The role of CSR in an organization's performance Dissertation

The role of CSR in an organization's performance - Dissertation Example 303). It therefore follows that corporate social responsibility has a significant role to play in the organization’s performance. This study conducts a review of the literature relative to stakeholder theory and its emergence as a core driver of corporate social responsibility and thus creates tension between stakeholder and shareholder theories of corporate governance. In doing so, the research analyses the literature relative to the conceptualization of the role of corporate social responsibility in organization performance and the manner in which organizations structure corporate governance to resolve the tensions between stakeholder and shareholder models. In order to test this conceptualization or hypothesis that corporate social responsibility has a significant role to play in organization performance and creates tension between shareholder and stakeholder theory, an empirical research study is conducted. The empirical research study involves a survey of ten for profit o rganizations. The survey is a questionnaire which is designed to determine views on corporate social responsibility, shareholder primacy and how these organizations prioritize their performance. Conclusion: This research study concludes that corporate social responsibility is important to organizations, yet organizations tend to focus more sharply on maximization of profits for the benefit of shareholders. Contents Abstract 2 Contents 3 Chapter One 5 Introduction 5 Background 6 Key Definitions 7 Corporate Social Responsibility 7 Shareholder primacy 8 Stakeholder Theory 8 Aims and Objectives 9 Significance of the Study 9 Research Questions 10 Research Methodology and Design 10 Research Methods 11 Qualitative Analysis 11 Quantitative Analysis 12 Organization of the Study 13 Chapter Two 15 A Review of the Literature 15 Introduction 15 I.Corporate Social Responsibility 15 A.Organizations 15 B. Corporate Social Responsibility Theories 19 i.Neoliberalism 19 ii.Neo-Keynesianism Theories of Corporate Social Responsibility 21 C.History of Corporate Social Responsibility 24 II.Shareholder Primacy Theory 31 III.Stakeholder Theory 39 Conclusion 44 Chapter Three 45 Methodology 45 Introduction 45 Research Methodology 46 Qualitative Analysis 48 Quantitative Analysis 48 Ethical Issues 51 Strengths of the Research 51 Limitations of the Research 52 Chapter Four 53 Analysis and Results 53 Chapter Five 60 Conclusion 60 Size of Organization: (a) Large (b) Medium (c) Small 63 References 69 Chapter One Introduction The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be traced back to the 1950s with definitions of the term expanding over the course of the 1930s (Okoye 2009, p. 613). By the 1990s, CSR has come to be synonymous with corporate social performance, stakeholder and business ethics theories (Carroll 1999, p. 268). Cumulatively, the development of CSR has come to mean that organizations have an implicit duty to advance social interests and not merely the organizationâ⠂¬â„¢s interest and that which is legally required (McWilliams and Siegel 2001, p. 117). Regardless, CSR not only conflicts with organizational interests, but also presents a number of conflicting interests among the wider group of stakeholders. For instance, CSR requires that organizations take account of the interests of a variety of groups such as consumers, government, employees, community organizations and other stockholders (McWilliams and S

History-failure of Italian Revolutionaries Essay Example for Free

History-failure of Italian Revolutionaries Essay There were several factors affecting the failure of the Italian revolutionaries in the years 1820-49. Although the lack of popular support was a contributing factor, it is far less significant when compared to other aspects of the failure such as the intervention and military strength of Austria, the lack of unity between various revolutionary factions and the lack of outside help from other countries. One of the key factors of the revolutionary’s failures was due to the repeated involvement by Austria and its imposing army, who were a major force in Europe and the world at the time. Led by Metternich, the Austrian’s quashed revolution after revolution. For example, in 1821, where King Ferdinand had granted his state, Naples, a constitution out of ‘fear’, he appealed to Metternich for help, who duly obliged as he opposed the revolutionaries because they ‘disturbed the peace’ in the whole region. Therefore, in March 1821, Austrian troops marched into Naples and easily overran the rebel forces with a superior army in strength, training and weaponry. This made it almost impossible for any revolutionary group, whether united or separate, to outmatch the Austrians, whose military strength was far greater than the revolutionaries. This also occurred in 1848, when Charles Albert, revolutionary king of the most powerful state, Piedmont was twice devastated by the Austrian’s. First, in June, he was defeated in Custoza and forced to sign an armistice withdrawing from Lombardy and again in March 1849 where he was heavily defeated in Novaro. This was a theme throughout the entire time period of 1820-49, with Metternich crushing revolutions in Piedmont, Lombardy and Sicily among others, with this trend only declining when revolutions arose in Vienna, forcing Metternich to focus on events closer to home. Therefore Austrian military might was an overwhelmingly strong factor in the failure of every revolution in this time period. Another reason for the failures was a distinct lack of unity in almost all of the revolution, with the groups from different states and areas refusing to cooperate with each other as they were in the main more concerned with local affairs than the bigger picture of a united Italy. For example, in 1832, Modena appealed for help from the  revolutionary government of Bologna for no particular reason other than they didn’t want to communicate or cooperate with one another. Another example is the Sicilian revolutions. They started a revolution in their capital city of Palermo and had soon ousted the previous regime to replace it with a revolutionary provisional government. However, when revolutions spread to the mainland of Naples a few days later, they had no plans of assisting them; instead making their policies clear by breaking away from Naples and becoming an independent state. Instead of national or regional unity, they instead, from the entire period of 1820-1848, wanted a free and sovereign country of their own. The fact that the different groups didn’t cooperate with one another, and in some cases, such as this, had entirely dissimilar aims for having a revolution, meant that they could easily be overridden one by one because individually they were very weak. A lack of outside help from other countries that were meant to be enemies with Austria did not help the revolutionaries cause. At the beginning of the revolutions in 1820, fresh off the back of the establishment of the new republic in France after the French revolutions, there was the hope that they would support the Italian revolutionaries in overthrowing their reactionary rulers, just as the French had done to their own monarchs less than 30 years before. In 1831 as well, despite appeals for French help, their pleas were ignored and Austria swept the isolated revolutions aside. In fact, instead of assisting the revolutionaries, in 1848 they instead intervened seemingly on the other side of the revolutions in order to assist the Pope, but in doing so they overpowered the Roman Republic, a revolutionary area headed by Giuseppe Mazzini. The French military brought hardship upon the people of the Rome after defeating Mazzini, seemingly in a hypocritical way as they themselves had fought to rid themselves of an iron grip previously but were instead now the iron grip rulers. On the Popes return, the repressive regime present before the Roman Republic returned. This shows that the French were far more against the revolutions than for them. They would’ve been the natural protector of the revolutions due to their recent history and their hatred of Austria, but it wasn’t to be and this was a key reason in why the uprisings ultimately all failed. Despite these reasons, the lack of popular support was no doubt a contributing  factor into the revolutions failure. The fact that in most states, around 90% of the population were peasants, but were not included in any decisions or contributed to the fighting effort meant that there was never likely to be popular support, because peasants views were not heard so their living conditions wouldn’t necessarily change no matter who was in charge. They would most likely have very little idea of what was even happening in their state. For example, in 1831 the peasants were deliberately excluded from taking part in any form of the revolutions, except for in Sicily where peasants were involved. This was due to the fact that the middle class professionals believed that the poorly educated peasants would end up being detrimental to the cause and would spark their own revolution fighting for their rights and eventually leading to the rule of the mob. Overall, there were several key factors in the failure of the revolutions between 1820 and 1849, such as the might of Austria, the distinct lack of unity between revolutionary divisions and the lack of allies from the international community. Despite the importance of these factors, the lack of popular support cannot be ignored as a factor, but the middle classes had a steadfast fear that if they permitted peasant help, they would turn the cause into riots. This was seen in Sicily where peasant assistance was encouraged, but ended in the masses destroying property, freeing prisoners and burning tax collection papers, as they had the sole intention of causing anarchy. Therefore, the lack of popular support was not a crucial factor but merely a side point in the revolutions failures.

Thomas Plantes Do the Right Thing Essay examples -- Personal Reflecti

This is paper is a personal reflection on the views reflected by Thomas Plante the author of Do the Right Thing. Living ethically in an unethical world. Thomas Plante interprets principled and ethical understanding into realistic life approaches. By use of his five moral mechanisms for making tough Life decisions Plante steers readers all the way through a step-by-step process for generating a individual fair foundation based on truthfulness, capability, individual responsibility, admiration, and consciousness of the interests of others. Readers are then coached on ways to apply this self-designed scheme and systems to hard-hitting life situation. For instance, it deals with intricate professional environments or situations, family and relationship choices and even private economic decisions. As a personal reflection this paper will give personal opinions, examples and day to day examples of the application of these ethical views. It will use examples of the different dilemma situati ons. Medical ethics is a system of well placed guidelines, rules and principles to guide the conduct and judgments of medical practitioners or personnel in their endeavor to practice medicine. In this case, there is a dilemma in a supposed unborn baby who apparently has a damaged brain. The dilemma involves whether to terminate or rather abort the baby or let him live and donate the organs to other deformed children. The family decides to let the baby live however the hospital has advances by declaring the baby’s brain dead and they need the body parts as part of the requirements for a required transplant. This is the dilemma behind this healthcare issue (Beauchamp & Childress, 2008). It is however important to note that brain damage is the actual de... ... We Really Want to Produce Good People? Journal of Moral Education, 16(3), 177-188. Noddings, N. (1988). An Ethnic of Caring and Its Implications for Instructional Arrangements. An American Journal of Education, (962), 215-230. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2007). How does one learn to be spiritual? Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood. Peters, R. S. (1970) Ethics and Education. London. Allen & Unwin Pollack, J. (2007). Ethics in criminal justice: Dilemmas and decisions (6th ed.). Belmont: Thomson and Wadsworth. Walker, S., & Katz, C. M. (2008). The police in America: An introduction (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Purpel , D. & Ryan, K. (1976). Moral Education. It Comes With Territory. Berkeley: McCutchman. Straughan , R .(1988). Can We Teach Children Good? Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Tom, A. (1984). Teaching as a Moral Craft. New York: Longman. . Thomas Plante's Do the Right Thing Essay examples -- Personal Reflecti This is paper is a personal reflection on the views reflected by Thomas Plante the author of Do the Right Thing. Living ethically in an unethical world. Thomas Plante interprets principled and ethical understanding into realistic life approaches. By use of his five moral mechanisms for making tough Life decisions Plante steers readers all the way through a step-by-step process for generating a individual fair foundation based on truthfulness, capability, individual responsibility, admiration, and consciousness of the interests of others. Readers are then coached on ways to apply this self-designed scheme and systems to hard-hitting life situation. For instance, it deals with intricate professional environments or situations, family and relationship choices and even private economic decisions. As a personal reflection this paper will give personal opinions, examples and day to day examples of the application of these ethical views. It will use examples of the different dilemma situati ons. Medical ethics is a system of well placed guidelines, rules and principles to guide the conduct and judgments of medical practitioners or personnel in their endeavor to practice medicine. In this case, there is a dilemma in a supposed unborn baby who apparently has a damaged brain. The dilemma involves whether to terminate or rather abort the baby or let him live and donate the organs to other deformed children. The family decides to let the baby live however the hospital has advances by declaring the baby’s brain dead and they need the body parts as part of the requirements for a required transplant. This is the dilemma behind this healthcare issue (Beauchamp & Childress, 2008). It is however important to note that brain damage is the actual de... ... We Really Want to Produce Good People? Journal of Moral Education, 16(3), 177-188. Noddings, N. (1988). An Ethnic of Caring and Its Implications for Instructional Arrangements. An American Journal of Education, (962), 215-230. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2007). How does one learn to be spiritual? Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood. Peters, R. S. (1970) Ethics and Education. London. Allen & Unwin Pollack, J. (2007). Ethics in criminal justice: Dilemmas and decisions (6th ed.). Belmont: Thomson and Wadsworth. Walker, S., & Katz, C. M. (2008). The police in America: An introduction (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Purpel , D. & Ryan, K. (1976). Moral Education. It Comes With Territory. Berkeley: McCutchman. Straughan , R .(1988). Can We Teach Children Good? Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Tom, A. (1984). Teaching as a Moral Craft. New York: Longman. .

