Key Roles and Responsibilities Essay

Management: Management have a cardinal function and a big duty of guaranting wellness and safety is followed in their saloon. Directors need to guarantee that all of the right steps are in topographic point so as to maintain all statute laws in order. If directors did non hold any duty in the workplace so all employees would hence non follow any statute laws and many staff and clients could potentially be injured. Directors have to guarantee that all employees on a regular basis read SOP’s and complete all on-line classs sing new statute law every bit good as refresher classs sing wellness and safety at work. Human Resources Manager: Human resources have the chief function within Wetherspoons sing the duty of wellness and safety of the full workplace. Without Human resources the company would non hold any of the SOP’s ( Safety Operating Procedures ) or COSHH ( control of substances risky to wellness ) manuals. If human resources did non make this Wetherspoons would be runing against many Torahs and hence be shut down. Bar Associates: Bar associates have a minor duty in wellness and safety at work but a big function for keeping wellness and safety in the workplace. If staff members did non transport out frequent saloon. floor and lavatory cheques so both employees and clients will be at hazard of a possible hazard. This could be stealing on a spilt drink or the lavatories being unhygienic. Staff need to constantly do the saloon. floor and lavatory as clean and safe as possible. This includes pass overing spillages on the saloon. roll uping spectacless and home bases and sweeping and moping. Kitchen Staff: Kitchen staff have a really high duty and function within the company sing wellness and safety. as they are managing nutrient. Kitchen staff have to guarantee that their custodies are invariably being washed. the kitchen is clean and nutrient is in day of the month. If kitchen staff did non hold a duty within wellness and safety so clients could potentially be nutrient poisoned. every bit good.

The Marshall Plan

THE MARSHALL PLAN By the end of World War II much of Europe was devastated. The region’s economic structure was ruined and the devastation to agriculture left millions starving and homeless. During the war, Axis powers targeted the transportation infrastructure, leaving railways, bridges, and roads in a state of severe disrepair. Much of the civilian merchant shipping industry had also suffered severe damage. Due to the economic strain placed on the European countries during the war, many had exhausted their treasuries. If not for The United State’s aid in the form of the Lend-Lease program during wartime efforts, this damage would have been much worse and the outcome may have been different. The United States however, did not suffer the same severity of destruction on its own territory. Consequently its massive agriculture and manufacturing base was still intact. For these reasons, The United States saw it necessary to offer goods, services, and monies to any European or Asian country, be it an Allied or Axis power. The U. S. continued providing aid after the war was over. Between 1945 and 1948, the U. S. ent $12 billion in aid to European Nations. The world’s major economies were crumbling and the U. S. realized the global impact. General George C. Marshall introduced a recovery plan in 1947, the European Recovery Plan or ERP. This plan, which later became known as the Marshall Plan, was the primary program for rebuilding and creating a stronger economic foundation for the countries of Western Europe during the post-war era, 1948-1952. The Marshall Plan provided an additional $13 billion in aid to European nations. Post-war relief from the U. S. totaled $25 billion. With a GDP of $258 billion, U. S. post-war investment in foreign countries totaled 10% of its GDP. For all Marshall Plan participants, the economic output was 35% higher in 1951 than the 1938 pre-war era. Poverty and starvation disappeared and Western Europe began two decades of growth in which it saw a drastic increase in the standards of living. This plan was a key element in European recovery and integration. It erased trade barriers and set up institutions to coordinate a global economy. Efforts were made to model European industrial and business practices using the more efficient American models. The Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods system mandated free trade throughout the region. Through these acts, European nations standardized international exchange rates, set up the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is now part of the World Bank Group. The European Coal and Steel Community which eventually became the European Union has roots in the Marshall Plan. Today, the term â€Å"Marshall Plan† has become a metaphor for any large scale government program that is designed to solve a specific social problem. It is usually used when calling for federal spending to correct a perceived failure of the private sector. The Marshall Plan has played an integral part in establishing a global economy. References http://www. polsci. ucsb. edu/faculty/cohen/inpress/bretton. html http://www. archives. gov/exhibits/featured_documents/marshall_plan/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#Criticism http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan http://en. wikiquote. org/wiki/George_Marshall#Essentials_to_Peace_. 281953. 29 The Marshall Plan By the end of WWII the political map of the world was distinctly shaped. The former allies in anti-Hitler coalition entered into the era of ideological, military and industrial confrontation the humanity had never a chance to experience before; a confrontation used to be known as the Cold War with its iron curtain, unprecedented arm race and the support of various regimes including those which built their state doctrine on the ideology of terrorism.The political map of the post-war Europe was divided into two political camps, a pro-Soviet Eastern alliance and the Western Europe exhausted by the bloody war. The natural disasters of 1947-1947 ruined the agricultural infrastructure of some European countries. Especially damaged was transportation infrastructure, as railways, bridges, and roads had all been heavily targeted by air strikes, while much merchant shipping had been sunk.By and large the small towns and villages in Western Europe had suffered little damage, but the destruction of transportation left them economically isolated. None of these problems could be easily remedied, as most nations engaged in the war had exhausted their treasuries in its execution. With the formation of the confronting political camps the urgent political and economic actions were required first of all to reconstruct the economy of the countries opposed to the pro-Soviet block and secondly, to restrain the further expansion of the Soviet Union in Europe.The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program (ERP)) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding the allied countries of Europe and repelling communism after World War II. The initiative was named for United States Secretary of State George Marshall and was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan. 1 In fact the Plan was offered to the Soviet Union if it accepted certain conditions like the changes in the political system and the outer control.It was understood that the conditions suggested by the US Administration would never be accepted by the Soviet rulers. The general idea of the Marshall Plan presupposed the elimination the tariffs, close economic integration and it could be said that the Plan was the beginning of the Euro integration process which is taking place nowadays. The attitude towards the idea of the European reconstruction was rather controversial in America. First of all such foreign policy was new for the United States and changed the foreign policy of the pre-war isolationism.At the same time the lessons of the WWII showed that the global security could not be provided under the isolationism doctrine. The State Department under Harry S. Truman was dedicated to pursuing an activist foreign policy, but the Congress was somewhat less interested. Originally, it was hoped that little would need to be done to rebuild Europe and that the United Kingdom and France, with the help of their c olonies, would quickly rebuild their economies.By 1947 there was still little progress, however. A series of cold winters aggravated an already poor situation. The European economies did not seem to be growing as high unemployment and food shortages led to strikes and unrest in several nations. In 1947 the European economies were still well below their pre-war levels and were showing few signs of growth. Agricultural production was 83% of 1938 levels, industrial production was 88%, and exports only 59%. 2It was the objective reality that the United States was the only country the economy of which was not seriously damaged by the war and the bipolar nature of the post WWII world needed some action restraining the Soviet influence. The ruinous effect of the WWII was the fertile soil for spreading the Communist ideas and consequently the influence of the USSR which was not limited by the ideology only but by the growing military, political and economic presence.On June, June 5, 1947 Se cretary of State George Marshall gave the address to the graduating class of Harvard University in which he stated the preparedness of the United States to give the aid to European countries. The most important provision of the speech was that the Europeans should create their own plan of the economic reconstruction and the United States would finance such reconstruction. UK and France considered it necessary to invite the Soviet Union to join the European program of the post war reconstruction.Such appeal to Stalin would exclude possibly hostility from the USSR on one hand but on the other hand it was clear that the USSR would never accept the offer because the Cold War had already started by that time by the Soviet leaders. The major reason the aid was rejected by the Soviet rulers was that the Plan presupposed the creation of the unified European economy which was incompatible with the command economy of Soviet socialism. The US Administration considered the global economic stabi lity to the guarantee of the political stability and security which was stated in Marshall Plan Speech in Harvard.â€Å"It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist†. 3The position of the Soviet Union and it allies towards the Marshall Plan was rather predictable. Soviet rulers considered the Marshall Plan to be an attempt to destroy the Soviet domination in the Eastern Europe. The USSR allies influenced by the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia rejected the offered aid. Finland also declined in order to avoid antagonizing the Soviets. The So viet Union's â€Å"alternative† to the Marshall plan, which was purported to involve Soviet subsidies and trade with eastern Europe, became known as the Molotov Plan, and later, the COMECON.4 Some scholars consider the Marshall Plan to be a milestone and even a starting point on the long term global confrontation known as the Cold War. â€Å"Our analysis of the Marshall Plan will show that it was American policies as much as (and perhaps more than) Soviet actions that finally led to the division of Europe and thus to the Cold War itself. Many historians will feel uncomfortable with this conclusion; and it is certainly not a point of view that is popular with American historians, especially now. Nor should this much surprise us.After all, the Marshall Plan has always tended to receive favorable reviews within the United States—partly because few appear inclined to think critically about an act of generosity involving something close to $13 billion;19 partly because in the context of 1947 the Marshall Plan stood in sharp contrast to its shrill predecessor, the Truman Doctrine; and partly because of the huge reputation of George Marshall, whose role in the Marshall Plan was commemorated by the British government with the scholarships that still bear his name. †5Cox and Kennedy-Pipe suggest that the Marshall Plan was one of the major reasons of the division of Europe and it led to the Cold War. But this approach looks like that which is a little bit simplified. The confrontation of the USSR and USA was unavoidable no matter what political processes took place in the post WWII globe. First of all the confrontation was originally programmed in the ideological difference of the two systems. Nowadays we can observe the nominally Communist China and Vietnam integrating in the world market economy.The modern economies of China and Vietnam have nothing common with the traditional communist command economy. It could be said that the ideological basis of the modern China and Vietnam contradicts completely to the traditional communist approach to economy when the market and the competition according to classics of Marxism-Leninism are aimed to exploitation of the working class and prosperity of the ruling class. Nobody knows what kind of confrontation would be if the Marshall Plan were not introduced.One of the possible scenarios could be that the Europe remained in ruins, Soviets gained the unlimited influence and the greater part of Europe would get involved into the crazy arm race without any restrictive factor which would lead to the new global conflict. The Marxian ideologists interpreted the Marshall Plan as the manifestation of the US neo-colonial global policy. â€Å"US imperialism has never had need to operate in the traditional manner of the British, French or German imperialisms. These countries had to acquire direct political possession of the colonial areas in order to control, subjugate and exploit them.American imp erialism, with its overwhelming capacity to produce, has always used economic penetration as its main weapon of gaining economic and political control over another country. †6 The American Marshall Plan was heavily criticized both in the United States and abroad. The opinions ranged from â€Å"the betrayal of the American interests† to â€Å"the attempt of global domination† but there was no any reasonable alternative suggested. The political aim of the Marshall Plan as it was stated above was to restrain the Soviet expansion and influence in the post War Europe and the entire world.The United States and the USSR were two global superpowers which defeated the Hitler block. At the same time as it was stated above they have basic system ideological differences which in their essence were incompatible. The United States and the USSR were destined to confrontation due to such differences. The first post – war political initiative of the USSR was the creation o f the pro-Soviet block in Europe. Germany, Italy and Japan were destructed and demoralized to oppose the growing Soviet influence. The spread of the Soviet influence created the real threat to the entire world.What is more, the situation looked like paradox because the United States assisted to strengthen the position of its ideological opponent in the world. Due to its geopolitical position the United States could not provide the symmetric political presence in Europe. The Great Britain ran its traditional isolationist policy. France was not economically and politically strong enough to oppose the Soviet influence. â€Å"If Russia came to control Europe and Asia, this control could be founded only on communist dictatorships maintained against the will of the majorities of the peoples.The mere existence of a great free country like our own, to which anti-Soviet forces could gravitate, would then be a major danger (even more than it is today) to the security of the Soviet political structure. For this reason, the Russians would inevitably focus the full force of their economic and military power upon the destruction of our society, with a view to establishing here a regime subservient to themselves which would make no further trouble for them. They would hope that in this way the conscience of the world could be finally silenced†. 7Such attitude towards position of Russia was a little bit exaggerated especially when Mr. Kennan said about the direct Russian aggression against the United States but still it indicated the real threat of Russian influence in the world. It is worth reminding that Mr. Kennan spoke about the Soviet threat to American society in 1948 when there were only two dominating military and political forces in the world, the USA and the USSR, one of which started forming the military and political block risking the superpower global balance. It is worth noting that the initial confrontation of the superpowers was the battle for minds.The Europeans with their destructed economies had the options to choose either the ideology of Communism with its dictatorship and command economy or find the way to rehabilitate their post-war economies on the basis of free market and the United States entered this battle for the sake of the Europeans. The post-war situation is similar to that of nowadays when the United States faces the problem of battling the global terrorism including the economic measures. As Gordon O. F. Johnson notes â€Å"Today we are fighting for the minds of those throughout the world who are inclined to support and sympathize with international terrorists.Just as the aim of the Marshall Plan was to â€Å"drain the swamps† where communism was drawing support, so we today must â€Å"drain the swamps† where international terrorism recruits and draws its support. †8 The outcomes of the Marshall Plan are of great significance for Europe and entire world. The most important of them is that the United States and the civilized community introduced and implemented the unprecedented tool of collective reconstruction. It is worth mentioning that the post-war European economies were rehabilitated by the Europeans themselves with the assistance of the United States.The essence of the Marshall speech at Harvard was that the European countries were supposed to reconstruct their countries themselves and the United States was not supposed to interfere into this process. That is, the United States provided only the tools for reconstruction without imposing any dictatorship. Another important outcome of the Marshall Plan was that the former enemies in the World War II succeeded to join their efforts in building the new Europe taking away the political, economic and ideological disagreements of the former enemies in the bloodiest war of the human history.The Marshall Plan apart from its economic value became the factor consolidating Europe. â€Å"The objective of the Marshall Plan wa s not to solve the problem of poverty by handouts and welfare systems, but rather to foster successful enterprises which would create productive jobs with a genuine future. Jobs and a strong middle class were key to fighting communism. They were key for Europeans to rebuild from the rubble and offer hope for their youth who were the most susceptible to the message of international communism. †8The history of the mankind knows a lot of examples when the political and economic actions were imposed from outside. The Marshall Plan gave the brilliant example when the effective assistance program had the local character. It was taken as fair and sincere action because of its transparency and the complete lack of the outer dictatorship. It had a great ideological value as well indicating that people of the countries which were completely destructed by the devastating war were able to rehabilitate their economies and rebuild their home countries. Citation 1. Wikipedia 2. Ibid 3.Text o f the Marshall Plan Speech 4. Wikipedia 5. Cox and Kennedy-Pipe 6. Homer Paxon 7. George F. Kennan 8. Gordon O. F. Johnson 9. Ibid Bibliography †¢ Marshall Plan, Wikipedia, available at http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#searchInput, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Text of the Marshall Plan Speech, available at http://www. marshallfoundation. org/marshall_plan_speech_harvard. html#top, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Cox and Kennedy-Pipe, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? Rethinking the Marshall Plan, available at http://www. polisci. ucla. edu/faculty/trachtenberg/cv/jcws(marshall%20orig). pdf, retrieved 9.11. 2006 †¢ Homer Paxon Marshall Plan: Road to Conquest Analysis of the American Way of Imperialism, From New International, Vol. 14 No. 5, July 1948, pp. 138-143. , available at http://www. marxists. org/history/etol/newspape/ni/vol14/no05/paxon. htm#top, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ George F. Kennan on the Strategic Background, available at http://www. marshal lfoundation. org/marshall_plan_information. html, retrieved 9. 11. 2006 †¢ Gordon O. F. Johnson, Lessons for Today from the Marshall Plan, CIPE. ORG Feature Service: Technical Paper Series January 2002, available at CIPE. ORG, retrieved 9. 11. 2006.

