Problems That Dry Lining Companies Frequently Encounter Construction Essay

Problems That Dry Lining Companies Frequently Encounter Construction Essay When the air barrier consists of plasterboard dry lining, dry lining companies have to omit the out of sight, out of mind approach that may have been implemented prior to the amended Building Regulation of Part L. Any defects in the construction of a liner wall subsequently show up in the pressure test. An air leakage audit is then required to identify the air leakage paths if the building fails the specified airtightness requirement. (www.mcconsultingengineers.ie) Generally the problem experienced by dry lining contractors is the interface junctions between two different elements, e.g. where the dry liner wall meets a column or a concrete wall. Problems may arise due to insufficient detailing, incompatibility of materials, lack of co-ordination between trades, etc. (www.bath.ac.uk) Remedial works to the air barrier may be very expensive, disruptive and prolonged for the dry lining contractor. Remedial sealing is therefore extremely problematic for the contractor. A way in which to enhance the air barrier is to ensure that subsequent trades do not compromise the air barrier. The air barrier may be compromised by another contractor accidentally damaging it or deliberately penetrating it in order to complete their work to programme of works. It is vital that the damage caused to the barrier be repaired immediately. (www.mcconsultingengineers.ie) Voids created in the walls for air ducts or piped services significantly reduce the probability of the room achieving its required airtight specification. A room with several penetrations is less likely to achieve a greater airtight value than a room with fewer penetrations, since service penetrations in and out of a building contribute as a major source of air leaks. (www.seda2.org) It is common for design drawings for dry lining contractors to contain little or no information on the location of the primary air barrier or airtightness issues. This ultimately results in those involved in constructing the air barrier for the building not being aware of the location, its purpose, the importance of maintaining continuity of the air barrier, nor areas of the construction where particular attention to detail is required to ensure airtightness. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) A problem experienced by dry lining contractors is that the designers do not specify exactly where the airtight layer is on the drawing. The designer does not identify the airtight envelope on drawings for the contractor. Consequently on site the airtight envelope is not labelled, therefore other contractors are not aware of its location. The lack of awareness amoung contractors and designers is detrimental, e.g. if an operative needs to drill a hole through a dry liner wall or ceiling to thread pipes or cables through they are not aware that the penetration must be resealed afterwards. It is important that such penetrations are managed in a more controlled manner than they currently are from the dry lining contractors perspective. (www.bath.ac.uk) If joints are unavoidable then design-in a seal. This may be difficult for dry lining contractors as the method chosen to seal joints depends on the size of the gap between components, the amount of likely movement, the practicalities of application and the need for weather / air tightness. (www.mcconsultingengineers.ie) All buildings move to a greater or lesser extent depending on its use and this movement has to be accommodated in the design from the outset. This is troublesome for contractors as movement or expansion joints will need to address airtightness as well as movement. Not all joints do so, so careful deliberation is required during the design stage. (www.mcconsultingengineers.ie) Dry lining contractors are faced with a multiple of complex details for the external airtight envelope. Complex solutions to airtightness are likely to be more prone to poor execution and potentially to greater vulnerability to differential movement, failure of sealants, and dislocation of components etc. (www.environ.ie) (www.seda2.org) Due to a lack of information on the commercial sector, the author had to resort to the residential sector, as the basics are similar. One of the main air leakage paths within the UK dwellings is plasterboard dry lining (Stephen, 1998 2000). Problems arise with plasterboard dry lining when air can freely move into the gap between the plasterboard and the masonry wall, especially where plasterboard is fixed to the wall using adhesive dabs. The air gap between the plasterboard sheet and the masonry wall then act as a plenum, effectively interconnecting all of the leakage paths within the dwelling. (Johnston, Shenton, Bell, Wingfield, 2004:17) Figure 1 Discontinuous ribbons of adhesive used to seal plasterboard dry lining. (Johnston, Shenton, Bell, Wingfield, 2004:17) Service penetrations are known to be a significant route for air leakage (see Stephen 1998 2000). The report on Robust Construction Details (DEFRA, 2001) states that particular care on site should be paid to service penetrations and all service penetrations should be sealed with expanding foam or other suitable sealant, whether in the wall [Dry liner wall], ground floor, intermediate floor or ceilingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Observations from site illustrate that little attempt has been made to seal the majority of service penetrations through walls, ground floors, intermediate floors and ceilings, and where attempts at sealing have been made, the penetrations are generally inadequately sealed and inappropriate sealants have been used to seal gaps around the service penetrations. (Johnston, Shenton, Bell, Wingfield, 2004:19) Figure 2 Diagram illustrating sealing of service penetrations [Source: DEFRA, 2001] Site Supervision and Workmanship A major factor that influences air leakage is the level and quality of site supervision and workmanship during the construction of a building. Similar types of buildings with similar details may have very different air leakage rates. As a result workmanship is often citied as the primary reason why airtightness standards are not achieved in the construction sector. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) From the authors personal experience during industrial placement all aspects of dry lining work needs to be inspected as work proceeds. It is extremely complex to inspect the airtight barrier on the building once work is complete on site, as it is generally covered by internal fixtures and finishes. Great awareness and concentration is required on inspection, to ensure that the air barrier is not defective in any way, paying particular care to parts that will be hidden on completion. (www.mcconsultingengineers.ie) Once awarded the contract and the air barrier consists of plasterboard dry lining, it is the dry lining contractors responsibility that the airtight barrier is achieved. A problem faced by contractors is that the employees are not aware as to their contribution and responsibilities for the overall airtightness. (www.seda2.org) Consequently the issue of good or bad workmanship in general is a key factor with air tightness. This is what makes the supervision and inspection for the dry lining contractors more difficult to control. (www.seda2.org) Due to a lack of information in the commercial sector regarding dry lining contractors site supervision and workmanship, the author resorted to the residential sector, as the fundamentals are similar. Stamford Brook is a development of around 700 cavity masonry dwellings being constructed on part of the National Trusts Dunham Massey Estate near Altrincham in Cheshire. At Stamford Brook an example of a perceived workmanship problem was the maintenance of a continuous ribbon of plaster adhesive around the perimeter of the plasterboard dry lining. It was observed that with very careful attention to detail and enough time allocated, a significant reduction in the level of air leakage was attained using plasterboard on dabs. (Miles-Shenton, Wingfield Bell) (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Another conclusion from Stamford Brook was that it was impossible to divorce workmanship, not only from design but also from other issues of construction management such as training, communication and quality control. It was clear that many operatives were eager to carry out a high-quality job but that, as far as airtightness was concerned, it was complicated for them to be clear about what they had to do or who was responsible for achieving an airtight envelope. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Quality on site It is of paramount importance that all parties involved on the project from client, contractor and consultants to all site staff and operatives and off site suppliers understand the concepts of air tightness and how they are involved in playing a vital role to that aspect of construction. It only takes a minute section of the dry lining wall of the building to be permeable to ensure a failure to comply. This ultimately results in the remedial works which are costly for the contractor not to mention the impact it may have on the building programme as a whole with time delays. Therefore it is essential that an endeavour is put into practice to educate the staff and that all the staff works a team. Issues of thermal bridging, continuity of insulation and the correct construction of designed details need to be addressed to ensure that airtightness is achieved. (www.hrsservices.co.uk) Although airtightness testing is carried out a few weeks prior to practical completion of a project, it is vital that the dry lining contractor has a quality system in place so that remedial works are not necessary. Dry lining contractors should also try to obtain the airtightness test at a time where the barrier is complete and when remedial works are relatively simple to perform. The airtight test generally consists of two tests, once when the air barrier is complete and one prior to the handover stage. (www.seda2.org) Airtightness testing is generally carried out a few weeks prior to practical completion of a project. The airtight test generally consists of two tests, one when the air barrier is complete and the other prior to the handover stage. It is best practice that the dry lining contractors strive to achieve the required air permeability rate first time round. They then can improve that rate by addressing issues in the audit that is likely to accompany it. Dry lining contractors should also try to obtain the airtightness test at a time where the barrier is complete and when remedial works are relatively simple to perform. If for instance the air barrier is not complete but the main contractor is adamant of having an air leakage test. The incomplete barrier would have to be temporary sealed with an impermeable material; this is a timely and complex procedure. The result of the test may also prove to be an unfair reflection of the dry lining contractors work to date and the location of the le aks may be more difficult to locate. (www.hrsservices.co.uk) Quality Policies Dry lining contractors have not implement an enhanced strategic quality policy in order to succeed in maintaining airtight construction. Quality of workmanship and adequate construction of details are the main issues affecting companies to date. With the stringent Building Regulation in place, increased emphasis on quality policies have to be adhered to. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) High-quality workmanship is obviously significant, but workmanship unfortunately always appears to be of poor quality due to the context in which the staff has to work. Stamford Brook studies have shown that Buildability of designs, lack of detailed design, lack of specific training and the lack of a general quality control procedure underlies many workmanship problems. If careful attention to detail and adequate time allocated, the method of airtight construction can increase dramatically. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Some issues that the quality policy may incorporate to enhance it are an improved management strategy, communication and quality control. Operatives are generally eager to construct to the required specification of detail but short cuts are taken in-order to complete the task in the required time. Operatives are not aware that they are responsible for the achieving the airtight envelope, and that the common trend of the past of cutting corners is not acceptable in the current practice of the industry. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Management On going review of the design is very important. The project management do not ensure that details of all design changes involving elements of the external envelope are distributed throughout the design, procurement and construction teams. This may have consequently effects for dry lining companies. (www.environ.ie) Not all project programmes reflects dry lining contractors required sequence for effective formation of the air barrier and insulation installation. Some trades are not permitted access to form not only the part of the insulation layer or air barrier for which they are responsible, but also to ensure that continuity is achieved between their works and that of other contractors. (www.environ.ie) An Air Tight milestone is not always included when compiling the programme. This puts immense pressure on dry lining contractors if the air barrier is fails the air tightness test. Ignorance of this date prevents management to schedule thorough envelope pre-test inspections and test dates in advance of the final product. (www.environ.ie) Once the air barrier consists of plasterboard dry lining, it is the dry lining contractors principal liability to deliver the air tightness performance overall and the most likely task on any but the smallest jobs will be the co-ordination between management. The contractor must be clear that he carries responsibility for the overall air tightness and in turn must ensure that all personnel and operatives are clear about the extent of their responsibilities. Experience suggests that the best performance has been achieved by contractors who employ a dedicated individual / team to carry responsibility for air tightness, to inspect the works and instruct as required. (www.seda2.org) The issues of air tightness are closely linked to issues of good or bad workmanship in general for contractors. This can make the issue more sensitive and more difficult to control. Even simple buildings are immensely complex and so the most important aspect of all is the creation of an overall culture of careful, tidy, accurate and airtight construction, something which can not be simply forced through a performance specification. (www.seda2.org) Communication Every year defects in the UK construction industry cost at least  £1 billion to rebuild or repair. A number of the defects are the result of poor communication, for example, an inadequately detailed drawing, operatives being given the incorrect instructions or technical information not being available. Improvement in communication should result in an increase in the quality of the build and a reduction in the level of defect occurrence. (projects.bre.co.uk) Studies at Stamford Brook have emphasised the critical nature of communication and the potential impact it may have on airtight construction. It is vital that there is an improvement in flows of information both upwards and downwards in the formal management structure in companys, an example of this may be operatives reporting an incorrect drawing to the site office and the site office will contact the main contractors office, where the incorrect detail can be rectified. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Frequently at Stamford Brook and many other sites observed throughout the UK, design information was not available, not at a sufficient level of detail, confusing, complex or just not referred to by operatives. This lack of information tended to lead to a rather diffused process as operatives followed their instinct rather than using detailed design information, which ironically was not present. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Also there did not appear to be any particular well developed mechanism for feed back of information on air tightness performance and specification. It was not clear how the design and construction lessons were being absorbed for use in making vital improvements to processes or actual designs. This can be linked with the necessity for a clearly defined quality control process, for without such a process there can be no definition of problems, identification of their causes or framing of solutions. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Majority of personnel and operatives involved in the procurement and construction of the building fabric are not aware nor understand the necessity for insulation continuity and airtightness. The lack of awareness associated with these issues, results in components being engineered out of the design for cost savings. (www.environ.ie) Awareness is not raised at key stages during a project, for example, briefing procurement offices and site tool-box talks. As a result parties can not clearly identify where and how insulation continuity and the air barrier are to be maintained. Operatives directly involved in constructing the insulation and air barrier do not draw attention to difficulties experienced on site or request direction. This lack of communication is likely to have detrimental effects on construction. (www.environ.ie) Operatives not directly involved in the building fabric are not entirely aware of the importance of insulation continuity, the air barrier and the flagging up of any breaches through these lines of defence. They do not remedy potential thermal bridges or air leakage routes brought about by their own activities, or to seek help from other trades, depending on the nature of the breach. (www.environ.ie) Quality Control Quality control is critically important to a successful construction project and should be adhered to throughout a project from conception and design to construction and installation. Inspection during construction will prevent costly repairs after the project is completed For construction projects, quality control means making sure things are done according to plans, specifications and permit requirements (Satterfield, 2005:1) Many dry lining contractors have no system in place for monitoring the quality of their processes and products. Experience illustrates those contractors without Quality Assurance (QA) hinders them to check for insulation continuity and air tightness. An effective QA control is that insulation continuity and air tightness are considered during all design changes and material substitutions affecting the external envelope. An ill-formed design change may jeopardise the final performance of the building envelope. The lack of a QA process in a company indicates that they do not inspect finished works especially the building envelope. This in turn prevents management to inspect that all works are properly constructed prior to being covered over. (www.environ.ie) Construction quality can have a significant impact on air tightness. An overwhelming conclusion from the Stamford Brook Field Trial and from general observation of the UK house building industry as a whole is that quality control processes are extremely diffuse with a number of actors playing similar but different roles which are almost always carried out in isolation. It is perhaps not surprising that with no clear air tightness quality control process in place, sequencing is often out of the phase and known errors tend to be repeated time and time again. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Another quality control issue observed at Stamford Brook that can lead to air tightness concern for contractors is the different tolerances that were constructed to by different trades. Items and components that are manufactured off site to high tolerances are often fitted into structures built by trades that are not operating to the same degree of precision. As a result, performance and workmanship issues can occur when construction is outside these tolerances. (www.leedsmet.ac.uk) Quality control is not a primary objective for all the members of a dry lining company. Managers do not take responsibility for maintaining and improving quality control. Employee participation in quality control is not sought after nor rewarded, for example the introduction of new ideas. Consequently, quality improvement is not served as a catalyst for improved productivity. (pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/13)

