Homelessness in the UK - what are the causes and its effect in the Dissertation

Homelessness in the UK - what are the causes and its effect in the society - Dissertation Example The houses of the people can also be destroyed by natural calamities like floods and hurricanes. (Main Causes of Homelessness, n.d.). The events of homelessness makes an individual all the more physically and psychologically unfit to live in. These people suffer from diseases like cold and insomnia. (Bodine, 2010). Aims The research paper on Homelessness in United Kingdom aims to achieve the following goals which can be listed as follows: 1. The causes which lead to making the people homeless in United Kingdom. 2. Effects of the factors which causes the people to become homeless on the life cycle of the people affected by such. 3. The changes brought about by the government through the introduction of policy measures aimed at preventing the people to become homeless. Objectives The objectives behind studying Homelessness in United Kingdom are to: 1. Identify the factors which cause the event of homelessness in United Kingdom. The identification of such factors would help focus on the safeguarding of communities from being made homeless. 2. Evaluate the potency of such impacts in disturbing the lives of the people in United Kingdom by making them physically and mentally impaired. The people put in the streets continually face the climatic changes which turns fatal for them. 3. Assess the amount of damages to life of the people rendered due to homelessness and policy measures taken if any to counter such. Scope of the Research The scope of the research paper is to underlie the causes which lead to the event of making people deprived of their homely or domestic environments. In that the paper endeavors to gauge the impact of such factors in immensely affecting the life patterns of the people residing in United Kingdom. The paper also divulges to find any significant policy measures taken by the government of the country in helping the people put in the streets to gain a better life. The research conducted gains due importance for it specifically focuses on a parti cular social evil which aims at snatching the basic means of living from the general population for which they also meet fatal incidents. The event of homelessness in United Kingdom has huge impact on the construction and housing business of the country. These families which were rendered homeless posed several types of complaints based on the houses rendered to them by the government of the country so as to counter the event. Homeless applicants who were rendered private homes to dwell in complained of lack of proper spaces to help them move away freely in the apartment. Further the location of the private buildings being near the crowded corners caused the occupants major disturbances in maintaining a silent environment in and around their homes. Further other special types of accommodation provided to the homeless people also countered huge problems for the rise in the amount of drug peddlers in the region. The people living in such households appeared to fear from the impacts of such people on affecting their children. For homeless people the best housing solution rendered by the United Kingdom government is to allow the local communities to build in permanent homes for them. Permanent homes build by the local authority for these people were favored above the temporary homes firstly because of their sense of security. However the government of

Alcatel-Lucent mobile Wallet case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alcatel-Lucent mobile Wallet - Case Study Example This provides the user with less friction when using bitcoin in daily transactions. In a case where a user’s wallet has been tampered with, the user can create a new vault and considering that vaults and wallets are paired, this new empty vault invalidates the old wallet. One of the main benefits of this system is that it allows a user to separate their savings from their day-to-day spending. Additionally, the system enables such a user to carry those daily transactions with less friction. The mobile wallet from Alcatel-Lucent equally provides banking services to both developed and developing countries. In developed countries, person-to-person money transfer necessitates the use of this service. On the other hand, underdeveloped banking networks in developing countries have led to many people turning to this service. Despite having tremendous benefits to developing countries, Alcatel-Lucent mobile wallet has been applied more in developed countries. According to Anthony Belpaire, the managing director of Alcatel-Lucent mobile wallet, there are tremendous opportunities for consumers using this service in developed countries (Chaki et al 2011, p.221). Most people in these countries have mobile phones which makes the use of mobile wallet possible to most people in these countries. One of the challenges of decentralized electronic currency systems is managing the various subsystems of the main system to ensure that users can transfer currencies. There is also the risk of losing an electronic device that holds a key to these funds. This may imply losing all the money associated with that device. In order to solve this challenge, fixed-access scenarios have been created to secure electronic devices. This involves encryption and decryption of a disk file paired with a backup of the information stored in the disk file. PEST is a tool used by businesses to analyze the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological changes in a business. Porter’s five

Women's Sufferage Movement (NAWSA and AWSA) Term Paper

Women's Sufferage Movement (NAWSA and AWSA) - Term Paper Example In the earliest days of these movements, the major driving force was always the need to enable women to vote in the elections. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the American Women Suffrage Association (AWSA) have indeed played a great role in trying to bridge the gap that always existed and making the lives of women better throughout the country1. However, the core of the argument in this respect concerns the success of these women movements in their activities. This argument arises out of the general feeling that the activities of these movements have not always addressed the fundamental discrimination that faces women in the country. The major focus of these women’s organizations in the early days of formation was basically to secure the right to vote. However, in the present case, these movements are always in a constant search for equity between men and women in all spheres of life. It has indeed been realized that the activities of NAWSA in the suffrage movement was always absorbed in dealing with the challenges faced by minority women in the marginalized areas of America. In this regard, it was therefore much difficult for these organizations to realize their ultimate objectives. In any case, it was always imperative that the organizations address the challenges faced by the minority women in America. ... In the same manner, it was further realized that there was a lot of infighting between the women movements mostly emanating from the need to gain recognition across the country. Without doubt, the infighting was certainly a ground that never favored the activities of these organizations. It must be admitted that woman’s suffrage movements actually became a vital force in the fight against the discrimination of women in the country. However, much success for the organizations would be realized in the event of a united force seeking to address the fundamental issues affecting the women. For instance, in 1914, Paul and Burns broke from the NAWSA when they formed the Congressional Union which later changed its name to the National Woman’s Party. As a result of this divide, it was realized that the activities of the organization actually diminished as much focus was now geared toward leadership jostles and other aspects of the organization instead of the major focus of seeki ng to address the injustices that were directed towards women in the country. The success of these women suffrage movements has therefore been much limited compared to their potential to address the needs of women in the country. Despite the common feeling that NAWSA and AWSA have not really performed to their full potential, it must be realized that on the overall scorecard, it can be stated that the women’s movements have indeed played a great role in the creating a sense of equity between the lives of women and men in entirely all phases of life in the United States. Much success for these organizations has been realized to the extent that the United States is presently ahead in terms of gender equity for most of its

