1 - Human Relations in Business is the ongoing relationship between all factors of production within an
___organization. It includes all employees, consumers, and members of the community.

Managing the quality of human relations is a factor because without relationship development, productivity
suffers which in turn negatively impacts the organization. In the business world of the 21st century, many
consumers have decided that since there are so many options and alternatives in the marketplace, there
needs to be a sense of relationship with the company/vendor that they are purchasing from.

For example, let's look at a local grocery store in the Goodyear, AZ area. We will call this grocery store,
Store A. Many people like to go to Store A, because it is a nice little store, the prices are reasonable,
the cash register workers know who you are, and everyone is polite every time you go into the store.
In addition, this store sends out coupons on a bi-weekly basis that offer you, the consumer, great deals
on many different food items. After several months, the consumer still finds himself/herself still going to
Store A. However, one day when the consumer walks into the store, everything is different. The food is
not of the highest quality (you can tell by the expiration dates), the prices have dramatically increased, the
cash register workers have been replaced by new people, and the employees at the store are not helpful
at all. Rather, when you ask a store employee for assistance, they are disrespectful and rude. After being
in the store for a half an hour and being treated rudely by several store employees, you decide to try out the
new and exciting grocery store that has just been opened in Surprise, AZ called Store B. You, the consumer,
goes to Store B, and the prices are cheaper, the people are nicer, and employees are willing to help you when
you are at the store. You, the consumer, considering all other things are in equilibrium (distance from house,
nice parking lot, safe part of town, etc.) decide that from now on, you will do your grocery shopping at
Store B in Surprise, and write off Store A in Goodyear.

The above example is a perfect example of what happens all the time in the business world. Customers want
to go somewhere where they can purchase quality goods and services, and have good relationships with the
people that they are purchasing from. If consumers feel as though they are not being treated fairly by
businesses that they are currently working with, they will begin to experiment with using other vendors in
order to see if there is a better alternative. From a scientific research standpoint, this is about giving people
a reason to like you. Businesses should strive to give customers a reason to like them. For example, Guitar
Center is a store that is focused on giving musicians an opportunity to try out guitars for free before
purchasing them. When a consumer walks into Guitar Center, they are instantly greeted by friendly
employees who are willing to help the consumer try out certain products. That makes customers want to
come back to the store more often. That is the reason why Guitar Center has become the Wal-Mart of
musical instrument stores.

Customers do not like to be treated like they are "second-class" in any shape or form. When business
managers and employees are respectful of customers, customers want to go back and purchase from that
particular store. In addition to that customers will always remember the positive experiences that they have
had with a particular vendor, and they will most likely be loyal to that particular vendor. However, customers
will also remember negative and unpleasant experiences that they have had with vendors, and they will act on
previous experiences. In other words, a customer will most likely, not go back to somewhere where there
was no positive experience with their purchase.
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