Secured Products To Function Engineering Essay

 

We need to look at the assembly because it is a key activity in manufacturing, as most products consist of several parts which must be collected together and secured for product to function.

Also it give us degree of movement freedom and mobility for various elements and enable material differentiation .therefore the various assembly methods can be classified into three elementary methods, manual assembly, mechanical assembly and robotic assembly

Assembly is very common, and perhaps regarded as necessary, but we should try to avoid it where ever we can, that way effects have been in over the years to find other methods to avoid assembly.

Due to high cost of labour, another method was considered, which is the automation and its main goals is to integrate various aspects of manufacturing operations to improve quality and minimize time cycle and labour cost.

Also it improves productivity, reduce human involvement, raise level of safety to personnel and reduce cost in raw material.

1.1 Flexibility is where the various individual manufacturing systems are incorporated into a single large scale system, in which the production of parts is controlled with the aid of a computer, and the advantages of this production system is a high flexibility for small effort and short time required to manufacture a new product.

1.2 Manual assembly: in manual assembly, the most significant factors are the sensors available in the form of vision, touch and sometimes hearing, also the ability of the assembler to make sensible judgment very quickly.

For parts with tolerances defects, the judgment becomes important when assembly, and the possibility that exist are: the part inserted can not reach its final location or the pert reaches the final location but does not give the require assembly.

Manual assembly is used in production situation where the work to be performed can be divided into small tasks, and the advantages in using manual assembly is using specialisation of labour by giving each one set of tasks to do repeat ably , this require high labour content therefore results in high cost.

It is a system where mechanical, electrical and computer-based system is used to operate and control production, this technology includes automatic machine tools, automatic assembly machines, industrial robot, storage automatic inspection system, feed back control and computer process control.

Types of automations : Fixed automation ,Flexible automation and programmable automation.

Reasons for Automating : some of these important reasons for automating are as follows :

Increase productivity, this mean grater out pit per hour of labour input , higher production rate achieved with automation than with manual operation.

High cost of labour: is enforcing business leaders to substitute machines for human labour.

Labour shortage.

Safety: by using automation the operation and transferring the operator from an active participation to a super visionary roll, work is made safer.

High cost of raw material: in manufacturing results in the need for greater efficiency is using this material, the reduction of scrap is one of these benefits.

Therefore when large production required quantity and high production rates, automation is used and examples of these products are:

Electric components.

Electronic components.

Bolting plants.

Tablet manufacturing plants etc.

1.4 The advantages of automated systems are:

Reduce labour cost and manufacturing lead time.

Increase labour productivity.

Improve product quality.

Increase production rate.

Reduce material handling cost and time.

Increase manufacturing control.

Improve workers safety.

Overcome limitation of manual labour,

Too expensive.

Some tasks are too difficult to automate.

Problems with physical access to work location.

Short product life cycle.

Usually one of a kind product is produced.

Reduce the risk of product failure.

1.5 The objective of the assignment is try to implement all the knowledge gained in the automation module on the chosen artefact “the electric switch”, and the intention is to disassemble the exercise, study it carefully and design a system to be assembled in large quantities and cost effectiveness by means of automation and manual processes.

Marketing history

The single electric switch is the most common type of switches, as it is found in

every house, office or factory, it is essential to the power source as its simple and

easy to use and economic due to low price.

There are more than one type on this off/on switch, single, double and they are

made of different type materials, plastic ,steel coated , chrome plated etc ,this

makes its prices varies

The main components of the lighting switch are:

Base: it is usually made of plastic material (pvc), and some manufacturer makes

them from chrome plated steel or any other safe long life material.

The switch button: it is the mechanical part of the switch ( acts as actuator), as its main function is to initiate the switch circuit operation (open and close), and is made of the same material as the base. For safety reasons the material should be a very good insulator.

2b- Spring: it is a small spring made of good steel, and is part of the mechanical

action, and assists in switching the power from on to off and vice versa

also due to its elasticity it last along time and prevents contact between solid parts.

Housing: this is the main part of the switch, as it contains all the electrical parts (terminals and their accessories), and is moulded plastic products ,which makes it good insulator to all the power terminals.

3a- Terminal (1) : consists of a block ,element, and a screw for tightening the

electrical wire, brass or copper is usually the martial that terminals are made of ,

and as known are good electricity conductors. (This is the common terminal)

3b- Terminals (2) & (3), made from the same material as terminal (1), the contacts

in all terminal are made of low resistance metal that makes or break the circuit

Each terminal consist of block (3b), element (3b1) and wire fasten screw (3b2).