MKTG 315 Pre-test Essay Example for Free

MKTG 315 Pre-test Essay 1. President Obamas health care plan requires all U.S. citizens to purchase a minimum amount of health insurance or be fined 2. Suppose that from January 2011 to January 2012, the inflation rate was 6 percent 3. Fill out the table according the demographic information for each group 4. Which of the following approaches to innovation is Google Inc. using when it allows researchers to devote 20 percent of their time to pursuing their own ideas and projects? Can be D. 5. Examine the advertisement below to determine who the target market is for the product. Then, select as many descriptors that fit the qualities of that target market. 6. The local Pro Hardware store has recently run a number of ads featuring women doing household repairs and holds monthly workshops for women on basic home repair techniques. It has evidently not been lost on Pro Hardware that: B. Personal traits tend to vary in the U.S by region 7. Today, many infants are exposed from birth to technology such as Smartphones, laptops, netbooks, and tablets. In fact, Fisher-Price and LeapFrog do research into how infants and young toddlers interact with screens and touchscreens. 8. Research that attempts to expand the frontiers of knowledge but is not aimed at a specific, pragmatic problem is called: Basic research 9. Which of the following is an example of demographic information? C. Single, 18-25 year olds 10. When a coal mining company lobbies Congress for changes in environmental laws and regulations that result in the construction of more coal-burning power plants, the company has engaged in: Post Test 1. Match the product with the ethnic group it most likely targets. African American A new urban clothing line directed at young adults, Hispanic American Clean and fruity scented room freshener in a colorful container Asian American Brand new electronic device charger that also acts as a keyboard for the nearest charging device, Any ethnicity A package of flank steak, 2. Sharon is 60 years old and expects to continue working through her sixties. She lost a significant portion of her retirement savings during the recession. Sharon is a: Baby boomer 3.Randy is a sales rep at Speedy Printing. When Danyka expresses an interest in purchasing a new, high-speed copy machine for her office, Randy tells her that Speedy Printing requires all users of its copy machines to purchase all their paper and toner from the company as well. Fortunately, Danyka is well-versed in business legislation and informs Randy that his companys policy is in violation of the: Incorrect. Among other things, the Clayton Act prohibits tying contracts (which require the buyer of one product to also buy another item in the line). 4. Match the American value with the product that most addresses that value. Self-sufficiency A book on year round vegetable garden management., Upward mobility BMW offers an entry-level sedan for much less than its super-luxury models Work Ethic ., Debit card that rounds up to the nearest dollar and puts the rounded change into a savings account., Conformity . Walmart offers everyday low prices for everyone 5. Joseph has an idea for a startup that will offer a mobile device that will also function as a social media hub, music center, and digital wallet. His idea is to offer slick designs in brilliant colors that shoppers can either subscribe to monthly or pay as they go for data access. Select all of the target market factors Joseph needs to consider as he finalizes design and designs on promotion strategies. a. Ethnicity b. How social media use has changed the way people communicate c. Consumer Privacy d. Purchasing power e. Size of the population f. Age demographic g. State Laws h. Inflation Answer 1: Correct. Answer 2: Correct. Answer 3: Correct. Answer 4: Correct. Answer 5: Incorrect. Answer 6: Correct. Answer 7: Incorrect. Answer 8: Incorrect. 6. A local bank has developed a new line of credit with a lower interest rate and large lines of credit. Of the following, what considerations will the bank have to take into account before granting a line of credit to an applicant? a. Recession b. Consumer income c. Competition d. Inflation e. Ethnicity f. Purchasing Power Answer 1: Correct. Answer 2: Correct. Answer 3: Incorrect. Answer 4: Incorrect. Answer 5: Incorrect. Answer 6: Correct. 7. Why are Asian Americans sometimes called a marketers dream? 8. Component lifestyles: Incorrect. Component lifestyles encompass a much wider range of interests (and needs) than traditional lifestyles. Increased buying power has also contributed to the evolution of component lifestyles. d. have developed because consumers can choose from a growing number of goods and services. 9. From the following, choose all of the following are methods companies are using to stimulate innovation. a. Enlisting the web b. Increasing efficiency c. Talking to early adopters d. Using marketing research e. Building scenarios Answer 1: Correct. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 2: Incorrect. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 3: Correct. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 4: Correct. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepreneurs. Answer 5: Incorrect. The ways to stimulate innovation are: build scenarios, enlist the web, talk to early adopters, use marketing research, create an innovative environment, and cater to entrepren eurs. 10. After learning that many of its customers were shopping at a nearby health-food store for grass-fed beef and organic milk, REF:-Price Grocers began stocking more organic items. REF:-Price Grocers adjusted its marketing strategy based on: Environment management Chapter 5: Pre-Test The Pilcher Company manufactures tents and other canvas goods in its two factories, located in Kentucky and West Virginia. Seven years ago, Pilcher began exporting its goods to several countries in Latin America, and sales have been very good. At least 25% of Pilchers revenue comes from its foreign sales. The Pilcher Company can probably best be characterized as a _____ multinational corporation. a. first-stage b. second-stage c. third-stage d. fourth-stage e. fifth-stage Mari is in Brazil for a vacation and has stumbled upon the most beautiful Brazilian cedar chest inlaid with Brauna wood veneers. She desperately wants the trunk, but isnt sure how much it actually costs. The shopkeeper is asking her for 2500 reals (the Brazilian currency). Maris husband knows that the exchange rate to the U.S. dollar is about 0.5 USD for 1 real. Calculate the cost of the trunk in U.S. dollars. $ Select all of the following that are true about globalization. a. Globalization has cost millions of Americans their jobs, particularly those in the manufacturing and tech industries. b. Globalization encourages political as well as economic freedom. c. Job outsourcing has decreased with globalization. d. Globalization raises the living standards of people in countries that embrace it. e. U.S. white-collar jobs are immune to being outsourced because they require a native speaker of English. 