Monday, September 30, 2019

The Impact of E-Business

An E-Business strategy allows a typical business to take advantage of Internet technology to improve communications and increase productivity. An E-Business utilizes digital media such as email, data conferencing, e-commerce, and B2B to streamline business operations. These are made possible through a network infrastructure like Local Area Networks (LANs), Wireless communication, and the Internet. Customer relationship can be improved due to fast response time and efficient business transactions. Through email, businesses can communicate with their customers instantaneously. This is important for sales, support, and marketing activities. E-commerce websites can also be utilized to sell products and perform business transactions in real-time. Customers can do their shopping online, pay electronically, and have their products delivered the next day. This reduces cost drastically because there are no more physical overheads such as shops, printed brochures and human cashiers. Collaboration with business partners is also strengthened through B2B exchanges. Using this technology, companies can partner with each other buy cheaper products placed directly from suppliers. At the same time, they can integrate and synchronize their individual business operations. One company might handle product design, while others manage procurement, shipping, and marketing. This translates directly to reduced cost and improved business efficiency. E-Business can also increase a company's internal productivity. Using Local Area Networks (LANs) and Intranet, employees can share information faster and more efficient than traditional phone or paper communication. Various services such as email, file transfer, directory services, and knowledge management systems can increase productivity and reduce manual work. Wireless networking can also allow executives to be connected anywhere and anytime, so they can manage their business more effectively. A company can transform to become an E-Business by adopting Internet technology along with certain business considerations and decisions. The main strategy should be aligned with the main goal to reduce cost and increase the company's productivity. The importance of the transition should always be highlighted, emphasizing these two benefits. The reason for this is because most people are resistant to change, especially those related to technology. They view these as a threat to their jobs, to the status quo, and to internal politics. Studies will have to be made that will show the return on investment (ROI) and how it will improve the business as a whole. A transition plan should also be made so that the adoption of the technology would be much easier and not drastic. User education and training is also an important aspect because it helps people understand the benefits they can get from the E-Business. Considerable investments will also have to be made in IT consulting, hardware, and software. IT companies and consultants will be hired for the the initial setup of the system, and training for the users who will comprise the IT department. This department would then have the expertise to continue the transition and implement technology-related changes. Computer hardware such as personal computers and network cables will be purchased and changes in the office layout will be implemented. New guidelines and protocols should be also created in order to maintain system integrity and security. The company will be exposed to new threats such as unauthorized access, viruses, worms, hackers, and spam. Because of this, security procedures such as Intrusion Detection and Disaster Recovery should be implemented. Computer and network policies should also be in place so that these risks will be minimized.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Judgement

To judge is a vague content of knowledge without an encounter. Example: I may say that â€Å"he† is â€Å"intelligent† and someone else also said â€Å"he is intelligent†. This judgment should be provided by a qualifier to determine the Judgment.The use of: â€Å"he† as pronoun/subject â€Å"Is† as verb â€Å"Intelligent as predicate Thus the Judgment Is also the expression of the fact that the subject belongs to the extension of the predicate Judgment does not merely express the comprehension of the subject by means of a predicate but many Judgments need an encounter In an act of â€Å"knowing†. In the example: â€Å"Peter is mortal†, â€Å"Peter is intelligent† -it showed many judgments to express the encounter. In the example â€Å"Peter is Peters -this shows vagueness .This shows TAUTOLOGY-is a way to express something by repeating or saying it in a different way THE VERBAL copula â€Å"IS† The judgment is not only a dismemberment of the encounter which is knowledge. Example: â€Å"This is heavy' The JUDGMENT, therefore, not only expresses the subject's comprehension in a concept, but also places the subject under the predicates extension and in addition, declares that the subject and the predicate are identical in the terminus of the encounter In Mathematical Expression: Line A = Line B does not mean that it is not a Judgment.Mathematical expressions are also Judgment through formula. Every judgment , however states an identity. Kind of â€Å"Translations† is necessary to reveal the declaration of identity contained In mathematical statements. Judgment By Telescopically From Webster Dictionary: To Judge is a vague content of knowledge without an encounter. Example: I may say that â€Å"he† is â€Å"intelligent† and someone else also said â€Å"he is intelligent†.This Judgment â€Å"is† as verb â€Å"intelligent as predicate Thus the Judgment is also the ex pression of the fact that the subject belongs to the eradicate but many Judgments need an encounter in an act of â€Å"knowing†. In the example: â€Å"Peter is mortal†, â€Å"Peter is intelligent† -it showed many Judgments to express the encounter. In the example â€Å"Peter is Peter† -this shows vagueness . This The Judgment is not only a dismemberment of the encounter which is knowledge. Mathematical expressions are also Judgment through formula. Every Judgment , Kind of â€Å"Translations† is necessary to reveal the declaration of identity contained in

Saturday, September 28, 2019

A play Dennis Potter Essay Example for Free

A play Dennis Potter Essay ? Blue remembered hills is a play Dennis Potter. The title is taken from the poem ‘Shropshire lad’ by A. E Houseman. It challenges the perception that childhood is innocent and that all children are pure and ‘nice’. One of the ways he does this is by using adults to play children so the unrealisticness of the play forces adults to focus on the meaning of everything going on in the play. The main meaning of the play is focused around the mindless cruelty of war and how this affects children living through it. The style of the play is flared narration. The play was originally a television play for the BBC in 1979. it was set in rural west country. For our play we are using bright lights to show that we are outside. We are also going to have some stones and sticks on the floor to play with to help us show the kid’s restlessness and constant movement. Could kick them etc. the setting is rural and in 1943 during the 2nd world war, this has affected the children a lot. There is a lot of racist speak about the ‘Ities’ and the ‘Japs’. Then there are the games, also war related. Most of the games revolve around guns and violence. Lastly there is a lot of bragging that the boys do about what they are going to do in the army. In this essay I am also going to refer to ‘my mother said I never should’ by charlotte Keatley and ‘gum and goo’ by Howard Brenton. Charlotte Keatley was a feminist writer. My mother said I never should was first performed in 1087. In 1987 there were stronger roles for women and more active feminist movements in society. The play represents the plight of women and how women were treated in society, both by men and each other. The scene where the women are talking about menstrual cramps or the ‘curse’ as they call it contrasts directly yet is similar to when the boys are talking about the war in blue remembered hills. Both plays show children discussing ‘taboo’ subjects in an open and careless way. Howard Brenton play ‘gum and goo’ was first performed in 1969. Adults didn’t understand learning difficulty’s as well as they do now, in 1006. Ignorance leads to prejudice and eventually tragedy in gum and goo. This play is about an autistic girl who invents two friends, ‘gum and goo’, this character links directly to Raymond in blue remembered hills who has learning difficulties, maybe similar, but less severe to Michelle’s autism. . All three plays have adults playing children. This creates an objective distance so the unreality of the play is so obvious it doesn’t allow the audience to get absorbed into the play. This was the audience is forced to concentrate on the issues and the challenged perceptions of childhood. A play Dennis Potter. (2017, Sep 12).

Friday, September 27, 2019

Design thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Design thinking - Essay Example Just like problem solving, design is a ubiquitous and natural human activity. The beginning of the design process is where dissatisfaction and needs with the current state summed with determination that an action must be taken to solve a particular problem. Scientist from the scattered parts of the world acts as designers in their careers not knowing that they are participating in the design process (Frisendal, 2012). Design thinking has also gained attention in the setting of business. The reason behind the increased attention is that the design of services and products is a great component of business competitiveness. Most well known companies have indeed committed themselves to being design leaders. Though design thinking has recently become an important part of engineering fields, design, and business, it can bring positive effects to the 21st century education across many disciplines. The positive impacts can be since it involves creative thinking in delivering solutions to problems (Menges, 2011). In academic environments students are expected to read critically, think and reason in a logic manner and solve problems that are complex. Therefore, to help students succeed in the digital, interconnected world, educators should provide pupils with systems thinking, design thinking, and teamwork skills. In doing so, it will help them nature their skills of problem solving and prepare them for higher education and career (Ingle 2013). In many fields, knowledge is accumulated and generated through action. Thus, knowledge is utilized to produce work, and work is evaluated to produce knowledge. People who are creative usually work in two different ways. They can work as makers or finders. Finders show their creativity through discovery while makers, though are equally creative they are driven to synthesize what they are aware of in concepts, compositions, constructions, arrangements and patterns.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

How can the concept of customer orientation be translated into Essay

How can the concept of customer orientation be translated into e-commerce site design - Essay Example Organizations should ensure that satisfying customer needs and expectations becomes a priority (Kahawatte, 2010, p. 4). Communication is a crucial aspect that contributes to customer satisfaction, as it is possible to get feedback from the clients. This essay discusses how customer-orientation can utilized in an e-commerce set up. The increased accessibility of Internet access has led to the increased demand for e-commerce in a broadened customer base. Most of the local websites are designed to address the major population, not considering the individual customers. Therefore, this leads to poor utilization of e-commerce applications resulting in reduced profits (Senarathna, et al., 2010, p. 56). E- Commerce has increasingly grown even after the collapse of the dot-com era. E- Commerce developers and researchers have become more focused and cautious on the customer’s requirements and needs, as well as customer differentiation. This customer-oriented technique has led to redefining business practices and processes placing the consumer at the center. Customer behavior is determined by factors such as presentation styles, use of colors, use of language, familiarity with business processes, trust, and acceptance presented by the website. A successful E-Commerce system should incorporate social and cultural differentiation (Herhausen, 2011, p. 130). A customer behavior is influenced and affected cultural and social environment. These factors are essential to the success of E-Commerce application. The social-cultural features that should be examined for an E- Commerce application includes demographics, legal characteristics, and social characteristics (Huemer & Lops, 2012, p. 220). In regards to demographics, human behavior differs according to age and gender. Demographic affects the E-Commerce system performance and design. The project manager and the engineer must design the E-Commerce application in consideration of the targeted population. In

