What is the Calm Waters Metaphor? Essay

Until recently the calm waters metaphor dominated the thinking of practicing managers and academics. The prevailing model for handling change in calm waters is best illustrated in Kurt Lewin’s three step description of the change process. According to Lewin, successful change requires unfreezing the status quo, changing to a new sate, and freezing the new change to make it permanent. The status quo can be considered an equilibrium state. Unfreezing is necessary to move from this equilibrium. It can be achieved in one of three ways: 1) The driving forces, which direct behavior away from the status quo, can be increased.†¨2) The restraining forces, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium, can be decreased.†¨3) The two approaches can be combined. Exhibit The change Process Unfreezing Changing Refreezing Once unfreezing has been accomplished the change itself can be implemented . However, the mere introduction of change does not ensure that it take hold. The new situation, therefore, needs to be refrozen so that it can be sustained over time. Unless this last step is attended to, it is likely that the change will be short lived and employees will revert to the previous equilibrium state. The objective of refreezing the entire equilibrium state, then, is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining forces. Note how Lewin’s three step process treats change as a break in the organization’s equilibrium state. The status quo has been distributed, and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state. This view might have been appropriate to the relatively calm waters metaphor is increasingly obsolete as a description of the kinds of seas that current managers have to navigate. How does the White Water rapids Metaphor of change functions?†¨This metaphor takes into consideration the fact environments are both uncertain and dynamic. To get a feeling for what managing change might be like when you have to continually maneuver in uninterrupted rapids, imagine attending a college in which courses vary in length so when you sign up, you don’t know whether a course will last for 2 weeks or 30 weeks. Furthermore, the instructor can end a course any time he  or she wants, with no prior warning. If that isn’t bad enough the length of the class session changes each time – sometimes it lasts 20 minutes, other times it runs for 3 hours and the time of the next class meeting is set by the instructor during the previous class. Oh yes, there is one more thing. The exams are all unannounced, so you have to be ready for a test at any time. To succeed in this college, you would have to be incredibly flexible and be able to respond quickly to every changing condition. Students who are too structured or slow on their feet would not survive. A growing number of managers are coming to accept that their job is much like what a student would face in such a college. The stability and predictability of the claim waters do not exist. Disruptions in the status quo are not occasional and temporary, to be followed by a return to calm waters. Many of today’s managers never get out of the rapids. They face constant change, bordering on chaos. These managers are being forced to play a game they have never played before, which is governed by rules created as the game progresses. Is the white water rapids metaphor merely an overstatement? No, take the case of General Motors. In the intensely competitive automotive manufacturing business, a company has to be prepared for any possibility. Cars are being surpassed by sport utility vehicles. Gasoline engines still cause fury among environmentalists who desire a more environment friendly source of power for vehicles. Government regulators demand ever increasing gasoline mileage. Customers want new and unique styles more frequently and competition in the industry is fierce. Although General Motors has typically on big competitors new entrants into the marketplace – Kia and Scion pick away at market share. For General Motors to succeed, it must change and continuously improve and revamp everything that it does. Answer: The calm waters view of organizational change envisions the organization as a large ship crossing a calm sea. The ship’s captain and crew know exactly where they are going because they have made the trip many times before. Change comes in the form of an occasional storm, a brief distraction in an otherwise calm and predictable trip. In the calm waters metaphor, change is seen as an occasional disruption in the normal flow of events. It is best illustrated by Kurt Lewin’s 3-step description of the change process. According to Lewin, successful change can be planned and requires unfreezing the status quo, changing to a new state, and refreezing to make the change permanent. The status quo can be considered an equilibrium state. To move from this equilibrium, unfreezing is necessary. Unfreezing can be thought of as preparing for the needed change. It can be achieved by increasing the driving forces, which are forces pushing for change; by decreasing the restraining forces, which are forces that resist change and push behavior toward the status quo; or by combining the two approaches. Once unfreezing is done, the change itself can be implemented. However, merely introducing change does not ensure that it will take hold. The new situation needs to be refrozen so that it can be sustained over time. Unless this last step is done, there is a strong chance that employees will revert back to the old ways of doing things. The objective of refreezing, then, is to stabilize the new situation by reinforcing the new behaviors. Lewin’s 3-step process treats change as a move away from the organization’s current equilibrium state. It is a calm waters scenario where an occasional disruption means changing to deal with the disruption. Once the disruption has been dealt with, however, things can continue on under the new changed situation.

