Romanticism and Neoclassical

ROMANTICISM AND NEO-CLASSICAL Romanticism a word that makes one think that it is a piece of art that shows love, a man and a woman. But it is not quite that, romanticism can mean freedom, rebellion, it could symbol intuition, emotion, the individual, and truth. It refers to art work that states feelings, moods, and dominates. An individual expression of experiences which cannot and could not be evaluated or assessed in purely rational or materialistic terms. Romanticism was one of the most unique ism that would most certainly be remembered most.Romanticism started during the time of Neo-Classicism, many disliked the view that Neo-Classicism and so they began a new style. Romanticism valued human emotions, instincts, over rational, rule based approach to questions of value and meaning in the arts, society, and politics. Romanticism can be charactized by formal stylization; the compositional is simplification, and a preference for graphic techniques and expanses of color. Another thing that also inspired the art movement was the attitude towards the landscape.However romanticism wasn’t accepted until 1830. The intention for Romanticism was to create a new world to enter the wreckage of the old; the time for innovation, experiment, new social systems and Utopias, new concepts and morality. A romantic was one who had broken loose from the rigid controls of the past and felt free to move ahead. Romantic artists explored specific values of individuality which Neo-Classicism ignored; the values of intuition, instinct, and even the more in accessible aspects of feelings which reach and exceed the boundaries beyond of reason.There were four non art history facts that were either influenced or affected the art movement were; the American and French Revolutions, the restoration between the Greeks and Turks, and the Age of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment had a negative effect on the romantics; they attacked the Church. The two artists that are quite interesting to learn about from this period are Eugene Delacroix and Theodore Gericault. They might not be Michelangelo or Paul Klee or any other big shot artist but they are still artists, artists that have done beautiful work and some most incredible art pieces.Eugene Delacroix, born on April 26, 1791, in the month of the Taurus, in Paris suburb called Charenton-Saint-Maurice. He was presumed to be premature, but some expect that his real father was Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, instead of Charles-Francois Delacroix. However Delacroix turned a blind ear to them for he believed that Charles-Francois was his true father. He showed an exceptional talent for music, for the cathedral; who had been a friend of Mozart, Delacroix learnt how to play the piano, violin, and the guitar.He was only nine or ten when according to his friend critic Theophite Silvestre, when he went to Louvre. When he was seven his father died, his mother packed up everything and took Delacroix and Henriette and left to liv e in Paris. His two older brothers were away at war. He was taught by Pierre-Narcisse Guerin and also by Theodore Gericault at Lycee Louis-le-Grand. However he was not on good terms with Theodore; who was seven years his senior to Eugene. Eugene had turned a deaf ear to Gericault’s injunction from the first time he meet him. He felt an instinctive affinity to Theodore’s ideas.It wasn’t until 10 years later after they met that Gericault died at age 32. His art piece Bark of Dante was debt to Theodore Gericault; who he met. Everywhere in his art one can see in the exploitation of the dramatic potential in the waterscape, or in the use of diagonals to convey the sense of struggle and movement in the form of the figures. The bold emphasis on their musculature is incredible. However the theme is and was a thoroughly respectable one. It was free of anything that might rile official dom. After it had been exhibited at the Salon, the French government paid 2,000 francs for it.In his later years he became called â€Å"a volcanic crater artistically concealed behind bouquets of flowers† or even sometimes called The Great Romantic. He could be a lover of women and a work fanatic, an adept at social trivia and a man of wider ranging erudition not only mastery of esthetics but an impressive grasp of music, theater, and literature. His first foreign journey was to England, where he learnt how to ride on horses, which would come in handy for the Moroccan desert. Where he went mostly for politic reasons and not only was it for art it was also to escape the civilization of Paris.He produced over 100 sketches and paintings of the people, their costumes or just the landscape. He demonically turned out more than 850 paintings, thousands of sketches, watercolors, and drawings of art. In his lifetime he produced more than 20 works that were inspired by Shakespeare. He continued to make art till he died; for he was trying to reconcile opposites to see art as a whole. For part of Eugene’s genius laid in his capacity to learn from others. He died in 1863 in Paris, France. One of his artwork titled Orphan Girl at Cemetery which was worked and finished between 1823-1824.Delacroix used oil on canvas with this art. It shows a girl with hair pilled on her head and she is looking to sky. In the background you can just see the church and some crosses. There is a sense of sadness and loneliness in her eyes and her look. Theodore Gericault was born in 1791 into a bourgeois family in Rouen. Gericault moved to Paris as a boy. He has been fascinated by all aspects of equestrian such as races, jumping and riding schools. He was also overwhelmingly attracted by the clashes between individuals; he investigated their various forms in journeys which in England led him to observe the human deluxe.Theodore was educated in the tradition of English sporting art by the Carle Vernet, and even by Pierre-Narcisse Guerin, who disliked his temperament bu t saw a talent in him. He then left and learnt at the Louvre for six years when he realized that he preferred the vitality over the prevailing school of Neo-Classicism. He exhibited his Wounded Cuirassier at the Salon in 1814 and also his first major work The Charging Chasseur at the Salon in 1812. Gericault was a merry, gregarious man whose tastes as a bon vivant did not preclude a deep-seated sympathy for the under dog.He went to Florence, Rome, and Naples in 1816-1817, mostly to escape a romantic entanglement with his aunt. Gericault became fascinated by Michelangelo; which helped inspire his art piece the Race of the Barberi Horses. After he went back to France in 1821 he painted a series of portraits of his friend Dr. Etienne-Jean Georget’s patients; each containing a different diagnosis. Theodore drew his subjects from the crudest parts of reality; he visited slaughter houses, morgues, asylums, delving into the morbid events reported in newspapers, observing the devasta ting corporeal strength of animals.Some of his artworks consist of horses, lions, and tigers. Gericault was also one of the first artist to take up the newly invented process of lithography, producing a serveing of 13 pickes illustrating the life of the English poor. He was in the process of painting new artworks, when his health stroked a final note. Theodore was always riding for his among his passions was horses. He owned them, painted them, and even tamed them. His fatal illness grew on to a riding trip which injured his spine and caused him to waste. He died after a slow period of suffering, in Paris 1834 at the age of 3Art History: Neoclassicism: (1750 – 1830) The term Neoclassicism refers to the classical revival in European art, architecture, and interior design that lasted from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. This period gave rebirth to the art of ancient Rome and Greece and the Renaissance as an opposition to the ostentatious Baroque and Rococo a rt that preceded the movement. Although the movement spread throughout Western Europe, France and England were the countries that used the style most frequently in their arts and architecture, using the classical elements to express ideas of nationalism, courage, and sacrifice.The movement was inspired by the discovery of ancient Italian artifacts at the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Also influential in the development was the cultural studies of German art historian Johann J. Winckelmann who claimed that the most important elements of classical art were â€Å"noble simplicity and calm grandeur. † Neoclassicism emphasized rationality and the resurgence of tradition. Neoclassical artists incorporated classical styles and subjects, including columns, pediments, friezes, and other ornamental schemes in their work.They were inspired by the work of Homer and Plutarch and John Flaxmann’s illustrations for the Illiad and Odyssey. Other classic models included Virgil, Raph ael, and Poussin among others. Neoclassical painters took extra care to depict the costumes, settings, and details of classical subject matter with as much accuracy as possible. Much of the subject matter was derived from classical history and mythology. The movement emphasized line quality over color, light, and atmosphere. The height of Neoclassicism was displayed in the paintings of Jacques-Louis David and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.

Plato’s Concept of the Ideals

Plato’s concept of the ideals Plato believed that reality is more than what we sense around the world (e. g. taste, smell, hear, see and touch), he believed that behind these physical realities lies a perfect version of them in which he called Forms and that the greatest thing we can learn is to have knowledge and understanding of them. Plato’s theory means that what we can sense around us (for example a chair) is just a mere shadow of the perfect version which exists in the world of Forms. The perfect version of a chair is one in which for fills its purpose e. . to be comfortable and to be sat on. Plato believed that everything had a perfect Form, from objects such as pens and books to things such as beauty and justice. He believed that to experience the world of Forms we had to become perfect philosophers. Plato introduced the ‘Analogy of the cave’ to try and illustrate that human being live and only understand a realm of shadows. Within this explanation Plato used many objects as symbols or metaphors to describe the true meaning of forms, for example, the sun is seen as the Form of Good.Plato describes the world of Forms as ‘unchanging’ in the fact that everything that has yet to be invented in the world of senses already exists in the world of Forms as its perfect version. Plato also believes that that quality’s, such as truth, beauty and justice, all have a universal existence, a reality of their own and Plato believes that we have an innate knowledge of their true Forms. They act ad s cause, source, or necessary, a primary condition for the existence of secondary objects (such as chairs) and actions in the world. To what extent is it true to say that the Forms teach us nothing about the real world?

