay should be such that it conveys the purpose and importance of these malls. In the introduction the outlook of shopping malls should be mentioned. The main body of the essay should consist of inside interior of shopping malls. It can also mention the different kinds of people who visit the shopping malls. The kinds of small shops and departments can also be explained in the essay.

Outline the psychometric approach to recruitment and selection. In Essay

Outline the psychometric approach to recruitment and selection. In what ways has this been challenged - Essay Example This paper gives an overview and description of the recruitment and selection process along with a description of the psychometric approach, its benefits and challenges. Main Body Recruitment and Selection Hiring a competent workforce has become quintessential in the midst of uncertainty in external environment, particularly changing customer expectations. Because of this, psychosocial considerations, which includes differences regarding the abilities, motivations, personality and emotions of individuals, are being taken into account while finding the correct fit for the organisation. Torrington, Hall & Taylor (2007) define recruitment as being either internal ( that is hiring of people from within the organisation ) or external (which involves advertising, approaching recruitment agencies, developing corporate websites that accept applications, using newspapers and trade press and various other methods). Furthermore, Newell defines recruitment as being a process that attracts people who possess the attributes that are necessary to perform the job (Newell 2005). Generally, promotion, retirement, transfer, redundancy and technological or customer changes drive the recruitment process (Watson 1994). While recruitment generates the pool of capable applicants that may apply to the organisation, selection involves determining the â€Å"right piece that fits correctly in the jigsaw puzzle†. Herriot (1984) defines the selection process as a social exchange whereby mutual exchange of information takes place between the company and its candidates. Organisations are, therefore, required to shape their expectations depending on the candidate’s personal experience rather than the other way round (Herriot 1984). Selection methods have further been defined as consisting of application forms, interviews as well as tests of which psychometric tests are a part. Traditionally, the recruitment process would be a three-step process involving the development of job de scription, job analysis and finally job specification (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2007). The last stage would require determining the human attributes that are necessary to perform the job (Marchington & Wilkinson 2000). Frameworks such as the Seven-Point Plan developed by Roger and the fivefold system of grading laid down by Munro-Fraser comprised of assessing the individual’s impact on others along with his/her qualifications, abilities, motivation and emotional strength (Taylor 2000). Both these models increasingly relied on human judgment which could be highly subjective and prone to bias. This led to the development of a competency-based approach to recruitment whereby the focus shifted on individual qualities to competencies required on the job (Newell 2005) (Redman & Wilkinson 2009). Furthermore, it was realised that traditional approaches assumed fixed personalities which was a self-defeating assumption as far as the candidate’s fit with the organisation was co ncerned. This led to the shift towards the psychometric approach whereby individual differences were recognised. The term psychometrics is merely an abbreviated version of â€Å"psychological measurement†. In other words, it attempts to measure psychological traits of individuals such as their intelligence, attitudes, personality and attributes. According to a research conducted by CIPD, approximately 45% of

The effective of outdoor advertsing using exmaple from the mobile Essay

The effective of outdoor advertsing using exmaple from the mobile phone indusrty - Essay Example The study focuses on the types of advertising used in the country, its advantages and its restrictions. It will also look into the various communication theories on advertising presented by different communication scholars. Furthermore, it will give readers a good look of the current advertising industry and the future it may experience through careful analysis of relevant and reliable data. There are many definitions of advertising available in the business world. Definitions are certainly formed through expertise or experience of an individual or group. According to the New Lexicon Webster Dictionary, advertising is â€Å"used to draw attention, to promote sales, or to promote the product†. This is mainly the purpose of advertising, in the case of billboard advertisements for example, companies or products shown on the ads believe that placing the ad in the billboard will reach the people and will be able to communicate with them, thus, consequently drawing their attention o r if it is effective, promoting sales. The current research shows that outdoor advertising in the mobile phone industry in the UK remains to be one of the strongest, if the not the strongest advertising media. This has been attested to by the respondents who gave the highest rating to this medium when triggered with other options such as television, radio, the internet, newspapers, direct mail, and magazines. It is also noteworthy to assert that the internet is fast becoming a popular medium that may influence the purchase decisions of mobile phone buyers.

