Essay about Bix Beiderbecke - 986 Words

BIX BEIDERBECKE The virtuoso Leon Bix Beiderbecke was born in 1903 and died young in 1931. Though his life was short, Bix’s legacy was long-live. He was raised in Davenport, Iowa, by his mother Agatha and father Bismark. He was the youngest of the German middle class family, his father owned a lumber amp; coal company in east davenport while his mother was a pianist. As a boy, Bix Beiderbecke had a few piano lessons, but he was self-taught on cornet and developed an unorthodox technique by playing. He was blessed with the gift of a musical ear which helped him greatly throughout his career because he was not able to read music very well. Growing up Bix found his passion, which was to become a musician, it seemed that he would not let†¦show more content†¦Armstrong played was usually â€Å"hot† and played loudly with high notes, whereas Bix played in a more subdued manner with low and melodic notes. Biederbecke was known for putting solos and creating a fluid s ound. He had a unsual way of stringing together note choices. Bix was way ahead of his time and influence many people for the next couple of decades. He played and gave the audiences another option to listen to. Beiderbecke developed a beautiful and original style. His cornet playing, noted for its brilliant phrasing and its clarity of tone. Beiderbecke also played and composed at the piano throughout his working life, his famous pieces include In a Mist, Flashes, Candlelights, and In the Dark. Their use of pandiatonicism, whole-tone scales, and parallel 7th and 9th chords reflect his interest in impressionist harmonic language. Bix Beiderbecke played cornet on four number one hit records in 1928 recorded with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra: Together, number one for two weeks, Ramona, number one for three weeks, My Angel, number one for six weeks, and Ol Man River, with Bing Crosby on vocals, was number one for one week. By contrast, Louis Armstrong did not have any number one records in the 1920s. Ol Man River would be the first of 41 number one hits for Bing Crosby during his career. Beiderbeckes originality made him one of the first white jazz musicians to be admired by black performers. Louis ArmstrongShow MoreRelatedLeon Bix Beiderbecke was a Talented Musician and Piano Teacher521 Words   |  2 PagesBix Beiderbecke Leon Bix Beiderbecke was born on March 10, 1903 in Davenport. Bix was named after his father, Leon Bismark Beiderbecke, even though there is dispute over whether his legal name was also Leon Bismark, or if it was in fact Leon Bix. He was one of the most sought after cornetists in the 1920s, while he only became famous many years after his death in 1931. Today he is careful one of the early jazz musicians skilled enough to be related to the great Louis Armstrong, and his advancedRead MoreDavenport Blues Essay1104 Words   |  5 Pagesbreak at Bar 7** 2:14 A Band (8 bars) 2:27 C Clarinet Solo (4 bars) → Band (4 bars) **Solo break at Bars 1-4 (stop time)** Closing (2 bars) 2:41 Band (2 bars) The â€Å"Davenport Blues† is a jazz piece written by Bix Beiderbecke in 1926 during the Jazz Age. Recorded by Bix and his Rhythm Jugglers, the â€Å"Davenport Blues† is in 32-Bar form and the choruses are structured A B A C form. In between each chorus is a 16-bar verse whose melody does not change upon repeat. The choruses on the otherRead MoreComparing Bix Beiderbecke And Louis Armstrong1567 Words   |  7 PagesFrom their time of birth, no two people could have seemed less likely to cross paths than Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong. Coming from radically different backgrounds, both musicians drew upon their influences to make music that revolutionized jazz, creating two separate legacies interwoven among each other in the peak of jazz popularity. Both Beiderbecke and Armstrong used their trumpets and their unique styles of playing, ranging from hot jazz to cool jazz, to fuel political, cultural, andRead MoreListening Log724 Words   |  3 Pagesand bell-lik e. Additionally, the rhythm is around 70 beats per minute in the second selection vs. the first arrangement being about 50% faster at around 100 beats per minute. Bix Beiderbecke plays much more of a ballad all the instruments play throughout the song, which makes the improvisation harder to pickup. Beiderbecke also doesn’t present quite the range of Armstrong either. D. Your opinion: What is your SUBJECTIVE reaction to these selections? (Do you like one more than the other? WhyRead MoreThe Jazz Age, By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay1606 Words   |  7 PagesOne of these households was that of Mr. and Mrs. Beiderbecke, a German immigrant family in the lumber business, whose second son grew up to be known as the first major white jazz soloist. iii. Discussion – Part 1 According to a 1910 article in his hometown’s local newspaper, 7-year-old Bix Beiderbecke was â€Å"the most unusual and the most remarkably talented child in music† that there was in the city of Davenport, Iowa (Lion 5). Nine years later, Bix was asked to join a music group in his high schoolRead MoreThe Origins Of Jazz Music2067 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"Syncopations are no indication of light or trashy music and to shy bricks at hateful ragtime no longer passes for musical culture.†[16] Much like Joplin, Bix Beiderbecke could be considered a childhood prodigy teaching himself to play the cornet at an early age. However his entrance into a musical career was restricted by his parents, who sent Beiderbecke to military school, which he was later expelled from, as they held the belief that music was not a serious career choice. It was after he left the schoolRead MoreIn The Middle Of The 19Th Century, Congo Square Became1369 Words   |  6 Pagessolos as the jazz style evolved beyond the collective improvisation that characterized the hot New Orleans sound. Louis Armstrong’s virtuosic command of the trumpet led to his emergence as an independent soloist, soon followed by the likes of Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet and Jimmie Noone on clarinet, and Kid Ory and Jack Teagarden on trombone. Dodds and Armstrong played together in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band during this transition away from group improvisation. RecordingsRead MoreEss ay on Benny Goodman, King of Swing2395 Words   |  10 Pageshis first professional gig in 1921 in a vaudeville show at Central Park Theater. In 1923, at the age of 14, Benny Goodman left school to play with local bands, including Bill Grimm’s riverboat orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke. There is an interesting anecdote about Benny’s first meeting with Bix. One day, Benny received an emergency call from Grimm, asking him to fill in for Grimm’s clarinetist, who was ill. Benny arrived early in the day at the dock where the boat on which he was to perform was mooredRead MoreLouis Armstrong : A Great Blues Player1257 Words   |  6 Pagesband in New Orleans at the time. Because of this he was finally able to quit his odd jobs and focus all his attention to music. In 1919 Armstrong played on riverboats during the summer months with a band led by Fate Marable. He also encountered Bix Beiderbecke and Jack Teagarden while playing there and he had the opportunity to improve his music reading skills. His early career was spent as a jazz musician. In 1922 King Oliver asked him to move to Chicago to join his Creole Jazz Band and began veryRead MoreThe Legacy Of Louis Armstrong Essay1401 Words   |  6 PagesBeginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. It was on the riverboat that Armstrong honed his music reading skills and eventually had his first encounters with other jazz legends, including Bix Beiderbecke and Jack Teagarden. Although Armstrong was happy to stay in New Orleans and pursue his music there, during the summer of 1922, Armstrong received a call from his previous mentor Joe Oliver. King Oliver wanted Armstrong to come to Chicago and play

Physics Lab/ Radiation Free Essays

Blackbody Radiation Lab 11 Go to http://phet. colorado. edu/simulations/sims. We will write a custom essay sample on Physics Lab/ Radiation or any similar topic only for you Order Now php? sim=Blackbody_Spectrum and click on Run Now. 1) In this lab, you will use the Blackbody Spectrum Simulation to investigate how the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation emitted by objects is affected by the object’s temperature. In this simulation, you can input the temperature and observe the spectrum of the radiation emitted. a) The temperature of stars in the universe varies with the type of star and the age of the star among other things. By looking at the shape of the spectrum of light emitted by a star, we can tell something about its average surface temperature. i) If we observe a star’s spectrum and find that the peak power occurs at the border between red and infrared light, what is the approximate surface temperature of the star? (in degrees C) The temperature will be ~4000K which would be about 3276 degrees Celcius. ii) If we observe a stars spectrum and find that the peak power occurs at the border between blue and ultraviolet light, what is the surface temperature of the star? in degrees C) The temperature would be about 7050 degrees Celcius. b) Light bulbs operate at 2500 degrees C. What is the wavelength at which the most power is emitted for a light bulb operating at 2500 C? The wavelength would be equal to 1000nm ii) Explain why regular incandescent bulbs waste a lot of energy. Be sure to include your reasoning. The majority of the light emitted is at wavelengths that are longer than that, that are visible. So the power going into the light bulb that is producing non-visible light is wasted. It is wasting energy that way, so regular incandescent bulbs are inefficient. ) In this problem we will explore the greenhouse effect by using the Greenhouse Effect Simulation available from http://phet. colorado. edu/simulations/sims. php? sim=The_Greenhouse_Effect a) Explore the simulation. True or False The only effect of increasing the number of clouds is to reduce the amount of sunlight absorbed by the surface of the earth. Clouds reduce the amount of sunlight absorbed by reflecting sunlight back away from earth. Clouds also can absorb infrared radiation emitted by the surface and then send it back to spae. True or False Increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases, increases the amount of radiation that Earth emits to space. Earth used to emit the same amount of radiation it absorbed, but not now. So now the radiation that used to be absorbed by the earth is remitted down and absorbed by the ground. So the earth is taking in this radiation and is warming up. Without the damage and pollution humans have caused then this would not be the case and it would be in equilibrium. True or False When sunlight encounters a cloud, the cloud reflects about 10% of the sunlight back to space. The cloud reflects about 50% of the sunlight back to space. True or False When there is a very large concentration of greenhouse gases, most of the IR radiation reaching space has interacted with greenhouse gas molecules on its way from the surface to space. Yes, the greenhouse gases absorb IR radiation. True or False The total amount of radiation absorbed by the Earth’s surface is not affected by the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Sunlight and greenhouse gases are absorbed by earth. When earths atmosphere has greenhouse gases the IR radiation is emitted by the surface and absorbed and also redirected back down to the surface. So the total amount of radiation absorbed is increasing. True or False At higher temperatures, the Earth’s surface emits more IR radiation. Yes because if the temperature increases then the power radiated increases as well. True or False During the ice age, the amount of sunlight absorbed by the Earth’s surface decreased. During the ice age the ice on the earth would also reflect sunlight back, making less sunlight absorbed by the earths surface. True or False All greenhouse gases are from anthropogenic sources (that is due to man’s activities). Not true, most are naturally occurring but man has increased greenhouse gasses especially the high amounts of carbon dioxide present now†¦from man’s doing. How to cite Physics Lab/ Radiation, Papers

Poliomyelitis in Pakistan

Question: Discuss about poliomyelitis in Pakistan? Answer: Introduction Pakistan became one of the countries where poliomyelitis becomes endemic. Poliomyelitis is also known as polio and the causative agent of this infection is poliovirus. 83 percent of Pakistani children were vaccinated in the year of 1991. Door to door vaccination started after 1999 Problem related to the eradication of poliomyelitis is the unawareness of people and their meaningless fear about the vaccination procedure. Pakistani police issued warrants against the refusal of vaccination cases. They have arrested near about 13,000 to 16,000 Pakistani people who had refuses to vaccinize their children. About polio Poliomyelitis is a very infectious disease and it spread through fecal to oral route and transmitted via person-to-person and causes the paralysis of the child. Symptoms of polio People who became infected by polio virus are mainly asymptomatic. Symptom includes fatigue, fever, vomiting, headache, stiffness in the neck, severe pain in the body parts etc. Polio eradication program The prime minister of Pakistan approved the national emergency action plan or NEAP in 2011. The aim of NEAP is to stop the transmission of wild polio virus. Conflict with polio In Pakistan the infection became epidemic. Pakistans near about 152 districts have persistent in the transmission of polio virus. Program to meet the problem Therefore an educational program should be done for the proper education of the Pakistani people to eradicate polio from its root. Limitations of the program Pakistani people are not aware about the seriousness of the polio and they have meaningless fear about the vaccination so that can be a big obstacle in the success of the program. Conclusion The vaccination procedure is the only way to get rid of this problem. People have to be more aware about the seriousness of this disease. Callaway E. Polio campaign at turning point, after Pakistan killings. Nature. 2012. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.1212 Roberts L. Fighting Polio in Pakistan. Science. 2012;337(6094):517-521. doi:10.1126/science.337.6094.517 Reference list 1. Callaway E. Polio campaign at turning point, after Pakistan killings. Nature. 2012. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.12127. 2. Roberts L. Fighting Polio in Pakistan. Science. 2012;337(6094):517-521. doi:10.1126/science.337.6094.517.

