Solar Ray Collector

OBJECTIVE: – To determine the efficiency of the solar ray collector under various experimental conditions. 1. Illumination with halogen lamp. Water temperature ? e? 20 °C. a) Complete collector b) Collector without glass plate 2. Illumination with halogen lamp. Water temperature ? e ? 60 °C. c) Complete collector d) Complete collector, cold jet of air impinges e) Collector without glass plate f) Collector without glass plate, cold jet of air impinges INTRODUCTION: Solar ray collectors  transform solar radiation into heat and transfer that heat to water. Then solar heat can be used for heating water, to back up heating systems.The heart of a solar collector is the absorber, which is usually composed of several narrow metal strips. The carrier fluid for heat transfer flows through a heat-carrying pipe, which is connected to the absorber strip. In plate-type absorbers, two sheets are sandwiched together allowing the medium to flow between the two sheets. Absorbers are typic ally made of copper or aluminum. CALCULATION: Important formula for calculating the useful power, PN and efficiency, ? : 1. Useful power, PN = c  · m  · (? o – ? i) where, m = 100 g/min = 1. 667 x 10-3 kg/s c = specific thermal capacity of water = 4. 182 kJ/kg  · K o = average absorber outlet temperature ?i = average absorber inlet temperature 2. Efficiency, ? = PN / (qi x A) where, qi = 1 kW/m2 A = 0. 12 m2 Sample calculation: PART A I. Complete collector ( t=15 min ) – useful power, PN = c  · m  · (? o – ? i) = (4. 182 kJ/kg  · K)  · (1. 667 x 10-3 kg/s)  · (32. 5 – 28. 5) K = 0. 0279 kW – efficiency, ? = PN / (qi x A) = 0. 0279kW / (1 kW/m2 x 0. 12 m2) = 0. 232 II. Complete without glass plate ( t=15min ) – useful power, PN = c  · m  · (? o – ? i) = (4. 182 kJ/kg  · K)  · (1. 667 x 10-3 kg/s)  · (35. 0 – 30. 0) K = 0. 0348 kW – efficiency, ? = PN / (qi x A) = 0. 0279kW / (1 kW/m2 x 0. 2 m2) = 0. 29 PART B I. Complete collector ( t=15 min ) – useful power, PN = c  · m  · (? o – ? i) = (4. 182 kJ/kg  · K)  · (1. 667 x 10-3 kg/s)  · (50. 0 -50. 5) K = 3. 49 W – efficiency, ? = PN / (qi x A) = 3. 49W / (1 kW/m2 x 0. 12 m2) = 0. 029 II. Collector without glass plate ( t=10min ) – useful power, PN = c  · m  · (? o – ? i) = (4. 182 kJ/kg  · K)  · (1. 667 x 10-3 kg/s)  · (52. 0 -52. 0) K = 0. 0 W – efficiency, ? = PN / (qi x A) = 0. 0 W / (1 kW/m2 x 0. 12 m2) = 0. 0 III. Complete collector, cold jet of air impinges ( t=15 min ) – useful power, PN = c  · m  · (? o – ? i) = (4. 182 kJ/kg  · K)  · (1. 67 x 10-3 kg/s)  · (51. 5-51. 5) K = 0. 0 W – efficiency, ? = PN / (qi x A) = 0 W / (1 kW/m2 x 0. 12 m2) = 0. 0 IV. Collector without glass plate , cold jet of air impinges ( t=15min ) – useful power, PN = c  · m  · (? o – ? i) = (4. 182 kJ/kg  · K)  · (1. 667 x 10-3 kg/ s)  · (43. 0 – 49. 0) K = 0. 0418 kW – efficiency, ? = PN / (qi x A) = 0. 0418 kW / (1 kW/m2 x 0. 12 m2) = 0. 349 DISCUSSION: In this laboratory session, we have conducted an experiment regarding Solar Ray Collector. The main idea of this experiment is to determine the efficiency of the solar ray collector under various experimental conditions.Theoretically, solar collectors transform solar radiation into heat and transfer that heat to a medium (water, solar fluid, or air). Then solar heat can be used for heating water, to back up heating systems. The efficiency of a solar collector is defined as the quotient of usable thermal energy versus received solar energy. Absorbers are usually black, as dark surfaces demonstrate a particularly high degree of light absorption. The level of absorption indicates the amount of solar radiation being absorbed that means not being reflected.As the absorber warms up to a temperature higher than the ambient temperature, it gives off a great part of the accumulated solar energy in form of heat rays. From the Part A of the experiment we can observed that the temperature increases for collector with glass is lesser than collector without a glass. This is because for the condition without glass plate, the light emitted from the halogen lamp not being reflected. Thus the light is emitted directed to the solar ray collector and gives their full efficiency without any disturbance or obstacles.In other scenario, collector with the glass plate, the light that emitted from the halogen lamp is being reflected by the glass plate and also reduced the heat that cross from the glass to the solar collector and hence reduced their efficiency. When the glass is placed, the maximum efficiency recorded was 0. 23 and when the glass is not used the maximum efficiency reached 0. 29. Efficiency indicates how well an energy conversion or transfer process is accomplished. In Part B , we can said that when we use heated water around 60? C , we can see that PN and ? ecome constant zero at the end of the time for natural air with glass. This is because the inlet and outlet temperature have become the same. So we can say that there is no useful power in the system. For the experiment that using the blower, the useful power and efficiency of the absorber for the blower without glass plate is higher than blower with glass plate. This is because the air from the blower relieves the heat from the surface of the absorber thus directly reducing the effectiveness of the absorber significantly. There are several error that occurred while we doing the experiment.First is as parallax errors, for instance the reading of the thermometer not taken precisely. Thus it might be give a slightly error in the data . If the parallax errors occurred, it might influence the results and calculation that we got. Secondly is to get temperature of water at 60 Celsius °C and sometime the temperature drop and affected the heat exchanger. Besides , we are having difficulty in order to maintain the flow rate of 100 cm3/min, because it sometimes goes down and up. Thus we have to check it frequently and its quite disturbing because we also need to take measurement for every minutes for 15 minutes.Moreover the thermometer is not precise because it scale is only 0. 5. Thus it is very difficult to get a correct measurement CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we can say that this experiment has achieve its objectives since we can determine the efficiency of the solar ray collector under various experimental conditions. In this experiment we can said that, the greater heat losses of the absorber the higher its temperature. Although there a lack of technique in handling the apparatus, we managed to complete the experiment with the guide of instructor.

