Human Resource Management: Leadership Styles

Human Resource Management: Leadership Styles In the global economy there is a competition especially in the retails sector. The customer satisfaction is a major driver for the organizational performance. The important determinant for customer satisfaction in the retail sector is about the employee attitude (Heskette et al., 1991). In the retail industry there cannot be satisfied customers when served by unhappy employers (Heskette et al., 1997). The organizational commitment of employees results in lower attrition rates and improves customer satisfaction (Marshall et al., 2001). One of the key determinants to employee attitude is attitude and leadership style of the immediate supervisor. Some of the leadership styles prevail upon the employees resulting job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Human Resource Management (HRM) plays a vital role in all organizations management. The importance of Human Resource Management is to increase the productivity form manpower resources day by day and it became a factor in the organizational strategic management. It gradually increases the human capital and organizational performance by managing them effectively (Delaney et al., 1997). The HRM must attract the well trained and skilful employees, training; provide guidelines to improve the efficiency of the work force and organization. The title human resource management has been generally known from the past ten or fifteen years. Even, the term is commonly used as personnel management. Dessler (1991) defined that there is no discrimination among personnel management and Human Resource Management and found that final as current extended adaptation of traditional personnel management because of the technological existence in work place changed social values. Torrington and Hall (1998) argued that the personnel management and the Human Resource Management are different because he divided the personnel management based on workforce center and HRM based on manpower resources. Guest (1987) concept on HRM is that human resource management is the alter not an alternative to the personnel management but it particularly concentrated on some elements of workers such as employee flexibility, commitment, integration and quality. But here is no any exact define for human resource management and so many definitions are existed Armstrong (1995) described HRM is a strategic and logical practice of the organizational management and its a main valuable asset. And HRM is used as employees participate as individual and also jointly to contribute their work to achieve particular organizational goals. The Importance of HR as a Source of Competitive Advantage Today, organizations considered that the human resources are the most valuable assets for competitive advantage and to sustain in a long time in the business. Many of work force assets are theoretically reviewed as resource based view (RBV) by (Barney, 1986, 1991, 1995). The (RBV) theory realized instead of build up a competitive advantage, they should shift to generate resource such an approach that the approach no one can imitate their style, rare, and no one can be substitute. But Pfeffer (1994), Barney (1986, 1991, 1995), Youndt and Wright (1996), Snell, Wright and McMahan (1992) are disagreed with the above statements the reason is that the history proved that the competitive advantage is frequently possible to imitate. And the organizational human resources can effectively influence and existence of the competitive advantage. The organizations RBV theoretical process is followed by the strategic management field. RBV revealed that the attributes and resources of an organization very essential for effective competitive advantage than organizational formation and also competition from rival firm (Barney, 1997). Resources are defined as an organization search and implement its strategies by using tangible as well intangible assets. (Barney, 2001). The above definition consists of all the organizational, financial, physical, human resources. Pisano and Shuen (1997) Barney (1991) and Teece have summarized that suppose a resource might measured a source to continue competitive advantage. So this assumption required some factors such as valuable resources, uncommon, incomparable and non replaceable. Organizations can obtain value form, natural resources economies and technologies, But RBV was not agreed because those resources are easily available to everyone and everywhere so anyone can imitate from anyone, whi lst defined human resources are the group of human resources under the organizations direction in straight employee relations (Wright McMahan, 1992) can become competitive advantage to the organization from their competitors. Initially this process adds value to the organizations productivity. The result would be positive by the contribution of the employees as a pool. Generally the inputs of the all employee are not equal so the outputs in the market are limited. So these kinds of resources cannot be easily imitated by the other organizations. But its very difficult for firms to understand which is the correct source to adopt their competitive advantage. So, this resources are cannot be simply replaceable. The management scientist Barney (1991) argued that firms cannot gain the highest efficiency from the employees who are working in their firms due to their employees commitment is less so they are not interested to put their maximum efficiency. It was found organizations must motivate the employees by motivating them and develop their knowledge, skill set, and abilities by adopting HRM practices. Approaches of HRM Examining the importance of HR practices in organizational performance, the major activities of human resources implemented RBV method (Barney, 1991, Delery, 1998). Adopting this technique the firm may obtain the competitive advantage. Although every firm may not obtain this competitive advantage by adopt these human resource practices. But the organization can minimize the rate of attrition (Delery, 1998). Anyhow this theoretical frame work and practices can affect the organizational relations as well as the practices. HRM and firm performance. According to Huselid (1995) found the results of using the thirteen Human Resource practice on organizational performance. He found tow types methods of HR practices. The first method concerned with skills firms structures. This was based on practices to improve abilities, skills and performance of the job responsibilities of the employee. The second method was to motivate the employee. For this they were approached to understand the behavior of the employee. Therefore they focused on employee satisfaction levels toward his job. However he found significantly the both methods results effects were positive on organizational performance. Therefore the number of researchers examined and revealed the relations between the firm performance and HR practices and various approaches are adopted. Finally the HR practices helps in organizational performance to enhance skills of the employees as well as motivate them towards their role by using positive approaches (Delery Doty, 1996). Leadership Defining Leadership Hemphills (1994) defined leadership in his simple way and in a very appropriate way. For this he summarized the classical definitions as leadership is to