Business ethic reflective essay Essay Example for Free

Business ethic reflective essay Essay It was probably in 2010, I was an agent in an assurance company. My duties was managing and servicing our organization’s existing corporate client portfolio that has been assigned to me. One of our company product called Saving Plan what pay an amount of money monthly or yearly up to 6 years, the annual will received 6% interest and consumer can take their money back after they complete the 6 years payment. As we know, every product might have some weaknesses while it benefits us. It is commonly that company or sales man will try to minimize the weakness of product while they promote it. But what I did wrong was that I did never mention the product weakness to customer that they will only get the best return (interest) after 25 years when they completed payment for 6 years saving plan, what I thought the saving plan as a force to consumer get use to save money and whoever buy the saving plan they will always get their money back at the end if they complete the payment. My concern was close cases at that time. In fact, It was kind of ethic problem when I promoted products but did not let customers understand all about it. Once I heard complain from customer I felt so guilty of myself that I had hidden from my customers. I felt shame to face my customer. I felt that was unfair to my customers and I used customer’s belief to gain my own profit. I thought it will not have any lose for my customers even I did not tell the limitation of the product cause after customer complete the saving plan, they could take their money back at anytime, but customers will only get their return of this investment after 25 years when policy mature. As it tend to depend on the economy, the saving plan may not make profit for customers. This lesson has taught me how to be an ethic person. We could put ourselves as consumers that we will always wish to know the truth and we have the right. I will never do this again in my life, trust is very important and to build a trust will always get back our customers. I would like to explain and analysis all to my customer. I wish I can be a ethic person wherever I am and whatever I do.