ALDI Business expansion through training and development Essay

Aldi (short for Albrecht Discounts) is a globally operating and expanding discount retailer with over 8,000 stores all over the world. The company was founded in 1913 in Germany by two brothers. In 1960 the former Albrecht KG was separated in Aldi Sued and Aldi Nord. The headquarters are located in Essen (Aldi Nord) and Mà ¼lheim an der Ruhr (Aldi Sued). Both companies still have a friendly relation and use the same brands occasionally but operate independently. Aldi Nord operates in Denmark, the Benelux countries, France, the Iberian Peninsula and Poland. Aldi Sued makes its business transactions in countries including Ireland, the United Kingdom, Greece, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, USA and Australia. In Austria and Slovenia Aldi is represented by Hofer KG. Overall Aldi is one of the world’s biggest grocery chains. The sales strategy is well known as they offer the opportunity to buy cheap and good/fresh food. The main focus is on key markets in Europe, North Am erica and Australia. Store layouts are simple and opening hours focus especially on the busiest times of the day. The retailer is a specialist in food, beverage and household items but within the years the portfolio was extended. The company acts now among other things for example, as travel agency. Many of the offered products are own brands. The number of other brands is limited to a maximum of two for an item. Therefore it is possible to keep the shops smaller and to sell a larger quantity of a specific brand. The slogan â€Å"Spend a little, live a lot† reflects the strategy of Aldi. In a nutshell to keep prices low they are not taking effort on presenting their variety of goods. Worldwide main competitors of Aldi are Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., METRO AG and Lidl Dienstleistung GmbH & Co. KG. Particular Austrian competitors are Zielpunkt, Norma and Penny. The strategy of the mentioned chains is similar. They are all driving their main business in the food industry as they are primarily competing on price in order to increase their market share. Main customers are bigger families, housewifely people and people with less income. The marketing mix of every business is different. Aldi focusses on providing high quality products that are cheaper alternatives to famous brands. Moreover, the advertising strategy is very simple and cost saving. Apart from a weekly newsletter of  special offers Aldi is not advertising at all. Primarily this low price grocery chains arose due to the increasing population and economic challenges. Therefore it was necessary to construct bigger plants which resulted in fewer and larger firms. This had a negative effect on farmer’s return and all of a sudden people started to concern about the products they were consuming. Aldi was very hard affected by these changes and implemented sustainable products. Now they offer especially in the diary product sector regional goods. Certainly important to mention is the simple organization structure of Aldi. The very flat management hierarchy allows leaders to get their people known. At Aldi managers should be open for new ideas, improvements and it is common to involve all employees in decision making. They represent a philosophy of promoting and supporting talents within the organization. Consequently the performance of each employee is recognized easier. As the responsibility is increasing within promotions it is essential to support a transparent and effective decision making system. Subsequent the discretion of the Aldi organizational chart. On the very top of the management is the Vice President followed by several Directors like Director of Warehousing & Transportation and Director of Administration. The District Managers are directly reporting to the Director of Operations and are leading the individual Store Management Teams. The number of Store Employees is based on the frequency of customer visits. Worth to mention is also financial situation. The revenue of Aldi was not published until 2000. Since 2001, Aldi Nord publishes its numbers in the Federal Gazette. Sales in Germany in 2010 amounted to 22.5 billion euros. Furthermore the worldwide turnover was 52.8 billion euros. Aldi Nord and Aldi Sued are completely family owned. The capital is very solid and Aldi has no liabilities. Aldi Nord owns all logistic centers. Leased objects are increasingly replaced by own objects. Aldi Sued also owns almost all buildings and land but had to borrow money for further expansion properties. So they left the path of total independence. The return on sales constitutes between 3 and 3.7 % in 2010. The core values and principles that the brothers founded are still important for decision making today. These are presented from the management team as follows: Consistency – leads to reliability. We mean what we say. We are consistent in our dealings with  people, product, price and all other aspects of our day to day professional life. Simplicity – creates efficiency, clarity and clear orientation within our organization as well as for our customers. Responsibility – stands for our commitment towards our people, customers, partners and the environment. It also includes principles such as fairness, honesty, openness, service orientation and friendliness. Aldi places great emphasis in efficient human resource development. In the daily sales business they try to keep everything simple and cheap. This can only be realized with an increase of company’s performance. Furthermore it demonstrates how the training and development program ensures that their employees have the required skills. First of all the goal is to identify training needs in order to be prepar ed for the future. It is mandatory to plan both, the number of workers and specific skills and requirements. The company can then recruit new staff and is furthermore able to ensure that training and development programs are ready when needed. Training needs are identified through constant monitoring of the company’s performance. Aldi expands rapidly and therefore it is necessary to recruit more than 4,000 people within the next 12 months. Therefore the retailer follows the strategy to offer industry-leading salaries to make sure that they also attract the best candidates. Clear and detailed job descriptions help the Human Resource Department to find people with the right set of skills and competencies. Moreover there is process of interview and assessment where managers will find out if the applying person fits. After the most suitable candidate is recruited the training period starts. Depending on the position different trainee programs are offered. For example as a district manager you have to participate in a nearly one-year long training. This program is divided into several different phases where knowledge and skills are being strengthened. Furthermore the new recruits learn about the philosophy of Aldi and its expectations of them to make them feel part of the family. The training and development continues throughout the career with internal and external training seminars. Besides the effect of higher business efficiency training can enhance and motivate staff. Promotions are quite encouraging as personal growth and development is very much appreciated and supported. On the one side Aldi expects an immediate contribution to the business but on the other side they provide special trainings to help developing their careers within the company. Over  85% of Aldi Directors are recruited within the company. They start after school or college and work themselves u p into the general management. Additionally, they offer also an international Expatriate program. This is especially for experienced District Managers who want to learn more about the business in an entirely different culture. Aldi is looking for individuals who are willing to develop themselves further. What is more is that Aldi offers an internship of 10 weeks. During this period interns are given real responsibilities and they have the opportunity to show their competencies and skills. This work placement is for students in undergraduate or graduate programs and is well paid. Internships are very common in such big companies as they offer options for both, the company and the intern. The company has the chance to test the employee for a few weeks and can then decide to offer high potentials a permanent position. However, this is also an advantage for temporary employees because they do not have to sign a permanent contract. Furthermore, Aldi uses on-the-job trainings to continue the training of the employees. T his form of education is taking place in the working environment. Skills are improved by dealing with daily challenges and employees get the chance to learn through re-equipment and materials. Another advantage is that feedback is given right after the accomplishment of the task. Besides also Aldi benefits by saving costs as they don not lose working time and a specific training is although provided. In a nutshell, on-the-job training is very economical. There are four different forms of providing on-the-job trainings: Coaching: The trainee will be trained by a senior employee. These coaches are providing instructions to the trainees to improve their knowledge about the daily work processes. Even though coaching is often used wrongly as a synonym for mentoring. Mentoring: Is characterized by a strong communication between the trainee and the mentor. The main role of a mentors is to guide and help the trainee. Additionally communication. Compared to coaching the relationship of these two parties is more personal. Job rotation: Means that employees are moved within different positions just for a planned period of time. As a result they should be able to gain a wider variety of knowledge and learn about the processes in other departments. „Sitting next to Nellieâ€Å": Is a training very special technique where skills are provided by working alongside to a colleague. This method is very popular. It shows much more  efficiently than reading or studying a written documentation. At Aldi the training follows the principle â€Å"tell, show, do†. First of all the process is explained by the manager followed by a demonstration. Subsequently the trainee has to conduct the task and the manager observes. All kind of positions follow this structure. Prospective area managers get the possibility to become acquainted with different departments. Thus the trainees understand how each department and processes relates to each other. In the trainee period of one year they are supported from an area manager and they get the possibility to represent the branch manager for four to six weeks. In addition to on-the-job trainings Aldi provides off-the-job trainings as well. As indicated, these trainings are taking place away from work. Whereas on-the-job training is very specific, off-the-job training transfers more general skills which are transferable and therefore can be used in many parts of the company. Aldi uses this kind of development for courses covering: Hiring Techniques: Recruitment, interviewing and selection Employment law Influencing skills Performance reviews (appraisals) Aldi Management System (how to develop and performance manage people) Off-the-job training shows positive outcomes like motivated staff and greater staff productivity. Moreover it provides employees with better skills and Aldi profits from improved customer service. Beside these positive aspects it must be admitted that off-the-job training creates higher payroll costs. These additional costs are shown in payments for the trainings organization, the training itself and absenteeism which has to be covered from other employees. Aldi decides whether on-the-job or off-the-job training is more suitable for the given aspect of training. In general the different internal and external training seminars accompany employees through their whole career. Aldi defines learning and growth as a career-long process where there is always an opportunity for more. An example for the combination of internal and external training is Aldi’s apprentice scheme. Beside the regular apprenticeship the trainees are studying for an NVQ (national vocational qualification) in Retail Apprenticeship. When the traineeship ends after 3 years the apprentices  gained Level 3 – advanced qualification. Due to the growth of Aldi, trainees have good opportunities to be promoted. Fully trained have the possibility to acquire a position as a deputy manager or assistant store manager. The next step on their career ladder is to become a store manager. All these forms of training provide employees with work-related knowledge and skills that are needed to carry out their jobs. Besides on-the-job and off-the-job training there is another possibility to educate the employees of a company. Development is similar to training as it supports personal growth and improves skills which are directly related to the job. Furthermore, employees gain qualifications and which results in a higher value in the job market. At first glance it looks as if companies do not benefit from development, but they do in every way. Beyond employees can be used more flexible. Additionally they are able to take over more responsibility. Moreover, people are considered to be an important member of the business. Hence, the company cares about the performance and capabilities of employees, which enhances motivation. Aldi is greatly aware that further development of employees increases the change of losing high potentials. Due to better knowledge people are more likely to leave as other companies often promise better career objectives. Nevertheless Aldi is conscious of this risk but in order to remain competitive they prefer to invest in human capital. As this food retailer has a lot of subsidiaries it is possible to offer its employees relocation to different international countries. This helps to develop all-round expert ise and motivation. At first, strengths and weaknesses of each employee need to be identified. Next step is to help them to improve their skills. To support this process Aldi launched an appraisal form. In this special system the manager and the employee evaluate the past and current performance. According to this process it is easier to decide which development is necessary or useful for the individual. A very important procedure is also the personal goal setting. At Aldi managers and employees work very close together to find the right targets. The discounter also tries to attract especially university students. Students have the possibility to prove their theoretical knowledge during a one year long working experience. They enjoy the first time to be part of a company. Moreover Aldi benefits greatly from this system. If the students are doing well they usually get a permanent job offer. In this  case no further recruiting process is needed and subsequent time and money can be saved. In a nutshell Aldi puts great emphasis on training and development. Even though the company does not have a human resource department, it is rewarded with number 6 in â€Å"The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2013†. 85% of all directors have been recruited within the company this shows that the firm has a strong policy for internal recruitment. So promotion is permitted to every employee. Another factor of success is that staff is recruited from schools or colleges. The appropriate on- or off-the-job training guarantees that recruits are well-trained and lays the foundation of the employees’ careers. The retailer’s global competitor Wal-Mart has a similar training and development strategy. Wal-Mart uses a training and development system inspired by Nike. The difference to Aldi is the e-training process, which is a web-based training concentrating on selling skills and product knowledge. Besides all these positive aspects some valuations of former employees on the internet tell another story. Zeit online reports that discounters like Aldi are fallen into disrepute and try to clear their names as good employers with training and development offers. On the one hand former employees are largely satisfied with Aldi’s further development, but on the other hand they claim that the promised prospects for promotions and career are rare. To guarantee that every employee gets equal career development opportunities, we would suggest a development account like Fraport AG uses. Fraport is the operator of the airport Frankfurt and organizes staff development with the so called Q-Card (qualification card). The Q-Card is a credit account for further development, which gives each of the 13,000 employees the chance to redeem â‚ ¬ 600 per annum for personal development. If the development credit is not consumed, it expires on their own responsibility. All in all, Aldi has an effective way to train and develop staff. Open communication of the career prospects brings orientation for recruits and employees. The flat management hierarchy combined with career possibilities enables the staff to take over responsibility. Training ensures well-trained employees and promotion is open to all staff. In respect of staff development Aldi deservers number 6 of the 100 Graduate Employers 2013. Primarily, people associate Aldi with cheap products, but hardly anyone knows that they care about their employees especially in staff development. (2739 words) Reference List: http://www.aldi.com/?aldiurl=true https://corporate.aldi.co.uk/en/responsibility/our-people/everyone-achieving-their-best/ https://www.hofer.at/ http://www.aldi.de/

