Attending Skills Essay Example for Free

Attending Skills Essay Bolton, in his book People Skills (1979), describes attending as giving all of your physical attention to another person. The process of attending, whether you realize it or not, has a considerable impact on the quality of communication that goes on between two people. For example, by attending you are saying to the other person I am intersted in what you have to say, however, a lack of good attending communicates that I really dont care about what you have to say. The body can be used as a tool to facilitate good communication. This is done through positioning the parts of the body so that they invite and hold an interpersonal relation. A relaxed alertness expressed by body posture seems best suited for fostering good communication. Bolton offers these suggestions to establish a posture of involvment: * Lean toward the speaker. This will communicate energy and attentiveness. * Face the other squarly (i. e. , your right sholuder to the speakers left). This communicates your involvment. It is especially important for you to position yourself so that you are at eye level with the speaker if you are seen as a authority figure. This will circumnavigate feelings of threat and can greatly aid in forming an interpersonal relationship. * Maintaining an open posture is also important for fostering interpersonal relatedness. A closed posture (i. e. , crossed arms and or legs) often communicates coldness and defensiveness. * You also need to be aware of your proximity to the speaker. We all have a concept of personal space. When those boundaries are crossed it puts the other on the defensive and makes them feel uncomfortable. However, to much distance communicates aloofness and disconectedness. Body motion, its a funny thing! Have you ever paid attention to what your hands were doing during the course of a conversation? Some of us simply shove them in our pockets or let them hang aimlessly by our sides. Then there are others, like me, who tend to fling them around as if to place some kind of emphasis on each word! There is such a thing as too little and too much. Body motion is good but it can be over done if you are not careful. The purpose of gesturing when you are listening is to encourage the speaker to continue speaking. This can most easily be done with a periodic head nod. A good listener moves his or her body in response to the speaker. Effective eye contact says that you are visually attuned to what the speaker is saying. Good eye contact involves focusing on the speakers face and occasionally shifting the focus to other parts of the body. The key is that the other is aware that they have your attention because your eyes are on them. Good eye contact should seem natural to the other person. What ever you do, dont stare them down. This makes you seem anxious and sometimes critical of them. The environment where the communication takes place is also an important factor in whether an interpersonal relationship can be formed. It is not always posible to move the conversation into a private room or office, but every attempt should be made to reduce the number of distractions that are present. In his book, The Skilled Helper (1998), Gerad Egan offers what he has labled the Micro Skills of Attending. The are very close to the infomation I have presented above from Boltons People Skills. He has developed the following acronym to help counseling students remeber these vital skills in communication. The listener has a specific responsibility in the course of communication. That is to stay out of the speakers way and to try and follow where he or she is leading. The goal of listening is not responding but understanding what is trying to be communicated. A door opener is a noncoercive inivitation to talk. Sometimes door openers are not necessay to get the ball rolling, but may be needed later in the conversation if the speaker does not seem to want to continue. Door openers dont have to be verbal cues, a good listener can also use his or her body to send the signal I am interested, you have my attention, please tell me more. The four elements of a door opener, as discussed, by Bolton are; (1) A discription of the other persons body language (i. e. , you dont look like you are feeling well today. ) (2) An invitation to talk (3) Silence (to give the other person time to decide if they want to talk and what they are going to say. ) (4) Attending (this inclueds all of the attending sk ills that are discused on the attending skills page. ) What on earth are minimal encourages? In the attempt to follow it is important not to become a nonparticipant in the conversation. Minimal encourages refers to the amount the listener speakes and the amount of direction the listener gives to the conversation, which should be very little. Sometimes encouragement is needed but the speaker needs to remain in control of the conversation. The same is true for questioning as is for encouraging. The problem is not questioning itself but the fact that most people do not do it well. Most people ask closed questions that only require specific and short answers such as yes and no. The trick is to ask open questions that are designed to spur the conversation on when it gets stuck. This means that questioning will be relatively infrequent. Finally, attentive silence is one of the most important elements in following the listener. We live in a culture in which silence is not comfortable. We often inturpert it as a cue that we need to jump in and say something. In fact, silence is an opportunity for the speaker to reflect on what he or she has said and to gather their thoughts before their next statment. What we say is not as important as giving the speaker the time he or she needs to clearly communicate their point. An important aspect of listening is to help the listner clarify his or her communication so that they can get their meaning across. To practice reflective listening is to serve as a mirror for the person speaking. One way that the speaker can do this is through paraphrasing. A paraphrase is a conscise response to the speaker that restates the essence of the communication in the listeners own words. The paraphrase deals with facts or ideas and not the emotions. In this respect it focuses the content of the speakers message. Another aspect of reflecting is the mirroring back of the speakers emotions as they make their statments. It is important to tune into the speakers emotions. If we, as listeners, miss the feeling content we have missed a major part of the speakers reaction and experience. Reflecting feelings also give the speaker an opportunity to evaluate how he or she is responding to a problem situation. Not only should the listener reflect feeling, he or she also needs to reflect meaning. Content + feeling = meaning. Sounds simple, doesnt it? But, if you get the feelings wrong or the content wrong then you cant understand the speaker. Reflecting meaning alows you to be sure you are getting what the speaker is saying. Reflecting feeling and content are the baby steps to reflecting meaning. Meaning expression can use the basic empathic formula; you feel _______ because _________ , or some variation on this formla. After a while the formula will disaper and a natural empathic responding style will develop. Finally, there is the concept of sumative reflections. This reflective response is designed to recap the major themes of the conversation and comes after an extended period of the conversation. During the course of the conversation bits of useless information can acrue. The sumation can serve to help the speaker to sort through the litter and to construct a more complete and compact conceptualization of the issue being discussed.

