Business Practice in Australia

Some rural communities will not have the same exposure to immigrants and international visitors, although the popularity of Australia as a budget traveler destination has affected that. Generally variety is accepted and people of many cultures will be seen in the workplace and are accepted. (Source 3) Source 3: Cultural Dimension and Concept Hoofed Background to Business in Australia Book Author: Egger The country is very large with smallest amount of population compared to land area though has equally states of USA relatively has a population half the size of California.Due to lack of domestic market in size compared to geographic isolation which means Australian business increasingly recognize the need of international market to ensure their future country income as well as well being of country. Indeed, a criticism that has been leveled against Australian business organizations has been their slowness to take up the challenge of international. Source 4) Thus, Australia finds itsel f needing to become ever more international in its outlook both economically and politically.The extremely successful economy is dependent upon trade with both the US and increasingly with key Asian countries such as China, Japan and India. Traditional British Commonwealth links have been declining in importance over several decades. ( Source 4) In short Australia is a small market with a highly educated, affluent population which realizes the importance of international trade – they are waiting to do business with you! ( Source 4) Australian Business Structures people do not give the impression that they ‘think they are somebody'.It is much better to be seen as a ‘good bloke' or a ‘good mate' than somebody who is overtly proud of themselves and their achievements. Australian business thinking is based on US business modeling where people would have conflict with influence to be slavish with others who are in favor of US style entrepreneurial. ( Source 5) Th ese dispute combination leads Australian organization to be fairly non-hierarchical in their structure. Attention is paid to titles and ranking with the organizations. Thus NY integration organization looking to set up operation in country should be well advised against their behavior of business structure.Similarly, do not be too surprised if Australian business contacts seem willfully disrespectful of hierarchy when working internationally – they are not being rude, merely acting in a consistent Australian manner. ( Source 5) (Source 4 & 5: Horticulturalists. Com/ Australian Business Structure. HTML) Australian Management Style It is believe in Australia that in work everyone is Just having different Jobs not as in terms of different position, therefore manages are not expected to see themselves as n any way superior to their colleagues.Such approach may provoke outright hostility. Challenging the idea of boss in open meeting is not at all consider as rude or disrespectful on contrary it is found as committed or an professional approach, therefore it is compulsory to adopt consultative style of management which is inclusive of person's opinions or an open debate of ideas. In keeping with the Australian direct style of communication, debates between senior and Junior executives may appear from the outside as confrontational and occasionally they rarely are.This style of interaction is merely viewed as the most acrimonious ? effective way of attaining the end goal. ( Source 6) Australian managers to not remain aloof from members of their team ? they usually want to be ‘one of the boys' and be seen as ‘a good bloke'. The idea of managers only socializing with other managers would be viewed as very affected and would be likely to result in alienation. ( Source & 6: Horticulturalists. Com/Australian Management Style) Australian Meetings Australian do considered punctuality as virtue, however meeting often start five or ten minutes late.In addit ion, it has tradition to go through few minutes of small talk fore getting down to serious discussion of meeting where sport is considered as common theme of discussions. Post planning culture is very well known in Australia prior to client facing meetings where little preparation is done before to attend such meetings. As an egalitarian approach, Australian are often set as an forum for open debate of an issue during meeting and found professional in doing so.Being ‘over- prepared' for meetings can result in certain negative feelings towards those who have prepared in advance as they can be seen to be trying to dictate and force their ideas on other people. If something important arises during the open debate it will not be excluded simply because it does not occur on the agenda. ( Source 7) Source 7 : Horticulturalists. Com/Australian Meetings Australian Team Australian looks for those who are very good as team player and has extreme importance according to their psyche wher e as Loner or invariable person not considered as good team person.Food and drinks are actively encouraged during make themselves out to be better than their colleagues in workplace does not make a good team player. A competitive edge should be directed towards the other am' (the competition) rather than being internally focused. ( Source 8: Horticulturalist. Com/ Australian Team) Australian Communication Styles Although Australia is resided with many different people from parts of world with over 100 languages being spoken by those population who have emigrated there, English is the official and by far most commonly spoken language.Directness is cherished in Australia and failure to say what you mean and mean what you say can be mistaken for evasiveness and even hypocrisy. ( Source 9) It is important not to be too self-promotional when presenting to Australians. A hard sell approach can often be misconstrued as bragging and can provoke a very negative response. Remember that people do not like to make out that they are better than others ? the same probably applies to products and services. A factual description of issues will be far better received than a more hyperbolic approach. Source 9) First names are invariably used in all business situations in Australia. It would be very unusual to call a business contact by their surname. Similarly, educational titles play relatively little part in business situations. (Source 9: Horticulturalists. Mom/Australian Communication style) Women in Business in Australia Women currently make up a large percentage of the workforce but as in many other countries are often found in lower paid and part-time Jobs. Whilst progress is being made, statistics will show that women are still paid comparatively less for doing the same Job as a man.On the other hand, women have made more progress in attaining managerial positions than in many other leading industrialists nations and more and more women are reaching the highest levels o f Australian organizations. (Source 10) :horticulturalists. Mom/ Women in business in Australia Australian Dress Code In corporate Australia, standard business dress is still very much the norm. Dark suits and ties are the standard dress for management level businessmen with women wearing business suits with either skirts or trousers.Remember that, for much of the year, Australia is a very hot country – so make sure that your clothing is lightweight and cool during those periods. Try to avoid excessive Jewelry and accessories which may be viewed as too ‘flashy' and therefore unprofessional. ( Source 1 1 : Horticulturalists. Mom/Australian dress code. HTML) Australian Etiquette & Customs ( Source 12) Meeting Etiquette Australians are not very formal so greetings are casual and relaxed. A handshake and smile suffices. While an Australian may say, ‘Giddy' or ‘Giddy, mate', this may sound patronizing from a foreigner.Visitors should simply say, ‘Hello' or ‘Hello, how are you? ‘ Gussies prefer to use first names, even at the initial meeting Gift Giving Etiquette Small gifts are commonly exchanged with family members, close friends, and neighbors on birthdays and Christmas. Trades people such as sanitation workers ay be given a small amount of cash, or more likely, a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer! If invited to someone's home for dinner, it is polite to bring a box of chocolates are opened when received. Dining Etiquette Many invitations to an Gussies home will be for a ‘Barbie' (BBC).Guests to a barbeques typically bring wine or beer for their personal consumption. In some cases, very informal barbecues may suggest that you bring your own meat! Arrive on time if invited to dinner; no more than 15 minutes late if invited too barbeques or a large party. (Source 12: Kiss, Bow, Shake hand , Page 25-26) Successful Entertaining in Australia There is no great tradition for business entertaining in Australia and it ce rtainly shouldn't be viewed as the quick way to cement relationships with a new client or contact.In fact, you are more likely to be asked out for lunch or dinner once a firm relationship has been established – in this way the meal can in no way be seen to have influenced a business decision. People will very often ‘go Dutch' over a meal – this means that the bill is split equally amongst those present at the meal. If you wish to pay, make sure you make this clear before the meal to avoid any embarrassing abates when the bill is presented. ( Source 13) If invited to a pub or bar for a drink, it is very important to make sure you pay your ‘shout' – that means that everybody is expected to pay for a round of drinks.It is unadvisable to develop a reputation as someone who does not pay for his or her fair share of the drinks! Tipping is not always necessary but is usually expected at the better restaurants. Tips are usually for about 10% of the total bil l. (Source 13 : Worldliness culture website- Entertaining in Australia. HTML ) Appendix Source: World Business Culture -Australia/ Tips to live and to do business in Australia . Although Australia is relatively geographically remote and has a small domestic market, it is economically successful and its citizens have a comparatively high standard of living. . Due to its small domestic market, Australia needs to trade actively on the international market place and Australians know this – they are open to new ideas from overseas. 3. Australians prize their egalitarian approach to life- people should not try to make out that they are better than others. 4. This egalitarian world view is mirrored in many aspects of Australian business culture from corporate truckers to management and communication style. 5. On the whole, Australian hierarchical approach tends to sit uneasily in egalitarian Australia. 6.Managers try to develop a ‘mate' relationship with their colleagues and w ould be viewed negatively if they tried to seem aloof from subordinates. 7. Everybody expects to have an input into the decision-making process even if, in the final analysis, the boss still makes the decision. If the boss makes the decision with no prior consultation, it unlikely that people will be very keen to ensure implementation. 8. Decision-making meetings can e quite animated and it is expected that people will say exactly what they think without necessarily having to defer automatically to the boss' viewpoint. . Although Australians will say that they value punctuality as a professional necessity, do not be surprised if people appear five to ten minutes late for a meeting. 10. Some small talk is usually engaged in before the meeting proper starts. This stage of the meeting is, however, rarely protracted (five minutes or less. ) 1 1 . Australians tend to plan in less detail than certain other countries 12. The object of a meeting is often to explore the arioso possibilities available at that time, in order to determine what detailed actions may need to be taken after the meeting 13.Agendas are often produced at meetings but will not, necessarily, be strictly adhered to. Some deviation is allowed if it is felt to be constructive deviation. This is viewed as pragmatic. 14. Australians like to be viewed as good team players and will try very hard to play the role. 15. Teams are best managed by somebody who wants to be part of the team, rather than somebody who wished to be seen as apart from the team. 16. A team leader should IEEE themselves the ‘first amongst equals'. 17. Australians like people to say exactly what is on their mind.Hiding your views behind diplomatic language can be seen as evasiveness. 18. Never try to ‘hard sell' things to Australians who will probably view such an approach as bragging. Such an approach will invariably backfire in Australia. 19. Humor is an oft-used communication device in Australian business circles. It is difficult to envisage many situations where the use of humor would be deemed inappropriate. 20. Business attire in Australia tends towards the formal with suits ND ties the norm for men in management positions in major cities.Appendix II Australian Society & Culture Susie Modesty Australians are very down to earth and always mindful of not giving the impression that they think they are better than anyone else. They value authenticity, sincerity, and loathe pretentiousness. Australians prefer people who are modest, humble, self- deprecating and with a sense of humor. They do not draw attention to their academic or other achievements and tend to distrust people who do. They often downplay their own success, which may make them appear not to be achievement- oriented. Mates Australians place a high value on relationships.

