The increasing number of people understand that white teeth are an indispensable element of contemporary occidental culture, a symbol of health and prosperity. Currently, there are two main types of teeth whitening – professional and domestic. Philips Zoom QuickPro is one of the world leaders in the industry of rapid professional teeth whitening; nevertheless, customer satisfaction with the product is not sufficient. One of the most common complaints concerns fast return to the previous color of teeth and unsatisfactory results overall.
Statement of the Problem
Dentistry is seemingly one of the most desirable areas for investment. However, the rise of competition in the region, and diminishing levels of customer satisfaction with the teeth whitening procedure in question, constitute the current challenges that Northeast Delta Dental faces (Le & Lo Sasso, 2020). The greater competition allows customers to choose adequate dental services and pushes service providers to try new equipment, methods, and treatments (Kamagahara et al., 2016). On the other hand, the process leads to a number of clinics being under the threat of closure and lost working places, and the problem is currently impacting the organization. Northeast Delta Dental is a net of dental clinics that presents itself as value-driven and actively participating in the life of the local population company (Concord, 2016). Northeast Delta Dental’s value system includes successfully balanced profitability and community involvement, with colleagues working together to create a corporate environment built upon complete trust and mutual respect (Concord, 2016). The company’s mission is to promote the oral health and overall well-being of the general public, and it seems to serve the local middle-class market.
Enhancing customer satisfaction with Philips Zoom QuickPro is a necessary step to ensure the company’s longevity. Since dissatisfying teeth color is one of the primary motivations for clients to access dental aesthetic treatment, and as it appears to be one of the most significant sources of revenue, researching the problem is of considerable significance (Klaric et al., 2017). Another aspect of the issue is the diminishing trust level between customers and the clinic. As Dobros and Katsaliaki (2017) note, “dentists who run their own business must be much more than specialized doctors. They need to exhibit managerial and marketing skills” (p. 1). Customer satisfaction and loyalty have been shown to correlate directly; thus, it is logical to conclude that augmenting the quality of teeth whitening procedures will positively impact the clinic (Hashem & Ali, 2019). This paper’s research agenda could allow the clinic to find ways to increase client retention that may be damaged by the poor performance of Philips Zoom QuickPro. The methods used for this research were selected to address the problem comprehensively and directly, considering the possible correlation between the usage of the technique and the company’s revenue.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose behind the proposed research is to find a way to alleviate the impact of the negative feedback that concerns Zoom QuickPro usage, making it important for the company as it could help raise its revenue.
Research Questions
Since the concept of social and ethical marketing is especially acute in medicine, managers need to monitor their target market’s needs and interests. Nevertheless, a conflict between the goals of a service provider and a service consumer has been revealed in relation to the properties of the service received. This issue concerns Philips Zoom QuickPro and the clinic under consideration, as the results that this technology brings are unsatisfactory. Examining the marketing peculiarities in the field of dental care makes it possible to identify the presence of consumers’ demand and act accordingly. In this way, two main research questions may be distinguished. What is the impact that unsatisfactory results from Zoom QuickPro have on customer satisfaction? How may Zoom QuickPro usage correlate with client retention rates?
Dobros, M., & Katsaliaki, K. (2017). Applying marketing tools in dental practice: The case of Greek dentists. Oral Health and Dental Management, 1-8.
Hashem, T. N., & Ali, N., N. (2019). The impact of service quality on customer loyalty: A study of dental clinics in Jordan. International Journal of Medical and Health Research, 5(1), 65–68.
Kamagahara, Y., Takeda, T., Jin, S., Lu, X., Ota, T., Hara, T., & Kida, N. (2016). Qualitative analysis of the customer satisfaction at the dental clinics. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 229–242.
Klaric Sever, E., Budimir, Z., Cerovac, M., Stambuk, M., Par, M., Negovetic Vranic, D., & Tarle, Z. (2017). Clinical and patient reported outcomes of bleaching effectiveness. Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, 76(1), 30–38.
Le, T.A.N., Lo Sasso, A.T. (2020). Competition and market structure in the dental industry International Journal of Health Economics and Management, 1-14.
