In general, loyalty is considered to be a state or a feeling of devotion and faithfulness that is oriented to a particular person, a group of people, cause, or country, etc. Even today professionals fail to come to an agreement upon the object of loyalty. Some are sure that it can be addressed only to human beings while others reject such boundaries. There is also an opinion that it is a primary virtue and the basic moral principle, on the basis of which all other principles occur (Kleinig, 2014). In this framework, “The Gift” by Rosario Ferré includes many examples of loyal adherence to friends and traditions.
Loyalty can be observed in different forms. Exclusionary one presupposes that there can be only one object of loyalty, and no other can be introduced. On the contrary, non-exclusionary loyalty allows expressing loyalty to other people or groups. In this way, multiple and single loyalty may exist, depending on the number of objects. When having different bases, loyalty can be constructed upon those facts that are static or those that can alter and deal with one’s personal choice (for example, a place of birth and a living place).
It is also possible to consider the strength of loyalty, as biological ties are often believed to be stronger than preferences. The scope of actions needed to support loyalty can also differ. Its legitimacy is often discussed in case of multiple loyalties when they conflict, and their scopes contradict. An attitudinal dimension of loyalty deals with the way one treats those people who share his/her loyalties or not (Loyalty, 2016).
Loyalty can also be misplaced when it is not accepted by its object (one’s loyalty is used to achieve personal goals or is betrayed). Disloyalty occurs when several loyalties contradict each other (one can be loyal only to the particular race or gender, which can be found in “The Gift”).
References
Kleinig, J. (2014). On loyalty and loyalties. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Homer, in his epic The Odyssey tells the story of the heroes of Trojan wars and the most enchanting of all the themes of the classic work is the loyalty of Odysseus to his wife Penelope, even when he enjoys the company of nymphs like Circe and Calypso. Odysseus, the Trojan hero and the protagonist of the epic by Homer exhibits vast amount of piety, manly valor and intelligence, and, most remarkably, loyalty to the nation as well as to his own wife.
It is the power of this heavenly quality that keeps him devotedly bound to Penelope and their son even while he enjoys the company of Calypso and Circe. The loyalty of this Trojan hero for his wife is evident from his great longing to return to his wife and son when he was trapped on the island of Ogygia with the beautiful nymph Calypso and the same characteristic feature drove him all the way home at the end of a long journey in which he needed to confront all lots of dangers and troubles. “Odysseus is a “perfectly” moral man by Greek standards. In the Calypso episode, Odysseus demonstrates the value of faithfulness, and in the Circe episode, he illustrates Greek values in general.” (Essay on Circe and Calypso. 2006).
Therefore, it is most remarkable that, though Odysseus willingly enjoys the company of Circe and Calypso beds down with them, he is, by the Greek standards, truly faithful and loyal to his wife Penelope.
The loyalty that Odysseus has for his wife is evident from the reply to Calypso’s offer to “stay where you are, keep house along with me, and let me make you immortal, no matter how anxious you may be to see this wife of yours, of whom you are thinking all the time day after day; yet I flatter myself that at am no whit less tall or well-looking than she is, for it is not to be expected that a mortal woman should compare in beauty with an immortal.” The true hero’s reply to this offer is most commendable, “do not be angry with me about this. I am quite aware that my wife Penelope is nothing like so tall or so beautiful as yourself.
She is only a woman, whereas you are an immortal. Nevertheless, I want to get home, and can think of nothing else. If some god wrecks me when I am on the sea, I will bear it and make the best of it. I have had infinite trouble both by land and sea already, so let this go with the rest.” (Homer 2000).
The faithfulness of the Trojan hero towards his wife can be very well seen in his longing to reach home to Penelope even after a long troublesome journey of ten years.
When we consider the question how Odysseus maintains loyalty to his wife even while he enjoys the company of Circe and Calypso, the significant character traits of Odysseus along with the standards of Greek needs to be kept in mind. Loyalty is the most reputed value for Odysseus and any person disloyal to Odysseus loses his life. “Immortal woman like Athena, Circe, and Calypso were treated with more equality and respect by a man than any other mortal woman, but due to the love and respect that Odysseus has for Penelope, he rightfully treats her as his equal. Loyalty is the prime character trait that Odysseus looks for in any of his companions… Odysseus will treat the people that are loyal to him with kindness and respect. Penelope is a prime example of loyalty and fidelity.” (Free Reports, Term Papers & Research Paper Database. 2005).
The same reason draws the Trojan hero to his wife in Ithaca, at the end of a long, trying, and dangerous journey of ten years following the Trojan War, without submitting to the immortal beauties of Circe, and Calypso for long.
Works cited
Essay on Circe and Calypso. Odysseus: A Mere Mortal, But Purely Moral. 2006. Web.
On December 7, 1941, American military men at United States naval base at Pearl of Harbor in Hawaii woke to a crude shock; the Japanese army had attacked them, something that invited the United States of America into World War II. Following this attack, the United States of America in retaliation, placed all Japanese Americans in internment camps popularly known as ‘War Relocation Camps.’
Nevertheless, the aftermath of this exercise presented one big irony of all the time; loyalty and betrayal co-existed and it was even difficult to differentiate between the two. Whilst the Japanese Americans remained loyal to the U.S. government, this government resorted to betrayal, assigning each family a number, which was used as surnames for the Japanese Americans in these camps among other ‘injustices’, only to incorporate them in military later on.
Loyalty and Betrayal
The Japanese Americans in the internment camps remained loyal to the U.S authorities albeit the harrowing experiences they went through in the camps. For instance, they lived in, “un-partitioned toilets, cots for beds, and a budget of 45 cents daily per capita for food rations” (Myer 1). The first act of loyalty came with the surrender of Japanese Americans to authorities.
After President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066, posters saying “All Japanese persons, both alien and non-alien, will be evacuated from the above designated areas by 12:00 o’clock noon Tuesday, April 7, 1942…report for internment with bedrolls and…” (Weber 16). Being loyal to the authorities, the Japanese Americans responded to this order and reported at the said time.
There is no one recorded time when the Japanese Americans became disloyal to the U.S. authorities save for some peaceful demonstrations; however, these were also allowed in the constitution; therefore, it was not an act of disloyalty. Japanese Americans submitted to denounce their religion, salute the U.S flag, and sing loyal songs; all in loyalty.
Moreover, they swore allegiance to “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” (Weglyn 56). In loyalty, the Japanese Americans in these camps submitted to authorities and respected the constitution. This was ‘high-class’ loyalty; something that they carried on to World War II.
In 1943, the U.S authorities gave some Japanese America prisoners chance to serve in the military on voluntary basis. “The War Department is offering you a chance to volunteer and to distinguish yourselves as Japanese-American citizens in the service of your country” (Sone 218). According to Broek, Barnhart, and Matson, one of the distinguished loyal Japanese American regiment was “the 442nd Regimental Combat Team” (98).
This team went on to become the most adorned combat regiment of the time and it served in the war across Europe. This echoes the loyalty that the Japanese Americans portrayed in the internment camps as prisoners. As part honoring them, the U.S authorities branded the 442nd regiment as, “the most highly decorated unit of its size and length of service in the history of the U.S. Army, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients” (Broek, Barnhart & Matson 102).
If it were not for patriotism, what else could motivate these ex-prisoners to defend a country that had subjected them to untold sufferings? The act of these ex-prisoners defended the U.S during World War II is an extension of loyalty practiced in the internment camps earlier on. Unfortunately, the U.S did not recognize this loyalty and they mistreated the Japanese Americans inside and outside the internment camps.
As aforementioned, the white people mistreated the Japanese Americans before and after the way amounting to betrayal. Immediately after the attack at Pearl of Harbor, President Roosevelt, acting under pressure from the white people, signed Executive Order 9066. This meant that all the Japanese Americans were to be placed in internment camps.
According to Weber, the rounding up exercise involved, “freezing of bank accounts; seizure of contraband; drastic limitation on travel, curfew, and other severely restrictive measures” (20). Moreover, the conditions in the camps were squalid with, “un-partitioned toilets, cots for beds, and a budget of 45 cents daily per capita for food rations” (Myer 1).
As aforementioned, each family was given “Tags to be attached to each piece of baggage, and one to hang from our coat lapels. From then on, we were known as Family # 10710” (Sone 35). This was part of mistreatments and many people went though untold sufferings as betrayal took the centre stage after the war. This betrayal was uncalled. It beats logic why a government for people by people would turn against its citizens. Moreover, the betrayal was at both state and citizen level.
Betrayal was not only a task of the authorities but also the U.S citizens. After the war, the authorities started releasing Japanese Americans back to their homes. Unfortunately, their reception was cold and unwelcoming. For instance, Elsie Robinson, a newspaper columnist vowed to, “cut the throat of any evacuee who dared return” (Myer 23). On another account, Clair Eagle, the U.S representative in California made it clear that, “We don’t want those Japs back in California and the more we can get rid of the better” (Myer 23).
This was utter betrayal. Even after the loyalty that the Japanese Americans showed towards the constitution, authorities and the whites in general, people were not convinced that these ‘ex-prisoners’ were people or rather human beings just like them. Sone posits that, after the war, “the West Coast was still off-limits, but we had access to the rest of the continent where we could start all over again” (111).
