Escaping the Under-Reform Trap

Most former Soviet republics have fallen into an economic and political under-reform trap. An intrusive state imposes high tax rates and drives entrepreneurs into the unofficial economy, which further aggravates the pressure on official businessmen. Tax revenues and public goods dwindle, further reducing incentives to register business activity. This economic under-reform trap has a political counterpart. Remarkably, Communist parties remain popular and opposed to establishing the rule of law precisely in those places where they were able to delay and derail reform. No electoral backlash prompts the reforms necessary to leave the under-reform trap. The best way out of the trap in countries such as Russia and Ukraine is increased economic and political competition among the elite. Copyright 2002, International Monetary Fund

A Study to Determine the Number of Students Continuing in a Hotel Career after Completing a Vocational Education Course in Hotel Operations

The following goals were used to direct this study: 1. Determine if students who completed the hotel/motel operations course continued in the hotel industry; 2. Determine if students who completed the hotel/motel operations course continued to further their education in the hospitality industry; 3. Determine if the hotel/motel operations class is a valuable course to the Virginia Beach community under the philosophy of outcome-based education

Design and Construction of Modular Concrete Footings and Testing Assembly for Use in Cal Poly\u27s High Bay Laboratory

The purpose of this project was to improve the testing capabilities of the ARCE High Bay lab by designing and fabricating a pair of modular concrete footings along with a reusable testing frame capable of testing full-scale steel moment connections

The effectiveness of an acceptance and commitment therapy self-help intervention for chronic pain

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an Acceptance Commitment Therapy based self-help book for people with chronic pain. Method: This was a randomized 2 group study design. Over a 6-week period, 6 participants read the self-help book and completed exercises from it with weekly telephone support whereas 8 others formed a wait-list control group. Subsequently, 5 of the wait-list participants completed the intervention. Participants completed preintervention and postintervention questionnaires for acceptance, values illness, quality of life, satisfaction with life, depression, anxiety, and pain. Initial outcome data were collected for 8 control participants and 6 intervention participants. Including the wait-list controls, a total of 11 participants completed preintervention and postintervention measures. Whilst completing the self-help intervention, each week participants' rated the content of the book according to reading level and usefulness, and their comprehension of the content was also assessed. Results: Compared with controls, participants who completed the book showed improved quality of life and decreased anxiety. When data from all the treatment participants were pooled, those who completed the intervention showed statistically significant improvements (with large effect sizes) for acceptance, quality of life, satisfaction with life, and values illness. Medium effect sizes were found for improvements in pain ratings. Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that using the self-help book, with minimal therapist contact adds value to the lives of people who experience chronic pain

Determining Attribute Importance in a Service Satisfaction Model

Determining the importance that customers place on the product and service attributes that drive their satisfaction with, and loyalty to, service providers is an essential part of a firm’s resource allocation process. An unsettled issue is whether importance measures should come directly from customers or be derived statistically and, if so, how. The authors compare direct importance ratings with a variety of methods for statistically deriving attribute importance in a customer satisfaction model. Using three data sets, the methods are compared on criteria that include their ability to explain variation in satisfaction, to identify customers’ more important attributes, and to be interpretable. The findings suggest that because each of the tested methods has its strengths and weaknesses, it is essential to choose a method that is compatible with the research goals and context

Measuring and Managing the Satisfaction-Loyalty-Performance Links at Volvo

In this paper a general framework is developed for linking measures from quality to business performance via customer satisfaction and loyalty. The authors illustrate how the framework has been applied at Volvo Car Corporation. The example shows that it is possible to establish where a company should focus its improvement efforts in order to make it pay off. In this example Volvo gains a greater number of loyal customers who spend more money with the company

The Effect of Customer Information during New Product Development on Profits from Goods and Services

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how customer information obtained at different phases of a new product development (NPD) process influences profits from new offerings. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted in the context of NPD in goods and services. A unique database was constructed that merged key informant survey responses with financial data for 244 firms. This database was used to replicate and extend previous research by posing a number of hypotheses regarding the role of obtaining customer information in NPD. Findings – The results show that obtaining customer information during NPD influences the profits from new offerings, which vary depending on the phase of the NPD process. The financial rewards from obtaining customer information for goods are highest in the early phases of the NPD process and decline in later phases. The financial rewards for services, on the other hand, are high in the early and late phases of the NPD process. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a survey combined with objective financial data, that is, a combination of different data sources. The research would have benefitted from longer data series and a higher response rate. Originality/value – This study replicates and extends previous research by testing the role of obtaining customer information in both manufacturing and service firms by combining survey data with objective financial data

The Role of Quality Practices in Service Organizations

The widespread interest in using quality management to improve organizational performance started in the manufacturing sector and later spread to service organizations. Quality management can be viewed as an approach to management characterized by its principles, practices and techniques (Dean and Bowen, 1994). Each principle is implemented through a set of practices, which consist of activities such as collecting customer information, improving work processes and managing employees. The practices are, in turn, made effective by the support of a wide array of techniques. The strength of quality management compared with other business philosophies is its focus on practical methodology, i.e. practices and techniques

Comparing Customer Satisfaction across Industries and Countries

Although aggregate satisfaction measures continue to proliferate, their value in making broad-based comparisons remains unclear. This study uses arguments from the economics, psychology, sociology and marketing domains to predict systematic differences in aggregate customer satisfaction across both industries and countries. These predictions are tested using a database created from three broad-based national satisfaction surveys in Sweden, Germany and the United States. The results reveal that, across countries, satisfaction is highest for competitive products, lower for competitive services and retailers, and lower still for government and public agencies. However, the differences vary by country. Satisfaction is also predictably lower in Sweden and Germany compared to the US, and shown to change systematically in Sweden over time. Methodological differences do not appear to limit the comparability of the aggregate satisfaction measures. Overall the study supports the use of national indices for making meaningful comparisons of satisfaction on a broad scale