Interview with Kent Larson free essay sample

Energy is a leading electric and natural gas utility. Xcel Energy is an end to end provider of electricity. Electricity is provided from generation, to high voltage transmission, to distribution, to customer’s homes and businesses. Xcel Energy provides energy-related products and services to 3. 3 million electric and 1. 8 million natural gas customers. With regulated operations in eight states; Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin, revenues are more than $9 billion annually for the employer of 12,000. A commitment to the environment is vital to the core business practices of Xcel Energy. This strong environment focus has led Xcel Energy to become the number one provider of wind power in the country (Xcel Energy, 2008). Kent Larson is the Vice President of Transmission for Xcel Energy. In the organizational structure, Kent has twelve direct reports and over 2,000 employees report up through his direct reports. From those direct reports, he has six titled Directors of different aspects of substations, transmission, and design. We will write a custom essay sample on Interview with Kent Larson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The other six direct reports are of various rotational managers, administrative assistants, and governance. Kent directly reports to Paul Bonavia, the President of the Utilities Group, who reports to Dick Kelley, the Chairman, President, and CEO of Xcel Energy (Appendix 1). A unique management style can be derived from your past experience. Different experiences managers draw from should be used to motivate employees to encourage a high level of performance and achieve organizational goals (Jones George, 2008, p 62). Kent’s vast experience has led him to lead confidently based on his long list of positions held. Kent has held various positions throughout the company. He began his career as an electric designer, before moving into the role of an Operating Engineer in St. Paul. He then became involved in cost benefit analysis as a Traveling Engineer. From there, he became the Director of Outstate Construction, Operations, and Maintenance (ND, SD, Non-Metro MN) located in Fargo, ND. He spent time as the Director of Sales in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota Regulatory, MN State Vice President, before his current position as the Vice President of Transmission. A typical day for Larson is anything but typical. With his wide area of responsibilities, he often has a dynamic day. The majority of the time he spends at meetings and communicating via email. He has to be â€Å"On your toes and ready to go† at all times (K. T. Larson, personal communication, October 15, 2008). Another pitfall of his high level position is that he has to be careful of what he says. The majority of the meetings he attends, he has to give presentations anyone from the Public Utilities Commission, Corporate Executives, Mid-Level Managers, to Union Front Line employees. He has to carefully weigh any response he gives to a question on the off chance that his response will invoke a surety. At his level, caution needs to be taken so that comfort is not given where it should not, nor is fear spread when is should not be. Preparation is vital in planning for his meetings. Many of the meetings he attends, he is a presenter. Kent makes sure to prepare himself well ahead of time for any meetings he leads. Usually, Kent defines his time commitments as 75% true management tasks and 25% other. His definition of management tasks are anything related to his job responsibilities. It could be anything from presenting at a meeting, attending a meeting, or being the recipient of a presentation. Being a corporate level manager, he deals mostly with results and not the process to achieve them. His strong focus on having strong direct reports seem to help facilitate this. The rest of his time is spent on various tasks, but mostly travel. His roles vary depending on the day and time of year, but basically he provides the direct link to the Senior Management from the Business Unit and that link from Xcel Energy to the regulatory organizations. Strategic Planning is the largest portion of Kent’s day to day function. He also relies heavily on his technical expertise as part of this planning process. The scope of his organization’s planning is vast. Kent’s strategic planning comes from anywhere from substation design, to transmission line design, while keeping corporate values and regulatory concerns addressed. Goal setting is another important function to Kent. He needs to know what is going on (K. T. Larson, October 15, 2008). In order for goal setting to occur, a way of measurement is required. Score Cards, are his preferred method. Score cards, done correctly, can all roll up into each other. Starting with a broad base, each business unit can roll up into a higher business unit until they reach the corporate level. This process not only helps the individual business units reach their goals, but also assure that corporate goals can be attained as well. A main process for Kent’s approach to management is to hire good people. You have to have a strong team at his level. Not only do his direct reports need to have a strong sense of team work, but they must work well together. If they do not work well together, he is not afraid to replace them. His direct reports are there to meet corporate goals. If those direct reports can not work well together, he will replace them with those who will for the betterment of the company. Allocation of his time to his employees is different today than it was earlier in his management career. Today, his direct reports have corporate goals. In the past, he managed performance based groups. He still tries to allocate time though based on need. New employees will have much more of his time than those who are more experienced. He wants employees to work to their potential, but potential is not a defined limit. Some employees have a higher potential than others. His goal as a manager is find that potential and develop that into the highest possible outcome. He feels that direct feedback is the only way to manage. It is very important have the direct feedback between himself and his employees whether is it positive or negative. The ability to be able to both give and receive constructive criticism is vital to any strong manager. Xcel Energy would currently be classified as a Matrix organization. Matrix organizations are an attempt to combine the advantages of the pure functional structure and the product organizational structure. Companies, such as Xcel Energy, that are project driven companies, are ideally suited for this management structure. In a matrix organization, each project manager reports directly to the vice president and the general manager. Since each project represents a potential profit center and/or reliability enhancement, the power and authority used by the project manager come directly from the general manager. Information sharing is mandatory in such organizations, and several people may be required for the same piece of work. However, in general, the project manager has the responsibility to maintain technical excellence on the project. Each business unit is headed by a department manger whose main responsibility is to ensure that a unified technical base is maintained and that all available information can be exchanged for each project (Visitask, 2008). At Xcel Energy, many different levels of the engineering staff could be swapped out to a project manager in title alone and nothing would change. Rather than having true project managers, the engineers take on the responsibilities of most project management. This type of structure does have its benefits and weaknesses. Depending on where you sit in the organizational ladder, the centralized choices, standard outcomes, and Operational Companies being decentralized can either help or hinder the process. Conflict can arise because of no clear lines of responsibilities between the centralized company and the state jurisdictions. Beginning in 2000, Xcel Energy was managed from a central, large corporation aspect. In 2005, Public Utility Commissions required that each individual Operational Company be able to attest for its financials and prove that the money was being spent in each state. This led to having both centralized choices as well as jurisdictional decisions. Financially, the accounting is better tracked through this process and helps to build a rate case to the Public Utilities Commission. Other problems have surfaced though trying to standardize equipment. Silos have developed in all aspects of the design and construction phase, mostly dealing with standardization of equipment. For example, Texas uses the same size and type of underground conductor that North Dakota does. The climates are completely different during the winter and create many operational challenges. For being such a large company spread over such a vast territory, Kent believes this strategy is best for the company at this time. The overall benefits of being structured this way currently outweigh the negative aspects. In theory, if this changes, Kent sees it as Corporate Management’s responsibility to change to organizational structure. Once again, put the best members together to make the team work in the best possible manner. Digging deeper into the interpersonal relationship side of management, Kent believes that management must be cognizant of each work groups needs and idiosyncrasies. Xcel Energy hires all classifications of employees from engineers, lawyers, analysts, computer IT, technicians, administrative assistants, to union line workers. It is important to understand how different management theories affect the behavior and attitudes of employees. Specifically cited, union line workers are viewed as Theory X employees. It’s not that all union employees are inherently lazy, but their union rules do not reward thinking outside of the defined union work rules. Any extra or additional hard work outside of the standard union rules is not encouraged or rewarded. Managers of union employees must closely supervise these employees to ensure that daily work is completed. Company managers and union management have created a strict set of work rules as well as a well defined punishment system. In contrast, exempt employees; engineers, lawyers, analysts, are managed with the Theory Y thought process. Most managers at Xcel Energy allow the employee to take ownership for their daily work process. They allow the employees to have the resources necessary to achieve both organizational goals and individual goals (Jones George, 2008, p 66). One thing Kent has also learned that each manager brings their own individual twist to management theory. The longer he has been with Xcel Energy, the more tolerant he has become. He wants to judge the end results. He is not so concerned with whether a person fits into a certain profile, but what the outcomes that person achieves. From all accountable sources, Kent Larson is a highly regarded manager for Xcel Energy. His ability to lead his business units to accomplish goals set before them is undeniable. One thing that sets a good leader apart from an ordinary manager is the impact that that manager has on those employees once they are no longer their manager. The most rewarding feeling that Kent has had is that even though he is not someone’s direct manager, they value his opinion and ask his opinion. It is important to try to develop a relationship with subordinates to nurture this kind of relationship. In daily management, you have to embrace the fact that not all managers will manage the same. Kent feels that you should not run your organization like a dictatorship. In contrast, Dave Sparby, President and CEO, NSP-MN, micromanages his direct reports. Neither style of management is inherently wrong, but the ability to understand the difference and be able to adapt to your employees is important to becoming a successful manager. It is important to understand the human aspect of managing just as much as the financial or technical side. Without good employees working with you as well as for you, it is difficult to be a successful manager in modern day businesses.

