Mercedes Zuniga Essays (781 words) - Compton Police Department

Mercedes Zuniga Professor Juarez English 1B February 28, 2017 Introduction Statement 1) What is your long-term goal in attending The Compton Center? Transfer, earn an AA/AS, work/skill progress? Please explain. My long-term goal in attending the El Camino Compton Center is to transfer to Cal State University of Dominguez Hills majoring in Liberal Studies. The Compton Center is a stepping stone to my career goal which is to become an elementary school teacher. 2) Why did you choose to attend The Compton Center? I choose to attend The Compton Center because I live here in Compton. It is most convenient to me since it is a six-minute drive from home. 3) Are you a first-generation student? Meaning, neither of your parent(s) or guardians graduated from college with a bachelor's degree. I am a first-generation student in attending college. 4) When you have questions or concerns about college and/or being a student, who do you talk to about such concerns? When I have questions or concerns about college I usually go to the welcoming center staff or just staff in general. Even if they cannot answer my questions, they help guide me to the people who can. 5) Are you, or have you, participated in any of the student-success focused programs here on campus? If so, which ones? What was your experience like? I participate in three student-success focused programs on campus: FASFA, BOG Fee Waiver and EOPS . I f it wasn't for the programs I wouldn't be able to attend, much less afford college . 6) What is your current housing situation? Live at home? Live on your own? With family? Roommates? Other? Please explain. I currently live at my grandparents' house. I was raised in this household since age five and now instead of my grandmother caring for me, I take care of her. 7) Are you currently working? If so, where? How many days/hours do you work? Are you looking for work? How will you balance work and school? I am currently looking for work but before getting hired by an employer I need to improve on my time management. It is definitely a skill I lack on since last minute things do arise in my household. Setting up a schedule can help me when balancing work, life, and school. 8) Other than English, do you speak and write in another language? If not, is there a language you do wish to learn? Please explain. Other than English, I do speak Spanish since it is the language my grandmother is most proficient in, and I also know the beginnings of ASL (American Sign Language). I wish to learn how to write in Spanish correctly with all accents needed in its writings and I wish to learn more Sign Language to teach to my future students. 9) Do you have a computer and/or printer at home? Do you have internet access at home? If you have neither of these, will you be using the campus resources? Please explain. I have a computer, printer and internet access at home but I will still be using the campus' Student Success Center when needed or of my materials at home malfunction. The Student Success Center also has its library and tutoring that can be extremely beneficial to me. 10) In thinking about who you are as a student and all your various responsibilities, strengths, and weaknesses; what issues/concerns/hurdles are you most "worried" that might interfere with you "passing" the class? (caretaker, soul provider, procrastinator, etc) Concerns such as taking my grandmother to doctor's appointments, driving and/or picking up my niece from school, and procrastinating because of my lack in time management are issues that led me to thinking I might be slowed down in achieving that "A" grade. 11) Besides passing the class (with an "A", "B", "C") what will success look like for you in this class? What do you plan, or want, to accomplish? I am used to writing my own narratives/stories so in this class I want to accomplish a better sense of understanding readings by going in more detail. In previous classes I didn't do much research based assignments so I don't know how to interpret some things

President Obamas Foreign Policy

President Obamas Foreign Policy Obama stirred different opinions during his candidacy and after becoming the president. President Obama’s foreign policy went through various transformations, from an initial assurance of changes to situations of increasing optimism to practical realism.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on President Obama’s Foreign Policy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More During his campaign, candidate Obama had made a promise that change would occur in America’s foreign policy and restore the moral basis of how America interacts with the rest of the world. One of his promises with regard to foreign policy was to create better relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. Thus, Obama wanted to establish a foreign policy to change how the U.S. was perceived by the Muslim world and improve the relations. The Bush administration had tried to deal with this issue without success. This was a period when the U.S. had a p reference for war rather than diplomacy and peace when dealing with anti-Americanism in the Muslim world (Rajaee Miller, 2012). There are various American foreign policy (AFP) logics that were evident in Obama’s behaviour during his candidacy and after clinching the presidency. One of the logics was how the U.S. views the rest of the world with regard to its national interests. Logic also relied on ethical considerations and morality, strategies in foreign policies, and how power is considered depending on its nature and understanding. One of the logics that describe President Obama’s administration is liberalism. President Obama wanted to initiate change in America’s foreign policy to seek expansion of liberty around the world after taking office. This was evident from Obama’s intention to ensure that the American foreign policy considered international law during its application. For Obama, it is a moral duty for the U.S. to ensure that they promote li berty around the world (Rajaee Miller, 2012). Free trade is an important aspect under liberalism. Liberalism is within the U.S. national interest for it to exist within a free trade world economy. It can be seen that the U.S. depends on other countries for its imports. Thus, the U.S. will only consider other countries where it is assured of cheap labour. Under liberalism, the U.S. considers political and civil rights as important.