Definition of quality of life

Definition of quality of life CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL STUDY 2.1 Introduction Chapter two discusses the theoretical aspect in quality of life. In addition, the description of the Orang Asli community will also be given to providing a better understanding of this community. This is because quality of life has become one of government main agenda in developing the countries. This chapter will explain relation with quality of life and Orang Asli community. The reasons are quality of life always related with the studies at urban areas meanwhile studies about quality of life at rural area is rarely done. That is the reason on choosing a Orang Asli community as a subject of study because Orang Asli community are usually located at the rural area and remote area. Other than that, Orang Asli community always said to live in a backward and lagging behind compare to other races in Malaysia. Therefore, the understanding of quality of life and Orang Asli should be suppressed in chapter two. 2.2 Definition 2.2.1 Definition of Quality Of Life Quality of life is a subjective matter that difficult to be measured. So it is important to known the actual meaning of quality of life. The best ways of understanding is by separate the word of ‘quality of life. According to oxford dictionaries, ‘quality is standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind which is the degree of excellence of something meanwhile ‘life bring stand for the period between the birth and death of a living thing , especially a human being. So quality of life actual meaning is degree of excellence of human being. According Lim Lan Yuan, Belinda Yuen and Christine Low (1999) in a book entitle ‘Quality Of Life in the Cities, quality of life is a multifaceted concept. Meaning of multifaceted is something that is wide. In this case it is because quality of life covers not only a material aspect such as level of living but also aspect of life such as a good health and level of education. In other words, Lim Lan Yuan, Belinda Yuen and Christine Low (1999) try to tell us that the quality of life cannot stand by itself. Types of result that may come from the research is depends on what respondents have experienced in their life. These three writers agreed that quality of life for respondent is according to location they live and work. This is the reason why quality of life for every person is different from one and another. Ramkrishna Mukherjee (1989) says that quality of life is concern about the living condition of the people. Ramkrishna (1989) use several approach to measure quality of life such as the standard and style of living. The standard of living for example is constructed from quantitative variation in the object of inquiry which is given by list of information items such as consumption of food, clothes, use of various kinds of durable goods like furniture and fitting, possession of item like radio, television and other housing amenities. Mark Rapley (2003) believes that the quality of life has been constructing from being a social scientific index of the relative well being of the whole population to being a measurable aspect of individual subjective experience. American sociologist James Q. Wilson (www.wordiq.com) mention the ‘Broken Window Theory, which asserts that relatively minor problems left unattended send a subliminal message that disorder in general is being tolerated, and as a result, more serious crimes as well end up being committed (the analogy being that a broken window left unrepaired show an image of generalized collapse). This theory tries to show that the condition of the environment gives the direct massage to people that that space or place is unsafe. These unsafe senses show that people are live in danger in that place and it directly show that their quality of life is in low level. One indicator that has been used to measure quality of life is level of happiness and when their fell that their life is in danger, they cannot reach the quality of life. This American sociologist tries to tell that physical environment can contribute to level of quality of life. Mark Rapley (2003) refers to Noll (2000) says the great society is concerned not with how much but with how good. It means that it is not with the quantity of goods but with the quality of their lives. Rapley (2003) also added that quality of life research is same as the welfare measurement. He defines that welfare is the subjective well being and the most important is the measure of the satisfaction and happiness. 2.2.2 Definition of Orang Asli Who is the Orang Asli? That is question that we must answers before we get to know this unique group. Orang Asli is a generic name given to the indigenous people living on Malay Peninsular. Other ethnic in Sabah and Sarawak is not taking into account of this Orang Asli group because these two states use the term â€Å"Sabah indigenous† and â€Å"Sarawak indigenous†. Eighteen ethnic group subgroups is fall in this category, which can be classified into three groups. These three groups are the Negrito, the Senoi and the Malayu Asli. This group is determined based on their language, livelihood and administrative purpose. The term Orang Asli is a Malay translation of the English word â€Å"aborigine† with ‘orangmeaning â€Å"human† and ‘asli meaning â€Å"original† or â€Å"traditional†. Orang Aslirefers to the indigenous peoples ofPeninsular Malaysia that not MalayMuslims, Malaysias main ethnic group. There were about 2.93 million orang asli in Malaysia in year 2006 (Malaysia Bulletin of Statistics issued on June 2006). They are the minority group because they make up just 11.8% of the national population. Nabuto Toshiro (2009) refers to Mohd. Tap (1990), pointed that the Malaysia government began using the Orang Asli term in 1996. Before that, the Orang Asli was variously described as the Biduanda, Jakun, Sakai, aborigines and other term. A. Baer (1999) in book entitle â€Å"Health, disease and survival: a biomedical and genetic analysis of the Orang Asli of Malaysia† tell early development activity that has been carry out by the government in developing the country is not considering the Orang Asli community. The development has taken Orang Asli formers and current land. This cause destruction to their natural resources and create a miserable life for Orang Asli community. There are attempt take by the government to fix this problem by give a small agricultures scheme. The main intention is to allow the Orang Asli community to do cash crop farming as the sources of economic and foods. Other than that, government also gives a minimal aids and land and expected that is enough to support their lives. This led Orang Asli community to lagged behind compare to other community in Malaysia. That is reasons on Orang Asli ethnic become the poorest of the poor. This shows that Orang Asli quality of life is at a low level due to they are economically poor. 2.2.3 Definition of rural area There are various definitions on rural area. According to Department of Statistic (2000), rural area is area that populated not more than 10,000 people. This population amount must according to the census of population and housing. Other than that, Malaysia Urban and Regional Planning Department also described rural area as area that located far from the urban area. Types of land use at rural area also characterise by the agricultural and natural resources such as forest. Next, rural area should consist with a settlement that cover all types of village and small settlement that not more than 10,000 people. Rural area can be categories into several factors which are: I. Population size II. Population density III. Urbanization levels IV. Level quality of life and public facilities (paved roads, electricity supply, water supply) Types of settlements that exist in rural area consist of traditional village, FELDA and FELCRA, Orang Asli village and other areas that cover under Regional Development Authority. 