Adidas Growth Strategies

IV. Introduction This analysis is about the company adidas that belongs to the adidas Group. The adidas Group sells products under the brands adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Adidas is on the market over 80 years and sells products for every kind of sports. The adidas group was founded in the year 1949 by Adolf Dassler. A company that started with selling soccer shoes contains today a wide product assortment with footwear, apparel and accessories. The brand is further divided into three subbrands called adidas performance, original and sport style. TaylorMade-adidas also offers wide range of golf equipment and matching golf apparel and accessories. On their homepage the adidas Group claims to be â€Å"a global leader in the sporting goods industry† (adidas group, what we do). The company can be described as a global player because they have 170 subsidiaries in different countries that are directed from their headquarter in Germany which is the home of the adidas brand. Headquarters of Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf are in the US in Massachusetts and California. Besides the international subsidiaries of the company, products of the group are available in every country through their online store. Their strategy to success is â€Å"continuously strengthen our brands and products to improve our competitive position and financial performance†. The following paper is going to analyze external and internal situation of adidas. Further, their marketing and growth strategies will be analysed. Major focus of this paper will be on the customer analysis. Growth Strategies The evaluation of the performance of a company is often measured trough growth in sales. Growth strategies determine how companies want to increase their market share or sales. They are crucial for the success of a company and should be selected carefully. There are different strategic options that companies have. Many companies pursue different types of growth strategies. Main decisions of a company are if they want to stay in existing markets or enter into new markets and further if they have existing products or if they develop new products. A combination of those four elements leads to the different types of growth strategies: penetration strategies, product-market expansion strategies, vertical integration strategies, differentiation, and diversification. Penetration Strategies (existing products/existing markets) Penetration Strategies means that companies sell their existing products on already existing markets. Companies choosing this strategy have to gain competitive advantage through pricing, marketing, etc. They want to gain market share and convince the customers of their competitors to buy at their stores. Adidas is definitely using penetration strategies. For over 80 years adidas is selling sports apparel and accessories. Through a successful established brand image adidas still sells their sports apparel all over the world. Their marketing efforts as described in the part promotion strategies help them to remain competitive. Product expansion strategies/Product Development (new products / existing markets) You can speak of product expansion or product development strategies if a company develops new products and try to sell them to existing markets. Adidas made also use of product expansion strategies through introducing adidas performance, originals and style in October 2000. The company expanded their products through a new style line that focuses more on fashion than on sports clothes. You can speak of product expansion because although the style is different it is still in the apparel sector. Further, adidas modifies their products continuously. In February 2010 they just introduced their new developed womens’ Body Mapping Technology that â€Å"defin[es] female-specific heat and sweat zones in order to place fabrics directly where they are needed the most, delivering optimised function to provide maximum comfort during workout. (Adidas, Press Room) The new technology will be used in adidas’ new CLIMA365 collection that will be introduced in Spring/Summer 2010. Another expanding of their products is heart rate sensing apparel so that consumers don’t need a pacer while running. Through developing new technologies to improve their sports apparel consumers feel that adidas is always up to date with new sports innovations. On their web site adidas also created an own section called â€Å"mi†. Customers have the possibility to personalize products. For example you can personalize shoes. Besides color and design, it is possible for customers two order the left and right shoe in different sizes and width. Customers have the possibility to identify with the adidas products through creating their own personal adidas clothes. Market expansion strategies/Market Development (existing products/ new markets) In this strategy companies try to sell their products to new markets. Cooperation of adidas with Stella McCartney and Porsche Design Sports can be seen as a market expansion. The reason for evaluating it as market expansion is that the new target market of these products is fashion. They target consumers that are interested in high fashion, who do not have to be interested in the sports sector. Fashion and lifestyle is in the focus of these apparel lines. Vertical integration strategies (existing market/ different stage of production) A vertical integration strategy describes â€Å"The degree to which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its downstream buyers† (Blackwell Reference Online, Vertical Integration Strategy). In a value chain we have the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer. If a retailer also owns a factory and manufactures its products it would be a backward integration. The purpose of vertical integration is to increase the control of the stages of development. In the early beginnings adidas produced all their shoes and apparel on their own. Through the huge expansion in the last decades adidas don’t produce all their apparel on their own. Today they own 9 own factories where they produce some of their products. Further, they have around 615 main suppliers from all over the world. Production is in Europe (27%), Asia (51%) and America (22%). (EVB, Adidas) Differentiation (uniqueness) The differentiation is a strategy with the main focus of developing a product, service or image that is unique and with attributes that are highly appreciated and valued by customers. Customers will value them higher as products or services of competitors. Through creating a unique image companies that make successful use of this strategy can often sell their products for a higher price. So it is easier for companies to present their products as unique because they get more money to cover their costs. Factors that describe companies that make use of differentiation are †¢ Access to leading scientific research. Highly skilled and creative product development team. †¢ Strong sales team with the ability to successfully communicate the perceived strengths of the product. †¢ Corporate reputation for quality and innovation. (QuickMBA, Porter’s Generic Strategies) A risk that companies have to face when using this strategy is that competitors will try to imitate the co mpany or change consumers mind/ taste. The brand adidas as mentioned before exists over 80 years. They had a long time to create their unique brand image. Adidas stands for quality and expertise in everything that is related to sports. Through supporting and sponsoring different kind of sports events such as the UEFA Champion League in 2008 adidas consumers’ view of adidas is always connected with sports. Further, in their adidas performance collection they make use of innovation such as the mentioned Body Mapping Technology. Showing the consumers that they are using new technologies and constantly improving their products differentiates adidas from their competitors. Customers feel that adidas uses all their possibilities to offer products that will help them doing a good performance in their sports. Diversification (new products/ new markets) Diversification is also a growth strategy. â€Å"The purpose of diversification is to allow the company to enter lines of business that are different from current operations†. (Thomas, Joe, Diversification Strategy) This means that companies try to sell new products to new markets. This strategy is risky because the company is moving in unknown markets where they do not have experience. (Tutor2u, Ansoff’s product/ market matrix) Further, we can distinguish between concentric, horizontal and conglomerate diversification. The first form, concentric diversification, is when a company â€Å"adds related products or markets†. Horizontal diversification is when a company sells products that are unrelated to their existing but would appeal to their customers. The third option is conglomerate diversification. It occurs when a company goes into a totally different market with new products. There is no relation between the already existing products. This would be for example if a supermarket also sells travels. A successful company such as adidas also wants to enlarge their markets and is searching for new ways to expand their business. Recently, in January 2010 adidas introduced the miCoach interactive training system guide. The program miCoach is available over the adidas website. Customers can choose between different training plans such as de-stress or learn how to run. It can be described as horizontal diversification because they now offer a service â€Å"personal training†. The micoach pacers that they sell can be seen as concentric diversification because pacers that measure your heart rate are related to sports and sports apparel. Another form of concentric diversification can be seen in their deodorant and shower gel that they are selling at drugstores and supermarkets. It is related to their main market because people who do sports need a good deodorant and have to take a shower afterwards. After analyzing adidas growth strategies you can say that adidas knows what they are doing. They focus on different growth strategies to gain market share and increase sales. Most of the time they focus on product extension to improve their product assortment. I think that because of a well-established brand name adidas should try more to make use of diversification. They can also sell other products or services because people trust this brand. A lot of people all around the world are fascinated by sports. Like the company jumba juice they could for example sell healthy drinks and juice to support a healty sport-oriented life style. Global strategy A company that has a global strategy views the world as one market and tries to standardize their marketing activities. Nevertheless, product adaptations are made where they are necessary. As mentioned before adidas is a global company. Their products are available in nearly every country on earth and their target markets are sports oriented customers all over the world. They sell their products successfully under the name adidas in every country. A comparison of the different country websites shows their standardization for different countries. If you enter www. adidas. com or www. adidas. de or www. adidas. fr it will only change the language and some actual topics but the whole design and offer is the same. Adaptations are only made where they are necessary. On the US homepage for example you can find Lacrosse under adidas Performance whereas on the German homepage it cannot be found because the game is not played in Germany. Adidas knows their markets and takes care of cultural or country specific differences. The company also says hat they know that they have to adapt to certain cultural differences. Further, they recognise the consumer buying behaviour and the unique retail landscape when operating in different markets. In 2009 the company reorganised their brand structure. They moved from a vertically integrated brand structure to a functional multi-brand structure. Now adidas has a Global Sales and Global Brands function. The Global Sales Function is responsible for the commercial activities where as the Global Brands function takes care of the marketing activities of the brands adidas sport performance, adidas sport style and also Reebok. For their 2,200 retail stores they set global guidelines so that they can increase efficiency and to create consistent conditions to ensure longterm profitability. These two new created functions show that adidas is focused on a global strategy. Together with the new structure of the organisation the adidas Group also decided on new measures. First, they want to establish joint operating models for adidas in most of their global markets. Second, they want to eliminate regional headquarters so that they have a more direct interaction between the global functions and the foreign markets. And third, they decided that they separated the responsibility for the Global Brands and Global sales. Now the CEO of the adidas Group Herbert Hainer is responsible for Global Sales and Erich Stamminger, a member of the executive board takes care of Global Brands. Main objective of these new divisions is to ensure that all chances on their operating markets and categories are taken through a development of well-structured and coordinated â€Å"Go-to-Market† strategies. They have to develop innovative products and communication strategies that can persuade consumers in the different markets. All in all, you can say that Adidas is a global player. They are selling their products around the world. It is easier for them to develop a global strategy because they see the world as one huge â€Å"sports market†. They target the customers that like to do sports and like the sports style for clothing. Nevertheless, they know the different type of sports consumers’ prefer in different countries. The only aspect that could be improved by adidas is to focus more on country specific sports. In the US for example football is really popular. They could create a special football line to satisfy the needs of the customers. Sources: Adidas Group, What we do, http://www. adidas-group. om/en/ourgroup/our_business/default. aspx, accessed on 17 April 2010. Adidas, Press Room, http://www. press. adidas. com/desktopdefault. aspx/tabid-11/16_read-10905/, accessed on 24 April 2010. Adidas, The adidas story year by year, http://www. press. adidas. com/Desktopdefault. aspx/tabid-28/41_read-1209/, accessed on 24 April 2010. Ansoff Matrix, W hat is the Ansoff Matrix, http://www. ansoffmatrix. com/, accessed on 20 April 2010. Blackwell Reference Online, Vertical Integration Strategy, http://www. blackwellreference. com/public/tocnode? id=g9780631233176_chunk_g978140511828629_ss7-1, accessed on 20 April 2010. Cateora, P. R. and Graham, J. L. , International Marketing, 13th edition, 2007, New York. EVB, Adidas, http://www. evb. ch/p25010738. html, accessed on 25 April 2010. http://www. gaebler. com/Growth-Strategies. htm QuickMBA, Porter’s Generic Strategies, http://www. quickmba. com/strategy/generic. shtml, accessed on 20 April 2010. Thomas, Joe, Diversification Strategy, http://www. enotes. com/management-encyclopedia/diversification-strategy, accessed on 21April 2010. Tutor2u, Ansoff’s product/market matrix, http://tutor2u. net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix. htm, accessed on 20 April 2010. www. adidas. com www. adidas. de

