Contemporary Middle East Discussion Questions (1 source each, approx Essay

Contemporary Middle East Discussion Questions (1 source each, approx 125 words) - Essay Example This is well seen in the case of Egypt and Persia in which case the effects of these forces continue to play. Many people were always skeptical to the idea of giving away their resources as a way of creating much interconnection with the state (Finkel, 2006). 2) The Wahhabi Muslim fundamentalists believed that Muslims should return to the very fundamental Islamic ways as outlined in the Quran and the Hadith. Much of their beliefs were informed by the teachings of medieval theologians like Taymiyyah. They believed in the Islamic doctrine of Tawhid in which the unity and uniqueness of God were greatly revered (Philby, 2004). More importantly, these Muslim fundamentals believed that philosophical interpretations of the Quran and the Hadith could mislead the people. As such they totally opposed such interpretations. On the other hand, Muslim modernists like Malkom Khan were pushing for the reconciliation of the Islamic faith with such modern values like democracy, nationalism, equality a nd progress. In this case, the critical evaluation of issues in the context of jurisprudence was greatly cherished. Indeed, these beliefs have considerable impact in the Middle East to this day. 3) The Osmanlilik reform movement was developed during the first constitutional era in the Ottoman Empire. ... In this regard, aspects of head tax, conscription, and military service were applied to everyone in equal measure. Citizenship of the empire was therefore a common affair irrespective of any orientation or affiliation. It should however be realized that Osmanlilik was greatly rejected by many Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Many of the adherents of Osmanlilik were lost during the first Balkan War and this led to its eventual failure. 4) The Young Turks Revolution of 1908 was driven by a group of likeminded Turkish nationalists, pluralists and a group of other secularists who totally blamed the Sultan for the harried state of the Empire at the time. The Sultan had suspended the parliament and this was restored effectively by the revolution. It was however realized that the process of replacing monarchic institutions with constitutional ones was not easy as had been initially presumed. The unity of the young Turks and the wide support they enjoyed across the land and beyond was indeed i nstrumental in their successful deposition of the Sultan in 1909. In a way, the Young Turks basically stood for change as opposed to the state of affairs realized at the time. Their goals were therefore different from those of the Osmanlilik (Ruggiero, 2003). 5) The general area of the Middle East greatly attracted much of Europe leading to the European domination of the region and the subsequent influence. Politically, the United Kingdom began this influence by taking over the government of Cyprus which was a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. This was basically as a result of the Cyprus Convention. In this regard, the British greatly influenced the political, social and economic life of this region. In the same way as Syria became part of the French protectorate, it was

Dyadic partner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dyadic partner - Essay Example When he is confused, he would also tug at his hair. He wears bright colored shirts like red, blue or green, when he is happy. But when he is excited about something and wants to share it with others, he sits upright and looks at other person’s eye. The body language of my partner is therefore vital means of communicating his mood. Whenever he comes in bright tee-shirt, I am much relaxed because I know that when he is happy, he works better with higher productive outcome! When I see him sitting upright on his chair, I know that he has some good news. But my worries are heightened when I see him tugging at his hair or find him looking away rather than talking to me. As I know that these behavior indicate his discomfort with the issue or his doubts which he is wary of sharing. At these times, I pick up the topic or issue that he is passionate about. When he gets involved and comfortable, I broach the subject of which he is wary about. This way, I am able to know his problem and resolve it so that he can focus on his