2.3 Conceptual and Philosophical issues of Quality of Life Concept on quality of life nowadays simply defined as a standard of living that has been received by individual or a community group. This standard of living concludes a sense of happiness, lifestyle, satisfaction and wealth. People who received all these criteria can be said has achieved a good quality of life. The issue is whether standard of living only criteria that can be determine quality of life. Mark Rapley (2003) stated that quality of life is a driving force in service design, delivery and outcome evaluation across medicine and social care. The quality of life of ‘patients/ ‘service user is now usually advocates as a measure of the ‘quality and ‘values of money of service. Mark Replay (2003) also adds that there are two conceptual ideas that use of the idea of quality of life which is an objectivity and subjectivity. Concept objectivity in quality of life can be defined as an attainment of various basic life needs such as a food and shelter which is considered common to all culture. Other than that, objectivity concept is representing external life condition such as economical factors. Subjectivity in quality of life is concern about the feeling that individual get in their life. It is more on appraisal of the thing that they get in their life. Figure 2.1 show the differences between the external condition (the material life arena) and the internal, personal element of people (the personal life arena). This figure tries to show that what exactly an objectives matter about and the subjective matter are about. Robert J.Rogerson (1999) described a material life arena can be viewed either as a geographical space within which place is people live. So the material life arena is the objective concept in defines a quality of life. In other word, material life arena is a stimulus for life satisfaction. Personal life arena included a subjective assessment of life, measure in term of satisfaction as well measure a characteristics of people. What are mean by characteristics of people was their preferences, priorities, aspiration and values system. According to Robert J.Rogerson, type A is a research based on the accessing the material life arena and employing primary social indicators. Type B is more on the personal life arena which mean that they more on characteristic of people which representing about the feeling, behaviour and others. Type C researches are more on subjective well being research where quality of life is a direct measure of individual cognitive and effective reaction to his own life. Material life area is the concern about the condition that can influence individual quality of life. This is because types of work, housing condition, place of living can make quality of life be better or maybe become worse. This is because the influences is come from outside and the individual are cannot control it by himself. Meanwhile personal life arena is the factors that can be manipulated by the individual itself. This is because these personal life arenas are controlled by the individual. the evaluation of this types of concept are based on the individual feeling that influenced by the experience, behaviour and satisfaction from the individual itself. Robert L. Schalock, Ivan Brown, Roy Brown, Robert A. Cummins, David Felce, Leena Matikka, Kenneth D. Keith, and Trevor Parmenter (2002) in article entitle â€Å"Conceptualization, Measurement, and Application of Quality of Life for Persons With Intellectual Disabilities† described quality of life are concern about domain of well being, inter and intra personal variability, personal context, perception, values, choice and personal control. So the better understanding will be obtained if all of these criteria can be explained in detail. I. Domain of well being There be lots of aspects that must be determined by the invidual in perform their life. For example individual are allowed to determined the thing that most important domain in their life such as a emotional well being, interpersonal relationship, material well being, physical well being, self determination, social inclusion and right. So individual must able to recognise what is the important need to them. The well being is not determined on how many amount that individual can get but on how valuable that things can be in the individual life. II. Inter and intra personal variability Variability is the most domain of well being that taken by individual to experience in their life. Thus, it is consider a different individual, different community and different cultural because quality of life for each individual is different from one to another. III. Personal context People context are the understanding of people about their context of environment that are important to them in their life. This can be influenced by the place that they live, work and play. This environment should be able to accommodate individual according to their feeling, interest, need and values. This will allowed them to adapt with the surrounding environment at the place that they live. IV. Perception Perception in quality of life is a individual statements about the individuals perceives at any moment in their life. The changes of views may be happen according to the changes of time and situation. However this is needed to see the reasons of the changes to create a improvements to receive a better quality of life. V. Values, choice and personal control This is relating to choice that has been made by individual. So in other word, it is individual ability to control over their interest in term of activities, intervention and environment. This is because every aspect in quality of life brings different values into individuals life. 2.4 Important of Quality Of Life Quality of life has been used as a tool to measure the well being condition of individual and community. Changes in size and population distribution will create unstable on living standard of a community. Using indicator that have been used in measure a quality of life, level of living condition of people can easily obtain. This will help responsible parties to developed strategies in improving the quality of life of people. It will enhance a people well being level. Quality of life matter actually should be a goal on every development that creates for people. This will give benefit for people and opportunity for people to enjoy their life. There are three ways that can be use on showing how importance quality of life which is at national, community and individual level. On national purpose, quality of life can be use as a tool on measure a standard of living of population at the country. Result that obtained will show the efficient government that role country. The result can be used to measure on the current situation that happens in that country. If there is peace, it means that people are satisfied with their current quality of life. These leads on economy development by attract investors to come and invest in the country. It will create a job opportunities for local people to enhance their income. In community life, quality of life has been used as a symbol of their community power. For a country that has lots of ethic, it is important to show their achievement to the other ethnic. Strong community will enable them to spoken for their community right and fulfil their