The Intangible Necessity :: Customer Service Research Papers

The Intangible Necessity Works Cited Missing Introduction It’s the strategic interface between marketing and logistics, it adds value to any given product, yet it’s intangible – what is it? The answer is simple: customer service. â€Å"Customer service has been an issue since the early 1970’s† (Cavinato 60). Though it’s long been considered an issue, it’s important to remember that there isn’t one set formula to developing customer service, it’s more of a mindset (Cavinato 61). Customer service is usually only considered between retailers and end users; however, customer service is the â€Å"fuel that drives the logistics supply chain engine† (Coyle 92). It’s important for logistics companies to look at customer service from all aspects, since it is one way that companies can have a distinctive competitive advantage over competitors. This essay will discuss customer service in two parts, by explaining customer service in terms of its definition and the elements that comprise it and how customer service is applied in the logistics world. What is Customer Service? Definition One author defines customer service as â€Å"a process for providing competitive advantage and adding benefits to the supply chain in order to maximize the total value to the ultimate customer† (Coyle 96). It’s difficult to specifically define customer service because it incorporates several different areas; however, it can be narrowed down to something that a company provides to the end users of its products (Coyle 95). Customer service is important in all areas of a business, upstream to the suppliers of the raw materials and downstream to the end users. Customer service can be viewed in three standard ways: as an activity, as a performance measure, and as a philosophy (Coyle 96). Activity Customer service at this first level is very common. It’s the â€Å"particular task that a firm must accomplish to satisfy the customer’s needs† (Coyle 96). An example at this level would be a customer at a department store voicing a complaint to the â€Å"customer service† desk. The employees at the store must listen and attempt to correct the customer’s problem. The manner in which the employee or the store corrects the problem reflects on the company’s customer service. At the logistics level, it’s merely a transaction (Coyle 96). It’s the communication between the person placing the order and the company’s representative on the other end.

