Learning Organization free essay sample

Ch. 1: Why is shared information so important in a learning organization as compared to an efficient performance organization? Discuss how an organization’s approach to information-sharing might be related to other elements of organization design, such as structure, tasks, strategy, and culture. Shared information is so important in a learning organization as compared to an efficient performance organization because in a learning organization it promotes communication and collaboration so that everyone is fully engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, improve and increase its capability (Daft, 2010, p. 31). A learning organization follows a horizontal structure which disbands the vertical structure by flattening the distance between managers a the top of the organization and putting emphasis on self-directed teams which include members from several functional areas creating less boundaries (Daft, 2010, p. 31). In a learning organization, employees play a role in the team or department and roles may be continually redefined or adjusted. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning Organization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There are few rules and knowledge and control of tasks are located within the group. Information within a learning organization serves a distinct and separate purpose. Information is widespread and ensures that all employees are aware of the information. They maintain open lines of communication with everyone, including customers. The culture within a learning organization encourages openness, equality, continuous improvement, and change. Awareness is the key essential to the success. Ch. 1: What are some differences one might expect among stakeholder expectations for a nonprofit organization versus a for-profit business? Do you think nonprofit managers have to pay more attention to stakeholders than do business managers? Discuss. Some differences that one might expect among stakeholder expectations for a nonprofit organization versus a for-profit business is profit versus service. Nonprofit managers pay attention to the satisfaction of its stakeholders, volunteers and donors because they directly impact the success of the company. Nonprofit stakeholders are usually invested into the company for a personal reason and thrive on helping the business to succeed. Business managers are much more at the â€Å"will† of their shareholders who make money from the profit that the company is brining in. Ch. 2: How might a company’s goals for employee development be related to its goals for innovation and change? To goals for productivity? Can you discuss ways these types of goals might conflict in an organization? A company’s goals for employee development might be related to its goals for innovation and change and goals for productivity because strong employee development goals are one of the characteristics common to organizations that regularly show up on the Fortune magazine’s list of top companies to work for (Daft, 2010, p. 63). These goals are operative which provides the employee direction and motivation, decision guidelines and standard of performance (Daft, 2010, p. 64). Knowing where the company has been and is going is essential to business success. If not properly outlined and instilled within employees, conflict within the organization will emerge. Ch. 2: Suppose you have been asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the police department in a medium-sized community. Where would you begin, and how would you proceed? What effectiveness approach would you prefer? Understanding organizational goals and strategies, as well as the concept of fitting design to various contingencies, is a first step toward understanding organizational effectiveness (Daft, 2010, p. 74). Following this essential and crucial first step, would be the internal process approach which measures the internal organizational health and efficiency. To serve the public properly and efficiently, a department cannot be â€Å"rotting† from the inside. Assessing the internal process will show what the organization does with the resource it has. Ch. 3: What types of organizational activities do you think are most likely to be outsourced? What types are least likely? The types of organizational activities that I believe are most likely to be outsourced are activities such as IT, Human Resources, call centers and law. Types that are least likely would be those that give the organization its competitive edge over other competitors. References Daft, R. L. (2010). Organzation Theory and Design 10th Ed. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Color Change Chemical Volcano Demonstration

Color Change Chemical Volcano Demonstration There are several chemical volcanoes that are suitable for use as a chemistry lab demonstration. This particular volcano is nice because the chemicals are readily available and may be safely disposed after the eruption. The volcano involves a color change of the lava from purple to orange and back to purple. The chemical volcano can be used to illustrate an acid-base reaction and the use of an acid-base indicator. Color Change Volcano Materials goggles, gloves, and a lab coat or apron600 ml beakertub large enough to accomodate the beaker200 ml water50 ml concentrated HCl (hydrochloric acid)100 g sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3)bromocresol purple indicator (0.5 g bromocresol purple in 50 ml ethanol) Make the Chemical Volcano Erupt In the beaker, dissolve ~10 grams of sodium bicarbonate in 200 ml of water.Set the beaker in the middle of of the tub, preferably inside a fume hood, since strong acid is used for this demonstration.Add around 20 drops of indicator solution. Bromocresol purple indicator will be orange in the ethanol, but will turn purple when added to the basic sodium bicarbonate solution.Add 50 ml concentrated hydrochloric acid to the purple solution. This will cause the eruption in which the simulated lava turns orange and overflows the beaker.Sprinkle some sodium bicarbonate on the now-acidic solution. The color of the lava will return to purple as the solution becomes more basic.Enough sodium bicarbonate will neutralize the hydrochloric acid, but it is best to handle only the tub and not the beaker. When you are finished with the demonstration, wash the solution down the drain with plenty of water. How the Volcano Works changes color the sodium bicarbonate HCO3- H ↔ H2CO3 ↔ H2O CO2

