Mental Health Service Delivery and Philosophy

Question: Discuss about the Mental Health Service Delivery and Philosophy. Answer: Australia has been known to spend a huge amount of money on an annual basis for supporting individuals with mental illness. Mental health services in the country are comprised of a diversified and complex network of service providers and care settings, with overlapping and mixed responsibilities for funding, expenditure and service delivery (Sodhi?Berry et al., 2014). It is highlighted in the recent past that the mental health service delivery and philosophy in Australia has witnessed a major change since pre-deinstitutionalisation and the advent of the Recovery Framework in the country. The present essay critically analyses the impact of this measure on the mental health of individuals of the country with mental illness as well as on the consumer experience. The essay has the focus on what mental health services were delivered before the deinstitutionalisation and the general idea of what the Recovery Framework is and how its implementation has been considered in Australia. The essa y is supported by a rich pool of evidence from the relevant field. Deinstitutionalisation is the process of replacement of long-stay psychiatric hospitals with provision for community mental health services that are less isolated in nature. The process of deinstitunalisation acts in two distinct ways; the first focuses on reforms brought about in the mental hospitals processes for the reduction of reinforcement of hopelessness, helplessness and maladaptive behaviour, and the second focuses on the reduction of the population size of mental institutes through the release of patients and shortened stays. Australian mental health care sector has adopted this policy of deinstituionalisation in the last three decades, and the process still continues, however, at a slower rate (Rosen et al., 2014). Goldman (2014) has highlighted that a major argument for deinstitutionalisation is the financial expediency disagreement suggesting that community care can be more cost effective when compared to institutional care. Recovery is a representation of a new paradigm in the arena of mental health services that has come up in the last two decades, bringing transformational changes in the process of care delivery. It derives from different disparate bodies of knowledge and research. Studies have shown that individuals with serious mental illness show clinical improvements with the passage of time. Approaches resting upon recovery method puts up a chance to apply a transformative conceptual framework for culture and services in the sector. What lies at the core of this culture is the insights and lived experiences of the individuals suffering from mental health issues. The Recovery concept is associated with individuals who describe their experiences and affirm own identity beyond the constrictions of the diagnosis made (Slade et al., 2014). The National Framework for recovery-oriented mental health services in Australia supports high quality recovery-oriented service practice and delivery that is consi stent is nature on a national basis. The framework is responsible for describing the main capabilities and the practice domains required for the mental health workforce in order to operate as per the recovery approach of care. Guidance is also provided by the framework on tailoring recovery-oriented services for responding to the diversity of individuals suffering from mental health issues. The development has been emphasized by exclusive consultation, research and lived experience. The recovery concept has been incorporated on an initial basis in the National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008 within the theme of prevention and promotion of mental health illness. The recent National Mental Health Policy 2008 adopts an approach that undertakes a whole of government feature (Piat Sabetti, 2009). Consistent research has indicated the high rate of mental illness in the community and the impact on the lives of individuals suffering from mental illness as well as their family members and carers. The government has suitably identified the concern and focused on different policies for addressing the issues. Prior to the deinstitutionalisation and the Recovery Framework, mental health counsellors had been working mainly with individuals who struggled with challenges like developmental issues and marital conflict but were healthy. Individuals with mental illness were put in healthcare settings and were dealt at an institutional level. The deinstitutionalisation legislation brought a section of people into the society that exhibited major important symptoms of mental disturbances. This proved to be a challenge for the health system as well as the mental health counsellors (Cleary et al., 2014). Mechanic et al., (2013) identify that deinstitutionalisation of the healthcare settings and decamping of certain mental health care services has a vital impact on the mental health system as well as the patients, counsellor and all the agencies. For patients who suffer from serous mental illness, it is a significant challenge to learn to live in a community setting and difficult to triumph over the challenge. Shen and Snowden (2014) argue that the advantages for deinstitutionalisation have been traced in the professional literature, that holds true for Australia too. The benefits can be attributed to