Research Strategy of Service Quality Assessment

Research Strategy of Service Quality Assessment Methodology: For this study survey, strategy will be used in order to collect data. Survey researchers are quite distinct from the general surveys conducted for different purposes, including marketing survey. According to Tanur(1982) surveys are generally meant of collecting data related to characteristics, actions, or opinions of a large group of people, referred to as a population. The surveys conducted for research purposes are focused on advancement of knowledge within a specific domain. Research survey data can be collected through different methods, including interviews, questionnaires and observations. In terms of questionnaires, the data can be collected either through open-ended questions in which participants need to provide details answer or closed questions in which participants need to provide select single or multiple answers from the choice of answers. According to Groves et al. (2013) survey data will be biased if the process of the survey is not properly followed, which includes designing, writing, collecting and analysing sub-processes. Figure 1 presents the typical data collection process as describe by Groves et al.(2013)   Ã‚   Figure 1: A survey from process prospective (Groves et. al. 2013,pp.149) For the research survey, strategy will be used and data will be collected through set of questionnaires which respondent will be able to complete themselves. The reason for using questioner as data collection method was because, firstly, this research is using survey strategy and according to Saunders et al. (2012) questioner is one of the most widely used data collection methods within survey strategy. Secondly, since this research will be providing the closed answers which will be used for quantitative data analysis, therefore, questionnaire data collection method is more suited for this research. In terms of sampling, since its pilot data collection and research is focused on general consumer perception about the service delivery and expected quality evaluated through the prism of culture, therefore, as describe by Saunders et al. (2012) probability based sampling technique will be used to identify a group from population for data collection. For quality of data, research has applied stratified random sampling by using the one attribute that has the basic level of experience in terms of service delivery from the population. The validity or according to Saunders et al. (2012) content validity, questions in a survey provide adequate representation for research questions. As describe by Saunders et al. (2012) validity of the content can be evaluated through literature review, which has been provided for this research. For the reliability and consistency in response to the questionnaire, the research is confined to only closed questions with multiple-choice single selection answe rs, and questions are all design using simple language. The questions on the survey are design based upon the research questions, and all the questions in the survey are closed question that is multiple-choice single selection in order to collect consistent data. The order and flow of the questions are carefully design to avoid confusion and misinterpretation. Similarly, in order to avoid blank or missed questions the questions are presented on the same page, Please see the Appendix for actual questionnaire in the survey. Although the research is evaluating the research question using qualitative research methodology, but the data collected through a survey is processed by quantitative data analysis. The data collected through a survey is considered to numerical data, and exploratory data analysis(EDA) approach will be used to process it. According to Saunders et al. (2012) EDA approach for data analysis emphasis on using diagrams and tables for understanding and exploring data. Sin ce this is pilot research, therefore, as describe by Saunders et al. (2012) EDA approach is useful for initially stages of the research. Research instrument and data collection: The survey is divided into two sections first section contains demographic questions two get more understandings about the respondent and their classification. The second section contains the statement about the service encounter which participants had to rate using 7-points Likert scale starting from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Before attempting to rate the statements participants were asked to think of the service they have received from the industries like banks, retail, etc. and use the experience to rate the statements. The survey is conducted electronically by creating the questionnaire on a free online survey conducting website which provides functionality to share a link to the survey. The link to the survey is shared through email and also via different electronic forums, The data collected through the survey is analysed and evaluated after downloading it from the website. Sample data comprised of two sources that is the student of universities and colleges. A total of hundred responses was received out of