• Title/Summary/Keyword: type characteristics

Search Result 21,457, Processing Time 0.07 seconds

Mature Market Sub-segmentation and Its Evaluation by the Degree of Homogeneity (동질도 평가를 통한 실버세대 세분군 분류 및 평가)

  • Bae, Jae-ho
    • Journal of Distribution Science
    • /
    • v.8 no.3
    • /
    • pp.27-35
    • /
    • 2010
  • As the population, buying power, and intensity of self-expression of the elderly generation increase, its importance as a market segment is also growing. Therefore, the mass marketing strategy for the elderly generation must be changed to a micro-marketing strategy based on the results of sub-segmentation that suitably captures the characteristics of this generation. Furthermore, as a customer access strategy is decided by sub-segmentation, proper segmentation is one of the key success factors for micro-marketing. Segments or sub-segments are different from sectors, because segmentation or sub-segmentation for micro-marketing is based on the homogeneity of customer needs. Theoretically, complete segmentation would reveal a single voice. However, it is impossible to achieve complete segmentation because of economic factors, factors that affect effectiveness, etc. To obtain a single voice from a segment, we sometimes need to divide it into many individual cases. In such a case, there would be a many segments to deal with. On the other hand, to maximize market access performance, fewer segments are preferred. In this paper, we use the term "sub-segmentation" instead of "segmentation," because we divide a specific segment into more detailed segments. To sub-segment the elderly generation, this paper takes their lifestyles and life stages into consideration. In order to reflect these aspects, various surveys and several rounds of expert interviews and focused group interviews (FGIs) were performed. Using the results of these qualitative surveys, we can define six sub-segments of the elderly generation. This paper uses five rules to divide the elderly generation. The five rules are (1) mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE) sub-segmentation, (2) important life stages, (3) notable lifestyles, (4) minimum number of and easy classifiable sub-segments, and (5) significant difference in voices among the sub-segments. The most critical point for dividing the elderly market is whether children are married. The other points are source of income, gender, and occupation. In this paper, the elderly market is divided into six sub-segments. As mentioned, the number of sub-segments is a very key point for a successful marketing approach. Too many sub-segments would lead to narrow substantiality or lack of actionability. On the other hand, too few sub-segments would have no effects. Therefore, the creation of the optimum number of sub-segments is a critical problem faced by marketers. This paper presents a method of evaluating the fitness of sub-segments that was deduced from the preceding surveys. The presented method uses the degree of homogeneity (DoH) to measure the adequacy of sub-segments. This measure uses quantitative survey questions to calculate adequacy. The ratio of significantly homogeneous questions to the total numbers of survey questions indicates the DoH. A significantly homogeneous question is defined as a question in which one case is selected significantly more often than others. To show whether a case is selected significantly more often than others, we use a hypothesis test. In this case, the null hypothesis (H0) would be that there is no significant difference between the selection of one case and that of the others. Thus, the total number of significantly homogeneous questions is the total number of cases in which the null hypothesis is rejected. To calculate the DoH, we conducted a quantitative survey (total sample size was 400, 60 questions, 4~5 cases for each question). The sample size of the first sub-segment-has no unmarried offspring and earns a living independently-is 113. The sample size of the second sub-segment-has no unmarried offspring and is economically supported by its offspring-is 57. The sample size of the third sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is employed and male-is 70. The sample size of the fourth sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is not employed and male-is 45. The sample size of the fifth sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is female and employed (either the female herself or her husband)-is 63. The sample size of the last sub-segment-has unmarried offspring and is female and not employed (not even the husband)-is 52. Statistically, the sample size of each sub-segment is sufficiently large. Therefore, we use the z-test for testing hypotheses. When the significance level is 0.05, the DoHs of the six sub-segments are 1.00, 0.95, 0.95, 0.87, 0.93, and 1.00, respectively. When the significance level is 0.01, the DoHs of the six sub-segments are 0.95, 0.87, 0.85, 0.80, 0.88, and 0.87, respectively. These results show that the first sub-segment is the most homogeneous category, while the fourth has more variety in terms of its needs. If the sample size is sufficiently large, more segmentation would be better in a given sub-segment. However, as the fourth sub-segment is smaller than the others, more detailed segmentation is not proceeded. A very critical point for a successful micro-marketing strategy is measuring the fit of a sub-segment. However, until now, there have been no robust rules for measuring fit. This paper presents a method of evaluating the fit of sub-segments. This method will be very helpful for deciding the adequacy of sub-segmentation. However, it has some limitations that prevent it from being robust. These limitations include the following: (1) the method is restricted to only quantitative questions; (2) the type of questions that must be involved in calculation pose difficulties; (3) DoH values depend on content formation. Despite these limitations, this paper has presented a useful method for conducting adequate sub-segmentation. We believe that the present method can be applied widely in many areas. Furthermore, the results of the sub-segmentation of the elderly generation can serve as a reference for mature marketing.