the better quality of life outside the institutions and independence achieved by the clients, reduction in needs for psychotropic medication and increased adaptability to change and increased socialisation. Though the concept of deinstitutionalisation may seem to be beneficial in theory, in practice it may fail to be beneficial. It may not work out to be as good as planned. Individuals w ho are supposed to be benefited by the process of deinstitutionalisation may become homeless, victimised and isolated. Individuals released from the institutions may exhibit deteriorated conditions, and loss of lives may also become an issue. Kliewer et al., (2009) has suggested that the community, in general, is afraid of the individuals who suffer from mental illness as they are thought to be dangerous. This certain notion often leads to victimisation, stigmatisation, rejection and harassment. Support for these individuals is, therefore, less, and they are found to be at an increased risk of self-harm. In place of getting absorbed in to the community, individuals with mental illness trade the isolation of healthcare settings for the isolation of home. It has been indicated by many studies that individuals with mental illness are victims of crime and violence at a much higher rate. Wexler (2013) in this regard states that an additional challenge due to deinstitutionalisation is the incarceration of the patients with mental illness. Studies exploring the connection between crime and homelessness and deinstitutionalisation have suggested a statistically noteworthy correlation between homelessness and deinstitutionalisation and a more significant relationship present between criminal activity and deinstitutionalisation. It can be concluded that deinstitutionalisation, though provides freedom, does not work to solve the issues for the prerequisite of mental health care services. The recovery approach adopted by Australia is beneficial for the community as it recognises the importance of lived experience and successfully provides a chance for exchange of skills, knowledge and expertise. The approach challenge traditional and customary notions and concepts by breaking down most of the conventional demarcation between health care professionals and patients. Within this paradigm, all individuals are respected for the strength and experience they had and showed dignity (McGorry et al., 2013). At the end of the discussion, it can be concluded that deinstitutionalisation and provision for Recovery Framework in the country of Australia are having a profound impact upon the care services provided and the counselling profession. Though the development of deinstituionaliatin and incorporation of mental health care services into the Australian community is to be encouraged, the major challenges that it brings along cannot be neglected. Mental health care professionals are being forced to give an appropriate response to the change brought about in the health care sector, and they are striving to gain additional skills and competencies for addressing the new needs. All failures pertaining to deinstituionalisation are a result of errors in implement models of care and support. Mental health services are to be improved in future in Australia and aftercare components are to be given more attention. References Cleary, M., Jackson, D., Hungerford, C. L. (2014). Mental health nursing in Australia: resilience as a means of sustaining the specialty.Issues in mental health nursing,35(1), 33-40. Goldman, H. H. (2014). Community psychiatry in the United States 50 years after the Community Mental Health Centers Act.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences,23(1), 1. Kliewer, S. P., Melissa, M., Trippany, R. L. (2009). Deinstitutionalization: Its Impact on Community Mental Health Centers and the Seriously Mentally Ill.Alabama Counseling Association Journal,35(1), 40-45. McGorry, P., Bates, T., Birchwood, M. (2013). Designing youth mental health services for the 21st century: examples from Australia, Ireland and the UK.The British Journal of Psychiatry,202(s54), s30-s35. Mechanic, D., McAlpine, D. D., Rochefort, D. A. (2013).Mental health and social policy: Beyond managed care. Pearson Higher Ed. Piat, M., Sabetti, J. (2009). The development of a recovery-oriented mental health system in Canada: What the experience of commonwealth countries tells us.Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health,28(2), 17-33. Rosen, A., OHalloran, P., Mezzina, R., Thompson, K. S. (2014). International trends in community-oriented mental health services.Community-Oriented Health Services: Practices Across Disciplines, 315. Shen, G. C., Snowden, L. R. (2014). Institutionalization of deinstitutionalization: a cross-national analysis of mental health system reform.International journal of mental health systems,8(1), 47. Slade, M., Amering, M., Farkas, M., Hamilton, B., O'Hagan, M., Panther, G., ... Whitley, R. (2014). Uses and abuses of recovery: implementing recovery?oriented practices in mental health systems.World Psychiatry,13(1), 12-20. Sodhi?Berry, N., Preen, D. B., Alan, J., Knuiman, M., Morgan, V. A. (2014). Pre?sentence mental health service use by adult offenders in Western Australia: Baseline results from a longitudinal whole?population cohort study.Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health,24(3), 204-221. Wexler, D. B. (2013).Mental health law: Major issues(Vol. 4). Springer Science Business Media.