The Philips MammoDiagnost was a creation of the Philips Medical Systems, and it was brought out in the year 2004. The creator of this system is a part of the Royal Philips. The system has numerous features that are geared towards the increase of mammography safety for both patients and staff. These include features of protection from radiation, measures for ensuring quality assurance, features for safeguarding electromechanical features, and a suitable ergonomic design. The system is designed for safety, reliability and consistency in order to market itself by these qualities (Philips Medical Systems, 2004, 1).
It is interesting to note that the people marketing this product have another additional catchphrase for marketing the product: “Rise to the challenge.” The equipment that is used for specialized X-ray imaging requires radiographers who are highly skilled, and who have the competence to ensure that the procedures of medical imaging are carried out in a safe manner. To utilize the technology used by this product in a pragmatic way, one needs to be aware of the protocols that are used in safely operating this product. The protocol or safe-operation process needs to be written down by the managing radiographer in a manual for safe operation of the machine.
This manual will therefore act as the key document for mammography setting. The manual must also be designed in a user-friendly way to act as a guide to staff for medical imaging that may not be familiar with the system. The manual will also include information on how the machine will be able to adhere to the ALARA principle, i.e. the principle of as low as possible. In order o report on the professional and safe use of the Philips MammoDiagnost, there is need to address four areas.
These include protection from radiation and the safeguarding of electromechanical safety. The latter involves creating awareness among staff about the electrical cables in the machine, and the currents flowing through the cables, which will maximize clinical utilization. It will also make the process of carrying out scans safe and effective, thereby minimizing the necessity of repeat scans. The fourth area to be addressed is the design of a reliable and holistic Quality Assurance program that is designed to be carried out periodically as long as the mammography system operates.
Safe Operation Details
Measures for radiation protection
Radiation protection is perhaps the most vital aspect of radiography, and therefore the need to have a manual for safe operation. The Philips MammoDiagnost, produces superior images and therefore when it is used, repeat scans are rare. This means that patients are exposed to the least amount of radiation possible (Philips Medical Systems, 2004). In mammography, “patient” is used to refer to two possible groups of women. The first group of women is those who have been prescribed to take breast mammographic x-ray examinations. The second group of women is the one that include women participating in programs for breast screening.
Evident in these cases is the fact that the targeted area for the scan is the breast. The same applies to all mammographic procedures. However, in order to visualize and ultimately detect abnormalities in women’s breasts, higher doses of x-rays are used than in most x-rays. It therefore results in a problem among the radiographers who work with mammography. This is because too much increase in the dose of the radiation used in the mammography could make sensitive tissue in the breast induce its breast cancer predispositions (Bushong, 2008). On the other hand, if a low radiation dose is used, the radiographers will be unable to produce an image of the breast that can be effectively used to detect abnormality (Radiological Society of North American, 2009). In cases where this happens, a repeat scan is normally conducted exposing the patient to radiation two times.
The Philips MammoDiagnost (2005) is specially designed to remove this risk and dilemma. The Philips MammoDiagnost is termed as the “optimum dose facility,” and thus the machine has the capability to select the best combination of anode and filter for specific patients. It also has other add-ons such as the specialized system of four focal spots. Its x-ray tube also has a dual-track system. The above features combine to ensure that each breast condition is given a dose that is the lowest possible for it. This is particularly vital for women whose breasts are dense for radiology, especially those who are young (Byng 1998).
There are a number of other crucial radiation protection measures in carrying out mammographic procedures. The forces that are currently in healthcare have a two-faced impact on radiographers. First, physicians are prescribing mammographic scans to more women worldwide due to the increase in the number of aged women all over the world, and due to the quest by physicians to diagnose serious conditions like cancer early. Secondly, radiographers have been given more reporting obligations than in the past. In mammographic procedures, the exposure to radiation is determined by a measure known as entrance skin exposure (ESE).
The ESE is used because of its ease of access with TLDs (thermo luminescent dosimeters). It is now recommended that mammography should use an ESE of 800 mR/view. The potential of the x-ray should not exceed 26kVp because this leads to low image quality that renders the images unusable (Bushong, 2008). Radiographers should also ensure that they are aware of the Glandular dose (Dg) of the patient’s mammography. This is approximately 15% of the ESE of the patient.