Jollibee †fast food the filipino way (case study) Essay

1. Introduction Strategic management is a comprehensive study of how a firm performs during its course, with regard to its predetermined objectives, how they plan to achieve these objectives, and how much resources are expendable for those objectives. The process to determine the strategic management involves considerations of company’s strategic advantages and matching it with existing conditions in business environments. Gerry Johnson and Kevin Scholes (2001) reveal there are three ‘origins’ of strategic management. In their book, Exploring Strategic Management, they mention that a corporate strategic management could rise from: ? Experience of operating corporation’s daily activities ? Regulated designing steps as mentioned above or, ? Novel and innovative ideas that come form evolutionary and complex understanding of the business environment. Concerning the strategic management, this paper discusses the case on Jollibee Food Corp (Jollibee). The company has worldwide reputation as fast-food provider from Philippines. The interesting part when discussing about Jollibee Food Corp lies on the fact that the company was named to be McDonald’s a huge embarrassment, according to the Economist on its February 2006 issue. Moreover, the discussion will address the potential future strategies for Jollibee Fast Food. The report will highlight a through analysis of the organization under review, together with recommendations for future strategies to secure opportunities, or to defend against threats. Furthermore, the analysis of Jollibee Fast Food will also focus upon applying the theory of strategic management. There are six points of discussion about Jollibee Fast Food; they are systematic process of strategic management and decision making, key strategic problems, key strategic opportunities and threats, value, alternative courses of action, and recommendations as to the company’s future course. 2. Analysis of Jollibee Fast Food 2. 1. Key issues of Systematic Process of Strategic Management and Decision Making The development of business involves a series of suitable decision making that drive a company to achieve a designated position in a particular market or industry. Concerning the decision making nature, I found a brief explanation from a research, where the researchers explains that there is no â€Å"pure† decision merely based on intellectual logic or â€Å"purely† based on emotion (Biology Daily, n. d. ). Their remarks suggest that in every kind of the decision making process, there is an appropriate mixture between emotion and reason of the decision makers. This suggestion is in line with nature of storytelling that also composes of mixture between the two factors. Although decision-making process could not merely depend on rational process, I found that it makes sense to assume that too much emotion may cause a decision to be flawed or vague. Under such circumstances, in order to make a sensible decision we must dispassionately consider evidences we have. The theoretical perspectives in strategic management and decision making, as mentioned above, also happened in the case of Jollibee in which the decision to adopt McDonald’s and U. S. fast food chain and to localize their offerings involves both rational and emotional decision making. 2. 1. 1. â€Å"Copy† Strategy. As mentioned above, strategic management involves three broad activities; they are performs during its course, with regard to its predetermined objectives, how they plan to achieve these objectives, and how much resources are expendable for those objectives. Concerning the Jollibee case, during its first stage, the company asserts that from the start, their objective is to copy existing fast-food business practice in order to avoid reinventing new wheel and take benefits of tested experiences. In order to achieve the objective, Tony, the founder of Jollibee, and his brother went to the U. S in 1978 in order to gain knowledge about running a fast-food business. The main role model for Jollibee is undoubtedly McDonald’s that later becomes the company’s main rival not only in the Philippines market but also overseas. The interesting part of Jollibee action is that the company decides to compete with multinational fast-food chain like McDonald’s and Burger King by adopting the so-called ‘symbol of Filipino Pride’. This strategic management is taken since the company realizes they cannot compete with McDonald’s that have strong financial backup and supply chain. 2. 1. 2. Address Local. Preferences In addition to copy the fast-food practice that McDonald’s and other U. S. fast-food chain, Jollibee also address the local preferences when competing with U. S. fast-food chain in Philippines market. For example, from the start in 1978, Jollibee address the Fillipino habits like eating in groups, each person orders separate dishes. By adopting local preferences, Jollibee has extensive number of menu compared to U. S. fast food that offer limited menu. Moreover, like McDonald’s that has Ronald as the mascot, Jollibee also provides their mascot appeared as ‘a human like bee’ two years after the fast-food chain establishment. The success of Jollibee continues running although McDonald’s entered Philippines in 1981 since the U. S. competitor did not localize their offering and their price was higher by 5 to 10 percent than Jollibee. Moreover, in order to attract and serve Filipino, Jollibee practice the local greeting culture by saying Magandang Umaga Po, the local preferences that McDonald’s and other U. S fast food retailers do not adopt and practice. 2. 1. 3. Market Expansion Another decision that is noteworthy in the case of Jollibee is their globalization strategy. The company’s first overseas outlet was in Brunei in 1987. The decision to expand worldwide was because the company saw opportunities in foreign markets although their market expansion strategy slowed down due to economic recession in 1997. The decision to adopt dual strategy to expand internally (Philippines market) while keeping their eyes open to international market amidst global economic recession highlight that the company employs both rational and emotional decision. The situation occurs since Jollibee believe that the recession would go away while market opportunities would grow at a breakneck speed afterwards. In addition to initial overseas outlet in Brunei, the company immediately presents other overseas outlets in Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the U. S. The decision was based on the fact that the three countries have significant number of Filipino working there. In the U. S. for example, Jollibee first exists in Daly City, California, whwre 25% of the city population was Filipino descent. 2. 2. Key strategic problems and issues which have arisen and why they have arisen Jollibee has a great reputation in managing its outlets throughout Philippine and neighboring countries. In its home markets, Jollibee is practically the leader in the fast-food industry, outperforming McDonalds by far. The company also gained success in foreign Asian markets, especially ones with significant population of Filipino nationals. Nevertheless, the company is currently facing the challenge of maintaining corporate growth and surviving within the increasingly competitive industry and facing various crises. 2. 2. 1. Core Issue The company is currently planning to expand its business to the United States and perhaps even the European countries. Management believes that such undertaking is necessary to ensure growth for corporate international business. However, analysts stated that this undertaking might not be as successful as Jollibee’s management predicted. This is due to the fact that competition in the global fast-food industry is much more intense compare to the Philippine markets and the Asian market. The company will have to face competitors in their homeland, which is a scenario that receives significant critics because Jollibee is known to be profitable because it took advantage of its knowledge and insights of Philippine people’s tastes and preferences. Such advantage will not be present in the US or European market. In short, to successfully perform the internationalization strategy, Jollibee cannot rely on existing strategies. New strategies that appeal to US consumers must first be discovered. This is the main issue faced by the company today. 2. 2. 2. Technical Obstacles Besides this main problem that will obstruct Jollibee’s expansion strategy, there are others. In entering the US markets, Jollibee is also facing technical problems like procuring suitable real-state and designing the right retail format. Because of the different construction style in US and different consumer preferences, management of the company is forced to build outlets which are actually different than their original plan. 2. 2. 3. Attracting New Customers The company is also having problems in attracting customers. The original strategy of the company is to appeal to Filipinos who are working or living within the targeted country. However, the amount of Filipino nationals who live in the United State is far from sufficient to generate Jollibee’s targeted revenue. Management is dealing with this problem by adding new products that suited local customers. Nevertheless, some of these new products are very different than the original offering of Jollibee and Jollibee is inexperienced in providing such products to the market. Furthermore, this strategy threatens to eliminate Jollibee’s original trademark. The company needs to discover a way to increase the appeal of Jollibee’s original offerings to local customers. 2. 3. Attracting Good Employees Besides having trouble getting customers, Jollibee is also having problems attracting good employees to work in its outlets. Being a new brand in the market with no locally reputable achievements, the company is struggling to attract good people to work in the company. The problem deserves quite an attention because the company is also inexperienced in facing this problem. In its previous markets, the company simply has to pick and choose between abundant applicants. The company needs to revaluate its human resource management programs and discover strategies to attract good employees. 2. 4. Key strategic opportunities and threats Strategic management is the art of designing the business to reach the highest possible success level. The core questions addressed by a good strategic management process are: 1. ‘what are our business objectives? ’ 2. ‘how are we going to achieve those objectives? ’ 3. ‘what resources are needed to achieve such objectives? ’. (‘What is’, 2007) In the case of Jollibee, the company already has a good design of vision and mission statement and the values in achieving those objectives. Corporate values include: â€Å"customer firsts†, â€Å"excellence through teamwork†, â€Å"frugality†,† spirit of family and fun†, â€Å"humility to listen and lead†, â€Å"honesty and integrity†. Corporate mission is to â€Å"bring great taste and happiness to everyone†. Corporate vision includes: â€Å"being the most dominant and best-tasting service restaurant†, â€Å"reaching every Filipino†, â€Å"provide great product taste at all times†, etc. The company is planning to achieve this objectives by attaining the 3B, which are† boosting the standards of fast food industry†, â€Å"build brand satisfaction†, and â€Å"broaden the reach to customers†. These statements represent the first component of strategic management. However, Jollibee must work to evaluate the second and third component mentioned above. In facing existing challenges and to achieve corporate objectives, Jollibee must search into its organizations for competitive advantages and develop the valuable edges to help the company gain more share of the market. These advantages must be cross referenced to the conditions in Jollibee’s foreign markets to discover the appropriate corporate strategy to apply in the foreign markets. The core strategic advantages of the company are: †¢ Innovation. In its home market and the market it has been operating in since its inception, the company was known to be highly innovative. The company developed from an ice cream parlor to a chain of the most successful fast-food counters in Philippine. Today, the company has not lost its touch in innovation. New products are developed and designed as the company perform its daily operations and generated new menus and methods of preparing food. †¢ Sensitivity toward all customer segments In my personal opinion, Jollibee is successful because of its main weapon, sensitivity toward customer preferences. The company took notice of the different segments of customers that come into the outlets and find the best possible way to satisfy their needs. Creating a variety of meals instead of the standard and non-variative products which is considered to be the character of fast-food outlets, designing children’s meals, creating a special program to address the take-away segment are just some example of how the company address the needs of its customers †¢ Preserving Quality of Operations The company uses the newest technologies to enhance its operations. The manufacturing process within the outlets is constantly improved by benchmarking programs and adopting new processes and technologies. This should be identified as a weapon of corporate growth and entry into foreign markets. †¢ Good relationship with Franchisers The company treats is partners and franchisers like family in accordance to Philippine customs. Inputs are regarded and the company truly work together with franchisers to develop the quality of outlets’ operations. †¢ Leadership Some analyst believed that most of the current success of the company is the result of one man’s hard work. Without the leadership qualities and the boldness to spot a good strategy and actually go through with the idea, Jollibee would not be what it is today. There is little doubt in stakeholders’ minds that corporate survival and growth for all the years are directly related to Tony’s presence as corporate leader and mentor. Identifying these strengths and cross referencing them to the challenges faced by the company in its internationalization plan, we should be able to conclude the following strategic opportunities: †¢ The company possesses notable chances to succeed in international markets because of its qualities. However, because the international markets have much more intense competitive environment, the company must always try to develop the quality of its operations in all aspects. Preserving the present quality of operations and active innovation, and also enhance them to a new level will allow the company to be among the top players of the international fast-food industry. †¢ Facing new environments, all companies must go through a stage of adaptation. Adoption of local characteristics is generally necessary in order to get the first customers into the outlets. The company, who has a reputation of being innovative and sensitive toward customer preferences, should see this as an opportunity to create new products, new programs, new packages or other new and appealing strategies that will attract customers into Jollibee’s outlets. †¢ In managing the human resource, the company should rely on its proven qualities for leadership and managing good relationship with partners. If the company is having trouble in initially attracting good employees into the outlets, the company should consider using Filipino employees. By training them to meet the highest standard of the industry and giving them the best employment deal in the market, Jollibee will set an example to the general workforce in the market. The present condition of the company however, also has strategic threats that must be paid attention to. Some of them are: †¢ Letting go previous formats and being creative Research indicated that previously successful companies generally have problems adapting to new conditions and developments. This is caused by the illusion that they have discovered the recipe for success and refuse to change along with the environment. Jollibee must educate its managers and employees not to fall into this mind trap and understand the reality that the corporate profit will diminish and corporate existence will be threatened if all components of the organizations failed to change along with the environment. New strategies that will strengthen corporate competitive advantages are required, especially in this internationalization program. †¢ Dependency toward single leadership. In Jollibee, most of the bold and innovative strategies are led by a single leader which is a dangerous culture when the company intends to go international. The principles of globalization stated that business internationalization means that the company also has what it takes to perform localization of business operations. In a localization concept, local leaders must have the authority and freedom to act in response to conditional changes (Beck, 1999). Having privately owned and franchise outlets overseas will make it necessary for delegation of leadership. †¢ Losing corporate characteristics Other strategic threat is losing corporate characteristics and be called a copycat or business imitator. Unlike the previous years of Jollibee when the company must perform serious benchmarking to mimic McDonalds, today the company is recognized for its own brand and characteristic. Corporate strategy must be aimed at increasing the appeal of existing offerings and not blindly mimicking local competitors to gain more customers. Such a plan is not viable in the long term. 2. 5. Value if decisions taken by managers. Jollibee’s success is not without apparent reasons. Management of the company displayed that it has performed its best in all aspects of corporate operations, especially in adhering to customer preferences and maintaining high quality manufacturing processes. In the modernism perspective, Jollibee would be successful in all its business endeavors as long as the company maintains all of the present business credibilities. This is in line with modernism philosophy who believes that human endeavor, logic and technology are the main factors that shape the world (Nichols, 1995). However, reality revealed that the company is not vulnerable from problems and issues, and it must be noted that most of the problems are generated by external factors and not internal. In other words, the company remains credible as it is originated, but the quality of its performance is threatened. This is hardly accord with principles of modernism. On contrary, this is more suitable to the postmodernism perspective. In the postmodern perspective, social, cultural and spiritual factors are significantly influencing occurrences of the world. Postmodernism proponents adopt a more ‘flexible’ or ‘fluid’ view of the world, with appreciation but not worshiping logic and modern technologies (Bertens, 1995). In the light of this discussion between modernism and postmodernism, we discover the reality that the business world is a constantly fluctuating place, where a company might be the indisputable leader today but could be reduced to runner ups the next day. Jollibee is in an important stage of its development, which is expanding to one of the biggest and most challenging markets in the world. This represents the possibility that Jollibee will face more challenges and uncertainties in addition to currently present. In its foreign markets, the company need to reevaluate its operations both internally to refit corporate human resource management and externally to increase the marketing appeal of the company (Castels, 1996). 2. 6. Consideration of alternative courses of action According to case of Jollibee, there are many actions that Jollibee considered to be excellent. However, there are many opportunities for the fast-food chain to improve their service. for instances, concerning the global expansion, currently, the company still believe their recipe to develop the true taste for Filipino since their target customers are Filipino descent. However, since customers in the global markets do not come from Philippines or not wholly Filipino, therefore, the company needs to adopt local taste as well. For instances, when serving American customers, Jollibee needs to incorporate local taste instead of forcing the Filipino taste for American people. 2. 7. Recommendations of Company’s Future In order to provide suitable analysis for a company’s future, we should incorporate suitable business analysis tools so that we can obtain enough information and develop suitable strategy from it. One of business analysis tools that is suitable for Jollibee case is Ansoff Matrix. This analysis tool is basically a marketing tool, publicized by the Harvard Business Review in 1957 (Tutor2U, 2005). The concept elaborates how companies direct their corporate strategy to achieve corporate growth. As each company rely on different competitive advantage for profitability and growth, the Ansoff Matrix simplifies the complicated nature of ‘personal’ corporate competitive advantages by dividing all of them into four large quadrants. In order to alleviate the limitation that the analysis tool has, Bruce D Buskirk, in 1998, add another two quadrants (6 in total) in the Ansoff Matrix. The addition quadrants address the influence of high tech environment in a business (Figure 1). Figure 1 Ansoff Growth Strategy Market (Expanded) Source: Available at http://www.zanthus. com/databank/strategy/business_strategy. asp Concerning the case of Jollibee, the recommendation can be developed into several components as depicted by Ansoff Matrix. But two most important factors for recommendation are Future and New Technology. †¢ Future Concerning product future (product development and diversification), Ansoff matrix suggests that a company needs to promote their product and repositioning the brand. This strategy is the least risky since its does not require massive capitalization to obtain new resources (QucikMBA, 2004). This is important since the positioning of Jollibee is formerly to become the Filipino choice while markets/customers come from diverse culture and nationality. The situation suggests the company need to develop global taste. Remember, McDonald’s success is because they have a wide range of products that address global tastes plus some adjustment to local tastes. †¢ New Technology Considering the benefits of IT for supporting the Jollibee operation, the company needs developing Management Information with following benefits: ? Simplifying the product and the production process? Using customers demands as a guide to enhance products and services ? Reduce cycle time ? Improve quality and precision of products (food and beverage) delivery ? Avoid miscalculation in billing statement To be specific, Jollibee can increase their revenue by simplifying the purchasing process by using corporate e-commerce, for instances, where customers can reserve a place at any Jollibee’s outlets. Similarly, by using e-commerce customer can purchase any Jollibee’s products and have them by home delivery services. The situation highlights that the adoption of technology will give the company with new revenue sources. 3. Conclusion Fast food industry is an interesting business since people need food and therefore the industry grows fast. Concerning issue, this paper discusses the strategic management of Jollibee Food Corp (Jollibee). Moreover, the analysis of Jollibee Fast Food will also focus upon applying the theory of strategic management and address six points; they are systematic process of strategic management and decision making, key strategic problems, key strategic opportunities and threats, value, alternative courses of action, and recommendations as to the company’s future course. Bibliography Beck, U. 1999. ‘What is Globalization’. Cambridge: Polity Press. Bertens, Hans. 1995. ‘The Idea of the Postmodern: A History’. London: Routledge. Biology Daily. Emotion. Retrieved July 3, 2007 from http://www. biologydaily. com/biology/Emotion Castells, M. 1996. ‘The Rise of the Networked Society’. Oxford: Blackwell. Harvey, Neil. Company Strategy. Professional Management Review. Retrieved July 3, 2007 from http://www. pmr. co. za/magazines/January2005/regCompanyStrategy. htm Nicholls, Peter. 1995. ‘Modernisms: A Literary Guide’. Hampshire and London: Macmillan Tutor2U. (2005). Ansoff Product / Market Matrix. Retrieved July 3, 2007 from http://www. tutor2u. net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix. htm QuickMBA. (2004). Ansoff Matrix. Retrieved July 3, 2007 from http://www. quickmba. com/strategy/matrix/ansoff/ ‘What is Strategic Management? ’. 2007. Allbusiness. Retrieved July 2, 2007. from http://www. allbusiness. com/search.

