Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory and Existential Psychology Essay

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory and Existential Psychology - Essay Example Freud thinks that the human mind is made up of three components—the id, the ego, and the superego. Through his actual experience with mentally ill individuals, Freud realized that unconscious needs and childhood experiences determine behavioral patterns. From these observations, Freud created a theory that portrayed development in the form of psychosexual stages. Freud’s theory explains that as children grow or mature, they move through psychosexual stages. At every stage, the pleasure-oriented drive of the libido is concentrated on a specific body part. The effective completion of every stage results in a stable, strong personality later in life. But if a conflict stays unsettled at any specific stage, the person may stay absorbed or trapped at that specific developmental stage (Mitchell & Black 49). An obsession may arise. For instance, an individual with an ‘oral obsession’ is thought to be trapped at the oral developmental stage. Indications of an oral obsession may involve too much dependence on oral activities like eating or smoking (Cavell 214). Freud believes that conflicts in every stage can have a permanent impact on behavior and personality (Guntrip 33). ... Freud’s psychoanalytic theory had a massive influence on twentieth-century knowledge, influencing the field of psychology and mental health. Although a large number of his ideas are criticized or treated with skepticism nowadays, his impact on or contribution to psychology is unquestionable. Psychoanalytic theory was very influential at the time and until now. Those influenced by the ideas of Freud tried to expand his theory and create their own. The theories of Erik Erikson, who is considered a neo-Freudian, have been possibly the most widely recognized. Erikson’s psychosocial development stages explain change and progress all over the lifespan, placing emphasis on conflicts and social relations that emerge during each stage of development (Guntrip 29). One of the Freudian psychoanalytic concepts that was very influential was the structure of personality—the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the mind is composed of two major components—the unconscious and conscious. The unconscious part involves all those external to an individual’s awareness, such as memories, impulses, desires, and aspirations that reside outside the awareness but keep on affecting behavior. On the contrary, the conscious part involves those things that an individual is aware of (Mitchell & Black 48). Freud thinks that the mind is like an iceberg. The visible part of the iceberg, which is the tip, comprises only a small fraction of the mind, while the massive portion of submerged ice embodies the much bigger unconscious part. Besides these two key portions of the mind, Freud classifies human personality into three key parts—the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the basic component of personality that

The story of my life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The story of my life - Essay Example The change in culture and familial environment did not improve my relationship with my mother, who remained distant and aloof. I felt she has absolutely no love for me. With her mind wandering back to my father in New York, I anticipated that day when she just rushed to my father’s arms. I was not in their plans of reuniting. I stayed with my grandparents to continue my education. The day my mother left me was the day my life changed for the worse. I met a boy who I fell in love with irresponsibly and immaturely. I stopped attending classes; my relatives learned of the relationship; my grandfather died; and I was sent back to New York. I run away and lived with my boyfriend’s relatives and soon led to unexpected pregnancy. I gave birth at a very tender age. Since I was not under the care of my parents, a social service worker from the Department of Social Services put me and my newborn under protective custody, endorsed in foster homes: first in Malden and then in Lynn. I eventually graduated from Lynn Vocational Technical High and have continued to search for meaning in my life. All thorns so far, with one rose, my child; and another, graduating from high school. I am looking forward to more roses in the near future.

Tragic or Comedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tragic or Comedy - Essay Example It can be affected by factors such as attitudes, beliefs, religion, family tradition and custom as well as the environment. Comedy on the other hand also has the same factors, but the difference is, the story is told in a â€Å"lighter† sense. Even if there are sad scenes still, the â€Å"lightness† of the plot and its mood is stronger and apparent. The second one of looking at the novel is through the reader’s point of view. Overall reader’s perception of the story will somehow determine whether a novel is a tragedy or a comedy, without knowledge of technical writing styles. A reader’s perception is also dependent on his or her experiences, culture and beliefs. Personal views on novel cannot be entirely labeled as something that is incorrect because, to read is like taking a journey. However way you take the journey is up to you and wherever the story leads you is something that is personal in nature; except of course, if one is completely mislead because of lack of understanding of the terms used and confusion of the events in the story. Life stories all have its ups and downs, happiness and sadness and whether one believes it or not tragedies can also have its â€Å"comedic instances†. Such is brought about by people’s behavior, attitude, age, beliefs and the environment. As I lay Dying is a novel about death in the family and although there are funny scenes in the novel, it has brought me more into the â€Å"serious† side of it. When Vardaman said that his mother is a fish, this seems funny, especially when spoken by a child, but the words have deeper meaning. Yes, we could laugh at it for awhile but something slowly sinks into us - a sad feeling. We pity the child for saying it because it can be perceived as a denial on the child’s part. Losing a mother is indeed very difficult especially for young children, and this is how Vardaman coped up with the

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Assignment - 3

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that strategic management entails the formulation as well as an implementation of key objectives that are adopted by managers on behalf of the shareholders. During this process, effective assessment of external and internal environments must be done. On the other hand, strategic competitiveness refers to the results that are achieved after a firm effectively formulates and implements appropriate strategies that are not easily copied by the competitors either because they are unique or there are costly to imitate. One of the major strategies that make Coca-Cola be a competitive company locally and in the international markets is the increased sales as the result of its expansion in many countries. Since the company was established in 1886, it has grown from a small firm based in Atlanta to the most valuable brand in the world. Coca-Cola Company brands are distributed in over 200 countries. Being the world largest brand, Coca-Cola has continued to enjoy impressiv e expansion globally. However, the company has very strong roots in Atlanta where it originated. The production of brands that depict comfort and leisure, aspects that are related to the American culture, the company produces brands that meet the needs of American people. In order to ensure that its products are effectively distributed in the international market, Coca-Cola Company has employed the services of various bottlers in various countries. The table below indicates some of the notable bottlers in the various Coca-Cola market segments. Apart from an effective entry of the global market, Coca-Cola Company has appropriately used technology in all its operations. For example, the company constantly rebrands its products. In 2009, the company introduced greener bottles. These are bottles that use less petroleum thus having less carbon impact. Likewise, the introduction of freestyle dispensers, that allow consumers to create their own beverage by combining more than 100 brands, i s a clear indication of the extent to which the company values technology.

