Little Miss Oversexualized

Little Miss Over Sexualized The way that media portrays children today is just plain disgusting. Not only is it inappropriate, it also severely damages the self-esteem of children all over the world. When companies like Vogue put out advertisements of children as young as 10 years old dressed in skimpy clothes, full make-up, and posed very provocatively what does that say to every day children? This is how you need to look to be â€Å"beautiful† or this is how they need to dress and act to be one of the â€Å"cool kids†?The media, whether it is television, magazines, or newspaper are causing huge problems to the self-esteem of children today, especially young girls by putting out advertisements that over sexualize them. Established in 1892 and begun printing advertisements in 1909 Vogue Magazine has been the authority on high class fashion for the past one hundred plus years. (History of 1)In January 2011 edition of French Vogue published a full 15 page spread featuring Thylane Loubry Blondeau a 10 year child model in full make-up, dressed in stimulating clothing, and posed very provocatively.Needless to say this caused a big controversy about over sexualizing children, not only in France but around the world. â€Å"In Britain, Labor Parliament Member Helen Goodman called the photos ‘disgraceful and totally irresponsible†¦Vogue has descended into the gutter by doing this’ (10-year-old 1). Although most of these ads are not aimed directly at small children and pre-teens, they are viewed by them and the effect it is having on them is devastating. Children are developing several different emotional, psychological and physical issues.These issues include but are not limited to: inability to relate to peers, eating disorders, depression and even promiscuity. In her article â€Å"Sex images in media harming kids' mental health† Janelle Miles, a long time journalist for the Australian news publication â€Å"The Courier-Mailâ₠¬  writes: â€Å"Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists president Louise Newman said ‘evidence was emerging that childhood exposure to developmentally inappropriate sexualized images and messages was associated with low self-esteem, depression and eating disorders’.Professor Newman said child psychiatrists were seeing an increasing number of younger children presenting with negative self-esteem and body image issues. Exposure to sexualizing messages contributes to girls defining their self-worth and popularity in terms of sexual attractiveness, with negative impact on self-esteem,’ Prof. Newman said. ‘Excessive focus on appearance and a narrow definition of attractiveness has been found to contribute to the development of abnormal eating behaviors and a lack of positive body image.What's particularly concerning is some primary school-aged children, and even preschoolers, are presenting with some of these concerns. ‘I've seen children as young as four telling me . . . they're ugly’. That's appalling. Children are very receptive and influenced by what's in the world around them† (Miles 1). Although children are being exposed to a barrage of over sexualized print ads, the media does not stop there. Over the last twenty years television shows and commercials have begun to over sexualize young children and teens at an alarming rate.In 1995 the â€Å"Parent Television Counsel was founded to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has more than 1. 3 million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards.Most importantly, the PTC produces critical res earch and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment† (PTC Study 1) Increasingly alarming are the Television shows such as â€Å"Toddlers in Tiaras† and â€Å"Little Miss Perfect† showing parents pushing children as young as 2 years old to compete in beauty pageants. The parents scream and yell at these young children and sometimes guilting them into participating in these pageants. These kids are put into frilly dresses, make-up caked on their little faces, and they are told â€Å"if they don’t win mommy will be disappointed. What kind of message does this send to children who are in the middle of developing their identity? Interestingly in December 2010 the PTC completed a study called â€Å"Tinsel town’s New Target: A study of Teen Female Sexualization on Primetime TV. The content of this report was based on the most popular prime time shows among 12-17 year olds during the 2009-2010 televisio n seasons. The following are some alarming facts produced from that report: Underage female characters are shown participating in a higher percentage of sexual depictions compared to adults (47% and 29% respectively).Only 5% of the underage female characters communicated any form of dislike for being sexualized (excluding scenes depicting healthy sexuality). Out of all the sexualized female characters depicted in the underage and young adult category for the entire database, 86% were presented as only being of high school age. Seventy-five percent of shows that included sexualized underage female characters were shows that did not have an â€Å"S† descriptor to warn parents about the sexual content.Based upon a definition established by the American Psychological Association of â€Å"healthy† vs. â€Å"unhealthy† sexuality, the study findings show that 93% of the sexual incidents involving underage female characters occurred within a context that qualified as â €Å"unhealthy. † The data revealed that 98% of the sexual incidents involving underage female characters occurred outside of any form of a committed relationship. The data show that 73% of the underage sexualized incidents were presented in a humorous manner or as a punch line to a joke. PTC Study 1) Tim Winters the President of the PTC said â€Å"The results from this report show Tinsel town’s eagerness to not only objectify and fetishize young girls, but to sexualize them in such a way that real teens are led to believe their sole value comes from their sexuality. This report is less about the shocking numbers that detail the sickness of early sexualization in our entertainment culture and more about the generation of young girls who are being told how society expects them to behave†( PTC Study1). Contrary to the belief in this country, children of today’s society are not stupid.It has long been said by many different expert that children’s brain s process and absorb information twice as fast as an adult. Benjamin Barber a renowned political scientist who earned his Ph. D. from Harvard University in 1966 writes in his 1993 article â€Å"America Skips School. †: â€Å"The young, with their keen noses for hypocrisy, are in fact adept readers-but not of books. They are society-smart rather than school-smart, and what they read so acutely are the social signals emanating from the world in which they will have to make a living.Their teachers in that world, the nation’s true pedagogues, are television, advertising, movies, politics, and the celebrity domains they define. We prattle about deficient schools and the gullible youngsters they turn out, so vulnerable to the siren song of drugs, but think nothing of letting the advertisers into the classroom to fashion what an Advertising Age essay calls ‘brand and product loyalties through classroom-centered, peer powered lifestyle patterning’†(116). In conclusion advertisements that over sexualize children are not going to stop.The government needs to listen to the hundreds of studies that have been completed to show that these advertisements have a huge psychological and sometimes physical impact on children, and they need to put a stop to it. Parents, start teaching your children that they do not have to be a super model to be a good person, just be themselves. Works Cited Barber, Benjamin R. â€Å"America Skips School. † Writing On The River. 3RD ed. Chattanooga: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2012. 116. Print. Graff, Amy. â€Å"10-year-old Fashion Model Sparks Debate | The Mommy Files | an SFGate. om Blog. † The Mommy Files | an SFGate. com Blog. SFGate, 9 Aug. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. â€Å"History of Vogue Magazine. † History of Vogue Magazine. Vouge Magazine, n. d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Miles, Janelle. â€Å"Sex Images in Media Harming Kids' Mental Health. † CourierMail. Couriermail. com. au, 17 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. â€Å"PTC Study: Sexualized Teen Girls Are Tinseltown's New Target. † PTC Study: Sexualized Teen Girls Are Tinseltown's New Target. Parent Television Council, 25 Dec. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. .