Animal abuse free essay sample

Whether an animal did something to make you mad or upset, you are going through a rough time, or simply just because you want to, animal abuse is wrong in every way and our society should have more stringent laws against it. Many people take animals for granted and animal abuse is something people see and hear about all of the time, yet in today’s society people tend to turn a blind eye on it. Every animal deserves the right to live just as us humans do. An animal is a living being that feels pain just like we do. A society that tolerates animal cruelty may as well tolerate cruelty against humans. â€Å"Animals obviously cannot have a right of free speech or a right to vote because they lack the relevant capacities. But their right to life and to be free of exploitation is no less fundamental than the corresponding right of humans. We will write a custom essay sample on Animal abuse or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † (Franklin 1) Although animals cannot speak to us or give their opinions, they do have the right to have a life free of abuse just like humans do. Some people believe that animals are not able to feel as much pain as a human could, therefore causing them to not feel as much guilt or shame over animal cruelty, when in reality, they feel pain just like we do. They just don’t have the voice to show it. â€Å"†¦substantial scientific evidence demonstrates that most, if not all, vertebrates, including all mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish, as well as many invertebrates, such as cephalopods and crustaceans, feel pain. † (Akhtar 7) Most people don’t tend to think that eating meat such as beef, pork, and chicken has anything to do with animal abuse, when in reality it does. In factory farms where they keep the animals before killing them, the animals have to live in a world full of abuse. Pigs, for instance, are killed by getting slammed into the concrete ground head first or by being tossed into bins of poisonous gasses while slowly suffering to death if they are sick or do not grow fast enough. Animals in these factory farms suffer in various ways such as getting their throats slit or being cramped into tight spaces, causing them to suffer depression or insanity. People don’t realize that before that meat they are eating became food on their plate, it was an animal that once suffered abuse, not just calmly put to sleep. If you are against animal abuse, but still eat meat with no guilt, all you are doing is paying someone else to do it for you. These animals don’t have any choice but to fall into these terrible living conditions the day they are born. As humans, doing things such as simply eating meat should not have to make us feel guilty. Our society needs more strict laws against all animal cruelty. For example, there should be more stringent laws on how animals get treated in factory farms before they become our food. The laws against animal abuse just overlooks what goes on in factory farms when really, they shouldn’t. Seeing or knowing an animal is being abused should not be acceptable like it is in some cases today. Although anti-cruelty laws exist in all U. S. states and territories, often, only the most serious cases generate sufficient sympathy and evidence to warrant prosecution, and gaining convictions may be very difficult. (â€Å"Facts About Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence†) While usually domestic animal abuse, abuse to animals such as dogs or cats, is only looked into, all other animal abuse should be closely watched too, such as abuse to animals like turtles, iguanas, birds, and fish. Most people wouldn’t get caught or go to jail for just abusing animals like that because most of the time it is just overlooked, when really they should be getting in the same amount of trouble as if it were a dog or a cat. Animal abuse should never be okay in any situation, therefore our society needs better laws protecting the animals in this world. If we don’t speak for these animals without a voice, then who will? Works Cited Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence. Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence. N. p. , n. d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. . This website is about animal abuse and domestic violence toward animals. It explains the relationship between animal and interpersonal abuse, effects of animal abuse on victims of abuse, and laws governing animal abuse and domestic violence. Facts About Animal Abuse Domestic Violence. Facts About Animal Abuse Domestic Violence. N. p. , n. d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. . This website talks about the facts of animal abuse and domestic violence. They explain why it matters and they talk about the state animal cruelty laws. Akhtar, Aysha. Animals and Public Health: Why Treating Animals Better Is Critical to Human Welfare. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 7. Print. In this book, the author provides a cogent and balanced argument for the importance of accepting the intimate relationship between humans and other animals for our own health, that of other animals, and of the planet. Akhtar, Aysha. Animals and Public Health: Why Treating Animals Better Is Critical to Human Welfare. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 7. Print. This book gives us a clear critique of what contemporary philosophers have to say about the moral rights of animals.

John Marshall and his influence on the supreme court essays

John Marshall and his influence on the supreme court essays John Marshall had a significant impact on the development of the Supreme Court during his term as Chief Justice. Many of the cases he worked on helped to define the Constitution, and also many laws. They set precedent for the Supreme Court laws and customs still followed today. However his obvious political conflict with Thomas Jefferson and the opinions of his colleagues regarding his court decisions caused him to be severely criticized throughout his judicial career. John Marshall was born to well educated parents in Prince William County, Virginia and was the oldest of fifteen children. In the American Revolution, he served as an officer from 1775-1781. Marshall served in the Virginia House of Delegates on and off from 1782-1790 and also from 1795-1796. President George Washington offered him several political positions, but unfortunately financial problems prevented him from accepting office in any of them. Before his days with the Supreme Court, Marshall served several terms in the state assembly and the executive council. He also helped to ratify the Constitution and was involved in the infamous XYZ Affair. After his work with the XYZ Affair, John Marshall had gained immense popularity and also the sufficient funds to pay off his mortgage debt. He served in political offices until he went to the Supreme Court. Shortly after declining a nomination from President John Adams in 1800 for Secretary of War, Marshall agreed to become Secretary of State. The next year he was chosen by President Adams to become Chief Justice on January 20, 1801. This was undoubtedly the most important presidential act of President John Adams, given the incredible imprint left by Marshall on the American Supreme Court. Ironically, his first act as Chief Justice was administering the presidential oath to Thomas Jefferson, who was his political rival as well as his cousin. However, President Jefferson did experience feelings of relief at the fact ...