College degree Essay

Like almost everyone already asked this question when they have finished high school. Where will I be in about 10, 20 or even more 40 years? . I do not think anyone would like to be a waiter or taxi driver the rest of life; hence, going to college is a good way to know what you will be. It will help you to develop your abilities, your skills, accomplish your goals. People with a higher education can make a difference in the world. My reason for going to college is because I want a better life for myself and it will open many doors in my future life. I graduated from high school in 2007, when I was 17 years old in Peru. My family always encouraged me to get higher education so I started thinking about what would I want to be? . I went to see many universities around my town in order to get more information about majors. I was confused between Hospitality Management and International Business but I decided to study Hospitality Management. It caught my attention because it deals with tourism and I love traveling. Besides hotels, I can get a job in many other places such restaurants, casinos, resorts and hospitals. I enrolled at San Ignacio de Loyola University because they have the best program in my major. It is  located an hour and a half from my house. When I was studying there, I learned a lot; especially, when I can deal for myself without my mom’s help because she did everything for me when I was at school. In Peru, there are many cases of delinquency and a few times robbers attacked me. The first occasion was a week of starting classes. I could remember that I spent a whole day at the college doing my assignment. It was a lot and I was very tired that day. When I was on my way home and got off the bus, someone stole my handbag. My first reaction was to go running after him because he had all my work with my effort in it, my new purchased  books. That was horrible. The other times, robbers just stole my phone. It was because of these facts that gradually I did not want to go anymore. I was very scared on the streets, looking around; I could not take out my phone from my pockets. Because of that, I decided to leave the university. One the day, I talked with my grandmother who lives in the USA. We were discussing about my life and I told her that I wanted to continue studying, so she asked me to move in with her. It was a very difficult decision for me because I would go to another country, starting a new life away from my  parents and friends, and also I was afraid because I did not speak English fluently. However, I had to think about my future so I decided to move to the USA, but the problem was that my parents disagreed about coming here illegal. I went to the University to see if they have any program to study outside the country. They have it but one of the requirements is to have 60 credits. Unfortunately, I did not have that amount. I checked on internet any other possibilities and I found out about the student visa. I did everything I needed to process the visa, such as translating my documents from high  school, filling some papers, looking for my sponsor, and medical examination. A few days later, I went to the USA embassy with my parents, I was so nervous because my dream of keep studying was depending of their answer. The counselor looked my documents and approved my student visa. I was so happy that day. In the first days of arriving in USA, I enrolled at Union County College. At the beginning, I took ESL classes since level 4th. Now, I am almost done with it. Moreover, I am taking other courses in the fields of hotel management. Therefore, I’m pretty sure that I will graduate in two  more years and get my associate degree in Applied Science Program in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management. However, getting a degree in USA and go back to my country will help me to get a more job opportunities since I’m bilingual. According to the article The Benefits of Earning a College Degree states, â€Å"One of the most important and obvious reasons to earn a college degree is to increase your earning potential†. Therefore, a good salary since people that have achieved a college degree are hired in at a higher pay and are considered to be much more employable. For the reason that I want  my own family, I would like to give them a good quality of life, and also provide inspiration to my children. In conclusion, I strongly believe that people should go to college. I feel good going to college because every time I learn something new. I am satisfied with every step I’m taking to get more knowledge and grow as a person. Also, see my parents feel proud of me is priceless. In fact, I recommend going to college is worth and it is not a waste of time because college will give a person the tools to succeed in the field of their choice. By graduating from college, everyone can get a dream job and start to make those dreams come true.

Community and Problem-Solving Policing Research Paper

Community and Problem-Solving Policing - Research Paper Example on the way that communities and institutional arrangements themselves can replicate crime; honoring traditions of community policing and deputies; and partnerships with existing agencies rather than replacement of them. Community-oriented policing might seem to be a new approach, but it is in fact an incredibly old form. â€Å"The history of modern law enforcement began 166 years ago with the formation of the London Metropolitan Police District in 1829. By creating a new police force, the British Parliament hoped to address the soaring crime rate in and around the nations capital...To implement fully the beat concept, Peel instituted his second most enduring innovation: The paramilitary command structure. While Peel believed overall civilian control to be essential, he also believed that only military discipline would ensure that constables actually walked their beats and enforced the law on Londons mean streets, something their nonmilitary predecessors, the watchmen, had failed to do† (Patterson). Ironically, elements that community-policing advocates nowadays think are opposed to community policing actually were part and parcel of it: A regular beat, centralized authority established in th e community, etc. The regular beat of his â€Å"bobbies† let people become familiar with established authorities and let the officers become intimately familiar with the community, being able to identify hot spots. Community-oriented policing in the modern era is defined as follows: â€Å"Community Policing is a collaborative effort between a police department and community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems. It is founded on close, mutually beneficial ties between police and community members. At the center of community policing are three essential and complementary core components: Partnerships between the police and the community. Problem Solving as a method to identify and

PAPER ON WORLD WAR I Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PAPER ON WORLD WAR I - Assignment Example The second one is The Treaty of Versailles and the third one is The Balfour Declaration 1917. There is no other war that has brought about changes in the map of Europe in such a dramatic way like the First World War. The war caused the disappearance of four powerful empires. One is the German empire. The second is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The third is the Ottoman Empire and fourthly, many nations did gain their independence from Russia. Four dynasties as well as their ancillary aristocracies all fell after the war. Serbia and Belgium were damaged and France was not left out either. The war continued for some seven more months until treaties were signed to end the war formally. Germany had agreed to sign the treaty of Versailles on June 28 1919 (Grayzel, 2013, p. 137). The United States failed to formally end its involvement in the war until the Knox-porter resolution that was signed in July 1921. The resolution was signed by President Warren G Harding representing the British Empire thus ceasing the state of war. After the treaty of Versailles, the treaties with Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were signed. However, there was much strife following the negotiation of the latter treaty with the Ottoman Empire. The strife entailed the Turkish War of independence. The final peace treaty was between the allied powers and the republic of turkey. After the war, a series of treaties were imposed by the Paris Peace Conference on the central powers to end the war officially. The treaties brought the League of Nations to life in 1919. The treaty state d that the central powers were responsible for the loss and damage brought about to the allied forces. Austria Hungary was partitioned in to several states. The states included Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The Russian Empire had already withdrawn from the war in 1917 lost part of its western frontier since nations such as

Case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Case study analysis - Essay Example For resorts, these technological advantages opened new opportunities in terms of involvement in time-sharing projects and the development of new properties such as recreation-focused hotel and higher-end housing. In Florida the lodging industry was experiencing the period of changes of substantial net growth with the resorts’ occupancy to remain considerably higher than in any other region of U.S. Being a part of Playa Dorada, Inc. located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, the Tennis Club lived its high times with 26,6% of all visitors to be involved in such activity. However, the current director Douglas Hall recognized the two main issues that were worth attention: lack of capacity and pricing structure. In this context, the main concerns were to tackle such problems to enable more visitors use tennis courts. Despite the twenty-three courts available for the visitors, most of them were occupied in the most used hours. As a solution to the problem, Hall thought of building extra courts as the same cost, however, they would bring a net loss to the company. In addition, new courts would need duplication of facilities that along with service staff would bring greater cost to the resort. Whil e the issue with capacity was hard to resolve, the pricing structure could be used by Hall as shifting of the situation. Through special pricing schemes, promotions and additional services, the Tennis Club could implement changes per court charge, such as doubles play. Despite the reduction in revenue in doubles play, more guests would be able to use the court. Through implementation of fewer charges for hard-surface court, the company would make it more cost affordable. In addition, the tennis and discount plans would also shift the use of hard-surface courts for the adult clients to play while younger players would be offered 50% off after two hours of play on hard-surface court. To make the tennis courts available to more people, there is a reason to think over the cause

Health care trend article summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health care trend article summary - Assignment Example serve an essential purpose in patient education as it presents to them an in depth understanding of their problems along with the guidelines that are required to be followed by them with regard to medications as well as other important instructions that need to be followed after they are discharged from the hospital. This can serve an important function by creating awareness amongst the patients and preventing them from wrong conceptions about their condition and thus they prevent mishaps. They are widely used in the hospitals in America and it is stated that around 3000 hospitals employ this form of patient education. The availability of these care notes in different languages has proven to be of assistance to eighty percent of the patients who do not have command over English. Thus the accessibility of Care Notes in many languages, that a person can understand easily, can serve as an important step in health care and prove to be beneficial for the patients. It has served as a step to improving the quality of health services provided by the hospitals. It has not only proven beneficial for the patients but for the medical staff as well because they can convey their message in a more precise and clear manner. Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters Expands CareNotes ® Patient Education System To Support 15 Languages. Retrieved from:

Analysis of Surveillance Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 7

Analysis of Surveillance Systems - Essay Example The views are largely others’ views and The Economist, to a large extent, engages in reporting and discussing the features of the developments rather than criticising the systems. The other article discussed in this paper is â€Å"Trading Liberty for Illusions† by Wendy Kaminer published in the 2nd issue of the 22nd volume of the Free Inquiry Magazine. The focus of the article is broader than The Economist’s as it argues in general about all security measures and systems. The article rejects security systems as illusions and builds a strong argument against security systems on the basis that they are invasive and repressive and threats to civil liberties. The strategies used by The Economist makes its article argumentative to some extent and descriptive and expository to a large extent, whereas those employed by Kaminer makes her article more an argument. To illustrate, The Economist’s article on surveillance systems is largely a detailed account of the various developments in the ICT enabled surveillance systems, their features and how they promise to deliver greater and more effective security systems. An example it gives is of security systems capable of studying biometric features or physiological posture and movements. Another is of a system that can identify not only suspicious behavior but also correlate them to their contexts to help determine whether a particular action or a person is actually a threat. However, Kaminer uses examples of various security systems, both historical and current, not to focus on their description and development, but to use them as evidence to support her thesis and advance her argument tha t security measures have been only illusions and tramped on liberties.

