Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Final - Essay Example 1. Describe the paths of water through the hydrologic cycle. Explain the processes and the energy gains and losses involved in the changes of water between its 3 states. Operationally, we often most concerned with water does when it reaches the solid earth, both on the surface and in the sub-surface. Explain the relationship between the saturated zone, the water table, a ground water well and the cone of depression, all within the sub-surface. The paths of water in the hydrologic cycle can be categorized and examined to assist the comprehension of the key processes in hydrology. According to Waite (2010) the determination of the quantity of water that makes way through these identified paths is dependent upon the conditions of the area under assessment and the seasonal variations. O’Callaghan (1996) defines the phenomenon in a series of stages and states that the initial path of water that is associated with the hydrologic cycle occurs upon the entrance of water into a river b asin as a consequence of precipitation which could take the form of rain, hail or snow (1) once, the water transitions from this path the point of interception is determined through the surface of land which could be vegetation or the soil surface (2) this phase of the hydrological cycle is followed by the movement of the water towards the plants or within the soil in addition to the possibility of evaporation which is succeeded by recondensation and precipitation (3). O’Callaghan (2006) comments that in a scenario where the movement of the water is directed towards the soil surface, the water essentially penetrates through the pores of the soil and once the infiltration capacity reaches its maximum, the remaining water covers its path by taking the form of small channels, accordingly, another scenario reflects the possibility of water amassing within the soil system (4) additionally, in case of the saturation of soil horizons water movement occurs as interflow and ultimately goes into rivers and streams. The aforementioned analysis primarily highlights the inflow of water through the hydrologic cycle however, it is important to understand the significance of key pathways which allow water outflow. These pathways include; the process of evaporation, the river network and the groundwater pathways (O’Callaghan, 1996). Any change in the 3 states of water is marked by distinct processes during which energy is either lost or gained. When ice acquires sufficient heat, the solid matter transforms into liquid through the release of heat energy. During this process, the bonds of heated atoms and molecules are broken. The phase change which transforms solid matter into liquid is called melting in which thermal energy is gained. Consequentially, the phase change of freezing is characterized by a loss of energy while, the process of vaporization is marked by the absorption of heat or gain in energy from the surrounding to allow the bonds between molecules an d atoms to break. The water zones within the subsurface in humid regions are categorized on the basis of their depth and contents of water and the lowest constituent of these three stratums is known as the zone of saturation (Petersen, Sack and

Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free

Assisted Suicide Essay Often labeled compassionate, according to the columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Joni Eareckson Tada, legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia is really a deadly double standard for those with severe disabilities, both conditions that are labeled terminal and those that are not. She seems to be of the opinion that euthanasia should never be considered an option no matter how severe or subjective suffering the person is facing. In the article, Tada claims that legalization of euthanasia, â€Å"sends a clear message that a person with a disability may not have a life worth living† (1). She touches on euthanasia in The Nethlands and Belguium . She stands for a powerful example of a person with this depilating condition, in this case quadriplegia, can accomplish in spite of her condition. However this is somewhat of a bias perspective because it implies that she has put a measure on the subjective pain this condition and similar to it entails. There should be certain conditions set in order to qualify for euthanasia so that it is an option for people who want it but we can also make a system to prevent people from misusing it. We were granted free will which includes the right to end our life when we chose. There does not need to be this all or nothing attitude towards assisted suicide and the disabled. Tada argues, â€Å"this ruling sends a clear message that a person with disability may not have a life worth living†(1). This law would bring nothing but a choice for the terminally ill. There are some disabilities that are incurable and cause tremendous suffering. They should not all fall under one umbrella. Andrew Btiva wrote in his article, Disability and physician-assisted suicide, â€Å"We do not believe that the right to assisted suicide is premised on a diminished quality of life for people with disabilities. It is based on respect for the autonomy of terminally ill individuals during their final days. It does not deny people with disabilities suicide prevention services, protection against murder, or protection from other abuses†(1). Tada is very bias in this article claiming that it would take away the disability will to live and go against their advocacy to have hope and live. When a person comes disabled and loses control in many ways, this in fact just gives them something that they can control. There are defiantly some factors that should qualify for a person requesting assisted suicide. They should be terminally ill with no hope of recovery and  in great physical pain. If it were legalized the disabled population would be majority of the prospect’s. I don’t believe that all disabled should qualify automatically as Tada argues in her article claiming that if legalized all disabled including children and obese would qualify for assisted suicide as an option. Tada states, â€Å"Society’s moral and unwritten law has always led us to save our children-and certainly not allow them to destroy themselves†(2). I do agree that children should ever be considered for assisted suicide unless they are in dire suffering with no hope of recovery. Tada argues, â€Å" a child lacks the mental, emotional and psychological maturity to make such a decision about death†(2). I completely agree with this but if you had your child suffering and in a vegetative state with no chance of recovery wouldn’t you want to put them out of their misery? We don’t let animals suffer so why let humans? My aunt had a very full life at 52 she found out that she had pancriaic cancer and after she went to the doctor twice she was informed that she had nothing more than IBS. I had advised her that she should get further checked out. And in June of 2010 she went to the doctor with horrible pain in her stomach and after many tests she was informed that she was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. At that point she was also told that she would not be able to get the surgery to remove it because it was at the lower end of the pancreas where it would be more difficult and could pass from the operation. She was told she could do Chemotherapy. After doing 6 month of intensive pain ridden sessions she realized that she didn’t want to do that any more. Even tho she did not want to end her life she did request that when she was no longer responsive in the hospital that she have the ability to be taken home for the rest of her time. It was only then that the doctors were very opposed to us taking her from the hospital. Not caring that it was her request that she not suffer the were not willing to let us take her home. Before her death she wanted to die at home with dignity. She didn’t want to be in the hospital. She truly believed that it would have been harder on the family to take care of her and she her like that she wanted to stay beautiful and not have her loved ones remember her as a â€Å"vegitable† laying in a hospital bed. This can be a really slippery slope. Who decides for the children or senile women? I truly The person requesting needs to  mentally stable and there needs to be safeguards against any family or doctors so as not to persuade the person in to euthanasia  projects in her article Let’s make a distinchin are qualifier. Terminal and suffering ,incurable, if theres a huge financial burden. Depression and mental