Self Awareness and Opportunity Awareness

I have undertaken 5 classes to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses on various topics associated with employability and careers. The classes use a variety of tests and other methods to analyse me in order to produce reports on each topic. This report will summarise these topics and my conclusions from the classes, as well as reflecting on the exercises and how I found the results and their consequences. Employability Skills Employability skills are one of the most important skills a person can learn. It is one thing having the necessary qualifications for a job, but if you don't have the employability skills required, you will not succeed. From Class 1 on â€Å"Employability Strengths and Weaknesses† I found out that my main strengths were my organisation and work skills. For organisation, the class discovered that my main strengths were setting and reaching targets, prioritising tasks and meeting deadlines. These points are all related and vital at University and also at a job in â€Å"the real world†. Without being able to set targets and accomplish them, nothing would ever get done and in life targets need to be set and reached in order to progress. They can be used to monitor you and see improvement, which is a large benefit. My main weakness in my organisation category is my motivation. Sometimes I can't get motivated into doing a piece of work, but once I start and get flowing, I do it till it's finished. Its one of the areas that I have improved on, but there is still room to develop. For work skills, the class confirmed that I am good at using and applying financial information which I gained and developed at college studying maths and business studies which could open up different types of careers, associated with computing also. My weakness in work is teamwork, but only with something academical. I have no problems team working in a sport or socially, but would often prefer to complete a piece of work individually rather than in a group of people as I get more control in the content. The skill that is my main weakness is my adaptability. My strength in this area is the ability to learn from experiences and develop new strategies for tasks that I experience. My weaknesses in this skill are finding creative solutions to problems and I think this is because overall I am not a particularly creative person. Another weakness in this area is that I am not resilient to change and the exercise states that most of us have this as a weakness but its something that is always going to happen and we need to accept change and thrive upon it. Another possible weakness in this area is transferring skills from one situation to another. The test results for this class state that people often have many skills that they have attained from every day life that they do not realise and these skills can be transferred into University or the work place. To improve in this area I have completed the exercises that are contained within this class and this will help me to identify improvements that can be made so that I can turn weaknesses into strengths to maximise my chances of getting a successful career. For this class, I found that I had done most of the activities before gaining similar results so I didn't actually learn much about myself, rather confirming the thoughts that I previously had. The most beneficial part of this class was getting a summary of each individual area of employability that related to me. It showed a graph as an overview of the skills and then described them in detail, which was really helpful as it stated what I am good at and what needs further work on. Occupational Interests Class 2's aim was to help me identify the nature of occupation that was suitable for me and to learn about why it is important to recognise career preferences for choosing an occupation. The test that I completed in this section didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know. The main point that the test found out was that I am not very artistic, which I have known for a long time and anyone else that knows me will know this also. For the other 5 areas, it found that my interests were divided across the board. Apparently this will lead to a â€Å"conflict† in terms of career choice as â€Å"it may prove difficult to find a career area that satisfies all of my interests†. It implied that my answers may have been incorrect, but I feel this is because the questions were too general and could only be answered with a â€Å"yes† or a â€Å"no†. As this was the case, I answered â€Å"yes† for most questions as I felt that it was either correct or partially so. Due to the format of the questions, I felt the summary of answers was irrelevant and conclusions could not be formed from the questions asked. An improvement to the questions could have been to answer on a scale of 1 to 10 and make conclusions based on the scale; this would have given a more in-depth summary on career interests which would have made it more relevant to each person, rather than general answers. Learning Style & Team Working The aim of class 3 was to identify my role when working in a team and my strengths and weaknesses of team working and my learning style when working alone and in a team. Although I participated in the Belbin method of identifying team roles before, it was in the first week that I was at University and my role has changed over this time as I have became more involved in groups and grown as a person. After completing the test as part of the class, the team role that best suited me was â€Å"Team Worker†. The main points of this role are that I support members in their strengths and improve communications between members and help create team spirit within the group. Qualities in this role contain humility, flexibility, popularity and good listening skills, all of which I believe to have. Weaknesses are a lack of decisiveness and toughness and distaste for friction. When I originally did the Belbin test, I didn't rate it highly and didn't pay much attention to the role it gave me. After completing it this time, I agree with the entire summary and believe the method to be informative and helpful in deciding roles for members within a group in order to get the best out of the team members. Employment Opportunities The main employment opportunity that I have in the near future is the year long industrial placement that takes place after my current year. The industrial placement will refine my employability skills in the workplace and also teach me new skills that will increase my knowledge and level of work ready for the final year and progressing from there onwards. Experience in industry for a year will also increase my job prospects once I leave University, as many jobs now require that people have at least 1 year's experience, but to get experience you need a job. It's a cycle that is hard to enter but the industrial placement joins the cycle and gets that valuable experience required. My current employment is working in a high street electrical store. Working with them has improved my communication and team working skills as I work as part of a small team which requires constant communication for us to function efficiently. As part of a team, we get assigned roles and each role in the team is vital for the running of the store. I took this job mainly to fund myself at University but it has taught me skills that I can transfer into my work and for future jobs and career opportunities. Career Decisions The aim of class 4 was to identify my own decision making style and find out and use two methods of improving the quality of my decision making. Also this class helped to prepare to take appropriate action to progress to career plans. I am a mixture of decision making types, including rational, intuitive and â€Å"please everyone†. I discovered that I tend to collect information about the possibilities and weigh up the pros and cons of each outcome to base my decision upon. Other times, I tend to know intuitively which decision to make. I can often not explain or justify these reasons for choosing a particular decision, but I'm drawn towards it. I also like to please as many people as I can when making a decision. If I have no preference on a decision, or would be pleased with a number of outcomes, I would choose the most popular vote to prevent conflict and make the most people happy. The test on Career Decision Making stated that I have a good idea of where I am heading in career terms and that I may have a good record of successful decisions and a strong idea of what career I wish to enter. I agree with this summary of my career progress but was unsure that the test would come to this justification. In the test, there were only 3 options per question and only 12 questions in total so I was sceptical whether it would come to an accurate decision given the lack of depth of the questions, but seeing as though it proved accurate for me, I cannot fault the process too much. Conclusion These classes have enhanced my knowledge of myself and the current skills that I obtain, and also the skills that I need further development on. Some of the classes have exercises that I have experienced before and weren't particularly useful as they told me nothing new, but they confirmed the results that previous tests had found. Other classes and exercises were new that I hadn't done before showed me my learning style which I hadn't previously known and I found out which team role I belong in, which has changed from the last time I did the exercise 14 months ago. One improvement that could have been made to the course was if there were practical classes, roughly once every 2 weeks that we could attend and get a better idea of what was happening and receive any help if we required it and a physical class would have been easier to keep up to date with the certificate than it all being online. Overall I think that these classes, and exercises within then, have been worthwhile as I ha ve learnt which skills I posses and am good at, and also which skills I need to work on to improve my employability.

Human Sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Human Sexuality - Essay Example The results of existing research comparing gay and lesbian parents to heterosexual parents and children of gay or lesbian parents to children of heterosexual parents are quite uniform: common stereotypes are not supported by the data. Researchers estimate that the total number of children nationwide living with at least one gay parent ranges from six to 14 million. So far only one state, Florida, totally bans gay adoption. Nine states allow for openly gay and lesbian couples to adopt jointly: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, plus Washington, D.C. It is more common for one partner to adopt and then for the second to apply as the second parent, or co-parent. Second parent adoption creates a second legally recognized parent for the adoptive children. This is the only way for gay couples to both become legal parents of their children. Second parent adoptions have been granted by the courts in twenty-one states as well as D.C. These states include - Alabama, Alaska, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. In general, state agencies and courts now apply a "best interest of the child" standard to decide these cases. Under this approach, a persons sexual orientation cannot be the basis for ending or limiting parent-child relationships unless it is demonstrated that it causes harm to a child. Today social workers must make a difficult decision: should a gay couple be permitted to adopt? In fact, gay men and lesbians have always adopted, though in the past they usually hid their sexual orientation. Today, as they have become more visible in all aspects of society, they are determined to be considered seriously as potential adoptive parents.

Draft of your File-Sharing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Draft of your File-Sharing - Essay Example Ultimately this hurts the musical artist because the artist does not receive the profit they deserve from this exchange. This downloading is illegal and should be banned. However, no solid action has been taken thus far. Moral dilemmas in addition to monetary issues develop over these infractions of copyright laws. If law enforcement as well as the general public does not do something, the artists will continue to not profit by the P2P software. Something concrete must be done to protect these artists and stop people from downloading music illegally. It is apparent that album sales have been reduced drastically because of P2P software. This action only hurts the artists and destroys their ability to earn their livelihood. It is time to stop this menace. Strict actions must be taken to ensure that no illegal copies of any music album are made. It seems like nothing has been done to eliminate P2P websites and software in the past, but necessary steps must be taken now in order to protect the artists. Examples of peer-to-peer software include, but are not limited to: music-oasis, bearshare, frostwire, and ez-tracks. The idea behind the software is that users contribute their own songs to other users while downloading new music in the process. It is based on the concept of sharing: you give me your Elton John song and I will give you my Cher song. In these circumstances, there is no exchange of money involved. The artist does not benefit from this software in any way. Consumers have always shared music- when cd’s were popular, it was common to borrow a cd from a friend and put the songs on the computer. The concept of mass communal sharing via the Internet is clever, and it must be nice to not have to pay for music. However, in the end the consumer is only hurting himself. For instance, an artist distributes a single. The song becomes popular. The radio plays it all the time, people hum it absentmindedly while they are at

African American Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

African American - Assignment Example huge steps in the lives of African Americans but transitioning from slavery to freedom required some assistance hence creation of the Freedman’s Bureau. The Freedman’s Bureau sought to assist African Americans to access education, food, and health services. Moreover, the Freedman’s Bureau presided over conflicts between African Americans and whites and also negotiated labor terms between white and blacks. With freedom, there came tremendous positive results mainly for African Americans. For instance, African Americans were allowed to own property and commensurate pay for work. For the first time, African Americans were allowed to seek for jobs in white color industry. Moreover, African Americans were allowed to access educational facilities and advance their education. This later saw establishment on black schools and colleges, some which were taught by African American teachers. Ownership of property such as land and access to education was facilitated by the Freedman’s Bureau. Moreover, freedom brought sexual harassment of African American women to an end. Ending slavery also made it possible for the African Americans to move freely to all desired locations. It is also important to note that after abolition of slavery increased production significantly hence boosting the American economy. However, end of slavery also brought new challenges for the American community. For instance, some of the whites experienced land displacement as one of the civil war aftermath. The aging white community found change of lifestyle challenging hence reducing life expectancy significantly. There were also instances of violence due to efforts to oppose slavery end while in some instances African American would express hostility towards the white men. As Americans experience the rule by Barrack Obama, it is a sweet reckon for African Americans as they fathom the challenging path from slavery to modern

Treatment Of Diabetes During The Ramadan Fasting Time Essay

Treatment Of Diabetes During The Ramadan Fasting Time - Essay Example Current study examines the methods that can be used for the treatment of diabetes during the Ramadan fasting time. Regarding this issue several other themes – related with the specific subject - are going to be presented and evaluated. Under these terms, this paper is going to extensively refer to its main subject – as stated above – presenting at the same time the main aspects and the particular characteristics of a series of issues, which could be summarized to the following ones: a) What is diabetes and which are its main types? b) which are the most known – and the most developed – methods for the treatment of diabetes, c) is there any relationship between the development of diabetes and the nutrition habits of the population, d) the nutrition followed during fasting periods, especially the Ramadan, has been proved to have any impact on the progress of the treatment of diabetes and if yes, which are the main aspects of this impact? e) is the med ical staff prepared and trained appropriately in order to handle effectively the treatment of diabetes? A special reference to the competence of medical staff to adapt the diabetes’ treatment to the nutrition ‘ethics’ of the Ramadan fasting period is going to be made at this point, f) which are the prospects for the development of diabetes’ treatment during the Ramadan fasting period (reference to experiments made in the relevant field).