requirement. Quality of life has used as a standard to measure satisfaction levels in its community. If they do not achieve their desired quality of life, so they will try hard until they achieve to become a strong community. Same scenario will happen to when achieving a personal quality of life. Level of satisfaction on individual will determine reaction on how individual will react to the community life. 2.5 Differences between urban and rural quality of life According Annette Spellerberg, Denis Huschka and Roland Habich (2006), in article entitle ‘quality of life in rural area : Processes of divergence and convergence, rural area has its own benefit from it geographical location. Economic indicator is not a major factor when measuring rural quality of life because they enjoy on lower standard of living. They also states that rural community actually function as balancer to homogenisation and dislocation that has been causes by the international economic process. Other than that, urban area has been used as a driving force for rural area development but the reverse situation happen when the concentration development that happen in urban area has cause rural areas continue to lagging behind. Spellberg (2006) also explain that a pressure of living in urban areas has push out urban family to the rural area. In suburban area, process of culture assimilation happen between the rural and urban. Impact may happen on level quality of life for people that migrate from urban area to rural area. This is because facilities and utilities that provided at rural area are not same as the facilities that provide at urban area. Therefore, their needs and requirements may not be fulfilled when they were in rural areas. Other than that, reduction of quality of life also causes by the lack sense of place because they are not in their origin places. Indicator that has been used on measuring rural quality of life consist types of work, housing condition, income level, leisure and social relationship. Indicator of housing condition for example refers to general satisfaction of resident to their housing condition and it surrounding areas. Finding gather from the research that has been done by Spellberg (2006) show that people live in rural area enjoy a high level of satisfaction with the standard of housing than the people that living in urban areas. A gap between rural and urban in the matter of subjective well being was not clearly defined. Other satisfaction of life in term of family, leisure and health could much more important to personal happiness and general satisfaction rather than income and affluence. In conclusion, there are differences between achievement quality of life in urban and rural areas. This difference can be seen in terms of measuring quality of life between these two areas. This is because the indicators used are different due to different geographical locations and the types of development that happen surrounding it. People in urban area are more satisfied with the material values rather than people in rural area that more on satisfaction on life and social relationship. For example, sense of neighbourhoods relation or social relation is stronger in rural area rather than people in urban area. This is because in rural, they lived as a one community and depend for each other. If there is disagreement between them it will lead to uneasy environment and because of that they cannot meet their happiness in life. Different scenario occurs in urban areas due to the absence of time, the neighbourhood relations are not taken seriously by them. Therefore it is not surprising that the people in urban areas do not know their own neighbours. 2.6 Measurement Quality Of Life How to measure a quality of life? Early researches have been made is not only using a social indicator but also using an economic indicator. Both of these indicators will shows about social and economic level of a society. According to the Malaysia Quality of Life report (2004) indicators that use to measure quality of life are income level, working life, health, education, environment, family life, social participation, culture and leisure. On income indicator it will measure on gross income and standard of living. Other than that, income also uses to see whether the individual can sustain their income for their self and family. Next, the types of work also can be used to measure the level income of individual. All of this is cannot be obtain in rural areas. This have causes many people to travel several miles to find work that can provides a better living wage. Working life indicator are use to measure the types of work and working condition environment of the community. At the rural area, high-income jobs are difficult to be obtained. Other than that, there are low rates of work variety and these make them to do same jobs all the time. A type of job that usually occurs in rural area is based on agricultural activities in a small scale. So they cannot obtain a high income level with kind of jobs. Next is health indicator that uses to study about the physically and mentality of people at the study area. Good healthy will enable people to work and socialist more effectively. This indicator will enable to detect their access to the health services. Even though they government are creating more and better health facilities but the result is often denied access for those unable to travel the distance to get the needed services. Family life indicator is used to measure how strongly the chain relationship between family member. Other than that, it will enable us to see types of social structure and how it will contribute on enhance a quality of life. Social participation will show about an involvement of an individual on their community. Lack of leadership and support from the community is one of problem that can be preventing that community to be a strong community. Other than that, it is ways to see if they are willing to contribute in social, political, religious and community activities. Other than that, the measurement on quality of life also must include the level of practise among community about culture and leisure. This is one of ways to identify their community identity. Other than that, the knowledge about their custom and tradition are also can be obtain. A culture aspect gives knowledge on social behaviour of those communities. It is an important part on to see whether the communitys relationship is still practicing nowadays. 2.6.1 Ethic of measure quality of life According to the R. L. Schalock (2002), the first thing before measure quality of life understands the degree of which people enjoy good quality in life. Measure quality of life should enable to enhance people quality of life by taking an action to improve the obstacle that currently decreased people quality of life. Other than that, the measurement result must be able to help and should never encourage achieving a low quality of life. Measuring quality of life is usually carried out by identified what are the specific things that have to value by individual. After that, it must be matched with the individuals perception or their happiness. Usually this measurement is concern with the â€Å"subjective† and â€Å"Objectives† measurement. The most usually method that being use is by measuring their life experiences to know the positive values that happen to the individual across time and among their cultural. Other than that, this also can be done by describing their positive valued into something that can be measure. Next, the method that can be used is the quantitative measurement. This done by creating a scale to described the level of their satisfaction between the â€Å"best† and the â€Å"worst†. 