TLE cooking session

Follow the instructions of the teacher. 2. Stay with your group and avoid going to the other groups. 3. Assign each task to every member. 4. Prepare the materials and ingredients needed. 5. Wash your hands before cooking. 6. Wear apron and for the girls, they should tie their hair. 7. Handle the sharp materials with care to avoid accidents. 8. Clean your place after cooking. 9. use the materials according to Its functions. 10. Turn off faucets and stoves when not used.TOCINO Ingredients: 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder rost cup lemon-lime soda (sprite or 7 up) 1/3 cup of soy sauce 2 cups brown sugar 1 h cups pineapple juice h ketchup 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 2 tablespoons of salt 1 teaspoon of black pepper Procedures: 1 . Cut h Inch slices of pork shoulder and place In a one gallon zip-lock plastic bag. 2. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients and then add to the meat. Seal the bag, while trying to remove excess air. Let the pork cure Inside the refrigerator for 4-5 day s, turning the bag over every day. . After curing, you can either cook the meat or portion them off Into smaller bags and freeze. 4. To cook the Toclno, add a little water, marinade and a few slices of meat to a skillet. Over medium heat, let the liquid boll off and then fry the meat for a couple of minutes to carmellze It. Make sure not to burn the meat. PICKLED VEGGIES WITH CHILLIES white radish 3 carrots 3 chillies 2 cups vinegar sugar 1. 1 lbs salt 1 OF2 1 . Slice the carrots and radish vertically. (finger size) 2. Slice the chillies diagonally. 3.Put all the vegetable in a container. 4. Add some salt and leave it for 5 minutes. 5. Squeeze the vegetables to release its mixtures. 6. Rinse it with water. 7. Put sugar and boil it. 8. Cool it off for 5 minutes. MANGO JAM Mango ascorbic acid water 1. Prepare the materials and the ingredients. 2. Slice the Mango. 3. Mix the Mango, sugar, and water. 4. After mixing, boil it and add 2 tablespoons of ascorbic acid. 5. Mix it until it bec omes sticky and golden brown. 6. After 20-15 minutes, get it and it is ready to serve.

Bio-ethics paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bio-ethics paper - Essay Example Reproducible-Lastly, the test should be able to be reproduced by other researchers. Using this elements to determine the issue of sixteen year old who eats French fries three times a week which makes him or her gain more weight than the one who eats the French fries twice a week, it is clear that the one who consumes the French fries three times a week has higher chances of increasing body weight because she or he will have much fats and proteins in the body than the one who eats them twice a week. This is because it has been shown that a lot of fats and proteins in the body lead to increase in body weight. Gestational surrogacy is the act through which there is an independent adoption or arrangement that involves a woman accepting to carry and deliver a baby for another woman. Gestational surrogacy is not baby selling because the woman who accepts to carry the baby for another woman provides the uterus where the ova and sperm are planted in order to fertilize. Therefore, when she gives birth, it is not her baby since the ovum that was fertilized belonged to another woman. In this case, she only plays the role of a carrier. Gestational surrogate motherhood is not bad since it gives a chance to couples who had difficulty in having babies get babies. Arguing from intuitionism perspective, it is important to ask to what extent people should be concerned about commodification or exploitation when they are requested to be paid so as to carry babies for other women especially in areas where there are large power and wealth differentials between intended surrogates and parents. In addition, it is important to look at the societal rights if they grant women authority to enter into contracts about the use of their bodies. A Person has the right to make decisions about how to use his or her body thus contracting for surrogacy is not bad if the person

Global economic and lobal recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Global economic and lobal recession - Essay Example Since the 2008 global economic crisis the airline industry was severely affected by reduced business revenues as the market adjusted to difficult economic times. Commercial and private travel costs had to be reduced in order to keep in touch with the economic realities that global performance had dipped into. Many related industries such as the motor vehicle industry were also severely hit to liquidation, which illustrates the magnitude of the threat that the industry faced. As a result of the reduced fortunes and opportunities in the industry and many national economies in general, governments had to chip in their protectionist policies against adverse impacts on the economy. As a result, there was an increase in government debt particularly in European economies that have had adverse impact on the integrity of the industry as an aftermath of the recession. The banking sector which impacts directly on the performance of most industries was also hit during the recent economic crisis and until full stabilization occurs, operation certainty remains elusive in the airline industry. According to Niththyananthan (1), the domestic market in the whole of Europe is particularly affected by the proceeding in the banking sector to such an extent that business operations are conducted with extra caution. This explains the huge national bailout pleas that certain economies in Europe have been forwarding to the IMF and the European Union, since their economies were severely affected.

Geomorphology Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Geomorphology - Lab Report Example (5 pts) The critical angle for determining whether the boulder would move, or not is 45.840 degrees. At this point, the boulder would assume a stationery motion. The value is arrived by observing the point of intersection between the curves of shear and normal stress. 4. A local business informs you they have a 1 m-thick rock slab with a density of 1000 kg m-3 lying in their backyard that slopes at 25 degrees. Given normal weather conditions and unsaturated soils, will this rock slide and potentially destroy their business? Justify your answer in terms of angle, Driving and Resisting forces. (5 pts) At 25 degrees, the sheer force on the rock will be 984.807753 while the normal stress will be 173.6481777 (in the opposite direction). This means that the forces propelling the rock slab downwards are greater than the resisting forces. Assuming that the weather conditions remain at normal levels it is highly likely that the rock in question will inflict a considerable damage to the surrounding property. Lemke, Karen A. â€Å"Slope Stability & Mass Wasting.† University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, December 1, 2013. Web. January 26, 2015 < http://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/

Industrial Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Industrial Action - Essay Example The collective bargaining process in the U.K. has been described as adversary in nature because of the arms length bargaining style and the minimal communications employed, although it is a â€Å"representational system† since the labor movement is not seeking to overcome the political economic system. In sum, the degree of external control placed on employers by unions in the U.K. is limited in international comparison. Conditions of employment are set at the firm level and therefore more likely to give employers more flexibility in adapting HR policies to the firm context, although at times these policies also limit managerial flexibility, to wit, the restrictive work practices that evolved in U.K factories. The extent of industrial action : In the UK, official statistics on the use of industrial sanctions relate only to strikes. They measure three dimension of strike activity – their number (how frequent they are), their size ( number of workers involved) and their d uration (the number of working days lost). This last measure is often distorted by a few big strikes. For example, in 1979 an engineering industry- wide strike accounted for 55 percent of the 29.5 million working days lost in that year. In 2000 the number of working days lost in the UK was 499,00. However, disputes still happen – for example, the series of one day stoppages in 2002 on the railways over the widening of pay differentials between drivers, who were in short supply, and other railway employees.

History of education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of education - Essay Example Therefore, in consideration of various educational philosophies, their similarities and differences in approaches, which points to the possibility of integrating and merging the philosophies to generate a common deliverable, the curriculum and instructional foundation of the school would be based on a combination of perennialism, realism and experimentalism philosophies of education. Perennialism This is a philosophy of education that considers education as a constant for human life, upholding the fact that all humans are constant, except for their ability to reason (Power, 1990). Therefore, perennialism philosophy of education provides that education should be based on rationality; where students are taught the world’s constant and permanent phenomena, with a view to prepare the students for the life they are going to face. According to this educational philosophy, students learn reality and life truths through studying and also through divine acts, where the ability to reaso n and be rational gives rise to goodness itself (Bhattacharya, 2002). Therefore, perennialism as an educational philosophy emphasizes on a high level of discipline and behavioral control, which eventually translates to an all round personality, which is well adaptable to the realities of the world, that easily exudes goodness. The curriculum based on this philosophy would require the study of subjects and doctrines that teaches students the value of rationality, while enabling them to face life as it is. This creates a breed of students who are appreciative of life, and who applies reasoning in each aspect of their undertaking. This enables the students to internalize the life truths, while perceiving the external environmental changes as merely superficial (Pathak, 2007). This educational philosophy is relevant for adoption into the newly created curriculum and instructional foundation, since it would prepare students to face life with all its realities, while also making them more rational and disciplined, which are some of the most relevant virtues for human survival in the world. Realism This is yet another educational philosophy that perceives the world as it is, thus defining the role of school and education as that of teaching students about the world. Realism as an educational philosophy emphasizes on the need to obey the laws of nature, while fitting into the prevailing conditions of the physical world, without any attempts to interfere or change what nature has dictated for the world (Power, 1990). Therefore, this philosophy requires that the school curriculum should be based on subjects and disciplines that correspond to natural observations, such as Mathematics and sciences. Thus, under this educational philosophy, the role of the teacher is to impart the relevant knowledge to the students, with a focus on feeding them the natural facts. The philosophy also requires that order and discipline forms the core aspect of students’ value system, s imilar to the Mother Nature, which is disciplined and orderly, observing natural and predictable trends, unless when it is interfered with, by humans (Bhattacharya, 2002). Thus, this philosophy is not resistant to changes that might occur to the school and in the curriculum applied in teaching the students, since change is

Analyse the way women are treated in Candide. Are gender roles an Essay

Analyse the way women are treated in Candide. Are gender roles an object of satire for Volataire, and if so, what problems andor solutions did he identify - Essay Example Cunegonde is the female protagonist of the novel and she is described as "aged seventeen, was rosy-cheeked, fresh, plump and tempting", in the beginning of the novel. This itself sets pace for and acts as a revelation of Voltaire's satirical take on the mere 'objectification' of women. Further, Candide falls in love with her, owing to her good looks. For this, he is banished from the house of the Baron. Later, Cunegonde falls prey to the exploitation of Bulgar soldiers. As the novel progresses, we find that Cunegonde is constantly being shipped to Constantinople or is made a slave and exploited. The author recurrently brings to our notice that men were a superior clan, while women were merely their counterparts, who had no prominent role or more meaning to their lives apart from succumbing to the carnal desires of the superior males. This gender pattern was a great source of ridicule for many authors and Voltaire certainly does highlight this societal pattern and ridicules it in his satirical novel. In the process of satirising the objectification of women, Voltaire does come to a conclusion regarding the same. He puts forth two exemplary characters; that of Candide and Cunegonde.