Critical Lens

The following quote, â€Å"Sometimes failure is more beneficial than success† is a bold and eccentric statement to make, but it is indeed true. In my view, success is largely dependent on how we fail since it is what breeds learning and new understanding. It is impossible to be perfect in life and not to have committed a single mistake. Obstacles constantly present themselves, challenging and sometimes hindering our ability to overcome them at first. Although it may reveal our weakness, failure undoubtedly builds character and allows us to become what we ideally wish to be. The following works of literatures, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, demonstrate how failure pushes the protagonists of each individual story and provides a stepping stone toward reaching their goal. In The Alchemist, Santiago falls to several disheartening events, but they enable him to pick himself back up and continue on with the rest of his journey from Andalusia to the pyramids in Egypt. For instance, when Santiago arrives in the market town of Tangier, a thief robs him of his money for his journey, forcing him to seek work at a crystal shop. During his time there, Santiago learns the workings of a business and encourages the merchant to takes risks. These risks eventually pay off and Santiago becomes a rich man in just a year. The true test, however, for Santiago came with the passing of the desert, which is an important symbol in the book. With its harsh conditions and tribal wars, the desert is symbolic of the serious difficulties that await anyone in pursuit of reaching their goal or Personal Legend, but it also serves as an important teacher to Santiago during his journey to the pyramids. More than the desert heat, the desert’s dull and barren state test Santiago, as it diminishes his confidence at times. As Santiago learns, however, he discovers that even the desert contains life and the Soul of the World. Santiago begins to understand his environment and to see the signs of life in what seems to be a wasteland. This prepares him for the greatest test of all: to connect with the desert in an effort to become the wind. In the end, he does succeed, propelling him forward to reach his destination. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein becomes consumed by the desire to discover the secret of life and, after several years of research, becomes convinced that he has found it. Equipped with the knowledge, he spends countless months over creating a creature out of old body parts. The symbols of light and fire, which are constantly brought up throughout Victor’s experimentations, represent his knowledge and discovery. Victor experiences several failures, breaking him physically and deteriorating his health, but his determination strengthened. He learned about the errors he was making that caused him to fail, and with this, he finally brings his creation to life one climatic night. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however, the sight horrifies him. In this case, light represents danger, as Victor’s act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him. The characters of Santiago and Victor Frankenstein are two perfect examples as to why failure is needed in order to succeed. From these books, it is shown that success is really the progressive understanding of pre-determined goals, while the very journey is what makes or breaks us. Both Santiago and Victor do face failures in their journeys toward achieving their dream, but without failing, they would have made not learned from their mistakes and gained an experience from it. Although the end result of Victor’s failures worked against him and Santiago’s failures allowed him to lead a life of success, what is most important from these experiences is the lesson learned and knowledge gained. This is what makes Victor and Santiago successful as the end result is not what matters most, but the amount of effort and ability to rise from failure in order to reach one’s goal. Critical Lens According to Seneca, a Roman philosopher, â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † In other words, the boldest thing in this world is to see an honorable person fighting against misfortune, and never give up. I agree with this statement because it happens in real life and in literature. A man who goes against tragedy caused by nature, human or himself is considered great and honorable. Two works of literature that illustrate the quote as I have explained it are Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and Night by Elie Wiesel. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is a good example of this statement because the protagonist, Robinson Crusoe, ensures his survival through storms, enslavement, and twenty-eight year isolation on a desert island. Robinson is both the narrator and protagonist of the novel. The major conflict in this novel is Crusoe shipwrecked alone, forcing him to fend for himself and his basic needs. He lost his only friend, Friday. He struggles between hardships, loneliness in his attempt to survive on a desert island. Crusoe was fighting alone against the force of nature and his own inner fears. Night by Elie Wiesel is a good example of this statement because the protagonist struggles with Nazi persecution and with his own faith in God and in humanity. It is written in first person’s point of view. Fire appears throughout the novel as a symbol of the Nazis’ cruel power comes against humanity. The rising action is Eliezer’s journey through the various concentration camps and the subsequent deterioration of his father and himself. The climax is when his father died. This cause Eliezer’s eternal conflict, he was now alone by himself, struggling to maintain faith in a generous god, silence and cruelty towards other human. In conclusion, it is clear that in both Robinson Crusoe and Night the characters discover â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † A great man who fights against misfortune is considered as the bravest sight in the world. Both Robinson and Eliezer experienced misfortune that caused by nature and human. They lost their friend and family members, but they did not give up. They were struggling against it and gain victory at the end. Critical Lens According to J. F. Clarke, â€Å"The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience. † In other words, people are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness instead of following others. This idea is clearly evident in the novels A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and Of Mice and men by John Steinbeck. The quote is exemplified in both novels by the literary element of theme. In A Walk to Remember, Landon Carter befriends unpopular Jamie Sullivan. In Of Mice and Men, George kills his friend Lennie to spare him from a horrific and painful murder. In A Walk to Remember, Jamie Sullivan is an unpopular, religious girl who gets teased constantly for her beliefs. Popular Landon Carter befriends her, and asks her on a date to the homecoming dance at school. His friends tease him for this, but he knows that Jamie is a genuinely good person, and although his friends think differently, he is doing the right thing. The two develop a relationship. Eventually, Jamie confesses that she has an incurable form of leukemia, and is dying. Landon watches her get more ill, but he stays with her as often as he can, and tries to help in any way he can. After Jamie dies, he looks back and realizes that by following his conscience, his life has changed. The theme love conquers all relates to both the quote and the novel. Landon and Jamie’s love for each other changes both of their lives. Throughout Jamie’s illness, Landon learns a lot about himself and life, and his bravery allows him to do that. In Of Mice and Men, George faces a difficult decision. George’s best friend, Lennie, accidentally kills Curley’s wife, and he leaves the ranch. When Curley, the boss of the ranch’s son, discovers the death of his wife, he puts together a mob and sets out to find Lennie and shoot him in his guts. George knows that this will be very painful and agonizing, and he is not sure what to do. He ultimately decides to kill Lennie himself by shooting him in the back of the head. George meets Lennie by the pool of the Salinas River, and tells him his favorite story, the story of the farm. As soon as Lennie is calm, George shoots him. He knows that killing him this way will be instant and without pain. George feels that he is doing the right thing y sparing his friend of pain. The theme of loyalty and sacrifice relates to the quote and novel. George’s loyalty to his friend forces him to sacrifice him. This takes a lot of courage, but by doing this he is sparing his friend of extreme suffering. People are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness. Landon’s bravery allows him to have a great relatio nship and gain knowledge about life. George’s bravery spares his friend of a painful death. Both novels show that the best form of bravery is when a person follows their conscience. Critical Lens According to Seneca, a Roman philosopher, â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † In other words, the boldest thing in this world is to see an honorable person fighting against misfortune, and never give up. I agree with this statement because it happens in real life and in literature. A man who goes against tragedy caused by nature, human or himself is considered great and honorable. Two works of literature that illustrate the quote as I have explained it are Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and Night by Elie Wiesel. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is a good example of this statement because the protagonist, Robinson Crusoe, ensures his survival through storms, enslavement, and twenty-eight year isolation on a desert island. Robinson is both the narrator and protagonist of the novel. The major conflict in this novel is Crusoe shipwrecked alone, forcing him to fend for himself and his basic needs. He lost his only friend, Friday. He struggles between hardships, loneliness in his attempt to survive on a desert island. Crusoe was fighting alone against the force of nature and his own inner fears. Night by Elie Wiesel is a good example of this statement because the protagonist struggles with Nazi persecution and with his own faith in God and in humanity. It is written in first person’s point of view. Fire appears throughout the novel as a symbol of the Nazis’ cruel power comes against humanity. The rising action is Eliezer’s journey through the various concentration camps and the subsequent deterioration of his father and himself. The climax is when his father died. This cause Eliezer’s eternal conflict, he was now alone by himself, struggling to maintain faith in a generous god, silence and cruelty towards other human. In conclusion, it is clear that in both Robinson Crusoe and Night the characters discover â€Å"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity. † A great man who fights against misfortune is considered as the bravest sight in the world. Both Robinson and Eliezer experienced misfortune that caused by nature and human. They lost their friend and family members, but they did not give up. They were struggling against it and gain victory at the end. Critical Lens According to J. F. Clarke, â€Å"The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience. † In other words, people are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness instead of following others. This idea is clearly evident in the novels A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and Of Mice and men by John Steinbeck. The quote is exemplified in both novels by the literary element of theme. In A Walk to Remember, Landon Carter befriends unpopular Jamie Sullivan. In Of Mice and Men, George kills his friend Lennie to spare him from a horrific and painful murder. In A Walk to Remember, Jamie Sullivan is an unpopular, religious girl who gets teased constantly for her beliefs. Popular Landon Carter befriends her, and asks her on a date to the homecoming dance at school. His friends tease him for this, but he knows that Jamie is a genuinely good person, and although his friends think differently, he is doing the right thing. The two develop a relationship. Eventually, Jamie confesses that she has an incurable form of leukemia, and is dying. Landon watches her get more ill, but he stays with her as often as he can, and tries to help in any way he can. After Jamie dies, he looks back and realizes that by following his conscience, his life has changed. The theme love conquers all relates to both the quote and the novel. Landon and Jamie’s love for each other changes both of their lives. Throughout Jamie’s illness, Landon learns a lot about himself and life, and his bravery allows him to do that. In Of Mice and Men, George faces a difficult decision. George’s best friend, Lennie, accidentally kills Curley’s wife, and he leaves the ranch. When Curley, the boss of the ranch’s son, discovers the death of his wife, he puts together a mob and sets out to find Lennie and shoot him in his guts. George knows that this will be very painful and agonizing, and he is not sure what to do. He ultimately decides to kill Lennie himself by shooting him in the back of the head. George meets Lennie by the pool of the Salinas River, and tells him his favorite story, the story of the farm. As soon as Lennie is calm, George shoots him. He knows that killing him this way will be instant and without pain. George feels that he is doing the right thing y sparing his friend of pain. The theme of loyalty and sacrifice relates to the quote and novel. George’s loyalty to his friend forces him to sacrifice him. This takes a lot of courage, but by doing this he is sparing his friend of extreme suffering. People are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness. Landon’s bravery allows him to have a great relatio nship and gain knowledge about life. George’s bravery spares his friend of a painful death. Both novels show that the best form of bravery is when a person follows their conscience.

Formal Analysis of Statue of Eros Sleeping

The statue of Eros sleeping is one of the key attractions in the metropolitan museum collections for the lovers of ancient Greek history. A glimpse at the magnificent work of art takes one away, far back in time to the Hellenistic age. Clearly it is one of the most remarkable works in the Metropolitan Museums total collection.The statues sculptor is not known but the time of its making has been correctly identified. Moreover historical studies have revealed much surrounding the statue of Eros as a sleeping baby. The Bronze Statue of Eros Sleeping dates back from the 3rd century B.C. to the early 1st century A.D.Recovered from the Rhode Island, the statue is one of the few surviving bronze art pieces from the Greek period to have endured the test of the centuries in an almost flawless state. [1]The statue, which measured 85.2 cm in length, is displayed in the Greek wing of the museum. Undoubtedly, the Bronze Statue of Eros Sleeping is noteworthy not only for physical aspects but also for its iconographic significance in art history, particularly in understanding Greek culture of which the statue was once a part of.The ability of the statue to last for so long shows its sculptors determination to make a lasting piece that he no doubt meant to preserve the cherished culture of the time.The Greek bronze sculptures that were made at the time were complexes of geometric forms that resulted in the making of peculiar sculptures that distinguished the Greek culture. The sculptures of the Greek were different from the sculptures of the other contemporary cultures such as the Romans culture.According to carol C. Mattusch, who is a leading authority in the study of the Greek ancient bronze sculptures, the bronze sculptures that were made at the Hellenistic period were made with a certain design that the artists intended to carry a specific message.In the case of the gods sculptures the link with the people was the power the gods were believed to have over the people. In th e case of the statue of Eros sleeping there was no particular buyer but it was meant for the people of the Greek region as a whole.[2]In its location in the Metropolitan Museum, the Bronze Statue of Eros Sleeping commands the viewer’s attention by being a freestanding figure that makes it stand out in the empty exhibition space. It is best seen from the frontal angle, where the viewer has a full view of the entire statue. The statues composition also demands that it be seen from a small distance in order to get a full sense of the effect of the statue against its surroundings.Taken on its own, the Bronze Statue of Eros Sleeping presents an exemplary case study of the rendering of human forms in Greek Art. Here, the artist displays a keen knowledge of the material, and is able to take advantage of bronze as medium in making the statue as life-like as possible as it gives the statue a sense of fluidity and movement.On the other hand, bronze also enables the statue to gain a sen se of mass and weight, which is appropriate to the figure of Eros in deep slumber. Likewise, the bronze medium allowed the artist to manipulate the natural qualities of the medium to create the human form.The medium of bronze is a powerful agent for the recognition of the immediate environment in which the Greek people in the Hellenistic period lived. It helps make a symbol potent of both religious and secular values. As one of the few bronze statutes that have survived from the antiquity it is an enduring icon of the naturalistic detail of the age. The result of the presence of such a statue is history in the firsthand.The statue is deemed to have had a base that was carved out of stone in place of the support it lies on in the museum. The base, just like the statue, would probably be a rendition of comfortable material in work of art just as befits the sleeping baby deity. As a god of love he was deemed to have such qualities as bodily comeliness and to be the bearer of graceful d eeds.The child image would not be a symbol of the god of love without the addition of wings to the statue. The statue of an innocent child in slumber with curled hairs and other details of a well fed child would be too plain for a god. Greek gods were believed to be spirits that had wings that were useful for them to fly from one destination to another.Clearly, the artist was able to engender movement by using forms that complement the use of open lines. Hence, one of the most notable aspects of the statue is the use of organic forms that mimic the natural curves of the human body to depict the cherubic appeal of a healthy child.There is also evidence that the artist considered the influence of light on the statues composition. For instance, Eros face is only partially exposed to the light, which gives him an air of mystery as half of his face is hidden in the dark. The retention of the mediums color also gives it the contrasts in hue created by the natural play of light on the stat ue.[1] Hemingway, Sean. 2007. Hellenistic bronze sculptures at the Metropolitan Museum: from gods to grotesques. Apollo. P. 27[2] Mattusch, carol. Classical Bronzes: The Art and Craft of Greek and Roman Statuary, Cornell University Press, 1996, p. 164 Â  