  • PDF

Clinical review of acute seizures among children who visited the emergency room in Masan Samsung hospital from 2004 to 2006 (최근 3년간(2004-2006년) 응급실로 내원한 소아환자 중 급성 발작으로 인한 환자들에 대한 임상적 고찰)

  • Lee, Won Deok;Yoo, Jae Wook;Lee, Ju Suk;Lee, Jun Hwa;Cho, Kyung Lae
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
    • /
    • v.51 no.4
    • /
    • pp.420-425
    • /
    • 2008
  • Purpose : The purpose of this study was to evaluate acute childhood seizures, one of the most important causes of emergency room visits, to provide appropriate medical services. Methods : We reviewed the medical records of 433 (4.6%) pediatric patients with acute seizures that visited the emergency room at Masan Samsung hospital from 2004 to 2006. Results : The male to female ratio was 1.4:1 and the mean age was $40.9{\pm}34.9$ months range. The order of geographical distribution was Masan, Changwon, Haman, and others. Fever was present in 40.6% of patients; December (14.8%) was the most frequent month for visits and generalized tonic clonic seizures (62.7%) were the most common type of seizure. The average frequency and duration of the seizure was $1.5{\pm}1.0$ and $6.7{\pm}13.2$ minutes respectively. Febrile seizures were present in 69.7% of patients and afebrile seizures in 30.3%. The causes of the febrile seizures were acute pharyngotonsillitis (44.6%), acute bronchitis, gastroenteritis, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, and unknown origin, in order of frequency. The most common cause of an afebrile seizure was epilepsy (71.5%) followed by a benign convulsion with mild gastroenteritis (BCwMG), sequela of a perinatal brain injury or brain malformation, and acute CNS infection. Evaluation of the causes of an acute seizure according to age showed that febrile seizures, epilepsy, and the sequela of perinatal brain injuries were more common between 2 and 6 years of age and epilepsy, febrile seizures and acute CNS infection, in order of frequency, were common between 6 and 15 years of age. Many patients, 49.4%, were discharged without admission. Conclusion : The common characteristics of pediatric patients presenting to the emergency room were male gender, an age between 2-6 years, presenting during the month of December, with generalized tonic clonic seizures due to acute pharyngitis. The most common presentation for the group less than 6 years of age was a febrile seizure and in the group more than 6 years of age, it was epilepsy. In many cases, the seizures stopped by the time the family presented to the emergency room.

Geological Structures of the Hadong Northern Anorthosite Complex and its surrounding Area in the Jirisan Province, Yeongnam Massif, Korea (영남육괴 지리산지구에서 하동 북부 회장암복합체와 그 주변지역의 지질구조)

