Where Is the Diversity in America Today

The fantasy of a various America must be one of the most principal methods of reasoning on which our nation has been constructed. From the main gathering of explorers that arrived at Plymouth Rock, to the thousands that move to America consistently, they all despite everything put stock in a similar dream that the pioneers had when they came to America. The Dream that regardless of what their racial, strict, or social foundation and convictions are they can discover riches and bliss in America. This way of thinking was essential to such an extent that our Founding Fathers needed to make reference to it in the Constitution. However about two and half hundreds of years after the fact where is that assorted variety in America today? It appears that even with the number of inhabitants in America at more than 300 million today we are as yet like the principal gatherings of Pilgrims, substance to remain inside our own little gatherings. As a cognizant America we talk a decent game, anyway when we return home around evening time our inner mind dominates, and we retreat into that safe place inside our gathering. American’s ought to concede that they truly don’t care about any other person aside from themselves. They should quit imagining that they do, except if they can in reality live by the model that our cognizant psyche has us maintain. As indicated by the 2000 Census report the composite of races in America today are fundamentally 75% White, 12. 3% Black, 12. 5% Hispanic or Latino, with Native Americans and different races making up the remainder of our populace. One can see from these numbers that it would be exceptionally simple to isolate into racial gatherings and to live inside one gathering. The Columbia Encyclopedia’s unsigned paper on race which happens to be titled Race brings up how we characterize bunches carefully by our physical attributes and even contends that the term race is a wrong term; Race says that numerous physical anthropologists accept: â€Å"The term race is unseemly when applied to national, strict, geographic, semantic or ethnic gatherings, nor can the natural standards of race be likened with any psychological qualities, for example, insight, character, or character. (263). Still those social differentiations like living with your own race, having every one of your companions of a similar race and foundation, and even perhaps the individuals who are just in a similar expense section or instructive level win in our general public today, and isn't just normal for individuals to float towards a safe place that they find inside themselves and their condition? The appropriate response would need to be indeed, this implies certain social differentiations do in certainty make a difference. There is Religion in America today, which may not be seen as one of those significant elements of our social make-up as it once might have been, however when we investigate the populace numbers which purport that Christians and of different strict convictions are in the dominant part that make up Americans today; we do need to let it out plays a significant job. Presumably not as much as in Europe or in some different nations, yet Religion is a significant factor none the less. As indicated by the U. S. Evaluation Bureau we have a grown-up populace of: around 207 million, roughly 159 million are Christians, roughly 8 million in different religions, and around 29 million who put stock in some different option from a predetermined religion. With this information we can see that most of America’s social make-up is without a doubt Christian. This gives the American culture quite certain perspectives and customs. Since religion is one of those key convictions that established our nation it is anything but difficult to perceive how it turns into a main consideration in deciding how we act and live in our general public today. The realities are that your social foundation can foreordain your future. David Brooks, a senior editorial manager for The Weekly Standard and who distributes much of the time in Atlantic Monthly, Newsweek, and The New York Times, says all that needs to be said in one of his expositions People Like Us, when he says: â€Å"Human creatures are fit for drawing incredibly inconspicuous social differentiations and afterward forming their lives around them. (253). Really we shape our lives dependent on our condition and our convictions that are recognizable to us and we are raised inside. That is the reason individuals will in general remain with their own gathering dependent on the shade of their skin, strict convictions, and social foundation. We see it regularly in our cognizant life, where we go to work, school, shop, or unwind. All these are impacted by those inconspicuous social differentiations that make up our lives. Bringing these realities together, we can just presume that man is a determined being. One driven by his condition, and that just by the karma of the social financial condition they were naturally introduced to predetermines generally where they will live, work, and furthermore which religion they will decide to follow. We can nearly venture to decide the duty section into which they will fall. So when is America going to wake and understand that the best way to discover decent variety is to gone to some fair compromise with our cognizant and subliminal brain? Change that isn't to emotional, yet change none the less, is by all accounts the main answer.

The Impact of the Fast Food Industry on America Essay -- health, diet,

â€Å"In twentieth-extremely old Earth, an inexpensive food chain took dead cow meat, seared it in oil, included cancer-causing agents, enclosed it by oil based froth, and sold 900 billion units. People. Go figure.† ― Dan Simmons, Hyperion Cheap food is the wellspring of weight in America and causes wellbeing and ecological issues all through the world. Worldwide impacts of the cheap food industry are appeared in the medical issues in the public arena today. The modest creation of meat and grains for the cheap food industry cause mischief to the earth, people, and creatures. The inexpensive food that is expended isn't just terrible for the soundness of individuals yet additionally for the earth. The inexpensive food industry’s broad publicizing through TV, radio, papers, boards, and supporting contact all individuals in a procedure to persuade customers that their food is solid and accessible to everybody. Cheap food menu’s depend on meat which originates from butchered creatures that are reproduced exclusively for the inexpensive food industry. These creatures give undesirable, calorie filled, and artificially adapted substance. Meat is most of all food contamination episodes because of the modest creati on strategies to get the food to the food to general society at low costs and huge segments. The cheap food industry makes individuals expend enormous segments of undesirable food that impacts all parts of life including wellbeing and natural issues that emerge from the accessibility of inexpensive food. Eating undesirable is something that is known to add to weight gain. Recognizing what to eat and what not to eat is something a great many people don't think about when halting by a drive-through eatery for an advantageous feast pressed loaded with calories. Kids, adolescents, and grown-ups are all p... ...ollution from creature reproducing and defecation. The inexpensive food industry promotes in would like to contact all individuals and picking up their faithfulness. Individuals use food as intends to remain full, go through minimal expenditure, and fulfill themselves. Youngsters and grown-ups are completely focused with low costs, snappy melodies, and children dinners. Cheap food menu’s depend on meat from creatures that are reproduced exclusively for inexpensive food ventures. Inexpensive food is unfortunate, excessively assigned, and not worth an existence of medical issues. Most customers buy meat that is most of all food contamination episodes. Eating inexpensive food is modest strategies to get at low costs and huge bits. The cheap food industry makes individuals over eat unfortunate food that impacts life of one another just as creatures and the earth. Wellbeing and ecological issues emerge from the accessibility, commercial, and creation of cheap food.

Is Virginia Woolfs THE WAVES a Beach Read

Is Virginia Woolfs THE WAVES a Beach Read V. Dubs and I In Edward Albees play Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, one of the characters sings Whos afraid of Virginia Woolf? to the tune of Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Whenever I see that play or watch the movie, I want to jump to my feet and sing back, Me! I am afraid of Virginia Woolf! I have a tumultuous, reading relationship with Ms. Woolf, or V. Dubs as my college friends and I unceremoniously dubbed her while studying abroad in Bath, England. I signed up for a Virginia Woolf class envisioning that I would open my mind to an author who pioneered experimental writing, stream of consciousness, and feminist essays. The study trip to Monks House (Woolfs house and gardens) also wooed me. On the first day of class, our smartly-dressed professor walked into the room and announced that, in order to honor the work of Virginia Woolf, he planned to teach each class in an unconventional way. He began by making statements, we tried to come up with questions and ideas, and, eventually, we ended at the main idea for each lesson. I tried to write my notes backwardsâ€"starting at the bottom of the page and working my way up. It was a failure, as were my papers and class comments. The rest of the class reveled in writing papers peppered with anagrams, poems, and feminist rants. I embarrassingly longed for some structure and a bit of linear thinking. Our assigned readings were not much better. I enjoyed the accessible Mrs. Dalloway and Orlando, but balked when we started reading the more experimental The Waves and To the Lighthouse. While reading those, I pictured V. Dubs looking over my shoulder and maniacally thinking: I know who is in the scene and she does not. Im choosing not to let her make a mental picture. Only I know what goes on here. When it came time to return to the States, I sold back the books from my other classes, but decided to keep all of my Virginia Woolf books. I hoped that one day I would be free enough (tipsy enough?) to decipher and appreciate more of Woolfs oeuvre. reading The Waves with my beach chair in the waves This summer, my husband and I shipped our son off to his Grandmas house for a week of camp with his cousins. While he was away, my husband and I snuck off to the beach together. No children equals lots of beach reading. I packed five books and plucked  The Waves off of my bedside table, where it had been buried in my to-be-read pile. Once at the beach, we set up our daily camp: umbrella up, beach chairs on the edge of the surf, and a cooler loaded with IPAs and Strongbow Cider on hand. After plowing through David Sedariss new book Calypso, I gingerly decided to try The Waves. I began with The Introduction and raised my beer to the first sentence, The Waves presents a challenge to the reader. It is an exploration of the workings of the minds of the six named characters within the text: Bernard, Rhoda, Jinny, Louis, Neville, and Susan. After reading this, I felt better. Others find this book challenging! With my feet in the water and the sound of waves crashing and rolling around me, I started reading. An amazing thing happened. I stopped thinking so hard about the text and let it wash over me like the waves. The characters and the settings became clear in my mind. I found myself emotionally thinking of my own childhood and making connections to cherished books. While exploring the garden, Bernard says, Let us inhabit the underworld. Let us take possession of our secret territory, which is lit by pendant currents like candelabra. I thought of Jesse and Lesley crossing the downed tree to enter Teribithia and how my childhood neighbor and I created our own secret kingdom behind my tool shed. Later on, the characters are leaving for boarding school and Louis says, He is composed, he is easy. He swings his bag as he walks. I will follow Bernard, because he is not afraid. I thought of my own first days in at my all-girls high school, trying to emulate the girls who seemed the most confident, to mask my own awkwardness and fear of starting something new. Neville looks to the sky and says,The clouds lose tufts of whiteness as the breeze dishevels them. If that blue could stay for ever; if that hole could remain for ever; if this moment could stay for ever. I read that line and felt the same way, I wanted this moment to stay forever. I felt I owed Virginia Woolf an apology. Her books are beautiful! Those days on beach, with my feet in the water and sound of the waves the only sound I could hear, I felt Virginia Woolf opening in my eyes a thousand eyes of curiosity. Other unconventional Beach Reads Want some more suggestions for unconventional, serious beach reads? Peruse  this post about reading Bleak House and other classics on the beach!

