Growing a business strategy for Coffee Angel Coursework

Growing a business strategy for Coffee Angel - Coursework Example Chris is of Turkish background and the business is family owned. The business was started in collaboration with his family who stands by him and supports him in financing the operations of the business. Opening time is 7.30 am on weekdays and opening times being 8: 30 am and 10: 00 am for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, with closing time at 7: 00 pm irrespective of the day of the week. Coffee Angel offers foods including breakfast, sandwiches and rolls, Panini menu, toasts, salads, and wraps, the drinks offered include freshly roasted coffee, milkshakes, smoothies, tea, iced coffee, and flavor. Catering and treats are also offered by Coffee Angel. The aim of strategic analysis is to have a better understanding of the position of the business in the macro environment and make a comparison with the competitors in the industry the firm is operating. An analysis of the Coffee Angel requires an understanding of the environment to be able to know the strategic capabilities of the firm. PESTLE is an acronym for political, economic, sociological, technological, environmental, and legal and is a useful tool for the analysis of the macro environment where a business operates. PESTLE is a tool for the generation of an understanding on the relation of the firm to the external environment. The main reasons for PESTLE analysis is that it is relevant in decision making as it informs the management on the situation of the firm in relation to the external environment. This part details the impact of political actions on the external environment of Angel Coffee. Government policies would have an impact on the functionality of Angel Coffee in some ways including laws on minimum wages that has recently been passed will influence Angel Coffee and rumors of further increase affect the company. Food safety controls by the government affect the performance of food

Budget Measures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Budget Measures - Essay Example A relaxing environment contributes to the well-being of a patient. Food - An External Caterer seemed to be a wiser alternative compared to an internal facility. An internal facility seemed too luxurious and could probably promote patients not eating on time. Aside from being less expensive, an external caterer would make the dining area more spacious. A larger eating area can house more patients so that they could eat together and thus promote interaction among one another. In the case of patients getting hungry between meals, the center still offers a facility for cooking light refreshments. Medication - Although much expensive, an Automatic Dispenser is more accurate. With the automatic dispenser residents can be traced they have indeed obtained their required medicine. And since they are the only ones who know their individual codes it is easy to check if they have complied with specific dosage regimen. Recreation - I checked Recreation Area, Library, and the TV Room. Recreation is essential to one's recovery from illness and trauma. The sports area will provide effective wellness and fitness programs for the residents. The upgraded amenities offered by the Library will be for leisure and also for learning process. A TV Room would be great for entertainment. These facilities will provide the patient with a "sound mind, sound body." I left out the Transportation because the residents wouldn't always be going out for a leisure trip and the two new vans can only accommodate 30 passengers and 12 wheelchairs. Perhaps renting transportation for occasional trips is wiser. Communication - I chose Dedicated Telephone over Internet Access because internet access is very expensive. If residents need internet services, they can access the web in the library. In addition, communication over the telephone is much clearer as compared to the internet Miscellaneous - I chose to install an Audio System because soothing music is proven to contribute to the wellbeing of persons in any environment especially in a health care facility. Improving the Interior Decoration will encourage the resident to stay outside the room and mingle with other residents. Social interaction is proven advantageous. But I left out Furnishing because it is unwise. Perhaps it is more appropriate for particular residents to furnish their individual rooms at their additional expense. My decision for the accommodation proved to be a good one as it caters the need of a larger part of the private payer population. The $3.3 million was wisely utilized for the expansion plan. With concerns to food, external catering was not a good decision. I guess I failed to consider the preference of the age group to flexible dining time especially when their families come to visit them. Medication through an automatic dispenser was also not a good decision. I should have researched more about it before preferring it over Common Inventory. Also it was unwise not to purchase new vans as these vans are aimed to provide the patients comfort while traveling. Anyway, I was right not opting to provide each room with a computer. The evaluation said that it was also a good idea to repaint the walls and provide the rooms and the corridors with paintings. I was also correct on deciding not to purchase new furnishings because it was very expensive and unnecessary.