2.7 Malaysia rural social policy and it characteristic According to the Malaysia rural social policy journal (2008), Malaysia rural policy is cover a policy that helps farmer through providing a basic living needs to improve quality and productivity of the crops. Although Malaysia has a faced great process of urbanization as a tool on develop the country, agricultural sector has not be ignored but still practicing particularly in rural area. This is because rural area is places where the indigenous Malaysia practicing an agricultural activity. Through a ‘new economic policy that has been implement after an ethnic conflict 1969 to reduce of poverty especially for indigenous Malaysia, government has come on several strategies which are : Development of land, increase the cultivated land area and resettlement of landless farmers to grow cash crops. To improve a firm land capital construction which are drainage project in Kelantan State plan and Ji Muda Kedah. Provide a fertilize, high yield seeds, subsidies for high yield crops and a agricultural technique to improve agricultural crop yield, expanding oil palm and other economic crop planting area. The implementation of the price subsidy system, reduce market risks, to protect the interests of production for farmers. Provide loans for a farmer to enhance their agricultural production. Create a farmer market in urban centre to allowed farmer to sell directly to consumer without involve the third parties. With all these strategies, Malaysia has able to bring out rural people out of poverty while at the same time protect a basic living needs of the farmers. Since 2001, government has launch a ‘National Vision Policy with an anti poverty program that focus on the indigenous ethnic minorities in remote areas. Other than that, government also provide housing, water supply and sanitation system, basic living conditions and medical social services for those targeted people. Other than that, by think that only education that will help people to enhance their quality of life, government has come out with the ‘Compulsory Education Law for 6 to 15 year children. This is one ways that will encourage and forcing people especially in rural areas that has high percentages of not going to school. This policy is supported by done the development of new school building and school improvement in term of study condition and quality of teaching. In conclusion, government actually play a huge role on enhancing a quality of life for the rural. Government has been behind of the scene for every development that happens. Government and private sectors must be cooperating to provide a development that can bring happiness and welfare for the Malaysia people. 2.8 Application of quality of life in different country Quality of life research has been conduct almost on every country that exists in the earth. This is one ways to measure a level of living standard in that country. It will help to bring people from other country to become resident or just for travel. So the result of quality of life will be as a tool to know the actual level of quality of life in that country. There is differentness between urban and rural quality of life. So it is importance to well understand about urban and rural quality of life. 2.8.1 Quality of life in urban area 2.8.1.1 Singapore Singapore for example is one of the country has done quality of life research several times. As a F.T. Seik, Yuen and L. Chin (1999) mention, there are about three studies has been done on the measurement of quality of life in Singapore. This study has been done by Kau and Wang (1995), Foo (1998) and Kau (1998). First study by Kau and Wang (199) is about the life satisfaction from 329 respondents aged 15 year and above 1993. The indicator that has been used is more on about the social, health and economic condition. Second studies made by Foo (1998) are to measure overall life satisfaction as well as to measure an importance and satisfaction towards various aspects of life. Third studies made by Kau (1998) are measure satisfaction with life in the Singapore. It measure using a likert-scale with ‘1 is for very dissatisfaction level and ‘6 as a very satisfied level. Conclusion and finding that can be found are people in Singapore are moderately satisfied with their overall quality of life. Education and income is two indicators that have impact on Singaporean overall life satisfaction. They score high in term of value healthy and family life but low level on the leisure and consumer goods. 2.8.1.2 Hong Kong This is the summary on studies of subjective that has been done by Wan, P. S., Law, K. W. K., Wong, T. K. Y. (2008) entitle Subjective well-being. Studies on the quality of life at Hong Kong are concern about the subjective indicator which is based on the respondent subjective perception and evaluation of their lives and experiences. This study is done by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies in year 1988 under the project ‘Indicator of Hong Kong Social Development. The project has been done for several years until they develop an index, the SDI 2000 which uses to measure the social development in Hong Kong. The study is about subjective well being of the respondent. The findings of the study indicate that Hong Kong Chinese are more satisfied with their own personal lives rather than societal condition. The subjective well being is declines in 1995, although they still satisfied with their personal lives. Other than that, their confidence in the territory future is significantly lower. It also found that, there are considered a good health, peace of mind and money as the most important thing that could lead to their happiness. Using same questionnaire set just like the first study, Wan, P. S., Law, K. W. K., Wong, T. K. Y. (2008) launch another study that examined the mean self reported to develop a composite index to reflect changes in quality of life over the period from 1990 to 1997. It was found that the personal well being index was more robust to the changes and only get change with the global trend. Other than that, the societal well being index showed more obvious changes over time. 2.8.2 Quality of life in rural area 2.8.2.1 New Zealand New Zealand is a one of the country that has done a quality of life research in a rural area. Maori people are an aboriginal people that usually live in New Zealand rural area. This research has been done by the Social Policy Research Unit of the Family Centre (Lower Hutt) and the Population Studies Centre, University of Waikato. Study case of the study is on Wellinton Tent Trust and the Palmerston North Maori Trust. The research is about understanding the wellbeing of Maori people because they (Royal Commission on Social Policy: 1988) believe that ‘a good society is one that allows people to be heard, to have say in their future and choice in life. For them, social well being includes that sense of belonging that affirms claims their dignity and identity and allows them to function in their everydays roles. First of all it is important to know what Maori people understand on quality of life. According New Zealand Maori Case Study 1 (2007) report, that refers on Love, Maulaulau and Pratt (2005) study, they identify that Maori people understanding concept quality of life would emphasise spiritual, family, tribal and social spiritual connection on responsibility, community relationship, authority and use of ancestral land as a component of Maori wellbeing with other generally shared component such as health care, adequate housing and other resources. Finding of the research shows that Maori community is more concern of human relationship with in detail is on the family relationship. This is because the entire respondent that has been interview states that social activities that happen around them is not only for themselves but also for the young generations. Other than that, they need to be able with the family and close to their own environment which are places that they are close to family. If we look on detail, it supposes to show how the strong is family bond between them. Studies also sho