Employee loyalty and retention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employee loyalty and retention - Research Paper Example According to Mathis and Jackson (165), vertical (supervisory/management) and lateral (co-worker) relationships among the staff influences employee retention. An individual in a supervisory role may build or fail to build positive relationships through actions entailing fairness, non-discrimination, flexibility, provision of feedback, recognition of effort, provision of support and work-family balance among many other considerations. Managers have to be conscious of the importance of employee relations since they are in a position to influence these relations. For instance, horizontal and vertical violence cause higher levels of turnover in practices such as nursing (Stanley 5). Employee relations is related to another factor of loyalty and retention; organizational/management factors influenced by employer practices and policies. Mathis and Jackson (165) argue that organizations with clearly established goals and providing employees with the necessary resources to reach their potential retain employees better than their counterparts. Noe, Hellenbeck, Gerhart and Wright (314) state that managers are the most important factor leading to employee engagement. Participative management promotes employee satisfaction, loyalty and subsequently, retention. On the other hand, management practices such as favoritism, involvement in undesirable or unethical practices and taking undue credit for employee efforts lead to low loyalty levels. The way a firm leverages compensation and performance for employees also influences loyalty and retention. Employees cite better pay/benefits as incentives that lead to leaving one employer for another. Conversely, employers may use better pay/benefits as a competitive tool for the attraction and retention of the best employees. Theories of employee motivation also support this view, identifying rewards as the crucial determinant of motivation, which directly relates to loyalty and retention. Noe,

The Joneses Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Joneses - Movie Review Example But little does the neighbourhood know they will be taken by storm by this new family, a family adept at selling the â€Å"American Dream†. The field capital theory is the application of social, economic and cultural capital amassed by a certain section of the society who â€Å"deploy it social arenas known as fields to compete for positions of authority, distinction and status† (Tapp, Warren, 2010, p.1). This competitive behaviour in human beings is of primary interest to marketers. Steve and Kate are the ideal business man-gorgeous wife couple. Kate is the object of envy among her peer circle – she is beautiful dressed in designer clothes and decked with latest accessories. Steve is the successful businessman, an object of admiration who has everything – a beautiful wide, a huge mansion and a collection of expensive status symbols ranging from cars to gadgets. They have wealth, an affluent and jazzy lifestyle. Jenn and Mick children of the affluent couple are a rage in their school as they go about living ostentatiously a hip and trendy lifestyle. They have cool clothes, fast cars and the latest gadgets. Steve and Kate own the finest property in the new suburban town with expensive interior decorative and highly priced fittings. The competition and a sort of internal rivalry due to excessive social admiration from all quarters are holding back the Joneses family form working together. A conflict of ego and self esteem is at play. Steve is being held back by his wife who refuses to be a friend to him and instead behaves in a rather professional way. Steve overcomes this oppression by breaking through this wall of ego and

Coal to Liquid Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Coal to Liquid Technology - Essay Example Although, renewable energy is an alternative it takes time and additional resources. Some countries are very poor but have coal in abundance. It therefore means that clean technology has to be found to produce energy from coal. Several methods of transforming coal to liquid are available. Some of these are low yield in comparison to others that have yields of up to 70%. The task is to ensure that the level of greenhouse gas emissions is kept low in order to save the environment for the next generation. 2.0 Coal consumption and reserve of the world and the US According to the EIA (2012) the total coal consumption of the world for the year ended December 2010 was 7,994,703 million short tons. EIA (2012) also provides data for the year ended December 31, 2008 which indicates that the amount of coal reserves in the world was 948,000 million short tons. The tables labeled Table 1 shows comparative figures for coal consumption for those years and four (4) years prior to those years. Table 2 shows figures for coal reserves for 2008. Consumption of Coal Description 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 World NA 7,994,703 7,318,283 7,327,554 7,014,934 USA 1,003,066 1,048,295 997,478 1,120,548 1,127,998 US as a percentage of the world 13.11% 13.63% 15.29% 16.07% Table 1: Coal Consumption USA and the World (source U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)) The table indicates that USA alone accounted for approximately 14.33% of the world’s coal consumption between 2007 and 2010. In 2007 the US accounted for 16%. Although the world’s consumption of coal increased in 2008, coal consumption in the US declined by a small margin. Both world consumption and US consumption declined in 2009. However, while the world consumption declined by negligible amounts (9,271 million short tons) the US consumption declined by approximately 11% (123,070 million short tons). In 2010 the US consumption increased by approximately 6% while world consumption increased by approximately 9%. The US accounted for 13% of the world’s consumption in 2010. Coal Reserves 2008 Description 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 World 948,000 USA 260,551 Table 2: Coal Reserves USA and the World – Source U.S. Energy Information Administration The table shows that in 2008 the US held 27% of the world’s coal reserves. This is a very high percentage and indicates how beneficial coal would be if a way is found to reduce its effect on the environment. 3.0 Arguments against the use of coal Many arguments have being put forward against the use of coal. They include: i. Health and safety hazard ii. Large quantities of water are used in coal mining iii. High levels of pollution (Hansen 2009) iv. Destruction of mountains v. Accidents caused from coal mining 3.1 Health and safety hazard Coal is hazardous to the health and safety of all who come in contact with it, especially coal miners. The Center for Disease Control (2012) indicates that between 1998 and 2007, 8,111 persons died from Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis. Most of them were male (8,010), white (7,865) and age 65 years and over (7379). Although the death rate has been declining, it is still cause for concern. A number of accidents have also resulted from inadequate safety measures as miners are left to risk their lives at some mining operations. In fact, in an article entitled Justice for Upper Big Branch, The New York Times (NYT) (2012) indicates that 29 miners died from an explosion at a mine in West Virginia.. In relation to this case a United States attorney filed fraud charges against a Superintendent of the Massey operated Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia of plotting to conceal hazards, doctor’

Great Works of Western PhilosophyDiscuss Thomas Aquinas's criticisms Essay

Great Works of Western PhilosophyDiscuss Thomas Aquinas's criticisms of the view that God's existence is selfevident - Essay Example There is no denying the fact that though both of them were believers, yet in their theological and philosophical confabulations, they seem to be more concerned about establishing the relevance of their approach rather then proving the existence of God. Anselm, an Italian philosopher tends to rely on pure logical catechism. Aquinas, hailing from an aristocratic background, being the son of Count of Aquino, tends to extend a more refined version of the Averroists' view of 'double truth, which believed that the Catholic faith has two dimensions, one based on reason that emanates from philosophy and the other based of revelation, ensuing from theology. However, Aquinas while refuting the ontological argument seems to divest religion of its inherent need for faith and mysticism. In doing so, both the luminaries reduce God to a concept, much unlike the alive and awesome God of the scriptures. Yet, the interesting thing is that this approach of Aquinas towards faith evolved into a living in fluence that cleared the way for the proliferation and sustenance of a scientific temperament in the West amidst the surrounding theological constraints. Anselm was a theologian who commanded a considerable influence in the 11th century. In 1078, he propounded his famous ontological argument for the existence of God in his well-known book 'Proslogium'. Anselm was both repudiated and acclaimed by some of the most noteworthy philosophers and theologians. Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant challenged this ontological argument for the existence of God, while it was acclaimed and built upon by Leibniz, Descartes and Spinoza. Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God proceeds somewhat like this: 1. God stands to be the greatest entity that can be conceived by human mind. (Axiom) 2. If God is not the greatest entity, then definitely something greater then God ought to exist. (Axiom) 3. Yet, it is impossible to conceive an entity greater then God. (Axiom 1, repeated). 4. As axiom 2 is in contradiction with axiom 1, thus 2 is certainly false. 5. Hence, God Exists. To put the argument of Anselm in simple words: 1. Even if an individual doubts the existence of God, still one knows that God is the greatest entity that can be conceived by human mind. 2. There is no denying the fact that the capacity to exist in the mind and outside the mind stands to be greater then the capacity to exist merely in the mind. 3. Thus, the individual who denies the existence of God, in a way declares that it is possible to conceive something that is greater than God is. 4. This premise stands to contradict the definition of God and hence cannot be true. 5. Thus, God exists. In a personal perspective, Anselm intends to validate a synthetic argument by pretending that it is in fact an analytic argument. He is trying to prove the existence of something without trying to correlate its existence with the real world. Grave doubts tend to mar the assumption that concludes that it is possible to validate or deny the existence of something by merely resorting to its definition. As per Encarta, it is next to impossible to valida

