RinganeA MilovanovicM Maphakula A Makete F OmarT Martinson N Lebina L

Ringane.A ;Milovanovic.M ; Maphakula .A; Makete .F ;Omar.T; Martinson. N, Lebina L, (August 2019),“An observational study of safe and risky practices in funeral homes in South Africa” Attempted to assess the high prevalence of infectious diseases in SA means that funeral industry workers and family members of deceased individuals are vulnerable to infection if proper safety measures and equipment are not used. Personnel working in the funeral services sector are at risk of exposure to infectious hazards transmitted by inhalation of aerosolised body fluids, direct inoculation and mucocutaneous contamination.  Viruses and bacteria that can spread post mortem include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, hepatitis B and C viruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, prions, HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Ebola virus.A recent study by Correiaet al. found that tuberculosis (TB) can remain viable for up to 36 days after death, and exposure can occur through fluid build-up in a corpse and the expelling of residual air when it is moved. Previous studies have documented cases of HIV sero conversion in personnel working with corpses due to exposure to blood or body fluids and injuries from needles and sharps. With the recent 2018 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congoand the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, which had claimed more than 8 304 lives (by 7 January 2015) out of 21 121 reported cases, it has become clear that some funeral traditions (touching, kissing, washing of the corpse) are high-risk practices that can spread the virus. In response, the World Health Organization released guidelines on how to contain and bury corpses of people who had fallen victim to Ebola or Marburg virus disease by wearing personnel protective equipment (PPE) when handling the corpse and contaminated materials.Halpenny.J.(September 2013) ,“An Exploration of Consumer Decision Making Processes in the Funeral Industry”. Presently,littleefforthasbeenmadetoexamineissuesassociatedwithconsumerbehaviourinthefuneralindustry.Peoplecanspendaninordinateamountoftimeplanningothermajoreventslikeweddingsandchristeningsbutnotsowithfunerals.Thispapersetouttoexaminethedecisionmakingprocessesinvolved withsuchasensitivesubject.ThenumberofdeathsinIrelandsince2003aver-agedapproximately28500.Thereforefuneralcompaniesarecompetingforthe samenumberoffuneralsinagivenyear.Theresearchitselfshowedupsomeintriguinganswerstoquestionsaboutfuneralsanddecisionmaking.Locationandpreviousexperiencewerethetwomajorfactorsinselectingafuneralhomewith pricebeinglistedasthethirdfactor.Howeverpricewasstillanissuewhenthe funeralhomewasselected.Thiswasduetothefactthatpeoplewerepriceconsciousandworkingwithinabudget.Theissueofmarketingwasexaminedand showedthatpeopledidn’tfindadvertisingoffuneralsinsensitive.Onthecontra-ry,theyviewedwordofmouthasafarmoreinfluentialfactorwhenmakingfuneralpreparations.Finally,thepre-planningforfuneralswasinvestigated.This raisedthequestionwhetherpeoplewantedmoreinformationonthissubject.Re-searchintheUKcompiledfromanolderdemographicsignalledthatlessthan10%ofpeoplehadactuallypreplannedtheirownfuneral.Peoplewhopreplan theirown funeral do so because theywanttheirwishes carried out.Ager. S.(July 13 2006), “Critical of funeral service in the Detroit Free Press”. First of all, death occurs in many places, not just somebody’s house. The police, fire department, medical examiner, doctor, nurse, hospice worker or chaplain, all strangers, may be involved with this death scene, where ever it may occur. Upon calling a funeral director, the family is hardly calling a stranger. They are calling someone available 24 hours a day seven days a week. Funeral Director’s are some of the most committed people in the community, often involved in the community doing volunteer work and contributing to every cause they can. Hardly a stranger or someone you can’t trust. 20% of funeral homes and cemeteries today are run by big companies. The rest are independently owned and operated by people who live, work, pay taxes and invest in your community.Salgia.T. (August 2004) “JAIN FUNERAL PRACTICES & OBSERVANCES” When a loved one dies, grieving family members and friends often are confronted with dozens of decisions about the funeral-all of which must be made quickly and often under great emotional stress. What kind of funeral should it be? What funeral provider should you use? Should you cremate the body, or donate it to science? What are you legally required to buy? What other arrangements should you plan? And (as callous as it may sound) how much is it all going to cost?After the death of a close friend or family member those in mourning need a support system that helps to comfort and nurture them through one of life’s most painful episodes. Most of us are anxious to find some way to help soon after we hear the news of someone’s passing.Nothing is more appropriate than the age-old tradition to provide the community member with needed help to plan funeral services. Grief therapists agree that the rituals surrounding death aid the grieving process.Funerals fill an important role for those mourning the loss of a loved one. By providing surviving family members and friends a caring, supportive environment in which to share thoughts and feelings about the death, funerals are the first step in the healing process. The importance of the ritual is in providing a social gathering to help the bereaved begin the healing process. Thompson. H. (Spring 2017) ,“CASKETS, CLOSURE AND CASH: Explorations Of Funeral Director And Client Relationships” With over 2.4 million funerals taking place each year, the United States funeral industry is estimated to be worth $20.7 billion. The aging