Retirement vs. Strife in Old Age Essay Example for Free

Retirement vs. Strife in Old Age Essay A man that spends many years in active service be it for himself or for a more noble reason such as his country or people, would more certainly than not find retirement a disorienting prospect once he faces it. Retirement means stopping whatever has kept one alive and working for most of his healthy years. It means realigning his goals, getting used to other, more leisurely and less strenuous habits as befitting old age, and preparing to face death with peace and resignation. In Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem â€Å"Ulysses†, the mythical hero of Homer’s epics expresses his anxiety about coming back home to Ithaca to reclaim his old responsibilities as king after years of traveling overseas and fighting the Trojan war, and his desire of undertaking a new adventure, instead. The poem begins with Ulysses dreading his return to resume the job of â€Å"an idle king† (Tennyson 1). He could not imagine the relevance of staying home â€Å"with an aged wife† (Tennyson 3) and to â€Å"mete and dole† (Tennyson 4) rewards or punishments to the people he governs—most of whom he does not know nor they of him but for his position as king. Ulysses does not like his former life of idleness and monotony even if it was a life of comfort and wealth. He prefers to travel and seek for adventures, testing life to its limits. For Ulysses, traveling means enjoying and suffering unpredictable moments. The sea and foreign lands, unlike a kingdom, presents varied and new experiences. Those that he had experienced so far have given him â€Å"a hungry heart† (Tennyson 12). His voyages have brought him to strange places, allowed him to interact with different peoples, customs and cultures, and meet creatures unimaginable if one simply stayed in one place all his life. Moreover, he has experienced the â€Å"drunk delight† (Tennyson 16) of war in Troy. Nothing in his kingdom could equal the things he did and witnessed. All that Ulysses saw and did made him what he has become and has produced a kind of restlessness or thirst upon his soul that cannot now be satiated by ruling a kingdom. This past life as king has become dull in comparison to his life as a voyager and soldier. According to him, a person who is contented with his present life is like rusting and acknowledging that the only purpose of life is to breathe. Ulysses wants to â€Å"follow knowledge like a sinking star/ Beyond the utmost bound of human thought† (Tennyson 31-32). He would like to keep exploring and test the boundaries of the capacities of an ordinary mortal, even one who is already old and less agile. He believes that one’s age is not a factor to consider because â€Å"old age hath yet his honor and his toil† (Tennyson 50). Only death can stop and end the possibilities that life has to offer. In the end, Ulysses appoints his son, Telemachus, to take his place as king, leaving him â€Å"the scepter and the isle† (Tennyson 34). Meanwhile, he prepares to embark on another journey. The speaker’s exhortations to his former companions in the final stanza may well be read as words that any man should well take heed as a personal advice, especially those who are contemplating a sedentary retirement in their senior years. The lines encourage everyone to not worry about the physical limitations that old age imposes upon every individual because the weakness of the body can easily be overcome when one is â€Å"strong in will† (Tennyson 69). This is also how a heroic life is lived.

Work-related stress amongst employees

Work-related stress amongst employees In the main, business managers are failing to deal with the problem of work-related stress amongst employees. Work-related stress is a common problem of modern lifestyle which has spread all over the world and touched almost all vocations (Life, nd, p.1). Job stress is a chronic disease caused by condition in the workplace that negatively affects an individuals performance and/or overall well-being of his body and mind (Life, nd, p.1). Sources of work-related stress include high demand of performance, family pressure, poor interpersonal relationships and career concerns. The consequence of the stress will lead to less self-confidence, worse performance and even suicide. As the stress which detrimental to peoples health has become more and more severely, how to cope with the situation is attracting increasing peoples attention. This essay focuses on problems of athletes stress and submits some solutions to the problems for sports managers. The natures of the stress can be split into two parts: physical symptoms and behavioral symptoms (speaking book, 2008). The physical symptoms include: tiredness, nausea, headaches, muscle tension, nervous twitches and altered sleep patterns. Aggression, anxiety, poor decision-making, inability to prioritize, mood changes, difficulty in concentrating, feelings of failure and isolation are belonging to behavioral symptoms (speaking book, 2008, p.95). All of these symptoms can reflect the athletes work-related stress. The causes of the athletes job stress are intricate and complex. They can be mostly divided into 4 parts-environmental issues, personal issues, leadership issues and team issues respectively. Firstly, environmental issues, which include selection, finance, and training environment, is a factor that contributes to the stress (Tim Lew, 2001). Selection is consisted of late selection, a lengthy selection process and unfair selection system. Some athletes illustrate that they feel nervous and tense if they do not know whether they will be chosen for competition. They fear that they will not have enough time to prepare the competition which lead to the stress. And some unfair selection also causes the stress of athletes as they can not obtain the chance of equal competition (Tim Lew, 2001). Finances play an important role in stress. It includes not having enough funding money and differential financial support. Athletes spend most of time on training so that they do not have extra time for earning money. Therefore, they have to obtain the funding from sport organization, sponsorship or family. If the financial support is not enough or is poorly managed, athletes will feel depressive and anxiety (Tim Lew, 2001). Training environment may be being able to lead to the athletes stress if athletes exist in the two opposite environments at the same time. The incompatible environment will make athletes feel uncomfortable. The second part which is the most important one is personal issues. Personal issues contain nutrition, career concern, interpersonal relationship, injury and external distractions (Tom, et al 2000; Tim Lew, 2001). Poor provision of food and disorder eating habit will lead to innutrition or obesity which will influence the