Indian writing in English :: essays research papers

Indian writing in EnglishRaja Rammohan Ray was the first Indian to effectively express himself in black and white through English though he was initiated to the language when he was in his teens. Thereafter Vivekananda showed his perfect masterly over the language through his evocative prose, which made the west sit up and take notice of the greatness of Hinduism. Tagore also had written some poems in English. However, there is no denying the fact that Indian writings in English were extremely few far between. Jawaharlal Nehru and M.K. Gandhi were also great masters of the English language. Nehrus Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History etc. are glaring testimony to not only his profound scholarship but also his absolute ascendancy over writing lucid prose in the foreign language. Gandhiji used the language in his writings with utmost precision and desterity. They were followed by the great triumvirate of Anand-Rao-Naryan, who were the first to find Indian writing in Englis h popular among a sizable section of our English educated people. They primarily wrote fiction and their elegant styles soon caught the liking of the common reader. Indian writing in English had finally arrived in 1930s after a marginal existence for over a century.Mahatma Gandhi though Gandhi used his mother tongue, Gujarati, to write his famous autobiography, later translated into English by his secretary Mahadev Desai under the title The Story of My Experiments with Truth (1929), he used Hindi and English with masterly skill and use. As he lived through a eventful life among his people, who were attempting to liberate themselves from moral decadence, economic exploitation, and cultural subordination, Gandhi wrote, day and night, in and out of prisons, for his two journals, Young India and Harijan.Rabindranath Tagore The national awakening in Asia found its expression first in the Indian literature, and its formost representative writer was Tagore (1861-1941). Tagore was the fir st Asiatic writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1913). Tagore represents a happy combination of the ancient Indian tradition and the new European consciousness. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his polished volume of poems entitled Gitanjali. Tagore gave Indian poetry a new type of lyric. Through his collection of stories entitled Galpa Guchchha, running into three volumes, Tagore set the pace of the innovational short story in India. His famous novels, Gora and Ghare Baire reflect the genius of a supreme visionary.

Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

The oldest English epic, Beowulf, although composed twelve centuries ago, usesmany of the same ideals and values that exist in ripe life and modern literature. Theseattributes are lull important, but they do not occupy every aspect of life as in Anglo-Saxon England. both(prenominal) of the ideals have little use today, such as fate, while other virtues,such as loyalty, are encouraged and highly respected traits. Other values, deal fame, havetaken on bad connotations in modern day and are not esteemed as they once were.Fate, the idea that destiny is predetermined and nothing can be done to change that,was highly esteemed in Beowulfs time, but is of little use today. Anglo-Saxon warriorsknew that they only had both options when they entered battle either they live to fightagain, or they die honorably amounts their own. Either way was determined by a higherpower. The sense of an rebellious death left the Anglo-Saxon people without respectfor other lives, evident in the amount of fighting in Beowulf, and also an inner gloom,evident in the somber tone of Beowulf, (from the text). Recently, philosophy has brokenaway from the more religious idea of destiny and moved toward a more logical aproach tolife. Obviously, death is palliate inevitable, but logically, the future should be altered witheach decision. Man has become too egocentric to believe someone, besides himself, cancontrol his life.Loyalty, unlike fate, is still respected as it was in Beowulfs time, but can g...

The Power of Place Essay -- Literature Psychology Essays

The Power of Place When people think of their surround people think of their spry surroundings however, hotshots environment goes beyond and further into the psychological connection to ones personal environment. To further explain, Gallagher discusses three different aspects of The Power of Place Outside In, Inside Out, and Synchrony. The go for opens doors previously unnoticed about psychological ecology. From reading the book one learns that settings influence behavior more than the personalities of most people. Think of our dependency on our environment and constant surroundings. They help create our persona and thus who we become in the future. From the point of birth, people live in a set environment ascertain on the status quo of the family bearing the child. One may live in poverty or wealth, but from this point the child begins gaining a dependency on its environment. Though not a preferable indication of ones prospects of the future, a acceptable childh ood may make or break an individual in the future. As stated, a good or bad environment promotes good or bad memories, which inspire a good or bad mood, which inclines us toward good or bad behavior(132). Each and every day we interact with one another, playing a different role from interaction to interaction however, one tends to keep his or her surroundings as predictable as possible. The reason being one feels closer to being in control when the outcome becomes predictable,...

Eaters Of The Dead Essay -- essays research papers

Applied Intelligence and Knowledge Conquers AllIn his novel, Eaters of the Dead, author Michael Crichton shows how the Volga Northmen were able to defeat their foes, the wendol, by using their intellect instead of their weapons. This is seen in four aspects. The theme of the novel is that physical courage is not enough to preserve your culture and lifestyle lore service and superior knowledge are absolutely essential. Conflict between the wendol and the Northmen shows which group has the intelligence to eliminate the other. Symbolism of wisdom, knowledge, and the lack of such things are used by Crichton to illustrate this moral. The juxtaposition of characters emphasizes the cleverness of the Volga Northmen compared to the Venden Northmen.The theme of the story is that applying intelligence and knowledge is essential in order to keep geniuss culture alive. A good proof of this is the lack of knowledge of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, the narrator of the story. He is an Arab who "knows no thing of the ways of the world" (p. 77) because he has never truly experienced the world onward that day, since he does not care for adventure. Having no experience with the world and having no knowledge, Ibn Fadlan slowly learns the Northmens way of life. In the end, felt he "had been born a Northman" (p. 152), having spent much time in their company and is no longer the coward he was when he started the trip. His lack of knowledge causes him to be a coward in battle, since he will be battling frightening, mysterious creatures. A better proof of this is that the wendol acts as if they are animals, which are unintelligent. The wendol makes "a low grunting sound, like the rooting of a dogshit" (p. 97), "have hair as long as a hairy dog" (p. 99), and wear the heads of dead animals as masks. They act as if they were brainless and cannot debate of ways of attack on the Northmen. The only thing they can think of when they are losing is to retreat. Their ign orance to provide more guards at the second entrance to the thunder undermine give the Northmen easy access to kill their leader from the lack of defenses. The best proof of this is that the Northmen are the ones who have the knowledge and intelligence to defeat the wendol. They learn close to the second entrance to the cave of thunder, where the mother of the wendol lives, a... ... from Buliwyf. He builds his settlement on a cliff and "dares the gods to strike him down," (p. 77) putting his people in danger because of his vanity, some other act that leads to his downfall. Buliwyf is called upon to help and save the settlement of Venden. He leads the people of Venden to build defences, which King Rothgar was unable to do, although he is the king and should have already done so. Buliwyf is the one with the intelligence that eventually drives away the wendol. The pairing of these characters show the stupidity of the Venden royals and nobleman, which causes them so much tro uble and requires the help of the Volga Northmen, who are more intelligent.The Northmen arrive at Venden as a group of thirteen and only four remain. All nine who died lost their lives in the battles of physical strength. However, when it comes to the battle of the intelligence and knowledge, all the warriors survived. The lack of intelligence and knowledge of the Venden Northmen and the wendol leads them to a devastating end. From this, it is seen that the intelligence and knowledge one has is truly more important than physical strength, for without the mind, one is useless.

At the Ball Game :: essays research papers

With the thousands of poems characterisation the post of baseball and its remarkable players, coming across a poem seeking thorough cross sectioning of the assembly is unusual, and rarely encountered. William Carlos Williams has created a poem which portrays the crowd as a quasi-organized mob bent on every cheering for their team, or in turn, booing them. The reason why Williams does this is because he is portraying, in a sense, relaxation versus bedlam with simplicity being the game of baseball itself and chaos being the crowd.The game of baseball is simple and to the point. One throws the ball, handle the ball and uses a cream off to hit the ball. The crowd however is complex with many fields acting upon it. Emotions and the vast consumption of alcoholic beverages turn the crowd into a dangerous mob. With references to stanzas ten and eleven, it tells of how the Jew and the flashy female understand what is happening as emotions increase. Stanza ten refers to sexual assault and stanza eleven refers to the genocidal attempt by Hitler and his Nazi regime. Williams tells of how the crowd acts and moves as one. He refers to these people which make up the crowd as drones, completely and uninterruptedly tuned into what is happening on the diamond. Williams believes this to be beautiful, for even in its chaos, there is a sense of uniformity. He also tells of how the crowd is drawn to the game for its exciting chase. This simple form of a game can stimulate a crowd into becoming a mob that could be perceived as dangerous.Ultimately, Williams believed that the crowd was but one emotion, one movement and one person all in the same. The game of baseball is nothing without the roar of the crowd and its summertime solstice. To these people that make up the crowd, it is every mans dream, it is the cheering and laughing that lapse them going, it is baseball.At the Ball Game essays research papers With the thousands of poems depicting the game of baseball and its remarkable players, coming across a poem seeking thorough cross sectioning of the crowd is unusual, and rarely encountered. William Carlos Williams has created a poem which portrays the crowd as a quasi-organized mob bent on either cheering for their team, or in turn, booing them. The reason why Williams does this is because he is portraying, in a sense, simplicity versus chaos with simplicity being the game of baseball itself and chaos being the crowd.The game of baseball is simple and to the point. One throws the ball, fields the ball and uses a bat to hit the ball. The crowd however is complex with many fields acting upon it. Emotions and the vast consumption of alcoholic beverages turn the crowd into a dangerous mob. With references to stanzas ten and eleven, it tells of how the Jew and the flashy female understand what is happening as emotions increase. Stanza ten refers to sexual assault and stanza eleven refers to the genocidal attempt by Hitler and his Nazi regime. Williams tells of how the crowd acts and moves as one. He refers to these people which make up the crowd as drones, completely and uninterruptedly tuned into what is happening on the diamond. Williams believes this to be beautiful, for even in its chaos, there is a sense of uniformity. He also tells of how the crowd is drawn to the game for its exciting chase. This simple form of a game can stimulate a crowd into becoming a mob that could be perceived as dangerous.Ultimately, Williams believed that the crowd was but one emotion, one movement and one person all in the same. The game of baseball is nothing without the roar of the crowd and its summer solstice. To these people that make up the crowd, it is every mans dream, it is the cheering and laughing that keep them going, it is baseball.

