Global Financial Corporation Essay

Worldwide Financial Corporation (GF) an auxiliary of Global Equipment Company (GEC) is entrusted with taking care of financing for those clients who wish to buy GEC substantial gear. As of now GF just procedures 51% of the leases inside the â€Å"10 days or less† time period, with certain credits taking up over 41 days. Ms. Rodriguez, the Vice President of GF has been coordinated to diminish advance handling time to 10 days or less with the current staff she has. The current structure of the investigation and assessment stage doesn't amplify staff time adequately and as a result makes a bottleneck all the while. We prescribe changing to a caseworker structure. lLan applications can be prepared and finished in around 3 days. This would take into account an expansion in volume to 255 without including staff (expecting 60% are stay new applications), which is a 16.9% expansion, surpassing the 10% foreseen application increment. Foundation Worldwide Financial Corporation (GF) an auxiliary of Global Equipment Company (GEC) is entrusted with dealing with financing for those clients who wish to buy GEC substantial gear. Because of the cost of the hardware numerous clients decided to fund the buy with a rent understanding. At present these credits are prepared at GF Bakersfield area, which utilizes 14 individuals. A contender of GEC has guaranteed preparing of financing in â€Å"10 days or less†. At present GF just procedures 51% of the leases inside the â€Å"10 days or less† time period, with certain advances taking up over 41 days. Ms. Rodriguez, the Vice President of GF has been coordinated to diminish advance handling time with the current staff she has. Issues The Bakersfield office is working at just 86% of limit using 2990.5 long periods of handling time (full limit 3485 hours). In October they handled 218 applications, 89 were guidelines and 129 were News. The investigation by district shows that Region 1 is dealing with the most applications at 78 (52 new, most elevated number among the various locales), averaging 126.7 hours which, compares to 20.1 days. District 2 is just taking care of an aggregate of 66 applications (35 new) with a normal preparing time of 5.7 days, and Region 3 taking care of 74 applications (42 new), averaging 8.7 days. The Northeast office handles about 35% more applications with basically a similar staff. Just 51% of the applications are handled inside the multi day or less prerequisite. Investigation of the Current Processing Steps 1. Investigation and assessment stage is a solitary channel, financing cost multi channel, credit terms single channel, and last giving a multichannel. (Display A)The current structure of the examination and assessment stage doesn't expand staff time viably and as an outcome makes a bottleneck all the while. With the single channel structure advance applications are unevenly disseminated among groups and make higher inactive time for groups with less volume of advance applications to process. Use among districts shifts extraordinarily between 73% †95%. The accompanying perception of the current structure was accomplished utilizing the MMK model (See show B): * Expected sit tight time in the framework for an application in Region 1 is around 37 days, with real preparing time of 14.10 hours. This is the place the bottleneck happens as it takes the assessment group more than 16 days out of the 37 to play out the survey of 78 applications. * Expected sit tight time in the framework for an application in Region 2 is roughly 11 days, with a genuine preparing time of 13.40 hours. Of the three Regions, Region 2 handled minimal uses of 66 during the quarter being looked into. With a usage pace of 73%, Region 2 encountered the most inert time in the assessment procedure. * Expected sit tight time in the framework for an application in Region 3 was around 15 days, with a real preparing time of 13.56 hours. With use pace of 84%, this Region can deal with an expansion in applications. * Each district used more than ten days of normal time in framework and demonstrated bottlenecks. 2. Interest rate stage is a multi channel process and is working adequately. Applications are handled rapidly and are typically gone over to the subsequent stage inside 30 minutes. The use rate is steady at 64%, which implies that this staff part can keep on committing just 50% of his opportunity to this undertaking. 3. Loan terms stage is a solitary channel and has comparable issues as the investigation and assessment office. It makes bottleneck and work is unevenly disseminated. 4. Last giving stage is a compelling multichannel process with a reliably high usage rate. Every application takes under 4 hours to process and uses time reliably at 93% of limit. Choices Redistribute the staff to wipe out the bottlenecks simultaneously. Robotize the contribution of data into a PC database at the business level wiping out copy passage. * Generic line would diminish preparing time to 9 days. Assessment will definitely lessen to 2 days of preparing, expanding usage and diminishing inactive time. Dynamic time in the framework will be decreased to 13.72 hours. Change all phases to a numerous, multiphase channel (Exhibit C &D). There would even now bottleneck from the assessment stage. * Case supervisor would build dynamic time of use to 18.5 hours; be that as it may, altogether lessen lining time to around 3 days. This is accepting there are no groups during the assessment stage and that the normal time would twofold to 9.5 hours, which may not be the situation. Change to numerous channel †task †multiphase. (Show E &F) Eliminate bottleneck, administration pace of 22.2 per FTE, per quarter. Proposal We prescribe changing to a caseworker structure. This would imply that one individual will be answerable for the culmination of a credit application (Exhibit E). This will accommodate most effective approach to limit inactive time and boost use rate. Advance applications can be handled and finished in roughly 3 days. This would take into consideration an expansion in volume to 255 without including staff (expecting 60% are stay new applications), which is a 16.9% expansion, surpassing the 10% foreseen application increment.

Spanish Castilian Empire Essay Example For Students

Spanish Castilian Empire Essay For what reason was it viewed as important for the Spanish Crown to legitimize and legitimize the success of the Americas and what contentions and means did it utilize for this purpose?Every pioneer nation needs a plan to base its triumph and Spain was the same. The belief system behind the Spanish success of the Americas was the spread of Catholicism. This faith in the change of the Indians is the thing that drove the Spanish to overcome, settle and oversee the New World. The Castilians demonstrated their Catholic realm on the Holy Roman Empire of old. They saw themselves as replacements to the Romans. The Castilians viewed themselves as the unrivaled race, who were on a perfect strategic accomplish an all inclusive Catholic realm. The Castilians felt committed to expand the confidence and advantageously this demonstrated to legitimize their colonization of the Americas. They comprehended that by giving the locals the assurance of the crown, they would have a superior existence. This better life would likewise emerge because of the nonappearance of bondage and the profound direction accommodated those oblivious of Christianity. We will compose a custom exposition on Spanish Castilian Empire explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now In the event that the spreading of the confidence was the sole purpose behind the success of the Americas then we should see how religion was spread. The faithful Castilians wished Catholicism to rule yet apparently they needed a Spanish Catholic Empire all the more so. The transformations were blended between lecturing, thinking, dangers and power. This faade of changing over the Americans therefore permitted the Spanish a reason for success and loot. For them this was the ideal support, as though God was training them to assume responsibility for these new grounds and thusly strip them of their riches. The Spanish Crown had incredible religious force in the recently vanquished realm. This again demonstrates it was getting a greater amount of obvious that they were on a crucial triumph, not, profound edification. These activities give the possibility that the heavenly strategic the Castilian mindset for the legitimization of their activities and that their own higher crucial unmistakably progressively wicked and self-benefitting. The strategic not, at this point strict and had gotten monetarily determined. Following a few Papal Bulls , Ferdinand started gathering tithes in the Americas for the congregation. This type of tax assessment was supported by the need to back the spread of Catholicism. Presently the individuals were financing their own changes under the direction of both the Pope and the Spanish Crown. This cash snatching mentality demonstrates the dishonesty of the Spanish strict triumph. As I would like to think the belief system of strict changes as the premise of triumph is a sound thought thinking about the viciousness of the locals religion. In the event that this was without the power and thoughtless ravaging of the land, it would be a genuine hypothesis. By and by, it was totally extraordinary as the Castilians were attracted by the undeniable money related fortunes of victory. The need to legitimize the victory settle around the distinction between Royal belief system and the strategies rehearsed by the pioneers. The Castilian triumph was ideological yet additionally comprised of numerous financial points. The Spanish legitimized their colonization by obviously sparing the locals from the blood ceremonies to the Gods. These customs created the blood which was blended in with cocoa to shape a beverage. This was then tanked by the clerics to upgrade hyper vision. These activities were viewed as altruistic by the locals and the pioneers were evidently sparing them from such egregious demonstrations of brutalism. Further support emerged from the Spanish subbing an eating regimen of human substance with that of meat, pork, chicken and sheep. In principle, the Castilians were making a humanized race to praise this they presented European engineering and town intending to profit the locals freshly discovered respectfulness. .