athletes performance (Tim Lew, 2001). A female athlete says that diet is her worst puzzle, which will lead to stress (Tim Lew, 2001). A study shows that external distractions (23%) and career concern (19%) are the two major causes for stress (Pensgaard, 1998). Roberston Cooper(1983) believe that career stagnation, high expectation from other people and unrealistic goals, which are the main components of career concern, may give rise to stress if athletes fail to achieve the expectation and goals (Tom, et al 2000). At the same time, external influence also brings stress to athletes. The press, media, spectators and family make athletes distract from their work wh ich consequently influence their performance (Pensgaard, 1998). For example, David Beckham, who is a talented football player, fell out with his coach because the coach thought that David paid more attention on entertainment area than on training. Such action had impeded his development of football skill. At that time, David also had to face a big stress from his wife, who was his manager for planning the commercial activities. Poor interpersonal relationships in a team are another factor of stress. There are three important sets of relationships-relationships with sports managers, with coaches and with teammates. Low interpersonal support from sports managers, coaches and teammates will be linked with high anxiety, tension and low performance satisfaction which increase the risk of obtaining pressure (Tom, et al 2000). In addition, injury, which is the worst thing for athletes, often results in pressure. Most of the athletes who get hurt will worry about their career as they fear that they can not get opportunities to go to the competition or they will lag behind because of less training (Tim Lew, 2001). The third part of the cause is leadership issues which focus on the aspect of coach. Coachs differential treatment of athletes, overbearing coach, coach very demanding and coach-athlete tension are the reasons of athletes pressure (Tim Lew, 2001). Coachs attitude influences athletes deeply because he plays a vital role in a team and has the right to decide which athlete will be chosen for competition. Most of athletes fear that they will be ignored by their coach and some athletes feel stress as they can not bear the workload (Tim Lew, 2001). Moreover, coaching style is another cause of athletes stress. Some athletes can not adapt to different coaching styles which may deter their development. The poor performance of an athlete results in a rise of the pressure (Tim Lew, 2001). Team issues, as the last part of the cause, can not be ignored. It main includes: team atmosphere, communication and support (Tim Lew, 2001).Team atmosphere is a main issue which relates to the tension between the athletes. A new team member, injured athletes and separate groups within team may lead to the poor team atmospheres which engender a tense situation in the team. The supports from teammates, coaches and sports managers are the mental underpinning of athletes which make them get rid of the negative mood. Without support, athletes may feel helpless and even stress (Tim Lew, 2001). Persistent stress may result in long term consequences which may alter the way the athletes feel, thinks and behaves, and may also change their physiological function (Stansfeld et al, 1999; SanterMurphy, 1995; Cincirpini et al, 1984; Stainbrak Green, 1983, cited in Tom, et al 2000). Effects of athletes stress may work on individuals and teams respectively. For individuals, effects of stress may include: sleep disturbances, headaches, gastrointestinal upset, cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression, labile emotions, less of concentration, lack of motivation, substance misuse and poor performance (University of Cambridge, 2008). While for team, consequences of stress may mean low morale, increased athletes complaints, increased accidents, high absenteeism and poor performance which will influence the development of the team (University of Cambridge, 2008). Because of the high dangers of the athletes stress, how to tackle the problem has become the focus of sports managers. There are some solutions can be used to help sports managers cope with the stress of athletes. First of all, sports managers have to take responsibility for athletes diets and ensure athletes maintain good nutrition (Dean, 2007). Secondly, sports managers should prevent athletes from working overload. Therefore, they should give athletes manageable training schedule so that they will not feel too tired. Keep good relationship with athletes and manage the relationship between athletes are both important for sports managers. The supports from teammates, coaches and sports managers are the mental underpinning of athletes which can help them release from stress (Tim Lew, 2001). To athletes, stress is a persistent problem which often influences their performance and life. Although sports managers are trying to deal with the situation and some of them have been taken some solutions, athletes continue to be affected by stress problem (Pensgaard, 1998). The solution taken by sports managers, such as effective time management, health diet and keeping good relationship, are useful at the certain extent. However, some accidents which can not be predicted by sports managers would also result the stress. So, while deal with the existing stress is important, detecting the possible sources of stress for athletes may be is a more effective way to avoid the happening of pressure (Pensgaard, 1998). Bibliography Pensgaard AM, Ursin H. (1998). Stress, control, and coping in elite athletes in Scand J Med Sci Sports Journal Vol. 8 pp183-189 Tim, W. Lew. H. (2001). A case study of Organizational Stress in Elite Sportin APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY Journal Vol. 13 pp207-238 Tom. C et al. (2000) Research on Work-related Stress. Bilbao: European Agency for Safety and Health at work (see Epi) Life. Stress at work. Joan, M. Sebastian W. (2008) English for Academic Study: Speaking. England: Garnet Publishing Ltd Human Resources Division of Cambridge University. (2008) Effects of Work-Related Stress http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/policy/stress/effects.html> [Accessed on 27/5/2008] Dean H. (2007) Stress and the Athlete http://coachdeanhebert.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/stress-and-the-athlete/> [Access on 16/12/2007]

Strategies to Enhance Ecuadors Technological Industry