The Power of Habit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Power of Habit - Essay Example Anything less than perfect is horrible and I can not bear the feeling of being so incompetent for not being able to meet my standards. Committing a mistake is not an option for me. Aiming for perfection is not a bad thing but making a mistake is not the worse either. Perfectionism and Me Setting higher standards is one of the most common things for perfectionists like me. Those who value perfectionism think that having high standards is a good thing. Excellence means strength and failure is something unacceptable. Most of the common thinkings of perfectionism include the "black & white" or sometimes called as "all or nothing" thinking in which "almost" perfect is considered a failure (Scott, "Perfectionist Traits"). There is no space for mistakes ad whenever standards are not met, more often, people like me end up with self pity and will stress ourselves for being weak and stupid. Another kind of thinking perfectionists exhibit is catastrophe thinking which means mistakes create humi liation and disappointment from other people ("How to Overcome Perfectionism, 2). Also known to be common to perfectionism is the "should" statements. For them, everything is a responsibility and must be done respectively. I cannot remember well when exactly did I become a perfectionist. I can only remember that I always strive to be on top and the best among the rest. Striving hard does not necessarily mean only in academic standing. Instead, being perfectionist includes my daily routine and my long term goals. Being a perfectionist, I cannot help but plan my day and my meal. I cannot bear to waste time wondering what to do or what to eat. Thus everyday, I prepare a "to do" list for me to ensure things I should do will be done the way I want it to be. I am not ashamed of being a perfectionist. What makes me hate this part of being me is the fact that I always end up too disappointed whenever I fail to do something in my list and this seem to amuse my family and friends. My family a nd friends always tell me that I overanalyze everything that I forgot to enjoy my life anymore. I hate it when my friends can just make fun and laugh about the some things they messed up while I can't. Making a mistake me feel so stupid and I can't help but blame myself even when replying to emails and text messages. It's harder to stop at this point because I've already got used to it. But my family and friends always encourage me to be light, take things slow and enjoy every moment. As they say, life will never be perfect and being imperfect is what makes us human. Mistakes make a person stronger and better. The Power of Habit and The Habit Loop According to Duhigg (2012), individuals and habits are all different. If we are looking for the correct formula to change habits, then we will never get it because it does not exist. In Duhigg's book entitled The Power of Habit (2012), he identified the habit loop and the framework to identify our habit as well as the formula that out brai n follows why we have habits. The habit loop is constituted by a routine, reward and cue. People can only understand their habit once they know the components of this habit. Routine is the behavior a person want to change. Being a perfectionist by going through planning everything, reviewing and analyzing again and again to avoid mistakes is the routine I want to try to get rid of. Rewards as identified by Duhigg (2012) is the satisfying cravings driving a

Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 9

Finance - Essay Example Unlike security bonds that have fixed flow of cash, stock is an equity security that guarantees individual shareholders a proportionate ownership in a business. Some of the corporate values that shareholder gets including right to vote and periodic payments from the investment returns called dividends (Ferraro 2009, pg. 10). Like financial assets, the value of the invested stock will be the discounted value of prospective cash flow in the future. Stock fundamental value is reflective of any dividends and the sale price of the stock in the future (Arnold 2007 p.225). One of the cornerstone elements of stock valuation is the Price-to-Earn-Ratio (P/E) it links stock prices changes to the valuation of stock. In the financial market, P/E dictates the prices of stock and the subsequent effect on overall organization stock value. Besides, this ratio shows how long wills a particular stock take to pay back the investor capital if there is stagnation of the business. For instance, a stock trading at $20 with a return of $2 per individual share has a P/E of 10. Essentially, this means that an investor will get the capital invested back (Arnold 2007, p.225). Arnold (2007 p.225) notes that the stock pricing is a cornerstone in valuation of stock. Entrepreneurs values the stock in terms of their ability to return the money invested. Besides, an important financial ratio is Dividend Yield (DY), this identifies return from the investment. The higher the DY, the higher the value of the stock in the market. The critical determinants of DY are purchasing prices and selling prices of a particular stock. Inconsistent and lower dividends reflect low valued stock and thus, poor stock prices in the stock markets. Valuing a stock uses numerous market indexes such as Nasdaq and OTC methods. In each of them, the fundamental value of stock rests on the existing market prices and future prospects.