Crm Banking Sector Essay Example for Free

Crm Banking Sector Essay A study of customer perception of CRM initiatives in the Indian Banking Sector Vanisha Oogarah-Hanuman Lecturer Faculty of Law and Management University of Mauritius Sharmila Pudaruth Lecturer Faculty of Law and Management University of Mauritius Vinod Kumar Research Scholar Department of Management Studies School of Management Pondicherry University Victor Anandkumar Reader Department of Management Studies School of Management Pondicherry University ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the front-end effectiveness of CRM strategies in the banking sector in India by studying the customer perception of CRM initiatives. This is an empirical research which is descriptive in nature and relied mainly on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire to study the perception of Indian customers. Findings: Banks operating in India have failed to impress their customers on their CRM efforts. Various CRM initiates and dimensions measured in this study report unfavorable response. This under-performance has occurred in spite of technological developments and new processes in place Practical implications: The findings will have useful implications for Banks operating in India in order to think in line with the customers’ response. The study emphasizes the importance of retaining profitable customers for a lifetime and the growing importance of CRM in order to better satisfy customers in the Indian Banking Industry. Originality/value: Crucial aspects pertaining to CRM in the Indian banking sector had been under-researched and the aim of the present study is to have a broadened investigation of the CRM initiatives adopted by Indian banks. The study provides a discussion on the concept of CRM in the Indian banking sector and proposes recommendations to assist the banking sector on how to nurture profitable, long-term relationships with the customers Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. org Page 1 1. Introduction In today’s banking environment, it is becoming difficult to build and maintain strong and lasting relationships with customers. In fact, the challenges of building strong customer relationships have become even greater for banks with the emergence of e-business, diffusion of innovations and agile new competitors in the banking sector. The introduction of Customer Relationship Management has provided banks with a driving philosophy, a reoriented information system and a communication tool that helps to create invaluable and knowledge based relationships. Therefore, banks are developing a continuing long-term business relationship with customers and they are shifting their focus from market share to mind share of customers. The literature review has focused on the importance of CRM in the banking sector and the importance of maintaining profitable relationships with banking customers, which in turn leads to profitability through customer loyalty. Close relationship with customers will require a strong coordination between IT and marketing departments to provide a long-term retention of selected customers. Accordingly, this paper will aim to investigate important attributes which customers value as far as customer relationships in the Indian banking sector is concerned. No doubt, considerable literature on CRM is available worldwide but there is limited research throwing light over the importance of CRM in the Indian banking sector. Therefore, the paper reviews pertinent literature on CRM in the banking sector. Then, the methodology employed to collect and analyse data is outlined. Then the findings are discussed, implications are described and the paper further makes strategic recommendations towards enhancing customer relationships in the Indian banking sector. Directions for future research are also proposed in the arena of customer relationship management and banking sector. 2. The Indian Banking Sector and CRM The economic reforms initiated by the Government of India roughly about a decade ago have changed the landscape of several sectors of the Indian economy [1]. The Indian banking sector is no exception. The economic reforms have also generated new and powerful customers (huge Indian middle class) and new mix of players (public sector units, private banks, and foreign banks). The emerging competition has generated new expectations from the existing and the new customers. The new rules of competition require recognition of the importance of consumers and the necessity to address the needs through innovative products supported by new technology. Perceptions and expectations of the customers have undergone a sea change, with the innovative and modern banking services offered to the customers. This necessitates banks to include a customer-oriented approach whereby they build, maintain and manage longstanding relationships with their profitable customers in order to gain sustainable competitive edge. 3. Conceptual background Over the past two decades, the literature has argued that businesses across all sectors will have to change their approach to marketing, which should now be carried out through relationships, networks, and interactions [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Such a marketing approach is very Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. rg Page 2 different from the more traditional one based on transactions affecting the Four Ps (product, price, place and promotion). 3. 1. CRM in the Banking sector Customer relationship management (CRM) has been as important to the banking industry at the start of the 21st century as it has been to any other industry. Many banks have used CRM tools to acquire more customers and to improve relationships with them. A key aspect in banks embracing technological platforms and delivery systems is the impact this will have on bank-customer relationships. Therefore, in order to achieve banking excellence, meeting customer needs and offering innovative products is not sufficient in itself. The balance between relatively high costs of relationships with customers and the need to maintain profit growth needs to be finely tuned, if marketing is not to revert back to a transactional paradigm [8]. Likewise, increased customer expectations have created a competitive climate whereby the quality of the relationship between the customer and the institution has taken a greater significance [9, 10]. The development of effective customer relationships is widely advocated as a key element of marketing strategies in the service sector (Ennew, 1996). Therefore