Strategies to Enhance Ecuadors Technological Industry Renny Alexander Amaguaya Llamuca Abstract Ecuador is a very diverse country, known worldwide for its gigantic capacity to generate raw material. However being a developing country many consider it as incapable of generating technology. Currently the implementation of innovation programs has allowed an interesting evolution, that is to say that the Ecuador based on the technology, processes of automation and changes the academician has the capacity to improve its economy and introduced in the field of the technological research. These ambitious projects have made the country start a technological revolution. All Ecuadorians are working hard in the training of creative students, as young minds will be in charge of generating resources and developing the country. At the same time, scientific research is becoming one of Ecuadors fortunes; the country is moving forward and has a promising future We can do it. Introduction There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource. Without creativity there is no progress and we would always be repeating the same patterns (Edward de Bono).It should be emphasized that the industrial revolution was a very important starting point, because a very creative mind decided to do something different and thus began the human evolution. Technology is a characteristic of the human ability to build, from raw materials; a wide variety of objects, machines and tools, as well as development. It uses the scientific knowledge in order to respond to human needs and applies at industry to obtain optimal solutions. Technological advances have become essential, just look around in every moment and place we are surrounded by it, it is always present to make the life simpler. In Ecuadorian industry, technology is indispensable. In fact, most scientific efforts focus on the creation of new technologies and raise the production. Ecuadorian universities are currently preparing young people with great skills and brilliant minds, who are focusing more on environmental innovation and on a change of the productive matrix. These universities have developed a new educational system, in which the main interest is to foster creativity and innovation. The use of technology is immeasurable and will continue to change, based on the demands of its citizens and the market. However, Ecuadors technology industry could be enhanced through a school curriculum based on creativity and innovation in these ways: 1, technological programs at schools, 2 places/vocational centers where youths can obtain practical knowledge and 3, improve automation. Technological Programs at Schools First of all, the technology industry can be enhanced in Ecuador by technological programs at schools. Schools have to strive to implement custom methods where students can increase their creativity. Those kinds of programs are planned and designed carefully to such an extent that they maintain an impeccable order so that the development of these technological activities are completely effective for a continuous learning. Activities to be carried out are structured according to the age of young people. This teaching process is very similar to that implemented at Ohio State University in Columbus. Colleges place greater emphasis on learning material [and] Jung fears that opportunities for thoughts to flow freely are fewer now than in the past(Ossola, 2014). These programs have as main component its curriculum based on creativity, which is made up of activities that can be widely developed. Those were created to be developed without previous technology experience, Rex Jung (Professor of neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque) said, creativity is innate, it needs to be cultivated. Inside this curriculum, students should confront flexible programs, too. A great example of this implementation is University in Columbus; Ted Clark has been working with a number of high schools throughout Ohio to integrate creative problem (flexible programs) solving into science classes(Ossola,2014). According to the article Technology, Innovation, and Education(Harvard, 2014) schools are planning to get the key to unlock the freedom of students minds, because youths use the regions of the brain involved in daydreaming and imagination(Ossola,2014) and schools want to use that imagination. According to Joe Blatt Director of TIE The Technology, Innovation, and Education Program is a proven gateway to rewarding leadership careers in creating, implementing, and evaluating educational media and technology. Technological program is a way to train creative leaders in education with a continuous and very close interaction midst faculty and students. Therefore, Ecuador has taken a similar strategy where the objective of its program is reach a high standard of education based on the correct development of the creative skills of the students. The leaders of this technological program take as an example the objectives of the Finnish education system; The Finnish system is built on trust: on autonomous learning, on the value of teacher work and on the overall quality of the proposal(The Finland Phenomenon, Compton, 2012).In short, this fact must be a huge evolution to the next generation of students whose ideas would mean an extreme change for the whole Ecuador. Places/vocational centers where youths can obtain practical knowledge. Second of all, Ecuador should create Places/vocational centers where youths can obtain practical knowledge to enhanced Industry Technology. Practical knowledge is closely related to the use of technology as a didactic learning medium, according to Scientists Are More Creative than You Might Imagine (Ossola, 2014) practical activities would appear to take the magic out of the creative process, like having to explain your own joke.It means that students are excited about the possibility of using technology and are therefore more apt to learn. In addition, during this process of up-to-date learning, not only is it possible to get more information, but also to develop skills that are exclusively developed in the practical field. Exclusively Skills from practical knowledge. According to the article Solve a Teaching Problem(Mellon University, 2015),today youths are bored of study because the old style of teaching cans their minds, students learn better with a practical knowledge so Ecuador needs places where enough technology elements are available to youths to use it freely and encourage the development of innovative technologies. When youths work for a purpose, goal or own dream, the effort will be minimal because they will be free to act. This freedom will allow you to develop your own skills such as: The opportunity to interact with peers The collaboration Student responsibility Allow to take more control over the learning process Learn to make important decisions Ecuadors technology industry needs such sites to promote the desire of young people or children to create new technologies without fear of innovation failure; It will allow a continuous innovation in the country. Improve automation. In other hand, Ecuadors technology can be enhanced by improved