Firm Research and Bid Strategy Essay

What truly distinguishes HA Corporation from our competitors is our commitment to building strong bonds with our loyal consumer base. Throughout the nation, and soon the world, our customers trust HA to make their lives easier. Everything we do contributes to building unmatched levels of loyalty to our brands through lifelong relationships with our customers. We are committed focusing on innovation; cost productivity, product quality and consumer value. We continue to improve our global operating platform to ensure we are the best-cost and best-quality appliance manufacturer worldwide. Our supply chain has been transformed to better deliver products to trade customers and consumers. And we are seeing the benefits of these actions today through a stronger network, increased efficiencies and timely deliveries. Our focus now, and in the future, is on more than just creating great products. We’re focused on maximizing the benefits of our worldwide network of resources, which is unmatched in the industry. We’re creating better, more innovative products that improve consumers’ lives—in and around the home—each and every day. And we’re committed to being an agile, global consumer products company that creates value through our inventory and innovations. We know that our compelling and growing brands, fueled with innovation, attract and retain loyal customers for life. With HA’s movement into the international markets, we have prioritized our bid strategies. The following explains our strategy: i.Bid selectively. The company should avoid rushing for each and every opportunity that comes up. First, we will review the contract documentation, request any clarifications, and finally establish whether there exists a match with any of our company’s capabilities. A bidding evaluation form would be generated for all explored solicitations (McVay, 1987). ii.Establish a detailed procedure of estimating checks and possible balances in a way that all important steps and due diligence is observed. iii.Obtain a collection of price quotations from various qualified contractors and subcontractors. It is also important that pertinent details regarding accuracy of prices are fully disclosed. Ensuring that there is enough time to find various elements that could impact a project and also the company’s performance is paramount. iv. Determine company profit margins/risk levels are relevant and necessary to the project. v. Develop a filing system where all completed (successful or unsuccessful) bids are filed for future use and record. Referencing past contract summaries and bids will be useful in future bid proposals. A key point to consider during project selection is the overall corporate revenue potential. A revenue risk analysis would validates the company’s corporate forecasts and at the same time points out areas that possess the biggest risks. Areas that appear very lucrative on paper can actually be contributing the most to reduced revenues due to uncertainty (McVay, 1987). Accounting for the probability of success is essential in the evaluation of a portfolio’s revenue capacity. Assessing the impact on the portfolio of improving the chance of a successful project bid provides a significant competitive advantage. It allows a company to consider withholding bids on projects that could have a major impact on corporate forecasts if lost or unprofitable. As part of the bid delivery, the determination of liability and risk exposure drives the decision making process about the type of contract to enter into—both between owner and contractor or contractor and subcontractor. Performing a risk analysis will provide insight into the types of work that carry such a liability; and therefore support a decision regarding the bid or contract type. Winning a project is essentially a liability to a company until the point of successful completion, and it is handed over to the client. The more lucrative the project, the higher the stakes and risk, the more potential in financial gain. By examining its ability to execute according to plan, a company lessens its chances of taking on a project that would actually be likely to fail (McVay, 1987).

Key influences on the emergence of symbolic interactionism

Idealism Scottish Moralist Functional Psychology Darning's Evolution Pragmatism German Idealism: it is if the view that humans create the worlds they inhabit. That is human being occupy a world of our own making. It further argues that forms and perception have no existence prior to their objects. That is we create form and perception as we create symbolic material object. They believe that meaning is formed out of interaction. Scottish Moralist: It focuses on how the mind and self are social products.One of the theorists is Adams smith who talked extensively about role taking. Functional Psychology: Functional psychology argues that communication is the process which makes society. They are of the view that language makes the society possible because only human possess language they are active beings who do not passively respond to stimuli. Darning's Evolution: It argues that there Is novelty to human activity that perpetually defies both determinism and confident predictability. Th e evolution concept of process and emergence bestowed on some ideas such as behavior is a result of an adaptation to environment.Pragmatism: pragmatism are of the view that human beings are active creative agent and not passive. They argue that the world people live In Is the one they had In hand that Is shaped by them. They further argue that subjectivity does not exist prior to experience but it rather flows from It.

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Retail Service Management Key Indicators - Essay Example Since the data sheet had already summarized the major monthly indicators (with little or no primary data sets), the analysis below concentrated on the examining the temporal patterns across the three months. For the purposes of tracking the repair order, mailing reminders and financial summaries across time, key indicators were analyzed across the months January through March. Since most of the data was categorical (by month), histogram polygons were constructed. To provide a frame of reference for the period under analyses, where relevant and necessary, average and standard deviation of the respective indicators were calculated. For purposes of clarity, results of only some of the most important indicators, namely active number of customers, number of customers lost, percent sales of Smart link, investment returns on each US $ 1 spent are presented and discussed. This is an important variable indicating the proportion of the various maintenance and repair jobs undertaken at the company. Accordingly, based on the data provided, frequency histogram was constructed to depict the proportion of the different maintenance tasks undertaken. ... 3. Retail revenue sales trend: Based on the graph already provided in the data sheet, discussion is provided on the contribution that Smart Link sales have made over the gross sales during the different days of the survey period. 4. Percentage share accounted by the different zip codes: The relative contribution made by the different zip codes for their share of the services and how these have changed from month to month has been analyzed. The mean per cent share of the different zip code was computed across the three months. Results: Repair order, mailing and financial summary results: Over the three months of reporting, a total of 4056 services were completed, with January accounting for the highest (37% of the services) and March, the least (30% of the services) (Figure 1). The mean number of active customers over the three months was 233954 (average standard deviation) with little variation across the months (Figure 2). The number of completed services ranged between 1210 (in March 2006) to 1490 (in January 2006). On an average there was only a 6 to 8 per cent loss of customers over the three months (Figure 2). Figure 1: Per cent services completed by Smart link from January to March 2006.Total customers serviced for the three months=4056. Figure 2: Frequency histogram of active and lost customers from January to March 2006 by Smart link. Two of the most important financial status parameters, namely, per cent of Smart link sales and the investment return for every dollar spent, increased from January to February but thereafter decreased in March 2006. For example, the investment returns increased from $215.52 in January to