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 , .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 .postImageUrl , .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 .focused content region { min-stature: 80px; position: relative; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 , .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075:hover , .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075:visited , .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075:active { border:0!important; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 .clearfix:after { content: ; show: table; clear: both; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 { show: square; progress: foundation shading 250ms; webkit-change: foundation shading 250ms; width: 100%; murkiness: 1; change: darkness 250ms; webkit-progress: mistiness 250ms; foundation shading: #95A5A6; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075:active , .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075:hover { haziness: 1; progress: obscurity 250ms; webkit-change: darkness 250ms; foundation shading: #2C3E50; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 .focused content region { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 .ctaText { fringe base: 0 strong #fff; shading: #2980B9; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: striking; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; content improvement: underline; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 .postTitle { shading: #FFFFFF; text dimension: 16px; text style weight: 600; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; width: 100%; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075 .ctaButton { foundation shading: #7F8C8D!important; shading: #2980B9; outskirt: none; fringe sweep: 3px; box-shadow: none; text dimension: 14px; textual style weight: intense; line-tallness: 26px; moz-fringe range: 3px; content adjust: focus; content embellishment: none; content shadow: none; width: 80px; min-stature: 80px; foundation: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/modules/intelly-related-posts/resources/pictures/basic arrow.png)no-rehash; position: supreme; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075:hover .ctaButton { foundation shading: #34495E!important; } .ub2429372aa1c5 2d35e995af9c9671075 .focused content { show: table; stature: 80px; cushioning left: 18px; top: 0; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075-content { show: table-cell; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; cushioning right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-adjust: center; width: 100%; } .ub2429372aa1c52d35e995af9c9671075:after { content: ; show: square; clear: both; } READ: Homeless in new york city winter EssayThe Castilians additionally believed themselves to give security and assurance through their stronghold of the provinces. Was this to ensure Spanish or Amerindian interests? In truth it helped the locals however profited the Spanish more as it gave dependability which urged different pilgrims to make a trip to America. This strategy of making a common society was additionally improved by the making of Audencias and Cabildos who were liable to the chamber of the Indies. This gave nearby governments to the Amerindians which upgraded their journey towards a common equitable society. This additi onally gave the Castilians more power over

How Student Athlete Insurance Protects Financial Futures

How Student Athlete Insurance Protects Financial Futures How Student Athlete Insurance Protects Financial Futures How Student Athlete Insurance Protects Financial FuturesWith specialized insurance policies like loss of value coverage, a drop on draft day could end up paying these athletes millions.Here on the OppLoans Financial Sense Blog,  much of what we write is about helping people protect their financial futures. That’s why we regularly blog about building your savings, earning extra income from a side hustle, repairing your bad credit, and steering clear of predatory no credit check loans. A good deal of the advice we give is true no matter who you are.But  some people have financial futures that are  far, far different than ours. And that means the way they protect their money is unique as well!One of the groups that this applies to is high-level college athletes, especially in men’s sports. These guys stand to potentially make millions (and millions!) once they go pro. But at the same time, one wrong move on the field or an awkward fall on the court could make those millions disappea r in a flash!(Imagine if Deshaun Watson had torn his ACL last season instead of after he was drafted.  It could have changed his entire career trajectory. One thing that wouldnt have changed? The Texans would still be stuck starting Tom Savage.)That’s where insurance comes in. And, sure, lots of us have insurance coverage, but we don’t have coverage quite like the kind that’s offered to these high-level athletesâ€"in both college and the pros.Let’s find out some more about it, shall we?Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability InsuranceIn 1990, the NCAA (the body that governs college athletics) started a program that sponsored disability insurance for “exceptional” student-athletes. Originally, the program only covered football and men’s basketball, but by 1998 it had expanded to include all men’s and women’s sports.The policy offered through the program is called Permanent Total Disability Insurance or PTD. Simply put, if the athlete suffers an injury that forces the m to give up a career in pro sports, the policy will pay them out a large sum to cover the potential earnings that they’ve lost. The policies have a maximum coverage of $10 million for football and men’s basketball, $5 million for baseball, $3 million for men’s ice hockey, and $250,000 for women’s basketball.The program allows players to take out a loan to cover the cost of the insurance premiumsâ€"which often cost tens of thousands of dollars. Once a player receives their pro contract, they can simply pay the loan off and be on their merry way.In the decades since these policies  were first  offered, the market for them has grown at a phenomenal rate. And players don’t have to get their contracts through the NCAA’s program either. Many players now  secure policies on their ownâ€"although the contracts must still be submitted to their school’s compliance office for approval.Here’s the rub. These policies only go into effect if youre injured and can never play your sp ort again. If you get  hurt and  fall from a top ten draft pick to a late fourth rounder but still end up having a pro career, this policy isn’t going to cover you. In 2016, NCAA director of travel and insurance, Juanita Sheely told a reporter from CBS Sports that “More than two and less than a dozen” of these policies have ever been paid out.That’s where insurers started getting creative.Enter Loss-of-Value InsuranceThese are riders (also known as LOV’s) that can be attached to PTD policies and they cover exactly the kind of scenario that we mentioned above: an athlete with top pick potential who gets injured and drops far in the draft.With all the major sports, the potential contract that an athlete can sign gets smaller and smaller the lower their draft position. For instance, Myles Garrett, the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft has a contract valued at over $30 million, whereas Ryan Ramcyzk, the 32nd overall pickâ€"and the last player picked in the first round†"has a contract valued at just below $9 million.Slipping in the draft could cost a player millions in guaranteed dollars. When a player takes out a PTD policy, they can also get a Loss of Value rider added to protect against that loss.The first NFL player to collect on his LOV rider was running back Silas Redd, who suffered a knee injury during his final year at USC and ended up going entirely undrafted in 2014â€"although he did eventually play professionally for Washington D.C. The second player to collectâ€"and the first do so with some fanfareâ€"was University of Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, whose knee injury in 2014 right before the Rose Bowl caused him to drop from (very likely) the first round to the seventh.There are two factors that have contributed to this increase in popularity for LOV riders. The first is that student-athletes can now take out loans secured against their future earnings in order to pay the expensive premiums. The second is that the NCAA also allows schools to pay those premiums themselves with money from the NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund. In fact, Ekpre-Olomu was one of four University of Oregon athletes, including then-quarterback Marcus Mariota, who had his premiums covered by the school for the 2014 season.Eric Chenowith is a former NBA player and insurance producer at Parq Advisors, where he specializes in disability insurance for college. and professional athletes. He says that he has seen the market for LOV coverage grow “drastically” over the past five years:“Originally, the only part that was available was Permanent Total Disability and, honestly, the chances of collecting on that are, honestly, probably less than one percent. And so a lot of guys just didn’t want to secure it. Loss of Value was around about ten years ago and then it went away and then it came back about 5 years ago and so it’s a sexier product in that it’s a lower hanging fruit to collect on”“You can buy your Permanent Total Disabil ity policy if your career ends, and then you can add a Loss of Value rider to cushion your loss in case you get hurt but you can still go and play,” says Chenowith. “Most athletes like the Loss of Value product in that you can have your cake and eat it too, in that you can collect your benefits and tax-free and still go play your prospective sport.”How are these policies created?Insurance policies are not exactly known for being simple, and these athlete disability contracts are no exception. With both PTD and LOV policies, the insurance companies underwriting the policy have to figure out what a player is likely to get on their next contract.For pro athletes, this can mean figuring out what they’ll be offered on the free market. For college athletes, it means figuring out where they’ll be drafted.