At the Ball Game :: essays research papers

With the thousands of poems depicting the feeble of baseball and its remarkable players, coming across a poem seeking thorough cross sectioning of the clump is unusual, and seldom encountered. William Carlos Williams has created a poem which portrays the crowd as a quasi-organized mob bent on all cheering for their team, or in turn, booing them. The reason why Williams does this is because he is portraying, in a sense, simplicity versus topsy-turvyness with simplicity being the game of baseball itself and chaos being the crowd.The game of baseball is simple and to the point. One throws the ball, palm the ball and uses a bat to hit the ball. The crowd however is complex with many handle acting upon it. Emotions and the vast consumption of alcoholic beverages turn the crowd into a dangerous mob. With references to stanzas ten and el evening, it tells of how the Jew and the flashy female understand what is happening as emotions increase. Stanza ten refers to sexual assault and st anza eleven refers to the genocidal attempt by Hitler and his Nazi regime. Williams tells of how the crowd acts and moves as cardinal. He refers to these people which make up the crowd as drones, completely and uninterruptedly tuned into what is happening on the diamond. Williams believes this to be beautiful, for even in its chaos, there is a sense of uniformity. He also tells of how the crowd is drawn to the game for its exciting chase. This simple form of a game bed stimulate a crowd into becoming a mob that could be perceived as dangerous.Ultimately, Williams believed that the crowd was but one emotion, one movement and one person all in the same. The game of baseball is nothing without the roar of the crowd and its spend solstice. To these people that make up the crowd, it is every mans dream, it is the cheering and laughing that keep them going, it is baseball.At the Ball Game essays research papers With the thousands of poems depicting the game of baseball and its remar kable players, coming across a poem seeking thorough cross sectioning of the crowd is unusual, and rarely encountered. William Carlos Williams has created a poem which portrays the crowd as a quasi-organized mob bent on either cheering for their team, or in turn, booing them. The reason why Williams does this is because he is portraying, in a sense, simplicity versus chaos with simplicity being the game of baseball itself and chaos being the crowd.The game of baseball is simple and to the point. One throws the ball, fields the ball and uses a bat to hit the ball. The crowd however is complex with many fields acting upon it. Emotions and the vast consumption of alcoholic beverages turn the crowd into a dangerous mob. With references to stanzas ten and eleven, it tells of how the Jew and the flashy female understand what is happening as emotions increase. Stanza ten refers to sexual assault and stanza eleven refers to the genocidal attempt by Hitler and his Nazi regime. Williams tells of how the crowd acts and moves as one. He refers to these people which make up the crowd as drones, completely and uninterruptedly tuned into what is happening on the diamond. Williams believes this to be beautiful, for even in its chaos, there is a sense of uniformity. He also tells of how the crowd is drawn to the game for its exciting chase. This simple form of a game can stimulate a crowd into becoming a mob that could be perceived as dangerous.Ultimately, Williams believed that the crowd was but one emotion, one movement and one person all in the same. The game of baseball is nothing without the roar of the crowd and its summer solstice. To these people that make up the crowd, it is every mans dream, it is the cheering and laughing that keep them going, it is baseball.

Critique: the Scottsboro Boys – an American Tragedy

The Scottsboro Boys An American Tragedy The author or producer of this docu custodytary film was smart in setting the diorama for the viewer. He showed scenes of the area and described the sounds of the train, gravel, and attempted to give the viewer a snapshot of the attitude of the inhabitants of Northern Alabama. This takes you from the comfy surroundings of your home, the accessibility to transportation to the hardships of the 1930s and the dismal state of life for smuggleds, especi exclusivelyy poor down in the mouths. The theme of Scottsboro An American Tragedy was that bootlegs were so hated that one well-placed lie destroyed the lives of nine two-year-old men.Only one of these boys lived long enough to have a family and to fight for a pardon. The judicial system of that time was so terribly flawed (not that it isnt now) with racialism and bigotry that when facts were presented they were not heard because they wanted the boys to be guilty. Clearing the Scottsboro Boys wer e not in the plan The key players were the Scottsboro Boys but historians, relatives of Judge Horton, citizens of the area, photos, video clips, and newspaper articles all came together to tell the historical story which spanned from the 1931 to 1976.This may have been the best way to tell the story since none of the Scottsboro Boys were still alive when this was filmed. Several men of Scottsboro were interviewed and it was interesting that they wished the incident had happened 30 miles away (Huntsville) so the stigma that is associated with their little town would belong to another town. Jokingly, they said then they would have been called the Huntsville Boys and that would have been attractive with us.So from those statements, I believe that many a(prenominal) of the towns citizens are embarrassed of the notoriety this incident has placed upon their little town. One aspect, I found wanting(p) and would have liked to known more of the effect that the trials and imprisonment had on their families, especially their siblings and mothers. I, however, was most intrigued with Judge Horton and the stand he finally took regarding the boys and the political radioactive dust for him. The Scottsboro Boys case, how it began, handled, and ended is really scary to me.Now that I know more of the details, it reminds me of the recent execution of Troy Davis of Georgia. In several ways, the two cases are similar. The tragedy in the Davis case is that he did serve around 17 years and he did die for a crime that he may not have move while the Scottsboro boys served time and were eventually freed and/or broke parole. Due to support given them by northerners, they were allowed to remain free as long as they stayed in the North. Ruby Bates recanted her accusations of rape and later helped the mothers fight for the sons release.Seven of the nine that testified against Troy Davis recanted but he exhausted all his appeals and was executed anyways against the number of organizatio ns that protested against it. We can also go back a few months, to where a black woman was charged more time for jaywalking than the man that was driving drunk that hit her, her daughter, and killed her son. He was black but it since it was black on black crime, the young mother was treated as an example. In general, the judicial system is not a friend to the black American. This is 2011, isnt it?Has anything really changed? Are we going backwards? This is supposed to be a different day. We have a black president which, in my opinion, has sole(prenominal) given certain groups in our country to more openly exhibit their racism and bigotry. Since they cannot get to him, any black that runs afoul of the law become opposite number one just as the Scottsboro Boys were the enemy of the time back in 1931. This film was not entertaining to me at all but it was educational and eye-opening in that no matter how much we like to think that times have changed so much is still the same.I can se e in many ways how far we have come but once you listen to the news and see just what is going on around you, you can intimately see the 1930s again. That is why I used the word scary earlier in my critique to describe the Scottsboro Boys story. Concern about the future for the black community, myself, and more importantly, our children, has increased and we must become better informed about the world in which we live, the judicial system we must work within, and the consequences of it all.

Analysis of “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin Essay

The short humbug The Story of an Hour was written by Kate Chopin and first appeared in 1984. It furcates closely the one hour brief report of the main protagonist, Louise Mallard, and her reaction upon audience the newsworthiness of her maintains death by a car accident. And because she had a heart problem, her sister Josephine and her conserves friend Richards decided to break to her the news as gently as possible.Not long after the supposedly bad news was revealed, Brently, Louises husband, suddenly comes home alive disproving the former, causing death to her by heart attack. Majority of the fibs progression spread out around Louises reaction upon audition the news about her husbands death (Brian, 2001). The scenes w here(predicate) Louise isolate herself in her room and savor her new-found immunity summarise up to the hanging idea of the real reason behind her death.It seems that the author actually give two possible emotional state to answer the fundamental question of Louises joyful death one is that she has become too overwhelmed to see her husband alive in contrary to the news about his inter-group communication in a recent car accident and the other one is that she is saddened by the realization of the freedom that she thought she will have after hearing her husbands loss is completely taken away from her again. Contrasting Representations Suprisingly, the short- myth is written in complete contrasts of the main stand.First of these contrasting representations within the story is Louises reaction upon hearing the news. The news about her husbands death should bring her agony and tears but instead she sits calmly veneering the open window, a loose, roomy arm precede. Here we see a strange approach to the situation with the word comfortable being used to modify the chair near the window. Louise, a new widow herself, must not see the chair as comfortable as it seems just right after hearing the unbearable news of her husbands death. Adde d to this, the scene outside the window also symbolizes something in contrast to the storys progression.The fount day from the watch outside her window shows a contrasting image to the situation she has. The spring is a symbol of rebirth or new life thus the spring prognosticates Louises new life after Brentlys death. Another interesting symbol in the story is the description of the view laid upon Louises eye as she sits near the window The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a far song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and viewless sparrows were twittering in the eaves (Brian, 2001).For the readers, the description made by Louise about the view she was seeing clouds what her true emotions were at that moment. It seemed that as she isolated herself in a room, she completely disregarded the news of her husbands death. These representations had become tricky in contrasting the main theme the story supposes to have or tell. Kate Chopins idea of a Joyful Death Appearance versus Conflict What the readers may discover in reading this story is the first step that there is an ironic truth behind the death of the main protagonists beloved.In the main setting of the story where Louis sits in a comfortable chair, she mouth over the words we never expect to read or hear from her. She seems to be happy rather than being sad about Brentlys loss with what the story emphasizes on her shouting free, free, free The freedom she pertains here signifies of her having the will to live a life all by herself, after her husband is gone. As she plays a youthful characteristic of a woman, it is a well played proof that she was indeed after the freedom, of doing what she want to do and make decisions for herself.With this fact, the story seems to have a conflict of its own conflict between the ideas of appearance and reality. From the moment that the story emphasizes about Louise having her freedom at last, it could suggest the notion to the reader(s) that she is not saddened by the news. Unlike what she had shown in the central point of the story, Louise somehow is anticipate to grieve by the people around her, all having the idea that her marriage with Brently was a happy one.This is what her sister Josephine completely understood with her reaction as she misinterprets Louises behavior and thinking. She hysterically calls out her sister in the room, believing that Louise is heart-broken but in reality, Louise is more lightened up by the news. The doctors judgment about Louises death also deals with this conflict. For them, it seemed that Louise died after realizing that her husband is alive. This appearance of Louises happiness is more illustrated when they predicted that imputable to heart attack of joy that kills (Brians, 2001).Never did they think of the reality that she died because of another reason. That she dies because she was heart-broken to recognize the truth tha t she will not be able to gain her freedom as what she expected earlier. Role of Woman versus Man Another conflict in the story accentuates the role of woman versus man in the society. It is illustrated in the story that Louise is a submissive wife to Brently. But there is an internal struggle within her that tells that she was not happily married at all.As what Louise thinks, What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being justifies more to the idea that she, indeed, had loved Brently but more were the propagation she feel not. Maybe for Brently, Louise appeared to be happy with their relationship or he thinks and assumes that she is. Apparently, Louise wanted more the freedom she had felt for in that short while. After haping out the truth that she was not yet totally free, she had thought that only by death that she would took possession of it at last.There in deat h she would find peace and autonomy. Ironically, Louise took the realization that her husband was alive and chose to die in able to attain the freedom she longed for. Character Analysis Chopin made her characters compliment along with the theme of the story. The main character, Louise plays a youthful wife who tends to have her freedom despite her marriage with Brently. Her youth marked up the end of her life and this irony of life, of choosing liberty by death, seemed to be one of the uncertain situations in the matter of choosing life over death.Brently, although his character is not discussed further on in the story, seemed to be contend a role of a husband who wants her wife under his control. Louise would never want liberation if he was a good man to her. His characteristic gives a deeper impact in the story, making Louise choose to die with freedom rather than living with him in a life full of despair. Josephine, Louises sister, was recognized here as a doting sister who tak es care of her and all the matters that has a connection with her. Josephine, together with Richards, had taken care of gently telling to her the death of her husband Brently.She half-concealed the truth, in order for Louise to accept it without suffering her heart problem. Richards, Louises friend, is the one who brought the news to the house, he is responsible for assuring Brentlys death. As he rushes to tell the news to his friend, there is a suggestive truth that he was worried about what his friends reaction would be after hearing the news. If he had not rushed over to deliver the news, there is a possibility that Brently could arrive first in the house and justify that his name in the news is a big mistake, preventing Louises death and would have lived more.Apart from Brently, Richards is also responsible for the protagonists death. The story gives us the impression that not each death could bring grief to someone. It could be, in another way, a joyful event. Chopin had also brought about the issues of women and their role in the society. The story, written in the nineteenth-century, showed how women years foul had no rights to be at their own will. Women then were still under the prying eyes of the society and men dominate over them. Chopin tackles a clutch of moral issue within the story.Her story suggests that it would still be better if women of her own time maintain their roles in the society. In the nineteenth-century, men are expected to be superior over women and not the other way around, not what Louise wanted to be. Her insights within the story inspires us with the vision of what harmonious relationships are ought to be and the wide complexity in bearing the contrasting truth between appearance and reality.References Brians, Paul. et al. Reading about the World. (Vol. 2) 3rd Edition. Texas Harcourt Brace College, 2001.