Technique to Facilitate Treatment of Urethral Strictures

Technique to Facilitate Treatment of Urethral Strictures Title:  A simple technique to facilitate treatment of urethral strictures with optical internal urethrotomy Konstantinos Stamatiou MD,PhD,Consultant Urologist, Urology Dpt, General Hospital Tzanio, Piraeus, Greece Aggeliki Papadatou MD, Radiology Resident, Radiology Interventional Radiology Dpt, General Hospital Tzanio, Piraeus, Greece Hippocrates Moschouris MD, Consultant Radiologist, Radiology Interventional Radiology Dpt, General Hospital Tzanio, Piraeus, Greece Corresponding author: Aggeliki Papadatou, General Hospital Tzanio, Zanni Afentouli 1 str, 18536, Piraeus, Greece Key words: urethral stricture, optical internal urethrotomy Introduction An urethral stricture is a narrowing of a section of the urethra. It causes a blocked or reduced flow of urine which can result in a range of manifestations, from asymptomatic to severe discomfort. Moreover, it can lead to serious complications such as urinary infections and renal insufficiency secondary to urinary retention. Blunt perineal trauma, urological instrumentation, chronic inflammatory disorders such as lichen sclerosus et atrophicus and sexually transmitted diseases are the most frequent causes of strictures; a large proportion are iatrogenic . Currently, three different interventions are used to treat urethral strictures: dilations, optical internal urethrotomy and open urethroplasty(1). Dilations are easy to perform in every day clinical practice, however they show the highest recurrence rates while their outcomes are the less satisfying to the patients. On the other hand, open urethroplasty shows the lowest recurrence rates and its outcomes are the most satisfying to the patients (2). Although it is the current gold standard against which the traditional treatments are compared, this technique requires skills, expertise and equipment, often not available in the resource limited settings. For the above reasons, most patients with urethral stricture are offered optical internal urethrotomy . This procedure is preferred as the first treatment option by many urologists, as it is performed within short operative times, under either spinal, or local anaesthesia. It can be also done as an outpatient procedure for the treatment of short urethral strictures . Optical internal urethrotomy is performed by a rigid urethrotome or a flexible cystoscope/urethrotome combination. The instrument is inserted and guided to the face of the stricture and a small blade at the tip of the instrument is deployed using a trigger mechanism to cut the stricture at locations determined by the surgeon. Upon completion of the internal incision(s), the instrument is withdrawn and an appropriately sized Foley catheter is inserted through the repair and into the urinary bladder. Hospitalization lasts 2 days and the patient keeps the catheter a few days . However, technical difficulties associated with poor visualization of the stenosis or of the urethral lumen may increase procedural time and substantially increase the failure rates of internal urethrotomy. In this report we describe a technique for urethral catheterization via a suprapubic, percutaneous approach through the urinary bladder. Case Report A 35-year-old male patient, presented to our urology department with a severe (> 5 cm), tortuous stricture of the penile urethra, previously diagnosed by descending cystourethrogram (Figure 1). A suprapubic catheter was in place. Technique The urinary bladder was filled with 300 millilitres of diluted iodinated contrast (contrast/normal saline: 1/3) via the suprapubic catheter. A 0035†, J-tip standard angiographic guidewire was inserted into the urinary bladder through the suprapubic catheter. The latter was removed and exchanged with a short (11 cm), 5-French angiographic sheath. The angiographic guidewire was subsequently withdrawn and a Cobra-1 angiographic catheter (5 Fr, 65 cm) loaded with a 0035, hydrophilic, J-tip guide-wire was inserted into the bladder. Under fluoroscopy, the catheter-guidewire combination was guided towards the internal urethral orifice and urethra was catheterized. The hydrophilic guidewire was used to negotiate the stricture and was finally advanced through the external urethral orifice (Figure 2). The angiographic catheter was subsequently advanced through the stenosis, over the guidewire (Figure 3). The hub of the catheter was cut off and the vascular sheath was removed. The posteri or part of the catheter is stabilized on the abdominal wall with a suture. The patient was then taken to the operating room and placed in lithotomy position, under spinal anaesthesia. By keeping the angiographic catheter stretched, the rigid urethrotome was inserted in the urethra (Figure 4) and directed to the face of the