Xploring Empirical Modeling and web-enabled EM tools Essay

Xploring Empirical Modeling and web-enabled EM tools - Essay Example In this paper, the concepts of EM with web-enabled EM tools will be investigated in accordance with a classic game ‘Battleship’. Web EDEN is the first web-enabled version of EDEN introduced in 2007, but there were few potential disadvantages of Web EDEN. However, a newer version of web-enabled EM tools called JsEden, has been developed in 2010. It is based on a JavaScript implementation of EDEN and it eliminated the major disadvantage introduced by Web Eden. This paper will explore JsEden and its advantages. The first web-enabled EM tool is called Web-EDEN, it was introduced in 2007. Web EDEN has several disadvantages. The major disadvantage is load-balancing between client and server. This is because EDEM models run at the clients are sent to the server for interpretation which produces a large network load. Thus the interpretation is slow. However, JsEden has resolved this issue by implementing EDEN with JavaScript, although this is still in prototype stage, but it deals with all the issues of Web-Eden and provides several advantages over Web-EDEN. Given that JsEden is a browser based implementation of EDEN, thus, it addresses the issues of portability and provides capability of cross-platform. JsEden has improved the portability to a greater extent by implementing EDEN using JavaScript. However, portability is addressed by following the principles of EM. In this scenario, the major concepts such as observables, dependency and agency are not machine-specific terms; they are related to experience that comes from interacting with computer during the construction of models. In addition, the traditional implementation of EDEN has relied on invoking procedural actions triggered by observable changes. Additionally, drawing interface in JsEden has to be explicitly programmed and point on the display has to be redrawn to maintain the dependency between internal state and their visual counterpart. Since

Justifying The State Essay Example for Free

Justifying The State Essay Q1 If the state is not a voluntary organisation, how can one be under any obligation to obey its commands? This is a question about justifying the state. What D. D. Raphael calls the grounds of political obligation.1 If the state can be justified somehow then so can the commands it makes, whether it is voluntary or not. This would be a state built on individual consent; obligation to the commands of the state would flow from that consent. This essay will discuss the possibility of justifying of the state through the idea of a social contract. The state when it creates a law draws a line one cannot cross without consequences. For clarity I am talking about a serious law, specifically one that obviously has a moral base, the law against murder for example. An individualist might say I have no intention of crossing that line anyway because I believe it would be morally wrong to do so. The law in his case may as well not exist. Just by not breaking a law it can appear as though he supports it. When what he might agree with is what the law defends/upholds /represents, and that is the moral principle behind it. This is one reason why some people appear to uphold the law when in fact all they may be doing is following a personal moral code. or simply agreeing with the basic rational belief shared by most people that murder is wrong or (maybe) tax for the NHS is good for example. I suggest this analogy can be applied when questioning many commands of the state. When I obey the state by paying taxes, I may not be doing so because I am obligated too by law but for other reasons including moral ones. Socialists (as do many others) might argue that they are happy to pay more tax in return for a wider societal benefit that includes all, i.e. as in the National Health Service. Therefore a socialist might argue that she paid her National Insurance not because the law obligates her too, but because it fits her moral attitudes and outlook anyway. The fact that she has no legal right to refuse to pay becomes relevant in this case only if she actually doesnt. The above argument is Lockean to the extent that it appeal[s] to the idea of individual consent.2 It is also in part my own view, which is (I think) essentially individualist in nature, though not libertarian. The relevance of my own view to this essay is that when thinking about this question, I realised that I had no idea what my own moral position was regarding some of the most crucial problems and contradictions of political philosophy. Many of these questions require (I think) a moral stance in order to be able to make sense of them. This may seem like a non-academic approach as if I am personalising or reducing this essay to subjective notions, however the questions and issues of political philosophy are in large part moral questions and issues that therefore have as a basis, personal moral opinions. Lockes view according to Wolff is that obligations to the institutions of the state must be justified in terms of the will, choices or decisions of those over whom they have authority.3 Justification of the institutions of the state that enforce obligation then is reliant on the idea that personal autonomy is of premier value. Will Kymlicka defines this as the belief that the individual is morally prior to the community. One objection to this is the communitarian argument that the individual is not morally prior to the community instead individuals are a product of the community.4 There are other objectors to Lockes idea that autonomy is the primary value. Wolff writes that Bentham considered the primary value is not autonomy but happiness whether we consent to the state is irrelevant. 5 This utilitarian argument is that the happiness of society, as a whole is of more value than personal autonomy or the happiness of the few or one. And that therefore one has a duty to obey the commands of the state as it pursues this goal. So if the state decides that having nuclear weapons is for the greater good (happiness) then I would be obligated to pay my share of tax for them whatever I thought. I may be against nuclear weapons or the military in general for moral reasons (pacifism for example) but my moral objection is sacrificed for the greater happiness. The problem political philosophers face is finding ways to solve issues like the one above. Just how does one justify the state? One theory is the idea of the social contract. Wolff here defines the project of the social contract theory. The project of showing that individuals consent to the state lies behind the idea of social contract theory. If, somehow or other, it can be shown that every individual has consented to the state, or formed a contract with the state, or made a contract with each other to create a state, then the problem appears to be solved.6 It is difficult to support the idea that the state, and thereby its commands and responding obligations, can be justified by the theory of a social contract. The theory of a social contract tries to justify political obligation as being based on an implicit promise, like the obligation to obey the rules of a voluntary association.7 If there were such a contract (based on the idea that the state is a voluntary organisation) the problem of individual obligation to the state would be solved. One could join (or leave) institutions of the state at will, and not be subject to state penalties. This is clearly not so. To clarify this further I can ask a different question: how much like a voluntary association is the state? The consensus among political philosophers is I think that the state is not a voluntary organisation. To be born is to be joined to it. As Raphael says the universality of the states jurisdiction makes its compulsory character more pervasive and more evident. 8 Individuals are inextricably linked to it in many ways, for example through the financial/legal institutions. Neither of these institutions are voluntary, they both carry obligations that are enforceable by law. For a comparison I will examine what I think a voluntary organisation is. The obligations I have to the UEA regarding my degree, I agreed to honour. They were stated, I accepted. This does not mean I think the UEA is perfect. Just because I am obligated, (I agreed to the UEA rules) does not mean I cannot criticise the parking problem. What is important is that I chose to join. My obligations to the UEA are voluntary, and I can withdraw from them voluntarily and leave the university should I choose. This is not possible in the case of the state. [I] am subject to the rules whether I like it or not.9 As a general philosophical attitude I am nervous or sceptical of organisations people are forced to join or have to remain joined to, this includes the idea of a state. This could be framed as, (if this sentence makes sense) I do not like the idea that there is a group I am unable not to join. These reasons might help to explain why I am generally sceptical of some of the motives of our own state. So where does this leave us? The above contentions highlight some of the problems of the social contract theory. The central objection to it is that the state is not voluntary therefore there can be no mutually agreed contract. Nor has there historically ever been one. As Wolff observes, if there ever was a social contract What is the evidence? Which museum is it in?10 The idea of a hypothetical contract is an attempt to solve this problem. It does not rely on any formal notion of actual consent, be it historical, express, or tacit.11 The hypothetical contract relies on hypothetical consent. If hypothetical consent were possible it would provide a moral reason for political obligation. That is the ingredient the question this essay is discussing implicitly implies is missing. The idea asks us to imagine a position from where we could successfully negotiate a social contract. Rawls idea is a very complex one that effects many issues. In his Theory of Justice, Rawls sets out primarily to establish what moral principles should govern the basic structure of a just society.12 Rawls Theory of Justice suggests a set of specific moral principles that he hopes will achieve this consensus view. It is these principles that critics of the theory in the main object to. What they are concerned with is the kind of society that would emerge from behind any veil of ignorance whatever its character. For the purpose of this essay the idea of a veil of ignorance which is subject to many conditions, is the device Rawls uses to argue for consent. If people can agree on what would be just, (which he argues is possible using the principles he suggests) from behind a veil of ignorance the consent reached would be a voluntary contract. Again the problem remains, what principles really constitute a just society are not clear. Objections to Rawls ideas include the libertarian critique. Kukathas and Pettit13 argue that for principled libertarians like Nozick the state that would emerge from Rawlss theory is bound to seem inherently evil.14 Nozicks objections are based on his libertarian view that Individuals have rights, and there are things no person or group may do to them (without violating their rights)15 To conclude is this essay is very difficult; the argument I have tried to demonstrate is that one cannot be under any obligation to obey the commands of the state using the social contract model. I have argued that the social contract fails because it is not consensual. I have also tried to show that the idea of hypothetical contract cannot work because the veil of ignorance still does not produce consent because people cannot agree on what the principles of a just state are. One can only be obligated to obey the commands of the state (I think) when its principles are consensual. Bibliography Chandran Kukathas and Philip Pettit, Rawls, A Theory of Justice and its Critics, (Polity Press 1990) Kymlicka, Will, Contemporary Political philosophy. Raphael, D D, Problems of Political Philosophy, (Macmillan press 1990) Wolff, Jonathan, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, (oxford University Press 1996) Colin Dunlop His II Political Philosophy Dr Kathleen Stock 04-04-03 Q1 If the state is not a voluntary organisation, how can one be under any obligation to obey its commands? 1 Raphael, D D, Problems of Political Philosophy, p175 2 Wolff, Jonathan, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, p38 3 Ibid.p38 4 See Kymlicka, Will, Contemporary Political philosophy, Ch5 (I think) his discussion multiculturalism and communitarianism. 5 Ibid.p38 6 Ibid.p43 7 Raphael, D D, Problems of Political Philosophy, p182 8 Ibid.p181 9 Ibid.p181 10 Wolff, Jonathan, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, p44 11 Ibid.p44 12 Chandran Kukathas and Philip Pettit, Rawls, A Theory of Justice and its Critics, p36 13 Ibid. See chapter 5 The Libertarian Critique 14 Ibid.p74 15 Robert Nozick quoted by Chandran Kukathas and Philip Pettit in, Rawls, A Theory of Justice and its Critics, p76