“Loss of value coverage has something called a threshold amount,”  says ReedSmith LLP (@reedsmithllp)  attorney Richard Giller who specializes in athlete disability and loss of value coverage. “What happens is a broker or underwriters for the insurance company, or a combination of the two, try to determine the value of the athlete’s first pro contract or his or her next professional contract.”“For college athletes, most of the drafts have slotted contract positions so it’s really kind of a determination of where they think you might be drafted. So if you’re a top ten draft pick in the NFL, you know exactly what the contract values are for those first ten picks. And so insurance companies will usually offer anywhere from 60 to 70 percent of that value as an insured threshold amount. If you get injured that policy year,” says Giller, “and you end up signing a contract for less than that threshold amount, theoretically the insurance is supposed to cover the difference.”Why do these companies set a threshold at 60 to 70 percent instead of the full value? Well, because doing so might, shall we say, incentivize athletes to collect on the po licy over trying to stay healthy and maximize their earnings.According to Chenowith, the universities themselves are also very involved in the process, if not in the actual underwriting of the policies themselves.“The university does play a big role,” says Chenowith. “Ive never called a kid or a parent directly, ever, Ive only gone through compliance officers, head coaches, assistant coaches. Im going through the front door, and the reason why is because the schools involvement is so great.“If a student-athlete on campus wants disability insurance, the first person theyre going to talk to is a compliance officer. So Im calling compliance officers and letting them know about the products we have. The schools are actively involved in the process. They help schedule the exams with physicians to get the applications completed. And if the university is going to be using the Student Assistance Fund to pay the premiums, the compliance office is going to be involved too.”As Giller mentioned, underwriting loss of value coverage for a college athlete is all about figuring out where they’re going to be drafted and then basing their threshold on the salary for that draft slot. And as any draft expert can tell you, figuring out a player’s draft position is no simple feat.Here’s how one group determines draft positionChenowith explains how he and his colleagues estimate a player’s draft slot and use that to craft a policy:“We dont use websites, We dont use any of that stuff online. I think Mel Kiper does a great job, but if you look at his top 10 picks the last couple years, hes only getting two or three right.“Number one, we rank them by position, and we look at trends in the draft to see what positions are most valued in the draft. You notice that quarterbacks, left tackles, and cornerbacks are all really high-value positions in the draft. Offensive guard, running backs, and linebackersâ€"those arent necessarily going to be the most valued picks in t he draft. So we try to find the best players that are at the best positions that have the most value in the draft and then we rank them there.“Its a hybrid of information. Its three things. We go off the history of the draft over the last three years. And then we rank them by position, number two. And then number three, theres a report called The National, which most all NFL teams subscribe to. Its a scouting service. We take that data as well, and whatever the NFL is telling us where theyre projected will help us with where were going to project them in the draft.“From there, we put them in slots. If someones projected in the top five of the NFL draft this years gonna sign for anywhere between 35 million to 28 million dollars over four years. From there, what Lloyds of London does, is that they cut it in half. From that half-point, they assign whats called a threshold.“So if youre the fifth pick, your threshold point would probably be somewhere around pick twelve to fifteen. If you have an injury thats permanent deteriorationâ€"not permanent disability but permanent deteriorationâ€"that makes you fall past your threshold of 12, 13, 14, whatever number it is, thats when you start collecting. So after pick 15 is where youd be in the money.“Depending on how far you fallâ€"if you fall into the second, third, fourth, fifth roundâ€"wherever you fall is your stop-loss point, and thats what your Loss of Value benefit is going to be.”How much you get, and how much you pay, can depend on what sport you playIf you were going to take a bet on a shortstop or a running back suffering a knee injury, which one would you choose? You’d probably choose the running back, since football is a much more violent sport and the risk of injury is much higher.These same principles hold true for PTD and LOV coverage. The cost of the policy isn’t only determined by their draft slot, but also the sport, and even the position, that they play.And surprisingly, football is not t he sport that carries the highest risk position!“Actually, baseball amateur pitchers are the highest risk class just because amateur baseball pitchers are having Tommy John surgery left and right,” says Chenowith. “The numbers of amateur baseball pitchers having Tommy John or any kind of arm surgery are really staggering.“If you were to rate it from the  top down, for amateur sports, it would be college baseball pitchers, number one; college football, number two; college baseball position players, number three; college basketball, number four; college hockey, number five.”The reason that LOV policies exist is to protect athletes from injuries. But just because an athlete takes out an LOV rider and then suffers an injury, that doesn’t mean that the money from that policy is just theirs to collect.Payout isn’t guaranteedWhen an athlete gets injured and drops in the draft, they still have to submit a claim in order to collect. And oftentimes, the insurer will be looking f or a reason that the injury isn’t actually covered.Giller explains:“This leads to one of those misunderstandings with insurance companies. If you ask a Division 1 college football player if he’s ever been injured, his answer will depend on whether he’s missed any games because of an injury. Because the vast majority of starters in Division 1 football have been hurt at some point in terms of they twisted an ankle or they rolled an ankle. But they don’t miss playing time because of it, because it’s a bump or a bruise or a minor incident for them.“And so, on the application process for these policies, there are some questions like, Have you ever been injured in the past 24 months? And if they don’t list every single time they might have rolled their ankle or twisted their knee that didn’t require medical attention, an insurance company might use that as an example of not being 100 percent truthful on an application. These policy applications ask questions like, Have y ou taken any over the counter anti-inflammatory medication in the last two years? And for a college football player that could be, Yes, daily. So filling out the app is a critically important step and being forthcoming as possible on that application.”In order to avoid paying out a claim, many  insurance companies will engage in what Giller has dubbed “post-claim underwriting.”When you underwrite a policy, you’re supposed to look into the athlete’s injury history and most of these applications demand and require a HIPAA release and most of them indicate that we’re going to look into your background to determine your eligibility for coverage. And then most of the insurance companies, in my experience, do absolutely nothing. They don’t investigate a thing,” says Giller.“An athlete may list several knee sprains or a shoulder subluxation or something that’s fairly common for the sport and the insurance companies make no effort to investigate. And then when a claim c omes up they ask for every medical record for past ten years, and when they find an MRI that has something on it that could be interpreted as a bigger strain in the shoulder or knee than was first reported, they believe that they have grounds to potentially deny coverage.”Lots of people have stories about fighting to get their insurance policies honored after filing a claim. In that sense, these elite athletes aren’t so different from the rest of us after all.Do you want to learn more about how different groups or professionals protect their financial future? Send us your questions!  You can  email us  or you can find us on  Facebook  and  Twitter.ContributorsEric Chenowith is an insurance producer at  Parq Advisors, where he joined following eight years as a professional basketball player and an additional three years of coaching and teaching at his alma mater, Villa Park High School. Eric works directly with university athletic directors at most all College Football Playoff (C FP) institutions for their student-athlete disability insurance needs. Currently, Eric is a member of the Board Development Task Force at the Orange County Ronald McDonald House in Orange, California. He has also been featured sports topics on The Russillo and Kanell Show along with Outside The Lines with Bob Ley. Eric also served as a featured guest on NBATV with Rick Kamla.Richard  Giller  is partner in the Los Angeles Office of  ReedSmith LLP  (@reedsmithllp). He is one of a handful of attorneys in the country who represents collegiate and professional athletes (and counsels professional sports teams) regarding their disability, loss-of-value and workers’ compensation insurance claims.   He was recently recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of five finalists for the 2017 Entertainment and Sports Law Attorney of the Year award.