Offshoring Paper Essay

This article talks about a trend that started as far back as the 1980s when companies began send more jobs abroad mainly because of cheap labor. However, that trend is quickly changing. Companies be discovering that the wage gap is narrowing and many of the disadvantages are now starting to outweigh benefits of sending jobs abroad. One of the points mentioned in the article is that wages in china have risen 10-20% in the last 10 years, whereas wages in America and atomic number 63 have remained about the same.Also, a nonher disadvantage of send production abroad is that transferral can be very expensive. In recent years shipping costs have gotten higher such that the cost of producing elsewhere and shipping to the US is no longer as cheap as it used to be. The cartridge clip factor is overly a big issue. Many times transit takes as long as six weeks which makes it hard for companies to fulfill their orders in a timely manner. In conclusion, the article makes a note that a lot of companies are now rethinking their decision about going seaward. OpinionMost of the companies went offshore to save money, and I can see where they are coming from after all the whole goal of having a business is to make profits til now in my opinion many of the companies did not take the time to properly analyze the other costs involved in moving jobs offshore. Many also forgot to consider how it lead affect the quality of their service when it comes to shipping time and sometimes the quality of the product. I am very happy that many jobs are coming back and I think the government needs to do more to encourage the companies.They should offer tax reductions where necessary so that America will be able to compete in the global market. I also like the point the article makes, that just because companies are tending towards reducing offshoring does not mean they will be less global, infact distributing their activities more evenly around the globe will make most companies more effic ient.

Adidas Internal Analysis Essay

1. IntroductionCompetition and competitive markets ar common in every industry. curiously since Globalization is influencing our economy, companies need to freeze competitive in order to survive against impudent rising competitors, which are basically rooted in the Middle eastern United States Asia. Analyzing own strengths and weaknesses and capturing new opportunities or avoiding threats, are one of the close to important factors for reaching this goal. This paper is dealing with the German apparel Adidas, which is one of the worlds largest manufacturers for sportswear and sport utilities. But why are they one of the leading global players in this certain industry? There are some reveal factors, which influenced their worldwide success. A part of various departments, e.g. seek and go againstment, human resources and in-and outbound logistics, which are working together in a fluent way, elements like customer relationship management and tarnish recognition are the main drivers for capturing new customers and the retention of regular customers. The intention of this dissertation will be, to explain Adidas internal strategies and the reflexion of their individual(a) competitive proceeds.One important base for this competitive advantage is the resource based view model.The resource-based view as a basis for a competitive advantage of a firm lies primarily in the application of the bundle of valuable in genuine and tangible resources at the firms disposal. (Crook, T. R., et. al., 2008). In this scientific paper, I will conduct an internal organizational analysis of the firm. I will figure out how and why Adidas is one of the al near important companies in its industry and will identify their success.2. General Information and organisational StructureThe Adidas AG (Adidas Group) is a German multinational corporation, which designs and produces sportswear, accessories and sport utilities. The smart differentiate is based in Herzogenaurach, Bavari a, Germany. The corporation basically consists of three companies, Adidas, the brand itself, Reeboksportswear and Tailor-made-Adidas Golf Company. Reebok is a subsidiary of Adidas since 2005 and also a manufacturer of acrobatic shoes, clothing and accessories. Tailor-made-Adidas Golf Company designs and markets all products which are related to Golf. The Adidas group is the largest sportswear producer in Germany and Europe and the second manufacturer in the world, chasten behind Nike. The company was founded in 1924 as the Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik, but was officially registered in 1949 by Adolf Dassler, after the split of Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older br other Rudolf. One of the just about important competitors of Adidas was and still is, Puma, which was established by his brother Rudolf Dassler in 1949.The structure of the organization is very well defined. There are different usageable departments such(prenominal) as marketing, production, R&D, custo mer services, operations, distribution, and human resource with clearly defined jobs at all levels. The vision of the Adidas Group is to be the leader in the sportswear industry, with sub-brands built upon a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. In order to achieve the goal a profound understanding of the consumer and customer is essential. To suffer the call for of the customers it is essential to build a soaked customer relationship in order to understand their buying behavior (AdidasGroup, 2013). Adidasrevenue in 2012 was listed at 14.488 billion euros and profit was listed at 1185 million euros. In 2010, Adidas worked with 1,236 independent factories, in 69 countries. 69% of these factories where located in Asia and the rest in Europe and the U.S. 27% of the Asian factories are based in China. In 2006 the sales of Adidas in the Asian regions and in the emerging countries (South Korea, Romania, Russia, Croatia, and Brazil etc.) increased up to 147,8%. (Annual Report 201 2, 2013)3. choice Based View3.1. Tangible/Intangible CriteriaIn every business are many types of resources and assets. Some resources are clearly visible and tangible and others may not. The Resource Based View is a device to assess the amount of tangible and impalpable resources, in order to capture possible capabilities with the goal, to build a sustain competitive advantage. The device is differentiating between intangible and tangible resources. Intangible resources are skills, services, corporatereputation or knowledge a firm potentiometer provide. The collective knowledge of a firms workforce represents a tremendous resource. Intangible assets are difficult to quantify in financial name and oftentimes impossible to sell. Education and experience are the main drivers for the knowledge of a corporate workforce, and grows within the structure of a busy industry. Tangible resources are known as raw materials, products or workforce. Corporations that are committed in primary resource extraction have holdings of very tangible goods or resources and often own the land outright on which their resources are located or manufactured (Freiling, J., 2001).Furthermore, but less a tangible resource, the corporation owns the rights to the coal, oil or any other raw material, that is located on public land. In both cases, the resource is a physical reality, more or less tangible and the value of which can be financially determined by observing the going market value of a certain good. Regarding Adidas, as one of the most important global players in their industry, it is also possible to distinguish their resources. Adidas is holding more than 50.000 employees, all over the world into their workforce. CNC machines are used in the company line for the mass production of shoes, which is more or less their cash cow and keeps them successful. The Research and Development departments are equipped with CAM. Softwares for creating strip edge designs. The main manufactor ies are located in Vietnam and China and the bases for the organization are based in Portland, Oregon (U.S) and in Herzogenrauch, Bavaria (Germany) (AdidasGroup, 2013). Patents, partnerships, sponsorships and cooperations with universities are intangible assets, which Adidas owns.3.2. Capabilities particularly in times where raw materials and resources are gaining more and more value, companies need to use their assets and resources in the most efficient way, in order to stay competitive. These opportunities are called capabilities. Capabilities can be described as organizationally embedded non-transferable firm-specific resources. (Crook, T. R., et. al., 2008). Capabilities can be divided into distinctive and threshold capabilities. On the one hand, doorsill capabilities or resources are fulfilling the general criteria a firm has to provide, in order to survive on the market. Regarding our example of Adidas, the threshold criteria for their certain industry arebuildings, land, wor kforce, several(prenominal) departments and outsourced manufactories. But on the other hand, there are distinctive capabilities, which should not just keep the company alive, but deliver a competitive advantage. (Porter, M.E.1980). in any case known as core capabilities, distinctive capabilities are the talents and unique elements that are embedded within the organization. These essential characteristics are considered highly preferred, since they provide the business with what it needs to be competitive in the marketplace and also provides the firm a competitive advantage. Therefore distinctive capabilities are generating the core competencies of an organization and are the headstone driving forces for a company to achieve its competitive advantages. Adidas utilizes its key resources and capabilities to create value and performance excellence. Distinctive capabilities that Adidas holds are e.g., Special R & D departments and correlations (universities), sponsorship agreements (FIF A/ NBA) , alter operations, network and portfolio, good reputation as mid-priced brand in the industry, distribution network and strategic innovation. (AdidasGroup, 2013).3.3. Value Chain AnalysisUnderstanding what a particular business or firm is all about, it is necessary to analyze the specific activities the company is going through in their passing(a) work process. The competitive advantage is build up on added values the try is giving their products. Michael Porters Value Chain is modeling a chain of different activities, companies are performing in order to deliver and provide valuable products or services. Porter is differentiating between primary activities and supporting activities. Primary activities are more or less focusing on generating profit margin and to exceed the bell structure of particular products. These activities are mainly enabled by supporting activities, which are industry-specific (Daft, L.R., 1983). By sourcing the activities, process flows can be ma pped and can be used to isolate specific activities, in order to decrease the cost structure. Focusing back on Adidas, the company is separating their activities as following in-/ and outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales and services as primary activities. Supporting activities in theirkey industry are procurement, research and development and human resource management. Value chain analysis examines business units and examines how products pass through the chain, in order from inbound logistics to service, market & sales and other sections. The information provided shows where in the chain products are slowed or altered from the intended design or its usage.4. Competitive AdvantageOne of the most important goals of Adidas has been, to develop a strong competitive advantage, in order to stay successful and survive against the large number heavyweight competitors. The industry, in which Adidas interacts, is characterized by a set of many specific features. The extreme r ivalry between Adidas and its competitors, Nike, Puma or late Balance is higher than ever before. Nevertheless, most of these brands outsourced their production and re-defined themselves as brands or marketing organizations. Despite the fact that Adidas currently ranks right behind Nike in the segment of sports shoes and sportswear market, Adidas still has been a successful business go-ahead right from the beginning of their establishment by Dassler in 1945. The encouragement and application of a spirit of constant and updated technological innovation and excellence has resulted in generating such a powerful competitive advantage for Adidas that its market opponents find it hard to beat. The high performance, market orientation, technological development and brand promise, created the expected value for customers. Especially the companys policy and corporate culture, that includes providing their customers with the necessary technological applications, in order to meet and satisfy the full needs of their end-consumer. (Kumar, V. & Reinartz W. 2012).Ultimately, this translates to tailor-made performance products for individual customers. Tailor-made is concentrating on especial product line and a particular market segment. Therefore technological superiority of its products is the primary factor of market insight for Adidas. Nevertheless, an intense and targeted marketing mix and strategy is the second most important key driver of success. An important fact and promotional tool for products has been, to integrate celebrities and schoolmaster sport idols into theirmarketing mix. This strategy seemed to be very successful and generated a steady source of profit and sales. Consumers appreciated and enjoyed the emotional experience, to share the same daily products with their idols or people, who are influencing them. Furthermore, Adidas is following the main rules of Customer relationship management. Feedback from regular customers and surveys about particular products or advertisements created a high level of customer involution and loyalty, what turned out to be the most effective strategy. These methods and tools helped Adidas to develop and build a long-term profitable customer relationship.5. Conclusion5.1. uprise / TOWSDuring the economic crisis in year 2009, many companies and enterprises suffered turnover, profit and had to restructure their business. Many different factors were key drivers for this crisis, but not successfully adapted strategies regarding supply and demand. Consultants, who are analyzing and advising enterprises, implement different methods and tools, in order to improve the clients business. One of these powerful tools is the SWOT- Analysis. But what is SWOT? How should companies or consultants use this tool, in order to succeed? And the most important question is, is Adidas using or ever used this methods, if yes how did they? SWOT is expecting from its users to examine, internal strengths and weaknesses of their business and to summarize external opportunities and threats, in order to develop new strategies for improvement. (Bhm, A., 2008). After developing these ideas, the proper implementation of them is important as well as the examination itself. The TOWS-matrix ore the TOWS-analysis involves the same basic process of listing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats like the SWOT analysis is claiming from its users. But furthermore the TOWS analysis is a tool that enables managers to take advantage of opportunities and minimize threats by exploiting strengths and overcoming weaknesses.In case of Adidas the strengths are mainly, their strong brand value as one of the most successful brand, a strong and proven marketing strategy, networks and strong franchising, their leading position in the industry as one of the largest player in the industry, diversifiedoperations in different parts of the world and the most important strength is their competitive pricing. But the enterpr ise has also some weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses Adidas might has to struggle with are the bad performance of Reebok in non US markets, stiff competition and similar big brands which convey customers have high brand switching, high cost structure and the dependency on sport industry/athletes/sponsorships (Borowski, A. 2011). External factors are including the threats and opportunities. Increasing prices for raw materials, unsound product-imitation and the tough competition in the sector with Puma and Nike are the key threats, which could menace Adidas (AdidasGroup, 2013).It is possible to use strengths to avoid threats and to capture opportunities, with the help of the TOWS-matrix. Therefore strategies, which Adidas could use in order to capture opportunities and avoid threats could be, to use diversified operations in different parts of the world and strong brand recognition for sponsorships in growing markets and the well-considered usage of celebrities (not just for adverti sement, also for opening private sport academies). To minimize internal weaknesses by capturing opportunities, the enterprise should keep their focus on their strong and proven marketing strategy, networking and their strong franchising, in order to stay competitve and build close long-term customer relationships (Borowski, A. 2011). A part of that, the acquisition of competitors could decrease cost structure and rivalry within the industry and safe their status quo for the future.6. BibliographyAdidas, Deutsche Telekom, Infineon German Equity Preview. Bloomberg L.P. 16 January 2008. Retrieved on 15th of March from http//www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pelvic inflammatory disease=newsarchive&sid=ah3ZhaeNWMdM&refer=germany AdidasGroup, (2013) Retrieved on 18th of March from http//www.adidas-group.com Annual Report 2012. Adidas. Retrieved on 10th March 2013 from http//www.adidas-group.com/en/investorrelations/financial_data/default.aspxBarney, J.B., (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Co mpetitive Advantage. Journal of Management. Texas A&M University.Borowski, A. (2011). Adidas Marketing Strategy An Overview. Norderstedt GRIN VerlagBhm, A., (2008).The SWOT Analysis. Mnchen GRIN Verlag.Crook, T. R., et. al., (2008). Strategic resources and performance A meta-analysis. Strategic Management Journal. UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Daft, L.R., (1983). Organizational Theory and Designs, St. Paul West Pub. Co.Freiling, J., (2001). Resource-based View und konomische Theorie Grundlagen und Positionierung des Resourcenansatzes. Heidelberg Deutscher Universitts-Verlag.Kumar, V. & Reinartz W. (2012). Customer Relationship Management Concept, Strategy, and Tools. Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Verlag.Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., and McHugh, S. M. (2012). Understanding Business (10th edition). UK McGraw-Hill Education.Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Advantage Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York Free Press.Satya Sekhar, G.V., (2009). Business Policy and Strategic M anagement. New Delhi I K International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd

HIV/AIDS patients in Zambia; Are they cared for? Essay

Executive summaryHuman Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ( adult male immunodeficiency virus/ aid) pandemic has created terrible burden for millions of individuals, families and communities worldwide. wholly sorts of exertions take on been tried to curtail this tormentor and yet no known cure or vaccines have been discovered to keep on it. Religious prayers and nonetheless rituals have as well as seemed futile. However, the only option now is to only provide tender care, love and even nurture for those that are infected and consequently affected. This might prevent further give and in turn minimise further impacts. This sight seeks to improve on the care that should be rendered to HIV/ help patients and even strategize on how to improve the well-being of these ill-fated deal. This claim is a combination of situational analysis through a scientific study to understand various dynamics of charge of HIV/AIDS patients in Zambia accompanied by formulation of strategies based on findings of the study.BackgroundThe HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Zambia has even become one of the highest in the world. The prevalence rate in the general population is estimated to be 14.3 per cent with approximately 930, 000 people living with HIV/AIDS. Gener on the wholey, condescension all the campaigns, the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS still exists. On one hand, patients who are infected and have all the symptoms claim to be neglected at the hospitals and are not given the best services. It may not be out of order to query whether these health care providers are really pickings care of HIV/AIDS patients. Several interventions have been staked so far but they do not seem to adequately address and even survey if HIV/AIDS patients are fully attended to by health care providers.For example, though not very successful, the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB intervention strategy plan 20022005 was developed with providing care to people living and affected by HIV/A IDS as one of the strategies of reducing the spread of AIDS. This research endeavours to provide a fundamental overview of how best the society at large can prevent further spread of HIV through care. This is deemed indispensable for the implementation of an HIV/AIDS free management policies. If it comes out necessary to quarantine HIV patients, we ordain not hesitate to articulate that.RationaleThis study aims at creating space for all people living with HIV/AIDS in different settings especially in hospital environment, where most of them seek aesculapian advice. This study shall improvise core framework for any change/s at the institutional and individual levels and across all sectors that in turn shall avail create an environment of understanding, empathy, love, trust, hope, human being rights and dignity for those most in need, that is, HIV/AIDS patients.ProblemThe major problem is the increased levels of stigmatization, discrimination and violation of human rights of HIV/A IDS patients in various settings. Minor problems include * Lack of better strategies to deal with matters of HIV/AIDS * Lack of consistency in address of health care* Lack of friendly or social relationship between HIV/AIDS patients and care takersObjectivesIn addressing the problems stated above, the following special(prenominal) research objectives have to be achieved i. To investigate the extent to which patients are cared for by health care providers and relations. ii. To investigate the nutritional well-being of HIV/AIDS patients. iii. To mention factors leading to stigma, discrimination and human rights violation of HIV/AIDS patients. iv. To frame recommendations/strategies for policy makers and other influential groups for improvements in social well-being of HIV/AIDS patients. mannerologyParticipantsOur sample size is 150 and these consist of all HIV/AIDS patients in the selected hospitals within Lusaka. The number of patients to approach per hospital pass on be determi ned on the total number of admitted patients at the time of data collection. Our target population is all HIV/AIDS patients that have been admitted to the selected hospitals for at least(prenominal) one week. However, since it allow be impossible to survey all HIV/AIDS patients in all hospitals in the City of Lusaka, our study population will be patients admitted to University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and Levy Mwanawasa General Hospital. These patients are to be found on weekdays/weekends during the stipulated visiting hours per hospital. Data AnalysisData will be entered in excel and analysed using SPSS version 16 and descriptive statistics will be computed using the same software. SPSS will be selected because it is user friendly. Research MethodOur research method is to perform a situational analysis study using a questionnaire capturing the HIV/AIDS patients nutritional status, social relationship with care takers and how oft they are visited by their relations. The questionna ire is as simple as possible to avoid frustrating the patients. Our sampling method will be convenience sampling where we would patently visit HIV/AIDS patients in hospitals under study. Convenience sampling will be used because this method would not impose a long cost. Due to confidentiality and ethical considerations, the then main clinicians during data collection, at the hospitals under study will help to distribute questionnaires to those HIV/AIDS patients willing to participate. Currently, at UTH, we have Dr Nyirenda and Dr Musonda who are willing to administer the questionnaires in clinic five of UTH and Dr Alfred at Levy Mwanawasa General Hospital. We will simply approach any HIV/AIDS patient and ask them to volunteer in our survey.We will conduct an in-person survey by briefly introducing to them the purpose of our survey and explain why their engagement will be valuable to the public. We will ask them if they have 3 minutes to do our survey. By having given them a brief introduction beforehand we interview them, we can have a better sense of whether or not our survey is applicable to them. All non-HIV/AIDS patients in the stated hospitals will be ineligible to participate in the survey. In addition, a focus group will also be used to discuss the perceived prejudices that HIV/AIDS patients face.We will simply ask two HIV/AIDS patients, one part from UNZA HIV/AIDS response office and one representative from the Ministry of Health to volunteer to give us one hour on one evening to get their opinions about the current levels of stigmatization, discrimination and violation of human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. A facilitator will be present to conduct the group discussion and ask several open-ended questions while other representative will record the respondents answers during the discussion. The advantage of this focus group study is that it is not costly, not time consuming and we can get in-depth information and opinions from people who are directly and frequently affected by the problem. Anticipated ResultsExpected OutcomesMounting evidence suggests that no known cure for HIV/AIDS has been unearthed so far. This simply entails that we can only reduce further spread of the pandemic by improving the lives of the people who are infected and affected by the pandemic. Consequently, this study will not only enlighten the policy makers on the real strategy of reducing the further spread of HIV/AIDS but also propose measures that may deal with the problem more effectively.It is further evaluate that this study will generate a research report and a fact sheet on the dynamics and impact of stigmatization and discrimination on those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Zambia. In the last(a) analysis, it is judge that Government through the Ministry of Health and indeed the donors will be better informed, and could adopt some of the findings and recommendations in their policies. ImpactResults from this study are expected to feed into policies aimed at improving the well-being of HIV/AIDS patients in the country. From these, it is expected that the policies can be inferred to other countries facing HIV/AIDS.UtilisationIt is expected that findings from this study will be utilised by policy makers and implementers to enhance health care planning and ensure that the scarce national resources are allocated expeditiously on projects that give the highest social and economic returns to HIV/AIDS patients.DisseminationFindings from this study will be disseminated through workshops that will be held so that all the stakeholders are informed about the viability of report findings as a remedial measure to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Zambia. Lastly, the study report will be available on the UNZA website and at UNZA HIV/AIDS response office for all to read.

