Anything free style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anything free style - Essay Example Taking pictures and video-recording used to be two different jobs but now a digital camera performs a number of functions at the same time. It was quite costly when new but now prices have come down as a number of manufacturers are in the business. So, mostly all families have a digital camera. Purchasing a digital camera is not easy as a wrong decision can result in outdated purchase that has no guarantee of its parts. To save one from this error, one should buy a device which is quite costly than the average market price so that all latest features are there in that digital camera. One should look out for the price, the image resolution, size of the memory card, the LCD display, the interface, and the weight & size of a digital camera while purchasing. One important quality feature of a digital camera is its resolution, which technically is based on the number of pixels. A camera with higher pixels is known as better than lower number of pixels. Before buying a digital camera, it is important to know for what purpose you are buying it. For a big photo, using the zoom function on a small resolution camera will not provide a bigger picture. Zoom function can save money but the quality of picture is not good. It is better to select a better camera with a lesser memory. LCD- display is must to remove unwanted images and perform other functions related with LCD. Other features of digital cameras are creating a slide show, a digital photo album, and presentation on a computer, TV or multimedia projector. You can get images printed without using a computer. One can send images using email via the Internet. This is the most worthy feature of a digital camera. Digital cameras come in the price range of $300 to $9000 but don’t expect many features from a camera of $300. The popular brands selling digital cameras are: Sony, Canon and Nikon. Others include Casio, Fuji, HP, Kodak, Konica, and

MGT Individual Project 5 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MGT Individual Project 5 - Research Paper Example The study reflects the principles of qualitative and quantitative analysis which are used in business cases. It states that both the methodologies are equally important in conducting the research where a combination of both the methodologies helps in improving the quality of the research work. The study concludes with an insight into the importance of critical thinking in the decision making of the businesses. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Sekaran & Bougie Research Process 5 Analysis 8 Quantitative Methodology 16 Qualitative Methodology 16 Critical Thinking in Business Cases 17 Conclusion 17 References 19 Introduction Decision making is an important activity in the business world. It is required at all levels of the organization. Even the low level supervisor needs to make various decisions in everyday business activities. Decision making is encouraged at all levels where the business owners are mainly responsible for all the decisions being taken in the businesses. The decision making is mainly a cognitive process which results in choosing of courses of action amongst various alternative scenarios. In each and every decision making process there is a final choice and the output can be the resultant of the opinion or action of such choice. From the cognitive perspective, decision making is mainly a continuous procedure which can be incorporated in interaction with environment. From the normative perspective, it is the analysis of individual decisions associated with the logic in decision making and its rationality. It can be defined as the problem solving activity which gets terminated when satisfactory solution is obtained. The decision making procedure can be rational, irrational, on the basis of tactic assumption or explicit assumption. The business development always arises from collective decision making of the management along with the staff. The programs, strategies and policies are always converted into effective course s of actions by means of proper decision making. The progress in any organization from one particular success and performance level to another arises from the effective decision making. The efficiency in the management of any business enterprise increases along with the application of practical and progressive principles and policies. If these ideas are implemented within the processes of an organization it would result in the increase of efficiency followed by achievement of success in the market. Sekaran & Bougie Research Process According to Sekaran & Bougie (2010) the research process is a step by step process where all the steps are essential for achieving success in the research process. An analysis should always be based on the basis of each and every step presented in this research process. It states that the research analysis should present a comparative analysis of how nicely the authors of the chosen research study have fulfilled the research work. The focus of the analys is should lie in the research process more than on the research content. The analysis should deal with the obedience to the research process stated by Sekaran & Bougie. All the steps and sub steps act as the stepping stones in the research process. The research process is a step by step procedure comprising of eleven steps. While analysing, the research work should have the following contents Problem Statement Literature Review Generation or Development of

