The Value Of Health Across Cultures

Evaluating the Value of Health and Cultural Heritage across Cultures Culture and values are standards that influence and shape human behaviors, decision making processes, personal relationships, and status of health and happiness. The United States has become a symbol of a multicultural society representing many different ethnicities and minority groups. As our culture continues to grow rapidly so is the necessity to increase awareness, understanding, and tolerance of these diverse groups. As health care providers we must understand the basic needs of our patients, whether they are black, white, green or purple, and the repercussions of prejudices and cultural insensitivities. Health care providers need to become responsive to the cultural values of different peoples and how these could augment effective and humanistic care delivery (Edelman, 2010). The Heritage Assessment Tools allows you to identify individual cultural beliefs and behaviors. These beliefs have shaped how we value health, the ways we maintain our health and the practice/acceptance of modern medicine. For example, if a patient identifies those relationships with family members or members from the community are highly valued then the nurse should consider lenience with the hospital visiting policy to meet the patients needs to maintain and restore their health. Many cultures value a caring holistic approach to medicine that incorporates family and supports systems to promote healing. Some cultures do not emphasis the practices of western medicine and utilize healers like priests, herbalists, or scientologist. By applying a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of the patient as well as maintaining an open and understanding relationship of their culture, nurses can work to meet their needs in a holistic approach. How we have learned to take care of ourselves or our â€Å"health maintenance â€Å"varies from culture to culture. I grew up in a culture where regular exercise, watching what you ate, and â€Å"being thin is in† were highly valued. I and most of my friends had retainers and braces to maintain the image of good health with a picture perfect smile. As kids we were all active and parents provided healthy snacks as well as well balanced meals. Fast food and take-out was a once-in-a-while indulgence. For ethnic groups, health as a value may have different definitions and their behavior may reflect this(Edelman, 2010). I interviewed a Hispanic female and her family about how her culture has influenced her maintenance of day-to-day health. Family is an important dynamic in her culture, putting everyone else in her family before herself. Her family has influence of her everyday decision making, sure her children and grown parents are always well taken care of. Diet is based on being able to provide for the family more than the value of the foods nutrients. She admits that fast food is a cheaper option for feeding her children than stocking up on healthy produce at the grocery store. Her home is shared with her husband, four children, and her two parents, so they are all involved in taking care of one another. I also had the opportunity to meet with a family that traveled from Saudi Arabia to receive cardiac evaluation and treatment at the world renowned Texas Medical Center. The adult male patient as his wife were very private and did express interest in developing personal relationship with their nurse, so most my assessment was made from conversations held with their daughter a practicing physician in the same hospital. She told me that health maintenance is highly valued and the government provides a number of health care services to the public. Those who can afford it will travel elsewhere for expert opinions and cutting edge treatments. In regards to their routine values of health maintenance, their family practices and beliefs are based from Islamic religion and culture. Islam promotes heath and wellness with meditation, proper diet, regular activity and cleanliness (bathing, fragrance, attention to hair and nails). Lastly, their culture strictly dictates the foods they eat as well as what is considered toxic or harmful to their health. The ways of preventing disease or â€Å"health protection† has made an impact on health care. Growing up with access to health insurance, routine doctors visits, vaccinations, and educational programs to promote heath and wellness such as the D. A. R. E program was normal practice. One of the biggest obstacles for the Hispanic family was not having access to affordable health are. Health care insurance is not affordable for many poor Americans, whose priorities are the basic needs of health including food, clothing, and shelter rather than health care(Edelman, 2010). They admit to not having good preventative health care like routine physicals, medication compliance, attending follow-up appointments, and regula r dental hygiene. Being hospitalized is often a last resort because of the finical stress is can cause because of lack of health insurance. In contrast to the Hispanic American family, the Saudi family viewed out of pocket expenses a low priority when considering health protection. This patient needed to have heart surgery and with support from immediate and extended family members in the United States, some practicing as physicians, this was the best option. Good health is often a sign of affluence and high social status. How individuals deal with disease and restore health is based from cultural beliefs and learned experiences. Learning from personal experience with my family members being hospitalized and being treated for disease, we are aggressive with treatment and expect the information and results quickly. We expect to have everything done to treat illness and when modern medicine fails we have a hard time accepting that reality because of our faith in the health care system, doctors, and nurses. The Islamic culture also encourages individuals to seek medical help and treatment. Religion plays a huge part in healing and health restoration. I witnessed my patient and his wife praying regularly. Family is also key for this culture, demonstrating strong ties with both immediate and extended family at the bedside involved in regular discussion with physicians and other health care providers. Being able to afford out of pocket expenses hey expect the highest level of expertise and excellence in care from their health care providers. Sometimes family members will contribute to these expenses. Hispanic cultures typically cater towards men, children, and the elders in the household. This Hispanic American female admits that even immediately after having her fourth baby, she was still the primary care giver to her children and homemaker/care taker of the household. Also, she admits that even though not having regular access to medical care this does not influence how she provides attention and nurtures her family members during times illness. Her culture has a strong emphasis on family and religion as well as practicing traditional home remedies. Being surrounded by family and prayer helps her and her family in times sickness and promotes healthy recovery. Based on the three different cultures evaluated there is one strong common value, family. Health traditions and beliefs are greatly influenced from learned family practices as well as from influential support systems. This century will continue to be a time of great challenges as the population of the U. S. continues to be a nation of diverse peoples(Edelman, 2010). Nurses continue to make many positive moves toward understanding culturally diverse populations (Edelman, 2010). As we have learned, culture is a very unique and complex set of values. By being aware of cultural differences and gaining cultural knowledge nurses can help promote and ensure a healthy society.

Challenges and Current Trends of Crm in Pc Industry: a Case Study at Dell Asia Pacific