An exegetical study of Genesis 32 verses 22-32 Essay

An exegetical study of Genesis 32 verses 22-32 - Essay Example and have prevailed.† 29Then Jacob asked him and said, â€Å"Please tell me your name.† But he said, â€Å"Why is it that you ask my name?† And he blessed him there. 31Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. 32Therefore to this day, the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip. (New American Standard Bible) The account of Jacob’s wrestling match at the ford of Jabbok is, admittedly, a rather difficult passage to interpret because of the surrealism of the occurrence: In the middle of the night, Jacob decides to send his wives and children and their possessions over the ford (vv. 22-23); from out of nowhere, a man appears and wrestles with Jacob who, for some reason, is left behind or stays behind on the other side of the ford (v. 24); the match goes on for an extended period, that is, until daybreak (v. 24), and Jacob demands for a blessing when the man tries to disengage (v. 26); right there, Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, and the place is named Peniel as well (vv. 28, 30). On the surface, the meaning of the passage is not made immediately clear, for as one goes through it initially, it reads as though it is a dream sequence. However, there seems to be no concrete reason to suppose such. It seems fairly clear that there was an actual crossing that occurred (v. 22), an d that Jacob was physically hurt by the encounter (v. 31b â€Å"†¦and he was limping on his thigh.†). Hence, the passage indicates rather clearly a turning point not only in Jacob’s life, but in the consequent Israelite history, as evidenced by the effects of the nocturnal encounter (v. 32). At any rate, this particular analysis of the narrative focuses on the name changes that are apparent in the text, specifically the change of Jacob’s name to Israel, and the place of the struggle being named Peniel. Such name-changing has

Election Fraud in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Election Fraud in the USA - Essay Example Being a democratic state, it is of paramount importance for America that the elections must be fair, neutral and faithfully conducted. The US constitution empowers the federal government to conduct the presidential elections. Their role is, however, very questionable. In 2000, the butterfly ballots were modified with new electronic voting machines to avoid accidental votes but it failed to generate any document that proved voter’s intent to vote. Besides that, in Florida alone, a list of 50,000 ex-felons was compiled with a directive to bar them from voting but it turned out that the list had the names of almost 20,000 innocent people. That list was discarded and a new list was generated which also turned out to be flawed. Furthermore, many votes were uncounted till at the very last time. With unsatisfactory results, a recount was held which did not make much difference. According to D. Margolick, E. Peretz and M. Shnayerson, â€Å"†¦many of Florida's 67 counties "recoun ted" merely by looking at their previous tallies†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the state of Ohio, which has always played a decisive role in presidential elections for more than a century, the results shifted dramatically in the favor of Bush. Most of the Americans living abroad did not receive their ballots or received them too late. It is alleged that many voters who applied for registration were not registered and many fake votes were cast. From the results of exit polls, it looked like Kerry would win easily as he was ahead in the polls in 10 states out of 11. It is generally the case that the outcomes of the exit polls do not deviate very much from the actual polls. Exit polls are conducted because of their brilliant accuracy. Great deviation from the exit polls means that there has been a sudden and dramatic change in the general public opinion in a very short period. The political campaigns attempted to mould the public opinion as always. In 2004, people were discontented from Bush as the y regarded him to be reason for some troubles that the Americans had. Also, in Ohio, according to Robert F Kennedy Jr, â€Å"(The officials) illegally derailed a recount that could have given Kerry the presidency.† During elections, the people at the structural level might be regarded as those who help in conducting the elections at the very basic level. Many polls were understaffed and it became difficult to keep track of the votes. A lot of news reports and analysis showed that a lot of votes casted by eligible voters were neglected and a lot of them were not registered deliberately. Their dishonest role is evident from the story of two sisters who voted in different lines. The vote in favor of Bush was counted and the one in favor of Kerry was not. If the elections were rigged, the whole system is responsible. Opinion I think that most of the allegations are credible. It is because whenever the questions were raised, for example, when media revealed that almost 20,000 of t hose enlisted in the ex-felon list were innocent, there was no negation of this fact by the higher authorities. They simply compiled another list which was also faulty. Failure to count votes in a timely manner naturally raises some objections. Also, the actual polls deviated too much from the exit polls.  