a binding and long-term customer relationship seems to be necessary for many banks to react to the changed conditions and to guarantee the continuity. For many customers, a strong banking relationship is as vital as any other business relationship they maintain. This gives CRM-driven banks an advantage in that customers want the benefits of a solid relationship. Common benefits for customers of banks using CRM include wider access with branch locations, Internet and ATMs; access to service and support; discount credit rates and enhanced savings; and other customization opportunities. Attracting new customers should be viewed only as an intermediate step in the marketing process. Developing close relationships with these customers and turning them into loyal ones are equal aspects of marketing. Thus relationship marketing ought to be perceived as attracting, maintaining, and in multi service organizations, enhancing customer relationships [12, 13, 14, 15]. Another important facet of CRM is customer selectivity. As several research studies have shown not all customers are equally profitable for an individual company [16]. 3. 2. Role of Service Providers in the Banking Sector Although CRM has become widely recognized as an important business approach, there is no universally accepted definition of CRM. Swift defined CRM as an ‘enterprise approach to understanding and influencing customer behaviour through meaningful communications in order to improve customer acquisition, customer retention, customer loyalty, and customer profitability’ [17]. Kincaid viewed CRM as ‘the strategic use of information, processes, technology, and people to manage the customer’s relationship with your company (Marketing, Sales, Services, and Support) across the whole customer life cycle’ [18]. Parvatiyar and Sheth defined CRM as ‘a comprehensive strategy and process of acquiring, retaining, and partnering with selective customers to create superior value for the company and the customer [19]. 3. 3. Customer Loyalty, Customer Retention and Customer Relationships Customer satisfaction and loyalty are some key elements of business success and profitability. The more satisfied the customer, the more loyal the customer and the more Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. org Page 3 durable the relationship. And the longer this lasts, the more profit the company stands to make and the higher the market share. Getting existing customers to provide referrals should be one of the effective ways to add new business [20]. A referral from a customer can often open the gates and allow a salesperson access to previously unreachable prospects. Huntley found that when the quality of relationship is high, customers are more willing to recommend the sellers offerings to colleagues and they purchase more from the seller [21]. Maintaining high-quality relationships with customers appears to increase their willingness to provide referrals [22]. Customer satisfaction and loyalty are highly correlated [23], but they form two distinct constructs [24]. Customer satisfaction with a bank relationship is a good basis for loyalty [25, 26], although it does not guarantee it, because even satisfied customers switch banks [27]. One important reason for switching is pricing [28, 29]. Hence, banks have launched customer loyalty programmes that provide economic incentives. Although the effectiveness of loyalty programmes has been questioned [30, 31, 32], research has shown that they have a significant, positive impact on customer retention and share of customer purchases [33, 34]. In a similar vein, Reinartz and Kumar suggest that customers can be grouped according to share-of-wallet and profitable lifetime duration, and that each customer group should be targeted with a specific strategy [35]. By adopting such a customer focused strategy, organisations can maximise the lifetime value of each customer by anticipating needs and offering timely solutions [36]. Likewise, according to Hartfeil, ‘Products are not profitable; customers are, and we analysed our customer base, segment by segment, we found that each required a different strategy to maximize its profitability to the bank [37]. For instance, every customer (both business and personal) is assigned to a banker at National Australia Bank Ltd whereby bankers are required to actively manage their portfolios according to volume of business, interest margin spread, fee income, profitability, customer retention, and the acquisition of new customers [38]. While ample literature is available on generic CRM today, hardly any information is forthcoming on the gains from CRM initiatives in the Indian banking sector. There is scarce literature on how the customers respond to the CRM measures adopted by the banks. This research has attempted to study the customer perceptions pertaining to the CRM initiatives adopted by the banks in India. Thus it helps to investigate the front-end effectives of CRM strategies in the banking sector. 4. Research Methodology This is a descriptive study using primary data collected through an experience survey. The data collection instrument used was a 3-part structured questionnaire using a 5-point Likert Scale. Part-1 was pertaining to the relationship building aspect of CRM and it had 19 questions which were framed using the relevant variables identified from literature review. Part-2 focused specifically on the interaction with the customer service representatives. Part-3 was concerned with customer perceptions on complaint handling and his/her behavioural intentions. Necessary demographic details were also collected to serve as categorizing variables. Prior to data collection, a pilot test was conducted to ensure comprehensiveness, clarity and reliability of the questionnaire. The pretesting of the questionnaire was done among 10 customers randomly, resulting in some minor modifications of the wordings of some survey Volume:01, Number:04, August-2011 www. theinternationaljournal. rg Page 4 items. The method used to administer the questionnaire was through a personal interview so as to obtain more accurate, reliable and valid information and to make the respondents at ease by maintaining a social rapport with them. The target population to be sampled was the individual customers of the Indian banking sector. Owing to the need for a relatively large sample size while at the same time keeping the research costs down, the sample size of this study amounted to 150 customers and the quota sampling technique was adopted based on the net profit and market share figure as shown in Table-1 below.