Free Essays on Jeffrey Dahmers Victims

Introduction Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee May 21 1960 to Joyce and Lionel Dahmer Little did his parents know at the time of his birth that there son would become one of America's most famous serial killers not only for the amount of victims which he had killed but also for dismembering them and his necrophilia tendencies. There were warning signs through his up bring but they were blown off as just child behavior. His father recalls in his book when Jeffrey was around the age of six his father had swept the bones of a dead animal out from under the porch. He said he could see the excitement on Jeffrey’s face at the sounds the bones made rattling together. It would not belong before he was patrolling the roadsides looking for fresh road kill to take home and dissect. Dahmer by the age of fourteen had begun fantasizing about killing men and having sex with them. It would not be until after Jeffrey graduated from high school. Victim 1 A Nineteen year old Steven Hicks was walking along side the road on a hot June day. He was more than happy to except a ride from what seemed to be such a nice guy. The two hit it off, according to Dahmer’s case file and returned to Dahmer’s home. Reports differ some say that the two drank beer and hung out while others claim the two drank until drunk and then had sex. (Dahmer claimed they had consensual sex) Dahmer then admitted that he became outraged when Hick’s decided to leave, he calmly hit him in the head with a dumb bell killing him. To dispose of the body he cut it up and packed it in plastic bags, which he buried in woods behind his parent’s home. That fall Jeffrey attended Ohio State University were he flunked out the first semester. By the end of 1978 he had voluntarily enlisted in the army and was stationed in Germany. He remained there for a few years until he was discharged for alcoholism. At the time of discharge he briefly lived in Florida before returning to... Free Essays on Jeffrey Dahmer's Victims Free Essays on Jeffrey Dahmer's Victims Introduction Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee May 21 1960 to Joyce and Lionel Dahmer Little did his parents know at the time of his birth that there son would become one of America's most famous serial killers not only for the amount of victims which he had killed but also for dismembering them and his necrophilia tendencies. There were warning signs through his up bring but they were blown off as just child behavior. His father recalls in his book when Jeffrey was around the age of six his father had swept the bones of a dead animal out from under the porch. He said he could see the excitement on Jeffrey’s face at the sounds the bones made rattling together. It would not belong before he was patrolling the roadsides looking for fresh road kill to take home and dissect. Dahmer by the age of fourteen had begun fantasizing about killing men and having sex with them. It would not be until after Jeffrey graduated from high school. Victim 1 A Nineteen year old Steven Hicks was walking along side the road on a hot June day. He was more than happy to except a ride from what seemed to be such a nice guy. The two hit it off, according to Dahmer’s case file and returned to Dahmer’s home. Reports differ some say that the two drank beer and hung out while others claim the two drank until drunk and then had sex. (Dahmer claimed they had consensual sex) Dahmer then admitted that he became outraged when Hick’s decided to leave, he calmly hit him in the head with a dumb bell killing him. To dispose of the body he cut it up and packed it in plastic bags, which he buried in woods behind his parent’s home. That fall Jeffrey attended Ohio State University were he flunked out the first semester. By the end of 1978 he had voluntarily enlisted in the army and was stationed in Germany. He remained there for a few years until he was discharged for alcoholism. At the time of discharge he briefly lived in Florida before returning to...

Ismenes Monologue From Antigone

Ismene's Monologue From Antigone This dramatic female monologue is a selection from Act One of Antigone by Sophocles. About Ismene as a Character Ismene is a fascinating character. In this dramatic  monologue, she conveys grief and shame as she reflects upon her father Oedipus’ sad history. She also warns that Antigone’s fate and her own might be worse if they disobey the laws of the land. She is at once melancholy, fearful, and diplomatic. Context of the Monologue Within the Play The brothers of Ismene and Antigone battle for control of Thebes. Both perish. One brother is buried as a hero. The other brother is deemed a traitor to his people. When the corpse of Antigone’s brother is left to rot out on the battlefield, Antigone is determined to set things right, even if it means defying the laws of King Creon. Her sister Ismene is not as headstrong. She is sad for the death and dishonor of her brother. However, she does not want to risk her life by upsetting the â€Å"powers that be.† Ismenes Monologue Bethink thee, sister, of our fathers fate,Abhorred, dishonored, self-convinced of sin,Blinded, himself his executioner.Think of his mother-wife (ill sorted names)Done by a noose herself had twined to deathAnd last, our hapless brethren in one day,Both in a mutual destiny involved,Self-slaughtered, both the slayer and the slain.Bethink thee, sister, we are left alone;Shall we not perish wretchedest of all,If in defiance of the law we crossA monarchs will?- weak women, think of that,Not framed by nature to contend with men.Remember this too that the stronger rules;We must obey his orders, these or worse.Therefore I plead compulsion and entreatThe dead to pardon. I perforce obeyThe powers that be. Tis foolishness, I ween,To overstep in aught the golden mean.

Sustainable Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sustainable Fashion - Essay Example The paper "Sustainable Fashion" concerns the project of designing a cohesive collection based on a specific inspiration by using sustainable fabric. Sustainable fashion is a fashion that aims to be environmentally friendly. It is part of the larger trend of "ethical fashion,". It is not a new trend that is has been said `Sustainable Fashion is not a short-term trend, but one that could last multiple seasons. ‘Vogue, May 2007. While environmentalism used to be distinct in fashion through a percentage of sales being donated to a charitable cause, most of the fashion designers have recently adopted the idea of sustainability. They are using more environment friendly materials and methods in clothing production. Designers claim that they are trying to incorporate these sustainable practices into modern clothing, rather than producing "dusty, hippy-looking clothes." Sustainable fashion is essentially more expensive than clothing produced by conventiona methods. Regarding the Sharpen Sustainable Fashion by Gwitt A. and Rissanen T. from week 4, it is easy to relate the idea of sustainable fashion with some elements. ‘While achieving sustainability is the goal of sustainable development, the word ‘sustainability' has several meanings in the today's world and is frequently reduced by associating it with ‘environment.' Some people define sustainability as the balance between three elements: economy, environment, and social equity. However, since human are struggling with ecological balance in every aspect.

Io Vidi in Terra and Baroque Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Io Vidi in Terra and Baroque Music - Essay Example It was on a Friday evening and the all roads were heading to Las Vegas where revelers were raring to go all the way till daybreak. I was one of them, considering that I had an undying love for rock music, and watching my favourite artists performing live was more than a blessing to me. One of the rock star artists, that I had always wished to watch performing live was Ray Collins. For sure, I will confirm that I could not believe that I was going to party all night long and dance to my favourite rock music. The stage was all ready with state of the art equipment and colorful lights sparkling intermittently. Big speakers were strategically set in all corners of the building, sending a clear picture of the deafening sounds that revelers will be presented with. Even ahead of the start of the concert, the building was packed to capacity. Anxiety could be read in everyone’s faces as many revelers kept streaming in. As the sounds of the speakers began exploding from every corner, ev eryone went wild. The diehard fans began screaming at the top of their voices. The massive stage was reverberating with the passionate sound of the guitar as the American finest rock stars started streaming in with style and full of spirit. The mammoth crowd began moving back and forth in an unremitting wave. There was hardly any individual space as everyone pushed and shoved others around them. At this time, the audience was crowded like the sea. I was shocked to realize how people adored rock music and much more partying all night long.

Beyond Bourgeois Gentrification Essay Example for Free

Beyond Bourgeois Gentrification Essay We’ve all seen those new work-live artist loft spaces in the remodeled industrial complexes next to the new galleries, cafes and office buildings that used to be factories, low-income housing tenements or warehouses. They look chic and modern while still trying to maintain their urban appeal. However, what does gentrification mean in our post-industrial urban society and how should we address its contradictory standing? According to the PBS special Flag Wars: What is Gentrification, it is the â€Å"general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the districts character and culture (Grant). In this vein, we can read gentrification from two perspectives. The first would be from the point of view of the newly arrived ‘wealthier people’ who see this process as an investment in urban renewal that brings down crime rates and increases the economic cultural capital of what was once a neglected and impoverished neighborhood. On the other hand, gentrification as seen from the perspective of the original community is thought of as another form of economic and geographic discrimination and exclusion due to the increase in rent and property values as well as the overall cost of living. The issue of urban displacement results in an unbalanced benefit for the already economically advantaged. UNESCO recently published an article concerning this contradiction: â€Å"Building projects become the centre piece of the city’s economy, justified by job creation, taxes, tourism and the building of large cultural complexes† (Smith). What makes this such a divisive issue and halts community building is that much of the new investment comes from the social class that fled to the suburbs during the white-flight era of urbanization. After fleeing to the suburbs due to a discomfort of having to live so close to other racial and ethnic populations, there is now a distrust of the new inhabitants by the pre-existing urban population who are being forced out of their own neighborhoods. So we must ask ourselves how we can overcome this contradictory social movement in a way that will be mutually beneficial to all involved parties. The best way to accomplish this would be to invite community dialogue in an effort to address all sides of the issue. An interesting study put out by the Urban Institute echoes this sentiment. They emphasize the need for â€Å"strategies used by nonprofit organizations, for-profit developers, and city agencies to ensure low- to-moderate-income residents can live in revitalizing and gentrifying neighborhoods† (Levy). This is essential in order make sure that all voices can be heard so that more than just money talks. If this can be done, urban renewal can be embraced and cultural diversity can flourish in a vibrant new community based on shared principles and the exchange of different ideas. We must abandon the notion that gentrification is either positive or negative, as many people have argued in the past. Gentrification is a social process that affects us all differently depending on our own cultural context. That being the case, let us open the discussion to the public at large so that everyone has an equal say in how their community will develop. Urban transformation is a constant presence that we need to shape into a vision of the future that we would all like to live in. References Grant, Benjamin. (2003). What is Gentrification?. PBS Flag Wars. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://www. pbs. org/pov/pov2003/flagwars/special Levy, Diane, Comey, Jennifer, Padilla, Sandra. (2006). In the Face of Gentrification. Urban Institute. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://www. urban. org/publications/411294. html Smith, Neil. (2007). From Gentrification to Forced Eviction – how should economic competitiveness be reconciled with social sustainability in historical districts?. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://portal. unesco. org/shs/en/ev. php

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus Essay

Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Batman; these are some examples of the modern day hero. Most call this form of a hero a Super Hero. In the early nineteenth century, the popular hero of the day was the romantic hero. Mary Shelly gives a great picture of this hero in her novel Frankenstein. She uses Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the famous â€Å"Frankenstein’s Monster† as her character which embodies the traits of a romantic hero. The model was relatively new; however, Christopher Marlowe had written a character in the early fifteenth century which embodied the same characteristics. These attributes of romanticism in the form of a hero are seen in both Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus in very much the same way. The authors use their respective hero to show the flaws in human nature and humankind’s predisposition towards sin using such things as obsession, internal battles and differing moral codes. The romantic hero is obsessed with something, and usually this something is detrimental towards themselves and or their relationship with Christ. Victor is obsessed with two things: one, the creation of his monster and, two, finding his monster after his life is destroyed by it. Victor says that â€Å"so deeply was I engrossed in my occupation† that he â€Å"did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves† which had previously enamored him(Shelly 34). Victor was so obsessed with the creation of his monster that he did not even leave his â€Å"lair†. This obsession led to health problems, seclusion from the world and his family, and ultimately to the deaths of several people because of the monster he completed. Towards the end of the novel, we see a Victor consumed with finding and killing the beast. He swears â€Å"to purs... ...arated by about three hundred years and different types of literature; however, Shelly and Marlowe use the qualities of a romantic hero to show that human nature is flawed and that man is prone to sin. They use the â€Å"qualities† of obsession, internal battles and differing moral codes to convey their message that â€Å"Bad company corrupts good character† so to speak, the â€Å"bad company† being humans and their sinful nature, and the â€Å"good company† being seemingly harmless qualities of a hero(1 Corinthians 15:33). Humankind should take their stories as an example and learn from it, by turning to God instead of those things. Works Cited Barker, Kenneth L., ed. Holy Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2010. Print. Marlowe, Christopher. Dr. Faustus. New York: Dover, 1994. Print. Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein. New York, New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.

