Musical Links Investigation

Fred Kim Mr. Gillespie IB Music 12 April, 2011 Musical Links Investigation Music is a type of correspondence that fluctuates particularly among various nations similarly as every nation has their own language. Be that as it may, music doesn't just change with area, yet additionally with timeframe and the neighboring melodic societies. To explore how two extremely particular and distinctive melodic societies can be associated through their melodic characteristics, I will look at the likenesses and contrasts between sentimental period and old style period music of flute.Moreover, I will concentrate on one instrument, woodwind, since I have incredible enthusiasm for it, and I have a ton of experience of examining and playing out the instrument. In this examination, I will concentrate on the compositional highlights found in the music, for example, structure and structure, tone shading, state of mind, and melodic foundation. One of the most renowned old style woodwind pieces is concerto in G major No. 1 K313 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Despite the fact that it is generally realized that woodwind was Mozart’s least most loved instrument, the concerto is delightfully written as far as assortment of surface and structure, yet additionally the unobtrusive changes in mood.The concerto is made out of three developments which each has particular attributes. The main development is Allegro maestoso, second development is Adagio mama non troppo and the last development is Rondo: Tempo di Mennuetto. The symphonic part incorporates instrumental strings, two oboes, and two horns. This little size of symphony assume a huge job in accentuating the soloist and moving the mind-set and beat of the music before the soloist comes in. The other piece that I will contrast with the Concerto in G major by Mozart is Concerto in D operation. 283 via Carl Reinecke.It is written in Romantic period and is made out of three developments. The first is Allegro Moderato, the second is Lento e Mesto, and the third development is Moderato. This concerto was composed just before Reinecke passed on. In this manner, the song is increasingly hair-raising and quick contrasted with the showy and upbeat tunes that Mozart had made. The symphonic part remembers all instruments with diminished size for each area. The principal primary similitude that I saw looking at the two woodwind concertos from two diverse timeframe was their structure. Both concertos are made out of three movements.The first is both allegro, the second is both moderate and the last development is the finale for both concertos and is quick and smooth. Not just from the outside perspective, when we take a gander at the inside structure of the pieces from every development, would we be able to discover numerous similitudes. The two pieces start with presenting the primary topic and song and develop it by including varieties from it. Later on, from the two pieces, we can see that the melodic structure falls into u nder a minor harmony making a pitiful and grave state of mind. After somewhat more minor departure from the song and beat, the two pieces go to a recapitulation.Both again presenting the primary subject, forms into another arrangement of minor departure from the tune and cadence which are commonly additionally muddling and higher in notes. Another intriguing element to think about is the opportunity of style, promotion libs, and cadenzas. All in all, Classical pieces are viewed as progressively limited in the manner that soloists perform. They are generally musically stricter than Romantic pieces. Nonetheless, promotion libs, to a specific level, are permitted and are regularly included by well known players, for example, James Galway and Jean-Pierre Rampal.They include some elegance notes, mordents, or trills that were not composed on the score. By doing this, old style pieces give some opportunity in playing in a specific way. Not exclusively are that, in the Concerto in G by Moza rt, there two cadenzas; One in first development and the other in the third development. This Cadenza allowed entertainers to uncover their genuine capacities in both specialized and melodic perspective. Then again, in Romantic Pieces, advertisement libs are typically not permitted, which appears to give it less freedom.However, Romantic piece as a rule has more opportunity of musicality. In this way, entertainers of the Reinecke Concerto generally communicate by differing the beat. Also, in certain melodies, for example, Chaminade Concertino and Mendelsshon Violin Concerto in E minor has cadenzas that are composed as of now however gives the entertainers opportunity to do anything they desire. In this manner, the two time frames that I am looking at both give the entertainers a specific measure of opportunity in playing however neither one of the gives full opportunity to play how ever they wish.By contrasting the two distinct times of western music, Classical and Romantic, I had t he option to acknowledge how Romantic created from Classical, advancing into progressively trademark kind of music. By looking at the m melodically, agreeably, fundamentally, and musically, I had the option to comprehend top to bottom how music times of various time can have certain likenesses and contrasts. In addition, by just contrasting the flute melodies, I was progressively ready to see how despite the fact that all â€Å"languages† appear to be changed, they are on the whole methods of correspondence and they do have likenesses.

Service description Essay Example for Free

Administration depiction Essay Exceed expectations Hygiene’s administrations are arranged around 2 significant classifications: Cleaning and Waste Management. Cleaning is sub-isolated in to pathogen evacuation, and irritation the executives. Squander Management is sub-separated in to on location and off-site tasks. This administration structure is intended to meet all studied client prerequisites, and equivalents the broadest assistance go offered by any of the significant rivals in the section. All administrations won't be important for each site, yet the range will bolster the situating of the organization has a solitary window administration for all cleaning and waste removal needs. In any case, squander tasks will be constrained to bio-clinical materials which can't be put in ordinary assortment territories, or permitted to enter sewage frameworks. So also, cleaning will be confined to keeping pathogens beneath irresistible levels. Cleaning in the lay feeling of the term won't be taken in to contracts on account of the low worth expansion and non-specific nature of the work. Exceed expectations Hygiene will offer help ensures as far as time and quality. This implies teams will visit locales at concurred frequencies. Activities will comply with guidelines for bio-clinical waste and will meet contamination control standards. The last can be affirmed by autonomous microbiology tests on encompassing air, water, surfaces, and natural materials. Microbiology for culture conservation, substance sourcing, calculation advancement, specialized review, and establishment improvement will be in-house capacities. Treatment activities, off-site cremation and compacting, and activity approval will be redistributed to prepared franchisees and to autonomous microbiology research centers. This division of work will serve to ensure the new company’s restrictive bacterial societies, and will console clients about the impacts of treatment simultaneously. The board Structure Excel Hygiene has been set up as a firmly held privately owned business. 90% of the settled up value has been given by financial speculators, which have likewise given assurances and security to long haul credits and spinning working capital assets. 10% of the value has been outfitted from the investment funds of the official group, and they have value rights from their portions of anticipated benefits, to the degree of another 10% of the possession. Consequently, the drawn out possession will dwell to the degree of 20% with the establishing officials, while 80% will be held by investors. The last will undoubtedly hold their speculations for in any event 5 years after beginning up. The organization may list on a stock trade after this first period. Just one of the establishing officials has a capability in Business Management, so she will work as the Chief Executive Officer of Excel Hygiene. The investors will reserve the option to name an individual from their association to head Management Services, which will incorporate all Finance and Accounting capacities. Targets and Goals To dispatch another bacterial based innovation for the executives of bio-clinical squanders To present novel disease control innovation in medicinal services settings, to give options to by and by utilization of poisonous synthetic concoctions. To offer complete, dependable, and quality cleaning and waste administration administrations to the best wellbeing section of land organizations in a characterized geological territory. To produce high edges for capital compensation back in under 5 years. To accomplish a significant market section portion of 1%.

Grammar Mistakes Even The Best Magazine Writers Make

Grammar Mistakes Even The Best Magazine Writers Make After working as a copyeditor for a regional magazine for the past several years, Ive seen a wide variety of content come across my desk. Some of it has been a breath of fresh airâ€"a writer that was as meticulous with grammar as he or she was spellbinding with word choice. Some of it was several notches below this category, with content that would have been appealing if it hadnt included multiple clichés and grammar mistakes.One would assume that freelance writers who have been chosen to write content for a magazine would be above such mistakes in their writing. This is far from the truth, as many magazines invite local bankers, real estate agents, mayors and celebrities to submit articles for a certain section, regardless of the level of their writing skills. Then, there are the freelance writers who, by some small miracle, write a piece about something interesting and catch the editors eye. These writers might be published once but as soon as the copyeditor complains about the la ck of professionalism and grammar skills, it is doubtful that the editor will invite another piece from the author.The easiest way to avoid seeming unprofessional in your craft is to hire a copyeditor or proofreader to ensure that your piece contains flawless grammar before you submit it to an editor for review. Polishing up a piece on the front-end is a lot better than being embarrassed about obvious grammar mistakes that are put into print and could have been avoidedâ€"or attempting to salvage your career after being labeled as an unprofessional writer.Therefore, if you are attempting to break into the world of freelance journalism by writing for magazines, here are a few simple grammar mistakes that even the best writers make sometimes, but should be avoided, when possible.Who vs. WhomAt the risk of sounding like an overzealous grammar teacher, this is a pet peeve of many copyeditors that can be easily avoided. If you want the technical explanation, who is a subjective or nominat ive pronoun that goes into the same category as he, she, it, we and they. This means that it is used as the subject of the clause or to replace one of the aforementioned pronouns. Whom, on the other hand, is an objective pronoun, fitting into the same category as him, her, it, us and them. When a pronoun is the object of a clause, whom is the correct choice.But what if you never did well in English grammar and get confused when terms like objective and nominative are thrown at you? Dont worryâ€"theres an easy way to know for sure if youre using who and whom correctly. Look at the following sentence:Who/whom will I ask to the dance?Since the who/whom choice is at the beginning of the sentence, your first impulse might be to use who, right? Well… dont. Whether its at the beginning, middle or end of the sentence makes little difference. The real questions you should be asking yourself are:How can I rephrase this question?Did I use a nominative pronoun (he/she) or objective pronoun (h im/her) when I rephrased the question?The answer to question 1 is:Will I ask her to the dance?The answer to question 2 is:I used an objective pronoun (her); therefore, whom is the correct choice here.That vs. WhichThis mistake permeates writing on multiple levels, from amateur to graduate-level writing and beyond. However, theres a simple way to ascertain which to use, and it all boils down to one question:Is the clause that follows necessary for the meaning of the sentence?If the answer is yes, then use that. If the answer is no, then use a comma, followed by which.Consider the following sentence:I only eat meat products that are free-range and hormone-free.If we take away the clause following that, namely that are free-range and hormone-free, would the meaning of the sentence change drastically?I only eat meat products.The answer is yes, it would change. There is a lot of difference between the meaning of the first example and the second example. Therefore, that was the correct ch oice here.Now, consider the following sentence:I only eat vegetarian, which is a lifestyle I enjoy.If we take away the clause following which, namely which is a lifestyle I enjoy, would the meaning of the sentence change drastically?I only eat vegetarian.The answer is no, it wouldnt change. The information that followed the comma and which was additional information but the meaning of the sentence stays the same: this person only eats vegetarian. Therefore, which was the correct choice here.Affect vs. EffectThe easiest way to avoid this grammar mistake is to look at how the word is used in the sentence. If the word is used as a verb, it is almost always affect. If the word is used as a noun, it is almost always effect.Consider the following sentences:I was affected by the words you used today.Those words had an effect on me.Its vs. ItsIve seen many editors make this mistake; its that common. However, the explanation for which to use is a simple one:Use its when you are showing posse ssion. For example:The dog bit at its collar all day.Use its when you are showing the contraction of it is. For example:Its a sad day when we cant even stand for the national anthem.