  • Lee, Deok-Seon;Kang, Ji-Hoon
    • The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
    • /
    • v.21 no.3
    • /
    • pp.287-307
    • /
    • 2012
  • The study area, which is located in the southeastern part of the Jirisan province of the Yeongnam massif, Korea, consists mainly of the Precambrian Hadong northern anorthosite complex (HNAC) and the Jirisan metamorphic rock complex (JMRC) and the Mesozoic granitoids which intrude them. Its tectonic frame is built into NS trend, unlike the general NE-trending tectonic frame of Korean Peninsula. This paper researched the structural characteristics at each deformation phase to clarify the geological structures associated with the NS-trending tectonic frame which was built in the HNAC and JMRC. The result indicates that the geological structures of this area were formed at least through three phases of deformation. (1) The $D_1$ deformation formed the $F_1$ sheath or "A"-type folds in the HNAC and JMRC, and the $S_{0-1}$ composite foliation and the $S_1$ foliation and the $D_1$ ductile shear zone which are (sub)parallel to the axial plane of $F_1$ fold, and the $L_1$ stretching lineation which is parallel to the $F_1$ fold axis owing to the large-scale top-to-the SE shearing on the $S_0$ foliation. (2) The $D_2$ deformation (re)folded the $D_1$ structural elements under the EW-trending tectonic compression environment, and formed the NS-trending $F_2$ open, tight, isoclinal, intrafolial folds with the $S_{0-1-2}$ composite foliation and the $S_2$ foliation and the $D_2$ ductile shear zone with S-C-C' structure and the $L_2$ stretching lineation which is (sub)parallel to the axial plane of $F_2$ fold. The extensive $D_2$ ductile shear zone (Hadong shear zone) of NS trend was persistently developed along the eastern boundary of HNAC and JMRC which would be to the limb of $F_2$ fold on a geological map scale. The Hadong shear zone is no less than 1.4 km width, and was formed in the mylonitization process which produced the mylonitic structure and the stretching lineation with the reduction of grain size during the $F_2$ passive folding. (3) The $D_3$ deformation formed the EW-trending $F_3$ kink or open fold under the NS-trending tectonic compression environment and partially rearranged the NS-trending pre-$D_3$ structural elements into (E)NE or (W)NW direction. The regional trend of $D_1$ tectonic frame before the $D_2$ deformation would be NE-SW unlike the present, and the NS-trending tectonic frame in the HNAC and JMRC like the present was formed by the rearrangement of the $D_1$ tectonic frame owing to the $F_2$ active and passive folding. Based on the main intrusion age of (N)NE-trending basic dyke in the study area, these three deformation events are interpreted to have occurred before the Late Paleozoic.

The Accuracy of Tuberculosis Notification Reports at a Private General Hospital after Enforcement of New Korean Tuberculosis Surveillance System (새로운 국가결핵감시체계 시행 후 한 민간종합병원에서 작성된 결핵정보관리보고서의 정확도 조사)

  • Kim, Cheol Hong;Koh, Won-Jung;Kwon, O Jung;Ahn, Young Mee;Lim, Seong Young;An, Chang Hyeok;Youn, Jong Wook;Hwang, Jung Hye;Suh, Gee Young;Chung, Man Pyo;Kim, Hojoong
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
    • /
    • v.54 no.2
    • /
    • pp.178-190
    • /
    • 2003
  • Background : The committee of tuberculosis(TB) survey planning for the year 2000 decided to construct the Korean Tuberculosis Surveillance System (KTBS), based on a doctor's routine reporting method. The successful keys of the KTBS rely on the precision of the recorded TB notification forms. The purpose of this study was to determine that the accuracy of the TB notification form written at a private general hospital given to the corresponding health center and to improve the comprehensiveness of these reporting systems. Materials and Methods : 291 adult TB patients who had been diagnosed from August 2000 to January 2001, were enrolled in this study. The lists of TB notification forms were compared with the medical records and the various laboratory results; case characteristics, history of previous treatment, examinations for diagnosis, site of the TB by the international classification of the disease, and treatment. Results : In the list of examinations for a diagnosis in 222 pulmonary TB patients, the concordance rate of the 'sputum smear exam' was 76% but that of the 'sputum culture exam' was only 23%. Among the 198 cases of the sputum culture exam labeled 'not examined', 43(21.7%) cases proved to be true 'not examined', 70 cases(35.4%) were proven to be 'culture positive', and 85(43.0%) cases were proven to be 'culture negative'. In the list of examinations for a diagnosis in 69 extrapulmonary TB patients, the concordance rate of the 'smear exam other than sputum' was 54%. In the list of treatments, the overall concordance rate of the 'type of registration' in the TB notification form was 85%. Among the 246 'new' cases on the TB notification form, 217(88%) cases were true 'new' cases and 13 were proven to be 'relapse', 2 were proven to be 'treatment after failure', one was proven to be 'treatment after default', 12 were proven to be 'transferred-in' and one was proven to be 'chronic'. Among the 204 HREZ prescribed regimen, 172(84.3%) patients were taking the HREZ regimen, and the others were prescribed other drug regimens. Conclusion : Correct recording of the TB notification form at the private sectors is necessary for supporting the effective TB surveillance system in Korea.