Defense Spending and the Military-Industrial Complex

On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This thrust America into World War II, and for the next four years it dominated nearly every aspect of American life [Bowles, 2011, 3. 7 The World at War (1941-1945)]. This greatly impacted Americans and had a significant impact on African Americans during this time. Although the attack on Pearl Harbor was a devastating period of time, it was a great time for African Americans to assert their independence.They fought in the war, defending their country after how they were treated. They demanded being able to have jobs that were considered â€Å"whites only†. In my belief, they deserved these rights. African Americans were treated unfairly for years and did not have rights but yet still strived to fight for their country. There is no reason why they should not have been treated fairly, if not more like heroes for how brave and noble they were. According to Bowles, â€Å"While t hese men were willing to die for the country, they were not eligible for many of the honors for their service.Though many deserved it, no African American could receive the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery (2011, African Americans at war). This brings me to the long term effects WWII had on our country. Bill Clinton awarded men their gold’s that they deserved 50 years too late. Only one of the men was alive to even receive it. The long term effect is the regret of letting the people who were most brave, die for our country and not receive an award just because of the color of his skin. References: Bowles, M. (2011). A history of the United States since 1865 . (Ashford University ed. ) San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

The Vietnam War Essay

The Vietnam War Essay The Vietnam War Essay 1. The French were involved in a war of Indochina prior to the American involvement. Trace the causes of this conflict and describe the key events and general course of the French Indochina War. Traditionally, the First Indochina war started in the French Indochina in 1946 and ended in 1954. The war was a fighting or conflict between forces from France and their Viet Minh opponents. Numerous factors were involved in the conflict including the French Far East Expeditionary Corps from the French Union led by France. The Vietnamese national army supported the French against the Viet Minh whose leaders were Vo Nguyen Giap and Ho Chi Minh. The large part of this conflict occurred in the northern region of Vietnam called Tonkin, although the fighting engulfed the rest of the nation, spreading to the protectorates of the French Indochina in Cambodia and Laos (Young, 1991). After the French reoccupation in Indochina after the Second World War, the region being in control of the Japanese, the Viet Minh started a protest or rebellion against the French authority that was in control of a number of French colonies in Indochina. The few initial years of the conflict involved rural uprising that was increasingly low key against the French. Nevertheless, after the communists from China arrived in the Vietnamese northern border in 1949, the fighting took another turn and became a conventional war between two forces that were armed with modern weapons (Jian, 1993). The forces of the French Union included several forces from the rest of the former empire including Tunisia, Algeria, Laotian, Moroccan, Vietnamese, and Cambodian ethnic minorities. While the plan of pushing the troops of Viet Minh into launching a war on the excellently defended base was validated, the lack of materials for construction, air cover, and tanks prevented an effective defense, leading to a decisive defeat of the French forces. The Geneva conference made a provisional decision to divide Vietnam into two regions, the north, and south. The northern region was the Vietnam democratic republic under Ho Chi Minh, and the south was the Vietnam state under Bao Dai (Jian, 1993). 2. Explain how the American involvement in Vietnam was a consequence of the Cold War, including how the Truman Doctrine was related to initial U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Anticommunist sentiments in the United States were the main factors elucidating on the participation of the U.S. in Vietnam. First, America believed that overt aggression from the communists in Asia posed a significant and direct threat to its interests in the continent. It is clear that Indochina was the main region in Asia challenged by the presence and aggression of the communists. As a result, the decision of 1950 to provide direct help to the region was a crucial policy choice allowing and accepting the responsibility of the United States in preventing the hegemony of communists in the Asia. This direction of the policy was subsequently concentrated on in the following years, first by the Korean War and then by the escalations between Kennedy and Johnson during the 1960s (Gettleman et al., 1995). It was also applied and used to both the expansible powers of the communists. Concerning China, the United States was directly worried about its involvement in regions as Korea because it feared that such an attack would determine the involvement of the Chinese in Indochina. Furthermore, when it came to the Soviet Union, the United States feared the Russians were keen on attaining domination over the world. All these fears are what led to the crucial policy paper NSC 68 that urged for a sufficient military protection or shield to curb the expansion and growth of the Soviet Union and stop the aggressive actions that where directed by the Soviet Union. Consequently, the paper policy was crucial as it represented the practical extension of the Doctrines by Truman (Gettleman, et al., 1995). Other than the importance of foreign political aspects as critical determinants of the involvement of America in Vietnam, the factors like its domestic situation were also crucial. First, the McCarthyism wave had swept through the nation during the 1950s. This trend depended on the argument that the U.S. had suffered numerous failures during the Cold War, not because of limitations of power, but through the significant presence of communist voices in its government, an accusation equal to treason. Because of this, the administration had to take actions to defend itself from allegations of being too weak to fight communism. Furthermore, the Truman administration experienced a lot of pressure to come up with policies that would prove its resolve of anticommunism. Such policies included containment that would favor an unwavering stance in Indochina to stop the expansion of Communism (McCormick, 1989). 3. Describe the rise of Diema to power, his conduct as a leader of South Vietnam, and his demise. The first South Vietnamese president or leader was called Diem. After the wake of defeat and withdrawal of the French from Indochina because of the accords of a Geneva conference in 1954, the leader led a crucial effort to build the Vietnam republic. The leader achieved victory during the 1955 plebiscite that was increasingly deceitful after accumulating considerable support from the United States because of his strong anti- communism ideologies. He was a Roman catholic, and because of this, he pursued policies that were religiously oppressive and biased against the Montgnard natives and its majority components of Buddhists. However, his policies were widely challenged and met with protests. Amid the numerous religious protests and disagreements that caught the attention of the whole world, the leader lost the support of the American patrons (Jacobs, 2006). He was assassinated together with his brother. Their killer was an aide of Duong van Minh a general of the ARVN called Nguyenn Van Nhung. He was killed during a coup in 1963 that deposed his administration. As the crisis with the Buddhists increased in 1963, Vietnamese nationalists who were non-communist and the military started to get ready for a coup. Minh and his supporters overthrew Diem’s government in a quick coup. With only the palace guard staying to protect the leader and his brother, the organizers of the coup called to the palace asking the leader to surrender in exchange for exile. However, Diem and a number of his close allies escaped to Cholon where they were captured. The two brothers were killed in the back of a personal carrier by the captain with orders from their leader, Minh (Jacobs, 2006). 4. Was Ho Chi Minh more of a nationalist that a communist? Explain your response by citing historical evidence that supports your claim. Many people in the U.S. strongly believe that Ho Chi Minh was a staunch communist. The public was flooded with tales of the leader’s visit to China and Russia. There were stories of how the communist support for him was used to take over and establish a stronghold of the communists in the southeastern part of Asia. However, many individuals fail to hear the rest of the information (Chafe, 1986). Under his leadership, Vietnam had some sort of support and an alliance with the U.S. during the Second World War the Japanese, was their common enemy and gave them a common ground where the communists provided support to the dismissal of another outside invader. After the war ended, the leader set up structures in the government in the country assuming that the country would go back to being a sovereign state (Demma, 1989). The leader himself made several overtures to America and other nations for support as he sought independence for his country. Even the declaration of Vietnam of independence showed the nationalist views of Minh. He realized that America was not going to provide him support for independence, so as a pragmatist, he turned to China and Russia for support. As it follows, he walked a thin line between being a communist and nationalist, and played the three countries without letting go of his independence. Many believe that his ability was a crucial indication of his diplomacy. On the other side of this equation, the leader was a thorough and true communist. He breathed and lived ideologies of communists and was ruthless when it came to attaining them. Many think that he was a contradiction of his ideologies. He was known as an ultimate nationalist and an excellent communist leader (Demma, 1989). 5. In what ways was Johnson’s escalation of the American involvement in Vietnam a continuation of Kennedy’s policies? In what ways, if any, were Johnson’s decisions related to Vietnam a departure from Kennedy’s policies? Johnson’s escalation of the involvement of the U.S. in Vietnam was not a continuation of the policies of Kennedy. As Johnson took over the presidency after Kennedy died, at first he did not consider Vietnam a priority and emphasized on the creation of his Great Society and social programs that would result to social progression. However, his priorities soon changed when he declared war against communism in 1963. This declaration came when Vietnam was deteriorating particularly after the coup that led to the death of Diem. Johnson reversed the disengagement policy by Kennedy from the region by withdrawing a thousand troops with his NSAM to accentuate the war. Johnson saw the Vietnam War as a way to appease his personal coalitional corporate base of power and to make use of the patriotism tide to falsify a consensus in the domestic arena to make way for his personal policies (Schandler, 1977). When it came to the military goals, Johnson wanted to stop the spread of communism ideas from China, and that together with the war’s gradual escalation could be won without the approval of the international forces. He depended on the ideology that a slow war escalation could keep people from developing an interest in Vietnam. Furthermore, the gradual escalation would maintain the Chinese and Soviet Union from declaring war against America. He made crucial miscalculations by choosing to escalate the American intervention in Vietnam. He used a lot of funds to fight in a war that he could not win. Kennedy had different policies from Johnson regarding Vietnam in a number of areas. For example, he did not rely on American resources to win the war in Vietnam, unlike Johnson. His policy towards Vietnam depended on the assumption that the forces of Diem would ultimately defeat the Vietnamese guerrillas without the involvement of the U.S. He did not support the deployment of American forces because he knew doing so would lead to widespread negative political and military effects. This is different from Johnson who deployed a significant number of American troops in Vietnam (Schandler, 1977). At you can order a custom essay on Vietnam War topics. All essays are written by highly qualified writers from scratch!

The Princess Bride Essay

The Princess Bride Essay The Princess Bride Essay â€Å"The Princess Bride† With romance, revenge, sword fights, and a masked man this unique compelling novel of the abridge version of Princess Bride tells a tale of love defying all odds. Throughout the story, the main characters face challenges testing the fate in their so-called true love and how far the characters will go in order to be together. Loving someone comes with enduring the hardships, which sums up the moral of whether love can conquer all. From the very start, Westley’s strong affections for Buttercup became his sole purpose to improve his life in order for Buttercup to be happy with him. Sailing to another land to seek his fortune, he encounters pirates who took over their ship and was planning to kill everyone for the pirates left no one alive. Westley’s will to live as he pleaded for his life sparked the curiosity of the captain of the pirates for it was the way Westley expressed his divine love that kept him alive. They kept him alive as a pr isoner and spent 3 years learning new skills on the pirate ship. He chose to become a prisoner just to stay alive in order to continue loving Buttercup. By threatening Buttercup, she will be married to a prince but she only agreed because of a misunderstanding that pirates killed Westley. When Westley returns home to find Buttercup engaged to another man he felt betrayed and hurt for she promised to wait for him until his return. Overcoming his conflicted emotions, he tries to rescue Buttercup when she was kidnapped by a group of men. Battling the swordsmanship of a skilled Spaniard, wits of a Sicilian, and the brute strength of a Turk he uses all his gained skills to save his one true love. The unbelievable perseverance striving within Westley pushes him further to get his beloved to safety shows devotion and the genuine love he has for her. Encountering many struggles and challenges that could easily push him to the brink of death, nothing will stop the affections he carries for h er. Buttercup decides to leave Westley in order to save him but his doomed fate with the prince was inevitable for he taken away to a death machine. As