Wine and Probable Cost Driver Essay Example for Free

Wine and Probable Cost Driver Essay Peter Catalanos Verde Vineyards in Oakville, California produces three varieties of wine: Merlot, Viognier, and Pinot Noir. His winemaster, Kyle Ward, has identified the following activities as cost pools for accumulating overhead and assigning it to products. For each of Verdes fifteen activity cost pools, identify a probable cost driver that might be used to assign overhead costs to its three wine varieties. 1. | Culling and replanting. Dead or overcrowded vines are culled, and new vines are planted or relocated. (Separate vineyards by variety. ) | Labor hour| 2. | Tying. The posts and wires are reset, and vines are tied to the wires for the dormant season. | Labor hour| 3. | Trimming. At the end of the harvest the vines are cut and trimmed back in preparation for the next season. | Labor hour| 4. | Spraying. The vines are sprayed with chemicals for protection against insects and fungi. | Gallons of chemical| 5. | Harvesting. The grapes are hand-picked, placed in carts, and transported to the crushers. | Number of cartfuls or labor hours| 6. | Stemming and crushing. Cartfuls of bunches of grapes of each variety are separately loaded into machines which remove stems and gently crush the grapes. Number of cartfuls| 7. | Pressing and filtering. The crushed grapes are transferred to presses which mechanically remove the juices and filter out bulk and impurities. | Gallons of juice| 8. | Fermentation. The grape juice, by variety, is fermented in either stainless-steel tanks or oak barrels. | Gallons of juice| 9. | Aging. The wines are aged in either stainless-steel tanks or oak barrels for one to three years depending on variety. | Gallons of wine or months of aging| 10. | Bottling and corking. Bottles are machine-filled and corked. | Number of bottles| 11. | Labeling and boxing. Each bottle is labeled, as is each nine-bottle case, with the name of the vintner, vintage, and variety. | #. Of bottles| 12. | Storing. Packaged and boxed bottles are stored awaiting shipment. | # of boxes| 13. | Shipping. The wine is shipped to distributors and private retailers. | # of shipments| 14. | Heating and air-conditioning of plant and offices. | Number of gallons processed| 15. | Maintenance of buildings and equipment. Printing, repairs, replacements, and general maintenance are performed in the off-season. | # of gallons processed.

Theories of Leadership in Professional Practise

Theories of Leadership in Professional Practise Leadership is one of the greatest challenges faced by the nursing profession. Powerful leadership skills are needed by all nurses. Now a days the U.K health care field is changing and it is always changing. Leaders in nursing has meet the opportunities and challenges that presently exist and to make work changes. Leaders are not merely a series of skills or tasks rather its an altitude that informs behaviour(Cook ,2001) A nursing leader one who is involved in the direct patient care and who continuously improves care by influencing others.(Cook,2001) Leaders are not merely those who control others but they acts as visionaries who help employees to plan,control and organise their activities. Nurse leaders should be aware of changing the environment and make changes pro actively.(Jooste.2004) Several important functions of a nurse leader are Acting as role model.Collaboration to provide optimum care.Provision of information and support.Providing care based on theory and research.An adequate for patients and health care organisation. Knowledge of management and communication skill..(http://www.neurosemantics.com/business-ns/leadership-reflections-1) Characteristics of leaders are appropriate knowledge,trust,recognition,experience,mobility,leading,virtuosity,effectiveness. The nurses hard work in achieving these goals is responsability of an effecive leadership. Royal college of nursing (1993) in the U.K introduced three initiatives that is the RCN clinical leadership programe,leading an empowered organization and the last one is the regionally -led national programmes linked to national service frame work targets. The theories of leadership are1. Great Man Theories:(1900-1940) Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is a basic that great leaders are born with innate qualities, not made and intended to lead. These theories often give detailed description as great leaders are very brave and intended to rise to leadership when needed. The name Great Man was used because, at the time, leadership concepts was of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military and western 2. Trait Theories: The Great Man theory and Trait theory were the first form of theories in leadership until the mid 1940s, Trait theory assume that people recieve certain qualities and a particular quality in your personality that make them better to do good leadership. Trait theories frequently identify individual personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. If particular traits are the most important qualities of leadership, then how do we explain people who have those qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the quality of being hard in using trait theories to understand leadership. 