Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) - Assignment Example The eWOM as a marketing strategy depends on how the organizations trigger the altruistic motives of the consumers so that they can be advocates of the company’s brand on an online platform through relaying of feedback. They could do this by developing catchy ad messages to relay via the internet to their customers hence offering an excellent base for interaction to generate a good eWOM in customers. The outfit concerning eWOM should bring forth returns to either the company or the individual who has invested time in knowing. Expert’s opinion is very strong in eWOM compared to any other opinion. Because they will use the eWOM platform to offer professional counsel and as such demand incentives, the economic returns are tenable. What the expert think about your product will determine the consumption rate. When experts pass negative opinions via eWOM in a faster way than positive opinions, consumers scare from the product. However, when it comes to incentives, they will work in a manner to suit the

Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation Article

Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation - Article Example These are just some of the factors that affect consumer behaviour. Consumers can be either subjective or objective, testing the persuasiveness of brand names. Retail stores selling the products also play an important role in swaying the decisions of consumers. The whole package or visual appeal of the retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the sales women or the clerks. Furthermore, consumers may choose particular products/brands not only because these products provide the functional or performance benefits expected, but also because products can be used to express consumers' personality, social status or affiliation (symbolic purposes) or to fulfill their internal psychological needs, such as the need for change or newness (emotional purposes) (Kim et al, 2002). These are just some of the factors that affect impulse buying behavior. ... enomenological approach of survey with succeeding thematic analysis of the texts from which the researcher could gather facts and empirical data from the academe. Aims and Objectives The main objectives of this study are to examine the aspects that influence impulse buying behaviour of consumers and their self-control. Hypotheses The impulse buying behaviour of consumers is influence by beliefs, culture, learning and values. That is regulated by self-control Method Research Design Although the study is primarily interested in examining qualitative concepts and constructs such as beliefs, attitudes and perceptions, the quantitative research approach was likewise utilized to achieve the exploratory and the descriptive objectives of the study, which highlighted the consumers' perspective about the issue of impulsive buying behavior. According to Mays and Pope (2000), the quantitative research approach is most appropriate when conducting descriptive and exploratory study in order to quantify data that seem immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, and thoughts. This permits a flexible and iterative approach of analyzing and statistically manipulating the collected information. As such, these variables were presented, explained and correlated with each other and with the qualitative results of the second phase of the research project. Moreover, the study also examined the conditions and the nature that surrounds the quantitative data to achieve the descriptive objec tives of the study. Participants For this particular research activity, the survey method was planned to accomplish a desired sample size of 100 consumers as respondents. To ensure that the survey will produce 100 valid and reliable survey outputs, 40 more respondents were asked to participate, adding 10