Cause and Effect of Corruption - 1644 Words

There is a growing worldwide concern over corruption at the present time. Several factors are responsible for this. A consensus has now been reached that corruption is universal. It exists in all countries, both developed and developing, in the public and private sectors, as well as in non-profit and charitable organizations. Allegations and charges of corruption now play a more central role in politics than at any other time. Governments have fallen, careers of world renowned public figures ruined, and reputations of well-respected organizations and business firms badly tarnished on account of it. The international mass media feeds on it and scandals and improper conduct, especially of those in high places. The rising trend in the use of†¦show more content†¦Thus, price controls, subsidies and the corruption and black markets they generate, can lead to undesirable social and economic consequences. This also illustrates the point that dismantling controls, getting rid of sub sidies and preventing price distortions form a key element in economic reforms and for the establishment of a properly functioning market economy. Unfortunately, corruption places severe constraints on a country’s capacity to undertake economic reforms. The rich and the powerful, the main gainers of a corrupt system, will therefore oppose reforms. The leadership in a country has a key role to play in combating corruption. It is an Asian tradition to hold leaders and those in authority in high regard and esteem. Hence the top leadership must set a good example with respect to honesty, integrity and capacity for hard work. Since fighting corruption will involve taking difficult decisions, the leadership must also display firmness, political will and commitment to carry out the required reforms. Honest and dedicated leaders are an essential, but not a sufficient, condition to counter corruption. Several other conditions are needed as well. Credibility is one of them. For success, the offenders both on the demand and supply side of a corrupt deal must be convinced that the government is serious about fighting corruption. Publicly try and punish some well-known corruptShow MoreRelatedEffect Of Noble Cause Corruption Essay1159 Words   |  5 PagesImpact of Noble-Cause Corruption Ethical decision making will have the propensity to suffer with positive results garnered by acts of noble cause corruption. Getting a sense of accomplishment through corrupt means will make an individual more likely to take shortcuts during future events. Law enforcement professionals will be more likely to go to greater extents to get the bad guy off the street. This can be dangerous to all individuals involved. It can leave the officer open to administrativeRead MoreThe Law Enforcement System And The Criminal Justice System Essay1657 Words   |  7 Pagesconduct follow up investigations if needed.† In addition, in this essay I will be discussing about, the cause and effect of how the law enforcement system relates to unethical behavior, to police subcultures, and finally, corruption prevention programs. First of allUnethical behavior relates to the Law enforcement system, since according to Martin ( 2011), he states that Research into police corruption offers some understanding of the phenomenon in the hope of rooting out this behavior that serves toRead MoreCorruption Is A Universal One1431 Words   |  6 PagesThe problem with corruption is a universal one, but this challenge is particularly egregious in new and developing democracies. Brazil’s troubles with corruption stem from far before democratization in the 1980s. From the military takeover and the rule of the bureaucratic authoritarian regime to the present day, this nation has struggled with nepotism, clientism, and favoritism as well as a slew of other corrupt practices. The state, federal, and municipal levels of government have all been plaguedRead MoreCorruption And Its Effects On Society1551 Words   |  7 PagesCorruption is globally regarded to be one of the most immoral and ethically wrong practices in the political realm. There is a reason as to why corruption has such a strong negative connotation associated with it, as impacts caused by its direct and indirect effects on society cause massive consequences. The very nature of corruption undermines almost all processes and goals set fourth by a liberal democracy, while causing high distrust and low public approval between officials and citizens. TheRead MoreAdministrative Corruption Is Now A Buzzword For The Current Era Essay1360 Words   |  6 PagesAdministrative corruption is now a buzzword for the current era. It differs from country to country as it’s effects are varying on the basis of socio ­economic and political structure and the proportion of a nation’s growth. It makes a public or, private organisation untrustworthy and increase nullification negligence and in society. Corruption has been the problem belonging ever since from the human civilisation.Corruption is not a new phenomenon Bangladesh. It got heavily engaged with the administrativeRead MoreCorruption And Corruption Of The Public Sector1530 Words   |  7 PagesBribery and corruption in the public sector, is endemic and unavoidable in all societies 1 The supportive reasons of unavoidable bribery and corruption Bribery and corruption in the public sector have been investigated by government for many years, while such hidden bribery and corruption are the behaviour that members working in the public sector indiscriminately take actions. Bribery and corruption are due to members’ heart swell and unsound personality so as to break the public welfare natureRead MoreImplementation of Good Governance in Pakistan1095 Words   |  5 PagesStrategic vision STATE OF GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN 1. Institutional Imbalance 2. Poor relations between center and federating units 3. Political Instability 4. Poor planning and development 5. Inability to provide justice 6. Increasing rate of Corruption 7. Inefficient Economic Management 8. Expenditure Mismanagement 9. Poverty 10. Unemployment 11. Illiteracy 12. Lack of control over law and order situation 13. National Sovereignty of Pakistan is being affected 14. Terrorism 15. StrongRead MoreCorruption1154 Words   |  5 PagesEffects of Corruption in Multinational Corporation’s [Student name] [Professor’s name] [Course title] [Date] Introduction Corruption can be defined as a spiritual or moral deviation from an ideal. Corruption come in different styles and that include bribery and funds embezzlement. Corruption has been the number one menace in many countries of the world. It impacts countries in many ways, impacting economy and development in a negative way. Corruption tends to raise the cost of governmentRead MoreHow Corruption Has Proven Detrimental Effect On Business And Economic Growth1534 Words   |  7 Pagesand Ross (Corruption entrepreneurship) study, the effects of corruption on the number of establishments in any given municipality have proven to be negative and statistically significant. Over time, corruption has proven to be detrimental to business and economic growth and has long lasting negative effects (entrepernerushipbrazilmuncipalities, 69). Business growth slows or stops all together and only the state owned enterprises are able to persist through an economy riddled with corruption. These stateRead MorePoor Leadership And Internal Conflicts Essay1270 Words   |  6 Pagessome do not care what happens to them either. Internal conflicts cause poverty because the wars that start put workers out of business, and those workers cannot get work anywhere else so they are soon in poverty. Poverty can also cause conflicts within country. If people are upset with the government and tired of how they have been treated, they will go and cause problems for the government. When the government stop corruption and lets the people know they are spending taxpayer’s money on resourceful