3. Contingency Theories:(1950-1980) This type of leadership mainly focusing on particular situation related to the environment that might explain which particular model of leadership is best suited for the situation and it was suggested almost 100 years ago by Mark Parker Follet. According to this theory, no effective leadership style is best in all particular circumsatances. Success depends upon a situation , including qualities of the followers, aspects of the situation and the leadership style 4. Situational Theories: Situational theories says that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situations. It also propose that different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for different levels of decision-making. 5. Behavioral Theories:(1940-1980) Behavioral theories of leadership are mainly concentrated on the belief that great leaders are made, not born and what leaders do rather than on thier qualities, this leadership theory mainly focuses on the actions of leaders not on their mental qualities or internal states. According to this theory, people can able to become good leaders through teaching and observation. 6. Participative Theories: Participative leadership theories states that the standard leadership style is one that takes the act of putting others into account. These leaders encourage the involvement and contributions from team members and help team members feel more connected and committed to the decision-making process. In this theories, however, the leader remembers the right to allow the information of others. 7. Transactional Theories: Transactional theories is also called as managemental theories and it almost focus on the management taks,uses trade-offs to meet goals ,role of supervision, organization and group performance. These theories based on a system of achievements and a penality inflicted. 8.Transformational Theories: Transformational theories is also known as Relationship theories. It focus upon the relationship formed between leaders and followers and it identifies the common values. It motivate and create a feeling in people by helping group members see the importance and higher good of the task. These leaders are concentrate on the performance of group members, but also want each individual to achieve the latent qualities that may be developed and lead to future success. Leaders with this style often have high principles and moral standards. I assure that leadership does not make sense without reflection. For now I would like to offer some reflections about leadership that I have been experiencing how it relates to behaviors and implications for all of us. Leadership is not a thing but a process therefore more accurately decribed using verbs than nouns.As a process its about what and how we are doing the things.there is only leadership when some one is leading and people who like that leading and so follow that lead.This makes the whole leadership thing an interpersonal process involving communicating ,relating ,acting collaborating,giving and receiving feedback(http://www.neurosemantics.com/business-ns/leadership-reflections-1) Reflections for leadership are heart of leadership about pioneering a new path:-That means Paths are pioneered by the presence of problems,difficulties ,conflicts,stresses distresses ,traumas and things not going right. Leader demands both likes and dislikes,followed and resisted. Set visions about the future. Leaders have to be able to take the heatleaders are only leaders to extent that they add value. Hall,M(1994) After all, The need for the study of leadership is getting a clear idea about the leadership that I have and want to offer as well as empowering others to manage their own states to become good leaders. Reflection is just thinking about what you have done and how you could do it better next time. Johns (2004)states that reflection is to face up and deal with a problem and resolve the contradiction between what the professional practitioner wants to be and do and what he actually does. Donald Schon (1985)suggests that there are two forms of reflection .One is during the event that is known as reflection in action and the other one is after the event that is reflection on action. Reflection is a great significance human activity in which they recreate their knowledge or skill gained, think about it, and evaluate it. There are several models of reflection like Bowskills shared thinking2008, Rolfe 2001,Johns 1995,Gibbs 1988, Kolb 1984,Argyris and Schon 1978. The models of reflection which i would like to discuss is the Johnsmodel 1995 and Bowskills shared thinking 2008 Johns model is a quality of beilng well organized reflection which provides a practitioner with a help to gain greater understanding. It is in order to produce a clearly defined through the act of sharing with a team member or an experienced adviser, which make it easier the practical contacts to develop into a knowledge at a faster rate . Johns mainly tells the significance of gained knowledge and the skill of a nurse to access, supply and put into practice information that has been gain through experience rather than theory. Reflection occurs though looking in and looking out at the situation that affects someway. Johns write out a note about the result of Carpers (1978) to expand on the opinion of looking out at an experience. Five patterns of knowing are there in the guided reflection, having a practitioner analyze the aesthetic, personal, ethical, empirical and the reflexive elements experienced through the situation. Johns model that touches on many important basic principle of a subject and allows for reflection. Bowskills Shared Thinking 2008 Nicholas Bowskill and colleagues