stricture. The blade at the tip of the instrument was deployed using a trigger mechanism to cut the stricture at the 12 o clock location along the entire length of the stenosis. Upon completion of the internal incision, the instrument was withdrawn and a Foley catheter was inserted through the repaired stricture and into the urinary bladder. Results Antegrade catheterization of the urethral stricture and subsequent treatment of the stricture by using the angiographic catheter as a guide for the urethrotome proved feasible. No urethral injury, false passage or development of fistula were observed. The fluoroscopically guided antegrade catheterization of the stricture lasted 11 minutes. The patient remains free of recurrence 7 months post-operation. Discussion Internal urethrotomy has advantages of ease, simplicity, speed and short convalescence. However, success rates vary and long term results are generally low. In the short-term (less than 6 months), success rates are 70 to 80 percent. After one year, however, recurrence rates approach 50 to 60 percent and by five years, recurrence falls in the range of 74 to 86 percent(4). Although different studies have proposed different etiologies as poor responders to optical internal urethrotomy, technical and anatomical factors such as reduced visibility during the operation and stricture length are uniformly recognised as predictors of recurrence . Other factors associated with treatment failure are the perioperative urinary infection, the presence of periurethral fibrosis (spongiofibrosis) and stricture etiology(5). In cases of severe urethral stenosis or excessive urethral tortuosity the actual site of the stricture may not be visible at all4. Intraprocedural bleeding, presence of blood clots, inflammatory or injured tissues add extra difficulty in localization of the stenosis and in safe advancement of the urethrotome. Retrograde instillation of methylene blue through the suprapubic catheter and/or antegrade advancement forwarding of an ureteral stent are usually used in order to visualise narrowed urethral lumen, or to guide the urethrotome through a tortuous urethra respectively. However both manoeuvres are of questionable effectiveness. In several cases the procedure is concluded in two sessions; in other cases a scar appears after urethrotomy (probably as a result of a false route of the urethrotome) and this causes a new stricture. The above may explain surgical success rates as low as 20% . To overcome these problems, we devised a technique which is based on percutaneous, trans-cystic catheterization of the urethra. The technique requires low-cost, widely available materials of interventional radiology and a fluoroscopy unit. The procedure is brief, well-tolerated and requires no anesthesia. Our initial experience showed that even a long and severe stenosis could be negotiated with rotational and gentle probing movements of the hydrophilic guidewire. Of note, we preferred to utilize the angiographic catheter instead of the guidewire as a guide for the urethrotome; compared to the guidewire, the angiographic catheter proved more stable, more efficient for straightening of the urethra and more easily visible endoscopically. References 1. Tritschler S, Roosen A, Fà ¼llhase C, Stief CG, Rà ¼bben H. Urethral stricture: etiology, investigation and treatments. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2013;110:220-6 2. Wani BN, Jajoo SN, Bhole AM. Outcome of urethral strictures managed by general surgeons in a rural setting of India. Indian J Surg. 2011;73:336-40. 3. Kreder KJ, Stack R, Thrasher JB, Donatucci CF. Direct vision internal urethrotomy using topical anesthesia. Urology. 1993;42:548-50. 4. Jordan GH, Schlossberg SM, Devine CJ. Surgery of the penis and urethra. In: Walsh PC, Vaughan ED, Retik AB, Wein AJ, editors. Campbells Urology. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1998. pp. 3316–3394. 5. Wong SS, Aboumarzouk OM, Narahari R, ORiordan A, Pickard R. Simple urethral dilatation, endoscopic urethrotomy, and urethroplasty for urethral stricture disease in adult men. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;12:CD006934. Legends Figure 1 Descending cystourethrogram showing severe stenosis of the penile urethra (arrow). Figure 2 Demonstration of the technique after the replacement of the suprapubic catheter with the angiographic sheath (arrow). The angiographic catheter (dotted arrow) and the guidewire (arrowhead) have been inserted through the angiographic sheath into the bladder. The guidewire has negotiated the stenosis and has been externalized through the external urethral orifice. Figure 3 The angiographic catheter (dotted arrow) has been advanced across the stenosis over the guidewire. Figure 4 Endoscopic view of the angiographic catheter which served as a guide for the urethrotome.