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at Doctors Surgery

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at Doctors Surgery Proposed Working Title Does Customer Relationship Management (CRM) build stronger bonds with the customers and help provide quality services in a doctors surgery at Camden? - A case study of NHS Research Background and Context I have chosen this topic in order to find out what are the key issues that are important for successfully running a doctors surgery. We have been seeing that there are always patient dissatisfaction and complain about the services, both clinical and non-clinical. Hypothesis The hypotheses that will be tested in this research are as follows: To analyze what aspects of CRM strategies are missing in running this doctors surgery. To identify what benefits can be attained by completely implementing CRM at PPCC To what extent the employees are playing their role according to CRM strategies. To look in various models, strategies, theories and methods that can be used to make the services effective at doctors surgery. Organisation Background – Partnership Primary Care Centre (PPCC) The Surgery has been established in 1973 for the people who are living in the housing. It was named Fairweather House Surgery. Initially it had 250 patients from the housing. Dr. Morris Davies was founder General Practitioner (GP). In 1976, Dr. Diane Rosenthal, Dr. Jonathan Rosenthal, Dr. Enid Greenbury and Dr. Wil Cupola took over from Dr. Morris Davies and this Surgery was under Camden and Islington Primary Care Trust (PCT). In 1976 Camden and Islington PCT allocated more patients and gave a practice boundary that is a catchment area. In 1976, GPs appointed a practice nurse who used to do child immunisation, dressing, and cervical smear. In 1988 Dr. Wil Cupola left the surgery and Dr. Ian Hopkinson joined the surgery as a partner and there were 8 sessions of doctors and 5 sessions of nurses. GPs decided to register more patients and in 2003 total registered patients were 1900. It was difficult to offer more services from the small premise, so GPs had several meeting with the PCT to move to a bigger building. During this time, Camden and Islington PCT divided into two and this surgery came under Islington PCT who decided to move the Surgery in a bigger premises. Meanwhile, one of the local GP died and another GP went for retirement. In 1st October of 2003, Fairweather House Surgery shifted to newly built premises and named the surgery as Partnership Primary Care Centre (PPCC). After moving to this new premise, there are now 16 consulting session of doctors, 10 nurses session and 5 health care assistant sessions. Now the total registered patient is 3300 and growing everyday. (Source: Mr. Rashidul Hasan: Practice Manager and Mrs. Heather Johnson: Ex-Practice Manager at PPCC) Services Offered at PPCC Services that are offered by PPCC are personal doctoring, urgent medical problems, out of hours emergencies, home visits, talking to a doctor or nurse on the telephone, family planning services , antenatal care , child health surveillance, screening and health promotion, travel immunisations advice, sexual health for teenagers adults, quit smoking advice, alcohol advice , advice on drug problems, test results, repeat prescription service, interpreting services, careers needs and special nurse-led clinics available that include asthma/COPD clinics, diabetic clinic, cervical smears, childhood immunisation, family planning, heart disease/stroke prevention, well person checks. (Source: PPCC leaflet) Customer Relationship Management System at PPCC The surgery uses patient data storage system called VISION that is the most popular GP data storage system in the country. It has been maintained by the company called INPS. It holds all the information about the patients who are registered with PPCC. It holds the name, date of birth, address, telephone numbers and obviously the medical information. This system is also linked with the Whittington Hospital in order to receive test results including X-rays that are transferred electronically to the surgery. Rationale for the chosen topic I have selected Customer Relationship Management (CRM) because it is one of the best and most popular methods of developing stronger bonds with customers (in this research my customers are the patients who come to the doctors surgery). It can be said that if there is no patients then there is no need of doctors surgery, that is – no patient, no business. By the implementation of CRM strategies, PPCC can become one of the role model for other doctors practices. Customer satisfaction is the core of any business and when it comes to patients, it is a must. Research Questions- Formulation of researchable questions Like all research, my research also has an objective and to achieve that objective I have prepared a researchable question. The most important question to me is: ‘How effective will be customer relationship management strategies in providing quality services in doctors surgery? I will be focussing on this question through out my analysis of this research. Some of the important concerns that will arise while answering this question are as follows: †¢ What is CRM? †¢ Usage of CRM? †¢ What are the organisational benefits of CRM? †¢ How successful CRM can be in providing quality services? †¢ To what level can customer satisfaction can be achieved? †¢ How the organisation can achieve competitive advantage by CRM? Research Aim The aim of this research is to determine the relationship between the CRM and the quality of services and does it build a stronger bond with customers. Research Objectives The main objective behind this research is to understand and identify the root cause of customer dissatisfaction with the services provided at the doctors surgery. This research will focus on the real life example of a London based doctors surgery called Partnership Primary Care Centre (PPCC). I will discuss about the implementation and benefits of CRM to PPCC. In order to achieve the above aim, the following research objectives have been set: †¢ To understand and identify the root cause of customer dissatisfaction with the services provided by the doctors surgery, †¢ To determine the variable factors that could influence customer satisfaction level, †¢ To determine how CRM can bring a positive change in the quality of service, †¢ To identify how