Ethics in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

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Old Operating Theatre in London Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Old Operating Theatre in London - Essay Example The essay "Old Operating Theatre in London" explores historically significant Old Operating Theatre in London and gives a review of Pierre Nora’s theory of ‘sites of memory’ and postmodernism. â€Å"Architectural phenomenologists have been particularly active in advocating a born-again power of places, which includes their symbolic and memorial functions†. Tensions characterize the transitions in the last twenty years, related to the Postmodernist renaissance of monuments, and are evident in the preface to the first volume of Pierre Nora’s seminal Les Lieux de Memoire translated as ‘sites of memory’, which envisioned a collection of ‘memory places’ ranging from concrete structures to abstract intellectual constructions. On the other hand, in the last volume of Nora’s series written eight years later, the author complains that his formula ‘memory places’ has not been comprehended as the dematerialization o f ‘places’ intended as symbolic instruments. Nora’s memory places were conceptualized as places within the mind, as in the conventional and Renaissance art of memory. These ‘sites of memory’ have displaced real environments of memory or Milieux de Memoire. ‘The Old Operating Theatre’ in London dating back to 1822 has been preserved in the form of an unusual museum. â€Å"It is the oldest in Europe and found in a unique space in the Herb Garret of St. Thomas Church, and was a part of old St. Thomas Hospital. The consciousness of a break with the past is linked to the quintessence of memory.

CREW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN KOREAN AIR (Accident from Korean Air 801) Essay

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Consultation, Screening and Delegation in Physical Therapy Case Study

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Business in UAE and GCC Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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The project of Kellogg Company producer of cereal and other food Essay

The project of Kellogg Company producer of cereal and other food - Essay Example This report starts with a proper introduction which gives a fair idea about the basic concept of strategic management and the sequence of work that is followed throughout the project. Since the project is on Kellogg, it is very important to have a clear understanding about the company, its business model, products, and employees. This report includes a brief but well structured overview of Kellogg Company. There are several strategic management models. Two of such models (Porter’s five forces and Ansoff Matrix) are used in this report. The main theory behind these models and their application in the context of Kellogg are properly discussed in this paper. ‘Strategic management’ is one of the most widely investigated terms in the global business environment in the recent past. The concept has arrived from the word strategy. Ansoff and McDonnell have defined strategic management as â€Å"a systematic approach for managing strategic change which consists of positioning of the firm through strategy and capability planning and real time strategic response through issue management.† (Cole, 2003). According to Andreas Rasche, main objective of strategic management is to create potentials with the purpose of achieving future success by directing organisations regarding what they can do and what they need to do in order to stay ahead of competitors (Rasche, 2007). Strategic management deals with the formulation of business strategies along with its proper implementation in order to achieve various strategic objectives. It is very important to have a clear understanding regarding the internal and external environment of the organisation before making business strategies. Strategies that are made without any prior knowledge of company’s internal and external environment are likely to have high chance of failing and failed strategies ultimately result to the wastage of valuable resources like time and

Leadership and management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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East of Eden by John Steinbeck Essay Example for Free

East of Eden by John Steinbeck Essay The prosecution will begin by establishing the character of the defendant, and further prove that the criminal acts committed by Ms. Catherine Ames were not random, but rather a part of a cynical mindset that deliberately caused harm. Catherine Ames was without a doubt, a stunning work of beauty with the power to make all heads turn everywhere she went. She have lovely gold hair, big hazel eyes, pointy small chin along with a delicate nose, and high cheekbones giving her a heart shaped face. She was an adorable child that became an irresistible woman with the power to make all man fall head over heels. With a timid smile and a soft spoken voice, this appears to be the perfect woman. However, let us not be fooled by her angelic appearance. Catherine Ames is a cruel, manipulative, sadistic being who knows how to get anything she wants through the lust from men. She was able to use her beauty to her advantage even as a young child. 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She cleaned the cellar and stuffed papers all around the edges of the foundation to block the draft. She oiled the hinges, the lock of the kitchen door and the hinges of the front door. She continued to prepare, on the night of the crime, she put on an old apron to protect her clothes and found a jelly jar and carried it to the carriage house. She then found a chicken, cut its head off, and filled the jar halfway with the blood. She then buried the evidence of the chicken.  She then took off the apron in the kitchen and put it on the stove. She poked the coals until the apron caught on fire. Again before leaving she hid the evidence of the jelly jar. She remorselessly locked her parents in their house and set it on fire. Her parents sad death did not make Cathy shed a tear as she was looking into a new exciting career: prostitution. When she meets Mr. Edwards she is keen to provoke him to become sexually attracted to her. After he puts her up in his own house, keeping her from his wife and providing for her, she begins to steal from him. She also locks him out of his own house and takes control of his property. When he realizes something horrible about Cathy, he attempts to get her drunk one night. While drunk she stabs him with a broken wine glass. Driven by her intoxication, she stabs him in the cheek and sends him running away from his own house. Her impulsive and evil nature was evident through her actions that night. After a bad run in with the whoremaster Mr. Edwards, Cathy successfully manipulated Adam Trask to fall in love with her. After Adam had provided Cathy with unconditional love and support during her weak time, she repaid him by sleeping with his brother Charles behind Adams back. After they moved to California to start off new Cathy and Adam had their twins she coldheartedly did not want to look at them claiming No. I dont want them After she recovered from giving birth, she abandoned Adam and the twins. After abandoning her husband and children Cathy became a working girl in a whorehouse. Now under the alias Kate, Cathy manipulated Faye the owner of the whorehouse into signing a will giving everything to Cathie upon Fayes death. After, slowly and painfully killing Faye, Cathie assumed control of the whorehouse. When it was thought that Cathy could not go any lower, when her son Caleb discovered the truth about her and wanted to be a changed man, she told him he cant and he will become exactly like her as he grows up, sinful and damned. Its quite clear that Cathy is not a noble human being with good intentions. Her life has been filled with nothing else but hatred for others and schemes to get as much money as possible. Evidence presented here after show the  criminal acts that Cathy has committed throughout her life, crimes that she admitted to performing without remorse. Cathy had committed crimes against law of the nation and crimes against religion as well. Even though she is no where near of being religiously moderate, she still followed the religion of Christianity for her marriage to Adam Trask. Cathy did commit some major felonies toward God such as committing adultery. First, adultery means having sexual relations between an individual who is married and someone who is not the individuals spouse. In Christianity, adultery is considered a major sin which shows betrayal and lack of trust by that individual in the marriage. In the last two lines of Chapter 11, it states Suddenly Charles laughed. The Poor bastard, he said, and he threw back the blanket to receive her. Cathy did not care if she slept with Charles. Better yet, she does not embrace her marriage by sleeping with Charles. She is an embodiment of pure evil driven by self-hatred, desperation, and a love of pain, and Cathy destroys lives without any sense of remorse. She wanted something to satisfy her cruel nature and did so behind Adams back. In the bible, Cathy is directly compared to Eve when Eve eats a forbidden fruit and introducing sin into the world. Cathy did the same by committing a forbidden act of trust and friendship. This proves to show the hypocrisy that exists in Cathy with no moral influence or structure. Cathy, without mentioning anything to her husband Adam, tried to abort her two children with a knitting needle while Adam was out obtaining information on his plot of land. If that isnt terrible enough, Cathy gives the reason that she has a family history of epilepsy and did not want to pass it on to her children which is a blatant lie. This attempt at abortion was a complete secret from Adam until she was found unconscious due to a great lose of blood. Cathy tried to murder her unborn children while Adam was away and didnt even tell him that she was pregnant in the first place. This was a disgusting act of attempted murder upon two completely helpless and vulnerable unborn children in which Cathy should be punished for. After Cathy attempted to murder her unborn children Cathy moved onto bigger and more horrific things. She attempted to murder Adam, her husband. A week after the birth of newborn twins, Cathy decides that she is going to abandon them and leave Adam alone. Before leaving, Cathy pulled out a handgun and shot Adam. Luckily she had bad aim and only hit him in the shoulder but we all know that she was aiming to kill him. After Cathy shot Adam, she ran out of the house and out of Adams life forever. This is the second time Cathy attempts to murder someone in her life. First it was her unborn children, and now her husband. Cathy is nothing but a murderer and cares for nothing but to inflict pain upon others. Another sin in which Cathy tries to commit is suicide. Suicide is not illegal by law in the nation except for some states, but this act of killing oneself is considered a sin and a crime against god. One of the commandments states that specifically Thou shall not kill which can pertain to a persons life or their own life. In page 554, Cathy takes her own life by using a cyanide pill. This by far is much is strongly against the teachings of God and it goes against one of his commandments. God said there will be consequences for whoever commits suicide and that would be punishment in hell. Cathy may have her reasons to commit suicide, such as arthritic pain, low self esteem, and a painful life. However, this is the life she chose to follow as being sick and maliciously evil towards others which caused the downfall for her life.

