Complaints management 2.0: dealing with unhappy customers when everybody has an audience

This report examines customer complaint management practices in an era where customers expect instant action from companies and, if service does not meet their expectations, they do not hesitate to voice their disappointment in both public and private arenas. This research includes an extensive literature review of both academic and practitioner sources in order to identify best practice for complaint management in the business to consumer environment. Four key steps in developing a comprehensive complaints management strategy have been identified. The first step is about developing an effective approach to complaint management by understanding how, and why, customers voice their dissatisfaction. This needs to be followed by having the right procedures in place to facilitate customers’ access to the organisation in order to streamline customer interaction and to optimise the outcome for the company and the customer. Thirdly, companies need to take a strategic view of complaint management giving it equal weight to other marketing strategy initiatives such as customer satisfaction targets and loyalty programs. The fourth and final step is to identify and measure the benefits of complaint management along with its associated costs in order to ensure the appropriate allocation of resources required not only to track improvements but also to communicate the importance of consistent complaint management processes across all levels of the organisation. Without a thorough understanding of the costs and benefits of a comprehensive complaint management system it is difficult to engage the organisation at the strategic level. Addressing complaint management strategically provides coherence, unity and integration with the myriad policies and procedures that make up the smooth and successful running of an organisation. Coherence is needed to meet the expectations of customers who want seamless interaction with the organisation and who are increasingly likely to voice their dissatisfaction through the highly visible mechanisms of social media such as blogs or twitter feeds. This research concludes that both researchers and practitioners need to develop a solid understanding of the potential benefits and financial implications of managing complaints in a timely and satisfactory manner. In order to do this it is necessary to monitor performance and close the gap between strategic goals and customer behaviour. They also need to understand the barriers to complaining faced by less confident and less vocal, customers, so that the business can gain a true and holistic view of its customer service operation. Finally, social media platforms need to be integrated into the portfolio of communication channels available to organisations and customers alike in order to develop the power of electronic word of mouth

Social media in the business-to-business context: use and value

Social media are now an integral part of how people stay connected and communicate. Given that personal relationships and interactions play a key role in the business to business environment, it is pertinent to investigate how social media can be successfully deployed by such organisations. This report examines the successful use of social media by businesses that primarily sell to other businesses. This was done by reviewing academic and practitioner literature that discussed specific examples of adoption of social media platforms by business to business firms, and how such adoption had added value to the organisation in question. Our study identified examples of successful use of social media in small as well as multinational organisations, and in a variety of manufacturing and service contexts. The application most discussed in the literature reviewed was branding, followed by communications. There was also evidence of social media being used as part of the sales cycle, particularly in terms of lead generation. In addition, social media were deemed valuable in the areas of customer service and market intelligence. The study also explored how business to business organisations are using social media to achieve their objectives. It is clear that social media require a style of communication different from other, traditional platforms. There is an emphasis on approachability, authenticity and interaction, and an increased use of stories and content that show the human side of the organisation. There is also an emphasis on visual content, such as archival or behind the scenes photos and, increasingly, video. This new style of communication is best achieved when there is participation from different parts and members of the organisation, and where there is limited red tape. The findings from this study provide inspiration and guidance to business to business firms wishing to use social media as part of their marketing strategy. It should be noted, however, that the examples identified in our study, and mentioned in this report, consistently presented the perspective of the supplier organisation, and its perception of value and success. That is, the perspective of the business to business customer is largely absent from the literature, which is in sharp contrast with the business to consumer context, where there is a substantial research done on consumers’ attitudes, motivations and expectations, which can guide social media investment. The lack of insight into the business to business customer’s perspective means that business to business organisations may be missing on opportunities to expand the value derived from social media