Pharmacoeconomics Notes Essay

The Confessions is a work by Augustine that outlines his sinful youth and conversion to Christianity. Augustine wrote it between 397 and 401 while serving as the bishop of Hippo Regius. In his book, Augustine gives an account of his own life from birth up to that point. He then wrote about other matters such as the creation of the world, memory and time. A big segment of the book is spent on Augustine’s confession of sins that he had struggled with and how he had pled to God for deliverance from those sins. Augustine writes about his disappointment in living an immoral lifestyle. He regrets having believed in astrology and followed the Manichaean religion. He also writes about how Nebridius helped persuade him that astrology was evil and how St. Ambrose helped in his conversion to Christianity. The Confessions is finally an address by Augustine to God in which he confesses his sins, faith, and praise. Augustine says that he wrote the Confessions for â€Å"a people curious to know the lives of others, but careless to amend their own.† Augustine was aware that people loved to gossip and look deeply into the lives of others to see how they could talk down a person and ultimately make themselves feel better. Augustine knew that his writing was going to be scrutinized but made it his purpose to tell the truth and demonstrate the providence of God in the life of a sinner. He didn’t want anyone to think any better of himself than he actually was. Another purpose in writing Confessions was to create an immediate bond between his new Christian community. His colleagues were distrustful of his pagan influenced education as well as his standing as an ex-Manichee. He wanted to let them know that he was trustworthy and he did that by putting on display the worst and best of his life. In essence, Augustine’s life became an open book for everyone to read and get to know personally. Augustine could have also written Confessions as an attempt to understand himself. He might have considered his enjoyment of sex and the pleasures of this world to be an unbearable weakness and he needed to confess in writing that God alone was his true love. It is obvious that Augustine is broken over his sin and it is probably something that consumed his mind. Getting this horrific past behind him was of the utmost importance and he did it through writing Confessions to God. The writing style with which Augustine writes the Confessions is  amongst other things openly bold, encouraging, and without remorse. This is definitely different from modern writers who try and disguise their true inner feelings while still trying to write with meaningful style. Augustine is not trying to hold back any part of his life that he might be ashamed of. It is quite the contrary as he confidently praises the Lord and declares God’s greatness. Augustine recognizes his place as a speck of dust that vies for a place in the presence of almighty God who created the universe. He is not ashamed to speak highly of his Lord and continuously gives you a feeling that he is not satisfied until he finds his rest in God. He is encouraging throughout his book as he conveys God’s faithfulness to him even when he was deep into sin. No matter what portion of the book one reads, he or she can always take comfort in the fact that no matter how far one runs from God, He is always right there waiting for us with arms wide open. In conclusion, Augustine is so focused on God, that he has no regret in sharing his mishaps and declaring God’s forgiveness. He knows that he ran far from God but that God was right there the entire time. He feels extremely foolish but at the same time so grateful for God’s unending grace. Augustine asserts with passion that he wants to be filled by God and as a result he can truly live.

Importance of Risk Management

MGD426 Risk Management Overview A risk is, consequently, a hazard that can derail an organization from accomplishing a business process, project, or any activity that is vital to a company’s sustenance. There are different classifications of risks: financial, operational, infrastructure, human capital, and marketing risks. These risks embody subcategories of risks that can negatively affect the company. Leverage, receivables, and investments are risks can hinder the financial situations of a company. The decline of profits, increased losses, and negative impact on business processes are some of the costs in the failure to control risks.Similarly, operational risk includes many losses that are associated with â€Å"internal processes, people and systems or from external events† (The Basel Committee, 2004). By continually improving operations, firms are better able to gain competitive advantage. Operational risks occur from the execution of a company’s business pro cess. Although it is a relatively vague concept, it can be summed into a three-fold focus: processes, people, and systems. Internal fraud can be categorized into unauthorized activity, as well as theft and fraud; where as external fraud can be categorized with systems security, and theft and fraud.Importance of Assessment and Management In order for an organization to achieve certain objectives, coming across risks is almost inevitable. Organizations that are aware of such calamities are, more often than not, enabled to actively manage hazards and encompass potential opportunities for competitive advantage. This precisely means that contingency planning is important as uncontrollable risks (i. e. environmental factors) can occur at any time. While an organization cannot stop these hazards from occurring, they can mitigate the negative effects.By mitigating these risks with necessary responses, the company can aim their resources at improving or continuing their business processes. T herefore, the emphasis is, principally, on identifying and managing these hazards. Sustainable value is essential to the company and its activities; minimized uncertainty of goal achievement as well as maximized possibility of success. Competing in a dynamic environment leaves gap for uncertainty of the future. Briefly touched upon previously, this enables certain risks to not be accounted for.Risk management, as aforementioned, is a discipline that needs to be implemented by all companies. It is becoming increasingly important because of the dynamics of the environments in which an organization runs (technological, political, social, etc. ). For example, the effects of natural disasters can be mitigated but not stopped. Terrorism is a risk that cannot be calculated and accounted for prior to. All these questions and inquiries relay back to the umbrella question; why is risk management and/or risk assessment important to an organization?Risk assessment is a portion of Risk Managemen t; it is a formulated procedure for making sure that firms are not exposed to deplorable hazards. Taking into context the previously mentioned information, it is not of much use if the scale of the risk is not measured. Once measured, the organization would rally against how likely it is and what the organization can/should/will do to mitigate its effects. Contingency planning, as mentioned, is a risk management technique that comes about based on the assessment of the risk.Building on risk assessment, a risk that is not managed correctly will cause the firm to be affected negatively. These negative effects can be financial, operational, infrastructural, related to human capital or market: classifications of risk. Moreover, risk management is only effective if the assessment is done correctly. Both go hand in hand; the magnitude of the risk determines the management procedures. Reducing the risk of accidents to the company can allow the company to better relocate its resources towar ds its operational needs rather than additional risk management or risk recovery.Risk Response The response to a risk is done by the concept of the 4 T’s (terminate, tolerate, treat, and transfer). By terminating risks, you are, inherently, doing things in a different manner and, thus, removing the risk. Tolerate means that nothing can be done a reasonable cost to mitigate the risk or the likelihood and impact are at a reasonable level. Moreover, treating risks is taking certain actions to control a risk by, either, mitigating the likelihood of it emerging or limiting the effect it will have on the business process/project.Lastly, transfer of risks is primarily the underlying principle behind insurance transactions. Specifically, a risk, outline in the insurance or contract, can be passed from a party who does not want the risk to another party who will take it (either for free or a premium – insurance). Financial Risk Management Financial risk management is, primarily , concerned with the economic value of an organization and the effects to it. The management aspect deals with the exposure to risk, and the response to it.Two primary risks involved in financial sectors of firms are credit risks and market risks (while others include Forex (foreign exchange), volatility, liquidity, inflation, etc. ). Since financial risk is a factor in all organizations, it is important to respond to any volatility that may occur – as it would affect the firm negatively. These risks primarily mean that a firm who is unable to appropriately manage their financial operations will be subjugated by losses. As stated previously, credit risk, which is the inability for a business partner to compensate for a loan or satisfy other monetary contract, will, obviously, damage the company.This is apparent since the company will be at a loss since the firm who adheres to a loan contract is not able to pay back the moneys. Risk assessment for this particular risk includes a â€Å"risk and control self-assessment† (RCSA). This is a set of directives, which help avoid any financial detriment because of fraud, carelessness, and/or technological malfunction. As with any other risk assessment technique, classification of whether it is low, medium, or high level risk is determined based on the estimated loss.This type of risk assessment falls under the ‘treat’ classification of risk response as a certain action is implemented in order to control/mitigate the risk. As stated, in this brief example, the importance of risk assessment and management is vital to an organization. Works Cited â€Å"Briefing Paper H: Risk Management. † Governance and Social Development Resource Centre. N. p. , n. d. Web. . â€Å"Corporate Governance Risk Management Policy. † Isle of Man Government. N. p. , n. d. Web.

The Historian and the Search for Truth Essays

The Historian and the Search for Truth Essays The Historian and the Search for Truth Essay The Historian and the Search for Truth Essay 1913), pp. 692-709 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the American Historical Association [ 10 ]. Have a Historical Question? Ask a Historian! Dr. Karen Jolly http://www2. hawaii. edu/ [ 11 ]. Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® 2009.  © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

Application Letter for Communication Design - myassignmenthelp

All my life I have lacked the grade that was required to be a good student. I was not the child that my parents wanted. The only thing that interested me was art. In my life, I went through difficulties; the only thing that stayed with me was art, and I never lost that in my life. It stayed constant with time, and since then, I developed a liking for watercolours and contrasts. I never thought that there was so much to explore in this field. When I was in 11 th grade, my classmates were busy aspiring to become a doctor, engineer or a banker. The only thing I wanted was to paint the canvas and never grow out of it. Then, when I realized that I only want art all my life and pursue a career in art. Since then, I started working towards my passion for paint and art. I joined painting class, and to my surprise, I discovered that I have a love for art. It was soothing for me to escape into the world of art. After the course completion, I did not stop painting. Since then I took my passion seriously and purchased my paint, brushes and canvas. I started painting at home, it gave me a feeling of accomplishment, and I continued that.   After a while, I attended a workshop conducted by famous fashion icon and stylist, Alex Perry in Australia. My interest for art grew, and I started searching for a breakthrough to fulfil my career in arts. I searched through countless programs, courses and schools, but was not aware of what exactly I wanted. Finally, my search ended and I found FIT. It is a dream for me to land in the prefect fashion school in New York and was daunting for me. To apply for such a standard reputed college was beyond my expectations. My parents were silent; however, I thought that I cannot let my dreams go. I was scared. However, FIT is not just a fashion school for me rather my life experience. It is a challenge and a decision for the lifetime. I look forwards towards my journey at FIT and the upcoming challenges that I have to face. The opportunities that FIT will give me are far more rewarding. I love to paint, it gives me happiness, and I think nothing better that I can think and make it into a career. Painting is a beautiful thing and for it is a medium of self-expression. Through painting, I can express myself and FIT will give me the opportunity to create a world of my own. I get lost in the world of abstractness and creativity whenever I look at the blank canvas. I think FIT will act as a catalyst for enhancing my skills and helping me win a place in the fashion industry. It will help me to transform the view of designing in society. The combination of colours giving rise to different shades fascinated me. The design principles and the way it changes the perceptions of beauty is surprising for me. The feeling of ecstasy when I find the font after the elements are unified is priceless. I am captivated by the element disruption and flow of beauty that create designing. I want to show that the beauty in places and things can change one’s life that captivated me. When a person is aware of the designing, there is a change in their perceptions and give an experience that can charm one’s senses. This is the reason I want to pursue my majors in Communication Design and learn the changing viewpoints and comprehension of art that makes one crave. I think FIT will help me to learn the skills required for this industry and transform the concept of designing in the society. I will give my best, as art is a part of me. I know that I have the potential to pursue my career and succeed in FIT. I have the determination and passion to work and do my best to pursue my career in fashion. I will give my full dedication, creativity and enthusiasm to prove my potential and opportunity to achieve my goals and flourish in my chosen career.  Ã‚  