Screw: fastens the housing assembly to the main base

1

2

2a

3

3a

3a1

3a2

3b

3b1

3b2

4

Base

Button

spring

Housing

Terminal 1(block)

Element

Screw

Terminal 2”block”(2 ea )

Element (2ea)

Screw (2ea)

Fastening screws

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Load Assembly base into work carrier

Assembly subassembly Button

Assembly subassembly Terminal 1

Assembly subassembly Terminal 2

Assembly subassembly Terminal 3

Assembly subassembly housing to base

Check

Assembly screw

Remove compete switch

switch

Base

1

Button sub assy 2

Sub assembly housing

3

Screw

4

2

2a

3

Terminal 3a

3b (2 each)

3a

3a 1

3a 2

3b(2)

3b1(2)

3b2 (2)

b) Product structure

2

2b

4

1

3

3a

3a1

3a2

3b

3b1

3b2

c) Assembly structure based components

2

1

6

7

8

9

5

3

4

d) Assembly structure based on subassemblies

Product and Assembly Structure Charts

Component

description

Component number

Functional analysis

Manufacturing analysis

Feeding/loading analysis

Gripping Process

Work holding process

Inspection Process

Non Assembly Process

Sub assembly Total

Assembly Total

1.2

Base

1

A

1.3

2.2

1.5

Button

2

A

1.2

1

1

1

Spring

2a

A

2.1

1

1

Housing

3

A

1.3

2.2

1

Terminal 1

3a

A

1.5

1.5

1

Element

3a1

A

2.4

4

1

Screw

3a2

B

2.1

2.2

1

Terminal 2

3b

A

1.5

1.5

1

Element

3b1

A

2.4

4

1

Screw

3b2

B

2.1

2.2

1

1.5

Screw

4

B

2.1

2.2

1

Total

11

20

23

13.7

Design Efficiency = A component 8 x 100% = 72

Total Compts 11

Feeding Handling Ratio = Index Total ___20_____ = 1.8

A copmts 11

Fitting Ratio = Gripp-fit fix = __________________

A Compts

The design for assembly addresses product structure simplification; sense the total number of parts in a product is a key indicator of product assembly quality

A number on different DFA methods have bee development, and to be any interest to designers they need to be:

Complete i.e. have objectivity and creativity.

Systematic- which helps to ensure that all relevant issues are considered i.e. the organization of objective and creative parts of DFA methods.

Measurable and user-friendly

3.1 Lucas Method the method is based around an” assembly sequence flowchart”. The Lucas/Hull group has developed a knowledge based evaluation technique, it follows a procedure in which the important aspects of assemble and component manufacture are considered and rated. The system is to be integrated into a CAD system, where it should be possible to obtain the information required for the analysis work with the minimum of effort and time.

- Functional analysis

- Handling analysis, and this can be manual or feeding assembly

-Fitting analysis

Depending on this method the Artefact was disassembled and a view drawn shown all components (pieces), also a build up structure and an assembly structure were made (page 6).

3.2 Functional Analysis: is carried out according to the rule of value analysis and activities, degree of functional importance is then categorized.

Each activity is put to the system in turn, a description and name is given for parts.

The assembly parts for the artefact were carefully investigated and categorised into either “A” parts (demand by function) and “B” parts, and these by design only, from that the design for efficiency was:

NO of “A” components x100

Total NO of components

8 x 100 = 72%

11

As all components and subassemblies manufactured in different places and will be presented to same point for assembly so our analysis considered three areas:

Handling difficulties

The size of the component

The weight of the component

The transfer mechanism of a flow line must not only move partially completed work parts or assemblies between stations, it must also orient and locate the parts in the correct position for processing at each station, the general method for transporting can be classified to:

Continuous transfer

Synchronous transfer

Power and free transfer

The most suitable type of transport system for a given application depends on the following factors:

-The type of operation to be performed.

The number of stations on the line.

The work piece size and weight.

There are a various types of parts feeding devises and the most common are:

- Hopper, where components are loaded at the work station, they usually loaded into the hopper in bulk; this means they are randomly orientated in the hopper.

- Parts feeder: This mechanism removes the components from the hopper one at a time for delivery.

- Orientator: where proper orientation is established

- Feed back: used to transfer the components from the hopper and parts feeder to the location of the assembly work head.

The quality of gripping is the ability to hold a part in a way that allows the part to be inserted with the proviso that insertion is possible.

In manual assembly, the parts handling does not have gripping problems because of ability of people to perform insertion operation despite poor relationship between the mating parts.

The best grip must be a three point grip whose lines of action equally

spaced and act through a common point

Another common possibility is a three point grip, where positional errors perpendicular to the direction of grip are possible.

For flexible assembly it is advised to do the following for different tasks:

Use a universal gripper.

Use a turret of gripper.

Use gripper changing.

Use special multi-purpose gripper

The gripping is usually used for the parts witch are difficult to assemble in position due to its size or shape, and this case it is needed when assembly of the power wiring screws and the terminals in the housing.

In manual insertion, the basic insertion action is different to the automatic one. The part being inserted is deliberately misaligned so that contact is established between the mating parts, a combination of touch and sight then interact with the movement to do the operation.