Heart of Algebra Key Strategies for SAT Math

Heart of Algebra Key Strategies for SAT Math SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips On the newly redesigned 2016 SAT, the math section content is divided into four categories by the College Board: Heart of Algebra, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, Passport to Advanced Math, and Additional Topics in Math. Heart of Algebra accounts for the largest part of the SAT math section (33% of the test), so you need to be well prepared for it. In this post, I’ll be discussing this category's content and question types, working through practice problems, and giving tips on how to ace these questions. Heart of Algebra: Overview Content Covered Just as the name would suggest, Heart of Algebra covers algebra content, but what algebra content specifically? These questions cover: Linear Equations System of Equations Absolute Value Graphing Linear Equations Linear Inequalities and Systems of Inequalities I’ll delve into each one of these content areas below. I’ll explain exactly what you need to know in each area, and I’ll walk you through some practice problems. NOTE: All of the practice problems in this article come from a real College Board SAT practice test (Practice Test #1). I’d recommend you don’t read this article until after you’ve taken Practice Test #1 (so I don’t spoil it for you!). If you haven’t taken Practice Test #1, bookmark this article and come back after you’ve completed it. If you’ve already taken Practice Test #1, then read on! Heart of Algebra Question Breakdown As I mentioned at the start of the article, Heart of Algebra makes up 33% of the math section, which works out to 19 questions. There will be eight in section 3 (the non-calculator math test) and in section 4 (the calculator math test). Heart of Algebra questions vary in presentation. Because there are so many, the College Board needed to mix up how they ask you these questions. You’ll see multiple-choice and grid-in Heart of Algebra questions. You may simply be presented with an equation(s) and need to solve or you might be given a real world scenario as a word problem and need to create an equation(s) to find the answer. The SAT math section presents questions in order of difficulty (defined by how long it takes an average student to solve a problem and the percentage of students who answer the question correctly). You will see Heart of Algebra questions throughout the section: the straightforward, â€Å"easy† ones will appear at the beginning of the multiple choice and grid-ins while the more challenging ones that require you to create an equation or equations to solve will appear towards the end. I’ll give examples of each type of question (easy and hard) as we learn about each content area in the next section. We're on the path to conquering algebra! Content Area Breakdowns Linear Equations Linear equation questions can be presented in a couple of ways. The easier linear equation questions will ask you to solve a linear equation that is given to you. The harder linear equation questions will ask you to write a linear equation to represent the given situation. No Calculator Practice Problems This question is one of the simplest, easiest and most direct Heart of Algebra questions that you’ll see. The question just asks you to solve a linear equation without situating it in a real world situation that would require you to make sense of the context as well as the equation. Answer Explanation: Since $k=3$, one can substitute 3 for k in the equation, which gives ${x-1}/{3}=3$. Multiplying both sides of ${x-1}/{3}=3$ by 3 gives $x-1=9$, and if you add 1 to each side, then the result is $x=10$. D is the correct answer. Tip: If you struggled with this question, you could also solve it by plugging in the answer choices for x and seeing which one worked. Plugging in will work but will take you more time than simply solving the equation. If you solve the equation to find x, you can double check your answer by then plugging it in. If you plug in your answer choice for x, and both sides of the equation are equal, you know you have the right answer! The following question is slightly more challenging since it asks you to create a linear equation to represent the real world scenario it presents. Answer Explanation: There are two ways to approach this problem. Approach 1: The total number of messages sent by Armand is equal to his rate of texting (m texts/hour) multiplied by the 5 hours he spent texting: m texts/hour Ãâ€" 5 hours = $5m$ texts. Similarly, the total number of messages sent by Tyrone is equal to his rate of texting (p texts/hour) multiplied by the 4 hours he spent texting: p texts/hour Ãâ€" 4 hours = $4p$ texts. The total number of messages sent by Armand and Tyrone is equal to the sum of the total number of messages sent by Armand and the total number of messages sent by Tyrone: $5m+4p$. C is the correct answer. Approach 2: Pick numbers and plug them in. For example, I'm going to pick numbers and say Armand sends 3 texts per hour and Tyrone sends 10 texts per hour. Based on the given information, if Armand texts for 5 hours, Armand sent (3 texts per hour)(5 hours) texts or 15 texts; if Tyrone texts for 4 hours, Tyrone sent (10 texts per hour)(4 hours) texts or 40 texts. Therefore, the total number of texts sent by Armand and Tyrone is $15+40=55$ texts. Now, I plug in the numbers I chose to the answer choices and see if the number of texts matches 55 texts, so for answer C, $5(3) +4(10)=15+40=55$ texts. Therefore, C is the correct answer. NOTE: for this question, this strategy was slower, but for more complicated questions, this can be a faster and easier approach. Tip: Take these problems one step at a time. Figure out Armand’s total number of text messages, then figure out Tyrone’s total number of text messages, and then, combine them into one expression. Don’t rush to jump to the final answer. You might make a mistake along the way. Systems of Equations System of equations questions will be presented in similar ways as linear equation questions; however, they’re more difficult because you now have to do more steps and/or create a