Crime and Punishment Essay Example for Free

Crime and Punishment Essay The themes of sacrifices and egoism are usual in his works. He believes that egoism became that reason that destroyed earlier civilizations and made a threat to contemporary societies. Despite the fact that he saw nothing wrong in the wish to self-perfection, he blamed those, who tried to oppose their â€Å"I† to the rest of the world and considered only their own needs and desires. Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Crime and Punishment is severely punished for his extreme egoism and daring to take the decision about human lives. For example in The Brothers Karamazov Zosima worries about moral responsibility for all actions, committed by the person. Ivan doubts his views and states that responsibility is nothing but abstract notion and without God it becomes impossible to talk about any limits to the behavior of an individual. In the poem Ivan declaims to his brother in the cafe he expresses his view on the free will. The Inquisitor blames Jesus for giving people free will, which has become a hard burden and the reason of misery. The feeling of guilt becomes Ivan’s price for an attempt to express his free will. Dostoevsky does not agree or disagree with any opinion discussed but he constructs the plot of the story in such a way that the readers get an opportunity to get the proofs of ideas, expressed by Zosima. (Dostoevsky) The characters of Dostoesky are haunted by their past. In many his stories people cross the limit and take excessive responsibility to make the decision for other people and get severe punishment for it. In contrast to Borges, whose characters exist in present, and to Tolstoy, who regarded human history as a reason for all the events, which happen to us, Dostoevsky made the past the reason of suffering and misery. His characters are haunted by the ghosts from the past and can not find their place in present. For Dostoevsky the conflicts between free will and determination, and between egoism and responsibility become driving force and a source for creativity. All three authors use literature not only as means to bring their messages for the readers, but also as a way to resolve their inner conflicts. Art is always a personal experience for both – creator and those, who perceive it, and Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Borges make their art serve one ultimate purpose a quest for the meaning of life. Sources Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). Crime and Punishment. Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). The Brothers Karamazov. , Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Fyodor translation by Pevear, Richard and Volokhonsky, Larissa (1990). The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Tolstoy, Leo (1969). War and Peace , transl. Rosemary Edmonds, Penguin. Borges, Jorge Luis (1998). Collected Fictions(translated by Andrew Hurley), Viking Penguin

The Sodor Oil Terminal

The Sodor Oil Terminal Introduction The Sodor Oil Terminal project was undertaken by a team of students as a case study in project management. The purpose of the exercise was to organize and plan the project as part of a project team, and deal with events arising during the project life, utilizing techniques and tools learned during the study of project management. Management of the Project Team Team Selection The team selection for the project was left to individuals, who had to form themselves into teams based on personal choice and internal acceptance. In an educational setting random group selection is very common but not realistic as it does not consider the diversity of skills among the students (Blowers 2003). In terms of skill sets the team forming in this project was random in that there was no comparison before a team was selected, merely a choice of friends or acquaintances. This would seem to be negative and, as Blowers (2003) pointed out, totally unrealistic in the business world, where teams of high skill-set individuals would be chosen to give a project the highest possible chance of success. However, the team selection was not as random as it first seemed, as four members of the team had worked together before, and although it was not acknowledged formally, were aware of each individuals skills and working methods. This proved to be a positive feature in the project development. There were an additional two members of the group who were known only to one of the core four, and this also proved to be significant during the course of the project. Team Development Tabaka (2006) paraphrasing Tuckman and Jensen (1977) stated that in the forming stage the team members must acquaint themselves with each other and judge their own and others role in the team. This stage was already accomplished in the team which formed for the Sodor project. Four out of six members had already worked with each other in previous projects and knew each others capabilities. The two extra members were unknown, did not turn up initially, and showed no enthusiasm for participating in the project tasks. They were therefore largely ignored in terms of expectations of the other team members. The second stage according to Tuckman and Jensen is storming where team members try to exert power over one another, and jockey for position within the group. This stage was also already completed within the core team at the start of the project, and the team had already surpassed Tuckman and Jensens norming stage, with the trust having been built up in previous team encounters, and the ability to work together successfully having already been achieved. The team was therefore ready for Tuckman and Jensenss performing stage. Unfortunately the two outsiders to the team never achieved a real measure of trust within the team, so they remained outsiders for the rest of the project, but were allowed to contribute in a small way whenever they expressed a desire. Team Project Management In the initial stages of the Sodor project tasks, most of the project team was missing for the meetings. This would seem to be a very unfortunate and negative feature for the progression of the project. Ericksen and Dyer (2004) maintained that most of the successful project teams they had studied had had a very decisive launch, with solid project