Effects Of Having Parent Working Abroad Essay

I. Target Readers: Students who have an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) parent II. Research Objectives: After reading this research paper, FAITH tertiary students should be able to: 1. Cite the advantages of having an OFW parent in terms of the following aspects: a. Financial b. Behavioral c. Academic 2. Cite the disadvantages of having an OFW parent in terms of the following aspects: a. Financial b. Behavioral c. Academic 3. Determine if there is a relationship between having an OFW parent and performing well in school. III. Hypothesis: Having an OFW parent does not affect a tertiary student’s academic performance. IV. Definition of Terms: OFW-Overseas Filipino Worker, Overseas Filipino is a person of Philippine origin who lives outside of the Philippines. This term applies both to people of Filipino ancestry who are citizens or residents of a different country and to those Filipino citizens abroad on a more temporary status. AY-Academic Year Gadgets-Modern electronic equipments Phenomena-Plural of phe.nom-e.non (Noun) – A remarkable event Exclusive – In this research it is private school. Empeded-to interfere with or slow the progress of  Remittances-a : a sum of money remitted b : an instrument by which money is  remitted Disruption -is the (usually deliberate or intended) interruption of normal work or practice. Transmission -is the act of passing something on in another place. Affirm-1. To declare positively or firmly; maintain to be true. 2. To support or uphold the validity of; confirm. Migrants -1. A person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another. 2. A plant or animal that establishes itself in an area where it previously did†¦

Discuss how the media has influenced visions of female sexuality in Essay

Discuss how the media has influenced visions of female sexuality in the 21st century - Essay Example Over the years, women have worked hard to attain high levels of education and gain higher positions within the workforce ladder. However, a gender gap still exists even in these modern days where women’s goals and aspirations have been misrepresented. The media has played one of the greatest roles in this as it has conditioned the masses to believe that women’s success is based on their appearance and attractiveness (Gentile 2). Despite the fact that women work hard to earn these good jobs and vital roles in the society, they still feel the need to appear attractive in order to feel a real sense of success. The media through its advertisements and television programmes has only portrayed attractive women to be successful. As the young children grow assimilating these images in their minds, they can only combine women’s success and their appearances (Goh-Mah 2013). The media has created ideals of a perfect female body when presenting women throughout their broadcastings in the modern society. The media has programmed people to believe that tall, lean, and light skinned women are a symbol of beauty in the society. This has been emphasised by the fashion and entertainment industries, which are mostly viewed by the young generation. Advertisements have upheld and continued to portray this belief as they clearly depict a picture where a woman will enhance her appearance just to attract a man that she will get married to (Strohmeier 2013). These are marketing ploys to ensure that these companies sell numerous beauty products, shoes, clothes and other commodities. Youngsters do not understand this and they grow up already having a perception that model-like figures and accessories are symbols of beauty. This has led to the development of self-esteem issues among many people who don’t possess these features, therefore, taking some people to ex treme measures

Illegal Immigration in Los Angeles in the 1980's Essay

Illegal Immigration in Los Angeles in the 1980's - Essay Example These new immigrants arrived in a new country possessing little more than what they could carry on their back. They were challenged in many ways including their legal status, yet were able to make significant social, cultural, and economic contributions. This paper will discuss the lives of these undocumented workers during the 1980's and present the dynamic changes that resulted from their arrival. It will present the view that the cultural and demographic landscape of Los Angeles was shaped by these illegals, and has had a continuing effect on California as well as the United States. The life of an illegal immigrant began as soon they approached the United States and prepared to cross the border. Often they would be met by angry mobs, riots, gunfire and chaos (Custred). Once across the border they would continue to confront racism, exploitation, and a hostile political environment. Though they would be outcast socially from mainstream society, there was an emerging labor market eager for cheap and reliable workers. It was no coincidence that the rise in illegal immigration during the 1980s coincided with a rise in the demand for cheap labor during the same period (Morales and Ong). Because the undocumented workers were here primarily for employment, their lives centered around and were greatly influenced by the work they performed. These jobs were almost universally at the bottom of the pay scale in unskilled occupations such as household help or farm worker. With no legal status, limited English skills, and no formal education, these illegals were destined to t he life of poverty and hardship that they were trying to escape. The immigrants would most often settle together or would be herded into a group by social necessity. Farm workers would band together to share expertise and form groups that would follow the crop that currently needed planting or harvested. They would work the lettuce fields, the vineyards, and fruit groves as the season demanded. This constant travel was especially rough on the children. Forced to move from school to school they were able to obtain at best a sub-standard education. Often they were needed in the fields when not attending class and the simple pleasures of childhood were not available to the child of an illegal migrant worker. Sometimes the missed pleasure would be as simple as being able to sleep late on the weekends. For the immigrants that worked in the domestic business, the canneries, and the processing plants, life was more stable. Yet with this stability came a new set of problems. Unable to escape the poverty of low wages, they would endure cramped quarters, high rent, and substandard conditions. Acuna tells of the mounting stress of living as he tells of a child's experience living in these conditions. "Ten year old Yuri de Paz wakes up each morning in a cramped Pico-Union apartment she shares with eight other family members, and walks to school through a Los Angeles neighborhood that is so dangerous that police have barricaded it to keep drug dealers out..." (291). The difficulty of raising a family under impoverished conditions while struggling to earn a living was only one of the challenges that faced the undocumented workers. The inability to speak and write English presented another obstacle to