second equation. The easier system of equation questions will ask you to solve for one variable when you’re given two equations with two variables. The harder system of equation questions will require you to write a system of equations to represent the given situation and then solve for one variable using the equations you created. No Calculator Practice Problems This question is arguably the simplest, easiest and most straightforward systems of equation questions that you’ll see. It sets up the equations for you, and simply asks you to solve for x. Answer Explanation: Subtracting the left and right sides of $x+y=−9$ from the corresponding sides of $x+2y =−25$ gives $(x+2y)−(x+y)=−25−(−9)$, which is equivalent to $y=−16$. Substituting $−16$ for $y$ in $x+y=−9$ gives $x+(−16)=−9$, which is equivalent to $x=−9−(−16) =7$. The correct answer is 7. Tip: Plugging in may be a good option if you’re given this question in the multiple-choice (which isn’t the case here). However, you could have also plugged in your answer to double check your work! Here is another fairly straightforward system of equation question, but it is slightly more difficult since you need to provide the answer for both x and y (which creates more potential for error). Answer Explanation: Adding x and 19 to both sides of $2y−x=−19$ gives $x=2y+19$. Then, substituting $2y+19$ for x in $3x+4y=−23$ gives $3(2y + 19)+4y=−23$. This last equation is equivalent to $10y+57=−23$. Solving $10y+57=−23$ gives $y=−8$. Finally, substituting −8 for y in $2y−x=−19$ gives $2(−8)−x=−19$, or $x=3$. Therefore, the solution $(x, y)$ to the given system of equations is $(3, −8)$. Tip: Plugging in would have also been a quick way to solve this one! When asked to solve for both variables in a system of equation question, always try plugging in! The following is a bit more difficult. Even though you’re given the equations, you still need to determine what the question is asking you (which variable you need to solve for) which is slightly more challenging since it asks you the question using a real world scenario. Also, you need to solve it using mental math (since it’s in the no calculator section). Answer Explanation: To determine the price per pound of beef when it was equal to the price per pound of chicken, determine the value of x (the number of weeks after July 1) when the two prices were equal. The prices were equal when $b=c$; that is, when $2.35+0.25x=1.75+0.40x$. This last equation is equivalent to $0.60=0.15x$, and so $x={0.6}/{0.15}=4$. Then to determine $b$, the price per pound of beef, substitute 4 for $x$ in $b=2.35+0.25x$, which gives $b=2.35+0.25(4)=3.35$ dollars per pound. Therefore, D is the correct answer. Tip: Take your time working through each step. It’s easy to make a small mistake and get the wrong answer. Calculator Practice Problem The following is one of the hardest Heart of Algebra questions. Based on the real world scenario that you’re given in the question, you need to create two equations and then solve them. Answer Explanation: To determine the number of salads sold, write and solve a system of two equations. Let $x$ equal the number of salads sold and let $y$ equal the number of drinks sold. Since the number of salads plus the number of drinks sold equals 209, the equation $x+y=209$ must hold. Since each salad cost 6.50, each soda cost 2.00, and the total revenue was 836.50, the equation $6.50x+2.00y=836.50$ must also hold. The equation $x+y=209$ is equivalent to $2x+2y=418$, and subtracting each side of $2x+2y=418$ from the respective side of $6.50x+2.00y=836.50$ gives $4.5x=418.50$. Therefore, the number of salads sold x was $x={418.50}/{4.50}=93$. Therefore, B is the correct answer. Tip: Take these problems one step at a time. Write out the equation for the total number of salads and drinks sold, then figure out the equation for revenue, and then, solve. Don’t rush it or you might make a mistake. Absolute Value There will typically only be one Absolute Value question in the SAT math section. The question is usually pretty easy and straightforward, but it requires you to know the rules of absolute value to answer it correctly.Anything that is an absolute value will be bracketed with absolute value signs which look like this: || For example, $|-4|$ or $|x-1|$ An absolute value is a representation of distance along a number line, forward or backward. This means that whatever is in the absolute value sign will become positive since it represents distance along a number line and it is impossible to have a negative distance. For example, on the above number line, -2 is 2 away from 0. Anything inside of the absolute value becomes positive. This also means that an absolute value equation will always have two solutions. For example, $|x-1|=2$ will have two solutions $x-1=2$ and $x-1=-2$. Then, you solve each separate equation to find the two solutions, $x=3,-1$. When working on absolute value problems, remember that you need to create two separate solutions the positive and the negative as we did above. Calculator Practice Problem Answer Explanation: If the value of $|n−1|+1$ is equal to 0, then $|n−1|+1=0$. Subtracting 1 from both sides of this equation gives $|n−1|=−1$. The expression $|n−1|$ on the left side of the equation is the absolute value of $n−1$, and, as I just mentioned, the absolute value can never be a negative number since it represents distance. Thus, $|n−1|=−1$ has no solution. Therefore, there are no values for n for which the value of $|n−1|+1$ is equal to 0. D is the correct answer. Tip: Remember the rules of absolute value (it’s always positive!). If you remember the rules, you should get the question right! Graphing Linear Equations These questions test your ability to read a graph and interpret it into $y=mx+b$ form. A quick refresher, $y=mx+b$ is the slope-intercept equation of a line, where m represents the slope and b represents the y-intercept. In these questions, you’ll typically be presented with the graph of a line, and you’ll need to determine what the slope and y-intercept are to write the equation of the line. Calculator Practice Problem Answer Explanation: The relationship between