Challenges and Current Trends of CRM in PC Industry: A Case Study at DELL Asia Pacific, Bukit Minyak ABSTRACT In the new millennium, customer service oriented performance has emerged as key success factors in maintaining the organizational competitiveness. This has led Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to take the driver seat role in creating a more loyal and profitable customer base at competitive cost. CRM has evolved from advances in information technology and constant pressing needs from customers to create value in the products and services. In current business environment, CRM is a strategic business tool that seamlessly integrates all the functional departments across the organization to work towards maximizing customer value through strategic partnership. CRM has played a key role in the PC industry by taking PC manufacturers closer to customers in terms of understanding their needs, buying behaviors and value creation in the supply chain. Armed with CRM strategies and, IT enabled customer and sales database, PC manufacturers have reoriented their business around the customer. DELL, as one of the world largest PC manufacturers, have strengthen its market share by positioning itself to provide customers with superior value, high-quality, relevant technology, and customized products and services, coupled with its IT integrated CRM solutions. At DELL, e-CRM oriented business solutions are initiated to automate and centralize customer database to embrace long-term partnership and PC market dominance. This project paper will analyze the current CRM trends and future challenges in PC industry based on the case study conducted at DELL Asia Pacific, Bukit Minyak. Furthermore, the paper will also address the selected DELL site, on its strategic effort in utilizing CRM methodologies supported by IT solutions to stay ahead of competitions. Categories and Subject Descriptors [Transaction Processing and Enterprise Resources Planning System]: Traditional Transaction Processing Application General Terms Management, Measurement, Documentation, Performance, Economics, Experimentation, Human Factors, Theory Keywords Customer Relationship Management (CRM), PC industry, Information Technology (IT), Web-based customer interaction (WCI) 1. INTRODUCTION Breakthroughs in Information Technology (IT) have changed the fundamental rule of the way business is being conducted in modern organizations. IT business icons like e-Commerce, K-Economy, etc have made things more complicated, where focus of the business has evolved and oriented around customer. Basically, customers are in the position to continuously demand and dictate what exactly they want at competitive cost – value-added products and services. Organizations are competing among each other to be the market leader, and emerging innovative IT solutions are helping organizations to achieve its competitive advantage. One of the key areas of business competencies is the ability of organizations to sustain the highest level of customer oriented service performance. The new business model is changing the producers’ mindset from product-centered to customer-centered business. This has led Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to take the center stage position to create a loyal and profitable customer base at competitive cost. 1. What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? CRM is a strategy used by organizations to comprehensively learn about customers’ needs and behaviors in order to establish constructive relationship with them; after all it is the core of business success. Basically, CRM is a notion regarding how an organization can keep their most profitable customers with increased values of interaction to consequently maximize the profits. This is achieved through the understanding of the drivers of current and future customer profitability to appropriately allocate the resources across all areas that affect customer relationships i. e. , communication, customer service, product/ service development, etc. Customer relationship management revolves around three key technology areas: the Internet, the customer call center and a data warehouse of customer-related information. Customer information is captured through company call center, the Internet, and other communications channels. It is this customer information, which established a â€Å"360-degree† picture of the customer that anyone throughout the organization can access when working with them. Through the Internet, both company employees and the customers themselves are able to access business transacted data from daily production systems, which are then enhanced with customer-centric information such as sales and service call activity, key customer contacts, and specific products purchased. From these technologies, there are also offshoots into emerging technology areas such as wireless technology, for facilitated remote access by customers and company field representatives; workforce management software, for streamlined back-office operations that are organized around the CRM business model; and Web-based customer interaction (WCI). Even though, there are many technological components to CRM, the useful way to view CRM is as a total business processes that will help bring together pieces of information about customers, sales, and marketing effectiveness and responsiveness, and market trends. Therefore, by integrating people, process and technologies, the relationship with both external and internal customers are maximized. 1. 2CRM Goals and Objectives Through the implementation of CRM, organizations would be able to identify their most profitable customers and leverage those relationships to the point of optimal profit. Furthermore, successful CRM programs will ensure active participation from all employees in the organization. CRM will utilize all possible ways to identify what exactly customer is looking for, market the organization’s strength, and ability to fulfill the customers’ needs, retained the customers through value added services. The main idea of CRM initiatives is that it helps businesses use technology and human resources to gain insight into the behavior of customer and the value of those customers. These are the fundamentals for customer loyalty program. There are several goals and objectives of CRM in a business framework (Kalakota & Robinson, 2000): †¢ Use existing relationships to grow revenue – enhance profitability by identifying, attracting the best customers. †¢ Use integrated information for excellent service – by using customer information to best serve customers’ needs. †¢ Introduce more repeatable sales processes and procedures – companies must improve consistency in account management and selling. †¢ Create new value and instill loyalty – the ability to respond to needs and accommodates requests. Implement a more proactive solution strategy – use proactive consumer relations that resolve problems on the first call. 1. 3CRM Architectural Framework In the CRM architecture, a company must first recognize the customer-centric approaches in the business processes. The demand of integrating the customer life cycles, interaction and servicing processes in an applicati on of CRM architecture is obvious. Thus, it is clear that the CRM is built to be customer-centric and in nature organizing CRM processes around the customer, rather than respectively to marketing, sales or any other internal function. Figure 1 illustrates the summary of CRM architecture. CRM architecture examined how products are built, how they’re deployed and customized, and integrated with external applications. A CRM product is selected primarily on its functionality; however its architecture should be a significant influence on the decision to buy or vice versa. 4. Integration with Business Application Tools CRM is definitely not a stand-alone program, it must be designed in away that it can be integrated into the company’s total business processes as shown in Figure 2. CRM must be able to work effectively with other business processes to value add the total operations. Basically, CRM tools will gather, analyze and store critical information captured at customer touch points. Together with ERP/ data warehouse, CRM database will provide the relevant information for business decision-making processes that relates to sales and marketing strategies, business development of new or existing customer and company’s strategic direction. 1. 5Role of e-CRM and Its Strategies -CRM refers to achieving CRM through using Internet technologies, primarily the web and e-mail – allied to database marketing to gear up for the new 24-hour global economy. e-CRM will focus on how to use the web site, databases and e-mails to manage customer relationships by providing online content and services. In order to achieve and support the organizational effort on e-CRM, companies must focus on few key strategies, as followings: †¢ Real time: e-CRM operates in a lmost instantaneous real time and it can be integrated seamlessly together, without the loss of efficiency. Closed loop: e-CRM operates within a closed loop system, resulting in huge gains in efficiency. †¢ Multi-channel: e-CRM is based on the architecture and available across all channels, where changes to activities through one channel are automatically and immediately updated across all channels. 2. Literature Review CRM is a highly fragmented environment and has come to mean different things to different people (Mckie, 2000). The same understanding of CRM, also have been agreed and shared by Winer (2001) and Goodhue (2002). One view of CRM is the utilization of customer related information or knowledge to deliver relevant products or services to customers (Levine, 2000). Another school of thought, CRM is inclusive of the whole organization including its internal and external environment and ‘key processes of the firm’s customers’ (Day, 2000). While such definitions are widespread, they tend to offer a narrow insight into the basic characteristics of CRM. As CRM evolves, comprehensive definitions are emerging, with an emphasis on multi dimensional business objectives. Goldenberg (2000) believed that CRM is not merely technology applications for marketing, sales and service, but rather, when successfully implemented, a cross-functional, customer-driven, technology-integrated business process management strategy that maximizes relationships and encompasses the entire organization. According to Light (2001), CRM evolved from business processes such as relationship marketing and the increased emphasis on improved customer retention through the effective management of customer relationships. Relationship marketing emphasizes that customer retention affects company’s profitability, in that it is more efficient to maintain an existing relationship with a customer than create a new one (Payne et al. , 1999; Reichheld, 1996). Christopher et al. (1991) also agreed that CRM has its roots in relationship marketing which is aimed at improving long run profitability by shifting from transaction-based marketing, with its emphasis on winning new customers, to customer retention through effective management of customer relationships. Sandoe et al. (2001) argued that advances in database technologies such as data warehousing and data mining, are crucial to the functionality and effectiveness of CRM systems. In later stage, relationship marketing emerged and had led others such as Newell (2000) to explore strategic methods for maintaining and improving customer loyalty. Furthermore, Peppard (2000) suggested that technological advances in global networks, convergence and improved interactivity, are key to explaining the growth of e-business and CRM. The increasing use of digital technologies by customers, particularly the Internet, is changing what is possible and what is expected in terms of customer management (Tamminga and O’Halloran, 2000). The appropriate use, for instance, of automation technologies, such as interactive voice response systems and Web-based frequently asked question pages, could be popular with customers and highly cost effective (Petrissans, 2000). Also for customers, CRM offers customization, simplicity, and convenience for completing transactions, regardless of the channel used for interaction (Gulati and Garino, 2000). CRM initiatives have resulted in increased competitiveness for many organizations as witnessed by higher revenues and lower operational cost. Managing customer relationships effectively and efficiently boosts customer satisfaction and retention rates (Reichheld, 1996a, b; Jackson, 1994; Levine, 1993). CRM applications help organizations assess customer loyalty nd profitability on measures such as repeat purchases, money spent, and longevity. In particular, customers benefit from the belief that they are saving time and money as well as receiving better information and special treatment (Kassanoff, 2000). Despite the diverging definitions, reality is that CRM is a complex combination of business and technological factors, and thus strategies should be formulated strategically and accordingly. 3. PC Industry The introduction of the first PC in the mid 1970s led to an industry that emerged as one of the largest and most dynamic sector. PC industry eventually became a multi-billion dollar worth of business that have gone through various growth phase. Today, the world’s PC industry is booming due to emerging demand for IT growth, which is parallel to explosive growth of world’s population. PC became the driving force for the whole computer industry. PC industry dynamics changed by the late-1990s when PCs became the means to get to the Internet. In the next decade a cellular-based packet communications network and broadband will further grow the Internet. Over the next 10 years the PC industry will prosper and thrive with two additional driving forces —consumer electronics devices built with computing platforms (information appliances) and mobile devices such as PDA and mobile phones. The PC industry is very competitive and has a good record of adapting to emerging technologies and market trends. This is likely to happen again and the PC industry will embrace information appliances and mobile devices. 3. 1PC Market Trends Trends in Table 1 showed that, the worldwide shipment for PC never stops growing from 1975 to 2005. In fact the industry volume had seen an increasing trend ever since the year 1990. However, the growth percentage began to slow down starting in late 1990s. This is the evidence that the PC industry is at the end of the growth stage, and soon will enter into the maturity stage. Apart from the effect due to the product life cycle maturity, other aspect of business such as globalization, economical and financial crisis, and presence of China market posed treat to the global PC industry. Table 1: Worldwide PC Market Growth (Source: eTForecasts, 2003) | |   | | | |Gender |Male: 31 (65%) |Female: 17 (35%) | |Occupation |Technical: 36 (75%) |Business: 12 (25%) | |Age Group |21 to 45 years old | |Income | < RM 2,000: Nil | | |RM 2,000 – 5,000: 29 (60%) | | |RM 5,000 – 8,000: 16 (33%) | | |> RM8,000: 3 (7%) | |PC Accessibility |100% | |Internet Accessibility |100% | From this survey, one important finding was all working group of people especially those who are from in dustrial organization, regardless of their income or position they hold, all of them some how able to access to PC either at home or workplace, as well as to Internet. This mainly because of current environment, which require PC and related electronics gadget to be a necessity items in day-to-day lifestyle. Furthermore the cost to purchase these devices is very much affordable, and for those who don’t own it, they are still able to access the Internet or Web-based services either at office during working hours or at Cybercafe at leisure hours. In this study, majority of the respondents is male and those who are working in technical areas, in fact both the gender and occupation background have some sort of relationship between them. Most of the male respondents are from technical background i. e. , technical or operations based managers, engineers or technicians. In contrast, most of the female respondents is working in the business related environment i. e. , sales or marketing, purchasing and finance executives. This indirectly relates to the way the understudy respond to the survey, basically, technical oriented person viewed this survey from product feature, functionality and technical superiority point of view. However, business people is more inclined to pricing, customization and human touch aspect i. e. , customer services. In this study also, majority of the respondents’ income falls in the range of RM 2,000 to RM 5,000, which indicating most of them are belongs to supervisory, executive and engineer category, with smaller group holding managerial and senior executive positions. Table 4, revealed the results based on the first section of the survey, which gave an overview of PC market trends and conditions among the understudy. The survey results shows that, educated and computer literate consumers are keeping abreast of current PC market trends in terms of product knowledge, service availability and PC manufacturers who is the trend setter. Today’s business society is more sensitive to changes surrounding them, they wouldn’t like to be left out in IT progress, and therefore they keep upgrading or changing the PC and its accessories within couple of years. Survey findings shows that, the understudy changed their PCs typically after 5 years and only 37% are changing within 3 to 5 years. This is due to majority of them are using the company’s PC or rather its costly for engineers or executives with reasonable income. Since the accessibility to Internet is possible, literally everywhere, today’s consumers are well informed and keep up with the changes in the PC market. There are consumers, who is still prefer to purchase PCs from computer shop, since they feel unsafe to do on-line transactions, however this trend will change in future as more consumers will be secured from spyware. Furthermore retailers will continue to loss their market share, mainly because of unavailability of after-sales support, and orders through mail became legacy. As for call-centers, business is expected to boom in future, since they have started to use some innovative IT solutions. Based on the findings of survey, it’s very obvious that desktop PCs are still the favorite product ype among the respondents, and those who are working in organization mainly use it. On top of that desktop PCs’ competitive price made it affordable by moderate-income group. As