at the University of Glasgow (Steve Brindley, Vic Lally, Steve Draper and Quintin Cutts) have suggested and developed a process of group reflection. Bowskill gave this social and a debate about the label Shared Thinking. This request completely change the impression of the practice and idea of reflection into a situation which an event happens. Shared Thinking uses for practical tasks to influence what people do the wide range of experiences from reflective informal talking in a class, and to make the people seeing the things clear. By making them public in this way, the Shared Thinking way produce a particular feeling or impression of a resource for cognitive and particular development. This interdependent approach allows each individual to use the group as a good at finding ways of solving difficulties. Each participant will get the take of others for comparing with their own personal opinion and experiences. In this model of reflection, Shared Thinking is a thorough and complete act of leaving from the ideas and to improve the reflection based around participants thinking individually or in small groups. Here in the place of a way in which organizing and can be transferred practice for a group of reflection and to achieve a particular aim of learning. Shared Thinking provides quantitative and qualitative measures of collective experience. Such practices and measures also helps a new group study of teaching methods and a new research model for examine the evidence of experience at the collective level. The model which i prefer is the Johns model because it includes looking in, looking out, Aesthetics, Personal, Ethics, Empirics, and Reflexivity. Bond, M. (1993), Stress and self-Awareness: A Guide for Nurses, Nursing Today, Butterworth Heinesman; Brown, B. and Crawford, P. (2001), Clinical governmentality A Foucaldian perspective on the policy of clinical governance in nursing, unpublished, http://www.academicarmageddon.co.uk/prog/notes.htm, accessed 18/12/05; Charnley, E. (1999), Occupational stress in the newly qualified staff nurse, Nursing Standard, vol. 13, no. 29, pp. 32-37, April 7; Cotton, A. (2001), Private thoughts in public spheres; issues in reflection and reflective practices in nursing, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 36 (4), pp. 512-519; Marquis and Huston(2009) Leadership roles and managementfunctions in Nursing Theory and application 6th edition.pp.37-40 Adair,J.(1973) Action centred Leadership.Newyork;Mc Graw-Hill Johns, C (1995). Framing learning through reflection within Carpers fundamental ways of knowing in nursing. Journal of advanced nursing 22 (2): 226-34. Carper, Barbara A. (October 1978)Fundamental Patterns of Knowing in Nursing. Advances in Nursing Science 1 (1): 13-24. http://journals.lww.com/advancesinnursingscience/Citation/1978/10000/Fundamental_Patterns_of_Knowing_in_Nursing.4.aspx

Occupational Stress Essay -- Health, Diseases, Anxiety Disorders

Does occupational stress affect mental health and well being? This is one of the most important questions in human wellbeing. So far, medical research indicates that occupational stress is a major problem for our mental well being. Research has not only proven that occupational stress harms are mental wellbeing but our physical wellbeing also. In the research done by Articlebase and published by Paul Hata author of â€Å"The Effect of Stress on Mental Health† (2008), he explains that a person exposed to long-term, unrelenting severe stress is particularly susceptible to experiencing a mental breakdown. Mr. Paul Hata explains how stress can be defined as the condition or the situations that disturb the normal functioning of physical and mental health of an individual. In this paper we will discuss how occupational stress can lead to major mental health issues. Further research indicates how extreme stress conditions are harmful to human health but a moderate amount of stress is acceptable (as cited in Articlebase, 2008). Paul Hata (2008) writes about how extreme stress can increase blood pressure and how the body releases a stress hormone in the blood. This hormone is used to reduce the effects of stress and symptoms of anxiety in the body. When a person is under severe stress this condition fails to respond, and the hormones necessary to calm us remain unreleased in the blood stream for a prolonged period of time. Stress has a number of bad effects on the body, for example: tense muscles, non focused anxiety, dizziness, rapid heartbeat. The state of accumulated stress can increase the risk of both acute and chronic mental illness like a nervous breakdown and also weaken the immune system of the body (Articlebase, 2008). Mr... ... deadlines etc. I will try to leave early for work in the morning. This will make me look good in the eyes of management and will also help me by giving me a sense of peace and calm by not having to rush into work late. I will try and take at least one 15 minute break during the day and take a walk outside and get fresh air. I will try and not have a defensive personality. I will listen carefully and not jump into any conclusions. I will learn to speak professionally and will not let my emotions get the best of me. I will learn to count to 10 or 20, breathe and think before I speak to my superiors. I will be pleasant and will respect all my colleges and my management team. I will learn to be a team player; by this I mean helping out whenever I can and keeping an open communication at all times (Health Guide, 2009).