Making decisions Essay

Written by Bernard Malamud, â€Å"The Natural† title does place a key meaning to the term, â€Å"the natural† as it is an inspiring baseball story that places a good read. The author discusses several character traits as well as interesting characters that are found in real life. Therefore, â€Å"The Natural† represents its meaning in such a way that it portrays the natural real life characters of America. Furthermore, â€Å"The Natural† by Bernard Malamud is a work different from the rest of the literature he has written. â€Å"The Natural† is a title that portrays â€Å"the natural† baseball craze of Americans; this is something that is very â€Å"natural† in this literature because the game of baseball places a â€Å"natural† exciting feeling within the American public. The craze of the game is absolutely â€Å"natural† and therefore, the author reflects many characteristics and story plots throughout the novel. Therefore, this can be one of the reasons why the title term, â€Å"The Natural† would place the same meaning as, â€Å"the natural. † After reading through Bernard Malamud’s novel, â€Å"The Natural,† I also felt that there were mixed natural feelings of loss and victory associated with the natural life pattern. Malamud highlights on natural traits of man’s emotions throughout the novel where we experience heightened love, sense of victory as well as loss. The beginning of the novel is strange but the story slowly picks up after a span of 15 years where we see the coaches desperately trying to win the baseball game slot. At this particular stance, we sense the â€Å"naturalness† displayed in the story by the author when Roy takes a straight hit at his first ball throw that makes Roy seem very â€Å"natural† at his game. By â€Å"natural† here, we mean Roy’s fluent attempt at his game that makes him the hero of the novel. Though the psychiatrist tries to messes with his mind, a â€Å"natural† instinct is always followed by a sense that shows familiarity as well as fluency with the task that Roy is trying to accomplish. Roy is not a trained baseball player and that is the reason why we would state that Roy’s â€Å"naturalness† in his game is an attribute he has from within. The title, â€Å"The Natural† can also be related to love or infatuation that Roy develops for Memo Paris since his arrival at Knights. Love or infatuation is truly a â€Å"natural† feeling and again, the author maintains the theme of his title that precisely corresponds to the story he is narrating to his audience. Apart from the natural skill of Roy that Bernard Malamud displays in his character, we also come across the natural feeling of love in the story. â€Å"The Natural† truly places an emphasis on its title and the Bernard Malamud knows his choice of the title. â€Å"The Natural† not only displays the realistic aspects of feelings but also skills that the character in the novel is fluent in. â€Å"The Natural† as stated earlier, also displays several characters that show a natural resemblance to real life characters. It is evident to come across beautiful and wicked women in real life and thus, what we read in â€Å"The Natural† too relates to the natural life. Bernard Malamud discusses the several factors that are associated with the natural aspects of one’s life by narrating Roy’s story. Bernard has been extremely entertaining in providing a perfect baseball story that is of â€Å"natural† interest for its readers and the readers comprise of millions of American baseball fans due to the fact that American baseball is the national sport of the country. We further witness how Bernard Malamud tackles the several issues of Roy’s life naturally where victory is definitely a part of one picture and another picture that Malamud represents at the end of the story is the loss. â€Å"Nature† or â€Å"Natural† has different meanings, of which Bernard Malamud has attempted to cover most of the meanings that have been portrayed in the story. Mostly, it is the realism stance of the story that counts in the Bernard Malamud’s narration. The stance of growth and advancement, as in real life, is another sign of â€Å"naturalness† in Bernard Malamud’s text, â€Å"The Natural. † The real â€Å"natural† life also accounts for the good and the bad. We witnessed characters that came from good backgrounds as well as bad backgrounds. Therefore, the realistic â€Å"naturalism† in the novel plays a vital role in giving an insight into the title; that is â€Å"The Natural. † Overall, the themes that can be found in â€Å"The Natural† placed a natural feeling in the heart of the readers. We saw how victory takes place and how the character in the story, Roy faces defeat as well. We also come across the sense of greed that leads Roy to accepting the bribe that made his team lose. The story serves as a valuable lesson for the readers to take the actions and consequences act into account as for every action, there is a consequence. If the action is good, the consequence is good and if the action is bad, the consequence will also be the same. With regards to the title of the novel, â€Å"The Natural†, I agree with it due to its coinciding incidences with the realism of life. The author successfully draws a sense of naturalness in the entire novel thereby making the title, the perfect match for it. Including the themes of love and infatuation, Bernard Malamud completes his story by highlighting on every aspect of human emotions. Bernard Malamud’s style of presenting the story in a realistic manner pertaining to the game of baseball as well as several characters draws a tremendous interest for the readers to look into the realistic factual characters presented by him in the novel. â€Å"The Natural† is a perfect title that applauds victory and sheds light on failure; love and infatuation; the good and the bad as well as choices. This characteristic feature of the novel makes it distinct and unique, the themes of which are truly â€Å"natural† in every sense†¦ LESSON 2: TROY AND ROY COMPARISON Troy and Roy are characters that are similar as well as differ from each other in many ways. Roy had clearly been an achiever in his life, till the â€Å"almost† end. In case of Troy, we don’t see that coming in his life except before he was jailed. Instead, Troy’s life revolves much around his own family and his own past and his own emotional drama. Roy had his love and his piece of infatuation, victory, failure as well as growth throughout the story. We see the same happening in Troy’s case but with a much different note. The only similarity I found through both the characters was their aim to become a baseball player of which, Roy had achieved a permanent status of a â€Å"natural† baseball player while Troy had given up on baseball based on his age. However, in Troy’s case, we didn’t see this aim in his life. Yes- he wanted to become a baseball player, he became the best baseball player but never returned back. He lost the opportunity when he was provided with one. Roy, however, is wise while making his decisions though at the end of the story, he too loses himself towards greed. That is another part of the story. I agree that both the characters have faced setbacks and triumphs in their own way in their respective stories but they cannot be stated as the â€Å"black and white† versions of the same kind of American male. Troy is more of a confused personality who loses opportunities while Roy is an achiever and the only moment he failed was when he was presented a lofty sum by Judge to lose the game or else, it was clear that Roy would have had led Knights to the path of victory. Troy revolves much around his personal life where he is involved with his sons, Cory and Lyons with his wife Rose and his girlfriend, Alberta. His brother Gabriel has a small role to play but Troy’s feelings towards his brother Gabriel where he holds himself responsible for his misfortunes shows Troy’s naive attitude towards understanding issues. Unlike Roy (whose game and success came naturally to him), Troy has an abusive childhood who was abused by his father. Eventually, the same influence and history was repeated by Troy on his other two sons. There is no change of heart throughout the story. We also sense that though there is a considerable time lapse between the lives of Troy and Roy, age didn’t deter Roy from playing baseball again while Troy easily gave up his game. The other similarity that I can state in both the characters is the sense of moral weakness. Troy and Roy are morally weak. Troy cheated on his wife by involving himself with another woman while Roy gives himself in to the bribe by the Judge. Roy’s character is exhibited less emotionally except when he involved himself in love and infatuation. Troy’s character is more on an emotional stance where he has his life and feelings in dilemma since the beginning. Though, both the characters face their actions and their consequences in their own manner, both the stories end with a sad note; Roy with his failure and Troy with his death. However, Troy’s daughter, Raynell does seem like an angel in the story. Troy had imaginarily built fences around his relationships wanting to keep death away from those he loved and those he hated as well. He had built his own boundaries and thus, was an unsuccessful father and even an unsuccessful husband (as he cheats on his wife). Roy’s weakness lies mainly with money and love as he too had a poor childhood and therefore aimed to become a baseball star. Troy is a fifty-three year old man who has built imaginary fences around himself from everyone in his life, including his own wife and therefore cheated on her. Roy, on the other hand, didn’t cheat on him and thus, Troy and Roy cannot be regarded as the black and white versions of the same American protagonist displayed by the two authors. Troy and Roy are similar, but in a smaller sense with each other. They come across misfortunes and in the end, have a sad ending to their lives. Their emotional stance on the events they faced in their lives is different. In both the novel stories, we come across a time lapse that had passed between the characters. Roy, as I believe, is sincere in his motives and is only confused about certain issues in his life. Troy, on the other hand, does not understand the essence of life at all and proceeds with life as it is, without willing to make any changes. Roy, a personality mostly not guided and mistaken, is underestimated though he has had a few bad hits in the baseball game, based on the story. Troy has faced a long hurdle of hardships throughout, especially when he quit his career as a baseball player after going to the prison. We also witness discrimination, apartheid in August Wilson’s play, â€Å"Fences† where Troy is Black and is not promoted for a long time to the position of the driver based on his skin color. We come across no such issue of discrimination in Roy’s case but further, Roy’s foolishness to achieve the woman he wants. Roy is willing to do anything for her and therefore, blindly accepts what Judge offers and thus, lands in a situation where he is a loser. He could have been victorious only if he had used his senses in a stronger way while making decisions (and by not letting his emotional part overtake him). Troy, on the other hand, has his life in a completely irreversible state where Troy’s confidence is completely shattered by the term he spent in prison. Therefore, he couldn’t change what already happened in his life and therefore, didn’t have sufficient confidence to go back to his previous life. Troy and Roy both differ in a great respect but share only some similarities.