British Airways Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

British Airways - Case Study Example Business risks: It is seen that the higher the risks of the business, the lower should be the dependence on debt, or outside funds. In the context of British Airways, it is seen that gearing percentage has come down from 67.7% in 2004-05 to just 28.8% in 2007-08. In other words, it indicates that the dependence for debt capital has come down by nearly 58% in just 3 years, averaging nearly 20% drop each year. (Financial highlights). One of the main reasons for the drop in gearing to 28.8% in 2007-08 could be the better operating performance and the build-up of retained profits and reserves during the years, all this despite high rises in fuel, employee and other operating costs. It is also seen that "Despite increases in the UK and US floating rates, our interest payable on bank and other loans reduced, mainly as a result of lower debt levels." (Chief financial officer's report continued p.4). Further, it is seen that due to growth in retained profits, the debt equity ratio was only 28.8% during 2008, which is lower than last year. Again, considering operating leases, debt/total capital ratio was 38.4%. (Chief financial officer's report continued p.5). Market value of a firm is determined by its earning ... They areissuing shares or borrowing from banks. Debt equity ratio: It is the ratio of debt to the equity. A company's financial leverage can be calculated by dividingits total liabilitiesbystockholders' equity. It indicates the proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets.It is also known as the Personal Debt/Equity Ratio, thiscan be applied to both personal financial statements and companies' financial statements. A high debt/equity ratio shows that the company has been aggressive in financing its growth or equity with debt. This can result in high earnings as a result of the additional expense. If a company is using lot ofdebtfinance in its operations (high debt to equity), it can generate more earningsthan it would have without thisoutside financing.If this were to increase earnings by a greater amount than the debt cost (interest), then the shareholders will get higher amount of earnings as dividend. However, the cost of this debt financing may outweigh the return thatthe companygenerates on the debt through investment and business activities and become too much for the company to handle. This can lead to bankruptcy, which would leave shareholders with nothing. The main advantage of debt financing is that it is a cheaper source of finance. It means that required rate of return on equity will always be higher than the interest rate on debt, there is a "hidden" cost involved in the cost of equity. And the cost of equity rises when we utilize more debt financing. This is one reason for using the average cost of capital in valuing a project or company which is more appropriat e, even if we intend to borrow all the money to finance it. While we may use cheap debt to finance a project, the

Peer Review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Peer Review - Assignment Example Studies have indicated that most surgical patients will experience PONV even if medicines were taken for prevention. PONV is a concern that occurs in 20-30% of patients receiving general anesthesia and can be up to 70-80% in high-risk patients (McCracken, Houston, & Lefebvre, 2008). The Society of Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA), developed a set of guidelines to provide up-to-date information for healthcare providers, including strategies to prevent or treat PONV in patients undergoing surgery (Gan et al., 2007). The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) clinical change project is to introduce various practice guidelines for PONV to anesthesia providers that will enhance their knowledge and, improve customer satisfaction, which is essential for the patient’s health and well-being. Nausea can often be described as a subjective, unpleasant sensation associated with a conscious urge or need to vomit(Tinsley &Barone, 2012). Vomiting is coordinated by the vomiting center signaling input from various sources including, the higher cortical center in the brain, the vestibular portion, the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) and the gastrointestinal tract where afferent pathways are stimulated indirectly by specific neurotransmitters (Tinsley &Barone, 2012). Patients experience delays in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) for various reasons. According to Chatterjee, Rudra, and Sengupta (2011) vomiting can prolong PACU recovery time up to 25 minutes. During postoperative visits at the project clinical site, patients who have had gynecological and breast procedures have often stated that being nauseated was the most undesirable consequence of surgery, out-ranking even pain. There are several risk factors involved when evaluating a patient for PONV. These risk factors include patients with a prior history of PONV, motion sickness, non-smokers, females and the length and type of surgery (Tinsley &Barone,

Games Development and Architectures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Games Development and Architectures - Essay Example The aesthetics of the game are based on what girls might be interested in if they were to travel to Europe: how to order food; how to use public or other transportation; how to find shelter at a hotel or motel or boarding-house or hostel; and how to have a cultural experience in the country of their particular level. The context of the game is that Lupe and Lucky are two best friends going to Europe and so that is the reason why the game is called The Adventures of Lupe Vega (Western Europe Edition Part 1). Subsequent editions could be aptly named with Part 2 dealing with other Western European nations. However, for the first edition (part 1), it was thought that in order to introduce people to the arcade game that only 6 countries would be focused upon: Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the UK, and Ireland. This would definitely appeal to the targeted audience because a lot of young women like to travel and perhaps they might need the skills to go to such countries, but just haven†™t learned much about the culture they are going to travel to, in essence. So this is a very educational game which will appeal to young women. This way, they cannot only have a formal experience which introduces them to the social elements of ordering food in a foreign country, but how to gain access to shelter, transportation, and a cultural experience while on a particular level or country they’re at.... not only have a formal experience which introduces them to the social elements of ordering food in a foreign country, but how to gain access to shelter, transportation, and a cultural experience while on a particular level or country they’re at. 2) Structure of the game system, including a description of all the game components, their interactions, and game mechanics. [1 page] ? The game components include the background setting for 24 different scenes. It also includes menus for each of the six countries’ food tasks, transportation information for six different transportation tasks, six shelter options for the different countries’ shelter tasks, and six different options for each of the countries’ cultural tasks. There may be multiple choices for each of the four tasks in each of the six countries—therefore, people may have choices as to what they would like to complete during their time playing the arcade game. This is a game at a much less speedy pace so people playing the game can take their time on a scene. It’s more of an educational game as well, so there is no time limit a person can spend on one scene. The interactions are usually between two people at a time—the person who the character is approaching and the character herself. Game mechanics are a little bit more complicated, but basically this can all be written in C# code if necessary on the technical end of things. In order to complete successful coding of the game, it is imperative that the coder know the intricacies of the game and what each interaction may consist of, in general. Thus, the coder and the person who developed the game would have to work together on the final coded prototype. This prototype presented here does not include code, rather it provides an overall scope for game

Food Handling and Unethical Business Practices Coursework

Food Handling and Unethical Business Practices - Coursework Example Inspection is, therefore, from time to time to ensure adherence to the food handling regulations by the EHPs. Inspection ought to be conducted to ensure that there are no contraventions of the Food Safety Act 1990, as well as the Food Safety Regulations. Another goal of carrying out inspection is to advise food handlers on how contraventions can be corrected. Furthermore, inspection ensures identification of potential risks, an indication of the action that is needed in the event of serious risks. In addition, inspection seeks to issue the enforcement notice of the food regulations (Lund & Hunter 2008: 329). EHPs mainly do investigations so as to make decisions on what actions to take on business operators in the food industry who contravene the set regulations. For instance, if the action is to issue a notice, they must decide what should be included in the notice specification. The EHPs are given a lot of investigative powers, which fall under a broad range of statutory provisions. An excellent example is the Health and Safety at Work, under section 20, relating to powers of inspectors (Stephen 2013: 280). An EHP inspector possesses the power to enter any premises at any time to carry out the relevant statutory provisions. The officer may as well take a police officer with him where he fears obstructions. The EHP also has powers to take any equipment from the visited premises in line with carrying out the statutory provisions. The EHP has the power to take photographs and measurements while on a mission. The EHP also has powers to question any person believed to give relevant information regarding the investigations (Stephen 2013: 281). In carrying out the inspection process, the EHPs are concerned about the temperature control, to ascertain whether the food is left at the right temperature. The inspector also ensures that the food handling facility has enough refrigerators and deep freezers, all set at the correct temperature.  

Question 1. Impact of Language and cultural Diversity on Ammerica's Essay

Question 1. Impact of Language and cultural Diversity on Ammerica's Pluralistic Society - Essay Example By definition, a society is composed of a group of people who shares the same beliefs, values, interests, and activities. It can be an ethnic group, a community, or a country. In relation to this, there are also different types of society that exists and co-exists. One of these societies is the pluralistic type of society where power is distributed within the sub-groups in the society. Aside from distribution of power, a pluralistic society is also diverse such as the American society (Carroll and Buchholtz 6-8). In relation to this, the diverse languages present in the American pluralistic society had greatly affected the education system of America. The differences of language brought by studying within a majority culture bring difficulties to students that enter the American educational system. There have been an increasing number of students who speak other languages other than English which causes these students to be inarticulate in the English language. Also, due to the increa se of multilingual or non-English speaking students, the educational system must provide instructions in line with the mother language of the students. In this manner, the educational system must be reevaluated in order to provide the necessary instructions for all students. Also, the cultural diversity affects the American educational system because most of the time, the minority groups are continued to be taught with the curriculum that is not based on their culture. This is because the instruction materials, as well as the teachers, continue to teach through the usual American educational system. As a result, the student will eventually be affected in terms of his or her cultural behavior (Hardman, Drew, and Egan; Naylor 99). In relation to the business industry or the corporate world of America, the presence of language and cultural diversity also means that the workforce will be made up of different types of people. These differences encompass the different beliefs, cultural or ientation, gender, race, and ethnicity. Due to this, corporate America had used the term workplace diversity in order to cite such differences. Workplace diversity also plays a vital role in the manner of managing and handling employees from top to bottom. Also, workplace diversity, if managed properly, is an advantageous way of opening a company or an industry to a more diverse clientele. In order to gain optimum advantage of workplace diversity, managers have been trained with different diversity programs. Some of the few advantages of workplace diversity include acquisition of resources, advantage in the branch of marketing, and the ability to complement bilingual skill with the orthodox skills (Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor 252-254). There were also changes in America’s mass media during the time when the American society became more and more pluralistic. Many of the media outlets conceded that it was important to act upon the continuing pluralistic society of the United Stat es fairly. In this manner, changes were done in the attitude of the media in stereotyping. In the early 1980, many of the minority groups in America were represented falsely in movies, television, and even in novels and books. However, as the increase of language and cultural diversity occurred in the United States, many media outlets had employed and changed the perspectives on minority

Why Should a Firm Cooperate with an Advertising Agency Coursework

Why Should a Firm Cooperate with an Advertising Agency - Coursework Example At Keller Advertising Agency we employ competitive professionals who are able to organize, create as well as place an advertisement to meet the objectives better than any company.   We do extensive market research and thus we are able to build an effective advertising strategy that will help you capture the market share as well as build a stable relationship with the consumers creating customer loyalty and help in building the company brand. With our knowledge of the eReader market coupled with an innovative and unique approach to the market, we are able to engage, capture the attention of the target market and enhance their interaction with the new product thus creating a relationship with the brand. At Keller Advertising we go at greater lengths to please our clients by ensuring that they have a great strategic vision that will steer them towards strategic success for their business in the global market.Our strategy is your strategy and this is what guides as to intriguing, competitive and ultimately successful campaigns. Our main aim is to inform and persuade the consumers on the new product through communicating ideas and information about the product in a way that will create a memorable experience for the consumer and enhance brand recognition. What counts most in campaigns is the message and we have talented experts who ensure creativity and logic. Finally, we provide a follow up after implementation of the campaign to ensure success.  An effective product name is one which is simple and easy to remember and thus will help in selling the product during marketing. A good product name should have the following characteristics be unique and thus distinguish the product from its competitors, hold appeal for the target audience, imply the benefits of the brand, create customer loyalty through bonding with the company, motivates the customers to purchase, can buy the image of the product and name and have symbolic association which fortifies the company’s image.