Filing Federal Timber Income Tax

Filing Federal Timber Income Tax Congress has provided timberland owners with some favorable tax provisions. Here are five tips designed to help you make the most of these provisions and avoid paying unnecessary income tax or making costly mistakes. This report is only an introduction. Consult the references and links provided for complete information on the topic. Also understand that we are discussing Federal income tax here. Many states have their own taxing systems which can be dramatically different from federal taxation and is usually an ad valorum, severance, or yield tax. Remember these five points when filing your Federal income taxes on timber: Establish Your Basis Its key to establish your basis as soon as possible and to keep good records. Basis is a measure of your investment in timber as opposed to what you paid for the land and other capital assets acquired. Record your cost of acquiring forestland or the value of inherited forest land as soon as possible. When selling your timber in the future, you can use these costs as a depletion deduction. Adjust or step up your basis for new purchases or investments. Step down your basis for sales or other disposals. Keep records to include a management plan and map, receipts for business transactions, diaries, and landowner meeting agendas. Report basis and timber depletion on IRS Form T,â€Å"Forest Activities Schedule, Part II. You are required to file a Form T if you claim some timber depletion deductions or sell timber. Owners with occasional sales may be excepted from this requirement, but it is considered prudent to file. File your years documentation using this electronic version Form T. Know Whats Deductible If you own a forest to make money, ordinary and necessary expenses incurred for managing forest land as a business or an investment are deductible even if there is no current income from the property. This includes if youve performed reforestation work or established significant timber stand regeneration costs. You can deduct outright the first $10,000 of qualified reforestation expenses during the taxable year. In addition, you can amortize (deduct), over 8 years, all reforestation expenses in excess of $10,000. (Due to a half-year convention, you can only claim one-half of the amortizable portion the first tax year, so it actually takes 8 tax years to recover the amortizable portion.) Do You Quality for Long-Term Capital Gains? If you sold standing timber during the taxable year held for over 12 months, Yyu may be able to benefit from the long-term capital gains provisions on timber sale income which will lower your tax obligation. When you sell standing timber either lump-sum or on a pay-as-cut basis, the net proceeds generally qualify as a long-term capital gain. Remember, you can qualify for this long-term capital gains treatment on timber only if you hold the timber over one year. You do not have to pay self-employment tax on capital gains. Did You Have a Timber Loss? If you had a timber loss during the taxable year, you can, in most cases, only take a deduction for (casualty) losses that are physical in nature and caused by an event or combination of events that has run its course (fires, floods, ice storms and tornadoes). Remember that your deduction for a casualty or qualifying non-casualty loss is limited to your timber basis, minus any insurance or salvage compensation. Make Required Reports to the IRS If you had federal or state cost-share assistance during the taxable year via receiving a form 1099-G, you are obligated to report it to the IRS. You may choose to exclude some or all of it but you must report it. But if the program qualifies for exclusion, you can choose either to include the payment in your gross income and make full use of beneficial tax provisions or to calculate and exclude the excludable amount. Excludable cost-share assistance includes the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP payments only), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). Several states also have cost-share programs that qualify for exclusion. Adapted from USFS, Cooperative Forestry, Tax Tips for Forest Landowners by Linda Wang, Forest Taxation Specialist and John L. Greene, Research Forester, Southern Research Station. Based on a 2011 report.

The Case Study of Club Med Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Case Study of Club Med - Essay Example This cultural concept was picked up during the initial inception of Club Mediterranee whereby both Blitz and Trigano opted to create a vacation camp under the sun that could provide a relaxing experience to guests after the Second World War. Secondly, before the year 2000 it could be argued that the business was largely managed through a paternal approach of which Gilbert Trigano was cited saying that Gerard Blitz and her wife Claudine Blitz were the tutelary parents of the club. Moreover, Philippe Bourguignon who spearheaded major reforms before 2000 in the company, and enabled it to start generating massive profits was disowned by the company’s staffs because of his autocratic management style as they preferred Trigano’s paternalism approach. In regards to the force of competition, it can well be stated that before the year 2000 Club Med had managed to create a monopoly within a unsaturated market niche, which had low level of competition and to a greater extent it co uld be argued that Club Med was the among the first pioneers in the village-camp vacation resorts. According to Magretta (2011), the low threat of competition provided Club Med within an opportunity to expand faster and even diversify to other related businesses. Before the year 2000, Club Med faced low threats of competition since the village –camp vacation resorts had not yet gained wide fame and most players in the hospitality industry only focused on providing customers with high quality experience within high-class tourism facilities. In the studies by Saloner et al. (2001), the low threat of new entrants could further be attributed to the limited knowledge that potential competitors had about the operations of village camp vacation resort and the high amount of capital that was required since constructing a village required a huge pieces of land situated at strategic locations. Before the year 2000, the threat of substitutes was very eminent since there were many excell ent hotels and resorts that had been established. Moreover, substitutes presented a major competition more so for the high-end clients who preferred high-end hotels and luxurious resorts instead of the village-camps where tourist resided in camps. In regards to the buyers’ power, it was stated that because of the availability of numerous substitutes buyers wielded a lot of bargaining power and hence why Club Med offered it services at an affordable range. As for suppliers bargaining power, Magretta (2011) stated that a business organization would be able to wield more power against the suppliers if for instance the business organization buys supplies in large volumes, the switching cost of firms in the industry is low, and there is presence of substitute inputs. As for Club Med before 2000, it is correct to state that it had a stronger bargaining power because of the fact that it had a wide branch network and therefore, it bought its supplies in bulk, which means it was capab le of negotiating for better prices. Reasons for Club Med’s success between 1950s and 1990s In the writings by McLimore (1996), he attributed the success of any venture to the leadership of the venture. In regards to the case study of Club Med its success between 1950s and 1990s can largely be attributed to the exceptional leadership by Gerard Blitz and Gilbert Trigano, who

Why does America have a two-party system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Why does America have a two-party system - Essay Example The classification of the party system is on the grounds of the number of relevant parties and the amount of fragmentation that is seen in the governing bodies (McKeever and Davies 2012). A two-party system is seen where two major political parties are at the time dominating the votes. Within the two-party system, one of the parties gets to hold the majority in the legislation (Bailey et al 2010). The United States is noted to have started the system of having two parties in its governance. There are many reasons as to why it does continue to have its system like that (McKeever and Davies 2012). When the history of the United States is considered, it is found out that its roots are based on the two-party system itself. This force behind the form of tradition, where that the state itself began with, has become very important to the Americans. It has had a lot of influence on the American government (Gerring 2001). Other nations have numerous political parties whereby the candidates ge t to be elected to the offices, and when the data is analyzed, minority parties give out great contribution to this. Over the course of political history in the United States, minor third parties have come up several times (Bibby and Maisel 2003). For example, the Poor Man’s party, the liberty party, and the free soil party have come up within the American history and get to influence the politics of America slightly. But, the worst part is that the names of most of them get forgotten easily and very quickly (Bibby and Maisel 2003). Two-party system is the only system where the county gets to have ideological parties with broad political beliefs and good values that can see the country forward to a better stand (Herrnson and  Green 2002). The minor parties only tend to be economic protests, and this is not what the nation needs at the moment (Campbell 2006). It needs to see progress from one stage to another in terms of a better solution to the problems and matters they are facing (Bibby and Maisel 2003). The minor parties do act as splinter parties in most situations. This paper is going to analyze the reasons why United States of America still has two party systems. Historical influence When the past political system is reviewed, the progressive party of 1912 splinted from the republicans gaining 88 electoral votes. Later on the same progressive party of 1924 gained 13 votes after splinting from the republicans (McSweene and Zvesper 1991). These groups always do not take up the goal of winning the election and transforming the nation, but conversely, they concentrate on changing the view of the current state of the electoral votes (Bowles 1993). One of the major reason as to why United States of America still continues to engage in the Two-party system is due to the reason of the great force of historical tradition (Sundquist 1983; Smith 2003). For a very long time, since the nation started with the Two-party system, the anti- federalists and the fe deralists have become used to the system so much that they cannot let go of it (Milkis and Rhodes 2007). When this system is trace, it is found that there have been five distinct party systems. These are: first party system, which was during 1796 to 1816: federalists and Jeffersonian republicans; second party system, which was during 1840 to 1896: democrats and Whigs; third party system, which was during 1860 to 1896; democrats and republicans; the fourth party system occurred during 1896 to 1932: republicans and democrats, and finally the fifth party system includes the democrats and the republicans: from 1932 to date (Sartori and  Mair 2005). American political Beliefs and Values One of the other factors which have greatly inclined the two party

Automatic teller machine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Automatic teller machine - Essay Example The second question deals with, if you were to take the $500 out of one machine and then go to another, what would happen? You would most likely get a message that your daily limit had been exceeded. You would most likely have to wait until 24 hours had passed to withdraw money. The third question asks what is on my card. There is my name, the Visa logo, my 16-digit card number, and the three-letter code on the back. In addition, there is a background I chose. The fourth question asks how the information is used. The name is used to verify identity, the 16-digit card number is used to access the account, and the three-digit code is sometimes used for further verification. The fifth question asks what happens when the wrong card number is used. If the wrong card number is used, the transaction is canceled. If it is the wrong pin number, the machine will ask you to re-enter the pin number. The sixth question asks why there are pauses between the steps of a transaction. This could be for a number of reasons. To name a few, the machine could be counting money or verifying information from the card. Pauses do not just happen with people at the realm.

Tension between Analysis informing and analysis setting policy Essay

Tension between Analysis informing and analysis setting policy - Essay Example Every aspect of the issue has to be looked in to so that the policy becomes efficient and successful once implemented. While forming policy the practicability of the same should not be ignored otherwise setting up of the policy becomes invalid. However, once the policy is being formed and setting is under way, there can rose conflicts as to the people, budget, and time factors involved in the policy setting. Policy analysis helps in explaining, why are there so many differences in the way we organize productive activity. When a policy is about to be set the scope of the problem has to be evaluated well. Moreover, in analysis of setting policy an analyst must look in to more of practice and applying side rather than just projecting certain actions to achieve a goal. When analyzing a setting up of a policy, certain factors like cost effectiveness, people involved, time frame etc.,are also to be considered. If there is any discrepancy in the analyzing in forming policy it can very well reflect in the setting up process. According to Torjman(2005)â€Å"The actual formulation of policy involves the identification and analysis of a range of actions that respond to these concerns. Each possible solution is assessed against a number of factors such as probable effectiveness, potential cost, resources required for implementation, political context and community support†. Should analytical products be purely "informative? Analytical products are tools which are used for assessing the viability and utility of a policy in an organization. These products are used by organization while they formulate and set policies so as to give policy makers a wider spectrum of actions to choose from to achieving a specific goal. It is very essential for an analytical product to be purely informative as it allows the organizations to choose the right product suitable for them. In order to improve the policy forming and setting process utilization of analytical products is a key asp ect. They help in the appropriate evaluation and measuring of policies so as to give proper results. Analytical products are used primarily as a qualitative approach to evaluate the policy forming and setting. Process. Munger states that â€Å"Your evaluation of the major policy that was enacted to deal with the problem involves your assessment of how well that policy addressed the problem†. Analytical products set various bench marks to follow, so that the goal of the policies does not distract from the goal. It is very essential for the analytical products to be purely informative, so as to make the analysis process efficient. Decision and policy makers always make sure that the future policies and strategies have a solid ability to achieve the set goals. To obtain a quality analysis a very refined analytical product is required; otherwise the whole process of policy forming and setting becomes worthless. Most officials encourage the analytical products to be clearly inform ative to know what the product has to offer. The policy makers want their policies to be analyzed with a product which is transparent. They