Price Discrimination: Concepts and Types

Price Discrimination: Concepts and Types â€Å"Please explain in details the concept of â€Å"price discrimination†, what are the different types of price discrimination. Explain with the use of examples.†   Ã‚   According to Phlips (1983, p.5) â€Å"the more one thinks about price discrimination, the harder it is to define.† Phlips (1983, p.6) suggests that price discrimination should be defined as† implying that two varieties of commodity are sold (by the same seller) to two different buyers at different net prices, the net price being the price (paid by the buyer) corrected for the cost associated with the product differentiation†. Another definition of price discrimination is â€Å"where a firm sells the same product at different prices† (Sloman, 2006, g.13). Geographical location, gender, race, age and income are some of the aspects in which discrimination among buyers may be established. In order for price discrimination to work, businesspeople must be incapable of buying goods at the lower price and reselling them at a much higher cost. The firm or company must have to some extent, monopoly power and firms must be capable of classifying domestic and industrial consumers (Economicsonline.co.uk, 2014). Laws against price discrimination have pursued to hinder its use by one business retailer driving out another competitive seller â€Å"bankrupt† by depreciating the rival in his own market, whereas retailing at a higher cost in other markets. (Encyclopedia Briticanna, 2014). There are three types of price discrimination. These are: first-degree, second-degree and third-degree price. According to Dwivedi (2006), the first-degree (also known as perfect price discrimination) is considered the â€Å"discriminatory pricing that attempts to take away the entire consumer surplus†. Investopedia (2014) defines consumer surplus as a form of economic strategy used to evaluate customer satisfaction. This is analyzed by exploring the difference between what customers are prepared to pay for each and every single good / service comparatively to the market price. Dwivedi states therefore, that only when the seller discerns the precise amount that a buyer is willing to pay for an item, (buyer’s demand curve) will first-degree price discrimination be deemed as successful. But how will the seller know this information? Dwivedi states that firstly the seller initiates the highest buying price that consumers are ready to pay (some may be willing to pay an elevated price while others at a lower price) and buy at minimum a unit of a product. Only when the consumer surpl us of this segment of customers is used up, the seller then progressively lowers the price so that consumer surplus of the buyers regarding the subsequent products can be obtained. An example of first-degree price discrimination provided by Cabral (2000, p. 170) is that of a doctor providing health care in a small town and who has ample information of all the people living in the town, particularly their financial status. Acting on this information, the doctor analyzes the client willingness to pay each fee and sets a suitable price. Another example provided by Cabral, is by aircraft. While certain manufacturers publish a list of fees for each airliner, in actuality each airline shells out a different cost for each aircraft. The graph image below shows a monopoly representation of the first-degree price discrimination. MC (marginal cost) and ATC (average total cost) are the regular curved shapes with MC traversing through the minimum point on the ATC curve. The solid line that slopes downwards represents the firm facing the market demand curve, which is identical to the firm’s demand curve, (D = d). The marginal revenue relates to the firm’s demand curve, (d = MR) since the company expenses every customer the highest price he / she is ready to make. At the output level, profit maximization happens; matching to MR equals marginal cost. Plast represents the price for each and every last unit of product sold. Subsequent units have a higher price. The end profit for the company adds up to the profits received for every unit subtracted from the ATC per unit (ATC0). The shaded area displays the total profit earned since the price for every unit is the highest price as established from the demand curve. Graham (2013). According to Mukherjee (2002), second-degree price discrimination is where prices vary depending on the amount of output bought by each consumer. This is also known as â€Å"volume discounting†. The seller incurs a higher â€Å"per-unit† cost for the lesser units sold while for the larger amount of product are sold at a lesser per-unit cost. Similar to the first-degree price discrimination, the company will result at a quantity of output where the marginal costs are covered by the prices charged. The objective of the seller is to draw out not the entirety of the consumer surplus, but just some of it as profits along with a remaining surplus. Ruby (2003). An example of this type of discrimination is the different prices charged for different sizes of cereal. Another example of this type of discrimination is the discounts found in stores; for instance a shoe store would advertise a list of shoes that qualify for the discount, where if a customer purchases one pair of shoes the other one would immediately grant that he/she gets a discount off the other pair of shoes. The illustration below represents a graph of second-degree discrimination. Ruby from digitaleconomist.org, utilizes an example of a company charging a variation of three prices for one item. He points out that if a user decides to purchase Q0 units then the cost P0 is charged for each unit of the good. For a larger quantity Q1 a lower charge P1 is made and for quantity Q*2 the price P2 is charged. â€Å"(the level of output such that P2=MC (Marginal Cost)† The third-degree price discrimination occurs where a firm is capable of dividing its consumers into different markets and charging different prices. Or in other words, charging different fees to each customer class. Each market is distinguished by exceptional â€Å"demand† characteristics. It is noted by Ruby that some of these particular markets may be â€Å"less† price sensitive in correspondence to others where the quantity demanded is more â€Å"sensitive† to cost alteration. This form of discrimination is very similar to second-degree price discrimination. An example provided by Managerial Economics, Hirschey (2009), is that a bus company may incur a lower fee and apply this type of price discrimination towards senior / aged people, as well as the disabled / handicapped individuals. This will therefore benefit these particular customers, providing a great service to ride the bus. Due to the increase of revenue earned from these passengers, the bus company may provide additional services such as going off route (routes that could not be maintained by the income from those full-fare customers only or it may be capable of functioning with a lesser taxpayer subsidy. References Phlips, L. (1983).The economics of price discrimination. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University Press. Sloman, J. (2006) Economics, (6th Ed). Prentice Hall/Financial Times. Economicsonline.co.uk,. (2014). Price discrimination. Retrieved 15 September 2014, from http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Business_economics/Price_discrimination.html Price discrimination. (2013). Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago:Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Dwivedi, D. (2006).Microeconomics: Theory And Applications.(1st ed.). 327. New Delhi: Pearson Education. consumer surplus. (2014). Investopedia.com – Your Source For Investing Education. Retrieved September 15th, 2014, from Investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/consumer_surplus.asp Cabral, L. (2000). Introduction to Industrial Organization.(1st ed.) Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press. Graham, R. (2013). Managerial Economics For Dummies. (1st ed.). [Graham, R. Graph of First Degree Price Discrimination]. Retrieved September 15th, 2014, from: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/basics-of-firstdegree-price-discrimination-in-mana.html Mukherjee, S. (2002). Modern Economic Theory. (4th ed.). New Age International. Ruby, D. (2003). Price Discrimination. Retrieved September 15th, 2014, from: http://digitaleconomist.org/pd_4010.html [Ruby, D. Graph of Second Degree Price Discrimination]. Retrieved September 15th, 2014 from: http://digitaleconomist.org/pd_4010.html Hirschey, M. (2009). Managerial Economics. (1st ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Searching for knowledge: method, gloss, and the failure of information :: Ethnography