Executive Summary Of Impact Of Siwes On Students

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), is a skills development programme initiated by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), in 1973 to bridge the gap between theory and practice among students of engineering and technology in Institutions of Higher Learning in Nigeria. It provides for on-the-job practical experience for students as they are exposed to work methods and techniques in handling equipment and machinery that may not be available in their Institutions.At inception in 1974, the Scheme started with 784 Students from 11 Institutions and 104 eligible courses. By 2008, 210,390 Students from 219 Institutions participated in the Scheme with over 112 eligible courses.However, the rapid growth and expansion of SIWES, has occurred against the backdrop of successive economic crises which have affected the smooth operation and administration of the Scheme. Most industries in Nigeria today, are operating below installed capacity while others are completely shut down (Manu facturing Association, 2003 – 2006). This has impacted negatively on the Scheme as Institutions of Higher Learning find it increasingly difficult to secure placement for Students in industries where they could acquire the much needed practical experience.Aim of the StudyThe aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of SIWES on Technical Skills Development in the Nigerian economy. This is to enable Institutions of Higher Learning and other Stakeholders assess the performance of their roles in the Scheme.MethodologyIn order to achieve the aim of the Survey, a total of 1,200 questionnaires were administered to SIWES Students, SIWES Graduates and 60 to the Employers of Labour.Similarly, 36 Head of Institutions, Institution based SIWESCoordinators/Directors participated in SSI while 30 Human Resource Managers and 60 Industry based SIWES Supervisors were also interviewed. A total of 18  focus group discussions (FGD) were held with SIWES Graduates and ITF SIWES Schedule Officers equally participated in FGD.The six geo-political zones of the country and the 27 Area Offices of the ITF were the bases for sampling. The fieldwork for this study lasted two weeks in December 2008 across the Six Geo-Political Zones. The field personnel enjoyed cooperation and support of SIWES participating Institutions and their representatives during data collection. A few Researchers did not, however, receive cooperation of Employers of Labour to administer instruments to Students, largely due to either misconceptions or disputes.Lack of uniform academic calendar for all Institutions, including SIWES calendar affected the capacity of Research Teams to administer some Research Instruments.Major FindingsThe findings of the survey include:1.  Most Students (75%) described SIWES as very relevant to  Technical Skills Development, while SIWES Graduates (92.5%)  reported that they acquired new skills during their SIWES attachment.2.  Inadequate funding for the smooth management of the Scheme.3.  Inadequate/ineffective supervision of Students on attachment by Staff of Institutions, ITF and Employers of Labour, largely due to lack/shortage/inadequate vehicles, supervision allowance and delays in the payment of same to both staff and students.4.  Placement of Students in relevant Industries is a major challenge due to the growing number of Institutions, eligible courses and Students involved in SIWES while relevant industries are shutting down5.  Employers of Labour have high positive perception of SIWES in imparting skills to students, thus, enhancing their performance.6.  There is a general consensus among Heads of Institution and  Institution-based Coordinators that SIWES makes the education  process complete as it bridges the gap between the theoretical knowledge acquired in Institutions through practical hands on experience in Industry.7.  A major factor determining the acceptance of Students for SIWES by Organizations/Establishments is av ailability of vacancy.Recommendations1. The number of Institutions and Students participating in SIWES have been on the increase without corresponding increase in  funding of the Scheme. The study recommends that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST), Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity (FMLP), Education Trust Fund (ETF),  and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the Presidency be involved as major Stakeholders that will be saddled with the responsibility of formulating policies to guide the operation of the Scheme and advice the Federal Government appropriately  particularly, on funding the Scheme.2.  SIWES should be properly presented to potential sponsors, such as banks, multinational companies and other corporate institutions for support in creating placement opportunities, training, equipment, facilities, as well as direct funding of SIWES.3.  Institutions should be encouraged to create financial autonomy for Institution-based SIWES Units/Dir ectorates.4.  Separate SIWES sub-head by the Federal Government.5.  Motivate partners from the private sector through granting tax relief for companies that accept Students on SIWES.6.  Instruments for the administration of the Scheme should be periodically reviewed to ensure relevance, and uniformity.

Buying Behavior, Perception in Indian Dth Industry

RESEARCH ON BUYING BEHAVIOR AND PERCEPTION IN INDIAN DIRECT TO HOME (DTH) INDUSTRY ____________________________________________________________ _ TABLE OF CONTENT Page No. Chapter 1 . Executive Summary 2-5 Chapter 2 . Overview of Indian DTH industry 6-24 Chapter3 . Top Players of the industry 25-27 Chapter 4 Introduction to the topic 28-61 Chapter5 ,Findings and Discussions 62-67 Chapter6 .Conclusions and suggestions 68-71 REFERENCES ANNEXURE List of Tables and Figures 4. 1 Pie chart of Number of respondents in different age groups 4. 2 Pie chart of number of males and females respondents 4. Pie chart of number of middle and lower level respondents 4. 4 Pie chart for the number of company’s engagement in csr activities 4. 5 Pie chart of percentage showing are these reports published 4. 6 Pie chart for response to statement formation of safe and healthy work environment 4. 7 Pie chart for response to statement contribution to regional lifestyle 4. 8 Pie chart for response to statement equality of opportunities . 9 Pie chart for response to statement continuity and creation of Regional culture 4. 10 Table and Pie chart for response to statement balance between Work and Personal life 11. Table and Pie chart for response to statement Sustainable corporate culture 4. 12 Table and Pie chart for response to statement resource cycling and Waste Reduction 13. Table and Pie chart for response updated technology 14. Table and Pie chart for response to statement reduction of environmental burden 15. Table and Pie chart for response to statement reduction of green house gases that lead to global warming. 16. Table and Pie chart for response to statement preservation of water resources and water quality 17. Table and Pie chart for response to statement reduction of environmental burden-product and services 18. Table and Pie chart for response to statement compliance 19. Table and Pie chart for response to statement corporate governance 20. Table and Pie chart for response to statement risk management. 21. Table and Pie chart for response to statement education to the society 22. Table and Pie chart for response Competitive Compensation 23. Table and Pie chart for response satisfied working hours 24. Table and Pie chart for response good quality of products 25. Table and Pie chart for response good quality of after sale services 26. Table and Pie chart for response timely delivery of products 27. Table and Pie chart for response compliance with the prescribed security measures 28. Table and Pie chart for response transparency and fairness in purchasing 29. Table and Pie chart for response hearing the opinion of the suppliers 30. Table and Pie chart for response reward for the voluntary improvement of the suppliers 31. Table and Pie chart for response survey on customer satisfaction 32. Table and Pie chart for response recognition of the negative impact of the product on the society 33. Table and Pie chart for response protection of customers information EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Report is on the topic â€Å"RESEARCH ON BUYING BEHAVIOR AND PERCEPTION IN INDIAN DTH INDUSTRY†. The objective of the research is to find the consumer’s behavior and perception in buying the DTH services in the Indian market. This will be done with help of a Questionnaire Survey based on the Consumer’s ‘Black Box’ through the entire decision making process of the consumer, which are as follows: †¢ Problem Recognition †¢ Information Search †¢ Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase Decision †¢ Post – Purchase behavior And also with the help of certain important factors that contributes heavily towards the consumer’s decision of buying a DTH service, in India, like the following: †¢ Celebrity Endorsements †¢ Other’s Influence †¢ Purchase Timing †¢ Purchase Amount †¢ Dealer Choice In short the research is carried -out to know what goes in the consumer’s mind before he finally buys the DTH services in the Indian market and also to know, when , where and how the consumer buys the services of DTH, in the Indian DTH market. Now, before starting with achieving the objective of the research, I have started with firstly explaining the buying behavior of the consumer in general with the help of its definition and then the entire report is based upon the buying behavior of consumers in the DTH industry. Although the report is an industry specific report but still I have briefed a little bit about all the major players in the Indian DTH industry. The following are the players about which a little brief has been done in the report: †¢ TataSky Satellite Television Dish TV †¢ Airtel DTH †¢ Sun Direct †¢ Reliance big TV †¢ Videocon D2H This is followed by the Literature Review on the buying behavior of consumer’s in DTH industry which contain’s the Overview of the Indian