There are three examples show this:

Even in blind situation, one a contact has been made the insertion operation is easy. Attempts by operator to achieve a relatively open tolerance insertion with out mating parts touching are usually unsuccessful.

People are not good at close tolerances.

In automated assembly no touch is needed if there is good alignment.

There are common design roles for assembly processes:

Insert from vertically.

Use chambers, tapers to assist in alignment.

Choose open tolerances as possible.

Do not have more than one insertion site.

Design so the can be released as soon as insertion has started

From the previous analysis tables there are two steps can be taken to redesign the “switch” or artefact:

- The terminal should come as a complete unit, this means the element is welded to the block and the screw in position, this will minimise the steps of the assembly and safe time and cost.

- The housing can be assembled to base by means of” snap fitting instead of the fastening screws.

The outcome of this redesign will result in:

A Reducing parts count

B Ensuring a visible assembly process at a minimum cost

C Reliable automatic assembly achieved

d- Standardisation of components

The FMS provides the efficiency of mass production for batch production, and its main advantages are:

- Increased productivity

- Shorten preparation time for new products

- Reduction of inventory parts

- Saving of labour cost

- Improved product quality

- Attracting skilled people

- Improved operators safety

4.1 Activity Flow Chart

Vibrator Bowel

5

Refuse tray

Poka Yoka

Stack magazine

Linear vibrator

1

4

2

3

Full Ballet

Pallet Magazine

6

ROBOT

Rotary Bowel Feeder

Feed the housing by means of a stack magazine, this magazine must be set up for each “switch” variant. (The housing should be held into the work carrier and secured).

Feed subassembly terminal 1 with the aid of a ballet magazine.

Feed subassembly terminals 2&3 with the aid of a ballet magazine.

Feed the base by the aid of a linear vibrator.

Feed button in base by the aid of vibrator bowel.

Feed the spring by the means of vibratory bowel feeder

Place the subassembly housing on base by means of snap.

Remove of acceptable completed assemblies with the aid of an index transfer system provided with ballets.

The sequences are handled with a Scara Robot with a gripper change system which are used to handle the terminals.

There are 3 work stations in this assembly, the assembly of the housing station, the assembly of the base station, and the third is the completed assembly station

The feed devises used are

Ballet magazine.

Stack magazine.

Linear vibrator.

Vibrator bowel

Poka Yoka : is used to test if the terminals are fitted in position or not.

The advantages of the proposal of re-designing the artefact could be summarized in the following:

Lower manpower cost.

Less automation or feeders) used.

Less time.

More productivity.

More safety

The cost after the re-design proposal should in general be cut down, and regarding the implementation stages there is no transfer from manual to semi-automation noted, but the main changes occurred are in the terminals, as they feed pre-assembled, so this will reduce time ,automated equipment and tooling.

Also the fasten screw is replaced by means of snap fitting, which will result in increase of the “A” numbers and therefore increase in the overhaul efficiency.

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Introduction Of The Brand For Products Marketing Essay

With the increasingly intense competition in the services sector, differentiating brands is very tedious and costly. This study presents the customers’ perceptions of brand equity in the case of the hotels, as strong brands would undeniably be the surrogates when the “company offers no fabric to touch, no trousers to try on, no watermelons or apples to scrutinize, no automobile to test-drive,” (Berry, 2000).

Thus the following discussion would be about branding services since there has been minimal inquiry upon it and has evolved as a major component of marketing strategy.

Every company is making the most of its fundamental assets they possess- the brand- may help them attain goals profitably in the long run. The challenge is to comprehend how consumers perceive the brand since organizations have not really come up to a coherent terminology.

According to the world’s standard marketing textbook, written by Philip Kotler (1984), a brand is “…a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.”

This definition considers the identification aspect of the brand as a sign and as label of differentiation from competitors. The rationale behind is correct as it has to do with consumer perception stressing on the supplier’s recognition to make a purchase.

Ambler and Styles (1996, p.10) put forward a refined definition of brand taking into account the intangibility and variability characteristics of services:

“…the promise of the bundle of attributes that someone buys…the attributes that make up a brand may be real or illusory, rational or emotional, tangible or invisible.”

In the “Power of the Brand” by Scott M. Davis (2000) argues that “a brand is made up of three things: what a company sells, what a company does, and what a company is. A brand represents a set of promises. It implies trust, consistency and a defined set of expectations.”

Service branding is crucial for an organization’s competitive advantage, emphasizing on Wood (2000) refined definition of brand that focus mostly on the consumer’s benefits:

“[…] a brand is a mechanism for achieving competitive advantage for firms, through differentiation (purpose). The attributes that differentiate a brand provide the customer with satisfaction and benefits for which they are willing to pay (mechanism).”