Poverty And Health Inequalities Health And Social Care Essay

Poverty And Health Inequalities Health And Social Care Essay Sociologists define social class as the grouping of people by occupations. The different positions represent different levels of power, influence and money1, 2. In the UK society was divided into 5 main groups of classes however the Office of National Statistics (ONS) produced a new socio-economic classification in 2001 (Table 1)3, 4. Social Class Up to 2001 From 2002 I 1-4 High Low II IIIN IIIM 5-8 IV V Table 1- Classification of Social class4 The Black Report and the Acheson Report In August 1980 the Department of Health (DOH) published the Black Report, also known as the Working Group on Inequalities in Health. The Report showed the extent to which ill-health and death are unequally distributed among the population of Britain, and suggested that these inequalities have been widening rather than decreasing since the formation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 19485. The Report concluded that these inequalities were not caused due to failings in the NHS, but because of many other social inequalities influencing health: income, education, housing, diet, employment, and conditions of work. In consequence, the Report recommended a wide strategy of social policy measures to reduce inequalities in health; however these recommendations were ignored not implemented 6. In 1998 The Acheson Report, also known as the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report was published, this was 18 years after the Black Report, both reports showed similarities in thei r finding. The Acheson report showed a widening gap between different social groups (Figure 1)7. Figure 1-Number of deaths per 1000 by all causes for men aged 20-64 between 1991-19937 The report also noted that, while social determinants (Figure 2) affect peoples health across their lives, the early years are a particularly important stage of life, where poor socio economic circumstances have lasting effects. The Report recommended policies and interventions to reduce inequalities in access to the determinants of good health among parents, particularly mothers and children8, 9. The Main Determinants of Health Figure 2- The Main Determinants of Health10 The Situation in the UK- Income and Poverty The main point that both the Black and Acheson report identified was the association between poverty, social class and health inequalities. This applied to all aspects of health including life expectancy, infant mortality and general level of health8. Poverty isolates people, reducing their ability to engage in social and community life. In a study comparing the poorest and richest fifth of households, poorer children had fewer opportunities for activities and socialising. Poverty is measured by looking at the low-income threshold. This is 60% of the median UK income 4, 11. In 2007/08, 13 ½ million people in the UK (Table 2) were living in households below the low-income threshold, an increase of 1  ½ million compared with the 2004/05 figures. This is around a fifth (22%) of the population. The number of people on low incomes is lower than it was during the early 1990s but is much greater than in the early 1980s11, 12. Country Number of people England 11,500,000 Scotland 900,000 Wales 70,000 Northern Ireland 40,000 Total 13,500,000 Table 2- Distribution of people living below the poverty line in the UK, 13.5 million of the total population of approx 61 million13 Health of the UK Population- Link between Poverty and Health The health of people in the more wealthy areas of the UK is better than those living in the deprived areas. Those people living in poorer communities die younger and experience poorer physical and mental health throughout their life than those living in wealthier communities12, 13. There is a link between life expectancy at birth and social class in the UK. Those from social class I and II have a higher life expectancy at birth than those from social class IV and V .Professional men are expected to live to around 80 years and unskilled manual men to 72.7 years and for women, the figures are 85.1 and 78.1 years (Figure 3)14 Figure 3- Life expectancy of men and women at birth by social class UK, 1992-200515 This can be linked to death by major diseases in the UK, those from social class IV and V have a higher death rate compared to those form social class I and II (Figure 4).14, 15. Figure 4- Major causes of death 2003: Death rate for men aged 25-64 are 50-100% higher among those from manual backgrounds compared to those form non-manual backgrounds4, 12, 13. Infant Mortality in the UK The general association between poverty and health can be seen by looking at different diseases and mortality rates in the UK however one area which shows this association very clearly is child health. This is measured by looking at the rate of infant mortality. Infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants per 1000 live births16. There were 9,954 infant deaths overall in the period 2006-08, giving an overall infant mortality rate of 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births (Table 3). Of those with a valid socio-economic group (8,709), the rate was 4.7 deaths per 1,000. Out of the 8,709 deaths in this category, 43% of these deaths (3,744) were in the Routine and Manual (RM) Social group, giving a rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in this group 17, 18. Year Number of Deaths Infant Mortality Rate 2006 3321 5.9 2007 3264 4.7 2008 3369 4.8 Total 9954 Table 3- Infant deaths and mortality: babies born in 2006-200819 Poverty and Infant Mortality Infant death rates among both those from manual backgrounds (social class 1-4) and those from non-manual backgrounds, (social class 5-8) have fallen by around a fifth over the last decade but the gap between them has not reduced.   Infant deaths are still 50% more common among poor children in lower social groups (manual backgrounds) than among those from non-manual backgrounds.   In the lower social groups infant mortality is 20% higher than the average 4.8 per 1,000 (Figure 5)20, 21, 22.http://www.poverty.org.uk/21/a.png Figure 5- Annual number of deaths per 1000 live births between 1997-2007, it also shows the social class of the infants4, 15. When looking at different regions of the UK; it is clear that there is a significant difference in infant death rates. The rate of infant deaths in the West Midlands is one-and-a-half times more than that in the South East (Figure 6)23, 24, 25.http://www.poverty.org.uk/21/b.png Figure 6- Graph showing how the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births varies by region (West midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, North West, Northern Ireland, East Midlands, North East, London, Scotland, Wales, South West, East, South East) 4,24. Infant death by region also has an association with poverty. The region with the highest proportion of households below the average income is the North East and West Midlands and it is the West midlands which has the highest infant death rate. The regions with the lowest portion of households below the average income, is the East and South East and it is the South East with the lowest number of infant deaths (Figure 7) 26, 27, 28. Figure 7- Graph showing low-income households by region (North East, West midlands, Wales, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, Scotland, South West, Northern Ireland, East, South East)4, 15, 27 There are many conditions that cause infant death. The leading causes of infant death include congenital abnormalities, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), problems related to complications of pregnancy, and infant respiratory distress syndrome (Table 4)19, 29. Cause of Death Number of Deaths Congenital anomalies 920 Antepartum infections 59 Immaturity related conditions 1550 Asphyxia, anoxia or trauma (intrapartum) 205 External conditions 47 Infant respiratory distress syndrome 122 Other specific conditions 26 Sudden infant deaths 158 Other conditions 282 All causes 3369 Table 4- Infant deaths by cause of death: babies born in 200811, 15, 19 Other Risk Factors Increasing Infant Mortality There are other risk factors which increase the rate of infant deaths. These factors are associated with income and poverty. The main three factors are low birth weight, smoking during pregnancy and ethnicity27. Low birth weight Babies birth weights are key indicators of the outcome of pregnancy, even though there can be considerable differences between the health and well-being of babies born at the same stage of pregnancy. Babies born with a low birth weight are at greatest risk of having immediate and long-term health problems. The smallest babies are the most likely to die in the first weeks and months of life. Babies born to parents from manual backgrounds (Social class 5-8) tend to be more likely to have low birth weight than those born to parents form non-manual social backgrounds (Social class 1-4) these differences continue throughout the decade (Figure 8)31. Figure 8- Graph shows the proportion of babies born each year who are classed as having low birth weight (less than 2.5 kilograms, 5  ½ lbs), between 1996-2006. It also shows the social class of the infants4. Smoking during pregnancy Smoking in pregnancy causes devastating outcomes; these are increased risk of miscarriage, still birth and death. If parents continue to smoke after pregnancy, there is an increased rate of sudden infant death syndrome32. In the UK in 2006, 33% of mothers from social class 5-8 (manual) smoked throughout pregnancy compared with only 22% of mothers from social class 1-4 (non manual) (Figure 9) 33. Figure 9- Smoking prevelance overall and by social class. England 1998-2006 34 Exposure to passive smoking during pregnancy is associated with still birth, death and increase risk of lower respiratory tract infection in infants. One study found that in households where both parents smoke, young children have a 72 per cent increased risk of respiratory illnesses35. In 2006, 21% of non smoking pregnant women were exposed to the smoke of someone else usually a partner, throughout their pregnancy. Also 40% of mothers aged under 20 smoked throughout pregnancy compared with 13% of mothers aged 35 and over 33, 34. Ethnicity There are large differences in the infant mortality rates of ethnic groups in the UK, for babies born in 2005. Asian and Black ethnic groups accounted for over 11% of live births and 17% of infant deaths. Babies in the Pakistani and Caribbean groups had particularly high infant mortality rates, 9.6 and 9.8 deaths per 1,000 live births this was double the rate in the White British group of 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births (Table 5)36 Ethnic Group Number of deaths Infant mortality rate Bangladeshi (Asian/Asian British) 34 4.2 Indian (Asian/Asian British) 93 5.8 Pakistani (Asian/Asian British) 231 9.6 African (Black/Black British) 118 6.0 Caribbean (Black/Black British) 73 9.8 White British 1859 4.5 White other 142 4.3 All other ethnic groups 271 5.4 Not stated 357 5.1 Total Number of deaths 3,200 Table 5- Infant deaths and infant mortality rates by ethnic group of babies born in 2005 11, 27, 30, Mortality in the Pakistani group was high throughout the first year of life whilst mortality in the Caribbean group was especially high in the first month of life. Half of all infant deaths in the Pakistani group were due to congenital anomalies, compared with only a quarter of deaths in the White British group. There is a general trend between income of ethnic groups and infant mortality rates. Those groups that have a high infant mortality rate such as the Pakistani and African groups tend to live in low income households compared to white groups (Figure 10)25,30,. http://www.poverty.org.uk/06/b.png Figure 10-Graph showing how the proportion of people living in low-income households varies by different ethnic groups4, 15, 30, Conclusion- Policies in place to address the issues It can be seen that health inequalities are present in the UK and therefore the Government has put in place many programmes and policies to tackle this problem. Tackling Health Inequalities-A Programme for Action The Tacking Health Inequalities: A Programme for Action was launched in July 2003 by the Secretary of State for Health, its aim is to meet the governments targets to reduce the health gap on infant mortality and life expectancy by 2010. The Programme has a clear strategy to work on the following four delivery themes: Supporting families, mothers and children Engaging Communities and Individuals Preventing Illness and providing effective treatment and care Addressing the underlying determinants of health37 National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (Childrens National Service Framework) is a 10 year programme aiming to improve childrens health, social care and promote high quality health care for women and their families. The standards set by this framework require services to: Promote healthy lifestyles. Tackle health inequalities Ensure that pregnant women receive high quality care throughout their pregnancy38 Infant Mortality National Support Team The Infant Mortality National Support Team (IMNST) was launched in autumn 2008. It supports the 43 areas with the highest infant mortality rate in the routine and manual group. The IMNST has 4 main aims (Figure.11)39. Figure 11- The aims of The Infant Mortality National Support Team39. Tackling health inequalities is a top priority for the Government and the main focus is on narrowing the health gap between disadvantaged groups, communities and the rest of the country and on improving health overall. The policies, programmes and strategies in place are helping to reduce the health gap however there is a long way to go before there is significant change in health inequalities. This can be seen by looking at one of the Health Inequalities Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets (Box 1) and the progression of this target40. PSA Target on Infant Mortality By 2010 to reduce by at least 10% the gap in mortality between routine and manual groups and the population as a whole. Box 1- PSA target on reducing mortality in the UK by 10% by 201040. There is a decrease of infant mortality amongst the routine and manual groups however to narrow the gap by at least 10% by 2010 is still a challenge (Table 6)41. Year Percentage Gap 2004-2006 17% 2003-2005 18% 2002-2004 19% Table 6- Percentage gap in mortality between routine and manual groups and the population as a whole41. This shows that the Government needs to do more to reduce health inequalities by concentrating on wider social determinants of health. WORD COUNT-1650