Reflection Week Essay Example for Free

Reflection Week Essay Apply ratio, vertical, and horizontal analyses to financial statements Ratio analyses are used by companies to gather information in a company’s financial statement. Ratios and numbers from a company’s current year are compared to previous years and sometimes even the economy to judge the company’s performance. There are several ratios such as profitability ratios, liquidity ratios, activity ratios, leverage ratios and market ratios that can be used to calculate financial information. In vertical analyses, each entry of the assets, liabilities and equities in a balance sheet is represented as a proportion of the total account of the financial statement. In horizontal analysis a company’s ratios are compared in the financial statements over a period of time. Horizontal analysis can be used from revenues to earnings per share. Prepare a statement of cash flows using both direct and indirect methods. When preparing a statement of cash flows, there are two different methods that can be used; there is the direct method, and there is also the indirect method. The direct method shows operating cash receipts and payments, making it more consistent with the objective of a statement of cash flow, while the indirect method adjusts net income for items that do not affect cash. The FASB allows both methods to be used because in the end the results of the total amount for net cash provided by operating activities arrive in the same way. Companies use numerous adjustments when preparing such statements so following a proper guide such as the direct method or indirect method will help to ensure that everything is properly in order the way it should be. Prepare journal entries associated with the issuance of preferred and common stocks and the declaration and payment of dividends The issuance of common stock affects only paid-in-capital accounts. Always record common stock at its par or stated value. Debit Cash and credit Common Stock. Preferred stock has preference over common stock. However, preferred stockholders do not have voting rights. The entry is debit to Cash and credit to Preferred Stock. For a corporation to issue cash dividends there must be: retained earnings, adequate cash, and a declaration of dividends. A company does not pay dividends unless its board of directors decides to do so, then it is deemed declared. When it is declared then it becomes a liability. Three important dates are observed with dividends: declaration date, record date, and the payment date. Declaration commits a corporation to legal obligations.

Wynn Resort Essay Example for Free

Wynn Resort Essay Executive Summary 1.) Purpose To know if what is the overall strategy of Steve Wynn to make Wynn Resorts, Ltd. on the right track and quite a remarkable company. 2.) Statement of the Problem There are three problems which I found out in the case, and these are the three challenges that Wynn will have to face, and the future may throw some curveballs along the way. First is need to secure a way to maintain the competitive advantage as increased competition is introduce both domestically and abroad into the gaming industry. Second, The Macau government reserves the right to take control of the Wynn Casino in 2017; this would be detrimental to the profits for the company, and some solutions will need to be devised to ensure that the survival of the company is not majorly dependent on the revenues generated by Wynn Macau resort and casino. A third concern about future success, but certainly not the final concern, is the loss of Steve Wynn himself. Losing Steve Wynn would mean losing his expertise, passion and governmental ties. In the most likely scenario, a loss of Steve Wynn may result in the sale of the firm to a competing company, such as MGM Inc. 3.) Alternative Courses and Actions Wynn must focus on differentiating the company by concentrating on the atmosphere and design of the resorts. Wynn Rsort must enhance customers service and luxury as full-service provider. 4.) Recommendation Wynn must not only focus to target high-end gaming customers, but he must also offer affordable goods and services to the middle-income clients. This segment includes vacationers and younger people looking for relatively inexpensive place to say with the understanding that most of their budget will go to dining and entertainment. Methods of Analysis 1. SWOT Analysis SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths 1. The greatest operational strength Wynn Resorts, Ltd. has is the founder himself, Steve Wynn. 2. The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, Forbes five-star, and Michelin five star ratings for hotel, as well as one Michelin star for restaurant Wing Lei, and is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world. 3. One of Wynn Resorts’ greatest marketing strength is strategic development of its product. The product that Wynn sells is a luxury destination experience that makes customers feel pampered and value through high-quality amenities and customer service. 4. Steve Wynn is widely considered the â€Å"Father of Luxury Gambling†, and he is largely responsible for the image change and societal perspective change of the city of Las Vegas. | Weaknesses 1. The company’s complete dependence of Steve Wynn is a significant weakness. 2. Focusing solely on the high-end market could be a marketing weakness in that Wynn is missing a large customer base of middle-income clients. 3. Wynn Resorts’ biggest disadvantage is its youth. MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment are companies with history and territory. They have the majority of premier legal gambling locations such as Atlantic city under their thumb and they will create difficult barriers to entry for Wynn Resorts.| Opportunities 1. As the boomers retire, they are spending more money on leisure and recreation, and they are piling into the casinos, this growing represents an opportunity for the gaming industry and for Wynn Resorts specifically. 2. The development of a casino in Macau is a strategic opportunity. 3. Wynn Macau provides the opportunity for cross-marketing with Wynn Las Vegas, because the target market segment in both Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Macau is high income, customers have resources to travel and vacation in other parts of the world, which can make cross-marketing very effective.| Threats 1. Social norms in the United States differ from those practiced in Macau and should not be universally applied. 2. The ability of the government to take control of the casino at any time it deems appropriate is a significant threat to the success of Wynn Resorts because it could lose control of its operation in Macau. 3. Another threat exists in the possibility of Wynn Resorts, Ltd. being unable to collect on its gaming debts. 4. The loss of Steve Wynn, himself.| Bibliography 1. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Swot-Analysis-Wynn-Ltd-946073.html 2. http://www.investingvalue.com/investment-leaders/steve-wynn/index.html

Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort

Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort Chapter I: Introduction 1.1 Background In recent times, customers satisfaction is the main concern for every hotel and resort. Customers are now more valued and every effort is being made to keep them loyal to the resort and make them permanent visitors. The hotel industry believes that higher level of customer satisfaction may result in higher levels of repurchase. Repeat purchasing is essential to a continued stream of profitability through achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997). The customers satisfaction can be defined as â€Å"the fulfillment response† which they feel towards given service. It has been a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of underfulfilment or overfulfilment† (Oliver, 1996, p. 14). The concept of consumer satisfaction occupies a central position in marketing thought and practice. Conceptually, satisfaction is an outcome of purchase and use results from the buyers comparison of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences. Operationally, satisfaction is similar to attitude in that it can be assessed as the sum of the satisfactions with the various attributes of the product or service. With due consideration of this marketing approach, every effort is being made to provide the customers with better services in order to keep them loyal and make them a repeat visitor. The customer behaviour is considered as the ultimate success scale within the industry. The hotel industry is also among those sectors which have been trying to attract customers as long term visits. For this purpose, the hotel industry consistently implies different approaches to assess the customers satisfaction level in order to introduce new methods to attract them and make them their repeat visitors. The Samui Island has many attractions for the tourists and visitors from all around the world and a great number of visitors come to the island in order to enjoy tranquil and naturally beautiful beaches, hospitality of the local population and the unique services like spa offered by the hotel industry. There are a lot of visiting places on the island like the Big Buddah, Namuang Waterfall, Hin Ta Hin Ya, Sawadee Shrine, Hin Lad Waterfall, Scuba Diving, Dinning and restaurant and Samui nightlife etc. These attractions have attracted visitors tremendously and have contributed significantly to enhance the business opportunity for the local hotels and resorts. Nora Beach is one of the most famous resorts of the Samui Island. It is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samaui, the 3rd largest island. The resort offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a seclude bay just north of the world famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach and Spa, 2007). Nora Beach Resort and Spa has strived to offer its customers excellent service over the years. 1.2 Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to analyse the level of customers satisfaction at Nora Beach Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand. This analysis would be made by assessing customers opinion through a well designed questionnaire. Considering the results of this analysis, the study will try to suggest the strategy for achieving a desirable customers satisfaction in the light of new marketing approaches. 1.1 Objectives of Study The objectives of the study are: To understand the level of customers satisfaction by conducting a survey. To analyse the characteristics of the customers satisfaction which contribute their loyalty for the particular resort or hotel. This will be done by analysing purpose of visit, gender, age, education and other characteristics. To suggest a strategy to retain customer loyalty by adopting an effective marketing strategy. 1.4 Study Structure In order to analyse customers satisfaction with the service at Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui, this study will review the current literature in the context of customers satisfaction and the services provided by the hotel industry. It will also examine the customers satisfaction in relation with the services provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa through the primary data. For this purpose, in the literature review chapter, different theories relating to service, customers satisfaction and different categories of hotels will be reviewed. The methodology chapter will present philosophy and methods of research undertaken for this study. It will also describe the sampling, data collection tools and the method for data analysis. The fourth chapter will present the results of the research in relation with demographic analysis of the respondents and their satisfaction level at the Hotel. In the fifth chapter, conclusions will be made resulting from the data analysis. This researcher w ill offer recommendation to the industry with due consideration to the results of the primary data and the review of the literature. Chapter II: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Service The service is defined as a â€Å"prototype for service, covering the need of the customer and the design of the service†. Edvardsson and Olsson (1996, p. 149). Goldstein et al. (2002) suggest that the service concept integrates the â€Å"how† and â€Å"what† of service design while keeping both the customers needs and strategic intent of the firm in mind. In other words, the service concept gives a detailed description of what the customer needs and how the organization will deliver the service. The study of customers satisfaction in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. Since the success of a business has been linked to providing high levels of customers satisfaction, a substantial amount of effort has been focused on identifying how consumers perceive service quality in various settings. Gronroos (1982) has defined service quality as â€Å"the outcome of an evaluation process where the consumer compares his expectations with the service he perceived he has received.† Hence we can say that perceived service is measured against expected service. Service quality has been seen as the result of comparing a customers expectations prior to receiving the service with the customers experiences with the service. Wyckoff (1984) defined the concept of service quality from the companys perspective. Service quality is the degree of excellence for meeting the customers requirements, and control over the variability in achieving that excellence. 2.2.1 Service Theories According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) the study of service in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. With growing competition and emerging of hotel industry as a high profiting business, much preference is made to deliver a quality service to the customers. The researchers have defined service quality as the result of comparing the expectation of service quality and the perception of feelings. That is, the service quality not only includes the evaluation of the service performances, but also includes the process of service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985, 1988). According to Sherden (1988), service quality is defined as a relationship between a customer and the particular employee with whom the customer is dealing. Although the actual level of service quality is developed in the employee-customer relationship, management must ensure that customers experiences are in line with their expectations. Lovelock (1991) has defined the characteristics of service quality. According to him, service quality is that; which is delivered in a performance, in which the customer is involved in production in which other customers are often similarly involved in production (e.g., a theater) in which quality control can only be performed during delivery in which service cannot be inventoried, deliver is â€Å"realtime†, and; distribution channels are nonexistent or compressed. Examining service quality and its relationship with relevant constructs not only requires recognition of essential dimensions of service quality, but also identification of dimensions that are most meaningful to the customers in measuring the overall satisfaction. Therefore, having a better understanding of service quality is associated with considering various dimensions of service quality. Service quality dimensions or elements are those attributes that contribute to the creation of consumer expectations and perceptions of service quality. Service Quality called â€Å"SERVQUAL† is an instrument for measuring the gap between the services.† Therefore, what consumers think should be provided and what they think actually has been provided. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985, 1988) initially offered ten attributes, which they regard as essential to the quality of all services. These ten dimensions were tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding/knowing the customer, and access. These ten dimensions and their descriptions served as the basic structure of the service quality domain from which items were derived for the SERVQUAL scale (Table 1). 2.2.2 Elements of Service Researchers agree that it is hard to measure customer satisfaction and the service quality as every customer perceives service from his or her own preferences (Gavin Eccles and Philip Durand, 1997). To overcome this problem of defining the service level, hotels have addressed it through star ratings, where guests can gain a perception of the quality on offer through the number of stars attached to he hotel. However, as service quality depends more on customers perception, there are different criteria used by different customer groups to evaluate service. The purpose of The SERVQUAL scale is to measure levels of service quality. In this technique, it is assumed that the levels of service quality experienced by customers are critically determined by the gap between general expectations of the service and the customers perceptions of what they actually receive from a specific service provider. The customers can evaluate the service quality from the following five factors: tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy. The benefit of the SERVQUAL scale is that the management can assess and monitor the service quality and design better strategies and policies to improve it. Furthermore, understanding the customers satisfaction level and perception of service quality may yield important information influencing the design and specification of this and other, related, services provided by the organization. Finally, it helps the hotel industry in better developing future service improvements (Gavin and Durand, 1997). 2.3 Impact of Service on Customer Satisfaction The improved service quality provided to the customers enhances their loyalty to the service provider. Thus, attention has been paid to the concept of customer satisfaction as a corporate goal among academics and business practitioners (Rust Oliver, 1995). Satisfaction is a major outcome of marketing processes that culminate in purchase, and satisfaction is also thought to contribute to post-purchasing phenomena such as word-of-mouth communication, repurchase intention, and brand loyalty. Gronholdt, Martensen, and Kristensen (2000) administered a study on sixty companies and found that customer satisfaction would have significant impacts on customer loyalty. Bowen and Chen (2001) focused on the hotel industry to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results showed a slight increase in customer satisfaction would highly improve customer loyalty. Hence, customer satisfaction was inferred to have great impacts on customer loyalty. Moreover, Tam (2004) established an integrated framework of service quality, customer satisfaction, and perceived value, suggesting that customer satisfaction and perceived value have significant influences on customers future purchase behaviors. Anderson and Sullivan (1993) believed that customer satisfaction positively influenced repurchase intentions. Repurchase intentions is considered a possible outcome of customer loyalty. Jones and Sasser (1995) stated that customer loyalty is â€Å"a feeling of attachment to or affection for a companys people, products, or services.† Customer loyalty is often referred to as a purchase behavior, unlike customer satisfaction, which is an attitude. Repurchase behavior is a form of loyalty. Customer loyalty, a key mediating variable in explaining customer retention is concerned with the likelihood of a customer returning, making business referrals, providing strong word-of-mouth, as well as providing references and publicity (Bowen and Showemaker, 1998). Although most research on loyalty has focused on frequently purchased package goods (brand loyalty), the loyalty concept is also important for industrial goods (vendor loyalty), services (service loyalty), and retail establishment (store loyalty) Prior research has shown that ones emotions have an influence on behavior, and that one responds to an event in certain ways to maintain positive emotions (i.e. happiness) and to avoid negative emotions (i.e. depression) (Strauss and Neuhaus, 1997). Oliver, Rust, and Varki (1997) found that positive emotion led to higher levels of customer satisfaction and increased repurchase intentions. On the other hand, Andreasen (1999) found that initial negative emotion caused by a service failure results in customer exit behavior. Dick and Basu (1994) posited that true loyalty only exists when repeat patronage coexists with a high relative positive attitude. In addition to attitude, it has been argued that loyalty may also be based on cognition (Lee and Zeiss, 1980; Oliver, 1980). 2.2.4 Quality in Customer Service The quality of service provided to the customers matters a lot more not only for the customers but it is a matter of great concern for the service provider as well. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. Spreng and MacKoy (1996) also studied the relationship between service quality and satisfaction based on their modified Olivers (1993) satisfaction/service quality model. Their modified model fitted the data well where service quality was hypothesized to influence satisfaction. In their study, the path coefficient between two constructs appeared to be significant (t = 9.4). Woodside, Frey, and Daly (1989) supported the causal relation of service quality and satisfaction with data collected in area of health care. Several researchers stated that overall service quality is determined only by the customers perception of a service, rather than the difference between the customers expectation and actual service performance. 