“Houzit” Marketing management plan Essay

Marketing objectives The market for home-wares in Brisbane is estimated last year at $175 million per annum with an anticipated growth rate of the percent in the coming year. Here I outline the following marketing objectives: 12% market share (up from 11%) Increase in sales by 8.5% over last year’s result No expansion stores are planned during this phase of consolidation and on average the stores achieved $24,680 per week for the year. Marketing activities Here we present the marketing activities that show potential for the organization’s growth in seasonal demand that occurs during this period. Increased marketing – focus on magazine advertising and PR In-store promotions– in-store displays will feature advertising visuals and ink the featured products with other areas in Houzit’s assortment. Web based promotions- the company’s web page will also carry the advertising visuals on the home page and will use the PR copy in article marketing on popular article content sites. The webpage will be targeted towards the key words found in the PR article and featured in the advertising of ‘stylish bathroom’ and ‘exotic mirrors’. These keywords will also be secured via pay-per-click traffic directing. Focus in bathroom fittings and mirror categories with linkages to the other two categories of bedroom fittings and decorative items. Key driver in achieving the marketing objectives is through the opportunity of having advertising space together with a PR write up in one of the leading home-ware magazines and their website. For the next six months the marketing plan calls for increased marketing to match the growth in seasonal demand that occurs during this period. Integration of organizational activities Advertising visuals and links will be displayed throughout at Houzit’s assortment and web homepage. Company Web address line of ‘Find us at http://www.houzit.com’ will be displayed on all materials. PR copy- used in article marketing on popular article content sites. The webpage will be targeted towards the Key word throughout. These keywords will also be secured via pay-per-click traffic directing. Distribution and pricing Online retailing a new distributional channel- Company have decided to update the webpage so that the customers can order and pay online. The Price of imports will be monitored against competitors and exchange rate on daily basis because imports were usually an area of high margins for the company and any loss there could be a serious issue. KPIs Market share = store sales/total estimated market sales Marketing cost of customers acquisition = cost of marketing / Total new business acquired Delegation of roles and responsibilities Marketing manager – enjoy taking responsibility for the in-store promotions because it keeps me connected with key personnel and trend in merchandise category sales. Tony – he is a specialist search engine optimizer and webpage designer Marie – advertising /PR Lamberts consulting – market research and marketing audits Communication Strategies Marketing communications is a rather generic term for a very important function of marketing. Communicating and disseminating information has become increasingly important. While public relations are a form of marketing communications, the role encompasses much more, including content development, product positioning and brand messaging. Thus we will use the below methods to communicate effectively:- 1. Shared emails 2. Formal meetings 3. Informal meetings 4. Team visits – stores 5. Progress chart Assessment Task 2 – Case study analysis Staffing support plan Strategies: 1. Setting goals Will organise weekly meeting by providing to employees where can achieve greatest return that to work toward and has the potential to increase productivity in the workplace. 2. Providing Feedback We believe that consistent feedback from mentors and coaches not only helps improve employee performance, but it ensures employees are not caught off guard when disciplined for poor performance. 3. Celebrations and Rewards Celebrations and rewards will build respect for the mentor or coach and help employees see that the individual is not only there to criticize but also to share in employee success. 4. Collaboration Managers will provide for new employees to collaborate with as they begin working with a Houzit. I believe that managers help employees learn to navigate an organization and how to complete tasks effectively. Resources Marketing outcome model: ROI – Return on investment Feedback Providing the feedback using the Star model: An easy way to remember the elements of effective feedback is to use the acronym STAR. ST – Situation or Task. What was the problem, opportunity, challenge or task? A – Action. What was said or done to handle the situation or task? Remember to provide developmental feedback and areas for improvement. R – Result. What was the impact of the employee’s efforts, and how did their actions influence the end result? Here’s an example of using the STAR model to provide positive feedback. ST – â€Å"Thanks for completing the spreadsheet on resource allocation I requested.† A – â€Å"You provided all of the data I asked for and got it to me on time.† R – â€Å"I was able to bring the data to a  planning meeting with our director, where we used it to create a strong resource plan for next term.† Scenario 1 One-on-one coaching will include Role-play activities Testing and reviewing answers Meetings to encourage the employee to perform and homework in which answers are reviewed The manager provides the individualized coaching to her employee. May set up a time line with preset intervals to review progress Scenario 2 Performance measurement and Corrective actions such as: Ask the employee to rate themselves Provide a written performance review to the employee Make sure that can back up any positives and negatives with specific examples Conduct a review meeting within 48 hours of the written performance review Note and file any employee comments and then ensure that the final version goes on file. Customise the one-on-one coaching template of Houzit company’s requirements and hand to employees to complete prior to a performance review. Identifying weaknesses: To evaluate our employees’ weaknesses we will consider factors such as: Tardiness Communication problems Lack of enthusiasm or drive Poor comprehension of materials or program Difficulty getting along with others. We will work with each employee to come up with measurable goals for improvement. For example: devise a system to track each employee’s progress and check in regularly. If an employee has a problem with attendance or tardiness, for instance, create an attendance chart and offer positive reinforcement, such as praise or recognition for good attendance each week. For employees with technical problems or a lack of understanding, offer training on computer programs or systems. Other ways to track employees’ progress may include having employees keep track of their daily or weekly  sales numbers. For more subjective areas, such as people skills, consider holding office seminars on topics such as diversity, compromise or communication or paying for employees to attend training. Offer incentives for the training — such as lunch for all participants or a certificate. Assessment Task 3 – Marketing performance report Marketing objectives The estimate for home-wares is currently $199 mln p.a up from $175 mln This year’s predicted growth 10% and expecting to continue for the next 5 years Average weekly sale has grown $28,200 although expectation was 8.5% growth on $24,680 Market share targeted 12% Last 6 months marketing expenditure: Advertising- $250,000 PR- $30,000 In store promotion- $60,000 Internet marketing-$100,000 The cause of the profit increase was we have successfully implemented the new strategies by actively engaging to achieve the marketing objectives. There was a seasonal demand that occurred during the last year by giving growth in share from10-12%. Increase in share will be remained in next force able 5 years, which is giving more opportunity to Houzit stay in the market specifically continue to focusing on magazine advertising and PR, together with in store promotions. Also, we should invest more on web based promotions in the next marketing period. With a growing market we should maintain the market share to bring to the Houzit solid and controllable growth. Targets We should maintain our high performance as much as we can. There will be a large growing increase in interstate migration consequently the home-wares and the building activity for at least next five years. REFERENCES 1. Joshi, Rakesh Mohan, (2005) International Marketing, Oxford University Press, New Delhi and New York 2. Philip Kotler, Philip.; Kevin Lane Keller (2006). Marketing Management, 12th ed.:).Pearson Prentice Hall 3. Clancy, Kevin J.; Peter C. Kriegafsd (2000). Counter intuitive Marketing. The Free Press 4. Porter, Michael (1998). Competitive Strategy (revised ed.). The Free Press. 5. Kotler, Philip.; Kevin Lane Keller (2006). Marketing Management, 12th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall 6. Ries, Al; Jack Trout (2000). Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (20th anniversary ed.) 7. Porter, Michael (1998). Competitive Advantage (revised ed.). The Free Press