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These important factors can facilitate peaceful co-existence within the world. In pre-2008, the U.S. had a preference towards Israel than Palestine. Obama was aware of the fact that Palestine had been ignored. Thus, in line with ensuring liberty, President Obama saw the need to assist Palestine as well (Rajaee Miller, 2012). He stated that, â€Å"†¦ humiliation Palestine faces is intolerable.â⠂¬  For him, the political rights of Palestine are important and should be considered within the U.S. foreign policy. President Obama maintained a tough stance on Israel during his first year in office. His government also wanted Israel to withdraw from West Bank and Gaza. President Obama’s first decision after taking office involved visiting the Muslim countries. This was done to assure them that the U.S. was not at war with Islam or the Arab world. This was an important strategy for the U.S. to begin applying its foreign policy. Although both Obama and Bush tried to solve the issues that existed in the Middle East, President Obama used a new strategy that was seen as advantageous in comparison to the policy applied during the Bush administration. President Obama was successful initially, but his initiatives failed and were abandoned in the long run (Rajaee Miller, 2012). President Obama enjoyed support from Muslims during his initial years in office, but views about his p olicies began to change during his third year in office because some of the promises made that affected Muslim countries had not been delivered. One issue that led to the fading trust in Obama’s administration is that he had failed to establish peace between Palestinians and Israelis. The American foreign policy during Obama’s first term was also characterized by liberal internationalism. This was based on the realization that Obama’s administration could not work alone without the assistance of other states in the world. One such problem was the al-Qaeda, which has an international impact. With the growing threats of terrorism, it became important for the U.S. to work together with other countries to solve this problem. This logic considered military power as unnecessary. Thus, Obama’s administration intended to withdraw the U.S. troops from Iraq.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on President Obama’s Foreign Policy specifical ly for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More President Obama’s foreign policies were regarded as effective, although they did not result in significant changes on how the Muslim world viewed the U.S. Thus, his policies only avoided an increase in negative feelings that the Muslim world would have towards the U.S. A survey carried out between 2009 and 2010 showed that Muslims viewed Israel as the biggest threat to Arabs, followed by the United States. Thus, solving the issues with Muslims would be a difficult task for Obama. Isolationism was also among the logics evident in the American foreign policy. This logic was based on the belief that the U.S. society would be negatively affected if it took part in foreign matters. President Obama’s administration had begun to reduce its influence in Middle Eastern states. This was attributed to the de-Americanization of the Middle East. Thus, isolationism was seen as a preference for the larger American citiz enry. A few politicians also share this belief. Thus, during Obama’s presidency he has tried to meet the wishes of the public with regard to isolationism. The U.S. began to reduce its influence within the Middle East following the withdrawal of the military in Iraq and reduction of troops in Afghanistan. In many cases, the presence of its security forces was only to ensure national security to curb the threat of terrorism. Isolationism had also been seen in Obama’s promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. Hegemony was also evident, where the U.S. maintained close ties with Israel for the benefit of its national interests. This can be seen in President Obama’s statement that, â€Å"Those who threaten Israel threaten us.† Initially, Obama wanted to establish a peaceful co-existence between Israel and Palestine, but the foreign policy had to go through changes to ensure its hegemony. For instance, the U.S. made an agreement to provide aid to Israel at the cost of $30 billion. In effect, this would ensure that Israel had a military advantage (Rajaee Miller, 2012). Thus, the policy is characterized by the tendency to have extensive power when it comes to matters that are occurring abroad.Advertising Looking for essay on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This can be seen in the case of Israel whereby the U.S. will only interact with other Arab countries if Hamas retains its power. Thus, the US has influence on many countries abroad, a situation that has existed for a long time. Obama’s administration can be compared to Bush’s administration as far as hegemony is concerned. Hegemony is also seen in America’s over reliance on international affairs. Obama’s foreign policies went ahead to establish interest of the U.S. abroad. These were matters ranging from politics to economic issues. Terrorism and war on Iraq were