Occupational Therapy Reflective Essay

Occupational Therapy Reflective Essay â€Å"I’m an occupational therapist, an obscure profession if there ever was one. We are few and far between, maybe because we have chosen toserve people with disabilities. All disabilities. Not a glamorous endeavour, nor a lucrative one. And I say serve because we deem that in helping we see weakness, while in servingwe see wholeness. We’ve opted for wholeness nearly a century ago and have been at odds with the system ever since. We don’t fix people, you see: with them, we simply try to find a way tomeaning,balance, andjustice. I chose occupational therapy because it blendsscienceandhumanism,intellectual rigourandcompassion.† — Rachel Thibeault (fromOccupational Therapists without Borders)1 Occupational Therapy First Year Portfolio Task A year ago, I was in my final year at high school and studying for finals. Now, I am a first year Occupational Therapy (OT) student at the University of Witwatersrand who is getting ready for her end of year exams, scary stuff! But I can’t complain when I think back on how much I’ve learned this past year and how it has impacted me when I think about my future. At the core of it, this year has taught me that OT is not what I thought it was. Yes, I had an idea of what an OT does in terms of activities but I was not aware of what it would take to get to the same point as the OT’s who I had observed during my time job shadowing in my matric year. I’ve learned a lot during this first year and I now have a deeper understanding of the career path that I am pursuing- what it will demand from me, how it will influence the lives of others through me, the scope of OT and what I need to know to not only be good as an OT, but to be a great OT. It has me anxious about the mountainous path looming ahead and passionate to reach the finish line all at the same time. In talking about the mountains that I see rising ahead of me, I thought that I would reflect on the mountains that I have already crossed and how they impacted my grasp of OT and how it helped me to link the theory to the clinical uses. The first mountain was Problem Based Learning (PBL) which actually grounded me in order to prepare me for the much larger mountain: Fieldwork. One of the first lectures that we had was on PBL’s, problem based learning. And to say that I took the concept for granted and wrote PBL’s off as time-wasters would be correct. So when I realised just how helpful and beneficial PBL groups could be, I was all in. PBL’s have taught me the importance of working as a group, time-management, designation of tasks, following certain steps in order to reach a set goal and understanding different concepts from a first-look evaluation and then comparing this to theory or researched constructs.6 This form of methodology can be defined as a teaching and learning strategy where students learn about a subject through the experience of problem solving.6 During this process students learn about thinking strategies and gain knowledge and insight into the topic. PBL teaches us to think critically rather than to draw superficial conclusions. Our first problem in PBL prepared me for what OT is, the background into OT and the profess ional environments of an OT. PBL taught me that occupations are daily activities that reflect cultural values, provide structure to living, make appropriate use of an individual’s time and give meaning to their lives.8 Occupation could also be said to be ‘ordinary and familiar’,4 thus it is the nature of the occupation that gives it purpose and meaning. 4 Even Occupational Therapy was better explained to me once I had combined my new knowledge with that of our textbook: Occupational Therapy can be accomplished through the teaching, facilitation and maintenance of skills, the encouragement of engagement in â€Å"purposeful activity† 2 and in â€Å"occupation† 2 so that a person can reach his/her optimal level of function†. 3 OT is both an art and a science which uses occupation as both a means and an end in therapy, both in individual and group therapies, to enable people, families and communities in a wide range of settings. 