The medical coding

The medical coding The Performance of Medical Coding What responsibilities are required in Medical Coding? How is Medical Coding beneficial in the healthcare industry? Herzing University (2009) says, â€Å"Medical Coding is the act of billing patients and health insurances for the medical checkup they received.† Medical Coding is one of the most valuable careers in the Healthcare industry. However, this profession requires important guidelines, such as assigning proper health-related codes, understanding coding language, and meeting the terms of the compliance rule. Moreover, as a productive benefit in this line of work, many employers allow medical coders to enter codes from home. The first rule that applies to Medical Coding is the importance of code assignments. After a patient is seen by a physician in an office or hospital room, the medical coders job is to assign the appropriate health diagnosis code on the claim form. The claim form is to be submitted to the patients insurance company for reimbursement purposes; claims are submitted to insurance companies so that doctors will be paid for the services rendered in the office as well. Upon submitting the claim form(s), it is important for the medical coder to assign the correct code(s) to ensure a timely payment process. If the code(s) are incorrect, this will cause the claim to be denied and payment will not be released until the issue is corrected. Herzing University (2009) comments that â€Å"Every medical diagnosis or procedure that is done in a medical office should have a health-related code assigned to it. The medical coder is accountable for assigning the correct code for each procedure that is per formed on a patient.† In addition, AHIMA (2009) predicts that â€Å"the excellence of medical services depend on if a medical coder assigns codes accurately and in a timely fashion.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  In Medical Coding, the first and foremost responsibility is to make certain that the payment reviews and funds flow effectively. Scichilone (2008) also points out that â€Å"the timely completion of assigned codes depends on the accuracy of the coding process.† Therefore, assigning proper codes for medical procedures are essential because it will guarantee timely payment to medical providers and their patients. Another rule that applies to Medical Coding is the understanding of coding language. Where does the resource of coding come from? Who maintains the health-related coding system? The American Health Information Management Association (2009) clarifies that â€Å"the resources for the health-related coding are maintained by a particular group of organizations. These groups are responsible for the updates and or changes for the coding process. The National Center for Health Services, is in charge of the ICD-9-CM codes, whereas, The American Medical Association is responsible for the CPT codes.† What is the coding language and why is it used in Medical Coding? In Medical Coding, an ICD-9-CM code is entered on a claim to code a patient†s diagnosis received from the physician. In addition, there may be more than one diagnostic code on a claim form. A CPT code is entered on a claim to code a procedure that was performed on the patient(s). There may be more that one procedure cod e entered on the claim form as well. For simplicity principle, the codes assigned convey what types of service(s) were provided and why the procedure was done. Rogoski (2004) adds that â€Å"[t]here are two major coding [organizations that are responsible for the coding language],..: the ICD-9-CM diagnosis and procedure codes that are maintained by the federal government, and the CPT procedure codes that are maintained by the American Medical Association.† For verification purposes, American Medical Association (2009) define the definition of the diagnosis code ICD-9-CM is â€Å"The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification,† while (CDC, 2009) notes that the CPT procedure code means â€Å"Current Procedural Terminology.† The most important rule that applies to Medical Coding is the consistency of data entries. Being that coding information is updated on a quarterly and yearly basis by the health care organizations, it is important for the medical coder to enter the updated or revised codes accordingly. Entering the correct diagnosis and procedure code(s) is essential because the code(s) determine how and why reimbursement or payment is requested. During the coding process, it is imperative for the coder to obtain the up-to-date information on medical services covered by the patients insurance company to avoid questionable outcomes. In other words, the services that are covered under a carrier should match what is documented in the compliance guidelines and if the coding or documentation is not consistent with the specific guidelines, this can develop into an investigation and claim rejections. AHIMA (2009) contends that, â€Å"Entering the appropriate data according to the compliance rule is very im portant in the coding process. Whether the codes are entered correctly or not, it will in one way or another, affect both the quality of the statistics and the fulfillment to the regulations.† For that reason, to stay current with the array of coding rules, the Medical Coder should always consult with the healthcare guidelines upon entering the code(s) on a claim form ensure the quality of medical information. Furthermore, to ensure data consistency according to the compliance rule, meticulous medical coding software has been utilized to assist the medical coders during the coding process. â€Å"Computer-Assistance Coding† is how (Scichilone, 2009) describes the software. Even though coding can be complicated especially when trying to remember and stay up to date with guidelines, the use of medical coding software will promote thorough and affirmative results. Scichilone (2009) explains that â€Å"[t]hose little numbers or alpha-numeric [series] are one of the reasons the compliance [organization] exists.† The coding process is to note what type of medical service was provided and the reason for the office visit. To acquire efficiency, new software has been executed to help providers concerning data consistency guidelines. Medical coders can use this specific computer software to produce organized health codes for evaluation.