The Role of Assesment in Higher Education

Table of Content NoTitlePage No 1Introduction 2Role of assessment in curriculum design , learning & teaching 3Assessment for learning v Assessment of Learning 4. Issues and concerns ? Abstract Assessment is an integral part of curriculum practice. The prime consideration of educational institutions are the outcomes of learning, the enhanced abilities students can demonstrate because of their increase in knowledge , able to adapt and understand to changes because of their university experiences.Our concern is how learning takes effect and how teaching and assessment affect the quality of learning in order for students to acquire the knowledge and competencies that is required for the work place. To acquire these industry relevant skills lecturers suggest assessment be integral to teaching and how learning activities are structured. Hence , this report reviews the role of assessment in curriculum design & change, it’s importance of continuous assessment for enhancing learning, c ommon assessment practices and it issues and concerns. 1. Introduction: In this report, literature researched was with regards to the role of assessment in curriculum design & change. Thus this report tries to answer the following questions in order to highlight the role of assessment in curriculum design, implementation and enhancement of learning. 1. What is curriculum and the role of assessment in curriculum development and enhancement? 2. What is Assessment of learning v Assessment for Learning and the practices in higher education 3.Issues and concerns on assessment in teaching and learning at institutions of higher learning? 2. Assessment as a part of curriculum practice Curriculum is a Latin word and it refers to a ‘course’ or a ‘track’ to be followed. In education, the focus is learning, then the most appropriate interpretation for the word curriculum is viewed as a course or ‘plan for learning’ (ef. Taba , 1962). (Howell and Evans, 199 5) defines curriculum as the ‘what’ of teaching. I would define curriculum as a course of study.Then the process of curriculum development can be seen in short where one develops a product, which involves an ongoing improvement. Curriculum development is a long cyclic process of research, designing, implementing and evaluating learning outcomes based on the interest, needs and capabilities of learners, and the many stakeholders, which directs enhancement. The literature review report is in relation to the role of assessment in curriculum development and enhancement of Teaching and Learning. What is Assessment?Assessment is any process that evaluates an individual’s knowledge, understanding and skills. Van den Akker (2003) defines assessment as an integral component of curriculum practice. Assessment gives feedback on curriculum delivery which indicates about student learning, the curriculum and the academic policies. Thus educators strongly believe that assessmen t and curriculum be integrated in the curriculum cycle. For example, Students achievement of knowledge and skills are determined by assessment.Lecturers manage teaching and assessment of student competence according to the level of the course, giving grades, guiding and counselling and so on. These can only be possible if there are effective assessment procedures in the curriculum administration and practice. â€Å"In 1995 the Assessment Forum of the American Association of Higher Education led by Thomas A. Angelo went through an interactive process to develop a definition of assessment. The end-result of that definition process is as follows:† â€Å"Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning.It involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expec tations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance. When it is embedded effectively within larger institutional systems, assessment can help us focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to assuring and improving the quality of higher education (Thomas A.Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, November 1995, p. 7)† In order to measure a student’s learning outcome, progression and competence attained, various types of information need to be gathered to determine the degree of student’s attainment in the learning outcomes for the curriculum. Various methods of formal and informal observation of students during their learning, examinations and quizzes, performance on assignments, projects and presentations are used to gather this information. Lecturers advise that there should be a plan for assessment at programme, course and lesson level, which is often overlooked.As P ratt (1998) stated, to make sure student achievements and grades reflect the learning outcomes established, assessments must be carefully planned, conducted, subject to continuous analysis, evaluation and enhancement. Learning outcomes (knowledge and competence of students), assessment, and teaching are all parts of an integrated whole. Assessment is believed to be essential to the teaching process in delivery and experience of the curriculum. But some students think of assessment as a form of control for lecturers. As (Pratt, 1998; Haladyna & Downing, 2004) stated when students progress from one semester to another they become displeased and suspicious about the assessment practices, and regarding them to be unfair and a means to demonstrate favouritism and punishment. † In institutions of higher learning, educators have the choice to choose the assessment types and practices. Since assessment results affect academic competence, educators are required to create a conducive le arning environment and make assessment integral to educational processes.In an encouraging learning environment a healthy dialogue takes place, trying out ideas, reflection, discussion, ask questions and enjoy the process of learning. (Pratt, 1998) Assessment is an important component and has several purposes. It directs the teaching process. Monitoring, discussion and observations in the classroom is also an important kind of assessment. This allows the instructor to gauge how well the lesson is going and whether learning is taking place with healthy discussion, participation and answering sessions (Nittko, 2004).Assessment helps in identifying learning difficulties, students’ strength and weakness. This then allows the instructor to set questions that can help build on the student’s weaknesses both formally and informally. Secondly assessment provides feedback on the learning. Information from assessment helps in programme evaluation (Pratt, 1998). Thirdly assessment declares ones achievement for various stakeholders like students, parents, the institution, prospective employers, the government sectors, accreditation body, and professional bodies.Assessment in the form of quizzes, tests, class projects, assignments and informal observations declare how well a student has achieved the learning outcomes and grade in his/her course, module or unit (Nittko, 2004). Besides, assessment points students to pedagogical priorities and directs students approach to experience course curriculum. Classroom questions test and examinations would indicate to students, important topics of the curriculum. Example, if questions are based on trivial information, then students focus would be at factual recall and knowledge.If tests require substantive knowledge and deep understanding then students change their perspective to curriculum. Assessment motivations, improves self image and a sense of self power of students. When assessment is well designed, it produces su ccess in learning; it motivates and stimulates student confidence and wanting to learn. Meherus and Lehman (1991) describes assessment as an important tool as it increases motivation towards their course, which establishes healthy study habits, which also provides feedback to lecturers to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses.Assessment gives lecturers an opinion on students’ learning. Assessment results enable the lecturer to provide further guidance about their learning. Therefore, lecturers in institutes of higher learning should be aware of the significant role of assessment in curriculum and thus have the skills and tools to effectively setup curriculum at programme level. 3, Assessment for Learning v Assessment to Learning What is Assessment for Learning? It could be defined as: †¢a form of positive formal feedback [ e. g. ecturers comment; self-assessment systems] †¢provides informal feedback [ e. g. dialogue teaching; peer interaction] †¢i t gives an opportunity to the student to try and apply knowledge, skills and their understanding †¢ assessment tasks that are relevant †¢it guides students to develop independence and †¢it has an appropriate balance between summative and formative assessment. There should be a balance between formative and summative assessments. Continuous assessment or assessment for learning is practiced less compared to summative assessment.As stated by Careless (2004), lecturers in institutions of higher learning tend to choose more for theoretical knowledge than for practical and procedural knowledge in assessing students. Such assessment focuses on theory and concepts really do not help students for the real world. This limits the students of skills that employers look for. Brown & Glaser (1999) states improving on assessment practice improves student learning. Further to that, standards of learning rose through ongoing assessment practice. It is noted that students’ beha viour and attitude towards learning changes, when assessment methods change.Students become more responsible and take ownership of their learning. But there are challenging problems with assessment for learning. Problems identified by Black and William (2004) with regards to assessment for learning in institutions of higher learning as: †¢Assessment methods used by lecturers are not effective to promote good learning †¢Grading practices gives rise to competition rather than self improvement and †¢Feedback on assessment if practiced, often has a negative impact on less performing students which makes them believe that they lack ability and thus are not able to learn.Diamond (1998) further goes to describe the basic problem with assessment practice in institutions of higher learning, as a mismatch between learning outcomes and the assessment methods and criteria used by lecturers to assess and grade their students. Frequently, learning outcomes are expected to demonstra te critical thinking and problem solving skills, but the assessment type used would most frequently focus on recalling and recognition of content learned. Assessment used for the purpose of promoting student learning is described as assessment for learning.Assessment used for accountability purpose, grading or certification is assessment of learning. Assessments that promote enhancement to learning is one where there is a continuous process of back and forth between the student and the lecturer which provides feedback on progression until the outcome is well met. This sort of assessment is called ‘assessment for learning’ when assessment evidence is used to adjust teaching to meet learners needs and difficulties (Black & William 1998). Assessment is part and parcel of learning. Assessment in fact, shapes learning.Much has been discussed and written that to enhance student learning, assessment has to be integrated with teaching (Wright, et. al, 1997). Gibbs and Simpson ( 2005) regards assessment for learning as a system which directs and controls student learning based on the power of summative assessment and grades in addition to providing feedback. Assessment and teaching has to be blended to contribute to the goal of improving learning. Good instructors do pay careful attention to assessment and teaching, and to have learning activities well structured.Despite this suggestion, lecturers in higher education do not practice the real importance of assessment. As Black & William (1998) says this could also be because lecturers are not well trained in this area. In most institutions of higher learning assessment is used to test knowledge and does not test the critical and problem solving skills. Example, multiple choice questions promote de-contextualised, rot learning and this narrows the curriculum to basic skills with low cognitive demands. In contrast to this, the industries demand for transferable skills like communication, information retrieval, critical thinking, problem solving.And because of this, institutions have fast inclined to formative, holistic form of assessment which is described as ‘authentic’ assessments. However, as Black & William (1998) argues that traditional form of assessment cannot be easily replaced because they are embedded in complex histories, culture and power relations of school societies. Shepard (2001) also suggested that conventional assessment method based on theories and psychometric principles conflicts with implications of assessment for learning which is based on cognitive and constructive learning standards.James (2003) findings indicate a number of major effects with assessment methods and students self-perception and confidence level. For many students, they were disappointed with feedback, on how to improve their level of competence, for others was the concern on how to achieve higher marks. Term exams were rarely discussed or available so that students could use them to improve their knowledge and skills. Assessment plays a significant role in implementing curriculum. There should be significant guiding principles for this to happen. James (2003) had put forth