DTH industry, Technical aspects of DTH service, Factors that contribute towards the success of DTH services in India, what does the industry people, media, and customers said about this industry. The researc h methodology that has been used is the descriptive type and the data is collected through both the primary and the secondary source. For the primary source a Questionnaire was prepared for the survey to know the consumer’s behavior in buying the DTH services. The survey was conducted on people who are already enjoying the services of the DTH irrespective of age, income, lifestyle, gender etc. The questionnaire revolved around the consumer buying behavior and was designed to know the complete steps of buying behavior of consumers for the DTH industry in India. For the secondary source journals and articles in the magazine, news paper and internet have been used in achieving the objective of the research. The sample size was 150 users of DTH services in Delhi and NCR. All the questions from the questionnaire have been analyzed and findings have been inferred from it with the help of the graphs and the tables, making all the information very easy to read, analyze and infer the key findings from them. This is followed by the complete accumulated findings in bullet points from the research and then the suggestions for the DTH industry as a whole and for the DTH players in industry based on the Objectives of the research and the Findings of the survey & research which could increase the performance and sales for the companies. References that has been used in the entire preparation is also provided along with the questionnaire at the end of the project report. CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR DEFINED Consumer buying behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy products It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship marketing is an influential asset for customer behavior analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer. A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship management, personalization, customization and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can be categorized into social choice and welfare functions. Each method for vote counting is assumed as a social function but if Arrow’s possibility theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is achieved. Some specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity, monotonocity, unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Pareto optimality. No social choice function meets these requirements in an ordinal scale simultaneously. The most important characteristic of a social function is identification of the interactive effect of alternatives and creating a logical relation with the ranks. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer. Belch and Belch define consumer behaviour as ‘the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires'. MAJOR DTH PLAYERS IN INDIA 1. TATA SKY – SATELLITE TELEVISION Incorporated in 2004, Tata Sky is a JV between the TATA Group and STAR. Tata Sky DTH endeavors to offer Indian viewers a world-class television viewing experience through its satellite television service. The TATA Group is one of India's largest and most respected business conglomerates. It comprises 93 operating companies in s even business sectors: information systems and communications, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The TATA Group has operations in more than 40 countries across six continents and its companies export products and services to 140 nations. The Group and its enterprises have been steadfast and distinctive in their adherence to business ethics and their commitment to corporate social responsibility. This is a legacy that has earned the Group the trust of many millions of stakeholders in a measure few business houses anywhere in the world can match. The SKY brand, owned by the UK-based British Sky Broadcasting Group, brings to Tata Sky the reputation of more than 20 years experience of satellite broadcasting. SKY is well known for the innovative products and services launched by BSkyB, such as DTH broadcasting in 1989, digital satellite broadcasting in 1998, interactive television services in 1999 and the SKY+ personal video recorder in 2001. Tata Sky joins an international group of DTH businesses that includes platforms as far apart as the UK and Italy in Europe, and Mexico and Brazil in Latin America. Tata Sky has established an extensive customer service network across the country. It has engaged a field force of approximately 3000 service engineers who are complemented by high-end 24Ãâ€"7 call centres, manned by multi-lingual customer service associates, trained to solve all customer problems. Tata Sky takes direct responsibility for installing and servicing the hardware at every subscriber's home, thereby ensuring the highest levels of customer service. 2. DISH TV DISH TV is a division of Zee Network Enterprise (Essel Group Venture). EGV has national and global presence with business interests in media programming, broadcasting & distribution, speciality packaging and entertainment. Zee Network incorporated dishtv to modernize TV viewing. dishtv is India’s first direct to home (DTH) entertainment service. By digitalizing Indian entertainment, this enterprise brought best television viewing technology to the living room. It not only transmits high quality programmes through satellite; but also gives a complete control of selecting channels and paying for them. To experience the new life breathing in television technology, dishtv extends high quality broadcast and thorough entertainment. It imparts DVD quality picture and stereophonic sound effects to the customers. It promises to change the experience of TV viewing with its uninterrupted transmission service. The endeavour enters next level of entertainment with futuristic features, such as EPG (Electronic Programme Guide), parental lock, games, 400 channels, interactive TV and movie on demand. dishtv also brings exclusive national and international channels for the first time in India. dishtv uses NSS-6 to broadcast its programmes. NSS-6 was launched on 17th December, 2002 by European-based satellite provider, NewSkies (one of the only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global satellite coverage) ishtv – India's first KU-band DTH entertainment service, hopped on to NSS-6 from an INSAT satellite in July 2004. The change in the satellite was to increase the channel offering as NSS 6 offered more transponder capacity. 3. AIRTEL DTH Direct to Home (DTH) service comes to you from Bharti Telemedia Limited, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited. Bharti Airtel Limited is t he flagship company of Bharti Enterprises and is India’s largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. As India's leading telecommunications company, the Airtel brand has played the role of a major catalyst in India's reforms, contributing to its economic resurgence. Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. With DVD quality picture and sound, your TV viewing experience will change forever with Airtel digital TV. Now witness the magic of television with best and widest variety of channels and programmes ranging from Sports, Music and General entertainment to best on-demand content on Airtel Live. What's more, you can choose from the best movies of Bollywood and the world, listen to radio, play games, along with a host of other interactive features and change the way you watch television. 4. SUN DIRECT Sun Direct – India's youngest and most exciting state Of the art DTH Company. Sun Direct uses the latest MPEG-4 based technology to increase broadcast capacity. Sun Direct confirms to provide next-generation services in fast-growing and emerging markets quickly and efficiently. Sun Direct will be supported by Irdeto's conditional access solution to manage content and revenues in the satellite broadcasting venture. Sun Direct selected Oracle based on its convergent multi-service capabilities and proven real-time scalability allowing it to consolidate billing operations, enables powerful new service offerings and improves visibility into customer information across services. Sun Direct Pvt Ltd, the leading direct-to-home (DTH) service provider is all set to redefine the television viewing in the country. Sun Direct today created history by launching the first ever High Definition (HD) broadcast on DTH platform in India. Sun Direct: Sun Direct is a 80:20 joint venture between the Maran family and the Astro Group of Malaysia. Sun Direct offers all customer premises equipments like the dish and Set Top box free of cost to the customer, which is a practice followed by DTH platforms across the world. Sun Direct is the first one to adopt the advanced MPEG4 technology offering better compression and signal quality and is the first to offer HD TV (High definition) content. Sun Direct offers all customer premises equipments like the dish and Set Top box free of cost to the customer offering more than 200 channels, with 7 basic packs and 41 add on packs. 5. RELIANCE BIG TV Imagine a satellite TV service that suits you and your family’s interests, passions and busy schedules. Picture all of your favourite channels, shows, and movies at your fingertips —it’s time to step into the BIG world of entertainment. Reliance is excited to present the next landmark of TV entertainment in India. With Reliance BIG TV Digital Service, you can experience spectacular entertainment, blockbuster movies, up-to-the-minute news, and your favourite programs at the click of a button. Transform your home with Reliance BIG TV Digital Service, powered by MPEG – 4 technology for the first time in India. Reliance BIG TV has fantastic features like pure digital viewing experience, more channel choice, many exclusive movie channels, easy programming guide, interactive services, parental control, 24Ãâ€"7 Customer Service and lots more — Ensure a never before viewing experience with unlimited hours of fun and entertainment for your entire family. 