The Protective Nature Towards Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Throughout life every single person will be subject to multiple, different stressors; work, traumatic and in relationships, for example. For some, these stressors impose a negative impact upon that person which include cognitive, behavioural and physiological effects whereas for others, the same types of stressors do not cause the same impact. The reason for this is resilience, characterized by the ability to bounce back from negative emotional experiences and by flexible adaptation to the changing demands of stressful experiences (Fredrickson Tugade, 2004). There are several factors that influence people’s resilience to stress and knowledge of these factors improves the ability to improve people’s resilience. These factors include personality traits, optimism, Locus of Control, social support and finally, hardiness. Hardiness will be discussed in relation to its protective nature towards Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As stated previously, there are differences between people in their resilience to stress. One factor influencing this is personality traits as they influence the cognitive processing of stressful events, the appraisal (Lyons, Rench, Riffle Schneider, 2011). Examining the Five Factor Model of Personality (Costa McCrae, 1985), low levels of neuroticism has been shown to heighten reactivity which affects how major and minor life stressors are perceived (Suls, 2001). Armeli, Cohen and Gunthert (1999) support this by finding that people high in neuroticismShow MoreRelatedSupport System For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder1549 Words   |  7 PagesSystem to Post Traumatic Stress disorder Patient in U. S. Debora Anderson Augusta Technical College Running head: SUPPORT SYSTEM TO POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER PATIENT IN U. S. 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Later, he conceded that instincts also involved aggressive drives, as wellRead MorePtsd and Trauma Focused Cbt4144 Words   |  17 PagesCognitive Behavioral Therapy Many children are exposed to traumatic events before they even become adults. All around the world they are exposed to child abuse, rape, natural disasters, terrorism, car accidents, and school violence among many others. Studies have shown that these traumatic events, if left untreated, can result in significant psychological problems, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other anxiety disorders, depression, or a number of other behavioral difficulties (CohenRead MoreThe Lord Of The Rings1822 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Ring’s seductive call. Towards the end of his journey, his will breaks and he gives in to the Ring’s power. While he ends up succeeding on his quest, it is a pyrrhic victory. He returns home a shell of a person. The things he used to love he now scorns. 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E.B. Whites Prophetic 1948 Essay That Anticipated 9/11

In the first paragraph, drawn from the opening of Here Is New York, E.B. White approaches the city through a simple pattern of classification. In the next two paragraphs, taken from the end of the essay, White hauntingly anticipates the terror that would visit the city more than 50 years later. Notice Whites habit of putting keywords in the most emphatic spot in a sentence: the very end. This is an excerpt from Whites piece on New York first published in 1948.  Here Is New York also appears in Essays of E.B. White (1977). Here Is New York There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities, the greatest is the last — the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion. Whether it is a farmer arriving from a small town in Mississippi to escape the indignity of being observed by her neighbors, or a boy arriving from the Corn Belt with a manuscript in his suitcase and a pain in his heart, it makes no difference. Each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, and each absorbs New York with the fresh eyes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company. The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now; in the sounds of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest editions. All dwellers in cities must live with the stubborn fact of annihilation; in New York, the fact is somewhat more concentrated because of the concentration of the city itself, and because, of all targets, New York has a certain clear priority. In the mind of whatever perverted dreamer might loose the lightning, New York must hold a steady, irresistible charm. Selected Works by E.B. White Every Day Is Saturday, essays (1934)Quu Vadimus? or, The Case for the Bicycle,   essays and stories (1939)One Mans Meat, essays (1944)Stuart Little, childrens fiction (1945)Charlottes Web, childrens fiction (1952)The Second Tree From the Corner,   essays and stories (1954)The Elements of Style,   by William Strunk (1959)Essays of E.B. White (1977)Writings From The New Yorker, essays (1990)

Gaps of Service Quality Free Essays

Measuring Perceived Service Quality Using s e rv q ua l: A Case Study of the Croatian Hotel Industry ? s u z ana m ar k ovi c Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija, Croatia s an j a r as p o r Polytechnic of Rijeka, Croatia The purpose of the study is to examine customers’ perceptions of service quality in the Croatian hotel industry. The aim is to assess the perceived service quality of hotel attributes and to determine the factor structure of service quality perception. A modi? d s e rv q ua l scale was used to assess service quality perceptions from the perspective of domestic and international tourists. We will write a custom essay sample on Gaps of Service Quality or any similar topic only for you Order Now Data were collected in 15 hotels in the Opatija Riviera (Croatia), using a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis, exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted. The study results indicate the rather high expectations of hotel guests regarding service quality. ‘Reliability,’ ‘empathy and competence of staff,’ ‘accessibility’ and ‘tangibles’ are the key factors that best explained customers’ expectations of hotel service quality. The results of the quantitative assessment of perceived service quality may provide some insights on how customers rate the service quality of a particular hotel. Thus, the ? ndings can be used as a guide for hotel managers to improve the crucial quality attributes and enhance service quality and business performance. Key words: service quality, servqual, factor analysis, reliability analysis, hotel industry Introduction In the highly competitive hotel industry, service becomes one of the most important elements for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. Consequently, the efforts of service managers and academic researchers are directed towards understanding how customers perceive the quality of service. Customers are likely to view services as a variety of attributes that may, in different ways, contribute to their purchase intentions and perceptions of service quality. Although researchers (Gronroos 1984; Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml 1985, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988; Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry 1990) have focused m anag e m e n t 5 ( 3 ) : 195–209 195 ? Suzana Markovic and Sanja Raspor on different aspects of service quality, they all agree that the emphasis should be on customers. The most common de? nition of the concept is attitude, which results from a comparison of customers’ expectations with perceptions of performance (Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml 1985, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988). What is more, customers perceive service quality as a multidimensional concept. The speci? c nature of services makes it dif? cult to provide, measure and maintain their quality. However, Parasuraman Berry and Zeithaml and Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985, 1988) presented the s e rvq ual scale, which became the most popular instrument for measuring service quality. The model has been applied in various service industries, including tourism and hospitality. In