the following guiding principles for assessment for learning: †¢Ensure ssessment methods used promote and reward desired learning activities and outcomes. †¢Students have got clear instructions on assessment requirements. †¢Provide effective and timely feedback with comments on a continuous basis. The first principle is based on Bloom’s taxonomy, which is to recall and recognition, comprehension and application, critical thinking and problem solving. In his second principle (James: 65) states the following: â€Å"Assessment procedures in higher education are likely to become increasingly open to security to candidates, and to candidates appeals.The need for commonly agreed marking procedures and techniques is obvious, if collective responsibility for candidates is maint ained, full openness between colleagues and demonstrable internal consistency of courses and related assessment procedures are vital importance† There can be a problem in generalised good assessment practices for learning. Different subject discipline like Engineering versus psychology would have different pedagogic assumptions. So if general principles cover all subjects, the way in which they manifest may differ for different subjects (Black & William, 2004).Boud (1990) suggests alternate developments in student assessments in higher education, which is careful monitoring of assessment to see how relevant they are to the students. He also challenges that current assessment methods do not really prepare students to the real world. Meherns & Lehman, 1991 & Nitko 2004, state quality teaching and assessment are intertwined. They greatly improve students’ learning. Teaching will be effective when teaching activities, learning outcomes and assessment methods are well aligne d.As Nitko (2004) suggests 4 key questions lecturers got to ask themselves when preparing for teaching and to implement continuous assessment. †¢Is my lesson going well? Is there progression in student leaning? To align to these questions suggested assessment methods could be classroom observation during class activities, response to questions and students’ interactions. †¢How can I improve to make the learning activity better? Diagnosis types of errors made by students, identify students who are not participating and also at the assessment methods used. †¢What feedback to be given about the student’s learning?Assessment methods used are informal observation and encouragement, how well they have achieved the learning outcome, assignments, quiz and consultations. †¢Finally are the students ready to progress to the next level? Informal observation, checking and questioning students about their understanding of homework, test, quiz and grades obtained to decide on their progress to their next learning or do they require remedial instructions. Lecturers should use a variety of assessment methods to help student achieve the learning outcomes as stipulated in the course curriculum. In most cases lecturers generally use pen-and-paper achievement tests.Meherns & Lehman (1991) argue that classroom evaluation should not be restricted to pen-and-paper but other forms like observation techniques, checklists etc. Continuous assessment is practical for everyday classroom use. Test, presentations, projects, journal, collaborative works are some that could be used to assess students and lecturers their stand in relation to knowledge and skills. Smith (2003) and Shepard (2001) stated that assessment trends are moving away from traditional methods to a variety of new approaches. For instance, Observation is greatly used by experienced teachers to identify students’ progression or having difficulties.Portfolio or records of work are also another form of assessment practice. Portfolio is a kind of file where student’s written works are kept. Portfolios provide cumulative evidence of learning over time in much detail and substance than a mere list of scores. Self and peer assessment are also essential to learning. Students’ self-reflection and their understanding are used to inform for further teaching and areas the lecturer needs to spend more time and effort. Brookhart (2001), Shepard (2001), and Stiggins (1999, 2001) maintained that students should be actively involved in self-evaluation as a form of assessment.Their argument was that students need to monitor their own progress by applying ongoing feedback that is helpful in showing them how to meet the ultimate learning outcome. However, self-assessment is only possible when lecturers help students develop assessment skills, because it is difficult for students to think of their work in terms of learning outcomes (Black & William, 2004). Peer-assessm ent is also another important form of assessment. The learning task is placed in the hands of the students. While the lecturer is able to observe and reflect on what is happening and frame helpful interventions.The lecturer finds this form very helpful indeed. Misconceptions are highlighted and these are discussed when they go over the assessment. These forms of assessment require student active learning. As one student stated ‘after a student marking my assignment, I can now acknowledge my mistakes easier. I hope that it is not just me who learned from the work but the student who marked it also’ (Black & William, 2004:16). Feedback and comments to students about their learning is a good practice in assessment. Feedback should state ways for improvement.Grades or marks are not providing enough feedback to help improve student learning (Nitko, 2004). Feedback is effective when it provokes thinking in students. With regards to this, Back & William (2004) stated marks are likely to set comparison; while only feedback and comments help them to improve. Research studies on feedback showed 60% improvement on performance. Feedback with no comments was more of judgement or grade with no indication for improvement (Black & William, 2004) Hence it is important for the enhancement of student learning that lecturers emphasise on feedback and comment on assessed work of students in the learning process. . Issues and Concerns Staff One of the main concerns in assessment will be the lecturers. Especially here in Malaysia in the private sector , many lecturers lack the knowledge in assessment practices. Universities and college do not believe in investing in training. Another factor is lecturers have heavy teaching work load and large class sizes that formal assessment would be replace by mere test, assignment and examinations due to time constrains. Cost Costs to the faculty and institution are an important factor. Some form of assessment processes can be time consuming, involving student supervision in observation of activities.Time, of course, is money. Also investing in additional resources like technology increases cost. This does not enable the lecturers to use innovative methods of assessment. Standards To increase pass rates standards are compromised. Assessment requirements have placed more weightage on coursework, so student achievement has appeared to improve the assumption coursework is easier then exams. In some cases institutions do not have a quality system in place. Validity and reliability of assessment could be questionable. ConclusionAssessment is a vital component of curriculum practice that has important contribution for effective practice and operations of curriculum. Lecturers’ acknowledgement for continuous assessment practice has significance for students learning of knowledge and skill. Lecturers should set assessment tasks that are practically challenging, provide feedback as they assess and get students e ngaged in the assessment process. Finally lecturers should change their views and practices of assessment and be committed to prepare competent graduates with the knowledge and skill in their specific field of study for the market place. References Akker, Van Den. (2003). Curriculum landscapes and Trends (pp1-10). Curriculum Perspectives:An Introduction. Black,P and William. (1998). Assessment and Classroom learning. Assessment in Education 5(1) Black,P. ,and William,D. (2004). Inside the Black Box: Phi-Delta kappan, 86(1):9-21 Diamond, R. M. (1998). Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula: A practical Guide. Sanfrancisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Boud, D. (1990). Assessment and the Promotion of Academic Values. Studies in Higher Education 15(5): 101-111 Gibbs, G. & Simpson, C. 2004-5) Conditions under which assessment supports students' learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1 (1), 3-31. Brookhart,S. M. (2001). Successful students’ formative and summative use of a ssessment information. Assessment in education 8, 153-169 Brown S. And Glaser A. (1999). Assessment Matters in higher Education: choosing and Using Diverse approaches. Great Britain: St. Edmunds bury press Ltd, SRHE and Open University press Careless,D. (2004). Converting assessment into learning. Theoretical and pratical perspectives. Paper Presented at Chinese University of Hong Kong.Unpublished. Haladyna and Downing. (2004). Constructive irrelevant in high stakes testing. Educational measurement:Issue and practice 23(1), 17-27 James,D. (2003). Making the graduate. Perspectives on student experience of assessment in higher education. In Ann filer (2003). Assessment: Social practice and social product. London: Rutledge Meherens, W. A. , and Lehmann, J. I. (1991). Measurement and Evaluation in Education & Psychology (4th ed). Wadsworth: Thomson learning Nitko, A. J. (2004). Educational Assessment of Students (4th ed). Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall Pratt,D. 1998). Curriculum planning: A handbook for professionals. London: Harcourt Brace College Publishers Smith, K. J. (2003). Reconsidering reliability in classroom assessment and grading. Educational measurement: Issue and practice 22(4), 26-3. Stiggins,R. J. (1992). Relevant classroom assessment training for teachers. Educational measurement: Issue and practice 1091), 7-12 Wright, et. al (1997). Teacher and classroom context effects on student achievement; Implication for teacher evaluation; Journal of personnel Evaluation in Education, 11,57-67.

Folklore in two cultures (Cultural Anthropology) Essay

Folklore in two cultures (Cultural Anthropology) - Essay Example This paper will describe and evaluate examples of folklore in Irish culture and Bhutan culture, in order to determine the values they convey while at the same time being entertaining and instructive. Bhutan, in the mountains of the Himalayas and bordered by India and Tibet, is still very much an oral society (Penjore, 2005) today, and one that is absorbed in their traditions with most people wearing traditional clothes (Mystic Bliss). One of their most prevalent folktales is the story of a man called ‘Meme Haylay Haylay’ and his turquoise stone (Penjore, 2005, p.259). The story tells of an old and impoverished man who finds a turquoise stone while digging in his fields. On his way back home he meets a variety of men with whom he makes a number of different trades; he trades his turquoise for a horse, the horse for an ox, the ox for a sheep, the sheep for a goat, the goat for a rooster, and finally he trades the rooster for a song. Singing his song and continuing his jour ney home he feels he is the happiest and richest man in the world (Evans, 2010, p.12). As this story is relayed by different people the ending changes in a number of ways, dependent on how they prefer to interpret the tale (Penjore, 2005) in terms of whether they consider the old man as foolish or as the provider of the secret to happiness. In another version he trades the rooster for a flute; while playing the flute he slips in a wad of cow dung and forgets how to play it and thus ends up with nothing (Penjore, 2005). Whichever version is preferred however, they are used as a satirical account of sound or bad business decisions and the making of profit, and thus while being a form of entertainment in their humor to be enjoyed by all who are listening, they are more importantly a vehicle of instruction; if taken from the perspective that the old man made sound business decisions by appreciating the futility of finding happiness with material possessions and wealth, the ridicule pert ains to the other men who traded their happiness for material possessions. If on the other hand, it is told with the belief that the old man is foolish, then it is used as evidence for bad business practice and one not to be imitated (Penjore, 2005). Within the folklore of Irish culture there is much reference to little people, of which the leprechaun is probably the most famous. Leprechauns are described as small, clever and roguish men who lived in Ireland before the arrival of the Celts. The story tells of these little men about two feet tall with green or red coats and leather aprons, working as shoe makers, hammering away all day long. Leprechauns are said to be unfriendly and miserly and while working on making their shoes, store all their money in a pot which they hide at the end of a rainbow. If you catch one of these leprechauns he will lead you to the pot of gold but if you take your eyes of him, even for an instance, he will disappear with the pot of gold. Also, if you fi nd the end of a rainbow you will find a pot of gold. Such a folktale is obviously entertaining, especially for children, and has been passed down through generations, and like the Bhutan folktale, is concerned with wealth. This tale however, illustrates the futility of believing that money and richness come easily but instead, like the leprechaun, people must work hard and save