The Co Operative Bank Commerce Essay

The Co Operative Bank Commerce Essay The co operative bank is the oldest democratic and ethical bank of UK . For over 150 years the bank has been a democratic bank , never losing its edge on its democratic stature . It would be very interesting to know about the work culture of such a big democratic bank . The co operative bank is also a secular bank . The employees not just consist of catholics but also people from other religions . For example the treasury of the co operative bank is Rajesh Bhatia who is a hindu . So people from diverse religions are working together to form one big bank that is co operative bank . The bank tries to maintain a very friendly environment for its employees . All the employees are given a chance to suggest their views but there is a process in which these views are analysed . This process takes place in stages . If some worker has any new idea then hw will tell it to the manager . The manager will first look into the idea then he will analyse it and decide the category of the idea . W hether the idea is related to Mars or retailing or the general insurance . After categorising the idea the manager will then send it to the head of that respective area . They take a look at that idea and in turn send it to the acting CEO . The CEO will forward it to the board of directors and then the decision will be taken . All important decisions are taken in this same manner or stages . It might take a little time but the process is a full proof procedure . The workers never refer to the manager as Sir . They always call him by his name . The employees feel very good working in the co operative bank . The co operative bank has been rated as one of Britains top employers 2012 by http://www.britainstopemployers.co.uk . A lot of aspects have been considered in this research before coming to the conclusion that this bank has outstanding working conditions . The outstanding working conditions include commitment to social goals , ability to mix profits with principles , rejuvenatin g a much loved brand , pioneering fair trade sales in UK and commitment to ethical finance . Britains top employers 2012 first made close assessments with the HR division of The co operative bank . Here all the critical areas of the HR department were assessed such as primary benefits , secondary benefits , working conditions , training and career opportunities . A review is then taken . The review is thoroughly taken from the answers of actual participants only and then ratings are given . The co operative bank achieved positive ratings and reviews in almost all the sectors of assessments . Source: Rabobank WORKING STARTEGY Even though The co operative bank is an ethical bank but they do charge interests . Because every organization needs funds to keep working . One great advantage of the The co operative group is that they are not just operating in banks but also in food retails , housing , farming and education . So the profits from all the sectors are utilized thoroughly and they try to distribute it equally . Last year profits of around 50 million pounds were earned and about 40% of the profits were distributed to members , staff and community groups . One of the important business strategies of The co operative bank is providing memberships . Membership is what makes The co operative bank different from other businesses because The co operative bank is run by its members and the bank gives a chance to its members to say how the company needs to be run . When one becomes a member then he will get a membership card . So everytime a member buys something from The co operative then they can use t heir membership card . By doing this they earn points . Twice a year , the points that the member has earned are turned into cash and given to him as a share of the profits . It is very easy to become a member and there are lots of deals , discounts and money saving offers for the members to enjoy . Not only can one choose from the outstanding financial products of The co operative bank but by simply doing the day to day banking as a member , he can increase his share of profits as well. On current accounts , for every 10 pounds held on an average in a co operative bank , one can earn 1 point . For mortgages , for every 40 pounds outstanding on a Co operative bank or Britannia mortgage , one can earn 1 point . For loans , for every 10 pounds outstanding on a Co operative bank or smile loan , one can earn 1 point . For Savings accounts , every 20 pounds held in a Co operative bank , smile or Britannia savings account , one can earn 1 point . For Car/home/pet insurance , for hol ding an annual Co operative insurance policy , one can earn upto 250 points . For credit card , every 10 pounds held on or borrowed on Co operative bank or smile credit cards , one can earn 1 point . According to http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk , one of the most important and profitable startegies for The co operative bank was to merge with Britannia on 1st August 2009 . This merger aimed at providing better profit for the share holders and also creating new employment opportunities . This new business was successful in achieving more than 70 billion pounds of assets , nine million customers , more than 12,000 employees , more than 300 branches and 20 corporate banking centres . The Co operative now comprises of The co operative bank including smile and The Britannia business , The co operative insurance and The co operative investments . ANALYSIS Let us do a SWOT analysis on The co operative bank . According to David Jobber , a SWOT analysis is a structured approach to evaluating the strategic position of a business by identifying its strengths , weaknesses , opportunities and threats . Strengths According to the article The Co-operative : How to measure its strength , The co operative has an advantage of the internet bank Smile. This Smile has become a very successful form of internet banking in the recent years . It has increased the demand of The co operative bank very much . Smile is a very famous and efficient provider of pensions and insurance . The profits of The co operative banks boomed to 73.4 million pounds in the first half of 2008 . According to http://www.co-operative.coop , the core banking platforms of the bank has been upgraded by introducing some of the most modern computing systems which are very fast and efficient . So this has also improved customer servicing effectively and thus increased customer satisfaction and improving their experience . During the merger with Britannia branded branches , these technological improvements gave customers near four fold increase in outlets to conduct their banking . Weaknesses According to The Cooperative Banking Model: Performance and Opportunities by Hans Groeneveld , now a days the members find it difficult to manage the organisation due to the increased complexity of the organisation in which the management group consists of dedicated professionals . It has also been found out that the membership process makes the decision making very slow and also prevents innovation and adjustments to new developments . (Hans Groeneveld , 2011) Opportunities The co operative bank provides opportunities to further ones career and also to build one from the scratch . The bank provides job opportunities at its head office in Manchester and also at other branches . The company is maintaining a separate portal for registration for jobs . The bank also provides a lot of credit facilities to the customers if they want to start a new venture . Threats The evolution of large scale foreign and unknown markets could endanger the traditional heart of The co operative bank . Recently The co operative bank has started taking a lot of risks involving high profit investments . In one of the move of the bank , it announced plans to transfer work out of North Staffordshire . This move would almost leave jobs of 65 employees under threat . Apparently this move is being made for greater financial control and tougher regulatory requirements. STRENGTHS 1 High customer satisfaction 2 Rising market shares , dense branch networks 3 Stable profits , high rating , low funding costs 4 Relatively unaffected by credit crisis 5 Contribution to stability and diversity in financial systems WEAKNESSES 1 Become more complex 2 Difficult to manage due to complexity 3 Membership process makes decision making slow 4 Slow innovation OPPORTUNITIES 1 Further ones career 2 Help in new venture 3 Financial advice 4 Good credit facilities THREATS 1 threats from large scale foreign and unknown markets 2 Increase in risks by The co operative bank 3 The move to leave out North Staffordshire Now let us look at some macroenvironmental aspects of The co operative bank . These include political , economic , ecological , social and technological aspects . Political As it has been explained in the hierarchy of The co operative bank , it is a democratic bank . Economic The co operative bank has been one of the most successful banks of uk in recent times . It has tried to maintain its economy throughout . This can be found out by comparing their financial performance between 2010 and 2011 as per http://www.co-operative.coop/corporate/Press/Press-releases/Headline-news/Results-2011/ Financial performance 2011 2010 % change Gross sales  £13.3bn  £13.1bn +1.0% Group operating profit  £585m    £582m +0.5% Profit before tax and member payments (equivalent to the pre-tax profit of a plc)  £373m  £396m -5.8% Net borrowings  £1.49bn  £1.44bn +3.3% Ecological According to A co-operative green economy by Pat Conaty , protecting the environment is one of the very important aspects of The co operative . These include reducing the gross green house gas emissions by 35 % by 2017 , producing around 25% of electricity using renewable sources of energy , setting up a head office that will set new standards in sustainable design , construction and operation . Thus they are also concerned with the safety of the environment . Social Inspite of so much competition and other foreign forces , concerne have been made to maintain the ethical standards of The co operative bank . The bank has been quiet successful in this approach . The fact that it won so many accolades proves it . Some of the awards that it won in 2011 include winner of the Observers Ethical Business Award; first place in Business in the Communitys Climate Change Award and Platinum Plus in their Corporate Responsibility Index; a leading ranking in the Sunday Times Best Green Companies List; and winner of The Financial Times award for Europes Most Sustainable Bank. Technological The bank went through massive technological renovation recently and has upgraded itself with all new systems . The banks call centre has been very efficient in helping the people with difficulties . Smile has been one of the top internet banking .