most of the researches the instrument was modi? ed to suit the features of a speci? c service. The study has several objectives. The ? rst objective is to determine the level of perceived service quality in Croatian hotels. The second aim is to establish the number of dimensions of perceived service quality in the hospitality industry, using the modi? ed s e rvq ual model. Finally, the third objective is to test the reliability of the modi? ed s e rvq ual model. Conceptual Background p e r c e i ve d s e rvic e q ual i t y The service quality construct is mostly conceptualized in the context of service marketing literature (Lee, Lee and Yoo 2000). Therefore, it deals with the concept of perceived service quality. According to Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry (1990), perceived service quality is the extent to which a ? m successfully serves the purpose of customers. Customers determine the perceived or cognitive value of service based on their experience with the service delivered. Ghobadian, Speller and Jones (1994) stated that customers’ expectations, service delivery process and service outcome have an impact on perceived service quality. Yoo and Park (2007) found that employees, as an integral part of the service process, are a critical element in enhancing perceived service quality. Furthermore, Edvardsson (2005) pointed out that service quality perceptions are formed during the production, delivery and consumption process. The author concluded that customers’ favorable and unfavorable experience, as well as their positive and negative emotions may have an important impact on 196 m anag e m e n t  · vo lu m e 5 Measuring Perceived Service Quality Using servq ual perceived service quality. Similarly, O’Neill and Palmer (2003) have reported that customers’ perceptions of service quality may, to a large extent, be in? uenced by the degree of their prior experience with a particular service. In the hospitality industry, several studies have examined hotel attributes that guests may ? d important when evaluating the performed service quality. Literature review suggests that cleanliness (Atkinson 1988; Knutson 1988; Gundersen, Heide and Olsson 1996), security and safety (Atkinson, 1988; Knutson, 1988; Gundersen et al. 1996), employees’ empathy and competence (Atkinson 1988; Knutson 1988; Barsky and Labagh 1992; Gundersen, Heide ? and Olsson 1996; Choi and Chu 2001; Markovic 2004) , convenient location (Knutson 1988; Barsky and Labagh 1992), value for money (Atkinson 1988; Gundersen, Heide and Olsson 1996; Choi and Chu ? 001) and physical facilities (Choi and Chu 2001; Markovic 2004) are attributes that hotel guests perceive as being important. It should be noted that according to some authors, perceived service quality has been accepted as an antecedent of customer satisfaction (Churchill and Suprenant 1982; Oliver 1997). What is more, Rowley (1998) argued that perceived service quality is an attitude related to, but not the same, as satisfaction. It is evident that the relationship between these two concepts is complex and that they have a causal ordering. e rvi c e q ual i t y m e as u r e m e n t One of the main research instruments for measuring quality in service industries is the s e rvq ual model, developed by Parasuraman Berry and Zeithaml and Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985; 1988). The model contains 22 items for assessing customer perception s and expectations regarding the quality of service. A level of agreement or disagreement with a given item is rated on a sevenpoint Likert-type scale. The level of service quality is represented by the gap between perceived and expected service. The s e rvq ual model is based on ? e service quality dimensions, namely tangibles (physical facilities, equipment and personnel appearance), reliability (ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately), responsiveness (willingness to help customers and provide prompt service), assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to gain trust and con? dence) and empathy (providing individualized attention to the customers). During the last few years a variety of service quality studies have been conducted (Ladhari 2008). Among others, service quality was n u m b e r 3  · fal l 2 0 1 0 97 ? Suzana Markovic and Sanja Raspor measured in: accounting and audit ? rms (Ismail 2006), health spas ? (Snoj and Mumel 2 002; Markovic, Horvat and Raspor 2004), higher ? ? education (Russel 2005; Markovic 2006), hotels (Markovic 2003, 2004; Juwaheer 2004; Wang, Wang and Zhao 2007; Raspor 2009), insurance (Tsoukatos, Marwa and Rand 2004), public-transport (Sanchez Perez 2007), restaurants (Andaleeb and Conway 2006; Namkung and Jang 2008), travel agencies (Martinez Caro and Martinez Garcia 2008), and web-sites (Parasuraman, Zethaml and Malhotra 2005; Nusair and Kandampully 2008). Despite its wide usage, the model has been criticized by a number of academics (Carman 1990; Babakus and Boller 1992; Teas 1994). Criticism was directed at the conceptual and operational base of the model, mostly its validity, reliability, operationalization of expectations, and dimensional structure. However, there is general agreement that s e rvq ual items are reliable predictors of overall service quality (Khan 2003). As a result of these criticisms, alternative measures of service quality for speci? c service settings were developed. In the tourism and hospitality industry, Knutson et al. (1991) developed l o d g s e rv, a model utilized to measure service quality in the lodging industry. The model is based on ? ve original s r evq ual dimensions and contains 26 items. Getty and Thompson (1994) introduced another speci? c model for hotel settings, called l o d g q ua l, as did Wong Ooi Mei, Dean and White (1999) who developed a h o l s e rv model. The l o d ge q ual model identi? ed three dimensions, namely tangibles, reliability and contact. On the other hand, the h o l s e rv model includes 27 items, grouped in ? e original s e rv q ua l dimensions. Furthermore, d i n e s e rv is a model used for measuring restaurant service quality (Stevens, Knutson and Patton 1995). It contains 29 items and ? ve s e rv q ua l dimensions. O’Neill et al. (2000) developed the d i ve p e r f model for assessing perceptions of diving services. The model consists of ? ve servqual dimensions and 27 items. e c o s e rv was int roduced by Khan (2003). It was utilized to measure service quality expectations in eco-tourism, using 30 items and ? ve s e rvq ual dimensions. All of these models represent modi? ations of the s e rvq ual instrument, aiming to improve its original methodology. However, Cronin and Taylor (1992) argued that performance is the measure that best explains customers’ perceptions of service quality, so expectations should not be included in the service quality measurement instrument. They developed a performance-only scale called s e rvp e r f and tested it in four industries. Results indicated 198 m anag e m e n t  · vo lu m e 5 Measuring Perceived Service Quality Using servq ual that the s e rvp e r f model explains more of the variation in service quality than s e rvq ual; it had an excellent ? in all four industries and it contains only half the number of items that must be measured. These results were interpreted as additional support for the superiority of the servperf appr oach to the measurement of service quality. Several authors used the performance-only approach to assess service quality in tourism and hospitality settings. Travelers’ perceptions of hotel attributes were measured in Hong Kong’s hotels (Choi and Chu 2001), hotels of Mauritius (Juwaheer 2004) and Malaysian hotels (Poon and Lock-Teng Low 2005). The question of whether service quality should be measured as the difference between customers’ perceptions and expectations, or whether some alternative approach is more appropriate remains part of an extensive debate in service quality literature. Methodology Hotel guests’ perceptions were measured with a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of a literature review and adopted to suit the speci? c features of a hotel setting (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988; Zeithaml et al. 1990; ? Snoj and Ogorelc 1998; Pizam and Ellis 1999; Markovic 2003). As a foundation