Recognizing Employee Contributions - Compensation & Benefits Essay

Recognizing Employee Contributions - Compensation & Benefits - Essay Example Every firm develops a specific structure of compensation and benefits. Incentive pay is an integral part of benefits being offered to employees. In this particular study views and opinions will be given to a new retail company so as to retain its talented base of employees. Team members tend to leave an organization when they are not satisfied with organizational environment or their compensation structure. It is major responsibility of HR manager to continuously modify compensation framework in order to deliver the best benefits to employees. Workforce can be motivated either through monetary rewards or non-monetary appreciation. This study outlines current scenario of a retail company that is into internet sales as well as has retail outlets. Employee survey in the firm has revealed that employees are not satisfied with compensation system and are leaving jobs. In this study different approaches would be highlighted that can help to retain employees and facilitate developing approp riate compensation system. Incentive pay is essential for retaining employees within the system. Pay can be defined as the first reward that is given to managers or employees. Incentives are additional benefits given to employees so as to motivate them for undertaking new challenges. Pay can be classified into three segments such as basic pay, pay for performance and merit pay. Basic pay occupies the main portion of compensation and is referred to as hourly wage or salary. Merit pay is totally based on predetermined criteria. On the other hand, pay for performance can be defined as incentive pay system. Rewards are given to distinguish between competencies possessed by team members and their respective contributions towards firm’s overall success. There are certain new pay techniques that can be adopted by the retail company so as to retain its employee base. Amongst all the techniques two mechanisms are most suitable in the given situation such as

Tesco Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Tesco Marketing Plan - Essay Example Price competition, backed by improved efficiency, is the main feature of food retailing industry today. UK food retailers fight for survival in markets faced with over-capacity. Within rapidly changing environment, this kind of development ensures that long-term survivors are those firms who are more competitive and are better able to satisfy consumer needs and adapt to the new competitive environment. In 2004, consolidation re-shape UK retailing industry and Hypermarket retailers (like Tesco) want to make sure they don't miss out on this growing area of the UK market" (Moreau, 2004; Desjardins, 2005). The first marketing aim is to get the right goods to the right consumers, trying hard for customers. Another marketing aim is to build and promote healthy living brand. Knowing what individual customers appreciate and what they want to avoid can add up to one of differences that create a competitive advantage. C) Tesco customer groups are defined on the basis of their specific segments and buying potential whether they be country groups or individual consumer groups-of potential customers with homogeneous attributes who are likely to exhibit similar responses to a company's marketing mix. Tesco customers can be divided into five broad categories: The second group of customers share universal wants, n... Life stage of customers (students, young adults, older adults, young families, older families, over 60s); lifestyle ('Basket typology'); Customers driven by product promotions; Customers loyal to specific brands" (New Marketing Techniques Search for the Edge, n.d.). The first group of consumers is characterized by strong purchasing power. They need high quality product and ready to pay for them. This is a high-income group. The second group of customers share universal wants, needs, desires, (for name brands, novelty, entertainment, trendy, and image-oriented products). This segment is attractive both in terms of its size and its multi-billion dollar purchasing power. This segment's needs and wants are spread over various product categories: durable and nondurables goods. The third group is characterized by share few family activities; they want build-to-order solutions. They do not need a specific brand or new product, but high service and product at low price. This is a fast-growing segment. Customers driven by product promotions are not usual visitors of Tesco being attracted by low price and discount for new products. They are deluged with passive information. The fifth group includes people whose tastes are based on desired standards. Quality is the main purchasing criteria of this group. Their choices are made on the basis of price and product features. Graphically these groups can be represented as follows: 100% (customers) 50% 1 2 3 4 5 (Groups) It is important to note that there are some customers which belong to two different groups. For instance, they can represent lifestyle ('Basket typology') group, but be loyal to specific brands. D) The main competitors of Tesco are Sainsbury and Asda. Minor competitors

Supply Chain Management in Whirlpool Research Paper

Supply Chain Management in Whirlpool - Research Paper Example Unlike its competitors like Electrolux, LG and General Electric, majority of the Whirlpool's products undergoes some form of manufacturing inside U.S. Although, Whirlpool outsource their operations, it is done minimally, with majority of its manufacturing plants located in North America. Apart from this manufacturing segment of its supply chain, Whirlpool also has a widespread distribution network to supply or reach the product to the intended customer. This distribution network consists of factory based distribution centers or warehouses, from where the finished product reaches the regional distribution centers, and then to the local distribution centers, thus finally reaching retail outlets for the client to buy. (Cookie, 2008). With such extensive operations, Whirlpool had to have an optimized Supply Chain Management (SCM) to satisfy the customers, and emerge successful. Although, in early 2000’s, Whirlpool had problems in managing its supply chain, by implementing effectiv e strategies and importantly by using Information technology (IT) tools, it has been able to strengthen its supply chain. Even after the acquisition of Maytag, Whirlpool continued to improve its supply chain by associating with strong players like Penske Logistics, who brought in more IT tools Porters’ five forces The bargaining power of the buyers has increased because now they have better information about the products, prices and their characteristics because of a lot of exposure about the company and its products through various mediums. In the case of Whirlpool also, the bargaining power of the buyers has accentuated and that is impacting its supply chain. So, to improve its supply chain, Whirlpool decided to first focus on the customer requirements, and then proceed from there, in a backward manner. With that focus, Whirlpool studied customers’ expectation and found they are â€Å"asking for accurate promises as a first requirement: "Give a date, hit a date."â⠂¬  (Lee, 2009, p.182). Because of this behavior of the buyers, Whirlpool understood they have to deliver products as soon as possible to the customers. â€Å"The supply chain needed to be able to get that appliance to [the consumer] within 48 hours,† (MacMilan, 2008). To fulfill this target, Whirlpool started incorporating technology in an accentuated manner in its supply chain. In that direction, Whirlpool also associated with number of suppliers in its supply chain, thereby increasing the bargaining power of the suppliers as well. Although, Whirlpool did not outsource its manufacturing operations, when it came to supply chain operations, it did not stress on conducting it in-house. After making thorough assessments regarding its extensive operations, Whirlpool decided to outsource the maintenance functions. Historically, its supply chain was divided into three parts, with Ryder Logistics handling supply of raw materials to the manufacturing plants and reaching the finishe d goods to its distribution centers, while ERX managed its regional distribution centers. (Bowman, n. d). For all these operations, Whirlpool had to supply its fleet of tractors and trailers, as well as manage it. That is when, Whirlpool overhauled its distribution strategy and decided to â€Å"transform its private fleet into a dedicated operation managed by an outsider†, with Penske Logistics coming into the picture. (Bowman, n. d). Penske Logistics with a wide range of IT

Case Report, Warner brothers Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Report, Warner brothers - Case Study Example Horn is presented with the dilemma with what strategy to adopt to produce and market movies that generate revenues and compensate for other low performing ones. On one hand, selecting the right script is guided by factors like experience, star loyalty, some specific genres of movies which are always liked by the audience or a rival spearheading a new concept which can be marketed along similar story lines. On the other hand, there are various other operational and strategic factors which shape up the selection decision and are based on more of data than intuition or gut feeling (Pisano & Wagonfeld 2009). One of the most essential components to pay attention to and analyze is the risk taking and sharing basis. Warner Bros. typically do not share risks of producing and marketing a movie with other studios and puts in the entire capital and efforts with an optimistic view of getting the risk-return trade-off. However, with such mammoth budget big-event films which are constrained by pub lic acceptance, rival moves and reduced opening weekend sales, risk sharing should essentially be a part of green-lighting a project. True that if successful, the movie will garner huge revenues to the studio and provide for even low budget movies that have failed at the box office. But in case, any of the above $200 million movies did not capture the expected response or fails in the successive weekends, the entire financial statement of studio can dissipate. With risk sharing, the studio can still remain optimistic and energetic of producing and marketing the movies in pipeline, which would otherwise be thought of as sheer waste of money and efforts on account of observed failure and huge losses. Trend of videos and DVDs is capturing fast with audiences turning to this medium more than actually visiting a theatre. Apart from traditional sources of revenue, studio revenues like theatre contracts, sale of broadcast television rights and videos and DVD sales are fast catching up, lea ving behind normal box office revenues. Warner Bros. operates on the philosophy of vertical integration which provides it with increased access to downstream distribution channels. This practice can be improved with more focus on securing additional studio revenues. This can also reduce the risks which are more frequent in box office openings. Television broadcast rights, theatre contracts and such other studio revenue streams are considered to be more immune and hence, they should be treated as risk management activities where every single film is a time and cost based project. Marketing campaigns play a significant role in the success or failure of a movie. It educates the audience about what actually is contained in the movie. Trailers are extracted from the movie run itself, which are some exceptionally excellent scenes to hit the psyche of the target audience. With every market, trailers are customized according to the choice, language, seasonality and preference. Trailers befo re launching the movie are generally for box office purposes. However, what if trailers are also developed for television broadcast and theatre screenings simultaneously with box office openings! This could eliminate the fear of a disappointing opening weekend where theatre screenings and sale of videos and DVDs could counteract the losses of bad openings. Maintaining relationships with distributors, actors and directors is yet another

Child Labour in Third World Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Child Labour in Third World Countries - Essay Example In 2002, the U.S. Congress passed legislation ordering the Department of Labour's Bureau of International Labour Affairs to study the relationship between education and military expenditure in countries where child labour is recognized to be particularly common. The word child labour in general refers to any economic activity carried out by someone not above the age of 15. Not all work done by children is harmful or manipulative. Child labour does not normally refer to part-time work after school or rightful internship opportunities for young people. Nor does it refer to adolescent people helping out in the family business or on the family farm. Rather, the "child labour" of concern is general employment that prevents children from getting education, and which is often performed under conditions dangerous to the physical and mental health of the child. The International Labour Organization, or the ILO, defines child labour as "some types of work" done by children under the age of 18. The ILO also says that child labour includes full-time work done by children under 15 years of age that prevents them from going to school (getting an education), or that is dangerous to their health. More complete definitions of what child labour is in regard, age restrictions, job types, and exceptions can be found in convention 138, convention 182, and the convention on the rights of the child. (Child Labour) Other sources and organizations disagree on what child labour is. Some utter that it is merely perilous work or work that obstruct with a child's education, while others are broader and include any work done by children working for compensation. Some organizations, such as UNICEF draw a line between child labour and child work, which can consist of light work done by children above the age of 12. Child Labour in the Fashion Industry There are no reliable statistics on the rate of child employment in any particular economic activity, including the fashion industry. Most information on child labour in the garment industry comes from eyewitness accounts, studies by non -governmental organizations (NGOs) and academicians, reports by journalists, and studies by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Unreliable information obtained during the preparation of this report indicates that in some of the countries examined, fewer children could currently be working on garment exports for the U.S. market than two years ago. A striking example involves Bangladesh, where great numbers of children worked in garment factories as lately as 1994. Worldwide media attention and intimidation of boycotts and cancelled work orders led to the dismissal of thousands of child workers from the garment sector unfortunately without any backup support for them. Thus, it is possible that in the lack of government programs to help the children, the abrupt discharge of child workers can put them in danger, rather than protect them. More research is required so that governments, industry, international organizations, and others apprehensive of the welfare of children are better capable of designing suitable programs. It is obvious, though, those local and national assurances to collective and free education for children are instant and optimistic steps which can and should be taken. One cause for any possible downward

No topic need Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

No topic need - Essay Example Their appealing factor to global consumers is their constant manufacture of new bands of cars. The Ford Company always finds a way to attract consumers by creating improved or modified brands of cars. The major globalization opportunity for the Ford Company is the fact that the world is open to technology at present. People are constantly seeking machines and devices that are more improvised than the last. Indeed Ford Company utilizes this opportunity to the fullest as they keep booming with new ideas. The major globalization challenges for the Ford Company are competition in major foreign markets like China and India. They face stiff competition from other motor companies in the market. Additionally, the company has been experiencing leadership problems of late. The executives apparently have a problem working together. This makes it hard to coordinate efforts in global markets. For the Ford Company’s brand to stand a better position in the global market, they must find a way to eradicate stiff competition and come out on top. This can be achieved by making their brands more attractive and desirable; they need to create an edge for their