management, direction and clarification right at the beginning, as opposed to the teams who had procrastinated and lacked direction. As there was no-one else to take the position, the one team member present in the initial stages of the Sodor project took on the responsibility of project manager, at least for that stage of the project. The team member had to act alone at the start of the project and was able to be decisive and act with direction precisely because there was no-one else to interfere, and no negotiations to be performed, and the project was able to progress. As the team was already normed it was able to move into the performing stage. The reaction of the other team members was approval that the team member had shown the responsibility to take on the task. There was also an underlying understanding that the other team members would accept future responsibilities. This understanding was formulated into an informal contract of work within the team, more out of conformance to the project guidelines than from the need within the team. Throughout the course of the rest of the project the other team members fulfilled their roles as had been agreed in the contract of works. It was decided that the areas of relevance within the project would each have an individual largely responsible for that particular area. The areas of relevance chosen were planning, costing, procurements, and configuration or change management. The four core members of the group accepted responsibility for an area each with little consultation between members, with the two outside members agreeing to assist whenever needed. This seemingly discrete allocation of tasks would have been a negative feature in some teams but was suitable for the character of the team members, all being highly motivated and goal oriented individuals, but also having a high level of trust in their other team members to deliver. There was an element of informal skills measurement in the allocation of the tasks, done on a purely experiential basis rather than empirical evi dence. Tenenberg (2008) questioned whether people who are highly individual can be encouraged into more collaborative behaviour in order to make teamwork more effective. He quoted Cain et al. (1996) and stated that software development should be regarded as essentially social and that the social side of the activity needs to be addressed the same principle could be applied to any projects which are team-based. Tenenberg (2008) stated that teams have in common a set of collective action problems which require teamwork to be solved. One of those problems mentioned is that of dealing with people who do not contribute to the teams efforts. The Sodor project team did not address this problem at all, largely because the team worked as co-operative individuals rather than a team, and those who did not co-operate were simply ignored and their potential workload absorbed by the co-operating members. Akgun et al. (2007) also postulated team processes as a way to improve the chances of a projects success, and put forward the idea of group potency a belief held by team members that they can be effective. Although the Sodor team worked largely as individuals there was a genuine trust among the main members and a genuine belief in the potency factor which may have been mistaken. Summary The team did not behave as a traditional team with a high level of interaction and decision making but rather as a set of co-operating individuals. It did, however, go through the traditional Tuckman and Jensen (1977) stages of development, albeit before the Sodor project began, and also displayed some of the characteristics of a team as defined by Katzenbach and Smith (1993) complementary team members with common goals and approaches who were willing to be held accountable to the other team members. Evaluation of the Project General frameworks of project management can be found from many sources. Gannon (1994) suggested that project management should consist of six functions planning, organizing, executing, monitoring, reporting and controlling. Prodomos and Macaulay (1996) proposed four main activities planning, monitoring, co-ordinating, and reviewing. The Sodor project will be evaluated using the categories of planning, and monitoring and control. The Gantt charts and cost schedules from this section can be found in the Appendix attached. Planning the Project Prodomos and Macaulay (1996) cited Jordan and Machesky (1990) and proposed that the planning stage was the foundation for the other project activities. Dvir et al. (2003) reported that a belief amongst project management professionals (supported by the Project Management Institutes Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge hereinafter referred to as the PMBOK) is that planning is an essential activity which cannot guarantee success, but without which a project will most certainly fail. This belief was reflected in the Sodor case study where half of the activities were on planning the project. Activity Planning Initially, the Sodor project was presented as a textual case study, providing information to construct a work breakdown structure. Andersen (1996) argued that in a real situation activity planning cannot be completed when it is most useful, i.e. at the start of the project, because all of the activities cannot be known then. The Sodor projects activities were identified and provided, so a work breakdown structure could be constructed by the project leader. Other categorizations of the work and different breakdowns were possible but the project team was happy with the project managers decisions. Project Planning Hughes (1995) suggested a Step Wise guide for software projects with details of the stages a project planning team must complete to achieve an effective project plan. PRINCE2 a methodology advocated and required by the UK government also prescribes stages of project development including planning, which reflects the PMBOK areas of Scope, Time and Cost Management. (Siegelaub 2004). Scope management was outside the brief of the Sodor project team as it was provided in the project information. Clear objectives and methods were also provided and no feasibility study was necessary. Therefore the first main planning activity of the Sodor team was in time and