4. Select the table with the rest of the G-20 Member countries. Australia Japan Brazil Germany Turkey India Russia United Kingdom (or England) Saudi Arabia United States [or USA] 5, Select the methods of entering the Global Marketplace to the appropriate level of risk on the spectrum. Exporting Licensing and Franchising Contract Manufacturing Joint Venture Direct Investment 6. In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan Come alive with the Pepsi Generation came out as Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead. The managers at Pepsi evidently overlooked the importance of _____ factors in global marketing. a. demographic b. political c. technological d. cultural e. economic Incorrect. Language is a central part of culture and has created problems for many companies entering foreign markets. 7. Pillsbury advertisements on Indian television depict the familiar Doughboy pressing his palms together and bowing in the traditional Indian greeting. Pillsbury obviously understands the rewards of _____ marketing. a. sales b. guerilla c. regional d. global e. green 8. A Vietnamese textile factory sells its goods in the United States at a price 40% less than that charged in Vietnam. The textile factory may be engaging in: a. boycotting. b. price gouging. c. dumping. d. bouncing. e. countertrading 9. Campbells watercress and duck gizzard soup (which is popular in China) and Frito-Lays shrimp-flavored potato chip (sold in Thailand), are examples of: a. product standardization. b. promotion adaptation. c. product adaptation. d. competitive pricing. e. product invention. Incorrect. In the context of global marketing, product invention can be taken to mean either creating a new product for a market or drastically changing an existing product. Mercosur is the largest Latin American trade agreement, created in 1991 to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, peoples, and currency in South America. Select all of the following countries that are part of Mercosur. a. Venezuela b. Mexico c. Brazil d. Costa Rica e. Peru f. Uruguay Chapter 5: Post-test 1. Dynamo Industries spent $10 million on equipment in its new South Korean facilities last year, but only $3 million on labor. It is safe to say that Dynamos operations in South Korea a. are capital intensive. b. greatly increase employment in South Korea. c. are underfinanced. d. are labor intensive. e. have probably cost many South Koreans their jobs. 2. Match the company description with the stage of global business development. WRONG 3. The Camay soap you buy at your local grocery store is virtually the same as the Camay soap offered for sale in Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, and Taiwan. Procter Gamble has moved toward _____ with this product. a. contract manufacturing b. global marketing standardization c. product adaptation d. competitive advantage e. product myopia After class one day, your friend Miguel says that he can foresee a time in the not too distant future when the European Union (EU) will essentially become the United States of Europe. Based on what youve read in your textbook, you: a. agree, because the EU has purchasing power almost equal to that of the United States. b. disagree, because the political instability in Europe will never allow that to happen. c. agree, because the EU is already the largest economy in the world. d. disagree, because Europes diverse languages and national cultures will make it almost impossible for marketers to develop single European products for generic European consumers. e. agree, because over the past few years labor productivity in the EU has equaled or exceeded that of the United States. Fill in the blanks of the paragraph using the drop down menu to select the choice that best fits each blank. Wilmaris build your own homemade cupcake business is booming. She has received inquiries from all over the world about retailing her Foolproof Bakery Style Cupcake Baker toaster oven and her wide range of cupcake mixes, fillings, and frosting, which are Production adaptation for a global market. Wilmari knows that she has to make sure her electronics work in foreign outlets and shes been researching retailers, distributors, and even flavors that other countries my enjoy. Wilmaris E-commerce distribution is helping her make her first steps towards having a global business. For now, however, Wilmari directs all the international inquiries to her website, where her customers can use Currency exchange to order sets or mixes, as well as see the cost of international shipping. Wilmari also has a Money back guarantee that she offers only domestic customers, just in case there are regulations in other countries. For now, the web is her easiest road into the global market, but Wilmaris research and diligence should enable her to be one of the few small promotion adaptations located in the United States! 6. Right Wedding dress designers change white to red for Chinese customers. Culture, PG offers single use sizes of deodorant in India for much less than full size deodorants in the U.S. Economic Factors, Google is sued by a doctor in France for libel when search results for his name brought up an old malpractice suit that he had served time for. Legal and Political Factors, Up-and-coming diamond retailer Hearts of Fire fights with larger companies for limited diamonds from Africa. Natural Resources 7. Langdon Farms sends milk to Yinkers, a Canadian cheese maker; in payment, Yinkers sends Langdon Farms cheddar and Swiss cheese, which Langdon Farms in turn markets in the United States. Langdon Farms and Yinkers are engaging in: a. price fixing. b. dumping. c. countertrading. d. a quota system. e. bribery 8. Select all of the following that are product adaptation. a. Offering ketchup sized packets of Pantene 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner in Bolivia for 5 cents. b. Campbells offering duck gizzard soup in China. c. Dunkin Donuts selling green tea donuts in Korea. d. HM offering fringed burquas in Dubai. 9. Martin just gave a business presentation where he emphasized benefits to the bottom line, that his company would provide strong service support, and the products guarantee. Where is Martin giving his presentation? a. Sweden b. Germany c. Japan d. Hungary e. Peru Incorrect. These are all characteristics listed for giving successful business presentations in Germany. 10.Plast-eet, a Vermont manufacturer of plastic eating utensils, sells its products to Misha, who has an office in New York City. Plast-eet takes its money from Misha and goes away happy. Misha, in turn, sells the products to buyers in several African countries and keeps the revenues. Misha is most likely a(n): a. buyer for export. b. export broker. c. buyer for import. d. venture capitalist. e. export agent

Explain Why the Treatment of Indigenous People Essay Example for Free