for mobile PCs i. e. , notebook and palmtop is common among managers and senior executives, and this product segment have bright future, since it is best suited for fast moving business environment. |Table 4: Part 1- PC Purchase Experience | |Survey Criteria |Results | |Frequency of changing PC hardware and accessories. < 3 years: Nil | | |3 to 5 years: 13 (27%) | | |> 5 years: 35 (73%) | |Purchasing Channel |Computer shop: 15 (31%) | | |Retailer: Nil | | |Internet: 29 (61%) | | |Toll Free Phone/ Call Centers: 4 (8%) | | |Mail Orders: Nil | |Product Type |Desk Top: 27 (56%) | | |Notebook: 14 (29%) | | |Palmtop: 6 (13%) | | |Others: 1 (2%) | |Brand |Acer: 5 (10%) | | |HP-Compaq: 6 (13%) | | |DELL: 18 (38%) | | IBM: 11 (23%) | | |Toshiba: 1 (2%) | | |Fujitsu: 2 (4%) | | |Clone: 5 (10%) | |Purchasing preference |Brand: 15% | | |Price: 31% | | |Service: 29% | | |Quality/ Reliability: 14% | | |Appearance: 1% | | |Functionality: 4% | | |Customization: 6% | As consumers become more knowledgeable, they tend to b e very intelligent in making decision, and selecting the right product, with excellent services from the competitive PC manufacturers. The PC market is volatile in the sense that superior product or service is expected at very competitive price, and only that manufacturer with efficient operations is able to survive. In today’s market, DELL emerged as the market leader, and this clearly reflected in the survey result, which revealed that 38% of the respondent had chosen DELL. The next contenders are IBM and HP-Compaq, however the pricing is still not as competitive as DELL. Whereas Toshiba and Fujitsu products such as notebooks are as considered as high-end products, and therefore it is serving only targeted market segments, i. e. , managers and senior executives with higher income. About 5% of the respondent preferred to purchase clone PCs, which is very low priced, and those consumer groups with lower income still can afford. In future, clone PC market will continue to deteriorate, as there will a price war. In this section also, assessment was made to study the respondents’ urchasing behavior, and what are the factors influencing the preferences that leads to the decision making of the purchasing process. Based on this study, there are two very important criteria that influence t he respondents, price and customer service factors. Basically, pricing was the main concern, due to majority of the group is moderate earners, and therefore they are looking for the best buy and next they expect are excellent services for worth of money. These factors is followed by branding and, product quality and reliability factors, which lately consumers are more sensitive of the brand, which is due to their vast exposure about the market trends, and the main contributing factor is the Internet and Web-based technology. Modern consumers have high expectations on PC performance in terms of quality and reliability. Other non-critical factors that influence the purchasing decision is high customization, product with more functionality and attractive and appealing appearances. Based on section two of the survey, only those respondents, who use DELL PC were assessed from various perspectives, such as consumers’ total experience with DELL, what are the customer touch points, DELL’s marketing and business strategies and, area that DELL can do better and how DELL can position itself as counteract from its competitors’ strategic move. Basically, findings from this section of survey were summarized into the SWOT analysis as shown in Table 5. A quick glance of SWOT analysis shows that internally DELL has tremendously improved and able to turnaround its weaknesses to further strengthen its position in the market. This was very obvious scenario couple of years ago, where DELL was competing with IBM, was then the PC market leader. However, DELL has aggressively worked on new strategies based on their identified weaknesses internally and market opportunities externally, and that made them capture the market leadership position. Without any hesitation, DELL continued on its strategic planning, with focus on key IT solutions, such as Web-based customer information portal, enhanced e-survey to capture voice of customers and other e-CRM strategies to monitor very closely on customer service performance metrics. Table 5: SWOT Analysis of DELL Product in PC Market | |Strength |Weakness | |1 |Build-to-Order approach |1 |No intermediary retailing channel | |2 |Value added customer service | | | |3 |Direct interface with end custome rs | | | |4 |Customer service specialist | | | |5 |Customer oriented business model | | | |6 |Good after sales support | | | |7 |On-Line purchasing | | | |8 |Product differentiation | | | |9 |Clear market segmentation | | | |10 |Comprehensive product information | | | |11 |Web based customer service portal | | | |Opportunity |Threat | |1 |Product leasing program |1 |Short product life cycle | |2 |Attractive payment scheme |2 |Competitive pricing | |3 |New potential market – Government agencies & higher learning|3 |No brand loyalty | | |institutions. |4 |Clone PCs | |4 |Completing the PC peripherals and accessories product range. | | Apart from that, SWOT analysis also revealed the market opportunities, which DELL should be focusing for future growth. The new opportunities are product leasing program and, emerging of new potential market segment, which is local government agencies and higher education centers. Most importantly, these are the untapped markets that DELL should c oncentrate its future efforts to maximize the return. Regarding the external threat, DELL came up with many effective counter strategies that the threats are no longer pose any risk. 5. 2 PC Market – DELL Competition Competition in the PC market remained fierce during the last few years as notebook adoption continued and consumers reacted to falling prices. Worldwide PC shipments were in line with forecasts, growing 15. 2% year-on-year to 44. 6 million units, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, Commercial demand showed some signs of recovery and consumers remained active during the holiday season. Strong growth in Europe and sustained notebook demand were key sources of growth, although limited supply of flat panel displays constrained shipments for some vendors. On an annual basis, shipment growth moved into double digits for the first time since 2000, boosting shipments to a record 152. 6 million on growth of 11. 4%. DELL’s underlying strengths are its abilities to penetrate into new markets with all the advantages under its belt. From the latest statistics, DELL’s server market is able to gain market share and grew by 31 percent during the last few quarters. This is contradicting to other PC vendors as they experienced declining server sales and market share and it shows that, DELL is able to strategize and implement very aggressive business and marketing plans to obtain success. 5. 3DELL e-CRM Strategies Being a giant PC maker and customer-oriented, DELL depends on sophisticated IT applications in carrying out their business processes ranging from line assembly across administration to customer relationship management. DELL has also invested substantially in building its IT infrastructure in order to create an advance and effective work place. Nonetheless, DELL also prepares its staffs to be IT oriented in performing their jobs, and this enables DELL to stay ahead of their competitors. As observed, DELL’s e-CRM strategies are closely in line with the model of CRM architecture frameworks, which was illustrated in Figure 2. The e-CRM strategy of DELL has begun with customer acquisition, value enhancement and customer relationship retention. In other words, DELL has fully utilized the IT edge in carrying out CRM operations and also use as their business analytical tools. DELL has prepared a very comprehensive web site and call centers to interact with its customers. Further enhancement of the web site and call centers, enable DELL to stand out as far as e-CRM is concerned. The Strategies In customer acquisition, DELL emphasize in direct interfacing with customers. In that sense, DELL eliminates the intermediaries in their distribution channel. All information of products can be obtained on-line and is assisted by well-trained e-CRM specialists. There are several creative features on the web that need to be highlighted. Among them are: 1. On-line configuration: Suitable for those who intend to purchase a customized system. 2. Automated order process: Once order is confirmed, the specification of goods will be informed to assembly floor to start the production and it is achieved via a fully automated process. 3. Payment on-line: The payment scheme prepared by DELL is user friendly. 4. Order status check: While waiting for PC system to be delivered, customer can check the good delivery status on-line. 5. Comprehensive technical support: DELL is well known for its technical support on-line and also call-center. DELL committed to reply their customers queries within 4 hours. 6. Information rich web site: Customers can easily access to detail information via on-line, such as E-value. DELL always emphasizes on the customer-centric approach, enhancing the customer value, thus creating sales opportunities. More importantly, DELL has managed to use strategically the innovative IT solutions in this process as following: 1. Value-add to customer: Customers are always delighted by the kind of service provided by DELL. 2. Customer database: To ensure customer have full accessibility of information they require, and should be maintained up-to-date. 3. Knowledge database: Product knowledge and experience is shared between customers and DELL employees for mutual benefits. More importantly DELL adds value to customer by creating opportunity of upgrading and cross selling of its product: 1. Continuous update of information: Educate customer awareness on DELL product update. 2. Voice of Customer: Using e-Survey to capture customer inputs and feedbacks regarding product and service performance. 3. Free software upgrades: DELL customers are entitled for selected operating and applications software through its website such as Windows XP and McAfee. 4. Customer Care: Providing additional product safety and security features in terms of quick on-line tips to combat spyware and adware. DELL continued to invest in keeping its infrastructure as one of the best IT platform. For instance, DELL staffs are able to access to internet or intranet through wireless broadband connection within the plant. This allows them to respond immediately to any issues pertaining to customer feedback and complaint. 6. 0Conclusions and Recommendations The customer expectations have risen in recent years and the firms have come up with a number of innovative ideas of serving customers. This has provided the customer with the flexibility and convenience. Similarly, various groups of customers would require different level of services and support. For first time buyer, they may require installation and training services while big corporations with internal computer specialist may expect more comprehensive CRM program coupled with other value added services. However, the important motto would be the exercise and implementations to keep the customers satisfied, and that would be the ultimate goal for each and every organization. DELL certainly has given their best to expand their customer horizon, and they are definitely on the right track towards creating profitable customer base. With that, we can expect more and more innovative business ideas from DELL in future, which will continue to delight the ever-demanding customers. We also would like to recommend that, DELL should explore further in areas concerning market opportunities, as mentioned in the SWOT analysis table. Carefully analyzing and turning each opportunity into their advantage would prepare DELL to scale at greater heights. DELL also needs to fine-tune continuously its e-CRM strategies to further strengthen their customer centric approach. REFERENCES [1]Agrawal, V. & Mittal, M. (2002). Customer Relationship Management: The e11 Way. White paper of Delhi Business Review, Vol. 3, No. 1, January –June 2002. [2]Boon, O. , Corbitt, B. & Parker, C. (2002). Conceptualising the Requirements of CRM from an Oraganizational Perspective: a Review of the Literature. AWRE 2002. [3]Bull, C. (2003). Strategic issues in customer relationship management (CRM) implementation. Business Process management Journal, Vol. 9 No. 5, 2003, pp 592-602. [4]Chen, IJ. & Popovich, K. (2003). Understanding customer relationship management: People, Process and technology Business Process Management. Journal, Vol. 9, No 5, 2003, pp672-688. [5]Christopher M. , Payne, A. and Ballantyne, D. (1991). Relationship Marketing. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. [6]Day, G. (2000). Managing Market Relationships. Journal of the Academy Marketing Sciences, Vol. 28, No. 1. [7]Goodhue, D. , Wixon, B. nd Watson, H. (2002). Realising business benefits through CRM: hitting the right target in the right way. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp74-94. [8]Jenkinson, A. (1996). Valuing Your Customers: From quality information to quality relationships through database marketing. McGraw-Hill, London [9]Kalakota, R. and Robinson, M. (2000). e-Business Roadmap for Success. Addison-Wesley, United States. [10]Kassanoff, B. (2000). Build loyalty into your e-business. Proceedings of DCI Customer Relationship Management Conference. Boston, MA, 27-29 June [11]Light, B. (2001). A review of the issues associated with customer relationship management systems. Proceedings of the 9th European Conference on Information Systems, pp1232-1241 [12]Newell, F. (2000). Loyalty. com: Customer Relationship Management in the New Era of Internet Marketing. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY [13]Payne, A. , Christopher M. and Clark, M. (1999). Relationship Marketing for Competitive Advantage. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. [14]Payne, A. A Strategic Framework for Customer Relationship Management. A BT CRM White Paper [15]Peppard, J. (2000). Customer relationship management (CRM) in financial services. European management Journal, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp 312-327 [16]Petrissans, A. (2000). Customer Relationship Management and the Challenge of the Internet. Cap Gemini Ernst and Young-IDC, Toronto. 17]Tamminga, P. & O’halloran, P. (2000). Finding the real value in CRM: leveraging IT solutions through the customer driven approach. Cutter IT Journal Vol. 13, No. 10, pp4-11 [18]Turban, E. et al. (2004). Information technology for management: transforming organizations in the digital economy. 4th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, USA [19]Winer, R. (2001). A Framework for Customer Relationship Management. California Management Review, Vol. 34, No. 4. [20]Xu, Y. et al. (2002). Adopting customer relationship management technology. Industrial Management & Data Systems 102/8 2002, pp 442-452. Appendix 1 PC Industry Research Questionnaire Respondent Particular | |Age: __ Gender: __ Male __ Female | | | |Occupation: __ Technical __ Business | | | |Income Group: __ Below RM2,000/= __ RM2,000/= to RM5,000/= | |(per month) __ RM5,000/= to RM8,000/= __ Above RM8,000/= | | | |Accessible to Internet: __ Yes __ No | Part I – PC Purchase Experience |1 |Have you ever own a PC (either at home or work place? __Yes |__ No | | | | | |2 |How many time have you bought a PC for the last 5 years? |Please state: __ | | | | | |3 |Through which channel the PC is purchased? |__ Computer shop | | | |__ Elect. Appliance Retailer | | | |__ Internet | | | |__ Toll free telephone | | | |__ Mail order | | | |Others: | | | | | | |4 |What type of PC do you purchase? |__ Desktop |__ Notebook | | | |__ Palmtop |Other: _____ | | | | | |5. |What is the PC brand have you purchased? __ Acer |__ HP-Compaq | | | |__ Dell |__ Toshiba | | | |__ IBM |__ Fujitsu | | | |__ Clone | | | | | |6. |What is sequence of criteria in purchasing a PC? __ Brand | | |(from top to bottom1 to 7) |__ Price | | | |__ Service | | | |__ Reliability/Quality | | | |__ Appearance | | | |__ Functionality | | | |__ Customization | Part II: Experience with Dell (For those who has bought Dell PC only) |1 |What are your experience using Dell products? __ Good |__ Fair | | | |__ Bad | | | | | | |2 |Have you ever visited Dell’s web site? |__ Yes |__ No | | | | | |3 |Have you called to Dell’s toll free call center? |__ Yes |__ No | | | | | |4 |Have you read through Dell advertisement on printed material? __ Yes |__ N o | | | | | |5 |What channel do you find the most effective to get information from Dell |__ Internet | | | |__ Toll Free Call | | | |__ Printed material | | | | | |6 |Do you find Dell web site user friendly? __ Yes |__ No | | | | | | |7 |Do you satisfy with Dell’s |Very Dissatisfied |Dissatisfied |Neutral |Satisfied |Very satisfied | | |i. service quality | | | | | | | |ii. product quality | | | | | | | |iii. technical support | | | | | | | |iv. rice | | | | | | | | | | |2 |Does Dell continuously provide information/promotion of its product to you? |__ Yes |__ No | | | | | |3 |Can Dell employee address you by name when you call them? |__ Yes |__ No | | | | | |4 |Can Dell identify you purchase immediately when you require after sale technical support? __ Yes |__ No | | | | | |5 |Does Dell employee friendly and helpful? |__ Yes |__ No | | | | | | |8 |Will you return to Dell for subsequent purchase? |__ Yes |__ No | | | | | |9 |Do you agree Dell has successfully created good relationship with you? __ Yes |__ No | | | | | | |10 |Do you have any suggestion for Dell to further improve its Customer Service | | |Please state: | | | | [pic] ———————– Receivable/ Payable Profitability Analysis Production Planning Inventory Mgm’t Shipping Personnel Planning Payroll Back Office Functions Front Office Functions Figure 1: CRM Architecture Framework Globally Dispersed Customers Customer Support Cross-Functional Processes Breaking Down Department Walls Complete Integrated Solution Integrated CRM Applications Enhance Partial Functional Solutions Retain Marketing Mgm’t Order Mgm’t Sales Mgm’t Sales Planning Pricing After Sales Service Sales Force Automation Figure 2: Integration of CRM with Business Application Tools Customer Support Traditional Touch Points Retail Store Front Service Departments Cross-sell & Upgrade Proactive Service Direct Marketing Electronic Touch Points Website/ Internet E-mail Call Centre Voice Response System Direct Marketing Customer Life Cycle Customer Touch Points Acquire CRM Technology ERP/ Data Warehouse