2.3 Customer Satisfaction The service literature has been contributed to the confusion over the relationship between consumer satisfaction and service quality. The most important that service providers need to know are how their objectives meet or exceed the customers satisfaction with their performance. The importance of this issue has been led to several recent efforts to clarify the relationship between satisfaction and service quality. The SERVQUAL measurement tool suggests that a consumers perception of service quality involves the difference between his or her expectations about the performance of a general class of service providers and his or her assessment of the actual performance of a specific firm within that class. SERVQUAL confounds customer satisfaction and customer attitude. In contrast, the SERVPERF version of the original SERVQUAL scale only concerns performance. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. 2.3.1 Customer Satisfaction Theories The customer satisfaction theories stress that quality of service is more important than the goods provided. Customers get satisfied mainly because of the quality and it is a psychological effect on their choice when they choose a particular hotel or resort to visit and stay. That is why one of the fastest growing segments in marketing research is the study of customer satisfaction (Dutka, 1994). When customers get satisfied with a particular service, they become loyal for it and in this way, the business have more repeat visitors. Customers satisfaction is directly linked with his or her expectancy level. The perception of customers are always different and there is no hard and fast rule to determine what kind of service satisfy more. As the satisfaction expectancies consistently change, so, there are three stages which the customers pass through before rendering satisfaction. At the first level, expectations are simple and take the form of assumptions. In the next level the expecta tion level become complex and the customer has higher expectations. At the third level customers expectorations are even higher and he or she years for something which may attract him or her and have some delightful effects rather than the normal routine services. (Service Marketing, 2007). When a customer achieves this kind of highly attracting service, he becomes a loyal and repeat customer and remains loyal until the service quality begin deteriorating. 2.3.2 Functionalities of Customer Satisfaction The functionality of customer satisfaction in the business world is that how effectively the services/goods meet the customers expectations. Therefore we can see across marketing world that each businesses success story relies on â€Å"Customer Satisfaction†. Thus the customer satisfaction has become the key element of business strategy in todays market place (Buchanan, Gilles, 1990). Although the customer satisfaction varies from an individual to individual, however certain recommend standards can be opted in-order to mitigate positively the popular perception. The common tool to opt the level of customer satisfaction is survey or collection of primary data where customer is asked to evaluate the open ended and close ended statements in accordance with the customers own perception. Thence the performance of the service/goods becomes contingent of that certain level of Customer Satisfaction. 2.3.3 Customer vs. Employee Satisfaction Satisfaction can be seen from two different perspectives. Customers satisfaction implies that they should get satisfied with the quality of service they receive while the employees satisfaction means how satisfied they are in the workplace and how they are able to serve the customers with commitment. As the satisfaction on both sides is imperative the hotel industry has not only to ensure the satisfaction of its customers but also those of their employees because without satisfaction of employees there is no justification to expect commitment of employees. Employees satisfaction may be achieved through incentives and rewards, acknowledgment of their performance and motivating them for achievement of further goals. Similarly, customers satisfaction can be achieved through offering them unique and high standard services and fostering better public relations with them. 2.4 Hotel Categories Hotels can be categorised according to the services they provide, i.e., location, facilities and services offered and clientele served. Restaurants mostly provide the customers with eating stuff but do not offer accommodation. However, hotels mainly have accommodation facilities as well as provide the customers different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some hotels offer accommodation but does not have their own chef so customers have to have their meals outside. Furthermore, the services of hotels further differ according to their location. In Thailand, usually hotels have begun to offer spa and other health facilities besides providing them normal accommodation and meals facilities. 2.4.1 Types of Hotel Most of the hotels have their own star rating. But the interesting thing is that there is no unified system to determine the service quality of the hotels. Throughout Europe, rating of hotels is determined either by government or by the private organisation according to the service they provide (Martin, 2007). There are 1 to 5 star hotels across the globe and the cost of their services differ according to their rating. For example, a four star hotel is much costly than a 1 star hotel. Similarly, four star hotel is expected to have more facilities than a 1 star hotel. A four to five star hotel may have more services and amenities, including meeting space for conferences 2.5 Nora Beach Resort and Spa 2.5.1 Information of the Hotel The Nora Beach Resort is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samui, the 3rd largest island, which offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a secluded bay just north of the world-famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach Resort and Spa, 2007). The profound services of Nora Beach Resort and Spa are as follow: Bars and Restaurants. Recreation Anodas Spa Rooms The additional supportive services of the Resort are as follow: Travel and Tours Desk. Taxi/Limousine Service. Swimming pools Laundry and Dry Cleaning. Gymnasium/Fitness Room. Baby Sitting Facilities. 2.5.2 Type of Customers The type of customers visit Nora Beach Resort and Spa are holiday makers, however the professionals on travel also frequently visit the resort. According to a study by Thailand Tourism Statistics that 87% of tourists are holiday makers at Koh Samui Island; where the Nora Beach Resort is jewel of the attraction for the holiday makers at Koh Samui Islands. These categories of visitors consist of male, female and children with age diversity from 13 to 55 years on average. They prefer Nora Beach for the reason that major attractions of Island are nearby the resort. 2.5 Conclusion In this chapter, different theories of customers satisfaction have been evaluated and reviewed. Further, the importance of service quality on customers loyalty has been discussed. Besides, the review of literature from customers perspective, different categories of hotels and the system of rating has also been discussed. The review of literature shows that with the competition in hotel industry, customers perception and expectation of service has increased to a great extent and now the hotel industry has to enhance, improve and add up more services for the customers to make them loyal to the services. Chapter III: Methodology 3.1 Introduction This chapter presents details about the methodology adopted and elaborates the chosen research philosophy, approach and strategy used and the reasons for their selection. Further, this chapter describes the sample population and how the primary data was collected and processed. It also describes the secondary data collection for the literature review. This chapter further explains the data collection tool and highlights validity, authenticity and reliability of the data collected. 3.2 Research Framework Saunders et al. (2007) define an exploratory study as a valuable means of finding out what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light study. Further, they define interpretivism as a theory of knowledge that depicts the methods, validity and scope of the research. This theory advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand difference between humans as social actors (Saunders, Lewis Thornhil, 2007). ). Hence, the study was conducted in the interpretivism philosophy, because the aim of the researcher was to know the difference of human behavior in relation with satisfaction in the service quality provided by the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The researcher aimed to know how customers get satisfied with the service provided by the Resort and how they perceive service quality. The research strategy utilized was case study. The case study strategy has considerable ability to generate answers to the question ‘why? as well as the ‘what? and ‘how? questions (Saunders et al., 2007). In addition, a case study strategy can be very worthwhile way of exploring existing theory or to challenge an existing theory (Saunders et al., 2007). The study also sought answers to what the customers satisfaction level and how customers can be attracted to revisit the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. 3.3 Sampling The population of this research were customers who stayed in Nora Beach Resort and Spa; a total of n= 113 customers completed the survey. The sampling technique needed for the case study was non- probability sampling which are purposive and convenience. 3.4 Data Collection tool The data collection tool for this study is a well designed questionnaire consisting of three parts as questionnaires are one of the most widely used data collection techniques in the survey strategy (Saunders et al. 2007). The first part is related to the customers satisfaction consisting 15 questions based on five likert scale ranging from very satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied and very dissatisfied. The purpose of this part is to assess the perception of customers about the quality of the Resort in relation with menu variety, room service, cleanliness etc. The second part consists general type of questions like accessibility of the Resort and the reason to choose it. The third part of the questionnaire is demographic one assessing customers gender, age occupation and the purpose of their visit. In all, there were twenty two questions asked to analyze the customers assessment and expectations regarding the facilities and services as provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa, T hailand. 3.4 Data Collection The research was based on positivism principles with deductive approach. The questionnaire developed was placed in the guest rooms, as well as in the lobby and was collected by Ms.Napaphon Rattanarak, a proctor who was trained according to the guidelines established. Permission was granted by the resort manager to conduct this study following highest ethical standards and principles. 3.6 Data Analysis As this study aims at providing recommendations on improving service quality of Nora Beach Resort and Spa, the dully filled and returned questionnaire was analysed using SPSS, the software having good analytical capabilities. The analysis of the questionnaire offers insight about the conception of customers with regard to their perception of service quality at Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The results of this analysis will be discussed in the preceding chapter. 3.7 Conclusion This chapter has highlighted the research philosophy, techniques and methods used for this study. The study has relied over Likert Technique because in-order to assess the level of customer satisfaction the best available method was to conduct survey. The respondents were visitors to the resort staying at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. Although the responses of the customers may be biased as their opinion may be influenced by the service provided at that very moment, yet, this research provides a lot of interesting information regarding their perception of the service quality. Chapter IV: Results 4.1 Introduction In this chapter, the researcher will show the results of the data collected from the questionnaire which were gathered from the customers/visitors of Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui. In this section, the researcher will present the demographic information from the respondents, and will also discuss the customers response towards the questions asked about the services provided. Further, the researcher will discuss the general information analysis of the customers as to how they found the resort, why did they choose to stay at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa and whether it was their first visit or they are a repeat visitors. 