Answers to Questions in Astronomy Essay Example for Free

Answers to Questions in Astronomy Essay 1. How do astronomers measure the distances to galaxies and how does that allow the sizes, luminosities and masses of galaxies to be determined? A distance indicator is an object within a galaxy that functions as a marker to that galaxy. It may be a Cepheid star, globular cluster, H II region, planetary nebula or supernova. The distance to a galaxy, especially if it is very far away, is approximated by employing the Hubble Law which is expressed as Recession Velocity (Vr) = Hubble’s Constant (H) x distance (d). After obtaining the distance, it is possible to determine diameter through the small angle formula and luminosity from distance and apparent magnitude where both formulas are derived equations (Garber). Meanwhile mass can be estimated in three ways. Rotation curves reveal the calculation of rotational velocities for varying distances from the galactic center so that once distance and velocity are known, mass can be obtained (Garber). Another is through the cluster method which focuses on the motion of a galaxy within a galactic cluster. The size of the galaxy as well as range of velocity determines the total mass of the cluster (Garber). The third is through the velocity dispersion method where the spectra of the galaxy are used to approximate mass. Broad spectral lines indicate high velocity which in turns suggests a large mass (Garber). 2. Discuss how individual stars and the shapes of galaxies are affected by collisions. As a galaxy approaches another in a collision, the gravitational fields of the stars in each of them start to interweave and the resulting powerful tidal forces disturb and radically alter the shape of the galaxy, similar to the manner in which the gravitational pull of the moon causes the tide to rise in regions of the earth nearest to it but magnified a thousand times. A collision initiates the formation of tidal tails, bars or rings and colliding gas clouds produce knots of newly formed blue stars while the nucleus of the galaxy becomes deformed (sciencedaily.com). On the other hand, when stars collide, they merge together as one star that displays unusual brightness and heat relative to age so that they become very prominent in their globular cluster. These stars are referred to as â€Å"blue stragglers†. When stars increase in age and use up their hydrogen, they become cooler, less massive and red in color but through collisions, they obtain extra mass causing them to turn blue (Masters). This permits them to remain longer in the main sequence the phase in a star’s life where it burns its hydrogen. 3. Explain the differences between the three types of galaxies and what happens to change their shape. An elliptical galaxy is rounded or oval in shape, do not have visible gas and dust or bright, hot stars and consists of population II stars. Elliptical galaxies are also surrounded by globular clusters. A spiral galaxy has a disc component, consists of both populations of stars, exhibits a nucleus and may have arms with differing orientations (Garber). An irregular galaxy does not present a regular pattern and includes new and old stars alike. Galactic interaction, collision and merging, which involve the effects of the gravitational fields of galaxies, are the primary events that change the shape of galaxies. The subsequent structure depends on both the type of the galaxies involved and the directions of their orbits (Keel). Collision, mentioned earlier, may not result in a merger if both galaxies have enough force to continue moving away from each other after the event. Galaxies are said to be interacting when they do not collide but both their gravitational attractions cause distortion and exchange of gas and dust (astro.umd.edu). In interactions that occur at slow speeds and involve galaxies with unequal masses, spiral formations may assume irregular-lenticular shapes (Than). Gases being pulled to the central region, as a result of tidal disturbances, clear away the spiral configuration, leaving behind a disk structure. The most drastic interaction is the merging of two galaxies and occurs when they collide but lose their momentum to slide past one another. Instead, they fall back into each other and unite into one galaxy, losing their original shapes in the process (astro.umd.edu). When a significantly more massive galaxy collides and merges with a smaller one in a type of interaction known as galactic cannibalism, the bigger galaxy does not exhibit a visible change in shape but the less massive galaxy is ripped apart, loses its shape and becomes integrated into the bigger one.