The Theme of Inner Conflict in Toni Morrisons Tar Baby Essay -- Tar B

      Toni Morrison's Tar Baby, is a novel about contentions and conflicts based on learned biases and prejudices. These biases exist on a race level, gender level, and a class level. The central conflict, however, is the conflict within the main character, Jadine. This conflict, as Andrew W. A. LaVallee has suggested, is the conflict of the "race traitor."2 It is the conflict of a woman who has discarded her heritage and culture and adopted another trying to reconcile herself to the "night women" who want to bring back "the prodigal daughter."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first of the contentions is that of race. As New York Times Book Review correspondent John Irving aptly puts it: "Miss Morrison uncovers all the stereotypical racial fears felt by whites and blacks alike." Prejudice exists between the white and black people in the house; between the black people of the house; the black people and the local populace. Sydney and Ondine Childs, the Cook and Butler in the house of Valerian Street, feel superior to the local black populace. Sydney remarks twice on how he is "A genuine Philadelphia Negro mentioned in the book of that name" (284). Part of this feeling of superiority might be class-related. The Childs' are very proud of their positions in the Street house-they are industrious and hardworking. The Dominique blacks are to them "swamp women" or "horsemen"--depersonalized figures. This is most apparent in their ignorance of their help's names--they dub Gideon, Thà ©rà ¨se, and Alma Està ©e "Yardman" an d "the Marys." At Christmas dinner Valerian adds epithets calling them "Thà ©rà ¨se the Thief and Gideon the Get Away Man." (201). But as Judylyn Ryan points out, "Both the superordinate and the subordinate exercise this prerogative of nam... ....38/.black/.bmorris.html LaVallee, Andrew W. A. "'Faces as Black as His But Smug'-The Race Traitor in Morrison's Tar Baby." Online Internet. 1 May, 1997. Available: http://ocaxp1.cc.oberlin.edu/~alavalle/morrison.html Moon, Yonghee. "Rootedness." Paraphrase. Online. Internet. 1 May. 1997. Available: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~yongmoon/root.html Morrison, Toni. "An Interview with Toni Morrison." With Tom LeClair.Anything Can Happen: Interviews with Contemporary American Novelists. Ed. Tom LeClair and Larry McCaffery. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1983. 252-61. Ryan, Judylyn S. "Contested Visions/Double-Vision in Tar Baby." Modern Fiction Studies Volume 39. N3&4. Fall/Winter 1993. 597-621. "Toni Morrison," Contemporary Authors, Gale Research, 1993. Online. Internet. Available: http://www.en.utexas.edu/~mmaynard/Morrison/tarbaby.html   

Customer Relationship Management Systems

Abstract: Customer relationship management systems are used in the contemporary business environment to facilitate relationship marketing and other practices, which help firms enhance relationships between themselves, their customers, suppliers, employees, and other partners in their business processes. CRM systems provide all parties with vital information which helps make operations more efficient and enhances profitability. However, CRM systems also have drawbacks. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of CRM systems and illustrates the mentioned concepts through a case study upon Dell. Introduction: A few decades ago, customers would personally go to supermarkets or other stores where they had previously purchased products or availed a service in order to either register complaints, to inquire about other products and services, or in order to purchase the product or book the service again. Likewise, businesses would attempt to observe and manually record which items left their shelves sooner and which items were less popular with customers amongst other data such as sales figures, regular purchasing patterns of customers, and how many customers were satisfied/dissatisfied with a product/service (Reinartz, Kraft, & Hoyer, 2004). While it previously took weeks or months for businesses to attempt to gather this information, such information is now available to businesses within seconds. However, the benefit of convenience is not only limited to businesses as customers also enjoy the facility of lodging complaints, asking questions, placing orders, and getting a fully personalized c ustomer service based upon their interests and preferences. While some customers enjoy the fact that businesses are aware of everything about them including their birthdays and the number of members in their family, some customers are not as enthusiastic about this sphere of customer relationship management software systems. Accordingly, customer relationship management software systems have their respective advantages and disadvantages (Chen & Popovich, 2003). This paper will discuss the manner in which customer relationship management systems have revolutionized e-business practices and integrated people, processes, and technology both within and across organizational contexts followed by a discussion of the best practices of firms using customer relationship management systems. The paper will then continue to discuss the challenges posed by the customer relationship management system and the social implications of its use with specific emphasis upon privacy issues. A case study o f Dell will be provided further in the paper in order to illustrate the applicable concepts mentioned. The paper will conclude with a summary of the main points emphasized in the paper and recommendations for improvements in the use of customer relationship management systems. Customer Relationship Management Systems and Their Effect on E-business: â€Å"E-business is an overall strategy which enables the proper management of business functions including time cycle, speed, globalization, enhanced productivity, reaching new customers and sharing knowledge across institutions for competitive advantage† says Lou Gerstner, CEO IBM (Lecture 