Effect of $H_2O_2$ on Alveolar Epithelial Barrier Properties (폐상피세포 장벽에 대한 $H_2O_2$의 영향)

  • Suh, Duk-Joon;Cho, Se-Heon;Kang, Chang-Woon
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
    • /
    • v.40 no.3
    • /
    • pp.236-249
    • /
    • 1993
  • Background: Among the injurious agents to which the lung airspaces are constantly exposed are reactive species of oxygen. It has been widely believed that reactive oxygen species may be implicated in the etiology of lung injuries. In order to elucidated how this oxidant causes lung cell injury, we investigated the effects of exogenous $H_2O_2$ on alveolar epithelial barrier characteristics. Methods: Rat type II alveolar epithelial cells were plated onto tissue culture-treated polycarbonate membrane filters. The resulting confluent monolayers on days 3 and 4 were mounted in a modified Ussing chamber and bathed on both sides with HEPES-buffered Ringer solution. The changes in short-circuit current (Isc) and monolayer resistance (R) in response to the exogenous hydroperoxide were measured. To determine the degree of cellular catalase participation in protection against $H_2O_2$ injury to the barrier, experiments were repeated in the presence of 20 mM aminotriazole (ATAZ, an inhibitor of catalase) in the same bathing fluid as the hydroperoxide. Results: These monolayers have a high transepithelial resistance (>2000 ohm-$cm^2$) and actively transport $Na^+$ from apical fluid. $H_2O_2$(0-100 mM) was then delivered to either apical or basolateral fluid. Resulting indicated that $H_2O_2$ decreased Isc and R gradually in dose-dependent manner. The effective concentration of apical $H_2O_2$ at which Isc (or R) was decreased by 50% at one hour ($ED_{50}$) was about 4 mM. However, basolateral $H_2O_2$ exposure led to $ED_{50}$ for Isc (and R) of about 0.04 mM. Inhibition of cellular catalase yielded $ED_{50}$ for Isc (and R) of about 0.4 mM when $H_2O_2$ was given apically, while $ED_{50}$ for basolateral exposure to $H_2O_2$ did not change in the presence of ATAZ. The rate of $H_2O_2$ consumption in apical and basolateral bathing fluids was the same, while cellualr catalase activity rose gradually with time in culture. Conclusion: Our data suggest that basolateral $H_2O_2$ may affect directly membrane component (e.g., $Na^+,\;K^+$-ATPase) located on the basolateral cell surface. Apical $H_2O_2$, on the other hand, may be largely degraded by catalase as it passes through the cells before reaching these membrane components. We conclude that alveolar epithelial barrier integrity as measured by Isc and R are compromised by $H_2O_2$ being relatively sensitive to basolateral (and insensitive to apical) $H_2O_2$.

  • PDF

Effects of Light Intensity, Nutrient Solution Compositions before Harvest and the Time of Nutrient Solution Removal on Nitrate Contents in Hydroponically-Grown Leaf Lettuces in Closed Plant Production System (폐쇄형 식물생산시스템에서 광도, 수확 전 양액조성 및 양액결제시기가 잎상추의 체내 질산염 함량에 미치는 영향)