Is Downloading Free Music from the Internet Legal? :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Is Downloading Free Music from the Internet Legal? Nowadays, it is extremely easy to download free music from the internet. All someone has to do is download some peer to peer file-sharing application such as Kazaa, Edonkey, Blubster, or Bearshare, and you have unlimited access to download just about anything that you please. But is downloading free music from one of these applications legal? I think that it is. This paper will look at both sides of the argument. The first online peer to peer file-sharing application was Napster. Napster allowed people to copy music from their CDs onto their computers in mp3 format. They then allowed other members of Napster to download these songs onto their computers. Once this caught on, millions of people were downloading thousands of songs a day. And as you can imagine, this did not make the record companies happy with the idea that people were getting their music for free instead of buying the CD. It also caused a problem with some of the recording artists. Most notably Metallica. In 2000, Metallica filed a lawsuit against Napster and won. As a result, Napster banned about 300,000 of its users who were sharing Metallica songs. Soon after, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) filed a suit against Napster and the file-sharing server was forced to shut down. [1] You kind of have to wonder if the downloading of mp3s really hurt the recording artists. When the artist makes a CD, they make relatively little money from it. Most of the millions that an artist makes is from merchandising and endorsements. Most of the money from CD sales goes to the record industries executives. In an article from Young Money, Meredith Corbin states that â€Å"the executives from the recording industry should change the way they operate by either lowering the price of CDs or taking a pay cut.

