Sustainable Competitive Advantage In Service Operations: An Empirical Examination

This paper empirically examines the impact of environment friendly practices on restaurants in attracting customers. The restaurant industry is witnessing the green movement. Restaurant owners adopt green practices to their properties with the purpose of creating a distinctive image that can differentiate them from their competitors. Therefore, restaurateurs strive to get this competitive advantage by introducing green practices into their restaurants. However, little research has been done in the service sector to prove whether or not organic and sustainable service businesses such as restaurants can have a competitive advantage based on the organic and sustainability factors alone. The purpose of this research is to unfold these relationships through empirical analysis. The results of this research show that the dimension Sustainability is easily identified by the customers and does bring customers back to the restaurants. The results also indicate that restaurant industry need to do better job in creating awareness among their customers about the environment friendly practices used in their businesses

Endoscopic study of upper gastrointestinal mucosal lesion in chronic renal failure

Background: Chronic renal failure is a syndrome complex results from progressive and irreversible destruction of nephrons regardless of cause. This diagnosis implies that GFR is known to have been reduced for atleast 3 to 6 months. To study the clinical manifestations and assess the type and prevalence of upper gastrointestinal lesions and to correlate the clinical and biochemical parameters with upper GI mucosal lesion in chronic renal failure patients.Methods: Fifty CRF patients from nephrology and Medicine OPD, admitted in the department of Medicine, M.Y. Hospital, Indore, during January 2002 to April 2003 were studied. A detailed History, clinical examination, Urine Examination, renal Function test, U.S.G. was done and then upper GI Endoscopy was performed.Results: Thirty-six males and fourteen females (n=50) were studied. Most common age group was 41-50 years; commonest GI symptom was Anorexia (100%) and Nausea was present in (94%) of patients and GI bleed was seen in (8%). The common upper GI lesion were gastritis (28%), Oesophagitis (16%) and Duodenitis (12%). No patients had Gastric or Duodenal Ulcers. Majority of patients had creatinine clearance between 5-10 ml /min and most of the patients had duration of disease between 11-20 months.Conclusions: Gastrointestinal symptoms are very frequent in CRF patients. There is a high incidence of inflammatory charges of gastrointestinal mucosa in patients of CRF and chronic uremic patients are not at high risk of developing ulcer disease. There is no correlation of these gastrointestinal symptoms and inflammatory changes with age, sex, severity and duration of disease

Apple, Inc.: Where Is It Going From Here?

Apple’s central business model has not changed since the company’s emergence in the late 1980s. While being a leader in consumer electronics innovation, Apple has reliably produced proprietary hardware and software, which has provided the company a competitive advantage in gaining a share of any market into which they have ventured. Apple's strategic management decision to include non-PC products in its portfolio has thrived so far, driven by the success of the iPod, iPad, and iPhone. However, iPod sales have slowed. The iPhone is facing increased competition within the smartphone industry. The success or failure of Apple's latest creation, the iPad Mini, remains to be seen. The combination of these events begs the question: Will Apple’s existing and emerging product lines take it to the next level? This paper presents a synopsis of Apple’s current and emerging product lines as a means to predict the future direction of the company

Developmental Disparities in Rural Health Care: Distant Dream to Achieve Universal Health Coverage in India

There is always a health gap striking between rural and urban, advantaged and marginalized section of society while accessing and utilizing health care services. This research paper tries to throw some light on the disparities and challenges faced by healthcare service recipients (rural community people) as well as healthcare service providers (Government Healthcare system like PHC and Rural Hospital). The study reveals that majority of the healthcare services in the remote & tribal „padaas‟ lack health centres, medical doctors, and medical equipment. Adding to it, the shortage of trained medical professionals especially lab technicians, pharmacist and nurses and non availability of essential medicines to poor patients adversely affects access to and utilization of health care service, thus making Universal Health Coverage a distant dream to achieve in India

Barnes & Noble, Inc.: Maintaining A Competitive Edge In An Ever-changing Industry

On Christmas Eve in 2007, Barnes & Noble’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Riggio, sat in his Manhattan apartment overlooking the busy streets of NYC and was hoping that the last minute shoppers were making their Christmas purchases at the B&N Union Square flagship store.  However, he could not help but worry about the increasing competition in the retail industry, specifically, the book industry.  Riggio wondered if shoppers would even be in the stores or would they have already done their shopping on-line?  If they had done their shopping on-line, would they have used Barnesandnoble.com or Amazon.com?  In the midst of a struggling economy, would shoppers choose to shop at discount stores such as Costco or Target?  These were just a few of the questions that Riggio was asking himself at the end of a very tough year.  Riggio considered where Barnes & Noble would be in 5, 10, or even 20 years.  Unfortunately, with the increasing competition, technological advances, and changes in book industry trends, Riggio knew that the answers were not only complex; they were yet to be determined