Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction Essay

Customer Loyalty can be difficult to define given the different views that are presented within the literature. Zithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996) determine that loyalty includes a customer’s intention to stay with an organisation and that loyalty includes four elements: repurchase intentions, recommending the service provider to other customers, less complaints and tolerance of price increases. Oliver, (1999) provides a different definition and describes loyalty as a customer’s overall attachment to a product, service, brand or organisation. A better appreciation of the factors that influence the loyalty of customers, particularly their attitudes and changing needs can help companies to develop strategies to prevent customer defection (Coyles & Gokey, 2002). Customer loyalty is important as it can have a powerful impact on a firm’s performance and it is considered to be a source of competitive advantage (Lam, et al., 2004). There is a strong level of agreement that customer loyalty and satisfaction are linked; however, there is an absence of consensus as to what constitutes customer satisfaction (Caruana, 2002); in addition, despite the fact that many loyal customers are satisfied, this does not always translate into customer loyalty (Kuo & Ye, 1999, Jones & Sasser, 1995) and studies have shown that satisfied customers may express a desire to switch to a competitor but it may prove to be difficult due to a lack of suitable alternatives (Pantouvalkis & Lymperopoulos, 2008, citing Mittal & Lassar, 1998). In contrast however, Reicheld & Sasser, (1990), indicate that high customer satisfaction should provide increased loyalty, which makes it less likely that a customer will decide to switch to a competitor. In addition to customer satisfaction, it has been suggested by numerous Researchers that there are other key antecedents to customer loyalty including perceived value, service quality, corporate image, reputation, trust and switching costs (Ishaqa, 2012, Lam et al, 2004, Bitner, 1995); however, although Researchers have posited that there is a connection, it can be argued that the connections is not fully understood, due to the number of potential antecedents (Wang & Wu, 2012); hence the relevance of this research. Perceived value- Perceived value can be defined in simple terms as the benefits received and the sacrifices made by the customer, although some studies have also proposed that perceived value is multi dimensional (McDougall & Levesque, 2000). It is also important to consider how perceived value can be increased and this may be achieved by delivering a better service, providing customisation of services (Coelho & Henseler, 2012) or reducing the customer’s cost perceptions (Ravald & Gronroos 1996). A customer’s perception of value could motivate them to continue to utilise the services of a service provider (Wang, 2010) and customers may also stay loyal to a company if they feel they are receiving greater value than they would from a competitor (Lam, et al, 2004, citing Bitner & Hubbert, 1994, Bolton & Drew, 1991; Sirdeshmukh et al, 2002). Another consideration of why a customer may stay loyal, rather than move to a competitor is the anticipated switching costs, including the cost involved in changing to an alternative, loss of loyalty benefits and developed routines and procedures (Lam, et al., 2004). In situations where switching costs are high, customers may stay with a service provider regardless of the perceived value (Wang, 2010) Service quality- Some studies have examined service quality as an antecedent of customer satisfaction (Rust & Oliver 1994; Spreng & MacKoy 1996), which as indicated earlier, is posited by some studies to link to perceived value. Parasuraman et al, 1988, developed the SERVQUAL model which can be adapted to suit the needs of an organisation and defines service quality as comprising of five dimensions including reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. As part of the model the customer will compare their expectations with the perceived performance of services, or according to Santos, (2003), where the customer will make an overall judgement of the service offered. Whilst the SERVQUAL model is said to provide a good indicator of overall service quality (Buttle, 1996), it has been questioned whether or not the model can be applied to a range of industries and if the five dimensions are sufficient (Hu, et al, 2009, citing Buttle, 1996, Carman, 1990, Cronin & Taylor, 1990). Some Researchers have also argued that  the SERVQUAL model has shortcomings, as the model only measures the quality of interaction and tangibles such as dà ©cor, etc., but not the actual quality of the service outcome (Sureschander, et, al, 2001). Brady & Cronin, (2001) proposed a model which includes the quality of interaction, physical environment and the outcome. Given the fact that for this study the outcome relates to the quality of homes, or the end product, it will be important to determine how this influences service quality perceptions, in addition to considering the SERVQUAL model. Also, according to Barber & Goodman, (2011), since the SERVQUAL model was developed, the debate on how to define and measure customer expectations, perceptions and performance and to understand how to address the gap has not been addressed. It is important to understand where gaps exist with the services provided and customer expectations, as meeting customer expectations is a significant driver of customer satisfaction, which can increase loyalty intentions (McDougall & Levesque, 2000). The reality is that different customers have different service needs and expectations (McKnight, 2009) and it is important that this research also provides an insight into how customer expectations can be met. Corporate image- Several authors propose that service quality is determined by an evaluation of the corporate image of the organisation (Martà ­nez Garcà ­a & Martà ­nez Caro, 2008) and the relationship between satisfaction and corporate image have been reported in a number of studies (Razavi et al, 2012, citing Lai et al, 2009, Leblanc, 2001; Kandamplully and Hu,2007) Gronroos, (1984), indicated that image, including corporate image is built mainly via the customer’s experience and the manner in which the service is delivered. Bitner, (1992), proposed that the physical environment is instrumental, yet in later years these views have been extended to include a wider definition, including the business name, architecture, products and services and general impression of quality (Nguyen & Leblanc, 2001).