The Creation Of Mods And Rockers

The Creation Of Mods And Rockers In the 1960s, as well as today, the highest incidence of violent and property crime is among the poor and unemployed, specifically the super-exploited sectors of the working class (Downes and Rock, 2007: p. 241). What is the reason behind this? Both the Mods and the Rockers were mainly working class. Cohen mean that because these youth groups were mainly working class and that meant that they had less opportunities than them of higher class, they also were not seen to have any specific talents and they did not have any money. Cohen (2009) states that since the Mods and Rockers did not have any social contacts, except for themselves, in society they had to create their own activities which them to take part in deviance. Cohen focuses on the systematic demonising and scapegoating of the Mods and Rockers. Mass media portrayed the two youth groups as animals on several occasions. This demonology of the Mods and Rockers lead to them being seen and referred to as folk devils. Cohen explains further that the youth groups were explained in the mass media as bored, arrogant and they were portrayed as enjoying the situations in several British holiday resorts (Cohen, 2009). Cohen writes that mass medias role in the moral panic is massive. According to Cohen is manufactured news not uncommon, the mass media is both exaggerating and misleading. When reading this book it feels like Cohen thinks that the mass media is guilty of both misreporting and disorienting the readers. He states that the media presentation or Inventory of the Mods and Rockers event is crucial in determining the later stages of the reaction (Cohen, 2009: p. 18). Therefore he was concerned that most of the media coverage was too stereotypical to be true (Cohen, 2009: p. 18). One example of this is: all the dance halls near the seafront were smashed when every local resident knows that there is only one dance hall near the front (Cohen, 2009: p. 19). The methodologies that Cohen uses are interviews, observations and documentary sources. In 1965 interviews were held with the local community (e.g. shopkeepers and taxi drivers), people on holidays and editors of the newspapers. The documentary sources came from both local and national newspapers. The theory that Cohen uses throughout the book is the symbolic interactionism. He presents a number of theorists and their adaptations of the symbolic interactionism, such as; the transactional approach to deviance (Becken), the primary and secondary deviance (Lemert), the deviancy amplification theory (Ditton) and the dramaturgical analogy by Gottman. The two, to me, most outstanding theories are Beckens and Lemerts. The first one concentrates on media as a creator of labels that leads to an increased deviance. Cohen explains this as a vicious circle; deviance leads to a public reaction and that creates more deviance and that leads to more public reaction. Lemert in his turn mean that the public reaction to the primary reaction might lead to a secondary, increased, deviance. Cohen puts weight on that primary deviance does not necessarily lead to secondary deviance; (Cohen, 2009: p. ooo). The four aspects of the symbolic interactionism do all play a part in the different disaster phases in the Disaster Research. These phases are closely described in the book and are as follows: 1. The Initial Problem; in this case working class youth. 2. Excessive fringe delinquency the youth made their own fun because they did not have much else to do. 3. Social reaction the mass media starts to write about their behaviour. 4. Operation of control culture the police and the courts starts to get involved. 5. Increased deviance the social control leads to even more deviance. Cohen proves this theory in the book because when reading it you can clearly see the truth in it with help of the information that he provides the reader. Folk Devils and Moral Panics is convincing and the majority of theories provided by it are good sociology because they are undoubtedly flexible and therefore it can be used on a number of different situations involving folk devils and moral panics. But, as stated in Mc Robbie and Thornton (1995); as the mass media expands more and more and there is not only journalists that can make their voices widely heard maybe folk devils are not going to be created as fast as before. Today anyone can put their opinions out there and debate because of the development and spreading of internet. In a wider spectrum demonising might not occur as easily as before, because more individuals and groups can influence the process of judging and stereotyping (McRobbie and Thornton, 1995). In McRobbies and Thorntons more recent work of sociology they argue that Cohen acknowledges that social control is uneven and much less mechanistic than the model of deviancy amplification suggests (McRobbie and Thornton, 1995: p. 561). They also state that: it is now time that every stage in the process of constructing a moral panic, as well as the social relations which support it, should be revised (McRobbie and Thornton, 1995: p. 559). So perhaps this means that there is no more folk devils, at least not in groups: We argue that folk devils are less marginalized than they once were; they not only find