The history of Intellectual Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The history of Intellectual Property - Essay Example The WIPO defined 'intellectual property' as "creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce." Intellectual property "is divided into two categories: industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs." (WIPO, 1967) In simple words, intellectual property maybe called a generic term for a set of legal instruments that specify the exclusive rights granted to creators of new innovations. There are two categories of intellectual property r ights: the first, patents, copyright, industrial designs, plant breeders' rights and layout designs for integrated circuits which grant exclusive rights to new innovations and original works of authorship for a limited period.

Explain The Term Structure Of Interest Rates Essay

Explain The Term Structure Of Interest Rates - Essay Example Interest date data for bonds with different maturities date is published frequently and investors can use it to determine the term structure of interest rates. Some of the most popular interest rate data sources are the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Bulletin and websites like Bloomberg and CNN. The term structure can be verified at any point in time by using published data from renowned sources. Yield curves are drawn using this published data on interest rates. There are short term and long term interest rates. Since long term interest rates have an element of maturity risk premium (MRP), they are usually higher than short term rates. When researching on the term structure of interest rates, it is important to have knowledge of commonly used terms like the Yield to Maturity (YTM), which is defined as the expected rate of return on a bond held till maturity (Brigham and Ehrhardt, 2010). Another concept which is discussed with YTM is that of the zero coupon bonds (or discount b onds). A zero coupon bond is a financial asset which at the date of maturity T, pays its holder a lump sum amount, with no coupon payments before the date of maturity (hence the name zero-coupon). The YTM at time t of a discount bond with maturity T is the constant and continuously compounded rate of rate of return at which the price of the bond accrues from time t to time T and pays one currency unit to the holder at time T. The YTM is also referred to as the spot rate and the notation R (t, T) is used for it. Spot rates are short term interest rates and the term structure of interest rates depicts the relationship between spot rates and their dates of maturity (Gibson, Lhabitant and Talay, 2010). Interest rates are not only used in discounting and pricing for zero-coupon bonds but also other financial derivatives because their prices are sensitive to interest rates. If we go beyond the scope of an individual investor, we can see that interest rates are also important to corporatio ns. This is because when corporations are doing project appraisals, they use interest rate for computing the net present value and the discounted payback period for a project. The cost of capital which is of prime importance to corporations also depends upon interest rates (Benninga and Wiener, 1998). It will be useful to specify the type of interest rate before discussing investment decisions and discounting. There are two main types of interest rates: simple interest rate and compound interest rate. Simple rate of interest is interest on a lump sum principal amount and it does not itself earn interest. Quite contrary to this, is the compound rate of interest which itself earns interest. Investment decisions and discounting are all predominantly based on compound interest rates (Kelly and Tracy, 2010) Long term interest rates are an average of short term interest rates. The relationship between short and long term interest rates involves expectations. For example, if it is expected that short term interest rates will fall then the long term interest rates will fall below the current short term rate. The contrary situation is also valid: if it is expected that short term interest rates will increase then the long term interest rates will rise above the current short term rate. These two situations are possible only because long term rates are derived from short term rates. It is a general perception that long rates are greater than short rates and this is termed as the ‘