What is Chivalry Essay Example for Free

What is Chivalry Essay What is Chivalry Originally Latin, actually spelled â€Å"caballarius and pronounced â€Å"SHivÉ™lrē†, is chivalry. Chivalry is the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight. Such qualities include honor, courtesy, courage, justice, and willing to assist those in need. If one is chivalrous in character, then one is a gentleman and noble in his good deeds. He would in no manner hesitate to serve others and serve his God. This is evident as Honore de Balzac puts it: â€Å"the motto of chivalry is also the motto of wisdom; to serve all, but love only one. † Chivalry, besides its original usage as â€Å"calvary,† can truly only be delineated in only one way, which is to refer to a virtuous code of conduct. There isn’t any negative connotations to the word either, unless somebody called a fellow thane chivalrous in Old Anglo-Saxon times! Other than that, the only emotional association with the word is generally positive. This noble idea of conduct is constituted of several virtues in spite of the narrow usage of the word. So, how did chivalry come into existence? Journey to the medieval times and you will discover that chivalry was once an existential characteristic of every man sworn into nobility or born into it. These men were knights. Medieval knights battled horseback and practiced outstanding gallantry. Knights were always calvary in battle, and exhibited righteous morals. A group of knights was actually called â€Å"the chivalry† of the militia. They were excelled in sword craft nearly comparable to their high level of graciousness, and could ride a horse well-nigh to the speed of which they are willing to assist a damsel in distress. Chivalry came to be known as the demeanor of an ideal knight, rather than simply a group of knights. As Chaucer puts it in Canterbury Tales, an ideal knight loved chivalry, truth and honor, freedom and courtesy; a very gentle, perfect knight.† Whatever happened to chivalry? Certain writers may say chivalry is dead, or it might just have a bad case of the flu. As long as wrongs are still righted, chivalry will survive. Chivalry cannot and will never die out. It may become exponentially less evident everyday, but underlying all the rudeness and discourtesy, chivalry is there. Chivalry does indeed need to be implemented more and more into society. Every single man’s major desire should be to act magnanimously and reveal a generous and noble state of mind. If every man were to be genuinely chivalrous then hardly would there ever be any cheating, debt, adultery, stealing, or even bad attitudes. Each and every man would be true in their religion, honest, courteous, and would have a burning passion to do what is right. Think of that chivalry based utopian society. A world where people were more worried about humbling themselves rather than raising themselves up would be phenomenal. Modern chivalry should predominate like it did with Sir Lancelot around Queen Guinevere. Contemporary America could learn from John Bowring’s â€Å"Chivalry† poem which reads: â€Å"Now tell me what is chivalry? To battle in the foremost fight For anything—for wrong—for right, For some fair ladys scornful smile, For what is virtuous, what is vile, Come, tell me, is this chivalry? No! in the men for truth who pant, In wretchedness and woe and want, Who bear the worlds contemptuous hate, With patient soul, with heart elate. No! in the woman in whose home No peace is found, no comforts come, Yet bends in silence,—feeling still Tis Gods most kind, most holy will. This—this is truest chivalry!† Chivalry essentially is the essence of all that is good, virtuous, and holy, conglomerated into one admirably cultivated code of conduct to live by.

Redemtive Vilonce in the Odyssey by Homer Essay Example for Free

Redemtive Vilonce in the Odyssey by Homer Essay The myth of redemptive violence is one that is told throughout history. It is one in which violence is the creator. Whether it be creation of the cosmos, peace, or some other result, in this myth violence results in redemption. This myth has been imbedded in our society to such a degree that it is naturalized and accepted as the way things are without much reflection. For example, many Christians probably dont contemplate the ways redemptive violence is at the heart of their religion. A classic example of the myth of redemptive violence is found in the elaborate poem The Odyssey. Many elements of violence and how we associate with violence are explored within the multitude of pages of this tale. In book nine Odysseus has to confront Polythemus, the Cyclops who is Poseidon’s son. Odysseus and his men where trapped within Polythemus’s cave, which had wine and other luxuries in it. But the Cyclops is intent on eating every last one of them and saving Odysseus, or â€Å"Nohbdy,† as Odysseus presented himself to the Cyclops, for last. Odysseus later blinds Polythemus with a burning stick, leaving him aggrieved and in pain. Writhing in pain, he opens the rock, letting Odysseus’s crew escape. This is just a primal form of the myth, but by injuring Polythemus Odysseys is released, illustrating the productive side of violence. In book ten Odysseus finds himself on the island of Aeolus, which is occupied by the witch Circe. She lures Odysseus’s men into her house and turns them into swine. Odysseus, who has an antidote to the witch’s drugs given to him by the god Hermes, is immune to the witchs drugs and threatens her with the violence of his sword and she takes him to her bed where he persuaded her to change back his men. This tale within The Odyssey is one of violence such those Walter Wink wrote about in The Myth of Redemptive Violence. He writes, â€Å"cosmic order requires the violent suppression of the feminine and is mirrored in the social order by the subjugation of women to men and people to ruler. † Wink goes on to explain that this pattern can be found in Greek myths and in a range of other cultural expressions through history, right up to cartoons in modern day media. Central to this version f the myth is the suppression of powerful females, and their bodies are laid out to create the cosmos in some cases. The Odyssey provides a classic example: Circe, a powerful temptress, is subdued by Odysseus’s threat of violence, therefore placing Odysseus socially above her. Throughout the book Odysseus is faced with endless hardships. He is thrown through massive and relentless life threatening ordeals. He then comes home and finds that he must compete for his wife. These travails poin t toward paradoxes in the human condition. At times, we crave pain and it allows us to associate our inner evils and our violence, and that is exactly what The Odyssey does. As Wink stated in his analysis of a cartoon, â€Å"the ‘Tammuz’ element where the hero suffers – actually consumes all but the closing minutes, allowing ample time for indulging the violent side of the self. When the good guy finally wins, viewers are then able to reassert control over their inner tendencies, repress them, and re-establish a sense of goodness †¦Ã¢â‚¬  We get a good look at this process in The Odyssey, especially when Penelope asks, how do you move the bed? Odysseus replies, you can’t because I fashioned it out of a live olive tree, proving that he was truly Odysseus. The Odyssey is filled with redemptive violence, whether it be against Troy, Scally and Charibdys, Circe, and, most notably, the slaughtering of the suitors. The violence is not all just straight forward, there are power hierarchies, complex relationships, and other factors to account for in viewing violence in this incredible story.