Leaf litter processing in low order streams

Forests produce a large amount of detritus, that inevitably end up in streams, subsidizing aquatic systems with organic matter and nutrients. Here we review some of the research carried out at the University of Coimbra with the objective of getting a better understanding of the breakdown process of these materials and its incorporation to secondary production. Litter-fall in deciduous forests in Central Portugal can reach up to 750 g AFDM of leaves m-2 yr-1, with 73% of the litter produced between October and December. In several retention experiments, we measured a 90% leaf retention in low order (1st- 4th) streams within 15 - 70 m, and a standing stock of up to 450 g AFDM m-2. The amount of nutrients in the water and the plant physical and chemical defenses can be an indicator of the rate at which plant material is incorporated into secondary production or exported as dissolved and fine particles of organic matter. Respiration rates of decomposing leaves incubated with fungicides were severely reduced, supporting the idea that fungi are very important agents in litter breakdown. The fungi group known as aquatic hyphomycetes are capable of producing enzymes able to cause leaf maceration, and by 2 to 3 weeks, up to 15 % of the decomposing leaf biomass corresponds to fungi. Shredder invertebrates are also biological agents involved in litter breakdown. Given their densities and feeding rates, we measured consumption rates of 12 - 54 g of leaves m-2 yr-1 in a stream in Central Portugal, corresponding to 2 to 9 times the litter standing stock. Feeding rates were high in nutrient rich leaves and low in chemical and physically protected leaves with low nutrient content. According to several experiments, fungal colonization facilitates the access of invertebrates to the energy trapped in deciduous leaves in streams. Some invertebrates have strategies to cope with low quality food (leaves with low microbial biomass or high chemical defenses). Those include high mobility, small size, compartmentalized digestion in the gut, presence of endosymbionts, and the capability to decrease respiration rates. The relative importance of fungi and invertebrates in the incorporation of plant litter material into secondary production varies across rivers and biomes. Shredder invertebrates seem to play a key role in litter breakdown in headwaters, but their importance appears to decrease downstream. In the same way, some systems where leaves are hard or protected, shredder invertebrates may be less abundant and the energy may be mainly recovered from litter by fungi. Eucalyptus plantations are systems with low diversity of invertebrates and aquatic hyphomycetes. Streams running through eucalyptus plantations seem therefore ideal to experimentally investigate relationships between structural parameters (biodiversity) and function. Finally, our research has been extended to other climatic areas including the Mediterranean and tropical streams. We reported a wide variety of situation in those systems. A general rule applying to all of them is that if leaf litter is abundant and high quality, the incorporation of energy into detrital food webs can be processed very quickly. However, if leaves are well protected and nutrients in the water are low, processing rates are equally very low, independently of the ambient temperatures.Los bosques producen una gran cantidad de detritus orgánicos, que inevitablemente llegan a los ríos, subsidiando los sistemas acuáticos con materiales y nutrientes. Aquí se revisan algunos de los trabajos que se han hecho en la Universidad de Coimbra con el objetivo de entender mejor el proceso de descomposición de este material y su incorporación en producción secundaria. La entrada de hojarasca en bosques caducifolios del Centro de Portugal puede alcanzar hasta 750 g PSLC (peso seco libre de cenizas) m-2 año-1, con 73 % de este valor ocurriendo entre Octubre y Diciembre. En varios experimentos de retención medimos que cerca de 90 % hojas que entran en ríos de baja orden (1ª- 4ª) eran retenidas entre los 15 y 75 m, y que la biomasa de hojarasca acumulada era de hasta 450 g PSLC m-2. La cantidad de nutrientes en el agua y las defensas físicas y químicas de las plantas pueden ser un indicador de la tasa a que el material orgánico es incorporado en producción secundaria o exportado como material disuelto o finamente particulado. Las tasas de respiración de hojas incubadas con fungicidas disminuyeron severamente apoyando la idea de que los hongos son agentes muy importantes en la descomposición de hojarasca el los ríos. El grupo de hongos conocido como hifomicetos acuáticos producen enzimas que causan la maceración de hojas, y en 2 o 3 semanas, hasta 15 % de la biomasa de una hoja en descomposición puede corresponder a hongos. Los invertebrados desmenuzadores son también agentes biológicos en la descomposición. Dadas las densidades de desmenuzadores y sus tasas de ingestión de alimento, hemos calculado tasas de consumo de hojas en ríos de12 - 54 g m-2 año-1, lo que corresponde a 2 a 9 veces la cantidad de hojarasca presente. Las tasas de consumo son generalmente altas en substratos ricos en nutrientes y bajas en hojas pobres en nutrientes o protegidas del punto de vista químico y físico. De acuerdo varios experimentos, la colonización por hongos facilita el acceso de los invertebrados a la energía de las hojas. Algunos invertebrados han desarrollado estrategias para poder vencer la baja calidad de las hojas, incluyendo un alta movilidad, tamaño pequeño, compartimentalización de la digestión en el intestino, presencia de endosimbiontes y la capacidad para disminuir las tasas respiratorias. La importancia relativa de los hongos e invertebrados en la incorporación de la hojarasca en producción secundaria es variable entre ríos y biomas. Los invertebrados desmenuzadores parecen jugar un papel importante en la descomposición de hojarasca en los ríos de bajo orden, pero su importancia parece disminuir rió abajo. Del mismo modo, en algunos sistemas en que las hojas son duras o protegidas, los invertebrados pueden ser menos abundantes y la energía canalizada en producción secundaria principalmente por los hongos. Las plantaciones de eucaliptos son sistemas con una baja diversidad de invertebrados e hifomicetos acuáticos. Los ríos que corren por plantaciones de eucaliptos parecen ser por este motivo sistemas ideales para investigar las relaciones entre parámetros estructurales (biodiversidad) y función. Finalmente, nuestra investigación ha sido extendida para otras zonas climáticas, incluyendo el Mediterráneo y las zonas tropicales. Hemos reportado una gran variedad de situaciones en esos sistemas. Una regla general a todos ellos es que si la hojarasca es abundante y de alta calidad, la incorporación de la energía de las hojas en las cadenas alimentares se procesa de forma muy rápida. Sin embargo, si las hojas están bien protegidas y los nutrientes el agua son bajos, estas tasas son igualmente muy bajas, independientemente de las temperaturas ambientales