2). Previously, businesses were not properly aware of what their customers needed and attempted to fulfil those needs and wants through guesswork or by asking a few customers what they preferred over what they did not desire in a product. Thus, managers recorded customer complaints in registers and attempted to resolve them eventually, while this process often resulted in delays over months. However, the implementation of e-business systems and the widespread use of e-commerce have enabled the introduction of customer relationship management systems, which include the â€Å"methodologies, software, and communication capabilities, that help organizations to structure and manage their custo mer relationships and interactions with the objective to increase customer satisfaction with the organisation’s products or services† (Lecture 3). Therefore, customers are now able to access reliable, accurate, and vital information regarding the products and services that they have used with the click of a mouse (Bose, 2002). Customer relationship management systems have benefitted firms by integrating people, processes, and technology to increase the level of efficiency in organizations and enabling firms to use customer information to their advantage. The system enables the production of a customer database recording all customer details and creating a customer profile, which provides the company with details regarding the customer’s needs and frequent purchases. While previously companies would attempt to sell the same product to every customer in the same manner, customer relationship management systems allow the information regarding customer preferences to be used to differentiate and specifically target the firm’s products to a customer (Payne & Frow, 2005). Customer relationship management systems are not only used to remain in communication with customers, but are used as a tool to connect a firm’s customers, distribution channel members, suppliers, and other similar parties within the same platform and maximising all of these relationships to increase profitability in the business. This is done through the various features of the customer relationship management systems which provide vital information for all of the parties involved in the business, thus making the conduction of business more convenient, information easily accessible, and operations efficient and cost-effective (Payne & Frow, 2005). For example, the sales force automation function of customer relationship management systems provides information on customers, previous deals, and competitors to support the sales force of the team. Thus, the system hel ps the sales force of the firm perform their job more effectively and also provides the suppliers of the business information regarding customer preferences and the products in highest demand amongst different target groups. Other functions of the system include customer service and support systems, which enable customers to track their orders, monitor their requests, and enables managers to reply to customer queries promptly thus aiding both customer service personnel and customers to fulfil their functions with ease. Field service is a function that allows remote staff to quickly and effectively communicate with the customer service personnel to meet individual needs. Thus, the customer relationship management system provides information to remote staff regarding customer needs in order to enable them to meet them more adequately (Jayachandran et al, 2005). The marketing automation function of the system allows up-to-date information on customers’ buying habits to enable th e construction of effective marketing campaigns. Accordingly, the system also facilitates the marketing team of an organization to construct and design specifically targeted and effective marketing campaigns which may help increase the profitability of a firm (Bose, 2002). Therefore, the customer relationship management system provides information for several parties involved in the business process and thus integrates the use of technology with people in order to improve and enhance business processes. This is one of the main reasons that customer relationship management systems are becoming highly popular amongst firms. The use of the system enables a firm to grow revenue, provide better customer service, introduce repeatable and consistent sales processes, create new value and increase customer loyalty (Campbell, 2003). It also allows firms to implement the three phases of customer relationship management systems, which enables the acquisition of new customers, enhancement of the profitability of existing customers, and the retention of profitable customers for life. It enables the implementation of core customer relationship management processes including cross-selling and up-selling, direct marketing, customer support, and sales force automation. Thus, the use of these processes brings substantial improvements in marketing campaigns, product development, sales, and field service (Lin, Chen, & Chiu, 2010). The use of customer relationship management systems has enabled firms to communicate within their organization, with customers, and across their organization to other firms, who may be members of the distribution channel or the firm’s suppliers, by sharing and gathering vital information regarding customers and processing this information to make it useful in the business process. The best practices of customer relationship management systems include well-establishment of organizational needs, good inter-departmental communication, the integration of front-end and back-office data-mining procedures, and the establishment of an up-to-date central warehouse of data (Oztaysi, Sezgin, & Ozok, 2011). Many firms currently apply customer relationship management strategies through the implementation of social customer relationship management and the use of social media to get their message across to customers effectively. Platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are used in order to communicate with