themselves vociferously and articulately supported in the same mass media that castigates them, but their interests are also defended by their own niche and micro-media (McRobbie and Thornton, 1995: p. 559). I definitely think that this book is good sociological imagination because it links individuals to the more social societal situations and events. To use sociological imagination an ability to see the relationship between private lives and society is important, as well as being critical and think one step further. I think that Cohen does exactly this. When the reasons behind the deviant behaviour of the Mods and Rockers are discussed, Cohen takes the history, both of the deviant youth and the British society overall, into account. Cohen explains the historical circumstances so that the sociology of media and deviance can easily be understood. In fact, he dedicated the entire last chapter (6) to this. Cohen also presents several micro/macro studies, such as the Mods and Rockers in relation to the mass media and the societal situation in the coast cities that was covered in the media. Other examples, covered in this book, and looked on at from a micro versus macro perspective are: Muslim terrorists, paedophiles, suspicious asylum seekers and troublesome young people, so called hoodies. These are all perceived as deviant in the media, they are also seen as deviant by the society (Cohen, 2009). In this way, this text clearly explains the links between micro and macro levels described in this book. Cohen is connecting personal troubles with social issues in a very manageable way. C. Wright Mills writes that so be able to completely understand the sociological imagination you need to be able to see both personal troubles and societal issues and the relationship between these; troubles occur within the character of the individual (Mills, 1959: p. 8) and issues are a public matter (Mills, 1959: p. 8). This book is seen as a classic and important work of sociology because it is timeless. Cohen is focusing on the Mods and Rockers, but his thoughts and the sociological theories that he discusses can be applied to a range of different crimes, situations and panics in our society. Folk Devils and Moral Panics can for instance explain the controversy around more recent societal events such as the escalating immigration, the fear of terrorism and the growing Islamophobia after the terrorist attacks in 2001. Therefore, Cohen has written a classic piece of sociology that it is original and probably not like many other sociological pieces because of its width (McRobbie and Thornton, 1995: p. 561). The example of Mods and Rockers show us that stereotyping, prejudice and labelling often creates situations that are worse than the original situation. The argument is clearly that social control and social reaction strengthens deviance, like a vicious circle. The book allows us to see how media affects us and that is important. McRobbie and Thornton (1995) write that it will always be up to date because it is a study of deviance and mass media that will always be a part of any society. Referencing in the text Cohen?

An Examination of Rips Character in Irvings Rip Van Winkle :: Rip Van Winkle Essays

An Examination of Rip's Character in Irving's Rip Van Winkle Washington Irving wrote Rip Van Winkle with the American people in mind. At this time society was changing drastically. America was attempting to go through a struggle with forming their own identity. America was wanting to have an identity that would set them free from English culture and rule. Irving uses his main character, Rip Van Winkle, to symbolize America. Rip goes through the same struggles that America was going through at this time before and after the Revolution. Irving uses such great symbolism in this story to describe the changes that American society went through. This story covers a wide variety of time periods including: America before English rule, early American colonies under English rule, and America after the Revolutionary War. One main issue of the story was one of identity, especially at this time in history. Rip was having difficulty finding himself throughout the story. His wife constantly nagged at him probably all in good reason. His farm was fading away. He was lazy and unproductive. He underwent many emotional changes throughout the story. He didn't appreciate what he had, and before he could even blink it was gone. Life is too short to not appreciate everything in it and enjoy it to the fullest. In the first paragraph I chose to look at, it leads right into when Rip goes off for a walk to go squirrel shooting. Although the main reason for his walk was to get away for his nagging wife. The story could be interpreted in two different ways. One being that Rip was a lazy bum who did not take responsibility for his wife, children, and farm. He rather go out and drink and hang with his buddies at the tavern. I believe Irving specifically wrote this story for men. The story makes the wife sound like the wretched, nagging, old ugly woman and all she cares about is bothering her husband. This to me sounds all to familiar to what goes on still to this day. I believe the story makes Dame Van Winkle out to be the one in change of the power, but in reality I believe it was Rip.