Animal Testing Should Be Banned - 1656 Words

[Type text] [Type text] [Type text] 1 Prejean The use of animals in research is a widely controversial topic in today?s scientific community and raises an important ethical issue. Do animals make appropriate research subjects and is it absolutely necessary to use animals to test the safety of products? Animal testing can be referred to in a number of ways including animal research and animal experimentation, all of which involve experiments performed on animals to test the safety and effectiveness of things ranging anywhere from cosmetics to medication for humans. Products that commonly use animal testing include drugs, supplements, pesticides, cosmetics, food additives, household products and industrial chemicals. This debate affects many people both directly and indirectly because new medications and products must first pass tests in animals before they can be approved for human use. Although many people argue that these new products should first be tested in animals before ever being administered to a human, I believe that the use of animals to test these products is not necessary and there are many new alternative methods that can be used to determine the success of these products in humans. There are many reasons supporting a move away from the use of animals in research experiments. As early as 500 BC, famous scientists used animals in experiments in order to better understand how living organisms? function. However, with great advances in science andShow MoreRelatedShould Animal Testing Be Banned?844 Words   |  3 PagesShould animal testing be banned? Nowadays, a lot of animals has been tested on a range of experiments over the world. You could be supporting animal teasing cruelty without knowing it. Have you ever check if there’s animal testing on the cosmetics before you buy it? Today, a lot of cosmetics has been testing on helpless animals and there are about 1.4 million animals die each year from animal testing ( CatalanoJ, 1994). Most of the experiments that are completed in the laboratories are very cruelRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned880 Words   |  4 Pagesdepending on animals testing. Therefore, if people talk about laboratories, they should remember animal experiments. Those animals have the right to live, according to people who dislike the idea of doing testing on animals; the other opinion, supports the idea of animal testing as the important part of the source of what has reached medicine of the results and solutions for diseases prevalent in every time and place. Each year huge numbers of animals a re sacrificed for the science all these animals, whetherRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned776 Words   |  4 PagesAnimal Testing Should be Banned  ¨Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisioned and abused in US labs every year ¨ ( ¨11 Facts About Animal Testing ¨). Imagine if that was someones animal getting tortured in labs just to test things such as beauty products and perfume. Animal testing was first suggested when,  ¨Charles Darwin evolutionary theory in the mid 1850s also served to suggest that animals could serve as effective models to facilitate biological understanding in humans ¨ (Murnaghan)Read MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned940 Words   |  4 Pages1). Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in US labs every year. 2). 92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials. (DoSomething â€Å"11 Facts About Animal Testing†). There are currently no laws combating the testing of cosmetics on animals, but the practice is harmful and must be ended. As evidenced by the statistics above, millions of animals are tortured and murdered in the United States every year for virtually no reasonRead MoreShould Animal Testing Be Banned?1665 Words   |  7 PagesTesting Cosmetics on Animals Companies around the world use animals to test cosmetics. Animals, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and mice, are used to test the effects of chemicals on the eyes and skin. While animal testing is not mandatory, many companies use it. About Cosmetics Animal Testing by the Humane Society International talks about the different options companies have that do not require the cruel use and eventual death of animals. The article also talks about the overallRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1572 Words   |  7 PagesAnimal Testing Every year, over two hundred million innocent animals are injured or killed in scientific experiments across the world. Of those animals, between seventeen and twenty million are used in the United States alone. It is said that an animal dies in a laboratory every three seconds (Animal Testing 101). Those in favor of animal experimentation say they are taking animals’ lives to save humans. It is not necessary to subject animals to torturous conditions or painful experiments in theRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1581 Words   |  7 PagesAnimal testing is being used by different organizations all over the world to prevent specific diseases, especially cancer. Americans see animal testing having a harmful effect but it is one of the main reasons why society has most cures for some illnesses. This topic is important because people need to know what goes on during animal testing and why it is very beneficial. Animal testing needs to be used to find all cures. Some ani mals such as chimps/ monkeys have 90% of the same DNA humans haveRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1721 Words   |  7 Pages † Today, more animals are being used in experiments than ever before: around 100 million in the United States alone† (3). Animal testing is now an international issue, and it is becoming a major story. Currently, animals are often used in medical testing, make-up testing, and other consumer product testing. Animals used in such product testing are often abused and suffer from serious side-effects. Animal testing can be painful for the animals, testing results are usually not even useable forRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned1364 Words   |  6 Pagesbenefit. Using animals for these experimentations usually does not come to mind. Animals are often abused, suffer, and even die during laboratory testing for the benefits of people to make sure medications, household products, newest procedures, and cosmetics are safe and effective for human use. Humans have benefited from animal testing for years while these animals suffer consequences with no positive outcomes for themselves. Even if a product or procedure is deemed successful, these animals are frequentlyRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned Essay1632 Words   |  7 Pages Animal Testing Should Be Banned Throughout the decades, animals have been used in medical research to test the safety of cosmetics including makeup, hair products, soaps, perfume, and countless of other products. Animals have also been used to test antibiotics and other medicines to eliminate any potential risks that they could cause to humans. The number of animals worldwide that are used in laboratory experiments yearly exceeds 115 million animals. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of

The Negro Speaks Of Rivers - 1548 Words

Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, and playwright whose African-American themes names him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. After moving from several cities, Hughes and his mother finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio. During this time, Hughes began to write poetry. One of his teachers introduced him to the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, both whom Hughes would later cite as primary influences. By the time Hughes was enrolled at Columbia University in New York, he had already launched his literary career with his poem â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† in the Crisis, edited by W.E.B. DuBois. He also committed himself to writing mainly about African Americans. Leaving Columbia in 1922, Hughes spent the next three years in a succession of menial jobs and traveling abroad. He returned in late 1924, but by then he was well known in African American literary circles as a gifted young poet. Early on he was heavily influenced by the works of Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg. Black poets Paul Laurence Dunbar, a master of both dialect and standard verse, and Claude McKay, a radical socialist who also wrote accomplished lyric poetry influenced Hughes as well. However, Sandburg, who Hughes later called â€Å"my guiding star,† was decisive in leading him toward free verse- a radically democratic modernist aesthetic. Langston Hughes rose to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. His first two books, The Weary Blues (1926) and Fine Clothes to theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Negro Speaks Of Rivers796 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† - Langston Hughes â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† by Langston Hughes is a 10 line lyric poem in free verse. This poem is compiled of 5 stanzas with various line lengths. â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† doesnt rhyme, however, the repetition of the word â€Å"rivers† insinuates transition. This essay focuses on the importance of the word â€Å"rivers† throughout the poem because it discusses the origins of humanity and the interplay between racism and equality. Hughes discusses theRead MoreThe Negro Speaks Of Rivers By Langston Hughes1055 Words   |  5 Pagesthe poem â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† by Langston Hughes. So first of all PERSON 2 who is Langston Hughes and when did he write â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers†? Langston Hughes was a novelist, fiction, poet, playwright and fiction writer. He is known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through to the sixties and was important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote the poem â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† while on a trainRead MoreAn Analysis of The Negro Speaks of Rivers Essay952 Words   |  4 Pagespoems, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, was written in 1921, long before Hughes would actually travel the world. However, without knowing the authors background and history, one might think it was written by a wise man of old age. Having only lived in various places in the United States, Hughes wrote this poem of an African American man who has seen the world, full with things many people never get to see, that nourished his soul and formed bonds with humans deepest roots. The four rivers the narratorRead MoreSymbolism in The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langs ton Hughes1074 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism in â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† by Langston Hughes Symbolism embodies Hughes’ literary poem through his use of the river as a timeless symbol. A river can be portrayed by many as an everlasting symbol of perpetual and continual change and of the constancy of time and of life itself. People have equated rivers to the aspects of life - time, love, death, and every other indescribable quality which evokes human life. This analogy is because a river exemplifies characteristics that can beRead MoreAnalysis of Langston Hughes ´ The Negro Speaks of Rivers927 Words   |  4 PagesHughes has tried multiple times to reconnect with his father, but it never succeeded. Although Langston Hughes has a complicated relationship with his father it led him to write one of the most well-known novels that gave him recognition: Negro Speaks of Rivers. Langston Hughes was born February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes’s father, James Nathaniel Hughes, left him and his mother and headed to Mexico. Hughes, his mother unable to provide for him, lived with his grandmother in LawrenceRead More Symbolism and Allusion in Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers720 Words   |  3 PagesSymbolism and Allusion in Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers In Langston Hughes poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, he examines some of the roles that blacks have played throughout history. Ultimately, the poem asserts that in every one of these aspects the black people have been exploited and made to suffer, mostly at the hands of white people. The poem is written entirely in first person, so there is a very personal tone, even though the speaker symbolizes the entire black race.Read MoreLangston Hughes s Poem, Negro Speaks Of Rivers964 Words   |  4 PagesIn Langston Hughes’ inspirational poem, â€Å"Negro Speaks of Rivers,† he expresses, â€Å"My soul has grown as deep like the rivers,† (lines 4 and 13), describing how his encounters with racial intolerance have made him stronger as a person in both spiritual and emotional ways; rather than to just step down and submit to the cruelty of racism. The quote could also be interpreted as a sign of perseverance and hope for people who have experienced not only racial injustic e, but other forms of degradation inRead More The Use of Symbols in Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers570 Words   |  3 PagesThe Use of Symbols in Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers The poem ?The Negro Speaks of Rivers? by Langston Hughes contains many symbolic meanings about the identity of African Americans. Throughout the poem Hughes uses metaphorical statements to suggest to the reader what the soul of the African American has been through. The symbols of the old rivers from which the African American ideal has risen can be interpreted in many different ways. They represent the birth and growth ofRead More Sound and Sense in Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers 1431 Words   |  6 PagesSound and Sense in Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks of Rivers    The text of the poem can be found at the bottom of this page.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Langston Hughes poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Hughes makes use of some interesting poetic techniques. This poem is written in free verse, and seems, at first glance, to be very unstructured. Hughes repeats words and lines, but does not make use of repeated sounds. Hughes rivers are very rich in symbolism, and are not just simple bodies of waterRead MoreAnalysis Of Langston Hughes Poem The Negro Speaks Of Rivers 1242 Words   |  5 PagesDaniel Lemaire Professor Merton Lee EN-101-12 28 October 2014 Essay 2 While reading Langston Hughes’ poem, â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers† the theme of roots is predominant throughout the reading, this theme raises question to the whole meaning of the poem. Although the word â€Å"roots† itself is never in the actual text, it contains strong details of the poem promoting deep imagery and depiction of veins, tributaries, and the roots of the plants and trees. Hughes wanted to give the reader the illusion

Planning for a Perfect Wedding Free Essays

PLANNING FOR A PERFECT WEDDING On every girl’s mind, when planning a wedding, all you really want is the wedding of a lifetime, the one that will be everyone’s talk in the town for some months. The little details like wedding supplies can make a difference between a great wedding and unforgettable ones. Supplies vary from wedding dresses to wedding labels. We will write a custom essay sample on Planning for a Perfect Wedding or any similar topic only for you Order Now Each of this is selected according to the theme of the day. Some supplies are must have. For the bride’s gown it should be well fitting, flattering to her figure and to her dream design. The right lingerie should be worn so as to be comfortable. The groom’s attire should be well fitting. It should not only give him confidence but also make him feel special and comfortable. The bridesmaid, groomsmen and pageboys should also be dressed according to the theme and the design of the bride and groom. The bouquets should be according to the theme and color of the day. The ladies hairstyles should be exotic and eye catching. Accessories should blend well with the attires they have on and not too much extravagant. The reception and venues should be well decorated according to the theme. The tables should be set, wedding napkins available, name tags available to avoid confusion on who sits where. If it is an evening wedding, the lightning should be perfect; candle holders, candle, chandeliers and floral lights create a more romantic atmosphere. We have different types of cakes. The wedding cake should be a flavor enjoyed by both the bride and the groom. Cake plates should be available for easy serving. Cupcake trees is also a nice idea, this makes sure that the cake is enough for everybody in the congregation. You can have a cake topper of your choice or just ignore it. The venue of the wedding, be it a church, a hall or outside, the place must be decorated. Floral arrangement should be perfect. Wedding centerpieces should be eye catching and breathe taking to attract attention to the theme of the wedding. They can also include a centerpiece vase that can be an artifact stealing more attention to the theme. Remember the aisle runner, it is the first thing everybody sees when they reach the venue. We have so many wedding suppliers. Some provide the whole package and some just some services. Some are quite expensive others are affordable. You need a reliable wedding supplier, not all are. Before choosing on whom to settle on, you need to have decided on the budget. You should settle for what you afford. You have to budget for all necessities like attires, rings, venue fee and transportation. The remainder of the money will decide on the number of people to invite and who the best suppliers are. Talking to someone who has already had a successful wedding is a good way of finding reliable group of people or companies to make your day the best. You should have open line of communication and work together to make your day unique. Remember to sample their products and look at their equipment before settling for any of them. Contracts are also advisable but read them carefully to make sure they are under your terms and conditions. How to cite Planning for a Perfect Wedding, Papers