Community Participation In Disaster Management

Community Participation In Disaster Management Though we have argued that community participation in the context of disaster management is imperative, there are still several debates under the context of participatory development that could somehow influence its successful implementation, hence, should be taken into account especially during the planning phase of the CBDRM. First, the complexity of individual motivations. It is difficult to move a community towards a certain direction, particularly if the members have different interests and motivations. As noted earlier, community is a complex social structure comprised of different perspectives, opinions and motivations. Conversely, motivation and willingness to participate is dictated by individual thinking and determined by own underlying interests. Their experiences on disasters could influence their behavior; however for community members who have not experienced extreme natural disaster, raising their interest in prevention and capacity building becomes more difficult as it seems abstract for them, unlike physical or structural measures that are visible and tangible such as installing early warning devices, etc. Similarly, exposure to external aids could influence communitys interest to participate; this is in particular to urban areas, who have become accustomed to receiving external assistance thus their reluctance to undertake risk management on their own (Solo, n.d.). Another area under this is the personal-driven motivations with vested interests that could influence, hamper or even deviate the result of the participatory development process. And politicians or soon to be politicians find this kind of activity personally beneficial for them by earning popularity. Second, participation requires effort and time. The CBDRM implementation is comprised of various activities, such as planning and capacity buildings, that require active and continuous participation from various stakeholders. While these activities involved a considerable time and effort, some community members perceive these series of participation as waste of time and/or economically unproductive activity, thus opt to focus more on their work and earn money, instead. While for the part of the organizer, participatory process such as public consultation is also time consuming. Organizing requires proper and detailed planning for scheduling of activities, identifying stakeholders, sending out invitation and confirming attendance. The quality and productivity of the activity is affected by the possible low turn-out of attendance among target participants. Third, restricted women participation and cultural boundaries. The CBDRM puts emphasis on the different risks and vulnerabilities faced by members of the communities, such that, male perceived risks differently as compared to female, and similar with adult to children. However, some culture restricts participation and voluntarism; concrete example is on women participation. There are some cultures that confine womens role within the boundaries of domestic activities. Despite the current effort to gender mainstream disaster reduction, with the consequent enormous household tasks directly or indirectly imposed to them, these offer women less time to interact in social activities and participate in community development actions. Fourth, local power relation within the community. The dynamics that exists within the community is clearly manifested on the relationship between the rich and poor, elite and commoners, and literate and illiterate. These relationships bring us to the questions on who can really participate, who can talk and verbalize their opinions during public consultations or workshops. Often times, those who are well-informed and have time to participate dominate the discussion, while leaving behind the poor and the illiterate who has the greater degree of vulnerability. To put stress further, the UNDP asserts that the communities who are most vulnerable to natural events are frequently those who have a disproportionately high number of illiterate members (Solo, n.d.). Fifth, local knowledge influenced by local power relations. CBDRM builds on the existing local knowledge to assess community risks, and serve as basis in developing plans. However, local knowledge can be influenced by local power relations, authority and gender (Mosse, 2002). Other personalities or stakeholders may impute their own interests to or influence the local knowledge which may not necessarily resolve the issues of disaster risks or lead to greater and common interests of all of improving community resiliency. And Fifth, creating development fatigue among stakeholders. Since participatory development is among the most popular approaches in development, many development initiatives have embraced and integrated it within their programs and projects. Consultations and/or collaboration among stakeholders has been repeatedly being undertaken along different stages of one or more different programs and projects, this repeated process could eventually create fatigue among stakeholders, especially when despite of continuing consultations no advancement or progress is achieved. These are some of the limitations and challenges that may be faced by project implementers of CBDRM within the scope of participatory development. These limitations only follows that bringing real community participation to risk management is a difficult task which all actors should understand or at least recognize (Solo, n.d.:26). And to understand more what CBDRM is as applied to real world, the next part gives us practical examples illustrating how effective implementation of CBDRM could potentially improve community resiliency. CBDRM Good Practices Globally, CBDRM has been promoted as an approach to improve community resiliency. International development organizations and non-government organizations strongly lobby CBDRM for policy adoption and mainstreaming in the disaster management framework of national and local governments. Currently, most CBDRM projects are led by local and international NGOs, either in partnership with other civil society organizations, NGOs, international development organizations or local government. The UN ISDR compiled good practices in CBDRM that illustrates how communities have worked together towards a common goal and benefitted from their undertaking. Directly lifted from the UN ISDR study, entitled Building Disaster Resilient Communities: Good Practices and Lessons Learned (2007), below are some of the examples of CBDRM practices that link with climate change adaptation and implemented in different countries considered highly vulnerable. Involving community members in increasing public awareness and capacity building through creating information campaigns to enhance the safety of the population at risk is cited as good practice. The project is an information campaign which stimulates creativeness and innovativeness from the local actors and similarly optimizes local talents, knowledge, and local resources in a way easily comprehensible to the local community members. This is a project implemented in Haiti in 22 settlements in coordination with their Local Civil Protection Committees (LCPCs) through the assistance from Oxfam GB. Natural hazards such as earthquakes have been continuously affecting the country of Haiti, while its urban areas are characterized with its dense urban population and dense built areas this make the country more vulnerable (UN-ISDR, 2007). Another good practice is on creating access among low income groups to disaster micro-insurance scheme. Taking into account that risk transfer supports sustainable economic recovery, micro-insurance could serve as a cushion to lessen impact of disaster, particularly among the poor victims whom majority have limited or no access to risk transfer schemes. The micro-insurance represents an innovative approach to help the victims; wherein risk is transferred from the individual level to the community or inter-community levels. With the implementation of micro-insurance, this elicit positive feedbacks from the communities claiming that insurance in times of crisis is essential, the affordability of the scheme makes it accessible for the poor households, and which consequently result to reduced dependence from outside relief. This is the approach of the Afat Vimo scheme, a project implemented in India after a major earthquake exposed the community members to disaster-induced financial loss es. The project is said to be part of the Regional Risk Transfer Initiative, an action learning project of the Gujaratbased All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (UN-ISDR, 2007). With the long drought being experienced, crop failures and the consequent food shortage, this has led a community in Indonesia to identify a mechanism to prevent food shortage. The community established a monitoring system for food security and livelihood and community early warning system largely based from their indigenous knowledge in combination with modern science, which the UN ISDR (2007) considered a good practice. The project has three components: community awareness and indicator development to monitor food security and livelihood; community early warning system; and advocacy on appropriate agricultural system such as promotion of crops suitable for drought-prone land. The project is in partnership with local NGO aiming to increase community resilience from drought in Southeastern Indonesia. The region is characterized by experiencing a three-month rainy season and a nine-month drought season. Problems on food shortage is said to be brought by lack of climate-related knowled ge and information that results to crop failure (UN-ISDR, 2007). Another good practice project where it illustrates that local context of communities can be a dynamic force in reducing risks, is on creating flood and typhoon-resilient homes through employing a cost-effective retrofitting. The project was initiated to put emphasis on the capacity of families and local communities in playing a key role in Vietnams disaster risk reduction strategy and in reducing their vulnerabilities, which during the project implementation, community-based disaster risk reduction, is still not integrated. The process involves community consultation and preventive action planning. The project is Development Workshop France (DWF), a program initiated in Vietnam through Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and European Commission Humanitarian aid Office (ECHO). The severe typhoons and floods affecting the country have resulted to damage and loss of housing in the affected communities (UN-ISDR, 2007). In order to understand current local environmental situation, develop awareness and capacity to deal with, and to contribute to relevant policy formulation, one of the communities in Namibia established an inter-community platform and local-level monitoring as support for local decision making. The plat-form serves as medium for community organization and communication. Moreover, the approach strengthens capacity among the community to coordinate their own activities and preparing their development plans. The local-level monitoring, on the other hand, is used to support information exchange and decision making. The monitoring scheme, where community members themselves have identified the relevant indicators, serves as a tool for identification of environmental changes that may affect their livelihoods; furthermore, the results are used as basis for decisions on management actions, climate variability, policy changes, etc. Overall, the community benefits from the project by improving their capacities and promoting institutional development which consequently lead to enhanced resource management and livelihoods and increased capacity to manage and reduce risks related to drought and desertification and other potential disasters. This project in Namibia has influenced several government policy instruments with on-going derivative projects. Namibia is experiencing drought and desertification which impacts the livelihoods of people living in drylands. Poverty, increasing population, urbanization, naturally variable climate, climate change, lack of community organizations, political issues and other pressures further compound the problem (UN-ISDR, 2007). The convergence of a community-level approach and city governments participation strengthens sustainability and ownership; this is the underlying assumption in one of the CBDRM projects in the Philippines. Wherein, it mainstream community-based mitigation in the city governance through partnering with the local government in the implementation of the project. The project has five (5) components, these are: (i) CBDRM participatory risk assessment training of trainers (ToT) for the city officials, who in turn provide training to communities; reactivation of the City Disaster Coordinating Council and Community Disaster Coordinating Council; institutionalization of a school Disaster Safety Day; celebration of the Disaster Safety Day in all schools; developing and implementing a City Disaster Risk Reduction Plan. This is a CBDRM project implemented in the Philippines through Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and in partnership with the city local government. The country is among countrie s with highest exposure to natural hazards, a climate hotspot and belongs to the most natural disaster prone countries (UN-ISDR, 2007). These are some of the CBDRM examples which, as we noted and apparent feature in these cases, are highly participatory in nature, engaging various stakeholders in different phases of project management as resource base, while trying to address vulnerabilities and recognizing impacts of natural hazards with the goal of strengthening community resiliency. However linking to the shortcomings of participatory development, these initiatives have, likewise, recognized challenges in the implementation of the project from the perspective of the project team, community level, and in partnering with the local government. For the part of the project organizer, it is on the project activities being time consuming which requires them to maintain efforts and demonstrate firmness, in terms of supervision and support, to ensure good quality output. For community level, it is on convincing communities on the process of participatory development and reassuring that social systems and cultures would be respected; motivating community members and elaborating the benefits they can derive from the project; maintaining community consensus and achieving behavioral change; ensuring and keeping up community participation throughout the project period through motivation; and enhancing or broadening community members local knowledge to enable a more participa tory assessment. Moreover, the political and administrative culture such as top-down approach and government-led planning affecting project implementation; while support both from the local government and the community for long-term sustainability (UN-ISDR, 2007). The last part allows us to step back from the purpose of this study, summarizing the arguments and concluding whether CBDRM is an effective approach to climate change adaptation. Likewise, it will give us some ideas where the study can have wider implications for possible future focus of research.