A Life Worth Living in Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

A Life Worth Living in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut (1922- ) is an author with a unique perspective on life. He sees in a vivid technicolor things in this world that the rest of humanity may only see in black and white. By the same token he sees life as a rather dark subject, it's the ultimate joke at our expense (Lundquist 1). His life experience has been one of hardship. His mother committed suicide in 1942. Two years later he was captured by Nazis in World War II's epic Battle of the Bulge. In 1943 he survived the massively destructive fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany. He returned with the distinguished Purple Heart. In 1958 his sister and brother-in-law died, leaving him to raise their children, along with his own (Campbell 2). Despite these hardships, however, to Vonnegut life is still worth living. It shows through in his novels. Vonnegut utilizes black humor and irony to show many recurring themes noted in his works which are we, as a race, must learn to keep happy illusions over evil ones and that a soothing lie is sometimes the best truth (Lundquist 1). To say that Vonnegut feels life is worth living despite the horrors of the world is to say that Vonnegut really longs for the life of his childhood. It was a life of family and good, Midwestern upbringing. Wholesome morals like self-respect and pacifism were fed to him along with other staples of the Midwest. America was an idealistic, pacifistic nation at the time. I was taught in the sixth grade to be proud that we had a standing army of just over a hundred thousand men and that generals had nothing to say about what was done in Washington. I was taught to be proud of that and to pity

Human Necessity :: Religion Christianity Papers

Human Necessity Today, we live in a world where the question, "why?" proceeds nearly every statement or action. We live in a society where faith alone, for most, is not enough to justify belief. In her novel Regeneration, Pat Barker shows us this need to question by referring to the Gospel of Saint Luke. On page 106, Dr. Rivers recites Luke 4:23 to himself: "Ye will sure say unto me this proverb. Physician heal thyself." Barker uses this Biblical reference to develop a theme concurrent with the entire novel: our innate human need to seek justification for actions. The phrase, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb. Physician heal thyself," is spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Saint Luke. Saint Luke tells us that at the age of 30 Jesus began his public ministry. Prior to his preaching, he had worked as a simple carpenter in the city of Nazareth (New International Version Bible, Luke 3:23). Upon hearing about the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus left Nazareth and went to Capernaum, a city close to the Jordan River. In Capernaum, Jesus began his teachings. Jesus would preach in synagogues and perform miracles: casting out demons, making the paralyzed walk, and relieving deadly fevers from the sick ("Capernaum"). News of the coming of a Messiah spread all over Galilee, including to Jesus' hometown of Nazareth, where the residents had never known Jesus as the Messiah, or as a man who could perform miracles. To the residents of Nazareth, Jesus was merely a simple carpenter. For thirty years, the people of Nazareth had referred to Jesus as "The Perfect Man," but never had witnessed a miracle or anything that would prompt them to think more highly of Jesus (Gledenhuys 167). The residents of Nazareth had heard of Jesus' miracles at Capernaum and were eager to see if this man, whom they had known since birth, was what he claimed to be. Jesus began preaching to the Nazarenes, but as he spoke the residents began to grumble and question each other: "Isn't this Joseph's son?" (New International Version Bible, Luke 4:22). They did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, because they had not seen any physical evidence; they had not witnessed a miracle. Jesus, sensing their lack of faith, says to them, "Y e will surely say unto me this proverb. Physician heal thyself" (New International Version Bible, Luke 4:23).

