The Various Forms of Service Marketing - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2782 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Introduction A service is any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product (Kotler, 2000, p. 200). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Various Forms of Service Marketing" essay for you Create order Furthermore, service marketing can be defined as the marketing of activities and processes rather than objects (Solomon, et al., 1985, p. 106). As services are mainly intangible products, they face a host of services marketing problems that are not always adequately solved by traditional goods-related marketing solutions (Hoffman Bateson, 2010, p. 5). Service quality is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer expectations. Delivering quality service means conforming to customer expectations on a consistent basis (Parasuraman, et al., 1985, p. 42). Due to these problems, there are a variety of new conceptual frameworks to monitor service quality. Some of these methods are completely new creations, whereas other good-based frameworks were merely extended to be applicable towards service quality. This report will explore several service marketing and quality frameworks, including; service marketing mix (7Ps), SERVQUAL the services marketing triangle and service dominant logic. These different methods of measuring service marketing and quality will be critically evaluated using a variety of academic theory. 7Ps and Service Marketing Mix The 7Ps and service marketing mix is a great framework used to analyse the performance of service marketing and the quality that a company has to offer. The service marketing mix used to consist of the 4Ps (Gronroos, 1994). These were (Booms Bitner, 1981): Product: Quality, brand name, service line, warranty, capabilities, facilitating goods, tangible clues, price, personnel, physical environment and process of service delivery. Price: Level, discounts and allowances, payment terms, customers own perceived value, quality/price interaction and differentiation. Place: Location, accessibility, distribution channels and distribution coverage. Promotion: Advertisements, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, personnel, physical environment, facilitating goods, tangible clues and process of service delivery. However, this was later expanded on to form the 7Ps. This is because there was a higher degree of interdependence between buyers and sellers, meaning the marketing mix had to take into account buyer-seller relationships (Webster, 1984). The three extra factors to conclude the service marketing mix are (Booms Bitner, 1981): Participants: Personnel training, discretion, commitment, incentives, appearance, interpersonal behaviour, attitudes and customer behaviour/degree of involvement. Process: Policies, procedures, mechanisation, employee discretion, customer involvement, customer direction and flow of activities. Physical Evidence: Environment, furnishings, colour, layout, noise level, facilitating goods and tangible clues. The addition of these extra three factors helped make the 7Ps a much more comprehensive framework for service marketing. Furthermore, it offers a broader perspective of service marketing, with more refined results. However, all frameworks come with some weaknesses, and the service marketing mix can sometimes be too complicated to companies or marketers. Furthermore, some academics will suggest that the extra elements can already be covered by the 4Ps, thus making them redundant, and also that it is hard to control and monitor the additional elements (Rafiq Ahmed, 1995). The original four factors of the marketing mix are widely known and used throughout all facets of marketing, but the modern additions give a new flavour to service marketing. This pays particular attention to participantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ as it includes all employees and consumers that have an effect on service quality. However, processes and physical environment still have a big influence, as they monitor the environment and the ways in which an employee or company deliver service. Service Dominant Logic Service dominant (S-D) logic superordinateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s service (the process of providing benefit) to products (units of output that are sometimes used in the process) (Lusch, et al., 2007, p. 6). Furthermore, service dominant logic is thought to be grounded by nine fundamental factors. Figure 1 (Vargo Lusch, 2006) The presiding view of S-D logic is that customers should be viewed as an operate resource, which is a resource that can act with other resources, thus co-creating value (Lusch, et al., 2007, p. 6). Furthermore, collaboration between the organisation and their consumers allows for a strong bond to form between S-D logic and the 7Ps. S-D logic was formed to recognise the importance