However, it did not match with the intense growth of the services sector but increased competition has made service companies realize of its fundamental nature (Chernatony & McDonald, 2003).

In the context of services, the company itself is the prime and meaningful brand compared to branding goods. Initially the focal point was on product preferably than services as such there has been minimal inquiry on how to brand a service. Much of the study has converged to service quality, service failures and customer evaluation of service in the marketing domain (O’ Cass & Grace, 2004).

According to Davis (2000), branding services merges the activities undertaken by a company from the customer’s point of view. Also, it is critical to apply branding in the service arena underpinning that services are intangible in nature for consumers to assess the quality. Service brand is eventually a promise of future satisfaction that customers believe in the invisible purchase (Berry, 2000).

Dobree and Page (1990) postulated five phases for branding services successfully:

building a brand proposition

overcoming internal barriers

measuring delivery against the proposition

continual improvement

expansion

Service branding comprises of multiple interfaces, as opposed to product branding. This involves the contact between the customers and the diverse staff across the service companies, thus resulting in the distinct experiences with the brand (Mc Donald et al, 2001)

The overall conception of branding goods and services is similar but the discrepancy lies in the execution of the product and service brand. Services have a number of distinctive characteristics including intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity of quality and perishability (Jones et al, 2002).

Service branding is predominantly unlike that make service traits distinguish from physical goods and they depend much on the employees’ actions and mind set. In this project, the primary aspect impacting on the uniqueness of services is intangibility that is explored to build up successful service brands.

According to Rowley (1997), the objectives of service branding can be classified into the following categories:

to boost sales

to sustain or improve market share

to create a competitive edge

to inform and educate the market

to develop promotional efficiency

It should be noted that services branding might contribute to the attainment of any of these objectives, but it is vital to identify where the main concerns should lie. Moreover, the above-named objectives are not exhaustive as different organizations have diverse objectives.

According to Berry et al (1991), a service brand should possess, if not all, of these attributes:

Distinction. The brand name instantly recognizes the quality of service provided with a means to differentiate it from others.

Relevance. The brand name communicates both the nature of the service or identifies a trait

Memorability. The brand name can be understood, utilized and remembered easily; changing its brevity and simplicity into an asset.

Flexibility. The brand name allows probable growth so far including the current services provided.

Alternatively, Rowley (1997) proposes that service brand names should be simple for customers to say, spell and remember. In similar vein to Berry et al (1991), the brand names should be distinctive. Therefore, service brands are more than just names, which is a blend of all the elements that reflect the intangible nature of the services.

Services cannot be felt, tasted, touched or seen in contrast to goods, making them difficult to grasp mentally. Nevertheless, the existence of some tangible features helps consumers in general to evaluate the services fully. In the ambit of services, the company itself is presented as the brand to make the service more tangible. Studies show that consumers do not require additional information relating to an organization product and services since they are content to presume that well known companies have the exceptional service (Chernatony & Mc Donald, 2003).

Service branding must be made tangible to provide positive perceptions among customers to deal with intangible offerings, as often the service brands run the risk of being perceived as commodities. For instance, physical aspects such as employee attire, interior decoration and the tune played to customers on hold are effective ways to make brands tangible.

From the evaluation spectrum adapted by Zeithaml & Bitner (1996), service companies need to assess their services to allow consumers’ judge their service brand well. The level of difficulty in evaluation often depends on whether consumers are evaluating a search, experience or credence attribute of a service.

Search qualities-identifiable features like colour, smell, feel, price among others that can be judged by consumers before purchase. Word of mouth (WOM) is an effective tool for communication that persuades consumers to suggest the brand mostly to others.

Experience qualities- discerning attributes such as fun, taste and purchase satisfaction that can be best realized only during or after the consumption experience. As such, presentation of service facilities helps consumers to make a viable judgement of the purchase of the brand.

Credence qualities- characteristics that consumers lack to entirely assess the services, yet after consumption to compare the outcome expectations. For instance, service brand need to demonstrate the need to offer the brand attributes artistically through a strong message of trust.

According to Krishnan & Hartline (2001), most services are dominated by experience and credence qualities preferably than search attributes. Therefore, customers are able to assess the service features only during or after the consumption experience. Availability of information can by no means substitute the actual experience for services that are elevated in experience attributes such as a hotel stay (Fung So & King, 2009). Conversely, it has been argued that the presence of search attributes facilitates to tangibilize the service, thereby making the purchase less risky for the customers.

Branding services can also be an effectual means to hint to customers that the organization has devised a particular service offering that is special and deserving of its own name. Branding has obviously become a competitive tool for services. In addition, it helps to make the abstract nature of services more existing (Keller, 2003).

It is indeed fundamental to consider the methods to create successful brands in the services sector. As such, Doyle (1990) postulated four elements of strong branding but their significance in the service domain is not in doubt.