7 This is a lot more in-depth and complicated than I ever suspected it could be. I think that I was under the impression that occupation meant ‘work’ like so many others believe. And even in knowing and understanding this, I still battle to explain it to people. I even have a friend who calls OT’s glorified housewives who love to garden! One thing that has become clear to me, studying our Problems in PBL, sitting through our Psychology and Sociology classes and studying OT this past year- OT is very holistic. Never is a patient defined by their symptoms and OT’s tend to study every aspect of a person’s life before drawing conclusions or beginning therapy. The word ‘holistic’ has come to mean many things to me this year, but none more than that a person’s characteristics areâ€Å"intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole†.9 Once I had gained the theoretical knowledge about OT, I was more than ready to start with the fieldwork part of the year. I was placed at Thambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg for four mornings over three weeks. The patient that I was assigned to was diagnosed with deep partial thickness burns with an amputated lower left arm from the elbow. But aside from my patient I was able to observe my Fourth Year with her other patients, was able to ask her questions and even assist in certain assessments, treatments and activities. This was a completely different experience to the one that I had had when I job shadowed at the same hospital a year before. As an outsider and someone who is not aware of what OT truly meant, I merely saw the assessment of different patients at a superficial level and only really understood the treatment as games or activities that would keep the patient busy so that they did not notice that they were making use of the injured or problem area. Thankfully I now unde rstand OT better and can see certain aspects of therapy and theory coming out in the actions of the OT’s and their patients. Being able to see therapy performed from this view and being able to interact and speak with other OT’s on a more professional level has helped to cement my plan to become an OT. During my time at the hospital I was lucky enough to observe most of the steps in the OT process. The OT process is defined in the Practise Framework as the collaboration of the OT and the patient through the steps of evaluation, intervention and outcomes in order to achieve health and participation in life through the engagement in occupation .5 The evaluation step consists of the occupational profile and the analysis of occupational performance which help the OT determine what the patient hopes to gain during therapy, what they need to accomplish, what the patient can do and what are the barriers or supports to their health and participation in therapy. In this, I was able to speak with and fill out forms for two separate patients and also assist in the assessment of a third patient. With the occupational profile, the patient is very much the centre and all the questions are focused around them so that the appropriate goals for the end of therapy can be set. Intervention has three parts to it: intervention plan, intervention implementation and intervention review. The plan is developed by both the OT and the patient to guide the therapy with the use of theory. Outcomes or goals are also decided upon during this stage. Implementation is the actions of the OT which will revolve around therapy as well as the support and encouragement needed to see an improved occupational performance.7 Implementation is direct towards the goals set and the OT is required to monitor and develop the patient at all times5 so that the activities are appropriate and can be adapted if they are not performing in the intended way. Finally, review is simply reflecting on the implementation and assessing the progress towards the set goals. Outcome is the determination of success at reaching the desired goals. The results of this step will be used in planning further therapy if it is needed. This step is one of the hardest to observe in my opinion and is also very subjective. A patient may feel that he is fine and does not need any more therapy while the OT may see him as dysfunctional. To be dysfunctional is not saying that there is something socially wrong with a person or that they are overtly damaged, this is something that I have come to learn this year. Dysfunction, defined within an OT’s perspective is â€Å"when a person cannot do or is at risk for not being able to partake in occupational participation and performance†.10 In terms of my assigned patient I was unfortunately able to witness the barriers between her and my Fourth Year who was her OT which resulted in her unwillingness to participate in therapy, added to that was her de-motivation and also the selection of an inappropriate activity during therapy. My patient was French speaking and thus the OT could not effectively fill out her necessary forms, could not adequately communicate with her and had to get this information from the patient’s husband. And so the patient, who the OT thought, enjoyed cooking and cleaning chose an activity of making milkshakes. Once I spoke to the patient (since I know some French) it became clear that she does not enjoy milkshakes and only cooked and cleaned because it was culturally expected of her as a wife. This brings into