cost management to produce a Gantt chart and estimated costs schedule based on the work breakdown structure and provided task precedences to calculate an estimated project end date and project cost. The next stage in planning was to choose vendors.The vendor selection process was carried out by one member of the team acting as project manager. This was where the rest of the team should have had more input, as two important issues in project management would arise which had implications later risk management and quality management. Risk Management The PMBOK devotes a whole knowledge area to risk management and PRINCE2 identifies risk as one of its components. The PMBOK suggests four phases of risk management identification, quantification, response and ultimately control. The Sodor project was totally dependent on third party vendors for both the supply of materials and construction. The biggest identifiable risk for the project would be the failure of a supplier or contractor to deliver on time. This would be particularly relevant to the tasks within the project which were on the critical path in the original estimated plan. Therefore the vendor selection for these tasks should have been carefully considered. Risk is usually quantified as a function of the risks occurrence probability and occurrence impact. (Williams 1996). The probability is a difficult judgement to make but the team was supplied with ratings which were based on how reliable the vendor was. The impact was the penalty cost for late project delivery. The contractors for the two critical tasks of jetty design and construction, and the installation of piping equipment were only rated 2. This proved to cause problems later. Methods of risk management include trying to reduce the risk (Gannon 1994). Of course, reducing the risk by choosing higher rated vendors would have had a cost and would have to have been judged to be cost effective. This was partly taken into account in the vendor selection policy, but should have warranted more attention from the project team. Another way of dealing with the risk in a real situation would have been to deflect it (Gannon 1994) by transferring it to the vendors. Penalty clauses could have been inserted into their contracts for overrunning the quoted task durations. The Sodor project team were not able to do this, so reduction of the risk was the only option available. Quality Management The PMBOK also devotes a whole knowledge area to quality management, so it is obviously an important area for project managers to consider. In the Sodor project the quality of the vendors was the greatest area for consideration. The only indicator of this was the rating provided, which was used in the vendor selection. In a real world situation vendors could have been required to conform to International Organization for Standardization quality standards such as ISO 9001:2008 dealing with Quality Management Systems Requirements, but this was not an option for the project team. After the completion of the planning phase with vendor selection, a final baseline plan and costings were produced. In order to adjust the project end date to conform to the required schedule it was decided to pay overtime to the painting contractor. At this point cash flow should also have been considered by delaying the times for the purchase of materials until necessary but it was not, a potentially huge mistake in the commercial world. Monitoring and Control Gannon (1994) stated that project performance can be measured by the comparison of actual progress to the original planned progress at any stage in the project. The slippages in the Sodor project at 25 weeks were entered into the project Gantt chart and it was found that as a result of slippage in critical path activities the project would overrun by 4 weeks compared to the baseline, and penalties would apply. The project team had 3 choices accept the penalties, reduce the length of an activity on the critical path by paying overtime (known as the time-cost tradeoff problem, (Liberatore and Pollack-Johnson 2006)), or reconsider the precedence requirements (Liberatore and Pollack-Johnson 2006). It was found that paying overtime to the painting contractor to reduce the project duration by 4 weeks was less than the potential penalties and less complicated than reconsidering the precedence requirements. Further problems at the 25 April 2001 stage were caused by the vendor selection for the jetty erection. For the same reasons as above it was decided to pay for overtime on the jetty erection thereby reducing the critical path back in line with the required completion date. By the project closeout it was found that as a result of a reduction in a critical path activity the project completed 2 weeks early and earned bonuses. Summary The project was a success if the criteria was to complete the project in time. But more careful selection of vendors could have also cut the costs of the project the choice of the pipe installation vendor in particular could have produced substantial bonuses. The complete exclusion of any consideration for cash flow was also a major mistake. In the real commercial world, projects can fail because of cash flow problems, so this should have been recognized. Conclusion The Sodor Oil Terminal project was a success in terms of completion of the project within the required time. Pinto and Slevin (1988) measure success simply by achieving the projects time and costs schedule, accompanied by an adequate performance. This approach, however, ignores the factors of commercial success in the marketplace, and how the future of the organization as a whole has been affected by the project, factors recognized by Shenhar et al. (1997). The Sodor project could have been completed within a smaller budget, with greater commercial success and larger profits for future investment in the organization if greater attention had been paid in the areas of vendor selection in terms of risk management. The financial pressure of the large project on the organization could have been offset by greater attention to costings in terms of cash flow optimization. These negative conclusions can be directly attributed to the project teams lack of real teamwork in not questioning each others actions enough or discussing relevant issues.