Essay on CDS Case Study - Operations Management - 3944 Words

1.0 INTRODUCTION Operations management is defined as â€Å"the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver products and services† (Slack et al. 2010 p4). This encompasses the entire activity carried out within the organization. With increasing pressure on organizations to deliver optimally at reduced cost, the role of operations has been transformed from that of strategy implementer to one of strategy driver. Operations strategy looks at the patterns of strategic decisions and actions in a bid to set the roles, objectives and activities of the operations (Slack et al. 2010). An understanding of these strategies is important in ensuring that organizations are well aware of the requirements needed to meet the corporate†¦show more content†¦Hence, it is important to analyse the process through which market needs are aligned with operational realities, thereby ensuring that operation can deliver what it is being asked of them and that this alignment will endure over time (Zanon et al. 2013). Evidenced in CDS operations is the implementation of two of the identified perspectives; Market requirement and Operations resource perspective. 2.1 MARKET REQUIREMENT PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS A market requirement perspective focuses on what market position requires of operations (Slack et al. 2010). Its focus is not just on the industry, but it considers where the organization intends to compete as well as the nature of competition ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­ (Lowson 2002). Hill (1985), suggested that to win orders in the market place, organizations operations strategy and the marketing strategy need to be in sync. CDS Marketing function identified a trend that seems to have worked for retailers in the decorative product industry. They realised the importance of fashion trends and its appeal to people. This market requirement led to the creation of a whole new industry. The need for premium, high quality household product characterised by the many different colour range became a market qualifying criteria that drove marketing’s strategy. This strategy was in line with the overallShow MoreRelatedOperations Management in Cds747 Words   |  3 PagesQuestion: Why is operatio ns management important in CDS? Answer: Reason of existence of any organization is its production ability, service providing ability. When an organization is producing or providing services, a certain amount of operations are being taken place to enable the organization to fulfill their task. Managing those operations is known as operational management. Coming towards CDS, it is an integrated services provider. Numbers of different units are working under the roof of thisRead MoreManagement And Project Review Process1361 Words   |  6 PagesGovernance 1) Management and Project Review Process: a) Medical Executive Committee- will commit the time and financial resources necessary to implement and maintain the LACE Index CDS Tool. b) Decision Support Project Steering Committee- responsible for the oversight and direction of the CDS program. Will review the project progress in the areas of cost, quality, and timeline. c) Decision Support Operations Team- responsible for managing the CDS program execution and operates under the directionRead MoreAndroid Lab Report1472 Words   |  6 Pages5.2. Residual Artifacts on Android Devices In these experiments, we performed a series of read, upload, and download operations on the sample data-set. The important parts and files of each browser are listed in Table-3. The investigation of each operation on each experimental VM is exposed in the later tables. This experiment found that the majority of artifacts are stored in database files of the storage layer of Android. File Viewer plus [4] HHHexEditorNeo [7] and SQLite DB Browser [14] are usedRead MoreA Case Study Analysis on the Strategic Alliances of Audio Duplication Services, Inc. (Ads)1115 Words   |  5 PagesA Case Study Analysis on the Strategic Alliances of Audio Duplication Services, Inc. (ADS) Abstract Logistic strategy is vital part of company’s goal to reduce cost, gain more profit and improve supplier-customer relationship. This paper studied the logistic process of Vanity Products to have a grasp of how logistic works and affects the flow of supply chain. Guide questions are answered to have a better understanding on the logistic and warehousing; and how these decisions must be well thoughtRead MoreManaging Business Assignment992 Words   |  4 PagesLearning Outcomes You should be able to: Appreciate the different management theory and practice from the era of scientific management to contingency theory. Demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles related to entrepreneurial and management activities. Deliverables This assignment represents 30% of the total INCOURSE marks for this module. The deliverables: A report of 1,000 words. You should state the number of wordsRead MoreCase 26 - Star River Electronics Ltd.1419 Words   |  6 PagesJanis Pastars Dr. Muhammad R.K. Chishty Advanced Corporate Finance 2 March, 2015 Case 26 – Star River Electronics Ltd. Introduction Star River Electronics is a joint venture between England’s Starlight Electronics Ltd. and an Asian venture-capital firm, New Era Partners. Star River Electronics is based in Singapore, and its mission was to manufacture CD-ROMs as a supplier to major software companies. Star River Electronics has gained fame in the industry for producing high quality discsRead MoreProject Management Life Cycle Description Essay1295 Words   |  6 PagesTo complete the task at hand. the project team will utilize the project management life cycle to ensure the projects forward movement. This cycle promotes an organized manner in which to keep the project within the time scope, budget scopes, and facilitates fluid processes to harness risks and make appropriate decisions based on research, analysis, and proper process usage. This cycle includes five phases: initiating the project, planning the project, executing the plan, monitoring and controllingRead MoreAssignment Case Study Honda1227 Words   |  5 PagesAssignment Case study Honda Marketing [pic] Introduction: This individual assignment will be assessed by means of a 3,500  ± 10% word report. The assignment has been designed to allow you to develop and use your knowledge and skills in understanding key strategic issues relating to the Global Automobile Industry. You will be required to apply the strategic concepts and analytical techniques studied in this module. All the learningRead MoreStatement of Purpose for a Career in Computational Finance1041 Words   |  4 PagesThe world of Finance is by no means a new concept for me. Watching â€Å"Mad money with Jim Cramer† videos on cnbc.com for his daily stock picks is a ritual. I would study the company’s business model, perform very rudimentary fundamental and qualitative analysis on these picks and if its intrinsic value matched the criteria set, I would add it to my portfolio on Investopedia.com. Apart from this, I also spent a considerable amount of time researching on various stock picking strategies to further strengthe nRead MoreHertz Lbo1892 Words   |  8 PagesCorp. Case Study Overview: The Hertz buyout is one of the largest private equity deals. It drew criticism in the media and from union members, after the company’s new owners paid themselves $1.3 billion in dividends not long after the transaction closed and ultimately financed the payments by selling stock to the public. The company has realized hundreds of millions of dollars in improved financial results annually, but also has cut thousands of jobs as it has sought to make operations more efficient

Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance Free Essays

Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance University of Phoenix FIN 370/ Finance for Business November 10, 2010 Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance The following paragraphs contain financial terms and their role in finance. The terms are finance, efficient market, primary market, secondary market, risk, security, stock, bond, capital, debt, yield, rate of return, return on investment, and cash flow. The fourteen terms all have an important relationship in the world of business. We will write a custom essay sample on Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first term is finance. Finance is managing money or supplying funds to provide a resource. A bank or loan company is a source of finance because they both provide cash. Cash is the resource that one needs to survive or make a purchase. For instance, when a customer walks into a car dealership and is ready to buy a car, the salesperson draws up the paperwork and two items are in need. The first item is cash and the second is the search for a finance company to finance the car. The role of finance in this example is the customer can provide the cash to make the purchase and the finance company can supply the funds and terms of agreement to help the owner purchase the car. The second term is efficient market. Efficient market is a hypothesis that prices prevail in the market is always fair. Its role in finance according to EMH is no one can make high return without buying riskier investment as market prices are always fair. The third term is primary market. Primary market is when securities, stocks and bonds, are offered to potential investors for the first time.Companies like Verizon or AT amp; T can issue or sell securities directly to an investor. The primary market role in finance is to allow the potential investor to buy from the company and not other investors to increase the stock. The fourth term is secondary market. Secondary market is opposite of primary because it allows the investor to buy stocks and bonds from each other rather than the original company. The role of finance in secondary market is its affect on price. The price is more or less than the issue price of the original company. The fifth term is risk.Risk is the uncertainty or chance of a difference in the actual return earned on investment and the expected return earned on the investment. There are three types of risk: market, credit, and operational. The company return on an investment depends on which risk the company took. For example, people and companies take risk sometimes when they make a financial investment or provide equipment and supplies for an opportunity to receive a high return on their investment. The role of finance for a risk is the uncertainty if they will receive payment for their investment.The higher the risk means the higher the return. The lower the risk means the lower the return. The next three terms have a correlation. The terms are security, stock, and bond. Security in finance is the relationship and representation of stocks and bonds. Some securities are interest and dividend based. Common and preferred stock, bonds, notes, debenture, and option are some examples of securities. A stock represents ownership in a business, has face value, and may not carry a maturity date. A stock’s role in finance is as follows. Common stock has no fixed rate of dividend and has voting rights. Preferred stock has a fixed rate of dividend and no voting rights and preferred are the two types of stock. A bond is the last term of correlation. A bond is a fixed income security. A bond is a debt with interest, a maturity, mode of payment, and a principal. A bond’s role in finance is that it can be issued as a long term debt and requires the company to pay on the interest even if they made a loss in profit or not. Capital is the amount of money an owner has invested in his or her business. The role of capital in finance is simple. A sole proprietor has a single investment.A partnership has multiple investments and a corporation’s amount of investment is shared by the stockholders. The capital has different amounts of investment in all three forms of businesses. In accounting, a debt is a liability to be paid back in terms to the source of finance. It can be long or short term. A debt’s role in finance is that is an expense to a company that has interest payable. Rate of returned based on market price is called yield. For example, if an investor has bought shares of $10 par and company declares dividend of 10% in cash and still the market is at par.IT means that yield earned on share is equal to dividend declared. Now if market price is different from par, say it is $20, now dividend declared is same but dividend yield is 5%. Any profit or loss that has been made for a specified period on investment is called the profit or loss in $ on your investment and when it is converted into percentage it is called rate of return. If a person invests $10,000 in January and in December it increases to $12,000, then the terms of investment for the year is $2,000. The rate of return is 20% per annum because (2000/10000)*100=20%.Return on investment is the profit or loss made on the investment. Return on investment is similar to rate of return and is a ratio that describes the company’s measurement of profit. For example, Tree and Rocks Company has profit after tax for year equal to $130 million and total assets are $1300 million, it means return on investment is 10%. Cash Flow is revenue received and paid in cash. The cash flow statement shows the cash inflows and outflows in real terms of a business. Operating, investing, and financing activities are three categories on a cash flow statement.The three categories and their role in finance are detrimental to the company. The revenue and expenses incurred during a specified time period are entered in the operating activities. Buying and selling of fixed assets and other investments are entered in the investing activities. Long term debt, issuance of common and preferred stock is entered in the financing activities. The thirteen terms defined in the earlier paragraphs have a specific role in finance. The terms and their roles surround everyone in some situation every day.It is important to know the above terms and how they relate to one another in this course.Reference Keown, A. J. , Martin, J. D. , Petty, J. W. , amp; Scott, D. F. (2005). Financial Management: Principles and applications (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Mayo, H. B. (2007). Basic finance: An introduction to financial institutions, investments, and management (9th ed. ). Mason, OH: Thomson. Sulock, J. M. , amp; Dunkelberg, J. (1997). Cases in financial management (2nd ed. ). New York: John Wiley amp; Sons. How to cite Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance, Papers