Prioritize quality

Service brands give the customers an indication of the service quality of the organization. High quality helps to create a competitive edge, thereby leading to scale economies. Most importantly, brands reside in the minds of the customers because of the past experience with the quality service.

Offer superior service

Service firms aims at offering exceptional service with regards to differentiating their offering with competitors. The bond between the brand and the customer is based on trust and loyalty with implicit understanding. Only if they derive satisfaction from the superior service, they will take full advantage from it otherwise, switch to another brand with high service levels.

Get there first

The importance here is to reach the customers’ mind set before the entrant of competitors, which is eventually to grasp the market first. This can be done thru’ the creation of rational structures that help customers to categorize the information about the firm’s services, thereby simplifying their decision making.

Be different

The offerings in the service sector are particularly similar but the opportunities to offer the customer something distinctive and special is being exploited by organizations. Moreover, the service brand must be the overall promise projected into the market and the experience delivered and both have to be aligned so it is the customer’s total experience of the organization. Therefore, the need for efficient control of differentiation in services paradigm is essential.

According to Mc Donald et al. (2001), service brands can be built up thru’ a fairly related process to product branding:

establishment of clear brand aims

description of clear positioning; and

choice of apt values

In the context of services, there have been over dependence on the traditional FMCG branding approach. But, the emergence of services branding literature by few scholars has shifted the focus from tangibles to intangibles with a more unbiased perspective.

As a result, the FMCG paradigm was customized with the need to ensure an absolute communication between the customer and the service organization, taking into account its specific nature:

Brand differentiation .Service marketers strive to distinguish their brands thru’ unique selling proposition, thereby building up lasting relationships with customers.

Consumer motivation. Customers are hesitant to switch between service brands because they see the disparities as minor, whereby customer loyalty is difficult to retain.

This chapter provides an overview of service branding. It started with some brief definitions of brand perceived by different scholars. Explanation was given to make clear of the evolving concept of branding in the context of services. It also highlights the objectives of service branding and the characteristics the service names should possess. It also provides emphasis on how to tangibilize the service brand together with the elements for building up successful service brands. The chapter ends with the notion of the modification of the FMCG model in the service companies. Having overviewed service branding, the next chapter deals with the brand equity that eventually relates to the Service Branding Model (Berry, 2000).

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the various economics associated with the brand equity concept. Building brand equity is considered to be the cornerstone of an organization’s success.

It should be noted that, referring to the previous chapter, service branding goes in line with the development of brand equity in the context of services. Thus the following discussion would be about brand equity relating to the Service Branding Model (Berry, 2000).

Brand equity has achieved much attention during the recent years. The commonly accepted definition of brand equity is the “added value endowed by the brand to the product” (Farquhar 1989). It is a primary tool that customers use to seek information about a purchase, like quality.

Aaker (1991) has considered brand equity and its contribution to value by defining brand equity as “the sets of assets (and liabilities) linked to a brand’s name and symbol that adds the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s customer”. This explores the fundamental nature of brand equity (Lemon et al, 2001) as customer’s subjective and intangible assessment of the brand, above and beyond its perceived value.

Keller (1993) overlooked the behavioral aspect and delineated brand equity as “the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand”. Alternatively, brand equity has been operationalized by scholars like Blackston (1995) and Lassar et al (1995).

The challenge for hotel industry to gain higher brand equity lies upon “tangiblizing the intangible hotel experience” that customers confide in the invisible purchase (Kayaman & Arasli, 2007).

According to Prasad and Dev (2000), attitudes and perceptions, whether positive or negative, are likely to persuade a customer from choosing a hotel brand, which eventually represents brand equity. As such, they proposed a numerical brand equity index with the aim to help hotel companies capitalize on their brand value. It helps to scrutinize the modifications in brand equity through the use of brand performance and brand awareness as indicators.

Referring to Aaker’s (1991) definition of brand equity- a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand- he grouped the major assets of brand equity model into five components of consumer-related bases that he describes as “brand equity drivers”: brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand associations and other proprietary brand assets such as patents and channel relationships.

According to Chen (2001), brand association is the underlying asset for creating strong brand equity. The reasons behind are:

Brand awareness is not adequate enough to build up strong brand equity though it is a vital driver. A powerful service brand requires more knowledge as compared to a weak brand.

The remaining brand equity dimensions increase brand loyalty. The perceived quality and the brand name help customers to buy and impinge on the satisfaction, thereby leading to brand loyalty. But, sometimes customers do not really think while buying a hotel brand, leading to the exclusion of brand loyalty from the brand equity concept.

Brand awareness is the primary step in building brand equity through the ability to recognize the strength of the brand in the customer’s mind. Social marketers try hard to build this equity through brand awareness that impact on the consumers’ brand choices (Xu & Chan, 2010).