Life Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Life Problem - Essay Example Underlying this conflict is the different opinion the siblings have on whether Edith's actions regarding were in accordance to Maurice's wishes. As Edward states, his father would have wanted all his children to benefit from the estate. Thus, Edith's choice of naming Nancy as a joint tenant is a major conflict among children because as the law of survivorship states, the interests of a deceased joint tenant cannot be passed on by will, but should be passed directly to the surviving joint tenant. In this case, all of Edith's jointly owned properties will be passed on to Nancy after her death unless formal actions are taken up to sever the joint tenancy or include the three children as tenants in common. Furthermore, structural conflicts are also present that make communication, and consequently understanding, difficult. Geographically, all three siblings have left Queensland and now reside in other parts of Australia and the world. Hence, physical communication barriers can cause anxiety and strain relationships, especially for the siblings who have not seen each other in more than 10 years. It also increases the window for misinformation. Edward and the others can also feel threatened by Nancy and Rajiv because of Edith's dependence on them, their residence in the estate, and their control over Darlington. It causes Edward to believe they are disadvantage against Nancy. Edith's health conditions also puts time constraints because as their mother and owner of the estate, she is the only person who can enforce changes in the distribution of Darlington through severing her joint tenancy with Nancy or including the three children as tenants in common without damaging relationships. Such circumstances indicate that relational conflicts are brewing because while Edward and the others feel threatened by Nancy, Nancy feels that her siblings are rallying against her or that they do not appreciate her sacrifices for the estate. These conflicts, although seemingly immaterial, plays an important role in the negotiation because it determines each party's attitude and possibly create a negative behaviour among the siblings, hampering communication even more. While there is a number of methods available, negotiations are the most efficient, viable, and appropriate method to resolve the conflict. As Edward explained, a legal proceeding is not only complicated, but their claims may also be weakened because it is be difficult to establish an enforceable trust based on their father's will. Their geographic location also makes legal proceedings difficult logistically and financially. Furthermore, with Edith's old age and health conditions, it will not benefit anyone to place stress on her. Thus, unless the children can come up with a negotiated outcome acceptable to all, and approach Edith with the outcome in hand, further disagreements among the children can only worsen Edith's condition. It is also important for Edward to understand that if taken to court Nancy's contributions to the farm, Edward and his party's absence and seeming lack of interest in the farm and their mother's welfare, and Nancy's residence in the

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 43

Ethics - Essay Example The movie is based on the life of individuals who spend and operate in rented offices and use their ways or illumining wealthy people into investing in their ideas and in the long-run leave they stripped of their hard earned money. These individuals will go miles to prove even to the old people living their pensions on how they can invest on the stock market only to realize that they lost everything they had saved their whole life. Normative ethics seeks to investigate the given set of questions which may come up when evaluating how and why one might opt to act to react or speak morally. It is known to be distinct from  the others like Meta ethic since it tries to understand the standards set and believed to be righteous and the wrong way of taking actions (Kimpel, 52). Seth (Ribisi) ignores this ethic when lies to his family about attending college while in real sense he has been operating a casino in his own apartment which his father disapproves staunchly disapproves. According to Seth, he is fully convinced that he is doing what is right since he makes wads of cash from single transactions which if he didn’t have, he wouldn’t be living a posh life as he does from the little upkeep funds his father gave him. In an aim to please his father who is never proud of the son he has become, he breaths the wind from the famous Long Island which is a New York stocks company which has the rumor that it can turn anyone from a zero to a hero million as long as the person can drive to work their minds off. Applied ethics is phrased as the most humbled field of philosophical ethics that seek to be boost normative theories in specific cases to help individuals in differentiating what is right from wrong(Kimpel, 48). It covers thorny factors especially those in businesses that affect the mode of transacting and how the operations flow. Throw out the film, Seth has been conducting transactions and wooing individuals which he so

The Growth of Jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Growth of Jazz - Essay Example Joachim-Ernst Berendt wrote â€Å"Jazz has always been the concern of a minority—always† (3). In 1700s, music played a significant role in African American culture. The roots of jazz can be traced back to the times of slavery where slave work songs were created in the form of ‘call-and-response’ to tell a story, and pass the time, a song leader would call out a line and the rest of the workers would respond to his call†¦ Soulful songs called â€Å"spirituals† were also sung by slaves. These expressed their strong religious beliefs as well as their desire for freedom (Jazz History). Work songs and spirituals were part of the establishment of jazz and these twin elements laid the foundation for this genre of music. The pleasant-sounding music of the black community known as â€Å"Ragtime† impacted the American scene in the 1800s. Many European communities were migrating to different cities of America, by now known as the â€Å"land of opportunities.† Multiplicity of musical traditions arrived with immigrants. The African American composer Scott Joplin combined these traditions with the melodious music of the black community and provided it with a profound soul-force. â€Å"Ragtime† was born thus. ... When in 1920, black people began migrating to cities like Chicago and New York to improve their financial prospects, they brought along with them jazz. The combustible younger generation of America liked this music. They rebelled against the old-fashioned ideas of their parents, surprisingly though! Jazz culture was responsible in a big way to the creation of genre of women known as â€Å"flappers†, who cut their hair and took to shorter dresses. Berendt wrote â€Å"Many great jazz musicians have felt the connection between their playing styles and the times in which they live† (4). Jazz music responded to the societal changes that were taking place, due to political, cultural, social and ideological developments that impacted the people. Thus â€Å"In the turn of the century around 1920, many artists made their mark by playing in the discreet underground nightclubs known as "Speakeasies" which are high class , "Blind pig" lower class or "Smokeasy" for smokers†(J aaz Music). Jazz was on the move. The Breakthrough for Jazz New musical innovations were flooding the market and they brought music to the reach of the common man. Jazz music got shot in the arm. American airwaves, dance halls, auditoriums and homes reverberated to the melodies of jazz notes. In 1930s many jazz bands were formed and it became the most popular music. Its bouncing beat and swing music made the people rush to dance floors on a recurring basis. â€Å"However, thing were beginning to look up for Jazz Music once the invention of the record player or phonograph was made to play jazz albums. In addition, radio stations helped promote Jazz music, and made it popular among the public. Jazz Music became music of class that earned the era a nick name known as the "Jazz Age† (Jazz