h and C is represented by any equation of the given line. The C-intercept of the line is 5. Since the points $(0, 5)$ and $(1, 8)$ lie on the line, the slope of the line is ${8-5}/{1-0}={3}/{1}=3$. Therefore, the relationship between h and C can be represented by $C=3h+5$, the slope-intercept equation of the line. C is the correct answer. Tip: Have the slope-intercept form ($y=mx+b$) and the slope equation $m={y_2-y_1}/{x_2-x_1}$ memorized. Know what each variable in the equations means. If you know all of this, you should be able to ace any graphing linear equation problem that you’re given. Linear Inequalities and Systems of Linear Inequalities These are arguably the most challenging Heart of Algebra questions because many students struggle when variables are combined with inequalities. If you need a quick but in-depth refresher on inequalities, check out our inequalities guide. These questions typically appear towards the end of the multiple-choice and grid-ins in each section. These questions will be presented as straightforward already set up inequalities (you won’t be asked to create inequalities nor will you be presented with a real world scenario using inequalities). Although they’re presented in a straightforward way, these questions are challenging, and it’s easy to make a mistake, so take your time! Calculator Practice Problems Answer Explanation: Subtracting $3x$ and adding 3 to both sides of $3x−5≠¥4x−3$ gives $−2≠¥x$. Therefore, x is a solution to $3x−5≠¥4x−3$ if and only if x is less than or equal to −2 and x is NOT a solution to $3x−5≠¥4x−3$ if and only if x is greater than −2. Of the choices given, only −1 is greater than −2 and, therefore, cannot be a value of x. A is the correct answer. You could also try to answer this by plugging in the answer choices and seeing which one didn't work. If you plug in A into the inequality, you'd get $3(-1)-5≠¥4(-1)−3$. Simplifying the inequality, you'd get -8≠¥-7, which is not true, so A is the correct answer. Tip Remember the rules of inequalities! Take your time working your way through each step so that you don’t make any mistakes. Also, remember to try plugging in the answer choices to find the correct answer! Let's take a look at another example. Answer Explanation: Since (0, 0) is a solution to the system of inequalities, substituting 0 for x and 0 for y in the given system must result in two true inequalities. After this substitution, y −x + a becomes 0 a, and y x + b becomes 0 b. Hence, a is positive, and b is negative. Therefore, a b. Choice A is correct. Tip: Treat this system of inequalities with four variables the same as you’d treat a system of inequalities with two variables. Remember that if (0,0) is a solution that means that when x=0, y=0. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! 4 Key Strategies for Heart of Algebra I've interspersed the strategies for attacking these questions throughout this article in the "tip" sections, but I'll summarize them here now. Strategy #1: Memorize the Rules and Formula You need to know the rules of inequalities, the rules of absolute value, and the formula for the intercept-slope version of a line ($y=mx+b$) to answer those types of algebra questions correctly. Without the rules and formula, these questions are pretty much impossible. If you need more assistance with any of the concepts, check out our in-depth guides to linear equations, systems of equations, absolute value, intercept-slope form, and linear inequalities and systems of inequalities. Strategy #2: Plugging in Answers On the multiple-choice questions, you should always check to see if you can plug in the answer choices to the given equation(s) or inequality to find the correct answer. Sometimes this approach will be much simpler than trying to solve the equation. Even if you find that plugging in answers is slowing you down, you should, at least, consider using it to check your work. Plug in the answer choice that you find and see if it results in a balanced equation or correct inequalities. If it does, you know you have the correct answer! Plug it in! Plug it in! Strategy #3: Plugging in Numbers If plugging in answers isn't a possibility, plugging in numbers is often a possibility such as in question 2 above. When you pick numbers to plug in, in general, I do not recommend using -1, 0, or 1 (as they can result in wrong answers), and make sure to read the question to see what numbers you should pick. For example, in question 2, the numbers represented the number of text messages sent, so you shouldn't use a negative number to represent the number of text messages since it's impossible to send a negative number of text messages. For inequalities this is especially important, often the question will say "the following is true for all $x0$." If that's the case, you can't plug in 0 or -5; you can only plug in numbers greater than 0 since that's the parameter set by the question. Strategy #4: Work One Step At a Time For Heart of Algebra questions, you need to take your time working through each step. These questions can involve 5, 10, 15 steps, and you need to take your time to make sure you don't make a small mistake in step 3 that will result in an incorrect answer. You know your stuff, so don't let small mistakes cost you points! What’s Next? Now that you know what to expect on Heart of Algebra questions make sure you’re prepared for all of the other math topics you'll see on the SAT. All of our math guides will take you through strategies and practice problems for all the topics covered in the math section, from integers to ratios, circles to polygons (and more!). Feeling anxious about test day? Make sure you know exactly what to do and bring to ease your mind and settle your nerves before it's time to take your SAT. Running out of time on the SAT math section? Look no further than our guide to help you beat the clock and maximize your SAT math score. Angling to get a perfect score? Check out our guide to getting a perfect 800, written by a perfect-scorer. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Math strategy guide, you'll love our program. Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