Jesus and Mohammad Essay

Religion is the food for the soul, a type of food that never spoils or depreciates. It is the vessel of life, a vessel that is unbreakable and never shudders even from the most destructive outside force. It is the cup of morality, the one that shapes our character and personality. With these different views, one can say that religion is an important aspect of one’s life. It constitutes and contributes to the spiritual well-being of an individual, which is faced today with different options regarding their religion of choice. There are Methodists, Protestants, Muslims, Roman Catholics, and more. However, the two most influential and widespread religion are Islam and Christianity. Christianity is believed to be founded by Jesus Christ, the redeemer of humanity. The beliefs of Christians, which are also shared by Roman Catholics, are summarized in a doctrine called the Nicene Creed. In general, Christians believe in the Holy Trinity, that there are three superior beings: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Believers of this religion grew up with teachings about the creation of the world by God in seven days, the fall of Adam and Eve, the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, and the redemption of mankind (Walsh, 2005). On the other hand, Islam is considered to be founded by Mohammad or Muhammad. Its followers are called Muslims and they believe in only one God, Allah. They believe that Muhammad is the last prophet and Jesus is only one of them. Just like in Christianity, they also believe in the final judgment to be passed on to the blessed and the damned (Braswell, 2000). To know better the concept of these two religions, it may be helpful if one will look at the historical background of the prominent personalities of Christianity and Islam. Jesus Christ, also known as Jesus of Nazareth and the Messiah, was the child of Mary and Joseph and born in the humble stable of Bethlehem during the reign of Augustus. The famous Nativity is described as the birth of Jesus where he was visited by the shepherds and the three kings to give their offerings. He is said to be born without original sin and is said to save humankind from sins. One of the most prominent incidences during his childhood years is when he and his parents visited Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. It was during this time that he was lost for several days and nights, and was found by his parents in the temple teaching about the Word of God. After the incident, Jesus made subsequent visits to Jerusalem allowing him to see how corrupted religion was and the need to reform both its doctrine and practice during that time. He performed miracles and taught the Word of God through fables. Most of his teachings focused on the kingdom of God, how God loves mankind, and how God forgives people when they ask. He became well known and was praised by many people. This caught the attention of the Roman governors and the scribes, who ordered his execution when Jesus claimed that he was God. He was tortured, crucified, and died on the cross. After three days, he resurrected from the dead and ascended to heaven. Thus, it marks the start of the salvation of humankind (Stalker, 2009). Conversely, Mohammad is the most prominent personality in Islam. Mohammad or Mahomet was born in Mecca in 571 during the reign of Khusro Anosharwan. His father was named Abdallah while his mother was named Amina. His father died several days before his birth. He became an orphan when he was six years old. It was during this time that his mother died while they were in a journey to Medina. Abdl al-Muttalib, his grandfather, took care of him but died when he was eight years old. Finally, he was taken care of by his father’s brother, Abd Manaf, who joined Muhammad on a caravan to Syria (Rodinson, 2002). He became a camel driver on their journey from Syria to Arabia but soon established his career as manager of caravans together with the merchants. On his travel, he met numerous people with various nationalities such as Christians, pagans, and Jews. At the age of 25, he married Khadija whose age is 15 years older than him. Throughout his life, he sought for contemplation and solitude by visiting Mecca and the caves in Mount Hira. On one of his visits, he was visited by Angel Gabriel and asked him to proclaim the Word of God. He was reluctant at first but later accepted that he was the messenger of God after receiving support from Khadija and subsequent visitations of angel. His teachings include worshipping Allah, repenting from evil, and truth about materialism and immortality. He did not perform miracles but only taught what he received. At the start of his struggle as a prophet, he had only 40 followers, who experienced prosecution because his teachings were said to be a great threat to the Meccan life. However, good news came that there was a small group of people supporting his movement in Yathrib, later called Medina. He established his teachings in Medina and began a movement to reclaim his former land, Mecca. After several battles, he regained Mecca and the entire Meccan population was converted to Islam. He returned to Medina in 632 where he died but Islam had already conquered most of Arabia (â€Å"Life†, 2010). The death of both personalities brought immense impact in their respective religion. Without the death of Jesus, Christianity will not be born. It was through his death that Christianity flourished as his apostles began to preach his word across the nation (Ermatinger, 2007). His death became the heart of Christian faith as it became a proof of God’s love for mankind. â€Å"For God so loved the world that He gave us his one and only son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life† (John 3:16 New King James Version, 1985). His death allowed people to become closer to God. In addition, his death followed by his resurrection allowed man to have new hope. The first book of Peter stated that: â€Å"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you† (1 Peter 1:3-4 New King James Version, 1985). The death of Muhammad also allowed Islam to spread. It now extends on both sides of the earth reaching the Atlantic on the other side then reaching the borders of China on the other. The success of the spread of Islam can be attributed to the works of the caliphs, Muhammad’s successor with great political and military abilities (â€Å"Life†, 2010). However, the death of Muhammad brought conflict to the Muslims. Debates conjured and are present up to these days whether leadership must be placed upon Muhammad’s direct descendants (according to Shia) or upon the caliphs (according to Sunni) (â€Å"Comparison†, n. . ). In Christianity, the life of Jesus was celebrated starting from his birth up to his death and resurrection. The birth of Jesus is commemorated by Christians every 25 December and is marked by the giving of gifts and sharing of love. Before this day comes, Christians celebrate the season of Advent to prepare their hearts for his coming. His death and suffering are also commemorated by Christians through the season of Lent. During this season, people subject themselves to fasting and reconciliation of their sins. Moreover, Jesus, which is one of the Holy Trinity, is worshipped by most people through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist every Sunday. Unlike Christians, Muslims do not worship Muhammad. They only view him as the last messenger of God but worship Allah alone (â€Å"Comparison†, n. d. ). Even after the death of Jesus and Muhammad, their words and preaching continuously spread. In Christianity, there is the Bible. Bible comes from the word â€Å"biblos† which means book. It is the compilation of the works of prophets recounting the good deeds and mercy of God on humankind. The bible is also divided into two testaments: the Old and the New. The Old Testament, which consists of 39 books, contains the writings of the Jewish people that reflect their philosophy through literary compositions such as hymns and songs (Weatherall, 2009). The New Testament, on the other hand, is a collection of 27 books that provide a significant influence on Christianity and is recognized as a Sacred Scripture by the Christian Church. Included in this part of the bible is the so-called â€Å"Fourfold Gospels† written by Gospel writers with the books of Mathew and Mark recounting the biographies of Jesus Christ (Achtemeier, Green and Thompson, 2001). In Islam, the means of spreading the word of Muhammad is through the Qur’an or Koran. Its contents are revealed to Muhammad in stages for 23 years. It is considered as the holy book of the Muslims where the revelation part is intended to correct the error found in the Old and New Testaments. It has 114 chapters but is divided into 30 parts called juz. During Ramadan, the Muslims read one juz per day until they complete the whole month celebration (â€Å"Qur’an†, 2009). In conclusion, the two most influential religions in the present society have their own similarities and differences. Despite these, what is more important is how people respect and follow the doctrines of their religions. It does not matter whether he or she is a Christian or a Muslim. What matters most is how that people work themselves to build a life of morality and treasures in heaven and not on earth.

A Reflection on the Improvement in My Reading, Writing, and Learning

A Reflection on the Improvement in My Reading, Writing, and Learning Reading, Writing, and Learning Process Reflection Through taking this class, I have significantly improved in my reading, writing, and learning! I have noticed these improvements several times as I have written assignments for other classes, as well as reading in general. I have focused on my strengths and aimed to fix my weaknesses. This growth and expansion is unique to this semester for me. I have never felt as confident about these skills until completion of this course. These skills will follow me into my future career, and I am appreciative of this opportunity. Prior to this course, I was not good at discovering hidden meanings and ideas in readings, and had many grammatical issues. Now, I have strengthened in both areas, thanks to the ideas and reflections presented in throughout the entire semester. Reading has always been a struggle for me. Not reading out loud, more finding the hidden themes and so forth in texts. However, this course required that we read and analyze articles such as the one by Fallow. This weakness made these writings somewhat difficult. I had to read and research a lot, however, by doing so, I learned the proper mechanisms to complete such tasks. Now, I feel confident about putting the puzzle pieces together. I can more easily pick out the hidden themes and issues that authors include in their writings. This is a great skill to master, and I am very fortunate to have such assignments that focus on enabling me to strengthen such weaknesses. Reading is not only about speaking, but also about how to find ideas and make sense of the presented materials. Reading is very essential to the entire process, because once one is familiarized with proper reading techniques , they can also improve in other areas such as writing. Through this class, my writing skills have also improved significantly. I have noticed these changes after my improvements in reading concluded. The two go together and one improves, the other follows. Initially, I dreaded writing. It is very hard to write when English is not your first language. However, now I actually enjoy writing, and use it as a way to express my thoughts and ideas. Writing is one of the most important skills that any student can possess. If one is good in writing, they can change the world. I noticed, in my initial writings, I had many grammatical errors. However, these instances are fewer now. Which I feel very proud to say. Grammar is very confusing, however, through revisions, and criticism, I have learned where my common mistakes were primarily. It was basically tense related, my errors, that is. I had a hard time deciphering which tense to use in sentences. However, I have significantly improved in such cases. I have employed an entirely new thought process through these improvements. I have learned that sometimes criticism is needed. I have learned that we all have weaknesses and these should not bring us down. I have certainly gained a more proactive attitude towards improving in things that I have struggled with for a long time. Before this change, I use to have a negative though process. Each time I faced something I struggled with I would immediately dread it. Now, when I think negatively, I can immediately reflect on more positive aspects. Like how much I have improved in all three of these skills. In the future, I hope that I can write and read at an expert level. This can be accomplished through reading and writing daily. Practice does not make perfect, but it does lead to improvements. Revisions and peer based criticism is certainly needed through this process. This is how I realized the majority of my errors in both categories. In the future, I hope to carry over the many skills I have taken with me this semester, while also aiming for more enhancements.

Business Skills & Employability Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Skills & Employability - Case Study Example Further, J Sainsbury also faces the threat of interest groups that seek to ensure profound production and distribution comprehends consumer welfare appropriately. Researches implement that the corporation operates at least 1,106 supermarkets in the UK, and other leading economies. The tally also includes a broad chain of convenience stores that the company runs at a global perspective (Cunningham & Harney, 2012, p. 47). Its analysts argue out that the customers are of salient value to the longevity and growth in performances thus all its investment initiatives focus on that fact. J Sainsbury Company elevates its chain stores to ensure that its products aim at the right consumer groups in order to achieve a profitable market share, and growth on a global perspective. The UK based supermarket operates on a global platform with standardized practices while targeting a broad customer network with divergent needs and wants. Secondly, the company’s 480 retail outlets based in the UK have been of significant importance to the entire organization in maintaining its second position and challenging TESCO, the country’s market leader (Hensmans, Johnson, & Yip, 2013, p. 88). Despite its global targeting approaches, the grocery chain has continuously accrued beneficial outcomes, and profitable performances in all its segments, a factor that is evident in the over 20 countries of operations at the global platform. The chain store’s forecasts ensure that it has gradually diversified competitively and profitably over its local and foreign competitors. Informative survey shows that the company’s market operations face contests since the global grocery industry comprises of both local and international competitors and it is evident that some of them exceedingly operate in broader segments (Cunningham & Harney, 2012, p. 67). The following discussion seeks to establish J Sainsbury’s business practices and its SWOT analyses, with the recommended a pproaches to restructure its strategic plan (Wied & Ebers, 2007, p. 133). Sainsbury’s business environment The corporation founded in early 1869 by UK nationals, John and Mary Sainsbury and it grew proficiently throughout the 19th, 20th, and is currently turning into a global icon after pausing at the second largest chain in the UK, and further as the most profitable grocery company. The adventurous global market production and sales approach emanates from the company's sustainability strategy, which entails the salient measures observable before the purchase of groceries and other consumer products. Statistics reveal that Sainsbury strategic planning contributed to its profitable outcomes whereby the management reported pretax revenue of over ?400 million. Sainsbury’s economic precision extends towards growth in the market since its product portfolio includes the requirement of enticing and outsourcing on producers in order to reduce the expenses articulated to produc ing and packaging some of the company’s consumer goods (Zentes, Morschett, & Schramm-Klein, 2011, p. 244). The company’s coherent integration of the varied political systems enables it to win economic gains throughout the target markets. The use of technology and innovation stimulates competition, and Sainsbury displays the ability to prosper competitively in the global market. J Sainsbury’s SWOT analyses Strengths The company’s credentials and its success in the grocery industry emanate from the long-range objectives and