play the therapeutic relationship. The therapeutic alliance between the patient and the OT develops over time11 and requires the OT to be able to communicate in an effective way such that these details are made known. Because of what happened to my Fourth Year with her miscommunication with her patient, I now understand the importance of our Dictionary assignments- to be able to communicate with any patient, no matter how rudimentary it is. Also, the selection of activities is imperative, especially for patients who are de-motivated which often occurs with burns patients or amputees. The loss of a limb or partial limb is a huge thing to deal with both physically and emotionally and burns patients are often de-motivated due to the pain of movement. Choosing the correct activity during therapy of these patients can determine whether there will be any progress in that session or not and also whether the patient will continue to be de-motivated or could possibly start to find reasons/purposes to want the therapy to succeed. This can also be accomplished through the therapeutic use of self to be able to use yourself, as an OT professional, to read the situation and a dapt it, 11 whether it is during evaluation or during the intervention steps. Culture also needs to be considered when referring to patients. An OT need to take their patient’s culture into consideration and respect it. While culture may not define a person, it does indeed impact on their lives and ways of living. 12 Thus, my patient may only cook and clean because she is a wife but it is her responsibility in the home so she will need to rehabilitate to a point where she can continue with her tasks, but it may not be a good idea to use these tasks as activities since she sees them as work rather than leisure tasks. Overall, I would definitely say that this year has been a success. My knowledge of OT and the profession has increased and I am even more certain that I want to be doing this as a career. The importance of the OT process is further defined by role of an OT which is categorised through the use of self, the therapeutic relationship, proper communication and compounded with a firm foundation of knowledge and attained skills. To reiterate what Rachel Thibeault said, â€Å"we see wholeness We don’t fix people, you see: with them we simply try to find a way tomeaning,balance, andjustice.†1 Occupational Therapy is about the patient, it is not about us save for what we can do for others So the goal is to learn, make mistakes, learn from them, observe and experience as much as possible so that we can do everything possible to help them. From this end of the mountain range, I can only see the obstacles blocking the destination from my sight. And yet I am not feeling deterred. Rather, I am excited to see what the mountains will contain and what I can learn from them. The next mountain that I see is end of year exams So I think that I am going to do this one mountain at a time and never forget what I have learned and discovered on the way so that I am prepared for every challenge that approaches me. Works Cited 1 Gerber,AK. OT Without Borders. http://otwithoutborders.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/im-an-occupat/ (accessed 30 September 2014). 2 Hersch, G. I., Lamport, N. K., Coffey, M.S. Activity Analysis: Application to Occupation, 5th ed.: SLACK Incorporated; 2005 3 Thorner, S. The Essential Skills of an Occupational Therapist. British Journal of Occupational Therapy 1991; 6(64). 4 Curtin, M., Molineux, M., Supyk- Mellson, J. Occupational Therapy and Physical Dysfunction: Enabling Occupation, 6th ed.: Elsevier: Churchill Livingstone; 2010. 5 American Occupational Therapy Association. (2008). Occupational Therapy Practise Framework: Domain and Process (2nd Edition). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62, 625-683 6 Devan, D., Casteleijn, D.. Problem Based Learning 2014. Lecture presented at Khanya Building, Wits Education Campus; 2014. 7 Schell B., Gillen G. Scaffa M. .Willard and Spackmans Occupational Therapy. 12th ed. Baltimore MD. Lippincott, Williams Wilkins; 2013 8 Jay J. Occupation Activity. Lecture presented at Khanya Building, Wits Education Campus; 2014. 9 Oxforddictionaries.com. holistic: definition of holistic in Oxford dictionary (British World English) [Internet]. 2014 [cited 1 October 2014]. Available from: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/holistic 10 Smith R. Intro to Occupational Dysfunction. Lecture presented at Khanya Building, Wits Education Campus; 2014. 11 Devan D. Occupational Therapy Process: PBL Post Problem Tut. Lecture presented at Khanya Building, Wits Education Campus; 2014. 12 Smith R. Cultural Diversity. Lecture presented at Khanya Building, Wits Education Campus; 2014.