Change into a blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Change into a blog - Essay Example The findings are based on the research â€Å"at the USC Keck School of Medicine and University College London.† 55 healthy individuals were compared with 32 GERD patients. The result is GERD patients have more problems in voice frequency and amplitude. Here is the extract from the research report: â€Å"Sixteen of the GERD patients underwent surgery to treat the condition, and those people experienced improvements in voice quality---including those patients who didnt complain of voice problems prior to surgery. Poor voice quality could be among the reasons why people with GERD score lower on quality of life measures.† But the reader should be aware of one important factor related to any scientific research and its limitations. The present research findings are not the final verdict on the subject of â€Å"heartburn or gastrointestinal reflux disease.† Moreover, the present research is based on the representative sample of 55 healthy individuals and 32 GERD patients. This is just a small fraction of millions of patients suffering from this disease all over the world. Moreover, no one knows the exact causes for this condition. Some of the causes could be use of alcohol, cigarettes, slouching, medications, diet like eating large meals, eating just before bedtime, diabetes, rapid weight gain and so

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Frankie and alice Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Frankie and alice - Movie Review Example Then, she is also a left-handed, white racist female named Alice of unknown age with an IQ of 102. Finally, she is a right-handed black female named Genius, aged between eight and 12 with an IQ of 156. Ideally, the movie is about Frankie struggling to overcome Alice with the help of Dr. Oz. This paper will write a personal plan to promote re-integration of egos in a case such as the one presented in the movie. Re-integration of egos is an approach to psychiatric therapy founded on the separation and re-integration influences in the mind of a patient (Salas & Turnbull, 2010). The suggested plan for this case would employ the ego state therapy, which is a psychodynamic approach suitable for treating cognitive and behavioral problems. The key problem to be addressed here is teaching the patient to overcome her past and learn to manage her present life. The patient in the movie is seen to have developed distinct ego states in a meticulous sense, which can best be identified and named through ego state therapy. The nursing process in such a case would entail customizing the treatment to the patient’s problem. Specifically, that will not only require establishing a friendly and personal relationship with the two of the patient’s dominant alters or personas, but also her third identity, which is Genius. This intelligent third identity will also serve as the arbitrator. Because the patient is known to be forgetful and loses the concept of time, the ego state therapy will include hypnosis, which is a consciousness state that involves reduced peripheral awareness and focuses attention by enhancing responsiveness capacity to suggestions. This will enable the patient to achieve sharp focus and attentiveness, thus blocking out distraction while intensely concentrating on a particular memory or thought (Salas & Turnbull, 2010). Since hypnotic induction techniques are generally

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Personality is built on biology- Discuss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personality is built on biology- Discuss - Essay Example This paper discusses the role of stimulation of cerebral cortex in the openness of an individual to the society. Theorists have maintained the opinion that one’s biology influences one’s personality. According to Hans Eysenck, biology is the major determinant of an individual’s personality. Eysenck’s theory has invited a lot of debate conventionally, though he is frequently referred to in discussions of personality development. To say that personality is determined by biology fundamentally is a way of emphasizing upon the role of neurotransmitters, hormones, and genes in an individual’s behavior. Eysenck said that human brain regulates itself. There is an important role of stimulation of the cerebral cortex in determining the level to which an individual is social or reserved. Under-stimulation of the cerebral cortex arises the need to gain stimulus from the environment. Accordingly, the individual becomes an extrovert. On the other hand, over-stimu lation of the cerebral cortex suppresses an individual’s tendency to gain outside stimulation. This makes an individual introvert. In light of these facts, it can be said that human biology plays an important role in shaping the personality, though it is not the only factor which influences the personality. Personality is actually an outcome of both nature and nurture. This paper has discussed the nature’s role in developing the personality.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Philosophical essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Philosophical - Essay Example As analyzed by Plato, ideas are the actual facts and are experienced by the soul. The body can only have experience on shadows. The essentially rationalistic epistemology of Plato determines this. Hasker theory of Emergent Dualism illustrates that the mind emergence from the brain gives a solution to the mind-body problem. He argues that emergent dualism shares with materialism the argument that ordinary matter possess the potentially for consciousness within itself, it in fact goes some way far from materialism in the power in which it attributes to matter. Considering the standard materialism, the physical closure guarantees that consciousness does not bring about a difference to the manner in which a matter operates itself. This implies that all of the processes in the brain are provided with a mechanistic explanation that would be just similar whether or not the processes performed together with conscious experience. On the other hand, emergent dualism recognizes that a great many mental processes are irreducibly theological, and cannot be provided explanation upon brain processes that own a full mechanistic explanation. Therefore, the power imposed to matter through the emergent dualism leads to the total of

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) Essay Example for Free

Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) Essay Inspiring profiles and best practices for entrepreneurs Twenty-six years ago the Brighton Evening Argus ran a story on a dispute between two funeral parlour owners who were upset about a new cosmetics boutique which had opened up next door. It wasnt the nature of the business they were getting hot under the collar about, but its name. They thought the green shop front emblazoned with the words Body Shop in gold leaf might put off prospective customers. They wanted me to change my shop front which I had just spent  £870 of my  £4,000 loan on, recalls Roddick. My smart move was to call the Argus and tell them I was being threatened by Mafia undertakers who wanted to close me down. The press loved it. The story of the beleaguered single mum with the house in hock trying to support her two kids with a bootstrapping start-up worked a treat. The small splash made Body Shop a cause celebre, won plenty of local support and won an important battle to get the business off the ground. The anecdote is a small aside, recounted with a chuckle and a hint of outrage in a long interview. But although the battles got much bigger as Roddick grew her business into the multinational retailer it is today, anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Body Shop story will instantly recognise the defining characteristics of its fiery feisty founder in those early days of the business: Ethical Anita versus the big bad world. There has never been any compromise in Roddicks views on how business should be done: this is why her husband Gordon was tasked with handling the City suits (they didnt like me talking about sexual tension at work) and why she stepped away from the business in 1998 when the shareholders said a campaigning chief executive was not what they wanted for Body Shop. You might think after thirty years of business and the comfort of a healthy shareholding and a wedge of cash in the bank Roddicks hunger for campaigning might have diminished. But little has changed since 1976. Her latest venture, a publishing start-up, produces books on ethical matters. It promotes her on the speaking circuit and all the profits going into campaigning. The only difference is now she occupies the position of an icon for women and female entrepreneurs: something I dont take lightly And there is still plenty to shout about when it comes to what she sees as an ethical vacuum in business today. Suffocation She rails against the suffocation of UK businesses as we outsource to cheaper countries; the failure to preserve the needs of shareholders in public companies; the lack of respect for the responsibility of business to the community at large; the ongoing need for women to conform to a male template in order to succeed; the lack of recognition of the value that employees bring to a business. Being ethical in business is not about giving stuff away Roddick is emphatic about what this means in practice: not sandals, beards and group hugs in the boardroom but the adoption of simple moral values. People use the excuse of business to leave their morals at the front door and I dont know how they get away with it. But can ethical business really fit in with the cut-throat world of today? Her business, she says, is living proof. She describes Body Shop as a great business experiment which is still proving a point: you can run an entrepreneurial business, provide a return to shareholders while campaigning on ethical issues and placing a high value on human capital. Being ethical in business is not about giving stuff away. Its about your relationship with your employees, its about the aesthetics of the workplace and its about communication, says Roddick. There is no reason why the workplace cant be a genuine creative place, why there cant be flexitime, why there cant be transparency and even good manners. If Roddick doesnt sound like a business woman its because she has never claimed to be one. She puts her success down to a need for a livelihood and sees herself as the accidental entrepreneur.