several hundred survey requests. As the research aims to analyse the effect of culture on customer perception of service, therefore, the sampling framework was clustered into two major group based on their ethnicity that is white and non-white. Population targeted for this research was local consumers living in UK and had received service from industries like banks, retail, etc. in last few months. Participants from the sample are chosen using researchers own intuition and chosen with purpose. (Tellstrom et al., 2006). In order to further evaluate participant demographic information like age and education has also been collected. Measurement: In order to measure a perception of service quality and evolution process, in this SERVQUAL scale will be used, which was developed by Parasuraman et al. (1991). SERQUAL provides 22-items scale, spanning five dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy), of service quality expectations and, which has been evaluated and validated in numerous studies (Donthu and Yoo, 1998). Although researchers have identified some shortcoming in using SERVQUAL, but the model is most widely referenced and practiced among various industries. The questionnaires in this study were design to capture the customer perceptions of service quality based on five quality dimension of SERVQUAL. For gauging the culture of the survey participant, the study will use the Hofstedes framework of cultural dimensions. Several scholars have proposed alternative frameworks to conceptualize and operational culture to overcome the shortcoming of Hofstedes framework. However, Hofstedes framework is still the most widely used cultural framework in different fields of study, including psychology, sociology, marketing, or management (Soares et al., 2007). The research has used the approach of grouping the participant according to their individual scores on Hofstedes cultural dimension scale resulting in better understanding the role of culture in shaping service perception (Guesalaga et al ., 2016). The survey has been conducted within UK, and participants predominantly belong to western culture but some of the participant involved has a different culture which can give better understand of cultural effect on service quality perception. References Guesalaga, R.; Pierce, M. and Scaraboto, D. (2016), Cultural influences on expectations and evaluations of service quality in emerging markets, International Marketing Review, 33(1), pp. 88-111 Parasuraman, A.; Berry, L. and Zeithaml, V.A. (1991), Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale, Journal of Retailing, .67(4), pp. 420-450. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2012) Research methods for business students. 6th edn. Harlow: Pearson. Tanur, J.M.(1982) Advances in methods for large-scale surveys and experiments, in R. Mcadams, N.J. Smelser, D.J. Treiman (eds.), Behavioral and Social Science Research: A National Resource, Part II. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Groves,R. M., Fowler, F.J., Couper, M.P. Jr., Lepkowski, J. M., Singer, E. and Tourangeau, R. (2013), Survey Methodology, First Edition,John Wiley Sons Donthu, N. and Yoo, B. (1998),Cultural Influences on Service Quality Expectations, Journal of Service Research,1(2), pp.178-186 Soares, A. M.; Farhangmehr, M. and Shoham, A. (2007), Hofstedes dimensions of culture in international marketing studies, Journal of Business Research, 60, pp. 277 284

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 23

We hailed a carriage heading uptown – Lexi told me I needed to save my strength for whatever came next – and got out without bothering to pay. This was what life was like for one such as Lexi, powerful and simple in her wants and desires. She didn't need any intricate, crazy plans for amassing wealth. She could compel anyone to do anything she asked, and life was incredibly easy. It was tempting, especially the aspect that was nonviolent. No one was hurt in any of her activities, except financially. Lexi must have read my thoughts because she grinned at me and waggled her eyebrows. â€Å"You should stick with me, my friend. Life like this can be sweet, not a curse,† she offered. I shook my head, smiling. â€Å"Thanks, but as you keep saying, I have my own path.† By the time we made it to the Sutherland mansion, its windows were dark and already draped in festoons of black crepe. In the strange half-light of the early hour, dew sparkled eerily off the matte cloth. The house was cordoned off. I gently forced the lock. Neither Lexi nor I made any noise until we came into the living room, when she gave a gasp. The coroners had removed the bodies but not done any cleanup work. The vast amounts of blood from their ripped-up bodies had seeped into the carpet and stained the marble floors beneath. Dark black splatters of dried blood covered the walls, matching the crepe outside. â€Å"My god,† Lexi whispered. â€Å"He massacred them.