† Not only does this medical coding software assist in positive reviews from the compliance group, it encourages moral standards as well. As an added guideline precaution, healthcare providers are should distribute the compliance rule list within its facilities to ensure proper and precise coding. The list should include a detailed medical coding policy that must be adhered by accordingly. One author (Stegman, 2009) notes that â€Å"[f]or many clinical areas with commonly provided services, very specific coding and billing guidelines exist to assist the provider in reporting accurate and honest claims Ideally, the provider should have a coding compliance policy document withthe following [factors]† Instructions on how to assign codes for new medical procedures; Instructions on how to correct inaccurate codes that were previously assigned; Code of conduct requirements linked to the Healthcare service provided, Annual or semi-annual training in Healthcare compliance guiding principles, Disciplinary steps taken if failure to comply with the guidelines occur, and Helpful contact phone number to seek out additional or unclear information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Medical Coding position, these issues should provide helpful healthcare solutions when it comes to assigning medical codes for claim submission. By following these procedures, this will develop data quality within the healthcare environment because of the consistency assignment entries. Stegman (2008) agrees with these methods by saying that â€Å"coding experts are likely to sustain the importance of accurate and consistent coding traditions to deliver quality health care Medical coders should continue to improve their coding skills to stay current with the coding regulations The Medical Coder must maintain and follow the coding guidelines to avoid improper results with insurance companies and patients. If these compliance guidelines are not available by the provider, the medical coder(s) may have a difficult time assigning consistent codes. Stegman (2008) points out that â€Å"[w]hen coding challenges arise, and unresolved documentation inconsistencies are present, the selection of the most accurate and compliant codes may be more difficult, particularly if the codingstaff are not aware of the [moral coding standards].† If the preceding coding process for Medical Coding is carried out appropriately according to the compliance guidelines, this will ensure data excellence. Finally, while Medical Coding maintains specific guidelines to ensure effective results in the healthcare industry, many people are pursuing this type of work to take advantage of the flexible productive benefits. Many employers are allowing Medical Coding to be managed from home. To ensure that a Medical Coder generates efficient productivity from home, the â€Å"Computer-Assistance Coding† medical software that (Scichilone, 2009) described earlier, would be a very beneficial technology tool in the healthcare industry. Many health providers are providing its medical coders to work from home; working flexible hours and increase productivity are a couple of reasons why working from home is available. Flexible productivity (2004) states that â€Å"many healthcare corporations are engrossed with the productive benefits of flexibility working from home. By minimizing the demand of office space and reducing commuting time, the medical coder will gain flexible productive time and p ossibly get to manage their work-life obligations.† While the Medical Coder manages the medical software that was provided by their employer, on their home computer, the programmed software will generate assignment codes that are consistent with the compliance regulations. Scichilone (2009) says that the coding software will â€Å"increase productivity in code assignment [, provide] consistent application of reporting rules and guidelines [,] and monitor[the] evaluation features for coding accuracy reviews.† Consequently, utilizing the coding software will provide added advantages in Medical Coding. In conclusion, since Medical Coding requires specific guidelines for the healthcare industry to follow, it is imperative to abide by the compliance rules to avoid poor data standards. By entering accurate and thorough health-related data into the medical database, and obtaining a clear understanding of coding language and their resources, this cause of action will help the flow of the reimbursement process run effectively; as an added advantage, Medical Coding can be accomplished in the comfort of the medical coders home by way of compliance-ready medical software. References AHIMA About Medical Coding Medical Records: (2009). Coding. Retrieved November 26, 2009 from http://www.ahima.org/coding/index.asp AHIMA Medical Coding Guidelines:Data Quality and Compliance (2009). . Retrieved December 9 2009 from http://www.ahima.org/coding/compliance.asp AHIMA Medical Coding Resources (2009). Coding Resources. Retrieved December 7, 2009 from http://www.ahima.org/coding/coding_resources.asp AMA CPT Code Information and Education (2009). American medical association. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/physician-resources/3884.shtml CDC ICD-9-CM International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (2009). Centers for disease control and prevention. Retrieved November 26, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd9cm.htm Flexible productivity.(2004). International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management,53(5/6),476-477. Retrieved November 30, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID:695572871). Medical Billing and Insurance Coding Overview (2009). Herzing university online. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from http://www.herzingonline.edu/programs/medical-billing-and-insurance-coding Richard R Rogoski. (2004,September). If Youre Not Coding, Youre Not Billing.Health Management Technology,25(9),14, 16, 18. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID:687678731). Scichilone,R.(2009,July). Are We There Yet? Compliance-Ready Computer-Assisted Coding.Journal of Health Care Compliance,11(4),55-56,69-70. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID:1822883141). Scichilone,R.(2008,July). Enhanced Compliance Results by Improving the Code Assignment Process.Journal of Health Care Compliance,10(4),61-64. Retrieved December 5, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID:1670291831). Stegman,M..(2009,September). Managing Billing Interpretations in a Compliance Environment.Journal of Health Care Compliance,11(5),65-66,77-78. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID:1882772921).