Lovers in Messina Essay Example For Students

Lovers in Messina Essay Figuratively speaking, there are several ears propped to a door, eavesdropping on a conversation pivotal to Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing; a story about love; real, new and pretended, that began before the messenger arrives with his news. Two very different couples cling to each other or push one another away during five acts of masked balls, sighing under balconies, hysterics, a make-shift death and resurrection, attempts to compose poetry and finally, a feast. The lovers of Messina: innocent Hero, fiery Beatrice and their gallant knights, weak Claudio and comic Benedict stumble through abundant trickery, taking very different paths to reach the same goal: a happily-ever-after ending. Hero, though one of the main characters of the play is a silent presence for the entire First and Second Acts, given a voice only when others speak about or for her. She is first introduced not by name, but as â€Å"the daughter of Signior Leonato†, described by Claudio as a â€Å"modest young lady† and â€Å"the sweetest lady I ever laid mine eyes upon†. Hero is described by everyone as beautiful, kind and gentle. Always she was the dutiful daughter. When her father, Leonato, instructs Hero that she must consent to a wedding proposal by Don Pedro, a man she barely knows, she happily agrees. Leonato says, â€Å"Daughter remember that I told you. If the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know the answer.† In truth, Hero and her father realize later, she had not conceded to marrying Don Pedro, but Claudio. Her willingness to transport her hand from one man to another shows that it is not in her own interests that she acts, shows that her happiness is not as important as her father’s will. Claudio can declare victory, the wedding is confirmed, Hero is to be married and still she says nothing; content to be spoken for by Beatrice. â€Å"Speak cousin, or, if you cannot, stop his mouth with a kiss and let him not speak eith er.† says Beatrice. Hero is the victim in this play, the loser in a situation she was not a part of, the target of anger directed at her father and fianc. Don John, the only clear villain in the play, sought to upset Leonato and cheapen Claudio’s prize. Hero was the most virtuous amongst the characters but is horribly slandered of being promiscuous on her own wedding in front of everyone she knew. The man that was to be her husband shouted accusations to which she could not defend herself because she was a woman and always suspected of being false. Yet, despite the horror of this wedding ceremony and worse, being scorned by her father whom she had always sought to please, because of those empty words, when told by her father to do so, she happily married her cruel accuser. The exact opposite of Hero in every way is Beatrice, her rambunctious cousin. Beatrice lives in Leonato’s house and shares a room with Hero. While her cousin is the image of an innocent maiden, Beatrice has many of the characteristics of men and qualities that most other women did not have. While Hero was quiet for most of the play, Beatrice dominates most conversations. She appears to be a strong woman and is radically independent, swearing she will never get married in a time when marriage was the most important and consequential aspect of a woman’s life. â€Å"Well niece,† said Leonato’s brother. â€Å"I hope to see you one day fitted with a husband.† To which she replied, â€Å"Not till God make men of some other metal than Earth.† These two very different cousins are very close and more like sisters. Beatrice describes Hero, much like a everyone else does, as a quiet, sweet girl. She appears to be the older cousin and certainly the wises t. Beatrice is very protective of her cousin. After Hero’s abortive when she was declared a â€Å"rotten orange† by the misguided Claudio, Beatrice remained true to her cousin, unlike her rash uncle. Beatrice declared in certainty that her cousin had been wronged. Claudio is the gallant soldier just arrived from the wars in which he had distinguished himself. He can be considered both one of the heroes and villains of the play. He is a hero as Shakespeare deemed him worthy of a happy ending but also a villain for his treatment of Hero. It was proven very easy to trick Claudio as he accepted first Don Johns insinuation that Don Pedro woos Hero for himself. Claudio condemns not the Princes alleged deception but the feminine wiles he believes to have inspired it. He says, â€Å"Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent, for beauty is a witch against whose charms faith melteth into blood.† Claudio is tricked yet again by Don John into believing the figur e that he saw in Hero’s window to be his modest bride and allowed no other interpretation. However, had the circumstances been different and his young fianc not be falsely accused, denouncing her and so thoroughly insulting her on her wedding day was dishonorable. Claudio has a very weak character. Despite her being, or perhaps because she was, so much more outspoken than most other women Bene*censored* fell in love with Beatrice long before Hero and Claudio ever met. It is out of the unfortunate couple’s dead love and disastrous wedding that Beatrice and Bene*censored* discover their love. She used her newfound love with Bene*censored* to her advantage, demanding that he kill Claudio. Bene*censored* and Claudio along with Don Pedro are very good friends. It is in Bene*censored* that Claudio first confides his love for Hero. As for the relationships of these four characters, they are very different as well. From the beginning it seems that quiet Hero, the ideal young l ady and strong, honorable Claudio are to fall in love and get married. On the other hand, Beatrice and Bene*censored* appear to have a never-ending conflict that hints at a previous relationship; one that somehow ended in anger. Beatrice says, â€Å"Indeed, my Lord, he lent it me awhile, and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one. Marry, once before he won it of me with false dice. Therefore your grace may well say I have lost it.† Bene*censored* and Beatrice quarrel in a skirmish of wits which is merely a facade of their underlying attraction to each other, and an ongoing struggle of recognizing their love. Bene*censored* actually does admit that he is attracted to Beatrice. â€Å"There’s her cousin, an she were not possessed with a fury, exceeds her as much in beauty as the first of May does the last of December.†Beatrice is a strong woman firm in her ideas of not succumbing to a man, therefore becoming his wife. â€Å"I had rather hear my d og bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me,† says she to Bene*censored*. Bene*censored* is as firm in his belief of not marrying a woman. He claimed that he will never trust a woman and that if he does get married, â€Å"†¦hang me in a bottle like a cat and shoot at me.† While Beatrice and Bene*censored* banter, Claudio and his prize seem to be very much in love. But the circumstances that lead to a marriage between Hero and Claudio make it impossible that there is real love between them. In the play, the only conversation Claudio and Hero have is at their wedding when he denounced her and made public her accusation of promiscuity. Claudio’s attraction to Hero is strictly superficial; Claudio knows nothing of Hero other than her reputation for being modest and what his eyes can see of her beauty. It is also possible that Claudio was attracted by her dowry. He asked Don Pedro, â€Å"Hath Leonato any son, my lord?† Don Pedro replies that Hero is â⠂¬Å"his only heir.† An interpretation of this might be that Claudios attraction to Hero was rooted in a more tangible things than Hero’s virtue. .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 , .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .postImageUrl , .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 , .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0:hover , .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0:visited , .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0:active { border:0!important; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0:active , .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0 .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u34e68cf797093a651e69a89dfa10f6b0:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: SportsFans EssayAs gentle Hero conquers the romantic heart of young Claudio, Beatrice and Bene*censored*, seem destined to be enemies. Through trickery and eavesdropping, the two male protagonists exchange personalities with respect to our heroines, Hero and Beatrice. While Bene*censored* loves Beatrice, writes poetry for her and attempts to woo her, Claudio scorns Hero though with real anger and not the mock anger shared by Beatrice and Bene*censored*. The two female protagonists do not exchange personalities but rather situations; Beatrice no had a new love and the prospect of marriage, while it no longer seemed that Hero would ever be married. We can imagine the lives o f the lovers of Messina as they were before the play began and we can infer how they will be when the last curtain closes; it could be a happy scene. Claudio has wronged Hero, killed her; out of her death and rebirth there might be a new love. Beatrice and Bene*censored* may very well talk themselves mad but they do share a real love, one that arose from the ashes of a pretended love. Bibliography:

Mata Hari free essay sample

Mata Hari When espionage and sexual appeal intermix, Mata Hari comes to mind. Mata Hari was born Margaretha Geertruida was a Dutch exotic dancer and a double spy during World War l. She was ultimately executed in France under charges of espionage for Germany. History The earlier life of Mata Hari reflects on her transformation into a provocative spy. At an early age she began gaining fame as an exotic dancer in Paris of which she resided. She was considered a contemporary dancer in the early modern dance ovement, where she was viewed as an artistic inspiration. Her success as a dancer was aided by her promiscuous ways of flaunting her sexuality. She also became a mistress of a millionaire and was involved with some politicians and military officers. She performed throughout Europe, however, she was severely criticized by many due to her provocative ways. She ultimately became a courtesan to many high ranking military officials as her career began to decline. We will write a custom essay sample on Mata Hari or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Her Dutch origins allowed Mata to cross national borders freely. She traveled between Spain and Britain to avoid battles during WWI, yet eventually led to suspicions of her espionage work. On February 13, 1917 Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris. She was put on trial and was accused of espionage on behalf of Germany. Her role as a double agent has been believed to have caused at least 50,000 soldiers to die. Court as found her guilty as she was executed by firing squad on October 15, 1917 at the age of 41 . Conclusion The case of Mata Hari remains vague as it has derived various different stories due to a lack of actual evidence. There has been conspiracies and stories that Mata Hari was simply a scapegoat by French counterespionage. Some researchers believe she was never a double spy rather a victim of manipulative setups of which the man who recruited her was the actual spy who used her as a cover.

Nguyen Silk Flower Ltd is (NSF) The WritePass Journal

Nguyen Silk Flower Ltd is (NSF) 1. INTRODUCTION

BUSINESS MODELS AND PLANNING Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

BUSINESS MODELS AND PLANNING - Assignment Example According to wired magazine, craigslist is the currently â€Å"most popular dating site†, job searching site, apartment hunting site and selling site despite its weird business model. Craigslist does not entertain innovation, and has very few workers. However, craigslist has remained a performer in the market due to. Reaching customers: this refers to the process of using communication channels to reach the customers of a product with an aim of generating a market. Entry into a new market is very easy. This happens through the company’s ability to draw a chain of people. When the network enters into a given region and obtains a few clients, other people soon find it necessary. Product differentiation: this is the process of developing unique strategies for product positioning that spotlight the product’s true value in the market. A company needs a clear understanding of its competitors and should clearly differentiate its product from those of the competitors. Craigslist is clearly known for its dating services, job hunting among others and therefore attract so many people in those areas. Pricing: this is the determination of the amount of money that a company will charge for its product or service. This starts by an evaluation of the value customer attach on a product, consideration of production cost, consideration of competition landscape and finally determination of price. This has been the strongest point of craigslist model i.e. offering very low prices that attract and keep the customers (Osterwalder 270). Selling: this involves the actual persuading and convincing a customer to buy a product. This calls for a precise understanding of what is required to close a business deal, and subsequent organization of a sales force. Craigslist does not stock items that it deals with but rather performs the deals as an intermediary. Delivery /distribution: this is the process of transporting goods from the business premises to the

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Art - Essay Example because art involves designing and using creativity in making objects that triggers memories, educate, communicate, and trigger emotions (Harrison 11). In fact, it can be argued that art involves several human activities. It is not a must for art, to have specific qualities for it to qualify to be art. However, certain things like color, texture are considered to differentiate between good and bad art. What I value or look for in art is beauty, uniqueness, and inherent meaning. Beauty in art captivates people. When art is created to convey certain meaning such as political and emotional trigger, I consider that to be an ideal art. I expect art to act as a communication tool to different groups of people. For example, a toy created for children should act as an educative element to children. Cartoon drawings should act as warning, informative, and above all bring about joy in people’s lives. Art should be used to represent beliefs and norms of cultures, whereby cultures would be represented in artistic