Compensation And Benefit Strategies For Current Generation Workforce Business Essay

Compensation And Benefit Strategies For Current Generation Workforce Business Essay Compensation and benefits is one of the many functions of human resource management. Compensation plans have not always been considered a strategic business initiative. However, with the effects they have on recruiting, retaining and motivating people compensation design is a critical element to achieving success. Introduction: Employees are the most valuable assets of any organization. The main purpose of human resource management (HRM) is to manage the development and performance of people employed in an organization. Some of the important tasks of HRM include attracting and retaining employees with the right skills and abilities, match people to the right positions within an organization and to align employees goals and objectives with that of the organizations. All these key tasks are directly or indirectly affected by compensation and benefits plan which the human resource management decides. Compensation and benefits redefines value and success in any workplace. An efficient compensation and benefits strategy is seen as an opportunity by organisations to differentiate themself from their competitors, who may otherwise take away talented workforce. Hence, organisations need to know the evolving needs of the working population to make sure they offer the most competitive package. This paper adopts a general approach which may be relevant to number of different organizations or industries and discusses how the new generation workforce is making an impact and forcing organizations to change their traditional compensation strategies. This paper also examines how companies located in different sectors and countries look at compensation and benefits aspect of human resource management, to attract and retain their highly qualified staff. Finally the paper summarizes and analyses few articles related to HR practices in compensation and benefits, and see if they fit into organizations seeking best practice. Compensation and benefit strategies for current generation workforce: Compensation is a major driver in the success of any organization and it is also true that it is one of the highest expenses for an organization. Therefore, compensation is always under heavy scrutiny by the top executives of a company. Compensation is not only carefully analysed by the management, but also analysed by employees and prospective employees. If properly executed, effective compensation design can improve organizational effectiveness, support human capital requirements of the organization, and motivate the employees to achieve key corporate strategic and financial goals (Ellig, B. R. 2007). Effective compensation and benefits strategy is no easy task, especially with the large organizations and ever-changing demands of the workforce. To construct the most attractive compensation and benefits package, organizations must now tackle the fundamental landscape change in workforce requirements and demands. Employees born in the 60s and 70s (generation X) have ceded place to a new generation of workers (generation Y). A flexible approach to compensation and benefits is now required to satisfy the different priorities of these generations. Planning for the future has long been the motto governing Generation Xs approach to their careers and so, traditionally, generous pension provision has been the key to attracting workers. But for Generation Y, priorities have changed. For instance, in a research conducted last year, just 4% of 16-24 year olds were attracted to their employer because of their pension contribution, compared to 17% of 45-54 year olds (HR magazine, March 2011). Certainly, younger workers are increasingly questioning the customs and traditions of the workplace and now pension plans, previously synonymous wi th security, are considered unstable. In present day environment, employees have become much more educated on the possibilities available to them with sources like online salary calculators, industry chat rooms and so on (Schneider, B., Paul, K. B. 2011). Employees now know more about current market pay levels, new opportunities and how to successfully negotiate compensation packages. Keeping these changes in mind organizations include many other noncash components to the potential cash components to come up with a fair, competitive and an attractive compensation program (Schneider, B., Paul, K. B. 2011). Employee benefits are indirect forms of compensation provided by the organizations to their workforce as part of an employment relationship. To compete for quality employees in todays marketplace, employers must do more than offer a fair salary. Employees also look forward for a good benefits package; in fact employees have grown accustomed to generous benefits programs, and join an organization expecting them. Employee benefits exist in organizations all around the world and the levels and range of these benefits vary between countries. Some of the benefits companies offer can be like company accommodation, company provided vehicles, health insurance, retirement benefits, easy loans and so on. Compensation and Benefit strategies used in organisations: As per Kevin OConnell, there are three primary components in a strategic compensation plan. First, building a solid foundation for the plan to understand the business strategy is required. Where the company is now and where is it heading to in the future, what are its short term and long term goals. This will provide the necessary information needed to construct a solid framework for the design of a compensation plan. Second, understanding organizational capabilities and how the role of compensation plays a key role to achieve organizational goals is critical. This will provide an excellent understanding of what positions are the most critical to a companys future success and the various compensation options available to motivate employees to achieve this success. Third, aligning compensation with human capital management initiatives will help develop a plan that allows the company to successfully recruit and retain employees (OConnell, K. 2007). We will see how different organizations have overcome significant business challenges by re-evaluating and strategically designing new compensation plans. By finding the right balance between organizational goals and employee needs, compensation plans can play a strategic role in the success of a business. Jamba Juice case: Jamba juice was founded in 1990. It is a leader in blended-to-order fruit smoothies and fruit juices. (Source: http://www.jambajuice.com/) Since its inception, it found employee retention as a major problem. It was located in San Francisco bay area and therefore the employees had more options with other employers situated there. A lot of these employers were technology based and offered more generous financial benefits than the food retailer. To tackle this problem, Jamba Juice introduced a compensation plan, called J.U.I.C.E plan which allows the general manager to receive a percentage of stores cash flow depending on their businesss final performance. It allows manages a share in the profits over a period of three years. When the general managers increase the year-to-year sales, money accrues in a retention account, which is payable only in three year cycles. This retention account not only provides short term retention benefits, but also incentives to stay with Jamba. Also, execut ives at managerial positions are offered stock options. And, when assistant managers are promoted, their general managers also receive a cash award of $ 1000 for their development efforts. In a highly competitive industry Jamba was able to successfully reduce turnover. (Mellow Jeffrey, 2011) The MAERSK way: MAERSK not only rewards absolute performance but also focuses significantly on performance relative to peers, says Alex Penvern, Global Head of Group Compensation, Rewards and Executive HR. This had not always been the case. Less than five years ago, rewards in the company were characterised by confidential bonuses, awarded with very little transparency. One of Penverns first challenges when he joined MAERSK in 2008 was to create a scalable, measurable and quantifiable compensation and benefits structure that was understandable and could, over time, be rolled out uniformly across the organisation (Source: http://www.maersk.com/Pages/default.aspx). He spoke to CEOs of each business within the group and focused on the executive compensation structure that focussed on relative distribution. During these conversations he discussed range of different performance criteria, happening in annual sessions which were a part of the performance management cycle. The outcome was a relative performance distribution of the companys most successful and less effective performers. The company believes that our people are motivated by this constant striving to do even better, says Penvern. You can never rest on your laurels or spend too long patting yourself on the back, because you know how hard everyone else is running. We want people who thrive in this atmosphere. This is brought in practice and reinforced by a carefully considered distribution of rewards to the highest performers. Since the introduction of the pay-for-performance scheme, fewer very high performers are securing a significantly larger share of the bonus on offer. The highest performers receive nearly double the bonus opportunity that they did few years back but to earn that bonus they need to keep up or stay ahead of their peers or market. While Penvern discusses the value the company creates in this performance culture, he believes that the transparency of its bonus system is just as important. The lesson is clear. Company has to build employee engagement and drive performance both by having a clear and transparent compensation scheme that links pay and performance and by communicating this consistently in order to reinforce and reinstate the belief that pay and performance are linked. Design and Engineering group in Delaware: A small to medium design and engineering group in Delaware, employs engineers and designers, most of them who are in their 30s. Most of the employees were the primary wage earners in their families and have several dependents. This company pays wages that are slightly lower than those of its competitors, but it offers a fully paid insurance program that includes health, pharmacy, dental and eye care coverage for employees and their dependents. By meeting the employees benefit needs the company enjoys very low employee turnover (McConnell, J. 2003 Pg. 235). Mississippi garment manufacturer: A garment manufacturer in Mississippi pays on a piecework basis. Most piecework plans in garments factory in general must guarantee pay equal to at least the legal minimum wage. In this specific company, new employees receive an hourly wage until they have acquired the skills required to meet performance standards. Then the manufacturer pays them on the basis of the number of pieces they produce in an hour. The company has designed its compensation approach to retain good employees i.e. those who are good performers (McConnell, J. 2003 Pg. 232). Conclusion: Compensation whether in the form of salary or benefits is a key element in both attracting and retaining employees. With careful and logical thinking companies should design a program that will significantly contribute to obtaining and retaining the type of employers who perform best for that company. Compensation professionals play a critical role in enabling organizations to execute their business strategy. The examples in this paper demonstrate how organizations have overcome significant business challenges by redesigning their compensation plans as seen in Jamba and MAERSK. We also have seen how a small company like the garment manufacturer in Mississippi use compensation package to retain highly performing people and do away with low performing people. Some companies like the one in Delaware uses non monetary benefits to keep their workforce happy and content. Compensation and benefits have a negative effect on the company if not properly managed. Collapses of big companies like Enron and Global crossing are examples. These are direct results of managerial behaviour aimed at short term profit maximization. That behaviour is in turn a result of the executive pay structure that measure and reward performance based short-term financial results. Compensation experts need to be at the focal point where strategy, organizational effectiveness and human capital management congregate. They need to have a clear understanding of the business and organizational issues as well as the future direction of the company. Strategic compensation and benefits design is not a sound bite to impress management. Its the process behind compensation plan design that links and binds strategy, organization effectiveness and human capital together. By balancing organizational, employee and business needs with a companys financial and strategic goals it is possible to develop the right compensation strategy to motivate, reward and sustain high levels of performance. By finding this balance, a company can effectively use compensation to execute and achieve desired business results.