Strategy in Practice â€Amazon

Strategy in Practice –Amazon STRATEGY IN PRACTICE – Amazon.com Introduction to Strategy In the Words of Johnson Scholes (2002), Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term which achieves advantage for the establishment through its configuration of resources within a changing environment and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. In some respects strategy can be seen as a reflection of the attitudes and beliefs of those who have the most influence on the organisation. According to Lynch (2000), the essence of corporate strategy is the identification of the purpose of the organisation and the plans and actions to achieve that purpose. Corporate strategy is often perceived as one of the most critical managerial activities that bring together the organisation’s internal resources and its external relationships with its customers, suppliers, competitors and the socio-economic environment in which it exists. In his conceptualisation of the Strategy concept Lynch (2002) clearly identifies three distinct aspects that have been discussed below: Resources Strategy – Companies, Businesses and firms hold or acquire a wide range of resources. A firm’s resources and capabilities include all the financial, physical, human and organisational assets used by a firm to develop, manufacture and deliver products or services to its customers Barney (1991). The purpose of strategy is to make the best use of the available resources so as to outperform competition. Environmental Strategy – The term environment includes every aspect external to the organisation. No organisation can gain competitiveness with a lack of vision for its environment. Focus that is restricted merely to what lies inside the boundaries of the firm is best criticised as incomplete and insufficient. Organisations need to and must be in synchronisation with their surroundings. It is here that strategy comes to play a major role. Adding Value – Lynch has stressed on the notion of value addition. Apart from the above corporate strategy must meet the need to add value to the supplies brought into the organisation. To ensure its long term survival, the organisation must take the supplies, add value to them through its operations and then deliver its output to the customers. The purpose of corporate strategy is to bring the conditions under which the organisation is able to create this vital additional value. It must also ensure that the organisation adapts to the changes in the environment so that it can continue to add value in future. In essence Strategy provides Decision Support (Grant, 2004) â€Å"to the extent that decision makers are limited by bounded rationality, strategy in the form of guidelines and decision criteria can enhance the quality and consistency of strategic decision making. It also helps in better decision making by pooling together the knowledge of many individuals and by facilitating the application of various analytical tools.† Strategy also acts as a Co-ordinating device. The many tools and components of strategy i.e. Vision, Mission, Objectives etc. bring together the entire organisation as a single locomotive headed in one direction. With all departments and personnel aiming towards the common goals, co-ordination can be achieved with greater ease. Strategy provides the organisation a target to work for. Strategy is forward looking; it establishes a direction to guide actions. It also sets aspirations for the company that can act as motivators for the whole organisation. The strategy function, as is evident from above, permeates through all organisational membranes to pervade into all levels and is not restricted to any particular zone. Practically all authors in field of Strategic Management acknowledge the prevalence of varied levels of strategy. Johnson Scholes (2002) believe that Corporate level strategy relates to â€Å"the overall purpose and scope of an organisation and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organisation. It is also likely to be concerned with the expectations of the owners. It is the basis of other strategic decisions and may well take the form of a mission statement.† Corporate strategy deals with the ways in which a corporation manages a set of businesses together. (Grant, 1995) Business unit strategy is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Business Strategy deals with the way in which a single business firm or an individual unit of a larger firm competes within a particular industry or market. Operational strategies are concerned with how the component parts of an organisation deliver effectively the corporate and business level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. They deal with the day-to-day working of the various sections in a firm. Operational strategies are more about implementation than planning. Thus, â€Å"Strategic management involves understanding the strategic position of an organisation, making strategic choices for future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, internal resources and competences and the expectations and influences of stakeholders. Strategic choices include understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the corporate and business unit levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice.† (Johnson Scholes, 2002) This report aims to analyse the strategy in practice at Amazon.com. Amazon.com is one of the most successful e-businesses and undoubtedly the champion of all online retailers or e-tailers as they are often referred to. It has revolutionised the retail sector of business and is a subject of innumerable studies and research in the current e-commerce era. The material used for study has been drawn from the Amazon.com case study[1] and the web based portal for the company Amazon.com[2]. The report shall use existing theory as a basis to realise how strategy has worked for Amazon.com in practice. Although it is challenging to capture every aspect of the organisation’s life so far, effort has been made to cite relevant examples so to get a glimpse of its strategic approach. The Amazon.com Case A summary[3] of the Amazon.com case shall prepare the grounds to lay the analysis in the light of theories discussed. A number of strategic concepts shall be cited to gain deeper insights to particular issues. With the explosive growth in internet companies’ market capitalisation positions, one would ask if some hype is at play. But the trend data clearly reveal that the internet is for real. According to Forrester research the total value of goods and services purchased online exceeded US$43 billion in 1998. Amazon.com believes that it is well positioned to capitalise[4] on this growth. According to Media Metrix 16% of web users visited