Can War Be Abolished? Theories and Causes of War

Can War Be Abolished? Theories and Causes of War CAN WAR BE ABOLISHED Introduction   According to the Clausewitz War is a mere continuation of the policy. So the question arises can the policy be abolished? Or is war inevitable? and we may find no simple answer to these questions. War is defined as a violent action in which one side i.e. State ‘A’ endeavours to impose its will on the other side i.e. State ‘B’ through the use of force. In modern times non state actors and terrorists are also seen inviting the wrath of a state or certain states coalition. There is no single agreed upon definition of war and no two wars are ever quite similar in opposing forces, objectives and gains. Before we dwell any further in an attempt to answer the aforesaid question it is deemed pertinent to analyse the theory of war and its root causes. Only then we shall be able to seek the true answer to our question whether the war can be abolished and if so under what conditions and circumstances. Theories of War War is a complex societal phenomena rather than unchangeable human nature. History of war is as old as the recorded history of mankind on this planet, but according to war analysts this does not make it law of nature. According to Clausewitz concept of Trinity, military component of nation is a non-rational actor and subjected to political leadership in whose domain lies the rational decision making process. After the introduction of Nuclear Weapons in WW II concept of warfare has been drastically altered. The enormous destructive power of this type of weapon, which can wipe out the human race from this planet, has set such a strong deterrence that many wars have been averted particularly among the nuclear weapon states. In Bernard Brodie’s words â€Å"from now on the chief purpose of army is not to fight wars but to avert them†. There are typically two broad theories categorised by the analysts to describe the phenomenon of war. a.  Normative Theory. It seeks to find out what the things ought to be. The ethics and morals and what is right and what is wrong. Is war justified and if so under what conditions wars can be fought. b.  Empirical Theory.  This theory deals with the historical evidence of the evolution of warfare. Circumstances leading to the on set of war, various techniques employed during the conduct of war and the reasons for the victory or defeat. Reasons for War There are number of different reasons for which wars are fought amongst the states. Kenneth N Waltz describes that in the domain of international relations the identification of level of analysis i.e. â€Å"individual, state or international system† is important. Apropos in this discourse state level shall be focused as the primary level of analysis to identify the reasons of war. Some of them are briefly described in succeeding paragraphs. a.  Territorial/Border Disputes. Most wars are fought between the two states due to territorial or border disputes. Soon after the rapid decolonization process which began in first half of 20th century, the nations were found contended with or settling down their geographical borders with their neighbours. Empirical evidence shows where this element is found missing the states tend to go to war to settle their disputes, which they are unable to resolve through other means particularly the negotiations. b.  Hegemonic Ambition.The great powers in pursuit of dominance on ground and at seas waged wars through out 19th and 20th century. However, in current times this aspect is diminishing due to economic concerns and effects of global trade and commerce. c.  Internal Balance. Some times the wars are fought due to internal political disturbance where elite or ruling party in order to preserve its power or hold over the state initiates violent use of force. This type of war is often characterised by onslaught of psychological warfare directed at enemy and home front. This type is very common in the modern times. d.  Leadership Aspects.The democratic form of governing a state is gaining popularity and autocracy is giving away. The wars fought in the past were particularly characterized by the desires and lust of power by the kings and princes. Many wars were fought due to personal orientation of the tyrannical leadership. However, democracies have been found of avoiding wars primarily due to economic concerns and well being of their people. e.  Weak State vs Strong State.Since the distribution of natural resources amongst various nation-states is not equal hence some times wars are fought by strong states against weaker states to gain access to their resources. Another dimension is a weak state waging war against a parity or strong state in the realm to settle the old scores. Most of these wars have been characterized by the precondition of ‘opportunity rather than necessity’ arising out of an internal disturbance/weak situation in other country. How War Can be Abolished Throughout centuries mankind has passed through a process of evolution so is the history of warfare. Through the course of history technology has also played its part in the evolution of warfare. After years of quest man was able to invent a weapon considered enough to destroy all the inventions; Nuclear weapons have since then altered the strategy of war particularly among nuclear states or their respective alliances. Deterrence concept had never been so well established as particularly during the cold war period, which averted successfully any war between USSR and USA and/or other NATO countries in Europe. This concept of deterrence has also worked well in establishing strategic stability in South Asia and has averted major wars between India vs Pakistan or India vs China; whose source of animosity particularly lies in border disputes and resolution of Kashmir issue. Apart from nuclear deterrence there could be other multifaceted aspects which can help to abolish war. Some of these aspects are briefly discussed in succeeding paragraphs. a.  Political System.People are generally peace loving and require welfare and freedom to go about their daily life as per their desires and socio-religious practices. A democratic form of government, which is by the people, of the people, and for the people greatly manifests the true aspirations of the masses. Apropos in last century the phenomena of decolonization and rise of democratic form of governments gained popularity. Empirical evidence exists that democracies don’t like to fight wars and tend to settle inter state disputes through talks. The political and diplomatic have thus proved effective in averting the impending wars. b.  Economic Interdependence.A major effect that globalization has ensued is economic interdependence. Natural and other resources are not equally spread thought the world. The general global peace after World War II has seen increased economic interdependence amongst the states. Thus mutual dependency is also being viewed as a reason for avoiding war amongst states. Europe has seen war for hundreds of years but European Union is a success story. The EU members states are required to fulfill two preconditions to become eligible, one to have democratic form of government and second to have no border disputes with their neighbouring states. c.  Economic Strength.Countries with strong economic power are able to exert their influence on other economically weak states to do their will, without going to war with that state. Countries like USA, China, Japan, Germany and Switzerland exercise their influence in respective areas of interest due their strong economies. d.  Strong Defence.Strong defence of a nation is manifested though it’s military power. It guarantees its sovereignty and keeps impending threats at bay and enemies under check. e.  Strong Alliance.Alliance of a group of states particularly with a super power has become a source of strength. It has minimized the chances of wars of opportunity against weaker states that have joined strong alliances e.g. NATO. f.  Role of MNC’s.Due to financial implications the Multinational Corporations (MNC’s) which are spread throughout the world irrespective of political boundaries exert their influence on states as war is detrimental to their business interests. Conclusion Abolishing the war is both desirable and possible despite human limitations. The cumulative effect of political, military and economic strength coupled with higher literacy rate, acquisition of advanced technologies and employment opportunities for the youth can act as strength of national power. Socio cultural affinity and religious freedom of the masses living in an allegiance within the political boundaries and respecting the same for those living across the borders makes a state stable and less prone to war. Apropos it can be concluded that principles of social justice and mutual coexistence are the hallmarks for attaining global peace. References: Kenneth waltz The Causes of War

A case study of Amazon on its supply chain management Essay

INTRODUCTION Every company has their own supply chain in order to sort or produce goods. However, the company needs to manage supply chain to maximize its highest benefits. By having effective supply chain management, the company can ensure that the right product or service will be available at the time to the right place and at the right price (Kamal 2007). Amazon is one of the companies that have best supply chain practices in order to respond high level of responsiveness for the customers. Thereby, this paper explains about Amazon Company, analysis of Amazon’s supply chain, recommendations and barriers to implement will be discussed. Company background Amazon is an American commerce company based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The company used to be only a bookstore, but now it diversified into difference type of products. The goal of Amazon is to provide one stop shop experience where the customer can find everything on Amazon as earth’s biggest selection (Warman 2012). Amazon operates as a pure internet retailers that does not have retail store at all while the delivery will be done through Amazon’s networks of distribution centres. This operation makes the company is able to provide wider range of goods and lower cost of products with high quality. Moreover, it is also increase customer satisfaction as it supports customer convenience. An effective supply chain strategy makes the company is able to respond high level of responsiveness. Amazon balances between cost of distributions and level of services by having the efficient distribution centres and multi-tier inventory networks. However, there is a competition from substitution brands that provided the same service as Amazon, which are eBay and Walmart. Currently, eà ¸ ºBay is pushing shipping fee to the seller in order to reduce cost for the buyers while Walmart introduced free shipping to the customers but buyers have to pick up the item at the store (Amazon strategies 2010). ANALYSIS OF AMAZON SUPPLY CHAIN Most of the companies need successful supply chain management to create sustainable competitive advantages. There are various benefits from having an effective supply chain management such as inventory reduction, delivery service improvement and shorter product life cycles (Fawcett et al 2008). This part provides the scenario of Amazon’s supply chain strategy, how Amazon manages in wider context, factors influencing its supply chain, and strategic and operational implications will be evaluated. Supply chain strategy of Amazon Strategic fits According to Chopra and Meindl (2007), supply chain strategy and competitive strategy should have aligned goals. Amazon has identified their customers as highly responsiveness. In order to respond with high uncertainty demand and availability of products, the four main components drive the outcome of Amazon are having several distribution centres as a storage facilities, multi-tier inventory management, highly efficiency transportation and implement information systems to provide real time information within its supply chain. All of these factors explain how both strategies of Amazon are fit together and that makes Amazon’s supply chain successful. Inventory outsourcing The advantage of outsourcing is to help the company to focus on its core activities and cost savings (Bucki N.D.). Amazon is one of the companies that need to gain those benefits from inventory outsourcing. However, there is another side of outsourcing deals as well. Chandra (2008) argued that the company should not outsource even it was not their core activities when the demand level is increasing. The company is able to optimize the service if the stock is owned and managed efficiently. So Amazon decided to outsource only some part of its inventory in order to mitigate risks and optimize services. The products that are frequently purchased or popular were keeping and managing in-house while other products are stocked by distributors. The products will be shipped after Amazon has requested. The company acted as a trans-shipment centre (ICMR India 2003). It was a right decision for Amazon and the company is able to reduce the cost of holding large amount of  inventory while the cus tomer service is better as it shipped faster. Managing the supply chain with its wider context and organization context Price differentiated customers Dispatch and delivery options were used to divide customers into each category based on responsiveness because difference customers need difference service levels and difference prices. Amazon has provided many types of deliveries in difference costs such as free super saver delivery, one-day delivery, First-class delivery and etc (Amazon 2013). Each type of delivery reflects how fast the delivery is. It means if the customer needs very high responsiveness, get the products by tomorrow, the buyers are willing to pay more. So Amazon divided customer segments to match with its distribution systems and inventory strategy in order to control cost and service level. The company also received increased flexibility (Duran et al 2006). Moreover, there is a membership programme called Amazon prime. It provides unlimited one-day delivery for one year and it costs 49GBP. Once the buyers are member of prime, buyers will get discount if the buyers want to get express or evening delivery. The memb ers will also able to borrow kindle books for free (Amazon prime 2013). Push-pull strategy Amazon has started with pull systems. There is no inventory, no warehouse and no overhead. The company acts as a middleman who taking the orders and it will be filled by Ingram book group (Simchi-levi et al 2007). When the time has passed, the growth of the company has forced Amazon to hold some inventory in order to respond customer needs by having several distribution centres. So the strategy has changed to push-pull. The inventory is hold using a push strategy while orders are shipped using a pull strategy. The decoupling point of Amazon is distribution centres. However, some of slow items are still used pure pull strategy as there is no inventory. By having several distribution centres, the holding cost for Amazon is increased as well. Inventory segmentation The inventory network of Amazon is multi-tier inventory management. This will help the company plans and offers real time optimization service that  allows Amazon to have minimal amount of inventory needs to achieve its service level (One network N.D.). By having this network, Amazon is able to offer nearly unlimited selection. Nonetheless, the problem is each tier treats separately while not concerns about inventory of another echelon. Then bullwhip effect occurs which is inventory holding higher in each tier because there is no sharing information across the tier (Lee 2003). Amazon’s multi-tier inventory is composed of three tiers. The first tier is Amazon distribution centre. The inventory will be aggregated in distribution centres, which enables the company to hold fewer inventories. The second tier is wholesaler and partner DCs. If the products are not available from Amazon’s DC, the company will use IT systems to search for this product in partner inventories in order to assign which party will be responsible for this order. By doing this, the customer service will be high as there is no stock out experiences. Lastly, publishers, manufacturers, vendors and third-party sellers are included in third tiers. All these parties help the company to fulfill unlimited selection of goods offer in Amazon (Chiles and Dau 2005). Factors influencing Amazon’s supply chain configuration now and future Transportation Amazon provided many choices of delivery to balance cost of transportation and level of service. The company does not have large scale to contact full truckload. So the company provides free shipping in order to achieve longer lead-time of transportation. This will help company able to reduce cost and achieve economy of scale (Robinson 2010). However, the company is provided highly responsiveness options as well, which is cost company a lot. Even though the customers are willing to pay higher price to get the products faster, it should not cost anything from Amazon but it is not like that. Amazon cannot utilize its highest benefits of its transportation systems. That is why the company needs to design its supply chain networks to minimize the costs. Order sourcing The challenge of Amazon is to make decision which internal warehouse or  external partnership should be the one who responsible for this customer order. Once the order has been places via website, customer is expected to get products on time. Finding the lowest solution in short period of time is the hardest things when there are many items located in difference places and it needs to deliver in single delivery. So, the company decided to implement technology such as warehouse management systems to get real time and single view of inventory for effective sourcing (RedPrairie N.D.). Evaluate strategic and operational implications Supply chain network Amazon operates eight distribution centres within United Kingdom (UK), which are Rugeley, Hemel Hempstead, Marston gate, Doncaster, Petreborough, Dunfermline, Gourock and Swansea. Locations are selected base on distance to markets, Close to transportation mode such as Motorway and main rail link, Airport and river (Amazon Location 2013). According to Melendez (2013), several DC would help the company provides quicker deliver, lower transportation costs and easy access. Furthermore, sometimes transportation hubs, also known as injection points, were used to reduce the cost of transportation in high customer demand areas. The products will be shipped from DC to transportation hubs with full truckload. Then the inbound trucks will be unloaded the packages and load into outbound trucks which runs by a smaller carrier partners such as UPS, DPD and Hermes (Amazon Carriers 2013; Chiles and Dau 2005). Moreover, Amazon adopted drop shipment approach. The order will be picked, packed in Amazon package and delivered by supply chain partners, which are manufacturer, wholesaler and third parties. By doing this, the company is able to survive from its huge losses but it caused negative effects as well. It is about 33 percent of Amazon’s single orders are multiple products. Nonetheless, it needs to pool specific goods from difference location and ships the collective goods as one delivery, which takes time and causes a delay that leads to customer dissatisfied. (Pilai and Dutta 2004) Transportation The most difficult factor of transportation is to gain efficiency due to large numbers of small order from customers, so the company cannot gain advantage of the scale at all. Amazon used transportation hub to reduce the cost of transportation. The hub is acted as a cross docking to transfer goods to last-mile delivery. Amazon will aggregate the demand and ship it to transit hub together in order to achieve less than truckload or full truckload. Nevertheless, it needs to accumulate in term of region zone. So it takes longer time to complete this strategy. Hence, the company has introduced difference delivery option such as free super saver delivery in order to get longer lead times/ available to promise day. By doing this, Amazon is able to achieve economy of scale which is lower its cost and the customer satisfaction stays on acceptable level. However, sometimes goods are not available to the customer on time because the time spent on accumulate took longer than it should be and whe n the demand is high (Amazon 2013; Chiles and Dau 2005; Robinson 2010; Barzeski 2009). Technology As Amazon does not have a storefront, so it needs to provide the perfect visual store experience to compensate the touch of products. The company utilizes from its own technology innovations to differentiate itself from other e-commerce. The innovation includes A9 and one click ordering. The former aspect is a subsidiary company, which provides product search engines and search inside the books whereas the latter aspect is used to speed up ordering process, and introduce product recommendations, which determine customer interest from previous purchases (A9 2013; Curtis 2013). Amazon also needs an innovation to support back-end supply chain integration and execution. The company have advance warehouse management systems to support order sourcing, labour management, load balancing, process alternative and supplier collaboration. All these factors make an efficient process to support multi-tier inventory of Amazon (Chiles and Dau 2005). Besides, Amazon has been critiqued about unbearable working conditions, mandatory overtime and using human as a robot which is pushing workers to physical limit. Employees within its DC walked more than 15 miles a day to look for products and every move has checked by computers. Therefore, the company decided to use Kiva robot to deliver shelves stocked with  merchandise to DC workers instead of workers to walk around and find products. There are 1,400 kiva robots in three DC. By having these robots, Amazon can improve productivity and reduce cost up to 50 percent annually in area of warehouse efficiencies (Soper 2011; Kais er 2013). Nevertheless, this robot costs Amazon large amount of money. It is more cost effective if Amazon just hires human workers. Is it worthwhile to invest for? Wagstaff (2012) argued that the benefit of this investment for Amazon is outweighed. The company will have better publicity, improve reputation about ethical and avoid lawsuits. In addition, Amazon also launched prime air, also known as drones, which is able to delivery goods to customers within 30 minutes after buyers place the orders. The process of prime air starts from packages pass on a conveyor belt and drone will lift it off with the package and go straight to customer’s address. However, this innovation has not allowed to use nowadays. The fastest possible will be around 2015 (BBC 2013). RECOMMENDATIONS The problem is Amazon depends on courier such as UPS and FedEx too much in order to reduce the cost of transportation and make it efficient. Recently, this courier causes negative reputation for Amazon that cannot deliver the products on time when the demand is high and the customer satisfaction is decreased (Jayakumar 2013). Hence, the company should run its transportation with their private fleet in last-mile delivery because responsiveness is a crucial factor for Amazon. According to Hirsch (2010), the benefits from using private fleet is not only better customer service and greater visibility but also hold 100 % control of driver for safety, enhance branding and no driver shortage during high season/demand. Besides, private fleet will become a true competitive differentiate point as it is a connection point to customers (Schulz 2010). Furthermore, bullwhip effect is another issues. This issue happened because there is lacking of integration along the supply chain. The current stage of Amazon and its supply chain partner is cooperation. So the company should  raise the relationship to be coordination with its suppliers or become the best scenario which is collaboration. Besides, all companies along supply chain should share their information and communication in order to reduce barriers, reduce excess inventory and enhance business synergy (Cao and Zhang 2010). BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS As the writer’s recommendations, the obstacle to implement this suggestion are fluctuate demand and highly investment. Because of demand uncertainty, the company cannot know for sure what exactly amount of goods must be deliver for this area in this month. So the private fleet might not worth the cost of investment. Moreover, there is highly investment on private fleet. The cost of truck is expensive but it can be lease instead of buy to reduce the cost of maintenance as well. The cost of workers and training are another factors. The company needs to train driver to drive with manner. Lastly, the company needs to check on mile-drive and fuel every day in order to prevent fraud which takes time a lot. When the problem happened, the driver might have an excuse not to responsible for the problem. So many companies have decided to install GPS to track each driver but it costs large amount of money as well (Lynch 2007; Liccardi 2013). CONCLUSION Supply chain management plays a crucial role on Amazon’s successful. The company’s primary goal is to offer one stop service that customers can find everything on Amazon’s website and it will deliver it to buyer place within a promise time. In order to do this, the company needs to have cooperated with partner to do multi-tier inventory systems to provide nearly unlimited goods. Moreover, it needs an effective distribution networks to deliver merchandise to the customer on time. All of these are reflect the main strategy of Amazon to provide high responsiveness to the customers.