4.2 Demographics There were total 113 questionnaire placed in the guest room and the lobby of the resort which the customer staying at the resort had to fill up which, in return, were collected and returned to the researcher by Ms. Napaphon, a protector trained for the purpose. All the 113 questionnaires were duly filled up and retuned y the customers. Of these 113 respondents, 56 were male (49.56 per cent) and 57 female (50.44 per cent) 4.3 Level of Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort Analysis of Customer Satisfaction at Beach Resort Chapter I: Introduction 1.1 Background In recent times, customers satisfaction is the main concern for every hotel and resort. Customers are now more valued and every effort is being made to keep them loyal to the resort and make them permanent visitors. The hotel industry believes that higher level of customer satisfaction may result in higher levels of repurchase. Repeat purchasing is essential to a continued stream of profitability through achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997). The customers satisfaction can be defined as â€Å"the fulfillment response† which they feel towards given service. It has been a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of underfulfilment or overfulfilment† (Oliver, 1996, p. 14). The concept of consumer satisfaction occupies a central position in marketing thought and practice. Conceptually, satisfaction is an outcome of purchase and use results from the buyers comparison of the rewards and costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences. Operationally, satisfaction is similar to attitude in that it can be assessed as the sum of the satisfactions with the various attributes of the product or service. With due consideration of this marketing approach, every effort is being made to provide the customers with better services in order to keep them loyal and make them a repeat visitor. The customer behaviour is considered as the ultimate success scale within the industry. The hotel industry is also among those sectors which have been trying to attract customers as long term visits. For this purpose, the hotel industry consistently implies different approaches to assess the customers satisfaction level in order to introduce new methods to attract them and make them their repeat visitors. The Samui Island has many attractions for the tourists and visitors from all around the world and a great number of visitors come to the island in order to enjoy tranquil and naturally beautiful beaches, hospitality of the local population and the unique services like spa offered by the hotel industry. There are a lot of visiting places on the island like the Big Buddah, Namuang Waterfall, Hin Ta Hin Ya, Sawadee Shrine, Hin Lad Waterfall, Scuba Diving, Dinning and restaurant and Samui nightlife etc. These attractions have attracted visitors tremendously and have contributed significantly to enhance the business opportunity for the local hotels and resorts. Nora Beach is one of the most famous resorts of the Samui Island. It is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samaui, the 3rd largest island. The resort offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a seclude bay just north of the world famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach and Spa, 2007). Nora Beach Resort and Spa has strived to offer its customers excellent service over the years. 1.2 Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to analyse the level of customers satisfaction at Nora Beach Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand. This analysis would be made by assessing customers opinion through a well designed questionnaire. Considering the results of this analysis, the study will try to suggest the strategy for achieving a desirable customers satisfaction in the light of new marketing approaches. 1.1 Objectives of Study The objectives of the study are: To understand the level of customers satisfaction by conducting a survey. To analyse the characteristics of the customers satisfaction which contribute their loyalty for the particular resort or hotel. This will be done by analysing purpose of visit, gender, age, education and other characteristics. To suggest a strategy to retain customer loyalty by adopting an effective marketing strategy. 1.4 Study Structure In order to analyse customers satisfaction with the service at Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui, this study will review the current literature in the context of customers satisfaction and the services provided by the hotel industry. It will also examine the customers satisfaction in relation with the services provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa through the primary data. For this purpose, in the literature review chapter, different theories relating to service, customers satisfaction and different categories of hotels will be reviewed. The methodology chapter will present philosophy and methods of research undertaken for this study. It will also describe the sampling, data collection tools and the method for data analysis. The fourth chapter will present the results of the research in relation with demographic analysis of the respondents and their satisfaction level at the Hotel. In the fifth chapter, conclusions will be made resulting from the data analysis. This researcher w ill offer recommendation to the industry with due consideration to the results of the primary data and the review of the literature. Chapter II: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Service The service is defined as a â€Å"prototype for service, covering the need of the customer and the design of the service†. Edvardsson and Olsson (1996, p. 149). Goldstein et al. (2002) suggest that the service concept integrates the â€Å"how† and â€Å"what† of service design while keeping both the customers needs and strategic intent of the firm in mind. In other words, the service concept gives a detailed description of what the customer needs and how the organization will deliver the service. The study of customers satisfaction in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. Since the success of a business has been linked to providing high levels of customers satisfaction, a substantial amount of effort has been focused on identifying how consumers perceive service quality in various settings. Gronroos (1982) has defined service quality as â€Å"the outcome of an evaluation process where the consumer compares his expectations with the service he perceived he has received.† Hence we can say that perceived service is measured against expected service. Service quality has been seen as the result of comparing a customers expectations prior to receiving the service with the customers experiences with the service. Wyckoff (1984) defined the concept of service quality from the companys perspective. Service quality is the degree of excellence for meeting the customers requirements, and control over the variability in achieving that excellence. 2.2.1 Service Theories According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) the study of service in the field of general marketing has evolved into important parameters that need to be identified and understood in order to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. With growing competition and emerging of hotel industry as a high profiting business, much preference is made to deliver a quality service to the customers. The researchers have defined service quality as the result of comparing the expectation of service quality and the perception of feelings. That is, the service quality not only includes the evaluation of the service performances, but also includes the process of service (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985, 1988). According to Sherden (1988), service quality is defined as a relationship between a customer and the particular employee with whom the customer is dealing. Although the actual level of service quality is developed in the employee-customer relationship, management must ensure that customers experiences are in line with their expectations. Lovelock (1991) has defined the characteristics of service quality. According to him, service quality is that; which is delivered in a performance, in which the customer is involved in production in which other customers are often similarly involved in production (e.g., a theater) in which quality control can only be performed during delivery in which service cannot be inventoried, deliver is â€Å"realtime†, and; distribution channels are nonexistent or compressed. Examining service quality and its relationship with relevant constructs not only requires recognition of essential dimensions of service quality, but also identification of dimensions that are most meaningful to the customers in measuring the overall satisfaction. Therefore, having a better understanding of service quality is associated with considering various dimensions of service quality. Service quality dimensions or elements are those attributes that contribute to the creation of consumer expectations and perceptions of service quality. Service Quality called â€Å"SERVQUAL† is an instrument for measuring the gap between the services.† Therefore, what consumers think should be provided and what they think actually has been provided. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985, 1988) initially offered ten attributes, which they regard as essential to the quality of all services. These ten dimensions were tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding/knowing the customer, and access. These ten dimensions and their descriptions served as the basic structure of the service quality domain from which items were derived for the SERVQUAL scale (Table 1). 2.2.2 Elements of Service Researchers agree that it is hard to measure customer satisfaction and the service quality as every customer perceives service from his or her own preferences (Gavin Eccles and Philip Durand, 1997). To overcome this problem of defining the service level, hotels have addressed it through star ratings, where guests can gain a perception of the quality on offer through the number of stars attached to he hotel. However, as service quality depends more on customers perception, there are different criteria used by different customer groups to evaluate service. The purpose of The SERVQUAL scale is to measure levels of service quality. In this technique, it is assumed that the levels of service quality experienced by customers are critically determined by the gap between general expectations of the service and the customers perceptions of what they actually receive from a specific service provider. The customers can evaluate the service quality from the following five factors: tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy. The benefit of the SERVQUAL scale is that the management can assess and monitor the service quality and design better strategies and policies to improve it. Furthermore, understanding the customers satisfaction level and perception of service quality may yield important information influencing the design and specification of this and other, related, services provided by the organization. Finally, it helps the hotel industry in better developing future service improvements (Gavin and Durand, 1997). 2.3 Impact of Service on Customer Satisfaction The improved service quality provided to the customers enhances their loyalty to the service provider. Thus, attention has been paid to the concept of customer satisfaction as a corporate goal among academics and business practitioners (Rust Oliver, 1995). Satisfaction is a major outcome of marketing processes that culminate in purchase, and satisfaction is also thought to contribute to post-purchasing phenomena such as word-of-mouth communication, repurchase intention, and brand loyalty. Gronholdt, Martensen, and Kristensen (2000) administered a study on sixty companies and found that customer satisfaction would have significant impacts on customer loyalty. Bowen and Chen (2001) focused on the hotel industry to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results showed a slight increase in customer satisfaction would highly improve customer loyalty. Hence, customer satisfaction was inferred to have great impacts on customer loyalty. Moreover, Tam (2004) established an integrated framework of service quality, customer satisfaction, and perceived value, suggesting that customer satisfaction and perceived value have significant influences on customers future purchase behaviors. Anderson and Sullivan (1993) believed that customer satisfaction positively influenced repurchase intentions. Repurchase intentions is considered a possible outcome of customer loyalty. Jones and Sasser (1995) stated that customer loyalty is â€Å"a feeling of attachment to or affection for a companys people, products, or services.† Customer loyalty is often referred to as a purchase behavior, unlike customer satisfaction, which is an attitude. Repurchase behavior is a form of loyalty. Customer loyalty, a key mediating variable in explaining customer retention is concerned with the likelihood of a customer returning, making business referrals, providing strong word-of-mouth, as well as providing references and publicity (Bowen and Showemaker, 1998). Although most research on loyalty has focused on frequently purchased package goods (brand loyalty), the loyalty concept is also important for industrial goods (vendor loyalty), services (service loyalty), and retail establishment (store loyalty) Prior research has shown that ones emotions have an influence on behavior, and that one responds to an event in certain ways to maintain positive emotions (i.e. happiness) and to avoid negative emotions (i.e. depression) (Strauss and Neuhaus, 1997). Oliver, Rust, and Varki (1997) found that positive emotion led to higher levels of customer satisfaction and increased repurchase intentions. On the other hand, Andreasen (1999) found that initial negative emotion caused by a service failure results in customer exit behavior. Dick and Basu (1994) posited that true loyalty only exists when repeat patronage coexists with a high relative positive attitude. In addition to attitude, it has been argued that loyalty may also be based on cognition (Lee and Zeiss, 1980; Oliver, 1980). 2.2.4 Quality in Customer Service The quality of service provided to the customers matters a lot more not only for the customers but it is a matter of great concern for the service provider as well. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. Spreng and MacKoy (1996) also studied the relationship between service quality and satisfaction based on their modified Olivers (1993) satisfaction/service quality model. Their modified model fitted the data well where service quality was hypothesized to influence satisfaction. In their study, the path coefficient between two constructs appeared to be significant (t = 9.4). Woodside, Frey, and Daly (1989) supported the causal relation of service quality and satisfaction with data collected in area of health care. Several researchers stated that overall service quality is determined only by the customers perception of a service, rather than the difference between the customers expectation and actual service performance. 