I. Sketching Knowledge I have a recurring nightmare that I am on my way to becoming a post-modern positivist. In the dark recesses of my inner sanctum, my constant justifications of the worth of inductive, nonhypothesisdriven, participatory, and emic-centered research finally give way under the pressure of graduate student’s dismissal of methods as unimportant and an all too often dismissal of anthropology by some given that its â€Å"just† anecdotes. These fears are backed by a frightening realization that I have colleagues in other disciplines (i.e., critical geography, social work, and even sympathetic political science) who appear to take our method more seriously than we do. Is anthropology doomed? This semester I am teaching ethnographic methods to a class of first year graduate students and I am often struck by how keen they are to know â€Å"how it is done.† But simultaneously, how difficult it is for them to specify any concrete method beyond interviewing and observing. Often they are actually most interested in questions of logistics: the real â€Å"how is it done† questions. How did you get a visa, where did you live, how long did you stay, how did you afford it, did your partner come with you, were you insured? And of course, a professor who has taught the course before advised me that I shouldn’t prepare lectures, but rather just â€Å"tell stories.† So I spend a lot of my time in this class telling stories, (which satisfies my pedagogical fears over not knowing enough about method to cover 20 hours of course-time – having had a significant part of my own training in the â€Å"go out and do it† approach), but also imploring these anthropologists-in-training to think about what information they are interested in, and the best ways to get it. I tell them that we need to take data collection seriously, or at least we need to have a serious think about what will answer our questions. However, some of them seem to think of it as busy-work. As they repeatedly tell me, one of the dogmas of Malinowski-as-practiced dissertation fieldwork is â€Å"your 2 questions will change once you are in the field,† so why should they spend loads of time thinking about how to answer their original question? Also, some ask, doesn’t this jeopardize the nature of inductive research? I believe in the necessity of the anthropological flexibility that these students are highlighting through their questioning of research preparation. However, it seems to me that some of them are conflating fixity and research design, rather than giving real consideration to particular methodological

Service Quality in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Essay example -

There are so many research studies that have been conducted relating to service quality and customer satisfaction as this topic has been the centre of attraction in the service industries. Both these words play an important role in determining the competitiveness and the survival of an organisation in the tourism or the hospitality industry. The following chapter commences with a brief look at the tourism industry, followed by the definition and explanation of service quality. This chapter also tries to provide the link between customer perceptions, expectations and satisfaction. Gaps evolving between the management of an organisation and the perceptions of the customers are evaluated in detail. The latter part of the chapter focuses on SERVQUAL which is used as a tool for measuring service quality. Five basic dimensions of service quality have been evaluated in detail from the perspective of different authors which is followed by the criticism of SERVQUAL. The determinants of servic e quality have been identified in terms of airline industry and the relation between delivery of service quality and customer satisfaction has been highlighted at the end. Furthermore, this paper will try to demonstrate how an airline could manage its service quality by using the ‘SERVQUAL’ as a diagnostic tool to measure the expectations of number of different passengers. The Tourism Industry Tourism has become a vital tool for major revenue in many countries and regarded as an important catalyst in improving the global economy. Air travel has made the world smaller and accessible in many ways. Many state of the art airlines and airports across the world have catered to the ever growing demands of the customers who wish to travel by air. Those who... ....59-74. Supernanent, C. and Churchill, N. G., (1982) An investigation into the determinants of customer satisfaction. Journal of marketing research, 19 (4), p.491-504. Surveymonkey (2012) Introduction. [online] Available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/ [Accessed: 24th February 2012]. Veal,A.J. 2006. Research methods for Leisure and Tourism: A practical guide. Third edition. Pearson Publication, London. Walle, A. (1997) Quantitative versus Qualitative Tourism Research. Annals of Tourism Research, 24 (3), p.524-536. Wong, K. and Musa, G. (2011) Branding satisfaction in the airline industry: A comparative study of Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia. African Journal of Business Management, 5 (8), p.3410-3423. 123helpme (2011) Components of customer services. [online] Available at: https://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=148474 [Accessed: 12th february 2012].