On the Meaning of Life †John Cottingham Essay

What is our relationship with the universe – who are we and how did we come to be seems to be the ultimate question of the meaning of life. This question has always sparked powerful debates between the views of the religious and modern science. Many believe this topic is a one-sided issue where these views cannot co-exist with one another, either one’s a theist, believing in God as the soul creator and ruler of the universe or an atheist, disbelieving of a supreme being or beings. But in actuality, modern science does not count against the nature of a divine creator behind the universe. So as modern science offers an account of how things happened, religious beliefs account for a certain aspect of â€Å"why,† aiming towards finding significance and value. In On The Meaning of Life, John Cottingham argues in order to have meaning, you must not eliminate one theory from the other; modern science and religion must co-exist together. First, what’s the meaning of modern science, and why does it contribute to the meaning of life? Philosopher Rene Descartes believed in mechanism, a theory holding that organisms are machines in the sense that they are material systems, therefore explains biological processes, within the framework of science. In order to discover a fundamental set of principles that is â€Å"based ultimately on the universal laws of mathematical physics that governed the behavior of all natural phenomena, celestial and terrestrial alike,† (6) Descartes banish teleology (any system attempting to explain a series of events in terms of ends, goals, or purposes) from science. He believed in order to conceive this unified theory there was no room for purposiveness, and since this universal law was made of mathematical physics, â€Å"there was no attainable answer to the question why† (6). But Cottingham thinks if we were to achieve and complete a [super-theory linking gravity and quantum physics] together to answer the ultimate question, we still would [fall short of explaining why there should be a universe at all]. Cottingham’s belief is acceptable because if this super-theory was completed, that included all observable phenomena in the universe, this theory still would not answer the question to â€Å"why is it so. † This is where science has reached its limits. Religion takes off of where science can no longer be held accountable to the meaning of life. Why should there be a universe there to explain? Unlike the language of science, religious language â€Å"grapples with the task of addressing what cannot be fully captured by even the most complete scientific account of the phenomenal world† (8). Instead of finding significance in terms of physical quantities and mechanical interactions, religious language reflects on the universes power, beauty, rhythm, and harmony. Therefore, religious discourse pushes the limits of the observable, towards uncovering something beyond the phenomenal world, in hopes of giving meaning to the universe and to our human lives. Cottingham believes religion â€Å"adds a framework within which that nature is revealed as more than just a set of characteristics†¦ encourages us with the hope that the pursuit of virtue†¦ contributes to the establishment of moral order that the cosmos was created to realize† (72). In other words, the religious perspective offers a possibility for human purposeness by providing a powerful focus on moral goodness. Religious discourse is important because since science accounts for how the universe and humans were made. We feel that we are thrown into this world where nothing ultimately matters, but religion offers hope, value and significance towards life. After examining the different aspects modern science and religion brings to the ultimate question, Cottingham urges to combine the language of science and religion together in order to have meaning. Cottingham states â€Å"in strict logic there is nothing to prevent such a purely mechanical system (of efficient causality) coexisting with a purposive system (of final causality)† (48). Therefore we must not eliminate the possibility of the two systems (modern science and religion) existing together. Philosopher Leibniz’s envisioned a world of spiritual purposes functioning in harmony with the world of physical mechanisms. This is also known as blind mechanical systems, â€Å"whose outputs, at the same time, constitute the purpose planning and doings of conscious agents† (48). Believing mechanisms and purposes could together provide an instance in support of the ultimate question of the universe. In addition, Spinoza had a parallel vision to Leibniz. He believed the universe of physical mechanisms (under the attribute of extension) exactly corresponds to spiritual ideas linking meaning and purpose to a willed creator (under the attribute of thought). Thus, we are dealing with [one and the same thing but expressed in two ways]. This showed Cottingham that since there has been no evidence to favor modern science of being the explanation of a divine nature, it does not logically eliminate the possibility of a divine creator of its meaning. So where science accounts for our human nature and origin, saying we have no ultimate significance, spirituality offers human life a sense of value. Darwin’s theory of natural selection opposes the possibility of linking modern science and religion together in one system. In order to get a sense of what threatens the framework of religion, this is the standard account of our human nature and origin: About fourteen billion years ago, the cosmos†¦including matter, radiation, space and time somehow began, exploding from a tiny concentration of matter-space energy†¦gravitational effects caused matter to clump into hydrogen masses†¦fusing into helium. Explosions caused new heavier elements, which formed into plants. On at least one planet, a self-replicating molecule arose†¦evolved into living organisms, which diversified into all kinds of plants, animals, microbes etc. , all solely as a result of natural selection. After millions of years one such species became intelligent. Man is a product of these blind forces. The main conclusion from this theory is that the universe and everything in it is a result of natural selection, including humans therefore Nottingham presumes â€Å"there is no ultimate significance to the universe or to human life,† (42) throwing out the idea of any religious significance. Darwin believed that human origin came from a purely accidental chain of blind natural forces. His view gave no choice or purposiveness in the divine nature, because everything was an entirely impersonal process. But Cottingham argues although this discovery has been scientifically accounted for, it is based on interwoven interpretation, an â€Å"interpretation that goes far beyond the truths and hypotheses that pertain strictly to the natural science† (43). And that viewing religious thought as something able to be replaced by modern science is strictly a metathesis â€Å"-a claim that operates at one remove from the claims of science itself† (43). As a result, Darwin’s theory cannot be taken very seriously because the standard account of human nature and origin is dependent on interwoven interpretation that has exceeded far from the fundamental principles of science. In essence, in order to account for the meaning of life, one must not choose modern science over religion or religion over modern science. Having one theory over the other does not manifest to the ultimate question of the meaning of life. Instead, we must link the two frameworks, divine nature and creator into a unified system. In Cottinghams words, we â€Å"must leave the door open for the theist as indeed it does for the atheist. † For where modern science can be longer contribute its findings to the meaning of life, religious language ascends from it bringing significance and value to human life. Beckie Chung Dreaming of the Earth 4 November, 2007 Cottingham, John. On The Meaning of Life. New Fetter Lane: Routledge, 2003.