Criminal Justice - Youth Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Justice - Youth Justice - Essay Example The focus is no longer on punishment. A search for committed effective criminal justice practice is often hindered by an unwarranted certainty about what works regarding reformation of youth criminals. The best way to view the entire juvenile justice system is as a work in progress rather than something that is written on rock. Nothing is certain at this point on what works or not and it is very necessary to keep an open mind on new theories and one of these is a child rights-based framework (Cotter, 2006: 108) The Children Act of 1908 established juvenile courts to try young offenders. It tried to stamp out infanticide by the introduction of foster parenthood in the country. This led to the establishment of orphanages for unwanted children and to keep them out of the workplace in which they could be mistreated by the new capitalist system. A law called Children and Young Persons Act of 1933 was more encompassing as it prohibited sale of liquor and cigarettes to persons under 16 years of age, letting them in the prostitution business, use them for begging in the streets or inflicting cruelty to them. Before this law, criminals below 18 years of age can be executed for serious crimes but it raised the criminal responsibility of a child from only 7 to 8 years of age. The Children Act of 1948 established childrens committees and authorities are mandated to receive vulnerable kids into their care (Batty, 2005: 1). November 20, 1959 saw the adoption of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and made this a universal celebration each year on this date. It expanded the original version from only 5 principles to a present 10. This was followed by the Children and Young Persons Act of 1969 that introduced more compulsory measures for the State to intervene in behalf of a child and to take over parental rights if necessary. It introduced a revolutionary concept of care and control through the use of care orders for criminal kids.

What is Communism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is Communism - Research Paper Example Is Communism truly a political monster to fear? This paper will serve to help define what Communism stands for in our modern world and why certain traits of Communism seem to help nations such as China achieve a prosperous status that the other economically emerging non-communist countries find hard to achieve. First of all, it is of the utmost importance that one understands the definition of Communism as a philosophy rather than an ideology. It is a method by which society leaders hope to gain economic equality for all the members of the community by imposing certain restrictions upon the wealthy and the poor. According to Hoyt (â€Å"How Communism Works†): Simply put, communism is the idea that everyone in a given society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. Communism is designed to allow the poor to rise up and attain financial and social status equal to that of the middle-class landowners. This equality is achieved once the redistribution of wealth is imposed between the upper and lower strata of society that allows the two distinct social economies to meet simply as the Middle Class. In other words, there are no poor people or rich people under a Communist regime, only people of equal economic standing. There is however, one very distinct reason or trait that allows this kind of philosophy to work in a society. There is no room for Capitalist ventures in a Communist state. Only the State is allowed to own property and thus, control the wealth from the income of the government property holdings. On other words, the State controls the wealth of the country and only the state is allowed to own and distribute the wealth amongst the citizens. This method insures that everyone who worked for that particular labor sector gets his fair share for the hard work he provided. Such a method seems to be working very well for the Chinese whose factory sector is currently booming. Under their work code, the laborers live on site and work as long as 14 hours a day. They are housed by the state and provided with food and lodging equivalent to their necessary work hours. It is a method that has proven to be quite effective in improving not only the international economic standing of their country, but the social-economic standing of their people as well. Another trait that helps Communism flourish is the fact that their social-economic structure is mainly concerned with equality and fairness. In fact, Communism is sometimes defined as a â€Å"... socio economic structure that stands for the establishment of a classless, egalitarian and stateless society. â€Å" (Prabhat â€Å"Difference Between Communism and Democracy†). This is a trait that was strongly advocated and promoted within the former Soviet Union as its classless society defined its social standing on the international world stage. Their citizens not only adhered to their Marxists principles in an almost fanatical way, but they also dressed the same both in private and in public. However, it is also important to note that the third trait of Communism is also the one trait that makes it highly feared by the Democracy ruled countries. This is the trait that vests the power over the country and its people among only a small group of people who decide the course of action for the nation and its citizens. The people's voice is not heard by the government as it is not considered central nor important in the everyday dealings of the politicians. Therefore, people are not allowed to have any elected representatives in their executive, legislative, or judicial branches of government. This is clearly seen in the method

The Scope and Nature of Adult Education Programs Essay

The Scope and Nature of Adult Education Programs - Essay Example Often the activities have a voluntary approach instead of a mandatory participation of adult learning. Taylor mentions that non-formal learning, such as a field trip to museums, zoos, aquariums, and libraries produce spontaneous general interest in such institutions (Taylor et al, 2010). These multitude of institutions listed by Taylor, and Parrish and countless other educators, provide us with opportunities for lifelong learning, and include an educational experience. With growing popularity in the field of these cultural institutions, the people are provided with a recreational and educational perspective. This paper will explore mainly the perspective of Non-formal education in the adult learning setting. This will include a discussion of the non-formal learning institution considered as Comic Book Conventions. Particularly we will be discussing the once a year event brought to the general public in Toronto, Ontario known as The Fan Expo Canada, and touch basis of comparison between Montreal Comic-con and The San Diego International Comic-con. For the examination of this paper, we will begin with the history of Comic Book Conventions, thus letting us follow further to the next discussion of the attractions and programs provided within this type of institutions. Then we will move on to discuss about the pros and cons of this institutional yearly event and thus ending the discussion with my experience attending the Comic Book Convention and with my final thoughts as to my conclusion.

Enviromental management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Enviromental management - Essay Example Environmental management is not only the conservation of the environment solely for the sake of the environment but also for the humankind’s sake. Environmental management involves management of the biophysical environment, biotic and abiotic. Environmental management is inclusive of the human environment like the economic, cultural and social environment with the biophysical environment. The task of environmental management is multidisciplinary and requires the efforts and cooperation of the various constituent groups (Baxter, Dupont & Theodore, 1998). Industries are vital in the advancement of each country’s economic development but if not regulated can be hazardous to the people living around the industries. The management staff of the industries should implement environmental management practices especially in prevention of leakage to the neighboring residential houses and proper management of effluents. It is the responsibility of the management to ensure that the people working in the industry are safe and implements safety standards incase there is an emergency (Khanji & Uqaili, 2010). Paintex Chemicals manufactures lacquers and spray paints for use in building and construction industry. The factory is located around a residential area and neighbors a catholic primary school on the northern edge. This shows how the management of the paint manufacturing company should put satisfactory safety and health management practices. From the fact that Paintex Chemicals manufactures spray paints which may contain lead and other chemicals harmful to the environment as well as the human beings, the management has the obligation of ensuring that there is right disposal of the effluents and implements other safety precautions incase there is an emergency like fire. The management should ensure that there is no effluent release to the neighboring residential houses and in case of an emergency there is no debris to interfere with the living or

Analysis the Sprint Nextel Corp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis the Sprint Nextel Corp - Essay Example In 2001, it became the first company to introduce a wireless Java for networking. Sprint Nextel Corporation offers a range of fixed, mobile, and broadband communications products and services. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies. Internationally, it is known for internet networking and major development in technology. The cost of debt for the company can be computed by analyzing the various components of debts. These include bond issues, treasury bills, loans etc. Sprint Nextel has a variety of bond issues with different maturities (see table 1). This analysis will focus on the head quarter’s debt component analysis only (see table2). The coupons outlined here are three with the respective maturity dates. The value of a similar bond at similar rates is analyzed as having a par value of $1000 for the Canadian debt and $2500 for the unsecured notes. These are used to find the price of each bond. By discounting the annuity and the lump sum at maturity for each bond, the price of each bond is obtained. This method uses trial and error to ascertain the cost of each bond. The assumption made is that similar bonds yield $1000 and $2500 respectively. This is for the purposes of discounting the return of the bond towards a set amount of expected as per today. Further analysis shows that the price of each bond is effective once we added the tax factor. The assumed taxation factor in the United States is 35%. The after tax cost of each bond is obtained by multiplying the cost of bond (pre-tax) with the factor (1-tax rate). Another aspect to consider is that the company is financed by a long term loan. Given the worldwide economic crisis, the cost of repayment of loans has tremendous increased by 5%. An assumption is made that the loan of $166,855 has an interest rate of 16%. This is the cost of this loan. The total cost of debt is the mean of the cost of the loan and the bond issues. Accounting for th is, the cost of debt is obtained as 6.19% The cost of equity: The equity components are ordinary share capital and preference share capital. To obtain the cost of equity, I will include the ordinary capital in this case. This is done by obtaining the dividend payable in the coming year divided by the current market price and then multiplying it by dividend growth. For the last three years, the financial statements indicate no dividend payment made by the firm. This trend is assumed to be continuous in the coming year. Therefore the dividend value per share is zero and the growth is also zero. The current market share value stands at $ 2.74. By doing the necessary computation, the cost of equity is zero. Weighted average cost of capital WACC is obtained by adding weight to the various capital components i.e. debt and equity. Capital is made up of equity and debt in this firm. By summing debt and equity, I get their weights as: the debt has a total weight of 44% and equity has a total weight of 56%. These percentages are then multiplied by the above computation of cost of debt and equity respectively. The two are added giving WACC of 3.45% The firm’s beta The firm’s beta is a measure of risk to the company. This is obtained through the use of the indexes for United States multiplying with the cost of capital. The beta stands at 1.16 which is indicates low risk measure. This can be unlevered by adding tax aspect to obtain 0.61. Debt to equity ratio of Sprint is obtained as 27.7 this indicates low risk to the company. Calculations: Table 1 - combined industry bond issues SECURITY Coupon Amount Maturity Unsecured senior notes 7.625 1650 1/30/11 Unsecured senior

