Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King...

A man known as the â€Å"father of the Indian nation†, Mohandas Gandhi, also known as Mahatma, was a man of true inspiration. He inspired well known civil-rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, and also revolutionary scientist Einstein. Gandhi was well known for using peaceful methods such as peace marches, boycotts, and sit-ins. Most people could call Gandhi the father of peace, for it was he who help the world recognize the effectiveness of non-violence. Gandhi’s peaceful ideals help break barriers in his community, individuals, and the world; showing them that the world can be a better place without the acts of violence and ruthlessness. Gandhi influenced a lot of people of his ideals. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was deeply enlightened by his teachings such as the â€Å"love-your-enemies philosophy†, which inspired him to fight for African-American’s rights without the use of weapons and violence. Dr. King describes Gandhi teachings, à ¢â‚¬Å"As I read [Gandhi’s literature], I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform.†,(Yahoo Voice. Dr). King wasn’t the only Civil Rights leader influenced by Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, also know as the father of South Africa, was also deeply influenced by Gandhi’s teachings. Mandela had called Gandhi one of his greatestShow MoreRelatedGandhi : Gandhi And Influential Religious Political Leaders Of The Twentieth Century1464 Words   |  6 PagesMohandas Karamchand Gandhi was one of the most admired and influential religious political leaders of the twentieth century. Gandhi is acknowledged as the Father of the Nation or Bapu due to his astonishing contributions towards the independence of India, by becoming an amazing freedom fighter who led In dia as a leader of Nationalism, against British rule. Gandhi was one of such that believed in nonviolence, the unity of people, and bringing spirituality upon Indian politics. He worked incrediblyRead MoreLeadership Ethics : Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi And Jack Welch933 Words   |  4 Pagessingle formula for leadership, and it will be best understood from multiple perspectives (Shriberg and Shriberg, 2011). We also accept the fact that every leader leads differently. Our team has chosen three exemplary leaders of all time – Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Jack Welch. Each one of them has exhibited a great amount of leadership skills and up to this day are used as examples in our current globalised economics. Their leadership has shaped countries and their influence has stretchedRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesTwentieth-Century World Bonnie G. Smith 83 4 The Gendering of Human Rights in the International Systems of Law in the Twentieth Century †¢ Jean H. Quataert 116 5 The Impact of the Two World Wars in a Century of Violence †¢ John H. Morrow Jr. 161 6 Locating the United States in Twentieth-Century World History †¢ Carl J. Guarneri 213 7 The Technopolitics of Cold War: Toward a Transregional Perspective †¢ Gabrielle Hecht and Paul N. Edwards 271 8 A Century of Environmental

Essay on Bullying and Suicide Relation - 1865 Words

Bullying is any type of verbal, physical or psychological abuse upon someone which causes mental distress, social problems or physical pain. How common is it to hear this word from a 10 year old child in the course of a day at school? Bullying is a harmful practice that is pervasive from the elementary up to the university level of schooling (Morrison, 2002). Bullying behaviour is found throughout society, whether it be in at school, home, or even in the workplace (Elovainio, et al., 2003). Wherever the environment, the effects of such intimidation can lead to physical injury as well as mental and emotional stress (Hay, Meldrum, 2010). Certain personality factors can make people more prone to being victimized by bullying. Being exposed†¦show more content†¦The Five Factor model can be used to identify people who are more likely to be bullied and also eventually more likely to attempt suicide as a result of their ordeal (Velting, 1999). The overarching aim discussed in th is paper is to identify and classify patients into distinct categories. Misinterpretation of patient types can lead to a dysfunctional theory. Individual characteristics like impulsivity, low self esteem and anxiety levels have been shown to contribute to suicidal thoughts (Klomek et al., 2009). In collectivist cultures where the common expectation is to be especially sensitive to understanding the social norms of the culture and withhold on individualistic tendencies for the good of the group, individuals who do not conform to the norms of the group might be targeted to bullying (Abe, Henly, 2010). A perfect example would be given by a saying in Japan- a statistically collectivist culture, that ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down’. Now depending on the person who stands out from the established norm, they can either excel by standing out of the pack in a desired social goal or be shunned and discriminated against due to perceived personal deficiencies. Agai n in this case, it depends on what the individual personality of the patient is. Certain personalities have been linked to a higher suicideShow MoreRelatedBullying Is The Third Leading Death Cause For Young People1256 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION Bullying is defined as a physical or mental victimization of a person by another person or group. Bullying is a major problem among teens in the United States today. During the 2007 -2008 school year over thirty-two percent of the nation’s students had reported a case of being harassed or abused by a fellow peer. Bullying causes a rapid declination is the victim s mental health. They suffer drastic, and dangerous behavior changes, mental issues that are similar to these could resultRead MoreMorality - Cyber Bullying948 Words   |  4 PagesCyber Bullying Cyber-bullying is when a person is harassed, embarrassed, intimidated, terrorised, tormented, threatened, or otherwise targeted by person using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones by means of threats, sexual remarks, negative labels, ridicule, false statements or disclosure of personal data. it is sometimes referred to as cyber-harassment or cyber stalking. The methods used are limited only by the childs imagination and access to technology. TraditionalRead MoreBullying And Its Effect On Children s Development Essay1708 Words   |  7 PagesBullying can happen as young as the child is placed in an environment associating with other children. As a matter of fact, bullying can happen at home when the child has another sibling also known as sibling bullying. There are several types of bullying from physical, social, verbal to cyber bullying. In this research paper, it will cover how bullying as a whole affects the child’s development. Bullying is typically a form of an ongoing aggressive behaviour intentionally directed at a certain individualRead MoreThe Importance Of Same Sex Love And Homosexual Activity1484 Words   |  6 Pagesdue to their sexuality. History class isn t the only course that leaves out the LGBTQ community. In many states, sex education does not include information on LGBTQ sex, safety, or relations. Present sex education, which is taught throughout middle school and high school, discriminates against homosexual relations. This creates a social norm among school environment, making it that much harder for kids teens or adults to express who they are, feeling safe and comfortable while doing so. Sex educationRead MoreModern Day Bullying And Its Effect On Education1415 Words   |  6 Pages Modern Day Bullying and Its Effect on Education Dominique Rollins Catawba College â€Æ' Modern Day Bullying and Its Effect on Education The current definition of a â€Å"bully,† is listed as â€Å"a blustering browbeating person; especially: one habitually cruel to others who are weaker,† (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Over the past 15 years, the term â€Å"bullying† has changed from a word that describes what was once perceived as children and teenagers making and playing harmless jokes and pranks on each otherRead MoreRacial Bullying Essay1472 Words   |  6 PagesThe word bullying is heard almost everywhere, but what does the word really mean? The definition of bullying according to Dan Olweus, the creator of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted negative actions, involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time, and involves an imbalance of power or strength (Olweus). Bullying doesn’t affect just the victim, but it also affects the bystanders around the incident and even the person doing the bullying. ThereRead MoreThe Time is Now: End Bully ing Essay example1396 Words   |  6 Pagesis sweeping the nation: bullying. What is a bully? As defined by Oxford Dictionaries, a bully is â€Å"a person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker† (oxforddictionaries.com). In most situations when the term â€Å"bully† is mentioned, the mental image of the grotesque creature standing over a small child is created. This is not always the case, however. Bullying takes place daily and in more forms than physical brutality. While physical bullying is serious, there is alsoRead MoreThe Effects Of Bullying On Children s Health And Lifestyles Essay958 Words   |  4 Pages2 Bullying have the ability to affect children’s health and lifestyles. They have higher chances of developing mental health issues throughout their lifetime.â€Å"Bullied children are more at risk for developing health symptoms such as depression, abdominal pain, bedwetting and sleep problems.† (Minne Fekkes, 2005). They may also lack social interaction, trust issues, low self-esteem, and a great deal of suffers. They commonly develop depressions and feelings of despair, which has been linked to numerousRead MoreDifferent Modes And Types Of Bullying1298 Words   |  6 Pagesespecially our youth, is bullying. Bullying is a continuous growing field that is being examined constantly due to its complexity. An important and well known website named stopbullying.com unleashed factual information that helps, as well educates families on this topic: â€Å"In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Department of Education released the first federal uniform definition of bully ing for research and surveillance †¦ there are many different modes and types of bullying. The current definitionRead MoreHomophobia Is Singling Or Being Prejudice Against Homosexual People1679 Words   |  7 Pagesnot understanding. Not understand why someone would like someone of the same sex. Why they would engage in the sexual relations with someone of the same sex. Why they can’t just not. Because of that fear of not understanding, homophobia was born. Through that fear of not understanding, comes a wave of anger and frustration, called bullying. Schools are the main ground for bullying people from the LGBT spectrum. People say that homophobia isn’t as big of an issue as people are making it out to be,

MTV Case Study Free Essays

MTV has had to conquer various environmental hurdles in order to expand their network to reach a global audience.   While the marketing strategy and the product strategy that MTV employed was not particularly innovative, the common sense approach proved to be extremely effective. Key Environmental Challenges and the Solutions The major challenges that MTV faced were producing content that appealed to a global audience and selling their product to countries with considerable cultural differences. We will write a custom essay sample on MTV Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now    Initially, MTV attempted to export American culture, but soon discovered that approach was not reaching foreign audiences.   In order to overcome this obstacle and in order to be successful in their endeavor MTV began to develop content that appealed to individual cultures.   This individualized approach also allowed MTV to sell their product to countries with more extreme cultural differences like Israel, Singapore, Cuba, and China. Global Entry Strategy and the Advantages and Disadvantages MTV entered the global market in 1987 with MTV Europe.   Soon they became the largest network in Europe.   As the demand for televisions and paid programming grew in other countries including Latin America and India, MTV took advantage of the opportunity. They targeted the youth market in these countries in their efforts for global outreach. These were definitely wise decisions and appropriate since youth are as much consumers as adults are.   The advantage to this strategy was that foreign youth do listen to American music, so there was definitely a market for MTV’s type of programming.   The disadvantage was that teens tended to be more interested in the happenings in their own countries.   Solving this problem would be complicated and costly. Global Product Strategy The global product strategy was to produce localized programming content that would appeal to the youth in their individual environments.   This was definitely an excellent strategy since MTV’s audience is for the largest part, youth and teens. Digital television and interactive services are in demand in Europe.   Armed with that knowledge MTV created a service that enabled the viewing audience to acquire information on CD’s, verify concert dates and cast their vote during the MTV European Music Awards from their televisions.   In Asia MTV developed a different approach to programming. They created a virtual veejay who they named LiLi. LiLi is capable of interacting in five different languages in such ways as interviewing guests or giving the audience tips on popular culture.   In Japan, MTV partnered with HQ Asia Pacific created a service that allowed viewers to subscribe to in order to download music and entertainment news to their mobile phones. The efforts that MTV has made to reach a global audience has surpassed successful.   They now own thirty-three district channels.   They broadcast their programming in eighteen different languages in over one-hundred sixty countries.   MTV is a cultural icon that has acquired 1.8 billion viewers worldwide.             How to cite MTV Case Study, Free Case study samples