or questionnaire development, the s e rvq ual model was used. The original items were slightly modi? ed to suit the hospitality setting. For example, instead of ‘x y z Company has modernlooking equipment,’ the statement was modi? ed to the ‘Hotel has modern-looking equipment. ’ The original item ‘Guests feel safe in their transactions with employees’ was replaced by the item ‘Guests feel safe and secure in their stay. ’ The reason for this change is the confusing meaning of the word ‘transactions’ and the fact that safety and security are regarded as an important factor in a hotel stay. Moreover, in order to measure attributes speci? to the hotel environment, the following items were added: ‘parking area’ (Pizam and Ellis 1999), ‘appropriate location,’ ‘available and clear information,’ ‘variety of facilities’ (Snoj and Ogorelc 1998), ‘clean and tidy hotel,’ ‘feeling safe and secure,’ ‘ease of ? nding a way around the hotel’ ? and ‘typical service quality for hotel category’ (Markovic, 2003). All the statements in the questionnaire were positively worded. Finally, the modi? cation resulted in the deletion of one original s e rvq ual item and the inclusion of eight new items, leaving a total of 29 hotel attributes. These attributes represented seven dimensions: ? e original servqual dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, as- n u m b e r 3  · fal l 2 0 1 0 199 ? Suzana Markovic and Sanja Raspor surance, empathy) and two new dimensions, named as accessibility and output quality. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The ? rst part measured guests’ perceptions of hotel attributes using a modi? ed s e rv q ua l model. Service quality perceptions were measured on a seven-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 ‘strongly disagree’ to 7 ‘strongly agree. ’ The second part was designed to capture respondents’ demographic and traveling characteristics, hich included country of residence, age, gender, purpose of visit, duration of staying at a hotel, level of education, and hotel category. The target population of the survey was guests staying in hotels on the Opatija Riviera (Croatia) during the summer of 2007. Qu estionnaires were distributed in 15 (2-, 3- and 4-star) hotels, after hotel managers agreed to participate in the study. Reception desk employees were asked to administer the questionnaires to guests during their hotel stay, and to collect them after completion. In each hotel questionnaires were randomly distributed to the guests. Of 265 returned questionnaires, 12 were not included in the analysis because of incompleteness. Thus, data analysis is based on a sample of 253 valid questionnaires. The response rate was 26 per cent. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to describe respondents’ demographic characteristics and to evaluate service quality perceptions of hotel guests. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the 29 perception attributes included in the questionnaire in order to determine underlying dimensions of hotel service quality perceptions. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was conducted. Items with eigenvalues equal to or greater than 1, factor loadings above 0. 4, and factors which contain at least three items were retained (Hair et al. 2006). Furthermore, a reliability analysis was performed to test the reliability of the scale and inner consistency of extracted factors. For this purpose, Cronbach’s alpha coef? cients were calculated. Results In order to achieve the study’s goals, descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and reliability analysis were performed. The results are presented as follows. First, respondents’ demographic and traveling characteristics are provided. Next, the results of descriptive analysis of guests’ perceptions are presented. Third, the results of factor and reliability analyses are interpreted. The statistical analysis was conducted on 253 valid questionnaires. The demographic and traveling characteristics of the respondents 200 m anag e m e n t  · vo lu m e 5 Measuring Perceived Service Quality Using servq ual tab le 1 Demographic pro? le of the respondents Items Percentage Gender Items Percentage Age Male 51. 8 16–25 3. 6 Female 48. 2 26–35 15. 4 Purpose of visit Business Visit friends, relatives Vacation Others 36–45 26. 1 . 1 46–55 19. 4 4. 3 56–65 25. 7 86. 2 0. 4 Level of education Primary school 66 and above 9. 9 Country of residence Austria Croatia 16. 6 Secondary school 29. 2 Italy 20. 9 Higher education 24. 1 Germany 14. 6 University and above 36. 4 Others 36. 8 Others 3. 6 11. 1 6. 7 Duration of staying at a hotel Hotel category 4-star 53. 3 1–3 days 19. 0 3-star 3 3. 3 4–7 days 49. 8 2-star 13. 4 8–15 days 28. 1 are presented in table 1. The sample included domestic (16. 6 per cent) and international tourists (83. 4 per cent). There were slightly more males (51. 8 per cent) than females (48. per cent), and most of the respondents (55 per cent) were older than 46 years. More than 60 per cent of hotel guests in the sample had a university or college education. About 86 per cent of the respondents indicated that the main purpose of their visit was vacation. Most of them stayed at a 4-star hotel, for between four and seven days. The results of the descriptive statistical analysis of guests’ perceptions in the hotel industry are shown in table 2. The range of service quality perceptions items was from 1 (very low perceptions) to 7 (very high perceptions). The mean scores of guests’ perceptions ranged from 4. 7 to 6. 34. The lowest perception item was ‘offering a variety of facilities,’ which indicates that hotels do not provide enough suitable facilities that could enhance hotel quality. On the other hand, hotel guests’ highest perceptions were regarding the ‘ease of ? nding a way around the hotel,’ Furthermore, guests highly assessed the following hotel attributes: ‘feeling safe and secure,’ ‘willingness for helping guests’ and ‘courteous hotel staff. ’ These indicate that a hotel’s staff has one of the crucial roles in n u m b e r 3  · fal l 2 0 1 0 201 ? Suzana Markovic and Sanja Raspor tab le 2 Average scores of service quality perceptions in hotel settings Attributes Mean St. dev. v1 Modern-looking equipment 5. 31 1. 48 v2 Visually appealing physical facilities 5. 53 1. 23 v3 Neat hotel staff 6. 13 0. 90 v4 Visually appealing materials (pamphlets, web-sites) 5. 53 1. 23 v5 Clean and tidy hotel 6. 06 1. 05 v6 Appropriate location 6. 19 1. 00 v7 Parking area 4. 96 1. 87 v8 Performing service in the promised time 5. 98 0. 93 v9 Interest in solving guests’ problems 6. 09 1. 00 v10 Performing services right the ? rst time 5. 99 0. 89 v11 Service without delays 6. 02 0. 84 v12 Error-free service 5. 81 . 98 v13 Knowing the exact time when service will be performed 6. 00 0. 90 v14 Hotel staff provides prompt service 5. 98 0. 91 v15 Willingness to help guests 6. 25 0. 80 v16 Hotel staff has time to answer guests’ questions 6. 13 0. 94 v17 Hotel staff instills con? dence 6. 14 0. 92 v18 Courteous hotel staff 6. 25 0. 82 v19 Hotel staff has knowledge to answer questions 5. 99 0. 90 v20 Feeling safe and secure 6. 29 0. 81 v21 Providing individual attention 5. 81 1. 03 v22 Convenient opening hours 5. 94 1. 01 v23 Hotel staff provides personal attention 5. 86 0. 98 v24 Guests’ best interests at heart 6. 02 0. 87 25 Understanding guests’ speci? c needs 5. 86 1. 01 v26 Ease of ? nding one’s way around the hotel 6. 34 0. 85 v27 Available and clear information in the hotel 6. 17 0. 89 v28 Offering a variety of facilities 4. 77 1. 66 v29 Typical service quality for hotel category 6. 03 1. 09 Overall mean for 29 attributes 5. 92 performing high service quality. The overall mean score for service quality perceptions items was 5. 92. This score indicates rather high perceptions of hotel guests regarding service quality. The exploratory factor analysis extracted ? ve factors, which accounted for 65. 1 per cent of variance in the data. Since the ? th factor contained only two items, it could not be considered as a factor and is not interpr eted. The results are presented in table 3. Most of the factor loadings were greater than 0. 60, implying a rea- 202 m anag e m e n t  · vo lu m e 5 Measuring Perceived Service Quality Using servq ual Factor analysis and reliability analysis results of hotel guests’ perceptions (n = 253) Items (n = 29) Factors f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 Communalities v9 0. 