Events and Exhibition in the Digital Age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Events and Exhibition in the Digital Age - Essay Example He says. "In the United States, 14 to 15 percent of the marketing budget [of exhibiting companies] is dedicated to trade shows. In Europe, the percentage is 22 to 24 percent," A good exhibition creates a vibrant retail environment, which in itself is a unique experience for all kinds of companies especially those in the business-to-business arena and service sectors. This unique thing about an exhibition is that it creates a neutral environment in which buying and selling is a natural process. At exhibitions, business just happens. An exhibition visitor is much more at ease than a customer walking into a store. Visitors at an exhibition or a trade show feel more in control and therefore less pressured or edgy. This is a good mood for them to have when you open up a business dialogue with them. Firstly, your company gets a chance to sell to hundreds of customers a day. If the product is right, the price offer is attractive, the packaging is enticing then you could close outright orders with full payment/ part down payment. For the sellers, exhibitions are a substantial opportunity to meet new prospects. Whether they close the sale then and there depends on the type of goods or services they offer. However, exhibitions provide the single best opportunity to interact with thousands of prospective customers. This gives the seller a chance to let the prospect know about the products offered, note their responses, find out what they think about the brand/ product, its features, price, quality, standing in the market, how much money they are willing to spend on such a product, the competition. For some product lines this first hand information is very important in order to improve their offering in terms of price and other attributes. Some exhibitions provide you with an opportunity to organize a private audience with prospect customers giving you the opportunity to make a high impact impression on them because you are able to attack all of their senses and they can interact with you and see/touch/feel your products, through demonstrations and trials. Apart from the marketing angle, Exhibitions also give you a place where you can do some hands on research, meet and talk to your competitors, potential suppliers, learn about the new developments in your product line. If you have a new idea in the pipeline, exhibitions can be a great place to do some test marketing and find out how the market is going to respond. Exhibitions provide the companies an opportunity, 1. to sell the products directly to large number of customers 2. to get a database of prospective customers to follow up 3. to raise awareness of your business in a given geographic location 4. to launch or promote a new product or service 5. to meet existing customers and sell maintenance contracts etc. 6. to meet potential suppliers/partners/agents/distributors An exhibition is a real opportunity to display the personality of a business. What's in it for the visitors/ customers/ general public. First of all, visitors to exhibitions and events are motivated to attend for

Research Project case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Project case study - Assignment Example This affects not only the quality of care but also the cost of care incurred by the organizations. As such, it is important for proper measure to be put in place including team-building measures, to allow proper team collaboration towards patient safety. Adequate conflict prevention and resolution measures are also important towards maintaining a positive relationship among health professionals and the patients. In an interview with Human Resource Manager from UPSON Regional Medical Center, various operational approaches were identified, which have allowed for the success of the organization in knitting its employees together towards one course. However, some measures could be put in place to further advance the relationship between the health professionals and the patients towards attaining patient-oriented quality care, an aspect that would reduce the cost of management through minimizing errors, promoting safety, and enhancing quick response to treatment. The communication mechani sms can also be important in reducing on-show rates; hence, promoting profitability. 2. What challenges are faced in ensuring proper communication between health professional both within and between departments at UPSON Regional Medical Center and what measures have been put in place to uphold proper communication? With increasing advancement in technology within the health care system, different organizations including UPSON Regional Medical Center have embraced clinical information systems that facilitate patient care. It is important to note that the security of patient information is highly important in the health care organizations and thus the different individuals from different departments who make up the teams that manage the patients are faced with an important role in safeguarding patient information(Freshman, Rubino, & Chassiakos, 2010). In some organizations, traditional information safety practices

