Relationship building in the financial services marketplace: The importance of personal selling

Radical changes have resulted in heightened consumer mobility and intense competition in the financial services industry. In order to create and maintain a competitive edge, today’s financial service firms must establish and maintain a highly integrative, customer-oriented sales culture based on building trust and relationship enhancement. Importantly, in the twenty-first century, financial service firms have to utilize technology effectively so as to provide easily understandable and usable employee and customer information. In this article, we suggest that traditional and non-traditional financial services firms will benefit from adopting technological methods from the direct selling industry. To this end, we offer managerial implications for successful implementation of technologically astute personal selling processes in the financial services marketplace.     

On the potential for Twitter to add value in retail bank relationships

It is argued that research within financial services marketing has omitted to pay sufficient attention to social media in banking contexts generally and its potential impact on retail bank relationships in particular. At a general level, this research study explores the advent of social media and the manner of its deployment in financial services. Specifically, this article reports on the deployment of Twitter in bank–customer communications. Accordingly, a content analysis of 400 Tweets sent from a range of financial service providers to their customers was conducted. A literature-based model allowed for the classification of these Tweets as either customer acquisition, engagement or retention-oriented. Findings indicate that Twitter is mainly used for customer engagement, but scope is identified for their more meaningful deployment in relation to customer acquisition and retention.     

Immigration Status and Postsecondary Opportunity: Barriers to Affordability,Access, and Success for Undocumented Students,and Policy Solutions

Immigrant and undocumented students face significant barriers in accessing and obtaining a postsecondary degree. The anti‐immigration agenda of the Trump administration and its impact on higher education made this issue of paramount concern. In this article, we review issues at the intersection of immigration and postsecondary education. First, we define the population of interest, with special attention to the differentiated rights of different groups. We argue for the policy significance of immigration for postsecondary education. Second, we provide an overview of the main identified barriers facing undocumented students in accessing postsecondary education. We then examine policies that have been adopted by states and by institutions of higher education to address some of those barriers. We conclude with policy recommendations to improve affordability, access, and success for undocumented students and argue for the inclusion of immigration status as a variable in research on equity in postsecondary education.     

Could the Crisis at Northern Rock have been Predicted?: An Evolutionary Approach

Bankers have, from their beginning, made their money by takingrisks and deciding how much risk they dare take, by expandinggradually, testing the water. Within this framework, the firstrisk is of illiquidity, but they must also ensure solvency.The steps taken by Northern Rock in developing their present‘business plan’ are the same as those taken by mostother banks, responding to the same incentives. It is the rapidityof its expansion that resulted in its downfall. The steps thathave been taken also by other banks can be traced back to thebeginning of banking and are predictable. Northern Rock's difficultieswere predictable – and were predicted.     

British Spectators’ Perceptions of the Values and Norms in Selected Professional Sports: a Comparative Ethical Survey

Abstract

In recent years the British media have made much of the apparent decline of standards in British sports. In order to interrogate the veracity of media assumptions regarding the standards of conduct in major British sports, a selection of British sports spectators were interviewed in order to examine: (i) their perceptions of the values and norms of sport; (ii) whether they thought that sporting conduct as currently demonstrated by UK sportsmen and women was positive and related to some ideal notion of the ‘ethos of sport’ and the ‘spirit of the game’; (iii) whether they thought that there had been an improvement, a decline or no change in the ethical standards of conduct in those sports; and (iv) views on the impact of new technologies on the values and norms of sport. At least 200 questionnaires were collected from spectators at each of the following major sporting events: (a) the English Nationwide Football League Divisions 2 and 3 play‐offs, Cardiff, May 2001; (b) the All England Tennis Championships, Wimbledon, July 2001; (c) the England vs Australia Cricket Test match, Edgbaston Birmingham, July 2001; and (iv) the British Open Golf Championships, Royal Lytham and St Annes, Lancashire, July 2001. Results showed that there were statistically significant differences in what sports spectators thought about British professional sportspersons acting in a fair and sporting way and also that standards of conduct had generally declined over the last 10 years. A general pattern of distribution emerged where the team sports (cricket and football) were less favourably perceived than the individual sports (golf and tennis).     

Classroom assessment techniques (CATs): Tools for improving accounting education

Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) are ungraded anonymous instruments and techniques used throughout the semester for ongoing micro-assessments of teaching and learning. CATs have the dual mission of promoting learning of subject matter while providing feedback on teaching effectiveness. This paper introduces classroom assessment techniques and gives three examples of CATs that were adapted for use in Principles of Accounting.Teachers of the first course in accounting should put a priority on their interaction with students and on interaction among students. (The First Course in Accounting: AECC Position Statement No. Two)     

Four Examination Answers for Schools: Accounting

We Iicive selected four Yew Twelve e.˜miiin˜ition questions, from the I YO/ papers set by examiner in Queensland, Tasmania. Victoria arid Western Australia. As the solutions to a range of practicle problems haw been provided in a prevoius issue of this publication, we have chosen questions which examine the students knoweledge of accounting principles mid theoretical issues.     

Why small farms persist? The influence of farmers’ characteristics on farm growth and development. The case of smaller dairy farmers in NZ

Human capital is an important resource in primary production impacting on farmers’ decisions and actions. Given their current and expected economic environment, farmers must use their human capital in mapping out a trajectory for their farm. This study considers particular aspects of farmers’ human capital and its influence on farm growth, or lack of it. Farmers’ characteristics as expressed through their personality, intelligence and objectives are the main human capital aspects considered in a sample of smaller NZ dairy farms. They are somewhat typical of western farmers working on smaller farms. They can be broadly classed into Expanders, Maintainers and Retractors. It is hypothesised each group will have distinct and different personal characteristics and these influence the farmers’ choice of trajectory. This is in addition to purely economic factors. It is also hypothesised the characteristics influence the farmers’ choice of development strategy and how challenges to the strategy are viewed. The data collected from the small dairy farms support the hypotheses suggesting the design of policy and extension programs must allow for these human capital drivers. Using past data, it is also shown aspects of human capital are different in large farms emphasising the same conclusion.