automation, some of the few industries still work with old technology, because their bosses still thinking that humans can do their job better than a new machine. Automation means a technological change in the industry where first of all the production will be improved in time, economy and quality. People that above all have so much creative and knowledge can change the process of production based on the imagination to solve any problem. For instance William Kamkwamba the builder of windmills in Malawi is currently working on a design for a windmill powerful enough to pump water from wells and provide lighting for Masitala, a cluster of buildings where about 60 families live (Childress, 2007). Ecuador would add a technological medium that offers a more effective production process that demonstrates the technological development of the country. In the last decade the developing countries have made a great effort to close the industrialization gap, out of a total of 142 countries analyzed in 2012, Ecuador is in the 96th position, rising twelve seats in relation to the previous year, date In which according to the 2011 WEF report, it was at 108. Today the Ecuadorian government is working on a program to attract scientists, but to achieve this, it is necessary to carry out a long-term financing policy for the development of science and technology. Ecuador wants to change the last productive matrix where it was based on buying technology, but why not create? This fact could boost to the creation of new industries, where technology and science research might enhance the Ecuadors industry. Conclusion Ecuador over the years has managed to acquire a minimal technological evolution, which has undoubtedly improved in the last decade, but is succeeding in maintaining a quality technology thanks to the small educational revolution that the country achieved. All this progress demonstrates that our culture has succeeded in improving learning and developing new skills. State-owned enterprises are currently looking for business development and better customer service, based on technologies that can provide satisfaction. Beyond importing the latest technology, the state seeks to improve the economic, social and technological structure. Ecuadorian industry should try to implement selected pilot programs to promote the environmental care, trying to be a pioneer country in technological development focused on environmental protection. Vocational centers and automation are technical keys to improving the innovation system in Ecuador. Innovative uses of technology, increasing the availability of information workstations and providing training in theoretical centers. Young people enjoyed training time to improve competition in innovation. New types of technology simulations should also be implemented in schools to improve basic curriculum training, which will make it easier to integrate technology with students. In addition, the relation between creativity and practical knowledge previously obtained will help to reduce the lack of automation in the Ecuadorian industry. Taking place to the true transformation of productive matrix. References http://teknologiateollisuus.fi/en http://teknologiateollisuus.fi/en/news/technology-industry-wants-grow http://teknologiateollisuus.fi/en/news/investments-are-necessary-increase-growth-and-jobs http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/trends/2016-technology-industry-trends http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-19/ecuador-flower-growing-improves-food-production/5902034 http://www.importancia.org/tecnologia.php http://inversion.produccion.gob.ec/en/investment-portfolio/information-and-communication-technologies/ http://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/creative-technology https://www.gse.harvard.edu/masters/tie https://tdc.okstate.edu/ http://www.ctdsess.in/ https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/solveproblem/strat-behaverudely/behaverudely-03.html http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/04/04/1/1356/brecha-digital-persiste-ecuador-segun-informe-fem.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2JGeGNxlh4t=24s

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Thank you President Rou, Thank you County School of Education but more specifically, a special Thank You to the Human Services Department and that includes faculty, administration, and fellow students. Thank You! Parents, Family Members, Relatives, Friends, Educators, Alumni, Turner Kids, and Graduates, We made it! Everybody give these graduates a-round of applause. Graduates give yourselves a-round of applause. Yes, we made it. We made it through all those late nights studying, studying in the early mornings, and we made it through cramming studies all night long. We made it through many obstacles placed in front of us, that we thought we could never overcome, but we made it. We made it through all the tests and papers, the research, the reading, the reading, and more reading, which was assigned, to us, and somehow we made it. But how were we able to keep our lives somewhat manageable throughout all this you might have asked? The answer is simple, the Educators of Western Washington University has shaped us, molded us, and guided us to become the leaders that it took for us to become, to make it here today. There were times I wondered if it would ever end. Or, I would think, what am I doing? It seemed as though I was studying around the clock everyday. Days were rolling into days and I often asked different people, what day is it? I began questioning the amount of work, because my original intentions was to go to school so I could earn more money and work less, which begged the questions; was this a set-up? Am I being trained and conditioned to work this hard after I graduate? Is this normal? Well, my fellow Graduates, because of the hard work and the abnormal lifestyle it took to acquire this degree, I learned that the... ...bout to put each and every one of us in a category where we can say, I am one of the 20% all the citizens in the United States with a college degree, and I am one of the 2% of all the people in the whole world, with a college degree. So you see, we really do deserve to be congratulated. So when we leave here today and set out on our path toward serving others, and making a difference in our world, whether that be shaping, molding, and guiding our children for a better future, leaving the ballot box after casting our vote for whoever, or whatever issue, or leading a march for a worthy cause, whether we stand-alone or we stand as a part of multitudes, We Need To Lift Our Heads Up High, Stand Tall, And Stand Proud because we are now, graduates of Western Washington University, and for that I congratulate you. May GOD Bless You In All Your Future Endeavors! GO Vikings!