Dealing with an Irritable Child Using the Behaviorist Theory Essay

Dealing with an Irritable Child Using the Behaviorist Theory - Essay Example Hence, Behaviorism is also sometimes called the Stimulus-Response or S-R Theory. Since learning is developed to become a reflex action, Behaviorism largely works under the mechanics of Classical Conditioning. Classical conditioning has fundamental requirements in order to be effective. The first of these is contiguity, which refers to the degree of association between the reinforcer and the behavior that is being aimed at (Klein, 2011). Contiguity plays an important role in conditioning because it is what connects the stimulus and the consequent response that is hoped to achieve (Gordon & Browne, 2010). Next, conditioning will be effective only if there is sufficient frequency at which the behavior is being drawn out. The required response will only become automatic upon application of stimulus if S-R bonds have been established many times before (Klein, 2011). Finally, the required behavior will be achieved by classical conditioning if the proper reinforcement is applied. Reinforcem ent is the mechanism used to increase the chances that the response that preceded it will occur again (Klein, 2011). There are different kinds of reinforcements in terms of their desirability. First, positive reinforcement is a pleasant stimulus that aims to strengthen a response if it is given after the response occurs. For example, offering a child candy for taking out the trash is positive reinforcement. On the other hand, negative reinforcement is the removal of an undesirable stimulus after a response (Gordon & Browne, 2010). For example, excusing a child from household chores because of good grades in school demonstrates a negative reinforcement. Both positive and negative reinforcements fortifies or reinforces the response that preceded the reinforcement. Unlike reinforcements, a punishment decreases the occurrence of a response because of the introduction of an undesirable stimulus following the response (Klein, 2011). It should be noted that the Behaviorist Theory needs to satisfy certain assumptions and implications. Proponents of the Behaviorist Learning Theory believe that human begin as a blank slate, one that needs to be filled with programmed responses to certain stimuli (Gordon & Browne, 2010). In addition, behaviorists have modeled a strongly deterministic theory of learning. However, one should keep in mind that while behaviorist strategies may apply without failure on animals, animal behavior is still very much different from human behavior in terms of thoughts, ideas, emotions, and feelings (O' Boyle, 2006). II. Proponents of the Behaviorist Theory The different proponents of Behaviorist Theory include B. F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov, and John B. Watson. B. F. Skinner was the most significant contributor to the Behaviorist Theory. He fashioned quantitative and scientific experiments that would prove the premises of Behaviorism (Taylor, 2008). His vast research on operant conditioning is still being widely used today and is considered as a main a uthority in the field. Ivan Pavlov is most notable in the Behaviorist circle for his conditioning experiments. One of his experiments included ringing a bell and accompanying the ringing bell with food powder which made a dog salivate (Lefrancois, 2011). Later on, even without the food powder, the dog would salivate upon hearing the bell ring. John

Floods and subsequent death Essay Example for Free

Floods and subsequent death Essay Hurricane Katrina formed in the United States in the year 2005, causing floods and subsequent death many people. It is estimated that more than 1800 people lost their lives due to the hurricane. This data makes it the worst in the history of the United States since the year 1928. It is considered to have been the hurricane most costly and deadly in the history of the U. S and was considered a natural disaster. Among the affected places is St. Rita’s nursing home which has let to the trial of the owners Sal and Mabel Mangano. The nursing home was situated in New Orleans in St Bernard parish. It has been build 20 years before the hurricane struck. This home was situated in a depression in the ground. The approximate number of residents of the nursing home was 65 and out of these 35 of them died when the hurricane struck. This has led to the indictment of the owners the Manganos, after investigations were done on deaths at nursing homes and hospitals. Their trial was for negligent homicide where it was alleged that they willfully caused the deaths of 35 people by not evacuation them and also tying them to their beds. However I beg go differ with these allegations and they should not have been convicted for negligent homicide. Nursing Home Establishment Sal and Mabel Mangano were the owners so St. Rita’s nursing home having built it 20 years before the hurricane Katrina. The area where they