Electric Commuter Train Or Commuter Rail Tourism Essay

Electric Commuter Train Or Commuter Rail Tourism Essay Electric commuter train or commuter rail is a passenger rail transport service between a city center and commuter towns that draw large numbers of people who travel on a daily basis. Commuter trains are usually optimized for maximum passenger volume, in most cases without sacrificing too much comfort and luggage space, though they seldom have all the amenities of long-distance trains. This service provided by the government in order to give more convenience towards people for urban and rural areas to move (White, 2002). The service is able to meets the requirement and desire through the perception of Malaysian citizen towards the service quality of commuter train by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). The service quality in the commuter train can be measured by SERVQUAL dimension which is focuses in term of tangibles, reliability and responsiveness (Parasuraman et. al., 1985). According to Wiki, SERVQUAL was originally measured on 10 aspects of  service quality: reliability, respo nsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding the  customer  and tangibles. It measures the gap between customer expectations and experience. The service quality of the commuter train becomes important issue in order to have better and comfortable environment. The service quality of the public transport in that area seems unsatisfied and average level, which are physical facilities in term of cleanliness and comfortableness, punctuality, frequencies and responsiveness of the driver and conductor of the public transports. Is it the services quality of the commuter train is really implemented well in this country whether in urban or rural areas? This is because more allocation provided to reconstruct the quality of public transport. Therefore these researches try to investigate the perception of the Malaysian citizen towards the service qualities of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). Background of the study In Malaysia, KTM commuter is the one of the electrified commuter train service that operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). It was first introduced in 1995 to cater people especially in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding suburban areas and it is a popular mode of transport for people who are working in Kuala Lumpur as they can travel to the city without being caught in traffic congestion. KTM commuter is currently the most profitable passenger service offered by KTMB, contributing RM84.63 million to group revenue in 2006, higher than KTM Intercitys profit of RM70.94 million in the same year (Nathan and Darshini, 2007). KTM commuter has attracted a significant number of passengers in the transportation market. According to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia 2008 Statistics; the annual ridership for KTM commuter was 36,557 millions of passengers (MOT, 2008). This study is important for KTMB generally and KTM commuter specifically to improve their services especially trains services. Having the information gathered from this study, they can look for effective ways in overcoming these problems and be more competitive in their services since the respondents for this study are KTM commuter customers themselves. From the findings of this study, the management can be made aware of the problems that they are facing everyday and the come up with proactive actions to provide better services to the customers. In return, the customers will enjoy a better quality of services in the future. Research objectives The objectives of the study are: To assess the service quality perceived by passengers of Malaysian citizen who ride the KTM commuter To examine factors influencing the good services provided by KTM commuter. Problem statement The current issues and problems regards in the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) public transports is the time arrival and time travel delaying. Many customers or passengers when went and used that service they was not satisfied with the service quality provided by this KTM B after used the KTM commuter service in term of punctuality and frequencies of train arrive. This issue showed even the public transportation is modernized and in the urban areas but service quality is still lacking and not well implemented. This will lead to negative perception and not satisfy the consumer using the public transports (Karen Thompson, Peter Schofield 2002). The problem of time arrival delaying was related with the other problem which is the space in the KTM commuter. This is because insufficient space to carry more passengers and others whereby the congestion occurred. Nowadays people out there mostly using a public transport like commuter as their transport so, the chance of increase passenger s are higher than before. So when the space of KTM commuter limited and crowded it will become worse to passengers to use and went it. Significant of the study Today the need for an efficient and effective public transportation service like KTM commuter is becoming more importance in order to overcome these problems especially in the Klang Valley. Besides that, many transportation companies are competing with each other to attract as many customers and gain more profit. It is imperative that KTM commuter needs to become more progressive and aggressive to compete with the competitors because nowadays, customers are becoming more demanding with the quality of the service. The want value for money that is they expect the service quality that they received from the service providers equals or exceeds what they had paid for (Mitra Lagerstrom, 2002). Reliability is focusing on frequencies and punctuality of the public transport arrives on time and able to meet the perception expectation of the user. Reliability means the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately (Parasuraman, et. al., 1988). The measuring arrival of the pu blic transport at the destination on time is of limited usefulness and will give positive impact towards the public expectation and perceptions. The punctuality