Consumers Markets and Culture Essay Example for Free

Consumers Markets and Culture Essay Compare and contrast the changing experiences of consumers from the year 1900 until present day. How do the theories of Marx, Durkheim and Weber help to explain the changing consumer experience and the emergence of contemporary consumer society? â€Å"Until the eighteenth century the word consumption meant waste† (Williams, 1976) As consumers our experience of consumption today is exponentially different from that at the turn of the twentieth century in the recently urbanised and industrialised modern nation. Consumer culture is traditionally described in terms of the arrival of mass consumption as a counterpart to mass production as a result of the Fordist system (Miles, S). Choice is one of the biggest factors of the changing experience for consumers, during the 1950’s after the austerity years the now aging baby boomers were part of large scale changes to consumption patterns. For example as women began to enter the work place leaving less time to run the home, products were being developed to ease the burden of housework, washing machines, fridges and vacuum cleaners were among these products; the ever-growing use of hire purchase to enable consumers to afford these luxury products, combined with Fordist methods of mass production reducing the manufacturing cost of the products allowed the economy to grow strong once again. As television grew in popularity advertising was increasingly utilised by businesses to sell their products creating a far more impersonal environment while shopping for products. From this time the standard of living has been increasing up until present day (The Economist, 2008) with the aspirations of society increasing further still. Marx presents his theories as a materialist understanding of society, explaining capitalism as an unequal system based on the exploitation of the lower class (Abercrombie N et al, 2006), a system based on surplus value being extracted, the capitalist’s entire aim is to maximise the gap between value produced and value paid for (Slater D, 1997). Which a hundred years  ago meant using Fordist methods of production to bring down costs and reducing the skill required of workers which in turn reduced the compensation needed for workers. The Fordist method of production first seen around 1911 (Cohen and Kennedy, 2007), Alienated workers from the act of production. In his theory of Alienation Marx describes human essence as being realised through labour (Abercrombie et al, 2006) and working as an alien activity that offers no intrinsic satisfaction as the worker has no control over what is produced; this loss of ownership and loss of control over the workers own life due to managem ent organising and enforcing the labour. Where during the early twentieth our working classes were exploited and Alienated, now capitalists in the quest towards decreasing wages and widening the gap between value produced and value paid for are increasing looking to less economically developed countries where costs of production, epically workers are much lower. The counties known as BRIC economic group (Brazil, Russia, India and China). By indiscriminately consuming as a society, this encourages the expansion of exploitation of foreign working classes. Bauman proposes post-industrial societies are governed by ‘aesthetics of consumption’ rather than ‘ethics of production’ (Cohen Kennedy, 2007). Organisations such as Apple, Nike and similarly Primark are guilty of this system, the former two retailing premium priced products produced at the lowest cost possible cost, by attaching symbolic meaning to the products. Primark produces clothes at the lowest cost possible which are retailed for the lowest cost possible; consumers buy into this system with no feelings of guilt, as these products allow consumers to display possessions acting as social glue possibly due in part to the increasing Alienation of workers as society is increasingly detached from production with the service based economy we ‘enjoy’ today. Durkheim’s concept of Anomie is similar to Alienation, discussing Anomic suicide due to people no knowing how they fit in with society where possessions are used as social glue allowing consumers to display their beliefs and social groups. It is harder to relate Marx’s definitions of the class system as the proximity to production is becoming increasingly distant for most of society. â€Å"Every capitalist is trying to decrease the wages and consumption of their own workers and entice everyone else’s workers to consume to their limit and  beyond.† (Slater, D 1997) Marxism, as other modern economic theories believe, that the production and consumption of products is intrinsically connected, in the sense that incomes from production and consumer buying power are two sides of the same coin.’ (Slater, D 1997). This theory is particularly relevant now due to the current economic climate. As the recession began in 2008 many workers lost their jobs or suffered significant cuts in wages this resulted in a widespread reduction in consumer spending as a result society ended up a cycle of ever decreasing demand where the government had to intervene to stimulate spending. Of the stimulus the VAT reduction had an impact by reducing the cost of products, to reduce ever growing back up of cars as they still needed to be produced to keep the workers in employment the car scrapage scheme was introduced temporarily (Lloyds, 2009). In this scheme two thousand pounds was offered if a old car was scrapped in exchange for a new car. Capitalists driven to mass production, not by greed but conditions of capitalism (Edwards T, 2000), if not competing, competitors will capture markets through lower prices. This practice discussed by Marx leads to situations like the above were supply far exceeds demand. A good example of over production can be found by searching for any random product on a supplier listings website, Alibaba.com have over 64,979 different belt buckles available. Durkheim predicted that modern industrial societies would over-emphasise the importance of individuality which would erode social stability and solidarity (Schmidt, R 2010), consumers are sold their own individuality through advertising campaigns a few examples are: Dell’s ‘Yours is here’, My Yahoo. Products are increasingly customisable, mobile phone cases are a hugely popular consumer item. ‘Durkheim argues that people can only be happy when their wants are proportionate to their means. Left to themselves, human desires are boundless together with necessarily limited recourses, creates great unhappiness or ultimately suicide’ (Abercrombie et al 2006). Society controls the problem of unattainable goals by restricting desires through values aimed at permitting only goals which have some chance of attainment. The X-Factor is currently the most popular television program (Plunkett, J 2010) as dreams of mostly unattainable goals are being realised for a lucky number of consumers. This  is a stark contrast to the 1940’s where society was based around family values, working together to repair Britain where jobs were expected for life. Anomie describes the situation when this framework breaks down, goals again outrun means and suicide rate rises (Abercrombie et al 2006). Weber predicted that society would experience unprecedented inner loneliness of the single individual (Cohen Kennedy, 2007), this is a very accurate description of the contemporary experien ce, more than ever consumers are looking to the symbolic meaning of products to identify with their desired social groups and status. Social media is an interesting way to examine the inner loneliness experienced, taking facebook where consumers might have several hundred ‘friends’ who are merely acquaintances, with few solid friendships, while there is pressure to appear to have acquired huge numbers of ‘friends’ on social networks. To explore further into the loneliness of individuals, one in three households now have just one member compared with one in five in the 1970’s (BBC, 2004) this is known as the ‘meal for one’ society, more than half the meals eaten in the UK are now eaten alone. Traditional family unit is also becoming less common, with predictions indicating that in 2011 more than sixty percent of marriages will end in divorce (BBC, 2004). Weber discuses formal rationalisation of society as it becomes more industrialised and that this rationality is inevitable, the greater calculability required for rationalisation has affected greatly the consumer experie nce (Cohen Kennedy, 2007), consumers save for the wealthy classes, have an impersonal consumption experience. Self service check outs are a perfect example of this, once a shop keeper in the local store, would ring through and bag up your products now in the national and often multinational store, consumers ring through and bag up their own shopping. The systematic measured approach to contemporary life has created a predictable almost emotionless society, the consumption of university is a relevant example to the author, students are recognised by their identification number only, few if any university staff will know student’s names, no individuality between the students leaving students to display their personality and attachments through the conspicuous consumption of goods with symbolic meaning. Whereas the baby boomers will remember university involving debates with friendly tutors, with little care about appearances. This system creates greater efficiency, economic growth and  control of nature, the ‘iron cage’ describes this situation. However it does lead society towards the theories of Anomie and Alienation by Durkheim and Marx respectively. Calculability becomes an organising principle in the overall personality where ever more of our behaviour is informed by consistent logical expectations of human beings and of the environment. Spontaneity and surprise are experienced less and less in society, with calculability everything becomes increasingly predictable, unexpected events are planned for and avoided through policies and rules. The commoditisation of adventure is a good example of the disenchantment of society, Disneyland and all it represents takes the excitement out of spontaneity due to the ‘iron cage’ of functionalism and rationality. Weber sees class defined by income, (Cohen Kennedy, 2007) explaining that classes form around market positions, amongst people who share similar life chances which is relevant to the differences seen in society today from that at 1900, social mobility much more fluid with government actively perusing policies pulling people up the class system. The theories of Marx, Durkheim and Weber are relevant to society today; Weber the youngest of the theorists has accurate concepts relating to the bureaucracy experienced in the post-industrial age which explain well the changing experiences of consumers. Durkheim’s theories on Anomie in relation to individualism and the breakdown of society while religions stability isn’t the answer are partially interesting in explaining how society consumes conspicuously, using products as social glue to find a place in society. Marx’s idea on Alienation of workers, as Anomie explains aspects of the consumer mindset today. The globalisation of business taking the class struggle Marx discuses around the world. The current economic climate demonstrates that capitalism has failings even if the least of these is disconnecting individuals from a more intrinsic and meaningful existences within society. â€Å"Capitalism simultaneously produces more goods and less effective demand to pay for them.† (Slater, D 1997) References Abercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 235| Abercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 360| Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 14| Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 18| Alibaba.com (2010) Search for Belt Buckles [Accessed on 19/11/2010] Available at: http://www.alibaba.com/Belt-Buckles_pid3391301| BBC News (2004) Portrait of the ‘meal for one’ society [Accessed on: 25/11/10] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3445091.stm| Buttler, C (2007) The Industrial Revolution. Flow of History.com [Accessed on: 22/11/10] Available at: http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/17/FC0121| Cohen, R and Kennedy, P (2007) Global Sociology 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire. P 300| Cohen, R and Kennedy, P (2007) Global Sociology 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmill an, Hampshire. P 81| Cohen, R and Kennedy, P (2007) Global Sociology 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire. P 94| Desmond, J (2003) Consuming Behaviour. Palgrave, Hampshire| Edwards, T (2000) Contradictions of Consumption: Concepts, practices and politics in consumer society. Open University Press, Buckingham| Lloyds.com (2009) Unsold cars face storage exposures [Accessed on: s19/11/2010] Available at: http://www.lloyds.com/News-and-Insight/News-and-Features/Market-news/Specialist-2009/Unsold_cars_face_storage_exposures| Miles, S (1998) Consumerism – as a way of life. London, Sage.| Plunkett, J (2010) Gardian.co.uk: X Factor steals the show with 13.6m viewers. [Accessed on 29/11/2010] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/29/x-factor-tv-ratings| Schmidt, R (2010) Functionalism and Consumption Lecture Notes. I know sorry, I just really liked the sentence.| Sekora, J (1977) Luxuary: The concept in western though. Eden to Smollet, Balimore. As quoted by Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 176| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 175| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 176| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 181| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge,