Threats :: essays research papers

Anthony, soaked in his own perspiration after a friendly soccer match, barged through his classroom door angrily, with his soccer ball within his arm. He sat down, disposing his gear- grassy socks with its stink, goalkeeper’s gloves – into an NTUC Fairprice plastic bag. The thirteen-year-old then lay back in his chair, deep in thoughts, unaware of the quietness of an empty classroom late in the afternoon. â€Å"Boy, what an idiot you are! If you do not turn up for the next soccer practice, I’ll replace you with that boy from 1C, that Weixiang!† – The sight of his soccer match, Mr. Anderson, yelling into his face kept flashing within Anthony’s mind. The pot-bellied English man had a reputation for deafening his students with his voice, not much difference from using a loud hailer. Anthony is proud of his position, as goalkeeper of the C’ Division soccer team of the school. Never could he imagine Weixiang, that scrawny egg-shaped spectacles-rimmed nerdy homo-sapien replacing that post due to missing a few soccer practices for the sake of competing at Counterstrike games with his long-timed rivals at the cybercafe nearby. It is a hard-earned achievement for Anthony Tan, previous top-scorer in his lowly unheard Primary School; he has intentions of converting from his library-dwelling old self, to the sporty, sociable stud of Bukit Timah Secondary School. The ‘stud’ packed his school bag. His eyes felt dry. â€Å"Darn. I have been wearing these contact lenses since six this morning,† he thought, rubbing his left eye with the back of his hand. All he wanted to do was to shoot his way home to remove the irritating focuses. Anthony swung the bag across his back in a fashionable manner – similar to those American kids on TV hanging out at their school lockers. He dribbled his favorite ball – most desired 13th birthday gift, indication of start to teenage-hood. Out of the dark classroom, along the dimly lit corridors, attempting to make his way out of the school compound while showing himself as a well-inspired fan of Paolo Maldini. Dribbling on, with pillars in place as his defenders. He stopped. Slowly, in a dramatic manner, our hero ascended his right leg to a certain level. Anthony gave the soccer ball a hard deserving kick. How he wished it was the head of his Mathematics teacher. Our friend then discovered – venging anger on non-living objects with the hint of cruel imagination does cure vengeance within the heart.

Consumer Purchase Decision Essay

There are many reasons that a consumer chooses a certain product. It may be that it is environmentally friendly, a great design or it might be as simple as the price of the product. As a business organization we must be able to conduct our research and decipher what is most important to our target market. The consumer buying decision process is a systematic way of looking at how a consumer makes the decision to purchase a product (any product) in a product category. In our restaurant we will determine what products they want and develop a successful strategy on how to market our products and services. As a customer in our restaurant we will have many choices available to them at a low cost. There are five steps in the consumer purchase decision that I’ll explain. Step one is need recognition which simply means that we identify what the potential customers need in our market. What kind of foods do they like and what kind of experience do they want when they go to a restaurant? Step two is searching for the product that the customer wants. We will have many avenues, such as print ads and our website, in which to market our product and inform the public of our food and services. The third step is product evaluation where the consumer gathers information on our products and services. We will have the best menu and service in our market to gain a larger market share in our area. The fourth step is product choice and purchase so it is vital that we successfully advertise and market our restaurant. We will have the best menu, greatest service and the most updated restaurant within a hundred mile radius. The fifth step is the post purchase and evaluation step where the consumer will decide whether our food and  service is worth a return visit. We will make a great impression on our customers through our delicious menu and excellent dining experience. A consumer’s buyer behaviour is influenced by four major factors: 1) Cultural, 2) Social, 3) Personal and 4) Psychological. Cultural factors include a consumer’s culture, subculture and social class. These factors are often  inherent in our values and decision processes. Our target customers are mostly young families and lower to upper middle class. Social factors include groups (reference groups and member groups), family, roles and status. This explains the outside influences of others on our purchase decisions either directly or indirectly. Personal factors include such variables as age and lifecycle stage, occupation, economic circumstances, lifestyle (activities, interests, opinions and demographics), personality and self concept. These may explain why our preferences often change as our `situation’ changes. Psychological factors affecting our purchase decision include motivation (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs), perception, learning, beliefs and attit udes. Other people often influence a consumer’s purchase decision. Word of mouth can be one of our biggest allies or our greatest threat in the marketing of our restaurant. We will make sure that every customer will enjoy their experience from the moment that they walk through our doors. They will be greeted when they enter and when they exit and our servers will be courteous and knowledgeable. We need to know which people are involved in the buying decision and what role each person plays, so that marketing strategies can also be aimed at these people. Understanding these behaviours as they pertain to our restaurant will help us gain a competitive advantage against all competitors in our area. Market segment is defined as the process of defining and subdividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics. Its objective is to design a marketing mix that precisely matches the expectations of customers in the targeted segment. We have effectively indentified our market segment as having fewer than ten thousand potential customers in our area with an additional five thousand from outside our area such as truck drivers and customers passing through. Our town has consistently been moving to a younger crowd (Generation X) so our fresh new look and our website should appeal to this younger generation. This market also values environmentally friendly products so we will utilize environmentally safe products in our restaurant. The majority of our market are family oriented so our family style menu and restaurant will be very appealing to our customers. We understand that the  customer has a process that they u se to determine where they want to dine. With our excellent customer service, great new menu and low prices we will gain their loyalty and get them back through our doors. Our customers are always number one and our customer service will be second to none. There are many options to dine in our area but we will set ourselves apart from the competition.

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]