measured in term of time arrival and departure is important elements in reliability service quality of dimension. Theoretical framework Speed Punctuality Service quality Space Frequency Safety Reliability Train operationDEPENDENT VARIABLES Comfort INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Research hypothesis There are three hypothesis developed in this study: Hypothesis 1 : There is a significant difference between dimension of tangible and service quality of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Hypothesis 2 : There is a significant difference between dimension of reliability and service quality of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Hypothesis 3 : There is a significant difference between dimension of responsiveness and service quality of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) Task 2 (LOC 3 : AC 3) Introduction Literature review is a documentation of a comprehensive review of the published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the researcher. Past research on the phenomenon under investigation must play key role in the process of problem formulation. Literature review Customer satisfaction According to our team survey , most of the people satisfied with KTMB services meanwhile there are some services that KTMB are not doing well in their job customer satisfaction are important because customer are judging by services based on pricing that KTMB create. KTMB also have to improve their services based on doing a survey, give a recommendation to customer itself, on other hand the customer also have to give their opinion on what there want or like. Customer loyalty Customer loyalty always follows satisfaction, which is determined from the service quality offered by the KTMB. It is also one of the most frequently used indicators to measure the success of a marketing strategy. Research methodology Introduction The word methodology is the method that any researcher used with appropriate steps, method, technique and tools together with the approaches taken in the research process. Data collection Primary data Primary data is used for this research and the data is obtained using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire comprised of two sections. The first section is designed to capture the respondents demographic. The questions asked in this section are related to the respondents gender, nationality, ethnicity, age, marital status, and occupation. The second section is designed to measure the customers perceptions towards various dimensions of services performance in KTM commuter service. The questionnaires are distributed among customers on board the train and those waiting for trains in the stations between 8 October to 10 October 2010. The sample for this study consists of 50 respondent in Batang Benar station. Secondary data According Kotler and Armstrong, secondary data can be defined as information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose. It may be available from internal sources, or may have been collected and published by another organization. Secondary data usually can be obtained more quickly and at lower price than primary data as researchers can gain the needed data in form of government reports and statistics, company reports and accounts, articles or journals in internet and reports in newspapers. Besides, the data that has been collected can be used to get a new perspective on the current study, to compare the work from previous findings or to use as a reference for future study. The table below shows the secondary sources that will be used in carrying out the research. Sources Explanation Books Literary work by professionals that relates to the food and beverage industry, guides on conducting research projects, as well as information on data of previously conducted research. Internet The internet offers unlimited sources of information that caters to all topic areas. Journals Journals are a good source of secondary data, as they may contain vital information of a certain period of time. Past Research Data from previous research can be used to compare the statistics and other information Task 3 (LOC 3 : AC 4 and LOC 4 : AC 1 and AC 2) Here are more ideas as to how to solve the problem on transportation. This research can understand for simplicity why KTMB designate their routes Seremban-Rawang and Sentul-Port Klang. But being so rigid about it can lead to adverse effects. Most people who take the KTM commuter are doing it to get in and out of the city (e.g. Subang Jaya-Sentral). Or users who just want to travel down the line (e.g. Seremban-Kajang). Although there must be people who use it to cross the Klang Valley (e.g. Seremban-Rawang), they are not in the majority. The way the service routes are designed, it seems silly why these trains have to make one full journey back and forth each branch for every run. Actual fact, delays at one part of the system can lead to other trains being delayed elsewhere, further down the line. For example, a Rawang-Seremban service might be delayed simply because somewhere in Kajang, there is a delay. In other words, researcher suggesting that the operations of these services should be made somewhat a bit more independent to each other. KTMB should consider introducing a variety of routes. Other than that, at not so busy hours, they should maintain their current service routes, as usual. But at peak hours: Seremban-Tasik Selatan Passengers take the Sri Petaling LRT or KLIA Transit to continue their journeys. Rawang-Bank Negara Passengers take the Sri Petaling and Ampang LRT to continue their southward journeys. Reduce service on the Sentul KTM branch passengers can hope off at Bank Negara to continue on the Sri Petaling and Ampang LRT. Introduce express services that bypass not-so busy stations. Introduce services that start and terminate at busy stations like Subang Jaya, Serdang etc. Construct a Komuter station at Abdullah Hukum to allow westerly passengers to bypass Sentral (and finally putting Abdullah Hukum to good use). Continue serving the usual full Rawang-Seremban and Sentul-Port Klang routes but at low frequencies. With the savings of rolling