Moreover, recognition and recall are much more than indicators for remembering a hotel brand. Brand recognition is merely to recollect a past experience with that particular brand whilst brand recall is to remember the brand when the service class is mentioned (Aaker, 1996). Little information is adequate enough for customers to know a brand that will eventually elicit a positive response.

Consumers perceive the quality of the offering with an association of the hotel brand development. This association drives the quality of the service delivery, thus fostering long term success.

Perceived quality is the only amongst the brand associations that drive financial performance. In the hotel industry, quality is regarded as the foremost values in the mission statement that depict the authentic hospitality experience. Customers judge an organization performance mainly through the quality of experience. Only if the perceived quality improves, then the customers’ perceptions of the hotel brand trigger a favorable response towards brand loyalty (Aaker, 1996).

Occasionally, brands fail to build up equity without loyalty (Aaker, 2001). Brand loyalty is developed and enhanced through the creation of brand associations that make the brand an important element of the target’s self-image.

Brand loyalty is the determining aspect that boosts the loyalty -building programs of hotel companies. In order to achieve higher brand equity, there is primary need to develop and maintain a positive relationship thru’ customer loyalty. This will ultimately drive the financial performance of the organization, as the costs for attracting new customers are superior to the costs of retaining the potential customers (Xu & Chan, 2010).

According to Aaker (1991, p.109)), a brand association is referred to “anything linked in the memory to a brand”. For instance, the associated link could be the country of origin, organization, competitor or others. He categorized brand associations into eleven types, including “product attributes, intangibles, customer benefits, relative price, use/application, user/ customer, celebrity/person, lifestyle/personality, product class, competitors and country/geographic area.” Brand associations lead customers to describe fully what actually the hotel brand implies to them (Kim et al, 2003).

Three principal perspectives have been adopted in an attempt to understand brand equity. These distinct stances are financial perspective, customer perspective and a combination of both perspectives.

For this study, we will focus on the customer based perspective as it investigates brand equity at the consumer level. The customer based perspective explores brand equity at the consumer level, taking into account the importance of customers as both stakeholders of the organization and target of marketing communications (Xu & Chan, 2010).

It includes the two concepts of brand strength and brand value. Brand strength emphasizes on the perceptions and behaviors that consumers gain from the brand benefits whilst brand value regards the outcome of management capability in financial terms to influence the brand strength for proceeds (Kim et al, 2003).

Brand equity from the customer perspective reflects positivity when customers respond favorably to the degree of marketing activity such as advertising and word of mouth communication. Moreover, customer based brand equity drives financial returns to an organization (Lassar et al, 1995).

Muller (1998) proposed 3 critical points that a service brand should focus so as to build up equity:

Excellent quality products and services

Performance of service delivery; and

Formation of a symbolic and reminiscent image

Aaker‘s (1991) brand equity model has been criticized for minimal clue as to what marketing mix elements should be espoused by hotel managers to develop brand equity but it simplifies the process of measuring the concept of brand equity.

Specifically, Keller (1993) postulated a knowledge- based framework that depicted brands from consumers’ perspective based on two components:

Brand awareness

Brand image

Brand awareness is a crucial step for building up brand equity as it helps customers to identify the particular brand under any conditions. Customers must be aware and be familiar with the offering. Brand image can be referred to as perceptions residing in the minds of the consumers. However, Keller’s (1993) model may not be relevant in the context of services as they are more important to manufactured goods (So & King, 2009).

In the light of the fundamental nature of brand equity, Berry (2000) proposed a different approach - Service Branding Model- to measure brand equity in the services sector. The model helps to explore the relationship between service customers and the brand (O’ Cass & Grace, 2003).

Recognizing the significance of brand development in the services sector, Berry (2000) has postulated a distinct framework – Service Branding Model – depicting the service brand from the customer’s standpoint in the formation of service brand equity. Similarly, Berry (2000) supports Keller (1993) approach that brand equity is influenced by both brand awareness and brand image (brand meaning) (O’Cass & Grace, 2003).

Customer’s experience with the brand is an essential aspect of the service branding model. This underpins the argument of Berry (2000) that customer’s experience with the brand has primary impact on brand meaning and that brand meaning then has primary impact on brand equity.

The service branding model demonstrates the relationships between the six key components namely; brand equity, brand awareness, brand meaning, company’s presented brand, external brand communications and customer experience with company. The relationships between the constructs are illustrated by both dotted lines (secondary impact) and bold lines (primary impact).

Source: Berry (2000)

The primary source of brand awareness, the ability for customers to identify and remember the brand endowed with an indication is the company’s presented brand, i.e. the organization controlled communications. It is the communications that sell the company’s uniqueness and purpose thru’ advertising or promotional materials, service amenities, physical air of service providers, company name and logo.

The next main construct in the service branding model is the external brand communications that have secondary influence on the brand awareness. It refers to the information that customers gather about the service brand which is basically unrestrained by the company. Word of mouth (WOM) communications and publicity are the nearly common types of external brand communications.