This shows that even though these Japanese Americans had proved their loyalty, the minds of many whites still held hatred and betrayal. The authorities had not accepted fully that these were loyal citizens and this explains the presence of no-go zones. Betrayal from the U.S side coupled with loyalty of the Japanese Americas, presented irony of all time as aforementioned.
It is ironical that the U.S branded the Japanese Americans, “enemies’ only to allow them to be part of military and other governmental and societal structures. The U.S. authorities put the Japanese Americans into internment camps as ‘enemies.’ Ironically, they incorporated the same enemies into the military to fight in the World War II.
Moreover, they were allowed to enroll in schools and participate in any other national activity. What can explain such an intriguing incidence? Based on these events, it is apparent that the presence of the internment camps was illegal and unjustifiable in the first place. There is no way an enemy can become a close ally in such a short time. President Roosevelt acted under pressure to sign the Executive Order 9066.
The truth will always stand and the Japanese Americans proved this very well. By remaining loyal to the constitution and submissive to the authorities, they went on to become the most distinguished regiment in the World War II. The fact is America’s betrayal of Japanese Americans coupled with the loyalty the latter showed the former, which resulted into incorporation of Japanese Americans into the U.S military, is one big irony.
Conclusion
After the Pearl of Harbor attack, the U.S retaliated swiftly, rounding most of the Japanese Americans living across the United States of America and sending them to internment camps. Conditions in these camps were squalid; however, the U.S reconsidered her decision and released these prisoners back to their homes after proving their loyalty. Some were incorporated in the army and other national institutions, the irony surrounding this loyal-betrayal saga between the Japanese Americans and the U.S authorities.
Works Cited
Broek, Jacobus, Barnhart, Edward & Matson, Floyd. “Prejudice, War and the Constitution.” California; University of California Press, 1968.
Myer, Dillon. “Work of the War Relocation Authority, An Anniversary Statement.” The Harry S. Truman Library Museum, 1947. Web.
Sone, Monica. “Nisei Daughter.” Washington; The University of Washington Press, 1979.
Weber, Mark. “The Japan Camps in California.” The Journal of Historical Review, 1980. 2(1); 16-30.
Weglyn, Michi. “Years of Infamy; The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps. New York, 1976.
This is a summary of the article “The Effect of Customer Value, Customer Satisfaction, and Switching Costs on Customer Loyalty: An Empirical Study of Hypermarkets in Taiwan, by the authors Tsai, Ming-Tien; Tsai, Chung-Lin; Chang, and Han-Chao”. The study was conducted in Taiwan focusing on hypermarkets in retail industry sector, due to their increasing importance in the country. This paper is going to address these three aspects and their interrelationships.
The retail industry in Taiwan is very competitive and as a result, the hypermarkets offer low prices to their products than the micro- retailers and convenience stores in order to attract more customers.
Even though, the hypermarkets are incurring losses due to saturation of markets, thus a lot of effort is directed towards cutting on costs, retaining consumers, and widening profit margins. Tsai, Tsai, and Chang are of the opinion that satisfaction on a customer is key to success of any business. A consumer is always reflecting on goods and services that maximize on value (Tsai, Tsai and Chang 730).
According to Tsai, Tsai and Chang, a customer’s satisfaction is more likely to be increased if the value of goods and services satisfy his/her expectations, thus leading to increased consumption. Thus, an entrepreneur should look out at customer’s value from a customer’s perspective to lessen the disparity between these two perceptions.
Consumer satisfaction is a dissimilar function between discernment and expectation, and it is instinctively affirmative or negative feeling. In order to develop suitable responses, studies and researches should focus efforts on accurate measurement of the level of consumer satisfaction (Tsai, Tsai and Chang 731).
Customer loyalty on the other hand refers to the likelihood of his/her continued future consumption, service contracts, less possibility of changing a brand and affirmative recommendation to the public. Two types of consumer loyalty are identified namely; long- term consumer loyalty, which is considered a genuine loyalty and short- term loyalty, which describes the likelihood of a consumer to change business operators.
This describes the level of competitiveness in a liberal market economy. The fact that a loyal customer is likely to bring more customers to a business makes entrepreneurs consider loyalty a major boost. Customer loyalty could be measured in terms of recurrent intention to purchase and tolerance in price variations (Tsai, Tsai and Chang 732).
Switching cost theory generally is described as sacrifices or consequence penalties consumers sense they may sustain by changing entrepreneurs. It is considered as the substantial cost sustained as a result of switching service provider. Three main variable varieties describe switching cost theory.
They include: 1) Switching costs that are inclined to time (2) switching costs that are financial in nature and related to profit; and (3) switching costs that define an emotional relationship. Both a consumer and an entrepreneur are vital subjects in determining switching cost.
Higher costs of consumer switching are have a probability of highlighting the relationship between satisfaction of a consumer and loyalty of the consumer. This connection characterizes an investment of vital aspects by a consumer linked to resources, efforts, and time involved and presents a hindrance to a dissatisfied customer who wishes to switch suppliers (Tsai, Tsai and Chang 733).
This study sought to establish whether an affirmative view of the value of a consumer value would have a positive impact on satisfaction of a customer, and whether switching costs as the moderating variable would have an impact on the value of consumer relating it to the his/her loyalty(Tsai, Tsai and Chang 734).
The inter-relating effects between variables (consumer satisfaction, customer values, customer loyalty and switching costs) were investigated using regression analysis to authenticate the assumptions based on cause and effect correlation(Tsai, Tsai and Chang 736).
The results obtained established that the value of a customer has a considerable affirmative impact on the loyalty of a customer. Conspicuously, service value was noted to have a greater impact on customer loyalty.
Tsai, Tsai, and Chang are of the opinion that a consumer will continually approximate the optimum value of goods or services. Increasing the performance and the quality of services will not only satisfy the demand of a customer but will also appease the consumers and encourage a habitual intention to purchase and continued anticipated consumption.
In addition, the study established that opportune and appropriate services, quality, and value of products provided by entrepreneurs enhance satisfaction of a customer and encourage short- term customers into long-term associations. The study also ascertained that satisfaction of a customer has considerable positive impact on the loyalty of a customer (Tsai, Tsai and Chang 737).
Critical Analysis
Tsai, Ming-Tien, Tsai, Chung-Lin, Chang, Han-Chao. “The Effect Of Customer Value, Customer Satisfaction, And Switching Costs On Customer Loyalty: An Empirical Study Of Hypermarkets In Taiwan.” Social Behavior And Personality, 2010, 38(6): 729-740.
Ming-Tien Tsai is a PhD, Professor, Department of Business Administration, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Chung-Lin Tsai on the other hand is a PhD Candidate, Department of Business Administration, National Cheng Kung University and staff member, Department of Finance while Han-Chao Chan is PhD, Instrument Technology Research Center, National Applied Research Laboratories, Taiwan.
In their paper, Tsai et. al. review the aspects of customer value, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and how they interact with each other for the better of the company. The market under study is the Taiwan market. They note that the Taiwanese retail market has become very competitive and the hypermarkets therefore have resorted to employing different strategies for the purposes of customer attraction and retention (p. 730).
The hypotheses of relationships between customer value and loyalty, customer satisfaction and loyalty, customer value and satisfaction and switching costs and Customer satisfaction and loyalty was used in evaluating the Taiwanese market (p. 732-734).
In their analysis of these parameters of the Taiwanese market, they use regression analysis to assess the impact of customer satisfaction. Loyalty and value, and they conclude that since the competition in the market is increasing and the other methods of tackling it are proving costly. Due to the increased competition in the market and with customers looking for the best whenever they go shopping, the supplier with additional services to the existing low prices will be most preferred.
For this reason, the hypermarkets have to look for ways that would be appealing to the customers and consumers, so that they may return more often. The only way would be by establishing customer loyalty where the hypermarkets would be guaranteed of a market for their products. They also note that switching costs play a significant role in the determination of customer base and purchasing power (p. 738).
An analysis of the market will be a very good move for the hypermarkets that may want to establish good relationships with the customer. Competition will lead to the prices going down and thus different strategies have to be developed to ensure competitive market advantage. One of the ways in which they could carry this out is by countering their competition in terms of prices and after-sales services.
The additional services that they provide will attract the customers and this will definitely spread to a large population of the consumers via word of mouth. In this case, it is very evident that customers are not only interested in the prices of the goods and services that they pay for, but also in the type and quality that they receive.
Their satisfaction with what they receive will determine their loyalty, and if they do not get value for their, they are bound to move to a different place in search of better offers! Therefore, the hypermarkets ought to maintain customer satisfaction gauges in order to correct the areas that are a letdown to them.
Hence, these companies have to set up quality assessment modules that will enable them to gauge their rating as a company and where they stand in terms of market-competition and customer loyalty.
Work Cited
Tsai, Ming-Tien, Tsai, Chung-Lin and Chang, Han-Chao. “The effect of customer value, customer satisfaction and switching costs on customer loyalty: an empirical study of hypermarkets in Taiwan.” Social Behavior and Personality, 38.1(2010):729-738.
The introduction of the internet has greatly changed many aspects of people’s life, including the way individuals communicate and interact nowadays (Nimrod 2015).