Down with Downloading Essay -- Music Downloads Technology Essays

Down with Downloading Throughout the whole time when you were able to gain access to free downloadable music, you have been able to by pass the purchasing of music, but has it been morally right? People always insist that download is great, but are you thinking of who you’re talking it from. The artists are the ones losing there money as well as positive recognition. Musicians should obviously get a cut as should small record stores who are obviously going to lose out when the big chains all get together on this (newsfactor.com). Also, the factor that you have to pay for theses programs, you mine as well go to the store and but them yourself. Everyone likes to download, but sometime you can only get one song, what if you want the whole album. And lately there have been numerous viruses, and programs that have been affected from using these downloading sites. Bugs in software are common and most can be fixed with patches, but peer-to-peer technology can be riskier (http://www.ecommercetimes.com/pe rl/story/11667.html). After, reading several studies on the downloading process, many artists have been affected in the past. Madonna, Elton John, Eminem, Brittany Spears, Nelly, India Arie, Ludacris and Sheryl Crow among them -- in an upcoming TV ad campaign to persuade young people to stop downloading music from the Internet (http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/living/music/0902/27piracy.html) They have clearly been hurt financially, even though they are financially stable. It is the honor system, and also the freedom of giving access to your music. A huge percentage of the artists make money through selling the CD’s and selling music memorabilia. If we were taking away from this, more and more people will take the free music ... ... published for this agenda. If I had just a little bit more time, I believe that is paper could indeed be a little bit better, also if I did surveys and things of that nature I could find the real peoples perspective. Overall, this paper seemed to be not as stressful as the first because the first paper lacked information and quotes. â€Å"Celebrity TV ads will fight music downloading" ajc.com. 9-27-02 http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/living/music/0902/27piracy.html â€Å"Bad News Keeps on Coming for Napster Users† By Tim McDonald. Part of the News Factor Network. June 29, 2001 http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/11667.html www.musicunited.com â€Å"Celebrity TV ads will fight music downloading" ajc.com. 9-27-02 http://www.accessatlanta.com Dewalt, Mike ed. Through internet downloading, Microsoft Encyclopedia 2002 CD-ROM. New York, New York

Information Systems Increases Revenue Essay

According to a research project completed by CFO Research Services, a Senior Vice President of a large U. S-based global services firm stated, â€Å"The CFO should always allow IT organization to innovate, to experiment, and [should] understand that there is financial risk associated with innovation. Not every IT investment will have an ROI, but allowing IT to be thought leaders is imperative in today’s evolving technology landscape. † Therefore, technology and IT is central to building relationships with customers’ thereby increasing revenue for the company. The research project also noted that business intelligence, mobility, and cloud computing will be the most important technologies for business over the next three years. Using technology is difficult in today because it is constantly evolving. According to the research conducted by CFO Research Services, it states that â€Å"old models based on enterprise silos are giving way to a new hybrid – business technology – as IT organizations, finance functions, and business operations alike acknowledge you can’t have one without the other. By increasing the integration of advance technology to its fullest potential a company can accurately and effectively meet the customer’s needs and operate efficiently, thereby increase revenue. In order for companies to build relationships with their customers they must be able to gain the customers trust. According to Jean-Pierre Lauzier of Jean-Pierre Lauzier Communications, â€Å"trust is based on a feeling, in impression or a perception – meaning something intangible – and is not based on anything rational or logical. Studies have shown that 15% of a customer’s trust in [a company] comes from the [company’s] technical competency, and 85% from the [company’s] human qualities†¦ To build trust it must be natural and authentic. † In order for a company to effectively build trust with a customer they have to make the customer feel that they know them and are sincerely interested in helping them. One great way for a company to do this is through the use of Customer Relationship Management software (CRM). According to Dr. Ruth N Bolton, â€Å"CRM is a strategic approach concerned with creating improved shareholder value through the development of appropriate relationships with key customers and customer segments. CRM unites the potential of relationship marketing strategies and IT [information technology] to create profitable, long-term relationships with customers and other key stakeholders. CRM provides enhanced opportunities to use data and information to both understand customers and co-create value with them. This requires a cross-functional integration of processes, people, operations and marketing capabilities that is enabled through information, technology and applications. † Therefore it is the CRM system that makes it possible for a company to effectively and efficiently communicate with any number of customers so that each customer feels unique. At a high level companies interact with their customer in four ways: Strategic Marketing, Pricing and Revenue Optimization, Tactical Marketing, and Customer Experience Management. Successful companies are efficient and effective in