Corporate Governance in Project Management-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Write a report on how a project can be audited for its governance. Answer: Introduction Successful completion of projects often requires the application of specific techniques that guide various project stages. Project governance involves all the major success elements of a project. Project Governance is a concept used to refer to the set of responsibilities, procedures, processes, functions regulations and policies through which projects are initiated, managed and controlled (Ahola et al., 2014). It is the framework through which critical decisions regarding portfolios, programs and projects are made in a repeatable, robust and logical manner. This report is focused on developing a checklist for project governance. Corporate governance principles that can be used in project management Corporate governance refers to a system through which organizations are controlled and directed. Corporate governance is intended to ensure organizational success (Bebchuk and Weisbach, 2010.) Some of its core principles can also be applied in the context of project management to ensure their successful initiation and completion. Fairness Any project has people who are directly or indirectly affected by its initiation and execution. Stakeholders are people who can directly affect or be affected by a projects activities, outcomes and decisions. They can be individuals, groups or organizations both from within and without the organization sponsoring a project. Examples of critical stakeholders are senior management, employees, project leader and team members, clients of organization subcontractors and members of the community among others. These groups should be involved in the project management stages through appropriate dialogue. Interests, of all stakeholders and shareholders, should be respected and taken into account in all project stages (Bebchuk and Weisbach, 2010). Responsibility Responsibility in this context refers to the state of an individual or group being answerable for something that is within their power. The project team and project manager are usually given authority to undertake a project on behalf of the project sponsor. They are therefore required to be entirely responsible for the power and authority exercised on a project. They should oversee the initiation, implementation and evaluation of a project in a way that the best interests of the project sponsor are upheld (Joslin and Mller, 2016). Accountability Accountability refers to the obligation of explaining reasons for actions taken in the course of an undertaking. Accountability principle can be applied to project management through frequent communication to the project stakeholders by the project team, concerning the progress of a project and how it is achieving its objectives. By being accountable, the project team should establish and maintain appropriate project control and risk management mechanisms (Hjelmbrekke, Ldre and Lohne, 2014). Transparency It refers to the willingness to provide precise information to project stakeholders and shareholders. The project team should keep all project stakeholders informed about primary activities involved in a project and any potential risks involved in the implementation of the project. Additionally, it should carry out its activities transparently and in a fair manner that can withstand scrutiny by stakeholders (Crawford and Helm, 2009). Transparency can make stakeholders and shareholder more confident in the ability of the project team. Issues that need to be addressed in to ensure proper project governance Transparency and Accountability Transparency is an essential issue for the success of any project. Major decisions on a project should at all times be arrived at transparently and in a manner that is consistent with established rules and regulations. All information relating to a significant decision should be freely available for all stakeholders in and be presented in forms that are easily understandable. Failure to address transparency issue can cause serious problems between the project team and project stakeholders. For example, the process of choosing suppliers for essential materials or project subcontractors must be carried out in a way that is transparent and all information regarding the process made available to all stakeholders (Guo et al., 2014). Stakeholder engagement Participation is also a vital issue that needs to be taken into consideration. All stakeholders involved in a project must be identified. This is important failing to engage any project stakeholder can derail the implementation process, causing a detrimental impact on the project. Stakeholders should be involved throughout the project cycle from the definition of project scope, Project planning, implementation and handover (Too and Weaver, 2014). Risk management The fact that no project can be said to be risk-free requires adequate preparation to deal with any potential risks. While predicting what's going to occur in a project might be difficult, failure to prepare in advance can make the situation worse. It is therefore essential that before the project is implemented all stakeholders agree how to identify, classify and prioritize risks (Zwikael and Smyrk, 2015). Risk management could involve creating a supplementary budget to cater for unforeseen adverse occurrences on a project. Project Governance checklist 1. Initiation Process Initiation 2. Planning Process Scoping Creating Schedule Budgeting Risk planning Communication planning Quality Planning Procurement Planning Formation of a project team Development of project management plan 3. Execution process Execution of project plan Team Development Procurement Communicating Quality Assurance 4. Controlling Process Change Control Project reporting Scope control Risk Control Schedule control Cost control Quality Control 5. Closing Process Contract Closeout Administrative Closeout Recommendation Numerous strategies can be employed to ensure good governance in a project. A project can be assured of excellent governance through effective involvement of its stakeholders throughout the project cycle, establishing sufficient risk mitigation strategies, defining of the duties and responsibilities of various parties involved in a project directly or indirectly, establishing clear communication channels for engaging project stakeholders and shareholders, establishing project management control processes and defining project governance models (Too and Weaver, 2014). By adhering to these deliverables, a project can be assured of good governance. The project manager is tasked with the most significant responsibility of guaranteeing good project governance. Conclusion In conclusion, Project governance is an integral aspect of the success of any project. This, however, does not exist in isolation since it can apply principles of corporate governance to facilitate successful implementation of a project. Some of these principles include fairness, transparency; accountability and responsibility. To facilitate proper project governance, issues such as stakeholder engagement, risk management and promoting responsibility and accountability also need to be addressed. Managers can also use a checklist to facilitate compliance with good project governance. References Ahola, T., Ruuska, I., Artto, K. and Kujala, J., 2014. What is project governance and what are its origins?. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), pp.1321-1332. Bebchuk, L.A. and Weisbach, M.S., 2010. The state of corporate governance research. The Review of Financial Studies, 23(3), pp.939-961. Crawford, L.H. and Helm, J., 2009. Government and governance: The value of project management in the public sector. Project Management Journal, 40(1), pp.73-87. Guo, F., Chang-Richards, Y., Wilkinson, S. and Li, T.C., 2014. Effects of project governance structures on the management of risks in significant infrastructure projects: A comparative analysis. International Journal of Project Management, 32(5), pp.815-826. Hjelmbrekke, H., Ldre, O. and Lohne, J., 2014. The need for a project governance body. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 7(4), pp.661-677. Joslin, R. and Mller, R., 2016. The relationship between project governance and project success. International journal of project management, 34(4), pp.613-626. Too, E.G., and Weaver, P., 2014. The management of project management: A conceptual framework for project governance. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), pp.1382-1394. Zwikael, O. and Smyrk, J., 2015. Project governance: Balancing control and trust in dealing with risk. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), pp.852-862.

How Poetry Is Condensed Prose Carl Sandburgs Chicago Essays

How Poetry Is Condensed Prose: Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poetry is the time old form of expression that allows one to explicate him or herself using very little words. A single poetic line can provoke a variety of emotions and send the reader to another place. Many scholars and English professors will tell you poetry consists of rhyme and meter, form and rhythm. They would be accurate in doing so. However, poetry can also be described as condensed prose that has the ability to induce a plethora of images, emotions, and thoughts into one's mind, as does the poem Chicago by Carl Sandburg. The poem Chicago by Carl Sandburg offers a great example of how poetry is in fact condensed prose. The poem, published in 1914, tells about the wicked, bareheaded, and husky city of Chicago, Illinois. Rather than sticking to the traditional closed form of poetry, Sandburg's Chicago departs to a more open form that includes some traditional uses of capitalization as well as lines that go along with the natural divisions of phrases and sentences. Instead of using any sort of metrical pattern, Chicago repeats words and phrases, such as They tell me in lines 6-10, to create its form. This poem can be considered condensed prose because it is telling a story of Chicago. One could get just as much, if not more, out of this poem as one would by reading prose about the city. A major reasons the reader is able to extract so much from poetry is the strong use of imagery, or language that evokes a physical sensation produced by one of the five senses-sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell (Literature pg. 629). The poem Chicago again provides a great example of this. The mere word Chicago triggers an image in most of our minds. We picture industries and machines because most of us know that Chicago is a large industrial center. The first five lines of Chicago are describing the city. The images that we conjure up in our mind when we hear the phrases, Hog Butcher for the World or Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat are what we are going to associate with the city of Chicago. Sandburg continues to provoke the readers sense of sight as he writes, On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger and Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness. One immediately visualizes hungry women and chil dren as well as a ferocious dog about to attack. The best use of imagery in Chicago begins on line 25. Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing! A vivid picture of a man appears in the readers' mind. He's a young man, filthy from his daily work. The reader can actually hear the young man laughing, not caring that he is dirty. This sort of imagery is what poets use to say very much with very few words. It is not deniable that poetry has the ability to evoke images and sounds into one's mind. However, different people may conjure up different images upon reading a statement in a poem. As I read the poem Chicago, I drew images in my mind of giant smokestacks and men with sledgehammers. Though I was able to come up with these images, the fact that I have never been to Chicago hampered my ability to accurately portray the city in my mind. Residents of the city would come up with different images than me due to the fact that they have seen the city and probably have specific buildings and people in there mind already that the poem reminds them of. Also, if you were to mention the word Chicago to a sports fan then he or she would automatically think of the Cubs, Whitesox, Bears, Blackhawks, or Bulls (each of the cities major sports teams). A picture of Wrigley Field or