Explain Why the Treatment of Indigenous People Essay There were two main concepts that were thought to have motivated European countries to explore and colonize in America: the excitement and the profit of the New World. Throughout the 17th century England and Spain began to fight for control of the North American Continent, with different economic goals in mind. The success in the colonization of the New World depended on many factors one which included the treatment of the natives. Although the ideal treatment of natives within the countries colonies was identical by violently taking the Native American lands and turning them into outpost for their empires; however, their incentive for the treatment was different. The Spanish revealed a more systematic way of mistreating the natives because they intended to colonize America for gold and slaves without any obstacles, and the English colonized for land with no intention or preparation to interfere with the native people intensely until they necessarily had to. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led a massive expedition bent on finding and conquering Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, while doing so, he embittered many Native Americans toward the Spanish. As the Spaniards trudged through the North American borders in search of gold and slaves, they established a labor system called the encomienda system which helped sustain control over the natives in North, Central, and South America, so they can have certain opportunities to roam the lands in search of gold without any unwanted interruptions. Conquistadors were granted trusteeship over the indigenous people they conquered, in an expansion of familiar feudal institutions, notably the commendation ceremony, which had been established in New Castile during the Reconquista. The conquistadors scrupulously adhered to the Spanish law of conquest by reading the Requerimiento, which ordered defiant Indians, in Spanish, to accept Spanish rule and Christian conversion immediately. If the Indians ignored this order, they deserved the harsh punishments of a just war. For example, as the Spanish encountered swift resistance at the mesa-top pueblo of Acoma, the Indians refused Spanish demands for provisions for an exploring expedition. Spanish troops captured the pueblo, killing eight hundred inhabitants in the process, forcing surviving men to have one foot cut off and along with the women and children, to be servants of the soldiers and missionaries. As for the English and their colonalization, they strived for the land of the Americas, with little rivalry from the natives as possible; therefore, unlike the Spaniards they did not have a systematic way of controlling the natives. At first all went well, the Native Indians eagerly traded and shared their corn. Given such abundance and native hospitality, the colonist wondered why they should work at all. Refusing to grow their own food they expected the Roanokes to feed them. However, the English had outlived their welcome, and fearing that the natives were about to attack, the English soldiers killed the Roanoke leader. Although some settlers were curious and open-minded about the Indians way of life, most assumed that Native Americans would submit to their authority and feed them while they looked for gold. The Spaniards had different ways of conquering the American land treating the indigenous people than the English people however, they each shared the same idea that the Indians needed to be controlled and cater to the needs of those who conquered them. They felt that they did not need to respect the culture, the religion, and the people of the land. The Europeans had a high self respect which they felt overpowered that of the natives. They wanted what was not theirs in order to better their economy without any compromise, while destroying another societys culture. Because of this they were able to come to the same conclusion that they could treat the Natives as they did. To conclude, the Spanish and the English had a similar perspective of how they wanted to treat the natives of the lands they conquered, however they differed in strategy in how they were able to confine them because of the goals they individually had in mind prior to their conquest. The English had a simple idea of coming into America sharing the land and the crops with the natives until they got afraid and too greedy, leaving violence as a resort. With the Spanish, they strategize according to the fact that they wanted the gold and to enslave the native people with no mercy, resulting in striping the natives away from their dignity.

Branding in the Automotive Industry

Branding in the Automotive Industry Marketing Branding Consumers Abstract This paper discusses what branding is; the key elements of branding; and the importance of branding in the automobile industry. As we all know, automobiles for some consumers are not just a mode of transport, but luxury status symbols. This paper considers the needs of consumers that must be taken into account while branding a brand. I have explored how branding if not done properly results in the failure of the brand and have discussed several failures of branding which helps in analyzing the mistakes committed by companies during branding. Along with this, I have also examined several success stories of automobile branding. Re-branding is another important issue in branding which I have considered in light of the automobile industry. This paper talks about re-branding and its importance in branding and in helping companies gain profit and increase their sales. Introduction Definition (quote from book) There is no concept as vital in the world of marketing and advertising today as â€Å"Branding†. Everyone uses the word in every conversation, there are countless self-proclaimed experts on the subject, executives want it, account managers plan it, strategies are formulated, money is spent, and advertising is done (Kapferer, 2000). However, in reality, very few people actually know and understand the meaning and context of the term â€Å"Branding†. The word brand, when used as a noun, can refer to a company name, a product name, or a unique identifier such as a logo or trademark. The concept of branding developed through the practices of craftsmen who wanted to place a mark or identifier on their work without detracting from the beauty of the piece. These craftsmen used their initials, a symbol, or another unique mark to identify their work and they usually put these marks in a low visibility place on the product. Not too long afterwards, high quality cattle and art became identifiable in consumers’ minds by particular symbols and marks (Aaker Joachimsthalaer, 2000). Consumers would actually seek out certain marks because they had associated those marks in their minds with tastier beef, higher quality pottery or furniture, sophisticated artwork, and overall better products. If the producer differentiated their product as superior in the mind of the consumer, then that producers mark or brand came to represent a superior product. The modern concept of branding grew out of the consumer packaged goods industry and today the process of branding has come t o include much more than just creating a way to identify a product or company. Branding today is used to create an emotional attachment on the part of the consumer to products and companies. Branding is the often subliminal process by which a business employs marketing strategies to get people to easily remember their products and services over competitors (DeChernatony, 1999). More so, it is applied psychology. Branding efforts create a feeling of involvement, a sense of higher quality, and an aura of intangible qualities that surround the brand name, mark, or symbol. Therefore a business, a product or any other service aimed at attracting customers can be successful if and only if it is branded properly; thus branding is an essential component of a business. A brand name holds a lot of importance for the