of service marketing, and lay a new foundation over the outdated goods-dominated logic. With value being created in new ways, and consumers valuing the service encounter, organisations must create value for their services. Furthermore, there is no goods vs services in S-D lo gic, as it recognises goods as an applianceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ used in the service encounter (Lusch Vargo, 2006). Although S-D logic provides many benefits for an organisation, there have been a variety of academics that criticise the approach. The majority of scholars (Groonos, 2006; Achrol Kotler, 2006) point out that interaction and networks play a more imperative role in value creation, something that S-D logic does not take into account. However, Lusch Vargo (2006) insist that S-D logic does take into account interaction and networks, as it believe value creation is the process of integrating and transforming resources which implies interaction between networks. SERVQUAL SERVQUAL is a service quality framework developed to measure the scale of quality provided by a service a company has to offer. It was composed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml Berry through a series of publications in the 1980s and early 1990s (Buttle, 1995). Its aim was to compare customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s perceptions with their expectations of a service. It its original formulation, SERVQUAL was composed of ten factors for analysing service quality. These were; reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding and tangibles (Parasuraman, et al., 1985). However, they collapsed these components into five main factors, which would constitute the modern understanding of SERVQUAL or RATER. These factors are (Iwaardan, et al., 2003): Reliability: Doing what is promised and doing it at the right time. Assurance: One of the most significant factors of assurance, is a company that has the required knowledge to answer questions. Tangibles: Up to date equipment, physical facilities and materials are visually appealing. Empathy: A companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s communication with consumers, usually in the form of human interactions. Giving care to each individually personally. Responsiveness: Most significant part of responsiveness is giving a prompt service. There have been many criticisms about the long-term stability of the results that SERVQUAL can provide (Lam Woo, 1997; Crosby LeMay, 1998). This is in special attention to the applicability of all of the five factors mentioned above. Furthermore, Cronin Taylor (1994) argue that service quality should not be strictly categorised into five different factors, but should be measured using whatever means are applicable to the situation. On top of this, Buttle (1995, p. 10) states that SERVQUAL has been subjected to a number of theoretical and operational criticisms. These are; Theoretical: SERVQUAL is based on a disconfirmation paradigm, and not an attitudinal paradigm. Little evidence that consumers assess service quality using the five factors. Focus heavily on the process of service quality, and not the outcomes Operational: Consumers generally use standards instead of expectations to measure service quality. The five factors cannot cover the variability of service quality. Consumer quality perceptions are very versatile, and can change quickly. Although SERVQUAL does have several criticisms, it also has many practical applications. Wisniewski (2001) outlines some of the applications where SERVQUAL can be used. Understanding current service quality is the predominant use of SERVQUAL. This is because it allows managers to assess the current service, and monitor any gaps that exist. SERVQUAL can also highlight how different consumers perceive quality for the different services a company has to offer. Overall, it is a comprehensive framework that helps a company analyse the gap in service quality, and can help a manager decide on appropriate strategies to increase service quality. Furthermore, SERVQUAL supplements the 7Ps service marketing mix well. This is because it allows the company to gather data from consumers, which they can tailor specifically to one of more of the 7Ps. Measuring the 7Ps through a SERVQUAL framework will allow a company to monitor where they are offering positive service quality, and where their se rvice quality is lacking. Services Marketing Triangle Similarly to the services marketing mix, the services marketing triangle was created to handle the complexity that service marketers face when dealing with intangible products. The service marketing triangle highlights three key players, these are (Groonos, 1996); Firm: The management of a company, including full-time marketers and sales personnel. This is enabled through continuous development and internal marketing with their employees. Employees: This includes anyone that is working within close