The Goal of the Federally

The Goal of the Federally-Funded Exchanges The Affordable Act Care that advanced the introduction of state-owned and federally-funded exchanges aims at an improvement of the health services quality. Thus, the programs of exchanges promote the usage of highly affordable and transparent health insurance coverage models in the USA (Bachrach and Boozang 11).Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Goal of the Federally-Funded Exchanges specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The innovation created space for a comparable insurance commutation. The Act outlined the introduction of three basic types of exchanges, which regulate the state coverage relations, the federal-facilitated insurances as well as the partnerships with them. The primary objective of the federal-funded exchanges can be revealed through the performance of several insurance functions that stipulate the efficient insurance politics. These are financial management, consumer assistance, plan management as well as eligibility and enrollment (â€Å"Federally-Facilitated Exchanges† par. 6). The CMS Intention: Matching Federally-Funded Exchanges to Clients’ Needs The strategic plan that was adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medical Service (CMS) encompassed a number of hypotheses about the future effects of the federally-funded exchanges. Thus, the CMS suggested that all the U.S. states would run an affordable insurance policy in future. Specifically, it was claimed that the usage of FFE could help every customer in processing affordable coverage. Moreover, the service representatives argued that a competitiveness of federally-funded exchanges would ensure market parity standards. Finally, the CMS hypothesized that an innovation could promote a complex involvement of stakeholders and separate federal states into the procedure of insurance coverage decision-making (Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services 4). Therefor e, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medical Service, the promotion of FFT would match the needs of the customers and reach the desired effects through a support of health benefit standards, network adequacy, and marketing oversight. Federally-Facilitated Exchange Management The Affordable Act Care rules offer a Medicaid-driven plan of the efficient FFE management. Thus, it is suggested that the regulations of federally-facilitated exchanges have to comply with the requirements of a single statement, which ensures an equal distribution of the policy’s benefits. However, the recent reports state that the outcomes of FFE functioning yields contrastive results in different states of the USA.Advertising Looking for critical writing on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Specifically, the commercial insurers in Colorado do not experience highly competitive practices. Therefore, there remains little spac e for the promotion of Medicaid management (Holahan et al. 12). The data proves that the CMS organs did not establish the clear know-how management guidelines initially. Nevertheless, the services representatives proceed to work on the elaboration of Medicaid management systems and hypothesize that the FFE would attract 12 million beneficiaries in the next ten years (Hutchins, Samuels and Lively 73). FFE Implementation Resources The process of federal-funded exchanges implementation presupposes the existence of multiple resources such as funds, personnel, information technologies, and human resources management. According to the CMS accountancy reports, the service has initially allocated a $75 million investment for the coverage utilization procedure. Though a number of financial resources are sufficient for the complete FFE support, the individual state governments have to conduct an efficient appropriation so that to materialize the money (Thorpe and Weiser 5). Concerning the per sonnel management effectiveness, it is highly dependable on a state. Therefore, some states develop a strong network of insurance programming specialists while the others rely on the electrification of coverage control devices. Finally, the information technologies aspect encompasses digital medical databases and accounts for a successful FFE implementation. Work Cited Bachrach, Deborah and Patricia Boozang. â€Å"Federally-Facilitated Exchanges and the Continuum of State Options.† National Academy of Social Insurance 13.1 (2011): 1-44. Print. Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services. General Guidance on Federally-Facilitated Exchanges. DEST no. 6734.GHTA01A. Columbia: Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, 2002. Print.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Goal of the Federally-Funded Exchanges specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Federally-Facilitated Exchanges 2013. Web. Holahan, John, Rebecca Peters, Kevin Lucia and Christine Monahan. â€Å"Cross-Cutting Issues: Insurer Participation and Competition in Health Insurance Exchanges: Early Indications from Selected States.† Urban Institute 12.1 (2013): 1-15. Print. Hutchins, Valerie, Marc Samuels and Angela Lively. â€Å"Analyzing the Affordable Care Act: Essential Health Benefits and Implications for Oncology.† Journal of Oncology Practice 9.2 (2013): 73-77. Print. Thorpe, Jane and Chris Weiser. â€Å"Medicare Quality Measurement and Reporting Programs.† Health Care Quality 11.4 (2011): 5-8. Print. This critical writing on The Goal of the Federally-Funded Exchanges was written and submitted by user Alexa U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Inns and Resorts Essays