Amazon.com’s stores in December 1998. ‘In a very short period of time Amazon.com has become one of the world’s most recognised brands’, said Jaleh Bisharat, Vice-president, Marketing, Amazon.com. With Amazon.com’s current strategy combined with the ongoing recruitment of entrepreneurial top management team for each business segment, the challenge for Amazon.com is on the strategic implementation front. Bezos had always been fascinated with technology. He came up with the statistic that the electronic world would grow at the rate of 2300% monthly. Bezos said, when something is growing that fast, every second counts. Bezos considered selling a variety of products online, but he settled for books because the worldwide market is large, the price point is low and the range of titles is large. Being unsure of the ideal location, Seattle was chosen because it was the location of book distributor Ingram, which has continued to provide 60% of Amazon.com’s books. Seattle also provided a favourable sales tax climate and a high-tech workforce. â€Å"I know nothing about the book industry†¦I can get them to the customer and forget about bricks and mortar†, said Bezos in an attempt to raise funds for his venture. After its entry into the market, Amazon.com had no significant rivals and there were no dominant traditional players. Even at this time Amazon.com was providing a powerful search facility as well as a host of services not provided by other online competitors. Analysts warned of a volatile internet sector with strategic plans constantly being revised. Despite aggressive competitive entry, Amazon.com passed many milestones in 1997. The most notable of these was its ability to raise net proceeds of almost US$50 million in May. This enabled aggressive investment in building the business. Amazon.com focussed on establishing its executive team, which included the recruitment of Richard Dalzell of Wal-Mart. In the same year, 1997, Amazon.com offered the lowest book prices anywhere in the world. Extensive promotional relationships with other dominant internet players were concluded which reinforced Amazon.com’s momentum, e.g. Yahoo!, Excite, AOL etc. In 1998 the company launched music, video and gift stores in the US and expanded operations to UK and Germany. Jimmy Wright of Wal-Mart joined the company in the same year. Amazon.com’s expansion programme is evidence of a growth strategy via acquisitions, strategic relations and internal development. It received the Computerworld Smithsonian Award for having demonstrated vision and leadership in the innovative use of information technology. With its highly qualified top management team and the success trends, Amazon.com continued to enhance the total customer experience of shopping, giving them wider product range to choose from and more sophisticated services to complement them. The case study then goes on to list the various achievements of the company. It also provides detail information on the financial and personnel aspects of the organisation. These details have been passed over as they are beyond the scope of this paper. The Analysis of Strategic Practices The Basic Approach The Internet is one of the most fascinating products of the developments in information technology. It received mixed reactions from the public and the entrepreneurs. While most of them were overwhelmed with the possibilities and others called it â€Å"an over hyped mania†, only a few saw it as a business opportunity. Jeff Bezos had the vision that created â€Å"Ex ante limits† to competition (Peteraf, 1993) and gave Amazon.com the â€Å"First-mover advantage†. Among the various lenses or attitudes towards Strategy that have been theorised, Amazon.com’s approach can be regarded as that of an Ideas lens. The ideas lens (Johnson Scholes, 2002) sees strategy as a result of new ideas that can come from anywhere in the organisation. It promotes innovative thinking and does not inhibit experimentation. This is well evident in the very start-up of Amazon.com as an enterprise. Further, this approach is better characterised as â€Å"Emergent† than â€Å"Prescriptive† (Lynch, 2000). The dynamic nature of the internet environment makes a planned and prescribed approach unsuitable. Amazon.com’s strategy evolved largely during the course of its life depending on its position at that instant in time. In the words of Miles Snow (1987) Amazon.com as an entity is a â€Å"Prospector† who looks for new opportunities and is willing to take risks to be able to exploit the same. Stated in general, Amazon.com’s strategy is an ambitious one. Pattern of Strategy development In his business development Bezos attempted a â€Å"Transformational change† in strategy through the creation of an entirely new service. The change resulted in success because it created new expectations that did not exist earlier; Amazon.com was ahead of its time. Further, the ability to convert the transformational change into a business winner comes from the fact that as the strategy for the firm was emerging, there was little mismatch between the intended and the realised strategy (Mintzberg Walters, 1985). It is important to strike harmony among the understanding of the environment, identified opportunity, the strategy intended to capture such opportunity and finally the actual resultant strategy that was implemented. Without this happening, the transformational change would most often end in a failure. Stakeholder Mapping â€Å"Stakeholders are those individuals or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfil their own goals, and on whom in turn the organisation depends† (Johnson Scholes, 2002). For Amazon.com the major stakeholders were its customers, investors and Jeff Bezos himself. With respect to the Stakeholder Mapping drawn up by Savage et al (1991) Bezos and the investors can be referred to as â€Å"Dominant Stakeholders† while the customers would identify as â€Å"Dependent Stakeholders†. Environment The internet industry is characterised by a high degree of â€Å"Changeability† (Lynch, 2000) i.e. there is a greater number of new problems and each problem is more complex than in other sectors. Moreover it is not very â€Å"Predictable† due to a high rate of change and uncertainty of future circumstances. This made Amazon.com’s business environment highly turbulent. As a new entrant Amazon.com had to cope with all these difficulties; but once settled these factors acted as â€Å"Barriers to entry† (Porter, 1985) for its competitors. Culture Culture within an organisation consists of the shared basic assumptions that have worked well enough to be considered valid and passed to fellow employees over time (adapted from Schein, 1985). It refers to â€Å"the way we do things around here†. While there can be several factors affecting the culture at a