PLC

The main stages of the product life yes are: Start Up – introductory phase of a lunch of a product Growth -? new entrance are attracted into the market Turbulence – where increasing product capacity result in overcapacity, and then turmoil in the market resulting in shakeout Maturity -where demand and supply in balance Decline – where the market is saturation and therefore replacement or new product development is required. Start up When proton first launched their product in the market there's lots of uncertainty from consumer during that time. Since it's new, there's no guarantee of the success of the brand.Start-up phase is where allocation of trust needs to be in consumers mind because Proton was facing great competition with famous, successful car brand out there. Competing with these is not easy. Since proton already know about the market environment and their competitors Proton was smart, to segment their Proton brand to economy or affordable car market. S ales of proton during this phase was low due failure to meet demand in the market. Growth The successful launch and introduction of the Xerox, the first truly Malaysian MAP in 2009, helped to improve the total production volume from 157,643 nits to 173,057 units.Although it is new, the Xerox alone has contributed to 20% of the total volume in its first year of production, a testament of its high demand. In July 2010, the new Xerox Special edition was launched and continued to capture the MAP segment with its enhanced styling and product specification. The Saga will also be upgraded by having a two phase facilitate, the first facilitate targeted in November 201 0 with minor appearance modification and a second involving an engine upgrade in 201 1. This facilitate is planned despite its continuing streak of high bookings.In fact in the last financial year, the Saga was a best seller several times for the Malaysian automobile market; due to its impressive selling points of consistent q uality, value for money and reliability. The launch of the Persona ‘Elegance' in March 2010 is another example of PROTON's commitment to continuously improve its products. The Elegance is equipped with better specifications including a bit ACE which means increased functionality, better engine performance and increased diagnostic capabilities.These combined with an enhanced stylish body kit, alloy rims and interior trim leather makes the Elegance a much sought after car in its class. We expect the Elegance to continue its reign as one of the top revenue generating models in our stable. Efforts to improve productivity and quality remain a core focus within the Manufacturing Division. Quality levels improved in 2009, and with the increase in production volume, we are also taking steps to raise our productivity index. In term of market shares, the company's market share later grew to 65% in 1987.Proton maintained a majority market share in the following years, which peaked in 199 3 at 74% with over 94, 100 units sold. Turbulence The financial year 2009/2010 has been a challenging yet exciting year for proton. They started cautiously in the wake of the drastic market slowdown due to the 2008 global economic crisis. This had severely affected the automotive industry domestically and globally. Market analysts had originally forecasted an 1 1% decline in total industry volume growth in 2009 as compared to 2008 due to the effect of the economic downturn.And Automobile sales in Malaysia plunged from 404,000 units in 1 997 to 163,851 in 1 998 due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Proton's revenue and profits ere severely affected, but a majority market share was still maintained into the early 20005. Maturity New sales and product distributions Effectively, PROTON gained an additional 2% market share, increasing to 28% from 26% in the previous year. This marked improvement of 13% increase in overall performance was primarily driven by the popularity of four core models namely the Saga, Persona, Xerox and Austria Neo.These made up 94% of the total registration. The Saga continued to be the lead model amongst the top four PROTON models and had managed to become the best-selling model in Malaysia for 3 institutive months from January 2010 to March 2010. With better systems and improved processes in place, the overall monthly average of unregistered stock against registered ratio remained healthy at below 1 month, resulting in better cash flow. Decline The mid-asses witnessed a decline in Proton's revenues and sales. In 2006, Proton's market share was 32%, down from 40% in 2005.Proton lost its majority domestic market share for the first time in 20 years to Periods, the second Malaysian automobile manufacturer. Factors which contributed to the fall of Proton included the revision of the National Automotive Policy (NAP), Proton's newer indigenously designed models (I. E. The Proton Wag, Gene-2 and Saws) which were poorly designed and manufacture d compared to the former Mediumistic-based Protons and stronger competitors, specifically Periods with their best-selling Mimi which launched in 2005.Both Proton's total sales volume and market share failed to recover to its pre-2002 figures and Periods remained the domestic market leader from 2006 onwards. Business Risk Factors Corporate and Operational Risks Corporate risks are primarily risks caused by external events that have potential impact on the strategic decision or activities of the Group. The Board is responsible in ensuring that the corporate risks of the Group are identified proactively. This was performed via product development, quality improvement and process improvement programs.Operational risk is defined as the risk of loss resulting from inadequacy or failure of internal processes, people and system. As the Group progresses towards operational excellence, the Group faces a multitude risks relating to financial risks, vendor capacity and capability in achieving b usiness objectives. Appropriate measures were undertaken to ensure that controls are in place to avoid any sorption Of operations. Export Market Risks Proton conducts its businesses across regions.This exposed the Group to risks such as changes in market regulation, infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (PR) and stiff market competition which may impact the Group's ultimate objectives. As the Group's future lies in expanding into the export markets, it is imperative that efforts are taken to ensure that a risk faced by the organization is effectively managed. Various risk assessments were performed in the year in review specifically for our operations in China, Middle East and Sean.Updates on mitigation plan were reported to the GRAM and BRIM respectively on a quarterly basis. Business Environment Risk Business environment risk is inherent in all businesses. The strengthening global call for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is now widely acknowledged in both developed an d developing nations and is a catalyst for the â€Å"Green Vehicle† concept to be promoted. In view of this challenge, the Group has deliberated the challenges and opportunities in the green technology and ways to catapult this idea into a feasible end state.