all four categories. Customer Relationship Management software make this possible. CRM provide detailed information about a customer’s interactions with the company as well as analytical information geared to enable the company to successfully provide tactical marketing and enhance the customer experience. They do this by allowing a company to track and record all of the customer’s interaction with the company so that the company can customize their interaction with the customer based on the customer’s previous behavior. According to a Computerworld survey in 1996, companies implement CRM systems in order to 1) increase customer retention, 2) respond to competitive pressures and 3) improve customer service. CRM systems are able to also reduce company costs by reducing employees time spent with customers by eliminating repetitive tasks that might be required if the company did not have a CRM system. For example, when a customer is transferred from one customer service representative to another the CRM system would transfer all customer information and conversation notes so that the employee does not have to waste time asking all the same questions that the first representative asked before being able to attempt to help the customer. However, CRM’s primary focus is to create higher revenue by helping companies build a larger percentage of loyal customers through the use of building trust and relationships with their current and future customers. Acquiring new customers is extremely costly for a company. Surveys have shown that it could cost a company six times more to acquire a new customer than to keep a current customer. Not only that, but if a company is able to build a loyal customer base those loyal customers are worth much more than their own personal purchase volume. A loyal customer is likely to share their experience with others about companies that they are very loyal to and have a close relationship with. Therefore, the company is able to acquire repeat sales to the current customer and able to obtain new customers without any additional cost required to try to attract a new sales and customers. In addition, it has also been shown that it is 16 times easier to sell to an existing customer than it is to sell to a new prospective customer. Therefore, CRM systems recognize the long-run value in potential and current customers. Building customer relationships also require companies to communicate effectively with customers in a multitude of different methods. In today’s environment people are constantly connected and on the go. Companies need to be able to meet the customer’s needs when and how the customer want their needs met. Therefore, it is imperative for companies to offer multiple avenues for customers to communicate with them. Some of those methods include the ways for the older generation such as via the telephone and letters know now days as â€Å"snail mail†. However new technology methods are now being required such as through the company’s website, e-mail, and Social Customer Relationship Management system (SCRM). According to Chris Bucholtz of CRM Outsiders, Social Customer Relationship Management is â€Å"the response of businesses to the advent of social media and the eager adoption of the new communications channels by B2B [Business to Business] and B2C [Business to Customer] buyers alike. It creates a new environment for customer conversations, a new opportunity to learn about customers, and a new opportunity to engage, build peer-to-peer relationships and strengthen brand perception. † He goes on to state that SCRM is more of a strategy than a process or product. It can include many different technology platforms and tools. CRM is the foundation of SCRM and not a replacement for CRM. A company must have a good CRM in place in order to effectively utilize SCRM. According to Bucholtz, the definition of Social CRM â€Å"is a philosophy and a business strategy, supported by a technology platform, business rules, workflow, processes and social characteristics, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative conversation in order to provide mutually beneficial value in a trusted and transparent business environment. It’s the company’s response to the customer’s ownership of the conversation. This definition simply states that it is about people (customers) interacting with people (businesses) and not people (customers) interacting with machines. Due to new technology and people having unique styles of communication, SCRM is about businesses using social media in order to best meet the needs of the customers in the best style of communication for each unique customer. Social media comprises of various online technology tools and can include: text, audio, video, podcasts, and various social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+. Social Media can increase revenue and growth of a company by 60% versus only 8% for companies that do not use social media, according to Daya Baran on PRWeb. com. The article goes on to state that â€Å"consumers are spending more time and conducting more business online and businesses that have incorporated social media are reaping the benefits as they are gaining visibility with the consumer across the entire online purchase cycle. Social media technologies are fundamentally changing the sales, marketing and operations process. It is redefining the way businesses acquire customers, generate leads, creates competitive differentiation, customer response, branding and manage crisis. † Therefore, Social CRM’s aim is to enhance the customer’s experience and relationship thereby building loyalty with the company. And as we have already discussed, a customer’s loyalty is worth much more than their customers’ individual value thus increasing revenue for the company. Another customer relationship building mechanism is Customer Experience Management. The e-zine, Customer Experience Exchange, states that companies sometime have a hard time seeing what they look like in the customer’s eyes therefore companies have to invest in technology tools to inject that accurate outside-in view from customers. In the past, companies spent much effort on ensuring the share holders were happy rather than customers. Now with new social media outlets customers are able to make themselves heard to companies much easier than ever before. Take for example the recent backlash that millions of Bank of America customers showed when Bank of America announced they were going to implement a new $5. 