Customer Complaint Behavior

Consumers’ complaint behaviour. Taxonomy, typology and determinants: Towards a uni? ed ontology Received (in revised form): 16th August, 2003 Dominique Crie ? is Professor of marketing at the University of Sciences and Technologies of Lille, in the Business Administration Department (IAE). He manages the postgraduate degree course: statistical specialisation for marketing databases. He is also a marketing consultant and statistician, member of the Association Francaise de Marketing and of the Societe Francaise de Statistiques. ? ? ? ?His research focuses on the customer relationship, particularly in relation to satisfaction, loyalty and retention. Abstract Complaint behaviour is a set of consumer dissatisfaction responses. It is an explicit expression of dissatisfaction, but dissatisfaction is only one determinant of this behaviour. Complaint behaviour can be analysed as various types of response but also as a process. This paper proposes an integrated framework of the various theories of complaint behaviour leading toward a uni? ed ontology and to interpreting it from a new perspective. Dominique Crie ?IAE de Lille, 104, Avenue du Peuple Belge, 59 043 Lille Cedex, ? France. Tel: 33 (0)3 20 12 34 64; Fax: 33 (0)3 20 12 34 48; E-mail: [email  protected] com INTRODUCTION This paper reviews a concept still relatively rarely considered by companies: consumer complaint behaviour. Within the framework of the relationship paradigm, complaint behaviour is a powerful signal which companies should take into account. On the one hand, it gives an organisation a last chance to retain the customer, if the organisation reacts appropriately, on the other hand it is a legitimate and ethical act toward the consumer.Generally, but not exclusively, complaint behaviour is one of the responses to perceived dissatisfaction in the post-purchase phase. In the ? rst section of the paper, a taxonomy of response styles used by dissatis? ed consumers is proposed. Then consumer com plaint behaviour (CCB) is de? ned and situated with regard to these various types of response. Finally, after clustering ‘complainers’ and ‘non-complainers’, this paper tries to track down the main dimensions of the CCB taxonomy through a structuralisation of its determinants within a diachronic approach — the objective being to propose a clari? d conceptual and theoretical framework to integrate the large variety of works on the subject. The conclusion highlights a synthesis of this conceptual structure with regard to a uni? ed ontology. A TAXONOMY OF THE TYPES OF RESPONSE TO DISSATISFACTION A dissatis? ed consumer may adopt several types of response, classi? cation of which may be delicate. The taxonomy of responses ? rst requires a distinction between the notions of response and of action to be established. Indeed, the term ‘action’ implies a very speci? c behaviour, 60Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol. 11, 1, 60â €“79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003) Consumers’ complaint behaviour Table 1: A taxonomy of the types of response to dissatisfaction Towards enitity Response type Behavioural Public (Sellers, manufacturers, of? cial organisations, associations, justice) Complaint Legal action Return of the item Request for repair No action, with or without modi? cation of the attitude Forget or forgive Private (Family, friends, relations) Word of mouth Boycott/leaving Non-behavioural hile the term ‘response’ contains several modalities which are not exclusively behavioural, notably change of attitude or inactivity. This distinction establishes a ? rst dimension. The second is represented by the entities towards which responses are directed: the public one includes sellers, manufacturers and consumer associations or legal action; the private one includes family, friends or relatives. Finally, responses show different intensities according to the two previous dimensions. Responses may vary from inactivity to legal action — either simply to express dissatisfaction or to obtain repair or compensation (Table 1).The heterogeneity of these various response types may be partially explained by the cause and intensity of dissatisfaction and by the nature and importance of the product or service of concern. On the other hand, consumers may mix or connect several response types for the same dissatisfaction. This aspect is relatively neglected by the literature, although Hirschman1 notes that complaint and exit are not two symmetric elements: when a customer leaves the company, he/she loses ‘the opportunity’ to use their voice, while if he/she uses the complaint ? rst, he/she is always free to leave later if the complaint does not succeed.So exit can be a substitute for and complement to a complaint. The more expensive and complex the product, the more consumers are inclined to initiate public action, however the greater likelih ood is that they will stay inactive or choose private action. 2–4 The authors of the ? rst stream of literature are numerous, but Hirschman’s work remains standard in the conceptualisation of responses to dissatisfaction through the model ‘Exit, Voice and Loyalty’. Exit is an active and destructive response to dissatisfaction, exhibited by a break of the relationship with the object (brand, product, retailer, supplier. . ). The verbal response (Voice) is a constructive response with an expectation of change in an organisation’s practices, policies and responses; it is characterised by complaints towards friends, consumer associations and relevant organisations. The third type of response (Loyalty) has two aspects, constructive and passive, the individual hoping that things will evolve in a positive way. For Brown and Swartz,5 it is especially a feeling of impotence that is the cause of this behavioural loyalty. ‘The neglect of the incident and the inherent inactivity’ can, however, be considered as evidence for loyalty.Research designed to explain the various types of response to dissatisfaction is limited. Scales have been created for this purpose by Day et al. 6 but they are without methodological and Henry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 61 Crie ? psychometric validation. Only Bearden and Teel7 have investigated the various types of response using a Guttman scale. The data are collected from ? ve items of increasing intensity: (1) family and friends warning, (2) return of the item and/or complaint, (3) contact with the manufacturer, (4) contact with consumer associations or of? ial organisations and (5) legal action, notably when the customer does not obtain satisfaction with the seller. 8 Empirically validated, this scale does not, however, take into account the non-behavioural responses highlighted by previous research, and a sin gle item relates to private action. 9 Of a rather formative nature, every item contributes in its own way to the development of the intensity of the responses. Day10 con? rms the relevance of the use of such a scale. The main aim of this taxonomy is to clarify the various responses a dissatis? d consumer could use, in order to track down more precisely those which the company can observe directly. DEFINING CONSUMER COMPLAINT BEHAVIOUR Among the various types of response to dissatisfaction, some of them more direcly concern CCB. The ? rst conceptual base of this phenomenon concerning post-purchase was stated at the end of the 1970s. 11 Jacoby and Jaccard12 de? ne it as ‘an action begun by the individual who entails a communication of something negative to a product (service), either towards the company or towards a third entity’. For Day et al. 13 it is the consequence ‘of a given act of consumption, following which the consumer is confronted with an experience gen erating a high dissatisfaction, of suf? cient impact so that it is, neither likened psychologically, nor quickly forgotten’. Fornell and Wernerfelt14 consider that the complaint is ‘an attempt of the customer to change an unsatisfactory situation’. Finally, Singh15 suggests that this behaviour, activated at an emotional or sentimental level by a perceived dissatisfaction, is part of the more general framework of responses to dissatisfaction which consists of two dimensions (see also Day and Landon16).The ? rst dimension, grounded completely or in part in actions initiated by the consumer (conveying expression of his/her dissatisfaction not only to the seller, but also to third parties, friends or relations17,18), is behavioural but does not necessarily entail action towards the company; it is essentially within this dimension that CCB should be considered. The second dimension refers to absence of action by the consumer, for example when he/she forgets a generati ve episode of dissatisfaction. 19,20 In this way, CCB must, rather, be conceived as a process, ie its ? al manifestation does not directly depend on its initiating factors but on evaluation of the situation by the consumer and of its evolution over time. So, CCB really constitutes a subset of all possible responses to perceived dissatisfaction around a purchase episode, during consumption or during possession of the good (or service). In fact, the notion of ‘complaint behaviour’ includes a more general terminology which also involves the notions of protest, communication (word of mouth) or recommendation to third parties21 and even the notion of boycott.This notion is conceptually inserted in a set of explicit demonstrations, generally towards the seller, of a consumer’s dissatisfaction. It seems then that it is necessary to include in the de? nition of CCB a set of responses, heterogeneous in their targets — the study of this behaviour not being separable from understanding of all the responses to dissatisfaction. 62 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003) Consumers’ complaint behaviour DISSATISFACTION Behavioural response Non-behavioural response Towards company Perceptible by the companyTowards market Not perceptible by the company Inactivity Change of attitude Complaint Legal action Leaving Negative word of mouth Repeat purchase or behavioural loyalty Simple complaint Repair compensation Figure 1: Responses to dissatisfaction and complaint behaviour In the rest of this paper, therefore, the term ‘complaint behaviour’ is used in the conceptual meaning of a public behavioral response to dissatisfaction. So, for a company, only part of these responses will be perceptible, including complaint in the sense described previously (Figure 1). On the other hand, it is the retailer who will be most affected by CCB.The manufacturer is se ldom sought out, so such crucial information reaches him only rarely, and often not at all. 22,23 A TYPOLOGY OF DISSATISFIED CONSUMERS Several authors have tried to individualise groups of consumers with regard to the type of response adopted in the wider framework of dissatisfaction. Most researchers offer a ‘normative typology’ within which the ‘complainers’ can be placed but without really distinguishing particular groups. These are opposed to the ‘non-complainers’,24–27 in this way these works are more concerned with responses to dissatisfaction than CCB in its strict sense.They are poor in terms of possible categories and are not grounded in a rigorous analysis of response styles. Certain typologies nevertheless allow a few speci? c behaviours in the expression of CCB to be extracted, for example the ‘irritated actives’,28,29 the ‘activists’,30 the ‘complainers’, the ‘irates’,31 th e ‘voicers’,32 the ‘slightly offended’ or the ‘champions’. 33 For Hirschman34 the complaint must be considered as feedback on the quality delivered by the company, the ‘complainers’ are called ‘alert customers’ (because they allow the company to improve the product or service) asHenry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 63 Crie ? Table 2: Main types of complainers Behaviour Complaint (prostestation) Public action Voicers Champions Complainers Authors Dart and Freeman Weiser36 Etzel37 Shuptrine38 Bearden39 Day40 Gronhaug and Zaltman41 Singh42 Keng43 Masson44 Warland45 Singh46 Weiser47 Pfaff48 Warland49 Singh50 Dart51 Lost in action Weiser55 35 Private action Slightly offended Irates Authors Weiser52 Dart53 Singh54Request for repair Measures of retaliation Active upsets Irritated Detractors Activists opposed to ‘inert customers’. Th e complaint is then a factor of enhancement for company performance. Taken as a whole the typology of dissatis? ed consumers overlaps with that of the responses to dissatisfaction and develops its structure at the same time as the intensity of the CCB modalities chosen by consumers, going from simple complaint to retaliatory measures in a register of public or private actions (Table 2).Generally speaking, the various typologies outlined do not allow retailers or manufacturers to appreciate the complexity and variety of CCB in order to respond in an effective way, but it is likely that certain behaviours will be more speci? c in a given situation. For example, within the framework of a dissatisfaction bound to durable goods (high price and high commitment), one would tend to observe among ‘complainers’ a stronger proportion of ‘irritated actives’ or ‘irates’. In a weakly competitive market they will tend to be ‘activists’.If the usu al quality level of products is weak, ‘detractors’ and ‘irates’ will be observed. Finally, within the framework of a well-established relationship a majority of ‘champions’ or ‘slightly offended people’ would be expected. TOWARDS A DIACHRONIC APPROACH TO CCB The literature does not propose a systematisation in the organisation of antecedents and determinants of CCB. This de? ciency is essentially due to the fact that CCB is regarded as an immediate act and not as a process. In fact, this concept lacks a clearly identi? ed theoretical framework which allows the rganisation of a heterogeneous set of factors that initiate and modulate it and which can take into account resemblances and differences that also comply with the more global notion of dissatisfaction responses. Indeed, an ambiguity in the study of CCB results from the fact that it should not include, by semantic de? nition, the non-behavioural aspect of responses to dissatis faction or customers leaving. The 64 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003) Consumers’ complaint behaviour iachronic nature of the phenomenon of complaint could probably explain similarities and differences which exist between these two concepts. The number of implied variables strengthens the idea that CCB is not an instantaneous phenomenon, it is the outcome of a process of preliminary evaluations under the in? uence of initiating and modulating factors. This approach also raises the question of the effect of time on a consumer’s initial impulse to complain. CCB occurs after increasing re? ection by the consumer. 