Customer Satisfaction in the Practices in the Hotels/Inns and Resorts Essays Customer Satisfaction in the Practices in the Hotels/Inns and Resorts Paper Customer Satisfaction in the Practices in the Hotels/Inns and Resorts Paper CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON THE PRACTICES OF THE HOTELS/INNS AND RESORTS IN THE FIRST DISTRICT OF ILOCOS SUR A Thesis Proposal Presented to The Faculty of Graduate School University of Northern Philippines Vigan City In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Business Administration By: VIVENCIO C. PERALTA JR. 2011-2012 CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM Introduction Throughout history, people have always travelled, whether it is to conquer worlds, discover new places, for business pleasure. This need of man has consequently led to the development of accommodation. Travelling is a significant part of the tourism industry worldwide and its employees play a key role in delivering the service product, its customers. All of the service businesses are trying their best to improve their service quality in order to make customers satisfied with their services, especially the hospitality industry. Inns are the outgrowth of man’s desire to travel for pleasure or for business. When man had to travel, he felt a great need for dining and lodging out of his own home and town (chauhan, 1981). Hotels/Inns and Resorts are provide room accommodation, food and beverages and recreational facilities. Hotels/Inns and Resorts have been established in the different parts of the country especially in cities and some major towns Today, in Ilocos Sur the potential growth and industrialization and its program to promote local and foreign tourism led to the growth of the hotels/inns and resorts that are serving the province. At present, they were continues the greater number of tourist due to the beautification of our natural resources that gives the real essence of life of the Ilocano’s and preserved the rich/cultural heritage like the ancestral house that depicts the historical landmark of the country, being a surviving colonial provinces during the Spanish regime. Locals and experts describe that the Ilocos Sur as a place like no other because of its uniqueness his in its historical townscape for which it is an architectural blend of Asian, European and Latin American influences. At present, Hotels/Inns and Resorts in Ilocos Sur have increased their competition and now instead of having only a nice room to draw customer in, they offer-high quality staff as an amenity as well. Guest satisfaction is the highest priority for the owners and managers competing with hundreds of others, and personal service is at the top of the travelers and list of the most important things when considering a hotels/inns and resorts to stay in (Wipoosattaya, 2001). In the hotels/inns and resorts, the personnel are ranging from the top management (i. e housekeeping, restaurant, front office and kitchen). The personnel are considered a supporting factor in determining customer satisfaction when deciding to return, to recommend the hotels/inns and resorts, or in demonstrating loyalty to a particular hotels/inn and resorts (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). In addition, Watt (2007), stated that the important function of the hotels/inn and resorts is the front office because customer deals with it as a the center of the hotels/inns and resorts. They provide assistance to guest, fulfil their needs, and meet their wants. The study of Suwannakun and Siriteerajad (2002) emphasized that the aspects of practices regarding the level of customer satisfaction. As mention above, Service quality was determined as the subjective comparison that customer make between their expectation about the service and the perception of the way the service has been run. Parasuraman et. Al (1985) defined service quality as function of the differences between expectations and performance along ten major dimensions. In later research, Parasuraman et. Al (1988) revised and defined the service quality in terms of five dimension; Tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. For example, Min and Min (1997) presented the idea hat hotels/inns and resorts services have attributes that are considered most important particularly in forming the following impression of service quality such as; quality; tangibility; In the Mauritius Hotels (Juwaheer and Ross, 2003), assurance factors and such as security and safety of guest determined by the first , secondly; reliability factors and such as hotels perform task that have been promised to guest on reso lving problems encountered by the guests. Juwaheer and Ross found that by focusing on these factors, hotels in Mauritius would be able to achieve high levels of satisfaction. As Reisig and Chandek (2001) discussed the expectation is formed in order to identify the factors of service satisfaction, based on their knowledge of a product or service. This can be implied that a customer may estimate what the service performance will be or may think what the performance ought to be. If the service performance meets or exceeds customers’ expectation, the customers are more likely to be dissatisfied. On the other hand, customers are more likely if the service performance is less than what they have expected. As mentioned earlier, a greater number of satisfied customers will make the hotels/inns and resorts business more successful and more profitable. Statement of the Problem This study will aim to determine the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/ inns and resorts of the first district of Ilocos Sur. Specifically, it will seek to answer for the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts with the aforementioned business related factors in terms of the following variables; a. Type of ownership b. Number of rooms . Number of Employees d. Capital e. Years of existence f. Service offered 2. What is the level of customers satisfaction with the aforementioned practices of the hotels/inns and resorts in terms of the following: a. Tangibility b. Reliability c. Responsiveness d. Assurance e. Empathy 3. Is there a significant relationship between the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts with the aforementioned business related factors an d the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices of the hotels/inns and resorts? . What are the problems issues encountered by the hotels/inns and resorts? Scope and Delimitation The study focused on the Level of Customer Satisfaction on the Practices applied and adopted by the Hotels/Inns and Resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur as perceived by the owners/managers. This practice was limited to the level of customer satisfaction in the aforementioned marketing practices of hotels/ inns and resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur in terms of the following: tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, empathy. Twenty-Six (26) hotels/inns and resorts constituted in the study which 41 owners/managers were taken as respondents. Purposive sampling for the customer respondents was taken which consists of 318 customers to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels and resorts only the customers who checked-in in the hotels/inns and resorts during the data gathering period comprised the customers respondent. The data analysis was limited only to the use of the following statistical tools: frequency and percentages, mean and chi square. Theoretical Framework The researcher will be guided by the following concepts and studies that provided relevant ideas that will be in this study. On Customer Satisfaction In a business organization it is their primarily concerned in satisfying customers. The existence of one business establishment will also depend on how the costumers are satisfied with the products / services offered to them. To completely satisfy customers needs and wants the management should look the variety of their products, its quality, the ffordability and the benefits derived from the products / services offered. Most researcher agree that satisfaction is an attitude or evaluation that is formed by the customer comparing their pre-purchase expectation of what they would receive from the product to their subjective perceptions of the performance they actually did receive (Oliver, 1980). As Kotler (2,000, p. 36) defined that satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting fr om comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectation. Additionally, Yi (1990) also stated that customer satisfaction is a collective outcome of perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption experience with a product / service. In conclusion, customer satisfaction is defined as a result of customer’s evaluation to the consumption experience with the services. However, the customers have different levels of satisfaction as they have different attitudes and perceived performance from the product / service. Customer satisfaction is an important topic for both researchers and managers, because a high level of customer satisfaction leads to an increase in repeat patronage among current customers and aids customer recruitment by enhancing an organization marker reputation. Being able to successfully judge customer’s satisfaction levels and to apply that knowledge are critical starting points to establishing and maintaining long term customer retention and long term competitiveness (Yuskel and Yuskel, 2002). Customer satisfaction brings many benefits. Satisfaction is an â€Å"overall customer attitude towards a service provider†, or an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive ( Zineldrin, 2000), regarding the fulfilment of some need, goal or desire. Kano, Bentler and Li-tze (1984) developed a model to categorize the attributes of a product or service based on how well they are able to satisfy customer needs. Considering Kano’s Model, are sees how it may not be enough to merely satisfy customer by meeting only their basic and performance needs. Customer satisfaction refers to either a discrete, time-limited event or the entire time the service is experienced. Service-encounter satisfaction is how much a customer likes or dislikes an actual service encounter. Overall service satisfaction is the customers feeling of satisfaction/dissatisfaction based on all the customers experiences with the service organization. 1994) found the two satisfaction constructs differed from each other and from service quality. In a highly competitive marketplace, organizations needs to adopt strategies and to create product attributes targeted specifically at exciting customer’s and over – satisfying them ( Tan and Panitra, 2001). In real estate to excite or over satisfy customers, an agent would need to have a through and want knowledge of all listing in the local area. It is also the people in direct contact with customer who determine who the retained and satisfied customers are, and their experience determines how they treat the customers (Hansemark and Albinson, 2004), thus impacting on the service quality delivered. Lewis and Mitchell (1990) define service quality as they extent to which a service meets customer’s need and expectation. On Service Quality Service quality is the rivet of the comparison that customer’s make between their expectation about a service and their perception of the way the service has been performed (Germoso, 1984; Parasuraman et a1. 1980-1988. ) define it, as the difference between customer’s expectation of services and their perceived service. Benny, Parasuraman and Zeithaml (1985) write a service quality as perceived by consumers stems from a comparison of what they feel service firms should offer (i. e. from their expectations) with their perception of the performance of the firm providing the s ervice. If the expectation is greater than the service performance, perceived quality is less than satisfactory and hence, customer dissatisfaction occurs. Lewis and Mitchell (1990). Service quality refers to customers appraisals of the service core, the provider, or the entire service organization. According to and  (1985), perceived quality is a global judgment relating to the superiority of a product. However, defining service quality as a measure of excellence in terms of perceptions is not sufficient according to   (1988). He states that it is obvious that understanding customer expectations and meeting customer needs is the single most critical issue and determinant of service quality ( 1988). In addition,  (1989) and   (1983) defined both service quality and customer satisfaction as matching the expectation of the service with that which is actually experienced by the customer. Therefore, when customers experiences meet or exceed their expectations, the service is viewed as a quality service and the recipients are typically satisfied customers. On the other hand, when the service experienced by consumers is less than their expectations, the perception of service quality is diminished and customers are generally not satisfied. However, (1996b) in their book Services Marketing stated that the concept of service quality is different from the concept of customer satisfaction. According to, service quality is only one of the variables determining customer satisfaction. Besides service quality, there are other variables affecting the level of customer satisfaction, namely: price, situation, and personal factors. Dotchin and Oakland (1994), and Avubonteng et a1. (1996) define service quality and the extent to which a service meets customer’s need and expectation. On Customer Expectation In this part, the definition of Customer’s expectation and Discrimination theory are revealed. In addition, the significance of Customer’s expectation which has influenced customer’s satisfaction in discussed. Daviddon and Uttal (1989) proposed that customer’s expectation is formed by many uncontrollable factors which include previous experience with other companies, and their advertising, customer’s psychological condition at the same of service delivery, customer background and values and the images of the purchased product. In addition Zeithaml et al. (1990) stated that customer service expectation related to different levels of satisfaction. It may based on previous product experiences, learning from advertisement and Word-of-Mouth Communications. Moreover, these expectations are likely to be based, in total or in part, on past relevant experiences, including those gathered vicariously (1989). (1990) identify some specific factors which can influence the consumers expectations. These are: word of mouth communications (what consumers hear from other consumers); personal needs (determined by individual characteristics and circumstances); past experience of a service (or a related service); external communications from the service provider (for example, printed advertisements, television commercials, brochures, and oral promises from service provider employees); and price. Customer expectation is what the customer wish to receive from the diversity f expectation definition can be concluded that expectation is uncontrollable factors which including past experiences, advertising, customers perception at the time or purchase, background, attitude and product image. Furthermore, the influence of customer’s expectation is pre-purchase belief, word of mouth, communications, individual needs, customer experiences, and other personal attitudes. Different customers have different expectations based on the customer’s knowledge by a product service. The Ser vqual Approach The Servqual approach has been applied in service and retailing organizations (Parasuraman et al. 1988; Parasuraman et. al. , 1991). Service quality is a function of pre-purchase customer’s expectation, perceived process quality, and perceived output quality. Parasuraman et. al (1988) define service quality as the gap between customer’s expectation of service and their perception of the service experience. Based on Parasuraman et al. (1988) conceptualization of service quality, the original servqual instrument included 22 items. The data on the 22 attributes were grouped into five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Numerous studies have attempt to apply the SERVQUAL. This is because it has generic service applications and is a practical approach to the area. This instrument has been made to measure service quality in a variety of services such as hospitals (Babalure and Glymn 1992), hotels(Salen and Rylan 1991), travel and tourism(Fick and Ritchies 1991), a telephone Company, two insurance companies and two researcher uses SERVQUAL approach as an instrument to explore customer’s expectations and perception levels of service quality towards the hotel and resorts. The Servqual Dimension Previously, Parasuraman et al. (1985) identify ten determinants for measuring service quality which are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, communication, access, competence, courtesy, credibility, security and understanding knowledge of customers. Later these ten dimensions were further purified and developed into five dimensions i. e. Tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy to measure service quality, servqual (Parasuraman et al. 1988). These five dimension identified as follows: 1. Tangibility – the physical evidence of the Hotel/Inns and Resorts staff is including a personality and appearance of personnel, tools, and equipment used to provide the service. For example, some hotel chains (e. g Hilton, Mandarin, Sheraton, and Hyatt) consciously ensure that their properties are conformed to global standards of facilities wherever they are located (Nankervis, 1995). However, the researcher, in this study, is forming on how well-dresses the Hotel/Inns and Resorts personnel are. 2. Reliability – the ability involves to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. It includes â€Å"Doing it right the first time,† which is one of the most important service components for customers. Reliability also extends to provide services when promised and maintain error 1: The staffs perform tasks that have been promised to guest and resolve problems encountered by guests. Example 2: The Customers are sensitive to issue such as the telephone being packed-up within five rings and their reservation being correct. 