Essay on The Yellow Wallpaper, A Rose for Emily and Babylon :: Yellow Wallpaper essays

The Yellow Wallpaper, A Rose for Emily and Babylon It is amazing how differently people see the world. People from different walks of life interpret everyday experiences in different ways. This is ever so apparent when discussing the gaps that occur in stories by great authors. In The Yellow Wallpaper, a woman is being "treated" by a doctor (her husband) for a condition he refers to as anxiety. She is placed in a room, apparently one that was previously inhabited by a mental patient, and told to rest. Over the course of a few weeks the woman begins to exhibit signs of paranoia and regularly has hallucinations. Through the course of the story, the woman continuously makes reference to the yellow wallpaper. The first, and possibly the greatest, gap in the story comes when interpreting the meaning(s) behind the wallpaper. Does the color yellow infer something about insanity? The woman repeatedly refers to the patterns that the peeling wallpaper makes. Do the patterns suggest order from chaos? It is apparent, from the number of times that it is mentioned, that the wallpaper plays a role in the mental changes the woman experiences (and details her changes) throughout the story. Part way through the story, she begins seeing a woman moving behind the wallpaper, as if trying to escape it. Is she actually seeing herself in the wallpaper, as suggested by Chris Tildon, or is the hallucination what she fears she is becoming? At the end of the story, she takes on the role of the "creeping" woman and follows a smudge around the room and over her fainted husband. This supports the idea that she is the woman that has been trapped in the paper. Maybe she feels trapped and tormented by John's lack of sympathy for her condition. Another story that benefits from gaps is Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The gaps in this story are numerous, but the most important gaps involve Charlie's previous bout with Alcoholism, and his struggle to retrieve his daughter Honoria. Charlie claims to be a reformed man. However, after reading deep into the story, it is apparent that Charlie plays a role in his own downfall. Does Charlie actually try to rid himself of his past, or is he actually perpetuating it? In the story, Charlie visits his old "haunts", maintains a "one drink a day" attitude, and inadvertently brushes elbows with a couple of old drinking buddies.

Human Resources Practice Essay

The Human Resources Profession Map was developed by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) to aid the HR industry and its professionals to adapt to the growing and future demands, setting out the foundation for global standards of competency for the HR profession. It recognises that people could enter the HR profession from a diverse range of backgrounds. Speaking at the 2009 CIPD Conference Chief Executive Jackie Orme added: â€Å"The map will allow us to maintain rigour while improving flexibility: the flexibility to meet the needs of generalists and specialists and to support professionals at all levels, and the rigour to ensure HR professionals and employees alike can be confident that a CIPD qualification delivers not just the capabilities needed for today, but the capacity to adapt to the growing demands that will be placed on the profession in the future.† The map is an online, interactive tool located on the CIPD website for all HR and L&D professionals to use. It explains the specialist functions, behavioural skills and knowledge required in order for HR personnel to deliver effective support to any organisation. The profession map is linked to the ‘My HR Map’, which is a self assessment tool providing targeted recommendations to improve skills and maximise career potential. The map comprises of ten professional areas at four different bands and eight key behaviours HR professionals need to perform their role and are considered benchmark within the industry. There are four bands of professional competence listed below which highlight the hierarchy of the profession and operate along with the behaviours and professional areas. Band One – Administrator / Support Level – Generally customer focussed individuals, who support colleagues with administration functions Band Two – Advisor Level – Responsible for delivering HR policies to employees, managing the HR related issues amongst teams Band Three – Management Level – Responsible for implementing strategy, change and HR policies Band Four – Director Level – Leads and manages an organisation or professional area, developing strategy There are eight key behaviours listed below which describe the knowledge and skills a HR professional should encompass and how they should carry out their activities. A description of each of the eight key behaviours listed below and how they relate to the HR professional can be seen in Appendix 1. Curious Decisive thinker Skilled influencer Personally credible Collaborative Driven to deliver Courage to challenge Role model There are ten professional areas, including two core areas namely ‘Insights, strategy and solutions’ and ‘Leading HR’. Both areas are fundamental to all HR professionals, regardless of their role, level or specialism. The remaining eight areas listed below demonstrate the knowledge and experience a HR professional should be competent within. A description of each of the ten professional areas listed below and how they relate to the HR professional can also be seen in Appendix 1. Service delivery and information Organisation design Organisation development Resourcing and talent planning Learning and talent development Performance and reward Employee engagement Employee relations Although I do not work in HR, from reviewing the HR Profession Map I can see that I relate to Band 1 ‘Service delivery and information’. 