Customer Satisfaction for Chinese Restaurants in the US

Customer Satisfaction for Chinese Restaurants in the US Introduction: Aim of Project: Perception of Chinese restaurant in the U.S: What affects customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions? Objectives: To analyse the customers behavioural intentions for Chinese restaurant in U.S. To analyse the perception of Chinese restaurant in the U.S. To evaluate and analyse what affects customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. The United States is a multicultural and multiethnic nation and this national trend of diversity is expected to consistently increase (Josiam and Monteiro, 2004; Sukalakamala and Boyce, 2007). One reflection of this cultural and ethnic diversity is the variety and prosperity of ethnic restaurants in the American foodservice market. The U.S. ethnic food market generates $75 billion in annual sales, around 65% of which is attributed to the foodservice industry (US ethnic food market, 2005). Yet, the fast growth of ethnic restaurants is not driven entirely by the growing number of new immigrants. In fact, 75% of ethnic food consumption comes from non-ethnic customers (US ethnic food market, 2005). As lifestyles change and dining out becomes more and more commonplace, many customers desire new flavours and experiences. Along with this popularity is the rapid development of Chinese restaurants. According to Chinese restaurants news (2007), there are about 43,139 Chinese restaurants in the United States, which is more than the total number of all McDonalds Wendys and burger king domestic outlets combined. Chinese restaurants generate over $17.5 billion annual sales, accounting for about one fourth of overall annual sales generated by ethnic restaurants in the U.S. (Chinese Restaurant News, 2007). Known for its good taste and great value for the price, Chinese cuisine is among the â€Å"big three† most popular ethnic cuisines in the U.S. food service market (National Restaurant association, 1995). It is estimated that 90% of the American population has tried Chinese food and 63% of Americans eat Chinese food each month (George, 2001). Facing more sophisticated American consumers and increasing competition in the restaurant industry, Chinese restaurants can no longer succeed by depending on good taste or low price alone. According to National Restaurant Association (2000a,b), due to an increased familiarity with ethnic food. American consumers attitudes toward ethnic cuisine have recently changed. Today, an exotic experience is not enough to attract consumers to an ethnic restaurant. Customers are no longer willing to trade off inferior service or atmosphere for an opportunity to try new flavours. They prefer an excellent overall dining experience. Moreover, Chinese restaurants are facing increasing challenges from other emerging Asian restaurants and from the changing tastes of American customers who prefer healthy or spicy food. Therefore, a better understanding of the key attributes influencing customer satisfaction and post dining behavioural intentions in Chinese restaurants will provide important practical implications for Chinese restaurants operators. Literature review: At all stages in the elaboration of a dissertation, the author must exert control over both the content and the way it is organised. The literature review is what shows that the author understand the chosen topic and keeps to the aim. ‘In researching for your dissertation or project, you will generally be expected to source material for yourself says MacMillan (2007, p.61). Meanwhile, Swetnam (2005, p.76) gives examples and his definition is that ‘the literature review is central to the dissertation and in all styles of work. It has a number of functions, for example, it shows that you have read widely around your chosen topic, it demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory; it informs and modifies your own research. White (2006, p.83) gives a newer definition that the literature review ‘will help you to discuss the dissertation in its relevant context, together with any theoretical frameworks which may be involved. It may also trigger your imagination an d help you set the work in a new and different light because the author learns and understands more, which can stimulate further analysis. Research Method: The researcher need way to get the data will be from books, magazines, newspaper and through internet. As there are so many websites, no. of books, newspaper and magazines from where researcher will get updated information regarding the research. Through qualitative method the researcher will be able to find out easier way for doing research and by getting direct information related with the research. And the other thing is that in qualitative method accuracy rate is good not all time but, mostly.Quantitative method also very helpful to do the research. Code of Ethics: The world tourism organisation developed a code of ethics. This is recognition of the need to enshrine many of the principles of global action on the environment and the rights of tourists and workers. The basic principles inherit in the code are: 2 Table of contents Implementation of the principles of the code of ethics of hospitality. Mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies. Restaurant as a beneficial activity for host countries and communities. Summary: This work will introduced the conceptual issues associated with the research of â€Å"customer satisfaction from Chinese restaurant in US† and also demonstrate what is happening with people of the local community. Chapter: 2 Literature Review Literature Review: An Introduction At all stages in the elaboration of a dissertation, the author must exert control over both the content and the way it is organised. The literature review is what shows that the author understand the chosen topic and keeps to the aim. ‘In researching for your dissertation or project, you will generally be expected to source material for yourself says MacMillan (2007, p.61). Meanwhile, Swetnam (2005, p.76) gives examples and his definition is that ‘the literature review is central to the dissertation and in all styles of work. It has a number of functions, for example, it shows that you have read widely around your chosen topic, it demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory, it informs and modifies your own research. White (2006, p.83) gives a newer definition that the literature review ‘will help you to discuss the dissertation in its relevant context, together with any theoretical frameworks which may be involved. It may also trigger your imagination an d help you set the work in a new and different light because the author learns and understands more, which can stimulate further analysis. Chapter: 1 Ethnic cuisine development and Chinese restaurants in the US. In the past few decades, with the influx of new immigrants as well as diversifying tastes of Americans, ethnic foods have become widely available and increasingly popular in the U.S. food service market (Josiam and monteiro, 2004). Traditional ethnic cuisines such as Italian, Mexican and Cantonese Chinese have become so familiar to American customer that they are perceived as mainstream American foods (Mills, 2000). In the meanwhile, many emerging ethnic cuisines such as Caribbean, Mediterranean and Pan Asian have also gained wide acceptance in recent years (US ethnic food market, 2005). Chinese cuisine arrived in the U.S. with the first railroad construction workers brought over to the west coast of the U.S. in the nineteenth century (Freeman, 2008). From the first Cantonese style Chinese restaurant opened in San Francisco in 1849, it rapidly penetrated towns and cities all over the U.S. and became part of the American experience (Chen and Bowen, 2001). Cantonese style cuisine, characterised by its light sweet and sour flavours, is the most popular Chinese cuisine in the U.S. In the recent years, other styles of Chinese cuisine have also become familiar to American customers, such as Szechwan, Hunan and Mandarin styles. The first two styles are famous for their hot and spicy flavours, while the last one is characterised by light, elegant and mildly seasoned foods (George, 2001). According to the National Restaurant Association (1995), customer perceived Chinese cuisine as a great value for the price, good for carryout, rich in flavour and difficult to prepare at hom e. Although there a few Chinese restaurant chains operating in the U.S. such as P. F. Changs China Bistro and Panda Express, most Chinese restaurant has a Chinese name outside, is decorated with Chinese styled pictures and artifacts, such as Chinese brush landscape paintings red lanterns, offers a menu printed in both Chinese and English, and provides Chinese characterised tableware, such as chopsticks and Chinese restaurants have been facing intense competition among themselves due to fast development and expansion in the U.S., as well as from other emerging Asian restaurants such as Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese ( Jang et al., 2009). Thus, maintaining customer satisfaction and repeat patronage may be more important for Chinese restaurants than ever before. Chapter: 2 Customer satisfaction and related theories The topic of â€Å"customer satisfaction† has held a significant position in the marketing literature over the decades since satisfied customers can be generate long-term benefits for companies, including customer loyalty and sustained profitability (Homburg et al., 2006). Researchers have explained the mechanism of customer satisfaction with number of distinct theories, such as expectancy-disconfirmation theory (Oliver, 1981), contrast theory (Howard and Sheth, 1969), assimilation or cognitive dissonance theory (Anderson, 1973), equity theory (Oliver and Swan, 1989), and value percept theory (Westbrook and Reilly, 1983). Among them, the most widely accepted theory is the expectancy disconfirmation theory. According to this theory, customers satisfaction judgements are the results of comparisons between customers expectations and perceived performance. If the perceived performance exceeds the expectation, the expectation is positively disconfirmed and the customer is satisfie d. On the contrary, if the perceived performance falls short of the expectation, the expectation is negatively disconfirmed and the customer is dissatisfied. Another influential theory for customer satisfaction is the equity theory. This theory suggests that satisfaction occurs when customers perceived that they have obtained more benefits compared to their cost (e.g. money, time and effort) and perceived value is an appropriate factor in measuring satisfaction (Oliver and Swan, 1989; Yuan and Jang, 2008). Another commonly used theory, the three factor theory, provides a basic explanation for the structure of customer satisfaction. This theory claims that three independent satisfaction factors influence customer satisfaction in different ways (Kano, 1984; Matzler and Sauerwein, 2002). Basic factors are minimum requirement for satisfaction. Failure to fulfil the minimum requirements causes dissatisfaction, whereas fulfilling or exceeding them does not necessarily lead to satisfaction. Excitement factors increase customer satisfaction if delivered but do not cause dissatisfaction if not delivered. Performance factors lead to satisfaction if performance is high and to dissatisfaction if performance is low (Fuller and Matzler, 2008). This theory has been validated empirical studies (e.g. Fuchs, 2004; Matzler et al., 2006) and could provide an additional perspective for understanding the effects of restaurant attributes on customer satisfaction. Basic factors can be seen as the prerequisite s for the satisfaction, signifying that customer take that for granted. Performance factors are a critical competitive area and directly related to customers explicit needs and wants. Excitement factors are unexpected by customers, so they can be a â€Å"surprise gift† that generates extra delight (Fuller and Matzler, 2008). Chapter: 3 Behavioural Intentions Behavioural intention can be defined as the degree to which a person has formulated conscious plans to perform or not perform some specified future behaviour (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). According to the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), behavioural intention is the motivational component of a volitional behavioural and is highly correlated with behaviour itself (Jang and Feng, 2007). Although there are still arguments about the level of correlation between behavioural intentions and actual actions, it seems to be generally agreed that behavioural intention is a reasonable variable for predicting future behaviour (Quelette and Wood, 1988). Thus, a good understanding of the determinants of favourable post-dinning behavioural intentions such as saying positive things about the restaurant, recommending the restaurant to others, and repeat purchasing can provide practical guidance for restaurant practitioners. Another construct that is highly related to behavioural intentions is customer satisfaction. It is regarded as one of the key antecedents of post purchase behavioural intentions because customer satisfaction has a positive effect on the customers attitude towards the product or service and can reinforce the customers conscious effort to purchase the product or service again in the future (Oliver, 1989, 1999). However, previous studies have also suggested that factors that influence customer satisfaction are not always in accordance with factors influencing customer behavioural intention, for example, Sulek and Hensley (2004) found that food, atmosphere, and fairness of the seating order were all significant predictors of a customers overall dining satisfaction, but only food quality predicted post-dining behavioural intention. In examining food quality in restaurants, Namkung and Jang (2007) reported that food temperature had a significant effect on customer satisfaction but no effec t on behavioural intention. Conversely, healthy options were a direct determinant of behavioural intentions but did not influence customer satisfaction. Therefore, there is a practical need to investigate the effects of restaurant attributes on both customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Chapter: 4 Factors influencing customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions in restaurants Reuland et al. (1985) suggested that hospitality services consist of a harmonious mixture of three elements: the material product, the behaviour and attitude of the employees, and the environment. Berry et al. (2002) also proposed three categories of cues that present themselves in the service experience: functional cues (technical quality of service), mechanic cues (nonhuman elements in the service environment) and humanic cues (behaviour of service employees). Based on these propositions, the basic restaurant attributes can be said to be include food, service and environment. Though a literature review of dining satisfaction and behaviour intention, all three basic elements were found to directly or indirectly contribute to customers overall satisfaction with a restaurant experience and their post dining behavioural intentions. Chapter: 5 Food Quality As the core product of a restaurant, food plays a pivotal role in the restaurant experience. Food quality has been generally accepted as major factor influencing customer satisfaction and post dining behavioural intention. For example, Dube et al. (1994) measured the relative importance of seven restaurant attributes in repeat purchase intention in an upscale restaurant setting and found that food quality was far more important to restaurant customers than all others attributes, Sulek and Hensley (2004) investigated the relative importance of food and physical setting, and service in a full-service restaurant and found that food quality was the most important factor influencing satisfaction and the only factor predicting behavioural intention. Namkung and Jang (2007) evaluated the relationship of individual attributes that constitute food quality (e.g. food presentation, menu variety, healthy options, taste, food freshness and temperature) with customer satisfaction and behavioural i ntentions. The findings indicated that food presentation, taste and temperature were significantly related to customer satisfaction whereas food presentation, taste and healthy options (instead of temperature) were significant predictors of behavioural intention. Besides the above- mentioned six individual attributes, â€Å"food safety† is also an important cue for evaluating food quality. â€Å"Although food-safety defects are not always immediately apparent, customers do tend to notice undercooked food, food with an off taste, or foreign material in their food† (Sulek and Hensley, 2004). Thus, food may serve as the most basic and lowest standard when judging quality. Service Quality: In the service literature, perceived service quality is defined as the customers judgement of the overall excellence or superiority of the service (Zeithaml, 2008). It is the customers subjective evaluation, resulting from a comparison of expectations and perceived performance. SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al, 2008) is the instrument most often used for measuring perceived service quality in the marketing literature. It consists of five service dimension, namely, tangibles (physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel), reliability (ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately), and responsiveness (willingness to help customers and provide prompt service), assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence) and empathy (caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers). To adapt SERVQUAL to the restaurant industry, Stevens et al. (2005) modified several items from the original SERVQUAL and d eveloped DINESERV to measure perceived service quality in restaurants. In the restaurant industry, since customers not only evaluate the quality of food but also the service encounters during their dining experience, perceived service quality is seen as another core determinant of customers satisfaction and behavioural intention. For example Kivela et al. (2009) proposed a comprehensive model for dining satisfaction and return patronage. Their study indicated that the probability of return patronage was dependent on customers satisfaction with five aspects of a restaurant: first the last impressions, service quality, and ambience quality, food quality and feeling comfortable eating there and reservation and parking. Ladhari et al. (2008) investigated determinants of dining satisfaction and post-dining behavioural intentions, and concluded that perceived service quality influenced customer satisfaction through both positive and negative emotions, Customer satisfaction, in turn, influ enced recommendations, customer loyalty and willingness to pay more. Their results suggested that compared with food quality/reliability, physical design and price, service responsiveness was the most important contributor to customer satisfaction. ATMOSPHERICS Atmospherics is perceived as the quality of the surroundings space. According to Kotler (2006) it is the conscious designing of space to produce specific emotional effects in buyers that enhance their purchase probability. Atmospherics is made up of a set of elements, such as music, lighting, colour and scent. Research in environmental psychology has suggested that atmospherics has a powerful impact on peoples emotions, attitude and behaviour. Mehrabian and Russell (2005) first introduced a theoretical model to explain the impact of environmental stimuli on individual behaviour. The model claims that the physical environment could influence peoples emotional response (such as pleasure and arousal), which in turn elicits approach or avoidance behaviour toward the environment. The model has gained consistent support from the numerous empirical studies in different service settings, such as retail stores and hotels (Baker and Cameroon, 2006). In the restaurant context, Ryu and Jang (2007) explored the combined effect of multiple atmospheric variables on behavioural intentions in upscale restaurants. Their findings supported that ambience (example music, aroma, and temperature) and employee appearance had the most important influence n customers post dining behavioural intentions. OTHER FACTORS-PRICE FAIRNESS AND AUTHENCITY Besides food, service and atmospherics, perceived price fairness could be another factor that influences the customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions (Bei and Chiao, 2007). It is based on consumer internal reference prices, which could be generated by the last price paid, the price most frequently paid and the market prices in similar transactions (Kahneman et al.2006). This principle posits that firms are entitled to a reasonable profit and customers are entitled to a reasonable price. An increase in price is