† I fell back into a chair, overwhelmed with guilt. It hadn't been long since I had discovered the poor family here, their bodies still warm with rapidly fleeting life. Backward and backward my thoughts ran, remembering the things I had done wrong, all of which had led up to this sad climax. If I hadn't run away from the reception†¦ If hadn't gone along with my brother's plans to begin with†¦ If I hadn't saved Bridget†¦ If I hadn't fled to New York†¦ If I hadn't made Damon drink blood to complete his transformation†¦ â€Å"This is my fault,† I moaned. I put my head in my hands. The trail of blood and death that wasn't even of my own devising followed me like a curse. â€Å"No, it's Damon's,† Lexi corrected promptly. â€Å"And Klaus's.† â€Å"I should never have come here†¦. I should have stayed as far away from humans as possible.† â€Å"Hey.† Lexi walked over to me, kneeling down and looking up into my face. She put a hand on my chin, forcing me to look back at her. â€Å"You didn't do this. Klaus did – he ordered this. And you had no intention of marrying into this family. That was Damon's idea. You told me yourself – he threatened to kill that roomful of people if you didn't go along. I would have killed him at that point, but he's not my brother.† I gazed into her dark eyes. â€Å"I've done so much wrong.† She bit her lower lip. â€Å"You made mistakes in the past. Bad ones. But you know that, and were doing your best to correct them, or at least avoid them in the future. That's why I am here, Stefan. You're worth saving.† A pain that had nothing to do with thirst made my throat ache. â€Å"Lexi, please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I can see into your heart, Stefan,† she said softly. â€Å"I don't just appear out of the blue to save any vampire. You're different. And someday, maybe, you'll know that. And part of your curse will be over.† She leaned forward and pressed her lips against my cheek. I could feel the soft flutter of her eyelashes as she closed her eyes against my face. â€Å"Come on,† she said, backing up and chucking me under the chin. â€Å"We have work to do. I'll look around down here. You go get whatever things of yours the police haven't confiscated. I think you're moving out of this town for a while.† Between one breath and the next, between a trick of the light and the deepest shadow, she had changed. Sunny, friendly Lexi now had bloodred eyes and black veins around her face. Fangs glistened in what little light there was. She was in full predator mode, hunting for the slightest sign of the vampire. Even though she was just an older version of what I was, seeing her that way still sent a chill down my body. Lurking just beneath our skin, the monster was always ready to come out. With a heavy heart I plodded up the grand, dark wood staircase. There was no need to be completely silent; the few servants who remained were in their quarters in a distant wing, far away from the death and mess. I could hear their overloud voices, their discussions of prospects and other households – all desperate attempts to fend off the darkness that their employers had slipped into so suddenly. I wondered what Margaret was doing, vowing to get word to her about Klaus and his vendetta. She was probably in her own home with her husband, mourning her sisters and parents. Which was harder? To be dead, or to live with the memory of the dead? As a vampire, I would never know the former, but always experience the latter. I soon reached my room, where a night ago Bridget had thrown herself at me. I smelled traces of the violet perfume she had doused herself with. It had infiltrated my pillow and sheets. So much more childish than Katherine's scent, the subtle, alluring, complicated mix of citrus and spice†¦. I took a valise – another gift from Winfield, planning for our honeymoon, I suppose – and threw the few things I considered mine into it. My old clothes, some spare change, my journal. I flipped to an old page where I'd written about Katherine. September 8, 1864 She is not who she seems. Should I be surprised? Terrified? Hurt? It's as if everything I know, everything I've been taught, everything I've believed in my past seventeen years is wrong. I can still feel where she kissed me, where her fingers grasped my hands. I still yearn for her, and yet the voice of reason is screaming in my ears: you cannot love a vampire! If I had one of her daisies, I could pluck the leaves and let the flower choose for me. I love her†¦ I love her not†¦ I†¦ I love her. I do. No matter the consequences. Is this what following your heart is? I wish there was a map or a compass to help me find my way. But she has my heart and that above all else is my North Star†¦ and that will have to be enough. I snapped the book shut, curling my lip at my foolishness. Downstairs was the present reality and thinking about the past did no good. I threw the book into the valise and went downstairs. But instead of finding Lexi there to greet me, there was emptiness and a horrible, familiar scent. Death and decay. A faint breeze whistled through broken wood; the back door was left wide open. I shivered despite myself. The silence, Lexi's absence, howled like a banshee. A single piece of paper, the size of a ticket, fluttered on the floor. I picked it up, feeling dread prickle my skin. All it said was: PAYMENT NUMBER TWO – LUCIUS.

