Research methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Research methodology - Essay Example The use of technology has also been implemented in the social workers education and has impacted the overall working and education performance of the social workers. The use of computers, management systems, databases and internet has made it possible for the social workers to identify and research on the problems associated to people that need to be addressed to higher authorities and be resolved as soon as possible. The introduction of digital libraries and internet databases including projects of different researchers has helped in improving the knowledge and researching abilities of students. Moreover, technology has made it possible for the social workers to conduct researches in the limited time and resources available. Information soft-wares have helped them reducing the costs of researches and saved their time. In addition, the use of internet and technology has made it possible to access important information in a matter of seconds. However, researchers indicate that educati onal institutes lack technological studies as a part of their curriculum and the IT infrastructure creates problems for the qualified social workers when they enter in to the practical life. This paper further elaborates the situation. How can technology impact the efficiency of social work? How well has technology been integrated in social work education? What are the problems associated with the IT infrastructure for social work purposes? MIS: Management information system is a set of programs used to manage the internal controls of an organization. MIS is used for decision making for the operations of any organization like deciding on a cost/price etc. (Carrilio, 2005). User-friendly system: A computer system designed to help people who are not aware of the technicalities of the computer system. These are normally designed to facilitate people using computers at work and home but are not computer specialists. Distance Education: The use of

Channel Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Channel Management - Essay Example The insurance industry too has begun using hybrid marketing channels. The objectives of marketing channels can be understood better by analysing their four functions - facilitating the exchange process, alleviating discrepancies, standardizing transactions and providing customer service. A marketing channel's most important aim is to facilitate a smooth exchange process between a firm and an individual. As marketing is a process of exchange between a buyer and a seller, channel members are considered exchange facilitators. When a marketing channel fails to deliver goods that match customer expectations, discrepancies occur. These can be corrected through activities such as sorting, accumulating, allocating and assorting. Organizations produce a variety of products for several reasons. Some reasons are: Distributors facilitate the task of sorting products so that their identification becomes easier and they can be delivered fast. Accumulating is the process of collecting the same product in large quantities. Distributors help both buyers and sellers protect themselves against price and supply fluctuations. Allocating is the process by which larger quantities of homogeneous products are broken down into smaller quantities. Manufacturers sell their products in bulk to wholesalers, who in turn, sell these in bulk to distributors. The distributors sell these products in smaller quantities to customers. Assorting is the process by which the customer's exact requirement is ascertained for a target group of customers. Distributors facilitate the marketers' task of assorting the products for different consumers according to their tastes and preferences. Another major objective of marketing channels is standardizing transactions. Let us consider the example of a milk delivery system here. In this case, the distribution is standardized throughout the marketing channel so that consumers do not need to negotiate with sellers on any aspect, whether prices, quantity, payment method or products location. Customer service includes installation, training and maintenance of the product and other forms of service required by customers. Distributors too offer these services. In a typical distribution system, there are two tiers between the manufacturer and the final consumer - the wholesale distributor and retailer. In a marketing channel, working with distributors and resellers creates more problems than it solves. This is because it is feared that intermediaries are interested in maximizing their profits and are not concerned about manufacturer's profits. To further this end, they prefer manufacturers with products and brands in high demand. Though this may be considered rational, it creates problems for manufacturers who are introducing new products in a new market. This forces the manufacturer to set-up a direct-distribution channel in international markets. Established companies, when entering international markets, choose emerging markets first. As they have limited exposure in these markets, they sell their products through local distributors who are independent in nature. Initially, though there can be a fast growth in sales, as the time passes, manufacturers start realizing and identifying problems with the distributors (Arnold,