Mobile Computing and Social Networking Essay Example for Free

Mobile Computing and Social Networking Essay 1Introduction Tiny, portable gadgets, such as pocket digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones have been in the recent years pushed on the mark. Mobile or ubiquitous computing and handy gadgets are changing the relations between computers and humans.there is an introduction of a new communication approach based on context. This approach enables people to interact with computers, objects and environments seamlessly. Mobile computing devices have enabled composite cooperation and communication patterns that were not dreamt of in the past years. They possess vital features in portability, ability to share information using communication networks; wireless, and synchronizing the information with other standardized gadgets. There have drastic changes in the technological landscape in the past years led by the emergence of mobile computing devices focusing on consumer preferences. The rapid increase in use of mobile computing gadgets is nowadays noticeable in the medical or healthcare industry. The healthcare industry has never been a frontrunner in terms of Information Technology and computing in relation to caring for patients and clinical trials. Health care providers are adopting new and innovative ways using mobile computing platforms to support patient care. Thus through a constant drive to find a new method of improving the quality of patients’ lives, the health care industry has benefited. This has seen the enormous growth of wearable portable systems, monitoring the patient’s conditions for vital signs. This paper focuses in assessing the concept of monitoring patients using mobile computing gadgets transmitting using wireless technology. It also assesses the use of social networks to group support for patients with similar medical conditions. 2Monitoring patients using wearable, mobile gadgets 2.1concepts Mobile health monitoring systems have come handy in helping people to engage closely in their own health care. This technology involves the integration of a biosensor which monitors vital signs (such as heart rate, BP, temperature and other health-related information), environmental sensors, and a location sensor into a wearable wireless network. This allows an enduring, unobtrusive monitoring with immediate feedback to the patient or physician about the current status and a real time update of the user’s health data. The data makes up the EPR (electronic patient record), which allows the health status data of the patient to be accessed using many devices and heterogeneous networks. Mobile computing application in medicine allows access to EPR for consolidated information on patients from any location within the network. This advancement has brought about many benefits to the medical industry. However, it does not make a substitute for the direct eye to eye meeting between patient and the doctor due to the various setbacks it suffers. 2.2Advantages of using mobile computing to monitor patients Monitoring patients using wearable, mobile devices has a lot of merits as compared to the traditional inpatient visit by the patient. These include: 2.2.1Patient participation in their own health care This technology allows the healthcare providers to be close and interact more with patients. This grows the sense of ownership amongst patients and their relatives as they tend to take in more information and interact with it. This interaction provides the clinician an improved access to information thus leading to a better diagnosis. The resultant is a sense of ownership in the patients leading to high rates of diagnosis acceptance and following of post-diagnosis orders. 2.2.2Easier and quicker visibility of the patient’s condition The physician does not have to wait for laboratory results to be sent or telemetry to be done. The mobile computing devices allows for real time viewing of information. 2.2.3Increase in efficiency of healthcare The provider does not have to move from machine to machine, one room to the other seeking the patient’s data. Updated data can be accessed from the electronic patient records in real time by the wearable monitoring devices. This leads to swift and accurate decision making concerning patients issues since it relies on accurate data. 2.2.4Cost The development of these mobile devices can be realized within modest charges compared to specialty systems. The maintenance of these small but essential devices is also low compared to the specialty systems. This pulls down the cost of running mobile-computing monitoring devices. 2.3Disadvantages of using mobile computing to monitor patients Monitoring patients using mobile computing powered devices also suffer some setbacks. 2.3.1Health hazard The issue of radiations still is unclear posing uncertainties on its application. The health care industry players have not agreed on the standards of these devices. 2.3.2Technical stress Its application may bring more technical emphasis which can result in a stress issue to patients and medics (Brahnam Jain, 2010). The patients’ data has to be stored securely. This is often a challenge because the users of these devices may be unequipped with the necessary level of expertise; to perform the encryption tasks. However, security is a point of concern in the application of these gadgets. An effective protocol or security measure should be used to ensure heavy security to the data accessed through them. This entails an implementation of strong access protocols at both the gadget and the network levels. Appropriate encryption measures should also be implemented to safeguard against unauthorized access of the information stored in the device, in case it lands in the wrong hands due to theft. However, these devices should be designed only to allow viewing of sensitive data locally on the mobile computing device rather than storing it. 2.4Use of social network to group support for patients Online health social networking sites give patients the privilege to obtain and disclose information on some health condition without disclosing their identities (Turban Volonino, 2011). Support groups help patients to cope with the various conditions by providing social support and network of information to its members. Patients educate each other on the conditions and treatments using the social network. This often impacts the old doctor-patient relationship, and could develop a foundation for a market driven system where clients can make choices. Health oriented social networks are extremely beneficial to patients they provide an instrumental support by providing stress relieving services, financial assistance, advice and willingness to help. It offers nurturing support aiming at comforting stressed patients without necessarily solving the problems leading to the stress by making the patient feel cared. 3Conclusion The application of technology in the health industry has come a long way. Its adoption in the monitoring of patients has been extremely beneficial to both patients and doctors. However, there still concerns over the security of the many sensitive data passed on from one point to the other by these mobile devices. Improved security measures should be enacted, to ensure that the patient’s data is safe from external access since it may incriminate the privacy right of the patient. Health care oriented social network has been much of a platform where patients share their experiences. The healthcare providers get to acquaint themselves of the patients’ experiences and also market their services by engaging directly with the patients. * 4.0References Brahnam, S., Jain, L. C. (2010). Advanced Computational Intelligence Paradigms in Healthcare 5: Intelligent Decision Support Systems. Berlin, Germany: Springer. Shahriyar, R., Bari, F., Kundu, G., Ahamed, S., Akbar, M.(2009). Intelligent Mobile Health Monitoring System (IMHMS). In P.kostkova (Eds..), Electronic Healthcare: Second International ICST Conference, EHealth 2009 Istanbul, Turkey, September 2009 Revised Selected Papers (pp. 5-12). Berlin, Germany: Springer. Tan, J., (2005). EHealth Care Information Systems: An Introduction for Students and Professionals. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Turban, E., Volonino, L. (2011). Information Technology for management: Improving strategic and operational performance (8th ed.). Hoboken NJ: John Wiley Sons.