Importance of Education Essay

The history of humankind is a history of progress; generations of our ancestors collected their experience, passed it to the next generation and as such were able to pass their knowledge to us. Education is the engine that moves mankind ahead, we enjoy the fruits of progress not only because the previous generations studied well but also because they passed their knowledge to us. In today’s world, driven by technology and forces to turn it into a global village, getting education is the best way to improve oneself. Studying is the best way to receive knowledge. Human knowledge collected over the generation is passed to us by teachers. Our school curriculum is structured to give us a wide breadth of information, some of this information appears to be useless but contrary to this view, this knowledge broadens our mind. An educated person critically thinks make decision and conclusions. Higher education, for instance, getting a degree helps one develop a character. In studying, we in addition to getting education are able to improve our characters. University is a social set up where we socialize, improve our communication skills and even learn how to speak in public. School set up teaches us to be responsible, persistent and assiduous. In the modern world, no career is possible without education. Not matter the devotion, desire and passion, without proper education there is no job for you. We need documented proof of our abilities to fit in the current job market. Education gives the back ground of the previous innovations without which one can hardly bring in a new idea in the world. To conclude, it is in getting education that we are able to improve our characters and state of our mind. We too become confident and more prepared to face the future. Khan sees education as knowledge of putting one’s potential to maximum use, which I totally agree with (2007).

Article Analysis for Sony Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Article Analysis for Sony - Research Paper Example This study, thus, digs into the affiliation’s prospects and summarizes various pertinent underpinnings to identify the diverse implications associated with the affiliation. Moreover, it critiques the various effects of restructuring on the case of Sony to enhance the rationale behind them choosing to constantly restructure when it appears to be detrimental to its business prospects. Statement of the problem Sony is apparently the most popular firm in the Japanese and global arena of electronics market. Its aptitude to ingeniously link administration capabilities with the general innovative design has been widely renowned. Additionally, most of its top management and administration personnel have been overtly powerful and influential to its past prospects and successes. Regardless of the truth that most of these personnel were overtly aware of market transformations that would implicate on their affiliations’ business, they could not bear the contemporary upsurge implica ting on the worldwide economy. Since, it is, particularly, not invulnerable to the waves of revolution in the international economy, Sony has been on the rough ride in its business ventures and prospects to the present, unless a rectification measure is duly take to curtail the down surge in profitability and unfavourable market transformation (Robert, 1999). ... This turned out to implicate negatively on the R and D operations, a prospect that elicit significant losses in the outcome. Thus, this critical study concentrates on the Sony Corporation, a communication and electronic multinational affiliation that has been under numerous business restructuring initiatives to enable it fit into the market. Research Questions and Hypothesis With regard to this critical study, it is pertinent to note that various hypothetical prospects have been in utilization, research queries that enhance the reader’s ability to comprehend the actual conceptual underpinnings that relate to the critical study of Sony, a multinational giant in the electronics market whose prospects to restructure have elicited various detrimental implications in the market and also within its intrinsic organizational model. These hypotheses and queries encompass the need to comprehend the rationale behind the restructuring prospects of immensely coveted multinational affiliati ons, Sony Corporation being the major case in this study. Furthermore, the critique includes theoretical applications that seek to evaluate the repercussions and cost effectiveness of the constant restructuring of large international affiliation, Sony being the major. Additionally, the study aims to find out the implication of frequent transformations in an affiliation structure in response to alterations in within the business environment. In such a query, we seek to expound on the changes that implicated on Sony prospects, in terms of profitability and resultant performance. Eventually, the last hypothetical concern surrounds a critical study of the initiatives by multinational corporations within the electronics business challenges and the respective response (Robert, 1999). Review of the