Customer Satisfaction Towards Service Quality

Customer Satisfaction Towards Service Quality QUESTIONAIRE ABSTRACT In any business-to-customer (B2C) type ofenvironment, satisfying a customer is the ultimate goal and objective. More often than not, it can be quite an issue. This is perhaps due to the fact that organizations sometimes do not really understand of what actually goes on in a customers mind. As such, this predicament has provided as a challenging task to most business conglomerates that places strong emphasis on customer relations. Although many researches and studies were conducted on the actual working of the customers mind, till today it is a still a mystery. Therefore, this research focused on the measurement of customer satisfaction through delivery of service quality of Service Counter staff of Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. A quantitative research was used to study the relationship between service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction. Assurance has positive relationship but it has no significant effect on customer satisfaction. Reliability has negative relationship but it has no significant effect on customer satisfaction. Tangibles have positive relationship and have significant impact on customer satisfaction. Empathy has positive relationship but it has no significant effect on customer satisfaction. Responsiveness has positive relationship but no significant impact on customer satisfaction. The study highlights implications for marketers in banking industry for improvement in delivery of service quality. CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION Service organizations play an important role for developing countries like Malaysia. Therefore, it must be good quality and competitive organization in maintaining customer satisfaction and further needs to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. At the same time, as we all know that the requirements and higher customer expectations, it is different from the past (Rogerio Zulema, 2002). This is a very great challenge to all sectors. Banking business is now driven with the introduction of new products / services and processes which are facilitated through ongoing technological advancements. In such a scenario the expectations of customers also shift to a higher platform and is usually perceived against the backdrop of the experiences gained while dealing with competitors. The gap in customer expectations many a times results in complaints and the same can be said to be inevitable, as in any service industry. To retain as also increase customer base it is absolutely essential that the bank instills confidence in its customers through satisfactory explanations and resolution of complaints and at the same time use complaints as a feed back mechanism for bringing about improvement in services. The banking sector at present has put a benchmark index that determines the performance of Customer Service in the organization. It is also consistent with the requirements of the Bank that all institutions must be able to respond positively to a more competitive among the financial liberalization and technological revolution by offering an innovative range of products that range and improve the quality of customer service on an ongoing basis. (Tan Sri Dato Dr Zeti Akhtar Azizi, 2005). The banking sector also needs quality personnel and competency. Having employees like them to provide high quality products and services is critical to build consumer confidence and good relationship, drive customer satisfaction and enhance the reputation of previous research studies, (Ndubisi Tam, 2005) has stated bind the customer is as important as when they lose will harm the institution. This will lead to a decline in revenue, increased costs to attract new customers, a bad reputation when the customer is not satisfied the problem will spread to other customers and a decline in employee retention (Colgate Norris, 2001). 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT The trend of world markets has changed noticeably from agricultural to service markets (Asian Development Outlook, 2007). All of the service businesses are trying their best to improve their service quality in order to make customers satisfied with their services. Banks now focus more on the quality standards in order to meet the basic needs and expectations of the customers. Once customers requirements are clearly identified and understood, banks are more likely to anticipate and fulfill their customers needs and wants (Juwaheer Ross, 2003). In the banking sector, the first place of destination by the customer is at the Customer Service Counter (Customer Service). Here, various questions, problems and complaints filed by customers. At the bank, customer service counter is the most important because this is where the Customer Relations Assistant job set to any direction so that customers, whether customers want to continue the operation of the counter, self-service terminals, counters open accounts, loans or financial adviser or directly to managers to make a complaint. Service quality was determined as the subjective comparison that customers make between their expectations about a service and the perception of the way the service has been run. Parasuraman (1985) defined service quality as ;a function of the differences between expectation and performance along ten major dimensions. In later research, Parasuraman (1988) revised and defined the service quality in terms of five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. In the banking industry, most researchers are interested in maximizing customer Satisfaction. Hernon Whitwan (2001) defined customer satisfaction as a measure of how the customer perceives service delivery. Liu (2000) stated, for example, that customer satisfaction is a function of service performance relative to the customer expectation. For this reason, it is important to understand how customer expectation is formed in order to identify the factors of service satisfaction. As Reisig Chandek (2001) discussed the fact that different customers have different expectations, based on their knowledge of a product or service. This can be implied that a customer may estimate what the service performance will be or may think what the performance ought to be. If the service performance meets or exceeds customers expectation, the customers will be satisfied. On the other hand, customers are more likely to be dissatisfied if the service performance is less than what they have expected. A greater number of satisfied customers will make the bank business more successful and more profitable. Previous research explored customer satisfaction regarding the service quality of all areas in the bank so that the bank can assess the customer perception. This study identified five factors of service quality by focusing on the Service Counter staff (including Customer Service Counter), and explored the customers expectations and perception levels of these services at Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. The results of this quantitative assessment of service quality might provide some insights into how customers rate the overall service quality and assessed customers satisfactions at Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. The study is intended to identify customer satisfaction and retention is critical for retail banks, and investigates the major determinants of customer satisfaction and future intentions in the retail bank sector. Identifies the determinants which include service quality dimensions (e.g. getting it right the first time), service features (e.g. competitive interest rates), service problems, service recovery and products used. Banks are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the bankss products. 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To assess customers expectation and perception level towards service quality of the Service Counter staff of Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia; in five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Parasuraman, 1988). To analyze the discrepancy gap between customers expectation and perception towards the service quality of the Service Counter staff of Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS What is the level of customers expectation and perception towards service quality of the Service Counter staff? What is the discrepancy gap between customers expectation and perception towards service quality of the Service Counter staff? 1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY Customer satisfaction relied on customer expectation and customer perception towards 5 service quality dimensions of Service Counters of 10 Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. The sampling group was 60 customers 6 customers from each bank. Definition of Terms Service quality means the difference between the customers expectation of service and their perceived service. In this study, the assessment standards of Zeithaml, Parasuraman Berry (1990) will be used, which consist of five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. SERVQUAL is an instrument for measuring service quality, in terms of the discrepancy between customers expectation regarding service offered and the perception of the service received. Respondents are required to answer questions about both their expectation and their perception. Customer expectation means uncontrollable factors including past experience, personal needs, word of mouth, and external communication about the bank services. Customer perception means customers feelings of pleasure / displeasure or the reaction of the customers in relation to the performance of the bank staff in satisfying / dissatisfying the services. 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study will be as a practical guideline for the bank management to identify weaknessess and rooms for imrovement in their service quality. Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where banks compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. The study is intended to identify customer satisfaction and retention is critical for retail banks, and investigates the major determinants of customer satisfaction and future intentions in the retail bank sector. Identifies the determinants which include service quality dimensions, service features, service problems, service recovery and products used. Finds, in particular, that service problems and the banks service recovery ability have a major impact on customer satisfaction and intentions to switch. This study investigates the relationship between perceived performance, satisfaction and behavioural intention, and the extent to which each is associated with actual performance, customers attributions for problems, experience and the level of performance which customers think is possible. Perceived performance and satisfaction are significantly associated with customer standards of the best possible performance, and satisfaction is also associated with the customers attribution of the cause of performance problems. While satisfaction was significantly associated with intention to re-purchase, a significant interaction was found between customer experience and satisfaction. Banks are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Previous researchers have demonstrated the importance of increasing understanding of strategies to resolve customer complaints and more to study the behavior of customers, namely quality of life sex Ndubisi, 2005. Study customer behavior through the CM model to take the complaint as an opportunity to provide solutions, research studies and the Vos Huitema, 2008. As the study by Baptista, 2003 in which an organization should attempt to resolve complaints informally, taken orally and should make proper records and the complaint should be resolved as soon as possible so the problem does not persist. They have also emphasized differences in complaints against the Service Counter and self service terminals Vihtkari Snellman, 2003, is the notion that the use of self-service terminals in the bank to reduce customer complaints, but rather a circumstance where there is 40 per cent of users are not satisfied with the self-service. Researchers previously expressed understanding of customer dissatisfaction is the key to successful implementation of TQM and principals as well as the Puga Leal Pereira, 2002. Researchers say previous satisfaction is waiting to be served a major contributor to quality of service satisfaction Sulek Hensley, 2007. Researchers previously expressed satisfaction with the care, satisfaction, trust and satisfaction as a control, each dependent on each other that Beverland, 2005. Previous researchers to state that organizations need to keep employees as customers and keeping customers as employees of Bowers Martin, 2004. Researchers found that the quality of a product is dependent on the existing knowledge in the management of the Yang, 2006. Researchers say there is a strong relationship between the dimensions of service quality, performance and customer satisfaction. Previous studies have identified the benefits that customer retention delivers to an organisation (see Colgate et al., 1996; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990; Storbacka et al., 1994). For example, the longer a customer stays with an organisation the more utility the customer generates (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). This is an outcome of a number of factors relating to the time the customer spends with the organisation. These include the higher initial costs of introducing and attracting a new customer, increases in both the value and number of purchases, the customers better understanding of the organisation, and positive word-of-mouth promotion. Customer satisfaction has been said one of the most widely used study in marketing. The previous research has tries to identify a number of variables of customer satisfaction. Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry (Bart Allen) and Brodeur between 1990 and 1998 defined ten Quality Values which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Inter-departmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (Leonard L) between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customers expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction gap which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the confirmation/disconfirmation theory of combining the gap described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance according to expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance. The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a study with a set of statements using a Likert scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement and in term of their perception and expectation of performance of the organization being measured. Based on their responses, customers can be categorized into one of three groups: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. In the net promoter framework, Promoters are viewed as valuable assets that drive profitable growth because of their repeat/increased purchases, longevity and referrals, while Detractors are seen as liabilities that destroy profitable growth because of their complaints, reduced purchases/defection and negative word-of-mouth. Companies calculate their Net Promoter Score by subtracting their % Detractors from their % Promoters. The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano that classifies customer preferences into five categories: Attractive, One-Dimensional, Must-Be, Indifferent, Reverse. The Kano model offers some insight into the product attributes which are perceived to be important to customers. Kano also produced a methodology for mapping consumer responses to questionnaires onto his model. SERVQUAL or RATER is a service-quality framework that has been incorporated into customer-satisfaction surveys (e.g., the revised Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer) to indicate the gap between customer expectations and experience. J.D. Power and Associates provides another measure of customer satisfaction, known for its top-box approach and automotive industry rankings. J.D. Power and Associates marketing research consists primarily of consumer surveys and is publicly known for the value of its product awards. One of the newest and most innovative customer satisfaction measurement methodologies is called Gustometria. Gustometria is real time measurement of customer and employee satisfaction. Customers are invited to answer a short survey by touching the gustometer screen with their fingers. The responses are collected immediately by the Gustometria servers which tabulate the results in real time. Management can then log into their private website and use the sophisticated business intelligence reports which are built in to the Gustometria system. The rewards to firms that establish a loyal customer base have been well documented (Armstrong and Symonds, 1991; Heskett, 1994; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). In general, increased loyalty leads to lower costs of servicing the firms customers, reduced marketing expenditures, increased business from the existing customer base and greater profits. These rewards are particularly true in the retail banking sector. By increasing loyalty, a retail bank: reduces its servicing costs (i.e. accounts do not have to be opened or closed, and credit ratings do not have to be established; gains knowledge of the financial affairs and needs of its customers (thereby allowing effective and efficient targeting); and has an opportunity to cross-sell existing and new products and services. In one case, a retail bank that increased its customer retention rates by 5 per cent increased its profits by 85 per cent (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). Improving customer satisfaction, and thereby retention rates, can come from a variety of activities available to the firm. The existing evidence suggests that major gains in customer satisfaction are likely to come from improvements in: Service quality; Service features; and Customer complaint handling. Not surprisingly, there are strong linkages between service quality dimensions (e.g. courteous service providers) and overall customer satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). However, there has been considerable debate as to the basic dimensions of service quality (see Brown et al., 1993 and Cronin and Taylor, 1992, for reviews), the measurement of these dimensions (Brown et al., 1993; Parasuraman et al., 1993; Smith, 1995; Teas, 1993), and the components of customer satisfaction (Hausknecht, 1990; Yi, 1990). Surprisingly, little empirical research has examined the importance of service quality dimensions in determining customer satisfaction. CHAPTER 3: THEORICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 THEORICAL FRAMEWORK Independent Variables Dependent Variable SOURCES OF DISSATISFACTION Some empirical studies of service satisfaction suggest that â€Å"the human interaction component of service delivery is essential to the determination of satisfaction and dissatisfaction† (Bitner, 1990). According to Anderson and Sullivan (1993), when consumers perceived service quality performance falls short of their expectation, they become dissatisfied. Lewis and Spyrakopoulos (2001), in their research conducted on UK retail banking, categorized the causes of dissatisfaction in banking sector into five groups i.e. 1) Banking Procedures: Bureaucracy and slow banking, and Failure to keep customers fully aware of their banking situation. 