built the nursing home had patches of terra firma. In marshlands this is a good area and the reason why they had considered it, was because in 1965 during the hurricane Betsy this is the only area that did not flood. In this consideration it means that with the establishment of the nursing home they had considered that incase there was a hurricane, there at St. Ritas it would not flood. This shows clearly that they would not have intentionally neglected their residents to suffer and drown in the floods and the subsequent death hence they should not have been convicted. For this consideration they had in mind that, just like in 1965 the hurricane was not going to affect them and for this reason they did not evacuate but instead they went up their one story building. A Show of Kindness During the time of imminent floods the Manganos has intended to safe other people by inviting them to St. Rita’s nursing home among these their staff and relatives as well as their won relatives. The reason they had done this was because they were kind enough and were ready to help other people. If they had a motive of willingly exposing their residents to flood and death they then could not have invited their resident. They had the best intention and they felt that they would not be affected by the floods and thus they did not neglect their residents or even wish for them to die. They had offered shelter to more than 25 people who had gladly accepted since they were exposed to the disaster of the hurricane. Safety Before the worst hurricane happened on 29th of august 2005, the manganos felt that everything was alright. They checked and inspected the area which showed that the ground were dry, the parking lot and the roof was also alright. However it is at this juncture that the hurricane struck. Sal mangano had herself gone outside with several other men to inspect the situation and ensure that everything was alright and that the people inside could not be in any danger whatsoever. Meaning they were concerned greatly about the safety of the people who were already inside at St. Rita’s nursing home, they could have done anything to ensure that these people were safe. The Hurricane Katrina Even when the hurricane struck the managos did not neglect heir resident in cat they went inside and tried to fortify the windows and the doors in desperation of trying to protect them. All the same a strong wind and a strong flow of water hit the nursing home’s walls and even penetrated inside, rising in the building. The mangano’s alongside their relatives some of them as well as their staff worked relentlessly during this time of the floods and also made frantic efforts to safe the people at the nursing home. This means all this time what they had intended was the good of the people at the nursing home and more than anything they used their judgment with the utmost good intentions of saving the people. Conclusion According to the law in the united sates of America the Louisiana requirement is that an evacuation plan should be in the nursing home but id does not state about being mandatory during an actual o evacuation. The law also recognizes a safe place and allows the nursing home to evacuate to such a place In this context the mangano’s did not willfully ignore these rules because they did everything that they could in fortifying their doors and windows in an effort to make their residents secure and to protect them from harm fro the Katrina hurricane and to protect them from drowning as well. St Rita’s nursing home was for the elderly people and others with special needs. One of the reason s why then mangano’s did not evacuate them is because they felt that by moving the people they would have been doing more harm than good, since most of the frail ones would have suffered or even died in transit. This again comes to show that the mangano’s made one judgment which was in consideration of their residents to protect them more than to harm them. The mangano’s did not at any one time leave or abandon their residents, they were there themselves and they had also invited their relatives and other people to offer them shelter, if they were willingly exposing them to danger they would not have invited their relatives and they also so would have rescued themselves leaving their residents to die. Therefore, the mangano’s used their judgment and safety measures. They felt that this area where the nursing home was situated probably could not be affected by the hurricane. They should not have been convicted of negligent homicide for the above reasons. References: Carrie Khan, Nursing home owners not guilty. 5th December, 2008. http//www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=14261612 Dawn Fratangelo, what happened at St Rita’s Nursing Home? 3rd march, 2006. Http//www. msnbc. msn. com/id/11658446 Paul Rioux, St. Rita’s owners say no help was offered before Katrina hit, 15th September, 2005. http//seniorjournal. com/NEWS/Eldercare/5-09-15StRitaNoHelp. htm