Technology and Children Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology and Children - Coursework Example involves preparation of the lessons on a computer, teaching the children from the same screen with comfort, taking exams and record keeping on the progress of the children from their tests (Lindsay Daugherty, 2015). In addition note that the teachers are constantly monitoring the use of the media and controls the use. For example to limit the total time exposure behind the computer screen, the teacher will ensure constant breaks and involvement with other activities off the computer and other aids. To the parents who have children that have a disability that require special needs, there is a program apart the traditional system of education that that works well with them. Computer-based technologies have enhanced ability to participate fully in the classroom environment. The ability to undertake training as the other children do is their right and the government played their part in introducing technology learning. The technology has broadened the range of educational activities so that the needs of children with gentle learning disorders are covered. It has also enhanced the activeness of those students with severe disorders through adaptive technology along with those that have no disability in the classroom (Lindsay Daugherty, 2015). Computer technology plays a vital role in the promotion of education of the infants have the need that require particular attention within the classroom. Using a computer such as in word processing, communication, researching, and performing of the multimedia projects helps more students through learning and emotional disorders to be at the par with their fellow students. Development of the sophisticated devices in computer technology has assisted a bigger number of pupils with more complicated disorders to overcome extensive limitations that obstruct them from classroom participation (Lindsay Daugherty, 2015). Training the teachers and those that are mandated to offer this education to be well equipped with this computer

Censorship on the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Censorship on the Internet - Essay Example The Rudd government of Australia wants to introduce the ‘Clean Feed’ project to control internet content. ‘Clean Feed’ aims to censor material on the internet for all Australians, ultimately blocking some forms of content for all individuals, mainly pornography, and possibly other controversial websites on euthanasia or anorexia (Courier Mail; Daily Telegraph). This paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of internet censorship. It argues that the government no longer needs to spend millions on internet censorship, because it cannot achieve the outcomes it aims for, because there are already many ways of accessing controversial and illegal content. Instead, the government should focus on generating a self-censorship policy, which focuses on educating the public, especially schools and parents, in using free internet censorship software and in educating the people about the harms of accessing illicit content on the web. Internet censorship is not enti rely flawed, because the principle behind it is that the internet should be a safe virtual space for everyone, especially children. Children should be protected from pornographic content, and being victims of pornography too (Flood). Flood shows that â€Å"children and adolescents may be shocked or disturbed by premature or inadvertent encounters with sexually explicit material per se† (388). Since the internet has become increasingly accessible and prominent among the youth, the government also has a responsibility to prevent children’s access to pornography online. The Christian Lobby's Jim Wallace tells the Four Corners that he finds it "quite amazing" that anyone would be against the filter plans (Ross). He asserts his own censorship ideals: "The bigger principle here is to establish the principle that the internet is not a free zone and I think that given the movement of technology and given the expectation of society that what the Government is proposing is there fore a good solution† (Ross). He adds: "We've lobbied the Government of course and we've lobbied quite hard. We got the first commitment to this prior to the last election and you know we're happy to see that the Government is delivering on it.† (Ross). Furthermore, many of these sexual websites have viruses and other computer programs that can harm computers. The Rudd government believes that internet censorship can make the internet a more family-friendly environment and a safer place for children to explore. It then aims to filter questionable content, such as pornography, abortion, profanity, sexual content, suicide and any other material that may seem obscene and unfit for children (Courier Mail; Daily Telegraph). It does so in the role of a caring parent, who seeks to guide the moral development of the nation’s children. Internet censorship is not all-encompassing, so it does not entirely obstruct the freedom of speech. Internet censorship is limited in reac h and impact in Australia. The Clean Feed is designed to have two filters, one being a mandatory stipulation for all Internet Service Providers, and this will target illegal web pages, terrorism, and child pornography. The second filter will censor out all material which is rated R material. This filter will be an optional filter for people in the household. This means that internet censorship remains as a form of self-censorship, with options for opting out for some internet

The Dynamics of Business Ethics Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Dynamics of Business Ethics - Article Example The fine was imposed by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and is considered as one of the largest fine imposed in accounting history (Rankin, 2013). RELEVANCE: How does this relate to the class materials? A large amount of fine was imposed on Deloitte because it failed to adhere to the accounting policies and breached ethical accounting standards when it had advised the above-mentioned companies for a merger, which led to the catastrophic outcome (Leake, 2013). REFLECTION: What are my thoughts and opinions regarding this article or report? As per my opinion, the management not only failed to identify potential conflicts but also failed to adhere to the ethical corporate standards. UNIT Article 2: ( Marta Steeman, 27 June 2013, 8000 painters under Ecan scrutiny, Source: Business Day). DESCRIPTION: In June 2013, the management of Environment Canterbury (ECan) imposed restrictions on the paintings of 8000 painters in Christchurch (Steeman, 2013). It was observed that the painters we re using illegal disposal paint that had the potentiality of polluting and harming the environment (Steeman, 2013). Ecan has requested the paint companies to use paints, which are relevant to the quality requirements of the Environmental Regulation Authority (Steeman, 2013). RELEVANCE: The paint companies have been requested to use environmentally friendly paints which can be discharged directly into the wastewater without hampering or blocking the city drainage system (Steeman, 2013). Ecan has also started a nationwide anti wash campaign to prevent the paint companies using illegal paints (Steeman, 2013). REFLECTION: As per the notice issued by Ecan, paint companies are requested to carry the trade license for purchase of containers of paints which are environment-friendly and come in between the range of $200- $ 4500. As per my opinion, there is a huge interrelationship between personal and organizational ethics. The alignment between the two goals is necessary for the productivit y of the organizations (Svensson and Wood, 2003). The employees failed to follow the ethical standards of the company. Article 3: ( Juliette Garside, 31 May 2013, Leaked: Europe probes Apple overexploitation of mobile networks, Source: The Guardian) DESCRIPTION: The European Commission is investigating whether Apple Inc has performed unfair means and methods to the mobile network companies that sell its phones. Although the management claims that it has complied with the local laws and regulations, the papers shown by the European commission reflect that the company has been using unfair means for yielding profitability. The European Commission is investigating the matter related to Apple Smartphones (Garside, 2013). RELEVANCE: Although the management of Apple claims that is has complied with the local laws and regulations to continue its business operations, European Commission has shown papers which depict the leaked allegations with the signature of the regulatory authorities. RE FLECTION: As per my opinion, Apple Inc tried to gain a competitive advantage or profitability through unfair means or methods, which is really offensive.  

Paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Paraphrase - Essay Example Bad academic problems and financial problems are other signs (Donatelle). One addictive behaviour is excessive use of technology. People have become increasingly dependent on such gadgets as iPads and phones that provide them with better access to online information. Donatelle suggests that people addicted to technology can be identified by certain behaviors they exhibit including lack of sleep, lack of fulfilment of responsibilities toward their friends and family, excitement while using technology, bad performance, problems in family, social exclusion, and financial problems. Drug abuse is about consuming banned substances. Despite their legal authorization, drugs are misused. It is noteworthy that drug abuse is done for particular reasons and is not a deliberate action. Disproportionate or unnecessary use of drugs is described as drug abuse (Donatelle). Drug abuse mostly happens when the individual gets addicted to it. Drug misuse mainly causes its abuse. Drug abuse has long-term effects whereas drug misuse has mostly short-term effects. Alcohol’s effect on body and health can be categorized into short and long-term effects. Examples of short-term effects are disrupted sleep, headache, vomiting, problematic breathing, inaudible vocalization, and deteriorated memory. Examples of long-term effects include illnesses related to alcohol like liver disease, throat cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, oesophagus cancer. Other effects include brain and nerve damage, social problems, sexual problems, and poor performance (Donatelle). Smoking also causes several short-term and long-term effects just like any other substance that is abused. Cigarettes contain nicotine which is very addictive. Tar and carbon monoxide present in the cigarettes cause lungs cancer and mouth cancer. This is smoking’s main long-term effect. Other effects experienced

Driving to Colma Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Driving to Colma - Assignment Example On the same point, when the father was seek it is recommended for him to call his friends to see how is feeling concerning the sickness. This is depicted when he calls Jim a friend. On top of that, the invited Japanese come with food. The narrator and the father have a strong relationship when it comes to driving. The father is always dictating the narrator on how to drive and show her directions like a little child. It pisses of the narrator making her to hate the instructions she receives from the father. On top of that the father is very concerning with the welfare of the daughter and he always likes to be driven by the narrator. The two are close friend and a father and daughter respectively. They narrator has the bond of love to her father just like the father to daughter relationship. The narrator loves the car of her father and she always loves driving her to important places like hospital. With the partying gift, the father loves his daughter till he buys her (the narrator) a present. The narrator always loves a quiet life and she does not need anyone to dictate her. She always never liked her father to dictate her and show her directions that are unnecessary. She also loves her father by the fact that she massages her using fists. Each and every time the father gets sick, she always gets worried. All this is proved from the drive where the narrator loves to hold the keys and take her father to a drive. On the other side, the father cares the life of his daughter. She takes her daughter oversees to study and always wants her to be close to him. By allowing her to be driving him, it is a sign of a father daughter love.