Word of mouth (WOM) communications are familiar in the context of services due to their intangible nature, thereby influencing highly in the purchase decision. Publicity can impact not only brand awareness but also brand meaning that ultimately help in brand development (Berry 2000). External brand communications are characterized by the dotted- line link to brand awareness and brand meaning as compared to the bold- line effect of the presented brand on brand awareness.

Alternatively, brand meaning is primarily determined by customer experience with company. Such service experience depends mostly on the brand activities that are internal to the company such as the dealing with the servicescape, supporting the uniform behavior of employees and making sure of the significance of the core service offered by the company. Brand meaning refers to the perceptions of a particular brand from a customer’s perspective. This is because the services sector are labor- intensive, and the human touch plays a vital role in developing the brand thru’ exceptional service. Therefore, customer experience is a crucial element in the model as it depicts the primary impact on brand meaning while company’s presented brand and external brand communications show secondary influence (So & King, 2009).

Customer’s experience with company is more dominant than the company’s presented brand and external brand communications. As such, a presented brand can only generate brand awareness with the existing customers but service experiences differ. Negative experience with a particular service provider will discourage customer’s repeat visit no matter how much advertising. In order to reduce advertising costs with the purpose of attracting new customers, there is the need to retain the existing customers by providing positive service encounters. The source of the experience is the locus of brand formation where the service organization is itself the brand.

Therefore, the Service Branding Model is concluded to be the most appropriate framework to date in exploring brand equity in the hotel services. In order to measure the six constructs in the Berry’s (2000) model, a sample comprising of hotel customers that have direct experience with the hotel brands are required in determining the brand equity. To facilitate this validation, the model is used as a conceptual framework upon which the research hypotheses are developed in the research methodology chapter.

This chapter depicts an apercu of the components and concept of brand equity. It deals with conflicting definitions of brand equity. The different elements of brand equity are also discussed in details. Emphasis is as well given on the brand equity approach from the customer’s perspective. Besides, this chapter deals with the essential Service Branding Model (Berry, 2000) and the relationship between the various constructs. After having reviewed the literature on the brand equity, the following chapter deals with the research methodology of the study.

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Consumers Products And Services Value Perception

 

Value is defined in the pricing literature as the trade-off between customers' perceptions of benefits received and sacrifices incurred (e.g. Leszinski and Marn, 1997). Monroe (1990) and Gale (1994) cited quality as customers' primary benefit. Monroe (1990) proposed that the sacrifice component exerts the greater influence on buyers' value perceptions. All noted that the role of price is complex and customers do not buy solely on the basis of low price. The context, customers' access to information and past associations also affect price perceptions and consequently customers' value determination (Monroe, 1990).

Other definitions of value have a broader interpretation of sacrifice, in which non-monetary factors such as time and effort are included (e.g. Butz and Goodstein, 1996; Carothers and Adams, 1991; GroÈnroos, 1997; Kotler, 1996; Naumann, 1995; Treacy and Wiersema, 1995; Zeithaml, 1988). Sacrifice is again defined from the customer's perspective, as emphasised by Doyle's (1989, p. 78) definition of value as ``not what the producer puts in, but what the consumer gets out''.

Many authors have acknowledged the difficulties involved in defining value (e.g. Piercy and Morgan, 1997; Woodruff, 1997). These stem from the subjectivity of value (Hardy, 1987), variations between customers (WikstroÈm and Normann, 1994), within customers (Parasuraman, 1997), between cultures (Assael, 1995), in different situations (Ravald and GroÈnroos, 1996), pre- and post-purchase (Gardial et al., 1994), and between tangible and intangible offerings (Naumann, 1995).

This is compounded by customer value being a dynamic concept that evolves over time (Jaworski and Kohli, 1993). Indeed it has been claimed that customer value is inherently ambiguous (Naumann, 1995) and that value could be considered “one of the most overused and misused terms in marketing and pricing today” (Leszinski andMarn, 1997, p. 99).

In an attempt to consolidate the diverse definitions, Woodruff (1997, p. 142) proposed: ``Customer value is a customer's perceived preference for and evaluation of those product attributes, attribute performances, and consequences arising from use that facilitate (or block) achieving the customer's goals and purposes in use situations''. Although the multiple contexts, tasks and criteria in Woodruff's definition reflect the richness and complexity of the concept, they impede its translation into a measurable operational definition (Parasuraman, 1997).

Most consumers will adopt all of these buying behaviors, but to varying degrees, behaving in different ways according to the type of product they are purchasing and the purchase situation. However each buying behavior group has different triggers in terms of information, support and persuasion.

Marketing communications across the differing buying behavior groups vary enormously. For the brand-focused group, traditional advertising, such as posters, press and TV, will continue to play a part and a key message will be emotional reassurance that they are buying the ‘right' brand. The brand should be dominant in all communications, but especially when presenting the brand in nontraditional media such as the internet.