directing his group this one sentence he summed up the basic definition and dynamics of all leadershipthe directing of group achievements. He stated that the leader is the superior and the followers are subordinates even roles are concerned. Therefore the efficient leader delivers the effective process. Though, definitely the effective leadership administers the organizational achievement and performance positively. The leadership is one of important aspect human behaviours and well studied subject in the recent times. There are several forms definitions in the literatures for the leadership. The more accepted form of definition is influence theme. The leaders who influence people are to achieve the goals and increases organisational performance. It does not translate to that leader having control over his followers to achieve the goals which leader wants to achieve. The followers emulate the leaders attitudes to achieving desired goals. The leader is expected to leader the process of planning and execution of activities to achieve the organisational goals. There is a difference between the management and leadership, the management is concerned about the short-term issues in a company, where as leaders adopt and look into broader prospective. Most of the leadership theories are emerged in organizations to achieve their organizational objectives as well as their goals. The theories are focused on behaviours, traits, controlling and circumstances(Mintzberg, 1973). However the current theories are correlation centered. Where as the co operation between the leader and followers. The trait theory and behavioral theory could not clarify the effect of the leaders on followers. , behavioural can not explain the influence of leaders on the followers not only that there is no understanding among the definitions and measurement of effective leadership. The organizations realized that the effective leadership is required to lead and survive their business in the market. The recent development in the leadership type is transformational leadership which most suitable in the contemporary times. The transformational leadership also integrates the trait, behavioral and situational approaches (Figure 1). The transformational leadership recognizes that there are some traits in the people and they can observe, developed and learnt. The leader influences the followers behaving in certain ways. The relationship between the leader and follower is dictated by various situational factors. The central them to transformational leadership is that leader behavior is not solely based on the tangible inducements, rather based on the development of followers in their interest in resulting group productivity. In specific areas like educational institutes, business, family, hospital and political organization require an energetic leadership. The energetic and dynamic leadership is ready to offer quality of service. These dynamic leaders find new ideas and creativity get in to practice. Leadership Styles The types of leadership styles considered who is a leader, says and how he directs the followers. This study used in approach of authority and decision making. However an assessment on few selected leadership styles reveals a degree of leaders accountability with his employees. Lall and Lall (1979) listed the five leadership styles as follow: Autocratic Leadership style: The current generation of employees is resistant to autocratic leadership and hence received lot of criticism from academicians. This type of leadership style is applicable in certain situations where the staff is not well trained. In some cases where staff does not respond to other forms of leadership can be dealt with autocratic leadership. The autocratic leadership should not be used in where are staff would like to contribute with their inputs and knowledge based projects. The approach of autocratic leadership style concerned with the decision making power. This leadership style doesnt obtain contribution of their followers and they always fix that the staff accept their decisions. These leaders suggest only structured and inflexible rewards but they wouldnt support performance related compensation. These leaders must not concern of followers justifications even if they took wrong decisions. They often punish their sub-ordinates and they have fixed behavior. Therefore the staff cannot feel they are the part of the organization and there will not be any correlation. So the employee cannot contribute his maximum effort. The recent generation avoids this kind of leadership style. But this leadership style work out in some critical situations when the employees are not trained well and when the subordinates are not responding to other leadership styles. However this leadership style must not use where the employees are contribute with their skills, knowledge and willingness to work. Benefit: This leadership style usually get work done . Drawback: The sub ordinates just depend on the leaders decisions and there is no participation in making decisions. The followers personal growth put in risk. Bureaucratic Leadership Style This leadership style strictly follows the policies, rules, procedures and regulations blindly. This leadership style success where the repetitive work will be done frequently. In this style if the decision making is not according to the policies and procedure then they will go for another level of decision making. This kind of leadership well exist where dealing with accounting and cash in each section. But the staff may disinterest towards their work. This is well applicable to those who have minimum skills and the performance is not up to the mark. Benefits: Here every problem contains solution instantly without any practice. Drawback: this is well organized and has a tendency to depersonalize their group. Charismatic Leadership style In this leadership style, the leader concentrates on himself and try to be a charismatic. The subordinates transformed to champions of the cause Benefits: This kind of leadership needs many followers to support the leaders views, look after his origin. Drawbacks: This leadership style has a tendency to bend towards bureaucratic leadership style. Laissez Faire Leadership style This kind of leadership style doesnt influence the subordinate by guiding and directing. These leaders make their sub ordinate to make decisions without restrictions and the followers or subordinates make their decisions. This is the current leadership style where the organizations are following. In this style the leader must aware of the knowledge of their subordinates. Here the leader assumes, the staff is trained enough, intelligent and qualified. In the organization where knowledge based for e.g. software companies employees are enjoy working their own and solving problems. However this style of leadership may not worked out where the job security is low. The group members are competitive but tere is no any guidance and direction for the group therefore it creates problems. Benefits: each and every group member get the chance to make decisions. Drawbacks: This kind of leadership makes confusion among the team members as well as the leader. Democratic Leadership styles: This kind of leadership style is a contribution leadership. Here the leaders consider their subordinates efforts while decision making. The leader educates their group