0 debit card fee. Never before have we seen customers be able to so quickly pull together and force big corporations to think twice before acting. Bank of America was in jeopardy of losing over 300,000 customers if they did not listen closely. Another company that needed to listen to their customers was Netflix. Netflix issued a price increase of 60% to subscribers that wanted both online streaming of movies and home DVD’s. This cause Netflix to lose more than 200,000 subscribers which in turn made Netflix CEO offer a public apology to customers and eliminate their original plan of separating the two companies. With all this being said, it can be seen how imperative it is to a company to be able to attentively listen to their customers. Without an attentive ear and without a company being focused on Customer Experience Management, a company will have difficulty growing and increasing revenue. Anna Fiorentino, of Customer Experience Exchange stated that in order to develop the best customer experience through CEM systems companies not only need to listen as shown in the Bank of America and Netflix examples, but they must also measure and monitor customer conversations and feedback. Through the use of CRM systems a company is able to analyze customer satisfaction. She stated that Coca Cola, Inc. established a customer reward system called My Coke Rewards. This system enables Coca Cola, Inc. the ability to not only listen to their customers but to also measure customer satisfaction and â€Å"deliver real time results creating value for its members as well as internal and external partners. † Kaitlyn Dennihy a strategist at Engauge, the social media agency of record for My Coke Rewards states, â€Å"Measurement is key. Translating business goals into measurable actions within social has allowed us to track the impact of our communities as well as manage and exceed expectations for the social space. Every content piece in social must include a call to action for the user that can be measured. My Coke Rewards provides insight into areas such as customer service, product merchandising and exclusivity. † ING Direct, an online-centric bank that is part of Netherlands-based ING, also believes that meeting customer needs is the basis for creating a thriving social media campaign. ING Direct was able to increase their evenue by listening to online consumer conversations with the help of a program called Radian6. Radian6 is a social media monitoring platform that allows companies the ability to know what’s being said about their brands, industries and competitors online, but to also help them measure, analyze and report on their social CRM efforts. There are many tools on the market now that provide business the ability to obtain statistical information on company website visitors, Google analytics for summarizing search trends, as well as the ability to summarize searches for tweets known as text mining. Radian6 tells companies such as ING Direct who is saying what and whether customers are communicating through a news site or blog and what percentage of influence the customer will have on the company based on web traffic. Gloria Chik, social media lead at ING Direct stated, â€Å"If we get a client complaint, it’s been fantastic to get a full profile of that person. † Companies should be prudent in privacy issues when handling confidential client financial information, making sure to look at each client complaint or compliment individually. No matter what method companies use to track return on investment on Customer Relationship Management, one thing is certain, business must focus on providing excellent customer satisfaction and when faced with unsatisfied customers they must listen. Without satisfied customers a company will have a much more difficult and sometimes impossible climb toward growth and increased revenue. In todays technologically advance world business must constantly be evolving in order to meet the customers’ needs. No longer are businesses able to simply dictate what customers will pay for a product or service. With the today’s generation companies must be diligent in building strong lasting relationships with their customers. Business should look at their customers’ relationships like a marriage. Just as in a marriage a couple must communicate and listen to each other so should a business communicate and listen to their customers. When a company does this they will be able to reap the rewards by having increased revenue and growth. In order to reap these rewards companies must effectively utilize a CRM system and also incorporate SCRM as well as a myriad of other platforms such as mobile apps, mobile websites, QR Codes and much more. By utilizing technology business are able to develop stronger customer relationships by knowing the customer better. Research Comments When I started this research project I struggled at first trying to find enough information on the subject I had chosen. However, once I got started and finally developed an outline and thought process as to what I was going to talk about, I was able to find all kinds of information. Some of the websites listed below were uncovered during the research phase but not necessarily used. Some of the websites were not used because I found the information redundant and others had to be eliminated due to the need for limiting material so that it did not go over the stated maximum for the paper.