customers and advertise products/services to them (Bose, 2003). However, while the use of customer relationship management systems provides extensive advantages to a contemporary business, there are still challenges involved in the use of these systems. While many customers are now accustomed to buying products online, other customers are still highly wary of using such systems and exposing personal information on such websites. Moreover, while the people of some cultures prefer communicating via an electronic source, others a re only satisfied with personal contact (Oztaysi, Sezgin, & Ozok, 2011).These challenges will be discussed in the next part of this paper. Challenges of Customer Relationship Management Systems and Social Implications of their Use: In order to gather all of the data needed to meet customer needs and provide information to suppliers, sales force, managers, and other parties in the business process, the business needs to use the aid of cookies to track customer surfing details and to record what types of products customers purchase from other websites. The problem is that some customers regard this as an invasion of privacy and refrain from shopping online because they are aware that firms are monitoring their actions. Statistics show that 51% of shoppers are highly concerned about privacy online and 48% refrain from shopping online because of privacy issues (Lecture 3). This can pose serious problems for firms who want to efficiently use their customer relationship management systems and prevent customers from using spyware protection software, making the use of these systems redundant (Fan & Ku, 2010). Other challenges posed by the use of customer relationship management systems include the lack of appropriate executive support as some customers feel that they do not receive adequate service online while some business executives also feel that these systems are not satisfactory for use in organizations and refrain from using them. Additionally, many firms lack rationale when they decide to use customer relationship management systems (Ang, 2011). For example, a firm who has a highly personal relationship with customers and thrives upon the personal contact that it enjoys with its customers may not benefit from the adoption of a customer relationship management system as it may lose the element of being able to personally attend to customers. Other problems with the use of customer relationship management systems include an inappropriate network infrastructure, user resistance, and the lack of cultural preparation of these systems (Fan & Ku, 2010). One of the major flaws of CRM systems includes their lack of adaptability to different cultures. Contemporary business research has found that customers belonging to different cultural backgrounds tend to act differently when interacting with businesses and have varying preferences regarding the type of contact that they find suitable in business settings. While consumers belonging to masculine cultures may prefer or be comfortable with using technological solutions and communicating with customer service personnel online, customers belonging to feministic cultures may prefer more personal contact. Moreover, customers belonging to certain cultures may consider the invasion of privacy that these systems encompass highly inappropriate while customers from other cultures may believe it to be useful in helping them find the right product (Chen & Popovich, 2003). Customer relationship management systems may also be hard to use for the company’s existing management and employees and they may resist a change to the use of these systems as it may involve a change in organizational culture. The appropriate implementation of these systems requires communication, culture, and coordination which helps employees adapt to the systems more appropriately (Campbell, 2003). It may be difficult to integrate the system with other departments in the organization, which will result in the adoption of the system to be expensive. The system may not coordinate well with other accounting and finance software which may cause the organization additional unnecessary expenditure in attempting to adjust the customer relationship management software with their existing technology, existing business processes, and the people associated with the business (Campbell, 2003). It is evident that while the customer relationship management system offers numerous advantages to firms and customers, there are specific challenges that the implementation of the system faces, especially in the realms of resistance shown by customers in allowing an invasion of their privacy. The next section of this paper will outline the manner in which De ll Inc. used customer relationship management software to its advantage and how it incorporated the system within its firm. Dell Case Study: Dell is a globally renowned company offering customers leading global systems and services and the company required the aid of a customer relationship management system to integrate its customers and other global sales teams with the business. Previously, the company used multiple systems, internally designed by the company, which were used in each of the regions that the company operated in. However, the company wished for a flexible and convenient system which was globally accepted and used widely. While the company aimed to find a solution themselves, it was proving to be highly expensive. Thus, the company implemented the use of SalesForce CRM, which is a software allowing the company to integrate with technological partners, customers, employees, and other agents in their business processes. The company required a solution to gather feedback from its 80,000 employees worldwide and also wanted to begin a global partner program in the near future for which it required an appropria te communication platform enabling it to efficiently and effectively communicate with potential technological partners. Thus, the use of SalesForce CRM integrated various departments within the organisation