regarding the activities in which they are involving. Though the team participate form the beginning to execute it. It supports the group members in any situation. This democratic leadership performs as a coaching and motivating their group members in all areas. Although the staff contribution as a role. Therefore the employee compensation and reward will be based on his performance. The democratic style of leadership is most useful if the sub-ordinates are active and active participates in making decisions. However the multi type projects need contribution from other divisions and other employees. The technology based projects require the huge support form other divisions and also they are up to date. But the problems are not appropriate for these leaders. This kind of leadership strategies are obtained from collection of group employees Finally the democratic leadership is form of a participatory leadership where the leader takes into consideration of sub-ordinates inputs while making the decisions. The staff is well informed before hand regarding about the activities they are involved and the matter concerned to them. The staff has participatory role starting from planning, design and execution. This enables the staff to effectively deal with any problems during the execution. The democratic leaders act like a coach motivating the staff and instil the team culture in the organisations. The team work results in the large volumes of work in the short period of time. The democratic leaders receive support form staff and appreciate the importance given to their inputs. The democratic leader place trust on their staff allowing to them make decisions and develop their goals. These leaders allow professional growth of their staff and encourage career growth based on their performance. The employee reward and compensation is linked to the individual performance. Benefits: the growth of individuals developed through involvement in organizations operations. Drawbacks: the leader must support the decisions according the majority of the group. Employee Job Satisfaction The job satisfaction can defined as employee total attitude towards the work organisation and working conditions. The academicians focussed on the job satisfaction when the employment became significant part of the society. In the early days academicians focussed on studying the job satisfaction in the industrial environment and job satisfaction termed as work output. However over the period time job satisfaction definition transformed to attitudes of employees towards various situational factors in the work environment (Bullock, 2003). There is a great interest in recent times about the job satisfaction of the employees. The basic reason is that people deserved to be treated with respect and fairly and the job satisfaction directly reflects the treatment. The job satisfaction shows that emotional well-being and physiological health. Secondly the job satisfaction results in the organisational commitment and performance. The management concern is about the well-being of their workforce (Aryee 2009). The organisations like to measure the job satisfaction of employees at regular intervals to gauge employees attitudes. The aspects which effect the job satisfaction are: Personal aspects: The personal aspects consist of the gender, culture, education, social, economic situations, family etc. Jon inherent Factors: These aspects consist of the supervisors, workers; skilled workers frequently want to be directed by their convict on their daily job activities. Organizational Factors: The management aspects consist of supervision, job security, remuneration, career growth opportunities and responsibilities. Their existence usually motivates the employees and gives them job satisfaction. The organizations main motive is to concentrate on job design. It facilitates to improve employee hob satisfaction and productivity. Therefore when the job satisfaction is increase the attrition rate will be decreased (castor and spector, 1987). When the organizations not satisfied the employees jobs then automatically the absenteeism increases as well the productivity decreases. Gap 1 The Causes of Employee Attitudes The major factor in employee job satisfaction is the employees attitude, that depends on the management practices, working conditions, wages, and other fringe benefits, often employees are looking for extra benefits from the employer. Then the gasp exist between the employee expectation and the employees satisfaction towards his job. The culture is also one of the important factor influences the job satisfaction of the employee. Cultural Influences Culture aspects such as beliefs, values, food habits, traditions, these are affecting the employees. The globalization of companies faces so many problems to Human Resource practitioners. Therefore the cross cultural studies could assist those organizations. (Erez, 1994; house, 1995: Triandis, 1994) and the other social factors such as individualism, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance versus risk taking, power distance, masculinity/femininity are mostly play a major role in employee job satisfaction. Gap 2 The Results of Positive or Negative Job Satisfaction The second factor is the positive or negative job satisfaction of the employee. Often the organizations believe that the organizational productivity depends up on the satisfaction of the employees. Human Resources practitioners always put their maximum effort to reduce the cost incurring in employee job satisfaction and the organizational out comes completely depends up on the employee satisfaction. Gap 3 How To Measure and Influence Employee Attitudes The 3rd Gap focuses on the measures of employee attitude and influence. But number of methods existed attitudes of the employees such as conducting interviews, surveys. Form the above methods the attitude survey method most popular and well constructed method. This method is used to understand employee attitude whether it is positive or negative. Form that, we able to understand the attitudes of the employees. Authoritarian Style Democratic Style All policies are determined by leader Strategies for goal relation determined by leader; no future direction. Leader dictates work task to team Leader is personal in his praise and critics without objective reasons. Leader maintains distance from members All policies are determined by the group Explanation of overall processes give in the beginning; technical advice sought and given Members are free to choose work companion and division of tasks Leader is objective and fact minded in praise and criticism. Leader participate in the group Source: Kurt Lewin (1943) Autocratic versus Democratic Leadership There is always a controversy between the leadership style which is effective, whether the autocratic leadership style or democratic style of leadership. Daft (1999) said the autocratic leaders are one who lean to centralize power and compel power from the particular location, controlling the rewards. The system is initiated in responding to the on going situation in some European countries in those days. A study conducted by Lewin, White, Lippitt (1939); Lippitt White (1943) on autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire a group of boys and girls under guidance various leadership styles. The outcomes revealed that the group has