College Admissions Essay: An Intense Learning Experience :: College Admissions Essays

An Intense Learning Experience    My semester of study abroad is best described as an intense learning experience, without which I feel that my education would have been incomplete. The lessons learned were far different from those I encountered in high school, but of equal or greater importance. I gained new perspective about international affairs and also found I was challenged as an individual to grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally. There is no doubt that this experience has changed me, and I am certainly better for it.    The most obvious gain from my study abroad was the academic coursework for that semester. I studied Shakespeare in London, and was able to visit not only the Globe Theatre, but also parts of the city that existed during the Elizabethan period. Another course, which focused on the history of East End London, took us through the dynamic past of this problematic portion of the city, not just with texts, but walking tours through the East End. My theatre course likewise capitalized on the opportunities unique to London, incorporating nine of the several hundred shows that were running in the city throughout the spring semester. This course supplemented my internship experience, in which I took a part-time position at the Bridewell Theatre, and small fringe theatre in the heart of the city. The internship was the most beneficial component of the academic program, in that I was immersed in British culture through biweekly interaction (2 workdays) with the Bridewell staff. I was able to wit ness the inner-workings of its administration, and observe some of the problems facing London theatres in general.    Outside the classroom, the study abroad experience provided for constant change and self-reflection. I learned to recognize my own hidden prejudices and confront them, as my beliefs were constantly challenged by experiences and people I encountered. For someone who had never traveled outside the United States, this experience led me to perceive my own nation in a different way, and to confront feelings of both pride and shame in my background. While a challenging and shocking change, this has led me to define and strengthen my beliefs and opinions while gaining a new understanding for different perspectives.

Depression Method

There are many ways a researcher could study depression using the descriptive method. The researcher can start with case study; studying e an individual’s who has been diagnosed with a depression disorder. This way they could learn new things through this person’s actions. Moving on to the naturalistic observation to study a group of people with the same disorder. This study would be at natural as they could possibly make it. This would show them the different affect of depression on individuals.The correlation method can be used to study depression and exercise by studding people with depression who exercise and individuals who do not exercise. This will allow them to see the effect of exercise on depression. If I were to conduct an experiment that was to show the effect of exercise on individuals with a depression disorder I would use a group of 50 people with depression who never exercise. I would have half of them continue their daily routine.The other half would ma ke the other half exercise on the regular for at least 30 minutes a day five times a week. I would keep chart showing the change in the experimental group which are the individuals who are exercising. I would keep a separate chart on my control group which is the ones who have made no change. My dependent variable would be the change in depression and my independent variable would be the individuals exercise. The best way to determine causality is threw experiments. Experiments allow you to see the effects.