The reason for this is that the exposure of the glandular tissue to radiation can possibly lead to dangerous biological responses. Therefore, an important responsibility of a radiographer is to ensure patients are protected from radiation. With the Philips MammoDiagnost, this is guaranteed due to its optimized compression and its control of radiation dosage that uses W/Rh instead of Mo/Mo (Philips Medical Systems, 2004). The optimized compression is as shown below.
Philips Medical Systems’ “Optimized Compression” in the PhilipsMammoDiagnost (2005).
How to safeguard electromechanical safety
Among the first steps in ensuring that mammographic equipment is electromechanically safe is consultation with an electrical utility provider to ensure that the design of the equipment is in conformity with the national and state requirements. In addition to this, the room housing the mammographic equipment must be strategically designed such that the electrical inputs and outputs are properly located to ensure that electrical wires and cords are kept off the ground.
The supply of electricity should be examined in terms of rating, protection (fuses), as well as the provision of earth and isolator. The internal and external wiring of the equipment should be organized. Modifications, extra wiring, and addition of devices should be thoroughly investigated. For the internal wiring, a service engineer has to be present when it is being carried out. Cable protection is paramount especially if the cables cross metal panels and covers. Cables should also be monitored to ensure that they are not strained or stretched. Removal of covers should only be done using tools to prevent possible contact with live parts (Fintor 1995).
Installation of accessorizing equipment should be guided by prescribed instructions and the equipment should be stable. Powered movement in the set-up of the equipment should be operated through ‘dead man’ type controls. Emergency stop devices should also form part of the set-up. Pressure protection should form part of the x-ray tube. Provision of an interlock is vital because it prevents vertical movement and rotation of U-arm assembly by power after compression. The compression device should be designed to apply less than 300 Newton, while the power driven force of compression should be less than 200 Newton. The equipment must be able to release compression after system failure (Fintor 1995)
How to maximize clinical utilization
The manufacturers of Philips MammoDiagnost (2005) have designed the machine with many features with an aim of increasing its efficiency and effectiveness. The guarantee of the product is represented as “A versatile system for high volume screening” (Philips Medical Systems, 2004). The system is bound to make a difference is patient traffic after hitting the ground in any radiology department. Below is an image of the system’s “Isocentric Rotation” feature.
Philips Medical Systems’ “Isocentric Rotation” in the PhilipsMammoDiagnost (2005).
In order to increase the utilization of the equipment, the system for patient movement works in two ways. The first way is the placement of the patient in a position of optimal scanning using a motor. This is done as quickly as possible. In addition to this, the system has the capability to maintain accurate height of the object in all possible projections. This two-step functionality of the system ensures that no time is wasted as patients manually position themselves. It also ensures that chances of the occurrence of motion artefacts are decreased.
An incorporated Bucky system and an anti-scatter grid are required in mammographic x-ray equipment in order to determine the quality of the image. Among the advantages of this machine is the fact that it can change collimation automatically by switching between formats. This implies that the machine saves time and allows for more scans.
Philips Medical Systems’ “Pivoting Buckys” in the PhilipsMammoDiagnost (2005).
The Philips MammoDiagnost has other additional features for speeding up its scanning procedures. It has magnification controls that are fast and easy to operate, it gives the radiographer special views and it has a function for stereotactic biopsies.
The design of the machine has also made it more user-friendly, and thus a large art of the population is bound to benefit from it. Bariatric and geriatric patients are also among the people who benefit from the system because of the machine’s maximization of accessibility by patients and its ergonomic design (Philips Medical Systems, 2004). The aforementioned increase in the comfort of users and patients while using the system is attributable to the optimization of dose control and the positioning function of the system.
Quality Assurance
The process of mammography needs rigid Quality Assurance (QA) because of its associated risks. In the first place, unnecessary radiation exceeding the required radiation can cause cancer (Health Canada, 1995). Other scholars believe that if the compression employed by the technique exceeds its limits, tumours can begin to metastasize. That happens in case the patient had a pre-existing tumour. Finally, in order to make good use of mammography, there is need for a high degree of accuracy. A dysfunctional system or wrong parameters will therefore render the technique ineffective. In addition to this, a large number of patients develop emotional trauma after undergoing mammography. It is therefore of essence to ensure that Quality Assurance is of highest degree.