imitated their leaders style of leadership. Under autocratic leadership style the leaders controlled in all the situations. In this leadership style they are very directive and scarcely appraising their group members and followed by-book leadership. The authoritarian team members are did not get the opportunity to make their own decisions and they always depen d on their leaders in decision making. The democratic leadership style of leaders provides their team a lot of opportunity to express their views confidently. The team members exposed social, impulsive and participative behavior in all the situations. The laissez-faire is measured as a light-weight leadership style. Leaders are very rarely influence their team. And there is no any direction to their teams and there is no any encouragement as a democratic style. This is like a captain less ship. Shaw (1955) observed by his study that the authoritarian leadership style team members are very speed, accuracy and efficient in their views. In the other hand the satisfaction of the team leaders are high. Tannenbaum Schmidt (1973) extended the democratic vs. autocratic leadership style perception by bring out Leadership variety. Leadership and Job Satisfaction There is a relationship between the job satisfaction and leadership style of the immediate supervisor (Bass, 1985). In another study Chionk (2001) established a positive correlation between the leadership style, job satisfaction and employee commitment. The manager should leadership qualities to produce the organisational outcomes. The leadership style and vision can influence the employee job satisfaction internally as well as externally (Gaziogly and Tansel, 2006). On the contrary Chang and Lee (2005) showed that there is no significant relationship between the leadership style and job satisfaction. In general transformational leadership results in the employee willingness to organisations and desired organisational outcomes. While viewing the job satisfaction in the context of leadership there are several prediction can be derived (Bass, 1985). The transformational leadership can foster a more job satisfaction due to sense of ownership and intellectual stimulation. The transformational leader encourage in more freedom and responsibilities for their employees. The work also provides a more accomplishments and job satisfaction. The transformational leaders also encourage development of their employees, hence employees feel that their needs are also cared and carried out. While the employees who do not like the transformational leadership may feel that reward system is not good enough for them. The people who believe in management by exception feel that transformational leaders are searching for deviations and are not happy in their jobs (Solomon, 2007) The employees are more satisfied with the managers who are supportive compared managers who are critical of employees. The employ undergo stress to work with leaders who are unsupportive and show a hostile behaviour towards employees. The employees expect guidance and directions in situations where they cant make decisions. The negative leadership style results in the reduced productivity, increased turnover rate and absenteeism (Ribelin, 2003). The studies conducted by Robbins (2003) it is revealed that employees retention is higher with transactional leadership as compared transformational leadership. The transformational leadership helps employees to improve their skills increasing the job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Job Satisfaction and Retail Leadership: Hammer (1996) says that from the past two decades, the employee behaviors are changing frequently. Because of the improved multiple job opportunities the employee has the wide choices. Therefore the retention of employee is a crucial thing for the organizations (Chowdhury, 2000). This study tells what the organizations are going to practice satisfy the employee and what are the emerged theories on employee job satisfaction. But in the current business environments the money is not very important for the employees. Although the peer study revealed that the main reason for employee job satisfaction is the behavior of the manager or managers behavior. There it review that the leadership and the support or co operation of the leadership play a key role in employee job satisfaction. Then the organization must support the employees through the organizational cultures, policies that exist effective in the work place. But some studies say that the satisfaction of the employee is linked with employee job satisfaction. Where as the employee get motivated by customer satisfaction in certain environments such as retail industry and direct marketing organizations. The study explained that the job satisfaction will be resultant by five basic characteristics: Task variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy Feedback. People want to have more control and meaning in their work-lives, and not just perks and benefits. Theories found in the literature which pertain to job satisfaction include: Equity theory: Mostly this theory defined that the employees can be satisfy and get motivated with their jobs when they have the healthy industrial relations among their work group. Here they must feel that every employee is same and equal. The satisfaction levels decrease when the recriminations rise among the employees. Therefore the organizations must maintain the equality among their employee. Two-Factor Theory of Job Satisfaction (Herzberg) Herzberg theory states that dissatisfaction effect on the employee satisfaction it directly results on the employee out put and productivity. Generally the employees satisfaction with their job and perform a positive result on the organizational productivity. The motivational factors that are influence on employees, such as rewards, promotions, achievements, by adding responsibilities and recognition by his skills. Value Theory: The modern theory (1997) defined that the job satisfaction is formed in daily building up the positive attitude on the employees job. Where the employee gets the opportunity and value to achieve a particular goal and also the job provides that opportunity to accomplishment of such goal, then mostly the employee feel the job satisfaction. When the employee finds the organization go against to the employee regarding his role so the dissatisfaction of the employee may occur. Social Information Procession Model This model recommends that the co employees attitudes and behaviors result on the job satisfaction of the employee. Therefore where the employee surrounded the people who have positive attitudes and views regarding the opportunities which the organization provides and never bother about job security then automatically the employee satisfy with his current job. So the co employees attitudes and motivation effect the other employees. QUESTIONNAIRE The satisfaction of my job is Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor I am provided the resources by my organization to perform are Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor Working conditions are good and safe Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The organization formed the clear cut goals to achieved by the team members. Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The motivation of my team leader Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor My team leader communicates me regarding my job responsibilities Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The company help me to identify my strengths and weaknesses Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The opportunity provided by our company to try innovative things Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The value of my views and participations in our organization is Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The level of facilities which our organizational structure practices to enhance effective accomplishment of tasks is Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The environment which the management provide me is Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The satisfaction of the policies adopted by our organization is Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor The respect of team members ideas and opinions is Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Poor Consumer Buying Decisions: Product Attributes Consumer Buying Decisions: Product Attributes In this research, instant coffee purchasing is selected to study the buying decision of consumers. Three blind taste tests are experimented and proofing that participant tended to choose the popular brand of coffee. Surprisingly, people made different choices in each of the test. The result tells us that without knowing the brand name, their buying decisions are different when comparing with knowing the brand name. In conclusion, brand has a strong influence in consumers decisions. To better understand the blind taste tests, we executed a questionnaire survey immediately. As a result, the survey tells us taste is the most important factor in affecting their buying decisions whereas their second consideration would be price, brand, and influenced by advertisement. This giving an idea that except for the brand and taste, there are many factors should affecting the consumers buying decision. Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Literature Review 2 2.1. Brand name 2 2.2. Brand Image 4 2.3. Linking brands to consumer perceptions of product 5 2.4. Consumer buying behavior and decision making 6 2.5. Customer satisfaction and loyalty 9 2.6. Product attributes 10 3. Research Methodology 12 3.1. Pilot study 15 4. Findings and discussions 16 4.1. Participants 16 4.2. Relationship of brand, taste and decision 17 4.3. Post-tests evaluation 20 4.4. Buying behavior 23 4.5. Discussions 26 5. Conclusion 28 5.1. Recommendations 28 5.2. Conclusion 29 6. References 30 7. Appendix 33 7.1. Annex: The Blind Test and Questionnaire 33 Keywords Branding, Brand image, Brand equity, Consumer buying behavior, Consumer buying decision, Customer satisfaction and loyalty, Product attributes Introduction Over the past few decades, a considerable number of studies have been made on the relationship of branding and consumer buying behavior (Fournier, 1994; Keon, 1983), i.e. how the consumer buying behavior affected by branding. Many companies devote lots of money and manpower to build up images for their brands. That is the reason why many studies have focused on this field. In this research will be figured out which factor, brand name or product attributes, plays a critical role in affecting consumer buying decision. In the economists normal approach, price is used as the main tool to explain the consumer buying behavior (Becker, 1996). We carry out blind taste tests and also conduct a questionnaire to find out the impact of branding on consumers preferences.. Literature Review This literature review is going to analysis what has been done in investigating the relationship among brand, consumer buying decision and product attributes. Such information will be digested and modified to be applied to instant coffee purchasing in the Hong Kong market. Brand name In recognition of the growing coffee culture that is sweeping Hong Kong, different tastes of coffee have been rolled out on the market. For example, Nescafe has newly released a new series of coffee Latte in which the image is totally different from the original Nescafe coffee. Old Town coffee has introduced a new series called white coffee. Why do they give new brand names for the new products? Why do they have different images? Is there any advantage for them to do so? According to Armstrong and Kotler (1999), brands can be described as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of these, which identifies the maker or seller of a product or service. Later, Olins (2000) gives a supplement to the definition of brand. He suggests that brand is a device that helps differentiating products from different sellers, without clear branding, in some fields, we literally could not tell one product or service from another. By using brand names, consumers can easily distinguish products from different sellers. Brand Image In the words of Keller (1998), marketers can build up an image for the product to draw customers attention so as to induce more sales (Keller, 1998). Randall (1997) says Brand image is the whole image of the brand existing in the minds of consumers. It is the total information that the consumers have received about the brand. Some scholars think that the brand image can influence consumers buying decisions. Furthermore, Ogilvy (1983) suggests that consumers do not buy products; rather they buy products with a personality. Ogilvy (1983) also suggests the fact that a brand can have a personality or image reflecting that people not only want the basic function offered by the product, but also psychological benefits. If a brand image matches with an individuals image, he/she will purchase that product and may stick to that brand in future (brand loyalty) (Levine, 2003). From the above statements, it seems that consumers are concerned more about the brand image rather than product attribu tes. In the research, we will use the product of instant coffee to test the validity of the above statements. After reviewing the sections of 2.1 and 2.2, we can say that there is an intimate relationship among brand name, brand image and the consumers. Linking brands to consumer perceptions of product In the research, we will investigate how consumers make buying decisions. Perception of a product is crucial in making the buying decision; therefore, it is necessary to find the linkage between brand and consumer perceptions. Olins (2000) suggests that people can have a relationship with a brand: they have an immense emotional content and inspire loyalty beyond reason. Besides, Keller (1998) suggests that what distinguishes a brand from its unbranded commodity is the sum of consumers perceptions and feelings about the products attributes and performance, brand name and what it stands for and the company associated with the brand. In the past, there were only a few instant coffee brands available in the market. In recent yeas, a lot of new instant coffee brands appear in the market, such as Indocafe and Old Town coffee. The traditional branding strategy which has emphasized on product offerings and associated functional and utilitarian benefits is no longer workable in the market. People are now paying more attention to the brand (Levine, 2003). Therefore, it is no wonder many companies create a strong and distinctive brand image for their products so as to differentiate himself from other competitors (Keller, 1998). Advertising is widely used by the companies to build up a brand image. In Hong Kong, many coffee brands have been advertised on TV and in magazine, such as Maxwell house, Nescafe and Mr. Brown. Most studies have found that there are inter-relationships among brand, advertisement and consumers buying decisions (MacKenzie et al., 1986). Besides, that the affective and cognitive-based attitudes towar ds the brand can affect the consumers buying decisions (Homer et al., 1992). Advertising is the primary device used to build the image of a brand and most of the customers usually rely on advertising messages when they make an infrequent purchase for an unfamiliar product (Dowling, 2001).Well-established brands attract increased preference and usage (East, 1997), produce greater emotional ties (Biel, 1993), and boost trust and loyalty (Fournier, 1994). If the statement is true, it indicates that customers perception of products derive from marketing effort such as brand images and brand differentiation in addition to the physical characteristics of the product. What about the product quality? Can product quality influence the perception of product? Consumer buying behavior and decision making In our study, consumer buying decision is our key focus. We will focus on how the consumers make their buying decisions in purchasing instant coffee. We want to know which factors, brand or product attributes, influences most in the process of buying decision making of consumers. Therefore, we must understand the consumer buying behavior and how they make the buying decisions. In the past, consumers were more concerned with a products function- efficiency, reliability, value-for-money, durability and convenience todays customers are prepared to pay more for a stylish product as they become more affluent and visually sophisticated (Henley Centre, 1989). It is no wonder companies put much effort on packaging, product design and advertising. In the words of Bayley (1989), the ambience, the layers of imagery, the texture, the decoding- all of these are vested interests leading to the only rationale: a purchase. Consumer buying behavior refers to the buying behavior of final consumers, individuals and households who buy goods and services for personal consumption (Armstrong et al., 1999). Consumers have to make decisions when there is more than one choice. However, how do the consumers make their buying decisions? Foxall (1980) suggests that consumers will make the buying decisions according to perception, personality, motivation and attitudes. He says that consumer behavior is a process of learning and it depends on how you perceive the product. The process is modified according to the customers past experience and the objectives he or she has set (Foxall, 1980). Besides, Foxall (1980) also suggests that consumers personality and self-image is important in studying consumer buying decision as he believes that consumers only choose products that are consistent with their perceptions of themselves. By using Foxalls (1980) idea, it is not difficult to understand the relationship between brand and consumer buying decision. Once the brand image and consumers image is matched, consumer will purchase that product. Besides, Foxall (1980) also claimed that consumer buying decision is motivated by something more than awareness. It depends on the consumers needs and drives, his tastes and aspirations, plus his attitudes, personality and social environment (Foxall, 1980). Furthermore, Foxall (1980) says that attitudes and buying decision are related and each may influence the other, however, they are not always entirely consistent. Customer satisfaction and loyalty Although our key focus of the research is how the consumers make buying decisions in purchasing coffee, customer satisfaction will also be investigated. In our study, satisfaction refers to the situation when consumers expectations are matched by perceived performance (Blackwell et al., 2001). After purchasing a product, consumers will have a post-purchase evaluation (Foxall, 1980). Consumers will continue to purchase the product if they are satisfied with it. It is called loyalty. Sometimes, they may recommend it to their relatives and friends. In the research, the blind tests will be used to find out how the consumers perceive the product, that is, to see if consumers can recognize the taste of the brand that they have chosen. Previous study has found that customer satisfaction has a positive effect on loyalty and they will repurchase the product again (Oliver, 1997; Mittal et al., 2001). If the consumers are satisfied with the taste of coffee in the blind tests but it is not the brand the consumers used to buy, we can say that brand influences consumers much and the consumers only loyal to the brand but not the product itself. Product attributes According to Armstrong and Kotler (1999), product attributes can be defined as something that can deliver the benefits offered by the product and can add value to the customers. In the words of Keller (1998), product attributes are the ingredients necessary for performing the product or service function sought by consumers. They refer to a products physical composition and are what determine the nature and level of product performance (Keller, 1998). It can be further characterized according to important and optional features, either necessary for a product to work or for allowing customization and more versatile personalized usage (Keller, 1998). In the research, we will focus on the study of instant coffee and we will regard taste as the most important attributes of coffee. Some studies have carried out in which consumers perceive the products they buy and the brands they regularly choose. Taste is used to determine the effect of brand identification on consumers reactions to and evaluations of products (Allison Uhl, 1964; Makens, 1961). The studies conclude that Participants in general did not appear to be able to discern the taste differences among the various brands, but apparently labels and their associations did influence their evaluations. To sum up the literature review, many studies (Allison Uhl, 1964; Keon, 1983; Makens, 1961) have shown that consumers are influenced by branding. However, to what extent will the consumers make their buying decisions according to product attributes? The research will find out the answer. Research Methodology I used the technique of triangulation (White, 2000) in my research in which two techniques, blind taste test and questionnaire, were used. Before conducting the actual survey, I randomly selected 82 people outside a supermarket in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong and asked them if they had the habit of buying instant coffee. 39 of them stated that they buy instant coffee regularly but 18 of them said that they do not drink instant coffee. In the 39 people, 33 (84.6%) of them said that they usually buy Nestlà ©s instant coffee, Nescafe. 