preserved to be fair if it is due to a cost increase. Otherwise, it is preserved to be unfair if the price is increased without any underlying cost increase. Perceived fairness of price is found to be positively related to customer satisfaction and loyalty (Bei and Chiao, 2007), whereas perceived unfairness of price can lead to immediate negative attitudinal and behavioural responses such as dissatisfaction, complaining and switching to other providers (Xia et al. 2005) . Authenticity is an attribute that could be specifically relevant to ethnic restaurants. Authenticity refers to whether the food and ethnic origin. In other words, the environment and cuisines are not adjusted to meet local tastes and customers who are familiar with the culture of the ethnic origin can be judging its authenticity (Ebster and Guist 2006). Compared with Americans restaurants, ethnic restaurants usually make use of ethnic art, decor, music and customers. Some scholars even describe ethnic restaurants as cultural ambassadors of the home country and the dining experience in an ethnic as culinary tourism (Wood and Munoz, 2006). Summary Based on the literature review, this study investigated customer perception of Chinese restaurant in terms of food related attributes service related attributes, atmosphere related attributes and other attributes (price and authenticity), and identified the key attributes affecting customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Research Method Chapter: 3 Research Method Research Method Introduction: Methodology is the study of methods and it raises all sorts of philosophical questions about what it is possible for researcher to know and how valid their claims to knowledge might be (Fisher, 2007, p.40) The researcher has to consider the nature of the setting being studied or the ‘question being asked, as well as any possible limitations on the study, such as time and resources. Resources may be human being or monetary resources, or research tools such as computers or computer assisted telephone interviewing laboratories. There also needs to be to be a match between the study topic and methodology. For example, a research question that seeks to determine the size of the visiting friends and relatives market in an area would use a quantitative methodology, not a qualitative methodology, because the focus is on quantification. A methodology is a systematic and orderly approach taken towards the collection and analysis of data so that information can be obtained from those data. Data are raw, specific, undigested and therefore largely meaningless; information, in contrast, is what you get when data have been arranged in such a way that uncertainty is lessened, queries resolved, and questions answered. In the words of Jankowicz (2005, p.220) â€Å"Everything you do in your empirical work should be directed to the one end of gathering and presenting data from which information can be easily and simply derived†. Veal (2006, p. 125) The research approach: The author will use primary sources in the dissertation. Two interviews will be conducted: with one member of Dancing Dragon, Teesside (one of manager ) with one regular customer of Dancing Dragon restaurant The two chosen people one from Dancing Dragon and another from a regular customer of Chinese restaurant. Therefore, that customer will be capable of answering all questions and give new examples. The experience for the author is important because the answers will be based on true stories, examples and theories that are necessary for the dissertation. The interviews will be done by email and telephone, which could give the author an opportunity to gain some extra information if the interview exceeds the prepared questions and some new information will come from the interviews. Practicality of research: The interviews are a very good research method and are also practical. The information gained in the process is something new because it is primary source, then from secondary source, which must be checked. Primary source data can help the help to avoid incorrect or approximate information to learn and present further on, there is no need for the author to check it before including it in the dissertation. Also, Face to face interview can also help the author to conduct the interviews on time. The appointments must be made on time and dates are set, interviewees will not have chance to put off the interviews. Finally, it is an interesting process for the author. Sitting with a lot of books or magazine articles in the learning centre sometimes does not arise any interest in the author and the creativity in this case is poor, but to go out and to speak with people makes impressive ideas and final work can differ a lot. Five Codes of Ethics: The author of this dissertation will comply with five codes of ethics, and they will also be the limitations: will not collect information in such a way that participants are not aware of it will explain for what purpose information is required will choose to interview random individuals and will not exert pressure of any kind on them will not change information provided by participants will maintain confidentially at the request of participants The author will strictly follow the Five Codes of Ethics to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding that could develop between the author and interviewees. It is important to respect the interviewees wishes if they have them. It is the best way to say â€Å"Thank You† to respect for the time they have devoted and the knowledge for the author. Methodology: ‘Methodology is the philosophical framework with which the research is conducted or the foundation upon which the research is based. To word it differently, methodology is the rationale for the particular methods you use in your researching and in that type of research in general says Berman (2006, p. 12). That means that methodology is needed to provide the author with the means to find the research needed for the written dissertation. For the purpose of this research, the primary data will consist of two interviews and they will cover all three objectives, first, with one regular customer of ‘Dancing dragon restaurant and the second with one member of the Chinese restaurant. The interviews will be conducted through email and telephone , and will be formal. There will be 10 questions. The interviews will give advice from people who have substantial experience in the industry. Primary and Secondary Data: Data can be drawn from both primary and secondary sources. A secondary source of information already exists and has been gathered by someone else. Official statistics, previous studies, journal, magazine and newspapers articles are all sources of secondary information, and will be used in the research project for findings, analysis and recommendations. There are many styles of primary research experiments, ethnographic research and surveys. Bedford (2006, p.61) defines ‘primary data which comes from the source at the time of the event; it may be a report, newspaper article, film footage, or a live or recorded interview. That means that primary data are something that is not from sources that are already available to each student, but what he/she has studied or gained from the information by doing some research on his /her own. Many courses of study require students to engage in some form of primary research activity. In this dissertation, there will be questionnaires for people selected for the research. An advantage is that information which will be found is something new and unreached, but the limitations may be about the confidentiality of the interviewees if they ask for it. Quantitative and Qualitative Data: Quantitative data encompass a group of methods focusing on quantities and on numbers, ‘scientific research relies heavily on quantitative data. This means it focuses on changes or differences that can be measured. Standardised measurements are used such as number, time, weight, and length, says Cottrell (2008, p.206), so that results are easy to compare unbiased. This source of data is very important and is well appropriate for the project, but at the end ‘check and verify the results, looking for errors and odd results adds Moore (2006, p.139). However, qualitative research can also enhance the rigour and credibility of quantitative research. Qualitative research is ‘founded on the belief that social phenomenon (belief and experiences) can be explained with reference to the wider contexts of lived lives adds Burns (2008, p.231). He adopts the stance that people have knowledge of their own lives and that they can talk about those. Questionnaire and Interview Design: There are two types of interviews, which are classified according to the degree of flexibility. One is unstructured and the second one is structured. ‘The strength of unstructured interview is the almost complete freedom they provide in terms of content and structure. You may formulate questions and raise issues on the spur of the moment, depending upon what occurs to you in the context of the discussion explains Kumar (2005, p.123). A structured interview, continues Kumar (2005, p.126), is when ‘the researcher asks a predetermined set of questions, using the same wording and order of questions, using the same wording and order of questions as specified in the interview schedule is a written list of questions, open ended or close ended, prepared for use by an interviewer in a person to person interaction. In this project, there will be structured interviews with open ended questions, because there are only 20 questions to gain the information needed for the project. T his means that the research methods for this project are qualitative. Summary: Basically methodology is the rationale for the particular methods the researcher uses in the research to gather the needed information. For this report, author will obtain information from these methods primary Findings Chapter: 5 Research Findings Findings Introduction: Findings: Demographic profile of respondents: Source: mintel 2007 Table one show the results of the respondents demographic and dining profiles. Among the 284 valid respondents, females accounted for 52.5% of diners. The average respondent was 37 years old. The majority of respondents were Caucasian (60.2%), followed by Asian (32%) and other (7.8%). Respondents were most likely to go to a Chinese restaurant with their family (47.6%), followed by friends (27.1%) and relatives (15.2%) and were less likely to dine with business colleagues (2.1%) or by themsel Customer Satisfaction for Chinese Restaurants in the US Customer Satisfaction for Chinese Restaurants in the US Introduction: Aim of Project: Perception of Chinese restaurant in the U.S: What affects customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions? Objectives: To analyse the customers behavioural intentions for Chinese restaurant in U.S. To analyse the perception of Chinese restaurant in the U.S. To evaluate and analyse what affects customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. The United States is a multicultural and multiethnic nation and this national trend of diversity is expected to consistently increase (Josiam and Monteiro, 2004; Sukalakamala and Boyce, 2007). One reflection of this cultural and ethnic diversity is the variety and prosperity of ethnic restaurants in the American foodservice market. The U.S. ethnic food market generates $75 billion in annual sales, around 65% of which is attributed to the foodservice industry (US ethnic food market, 2005). Yet, the fast growth of ethnic restaurants is not driven entirely by the growing number of new immigrants. In fact, 75% of ethnic food consumption comes from non-ethnic customers (US ethnic food market, 2005). As lifestyles change and dining out becomes more and more commonplace, many customers desire new flavours and experiences. Along with this popularity is the rapid development of Chinese restaurants. According to Chinese restaurants news (2007), there are about 43,139 Chinese restaurants in the United States, which is more than the total number of all McDonalds Wendys and burger king domestic outlets combined. Chinese restaurants generate over $17.5 billion annual sales, accounting for about one fourth of overall annual sales generated by ethnic restaurants in the U.S. (Chinese Restaurant News, 2007). Known for its good taste and great value for the price, Chinese cuisine is among the â€Å"big three† most popular ethnic cuisines in the U.S. food service market (National Restaurant association, 1995). It is estimated that 90% of the American population has tried Chinese food and 63% of Americans eat Chinese food each month (George, 2001). Facing more sophisticated American consumers and increasing competition in the restaurant industry, Chinese restaurants can no longer succeed by depending on good taste or low price alone. According to National Restaurant Association (2000a,b), due to an increased familiarity with ethnic food. American consumers attitudes toward ethnic cuisine have recently changed. Today, an exotic experience is not enough to attract consumers to an ethnic restaurant. Customers are no longer willing to trade off inferior service or atmosphere for an opportunity to try new flavours. They prefer an excellent overall dining experience. Moreover, Chinese restaurants are facing increasing challenges from other emerging Asian restaurants and from the changing tastes of American customers who prefer healthy or spicy food. Therefore, a better understanding of the key attributes influencing customer satisfaction and post dining behavioural intentions in Chinese restaurants will provide important practical implications for Chinese restaurants operators. Literature review: At all stages in the elaboration of a dissertation, the author must exert control over both the content and the way it is organised. The literature review is what shows that the author understand the chosen topic and keeps to the aim. ‘In researching for your dissertation or project, you will generally be expected to source material for yourself says MacMillan (2007, p.61). Meanwhile, Swetnam (2005, p.76) gives examples and his definition is that ‘the literature review is central to the dissertation and in all styles of work. It has a number of functions, for example, it shows that you have read widely around your chosen topic, it demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory; it informs and modifies your own research. White (2006, p.83) gives a newer definition that the literature review ‘will help you to discuss the dissertation in its relevant context, together with any theoretical frameworks which may be involved. It may also trigger your imagination an d help you set the work in a new and different light because the author learns and understands more, which can stimulate further analysis. Research Method: The researcher need way to get the data will be from books, magazines, newspaper and through internet. As there are so many websites, no. of books, newspaper and magazines from where researcher will get updated information regarding the research. Through qualitative method the researcher will be able to find out easier way for doing research and by getting direct information related with the research. And the other thing is that in qualitative method accuracy rate is good not all time but, mostly.Quantitative method also very helpful to do the research. Code of Ethics: The world tourism organisation developed a code of ethics. This is recognition of the need to enshrine many of the principles of global action on the environment and the rights of tourists and workers. The basic principles inherit in the code are: 2 Table of contents Implementation of the principles of the code of ethics of hospitality. Mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies. Restaurant as a beneficial activity for host countries and communities. Summary: This work will introduced the conceptual issues associated with the research of â€Å"customer satisfaction from Chinese restaurant in US† and also demonstrate what is happening with people of the local community. Chapter: 2 Literature Review Literature Review: An Introduction At all stages in the elaboration of a dissertation, the author must exert control over both the content and the way it is organised. The literature review is what shows that the author understand the chosen topic and keeps to the aim. ‘In researching for your dissertation or project, you will generally be expected to source material for yourself says MacMillan (2007, p.61). Meanwhile, Swetnam (2005, p.76) gives examples and his definition is that ‘the literature review is central to the dissertation and in all styles of work. It has a number of functions, for example, it shows that you have read widely around your chosen topic, it demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory, it informs and modifies your own research. White (2006, p.83) gives a newer definition that the literature review ‘will help you to discuss the dissertation in its relevant context, together with any theoretical frameworks which may be involved. It may also trigger your imagination an d help you set the work in a new and different light because the author learns and understands more, which can stimulate further analysis. Chapter: 1 Ethnic cuisine development and Chinese restaurants in the US. In the past few decades, with the influx of new immigrants as well as diversifying tastes of Americans, ethnic foods have become widely available and increasingly popular in the U.S. food service market (Josiam and monteiro, 2004). Traditional ethnic cuisines such as Italian, Mexican and Cantonese Chinese have become so familiar to American customer that they are perceived as mainstream American foods (Mills, 2000). In the meanwhile, many emerging ethnic cuisines such as Caribbean, Mediterranean and Pan Asian have also gained wide acceptance in recent years (US ethnic food market, 2005). Chinese cuisine arrived in the U.S. with the first railroad construction workers brought over to the west coast of the U.S. in the nineteenth century (Freeman, 2008). From the first Cantonese style Chinese restaurant opened in San Francisco in 1849, it rapidly penetrated towns and cities all over the U.S. and became part of the American experience (Chen and Bowen, 2001). Cantonese style cuisine, characterised by its light sweet and sour flavours, is the most popular Chinese cuisine in the U.S. In the recent years, other styles of Chinese cuisine have also become familiar to American customers, such as Szechwan, Hunan and Mandarin styles. The first two styles are famous for their hot and spicy flavours, while the last one is characterised by light, elegant and mildly seasoned foods (George, 2001). According to the National Restaurant Association (1995), customer perceived Chinese cuisine as a great value for the price, good for carryout, rich in flavour and difficult to prepare at hom e. Although there a few Chinese restaurant chains operating in the U.S. such as P. F. Changs China Bistro and Panda Express, most Chinese restaurant has a Chinese name outside, is decorated with Chinese styled pictures and artifacts, such as Chinese brush landscape paintings red lanterns, offers a menu printed in both Chinese and English, and provides Chinese characterised tableware, such as chopsticks and Chinese restaurants have been facing intense competition among themselves due to fast development and expansion in the U.S., as well as from other emerging Asian restaurants such as Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese ( Jang et al., 2009). Thus, maintaining customer satisfaction and repeat patronage may be more important for Chinese restaurants than ever before. Chapter: 2 Customer satisfaction and related theories The topic of â€Å"customer satisfaction† has held a significant position in the marketing literature over the decades since satisfied customers can be generate long-term benefits for companies, including customer loyalty and sustained profitability (Homburg et al., 2006). Researchers have explained the mechanism of customer satisfaction with number of distinct theories, such as expectancy-disconfirmation theory (Oliver, 1981), contrast theory (Howard and Sheth, 1969), assimilation or cognitive dissonance theory (Anderson, 1973), equity theory (Oliver and Swan, 1989), and value percept theory (Westbrook and Reilly, 1983). Among them, the most widely accepted theory is the expectancy disconfirmation theory. According to this theory, customers satisfaction judgements are the results of comparisons between customers expectations and perceived performance. If the perceived performance exceeds the expectation, the expectation is positively disconfirmed and the customer is satisfie d. On the contrary, if the perceived performance falls short of the expectation, the expectation is negatively disconfirmed and the customer is dissatisfied. Another influential theory for customer satisfaction is the equity theory. This theory suggests that satisfaction occurs when customers perceived