consumers. Consumers purchase products by considering the brand name, quality associated with the brand as well as other brand affiliated perks. Branding is a process that is used by businesses to utilize marketing strategies to enhance their product or service image so that it is more readily recollected by the customer. Branding helps the product or service to make a favorable impact on the target customer while the branding concepts help in outlining the guidelines that should be followed during the branding process. Branding of any product and service should follow some constants that help in establishing a brand in the long run (Abratt, 1989). Branding helps an organization in attracting consumers and thereby increases its market share and hold. An organization should therefore, implement branding very carefully. Many a time organizations do not concentrate much on branding. In such cases, the brand can either become a success or fail miserably; but the probability of the brand being a failure is much higher. This success and failure of the brand depends on how the product is branded and how well the process is taken care of. Marketers engaged in brandi ng seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. The importance of Branding in Marketing is discussed in the following sections. Branding Brands result directly from the market strategy as a consequence: segmentation and product differentiation (Kapferer, 2000). A brand should have its own specific point of view on the product category. Branding is a complex process which deals with the creation and development of a specific identity for a company, product, commodity, group, or person. It is carefully designed to present qualities that its creators believe will be attractive to the public, and it is meant to be developed and perpetuated for the long haul. An advertising campaign launches a product. Branding, when it’s done right, creates an institution. Branding brings about so many benefits (Balmer Gray, 2002). A brand is an end result. Branding is the process by which a brand comes into existence. A brand is many, many things, but it is never an accident. Brands can act as assets in times of recession or reduced business and profits. Such assets have in the past sustained companies in adversity; and all the e vidence suggests that, if they are managed properly and efficiently, they can continue to do so, now and in the future. Branding helps in making a brand name for organizations. If Branding is the creation and development of a personality—an identity— for a product or company, it is the result of work by a number of different professionals, all aiming at the same goal. While the roles of advertising and marketing have been well documented, the third prong within the Branding process, public relations, has largely been overlooked. For the most part, Branding requires the following three key components for proper execution (Pilch, 2007): Advertising:It’s a wonderful thing to create a unique, user-friendly brand that the public is sure to embrace. However, if the public doesn’t find out about the brand—and much of the public will find out through advertising—all that effort, time, and money will go to waste. The look and attitude of the advertising also help define the brand in the public’s mind. Marketing: In devising the personality of the brand and determining how it will be presented to the public, marketing, which is usually done in-house and through consultants, helps to create the entity that the brand will become. To sell a product, an organization needs to be clear in what it wants to sell. For example, a person owns the recipe for Oreo cookies, but if that person decided to sell the recipe and not the cookies, he or she would be making a very large marketing mistake (Johansson Hirano, 1999). Marketing is not just selling; it is to know what exactly to sell and how to sell it as part of a larger well thought and well formed plan. Public-relations: If advertising is the juggernaut of public attention, public-relations is the stealth bomber. Public-Relations generates publicity for the brand, helps solidify the public’s opinion of the brand, and defines the brand—all without being perceived by the public. Advertising is obvious, marketing is invisible, but public-relations is the most difficult of all things to be: subtle. It is also arguably the most valuable, indispensable part of the Branding process. Without public relations, it would be impossible to create a truly world-class brand, no matter what the budget or how exciting the product. Public-relations is absolutely essential to Branding. For a new brand to be successful, all three of the Branding components must be firing on all cylinders. They must be working in tandem, but they also have to succeed individually. Advertising In today’s business climate, even the most secure brands need to advertise. For example, McDonald’s sells billions and billions of hamburgers. However, McDonald’s does not cut back on its advertisements. In fact McDonald’s increases the number of advertisements every year. Nike is a well known company which sells sports wear. It is known for spending millions on celebrity endorsements for advertising. Its advertisements are legendary, and its logo is well known the world over, with people recognizing the brand instantly from seeing the Nike logo. A good advertising account executive will be involved in the birth of a brand, even if others have already decided on a good portion of the brand identity. How to present that identity is advertising’s job, in conjunction with public relations. The look of a television or print advertisement is as important as the message being delivered in print or dialogue. Quick edits, bright colors, extreme close-ups, a nd changing landscapes may appeal more to younger viewers, and will convey a different personality than golden sunsets, slow camera pans, and traditional storytelling (Keller, 1999). Loud music might be fine for a soft drink ad, but won’t work for a feminine hygiene product. If the product is intended to have a feminine attitude, a female singer will more likely achieve the goal than a male singer. But advertising isn’t just about creating TV commercials. Advertisements are about delivering the message to the public which has to be attracted to buy the product. The medium is the message. The programs during which the ad can be seen will make a statement about the personality of the product, as will the choice of publications in which print advertisements will run. If a product is supposed to be irreverent, young, up-to-date, and unconventional, ad buyers will probably be more successful in advertising during the commercial breaks of T.V. series such as Friends rather t han during news programs or documentaries.Each media outlet has as clearly defined a personality as its advertisers. In fact, the advertising often helps define the media outlet’s personality, and vice versa. The advertisements are purchased with a very careful eye on which programs appeal to the target audience. When a brand is new, it’s important the target audience be able to identify the brand, and identify withthe brand, very quickly. So after it’s decided what kind of brand identity is being introduced, and the target audience to which the brand is being marketed, creative advertising executives begin deciding what message to convey and how to convey it. Advertising doesn’t create the identity, but it does choose how to present the identity, and it certainly helps define the identity of the product, and, by extension, its users (McEnally DeChernatony, 1999). With a clever choice like that made for the Mentos advertisements, it expresses the adverti