The characteristics of customer relationship management in Apple Essay

The characteristics of customer relationship management in Apple Company - Essay Example CRM is regarded as not just the application of technology, but also a strategy to learn more about customers' needs and behaviours in order to develop stronger relationships with them (Yu, 2009). As such, it is more of a business philosophy than a technical solution to assist in dealing with customers effectively and efficiently. Nevertheless, successful CRM relies on the use of technology. In this regard, Shanmugasundaram (2008) has noted that so far as the technological architecture of CRM is concerned, it is broadly categorized into 3 types which are as follows: Operational Analytical Collaborative Also, Bergeron (2002) has been of the opinion that CRM is a technology; and that it is basically a process that helps firms to create â€Å"consistent, repeatable and measurable results†. Thus the overt reliance of CRM on technology is facilitated through the various scholars who have noted the degree to which technology is a facilitator in CRM. Shanmugasundaram (2008) has been o f the opinion that there are various typical features of any good CRM program. CRM is basically linked to the corporate level strategy of the organization and envisages the establishment as well as the maintenance of long lasting relationships among the customers and the firm. However, it is always difficult to implement a successful CRM strategy. Bergeron (2008) has stated that overtly technologically reliant CRM policies may not always turn out to be electronically feasible. The author further notes that various technological problems as well as other issues arise while implementing an otherwise sound CRM policy plan on paper into action. Moreover, among the other major problems that arise is that the firm may not have a high level of technological expertise and the lack of such technological expertise may result in the firm’s outsourcing of the CRM implementation parts. This in turn makes the valuable data of the firm susceptible to the potential threat of the data falling in the hands of outsiders as well. Also, Bergeron (2002) states that technology is an integral part of the overall CRM process. In this regard, again, security and privacy can pose to be issues that may turn out to be hard to sort out during the implementation phase. So far as the ambit of CRM is concerned, it is seen as the automation of horizontally integrated business processes involving front office customer contact points via multiple, interconnected delivery channels (Peelen, 2003). Thus the purview of CRM spreads across various important functions of business like marketing, sales, service as well as support. Given the reach of CRM or for that matter the latest concept of using CRM from a strategic point of view, it becomes very important to ensure that proper care is taken in order to ensure proper planning as well implementation of CRM policies within the organization. In the context of the present study, it is imperative that the firm under consideration has indeed left a n indelible mark in recent times given the practices in retail marketing vis a vis customer relationship management. Thus the study envisages delving deep into the area of customer relationship management in general and that of the Apple company in particular in order to come up with insights as well as findings regarding the

Base Camp Essay Example for Free

Base Camp Essay Expeditions to Mount Everest will totally be exhilarating beyond description, in a sense. Every climber, Sir Edmund Hillary to Jon Krakauer to all the climbers he met during his expedition, to anyone else who have climbed, are climbing and will climb – will be outstanding characters of that adventure into thin air – thus, moving from a life altering Everest experience to awesome awakenings and revelations about themselves and their life thereafter. It is Dr. Seaborn Beck Weathers that the story told in â€Å"Into Thin Air† that will be most notable. He is a wealthy doctor from Texas and has been committed and determined to climb Mt. Everest. Dr. Weathers and Jon Krakauer were teammates with the team of Rob Hall. During the initial days of the expedition, Jon does not know Dr. Weathers much. It was only the most unexpected and miraculous turn of events that Jon about Dr. Weathers. A one dramatic turn of the story of â€Å"Into Thin Air† was when Jon, upon their descending the summit after their successful conquering of its 29,028 ft on May 10, 1996. One of Rob Hall’s rule is that their turnaround time was 2 p. m. Whoever has not reached the peak must just give it up at exactly 2 p. m. no matter how close anyone else is. Dr. Weathers did not make it. And when Jon reached the Balcony, a part of the route, he saw Dr. Weathers alone. Dr. Weathers was terribly cold and shaking and shivering. Dr. Weathers developed a bad eyesight during the Mr. Everest Climb. Apparently, he had radial keratotomy to correct his vision years before the expedition. Due to the low barometric pressure of the heights of the mountains, his vision became blurred. Dr.Weathers kept the information and what he is undergoing at that time from Rob Hall and the rest of the team. He was already nearly blind when they initially left their Base Camp. It is because of his deep determination and profound passion for climbing and his intention to work well in a team – that he forced his way through the expedition. Dr. Weathers hoped that when daylight comes, his eyesight will be a little bit better. During the ascent of the team of Rob Hall, Dr. Weathers really walked very close to the next person in front of him – without any complaints. When he could no longer bear the discomfort and knowing that he would pose more of a danger than good to his team, he admitted to Rob Hall about his condition. Then and there, Rob Hall decided that Dr. Weathers will not continue and he will be accompanied by a Sherpas to return to Base Camp. Inspite of the confidence of Dr. Weathers, Hall insisted Dr. Weathers stay put and to wait for the team Thus Dr. Weathers waited until Jon saw him and after a long wait, a guide gets Dr. Weathers to descend. But the weather became terribly bad. Blizzard and snow pellets abound. As it turned out, the more the vision of Dr. Weather’s gone to worse. He was practically stepping into thin air as they walked down Mr. Everest. And it was at the South Col part of the mountain that a hurricane fully developed totally devastated the team ascending – Dr. Weathers included. There were teams that were sent to rescue. But no effort was made to rescue Dr. Weathers as they considered him dead. The night passed and surely Dr. Weathers was without any oxygen and unconscious. He was comatose for 12 hours. But lo and behold, Dr. Weathers regained consciousness and made his way to Base Camp – all with the worst frost bites ever treated by doctors in the camp. Jon’s encounter and narration of the incident on Dr. Weathers left very indelible meaning for him. Jon says in â€Å"Into Thin Air†: â€Å"Its an incredible tale, and Becks an incredible guy, Krakauer says. He lost a hand and all his fingers, and he just tells it like it is. He doesnt try to embellish his story or put a spin on anything. His story is horrible but it is also uplifting. It may be the one uplifting part of this whole sordid mess.