Change In Sports From Amateurs To Professionals Sport Essay

Change In Sports From Amateurs To Professionals Sport Essay Amateur sports are sports where participants are entirely engaged without any form of remuneration. This kind of sport was seriously guarded in the 19th century by the rich people though in the 20th century it was faced-out as a result of continued growth in professional sport. Currently amateur sports are held by a few organizations that govern sports. Professional sports developed in the 19th century, this was spear headed by the US and the United Kingdom. By then sporting culture was strong in the institutions of learning for example colleges and universities[1]. As a result, middle class and upper class men who were students at these institutions played as amateurs. People who were working were limited in participating in the games due to there busy schedule though ones in a while they could be given an afternoon-off in order for them to take part in the sport that was then available. When professional teams started to emerge some clubs could willingly pay players in order for them to take some time off there profession and take part in sports. This served as an incentive to increase the number of attendances and also it made players to fully concentrate on their sport. This provided a good opportunity for the people who were against amateur sport to flourish and expand. The influence of money and its effect on sport brought the change in sports from amateurs to professional since it was in the main interest of professional to give the highest possible amount per unit of performance (Gallagher et al 1997, 71). The upper class and middle class men who dominated this sport had a theoretical preference as well as a self interest in preventing the sport from being professionalized[2]. As a result this threatened the participation of the working class in the sport who did not understand why they should not be paid for taking part in the sport. This led to competing interests between the two involved parties since we had a group that wanted sports to be open for all while the amateurs feared that professionalism would destroy the Corinth spirit. The conflict between the two parties lasted for about a century during which sports like golf took it relatively easy and tolerated the competition between the two while others were traumatized by the happenings and they therefore helped the preceding generations to come in terms with professionalism (Wilson 1994, 379). The Olympics of the 19th century In the early 19th century and 20th century Olympics restricted participation to only amateur players since the amateur code had been strictly enforced. For instance track and field medals were stripped off from Jim Thorpe for taking expense money from baseball that he played in the year 1912. Afterwards Olympians from western countries who were successful began to accept endorsement contracts from organizations and people who were willing to sponsor them. Complex rules were also put in place to ensure that funds received were channeled to trust funds rather than being given to the athletes. At the same time nations that belonged to Communist bloc joined the Olympians team that mainly comprised soldiers and students who were being paid by the government to train full time. The retirement of the International Olympic committee (IOC) president in the year 1972 led to the relaxation of the amateur rules in many areas. In the US the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 prohibited national governing bodies from imposing strict rules on standards of amateur than required by the International governing bodies dealing with respective sports. In the year 1990 there was an abandonment of the Olympic regulations which regarded amateur with an exception in sports like boxing were participation rules required amateur status for participants safety (Dunning 1999, 118). Professional sports are sports where athletes receive payment for there participation and performance. This kind of sport has been promoted by several developments i.e. mass media and increased leisure by people which has lead to large audiences thus commanding large incomes. As a result people involved in sports have made it there primary career hence devoting there time on training in order to sharpen there skills, experience and physical condition. The proficiency led popularization of sports[3]. Benefits of a successful team to the city and sponsors. Successful team popularizes the city in which they are located in other words we can say it sells the city to the world. And as a result investors are attracted to that place making the place to rapidly develop. For example Rochester city in the United States is the 3rd most popular city and it has become a centre for a large metropolitan area. Sponsors drive the goals of a team which include promotion of safety and services to communities dominated by there employees. As a result the morale of sponsors employees is boosted due to direct connection to positive changes occurring in the community at large. Sponsors are able to enjoy visibility through the daily services offered by the teams they sponsor[4]. Some of the benefits of team sponsor partnership include; players wearing sponsors logo on there t-shirts and this reveals sponsors commitment to the community. There is also promotion of corporate commitment to the community and when the team is being recognized the links of the sponsor company will be included and as a result the company is popularized. Influence of politics on sports decisions. There is also increased corporate recognition since there will be opportunities for the media to highlight the corporate community investment. These increase the sponsors company visibility by the politicians and the community leaders at large. Net work opportunities with the corporate world, community and public officials are provided. Sometime the team may visit the sponsors office in need of training and this in turn gives his employees an opportunity to plan and facilitate sessions meant for building the corporate members. Media plays a very important role in government development since people get access to the politics and other forms of entertainment. For a very long time the media still remains the leading source of political communication. All functions performed by the media are influenced by political insinuations. For example entertainment, news reporting, socializing new generations, airing of political forum as well as profit making. Its influence is very rampant during political campaigns since coverage of a single event may turn out to be most significant in putting an opponent down. And since people have there own formed ideas when viewing television and other media sources there is selective attention which is created and as a result viewers tend to pay much attention to information that agree with there own opinions. And since the media is very effective on politicians who do not have a stable political opinion on all issues its very easy for the decisions of sports to be influenced by the happenings in politics. In politics and sports power, prestige and profits motivate the people involved[5]. The media reports the preceding in both politics and sports for political purposes. Sports are regulated by political establishment in order to ensure equal opportunities, justice, legal authority and personal attention. As a result the relationship existing between sports and politics reflects the changing pattern of values and cultural practices. In the Olympics the formal rules that governed the competitors were formulated by politicians who were very eager to offer an entertainment that would be popular (Allison 1986, 63). Economic and cultural aspect of sports Sport has been used and its still being used to raise income, this can be referred to as sport commoditization. Commercialization of sport is not considered as cultural but rather out of the necessity due to economic circumstances. In the colonial time sports were unstructured, spontaneous activities which were coordinated and organized by the participants. This is not the case at the moment since sports are being well organized in order to attract many people from all spheres of the world with different financial status in order to raise a lot of money. At the moment professional sport has grown rapidly and it has become a booming business. Athletes, support personnel and sport team owners have benefited handsomely from sport fans who pay to watch there games and also purchase commodities endorsed by them (Staudohar et al 1991, 264). Influence of Italian government on sports. The kind of sport being played in a place is determined by the peoples practice or rather culture. The culture of the people influences the kind of sport they engage in. for example the ancient Olympic Games were religious festivals that commenced with procession along the sacred highway. Therefore culture has a great part in the development of a sport. The Italian government influenced the transition process by sponsoring players to train in order to gain the needed skills and this helped the sport to move from amateur to professional. Govern sponsorship, and partnership with organizing bodies facilitated the growth of sports from amateur to professional sports. Work Cited. Paul D. Staudohar, J. A. Mangan. The Business of Professional Sports. USA: University of Illinois Press, 1991. Rosemarie Gallagher, Sally Fountain Linda Gee. Physical Education through Diagrams. USA: Oxford University Press, 1997. Eric Dunning. Sport Matters: Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence, and Civilization. 11 New Fetter Lane, London: Taylor Francis, 1999. Lincoln Allison. The Politics of Sport.Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press ND, 1986. John Wilson. Playing by the Rules. Michigan, USA: Wayne State University Press, 1994. [1] The students in the various institutions had developed a culture of taking part in sport within there colleges. [2] The rich and men who were relatively or averagely rich dominated the original amateur sport. [3] The effectiveness and excellence of the players was as a result of there commitment for training and there full attention during the sport. [4] The visibility of the sponsors came about as a result of the playing and participation of the teams they supported in community development. [5] The parties involved in politics and sports are players and politicians who had the same ambitions and also shared same benefits.