Friday, September 20, 2019

HR development and talent management

HR development and talent management Human Resource Management is important to learn because in todays scenario every organization has this HR department. Basically this department work for the employees of the company. They take interviews; give their opinion to the admin department for the employee. In this assignment I try to describe importance of HRM, advantages of HRM, some activities which actively taken by HR person for their employees and company benefits. I also mention why training required in any company. Also how its affect to the companys development, advantages and disadvantages of training, objectives, importance of training and development in organization. TASK-1 INTRODUCTION OF HRM Human Resource Development (HRD) is the framework for helping employees develops their personal and organizational skills, knowledge, and abilities. Human Resource Development includes such opportunities as employee training, employee career development, performance management and development, coaching, mentoring, succession planning, key employee identification, tuition assistance, and organization development. The focus of all aspects of Human Resource Development is on developing the most superior workforce so that the organization and individual employees can accomplish their work goals in service to customers. Human Resource Development can be formal such as in classroom training, a collage course, or organizational planned change efforts. Or, Human Resource Development can be informal as in employee coaching by a manager. Healthy organization believes in Human Resource Development and covers all of these bases. There is a long-standing argument about where HR-related function should be organised into large organization, e.g. should HR be in the Organisation Development department or the other way around? The HRM function and HRD profession have undergone tremendous change over the past 20-30 years. Many years ago, large organisations looked to the Personal Department, mostly to manage the paperwork around hiring and paying people. More recently, organisation consider the HR Department as paying a major role in staffing, training and helping to manage people so that people and the organisation are performing at maximum capability in a highly fulfilling manner. Recently, the phrase talent management is being used to refer the activities to attract, develop and retain employees. Some people and organisations use the phrase to refer especially to talented and/or high-potential employees. The phrase often is used interchangeably with the field of Human Resource Management although as the field of talent management matures, its very likely there will be an increasing number of people who will strongly disagree about the interchange of this field. For now, this Library uses the phrases interchangeably. OBJECTIVES: Societal objective: To be socially responsible to the needs and challenges of society while minimizing the negative impact of such demands upon the organisation. The failure of Organisations to use their resources for societys benefits may result in restrictions. For example, societies may pass laws that limit human resource decision. Organisational objective: To recognize that HRM exists to contribute to organisational effectiveness. HRM is not an end in itself; it is only a means to assist the organisational with its primary objectives. Simply stated, the department exists to serve the rest of the organisation. Functional objective. To maintain the departments contribution at a level appropriate to the organisations needs. Resources are wasted when HRM is more or less sophisticated than the organisation demands. A departments level of service must be appropriate for the organisation it serves. Personal objectives. To assist employees in achieving their personal goals, at least insofar as these goals enhance the individuals contribution to the organisation. Personal objectives of employees must be met if workers are to be maintained, retained and motivated. Otherwise, employee performance and satisfaction may decline, and employees may leave the organisation. IMPORTANTS OF HRM ACTIVITIES. We must understand the importance of HRM in any organization. Here I mention main theories of HRM, how they work in organisation. Performance appraisal is concerned with de determining how well employees are doing their jobs, communicating that information to the employees and establishing a plan for performance important. Training and development activities help employees learn how to perform their jobs, improve their performance and prepare themselves for more senior positions. Career planning and development activities benefit both employees (by identifying employee career goals, possible future job opportunities and personal improvement requirement) and the organisation (by ensuring that qualified employees are available when needed). Employee motivation is vital to the success of any organisation. Highly motivated employees tend to be more productive and have lower rates of absenteeism and turnover. These theories are affecting and work differently in. Here I take Solar industries. In industry there are different department for different work. Each department has their own responsibilities. Each and every employee has duties and they know how to work and when and where they want training for their improvement. Managers also know where are their employees and they motivating them to achieve target and goal. In solar industry Human Resources department is important. This department choose the employees because of their talent, education, and work experience. After selection of employees they send them for training. After joining they have whole data regarding their work, development, how they utilise their knowledge for company benefit. Admin department also look after of all these things. Because they decide employees payroll and what work force they want. IF employee works well they provide financial appraisal. Solar Industries have developed the type of modal in HRM. If company have to change our weakness they want to adopt that type of bullet key. We can see the best example of TATA INDUSTRIES PVT . LTD. They also apply good training, good management, good recruitment. That is very important to the company because they approach the goals and objective TATA INDUSTRIES PVT.LTD Tata Industries is one of the best largest industry to india. Tata to explore the more item to the india Company are adopt HRM MODAL Employee motivation Future Plan Promote employee capability Company Development Employee job structure Company are follow this process for develop HRM in his company. HPWS Model:- This paper focuses on constraints on the effectiveness of high performance work techniques deriving from the traditions of craft-based trade unionism and long-established structures and fundamentally managerialist nature of HPW accounts that assume labours position in the high-performance equation to be simply one of recipient of managerial initiatives. Abstract HPWS are changing the structure and content of work. Jobs are being redesigning to give front line employees the opportunity to make work-related decisions. Front-line workers in HPWS have greater autonomy and control over job tasks and methods of work (Hackman and Oldham 1976, 1980). Without autonomy, discretionary effort would be tightly circumscribed by preset management limits on individual or group activity, and workers would have few opportunities to participate meaningfully in substantive decisions. Communication, autonomy, problem solving, and decision making by front line workers can exist within a variety of organizational settings, but many managers believe that they are enhanced when carried out within groups or teams. Benefits of HPWS HPWS are built on key business process that deliver value to customers, as there processes and customer relationships change, so too should the work system They are flexible, and, therefore more easily adapted When changes occur, it should be guided by the clear understanding of the business needs and exhibit a close vertical fit to strategy. Conclusion Solar Industry are suffering in staff skill and develop at levels of company have to managing human effort, environmental resources, and corporate resources. Company have use the importance of activity in company If company are appointed HR director so he has to be follow all condition which required for solar industry. Company want to apply HRM Strategy HR Strategy is a document to show the employees in HRM and the rest of the organisation the main imperative and key initiatives of Human Resources to be achieved and how they will impact the whole organisation. RECOMMENDATION: Solar Industry are care to the entire factor. Now they applying today company are not going well. As indicate to high labour turnover rates. Recruitment problems. Succession problem, and some doubts about the leadership. So they company solve the problem and correct to the problem. TASK-2 Training and development in solar industry Introduction Training and development is a subsystem of an organisation. It ensures that randomness is reduced and learning or behavioural change takes place in structured format. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT DEFINED It is concerned with the structure and delivery of acquisition of knowledge to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of organization. It is concerned with improving the existing skills and exploring the potential skills of the individual i.e. upgrading the employees skills and extending their knowledge. Therefore, training is a key to optimizing utilization human intellectual technological and entrepreneurial skills Training and development referred to as: Acquisition and sharpening of employees capabilities that is required to perform various obligation, tasks and functions. Developing the employees capabilities so that they may be able to discover their potential and exploit them to full their own and organisational development purpose. Developing an organisational culture where superior-subordinate relationship, team work, and collaboration among different sub units are strong and contribute to organisational wealth, dynamism and pride to the employees. INTRODUCTION OF TRAINING It is a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills, concepts, rules, or changing of attitude and behaviours to enhance the performance of employees. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES The principal objective of training and development division is to make sure the availability of a skilled and willing workforce to an organization. In addition to that, there are four other objectives: Individual objectives Organisational objectives Functional objectives Societal objectives Individual Objectives help employees in achieving their personal goals, which in turn, enhances the individual contribution to an organisation. Organizational Objectives assist the organisation with its primary objective by bringing individual effectiveness. Functional Objectives maintain the departments contribution at a level suitable to the organisations needs. Societal Objectives ensure that an organisational is ethically and socially responsible to the needs and challenges of the society. IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT It helps to development human intellect and an overall personality of the employees. Productivity Training and development helps in increasing the productivity of the employees that helps the organisation further to achieve its long-tem goal. Team spirit Training and development helps in inculcating the sense of team work, team spirit, and inter-team collaborations. It helps in inculcating the zeal to learn within the employees. Organisation Culture Training and development helps to develop and improve the organisational health culture and effectiveness. It helps in creating the learning culture within the organisation. Organisation Climate Training and development helps building the positive perception and feeling about the organisation. The employees get these feeling from leaders, subordinates, and peers. Quality Training and development helps in improving upon the quality of work and work-life Healthy work-environment Training and development helps in creating the healthy working environment. It helps to build good employee, relationship so that individual goals align with organisational goal. Health and Safety Training and development helps in improving the health and Safety of the organisation thus preventing obsolescence. Morale Training and development helps in improving the morale of the work force. Image Training and development helps in creating a better corporate image. Profitability Training and development leads to improved profitability and more positive attitude towards profit orientation. Training and development helps in developing leadership skills, motivation, loyalty, better attitude, and other aspects that successful workers and managers usually display. Development of Human Resources Training and development helps to provide an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources technical and behavioural skills in an organisation. It also helps the employees in attaining personal growth. Development of skills of employees Training and development helps in increasing the job knowledge and skills of employees at each level. It helps to expand the horizons of human intellect and an overall personality of the employee. ADVANTAGES OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees Increased employee motivation Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods Increased innovation in strategies and products Reduced employee turnover Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training. REPORT FROM HR CONSULTANT TO BOARD OF DIRECTOR SUBJECT RECOMMEDATION TO LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN SOLAR INDUSTRY Training and development is one of the best advantage to the process of our company. Company to use the training and development to the best practise to in organisation. They need to be used the progress of company to training and development in solar industry. CONCLUSION: Training and development to need the every company. Because the company staff is using the training to the company. And they also need to the learning development process. Company use the best way for high approach to the future goal and objective. TASK-3 INTRODUCTION Talent Management refers to the process of developing and integrating new workers. Developing and retaining current workers. And attracting highly skilled workers to work for a company. Talent management in this context does not refer to the management of entertainers. The term was coined by David Watkins. The process of attracting and retaining profitable employees, as it its increasingly more competitive between firms and strategic importance, has come to be known as the war for talent REPORT From- HR CONSULTANT To- Board Of directors Subject- Recommendation about Talent management Talent management to need to the our company because Talent is most important to the objective and goals, Talent management is using the our benefits and approaches to the our company. Many Company using this talent management they need to company profit. They using the system view of talent has five elements Need- the business need derived from the business model and competitive issue. Data collection the fundamental data and intelligence critical for good talent decision Planning people/talent planning guided by data analysis. Activities the conversion of plans into integrated sets of activities. Results costs, measures and effectiveness criteria to judge the value and impacts of TM. CONCLUSION: The current discussions about traditional understanding, current application and integration with business strategy are also helping organisations to focus on the talent management issue. It may not possible to simply go out and recruit new people to meet operational needs. Many leading companies have decided to develop their own people, rather than trying to hire fully skilled workers.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Stonehenge Essays -- British History, Neolithic People

One of the most mysterious places in the world, Located in Wiltshire, England in a wide open grassy field sits Stonehenge a lard circle of randomly placed rocks. Sometime around 1300 BC the first stage of construction began, many experts argue the different times of when Stonehenge was constructed (Historykings, 2011). The most controversial thing about Stonehenge is its use. There are many thoughts of what Stonehenge was used for, some thoughts may be based on their religious and spatial beliefs. That Stonehenge was used for different reasons, depending on their religious beliefs they may have different views. Alien landing place or a burial ground? Could Stonehenge have been used as either of these or was it astronomical calendar for people of ancient times. Till this day many scientist still do not know exactly what Stonehenge was used for. After a lot of research scientist found evidence that Stonehenge was built in six different stages (Historykings, 2011). Stonehenge was abandon for nearly five hundred years or more in between each different stage of building. Stage one of Stonehenge began in 3000 BC and the completion was in 1520 BC, however it’s still changing ever day (Hayes, 2011). Stage one of Stonehenge was built by native Neolithic people way before any modern things could have been used to help moving these huge bluestones. The Neolithic people dug a circle three-hundred feet in diameter; these ditches were known as Aubrey holes. These holes were discovered in 1666 by a man named John Aubrey. Scientist found evidence that the Aubrey holes that were dug the ditch with deer antlers which were found in the ditches as well as very old cow remains that are centuries old. The Aubrey holes were twenty f... ...from weathering; however no construction has been done to it. Some bluestone has also been taken during the medieval times by the Romans. During the 16th century George Villagers dug a lard deep hole within Stonehenge looking for treasure. However he didn’t find any treasure but he found ashes and pieces of burn bone. Also many stones now have holes drilled in them from the river side project conducting test on the rocks. Recent evidence found shows that the ditches or Aubrey holes dug were filled with wooden post that help welsh blue stones that were part of the cremation process. Riverside project also found the area around the holes and the circular bank contained one hundred fifty to two hundred forty cremation remains. These remains found closer to the Stonehenge may have been people of higher social status feeling that they were to be closer to the monument.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Is Macbeth A Thoroughly Representative Character? :: essays research papers