Nonprofit and For-Profit Hospitals Essay -- Health Care, Long Term Car

Describe the differences between nonprofit and for-profit hospitals. William & Torres provided a table to reflect hospitals ownership, and noted that some hospitals, while owned by one type of entity, may be operating under a contract by another entity, such as a hospital management company (Williams & Torrens, page 185). Some of the largest groups of hospitals in the nation are nonprofit community hospitals (Williams & Torrens, page 185). Nonprofit entities, including hospitals, function under special provisions of corporation law in each state, and under federal and state tax provisions that recognize their community service function (Williams & Torrens, page 185). The nation has approximately 1 million nonprofit entities of various sorts and hospitals have long been a traditional service provider in the nonprofit sector (Williams & Torrens, page 185). Nonprofit entities are generally exempt from most taxes at the federal, state, and local levels including income and property taxes (Williams & Torrens, page 185). These facilities are govern ed by a community based board that has ultimate authority for running these entities. Sponsorship for a nonprofit can come from various organizations, unlike other hospitals with traditional religious sponsorship (Williams & Torrens, page 185). A small percentage of the nation’s hospitals are operated by for-profit businesses (Williams & Torrens, page 186). For-profit hospitals have owners and issue stock to those owners to reflect their equity position (Williams & Torrens, page 185). For-profit hospitals are not just accountable to the community but must also provide a return on investment to the shareholders; they expect to generate a profit to pay a return to the equity inves... ... pays for 47 percent of all nursing facility care, and residents and their families pay for one-third. (Williams & Torrens, page 205). As for as the hospital, Medicare and private insurance are the primary payers from hospital services, with individuals paying relatively little from their pockets (Williams & Torrens, page 205). Critique the current state of long-term care policy in the U.S. After reviewing the current state of the long-term care policy from the United States, it appears to be slowly moving toward extinction. Public policy is not likely to provide any over- arching continuity for long-term care in the near future (Williams & Torrens, page 218). I agree with the idea of Americans engaging in personal planning. Personal planning will assure individual that if he or she needs long-term care it will be available.