Why Not Have Physician Assisted Suicide

During the course of the past 20 years, many people are starting to here more and more situations about people participating in physician-assisted suicide. The fact of the matter is that people are starting to believe that they have the right to control their own life and death decisions. After you begin to think about physician-assisted suicide, and bring in all the facts, it becomes clear that it should be allowed in our society if it is used properly. Many people question the pure definition of physician-assisted suicide. According to the University of Washington School of Medicine, â€Å"physician-assisted suicide refers to the physician providing the means for death, most often with a prescription, in which the patient administers the medication† (Ethics in Medicine). As of 1997 the State of Oregon was the only state that utilize legalized physician-assisted suicide. Some people argue whether this practice is ethical to use today in our society. One strong reason why this should be done is because it is a good choice for people who are suffering unbearably. At times many physicians believe that it is their duty to relieve these people of their problems. One of the most famous arguments in favor of physician -assisted suicide is the story by Timothy Quill, and his patient â€Å"Diane†. Diane was a woman who was diagnosed with leukemia; from the beginning she refused the aggressive treatment. â€Å"She then requested a prescription of barbiturates that could be used to end her life if she determined that her suffering had become unbearable† (Annals of Internal Medicine). Diane was enrolled in a hospice program, many months passed but she began to feel a lot of pain, and fatigue. She used the barbiturates that her doctor gave her and ended her life. This was a very good case in favor of the practice because this woman was in serious pain, and the best solution was to end her life. Another example of a physician-assisted suicide incident that attracted some attention on the issue occurred with a 37-year-old woman named â€Å"BB†. This woman had a â€Å"serious stroke and soon after she became quadriplegic and unable to speak† (Annals of Internal Medicine). She spent many days learning to communicate with others around her by using a special computer. â€Å"Finding her life quality of life intolerable, she repeatedly communicated a wish to die† (Annals of Internal Medicine). She underwent some psychiatric counseling, and they agreed that she had the ability to do her own decision-making. So the staff â€Å"took away all of her artificial nutrition and hydration, and only provided comfort and care until she passed away soon after† (Annals of Internal Medicine). BB, like Diane, was also a prime example of a patient that was in need of physician-assisted suicide; she could no longer go through life the way she was and all she wanted was to die. Many of these patients bring up some important arguments for their reasons in which they have the right to use physician-assisted suicide. The University of Washington School of Medicine states that there are many arguments in favor of physician -assisted suicide or (PAS). The first of the four arguments in favor of PAS is the respect for autonomy of the patient. This means that the decisions about the circumstances for death are very personal. â€Å"They also state that a competent person should have the right to choose death†(Ethics in Medicine). The next argument for PAS is regarding to â€Å"justice. † â€Å"Justice requires that we treat like cases alike. Competent, terminally ill patients are allowed to hasten death by treatment refusal. For some patients, treatment refusal will not suffice to hasten death, and the only option is suicide. Justice requires that we should allow assisted death for these patients† (Ethics in Medicine). The third argument is the issue of compassion, according to the University of Washington School of Medicine. They explain that it is not always possible to relieve suffering, and PAS may be a compassionate response to that suffering of the Patients. The Individual liberty vs. state interest is one of the strongest arguments for PAS. A complete elimination of assisted death limits personal liberty of the individual. This is one of the main concerns about PAS, people believe that it is their body, and they should have the right to do what ever they feel is necessary. These are common arguments that have been used by patients and physicians all over the country. People against the issue of PAS debate many of these arguments and have come up with their own scenarios on the issue. Some common arguments against the PAS are â€Å"when you take a human life, it is morally wrong because of a certain religion† (Ethics In Medicine). Another argument is that some medical doctors like to maintain their professional integrity and are opposed to taking human life. Herbert Hendin states in his article â€Å"Selling Death and Dignity†, that † We should not buy into the view that those who are engulfed by fear of death or by suicidal despair that death is a preferred solution to the problems of illness, age, and depression†(Hendin 78). These arguments that are stated against physician-assisted suicide don’t seem to be strong enough to turn my feelings away from the idea that it is justified. In response to Hendin’s statement, he has no idea of all the pain and suffering that is happening to people, and what they go through. Religion is also an argument that doesn’t make much sense to me. The right thing to do if a patient is suffering from a serious illness or basically living on a â€Å"plug†, is to give them the opportunity to die the way they want and not worry about whether it is morally right, according to a religion. Also the argument made on behalf of some doctors, â€Å"that it harms their professional integrity† is also false. These ill patients think of their doctors as relieving them from pain and suffering. â€Å"Death is not caused by the withdraw of treatment from the physician, but by the underlying disease†(Annals of Medicine). Therefore, these ill patients are going to die either way, so the doctors shouldn’t feel that it is unprofessional to end a patient’s life if it is requested. One reason why people don’t want to let the PAS practice legalized is because they cannot find a certain policy to use it under. Physician-assisted suicide is debated upon regularly today and does not seem to be allowed in most states. One reason for this is because If it is legalized and it doesn’t have restrictions, there will be cases in which people will be going to the doctor to end their life for poor reasons. This form of PAS is unacceptable and that is why there should be a strict policy on the issue. If a patient goes to a doctor and asked for this procedure to be done, the physicians most look into the law on physician-assisted suicide. This policy should state that the practice can only be done if the patient has a serious illness, that is life threatening and undergoing massive amounts of pain, or lost some form of physical and mental abilities, from an illness such as a stroke. Another thing that would be included in this policy is that the patient requesting the practice must undergo some sort of psychiatric counseling to see whether he or she is in the right mind set for the procedure. This is important part of the policy, because PAS shouldn’t be performed if the patient is suffering only from some sort of depression. This policy will sort out the people who need the PAS and those who really don’t need it. This type of policy on physician-assisted suicide should be acted on in our government. Far too many people suffer, lying in hospital beds, wishing for an answer to their problems. They have lived a long enough, suffered physically, and emotionally, as â€Å"Diane† did in Timothy E. Quill’s article â€Å"Death and Dignity: A Case of Individualized Decision Making. † â€Å"We have measures to help control pain and lesson suffering, to think that people do not suffer in the process of dying is an allusion†(Quill 70), so we should not let this suffering continue on for people, and give them the choice to end their lives if they feel that is what they want.