Such change has been instigated by the availability of numerous social media platforms through which people can communicate easily with one another, such as the Instant Messaging (Pun 2015). Instant messaging is a communication tool that allows users to enjoy instant transmission of text messages via the internet. Due to its effectiveness, the Instant Messaging tool has become popular among internet users.
WeChat is an example of IM service that was introduced to the market in 2011 by the Tencent Holdings (Laaksonen, Jarimo & Kulmata 2009). The WeChat service has become so common not only in China, but also in more than 200 other countries (Swan 2002).
Most of the users of WeChat are the young generations since it offers a reliable platform through which they can share information on the go with many people. In addition, WeChat is increasingly used by marketers to communicate about a given product or services to their clients. According to a report released by Statistica, there is a growing popularity of WeChat in China nowadays.
Even though there are numerous studies on Instant Messaging services in the West, very limited studies are available in the East, especially about its impact on consumers in China. Such limited studies are attributed to the fact that China has strict control of internet based services.
For this reason, a study to examine the popularity of WeChat in China amidst such circumstances will be of high significance to both the industry and academic contexts. This study will seek to provide an overview of WeChat users’ motivation, satisfaction and loyalty with a specific focus on the case of China.
Significance of the Study
The advancement in technology has provided enough platforms through which people have improved the level of connectivity and interaction among one another (Mao 2014). The service has become very important in China as it enables effective computer-mediated communications among many users (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke 2008). Liu, Chen and Wei (2015) attributed such a trend to the increased need for social media platforms among marketers since such platforms are able to reach a wide range of consumers.
The choice of this topic was informed by the fact that most other social media platforms in China, such as Facebook and Twitter, are blocked based on the China’s internet censorship policy (Lin & Lu 2011). For this reason, there is a need for a study that would highlight the reasons behind increased use of WeChat among Chinese people (Ko, Cho & Roberts 2005). The results from this study would be of interests to academics and marketers.
Aims and Objectives of the study
The study will have several aims and objectives to achieve.
Aims
To investigate WeChat users’ motivation, satisfaction and loyalty, as well as explore the relationship between motivation, satisfaction and loyalty.
Analyzing the development trend of WeChat in the future and how it is likely to influence marketing of different products.
Objectives
To review the research topic from existing literature
To investigate the role of users’ loyalty, motivation and satisfaction in the use of WeChat in China in order to understand reasons behind its popularity while most other social media platforms have been blocked in China.
Hypothesis
From the above aims and objectives, the study will be based on the following hypothesis.
H1: Motivation has a positive impact on WeChat users’ level of satisfaction.
H2: Motivation has a positive impact on WeChat users’ loyalty.
H3: Satisfaction has a positive impact on WeChat users’ loyalty
Literature Review
Motivation
Just like in the case of any other media platforms, users of WeChat ought to have a positive attitude and the desired motivation for them to continue with the use of the platform (Koermer & McCroskey 2006). Often, many people are psychologically motivated to use social media. Previous research on the issue indicated that studies on social media mainly focus on the examination of what motivates the users to adopt a social media platform (Junfeng, Zhimei & Changshou 2014).
In an effort to understand the psychological motivators of WeChat users, this study focuses on Uses and Gratification (U&G) theory. It may be applied in various areas including both the traditional and the modern media of communication such as newspapers and the internet.
The development of the U&G theory was based on the psychological and social origins of needs (Luo 2002). It is one of the most influential theories in the media research. It takes into consideration the fact that users of social media are active when they know what exactly motivates them.
It also explains that people have their main reasons for choosing a specific media such as to ensure the satisfaction of their psychological needs. The Uses and Gratification theory is useful when it comes to establishing the factors that explain different behaviors of customers.
The gained attitude may be defined as the summative evaluation by an individual, which may be positive or negative, or the characteristic they know about WeChat. Attitudes develop over a period of time when they are learned and experienced (Reisinger 2003). They thus determine if the consumers will like or dislike the products or services.
The strength of the attitudes however, differs from one individual to the other. From the perspective of the marketers, they can use communication to change the attitudes of customers which are otherwise hard to change (Yang & Yoo 2004). Such communication may involve the use of advertisements or ensure the gratification of their psychological needs and expectations.
The growth and development of information technology has led to globalization, which comes with high need to interact, stimulating the rapid growth in the use of internet (Zelizer 2011). It is such growth that has led to the replacement of the traditional methods of communication.
Internet use has become common among many people due to the fact that it is entertaining, provides reliable information, and offers room for social interaction. Suh and Han (2003) indicated that the provision of information and entertainment are some of the factors that improve the motivation levels of customers.
According to Chang and Zhu (2011), factors such as the ability to meet new friends, provision of information, and conformity have similar impact of providing positive effects on both the users and the marketers. However, the motivation provided by entertainment has a considerable positive impact on the attitude of both pre-adopters and post-adopters (Gremler, Gwinner & Brown 2001).
Due to the differences of culture and social life, different countries have different attitudes towards the adoption of social media. In China, a study by Chang and Zhu (2011) indicated that social gratification of users is obtained when their psychological needs are met, helping them gain a positive attitude towards the social media.
Loyalty
Loyalty in any product or service can be measured by assessing the trust an individual has for the concerned product and/or service. The most adopted definition of trust is that it is exhibited when there is a high degree of confidence among different entities. Such confidence encourages the exchange of integrity and reliability among the partners.
From the definition, gaining confidence, reliability, and integrity over one another is really significant to conceptualize trust and hence customer loyalty. Due to the gained trust, customers tend to support service providers who they trust. The trust and loyalty, in this case could be experienced from different perspective; intra-organizational and interpersonal. In the case of this study, the emphasis will be on establishing the possibility of intra-organizational type of trust.
It also examines the degree of trust WeChat users have with their services. Trust is essential because it helps in reducing insecurity and cognitive risks, thus encouraging long-term relationships to grow between the users and the service providers (Mato & Rossi 2008). The establishment of trust thus brings positive impacts with respect to the willingness of customers to use word of mouth communication, as well as their intention to use social networking sites (Chu & Choi 2011).
Satisfaction
Satisfaction is defined as the sense of fulfillment users of a particular product and/or service have. According to Suh and Han (2003) trust is one of the key determinants of the attitudes consumers have on social media. As a result of trust in a given service, users develop some degree of satisfaction.
Correa, Hinsley and de Zuniga (2010) argued that satisfaction from the use of online forums has a positive impact on the attitude of the users. In a study conducted by Shin (2010) on privacy, trust, and satisfaction concerns consumers have on the use of social networking sites, it was evident that satisfaction significantly determines the duration an individual uses a particular social media platform.
The level of user satisfaction also determines the rate at which users recommend a particular social media to family and friends. Often, word of mouth communication (WOM), though is informal can be used in such recommendations (Maxham 2001)..
Methodology and Research Design
Introduction
Research design refers to the systematic process through which a researcher is able to collect and analyze data in a logical manner for purposes of achieving the research aims and objectives (Mitchell & Jolly 2010). There are various examples of study designs including explorative, experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive researches (Gratton & Jones 2004).
On the other hand, research methodology involves the processes and techniques that a researcher uses to collect and analyze data for a particular research problem (Kothari 2005). In the methodology chapter, the focus will be on the research methodologies, as well as the research design employed. As such, the chapter will present the methods of collecting and analyzing data, research design used, sampling techniques, sample frame and sample size, as well as the target population.
Research Designs
The research on WeChat user’s motivation, satisfaction and loyalty will focus on what the service has achieved, and its significance among users. In addition, the study will rely on quantitative data. This will be supplemented by a survey to establish the opinion of different users of WeChat. As such, the research will employ the quantitative research design to collect data from different sources.
Target Population
In a study, the target population refers to the total number of people or units from which a study hopes to collect information (Denzin & Lincoln 2008). The study on WeChat users’ motivation, satisfaction and loyalty targets students in The University of Hong Kong, China.
Sampling Design
A sample refers to a section of the target population (Denk 2010). Using appropriate sampling techniques ensures that a representative sample is used. A sampling design takes into consideration the sample size, sampling techniques and the sampling frame (Neumann 2007). This research will use random sampling technique to achieve a sample size of 300 users.
Reliability and validity
The reliability of the research will be achieved by using credible sources of data such as journals and books. Validity, on the other hand will be achieved by collecting related to same time period which ensured that the degree of external validity was achieved. Hence, the results obtained could be generalized.
Data Collection and analysis Methods
The research aims at analyzing the motivation, satisfaction and loyalty among WeChat users. Both primary and secondary sources of data will be used to provide the necessary information about WeChat. After the collecting data, different methods of data analysis will be used including Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and MS Excel. The SPSS analysis will be used to ascertain the possibility of any relationship between the variables under investigation and the MS Excel will be used to analyze the result.
Ethical considerations
The study will seek permission from the relevant authorities before carrying out the actual study. In addition, the results from the study will be kept anonymous.
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When customers in a business firm are loyal, they make the organization to attain uninterrupted flow of income and relatively lower costs of production due to favorable economies of scale. The improved income is usually as a result of increase in production whereas the cost of production is cut down due to the decrease in promotional expenses.
The whole process is triggered by high customer loyalty and optimal purchasing intentions which culminate into increase in the firm’s profits. It is important to note that customer loyalty does not grow by itself. As a matter of fact, it is a product of quality marketing strategies in today’s competitive markets.