Chpl 500 Writing Assigment 1

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY WRITING ASSIGMENT ONE a RESEARCH paper sUBMITTED TO Dr. Charlie Davidson iN PARTIAL FULFILMENT oF THE REQUIREMENTS chpl 500 lIBERTY Baptist THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BY wILLIAM nESTOR LAGRANGE GA March 24, 2013 When we think of a chaplain we think in of those who sever in the military providing spiritual comfort to soldier’s hospital. This role of spiritual leader can be traced back to the Roman imperial period where the Roman emperor was not just in charge ruling the empire but also was in charge of the state religion.Since the emperor was head of the state religion he was known as the â€Å"pontifex maximus† and it was his job to maintain the â€Å"pax deorum (peace of the gods)† to ensure welfare of the state. Those who served in Roman army religion were important, in every camp there was a shrine called aedes signorum which was locate at the headquarters. Within military there were personal that held different religious responsibilities such as victimarius and turarius who were the incense keepers. It was not until the fourth century when Christian clergy began to emerge in the Roman army.The source that is often looked at about the use of Christian clerics comes from Eusebius of Caesarea. In his report Life of the Emperor Constantine when he engaged in war he would make his tent in shape of a church to have sacred edifice to worship God in which the priests and deacons would provide the service according to the law of the church. Other group soldiers that practice religion was the Barbarians who professed Arian from of Christianity and these soldiers were attached the Roman army and were the first examples of Christian’s clerics being attached to an army unit.The Arian clerics would follow the barbarian armies for practical because when the armies would travel they could not find any Arian churches to meet the spiritual needs of the soldiers at the time. As stated earlier Christian clergy started to be used by the Roman army by Emperor Constantine who had vision of a cross which lead him to paint the symbol on his legionaries shield. This would also lead to other rituals to help Romans soldiers moral they would eventually use Christian relics and litanies and on the sails of the ships they would paint pictures of the Virgin.As move from the Roman imperial period to the Middle Ages religious leaders took continue to maintain the moral of the men who were fighting and facing imminent death. Chaplains gather their flock and provided liturgical services like penitential rites of purification and supplication because they believe war was the result of sin and the outcome was divine judgment. During the Crusades the fighters would fast three days and only take the Eucharist.They would bless the standard of the forces and would lead the soldiers with a processional cross or a prized relic. Chaplains would provide special blessings to provide protection on things like The Crusader’s Holy Lance because it was used a tool to communicate during chaos of combat. Just by looking at two different time periods religion was very important to people and the spiritual leaders had their hands full to maintain moral of people especially those who served in military units.They have to deal with stress of war and the toll it would take on the soldiers, this is the same thing that modern chaplains or religious leaders deal with today and it is not an easy job. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Doris L. Bergen, ed. , The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century (Notre Dame, Ind. : University of Notre Dame Press, 2004), 29. Chpl 500 Writing Assigment 1 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY WRITING ASSIGMENT ONE a RESEARCH paper sUBMITTED TO Dr. Charlie Davidson iN PARTIAL FULFILMENT oF THE REQUIREMENTS chpl 500 lIBERTY Baptist THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BY wILLIAM nESTOR LAGRANGE GA March 24, 2013 When we think of a chaplain we think in of those who sever in the military providing spiritual comfort to soldier’s hospital. This role of spiritual leader can be traced back to the Roman imperial period where the Roman emperor was not just in charge ruling the empire but also was in charge of the state religion.Since the emperor was head of the state religion he was known as the â€Å"pontifex maximus† and it was his job to maintain the â€Å"pax deorum (peace of the gods)† to ensure welfare of the state. Those who served in Roman army religion were important, in every camp there was a shrine called aedes signorum which was locate at the headquarters. Within military there were personal that held different religious responsibilities such as victimarius and turarius who were the incense keepers. It was not until the fourth century when Christian clergy began to emerge in the Roman army.The source that is often looked at about the use of Christian clerics comes from Eusebius of Caesarea. In his report Life of the Emperor Constantine when he engaged in war he would make his tent in shape of a church to have sacred edifice to worship God in which the priests and deacons would provide the service according to the law of the church. Other group soldiers that practice religion was the Barbarians who professed Arian from of Christianity and these soldiers were attached the Roman army and were the first examples of Christian’s clerics being attached to an army unit.The Arian clerics would follow the barbarian armies for practical because when the armies would travel they could not find any Arian churches to meet the spiritual needs of the soldiers at the time. As stated earlier Christian clergy started to be used by the Roman army by Emperor Constantine who had vision of a cross which lead him to paint the symbol on his legionaries shield. This would also lead to other rituals to help Romans soldiers moral they would eventually use Christian relics and litanies and on the sails of the ships they would paint pictures of the Virgin.As move from the Roman imperial period to the Middle Ages religious leaders took continue to maintain the moral of the men who were fighting and facing imminent death. Chaplains gather their flock and provided liturgical services like penitential rites of purification and supplication because they believe war was the result of sin and the outcome was divine judgment. During the Crusades the fighters would fast three days and only take the Eucharist.They would bless the standard of the forces and would lead the soldiers with a processional cross or a prized relic. Chaplains would provide special blessings to provide protection on things like The Crusader’s Holy Lance because it was used a tool to communicate during chaos of combat. Just by looking at two different time periods religion was very important to people and the spiritual leaders had their hands full to maintain moral of people especially those who served in military units.They have to deal with stress of war and the toll it would take on the soldiers, this is the same thing that modern chaplains or religious leaders deal with today and it is not an easy job. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Doris L. Bergen, ed. , The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century (Notre Dame, Ind. : University of Notre Dame Press, 2004), 29.