contact of the consumer. They play an integral role within the interactive marketing of service marketing. Customers: Anyone that purchases the service of a company. They are also heavily exposed to the external marketing of a firm. For marketing to be successful, a marketer should ensure that there is positive interaction between these three players. Furthermore, for this success to be accomplished, three types of marketing must be conducted. These are (Strydom, 2005); External Marketing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Making Promises: Involves communication by a company towards their consumer. This form of communication allows the company to offer their services, and set the expectation of service quality that the client can expect. In service marketing this pays particular attention to physical evidence, such as the appearance of the place of business or appearance of staff. Interactive Marketing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Keeping Promises: Interactive marketing is revolved around the communication that occurs between the client and the service delivery personnel. This is one of the most important parts of successfully utilising the services marketing triangle, as it is the only time that the client will have face-to-face experience with the company, via the providers. Internal Marketing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Enabling Promises: A more modern addition to the services marketing triangle, internal marketing centres on training employees to the highest standards so they can deliver exceptional service. Without internal marketing, there is a high chance that the client will receive sub-standard service. For the service marketing triangle to be implemented successfully, all departments of a company must work together to deliver the highest quality of service that is possible. All members of an organisation must be conscious of their role in delivering service quality, and understand what their marketing function is. (Alvesson, 1995). Furthermore, the advancements in technology are having a huge impact on service quality and marketing frameworks. This is because the changes in technology are allowing companies to communicate with customers in a non-physical environment, such as through the internet. This is transforming the services marketing triangle into a services marketing pyramid, as all three factors can be bought together through the clever use of technology (Zeithaml Bitner, 2000). One of the most significant downfalls to the service marketing triangle is that firms often do not implement it as a triangle. Instead they will focus on one point of the triangle, and negl ect the others. This is particularly true to internal marketing, as many organisations believe that if employees are treating correctly, then it will naturally pass through into the external environment (Li, 2010). However, the fact that all three points are woven together, and influence by each other, does present opportunitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ for organisations to conduct their marketing efficiently and at a cheap cost (Eric, 2014). Another criticism of the service marketing triangle is that it takes into account to many marketing activities. Marketing is used merely as a tool to coerce a consumer to purchase a good or service (Kotler Armstrong, 2010), and an organisation shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have to focus on all three aspects of triangle. As service quality is impacted by each individual point of the triangle, an organisation could, theoretically, only focus on one point (Yadav Dabhade, 2013; Lings Greenley, 2009). However, as previously mentioned, this can have unin tended impacts on other facets of the triangle, meaning that an organisation should strive to monitor and implement all three points of the triangle, instead of focusing on only one. Conclusion It becomes quickly apparent that service marketing is an imperative factor for a company to conduct proficiently. This is because service marketing has positive links with service quality and customer satisfaction, which in turn has strong ties to a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s overall financial performance. Conducting negative service marketing can result in a consumer experiencing negative service quality, and thus taking their business elsewhere and potentially spreading bad press. Furthermore, because of the significance that service marketing and service quality has on a company, there have been a variety of frameworks that have been developed. The most proficient for service marketing is the 7Ps, whereas SERVQUAL is a great framework for service quality. However, the services marketing triangle somewhat combines these two factors into a comprehensive framework that outlines both service marketing (internal, external and interactive) and mediums through which service quality can be delivered (firm, employees, customers). The services marketing triangle is become the modern approach to service quality and marketing, especially as it is not including the advancements in technology. This further highlights the importance of service marketing and quality, as a variety of academics are consistently improving upon existing frameworks, so that companies can deliver the greatest amount of service quality through success service marketing. Bibliography Achrol, R. S. Kotler, P., 2006. The Service-Dominant Logic for Marketing: A Critique. In: The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing: Dialog, Debate, and Directions. New York: ME Sharpe, pp. 320-333. Alvesson, M., 1995. Management of Knowledge-Intensive Companies. New York: Walter de Gruyter. Booms, B. H. Bitner, M. J., 1981. Marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms. In: Marketing of Services. Chicago: American Marketing Association, pp. 47-51. Buttle, F., 1995. SERVQUAL: review, critique, research agenda. European Journal of Marketing, 30(1), pp. 8-32. Cronin, J. J. Taylor, S. A., 1994. SERVPERF versus SERVQUAL: reconciling performance based and perceptions-minus expectations measurement of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 58(January), pp. 125-131. Crosby, L. LeMay, S. A., 1998. Empirical determination of shipper requirements for motor carrier services: SERVQUAL, direct questioning, and policy-capturing methods. Journal of Business L ogistics, 19(1), pp. 139-153. Eric, B., 2014. The effects of the three sides of the service triangle model on customer retention in the financial service sector of Ghana. International Journal of Business , 4(4), pp. 123-136. Gronroos, C., 1994. From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing. Management Decision, 32(2), pp. 4-20. Groonos, C., 1996. Relationship Marketing Logic. Asia-Australia Marketing Journal, 4(1), pp. 7-18. Groonos, C., 2006. What Can a Service Logic Offer Marketing Theory?. In: The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing: Dialog, Debate and Directions. New York: ME Sharpe, pp. 354-364. Hoffman, K. Bateson, J., 2010. Services Marketing: Concepts, Strategies, Cases. 4th ed. Mason: Cengage Learning. Iwaardan, J. V., Wiele, T. V. D., Ball, L. Millen, R., 2003. Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory study. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management, 20(8), pp. 919-935. Kotler, P., 2000. Ma rketing Management. Millenium Edition ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. Armstrong, G., 2010. Principles of Marketing. 13th ed. s.l.:Pearson. Lam, S. S. K. Woo, K. S., 1997. Measuring service quality: a test-retest reliability investigation of SERVQUAL. Journal of Market Research Society, 39(2), pp. 381-396. Li, L., 2010. Internal Quality Management in Service Organizations: a theoretical approach , s.l.: Karlstad Business School . Lings, I. Greenley, G., 2009. The impact of internal and external market orientations on firm performance. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 17(1), pp. 41-53. Lusch, R. F. Vargo, S. L., 2006. Service-dominant logic: reactions, reflections and refinements. Marketing Theory, 6(3), pp. 281-288. Lusch, R. F., Vargo, S. L. OBrien, M., 2007. Competing through service: Insights from service-dominant logic. Journal of Retailing, 83(1), pp. 5-18. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. Berry, L. L., 1985. A Conceptual Model of Service Qual ity and Its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing, 49(4), pp. 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. Berry, L. L., 1985. A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49(4), pp. 41-50. Rafiq, M. Ahmed, P. K., 1995. Using the 7Ps as a generic marketing mix: an exploratory survey of UK and European marketing academics. Marketing Intelligence Planning, 13(9), pp. 4-15. Solomon, M. R., Surprenant, C., Czepiel, J. A. Gutman, E. G., 1985. A Role Theory Perspective on Dynamic Interactions: The Service Encounter. Journal of Marketing, 41(1), pp. 99-111. Strydom, J., 2005. Introduction to Marketing. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd. Vargo, S. L. Lusch, R. F., 2006. Service-Dominant Logic: What It Is, What It Is Not, What It Might Be. In: The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing: Dialog, Debate and Directions. New York: M.E Sharpe, Inc, pp. 43-56. Webster, F. E., 1984. Industrial Marketing Stra tegy. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley Sons. Wisniewski, M., 2001. Using SERVQUAL to assess customer satisfaction with public sector services. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 11(6), pp. 380-388. Yadav, R. K. Dabhade, N., 2013. Service marketing triangle and GAP model in hospital industry. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Science, 8(1), pp. 77-85. Zeithaml, V. A. Bitner, M. J., 2000. Marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw Hill.