For a company to achieve customer loyalty, it must create an exemplary value for all its consistent and potential new customers. This dissertation proposal paper seeks to examine how consumer based value at Michelin has succeeded in marketing in addition to creating a loyal customer relations at the Chinese market. A comprehensive framework that leads to desirable results has been formulated.
Based on ground findings and reliable literature reviews, the customer perceived firm value can be investigated and evaluated. This research study will conclude with solid findings which can be evaluated using specified standards rather than the common monetary scales.
Underlying principle
Studies reveal that customer loyalty is one of the basic elements which forms a stable foundation for business organizations to be operated successfully (Bloemer & Odekerken-Schröder 2002, p. 70). Indeed, the loyalty of customers plays a critical function in ensuring the profitability of a business.
Loyal customers are always ready to give a company a true and sincere feedback, make valid recommendations to the company, go an extra mile to try every new product which is on sale by the company and also buy the company’s products in spite of variety of products and services that are being supplied by competitors (Christopher 2012, p.99).
Bustillo and Lloyd (2009, p. 50) note that customer retention is a broad goal aimed at by all organizations. They add that this cannot be achieved without establishing a firm base in customer loyalty strategies (Bustillo & Lloyd 2009, p. 54).
In a bid to improve customer retention, companies like Michelin have to evaluate the environment of their operational markets. In order to be able to retain all new customers without incurring extra cost, firms need to research in a thorough way the dynamics of the principle of customer intentions and loyalty.
On the other hand, investment management firms have to understand the status of companies’ customer loyalty in order to be able to offer reliable services to them (Cengiz & Yayla 2007, p. 80). A good understanding of the importance of cultivating customer loyalty has been proposed in this study. It is worth noting that customer loyalty will often make companies to become more competitive when they adopt better programs.
As a matter of fact, the case study on Michelin in China provides very typical example on how business organizations ought to manage their markets as part and parcel of retaining their customers. The study will seek to highlight how Michelin has managed to dominate the Chinese market despite of the fact that there are other market players who are equally competitive and appealing to the targeted markets.
There are several benefits which are to be accrued by the analysis of Michelin’s customer loyalty performance in China. As already noted in the above introduction, the well established investment advisory companies will gain invaluable information. They will be placed in a strategic position to operate with a more streamlined focus.
Therefore, individual companies and the entire industry need to consider being involved in carrying the regular market research. To account for their importance, Chris, Greg and Suzan (2012, p. 145) are quite categorical that the only thorough explanation which elaborates poor customer loyalty among companies operating in China is poor research in the field of marketing.
Literature appraisal
Given that the primary objective of this research will be to improve customer loyalty for Michelin, adequate examination of several pieces of literature is inevitable. In this regard, several works of both empirical and theoretical literature have been analyzed. The empirical texts support the role of mediating influence in marketing to maximize customer loyalty.
The issue of customer loyalty has proved to be challenging to both researchers and marketers (Cronin, Brady & Hult 2000, p. 201). Despite of this challenge, it has continually been discussed since businesses have great interest in it. The case of Michelin’s customer loyalty has taken an approach of evaluating how they have managed to create value for themselves as well as for other external stakeholders of the company.
In addition, the relationship between customer loyalty and company value has been sufficiently supported by empirical studies rather than theoretical literature largely due to the credibility of information gathered from primary sources (Dick & Basu 2001, p. 110).
Donio, Massari and Passiante (2006, p.50) note that marketing is supposed to fulfill the desires of customers. This explains why marketing strategies are supposed to build long term as well as mutually benefiting relationships between customers and the firm. In other words, the firm is supposed to deliver a true and ideal value to the market so that the tastes, demand and preferences of consumers are met in a timely manner.
Marketing strategies survive through proper market analysis (Eakuru & Mat 2008, p.130). Besides, controlled market variables give a firm the foundation to pursue desirable levels of consumer satisfaction (Elliot 2010, par. 2). Positioning, targeting and segmenting will be described and evaluated in the case of Michelin. These are the specific marketing tools which yield customer retention and loyalty.
Precise utilization of product package differentiation and segmentation capitalize into dependable strategy (Haelsig et al 2007, p. 441). On the other hand, customer perceived value refers to the customers’ total assessment of the usefulness of products on the basis of perceptions of net benefit (Hemlock 2009, p. 55).
It can be explained using an assessment criteria involving feedback from customers after a particular product has been used, evaluation during transaction and the general expectation before making a purchase. Customers need quality, monetary suitability in terms of price and non-monetary worth in terms of effort and time to develop interest in specific products of a firm.
It will therefore be critical to point out the level of loyalty among customers of Michelin products. The research will obtain clients’ first hand information for the sake of accuracy and credibility of data.
Studies indicate that the most typical and approved way to assess the customer perceived value of a company is to employ the buyer response research method which will of course be used in this case (Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner & Gremler 2002, p. 239).
Difference between the policies and rules that Michelin initiates in Europe and China
After expanding to the Chinese market, Michelin had to modify its policies and rules in order to fit within the new market. While the company had been practicing strong values in terms of organizational culture in order to attract and retain customers, it was necessary for its management in China to evaluate as well as understand the new environment especially in regards to culture.
For instance, Michelin in China has endeavored to cherish and relentlessly pursue its revamped organizational culture that seeks to uphold optimum respect for the environment, facts, shareholders, people and customers.
The company’s operation in China has also witnessed a decent career management model that seeks to improve the capacity and training of its employees. The model is divided into four phases namely individual’s view, manager’s view, career manager’s view as well as periodic development review.
In addition, Michelin in China has adopted a robust performance appraisal system as well as a development process unlike in Europe. It is carried out both annually and periodically. The latter was found to be necessary in the new market in order to boost the performance of employees and overall brand image of the company in the new competitive and dynamic market.
Study matters
Most studies in the business field of customer loyalty outcomes dwell on the complainant behavior of customers, their specific purchase intentions and sensitivity to a company’s prices (Huddleston at al 2009, p. 71). This has been proven to be insufficient in investigating the conclusive loyalty exercised by companies’ consumers (Ibrahim & Najjar 2008, p.32).
This research seeks to investigate the loyalty depicted by Michelin’s customers specifically in the nation of China. It seeks to find out how the company has managed to attract and retain a lot of loyal customers. The specific market strategies which have succeeded or failed in different situations are also a major concern.
The study seeks to find out the criterion which has been used by companies in the Chinese market to make their goods in relation to convenience, price and quality. Convenience is taken as the effort and time which customers spend.
Elements of market mix are the antecedents to value (Kanagai 2009, p.18). The quality of products will be evaluated in terms of monetary sacrifices made by customers. The efforts made by clients to do business will be discussed and researched as well. This will help in explaining how the company has been able to attain and retain loyal customers.
Reasons for study
This study investigates and explores how the business organization has maintained competitiveness. It investigates the challenges towards expansion and maintaining a stable share market. Globalization and innovations in technology has enabled consumers to become more informed (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius 2009, p. 101). It has given consumers more alternatives and opportunities of doing their purchases.
This has called for customers to become more careful by making their choices become the most paramount aspect in the market (Kanagal 2009, p.11). It is important to study the behavior of customers. The study of a specific company like Michelin is a typical base to evaluate the price relationships in the market. This research seeks to explore the market of China.
It will also help to highlight the most effective ways of capturing the loyalty of the dynamic Chinese market. It will investigate how the customers are able to keep on purchasing a product which is believed to be highly priced.
The suspicion of customers will be considered and different persons will be given a chance to explain why they consider the use of complaints as the most effective way of communicating to their suppliers (Kotler 2005, p. 150).
The positioning of Michelin in the market will also be investigated. An exploration on how the company positions itself in making market strategies will be carried. The manipulation of all market elements to exceed the value of other competing firms is a strategy of establishing consumer loyalty (Kotler & Armstrong 2008, p. 200). The use of mass marketing in China will be studied.
Basically the general market environment which surrounds the firm will be scrutinized in detail. The study is therefore done to collect sufficient data which will be used by firms, the government and individual investors to make appropriate decisions in regards to the market. It aims at creating an ultimate awareness of the major factors which should be considered by any stakeholder in the Chinese market.
The choice of one company will ensure that the others are able to learn without the formulation their own interventions. The management of Michelin will be placed in a good position to make better strategies in terms of making new business moves.
Scope and compass of the study
It has been found out that in the global industrial sector, the chances of running a successful business depend on the advance understanding of the general attitudes of the target customers (Kotler & Keller 2006, p.70). On this note, this study is formulated to describe the ways of exerting an influence which yields customer loyalty. Customer intentions are critical in driving the market.
The efforts put by a company to get into good relationships with customers have been realized to be the ones which make a firm more successful than others. Business principles in the industrial sector dictate that companies must ensure customer satisfaction in order to attain sustainable profitability (Mabel & Aihie 2012, p.97). The government ensures that all consumers are supplied with good quality products and services.
In order to comply with the regulative activities of the ministry of trade and commerce, a company must ensure that it examines all the variables which interact with its customers. To be able to continue being profitable, Michelin has to emulate the viewpoint of both the government and the industrial researchers.