An advanced treatment of lasers and their applications Coursework

An advanced treatment of lasers and their applications - Coursework Example This is the distance along the propagation direction of a beam from the waist to the place where the area of the cross section is doubled. An associated variable is the confocal parameter, b, which is twice the Rayleigh range. This is a measure of how fast the beam diverges far from the beam waist. A laser light with a narrow beam divergence is mostly used to make laser pointer devices. Normally the beam divergence of laser light is measured using beam profiler. Brewsters angle is an angle of incidence at which light with a specific polarization is perfectly transmitted via a transparent dielectric surface, with no reflection. When unpolarized beam is incident at this angle, the light that is reflected from the surface is thus seamlessly polarized. Spontaneous emission refers to the process by which a light source like an atom, molecule in an excited state undergoes a transition to a state with a lower energy for instance the ground state and emits a photon. Depending on the nature of the indeterminacy, there are two mechanism of broadening. If the indeterminacy in the frequency or wavelength is due to a phenomenon that is the same for each quantum emitter, there is homogeneous broadening, while if each quantum emitter has a different type of fluctuation, the broadening is inhomogeneous. The most often cases in solid state systems where the fluctuation differs for each system (inhomogeneous broadening) is when as a result of the presence of dopants, the local electric field is different for each emitter, and so the stark effect changes the energy levels in an inhomogeneous way. The homogeneous broadened emission line will have a Lorentzian profile whereas the in homogeneously broadened emission will have a Gaussian profile. One phenomena may be present at the same time, however if one has a broader fluctuation, it will be the one responsible for