stock, couple those together to serve busy routes. The delays experienced by KTM commuter users seem to be with regards to clashing intercity and freight trains, and usually this is most severe in KL, from the Jalan Bangsar Junction to Jalan Kuching. Naturally the most sensible thing would be to schedule all trains, and make sure they follow their schedules. But they dont, for reasons sometimes beyond KTMs control. There is the issue of different grades of service on different lines. KLIA Transit, being the most posh, followed by the LRTs and Monorail and the KTM commuter at the bottom. And with this, also have different fares for similar journeys. For example, for the journey Bandar Tasik Selatan to KL Sentral Komuter RM1.00 KLIA Transit RM4.20 Sentul to Bandaraya/Bank Negara (although Sentul KTM and LRT are at different places) Komuter RM1.00 LRT RM1.40 It is also inevitable that KTM has to Improve on its scheduling and also further computerization with traffic control. Increase in capacity by acquiring more rolling stock to articulate the current trains and to have more train sets in service. Improve its station quality as well as integration with other rail lines. C:UsersANNA HBCRDesktopKlktm.gif Finding To find effectiveness of KTMB as a public transportation KTMB was an effective way to travel as a public transportation. KTMB was the respondents choice as a public transportation to travel around Rawang-Seremban, Sentul-Port Klang. Alternative public transportation that the respondents choose was bus. To identify the areas covered by KTMB KTMB covers the area that the respondents were going therefore it showed that the respondent were happy and satisfied with the areas covered by KTMB. The areas that had been covered by KTMB was close to the respondent workplace and to Mid Valley which one of a top spot for tourist and people to shop and hang out. To compare the fare of KTMB with other public transportation The researcher found out that the respondent were satisfied with the ticket price of KTMB compared with the price of other public transportation. The factor that many respondents were satisfied was the fare price is cheaper than taking other public transportation. KTMB was close to the place that many respondents were going therefore KTMB was the majority respondents choice of transportation. To analyze the frequency of travelers using KTMB transportation The researcher found out that the travelling frequency for KTMB was adequate for respondents as many of the respondents used this service to travel around Rawang-Seremban, Sentul-Port Klang. Important factor would be that the respondents used this service because their workplace is situated in KL Central, Mid Valley and etc also to avoid traffic jams. Gantt Chart for Research Project Proposal Activity Start Date Duration (days) End Date Proposal 14/9/2011 3 17/9/2011 Survey Methodology 14/9/2011 1 15/9/2011 Literature Review: 18/9/2011 12 10/9/2011 Authors 18/9/2011 7 25/9/2011 Government Publications 27/9/2011 7 4/10/2011 Questionnaire Preparation 5/10/2011 1 6/10/2011 Interview and Survey 6/10/2011 2 8/10/2011 Tally and Analyze Survey Questionnaire 8/10/2011 1 9/10/2011 End Discussion and Conclusion 9/10/2011 1 10/10/2011 14/9/2011 8/10/2011 25/10/2011 6/10/2011 Proposal Survey Methodology Literature Review: Authors Government Publications Questionnaire Preparation Interview and Survey Tally and Analyze Survey à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ End Discussion and Conclusion Start Date Duration (days) Task 4 (LOC 4 : AC 3) Conclusion and recommendation Findings of this study have important practical to management of quality of the Malaysian rail services. This study demonstrates the usefulness as a measure of service quality. The measurement scale also serves to identify symptoms and the underlying problems that inhibit the effective provision of quality services in rail transport. Once the attributes of rail services from the customers perspective are more clearly known and understood, its service providers will be in a better position to anticipate consumer requirements rather than to react to consumer dissatisfaction. The attributes of reliability and tangibles have been identified by respondents to be the most important dimensions of service quality. These two dimensions were also found to have the highest gap (perception minus expectation), implying that customers expectation of reliability and tangibles dimensions of the railway services are not met by KTMB. Although these findings cannot be generalized to the overall passenger profile, KTMB should use it as an impetus to assess their services, particularly to study ways of improving on their reliability and tangibles dimensions. KTMB management could start by improving on staff training, especially to train their staff to be more professional and courteous when dealing with customers. The public confidence of KTMB has to be gained and the best way is for the management to look at improving on aspects such as reliability of services, improving physical facilities, training of staff and communicating precise information on train schedules. In view of the intense competition in the transport sector with the opening of the North-South Highway, it is imperative that the management of KTMB carry out more research to discover any shortfalls in service quality and to take necessary corrective measures in case of a shortfall. This could ensure that the service quality of KTMB provides the best to its consumers in order to compete effectively with other modes of transport. As the consumer plays a key role in the definition and evaluation of the quality of rail services offered, managers of KTMB should incorporate consumer expectations and perceptions in the formulation of effective long-term marketing strategy. KTM should improved the train service in terms of the punctuality and provide a suitable frequency (for example: every 10 minutes) to reduce congestion at the stations especially during peak hours. This study also recommends that future researchers should come out with the focus groups to compare the opinion between KTMB users with other transportation mode users.