Furthermore, the size of the company being investigated is very important. It has to be clearly understood that economies of scale come with a variety of other factors. Large companies need to have relatively sufficient knowledge of the details of the customers in their markets.
This is because slight changes in the loyalty of clients result into relatively huge losses given that the company operates in a mode which yields high returns. Researcher studies have stated that large scale companies have a greater need of ensuring customer relations (Mabel & Aihie 2012, p.98).
This is explained by the fact that apart from being loyal to a particular firm, consumers attached to such companies often become loyal to specific brands manufactured by the same companies (Kanagai 2009, p.16). Indeed, it is very essential for all multinational companies to participate in this important research. The workers of a given company are well positioned to have access of customer responses.
This is because customers find themselves in discussions which give honest feelings towards a company. In this scope of the matter, the employees have been used as very resourceful participants in investigating the loyalty of Michelin’s customers in China.
Research methodology (Exploration and sampling strategies, data collection, analysis, validity and reliability)
In order to make sure that the study achieves credible and reliable findings, interplay of data collection and research methodology has been used in investigating customer loyalty at Michelin. Both inductive and deductive strategies have been employed.
The research exploration strategies used are a case study of Michelin in China, concept and semantic webbing, debating discussions with other scholars in the same field, open-ended questions, active assessments and theatrical questioning of customers in the market.
The internet has been used to enrich the secondary findings of the research. The findings will also be collected widely and compiled. The combination of information from both online and offline sources will offer valuable and reliable data store formed during this research study (Dick & Basu 2001, p. 110).
The use of action study methodology is approved in business research studies. According to Bustillo and Lloyd (2009, p. 54), the two major approaches of researching have been employed. By using the citizen based style, the research is aimed at empowering the customer.
This has been incorporated with bringing the desirable change. The participatory action research method will be used to recommend changes that ought to be executed at Michelin and any other interested company. The participatory research model will also ensure that outcomes offer guidance in the best way to trigger and nurture customer loyalty.
Nonetheless, this action research style raises several challenges. For instance the issues of validity, credibility, generalization, document value and reporting errors will have to be addressed. This particular method will enable this company to improve the practices which have direct impact on the loyalty of customers. In addition, keen attention will enable understanding of the changing situations in the competitive Chinese market.
Companies which will choose to take part in the research at that time will be in a better position to boost their customer loyalty status. Using the instructional strategies which prompt action immediately after making findings will play a role in suggesting post research actions by the firms.
Data will also be collected using observer notes. The practitioners will participate in the day to day activities of the company. This will enable them to make first hand observation on customer reactions and general responses.
Establishing collaboration will help in ensuring trustworthiness of data. This will be cultivated through the use of data triangulation which is expected to create collaborating evidence on all findings (Dick & Basu 2001, p.111). The qualitative technique will be employed in ensuring effectiveness and consistency in the multiple customer evaluations.
In other words, the solid findings collected directly from the market situation will be tested for validity using business principles. Testing datum will be applied to any data before it is validated for use. Strict interpretation against other findings will be used as a tool for increasing credibility (Elliott, 2010).
Access
Several challenges are expected in the execution of this study. These are basically some of the inevitable difficulties that may be encountered in the due process of conducting the research study. It is important to note that all factors which limit the accessibility of participants have a great impact on the overall research findings. The research is therefore going to be done with various restrictions in mind.
In any case, the lack of adequate access to information in the process of conducting research will be alleviated by ensuring that all possible barriers are indentified early in advance (Swoboda, Morschett & Schramm-Klein 2007, p. 339). Measures will be taken to review all arrangements of data collection and analysis. The key area of access should be maintained as a pivotal mark.
This will ensure that quality findings are fully and accurately compiled. The final reports given by all participants will be treated keenly to ensure that the respondents do not have a feeling of being used by researchers with no gain (Chris, Greg & Suzan 2012, p.150).
In order to ensure that the participants are fully accessed, Michelin or any other party which decides to do this research should aspire to cover the nationwide market in China.
This is the reason why the research is open and allows the input of all interested parties. Moreover, a reliable Gantt chart (shown on the next page) has been formulated to give the research schedule which will be followed during the research process.
Figure 1: Gantt chart
Conclusion
The most dependable definition of customer loyalty establishment in regards to this study is the process of attracting customers, persuading them to buy a company’s products and services as well as hospitable treatment. The aforementioned practices within an organization will definitely attract customers and sway their purchasing needs towards particular products.
The study will achieve typical and useful information since it will focus on Michelin’s email marketing which has been appealing to customers. The manner in which the team in China has been treated over time determines how they have been treating customers.
This is not preconceptions bearing in mind that studies have shown that if a company cares for its employees, it directly and positively affects how customers are served on a daily basis. The choices made by customers and clients at Michelin are not beyond the control of the company.
In addition, the company will be able to come up with appropriate market strategies after doing an assessment of its customer relations in China. The company also needs to get the facts on the loyalty of its customers in order to come up with inspirational and motivational activities.
References
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Bustillo, M. & Lloyd, M 2009, “Best Buy seeks female shoppers,” Wall Street Journal, vol. 17 no.3, pp.45-68.
Cengiz, E. & Yayla, H 2007, “The effect of marketing mix on positive word of mouth communication: Evidence from accounting offices in Turkey”, Innovative Marketing, vol. 3 no. 4, pp. 73-86.
Chris, B., Greg, E. & Suzan, B 2012, “Modeling customer satisfaction and loyalty: survey data versus data mining”, The Journal of Services Marketing vol. 26 no. 3, pp. 148-157.
Christopher, B 2012, “The dynamics of satisfaction and loyalty after relational transgressions”, The Journal of Services Marketing vol. 26 no. 2, pp. 94-101.
Cronin, J., Brady, M. & Hult, G 2000, “Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments”, Journal of Retailing, vol. 76 no.2, pp.193-218.
Dick, A. & Basu, K 2001, “Customer loyalty: Toward an integrated conceptual framework”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 22 no. 2, pp. 99-113.
Donio, J., Massari, P. & Passiante, G 2006, “Customer satisfaction and loyalty in a digitalenvironment: An empirical test,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 23 no. 7, pp. 445-457.
Eakuru, N. & Mat, N 2008, “The application of structural equation modeling (SEM) indetermining the antecedents of customer loyalty in banks in South Thailand,” The Business Review, Cambridge, vol. 10 no. 2, pp. 129-139.
Elliott, C 2010, Confessions of a frequent-flyer program skeptic. Web.
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E-commerce is constantly gaining popularity in the contemporary world. One of the most popular and widely spread techniques of electronic marketing is online shopping. Still, in conditions of an extensively growing and highly competitive market, companies involved in online shopping may face the problem of attracting and retaining customers. Consequently, there is a need to provide a detailed analysis of this e-commerce technique to empower the further development of online shopping. Thus, the topic of interest for this study is the effects of online shopping on customer loyalty.
Literature Review
The issue of customer loyalty as related to online shopping is relatively new. Still, some studies appeared within the recent five years that should be reviewed and can provide background for this research. For example, the study by Afrashteh, Azad, and Tabatabaei Hanzayy (2014) is dedicated to the concept of online shopping and the use of this electronic marketing technique to influence customer loyalty in conditions of the state of Iran.
The scholars discovered diverse components that are under the impact of online shopping websites. These components include a comprehensive information system, system development, choice power, viability, and system optimization (Afrashteh et al., 2014). The authors investigate the features of websites, their quality, and customer loyalty that are the result of the website’s use. An important issue of online shopping is studied by Shafiee and Bazargan (2018).
The researchers analyze such crucial aspects of online shopping that influence loyalty as e-service quality and e-recovery. The study leads to a conclusion that such issues as information security and website performance have a direct impact on e-service quality. Also, e-recovery, which involves such issues as responsiveness, compensation, and contact, positively influences online purchase loyalty.
Philosophy and Approach
This study will be grounded on the philosophy of interpretivism. It implies the necessity of understanding the stakeholders involved in the process of online shopping as social actors. The research will utilize a deductive approach because it will test the hypothesis that online shopping has a significant impact on customer loyalty. The research results are expected to allow the generalization of findings, which is typical of the deductive approach.
Research Design
Quantitative research design is more suitable for assessing the effects of a phenomenon. Therefore, this design will be used to conduct research on the effects that online shopping has on customer loyalty. The study will also involve statistical tests for data analysis to present relevant and valid results, thus increasing the value of research and contributing to its practical implications.
Access and Ethical Issues
Access to research data is allowed to a researcher only. Other individuals will be permitted to study the research findings. Considering the fact that the study of online shopping and the related customer loyalty can involve personal and financial data of customers, it is crucial to provide safety of data and ensure that personal and financial information will not be available to third parties. The ethical aspect presupposes anonymity and a guarantee that customer data will only be used for generalization.
Conclusion
On the whole, the problem of customer loyalty in the context of online shopping because the majority of companies have online shops, and some focus on online sales only. Still, service in online shops has certain peculiarities that have to be considered to gain customer loyalty and provide sustainable development for every shop. Thus, the question is what is more valued by customers, data security, or the quality of service.
References
Afrashteh, H., Azad, N., & Tabatabaei Hanzayy, S. (2014). The effects of online shopping on the customer loyalty. Management Science Letters, 4(9), 2077-2086. Web.