The Case Of Laur Final Case Study Analysis - 2772 Words

The Case of Laura: Final Case Study Analysis Psych 526: Psychopathology Roxanne Roybal de Diaz American Public University Abstract Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating with inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. Cognitive Behavior Therapy and antidepressant drug therapy are treatment modalities that have shown promise with patients diagnosed with eating disorders, more so with Bulimia than with Anorexia, (Comer, 2014). In this case study analysis, a synthesis of researched outcomes-based treatment modalities is used to conceptualize a diagnosis and treatment plan for a 19 year-old female client presenting with symptoms of 307.51 (F50.2) Bulimia Nervosa; extreme. Introduction According to the DSM-5, eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating–related behavior that results in non-normative eating patterns which leads to impaired physical and psychosocial functioning, (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating with inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. Binge eating is described as eating an amount of food definitely larger than normal with a sense of lack of control. Compensatory behaviors include misuse of laxatives, self-induced vomiting, diuretics, fasting and excessive exercise, (Comer, 2014) . Another key feature isShow MoreRelatedSustainable Solutions11923 Words   |  48 Pagesopportunity. Senge (2008) provides a Sustainable Value Framework in which to evaluate the sustainability of a company. He says that in order for the company to be truly sustainable, it must be balanced in all four quadrants, (Se nge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur, Schley, 2008). The quadrants â€Å"above the line† include innovation and repositioning, and growth. â€Å"Below the line† are cost and risk reduction, and reputation and legitimacy. Those above the line generally are directed toward the future, where those

Homelessness is a very large problem that America Essay Example For Students

Homelessness is a very large problem that America Essay has come to face with. Millions of people, including children, families, babies, veterans, and the elderly live day by day without food, water, a roof over their head, or love. People that are mentally ill also have to tough it out on the streets, which can be very confusing to them, and dangerous to us. This problem must be solved soon, because its not getting better fast enough. People have not always had to suffer with homelessness. Though the problem has almost always existed, it had not reached a severe level until the early 1970s. With every war there has been a small trickle of homeless veterans to follow, but the Vietnam war and Korean war left a wave of many people without anywhere to go. This was just the start of the problem. Many homeless people lived in places called Skid Row. A place with cheap bars, entertainment, and very cheap housing in buildings called SROs, or Single Room Occupancy. They could be rented from . 50 to .90 cents a night. Then cities started to grow, and in the mid 1970s One million SROs were replaced with parking lots, buildings and apartments. Skid Row eventually vanished. Then the government decided to decriminalize drunkenness, loitering, and vagrancy. That means there were a great many homeless people that would normally be arrested under these conditions, still roaming the streets. Women and children started to f! ilter in to the homeless scene, and then in a huge recession in the 1980s 11,000,000 people were laid off (9.7% of all jobs). The numbers of homeless people soared. It didnt stop here though. President Reagan and Bush dropped public housing funds from 30 billion dollars to 6.7 billion, a net loss of 37,800 houses per year. By the beginning of the 1990s, over one million people were on waiting lists for homes. Homeless people can be categorized into four basic categories, families, lone, transient, or bums. A person in a family is usually a man and wife with one to many children living on the streets. A lone person is that who has no connection to anybody and never travels, but stays in the same general area. A transient is a person who never settles down for more than a few weeks, but keeps moving throughout cities by means of walking and hitch hiking. Within these categories are sub-categories. These sub categories are taken from a random group of 1,000 homeless people, and what their numbers would be. CATEGORYPEOPLE Families220 Lone Individuals780 Under 19146 Women229 Elderly Men17 Veterans Men188 Mentally Disabled Men125 Disabled Men28 Full Time Jobs7 Part Time Jobs27 Sporadic78 Effort173 Bum (Undeserving Homeless)49 Even the people with full time jobs are in need of permanent residence. These people live on eating scraps of food from trash cans, and possible meals from shelters on occasion, but those are usually three times a week at dinner, or some other type of schedule. People who have homes rarely think, nor can comprehend what terrible things that the homeless have to go through. They live in abandoned buildings, cars, buses, boxes, on park benches and underground. They eat bits of old fruit and meat with the mold and green sludge scrapped off. One man and his son used up their $60 of food stamps that they were giver for two months. For a week they lived on ketchup and mustard. Within three days of the condiments disappearing the boy had both his feet amputated due to frostbite. This was in New York. There are some people who still have a spark of interest in finding jobs. They look for places to work, and they try to establish an address and connections. .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 , .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .postImageUrl , .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 , .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3:hover , .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3:visited , .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3:active { border:0!important; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3:active , .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3 .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u9ee1f020a8289494e9a08a1175e124e3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Communism: Overview Essay If a homeless person is absolutely dedicated to ending his own homelessness, he will most likely find his way out. The one category that people assume all homeless fall into is the undeserving homeless, or bums. These are usually men in their 40s or 50s who sit around all day and do nothing. They dont try and help themselves or others. They lie and cheat and honestly deserve nothing because they could never give anything if they were forced to. They make up a very small group in fact, about 4% of all homeless. Drugs are everywhere .