international matters that the U.S. considered important and in need of a solution. The U.S. is also guided by altruistic policies. Thus, many of its policies are based on the idea that they are intended to establish world peace and security. For instance, the war on terrorism is seen as a decision that will be for the benefit of all countries within the international system. There exists a diffe rence in behaviour and logic between pre-2008 and post-2008 Obama, although the difference is minimal because Obama made only a few changes. The opinion that the U.S. shared about the Muslim world was still the same. President Obama became popular within the Muslim worked because of his promises to establish a different foreign policy in comparison to what was applied by his predecessor. It is for this reason that the Arabs were seen to have the highest confidence in Obama in early 2009, just after his election. This confidence began to fade in the preceding years as Arabs realized that many of the changes promised by the President were not occurring. Candidate Obama was considered as a leader who would bring change in the U.S. He was regarded as a unifying force, reaching both to America’s foreign enemies and to opponents at home. His policies were seen as a correction to all issues that arose during the Bush administration. Obama was also able to awaken political responsibi lity in America. Thus, he had a greater influence on international matters based on diplomacy after taking office in comparison to the pre-2008 period. Realism is also logic that can be seen in the U.S. foreign policy. Realism is whereby the state seeks to retain a powerful role within world affairs. In the case of the U.S., Obama’s administration established policies to ensure it had significant influence within the Middle East. This was done through its ally, Israel, to facilitate security within the region. States also use international bodies as instruments to stamp their authority. In the case of the U.S., President Obama intended to use the United Nations (U.N.) in defending Israel (Rajaee Miller, 2012). Realism as logic explains the U.S. foreign policy behaviour on why it tries to prevent the rise of other powerful states. The U.S. has gone through trouble to protect Israel, which is strategically located in the Middle East. Being a powerful country, the U.S. still wa nts to increase its strength and prevent the rise of other powerful states within the Middle East. Israel is located in a region that ensures the U.S. controls the various states in the Middle East. Thus, the best strategy for the U.S. is to attract more allies and resources. It is for this reason that Obama’s administration is at the forefront in establishing diplomatic ties with the U.S. enemies abroad. This is important in attracting more allies. In conclusion, the U.S. foreign policy is characterized by various differences when the Obama administration and the Bush administration are considered. In Obama’s case, his initial days in office were characterized by improved international relations, especially in the Middle East. This was the case for some time, until Arabs became dissatisfied that President Obama did not fulfil his promises. References Rajaee, B. M., Miller, M. J. (2012). National security under the Obama administration. 1st ed. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

An Analysis of Huntington’s disease

An Analysis of Huntington’s disease The disease that I have chosen for my research essay is most commonly known as ‘Huntington’s Disease or the scientific name for it which is ‘Huntingtons chorea’. Huntington’s disease is a Neurodegenerative disease that progresses over time, causing the death of brain cells usually in Your 30’s to 40’s. Huntington’s disease is hereditary and dominant, so if one parent has Huntington’s disease may inherit it. Huntington’s disease is named after George Huntington, who discovered it in East Hampton, Long Island in 1872. In those days, people that had Huntington’s disease were often thought of As devils due to the lack of understanding of the disease. In 1993, a group of investigators Discovered the gene that revealed the causes of Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s disease can start to show symptoms at any age, but usually later in life. It varies Greatly from person to person. Usually, the symptoms start out as very subtle changes, such as Changes in coordination, fidgety movements, trouble thinking through problems, and depression/irritability. It then progresses to move obvious and intense symptoms over time, only. To result in the inability to walk and speak, and intense fidgety movements People who are at most risk for this disease are people who have a parent or parents with Huntington’s disease. An offspring of an affected parent has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. There is no way to prevent Huntington’s when you inherit it, so only the potential parents can avoid passing it on to their future children. This can be done by doing genetic testing prior to conceiving, or doing vitro fertilization. Someone is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease is mainly diagnosed through basic medical questions and questions about your family history, and tests which will show your motor skills, like reflexes, muscle strength, muscle tone, and coordination. A neurologist will also test your sense of touch, hearing, mental status, memory, mental agility, and language function as so on. Huntington’s disease is mainly treated by simply controlling the symptoms using medications, speech or language therapy, nutritional support, exercise, and physical therapy. Using blood samples, genetic testing, and prenatal testing are technological tests involved with diagnosing Huntington’s. These are usually the best methods of discovering the disease.