Customer Switching Behaviour for Mobile Networks

Customer Switching Behaviour for Mobile Networks EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Consumers use services everyday, these ranges from taking the train or opening a bank account to talking on a mobile phone. Businesses also rely on a wide range of services on a daily basis, but on a much larger scale compared to consumers. However, customers are not always satisfied with a particular service that they maybe using and often resort to switching their service provider in order to resolve the issue or pursue better value from a less expensive service. The objective of this study is to investigate customer-switching behaviour in the mobile industry, why it takes place and what factors influence it. This topic area has been chosen, as customer switching and the mobile phone industry are contemporary and relevant to the present day and will continue to evolve overtime. Research has been undertaken using secondary and primary data collection methods. Secondary data provided a background to the mobile phone industry and an overview of customer switching behaviour in services. Primary data consisted of self administered questionnaires to a convenient sample of university students, this enabled data to be collected which would provide an idea of mobile phone users contemplation of switching and their understanding of why they believe they would switch from one service to another. Findings revealed that a majority of customer switching is due to high call and monthly charges and consumers trying to obtain more free minutes and texts. This contrasts with the literature and precious studies, which have found other reasons to cause customer switching, which illustrates how causes of switching differ in every industry according to the nature of the service. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Aims The aim of this project is to determine the reasons as to why consumers switch from one mobile phone network to another? The research objectives that arise from the aim will therefore be: 1 To evaluate whether competitors offerings are causing consumers to switch from one network to another 2 To evaluate whether retail offerings are causing consumers to switch to gain a better deal 3 What actions of the service firms or their employees cause customers to switch from one service provider to another The research will be UK based geographically using a convenient sample of university students and will be done using both primary and secondary research methods. The research may help managers and researchers understand service switching from a customers perspective in the mobile phone industry and the switching drivers may provides answers as to what has influenced customer behaviour. The results of the research will be analysed to provide recommendations. The reason for choosing this topic area is that there appears to be a lack of research on customer switching behaviour in the mobile phone industry. This study aims to explore this topic are further. 1.2 Background on Mobile Phones Service Mobile phones service refers to a service whose customer base includes firms using mobile phones for business and customers using it for their personal use. Mobile phones have become substitutes for fixed telephone lines and have led to the decline in calls made from fixed telephone lines. The take up rate of mobile phones is constantly increasing and over the years the growth in the use of mobile phones has been dramatic. According to EMC mobile user numbers reached the 1.5 billion mark in June 2004 and is set to reach 2 billion by July 2006 and 2.45 billion by the end of 2009. (http://www.cellular.co.za, 2005) Mobile phones today are not solely used to make calls, additional value added services such as Short Messaging Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), radio, internet access and so on. This means that the benefits and use of mobile phones is also expanding, which is also contributing to industry growth. This has become a focus point for the various operators as intense competition has led to increasingly lower voice call prices. SMS was first used in 1992 and is currently the fastest growing communications technology in history. Worldwide, 135 billion text messages were sent person to person in the first quarter in 2004 (http://www.cellular.co.za, 2005). Retail revenues from voice and data services (including MMS, SMS) account for 79% of the total revenue of the four main UK mobile operators (Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile), which accounted for  £13.6 billion in revenues in 2003, (see appendix 1). CEPG Research Company conducted a study of the mobile telecommunications industry in 2002, in which findings showed that turnover had reached  £32 billion a year, with the sector contribution to GDP being  £19.4 billion (2.2%), (ofcom.org.uk/research/telecoms, 2005). The demand for mobile phones has never been so great as it has become a must have for people of all ages; consumers are constantly exchanging their outdated phones for the latest colour handsets. The popularity of mobile phones is immense and it is perceived that this interest in mobile phones will continue to grow over the next decade or so, as demand increases and new models and technology is introduced to mobile phones. 1.3 Mobile Phone Service Industry The mobile phone industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the British economy, with the UK making up the second largest mobile market in Europe, with a share of 18% (Datamonitor, Nov 2004). This growth is due to factors such as changes in government policies towards communication (deregulation), economic growth and developments in information technology. The more recent growth has come from existing mobile phone users upgrading their handsets, which have led to mobile phone companies and network operators targeting first time buyers (Datamonitor, Nov 2004). Mobile phones are not only seen as a vital element for success in business but also as a much wanted item for social use. This is evident in the increasing number of individuals both young and old who now have at least one mobile phone. As indicated by an Oftel report, in Britain over one million people own a mobile phone instead of a fixed telephone line. 2.3 million UK residents live without a fixed line telephone at home. The popularity of the fixed line phone drastically declined after the mass introduction of mobile phones to the UK. It is worth noting however, that fixed phone line companies have not taken this lightly and have retaliated by introducing mobile phones linked to fixed home lines and companies such as BT setting up their own mobile networks i.e. BT until recently owned O2 and also offering special discounted rates to encourage customers to use their fixed lines. There are four main network providers in the UK; they are T-mobile, O2, Vodafone and Orange. In 2004 there were 342.43 million mobile subscribers, which is an increase of 8.54 percent from the previous year and a penetration rate of 87.63 percent. T-mobile UK accounted for 15.06 million subscribers, Orange UK had 13.75 million, O2 UK had 13.06 million and Vodafone UK had 12.98 million (mobile communications). Recently there have been changes in terms of ownership of the major mobile phone networks. T-mobile is now one of the three strategic growth areas of Deutsche Telekom, a German network provider and O2 is now owned by Spanish firm Telefonica. Orange was sold to German mobile phone network Mannesman, which was then taken over by Vodafone, who sold Orange to France Telecom. Orange has a strong network in the UK and overseas but recent management decisions by France Telecom have reversed their user growth and subscriber numbers, which has been partly due to customers switching to other networks. Customers can become concerned that, if their chosen network provider is owned by a firm overseas, their needs will not be met as well as they could by a UK owned provider. Additionally events such as these can contribute to switching behaviour through customer confusion, as found by Oftel (2003), where many consumers switched due to confusion over re-branding of the network. 1.4 Customer Switching Behaviour in the Mobile Phone Industry According to research by TNS Telecom Trak, consumers tend to use their handsets for about twenty months before upgrading to a new one. Telecommunications regulator OFTEL found that this is also the average amount of time that a majority of mobile phone users will stay with the same mobile provider for. Oftels research ascertained that 90% of consumers thought about changing their network when changing handsets. Oftel published a report in April 2003, which provided an overview of the key findings of trends in consumer behaviour in the mobile market based on a residential consumer survey conducted in February 2003. Research was carried out by Recom (Research in Communications) amongst a representative sample of 2,289 UK adults, 75% of who claimed to have a mobile. Findings revealed that 26% of mobile customers have switched network/ supplier. There was a strong indication that the rise in switching in the last quarter was a reflection of confusion over re-branding and rise in mobile penetration. One in ten (9%) of mobile customers were found to have switched network at least twice since owning a mobile, including customers switching back to a previous operator. Men (37%) and younger mobile users, 15-34 (38%) were found to be most likely to switch multiple times, which included returning to a previously used network. Although the switching differed according to type of package, 36% of contract customers had switched multiple times compared to those on prepay (33%). 24% of customers had switched once in the last 6 months, compared to three in ten (28%) of those that had switched twice and 43% that had switched more than 3 times. The same survey also revealed that in November 2002, 34% of consumers stated that they had switched mobile network, which was believed to have a result of customer confusion caused by the re-branding of O2 (formally BTCellent) and T-mobile (One2One). Yet this rise was temporary and soon returned to the previous level of 27%. In February 2003, 7% of T-mobile customers said that they had switched network having previously being with One2One, this was the same for O2 customers who had switched from BTCellnet. This accounted for 3% of all switchers who were confused by the re-branding during February. The current percentage of mobile consumers that have switched mobile network remains at 26%. When looking at multiple switching, two in ten (18%) of mobile customers had changed their network once, and seven out of ten claimed to have never switched network. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter will review all existing literature related to the mobile phone industry with a focus on customer switching habits and their surrounding elements such as consumer lifestyles, services themselves, competitor offerings and loyalty to help understand the research problem. This chapter will also review the contributions other researchers have made to the concepts of switching behaviour, yet it should be noted that literature on mobile phone choice is sparse and issues relating to why customers actually switch services remains unexplored in marketing literature which will be explored through this study. 2.1 Classification of Services There is no one single definition of services that is universally accepted, although many authors have attempted to define it. Yet very few products are 100% service or 100% tangible, they usually consist of a combination of both. Gronroos (1990) defines services as: â€Å"A service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature that normally, but not necessarily, takes place in interactions between the customers and the service employee and/or physical resources or goods and/or systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer problems†. This illustrates the fact that services can take place through physical form, for example this project is concerned with customers switching network provider service (which is intangible) but to have that service to begin with, customers need to purchase a mobile phone, which is a tangible product. Therefore switching behaviour in such a situation may differ from switching a service, which is not integrated with hardware; this may be due to the fact that when physical products are also involved, the costs and risk of switching is different to when there is just a service alone. Brassington (2003) acknowledged that most products tend to have a combination of both physical goods and service e.g. purchasing a gas appliance; this would require the professional fitting service as well as purchasing of the appliance itself. Kotler (1997) also recognised that some services are a combination of both a service and a product and has incorporated this in his definition of services: â€Å"Any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.† This emphasises two key elements: 1. Intangibility A Service cannot be experience before it is purchased, 2. Lack of ownership there is no ownership in a pure service as there is no physical product involved. This is further illustrated in the Figure 1 below which illustrates Kotlers (1997) four categories of products, which are: 1. A pure service 2. A major service with accompanying minor goods/services 3. A tangible good with accompanying service 4. A pure tangible product New services are being introduced on a daily basis to satisfy and meet all customer needs from individual consumers to business consumers. The service industry comprises the majority of todays economy. In 2001, it represented 80 percent of the GDP of the USA (U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis). Keiningham et al (2003) said â€Å"there is a growing recognition among managers of the importance of measuring the share of business a customer conducts with a particular service provider (share-of-wallet) as opposed to simply repurchasing a product or service at some point in the future or continuing to keep a business relationship with a service provider†. This indicates the importance of retaining and maintaining customers and the importance of the relationship with them. Research carried out by Bitner (1990); Boulding at al, (1993) looked at service quality in service organisations, Crosby Evans and Cowles (1990); Crosby and Stephens (1987) researched relationship quality and Cronin and Taylor (1992) looked at overall satisfaction with regards to the issue of customer retention in service organisations. These researchers all agreed that service organisations could improve the likelihood of customers intention to remain with a particular service organisation, as it is these features that contribute to customer satisfaction and the growth of the organisation. The above studies all illustrated strategies relating to customer retention in services. Yet issues relating to why customers actually switch services remain unexplored in marketing literature. 2.2 Characteristics of Services When describing the main characteristics of a service, it can be depicted as being intangible, as a service has no physical dimension but can take place through a tangible product as is the case with mobile phones and network providers, as discussed earlier. A service can also be described using a tangible noun as Shostack (1987) exemplified that an ‘airline means transportation and a ‘hotel means lodging rental. Berry (1980) described a good as ‘an object, a device, a thing in comparison to a service which is ‘a deed, a performance, an effort. This further illustrates the fact that consumers cannot see, touch, hear, taste or smell a service; all they can do is experience the performance of the service as said by Carman and Uhl, (1973) and Sasser et. al, (1978) but, the experience may not be possible in all cases without some form of hardware in addition. Because services are delivered by individuals, each service experience will differ from another; as a result each purchaser will receive a different service experience. Additionally, when a consumer purchases a good, they own it, yet with a service the consumer only has temporary access or use of it, as the service is not owned, only the benefit of it is. Wyckham et al (1975) and Kotler (1986) defined this concept as ownership. 