Media Effects Theory Evaluation

Media Effects Theory Evaluation This chapter consists of two parts. In the first section I will critically review media effects theories and explore relevant theoretical approaches underpinning active audience studies. I will also discuss recent studies exploring media influence, delving into the methodological approaches as well as observing different ways that the media are claimed to have impact on peoples understanding. In particular, I will focus on literatures in areas of risks and health, as well as examining studies utilising creative methods for studying media influence, all which I will relate to my findings chapters. The way in which media influence is contextualised in this research however, should not be misunderstood as trying to prove any direct impact media have on people. Instead, my intention is to offer ways of thinking about media influence and hopefully this would help build a link between my findings and the theoretical body. I will reiterate my stance towards the end of the chapter whilst sit uating my research within literatures of media influence. In the second part of my literature, I will explore research conducted in areas of infant feeding, in particular to studies about breastfeeding and the media. This section will offer variety ways of exploring breastfeeding issues and how studying the media would fit into the social context and problems related to breastfeeding. I will also explore studies conducted in different cultural settings, which hopes to highlight the different ways culture and religion can influence infant feeding practices and their overall understanding of breastfeeding. What I hope to achieve by the end of this chapter is to give an idea of the different directions to studying breastfeeding in the media and defend my approach in this thesis. I then conclude this chapter by positioning my research within the theoretical, methodological and empirical framework that I have explored throughout. Media Effects, active audiences and beyond Review of Media effects theories Early works on media influence are focused on medias effects on human behaviours (ref). The idea that the media has powerful effects on people gained ground during the 1930s, in light of the elites fascist treatment towards society and dictators using the media as propaganda tool in countries like Germany and Russia. Research emphasis at the time was to find out what the media can do to people (ref) and this brought about the first theory of media effects (the hypodemic needle model), envisioned by scholars of the Frankfurt school in 1923 which suggests that media content are injected into audience thoughts and thus would influence their behaviours. Such studies assumed causal link between mass media and mass audience, suggesting that the media has a magic bullet effect that could result to media-inspired mass behavior (for example see works of Cantril et al., 1940; Lasswell 1927 and Lippman, 1922). Researchers at the time sought to link between media representations and mass behavio r, mostly were concerned over the (harmful) effects media has on society. This gave rise to studies supporting strong media effects and sets the parameter for most media research that took place between the 1940s to the 1960s (for example see Bandura and Walters, 1963; Lazarsfeld et al., 1944). It was one of the reasons why media effects studies was popular and gained much importance in the field of media studies at the time. However, hypodemic needle model or magic bullet theory is flawed in so many ways. The word media effects itself put much emphasis and power to the media that followers of hypodemic needle model / magic bullet theory often ignored the fact that audience themselves are active producers of meaning. Media and audience relationship does not exist in void but is involved and influenced by many things, among others, social context, culture and political-economy of a society. Audience consists of individuals who have different social and cultural backgrounds which makes it problematic if not impossible, to conceptualise one mass audience. It is then renders attempts to measure media effects difficult and complex. Researchers tried to improve this link by including additional stages/layers to media effects, such is done by Lazarsfeld and Katz (1955) when they introduced opinion leaders into the process a model which is also known as the two steps flow. What this model argues is that the effects of media on audience are mediated by different key individuals, who tends to be people with most access to the media and are assumed to be more media literate. These are opinion leaders who are sought to explain and diffuse media content to others. Although this model reduces the direct effects, it still simplifies the process involved between media and audience, and more importantly maintains audiences position at the receiving end of this relationship. This does not only sustain the idea that audiences are passive but also renders them incapable of producing their own interpretations. Another social theory which tries to explain media effects was developed by George Gebner in the 1960s, known as the Cultivation theory. The theory proposed that the media has long term effects on audiences, nurturing certain ideas through representations and media discourse. The cultivation theory springs from a large-scale research project called Cultural Indicators, a project that was aimed to explore media processes and track effects (particularly violent programming) on audiences (Miller, 2005, p.  281). A part of the study investigates the relationship between audience attention to media messages and their conceptions of social reality (Morgan, p;70 and Shanahan and Morgan p. 6-7). Findings suggest that exposure to television, over time subtly cultivates audiences perceptions of reality. This cultivation effects are claimed to affect light television viewers as well because the media (television) functions as a tool for socialisation and enculturation process (Gerbner an d Gross, 1976:175). Therefore, the theory suggests that any impact television has on heavy users will also, in time, impact on the entire culture. Gerbner et al (1986:23) later notes that this impact does not necessarily imply a unidirectional process but rather, it is a complex development built through subtle interactions between medium and its publics. Miller (2005:282) reiterates this point by explaining that the impetus of cultivation theory was not to prove specific media effects on behaviours, but to highlight medias overarching influence towards the way people think about the world. Gerbners idea was widely accepted however, similar to the previous media effects theories, it supports the notion that audience is vulnerable and easily manipulated. Cultivation theory asserts power to the media and regards audiences as subjects with limited interpretation, ignoring their social context and ability to generate own meanings. The many limitations of media effects theories have prompted researchers to switch focus. Following cluster of research in media studies question media power and shift emphasis towards studying audiences and their use of the media. Theorists such as Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., Gurevitch, M. (1974) argued for a model that acknowledges audience as powerful receivers. They proposed Uses and Gratification theory which challenged the traditional way of looking at media-audience relationship by asking what people do with the media rather than what the media does to people (Katz, 1959). This approach suggests that people have specific needs and use the media to satisfy them or gain specific gratifications. Blumler and Katz (1974) proposed four broad audience needs that are fulfilled by the media. These include diversions (a form of escapism from everyday life), Personal Relationships (where viewers build communities through conversations about television or how they relate to the characters) , Personal Identity (where audience explore, re-affirm or question their identity in regards to the characters identities) and Surveillance (where the media are referred for information about what is happening elsewhere). These four needs are argued to represent the ways audience establish their relationship with the media. While uses and gratification model provides a useful framework for thinking about audiences relationship with the media, critics question the fundamental structure of this theory. Researchers who are in support of media effects theories for example, questioned the notion of gratification itself, which in a way could be seen as a media effect. It was also argued that this approach focused heavily on audience use of the media, rather than how audiences make meanings of media content. Therefore, uses and gratification theory does not foregrounds itself in the theoretical debate, rather it focuses on the methodological approach of media studies, offering a way of doing media research, as opposed to contextualizing the relationship between media and audience (Littlejohn, 2002; Severin and Tankard, 1997; McQuail 1994). Therefore, studies adopting this approach were more focused on examining audience psychological needs and often overlook the importance of socio-cultural elements of audienc e needs. All the theoretical approaches discussed thus far have only allocated power to either the audience or the media. One of the pioneer works to break away from this over emphasis of unilateral power was established by Stuart Halls through his encoding/decoding model. Hall (1980) argues that media producers encode specific meanings in media text, which is distributed to audiences who will then decode and (re)produce these meanings through their own understanding (Hall, 1980:128). Hall suggests that the media (television) is an iconic sign because it possesses some of the qualities for the object in which they represent (Hall, 1980:131) and the process involved to produce and interpret these iconic signs is known as encoding/decoding. Hall does not just chart a middle ground between audience and the media but also introduced media producers into the equation and their roles in this relationship. Hall argues that producers agendas and assumptions are encoded in media text and that this shapes the preferred meanings of the text, albeit embedded in codes and convention of a particular medium to hide the text own ideological construction. Such meanings limit and guide audience interpretations, although specific frameworks outside the text such as socio-economic frameworks (for example gender, education and ethnicity), do play a role to influence audiences interpretations. Halls approach is in line with the social constructionists, where previous knowledge as well as experience of the media and the subject discussed played an important part to help construct peoples perception. While Halls notion of preferred meanings does not suggest that audience is homogenous, their interpretations will however, be consistent to producers intended idea. However, he suggests that audience can encode preferred meanings in a slightly different manner, in which Hall refers to as the margin of understanding. Halls encoding/decoding model suggests the meaning of a text lies somewhere between the producer and the reader. One of the reasons why encoding/decoding model is significant in media studies is because it balances the relationship between the media and audience, returning some power to the media while maintaining audience as active participants. This approach acknowledges both audience and the media as sites of meaning making. Hall further develops a model for the types of audience decoding. The four identified readings are (1)Dominant when audience recognise and agree with the preferred meaning offered by media text (2)Oppositional when audience understand the preferred meaning but disagree with it because it contradicts to their own set of beliefs and attitudes (3)Negotiated when audience opposes or adapts to the preferred meaning and (4)Aberrant decoding when audience gives meanings deviant to the preferred meaning. Morley however notes that this model is limited because preferred meaning is itself an unclear concept. This is because the model tends to overlap text and producers intention as preferred meaning, when they actually involve different processes and that preferred meaning may not always be embedded in text. It is therefore difficult to conceptualise preferred meaning, one which can be easily confused with something that is agreed by majority of the text audience. Kitzinger (1998) further argues that oppositional reading is sometimes a problematic term because people do not necessarily understand the preferred meaning. In her research she found out that peoples understanding sometimes intersect with pre-existing knowledge and mental pictures of other things, particularly when an issue is new and has not received much media attention. For example, in her research she found that some people do not understand the preferred meanings of HIV media awareness campaign and uses their pre-existing knowledge of AIDS as a way to understand and decode media messages about HIV. Nonetheless, despite limitations to Halls types of audience readings, encoding/decoding model continues to serve as an advantageous model in media studies. Among others, Halls encoding/decoding model has led to an increasing interest to explore media reception and audiences as active participants. A significant body of work developed in the UK focused on audience studies, but positioned within cultural framework (for example see Ang 1985; Morley, 1980; Radway, 1987). The foundations for this body of work is championed by Hall himself at the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (BCCCS) and his colleagues such as David Morley (1980) who explored how people from different (sub)cultures responded to the same media output (the BBC channel current affairs programme Nationwide). His Nationwide Audience Research adopted a semiotic approach to understanding audience responses to media text. Morley compiled audience responses from various different class and social/cultural backgrounds after they watched an episode of the news/current affairs programme Nationwide. Through these interviews, Morley tried to observe whether participan ts obtained a preferred reading from the programme. In a way, Morleys work puts Halls Encoding/Decoding model to the test. From his findings, Morley argues that encoding/decoding model is insufficient because it underestimated the variety of determinants in decoding a reading (Fiske, 1989). Morley argues that people may decode according to Halls audiences decoding positions but this process intersects with sociological demographics such as age, gender and also the context for viewing the programme (Morley, 1980:26; 199299). What this propose is that the meaning of text is interpreted within audiences sociological and cultural framework which may influence their knowledge, prejudices and resistance towards a discourse. Members of a given sub-culture will tend to share a cultural orientation towards decoding messages in particular ways and that their individual readings, whether dominant, negotiated or oppositional are framed by shared cultural formations and practices (1981b, p. 51). This shared cultural interpretation may (or may not) cut across different groups from different economic backgrounds and social class (Morley 1980). In his body of work, audiences are seen to actively consume media for pleasure, reinforcement and identity construction, a framework that focuses on media consumption and the role media play in popular culture. By emphasising that the meaning is not in the text, but in the reading (siapa) it opens up possibilities for audience reception studies and looking at the relationship between media and audience, in relations to other social context. His study was therefore considered one of the major turn around