In mammography, it is vital that the equipment is working properly, and that all staff members are conversant with the system in order to benefit the patents fully. A careful analysis of the cost of offering mammography scans will show that expensive resources are needed to start and maintain a credible QA program. A QA program will need well-paid staff, test equipment, and external agencies. In addition to this, test images and staff training add to the cost (Bushong, 2008). Despite these costs, a good QA program has many benefits to the mammography department. The resources will be used well in settings that are well managed. The mammography equipment will also stay longer if the department has a QA program. The flow of patients will increase, and thus the departments will have better funding and better outcomes related to patient care.
A QA in mammography requires a minimum of three team members. In this tem, the radiologist is the leader and thus he/she should be in charge of the other team members. After the radiologist, the next person in charge should be a medical physicist. He/she is the one responsible for the technical issues associated with mammography as well as the physical equipment. The team also needs to have a radiographer. After establishing the team, there is need for a breakdown of annual, quarterly, monthly and daily tasks (Farria 1994). Weekly and daily tasks relate to cleanliness of the mammography room and equipment. Visual aspects of the machine are checked on a monthly basis. Quarterly QA usually involves evaluation of the performance of the mammography in the quarter and the making of necessary adjustments and corrections. For instance, correction repeat scans.
Annual QA involves evaluation of the system as a whole
Indicators
The QA that relates to indicators of the system aims at ascertaining that the system clearly indicates the base status. Additionally, users of the system must be able to access the mains of the system easily, and switch it on or off. The energized status of the x-tube should be clearly shown by a visible sign in the control panel. Users should be able to select either manual or automatic from the control panel.
Collimation and alignment of beam
The safety from radiation should not be compromised by the inclusion of ROI. The medical physicist must check the x-ray to make sure that it is in alignment with the light field. The film and the paddle must be aligned such that the film does not form part of the image.
Radiation output and Exposure Switch
At this level, Quality Assurance can be about the increment of the safety of the patient after each exposure. This level also offers a chance for ensuring that some design elements are practically assessed. For instance, users can ensure that the exposure switch stands 2 meters from the tube focus, and that it has a protective screen.
Half-Value Layer (HVL)
The medical physicist does this section’s QA. It involves the accuracy and reproducibility of kvp. HVL is used in this level to assess the dose rate.
AEC Performance
AEC standing for Automatic Exposure Control is another area where the medical physicist comes in handy during QA. This area is partly involved with the measurement of thickness compensation.
Compression device
Among the most controversial processes of mammography is the process of compressing the breast before the actual scanning. It is therefore vital that this area forms an indispensable part of the QA. The compression, driven by power, should come down to at most 70 N.
System resolution
Image quality and diagnosis are also areas of great concern in mammography. It is therefore vital to acquire quality images for a diagnosis that is based on better information that is more reliable.
Mean glandular dose
The dose to soft tissues like glands must be keenly monitored in order to ensure that excessive radiation does not result. This is because the latter can lead in adverse reactions in the soft tissues.
Summary
To sum it up, mammography is a vital procedure because of its usefulness in early breast cancer diagnosis. The operation of the mammography requires electromagnetic safety, radiation protection, and quality assurance.
For the best service of the mammography system, there is need to reduce the radiation dose, increase the flow of patients, use the available resources more efficiently, increase the budgetary performance of the department and make the mammography equipment last for long. There is also need to have a rigid QA program. This must involve three individuals headed by the radiologist. The others include a mammography specialist and a medical physicist. Tasks are scheduled on a yearly, quarterly, monthly, and daily basis. The radiographer must ensure that reliable QA is put in place because it is vital in radiology.
In their initial stages of internationalization, Matsushita involved other local companies to merchandise their products. The company had not established international distribution centers and hence had to collaborate with local distributors from prospective nations. After some time, their products were gaining popularity, which prompted them to obtain distribution licenses. It was also necessary for them to employ local traders to facilitate the distribution as they had little understanding of the local market.
Philips on the other hand established its international brands by having similar names for other branches. The company established British Philips and American Philips. The company only had to establish its brand names and adopt a similar production strategy. The two companies differed in strategies mainly because of their international acceptability and their market share.
From the analysis, it is clear that by the time Philips was launching its products internationally, its market had already accepted the products. Matsushita on the other hand had to employ a lot of marketing strategy internationally to attain recognition.