Jefferson and Hamilton on essays

Jefferson and Hamilton on essays Andrew Jackson was elected by the people and sought to act as the direct representative of the common man. Through his determination, Jackson helped to shape the democratic party as the prototype of the modern political organization. In Andrew Jacksons presidential inauguration speech of 1829 Jackson foreshadowed his triumphs in office, stating that: The Federal Constitution must be obeyed, states rights preserved, our national debt must be paid, direct taxes and loans avoided, and the Federal Union preserved. These are the objects I have in view, and regardless of all consequences, will carry into effect. Jacksons first modification in office was rewarding his political supporters with office positions, forming a cabinet of close friends and family who became known as the Kitchen Cabinet. This concept of rewarding political supporters with public office positions had existed since the founding of the republic. However, Jackson stretched this system and made it a policy of his administration to prevent the growth of an entrenched bureaucracy. Jackson replaced several experienced political veterans with his own democratic followers in what he called rotation in office. In 1832, Senator William L. Marcy of New York, defended Jackson and the rule that to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy. Thus, the rotation in office was renamed the spoils system. Jacksons desire for a rotation in office can be paralleled to Jeffersons conflict with the judiciary system during his first term in office. Jefferson and the Republicans saw the federal judiciary branch as the opposition party and a potential obstruction to the administration. He viewed the midnight judges as null and void and eventually repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801. However he was admonished by Chief Justice John Marshall in the infamous case Marbury vs. Madison for withholding the authority of the judges...