6. VIDEOCON d2h It is world’s 1st satellite television, via state of art satellites, which means you no longer have to tolerate all the hassles associated with Cable TV. No more frustrating disconnections right in the middle of an intense game. And whether you’re watching a Hollywood thriller or a Desi blockbuster, Videocon d2h results in a â€Å"The End† to all the unnecessary interruptions. We invite you to experience a world of awesome digital entertainment, crystal clear pictures, ultra sharp sound and state of art technology which uses the revolutionary MPEG -4 with DVB S2. This means you’ll be able to notice the minutest of details on your favorite celebrity. And hear every scream, every sound. Even if it were a faint sigh. We will provide you unique active services, multi lingual user interface, more movie on demand channels, radio channels, cross genre tickers and many more value added services. Our interactive Direct to Home (DTH) Services will be available through Satellite LCD, Satellite TV, Satellite DVD as well as a Satellite Box (STB). We bring you cutting edge technology through our services, which will make your home the most exciting place on earth. The Products i. e. Satellite LCD, Satellite TV, Satellite DVD are owned and marketed by UDCL. The DTH services and Satellite Box are marketed by BBCL subject to terms and conditions of Customer Agreement. OVERVIEW OF THE DTH INDUSTRY Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television is becoming a buzzword in the satellite broadcast industry due to the fact that DTH offers immense opportunities to both broadcasters and viewers. Thanks to the rapid development of digital technology, DTH broadcast operators worldwide have been able to introduce a large number of new interactive applications in the television market besides a large number of entertainment programmes over a single delivery platform. In addition, since digital technology permits a highly efficient exploitation of the frequency spectrum, the number of TV channels that can be broadcast using digital technology is significantly higher than with analogue technology. The increased number of television channels allows the operator to satisfy the demand of a number of niche markets with dedicated transmissions. In general, DTH service is the one in which a large number of channels are digitally compressed, encrypted and beamed from very high power satellites. The programmes can be directly received at homes. This mode of reception facilitates the use of small receive dish antennas of 60 to 90 cm diameter installed at convenient location in individual buildings without needing elaborate foundation /space etc. Also, DTH transmission eliminates local cable operator completely, since an individual user is directly connected to the service providers. However, a digital receiver is needed to receive the multiplexed signals and view them on a TV. DTH, in sharp contrast to Cable TV, lends itself to easy monitoring,and,control. Transmission in Ku band is most appropriate and widely used for the purpose. As mentioned above, all the encoded transmission signals are digital – thus providing higher resolution picture quality and better audio than traditional analog signals. All the advantages of the digital transmission, as applicable to the terrestrial transmission are relevant in the satellite transmission also. Over the last three years, the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite industry has come on strongly worldwide. It has grown from a niche delivery mechanism into a mainstream business. The spread of subscription-based DTH satellite TV promises to enhance choices for many households in developing countries. With the Government throwing open the DTH sector in the country,a handful of players have come up with grandiose plans to enter the market. Given the stiff level of competition this premium services will face from the existing multi-channel cable network, possible entrants need to clearly grasp a few of the winning rules of the game. A DTH OFFER COMPRISES SIX ELEMENTS : [pic] Content: The movies,news channels,sporting events,and/or general entertainment features that constitute an offer to consumers. Space: Ownership or access to sufficient transponders in the right orbital slot to broadcast an offer to a specific area. Ground: The ability to distribute, install and service dishes and set-top boxes(otherwise known as customer premises equipment, or CPE), combined with access to relevant technology and manufacturing capabilities. Subscriber management: Ability to acquire and deactivate subscribers,bill and collect from them, activate pay-per-view movies and perform customer service. Financing: The provision of credit to customer seeking to buy or lease CPE. Government relation: Ability to navigate government procedures and regulations to obtain permits and so on. So diverse are these requirements,that no existing player in any market will be able to fulfill all of them on its own. This, the industry will be populated by consortia and it is unlikely that more than one or two DTH consortia will be able to achieve break-even. STRATEGIC AND SUCCESS FACTORS : Exploit Bottlenecks: In this market,content and transponder capacity are scarce and controlled by a few players. With content, access to unique local language material is critical. In a market like India,all a DTH player may need to do is repackage existing channels that are not universally available. In sports, some players have won an advantage through long-term rights purchases. Broadcasting rights to cricket in India, for example,belongs to ESPN for the next five years. It also controls the right to football for West Bengal(the most popular league) for ten years. The second obvious bottleneck is in transponder capacity. A modest DTH offering is likely to require a minimum of 10 to 15 transponders-almost a dedicated satellite. The number of satellite that can broadcast to a particular region is limited by physics. Move First: In the DTH industry, a credible and well managed first-mover service has a tremendous advantage over others. In India, a first mover may effectively shut out competition. Exploit Market Niche: In some markets, the segment of consumers who desire highly specific content may be large enough to form the core subscribership of a DTH service. An example of this could be again cricket in our country. Any DTH consortium must decide how it will deal with a number of strategic choices that will determine its success: Build an appropriate content offer: This is the single most crucial choice a DTH company will make. In a remote town with no access to television, for example,even a DTH bouquet of just two channels might seem attractive. Transponder costs are also a factor in an appropriate content offer. It is the bouquet size that determine how many transponders are needed,creating a tradeoff between the cost of transponders and the richness of the offering. Leverage killer content: A subscription service could use its rights more effectively. It might secure the exclusive right to broadcast a sporting event live, even if it is shown on free TV later. Offer superior services: Cable companies are frequently criticized for installation delays, billing errors and surly staff and the nature of cable plant makes signals prone to disruption. Staff and customer service issues relating to CPE installation and maintenance may yield a fine of differentiation above and beyond picture quality. PLACE BETS ON Another strategic choice consortia must make is which markets to make bets in. A few rules of the thumb are: Number of TV households: the number of TV households and its rate of growth determines how easy it will be to break even and how quickly, if at all, a developing market will become attractive. TV advertising and its growth: Ad revenue are also available to a DTH service provider, so the existence of a robust or growing ad market is important. Technical barriers to access TV: Even if DTH offers are likely to be thin on the ground,it is possible for a company to own a piece of the chain that links a service to subscribers. Until recently, Sky had a monopoly on the UK encryption standard, Videocrypt and could effectively dictate the terms of DTH competition, This was because it had a large installed base of set-top boxes using this standard. Ownership of key content: The availability of sports and film rights is a crucial determinant of market attractiveness. In India, such rights are divided among many separate players. In such a case, no rights owner is likely to be strong enough to play kingmaker. Position in a market: The most important asset is arguably an ability to play a unique role in the DTH value chain. This advantage may reside in business that have little or no obvious connection with DTH. A company that has pioneered a business offering credit for consumer durables in a developing country, for instance, might be well placed to supply finance to purchasers of CPE. INDUSTRY SAYS MEDIA AND CUSTOMER SAYS: Despite the global financial meltdown, the future of DTH industry in India has numerous opportunities. A 20 per cent annual growth is being witnessed in the DTH sector and there is still scope for more. Int he current context of the global financial meltdown, the Direct to Home (DTH) industry in India is in the throes of multifarious challenges and opportunities. The ‘big game’ is all about shaping up grandiose plans to master the winning rules to garner as much portion of the Indian DTH pie as possible by a handful of players. Since the DTH space denotes ‘big value’, akin to the space occupied by television [pic] and telephony, inter-firm rivalries have thrown up price wars, discount schemes, procurement of transponders, ambitious targets for improving the subscription base, popular bouquet of channels, set top boxes with superior quality of videos, improving content, etc as a desperate means to entice the Indian viewer. A neat 20 per cent annual growth is being witnessed in the DTH sector in India with over 8. million households having digital pay tv According to Harsh Bijoor, a brand consultant, â€Å"Since Dish TV, the biggest market player on the Indian soil, has not scraped even five per cent of the pie, there is plenty left for other players to eat. † In the early 2008, five major players, Zee’s Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance ADAG, Sun Direct and Bharti Telemedia formed an umbrella body – DTH Operators Association of India (DOAI). The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting As sociation of India in its ‘2008 Pay TV Piracy Survey’ have predicted that the Grey TV market of around USD 1. billion will gradually be taken over by the legal DTH industry. Marcel Fenez, chairman CASBAA, said, â€Å"Despite the global sinking of economies, the Asia Pacific market is healthy and the decline in growth will not derail the industry. With 1. 