3. Responsiveness – the Hotels/Inns and Resorts are willing to help customers and provide prompt service to customers such as quick service, professionalism in handling and recovering from mistakes. It has been said that â€Å"Today luxury is time†. Consequently, service providers’ ability to provide services in timely manner is a critical component of service quality for many guests. The examples of responsiveness are as follows: Example 1: The staff is asking for customers, name, address, post code and Telephone number during the telephone booking. Example 2: The customers are asked to guarantee their booking, the different rates that they are offered and which ones they accept. Example 3: The customers are offered alternative accommodation at a sister hotel and how efficiently that is arranged and reservation cards being ready to sign upon arrival. 4. Assurance refers to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence including competence, courtesy, credibility and security. A. Competence means possession of the required skills and knowledge to perform the services. It involves knowledge and skill of the contact personnel, knowledge and skill of operational support personnel, research capability of the organization. B. Courtesy involves politeness, respect, consideration, and friendliness of contact personnel. C. Credibility involves trust worthiness, believability, honesty; it involves having the customer’s best interest at heart. Contributing to credibility is company reputations, personal characteristics of the contact personnel. The degree of hard sell involved in interaction with the customer. D. Security refers to the freedom from danger, risk or doubt. It involves physical safety, financial security and confidentiality. Below are some examples: Example 1: The guests expect to feel safe during their stay at hotel from the staff. Example 2: The staff can handle effectively complaints and problems from the guests. 5. Empathy refers to the provision of caring and individualized attention to customers including access, communication and understanding the customers. A. Access involves approach, ability and ease of contact. It means the service is easily accessible by telephone, waiting time to receive service is not extensive, hours of operation are convenient and location of service facility is convenient. B. Communication means keeping customers informed in language they can understand. It means listening to customers, adjusting its language for different consumers and speaking simply and plainly with a novice. It also involves explaining the service itself, explaining how much the service will cost, and assuring the customer that a problem will be handled. C. Understanding the customers means making the effort to understand the customer’s need. It includes learning the customer’s specific requirements, providing individualized attention, recognizing the regular custom. For example: Example 1: The staff acknowledge the presence of customers at the reception and with a verbal greeting. Example 2: The staff are keeping eye contact, using customers, names and asking customers to return their key upon departure. It is clear from the above results that customers like to be given enough individualized attention and treated with care. It thus allows the customers to easily approach and spell out their needs regarding the service being provided. The importance of empathy may be the root of the statement, . If one looks at who is winning, it tends to be companies that see the guest as an individual1. Due to guests, desires that staff see things from their point of view, the hotel staff are piloting an empathy training program intended to help employees relate to their guests in a more empathic manner. In conclusion, SERVQUAL instrument is an invaluable tool for organizations to better understand what customers’ value and how well their current organizations are meeting the needs and expectations of customers. SERVQUAL provides a benchmark based on customer opinions of an excellent company, on your company, on the importance ranking of key attributes, and on a comparison to what your employees believe customers feel. The SERVQUAL instrument can also be applied to the front office staff of a hotel, and in this case, other major gaps could be closed in the service quality gaps model. Disconfirmation Theory In marketing literature (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982; Oliver,1980) as well as in recent information system studies (McKinney et al. , 2002), the disconfirmation theory emerges as the primary foundation for satisfaction models. According to this theory, satisfaction is determined by the discrepancy between perceived performance and cognitive standards such as expectation and desires (Khalifa and Liu, 2003). Customers expectation can be defined as customers’ partial beliefs about a product (McKinney, Yoon and Zahedi, 2002). Expectations are viewed as predictions made by consumers about what is likely to happen during impending transaction or exchange (Zeithmal and Berry,1988). Perceived performance is defined as customers’ perception of how product performance fulfills their needs, wants and desire (Cadotte et al. 1987). Perceived quality is the consumers’ judgment about an entities overall excellence or superiority (Zeithmal, 1988). Disconfirmation is defined as consumer subjective judgments resulting from comparing their expectations and their perceptions of performance received (McKinney et al. , 2002, Spreng et al. , 1996). Disconfirmation theory was declared that satisfaction is mai nly defined by the gap between perceived performance, expectations and desires which is a promising approach to explain satisfaction. This theory was proposed that satisfaction is affected by the intensity (or size) and direction (positive or negative) of the gap (disconfirmation) between expectations and perceived performance (Figure 2) Figure 2 Expectation disconfirmation theory Khalifa and Liu (2003) Expectation disconfirmation occurs in three forms: 1) Positive disconfirmation: occurs when perceived performance exceeds expectations. 2) Confirmation: occurs when perceived performance meets expectations. 3) Negative disconfirmation: occurs when perceived performance does not meet and is less than the expectations. It is more probable for customers to be satisfied if the service performance meets (confirmation) or exceeds (positive disconfirmation) their expectations. On the contrary, customers are more likely to be dissatisfied if the service performance is less than what they expected (negative disconfirmation). Khalifa Liu (2003) discussed that taking expectation disconfirmation as the only determinant of satisfaction; this theory does not cause the fact that if high expectations are confirmed, it would much more lead to satisfaction than confirmation of low expectations. To resolve this drawback perceived performance is included as an additional determinant of satisfaction. In other words the only way to ensure satisfaction is to empirically create disconfirmation by manipulating expectations and performance. Related Studies Many previous researchers have studied customer satisfaction towards service quality in service businesses such as spa, tourism, and hotel. Kitisuda (2006) studied a survey of customer satisfaction with spa services at Sivalai Spa. Both first-time and repeated customers were satisfied with the spa services on a high level. They were satisfied with the following service dimensions: responsiveness, empathy, reliability, assurance, and tangibility of the service quality at Sivalai Spa. Most customers agreed that the location of the spa was the most important factor for the spa. They suggested that the food and beverage facilities should be improved. Moreover, the study showed that there were four demographic factors that influenced the service quality at Sivalai Spa which were gender, age, nationality, and Income. Markovic (2004) studied service quality measurement in the Croatian Hotel Industry. She showed that a SERVQUAL instrument is a useful and reliable method to measure service quality of Croations hotels, for managers to identify differences in terms of expectations and perceptions. This method will lead to a better allocation of resources and a more effective design of marketing strategies, such as communications mix and pricing components, to ensure a proper level of service quality in hotels. Phenphun (2003) studied International tourist, satisfaction with the quality of service in accommodation in Thailand and the factors related to satisfaction, problems and the requirements of international tourists. The research revealed the satisfaction of international tourists towards quality of service was at a high level. However, the most common problems were lack of employees’ knowledge and English skill, therefore, tourists suggested language and convenient facility improvement. Therefore, Government Policy suggests that the TAT and related organizations should create and develop a curriculum and training. Accordingly, they also have to focus on language skills. In the 2001 study tour of Taiwan, Yu (2001) indicated that it might be possible to create service quality evaluations that are more accurate instruments for measuring the quality of service in the various service sectors, as Crompton et al. ,(1991) suggested. For the best indicators of service quality in the tourism sector, the tourist’s experience might be the key indicator for evaluating tourism quality because the tourism industry is essential people serving people. Therefore, Otto and Ritchie (1996) stated that future studies of tourism quality should evaluate the tourist’s experience, instead of the five dimensions used in previous evaluation tools. All of these previous studies used the SERVQUAL approach to measure service quality in hotel and other service industries. This study will explore customers, expectation and perception levels towards service quality which is focusing on the front office staff at the hotel. Conceptual Framework The paradigm presents the research problem in a more comprehensible manner. It is conceptualized that the dependent variables which is the level of customer satisfaction practices that can affected by independent variables which is the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts of the first district of Ilocos Sur. This study therefore, is guided by the research paradigm shown in the figured 1. Independent VariablesDependent Variables Figure 1. Research Paradigm In the figure 1. It is hypothesizes that the level of customer satisfaction practices along tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy dependent on the type of ownership, capital, number of employees, years of existence, number of rooms. Meanwhile, the problem encountered by the hotels/inns and resorts Operational Definition of Terms Customer satisfaction. is the result of customers evaluation to the consumption experience with the services. Service quality. means the difference between the customer’s expectation of service and their perceived service. Tangibility. The physical evidence of the hotels/inns and resorts staff including a personality and appearance of personnel’s, tools and equipment use to provide the service. Reliability. The ability involves performing the promised service dependably and accurately. It includes â€Å"Doing it right the first time,† which is one of the most important services components for customers. Responsiveness. The Hotels/Inns and Resorts are willing to help customers and provide prompt service to customers such as quick service, professionalism in handling and recovering from mistakes. It has been said that â€Å"Today luxury is time†. Assurance. Refers to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence including competence, courtesy, credibility and security Empathy. Refers to the provision of caring and individualized attention to customers including access, communication and understanding the customers. Business Related Factors. It is a term used to show the business related factors such as: type of ownership, capital, number of employees, number of rooms and year of existence. Type of ownership. His refers on the type of organizational set-up of the business such as single proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. Capital. This refers to the total amount of money invested before and after the operation process. Years of existence. This refers to the total number of years from the time of the establishment open for business up to present years. Number of employees. This refer to the total number of people working for an organizational establishment which include front desk agent, reservation officer, guest relation officer, chef, room attendant and bell boy. Number of rooms. The total number of rooms available in hotels/inns and resorts similar businesses to accommodate visitors to a particular place. Hotels/Inns. A business establishment that provides paid for accommodation food and beverage for the short term period of time. Resorts. A place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company. Assumptions It will be assumed in this study that: 1. The Hotels/Inns and Resorts owner/manager apply the customer satisfaction on the practices functions improving on their business operation. 2. The respondents will answer the questionnaires designed for this study sincerely and truthfully. 3. The questionnaire to be used in conducting the study is valid and reliable Hypotheses Based on the problems of the study, it was hypothesized that: There is a significant relationship between the customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts of the First District of Ilocos Sur and the aforementioned business related factors. Methodology This portion presents a description of the method of research, population and sample, data gathering instrument, data gathering procedure, and statistical treatment of data. Research Design. This study was made to use of the descriptive method of research. This method was determined the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts business of the first district in Ilocos Sur together with the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices. The correalational method, was to find out whether the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts with the aforementioned business related factors have to do something with the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices and whether the problems, issues and comments regarding the operation of the hotels/inns and resorts is dependent on the level on the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices. Population and Sample. The respondent of the study were the owners/managers and customers of the 26 hotels/inns and resorts located at the first district in Ilocos Sur is considered s a served on the study. Therefore, this selection of this service business was based on the service offered. Purposive sampling was utilized to gather data from the customers. There were 318 customers who check-in in the hotels/inns and resorts during the gathering period. Table 1 shows the respondents from the hotels/inns and resorts involve with the study. Table 1. Distribution of the Population Hotels/Inns and Resorts |Owners/Managers |  Customers |  Totals |  % | |Hotels/Inns | | | | | |  Cordillera Inn |1 |  15 |16   |4. 45 | |Cordillera Family Inn |1 |  10 |11   |  3. 06 | |Hotel Salcedo |16 |20   |36   |  10. 2 | |  Vigan Plaza Hotel |  1 |  15 |16   |4. 45 | |  Grandpas Inn |  1 |  15 |  16 |4. 45   | |Luzon Inn |1 |4 | 5 |1. 39 | |  Gordion Hotel |  1 |  20 |21   |5. 5    | |  Vigan Heritage Mansion |  1 |  15 |  16 |4. 45   | |  Rf Aniceto Mansion |  1 |  14 |15   |4. 