Primary Customers Research Articles

Representational fidelity in distributed and remote lab environment

Students today lack the real experiences needed to make sense of complex technical concepts although industry is one of the primary customers that constantly challenges academia to make curricula more relevant to professional practice. Our response to these influences was to create and test idea of Distributed and Remote Lab dedicated to active learning. In this survey, the experiments on representational fidelity measures are performed on two types of 'client' user interface (Wall and Window) in two modes of presentation (Desktop and Video beam) of the distributed manufacturing system. The proposed remote system has allowed students from Belgrade, Serbia to dynamically interact with a real manufacturing process held in Minho's Lab, Portugal, to carry out a remote experimental practice. This survey gives advantage to Wall interface, in the fields of smooth display of view changes and object motion and consistency of object behaviour. There are also weaker correlations between representational fidelity measures when Wall interface is used and certain advantage on desktop presentation mode.

LOYALTY – THE NUCLEUS OF BRAND CAPITAL. CASE STUDY: ROM CHOCOLATE BAR

It is considered that loyalty to the brand of some primary customers is the core of the brand capital. A brand, however, may have substantial value, which is given to it by its symbol and slogans, if it is continued with the purchase of a brand after the buyers have made a comparison with the competing products that have superior characteristics. Structured on several levels, which are each a different marketing challenge, the loyalty to the brand consists of many factors, among which the most important is the user experience. The paper aims to highlight, starting from a series of articles in online media, the manner in which a traditional Romanian brand, ROM chocolate bar, continuously repositions itself, attempting to maintain and even increase the loyalty of its consumers, as well as to answer the consumer’s authenticity, accessibility, credibility and modernity needs. Even though in specialized literature there are opinions according to which traditional brands are commonly old-fashioned or dull, ROM chocolate bar shows the opposite view, being considered a successful brand which is appreciated both at national and international levels.

Gender Differences in the Structure of Customer Relationships: Evidence from Nigerian New Ventures

Informal contracts with customers are an essential but often overlooked aspect of entrepreneurship research. Taking a gender perspective, we investigate the influence of women-managed ventures on the structure of customer relationships. We theorize that due to constraints on their financial networks, women-managed ventures may be impelled to use informal network structures to a great extent than their male-managed counterparts. Specifically, we propose that the proportion of women managers in a new venture is positively associated with the extent of informal customer purchase orders and the extent of customer funded trade credits. We also explore the moderating influence of information technology (IT) and primary customer geographical location on these relationships. Findings from an analysis of 441 Nigerian new ventures drawn from the World Bank Investment Climate Survey provide support for our theory. These results help highlight how women-managed new ventures in emerging markets use informal relationships with customers to mitigate market failures.

Multiobjective Service Restoration Considering Primary Customers using Hybrid GA-ACO Algorithm

To restore electricity service in healthy area outside the faulted zone in power distribution system is known as service restoration. In this paper, a technique based on hybrid Genetic Algorithm-Ant Colony Optimization (GA-ACO) is presented for solving the service restoration problem in electric power distribution system. Due the presence of various conflicting objectives and constraints, the task of service restoration is multi-objective and multi-constraint optimization problem. In contrast to conventional optimization technique, this approach does not require tunable weighting factors to convert multiple objectives into equivalent single objective. In this work various practical distribution systems issues such as presence of priority customers, remotely and manually controlled switches etc have been considered as objective functions. Based on simulation results on four different distribution networks, the performance of hybrid GA-ACO is found significantly better than Non Dominated Sorting of Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) and conventional Genetic Algorithm.

A multi-server queueing system with service interruption, partial protection and repetition of service