The Life And Works Of Bertolt Brecht Essays - Bertolt Brecht

The Life And Works Of Bertolt Brecht Essays - Bertolt Brecht The Life And Works Of Bertolt Brecht The Life and Works of Bertolt Brecht Bertolt Brecht was one of the chief innovators of modern theatrical techniques. He was both a poet and a playwright all in one. His epic theatrical creations developed drama as a forum for social and idealistic causes. Brechts imagination, artistic genius, and social views distinguish his work and his life. Eugen Bertolt Brecht was born February 10, 1898 in Augsburg Germany, a town in Bavaria. His family was of middle class, which he came to resent, in favor of a Marxist proletarian society. In 1917 he attended Ludwig Maximillian University, in Munich, where he studied medicine. Towards the end of the First World War, Brecht served in a military hospital. During this time in 199918, he wrote his first piece of work Baal, however it was not published until a later time. In 1922 he wrote his first success, Drums in the Night. In 1923 Baal was finally produced. Until this time Brecht had lived in Bavaria. In 1924 he moved to Berlin, where he developed a strong antibourgeois attitude. Several people of his generation developed similar attitudes, as a result of the disappointing post World War I society in Germany. Among his friends, at this time, was a group of Dadaist, who aimed at destroying what they called the false standards and ideals of the bourgeois society. Brecht also became acquainted with a prominent theoretician named Karl Korsch, who taught him the elements of Marxism. During this time period from 1924 to 1933, Brecht worked briefly with the directors Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator. However he mainly worked with his own group of associates. In 1924 he wrote his first professional production Edward II. In 1927 he wrote A manual of Piety. In 1928, while working with the composer Kurt Weil, Bertolt Brecht created what many believe to be his finest piece of work; The Threepenny Opera; a satirical and successful ballad opera. In 1 930 he wrote The Rise and Fall of the Town of Mahogany. Also during this year he wrote his first exemplary plays, A Mans Man, which introduced his unorthodox idea of epic theatre. Epic theatre is a technique created by Brecht, which causes the audience to feel no emotions about a play, but to think critically about its content. This would become a well-used and important technique in Brechts later plays. In 1933 Brechts Marxist political beliefs forced him to go into self-imposed exile, from fascists Germany. His writings had made him a natural enemy of the National Socialists, rising to power in his native country. He first managed to escape to Switzerland, then to Scandinavia. With help from some of his fellow artists and exiles, especially Lion Feuchtwagner, Brecht was able to come to the United States of America. He became anti-Nazi writer for a periodical published in Moscow, and produced the 1938 drama Fear and Misery of the Third Reich. During this time Brecht wrote what are critically regarded as his greatest works. In 1943 Brechts desire to motivate social concerns, in his audience, led to the play The life of Galileo. In this play, through the character Galileo, Brecht reexamines the recurrent theme of obstacles to social progress. In 1949, he created Mother Courage and her Children, which enlists the spectators feelings as well as their reason. This play was both a success and a failure. It was a success because it was highly popular, but it was a failure in that it caused the audience to feel sympathy for its characters, which violated Brechts technique of epic theatre. In these mature works Brecht overgrew the single-minded didactic message of his earlier pieces, and achieved complex themes that would be impermissible under the official policies of communism. For a brief period of time, Brecht lived in Hollywood on1954 argyle Avenue. He then moved into a house on 817 25th Street in Santa Monica, from 1941 to 1942. In 1943 Brecht moved into a house on 1063 26th Street. Brecht described the latter house in his diary saying this about it one of the oldest is about 30 years old, California clapboard, whitewashed, with an upper floor with two bedrooms. I have a long workroom

Leadership and service improvement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Leadership and service improvement - Essay Example It barely comes as a shock that the working conditions in most nursing systems are wanting. My work area is no different. I work as a National Health Service nurse in a Short Stay Ward. We keep patients at the ward for a maximum of seventy two hours before we discharge them or transfer them elsewhere if need be. Of late we have adopted a QCC drive to carry out the function of patient observations for the first twenty four hours of their admission at intervals of four hours each. Thereafter the nurses are required to apply their professional intellect and decide how often the patients need observation. My unit of fellow nurses and I decided that eight-hour-intervals would be quite appropriate for patient observations for the next forty eight hours of their admission. All our patient observations go into the database to enable the Trust note when we complete them on time and when we fail to as well. Failure of which, a fine is charged on all the nurses by the QCC. The system perceives itself to be foolproof and top-notch, needless to mention. The reality is quite the contrar y. Despite our commitment to the working of this system, it has proven to be problematic. Here is why. After a much-needed debate for a reasonable amount of time, my unit and I decided that our first patient observations during the initial twenty four hours which are to be done at eight-hour intervals would be at 6:00 hours and 14:00 hours respectively. As for the latter patient observations at four-hour intervals, we agreed upon 6:00 hours, 10:00 hours, 14:00 hours, 18:00 hours, 22:00 hours and 2:00 hours in that order. The rest of the hours are appropriate but for 6:00 hours, which is undoubtedly a challenge. First off, the patients do need their rest. Waking them up at 6:00 hours in the morning for their routine observations certainly does not help this aspect of their recovery. It is deemed problematic and causes a disturbance to the patients a lot more than it helps. As if