Shafiee, M., & Bazargan, N. (2018). Behavioral customer loyalty in online shopping: The role of e-service quality and e-recovery. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 13(1), 26-38. Web.
The above quality management journal focuses on the effects of retail service quality and product quality dimension, with Hong Kong being its location of study. When the economy faces recession, success is based on how retailers are able to acquire customer loyalty by responding to customers’ demand.
Customer loyalty is brought about by a long-term and stable relationship between the customer and the business owner. Needless to say, customers are highly concerned with quality of services, which is a major contributor to customer loyalty.
This article emphasizes on physical aspects, personal interaction, policy, reliability and problem solving as impacts of retail service quality (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p224). For instance, when individuals are asked to name their expectations and perceptions on a service, they tend to rate the former services higher. Retail service quality scale is a tool that has been rated as effective when dealing with retail businesses.
Retail businesses can fall under several dimensions, the first one being personal interaction whereby, owners are helpful to customers thus earning their trust and confidence. Secondly, policy involves operating hours, payment options, and parking space, which are required to be effective.
Thirdly, physical aspect involves the appearance of the business and reliability whereby, the retailer fulfills his promises to the customers (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p.224). The authors further describe product quality in regard to eight dimensions, including “performance, conformance, features, reliability, serviceability, durability, customer perceived quality and aesthetics” (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p.224).
However, only three dimensions are emphasized on. They include durability, which is a measure of a product life; serviceability, which refers to the speed and competence; and aesthetic and customer- perceived quality, which defines product quality construct.
Customer loyalty is defined as a positive feeling towards a certain product or service, hence always re-purchasing of that product or service (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p225). Loyal customers are willing to spend much more compared to less loyal customers, hence becoming an important asset to the business.
However, there are two types of customer loyalty; person- person loyalty and person to firm loyalty, whereby, firm relationships are short-term compared to person – person relationships. Therefore, the link between retail service quality and customer loyalty lies in the fact that good service may lead to customer loyalty. There is a possibility that positive perceptions of service quality may increase the chance of a customer to be more involved in the firm.
The link between product quality and customer loyalty is evident: when a product satisfies customer’s needs, and thereafter, a customers communicates the positive aspect of that products to others, thus showing a high degree of customer loyalty. Therefore, for a firm to operate successfully, it should focused on product’s quality.
A research carried out by Yuen & Chan on a curtain retail shop indicated that the respondents had a positive attitude towards the retail service quality of the store. However, the personal interaction dimension acquired the highest score, thus reflecting the respondents’ satisfaction on service provided at the Hunter Douglas retail.
Aesthetic scored a mean of 5.59, indicating that the retail shop offered unique products, while customer loyalty was at 4.88, an indication that the respondents had a higher level of loyalty to the employees at the shop other than to the firm itself (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p.231).
Therefore, the findings in this article conclude that retail service quality is linked to customer loyalty positively; however, product quality does not have a positive impact on customer loyalty. In addition, personal interaction was found to have a positive impact on customer loyalty to the employees, whereas physical aspect, reliability, and problem solving had a positive influence on customer’s loyalty to the retail shop (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p.237).
The journal by Ojinnaka (2011, p.590) argues that quality is defined by the degree of excellence or superiority in a product, while quality improvement involves change that involves a process of improving the product. However, quality control is necessary, as it involves laws that ensure consumers are prevented from any danger by ensuring that they get the right quality and weight of a product, especially when food is involved.
Ojinnaka agrees that total quality management directs employee’s efforts towards customer satisfaction. In addition, total quality management is said to not only involve an organization, but also the employees. However, Ojinnaka’s journal fails to identify dimensions of product quality and customer loyalty in relation to product and service quality.
The Article’s Contribution and Support to Quality Management Principles
According to Naik, Gantasala, & Prabhakar (2010, p.241), five dimensions of service quality are evident including tangibility, responsive, assurance and empathy. These dimensions are considered to have impact on a customers’ satisfaction. Just as the main article, this article focuses on retail service quality, where quality is emphasized on as the key towards attracting clients. Tangible items are measured according to their appearance.
In addition, customer satisfaction is emphasized on and just like in Yuen & Chan article, customer satisfaction is related to profitability. For instance, when a customer perceives quality service, he will market the business by informing his friends (Naik, Gantasala, & Prabhakar, 2010, p.242).
Kanji & Asher (1996, p.1) further add that, total quality management comprises four principles. The first is delighting the customer by doing what interests them the most. The second one is management by fact, whereby, product improvement is primarily based upon facts.
The third principle is people-based management, whereby, teamwork is encouraged, as it contributes to the quality of a product or service. Lastly, continuous improvement focuses on an improvement cycle that is directed towards customer satisfaction. These principles are evident in Yuen & Chan’s article, as it focuses on customer loyalty as a result of customer satisfaction.
Yuen & Chan’s article has incorporated some of the management principles, but they have mostly specified on customer focus through creating of customer’s loyalty and ensuring customer satisfaction (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p.225). Continuous improvement of products is emphasized on and this proves that the curtain retail shop received customer loyalty due to its uniqueness. Therefore, the shop is willing to market the business by telling others about its products and services.
Discuss How the Content of the Article Relates to Quality Theory
Yuen & Chan’s article focuses on how retail service quality is related to customer loyalty; therefore, the article insists on quality throughout. Quality is defined as the customer’s perception on the product or service offered (Yuen & Chan, 2010, p.223). Therefore, the quality of a product can be measured via its feature, performance, reliability, durability serviceability among other factors. Nevertheless, quality service or product is key to enhancing customer satisfaction, which in time creates customer loyalty.
When customers have a positive perception about a product or service, they tend to repurchase the product. Therefore, there is a link between product quality and customer loyalty, whereby, quality of a product contributes to customer’s satisfaction.
According to Yuen & Chan (2010, p.227), it is evident that quality revolves around meeting a customer’s expectations; therefore, achieving quality is always a continuous process, especially for organizations seeking a competitive advantage. However, quality improvement process involves the organization and its staff as a whole.
According to Liang (2010, p.66), quality is essential in an organization’s strategy, whereby, it involves inspection of products with an aim of eliminating any defects. The author further adds that theoretically, quality is defined as customer satisfaction. In addition, different tools have different impacts on quality improvement in an organization.
Yuen & Chan’s article focuses on quality and customer loyalty, whereby, they emphasize that quality definitely contributes to customer’s loyalty in relation to quality theory. It is rather clear that quality is important to any organization in relation to their products and services, as it contributes greatly to customer’s satisfaction.
Writer’s Findings and Application
Yuen & Chan’s findings indicate that retail service quality is positively related to customer loyalty; however, product quality does not contribute positively to customer loyalty based on research. In addition, three dimensions were found to have a positive impact on customer loyalty; they include physical aspect, reliability, and problem solving. Physical aspect involves a business layout including the attractive products being sold which give a customer a good impression.
Problem solving is evident in this study and it implies that customers ask for help since they cannot solve the problems on their own, hence, they need assistance from staff to tackle the problem. When a customer’s problem is solved, the customer is satisfied, hence is likely to market the curtain shop to others.
In addition, the chance that a customer will repurchase the items is very high. Findings of this research also revealed that customers’ relationship to the store was high as compared to the staff relationship. This is as a result of the great services offered by the staff which in return attribute to the customers’ attachment to the store.
In the modern world, customer’s perception on a product or service can either contribute to higher sales of a business or not. This is because most customers are keen on quality of an item rather than its price. Customer loyalty in this study was measured in two groups – the store and the staff.
These findings can be applicable in modern organizations, whereby, the business owner emphasizes on quality as the key towards a competitive business. Secondly, in case a business is trying to attain a competitive advantage, the manager should ensure that the staffs are well trained, especially on communication and customer service. This will aid in assisting customers while shopping and on fast problem solving process.
Yuen & Chan’s findings indicate that personal interactions played a significant role in customer loyalty; this was evident in the interactions between a customer and the staff. Such interactions in a business create a strong relationship between the staff and customers, hence creating loyalty in customers.
According to Faed (2011, p.141), customer relationship management is important in an organization, as it increases business intelligence, effective decision-making and enhances customer relations. Therefore, there is need for training employees on issues relating to customer handling, such as customer service and marketing.
Conclusion
Yuen & Chan’s article acknowledges customer’s loyalty & product quality which are some of the principles of quality management. In addition, gender is considered in terms of customer loyalty, since this research included both female & male genders, whereby, the multiple regression hypothesis was applied.
This article portrays the rule of quality management which is guided by several principles aimed at providing customer satisfaction, and improved performance. It contains quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. These components result in a desired level of excellence in customers.
Organizations tend to depend on customers since they are the determinants of sales made. Business gains customer loyalty when the needs of customers are considered and fulfilled, thus, repurchasing is evident and returns are high. However, this article covers only one type of store, hence, research is centralized, as many purchasers are likely to be women.
Reference List
Faed, A., 2011. The Impact of Integrated TQM and Interactivity on Customer Retention Process. International Journal of Information Processing and Management, 2(2), pp. 139-150.
Kanji, G., and Asher, M., 1996. 100 methods for total quality management. London: Sage Publisher.
Liang, K., 2010. Aspects of Quality Tools on Total Quality Management. Modern Applied Science, 4 (9), pp. 66-74.