Strategies Implemented by Matsushita and Philips
The current strategies employed by Matsushita and Philips are to cope with tight competition from other companies. For instance, for the past two decades Philips has faced a lot of competition especially in the international market. This has led to losses especially on their products, which led to the loss of consumer taste thereby leading to the disbandment of the products. The operating cost of their international branches became more than the profits they obtained.
This is mainly because of local brands that are preferred due to their lower costs. The company is hence obliged to produce exceptionally high quality goods and close some of its distribution centers to minimize on the running cost. Matsushita on the other hand decided to employ Japanese managers with the hope of bringing in new ideas. Being an electronic company, Matsushita recognized the technological goodwill that Japan had internationally and realized how such expertise will market them.
The Japanese manage most of the companies’ international branches. These strategies have worked well for the companies and enabled them retain a share in the market. The companies however have to venture into continuous marketing research to ensure they are at par with current trends (Chandler 2005).
The greatest challenges for implementing this strategic shift faced by managers at Matsushita and Philips
The greatest challenge facing Matsushita and Philips is competition from local companies. With improvements in technology and the need for electronic products both locally and internationally, local companies have come up with a cheaper version of the products (Rodiek 2007). Despite the fact that they are not of high quality, they are preferred because of their cheap price. Another major challenge faced by the companies is the introduction of counterfeits.
Some local companies are coming up with fake products with the brand name of Matsushita and Philips and selling them to unsuspecting customers. They sell them at a cheaper price than the originals and hence attracting more customers. The illiteracy among the company’s customers has jeopardized the efforts by the companies to educate the public on their original products.
Most of them do not know how to differentiate between the original and counterfeit products (Great Britain. Dept. of Trade and Industry 1979). The companies will have to keep investing in extensive marketing as well as advertisements. Dynamism is also necessary in ensuring that what they are producing is according to the current tastes of customers.
References
Chandler, A. (2005). Inventing the electronic century: the epic story of the consumer electronics and computer industries: with a new preface. London: Harvard University Press.
Great Britain. Dept. of Trade and Industry. Trade and industry, Volume 36. (1979). Michigan: H. M. Stationery Off.
Rodiek, C. (2007). Assessment of the Internal Environment of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. New York: Publisher GRIN Verlag.
After facing a certain amount of losses over the years, the Ceo of Philips has decided to undergo reorganization, with the hope of increasing profits. It has dumped some of its outdated products and merged related divisions to cut costs as well as become more focused. It has named this reorganization Vision 2010, which has some set goals and targets to be achieved. This decision has pros as well as cons for the company.
Philips Maps Out a New Direction
Company information
Royal Philips Electronics dates back to 1891 when it started making carbon-filament lamps in the Netherlands. Over the years, the list of inventions has only been growing to include many breakthroughs that have continued to enrich people’s everyday lives. Some of their basic consumer electronics include TVs, VCRs, DVD players, and fax machines. But it also makes light bulbs, electric shavers and other personal care products. In September 2004, Philips launched its “sense and simplicity” brand promise, which marked a new way forward for the company.
Reorganization at Philips
Recently, Philips has announced a reorganization to increase its profits. This is to be called, Vision 2010.One of its aims is to double operating profits by 2010. Philps is now focusing on three main markets i.e healthcare, lighting (formerly Philips Medical Systems) and consumer “lifestyle” products like domestic (formerly Philips Consumer Electronics and Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care appliances and consumer electronics). Each division has its CEO to look after its work. This way the employees are much more focused and driven to work for a specific product line. Its LCD TV has also become one of the top LCD TVs worldwide even taking over the Chinese markets. To improve on its lighting division, Philips has also acquired the company “Color Kinetics” last June. Philips says the move will save between 150 million euros (206.58 million dollars) to 200 million euros (275.47 million dollars) in expenses. By 2010, Philips expects the earnings before interest, taxes and amortization margin of its current businesses to exceed 10 percent from its current level of 7.5 percent, which it said was on course.
Strengths of this reorganization
Global brand…it has international brand recognition, and it can work on its current achievement of jumping in the Interbrand global ranking from 65th to 42nd position.
Diversified product and service portfolio….Philips has quite some products available and has vast experience in the electronic market.
Global operations….is has its operations worldwide which is a major plus worldwide.
Weaknesses of this reorganization
Weak cash flow from operation Sluggish revenue growth of consumer electronics division ……since it had been left behind by companies such as GE and Panasonic and they are still a major threat. If again Philip’s fails to prove its worth, one of these companies can take over.