Optimal design of a heat exchanger network composed of parallel tubes

Networks of tubes for heat and mass transport abound both in nature and in engineered systems. In this paper we study the optimal design of heat exchanging flow networks composed of parallel tubes. The impact of the network size-limiting constrains (surface area, tubes diameter), fluid flow regime, as well as the fluid pumping power requirements is addressed in this paper for the cases when Biot number is smaller than 0.1

Stochastic petri-net models to predict the degradation of ceramic claddings

A stochastic Petri-net formalism is proposed to predict the degradation of ceramic claddings over time in order to understand how different environmental exposure conditions contribute to the overall degradation of these claddings. For that purpose, the degradation condition of 195 ceramic claddings located in Lisbon, Portugal, is evaluated through in situ visual inspections. In the first part of the study, a stochastic deterioration Petri-net model is proposed for the entire sample. In the second part, the original sample is divided according to the environmental exposure conditions, evaluating the influence of these conditions on the deterioration process of ceramic claddings. Four main degradation agents are analyzed: exposure to moisture; distance from the sea; orientation; and wind–rain action. The results reveal that Petri nets can accurately describe the deterioration process of ceramic claddings, providing relevant information regarding the performance of these claddings through their life cycle and according to the environmental exposure conditions to which they are subject. These results are extremely relevant for different practitioners: the approach allows the adoption of more sustainable and durable solutions at the design stage, as well as improving the durability of the ceramic claddings by performing optimized maintenance plans and strategies

Estudos de Inteligência emocional em contextos profissionais com o IEVQ: Metanálise dos trabalhos de adaptação à população portuguesa

O presente capítulo apresenta uma metanálise a partir da pesquisa nos repositórios bibliográficos, de estudos feitos em Portugal sobre inteligência emocional em contextos profissionais, com utilização da adaptação portuguesa do Emotional Intelligence 360 View Questionnaire (EIVQ), de Kenneth Nowack (1997). O EIVQ permite a avaliação de um conjunto de indicadores comportamentais da inteligência emocional em contexto de trabalho, sob um design de avaliação panorâmico ou de 360º: pelo próprio, pela chefia, pelos subordinados e pelos pares. Os atuais contextos de trabalho privilegiam redes interligadas e interdependentes de colaboradores e chefias que assentam as relações interpessoais. Esta tendência põe em evidência a competência e a regulação emocional, assim como as competências sociais como características determinantes para o sucesso profissional (Candeias, 2008). O objetivo deste trabalho é perceber se o EIVQ será um instrumento com qualidades psicométricas para caracterizar as competências socio emocionais dos colaboradores e líderes de diversos grupos profissionais em Portugal e em função dos estudos de adaptação já realizados e disponíveis nos repositórios bibliográficos.FCT e três projetos ENABLIN+ (Leonardo Da Vinci), Cognition & Inclusion (ERASMUS+) e LLL-HUB (Lifelong Learning Programm) e da I Conferência Europeia em Life Long Learning (realizada na Universidade de Évora com os apoios do Departamento de Psicologia e da Escola de Ciências Sociais), e da Associação Portuguesa de Gestão de Pessoas (APG) e a Associação Nacional para a Qualificação e Ensino Profissional

When Chatbots Fail: Exploring Customer Responsibility Attributions of Co-Created Service Failures: An Abstract