and also allowed the organization to communicate with other organizations using the same interface (Dell Case Study, 2011). The company solved several of its problems using the customer relationship management system which included communicating with approximately 3 million customers everyday and also collaborating with 80,000 employees worldwide. The use of the system enabled the company to extract the top ideas for innovation and better understand what customers were looking forward to by gathering and processing customer feedback on the system. Moreover, employees were also required to give innovative ideas for future technological solutions and business processes and this information was also automatically sorted by the system in order to show Dell’s business executive s the most popular opinions. Top ideas were generated through comments and voting upon the posting of various opinions on the system (Dell Case Study, 2011). The company greatly benefitted from the implementation of this system as it generated over 2,500 ideas on innovation in the first week and approximately 700 ideas related to employee feedback regarding business processes. The company has been able to use vital customer feedback in order to design desktops and consumer notebooks and also left Windows XP as a pre-installed operating system in the computers because of customer demand. The technology implemented in the customer relationship management systems enabled the company to track main technological trends and develop products accordingly (Dell Case Study, 2011). Using the Salesforce CRM system enabled the company to integrate various players in its business processes via one platform and also enabled the company to design some its own software solutions which allowed the co mpany to enhance its relationship marketing strategies. However, one of the problems that the company faced with the implementation and use of the Salesforce CRM system was user adaptation of the system. Teaching users worldwide how to operate the various functions that the system offered was an obstacle that the company overcame through offering training sessions on the use of the system and teaching employees and other users worldwide how to use the system within fourteen days. Thus, because Salesforce CRM is an easy-to-use system, users were able to adapt to the new technology easily and within a short period of time. Dell significantly benefitted from the use of the system and the system proved to be cost-effective, efficient, and highly beneficial in increasing the revenue of the company. Obstacles such as adaptation were overcome through the provision of training sessions and through company focus upon implementing and using the system. While the initial installation and provi sion of training for the system was expensive, the system aided Dell in collaborating with both employees and customers and enabled the company to devise its own technology. Moreover, the company did not use the system to â€Å"spy† on customers or invade their privacy which proved to be an added advantage. The system was used in various manners by the company to solve its current problems and can be used in other ways in the future. Thus, customer relationship management systems can prove to be an addition of value for a company and an important tool used to integrate processes, people, and technology to enhance relationships within the organisation and outside the realms of the organisation as well. The next section of this paper will discuss the main points emphasized in the paper and provide recommendations regarding the use of customer relationship systems and for Dell Inc. Conclusion and Recommendations: There are various advantages associated with the use of customer relationship management systems which include the functions such as sales force automation, direct marketing, customer service, field service automation, and others. Hence, the use of such systems promotes convenience, access to information and information-processing, and enhances the efficiency of business operations. Moreover, it also allows the integration of people, processes, and technology. This has been illustrated in the case of Dell who use SalesForce CRM to integrate inter-department functions with other organizations that it wishes to partner with. However, the drawbacks of using customer relationship management systems include the issue of customer privacy, user resistance, lack of adaptability, and the inability to prepare the software for use by different cultures. Accordingly, it is recommended that customer relationship management software not be used in place of personal contact but can be used as an ad ditional resource helping keep customers and businesses connected. However, businesses should frequently encourage personal and face-to-face contact with their customers and ask customers for feedback regarding products/services or their personal preferences instead of tracking customers’ surfing data through the use of cookies. If the business deems it necessary to track customer information through cookies, the company must aim to ask customers for permission and inform them that this will enable the business to serve them better through products customized and tailored to suit their needs. Additionally, customers must attempt to adapt the system to suit people of different cultures and nationalities in order to make the system suitable for use by all. In the case of Dell Inc. it is recommended that the company use its CRM system to freely communicate with clients, enable them to customize their computers, provide feedback, and can also use it to motivate employees. This ca n be done by using it as a portal to provide hard-working employees with recognition for their contribution to the organisation. The company can also use it as a marketing tool in order to inform customers of new products based upon their recent purchases. Thus, the company can use the CRM system for multiple purposes. References Ang, L. 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