Factors of Affecting Online Game Satisfaction

Factors of Affecting Online Game Satisfaction CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Online gaming is one of the most popular entertainments among the citizen in this world no matter what ages they are. Due to the advancement in the technologies, it has brought lots of growth in this industry since early of 2000s. This growth has been developed online game market into the core of the world cultural industry (Sang, Yung, Jae, and Kyoung, 2004). Hsu and Lu (2003) stated that online game service has been a highly profitable e-commerce application in recent years and its market value has increasing markedly as well as number of player growth at the same time. Now a day, most of the household will owned at least one personal computer (PC) or a laptop and some even more than that due to the cheaper cost to have a computer. Consequently, the demand for computer has been grown rapidly throughout this recent year. The accessibility of internet also is easier with each passing year and the cheaper price to have broadband internet connectivity (Bizymoms.com). Generally, online game service can be categorized as business-to-consumer or B2C in e-commerce and it is also one the videogame and interactive entertainment industry. A strategic market research and consulting firm which focuses on the interactive entertainment and the emerging video game, online game, interactive entertainment and portable game markets namely, DFC Intelligence has made its forecast for worldwide videogame and interactive entertainment industry each year since year 1995. According to DFC Intelligence forecast on year 2008, the worldwide videogame and interactive entertainment industry revenue to reach USD 57 billion in 2009 with no signs of slowing due to the slumping economies and expensive hardware (Androvich, 2008). The rapid growth in videogame and interactive entertainment industry has been attracted lots of entrepreneur who would like to enter this profitable industry. Based on the report of DFC, PC was the top platform for games in 2007, with online game revenue alone eclipsing USD 7 billion on year 2006 and not including retail sales. The DFC also stated the total PC game revenue is expected to reach USD 19 billion by year 2013 (Androvich, 2008). In Malaysia, there were 15 million subscriber of internet and it was 62.8% out of the total population in 2008 (Internet World Stats, 2008). It was more than half of the citizens of Malaysia have used the internet and this has brought a great opportunity to the entrepreneur who would like to join this industry to be one of the online game service providers to share the profit since the number of internet users was increasing each year. It did not showed that the number of the online game subscribers but there is a business opportunity for the entrepreneur to start-up their business through online. Table 1.1: Internet Usage and Population Growth of Malaysia Year No. of Users Total Population % 2000 3, 700, 000 24, 645, 600 15.0% 2005 10, 040, 000 26, 500, 699 37.9% 2006 11, 016, 000 28, 294, 120 38.9% 2007 13, 528, 200 28, 294, 120 47.8% 2008 15, 868, 000 25, 274, 133 62.8% (Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/my.htm [2009, November 1]) A study showed that customer satisfaction is the immediate factor affecting the consumer retains loyalty (Cronin, Brady, and Hult, 2000). Most of the studies showed that higher levels of customer satisfaction will lead to customer loyalty. â€Å"A minor change in satisfaction could lead to a substantial change in loyalty increment† (Bowen and Chen, 2001). However, most of these studies were in offline environment. Wind and Rangasamy (2001) found that online environments offer more opportunities for interactive and personalized marketing. Eventually, these opportunities may influences customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the online environment if compared to the traditional market or offline environment (Shankar, Smith, and Rangaswamy, 2003). The main purpose of this study is to identify the factors affects the customer satisfaction towards online game services and which could lead to customer loyalty. It is including the service quality, transaction cost, experience value, and technology acceptance factor. These four antecedents of online game service satisfaction and loyalty will test associations based on the model that has been constructs. 1.2 Background of the Research In this century, computer might be a need for a person if compared to the olden days where there was a limited growth in technologies. Now, computer seems like a tool which can do everything for you such as searching information, payment, shopping, and so on. This powerful electrical appliance has gain a well response from the citizen of the world. It has many functions can perform through computer and one of the most popular functions of computer is gaming. In the earlier 2000s, most of the games were played offline since the limited internet connectivity and expensive prices to have an internet connectivity. However, this situation has changed due to the technologies advancements and the industry has achieved economic of scale. To more understand what online games is, it is a must to brief its history. The very first online gaming activities were introduced in the late of 1960s and early of 1970s. Later, they started gain more popularity within 1970s to 1980s when dial-up Bulletin Boards became popular and the users started playing online game over them. Clyde and Thomas (2008) stated that the development of arcade game in the 1970s, and video and computer games in the 1980s; digital games have become an influential part of popular culture. The bulletin boards provided a multi-user platform which allowed few users to play at the same time. Now, it has been transformed to MMORPG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) which is popular all around the world presently (Bizymoms.com). At one time, games were used for educational purpose rather than entertainment (Clyde and Thomas, 2008). However, due to the changed in the perception of game role and the culture, it becomes an entertainment but there is still has some of the game designers and educators used it as educational purposed such as learning typing skills and so on. In the year of 1990s, due to the growth of internet technologies of Flash and Java, it has led to the increasing usage of the internet and the millions of new websites mushrooming across the World Wide Web. When enter to the millennium year, technological giants such as Sony, Microsoft and Ninetendo came out with advanced gaming consoles has changed the features of online gaming completely (Bizymoms.com). The people all around can play a same game with each other virtually at the same time. Currently, online gaming industry is growing each year and it has a great expansion in future. The online game service is one of the most competitive industries among the entire industries. The new and the existing online game service provider are delivering their best services to gain more market share to sustain its organization. To penetrate the market, the firm must meet the customer expectation which may lead to customer satisfaction. Eventually, it may bring customer loyalty. 1.3 Research Problem Customer is the one who contribute the profit to the firm because they are the one who are using the product or services. However, consumers are becoming wisely now a day when they would like to use certain product or services. They will tend to purchase the product only if the product can meet their expectation which might lead to satisfaction. To meet the customer expectation, it is a biggest challenge for the firm. Other than that, the growth of the online game has brought some a major problem to the service provider which is how to retain the existing online game users and will not shifting to other service provider or loyalty to the current provider (Yang, Wu, Wang, 2009). In order to survive in this competitive industry, many practitioners and academicians in this field have focused on how to improve online services to attract potential buyers as well as the current customers (Jun, Yang, and Kim, 2004). There are some of the factors to achieve customer satisfaction. However, the key factors especially in online game services which are able to make the customer satisfied with the products and services still under study or unknown (Dick, Wellnitz, and Wolf, 2005). If the key factors have been determined, the provider might be able to gain the competitive advantages which trying to meet the customer expectation. This research is emphasizing the customer satisfaction and loyalty in online game service. Specifically, it is trying to identify the key factors affects online satisfaction and online loyalty in order to guide the online game service provider to improve their service quality to garb more potential customers and retain the existing one. 1.4 Research Objectives The objectives were formed based on the research problem and there are formulated to achieve the main goal of this study which is to examine the factors of affecting the online game satisfaction and loyalty. To determine service quality has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine transaction costs has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine technology acceptance factor has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine experience value has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine online game satisfaction would have a positive impact on online game loyalty. To determine service quality, transaction cost, technology acceptance factors, and experience value will affect online game satisfaction and eventually online game loyalty. 1.5 Justification of the Study This study is significant for several reasons. First, it can identify the gaps between customer expectation and perception about online game service provider in order to guide them to provide better services. â€Å"It is commonly known that there is a positive relationship between customer loyalty and profitability† (Bowen and Chen, 2001). It is correct once the customer is loyal to the company because they will visit the firm after a purchase and some even recommend to their friends. In the online environment, the online satisfaction also grabs much attention from all of the researchers because to meet a customer expectation is the toughest challenges to the company. Also, it brings the profitability and the survival of the company. Online game service provider should concern about the medium which may influenced the online game satisfaction and online game loyalty. The importance of the study is to keep the online game service improvement in order to achieve the customer satisfaction from time to time. In online environment, the customer can easily compared the alternative than offline customer especially products and service (Shankar et al., 2003). As in online environment, the user is free to search the information to the product that they demand. As well as online game, there is large amount of online game service provider. Therefore, the user can easily compared the features of the game and service quality that provided by the firm. Once the factor has a positive impact on online satisfaction has been determined, the service provider is able to strengthen their weaknesses in order to sustain its market share. Besides, the study is providing guidelines for the service provider to develop their future or long-term plan. The importance of the online game satisfaction will give a direction to the service provider to plan for their future such as strategic plan. It also helps the company to gain competitive advantages in this industry. Commonly, most of the studies regarding to customer satisfaction and loyalty were did for offline environment and only limited for online environment. However, consumers still have some same characteristics in making decision when they would like to purchase a product. As the study has identified the factors affect the customer satisfaction and loyalty, the firms are able to fulfill the users need and wants. This action is trying to meet the customer satisfaction and eventually customer loyalty. Once the customer become loyal, the company may survive in this competitive market. On the other hand, it is also will benefit the user to gain a better service from the online game service provider once they have responded to what they are percept towards the online game service provider that they currently subscribed. Also, the service provider is able to understand what kind of service quality that the users perceived and expected. It will leads to a win-win situation if both of the parties could perform what they are request and give. 1.6 Definition of Important Terms There are some important terms in this study: Online satisfaction, online loyalty, service quality, technology acceptance factors, transaction cost, and experiences value. Online Game Satisfaction Online game satisfaction is customer satisfaction towards online game service. Oliver (1980) defines customer satisfaction as customers evaluation of a product or service with regard to their needs and expectations. It is just in virtual environment perspectives. Online Game Loyalty Online game loyalty is customer loyalty towards online game service. It can be defined as â€Å"a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviuor† (Oliver, 1997). Service Quality Parasuraman, et al., (1988) defined service quality as â€Å"a global judgement, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service†, â€Å"and explicated it as involving evaluations of the outcomes (i.e., what customer actually receives from services) and process of service act (i.e., the manner in which service is delivered)† (Jain, and Gupta, 2004) Technology Acceptance Factors It is also known as technology acceptance model (TAM). Davis (1989) proposed TAM to explain and predict user acceptance of information systems (IS) or information technology (IT). In short, it is explaining â€Å"intention to use a technology† (Schepers and Wetzels, 2007). Transaction Cost It is a theory â€Å"seeks to explain why firms exist and how firm boundaries were determined† (Watjatrakul, 2005). Experience Value It refers to â€Å"shopping efficiency and making good product performance and functionality† (Wu and Liang, 2009). Wu and Liang (2009) added â€Å"its perceptions are based on interaction involving either direct usage or distant appreciation of goods or services†. MMORPG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) It is known as a virtual environment where it allows multiple geographically distributed users interact with each other at the same time (Papargyris and Poulymenakou, 2005). Besides, it is â€Å"offering an alternative channel for players to communicate, share experiences, socialize, and eventually from virtual communities† (Chee, Zaphiris, and Mahmood, 2007) Online Game Service It is a service provider who provides a server for the online game user to get into the network to interact with each other by playing games. 1.7 Organization of the Report This study will be constructed into five different chapters and there are: Chapter 1 is presenting the introduction and a brief overview of the study. The problems of the study, objectives of the study, significance of the study, and the chapter outline of the research are stated in this chapter. Chapter 2 provides an extensive review of international journals, reports, and articles from online and offline resources. Besides, all the reviews in this chapter are related to the problem of the research that will guide to construct the conceptual foundation and hypothesis of the study. Chapter 3 is describing the methods used in conducting this study in detail. Besides, it also presents the development of the research framework which proposed the relationship between dependent variables and independent variables. Next, the methodology applied is provided, sampling procedures, hypothesis development, data analysis and measurement. Chapter 4 presents the findings and data analysis of the research. It analyses and discussed the data collected in the research using the research instrument which has been developed in chapter 3. The hypothesis will be tested and it is also presents the results of statistical analysis used in this study (t-test, ANOVA, and etc.). Chapter 5 is presenting the conclusion and recommendation. There is also discussion of the studys implications, recommendations, limitations and suggestion for the future research. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction Chapter 1 has discussed and highlighted the important issues which related online game service satisfaction and loyalty. All of these issues that mentioned in the chapter 1 are playing an important role for online game service industry in order to understand the expectation of the user and eventually grab more market share. As a result, to more understanding these issues, an examination of literature on related study were carried out. Generally, literature review provides the theoretical basis for the development of the research framework of this study, which will be discuss in the next chapter Chapter 3. This chapter consists of the following subject areas: (1) Definition of key terms; (2) online game satisfaction; (3) online game loyalty; (4) the factors might affect online satisfaction and loyalty; and (5) summary of literature review. 2.2 Definition of Key Terms 2.2.1 Online Game Service As technologies have became more advance, people have more rely on the technologies and they even expect technology will do all the things for us. Now, most of the people are prefer online rather than offline when they would like to purchase or acknowledge a transaction. In the olden day around 1980 where the technology has a limited growth, people can only play games in offline environment such as TV and handheld game console (Nintendo). In the late 1980s computer game was invented and started popular. Currently, computer games have been transformed into MMORPG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) which is popular all around the world (Bizymoms.com). Besides, the multi-player online role-playing games also known as Net games (Lo, Wang, and Fang, 2005). Generally, net game can be divided into three which is web games, network games, and online games. The below is the definition of this three types of net games. Table 2.1 Types of Net Games Types Definition Players Web games Games which use a website as an interface. Players must register to play. Network games Games which allow multiple players to use their own PCs to interact via Local Area Networks (LANs) or the internet. Also, many of these closely resemble PC games. Players must purchase and install game software. However, it does not require any fees beyond those for internet connections. Online games Games where require players to connect to the service provider and log in to a server. Player must subscribe to the service provider and select a role to interact with other virtual roles. Source: Lo, 2008 Online game is requiring player to log in to a server in order to play the games. It is means that the players must have internet connection to connect with the service provider. After the player subscribe to the games, the user has to select a role to interact with the rest of the subscribers. The special characteristic of online game is the user can continue to play their role after they have log out for few days. The player can keep continue playing where they have stopped when they have log out last time with the experiences and assets are remain. Online game user must install a client program for internet connection and online game providers to attend the online game (Lo, 2008). This program is inexpensive and sometimes even free. However, there are some need additional fees are paid to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) (Lo, 2008). Commonly, the charges of online game is based on the time where the player spent to playing games and usually it is prepaid which pay before they play the games. Due to the technology advancement and the cheaper price for paying the internet connectivity, consumers are more easily to connect to the internet and playing online game. This golden business opportunity has been attracted lots of firms entered to this industry. Online game service is the company which provides a server for the players in order to play game with others. The company main activities is improve the performance of the online game also maintenance of the server to avoid any shut-down or system down of the server. There are some features have attracted lots of people subscribe to online game and the number of players is keep increasing each day. The online games allow the player to build the role based on their preference, beliefs, goal, or other factors and most of the time the players play it in a team (Klang, 2004). The features in the online games has play an important role in order to gain more subscriber and also some other factors. 