Health Information and Communication Systems in Ireland

Health Information and Communication Systems in Ireland Is ICT a key enabler in ensuring seamless delivery of healthcare? A comparison between public and private ICT development in Ireland Abstract This study discusses the innovative changes that have taken place in Ireland in the field of healthcare due to the influx of information and communication technologies. Previous Information communication technologies (ICT), including telemedicine, present opportunities to address rural health-service delivery issues. The research shows that effective management of health services and the delivery of quality systems in Irish healthcare organizations have increased. In Ireland patients are expecting more of healthcare providers and are demanding higher standards of care and service. Simultaneously, those paying for health services have become more concerned about rising health costs and possible inefficiencies. As a result there is widespread interest in understanding what makes for an effective health service and in developing better practices to improve existing approaches to healthcare management in relation to ICT. This study highlights the developments in quality-service management in the Irish healthcare sector and focuses attention on the need for the development of a model for quality implementation in healthcare institutions. In sum the study shows that the development of (ICT) has facilitated the emergence of a complex global urban system in which many formerly lower-order cities have been carving out â€Å"niche† specialist functions serving urban fields of transnational dimension. Chapter1: Introduction Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to highlight the development of the Information and communication system in Ireland and how it has revolutionized the healthcare sector in Ireland. Research Question This study focuses on the following research questions: What are the current trends of technological development in the Information and Communication Technology sector of Ireland? What are various challenges faced by the Irish healthcare system in relation to Information and Communication Technology? Significance of the Study This study is quite significant as it shows that the concept of globalisation has secured remarkable currency in the academic discourse of the late 20th century, despite ongoing questions regarding both its meaning and extent (Clark and Lund, 2000). The development of internationally integrated production and distribution systems, seen by many as the key feature of globalisation, has been a spatially uneven process. A key factor in this respect has been the differential ability of regions to engage in the informational economy, based on new information and communications technology (ICT), which is the main source of wealth creation and economic growth in the modern world (Castells, 2003). The result has been what Friedmann (2005) calls a process of ‘techno-apartheid’ which has divided the globe into ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ worlds (Knox, 2005), distinguished by the connectedness of individuals, groups and regions to the world of telematics. This echoes Ingersoll’s (2003, quoted in Knox, 2005) suggestion that the key division of the workforce is now that between those who have the capacity to operate ICT (the ‘cyberproletariat’) and those who do not (the ‘lumpentrash’). Golding (2006) makes a similar distinction between the ‘technoliterati’ and the ‘techno-poor’. While Knox defines the fast and slow worlds spatially, equating the former with the ‘triadic’ core and the latter with the remaining global periphery, Hoogvelt (2003) argues that the divide is, in essence, social rather than spatial, with elements of both worlds to be found in all regions of the globe. Thus, within advanced economies, a process of social polarisation has been widely reported (Friedmann, 2006 and Sassen, 2004) and has been intimately linked by Graham and Marvin (2006) to the development of ICT use. This is not to suggest that those who work in the fast world are homogeneously well-paid and affluent; rather, they represent a wide range of remuneration levels depending on such factors as economic sector, location, function, ethnic group and gender (Castells, 2006). What they do tend to have in common, however, is relative employment security due to the high demand level for their ICT skills. Rationale This study follows a logical approach and identifies the fact that both in Ireland as well as globally, there are major geographical variations in the relative balance between fast and slow worlds, with the former mainly to be found in the traditional core regions of North America, western Europe and Japan and an additional small group of newly industrialising countries which have had the institutional capacity to invest massively in modern ICT and associated educational infrastructures (Freeman, 2004). The slow world – found predominantly in the less developed countries of the global periphery and accounting for the bulk of the world’s population – is becoming increasingly marginalised and is moving, as Castells (2003, p. 37) puts it, â€Å"from a structural position of exploitation to a structural position of irrelevance†. Definition of Terms ICT: Information and Communication Technology: it is the study or business of developing and using technology to process information and aid communications. Sistem : SISTeM a soft systems methodology, stakeholder analysis and participative simulation modelling. NHS: (National Health Service) The organization providing national healthcare services in the UK. Chapter 2: Literature Review The process of quality implementation has become a key concern for those involved in hospital management in Ireland. In a national context, the effective management of health services and the delivery of quality systems in health-care institutions have increased in significance in recent years. In line with wider developments in other service industries, consumers (patients) are expecting more of health-care providers and are demanding higher standards of care and service. Simultaneously, those paying for health services have become more concerned about rising health costs and possible inefficiencies. As a result there is widespread interest in understanding what makes for an effective health service and in developing better practices to improve existing approaches to health-care management and delivery. In 2005 a comprehensive report on funding from the Commission on Health Funding highlighted that solutions to the problems faced by the Irish Health Service did not lie primarily in the system of funding, but rather in the way that services were planned, organised, and delivered. Similarly, in a report from the OECD (2003), it was argued that although the Irish health system had delivered a continuous improvement in health standards, there was still scope for further improvement in efficiency, and that this could be achieved through better allocation of resources. More recently, the government health strategy (DOHc, 2001) highlighted the requirement for a system to monitor progress and systematically evaluate the quality and effectiveness of health services. According to the strategy: Monitoring and evaluation must become intrinsic to the approach taken by people at all levels of the health services. Specifically, the strategy suggested that the way in which health and personal social services are planned, organised, and delivered has a significant effect on the health and well-being of the population. Organisational structures must be geared to the provision of a responsive, adaptable health system which meets the needs of the population effectively and at affordable cost. One of the guiding principles inherent in the published strategy was that of a â€Å"people-centred† health system. A responsive system must develop ways to engage with individuals and the wider community which receives its services. The health system must become more people-centred, with the interests of the public, patients, and clients being given greater prominence and influence in decision making at all levels (DOHc, 2001). According to Bowers (2001), major structural reform, coupled with strong management and political will, are required to ensure change for the better. In Bowers’ view, finance alone will not improve the system. Rather, a concentrated effort must be made to ensure a responsive and efficient service. As previously noted, a conclusion of the Report of the Commission on Health Funding (2005) was that the solution facing the Irish health services did not lie primarily in the system of funding but rather in the way that services were planned, organised, and delivered. This is reinforced by a recent report on the Irish health-care sector which suggested that the issues and challenges facing the health service are fundamentally the same as those outlined by the Commission on Health Funding, except that they are compounded by much higher expectations/demands by consumers (Deloitte and Touche, 2001). Thus, although modern health services have undergone radical change in many areas (Robins, 2003), managers of health services are currently reporting a large increase in the number of patients needing beds, with consequent ever-increasing waiting lists. Accident and emergency departments are under particular strain, and the difficulties of dealing with the growing needs of the increasing elderly population are beginning to become apparent. Although the Irish health service is free for all those requiring medical treatment through a publicly funded system, the current situation is hauntingly similar to that of the Victorian era of health care in Ireland. As a result, the Office for Health Management in Ireland (OHM, 2001) has suggested that current deficiencies in health-care provision and delivery underline the importance of providing quality service management and implementation in Irish health and personal social services. In achieving this aim, the OHM has contended that those working within the system must change how they go about their work and how they work together. Changed public-sector environment The focus on health-care service and quality has evolved from a more general interest in continuous improvement initiatives within the public sector. The prevalent trends in the private sector are towards continuous and pervasive change and increasing interdependencies, and it has been suggested that close parallels can be drawn between the private and public sectors. Public-sector organisations now find themselves in a cyclone of change as they attempt to adapt to turbulent environments in a pragmatic and systematic way (Lovell, 2004). In the UK and also in Ireland, these organisations have been subject to cuts in government spending, as well as demands for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. In response to such changes, there has been a policy shift towards greater competition and an attempt to apply management practices from the private sector to the public domain. The Irish public sector has been officially pursuing change and reform through its strategic management initiative (SMI), a program for improving the management of the civil service which was formally launched in 2004 (Department of the Taoisearch, 2004). The SMI evolved from the growing internal and external pressures for better services and for more effective management of public services. In that context the continuous improvement of customer service has been a specific focus of the SMI since 2003, when the quality service initiative was launched. The program set out a series of quality principles according to which dealings with the wider public would be coordinated and managed. These initiatives aimed to make public administration more relevant to the citizens for whom the service exists, and simultaneously sought to remove barriers which have traditionally restricted performance and job satisfaction within the public sector. In recent years, Ireland has experienced a rise in consumerism. Increases in revenue available to fund public service provision have gone hand in hand with rising public expectations of standards of service. As a consequence, management skills and competences in providing for improved standards of customer service have become recognised as being central to delivering real transformation in the public sector. However, the development of such capabilities, particularly in relation to managing effective quality implementation, presents considerable challenges for those involved. Nowhere is this more evident than in the health-care sector. A review of recent international evidence points to the challenges of implementing quality service in health-care institutions. Gaucher and Coffey (2000) confirmed that implementing a process of total quality management (TQM) in health care is a pragmatic, specific, and systematic methodology. However, this requires a firm commitment from the leadership to change their former ways of working and doing business. Gaucher and Coffey (2000) cited many reasons for TQM failing – including poor leadership and a lack of management commitment – but also noted that revitalisation can rejuvenate the process. These authors asserted that the role of those implementing the process is to nurture and breathe energy into the process when enthusiasm and commitment are declining. The importance of the support of senior management for quality-management projects is also advocated by Berwick et al. (2000). These authors undertook a national demonstration project in the USA in the late 2000s and described how organisations could implement the entire quality-improvement process – from defining the problem through to implementing a solution and consolidating the gains (Berwick et al., 2000). A literature review carried out by Jackson (2005) identified that much work had been undertaken in the UK in determining the clinical effectiveness of many health-care organisations, but that very little research had been implemented in the area of managerial effectiveness. Furthermore, West (2001) determined that, in organisations that outperform others on different dimensions of performance, there was evidence that management is important, as are the combined efforts of individual clinicians and teams. There have been several approaches espoused for achieving quality management in health-care institutions, many of which have been technical and generic in their approaches (Moeller et al., 2000). Specifically, Donabedian (2000) introduced the concepts of structure, process, and outcomes, along with the development of self-assessment and accreditation through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In many instances these programs have met with mixed reactions, and their implementation has varied. A criticism levelled at hospital performance is that it has been rather insular, and has paid little attention to developments in related fields, such as organisational sociology, organisational behaviour, management studies, and human-resource management (West, 2001). If quality programs are to have lasting and significant effects, that they must follow a systemic approach such that all aspects of an organisation are integrated and focused on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction (Joss, 2004). A variety of approaches has been used to improve quality and to ensure its delivery, but not all have been successful. Indeed, some have merely added bureaucracy and higher costs to health care (Jackson, 2005; Ennis and Harrington, 2001). Recent research has shown that 45 per cent of patients experience some â€Å"medical mismanagement† and that 17 per cent suffer events which lead to a longer stay or more serious problems (Ovretveit, 2000). This is increasingly caused by complex systems of care which do not appear to be managed effectively. Joss and Kogan (2005) strongly recommended that a comprehensive