IT management Practices in Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IT management Practices in Organisations - Essay Example The underdeveloped system saps the managers’ ability to make informed decisions while planning for the IT, and the plans most turn out to be impracticable. â€Å"Deficiency in executing the plan formulated has led to a disjoint mode of implementation of technology† (Misra, 2006, p. 49). The system and organizational culture in SMEs is in the nascent stage and is not strong enough to address the loopholes in the organization and integration of IT in the work setup. Organizations take time to develop. In the start, one individual may represent one whole department because of human resource constraints imposed to minimize the expenditures and make the business profitable. Strategies entrepreneurs commonly adopt to limit the expenditure include but are not limited to increased manual work to save the expenditure of purchasing machines, overloading of work on the employees, more working hours, and reduced benefits for the organizational personnel. SMEs that do invest in mach ines do not have an efficient repair and maintenance system in place to ensure that the machines are fully functional all the time. A small dysfunction may take days to be fixed, which not only distorts the process of communication and drawing of information using technology, but also serves as a disincentive for the organizational personnel to rely on the use of technology to accomplish their daily tasks. As a result, there occurs a shift from machine work to the manual work, that in effect lowers the efficiency of the system as well as increases the work-load upon the employees further. Like all employees down the line, leaders are no less affected by the lack of planning and organization. Although leaders are primarily responsible for decision making as well as the planning and organization of IT, yet they are not able to achieve their optimal potential in leadership because of the resource constraints imposed by the owners of SMEs. Involvement of the CEO and the external IT expe rtise has a major influence on the success of IT management in SMEs (Thong et al., 1997). Unfortunately, most of the entrepreneurs/owners of SMEs are just rich enough to establish a new firm, and may not necessarily be qualified enough to lead the companies themselves. Like all other areas of IT management, controlling of IT is no less complicated in SMEs because of the aforementioned reasons. However, it is not appropriate to conclude that IT management in SMEs is absolutely inexistent. Although management of IT in SMEs is not comparable to that in large enterprises, yet various studies have concluded that there has occurred immense improvement in management of human resources as well as IT over the years (Suraweera, Cragg, & Mills, 2010, p. 1). Q. 2: Answer Before identifying the important practices in each of the four areas of IT management, it is customary to briefly discuss the concept of IT management as it helps in understanding the role of different departments in addition t o the IT department in the IT management. IT management is a very broad topic that covers activities that include but are not limited to the management of IT resource as a weapon of attaining competitive advantage, management of the resources of IT like the technical infrastructure and the organizational personnel, and establishment and accurate functioning of the information systems (Luftman, 2004). In the

Tension between Analysis informing and analysis setting policy Essay

Tension between Analysis informing and analysis setting policy - Essay Example Every aspect of the issue has to be looked in to so that the policy becomes efficient and successful once implemented. While forming policy the practicability of the same should not be ignored otherwise setting up of the policy becomes invalid. However, once the policy is being formed and setting is under way, there can rose conflicts as to the people, budget, and time factors involved in the policy setting. Policy analysis helps in explaining, why are there so many differences in the way we organize productive activity. When a policy is about to be set the scope of the problem has to be evaluated well. Moreover, in analysis of setting policy an analyst must look in to more of practice and applying side rather than just projecting certain actions to achieve a goal. When analyzing a setting up of a policy, certain factors like cost effectiveness, people involved, time frame etc.,are also to be considered. If there is any discrepancy in the analyzing in forming policy it can very well reflect in the setting up process. According to Torjman(2005)â€Å"The actual formulation of policy involves the identification and analysis of a range of actions that respond to these concerns. Each possible solution is assessed against a number of factors such as probable effectiveness, potential cost, resources required for implementation, political context and community support†. Should analytical products be purely "informative? Analytical products are tools which are used for assessing the viability and utility of a policy in an organization. These products are used by organization while they formulate and set policies so as to give policy makers a wider spectrum of actions to choose from to achieving a specific goal. It is very essential for an analytical product to be purely informative as it allows the organizations to choose the right product suitable for them. In order to improve the policy forming and setting process utilization of analytical products is a key asp ect. They help in the appropriate evaluation and measuring of policies so as to give proper results. Analytical products are used primarily as a qualitative approach to evaluate the policy forming and setting. Process. Munger states that â€Å"Your evaluation of the major policy that was enacted to deal with the problem involves your assessment of how well that policy addressed the problem†. Analytical products set various bench marks to follow, so that the goal of the policies does not distract from the goal. It is very essential for the analytical products to be purely informative, so as to make the analysis process efficient. Decision and policy makers always make sure that the future policies and strategies have a solid ability to achieve the set goals. To obtain a quality analysis a very refined analytical product is required; otherwise the whole process of policy forming and setting becomes worthless. Most officials encourage the analytical products to be clearly inform ative to know what the product has to offer. The policy makers want their policies to be analyzed with a product which is transparent. They

E-commerce LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

E-commerce LAW - Essay Example In ecommerce transactions, the customer would be able to see the product only after it reaches his home. On the other hand, if the customer purchases a product from the shop, he can physically check the performance or quality of the product before purchasing. Moreover, instant purchasing is impossible with internet purchasing. A customer has to wait a lengthy period for the arrival of the product if he/she opts for internet purchasing. On the other hand, purchasing from stores will help the customers to own the product immediately after the payment is made. Another major drawback associated with ecommerce is the difficulties in returning a defective good. In conventional purchasing, if a product found defective, the customer can immediately return or replace it. On the other hand, ecommerce do not offer such convenience to the customers. Even though human interactions are available while executing an internet purchase, personal service cannot be expected as in the case of purchasing a product from a store. â€Å"E-commerce is most often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, and as a result very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online† (Ecommerce disadvantages and constraints, n. d.). Most of the ecommerce purchasing are done with the help of the credit cards. But giving or revealing credit card numbers to a distant dealer through internet is not safe. Hackers are hyperactive on internet so that the credit card numbers used for purchasing products through internet can be easily exploited by

Role of Public Relations in the Re Establishment of Failing Barands Essay Example for Free