Fashion Function & Aesthetic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Fashion Function & Aesthetic - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Function & Aesthetic" talks about Innovative Materials and Digital Technologies for Fashion Applications. The idea of fashion originated from people seeking to define personality by their choice of clothes. This however changes as the advancement in technology since our way of life is directly impacted. The influence of technology in our lives, though manifest in various aspects, seems to be more distinct on fashion trends. With the arrival of digital technology came new ways of making clothes, new style of clothing and basically new inspiration for the fashion industry. An obvious observation is that fashion and technology have had a relationship dating back since times in history. Each technological evolution brings with it influence in the fashion industry and it has not been any different with the digital technology. A lot of digital influences are being experienced in the fashion industry right from inspiration, production, trend setting, down to the consumer experience. The fashion industry continues to experience transformation in fabrication, designing and promotion in ways beyond remarkable. Thanks to digital technology, sewable electronic designers are making a garment with incredible abilities and fashion promotion and branding have been all redefined through social media networks. Digital technology has been adopted by leading fashion houses in the world to promote brands and enhance the consumers' shopping experience. Certain websites have launched applications.

The Role of the Environment Agency in the Improvement of UK Essay

The Role of the Environment Agency in the Improvement of UK Air-Quality - Essay Example Its mission, as outlined in its Corporate Plan 2011-2015, is to protect and improve the environment and make it a better place for people and wildlife. Specific goals include: 1. to reduce the risks to people and properties from flooding; 2. ensure adequate supply of water; 3. protect air, land and water quality and apply environmental standards within which industry can operate; 4. reduce climate change; and, 5. help people and wildlife to adapt to its consequences (EA, 2011, p.2). As cited in the above mission and goals, one of the tasks of the Environment Agency is to ensure air quality in the country. This is the main focus of this research. This paper will examine whether the Environment Agency is effective in achieving its objectives in terms of the air quality standards in the United Kingdom. The Role of the Environment Agency According to Hopwood, Unerman and Fries (2010, p.22), the Environment Agency is one body that can exert pressure on central government on issues of sust ainability. This is also evident in the breadth of jurisdiction as well as the strength of authority given to the agency in addressing environmental issues. ... According to Wolf (2010, p.28), these tasks include: a) the bureaucratic task of processing paperwork relating to the issue of licences/permits to pollute and notices to take action regarding pollution problem identified by the regulator; and, b) policing compliance with the relevant licences/permits, notices and other regulatory control, which involves the regulator in monitoring and enforcement roles. These requirements were satisfied with the creation of the Environment Agency, tasked to oversee the protection of the environment as a whole and unified the regulatory powers that cover the air, land, and water. Based on the above factors, one can assume that the agency has the power to make meaningful changes in areas within its scope. Air Quality Objectives In order to evaluate the performance of the Environment Agency specific to air pollution, it is important to outline the objectives it has been working to achieve in this area. These objectives are contained in the larger Air Qu ality Strategy, mandated by The Environment Act of the 1995, which created the Environment agency. The strategy was finally drafted and adopted in 1997 and it contained standards, objectives and measures for improving ambient air quality (DEFRA, 2007, p.9). The strategy has undergone several modifications such as those introduced in 2003, which tightened several of its objectives and added newer ones. The most updated was the strategy released in 2007, which outlined the following objectives: the government will ensure that all citizens have access to outdoor air without significant risk to their health; the standards for setting objectives are set purely with regard to scientific and medical evidence

Reshaping Our Conception of the Amateur Astronomer Essay -- Explorator