Naik, K., Gantasala, S., and Prabhakar, G., 2010. Service Quality (Servqual) and its Effect on Customer Satisfaction in Retailing. European Journal of Social Sciences, 16 (2), pp. 167-315.
Ojinnaka, M., 2011. The food industry in Nigeria: development and quality assurance. Asian network for scientific information. Journal of Nutrition, 10 (6), pp. 589-593.
Yuen, E., & Chan, S., 2010. The effect of retail service quality and product quality on customer loyalty. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 17, pp. 222-240.
Healthcare leadership, like any other leadership, is mandated to ensure that employees remain loyal to the organization they (employees) are working for. Loyalty of employees benefits an organization and helps to avoid unnecessary expenses such as training new employees by reducing the turnover rate. Leadership earns the loyalty of employees by first earning their trust.
The purpose of this research paper is to show how leadership in the healthcare sector can earn trust and loyalty from the employees. It will be emphasized that these two virtues can only be earned and not demanded. Earning trust and finally loyalty are depicted as processes which the leaders have to be committed to persistently.
In order to achieve the purpose of this research, secondary sources of information are utilized. Books and internet resources are used. Only those materials which focus on healthcare leadership are used. Personal insights are also added, especially in the discussion section.
The order of this research starts with an abstract, findings section, discussion, and a conclusion. There is also a list of the references used in the research paper.
Findings Section
Loyalty
Leadership in healthcare institutions presents various challenges. It has been noted that loyalties in these institutions are divided (Umiker, 2005). More often than not, workers are more loyal to workmates or unions than to their leaders. Specifically, it has been found that scientifically trained employees display more fidelity to their technical societies than to their leaders.
Middle level leadership has been said to be dilemmatic because of the split loyalty they need to show to their subordinates as well as to their superiors. Leaning too far to one side leads to airing of grievances and accusation of disloyalty by the other side (Umiker, 2005).
Loyalty is of great significance in the healthcare sector. Umiker (2005) argues that productivity is a primary casualty of absence of corporate loyalty which is then followed by “sloppy workmanship, apathetic employees, mediocre quality, and poor service” (p. 235). Umiker (2005) further notes that loyalty is lost when the morale of employees is destroyed and goes further to list the factors that destroy morale: “poor working conditions, poor compensation, and poor leadership skills” (Umiker, 2005, p. 235).
Therefore, loyalty is of great significance, but then how can it be fostered? Some of the actions that foster loyalty are as follows – “providing a safe work environment and reasonable opportunities for advancement, offering first-class benefits, rewards for high performance, and demonstrated respect for ability” (McConnell, 2010, p. 345).
Strengthening Loyalty
There are various measures that can be taken to strengthen loyalty. These measures also increase the level of trust between the leadership and the employees.
One of them is honesty. Leaders are advised to be honest with their employees (McConnell, 2010). Honest in this respect entails informing the employees about policies and plans that will and/or may affect them directly and/or indirectly. In this manner, trust is built between the leadership and employees and suspicion of ill motives by the employees on the leadership have no chance of developing.
Leadership should also ensure that what it expects the employees to accomplish is made clear to the employees and that they (employees) are empowered to do that. Leadership can do this by thoroughly carrying out “position descriptions, performance standards, orientation, and training” (McConnell, 2010, p. 345).
Other measures to building loyalty include consistency, fairness, impartiality, and trustworthiness. Leadership should significantly play a supportive role more than a judicial role. It should also be ensured that leadership values all the employees (McConnell, 2010). Gunderman (2009) airs similar sentiments concerning building loyalty.
He argues that physicians are not so much interested in giving their services to the highest bidders but rather are interested in working in organizations that “cultivate trust, foster pride in work, and encourage physicians to enjoy what they do” (Gunderman, 2009, p. 17).
Trust
According to McConnell (2010), loyalty and trust are inherently connected. Loyalty is a function of trust and trust must be earned. All the efforts that lead to earning of trust eventually have a final result of building loyalty. Trust has been singled out has being very beneficial to healthcare organizations.
According to Gunderman (2009), trust fosters high levels of collaboration. Lack of trust among employees lead to lowering of cooperation and raises the level of suspicion that employees have on each other and on the leadership. If the leadership cannot be trusted by the employees, the impression created in the minds of the employees is that they (employees) are not valued and are being treated as interchangeable parts in a machine. This attitude is likely to fiercely eat into the commitment of such employees (Gunderman, 2009).
Trust has also been deeply associated with improving customer support in the healthcare sector. Gunderman (2009) argues that if physicians feel trusted, they are more likely to reciprocate by giving good service to the patients without any fears. He notes that “In a (trust-based) healthcare organization, fear that mistakes will be detected and punished is a less powerful motivator than a genuine commitment to provide the best care” (Gunderman, 2009, p. 15).
Studies on creating trust-based organizational climate have shown that healthy relationships play a significant role in fostering trust in organizations. Manion (2005) outlines several advantages of a trust-based organization: “it commands trust from the public, has a competitive advantage, can draw the best people, inspire customer loyalty, reach out successfully to new markets, and provide more innovative products and services” (p. 50).
Earning Trust
The significance of trust in an organization has pushed scholars to propose ways which can be used by leadership to develop trust-based organizations.
Communication: This implies that all communication should always be clear and straightforward. There should not be any form of ambiguity that may breed confusion. Duties should be assigned to specific people and it should be made clear what details and specification are to be accomplished.
Commitment: It is very important that the leadership show commitment to agreements made with the employees. If for some reasons this is not possible, then there is a need for immediate disclosure.
Transparency: This is very important. There should be complete transparency of the way an organization is run. Rumors should not be allowed among the employees and information should not be withheld unnecessarily from the employees.
Speedy resolution: Trust is earned when conflicts are solved as soon as they are noted. Refusing to acknowledge the presence of conflicts will erode any trust that employees have in the leadership and this will actually make it harder for the leadership to solve the problem when the situation gets out of hand.
Respect: The leadership needs to show respect to the employees in order to earn trust from them.
According to World Congress (2012), fostering trust in healthcare settings leads to great financial benefits. It has been shown that customers who trust their healthcare insurers associate them with the following qualities “clarity, understanding, caring, generosity, fairness, compassion, flexibility, helpful, believable, effectiveness, warm-hearted, cooperative, friendly, informative, reliability, kindness, up-to-date, accessibility, organization and transparency” (World Congress, 2012, p. 4). Four steps have been suggested for leadership in healthcare insurance to follow in order to earn the trust of their customers.
Step One: The leaderships should have a thorough knowledge of their customers. They should study the behavior and what the customers value most.
Step Two: The knowledge collected about consumers should be used to develop packages that are convenient to the consumers. This will show the consumers that they are understood and that their needs are taken care of.
Step Three: Leadership should engage the consumers in programs that empower them. Programs on wellness behaviors stand to benefit the consumers and in turn the consumers are likely to trust the providers.
Step Four: Transparency is highly appreciated and valued by consumers. This is especially when there is a mistake committed – coming out clearly and explaining the situation including how such a mistake will be effectively taken care of will stir the consumers to have trust in a leadership.
Discussion
The literature review section has shown that loyalty and trust are indeed inherently connected. It is clear that loyalty cannot be earned before earning trust. For employees to be loyal to a leadership or to an organization, they first have to find some form of trust in the leadership or the organization. Leadership in healthcare organization must be aware of this fact. I believe the following model will work well for healthcare leadership.
A model showing how loyalty and trust are dependent on each other
Employees/customers who trust a leadership/company will intuitively develop loyalty
Basically, the studies reviewed above have shown that building a healthy relationship is a way to ensuring that trust is earned. Leadership is tasked to ensure that it has fostered a good relationship with the employees and also that the employees relate well.
It is amazing that huge compensations are not viewed as a means the healthcare leadership can use to earn employee trust. Specifically, Gunderman (2009) notes that physicians are not really interested in offering services to the highest bidders but rather in working in areas where they can enjoy their work.
There are many values highlighted in the literature section which healthcare leadership needs to embrace in order to earn trust. I am of the opinion that for leadership to earn trust from the employees, it has to engage in a genuine quest for justice and ensure that they are in good friendship terms with the employees. In the table below, I have divided the values highlighted in the findings section into two – those that will result due to the quest for justice and the others that will be products of genuine friendship.
Table 1 (Showing how the need for commitment of leaders to justice and healthy relationships with employees)
It might be argued that some of the values in one column might be switched to the other column depending on the situation at hand.
It is still amazing to note that the values in the table above do not really require a lot of resources to implement. All that the leadership requires to do is being dedicated to carry out their roles in a just way. Since earning trust seems to be so easy to undertake, a question arises – why is it that it is not a popular practice among leadership?
Trust is earned. It cannot be demanded from customers or employees. Healthcare leadership needs to be aware of this fact. According to Hassan (n.d), trust must be earned every day. Earning the trust of employees is a process which requires time hence the need to continually earn it every day. Due to the difficulty in defining trust, Romano (2003) uses its defining characteristics to define it.
The defining Characteristics of Trust
Referents of Trust
Attitudinal
Social
Versatile
Functional
Defines the phenomena to which ‘trust’ refers.