7 million digital cable subscriptions, the digital pay-TV market is finally taking off and this degree of penetration represents a tipping point for our industry in Asia. † Starting with a million strong subscriber base in August 2006, Tata Sky, a DTH joint-venture Company between Star (owned by Rupert Murdoch) and the Tata Group, now has more than 2. million connections and the forecast for 2012 is that it will further increase to eight million. The Indian DTH growth scenario bodes well for the advertising industry as well with over Rs 30-40 crores being earmarked by these companies annually for advertising reve nues. While Tata Sky has roped in Amir Khan and Gul Panag for its promotion, endorses for the Dish TV. MD and CEO of Tata Sky, Vikram Kaushik, recently confirmed in an interview that the company estimates were standing at Rs 40 billion for its final funding requirement as ‘competitive entries’, ‘explosive growth in volume’ and customer acquisition have jacked up the costs. Tata Sky recently launched the NDS-developed XTV personal video recorder (PVR) that enables the customers to watch a particular TV show while recording another. It is being hailed a ‘major introduction’ in the Indian DTH market. Within a few days of its launch 2, 500 PVRs, priced at Rs 8, 999, were sold as claimed by the Tata Sky MD, Kaushik. This places Tata Sky among the top 19 ‘pay-TV operators’ around the world with NDS solutions being a unique introduction to facilitate flexibility of PVR to their subscribers. A deal along similar lines was announced by Bharti Airtel, in the provision of DTH services, dependent on NDS for its conditional access. N Arjun, executive director Bharti Telemedia, expressed enthusiasm about the company’s expansion plans by disclosing that his company looked forward to providing the best of home entertainment services via Airtel digital TV in terms of latest technology and exciting content. â€Å"Since DTH is the future of home entertainment, with the support of our technology partner NDS, we will render superior, state-of-the-art services to our DTH service customers†, he said. Sun Direct, which entered the DTH sector as a discounted brand in opposition to Tata Sky, notched at a 30 per cent premium and supposedly mopped up over a million subscribers within a short time span. Tata Sky, though placed at a launch-premium of Rs 1,000, is open to segmentations. A demand of a tax holiday of five years from the government has been mooted by the DOAI that should incentivise the DTH industry as its market has reportedly surpassed the Japanese one in the last five years. The Indian DTH industry players look forward to a seven times multiplication of its market, about 40 million subscribers by 2015, from a total of 165 million pay TV households. Analysis Since 1959, when Indian television was first launched and the state owned Doordarshan aired just two channels in black and white as recently as 1991; the world of entertainment has made rapid and unusual strides. The turning points were the 1982 Asian Games when colour television was introduced and the 1991 liberalisation and deregulation that ushered in the era of foreign investments and foreign channels that egged the domestic players to jump into the foray. From large metros, satellite TV moved to smaller towns that spurred the sale of TV sets and brought about an upgradation from black and white television viewing to the colour one. With time, more and more changes took place and finally the DTH services arrived. DTH operations in India could be enhanced if the dearth of satellite capacity is removed by increasing the number of available Ku-band transponders that at present is 12 on Insat 4A, which in turn would mean more channels for viewing. Tax burdens on DTH are another area of complaint for operators. Around 40 per cent of revenues are siphoned off to pay taxes and license fee and another 12 per cent for services imposed by the Central government. Apart from this, there are entertainment taxes that differ from state to state. Cable TV operators also give a stiff level of competition to the DTH sector by suppressing their prices artificially by way of under-declarations. This has pressurised the DTH operators to cut their profits to the extent of making them unviable. At present, there are 80 million TV households in India, of which over seven million are DTH ones. Since the penetration is just under nine per cent, there is much room for a massive growth rate†, according to the Bharti Airtel’s head of brand and media, Chandrashekhar Balakrishnan. â€Å"This is what the company is focusing on, to enhance its subscription base to 20 per cent,† he added. Industry analyst Siva Sundaram said that India w ill be the leading power in Asia by 2010 in the field of cable market and by 2015; it will be the most profitable in the area of pay TV market. Interestingly, the rural rich were the first to positively respond to the advent of DTH industry and those in the remote areas with no or unreliable access to the cable services will be tapped in by the DTH players. The ‘Indian Readership Survey 2008 R2’ findings have shown that the Dish TV is the largest player with over 3. 1 million subscribers, followed by DD Direct, Tata Sky and Sun Direct, which has a predominance in the southern zone. The zone wise analysis puts the western zone with 2. 24 million topping he subscriber base charts and the North, South and East following the lead. While the ‘big game’ hots up between the DTH service providers, the regular big Indian couch potatoes may keep surfing the channels and choosing from the burgeoning options. CONCLUSION : A few things are assured in the DTH industry even in the face of paradigm shifts. First, the value of transponders is likely to fall as compression allows more and more content to go through t he same satellite, and as more satellite are launched. Second, as bandwidth explodes, so will demand for content. Obscure sports and the like will become more valuable;conversely, much of the content that is currently valuable will face downward pricing pressure. Niche content providers will emerge. The industry is likely to be characterized first by a period of fragmentation and then by an increasing concentration of global consortia as unprofitable participants fold. What is clearer than ever is that satellite TV is here to stay and will play role in bringing television to mass around the world. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The objective of the research is to find the consumer’s behavior and perception in buying the DTH services in the Indian market. This will be done with help of a Questionnaire Survey based on the Consumer’s ‘Black Box’ through the entire decision making process of the consumer, which are as follows: †¢ Problem Recognition †¢ Information Search †¢ Evaluation of Alternatives †¢ Purchase Decision †¢ Post – Purchase behavior And also with the help of certain important factors that contributes heavily towards the consumer’s decision of buying a DTH service, in India, like the following: †¢ Celebrity Endorsements †¢ Other’s Influence †¢ Purchase Timing †¢ Purchase Amount †¢ Dealer Choice In short the research is carried -out to know what goes in the consumer’s mind before he finally buys the DTH services in the Indian market and also to know, when , where and how the consumer buys the services of DTH, in the Indian DTH market. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DEFINED Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In this we study the various steps that are generally adopted by researcher in studying this problem along with the logic behind them. RESEARCH DESIGN The research design selected is of descriptive type. Data is collected through Primary and Secondary sources. PRIMARY SOURCE: A Questionnaire was prepared for the survey to know the consumer’s behavior in buying the DTH services. The survey was conducted on people who are already enjoying the services of the DTH irrespective of age, income, lifestyle, gender etc. SECONDARY SOURCE: Journals and articles in the magazine, news paper and internet have been used in achieving the objective of the research. SAMPLE SIZE: A Sample size of 150 existing users of DTH services was included in the survey through questionnaires (25 each from North Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi, East Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida). The Sample was selected irrespective of age, gender, lifestyle, income. †¢ TABLE 5. 1 WHAT SERVICES DID YOU USE BEFORE DTH SERVICES ? |Local Channels |142 | |Doordarshan Channels |8 | GRAPH 5. 1 ANALYSIS : From the above pie-chart we can analyze that 95% of people surveyed were using local cable as against 5% who were using Doordarshan channels. INFERENCES: We can infer from the pie-chart that majority of people surveyed were using the services of local cable operators and thus it also reflects that very small segment of people use only Doordarshan channels as a source of entertainment in Delhi & NCR. †¢ TABLE 5. 2 WHAT WERE YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF DTH SERVICES BEFORE YOU USED IT ? |High Initial Cost |42 | |High Monthly Rentals |66 | |Poor Customer Service |22 | |Poor signal |30 | GRAPH 5. 2 [pic] ANALYSIS: From the above given bar diagram we can analyze that 28% of people perceived DTH as it absorbs High initial cost,44% as High monthly cost,15% as Poor customer service & 13% as Poor Signal. INFERENCE: We can now infer that most of the people before using DTH services thought it to have Heavy Monthly Rentals and also as something that had High Initial Cost attached to it . Poor Signal was also an issue that people had thought DTH to be associated with and few people had perceived its Customer Service as poor. TABLE 5. 3 WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO SWITCH TO DTH FROM THE EARLIER SERVICES USED BY YOU ? BECAUSE DTH PROVIDES : |Better Service |45 | |Economical |5 | |Beeter Picture Quality |60 | |Interactive services |40 | GRAPH 5. 