Think of a song you like and compare that poem to Nezahualcoyotl Article

Think of a song you like and compare that poem to Nezahualcoyotl - Article Example Further, he asks people to wake up and see the light while Netzahualcoyotl really fears about life since he is sure about death because he believes in Theological teaching (William, 496). Netzahualcoyotl is worried and sad since he knows that everything will come to pass. Strong gold and jades fall away from each other and wear away, so will the brittle faces and heart fades, however decorous they may be (Portilla, 291). Bob Marley calls on people to stop worrying and live their lives to the maximum and fight for it aggressively since it is their right to live. The poem also depicts the state of hopelessness and fears that Netzahualcoyotl under went through as he affirm that there is no one who can befriend the Giver of life to be favored not to die or grow old (Portilla, 257). Bob urges with zeal to fight for their fundamental right and he doesn’t view life as a favor from the Giver of life. Netzahualcoyotl’s thoughts are directed by theology and philosophy about the divine powers of the Maker’s decision to give life Bob Marley doesn’t believe in any doctrines but believes in the secular world that suggests that living is a

Lyme, the Silent Killer Essay Example for Free

Lyme, the Silent Killer Essay Lyme disease is disease transmitted by the deer tick also known as the black legged tick. It is caused by an infection called Borrelia Burgdorferi which is a type of bacterium called a spirochete. The deer tick can transmit the spirochetes to humans and other animals causing them to become infected with Lyme disease. Lyme disease first begins as a multi system inflammatory disease which first attacks the skin in the localized stage, then spreads to the joints the nervous system and other organ systems. If the Lyme disease is diagnosed early it can be treated with antibiotics, but it does depend on the progression of the diseases among the patient. Often the tick must be attached to your body for 24 36 hours to spread the bacteria to your blood. The spirochete is injected from the victims skin into the bloodstream establishing itself in various body tissues. After an incubation period of 3 to 32 days, the organism migrates outward in the skin, is spread through the lymphatic system or is disseminated by the blood to different body organs or other skin sites. Lyme disease was first described in 1909 in European medical journals. The first outbreak in the United States occurred in the early 1970s in Old Lyme, Connecticut. An unusually high incidence of juvenile arthritis in the area led scientists to investigate and identify the disorder. In 1981, Dr. Willy Burgdorfer identified the bacterial spirochete organism (Borrelia Burgdorferi) which causes this disorder. Lyme disease is known to be the number one arthropod disease is the United States occurring in 48 of the 50 states and up to 12,000 cases of Lyme disease diagnosed annually. Lyme disease is has three stages which are early localized disease with skin inflammation, early disseminated disease with heart and nervous system involvement, including palsies and meningitis, and the last stage of the disease called later disseminated which causes motor and sensory nerve damage and brain inflammation as well arthritis. The first stage is called Localized Lyme disease and in this early phase of the illness, within days to weeks of the tick bite, the skin around the bite develops an expanding ring of unraised redness. There may be an outer ring of brighter redness and a central area of clearing, leading to a bulls-eye appearance, the rash also has a warm to touch feeling .The first rash seen on the patient is called erythema migrans. The redness of the skin is often accompanied by flu-like symptoms which may include fever, chills, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, swollen lymph nodes and headache. Sometimes these more serious symptoms develop without the person ever having had a rash. The redness resolves, without treatment, in about a month. Weeks to months after the initial redness of the skin, the bacteria spread throughout the body and can begin affecting the joints, heart, and nervous system. The later phases of Lyme disease can affect the heart, and cause inflammation of the heart muscle. This can result in abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure. The nervous system can develop facial muscle paralysis also known as Bells palsy, abnormal sensation due to disease of peripheral nerves which is also known as peripheral neuropathy, meningitis, and confusion. Arthritis, or inflammation in the joints, begins with swelling, stiffness, and pain. Usually, only one or a few joints become affected, most commonly the knees. The arthritis of Lyme disease can look like many other types of inflammatory arthritis and can become chronic. Lyme disease occurs in wooded areas with populations of mice and deer which carry ticks, and can be contracted during any season of the year. The medication used for adults with Lyme disease the antibiotic tetracycline is the drug of choice. Penicillin V and erythromycin have also been used in children. Penicillin V is now recommended for neurological abnormalities. It is not yet clear whether antibiotic treatment is helpful later in the illness when arthritis is the most predominant symptom. Treatment should be started as soon as the rash appears. A clear diagnosis of Lyme disease can be tricky, and often relies on information the patient and through process of elimination the Doctor will be able to out rule other conditions. Lyme disease and its symptoms often mimic many other diseases which target multi body systems such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Multiple Sclerosis. Doctors will perform a specific blood test called Enzyme Linked Immunoabsorbent Assay (ELISA) which can detect antibodies present of Lyme disease. Results of this test may be inaccurate if patients have had antibiotics soon after contracting Lyme disease, or in those who have weakened immune systems. SOURCES 1.American Lyme disease foundation. (2006, April). Retrieved from http://www.aldf.com/lyme.shtml 2.American College of Physicians. (2012). Lyme disease- A patients guide. Retrieved from