Free Essays on Crime

Crime Causes Poverty Throughout America there are it’s ghettos, the poverty stricken, the poor, or may you say the less fortunate. Everyone isn’t always fortunate enough to be mid-class, or rich with a two door garage and a white picket fence. Many people wonder why there are such ghettos, why there is so much poverty in America when America continues to hand out opportunities. The main issue is what causes poverty, crime causes poverty, making the poor even poorer, the unwise more ignorant etc. It was once a myth that poverty causes crime, but today I think it is clear that crime is causing poverty. Businesses are driven away from theses areas , taking jobs and opportunities with them. Potential investors and would-be employers are scared away. Existing owners are deterred from making improvements on their property, and as property values go down, owners disinvest in their property. What needs to occur for this to not happen is for the police to be more abundant in these areas. Do you see crime causing poverty in â€Å"white† mid-class areas? The answer to that is NO! Do you always see the police there, cruising the streets? The answer to that is Yes! Therefore there is no crime, causing more investors to come to their suburbs or cities. Causing more employment, more jobs, more money into people’s pockets and more economic welfare. This is the answer to the problem, the urban ghettos need more protection within their streets and maybe those cities wouldn’t be so poverty stricken.... Free Essays on Crime Free Essays on Crime Are juveniles as under control today as they were in the past? Crime plays a major role in today’s society. The government follows the policy and has always followed the policy that no crime goes unpunished. The controversy that surrounds the United States courtrooms today is whether or not a minor needs to stand trial as an adult for committing a serious offense. These decisions made by the judge or jury in the preliminary hearing affect the rest of the suspects life. The opposing argument to the issue of juveniles being tried as adults remains that the minor is too young and immature to understand the consequences of what he or she did wrong. Juveniles need to be punished according to the severity of the crime in which they committed. Ultimately, juveniles should stand trial as adults. The opposition believes that holding court cases where juveniles remain tried as adults undoubtedly violates the rights of the juvenile. Initially, the age of a person when the alleged crime occurred decides whether or not he or she will be tried as a juvenile. â€Å"Definitions of who is a juvenile vary for different purposes within individual states as well as among different states† (Rosenheim 36). Children, ages seven to seventeen, who are suspected of crime, must be treated as children in need of guidance and encouragement, and not as vicious criminals (Emerson 6). Also, the opposition feels that the juvenile cannot accept full responsibility for his or her actions. Some people insist that each minor who committed a crime was influenced in some way or another (Emerson 8). Not only does the opposition believe that the minor was influenced, but they also believe that the juvenile was not able to control his or herself (Emerson 8). In addition, juveniles have not yet reached the necessary maturity level to share a prison amongst other adults. Minors, isolated for punishment, do not deserve this radical treatment (Staff Report C13). Numerous lawsuit... Free Essays on Crime America's prisons have been called "graduate schools for crime." It stands to reason: Take a group of people, strip them of possessions and privacy, expose them to constant threats of violence, overcrowd their cell-block, deprive them of meaningful work, and the result is an embittered underclass more intent on getting even with society than contributing to it. Prisons take the nonviolent offender and make him live by violence. They take the nonviolent offender and make him a hardened killer. America has to wake up and realize that the current structure of our penal system is failing terribly. The government has to devise new ways to punish the guilty, and still manage to keep American citizens satisfied that our prison system is still effective. Americans pay a great deal for prisons to fail so badly. Like all big government solutions, they are expensive. In the course of my research dealing with the criminal justice system, I have learned that the government spends approximately eighty-thousand dollars to build one cell, and $28,000 per year to keep a prisoner locked up. That's about the same as the cost of sending a student to Harvard. Because of overcrowding, it is estimated that more than ten-billion dollars in construction is needed to create sufficient space for just the current prison population. And that’s not it, what about the future explosion of the prison population? Crime in the United Sates is rising. More prisons and more money will be spent if the crime rate keep rising and the inefficient way in which the government manages its prisons stays constant. The plain truth is that the very nature of prison, no matter how humane society attempts to make it, produces an environment that is inevitably devastating to its residents. By letting violent and nonviolent prisoners share cells they only produce more violent criminals. Violent criminals; murderers, rapists, and misguided youths sharing cells to... Free Essays on Crime Crime Causes Poverty Throughout America there are it’s ghettos, the poverty stricken, the poor, or may you say the less fortunate. Everyone isn’t always fortunate enough to be mid-class, or rich with a two door garage and a white picket fence. Many people wonder why there are such ghettos, why there is so much poverty in America when America continues to hand out opportunities. The main issue is what causes poverty, crime causes poverty, making the poor even poorer, the unwise more ignorant etc. It was once a myth that poverty causes crime, but today I think it is clear that crime is causing poverty. Businesses are driven away from theses areas , taking jobs and opportunities with them. Potential investors and would-be employers are scared away. Existing owners are deterred from making improvements on their property, and as property values go down, owners disinvest in their property. What needs to occur for this to not happen is for the police to be more abundant in these areas. Do you see crime causing poverty in â€Å"white† mid-class areas? The answer to that is NO! Do you always see the police there, cruising the streets? The answer to that is Yes! Therefore there is no crime, causing more investors to come to their suburbs or cities. Causing more employment, more jobs, more money into people’s pockets and more economic welfare. This is the answer to the problem, the urban ghettos need more protection within their streets and maybe those cities wouldn’t be so poverty stricken.... Free Essays on Crime Crime has been a defining characteristic of modern America. It has claimed thousands of lives and has cost billions of dollars. The U.S. â€Å"correctional† population is at a record high. During the past two decades, the prison population has grown more rapidly than at any noted time in history. This growth resulted in the massive new prison expansion program, which was implemented in order to deal with overcrowding in prisons. The present day role of our prison system is one of deterrence. By being â€Å"tough on crime† with stiffer drug laws, tougher parole requirements, mandatory minimum sentences, â€Å"three strikes† laws and other legislation, our nation, supposedly, strives to lower the crime rate. The millions of Americans behind bars, the majority of them nonviolent offenders, means jobs for depressed regions and major profits for private contractors wanting to â€Å"cash in† on the opportunity. Our current prison-based rehabilitation prog rams have not kept up with this growing number of offenders. Our â€Å"corrections† system is failing; we are not rehabilitating prisoners. Instead, we are simply housing inmates, then releasing them back into society having received little or no job training, drug treatment, or education. Many are unable to find jobs and are barred by law from living in public housing projects, so they quickly return to crime. This pattern is a major factor in recidivism rates which have barely changed in over twenty years. (The Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.) There are many promising therapeutic programs that, if properly and sufficiently implemented, could deal with these issues. These programs have the potential to help maintain control of and improve the safety in prisons, reduce recidivism rates, and help inmates address a range of problems that can affect their ability to become productive members of society. Almost 6.6 million men and women made up the correctiona... Free Essays on Crime A crime is a wrong involving the violation of the peace and dignity of the state. In theory, it is committed against the interest of all of the people of the sate. Accordingly, the prosecutor in the name of the state, people, or commonwealth prosecutes crimes. A person who commits crime must not be punished. We must adopt a therapeutic attitude towards crime. People who commit crime must be cared for so that their willingness and behavior be treated. All too often many people view the study of deviance and criminology synonymously. Though the two are related they are not the same. Yes, those who commit crime are considered deviant by those who do not commit crimes, Yet the members of any given â€Å" criminal† subculture (ie: Gangs, organized crime) do not necessarily consider themselves deviant, rather it is their way of life, just as the law-abiding citizens consider their own behavior to be just and normal. Whether or not a criminal is considered a deviant is a matter of perspective. To the criminal, committing the crimes is usually seen as a normal whereas this type of activity is considered deviant to the non-criminal. Taking this one step further, Emile Durkheim, though not condoning criminal behavior, explained how crime is normal in society and actually serves many functions. This too is deviant behavior in general. However, the study of deviant behavior is far more than an analysis of crime and criminals. All humans are, or have been deviant is someway, whether or not has committed a societal- defined crime, we all will continue to be considered deviant by others so long as we live on Earth. As with criminal behavior, the nature of deviant behavior is a matter of perspective In order for us to function as a society crime must occur but at the same time we all must work to keep it down for our own safety. Crime prevention is defined not by intentions or methods, but by results. There is scientific evidence, for example, th... Free Essays on Crime How does Class, state ,and social controls within a capitalistic society lead to increase crime due to the criminal laws and criminal justice system imposed on the lower middle class. Social conflict theory is the only one out of the vast number of criminology theories that deals directly with this problem. From out of it’s Marxist roots arose a theory which challenges the way in which today’s society views it’s legal system and the implications it has on it’s working class citizens. The nature and purpose of social conflict theories is to examine the social controls made by the ruling class and imposed on the rest of society. Some theorists say that class order has nothing to do with crime rates in society, but Richard Quinney have made great strides in proving that social class has a direct correlation with crime due to the social controls of a capitalist government. Social conflict theory focuses on why governments make and enforce rules of law and mora lity then why an individual violates the law. Conflict theorists do not view those who commit deviant behavior as rebels who can’t conform to social norms, they show how criminal law is used as a mechanism for social change. Conflict theory flourished during the widespread social and political changes of the 1960's, because it challenged the legitimacy of the government’s creation and implication of laws designed to keep the middle- class down. Social Conflict Theory came out of the Marxist thought. â€Å"Marx believed that the character of every civilization is determined by its mode of production the way its people develop and produce material goods.†( Senna, pg 226) This concept has two main components: productive forces and productive relationships. Productive forces include things such as technology, energy sources, and material resources. Productive relationships are relationships between the people producing the goods and services. The most important rela tionship in ... Free Essays on Crime TMA7 X3112220 When attempting to explain the question of what is crime? Two predominate theories emerge, that of a structural explanation and that of an agency. These theories form one of the fundamental debates in Social Science and each offers its own perspective on how free individuals are to act as they chose with out social intervention. As such in this essay I intend to illustrate the key points of each explanation and in turn highlight key methods of evidence used to support them. Those who would describe crime with the foundation on social structures, focus on the collective influences, which drive individuals to behave or conform in certain manners. These structures can vary from an individual’s family background and genetics to their cultural surroundings and beliefs. Even with in this one branch of explanation there may be several contrasting opinions. However, essentially they all believe that â€Å"it is possible to identify structures, constraining and determining forces which are beyond the control of individuals or groups, and that these structures dispose us to behave in certain ways.† (Introductory Chapter, 2004, p28). This explanation can then be used to explain crime with the notion that people can be influenced into crime by structures, which exist around them. For example one structure, which could be considered to pressure people into crime, is the family structure. Social Psychologist David Farrington has conducted in-depth research into the way that â€Å"pathological or problem families can transmit criminal carers within them.† (Farrington, D, 1994, p31). His claims put focus on the concept that families are able to pass criminal careers through generations and that children can from an early age display behaviour, which can predict a future criminal lifestyle. Before these claims can be considered a reasonable explanation there must be supporting fact and evidence to maintain them. With out the ...