3 [pic] ANALYSIS: According to customers, reason for switching to DTH, because DTH provides: 30% believe it as better service, 3% as economical, 40% as better picture quality & 27% coz of interactive services by DTH. INFERENCE: We can infer from above that most of the LCO’s customers left them and switched to DTH because of their problems with poor picture quality and people also ditched LOC’s because of poor services from them and also lack of interactive services which was there in DTH. A very small percentage of people left LOC’s because of prices charged by LOC’s †¢ TABLE 5. 4 WHERE DID YOU SEARCH FOR INFORMATION ON DTH BEFORE BUYING ONE ? |Internet |55 | |Dealers |55 | |Friends |30 | |Newspapers |10 | GRAPH 5. 4 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze from the above given graph that 37% each of people surveyed searched information on DTH from Internet & Dealers. 20% consulted Friends and 6% from Newspapers. INFERENCE: An interesting comes from the fact that when it comes to searching information about the DTH services when deciding to buy them, most of the people prefer to search it on Internet & an equal no. of people visit Dealers to gather information. People also prefer to consult their Friends more than using Newspapers as a source of Information search. TABLE 5. 5 ON WHAT PARAMETERS DID YOU EVALUATE ALL THE AVAILABLE DTH SERVICES BEFORE DECIDING TO BUY BRAND OF DTH SERVICE ? |Good Reputation |40 | |Price |10 | |Interactive Services |40 | |Picture Quality |60 | GRAPH 5. 5 ANALYSIS: We can analyze that in terms of evaluation, 39% people rated Picture Quality,27% each as Good Reputation and Interactive Services and 7% as Price as the major alternative evaluation factor. INFERENCE: We can infer that the most important point of evaluating the available DTH options was the Picture, which was of paramount importance for prospective customers followed by Good Reputation and Interactive Services followed by the Price which only a meager population voted for. †¢ TABLE5. 6 DO CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS YOUR DECISION IN BUYING DTH SERVICES ? |Yes |35 | |No |115 | GRAPH 5. 6 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze that 77% of people surveyed said that Celebrity endorsements do not have any impact on their decision in deciding which brand to by or not to by and only 23% people agreed that id does contribute towards their decision. INFERENCE: It is an interesting inference from the above given graph and data that inspite of almost all DTH companies going for Big Celebrities to endorse their brands, customers gave a thumbs down to celebrity endorsements with 77% people saying that they are not at all influenced by it and only 23% saying yes to this idea. TABLE 5. 7 WHO WAS THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR FINAL PURCHASE DECISION ? |Dealer |35 | |Family |20 | |Existing Users |80 | |Only Me |15 | GRAPH 5. 7 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze that Existing users are the biggest influence on the final purchase decision with around 54% people going for it followed by 23% for dealers, 13% for family and 10% deciding themselves. INFERENCE: We can easily infer from the above given graph and data that as expected nd as in all other industries that existing users are always the biggest influence on the final decision and it’s the same in the DTH industry, Dealers are also big influence on the final decision followed by family and ourselves. †¢ TABLE 5. 8 ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR DTH SERVICE ? |Yes |129 | |No |21 | GRAPH 5. 8 [pic] ANALYSIS: We can analyze that 86% of people using DTH services are satisfied with the services and only 14% people are dissatisfied. INFERENCE: We can easily infer from the above given data and graph that most of the people, as expected are pretty much satisfied with the DTH services, which provides so many added features with crystal clear picture quality. One more important thing that can be inferred is there are 14% people who are not satisfied with the DTH services, which should bother all the DTH players in the industry. †¢ TABLE 5. 9 IF DISSATISFIED,THEN WHAT IS THE REASON FOR DISSATISFACTION ? Poor Customer Service |8 | |Poor Picture Quality |2 | |Poor Signal Strength |3 | |Costlier than Expected |8 | GRAPH 5. 9 ANALYSIS: Now, we can analyze that out of 14% dissatisfied customers,38% people’s reason of dissatisfaction is Poor Customer Service and an eaqual no. people think that it costlier than expected followed by 15% with Poor Signal Strength and 9% with Poor Picture quality. INFERENCE: We can easily infer that first of all there are very little dissatisfied customers and the major reason for dissatisfied customer’s are either Poor Customer Service or the Monthly rentals are higher than perceived or expected. Very small amount of people blames it on Poor Signal Strength followed by Poor Picture Quality. FINDINGS FOLLOWING ARE THE FINDINGS OF THE REPORT 1. Most of the users of DTH services today have migrated from the local cable operators in comparison with the viewers of Doordarshan network. So therefore this can viewed step of Doordarshan network viewers to local cable operators. . Initially before using the DTH service the perception of it was that of something that High monthly rentals and that comes with High initial cost. Many people also thought that as it is a satellite network, therefore there would be a lot of signal problems, with few of them having doubtful perceptions about its Customer service. 3. The major reason that led to people switching fr om their previous services to DTH was Poor picture quality, Poor service and lack of interactive services (in the same order), which had an obvious solution in the DTH services. . It was found out that the prospective customers searched for information on DTH mainly from the internet and the dealers with equal no. of respondents going for them, wherein friends are also a good source of information. Newspapers no more are hot in information search in the DTH industry. 5. The most important parameter that the customers used to evaluate all the available DTH options was that it should have the best picture quality and then came the good Reputation and interactive services with the brand. Price was not of that importance as the industry itself is gripped in price-war. 6. This was an interesting but an unexpected finding. Although almost all the DTH players have roped in big celebrities to endorse their brand, still people gave this idea a thumbs down and said it did not affect their decision. 7. The biggest influence on the final purchase decision was found out to be the existing users of the service with more than half of the respondents going for it followed by the dealers, then family members and then the respondents themselves. 8. Talking about the post purchase behavior, a major chunk of population that was surveyed was pretty satisfied with the DTH service (86% of them) and will very much carry on with the DTH, wherein 14% of them showed dissatisfaction. 9. Now, the major reason of the dissatisfaction of the 14% dissatisfied customers were poor customer service and the fact that overall rent (different packages and different channels) was costlier than the expected. SUGGESTIONS FOLLOWING ARE THE SUGGESTIONS BASED ON THE REASEARCH OBJECTIVES AND FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY : †¢ Although the companies are targeting the complete set of television iewers across the country, but they should make extra efforts in specifically targeting the rurals whose only source of entertainment is Doordarshan channels only by customizing channel packages that suits their taste and their pockets as well. Catch them before they take the local cable operator’s route to reach DTH. †¢ Erase the prospective customerâ€⠄¢s perception of DTH services requiring High Initial & High monthle costs and also that as it is a satellite network then it will always have signal problems. Reach the prospects and tell them that these are wrong perceptions and tell the advantages. The Companies should keep on striving for better picture quality, better customer service, and more and more of interactive services because these are the reasons and problems why the customers have migrated from local cable operators (LCO). †¢ Now it was found out that the Dealers and the internet were the hottest zones for information search on DTH by the prospective customers. So, therefore the company’s should, for internet push in all the information regarding their product and service and also tell the prospects about the advantage of their services over the competitors. Evaluation of alternatives by the customers are one of the most important stage for the company and the findings point out that in choosing a DTH ser vice, the customer focuses mainly on the Picture Quality and the Interactive services provided by the company so these things should be provided best by the company to the customers. One more important point is although the DTH industry is gripped by price-war, the customers are willing to pay a little more if they get a better picture quality, more interactive services and better customer service. This was an interesting but an unexpected finding that although all the major DTH players in the country have roped in big celebrities to endorse their brand, but almost 78% of the respondents have rejected this idea and said that celebrity endorsements have no impact on their decision. So, therefore the companies should concentrate on ideas to effectively communicate their message to the final consumer rather than celebrities to convey the message, which in turn would save lots of money given to celebrities as brand ambassador. Now just before buying a product or service the customer nee ds to b pushed in his or her decision and the results have found out that the biggest influence as far as DTH services are concerned are The existing users and the Dealers. So, therefore in order to take care of the influence of existing customers the company has to provide the best of services to them in order to win the Word Of Mouth and to take care of Dealer’s influence the company should have trained sales personnel at the dealer counters. Although, the major TV viewing population are pretty satisfied with DTH services, there are few which are not satisfied and the major reason for their dissatisfaction are poor customer