The Strike of 1934 :: United States History Essays

The Strike of 1934 On May 9th 1934 a organized labor strike started in San Francisco that would snowball into a city crippling strike. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) declared a strike for all longshoremen on the west coast, until they received better wages, a union-administered hiring hall, and union membership as a prerequisite for employed longshoremen. The Strike of 1934 lasted for three months, stopping maritime trade in the ports of the Western United States, from San Diego to Seattle. The clash was between the Industrial Association (IA), composed of big business and employers wanting to break the strike, and the ILA, along with other unions that dealt with maritime trades. The Strike of 1934 displayed the power the organized labor had, and how the mistreatment of labor can shut down an entire city and coast. The timing was just right for the maritime workers to strike. The grips of the Great Depression fueled laborers to maintain and improve their quality of life and security for their families. Congresses investigation into the 1934 San Francisco Strike concluded that â€Å"the aspirations of labor which led to the strike were directed from the change in public opinion expressed in the National Industrial Recovery Act. The potentialities of a protected right to bargain collectively were quickly perceived by waterfront workers.†[1] The shift in public opinion came from the need for the government to be more socially responsible to insure survival of the nation during the depression. The depression was as devastating as it was due to the lack of government involvement, a welfare state was needed. According to the Congressional investigation, â€Å"The first notice that forceful demands would be made by the longshoremen appeared in December [1933] when the local voted on the question of participating in a coast-wide strike. Lee J. Holman, then president of the local, stated the longshoremen would demand a 6-day, 30-hour week at a minimum rate of $1 per hour.†[2] Such demands were modest when considering the necessity of waterfront workers to a maritime based economy. This was at a time when the Bay and Golden Gate bridges were still under construction. Before the bridges, overland travel in the San Francisco Bay Area was longer, slower, and couldn’t carry as heavy loads as sailing across the bay.

Movie the Matrix and George Orwells 1984 Essay -- Compare Contrast Es

Movie the Matrix and George Orwell's 1984 Neo was now surrounded by people just like him who were searching for answers as to what the Matrix is. As they were sitting around the table, Mouse turns to Neo and says, "To deny our impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human." During the Agent Simulation Training with Morpheus, Neo follows his impulses and turns around to look at the woman in the red dress, Mouse's proud creation. Neo was only following his human instincts. Of course, Mouse's statement would only be true for all humans if we were actually allowed to have impulses. Winston Smith, in George Orwell's 1984, would certainly disagree with this notion of humans having impulses, and every one in Airstrip One, Oceania would not even know what an impulse is. Winston followed his impulses when he saw that creamy book at the window of a little junk shop on his way home from work one day. He had been stricken immediately by an overwhelming desire to possess it. And that's all an impulse is: a spontaneous incitement or a natural tendency usually other than rational. An impulse is a sudden emotion, usually uncontrollable and yet it had to be controlled. Winston follows his impulses and he buys the book. He then walks guiltily home because even with nothing written in it, that book was a compromising possession (9). But that simple act of purchasing an empty book could have caused him his life at that very moment. The citizens of Oceania are not allowed to have impulses and they were never taught what an impulse is to begin with. The Party could make it known that impulses of any kind are forbidden and will result to serving time in a forced labor camp or even death. The citizens of Oceania are denied the very thing th... ... knew from the start that Neo was the One. He is the One to protect humanity and secure its future. Winston, on the other hand, did not receive any of the answers that he was looking for. He wanted to know if he was the only one in possession of a memory, and he wanted to know if this was all there is to life. But the Party convicts him of thoughtcrime and changes everything he ever believed in. The Party made him learn about Big Brother, they made him accept him, and ultimately, they made him love Big Brother and the principles of Ingsoc, and Winston did. Winston failed and he will never know what came of his mother and his younger sister, and know what really happened to them. He will never know what life was like before this and what life is like afterwards. Works Cited Orwell, George. 1984 New York: New American Library, 1949. Movie: The Matrix, 1999