  • Yeo, Kyung-Hwan;Choi, Gyeong-Lee;Lee, Jung-Sup;Lee, Jae-Han;Park, Kyoung-Sub;Kim, Jin-Hyun
    • Journal of Bio-Environment Control
    • /
    • v.26 no.4
    • /
    • pp.393-401
    • /
    • 2017
  • The nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$) accumulation of hydroponically grown leafy vegetables may increase in the condition of a closed-type plant production system with low light intensity due to low activity of enzymes involved in nitrogen assimilation and the use of $NO_3-N$ as major nitrogen source. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of light intensities, nutrient solution compositions and the time of nutrient solution removal before harvest on nitrate contents of hydroponically-grown lettuces in a closed plant production system. The reduction of nitrate contents in leafy lettuces 'Cheongchima' was higher in the treatments of 'TW' (nutrient solution removal) and '$(NH_4)_2CO_3$' (use of ammonium carbonate as nitrogen source) than those in other treatments, which significantly lowered fresh weight and leaf area of the plants. In the light intensity of $100{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, the nitrate content was effectively reduced without causing any growth retardation, by substitution of the nutrient solution composition that $NO_3-N$ was removed ('$NO_3-N$ removal' treatment) or the half strength of standard nutrient solution was applied ('1/2 S' treatment), for 7days before harvest. The effects of light intensity and the time of nutrient solution removal before harvest on growth and nitrate contents in leafy lettuces were investigated. The nitrate contents in leaves under the light condition of $300{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ before nutrient solution removal were lower than those of 100 or $200{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$. The removal of nutrient solution for 7 days before harvest quickly reduced the amount of nitrates in leaves in all the light intensities with a greater degree under the $300{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ of light condition, while the 7 days-removal with both 200 and $300{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ of light conditions caused decrease in 16~31% of leaf area and 20~35% of fresh weight, compared to the 3 days-removal treatment. The nitrate contents were greatly reduced from 3,018 to 1,035 in $200{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, and 2,021 to 480 ppm in the light condition of $300{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, with the nutrient solution removal for 3 days before harvest, without causing any deterioration in growth and product quality. The vitamin C contents in leaves were higher in the treatment of nutrient solution removal for both 3 and 5 days before harvest with the light condition of $300{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$ than those in the light condition of 100 or $200{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$.

Categorizing Quality Features of Franchisees: In the case of Korean Food Service Industry (프랜차이즈 매장 품질요인의 속성분류: 국내 외식업을 중심으로)