Alexander Wendt and Anarchy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alexander Wendt and Anarchy - Essay Example The anarchic structure of the international system that he arrives at is logically done, even though he argues that there is no logic in anarchy. Throughout, he reiterates that an anarchic state should not be logical. According to him self-help and power are institutions and they are not essential features of anarchy. He argues: "there is no logic of anarchy apart from the practice that create and instantiate one structure of identities and interests rather than another." Thus, Wendt says 'anarchy is what states make of it'. Many critics have agreed with his point of view while some disagreed for right reasons. He mainly touches Neorealism, but returns to traditional realism, very often. He also claims that a theory that is far removed from realism is not a working model and he gains significance here. "Realism lays claims to a relevance across systems, and because it relies on a conception of human nature, rather than a historically specific structure of world politics, it can make good on this claim," says Murray (1997, p. 202). Wendt does not ignore realism completely; but instead of working within its framework, he looks beyond it for establishing his theories. There are critics who are not very comfortable with Wendt's dictum and call it a myth and Cynthia Weber is one of them. She thinks that this myth "gets us out of the (neo)realist anarchy myth in which international anarchy determines that states will compete to ensure their survival relying on self-help logics. Wendt gets us here by emphasising practice in international politics - specifically how the practice of socially constructed states make international anarchy into what it is, whatever that may be" Weber (2005, p. 74). Hence, his emphasis is on what states do and the states could be called either as authors or tails of anarchy is not unquestioningly accepted. There are criticisms that he completely ignores the situation where the states themselves could be decision makers. This statement about anarchy made by Wendt depends on his perception of territorial jurisdiction of the states which makes anarchy a self-evident concept. He says that the identities play a very crucial role in understanding how the states behave if they come under total anarchy. Spruyt (1994, p.264), while agreeing with the statement of Wendt, goes further to state that 'what anarchy means is partially determined by the nature of the units'. But to Wendt, states are people too because 'states are intentional corporate actors whose identities and interests are an important part determined by domestic politics rather than the international system (p.246). Because every state has its own 'self' and it is realistically 'self-interested'. "Understanding how international insitutions shape state identity is crucial, constructivists argue, because social identities inform the interests that motivate state action," Reus-Smit (1999, p.22). Wendt says that the arguments that apply to corporate agencies, also apply to all the states as all of them have their own ontological statuses. State does not have an entity without its people and naturally this makes the ruling few very important. The government of a state is 'the aggregate of concrete individuals who instantiate a state at a given moment' (p. 216). As they are the people with the controlling power, decisions taken by them become the decisions of the state at a given time.

Dell International Communication Strategy Essay

Dell International Communication Strategy - Essay Example Dell has been learnt to be a company with its roots in the United States and deals in sales as well as services related to computer hardware. The company was established in the year 1980 by Michael Dell. It was witnessed to scale fresh heights in the past three decades which made the company amongst the largest multi-national corporations worldwide with its business presence in about 190 countries accompanied with almost nine manufacturing plants spread out in six different continents. The company has been learnt to earn quite considerable revenue amounting to above $49 billion annually and is also believed to engage a workforce of 55, 000 employees. Dell marks its presence in nearly every individual corner across the globe by way of selling its products directly to its respective end users. The paper would focus on comprehending the communication strategy adopted by Dell which has contributed to a significant extent towards its worldwide success (IBS Case Development Centre, 2010; A rgenti & et. al., 2005). Objectives of Dell Dell pursues an objective of creating dedicated customers with the help of offering better experience at an enormous worth. Dell prefers to focus their complete attention on their customers by maintaining direct associations with them along with serving them with the best possible products accompanied with benchmark based technology that is aimed at surpassing the degree of competition with an increased degree of customer experience and worth. The company is observed to pursue a mission of attaining the position amongst the most flourishing computer companies across the world by way of providing superior experience to its customers with regard to the markets that are catered by Dell. The company’s vision is believed to be a pioneer in the different regions of its business operations (Hanson, 1999). Background of the International Communication Strategy of Dell Corporate Culture & Ethics Dell has been learnt to witness a marvellous development in the last twenty years. In the course of this period, the company was found to constantly make endeavours in uplifting its excellence standards. The mission, values as well as vision with regard to the company has enabled the company to attain its ascertained illustrious objectives. The vital competency factor which has helped the company to attain success has been stated to be its communication strategy (Summit Strategies Inc., 2005). It has been mentioned that the company, in spite of witnessing such remarkable development has continued to remain dedicated to the core values. Dell is believed to maintain an ethical structure where the individuals are considered to be the common line that connects the present posi tion along with the future applicants of the company. The company is observed to pursue a mission of attaining the position amongst the most flourishing computer companies across the world by way of providing superior experience to its customers with regard to the markets that are catered by Dell. The company’s vision is believed to be a pioneer in the different regions of its business operations (Hanson, 1999). Dell is learnt to be a flat company which carries out its business operations on the basis of open communication and claim outcomes. The employees of the company at every individual level are provided complete independence for the reason of structuring fresh and increasingly effectual ways of conducting their respective tasks. The persuasion and completion of the individual tasks with regard to the employees does not call for the requirement of prior authorisation from the higher management. This

Equality-Voter Turnout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Equality-Voter Turnout - Essay Example However, reparative therapies should be encouraged for gay individuals who feel the urge to change their sexual orientation. All human beings are equal and equal rights should be accorded to them for being human. With this regard, people should not be prevented from marrying whoever they want because persons are born different with varying preferences. Moreover, some gay individuals are born gay meaning that they have minimal or no control over the feelings that engulf them. Restricting such people from marrying whomever they want is an infringement of their basic human right. However, same sex marriage is against the original intention of the creator. Because of this, reparative therapies are important to help homosexual individuals, who feel that is not the life they want, to transform their sexual orientation. This therapy will help them lead normal lives and be treated the same way other men or women are treated. Further, reparative therapies should only be restricted to gay individuals who wish to change because every individual’s choice should be respected (David, 2013). Voter turnout in most of the federal remains very low. Quite a number of eligible voters do not show up at the various polling stations in the federal states. The paper provides reasons for the low voter turnout. Further, the paper gives the possible solutions likely to curb this problem. The two-step voting procedure bars citizens from voting. The registration process and the voting process happen at different times. In addition, the registration of the citizens is not a government role. Citizens are required to vote at their respective polling stations. Migration from the time of registration to voting finds other eligible voters far from their polling stations. The distance makes the voter avoid traveling hence low voter turnout. The voluntary voting leads to reduced