751 0. 688 v12 0. 732 0. 703 v13 0. 671 0. 595 v11 0. 658 0. 675 v10 0. 648 0. 615 v14 0. 623 0. 664 v22 0. 623 0. 557 v8 0. 586 0. 584 v3 0. 505 0. 614 v25 0. 731 0. 793 v16 0. 725 0. 748 v23 . 723 0. 776 v21 0. 713 0. 711 v19 0. 688 0. 616 v17 0. 632 0. 688 v27 0. 622 0. 683 v6 0. 693 0. 580 v26 0. 686 0. 625 v20 0. 618 0. 679 v18 0. 554 0. 685 v5 0. 549 0. 509 v24 0. 537 0. 632 v29 0. 529 0. 447 v15 0. 482 0. 598 v2 0. 784 0. 778 v1 0. 748 0. 723 v4 0. 501 v28 % of Variance Cronbach alpha Number of items 0. 684 0. 675 0. 669 2. 577 1. 514 18. 879 14. 774 8. 887 5. 222 65. 104 0. 869 0. 785 — 0. 953 8 3 2 v7 Eigenvalue 0. 56 2 0. 771 5. 551 4. 953 4. 284 19. 142 17. 079 0. 916 0. 917 9 7 sonably high correlation between extracted factors and their individual items. The communalities of 29 items ranged from 0. 47 to 0. 793 indicating that a large amount of variance has been extracted by the factor solution. Only one item (‘typical service quality for hotel category’) was below the suggested value of 0. 50 (Hair et al. , 2006). n u m b e r 3  · fal l 2 0 1 0 203 ? Suzana Markovic and Sanja Raspor The four remaining factors are labeled as follows: f 1 – ‘reliability’ (solving guests’ problems and performing error-free service at promised time), f2 – ‘empathy and competence of staff’ (staff knowledge and ability to provide individual attention), f 3 – ‘accessibility’ (appropriate location of the hotel and ease of communication and ? ding the way around the hotel) and f 4 – ‘tangibles’ (appearance of the fac ilities, equipment and communication materials). The ? rst factor contains most of the items and explains most of the variance. Thus, hotel service reliability is an important determinant of perceived service quality. The results of the reliability analysis showed that Cronbach’s alpha coef? cients of the extracted factors ranged from 0. 785 to 0. 917. That is well above the minimum value of 0. 60, which is considered acceptable as an indication of scale reliability (Hair et al. 2006). Thus, these values suggest good internal consistency of the factors. Finally, Cronbach’s alpha value for the overall perception scale is 0. 953 and indicates its high reliability. Discussion and Conclusion Perceptions of hotel service quality are the degree to which hotel guests ? nd various hotel attributes important in enhancing their satisfaction with the hotel stay. In the present study, it was revealed that the main dimensions of perceived service quality in hotels are ‘reliability,’ ‘empathy and competence of staff,’ ‘accessibility,’ and ‘tangibles. ’ Two of these are similar to the s e rvq ual model, while others overlap with the original s e rvq ual dimensions. However, the studies conducted in the hotel sector identi? ed different outcomes with regard to the number and interpretation of dimensions guests use to assess perceived hotel service quality. Akan (1995) reported a seven-dimension structure, labeled as ‘courtesy and competence of the personnel,’ ‘communications and transactions,’ ‘tangibles,’ ‘knowing and understanding the customer,’ ‘accuracy and speed of service,’ ‘solutions to problems’ and ‘accuracy of hotel reservations. ’ Wong Ooi Mei et al. (1999) identi? ed ‘employees,’ ‘tangibles’ and ‘reliability’ as key dimensions of service quality in the hospitality industry. Moreover, Choi and Chu (2001) reported the following seven dimensions: ‘staff service quality,’ ‘room qualities,’ ‘general amenities,’ ‘business services,’ ‘value,’ ‘security’ and ? ‘i d d facilities,’ Markovic (2003) identi? ed a three-dimension solution, interpreted as ‘empathy and assurance of hotel staff,’ ‘reliability,’ and ‘physical quality. ’ This implies that the number and de? nition of the dimensions depend on the measurement context. 204 m anag e m e n t  · vo lu m e 5 Measuring Perceived Service Quality Using servq ual Furthermore, the ? ndings of this study reveal that among the four dimensions, reliability’ has emerged as the most important predictor of perceived service quality. In the hospitality industry, this dimension refers to solving guests’ problems, performing error-free service at the promised time, providing prompt service, convenient opening hours of hotel facilities. This ? nding is similar to Knutson et al. (1991) and Juwaheer’s (2004) research conducted in hotel settings. The indicators of factor and reliability analyses are also consistent with similar studies conducted in the hospitality industry. The proposed factor structure of the present study, as well as in the studies ? onducted by Choi and Chu (2001) and Markovic (2003) have explained the rather high percentage of variance in original data – 65. 1 per cent, 67. 2 per cent and 73. 9 per cent, respectively. The Cronbach alpha values are 0. 95 (this study), 0. 94 (Choi and Chu 2001) and 0. 92 ? (Markovic 2003) and indicate high reliability of the instruments. It can be concluded that the modi? ed version of the s e rv q ua l model is suitable for use by hotel managers in gaining easily interpretable and reliable data on hotel guests’ attitudes regarding perceived service quality. The results of this study suggest that solving guests’ problems, performing error-free service, employees’ attitude, appropriate location, and the appearance of the facilities are the key attributes for a hotel’s success on the Opatija Riviera. Thus, the ? ndings can be used as a guide for hotel managers to improve crucial quality attributes and enhance service quality and business performance. There are several limitations that need to be acknowledged. The data were collected in a small although important tourist destination in Croatia. The questionnaires were distributed during the summer months. Thus, the results’ interpretation should be limited to this group of hotel guests. It is possible that guests staying in hotels out of the main tourist season might have different perceptions of the service quality. Also, the measurement of hotel guests’ perceptions was limited to 29 hotel attributes. Even though these attributes were included in other studies as well, there could be other relevant hotel attributes that are likely to in? uence hotel guests’ perceptions. In order to be able to generalize the ? ndings, it is suggested that similar studies be conducted in other Croatian tourist destinations as well. Moreover, this study was focused only on hotels. Future research should test whether the factor structure proposed in this study is valid in other types of accommodation in the region (e. g. camps, private accommodation, hostels). Additionally, future research could also assess hotel staffs’ perceptions of service per- n u m b e r 3  · fal l 2 0 1 0 205 ? Suzana Markovic and Sanja Raspor formance and compare them with guests’ perceptions in order to identify the differences. References Akan, P 1995. Dimensions of service quality: A study in Istanbul. Man. aging Service Quality 5 (6): 39–43. Andaleeb, S. S. and C. Conway. 2006. 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Cacharel Case free essay sample