Aplastic Anemia Essay Example for Free

Aplastic Anemia Essay Aplasitc anemia is a very rare blood disorder. Sometimes, it is connected with leukemia; it could be a result from chemotherapy given to leukemia patients. In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow does not make the necessary blood cells needed in the blood; however, leukemia is when the blood cells are deformed and not working properly. Leukemia is a cancer where as aplastic anemia is not. Chemotherapy treatment for cancer can lead to the secondary condition of aplastic anemia that may cause slowing down of producing blood cells. What are the anatomical and physiological symptoms and causes for aplastic anemia? What is the diagnosis and what treatments are available for aplastic anemia? One symptom is fatigue from being anemic. Anemia is when the red blood cells are low in the blood. The red blood cells carry the oxygen from your lungs to all parts of the body (Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation, Inc. ). This will cause fatigue when the body does not get enough oxygen. There is a little more than just low red blood count in cells in aplastic anemia. It is when the body doesn’t produce all three different blood cells that the body has: white blood cells, red blood cells, and the platelets termed pancytopenia (Wikipedia). In aplastic anemia, it is when the bone marrow stops producing or slows down in producing these new blood cells. The white ones or leukocytes are to fight infections in the body by attacking and killing bacteria and viruses (Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation, Inc. ), so with out them patients easily catch viruses. A low white blood cell count is called neutropenia (Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation, Inc. . The other is the platelets; they are for blood clots. A low platelet count is called thrombocytopenia (Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation, Inc. ). A low platelet count leads to another symptom that would be uncontrolled bleeding because the body does not have the platelets to stop the bleeding. You can also causes bruising and petechiae (Wikipedia). Some of the other symptoms include shortness of breath, headache, pallor and, ultimately tachycardia and heart failure (Lippincott 508). Bone tenderness should not be present (Mc Phee 454). The cause for aplastic anemia develops when the bone marrow is damaged or in some cases is unknown. About 75 out of 100 cases of acquired aplastic anemia are idiopathic (Aplastic Anemia MDS International Foundation, Inc. ). This means they have no known cause. Sometimes, the case can be from radiation and chemotherapy treatment used for cancer. This can destroy the healthy cells in the bone marrow leading to the secondary condition. Some other causes for secondary condition of aplastic anemia are toxic chemicals and certain drugs, such as the chemical benzene that is found in gasoline, or with the use of certain drugs, including chloramphenicol[-0], carbamazepine[-1], felbamate[-2], phenytoin[-3], quinine[-4], and phenylbutazone[-5] (Wikipedia). Chloramphenicol treatment is followed by aplasia in less than 1 in 40,000 treatment courses, and carbamazepine aplasia is even more rare (Wikipedia). The medication for rheumatoid arthritis is connected to ones getting aplastic anemia; this would be called also a secondary condition when aplastic anemia appears. Likewise Lupus, an autoimmune disorder, can attack the healthy stem cells. This would cause the slowing down or stopping of making the blood cells the body needs. The rest may result from immunologic factors (unconfirmed), severe disease (especially hepatitis), viral infection (especially children), or preleukemic and neoplastic infiltration of bone marrow (Lippincott 397). Therefore, to confirm a diagnosis for aplastic anemia they first take a blood sample to see if the blood count is low. If that shows up low in all the blood cells, the next step is to take a bone marrow sample or biopsy. The bone marrow is usually taken from the large hip bone by a needle. The sample is looked at in a microscope to rule out leukemia, which the blood cells would look abnormal and would be the reason the blood cells are not working properly. However, aplastic anemia would show very little red and white blood cells in the blood stream. Some options of treatment given to patients are medications, bone marrow transplant, and blood transfusion (MayoClinic). Just recently, they have stem cell transplants. The medications are immunosuppressive combine with cyclosporine. Maybe one of the causes is the immune system is attacking its own good blood cells, and these drugs will slow down the process. This medication treatment is usually given until the patient can get a stem cell transplant. The other medication can be used with the immunosuppressive is the growth factor. The new genetically engineered growth factor drugs help with making new white blood cells. That is really important, since the body makes a blood cell that only last for awhile, so the body is always generating new blood cells. However, aplastic anemia patients body for some reason stops this process. The other medicines used are antibiotics either to help prevent infections or already established infection, since the immune system is weak and would not be unable to fight of a common cold. Most likely the doctor will administer them before an infection appears, so that the patient will not get an infection. Those are the medications used and if the condition doesn’t improve, the patient would await for a bone marrow transplant. The bone marrow transplant might have been the first choice, which the medication is administered until the patient can find a match donor. The bone marrow transplant is usually a successful treatment to cure aplastic anemia in people under 55 years old (Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation, Inc. ). Bone marrow transplantation from a related, matched donor can treat aplastic anemia – without recurrence- in about four out of five cases (MayoClinic). Up to half the people with matched, but unrelated, donors can expect to have successful bone marrow transplants (MayoClinic). There’s a chance that your body may reject the transplant, leading to life-threatening complications (MayoClinic). The bone marrow transplant uses a matched blood type. When found, the donor will have surgically removed some of his or her healthy bone marrow. It is then injected intravenously in the blood to the patient. The donated bone marrow will collect to the patient’s bone marrow and help with making new blood cells; it may take two to four weeks to show the new blood cells are producing. Before they even give the aplastic patient the donated marrow, they give them chemo to get rid of the diseased marrow, and will also be administered drugs to help prevent rejection of the bone marrow. Another precaution a doctor may limit the number of blood transfusions before the operation to avoid complications. Technology is advancing that they can use stem cells now instead of bone marrow transplant. The new stem cell transplant is taken from the bone marrow, umbilical cord, or the blood stream of the donor. They just get the stem cell from either of those places, and again like the bone marrow transplant, place the stem cell into the blood stream of the patient. The patient will be given chemo before the procedure as in the bone marrow transplant. This time the complication of the new stem cells will create an immune system that attacks the body of the donor, instead of the body rejecting as in the bone marrow transplant. If this does occur, they also have drugs that will help combat this. The treatment of blood transfusion is not usually used because it is a treatment for fatigue. Fatigue is not a medical emergency. First, use rest to see if it alleviates the symptom. White blood cells only last a day because that is how long they last in the body. That is why the bone marrow is important in making the new cells the body needs. The other complication that blood transfusions may cause is hemorrhaging. For long term recovery, they usually need other treatment along with this procedure. Aplastic anemia is a very rare disease and affects very few people. It is not contagious. It is more commonly diagnosed in young adults and children. It can affect any age group anytime in life and the illness might be brief, also it can come on suddenly or slowly. The symptoms vary depending on the blood cells that they are low in. The patient could have a slight case that might just be observed or to a severe case that needs treatment. A doctor should be the one to make the diagnoses and treatments. Doctors estimate that there are about 900 new cases of aplastic anemia diagnosed in the United States each year (Aplastic Anemia MDS International Foundation, Inc. . Patients need to be extra careful not to get an infection because the body having low white blood cell count would have a hard time combating against viruses. Steps are also taken to prevent hemorrhage: avoiding parenteral injections, suggesting the use of an electric razor, humidifying oxygen to prevent dry mucous membranes, and promoting regular bowel movement (Venes 116). Mortality for aplastic anemias with severe pancytopenia is 80% to 90% (Lippincott 507). In advancing technology today, why not consider to be a bone marrow donor that could save lives of others.

Why did the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa take so long?