SERVQUAL Model for Measuring Customer Satisfaction

SERVQUAL Model for Measuring Customer Satisfaction In chapter 1, an overview of the whole dissertation has been provided. It can be considered as a backbone of the dissertation with the clear objectives and purposes stated. As an illustration, the chapter has mentioned about the overview of Vietnam banking system as well as credit services in Vietnamese bank in general and BIDV in particular. Moreover, chapter 1 has also presented about the significance of this study, research scope, research purpose, the research questions, research hypotheses. Moving to chapter 2 of this dissertation, SERVQUAL Model measuring the customer satisfaction and its theories and concepts will be discussed. Moreover, some literature reviews of critical factors determining customer satisfaction in different industries, customer satisfaction on variety of banking services and credit facilities in Vietnam as well as other countries will be mentioned. Lastly, the limitations of previous researches will be concluded. 2.2 SERVQUAL Model 2.2.1 Origins of SERVQUAL Model Managers in banking industry are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their services are customer focused and that continuous performance improvement is being delivered. Given the financial and resources constrains under which banks must manage it is essential that customer satisfaction are properly met and measured and that from the customer satisfactions, any gaps in services quality are indentified. This information the assists a manager in identified cost effective ways of closing services quality gaps and of prioritizing which gaps to focus on a critical decision given scare resources. SERVQUAL Model which is a popular model of quality research of services and the most common application in the marketing research as well as other industries such as hospitality and economy. It can be said that the origin of SERVQUAL Model is derived from the study of Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry in 1985 based on expectation perception gap model. In 1985 work, Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry illustrated that consumers quality perceptions are influenced by a series of four distinct gaps occurring in organizations. These gaps on the service providers side, which can impede delivery of services that consumers perceive to be of high quality, are: Gap1: Difference between consumer expectations and management perceptions of consumer expectations. Gap2: Difference between management perceptions of consumer expectations and service quality specifications. Gap3: Difference between service quality specifications and the service actually delivered. Gap4: Difference between service delivery and what is communicated about the service to consumers. Gap5: Difference between service expectation and perceived service quality According to Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry (1985), perceived service quality is defined in the model as the difference between consumer expectations and perceptions, which in turn depends on the size and direction of the four gaps associated with the delivery of service quality on the marketers side. In addition, Brown and Bond (1995) stated that the conceptual of service quality also called the expectation perception gap model is one of the best received and most heuristically valuable contributions to the services literature. The model identifies the keys discrepancies or gaps relating to managerial perceptions of service quality, and tasks associated with service delivery to customers. The Gap 1, Gap 2, Gap 3 and Gap 4 are identified as functions of the way in which service is delivered, whereas Gap 5 pertains to the customer and as such is considered to be the true measure of service quality (Shahin A., 2006). 2.2.2 Dimensions of SERVQUAL Model As Shahin A.( 2006) concluded that one service quality measurement model that has been extensively applied is the SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman et al . (1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994; Zeithaml et al. , 1990). SERVQUAL as the most often used approach for measuring service quality has been to compare customers expectations before a service encounter and their perceptions of the actual service delivered (Gronroos, 1982; Lewis and Booms, 1983; Parasuraman et al., 1985). The SERVQUAL Model is derived from the study of Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry in 1985 and originally 10 dimensions of service quality were reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding/knowing the customer, tangibles. Later, ZeithamI, Berry and Parasuraman, 1988 tested the variables and reduced them to five factors including tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance (combining communication, credibility, security, competence and courtesy) and empathy (combining understanding and knowing the customer with accessibility (Saleh, F. and Ryan, C., 1991). Figure 2.1 SERVQUAL MODEL Reliability Responsiveness Customer satisfaction Services quality Tangibles Assurance Sympathy Ravichandran et al, 2010 Reliability Reliability shows the ability to provide services accurately, on time, and credibly (Parasuman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1985). This requires consistency in the implementation of services and respects commitments as well as keeps promises to customers. Responsiveness This criterion measures the ability to solve the problem fast, deal with customers complaint effectively and the willing to help customers as well as meet the customers requirements (Parasuman, 1988). In other words, responsiveness is the feedback from banks to what customers want. Tangibles Tangibles are the images of the facilities, equipment, machines, attitude of staffs, materials, manuals, and information systems of the bank (Parasuman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1985). In others words, the tangibles refer to the effect of physical facility, equipment, personnel and communication materials on customer (Sureshchandar, Rajendran and Kamalanabhan, 2001). The atmosphere also called servicescapes influences directly both employees and customers in physiological, psychological, sociological, cognitive and emotional ways (Sureshchandar, 2001). Assurance This element creates credibility and trust for customers, which is considered through professional services, excellent technical knowledge, attitude courtesy, and good communication skills, so that customers can believe in the quality of firms services. Sympathy Sympathy is the caring, consideration, and the best preparation for customers, so that they can feel as guests of the firm and are always welcome at any times, anywhere. Human factors are the core of this success and the more caring the bank gives to customers, the more customer understanding increases. 2.2.3 Applications of SERVQUAL Model There is no doubt that a firm wants to survive in a competitive environment, they have to ensure about the quality of products and services they are supplying to the market. Some firms provide only services therefore the quality of services is an important issue for all of these firms. Competing goods firms such as department stores, supermarket may sell a wide range of products and quality of services is a primary means of competitive differentiation. Firms that supply only services like telecommunication companies, airlines etc. have a little to offer if their quality is not good (Berry, 1986). It can be said that SERVQUAL is multiple item scale with good reliability and validity that help firms to have better understanding evaluation the services expectations and perception of customer and improve the services as well. Parasuraman et al. (1988) claimed that SERVQUAL provides a basic skeleton through its expectations/ perceptions format encompassing statements for each of the five service quality dimensions. The skeleton, when necessary, can be adapted or supplemented to fit the characteristics or specific research needs of a particular organization. SERVQUAL shows its best valuation when it is used to track service quality trends as well as in combination with other forms of service quality measurement. Moreover, SERVQUAL is used to evaluate the firms quality according to the five services dimensions by averaging the difference scores on items making up the dimensions (Parasuraman et al.,1985). Similarly, an overall measure of service quality in the form of an average score across all five dimensions. Determining the relative importance of the five dimensions affecting customers overall quality perception is one potential application of SERVQUAL. Another application of SERVQUAL is used in categorizing a firms customers into several perceived quality segments on the basis of their individual SERVQUAL scores (Parasuraman et al.,1988). 2.3 Theories and concepts of SERVQUAL Model 2.3.1 Definition 2.3.1.1 Service quality Service quality is a concept that has aroused considerable interest and debate in the research literature because of the difficulties in both defining it and measuring it with no overall consensus emerging on either (Wisniewski, 2001). Besides, there are many different definitions of what is meant by service quality. The most common definition used to define service quality is the extent to which a service meets customers needs or expectations (Lewis and Mitchell, 1990; Dotchin and Oakland, 1994; Asubonteng et al ., 1996; Wisniewski and Donnelly, 1996). Service quality can also be defined as the difference between customer expectations of service and perceived service. If expectations are greater than performance, then perceived quality is less than satisfactory and the result is customer dissatisfaction (Parasuraman et al ., 1985; Lewis and Mitchell, 1990). 2.3.1.2 Customer Satisfaction There are several definitions of customer satisfactions that come from the different point of views of researchers on customer satisfaction. For example, in opinion of Oliver (1981) Satisfaction is a psychological state resulting when the emotion surrounding disconfirmed expectations is coupled with the consumers prior feelings about the consumption experience. While Kotler (2000) defined satisfaction as: a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) said that satisfaction can be associated with feelings of acceptance, happiness, relief, excitement, and delight. While Hansemark and Albinsson (2004) stated satisfaction is an overall customer attitude towards a service provider, or an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive, regarding the fulfillment of some need, goal or desire. 2.3.2 Service Quality Realizing the growing importance of services quality to compete on the service dimensions of the augmented product, several scholars have examined the problems of measuring and managing service quality (Baumann, Burton, Elliott and Kehr, 2007; Bitner, Booms and Tetreault, 1990; Boulding, Kalra, Staelin and Zeithaml, 1993; Gilbert and Veloutsou, 2006; Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993; Robledo, 2001). However, service quality is more difficult to measure than goods quality (Gronroos, 1982) due to the intangibility of services. For this reason, firms actually find it more difficult to understand how customers perceive services and evaluate service quality (Zeithaml, 1981). According to Lewis and Booms (1983) service quality is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer expectations. Delivering quality service means conforming to customer expectations on a consistent basis. Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) also shared the opinion with Lewis and Booms (1983) by the statement: Service quality perceptions result from a comparison of consumer expectations with actual service performance. To demonstrate the above statement, Parasuraman et al (1985, 1988) proposed the SERVQUAL scale for measuring the service quality. Cronin et al. (1992) summarized four different measurement models for service quality these are SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, Weighted SERVQUAL, and Weighted SEVPERF. However, SERVPERF was regarded as the best of four models. Furthermore, Martilla et al. (1977) conducted the Importance Performance Analysis which was considered as another measurement for service quality. 2.3.3 Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is generally considered among the most important long term objectives of firms. The marketing concept suggests that a satisfied customer will be more likely to repurchase products or use the services again than those are dissatisfied (Al Wugayan et al., 2007). Al Wugayan et al, (2007) also concluded that it is generally accepted that satisfaction is a psychological state that results from consumer experiences after consumption. Additionally, the basic conceptualizations focus on either or both of two aspects: the customers initial expectations in relation to product attributes and the customers perceptions of the product performance in relation to these expectations. There are many different factors influencing customer satisfaction these are friendly employees, courteous employees, knowledgeable employees, helpful employees, accuracy of billing, billing timeliness, competitive pricing, service quality, good value, billing clarity and quick services (Hokanson, 1995). In order to gain the customer satisfaction, first of all firms have to understand and satisfy their customer needs and wants (La Barbera and Mazursky, 1983). According to Kotler (2000) customers needs illustrate the felt deprivation of a customer. Meanwhile customers wants refer to the form taken by human needs as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. Singh, H. (2006) indicated that customer satisfaction affect positively and directly to an organizations profitability. Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) claimed that satisfied customers form the foundation of any successful business as customer satisfaction leads to repeat purchase, brand loyalty, and positive word of mouth. To some extents, the consequences of a lack of customer satisfaction need to be taken into account. According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2001), dissatisfied consumers can decide to discontinue purchasing the good or service; complain to the company or to a third party and perhaps return the item, or engage in negative word of mouth communication. From summarizing a numerous previous researches about satisfied customer and dissatisfied ones, La Barbera and Mazursky (1983) made a conclusion that satisfaction influences repurchase intentions whereas dissatisfaction has been seen as a primary reason for customer defection or discontinuation of purchase. Moreover, customer satisfaction affects positively and directly customer loyalty as well as customer retention. According to Sivadas and Baker-Prewitt (2000), there is an increasing recognition that the ultimate objective of customer satisfaction measurement should be customer loyalty. It can be denied that high customer satisfaction will result in increased loyalty for the firm and that customers will be less prone to overtures from competition (Fornell, 1992). Anton (1996) also shared his opinion with statement: satisfaction is positively associated with repurchase intentions, likelihood of recommending a product or service, loyalty and profitability. Clearly, customer loyalty brings customer retention to repurchase or use the products and services the firms supply. In addition, long-term customer retention in competitive markets requires the business to go beyond mere basic satisfaction and to look for ways of establishing ties of loyalty that will help ward off competitor attack (Clare, 2001). 