point in the history of media studies. According to David Morley: Before Messages can have effects on audiences, they must be decoded. Effects is thus a shorthand, and inadequate, way of marking the point where audiences read and make sense of messages. (Morley 1978, p125 (emphasis added) He later adds Of course, there will always be individual private readings, but we need to investigate the extent to which these individual readings are patterned into cultural structures and clusters (Morley 1980) Researchers continued to explore reception studies and studying audience became a popular trend for media researchers in the 1990s. Expanding Morleys approach which looks at how people from different cultural backgrounds interpret representations in media, researchers were interested to explore peoples personal and socio-cultural context as an integral part for understanding the rich range of meanings decoded and understood by media audience. On the whole, these studies adopted a culturalist perspective and are concerned with exploring audience active choices, consumptions and interpretations of media materials. Such research emphasizes audience interpretations of the text based on their individual cultural background and life experiences. In essence, the meaning of a text is not inherent within the text itself, but is created within different processes involved in the relationship between the text and the reader. For example, Katz and Liebel (1985) conducted a cross-cultural study on television soap Dallas in Japan, Israel and Russia. They concluded that various ethnic groups differed in their interpretation of foreign television programme, in which they referred to as critical distance. From the research, Liebes (1988:281) suggested that different groups perceive selectively towards what they watch and that this played a part in the forms of retelling and the talk they generate about a television program. A basic acceptance of the meaning of a specific text tends to occur when audience share traits and cultural background, which then may lead to the text being interpreted in similar ways. Culture has an interpretative function for the members of a group which share that particular culture. Nonetheless, expressions of culture-resultant behaviour are modified by the individuals personality, upbringing and life-experience to a considerable degree. Developments in cross-cultural audience studies have deepened our understanding of media reception in different cultures and the different relationship audiences have with the media. This process plays a role in the development of other issues for example, production of identity and popular culture. Audience use existing cultural frameworks to (re)construct meaning from a media text, thus it is through audience interpretations that we are able to gain more comprehension towards the culture to which that audience belongs (Gauntlett). This new approach for looking at media-audiences relationship was coined New Audience Research (Ang 1996, Morley 1990, etc). Researchers such as Curran et. al. (1996) saw this as a revolutionary rethink of the dispersion of power within the media-audience relationship, while scholars such as Fiske (1987) proclaim power of the audience. As Fiske commented on Morleys Nationwide Study: Its value for us lies in its shift away of emphasis away from the textual and ideological construction of the subjects to socially and historically situated people. It reminds us that actual people in actual situations watch and enjoy actual television programmes. (Fiske 1989, p63) Indeed Fiske, ever enthusiastic of Morleys research, said that it established ethnographic research as a legitimate tool to understand audiences (Fiske 1989). The focus on human beings in their social settings seems to a contemporary reader to be quite an obvious component of audience research. The influential academic journal Screen began to take up the idea that the audience was made up of more meaning than that disseminated by the text (Fiske 1989). This led to a generation of media and cultural studies protagonists who turned their focus away from semiotic analysis of the text and the individual and tried to focus on the social background of the audiences and how they decode the text itself. Their work appeared from the early 70s to the mid 80s and mostly conducted qualitative field work on small groups from targeted socioeconomic backgrounds (Nightingale 1996). The idea of the audience being able to make their own readings and the move away from semiotics was given a more pluralistic (Morley 1990) element by cultural studies writer John Fiske. Fiske was influenced heavily by the French polymath Michel de Certeau (Underwood, 2008), who advocated that people were continuously trying to undermine the dominant culture by creating tactics of resistance within everyday life. Fiske incorporated this into the idea of the active audience (Fiske 1989, pp 62-83), believing that audiences constantly tried to find new meanings inside media and that it was programmes that were made by industry, not text. Fiske maintained that: Texts are the product of their readers. So a programme becomes a text at the moment of reading. (Fiske 1989, p 14) And that: Texts are the site of conflictà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦between production and reception. (Fiske 1989, p14). From this freedom of meaning and conflict, audiences are capable of creating all sorts of resistance readings to the preferred dominant culture, constantly changing it in the process as elites try to catch up and encircle the masses into its fold once more. Fiske (1990) takes the example of jeans as fashion items they produce jeans and we alter them to look more trendy, so they react again. Creating a cycle of resistance by the active audiences/consumers and the dominant classes. Fiske continues, maintaining that there is no such thing as a homogenised audience, but rather a collection of pluralised audiences that are created from a multiplicity of backgrounds. Fiske maintained that this multiplicity of meaning amounts to a semiotic democracy (Fiske 1989, p95) where people are culturally competent enough to not need media experts to help them. This goes much further, it could be argued, than Morley, as Fiske seems to be saying that the actual meaning of any programme could be completely different, not just oppositional, negotiated, or dominant. Fiskes argument causes problems for many media researchers as it means that they are almost incapable of discovering how audiences think and behave. Indeed, Fiske often cites the fact that 80-90 per cent of all advertising strategies fail to succeed in bringing in an increase in sales (Fiske 1990), which has led to many people to question the usefulness of New Audience Research. First, there seems to be a great deal of backtracking and shifting over how much meaning should be assigned by the audience and how much on the text amongst its protagonists with disagreements as to how far audiences were interpreting texts through their social backgrounds with Nightingale (1996) pointing out that many later research studies backtracked into textual analysis. Morley (1990) decided to distanc e himself from Fiskes ideas of a semiotic democracy despite the latters praise of his Nationwide study. In his article printed in Curran et al (1990), he criticises the lack of power in Fiskes beliefs, stating that it had become too disseminated and lacked ideology. He also commented on the fact that reading texts is not the same as changing the text itself. Morley (ibid) himself had an argument with his contemporary James Curran, who questions the novelty of New Audience Research and therefore how much it had to add to the discourse. For instance, he cited work completed by a large number of media effects researchers from the 1940s and 1950s, who studied reception analysis whilst taking into account sociological backgrounds. For New Audience researchers, he argues: year AD starts with textual analysis (ibid p266) in the cultural/literary effects tradition and ignores what went before it. Of Fiske he argues that his ideas were old pluralism re-heated (ibid p267) that simply played into the hands of neo-liberal America, that wanted to deny any sort of hegemonic power in the media. Nightingale (1996) takes this further and comments that news and current affairs programmes and the ideology politics that surrounded them were dropped soon after the Nationwide study for more identity-orientated politics within soap operas making the research f ar more populist. The fact that the research turned the idea of power and ideology away from the media itself is something that Nightingale and many others criticise. Even Morley (1990) acknowledged that it is very well to rip ones jeans as a sign of resistance; however this is at best a micro-political move of resistance and not one that makes people think twice about buying designer jeans. Despite these valid criticisms, this essay still maintains that New Audience Research still was revolutionary as it helped a discourse that was very much removed from focusing on the audience as individuals able to make a resistance or re-interpret the media in any way. Morley (cited in Curran et al, 1990) replied to Currans argument by saying that he criticised the new research with the gift of hindsight given to him by new audience researchs work, and that none of the previous authors whose work focused on the audience would have been brought to light if it was not for new audience research raising the audience as an issue once again. In this way, a once marginalised area of research reasserted itself into the mainstream. It was, as Morley (1980) said a paradigm shift in every sense of the word. Sympathy, too, has to be given to Fiske for his pluralistic vision of semiotics. It could be argued that he was merely taking Halls original challenge to its logical conclusion that it cou ld be hypothesised that Audiences could actually hold a great deal of power. Curran (1990), Nightingale (1996), Eco (1974 cited in Nightingale 1996)) and others all agree that Fiske through his ideas on the active audience and plurality of meaning brought the idea of semiotics to a new generation of researchers, especially in America. Nightingale (1996, p 58) goes further and argues that New Audience Research was the point where sociology and semiotics meet in a globally unifying approach to the study of mass communications. Nightingale herself argues that despite the shortcomings, the new wave of Audience research was indeed paradigm shift and created a profound reorientation in cultural studies (ibid, p 60). Her reasoning for this was that studies such as Morleys Nationwide forced researchers to look beyond the passivity of audiences, beyond psychology and/or effects and root the debate within political and sociological discourse. It allowed researchers to look beyond the mass and see the inherent stratification in society (ibid, p 69). Furthermore, the emphasis on ethnography and qualitative research helped to bridge the gap between researcher and subject (ibid, p 68). In this way researchers now had to acknowledge this dimension of the audience as a major factor in audience research. In conclusion, despite new audience researchs critics saying that that it dissolves the meaning of the text, is not anything new, and individualises and pluralises audience research to a point to where meaning almost evaporates (Curran p 260), the concept behind it has still proved to be revolutionary. First, it took the discourse of audience studies away from the pessimistic and almost patronising beliefs of Marxists, Leavisites and media affects theorists that saw the audience as a single, passive mass. Instead it made them into active forces of meaning as Hall maintained. As Morley discovered in his experiment, they did not have to agree with the way mass media encoded the text, they could take various meanings from it depending on a host of background factors. They were an active audience, according to Fiske, who could resist the hegemony of media and create their own readings. It has had a lasting effect on audience research globally, whilst the discourse has moved on, the soci al, cultural and economic etc background of an audience is seen as a major component of audience studies research (Jensen et al, 1991). Active audience studies New Influence Research The evolution of media studies reviewed thus far reveals the distinctions, if not contradictions to the approaches between media effects research and studies exploring active audiences / reception studies. Kitzinger (2004:24) notes that the polarity between these two media scholarships has split media researchers into two sides, moreover with the existing geographical and cultural borders between which historically underpins media studies framework. Studies emphasising media effects and media power over audiences are more popular in the United States, whereas researchers in the Western Europe are more interested with the way audience use and meanings of media messages. At some point, this gap continues to widen as researchers focused on the difference, rather than finding a way to bridge media effects and audience studies (Morley, 1998). Nonetheless, a group of scholars have attempted to revitalise Halls encoding/decoding theory and try to (re)connect reception studies with media effects studies (for example see reception work conducted by the Glasgow Media Unit, Kitzinger, 2004; and Miller et. al., 1998). These studies revive the approach of Morleys Nationwide research and differentiate themselves from the over-emphasis of audience power in most active audience studies. This approach, also referred as the new influence research acknowledges that the media has some influence towards people and that the focus is to identify what and how audiences interact with these influences. Kitzinger (2002:276) asserts that the new influence studies has little connection with the hypodemic needle theory and that exploring into the ways audiences interpret media messages will help reveal ways in which media effects actually operates. The new influence research therefore acknowledges some media effects on audiences by theorizing way s in which audience interpret media representations and construct meanings. Although the impetus of new influence research is to bridge the gap between two major approaches of media research, most empirical work do not necessarily concern to find a link between media and behaviour in any context. In fact studies consistently fail to find a link between these two (Barker and Petley, 1996; Norris et. Al, 1999), and any research hoping to prove such link is doomed to failure (Gauntlett, 1998). On the other hand, the new influence research embraces the different ways audience may interpret what they see/hear/read in the media and acknowledges the limits of these interpretations, as well as the possibilities for shared mainstream interpretation particularly when dealing with repetitive and relatively closed text (Kitzinger, 1999; Livingstone, 1999). What this suggests is that although people can individually respond actively to the media, their predisposed collective needs, beliefs and interests may influence their response. Media reporting of health and perception of risks Seale (220:25) argues that the ways in which audience understand health issues is complex and involves a process of selecting and constructing unique composition of different health stories through media usage and experience. This process, or intertextual experience as he describes it, should not be overlooked in studies of media and health as audience are not only exposed to a single health story, but interactions of various different health issues across different media. As a result, audience understanding of a particular health issue may (or may not) overlap or influenced by their interpretation of other health stories in the media. Seale therefore believes that when analysing any forms of media