Chinese and Australian Consumer Behaviour

These advantages can be gained through understanding what needs the Chinese place the cost Importance on In regards to the hierarchy and what type of brand personality can be created to most effectively target the Chinese market. Introduction: Cross Culture Analysis A cross-cultural study is a beneficial tool undertaken to effectively understand the foreign countries involved In exchanging goods Internationally. Marketers evidently desire to efficiently export large measures of goods and services to various developed countries.If the complex procedure of understanding the major alterations between China's and Australia's consumer behavior is effectively established; a result of costive outlooks and increased brand recognition will be identified. According to the Australian Embassy, ‘China is Australia's largest trading partner' thus allowing a beneficial exposure for further acknowledgment and marketing opportunities for an Australian exporter. China may be classified as a â₠¬Ëœcollectivist culture' (Horn, Merritt, Sun 2004).Collectivist cultures are defined by their ability to malignant strong connections within their groups and in order to belong, individuals are strongly influenced by other peers or family members to follow similarities within one society (Horn, Merritt, Sun 2004). They display a high need for social recognition and status and consume goods to communicate a symbolic expression of their status and prestige (Clans, Gambler, 2003). For example, the Chinese drink wine on special occasions to belong, but also to stress their status and prestige (Lulu, Murphy, 2007).As an exporting opportunity Australian marketers can capitalist on this by emphasizing their wine products to be a sign of prestige to target the Chinese collectivist culture. Australia on the other hand is viewed to have deferent cultural beliefs; the nation is ‘defined as a strongly individualistic culture'. This means individuals within Australia desire to express thei r unique traits with a minimum influence by others (Lee, Askance 2000) which Is In opposition to the Chinese.As an Individualistic culture, Australia has a greater tendency to be self-enhancing than collectivist cultures, and associates achievement with the individual rather than the group (which is typical of the Chinese culture) (Nevis 1983). Although these two countries have strong dissimilarities, marketers must take into account Australia's and China's similarities in consumer behavior, as there might be potential for an Australian exporter to succeed. Although In order to satisfactorily establish exporting analysis between the countries consumer behavior characteristics.The various differences in culture and personality must be used adequately to capture the target audience. Moscow Hierarchy of Needs and Consumer Behavior Mascots Hierarchy of Human Needs is a classification of five basic human needs ranking in order of most important to least important. The first is physiologi cal, which includes the need for food and water, followed by safety and security need (protection, stability), social needs (friendship and belonging), ego needs (status, restive) and self actualization (self-fulfillment) as the final need (Bedlam et al. 2010).This hierarchy can be applied to goods and services in determining what level of needs they satisfy and help marketers segment the on a needs basis. Most people in society express these needs, though in slightly different ways. Most needs could be classified under this hierarchy which makes it useful for marketers when segmenting (Bedlam et al. 2010). The theory of the hierarchy states that once lower levels needs â€Å"are satisfied, again new (and still ‘higher') needs emerge†¦ † To be fulfilled (Moscow, 943 p. 375). Which means that it is only once lower needs are satisfied, do higher needs emerge to be fulfilled (Bedlam et al. 010). For consumers this means that they will only buy products to fulfill high er needs once their lower needs have been satisfied. For marketers this becomes important when positioning on a needs basis as the demographics of the country may not allow those people to fulfill their higher social needs if their basic physiological needs aren't being met. Or it may mean that only a small percentage of the population would be marketable to if they hold most f the wealth of the country. Importantly if marketers design a product to meet the perceived needs of consumers, consumers are more likely to choose that product over competitors.In this way the needs hierarchy can be used as a basis on which to build the benefits the product can offer to the consumer, through fulfilling a need, making it more likely they will consume that product over competitors. Marketers can also bring about the arousal of needs through advertising, and the product they are trying to sell can become the consumer's goal specific product (Bedlam et al. 2010). This is ultimately the aim of the product. Therefore an understanding of Mascots hierarchy is important when segmenting the market.It can allow marketers to position to a segment on a needs basis and even create the arousal of need, of which the product can become a product specific goal. The Effect of Culture on Mascots Hierarchy of Needs As was described earlier, in the previous section, Mascots Hierarchy of Needs identifies the five basic levels of human needs. While generally accepted because it reflects the needs of most people in an individualistic society, it cannot be applied to all cultures. This is because despite the fact that most people express primary or physiological needs, acquired needs are leant in response to ones culture (Bedlam et al. 010). The Chinese and Australians will therefore place their needs with differing important to marketers when considering which needs basis to segment on. According to Nevis (1983), Mascots Hierarchy of needs is a reflection of an individualistic culture such as A ustralia and America, and therefore can't be applied to the Collectivist Chinese culture. Nevis (1983) proposes the Chinese culture subverts the traditional model by placing belongingness as the first basic need, allowed by physiological, safety needs and self-actualization in service of society at the top.This new hierarchy reflects the collectivist traits of the Chinese culture; high family and group orientation (Cyanic, Gambler, 2003), the expression of self as part of a group (brother, father, son, husband but never as ‘self') and gaining meaning through interaction with society. Belonging is therefore the basis of the Chinese society (Nevis 1983). For marketers this means positioning products in relation to the products acceptance by the targeted consumers social and family groups.This is an important approach to take regardless of what needs basis is segmented, as Chinese consumers will look to their social groups for guidance when buying a product rather than the offers and benefits presented to them before purchasing (Ability, Frank, Anemia, Achievement 2011). This is reflected in the pup commercial targeted at the Chinese consumer (See appendix 1). While the drink is targeting a psychological need in Mascots Hierarchy, a large part of the ad focuses on the acceptance of the drink by the family, which is reflecting the importance of family orientation to the Chinese nonuser and their need for belongingness.While the Chinese have self- actualization at the top like individualistic cultures, they differ to Australia, in that they fulfill this need through their success as being part of a group as opposed to being recognized individually (Cyanic, Gambler, 2003). This is echoed in their low individualism score of 20. Australia on the other hand has an individualism score of 90 and is reflected in its beliefs that an achieved goal is the result of the individual. Chinese culture also has a high degree of face, which is evident in the subverted Hierarc hy.Consumption in China has a strong social association because of its high degree of â€Å"face†; whereby Chinese consumers fulfill their needs through â€Å"placing more emphasis on publicly visible possessions†¦ † (ABA, Us, Chou, 2003, p. 737). This socio-cultural characteristic reflects the need for belongingness and acceptance by social and family groups. Furthermore, high face also means Chinese consumers are more likely to buy luxury products as a symbol of social status, and prestige of the family, rather than an expression of self as is common in individualistic societies such as Australia (Cyanic, Gambler, 2003).High face suggests a larger social need and indicates reference group influence is much larger in collectivist cultures than individualistic cultures, and this supports the subverted Hierarchy model with belongingness as the first need for the Chinese Collectivist culture (ABA, et al. 2003). The implications of this for marketers when exporting m eans centering products on their acceptance by the target market reference groups when segmenting on a needs basis.Positioning to the Chinese on product benefits is less important as they are more likely to look to the group when buying a product than the benefits it provides Cyanic, Gambler, 2003). Overall for marketers, understanding how culture affects the Hierarchy of needs is detrimental when positioning as not all cultures place the same emphasis on the same needs. â€Å"Brand personality is an association of a brand whereby it is imbued with human-like personality traits† (Bedlam et al. 2010 p. 108). Human personality traits are developed on the basis of an individuals behaviors, characteristics, beliefs, and demographic characteristics.However, brand personality traits are formed and influence by the consumers interaction with the brand, the culture from which the consumer comes long with the way that the marketers attempt to portray the brand in the eyes of its consu mers (Luau, Papua 2001). For marketers, the aim of creating a brand personality is to create an identity to which consumers can respond emotionally positively towards, and to extend themselves through the brand (Bedlam et al. 2010). If the brand closely reflects the personality of the consumer, they are more likely to respond positively towards that brand and buy from it (Wee, 2003).By extension, brand personality can be seen as a reflection of the cultures in which the brand is surrounded by (Gerhardt, Houston 2001). For example, the Chinese place emphasis on harmony and relationships (Nevis 1983) and this in tern is reflected in the brand personalities aimed at the Chinese. When Audio marketed their brand to China in a TV commercial (See Appendix 2) the car isn't shown until the very end of the ad, until after several happy relationships have been shown. The aim was to try and make a connection between the car and the relationships it allows people to have, creating a brand image of relationships and connectedness.Chinese brand personalities, which keep in consistency with heir cultural collectivist traits, tend to portray belongingness and the brand as an avenue to express their acceptance by society and group members (Luau, Papua 2001). Whereas in the Individualistic culture of Australia, brand image is much more likely to take on an individualistic approach as Australian consumers are more likely to â€Å"purchase brands they deem suitable for themselves†¦ † (Lam, Lee, 2005 p. 165). As a result Australian brand images take on a self-centered approach that stress sophistication and express the persons personality rather than acceptance by the group.Consumers in individualistic cultures are also less likely to switch brands (Lam, Lee 2005). This could be due to personality being relatively stable (Bedlam et al. 2010), so Australians are expected to keep expressing themselves through the same brand that matches their personality. Yet fashion and status are constantly changing within groups, so collectivist consumers (such as the Chinese) are more likely to switch brands to belong to the changing influences of their peer groups. (Luau, Papua 2001).For marketers this means creating a brand personality for collectivist cultures hat are primarily fashionable and seen as acceptable by the consumers peer groups, while in individualistic cultures the brand personality must align with the personality of the consumer to be received positively. This idea of brand personality influenced by culture is vital for marketers to position their product in the eyes of consumers. If a consumer associates a product in a different light to the way the marketers are promoting it, it can have detrimental effects towards the longevity of the good.Subsequently, the opposite can happen, whereby the consumers take a greater liking o the good, and increasing the marketability of the product. Global branding brings forth an exposure to an increasingly c ulturally-diverse audience. In order for Australian marketers to understand the distinctly unique dimensions of brand personality in the Chinese market, it is vital to consider the socio-cultural characteristics that underpin Chinese consumer behavior and preferences. Chant, Saunders, Taylor and SHCOON (2003 p. ) note that â€Å"consumers seek brands with congruent personalities (to their own), and use brands' personality to define their sense of self†. Furthermore, these unique needs of consumers and owe they identify, relate, and associate themselves to brand personalities; alongside the inextricably linked pressures of economic, lifestyle and cultural conditions, must be considered collectively in order for marketers to successfully market their firm's offerings (Bedlam et al. 2010). Hefted (2001) puts forth that the dimensions of China's cultural differences are shown by a high degree of long-term orientation and collectivism.Unlike individualistic societies such as Austr alia, collectivist cultures support and adhere to standards and consumption decisions on a group axis (family, extended family, network of friends and community); in effect, providing the framework within which Chinese individuals and households function. Confucianism, the dominant philosophical influence in China, is an ideology that reiterates this collective nature, as well as the importance of these interpersonal relationships and interactions, the notion of â€Å"face†, and the concept of hierarchy.In addition, education level, sex, age and standard of living all influence how foreign brands are perceived in the Chinese market (Chin (3)). A recent study conducted by Chug and Sung (201 1), identified a six dimensional framework of brand rationalities present in China. They consisted of ‘Competence, Excitement, and Sophistication' (Chug, Sung, 2001 p. L); notions matching with those found in individualistic societies like Australia, and culture-specific dimensions su ch as ‘Traditionalism, Joyfulness, and Trendiest'.Through this research, Chug and Sung (2011) demonstrate that through establishing a Chinese brand personality structure marketers are able to identify the coexistence of both Chinese traditionalism and the implementations of Western modernization on cultural values in modern China. This means that in the past three decades, the Chinese market has increasingly opened p to the West, in a way that does not conflict with deeply rooted cultural norms.This notion is reflected in the consumer behavior of today's â€Å"young middle-class aspiring Chinese consumers; whom are increasingly becoming the most affluent consumer class in china† (Powel, 2011 p. 40). Powel (2011) proposes â€Å"Mr.. And Mrs.. Middle Class† are increasingly extending their brand preferences as a result of breaking down the barriers between cultures. However, cultural transitions are not intended to comply with Confucianism, rather, the role of bran d personality becomes an avenue to express wealth, success, youth and the â€Å"modernity of institution†¦ (Chin (3) p. 8). It is through these cultural characteristics and ties with economic and social factors, that perceptions towards brand personality exists among consumers from a society that is more culturally conditioned. In order to maximize exporting opportunities, adaptation is a necessity. Successful brands have philosophy; a shift from the traditional marketing concept to the more appropriate conceptualization of societal marketing (Bedlam et al. 2010).Unlike Australians whom project high levels of uniqueness and individuality in their consumption patterns, Chinese consumers rely on the importance of social interaction in making consumer based decisions. â€Å"It is assumed that the recommendations and comments from others play a very important role in the choice of brand† (Chin (3) p. 7). This notion is reflected in the Chinese commercial for milk (See Appen dix 3) where it can be seen that the reciprocity of and importance of trust-based interpersonal relationships is highlighted.Set in a time in Chinese history where many could not afford to drink milk every day, the positioning of brother and sister, over the course of time, provides depiction of milk as a commodity of value of which one should be grateful to have. Years later when the young boy grows up, he realizes that his sister was only pretending to dislike milk so that she could give it to him. As a result, he vows to provide milk for the well-being of his future family.This ad highlights the need for marketers to show the Chinese consumers that the brand is a part of their relationships with others in order for the brand to be received positively. This is because, as the ad depicts, belonging and relationships is central to the Chinese. The societal marketing concept takes into account the importance of adopting a long-term outlook, that â€Å"all companies would be better i n a stronger, healthier society and that companies that incorporate ethical behavior and social responsibility in their business dealings will attract and maintain loyal customer support over the long term† (Bedlam et al. 010, p. 17). It is through adopting accordingly to these sensitive cultural subtleties that provides an opportunity for brands to tailor their marketing mix strategies to realize the best and most effective ways that meets their needs as ell as adequately adopting brand elements (images, advertising etc. ) that appeal to, relate and reflecting the consumer preferences of the Chinese market. Conclusion Overall it is detrimental for marketers to understand how Mascots Hierarchy and Brand Personality differs between Australia and China.Without an understanding of how Mascots Hierarchy is subverted by different cultures, marketers would miss the opportunity to position based on what different cultures base as their most intrinsic need. Without an understanding of culture and how it affects brand personality, arresters may not integrate a brand to be adopted positively by a different culture. In order for marketers to export successfully, they need to adapt their marketing approaches to take into account these differences caused by the different cultures, therefore an understanding of both these concepts and how they are affected by culture is vitally important.