2.3.4 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is often defined as the customers post-purchase comparison between pre-purchase expectation and performance received (Oliver, 1980; Zeithaml et al., 1993). The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction has been discussed in numerous previous papers during the past decade. First of all, many researchers present that service quality has positive related relationship with customer satisfaction. In other words, service quality influence customer satisfaction and vice versa customer satisfaction influence quality (Jun and Cai, 2010). There is no doubt that in the worlds today intensive competition, once a business wants to survive, they have to improve the service quality that helps them to achieve a different advantage over their rivalries. Service quality, therefore has become one of the critical factors for satisfying and retaining valued customers in every industries and banking is not an exception. Many scholars indicate that high service quality results in customer satisfaction and loyalty with the product or service. A satisfied customer will have the willingness to recommend someone else, reduction in complaints and the bank can achieve the customer retention. Furthermore, a satisfied customer is likely to be a loyal customer who will give repeatin g business to the firm (Heskett et al., 1997). More importantly, according to Bedi (2010), the cost of retaining existing customer by improving the quality of product and services is perceived to be significantly lower than the cost of achieving the new customers. On the other hand, when regarding the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in some industries as banking, some scholars point out that service quality is not related to customer satisfaction under certain circumstances. For example, through numerous studies, Parasuraman et al. (1985) indicated that even though customers were satisfied with a particular service, they did not think that it was of high quality. Another scholar also agrees with this idea, Storbacka et al. (1994, pp. 24) stated that: A customer could, therefore, respond on a questionnaire that a particular bank is of high quality, even if this did not mean this customer was satisfied with using the bank. Its interest rates on loans may be too high or it might not fit the customers preferences for some other reason. 2.4 Previous research 2.4.1 Critical summaries of previous research a. Title: Lending Policies of Informal, Formal and Semiformal Lenders Evidence from Vietnam Authors: Thi Thu Tra Pham and Robert Lensink (2007) Country: Vietnam Data collection: the data used in this study are from a household survey on living standard in Vietnam that conducted by Vietnams General Statistical Office in 1998 with the sample of 6,002 households. Summary: This paper aims to compare lending policies of formal, informal and semiformal lenders towards household lending in Vietnam. The study points out that the probability of using formal or semi formal credit increase when borrowers provide collateral, a guarantor and/or borrow for business-related activities. The probability of using informal credit increases for female borrowers. Formal loan contract terms such as loan interest rate and form of loan repayment affect strongly default risk of formal credit. While internal characteristics of the borrowing household influent much on default risk of informal credit. Lastly, this paper aims to explore how different types of lenders try to avoid adverse selection as well as moral hazard by screening, monitoring and enforcement instruments. b. Title: Formal and Informal Rural Credit in Four Provinces of Vietnam Authors: Mikkel Barslund and Finn Tarp (2008) Country: Vietnam Data collection: A survey of 932 rural households (in four provinces of Long An, Quang Nam, Ha Tay and Phu Tho) in combination with information from the 2002 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey. Summary: This paper aims to indicate how the rural credit market operates in Vietnam. Households can obtain the credit provided by both formal and informal lenders. Normally, formal loans are used for production and asset accumulation, whereas informal loans are supplied for consumption smoothening. The determinants of formal and informal credit demand are extremely different. While credit rationing depends on education and credit history, in particular, regional differences in the demand for credit are striking. The study indicates that credit policy in Vietnam only has one size fits all approach would be inappropriate. c. Title: Research on Customer Satisfaction: Take the Loan Market of the Taiwanese Region as An Example. Authors: Chih-Chung Chen, Su-Chao Chang (2006) Country: Taiwan Data collection: In this study, 650 questionnaires were distributed of which 413 valid questionnaires returned. Moreover, this research also conducted interviews five native branch office managers. Summary: This study aims to examine the feasibility of employing customer satisfaction model in the loan departments of banks. The research presents that once customer expectations are significantly as well as positively related to the banks performance, customer satisfaction and loyalty will be high and the complaints will be few as the result. d. Title: Credit and Non Interest Rate Determinants of Loan Demand: a Spanish Case Study Authors: Manrique, J. and Ojah, K. (2004) Country: Spain Data collection: This survey contains data for 21,155 Spanish households. 430 observations were excluded due to missing and/or inconsistent information, leaving a final sample of 20,725 observations. Summary: This research aims to investigate the potential relationship between the condition of being credit unconstrained and holdings loans as well as the determinants for a household being credit unconstrained, consumer loans and real estate loans. Spanish households desire and capacity to hold loans depends on the family size, education, permanent and transitory incomes. Lastly, this research provides deeply insights that attract credit consumers, credit suppliers, and policy makers in Spain. e. Title: Consumer Credit and Money Policy in Malaysia Authors: Kassim, Salina Hj and Manap, Turkhan Ali Abul (2008) Country: Malaysia Data collection: The study uses monthly data from January 1998 until March 2006. Data such as interest rates and bank loans come from Bank Negara Malaysias Monthly Statistical Bulletin. Data on the economic conditions such as the CPI and the IPI are gathered from the respective publications of the Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Summary: The study aims to find out the consequences of interest rate on consumer credit in Malaysia based on empirical investigation. The authors categorized aggregate consumer loans into specific types including loans for purchase of residential property, loans for credit cards, loans for personal needs, loans for purchase of securities and so on, so forth. Through categorizing types of loans, the paper aims to present the relative sensitivity of each loan to interest rate shocks. f. Title: Credit demand of Rural Enterprise and Loan Supply in China Authors: Du Zhixiong (2004) Country: China Data collection: The two databases were collected during two fields of rural enterprises, undertaken in 2000 and 2001 in different provinces, namely, Jiangsu province in coastal China, and Anhui province in the central part of China. Summary: This study aims to supply the information about the real situation of rural enterprises financing. Moreover, this paper also illustrates information on the banking systems restructuring and the ways banks provide credit for rural enterprises to overcome the financing constraints. Undoubtedly, the article shows useful information on financing of rural enterprises based on using data from two surveys of rural enterprises. g. Title: Deteriorating Bank Health and Lending in Japan: Evidence from Unlisted Companies under Financial Distress Authors: Fukuda, Shin-Ichi, Kasuya, Munehisa, and Nakajima, Jouchi (2006) Country: Japan Data collection: The data are taken from Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) Database Service about 3644 Japanese unlisted firms. Summary: This study aims to investigate the impacts of banks weakened financial conditions on loans outstanding to medium size firms in Japan. The paper examines the determinants of lending to unlisted Japanese companies in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Moreover, the study indicates that the bank health, regulatory capital adequacy ratios and ratios of non-performing loans had opposite impacts on lending. In the case of regulatory capital adequacy ratios, its deterioration had a perverse impact on the banks lending. h. Title: An Investigation of the Relationships among Consumer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Market Share in Kuwaiti loan services Authors: Al-Wugaya, A., Pleshko, L.P., and Baqer, S.M. (2007) Country: Kuwaiti Data collection: the paper used the survey of nearly 700 customers using Kuwaiti loan services. Summary: This research aims to investigate the relationship among customer satisfaction, loyalty, and market share of loan services in Kuwaiti. Based on the research result, the authors indicate that the relationship between customer satisfaction and market share is not supported in banking industry. However, customer loyalty is pointed out to be related to market shares. Moreover, customer loyalty is not derived from customer satisfaction but rather on other factors like price, special deals or bank customer relationship. i. Title: Provisioning of Rural Credit: an Indian Perspective Authors: Mishra, S., Mohanty, A.R., and Choudhury, S. (2009) Country: India Data collection: the survey covering 90,000 rural households in 6,552 villages in India was conducted from January to December 2003 by the National Sample Survey Organization. Summary: The paper aims to analysis rural credit provisioning measures as well as the rural credit delivery scenario in India through different rural financial institution. The study indicates that rural credit delivery still has been suffered from low levels of access to credit by the farming community, declining share of agricultural loan as a share of the total credit uptake, inadequate coverage of small and marginal farmers and exclusion of tenant farmers and share croppers. j. Title: The Incidence of Loan Collateralization in Small Business Lending Contract: Evidence from the UK. Authors: Cowling, M. (1999) Country: the UK Data collection: the data were used as random samples of 272 small businesses from a survey conducted by Association of British Chambers of Commerce. Summary: The paper aims to investigate the relationship between small firms and banks focusing on the incidence of loan collateralization. The study indicates that age of the small firms and close relationship with the banks that helps to reduce the incidence of loan collateralization, which implies that relationship banking can bring tangible benefits to small businesses. 2.4.2 Limitations of previous research General speaking, everything has its own advantages and disadvantages. There is no doubt that previous research has provided readers comprehensive knowledge about sectors it mentioned especially in customer satisfaction as well as credit facilities provided in different countries in general and in Vietnam in particular. However, the previous papers also show their limitations as there were a few studies specializing in credit facilities provided by Vietnamese banks. Further the real situation of credit services in Vietnam including outstanding loans, loan structures well as the quality of credit facilities has not been comprehensively researched. Accordingly, the customer satisfaction on credit facilities was not paid much attention by previous scholars. Therefore it can be said that the previous studies do not provide adequate information about customer satisfaction on credit facilities in Vietnamese banks. 2.5 Criticism of SERVQUAL Model It can be denied that although SERVQUAL has grown popularly and widespread applied it still has been subjected to a number of theoretical and operational criticisms as below. Under theoretical aspects, first of all SERVQUAL is criticized due to its inappropriate base on an expectations disconfirmation model rather than an attitudinal model of service quality. Secondly, it does not build on extant knowledge in economics, statistics and psychology (Francis Buttle (1996). Cronin and Taylor (1992; 1994) said that SERVQUAL is paradigmatically flawed because of its ill-judged adoption of this disconfirmation model. Moreover, they stated that perceived quality is best conceptualized as an attitude. They criticized Parasuraman et al. for their hesitancy to define perceived service quality in attitudinal terms, even though Parasuraman et al. (1988) had earlier claimed that service quality was similar in many ways to an attitude. Another criticism has been proposed by Anderson (1992), he indicated that SERVQUAL fails to draw on previous social science research, particularly economic theory, statistics, and psychological theory. Parasuraman et al.s work is highly inductive in that it moves from historically situated observation to general theory. Andersson (1992) reckoned that Parasuraman et al. renounces the principle of scientific continuity and deduction. For theoretical aspects, Francis Buttle (1996) also presented a related set of criticism of SERVQUAL including factors involved in Gaps model, process orientation and dimensionality. In Gaps model, there is little evidence shows that the customer assess quality in terms of Perception Expectation gaps. For process orientation: SERVQUAL has been criticized for concentrating on the process of service delivery rather than focusing on the outcomes of the service encounter such as technical dimensions (Kang and James, 2004). In other words, the SERVQUAL measurement does not adequately explain a technical attribute of service (Ravichandran K., et al, 2010). Dimensionality: SERVQUALs five dimensions are not universals; the number of dimensions comprising service quality is contextualized; items do not always load on to the factors which one would a priori expect; and there is a positive inter correlation between the five RATER dimensions (Buttle ,1996). Under operational aspects, many scholars have argued that the components of SERVQUAL fail to fully evaluate customer perception on service quality in certain industries (Cronin Taylor, 1992; Finn and Lamb, 1991). Two attributes of service was proposed by Gronroos (1984) which have been identified as dimensions of service quality relied on the conceptualization of service quality as between expectation of service and perceived service. Rust and Oliver (1994) extended Grunions model by providing a three-component model explaining service quality through service product, service delivery and service environment. Whereas Brady and Cronin (2001) suggested three service quality dimensions including service outcome, consumer-employee interaction and service environment. It can be said that the conceptualization of service product/service outcome and service delivery/consumer employee interaction is consistent with the idea of technical attribute as well as functional attribute derived fro m Gronroos model. (Ravichandran K., et al, 2010). 