2.3 Online Game Loyalty In general, loyalty can be defined as faithful. However, in terms of customer loyalty, it is hard to define (Bowen ad Chen, 2001). Dennis (2003) stated that loyalty is the feeling where a customer has about a brand. This could be explained as the customer has a positive perception about the brand and this brand will always come in the first of the mind of this particular consumer if compared to the other firms which have offer the same service or product. Edvarson, Johnson, Gustafsson and Strandvik (2000) define loyalty as a customers intention to repurchase from the same firm again. On the other hand, loyalty can be measured in three distinctive approaches and there are behavioural measurements, attitudinal measurements, and composite measurements (Bowen and Chen, 2001). Behavioural measurements can be defined as consistent, repetitious purchase behaviuor as an indicator of loyalty. For example, if the customer is often and repeat visit the same firm and purchase the product from the firm can be said as loyalty under the behavioural measurement. Next, attitudinal measurements can be defined as used attitudinal data to reflect the emotional and psychological attachment inherent in loyalty. Lets put it in a situation where a consumer holds a favourable attitude toward an online game service provider, but it is not necessary that consumer will subscribe o this service provider. It might be expensive to the consumer but the consumer will recommend it to others since he holds a favourable attitude towards the service provider (Toh, Hu, and Withiam, 1993). Composite approach is the combination of the first two dimensions and measure loyalty by customers products preferences, propensity of brand-switching, frequency of purchase, recency of purchase and total amount of purchase (Pritchard and Howard, 1997). This approach is valuable tool to understand customer loyalty in several fields such as retailing, upscale hotels and airlines (Pritchard and Howard, 1997). Many of the researchers and also in common think that loyalty is generating positive and measurable financial results (Dennis, 2003). In short, there is a positive relationship between loyalty and profit (Bowen and Chen, 2001). When a company is able to retain 5 percent more of its customers, consequently, profits will increase 25 percent to 125 percent (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). The impact of loyalty has played an important role for the profit of the company. Based on the reasons mentioned above, online game loyalty (customer loyalty) is the independent variable for this study. On the past studies showed that online customer loyalty is result from customer satisfaction with the e-commerce channel. Also, the online satisfaction has the positive impact on online loyalty is the proved in the context of electronic commerce (Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003; Rodgers, Negash, and Suk, 2005. As proposed by Yang et al. (2009), online loyalty is the final result of their study. For this study, online loyalty is defined as a customers favaourable attitude and commitment towards online game service provider that results in sustaining in the same service provider which based on the study of Yang et al. (2009). Hence, this study is proposing online loyalty as the dependent variable. 2.4 Online Game Satisfaction Satisfaction is the â€Å"overall customer attitude towards a service provider† (Levesque and McDougall, 1996). Oliver (1980) defined customer satisfaction as customers evaluations of a product or service based on their needs and expectations. In the other way, it is an emotional customer anticipates and what they receive (Zineldin, 2000). Customer satisfaction could be the big challenges for all the firms and to satisfy the customer expectation is not an easy job because customers are human being who has a complex mind. As a human being, we have different characteristics and different expectation. Some people might expect a basic service from the service provider but some might expect a high service from the service provider. When people would like to defined something which involve human attitude, it is hard to find a common or universal definition. Gerpott, Rams, and Schindler (2001) proposed satisfaction is based on the customers estimated experience of the extent when the service provider is able to fulfill customers expectations. There are some benefits of customer satisfaction and the major benefits of customer satisfaction is stay loyal longer (Zineldin, 2000; Hansemark and Albinsson, 2004). Besides, Hansemark and Albinsson (2004) stated that satisfied customer are relatively less price sensitive, tend to purchase additional products, and they are relatively hard influenced by the competitors. They proposed many company view customer satisfaction as the crucial to a companys survival and must be satisfied those customer all the time as the company has been promised them. In general, much research no matter in offline environment or online environment, customer satisfaction is not really a new concept and lots of research efforts have been made to understand its antecedents and consequences (Bai, Law, and Wen, 2008). To assess a firms productivity and its marketing performance, the measures of perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty was being used (Cortina, Elorz, and Villanueva, 2004). Besides, the great number of study of customer satisfaction is because its potential influence on consumer behavioral intention and customer retention (Cronin, Brady, Hult, 2000; Yang et al., 2009). A study of online retailing stated that satisfied customer tend to have higher usage of service and have stronger repurchase intention (Kim, Jin, and Swiney, 2008). Also, this particular customer will often recommend the product or service to their friends than those who are not satisfied (Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman, 1996; Kim et al., 2008). Anderson and Srinivasan (2003) have investigated the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in the context of e-commerce. They concluded that online satisfaction has an impact on online loyalty. However, they also stated that the relationship is just moderated both by consumers individual factors and firms business factors. However, the relationship between online satisfaction and online loyalty also has been found in numerous studies (Yang et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2008; Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003; Rodgers et al., 2005). Hence, this study is going to propose online satisfaction might have a positive effect on online loyalty. 2.4.1 Online game satisfaction as a mediator Online game satisfaction will be the mediator between the online game loyalty and its determinants which are service quality, transaction cost, technology acceptance factor, and experience value. As proposed by Yang et al., 2009, service quality, transaction cost, and experience value will influence on online game satisfaction. However, this study is going to propose another antecedent which is technology acceptance factors which based on the studies of Lin and Sun, 2009; Hsu and Lu, 2003. In this model, online game satisfaction is a function of the four antecedents operating in a situation and helps to explain the influence of the antecedents on online game loyalty. As prior mentioned that online satisfaction has an impact on online loyalty, but, there are some factors might influence online satisfaction before it comes to online loyalty. To achieve the online satisfaction, the online game service providers have to meet the expectation of the consumer in some of the aspects as the four antecedents. Yang et al., 2009 stated that rare research examines the moderating effects of customer satisfaction in an integrated loyalty model and less formally tests that online game satisfaction in the online game service environment. Therefore, in this study, it proposes online game satisfaction as the mediator between the four antecedents and online game loyalty. The below table is to shows that the selected empirical research on determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty (online). Table 2.2: Selected empirical research on determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty (online) Independent Variables Key References Context Service Quality (SERVQUAL) Yang et al., (2009) Lin and Sun (2009) Lee and Lin (2005) Santos (2003) Online Game Service Online Shopping Online Shopping e-Service Quality Technology Acceptance Factors Lin and Sun (2009) Hsu and Lu (2003) Online Shopping Online Game Transaction Cost Yang et al., (2009) Liang and Huang (1998) Online Game Service Electronic M Factors of Affecting Online Game Satisfaction Factors of Affecting Online Game Satisfaction CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Online gaming is one of the most popular entertainments among the citizen in this world no matter what ages they are. Due to the advancement in the technologies, it has brought lots of growth in this industry since early of 2000s. This growth has been developed online game market into the core of the world cultural industry (Sang, Yung, Jae, and Kyoung, 2004). Hsu and Lu (2003) stated that online game service has been a highly profitable e-commerce application in recent years and its market value has increasing markedly as well as number of player growth at the same time. Now a day, most of the household will owned at least one personal computer (PC) or a laptop and some even more than that due to the cheaper cost to have a computer. Consequently, the demand for computer has been grown rapidly throughout this recent year. The accessibility of internet also is easier with each passing year and the cheaper price to have broadband internet connectivity (Bizymoms.com). Generally, online game service can be categorized as business-to-consumer or B2C in e-commerce and it is also one the videogame and interactive entertainment industry. A strategic market research and consulting firm which focuses on the interactive entertainment and the emerging video game, online game, interactive entertainment and portable game markets namely, DFC Intelligence has made its forecast for worldwide videogame and interactive entertainment industry each year since year 1995. According to DFC Intelligence forecast on year 2008, the worldwide videogame and interactive entertainment industry revenue to reach USD 57 billion in 2009 with no signs of slowing due to the slumping economies and expensive hardware (Androvich, 2008). The rapid growth in videogame and interactive entertainment industry has been attracted lots of entrepreneur who would like to enter this profitable industry. Based on the report of DFC, PC was the top platform for games in 2007, with online game revenue alone eclipsing USD 7 billion on year 2006 and not including retail sales. The DFC also stated the total PC game revenue is expected to reach USD 19 billion by year 2013 (Androvich, 2008). In Malaysia, there were 15 million subscriber of internet and it was 62.8% out of the total population in 2008 (Internet World Stats, 2008). It was more than half of the citizens of Malaysia have used the internet and this has brought a great opportunity to the entrepreneur who would like to join this industry to be one of the online game service providers to share the profit since the number of internet users was increasing each year. It did not showed that the number of the online game subscribers but there is a business opportunity for the entrepreneur to start-up their business through online. Table 1.1: Internet Usage and Population Growth of Malaysia Year No. of Users Total Population % 2000 3, 700, 000 24, 645, 600 15.0% 2005 10, 040, 000 26, 500, 699 37.9% 2006 11, 016, 000 28, 294, 120 38.9% 2007 13, 528, 200 28, 294, 120 47.8% 2008 15, 868, 000 25, 274, 133 62.8% (Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/my.htm [2009, November 1]) A study showed that customer satisfaction is the immediate factor affecting the consumer retains loyalty (Cronin, Brady, and Hult, 2000). Most of the studies showed that higher levels of customer satisfaction will lead to customer loyalty. â€Å"A minor change in satisfaction could lead to a substantial change in loyalty increment† (Bowen and Chen, 2001). However, most of these studies were in offline environment. Wind and Rangasamy (2001) found that online environments offer more opportunities for interactive and personalized marketing. Eventually, these opportunities may influences customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the online environment if compared to the traditional market or offline environment (Shankar, Smith, and Rangaswamy, 2003). The main purpose of this study is to identify the factors affects the customer satisfaction towards online game services and which could lead to customer loyalty. It is including the service quality, transaction cost, experience value, and technology acceptance factor. These four antecedents of online game service satisfaction and loyalty will test associations based on the model that has been constructs. 1.2 Background of the Research In this century, computer might be a need for a person if compared to the olden days where there was a limited growth in technologies. Now, computer seems like a tool which can do everything for you such as searching information, payment, shopping, and so on. This powerful electrical appliance has gain a well response from the citizen of the world. It has many functions can perform through computer and one of the most popular functions of computer is gaming. In the earlier 2000s, most of the games were played offline since the limited internet connectivity and expensive prices to have an internet connectivity. However, this situation has changed due to the technologies advancements and the industry has achieved economic of scale. To more understand what online games is, it is a must to brief its history. The very first online gaming activities were introduced in the late of 1960s and early of 1970s. Later, they started gain more popularity within 1970s to 1980s when dial-up Bulletin Boards became popular and the users started playing online game over them. Clyde and Thomas (2008) stated that the development of arcade game in the 1970s, and video and computer games in the 1980s; digital games have become an influential part of popular culture. The bulletin boards provided a multi-user platform which allowed few users to play at the same time. Now, it has been transformed to MMORPG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) which is popular all around the world presently (Bizymoms.com). At one time, games were used for educational purpose rather than entertainment (Clyde and Thomas, 2008). However, due to the changed in the perception of game role and the culture, it becomes an entertainment but there is still has some of the game designers and educators used it as educational purposed such as learning typing skills and so on. In the year of 1990s, due to the growth of internet technologies of Flash and Java, it has led to the increasing usage of the internet and the millions of new websites mushrooming across the World Wide Web. When enter to the millennium year, technological giants such as Sony, Microsoft and Ninetendo came out with advanced gaming consoles has changed the features of online gaming completely (Bizymoms.com). The people all around can play a same game with each other virtually at the same time. Currently, online gaming industry is growing each year and it has a great expansion in future. The online game service is one of the most competitive industries among the entire industries. The new and the existing online game service provider are delivering their best services to gain more market share to sustain its organization. To penetrate the market, the firm must meet the customer expectation which may lead to customer satisfaction. Eventually, it may bring customer loyalty. 1.3 Research Problem Customer is the one who contribute the profit to the firm because they are the one who are using the product or services. However, consumers are becoming wisely now a day when they would like to use certain product or services. They will tend to purchase the product only if the product can meet their expectation which might lead to satisfaction. To meet the customer expectation, it is a biggest challenge for the firm. Other than that, the growth of the online game has brought some a major problem to the service provider which is how to retain the existing online game users and will not shifting to other service provider or loyalty to the current provider (Yang, Wu, Wang, 2009). In order to survive in this competitive industry, many practitioners and academicians in this field have focused on how to improve online services to attract potential buyers as well as the current customers (Jun, Yang, and Kim, 2004). There are some of the factors to achieve customer satisfaction. However, the key factors especially in online game services which are able to make the customer satisfied with the products and services still under study or unknown (Dick, Wellnitz, and Wolf, 2005). If the key factors have been determined, the provider might be able to gain the competitive advantages which trying to meet the customer expectation. This research is emphasizing the customer satisfaction and loyalty in online game service. Specifically, it is trying to identify the key factors affects online satisfaction and online loyalty in order to guide the online game service provider to improve their service quality to garb more potential customers and retain the existing one. 1.4 Research Objectives The objectives were formed based on the research problem and there are formulated to achieve the main goal of this study which is to examine the factors of affecting the online game satisfaction and loyalty. To determine service quality has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine transaction costs has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine technology acceptance factor has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine experience value has a positive impact towards online game satisfaction. To determine online game satisfaction would have a positive impact on online game loyalty. To determine service quality, transaction cost, technology acceptance factors, and experience value will affect online game satisfaction and eventually online game loyalty. 