Marketing Plan For an EU Destination Aimed at Penetrating a Market - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2461 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Case study Level High school Did you like this example? Write a marketing plan for an EU destination (excluding the United Kingdom) aimed at penetrating a market that that is not currently the main market for the destination. Marketing Portugal to the North American market Introduction Portugal is a major tourist destination in Europe, with the capital of Lisbon attracting more tourists than any other European city aside from Barcelona and other tourist areas in the country such as the Algarve and Porto also attracting significant numbers of tourists. However, the tourist industry is still dominated by British, Spanish and German tourists, who make up the majority of the tourists in the country thanks to the prevalence of low cost airlines in Europe (Portugal.org, 2009). This is in spite of the fact that Portugal has around 220 days of sunshine each year, some of the best golf courses in the world, and a unique culture and gastronomy. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Marketing Plan For an EU Destination Aimed at Penetrating a Market" essay for you Create order As such, this piece aims to develop a marketing plan to attract more tourists from North America, specifically the United States and Canada, to visit Portugal. This will be achieved via an analysis of the nature of the environment around the Portuguese tourist industry the rationale for focusing on North America and the specific offerings and competitive advantage possessed by Portugal. These analyses will be used to create a marketing plan, including strategies, tactics and control mechanisms. The marketing plan will utilise available secondary data, as well as identifying and applying any relevant theories. The business environment and the risks, threats and opportunities facing the country Tourism is now of significant importance to the economy of Portugal, with the service sector now having surpassed manufacturing and agriculture as a key source of income for the country (Portugal.org, 2009). This growth in importance in Portugal has been mirrored in a significant overall growth in the market for tourism around the world, which offers many countries the chance to capitalise on their natural resources. However, thus far Portugal has been unable to truly harness these opportunities, as it faces significant challenges in opening up its appeal to a wider demographic segment. This is because Portugal is largely characterised as being purely a beach destination, giving the country limited competitive standing in the global market (Yasin et al, 2004). Another critical issue in the business environment is the drive towards environmental quality and the sustainable development of tourism. This is placing increasing pressure on countries to preserve their natural capital a nd balance growth with the potential impacts of tourism (Videira et al, 2006). As such, any attempt by Portugal to develop its tourism industry into more areas will need to consider the environmental impacts, and the effects which this will have on the countrys standing as a tourist destination. In addition to this, the global tourism market has faced downward pressure from issues such as SARS and international terrorism, making it difficult to attract tourists from a wide range of markets. This has further increased the demands for quality management and product differentiation; as well as significant market diversification. Costa (2004) argues that this increases the demands on human resources in the industry, and that significant training and development is needed to ensure that Portugal meets the expectations of tourists in the future. Rationale for the selection of the market chosen as the focus for expansion The main rationale for choosing the North American market is that tourism plays a vital economic role in Portugal, due to its geographical location and the favourable weather conditions it experiences (Soukiazis and Proenà §a, 2008). As such, the economic success and growth of the country is strongly linked to the overall growth in per capita income from tourism, which will help bring the Portuguese economy up to the level of its EU peers. However, Soukiazis and Proenà §a (2008) argue that tourism can only be use to stimulate economic growth if the supply characteristics can be improved to bring in a wider range of more affluent tourists. This implies that any expansion of the country to attract other tourists should focus on major markets, where the population is sufficiently affluent to make an incremental contribution. As a result, North America is a natural choice due to the high levels of per capita income enjoyed by the United States and Canada. In addition, the fact tha t tourists from North America would need to take a fairly expensive transatlantic flight to reach the destination means that they are likely to stay longer and spend more in the country to maximise their experience. This will make them more valuable than many European tourists who use budget airlines and stay in cheap lodgings for short breaks. In addition, Lisbon has transatlantic connections with many major US cities, and English is widely spoken as a second language in Portugal, making it easier for North American tourists to visit and enjoy the country (Portugal Economic Studies, 2007). Products and services offered by the country, and their relevance to the selected market Portugal has significant products and services on offer, many of which are quite unique in Europe. The country has consistently high levels of sunshine, offering beach holidays, but also has a well preserved rural atmosphere and natural beauty, which will appeal to people from major North American cities eager to see some traditional European culture. In addition, Portugal has many natural thermal baths and medicinal spring, which makes it an attractive destination for tourism for health purposes (Portugal,org, 2009). This could also appeal to older people in North America or those who are concerned by recent health issues such as obesity and wish to improve their health. Finally, the climate in the Algarve region has led to the development of high quality golfing holidays, which is a key service for people looking for a relaxing sporting holiday (Correia et al, 2006). Indeed, the country is ranked as one of the premier golfing destinations in the world (Portugal.org, 2009). The countrys competencies and sources of competitive advantage Aguas et al (2000) carried out a portfolio analysis of Portugal to determine the factors which give it competitiveness and attractiveness as a tourist destination. The results of this study indicated that the countrys main advantage comes from its climate and high quality beaches, indicating that the country is primarily seen as a venue for beach holidays, and this is its main source of competitive advantage. However, correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were also used to examine the contingent nature of many of these factors. This analysis indicated that Portugals position as a major destination for beach holidays was also supported by its status as a more rural and less developed holiday destination, with a culture and cuisine which had not yet been subverted by the tourism industry, giving Portugual a more unique source of advantage to exploit, and also to protect (Aguas, 2000). Further to this, Foreign Affairs journal (2008) also supports the mild climate; hig h quality beaches; and the distinctive Portuguese cuisine as key competencies of the tourism industry in Portugal. This is supported by the fact that Lisbon is a major destination for cruise ships, which provides additional indirect tourism from the passengers taking said cruises. In addition to this, Portugals per capita GDP growth has not kept pace with the rest of the European Union, and is now less than two thirds of the average value for the EU-27 group (Background Notes on Countries of the World, 2008). This acts to make services and some goods cheaper for tourists when compared to other tourist destinations such as