Song Of Solomon By Toni Morrison Essays (798 words) -

Song Of Solomon By Toni Morrison The book called Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, deals with many real life issues, most of which are illustrated by the relationships between different family members. One archetypal relationship that Morrison includes in her book is the father:son relationship. Although it is obvious that Morrison does talk about this topic, it is not so obvious what she is trying to say about it. So, one might ask, how does the author establish the father:son relationships throughout Song of Solomon and do they fit some sort of archetype? To answer a question such as this, it would be beneficial to examine the actual father:son relationships throughout the book. One established father:son relationships that is significant to this issue is the one between Milkman and Macon. From the start, Macon objected to Milkman even being born; he forced Ruth to do things to her body that could possibly kill the fetus. With a little help from Pilate, however, Milkman was allowed into the world. Macon, perhaps instigated by never having a mother and seeing his own father killed, has always appeared to be a cold and unforgiving parent even to his other children besides Milkman, but since Macon heard that his sons nickname was Milkman he has seen him as a symbol of his disgust for his wife and lost a lot of respect for his son and became even colder towards him. The only time Macon did spend time with Milkman, he spent it boasting about his own great upbringing, warning him to stay away from Pilate and telling him about the embarrassing actions of Ruth. This is the manner in which Morrison establishes the relationship between Macon and Milkman in the first part of the book. As Milkman grows up, he recognizes the emotional distance between his father and himself. He goes his own way with a few skirmishes here and there and later he even manages to hit his own father. As Macon and Milkman grow apart and go their separate ways, Milkman doesnt even think twice about it and just continues on with his life as if nothing was different. Near the end of the book Milkman seems to change his view of his father, with some help from the positive memories of the old men in the passage. Milkman grew up thinking that his father was a cold-hearted, hot tempered control freak who was only interested in gaining money and property. He came to realize that although there was some truth to what he thought, Macon was not inhuman. This is displayed in the passage when it states, His own fathers words came back to him: I worked right alongside my father. Right alongside him. Even though Macon was against Milkmans birth, he came to cherish his only son in his own way. Probably under the impression that showing affection was a sign of a weak man, Macon held back what feelings he had for his son. Milkmans feelings about his fathers shows of affection are described when Morrison writes, Milkman thought then that his father was boasting of his manliness as a child. Now he knew he had been saying something else. One of the few good memories that Macon had of his father was spending time working alongside his father. Milkman finally figured out that Macons description of his time spent working with his father were meant to as a show of affection for Milkman and to cause Milkman to see the similarities between Macons relationship with his father and Milkmans relationship with Macon. Milkmans revelation is explained, That he loved his father; had an intimate relationship with him; that his father loved him, trusted him, and found him worthy of working right alongside him. He most likely remembers gaining a great amount of respect for his father by learning and watching how his father made a living. Milkman now saw that all those times that he spent with Macon down in the workshop and being taught how to run a business were his fathers mild way of showing love. When Macon would tell Milkman about how he worked right alongside his father, he wasnt bragging about how masculine he was when he was little, he was attempting to describe the only real time he ever had an intimate relationship with his father. Macon shared what he had with his father with his son. Milkman now realized that there was some substance to his relationship with his father and that it wasnt completely disfunctional. It is not