  • Byun, Sook-Eun;Cho, Eun-Seong
    • Journal of Distribution Research
    • /
    • v.16 no.1
    • /
    • pp.95-115
    • /
    • 2011
  • Food service is the major part of franchise business in Korea, accounting for 69.9% of the brands in the market. As the food service industry becomes mature, many franchisees have struggled to survive in the market. In general, consumers have higher levels of expectation toward service quality of franchised outlets compared that of (non-franchised) independent ones. They also tend to believe that franchisees deliver standardized service at the uniform food price, regardless of their locations. Such beliefs seem to be important reasons that consumers prefer franchised outlets to independent ones. Nevertheless, few studies examined the impact of qualify features of franchisees on customer satisfaction so far. To this end, this study examined the characteristics of various quality features of franchisees in the food service industry, regarding their relationship with customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The quality perception of heavy-users was also compared with that of light-users in order to find insights for developing differentiated marketing strategy for the two segments. Customer satisfaction has been understood as a one-dimensional construct while there are recent studies that insist two-dimensional nature of the construct. In this regard, Kano et al. (1984) suggested to categorize quality features of a product or service into five types, based on their relation to customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction: Must-be quality, Attractive quality, One-dimensional quality, Indifferent quality, and Reverse quality. According to the Kano model, customers are more dissatisfied when Must-be quality(M) are not fulfilled, but their satisfaction does not arise above neutral no matter how fully the quality fulfilled. In comparison, customers are more satisfied with a full provision of Attactive quality(A) but manage to accept its dysfunction. One-dimensional quality(O) results in satisfaction when fulfilled and dissatisfaction when not fulfilled. For Indifferent quality(I), its presence or absence influences neither customer satisfaction nor dissatisfaction. Lastly, Reverse quality(R) refers to the features whose high degree of achievement results in customer dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction. Meanwhile, the basic guidelines of the Kano model have a limitation in that the quality type of each feature is simply determined by calculating the mode statistics. In order to overcome such limitation, the relative importance of each feature on customer satisfaction (Better value; b) and dissatisfaction (Worse value; w) were calculated following the formulas below (Timko, 1993). The Better value indicates how much customer satisfaction is increased by providing the quality feature in question. In contrast, the Worse value indicates how much customer dissatisfaction is decreased by providing the quality feature. Better = (A + O)/(A+O+M+I) Worse = (O+M)/(A+O+M+I)(-1) An on-line survey was performed in order to understand the nature of quality features of franchisees in the food service industry by applying the Kano Model. A total of twenty quality features (refer to the Table 2) were identified as the result of literature review in franchise business and a pre-test with fifty college students in Seoul. The potential respondents of our main survey was limited to the customers who have visited more than two restaurants/stores of the same franchise brand. Survey invitation e-mails were sent out to the panels of a market research company and a total of 257 responses were used for analysis. Following the guidelines of Kano model, each of the twenty quality features was classified into one of the five types based on customers' responses to a set of questions: "(1) how do you feel if the following quality feature is fulfilled in the franchise restaurant that you visit," and "(2) how do you feel if the following quality feature is not fulfilled in the franchise restaurant that you visit." The analyses revealed that customers' dissatisfaction with franchisees is commonly associated with the poor level of cleanliness of the store (w=-0.872), kindness of the staffs(w=-0.890), conveniences such as parking lot and restroom(w=-0.669), and expertise of the staffs(w=-0.492). Such quality features were categorized as Must-be quality in this study. While standardization or uniformity across franchisees has been emphasized in franchise business, this study found that consumers are interested only in uniformity of price across franchisees(w=-0.608), but not interested in standardizations of menu items, interior designs, customer service procedures, and food tastes. Customers appeared to be more satisfied when the franchise brand has promotional events such as giveaways(b=0.767), good accessibility(b=0.699), customer loyalty programs(b=0.659), award winning history(b=0.641), and outlets in the overseas market(b=0.506). The results are summarized in a matrix form in Table 1. Better(b) and Worse(w) index indicate relative importance of each quality feature on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, respectively. Meanwhile, there were differences in perceiving the quality features between light users and heavy users of any specific franchise brand in the food service industry. Expertise of the staffs was labeled as Must-be quality for heavy users but Indifferent quality for light users. Light users seemed indifferent to overseas expansion of the brand and offering new menu items on a regular basis, while heavy users appeared to perceive them as Attractive quality. Such difference may come from their different levels of involvement when they eat out. The results are shown in Table 2. The findings of this study help practitioners understand the quality features they need to focus on to strengthen the competitive power in the food service market. Above all, removing the factors that cause customer dissatisfaction seems to be the most critical for franchisees. To retain loyal customers of the franchise brand, it is also recommended for franchisor to invest resources in the development of new menu items as well as training programs for the staffs. Lastly, if resources allow, promotional events, loyalty programs, overseas expansion, award-winning history can be considered as tools for attracting more customers to the business.

  • PDF

The Determination of Trust in Franchisor-Franchisee Relationships in China (중국 프랜차이즈 시스템에서의 본부와 가맹점간 신뢰의 영향요인)