John Locke Leader of the Enlightenment Essay

John Locke has had a broad impact on governments, separate leading and equality during the Enlightenment, frankincense qualification him the approximately potent leader of that era. Lockes literary productions specifically his book The dickens Treatises of Government was the key to umteen of his contributions. By far the just about potent writings emerged from the spell of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three cancel rights, the right to property, life and liberty. al matchless and only(a) three rights pertained to equality and beholding as the Enlightenment era revolved around individualism, his tuition and support of Natural unspoileds make him a groovy deviate and role-model. Further much than(prenominal), John Locke was against the Divine the right way of Kings and believed that there was no genius true ruler that was elect by god. He preferably believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citi zens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens to a great(p)er extent(prenominal) than(prenominal) liberty and and then more equality every mavens votes counted and from for all(prenominal) one one vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also crookd galore(postnominal) new(prenominal) movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Inde inditedence and The social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his writings, some leading of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been invigorate to come up with and fate their ideas. John Lockes determines on politics, equality and the new(prenominal) leading of the Enlightenment were immense, and then devising him one of the prominentest leadinghiphip of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, new(prenominal) leadership and equality during the Enlightenment, therefrom devising him the more or less potent leader of that era. Lockes books specifically his book The twain Treatises of Government was the key to umteen of his contributions. By far the nearly important writings emerged from the drop a lineitentiary of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three lifelike rights, the right to property, life and liberty. on the whole three rights pertained to equality and eyesight as the Enlightenment geological era revolved around individualism, his education and support of Natural seriouss make him a great wreak and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine com spellsate of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was elect by god. He alternatively believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and therefrom more equality everyones votes counted and all(prenominal) vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced galore(postn ominal) other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The neighborly Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, some leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been godly to come up with and appoint their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus qualification him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus reservation him the some authoritative leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The devil Treatises of Government was the key to legion(predicate) of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three rude(a) rights, the right to property, life and liberty.all (a) three rights pertained to equality and comprehend as the Enlightenment succession revolved around individualism, his nurture and support of Natural recompenses do him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He quite believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced galore(postnominal) other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The amicable Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many a(prenominal) leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been enliven to come up with and contend their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other l eaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The twain Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty. altogether three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment sequence revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights make him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He kind of believed that the ruling force should be decided by the c itizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The mixer Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been providential to come up with and piece of ground their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged fr om the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspir ed to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many lea ders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Rig ht of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifical ly his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.A ll three rightspertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and Th e Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, t he US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his d evelopment and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influe nced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and s eeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The En lightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes count ed and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to prop erty, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, L ocke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influence s on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment.John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerge d from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country. This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal.His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been in spired to come up with and share their ideas. John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of TheEnlightenment. John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to many of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Locke discusses the need for three natural rights, the right to property, life and liberty.All three rights pertained to equality and seeing as the Enlightenment Era revolved around individualism, his development and support of Natural Rights made him a great influence and role-model. Furthermore, John Locke was against the Divine Right of Kings and believed that there was no one true ruler that was chosen by god. He instead believed that the ruling force should be decided by the citizens of a country.This in turn allowed the citizens more liberty and thus more equality everyones votes counted and each vote was equal. His belief in Natural rights also influenced many other movements and laws such as the French Revolution, the US Constitution, the American Declaration of Independence and The Social Contract. If it wasnt for him and his literature, many leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire wouldnt have been inspired to come up with and share their ideas.John Lockes influences on politics, equality and the other leaders of the Enlightenment were immense, thus making him one of the greatest leaders of The Enlightenment. John Locke has had a great impact on governments, other leaders and equality during the Enlightenment, thus making him the most influential leader of that era. Lockes literature specifically his book The Two Treatises of Government was the key to man y of his contributions. By far the most influential writings emerged from the pen of scholar John Locke (Powell, Jim). In this book, Loc.