4 (10.3%) of them buy Maxwell House instant coffee and 2 (5.1%) of them buy Old Town instant coffee. I invited the 33 Nescafe instant coffee buyers to do the blind taste test and questionnaire as they were the majority (84.6%) of the respondents. I believed choosing Nescafe instant coffee buyers to be the sample was more representative as they represent the majority of the coffee drinkers that I have asked. However, only 30 of them agreed to participate in the test. The 30 Nescafe instant coffee buyers were my sample population. The sample consisted of 8 males and 22 females who have the habit of buying instant coffee on their own. The blind taste test was carried out in order to find out how the consumers choose coffee. The test was divided into three parts and each part would have 10 participants. In the three blind taste tests, Tsit Wing instant coffee (TW), Maxwell House instant coffee (MH) and Nescafe instant coffee (NC) were used. I chose the three coffees as their price is more or less the same. Every participant had tried the Tsit Wing instant coffee (TW), Maxwell House instant coffee (MH) and Nescafe instant coffee (NC) before. In Test A, three cups of different coffee were given without brand labels. NC was the brand that the sample population used to buy. The participants were asked to taste the coffee and choose one that they would purchase. The data collected in the Test A would serve as a base reference. If the participants like the taste of NC, they will also choose the NC in the test. In Test B, three different cups of coffee were given. Each cup of coffee had a label showing the brand of coffee. The aim of the Test B was to see if there was any difference between Test A and Test B. If they really like the taste of NC, the results in the Test A and B would be consistent. If the results in the two tests are not consistent, it shows that brand influence consumers decision. Test C was carried out to determine if the consumer buying decision was independent of the brand name. The Test C was the same as Test B, except the name of the coffee brand were labeled wrongly. I labeled the cup of MH as TW, the cup of TW as NC and the cup of NC as MH. By comparing with the result obtained in the three tests, we hoped to find out which factors, brand or taste, has a greater influence on the consumers. If the data obtained in the Test A does not match with the data obtained in the Test B, it tells that brand has an influence on consumers decisions. The reason is in Test A, the participants only know the taste of the coffee and they can only choose the coffee according to the taste of coffee. In Test B, however, the participants know both the taste and brand. If their decisions are different, that means the brand affects their buying behavior. For the Test C, the three different coffees were used again. However, their brand names were labeled wrongly this time. Comparing the result obtained in this test to that of in the Test B, if the result has a big difference, that means the brand has a greater influence than the taste on the decision of participants. Besides, questionnaire (Annex 7.1) was also used to obtain data. The questionnaire, used immediately after the blind taste tests, consisted of five questions with choices given. Pilot study The pilot study made me realize that what I need is to observe their buying behavior which cannot be asked but observed. Therefore, I decided to do the blind taste tests and questionnaire instead of doing an interview which allowed me to focus on measuring the influence of brand and taste on the consumers decisions. Afterwards, I decided to carry a three blind taste tests with three groups of people. I enjoy to take this chance tend to do all blind taste test is they will remember the taste of the coffee in the test, and finally affect their choice in the next following tests. Findings and discussions Participants Of the total number of 30 respondents, 8 (26.7%) were males and 22 (73.3%) were females. All of them were NC consumers. The result is shown in Table 4 .1. More than a half people had 1 to 3 years NC purchasing experience and 70% of them had at least 1 year purchasing experience. From the data, we can assume that some participants are experienced in purchasing instant coffee and the results obtained from them are valuable to discuss and analyze. Relationship of brand, taste and decision In the research, blind taste tests were used to find out how the consumer made decisions regarding brand and taste in purchasing instant coffee. Three tests were carried out. In each test, participants were given three cups of different coffee. In Test A, three cups of coffee without brand name were given. In Test B, brand name was given to each cup of coffee. In Test C, brand names were given but placed wrongly on each coffee. In Test A, three cups of coffee without label were given to participants to taste. Surprisingly, the result was not consistent with our expectation. In other words, taste was the only reason for their choices in the Test A. The result told us that without knowing the brand name, their preferences were different when comparing with knowing the brand name. In this test, the result was changed because the participants knew the brand name when comparing with the result of the Test A. There was a 30% increase in the NC and a 30% decrease in the MH. The data showed that the brand really influenced participants when deciding the coffee. In Test C, the participants had to taste three cups of different coffee in which the brand labels were placed wrongly. The result was very close to that of Test A. That means they chose as if just chose by the taste only. It gave us a hint that with a different label on the cups, their choices were different. What we can conclude is that the brand plays an important role in affecting buying decision of participants. Post-tests evaluation After the three blind taste tests, the participants in Test A and C were told about the correct branding of the coffee they had tried. All the participants were asked if they would continue to purchase the NC after trying the tests. Only 30% of the participants would firmly say yes. Half of them had a second thought of their decisions. It told us that they started to think about their perceptions of NC coffee. It implies that the participants will also consider the taste when purchasing instant coffee. Participants were asked to choose one coffee to recommend to their friends after trying the blind taste tests. The result was shown in Table 4 .6. The result was very interesting that about half of them recommend NC to their friends while another half suggested MH, was most people voted due to the taste in the Test A. It implies that branding and taste also have a strong influence in consumers buying behavior. Participants were asked if they were satisfied with the NC. Before the blind taste test, over 40% of the participants were satisfied with the NC. However, after the blind taste tests, only 17% were satisfied with it and there was 13% of participants were dissatisfied. From the result in Fig. 4 .7 and Fig. 4 .8, we can see that the participants were influenced by the blind test. We can say that beside the factors related to the products, there are some other factors may affect our buying decision. Buying behavior In the research, participants were asked immediately after the blind taste tests about how they made the buying decision when purchasing instant coffee. In the research, the participants were asked to give factors they thought were influential in making the buying decision in the questionnaire. The answers were shown in the Table 4 .9. In Fig. 4 .9, it shows the most influential factor affecting buying decision. 