service and costlier monthly charges than expected. To take of the first reason the companies should understand the importance of customer service as a tool to increase sales and take care of the customer service and to take care of the second reason the companies should make the packages simpler and also a little economical. Above mentioned are some of the suggestions for the DTH industry as a whole and for the DTH players in industry based on the Objectives of the research and the Findings of the survey & research which could increase the performance and sales for the companies. The above suggestions have come after an extensive study of the â€Å"CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR† in the Indian DTH industry. CONCLUSION After extensively working on the buying behavior and the perception of the consumers in the Indian DTH industry, I came to know how important it is to understand and understand it to perfection, the buying behavior of the consumers as to how he behaves right from the point he recognizes a problem in his/her previous product or service, like in this case it was mainly the local cable operates. The companies here has to follow the customer from there on to the last step of post-purchase behavior which helps companies to retain the existing customers and win the new customers. The questionnaire that I prepared was a journey through the entire process of consumer’s perception and their buying behavior for DTH services. As it was directed at the current users, it was very fulfilling to understand what the current users of this service felt at each stage of the process and as a result of this survey’s analysis and inference from the table and graph, there were some interesting and important findings which in turn gave way to some of very important suggestions that can be of great help to current DTH players in the Indian industry to improve their sales and efficiency. To conclude, it was an experience that taught me a lot of things from understanding the in and outs of the Indian DTH industry, understanding the buying behavior of consumers, insights of market research, ways to efficiently and effectively interact with the respondents, to analyze and infer important information from the table and the graph. ———————– [pic]

Mark Bittman Analyzed - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1286 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/09/22 Category Advertising Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Mark Bittman: Analyzed Mark Bittman, a food journalist, 30-year author, and writer for â€Å"The Minimalist†, a column in the New York Times, explains his views on obesity and other food related issues in his article, â€Å"Why Take Food Seriously? Because Your Life Depends on It†. In the article, Bittman uses specific examples such as personal shout-outs to famous chefs, morbid descriptions, harsh facts, and shocking comparisons between â€Å"then and now† in the food world, emphasizing people’s ignorance along the way to show the way he believes to be wrong. He does this, hoping to guilt readers to correctly grow, distribute, prepare, and ultimately change the way we eat it. Bittman uses the examples of exotic dishes losing their authenticity in his argument to help the reader relate certain topics in order to enlighten the reader to the extinction of the once meaningful meals, forcing guilt. He lists different cuisines that have been introduc ed to America through immigration and gives examples such as â€Å"Tibetan, Cambodian, Ethiopian, and Ecuadorian† (Bittman 780). He does this so people understand where some of these â€Å"exotic† recipes and concoctions come from exactly. He also gives examples of people who have made these â€Å"exotic† dishes accessible to even amateurs, such as, â€Å"Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, and Julie Sahni† (Bittman 780). Bittman refers to these people and places to give the reader an idea of who actually mastered these cuisines and where they’re from so it makes his claim more valid and establishes his authority, which is needed in a good argument—the author must be trustworthy. Once again, he uses specific examples when he writes shout-outs to people who prove his points. For example, Bittman writes, â€Å"European chefs in the United States embraced Asian ingredients (thank you, Jean-Georges Vongerichten)† (Bittman 781). He does thi s to prove to the audience that he does know a lot about his claim, which establishes credibility. In Bittman’s writing, he successfully uses descriptions and details such as uninviting images that catch the reader’s attention to try and relate their behavior to unappealing personas. At one point, he says, â€Å"until the horrible global slop†¦ came to dominate the scene† (Bittman 780). This â€Å"horrible global slop† he refers to, paints a picture in the reader’s head, and ultimately affects the way he/she thinks about that food, by describing it so gruesomely. He also describes â€Å"us† as Americans if we conform to these eating habits by saying, â€Å"just before we all turn into the shake-sucking fatties†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bittman 780). Again, Bittman wants us, the readers, to understand what his claim is, so he uses morbid description to sway us. He refers to us as these â€Å"fatties† for a reason—he wants us to picture ourselves as one of these â€Å"fatties†, knowing that we will not like the image. He hopes that when we, the readers, read that line, we think, â€Å"Man I don’t want to be like that†, and it will be enough to sway our views and persuade us to agree. Using these grossly-descriptive terms is also a way to catch the reader’s attention and generate an emotional appeal. When a reader reads over this article and sees that Bittman has thus far been credible and is describing these people that do the very things he’s arguing against as â€Å"shake-sucking fatties†, he/she will more likely than not picture him/herself as one of them and in turn, will stir up an emotional response, which will affect views and/or decisions in the way Bittman wants. Another tactic used to persuade the audience in Bittman’s artile is his use of facts such as statistics about the truth of what’s happening with this pastime of meaningful cuis ines. People will not only listen to someone who is knowledgeable, but they will believe the knowledgeable person to be correct. Bittman uses his facts as scare tactics to literally scare the reader into believing him. He writes, â€Å"Obesity and its associated lifestyle diseases became news, as did acute illnesses like salmonella and mad cow† (Bittman 781). Bittman says this because he knows that nobody wants salmonella or mad cow, so he slyly combines those diseases with obesity in a way that makes it sound like if you are one of these people who are naive to food and think of it as a fuel source instead of a luxury, then you won’t just suffer from obesity, you could possibly suffer from salmonella or mad cow as well. He also uses these harsh facts to instigate and emotional appeal. For example, he at states, â€Å"It also became clear to everyone who took the time to think that our overconsumption of meat was contributing to the hunger of nearly one billion fellow earthlings† (Bittman 782). By saying this, he generates emotional appeal by making those who â€Å"over consume† feel badly because their overconsumption is ultimately leading to the hunger of one billion other humans. Nobody wants that weight on their shoulders, so those readers that â€Å"over consume† will probably think twice about having five meals a day. Bittman persuades us to side with him by utilizing the shocking comparisons such as comparing the people who are the targets of this argument to unappealing images of people who think about food way too much in order to draw an emotional reaction from the reader, hoping he/she doesn’t want to be compared to such awful things and will change his/her actions. When Bittman compares something related to overeating or food to something awful or gross, that immediately triggers a response from the reader. Why would we want to be associated with something that compares to something awful and gr oss? Exactly, we wouldn’t. Bittman does this because he knows that when someone realizes they are doing something that can be compared with something terrible or disastrous, more often than not, that person will stop doing that something. At another point, Bittman declares, â€Å"This has led many Americans to think as much about food as they do about Survivor or the N. F. L. † (Bittman 782). Bittman knows that there are people out there that live to watch every football game or buy every season of Survivor on DVD, so by him saying that people think about food as much as they think about those two things, people will realize that they think about food ENTIRELY too much, leading to a change of habit or even just an agreement with Bittman. He also compares the cooking and eating life of the 1950’s to that of now, showing that instead of having one predominant person staying around the house to cook, we now consistently go â€Å"out to eat†. According to the latest statistic on obesity, more than one third of the population is either overweight or obese. Bittman constitutes that one result of eating fast food and eating at â€Å"casual dining† chains is a rise in obesity levels, and that we are in an era where traditional cuisines are a dying pastime and that those traditions are pertinent to us as a people. So, putting these facts together, and listening to Bittman’s comparisons, descriptions, and harsh facts, we can derive that either we, as Americans, need to eat less fast food, or change the way we eat. WORKS CITED Works Cited Lunsford, Andrea A. , John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Why Take Food Seriously? Because Your Life Depends on It. Everythings an Argument: with Readings. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 779-82. Print. WikiAnswers How Many People in the US Are Obese. WikiAnswers The Q Wiki. Answers. com. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. . Works Cited WikiAnswers How Many People in the US Are Obe se. WikiAnswers The Q Wiki. Answers. com. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. . Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Mark Bittman: Analyzed" essay for you Create order