We All Learn From Our Mistakes Essay -- Personal Narrative, Personal E

Everyone, at some point in their life, has made a mistake. Sometimes we get lucky and only falter a little, making it through the problem relatively intact. Other times, we mess up a lot and have to fix what was damaged over a long period of time. However, the same is true for most, if not all cases—those who make the mistake learn from it. Often times, our failures teach us valuable lessons that we only gained because of the experience we gathered after messing up. I have personally achieved a wealth of knowledge and experience just from all of my own little mishaps, and a few major ones. One instance of a failure that taught me well was when I tried to find a quick solution for boiling eggs. I was so tired of what I considered the long process of boiling eggs that I formulated a more imaginative way to cook them. I gathered my eggs in a large glass mixing bowl, poured water on top of them, and popped the bowl in the microwave. I set the appliance for about 10 minutes, and then left the kitchen so the eggs could be nuked while I finished my other chores. After the timer went off...

Children in the midst of Crisis Essay -- Education Argumentative Persu

Children in the midst of Crisis Our education system is one of the most respectable, reputable and sought after commodity's in our society, but it is also the most over crowded, discriminatory, and controversial system ever established. Most people yearn for a higher education because it's what's expected in this society in order to get ahead. It means a better job, more money, power, prestige and a sense of entitlement. But this system has let down the children that are supposed to benefit from it. Education discriminates against minorities, and poorer class students are not expected nor encouraged to attain a higher education. The education system is set up to ensure that every child get a basic education, but there are many boundaries and social settings that make this almost impossible to achieve. To many students the thought of higher education is just a dream that seems unattainable, but with positive affirmation we can help all children excel. First, we have to recognize the problems associated with the scho ol system then maybe we can work to resolve them. We as educators must re evaluate the system that enables children to become lost in the shuffle. The group this most applies to is minorities. This includes children from different backgrounds who differ in language and culture from the dominant society. Bell Hooks a famous advocator and author states, "young black people are encouraged by dominant culture...to believe that assimilation is the only possible way to survive, succeed"(97). She herself was put in the education system thinking she must assimilate, but with perseverance and the determination to succeed on her own terms, she was seen as the exception in her culture. Being "the exception," angered Hooks ... ...ercentage of students in our school system and they are the most over looked. Schools need to implement programs that encourage difference and change instead of trying to gloss over the situation and force assimilation. Education needs to be monitored and stigmas attached to these children need to be resolved. These children have a right to a basic education that will allow them to function with in society. They also have a right to seek a higher education if they choose to do so. The manner in which we encourage a child will have a lasting affect on them and perhaps break the cycle. Education creates focus in people's lives and encourages change for those who seek a better way of life. Works Cited Hooks, Bell. "Keeping Close to Home:Class and Education." The Presence of Others.2000. Spayde, Jon. Learning in the Key of Life." The Presence of Others.2000.