work place, in case of Amazon.com it is the ownership and technological factors. Jeff Bezos is the leader of the organisation and also the cultural head bringing in ambition and motivation to the organisation. The work practices, routines, plans, the entire business is largely governed by the technological abilities inside and the advancements outside the organisation. The Cultural web is another important aspect that has a definitive impact on the strategy an organisation pursues. The Cultural Web (Johnson Scholes, 2002) consists of the Routines Rituals, Stories, Symbols, Power Structures, Control Systems and the Organisational Structure. For Amazon.com its brand name acts as a major symbol that binds together the various components of the system. It symbolises the scale of operations that Bezos aimed at, thus cultivating an aggressive work culture. If one was to draw out the power structure at Amazon.com, it would be a flat pyramid with Jeff Bezos at the peak. Although the investment came from outside, Amazon.com was his dream and â€Å"his† venture. He did not promise any profits in the first 5 years, but his faith in the idea won the investors’ confidence. All this clearly indicates the prevalence of a â€Å"Power Culture† at Amazon.com (Handy, 1993). Key Strategic Highlights Based on its first mover advantage Amazon.com was able to capitalise on the heterogeneity of its resources. It reaped benefits from the Ex post and Ex ante limits to competition (Peteraf, 1993). Its technological knowledge behind the search engine was imperfectly imitable for the competitors. Even if the rivals came up with substitute systems, the â€Å"first mover† position always allowed an edge in favour of Amazon.com. Employees and technicians at Amazon.com learnt to adapt and innovate better than the competitors, simply because the latter were merely copying what Amazon had done. The Knowledge at Amazon.com was rare, valuable, not easily imitable and well organised to allow the company to enjoy a resource based competitive advantage over its rivals (Barney, 1995). The technological skills were Amazon.com’s core competence that was used to create the Search facility – their core product which was at the heart of Amazon’s web based store/services – the end product (Hamel Prahalad, 1990). However, it also needs to be mentioned here that the Amazon.com was rich in dynamic capabilities (Teece, 1997) to be able to successfully carry out the above. The top management team which consisted ex-Wal-mart employees, were aware of their strengths as well as the business environment to be able to identify their core competence. They ensured carrying out the best use of their resources and maintained the momentum gathered from the initial push. Even with the best resources and opportunities a business may not succeed, if those managing it are not aware of their responsibilities. It is the management that lays out the strategy and takes all decisions that are critical to the overall success. Expansion Given the knowledge of Ansoff’s Matrix Amazon.com for a start pursued Market development i.e. offered the existing products to new markets. It also used Cost leadership (Porter, 1985) to expand its customer base. As the website served more and more customers over time, Amazon.com introduced new products to the existing market – a product development effort. Finally, with a secure market position Amazon.com was capable of Diversification i.e. offering new products to new markets. Not all of Amazon.com’s offerings were indigenous. It had partnered with several other wed based companies. While most of the early partnerships were aimed at gaining a greater exposure to the target audience, later excusive relationships were created to add to the existing list of products and services that were offered on the website. The motive behind these alliances was largely â€Å"Exploitative† (Koza, 1998). Such business alliances were primarily aimed at tapping into each others’ customer bases and render mutual benefits to the parties involved. Amazon.com’s approach to collaboration is well explained by the M-B-A (Make, Buy, or Ally) matrix. It allied with services such as Yahoo and Excite because the service was not important to Amazon’s business – it sought more traffic. However, in case of similar companies such as Bookpages and Telebook, Amazon.com preferred a â€Å"Buy† because of the importance to the business activity. It also had the requisite skills to run these companies. Amazon.com did not want to allow these smaller companies to grow and later pose a threat to them. Conclusion Amazon.com can be easily regarded as a strategy champion. It had all the components of a great Entrepreneurial tale, and shall be cited in many more academic works in future. However, it must not be overlooked that for the first five years Amazon.com did not make any profits. Moreover, with the growth in market share, loss per share also grew. If all other competitors would have grouped together to attack Amazon from all fronts, it could have been a different story. Essentially, Amazon’s first mover advantage was crucial. The fact that Amazon possessed the above resources and capabilities at the emergence of e-commerce is of vital importance. Therefore, it is questionable whether or not Amazon would have managed to achieve similar results if it were to launch today in 2004 in such a hypercompetitive market. Primarily, Amazon’s success was due to effective leveraging of its resources, especially knowledge and managing the capabilities derived from these resources. 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From competitive advantage to corporate strategy. Harvard business review Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 1987 Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel, G. The core competence of the corporation Harvard business review. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Vol 68 (3) 1990 p.79-91 Schein, Edgar H. (Edgar Henry), 1928-. Organizational culture and leadership. 2nd ed. San Francisco, Calif. : Jossey-Bass, 1992. (Jossey-Bass management series). Teece, D. et al Dynamic capabilities and strategic management Strategic management journal vol 17 (7) 1997 p.509-533 Whittington, Richard, 1958- What is strategy and does it matter? / Richard Whittington 2nd ed . London : Thomson Learning, 2001 1861523777 Footnotes [1] Amazon.com – from start up to the new millennium, Stockport Street in Johnson Scholes (2002) [2] www.amazon.com [3] This is a self prepared summary using the information provided in the Amazon.com Case study by Stockport Street. The purpose of the summary is informative and allows connection with the report – it has therefore been included in the main text. [4] Such text in bold are exhibits of strategic highlights