Protecting Against Internet Activists Essays -- Technology, Political

Internet activists are often times a section of people whom meet in the cyber world and collectively deny customers from accessing corporate web sites. The intention of these internet activists is often denial of service. While the intentions of †traditional† hackers are not just denial of service but stealing valuable insider information and data, internet activists only try to disrupt service. Organizations these days should guard against cyber-attacks on their web sites by having a very structured security policy. It is not just enough to have a secure infrastructure setup as a one-time effort but continuous monitoring is necessary to ensure no security breach takes place. A well configured intrusion detection system is the first step to ensuring a network that is constantly monitored. Firewalls, constantly updated antivirus programs, frequent and prompt software updates in addition to penetration testing could help organizations falling target to outsider attack. While organizations deal with trying to keep their business up and running through their websites, activists work hard trying to disrupt the offerings provided by these organizations to their customers. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are a major means of unsettling a business. A DDoS attack often begins with setting up an attack network. The attackers use tools like Nmap and Nessus and find vulnerable machines which become secondary targets using which the attack on the victim is launched from. While organizations cannot prevent attackers from using these secondary targets certain mitigation strategies like load balancing, throttling or dropping requests are security countermeasures that could be applied to address such concerns. The post-inci... ... process should include questions about the location of servers on which the data gets stored. This is important because significant legal implications would exist depending on the country the data is housed in. Also, the questions about who would manage the data and in which locations, identity access and privacy controls would have to be discussed about. Data encryption techniques that are used by the prospective providers would lead to a good deal of confidence in selecting a provider. Questions on data segregation will need to be asked as well. This would ensure that other clients of the same provider have their data segregated and separated out. The cloud provider should also be asked details about its disaster recovery and business continuity plans. Service Level Agreements (SLA) should be well detailed and documented to avoid confusion and provide clarity.