2.3 The Services Marketing Mix As previously discussed above, many features separate services from tangible products, yet the marketing principles remain the same for both. One particular difference is that there is close contact between individual employees from the supplier organisation and the customer themselves. Because of this, the traditional marketing mix needs to be re-evaluated in terms of the 7ps. Product: This refers to the features of the product or surrounding it, which in this case would be a good service or supplementary services surrounding it. These features should be benefits, which the customer would desire, and the surrounding features would be competing products performance. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Place and Time: Delivering a service to customers involves place, time of delivery and distribution channels used. Delivery can be done both physically and through electronic distribution channels according to the nature of the service being provided. Services can be delivered directly to customers or through intermediary firms, e.g. rental outlets. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Promotion and Education: these are three fold, firstly information and advice needs to be provided to customers, target customers need to be persuaded towards a product, and they need to be encouraged to take action. Service promotional communication are usually educational, informing potential customers of the benefits of the service, where and when to obtain it and how. These communications are delivered through individuals (sales people) or media (TV, radio, newspapers etc.). (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Price and Other User Outlays: In services monetary values refer to rates, fees, admissions, charges, tuition, contributions, interest etc. (Gabbott and Hogg, 1997). Physical Environment: A firms service quality can be perceived through the appearance of buildings, landscaping, vehicles, interior furnishing, equipment, staff members, signs, printed materials and other visible cues. These are physical evidence and impact customer impressions. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Process: A service is delivered to a customer through a process, which is the method and actions in the service performance. Poor processes can result in slow and ineffective service and unsatisfied customers. Front line staff may also find it difficult to do their jobs well as a result of poor process, which can again lead to service failure. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). People: Services tend to involve direct interaction between customers and firms employees. The experience of the interaction, for example talking to call centre staff, can influence the customers perceptions of service quality. The implication is that firms need to train and motivate their employees to ensure good service quality. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). 2.4 Marketing in Services Image is often a key factor in differentiating a service from its competitors. Marketing is therefore important in service because it enables the customer to link an image with a brand. Examples of these can be seen on delivery vehicles, which are painted, hotel soap and shampoos etc. When consumers have no experience with a product, they tend to ‘trust a favoured or well-known brand name; therefore service marketers need to build a favourable brand image. Some consumer theorists have linked service quality with consumer behaviour intentions, in that the quality of the service will determine whether the consumer remains with that particular provider or defects to a competitor. When consumers perceive high service quality, the behavioural intentions will be positive, as they will remain with the service provider. In contrast, poor service quality will lead to the relationship with the customer weakening resulting in defection to a competitor. Financially the firm will benefit more by retaining customers through increasing service quality; this is demonstrated in the figure 2 below. The figure above shows that the more favourable a firms service quality is, the more likely the customer is to remain with the firm, benefiting the firm. But when the service quality is poor, the customer will show unfavourable behavioural intentions, which will result in defecting/ switching. This highlights that in order to prevent customers from switching and to enable the firm to continue making profits, the firm needs to retain customers through good service quality. Service firms and service marketers need to recognise the significance of these reasons as they can lead to negative effects on share and profitability as noted by Rust and Zahorik (1993). This can arise from negative word of mouth, which will in turn deter potential customers. These reasons can also help markets to plan their promotional campaigns according to the aspects that are causing customers to switch. As maintained by Reichheld and Sasser (1990) companies can boost profits by almost 100% by retaining just 5% more of their customers. 2.5 Marketing in the Mobile Phone Industry As the market becomes more competitive, firms will endeavour to maintain their market share by focusing on retaining their current customers. It can be said that recent competition amongst mobile phone networks has become aggressive, especially with all the competitive price plans and handsets on offer, which are being promoted by the networks. More recently a ‘camera wars are taking place between mobile brands as consumers are considering this an important feature when purchasing mobile phones, Marketing magazine (2004). When network 3 entered the market, they were able to encourage many consumers to switch mobile networks from their existing providers to 3. this was done using challenging and direct advertising comparing brand and product features with those of competing networks. Marketing magazine (2004). As a result of this, 3 were able to reach the one million-customer mark faster than any other network since launching. It is evident that mobile phone networks are being innovative in their marketing tactics in the aim of securing higher customer bases. Much of the marketing the mobile networks today to do this are directed towards consumer confusion tactics. Consumer confusion tactics are where consumers are provided with large amounts of decision-relevant information, in regards to mobiles, this is seen in the form of deals, discounts, leaflets, newspaper adds and television advertising line rentals from as little as 99p per month. Confusion marketing and overload aims to confuse consumers into a state of stress and frustration, resulting in information overload and sub-optimal decisions. Price confusion is the most common confusion marketing tactic used in the mobile telephone market today in order to assist companies to gain a competitive advantage. It has been found that this tactic of confusion marketing appears to work and confuses customers to such an extent that they end up being persuaded b y this marketing literature and the information overload that they are provided with that they purchase the plan that is sold to them without investigating it further as they feel that they have all the information that they need and have made an informed choice. Confusion usually arises from 3 main sources: i) Over choice of products and stores there are independent mobile phone shops opening up regularly, and new mobile phones are being introduced to the market every month. ii) Similarity of products all the price plans available are very similar in terms of price as well as network call charges. iii) Ambiguous, misleading or inadequate information conveyed through marketing communications For example, many retailers are offering line rental for 99p per month, what consumers are not aware of is that they have to pay the full line rental for the first six months and then they claim their cash back. But using confusion marketing can have adverse effects on consumers. The ‘information overload can cause consumers to shop around, which can reduce brand loyalty towards the firm. 2.6 Decision Making Process for Mobile Phones When customers purchase a product or service they go through a complex process of three stages: the pre purchase stage (decision to buy), the service encounter stage and the post purchase stage. This can be applied to the purchasing of mobile phones. The post purchase stage will determine the customers future intentions on whether or not to remain loyal to that service provider or to switch service. During the post purchase stage, customers evaluate service quality and their satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the service experience. This is done by comparing what was initially expected with what they perceived they received from a particular provider. If expectations are met, customers are likely to be satisfied and therefore more likely to make repeat purchases and remain loyal. If customer expectations are not met, customers may complain about poor service quality, suffer in silence or resort to switching service provider. It has become evident in recent years that customers no longer â€Å"suffer in silence† with bad service to the extent that they previously and if they experience service that they are not satisfied with then are more likely to switch in order to receive a better service/better value for their money. When considering the purchase process of mobile phones, again there are complex factors, which influence the decision the decision process which include both macro and microeconomic conditions, but it generally tends to follow the traditional buying process. When faced with the problem of whether or not to purchase a mobile phone, consumers will initially take part in an information search before choosing which one to buy. The consumers decision-making process is directed by preferences that the consumer has already formed regarding a particular brand. Beatty and Smith (1987) and Moorthy et al (1997) argue that this means the consumer is most likely to make a choice based on a limited information search and without evaluating fully all the alternative brands available. As indicated by Dhar and Wertenbroach (2000), limited information search and evaluation of alternatives can result in a situation where the consumers choice is driven by hedonic considerations. Utilitarian goods are co nsidered to be instrumental and functional whereas hedonic good are seen as being fun and exciting, but some goods can have both features, as stated by Barta and Ahtola (1990). With relation to mobile phones the choice has both utilitarian (e.g. communication, SMS, planning) and hedonic (e.g. games, music, camera) features. Wilska (2003) believes the younger the consumer gets, the more they value the hedonistic features in their mobile phones. The mobile phone market is a technology driven market, therefore products are created based on consumers possible future needs which tend to be hedonistic features. Riquelme (2001) explored the level of knowledge consumers have when choosing between different mobile phone brands. The study focused on main factors, which were: telephone features, connection fee, access cost, mobile-to-mobile phone rates, call rates and free calls), which respondents had to rate according to importance. Findings revealed that respondents with previous experience about products predicted their choices well, although they over-estimate the importance of features, cal rates and free calls and under-estimated the importance of the monthly access fee, mobile-to-mobile phone rates and the connection fee. 2.7 Customer Switching Behaviour There is no one clear definition of customer switching, due to the lack of research into this area, although very few authors have attempted to define it. According to Brassington (2003) customer switching refers to â€Å"consumers who are not loyal to any one brand of a particular product and switch between two or more brands within the category†. Switching behaviour has also been referred to as defection or customer exit (Hirschman, 1970; Stewart, 1994) and refers to a customers decision to stop purchasing a particular service or patronising the service firm completely as agued by Bolton and Bronkhurst (1995) and Boote, (1998). Yet it can be argued that this is not a valid definition of customer switching as this definition refers to the consumers behaviour as abandonment of the use of a product/service although, whereas switching is concerned with consumers using one product/service provider and then deciding to switch to another. Many models have attempted to portray customer switching behaviour in services yet they all imply that switching derives from a gradual dissolution of relationships as a result of multiple problems encountered over time as found by Bejou and Palmer (1998) and Hocutt (1998). 2.8 Causes for Dissatisfied Service and Switching Bitner et al (1994) has looked at the events that lead to satisfying and dissatisfying service encounters for customers from an employees point of view. Bitner et als (1994) study found that employees were inclined to describe the customers problems with external causes such as delivery system failures as the most prominent followed by problem customers. A small percentage of dissatisfactory incidents were classified as spontaneous negative employee behaviours such as rudeness or lack of attention. It was evident that the employees were biased in terms of not blaming themselves for failures. Past research associating customer and employee views on critical factors compelling customers to switch offers assorted assumptions. Schneider and Bowen (1985) and Schneider, Parkington, and Buxton (1980) found a strong relationship between employee and customer attitudes regarding service quality on the whole in the banking service. The results from their study contradicted those of a study carried out by Brown and Swartz (1989). Data was collected from patients based on experiences with their physicians and were compared to what physicians perceived of the experiences of their patients. Results showed large differences inversely associated to patient satisfaction in general. Thus researchers have different views regarding customer and employee attitudes on service quality. When considering switching in the financial service, Mintel International Group believes the critical factor causing consumers to switch providers is price. Price is a sensitive issue and one that is close to th e heart of customers so it is perceived that they may consider switching on the basis of this if they are not satisfied with the service they are receiving. But it can be concluded that the customers view holds greater value, as it is their opinion that brings in business for a firm. Bolton Brankhurst (1995) and McDougal (1996) have looked at customer switching behaviour in relation to complaints, which they believe leads up to the defection. They suggested, that this field should be further explored, as there is a lack of research that tries to investigate the correlations between the factors that influence service switching and those that influence complaints before switching. Complains are again another major area of concern. The first Customer Switching Behaviour for Mobile Networks Customer Switching Behaviour for Mobile Networks EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Consumers use services everyday, these ranges from taking the train or opening a bank account to talking on a mobile phone. Businesses also rely on a wide range of services on a daily basis, but on a much larger scale compared to consumers. However, customers are not always satisfied with a particular service that they maybe using and often resort to switching their service provider in order to resolve the issue or pursue better value from a less expensive service. The objective of this study is to investigate customer-switching behaviour in the mobile industry, why it takes place and what factors influence it. This topic area has been chosen, as customer switching and the mobile phone industry are contemporary and relevant to the present day and will continue to evolve overtime. Research has been undertaken using secondary and primary data collection methods. Secondary data provided a background to the mobile phone industry and an overview of customer switching behaviour in services. Primary data consisted of self administered questionnaires to a convenient sample of university students, this enabled data to be collected which would provide an idea of mobile phone users contemplation of switching and their understanding of why they believe they would switch from one service to another. Findings revealed that a majority of customer switching is due to high call and monthly charges and consumers trying to obtain more free minutes and texts. This contrasts with the literature and precious studies, which have found other reasons to cause customer switching, which illustrates how causes of switching differ in every industry according to the nature of the service. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Aims The aim of this project is to determine the reasons as to why consumers switch from one mobile phone network to another? The research objectives that arise from the aim will therefore be: 1 To evaluate whether competitors offerings are causing consumers to switch from one network to another 2 To evaluate whether retail offerings are causing consumers to switch to gain a better deal 3 What actions of the service firms or their employees cause customers to switch from one service provider to another The research will be UK based geographically using a convenient sample of university students and will be done using both primary and secondary research methods. The research may help managers and researchers understand service switching from a customers perspective in the mobile phone industry and the switching drivers may provides answers as to what has influenced customer behaviour. The results of the research will be analysed to provide recommendations. The reason for choosing this topic area is that there appears to be a lack of research on customer switching behaviour in the mobile phone industry. This study aims to explore this topic are further. 1.2 Background on Mobile Phones Service Mobile phones service refers to a service whose customer base includes firms using mobile phones for business and customers using it for their personal use. Mobile phones have become substitutes for fixed telephone lines and have led to the decline in calls made from fixed telephone lines. The take up rate of mobile phones is constantly increasing and over the years the growth in the use of mobile phones has been dramatic. According to EMC mobile user numbers reached the 1.5 billion mark in June 2004 and is set to reach 2 billion by July 2006 and 2.45 billion by the end of 2009. (http://www.cellular.co.za, 2005) Mobile phones today are not solely used to make calls, additional value added services such as Short Messaging Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), radio, internet access and so on. This means that the benefits and use of mobile phones is also expanding, which is also contributing to industry growth. This has become a focus point for the various operators as intense competition has led to increasingly lower voice call prices. SMS was first used in 1992 and is currently the fastest growing communications technology in history. Worldwide, 135 billion text messages were sent person to person in the first quarter in 2004 (http://www.cellular.co.za, 2005). Retail revenues from voice and data services (including MMS, SMS) account for 79% of the total revenue of the four main UK mobile operators (Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile), which accounted for  £13.6 billion in revenues in 2003, (see appendix 1). CEPG Research Company conducted a study of the mobile telecommunications industry in 2002, in which findings showed that turnover had reached  £32 billion a year, with the sector contribution to GDP being  £19.4 billion (2.2%), (ofcom.org.uk/research/telecoms, 2005). The demand for mobile phones has never been so great as it has become a must have for people of all ages; consumers are constantly exchanging their outdated phones for the latest colour handsets. The popularity of mobile phones is immense and it is perceived that this interest in mobile phones will continue to grow over the next decade or so, as demand increases and new models and technology is introduced to mobile phones. 1.3 Mobile Phone Service Industry The mobile phone industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the British economy, with the UK making up the second largest mobile market in Europe, with a share of 18% (Datamonitor, Nov 2004). This growth is due to factors such as changes in government policies towards communication (deregulation), economic growth and developments in information technology. The more recent growth has come from existing mobile phone users upgrading their handsets, which have led to mobile phone companies and network operators targeting first time buyers (Datamonitor, Nov 2004). Mobile phones are not only seen as a vital element for success in business but also as a much wanted item for social use. This is evident in the increasing number of individuals both young and old who now have at least one mobile phone. As indicated by an Oftel report, in Britain over one million people own a mobile phone instead of a fixed telephone line. 2.3 million UK residents live without a fixed line telephone at home. The popularity of the fixed line phone drastically declined after the mass introduction of mobile phones to the UK. It is worth noting however, that fixed phone line companies have not taken this lightly and have retaliated by introducing mobile phones linked to fixed home lines and companies such as BT setting up their own mobile networks i.e. BT until recently owned O2 and also offering special discounted rates to encourage customers to use their fixed lines. There are four main network providers in the UK; they are T-mobile, O2, Vodafone and Orange. In 2004 there were 342.43 million mobile subscribers, which is an increase of 8.54 percent from the previous year and a penetration rate of 87.63 percent. T-mobile UK accounted for 15.06 million subscribers, Orange UK had 13.75 million, O2 UK had 13.06 million and Vodafone UK had 12.98 million (mobile communications). Recently there have been changes in terms of ownership of the major mobile phone networks. T-mobile is now one of the three strategic growth areas of Deutsche Telekom, a German network provider and O2 is now owned by Spanish firm Telefonica. Orange was sold to German mobile phone network Mannesman, which was then taken over by Vodafone, who sold Orange to France Telecom. Orange has a strong network in the UK and overseas but recent management decisions by France Telecom have reversed their user growth and subscriber numbers, which has been partly due to customers switching to other networks. Customers can become concerned that, if their chosen network provider is owned by a firm overseas, their needs will not be met as well as they could by a UK owned provider. Additionally events such as these can contribute to switching behaviour through customer confusion, as found by Oftel (2003), where many consumers switched due to confusion over re-branding of the network. 1.4 Customer Switching Behaviour in the Mobile Phone Industry According to research by TNS Telecom Trak, consumers tend to use their handsets for about twenty months before upgrading to a new one. Telecommunications regulator OFTEL found that this is also the average amount of time that a majority of mobile phone users will stay with the same mobile provider for. Oftels research ascertained that 90% of consumers thought about changing their network when changing handsets. Oftel published a report in April 2003, which provided an overview of the key findings of trends in consumer behaviour in the mobile market based on a residential consumer survey conducted in February 2003. Research was carried out by Recom (Research in Communications) amongst a representative sample of 2,289 UK adults, 75% of who claimed to have a mobile. Findings revealed that 26% of mobile customers have switched network/ supplier. There was a strong indication that the rise in switching in the last quarter was a reflection of confusion over re-branding and rise in mobile penetration. One in ten (9%) of mobile customers were found to have switched network at least twice since owning a mobile, including customers switching back to a previous operator. Men (37%) and younger mobile users, 15-34 (38%) were found to be most likely to switch multiple times, which included returning to a previously used network. Although the switching differed according to type of package, 36% of contract customers had switched multiple times compared to those on prepay (33%). 24% of customers had switched once in the last 6 months, compared to three in ten (28%) of those that had switched twice and 43% that had switched more than 3 times. The same survey also revealed that in November 2002, 34% of consumers stated that they had switched mobile network, which was believed to have a result of customer confusion caused by the re-branding of O2 (formally BTCellent) and T-mobile (One2One). Yet this rise was temporary and soon returned to the previous level of 27%. In February 2003, 7% of T-mobile customers said that they had switched network having previously being with One2One, this was the same for O2 customers who had switched from BTCellnet. This accounted for 3% of all switchers who were confused by the re-branding during February. The current percentage of mobile consumers that have switched mobile network remains at 26%. When looking at multiple switching, two in ten (18%) of mobile customers had changed their network once, and seven out of ten claimed to have never switched network. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter will review all existing literature related to the mobile phone industry with a focus on customer switching habits and their surrounding elements such as consumer lifestyles, services themselves, competitor offerings and loyalty to help understand the research problem. This chapter will also review the contributions other researchers have made to the concepts of switching behaviour, yet it should be noted that literature on mobile phone choice is sparse and issues relating to why customers actually switch services remains unexplored in marketing literature which will be explored through this study. 2.1 Classification of Services There is no one single definition of services that is universally accepted, although many authors have attempted to define it. Yet very few products are 100% service or 100% tangible, they usually consist of a combination of both. Gronroos (1990) defines services as: â€Å"A service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature that normally, but not necessarily, takes place in interactions between the customers and the service employee and/or physical resources or goods and/or systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer problems†. This illustrates the fact that services can take place through physical form, for example this project is concerned with customers switching network provider service (which is intangible) but to have that service to begin with, customers need to purchase a mobile phone, which is a tangible product. Therefore switching behaviour in such a situation may differ from switching a service, which is not integrated with hardware; this may be due to the fact that when physical products are also involved, the costs and risk of switching is different to when there is just a service alone. Brassington (2003) acknowledged that most products tend to have a combination of both physical goods and service e.g. purchasing a gas appliance; this would require the professional fitting service as well as purchasing of the appliance itself. Kotler (1997) also recognised that some services are a combination of both a service and a product and has incorporated this in his definition of services: â€Å"Any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.† This emphasises two key elements: 1. Intangibility A Service cannot be experience before it is purchased, 2. Lack of ownership there is no ownership in a pure service as there is no physical product involved. This is further illustrated in the Figure 1 below which illustrates Kotlers (1997) four categories of products, which are: 1. A pure service 2. A major service with accompanying minor goods/services 3. A tangible good with accompanying service 4. A pure tangible product New services are being introduced on a daily basis to satisfy and meet all customer needs from individual consumers to business consumers. The service industry comprises the majority of todays economy. In 2001, it represented 80 percent of the GDP of the USA (U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis). Keiningham et al (2003) said â€Å"there is a growing recognition among managers of the importance of measuring the share of business a customer conducts with a particular service provider (share-of-wallet) as opposed to simply repurchasing a product or service at some point in the future or continuing to keep a business relationship with a service provider†. This indicates the importance of retaining and maintaining customers and the importance of the relationship with them. Research carried out by Bitner (1990); Boulding at al, (1993) looked at service quality in service organisations, Crosby Evans and Cowles (1990); Crosby and Stephens (1987) researched relationship quality and Cronin and Taylor (1992) looked at overall satisfaction with regards to the issue of customer retention in service organisations. These researchers all agreed that service organisations could improve the likelihood of customers intention to remain with a particular service organisation, as it is these features that contribute to customer satisfaction and the growth of the organisation. The above studies all illustrated strategies relating to customer retention in services. Yet issues relating to why customers actually switch services remain unexplored in marketing literature. 2.2 Characteristics of Services When describing the main characteristics of a service, it can be depicted as being intangible, as a service has no physical dimension but can take place through a tangible product as is the case with mobile phones and network providers, as discussed earlier. A service can also be described using a tangible noun as Shostack (1987) exemplified that an ‘airline means transportation and a ‘hotel means lodging rental. Berry (1980) described a good as ‘an object, a device, a thing in comparison to a service which is ‘a deed, a performance, an effort. This further illustrates the fact that consumers cannot see, touch, hear, taste or smell a service; all they can do is experience the performance of the service as said by Carman and Uhl, (1973) and Sasser et. al, (1978) but, the experience may not be possible in all cases without some form of hardware in addition. Because services are delivered by individuals, each service experience will differ from another; as a result each purchaser will receive a different service experience. Additionally, when a consumer purchases a good, they own it, yet with a service the consumer only has temporary access or use of it, as the service is not owned, only the benefit of it is. Wyckham et al (1975) and Kotler (1986) defined this concept as ownership. 