implementation of CRM can benefits PPCC. Literature Review A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period. For the purpose of this research, the literature review is on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) The better a business can manage the relationships it has with its customers the more successful it will become. In order to have a better understanding and knowledge about the customers needs and demands, customer relationship management strategies can be used. Customer relationship management (CRM) is not just the application of technology, but is a strategy to learn more about customers needs and behaviours in order to build up stronger relationships with them. As such it is more of a business philosophy than a technical solution to assist in dealing with customers effectively and efficiently. (www.xicom.biz , Accessed: 21/08/09) According to Armstrong and Kotler (2005) customer relationship management (CRM) is managing detailed information about individual customers and carefully managing customer â€Å"touch points† in order to maximize customer loyalty. CRM involves all of the corporate functions (marketing, manufacturing, customer services, field sales, and field service) required to contact customers directly or indirectly. The term â€Å"touch points† is used in CRM to refer to the many ways in which customers and firms interact. (Gray and Byun, 2001) The foundation of customer relationship management CRM is based upon identifying; understanding and being able to provide a better service to customers. CRM allows build a better relationship with customers, improving customer satisfaction and maximising profitability. It is about understanding, anticipating and responding to the exact needs of customers with a constant eye for making the services to them the best it can possibly be. The main target of CRM is to improve long-term growth and profitability through a better understanding of customer behaviour. (Source: www.customerrelationshipmanagementcrmuk.co.uk, Accessed: 21/08/09) CRM consists of three basic components: customer, relationship and management. (Roberts-Witt, 2000) Customer If there is no customer then there will be no profit now or in the future. But a good customer, who provides more profit with less resource, is always scarce because customers are knowledgeable and the competition is fierce. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish who is the real customer because the buying decision is frequently a collaborative activity among participants of the decision-making process (Wyner, 1999). Information technologies can offer the skills to distinguish and manage customers. CRM can be thought of as a marketing approach that is based on customer information (Wyner, 1999). Relationship The relationship between a company and its customers involves continuous bi-directional communication and interaction. The relationship can be short-term or long-term, continuous or discrete, and repeating or one-time. Relationship can be attitudinal or behavioural. Even though customers have a positive attitude towards the company and its products or services, their buying behaviour is highly situational (Wyner, 1999). Management CRM is not an activity only within a marketing department. Rather it involves continuous corporate change in culture and processes. The customer information collected is transformed into corporate knowledge that leads to activities that take advantage of the information and of market opportunities. CRM required a comprehensive change in the organization and its people (Wyner, 1999). Specific software to support the management process involves: Field Service, E-Commerce Ordering, Self Service Applications, Catalogue Management, Bill Presentation, Marketing Programs, and Analysis Applications. They can be used to take the advantage of CRM, but keeping in mind that CRM is not about just technology but more about quality service. (Source: http://www.tupublicas.com/docs/12-44-15-02-2004-leyva.pdf, Accessed: 17/08/09) The core components of customer relationship management The content of a CRM strategy consists of six mutually dependent criteria (Donaldson and OToole, 2002) Emphasis on quality: if we provide poor service we will lose our customers and ultimately business. The core product alone is no longer sufficient, and service quality is considered as the key to successful business. Measure customer satisfaction but manage customer service: This implies understanding and defining the various benefits that a prospect expects prior to purchase and the management of the gap between expectations and performance after the purchase process. Invest in people: Both internal and external relationships are important. Implementation of a relationship orientation can only come from the people in the organisation understanding the objectives set and meeting the required standards. Maintaining dialogue with customers: Building long-term relationships is the key issue in CRM. Companies that listen and adapt to preferences of individual customers have a higher chance to retain them and make them loyal. Setting realistic targets and assessing performance: Organisations must have an understanding of customer views of the various elements in the offering and the elements important to each individual customer. Relationship-based interfaces: This means being in touch with both internal and external customers in a responsive and flexible manner. In practice, there is a gap between what firms do, what they should do, and what is most desirable to do. The means of communication should be adapted to the needs of the individual customer. (Donaldson and OToole, 2002) Types of Customer Relationship Management There are different variations in CRM approaches and they are all in different software packages focusing on different aspects. Some of the main types of CRM are as follows: Operational CRM Operational CRM is for â€Å"front office business processes. It interactions with customers to gather and stored customer information, so that later staff can retrieve customer information as necessary. The reasons for storing this information are as follows: Managing campaigns Enterprise Marketing Automation Sales Force Automation Sales Management System Analytical CRM Analytical CRM makes strong use of data mining and other techniques to create useful results for decision-making Analytical CRM analyzes customer