Extant literature has predominantly viewed value co-creation as a voluntary process of value creation between the customer and the service provider (e.g., Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer 2012; Sugathan, Ranjan, and Mulky 2017). However, the customer may not always enter into the value co-creation process voluntarily. As chatbots are increasingly replacing traditional customer service options (Belanche et al. 2020), customers may find themselves in situations where they are forced to use automated technologies (Reinders, Frambach, and Kleijnen 2015). Indeed, several service providers have started to offer chatbots as the only customer solution, especially as the first point of contact for customer service queries (Forrester 2017). Such cases, where the customer does not have a choice as to whether to interact with a chatbot or a human representative, represent instances of mandatory customer participation (Dong and Sivakumar 2017; Tsai, Wu, and Huang 2017). Limiting consumers’ perceived freedom of choice in co-creating, may result in severe negative attitudes towards the evaluation of the technology and the service provider (Reinders, Dabholkar, and Frambach 2008). Such attitudes may be further exacerbated when a situation requiring the forced use of a technology leads to service failure. We argue that in cases of service failure, forced co-creation (no choice but to interact with chatbot) will have a distinct impact on customer responsibility attributions of controllability, stability and locus of causality, when compared to voluntary co-creation (choice between chatbot and human representative). We also investigate the role of customer expectations and propose that expectations mediate the relationship between each co-creation setting and the resulting responsibility attributions. Experimental research is being proposed to test the research framework in a customer service setting, taking into consideration two types of service failure: outcome and process failure. Participants will be randomly assigned to two different co-creation settings: forced co-creation and co-creation by choice, and will be required to interact with an actual chatbot, which has been programmed using the IBM Watson platform. Participant responses will be recorded through an online questionnaire. The findings of this experimental research are expected to contribute to a more insightful understanding of the consequences of forcing consumers to use novel technologies. This is an important research area which has been largely overlooked in service literature to date, as the literature has typically examined the introduction of new technologies within a voluntary context. Insights into these behaviours are also important to achieve a more substantive understanding of the implications of AI technologies, and to find ways to reduce negative reactions to such technologies

Heat Stress in Pinus halepensis Somatic Embryogenesis Induction: Effect in DNA Methylation and Differential Expression of Stress-Related Genes

In the current context of climate change, plants need to develop different mechanisms of stress tolerance and adaptation to cope with changing environmental conditions. Temperature is one of the most important abiotic stresses that forest trees have to overcome. Recent research developed in our laboratory demonstrated that high temperatures during different stages of conifer somatic embryogenesis (SE) modify subsequent phases of the process and the behavior of the resulting ex vitro somatic plants. For this reason, Aleppo pine SE was induced under different heat stress treatments (40 \u00b0C for 4 h, 50 \u00b0C for 30 min, and 60 \u00b0C for 5 min) in order to analyze its effect on the global DNA methylation rates and the differential expression of four stress-related genes at different stages of the SE process. Results showed that a slight decrease of DNA methylation at proliferating embryonal masses (EMs) can correlate with the final efficiency of the process. Additionally, different expression patterns for stress-related genes were found in EMs and needles from the in vitro somatic plants obtained; the DEHYDRATION INDUCED PROTEIN 19 gene was up-regulated in response to heat at proliferating EMs, whereas HSP20 FAMILY PROTEIN and SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE [Cu-Zn] were down-regulated in needles

Design of a high power production target for the Beam Dump Facility at CERN

The Beam Dump Facility (BDF) project is a proposed general-purpose facility at CERN, dedicated to beam dump and fixed target experiments. In its initial phase, the facility is foreseen to be exploited by the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment. Physics requirements call for a pulsed 400 GeV/c proton beam as well as the highest possible number of protons on target (POT) each year of operation, in order to search for feebly interacting particles. The target/dump assembly lies at the heart of the facility, with the aim of safely absorbing the full high intensity Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) beam, while maximizing the production of charmed and beauty mesons. High-Z materials are required for the target/dump, in order to have the shortest possible absorber and reduce muon background for the downstream experiment. The high average power deposited on target (305 kW) creates a challenge for heat removal. During the BDF facility Comprehensive Design Study (CDS), launched by CERN in 2016, extensive studies have been carried out in order to define and assess the target assembly design. These studies are described in the present contribution, which details the proposed design of the BDF production target, as well as the material selection process and the optimization of the target configuration and beam dilution. One of the specific challenges and novelty of this work is the need to consider new target materials, such as a molybdenum alloy (TZM) as core absorbing material and Ta2.5W as cladding. Thermo-structural and fluid dynamics calculations have been performed to evaluate the reliability of the target and its cooling system under beam operation. In the framework of the target comprehensive design, a preliminary mechanical design of the full target assembly has also been carried out, assessing the feasibility of the whole target system.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figure