1.5 Justification of the Study This study is significant for several reasons. First, it can identify the gaps between customer expectation and perception about online game service provider in order to guide them to provide better services. â€Å"It is commonly known that there is a positive relationship between customer loyalty and profitability† (Bowen and Chen, 2001). It is correct once the customer is loyal to the company because they will visit the firm after a purchase and some even recommend to their friends. In the online environment, the online satisfaction also grabs much attention from all of the researchers because to meet a customer expectation is the toughest challenges to the company. Also, it brings the profitability and the survival of the company. Online game service provider should concern about the medium which may influenced the online game satisfaction and online game loyalty. The importance of the study is to keep the online game service improvement in order to achieve the customer satisfaction from time to time. In online environment, the customer can easily compared the alternative than offline customer especially products and service (Shankar et al., 2003). As in online environment, the user is free to search the information to the product that they demand. As well as online game, there is large amount of online game service provider. Therefore, the user can easily compared the features of the game and service quality that provided by the firm. Once the factor has a positive impact on online satisfaction has been determined, the service provider is able to strengthen their weaknesses in order to sustain its market share. Besides, the study is providing guidelines for the service provider to develop their future or long-term plan. The importance of the online game satisfaction will give a direction to the service provider to plan for their future such as strategic plan. It also helps the company to gain competitive advantages in this industry. Commonly, most of the studies regarding to customer satisfaction and loyalty were did for offline environment and only limited for online environment. However, consumers still have some same characteristics in making decision when they would like to purchase a product. As the study has identified the factors affect the customer satisfaction and loyalty, the firms are able to fulfill the users need and wants. This action is trying to meet the customer satisfaction and eventually customer loyalty. Once the customer become loyal, the company may survive in this competitive market. On the other hand, it is also will benefit the user to gain a better service from the online game service provider once they have responded to what they are percept towards the online game service provider that they currently subscribed. Also, the service provider is able to understand what kind of service quality that the users perceived and expected. It will leads to a win-win situation if both of the parties could perform what they are request and give. 1.6 Definition of Important Terms There are some important terms in this study: Online satisfaction, online loyalty, service quality, technology acceptance factors, transaction cost, and experiences value. Online Game Satisfaction Online game satisfaction is customer satisfaction towards online game service. Oliver (1980) defines customer satisfaction as customers evaluation of a product or service with regard to their needs and expectations. It is just in virtual environment perspectives. Online Game Loyalty Online game loyalty is customer loyalty towards online game service. It can be defined as â€Å"a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviuor† (Oliver, 1997). Service Quality Parasuraman, et al., (1988) defined service quality as â€Å"a global judgement, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service†, â€Å"and explicated it as involving evaluations of the outcomes (i.e., what customer actually receives from services) and process of service act (i.e., the manner in which service is delivered)† (Jain, and Gupta, 2004) Technology Acceptance Factors It is also known as technology acceptance model (TAM). Davis (1989) proposed TAM to explain and predict user acceptance of information systems (IS) or information technology (IT). In short, it is explaining â€Å"intention to use a technology† (Schepers and Wetzels, 2007). Transaction Cost It is a theory â€Å"seeks to explain why firms exist and how firm boundaries were determined† (Watjatrakul, 2005). Experience Value It refers to â€Å"shopping efficiency and making good product performance and functionality† (Wu and Liang, 2009). Wu and Liang (2009) added â€Å"its perceptions are based on interaction involving either direct usage or distant appreciation of goods or services†. MMORPG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) It is known as a virtual environment where it allows multiple geographically distributed users interact with each other at the same time (Papargyris and Poulymenakou, 2005). Besides, it is â€Å"offering an alternative channel for players to communicate, share experiences, socialize, and eventually from virtual communities† (Chee, Zaphiris, and Mahmood, 2007) Online Game Service It is a service provider who provides a server for the online game user to get into the network to interact with each other by playing games. 1.7 Organization of the Report This study will be constructed into five different chapters and there are: Chapter 1 is presenting the introduction and a brief overview of the study. The problems of the study, objectives of the study, significance of the study, and the chapter outline of the research are stated in this chapter. Chapter 2 provides an extensive review of international journals, reports, and articles from online and offline resources. Besides, all the reviews in this chapter are related to the problem of the research that will guide to construct the conceptual foundation and hypothesis of the study. Chapter 3 is describing the methods used in conducting this study in detail. Besides, it also presents the development of the research framework which proposed the relationship between dependent variables and independent variables. Next, the methodology applied is provided, sampling procedures, hypothesis development, data analysis and measurement. Chapter 4 presents the findings and data analysis of the research. It analyses and discussed the data collected in the research using the research instrument which has been developed in chapter 3. The hypothesis will be tested and it is also presents the results of statistical analysis used in this study (t-test, ANOVA, and etc.). Chapter 5 is presenting the conclusion and recommendation. There is also discussion of the studys implications, recommendations, limitations and suggestion for the future research. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction Chapter 1 has discussed and highlighted the important issues which related online game service satisfaction and loyalty. All of these issues that mentioned in the chapter 1 are playing an important role for online game service industry in order to understand the expectation of the user and eventually grab more market share. As a result, to more understanding these issues, an examination of literature on related study were carried out. Generally, literature review provides the theoretical basis for the development of the research framework of this study, which will be discuss in the next chapter Chapter 3. This chapter consists of the following subject areas: (1) Definition of key terms; (2) online game satisfaction; (3) online game loyalty; (4) the factors might affect online satisfaction and loyalty; and (5) summary of literature review. 2.2 Definition of Key Terms 2.2.1 Online Game Service As technologies have became more advance, people have more rely on the technologies and they even expect technology will do all the things for us. Now, most of the people are prefer online rather than offline when they would like to purchase or acknowledge a transaction. In the olden day around 1980 where the technology has a limited growth, people can only play games in offline environment such as TV and handheld game console (Nintendo). In the late 1980s computer game was invented and started popular. Currently, computer games have been transformed into MMORPG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) which is popular all around the world (Bizymoms.com). Besides, the multi-player online role-playing games also known as Net games (Lo, Wang, and Fang, 2005). Generally, net game can be divided into three which is web games, network games, and online games. The below is the definition of this three types of net games. Table 2.1 Types of Net Games Types Definition Players Web games Games which use a website as an interface. Players must register to play. Network games Games which allow multiple players to use their own PCs to interact via Local Area Networks (LANs) or the internet. Also, many of these closely resemble PC games. Players must purchase and install game software. However, it does not require any fees beyond those for internet connections. Online games Games where require players to connect to the service provider and log in to a server. Player must subscribe to the service provider and select a role to interact with other virtual roles. Source: Lo, 2008 Online game is requiring player to log in to a server in order to play the games. It is means that the players must have internet connection to connect with the service provider. After the player subscribe to the games, the user has to select a role to interact with the rest of the subscribers. The special characteristic of online game is the user can continue to play their role after they have log out for few days. The player can keep continue playing where they have stopped when they have log out last time with the experiences and assets are remain. Online game user must install a client program for internet connection and online game providers to attend the online game (Lo, 2008). This program is inexpensive and sometimes even free. However, there are some need additional fees are paid to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) (Lo, 2008). Commonly, the charges of online game is based on the time where the player spent to playing games and usually it is prepaid which pay before they play the games. Due to the technology advancement and the cheaper price for paying the internet connectivity, consumers are more easily to connect to the internet and playing online game. This golden business opportunity has been attracted lots of firms entered to this industry. Online game service is the company which provides a server for the players in order to play game with others. The company main activities is improve the performance of the online game also maintenance of the server to avoid any shut-down or system down of the server. There are some features have attracted lots of people subscribe to online game and the number of players is keep increasing each day. The online games allow the player to build the role based on their preference, beliefs, goal, or other factors and most of the time the players play it in a team (Klang, 2004). The features in the online games has play an important role in order to gain more subscriber and also some other factors. 2.3 Online Game Loyalty In general, loyalty can be defined as faithful. However, in terms of customer loyalty, it is hard to define (Bowen ad Chen, 2001). Dennis (2003) stated that loyalty is the feeling where a customer has about a brand. This could be explained as the customer has a positive perception about the brand and this brand will always come in the first of the mind of this particular consumer if compared to the other firms which have offer the same service or product. Edvarson, Johnson, Gustafsson and Strandvik (2000) define loyalty as a customers intention to repurchase from the same firm again. On the other hand, loyalty can be measured in three distinctive approaches and there are behavioural measurements, attitudinal measurements, and composite measurements (Bowen and Chen, 2001). Behavioural measurements can be defined as consistent, repetitious purchase behaviuor as an indicator of loyalty. For example, if the customer is often and repeat visit the same firm and purchase the product from the firm can be said as loyalty under the behavioural measurement. Next, attitudinal measurements can be defined as used attitudinal data to reflect the emotional and psychological attachment inherent in loyalty. Lets put it in a situation where a consumer holds a favourable attitude toward an online game service provider, but it is not necessary that consumer will subscribe o this service provider. It might be expensive to the consumer but the consumer will recommend it to others since he holds a favourable attitude towards the service provider (Toh, Hu, and Withiam, 1993). Composite approach is the combination of the first two dimensions and measure loyalty by customers products preferences, propensity of brand-switching, frequency of purchase, recency of purchase and total amount of purchase (Pritchard and Howard, 1997). This approach is valuable tool to understand customer loyalty in several fields such as retailing, upscale hotels and airlines (Pritchard and Howard, 1997). Many of the researchers and also in common think that loyalty is generating positive and measurable financial results (Dennis, 2003). In short, there is a positive relationship between loyalty and profit (Bowen and Chen, 2001). When a company is able to retain 5 percent more of its customers, consequently, profits will increase 25 percent to 125 percent (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). The impact of loyalty has played an important role for the profit of the company. Based on the reasons mentioned above, online game loyalty (customer loyalty) is the independent variable for this study. On the past studies showed that online customer loyalty is result from customer satisfaction with the e-commerce channel. Also, the online satisfaction has the positive impact on online loyalty is the proved in the context of electronic commerce (Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003; Rodgers, Negash, and Suk, 2005. As proposed by Yang et al. (2009), online loyalty is the final result of their study. For this study, online loyalty is defined as a customers favaourable attitude and commitment towards online game service provider that results in sustaining in the same service provider which based on the study of Yang et al. (2009). Hence, this study is proposing online loyalty as the dependent variable. 2.4 Online Game Satisfaction Satisfaction is the â€Å"overall customer attitude towards a service provider† (Levesque and McDougall, 1996). Oliver (1980) defined customer satisfaction as customers evaluations of a product or service based on their needs and expectations. In the other way, it is an emotional customer anticipates and what they receive (Zineldin, 2000). Customer satisfaction could be the big challenges for all the firms and to satisfy the customer expectation is not an easy job because customers are human being who has a complex mind. As a human being, we have different characteristics and different expectation. Some people might expect a basic service from the service provider but some might expect a high service from the service provider. When people would like to defined something which involve human attitude, it is hard to find a common or universal definition. Gerpott, Rams, and Schindler (2001) proposed satisfaction is based on the customers estimated experience of the extent when the service provider is able to fulfill customers expectations. There are some benefits of customer satisfaction and the major benefits of customer satisfaction is stay loyal longer (Zineldin, 2000; Hansemark and Albinsson, 2004). Besides, Hansemark and Albinsson (2004) stated that satisfied customer are relatively less price sensitive, tend to purchase additional products, and they are relatively hard influenced by the competitors. They proposed many company view customer satisfaction as the crucial to a companys survival and must be satisfied those customer all the time as the company has been promised them. In general, much research no matter in offline environment or online environment, customer satisfaction is not really a new concept and lots of research efforts have been made to understand its antecedents and consequences (Bai, Law, and Wen, 2008). To assess a firms productivity and its marketing performance, the measures of perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty was being used (Cortina, Elorz, and Villanueva, 2004). Besides, the great number of study of customer satisfaction is because its potential influence on consumer behavioral intention and customer retention (Cronin, Brady, Hult, 2000; Yang et al., 2009). A study of online retailing stated that satisfied customer tend to have higher usage of service and have stronger repurchase intention (Kim, Jin, and Swiney, 2008). Also, this particular customer will often recommend the product or service to their friends than those who are not satisfied (Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman, 1996; Kim et al., 2008). Anderson and Srinivasan (2003) have investigated the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in the context of e-commerce. They concluded that online satisfaction has an impact on online loyalty. However, they also stated that the relationship is just moderated both by consumers individual factors and firms business factors. However, the relationship between online satisfaction and online loyalty also has been found in numerous studies (Yang et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2008; Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003; Rodgers et al., 2005). Hence, this study is going to propose online satisfaction might have a positive effect on online loyalty. 2.4.1 Online game satisfaction as a mediator Online game satisfaction will be the mediator between the online game loyalty and its determinants which are service quality, transaction cost, technology acceptance factor, and experience value. As proposed by Yang et al., 2009, service quality, transaction cost, and experience value will influence on online game satisfaction. However, this study is going to propose another antecedent which is technology acceptance factors which based on the studies of Lin and Sun, 2009; Hsu and Lu, 2003. In this model, online game satisfaction is a function of the four antecedents operating in a situation and helps to explain the influence of the antecedents on online game loyalty. As prior mentioned that online satisfaction has an impact on online loyalty, but, there are some factors might influence online satisfaction before it comes to online loyalty. To achieve the online satisfaction, the online game service providers have to meet the expectation of the consumer in some of the aspects as the four antecedents. Yang et al., 2009 stated that rare research examines the moderating effects of customer satisfaction in an integrated loyalty model and less formally tests that online game satisfaction in the online game service environment. Therefore, in this study, it proposes online game satisfaction as the mediator between the four antecedents and online game loyalty. The below table is to shows that the selected empirical research on determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty (online). Table 2.2: Selected empirical research on determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty (online) Independent Variables Key References Context Service Quality (SERVQUAL) Yang et al., (2009) Lin and Sun (2009) Lee and Lin (2005) Santos (2003) Online Game Service Online Shopping Online Shopping e-Service Quality Technology Acceptance Factors Lin and Sun (2009) Hsu and Lu (2003) Online Shopping Online Game Transaction Cost Yang et al., (2009) Liang and Huang (1998) Online Game Service Electronic M