data for a many reasons and they are: Designing and executing targeted marketing campaigns Designing and executing campaigns, Analyzing customer behavior in order to make decisions relating to products and services Management information system In this stage the importance of fully integrated CRM software becomes most apparent because the more information the analytical software has available for analysis, the better is the predictions and recommendations are. Sales Intelligence CRM Sales Intelligence CRM is more or less like Analytical CRM, but is intended as a more direct sales tool. Features include alerts sent to sales staff regarding: Cross-selling/Up-selling/Switch-selling opportunities Customer drift Sales performance Customer trends Customer margins Customer alignment Campaign Management Campaign management includes elements of Operational and Analytical CRM. The functions include: Target groups formed from the client base according to selected criteria Sending campaign-related material to selected recipients using various channels. Tracking, storing, and analyzing campaign statistics, including tracking responses and analyzing trends Collaborative CRM Collaborative CRM consists of a companys dealings with customers that are handled by various departments within a company, such as sales, technical support and marketing. Staff members from different departments can share information collected when interacting with customers. Collaborative CRMs main focus is to use information collected by all departments to improve the quality of services provided by the company. (Edwards, 2007) Consumer Relationship CRM Consumer Relationship System is mainly for a companys dealing with customers handled by the Consumer Affairs and Customer Relations contact centers within a company. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management, Accessed: 24/08/09) Benefits of Customer Relationship Management Exceptional customer service is about being aware of customer needs and reacting to them effectively. CRM facilitates to understand, anticipate and respond to customers needs in a consistent way, through out the organization. Practicing CRM requires an efficient and integrated internal business system. Many businesses benefit from the organizational discipline CRM imposes, as well as from the technology itself. CRM will help business if we view it as a set of tools that let us do more for, and get more from, our customer. CRM can: Develop better communication channels Collect vital data, like customer details and order histories Create detailed profiles such as customer preferences Deliver instant, company-wide access to customer histories Identify new selling opportunities To better serve customers, organizations must ensure that information can be accessed through one single source throughout the enterprise. (Source: http://www.is4profit.com/business-advice/it-telecoms/crm-customer-relationship-management_2.html, Accessed: 16/08/09) Business benefits of CRM Setting customer relationship management (CRM) solution in practice requires substantial time and expense. However, there are many potential benefits. A major benefit can be the development of better relations with the existing customers that leads to: Increased sales through better timing due to anticipating needs based on historic trends, Identifying needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements, Cross-selling of other products by highlighting and suggesting alternatives or enhancements, Identifying which of the customers are profitable and which are not. This can lead to better marketing of the products or services by focusing on: Effective targeted marketing communications aimed specifically at customer needs, A more personal approach and the development of new or improved products and services in order to win more business in the future. Finally this leads to: Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention, ensuring that the good reputation in the marketplace continues to grow, Increased value from existing customers and reduced cost associated with supporting and servicing them, increasing overall efficiency and reducing total cost of sales, Improved profitability by focusing on the most profitable customers and dealing with the unprofitable in more cost effective ways. Once the business starts to look after its existing customers effectively, focus can be shifted on finding new customers and expanding the market. The more we know about our customers, the easier it is to identify new prospects and increase our customer base. (Source: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/, Accessed: 16/08/09) Customer privacy is an important issue in CRM. CRM deals with large amounts of customer data throughout various touch points and communication means. The personalization process in CRM requires identification of each individual customer and collections of demographic and behavioural data, this is the very information that most customers consider personal and private. The individual organisation gets into an ethical dilemma as it wants to collect as much information as possible about each customer to further its sales. It is a must to have the customer consent to avoid any future problems. Authorized personnel should only have the access to the stored information and data. Drawbacks of CRM As of any other topic there are some negative sides about CRM. According to a research study released in March, 2001 by the Meta Group (cited in Connor 2001), between 55% to 75% of CRM projects fail to meet management objectives. However, research undertaken by CRM Guru (The Blueprint for CRM Success 2002) indicates that the failure rate of CRM projects is 35 %. About 50 % of projects get a payback within 18 months. Research Methodology The two most common methods of data collection for any research are qualitative and quantitative. It is important to define qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative data is the term given to data that can be quantified where as qualitative data is the term given to data based on meanings which are expressed through words and language (Anderson, 2004). Both these methods will be used to gather data and information for this research. Interviews will be conducted with the staff members to learn about their ideas and opinions on what they can add to the existing services that they provide. If possible and permitted, then