Google vs. Yahoo

Many people around the world use search engines everyday to find information quickly. However, not many people realize that each search engine is different from each other. Every search engine is unique because they will all produce different links when a word or phrase is searched for. This means that some search engines will be better than others. Two main search engines are Yahoo and Google. Although Yahoo and Google both perform the same task, Google is a better search engine because it has a simple layout and provides links that are more relevant to the item that is being searched for.Google has a simple homepage that is about 90% white with a search bar in the center below its logo. Yahoo's homepage has a variety of items on it such as moving images and attention-grabbing headlines. This argument may seem like it is in favor of Yahoo, but in reality Yahoo's flashy homepage can distract people for a long time. People that go to Yahoo can waste their time reading about topics tha t have nothing to do with what they originally wanted to search for while people who go to Google aren't distracted by their almost blank layout.Google and Yahoo both provide links with information about the topic that is searched for but Google's links have information that are more related to the topic. Surveys have been done where the most popular search engines (including Google and Yahoo) were tested to see which one gave them the best information about the topic that was searched for. The end result was that 94 out of the 100 people that did the testing agreed that Google was the best search engine because its results were the most relevant.Most of Yahoo's results displayed pages with irrelevant information after the first three or four results. When Google was used, the information that the testers wanted was found in the first or second link. They all said that they didn't have to even go on to the second page because the first page of links was more than enough for them. Go ogle's search engine has been tested and proven to be superior to Yahoo. Although the Internet may seem like a very common thing, many people are still getting introduced to it and its many functions.These types of people will not be used to something such as a search engine so it is important to keep the search engine simple and easy to use. While it is true that Yahoo's homepage can give people an idea about all the things that the Internet can do for them, it may be hard to navigate to something such as the search bar amidst the cluttered bundles of information. I think that we should keep search engines simple so that it will be easy for people new to the Internet to utilize it.