Reshaping Our Conception of the Amateur Astronomer Until recently, if you had asked me to describe what I would have envisioned an astronomer to look like, I probably would have given you two alternate pictures; the first would be the academic or professional astronomer-aided by grants, funding agencies, university budgets, and access to the latest technology in the field. The other astronomer, then, would be the "amateur" astronomer: the wide-eyed observer whose sole passion in life is to design, build, and use telescopes of their own creation. While I am certain that both of these stereotypes exist, I was surprised to discover that there is indeed a third type of astronomer, namely the "serious amateur." The serious amateur falls somewhere in between my two previous categories; while the professional/academic astronomer would classify an amateur as "anyone who has not earned a graduate degree in astronomy...," the serious amateur would more likely view his or her non-professional status as a result of "...not earn(ing) his or her l iving from watching the skies." [1] Nonetheless, with the aid of recent developments in astronomical technology, a serious amateur astronomer now has the ability to aid professional astronomers by observing unrecorded (or underrecorded) stellar objects. Indeed, the present comet Hale-Bopp was simultaneously discovered by both a professional and a serious amateur astronomer alike. Therefore, in this article I would like to outline some of the new technological advances and new relations between serious amateurs and professional astronomers, give some examples of the "new" astronomer, and then analyze the changing role of the astronomer--including both the roles of the professional and of the se... ...ercury, p. 38. 5. Koch, Bernd. "Amateurs and the CCD Revolution." The Mercury, p. 40. 6. Fountain, Henry. "Backyard Astronomers Enlist as Foot Soldiers of Astrophysics." The New York Times, 3/18/97, C4. Bibliography:       http://www.halebopp.com    Jevons, F. R., Science Observed. London: George Allen & Unwin Limited, 1973.    Latour, Bruno. Science in Action. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987.    Wilcox, Ken. "The Golden Age of Amateur Astronomy." The Mercury, volume 25, #1, Jan/Feb 1996. pp.32-35.    Bracher, Katherine. "Amateur Astronomy in America." The Mercury, volume 25, #4, Jul/Aug 1996. pp.7, 25-27.    Fountain, Henry. "Backyard Astronomers Enlist as Foot Soldiers of Astrophysics." The New York Times Tuesday, March 18, 1997 C4.    Koch, Bernd. "Amateurs and the CCD Revolution."Sky and Telescope, January 1997. pp. 38-42.

Customer feedback Essay

The purpose of this report is help Dave Smith, the General Manager of the Landmark Hotel Auckland to improve the hotel’s current customer satisfaction measurement scheme by comparing a range of survey methods and recommends the most appropriate survey programme for the hotel. The report is broken down to two sections. The first section defines customer satisfaction and articulates the importance of measuring customer satisfaction. Section one also compares the functions of CSQs and TripAdvisor.com and introduces the content analysis method to the Landmark Hotel. The second part of the report defines measures of central tendency and dispersion and presents calculations from the guest survey spreadsheet provided. Based on summary table 1.1, the report briefly describes what the calculations mean to the hotel and produced a short recommendation. The report is produced with several limitations, which need to be addressed and overcome for future research. The recommendation made to Landmark Hotel under the first part, regarding the most appropriate research method was selected based on one of only two options. Further, since there is no standard ways to perform content analysis, the report simply presented what appeared to be the most logical procedure. Finally, the recommendation regarding internal marketing was much generalised due to word limits. PART A Defining Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction has been a topic of great importance in business practices. There is an overwhelming amount of outcome definitions characterising customer satisfaction, many of which have not yet been empirically tested. According to Yi (1993), some academics and practitioners define customer satisfaction from an outcome-based approach. Alternatively, other perceives and defines customer satisfaction as a process. Engel and Blackwell (1982) defined customer satisfaction as â€Å"an evaluation that the chosen alternative is consistent with prior beliefs with respect to the alternative† (p. 501). This definition is comparable with the disconfirmation theory, which proposes that guests are either satisfied or dissatisfied based on their expectations prior and subsequent to the purchase of the actual service experience. In this section, we are particularly concerned with the importance of measuring customer satisfaction. Fortunately, this question can be answered directly using the service-profit chain. The service-profit chain is simply a proposition of a series of linkages between â€Å"profitability, customer loyalty, and employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity† (Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser & Schlesinger, 1994, p. 164). Customer satisfaction represents a crucial role in the service-profit chain because satisfaction is essentially a driver of customer loyalty (retention, repeated business and referrals), which directly impacts the profitability of a hospitality firm. Customer satisfaction is extremely important because it produces word-of-mouth, reduces operating overheads and facilitates price premiums (Denove & Power, 2006). Hospitality firms constantly look for more effective ways to measure customer satisfaction. Managers try to achieve greater accuracy in survey outcomes and use them to reliably address the gaps between management’s visions and the customer’s needs. Comparing Data Collection Methods Guest Feedback Forms Guest feedback forms, comment cards or customer satisfaction questionnaires (CSQs) are frequent tools used by most hotels for measuring customer satisfaction. Barsky (1992) stated two major disadvantages of guest comment cards, â€Å"poor construct validity†¦ poor statistical validity† (Barsky, 1992, p. 51). Yesawich (1978) also hypothetically considered CSQs as â€Å"more often than not, unreliable and statically invalid† (p, 72). Barsky (1992) further argues that guest comment cards may indicate customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction and related trends, but generally does not provide sufficient information for decision-making. Poria (2004) outlined several key advantages of using CSQs during guest complaints. Poria claimed that asking the guest to fill in CSQ would allow the staff extra time to resolve the problem and calms the guest. Tripadvisor.com In comparison with CSQs, Tripadvisor.com is an online interaction platform. Unlike the majority of quantitative methods, online customer reviews often articulate psychological changes of the hotel guests. According to Li, Ye and Law (2012), online reviews are more likely to convey guest’s true feelings, which make up for the missing information that was not captured by guest surveys. Tripadvisor.com and other eWOM platforms allow managers to interact with the guests, form one-to-one dialogues and perform qualitative content analysis. Content analysis is a systematic and objective approach to make inference from written data (Downe†Wamboldt, 1992). Like all qualitative research methods, content analysis is concerned with meanings and contextual aspects of a service experience. Content analysis can be described as an intensive exploration of a single customer review and typically, managers look for rich and vivid descriptions in the review, rather than generalised knowledge. However, content analysis and comparable qualitative research methods may lack scientific validity. Thus, it is difficult for managers to make reliable generalisations from a confined sample size. Research Methods and Design The Landmark Hotel needs to go beyond measuring performances and begin to understand perceptions and gain practical and context-dependent knowledge relating to specific guest experiences. I recommend the Landmark Hotel to focus on qualitative content analysis. Content analysis can be performed on online guest reviews as well as guest comment cards. Additionally, I recommend the use of open-ended question in guest comment cards in order to provide greater insights to the guest’s feelings (Lukas, Hair, Bush & Ortinau, 2005). According to Guthrie and Abeysekera (2006), content analysis requires a randomly selected sample, clearly defined criteria of analysis and a systematic data categorisation method, so that statistical analysis of the data can be performed. Downe†Wamboldt (1992) proposed an eight step procedure that the researcher should follow when conducting content analysis. These steps can be briefly described as 1) selecting unit of analysis, 2) defining the categories, 3) defining the categories, 4) testing for reliability and validity, 5) define or revise coding rules, 6) pre-testing the revised category schemes 7) data coding and 8) reassessing reliability and validity. According Marković and Raspor (2010), reliability of content analysis can be improved by developing coders for similar contents. Data coding allow researchers to measure frequency and percentage through tabulations, compute measures of central tendency and dispersion, test for difference, association and interdependence by performing t-tests and chi-square analysis using SPSS applications. Integration After the results have been analysed and interpreted, the researcher can choose to integrate and present the research outcomes within the hotel using an analytical report that is credible and believable. The report clearly defines the research problem/issue and the research methodology, which clearly articulates the objectives of the research, the research design used, descriptions of samples and the sampling methods and the how data are analysed. The results section is the most important section. This section should contain presentations of findings that are relevant to the research problem. The report should also contain a conclusion section, a recommendation and a limitation section which illustrates â€Å"extraneous events that place certain restrictions on the report† (Lukas, et al., 2005, p. 557). PART B Calculations and Definitions of Measurements Considering the guest survey spreadsheet, I have calculated the measures of central tendency and dispersion for each behavioural intention scale. For measures of central tendency, I have computed the mean, median and mode respectively. These measures are used as data reduction, which describes the set of responses through a single value. The mean is â€Å"the arithmetic average of the sample† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 436). The mean is derived from the sum of all values pertained from the responses and divided by the exact number of valid responses. The median is â€Å"the middle value of a rank-ordered distribution† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 436). The mode is defined as â€Å"the most common value in the set of responses to a question† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 436). Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion. It is defined as â€Å"the average distance of the distribution values from the means† (Lukas et al., 2005, p. 438). The Excel function which I have used to compute the standard deviation of the data given was STDEV.S. STDEV.S estimates standard deviation from a sample rather than the entire population. The guest survey spreadsheet provided a number of intention statements aimed to obtain some ideas about guest experiences for certain aspects of the hotel. The management hoped to explore the guest’s intended behaviours as much as possible and the likelihood that guests will demonstrate predictable behaviour towards staying at the hotel in the foreseeable future. Table 1.1 shows that first and second rating scale demonstrated a lower average value in comparison with other rating scales. Evidently, service standard and staff competence to make guests feel accustomed during their stays did not meet the required expectations. Question eight also shows that on average, guests would not recommend the Landmark Hotel to others. Recommendations I postulate that service quality could be a major contributory factor to declines in booking rates. According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985), there are ten determinants of service quality – competence, courtesy, reliability, responsiveness and understanding are five relatively important determinants directly influenced by staff. Additionally, empathy and assurance are additional components of service quality directly determined by hotel personnel, as proposed in the SERVQUAL scale (Parasuraman et al., 1988). For the purpose of restoring and improving service quality, I recommend an adjustment of focus onto internal marketing activities. According to George and Gronroos (1991), â€Å"internal market of employees is best motivated for service-mindedness and customer-oriented behaviour by a marketing-like approach, where marketing-like activities are used internally† (p. 86). Internal marketing is essentially a process of building a customer-oriented culture through training and achieving internal satisfaction. Internal marketing implies a number of activities besides training utilisation. Take, for example, regularly assessing internal satisfaction, empowerment, and the provision of adequate supervisory support, open communication policies and the development of a sound reward system all forms part of internal marketing activities that seeks to achieving continuous quality improvements. References Barsky, J. D. (1992). Customer satisfaction in the hotel industry meaning and measurement. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 16(1), 51-73. Denove, C. & Power, J. D. (2006). Satisfaction: How every great company listens to the voice of the customer. New York, NY: Portfolio. Downe-Wamboldt, B. (1992). Content analysis: method, applications, and issues. Health care for women international, 13(3), 313-321. Engel, J. F., & Blackwell, R. D. (1982). Consumer behavior. New York, NY: Hole, Rinehard and Winston. George, W. R., & Gronroos, C. (1989). Developing customer-conscious employees at every level: internal marketing. Handbook of services marketing, 29-37. Guthrie, J., & Abeysekera, I. (2006). Content analysis of social, environmental reporting: what is new?. Journal of Human Resource Costing & Accounting, 10(2), 114-126. Heskett, J. L., & Schlesinger, L. A. (1994). Putting the service-profit chain to work. Harvard business review, 72(2), 164-174. Li, H., Ye, Q., & Law, R. (2012). Determinants of customer satisfaction in the hotel industry: An application of online review analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, (ahead-of-print), 1-19. Lukas, B. A., Hair, J. F., Bush, R. P., Ortinau, D. J. (2005). Marketing research. North Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited. Markovic, S., & Raspor, S. (2004). Measuring perceived service quality using SERVQUAL: a case study of the Croatian hotel industry. Management, 5(3), 195-209. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. & Berry, L.L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49, Fall, 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. & Berry, L.L. (1988). SERVQUAL: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, Spring, 12-40. Poria, Y. (2004). Employees’ interference with the distribution of guest satisfaction questionnaires. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(5), 321-324. Yesawich, P. C. (1978). Post-opening marketing analysis for hotels. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 19(3), 70-81. Yi, Y. (1993). The antecedents of consumer satisfaction: The moderating role of ambiguity. Advances in Consumer Research, 20, 502–506.