ser’s message very well. Advertisements however cannot do the job alone and they cannot determine what the image should be. All advertisements can do is to show the target audience what product they should buy and why they should buy it. The part of the process where the target audience is helped in determining the image of the product is accomplished through marketing. Marketing Before there can be a brand, there has to be a product. The bridge between product and recognizable brand is marketing. It is sometimes difficult for people outside the business to understand marketing, because they confuse it with advertising even though the two are totally different processes. Their goals are not the same, and their methods are totally different. They are performed by separate groups of specialists, and can often be at odds with one another until a compromise or alternative solution can be reached that satisfies both disciplines. If advertising is the way the public usually discovers a product, marketing determines what the public will discover. If the look and sound of advertising are important, the decisions made by marketing executives will determine the tone of the advertisements (Aaker, 1996). In other words, a product is assigned its personality mostly because of marketing. Based on the target audience for the product, marketing will determine which traits th at segment of the population are likely to find appealing, and will do its best to ascribe them to the product being marketed. For example, when Apple Computers were experiencing some sales difficulties a number of years ago, and co-founder Steve Jobs returned to guide the company, the iMac computer was the first product to be released by the â€Å"new† company. The personality of the product was very important. Not only did it have to remind loyal Apple users why they liked the computer to begin with, but it had to convince new users to try something that required a large amount of money and was going to look different to anything they had seen before. In fact, the future of the entire company hinged on the acceptance of the iMac, and if it was seen as too similar to IBM based PCs, it would be rejected by the loyal Apple following. If it came across as too different or too strange, the product would fail to expand Apple’s market share—which was dwindling at the time—and the company would be in very dire straits indeed. What the company did was to analyze the strong points of Apple and the iMac. It marketed the iMac as something new, something fun, and something that younger users who were only just beginning to use the internet would appreciate. Marketing executives made sure the iMac was presented as a young, innovative, smart, and easy way to enter the online world, something that American consumers were just beginning to do in large numbers at the time. So, before the product came out, there was already great anticipation. But once the iMac, considered a wildly revolutionary design at its inception, was unveiled, the focus was all on the product. It helped that the iMac looked different: Its colorful, all-in-one bulbous design was certainly a change from the beige boxes that had dominated the computer industry for years. Certainly, the iMac turned the fortunes of Apple Computers around. Apple increased its market share and sold millions of iMacs, and a company that appeared to be on the brink of extinction not long before was assured a solid foothold, if not a dominant position, in the home computer market. If the computer hadn’t worked well, if it hadn’t delivered on its promises, no marketing campaign would have been able to achieve the success of the iMac. What marketing does is to determine the proper audience for a product, and then deliver to that audience what it wants. The target demographic can be as narrow as 15-year-old boys living in the suburbs, or it can be literally anybody (Riley DeChernatony, 1998). That will depend on the product. But once the demographic is identified, marketing professionals analyze it, make sure the characteristics of that demographic are compatible with the product, and then emphasize the strengths of the product. Through focus groups, surveys, and other tools, market research helps determine what people want. Marketing is more the art of taking what al ready exists and making it more attractive to the public through positioning and branding techniques. It is a natural and easy mistake to confuse marketing with advertising. Advertising is what happens when marketing has already been done. The next area under discussion is public relations which also works with what marketing professionals have already done, but does different, less obvious things with it. Public Relations Many clients do not understand the difference between branding, public relations, advertising and marketing. In order to understand the role of public relations in branding, first we have to understand how public relations works. It is a business unlike any other, and its rules are very specific. Public relations can help create a brand, establish it, promote it, develop it, and keep it healthy, all without being detected by the general public. Most Executives prefer public relations to advertising mainly for the reason that a lot of branding programs of the organizations are usually based on third-party endorsement. It is much more credible and fast-acting than when you pay for advertisements. People often confuse public relations with publicity and the reason could be pretty simple. Public relations in actual fact refers to the craft of attracting publicity, and not publicity itself (Dolak, 2003). What public relations does is attract attention to the product through different medi ums of the media giving the product a wider audience and generating more publicity than a person working in public relations could reach individually. One problem, however, is that some businesses are wary of the press overall, and do not fully appreciate the boost and recognition that public relations can provide. The role of public relations is to combine what marketing and advertising do, and then use the information in different ways. Marketing determines the personality, or brand identity, being publicized (Gelder, 2002). Public relations professionals are given that information and are asked to find an appropriate media outlet to relay the message. For example, in the case of the iMac, Apple made sure (quite often by donation) that school systems around the country had iMac computers as soon as they were available. This helped familiarize very young computer users—possibly those who had never used a computer before—with Apple’s product first. This brillian t public relations move demonstrated that Apple had strong interests in education and a history of helping children. This gave consumers a very positive image of Apple. The move into schools also made sure that iMacs were perceived as unusual and innovative. Brand identity is the most vital part of the branding concept. With the wrong identity, even a perfect product can fail to become a brand. With the proper identity, one that has been crafted carefully and thoughtfully, a product can launch a brand and eventually become what every branding practitioner hopes for—a household name. Word of mouth, local newspapers, radio programs, and television news programs are the targets at the very beginning of the quest of a person working in public relations.Generally the most widely viewed television channels, most read newspapers, magazines and journals, not just nationally but world over, are the target of public relations. Before news of the new product, service, or personality can reach the media however, the public