56–57 and Stephens and Gwinner,58 offer the ? rst longitudinal approach to CCB on the basis of in-depth interviews.For them, CCB results from a double cognitive evaluation. 59 The ? rst is de? ned as a process by which the individual estimates how much in? uence a p articular situation, in a given environment, has on his/her well being. The second may be analysed as a problem resolution strategy. The CCB depends then on the situation and on the psychological resources of the individuals. Within this framework, it is then relevant to think that generally the intention to complain or protest must occur at the same time as dissatisfaction and under the in? uence of initiating factors.This primary intention is then the object of various distorting or modulating factors meaning that the ? nal outcome is often different from that intended, it can be highly altered or just not come about at all. This idea then leads to the consideration of a number of non-behavioural responses to dissatisfaction or responses not perceptible by the company (cf. Figure 1) as being in some way failed CCBs. It is thus relevant to analyse how this intention arises and changes over time. After a phase of initiation represented by the initial level of dissatisfaction, then a phase of re? ction necessary for the integration of its cause and for the evaluation of the possible responses, there follows a phase of decision and of action which will in fact re? ect only the residual dissatisfaction at the conclusion of the process. This remaining dissatisfaction can nevertheless be reinforced to reach a higher level than that of the initial dissatisfaction, for example if the consumer is strengthened in his/her decision, either by the problem worsening, by the salesperson’s attitude or by the encouragement of third parties. In that case, measures taken by the consumer can be more signi? ant than those initially intended. Nevertheless the process does not stop with the voicing of the complaint, it also includes evaluation of the company’s response and concludes with the ? nal behaviour which ensues from it (repurchase or exit). It is then advisable to restore, in a diachronic framework, various streams of literature whose main object is to explai n the result of this process. Indeed, when researchers take time into account in CCB, it is essentially the available time to protest that is considered60 and not the period separating the episode of dissatisfaction from the response to it.But, the procedural knowledges are connected in time. They echo information relative to processes, that is to say sequences of actions, or sequences of reasoning in the sense that they order, or at least structure, the progress of several operations, possibly several procedures. This cognitive approach to complaint behaviour places it totally within the framework of a decision process. TOWARDS AN INTEGRATION OF THE VARIOUS ANTECEDENTS AND DETERMINANTS OF CCB In a simplistic way and besides its diachronic aspect, it is possible to distinguish within the conceptual part of the literature related to the determinantsHenry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 65 Crie ? Psycholo gical sphere – Sociocultural factors – Frustration/assurance – Learning – Attribution – Attitude/complaint – Experiences – Educational level DISSATISFACTION Negative word of mouth Economic sphere – Structure of the market – Frequency of purchases – Interactions buyer / seller – Costs of the complaint – Probability of success – Expected profit – Incomes – Switching barriers – Equity – Loyalty – InformationTYPE OF RESPONSE Complaint Legal action Inactivity Leaving Ethical sphere Figure 2: Antecedents and determinants of CCB of CCB, three spheres of factors which interact with different weights to lead, eventually, to CCB or to other modalities of response to dissatisfaction such as de? ned above. The psychological sphere is made up of individual variables re? ecting the propensity to CCB. The economic sphere groups together elements of cost and exchange structu res. Finally, the ethical sphere incorporates transactional equity, concentrating on the erception of the value of the link with the company and on the accuracy and helpfulness of the information given, for example, regarding ways to resolve the disputes, etc (Figure 2). On the other hand, the diachronic approach to CCB requires its various antecedents and determinants to be anchored on two points: ? rst on the initiating factors and secondly on the factors modulating the mode of complaint. This point of view allows not only integration of the various explanatory theories and the synthesis described above but also for a short path to complaint to be distinguished from a long one.This distinction, notably, can take into account the role of time and of both types of factors on CCB. In a short path the in? uence of the modulating factors is less, the complaint occurring mostly at the sale point, almost simultaneously with delivery of the product or service. It is an immediate emotional reaction rather than an extended process. In a long, extended path, however, there are more modulating factors which seem to shape the type of response. (The variables of the ethical sphere work as initiators, those of the economic sphere have a modulator role and those of the psychological sphere can be classi? d as either type. ) On the whole, four entities are directly involved in CCB: the product or service, the customer, the supplier and the episode of dissatisfaction. These various actors allow, within the framework of a diachronic approach, the multiple antecedents and determinants of CCB (Table 3) to be re-ordered. 66 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003) Consumers’ complaint behaviour Table 3: Various determinants of CCB according to the stage and the actorStage of CB Actor Product/service Initiation of CB Dissatisfaction level Modulation of CB Structure of the market Alternative s Purchase rate Price, complexity of the product/service Attitude, Experience/CB Learning, Information/CB Loyalty Education, Age, Sex Ethnicity Way of life Secondary evaluation of response possibilities Absence of management of post purchase Ease of access to the company Switching barriers Switching costs Customer/seller interactions Size of the company, business sector Expected pro? t Transaction costs of CB Probability of success Importance of consumer organisations CustomerPerceived frustration Perceived inequity Assurance (self control) Will to act Primary evaluation of the dissatisfaction Supplier Quality defect Incident/product or service Episode Situation, circumstances Dissatisfaction attribution Time-spatial simultaneity of the dissatisfaction and response possibilities Initiating factors of CCB Several factors may lead to CCB. Introducing and determining, partly, a consumer’s choice of a given type of response to dissatisfaction, they allow on the one hand a better understanding of consumers’ motivation for CCB and, on the other hand, a forecast of what response will be the most likely to be adopted.Ordinarily consumers need to be dissatis? ed in order to complain but other variables are necessary to switch from dissatisfaction to complaint. Such variables may lie in attribution of the cause of dissatisfaction or in psychosociological characteristics of the individual consumer (see Table 3). Dissatisfaction Dissatisfaction is a necessary antecedent of CCB, but is often not suf? cient61,62 (see also Jacoby and Jaccard,63 Westbrook64 and Ping65 on the notion of complaint without dissatisfaction66). It is the activating factor of the process. 7 Besides, Oliver68 underlines the existing relationship between the intensity of the dissatisfaction and this behaviour. 69 Grandbois et al. ,70 Richins,71 Maute and Forrester72 prove that the gravity of the problem is correlated in a positive way with the various responses to dissatisfaction includi ng CCB. The more the dissatisfaction increases, the more the verbal complaint strengthens and the more the probability of leaving the company grows. For Singh and Pandya,73 the relationship ‘intensity-type of response’ is not linear and admits threshold effects.When the level of dissatisfaction exceeds a given threshold consumers tend to use either negative word of mouth or leaving or appeal to a third party. On the other hand, the relationship between attitude to the Henry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 67 Crie ? complaint and CCB itself can be modulated by the intensity of the dissatisfaction. 74–76 Attribution of the cause of the dissatisfaction Psychosociological factorsTo lead to CCB, the consumer has to identify clearly the party responsible for his or her dissatisfaction during a given consumption episode (Table 3). In numerous cases it is the consumer himself/herself, for ex ample when he/she judges he/she did not make the right choice. So, even if for Valle77 the attribution of responsibility for dissatisfaction operates as an intermediary between the confusion and the response which follow, it is advisable to classify it as an initiating factor of CCB. According to Weiner et al. 78 a success or failure can be attributed either to elements under the control of the individual (internal cause[s]), or to environment or situational factors (external cause[s]). On the other hand, the performance can be attributed to invariant factors (stable) or evolving with time (unstable). The type of attribution achieved by the consumer determines a priori the response that may be chosen. If an external attribution is necessary for a private type action, a legal action or a request for repair, in the case of an internal attribution it is especially inactivity which dominates. 9 Usually, consumers who perceive the cause of their dissatisfaction as being stable (the same problem may recur) or controllable (the individual thinks that the retailer could have prevented the trouble) are more inclined to leave the product or the company and to engage in negative word of mouth than those who think that the problem has little chance of recurring and that the supplier could not prevent it (see also Folkes80). Some individual characteristics are to be considered as initiators of CCB, although they can also play a modulating role according to the situation (Table 3).Fornell and Westbrook,81 according to Mischel,82 associate CCB with the feeling of frustration felt by a dissatis? ed consumer. Frustration arises not only when the objective assigned to a given behaviour is blocked or interrupted before its ful? lment, but also when the result achieved has a lower level than that sought, or when its realisation requires more resources than the consumer can, wants or expects to spend to reach the desired objective. This feeling is also present when the means to re ach the satisfaction, both at the resources level and at the wanted object level (product or brand), are reduced or suppressed.Along the same lines, frustration can arise in situations of purchase intention (unavailability of the product or of the brand) or in post-purchase situations (dissatisfaction of use or of ownership). The more substantial the frustration, the greater the risk of aggressiveness and CCB. For Stephens and Gwinner83 the stress of dissatisfaction adds to the daily stress and CCB is connected to a double evaluation of the situation during a cognitive process. Three constituents form the primary evaluation of the stress: (1) the level of modi? ation of the individual objectives; (2) the incongruity between these objectives and the incident; (3) the level of the person’s ego infringement (humiliation, self-esteem, ethical values). A second evaluation of possible response strategies is then initiated according to: (1) the responsibility attribution for the con fusion; (2) the possibility of solving the problem (capacities of the individual, probability of success); (3) the feeling that things will go better afterwards. If 68Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003) Consumers’ complaint behaviour the resulting stress of the primary evaluation can be reduced by a solving strategy (secondarily estimated), the probability of CCB is great. If, on the other hand, this strategy risks increasing the initial stress, the main probability turns out to be a non-behavioural response or a response towards the market (see Figure 1). Other individual characteristics may also in? ence the start of a complaint process,84 eg loyalty to the brand, product or supplier; the level of quality assessment, the educational level and tastes; the ability to detect quality differences (a function of experience) and the acquired level of information; perception of the ‘cost /pro? t’ ratio of the possible actions. For Lapidus and Pinkerton,85 the consumer–retailer relationship is one of social exchange and, therefore, equity theory may be applied in order to explain the initiation of CCB.The consumer compares his/her inputs/outputs ratio with those that he/she perceives to be received by the seller. Naturally this comparison can be biased according to the trend (positive or negative) of the revealed inequity. The complaint appears then as an attempt to reduce the perceived inequity (see also Blodgett et al. 86). Secondly, the costs inherent in the complaint and its perceived outcome can be considered as inputs and outputs of this theory. Finally, learning theory can also be mentioned: the inclination to CCB is essentially a function of past experiences87–90 and of their outcome. 1 Modulator factors of CCB Dissatisfaction can be organised around two congruent factors: the former is situational, the latter temporal. It can indeed occu r where the product is purchased or the service is delivered and thus be immediate, but it can also take place at a distance from the act of purchase. In the same way, the response to dissatisfaction can be either immediate or deferred. So the CCB can consist of rather a short path in the case of a dissatisfaction on the spot and of an immediate response, or a long circuit in the case of delayed dissatisfaction with regard to the purchase act or of a postponed response.It is then, especially in this last situation, that numerous variables can intervene to modify the consumer’s actual response, by moderating or aggravating it: ultimately the intensity of the CCB will thus depend on an evaluation of the situation during a temporal process. The market structure, sociocultural characteristics or evaluation of the various costs associated with CCB will act as modulators of the process outcome. The market structure The market structure can be regarded as an element in? uencing the response type choice adopted by a dissatis? ed consumer (see Table 3).For Hirschman,92 consumers are ready to voice their complaints in two circumstances: (1) the way they balance the certainty of leaving and the uncertainty of an improvement in the product or service quality and (2) the estimation they make of their capacity to in? uence the organisation by voicing their concerns. These two factors are far from being independent. Fornell and Didow93 situate CCB in the larger ? eld of rational choice — with the slight difference that choice in economic theory is in the pre-purchase period, while CCB is generally a post-purchase phenomenon.The objects of choice are also different: products and services in the ? rst case, type of response in the second. In this theoretical framework, they show that verbal action can be Henry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 69 Crie ? expressed as a preference functi on and as the possibility of purchasing elsewhere. Indeed, in a restricted competitive environment, verbal action will be the only possible action for a dissatis? ed consumer. 