2) Mistakes (i.e. wrong statement) 3) Employee behavior and training: Employees ignorant of certain banking procedures and Employees unwilling or slow to help the customer 4) Functional or technical failures: Long and/or unorganized queues ATMs out of order Limited network or branches Incomprehensible statements of accounts, terms of loans, conversions etc. 5) Action or omission of the bank that are against the sense of fair trade. Yanamandram and White (2004), in their research mentioned nine factors as main reasons ofdissatisfaction. These are lack of branch locations, high interest rates on loans etc, low interest rates on savings, long waiting periods, number of accounts fees, high account fees, poor counter fees, poor counter service, e-banking confusing, poor telephone banking service and others. Furthermore Johnston (1995), in his research demonstrated that, for personal customer of banks, the main sources of satisfaction are attentiveness, responsiveness, care and friendliness whereas the main sources of dissatisfaction are lack of integrity, reliability, responsiveness, availability and functionality. Further he argued that, all the reasons of dissatisfaction are not necessarily the other face of the sources of satisfaction though responsiveness is key component in providing satisfaction and the lack of it is a major source of dissatisfaction. Gronroos, C. (1984), cited in Panther and Farquhar (2004), argued service industry is much prone to entail greater dissatisfaction than products because both technical and functional aspects have an impact on consumer evaluation of the services. In financial services, self-service technologies (SSTs) become more wining tool to deal with customers resulting in customer dissatisfaction. To illustrate banks have adopted internet banking as service delivery tool, with a view to providing better and lowering costs, and sometimes new services to their customers. Further, they explained that presently as a regular practice banks start offering self-service technologies without having carefully studied what the true outcomes will be when customers interact with technology without a human component in the service encounter. SSTs interact with customer in a pre-designed way, rather than understanding individual customers need. Bitner (1990), found several satisfactions and dissatisfaction drivers applying criticalincident techniques. They identified key actions such as employee response to customer needs and requests, failure of service recovery action, lack of prompt and spontaneous employee actions result in both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Day and Bodur (1977) argued in their research that in most cases dissatisfaction is directly linked with quality of suppliers performance. In their research most frequently mentioned reason for dissatisfaction was, â€Å"The service was rendered in a careless, unprofessional manner.† Some researchers observe dissatisfaction drivers are determined at the time when customers directly interact with a service. Some aspects of a service may not be persuasive for customer satisfaction but can lead to strong dissatisfaction when they are under performed. On the other hand, some aspects of service lead to satisfaction if delivered properly, but may not necessarily emerge dissatisfaction if absent (Srijumpa , 2007). Furthermore, Bolfing (1989), argued that â€Å"Heterogeneity and intangible nature of services itself frequently produced situation in which customers needs are misjudged or mishandled resulting in customers dissatisfaction†. That is the nature of services itself is also a source of dissatisfaction. IMPROVEMENT OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS Gummesson (1999), finds three different options that a customer can choose between when he or she feels dissatisfied with something that involves their present supplier where the first one is to exit the customers leave for a competitor, or stop buying the goods or services temporarily or permanently. This option is also pointed out by Brandt (2003), who states that if a customer is not satisfied with the product or the salesperson, he or she simply does not purchase from the company again. The second choice is called voice the customers speak their mind and demand correction, and the third option is loyalty the customers remain loyal for lack of alternative suppliers or prohibitive switching costs, inertia, ideological reasons and others, at least within limits. All these options are used by customers according to Gummesson, who continues that the feeling behind them, however, is largely a black box to suppliers. Recovery is more than settling a claim, it is the restoration and strengthening of a long-term relationship and the course of action must be constructive, not just a mechanical routine. If the recovery is successful, continues Gummesson (1999) strengthened by Brandt (2003), then a well resolved customer complaint can create a solid relationship, sometimes better than before the incident. Another aspect that can be turned into something positive according to Arnerup and Edvardsson (1992) is that although many companies consider a customer complaint as something negative, they should instead use it as a possibility to learn more about the customers needs, improve the conditions to satisfy them and strengthen the relationship with them. Nyer (2000) states that customers who were encouraged to complain reported great increase in satisfaction. The author continues that the indirect benefits occurs when an unhappy customer complains, which leads the employee to respond in a way that makes the customer less dissatisfied in the future, and therefore benefits the company as well. Research has shown that excellent complaint management and service recovery can significantly influence customer satisfaction (Johnston, 2001). Furthermore the majority of highly satisfying experiences were the result of something that went wrong and the organization making the effort to compensate the customer: â€Å"The recovery of failures can provide a major opportunity for organizations to create very satisfied customers†. The critical issue is that it is not necessarily the failure itself that leads to customer dissatisfaction; many customers accept that things can go wrong; instead, it is more likely to be the organizations response (or lack of response) to a failure that causes satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Johnston, 2001). Kahn (1995, p. 97) has similar opinions, when emphasizing that it is beneficial to companies to encourage their customer to perform complaints when they are upset or dissatisfied, since these customers can become even more loyal and satisfied customers in the future. Halstead and Page (reported in Johnston, 2001) also find that complaint handling processes shows a clear relationship with loyalty and repurchases intentions. Furthermore, customers who have been successfully recovered not only remain loyal, but can become advocates for the organization, and as such be a source of referral business because word of mouth can be very persuasive in terms of influencing customers to use an organization and its services claims Spreng et al (reviewed in Johnston, 2001). Brandt (2003) follows the same track, describing that customers who experiences a good service recovery will spread more goodwill than even your otherwise best loyal customers do. Soderlund (1999), claims that even though a customer has shown dissatisfaction and directed complaints towards the company, he or she does not necessarily has to be â€Å"lost† to the company, a pleasing reaction and action can turn the annoyance to satisfaction. In many cases, a good recovery can turn upset customers into even more loyal customers and strengthen relationships. Customer retention has been shown to have a direct impact on revenue and profitability states Loveman (reported in Johnston, 2001). Loyal customers tend to buy more, and are willing to pay premium prices, and the company needs to spend less money on marketing activities, all of which increase revenue and profitability according to Johnston (2001). Companies need to understand that even though it is possible to retain dissatisfied customers, it can be difficult since not all customer complain to the company, out of 25 per cent dissatisfied customer, only 5 per cent finds making the effort of complaining worth. While according to Kotler (2003) and out of these 5 per cent, half of the customers report a satisfactory resolution. On average, continues the author, a dissatisfied customer gripes to 11 other persons whereas the satisfied customer only tells three other people, this is also commented by Soderlund, (1997) who finds that satisfied Customer Satisfaction Towards Service Quality Customer Satisfaction Towards Service Quality QUESTIONAIRE ABSTRACT In any business-to-customer (B2C) type ofenvironment, satisfying a customer is the ultimate goal and objective. More often than not, it can be quite an issue. This is perhaps due to the fact that organizations sometimes do not really understand of what actually goes on in a customers mind. As such, this predicament has provided as a challenging task to most business conglomerates that places strong emphasis on customer relations. Although many researches and studies were conducted on the actual working of the customers mind, till today it is a still a mystery. Therefore, this research focused on the measurement of customer satisfaction through delivery of service quality of Service Counter staff of Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. A quantitative research was used to study the relationship between service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction. Assurance has positive relationship but it has no significant effect on customer satisfaction. Reliability has negative relationship but it has no significant effect on customer satisfaction. Tangibles have positive relationship and have significant impact on customer satisfaction. Empathy has positive relationship but it has no significant effect on customer satisfaction. Responsiveness has positive relationship but no significant impact on customer satisfaction. The study highlights implications for marketers in banking industry for improvement in delivery of service quality. CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION Service organizations play an important role for developing countries like Malaysia. Therefore, it must be good quality and competitive organization in maintaining customer satisfaction and further needs to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. At the same time, as we all know that the requirements and higher customer expectations, it is different from the past (Rogerio Zulema, 2002). This is a very great challenge to all sectors. Banking business is now driven with the introduction of new products / services and processes which are facilitated through ongoing technological advancements. In such a scenario the expectations of customers also shift to a higher platform and is usually perceived against the backdrop of the experiences gained while dealing with competitors. The gap in customer expectations many a times results in complaints and the same can be said to be inevitable, as in any service industry. To retain as also increase customer base it is absolutely essential that the bank instills confidence in its customers through satisfactory explanations and resolution of complaints and at the same time use complaints as a feed back mechanism for bringing about improvement in services. The banking sector at present has put a benchmark index that determines the performance of Customer Service in the organization. It is also consistent with the requirements of the Bank that all institutions must be able to respond positively to a more competitive among the financial liberalization and technological revolution by offering an innovative range of products that range and improve the quality of customer service on an ongoing basis. (Tan Sri Dato Dr Zeti Akhtar Azizi, 2005). The banking sector also needs quality personnel and competency. Having employees like them to provide high quality products and services is critical to build consumer confidence and good relationship, drive customer satisfaction and enhance the reputation of previous research studies, (Ndubisi Tam, 2005) has stated bind the customer is as important as when they lose will harm the institution. This will lead to a decline in revenue, increased costs to attract new customers, a bad reputation when the customer is not satisfied the problem will spread to other customers and a decline in employee retention (Colgate Norris, 2001). 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT The trend of world markets has changed noticeably from agricultural to service markets (Asian Development Outlook, 2007). All of the service businesses are trying their best to improve their service quality in order to make customers satisfied with their services. Banks now focus more on the quality standards in order to meet the basic needs and expectations of the customers. Once customers requirements are clearly identified and understood, banks are more likely to anticipate and fulfill their customers needs and wants (Juwaheer Ross, 2003). In the banking sector, the first place of destination by the customer is at the Customer Service Counter (Customer Service). Here, various questions, problems and complaints filed by customers. At the bank, customer service counter is the most important because this is where the Customer Relations Assistant job set to any direction so that customers, whether customers want to continue the operation of the counter, self-service terminals, counters open accounts, loans or financial adviser or directly to managers to make a complaint. Service quality was determined as the subjective comparison that customers make between their expectations about a service and the perception of the way the service has been run. Parasuraman (1985) defined service quality as ;a function of the differences between expectation and performance along ten major dimensions. In later research, Parasuraman (1988) revised and defined the service quality in terms of five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. In the banking industry, most researchers are interested in maximizing customer Satisfaction. Hernon Whitwan (2001) defined customer satisfaction as a measure of how the customer perceives service delivery. Liu (2000) stated, for example, that customer satisfaction is a function of service performance relative to the customer expectation. For this reason, it is important to understand how customer expectation is formed in order to identify the factors of service satisfaction. As Reisig Chandek (2001) discussed the fact that different customers have different expectations, based on their knowledge of a product or service. This can be implied that a customer may estimate what the service performance will be or may think what the performance ought to be. If the service performance meets or exceeds customers expectation, the customers will be satisfied. On the other hand, customers are more likely to be dissatisfied if the service performance is less than what they have expected. A greater number of satisfied customers will make the bank business more successful and more profitable. Previous research explored customer satisfaction regarding the service quality of all areas in the bank so that the bank can assess the customer perception. This study identified five factors of service quality by focusing on the Service Counter staff (including Customer Service Counter), and explored the customers expectations and perception levels of these services at Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. The results of this quantitative assessment of service quality might provide some insights into how customers rate the overall service quality and assessed customers satisfactions at Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. The study is intended to identify customer satisfaction and retention is critical for retail banks, and investigates the major determinants of customer satisfaction and future intentions in the retail bank sector. Identifies the determinants which include service quality dimensions (e.g. getting it right the first time), service features (e.g. competitive interest rates), service problems, service recovery and products used. Banks are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the bankss products. 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To assess customers expectation and perception level towards service quality of the Service Counter staff of Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia; in five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Parasuraman, 1988). To analyze the discrepancy gap between customers expectation and perception towards the service quality of the Service Counter staff of Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS What is the level of customers expectation and perception towards service quality of the Service Counter staff? What is the discrepancy gap between customers expectation and perception towards service quality of the Service Counter staff? 1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY Customer satisfaction relied on customer expectation and customer perception towards 5 service quality dimensions of Service Counters of 10 Commercial Banks in Penang, Malaysia. The sampling group was 60 customers 6 customers from each bank. Definition of Terms Service quality means the difference between the customers expectation of service and their perceived service. In this study, the assessment standards of Zeithaml, Parasuraman Berry (1990) will be used, which consist of five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. SERVQUAL is an instrument for measuring service quality, in terms of the discrepancy between customers expectation regarding service offered and the perception of the service received. Respondents are required to answer questions about both their expectation and their perception. Customer expectation means uncontrollable factors including past experience, personal needs, word of mouth, and external communication about the bank services. Customer perception means customers feelings of pleasure / displeasure or the reaction of the customers in relation to the performance of the bank staff in satisfying / dissatisfying the services. 