relations professional has to analyze the brand identity. Public relations professionals do make things up about these products; they find the newsworthy aspect or unique selling proposition of a company and its products and try to attract attention to that. In other words, Public-Relations is the art of telling the truth in the most positive light possible. It is as central a component of Branding as any other, and its importance is immeasurable. Branding in Automobiles Designing an automobile is an extremely difficult task. Automobiles are built and manufactured after much market research and field work about the product being designed and manufactured, the region in which the product has to be released, and many other factors which go into determining the successful launch of the product and the success of the product (Bouchenoire, 2003). Branding plays a very important role in the automobile industry. Branding an automobile is essential in order to make the product a success. Brands become icons due to successful Branding. Customers value certain products which they recognize and feel help to define them as a person for whatever reason. It may be because the brand symbolizes wealth and a high status and the person wishes to align themselves with a brand with such appeal. Customers would generally like to resemble any product they purchase with themselves (Kavounis, 2002). In the automobile industry, the executives and the designers have to be car eful with the design of the product with respect to the needs of the customers. Thorough research has to be carried out as to what customers want from the automobile and what customers need from the automobile and these factors are then taken into account when designing the automobile. Customers may have different needs depending on the region where the product has to be launched. In some regions consumers might like to have a smooth and luxurious automobile whereas in a different location, speed might be given preference over luxury. Marketing has to be done carefully so that all these factors are taken into account. The organization should target prospective buyers with a strategy that turns them into loyal customers. Loyalty plays a huge role in the success of the brand. For example, the Harley-Davidson Company which manufactures motor-bikes has a strong and loyal pool of customers which makes it a very strong brand. The fact that the company manufactures what can be argued to be some of the best motor-bikes available could be one of the main reasons for the success of the brand. However, there are many other companies which produce good and perhaps even better motor-bikes than Harley-Davidson, but it is the fact that Harley-Davidson was successful in creating such a strong brand name that demanded loyalty from its customers that enabled it to create a large pool of returning customers. In August 2003, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (United States of America), celebrated the hundredth birthday of Harley-Davidson (Gunelius, 2007). The whole city was converted into a biker-party zone for three consecutive days. Over one hundred thousand people attended the party riding their Harley-Davidson bikes. Also Harle y-Davidson aficionados from over forty-seven different companies attended the party. This reflects the strength of the brand and goes on to point out how important it is to attract the loyalty of the customers in order to make a brand successful. It is widely known that brands have a remarkable ability to impact the way customers perceive a product. Customers and ordinary people do not just look at the product; they interconnect the brand and the product together. The way the customers perceive the product is totally shaped and determined by the brand itself. Therefore, it is a necessity that the brand projects itself in a way to attract consumers. The presence of a well recognized brand determines the way the target audience view the product. Here is a hypothetical example of Mercedes deciding to release a car: Since Mercedes is a highly recognized brand, the car being released will almost certainly automatically be viewed as a high quality, exclusive and expensive product. In order to make a brand, branding is compulsory. Many people unfamiliar with the long process of good branding may consider it to be easy however, for every successful brand, there are dozens of brands which have either come close to being a success or h ave been total failures. Brands such as Mercedes, General Motors (GM) and Toyota have been huge successes however; several big names like Daewoo Motors and ValuJet have failed in some areas or have disappeared altogether. Daewoo Motors, once a leading brand in the automobile industry, could not retain its customer base and customer loyalty as it had implemented some bad branding strategies which made it lose its brand value. As a result, Daewoo Motors had to close down several of its factories and offices due to the losses it sustained. Essentials of Branding Branding does not just involve identifying the needs of customers, but also certain factors which are useful in attracting customers. These essential factors are: Name: The name of the company can play an important role. A great name is like extra octane in a brand. A bad, boring, or sound-alike name will not necessarily kill a brands chances for success however in most cases it â€Å"dramatically dilutes the brand equity and potency† (Aaker, 1996). The naming of a brand also depends on the customers’ taste and liking as well as the region in which the product is going to be released along with the people living in that particular region. Naming can also be done by taking potential global consumers into consideration. Logo: The Logo of a company plays a huge role in determining the strength of the brand. Any customer relates a product to a brand through its logo. The logo creates a big impact on the way the products are perceived. When a customer sees the â€Å"four circles† of the Audi, the â€Å"horse† of the Ferrari, the â€Å"checkered flag† of the BMW, he or she associates the values of that brand with the logo. Logos along with the names, contribute largely in determining the strength of the brand. Branding Successes A critical element of predictive loyalty metrics is their ability to measure the direction and velocity of consumer values 12-18 months in advance (Stephan, 1997). With that in mind, here are the key trends that determine the difference between the success and failure of brands. An emphasis on â€Å"engagement†: Inserting itself between traditional marketing activities and an increasing demand for return on investment assessments, engagement is the Holy Grail for marketers and advertisers (Assael, 1995). Defined as the outcome of advertising and marketing activities that substantively increases a brands strength in the eyes of the consumers (and actually predicts sales and profitability), engagement is used more and more to allocate marketing budgets. The joint task forces from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), and the American Marketing Association (AMA) provide some degree of engagement meaning and metrics. Using technology to better meet consumer expectations: Consumer expectations in all categories will continue to grow if technology is used properly to attract the attention of the customers (King, 1989). Expectations have increased more than twenty six percent in the past five years while brands have kept up with these expectations by only eight percent. Marketers in general rely upon websites and high-tech capabilities to accommodate these values and differentiate themselves from the competition. More branded entertainment: Popular culture, with its rabid consumption of music and technology, has to be the main viewpoint of the brand leaders as a method for customizing entertainment and selling products. For instance, music-related paraphernalia such as T-shirts, posters, and artist-related merchandise infringe more on the dominance of bricks-and mortar retail. Harley-Davidson The iconic American motorcycle sustains a proud history, enduring product quality and a high price point. In the face of increased competition in 1987, Harley sent a management team to Japan to learn about superior production techniques. This is a branding technique used by the Harley-Davidson team to produce a super-quality bike which could appeal to a large number of customers across the world. Though today’s median customer is fifty five years old, many people recognize the brand and think it personifies the outlaw sensibilities, the romance of the open road, and the American Dream of unbridled freedom. However, numerous brand extensions and licenses, many of them down market, i.e. cigarettes and clocks, have kept Harley in the middle levels of the luxury category. Even though Harley is treated as a mid-luxury bike, many consumers rich or poor align the bike’s related attributes with their own character. Harley-Davidson was able to attract the custome rs in that aspect and hence, it went on to become one of the most renowned brand names in the history of motor-bike companies. Another such vehicle is the Hummer: a multi-terrain vehicle which gained popularity within a very short space of time. Hummer is a classic instance of brand hijacking, where consumers attach attributes to a product that its manufacturer never intended. The Humvee originated as a government contract vehicle, designed for the military. Survivalists, conservatives, and yuppies adopted it as their signature icon vehicle, with some cachet attached to its million dollar price tag. It has since become the car of choice for gangster rappers and generally a very popular status symbol. After unexpected market demand, Hummer – an Indiana-based division of GM- recently introduced two low-cost, downsized models in the hundred thousand dollars range, thus moving the brand below its prior designation as premium luxury. This led it to become a huge hit amongst youngsters. For a brand to be successful, it requires branding to be done in an effective manner. Initial surveys must be carried out to find how a product can be advertised. Surveys consist of finding out the expectations of the target market. The design requirements of the vehicle, with respect to the customers must be analysed thoroughly (Fourner Yao, 1977). Branding also requires an organization to learn from previous mistakes; mistakes of not just that organization, but also of the other organizations. Branding Failures Several brands have failed due to the implementation of improper branding strategies for certain automobiles. These strategies intended to improve the image held by customers of the brand failed despite many of the vehicles being arguably better than those of some of the most prominent brands. Cadillac Motors, which later became a division of General Motors, dates from the early days of mass-produced automobiles (Wreden, 2003). It is the oldest surviving American luxury car brand. Once a synonym for the highest quality in vehicles, by the 1950s the brand had become the favorite of Texan oil millionaires, Arab potentates and Elvis Presley, who habitually gave them away by the dozens to his entourage. Cadillac began to lose market share in the seventies with increased competition from Ford’s Lincoln division, and the introduction of other luxury vehicles –primarily of Japanese manufacture who marketed to a younger, newly-affluent demographic. Cadillac unsuccessfully respo nded by releasing a downsized model, the Cimarron, 1982-88, driving brand perception lower. Today, Cadillac is perceived as a retiree’s car, while it retains some small segment of the limousine business. The branding technique they adopted was to reduce the size of the vehicles. However, the price and the basic design did not change. Due to this, most people never opted for this kind of vehicle; the younger demographic especially never bought this type of a car. Many new vehicles had been released by other brands which were more stylish in design and looks thereby attracting more customers to buy their brands whereas Cadillac never concentrated on the marketing and branding strategies and continued with their traditional car designs. Even reducing the price ranges did not bring about any change in the fortunes of Cadillac. Therefore, Cadillac became the retiree’s brand. Branding Failures can occur from brand extensions. Extending a brand refers to adding the brand to o ther products. If an organization manufacturing cars starts selling T-Shirts and other stuff under its brand name, the organization is extending its brand (Broniarczyk Joseph, 1994). Extensions might involve changing the design structure, adding n

Justice in Platos Republic and Hobbes Leviathan Essay -- Politics Phi

One of the main concepts in both Plato's Republic and Hobbes' Leviathan is justice. For Plato, the goal of his Republic is to discover what justice is and to demonstrate that it is better than injustice. Plato does this by explaining justice in two different ways: through a city or polis and through an individual human beings soul. He uses justice in a city to reveal justice in an individual. For Hobbes, the term justice is used to explain the relationship between morality and self-interest. Hobbes explains justice in relation to obligations and self-preservation. This essay will analyze justice specifically in relation to the statement ? The fool hath said in his heart, there is no such thing as justice? Looking at Hobbes? reply to the fool will demonstrate that his main goal was to declare what people ought to do when interacting with others and what can be expected in return for that behaviour. By analyzing the Republic, it will be shown that Plato would most likely differ w ith the statement made by the fool because the main of premise the book in itself is to discover the definition of justice. To understand Hobbes? reply to the fool, one must first define justice according to Hobbes. He believes that justice is men performing their covenants made and the constant will of giving every man his own. A covenant is a part of a contract, or ?mutual transferring of right, in which at least one of the parties ?is to perform in time to come?. Hobbes maintains that it is never against reason to complete a covenant when man has the security that others will also perform covenants made with him. However, the problem that arises from forming covenants is that just because people enter into a covenant to perform some actio... ...ing so he also showed that there is such a thing a justice within a city as well as in an individual. Thus, Plato?s reply to the fool would be that indeed there is such a thing as justice. And justice is good because it benefits in this life as well as the next. Therefore, even though a man may wish to behave unjustly when he can, as with the myth of the ring of Gyges, behaving justly will have the most rewards. Both Plato and Hobbes present different views of justice in reply to the fool. Plato, claiming one should be just because it is good in itself, where as Hobbes claims being just is good for the pursuit of self-interest or preservation. Despite the difference of opinion on justice between the two philosophers, it is clear that the fool?s statement has been refuted. For there is such a thing as justice despite the differences in how the term is defined.