BMW case study

Case went UP on BMW BMW is in the midst of implementing changes to increase its sales and improve its Image in the US market. In this phase BMW should target achieving 100,000 units by the year 1 996 in order to hold a competitive place in the US luxury car market. The mall problem BMW is facing in the US market Is poor customer satisfaction Index which Is negatively affecting the brand Image. BMW should concentrate on Improving customer satisfaction by way of investing Into opening Its own exclusive showroomsIn key locations in the US which will serve as an example for other dealers to emulate. By Investing In customer experience of buying and owning a BMW car from Its dealers the company can achieve Its target goal and entrench Itself strongly Into the US luxury car market. The goal BMW should strive to achieve Is to sell 100,000 units by end of the year 1996 which translates to about 10% year on year sales growth from the year 1992. This goal also means BMW gets about 8% market sh are of the luxury automobile sector In the year 1996 considering 3% annual growth rate n the luxury segment.This goal is realistically achievable given that the efforts of the Second Great Opportunity have already started yielding results with a 23% unit sales increase for the year 1992. This is also very important to have this goal in order to keep up the momentum gained by the recent revamped advertising campaigns and strategies implemented. There can be an argument to make the goal as to increase market share to 10% but to achieve this figure the number of unit sales needed is higher than the capacity of BMW to produce vehicles and makes it come close to a ass producer which is clearly not in the Bum's global strategy.The primary impediment to achieving this goal is the abysmal customer satisfaction score of BMW as given by the JDK Power Consumer Satisfaction Survey which is way behind all of the competitors. This is an indication that though the product itself is brilliant the e xperience of buying and owning the car leaves a lot to be desired which directly means lesser sales. It sets a trend of negative feedback on the brand image and impacts sales growth. The other impediment of the introduction the new LincolnContinental Mark VIII model leading to stiffer completion on the sentiments of â€Å"Buy American†, is less of a threat due to the fact that BMW has already started the plan to build a new manufacturing facility in Suppurating , South Carolina, which will be operational by 1995. Buyers of BMW cars as per company records, are from the younger age bracket and are very demanding customers, which directly means that they are harder to satisfy. The primary place of Interaction for a customer Is the dealerships and franchises.They are the face of the company as far as the customer Is concerned and all their experiences of buying and owning a BMW car stems from the dealer they went to. The solution to Improving the customer satisfaction Is best ach ieved by enhancing the dealer experience. The detailed plans laid out by the â€Å"Integrated BMW Network Development Concept† should be Implemented at the earliest and should be the primary area of Investment for BMW. The effort of putting together the ‘Retail Operations Concept' with the detailed ‘Dealer OperatingSystem' (DOS) has already been done but hasn't been fully implemented yet. BMW across US which can serve as the showpiece of how a showroom and dealer should function as laid out by the DOS. This will go a long way into establishing best practices among the dealers and introduce uniformity in customer experience as the other dealers follow the example set by BMW. Also they should audit the existing dealer network and terminate the underperforming dealerships. All this goes a long way towards increasing customer satisfaction which in turn will lead to direct sales increase.