10.1.1 – It is very important within my role as a Customer Contact Team Manager to establish customer requirements quickly and question everything. My team seek information from me on a daily basis and I must be prepared to provide them with an answer, however this can only be done if I have understood the situation and circumstances surrounding the query. When dealing with customer service queries we aim to find a resolve which is suitable for both the customer and the company, this is no different within a HR role. 10.7.1 – We have service level agreements surrounding the role and must comply with legislative requirements such as the Data Protection Act, when dealing with customers information, and the Consumer Credit Act, when dealing with customers financial information and processing payments. As we are employed by an outsourcing company ttl Automotive and onsite with the client Porsche Cars Great Britain, we also have organisational procedures and policies which must be adhered to for both companies. We must be mindful that we are representing both companies at all times, onsite we represent ttl Automotive, however when dealing with customers we represent the Porsche brand. 10.9.1 – My day to day role involves many HR elements, I have listed below some of the areas I am responsible for: – Managing performance – Managing absence levels – Recruitment and selection of new staff – Training and development of new and existing staff – Working within service level agreements in alignment with company policy and targets – Ensuring compliance with legislation and company policy I am aware of what I am accountable for and have authority to action within the realms of my role, for example I can roll out information to the team, process staff requests and maintain this information on a database. I can produce absence reports for the management team, complete return to work interviews and organise occupational health visits. I am responsible for the recruitment process and interview of new staff, and set monthly/quarterly and annual objectives for the team based on information received from my line manager and the HR team. However, when there is an issue which falls outside of my knowledge and experience I seek advice and guidance from the HR team who guide me through the process. For example, in a previous role a member of staff came into work intoxicated, it unfortunately was late at night as I worked for a 24 hour call centre therefore a colleague and I had to deal with this incident. It was a very difficult situation to deal with at the time and when the HR team were informed the following day they aided me in completing all the necessary paperwork as this was deemed as gross misconduct. 10.13.1 – In 2012 Porsche took the decision to change outsourcing companies, this was an uncertain time for the team and I as we were unsure if we would be made redundant in the process. Fortunately it was a case of the team moving across to the new outsourcing company, which involved the TUPE process. During the transition time, it was very important for the team and I to maintain the level of service we had always provided and to remain as flexible as possible throughout the change. During the process our new outsourcing company, ttl Automotive, had their own ways of working so many meetings were held in order to ensure they complied with how Porsche wished for the contract to be managed. This resulted in very little impact on the team and the transition period went very smoothly. 10.14.1 & 10.16.1 – There were advantages to changing companies, for example as we were a new team ttl Automotive requested we pilot the change from  paper payslips to email payslips. We were also involved in the testing stage of online holiday forms and were requested to provide our user experience via a feedback portal called Survey Monkey. I really embraced this as I felt the company were forward thinking and innovative. I myself am keen to find better, smarter, more efficient ways of working and recently implemented an online payment system, which again the team were required to test prior to launch. Change is always an interesting time and there will always be hurdles, however if ultimately it is beneficial for the company and more importantly the user then it is for the greater good. Within my role I deal with a variety of customers, for example there are internal customers such as members of the senior management team, line managers and employees. I also have external customers, for example recruitment agencies and suppliers who we have service contracts with. Activity 2 The three main customers I deal with regularly are senior managers, line managers and employees. It is important for me to establish and understand each customers need quickly and the timeframe they require it be to actioned within. I must then review each request and prioritise based on level of importance. I am often handling a number of customer requests at any one time, which can cause conflict, however I ensure I prioritise on the basis of what is deemed to be a business critical issue and these are dealt with as a matter of urgency. With this in mind it is also important to set the expectations of each customer so they are aware when their request will be actioned, this can often alleviate any conflict. I have recently had the following requests from internal customers, which I have placed in the order of priority. Customer Customer need Priority Level Senior Manager Contingency Planning 1st Line Manager Recruitment 2nd Employee Flexible working 3rd In the process of reviewing the company’s overall strategic plan, senior managers were requested to develop alternative strategies as a means to accommodate unexpected conditions or events, such as economic recessions or catastrophic events. I had also been asked to complete this for my own