Why did the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa take so long? Why did the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa take so long? The struggle to end apartheid in South Africa appears, at the dawn of the twenty first century, to be an aberration of social and world history. Viewed within the context of the pervasive civil rights movement in North America and the abolition of slavery (first in Britain at the beginning of the nineteenth century and followed by America after the Civil War in 1865), apartheid seems like a medieval notion that was imprinted upon modern history; an anachronistic nightmare imposed on civilised society. In a world that had banished National Socialism and seen the back of Stalin, the Immorality Amendment Act (1961) remained a legal statute in South Africa until 1985, making sexual relations between whites and non‑whites an unlawful act under apartheid. Yet the very singularity of apartheid remained a key reason for its longevity: for as long as South Africa could be isolated and swept under the international diplomatic rug the rest of the free world could comfort itself in its li beral attitude to race relations while leaving the citizens of South Africa to play the role of international pariahs. However, as Barber ascertains, â€Å"although western governments continued to criticise apartheid, their criticism was often drowned out by accusations of their hypocrisy.† For the purposes of this study, analysis will take a chronological form, tracking the genesis of apartheid as a political creed to understand how it became a part of the South African way of life. In this way it will be shown how apartheid took so long to be rooted out of the national culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The greatest mistake for historians today is to view South Africa from a solely British colonial perspective. It is important to understand that the country had a long and rich social history before the arrival of the British. It was a legacy tainted with taut race relations between the indigenous African tribes and the first settlers, the Boers. Indeed, before the arguments pertaining to apartheid were ever voiced, the British and Boers fought a long war of attrition (1899‑1902) to determine which nation should govern the land that was rich in minerals and therefore important in an economic and strategic sense. Conflict is thus at the heart of the history of South Africa. Like Northern Ireland one should not dismiss the effects of repetitive differences of opinion whereby war and aggravation can become deep rooted within the culture.   Ã‚   The eventual British victory in the Boer War sewed the seeds of the resentment that would ultimately harvest apartheid (apartness). Boers, or Afrikaners as they were known within their own ranks, felt like aliens in their home land, made to speak a foreign language and pay allegiance to a detested foreign power. During the first three decades of the twentieth century Afrikaners felt more alienated than ever with a large wage and lifestyle discrepancy between the English‑speaking South Africans and the Afrikaners. By the end of the Second World War, the Afrikaners were an ethnic group on the verge of revolting. Therefore, when the alliance between the National Party and the Afrikaner Party bore fruit in the way of a unified South African national election victory in May 1948 the result was a reversal back to political ideals that were envisaged in the pre‑British days of the nineteenth century – apartheid being one of several popular ultra‑conservative slog ans used during the preceding electoral campaign. The day after the victory, party leader, Malan declared: â€Å"Today South Africa belongs to us once more. South Africa is our own for the first time since Union, and may God grant that it will always remain our own.† With such a resentful and dislocated background, apartheid was introduced as a means to perpetuate white rule. As a social and political philosophy, it was a backlash against modernity – specifically against the civil rights movement. Traditionally, prejudice thrives on routine and wilts in the face of modernity and the speed with which the North American people vented their disgust at segregation in the Deep South shocked the white leaders of South Africa, not only for the ferocity of the rage against the state but also for the composition of the dissenters, many white, middle‑class and well‑educated. Yet there were distinct and fundamental differences between the South African national experience and that of the USA. Although both America and South Africa were initially colonial countries, the influx of immigrants to the USA was markedly different to the migration of people to South Africa. As New York took over from London as the financial capital of the West after 1918, South Africa remained a predominantly agricultural country. The relevance of this in terms of the perpetuation of apartheid is that while one nation became a melting pot of differing ideologies, religions, races and creeds, the other became entrenched in a formulaic white‑black divide with a history of Afrikaner and British land‑holders dictating policy to a black populace. Apartheid should be viewed as part of a broader policy of deconstruction taking place in post‑war South Africa, all facets tied to the dual desire to keep power from black people as well as moving away from the disapproving gaze of the West. The removal of both the British National Anthem and the Union Jack as cultural symbol (1957), the replacement of UK currency (1961) as well as the referendum (1960) and subsequent formulation of the republic (1961) highlighted the uniquely South African experience, which was designed as a means to create white unity and loyalty to South Africa alone. In this sense, apartheid was strongly tied to Afrikaner nationalism, making it a movement beyond the comprehension and control of the former British colonial masters. â€Å"While there was very little difference between Afrikaners and English‑speakers in their support for white supremacy, residential segregation and migrant labour, English opinion‑formers constantly tried to distance themselves as much as possible from the racial politics of Afrikaner parties. They found the crude expression of racism distasteful and resented being shut out from power.† Political apartheid in South Africa was so durable because it was built upon a well‑founded ideological structure that curbed black influence in all corners of society. Apartheid can be viewed as a pyramid. The first building block was the political obstacles put in the way of black participation in administrative affairs leaving politics to be a whites’ only domain. The National Party next used enforced separation of existing physical communities to perpetuate their rule, followed by the segregation of education and the labour market (black workers were not officially permitted to form trade unions). Not only did the National Party separate black and white communities but they also restricted movement within the country in the same way that Jews were not permitted to travel within Nazi Germany. The formation of the Bantustans (black ‘homelands’) meant that blacks were put out of sight of the white minority rulers giving rise to two completely separate soci o‑economic groups within one sovereign nation. The sum of these measures was to make a law of a loose body of segregation and prejudice methods of divide and rule that were already in place before 1945, making apartheid the most extreme version of institutionalised racism anywhere the industrialised world. â€Å"Segregation doctrine was supplanted by the more dangerous notion ‘separate development.’ This involved the idea that Africans and others should reside, and enjoy citizenship rights, in distinct ethnic homelands. Whereas White supremacy and segregation had involved an explicit racial hierarchy in legislative and political practice, the NP from 1961 was committed to formal equality between groups understood in ethnic terms.† It is a key point to make in terms of comprehending the durability of apartheid. While segregation alone would have ensured white supremacy for a generation, the complete stagnation of educational or vocational opportunity for blacks meant that they were, over successive generations, unable to wrest power from Afrikaner hands. Moreover, the notion of two ideals of citizenship in one country gave the blacks the illusion of self ­ rule even though, in reality, their human rights were worth next to nothing under apartheid.  Ã‚   Of all the installations of prejudice utilised by the National Party to ensure the penetration of apartheid, the restriction of physical movement proved to be the greatest obstacle to long term change. Throughout history, all of the momentous instigators of social change heralded from industrial cities where like‑minded individuals could disseminate information to one another and could meet in secret underground. Paris, Boston and St.  Petersburg are all examples of the role of the modern city as conduit through which progressive ideas might puncture throughout society so as to induce cultural change. In 1948 there were two million blacks located in South African cities compared to six million in the countryside and the great majority of these lived in slums. With the arrival of the Bantustans, the blacks were further constrained in terms of being able to form a coherent opposition to apartheid along the lines of the Black Panther Party in the USA or the NICRA in Northern Ir eland. Clearly, the lack of intellectual, philosophical and political discourse within South African urban centres meant that apartheid was more difficult to dislodge from within than was the case in, for example, French Algeria, South Africa’s closest continental equivalent.    If the period 1945‑1961 is seen as the foundation of apartheid in South Africa, then the years 1961‑1980 should be viewed as the era of ‘high apartheid’, where the NP regime fought against modernity and international opinion to maintain a political system that was at odds with the rest of western civilisation. Acts of state‑sponsored atrocity such as the Soweto Massacre (1976) shocked the world and divided international opinion. In 1966, at the heyday of apartheid during the final year of Verwoerd’s term in office, 1.5 million blacks were kept in reserve who would otherwise have become urbanised and, potentially, radicalised. Yet it should be understood that the international community was compliant in the continuation of apartheid during this time. It has been shown that the blacks within South Africa were powerless to form opposition to apartheid from within. Hope therefore rested with the outside world.    â€Å"Enforcing apartheid required not only a range of oppressive methods domestically: intimidation, abandonment of the rule of law, torture, outright terror including assassination – all these were commonplace in South Africa. But the tentacles of the police state also spread abroad, often assisted by Western intelligence services in ways which infected and compromised the democratic politics of these countries. From the late 1960’s onwards, South African agents were responsible for a series of attacks on anti‑apartheid organisations across the world.† Thus, as the horrors of the Holocaust faded into history and the world became united by satellite communication, the National Party treatment of blacks could only have been perpetuated via external assistance. Although sanctions were imposed and diplomats constantly sent to Pretoria, the police state apparatus was aided by international impotence in the face of extreme racial oppression. Indeed, the nerve centre of apartheid during the era of high apartheid was the South African equivalent of the Gestapo – the Afrikaner Broederband, established by three Afrikaner nationals in 1918. â€Å"The Afrikaner Broederband made the nature of the apartheid administration unique. Most of the country’s leading government members, generals, judges and senior police officers, along with many Church and education officials, operated on the deeply secret level of the AB.† Economic and cultural ties also ensured that key European countries such as Britain and West Germany continued to trade with South Africa, and the illegal arms trade made certain that the AB and hit‑squads of apartheid were always supplied with the tools to guarantee black suppression. In addition, the spectre of the Cold War loomed large over the issue of apartheid. Not only did the USSR divert attention away from the atrocities taking place in South Africa, but the nation was seen, in much the same way as Vietnam, as a key battleground in the spreading of communist theory across the post‑war globe, exacerbated by the rich economic opportunities prevalent in the country. Perversely, the Soviet states supported the liberal racial ideologies of the suppressed black South Africans, fuelled by the extreme anti‑communist stance of all of the NP leaders, who each played a major role in apartheid. â€Å"Apartheid’s phases have been stamped by Afrikanerdom’s great men: Malan preached Afrikaner unity, Strydom the republican ideal; Vorster’s rule was marked by pragmatism and tough security laws; and PW Botha’s era was distinguished by the total onslaught and militarism tinged with reformism.† That the compliance of the international community was a major factor in the continuation of apartheid can be seen through the means via which it was eventually dismantled. The beginning of the end of apartheid was the revised 1984 national constitution, which aimed to highlight existing divides within the nation to split the burgeoning black political parties. The new constitution differentiated between Indians, ‘coloureds’ and whites leaving blacks as the sole focus of racism in South Africa; however, in attempting to woo other ethnic groups the National Party gave explicit encouragement to, among others, the UDF (United Democratic Front). â€Å"The view from below was of a galling piece of political expediency. The new constitution amounted to an admission that apartheid was a failure.† De Tocqueville in the nineteenth century noted that people may endure grievance and abuse only for as long as they feel as if they are powerless to do anything about it. This had certainly been the case in the history of South Africa until the second half of the 1980’s. Yet with the dilution of the ethnic pool over a period of four decades, and the subtle shift in symbolic power from the NP to the ANC, apartheid was ultimately doomed to failure. Conclusion The widespread feeling of isolation was at the root of the perpetuation of apartheid in South Africa. Isolation was first experienced by the Boers and Afrikaners who then transmitted this sense of alienation to the blacks under the guise of apartheid. Isolation was likewise the tactic employed by the international community after the National Party victory in 1948, which further assisted the policy of apartheid. History reports that expulsion from international groups and treaties benefits no‑one but the dictators in charge of the nation that has so offended the free world. The recent examples of Iraq and Zimbabwe highlight the futility of isolation as an international relations panacea to the social ills of the modern world. It is therefore prudent to see apartheid in South Africa as the vision of Afrikaner racists fuelled by international compliance via ineptitude. Apartheid’s longevity was also aided by the presence of communism and the enticing economic climate of South Africa, which ensured that a tougher stance was not taken against the NP. In this way the struggle to end apartheid took the best part of half a century; the greatest surprise was that by 1990 it ended so quickly without recourse to civil war or mass bloodshed. BIBLIOGRAPHY BARBER, James. Mandela’s World: the International Dimension of South Africa’s Political Revolution, 1990‑1999. Oxford, James Currey, 2004. BELL, Terry. Unfinished Business: South Africa, Apartheid and Truth. London, Verso, 2003. BUTLER, Anthony. Contemporary South Africa. London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. GILIOMEE, Herman. The Afrikaners: Biography of a People. London, Hurst Co, 2003. HAIN, Peter. Sing the Beloved Country: the Struggle for the New South Africa. London, Pluto, 1996. MAMDANI, Mahmood. Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1996. MOORCRAFT, Paul. African Nemesis: War and Revolution in Southern Africa, 1945‑2010. London, Brassey’s UK, 1994. POSEL, Deborah. The Making of Apartheid. Oxford, Clarendon, 1991. ROBERTSON, Janet. Liberalism in South Africa. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1971. SPARKS, Allister. The Mind of South Africa: the Story of the Rise and Fall of Apartheid. London, Heinemann, 1990