2.3 Customer Satisfaction The service literature has been contributed to the confusion over the relationship between consumer satisfaction and service quality. The most important that service providers need to know are how their objectives meet or exceed the customers satisfaction with their performance. The importance of this issue has been led to several recent efforts to clarify the relationship between satisfaction and service quality. The SERVQUAL measurement tool suggests that a consumers perception of service quality involves the difference between his or her expectations about the performance of a general class of service providers and his or her assessment of the actual performance of a specific firm within that class. SERVQUAL confounds customer satisfaction and customer attitude. In contrast, the SERVPERF version of the original SERVQUAL scale only concerns performance. Common dimensions of satisfaction with a service include service quality, product quality, price, and location. The theory suggest that the â€Å"people factor† (i.e., service quality), in terms of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, may be the most salient in determining overall satisfaction and repeated purchasing in service industries. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988) conceptualized perceived service quality as a long-run overall evaluation about a service, whereas satisfaction was a transaction-specific evaluation. Based on these conceptualizations, they posited that incidents of satisfaction over time result in perceptions of service quality. Other researchers supported the argument that customer satisfaction leads to service quality. For example, Bitner (1990) developed a model of service encounter evaluation and empirically supported the effect of satisfaction on service quality. Bolton and Drew (1991b) also proposed that satisfaction leads to service quality. Cronin and Taylor (1992) reported that in their structural analysis for the causal relations among satisfaction, overall service quality, and purchase intention, the coefficients of path for service quality, satisfaction, and purchase intention appeared to be all significant while the coefficients of path for satisfaction, service quality, purchase intention were insignificant. 2.3.1 Customer Satisfaction Theories The customer satisfaction theories stress that quality of service is more important than the goods provided. Customers get satisfied mainly because of the quality and it is a psychological effect on their choice when they choose a particular hotel or resort to visit and stay. That is why one of the fastest growing segments in marketing research is the study of customer satisfaction (Dutka, 1994). When customers get satisfied with a particular service, they become loyal for it and in this way, the business have more repeat visitors. Customers satisfaction is directly linked with his or her expectancy level. The perception of customers are always different and there is no hard and fast rule to determine what kind of service satisfy more. As the satisfaction expectancies consistently change, so, there are three stages which the customers pass through before rendering satisfaction. At the first level, expectations are simple and take the form of assumptions. In the next level the expecta tion level become complex and the customer has higher expectations. At the third level customers expectorations are even higher and he or she years for something which may attract him or her and have some delightful effects rather than the normal routine services. (Service Marketing, 2007). When a customer achieves this kind of highly attracting service, he becomes a loyal and repeat customer and remains loyal until the service quality begin deteriorating. 2.3.2 Functionalities of Customer Satisfaction The functionality of customer satisfaction in the business world is that how effectively the services/goods meet the customers expectations. Therefore we can see across marketing world that each businesses success story relies on â€Å"Customer Satisfaction†. Thus the customer satisfaction has become the key element of business strategy in todays market place (Buchanan, Gilles, 1990). Although the customer satisfaction varies from an individual to individual, however certain recommend standards can be opted in-order to mitigate positively the popular perception. The common tool to opt the level of customer satisfaction is survey or collection of primary data where customer is asked to evaluate the open ended and close ended statements in accordance with the customers own perception. Thence the performance of the service/goods becomes contingent of that certain level of Customer Satisfaction. 2.3.3 Customer vs. Employee Satisfaction Satisfaction can be seen from two different perspectives. Customers satisfaction implies that they should get satisfied with the quality of service they receive while the employees satisfaction means how satisfied they are in the workplace and how they are able to serve the customers with commitment. As the satisfaction on both sides is imperative the hotel industry has not only to ensure the satisfaction of its customers but also those of their employees because without satisfaction of employees there is no justification to expect commitment of employees. Employees satisfaction may be achieved through incentives and rewards, acknowledgment of their performance and motivating them for achievement of further goals. Similarly, customers satisfaction can be achieved through offering them unique and high standard services and fostering better public relations with them. 2.4 Hotel Categories Hotels can be categorised according to the services they provide, i.e., location, facilities and services offered and clientele served. Restaurants mostly provide the customers with eating stuff but do not offer accommodation. However, hotels mainly have accommodation facilities as well as provide the customers different menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some hotels offer accommodation but does not have their own chef so customers have to have their meals outside. Furthermore, the services of hotels further differ according to their location. In Thailand, usually hotels have begun to offer spa and other health facilities besides providing them normal accommodation and meals facilities. 2.4.1 Types of Hotel Most of the hotels have their own star rating. But the interesting thing is that there is no unified system to determine the service quality of the hotels. Throughout Europe, rating of hotels is determined either by government or by the private organisation according to the service they provide (Martin, 2007). There are 1 to 5 star hotels across the globe and the cost of their services differ according to their rating. For example, a four star hotel is much costly than a 1 star hotel. Similarly, four star hotel is expected to have more facilities than a 1 star hotel. A four to five star hotel may have more services and amenities, including meeting space for conferences 2.5 Nora Beach Resort and Spa 2.5.1 Information of the Hotel The Nora Beach Resort is a luxurious retreat in Thailand, situated in a strategic place of Koh Samui, the 3rd largest island, which offers its customers a break from the hassles of the real world. The resort enjoys a spectacular hillside setting, overlooking a secluded bay just north of the world-famous Chaweng Beach. It is located a few minutes from the airport and a short drive from the city centre (Nora Beach Resort and Spa, 2007). The profound services of Nora Beach Resort and Spa are as follow: Bars and Restaurants. Recreation Anodas Spa Rooms The additional supportive services of the Resort are as follow: Travel and Tours Desk. Taxi/Limousine Service. Swimming pools Laundry and Dry Cleaning. Gymnasium/Fitness Room. Baby Sitting Facilities. 2.5.2 Type of Customers The type of customers visit Nora Beach Resort and Spa are holiday makers, however the professionals on travel also frequently visit the resort. According to a study by Thailand Tourism Statistics that 87% of tourists are holiday makers at Koh Samui Island; where the Nora Beach Resort is jewel of the attraction for the holiday makers at Koh Samui Islands. These categories of visitors consist of male, female and children with age diversity from 13 to 55 years on average. They prefer Nora Beach for the reason that major attractions of Island are nearby the resort. 2.5 Conclusion In this chapter, different theories of customers satisfaction have been evaluated and reviewed. Further, the importance of service quality on customers loyalty has been discussed. Besides, the review of literature from customers perspective, different categories of hotels and the system of rating has also been discussed. The review of literature shows that with the competition in hotel industry, customers perception and expectation of service has increased to a great extent and now the hotel industry has to enhance, improve and add up more services for the customers to make them loyal to the services. Chapter III: Methodology 3.1 Introduction This chapter presents details about the methodology adopted and elaborates the chosen research philosophy, approach and strategy used and the reasons for their selection. Further, this chapter describes the sample population and how the primary data was collected and processed. It also describes the secondary data collection for the literature review. This chapter further explains the data collection tool and highlights validity, authenticity and reliability of the data collected. 3.2 Research Framework Saunders et al. (2007) define an exploratory study as a valuable means of finding out what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light study. Further, they define interpretivism as a theory of knowledge that depicts the methods, validity and scope of the research. This theory advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand difference between humans as social actors (Saunders, Lewis Thornhil, 2007). ). Hence, the study was conducted in the interpretivism philosophy, because the aim of the researcher was to know the difference of human behavior in relation with satisfaction in the service quality provided by the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The researcher aimed to know how customers get satisfied with the service provided by the Resort and how they perceive service quality. The research strategy utilized was case study. The case study strategy has considerable ability to generate answers to the question ‘why? as well as the ‘what? and ‘how? questions (Saunders et al., 2007). In addition, a case study strategy can be very worthwhile way of exploring existing theory or to challenge an existing theory (Saunders et al., 2007). The study also sought answers to what the customers satisfaction level and how customers can be attracted to revisit the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. 3.3 Sampling The population of this research were customers who stayed in Nora Beach Resort and Spa; a total of n= 113 customers completed the survey. The sampling technique needed for the case study was non- probability sampling which are purposive and convenience. 3.4 Data Collection tool The data collection tool for this study is a well designed questionnaire consisting of three parts as questionnaires are one of the most widely used data collection techniques in the survey strategy (Saunders et al. 2007). The first part is related to the customers satisfaction consisting 15 questions based on five likert scale ranging from very satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied and very dissatisfied. The purpose of this part is to assess the perception of customers about the quality of the Resort in relation with menu variety, room service, cleanliness etc. The second part consists general type of questions like accessibility of the Resort and the reason to choose it. The third part of the questionnaire is demographic one assessing customers gender, age occupation and the purpose of their visit. In all, there were twenty two questions asked to analyze the customers assessment and expectations regarding the facilities and services as provided at Nora Beach Resort and Spa, T hailand. 3.4 Data Collection The research was based on positivism principles with deductive approach. The questionnaire developed was placed in the guest rooms, as well as in the lobby and was collected by Ms.Napaphon Rattanarak, a proctor who was trained according to the guidelines established. Permission was granted by the resort manager to conduct this study following highest ethical standards and principles. 3.6 Data Analysis As this study aims at providing recommendations on improving service quality of Nora Beach Resort and Spa, the dully filled and returned questionnaire was analysed using SPSS, the software having good analytical capabilities. The analysis of the questionnaire offers insight about the conception of customers with regard to their perception of service quality at Nora Beach Resort and Spa. The results of this analysis will be discussed in the preceding chapter. 3.7 Conclusion This chapter has highlighted the research philosophy, techniques and methods used for this study. The study has relied over Likert Technique because in-order to assess the level of customer satisfaction the best available method was to conduct survey. The respondents were visitors to the resort staying at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa. Although the responses of the customers may be biased as their opinion may be influenced by the service provided at that very moment, yet, this research provides a lot of interesting information regarding their perception of the service quality. Chapter IV: Results 4.1 Introduction In this chapter, the researcher will show the results of the data collected from the questionnaire which were gathered from the customers/visitors of Nora Beach Resort and Spa at Koh Samui. In this section, the researcher will present the demographic information from the respondents, and will also discuss the customers response towards the questions asked about the services provided. Further, the researcher will discuss the general information analysis of the customers as to how they found the resort, why did they choose to stay at the Nora Beach Resort and Spa and whether it was their first visit or they are a repeat visitors. 4.2 Demographics There were total 113 questionnaire placed in the guest room and the lobby of the resort which the customer staying at the resort had to fill up which, in return, were collected and returned to the researcher by Ms. Napaphon, a protector trained for the purpose. All the 113 questionnaires were duly filled up and retuned y the customers. Of these 113 respondents, 56 were male (49.56 per cent) and 57 female (50.44 per cent) 4.3 Level of