2.5 Chapter Summary To conclude, first of all SERVQUAL Model measuring the customer satisfaction as well as its theories and concepts have been presented. After that this chapter has reviewed many academic previous researches about critical factors determining customer satisfaction in di SERVQUAL Model for Measuring Customer Satisfaction SERVQUAL Model for Measuring Customer Satisfaction In chapter 1, an overview of the whole dissertation has been provided. It can be considered as a backbone of the dissertation with the clear objectives and purposes stated. As an illustration, the chapter has mentioned about the overview of Vietnam banking system as well as credit services in Vietnamese bank in general and BIDV in particular. Moreover, chapter 1 has also presented about the significance of this study, research scope, research purpose, the research questions, research hypotheses. Moving to chapter 2 of this dissertation, SERVQUAL Model measuring the customer satisfaction and its theories and concepts will be discussed. Moreover, some literature reviews of critical factors determining customer satisfaction in different industries, customer satisfaction on variety of banking services and credit facilities in Vietnam as well as other countries will be mentioned. Lastly, the limitations of previous researches will be concluded. 2.2 SERVQUAL Model 2.2.1 Origins of SERVQUAL Model Managers in banking industry are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their services are customer focused and that continuous performance improvement is being delivered. Given the financial and resources constrains under which banks must manage it is essential that customer satisfaction are properly met and measured and that from the customer satisfactions, any gaps in services quality are indentified. This information the assists a manager in identified cost effective ways of closing services quality gaps and of prioritizing which gaps to focus on a critical decision given scare resources. SERVQUAL Model which is a popular model of quality research of services and the most common application in the marketing research as well as other industries such as hospitality and economy. It can be said that the origin of SERVQUAL Model is derived from the study of Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry in 1985 based on expectation perception gap model. In 1985 work, Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry illustrated that consumers quality perceptions are influenced by a series of four distinct gaps occurring in organizations. These gaps on the service providers side, which can impede delivery of services that consumers perceive to be of high quality, are: Gap1: Difference between consumer expectations and management perceptions of consumer expectations. Gap2: Difference between management perceptions of consumer expectations and service quality specifications. Gap3: Difference between service quality specifications and the service actually delivered. Gap4: Difference between service delivery and what is communicated about the service to consumers. Gap5: Difference between service expectation and perceived service quality According to Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry (1985), perceived service quality is defined in the model as the difference between consumer expectations and perceptions, which in turn depends on the size and direction of the four gaps associated with the delivery of service quality on the marketers side. In addition, Brown and Bond (1995) stated that the conceptual of service quality also called the expectation perception gap model is one of the best received and most heuristically valuable contributions to the services literature. The model identifies the keys discrepancies or gaps relating to managerial perceptions of service quality, and tasks associated with service delivery to customers. The Gap 1, Gap 2, Gap 3 and Gap 4 are identified as functions of the way in which service is delivered, whereas Gap 5 pertains to the customer and as such is considered to be the true measure of service quality (Shahin A., 2006). 2.2.2 Dimensions of SERVQUAL Model As Shahin A.( 2006) concluded that one service quality measurement model that has been extensively applied is the SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman et al . (1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994; Zeithaml et al. , 1990). SERVQUAL as the most often used approach for measuring service quality has been to compare customers expectations before a service encounter and their perceptions of the actual service delivered (Gronroos, 1982; Lewis and Booms, 1983; Parasuraman et al., 1985). The SERVQUAL Model is derived from the study of Parasuraman, ZeithamI, and Berry in 1985 and originally 10 dimensions of service quality were reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding/knowing the customer, tangibles. Later, ZeithamI, Berry and Parasuraman, 1988 tested the variables and reduced them to five factors including tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance (combining communication, credibility, security, competence and courtesy) and empathy (combining understanding and knowing the customer with accessibility (Saleh, F. and Ryan, C., 1991). Figure 2.1 SERVQUAL MODEL Reliability Responsiveness Customer satisfaction Services quality Tangibles Assurance Sympathy Ravichandran et al, 2010 Reliability Reliability shows the ability to provide services accurately, on time, and credibly (Parasuman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1985). This requires consistency in the implementation of services and respects commitments as well as keeps promises to customers. Responsiveness This criterion measures the ability to solve the problem fast, deal with customers complaint effectively and the willing to help customers as well as meet the customers requirements (Parasuman, 1988). In other words, responsiveness is the feedback from banks to what customers want. Tangibles Tangibles are the images of the facilities, equipment, machines, attitude of staffs, materials, manuals, and information systems of the bank (Parasuman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1985). In others words, the tangibles refer to the effect of physical facility, equipment, personnel and communication materials on customer (Sureshchandar, Rajendran and Kamalanabhan, 2001). The atmosphere also called servicescapes influences directly both employees and customers in physiological, psychological, sociological, cognitive and emotional ways (Sureshchandar, 2001). Assurance This element creates credibility and trust for customers, which is considered through professional services, excellent technical knowledge, attitude courtesy, and good communication skills, so that customers can believe in the quality of firms services. Sympathy Sympathy is the caring, consideration, and the best preparation for customers, so that they can feel as guests of the firm and are always welcome at any times, anywhere. Human factors are the core of this success and the more caring the bank gives to customers, the more customer understanding increases. 2.2.3 Applications of SERVQUAL Model There is no doubt that a firm wants to survive in a competitive environment, they have to ensure about the quality of products and services they are supplying to the market. Some firms provide only services therefore the quality of services is an important issue for all of these firms. Competing goods firms such as department stores, supermarket may sell a wide range of products and quality of services is a primary means of competitive differentiation. Firms that supply only services like telecommunication companies, airlines etc. have a little to offer if their quality is not good (Berry, 1986). It can be said that SERVQUAL is multiple item scale with good reliability and validity that help firms to have better understanding evaluation the services expectations and perception of customer and improve the services as well. Parasuraman et al. (1988) claimed that SERVQUAL provides a basic skeleton through its expectations/ perceptions format encompassing statements for each of the five service quality dimensions. The skeleton, when necessary, can be adapted or supplemented to fit the characteristics or specific research needs of a particular organization. SERVQUAL shows its best valuation when it is used to track service quality trends as well as in combination with other forms of service quality measurement. Moreover, SERVQUAL is used to evaluate the firms quality according to the five services dimensions by averaging the difference scores on items making up the dimensions (Parasuraman et al.,1985). Similarly, an overall measure of service quality in the form of an average score across all five dimensions. Determining the relative importance of the five dimensions affecting customers overall quality perception is one potential application of SERVQUAL. Another application of SERVQUAL is used in categorizing a firms customers into several perceived quality segments on the basis of their individual SERVQUAL scores (Parasuraman et al.,1988). 2.3 Theories and concepts of SERVQUAL Model 2.3.1 Definition 2.3.1.1 Service quality Service quality is a concept that has aroused considerable interest and debate in the research literature because of the difficulties in both defining it and measuring it with no overall consensus emerging on either (Wisniewski, 2001). Besides, there are many different definitions of what is meant by service quality. The most common definition used to define service quality is the extent to which a service meets customers needs or expectations (Lewis and Mitchell, 1990; Dotchin and Oakland, 1994; Asubonteng et al ., 1996; Wisniewski and Donnelly, 1996). Service quality can also be defined as the difference between customer expectations of service and perceived service. If expectations are greater than performance, then perceived quality is less than satisfactory and the result is customer dissatisfaction (Parasuraman et al ., 1985; Lewis and Mitchell, 1990). 2.3.1.2 Customer Satisfaction There are several definitions of customer satisfactions that come from the different point of views of researchers on customer satisfaction. For example, in opinion of Oliver (1981) Satisfaction is a psychological state resulting when the emotion surrounding disconfirmed expectations is coupled with the consumers prior feelings about the consumption experience. While Kotler (2000) defined satisfaction as: a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) said that satisfaction can be associated with feelings of acceptance, happiness, relief, excitement, and delight. While Hansemark and Albinsson (2004) stated satisfaction is an overall customer attitude towards a service provider, or an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive, regarding the fulfillment of some need, goal or desire. 2.3.2 Service Quality Realizing the growing importance of services quality to compete on the service dimensions of the augmented product, several scholars have examined the problems of measuring and managing service quality (Baumann, Burton, Elliott and Kehr, 2007; Bitner, Booms and Tetreault, 1990; Boulding, Kalra, Staelin and Zeithaml, 1993; Gilbert and Veloutsou, 2006; Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993; Robledo, 2001). However, service quality is more difficult to measure than goods quality (Gronroos, 1982) due to the intangibility of services. For this reason, firms actually find it more difficult to understand how customers perceive services and evaluate service quality (Zeithaml, 1981). According to Lewis and Booms (1983) service quality is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer expectations. Delivering quality service means conforming to customer expectations on a consistent basis. Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) also shared the opinion with Lewis and Booms (1983) by the statement: Service quality perceptions result from a comparison of consumer expectations with actual service performance. To demonstrate the above statement, Parasuraman et al (1985, 1988) proposed the SERVQUAL scale for measuring the service quality. Cronin et al. (1992) summarized four different measurement models for service quality these are SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, Weighted SERVQUAL, and Weighted SEVPERF. However, SERVPERF was regarded as the best of four models. Furthermore, Martilla et al. (1977) conducted the Importance Performance Analysis which was considered as another measurement for service quality. 2.3.3 Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is generally considered among the most important long term objectives of firms. The marketing concept suggests that a satisfied customer will be more likely to repurchase products or use the services again than those are dissatisfied (Al Wugayan et al., 2007). Al Wugayan et al, (2007) also concluded that it is generally accepted that satisfaction is a psychological state that results from consumer experiences after consumption. Additionally, the basic conceptualizations focus on either or both of two aspects: the customers initial expectations in relation to product attributes and the customers perceptions of the product performance in relation to these expectations. There are many different factors influencing customer satisfaction these are friendly employees, courteous employees, knowledgeable employees, helpful employees, accuracy of billing, billing timeliness, competitive pricing, service quality, good value, billing clarity and quick services (Hokanson, 1995). In order to gain the customer satisfaction, first of all firms have to understand and satisfy their customer needs and wants (La Barbera and Mazursky, 1983). According to Kotler (2000) customers needs illustrate the felt deprivation of a customer. Meanwhile customers wants refer to the form taken by human needs as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. Singh, H. (2006) indicated that customer satisfaction affect positively and directly to an organizations profitability. Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) claimed that satisfied customers form the foundation of any successful business as customer satisfaction leads to repeat purchase, brand loyalty, and positive word of mouth. To some extents, the consequences of a lack of customer satisfaction need to be taken into account. According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2001), dissatisfied consumers can decide to discontinue purchasing the good or service; complain to the company or to a third party and perhaps return the item, or engage in negative word of mouth communication. From summarizing a numerous previous researches about satisfied customer and dissatisfied ones, La Barbera and Mazursky (1983) made a conclusion that satisfaction influences repurchase intentions whereas dissatisfaction has been seen as a primary reason for customer defection or discontinuation of purchase. Moreover, customer satisfaction affects positively and directly customer loyalty as well as customer retention. According to Sivadas and Baker-Prewitt (2000), there is an increasing recognition that the ultimate objective of customer satisfaction measurement should be customer loyalty. It can be denied that high customer satisfaction will result in increased loyalty for the firm and that customers will be less prone to overtures from competition (Fornell, 1992). Anton (1996) also shared his opinion with statement: satisfaction is positively associated with repurchase intentions, likelihood of recommending a product or service, loyalty and profitability. Clearly, customer loyalty brings customer retention to repurchase or use the products and services the firms supply. In addition, long-term customer retention in competitive markets requires the business to go beyond mere basic satisfaction and to look for ways of establishing ties of loyalty that will help ward off competitor attack (Clare, 2001). 