4,95 In contrast, when competitors are numerous, the customer’s leaving becomes the most likely reaction and his/her action is then situated at the market level (see Figure 1). Therefore, the market structure appears as a powerful determinant of CCB. On the other hand, and within this framework, sensitivity of the various customer segments, either to price or quality, shapes the dominant response type to dissatisfaction. Those sensitive to price may leave the company, those sensitive to quality are more inclined to complain. 6 It also seems that buyer–seller interaction frequency (ie purchase rate) plays a part in the preference for verbal action. 97 The more frequent these interactions the fewer the public actions. 98 On the other hand, Barksdale et al. 99 report that the lower the level of purc hase at the same supplier, the greater the tendency to CCB. New purchases lead to more complaints and the usual suppliers receive more complaints than the new ones. For Weiser,100 the degree of ease of access to the company and the willingness of the customer to complain are determining elements in the choice of a response type. In a more speci? way, Andreasen101 emphasises, within the framework of nearly monopolistic markets or markets perceived as such, that the response type is a function of the: perceived heterogeneity of the offer quality; level of knowledge; level of perceived switching costs; probability of success of a verbal action both for the individual and the community; supposed complaint level of other consumers; and the degree of loyalty to the product, brand or supplier. The attractiveness of the alternatives or the availability of substitutable goods shows a strong relationship with the response type adopted by the consumer. 02 In the same way, the more important th e company the more the number of complaints. 103,104 Day et al. 105 classify in three categories the factors which can in? uence the propensity to CCB: (1) the circumstances de? ning the interests at work and evaluation of the costs and likely pro? ts of a search for compensation; (2) the characteristics of the individuals or the situation surrounding the costs and the purely psychological pro? ts of alternative actions, as well as the general tendency of the mediation interventions; (3) market conditions and the legal climate.For Day et al. , this latter category determines the probability of a favourable outcome to the action taken. Generally speaking this type of action will also depend on the nature of the product or service, the usable channels of complaint and the third parties which could intervene. On the other hand, for Andreasen and Best,106 the inclination of consumers to perceive problems depends on the nature of the exchange. For services this propensity is greatest, be cause they are, by nature, more dif? cult to assess (see Shuptrine and Wenglorz,107 Bearden and Masson108).But there is also a unit of time and place during service delivery which favours CCB. Referring to the attribution theory, Zeithaml and Bitner109 consider that because the customer is an actor in service delivery, the customer appropriates more willingly a part of responsibility in his/her dissatisfaction and tends to protest less often. Sociocultural factors Some sociocultural factors have to be acknowledged as modulators of the complaint process (see Table 3). For Day 70 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003)Consumers’ complaint behaviour et al. ,110 (1) the standards of life and the effectiveness of the marketing system, (2) the degree of regulation and control of economic activities and marketing practices and (3) the availability of information to help consumers make their choice or to know where to complain, represent three groups of characteristics to be taken into account for a cross-cultural approach to the phenomenon. Richins,111 within the framework of an international comparison, shows that in the USA the factors most correlated to CCB are price, the dif? ulty the consumer faces in resolving the confusion by himself and the attribution of the cause of dissatisfaction. In the Netherlands Richins found the correlating factors were price, responsibility for the damage and its felt intensity. The most determinative variables remain the attribution of responsibility and the perceived consequences of a complaint, two variables less correlated to CCB in the American sample. Cornwell, Bligh and Babakus112 clearly highlight that ethnic origin plays an important role in CCB especially through values and the way of life.Webster113 also ? nds an in? uence of ethnic factors when the effect of social variables is controlled. Furthermore, women generally have a grea ter inclination to complain and people living in rural areas are more prone to negative word of mouth. 114 For Farhangmehr and Silva,115 educational level is a determining variable; the higher it is the more consumers tend to complain in a dissatisfaction situation (see Gronhaug,116 Morganosky and Buckley117). In their study, the reasons for silence on the part of the consumer are: the effort and waste of time involved (44. per cent) which can be compared with the expected gain; the feeling of not being understood or that the problem will not be resolved (30. 3 per cent); and not knowing where and how to complain (21. 1 per cent) which is related to the consumer’s information level. Obviously these proportions can vary with the opinion that consumers have about the possibility of resolution of their problem according to the sector or company concerned. 118 Gronhaug and Zaltman119 show that economic indicators such as income have only a weak explanatory power and that it is th e same for demographic factors. 20–123 For Singh124 the ‘complainers’ tend to have superior incomes, a higher educational level, are still working and are younger (also Bearden et al. 125). Laforge126 indeed shows that elderly people complain less, this in agreement with the sociological theory of learned helplessness which makes the individual passive because he/she perceives the situation as uncontrollable. The costs of the complaint In reference to the works of Landon,127 the pro? t of a complaint is a function of the result minus the cost of complaint.This result is itself estimated with regard to the importance and the nature of the damage sustained. The consumer’s preference for verbal action is then related to the expected value of the complaint outcome (connected with the importance of the dissatisfaction) minus the associated costs. 128 The latter depend notably on the image of the company, especially in the resolution of disputes, on the consumer ’s experience of CCB and on the nature of the dispute. An arbitration is thus achieved between cost and pro? of every possible action so as to gain maximum utility. 129 Gronhaug and Gilly130 use transaction costs theory131 in order to explain the various consumer responses to dissatisfaction. Three dimensions of this theory (speci? city, uncertainty and exchange frequency) can be invoked to Henry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 71 Crie ? explain CCB. Does approaching the distributor or manufacturer entail speci? c costs? Generally, CCB requires time and effort thus generating a mixture of ifferent types of costs, eg opportunity cost of the elapsed time, deliberation costs, transportation costs — these can be called CCB transaction costs. These costs are speci? c to the envisaged response type whether it is actual or not. They cannot be paid off afterwards, at best they could be used as a l earning stage in order to reduce them during a later complaint. Uncertainty arises from any transaction (ie complaint) and the consumer looks for information to reduce this uncertainty to a bearable level. Finally, the complaint frequency has a direct in? ence on its organisation, possibly becoming a ‘routine’, thus reducing the associated costs. This theory thus explains more frequent CCB when consumers have superior educational level: they know their rights so the level of uncertainty associated with the complaint is reduced and there is, therefore, a global decrease of the perceived costs of a complaint. Nevertheless, as a general rule, the majority of dissatis? ed customers do not complain. Kolodinsky132 insists moreover on the assessment, by the consumer, of the temporal cost of the choice of an appropriate response.Furthermore, as the search for a new product or supplier also generates numerous costs, it is often the case that the dissatis? ed consumer refrains fr om any action. 133,134 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR HANDLING COMPLAINTS Businesses are, too often, completely hopeless at dealing with complaints, although complaint management has become an important issue for many companies. Some elements of the various theories mentioned above allow managers to understand better the complaint process in order to cope with it better.First of all, and within the framework of relationship marketing, complaint management is a major strategic issue. On the one hand complaint management has a retention function in the sense that where a customer satis? ed with the treatment of his/her complaint gets a second-order feeling of satisfaction his/her con? dence with the company is strengthened. Thus companies that respond to consumer dissatisfaction and complaints with appropriate recovery strategies and satisfactory complaint resolution can turn dissatis? ed consumers into satis? ed ones, positively in? uencing repurchase rates (eg Bearden and Oliver135).To decrease the effect of dissatisfaction and the incidence of further negative actions, companies need to show, at the least, that they are responsive to legitimate complaints. But, if problems are resolved poorly, they are only the beginning of a multitude of ‘hidden’ actions which do not come to the attention of the business. So, proper handling of customer complaints improves repeat patronage intentions and reduces negative word of mouth. 136 Finally, in dealing with complaints, truly marketing-oriented companies must examine not only the costs of the remedy, but also the cost of not settling the complaint.The usual rationale is that complaints represent valuable feedback to companies that allows them to take corrective action vis-a-vis the defective product or ` service as regards either the critical incidents137 or adjustment of the offer to match customer expectations. Both actions are of strategic nature: the ? rst is concerned with customer relationship managemen t and retention, the second with an equally long-term strategy, ie continuous improvement of the product or service in order to ? t customer expectations. 72 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy ManagementVol. 11, 1, 60–79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003) Consumers’ complaint behaviour From an operational point of view, the complaints handling process begins before the customer addresses his/her complaint to the seller or manufacturer. All must be done in order that the various costs associated with this behaviour are reduced, so that complaints are encouraged, facilitated and even solicited in order for companies to take corrective action. Kotler138 suggests that the best thing a retailer can do is to make it easy for a customer to complain.For example, Saint Maclou, a French nationally-advertised carpet manufacturer and retailer, indicates on each bill the name of the person to contact if a problem arises and, if the trouble remains unresolved, th e name of a more empowered executive is given. Access to the company thus has to be multichannel. The customer must be assured that he/she will be listened to and that his/her problem will probably be successfully resolved. Lastly, and according to justice theory, the consumer must be conscious that the failure will be corrected fairly, that is to say with impartiality, transparency, effectiveness and fairness.As the majority of dissatis? ed consumers leave the company without complaining, managers have to overcome customers’ natural disinclination to complain. Thus this process is concerned with service recovery, that is to say, the recti? cation of mistakes or compensation of customers. Service recovery is de? ned as the response a provider makes to a service failure;139 service failure usually requires dissatisfaction on the part of the customer. It begins with thanks for the approach by the customer: salespeople or staff need to learn to use ‘complaint welcomingâ₠¬â„¢ procedures.Then the complaint must be listened to. Psychologically speaking it is important for the customer to cope with his/her frustration through a kind of debrie? ng by oral or written expression of the trouble. For instance, complaint letters to Railtrack in the UK rose to an all time high in 2001, without the writers realistically expecting any immediate bene? t other than the ability to articulate their frustration. Complaint, especially voice, gives the customer an opportunity to ‘tell their side of the story’ which serves as a kind of reward for the customer. 40 Furthermore, Levy and Weitz141 argue that a salesperson’s willingness to listen can be an important source of consumer dissatisfaction and complaint intentions. A salesperson’s willingness to listen has been described as the degree of attentiveness a person shows. 142 According to Palmroth,143 a salesperson must ask questions until s/he understands the full nature of the complaint wi thout appearing to place blame on the customer. These salespeople should be seen as trustworthy, friendly, expert, honest, helpful and concerned.The third step is concerned with the acknowledgment of the failure, if justi? ed. (If not, it is necessary to explain why and, according to the attribution theory, to gently point out the misuse of the service or product. It should also be noted that some consumers may complain not out of dissatisfaction but in an effort to gain fraudulently from retailers or manufacturers. ) This is, however, related to the salesperson’s familiarity with the product and awareness of any possible problems with the merchandise in question.Apologies are the next step and empowered contact employees must be able to offer immediate redress where possible or advice on the way to proceed, always in order to reduce customers’ costs and frustration. Indeed, of customers who register a complaint, about 60 to 75 per cent will do business with the provid er again if their complaint has been resolved, and this Henry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 73 Crie ? gure goes up to 95 per cent if the customer feels that the complaint was resolved quickly. Furthermore, providing compensation is a common response to customer complaints. In addition to the tangible bene? ts received, customers typically see the compensation as a symbolic expression of regret by the provider. 