Brand-focused consumers respond to strongly-branded consumer offers and merchandise via the post - good news for the direct marketing industry. But this group requires constant reassurance and the dissemination of information will be particularly vital should the sector undergo rapid change or suffer some crisis. Maintaining brand trust is critical to this behavior group.

Price-sensitive consumers need to experience value for money at every stage of the buying process. Marketers should build and maintain everyday low-price brand perceptions, and advertising should play a key part in this. Direct communications should be simple, appear inexpensive and emphasise special offers, moneyback deals and price comparisons with competitive brands. And if you want to drive this traditionally less new-media savvy behavior group on to the internet, demonstrate the low prices they can expect to find there. Everybody loves a bargain but none more so than this group. Communications must highlight value, and news of special prices or invitations to events such as special sales evenings will work well.

Feature-savvy consumers are information-hungry and will respond to direct marketing that offers product information such as comparisons with competitors and independent product reviews. Internet sites are ideal for presenting this information.

Independent editorial will carry greater weight than paid-for advertising, so effective public relations will pay dividends.

Call centre personnel must be highly trained and knowledgeable about the brand they are representing. They should be able to answer complex questions and provide comparative details. Brand is least important to these consumers.

Personal interaction is key to influencing the buying behavior of advice-led consumers. Testimonials, access to online chat rooms and online shopping guides will also play their part. Word of mouth will be the best reference, and in this respect, telephone operators will need to be both authoritative and reassuring at the same time. Reassurance can also be conveyed through moneyback guarantees and returns policies, and can help to overcome post-purchase dissonance. It is widely anticipated that these buying behaviors can be applied in different markets, although to varying degrees, and the communications applied ‘tweaked' accordingly.

Higher-level needs approach the status of values, which are critical determinants of behaviour (Baier, 1969). Rokeach (1968) regarded a value as “an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence'. For Schwartz and Bilsky (1987) values transcend specific situations and one of the most widely accepted value inventory is the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). The RVS measures 18 instrumental values and the same number of terminal values. Instrumental values are related to preferred modes of conduct such as honesty and friendliness which people know can lead to being accepted by others and to having good relations with others. Instrumental values are thus means to reach a goal. Terminal values are more related to end-state goals such as wisdom, happiness and freedom.

Instrumental values are: ambitious, broad-minded, capable, cheerful, clean, courageous, forgiving, helpful, honest, imaginative, independent, Intellectual, logical, loving, obedient, polite, responsible, self-controlled.

Terminal values are: a comfortable life, an exciting life, a sense of accomplishment, a world at peace, a world of beauty, equality, family security, freedom, happiness, inner harmony, mature love, national security, pleasure, salvation, self-respect, social recognition, true friendship, wisdom.

Vinson and Lamont (1977) devised a model of consumer value systems (fig.1) by arranging values at three different levels and giving a hierarchical arrangement to them.

People are not born with their values. Rather, values are passed from one generation to another; they are learned. Engel (1986) point out that some values are relatively constant while others are subject to change. They propose that the triad of families, religious institutions and school plus early lifetime experiences leads to a model of intergenerational value transmission.

Products and services quality perceptions represent consumer judgment about the superiority of a product or service, which the user-based approaches think is essential in describing quality. Bundles of attributes together represent a certain level of quality, which therefore provide utility to the customer. The benefits are measured through a perceived level of quality (level of working superiority), a bundle of attributes in comparison with the consumer's expectations. Schiffman and Kanuk (2004) stated consumers often judge the quality of a product on the basis of a variety of informational cues that they associate with the product. They also stated that the cues can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic cues are related to the physical characteristics of the product itself, like size, colour, flavour, aroma etc. The extrinsic cues on the other hand are related to elements that are put together with the actual product like packaging, pricing, advertising etc. The perceived quality of products and services is central to the theory that strong brands add value to consumers' purchase evaluations.

Brand loyalty is the ultimate desired outcome of consumer learning. Brand loyalty is the likelihood of positive attitudes and behaviors of consumers towards a particular brand, this could amount to repeat purchase and positive word of mouth. A loyal customer base is an asset for a company and it reduces the need for seeking new customers. It is also a known fact that retaining current customers requires less money and effort than getting new ones. The strongest measure of brand value is the loyalty a company produces among customers.

Because product quality perceptions influence value, efforts of marketers focus on improving product quality in order to enhance perceptions of value, and consequently purchase intentions leading to loyalty.

The most functional and fundamental means of identifying a market is by its systems of needs. By literally seeing the purchase decision maker's problem through the decision maker's eyes, it is quite easy to determine:

what combination of product characteristics represent real value,how to communicate the product for the maximum perception of value, and, once that's done,how likely the respondent will be to buy.

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