team and deemed this as a business critical request, therefore set about ensuring it was completed as a priority within the timeframe set. Secondly a line manager required assistance with the recruitment process, following a member of his team being promoted. As it had been agreed that the member of staff would continue in the role until a successor was found, this was not deemed as critical as the contingency planning however could be actioned in the background. For example, liaising with head office and submitting the approved job description onto online job boards and the company website. Whilst we were concentrating on coordinating the contingency planning, the recruitment programme could run in the background allowing us to obtain a number of CV’s for when we were ready to commence with review and selection for interview. Finally an employee whilst on maternity leave contacted the department wishing to gain further information on flexible working. Whilst this is very important and ultimately could have an effect on the business, the employee had a number of months before she was due to return therefore I made the decision that I could action this request within the HR team’s service level agreement of 48 hours when responding to requests. Within my role there are many forms of communication used, for example: verbal, written form and practical/presentation. The type of communication  used is dependent on the nature of the request or situation. I have associated at Appendix 2, where I have detailed the advantages and disadvantages of the three main methods of communication I use in my day to day role. When considering the above internal customer requests several communication methods were used, for example the contingency planning coordination was completed with a mixture of verbal and written, and finally practical when presenting the findings. I, alongside my colleagues, were present in group brainstorming sessions where ‘if, buts and maybes’ were thoroughly discussed and explored, our attendance allowed us to provide support and guidance as and when required. Written guidance notes had also been prepared by the Senior Manager and stated the requirements of the plan and how she wished for the teams to produce their findings. The advantages of using a variety of communication methods for this particular request catered for all manner of different learning styles enabling all participants to understand the brief and therefore contribute accordingly. However, it is not always necessary or appropriate for all communication methods to be used. When considering the third request above, it would be crucial for any information provided for the employee regarding flexible working to be communicated in written form, as verbally can easily be misunderstood and email too informal. I always follow up any telephone or face to face conversations such as this with a letter and refer the employee to the staff handbook for final confirmation. I believe it is my responsibility to ensure the information provided is accurate, relevant and delivered in a timely manner, and therefore should be followed up in writing to avoid any future issues. In my role as Customer Contact Team Manager I am responsible for the Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) with Porsche Cars Great Britain and ttl Automotive. The SLA’s are reviewed annually and are a key measurement indicator in demonstrating effective service delivery, producing service on time and  within the agreed budget. I meet with both companies on a quarterly basis to ensure we are complying with the agreed terms and to highlight any concerns. The complaints procedure underpins the process for the organisation, which is followed accordingly. Recently a customer made a complaint to Porsche Head Office as they had not received their invitation to the driving experience centre following the purchase of a new Porsche. I established very quickly that the invitation had not yet been sent due to the dealership incorrectly placing the vehicle order, which resulted in the invitation not being generated. I dealt with the customer personally and understandably he was very disappointed to have not received the level of service he had come to expect of the brand. I followed the organisations procedures for dealing with customer complaints, and am pleased I was able to resolve his query by working within the guidelines set and offering suitable compensation for the inconvenience he had experienced, he has since remained an advocate of the Porsche brand.

Targeted Advertisement

Targeted advertisement through data mining and privacy issue. Introduction A computer user sits in front of a screen and starts browsing their favourite website while their child similarly does the same. While this peaceful pastime activity is being enjoyed, however, they are unaware of the hidden pathways through which every detail about them is being disclosed. Because of these pathways, there are people that can get hold of the users’ names, phone numbers, IP addresses of the computers and their households.They have access to information about any users’ income, medical history, gender and age, not to mention what they searched on search-engines and which websites the users visited. They can even learn which online shopping purchases were performed by the users on any recent website. They, who know every detail of users, are not the Big Brothers of â€Å"1984† nor are they hackers; they are online advertisers who deliver advertisement on the Internet. The comp uter user is vulnerable to online advertising companies that value that specific personal data.The focus of this paper is to convince advertising companies that they should enforce regulation by providing an opt-out mechanism and practice permission based data mining in order to protect consumer’s privacy. Moreover, notifying