18   | |  Villa Angela Pension House |  1 |  15 |  16 |4. 45   | |  Green R Hotel |  1 |  10 |  11 |3. 06   | |  Jaja Hotel |  1 1 |  14 |  15 |4. 8   | |  Mel Sol’s Tourist Inn |1   |  10 |  11 |  3. 06 | |  Mom’s Courtyard |  1 |  8 |   9 |  2. 51 | |Casa Teofila Lodge |  1 |  10 |  11 |3. 06   | |  El Juliana Hotel |  1 |12 |  13 |3. 2   | |Resorts | | | | | |Heritage Resort of Caoayan |1 |12 |13 |3. 62 | |Aplaya Mindoro Beach Resort |  1 |12 |  13 |  3. 62 | |Paraiso ni Don Juan Beach Resort |1 |12 |13 |3. 2 | |  Ponce Del Mar Beach Resorts |  1 |  10 |11   |3. 06   | |  Cabugao Beach Resort |  1 |  8 |  9 |  2. 51 | |Taj Resort |1 |12 |13 |3. 62 | |Ovemar Hotel and Resorts |1 |10 |11 |3. 6 | |  Teppeng Cove Beach Resort |  1 |  12 |13   |3. 62à ‚   | |Katib Beach Resort |1 |11 |12 |3. 34 | |Dayvee Hotel and Resorts |1 |12 |13 |3. 62 | |Totals |41 |318 |359 | | |Frequency (%) |11. 2 |88. 58 | |100 | Data Gathering Instruments The study will use a questionnaire to gather the necessary data. It consists of the following parts: Part I. This part will elicit information on the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts of the First District of Ilocos Sur. Part II. Provided the Level of Customer Satisfaction in the aforementioned marketing practices of the hotels/inns and resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur. This items included in the questionnaires were adopted from the used by parasuraman et. Al (1998). However, to determined the customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts, a questionnaires was constructed and validated. In addition, the translation of level ranking was analyzed follow the criteria of customer’s satisfaction designed by Best (1977:174) The following norm for interpretation will be used to describe the following: On the Level of Customer Satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts Statistical RangeItem Descriptive Rating Overall Descriptive Rating 4. 2-5. 00Very much satisfiedVery High 3. 42-4. 21Much satisfiedHigh [H] 2. 62-3. 41SatisfiedFair [F] 1. 81-2. 61Moderately satisfiedLow (L) 1. 00-1. 80Not satisfiedVery Low [VL] Part III. Chi- Square will be test the significant relationship between the level of customer satisfaction with the aforementioned marketing practices and the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts associated with the aforementioned business related factors. Part IV. It will include are the problems, issues comments regarding the operation of the hotels/inns and resorts. Data Gathering Procedure The following activities will be done for the conduct of the study: Prior to the survey, the questionnaire was piloted with the owners/managers, personnel and customers of the hotels/inns and resorts of the first district of ilocos sur to examined the first draft of the questionnaire and any misunderstanding over term and questions. The results of the piloted test showed that some sentences in the question were unclear and ambiguous. To realize the objectives of the study, the researcher will seek the assistance of the different experts for the validation of the questionnaire. After the validation, the researcher will ask permission from the different owners/ managers of the hotels/inns and resorts of first district of Ilocos Sur to conduct the study and for the endorsement of the study to the management. The management also suggested that the researcher should give an example in each questions in order to make the questions easy to understand. The results of the pilot study provided the correct information and the suitable design of questionnaire Upon approval of the management, the researcher will personally distribute and retrieved questionnaires to/from the respondents. The researcher will also look into documents for verification and acquisition of more data. Statistical Treatment of Data In the analysis and interpretation of the data, the following statistical tools will be utilized: 1. Frequency count, percentages will be used to determine the profile of the hotels/inns and resorts. 2. Mean will be applied to describe the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts on the first district of Ilocos Sur. 3. Chi- Square will be utilized to determined the level of customer satisfaction on the practices of the hotels/inns and resorts associated with the aforementioned business related factors. Dummy Tables Table 2. Profiles of the Hotels/Inns and Resorts in terms of the some selected variables |Variables |f | % | |Type of Ownership | | | |Single proprietorship | | | | Partnership | | | | Corporation | | | |Totals | | | |Capital |f |% | |less than P2,000,000 | | |2,000,001 less than 5,000,000 | | | |5,000,001 less than 8,000,000 | | | |8,000,000 less than 10,000,000 | | | |10,000,001 and above | | | |Totals | | | |Number of Employees |f |% | | less than10 | | | |11 less than 14 | | | |15 less than 18 | | | |19 less than 21 | | | |Above 22 | | | |Totals | | | |Years of Existence |f |% | |1 4 Years | | | |5 8 Year | | | |9 12 Years | | | |13- 16 Years | | | |17 above | | | |Totals | | | |Number of Rooms | |% | |Less than 10 rooms | | |11-15 rooms | | | | 16- 20 rooms | | | |21-24 rooms | | | | 25- 29 rooms | | | | 30 and above | | | |Totals | | | |Services offered | |% | |Sleeping Accomodation | | | |Car rental/Service | | | |Food and Beverages | | | |Special offer for tour guidin g | | | |Recreational Facilities | | | |Cottage | | | |Firing Range | | | |Other forms of service offered | | | |Totals | | | Table 3. Level of Customer Satisfaction in the aforementioned Marketing Practices of the Hotels/Inns and Resorts on the First District of Ilocos Sur |Customer satisfaction |Mean |Dr | |Tangibility | | |The service personnel are suitably dressed and are professional in appearance. | | | |The make-up quality of hotel rooms is sufficiently clean. | | | |Visually appealing materials associated with the service. | | | |The hotels/inns and resorts provides sufficient dining facilities and services. | | | |Convenient hotels/inns and resorts business hours. | | | |The hotels/inns and resorts have a modern equipment. | | |Overall mean score | | | |Reliability | | | | The service personnel can correctly provide service | | | | The service personnel completed services in the time | | | | The service personnel is capable of resolving customer service | | | |The servi ce personnel can quickly provide required of the guest | | | |Overall mean score | | | |Responsiveness | | | |Fast treatment of customer complaint issues in the hotels/inns and resorts | | | |Stay operational speed in providing services | | | | You are not concerned about hotel payment methods | | | Hotel provides stated services | | | |Overall mean score | | | |Assurance | | | |You feel safe regarding the hardware and | | | |software of the hotel | | | |The staff have product knowledge of the hotels/inns and resorts e. g. describing all rooms type and | | | |the restaurants. | | | |Hotel service personnel are professional | | | |The service personnel provides individual services based on your needs. | | |The service personnel actively provide services and polite | | | |The behaviour of employees instill confidence in customers | | | |Customers feel safe in their transactions with the employees | | | |Employees are polite to customers | | | |Employees have knowledge to answer cu stomers’ questions. | | |Overall mean score | | | |Empathy | | | |The hotel/inns and resorts has sufficient leisure facilities | | | |The hotel/inns and resorts provides sufficient leisure activities (such as events in the evenings) | | | |Grocery stores give customers individual attention. | | | |Operating of the business in the hotels/inns and resorts are convenient to customers. | | | |Employees of hotel/inns and resorts give customers personal service. | | | |Employees in the hotels/inns and resorts have their customers’ interest at heart. | | |Employees of hotels/inns and resorts understand the specific needs of their customers. | | | |Overall mean score | | | |General Mean | | | Table 4. Chi Square test showing the significant relationship between the level of customer satisfaction and the profiles of the hotels/inns and resorts in the aforementioned business related factors. Business Related factors |Level of Customer Satisfaction | | |Tangibility |Reliabilit y |Responsiveness |Assurance |Empathy |   | |Type of ownership |  x2 |  x2crit | |The hotels/inns and resorts is difficult to get in on his room accommodation | | | |Complaints about the staff or not satisfied on their service performance | | | |Complaints about the food | | | |There are few guests | | | |Guests are bored | | | Theft | | | |Many things are broken such as: ambiance/facilities | | | |Customers | | | |No booking on arrival | | | |Unhelpful staff | | | |Next to a lift shaft | | | |Noisy room | | | |Overcharged | | | |Poor room service | | | |Cancellation costs | | | |Others | | | A. Bibliography Asubonteng, P. Mccleary, K. J. , Swan, J. E. (1996). SERVQUAL revisited: a critical review of service quality, The Journal of Services Marketing 10 (6), 62-81. Bardi, James A. (2003). Hotel Front Office Management. 3rd ed. Printed in the United States of America. Best, J. W. (1977). Research in Education. 3rded. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Binham, Phil ip. , Ritta Lampola. James Murray. (1982). Hotel English. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Blackwell, D. Roger, Miniard, W. Paul Engel, F. James. (2001). Consumer behavior. 9th ed. New York: Harcourt College Publishers. Braham, Bruce. (1985). Hotel Front Office. Great Britain : Hutchinson Co. (Publishers) Ltd. Brown, S. W. Bond, E. U. III (1995). The internal/external framework and service quality: Towardtheory in services marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, February, pp. 25-39. Cadotte, E. R. , Woodruff, R. B. Jenkins, R. L. (1987). Expectations and norms in models of consumer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Research. 24 (3) 305-314. Charoenpong, P. (2003). International Tourists: Satisfaction with the Quality of Service in Accommodation in Thailand. Dissertation (Population Education). Bangkok: Graduate School, Mahidol University. Churchill, G. A. Suprenant, C. 1992) An Investigation into the Determinant of Customer Satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 19, pp. 491-504. Czepiel, J. A. , Solomon, M. R. , Surprenant, C. F. Gutman, E. G. (eds) (1985). The Service Encounter ; Managing Employee / Customer Interaction in Service Businesses. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Dabholkar, P. A. , Thorpe, D. I. Rentz, J. O. (1996). A measure of service quality for retail stores: scale development and validation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, pp. 3-16 Davidow, W. H. Uttal, B. (1989). Service Companies: Focus or Falter. Harvard Business Review,July-August: 77-85. Edvardsen, B. , Tomasson,B. Ovretveit, J. (1994). Ouality of Service: Making it Really Work. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Foster, Dennis L. (1993). Rooms at the Inn: Front Office Operations and Administration. Singapore : McGraw-Hill Book Co. Gilbert, D. , Wong, R. K. C. (2002). Passenger Expectations and Airline Services: A Hong Kong Based Study. Tourism Management, Article in Press. Gray, William S. , Salvatore C. Liguori. (1980). Hotel Motel Management and Operation. NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Gronroos, C. (1982). Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector. Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, Helsingfors. Hanan, Mack Karp, Peter. (1989). Customer Satisfaction. New York: American Management Association. Hernon P. Whitwan, J. R. (2001). Understanding Customer Satisfaction Delivering satisfaction and service quality : A customer-based approach for libraries. American Library Association. Hoffman, K. D. Bateson, J. E. (2001). Essentials of Service Marketing: Concepts, Strategies, and Cases. (p. 324). (2nd Ed. ). Australia: South Western Thompson Learning. Hogan, J. (2006). A Bakers Dozen of strategies for hotel front office. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from www. hotel-online. com Kandampully, J. Suhartanto, D. (2000). Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: The role of customer satisfaction and image. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(6),346-351. Kang, G. D. , James, J. Alexandris, K. (2002). Measurement of internal service quality: Application of the SERVQUAL battery to internal service quality. Managing Service Quality, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 278-291. Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing Management. (11th ed. ) NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Laws, Eric. (2002). Tourism Marketing: Quality and Service Management Perspectives. 1st ed. New York: British Library. Lewis, R. C. , Booms, B. (1983). The Marketing Aspects of Service Quality. In : AMA Proceedings, American Marketing Association, Chicago, pp. 99-104. Liu, Chang-Yung. (2000). Customer satisfaction in the service sector. Tokyo : Asian Productivity Organization. MacKay, K. J. , Crompton, J. L. (1990). Measuring the quality of recreation services. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration. 8 (3):47-56. Markovic, Suzana (2004). Measuring Service Quality in the Croatian Hotel Industry :A Multivariate Statistical Analysis. Retrieved April 16, 2008, from www. ng-epf. si/Arhiv2004/NG2004_12-Markovic. pd McKinney,V. ,Yoon,K. , F. M. (2002). The Measurement of Web-Customer Satisfaction: An expectation and Disconfirmation Approach. Information System Research, Vol. 13, No. 3, September, pp. 296-315. Min, H. K. , Min, H. S. (1997). Benchmarking the quality of hotel services: Managerial perspectives. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management, 14(6), 582-597. Morrison, Alastair M. (1989). Hospitality and Travel Marketing. USA: Delmar Publishers Inc. : 210-213. Nigell, H. , Brierley, J. MacDougall R. (1999). How to measure customer satisfaction. (2nd ed. ) Gower Publishing Limited. Oliver, R. L. (1980). A Cognitive Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction Decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. XVII,November. Paige, Grace. Jane Paige. (1997). The Hotel receptionist. Southampton: The Camelot Press. Parasuraman. A. ,Zeithaml, V. A. Berry, L. L. (1985 1988). A conceptual model of service quality and its implication. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49,Fall, pp. 41-50. Parnkul, Kitisuda. (2006). Customer’s Satisfaction with Spa Services at Sivalai Spa. Research Paper (English for Careers). Bangkok: Language Institute, Thammasat University. Pushpinder, Gill S. (1997). Tourism and Hotel Management. India: J. L. Kumar for Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. : 97-112. Reisig Michael D. , Meghan Stroshine Chandek (2001). The effects of expectancy disconfirmation on outcome satisfaction in police-citizen encounters. An International Journal of Police Strategies Management 24(1): 88-99. Shahin, Arash Dr. (2004). SERVQUAL and Model of Service Quality Gaps: A Framework for Determining and Prioritizing Critical Factors in Delivering Quality Services. Retrieved April 16, 2008, from www. qmconf. com/Docs/0077. pdf Medlik S. Ingram H. (2000). The Business of Hotels. 4th ed. England: British Library. Tabtimsri, Anyamanee. (2005). Visitors: Satisfaction towards the service at The Visa Section, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok. Research Paper (English for Careers). Bangkok: Language Institute, Thammasat University. Tajima, T. (1998). Improving productivity in service sector. Tokyo: Asian Productivity Organization. Tanpipat, S. (1994). Practical Hotel English. Bangkok: SE-Education. Udomdee, B. (2005). In-Flight Service Quality of Thai Airways International. Research Paper (English for Careers). Bangkok: Language Institute, Thammasat University. Walker, Denis. (1990). Customer First: A Strategy for Quality Service. England: Gower Publishing Company. Warren, J. S, Staples Dalrymple, J. F. Assessing. (2002). Call Centre quality using the servqual model. Retrieved February 25, 2005, from http://cmqr. rmit. edu. au/publications/wsjdrbicit02. pdf Watt. Paul. (2007). Customer service work and emotional labour in the hospitality industry. UK: University of London. White, Paul B. Helen Beckley. (1988). Hotel Reception. th ed. London: Hedder and Stoughton. Wipoosattaya, W. (2001). Tourist’s perceptions of hotel frontline employees: questionable job-related behavior. Bangkok: Thesis (MBA) I Assumption University. Yi, Y. (1990). A critical review of consumer satisfaction. Review of Marketing 1990, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL. Yu, Alvin Hung-Chih. ( 2001). Service quality in Tourism : A case study of the 2001 study tour of Taiwan. Leisure Studies, The Pennsylvania State University: USA. Zeithaml V. A. , Parasuraman A. , Berry L. L. (1990). Delivering quality service: Balancing customer perceptions and expectations. The Free Press, New York