Wuthering Heights By Emily Bronte - 2164 Words

Bette Davis said, â€Å"When a man gives his opinion, he s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she s a bitch.† Feminism was always looked at as women fighting for the same rights that men have always had. A lack of feminism is just the opposite. Someone losing their femininity by allowing themselves to conform to men, to break the bond every women has gone through to break the barriers. In Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontà «, Catherine shows her flaw in femininity over how her conformity to every man to show society s norm , her quest for money and not love, and she is foolish for thinking men can rule her life. To start off, Catherine has her flaws in her femininity. She had been around boys her whole life, always drawn to do things just like them. Since Catherine was the only girl in her family she was looked at as the innocent baby. Today, families that have older brothers and younger sisters, the sisters are being protected by their older brothers. Hindley never stood up for Catherine as most brothers would for their sisters today. Even though she was seen as the baby of the family, she showed the people around her who was boss. Catherine imagines the bird as having freely moulted the feather she has picked out of her pillow, but the bird was as subject to vicissitude as she now is, pathetic in its longing as she will be in a few minutes, lying back on the much-criticized pillows, ‘her face bathed in tears... our fiery Catherine was no better than a wailing child!Show MoreRelatedWuthering Heights By Emily Bronte1555 Words   |  7 Pages2015 Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontà « Introduction The novel Wuthering Heights was written in 1847 by Emily Brontà «. The plot unravels with Lockwood visiting his landlord at Wuthering Heights; as Lockwood stays the night, he starts to discover items within the home and later a fatal vision appears, which causes him great curiosity. 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Bronte’s piece can be summed up by the â€Å"good vs. evil† elements that include Wuthering Heights as opposed to Thrushcross Grange, Heathcliff vs. Edgar, and much more. These elemental set points lead to the conclusion that WutheringRead MoreWuthering Heights by Emily Bronte885 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Wuthering Heights† Emily Bronte vividly present the main character, Heathcliff, as misanthropist after he suffers abuse, degradation, and loses his beloved Catherine. Heathcliff, a black, orphan gipsy child, is brought to live in upper-class society by Mr. Earnshaw’s generosity. Heathcliff is an outcast in his new society. Thus, Heathcliff’s temperament is depicted in â€Å"Wuthering Heightsâ⠂¬  as cruel, abusive, and vindictive against those who humiliated and not accepted him in society. HeathcliffRead MoreWuthering Heights By Emily Bronte1149 Words   |  5 PagesDuring it release in 1842, ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte was considered to be a novel of obscenity and monstrosity. 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Madame Bovary Destiny - 1062 Words

Madame Bovary: Destiny Destiny: the seemingly inevitable succession of events.1 Is this definition true, or do we, as people in real life or characters in novels, control our own destiny? Gustave Flauberts Madame Bovary exemplifies how we hold destiny in our own hands, molding it with the actions we take and the choices we make. Flaubert uses Emma Bovary, the main character of his novel, to demonstrate this. Throughout her life, Emma makes many decisions, each one of them affecting her fate and by analyzing these decisions one could see from the beginning that Emma is destined to suffer. However, one can also pinpoint such decisions making events as her marriage, her daughters birth, her adulterous relationship with Leon and†¦show more content†¦Her affair with Leon is the cause of many of her later problems, such as her debt, her sickness, her depression and her eventual death. Death. This brings us to the final fork in the road of Emmas life. She chooses to take the Arsenic as she feels overwhelmed and sees this as the best solution for all he r problems. Why does she take the Arsenic when she is still young and still has her entire life ahead of her? One could argue that she saw no way out and she saw death as the only answer. But is this not selfish when there is a little girl that she must raise and nurture and a husband who needs her? Emma tries to hid away from her husband and make herself think that he does not love her, only to realize how deep his love really is when it is too late - And in his eyes she saw a love such as she had never seen before. (p.274) Considering the aforementioned reasons, one can only conclude that Emma controlled her destiny, as we all do to a great extent. There is no guiding hand that told Emma to go ahead and marry Charles, have his baby, cheat on him with Leon and then kill herself. She did all this for selfish reasons, to fulfill her own fantasies and needs. 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