set of criteria be included, against which to evaluate progress. These criteria should be based on the main requirements of TQM, and should include any additional factors generated by the organisation and/or by evaluators. A three-year evaluation of TQM in the National Health Scheme (NHS) indicated that there were clear factors which predicted successful implementation, the most important of which was the need to have a structured, pre-planned approach based on a thorough understanding of alternative approaches (Joss, 2004). Moreover, a recent study from the UK (O’Sullivan, 2005) demonstrated how one NHS Trust achieved continuous quality improvement through determination, education, and implementation, supported by visionary and involved leadership in all areas, a multi-talented enthusiastic clinical audit department, and a high-quality dedicated staff. Nabitz and Walburg (2000) suggested that possible solutions to quality problems might lie in the approach promoted by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The EFQM has developed a model to structure and review the quality-management processes of organisations. Self-assessment, benchmarking, external review, and quality awards are essential elements of this model and, as reported by Sanchez (2000), this approach represents an important means of achieving excellence in health care. Within the literature there are also many studies showing the benefits of applying models of quality implementation in health-care organisations (Naylor, 2005; Ruiz et al., 2005). Such studies have pointed to the real benefits that accrue to organisations which have used such approaches (Pitt, 2005). Business excellence methodology for quality improvement The introduction of internationally respected quality frameworks – the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) in 2003, followed by the EFQM in 2005 – has provided an opportunity for organisations to self-assess, using the models of TQM and business excellence which underpin these frameworks. In this process of self-assessment, an opportunity exists to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the current management of operations. In the USA, the effectiveness of the Baldrige process has been lauded by many (Gaucher and Coffey, 2000) who have indicated that organisations can learn about best practices from Baldrige-winning companies, and will thus be assisted in developing a composite for excellence. Although the Baldrige criteria were developed for commercial institutions, there has been keen interest in the adaptation of the model within health-care organisations in the USA following a pilot health-care project in 2005. To date, no health-care entity has yet achieved Baldrige-winner status, although Gaucher and Coffey (2000) have asserted that it is only a matter of time before there is a health-care winner. Moreover, these authors went on to say that the true benefit of the Baldrige process is not about winning an award. Rather, it is about the provision of a road map for a journey – a framework for both incremental and breakthrough improvement and business excellence. Within the European context, since its introduction in 2001, the EFQM model has been attracting considerable interest across all sectors, and has become a well-recognised quality-management framework. Stahr et al. (2001) concurred with Gaucher and Coffey (2000) in stating that the model provides a means by which organisations can assess their paths and develop solutions to achieve excellence. Other authors have espoused the model as being surprisingly effective, with awards being presented to those firms considered to be the most accomplished exponents of TQM in Europe (Wilkes and Dale, 2005). Across European health care at an institutional level, an increasing number of organisations are making direct investments in the training of staff in the concepts of business excellence (Stahr et al., 2001; Jackson, 2001). The NHS Executive in the UK has provided a central lead in endorsing the model as an important framework for delivering on the clinical governance agenda. Furthermore the British Association of Medical Managers (BAMM) has promoted its use as a tool for organisational self-assessment (Stahr et al., 2001). Its use and adoption has been further supported by the British Quality Foundation which provides a major educational and support role in the use and adoption of the model in health care and other sectors across the corporate landscape. Without doubt, the future performance of health-care organisations will be assessed against wider goals than previously. There will be a greater emphasis on measuring organisational performance and, if performance is below par, rapid investigation and appropriate intervention will ensue (Naylor, 2005). Moeller (2001) concurred with this, and identified evaluation of health services as a prerequisite. However, Zairi et al. (2005) warned that measuring organisational effectiveness in the delivery of health care is a challenging task. Joss and Kogan (2005) strongly recommended that a comprehensive set of criteria should be included, against which to evaluate progress. This should be based on the main requirements of TQM, supplemented by other organisational criteria thought to be important by the evaluators. A three-year evaluation of TQM in the NHS indicated that there are clear factors which predict successful implementation – including awareness of the need to have a structured, pre-planned approach based on a thorough understanding of alternative approaches (Joss, 2004). Moreover, as demonstrated by O’Sullivan (2005), successful implementation requires the support of visionary and involved leaders in all areas, together with dedicated and educated staff. Examining organisational effectiveness in Irish health care As suggested by Nabitz and Walburg (2000), the solution to quality problems might lie in the approach promoted by the EFQM. As reported by Sanchez (2000), this approach represents an important means of achieving excellence in health care which concurs with earlier descriptions by Gaucher and Coffey (2000). Self-assessment can examine current practice and establish capability, thus driving improvement rather than a reaction to weaknesses in the current system (Russell, 2005). There are also many studies in the literature which show the benefits of applying the business excellence model for quality implementation in health-care organisations (Naylor, 2005; Jackson, 2005a; Nabitz and Klazinga, 2005; Arcelay et al., 2005). Such studies have pointed to real benefits that have accrued to organisations using such an approach. Furthermore, Jackson (2005a) demonstrated that the adoption of the principles of self-assessment and business excellence can lead to the achievement of a culture of continuous improvement. Russell (2005) noted that the adoption of the â€Å"outside-in† approach of the EFQM model enabled organisations to use the model as a developmental and management framework. For Arcelay et al. (2005), the model provided a global, systematic regular analysis of the activities and results by comparing them with the criteria of the excellence model. Moreover, the process made it possible to make comparisons with other private and public organisations. Using a systems view of an organisation enables managers to focus on the processes between the parts of an organisation, rather than on the parts themselves, which is similar to physicians using a systematic model in which to analyse signs and symptoms, and thus make a diagnosis. An effective organisation is one in which the total organisation, through its significant subparts and individuals, manages its work against goals and plans with a view to achieving these goals within an open system. Methods of management that have been developed in manufacturing environments are naturally regarded with scepticism in non-manufacturing sectors. However, according to West (2001), studies that have been conducted on the link between the organisation and management of services and quality of patient care can be criticised both theoretically and methodologically because of the many different mechanisms that may be operating at once to produce the relationship between volume and quality. West (2001) asserted that a more rigorous body of work exists on the performance of firms in the private sector, often conducted within the disciplines of organisational behaviour or human resource management. Ireland and the International ICT System Dublin has, in the 2000s, carved out several niche international functions for itself, one of which, call centre activities, has been the principal focus of this study. According to a report in The Irish Times (August 20, 2003), Ireland accounts for 30% of all international call centres located in western Europe. The great bulk of these are to be found in Dublin. The central role of ICT in call centre activities has facilitated their centralisation in Ireland, from where markets spread across Europe and even further afield can readily be served. As Sassen (2005, p. 56) has observed: â€Å"Information technologies, often thought of as neutralising geography, actually contribute to spatial concentration†. Call centre activities, therefore, have helped Ireland to escape the bounds of geographical peripherality, thereby contradicting Wegener’s (2005) gloomy prognosis which visualised cities in the periphery as inevitable losers from growing inter-urban competition in Europe. This has been cleverly portrayed in an IDA advertisement which shows Ireland at the centre of a surrounding group of disembodied European countries ( Fig. 1). These latter are no longer seen as being more or less distant from Ireland, but as constituting a set of different language and market territories, all equally accessible from Ireland. However, Dublin’s growing international reach and the growing technological sophistication of its economic base should not mask the fact that, structurally, it retains a dependent position within the international division of labour. Its rapid recent economic expansion has been largely based on the attraction of branch plant operations which remain poorly embedded in the local economy (Breathnach, 2005). à Ã‚ nd, while the rising skill levels associated with recent inward investment have facilitated substantial improvement in living standards generally, in the specific case of the call centre sector, much of the employment which has been created remains relatively poorly paid – a fact which is directly linked with the high proportion of women workers in the sector, despite their high skill levels. Furthermore, the rapid growth of the call centre sector in the 2000s looks increasingly unsustainable as the end of the decade approaches. Growing labour shortages are driving up labour costs which, in conjunction with increasing housing and transportation problems, are beginning to attenuate Dublin’s attractiveness as a call centre location: according to a 2005 survey of call centre locations in Great Britain and Ireland, reported by Allen (2005), Dublin had fallen to the 29th position of 46 locations surveyed, having been in the top 10 in 2006. The response of the IDA has been to devote additional resources to promoting non-Dublin locations for call centre projects. However, even if this is successful in the short run, in the longer term the future of call centre employment will be increasingly threatened by technological developments, such as speech recognition technology and especially the rapidly growing use of the internet for making reservations, placing orders and seeking information. The IDA has justified its promotion of the call centre sector, despite the inferior nature of much of the employment involved, largely on the grounds that it provides an initial base upon which more sophisticated forms of employment can be built. Its long-term strategy, in other words, is to encourage firms which have established call centres in Ireland to add on additional functions, such as financial management and software development, to these initial operations. Already there has been some success in this area of ‘shared services’ back-office activities: by mid-2003, some 25 such operations had been established, and were projected to employ over 3000 people by the year 2000 (information supplied by Forfà ¡s). Ultimately, however, all of these activities remain as back-office activities, whose essential linkages are external to the Irish economy. In other words, their Irish location is not crucial to the parent companies of these operations; rather, it is contingent on the availability of certain attractions which may either be transient or reproducible elsewhere (Allen, 2005). As Wilson (2005) has noted, call centres are essentially a highly footloose sector, with few local economic linkages and little fixed investment in machinery and equipment: they therefore can be relocated quite readily in the light of changing comparative factor conditions. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK published its NHS Plan in July 2000 (http://www.nhs.uk/thenhsexplained), saying that patients and people were central to its radical reform of healthcare and that although this included more hospitals and beds, shorter waiting times and improved care for older people, an essential element was that patients should have more power and information. As Grimson et al. (2000) rightly comment, healthcare is an information-intensive business, with data on an enormous scale gathered by way of hospitals, clinics, laboratories and primary care surgeries. Central to any information-intensive business is, naturally, the effective sharing of that information and, in order to empower and better engage the patient, how best that can be done. Funded by the UK’s Department of Health, the British Library’s integrated Telemedicine Information Service (TIS), described in the latest edition of the NHSMagazine (http://www.nhs.uk/nhsmagazine), is to improve the take-up of telemedicine technology in the UK, reinforcing the importance that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are seen to have in the sharing of information and the engagement of patients in their healthcare. By way of explanation, the word â€Å"telemedicine† has been coined as a way of capturing, in only one word, how ICT is being used in healthcare. However, as Curry et al. (2003) rightly comment, terms such as telemedicine, teleconferencing, health informatics and medical informatics seem to be used interchangeably, and that there is some confusion as to what is, and is not, involved, citing various studys, including those of Preston at al. (2002) and Mark and Hodges (2001) to support their claim. As there is some disagreement with the term, we use in this study the meaning assigned by Perednia and Allen (2005), that is, the use of information technologies in helping to provide medical information and services in healthcare. Whatever its name, or its definition, it concerns, in one way or another, the mediating role that technology plays in the interaction between humans, whether patient or healthcare professional. At the time of writing, there are 138 telemedicine projects in the UK (http://www.tis.port.ac.uk/tm/owa/projects.allUK), and they cover aspects of healthcare as diverse as mental health, diabetes, foetal monitoring and accident and emergency care. Indeed, it points to one of the advantages of telemedicine; its applicability across a wide range of clinical issues. However, while these projects certainly cover a diversity of issues, they have something in common, that is, they address only one of these clinical matters. Each system is designed differently, is unlikely to be compatible with another, and needs different technical support and user training. Whilst such individual systems have proved useful in a particular context (see, for example, Gilmour et al., 2005; Jones et al., 2006; Lesher et al., 2005; Loane et al., 2005; Lowitt et al., 2005; Oakley et