Hackney Homes - A Strategic Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Hackney Homes - A Strategic Report - Essay Example Many recommendations are made for improvement of the organization in this report. Table of Contents Content Page Number Introduction 4 The Company 4 Competitor Analysis 5 External Environment Analysis 8 Overall Environment 12 Conclusion and Recommendations 14 References 16 Hackney Homes-A Strategic Report 1. Introduction Hackney Homes is one of the most famous organizations in UK which manages the council homes there. In this report, a strategic analysis of Hackney Homes is done using relevant academic models. Based on the definition by Waal (2007), the success of an organization needs to be evaluated based on its targets as well as the strengths and weaknesses .The targets are examined by mission and vision statements and the strengths and weaknesses are evaluated through internal and external analysis. The various positive (opportunities) and negative (threats) external factors influencing the performance of an organization are evaluated through external analysis. This analysis is very relevant for assessing a company’s present situation in order to develop new strategies or change existing strategies by making use of the opportunities and threats to the company. In this report, the services offered by Hackney Homes, its targets and strengths and weaknesses are examined through different academic models. The report has six sections. Section two discusses the targets and services offered by Hackney Homes. Section three discusses the competitive environment of the company. Section four analyses the external environment of the company .Section five examines the overall environment of the company. Section six concludes the report and makes recommendations. 2. The Company The main services offered by the company include management of council homes, rent collection as well as repair and maintenance of these homes (Hackney Homes, 2011a).Community service is the main aim of this organization. According to Collins and Porras (1996), the mission statement of a c ompany gives its important ideology and visionary components. The three major components of the mission statement are generally identified as the committed core values, core purpose and the visionary goals to be followed by the firm to fulfil its mission. The mission of the organization is to ensure the delivery of homes to people which are excellent, accessible and high quality homes (Hackney Homes, 2011b).It works as an agent which manages the Hackney Council. It was formed in 2006 as a subsidiary of Hackney Council and is formed as an Arms Length Management Organization called ALMO (Hackney Homes, 2011b). Based on the mission statement, the main objectives of the company include provision of services which are excellent and accessible, delivery of modern homes, sound management of homes and neighbourhood improvement. The main values of the organization include service, honesty, achievement, respect and pride (Hackney Homes, 2011b). In the next sections, the competitive position a nd the general and specific environment of the company are examined using relevant academic tools. 3. Competitive Analysis According to Coulter (2005), there are both specific environment, like customers, competitors, suppliers etc which influence directly the company’s strategic decision and general environment like political, economic, social and technological sectors that indirectly

Benefites and drawbacks of the internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Benefites and drawbacks of the internet - Essay Example Internet is just like an ocean of knowledge for all the people. But the problem is that this ocean consists of good and evils. Only the matured persons will be able to select and segregate good things from internet whereas immature people always fell in to this ocean as victims of the bad things. This paper briefly analyses the advantages and disadvantages of internet. â€Å"Internet can provide explicit sex and violence related materials which can harm the development of modern generation. Exhibitions of genitals, the use or sale of weapons, illegal drug sale, illegal gambling, alcohol consumption, explicit violence against people or animals including hate crimes, tobacco use etc are some of the major disadvantages of using internet. One of the major reasons for juvenile offenses is the influence of internet upon children. Segregation of good and evils is difficult for kids because of the growth of sex hormones at the adolescent period. It is easy for the juveniles to watch movies filled with violence and sexual activities using internet websites like YouTube. Internet is a paradise for gamblers and antisocial elements. Credit card forgery, phishing like internet scams are increasing day by day and even intelligent adults fall victims of such cheaters. It is easy for such tricksters to cheat the kids, if the parents fail to put an eye on their child’s activities in internet. Another major disadvantage of internet is the threat of viruses. â€Å"Over 50% of all companies report being hit by a virus each year. Over 20% of all computers are currently infected with spyware† (Computer Internet Security). In short, many companies are facing severe problems in keeping their data safe in their computers because of the virus threat from internet. Internet addiction may sometimes reduce the thinking ability of a child. Children will use internet for everything and the readily available information may result in seldom usage of their brains. The growth of mental