Is Macbeth a Thoroughly Representative Character?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some critics may contend that Macbeth is not a thoroughly representative character, yet through a close observation and understanding of the drama, it can be seen that any rational human being, given the identical situation, would have undergone the exact thought process and taken equal actions as did Macbeth. Macbeth was presented with a situation where he was forced to make an extreme decision. His driving ambition to become King of Scotland corrupted him and caused him to murder not only the king, but all those who had any ties to him. People may say that Macbeth was insane for doing this, yet others will agree that the common character would have done the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Given the situation, the ideal individual would have undergone the same alteration as did Macbeth. Presented with an equal degree an opportunity, one would have become very eager and anxious, thus carrying out the same criminal actions that Macbeth himself conveyed. A person, always eager to gain endowment, would jump at the chance to acquire that power as soon as possible, no matter what they had to do. This is the situation Macbeth was in. He was seeking the throne, and only wanted to find a faster way to obtain that authority, thus he killed, lied, and cheated his way to that place of honor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Readers may debate that Macbeth was indeed insane, thus leading the reader to believe that he was not representative of a typical human. This is true, yet any human can be insane, which further proves the validity that Macbeth was a common individual. Perhaps driven to insanity, no evidence exists to say that Macbeth was not ordinary, which means that he was not in any way different from the rest of humanity. What he did in the drama was no different than what anyone would have done given the position Macbeth was in. Conceivably an individual may not have murdered and become so very evil, however one would

Response to On Going Home Essay -- Personal Essays

According to Joan Didion's essay "On Going Home", continuing changes in life makes it almost impossible to remove memories of one's past. Especially when one has been away from a previous home, which that person was raised, then return to that same home a number of years later. In a home which family and friends shared memories of events, news, gossip and situations, whether it be bad or good. Old artifacts and various family heirlooms in the home that stimulates a memory of those old times when used. Surrounding areas of that old home are remembered just as well also. Being in a new home makes the old memories even more missed. These may be the strongest influences in why memories are kept and remembered. When someone is away from their original home, meaning a home that the certain person was raised and grew up at, there is no doubt that the home will be missed. It would be forgotten but only at a certain extent. An extent that things will be remembered about that home every time someone relates something to it. But when a person is returned to that old home, like Didian, the memories are even more apparent than while away from home. Didain was overloaded with memories that were once forgotten. These memories are forgotten, and then quickly aroused with a simple touch, sight, smell or sound. People have different relations with memories and how they conceive them, but Didian makes it very apparent that these memories about a home that is missed and forgotten exists inside of us all. Physical items such as family heirlooms, "teacups"(Didian 373), or the condition of a house are strong reminders of past memories. Instead of a thought trying to relate one thing to another, an object can have it's own history. ... ...missed. Too much remembrance will definitely impair judgment and living conditions of one's present life. It should be very private and for one's thoughts only. Remembering past places once lived at and how much different the weather, conditions and surroundings were. People that a person used to interact with now will never have even remotely the same conversations that the same person used to with old family and friends. A piece of clothing, an eating instrument or even a musical instrument that were remembered will somewhat relate to an event that happened in the past. Just a few examples of how memories will never be forgotten. Memories will always be remembered, sometimes forgotten but always revived as a person's life changes. Works Cited Tropp, Sandra Fehl and Ann Pierson D'Angelo, editors. Essays in Context. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Principles of diversity, equality and inclusion Essay

1. Understand the importance of diversity, equality and inclusion 1.1 Define what is meant by: †¢ diversityIndividual differences. Includes many factors, eg. race, gender, religious and political belief, abilities and disabilities, age and culture †¢ equalityInstilling a balance of fairness and status to all individuals †¢ inclusionaccommodating every individual to be part of a situation †¢ discriminationthe treatment of a person due to prejudice of their individual differences see more:legislation and codes of practice relating to diversity 1.2 Describe how direct or indirect discrimination may occur in the work setting Direct discrimination may be only including a particular group of people who the carer considers appropriate by their personal opinion. Direct discrimination may occur therefore due to a carers personal belief or opinion which should not be relevant whilst working in a care environment. Indirect discrimination is the assumption that the carer knows about a person without obtaining relevant information. This may occur if the carers assumes the individual is unable to take part in an activity by their own assumption rather than by any particular knowledge 1.3 Explain how practices that support diversity, equality and inclusion reduce the likelihood of discrimination If practices are in place to help carers have a better understanding of diversity, inclusion and equality, such as training and employment of diverse individuals, discrimination will naturally be reduced. If carers are enabled to get to know the diverse backgrounds, and gain a better understanding, stereotyping should be reduced 2. Know how to work in an inclusive way 2.1 List key legislation and codes of practice relating to diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination in adult social care settings The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people Care Quality Commission compliance regulations Policies and procedures within the workplace 2.2 Describe how to interact with individuals in an inclusive way By getting to know the individual’s background you will be better equipped to encourage inclusion. They should feel comfortable in the environment to feel properly included. This may include treating them equally, without authority, listening and speaking with consideration and sincerity. The person should be encouraged to behave naturally in a way that is comfortable to them and does not challenge the individual to change themselves to fit into your own ideologies. 2.3 Describe ways in which discrimination may be challenged in adult social care settings Discrimination can be challenged by not tolerating and taking immediate action if it occurs. All individuals should be encouraged to challenge discrimination in a fair and calm way, this should be led by respect and consideration of others. When discrimination occurs, incidents should be reported and recorded. By making all staff, carers, service users and their carers/families aware of the discrimination policies and procedures, discrimination can be dealt with more swiftly and effectively. When carers are properly trained, they will have a better understanding of discrimination and be in a position to act positively to prevent and challenge the incident. 3. Know how to access information, advice and support about diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination 3.1 Identify sources of information, advice and support about diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination The workplace would be my first point of call for information. I would look to our handbooks, policies and procedures guidelines as well as management. I could also source information from government agencies and online support, and the Care Quality Commission for further information and support. Further still I could consider obtaining advice from related charities, organisations and private professionals. 3.2 Describe how and when to access information, advice and support about diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination I should access information, advice and support at all stages, from initial training to refresher courses and keeping up to date with policy and legislation changes. It should be my responsibility as a carer to be aware of current information at all times. When incidents of discrimination occur I would immediately make my colleagues and managers aware and gain guidance and  support from the offset. If I found the support and information insufficient, I would then look to further sources for information, support and advice until I received a satisfactory conclusion for all involved.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Higher Education Marketing Mix