Role of Public Relations in the Re Establishment of Failing Barands Essay These regions later set up their private stations pioneered by the West, at Ibadan, prior to independence. In 1960 and 1962 respectively, Enugu and Kaduna followed suit. And with the creation of more regions by the General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) administration and creation of more states by both Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Ibrahim Babangida regimes, more state government-owned television and radio stations were established. Daily Times, Express, Tribune, New Nigeria and Sketch were among the fore-runners in newspaper publishing. Some state governments also published 15 ewspapers that addressed their local audience. Two major magazines- Drum and Spear from Daily Times stable were also at the time published. Between the early 1960’s and 1970, there was no spectacular development in the industry. But the promulgation of Nigeria Enterprises as promotion Decree of 1972 popularly known as Indigenization policy ushered in a new phase in the industry. The policy transformed key positions in corporate organisations to indigenes. Mr Silvester, Muoemeka was by the dictates of the policy to emerge the first indigenous chief executive of Lintas. Lintas further empowered more Nigerians to take up the business of advertising some of whom had to leave broadcasting to embrace the new thinking. By the later 1970’s however, two ambitious agencies, Rosabel Advertising and Insight Communication, sprang up. The coming of the two agencies which till today are still doing very well, no doubt, was a watershed in the industry of advertising in Nigeria as the agencies brought new ideas into the industry while taking creativity to a higher. Before the turn of the decade, 23 agencies had been formed. With the steady growth in the number of practitioners and agencies arose the need for associations to be formed to advance their common interests and a regulatory body to that would regulate and standardize advertising practice. A 16 meeting of the agencies held at Ebute Metta, Lagos in 1971 was to metamorphose into Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN) with the objective of protecting practitioners against unfavourable business. The association was later renamed Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria. As the industry continued to grow in volume of business and complexity, more and more people were attracted to the industry. The need to establish an institution to regulate advertising practice became apparent. This gave rise to the establishment of Advertising Parishioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) by Decree 55 of 1988, later renamed Act 55 of 1988 by the civilian administration on November 1989, the first meeting of the association held somewhere in Ebute-meta, Lagos finally culminated to the birth of APCON. APCON started operation in 1990 with the employment of the pioneer registrar in the person of Dr Charles Okigbo. The era of economic restructuring and liberalization opened up the Nigerian business to global economy. Foreign investments started flowing into the economy the expatriates who once left the shores of the land due to the indigenization policy gradually returned. And with them, the boom in economy. Aside, privatization of mass communication medium in the 1990’s also witnessed the setting up of private owned media houses which are platforms for advertisement placements. But in the 1990’s the sector came alive. Not only that alarming and ambitions agencies such as Prima Garnet, Sotu and Caesers sprang up, the sector began to 17 xpand beyond advertising as full services public relation firms such as the Quadrant JSP and Quest were established. Also the era witnessed the mad rush of foreign affiliations. While some agencies sought this affiliation to help boost their human capital, others just joined the bandwagon just to feel among. As the business expanded, related servic es providers joined the fray to cash in on the boom. Not long after they formed themselves into association to also further heir cause and protect their interest. Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) emerged. Not long the industry became an all corners affairs. Competition became very stiff and practitioners started adopting unwholesome means to undercut one another. Industry debt became a major issue to the extent that it attracted the attention of past federal government who encouraged the practitioners to find a way of resolving the perennial problem. Just as competition continued to get stiff, agencies did not rest on their oars as they embarked on training of their staff that will be able to meet the challenge of modern day advertising. As creativity took centre stage, the industry witnessed a lot of innovation and creative ideas. The foreigners who started coming back brought with them standard and professional which changed the advertising landscape. Restructuring, training and brand building and creativity have taken centre stage. 18 Today, Nigerian advertising industry is making efforts to ensure that they measured up to global industry practice. Affiliations also avails them of technical know-how in the areas of creativity and training. From deploying foreign adverts, the industry has grown to shooting their adverts locally and injecting a lot of local content in their campaigns. . 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This research would critically consider three different theories that are relevant to the research topic. The theories are as follows: Excellence theory by J. E. Grunig DAGMAR theory by Mackay Lavidge Steiners Hierarchy-of-effects theory EXCELLENCE THEORY The â€Å"Excellence Theory† (J. E. Grunig et al. , 2002) was initially developed, and is continually being tested, in order to demonstrate wha t makes for public relations practices that are both efficient and ethical for all parties involved. Public relations, as defined by J. E, Grunig (1992), is â€Å"the management of communication between the organization and the publics that it interacts with†. Through the continued work of the Excellence Project, the â€Å"Excellence Theory† demonstrates how excellent public relations is able to interact and 19 work with both internal and external publics, recognizing that publics are not merely passive audiences accepting messages in a hegemonic structure,1 but that each public that comes into contact with the message is viable and enfranchised with agency. The â€Å"publics† in public relations exist within and outside the organization. Each public, through the interaction with the public relations professional, allows for a variety of perspectives and insights toward a single goal or a collection of goals. If these groups are not allowed the choice to have their respective voices heard and recognized as active and important, decisions are made by the dominant coalition (L. A. Grunig et al. , 2002) without all of the mitigating factors and facts placed in front of them, resulting in the once dominant organization losing economic, political, and social capital within and among the publics served. It is this critical perspective to public relations, respecting publics as ethical and moral beings, that L. A. Grunig et al. (2002) aligned with when they considered the most important question for ethical public relations: â€Å"How can one balance the interests of society, of the public relations profession, and of the individual professional† (p. 556). The â€Å"Excellence Theory,† originally proposed in 1992 (J. E. Grunig et al. , 1992), was grounded upon an â€Å"extensive literature† review and evaluation, examining theoretical positions from various academic disciplines and ontologies, including: marketing, psychology, communication, and feminist 20 tudies (J. E. Grunig, 1991). The project’s purpose was to develop a new approach to public relations, detailing to public relations practitioners what organizations must have (both in expectations and characteristics) in order to be excellent and how to communicate those same concepts. The resultant cha racteristics of excellent public relations programs look at all levels of organization: program, departmental, organizational, and societal, along with the desired effects of excellent public relations practice. These characteristics not only present the â€Å"Excellence Theory† as a normative ideology, but also as an emancipatory system that strives for egalitarian opportunities for all publics. The characteristics and effects of excellent public relations, as presented by L. A. Grunig et al. (2002, p. 9), offer an opportunity for the critical inquiry of the dominant coalition within either an antonymous public relations organization or an organization with a public relations component. This new possibility for the theory and its pragmatic capabilities position the â€Å"Excellence Theory† as a critical paradigm applicable to the current calls for critical research within public relations. DAGMAR Russell Colley created DAGMAR when he prepared a report for the Association of National Advertisers. This report was entitled Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results, shortened down to 21 DAGMAR, and thereof the name, (Belch Belch, 1995) and was later in 1969 published as a book with the same title (Mackay, 2005). DAGMAR was created to encourage measurable objectives for each stage of the communication (Smith Taylor, 2002) and does not deal purely with the message (Mackay 2005). DAGMAR focuses on the levels of understanding that a customer must have for the organisation and on how to measure the results of an advertising campaign (Belch Belch, 1995). The main conclusions on the DAGMAR theory were expressed in the following quotation: All commercial communications that weigh on the ultimate objective of a sale must carry a prospect through four levels of understanding. . The prospect must first be aware of the existence of a brand or organisation 2. He must have a comprehension of what the product is and what it will do for him 3. 4. He must arrive at a mental suspicion or conviction to buy the product Finally he must stir himself to action. (Mackay, 2005, p. 25-26) 22 The communication has to be specific and measurable, and is therefore based on a hierarchical model containing the four stage s set out above in the quotation (Mackay, 2005). The DAGMAR approach has had a huge influence on the how to set objectives in the advertising planning process and many planners use this model as their base. However, just as the other approaches within advertising, DAGMAR has been met with critique. One of the major criticisms towards DAGMAR is on its reliance on the hierarchy-of-effects theory, just as with AIDA. Customers do not always pass through the stages in a linear way. Another criticism made towards the DAGMAR approach is that it focuses too much on strategies. Many creative people within advertising are looking for the great unique idea that can result in a successful campaign and feels that the DAGMAR approach is too concerned with quantitative measurements on the campaign (Belch Belch, 1995). LAVIDGE STEINERS HIERARCHY-OF-EFFECTS MODEL This model was published during the same period as DAGMAR. The model was named the hierarchy-of-effects model which is the same name as some authors used on the foundation theory, and will therefore go under the name, Lavidge Steiners Hierarchy-of-effects model in this study. 23 According to this model customers do not switch from being completely uninterested to become convinced to buy the product in one step. Lavidge and Steiners hierarchy-of-effects model is created to show the process, or steps, that an advertiser assumes that customers pass through in the actual purchase process (Barry Howard, 1990). The model is based on seven steps, which as with the other models must be completed in a linear way. The big difference between this model and the others is not only the steps, but also the view on how to pass them. Lavidge and Steiner (1961) write that the steps have to be completed in a linear way, but . potential purchaser sometimes may move up several steps simultaneously. (Lavidge Steiner, 1961, p. 60) which is supported by Munoz (2002) who writes that normally ultimate customers do not switch directly from being interested to become convinced buyers. Lavidge and Steiner identify the seven steps in the following order: 1. Close to purchasing, but sti ll a long way from the cash register, are those who are merely aware of its existence. 2. 3. Up a step are prospects who know what the product has to offer. Still closer to purchasing are those who have favourable attitudes toward the product. 24 4. Those whose favourable attitudes have developed to the point of preference over all other possibilities are up still another step. 5. Even closer to purchasing are customers who couple preference with a desire to buy and the conviction that the purchase would be wise. 6. Finally, of course, is the step which translates this attitude into actual purchase. (Lavidge Steiner, 1961, p. 59) Lavidge and Steiner (1961) also wrote, in their article, that they are fully aware of the impulsive purchases that customers can make, but they mean that for higher economical goods these steps are essential for the advertiser to include. This model also has as a premise that advertising occurs over a period of time, and may not lead to immediate response and purchase. It is rather a series of effects that has to occur, with each step fulfilled on the way towards the next stage (Lavidge Steiner, 1961) Behind this model is according to Belch Belch (1998) the premises that advertising effects occur over time and advertising communication may not lead to immediate behavioural response or purchase, but rather, consumers must fulfil each step before (s)he can move to the next stage in the hierarchy. Belch and Belch 1998, p. 146). 25 As with the former models discussed, this model has also been criticised. The criticism on Lavidge Steiners model is very similar to the one made on DAGMAR and AIDA. There is still no evidence on the fact that awareness of a products leads to purchase, and the steps are still unclear. Criticism has also been made on each individual step in the model. Critics do not think that the model expla ins how the customers will go from one step to another and to point out the steps without explaining them further is not seen as enough. CRITICISM ON THE HIERARCHY OF EFFECTS THEORY. The models that are based on the hierarchy of effects theory (Mackay, 2005) can be very helpful but are not conclusive. There are several factors that these models do not take in consideration. 1. Not all buyers go through all stages, 2. The stages do not necessarily occur in hierarchical sequence, 3. Impulse purchases contract the process. (Smith Taylor, 2002, p. 97) The hierarchy models help the advertiser to identify the stages that buyers generally passes through, but cannot be used as obvious guidelines (Smith Taylor, 2002). 26 As seen earlier in this chapter the criticism on the models and theories are very similar. They have all been met with the criticism that customers do not always follow a straight line of steps when purchasing a product. Not all customers pass through all the steps before buying a product, some may stop at one stage, and some may go back several steps before later on going back for the product. 2. 3 REASONS WHY PRODUCTS FAILS It would surprise one to hear that, a staggering 70-80% of all new products in the retail grocery industry fail (www. allbusiness. com). In Great Britain, the rate may be as high as 90% (www. rchives. tcm. ie/irishexaminer). Of every 3,000 raw ideas for new products, only one makes it to the marketplace (www. faculty. msb. edu). And a whopping 46% of all resources allocated to new product development process in the U. S. are spent on products that fail (www. faculty. msb. edu). Marketing Wise Group in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX is of the opinion that no com pany can do without introducing new products or extending their brand line if they want to remain afloat in a competitive market or if they do not want their products and brand image to go stale. It is the opinion of this group that Quisp Cereal, Ipana Toothpaste or Commodore Computers failed because they failed to implement a new product development process to keep their 27 stable of brands vital or had a flawed new product development process to begin with. According to Gwinavere Johnston; founder and CEO of Johnston Wells Public Relations, if your answer to one or more of the following questions is yes, then chances are that is the reason your product failed. 1. Did you do the right amount and kind of marketing research in the initial stages of your new product development process? . If you conducted research, did you follow the results or ignore them? 3. Was your product launched ahead of its time? 4. Was your product launched on the downward side of a waning fad or trend? 5. Did your product take on a life of its own and you got to a point your new product development process couldn’t turn back? 6. Were you as a company able to execute the product to the consumerà ¢â‚¬â„¢s desires? 7. Did your new product development process create a â€Å"me-too† product? Second in the marketplace is a grim position to be. How many flavoured waters does the world need? 8. Was your company too financially conservative and too aggressive in its expectations for a quick ROI? 9. Is your new product development process as streamlined as it should be? 28 10. Is your product hitting a little before or on top of a trend, or is it a fad? According to Gwinavere Johnston when such a problem arises what is oftentimes needed is an overhaul in your new product development process, which is difficult to see from inside the organization. One may need a specialist in the new/returning product development process, someone who has been in the trenches and has had a fare share of successes and failures. That person has the unique ability to observe your new product development process and, from their years of observing other organizations, is able to pinpoint where in your new product development process modifications need to be made. According to Glenn Moray, companies that fail or that are at the verge of collapsing, at one point in time all made the same mistake that brought about their waterloo: failing to focus on the concerns of their publics. If publics are the groups a company relies on for success, it is dangerous to neglect them by ? ? ? ? Focusing on share price to the detriment of quality and integrity, Forming boards that are not designed for strong corporate governance, Misleading shareholders, employees and others by not sharing the full story, Emphasizing what is legal, rather than what is ethical, and/or Jeopardizing employee jobs and savings through business misconduct. 29 From the above statement by Glenn Moray, it can be deduced that customer awareness and unders tanding is paramount to the success of any company or product. When a company is in distress, tell shareholders and indeed all stakeholders that full extent of the damage and what are in place to curb the problem or mitigate the effect of the problem/distress. 2. 