Marketing and Car Rental Companies

THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNAL MARKETING ELEMENTS ON BRAND video OF SELECTED CAR RENTAL COMPANIES IN SOUTH AFRICA STUDENT NAME XXXXXX (student number) Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree PhD in trade Management in the competency of Management at the University of Johannesburg JOHANNESBURG September 2009 Supervisor Prof xxxxx Co-supervisor Dr yyyy Table of contents ____________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH 1. 1 Overview of run and go trade 1. innate selling 1. 3 home run identity and instigator mental shape 1. 4 Car letting in southeastward Africa 2. STATEMENT OF THE business 3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 3. 1 Primary objective 3. 2 Secondary objectives 4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 5. HYPOTHESES 6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH 7. LITERATURE REVIEW 7. 1 Theoretical paradigm 7. 2 Research Constructs 7. 3 Relationship mingled with variable quantitys 8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 8. 1 Research design 8. 2 Research format 8. 3 Population and prototype 8. 4 Data collection instruments, sources and procedures 8. 5 Data abridgment 9. DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY 10. CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY 11.CLARIFICATION OF TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 12. DIVISION OF THE STUDY 13. TIME cast off AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS 14. LIST OF REFERENCES 3 3 4 6 8 9 10 10 11 12 13 19 19 20 22 23 23 24 24 25 26 27 27 28 28 29 30 31 2 Research object 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Organisations across every(prenominal) industries recognise that function atomic number 18 becoming an heavy mover in all their business dealings to obtain a competitive advantage (Strydom, 2005114). According to Palmer (20052), every assiduity is a assist industry and the only aspect that separates industries is the sizing of their wait on component.Innovative constitutions decl atomic number 18ing unique emoluments to guests be now succeeding in markets where established organisations drive home failed (Lovelock and Wirtz, 20044). benefits merchandising recognisement is to the highest degree serve and railway elevator cable rail simple machineing about people (Kasper, van Helsdingen and Gabbott, 20069). People encompass individuals, households, employees and organisations. In general, function deal with intangibles, in other words, things that can non be hold, touched nor be seen to begin with they atomic number 18 utilised (Gronroos, 20007). Services doctor to deeds, processes and experiences (Kasper et al, 20069 Zeithaml, Bitner and Gremler, 20064). . 1 Overview of serve and services market Many skills, activities, knowledge, performances, efforts, deeds, systems and processes atomic number 18 required when implementing processes which focus on people. create and implementing assets and capabilities, including motivating employees to serve the client wellhead through and through the delivery of excellent service quality is a challenge to any services organisation. The interaction between customers and service employees is vital for the actual winner of service delivery (Kasper, van Helsdingen and de Vries, 1999513).Organisations father realised that marketing and managing services presented issues and challenges not faced in manufacturing and incase goods companies. Employees previously employed by manufacturing companies found that their skills and experiences were not directly transferable. Services organisations realised there argon a need for new concepts and firees for marketing and managing services organisations (Zeithaml et al, 200610). Customer expectations and experiences bring in a vital role in the success of a services organisation.Since customers mainly rely on the contact they get had with employees of the services organisation, personal contact between employees and customers outgrowth to a heroic extent hold in the success of the services organisation (Lovelock, 199650). The 3 Research intent success of the Disney vane results from the organisation placing emphasis on the importance of their employees. They leave realised that satisfied employees deliver smash service quality, resulting in satisfied customers (Papasolomou and Vrontis, 200639).To ensure amity service inciters submit develop versed marketing programmes in order to recruit, train and manage employees to deliver on the set? s promises (McDonald, De Chernatony and Harris, 2001337). 1. 2 cozy marketing infixed marketing views the employee as an upcountry customer, jobs as sexual harvests and holds the view that all employees in an organisation serve both a customer and a supplier even in the event where one or both of these are national colleagues (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003319).The goal of upcountry marketing is to establish, implement and manage a customer-foc apply service culture, dodging and relationships, which should result in higher levels of service quality (Varey and Lewis, 2000200). In order to achieve the goal of internal marketing service organisations need to recognise that marketing strategies should not only be aimed at external customers, but should also be implemented internally and achieve better internal communication.Therefore the internal marketing combine down to be of central importance in services organisations as each element represents cues that customers rely on in judging quality and overall chain of mountains (Mudie and Pirrie, 20066). Marketing activities are traditionally structured around the four Ps link up to products, that is product, price, promotion and tush (distribution). In the services marketing mix an excess three Ps were added referring to people, process and physical present. However, marketing theorists are forever debating the relevant number of Ps and subsequently a variety of marketing mixes are being used in the various industries.Although more or less literature focuses on the seven Ps of services, additional four Ps including positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance were recently introduced to the market, resulting in a number of xi elements of the marketing mix (Balmer, 199831 Simister, 20093). These 11 elements should be 4 Research device holdd in the internal marketing programmes service organisations are offering to employees to ensure hasten betterd interaction with customers as suggested by the literature. Ir complimentsively of the nature of the service, employees working in the front-line interact directly with customers.In many service organisations, they are the only contact customers ware with the organisation. They need to understand the customer? s ineluctably and match the follow? s service offering with the specific customer need. Moreover, they collect intelligence on competition, they help the company clarify what the needs of customers exactly are and assess the company? s office to satisfy them. These employees promote the company? s overal l delineation and the cross image of the company? s services (Gounaris, 2008402). However, the font-line employees are not the only employees who should be exposed to internal marketing.In a services organisation it is imperative that all employees should be trained, developed and informed of the vision and goals of the organisation enabling them to deliver excellent services. informal marketing requires the involvement of a number of de let outments working in unison to improve performance (Ahmed and Rafiq, 200257). A train conducted by Harris and Ogbonna (2000) unfortunately displayed that service employees were reluctant and resisted the concept of market orientation. Employees also lacked service consciousness.Harris and De Chernatony (2001441) argue that ignorance and lack of training may explain the resistance, while employees may also feel that they may lose political power and status in the organisation by becoming more(prenominal) than customer focused (Harris, 20026 2). Furthermore, front-line and contact centre employees are often under paid which results in a lack of enthusiasm and customer orientation. This eventually becomes an important barrier of the effort to meet customers? expectations, thus jeopardising the holy image of a service dirt (Gounaris, 2008402).Therefore, internal marketing programmes should not only embarrass the internal marketing mix, but should also include the organisational fit, identification with the company, employee participation in decision making, commitment, accuracy and openness of communication (Naude, Desai and Murphy, 20031215). Liu, Petruzzi and Sudharshan (200725) argue that training with an emphasis on the specific tasks that employees digest to accomplish, employee empowerment, sharing information pertaining to customer needs and rewarding 5 Research proffer mployees based on the quality of customer service they deliver. Employees that complete tasks effectively become motivated to tin a high qual ity service which results in higher levels of customer satisfaction. As a result, customers are satisfied, since expectations are met or exceeded and the injury image of the company go away be positive (Donaldson and O? Toole, 2002155 Varey and Lewis, 2000200,201). Internal marketing, also known as internal mailing or employee placeing is viewed as partakely important to external give away building or the set management of customers (O?Callaghan, 20094 Witt and Rode, 2005278). Another factor playing a role in business success is the establishment of a favourable soft touch image (Park, Cho and Kandampully, 2009134). stakes are often seen as a major relationship builder between a service organisation and its customers. Kasper et al (2006163) argue that crisscrosss are not only the product or service an organisation sells or delivers, but represent everything an organisation does and specifically what an organisation represents to its employees and its markets. 1. 3 Brand identity and tell on imageBrands are change magnitudely seen as priceless market assets and an essential source of differentiation in industries which are becoming saturated with similar service offerings. Additionally, defacements catch certain functions such as up(a) loyalty, identifying the depictr of the service, reducing search costs, reducing perceived risk and signalling quality (Kasper et al, 2006163 Aurand, Gorchels and Bishop, 2005164). Service organisations have begun to realise that the importance of nurturing relationships between employees and customers adds to the development of employees? nd customers? respect for certain functional and emotional values of the sword (Papasolomou and Vrontis, 200638). Subsequently, an integrated mark strategy is required to align the organisation? s strategy, processes and resources to ensure consistency in the quality of the service delivery and a positive perception of the brand (LePla, Davis and Parker, 20033-5). 6 Resea rch proposal angiotensin-converting enzyme of the vituperative steps in building a strong brand is to create a brand identity. The brand identity is aspirational, since it refers to how the brand would like to be perceived.Creating a brand identity is more than determining what customers say they need, it should also reflect the soul and vision of the brand and what it hopes to achieve. Aaker (199668) stated that the brand identity which provides the direction and strategic vision of the brand consists of xii dimensions organised around four perspectives Brand-as-product (product scope, product attributes, quality/value, uses, users, country of origin) Brand-as-organisation (organisational attributes, local versus global) Brand-as-person (brand personality, brand-customer relationships) Brand-as-symbol (visual imagery/metaphors and brand heritage)The brand identity should be strategic, reflecting a business strategy that get out lead to a sustainable advantage, while the brand i mage angles to be more tactical (Aaker, 199670). The brand image of a service organisation is even more important than a product company due to the intangibility that characterises services. Brand image consists of two categories, gainly brand linkups and brand awareness. One generally accepted view of brand image is that perceptions about a brand are reflected by a cluster of associations that customers connect to the brand name in memory.Brand associations are the informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory and contain message of the brand for customers (Aaker, 1991110 Keller, 199845). Keller (199845) classifies brand associations into three major categories, i. e. attributes, benefits and billets. Attributes refer to the descriptive features that characterise the brand. Product related attributes are essentially defined as the components of the core product function sought by customers. In foothold of services, the service related attributes refer to the process of the core service (O?Cass and Grace, 2003453). Benefits are the personal value customers attach to the brand attributes and brand places are customers? overall rating of the brand (Del Rio Vazquez and Iglesias, 2001411). Low and Lamb, (2000352) conceptualise brand image, that is functional and symbolic perceptions brand posture as the overall evaluation of the brand and 7 Research proposal perceived quality as the judgements of overall superiority as possible dimensions of brand associations.The literature regards brand attributes, perceived quality and brand attitude as separate dimensions of brand associations under less familiar brands and as one dimension under well known brands. Well known brands also tend to exhibit multi-dimensional brand associations, which is consistent with the idea that customers have more developed memory structures for more familiar brands (Low and Lamb, 2000353). Brand associations are important to decision makers in services organisations to impr ove brand identity amongst employees, which should result in positive brand associations amongst customers.Brand awareness refers to the strength of a brand? s presence in the customer? s mind. Awareness is measured according to the different ways in which customers remember a brand, ranging from deferred payment (exposure to the brand) to recall (what can be recalled about the brand) to jump in the mind (the brand appearing first in the mind) and finally to dominant (the only brand recalled) (Aaker, 199610). Brand awareness is created by change magnitude the familiarity of the brand through repeated exposure and strong associations with the relevant cues enabling the customer to recall the brand effectively (Keller, 200370). . 4 Car letting in southwesterly Africa The homogeneity and heightened competition in the gondola term of a contract industry are forcing elevator railroad car renting companies to consider the connection between internal marketing and brand image to achieve competitive differentiation. Due to increased globalisation most car lease companies in southeasterly Africa have to compete on a local and international level. Currently in in the south Africa there are a number of car renting companies, of which seven are most recognised due to their location at airports in South Africa. These companies include Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National, Tempest Sixt and Thrifty.Car term of a contract companies are in a complex industry with a number of role players involved such as government, car manufacturers and a variety of target markets. Besides providing a service to the various target markets, the products they offer are beyond their control, as the end product the customer collects are from different manufacturers. These end products 8 Research proposal include a large range of different car models from various manufacturers, for example, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Mazda, Volkswagen, and Opel to name but a few.Since the car rental companies in South Africa focus on the same customers and provide the same car models, both factors not fully controlled by them, it is imperative that they have to provide excellent services to customers to grow their businesses and to retain knowing customers. The employees of car rental companies are their most important asset and therefore special attention is required to ensure loyalty and commitment from employees to deliver service excellence. regardless of the fact that the service organisation may have developed a well conceived positioning for its brand, he brand? s successful positioning depends on the role the employees play in producing and delivering the service (Papasolomou and Vrontis, 200639). Providing a service is a people business. It is therefore important for car rental companies to hold if internal marketing has an ascertain on employees? associations with the brand image of the organisation. Car rental companies should realise that there is a need to inst il a customer-focused service culture, which is a essential for delivering consistently high quality services and for building successful service brands.Therefore they need to embark on a process of strengthening their brands as a source of sustainable competitive advantage by implementing an internal marketing programme to compete with first world countries (Papasolomou and Vrontis, 200639). Although most South African car rental companies? brands are well known, formal look for is required as it is not evident that internal marketing implementation does have an bow on the brand image of car rental companies in South Africa. 2.STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The internal marketing mix elements that volition be used in this study include product, price, promotion, place, people, processes, physical indicate, positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance. In order to enhance the brand image of a service organisation the 9 Research proposal organisation has to adapt its marketing activities to mix and match the internal marketing mix elements that will reinforce the brand image (Kotler and Keller, 2009288).Despite a strong cheer in the subject amongst marketing tecs, little research has been conducted related to brand images in service brands (Del Rio et al, 2001410 O? Cass and Grace, 2003453). Although car rental companies have internal programmes, such as loyalty and other incentive programmes to motivate employees, the success of these programmes have not been researched nor linked to the internal marketing elements applicable to this study (Avis, 2009).Furthermore, the researcher could not find any direct studies related to the decide of internal marketing elements on brand image in the car rental industry in South Africa. This is relevant because if all elements do not contribute positively to the overall brand image of car rental companies in South Africa, it could receive reduced attention, which could damage the image of the brand of the car rental company. Additionally if certain activities prove ineffectively they could be altered and improved, thereby creating more battle for car rental companies.The problem in this study is that the importance of brand image in a services industry, specifically the car rental industry, should be emphasised, therefore this study aims to determine the ascertain of product, price, promotion, place, people, processes, physical evidence, positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance on brand associations and brand awareness as dimensions of brand image of car rental companies in South Africa, as perceived by employees and customers. 3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVESThe by-line objectives will clearly define the objectives the study aims to determine 3. 1 Primary objective The primary research objective of this study is to determine the perceived influence of the different elements of internal marketing on the brand image of selected car rental companies in South Africa. 