Transformation of Humphrey Van Weyden in Jack London’s The Sea Wolf Es

Transformation of Humphrey Van Weyden in Jack London’s The Sea Wolf Jack London’s The Sea Wolf is in some ways a philosophical text and a product of its time. The strain it puts on the reader between a social Darwinist and utilitarian perspective against that of a more idealistic one is great. Many times the character of Wolf Larsen is a more consistent articulator of the Darwinian position and seems to always be getting the upper hand argumentatively. However, it is due to a phenomenological outlook on the events presented within The Sea Wolf that the alternative becomes intelligible. After all, the endeavor to improve is one thing which identifies us as human. The understanding of what constitutes this improvement varies, however, and only upon further inspection and in light of increasing experience can a multitude of modes be viewed as possible ways to improve oneself. In the end it is the realization of all things as possible modes of improvement, as well as their acceptance, which leads to a true improvement of the self. And it is this reasoning which leads to the character of Humphrey Van Weyden as being more correct. One thing which identifies us as being human is the endeavor to improve. This endeavor is definitely present in both Hump and Wolf. Hump is a man of letters, as right in the beginning, he notes that â€Å"instead of having to devote my energy to the learning of a multitude of things, I concentrated it upon a few particular things, such as, for instance, the analysis of Poe’s place in American literature,† (1). We also know that Wolf has been educating himself in his own time when Hump sees the evidence in Wolf’s cabin. â€Å"Against the wall, near the head of the bunk, was a rack filled with books †¦ ... ...h and ideals, reconciled in the ways of being in the world. Humphrey Van Weyden’s character undergoes a long transformation from the humble beginning of being in a single mode of idealism that is thrown in opposition to the stark material and social Darwinism of Wolf. Though Humphrey soon begins to see an alternative to his position and even takes pride and joy in dwelling in these alternative modes at times. He takes in each experience, and on that basis begins to formulate an ancillary mode that is inclusive of a multitude of modes. In the end, Humphrey Van Weyden exists in a mode of being which is superior in that it accounts for any and all subdominant modes of emotional, physical, and metaphysical being. This is the point of a true understanding of what it means to improve one self. Works Cited London, Jack. The Sea Wolf. New York: Bantam, 1991.