How and why customer groups are targeted Essay

Gillette mach 3 turbo razor The Gillette mach 3 turbo razor is aimed at men age between around 17 upwards. The mach 3 turbo razor is essentially a razor for shaving hair off men’s faces, so any man who wants a clean shaven face is targeted by Gillette. Xbox one Microsoft have marketed the Xbox one as more than just a game console but a multi-media centre to attract a bigger target audience than just gamers. They targeted anyone between mid teens to late twenties or even higher. However Gamers will take up most of the target group. Apple iPhone 6 The iPhone 6 can be marketed at pretty much anyone with the wide range of functions it has for example: internet access, high definitions camera and video recorder, easy music access, games, texts and calls and face time. The target audience is anyone from mid teens and upwards. Fender standard telecaster The fender standard telecaster is an instrument that will be aimed at anyone who plays electric guitars. It can be aimed at young children or elderly people and all guitarists in between, but also because of it versatility it can be aimed at many different genres of music for example: Blues, Rock, country etc†¦ Business to business products Bic ball point pens These types of pens are one of the most famous pen brands in the world, Because of this many business have used their products. Bic ball point pens are aimed at all businesses which may have offices or any sort of reception or desk work to be done. For example: Accountants or law firms. JCB Large Excavator JCB will aim their large excavator (Digger) at any sort of contracting/sub-contracting firms that are involved in the construction industry. For example: Joinery firms. The main characteristics/features of each group for each product Gillette mach 3 turbo razor Because the target audience of the Mach 3 razor is so big it is hard to specify specific characteristics apart from the fact they are men who want a very good close shave with minimum facial irritation. These consumers will be from all backgrounds and live globally all over the world. Microsoft Xbox one The most of the target audience will most likely be people who like playing video games and probably have done before the Xbox one was released; these people are aged between early – mid teens to mid – late twenties. Also because of the Xboxes marketing as a multi-media centre many people have who like movies may have bought one also. The people who own an Xbox are from all over the world have a big range in age. Apple iPhone 6 Most likely because of the iPhone sixes recent release the people who bought one had an iPhone prior to this one releasing. Also because the iPhone 6 is so expensive the people who did buy one are financially well off or bought it although they know they can’t afford it or Teenagers asked their parents/ guardians to buy them one. These people are global however the majority are in the U.K and U.S.A. Fender standard telecaster The people buying standard telecaster are for the majority of the time musicians and have an interest in music probably because of their choice in guitars blues, rock, country, rock and roll etc†¦ However because of  Christmas telecasters may have been bought as presents to children or siblings. Also in recent years old electric guitars have become collectable some reaching prices of $400,000 and above in some cases, so collectors may have purchased a standard telecaster to keep for 40 years until it is collectable. Bic ball point pens The business that buy Bic pens are mostly office based for example accountants or law firms, Also it could be construction firms with offices. Pretty much any business with an office that needs pens probably buy Bic pens. Because Bic is a global company they have customers all over the world and these companies may vary in their trades. JCB Large excavator Unlike Bic not every business needs a digger. This product will be specific to the construction or deconstruction industry. Contracting businesses will be the biggest customer for JCB these may include joinery or earthmoving contractors. JCB is now a global company meaning their customer base will also be global as construction work has happened all over the world and will proceed to be so. How each audience is reached Consumer products A business may decide it needs to reach its customers geographically. Two neighbourhood classifications that are commonly used by organisations are ACORN and MOSIAC. ACORN is a geo-demographic tool that businesses use to identify and understand the UK population and local demand for products and services, The ACORN system categories UK postcodes using demographic statistics and lifestyle variables to give businesses a guide to the difference between geographical regions. MOSIAC is a system that classifies households in the UK into 12 Mosiac groups and 52 sub groups called Mosiac types. These groups and types are formed on the basis that the households comprising them share certain characteristics. Their core customer segments by cross-referencing their customer database with the profile. This helps them to make marketing decisions based on the kind of customer they attract. Business to business products All the individuals and groups who participate in the purchasing decision process in a business are known as a Decision-Making Unit or DMU. A DMU could include the following groups: Influencers: these are individuals whose opinion may be sought about a product or organisation. They will probably be influenced by brands, company reputation and ongoing relationships. Users: Users will be interested in the benefits the product offers, such as increased production rates or reduced waste. Buyers: Buyers or purchasing officers will be concerned about easy purchasing arrangements, delivery dates and security of supply. This can mean that a business can differentiate itself from the competition by stressing its success rate and how long it will last. Deciders: Deciders such as managing directors will probably be most concerned with the overall cost of the product and whether the organisation can afford it. The cost benefit of purchasing the product or service is a key issue as it is obviously not worth the purchase if the benefits that may result do not warrant the initial investment. Specifiers: Specifiers decide on the detailed specification of the product to be purchased. They may well want technical information about such things as component performance and material characteristics. Gatekeepers: Gatekeepers may deny potential users information for a variety of reasons, for example, quality managers may have safety concerns or finance managers may have financial reservations. They can prevent sellers reaching the key decision makers. Bibliography Btec Level 3 National Business Student Book 1