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study will be as a practical guideline for the bank management to identify weaknessess and rooms for imrovement in their service quality. Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where banks compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. The study is intended to identify customer satisfaction and retention is critical for retail banks, and investigates the major determinants of customer satisfaction and future intentions in the retail bank sector. Identifies the determinants which include service quality dimensions, service features, service problems, service recovery and products used. Finds, in particular, that service problems and the banks service recovery ability have a major impact on customer satisfaction and intentions to switch. This study investigates the relationship between perceived performance, satisfaction and behavioural intention, and the extent to which each is associated with actual performance, customers attributions for problems, experience and the level of performance which customers think is possible. Perceived performance and satisfaction are significantly associated with customer standards of the best possible performance, and satisfaction is also associated with the customers attribution of the cause of performance problems. While satisfaction was significantly associated with intention to re-purchase, a significant interaction was found between customer experience and satisfaction. Banks are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Previous researchers have demonstrated the importance of increasing understanding of strategies to resolve customer complaints and more to study the behavior of customers, namely quality of life sex Ndubisi, 2005. Study customer behavior through the CM model to take the complaint as an opportunity to provide solutions, research studies and the Vos Huitema, 2008. As the study by Baptista, 2003 in which an organization should attempt to resolve complaints informally, taken orally and should make proper records and the complaint should be resolved as soon as possible so the problem does not persist. They have also emphasized differences in complaints against the Service Counter and self service terminals Vihtkari Snellman, 2003, is the notion that the use of self-service terminals in the bank to reduce customer complaints, but rather a circumstance where there is 40 per cent of users are not satisfied with the self-service. Researchers previously expressed understanding of customer dissatisfaction is the key to successful implementation of TQM and principals as well as the Puga Leal Pereira, 2002. Researchers say previous satisfaction is waiting to be served a major contributor to quality of service satisfaction Sulek Hensley, 2007. Researchers previously expressed satisfaction with the care, satisfaction, trust and satisfaction as a control, each dependent on each other that Beverland, 2005. Previous researchers to state that organizations need to keep employees as customers and keeping customers as employees of Bowers Martin, 2004. Researchers found that the quality of a product is dependent on the existing knowledge in the management of the Yang, 2006. Researchers say there is a strong relationship between the dimensions of service quality, performance and customer satisfaction. Previous studies have identified the benefits that customer retention delivers to an organisation (see Colgate et al., 1996; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990; Storbacka et al., 1994). For example, the longer a customer stays with an organisation the more utility the customer generates (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). This is an outcome of a number of factors relating to the time the customer spends with the organisation. These include the higher initial costs of introducing and attracting a new customer, increases in both the value and number of purchases, the customers better understanding of the organisation, and positive word-of-mouth promotion. Customer satisfaction has been said one of the most widely used study in marketing. The previous research has tries to identify a number of variables of customer satisfaction. Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry (Bart Allen) and Brodeur between 1990 and 1998 defined ten Quality Values which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Inter-departmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (Leonard L) between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customers expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction gap which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the confirmation/disconfirmation theory of combining the gap described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance according to expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance. The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a study with a set of statements using a Likert scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement and in term of their perception and expectation of performance of the organization being measured. Based on their responses, customers can be categorized into one of three groups: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. In the net promoter framework, Promoters are viewed as valuable assets that drive profitable growth because of their repeat/increased purchases, longevity and referrals, while Detractors are seen as liabilities that destroy profitable growth because of their complaints, reduced purchases/defection and negative word-of-mouth. Companies calculate their Net Promoter Score by subtracting their % Detractors from their % Promoters. The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano that classifies customer preferences into five categories: Attractive, One-Dimensional, Must-Be, Indifferent, Reverse. The Kano model offers some insight into the product attributes which are perceived to be important to customers. Kano also produced a methodology for mapping consumer responses to questionnaires onto his model. SERVQUAL or RATER is a service-quality framework that has been incorporated into customer-satisfaction surveys (e.g., the revised Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer) to indicate the gap between customer expectations and experience. J.D. Power and Associates provides another measure of customer satisfaction, known for its top-box approach and automotive industry rankings. J.D. Power and Associates marketing research consists primarily of consumer surveys and is publicly known for the value of its product awards. One of the newest and most innovative customer satisfaction measurement methodologies is called Gustometria. Gustometria is real time measurement of customer and employee satisfaction. Customers are invited to answer a short survey by touching the gustometer screen with their fingers. The responses are collected immediately by the Gustometria servers which tabulate the results in real time. Management can then log into their private website and use the sophisticated business intelligence reports which are built in to the Gustometria system. The rewards to firms that establish a loyal customer base have been well documented (Armstrong and Symonds, 1991; Heskett, 1994; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). In general, increased loyalty leads to lower costs of servicing the firms customers, reduced marketing expenditures, increased business from the existing customer base and greater profits. These rewards are particularly true in the retail banking sector. By increasing loyalty, a retail bank: reduces its servicing costs (i.e. accounts do not have to be opened or closed, and credit ratings do not have to be established; gains knowledge of the financial affairs and needs of its customers (thereby allowing effective and efficient targeting); and has an opportunity to cross-sell existing and new products and services. In one case, a retail bank that increased its customer retention rates by 5 per cent increased its profits by 85 per cent (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). Improving customer satisfaction, and thereby retention rates, can come from a variety of activities available to the firm. The existing evidence suggests that major gains in customer satisfaction are likely to come from improvements in: Service quality; Service features; and Customer complaint handling. Not surprisingly, there are strong linkages between service quality dimensions (e.g. courteous service providers) and overall customer satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). However, there has been considerable debate as to the basic dimensions of service quality (see Brown et al., 1993 and Cronin and Taylor, 1992, for reviews), the measurement of these dimensions (Brown et al., 1993; Parasuraman et al., 1993; Smith, 1995; Teas, 1993), and the components of customer satisfaction (Hausknecht, 1990; Yi, 1990). Surprisingly, little empirical research has examined the importance of service quality dimensions in determining customer satisfaction. CHAPTER 3: THEORICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 THEORICAL FRAMEWORK Independent Variables Dependent Variable SOURCES OF DISSATISFACTION Some empirical studies of service satisfaction suggest that â€Å"the human interaction component of service delivery is essential to the determination of satisfaction and dissatisfaction† (Bitner, 1990). According to Anderson and Sullivan (1993), when consumers perceived service quality performance falls short of their expectation, they become dissatisfied. Lewis and Spyrakopoulos (2001), in their research conducted on UK retail banking, categorized the causes of dissatisfaction in banking sector into five groups i.e. 1) Banking Procedures: Bureaucracy and slow banking, and Failure to keep customers fully aware of their banking situation. 2) Mistakes (i.e. wrong statement) 3) Employee behavior and training: Employees ignorant of certain banking procedures and Employees unwilling or slow to help the customer 4) Functional or technical failures: Long and/or unorganized queues ATMs out of order Limited network or branches Incomprehensible statements of accounts, terms of loans, conversions etc. 5) Action or omission of the bank that are against the sense of fair trade. Yanamandram and White (2004), in their research mentioned nine factors as main reasons ofdissatisfaction. These are lack of branch locations, high interest rates on loans etc, low interest rates on savings, long waiting periods, number of accounts fees, high account fees, poor counter fees, poor counter service, e-banking confusing, poor telephone banking service and others. Furthermore Johnston (1995), in his research demonstrated that, for personal customer of banks, the main sources of satisfaction are attentiveness, responsiveness, care and friendliness whereas the main sources of dissatisfaction are lack of integrity, reliability, responsiveness, availability and functionality. Further he argued that, all the reasons of dissatisfaction are not necessarily the other face of the sources of satisfaction though responsiveness is key component in providing satisfaction and the lack of it is a major source of dissatisfaction. Gronroos, C. (1984), cited in Panther and Farquhar (2004), argued service industry is much prone to entail greater dissatisfaction than products because both technical and functional aspects have an impact on consumer evaluation of the services. In financial services, self-service technologies (SSTs) become more wining tool to deal with customers resulting in customer dissatisfaction. To illustrate banks have adopted internet banking as service delivery tool, with a view to providing better and lowering costs, and sometimes new services to their customers. Further, they explained that presently as a regular practice banks start offering self-service technologies without having carefully studied what the true outcomes will be when customers interact with technology without a human component in the service encounter. SSTs interact with customer in a pre-designed way, rather than understanding individual customers need. Bitner (1990), found several satisfactions and dissatisfaction drivers applying criticalincident techniques. They identified key actions such as employee response to customer needs and requests, failure of service recovery action, lack of prompt and spontaneous employee actions result in both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Day and Bodur (1977) argued in their research that in most cases dissatisfaction is directly linked with quality of suppliers performance. In their research most frequently mentioned reason for dissatisfaction was, â€Å"The service was rendered in a careless, unprofessional manner.† Some researchers observe dissatisfaction drivers are determined at the time when customers directly interact with a service. Some aspects of a service may not be persuasive for customer satisfaction but can lead to strong dissatisfaction when they are under performed. On the other hand, some aspects of service lead to satisfaction if delivered properly, but may not necessarily emerge dissatisfaction if absent (Srijumpa , 2007). Furthermore, Bolfing (1989), argued that â€Å"Heterogeneity and intangible nature of services itself frequently produced situation in which customers needs are misjudged or mishandled resulting in customers dissatisfaction†. That is the nature of services itself is also a source of dissatisfaction. IMPROVEMENT OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS Gummesson (1999), finds three different options that a customer can choose between when he or she feels dissatisfied with something that involves their present supplier where the first one is to exit the customers leave for a competitor, or stop buying the goods or services temporarily or permanently. This option is also pointed out by Brandt (2003), who states that if a customer is not satisfied with the product or the salesperson, he or she simply does not purchase from the company again. The second choice is called voice the customers speak their mind and demand correction, and the third option is loyalty the customers remain loyal for lack of alternative suppliers or prohibitive switching costs, inertia, ideological reasons and others, at least within limits. All these options are used by customers according to Gummesson, who continues that the feeling behind them, however, is largely a black box to suppliers. Recovery is more than settling a claim, it is the restoration and strengthening of a long-term relationship and the course of action must be constructive, not just a mechanical routine. If the recovery is successful, continues Gummesson (1999) strengthened by Brandt (2003), then a well resolved customer complaint can create a solid relationship, sometimes better than before the incident. Another aspect that can be turned into something positive according to Arnerup and Edvardsson (1992) is that although many companies consider a customer complaint as something negative, they should instead use it as a possibility to learn more about the customers needs, improve the conditions to satisfy them and strengthen the relationship with them. Nyer (2000) states that customers who were encouraged to complain reported great increase in satisfaction. The author continues that the indirect benefits occurs when an unhappy customer complains, which leads the employee to respond in a way that makes the customer less dissatisfied in the future, and therefore benefits the company as well. Research has shown that excellent complaint management and service recovery can significantly influence customer satisfaction (Johnston, 2001). Furthermore the majority of highly satisfying experiences were the result of something that went wrong and the organization making the effort to compensate the customer: â€Å"The recovery of failures can provide a major opportunity for organizations to create very satisfied customers†. The critical issue is that it is not necessarily the failure itself that leads to customer dissatisfaction; many customers accept that things can go wrong; instead, it is more likely to be the organizations response (or lack of response) to a failure that causes satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Johnston, 2001). Kahn (1995, p. 97) has similar opinions, when emphasizing that it is beneficial to companies to encourage their customer to perform complaints when they are upset or dissatisfied, since these customers can become even more loyal and satisfied customers in the future. Halstead and Page (reported in Johnston, 2001) also find that complaint handling processes shows a clear relationship with loyalty and repurchases intentions. Furthermore, customers who have been successfully recovered not only remain loyal, but can become advocates for the organization, and as such be a source of referral business because word of mouth can be very persuasive in terms of influencing customers to use an organization and its services claims Spreng et al (reviewed in Johnston, 2001). Brandt (2003) follows the same track, describing that customers who experiences a good service recovery will spread more goodwill than even your otherwise best loyal customers do. Soderlund (1999), claims that even though a customer has shown dissatisfaction and directed complaints towards the company, he or she does not necessarily has to be â€Å"lost† to the company, a pleasing reaction and action can turn the annoyance to satisfaction. In many cases, a good recovery can turn upset customers into even more loyal customers and strengthen relationships. Customer retention has been shown to have a direct impact on revenue and profitability states Loveman (reported in Johnston, 2001). Loyal customers tend to buy more, and are willing to pay premium prices, and the company needs to spend less money on marketing activities, all of which increase revenue and profitability according to Johnston (2001). Companies need to understand that even though it is possible to retain dissatisfied customers, it can be difficult since not all customer complain to the company, out of 25 per cent dissatisfied customer, only 5 per cent finds making the effort of complaining worth. While according to Kotler (2003) and out of these 5 per cent, half of the customers report a satisfactory resolution. On average, continues the author, a dissatisfied customer gripes to 11 other persons whereas the satisfied customer only tells three other people, this is also commented by Soderlund, (1997) who finds that satisfied