Police Brutality - Racism, Racial Profiling, Prejudice :: racism, prejudice, racial profiling

Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use force or when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force may or not be a large predicament but should be viewed by both the police and the community. Police brutality is hypocrisy; as the police are meant to protect society from harm, not cause further damage and stress. Police should be trained properly so they do not resort to violence and abuse of power. Many cases of police brutality and not sanctioned and are undertaken by a group of police as a form of "mob mentality". Police are placed on a pedestal of authority and respect by the rest of society. To maintain this image, rules and codes of ethics within the police force should be maintained at all possible times. If police are using brutality to resolve issues, it doesn't set much of an example of dispute resolution between individuals. Over the past decade police abuse remains one of the most serious human rights violation in the United States. Police officers are trusted and expected to respect society as a whole and enforce the law. There is a time a place for aggressive force if needed, apprehending a suspect, however the environment and situation might influence the mo ment thus resulting in the brutal and barbaric behavior from the cop. The important thing to do is to understand the circumstances when excessive force can be used and times where the use of force has to be abstained. Police officers follow a strict guideline in how to handle encounters from escalating into something much more serious. The use of excessive force, in this case police brutality brings liabilities that cannot be taken lightly with the department and the community. Usually the high crime rates tend to revolve around low-income minority areas and officers tend to assume that minorities living in the areas are guilty. Police brutality that does exist is most likely result of emotional exhaustion.

Notes for Key Assignment Outline

Phase 4 DB & Brief on Phase 5 IP Chapters 7, 8, 9, 17 & 18 This task is an important first step to the Phase 5 IP. The phase 5 IP is your final task for the class and will incorporate aspects of several of your other tasks. Phase 5 IP OVERVIEW This task has several parts that are designed to create one complete and comprehensive opinion of your chosen company. Further it is an examination of any global opportunities the company may have and what issues might come up as a result of expanding globally. The project will have 5 parts: I.Executive Summary II. Current State of the Company III. Change IV. Implementation Program V. Future Opportunities Based on what you have done to date you should be able to complete the Executive Summary and the Current state of the company for the Phase 5IP as part of your 4 DB. The executive summary includes: * Create an executive summary about the current state of your company. Include the following information: * Overview of the company includi ng size and revenue * Leadership team * Mission statement * Business ethics and social responsibilityThe current state of the company should include: * Product mix * Current financial state * SWOT Analysis components All of which you have already talked about. Remember this is just an outline so you do not need to create a cohesive flowing story. This is designed to help you create the order under each section that you will talk about the issues. Now I would try to have as complete of an executive summary and current state of the company as possible at this point in time. The rest of the Phase 4 DB document will be much more generic and less defined as hey will incorporate issues you will be dealing with this week and next week. Review on your own the sections of the Phase 5 IP prior to doing the Phase 4 DB and begin to gather some information regarding Change, Global issues and future opportunities for the company. Part 3 will be dealt with in your Phase 4 IP we will be discussing on Wednesday. Also begin to look at global issue such as culture and norms of other parts of the world and try to begin to make the connection as to how these issues will effect the company and the way they do business. Going GlobalIn today’s business environment with global expansions it is important for organizations to take a different approach with their employees. Today’s business is made up of people from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe. It is very important for multi-national companies to understand cross culture issues and even more important is the training and development of its workforce. For our discussion regarding global issues we will focus on the people factor rather than that of legal and economic issues that are far more obvious and understood.The people issues are what is usually overlooked. In our discussion we will explore communication issues, look and explore an analysis of Hofstede measures and translate that to some manageme nt style conclusions. Communication comes in many forms through body language, facial expressions, hand signals as well as written and spoken. Each culture interpretation of facial, body and hand signs is different from one country to another. It is very important to learn what forms of communication can become disastrous.Some cultures also see the way you dress as communicating who you are or where you are such as in statues. Some cultures giving gifts is a must from just a simple invitation to dinner. Approaching business in any country, other than the county of origin, can be problematic at best and disastrous at worst for companies that do not do their research into the culture of the desired country. â€Å"Culture is simply the set of values, attitudes, and beliefs shared by such a group, which sets the standards of behavior required for continued acceptance and successful participation in that group. (Scarborough, Jack, 1998) It is normal to seek out individuals or in this ca se companies that know the culture and norms of a country to learn from, much like a child learns of acceptable norms from a parent or some other authority figure. In this way a company might gain some insight into the common values, attitudes, and beliefs of the country in question. Although research in this way is necessary, the following discussion revolves around recommending business approaches by drawing conclusions from Hofstede Measures.It is important to understand that the goal of a company is to develop a stereotype for the society in question. While this word has a stigma attached to it, it simply means properly and accurately characterizing one group of people as being different from another. In this way a company can begin to identify the cultures core values, attitudes, and beliefs. Regressing for a moment, it is at this time that the company should look for a â€Å"mentor† of sorts to research in order to better identify those parts of the population that my n ot necessarily conform to these stereotypical norms.This added step will help the company to differentiate between conforming to cultural norms and embracing the underlying values. A prime example of the difference is located here in the United States. One could argue that a cultural norm in the United States is that the population is Protestant Christian of course we that live here know this not to be true the country is comprised of virtually all manor of religious beliefs, however by and large the Protestant Christian work ethic and business values are what is commonly embraced by the successful business person, regardless of their religion or background (Scarborough, Jack, 1998).These core values are at the hart of what defines a population’s expectation with regard to all aspects of business and personal life. Although there are several aspects to core values that are required to be questioned one question must be the first from a marketing standpoint. This question is w eather the culture is high-content communicators or high-context communicators. Western life business is generally high-content or very precise written and documented communication. This is due to the fact that usually in western life there is a high degree of diversity amongst the population.With high-context communication the people communicating must have a high degree of commonality in experiences and expectations. Research indicates that Middle Eastern and Asian countries have a high level of high-context communication which depends heavily on unspoken, implied communications through other means such as facial expressions and body language (Scarborough, Jack, 1998). The measurements of Geert Hofstede that are going to be examined are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/ collectivism and long term orientation.Power distance in a culture is the degree to which people accept unequal distribution of power. In high power distance societies pe ople feel dependent on those in power and expect direction from them. It is important to understand this when choosing management styles because in a high power distance culture managers do not involve their subordinates in a decision making or group collaboration setting. In contrast if a manager takes this view in a low power distance culture they might be looked at as arrogant and with resentment.Uncertainty avoidance is a measure of tolerance for ambiguity and the unfamiliar. The lower the score the more accepting of variety and opinions the society is. Oddly enough, as will be shown, the countries that are recommended have a significantly lower than average score in this regard but based on the ideology of the governing bodies in question one would not initially think this to be the case. This fact combined with some other facts will lead to an interesting theory that will be proposed later. Masculinity of the culture is the next measurement.A masculine culture is interpreted a s aggressive, decisive, and confrontational with well defined gender roles placing great value on achievement outside the home. While a feminine culture is more amiable placing great emphasis on harmony. This type of culture is more likely to have flexible gender roles and utilizes compromise and negotiation over conflict to resolve disputes. Individualism will be explored next. This score represents the level at which the population thinks of the individual over the collective or visa versa. The lower the score the greater the likelihood that decisions will be made in the best interest of the collective.Finally Long Term Orientation refers to how engrained is tradition in the cultural norms. Hofstede Measures As the above scores indicate all three countries show an above average Power Distance rating. This insinuates that western style management practice of team opinions might not be advantageous. The employees will be looking for decisive leadership and direction from the managem ent staff and will expect direct and structured instructions. As one would expect with a power distance rating significantly higher than average, the Uncertainty rating is significantly lower than average.This indicates that the establishment will be more open to managers making decisions without consulting other authorities, leading to a potential for differing opinions on how situations should be handled. Earlier a theory was mentioned. It has been observed that the Asian cultures utilize more contextual communication rather than content oriented communication. Combined with the information from the figures above one might conclude that cultures having a high power distance and low uncertainty rating could be more likely to use contextual communication.The reason for this potential relationship might be that the historical governing bodies combined with the seemingly uniformity of the population allows for the possibility that experiences and thought patterns amongst the populatio n will be similar and therefore be less likely to make radically differing decisions; just food for thought. The final measurement is long-term orientation. As the numbers indicate China is drastically higher than average, India is moderately higher than average and Singapore is slightly lower than average.The reason for this is simple, China has been closed for so long, India is very entrenched in religious issues and therefore has been somewhat closed while at the same time Singapore has specialized in import/export endeavors. China being the new kid on the block will somewhat detach themselves over time to some of there traditions as India has however unlike Singapore China is unique in that it is a gigantic consumer and will continue to play a substantial role in that regard and for this reason will not be required to disinherit their traditions in stead it will fall to the sellers to understand, if not embrace, their traditions.In conclusion, all three countries require a stron g management approach. Taking western style management of team play and group participation is not recommended, initially. I think given time this technique is and will be more productive, but not until the culture catches up with the times. It will be critical to pay close attention to the communication given and received; all three countries are context communicators not content like estern society. Management must be involved personally as well as professionally with the employees. This will improve company production and increase communication avenues between all parties involved. In short a clear chain of command, well structured with defined rules is required. The managers must be strong and independent, and the company should position itself to be community oriented.