SOCIETYS NEED FOR THE REGISTRATION OF HANDGUNS :: essays research papers

Society’s Need for the Registration of Handguns   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Guns are an instrument that even the most careful of people could do harm with. Gun owners should go to firearm safety classes so they will be educated on proper handling and storage of the gun. While this should only be voluntary, something should be done to insure that guns are only sold to people who have a safe background and are of age. Congress should mandate the registration of handguns in order to keep criminals from possessing guns, to cut back on violence in the home, and to avoid accidental or intentional violence among children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Federal Government today is putting forth much effort in order to control the purchase and registration of handguns. In 1993, Congress approved the Brady Bill that requires a mandatory five-day waiting period when buying a gun. The recent school shootings have pushed Congress to pass a bill requiring approximately 80% of handguns to be produced with child safety locks. The ultimate goal of the government is to ban the sale of firearms to the public. By starting out small, and having big goals, later generations will enjoy peaceful lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s world, guns used in the home for protection purposes are becoming more of a danger than an object of security. They have taken over the interest of everyone who thinks they are in danger. Even with the protection of a handgun, statistics show that crimes are still being committed. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics â€Å"an average of only about 65,000 defensive uses of guns each year compared to the more than 800,000 crimes committed with guns† (Mcdowell 1982-84). Guns are a danger in the household if marital disputes and domestic violence are present. If a gun is a readily available object then the chances of it being used to let out anger and frustration instead of self-protection is great. Mercy Saltzman reports that â€Å"having a gun in the home also increases the risk that incidents of domestic violence will result in homicide.† He goes on to point out â€Å"family and intimate assaults involving firearms are twelve times more likely to result in death than non-firearm related assaults† (Saltzman 3043-47). In lieu of these statements, one can see the present danger in keeping a firearm in a household.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another reason to mandate the registration of handguns is because guns and criminals are not a healthy combination.

The Growing Problem of Teenage Violence in Schools Today Essay

The Growing Problem of Teenage Violence in Schools Today There is a growing problem with teenage violence today in school. The problem is teenagers are getting more and more violent. Many of them resort to violence as a way to deal with anger and stress. Most of teenage violence starts with the so called thugs who think they rule the school. Not just the thugs but anybody in general who thinks they can beat up on people and act all tough and push everyone around. Another source of this violence is the outcasts or nerds that the bullies pick on because they’re different, but the worst type of violence is racism, like Nazis who hate people because of there race, religion, or there sexual preference. This violence may be coming from how they were raised because of there parents, due to there racism, or abuse. Simply put, something needs to be done to eliminate and reduce this violence and return a safe environment in schools. A result of this is increased violence is that many students are frightened while in school. Why should somebody be afraid to walk the halls of school because they are Jewish, or even gay, or both? If there is a student who is extremely violent, it affects the whole school. I’m talking about the people who will pull out a gun on you if you say something about his mother, you know, those so called thugs. Seriously, if someone dies, it affects the whole school. Like Chris Rock Says, â€Å"If you are at a movie theater and someone steps on your foot, let is slide, why spend the next 15 years in prison because somebody smudged your puma† (Chris Rock No Sex in the Champaign Room). In other words, don’t fight over reasons that can be settled in a game of twister. There are many causes of teenage violence, but I think it comes from their friends or family. For instance, if someone’s father, is a Nazi, and his dad was in the Ku Klux Klan, the student is of course going to inherit a hatred for Jews, and queers, like in the movie Porkys, where that one guy lost a fight with a Jew and then got beat up by his Dad, because he lost the fight. Therefore, parents are a big source of teenage violence. The biggest problem I believe is friends. Friends have a greater impact on the lives of teenagers than anybody. People aren’t born violent. Nazi’s for instance, if you grow up with a friend who turns Nazi because of there parents or something, ... ...east 30% of every class should be consisted of non-white people. So the basis of stopping violence of hate is to stop the racism. I was watching MTV, and they were saying a story about how this guy died because of the fact that he was gay. That was kind of sad that someone died for doing nothing to anybody. It’s one thing not to like gay people, its another thing to start a fight with one of them for no reason at all. Those people are called bigots, and there usually drunk, so alcohol is not the answer to this problem, weed is. Overall, parents, siblings, role models, television, bullies, Nazism, and the stress of growing up in today’s society may cause violence. So violence is a big part of school today. Is it really ever going to stop or get better? I believe that no matter what we make better, something else is going to get worse. All this violence may effect the high suicidal teens there are today. I know at least 10 girls who tried to kill themselves or are bulimic. All the guys I know are ok though. In conclusion violence is to big of a problem to stop, so be considered a loser, and a nark and call the cops if someone harasses you, it’s the only way to stop this.