A queueing model consisting of two multi-server service systems is considered. Primary customers arrive at a multi-server queueing system-1 having an infinite buffer. The input flow is described by a MAP (Markovian Arrival Process). The service time of a primary customer has a PH (Phase-type) distribution. Besides the primary customers, a MAP of interruptions arrives to the system. An interruption removes one of the primary customers from the service if the state (phase) of its PH service process does not belong to some given set of so called protected phases when an interruption is successful. The interrupted customer leaves the system permanently with some probability. With complementary probability, the interrupted primary customer moves for service to system-2. This system consists of K independent identical servers and has no buffer. If all K servers are busy at the moment of a primary customer interruption, this customer will be lost. Otherwise, this primary customer starts the service in an arbitrary idle server of system-2. It is assumed that the service time of a primary customer by a server of system-2 has a PH distribution. Upon completion of the service at system-2, the customer becomes priority customer. If, at the service completion moment, there are free servers at system-1, the priority customer immediately starts getting the service at system-1. It is assumed that the service time of a priority customer by a server of system-1 has a PH distribution and this service can not be interrupted. If, at the moment when the primary customer finished the service at system-2, there are no idle servers at system-1, this customer is placed into the finite buffer for priority customers of capacity K. The customers will be picked up for the service according to the FIFO discipline. When a server of system-1 becomes free, it takes for service a priority customer from this buffer, if any. Type-1 customers are picked-up from the infinite buffer only if the buffer for priority customers is empty at the service completion moment at system-1. Behavior of this system is described by a multi-dimensional Markov chain. Algorithms for checking ergodicity condition and computing the stationary distribution are presented. Formulas for computing important performance measures of the system are derived.

On an M (X)/G/1 Retrial System with Two Types of Search of Customers from the Orbit

Single server retrial queueing models in which customers arrive according to a batch Poisson process are considered here. An arriving batch, finding the server busy, enters an orbit. Otherwise, one customer from the arriving batch enters for service immediately while the rest join the orbit. The customers from the orbit (the orbital customers) try to reach the server subsequently with the inter-retrial times exponentially distributed. Additionally, at each service completion epoch, two different search mechanisms, that is, type I and type II search, to bring the orbital customers by the system to service, are switched on. Thus, when the server is idle, a competition takes place among primary customers, customers who come by retrial and by two types of searches. The type I search selects a single customer whereas the type II search considers a batch of customers from the orbit. Depending on the maximum size of the batch being considered for service by a type II search, two cases are addressed here. In the first case, no restriction on batch size is assumed, whereas in the second case, maximum size of the batch is restricted to a pre-assigned value. We call the resulting models as model 1 and model 2 respectively. In all service modes other than type II search, only a single customer is qualified for service. Service times of the four types of customers, namely, primary, repeated, and those who come by two types of searches are arbitrarily distributed (with different distributions which are independent of each other). Steady state analysis is performed and stability conditions are established. A control problem for model 2 is considered and numerical illustrations are provided.

The marketization of the Criminal Justice System

This article looks at the marketization of the criminal justice system from a user perspective. Using a combination of personal and professional experience, the author explores the development of a market within the system, starting with an examination of what the system is trying to achieve. The ‘primary customer’ of the system is then discussed, highlighting in the author’s view how the emphasis of NOMS has been moving away from the person serving a sentence as being its primary customer. This then leads into a discussion of how a market has developed within a system that doesn’t have its main consumer as its primary customer, and some of the potential problems that this causes. While slightly pessimistic about the way that the market currently operates, the article concludes by calling for a shift in who is seen as being NOMS’s primary customer, if a fair and effective market is to be developed in the future.

Erasmus language students in a British university: a case study

Students' assessment of their academic experience is actively sought by higher education institutions, as evidenced in the UK's National Student Survey, introduced in 2005. Erasmus students, despite their growing numbers, tend to be excluded from these satisfaction surveys, even though they, too, are primary customers of a university. This study aims to present results from bespoke questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with a sample of Erasmus students studying languages in a British university. These methods allow us insight into the experience of these students and their assessment as a primary customer, with a focus on language learning and teaching, university facilities and student support. It investigates to what extent these factors influence their levels of satisfaction and what costs of adaptation, if any, they encounter. Although excellent levels of satisfaction were found, some costs affect their experience. They relate to difficulties in adapting to a learning methodology based on a low number of hours and independent learning and to a guidance and support system seen as too stifling. The results portray this cohort's British university as a well-equipped and well-meaning but ultimately overbearing institution, which may indicate that minimising costs can eliminate some sources of dissatisfaction.