4 THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MARKETING A CONSUMER B R A N D . According to Glenn Moray of the Moray Evans Advertising, The strategic role of PR for consumer brands is critical to extending the impact and credibility of advertising. The questions we so often ask from a PR effort are: (1) what are you trying to achieve with your PR over the long run, and (2) how does it integrate with your marketing and communications plan? The most obvious strategic role for PR-a role that meets a communications objective that is difficult for conventional advertising to address-is to create community affinity while at the same time complementing consumer affinity for the brand. PR is uniquely capable of building relationships with communities (geographic, demographic, social, political, special interest, etc. ) through events, sampling, causes, in-kind support, and sponsorships, to name a f e 30 w . PR delivers messages not normally addressed in conventional advertising. For example, good news about the clients business, new services or new level of commitment to service, how well the client is measuring up within its competitive set, the clients business heritage, or the clients involvement in the community. These types of messages are critical to creating a positive selling environment for our advertising. Equally important, it creates buzz for our client as a company. According to Leana Clark (2002), PR builds momentum into the launch of a new ad campaign. This provides exposure between media flights and increases frequency of brand exposures during the duration of the advertising period. In the fight for brand awareness and top-of-mind consideration, there are few substitutes for pure frequency. And last, but certainly not least, we like to see PR reinforce, in the consumers mind, those moments when a company chooses to put a stake in the ground: The launch of a new market, acquisition of another company, a new partnership, a product release, relevant differentiation, or new leadership with a new vision. All of which provide value to the consumer. 2. 5 ROLES OF THE PR PRACTITIONER IN AN ORGANISATION 31 According to Gwinavere Johnston, there are four principal roles for a corporation’s chief public relations officer. The first is to serve the corporation as a sensor of social change. He/she perceives those societal rumblings that auger good or ill for the organization. In a way, he/she is like the radar chief who gives the early warning. And after pondering the yearnings and stirrings, he/she interprets the signals for the management team. Part of the job as corporate sensor is to keep management focused on those external problems not usually considered part of managing a large business. He/she is the one who says you dont care for the likes of a Ralph Nader or a Jesse Jackson, but you should never underestimate the power they wield over people and problems that can damage our business. † The second role is that of corporate conscience. I trust you and your colleagues in management will not infer that only public relations executives have a conscience or that public relations people are either more ethical or more moral or have a greater commitment to serving the public interest than executives with other titles. In fact, there may be others with more of these qualities than the person with the public relations/ communications title. But the fact is that being the corporate conscience is not in the job description of other 32 executives. It is or should be in the job description of the chief public relations officer. The third role of the chief public relations/communications officer is that of communicator. The tendency especially in recent times, as I referred to earlier is to think that communications, mainly working with the media, print, electronic and digital is his/her only role. Though communications is an important part of the job that is hardly the case. The global corporation has two distinct audiences; one external, the other internal. Communications with both audiences move in two directions: what the corporation says to its external stakeholders and what it says to its employees, distribution and supply chains, and shareowners. Listening is as important a part of the job as speaking and the chief public relations officer should be equally adept at both. For both audiences, the why and how of an action or policy is invariably as important, if not more so, than the what and the when. The goal of communications is more than to tell or inform; its primary purpose is to bring about understanding. No matter how effective the dissemination of information about a corporation, it will not succeed unless it truthfully reflects the corporations behaviour. Above all, the corporation must always deliver on its promises, whether guaranteeing the reliability of a pr oduct or achieving earnings goals. In the words of the rapper, if youre gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk. 33 The fourth role is to serve as corporate monitor. Since the public relations/ communications department is the companys voice and also has so major a role dealing with and commenting on public issues, there is a need for constant monitoring of policies and programs to make sure they accord with both the companys commitment and with public expectations. If they fall short, its the job of the chief public relations officer to agitate for new programs and policies. Failing to do so means, simply, that he/she is not living up to the requirements of the job. To summarize, the chief public relations officer has four roles: corporate sensor, corporate conscience, corporate communicator and corporate monitor. As corporate sensor and corporate conscience, he/she contributes to and participates in the decision making process. It is his/her job to anticipate changes in the social environment and make sure the corporations response is in the public interest and accords with public expectations. In the roles as corporate communicator and corporate monitor, he/she speaks for the corporation both truthfully and timely and makes certain the corporation is delivering on its promises. . 6 BRANDING A very famous proverb goes: What is in a name? A rose will still smell the same, even if it is called by another name! 34 However, with the advent of latest technology and changing trends, the time has come when we need to do some rethinking. Today, everything is online and virtual: virtual money, online business and so name or rather branding is the most i mportant facet for anything. Not just any business, but for any particular entity, branding is the key word. A brand is the identity of an entity. Just think of Marilyn Monroe and the first thing that comes in your mind is flying skirt. When we talk about online business, the brand identity is the foundation for building a relationship with your customer beyond product, distribution, pricing, or location of your business. It plays an integral part behind the success of any product. Brand is the relationship that secures future earnings by securing customer loyalty. Leana Clark (2002), states that, â€Å"Usually consumers have lot of choice of products in the same market segment so brand loyalty plays a very important role for your business growth. A company with high credibility and brand loyalty succeeds in keeping consumers re-buying their product rather than going to a competitor. Statistics tell that it takes five times as much money to gain a customer as it does to retain one. Moreover a satisfied customer also helps in generating word of mouth publicity which increases your potential c u s t o m e r s † . Branding goes beyond marketing. All aspects of your business should reflect 35 and support your intended brand to create a long term and fruitful relationship with your customers. According to Helen Katz in her book Advertising Principles, A lot of effort goes in developing a brand. It involves more than just picking a catchy name. The following steps may be followed to create a brand: * Define your brand * Determine the objective of your brand * Identify your target audience * Identify the barriers and crush them * Package your brand then sell and market your brand 2. 7 REPUTATION AND WHY IT MATTERS The reputation of a company or product is what determines how a strong a product is in the long run and how their customers perceive such a product. It would be remembered that in 1986, Coca-Cola made a blunder by trying to change the flavour of coke which reduced their sales drastically. This reduction in sales was largely due to the perception customers have about coke. The taste of a product ultimately defines the brand and is also part of what customers perceive when they see the product. So when the taste changes, then of course perception changes. Customers want to see their brands as reliable and constant, and for a company to maintain its reputation, such a company must 36 ensure that it gives it customers what they want. This statement was upported by Gwinavere Johnston (2002), when he said, â€Å"Reputation can account for a large portion of a companys market capitalization, and can be its most important long-term asset. It impacts an organization in a myriad of ways, including stock price, and the ability to attract and retain customers and employees. Corporate reputation is based on factors such as ? ? ? ? ? ? Qualit y of products or services, Earnings and business performance, Stability and fairness as an employer, Level of integrity in business practices, Degree of honesty and openness, and Involvement in local communities. Today, with distrust of the corporate world at an all-time high, corporate credibility is an over-riding factor. Whether they like it or not, companies today are at the mercy of public constituencies. That means there is growing recognition of the need to foster a good reputation by developing positive relationships with various publics. † 2. 8 HOW COMPANIES CAN RESTORE TRUST If business is to regain the trust it has lost due to questionable ethics and other business practices, it must provide public relations with a seat at the executive 37 evel management table rather than just relying on public relations when a crisis a r i s e s . Consumer confidence is at its lowest point, as evidenced by ongoing studies in 2002, by Schenkeins research partner Roper ASW. Corporate wrongdoing, stock market plunges, and layoffs were cited as reasons for the erosion in corporate trust. Americans put the blame squarely on the shoulders of CEOs, Nigerians also put the blame on those in power an d CEOs of large organisation and financial organisations such as banks, insurance companies, investment firms and the likes, who according to Roper, wont be let ff the hook easily. Consumers view CEOs as the bad guys, and blame their greed for the ensuing crises that have elicited their anger. Clearly, we live in an environment where every company is under the microscope and negative business stories appear every day on the front page of our newspapers. According to Jerry Donovan, â€Å"Quite literally, public relations is managing relations with various publics, a role that grows in importance as reputation becomes ever more critical to business success. Companies can restore trust in a number of ways, many involving traditional PR strategies, such as: ? ? ? Using integrity and fairness as criteria for all business decisions; Maintaining an emphasis on quality of products or services; Openly sharing truthful information with all publics; 38 ? ? ? Actively seeking input from publics and being responsive to concerns; Renewing a commitment to local communities; and Creating forums to encourage dialogue with constituencies. The bottom line is that companies must make it a priority to value the needs of all publics, and to forge good relationships with them. The cornerstone of a good relationship is trust, and trust is based on open and honest communication. Effective public relations tell a companys story in a way that is accurate, honest, and easy to understand, helping to establish a reputation for credibility. † A good relationship also requires a willingness to listen, and true public relations is a two-way process. PR professionals recognize that to manage relationships, they must understand and respect public concerns and viewpoints. They must also go a step further, to serve as the publics advocate within an o r g a n i z a t i o n . In effect, corporate public relations professionals frequently play the role of an outsider. By questioning decisions and their impact on customers, the community, employees, and others, public relation professionals bring the public perspective to an organization, fostering its ability to be responsive to public concerns. 39 CHAPTER THREE 3. 0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY According to Jacobsen (2002: pg 34) there are two ways to conduct scientific research, one is the qualitative approach the other is the quantitative approach. The qualitative approach is more appropriate for research that aims to get a deeper knowledge about a certain subject, i. e. explorative. An explorative research method aims to investigate a small number of units since it is used to explore nuanced data (Jacobsen 2002: pg 38). Researchers using a qualitative approach are more into finding how people experience their lives and their goal is rather to come to an understanding rather than to reach a static analysis (Bell, 1999). A quantitative approach on the other hand is more appropriate when the research is a broad spectrum of units since it is a theory testing research method. A research like this has a goal of getting broader knowledge about a certain subject (Jacobsen, 2002: pg 29). A researcher using this approach collects data and then tries to analyse the relation between the different 40 productions. The researcher measures and uses scientific techniques that can give quantifiable and possible general conclusions. Since Advertising and public relations is all about emotions and catching people’s interest. Quantitative research used alone could lead to faulty conclusions because it could give the researcher difficulties when trying to understand attitudes and perceptions among the interviewees. But when used alongside the qualitative approach, it gives the researcher a broader perspective about the subject area. The researcher shall therefore make use of the survey method and the in-depth interviews (which is a combination of the qualitative and the quantitative research methods). 3. 1 DATA COLLECTION METHOD CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SOURCES Critical analysis of sources is according to (Bell, 1999: pg 80) divided into two examinations: Internal and external examination. The external examination is used to investigate how genuine and correct the source is whereas the internal examination is the one usually used when investigating smaller projects. Internal examinations looks more into which type or source it is, under which circumstances it devolved and if it has changed lately etcetera. 41 The researcher for the purpose of this research would use in-depth interviews and also the questionnaires/ survey method. The in-depth interview would be directed towards owners of the shops and also the account officer in charge of the Vita foam campaign in Tie Communications. These interviews were conducted to get first hand information on why Vita foam almost went out of the market and what the company did to get back in business focusing on advertising and public relations. The questionnaire, would be used to gather the opinions of customers and potential customers of Vita foam products 3. 2 CHOICE OF STUDY OBJECT The selection of Vitafoam PLC as the case study has been based on the fact that they had experienced drop in sales, which fits the definition of a failing brand by the researcher and as risen today to become one of the market leaders in their product category. A bar chart on the sales of Vita foam product since 2004-2008 by PeaceWaterCoopers House for Vita foam Nigeria Plc) 42 The reason for using Mushin, Ikeja and Agege local government areas as my sample population is because there is a high density of mattress sellers in these areas. Another reason is that these areas are easily accessible. Choice of interviewing officials of Tie Communicat ions Ltd is based on the fact that they were responsible for the rebranding campaign of Vitafoam in 2005/2006 that eventually brought them to their present position in the market. . 3 CHOICE OF ORGANISATION The organisation (VITAFOAM) selected for this study was used because the researcher aims to explore the roles advertising and public relations play in re-establishing a failing product into the market. The case study was chosen based on the fact that it is today one of the leading mattress brands in Nigeria and had in 2005 experienced a rapid decrease in sales of their products. How they overcame this period and what they did to achieve their present position in the market is what piqued my interest in them. Below are bar charts showing the dividend and earnings of Vitafaom Nig. Plc form the year 2004 to the year 2008. 43 FIG 1: DIVIDEND VS EARNINGS PER SHARE FOR VITAFOAM (extracted from the 2008 annual report compiled by PeaceWaterCoopers House) FIG 2: PROFIT AFTER TAX VS SHAREHOLDERS’ FUNDS 44 (extracted from the 2008 annual report compiled by PeaceWaterCoopers House) FIG 3: PROFIT AFTER TAX VS DIVIDENDS 45 (extracted from the 2008 annual report compiled by PeaceWaterCoopers House) 3. 4 CHOICE OF CUSTOMERS/RETAIL OUTLETS In the selection of customers to be interviewed for this study, the researcher has been looking for persons that have been exposed to advertising from the chosen organisation and that have bought their products at least once, but not 46 necessarily the product that have been promoted in the chosen advertising campaign. The researcher shall interview ten (ten customers) in three different retail outlets from each of these local government areas; namely: Ikeja, Mushin and Agege local government areas. Making it a total of 90 (ninety) customers to be interviewed. The customers shall be selected randomly. Also the researcher shall also be interviewing 5 shop owners from each of these local government areas, making it a total of 15 shop owners that would be interviewed. Also the account officer in charge of the advert campaign of Vitafoam shall be interviewed. 3. 5 PROCESSING OF THE RESULTS In the work of analysing the findings found during the interviews the researcher has chosen to record the interviews to make it easier to go back and go through them again later on. The interviews have also been written down to paper from the recordings to make it easier for the researcher to go through them and compare them to points in the literature. By doing it this way it is easier for the researcher to go back without missing out on something. 47 3. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What caused the decrease in sales of Vita foam products? 2. How did public relations and advertising help restore Vita foam into the market? 3. How do we identify a failing product? 4. What strategies do public relations experts employ in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? 5. What advertising strategies were employed in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? 