population is also growing and it is estimated that 76 million Americans will be age 60 or older by 2020, an increase of 19 million since 2013 (PBS 2013). The average funeral director’s salary ranges between $32,000 and $56,000, and the total employment of the funeral industry increased from 106, 263 people in 2007 to 108, 473 people in 2012, a 5.3 percent increase (U.S. Census Bureau 2012; PBS 2013). On average a funeral typically costs between $8,000 and $10,000, though in the course of my research I have heard as much as $18,000 (PBS 2013). Thus, there is clearly money to be made in the funeral industry and because death is inevitable, there will always be a market. Yet, the industry is changing. Women are making a steady return to the industry as funeral directors and 14 percent of funeral homes in the United States are corporate-owned, which are distinctly different funeral homes than the traditional family-owned funeral homes that began the industry (PBS 2013; Rontondaro 2011). Additionally, the cremation rate is at an all-time high of 41 percent (PBS 2013). With a changing industry, it becomes important to understand the ways in which funeral directors are reacting to the changes in order to keep themselves and their funeral homes in business.HABING.A.(2009),“A Study on Funeral Services Marketing Interface To Enhance Customer Service And Overall Productivity” Customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of any business regardless of the industry it resides in; it’s the sole driver of a company’s productivity levels and overall success within the market. Although numb to most market fluctuations, the funeral industry needs to reinvent their business strategies continuously in order to increase their market share. It’s especially important for smaller funeral homes across the world to take this idea to another level in order to stay competitive with the larger, corporate establishments. In the past twenty years, the industry has grown exponentially due to more interest and popularity. The increase in informed customers triggered a demand for more variation of all possible funeral services available; it’s imperative that the family-run, smaller companies maintain their aggressiveness to stay cutting edge amongst their rivals. In response to the increased customer knowledge, funeral homes strive to cultivate this market by targeting their motives.Wal .A.(June 6, 2019), “Fully Customizable Funerals”Sayinggoodbyetoourdepartedlovedones,isoneofthemostdifficultthingsinlife.The mostcommonwaytosaygoodbyeisthroughafuneralserviceormemorialservice.Afuneral serviceusuallytakesplacewiththebodyofthedepartedlovedonepresent.Amemorialservice takesplacewithoutthebodypresent.Everybody wantstohonor theliveand memoriesinawaythedepartedlovedonetruly deserves.Manypeoplecannotaffordtheir ownfuneralservice.Therefore,manyinstitutionsofferoptionsforpre-planningfuneral expenses.However,manypeopleoftenpaymorethanthefuneralservicewouldcostswithouttakingtheservice.Institutionsoftenoverchargeconsumers.Accordingto regulators,funeralhomesareviolatingthelawbynotdisclosingprices.Itislikelythatthefuneral industryintheUnitedStateswillgrowwithinthenextyears.Atremendous increaseofelderlywillcauseashortageofcemeteryspacewithinafewdecades.GlobalFuneral Careaimstosolvethecurrentissuesandtopreventnewissuesthatnegativelyaffectthefuneral industry.Thecompanywantstoachieveworldwidesuccessbyrebuildingtheglobalfuneral careinfrastructuretoonethatbringsallorganizationsoperatinginthefuneralindustry andits customerstogetheronanallinoneblock chain-basedplatformwithoutentrybarriersin combination withGFCS,whichisaproofofstakecrypto currencyjoinedbyMasternodesthat is specificallydesignedfortheglobalfuneralindustry.Bourgeois .L.(MARCH 12 2018),“The Five Numbers Funeral Homes Must Know for Preneed Success”According to the National Funeral Directors Association’s 2017 Cremation an Burial Report , 50.2 percent of Americans opted for cremation in 2016 with 43.5 percent opting for burial, demonstrating the continuing shift toward cremation in recent years. And this shift is expected to continue with a projected 78.8 percent cremation rate by 2035. What does this mean for your funeral home ? With the cremation rate continuing to rise year after year, one thing is certain: whether due to religion, economics or personal preference, more and more Americans are finding value in cremation, which means funeral directors need to find ways to adapt.Establishing a strong pre need program is an effective way to offset the rising cremation rates while you still can. By securing future business now, you can help protect the long-term security of your funeral home and bring in new families, thus growing your call volume.Wolfelt A.(Dec 16, 2016),“Why Is the Funeral Ritual Important?”When someone loved dies, we must openly acknowledge the reality and the finality of the death if we are to move forward with our grief. Typically, we embrace this reality in two phases. First we acknowledge the death with our minds; we are told that someone we loved has died and, intellectually at least, we understand the fact of the death. Over the course of the following days and weeks, and with the gentle understanding of those around us, we begin to acknowledge the reality of the death in our hearts. Meaningful funeral ceremonies can serve as wonderful points of departure for “head understanding” of the death. Intellectually, funerals teach us that someone we loved is now dead, even though up until the funeral we may have denied this fact. When we contact the funeral home, set a time for the service, plan the ceremony, view the body, perhaps even choose clothing and jewellery for the body, we cannot avoid acknowledging that the person has died. When we see the casket being lowered into the ground, we are witness to death’s finality.