A Discussion On Police Discretion Criminology Essay

A Discussion On Police Discretion Criminology Essay Domestic violence, is associated with a series of long term physical problems alongside it will have also psychological factors which is a serious health problem. The growing concerns of violence against woman caused the increase of more police officers to take extra shifts to cover the victims of domestic violence. However, with that the police also has to implement a great deal of discretion. The police department will give the officers indirectly or clearly the choice what laws they want to enforce and when, most of the time police officers already know which cases prosecutors will keep and which ones the judge will convict. In some cases police officers have already been persuaded from many of the last cases they had to deal with, which kind of makes their decision easier. Research shows that most of the arrests are made by the officers if there was physical harm done. Domestic violence is a growing issue and it has an impact on may different individuals such as, partners, parents, children, and extended family members. In many cases domestic violence can often be fatal , but it can also be prevented and treated. Many cases include spousal battery, sexual abuse, child abuse to name a few. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also calls domestic violence intimate partner violence is well defined as physical or sexual violence or even psychological and emotional abuse that is intended to hurt a spouse, or even a current spouse (CDC, 2012). The center for disease control also defines intimate partner violence spouse abuse, battering, and even marital rape (CDC, 2012). The community and society is a perfect place and it has the ability to protect and separate the risk of such vast growing violence. Woman which is most exposed to domestic violence have two types of solutions that they are able to use. One, police officers can arrest or charge an individual and prosecutors can follow a criminal restrictive. Secondly, victims of domestic violence can also follow civil actions against the offenders by filing for a protective order in which case it can be temporary or permanent. These kinds of order can be issued to individuals that are involved in an abusive relationship, which will keep the abuser from contacting the victim. A temporary restraining order can be issued which can last up to one to two weeks, after that a mandatory hearing is set to determine the reason why the individual needs a restraining order and for how long. In 1994 the Violence Against Women Act was passed, with that the demand for police officer also grew higher to protect domes tic violence victims. At the same time more funding was passed to make it mandatory for police officers to arrest an individual based on probable cause and to determine that a crime has been committed and the person in question has committed the actual crime. Additionally, the enactment of the primary offender concept and a speedy prosecution were also ordered by the state. With that the increase in domestic violence arrest was rising to 30 percent and higher. The federal government spends a large amount of money, to encourage local areas to cure the cause of domestic violence and to treat it as a serious crime and to attack these kinds of crimes with force. There are many other states that are now passing the law to make it mandatory for police officers to arrest individuals that are under a restraining order (Holmes, Sylvia I. Mignon William M., 1995). However, under this new law the officers can use less discretion. The study showed that incidence under that new law showed the re lations with arrests and the offending arrests are less and offending based on reports and victims story. The spectrum of the criminal justice starts with the police itself. Discretion is distinct for the officer to have the power to make his or her choice based on possible options of actions or inactions. Police officers implement a large amount of discretion that comes with their job description as a protector of the community and their safety and also for the individuals that are unable to protect themselves. There is a plethora of research that has been done on police discretion: it lists as many as 140 titles related to discretion of the police in criminal justice alone and the the way discretion is used and how it affects their decision making. There are many factors to consider that might influence police discretion when arresting individuals such as, race ethnicity and how serious the offense is (Justice, U.S. Department of, 1999). There has been many debates on the advantages and disadvantages of a mandatory arrest and it depends on three main questions. One, will mandatory arrests increase or decrease the violence for victims? Two, will mandatory arrests encourage or discourage victims, and lastly should domestic violence be treated the same way as a violent crime (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004)? Increase or decrease, the argument in support of mandatory arrest for violence can be decreased due to the warning signs that are affected by the abuser. This means that abusers will learn to control their violent behavior due to the fact that they are afraid of future arrests. Studies have shown that mandatory arrests will control domestic violence. However, in some other studies the increase of domestic violence has been noticed when following the mandatory arrest procedure, and most of the victims were unmarried or the abuser was unemployed (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004). In this case it led s ome to believe that mandatory arrests do not work on lowering the domestic violent crimes on the contrary it actually escalated the violence for some victims. Empowerment or disempowerment, has the possibility that mandatory arrests may disempower a victim or survivor, because it take the womans right away to make her own decision to a much more powerful court system that has not been exactly the sensitive womans rights (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004). There are also many reasons why an abused woman may not want to follow through with the abusers arrest, for the following reason; she might be afraid of retaliation, financial issues that it might cause to name a few. Certainly, a court system has the assumption that the victim does not what might be best for the family and to a victim that might come across as condescending. In some cases there was also an increase of concern that there might be a dual arrest under the mandatory arrest law. What makes matters worse is when a victim is arrested that would be a great disempowerment. However, it has been used in the past that when the empowerment of a woman is taken away , the implementation of a mandatory arrest is placed. So by letting the victim have some empowerment it will ensure that her complaint is taken seriously, which makes her think her police is on her side. Some believe that mandatory arrests empower women by limiting police discretion and that leads to a non bias arresting. It is also noted that woman who has increased empowerment which is more likely in woman that are a minority, they are more likely to use the police services to stop violent crimes from happening. (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004) noted that for instance family violence shoulcategorizeded differently then stranger sault. Some believe that police officers should only handle only very dangerous crimes, and that the rest of the crimes should be handled outside the criminal system like privet counseling. Mandatory arrest laws need to be replaced with organized police discretion, which include using the victims decision and using it for example taking the item to a safe place like shelter or such. Some say hat revoking of the mandatory arrest law would make things worse in controlling domestic violence, and would return the violence to its normal stage. Criminalizing domestic violence will send a big message to the public that this kind of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The mandatory arrest debate produced a lot of attention for much of the problem of policing and domestic violence. However, whether or not it is beneficial to have a mandatory arrest law for victims of domestic violence remains questionable. After carefully observing the evidence pertaining to the violence issue, it has generated inconsistent findings in the conclusion. Two of the findings on the issues of arrests whether or not it empowers or disempowers victims of domestic violence, is an issue that might be better off if it is dealt with inside/outside the criminal justice system. But it has still to be examined with research and it is mainly a speculation. There is still important information that is yet to be studied, and that is the victims themselves, and how they preserve the mandatory arrest law. Do victims of domestic violence care about the enactment of the mandatory arrest and what do they observe as being an advantage or disadvantage of the action. Whether victims feel t hreatened or safer with this particular law and are they more inspired or discouraged is the question. In recent times victims of domestic violence were clearly not in a talking mood. Fortunately, there has been an outpouring of research in recent years that has studied victims and their presumption of the criminal justice system. There has been only a few studies that show the consideration for victims and the support for a mandatory arrest (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004). It has shown that most of the victims are supporting the mandatory law not necessarily for them but for the other individuals benefit. Though, either one of the studies dug deep enough into the above mentioned issues that have been stressed in the debate about mandatory arrest. It is the strategic effect on the levels of violence, of empowerment and if it demonstrates that domestic violence is looked at as a serious crime. The main influence of this study is that it goes much further into the question i f victims care for the mandatory arrest law and it also examines the view on the issues. This study is also useful to see how flexible as well as not so flexible the study is. The main idea of this study is to find out what victims think of the mandatory arrest law and if it has an advantage or a disadvantage. The main point is to find out to what degree victims support this kind of law. Individuals have been asked in the study if the mandatory arrest is sufficient enough to keep violent offenders away from victims and the second question was should domestic violence be treated as other violent crimes. Additionally, the support for mandatory arrest was also measured if it was mainly for the victims own case in terms of domestic violence or if it was measured in a general sense. Results showed which was expected that victims supported the policy for domestic violence very strongly for more general purpose than for their own cases. It is clear that many of the participants in this above study are more interested in the benefit that it helps other individuals before it helps the victims itself. As mentioned at the beginning domestic violence has long term physical problems alongside it will have also psychological factors which is a serious health problem. Which make police discussion a huge problem in some cases it is whether to arrest some offenders and permit others to keep taking part in criminal misconduct. It is the way police departments implement this discretion and what consequences it might have in the long run. However, when police officers have to tackle a domestic violent case it can be very stressful for an officer, because they only have a split second to think. When officers have little to no time to think it makes it very hard to determine what kind of discretion is appropriate and what is not. In many cases it is very hard to make this kind of decision on a short notice, however as mentioned above many of the officers already have a hunch from previous cases if the victim is saying things for their own personal gain or if they are telling the truth. In conclusion all of the above main issues mentioned earlier on mandatory arrests were addressed to variable degrees in individuals that participated in the open ended response. Much of the studies that took place was very encouraging because it showed that the discussion are important for the victims concerns. However, in recent research it was highlighted that some issues such as, the effects it had on supporting or non supporting of mandatory arrests. Domestic violence was certainly a noticeable concern for many of the victims in this study, though it was not their first priority in their decision to support this kind of policy. For that reason, it would be a mistake to use the study to increase or decrease in domestic violence to measure the achievement or the disappointment of the issue. Many other similar studies have been conducted, and many of the women participating in this study felt that mandatory arrests are very important. Which is quite a lucky break because in many cou ntries and other states the mandatory arrest law is already in place. What was most important in this particular study was the fact that many of the individuals sheds light on many of the reasons why monetary arrests should be made to save the victims. Even though some have issues with the mandatory arrest laws and some do not the best way to figure out the pros and cons on this issue to have the victims of domestic violence decide what is best for the individual crime. The officer will always face issues when it comes to arrests but it is for the individual officer to decide whether to arrest an abuser or whether to listen to both parties to make the right judgement call.