48 CHAPTER FOUR DATA PROCESSING, PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 4. 0 INTRODUCTION In this chapter the information gained in the interviews with the account officer that handled the adverts for Vita foam in 2005/2006, shop owners around the speculated local government areas in Lagos, and customers of Vita foam products will be presented. The information will be presented by first retelling the information gained in the interview with the interviewee from TIE COMMUNICATIONS, and then shop owners around Lagos. Also information gotten from the questionnaires distributed among customers of polymer products generally would be presented in this chapter. 4. 1 DATA PRESENTATION SHOP OWNERS From the interviews conducted by the researcher on shop owners in Ikeja, Mushin and Agege local government areas, it was found out that, Vita foam Nigeria has been a very popular brand since the 1990s. They all agreed that around 2004, sales for the product had remarkably reduced and by 2005, Vita foam product was hardly in demand. 49 The interviewees said the reason for this decrease in sales can be attributed to the fact that other brands where springing up and where willing to sell the same or almost the same quality of products for a lesser price. They gave examples of this price differences that might have caused this reductions in sales one of which is; the queen size mattress (ordinary) was selling for Thirteen thousand Naira in 2005 and Mouka foam was selling the same type of mattress with the same quality for eleven thousand five hundred naira. The interviewees speculated that even the less popular brands like Vono foam, Sarafoam etc where producing good quality mattresses for a reduced price. The interviewees said that Vitafoam’s greatest rival in the polymer market was Mouka foam and Sarafoam, because these brands were not as expensive, available and also of good quality. It is the opinion of the interviewees that the adverts Vita foam did though were not so popular; they left an impression in the mind of anyone that was exposed to the advert. They are of the opinion that the rigorous Vita foam campaign carried out from year 2005 though to 2006, helped boost the sales of the product and helped re-establish their relevance in the market place. 50 ACCOUNT OFFICER FROM TIE COMMUNICATIONS. The interviewee asserted that the company was in charge of the Vita foam account in the year 2005/2006 and were responsible for the PR and Advert campaign carried out by Vita foam in the same year. The interviewee said that the company was approached by the client (Vitafaom) to help organise and advert and PR campaign to help boost sales and popularity level of the brand. The interviewee went on to say that the client was troubled about the constant decrease in sales of its product. The interviewee said that the first thing they did when they got the account was to carry out a research to find out why Vita foam is facing the problems there are facing, also to get a clear picture as to how Vitafaom is faring in the consumer market and to test the popularity of the brand. After which they came back to brainstorm on the strategies to use to tackle the problems discovered in the cause of the research. It was discovered that the major cause of the problem was the fact that the competition was giving the same quality for a reduced price and Vitafaom was also losing its name as people hardly knew their name anymore as products like Mouka foam was quickly taking over the market. 51 So they (TIE COMMUNICATIONS) advised Vita foam to carry out a line extension program to develop a product under Vita foam that would be the same quality with Mouka foam but that would be cheaper than Mouka foam. This brought about Rainbow foam which is a brand of Vitafaom and is relatively cheaper than most of the other quality brands in the Nigerian market. The company also proposed a 9 month advert and PR campaign for Vitafaom products which would promote all the products Vitafaom is producing including Rainbow foam. Also they made their presence felt in the Nigerian market by organising scholarship and other social responsible programs in the society. He asserted that in the world of advertising and Public relations it is believed that out of sight is out of mind, so it is important that a product is never out of sight for the consumers. According to the interviewee, an evaluation was conducted at the end of the campaign and it was the general c consensus then that the campaign was successful. The interviewee went on to say that the evaluation was based on the following criteria: 1. After campaign sales volume vis-a-vis sales volume before the campaign. 2. Popularity of the brand. 3. Current market share of Vita foam products. 52 According to the interviewee, a product can fail when it stops satisfying a need, when a competing brand is producing the same quality for lesser prices, when a product is not readily available in the market, when adequate advertisements and Public relations campaign and activities are not carried out, amongst others. The interviewee explained that, though times were hard for Vita foam during the period under review, what made them remain relevant simply was the fact that they kept producing quality products, but ensured that they improve the Public Relations and advertising activities. They started giving out scholarships, giving Vitafoam products to orphanages, also sponsorship of events and programmes were carried out to ensure that the brands image is secure in the minds of the consumers/publics. Some of these events includes, donations to professional bodies like ICAN, donations to clubs and associations like Business Club, National Union of Chemical, Footwear Rubber, Leather and Non Metallic, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Federal road safety Corps, donations to schools such as Jextoban Secondary school, Ketu, Lagos, end of the year children party sponsored and also organised by the company, sales promotion, price slash etc. The interviewee went on to explain that media relations is an essential tool when trying to win back the loyalty and trust of your consumers. He explained 53 that Vitafoam organised series of facility tour for both media houses and also the regulatory agencies such as Standard Organisation of Nigeria and Manufacturer Association of Nigeria, Polymer Institute of Nigeria, Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Employees Federation and National Union of Chemical, Footwear Rubber, Leather and Non Metallic so as to get endorsements and approval for the products and also for the media to promote them in a positive light. QUESTIONNAIRRE TO CUSTOMERS Ninety questionnaires were distributed and ninety were returned. Based on the data collected through the questionnaires, the following is the outcome of the research. TABLE 1: AGE OF RESPONDENTS Variable 18-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 60 and above Total No. respondents 5 27 29 16 9 4 90 Of Percentage 5. 6 30 32. 2 18 10 4. 5 100 TABLE 2: AWARENESS ABOUT VITAFAOM 54 VARIABLE I AM AWARE I AM NOT AWARE TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 79 11 90 PERCENTAGE % 87. 8 12. 2 100 TABLE 3: USAGE OF VITAFOAM PRODUCTS VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 48 42 90 PERCENTAGE % 53. 3 46. 7 100 TABLE 4: WHEN DID YOU START USING VITAFOAM? VARIABLE MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO LESS THAN TEN YEARS LESS THAN 5 YEARS DO NOT USE IT TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 5 23 20 42 90 PERCENTAGE % 5. 6 25. 5 22. 2 46. 7 100 TABLE 5: DID YOU EVER NOTICE A PERIOD WHEN IT SEEMED OTHER BRANDS WERE TAKING OVER THE MARKET VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 65 25 90 PERCENTAGE % 72. 2 27. 8 100 TABLE 6: REASON VITAFOAM LOST MARKET SHARE VARIABLE NO. OF REPONDENTS PERCENTAGE % Reduction in quality of the 5 7. 7 product 25 38. 4 55 High price of the product Better quality by competition Better price by the competition Lack of availability of the product TOTAL 23 5 65 10. 8 35. 4 7. 7 100 TABLE 7: WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA THAT VITA FOAM MIGHT NOT BE FARING WELL VARIABLE NO. OF REPONDENTS PERCENTAGE % When it was no longer available for sale When I stopped seeing or hearing their adverts When other brands of mattresses became very prominent When friends and colleagues advised me to buy other products TOTAL 0 45 25 20 90 0 50 27. 8 22. 2 100 TABLE 8: IN YOUR OPINION DO YOU THINK VITAFOAM HAS MADE A COMEBACK INTO THE MARKET VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 70 20 90 PERCENTAGE % 77. 8 22. 2 100 TABLE 9: WHAT MADE VITAFOAM’S COMEBACK POSSIBLE VARIABLE Vigorous advert and PR campaign Reduction in price Increase in quality 56 NO. OF RESPONDENTS 50 7 3 PERCENTAGE % 55. 6 7. 8 3. 3 Creating another competing brand to 20 tackle the competition 10 Friends and colleagues attesting to the 90 quality of Vita foam and the good price TOTAL 22. 2 11. 1 100 TABLE 10: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN OR HEARD ANY VITAFOAM ADVERT ON ANY LOCAL MEDIUM VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 80 10 90 PERCENTAGE % 88. 9 11. 1 100 TABLE 11: VITAFOAM ADVERT RATINGS VARIABLE VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 50 20 5 5 0 80 PERCENTAGE % 62. 5 25 6. 25 6. 25 0 100 TABLE 12: WHAT INFORMED YOUR DECISION TO START USING VITAFOAM VARIABLE The new packaging The adverts on TV and radio Recommendations from friends Attractive price Sales promo Innovative additions to the product TOTAL 57 NO. OF REPONDENTS PERCENTAGE % 2 40 20 10 10 8 90 2. 2 44. 4 22. 2 11. 1 11. 1 8. 9 100 TABLE 13: MOST EFFECTIVE VITAFOAM ADVERT VARIABLE The radio advert The TV advert The Billboard adverts Print adverts Road shows TOTAL NO. REPONDENTS 10 15 25 40 0 90 OF PERCENTAGE % 11. 1 16. 7 27. 8 44. 4 0 100 4. 2 ANALYSIS OF PRESENTED DATA Based on the data gotten from the interviews conducted and questionnaires distributed, the researcher shall now attempt to answer the research questions this research aimed to answer. RESEARCH QUESTION 1: What caused the decrease in sales of Vita foam products? From the interviews conducted with the shop owners and the account officer in charge of the Vita foam account in year 2005/2006, it is clear that the main reasons for the drop in sales of Vita foam products are; stiff competition from Mouka foam, who was producing a similar product with almost the same quality, but was selling at a lower price. Another reason for the decrease in sales of Vita foam products was lack of advertisement and Public Relations 58 activities on the part of the Vita foam Nig. Ltd; this reduced their popularity in the market place. From the responses gotten from the questionnaires distributed to the customers in different retail outlet around Agege, Mushin and Ikeja local government it is clear that price of the product played a major role in diminishing the sales of the Vita foam products. 38. 4% of the 90 respondents said that the high price of Vita foam products caused the decrease, while 35. % of the same respondents said that better prices offered by competition might be the cause, 5% said Vita foam products were not readily available, 7% said better quality offered by competitors might be a cause for the reduction in sales of Vita foam products. Form the above it is clear that the major reason for the decrease in sales of Vita foam products can be attributed to high price and lack of advertiseme nt and Public Relations activities RESEARCH QUESTION 2: How did public relations and advertising help restore Vita foam into the market? From the interviews conducted with the account officer in charge of the Vita foam account in the year 2005/2006, it is clear that Public Relations and advertisement played a major role in restoring Vita foam into the market. The 59 interviewee pointed out that, through Public relations activities such as giving scholarships, giving free Vita foam products to orphanages etc, the company was able to register in the mind of the consumers as a socially conscious organisation which helped in promoting their image. Also the advert campaign proposed and executed by Tie Communications helped re-establish the Vita foam presence in the polymer industry and also in the long run helped boost the sales of the product. All of which helped restore Vitafaom back into the market place. Data gotten from the questionnaires distributes also asserts that advertising and Public relations activities played a major role in restoring Vita foam into the market place. 55. 6% of the 90 respondents said that vigorous adverts and PR campaign made the comeback for Vita foam possible. While 44. % of the respondents also claim that the adverts they saw informed their decision to buy Vita foam products. RESEARCH QUESTION 3: How do we identify a failing product? Based on the questionnaires distributed and interviews conducted. A product can be said to be failing if there is a sudden and constant decrease in sales. Also about 50% of the 90 respondents that got the questionnaires said that they knew Vitafoam was failing when they stopped hearing or seeing their adverts, 27. 8% of the respondents said that they noticed when other brands became very 60 prominent, while 22. % of the respondent said they noticed when friends and colleagues advised them to buy other products. From the above statistics, a product can be said to be failing, if they is a constant reduction in sales of the product, when adverts are suddenly not heard or seen any more, when other brands become more popular, when friends discourage you to buy the product. RESEARCH QUESTION 4: What strategies do public relations experts employ in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? From the interviews conducted, it can be said that Public Relations played a major role in re-establishing a failing products. The interviewee said that scholarships and Cooperate Social Responsibility were carried out to ensure that the brand name Vitafoam is registered in the minds of the consumers, also sponsorship of important programmes and events were carried out to boost the popularity of the brand. Media relations were also used, series of facility tour for both media houses and also the regulatory agencies such as SON and MAN were organised. RESEARCH QUESTION 5: What advertising strategies were employed in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? 61 From the research, the advertising strategy used to re-establish Vitafoam ack into the market was to create a nine month advert campaign that would run through 2005 and parts of 2006 on radio, television and print media. 55. 6% of the respondents that filled the questionnaires distributed agree that the Vigorous advert campaign embarked on by Vitafoam made it possible for vitafoam to come back into the market, also 44. 4% of the 90 respondents said that the print adverts were most effective in making them buy Vitafoam products. 27. 8% of the respondents said that the billboards advert were most effective in making them buy Vitafoam products, while 16. % said it was television and 11. 1% said it was the radio adverts that got them to buy the product. The strategies used were billboard adverts, radio, TV and print adverts that ran over a period of nine months. 62 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5. 0 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the major findings of this study will be discussed and summarized, recommendations will also be given. 5. 1 SUMMARY In this study, it was observed that public relations and advertising played a very crucial role in re-establishing Vitafoam into the market after the company experienced an alarming decrease in sales. It was also found out in the cause of the research that through Public relations activities such as giving scholarships, giving free Vita foam products to orphanages etc, the company was able to register in the mind of the consumers as a socially conscious organisation. This 63 helped in promoting their image. Also the advert campaign embarked on by the company helped re-establish the Vita foam presence in the polymer industry and also in the long run helped boost the sales of the product. All of which helped restore Vitafaom back into the market place. It was found out in the cause of the research that a failing product can be identified when; ? The product is no longer available in the market ? When other brands become more prominent ? When the product no longer satisfy a need ? When there is a sudden and constant decrease in sales. ? When friends and colleagues discourage you to buy the product. It was discovered that stiff competition from rival products, high price of Vitafaom products, lack of advertisements and Public Relations activities were the major factors that caused the failure if Vitafoam as a brand in 2005/2006. It was also discovered that through Public Relations and advertisement, Vitafoam Nig. Ltd was able to re-establish dominance in the polymer industry. 64 5. 2 CONCLUSION This study has shown that advertising and public relations play a major role in re-establishing and also maintain a product in the market. The study has shown that high prices of products, availability of the product, lack of PR, advert and other promotional activity might lead to a product failing. The major findings of this study are summarized below: ? Price, availability of the Vitafoam products, lack of adverts and public relations, and competition, caused the failure of the Vitafoam brand in the market place. ? Advertising and public relations helped restore consumer trust and helped restore Vitafoam back into the market. ? A product can be said to be failing if there is a sudden and constant decrease in sales, when adverts are suddenly not seen or heard anymore by the consumers, when friends and colleagues advised them to buy other products. 5. 3 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Due to the time limit and the level of this study the outcome has been limited. For future research within this area it could be interesting to investigate this in a deeper study. The use of various products can give a better perception on the 65 roles Public Relations and advertising plays in re-establishing a failing product into the market. Also a study can be carried out to find out how advertising and public relations if not done properly could lead to a product’s extinction. This study could help advert and PR practitioners understand the value of advertising and public relations and know the dangers they stand to face if they are not done properly. 5. 04 RECOMMENDATIONS Looking at the outcome of this study, it is suggested that organisations in the Polymer industry should not look down on adverts and public relations as they can make the difference between a successful company and a failing company. Organisations should ensure that their products and services are constantly in the mind of the consumers because they are the most important factor in the growth of the company. Brand colours and logos of companies in this industry should be used in every retail outlet, as this could attract customers to buy and also tell the public that they are available. 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