Social and cultural contexts of HIV risk behaviors among Thai female sex workers in Bangkok, Thailand

Recently, the number of indirect female sex workers (FSWs) who work at bars/clubs and massage parlors is substantially increasing in Thailand; however, there are huge gaps in knowledge about HIV risk behaviors among indirect FSWs. This study aimed to describe and understand HIV risk behaviors among Thai FSWs in Bangkok in relation to sociocultural factors and work environment (e.g., bars/clubs, massage parlors, brothels, and street). Based on venue-based purposive sampling methods, Thai FSWs were recruited for qualitative interviews (n=50) and survey interviews (n=205). Based on mixed methods, the study revealed that HIV risk and substance use behaviors among FSWs significantly differed depending on work venues, although there were no significant differences between work venues on some key risk behaviors (e.g., inconsistent condom use with primary partners and customers; willingness to engage in unsafe sex with customers). A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that FSWs who had used illicit drugs, were young, had low levels of self-esteem, or reported STIs had frequently engaged in unprotected vaginal sex with customers. Also, FSWs who worked at bars/clubs, were young, had higher income, or reported STIs had frequently engaged in sex with customers under the influence of alcohol. Qualitative interviews illustrated FSWs’ alcohol and drug use due to their stressful life (e.g., long working hours and a large number of customers) and easy access to alcohol and drugs. FSWs had shown inaccurate knowledge about HIV prevention methods and engaged in risky behaviors, such as washing vagina with water or toothpaste after having had sex with customers. The HIV prevention strategies in Thailand need to be re-structured through implementing evidence-based HIV prevention intervention programs for FSWs, which must address sociocultural factors (e.g., self-esteem) and alcohol and drug use specific to work venues.

Enhanced formulations and branch-and-cut for the two level network design problem with transition facilities

We consider a new combinatorial optimization problem that combines network design and facility location aspects. Given a graph with two types of customers and two technologies that can be installed on the edges, the objective is to find a minimum cost subtree connecting all customers while the primary customers are served by a primary subtree that is embedded into the secondary subtree. In addition, besides fixed link installation costs, facility opening costs, associated to each node where primary and secondary subtree connect, have to be paid. The problem is called the Two Level Network Design Problem with Transition Facilities (TLNDF).We first model the problem on an extended graph where an additional set of arcs corresponds to the installation of node facilities and propose a cut set based model for the TLNDF that is defined on this extended graph. We present several theoretical results relating families of cut set inequalities on the extended graph with subfamilies of cut set inequalities on the original graph. We then show how a standard multi-commodity flow model defined on the original graph can be strengthened using disaggregation “by technology”. We prove that the disaggregated compact formulation on the original graph provides the same lower bound as the cut set formulation on the extended graph.We develop a branch-and-cut algorithm for solving the TLNDF. The performance of this algorithm is improved by separating subfamilies of cut set inequalities on the original graph. Our computational study confirms the efficiency and applicability of the new approach.

The mixed-product assembly line sequencing problem of a door-lock company in Taiwan

This paper investigates the mixed-product assembly line sequencing problem in the door-lock manufacturing industry. Companies in the door-lock industries schedule their production processes to minimize their costs while meeting customer demand. The variances and diversities of each lock’s components complicate the mixed-product assembly line sequencing problem and directly influence the material requirement planning and human resource costs. In the current research, we study one of the largest ironware manufacturing companies in Asia, company F. For this company, an export-oriented strategy makes its main products (such as door locks and door closers) available around the globe. The primary customers of company F are the largest home improvement co-op stores (such as Home Depot, Lowe’s and True Value in the US) from the region of North America. The sales from this region account for over 80% of company F’s total sales. The remaining company sales are geographically distributed around the world in areas such as Europe, Asia and Australia. However, as labor cost is the major concern, this company seeks supply sources in southeast Asia, China and Taiwan. In this paper, we analyze company F and formulate an integer programming mathematical model with constraints regarding production lines, labor, warehouse capacity and order fulfillment rates to minimize the total cost. The customer demand is derived from real data from company F. We use the branch and bound algorithm (CPLEX) to solve this problem and analyze the results. Salient results and practical issues involved in this unique problem are discussed in detail in this paper.