Growth and Development of Brassica rapa Plants Essay

Intraspecific competition is a widely regarded principle mechanism in the structuring of communities and has an influence in the spatial dispersion of organisms such as plants. Knowing this, the authors designed an experiment to observe and understand the effect of intraspecific competition using Brassica rapa, operating under the precept that when the plant is grown in an limited space environment, the plants will grow quickly and will be able to produce offspring in a faster more efficient way. Utilizing a two-treatment group set-up where B. rapa plants were grown in either a low density set-up (2 seeds only) or high density set-up (10 seeds), the researchers found that a low density set-up had several advantages over the high density set up, with plants having higher prop survival and flower production. Thse findings supported the idea that limited space will affect the high density environment, allowing the seeds grown in a low density environment to flourish more effectively. Effect of Intraspecific Competition on Growth and Development of Brassica rapa Plants Introduction Intraspecific competition is a widely regarded principle mechanism in the structuring of communities (Abramsky and Sellah 1982). In fact, intraspecific competition is known to occur between members of the same species competing for shared, limiting resources such as food and space. Further more, intraspecific competition has an influence in the spatial dispersion of organisms such as plants (Mcginley 2008). Scientist have longed tried to determine whether competition exists between or within species and what effect it has on its survivability and reproduction rate. It is a known fact that plants that are grown in high density areas only have one choice: allocate the limited resources and grow rapidly (Siemens,et al. 2002) lest the organism fail to thrive and survive. It then becomes apparent that information gained from this area of study will have significant applications outside of the field of botany. In a time where reforestation and rehabilitation is a major issue, knowledge on intraspecific competition can help shape the success of efforts on plant-life conservation. To further study this mechanism, the researchers developed an experimental set-up that evaluated intraspecific competition among plants. Using space as the experiment’s limiting resource, species of B. rapa were cultivated in two treatment groups and observed for the effects of intraspecific competition. Space is often viewed as a major limiting resource for sessile organisms since taking away another’s space eliminates its ability to acquire food (Vance, 1984, p. 1354). The plant specie B. rapa was selected as the treatment model of choice since the specie is known for being an ideal experimental subject due to their small size, ease of cultivation and short life cycle. The main objective of the experiment was to observe and understand the effect of intraspecific competition on B. rapa due to limited space. The experiment operated under the main hypothesis that when the Brassica rappa plant is grown in an environment with limited space, the plants grow quickly and is able to produce offspring in a faster more efficient way. On the other hand, the null hypothesis for this experiment was that the limited space will not play a role in the growth and reproduction of B. rappa. Lastly, the alternative hypothesis for the experiment was that limited space will affect the high density environment, allowing the seeds grown in a low density environment to flourish. Materials and Methods For the experimental set-up, two treatment groups were created. One group was classified as Low density and was comprised of two Brassica rappa seeds while the second group was classified as High density and consisted of 10 Brassica rappa seeds. Controls determined for the experiment included light source, temperature and water while the considered variables included the biomass of the seeds, the mean biomass of the seeds, the number of pods and the number of flowers each plant produced. The experiment was conducted over a six-week period where data collection recorded the number of survivors per treatment group. The number of pods, flowers and pollinated flowers were also recorded. In the last two weeks of the experiment, treatment groups were harvested and mean height was recorded. The plants were then dried and the roots and forage material weighed to determine biomass. Seeds were then separated. Data gathered from the experiment were treated using t-tests and Oneway Analysis utilizing treatment means and standard deviations. Results After cultivation of B. rapa in the two treatment groups, the researchers determined the following data using Oneway analysis and t-tests. Results showed that the mean probability or survival per treatment were 0. 839683 [SD 0. 267817] in the low density set-up and 0. 732283 [SD 0. 262515] in the high density set-up (Appendix A) revealing a slight survival advantage in favor of the low density set-up. On the other hand, the mean height per treatment were 13. 5956 [SD 5. 33474] and 13. 1550 [SD 6. 63392] for the low density and high density set-up respectively (Appendix B) indicating that plants in both set-up flourished equally in terms of height most likely due to non-competition for light source which was a controlled variable. The mean number of flowers per treatment group was 2. 61684 [SD3. 55681] for the low density set-up and 1. 56520 [SD 1. 72971] for the high density set-up (Appendix C) indicating that the low density treatment group achieved higher performance indicated by being able to reach the reproductive stage more effectively. These values are closely mirrored by the mean number of pods per treatment group which showed that the low density set-up had a mean of 2. 04356 [SD 2. 55931] while the high density set-up had a mean of 1. 68122 [SD 2. 14201] (Appendix D) again reflecting a more successful reproductive course (successful pollination). Additionally, the mean values obtained for the number of seeds per plant were 5. 18258 [SD 8. 53005] for the low density set-up and 3. 65687 [SD 4. 70787] for the high density set-up (Appendix E) further solidifying the idea that plants in the low density group were able to flourish much better compared to the high density group. In terms of mean seed biomass, the low density set-up had an average mean of 0. 005624 [SD 0. 011844] which was lower in comparison to the high-density setup which had a value of 0. 006139 [SD 0. 014367] (Appendix F). The mean root biomass obtained were 0. 028744 [SD 0. 099737] for the low density set-up while the high density set-up had an obtained mean value of 0. 021542 [SD 0. 037141] (Appendix G). Lastly, the mean biomass per treatment group values obtained for the experiment were 0. 063467 [SD 0. 097980] for the low density set-up and 0. 069773 [SD 0. 110127] for the high density set-up (Appendix H). Biomass is supposedly a good measure of fitness or how well the plant flourished since the amount of living tissue is said to be regulated by resource availability, i. e. space (Franco & Kelly, 1998, p. 7830). Discussion Data gathered from the two treatment groups indicated that the low density group demonstrated certain advantages over the high density group. In both the areas of surviving prop [t=4. 555, DF=503. 608, p=. 0001] and mean plant height [t=0. 814, DF=471. 852, p=0. 416], the low density group scored higher on average compared to the high density treatment group. The same can be said in the measures for mean number of flowers, pod and seeds where the low density treatment group also had higher average means in comparison to the high density group. These findings supported the idea that plants in the low density group flourished more effectively in comparison to plants in the high density group. Additionally, a significant difference in the number of flowers produced [t=4. 168, DF= 352. 016, p=

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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(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)