Compare and contrast management interviews Essay

Compare and contrast management interviews - Essay Example Many of us conducted this management interview with managers from different company departments. This paper therefore compares and contrasts the responses that were given by these managers. Different questionnaires reported different management day-to-day duties. Whereas managers carry the same title, their daily job roles are significantly diversified. The roles span from employee supervision, sales management, overseeing production, as well as general office management. Some managers are required to deliver short-term results whereas others are evaluated annually. The interviews also point to the different management levels by different managers. Seemingly, management levels determine the kind of daily tasks performed by the managers. Some of the highlighted goals include meeting daily sales margins, product delivery targets, meeting production line efficiencies. Others set weekly goals where one manager aims to keep everything in order by making sure errors stay to the minimum. Another one sets a monthly goal of managing real-estate by controlling and managing rent expenses on building company leases. However, daily, weekly and monthly targets pile up accumulatively to become annual targets for the organization. The interviews showed that different managers have different goal achieving strategies. For instance, there is a manager who has a strategy of doing paperwork in the morning, another has a strategy of ensuring the employees are properly trained and they are also cross-trained, another one writes down the goals and objectives and gives them to individual employees, and another one ensures customer gets satisfied. One manager pointed to giving incentives to well performing employees as a way of pushing individual employees to meet goals and targets. Yet, others went to an extent of outsourcing challenging tasks to other vendors in

The American Plague Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The American Plague - Essay Example Contrary to the popular perception that it belongs exclusively to the African continent, Yellow Fever is reemerging in contemporary times. Yellow Fever is a dangerous viral disease which can be fatal. An understanding of the disease’s history, causes, types, symptoms, treatment and fatality, can raise awareness about Yellow Fever and help in its prevention. Yellow Fever originated in Africa, and spread to South America, through the slave trade in the sixteenth century. Epidemics continued to plague Europe, South America, and the coastal cities of America, such as New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New Orleans, in the following three centuries, making it one of the most dangerous infectious diseases of the nineteenth century (Nordqvist, 2009) Yellow Fever is caused by the Flavivirus which is endemic to African arboreal monkeys. Mosquitoes serve as the primary vector for this virus. Several different species of the Aedes and Haemogogus mosquitoes, found in the tropical and subtropical parts of South America, parts of the Caribbean, and Africa,  transmit the virus from one host to another: between monkeys, between humans, and from monkeys to humans. Mosquitoes, primates and humans are the only known hosts of the flavivirus (WHO, 2012). Yellow Fever is of three types, depending on the transmission cycle. Sylvatic, or Jungle Yellow Fever, is transmitted by jungle mosquitoes, and is largely confined to monkeys. Occasionally, it is transmitted to humans, such as loggers, who enter the jungle, and is then carried by them to urban areas. Intermediate Yellow Fever is caused by semi-domestic mosquitoes, which breed both in the jungle and round houses. This results in the transmission of the virus to both monkeys and humans, and is the most common type. Urban Yellow Fever occurs in densely populated areas when the mosquitoes bite infected humans and transmit the virus to other humans (WHO, 2012). The symptoms of Yellow Fever occur in three stages. The virus i ncubates in the body of the host for three to six days, after which symptoms set in. In stage 1, the infection takes hold. This stage is characterized by headache, muscle and joint aches, shivers, fever, flushing, loss of appetite, and vomiting. Jaundice, in which there is evident yellowing of the skin and eyes, is common, and gives the disease its name. Symptoms often go away briefly after about 3-4 days, when the remission stage sets in. The majority of those affected recovers after this stage, and acquire immunity to reinfection. However, about 15% of those infected enter the third stage, which is the toxic stage. This stage is characterized by high fever and heart, liver and kidney failure. Hemorrhages of the mouth, nose, eyes and stomach can occur, leading to blood in the vomit and faeces. Seizures, coma, and delirium are other symptoms. Approximately half the patients, who enter this stage, die of the disease (WHO, 2012). The danger of Yellow Fever is compounded by the fact th at there is no treatment except supportive care. There is no cure for the disease. About fifty percent of severely affected individuals die of Yellow Fever. Treatment is directed towards making the patient comfortable, and reducing the symptoms. Fever, and other associated bacterial infections, are treated with antibiotics; blood transfusion is given to compensate for blood loss due to hemorrhage; intravenous fluids are used to treat dehydration,