and protecting users before distributing and taking advantage of their personal information is significant to company’s accountability and furthermore allow establishing a long term relationship with customers. I will explore the issue from consumer and also an advertiser’s perspective. As a design student who has been designed companies’ logos, it is significant to gain valuable insight from this topic.By gaining the necessary information in this issue, I can navigate the internet in a more safe and secure manner as a consumer. Background of Data Mining Online advertising is a growing industry that is based upon the traffic from onl ine views. â€Å"Fifty-six of the top hundred websites based on page views in February 2008 presented advertising† (Evan, 2009, p37). For every activity a consumer performs on the internet such as making a purchase, visiting a website or searching on search engines is collected (Charters, 2002).This information is processed and stored automatically through data mining practices and becomes a significant source of revenue for online advertisers without the granted permission or any notification to the customer. Data mining is an â€Å"overall process of preparing data, discovering patterns in data, and analyzing that data into useful knowledge† (Tavani, 1999, p137). According to Murphy, â€Å"the right to privacy involves the ability of individuals to decide for themselves, how much they are willing to share about their lives, thoughts, and feelings† (Murphy et al. , 2009).As personal and behavioural data are collected, stored and sold for more effective advertis ement, â€Å"loss of control† and â€Å"loss of identity† become issues (Drumwright et al. , 2009). Moreover, all the information we expect to be remained confidential, such as health insurance numbers and medical records, also become commodities for sale. Internet users have been paying for the â€Å"free† online services with their private and personal information (Goldfarb et al. , 2011). Effects of Data Mining Firstly, data mining is based on the Internet and affects the uninformed users by the loss of control over their personal information and right to privacy.Individuals are unaware that the data about them are collected and that they â€Å"have no say in how the information about them is used† (Tavani, 1999, p141). For example, search-engine providers summarize and store the entire search history categorically that â€Å"enables them to identify the individual IP address† (Evans, 2008, p55). While there is no warning to the consumers prior to collection and storage of their data, users are unaware of the fact that data mining is being conducted every time they click something on the websites.Although, Google has reduced the storing data period from two years to nine months (BBC News, 2008), the sale of data collection to online advertisers is still in progress. The transaction of information causes the loss of control over their right to privacy. Moreover, advertisers have an access to the â€Å"cookies†, which track the websites visited and every activity an individual does on the internet. Again, this becomes a privacy issue as advertising companies’ access this information without any granted permission. The privacy issue associates with the unawareness of this invisible phenomenon of data mining.Granting more control over their personal information to the users is critical. Thus, the usage of data mining without the consent of the user is an invasion of privacy. The user needs to have more authority over their information and prevent unwanted usage of their personal information. Secondly, data mining is more than just a personal and behavioural analysis. Every time the Internet client provides private information, such as medical records, all the information is being collected and saved (Buchholz & Rosenthal, 2002).The information we expect to remain confidential and anonymous becomes a source of profit to advertisers. There is a difference of scale between revealing one’s favourite color and revealing one’s social insurance number to the advertisers. For example, Google Gmail, which provides 7GB of free space, scans and records the content of emails while displaying targeted advertisements on the side that result from Google’s ability to examine the content of the emails (Evans, 2008). The vast amount of the provided space was not really â€Å"free† and users been paying it with their private information.Revealing personally identifiable data or pri vate information such as social insurance number through these services has potential risk of misuse. Consumers may concern more if they know â€Å"search engine provider is selling the data to another vendor that has figured out a way to associate the user’s IP with other personal information including name, address, and telephone number† (Evans, 2008, p57). Google’s company’s goal is to â€Å"organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful†(Google, 2011).Yet, our information also counts toward world’s information. We should be concerned if these companies with these types of mission statements can protect the users’ privacy; users should not be blindsided to the potential risks of misuse of our private information. Targeted Advertising and Consumer Relationships Regardless of the privacy concern associated with data mining and targeted advertisement, the reason why online advertising is still on the rise and is central to the e-commerce economy is because of its effectiveness on consumers (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2008). Detailed individual data can create more efficient advertisements, compared to traditional newspaper advertisements or old banners on the websites. For example, European Union practices privacy regulation on advertisers. The responses of â€Å"3. 