2.3.4 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is often defined as the customers post-purchase comparison between pre-purchase expectation and performance received (Oliver, 1980; Zeithaml et al., 1993). The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction has been discussed in numerous previous papers during the past decade. First of all, many researchers present that service quality has positive related relationship with customer satisfaction. In other words, service quality influence customer satisfaction and vice versa customer satisfaction influence quality (Jun and Cai, 2010). There is no doubt that in the worlds today intensive competition, once a business wants to survive, they have to improve the service quality that helps them to achieve a different advantage over their rivalries. Service quality, therefore has become one of the critical factors for satisfying and retaining valued customers in every industries and banking is not an exception. Many scholars indicate that high service quality results in customer satisfaction and loyalty with the product or service. A satisfied customer will have the willingness to recommend someone else, reduction in complaints and the bank can achieve the customer retention. Furthermore, a satisfied customer is likely to be a loyal customer who will give repeatin g business to the firm (Heskett et al., 1997). More importantly, according to Bedi (2010), the cost of retaining existing customer by improving the quality of product and services is perceived to be significantly lower than the cost of achieving the new customers. On the other hand, when regarding the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in some industries as banking, some scholars point out that service quality is not related to customer satisfaction under certain circumstances. For example, through numerous studies, Parasuraman et al. (1985) indicated that even though customers were satisfied with a particular service, they did not think that it was of high quality. Another scholar also agrees with this idea, Storbacka et al. (1994, pp. 24) stated that: A customer could, therefore, respond on a questionnaire that a particular bank is of high quality, even if this did not mean this customer was satisfied with using the bank. Its interest rates on loans may be too high or it might not fit the customers preferences for some other reason. 2.4 Previous research 2.4.1 Critical summaries of previous research a. Title: Lending Policies of Informal, Formal and Semiformal Lenders Evidence from Vietnam Authors: Thi Thu Tra Pham and Robert Lensink (2007) Country: Vietnam Data collection: the data used in this study are from a household survey on living standard in Vietnam that conducted by Vietnams General Statistical Office in 1998 with the sample of 6,002 households. Summary: This paper aims to compare lending policies of formal, informal and semiformal lenders towards household lending in Vietnam. The study points out that the probability of using formal or semi formal credit increase when borrowers provide collateral, a guarantor and/or borrow for business-related activities. The probability of using informal credit increases for female borrowers. Formal loan contract terms such as loan interest rate and form of loan repayment affect strongly default risk of formal credit. While internal characteristics of the borrowing household influent much on default risk of informal credit. Lastly, this paper aims to explore how different types of lenders try to avoid adverse selection as well as moral hazard by screening, monitoring and enforcement instruments. b. Title: Formal and Informal Rural Credit in Four Provinces of Vietnam Authors: Mikkel Barslund and Finn Tarp (2008) Country: Vietnam Data collection: A survey of 932 rural households (in four provinces of Long An, Quang Nam, Ha Tay and Phu Tho) in combination with information from the 2002 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey. Summary: This paper aims to indicate how the rural credit market operates in Vietnam. Households can obtain the credit provided by both formal and informal lenders. Normally, formal loans are used for production and asset accumulation, whereas informal loans are supplied for consumption smoothening. The determinants of formal and informal credit demand are extremely different. While credit rationing depends on education and credit history, in particular, regional differences in the demand for credit are striking. The study indicates that credit policy in Vietnam only has one size fits all approach would be inappropriate. c. Title: Research on Customer Satisfaction: Take the Loan Market of the Taiwanese Region as An Example. Authors: Chih-Chung Chen, Su-Chao Chang (2006) Country: Taiwan Data collection: In this study, 650 questionnaires were distributed of which 413 valid questionnaires returned. Moreover, this research also conducted interviews five native branch office managers. Summary: This study aims to examine the feasibility of employing customer satisfaction model in the loan departments of banks. The research presents that once customer expectations are significantly as well as positively related to the banks performance, customer satisfaction and loyalty will be high and the complaints will be few as the result. d. Title: Credit and Non Interest Rate Determinants of Loan Demand: a Spanish Case Study Authors: Manrique, J. and Ojah, K. (2004) Country: Spain Data collection: This survey contains data for 21,155 Spanish households. 430 observations were excluded due to missing and/or inconsistent information, leaving a final sample of 20,725 observations. Summary: This research aims to investigate the potential relationship between the condition of being credit unconstrained and holdings loans as well as the determinants for a household being credit unconstrained, consumer loans and real estate loans. Spanish households desire and capacity to hold loans depends on the family size, education, permanent and transitory incomes. Lastly, this research provides deeply insights that attract credit consumers, credit suppliers, and policy makers in Spain. e. Title: Consumer Credit and Money Policy in Malaysia Authors: Kassim, Salina Hj and Manap, Turkhan Ali Abul (2008) Country: Malaysia Data collection: The study uses monthly data from January 1998 until March 2006. Data such as interest rates and bank loans come from Bank Negara Malaysias Monthly Statistical Bulletin. Data on the economic conditions such as the CPI and the IPI are gathered from the respective publications of the Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Summary: The study aims to find out the consequences of interest rate on consumer credit in Malaysia based on empirical investigation. The authors categorized aggregate consumer loans into specific types including loans for purchase of residential property, loans for credit cards, loans for personal needs, loans for purchase of securities and so on, so forth. Through categorizing types of loans, the paper aims to present the relative sensitivity of each loan to interest rate shocks. f. Title: Credit demand of Rural Enterprise and Loan Supply in China Authors: Du Zhixiong (2004) Country: China Data collection: The two databases were collected during two fields of rural enterprises, undertaken in 2000 and 2001 in different provinces, namely, Jiangsu province in coastal China, and Anhui province in the central part of China. Summary: This study aims to supply the information about the real situation of rural enterprises financing. Moreover, this paper also illustrates information on the banking systems restructuring and the ways banks provide credit for rural enterprises to overcome the financing constraints. Undoubtedly, the article shows useful information on financing of rural enterprises based on using data from two surveys of rural enterprises. g. Title: Deteriorating Bank Health and Lending in Japan: Evidence from Unlisted Companies under Financial Distress Authors: Fukuda, Shin-Ichi, Kasuya, Munehisa, and Nakajima, Jouchi (2006) Country: Japan Data collection: The data are taken from Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) Database Service about 3644 Japanese unlisted firms. Summary: This study aims to investigate the impacts of banks weakened financial conditions on loans outstanding to medium size firms in Japan. The paper examines the determinants of lending to unlisted Japanese companies in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Moreover, the study indicates that the bank health, regulatory capital adequacy ratios and ratios of non-performing loans had opposite impacts on lending. In the case of regulatory capital adequacy ratios, its deterioration had a perverse impact on the banks lending. h. Title: An Investigation of the Relationships among Consumer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Market Share in Kuwaiti loan services Authors: Al-Wugaya, A., Pleshko, L.P., and Baqer, S.M. (2007) Country: Kuwaiti Data collection: the paper used the survey of nearly 700 customers using Kuwaiti loan services. Summary: This research aims to investigate the relationship among customer satisfaction, loyalty, and market share of loan services in Kuwaiti. Based on the research result, the authors indicate that the relationship between customer satisfaction and market share is not supported in banking industry. However, customer loyalty is pointed out to be related to market shares. Moreover, customer loyalty is not derived from customer satisfaction but rather on other factors like price, special deals or bank customer relationship. i. Title: Provisioning of Rural Credit: an Indian Perspective Authors: Mishra, S., Mohanty, A.R., and Choudhury, S. (2009) Country: India Data collection: the survey covering 90,000 rural households in 6,552 villages in India was conducted from January to December 2003 by the National Sample Survey Organization. Summary: The paper aims to analysis rural credit provisioning measures as well as the rural credit delivery scenario in India through different rural financial institution. The study indicates that rural credit delivery still has been suffered from low levels of access to credit by the farming community, declining share of agricultural loan as a share of the total credit uptake, inadequate coverage of small and marginal farmers and exclusion of tenant farmers and share croppers. j. Title: The Incidence of Loan Collateralization in Small Business Lending Contract: Evidence from the UK. Authors: Cowling, M. (1999) Country: the UK Data collection: the data were used as random samples of 272 small businesses from a survey conducted by Association of British Chambers of Commerce. Summary: The paper aims to investigate the relationship between small firms and banks focusing on the incidence of loan collateralization. The study indicates that age of the small firms and close relationship with the banks that helps to reduce the incidence of loan collateralization, which implies that relationship banking can bring tangible benefits to small businesses. 2.4.2 Limitations of previous research General speaking, everything has its own advantages and disadvantages. There is no doubt that previous research has provided readers comprehensive knowledge about sectors it mentioned especially in customer satisfaction as well as credit facilities provided in different countries in general and in Vietnam in particular. However, the previous papers also show their limitations as there were a few studies specializing in credit facilities provided by Vietnamese banks. Further the real situation of credit services in Vietnam including outstanding loans, loan structures well as the quality of credit facilities has not been comprehensively researched. Accordingly, the customer satisfaction on credit facilities was not paid much attention by previous scholars. Therefore it can be said that the previous studies do not provide adequate information about customer satisfaction on credit facilities in Vietnamese banks. 2.5 Criticism of SERVQUAL Model It can be denied that although SERVQUAL has grown popularly and widespread applied it still has been subjected to a number of theoretical and operational criticisms as below. Under theoretical aspects, first of all SERVQUAL is criticized due to its inappropriate base on an expectations disconfirmation model rather than an attitudinal model of service quality. Secondly, it does not build on extant knowledge in economics, statistics and psychology (Francis Buttle (1996). Cronin and Taylor (1992; 1994) said that SERVQUAL is paradigmatically flawed because of its ill-judged adoption of this disconfirmation model. Moreover, they stated that perceived quality is best conceptualized as an attitude. They criticized Parasuraman et al. for their hesitancy to define perceived service quality in attitudinal terms, even though Parasuraman et al. (1988) had earlier claimed that service quality was similar in many ways to an attitude. Another criticism has been proposed by Anderson (1992), he indicated that SERVQUAL fails to draw on previous social science research, particularly economic theory, statistics, and psychological theory. Parasuraman et al.s work is highly inductive in that it moves from historically situated observation to general theory. Andersson (1992) reckoned that Parasuraman et al. renounces the principle of scientific continuity and deduction. For theoretical aspects, Francis Buttle (1996) also presented a related set of criticism of SERVQUAL including factors involved in Gaps model, process orientation and dimensionality. In Gaps model, there is little evidence shows that the customer assess quality in terms of Perception Expectation gaps. For process orientation: SERVQUAL has been criticized for concentrating on the process of service delivery rather than focusing on the outcomes of the service encounter such as technical dimensions (Kang and James, 2004). In other words, the SERVQUAL measurement does not adequately explain a technical attribute of service (Ravichandran K., et al, 2010). Dimensionality: SERVQUALs five dimensions are not universals; the number of dimensions comprising service quality is contextualized; items do not always load on to the factors which one would a priori expect; and there is a positive inter correlation between the five RATER dimensions (Buttle ,1996). Under operational aspects, many scholars have argued that the components of SERVQUAL fail to fully evaluate customer perception on service quality in certain industries (Cronin Taylor, 1992; Finn and Lamb, 1991). Two attributes of service was proposed by Gronroos (1984) which have been identified as dimensions of service quality relied on the conceptualization of service quality as between expectation of service and perceived service. Rust and Oliver (1994) extended Grunions model by providing a three-component model explaining service quality through service product, service delivery and service environment. Whereas Brady and Cronin (2001) suggested three service quality dimensions including service outcome, consumer-employee interaction and service environment. It can be said that the conceptualization of service product/service outcome and service delivery/consumer employee interaction is consistent with the idea of technical attribute as well as functional attribute derived fro m Gronroos model. (Ravichandran K., et al, 2010). 2.5 Chapter Summary To conclude, first of all SERVQUAL Model measuring the customer satisfaction as well as its theories and concepts have been presented. After that this chapter has reviewed many academic previous researches about critical factors determining customer satisfaction in di