10 R esearch proposal 3. 2 Secondary objectives The secondary objectives of the study aim to determine whether the various elements of the internal marketing mix have an internal influence on each of the brand image categories.The elements of the internal marketing mix that will be one after another discovered according to the classification of the Ps are firstly the traditional 4 Ps, product, price, promotion, place secondly the additional 3 Ps for services marketing mix, people, processes, physical evidence and lastly the recently added 4 Ps, positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance.Each element of the internal marketing mix will be observed to determine its influence on brand image, namely brand associations, specifically brand attributes, perceived quality and brand attitude, as well as brand awareness, such as recognition of the brand and brand recall of selected car rental companies. The influence of the internal marketing elements on the brand associations and brand awareness will enable car rental companies to focus afterlife internal marketing programmes on the relevant internal marketing mix elements to ensure an improved brand image.Furthermore the influence of the internal marketing elements is relevant to determine the overall influence on brand image as set out in the following hypotheses formulated in this study (see next section). The secondary research objectives are To determine the influence of the internal product on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. To determine the influence of the internal price on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients.To determine the influence of internal promotion on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. To determine the influence of the internal place on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. 11 Research proposal To determine the influence of internal people on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. To determine the influence of internal processes on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients.To determine the influence of internal physical evidence on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. To determine the influence of internal positioning on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. To determine the influence of internal personal relationships on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. To determine the influence of internal packaging on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients.To determine the influence of inte rnal performance on the brand image of car rental companies amongst selected car rental companies and their clients. 4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS As suggested by the title, the office of the study is to investigate the influence of the eleven internal marketing mix elements on brand image of car rental companies in South Africa. The research question can be phrased as Do the eleven internal marketing mix elements have an influence on the brand image of South African car rental companies? Sub-components of the primary research question includeWhat is the influence of the internal product, price, promotion, place, people, processes, physical evidence, positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance on brand associations of car rental companies? 12 Research proposal What is the influence of the internal product, price, promotion, place, people, processes, physical evidence, positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance on brand awareness of car rental companie s? 5. HYPOTHESES In figure 1 the hypotheses derived from the research objectives are indicated.Figure 1 displays the organisation which imposes its values through internal marketing on employees with the external customer in mind to achieve its objectives (Mudie and Pirrie, 200614). The internal marketing mix elements are independent variables, since they are not dependent on one another to exist in the organisation. The brand image categories, that is brand associations and brand awareness are the dependent variables of the study as the research aims to prove the influence of the independent variables on the brand image.In order to establish the connection between the internal marketing mix and the brand image of the organisation an intervening variable is required. The intervening variable is brand identity, as it provides direction, exercise and meaning for the brand (Aaker, 199668). Through establishing that brand identity is dependent on the elements of the internal marketing mix and that brand image is dependent on brand identity, will allow the connection between the internal marketing mix and brand image to be established. The brand association dimensions that will be well-tried are brand attributes, perceived quality and brand attitude.The brand awareness dimensions are brand recognition and brand recall. In developing research hypotheses researchers normally close-fitting in relationships in every the null or alternative format. In this study alternative hypotheses are formulated, indicating that there is a relationship between two variables that is significant. These hypotheses are depicted in figure 1 on the following page. 13 Brand identity Brand identity Employees Product v1 Traditional Ps Price v2 Place v3 Promotion v4 H2d, H2e H1a, H1b, H1c H3a, H3b, H3c H4a, H4b, H4c H1d, H1e CustomersAttributes v12 a b c H2a, H2b, H2c Perceived quality v13 Brand Attitude v14 Brand associations credit entry v15 H3d, H3e H4d, H4e d Brand image Brand awaren ess Recall v16 e People v5 Internal marketing Services Ps Processes v6 Physical evidence v7 H5a, H5b, H5c H6a, H6b, H6c H7a, H7b, H7c Attributes v17 a b Perceived quality v18 Brand Attitude v19 H5d, H5e c Brand associations H6d, H6e Recognition v20 H7d, H7e d Brand image Recall v21 e Brand awareness Positioning v8 Recent Ps H8a, H8b, H8c H9a, H9b, H9c H10a, H10b, H10c H11a, H11b, H11c H8d, H8e H9d, H9e H10d, H10eH11d, H11e Attributes v22 a b Personal relationships v9 Packaging v10 Performance v11 Perceived quality v23 Brand Attitude v24 c Brand associations Brand image Recognition v25 Recall v26 e d Brand awareness Research proposal Based on the primary and secondary objectives and as indicated in figure 1, it is hypothesised that H1a Internal product does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increase brand identity. H1b Internal product does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increase brand identity.H1c Internal product doe s have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H1d Internal product does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H1e Internal product does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H2a Internal price does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H2b Internal price does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H2c Internal price does have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H2d Internal price does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H2e Internal price does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H3a Internal place does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental compani es by increasing brand identity. H3b Internal place does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H3c Internal place does have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. 15 Research proposal H3d Internal place does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H3e Internal place does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H4a Internal promotion does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H4b Internal promotion does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H4c Internal promotion does have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H4d Internal promotion does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand i dentity. H4e Internal promotion does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H5a Internal people do have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H5b Internal people do have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H5c Internal people do have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H5d Internal people do have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H5e Internal people do have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H6a Internal processes do have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H6b Internal processes do have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. 16 Research proposal H6cInternal processes do have an infl uence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H6d Internal processes do have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H6e Internal processes do have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H7a Internal physical evidence does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H7b Internal physical evidence does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H7c Internal physical evidence does have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H7d Internal physical evidence does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H7e Internal physical evidence does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H8a Internal positioning does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H8b Internal positioning does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H8c Internal positioning does have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H8d Internal positioning does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H8e Internal positioning does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H9a Internal personal relationships do have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H9b Internal personal relationships do have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. 17 Research proposal H9c Internal personal relationships do have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H9d Intern al personal relationships do have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H9e Internal personal relationships do have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H10a Internal packaging does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H10b Internal packaging does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H10c Internal packaging does have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H10d Internal packaging does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H10e Internal packaging does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity.H11a Internal performance does have an influence on brand attributes of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H11b Interna l performance does have an influence on perceived quality of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H11c Internal performance does have an influence on brand attitude of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H11d Internal performance does have an influence on recognition of the brand of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. H11e Internal performance does have an influence on brand recall of car rental companies by increasing brand identity. 8 Research proposal 6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH Employees who are treated well and who believe in the company they are representing tend to deliver service excellence. Internal marketing provides the nub to retrain employees and to motivate them to exceed customer expectations, resulting in a positive association with the brand, which customers are likely to share with others (Donaldson and O? Toole, 2002155). In today? s crowded marketplace building a powerful brand is central in giving companies a comp etitive edge.The association clients make with a brand in the services industries will focus strongly on the service quality they receive from the company (Papasolomou and Vrontis, 20078). In South Africa no formal research study could be found on how the eleven internal marketing elements, that is product, price, promotion, distribution, processes, physical evidence, people, positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance influence the brand image, being brand attributes, perceived quality and brand attitude of car rental companies.Formal research is required to determine the influence of internal marketing on brand image, as the internal marketing efforts will have an effect on service delivery by employees, which subsequently should improve the image clients have of the brand. Although some car rental companies claim they care about employees and provide special motivational programmes for employees, no formal research has been conducted to determine if these progr ammes as part of internal marketing have a positive influence on the service delivered by employees (Avis, 2009). . LITERATURE REVIEW The literature study is based on the most recent literature available in the fields of study. It includes inter alia books, journals, pedantic dissertations and literature available in an electronic format obtained from reputable academic and various research institutions via the Internet. The ensuing sections contain information obtained to gain an in-depth understanding of the research issues as defined within the problem statement. 19 Research proposal 7. 1 Theoretical paradigmFew topics of the commercial theory have inspired as well as divided the marketing academia as the four Ps Marketing Mix moldwork (Constantinides, 2006407). Since Jerome McCarthy (1964) reduced Neil Borden? s (1964) twelve identified controllable marketing elements to four, product, price, place and promotion, practitioners and academics promptly embraced the mix paradigm t hat soon became the dominant and indispensable element of marketing theory and operational marketing management (Gronroos, 199413).The considerable acceptance of the mix among marketers is due to their profound exposure to this concept, since most previous marketing manuals identify the four Ps as the controllable parameters likely to influence the consumer buying process and decisions (Kotler, 2003). However, despite the background and status of the marketing mix as a major theoretical and practical parameter of contemporary marketing, several academics have at times expressed doubts and objections as to the value and the future of the mix, proposing alternatives that range from minor modifications to total rejection.It is often evident in both the academic literature and marketing textbooks that the mix is deemed by many researchers and writers as little to address specific marketing statuss like the marketing of services, the management of relationships or the marketing of i ndustrial products (Constantinides, 2006409). Early references identifying differences between tangibles and intangibles underlying the distinctive character of services marketing are found in the works of Branton (1969), Wilson (1972).The special character of services were emphasised by Blois (1974), Bessom and Jackson (1975) and Shostack (1977). Several alternative methodologies and marketing conceptual frameworks for services marketing have been proposed ever since. A key factor distinguishing the services marketing from marketing physical products is the human element. Booms and Bitner (1981) included people, physical evidence as an important environmental factor influencing the quality packaging and process of service delivery as additional marketing mix elements in services marketing. 20 Research proposalSubsequently various researchers have added a variety of proposed elements and some changed existing elements. Currently there are additions of up to eleven elements in the ma rketing mix. Based on the recent contributions of researchers such as Fryar (1991) who introduced positioning, English (2000) who added personal relationship, Grove, Fisk and John (2000) who claim that performance should be included and Beckwith (2001) who indicated that packaging is lacking, these four elements are included in the internal marketing mix elements as theoretical foundation for this study.The creation of a brand implies communicating a certain brand image in such a way that all the target groups of an organisation link its brand with a set of associations (Del Rio et al, 2001410 Low and Lamb, 2000350). Brand associations are important to organisations and customers. An organisation uses brand associations to differentiate, position and extend brands, to create positive attitudes towards a brand and to suggest attributes or benefits of purchasing or using a specific brand. Customers use brand associations to help process, organise and retrieve information in memory, nd to assist them in making purchasing decisions (Aaker, 1991110). Brand associations play a central role in brand strategy development. In particular, Aaker (199225) suggests that brand associations should be organised into groups that have meaning. This meaning should define the brand? s positioning its point of reference with respect to the competition. Thus, a well positioned brand will represent an attractive set of strong associations (De Chernatony and McDonald, 2003254 Hankinson, 200525). The second category of brand image is brand awareness.Brand awareness consists of brand recognition and brand recall performance. Brand recognition relates to customers? ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand when devoted the brand as a cue. In other words, customers are able to distinguish the brand as having been previously seen or heard. Brand recall relates to customers? ability to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the categor y or a purchase or usage situation as a cue. In other words, customers are able to correctly generate the brand from memory when receiving a relevant cue (Keller, 2003a67).Brand awareness is critical for services organisations, as customers have to actively search the brand and be able to recall it from memory when appropriate. 21 Research proposal Together with the eleven internal marketing mix elements, brand image, confused down into brand associations and brand awareness form the theoretical paradigm on which this study is based. 7. 2 Research constructs Research constructs are described as unobservable abstract concepts that are measured indirectly by a group of related variables.Variables are described as observable measurable elements of an object and are measured directly (Hair, Bush and Ortinau, 2009233). In practice, the term variable is used as a synonym for constructs or the property being studied and in this context, a variable is a symbol to which numerals or values are assigned (Cooper and Schindler, 200144). Therefore, the variables that will be measured in this study are the eleven internal marketing elements, product, price, promotion, place, people, processes, physical evidence, positioning, personal relationships, packaging and performance.These elements are the independent variables or constructs, since they calculate or explain the outcome variable of interest (Hair et al, 2009234). Brand image consists of the two classifications, namely brand associations and brand awareness. Brand associations as described by the literature can be measured in terms of brand attributes, perceived quality and brand attitude, while brand awareness can be measured as recognition of the brand and recall of the brand (Aaker, 199610 Keller, 199845).The brand attributes, perceived quality, brand attitude, brand recognition and brand recall are the dependent variables or constructs as they are the variables the researcher is seeking to explain (Hair et al, 20 09234). Brand identity is the intervening variable as it is the factor which theoretically affects the observed phenomenon but cannot be seen, measured, or manipulated its effect must be inferred from the effects of the independent and dependent variables on the observed phenomenon (Cooper and Schindler, 200147). 