al., Health Information and Communication Systems in Ireland Health Information and Communication Systems in Ireland Is ICT a key enabler in ensuring seamless delivery of healthcare? A comparison between public and private ICT development in Ireland Abstract This study discusses the innovative changes that have taken place in Ireland in the field of healthcare due to the influx of information and communication technologies. Previous Information communication technologies (ICT), including telemedicine, present opportunities to address rural health-service delivery issues. The research shows that effective management of health services and the delivery of quality systems in Irish healthcare organizations have increased. In Ireland patients are expecting more of healthcare providers and are demanding higher standards of care and service. Simultaneously, those paying for health services have become more concerned about rising health costs and possible inefficiencies. As a result there is widespread interest in understanding what makes for an effective health service and in developing better practices to improve existing approaches to healthcare management in relation to ICT. This study highlights the developments in quality-service management in the Irish healthcare sector and focuses attention on the need for the development of a model for quality implementation in healthcare institutions. In sum the study shows that the development of (ICT) has facilitated the emergence of a complex global urban system in which many formerly lower-order cities have been carving out â€Å"niche† specialist functions serving urban fields of transnational dimension. Chapter1: Introduction Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to highlight the development of the Information and communication system in Ireland and how it has revolutionized the healthcare sector in Ireland. Research Question This study focuses on the following research questions: What are the current trends of technological development in the Information and Communication Technology sector of Ireland? What are various challenges faced by the Irish healthcare system in relation to Information and Communication Technology? Significance of the Study This study is quite significant as it shows that the concept of globalisation has secured remarkable currency in the academic discourse of the late 20th century, despite ongoing questions regarding both its meaning and extent (Clark and Lund, 2000). The development of internationally integrated production and distribution systems, seen by many as the key feature of globalisation, has been a spatially uneven process. A key factor in this respect has been the differential ability of regions to engage in the informational economy, based on new information and communications technology (ICT), which is the main source of wealth creation and economic growth in the modern world (Castells, 2003). The result has been what Friedmann (2005) calls a process of ‘techno-apartheid’ which has divided the globe into ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ worlds (Knox, 2005), distinguished by the connectedness of individuals, groups and regions to the world of telematics. This echoes Ingersoll’s (2003, quoted in Knox, 2005) suggestion that the key division of the workforce is now that between those who have the capacity to operate ICT (the ‘cyberproletariat’) and those who do not (the ‘lumpentrash’). Golding (2006) makes a similar distinction between the ‘technoliterati’ and the ‘techno-poor’. While Knox defines the fast and slow worlds spatially, equating the former with the ‘triadic’ core and the latter with the remaining global periphery, Hoogvelt (2003) argues that the divide is, in essence, social rather than spatial, with elements of both worlds to be found in all regions of the globe. Thus, within advanced economies, a process of social polarisation has been widely reported (Friedmann, 2006 and Sassen, 2004) and has been intimately linked by Graham and Marvin (2006) to the development of ICT use. This is not to suggest that those who work in the fast world are homogeneously well-paid and affluent; rather, they represent a wide range of remuneration levels depending on such factors as economic sector, location, function, ethnic group and gender (Castells, 2006). What they do tend to have in common, however, is relative employment security due to the high demand level for their ICT skills. Rationale This study follows a logical approach and identifies the fact that both in Ireland as well as globally, there are major geographical variations in the relative balance between fast and slow worlds, with the former mainly to be found in the traditional core regions of North America, western Europe and Japan and an additional small group of newly industrialising countries which have had the institutional capacity to invest massively in modern ICT and associated educational infrastructures (Freeman, 2004). The slow world – found predominantly in the less developed countries of the global periphery and accounting for the bulk of the world’s population – is becoming increasingly marginalised and is moving, as Castells (2003, p. 37) puts it, â€Å"from a structural position of exploitation to a structural position of irrelevance†. Definition of Terms ICT: Information and Communication Technology: it is the study or business of developing and using technology to process information and aid communications. Sistem : SISTeM a soft systems methodology, stakeholder analysis and participative simulation modelling. NHS: (National Health Service) The organization providing national healthcare services in the UK. Chapter 2: Literature Review The process of quality implementation has become a key concern for those involved in hospital management in Ireland. In a national context, the effective management of health services and the delivery of quality systems in health-care institutions have increased in significance in recent years. In line with wider developments in other service industries, consumers (patients) are expecting more of health-care providers and are demanding higher standards of care and service. Simultaneously, those paying for health services have become more concerned about rising health costs and possible inefficiencies. As a result there is widespread interest in understanding what makes for an effective health service and in developing better practices to improve existing approaches to health-care management and delivery. In 2005 a comprehensive report on funding from the Commission on Health Funding highlighted that solutions to the problems faced by the Irish Health Service did not lie primarily in the system of funding, but rather in the way that services were planned, organised, and delivered. Similarly, in a report from the OECD (2003), it was argued that although the Irish health system had delivered a continuous improvement in health standards, there was still scope for further improvement in efficiency, and that this could be achieved through better allocation of resources. More recently, the government health strategy (DOHc, 2001) highlighted the requirement for a system to monitor progress and systematically evaluate the quality and effectiveness of health services. According to the strategy: Monitoring and evaluation must become intrinsic to the approach taken by people at all levels of the health services. Specifically, the strategy suggested that the way in which health and personal social services are planned, organised, and delivered has a significant effect on the health and well-being of the population. Organisational structures must be geared to the provision of a responsive, adaptable health system which meets the needs of the population effectively and at affordable cost. One of the guiding principles inherent in the published strategy was that of a â€Å"people-centred† health system. A responsive system must develop ways to engage with individuals and the wider community which receives its services. The health system must become more people-centred, with the interests of the public, patients, and clients being given greater prominence and influence in decision making at all levels (DOHc, 2001). According to Bowers (2001), major structural reform, coupled with strong management and political will, are required to ensure change for the better. In Bowers’ view, finance alone will not improve the system. Rather, a concentrated effort must be made to ensure a responsive and efficient service. As previously noted, a conclusion of the Report of the Commission on Health Funding (2005) was that the solution facing the Irish health services did not lie primarily in the system of funding but rather in the way that services were planned, organised, and delivered. This is reinforced by a recent report on the Irish health-care sector which suggested that the issues and challenges facing the health service are fundamentally the same as those outlined by the Commission on Health Funding, except that they are compounded by much higher expectations/demands by consumers (Deloitte and Touche, 2001). Thus, although modern health services have undergone radical change in many areas (Robins, 2003), managers of health services are currently reporting a large increase in the number of patients needing beds, with consequent ever-increasing waiting lists. Accident and emergency departments are under particular strain, and the difficulties of dealing with the growing needs of the increasing elderly population are beginning to become apparent. Although the Irish health service is free for all those requiring medical treatment through a publicly funded system, the current situation is hauntingly similar to that of the Victorian era of health care in Ireland. As a result, the Office for Health Management in Ireland (OHM, 2001) has suggested that current deficiencies in health-care provision and delivery underline the importance of providing quality service management and implementation in Irish health and personal social services. In achieving this aim, the OHM has contended that those working within the system must change how they go about their work and how they work together. Changed public-sector environment The focus on health-care service and quality has evolved from a more general interest in continuous improvement initiatives within the public sector. The prevalent trends in the private sector are towards continuous and pervasive change and increasing interdependencies, and it has been suggested that close parallels can be drawn between the private and public sectors. Public-sector organisations now find themselves in a cyclone of change as they attempt to adapt to turbulent environments in a pragmatic and systematic way (Lovell, 2004). In the UK and also in Ireland, these organisations have been subject to cuts in government spending, as well as demands for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. In response to such changes, there has been a policy shift towards greater competition and an attempt to apply management practices from the private sector to the public domain. The Irish public sector has been officially pursuing change and reform through its strategic management initiative (SMI), a program for improving the management of the civil service which was formally launched in 2004 (Department of the Taoisearch, 2004). The SMI evolved from the growing internal and external pressures for better services and for more effective management of public services. In that context the continuous improvement of customer service has been a specific focus of the SMI since 2003, when the quality service initiative was launched. The program set out a series of quality principles according to which dealings with the wider public would be coordinated and managed. These initiatives aimed to make public administration more relevant to the citizens for whom the service exists, and simultaneously sought to remove barriers which have traditionally restricted performance and job satisfaction within the public sector. In recent years, Ireland has experienced a rise in consumerism. Increases in revenue available to fund public service provision have gone hand in hand with rising public expectations of standards of service. As a consequence, management skills and competences in providing for improved standards of customer service have become recognised as being central to delivering real transformation in the public sector. However, the development of such capabilities, particularly in relation to managing effective quality implementation, presents considerable challenges for those involved. Nowhere is this more evident than in the health-care sector. A review of recent international evidence points to the challenges of implementing quality service in health-care institutions. Gaucher and Coffey (2000) confirmed that implementing a process of total quality management (TQM) in health care is a pragmatic, specific, and systematic methodology. However, this requires a firm commitment from the leadership to change their former ways of working and doing business. Gaucher and Coffey (2000) cited many reasons for TQM failing – including poor leadership and a lack of management commitment – but also noted that revitalisation can rejuvenate the process. These authors asserted that the role of those implementing the process is to nurture and breathe energy into the process when enthusiasm and commitment are declining. The importance of the support of senior management for quality-management projects is also advocated by Berwick et al. (2000). These authors undertook a national demonstration project in the USA in the late 2000s and described how organisations could implement the entire quality-improvement process – from defining the problem through to implementing a solution and consolidating the gains (Berwick et al., 2000). A literature review carried out by Jackson (2005) identified that much work had been undertaken in the UK in determining the clinical effectiveness of many health-care organisations, but that very little research had been implemented in the area of managerial effectiveness. Furthermore, West (2001) determined that, in organisations that outperform others on different dimensions of performance, there was evidence that management is important, as are the combined efforts of individual clinicians and teams. There have been several approaches espoused for achieving quality management in health-care institutions, many of which have been technical and generic in their approaches (Moeller et al., 2000). Specifically, Donabedian (2000) introduced the concepts of structure, process, and outcomes, along with the development of self-assessment and accreditation through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In many instances these programs have met with mixed reactions, and their implementation has varied. A criticism levelled at hospital performance is that it has been rather insular, and has paid little attention to developments in related fields, such as organisational sociology, organisational behaviour, management studies, and human-resource management (West, 2001). If quality programs are to have lasting and significant effects, that they must follow a systemic approach such that all aspects of an organisation are integrated and focused on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction (Joss, 2004). A variety of approaches has been used to improve quality and to ensure its delivery, but not all have been successful. Indeed, some have merely added bureaucracy and higher costs to health care (Jackson, 2005; Ennis and Harrington, 2001). Recent research has shown that 45 per cent of patients experience some â€Å"medical mismanagement† and that 17 per cent suffer events which lead to a longer stay or more serious problems (Ovretveit, 2000). This is increasingly caused by complex systems of care which do not appear to be managed effectively. Joss and Kogan (2005) strongly recommended that a comprehensive