CHAPTER 3 MARKETING’S ROLE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 3. 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 2 introduced some of the major changes and trends that have taken place in the higher education environment both internationally and locally. Although higher education institutions can be classified as non-profit organisations, the challenges discussed in Chapter 2 necessitate higher education institutions to take on the organisation-like behaviour of profit organisations and to become more marketingoriented.An understanding of the environment in which higher education institutions operate, provides an essential background against which to understand and assess the benefits of focusing on students as customers. If higher education institutions understand the landscape in which they operate, they can begin to plan to serve the market effectively and efficiently with their marketing strategy. Being marketingoriented requires that organisations have knowledge on external forces (as explained in Chapter 2), b ut also knowledge on customers’ needs and wants (to be addressed in Chapter 4).It is against this backdrop of changes in the environment, such as the decrease in government funding and the increase in competition, that the need for marketing in higher education can be seen. In order to survive and to develop a sustainable competitive advantage in a changing higher education landscape, higher education institutions should satisfy the needs of their customers by adding value. Institutions should provide more benefits to their customers than competitors if they want to stay competitive.In the competitive environment in which higher education institutions operate (refer to Chapter 2), enhanced customer satisfaction may be one of the ways in which institutions can create and sustain a competitive advantage. This can be achieved with the effective application of the marketing mix elements. Marketing, and more specific a market-orientation, can provide a detailed understanding of th e needs of ustomers and ensure that higher education institutions address the needs in as – 73 – efficient and comprehensive manner as possible. In short, higher education institutions need to set marketing objectives and formulate a marketing strategy. Given the market-oriented focus and importance of the marketing mix elements, the main focus of this chapter will be on higher education institutions’ formulation and implementation of the elements of the services marketing mix.This chapter will explore the literature available on the changing role of marketing, the marketing concept, market- and marketing-orientation, consumer behaviour and the integration of all the units of a higher education institution to formulate a service product strategy, price strategy, distribution strategy, communication strategy, people strategy, physical evidence strategy and process strategy in order to meet the needs of students. 3. 2 THE CHANGING ROLE OF MARKETING Marketing plays a major role in any organisation and is viewed by Lamb et al. 2004:5) as a process that starts with identifying customer groups, finding out about their needs and wants, matching what the organisation can offer with what the customer wants and then effectively communicating and selling it to the customer. Although the primary aim of marketing is to satisfy the needs of customers, it involves a cluster of activities such as product/service innovation, design, development, distribution, advertising, selling and how the product/service is acquired and used by the customer.Machado and Cassim (2002:2) regard marketing as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives. Mowen (1995:7) states that the importance of understanding consumer behaviour is found in the definition of marketing as a human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants t hrough a human exchange process. Effective marketing requires a higher education institution to identify their target audiences, understand them, and communicate with them as directly and interactively as possible (Laurer, 2006).According to Shoemaker (1999), marketing is the proactive management of the relationship between a higher education institution and its various – 74 – markets by using the tools of marketing: service product, place, price, promotion, process, people and physical evidence. Marketing’s greater contribution lies in its ability to facilitate the exchange process that takes place between the non-profit organisation such as the higher education institution, and each of the customer groups it addresses (Sargeant, 2005:295).Marketing can provide a detailed understanding of the needs of such customers and ensure that the institution addresses these needs in as efficient and comprehensive manner as possible. This understanding of customers’ needs can aid organisations in creating and sustaining a competitive advantage. Lynch and Baines (2004:171) found that higher education institutions’ sustainable competitive advantages are usually based on superior knowledge, reputation, innovation or architectural related advantages.However, marketing is not stagnant and over the years the marketing activities of organisations have changed. Kolter (2003) and Strydom, Jooste and Cant (2000:10) identify four stages that strongly influence the evolution of organisations’ marketing activities. These stages are referred to as production, sales, marketing and societal marketing. The production orientation focuses on the internal capabilities of the organisation rather than the needs of the market, while a sales orientation is based on the premise that people will buy more if aggressive sales techniques are used.Both of these orientations lack a customer focus. Organisations realise the importance of marketing and building long-term relationships with their customers; thus, a marketing orientation. The societal marketing orientation builds on the marketing orientation but adds that customer value must be delivered in such a way that it maintains or improves the society’s wellbeing. According to Kotler and Fox (1995:11), there are also definite stages in the evolution of marketing in higher education.The focus has moved from â€Å"marketing is unnecessary† to â€Å"marketing is promotion† to â€Å"marketing is positioning† to the stage where in some cases marketing is seen as part of strategic planning for higher education institutions. Law (2002:4) is of the opinion that higher education institutions in South Africa are moving from â€Å"marketing is promotion† to more emphasis on positioning and strategic planning. This stage is also described as the â€Å"marketing company† era. The marketing – 75 – ompany era is characterised by short- and lon g-term marketing planning and the whole organisation’s efforts are guided by the marketing concept (Perreault & McCarthy 2002:34). The marketing concept is a management philosophy with the basic premises that an organisation needs to research the needs and wants of customers and then produce products or services that will satisfy these needs and wants (Strydom, Jooste & Cant, 2000:12; and Kohli & Jaworski, 1990:467). The marketing concept will be explained in the next section. 3. 3 THE MARKETING CONCEPTChurchill and Peter (1998:12) describe the implementation of the marketing concept as an organisation that satisfies customer needs and wants as a means to achieve their own objectives. Although it seems simple, it is complex in the sense that changes within the economic, social, political and technological environment, as discussed in Chapter 2, constantly leads to changing customer needs and wants. Lamb et al. (2004:17) state that institutions who want to survive in the futur e will have to be customer-focused, market-driven, global in scope and flexible in its ability to deliver superior value to ustomers whose preferences and expectations change continuously. Foxall and Goldsmith (1998:7) feel that consumer orientation stems from an organisation’s adoption and implementation of the marketing mix (price, service product, promotion, place, people, process, physical evidence), but adds that the adoption and implementation of the marketing concept has four major implications: †¢ The success of any organisation depends above all on the consumers and what they are willing to accept and pay. †¢ The organisation must be aware of what the market wants, preferably well before production commences. Consumer wants must be continually monitored and measured so that, through service product and market development, the organisation keeps ahead of competitors. †¢ Top management must achieve the integration of all the components of the marketing s trategy into a single strategic plan, based on knowledge of consumer behaviour. – 76 – Mowen (1995:4) underlines the importance of the marketing concept by stating that the marketing concept embodies the view that an industry is a customer satisfying process, not a goods producing process.An industry begins with the customer and its needs, not a patent, raw material, or selling skill. The general acceptance of the concept that an organisation functions to fulfil consumers’ needs and wants, through understanding their exchange partner (customers), makes the study of consumer behaviour, and thus this study, essential. Mowen (1995:5) and Churchill and Peter (1998:13) agree that the basic idea of the marketing concept is to give the customers what they want.However, consumers are not always sure of their wants or what they are being offered, and are much more open to persuasion than is commonly acknowledged by the marketing concept. The marketing concept is based on four basic principles: consumer orientation or the target market; long-term maximisation of profitability or another measure of long-term success, total organisation effort, and social responsibility (Kotler, 2003:20 and Perreault & McCarthy, 2002:34). The four principles of the marketing concept will be briefly explained below. 3. 3. THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSUMER ORIENTATION Strydom et al. (2000:12) view consumer orientation as the first principle of the marketing concept, indicating that all actions should be aimed at satisfying consumer needs, demands and preferences. Although this implies that the consumer objective is to achieve total need satisfaction, it does not mean that an organisation must provide for unrealistic consumer needs. According to Kotler (2003:20), organisations have to carefully choose their target markets and then prepare a tailored marketing programme.Research conducted by Conway, Mackay and Yorke (1994:35) on higher education institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) found that more than half of the institutions did not have a customer orientation in their planning and that most institutions merely pay lip service to the variety of target markets they serve. This study will attempt to gather the necessary information to enable institutions to become more customer oriented in understanding the needs and wants of students, specifically regarding the choice factors and information sources used when selecting a university. 3. 3. THE PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATION AND COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES – 77 – Strydom et al. (2000:14) define a system as an integrated whole – a group of related units working together to achieve a joint objective. The second principle suggests that marketing activities of a higher education institution should be closely coordinated with each other and with other functional areas such as production, finance, administration, human resources and procurement. The marketing concept has been a useful mechanism in helping to unify the independent functional areas to increase customer satisfaction.All seven marketing mix instruments (price, service product, promotion, distribution, people, process and physical evidence) should complement and reinforce one another in such a way that the student will prefer the institution’s service offerings to that of competitors. 3. 3. 3 THE PRINCIPLE OF MAXIMISING LONG-TERM SUCCESS The third principle is directed at achieving market share, return on investment and the objectives of the organisation. Marketing plans and corporate goals must be closely coordinated to ensure profitability.Maximising profitability is the primary objective of a profit-seeking organisation and can be achieved only through the consideration of consumer needs. Non-profit organisations attempt to achieve some other objective than profit. This does not mean than they are uninterested in income, as they have to generate cash to survive. However, their primary goal is non-econom ic, and for higher education institutions that is to provide education. Although there is an emergence of for-profit higher education institutions, as discussed in Chapter 2, non-profit higher education institutions also need to focus on their long-term sustainability.For-profit organisational success is measured ultimately by profitability. For non-profit organisations, measuring success is not so easy. Higher education institutions’ success can be measured in research output terms, number of students taught, student pass rate, range of qualifications of staff or even the quality of teaching. The combination of these factors makes the measurement of success difficult and can lead to conflict. For example: more students and larger classes may reduce time needed for research by staff to deliver the required research outputs.The principle of maximising long-term success is therefore more complex in higher education institutions than for for-profit organisations. Marketing is of growing importance to non-profit organisations, because of the need to generate funds in an increasingly competitive arena. Even – 78 – higher education institutions that rely on government funding must show how their work is of benefit to society and must meet the needs of their customers. 3. 3. 4 THE PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYZikmund and D’Amico (2001:20) state that the pure marketing concept disregards environmental changes and problems and focuses on short-term customer satisfaction rather than on the long-term wellbeing of society. Involvement and concern for the environment and the society in which the marketing task is performed are typical characteristics of a strategic approach to marketing management. Organisations should therefore strive to obtain the goodwill of the society, rather than only the support of the target market. By demonstrating social responsibility, higher education institutions can earn the goodwill of the public and governme nt.This has a long-term dimension that can favourably influence the future of any institution in terms of funding and a steady supply of customers. From the discussion of the marketing concept and its principles, it is clear that by accepting the marketing concept, institutions have recognised that consumers and their behaviour has a direct bearing on the formulation of a marketing strategy – and therefore the relevance of this study. The marketing concept helps to bring focus and enables an organisation to satisfy consumers’ needs (Perreault & McCarthy, 2002:41).If higher education institutions want to be successful in today’s dynamic higher education landscape, competing for resources, support and customers, they too should adhere to principles of the marketing concept, especially being consumeroriented, when conducting their business. Applied to higher education, the marketing concept holds that higher education institutions should conduct their planning bear ing in mind and recognising that they exist primarily for the purpose of providing a service product to students. Campus activities should thus focus on satisfying the needs of students (Massad & Tucker, 2000:1-5).The philosophy of the marketing concept forms the underlying basis for an organisation’s market- and marketing-orientation. These two concepts will be briefly explained in the next section. – 79 – 3. 