144 In a word, courteous and fast treatment by front of? ce personnel can enhance favourable post-complaint responses145 and staff must persuade the customer that all will be done to ensure that the trouble does not recur. Other authors provide some rules of thumb.For example, Davidow146 presents a model framework that divides the organisational responses to complaint into six separate dimensions: timeliness, facilitation, redress, apology, credibility and attentiveness. Nevertheless, according to Mitchell,147 a study shows that 51 per cent of his sample who had complained about a service and 23 per cent about products were less than completely satis? ed with the responses they received. The importance of regulatory authorities in determining how complaints should be managed in a marketing sense, and their active involvement in researching this area and etting standards should also be noted. Generally speaking the legal analysis assumes that it is important that companies are involved in ? xing problems with consumers. But more often, sector-based organisations are proactive and promulgate codes of conduct or of deontology in order to provide a conventional frame for a wide range of business activities, including complaints. For instance, Consumer Complaint Form (CCform; coordinated by the Federation of European Direct Marketing) is a European Commission Information Society Technology funded project to reach a consensus between business, consumers, academics and egulators on new, more ef? cient and transparent processes for complaints management. The CCform project aims to develop an online, multilingual complaint form and a best practice business process. With CCform, consumers will be able to make complaints in their own language, and then the form will be translated into the companies’ preferred tongue. Note that cultural norms appear to change the way people react to dissatisfaction and so the response type. Consumers will be able to track the progress of their complaint, and, if necessary, escalate their grievance to a dispute resolution service or regulator.CCform can be used by any company doing business by e-commerce, distance selling or local retail operations. 148 Complainants may have recourse to a third party and an escalation in the process can result. In this sense, the complaint handling can also be seen as a dispute prevention mechanism. On the other hand, and from a customer relationship management point of view, CCB is an imp ortant early warning. Furthermore, Powers and Bendall-Lyon149 have shown that the number of complaints increased as a result of the introduction of a complaint management programme in an hospital context.Complaint management programmes enable organisations to receive complaint information in order to identify and accommodate dissatis? ed customers and identify common failure points in order to improve service quality. Each complaint either by phone, face to face, letter or e-mail, should be recorded in the database. The manager should be able to link each product, customer and complaint together. For example, a customer with an increasing complaint rate may be in a leaving phase and should be carefully monitored. Indeed, and although customer 4 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2439 (2003) Consumers’ complaint behaviour relationship management aims to establish and maintain ongoing customer relati onships by focusing on the speci? c customer’s needs in order to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction and company loyalty, one major aspect of customer relationship management is the effective handling of customer complaints. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH This paper allows CCB to be placed and de? ed within the larger framework of responses to dissatisfaction and then suggests an integrating framework of diachronic nature. Until now research into CCB has taken a deductive approach, researchers trying to deduce its causes from contextual or individual elements without being really interested in the process taking place in a temporal space of variable duration. The various works of literature studied offer different explanations for CCB but few of them consider the sequence and interaction of initiating or modulating factors in a process.CCB is indeed essentially described in its immediate nature, that is to say as an instantaneous event. Nevertheless, the nature and i ntensity of response to dissatisfaction certainly depend on the type of experience and on the responsible product/service but they also involve two other actors (the supplier and the customer) in a diachronic framework. The variability of individual reactions, notably revealed by the lack of a clear typology of ‘complainers and noncomplainers’, results from a different weighting of constitutive elements of the process over time.The joining together and organisation of these elements, from which three large areas can be isolated (the utilitarian sphere of the economists, the ethical sphere of equity and the psychological sphere, notably represented by attribution), supply a synthetic approach by describing CCB in two stages: initiation and modulation. The initiation phase is related to the dissatisfaction level which determines the opening of the process. It is then followed by a search for attribution of the problem and by the perception of the inequitable character of the transaction engendering frustration or stress which the individual will try to minimise.It is during the evaluation of the problem resolution strategies that modulators, such as experience and attitude towards the complaint, personality of the individual and his/her sensitivity to quality, will or will not allow the process to evolve towards the actual complaint. Other factors of this type can be isolated, such as loyalty level and information level, the degree of nearness (commitment) in the relationship with the supplier, the market structure (particularly the possibility of choice alternatives) and ? ally, the hoped/expected utility of the complaint with regard to the perceived costs as well as the accessibility of the company for CCB. If CCB is taken to be a process it becomes easy to link together all the response types following an episode of dissatisfaction and this knowledge is helpful for complaints handling, eg in encouraging the customer to complain or in avoiding his leaving. The TARP study150 indeed indicates that 90 per cent of dissatis? ed consumers initiate no action and leave the product, brand or company.So, the managerial implications arise not only from contextual factors but also from the diachronic aspect of the phenomenon. Although initiators are only weakly accessible to action by the manager, except by avoiding dissatisfaction and by strengthening the perceived equity of transactions, some Henry Stewart Publications 1741-2439 (2003) Vol. 11, 1, 60–79 Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 75 Crie ? modulators can be amended so as to lead the dissatis? ed customer to complain more frequently. Thus the company can contribute to the modi? ation of consumers’ attitudes towards CCB by: rendering more favourable the perception of previous experiences; restoring a feeling of equity after a complaint; decreasing the costs, particularly the psychological ones; and ? nally, establishing interpersonal relationships th at reduce the attraction of alternatives. It is necessary to reward customers who complain by including them in this step and by getting them used to this cultural change. It is necessary to insist on the urgency of a dissatisfaction communication to the company and to shorten the response delay (free phone number, speci? coupon, website, CCform. . . ) in order to minimise the negative constituents of the modulators. From a passive role of complaint reception, the company has to evolve towards a proactive stage in the genesis and the actual expression of CCB. It is then necessary to gather information about dissatisfaction as quickly as possible in order to divert a process which would otherwise probably lead to the customer leaving. So, complaints must be regarded more as a marketing tool than as a cost (better service to the customer and customer retention); they constitute a fundamental element of relationship marketing.This synthesis should encourage the number of research studi es into the diachronic side of CCB, in the sense that any dissatisfaction (of external attribution) requires that the consumer get in touch with the company. So, the relationship between dissatisfaction, complaint intention and actual response deserve to be clari? ed in connection with time. It is also advisable to analyse more exactly consumers’ expectations of complaints. It is indeed by satisfying these expectations that marketers can hope to increase the number of ‘complainers’. References 1 Hirschman, A. O. (1970) ‘Exit, voice and loyalty: Responses to decline in ? ms, organizations and states’, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 2 Day, R. and Landon, E. Jr. (1977) ‘Toward a theory of consumer complaining behavior’ in Woodside, Sheth and Bennett (eds) ‘Consumer and industrial buying behavior’, North Holland Publishing Co. , Amsterdam, pp. 425–437. 3 Richins, M. L. (1987) ‘A multivariate analysis of re sponses to dissatisfaction’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 24–31. 4 Levesque, T. J. and McDougall, G. H. G. (1996) ‘Customer dissatisfaction: The relationship between types of problems and customer response’, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 264–276. 5 Brown, S. and Swartz, T. (1984) ‘Consumer medical complaint behavior: Determinants of and alternatives to malpractices litigation’, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Vol. 3, pp. 85–98. 6 Day, R. L. , Grabicke, K. , Schaetzle, T. and Staubach, F. (1981) ‘The hidden agenda of consumer complaining’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 86–106. 7 Bearden, W. O. and Teel, J. E. (1983) ‘Selected determinants of consumer satisfaction and complaint reports’, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 21–28. 8 Barnes, J. and Kelloway, K. R. 1980) ‘Consumerists: Complaining behavior and attitude toward social and consumer issues’, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 7, pp. 329–334. 9 Singh, J. (1988) ‘Consumer complaint intentions and behavior: De? nitional and taxonomical issues’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 93–107. 10 Day, R. L. (1984) ‘Modeling choices among alternative responses to dissatisfaction’, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 11, pp. 496–499. 11 Day and Landon (1977) op. cit. 12 Jacoby, J. and Jaccard, J. J. (1981) ‘The sources, meaning and validity of consumer complaining behavior; A psychological review’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 57, No. , pp. 4–24. 13 Day et al. 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(1973) ‘An exploratory behavioral and socio-economic pro? le of consumer action about a dissatisfaction with selected household appliances’, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. , No. 1, pp. 121–127. 29 Warland, R. H. , Hermann, R. O. and Willis, J. (1975) ‘Dissatis? ed consumers: Who gets upset and who takes action’, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 148–163. 30 Pfaff, M. and Blivice, S. (1977) ‘Socioeconomic correlates of consumer and citizen dissatisfaction and activism’, in Day R. ‘Consumer satisfaction, dissatisfaction and complaining behavior’, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, pp. 115–123. 31 Singh, J. (1990) ‘A typology of consumer dissatisfaction response styles’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 57–98. 32 Dart, J. and Freeman, K. 1994) ‘Dissatisfaction response styles among clients of professional accounting ? rms’, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 75–82. 33 Weiser, C. 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(1995) ‘Determinants of consumer complaint behaviour: A study of Singapore consumers’, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 59–67. 44 Masson and Himes (1973) op. cit. 45 Warland (1975) op. cit. 46 Singh (1988) and (1990) op. cit. 47 Weiser (1995) op. cit. 48 Pfaff and Blivice (1977) op. it. 49 Warland, R. H. , Hermann, R. O. and Moore, D. E. (1984) ‘Consumer and community involvemen t: An exploration of their theoretical and empirical linkages’, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 64–79.. 50 Singh (1988) and (1990) op. cit. 51 Dart and Freeman (1994) op. cit. 52 Weiser (1995) op. cit. 53 Dart and Freeman (1994) op. cit. 54 Singh (1988) and (1990) op. cit. 55 Weiser (1995) op. cit. 56 Kolodinsky (1995) op. cit. 57 Conlon, D. E. and Murray, N. M. (1996) ‘Customer perceptions of corporate responses to product complaints: The role of explanations’, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 1040–1056. 58 Stephens, N. and Gwinner, K. P. (1998) ‘Why don’t some people complain? A cognitive-emotive process model of consumer complaint behavior’, Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 26, No. 3, 172–189. 59 Lazarus, R. S. (1966) ‘Psychological stress and the coping process’, McGraw Hill, New York. 60 Kolodinsky (1995) op. cit. 61 Day (1984) op. cit. 62 Oliver, R. L. ( 1987) ‘An investigation of the interrelationship between consumer (dis)satisfaction and complaint reports’, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 14, pp. 218–222. 63 Jacoby and Jaccard (1981) op. cit. 4 Westbrook, R. A. (1987) ‘Product/consumption based affective responses and postpurchase processes’, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 258–270. 65 Ping, R. A. (1993) ‘The effects of satisfaction and structural constraints on retailer exiting, voice, loyalty, opportunism and neglect’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 69, No. 3, pp. 320–352. 66 These authors mention the possibility of complaint by satis? ed consumers, either to try to obtain more from the company, or for fear of a future breakdown or because of doubt in the performance of the product or because of propensity to complain. 67 Singh, J. 1989)