Spain, France and Italy, and this has supported significant growth in the tourism sector in Portugal, which in 2008 was much higher than neighbouring Spain (Foreign Affairs, 2008). Aims and objectives for the plan and the setting of future objectives In spite of the competitive advantage possessed by Portugal, Ramos et al (2000) argues that Portugals tourist sector is lacking in clear strategies on issues such as differentiation and market positioning, making it difficult for the country to appeal to specific market segments. This is largely due to dependence on the climate and environmental factors to attract tourists; excessive levels of governmental control; a lack of experience in reaching new markets; and too much dependence on central EU funds for making investments (Ramos et al, 2000). This implies that Portugal is struggling with the first stages of the AIDA marketing model, in that it is failing to obtain the attention or interest of its key market segments (Ferrell and Hartline, 2005). As such, one of the key objectives of the plan must be to obtain a good understanding of the North American market and its key customer segments, and develop differentiated offerings which will appeal to said segments and attract touris ts. This will allow Portugal to obtain more attention and interest from the North American market, which is a key part of the consumer decision making process. Indeed, the evidence indicates that the AIDA model is more appropriate than the other theories for the consumer decision making process, such as the SIVA model (Dev and Schultz, 2005), when considering tourists. This is because tourists are likely to only consider destinations which have attracted their attention, hence product focused models are less likely to succeed. This explains why many destination based tourist marketing advertisements simply focus on putting the destination in peoples minds, rather than attempting to get them to make a decision to visit (Blumberg, 2005). This implies that the main aim of the plan should be increasing the level of attention and interest in Portugal. This can be supported by marketing highlighting the range of facilities Portugal offers, the prices for goods in the country relative t o those in North America, and the ease of access on direct transatlantic flights. Future objectives can then be focused on increasing the absolute volume of tourists coming from North America. Action plan-strategies and tactics for sales, advertising and promotion strategies Given that this marketing plan is simply aimed at penetrating the North American market, and not attempting to dominate it, it is clear that care should be taken to ensure that the promotion is not too aggressive, and establishes Portugal in a positive light, as an aggressive marketing style in inappropriate for destination marketing (Blumberg, 2005). As such, strategies and tactics for sales should be based on developing relationships with US based travel agents and airlines and incentivising them to promote Portugal as an alternative destination to other major holiday destinations, whilst not being too aggressive. This could be supported by negotiating discounted deals with hotels and accommodation for transatlantic passengers to increase their cost advantages. This promotional strategy can be reinforced by an advertising strategy which attempts to get North American tourists to consider Portugal as a viable holiday destination, perhaps through comparisons with other destinati ons. For example, a comparison could be made between the flight time from New York to California and to Portugal, which should be roughly similar. Favourable climate and sunshine comparisons could also be made with Caribbean destinations, which often experience tropical storms and hence may have less sunshine in some months. Ultimately, the aim of the advertising and promotion strategies will be to get people to consider Portugal as a desirable holiday destination, similar to the other mainstream North American destinations, and also provide discounts which will encourage them to make the decision to visit. This will be supported by the relationships with travel agents. Marketing control plans for evaluation and feedback The main consideration when developing the marketing control plans is that, as Portugal is a relatively new destination for most North American tourists, they will may little expectations of their trips, and hence the marketing plan needs to develop positive and realistic expectations of the destination (Blumberg, 2005). These expectations can be understood through the use of marketing surveys which ask tourists what their expectations were before visiting the country and how their visit lived up to these destinations. This will provide feedback for increasing advertising focus in the areas where expectations were exceeded, and toning down the advertising in areas where it was felt that expectations were not completely fulfilled. The control method could include a short survey distributed to passengers waiting to board their return flights from the airport, however care should be taken not to impose this on the passengers who may be tired. Another critical aspect of marketing co ntrol for destination marketing is that the destination marketing will be carried out by a central body which does not have much involvement in managing the destination itself, in terms of the accommodation, facilities and services (Blumberg, 2005). As such, a key part of the marketing control should involve regular communication between the marketing body and the providers of services to ensure that service providers are aware of the nature of the marketing communications and the marketers are aware of the limitations of the service providers, and hence do not make excessive claims. References 1. A ´guas, P. Costa, J. and Rita, P. (2000) A tourist market portfolio for Portugal. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; Vol. 12, Issue 7, p. 394. 2. Background Notes on Countries of the World (2008) ECONOMY. Background Notes on Countries of the World: Portugal; April 2008, p. 5. 3. Blumberg, K. (2005) Tourism destination marketing – A tool for destination management? A case study from Nelson/Tasman Region, New Zealand. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 10, Issue 1, p. 45-57. 4. Correia, A. Videira, N. Alves, I. Ramires, C. Subtil, R. and Martins, M. V. (2006) Tourism golf scenarios: The Algarve case. Tourism Hospitality Research; Vol. 6, Issue 3, p. 179-196. 5. Costa, J. (2004) The Portuguese tourism sector: key challenges for human resources management. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; Vol. 16, Issue 7, p. 402-407. 6. Dev, C. S. and Schultz, D. E. (2005) In the Mix: A Customer-Focused Approach Can Bring the Current Marketing Mix into the 21st Century. Marketing Management; Vol. 14, Issue 1. 7. Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M. (2005). Marketing Strategy. Thomson South-Western. 8. Foreign Affairs (2008) The West Coast of Europe. Foreign Affairs; Vol. 87, Issue 2, special section p. 16. 9. Portugal Economic Studies (2007) 2 Macro-Accessibility In Portugal: 2.8 Travel Risks. Portugal Economic Studies; 2007, p. 37-38. 10. Portugal.org (2009) Welcome to Portugal. https://www.portugal.org/index.shtml Accessed 10th March 2009. 11. Ramos, P. Salazar, A. and Gomes, J. (2000) Trends in Portuguese tourism: a content analysis of association and trade representative perspectives. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; Vol. 12, Issue 7, p. 409. 12. Soukiazis, E. and Proenà §a, S. (2008) Tourism as an alternative source of regional growth in Portugal: a panel data analysis at NUTS II and III levels. Portuguese Economic Journal; Vol. 7, Issue 1, p. 43-61. 13. Vid eira, N. Correia, A. Alves, I. Ramires, C. Subtil, R. and Martins, V. (2006) Environmental and economic tools to support sustainable golf tourism: The Algarve experience, Portugal. Tourism Hospitality Research; Vol. 6, Issue 3, p. 204-217. 14. Yasin, M. Alavi, J. Sobral, F. and Lisboa, J. (2004) A Shift-Share Analysis Approach to Understanding the Dynamic of the Portuguese Tourism Market. Journal of Travel Tourism Marketing; Vol. 17, Issue 4, p. 11-22.