2.3 The Services Marketing Mix As previously discussed above, many features separate services from tangible products, yet the marketing principles remain the same for both. One particular difference is that there is close contact between individual employees from the supplier organisation and the customer themselves. Because of this, the traditional marketing mix needs to be re-evaluated in terms of the 7ps. Product: This refers to the features of the product or surrounding it, which in this case would be a good service or supplementary services surrounding it. These features should be benefits, which the customer would desire, and the surrounding features would be competing products performance. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Place and Time: Delivering a service to customers involves place, time of delivery and distribution channels used. Delivery can be done both physically and through electronic distribution channels according to the nature of the service being provided. Services can be delivered directly to customers or through intermediary firms, e.g. rental outlets. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Promotion and Education: these are three fold, firstly information and advice needs to be provided to customers, target customers need to be persuaded towards a product, and they need to be encouraged to take action. Service promotional communication are usually educational, informing potential customers of the benefits of the service, where and when to obtain it and how. These communications are delivered through individuals (sales people) or media (TV, radio, newspapers etc.). (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Price and Other User Outlays: In services monetary values refer to rates, fees, admissions, charges, tuition, contributions, interest etc. (Gabbott and Hogg, 1997). Physical Environment: A firms service quality can be perceived through the appearance of buildings, landscaping, vehicles, interior furnishing, equipment, staff members, signs, printed materials and other visible cues. These are physical evidence and impact customer impressions. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Process: A service is delivered to a customer through a process, which is the method and actions in the service performance. Poor processes can result in slow and ineffective service and unsatisfied customers. Front line staff may also find it difficult to do their jobs well as a result of poor process, which can again lead to service failure. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). People: Services tend to involve direct interaction between customers and firms employees. The experience of the interaction, for example talking to call centre staff, can influence the customers perceptions of service quality. The implication is that firms need to train and motivate their employees to ensure good service quality. (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). 2.4 Marketing in Services Image is often a key factor in differentiating a service from its competitors. Marketing is therefore important in service because it enables the customer to link an image with a brand. Examples of these can be seen on delivery vehicles, which are painted, hotel soap and shampoos etc. When consumers have no experience with a product, they tend to ‘trust a favoured or well-known brand name; therefore service marketers need to build a favourable brand image. Some consumer theorists have linked service quality with consumer behaviour intentions, in that the quality of the service will determine whether the consumer remains with that particular provider or defects to a competitor. When consumers perceive high service quality, the behavioural intentions will be positive, as they will remain with the service provider. In contrast, poor service quality will lead to the relationship with the customer weakening resulting in defection to a competitor. Financially the firm will benefit more by retaining customers through increasing service quality; this is demonstrated in the figure 2 below. The figure above shows that the more favourable a firms service quality is, the more likely the customer is to remain with the firm, benefiting the firm. But when the service quality is poor, the customer will show unfavourable behavioural intentions, which will result in defecting/ switching. This highlights that in order to prevent customers from switching and to enable the firm to continue making profits, the firm needs to retain customers through good service quality. Service firms and service marketers need to recognise the significance of these reasons as they can lead to negative effects on share and profitability as noted by Rust and Zahorik (1993). This can arise from negative word of mouth, which will in turn deter potential customers. These reasons can also help markets to plan their promotional campaigns according to the aspects that are causing customers to switch. As maintained by Reichheld and Sasser (1990) companies can boost profits by almost 100% by retaining just 5% more of their customers. 2.5 Marketing in the Mobile Phone Industry As the market becomes more competitive, firms will endeavour to maintain their market share by focusing on retaining their current customers. It can be said that recent competition amongst mobile phone networks has become aggressive, especially with all the competitive price plans and handsets on offer, which are being promoted by the networks. More recently a ‘camera wars are taking place between mobile brands as consumers are considering this an important feature when purchasing mobile phones, Marketing magazine (2004). When network 3 entered the market, they were able to encourage many consumers to switch mobile networks from their existing providers to 3. this was done using challenging and direct advertising comparing brand and product features with those of competing networks. Marketing magazine (2004). As a result of this, 3 were able to reach the one million-customer mark faster than any other network since launching. It is evident that mobile phone networks are being innovative in their marketing tactics in the aim of securing higher customer bases. Much of the marketing the mobile networks today to do this are directed towards consumer confusion tactics. Consumer confusion tactics are where consumers are provided with large amounts of decision-relevant information, in regards to mobiles, this is seen in the form of deals, discounts, leaflets, newspaper adds and television advertising line rentals from as little as 99p per month. Confusion marketing and overload aims to confuse consumers into a state of stress and frustration, resulting in information overload and sub-optimal decisions. Price confusion is the most common confusion marketing tactic used in the mobile telephone market today in order to assist companies to gain a competitive advantage. It has been found that this tactic of confusion marketing appears to work and confuses customers to such an extent that they end up being persuaded b y this marketing literature and the information overload that they are provided with that they purchase the plan that is sold to them without investigating it further as they feel that they have all the information that they need and have made an informed choice. Confusion usually arises from 3 main sources: i) Over choice of products and stores there are independent mobile phone shops opening up regularly, and new mobile phones are being introduced to the market every month. ii) Similarity of products all the price plans available are very similar in terms of price as well as network call charges. iii) Ambiguous, misleading or inadequate information conveyed through marketing communications For example, many retailers are offering line rental for 99p per month, what consumers are not aware of is that they have to pay the full line rental for the first six months and then they claim their cash back. But using confusion marketing can have adverse effects on consumers. The ‘information overload can cause consumers to shop around, which can reduce brand loyalty towards the firm. 2.6 Decision Making Process for Mobile Phones When customers purchase a product or service they go through a complex process of three stages: the pre purchase stage (decision to buy), the service encounter stage and the post purchase stage. This can be applied to the purchasing of mobile phones. The post purchase stage will determine the customers future intentions on whether or not to remain loyal to that service provider or to switch service. During the post purchase stage, customers evaluate service quality and their satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the service experience. This is done by comparing what was initially expected with what they perceived they received from a particular provider. If expectations are met, customers are likely to be satisfied and therefore more likely to make repeat purchases and remain loyal. If customer expectations are not met, customers may complain about poor service quality, suffer in silence or resort to switching service provider. It has become evident in recent years that customers no longer â€Å"suffer in silence† with bad service to the extent that they previously and if they experience service that they are not satisfied with then are more likely to switch in order to receive a better service/better value for their money. When considering the purchase process of mobile phones, again there are complex factors, which influence the decision the decision process which include both macro and microeconomic conditions, but it generally tends to follow the traditional buying process. When faced with the problem of whether or not to purchase a mobile phone, consumers will initially take part in an information search before choosing which one to buy. The consumers decision-making process is directed by preferences that the consumer has already formed regarding a particular brand. Beatty and Smith (1987) and Moorthy et al (1997) argue that this means the consumer is most likely to make a choice based on a limited information search and without evaluating fully all the alternative brands available. As indicated by Dhar and Wertenbroach (2000), limited information search and evaluation of alternatives can result in a situation where the consumers choice is driven by hedonic considerations. Utilitarian goods are co nsidered to be instrumental and functional whereas hedonic good are seen as being fun and exciting, but some goods can have both features, as stated by Barta and Ahtola (1990). With relation to mobile phones the choice has both utilitarian (e.g. communication, SMS, planning) and hedonic (e.g. games, music, camera) features. Wilska (2003) believes the younger the consumer gets, the more they value the hedonistic features in their mobile phones. The mobile phone market is a technology driven market, therefore products are created based on consumers possible future needs which tend to be hedonistic features. Riquelme (2001) explored the level of knowledge consumers have when choosing between different mobile phone brands. The study focused on main factors, which were: telephone features, connection fee, access cost, mobile-to-mobile phone rates, call rates and free calls), which respondents had to rate according to importance. Findings revealed that respondents with previous experience about products predicted their choices well, although they over-estimate the importance of features, cal rates and free calls and under-estimated the importance of the monthly access fee, mobile-to-mobile phone rates and the connection fee. 2.7 Customer Switching Behaviour There is no one clear definition of customer switching, due to the lack of research into this area, although very few authors have attempted to define it. According to Brassington (2003) customer switching refers to â€Å"consumers who are not loyal to any one brand of a particular product and switch between two or more brands within the category†. Switching behaviour has also been referred to as defection or customer exit (Hirschman, 1970; Stewart, 1994) and refers to a customers decision to stop purchasing a particular service or patronising the service firm completely as agued by Bolton and Bronkhurst (1995) and Boote, (1998). Yet it can be argued that this is not a valid definition of customer switching as this definition refers to the consumers behaviour as abandonment of the use of a product/service although, whereas switching is concerned with consumers using one product/service provider and then deciding to switch to another. Many models have attempted to portray customer switching behaviour in services yet they all imply that switching derives from a gradual dissolution of relationships as a result of multiple problems encountered over time as found by Bejou and Palmer (1998) and Hocutt (1998). 2.8 Causes for Dissatisfied Service and Switching Bitner et al (1994) has looked at the events that lead to satisfying and dissatisfying service encounters for customers from an employees point of view. Bitner et als (1994) study found that employees were inclined to describe the customers problems with external causes such as delivery system failures as the most prominent followed by problem customers. A small percentage of dissatisfactory incidents were classified as spontaneous negative employee behaviours such as rudeness or lack of attention. It was evident that the employees were biased in terms of not blaming themselves for failures. Past research associating customer and employee views on critical factors compelling customers to switch offers assorted assumptions. Schneider and Bowen (1985) and Schneider, Parkington, and Buxton (1980) found a strong relationship between employee and customer attitudes regarding service quality on the whole in the banking service. The results from their study contradicted those of a study carried out by Brown and Swartz (1989). Data was collected from patients based on experiences with their physicians and were compared to what physicians perceived of the experiences of their patients. Results showed large differences inversely associated to patient satisfaction in general. Thus researchers have different views regarding customer and employee attitudes on service quality. When considering switching in the financial service, Mintel International Group believes the critical factor causing consumers to switch providers is price. Price is a sensitive issue and one that is close to th e heart of customers so it is perceived that they may consider switching on the basis of this if they are not satisfied with the service they are receiving. But it can be concluded that the customers view holds greater value, as it is their opinion that brings in business for a firm. Bolton Brankhurst (1995) and McDougal (1996) have looked at customer switching behaviour in relation to complaints, which they believe leads up to the defection. They suggested, that this field should be further explored, as there is a lack of research that tries to investigate the correlations between the factors that influence service switching and those that influence complaints before switching. Complains are again another major area of concern. The first