Components of Trust
Hypothetical
Consequential
Motivational
Defines the sentiments that ‘trust’ contains
Dimensions of Trust
Symmetrical
Incremental
Conditional
Defines the judgments that levels of ‘trust’ infer
Table 2 (Romano, 2003)
This table makes it clear why it is not possible to demand trust. The defining characteristics of trust are quite abstract and they can only earned. For instance, trust is viewed as an attitude (Romano, 2003) and we know that an attitude displayed is dependent on the relationship that exists.
It should also be noted that trust can only come into play in a social context. Trust therefore is a process that requires nurturing to grow. It takes time and requires commitment – it is conditional. It is after a leadership has earned trust from the employees that the employees in turn become loyal to the leadership and the organization in question in general. Therefore, employees cannot be loyal without first trusting whoever they are being loyal to.
Conclusion
This research paper has dominantly researched on how leadership can earn trust and loyalty from employees. It has focused on what leaders can do right to ensure that employees are and/or remain loyal to the leadership/organization. It has been noted that trust should be earned first and loyalty will then come in naturally. It has also been noted that earning trust from employees is a process which should be carried out persistently. This process is hinged on good relationship between the leadership and employees.
This research paper has great implications which should be noted by leaders in the healthcare sector and generally by all leaders. To start with, leadership should note that loyalty is a virtue that is intentionally cultivated in employees by the leaders. For employees to be loyal, they first have to trust the leadership, and thus for the employees to be loyal or disloyal is all dependent on the leadership.
Leadership should also note that cultivation of loyalty is a process not a one-time action. For leadership to earn trust, and consequently loyalty, it has to continuously foster a good relationship with the employees and ensure that justice, honesty and transparency prevail.
The healthcare field is a participative field and exchange of ideas and information is highly encouraged to ensure best evidence based practices prevail. For this to happen, cooperation among employees in the healthcare sector should be encouraged. However, for these employees to freely share information on their various researches, they will need to build trust in each other. I therefore recommend that studies should be carried out on how employees in the healthcare sector can earn trust from each other.
References
Gunderman, R. G. (2009). Leadership in Healthcare. New York, NY: Springer.
Hassan, F. (n.d). We can’t just demand trust – first we have to earn it. Leadership. Web.
Manion, J. (2005). From Management to Leadership: Practical Strategies for Health Care Leaders. New York, NY: John Willy & Sons.
McConnell, C. R. (2010). Umiker’s Management Skills For The New Health Care Supervisor. New York, NY: Jones & Barlett Learning.
Romano, D. M. (2003). The Nature of Trust: Conceptual and Operational Clarification. Louisiana State University. Web.
Umiker, A. (2005). Management Skills for New Health Care Supervisors. New York, NY: Jones & Barlett Learning.
World Congress. (2012). Measuring the Value of Trust in Healthcare. World Congress. Web.
Evaluating the Present Day Generation of Employees
As seen in the article “Best Places to Launch a Career” by Tanaka (2008), Generation Y workers value their employee benefits since this generation was among the hardest hit by the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent recession that followed.
This was evidenced by this generation experiencing staggering degrees of underemployment, unemployment and severe student loan repayment resulting in a greater satisfaction with benefits as compared to older generations. The inherent problem though with Gen Y (Generation Y) workers is that studies such as those by Tanaka (2008) have revealed that among all the previous generations this generation is the most likely to leave a job for better opportunities (Tanaka, 67-81).
This is not to say that this generation can be considered self-centered or disloyal, rather, from their perspective loyalty is measured by their level of productivity and performance rather than sticking with a company for a prolonged period of time.
Thus, workplace loyalty has become a serious issue within the past few years when it comes to dealing with the present generation of workers (Tanaka, 67-81). Unlike Generation X and the Baby Boomer generation, the present generation of workers does not place a significant emphasis on stability and developing a long term relationship with a company, rather, they are driven more towards opportunities, benefits and incentive based methods of performance.
It is based on such factors that a company needs to take into consideration the changing face of workplace loyalty in order to make the appropriate type of hiring decisions and to understand the necessity of implementing new types of employee motivation and rewards practices in order to hire and retain this new generation of workers.
Motivation in the Workplace
Employees that lack sufficient motivation with their current position have been shown as being more likely to leave for “greener pastures” as compared to employees that have been sufficiently motivated by their company. This can come in the form of reward programs, company policies or varying degrees of empowerment that in effect encourage employees to work harder and stay longer at their jobs.
Based on various studies, it was determined that employee motivation played an important role in talent management practices due to its correlation in creating employees that are more motivated to work, more interested in their job and, as a result, stayed longer with their respective companies (Clark, 47-53).
Motivation is a crucial aspect of talent management since no matter how well a company develops its employees through a plethora of training programs and seminars, if said employees find little willingness to actually apply what they were taught in a productive and enthusiastic manner then the training itself would have been a useless venture.
The reason behind this is the fact that businesses do not operate within a vacuum and have to deal with an intense competitive environment on an almost daily basis.
To meet these challenges within their respective competitive environments companies often have to retain employees by offering certain benefits while at the same time institute costly training practices in order to improve performance. This is an important factor to take into consideration for companies since such programs increase employee performance levels.
Another interesting point that should be taken into consideration are the assumptions on what drives an employee to perform better. This comes in the form of varying models which emphasize that most individuals are driven towards intrinsic rewards and need such rewards in order to work better. Such models of behavior are important facilitators in understanding employee behaviors and, as such, are important in the creation of new policies and strategies in boosting employee performance.
For example, when using such models of behavior a company may employ a rewards program for efficiency and productivity in order to encourage all employees to work harder as a result. From a certain perspective it can be stated that motivation initiates, directs and sustains an employee’s performance to the job they are accomplishing.
When examining this particular aspect it becomes obvious that all employees need some form of motivating factor in order to work harder, without this there is no incentive to improve one’s performance. For example, if a company does not have any means of motivating its employees to work harder it is unlikely that their performance will improve and thus is an ineffective method of managing an employee’s talents.
Addressing the Issue of Worker Loyalty
Based on the information that has been presented so far, it can be deduced that some form of incentive is needed in order to create not only motivation among employees but loyalty towards the company as well.
Top benefits usually offered by companies within the Fortune 100 for Gen Y workers come in the form of the following:
100% employer paid healthcare premiums as seen in the case of Whole foods
Compressed Workweek, Telecommuting, and Christmas coupons as seen in the case of Wegman’s
Finally other benefits which focus on the work-life balance, which is important to employees, come in the form of on-site childcare centers, subsidized gym membership as well as fully paid sabbaticals.
Studies such as those by Clark (2007 ) reveal that one of the qualities that increase the loyalty of individuals from Gen Y for particular types of jobs are the inherent flexibilities found within a given position (Clark, 47-53). The concept of flexibility can range from the scheduling and time off policies that are in place within the company to the way in which a job allows its employees to be creative with what they do instead of following rigid corporate policies (Clark, 47-53).
What you have to understand is that compared to previous generations, Gen Y places a higher level of importance on the concept of the work-life balance wherein each aspect compliments the other.
By presenting potential employees with the opportunity to personally adjust their schedules within a reasonable level as well as allow them an appropriate level of freedom in taking time off due to various obligations involving their personal life, this results in a greater level of employee retention as compared to setting a rigid corporate policy.
Lastly, another standard benefit that is often given to members of Gen Y comes in the form of fully paid advanced training for their particular positions. This can come in the form of management classes, technical courses and an assortment of other educational opportunities that are fully paid for by the company.
By providing this particular benefits, companies are not only able to improve the quality of their workers but are able to provide the much desired opportunities for advancement that members of Gen Y constantly seek (Clark and Roberts, 507-525). One benefit that has been growing in prominence as of late is the use of social networking devices within the workplace.
It has been acknowledged by various companies that due to the way in which Gen Y has developed, this has resulted in the need to be constantly connected to their peers via social networking and, as such, it has been increasingly allowed by companies that their employees can chat or message online, albeit to a limited degree and within a certain set of boundaries (Clark and Roberts, 507-525).
Conclusion
Based on what has been presented so far it can be seen that individuals who are part of Gen Y value the following:
The ability to choose their own schedule.
Be allowed a certain degree of flexibility within the work place when it comes the manner in which they work.
The ability to properly balance their work and life.
Lastly, they place a greater degree of importance on the concepts of opportunity and performance.
When taking such factors into consideration, it becomes apparent that in order to properly motivate and increase the loyalty of this particular generation of workers, the strategy a company must pursue should be in line with the aforementioned factors.
Recommendations
Based on an examination of the pertinent points above, it is the recommendation of the writer that the following benefits be applied by a company in order to increase employee motivation and loyalty:
Establish a performance driven method of quick advancement within the company.
Create a workplace environment that is flexible to the needs and attitudes of workers.
Allow some Degree of Social Networking.
Works Cited
Clark, Ann D. “The New Reality: Using Benefits To Attract And Retain Talent.” Employment Relations Today (Wiley) 34.3 (2007): 47-53. Business Source Premier. Web.
Clark, Leigh, and Sherry Roberts. “Employer’S Use Of Social Networking Sites: A Socially Irresponsible Practice.” Journal Of Business Ethics 95.4 (2010): 507-525. Business Source Premier. Web.
Tanaka, James. “Best places to launch a career.” Business Week. (2008): 67-81. Print.