The Practice

Didn't recognize the entire word, but quickly started my research on it. I quickly discovered that post-part mothers ingest their own placenta. This slow growing phenomenon, amongst the new mothers who can stomach, is practiced by 99% of mammals, including humans.The practice of ingesting the placenta, which has been going on in Asian medicine for hundreds of years, seemed inappropriate, unnatural, and disgusting to me as discovered more about it. I don't think I stand alone when I say that my lack of knowledge on this topic may come as no surprise, since there could be millions of others who are also not educated on this topic. In our society, unless the media presents topics to us, we almost have to be naturally curious or stumble upon things to find out the news of he world or things less commonly known to us regarding health and medical topics.The more grew in my knowledge of this practice, the more I discovered the ingestion of the mothers placenta could actually be very benefic ial. Mothers across the world have been practicing this post-birth method for quicker healing from post-part depression, as well as its contribution to other great health benefits such as hormone boosting. While other countries are lacking in the times of placenta encapsulation, other entries such as Europe, the US. And Canada have been partaking in this health benefit to mothers for over a decade. The whole ideology of placenta encapsulation is to replace useful hormones lost during birthing the placenta, decreasing postpartum depression because of an iron-deficiency, promote healing and provide energy, controlling any postpartum bleeding, and promote milk production for successful breastfeeding. Each mother is as unique as the benefits she may experience from participating in placenta encapsulation.