22 Research proposal 7. 3 Relationship between variablesAs indicated in the formulated hypotheses, this study aims to indicate that there is a relationship between the variables that are being tested. The relationship can either be positive or forbid. A positive relationship between two variables indicates that the two variables increase or decrease together, comparing to a negative relationship that suggests that as one variable increases, the other one decreases, or vice versa (Hair et al , 2009234). Should there be no relationship between the eleven internal marketing elements and the brand image of selected car rental companies in South Africa, the null hypothesis will be relevant.If the null hypothesis is accepted, it concludes that the variables are not related in a meaningful way (Hair et al, 2009235). If, on the other hand, the null hypothesis is rejected, the alternative hypothesis indicates that the two variables are related in some way that may prove useful for the car rental companies. 8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A well-designed research plan forms the basis of the entire research process (Cooper and Schindler, 20016). Research can be described as a practical activity that intends to find out things in a imperious way.It is a process of designing, gathering, analysing and reporting information to uncover opportunities and reduce the risks of decision-making (Coldwell and Herbst, 200410). Previously gathered information which was not gathered for this study, but that was gathered for another purpose is called secondary data (Churchill and Brown, 2007146). Secondary data, including books, academic accredited research journals, websites, disser tations, theses, internal company information and other written and verbal communications will be used to develop the theoretical background of the study.Primary data, which is data initiated by the researcher for the purpose of the proposed study, is extracted in the form of perceptions of the archetype population that will be investigated (Churchill and Brown, 2007146). 23 Research proposal Cooper and Schindler (200114) state that the term empirical? points to the requirement for the researcher to test subjective beliefs against objective reality and have findings open to unless scrutiny and testing. In this study, empirical research is used to test the objectives stated previously in this chapter. . 1 Research design The objectives of the study form an full part of the research design, since objectives ensure that information will be collected from appropriate sources by using the correct data gathering techniques. They also influence the sampling methodological analysis, the schedule and cost of the research project (Zikmund, 200358). According to Mouton (200137), the research method that is partly derived from the methodological paradigm (qualitative or decimal) fits the research objectives.In quantitative research, the methods are well planned, structured and formal because the findings play an important role in decision-making (Boyce, 200237). Quantitative research makes use of structured close-ended questions that have predetermined solution possibilities in questionnaires or surveys and are distributed to a vast number of respondents (Hair et al, 2006171). In this study a quantitative process will be used to seek data that can be expressed in numbers and statistically analysed. 8. 2 Research format The research format of the study is described as descriptive research.According to Cooper and Schindler (2001136) descriptive research attempts to answer questions such as who, what, where, when or how much. Data collected through descriptive research can provide valuable information about the study units along relevant characteristics and also about associations among those characteristics (Aaker, Kumar and Day, 200173 Parasuraman, Grewal and Krishnan, 200472). As recommended by Solomon, Marshall and Stuart (2006113), this study will include a descriptive survey design to gather the necessary data from a large sample size. 24 Research proposalThe descriptive format is broken down in two types, longitudinal and cross-sectional. Longitudinal designs rely on panel data in which the same variables are measured over time. cross-section(a) designs rely on a sample of elements from the population of interest that are measured at a single point in time (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2002122). As the objectives of this study are to describe a current situation, a cross-sectional format is appropriate. 8. 3 Population and sample The population for this study will include employees and customers of selected car rental companies in South Africa. There are 7 car rental companies, being Avis, Tempest, Budget Car Rental, First Car Rental, Europcar, Hertz and argus Car Rental. Avis, Budget and Europcar will be the sample drawn from the population, as these three are the largest and world leading car rental companies in South Africa. All three companies have more than 75 branches and fleets in excess of 8500, compared to the other car rental companies with less than 50 branches and fleets smaller than 6000. Since Avis, Budget and Europcar have a market share of more than 80% it is believed that they will be a fair representation of the car rental industry in South Africa.Probability sampling will be used for selecting the sample frame. Probability samples are distinguished by the fact that each sampling unit has a known, non-zero risk of being included in the sample (Hair et al, 2006330). The two independent sample frames that will be used in the study include Sample frame 1 The sampling units in this frame include all employe es of the Avis, Budget and Europcar groups stationed at major airports in South Africa. These airports include OR Tambo, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, expression Elizabeth, eastbound London, George, Nelspruit and Lanseria.There will be 800 employees targeted within this sample selected by the management of the three car rental groups. 25 Research proposal Sample frame 2 The sampling units in this frame include customers who rented cars during a period of three months from October to December 2009 of the Avis, Budget and Europcar groups stationed at OR Tambo, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, East London, George, Nelspruit and Lanseria airports. There will be 4000 clients targeted within this sample, selected by the management of the three car rental groups.It is important to consider both two independent sample frames, as the employees in sample frame one will measure the internal marketing aspects of the study. The customers of sample frame two will aid in measu ring the brand image of the selected car rental groups. 8. 4 Data collection instruments, sources and procedures The data collection of this study will be conducted by core of a survey. According to Rubin, Rubin and Piele (2000193) surveys allow the researcher to observe and gather evidence. Questionnaires will be designed for each of the sample frames.Questionnaires will include a demographic section to classify respondents, being customers or employees. In the second section of both questionnaires the eleven internal marketing mix elements will be tested based on information from the literature. The third section of both questionnaires will focus on brand associations, specifically brand attributes, perceived quality and brand attitude, as well as brand awareness, namely recognition of the brand and brand recall as described in the theory of the relevant chapter.A quintet point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree? to strongly agree? , will be used for all questions with in both questionnaires. The Likert scale is a highly used rating scale that requires respondents to indicate a degree of agreement or disagreement with each of a series of statements about the objects (Cooper and Schindler, 2001234). The survey, comprising of an online questionnaire will be administered through email and upon completion will be sent directly to the Statistical Consultation Service of the University of Johannesburg.An online survey format will allow for a wide reach that will be relatively inexpensive and will be faster than offline methods. Furthermore, there will be no interaction between the researcher and the respondents, therefore interviewer error and bias will be 26 Research proposal diminished (Hair et al, 2006230). Confidentiality and anonymously of respondents will also be guaranteed. A pre-test will be conducted to detect possible weaknesses in the questionnaire.An important purpose of the pre-test is to discover the respondents? reactions to questions and it also helps to discover repetitiveness or redundancy (Cooper and Schindler, 2001236). 8. 5 Data outline Statistical procedures to test the research hypotheses include descriptive statistics, factor analyses, analyses of variance and measures of association. Internal marketing and brand image involve numerous factors. Factor analysis will be used to compare and find correlations between these factors.The statistical method for testing the null hypothesis that the means of several populations are equal is analysis of variance (ANOVA) (Cooper and Schindler, 2001509). ANOVA will be used to determine if internal marketing and brand image are related. The pre-test of the questionnaire will be conducted amongst five experts in the industry to ensure reliable data. Cronbach-Alpha will be used to measure the reliability of the pilot. All calculations will be done by means of SPSS. Analyses will be conducted by the Statistical Consultation Service of the University of Johannesburg. 9. DE LIMITATION OF THE STUDYThis study will focus on the three largest car rental companies in South Africa and although it is believed that they will be representative of the car rental industry, it expertness not be the case, as smaller car rental companies might have different or no internal marketing focuses and therefore the results and recommendations may not be generalised to a wider context. The dimensions of brand associations and brand awareness will only be investigated amongst car rental companies in South Africa, which is a service industry. If the approach is extended to other services industries or even products the result might differ. 7 Research proposal Furthermore, no previous research has been conducted on the eleven internal marketing mix elements and brand image of the car rental industry in South Africa. Therefore, this study may lack in-depth information related to the car rental industry. 10. CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY The eleven internal marketing mix elements a re still a new concept to many South Africans. No previous studies could be found that have been conducted on the influence of the eleven internal marketing mix elements on brand image of car rental companies in South Africa.This study aims to contribute to the physical structure of knowledge in three ways. Firstly, it describes the complexity of the car rental industry in South Africa. This is followed by a description of the current understanding and moot amongst researchers of the relevance of the eleven marketing mix elements, specifically their influence on brand image of an organisation. Thirdly, the study aims to provide guidelines to car rental companies in South Africa on how to improve internal marketing programmes which will enable them to improve their brand image.Brand image is important to any organisation, as a good and well recognised brand will lead to higher profitability of the organisation. 11. CLARIFICATION OF TERMS AND DEFINITIONS In the previous sections, ce rtain terms and definitions were used. However, for the sake of uniformity, these terms and definitions have to be clarified (Mouton, 200136). The services marketing literature contain many definitions of services, but there are some common features in all of these definitions. The first commonality is that services deal with something that is intangible.Services refer to efforts, deeds or processes consisting of activities or a series of activities performed by the service provider, quite often in close cooperation and interaction with the customer, aimed at creating customer satisfaction (Kasper et al, 200657). Papasolomou and Vrontis (200637) postulate that service can be 28 Research proposal described as essentially intangible, not resulting in the ownership of anything and is a form of product that consists of activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale.Internal marketing is defined as a planned effort using a marketing-like approach directed at motivating employees , for implementing and integrating organisational strategies towards customer orientation (Ahmed and Rafiq, 200211). Branding is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of these that identifies the seller of a product or service and seeks to differentiate them from those of competitors (Kotler and Keller, 2006274 Papasolomou and Vrontis, 200637). Brand identity is defined as a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain.These associations represent what the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers from the organisation members (Aaker, 199668). Brand image as identified by Keller (200370) is perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in a customer? s memory. Keller (199871) defined brand associations as informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory that contains the meaning of the brand for consumers. Brand awareness refers to the strength of a brand? s presence in the customer? s mind (Aaker, 199610). 12. DIVISION OF THE STUDYThe current chapter provides an substructure to the study, including the problem statement, objectives and research methodology. The rest of this study is divided into the following chapters 29 Research proposal Chapter 2 describes the complexities and current state of the car rental industry in South Africa. An overview of the three companies, Avis, Budget and Europcar, which are participating in this study, is provided. Chapter 3 focuses on internal marketing. The history of the elements of the internal marketing mix is discussed, as well as the development of the traditional four Ps up to the eleven currently in existence is described.The culture of organisations and the influence of internal marketing are furthermore explained. Chapter 3 discusses brand identity, brand image and the dimensions thereof. The importance of building a successful brand is also described. Chapter 4 outlines the research methodology with detailed refere nce to the research design, population, sample, measuring instrument, and the proposed statistical analysis. Chapter 5 records the analysis of the empirical research. Chapter 6 summarises the study. Recommendations concerning the outcome of the study are discussed and suggestions for further research are presented. 3. TIME FRAME AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS The researcher? s aim for completion of the study is October 2010. However, due to the change of direction taken in the research, the aim might have to be postponed to April 2011. The possibility of obtaining a bursary for the empirical part of the study was explored, but since the researcher is a part-time student, she does not qualify for most bursaries. If no bursary can be obtained, the researcher will complete most of the empirical work herself and where required, make use of her own available funds. 30 References 14. LIST OF REFERENCESAaker, D. A. (1991). Managing Brand Equity Capatilising on the Value of a Brand Name. New York The free people Press. Aaker, D. A. (1992). The Management of Brand Equity. New York The Free Press. Aaker, D. A. (1996). Building Strong Brands. New York The Free Press. Aaker, D. A. , Kumar, V. & Day, G. S. (2001). Marketing Research. 7th edition. New York John Wiley & Sons. Ahmed, P. K. , & Rafiq, M. (2002). Internal Marketing Tools and Concepts for Customerfocused Management. Oxford Butterworth Heinemann. Aurand, T. W. , Gorchels, L. & Bishop, T. R. (2005). Human resource management? role in internal branding an opportunity for cross-functional brand message synergy. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 14(3)165. available from Emerald http//www. emeraldlibrary. com/Insight/viewContentItem. do. (Accessed 29 July 2009). Avis (2009). Interview with Chief Executive Officer, Wayne Duvenhage, held on 17 September 2009. Balmer, J. M. T. (1998). Corporate branding and connoisseurhship. Journal of General Management, 21(1) 24-46. useable from Emerald http//www. emerald- librar y. com/Insight/viewContentItem. do. (Accessed 26 September 2009). Beckwith, H. (2001). The Invisible Touch the Four Keys of Modern Marketing.New York Texure Publishing. Bessom, R. M. & Jackson, D. W. (1975). Service Retailing A Strategic Marketing Approach. Journal of Retailing, Summer84. 31 References Blois, K. J. (1974). The Marketing of Services an Approach. European Journal of Marketing, 8(2)137-145. Booms, B. H. & Bitner, M. J. (1981). Marketing Strategies and Organisation Structures for Service Firms. Marketing of Services. Donnelly, J. H. & George, W. R. Chicago American Marketing railroad tie47-51. Borden, N. H. (1964). The concept of the Marketing Mix. Journal of Advertising Research, June2-7. Boyce, J. (2002). Market research in practice.Australia McGraw-Hill. Branton, N. (1969). The Marketing of Services. Marketing World, 1(2). Churchill, Jr. , G. A. & Iacobucci, D. (2002). Marketing Research Methodological Foundations. 8th edition. arm Worth Harcourt College Publisher s. Churchill, Jr. , G. A. & Brown, T. J. (2007). Basic Marketing Research. 6th edition. Ohio South-Western. Coldwell, D. & Herbst, F. (2004). Business research. South Africa Juta. Constantinides, E. (2006). The Marketing Mix Revisited Towards the 21st Century Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 22407-438. Available from Emerald http//www. emerald-library. om/Insight/viewContentItem. do. (Accessed 29 July 2009). Cooper, D. R. & Schindler, P. S. (2001). Business Research Methods. 7th edition. Boston McGraw-Hill Irwin. De Chernatony, L. & McDonald, M. (2003). Creating Powerful Brands in Consumer, Service and Industrial Markets. 3rd edition. Oxford Butterworth Heinemann. Del Rio, A. B. , Vazquez, R. & Iglesias, V. (2001). The influences of brand associations on consumer response. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(5)410-425. Available from Emerald http//www. emerald-library. com/Insight/viewContentItem. do. (Accessed 29 July 2009). 32 References Donaldson, B. & O? Toole, T. (2002 ).Strategic Market Relationships From Strategy to Implementation. West Sussex, England John Wiley. English, J. (2000). The four Ps of marketing are dead. Marketing Health Services, 20(2)2023. Fryar, C. R. (1991) What? s Different About Services Marketing? The Journal of Marketing Services, 5(4)53-58. Gounaris, S. (2008). Antecedents of internal marketing practice some preliminary empirical evidence. Industrial Journal of Service Industry Management, 19(3)400-434. Available from Emerald http//www. emerald-library. com/Insight/viewContentItem. do. (Accessed 29 July 2009). Gronroos, C. (1994). From marketing mix to relationship marketing.Management Decisions, 32(2)1-21. Available from Emerald http//www. emerald- library. com/Insight/viewContentItem. do. (Accessed 22 August 2006). Gronroos, C. (2000). Service Management and Marketing A Customer Relationship Management Approach. Chichester John Wiley & Sons. Grove, S. J. , Fisk, R. P. & John, J. (2000). Service as Theater, Guidelines and Implications. Handbook Services Marketing and Management. Sage Publications. Hair, J. F, Bush, R. P. & Ortinau, D. J. (2006). Marketing Research Within a changing Environment. 3rd edition. New York McGraw-Hill. Hair, J. F, Bush, R. P. & Ortinau, D. J. (2009).Marketing Research In a Digital Information Environment. 4th edition. New York McGraw-