a group of patients will be selected and will be interviewed about what their expectations from the doctors surgery. A questionnaire will be prepared for conducting this research which will be given to the patients who come to take service to the surgery. All these descriptive, exploratory, ethnographic, qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to fulfill the requirements of this research. Data Collection Methods This study draws on both primary and secondary data, such as past customer satisfaction levels, as well as both qualitative and quantitative data. The main focus will be on the qualitative approach as well as observation. This is because my data analysis will be based on words rather than figures. In addition to this, an interview will be conducted on a focused group of patients as primary data source. Primary Data Collection Methods Primary sources are original works of research or raw data without interpretation or pronouncements that represent an official opinion or position. Included among the primary sources are memos, letters, complete interviews or speeches (in audio, video, or written transcript formats), laws, regulations, court decisions or standards, and most government data, including census, economic, and labour data, (Cooper and Schindler, 2003). For the purpose of my research, qualitative method of data collection is more appropriate. Qualitative research is centrally concerned with the understanding rather than the measurement things (Hague Jackson, 1996). Moreover it is believe that qualitative research provides data that is open to interpretation and argue. (Brassington Pettitt, 1996). The search will use a combination of structured and unstructured questionnaires during face-to-face in-depth interview that provide a mixture of closed and open-ended questions for ease and for the acquiring opt imum data. The interviews will be with the parties, the service providers and the service receivers that is the patients. Questionnaire and Interview Questionnaire will be one of the most important approaches that would be used in this research as it provides the simplest and fastest way of primary data collection. A questionnaire will be design to handout to all interviewees and this will give me the data I need to base my theories on. Interviews will be taken to collect data in which selected participants are asked questions in order to find out about their activities, thoughts or feeling about relative issues. The sample size will be 50 plus and of both sexes and of different age groups. Secondary Data Collection Methods Studies made by others for their own purposes represent secondary data, (Cooper and Schindler, 2003). This will include both qualitative and quantitative data as well as descriptive and exploratory research. Books, magazines, articles, journals and other kinds of publications will be used to gather the data. The libraries that will be used for resources are London School of Commerce Library, the British Library, City Business Library and Online Library of University of Phoenix. As this report is a case on NHS (National Health Service), the web sites of the NHS and PPCC will be used to get information about the doctors surgery. The information gathered on the secondary research will be presented in the literature review part of this research. Data Analysis The primary data that will be gathered through questionnaire as a form of quantitative analysis will be analysed by using the Microsoft Excel spread sheet. To have a better understanding of the data, they will be presented in Pie chart and Bar charts. The findings will be also put as percentage of the total sample size. The interview will be analysed as qualitative data as there will be opinions, suggestions and views of the participants. Resource Requirements Some of the expenses that would incur during the primary data collection would be for light refreshments for the interviewees and the expenses for secondary data would be for buying the referral books, magazines, printing and binding of the research. There will be also some additional transportation cost for travelling to the libraries. Time Scale Time is a crucial element for any kind of work and I believe that the dissertation can be completed according to the following time scale. Time Scale Week Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Submission of the Proposal Literature Review Interviews Updating Literature Review Data Collections and Questionnaire Data Analysis First draft of dissertation Revising draft Second draft of dissertation Final editing and preparing Final report ready

hermes essay :: essays research papers

John smith  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Homeric Hymn Essay In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, the author give his audience a parable showing that through forgiveness and communication, two people can settle an argument and remain close friends.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the story, Hermes plots to steal his half-brother’s cattle. He carries out his deed, working carefully to conceal the identity of the thief. When he got home, he climbed into his cradle and acted like a feeble baby. His mother, Maia, saw the young child and let him know that she knew he had been up to no good. Hermes assured her that he was to be the God of thievery and that he would win honor and riches for them both among the Olympian gods. Apollo, after figuring out who the true thief was accused Hermes of the crime. Since Hermes would not admit to it, Apollo sought justice from their father Zeus. He took the child before the great god and enlightened him of his side of the story. Zeus then asked the infant what he had to say and the young one again lied about his involvement of the case. Zeus satisfies Apollo by telling Hermes to lead them to the cattle. Hermes was pleased because it appeared that he had escaped punishment from the g reat God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Hermes led Apollo to his cattle, the two reconcile their differences. Hermes picked up the lyre that he had made from the tortoise and played a song so well that Apollo exclaimed that he would give fifty cows for Hermes skill at playing the instrument. In exchange for the skill, Apollo promised Hermes that he would become the messenger of the gods and that he and his mother would have prominence among the immortals.