Develop and implement policies and procedures Essay

The current legislations for safeguarding children where defined in the children act of 1989. Including children’s rights to protection them from abuse, the right to express their views and be listened to. Although different British governments have said that it regards itself bound by the Convention and refers to it in child protection guidance, it has not become part of the UK law. There is no single piece of legislation that covers safeguarding children and young people in the UK; different laws and guidelines cover different parts of the UK-England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (NSPCC 2010) EYFS (2012) Child protection- being aware of any concerns regarding a child in their home or childcare setting, the welfare requirements state that a Suitable person check should be carried out – following the safer recruitment policy for all staff as an employer we must ensure that necessary steps are taken to ensure that we safeguard all children and their welfare is pa ramount. The recruitment process consists of checking Staff DBS, qualifications, references from their last employer, training, support and skills- to ensure staff have appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge and clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and thorough robust induction is carried out with each new member of staff. Outdoors, indoors and equipment must be suitable for the individual child’s needs. staff child-ratios- staffing arrangements must be arranged to meet the needs of all children. Ensuring safety at all times. The organisation must plan to ensure every child attending receives a enjoyable learning experience. Documents used within the nursery setting, such as policies and procedures, registers, registration forms, learning journals, accident and incident forms. Children’s act (2006) – Child’s commissioner for England, has a duty to local authorities and their partners e.g. health services to promote the well-being of children and young people. 1.2 Evaluate how the national and local guidelines, policies and procedures  for safeguarding affect day to day work with children and young people. The children’s act 1989, children schools and families, babies and young children, every child matters, CAF, health care, National and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding all affect a nursery practitioner’s day to day work ; In my Childcare practice The Education Act 2002 poses a duty on education authorities to promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people. This affects my day to day work as I must be aware of and abide by the child protection procedures of my setting and the local authority, I must know the signs of abuse, how and who to report my concerns to, remain professional, act in a timely manner, record my findings, maintain a safe environment, be aware of the health and safety of children and to be able to undertake any further training required. As the safeguarding officer for the nursery I must be approachable for staff to express the concerns and support them throughout the child protection flow chart. Child Protection In my settings policies and procedures for safeguarding it states that all employees, volunteers and students should be properly vetted by carrying out a DBS check before they commence employment. We also request 2 references one of which is their most recent employer, we check their suitability, as well as qualifications ensuring we have seen the original certificates. Daily Risk assessments Risk assessments are an important factor in safeguarding children and in my day to day work, before I use an area in the nursery I would check that it was safe and suitable before Staff carry out any activity with the children I require them to carry out a risk assessment first to make sure all involved is safe, for example, if They were to plan an activity, in the garden I would need to risk assess the area for rubbish, small objects, dirty areas etc that may have blown in, broken toys or equipment, the weather and that the gates are secure. Ensuring the voice of the child or young person is heard Advocacy safeguards children and young people and protects them from abuse and poor practice. The government developed national standards for advocacy practice to ensure that children are able to speak out and have their views heard. The national Standards for the provision of children’s advocacy 2002 is this standard. This affects my day to day work as I need to know how to access advocacy services should a child require it and a child can request that I act as an advocate for them and in that case I will need to know where to look for support from the advocacy services. This then empowers the child to be heard and listened too. Supporting children and young people and others who may be expressing concerns Following my settings policies and procedures, if a child or young person were to express any concerns I would in my day to day work show a child that I am taking them seriously, that I am here to listen and have empathy, I would reassure the child that I will help in any way I can, I would record the conversation following the correct procedure, I would not make promises, or say that what has been discussed is confidential, I will not come to my own conclusions or ask questions and I would seek support and advice from the LADO. If a member of staff informed me that a child had disclosed something to them I would ask them to record all details, not to discuss with any one else unless needed. I would record what I had been told and I would ring Care line and seek advice if needed. 1.3 Explain how the processes used by own work setting comply with legislation that covers data protection, information handling and sharing. In my setting all data information is kept confidential, locked in a filing cabinet and only shared on a need to know basis. we work closely with children and their families building up a working in partnership. We have a duty of care to ensure the safety and welfare of every child. We want all families to feel safe and secure about leaving their child in our care. We follow the EYFS and this states ‘The provider must take necessary steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’. Therefore as practitioners we are responsible for ensuring that our policies, procedures and practices  effectively safeguard each child our care every day. And that all staff are responsible and understand about safeguarding and how we use this in our setting to keep everyone safe. Staff attend training to refresh their skills and knowledge. We also have a policy of the week displayed in the staff room to ensure policies and procedures are kept fresh in staffs minds. We have a robust recruitment and no staff will start work in the nursery without the necessary checks taken place such as DBS check, 2 references one from the current or most recent employer and that they are suitable with skills knowledge and experience as well as qualifications in childcare. Also when children start the nursery we complete registration forms with the primary carer of the child which consist of application form, care plan if needed and an all about me, this is shared with the child’s key person. the EYFS Sets the standard that all early years providers must meet. It sets to provide quality, consistency, secure foundations, partnership working and equal opportunities. The four principles should make the setting –A unique child, Positive relationships, Enabling Environment = Learning and Development and support children in the 7 areas of learning. From this we follow the key principles and put into them into practice in the setting. We use the online learning journals as well as a paper based assessment on all children. In our setting part of our job is to empower children and young people. If they feel confident and self-assured they are more likely to feel safe and secure. It is my and other staff’s responsibility to help make them feel empowered and protect themselves. Some children find it difficult to respond to their peers, doing activities where they interact and use their own ideas to promote play this will also help them to boost their confidence and learn what they enjoy and what they don’t. Role modelling behaviour helps them to understand how not all children like to be touched, hugged or hold hands and learn what different people like and how we should behave with our peers. Staff talk to the children about kind hands and voices and how to play nicely with each other. Our nursery will work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the welfare and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect and to be safe from any abuse in whatever form. To this end we will: Maintain a professional level at all times Create an enabling environment to encourage children to develop a positive self-image †¢ Encourage children to develop a sense of independence and autonomy in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development Provide a safe and secure environment for all children Always listen to children, allowing them to freely talk without being questioned. Build relationships with families to gain trust and confidence