Teaching Conversational Skills Tips and Strategies

Teaching Conversational Skills Tips and Strategies Teaching conversational skills can be challenging as not only English skills are required. English students who excel in conversation tend to be those with self-motivated, outgoing personalities. However, students who feel they lack this skill are often shy when it comes to conversation. In other words, personality traits that dominate in everyday life tend to appear in the classroom as well. As English teachers, its our job to help students improve their conversational skills, but often teaching is not really the answer. The Challenge Generally speaking, most English learners feel that they need more conversation practice. Grammar, writing and other skills are all very important, but, for most students, conversation is the most important. Unfortunately, teaching conversational skills is much more challenging than teaching grammar  as the focus is not on accuracy, but on production. When employing role-plays, debates, topic discussions, etc., some students are often timid in expressing their viewpoints. This seems due to a number of reasons: Students dont have an opinion on the subject.Students have an opinion but are worried about what the other students might say or think.Students have an opinion but dont feel they can say exactly what they mean.Students begin giving their opinion but want to state it in the same eloquent manner that they are capable of in their native language.Other, more actively participating students, feel confident in their opinions and express them eloquently making the less confident students more timid. Pragmatically, conversation lessons and exercises should first focus on building skills by eliminating some of the barriers that might be in the way of production. Here are some suggestions to help free up students in conversation. Point out that its not necessary to always speak the truth in class. In fact, not worrying about exactly what happened can help free up students.Create lesson plans that focus on functional skills such as asking for permission, disagreeing, etc. rather than open-ended lessons that students might find vague.Set micro-tasks such as the use of specific verbs, idioms, etc. within overall speaking tasks.  Use tasks such as information gathering or problem-solving activities that encourage students to communicate in English in order to complete the tasks. Here is a closer look at some of these ideas: Focus on Function   Its important to help students become familiar with language functions rather than focusing on a grammar-based approach when developing lessons to help with conversational skills. Start off simple with functions such as: Asking permission, stating an opinion, ordering food in a restaurant, etc.   Explore grammar issues by asking what linguistic formulas should be used to achieve the desired results. For example, if you are comparing two sides of an argument which forms might be helpful (comparative, superlative, would rather, etc). Use formulas to encourage correct usage such as: How / What about Verb Ing for making suggestions - How about taking a trip to San Diego?Would you mind Verb Ing for making requests -  Would you mind giving me a hand?Would you rather Verb or Verb  for asking for preferences -  Would you rather take the train or drive? Expand this approach slowly by asking students to create short role plays using cue cards. Once students become comfortable with target structures and representing differing points of view, classes can move onto more elaborated exercises such as debates and group decision-making activities.   Assign Points of View Ask students to take on a specific viewpoint. Sometimes, its a good idea to ask students to try to state opinions that they dont necessarily share. Having been assigned roles, opinions, and points of view that they do not necessarily share, students are freed from having to express their own opinions. Therefore, they can focus on expressing themselves well in English. In this way, students tend to concentrate more on production skills, and less on factual content. They also are less likely to insist on literal translations from their mother tongue. This approach bears fruit especially when debating opposing points of view. By representing opposing points of view, students imaginations are activated by trying to focus on all the various points that an  opposing  stand on any given issue may take. As students inherently do not agree with the view they represent, they are freed from having to invest emotionally in the statements  they make. More importantly, from a pragmatic point of view, students tend to focus more on correct function and structure when they do not become too emotionally involved in what they are saying. Of course, this is not to say that students should not express their own opinions. After all, when students go out into the real world they will want to say what they mean. However, taking out the personal investment factor can help students first become more confident in using English. Once this confidence is gained, students - especially timid students - will be more self-assured when expressing their own points of view. Focus on Tasks Focusing on tasks is quite similar to focusing on function. In this case, students are given specific tasks they must complete in order to do well. Here are some suggestions on tasks that can help students practice their conversational skills: Create student surveys to gather information.Teamwork activities such as treasure hunts.Board games.Build something - group activities such as a science project or presentations allow everyone to join in the fun. Quick Review Decide whether the following statements are true or false. Its a good idea to have students report their experiences truthfully and in great detail.General conversational activities are best for more advanced students while beginner should focus on functions.Assigning a point of view helps students focus on linguistic accuracy rather than stating exactly what they believe.Problem-solving teamwork  tasks should be avoided as they are not realistic.Outgoing students tend to be better at conversational skills. Answers False - Students shouldnt have to worry about telling the exact truth because they might not have the vocabulary.True - Advanced students have the linguistic skills to deal with broader issues.True - Assigning a point of view can help free up students to focus on form rather than on content.  False - Problem solving requires teamwork and conversational ability.True - Motivated outgoing students tend to allow themselves to make mistakes and thus speak more freely.