Brand is the name of firm, products, services, and above all, it is coherent with the firm’s image from customers’ perception. Those physical appearances and intangible values of a brand constitute brand identity, which is the first thing that customers recognise the firm. In result, brand management aims to build a bright reputation in customers’ mind that brings brand identity to a critical role in marketing projects. In commercial history, we have seen many famous brands fall in the market which has been affected significantly due to apply inappropriately perception of brand identity. Therefore, this paper is going to decode issues of the brand identity in the case study Cacharel Parfums Cacharel de L’Oreal (2007, Insead). Cacharel had the two biggest selling products in the Europian market in 1980s- Anais Anais and Loulou. Unfortunately, since 1988 Cacharel faced a down turn, even with the launch of a new brand Eden in 1994. So what is the real cause of that crisis? The critical question challenged the new board director of Cacharel – Katsachnias and his team. His intuition told the basic problem was mistakes in branding. Consequently, he questioned some crucial facets related to the Cacharel’s brand during her history. In the next paragraphs, we will find out answers about Cacharel‘s brand identity, and how far they contributed to the succeed as well as failure of Cacharel. 1. What is Cacharel’s brand identity? What are its conceptual and tangible components? Can it be summarized in less than five words? According to Temporal (2002), brand identity is the total promises that a company makes to consumers. It may include of traits and attributes and values that the brand has. Customers can recognise a brand identity by outward expression: name, trademarks, communications and visual appearance. In another word, brand identity reflects what and how the company wants customers perceive the brand. Description of the brand Use of images : Source of identity Figure 1: Identity and three layers of a brand (Source: Kapferer, chapter 11, p291) Figure 1 illustrates how components constitute a brand. It consists of brand style (visible components) and intangible elements in which identity is essentially made from the brand kernel. Based on that theory, the first perfume of Cacharel- Anais Anais, was launched in 1987, perceived as a luxury brand but affordable for young women consumers. In addition, it was tender but sexy and prestigious but innovation (2007, Insead). That conceptual component of Cacharel’s brand identity was maintained mainly in Loulou, launched in1987. Moreover, Loulou was a symbol of a real woman, â€Å"more aware of her seductive power† (2007, Insead). Launching Loulou was a continuous evolution of the brand to adapt the growing market over time, while still keeping the brand identity (Kapferer, chapter 11). Thus, Loulou’s launching did not blur the image of Anais Anais in the customers’ minds. The visual appearance of Cacharel’s logo (shape, colour, graphic), the familiar young woman’s image on their products package, TV advertisement are the tangible components of brand identity. In summary, the Cacharel’s brand identity can be described as an image of a â€Å"young, tender, luxurious, romantic woman†. From this basic concept of brand identity, we will discuss the identity of umbrella brand and sub-brand in the next question. 2. Does the Cacharel umbrella brand itself have an identity beyond that of its sub-brands? Which sub-brands are mostly responsible for creating Cacharel’s identity? Cacharel fragrance brand was acquired by the L’Oreal group in 1975 (Insead, 2007). L’Oreal is known as a house of diverse corporate and umbrella brands, namely just a few: L’Oreal Paris, Lancome, Cacharel, Giogio Armani, Ralph Lauren and many others. Each of these umbrella brands has below it numerous products brands and line brands. They constitute so-called a multi-brand matrix (Marketing Mastermind, 2008). Cacharel umbrella brand belongs to the Luxury Products Division, one of three divisions of the L’Oreal group, which offers up-market premium products to consumers. Every umbrella brand has established distinct identity, image to focus on different target market, in turn; the Cacharel umbrella itself is perceived as an encompassing combination of prestige, femininity, charm and romanticism. (Kepferer, chapter 11, p292). As a result, Anais Anais was the most responsible for creating Cacharel’s identity by its extraordinary succeed. In the shoes of Katsachnias, we have been encoding the Cacharel brand identity in some extends, whether it helps to revitalize the brand at its crisis? We continuously perceive this insight in the next question. Figure 2: Designing your brand identity (Source: www. daniellemacinnis. com/marketing/brand-identity) 3. What is the root source of Cacharel’s maturity crisis, and how can understanding the brand’s identity help? Firstly, the arrival of one American competitor- Calvin Klein in 1994 was a dazed punch to the declining market share of Cacharel. The CK’s advertisement had touched to the heart of young consumers in a chaotic changing of social and political certainties (Insead, 2007). They did focus on consumer trends meanwhile Cacharel had missed and shaped customers preferences by themself. Doug Holt (2003), in his work â€Å"How Brands become icons† he said that the most successful brands use myths to address deep national conflicts that reside within the individual‘s psychology, then those consumers use brands to heal their conflicts. Those brands empathically understand of people’s most acute desires and anxieties. Secondly, Cacharel made mistakes by inconsistent brand identity for new product launches, particularly with Eden. With the connotations of eroticism targeting on both gender, Eden had stepped out the boundary of Cacharel’s brand identity, while young consumers had still continued to buy Anais Anais, as its coherence was set a girl quite innocent, tender with floral fragrance. Kapferer (chapter 11, p271) he states that the identity of the brand is its kernel, the attributes that are necessary for the brand to remain itself, once they change will be hampered. Figure 3: Logo evolution of Cocacola (source: www. boredpanda. com) As we can see on the figure 1, Cocacola’s logo has changed over time, but they (firm’s owners) were extremely carefully to maintain their visual identity (shape, colour, and name). The aim is to avoid damaging the brand identity. Katsachnias had found that setting out Cacharel brand identity help clarify the root source for the two issues; firstly, Anais Anais still consumed by young customers even in the crisis period of Cacharel, and secondly, the declining of the new product Eden. He felt that the brand revitalization should begin by comparing how much overlap between brand identity and brand image. Figure 4: . Source: http://www. brainmates. com. au/ In other words, he looked for what customers see and think about what Cacharel wanted them to. So what did he chose to do among many solutions of Cacharel‘s brand revitalization? The last question is going to discuss on which chosen approach. 4. Should Kataschnias bring the Cacharel brand closer to where the market is now? Should he focus on meeting the desires of today’s consumers or on remaining faithful to the brand’s original identity? Kataschnias believed that introspection the brand is the crucial step after founding the main cause of Cacharel‘s decline. Consequently, his approach was focusing on the past rather than on the future or about the customers’ desires. Moreover, he moved promotion costs to media advertisement to help raise awareness of target consumers on the brand identity. This adjustment was also to recorrect the marketing mix, bring the Cacharel brand closer its one-time position. By realised the critical mission of brand identity and its tangible elements, he went ahead with the re-launch of Anais Anais, then the new fragrance Nemo for men and the immensely successful Noa for women (Insead, 2001). The Cacharel‘s ill was a typical case of brand management. Intuitively, Kataschnias had pointed out the turmoil by internal brand identity audits instead of external surveys in consumer trends. Noa Gold Cacharel Perfume Nemo by Cacharel for Men CONCLUSION In summary, case study Cacharel imprints an explicit notion of brand identity in the aspect of brand management. Brand identity is the meaning and expression of the brand which it wants to present to their customers. Although brands have to make evolution through time to adapt with customers’ perception and markets, but the brand identity should be insistent with the original values and conceptual kernels. For customers, their perception of the brand is accumulated through the coherence of their repeated experiences over time (Kapferer, p280). Therefore, even brand changes sometimes to surprise customers, but brand identity has to set a boundary. Anais Anais and Loulou are the two one-time best-selling of Cacharel as they followed the basic coherence and insistence of brand identity. Advertisements of Anais Anais or Loulou featured a slip of a young, innocent girl in a classic 20’s bob haircut, or in a dark stretch dress- so Parisian at the time (Shrine P, 2011). That is the myth which Cacharel had built in the consumers’mind. However, Eden had flopped because of losing the most basic brand identity of Cacharel which created and deeply imprinted in consumers’ minds since launching of Anais Anais.