set of criteria be included, against which to evaluate progress. These criteria should be based on the main requirements of TQM, and should include any additional factors generated by the organisation and/or by evaluators. A three-year evaluation of TQM in the National Health Scheme (NHS) indicated that there were clear factors which predicted successful implementation, the most important of which was the need to have a structured, pre-planned approach based on a thorough understanding of alternative approaches (Joss, 2004). Moreover, a recent study from the UK (O’Sullivan, 2005) demonstrated how one NHS Trust achieved continuous quality improvement through determination, education, and implementation, supported by visionary and involved leadership in all areas, a multi-talented enthusiastic clinical audit department, and a high-quality dedicated staff. Nabitz and Walburg (2000) suggested that possible solutions to quality problems might lie in the approach promoted by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The EFQM has developed a model to structure and review the quality-management processes of organisations. Self-assessment, benchmarking, external review, and quality awards are essential elements of this model and, as reported by Sanchez (2000), this approach represents an important means of achieving excellence in health care. Within the literature there are also many studies showing the benefits of applying models of quality implementation in health-care organisations (Naylor, 2005; Ruiz et al., 2005). Such studies have pointed to the real benefits that accrue to organisations which have used such approaches (Pitt, 2005). Business excellence methodology for quality improvement The introduction of internationally respected quality frameworks – the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) in 2003, followed by the EFQM in 2005 – has provided an opportunity for organisations to self-assess, using the models of TQM and business excellence which underpin these frameworks. In this process of self-assessment, an opportunity exists to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the current management of operations. In the USA, the effectiveness of the Baldrige process has been lauded by many (Gaucher and Coffey, 2000) who have indicated that organisations can learn about best practices from Baldrige-winning companies, and will thus be assisted in developing a composite for excellence. Although the Baldrige criteria were developed for commercial institutions, there has been keen interest in the adaptation of the model within health-care organisations in the USA following a pilot health-care project in 2005. To date, no health-care entity has yet achieved Baldrige-winner status, although Gaucher and Coffey (2000) have asserted that it is only a matter of time before there is a health-care winner. Moreover, these authors went on to say that the true benefit of the Baldrige process is not about winning an award. Rather, it is about the provision of a road map for a journey – a framework for both incremental and breakthrough improvement and business excellence. Within the European context, since its introduction in 2001, the EFQM model has been attracting considerable interest across all sectors, and has become a well-recognised quality-management framework. Stahr et al. (2001) concurred with Gaucher and Coffey (2000) in stating that the model provides a means by which organisations can assess their paths and develop solutions to achieve excellence. Other authors have espoused the model as being surprisingly effective, with awards being presented to those firms considered to be the most accomplished exponents of TQM in Europe (Wilkes and Dale, 2005). Across European health care at an institutional level, an increasing number of organisations are making direct investments in the training of staff in the concepts of business excellence (Stahr et al., 2001; Jackson, 2001). The NHS Executive in the UK has provided a central lead in endorsing the model as an important framework for delivering on the clinical governance agenda. Furthermore the British Association of Medical Managers (BAMM) has promoted its use as a tool for organisational self-assessment (Stahr et al., 2001). Its use and adoption has been further supported by the British Quality Foundation which provides a major educational and support role in the use and adoption of the model in health care and other sectors across the corporate landscape. Without doubt, the future performance of health-care organisations will be assessed against wider goals than previously. There will be a greater emphasis on measuring organisational performance and, if performance is below par, rapid investigation and appropriate intervention will ensue (Naylor, 2005). Moeller (2001) concurred with this, and identified evaluation of health services as a prerequisite. However, Zairi et al. (2005) warned that measuring organisational effectiveness in the delivery of health care is a challenging task. Joss and Kogan (2005) strongly recommended that a comprehensive set of criteria should be included, against which to evaluate progress. This should be based on the main requirements of TQM, supplemented by other organisational criteria thought to be important by the evaluators. A three-year evaluation of TQM in the NHS indicated that there are clear factors which predict successful implementation – including awareness of the need to have a structured, pre-planned approach based on a thorough understanding of alternative approaches (Joss, 2004). Moreover, as demonstrated by O’Sullivan (2005), successful implementation requires the support of visionary and involved leaders in all areas, together with dedicated and educated staff. Examining organisational effectiveness in Irish health care As suggested by Nabitz and Walburg (2000), the solution to quality problems might lie in the approach promoted by the EFQM. As reported by Sanchez (2000), this approach represents an important means of achieving excellence in health care which concurs with earlier descriptions by Gaucher and Coffey (2000). Self-assessment can examine current practice and establish capability, thus driving improvement rather than a reaction to weaknesses in the current system (Russell, 2005). There are also many studies in the literature which show the benefits of applying the business excellence model for quality implementation in health-care organisations (Naylor, 2005; Jackson, 2005a; Nabitz and Klazinga, 2005; Arcelay et al., 2005). Such studies have pointed to real benefits that have accrued to organisations using such an approach. Furthermore, Jackson (2005a) demonstrated that the adoption of the principles of self-assessment and business excellence can lead to the achievement of a culture of continuous improvement. Russell (2005) noted that the adoption of the â€Å"outside-in† approach of the EFQM model enabled organisations to use the model as a developmental and management framework. For Arcelay et al. (2005), the model provided a global, systematic regular analysis of the activities and results by comparing them with the criteria of the excellence model. Moreover, the process made it possible to make comparisons with other private and public organisations. Using a systems view of an organisation enables managers to focus on the processes between the parts of an organisation, rather than on the parts themselves, which is similar to physicians using a systematic model in which to analyse signs and symptoms, and thus make a diagnosis. An effective organisation is one in which the total organisation, through its significant subparts and individuals, manages its work against goals and plans with a view to achieving these goals within an open system. Methods of management that have been developed in manufacturing environments are naturally regarded with scepticism in non-manufacturing sectors. However, according to West (2001), studies that have been conducted on the link between the organisation and management of services and quality of patient care can be criticised both theoretically and methodologically because of the many different mechanisms that may be operating at once to produce the relationship between volume and quality. West (2001) asserted that a more rigorous body of work exists on the performance of firms in the private sector, often conducted within the disciplines of organisational behaviour or human resource management. Ireland and the International ICT System Dublin has, in the 2000s, carved out several niche international functions for itself, one of which, call centre activities, has been the principal focus of this study. According to a report in The Irish Times (August 20, 2003), Ireland accounts for 30% of all international call centres located in western Europe. The great bulk of these are to be found in Dublin. The central role of ICT in call centre activities has facilitated their centralisation in Ireland, from where markets spread across Europe and even further afield can readily be served. As Sassen (2005, p. 56) has observed: â€Å"Information technologies, often thought of as neutralising geography, actually contribute to spatial concentration†. Call centre activities, therefore, have helped Ireland to escape the bounds of geographical peripherality, thereby contradicting Wegener’s (2005) gloomy prognosis which visualised cities in the periphery as inevitable losers from growing inter-urban competition in Europe. This has been cleverly portrayed in an IDA advertisement which shows Ireland at the centre of a surrounding group of disembodied European countries ( Fig. 1). These latter are no longer seen as being more or less distant from Ireland, but as constituting a set of different language and market territories, all equally accessible from Ireland. However, Dublin’s growing international reach and the growing technological sophistication of its economic base should not mask the fact that, structurally, it retains a dependent position within the international division of labour. Its rapid recent economic expansion has been largely based on the attraction of branch plant operations which remain poorly embedded in the local economy (Breathnach, 2005). à Ã‚ nd, while the rising skill levels associated with recent inward investment have facilitated substantial improvement in living standards generally, in the specific case of the call centre sector, much of the employment which has been created remains relatively poorly paid – a fact which is directly linked with the high proportion of women workers in the sector, despite their high skill levels. Furthermore, the rapid growth of the call centre sector in the 2000s looks increasingly unsustainable as the end of the decade approaches. Growing labour shortages are driving up labour costs which, in conjunction with increasing housing and transportation problems, are beginning to attenuate Dublin’s attractiveness as a call centre location: according to a 2005 survey of call centre locations in Great Britain and Ireland, reported by Allen (2005), Dublin had fallen to the 29th position of 46 locations surveyed, having been in the top 10 in 2006. The response of the IDA has been to devote additional resources to promoting non-Dublin locations for call centre projects. However, even if this is successful in the short run, in the longer term the future of call centre employment will be increasingly threatened by technological developments, such as speech recognition technology and especially the rapidly growing use of the internet for making reservations, placing orders and seeking information. The IDA has justified its promotion of the call centre sector, despite the inferior nature of much of the employment involved, largely on the grounds that it provides an initial base upon which more sophisticated forms of employment can be built. Its long-term strategy, in other words, is to encourage firms which have established call centres in Ireland to add on additional functions, such as financial management and software development, to these initial operations. Already there has been some success in this area of ‘shared services’ back-office activities: by mid-2003, some 25 such operations had been established, and were projected to employ over 3000 people by the year 2000 (information supplied by Forfà ¡s). Ultimately, however, all of these activities remain as back-office activities, whose essential linkages are external to the Irish economy. In other words, their Irish location is not crucial to the parent companies of these operations; rather, it is contingent on the availability of certain attractions which may either be transient or reproducible elsewhere (Allen, 2005). As Wilson (2005) has noted, call centres are essentially a highly footloose sector, with few local economic linkages and little fixed investment in machinery and equipment: they therefore can be relocated quite readily in the light of changing comparative factor conditions. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK published its NHS Plan in July 2000 (http://www.nhs.uk/thenhsexplained), saying that patients and people were central to its radical reform of healthcare and that although this included more hospitals and beds, shorter waiting times and improved care for older people, an essential element was that patients should have more power and information. As Grimson et al. (2000) rightly comment, healthcare is an information-intensive business, with data on an enormous scale gathered by way of hospitals, clinics, laboratories and primary care surgeries. Central to any information-intensive business is, naturally, the effective sharing of that information and, in order to empower and better engage the patient, how best that can be done. Funded by the UK’s Department of Health, the British Library’s integrated Telemedicine Information Service (TIS), described in the latest edition of the NHSMagazine (http://www.nhs.uk/nhsmagazine), is to improve the take-up of telemedicine technology in the UK, reinforcing the importance that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are seen to have in the sharing of information and the engagement of patients in their healthcare. By way of explanation, the word â€Å"telemedicine† has been coined as a way of capturing, in only one word, how ICT is being used in healthcare. However, as Curry et al. (2003) rightly comment, terms such as telemedicine, teleconferencing, health informatics and medical informatics seem to be used interchangeably, and that there is some confusion as to what is, and is not, involved, citing various studys, including those of Preston at al. (2002) and Mark and Hodges (2001) to support their claim. As there is some disagreement with the term, we use in this study the meaning assigned by Perednia and Allen (2005), that is, the use of information technologies in helping to provide medical information and services in healthcare. Whatever its name, or its definition, it concerns, in one way or another, the mediating role that technology plays in the interaction between humans, whether patient or healthcare professional. At the time of writing, there are 138 telemedicine projects in the UK (http://www.tis.port.ac.uk/tm/owa/projects.allUK), and they cover aspects of healthcare as diverse as mental health, diabetes, foetal monitoring and accident and emergency care. Indeed, it points to one of the advantages of telemedicine; its applicability across a wide range of clinical issues. However, while these projects certainly cover a diversity of issues, they have something in common, that is, they address only one of these clinical matters. Each system is designed differently, is unlikely to be compatible with another, and needs different technical support and user training. Whilst such individual systems have proved useful in a particular context (see, for example, Gilmour et al., 2005; Jones et al., 2006; Lesher et al., 2005; Loane et al., 2005; Lowitt et al., 2005; Oakley et al.,