What Does Democracy Signifies

If firms were not in a competitive environment, they would be able to control the market. Still, there are other factors, which stop firms from controlling the market. Namely the fact that firms do not have perfect information, issues about its objectives or firms may not even know how to maximise profits. This is due to the fact that companies use different pieces of information or interpret it differently. Firms can use different tasks in order to achieve the same aim. Companies often set themselves in mission statement; or they try to set goals by which the statement will be achieved; or a specific objective. A firm aims to maximise profits, and that is what this essay will focus on. First, it will give a brief definition of firm and define its objectives. Second, it will examine the assumption of profit maximisation. Third it will confirm whether firms really maximise their profits. Then it will follow by mentioning other alternatives to profit maximisation. Finally in the conclusion, it will include the results of this essay. It is understood by firm ‘ an organisation consisting of one or more individuals working as a decision-making unit to produce goods or services† (Atkinson, B. & R. Miller â€Å"Business Economics†). The firm†s objectives are to maximise profits. The amount that the company receives for the sale of its output is called its total revenue. The amount that the firm pays to buy inputs is called its total cost. We, then, define profit as a firm†s total revenue minus its total cost. Thus, if a firm gets  £10,000 from selling its output and spends  £90,000 producing this output, its profit is  £10,000. The above diagram shows how costs, revenue and profit interact with each other. Costs go up with output as well as revenue, but just till a certain point. Revenue falls due to the firm†s necessity to lower its costs in order to rise selling. In other words, in the cost curve firms will experience increasing returns, followed by decreased returns. Revenue will rise, as price falls and quantity goes up. Profits will occur between the two points were the curves intersect. The slope of the two curves are the same and they are given by the marginal value (marginal revenue and marginal cost). Hence, to maximise profit, marginal revenue must equals marginal cost. In order to achieve this, firms must have all the details on the demanded product. Profit maximisation plays an important role within a firm, as it makes innovation possible as well as the payment of higher wages and greater job offers. Moreover, profits create incentives as it is rewarding for entrepreneurs, whose time and skills contributed to the firm†s success. Increasing profits leads to a rise in output and with it consumers also get more satisfied. Thus, it can be said that it is also beneficial to society to raise profits. Profits provide a source of revenue, which reverts in favour of new factories and machinery. In addition, profits encourage innovation again society benefits from it. However, there are still motives for companies to refuse to have high levels of profit. Companies will just be able to maximise profits if owners are in control of the firms. However, in big companies such as Coca-Cola or Shell where, probably, there are many shareholders, it is more difficult to maximise profits. As, in this case managers are more likely to run the business. This leads us to do so called ‘principal-agent problem†. Where owners† objectives may be different from the managers. Hence, due to the rise of the joint-stock company there has developed a split between ownership and control. Ownership belongs now to shareholders, while managers exerce the power of controling. Still, there are motives to choose to maximise profits. Firstly, profit maximisation is still a sign of power, so in a competitive environment firms will opt to maximise profit to ensure its survival; Secondly, both the principal and agent, when confroting a situation of no option, they would prefer to maximise profits rather than lower them; Most important, due to profit maximisation it became possible for economists to study the output and the price of companies and, consequently, study the market. In analysing the managerial approach, it can be noticed that managers will then aim to take precedents over the objectives of the owner. In this case the primary goal of a firm is to maximise its revenue. This will occur because managers† remuneration is more likely to be linked to revenue than to profitability. For example, bank†s tend to regard growing sales positive as well as financial markets, who likes to see growing sales revenue. Most important, sales revenue is still seen as an indication of success. The same occurs to firms that have their main aim to maximise growth. Just like raising revenue, raising growth also leads to higher bonuses. Managers also benefit from it because their status gets better, as the firm has more prestige. Such theory, also suggests that managers try to maximise their own profit benefits. In other words, use firms to get their objectives. Still, there is other theory that states that managers in fact do not maximise anything at all, but they attend to satisfactory levels, theory developed by H. Simon. Here, managers will set a minimum level of profit, keeping shareholders satisfied. This type of approach is probably used by small firms, which are not able to take the big risks that profit maximisation can lead to. Moreover, managers try to keep all members of the firm satisfied, so profit maximisation becames a hard task to achieve. In general, conditions of uncertainty difficults the achievement of sales and profit maximisation. In practise management tries to obtain growth in output and assets from one year to the next and achieve satisfactory growth. On one hand, it is true to say that there is a separation of ownership and control, consequently, this stresses the importance of managers. On the other hand, it is difficult to describe how the different objectives of management and shareholders interact to produce the goals and objectives of the company.

Tort Law

In any given situation, it is evidently clear that the company should remain responsible and legally liable to their people or employe and among the consumers that patronize their product. Thus, should there be any accident and/or damages that badly harm these people in the course of exercising their duties, as employees and workers, the company could be held liable and sue to settle their legal obligations in shouldering the damages and lost of these people.As for the case of The Bug Plant located in Shady Town, USA, the employees and the vendor that have been attacked and robbed in the parking lot of the company could possibly file a law suit against the The Bug Plant under the legal offense of Negligence, as written in the Tort Law.Given the fact that the incidents of robbery against these people have happened within the premises of the company's grounds, wherein these people are working as the company's workers, both of the employees and the vendor could sue the company under the Tort Law, as it is evident that The Bug Plant has failed to ensure the safety and security of these people while staying and performing their duties and responsibilities for the company.More so, with the prior information that the Shady Town has been plagued with a recent crime wave, the case of Negligence could be filed against The Bug Plant, as the company failed to do the necessary adjustment to strengthen their company security and ensure the welfare of their people.Thus, The Bug Plant could be sued under the Tort Law, as they failed to exercise and meet the required standard of care in doing business. Lastly, The Bug Plant could use the notion that the incidents of robbery in the parking lot against the second shift employees have happened after their shift and/or beyond their official work hours, as the BUG's potential defense.On the other hand, The BUG Plant could also use the fact, as their defense, that the vendor who has been robbed, while waiting for the dock manager, is not their legal employee and that they do not have direct employment connection with this person and they should not be held liable for any damages. References Definition of Tort. (n. d. ). Retrieved June 12, 2009, from http://www. personal-injury-info. net/definition-of-tort. htm Product Liability. (n. d. ). Retrieved June 12, 2009, from http://www. personal-injury-info. net/product-liability. htm