  • Shin, Geon-Cheol;Ma, Yaokun
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
    • /
    • v.18 no.2
    • /
    • pp.65-88
    • /
    • 2008
  • Since the implementation of economic reforms in 1978, the Chinese economy grows rapidly at an average annul growth rate of 9% over the post two decades. Franchising has been widely recognized as an important source of entrepreneurial activity. Trust is important in that it facilitates relational exchanges by permits partners to transcend short-run inequities or risks to concentrate on long-term profits or gains. In the relationship between the franchisors and franchisees, trust has been described as an important source of competitive advantage. However, little research has been done on the factors affecting trust in Chinese franchisor-franchisee relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate what factors affect the trust in the franchise system in China, and to provide guidelines and insights to franchisors which enter Chinese market. In this study, according to Morgan and Hunt (1994), trust is defined as the extending when one party has confidence in an exchange partner's reliability and integrity. We offered a conceptual model of the empirical study. The model shows that the factors affecting the trust include franchisor's supports, communication, satisfaction with previous outcome and conflict. We also suggested the franchisor's supports and communication like to enhance the franchisee's satisfaction with previous outcome, and the franchisor's supports, communication and he franchisee's satisfaction with previous outcome tend to decrease conflict. Before the formal study, a pretest involving exploratory interviews with owners from three franchisees was conducted to make sure the questionnaire was relevant and clear to the respondents. The data were collected using trained interviewers to carry out personal interviews with the aid of an unidentified, muti-page, structured questionnaire. The respondents comprised of owners, managers, and owner managers of franchisee-owned food service franchises located in Beijing, China. Even though a total of 256 potential franchises were initially contacted, the finally usable sample consisted of 125 respondents. As expected, the sampling method was successful in soliciting respondents with waried personal and firm characteristics. Self-administrated questionnaires were used for all measures. And established scales were used to measure the latent constructs in this study. The measures tapped the franchisees' perceptions of the relationship with the referent franchisor. Five-point Likert-type scales ranging from "strongly disagree" (=1) to "strongly agree" (=7) were used throughout the constructs (trust, eight items; support, five items; communication, four items; satisfaction, six items; conflict, three items). The reliability measurements traditionally employed, such as the Cronbach's alpha, were used. All the reliabilities were greater than.80. The proposed measurement model was estimated using SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 5.0 analysis package. We conducted A series of exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses to assess the convergent validity, discriminant validity, and reliability. The results indicate reasonable overall fits between the model and the observed data. The overall fit of measurement model were $X^2$= 159.699, p=0.004, d.f. = 116, GFI =.879, NFI =.898, CFI =.969, IFI =.970, TLI =.959, RMR =.058. The results demonstrated that the data reasonably fitted the model. We also examined construct reliability and reliability and average variance extracted (AVE). The construct reliability of each construct was greater than.80 and the AVE of each construct was greater than.50. According to the analysis of Structure Equation Modeling (SEM), the results of path model indicated an adequate fit of the model: $X^2$= 142.126, p = 0.044, d.f. = 115, GFI =.892, NFI =.909, CFI =.981, IFI =.981, TLI =.974, RMR =.057. As hypothesized, the results showed that it is strategically important to establish trust in a franchise system, and the franchisor's supports, communication and satisfaction with previous outcome tend to reinforce franchisee's trust. The results also showed trust seems to decrease as the experience of conflict episodes increases. And we also noticed that franchisor's supports and communication tend to enhance the franchisee's satisfaction with previous outcome, and communication tend to decrease conflict. If the trust between the franchisor and franchisee can be established in a franchise system, franchising offers many benefits and reduces many costs. To manage a mutual trust of relationship with their franchisees, franchisor's should provide support effectively to their franchisees. Effective assistant services have direct effect on franchisees' satisfaction with previous outcome and trust in franchisor. Especially, franchise sales process, orientation, and training in the start-up period are key elements for success of the franchise system. Franchisor's support is an accumulated separate satisfaction evaluation with different kind of service provided by the franchisor. And providing support definitely can improve the trustworthy image of the franchisor. In the franchise system, conflicts of interests and exertions of different power sources are very common. The experience of conflict episodes seems to negatively relate to trust. Therefore, it is important to reduce the negative side of the relationship conflicts. Communication actually plays a broader role in reducing conflict and establish mutual trust in franchisor-franchisee relationship. And effective communication between franchisors and franchisees can improve franchisees' satisfaction toward the franchise system. As the diversification of Chinese markets, both franchisors and franchisees must keep the relevant, timely, and reliable communication. And it is very important to improve the quality of communication. Satisfaction with precious outcomes seems to positively relate to trust. Franchisors and franchisees that are highly satisfied with the previous outcomes that flow from their relationship will perceive their partner as advancing their goal achievement. Therefore, it is necessary for both franchisor and their franchisees to make the welfare of partner with effort. Little literature has focused on what factors affect the trust between franchisors and their franchisees in China. This study developed the hypotheses regarding the factors affecting trust in the transaction relationship. The results of data analysis supported the hypotheses strongly. There are certain limitations in this study. First, we may point out that some other factors missed in this study could be significantly important. Second, the context of this study, food service industry, limits its potential generalizability for all franchise systems. More studies in different categories of franchise system are needed to broaden its generalizability. Third, the model was tested empirically in a sample in Beijing, more empirical tests of the proposed model in other Chinese areas are needed. Finally, the analysis in this study was solely based on the perception of franchisees and the opinions of franchisors were not included.