Modeling Total Quality Management in Higher Education with Case-Based Reasoning

Total quality management (TQM) is a philosophy and a system for continuously improving the services and products offered to customers through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. With regards to higher education, quality education needs to be emphasized in ensuring progressive intellectual capacity building. Both quality assurance and management are critical in ensuring that higher learning institutions provide better services to their primary customers. The continuous improvement and growth focus of TQM would offer more excitement and challenges to students and lecturers as compared to a “good enough” traditional learning environment. In this paper, elements of an education system that focus on total quality assurance and management are discussed. This paper emphasizes on the mastery learning approach, which is in line with TQM. The learning process contains the following steps: Plan, teach (Do), Check (formative evaluation), revised teaching (Act), and Test (summative evaluation). The two main objectives of using TQM in education, which are to improve learning and to improve cost effectiveness, are emphasized. The paper concludes with a TQM system model that applies genetic algorithm (GA) in case-based reasoning (CBR) that can be used as guidelines to total quality assurance and management in higher education. The combination of CBR and GA will produce a better TQM system model as compared to the one introduced earlier in a previous paper. It is believed that this newly proposed system model is useful in building intellectual capacity in higher education.

Co-production versus co-creation: A process based continuum in the hotel service context

This paper reviews the theoretical underpinnings of co-production and co-creation and discusses these service production approaches in a hotel context. Based on a synthesis of the literature, we present a co-production to co-creation matrix and offer several propositions: (1) the co-production versus co-creation concepts create a continuum rather than a dichotomy; (2) service innovation and the customisation of service production are conceived as lying somewhere between co-production and cocreation on this continuum; and (3) the key factors that define a typology of service production types (co-production, service innovation, customisation, and co-creation) include the primary value-creation driver and customer involvement/dialogue type. We further discuss the benefits for hotels of moving from co-production to co-creation on this continuum. As one of the first papers to discuss co-creation in hospitality, it contributes to the field by providing specific theoretical and practical implications for how hotel companies can move from co-production to co-creation.

Improving Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Neonatal ICU with Computer Decision Support

equipment and monitored the outcomes using unit based champions and weekly prevalence data gathering. We used the A3 tool that provided a structured approach to define and understand the problem. The tool contains the following seven main elements: reason for action, initial state, target state, gap analysis, solution approach, rapid experiments and confirmed state. The nursing staff and nursing education were the champions that drove the daily practice, compliance and implementation of the “best practices”. The Infection Control team monitored the CAUTI's and supported the nursing staff implementation of the project. Results: In 2011, the overall reduction of CAUTI's hospital wide was 44% compared to the CAUTI rate in 2010. The greatest improvement was seen in the ICU. A comparison of ICU CAUTI rates at baseline demonstrated a decrease from 10.8 per 1,000 catheter days in 2010 to 5.4 per 1,000 catheter days post-intervention in 2011. This represents a 50% reduction in the ICU. Lesson Learned: Implementing “best practice,” working collaboratively and actively promoting infection prevention demonstrates a positive impact on patient care and satisfaction. Using the Breakthrough (LEAN) thinking method has provided a framework for the staff to implement the right choices creating processess that define the primary customer, the patient.

India: Case Study on the Supreme Court Ruling on the 2G Spectrum Scam

In 2008, the Central Government of India granted 122 telecom licenses to various companies in response to 575 applications for licenses. In a report in 2010-11, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India concluded that the allocation of these 122 licenses was characterised by policy gaps and irregularities in procedure. The Government was criticised for cherry-picking the telecom regulators recommendations; for ignoring market based mechanisms like auctions; and for administratively allocating licenses at prices discovered in 2001 on the pretext of providing a level playing field with incumbent operators. The estimated loss by the CAG according to three different estimates ranged from Rs 53523 to 139652 crores. Media coverage of the report and license allocation, hyped as the “2G Scam,” was followed by public outrage and protests. On the 2nd of February 2012, the Supreme Court of India, in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), cancelled all 122 telecom licenses granted in 2008 and directed that the spectrum linked with these licenses be auctioned.The verdict took the telecom industry by surprise and left the Government running for cover. The unaffected incumbent operators praised the verdict for giving a blank slate to the Government - an opportunity to chalk out a fresh concrete policy for efficient management of spectrum and maximization of government revenues. The affected licensees, however, complained that the Supreme Court left a question mark with respect to the future of operators who had already rolled out their networks. Many investors such as the Telenor Group (of Uninor) had already invested over Rs 6,100 crores in equity and over Rs 8,000 crores in corporate guarantees as a foreign investor that trusted a telecom licence stamped by the Government of India. The company had appealed to the government for a solution so that its customers are not affected by the verdict. ''We also expect the authorities to ensure that our 36 million customers, 17500 workforce and 22000 partners are not unjustly affected,'' said Uninor . A few other foreign investors even threatened to invoke foreign investment treaties to indemnify their losses. Some others have decided to write off the losses and exit the market completely.Industry experts fear that the reduced competition by the mass cancellation of licenses is expected to lead to an increase in tariffs in the near future. Further, experts also fear that a few telecom infrastructure companies are expected to become unsustainable as their primary customers were the cancelled licensees. The Supreme Court ruling comes in a scenario wherein telecommunications in India is torn between the New Telecom Policy of 1999 (NTP 1999) and the Draft New Telecom Policy of 2011 (DNTP 2011), which is yet to be finalised and notified in February 2012. In these times of uncertainty, all stakeholders look towards the Central Government for guidance with very high expectations.