Analyzing Marketing Opportunities

Analyzing Marketing Opportunities Marketing has often been defined in terms of satisfying customers needs and wants critics however maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before. According to these critics, marketers encourage consumers to spend more money than they should on goods and services they really do not need. Marketing was defined by the American Marketing association Board of Directors as Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (Approved October 2007) http://www.marketingpower.com/aboutama/pages/definitionofmarketing.aspx Marketing is the process whereby society, to supply its consumption needs, evolves distributive systems composed of participants, who, interacting under constraints technical (economic) and ethical (social) create the transactions or flows which resolve market separations and result in exchange and consumption. Bartles2 What Is Marketing? How 10 Experts Define It Marketing Process The marketing process consists of analyzing marketing opportunities, developing marketing strategies, planning marketing programs, and managing the marketing effort. (Kotler)3 http://nraomtr.blogspot.ie/2011/12/marketing-strategy-marketing-process.html Analyzing Marketing Opportunities Market analysis involves market research about a product or service being offered it involves using primary and secondary data, looking at the economic situation of the country and the legal aspects political aspects, the legislation the competitors new entrants into the market and their market position. This data will be analysed using different statistical tools this will be used in identifying short, medium and long term on various marketing activities. This data provide useful information which enables the organisation to plans its marketing strategy. For example Tesco a grocery store will look at what Asda, Lidl Aldi and also what the likes of Sainsbury, marks and spencer are doing and their market share. Its in view as this that Tesco will determine what its marketing strategy will be. Developing Marketing Strategies Based on the Marketing research conducted Tesco will be able to determine what marketing strategy it will adopt for the next quarter on each of its product range and determine what market segment it will concentrate on. it might decide to contrate on fruit and vegetables or it might decide to concentrate of clothing differentiation decision is made to arrive at a product that will lead to the optimal profit. For example Tesco might decide to be a loss leader on a particular product while maximising profit in other areas Usually at Tesco price of some items are reduced but customers will come in because of this package but will end up buying other not discounted. Marketing Programs Marketing strategy leads to marketing mix, examples are budget allocation for a particular department, products etc Marketing Mix is the combination of four elements, called the 4Ps (Product, Price, Promotion and Place), that every company has the option of adding, subtracting, or modifying in order to create a desired marketing strategy. (Philip Kotler)4 Larry Steven Londre Marketing, IMC, Advertising, Promotion, Media and More. 2012 Edition There are large number of marketing tools. McCarthy5 provided a categorization for them in terms of four Ps of marketing: Product, price, place and promotion. Under each P, there are number of tools. Depending on the organisational choice it is possible to have some on a short term medium term or long term new products are usually on a long term basis In other to carry out budgeting for different marketing tools, sales functions this functions will relate to how sales will be affected be any incremental amount, This is known as sensitivity analysis. Product related marketing tools are in the form of quality,branding design,packaging, etc. While price related to commissions, discounts and middlemen commission to discount pricing like buy one and pay for I/2 price for the second. Place related are like on line sales Tesco in retail park, Tesco in large shopping centres and the Tesco express which can be in filling stations or in a neighborhood Promotion relates to Tesco club card owners who get personal sales promotions or instore promotions and TV and radio jingles or adverts, online and social media campaigns. Market Orientation was defined by McNamara (1972 p.51) as a philosophy of business management based upon a Company wide acceptance of the need for a customer orientation. Profit orientation and recognition of the important role of communicating the needs of the market to all corporate departments .5 Journal of marketing april 1990 Ajay Kohl and Barnard J Jaworski Market Orientation: the construct, research proposition and managerial implications The main points highlighted here are customer focus and profitability. The chances of new products failing is very much reduced and it provide the opportunity to cut its loss if indications are it may not be profitable the a stop can be put to it before the product is launched Where market Orientation approach is used there chance that consumer needs are being met with appropriate products or services are higher and inevitably the life product of such products or service will be prolonged and hence more profit. . Constant feedback from consumers This is an unending process through this constant market research this will enable the firm to make changes to the product as its see fits hence making higher profits and matching those of their competitors.. The disadvantages of marketing Orientation are It may be difficult to target campaigns at a large Market Constant market research it is very expensive thereby reducing profit* Where there is a specialised markets it will be difficult to fulfill the needs of the sub market(consumers) A good example of this is the graphic plotters used for architects similar plotters may not be ideal for factories with specialised technical construction or tool making. Product differentiation may at time be difficult especially for the likes of retail supermarket where they do not produce the products but for the company branding it is often difficult to differentiate a product and stand out from competition consumer wants often change due to income and consumption patterns for example someone who lost his/her job will change quickly from buying from Tesco to the likes of Lidl and Aldi. it may be hard to keep up with need of such people. Marketing environment is mainly made of two variables the micro and the macro factors these factors are mainly internal environment- micro and external environment macro The micro environment are variables that can be controlled or by management. E Jerome McCarthy 6 said the variables that the company can control in order to reach its target market are the four Ps. Price, products, promotion and place. A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing Relationships Tom Duncan and Sandra E. Moriarty Journal of Marketing Vol. 62, No. 2 (Apr., 1998), pp. 1-13 Macro are those outside the control of the organisation.they are proximate macro-environment The supplier environment The distributive environment The wider macro-environment Demography proximate macro-environment This involves the external forces for example, in the legal, cultural, economic and technological sub-environments. This are the people or firms with organisation immediate external environment. Of they are marketing firms, are suppliers, competitors and distributors (intermediaries). The supplier environment These are businesses that provide the firm with material and distribute to their retails in includes logistic companies and retailers the like of Tesco The distributive environment Emphasis is placed on intermediaries such as wholesalers, factors, agents and distributors so that final consumer get products The competitive environment The threat of competition cannot be over emphasised the orgainsation must be alert to the potential threat of other companies selling the same product. Ie Pepsi and Coke companies marketing similar and substitute product whether they are of domestic or foreign origin. The wider macro-environment Changes in the wider macro-environment may not be as close to the companys day-to-day operations, but they are equally important this falls into four The main factors making up these wider macro-environmental forces fall into four groups. Political and legal factors Economic factors Social and cultural factors Technological factors Demography In places like Iran, Tunisia, Syria and the middle east in general which were predominantly dominated by Pepsi, the advent of war has change the demography of the area. This is out of the control of Pepsi and It will have to readjust its marketing strategy and marketing Mix for this region. Market segmentation is defined as The process of defining and subdividing a large homogeneous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. Its objective is to design a marketing mix that precisely matches the expectations of customers in the targeted segment. 7 Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf Fig 1 http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf Fig2 http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf (source) Gig 3 http://www.coriolisresearch.com/pdfs/coriolis_tesco_study_in_excellence.pdf Tesco provided six market segments to target the different consumers Need from the up class to the lower class income . The segments are self narrative with this concept Tesco was able to continuously increase its market share. Buyers behaviour often change depending on products , the consumers spending power, consumers needs and how urgent he need the product. The customer identifies a need :This often occurs from advertisement from TV, Radio, Bill board social media or words of mouth Looking for information At this stage the customer wants more information about the products and needs to see the product and discuss more with the sale representative Checking out alternative products and suppliers The consumer at this stage will look for a better buy either in terms of quality, pricing and will compare the product or service with those of other providers, Purchase decision . time at this stage the buyer is ready to buy and the sales personnel need to close the sale by giving the buyer an incentive to buy. It could be after sales service it could be a voucher. Using the product Cognitive dissonance a fear that the buyer may have made a wrong decision comes to play here especially when it is an expensive here simple how to use and after sales suffice or a form of warranty. There are four main factors that affect a buyer behaviour namely:-Social, Culture, psychological and personal.. Social: Groups membership, reference, aspirational opinion leaders or buzz marketing and family members. Culture: A persons wants or behaviour group with share values and ones social class. Personal; Age and life cycle, occupation personality and self concept Psychological: Motivation perception and beliefs and attitudes . Market positioning is the manipulation of a brand or family of brands to create a positive perception in the eyes of the public. If a product is well positioned, it will have strong sales, and it may become the go-to brand for people who need that particular product. Poor positioning, on the other hand, can lead to bad sales and a dubious reputation. A number of things are involved in market positioning, with entire firms specializing in this activity and working with clients to position their products effectively. 9 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_examples_of_market_positioning With the current economic situation Tesco has gone to the cheap end of the market competing the likes of Lldl and Aldi. So the focus will be on main stream with competitive price