Lost consumer trust ….which is evident from the following comment GE was in a pickle some decades ago, Philips was larger than GE, yet GE turned around into a well know well managed supergiant. Philips stagnated. Even though Philips invented so much of everything in common use. Others ran with Philips concepts and ideas and outsold Philips with their ideas. Samsung and LG came out of nowhere in 10 years, became a common name in the U.S. Philips has been here since the 1930’s!!!
The CEO is aware that the targets set by him are not at all easy to achieve.
What we have changed in the way we approach leadership is first of all that we have required everyone to look beyond the boundaries of his or her own activity.
There is no one big bang that is suddenly going to get us into growth mode. Each of our leaders has to work on several initiatives. Some will fail and some will succeed. You nurture the ones that promise to be successful” (Gerard Kleisterlee speaking in European Business Forum, 2007).
In the beginning, when Philips went worldwide, there arose congestion in the electric lamp industry and the company had to reposition itself for competition. The strategy entailed the establishment of sales organizations in overseas markets through joint ventures with the locals for easier market penetration. Later Philips entered into an agreement with General Electric over bilateral sharing of patents and the company changed from a highly centralized entity to a decentralized sales organization with independent marketing companies. In anticipation of the Second World War, the company had to strategize for business continuity.
It transferred all its overseas assets to British and US-based trusts. This enabled the individual country organizations to operate more independently during the war. The organizations were independent in financial, legal, administrative matters and the research function but product development, production and global distribution were handled by fourteen product divisions at Eindhoven, the headquarters. The organizations reported to a reported to the 10 member board at Eindhoven (Bartlett, 2009).
There came a time when the profitability of the company dipped and a committee was formed to draft a policy paper on the division of accountability between the organizations and the product division. The company’s strategy was to balance the managerial relationships between the PDs and National organizations with a bias towards the product divisions. Another strategy was to reduce product lines marketed by the product department and benefit from economies of scale by maximizing production. Other strategies included the Closure of inefficient scale driven plants and concentration on manufacturing centres, transformation of an old mass production line to modern flexible manufacturing cells and trimming the workforce (Bartlett, 2009).
On the other hand, Matsushita sold mostly through mass merchandisers and discounters under their private brands. However, yielding to the pressure of the national governments in the developing nations, Matsushita opened plants in foreign countries. The manufacturing costs rose in the home country of Japan, the company shifted the more basic production to low wage countries. Almost all high-value components and subassemblies remained in the scale intensive Japanese plants (Bartlett, 2009). Another strategy was issuing the local managers with discretions on how to achieve the targets set by the parent company. This allowed for innovation as a response to the local market conditions. Local nationals held key positions but remained supported by Japanese advisors with strong links to the parent company (Bartlett, 2009).
The Differences in Strategy
Phillips focused on establishing a global portfolio of organizations that were responsive while Matsushita tried to achieve its global competitive edge by centralizing and ensuring efficient operations (Bartlett, 2009).
Strategies Implemented By Matsushita and Philips
Philips has generally shifted to relocating production to low wage areas to maximize the returns. There is also the closure of inefficient scale driven plants and concentration on manufacturing centres. The focus is also on the transformation of old mass production lines to modern flexible manufacturing cells. Market strategy through expansion into software, services and multimedia. To cut costs, the company has carried out layoffs (Bartlett, 2009).
At Matsushita, the strategy coined as operation localization was carried out to boost the offshore production in terms of personnel, technology, material and capital. Local nationals held key positions but remained supported by Japanese advisors with strong links to the parent company. This ensures the protection of the company products. Another strategy is the dropping the lifetime employment practice and workforce occasionally trimmed through early retirements this is known for cost containment (Bartlett, 2009).
Challenges Faced By Managers at Matsushita and Philips in Implementing Changes
The global financial meltdown affects companies trading internationally through increased trade barriers and high tariffs. The industry is very competitive and product innovation has to continually be in evolution. The costs incurred for payment for layoffs in an attempt to trim the human labour cost are also very high.
Reference
Bartlett, C. (2009). Social Science Research Network: Philips versus Matsushita: Competing Strategic and Organizational Choices. MA, Harvard Business School. Web.