Education and its customers

In this research, we survey education customers which include “primary customers” who receive the services directly, “secondary customers” who directly influence the education for specific individuals and institutions, like families and employers, and “tertiary customer” who has a minor but very important role in education, like employers, government employees, and society as a whole. As we see later, a clear service definition, conveyed by the institution to the customer, is as important as perfect relationships with the customers which causes the best advertising done by learners for the institution.

A Roundtable Discussion: Embracing the Mobile Revolution

<i>A Roundtable Discussion:</i> Embracing the Mobile Revolution

Cost analysis of a bulk service retrial queue

This paper studies a batch arrival general bulk service retrial queueing model with constant retrial rate. The primary customers arrive in bulk according to Poisson process and they get service under general bulk service rule with minimum of one customer and maximum of ‘b’ customers. If the arriving batch of customers, of size ‘ζ ’, 1≤ζ ≤ b , finds the server free, then all of them get service immediately; while, if the size of the arriving batch is more than ‘b’, then, ‘b’ customers enter the service station and the remaining ζ - b customers join the orbit. However, if an arriving batch of customers finds the server busy, then the entire batch joins the orbit in order to seek service again. The customers in the orbit will try for service one by one with a constant retrial rate ‘v’ when the server is idle. For the proposed model, the probability generating function of the steady-state queue size distribution at an arbitrary time, expected number of customers in the orbit, expected waiting time, expected length of busy period and expected length of busy cycle are obtained. The cost analysis of the queueing system is discussed. The effects of several parameters on the system are analysed numerically.

Comparative Analysis of Customer Satisfaction on Islamic and Conventional Banks in Malaysia

Customer satisfaction is critically important for banks to stay competitive as the customer is the ultimate source of income for any organization. Islamic banking system and conventional banking system are considered as rival systems working in the same banking industry. In order for Islamic banks to compete successfully with conventional banks, Islamic banks must give extremely high consideration to their primary customers. Whenever either Islamic banks or conventional banks offer any product or service, its success depends upon the customer satisfaction towards that product or service. This study examines the level of customer satisfaction on Islamic banks as well as conventional banks in Malaysia. It also investigates the relationship between different demographic variables and the satisfaction of customers. A sample of 1,153 respondents from various cities representing different states in Malaysia was selected. The results in this study suggest that customers are mostly satisfied with the quality of services which include competency, friendliness, and efficiency of the staff of the Islamic and conventional banks.

Service quality, customer satisfaction in technology-based universities

To achieve the twin objectives of satisfaction and loyalty, service quality in the university sector needs to be evaluated from both the internal (customers) and external (service providers) perspectives. Against this background, this article reviewed issues involved in service quality in universities from the customer satisfaction and attachment points of view, taking students as primary customers, especially in technology-based universities in Nigeria. The review noted that, service quality and customer satisfaction has direct relationship, because the students’ expectations of a university education are skewed towards learning experiences and individual preferences, implying students’ enrolment decision depends on the service encounters relating to factors like support facilities and infrastructure, image and marketing, academic issues, administrative issues, location and access. Key words: Service quality, higher education, customer satisfaction, institutional attachment.