4 MARKET-ORIENTATION AND MARKETING-ORIENTATION Throughout the literature, the term market-orientation and marketing-orientation is used interchangeably (Payne, 1988; Kohli, Jaworski, & Kumar, 1993 and Sharp, 1991). Notice should however be taken of a small group of authors, such as Cravens, Lamb and Crittenden (1996), who argue that there are slight differences between the two concepts.However, it is not the purpose of this study to argue or investigate if there are differences between these concepts, but rather to show how the adherence to these concepts can enable higher education institutions to survive and grow (Voon, 2006:598). 3. 4. 1 MARKET-ORIENTATION Market-orientation refers to everyone in the organisation being committed to the customer and adapting in a timely way to meeting the changing needs of the customer. Market-orientation is a bias towards the market, requiring knowledge of customer needs and wants, competitors and external forces (Evans, James & Tomes, 1996:209).Kasper (2002:1047) defines a market-orientation as the degree to which an organisation and all its thinking and acting (internally as well as externally) is guided and committed to the factors determining the market behaviour of the organisation itself and its customers. Kohli and Jaworski (1990:3) define market-orientation as the activities involved in the implementation of the marketing concept. An organisation with a market-orientation determines the needs and wants of the target market and delivers the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficien tly than the competition.Thus, market-orientation extends beyond the marketing concept philosophy, as it also offers a process for delivering customer value. A market-oriented organisation understands customer preference and requirements and effectively combines and directs the skills and resources of the entire organisation to satisfy customers’ needs. According to Kasper (2002:1052), a robust market-orientation has become a strategic necessity for any service organisation due to increasing market turbulence and intensifying competition.He states that the market-orientation of an organisation can be seen as a particular position on a scale ranging from being truly market-oriented to not being market-oriented at all. Results from Kasper’s research show that a market-oriented service organisation has an open, employee-oriented, result-oriented, pragmatic, – 80 – professional, well-communicated, marketing goals-oriented, market knowledge (customers and comp etition) system with dedicated employees that know what customer focus and service means.Market forces (refer to Chapter 2) changed the landscape of higher education into a competitive environment requiring a market-orientation (Koerwer, 2001). According to Couturier (2002), reduction in government support and increase in new technologies and improved learning produce students with high expectations and this further pressurises higher education institutions to become more market-oriented. Shoemaker (1999) states that glossy brochures, catchy slogans and the existence of marketing programmes do not give higher education institutions a market-orientation.Marketorientation requires a philosophy and a culture that go deep in the organisation. This means an institution where students are involved in the service production process and where administration, faculty and support staff work together effectively. A marketorientation requires a commitment and power from top management. Shoemake r (1999) states that a market-oriented higher education institution is characterised by: †¢ A top management actively involved in providing institutional marketing leadership; †¢ A marketing process integrated to reflect, recognise and involve all institutional stakeholders; Marketing plans that are well distributed among top institutional officers; †¢ Outside marketing consultants used to build and enrich the institutional culture; †¢ Regular and structured marketing research studies of all important stakeholder areas; †¢ A marketing-oriented planning culture that includes the participation of all stakeholder areas; and †¢ Marketing evaluation systems in place to assure continuous monitoring and improvement of marketing programmes and strategies. – 81 – 3. 4. 2 MARKETING-ORIENTATIONAn organisation with a marketing-orientation adheres to the principles of the marketing concept and offer customers what they need (Perreault & McCarthy, 2002: 37). Marketing-orientation implies that the main task of a higher education institution is to determine the needs and wants of target markets and to satisfy them through the design, communication, pricing, delivery of appropriate and competitively viable programmes and services (Kotler & Fox, 1995:8). Laurer (2006) states that strategic plans of higher education institutions will have to become marketing-oriented plans.This begins with an environmental scan that determines how society is changing and then outlines how programmes, pricing and access to learning (distribution), employees (people) and process will meet these changing needs. According to Massad and Tucker (2000), higher education institutions in the United States have embraced a marketing-oriented approach to admission. They state that the trend began in the late 1970’s in the USA and is driven by increased competition and a shrinking enrolment pool. Higher education institutions in Shanghai started in 1999 to re form their policies to be more marketing-oriented (People Daily, 1999).These policies include practical plans such as providing enough residence and departmental buildings for students and lecturers, logistic service renovations, and improved logistic service quality. Several reasons exist why achieving a marketing-orientation is problematic for some higher education institutions (Sargeant, 2005:297): †¢ Conflict between management and academic interest. There is a split in the responsibility for dealing with customers between departments and an institution’s central administrative function. †¢ The lack of a strategic perspective.Courses are sometimes established and maintained for the status of the department or institution rather than where there is clear evidence of an economic viability or long-term demand. †¢ The diversity of the marketing activity. Marketing is conducted by a variety of players, such as the admissions officer, school liaison officers, res earch officer and faculties, making the coordination difficult. †¢ Academic value. Some institutions still perceive marketing as being incompatible with their education mission. – 82 – Nevertheless, higher education institutions must aim to become marketing-oriented.The market concept forms the underlying philosophy for both a market and marketingorientation. A marketing-orientation is an all-embracing concept referring to both behavioural and philosophical standing of marketing, therefore incorporating the market-orientation. Thus, for the purpose of this study, the term marketing-orientation will be used to indicate a market- and/or marketing-orientation. 3. 5 MARKETING STRATEGY AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR According to Hawkins et al. (2001:7), an effective marketing strategy is based on knowledge of the environment, competitors and customers.The study of customers’ needs, perceptions, aspirations, motivations, culture and decision-making processes is called co nsumer behaviour (Du Plessis & Rousseau 2005:8). Consumer behaviour serves as a basis for marketing strategy formulation. Figure 3. 1 indicates that an understanding of consumer behaviour is the basis for marketing strategy formulation and will serve as a visual guide for the remainder of this chapter. It also visually shows the integration and link between Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Figure 3. begins with the analysis of the market (Step 1) in which the organisation is operating. It requires a detailed analysis of the organisation’s capabilities, strengths and weaknesses, competition, the economical and technological forces affecting the market, and the current and potential customers in the market (refer to Chapter 2). The consumer analysis component of the first step enables an organisation to identify groups of individuals with similar needs. The identified market segments, in step two, can be described in terms of demographics, media preference and geographic loc ation.One or more of these segments are then selected as target market, based on the organisation’s capabilities relative to those of its competition, taking into account current economic and technological conditions. The organisation then decides on the desired image of the service product or brand, also known as the service product or brand position. The third step entails the marketing mix/strategy formulation. Hawkins et al. (2001:14) point out that a marketing strategy basically answers the question: How will we provide – 83 – superior customer value to our target market?The answer requires the formulation of a consistent marketing mix. Thus, the marketing strategy is formulated in terms of the marketing mix. Lamb et al. (2004:12) point out that this step involves the determining of service product features, price, communications (promotion), distribution (place), people, process and physical evidence that will provide the customer with superior value. The total service product is then presented to the target market, which constantly engages in processing information and making decisions to enhance and maintain their lifestyles.The marketing strategy (as implemented in the marketing mix) intervenes between the decision-making process of consumers (Step 4) and the outcomes/goals of an organisation. The outcomes of the organisation are determined by its interaction with the consumer decision-making process. Organisations can only succeed if consumers see a need that the organisation’s service product can address, become aware of the service product, decide that it is the best viable alternative solution, proceed to buy it, and become satisfied with the results (Hawkins et al. , 2004:22-23). The consumer decision-making process will be discussed in detail in Chapter 4.Finally, the reaction of the target market to the total service product produces an image of the service product, brand or organisation, sales (or the lack thereof), and some level of customer satisfaction among those who did purchase. As the components of the market analysis (Step 1) was discussed as part of the trends in the higher education landscape in Chapter 2 and the consumer decision-making process (Step 4) will be explained in Chapter 4, the remainder of the chapter will focus on the STP process (Step 2) and marketing strategy (Step 3) as depicted in Figure 3. . – 84 – MARKETING MIX/STRATEGY (CHAPTER 3) Service product (3. 7. 1) Price (3. 7. 2) Promotion (3. 7. 3) Place (3. 7. 4) People (3. 7. 5) Process (3. 7. 8) Physical evidence (3. 7. 9) Problem recognition (4. 7) Information search (4. 8) Alternative evaluation (4. 9) Selection and purchase (4. 10) Post-purchase process (4. 11) OUTCOME Customer Satisfaction Sales Product/brand image/organisation Source: Adapted from Hawkins, Best and Coney (2001:8). – 85 – CHAPTER 3 STP- PROCESS (CHAPTER 3) Segmentation, target market and product positioning (3. 6)CONSU MER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS (CHAPTER 4) STEP 4 CHAPTER 2 MARKET ANALYSIS (CHAPTER 2) Competitors Company Consumer Conditions CHAPTER 4 STEP 3 STEP 2 STEP 1 Figure 3. 1: Marketing strategy and consumer behaviour As the components of the market analysis (Step 1) was discussed as part of the trends in the higher education landscape in Chapter 2 and the consumer decision-making process (Step 4) will be explained in Chapter 4, the remainder of the chapter will focus on the STP process (Step 2) and marketing strategy (Step 3) as depicted in Figure 3. . 3. 6 SEGMENTATION, TARGET MARKETING AND POSITIONING (STP PROCESS) Marketing strategy formulation for organisations takes place via the process of integrating segmentation, targeting, positioning and the services marketing mix. Once organisations have segmented the market, they must determine the market potential of each segment and then select segments to target. A target market can be defined as a fairly homogeneous group of customers to w hom an organisation directs its market offering.Organisations must determine a mixture of the marketing elements that they will combine to satisfy their target market. Selecting a market-oriented strategy is referred to as target marketing. A specific marketing strategy specifies a particular target customer (Perreault & McCarthy, 2002:47). Most non-profit organisations serve several groups or publics. The two broad groups are donors, who may be individuals, trusts, companies or governmental bodies. The second group consists of their clients such as students, parents, government or employers.Often higher education institutions need to satisfy both groups and this complicates the marketing task (Lovelock & Wright, 2002:233). Students, prospective students and their families are seen as customers or consumers who must be attracted to the institution, who must be satisfied, and who must have a good experience at the institution. This will ensure that they spread positive word-of-mouth and influence other potential students to select the institution (Reich, 2004).Students can be regarded as the primary clients of higher education institutions and parents, employers and society as secondary beneficiaries. As an institution’s target market changes, new needs and trends evolve (as discussed in Chapter 2), making it necessary for institutions to rethink their position and often to reposition in order to address the new needs or trends (McGolddrick, 2000:54) This study focuses on students as a target market of institutions, as traditionally most institutions’ marketing efforts are directed at satisfying 86 – the needs of students. This study will provide insight into the demographics and choice factor importance that forms part of students decision-making behaviour, which will aid higher education institutions in understanding their target market to ensure satisfaction through implementing an appropriate marketing strategy. After segmentation and t arget marketing, organisations should position their market offerings in such a way that it is perceived to satisfy the needs of customers better than the competition. According to Hawkins et al. 2001:289), a product’s position refers to the schematic memory of a brand in relation to competing brands, products, services and stores. Brand image, a closely related concept, can be defined as the schematic memory of a brand without reference to competing brands. Strydom et al. (2000:14) regard a product’s position as the way consumers perceive a product or service in terms of its character and advantages in relation to competitors. Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:276) state that the important underlying principle is recognising that the marketing battle today is fought in the minds of the consumer.Research shows those products or services that enjoy high awareness levels usually enjoy dominant market penetration and market share. But awareness is not enough; the service prod uct must have a meaningful position in the mind of the consumer and stand for something of value to the consumer. Mowen (1995:18) defines product differentiation as the process of positioning the product by manipulating the marketing mix so that customers can perceive meaningful differences between a particular brand and competing brands.A highly differentiated brand may have strong competitive advantages, because it is easily recognisable as being different from competitors. Institutions need to know how they and their service products are positioned in the student’s mind. The stimuli that institutions employ, such as advertising or sponsorships, can influence the service product’s interpretation and thus its position. Hawkins et al. (2001:289) is of the opinion that organisations frequently fail to achieve the type of service product image or position they desire, because they fail to anticipate or test the consumer’s reaction.These positions have developed an d evolved over time. Therefore, the message received from the organisation must be consistent or change in a deliberate manner to reflect or alter a desired change in brand position. – 87 – Strydom et al. (2000:134) state that organisations must position their brands so that they are perceived to satisfy the needs of the target market better than competitors’ offerings. The institution must develop a unique appeal for the brand in the consumer’s mind and position the brand as filling a particular need of the consumer.Berman and Evans (2001:122) point out that through positioning, institutions devise their strategy in a way that projects an image relative to the institution’s category and its competitors, and elicits consumers’ responses to their image. Sargeant (2005:322) notes that positioning can also have a profound impact on the success or failure of fundraising initiatives and attempts to work closely with commerce and industry. Those h igher education institutions that are perceived as being either of high quality or as unique in some way, are likely to have the greatest success in these areas.Law (2002:3) states that it is important for institutions to distinguish themselves from competitors in terms of values that are important to the student. Therefore, higher education institutions need to develop a clear position that can be stated simply, effectively and often (Dehne, 2001). The author continues by saying that as competition becomes stronger, an integrated marketing strategy based on the identified positioning of the institution will play a crucial role.If organisations want staff and students to project a positive image, they must clearly define exactly what that image is; not vague understanding, but specifics (Sharpe & Harville, 1987). Law (2002:4) emphasises the importance of addressing the values that are important for prospective students in the publications of the institution. It can therefore be said that in the positioning of the institution, the needs and perceptions of important values of the respective public should be seriously considered.The elements of higher education institutions’ marketing are mixed to form an integrated strategy where each component plays a role to position the institution in its chosen target market (Van Biljon, 1992:65). According to Czinkota, Kotabe and Mecer (1997:217), organisations must first determine how they want to position their service products and use their service products’ position as basis for developing their marketing strategies. This means that after the STP (segmentation, targeting and positioning) process, organisations must blend the services marketing mix elements into a marketing strategy that reflect the organisation’s desired osition to their target market. – 88 – The next section focuses on the services marketing mix and its elements as it pertains to higher education institutions. 3. 7 TH E SERVICES MARKETING MIX OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS The development of a marketing strategy involves the coordination and combination of the marketing mix elements (Mowen, 1995:19; and Hawkins et al. , 2001:6). It is the combination and coordination of the elements in the marketing mix that enables organisations to meet customers’ needs and provides customer value.A traditional marketing mix consists of the following elements: price, service product, promotion and place (distribution). However, due to the intangible, inseparable, heterogeneous and perishable nature of services, the traditional marketing mix was extended to include process, people and physical evidence (Goldsmith, 1999:178). Because higher education institutions mainly provide intangible service products, the extended marketing mix, better known as the services marketing mix, forms the focus of this chapter.Higher education institutions need a well-developed comprehensive marketing strategy that is caref ully communicated throughout the institution (Robinson & Long, 1987:44; Brooker & Noble, 1985:34) and the services marketing mix will help higher education institutions to shape their service offerings according to the needs of their customers. Grove, in Kraft (2006) showed that in the marketing of education, the marketing mix is the single most important determinant of marketing success.In the light of the fact that marketing can influence the consumer’s behaviour and the services marketing mix can assist higher education institutions in developing a holistic and well thought-through service offering, the seven services marketing mix elements (service product, price, promotion, distribution, people, physical evidence and process) will be discussed in the main part of this chapter. – 89 – 3. 7. 1 THE SERVICE PRODUCT STRATEGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS The most basic decision that higher education institutions have to make is what programmes and services th ey will offer to their students, alumni and donors.An institution’s service product strategy determines its identity, position and how customers will respond to the institution. A product is anything a consumer acquires, or might acquire to meet a perceived need and thus the sum of all the products and/or services offered by an organisation. To define the term service is not easy or simplistic. Although the process may be tied to a physical product, the performance is essentially intangible and does not normally result in ownership of any of the factors of production. Services create value and provide benefits for customers at specific times and places.Lovelock and Wright (2002:3) define services as an act or performance offered by one party to another. Irons (1997:12) defines services as perishable, transient acts that have no lasting material, being mainly presented by people that cannot be separated from the provider. Therefore, the personal characteristics of the provider are an important part of the service. Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:175) state that these definitions reveal that the nature of service centres on the characteristic of intangibility and that it is this feature that distinguishes services marketing from the marketing of physical goods.The goods and services continuum is shown in Figure 3. 2 below. Figure 3. 2: Goods and services continuum Tangible dominant Complete tangible products Tangible products with supporting services Intangible dominant Hybrid offers Source: Adapted from Palmer (2005:24). – 90 – Major service with supporting products Pure services It is evident that in services, the intangible element is dominant. The provision of education, although intangible, also contains tangible elements. Institutions provide service activities such as the teaching process and contact with customers (intangible element) as well as learning aterial such as textbooks (tangible element). McCollKennedy (2003:6-7) regards goo ds and services’ tangibility on a continuum, rather than in one category. At one end of the continuum are the intangible services and at the other end are tangible products. Higher education, which can be described as a major service (intangible) with minor supporting products (tangible), are leaning towards the intangible side of the continuum. In addition to categorising services based on their tangibility, it is also useful to identify who or what is the direct recipient of the service.Services can either be directed at people’s bodies, intangible assetes, physical possessions or people’s minds such as education (Lovelock, 1996:29). In order to better understand the concept of services, the distinguishing characteristics of services will now be explained. The basic characteristics of services are briefly outlined below (Lovelock & Wright, 2002:14-16): †¢ Customers do not obtain ownership. Customers usually derive value from a service without obtaining ow nership of any tangible elements; †¢ Service products are intangible performances.Intangible refers to something that is experienced and cannot be touched or preserved. Although services often include tangible elements, the service performance itself is basically intangible; †¢ Customer involvement in the production process. Customers are often actively involved in helping to create the service product by helping themselves or by cooperating with the service personnel. Customers cannot sit back and wait for the experience to be delivered as they do with the purchase of tangible products they have to participate. †¢People as part of the service product. Given the fact that different service personnel may deliver the service product to customers, it is difficult to achieve – 91 – uniformity in service delivery. This difference (heterogeneity) in attitude and action will typically result in very different customer perceptions of the quality and overall sati sfaction levels. People are such an important component of service delivery that it is added as an element to service organisations marketing mix and will be discussed in Section 3. 7. 5; †¢ Importance of time.Customers have to be physically present to receive services. Customers are becoming increasingly time sensitive and speed is often a key element in good service delivery; and †¢ Services are perishable and cannot be stored like physical goods. Thus, although education includes tangible elements such as textbooks, chairs and notes, students derive value from higher education without obtaining ownership. Students are involved in the education production process as they participate in and help make the final service product, by giving inputs in class or participating in campus events.As higher education is perishable and cannot be stored, students must be physically present to receive education. It is evident that offering educational services involve special challenges , since most services education is intangible, inseparable, variable and perishable. Developing service products that satisfy consumers’ wants and needs are a critical marketing activity for institutions (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2001:40). Consumer research can provide useful information for service product decisions.According to Czinkota et al. (1997:109), information provided by consumer behaviour research, such as this study, can help organisations to decide which attributes to add to or change in an existing offering; aid them in correctly naming or re-naming their organisations and make effective packaging and branding decisions. Higher education institutions should evaluate its academic programmes and service product mix periodically, and particularly when considering modifications. Some programmes are more central than others.Education offerings are specifically essential programmes that institutions cannot do without. Other programmes may be easier to modify, like recreation al activities that are usually auxiliary programmes. Certain programmes will play a major role in attracting customers and these are called flagship programmes (Kotler & Fox, 1995:282). – 92 – Information provided by this study will enable institutions to determine the importance of some components of their service product (variety of study courses, academic quality and sport programmes) in the institution selection process of students.Higher education institutions must also develop a pricing strategy for their service products. The pricing decision is of utmost importance, as this will ensure income for higher education institutions that will enable them to implement al the other decisions such as promotion, distribution, processes, physical evidence and people. Section 3. 7. 2 will focus on the pricing strategy of higher education institutions. 3. 7. 2 THE PRICING STRATEGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONSIn this section, the pricing strategy of higher education insti tutions will be discussed by defining the term price, explaining possible pricing objectives of higher education institutions, explaining discounts and highlighting the role of price. Price plays an important role in the marketing mix, quality perception, attracting customers and providing revenue to institutions. Price is the amount of money (or some other item that is exchanged or bartered) that the buyer exchanges for a service product provided by the seller. Lamb et al. (2004:570) describe prices as that which is given up in exchange to acquire goods and services.The price of a service plays two major roles. Firstly, it influences how much of the service product the customer will purchase, and secondly, it influences whether selling the service will be profitable for the organisation or not (Machado & Cassim, 2000:99). Prices can be seen as the amount that a customer (students, parents or employers) must pay to be educated. The price of higher education institutions are influenc ed by the subsidy from government as well as donations and the cost of presenting the course, prices of competition and inflation.Price, for students, consists of a monetary cost as well as other costs, for example effort cost (completing long essay application forms), psychological cost (stress of enrolling in an institution far from home) and time cost (visiting or attending open days at different institutions) (Kotler & Fox, 1995:311). Students and their parents are not just interested in the institution’s list price (official – 93 – tuition and fees printed in a catalogue), but also the effective price. According to Kotler and Fox (1995:312), the effective price is the amount the customer will actually pay for all the educational benefits and value received.Prospective students may find it difficult to measure effective price early in the decision process, since effective price can only be known after the student has gone though the application process and h as been accepted and financial aid has been allocated. Tuition fees represent only a fraction of the total cost of attending a higher education institution and living cost and other education related expenses must also be considered by students (Anon, 2006b). Diederichs (1987:112) found that price plays an important role in students’ choices of a higher education institution.The first aspect organisations should consider when pricing a service product is to decide on the pricing objectives they want to achieve. Pricing objectives can influence the price of the service product and include: maximising profit (short- or long-term), building market share, maximising long-term customer perceptions of the value of the service product, maximising immediate cash flow, positioning the service product in a certain place in customers’ minds, and targeting a given segment of the market.Higher education institutions may pursue more than one of these objectives at the same time depe nding on the situation they are facing. A new higher education institution emerging after a merger may aim to position their service product, as well as targeting a given segment and maximising long-term perceptions of value (McColl-Kennedy, 2003:270 and Machado & Cassim, 2002:106-107). Higher education institutions should take into account three factors when setting prices for their educational programmes: †¢ Firstly, cost, by determining the amount of revenue needed to cover expected operating expenses; Secondly, customer demand, which emphasises that the final price decision is always made by the customer; and †¢ Thirdly, competition, as institutions have to weigh their â€Å"value† and establish their price relative to their competitors. Institutions should always consider the effects of a given pricing policy on enrolment, the nature and mission of the institution, the prices charged by competition and the – 94 – effect of their prices and price c hanges on actions of competition (Kotler & Fox, 1995:309).The pricing objective of a higher education institution will also affect its discount policy, as discount influence profit, market share, cash flow and positioning. Once the basic price is established, organisations need to establish some flexibility in terms of that price. Discount can be defined as the reductions to the basic price (Machado & Cassim, 2002:116). Higher education institutions need to determine and publish their prices (tuition fees) and discounts. Financial aid is seen as a form as discount by students.Kotler and Fox (1995:310) state that financial aid is not just used to attract students to increase the size of classes, but also to ensure the needed composition of the class to meet diversity objectives. Student aid or financial aid makes it possible for many students from low- and middle income families to afford higher education (Anon, 2006b). Cabrera and La Nasa (2000:10) found that financial aid especiall y influences students positively to select a particular institution and also allows parents to consider a wider range of institutions.This study will include the importance of financial aid in selecting a higher education institution. Diederichs (1987:114) found that a higher education institution’s price policy should take into consideration the facilities needed, quality of education and competitiveness, as students often use the price of a product or service as an indicator of quality. For example, more expensive institutions may be viewed as providing better education. Some institutions make use of their price/quality relationship by trying to raise the prestige and attractiveness of their institution by raising the tuition fees.Higher education institutions must carefully consider the role of price in the marketing mix, as price can be used as a quality indicator and thereby influence the perception of the institution’s position. Higher education institutions ofte n offer substantial amounts of financial aid to talented students to maintain their competitive advantage. Students and parents are looking for the best overall deal in terms of educational quality and prices (Laurer, 2006).Courant (2006:4) is of the opinion that higher education institutions prepare students to lead an examined life and should therefore price higher education as an expensive, high value proposition. Wallace (2003:32) argues that higher tuition fees will enable institutions to improve the quality of education and in countries where higher education is subsidised or offered for free, education would be held in higher esteem if a price were attached to it. However, Beckett (2005) warns that institutions – 95 – should be aware that charging top fees may cause institutions to loose students and not widen the participation.Wallace (2003) states that universities in France, England, the United States and Germany are facing the same problems with the price of education, as government funding for education is decreasing and institutions have to look at increasing tuition fees. The result is that students in these countries are protesting the price increases. The increased value of a higher education degree, increased research at universities, reduced state funding for public higher education institutions and monopolistic behaviour of higher education institutions are other possible reasons for higher prices (Barry, 1998:84).Higher educational institutions rely on tuition fees, donors and government subsidies as sources of revenue. As discussed in Chapter 2, changes in the financial environment emphasise the trend of institutions to cut cost, increase productivity and offer more financial aid to students. Most educational institutions depend heavily on tuition fees to keep operating and pricing therefore becomes very important. Price plays a role in determining who will apply, who will attend, who the institutions will serve, what the ins titutions will be able to offer and whether the institutions will meet its enrolment objectives and revenue needs.From the discussion it is evident that a pricing strategy is important for education institutions because they depend on revenue to operate, especially in the light of the decrease in subsidies (refer to Chapter 2). Price is part of the marketing mix and should be considered as an element of the institution’s strategy planning. When setting price, decision-makers should understand how students perceive price and the importance of price in selecting institutions.According to Cosser and Du Toit (2002:77), price is an important factor considered in choosing a higher education institution. It is important that higher education institutions know the cost of producing the service, know the price of competitors, identify pricing factors that are relevant to pricing decisions, and decide on a pricing strategy that will attract enough students. It is evident from the above -mentioned that higher education management needs information on the students and market to make effective pricing decisions.This study will provide some insight on the importance of price in the institution selection process. – 96 – Higher education institutions can have good quality educational services offered at the right price to students, but if students and parents are not aware of these services and prices, they will not consider the institution. It is thus important that higher education institutions communicate with their prospective students and parents. The next section will focus on the promotional or communication strategy of higher education institutions. 3. 7. THE PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS Educational institutions need to effectively communicate with their target market(s) and publics. Institutions must inform students and parents about its goals, activities and offerings and motivate them to take an interest in the instituti on. To identify and satisfy consumers’ needs, an institution must have a good understanding of the consumer in order to gain a competitive advantage through its marketing mix (service product, price, distribution, promotion, process, people and physical evidence).Persuasive communication is central to the marketing of service products as features, benefits and values must be communicated to the consumers to influence their purchase behaviour. Everything and everybody in an institution has a role to play in communication. Examples include the organisation’s brand name or logo, campus grounds, service product quality, prices, employees, delivery vehicles, buildings, the technology the organisation has at its disposal, the capital the organisation has at its disposal and the organisational philosophy.Kelley and Mahady (2003:2) are of the opinion that promotion is an element sometimes overlooked by non-profit organisations. They argue that even if an institution offers som e of the best programmes and services, these will not be utilised to the fullest if the market they were intended for has no knowledge of their existence. The remainder of Section 3. 7. 3 will focus on the definition of promotion, the communication process and the integrated services marketing communication (ISMC) mix available for higher education institutions. According to Hawkins et al. 2001:19), promotion or marketing communication includes advertising, the sales force, public relations, packaging and any other signals that the – 97 – organisation provides about itself and its products and services. Lamb et al. (2004:466) describe the promotional strategy as a plan for the optimal use of the elements of promotion, namely advertising, sales promotion, publicity and personal selling. Many higher education institutions are returning to promotional or communication tools to promote courses in an attempt to maintain and/or expand their market share.The importance of com munication can be seen in the establishment of communication departments, more funds that are allocated to marketing and appointing marketing managers or external communication experts to help with promotional activities. Higher education institutions are making use of radio, television, newspapers, buses, taxis and open days as well as more professional brochures and promotional material as vehicles for communication (Jones, 2002:41). This is necessary, since higher education institutions can no longer depend on pass rates alone to attract students.In order to utilise the promotional tools to their fullest and to ensure effective communication, higher education institutions need to understand the communication process. Communication involves the creation of shared meaning between participants. The intangibility, inseparability, perishability and heterogeneity of services create special communication requirements and involve the risk of miscommunication that is not so evident in the marketing of goods (McColl-Kennedy, 2003:236). Communication can be viewed upon as the transfer of a message from a sender to a receiver by means of a signal of some sort via a channel or medium.The sender translates his/her objectives, ideas and concepts through language into a message also known as encoding (Strydom et al. , 2000:344). The receiver tries to decode the message before he/she can comprehend its meaning and then the receiver reacts or responds to the message (Lamb et al. , 2004:326). The disturbances (physical or psychological) that prevent the successful transfer of the message are known as noise. Noise influences all the components of the communication process and places obstacles in the way of effective communication.Higher education institutions are the senders, while the receivers of the message are the potential students, existing students, parents, employers or alumni. For the purpose of this study, the focus is on the students of a higher education institutio n. This does not mean that institutions do not need to communicate with other publics such as alumni, parents, donors, government or the general public as well. According – 98 – to Jones (2002:44) the student’s ability to decode the message is influenced by his/her past experiences, feelings, emotions, attitudes and perceptions of the institution.Thus, higher education institutions need to fully understand their target market to identify the appropriate intended messages for the target market. The communication process gives higher education institutions the opportunity to influence prospective students’ behaviour by developing a message that creates awareness, position themselves in the mind of the student, change the student’s attitude towards the institution, or encourage the student to apply to the institution (Jones, 2002:45). The most popular communication/promotion objectives are general image enhancement and awareness of the institutions (K ittle, 2000).According to Jones (2002:43), emotions or feelings also play an important part in the encoding process and it is vital that higher education institutions should have empathy for other people’s cultural backgrounds. Higher education institutions need to select a medium that will attract attention, arouse interest and present the message clearly (Kotler & Fox, 1995:353). Higher education institutions need knowledge about the language of the prospective students, knowledge of forms of communication and general background information about the prospective students in order to encode successfully.The media that will be investigated in this study include: printed media (advertisement in magazines, newspapers or outdoor media), broadcasting media (advertisements on radio and television), direct mail or direct marketing (newsletters and brochures of higher education institutions), body language and direct communication through representatives of the institution (school v isits by staff or open days attended by students), word-of-mouth (conversations with alumni, friends or family members), or websites. In Chapter 4 the different media will be further discussed as part of the sources of information used by students.The promotional mix that an institution uses is determined by the student market’s expectations and requirements of the service products, together with the other elements of institutions’ marketing decisions. Machado and Cassim (2002:157) describe the promotional mix as the blend of promotional methods used by the organisation to communicate. A huge array of promotion elements exist, such as direct marketing, sales promotions, advertising, Internet and sponsorships. The communication process and the promotional mix elements (advertising, public – 99 – elations, personal selling and sales promotions) are used by organisations to communicate to their prospective customers. The message that reaches the customer sho uld be the same regardless of whether it is an advertisement on the radio, websites, open days, or a newspaper insert. To ensure the careful coordination of all the promotional mix elements, organisations must adopt the concept of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) (Du Plessis & Rousseau, 2005:345). For a higher education institution, this means that the institution coordinates all its communication activities.Zeithaml and Bitner (2000:405) suggest that a more complex integrated form of communication is needed for services, hence the ISMC approach as shown in Figure 3. 3. This concept requires a complete communication strategy that involves staff, every interface the institution has with its students, stakeholders and the community at large (Jones, 2002:450). Laurer (2006) suggests that institutions must coordinate all the promotional elements so that they meet the needs of students and parents who will pay for their products and services. Figure 3. serves as a visual guide f or the discussion