Dicussion questions Essay

How do organizational functions affect organizational structures? How do your organization’s functions affect its organizational structure? How do organizational structures affect organizational functions? How does your organization’s structure affect its organizational functions? An organization is defined as a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals. The function of an organization directly relates to its structure. To succeed as an organization, all the functional areas must work together. There are different levels of structures: Vertical and Horizontal. Vertical organizational structures means a strict top down or bottom up structure (chain of command is important); horizontal, flat or closer to flat organizational structure (no leaders). While the organization I work for does not participate in any sort of sales, we do protect America through research and being knowledgeable in different aspects of careers. The Air Force follows a vertical organizational structure. There is always a person in charge of someone. To file a complaint, you have to start with the lowest level and work your way up. Organizational structures affect organizational functions depending on the main goal/strategy. The functions and structures of organizations go hand in hand. What are the different types of organizational structures? Which type of structure do you think is the most effective? Why is this structure the most effective? How can organizations determine if they are structured in the most effective and efficient manner? The different types of organizational structures are functional, divisional, and matrix. Functional structure is departmentalization around specialized activities such as production, marketing, and human resources. Divisional structure is departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geographic regions. Matrix structure is an organization composed of dual reporting relationships in which some managers’ report to two superiors –a functional manager and a divisional manager. The most effective structure is the matrix structure because it consists of the other functions, both of which would fail without them. Organizations can determine if they are structured in the most effective and efficient manner by analyzing how their business operates. Consider an organization in which you have worked. Draw it’s organization chart, and describe it by using terms from Ch. 8 of the text. Describe your experience with the organization. Did you enjoy working there? Explain your response. The experience I have had with the organization is good. Our organization makes charts for each unit’s supervision. Everyone knows who to contact in case of an emergency or if there is a problem with the chain of command. So far, I have enjoyed working for the military. I appreciate structure and reliability. What evidence have you seen of the imperatives for change, flexibility, and responsiveness faced by today’s firms? By firms becoming learning organizations they can be skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. Firms should also have a high-involvement organization, which top management ensures that there is consensus about the direction in which the business is heading.

A Global Language English Language Essay

A Global Language English Language Essay A  global language,  is a  language  spoken internationally, which is learned by many people as a  second language, the most popular one being English. A wide range of the lexical units in the English language were taken from German, Latin, French and other European countries. A large portion of the word borrowing uses as main source the French language justifying English language affinity for foreign words as well as mixed vocabulary. Crystal D. (2003: 7-10) argues that Languages have a strong relation between dominance and cultural power. The main reason that the languages exist is because of a strong power-base, political and military or economic. Linguists argues whether the simplicity of the English language is the main reason of it becoming a global language. Generally, nothing is considered to be easy. It generally depends on who the learner is. Ellis suggested that success depends on the learner and not on the language that one is learning. Some factors that have a significant role in making a person learn a foreign language are his motivation, age, aptitude, cognitive style and personality. While learning another language one can observe that some languages appear to be more difficult than others. There are some languages that have almost the same patterns or similar soundings of the words which make them simpler to remember and learn. For example Greek has many similar words with Italian. However, there are languages that have a rough pronunciation or spelling and they are not similar to any other languages, like for example German. English is a very effective language, that it is proved by the many native and non-native speakers all over the world. According to David Crystal (2003) â€Å"Statistics suggest that nearly a quarter of the world’s population is already fluent or content in English†. For example, Chinese has more native speakers, however it is a more complicated language in terms of grammar, verbs, meaning of the w ords, etc. However, some linguists have different points of view as to weather a language becoming global depends on the number of people speaking it . Crystal D. (2002: 7-10) claims that †Why a language becomes a global language has little to do with the number of people who speak it†. Furthermore, English can help one to express various meanings. That is happening because English language not only has a lot of words with different meanings but also has various different types of syntax which help the speakers to be more accurate and to give more emphasis to a particular point if it is needed. Another interesting point is that the writing of English language is simple. There are even languages that have hundreds of letters in their alphabets that could have a different meaning when pronounced differently, like Chinese. The Roman alphabet is considered to be very easy to learn and surely much easier than the Chinese writing system which is very difficult for most people. Moreover, the Roman alphabet in English language is very phonetic, rather than character based, hence it can help to describe the actual sounds of words or phrases.