3 million survey takers who had been randomly exposed to 9,596 online display banner advertising campaigns,† reveal that this government restriction reduces the effectiveness of advertising by 65% on average (Figure 1. ) in terms of changing stated purchasing intent (Goldfarb et al. , 2011), Therefore, regulation means a â€Å"trade-off between the benefits of consumer privacy and the benefits to consumers of a potentially broader, less obtrusive advertising-supported Internet† (Goldfarb et al. , 2011, p50). In addition, advertisers argue that â€Å"unauthorized secondary use of data† is f ound to be insignificant and consumers are used to this way of business in terms of traditional forms of advertising (Brown & Muchira, 2004).Although targeted advertising is an effective way to advertise to consumers, reflecting too much knowledge about consumers in their advertisements may offend the users (Evan, 2009). Often, the users may use internet to search or purchase what they do not wish to share or talk about with others. Online advertisements may do what is opposite of this wish. For instance, purchasing a self-help book online to treat depression does not mean you wish to sign up for an advertisement that shows lists of other books about depression.Moreover, since computers are shared online with other users, this purchase may be unintentionally revealed to the public. Advertisers should be advised of the precautions of data mining, which tracks every piece of information about consumers for effective and smart advertisement, could drive potential consumers away instead . Targeted advertisements are only effective if they respect the consumer’s privacy and use their information only when users are aware of the situation and give their permission. The foundation of strong relationships with consumers requires trust of both the website and usage of personal information.Lack of trust leads to privacy concerns and the users unaware what websites are legitimate. Resolving such privacy dilemma is, therefore, crucial to â€Å"creating stable and ultimately profitable customer relationships† (Brown & Muchira, 2004). The major factor that can weaken the relationship is â€Å"invasion† of the privacy (Attaran, 2000). It involves â€Å"contacting consumers who have not requested such contact and is often done repeatedly† (Brown & Muchira, 2004). Also, receiving unwanted junk mail and promotions from advertisers could irritate consumers (Korgaonkar & Wolin, 1999).The result of a survey that Brown and Muchira conducted indicates that consumers who have experienced online invasion of privacy are less likely to purchase products via the Internet. In other words, the ability to handle personal information is significant to advertisers to maintain a strong relationship with consumers. Advertisers should view the protecting privacy as an opportunity to establish long term relationships with consumers. Conclusion Government regulation is practiced in some European countries to resolve the privacy issues in online advertising.Nevertheless, government regulations that may be proposed to protect right to privacy, may end up violating â€Å"the principle of respect for individual† and create another invasion of privacy (Charters, 2002). Instead of government intervention to deal with privacy issue, online advertising companies should enforce regulation by providing opt-out mechanisms, and practice permission based data mining in order to protect consumer’s privacy. Advertising businesses need to store and s ell consumer’s private information with their permission of consent and a notification.Consumers may agree with giving their information about them if they can trust whom they are providing it to. That way, advertisers do not lose the opportunity to provide targeted advertisement to consumers, which is much more effective than providing non-targeted ones. Consumers also will benefit from receiving relevant advertisements against the cost of losing privacy. The balance between advertisers and consumers can be achieved through permission based practice. The computer user sits in front of a computer and starts browsing again.This time, the website asks for permission to collect the user’s information for online marketing and advertising business. The user has the ability to opt-out, and considers that this website is indeed secure. This website creates a transparency between by the Advertising contacts and the consumers. The user is informed, given options, and protected. Figure 1. 1 – Before and after the regulation by EU References Attaran, M. (2000), â€Å"Managing Legal Liability of the Net: a Ten Step Guide for IT Managers†, Information Management and Computer Security, 8(2)2.Brown, M. & Muchira, R. (2004). Investigating the Relationship between Internet Privacy Concerns and Online Purchase Behavior. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research 5(1),62- 71 Buchholz A. , and Rosenthal B. S. (2002), Internet Privacy: Individual Rights and the Common Good. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 67 (Winter), 34–40. Charters, D. (2002). Electronic Monitoring and Privacy Issues in Business-Marketing: The Ethics of the DoubleClick Experience. Journal of Business Ethics, 35 (February), 243– 254. Drumwright, E. M. , Murphy, P. E. , (2009).The current state of advertising ethics: industry and academic perspectives. Journal of Advertising. 38(1), 83-108 Evans, S. D. (2009). The Online Advertising Industry: Economics, Evolution, and Privac y. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(3), 37-60. Goldfarb, A. & Tucker C. E. (2011). Privacy regulation and online advertising. Management Science, 57(1). Korgaonkar, P & Wolin, L. (1999), â€Å"A Multivariate Analysis of Web Usage†, Journal of Advertising Research, 39(2), 53-70. Tavani, H. T. (1999) Informational privacy, data mining, and the Internet. Ethics and Information Technology. 1: 137–145.