  • PDF

A study of Spiritual Well-Being in Nursing Students (간호대학생의 영적안녕에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Yeong-Eun;Park, Hye-Seon;Gang, Yang-Hui
    • Korean Journal of Hospice Care
    • /
    • v.7 no.1
    • /
    • pp.5-14
    • /
    • 2007
  • Objective : This study was done to identify the status of Spiritual Well-Being in Nursing Students and to investigate the correlation between related various characteristics and Spiritual Well-Being and to provide baseline data for ride school-life and development of Spiritual-education program for nursing students. Method : The data was collected from 188 christian Nursing students by using questionary method. they are all all agreed to participate in this study. Their Spiritual Well-Being were measured using Spiritual Well-Being scale developed by Paloutzian & Ellison(1983) and translated by Choi(1990) and reversed by Kang(1996). Results : The data was analyzed by using SPSS/PC+12.0. The summary of results were as follows; 1. The mean score of Spiritual Well-Being were $63.95\pm10.256$(range from 20-80) 2. There were significant differences between the grade(F=6.101, p= .001), type of religion(F= 17.703, p= .000), In Christian, the level of devotee(F=8.194, p= .000), duration of church attendance(F=7.947, p= .000), regular attendance of chapel(F=4.242, p= .000), regular reading(study) of Bible and prayer (F=5.863, p= .001=0). perceived personal encounter with Jesus(F=4.160, p= .000), religion of parent(F=9.320, p= .000), perceived attitude of parenting(F=4.146, p= .000), hope to admit/transfer to other course or not(F=-2.050, p= .050). Conclusion : Our results were valuable to provide basic guidelines for ride school-life and for the development of Spiritual-education program for Nursing students.

  • PDF

Comparative analysis of status of safety accidents and importance-performance analysis (IPA) about precautions of safety accidents by employment type of industry foodservices in Jeonbuk area (전북지역 산업체급식소 조리종사자의 고용형태에 따른 안전사고 실태 및 안전사고 예방관리에 대한 중요도와 수행도 분석)

  • So, Hee;Rho, Jeong Ok
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
    • /
    • v.50 no.4
    • /
    • pp.402-414
    • /
    • 2017
  • Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the status of safety accidents and importance-performance analysis (IPA) between regular and non-regular employees in industry foodservices. Methods: The participants were regular employees (n = 119) and non-regular employees (n = 163) in industry foodservices in the Jeonbuk area. Demographic characteristics, status of safety accidents, safety education, and importance and performance status were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Approximately 66.4% of regular employees and 53.4% of non-regular employees experienced safety accidents (p < 0.05). Types of safety accidents of regular and non-regular employees were mostly burns, and causes were mostly from their own negligence. Approximately 98.3% of regular employees and 95.1% of non-regular employees experienced safety education. Approximately 88.9% of regular employees and 96.8% of non-regular employees received safety education from dietitians. Approximately 41.9% of regular employees and 50.0% of non-regular employees had difficulty applying the contents of safety education due to lack of time during work. As a result of IPA, regular and non-regular employees were aware of the importance of the following and performed them well: 'Clean the floor of the work place', 'Arrange in the work area', 'Wear safety shoes', 'Check for heater cord', and 'Safety cooking when using oil'. On the other hand, they were not aware of the importance of the following and performed them insufficiently: 'Check for the MSDS', 'Aware of chemical signs', 'Wear protection gloves etc.', 'Do stretching exercise', and 'Using ancillary tools'. Conclusion: Therefore, it is necessary to improve the consciousness of dietitians for effective application of safety education contents, development of contents, especially MSDS, and related things.