that they have obtained more benefits compared to their cost (e.g. money, time and effort) and perceived value is an appropriate factor in measuring satisfaction (Oliver and Swan, 1989; Yuan and Jang, 2008). Another commonly used theory, the three factor theory, provides a basic explanation for the structure of customer satisfaction. This theory claims that three independent satisfaction factors influence customer satisfaction in different ways (Kano, 1984; Matzler and Sauerwein, 2002). Basic factors are minimum requirement for satisfaction. Failure to fulfil the minimum requirements causes dissatisfaction, whereas fulfilling or exceeding them does not necessarily lead to satisfaction. Excitement factors increase customer satisfaction if delivered but do not cause dissatisfaction if not delivered. Performance factors lead to satisfaction if performance is high and to dissatisfaction if performance is low (Fuller and Matzler, 2008). This theory has been validated empirical studies (e.g. Fuchs, 2004; Matzler et al., 2006) and could provide an additional perspective for understanding the effects of restaurant attributes on customer satisfaction. Basic factors can be seen as the prerequisite s for the satisfaction, signifying that customer take that for granted. Performance factors are a critical competitive area and directly related to customers explicit needs and wants. Excitement factors are unexpected by customers, so they can be a â€Å"surprise gift† that generates extra delight (Fuller and Matzler, 2008). Chapter: 3 Behavioural Intentions Behavioural intention can be defined as the degree to which a person has formulated conscious plans to perform or not perform some specified future behaviour (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). According to the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), behavioural intention is the motivational component of a volitional behavioural and is highly correlated with behaviour itself (Jang and Feng, 2007). Although there are still arguments about the level of correlation between behavioural intentions and actual actions, it seems to be generally agreed that behavioural intention is a reasonable variable for predicting future behaviour (Quelette and Wood, 1988). Thus, a good understanding of the determinants of favourable post-dinning behavioural intentions such as saying positive things about the restaurant, recommending the restaurant to others, and repeat purchasing can provide practical guidance for restaurant practitioners. Another construct that is highly related to behavioural intentions is customer satisfaction. It is regarded as one of the key antecedents of post purchase behavioural intentions because customer satisfaction has a positive effect on the customers attitude towards the product or service and can reinforce the customers conscious effort to purchase the product or service again in the future (Oliver, 1989, 1999). However, previous studies have also suggested that factors that influence customer satisfaction are not always in accordance with factors influencing customer behavioural intention, for example, Sulek and Hensley (2004) found that food, atmosphere, and fairness of the seating order were all significant predictors of a customers overall dining satisfaction, but only food quality predicted post-dining behavioural intention. In examining food quality in restaurants, Namkung and Jang (2007) reported that food temperature had a significant effect on customer satisfaction but no effec t on behavioural intention. Conversely, healthy options were a direct determinant of behavioural intentions but did not influence customer satisfaction. Therefore, there is a practical need to investigate the effects of restaurant attributes on both customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Chapter: 4 Factors influencing customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions in restaurants Reuland et al. (1985) suggested that hospitality services consist of a harmonious mixture of three elements: the material product, the behaviour and attitude of the employees, and the environment. Berry et al. (2002) also proposed three categories of cues that present themselves in the service experience: functional cues (technical quality of service), mechanic cues (nonhuman elements in the service environment) and humanic cues (behaviour of service employees). Based on these propositions, the basic restaurant attributes can be said to be include food, service and environment. Though a literature review of dining satisfaction and behaviour intention, all three basic elements were found to directly or indirectly contribute to customers overall satisfaction with a restaurant experience and their post dining behavioural intentions. Chapter: 5 Food Quality As the core product of a restaurant, food plays a pivotal role in the restaurant experience. Food quality has been generally accepted as major factor influencing customer satisfaction and post dining behavioural intention. For example, Dube et al. (1994) measured the relative importance of seven restaurant attributes in repeat purchase intention in an upscale restaurant setting and found that food quality was far more important to restaurant customers than all others attributes, Sulek and Hensley (2004) investigated the relative importance of food and physical setting, and service in a full-service restaurant and found that food quality was the most important factor influencing satisfaction and the only factor predicting behavioural intention. Namkung and Jang (2007) evaluated the relationship of individual attributes that constitute food quality (e.g. food presentation, menu variety, healthy options, taste, food freshness and temperature) with customer satisfaction and behavioural i ntentions. The findings indicated that food presentation, taste and temperature were significantly related to customer satisfaction whereas food presentation, taste and healthy options (instead of temperature) were significant predictors of behavioural intention. Besides the above- mentioned six individual attributes, â€Å"food safety† is also an important cue for evaluating food quality. â€Å"Although food-safety defects are not always immediately apparent, customers do tend to notice undercooked food, food with an off taste, or foreign material in their food† (Sulek and Hensley, 2004). Thus, food may serve as the most basic and lowest standard when judging quality. Service Quality: In the service literature, perceived service quality is defined as the customers judgement of the overall excellence or superiority of the service (Zeithaml, 2008). It is the customers subjective evaluation, resulting from a comparison of expectations and perceived performance. SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al, 2008) is the instrument most often used for measuring perceived service quality in the marketing literature. It consists of five service dimension, namely, tangibles (physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel), reliability (ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately), and responsiveness (willingness to help customers and provide prompt service), assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence) and empathy (caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers). To adapt SERVQUAL to the restaurant industry, Stevens et al. (2005) modified several items from the original SERVQUAL and d eveloped DINESERV to measure perceived service quality in restaurants. In the restaurant industry, since customers not only evaluate the quality of food but also the service encounters during their dining experience, perceived service quality is seen as another core determinant of customers satisfaction and behavioural intention. For example Kivela et al. (2009) proposed a comprehensive model for dining satisfaction and return patronage. Their study indicated that the probability of return patronage was dependent on customers satisfaction with five aspects of a restaurant: first the last impressions, service quality, and ambience quality, food quality and feeling comfortable eating there and reservation and parking. Ladhari et al. (2008) investigated determinants of dining satisfaction and post-dining behavioural intentions, and concluded that perceived service quality influenced customer satisfaction through both positive and negative emotions, Customer satisfaction, in turn, influ enced recommendations, customer loyalty and willingness to pay more. Their results suggested that compared with food quality/reliability, physical design and price, service responsiveness was the most important contributor to customer satisfaction. ATMOSPHERICS Atmospherics is perceived as the quality of the surroundings space. According to Kotler (2006) it is the conscious designing of space to produce specific emotional effects in buyers that enhance their purchase probability. Atmospherics is made up of a set of elements, such as music, lighting, colour and scent. Research in environmental psychology has suggested that atmospherics has a powerful impact on peoples emotions, attitude and behaviour. Mehrabian and Russell (2005) first introduced a theoretical model to explain the impact of environmental stimuli on individual behaviour. The model claims that the physical environment could influence peoples emotional response (such as pleasure and arousal), which in turn elicits approach or avoidance behaviour toward the environment. The model has gained consistent support from the numerous empirical studies in different service settings, such as retail stores and hotels (Baker and Cameroon, 2006). In the restaurant context, Ryu and Jang (2007) explored the combined effect of multiple atmospheric variables on behavioural intentions in upscale restaurants. Their findings supported that ambience (example music, aroma, and temperature) and employee appearance had the most important influence n customers post dining behavioural intentions. OTHER FACTORS-PRICE FAIRNESS AND AUTHENCITY Besides food, service and atmospherics, perceived price fairness could be another factor that influences the customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions (Bei and Chiao, 2007). It is based on consumer internal reference prices, which could be generated by the last price paid, the price most frequently paid and the market prices in similar transactions (Kahneman et al.2006). This principle posits that firms are entitled to a reasonable profit and customers are entitled to a reasonable price. An increase in price is preserved to be fair if it is due to a cost increase. Otherwise, it is preserved to be unfair if the price is increased without any underlying cost increase. Perceived fairness of price is found to be positively related to customer satisfaction and loyalty (Bei and Chiao, 2007), whereas perceived unfairness of price can lead to immediate negative attitudinal and behavioural responses such as dissatisfaction, complaining and switching to other providers (Xia et al. 2005) . Authenticity is an attribute that could be specifically relevant to ethnic restaurants. Authenticity refers to whether the food and ethnic origin. In other words, the environment and cuisines are not adjusted to meet local tastes and customers who are familiar with the culture of the ethnic origin can be judging its authenticity (Ebster and Guist 2006). Compared with Americans restaurants, ethnic restaurants usually make use of ethnic art, decor, music and customers. Some scholars even describe ethnic restaurants as cultural ambassadors of the home country and the dining experience in an ethnic as culinary tourism (Wood and Munoz, 2006). Summary Based on the literature review, this study investigated customer perception of Chinese restaurant in terms of food related attributes service related attributes, atmosphere related attributes and other attributes (price and authenticity), and identified the key attributes affecting customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Research Method Chapter: 3 Research Method Research Method Introduction: Methodology is the study of methods and it raises all sorts of philosophical questions about what it is possible for researcher to know and how valid their claims to knowledge might be (Fisher, 2007, p.40) The researcher has to consider the nature of the setting being studied or the ‘question being asked, as well as any possible limitations on the study, such as time and resources. Resources may be human being or monetary resources, or research tools such as computers or computer assisted telephone interviewing laboratories. There also needs to be to be a match between the study topic and methodology. For example, a research question that seeks to determine the size of the visiting friends and relatives market in an area would use a quantitative methodology, not a qualitative methodology, because the focus is on quantification. A methodology is a systematic and orderly approach taken towards the collection and analysis of data so that information can be obtained from those data. Data are raw, specific, undigested and therefore largely meaningless; information, in contrast, is what you get when data have been arranged in such a way that uncertainty is lessened, queries resolved, and questions answered. In the words of Jankowicz (2005, p.220) â€Å"Everything you do in your empirical work should be directed to the one end of gathering and presenting data from which information can be easily and simply derived†. Veal (2006, p. 125) The research approach: The author will use primary sources in the dissertation. Two interviews will be conducted: with one member of Dancing Dragon, Teesside (one of manager ) with one regular customer of Dancing Dragon restaurant The two chosen people one from Dancing Dragon and another from a regular customer of Chinese restaurant. Therefore, that customer will be capable of answering all questions and give new examples. The experience for the author is important because the answers will be based on true stories, examples and theories that are necessary for the dissertation. The interviews will be done by email and telephone, which could give the author an opportunity to gain some extra information if the interview exceeds the prepared questions and some new information will come from the interviews. Practicality of research: The interviews are a very good research method and are also practical. The information gained in the process is something new because it is primary source, then from secondary source, which must be checked. Primary source data can help the help to avoid incorrect or approximate information to learn and present further on, there is no need for the author to check it before including it in the dissertation. Also, Face to face interview can also help the author to conduct the interviews on time. The appointments must be made on time and dates are set, interviewees will not have chance to put off the interviews. Finally, it is an interesting process for the author. Sitting with a lot of books or magazine articles in the learning centre sometimes does not arise any interest in the author and the creativity in this case is poor, but to go out and to speak with people makes impressive ideas and final work can differ a lot. Five Codes of Ethics: The author of this dissertation will comply with five codes of ethics, and they will also be the limitations: will not collect information in such a way that participants are not aware of it will explain for what purpose information is required will choose to interview random individuals and will not exert pressure of any kind on them will not change information provided by participants will maintain confidentially at the request of participants The author will strictly follow the Five Codes of Ethics to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding that could develop between the author and interviewees. It is important to respect the interviewees wishes if they have them. It is the best way to say â€Å"Thank You† to respect for the time they have devoted and the knowledge for the author. Methodology: ‘Methodology is the philosophical framework with which the research is conducted or the foundation upon which the research is based. To word it differently, methodology is the rationale for the particular methods you use in your researching and in that type of research in general says Berman (2006, p. 12). That means that methodology is needed to provide the author with the means to find the research needed for the written dissertation. For the purpose of this research, the primary data will consist of two interviews and they will cover all three objectives, first, with one regular customer of ‘Dancing dragon restaurant and the second with one member of the Chinese restaurant. The interviews will be conducted through email and telephone , and will be formal. There will be 10 questions. The interviews will give advice from people who have substantial experience in the industry. Primary and Secondary Data: Data can be drawn from both primary and secondary sources. A secondary source of information already exists and has been gathered by someone else. Official statistics, previous studies, journal, magazine and newspapers articles are all sources of secondary information, and will be used in the research project for findings, analysis and recommendations. There are many styles of primary research experiments, ethnographic research and surveys. Bedford (2006, p.61) defines ‘primary data which comes from the source at the time of the event; it may be a report, newspaper article, film footage, or a live or recorded interview. That means that primary data are something that is not from sources that are already available to each student, but what he/she has studied or gained from the information by doing some research on his /her own. Many courses of study require students to engage in some form of primary research activity. In this dissertation, there will be questionnaires for people selected for the research. An advantage is that information which will be found is something new and unreached, but the limitations may be about the confidentiality of the interviewees if they ask for it. Quantitative and Qualitative Data: Quantitative data encompass a group of methods focusing on quantities and on numbers, ‘scientific research relies heavily on quantitative data. This means it focuses on changes or differences that can be measured. Standardised measurements are used such as number, time, weight, and length, says Cottrell (2008, p.206), so that results are easy to compare unbiased. This source of data is very important and is well appropriate for the project, but at the end ‘check and verify the results, looking for errors and odd results adds Moore (2006, p.139). However, qualitative research can also enhance the rigour and credibility of quantitative research. Qualitative research is ‘founded on the belief that social phenomenon (belief and experiences) can be explained with reference to the wider contexts of lived lives adds Burns (2008, p.231). He adopts the stance that people have knowledge of their own lives and that they can talk about those. Questionnaire and Interview Design: There are two types of interviews, which are classified according to the degree of flexibility. One is unstructured and the second one is structured. ‘The strength of unstructured interview is the almost complete freedom they provide in terms of content and structure. You may formulate questions and raise issues on the spur of the moment, depending upon what occurs to you in the context of the discussion explains Kumar (2005, p.123). A structured interview, continues Kumar (2005, p.126), is when ‘the researcher asks a predetermined set of questions, using the same wording and order of questions, using the same wording and order of questions as specified in the interview schedule is a written list of questions, open ended or close ended, prepared for use by an interviewer in a person to person interaction. In this project, there will be structured interviews with open ended questions, because there are only 20 questions to gain the information needed for the project. T his means that the research methods for this project are qualitative. Summary: Basically methodology is the rationale for the particular methods the researcher uses in the research to gather the needed information. For this report, author will obtain information from these methods primary Findings Chapter: 5 Research Findings Findings Introduction: Findings: Demographic profile of respondents: Source: mintel 2007 Table one show the results of the respondents demographic and dining profiles. Among the 284 valid respondents, females accounted for 52.5% of diners. The average respondent was 37 years old. The majority of respondents were Caucasian (60.2%), followed by Asian (32%) and other (7.8%). Respondents were most likely to go to a Chinese restaurant with their family (47.6%), followed by friends (27.1%) and relatives (15.2%) and were less likely to dine with business colleagues (2.1%) or by themsel