63% of the participants regard Taste was the most influential (Table 8.1), 13% voted for Influenced by advertisement, 10% for Brand image, 7% for Price and 7% for Word-of-mouth. Nobody voted for brand in the questionnaire. Comparing to the results obtained in the blind tests, the results were inconsistent. In the blind tests, it was found that the influence of the brand was greater than the influence of the taste. In Fig. 4 .10, it shows the top three influential factors affecting buying decision regarding to instant coffee purchasing. Nearly one-third of the whole population voted for the Taste, the second one was Price (20%) and the third were Brand (13.3%) and Influenced by advertisement (13.3%). The Fig. 4 .10 shows that Price is also an important factor in making the buying decision. The data gives us an idea that beside brand and taste, there are many factors should be considered in making the buying decision. Discussions According to the three blind taste tests and the questionnaires done by the participants, we can see that the brand influence was strong to the participants. In the Test A, participants did not know the brand but the taste. They chose the coffee according to the taste. More than 50% of the NC buyers chose MH. However, when the brands were labeled on each cup of coffee in Test B, 50% of the NC buyers choose NC. In Test C, three cups of coffee were given with the wrong brand labels, the result showed that participants tend to choose coffee according to the brand name as 60% of the NC buyers chose MH which was labeled with a NC label. The three test results indicate that brand affects consumers decisions and which is supported by Olins (2000) and Keller (1998). Olins (2000) suggests that brand helps people to differentiate products from different sellers. Besides, Keller (1998) suggests that brand is an external aspect of product and it can affect the purchase or consumption procedure. Besides, the participants were asked if they were satisfied with the NC before and after the blind taste tests, Over 40% of the participants were satisfied with NC. However, after the blind taste tests, the number of satisfied people decreased and there was 13% of participants dissatisfied with the NC. From the results, we can see that the participants were influenced by the blind test and there are some other factors may affect our preferences. As we mentioned in the literature review, consumers will buy the product again if they are satisfied with the product (Foxall, 1980). From the results, we can see that the brand influences consumer buying decisions a lot. From the data in Table 4 .9, there were 63% of participants chose Taste as the most influential. However, nobody voted brand as the most important factor. Compared that to the results obtained in the blind taste tests, in which brand had a strong influence in consumers decisions, there is a contradiction. The inconsistency shows that people do not understand what influences their behavior very well. Conclusion Recommendations The result obtained from the tests and the questionnaire is not consistent in some way. If the answers from participants are truly reflecting their preferences, the obtained result should be consistent. So we should not trust the result given from the research and we should be critical in reading other research data in the future. Furthermore, if it is feasible, we may observe their actual buying behavior after trying the blind taste tests over a period of time in order to get an accurate result. Conclusion In this research, we carry out three blind taste tests and find out that participants tended to choose coffee according to the brand name. 60% of one of the instant coffee brand supporters chose another brand of coffee which is wrongly labeled as their favorite coffee brand by me. Surprisingly, 80% of them do not choose their favorite coffee brand in another test when the labels are gone. The only factor which affects their decisions if the labels are gone is the taste of the coffee. In other words, taste is the only reason for their choices if no labels are provided. The result tells us that without knowing the brand name, their buying decisions are different when comparing with knowing the brand name. The result shows us that brand had a strong influence in consumers decisions. I conduct a questionnaire immediately after the blind taste tests. The statistical result shows that taste is the most important factor affecting their buying decision while price, brand, and influenced by advertisement come second, third and fourth respectively. The data gives us an idea that beside brand and taste, there are many factors should be considered in making the buying decision. References Allison, R. I., Uhl, K. P. (1964). Influence of beer brand identification on taste perception. Journal of Marketing Research, 1, pp. 36-9. Armstrong, G.., Kotler, P. (1999). Marketing: an introduction (5nd ed.). Upper Saddle River. NJ: Prentice Hall. Bayley, R. (1989). Commerce and culture. London: Design Museum. Blackwell, R. D., Miniard, P. W., Engel, J. F. (2001). Consumer behavior (9th Ed.). Ohio: Thomson Learning. Biel, A. L. (1993). Converting image into equity in brand equity. In D. A. Aaker A. L. Biel (Eds.), Brand equity advertising: Advertisings role in building strong brands (pp. 67-82). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Dowling, G. (2001). Creating corporate reputations. Oxford: University Press. East, R. (1997). Consumer behavior: Advances and applications in marketing. New York : Prentice Hall. Fournier, S. (1994). A consum er-brand relationship framework for strategic brand management. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Florida. Foxall, G. R. (1980). Consumer behavior: a practical guide. New York: Wiley. Henley centre (1989, March 5). Planning for social change. Design Week ,31. Homer, P. M., Yoon, S. (1992). Message framing and the interrelationship among ad-based feelings, affect, and cognition. Journal of Advertising, 211, 19-33. Keller, K. L. (1998). Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. NJ: Prentice Hall Keon, J. W. (1983). Product positioning: TRINODAL mapping of brand images, ad images and consumer preference. Journal of Marketing Research, 20, 380-392. Levine, M. (2003). A branded world. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Inc. MacKenzie, S. B., Lutz, R. J., Belch, G. E. (1986). The role of attitude toward the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: a test of competing explanations. Journal of Marketing Research, 23, pp.130-143. Makens, J. C. (1961). Effect of brand preference on consumers perceived taste of turkey meat. Journal of Applied Psychology, August 1961. Mittal, V., Kamakura, W. A. (2001). Satisfaction, repurchase intent, and repurchase behavior: Investigating the moderating effect of customer characteristics. Journal of Marketing Research, 38, pp. 131-42. Ogilvy, D. (1983). Ogilvy on advertising. London: Pan Books. Olins, W. (2000). How brands are taking over the corporation. In M. Schultz, M. J. Hatch, M. H. Larsen (Eds.). The expressive organization: Liking identity, reputation, and the corporate brand. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Oliver, R. L. (1997). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Randall, G. (1997). Branding. London: Kogan Page White, B. (2000). Dissertation skills for business and management students. London : Cassell, 2000.