Relationship between Labor Market and Education Essay

Relationship between Labor Market and Education - Essay Example From the above table it is evident that majority of full time workers are those with PhD, masters, bachelors degree and 2 year program. Of those interviewed those with masters' degree and work full time amount to 66.2% while only 43% with high school diploma are working full time. In contrast to this we check the percentage of those that are unemployed; from the table only 5.2% with PhD are unemployed compared to 11.7% of those who have attained high school diploma. There it is evident that employment status will depend on education attainment. Now due to the fact that the T critical value is less than the T calculated value we reject the null hypothesis that the two means are equal therefore we conclude that mean percentage of those employed and have PhD is greater than the mean value of those employed and have attained high school diploma. In the labor market people who have higher educational attainment are paid more than others, for example PhD holders will be paid higher wage rates than bachelors degree holders, in this case we analyze education level and lowest wage willing to accept, the following table summarizes the results: The above table summarizes the percentage of those who are willing to paid 4.35 to 9 according to their education attainment; it is evident that only 1% of PhD holders are willing to be paid 6 dollars while 7.8% of GED holders are willing to be paid 6 dollars. ... Variance 1 = (2.22)2 Variance 2 = (2.47) 2 N1 =2535 N2 = 2535 Tcal = 100.2828 T critical at 95% level of test = 1.9599 Now due to the fact that the T critical value is less than the T calculated value we reject the null hypothesis that the two means are equal therefore we conclude that mean percentage of those employed and have PhD is greater than the mean value of those employed and have attained high school diploma. Education and lowest wage willing to accept: In the labor market people who have higher educational attainment are paid more than others, for example PhD holders will be paid higher wage rates than bachelors degree holders, in this case we analyze education level and lowest wage willing to accept, the following table summarizes the results: High school diploma GED 2-year program Bachelors Degree Masters Degree PhD... 4.35 0.1 0 0.2 0 0 0 4.5 0.4 0.9 0.3 0.1 0 0 4.75 0.2 0.9 0.1 0 0 0 wage 5 5.7 11 3.2 0.9 0.3 1 6 4.4 7.8 3 1 0 1 7 4.3 6 3 1.3 0.8 0 8 2.7 6.3 3.1 2.4 1.8 0 9 1 4.1 1.6 0.5 0.8 0 The above table summarizes the percentage of those who are willing to paid 4.35 to 9 according to their education attainment; it is evident that only 1% of PhD holders are willing to be paid 6 dollars while 7.8% of GED holders are willing to be paid 6 dollars. For this reason therefore it is evident that the cost of labor depends in education attainment. Hypothesis: More high school diploma individuals are willing to be paid 5 dollars than Masters Degree holders Null hypothesis: H0: a = b Alternative hypothesis: Ha: a b Where a high school diploma individuals are willing to be paid 5 and b is masters individual willing to be paid 5 dollars therefore a = 5.7and b = 0.3 Tcal = 2.34057 T critical at 95% level of test =

John Lewis and Marks and Spencer Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

John Lewis and Marks and Spencer - Case Study Example One of the policies was that items can be refunded back to customers as long as they had receipts even if the products had been purchased a long time ago. The Company recorded a profit of slightly over half a billion pounds in the year 2006. M& S also boasts of having a large employee base-it has close to seventy one thousand staff members under its wing. John Lewis was a company is also another retail chain of stores that is slightly smaller than the former mentioned Company. John Lewis (JL) has one hundred and twelve super markets and twenty six stores under its name. There are sixty eight thousand employees working for the Company. JL is well known for the way it shares profits and partners Legislations have been passed that regulate developments which take up green areas; this has limited expansion of M& S stores. The European Commission is working on laws that are related to how M& S closed stores in France especially the way it handled its employees. (www.euractiv.com) lastly, the government requires adherence to high standards in the food industry; M&S has to comply with those standards in its food section. M&S has changed its supply management from Chain management to inventory management. Storey et al (2003) ascertain that this is the reason why M&S is thriving in the retail sector. The company has to face stiff competition from other retailers who also have international markets; it has to incorporate knowledge management and outsourcing to stay ahead. M&S also faces renewed competition from new retailers following the introduction of the European Union. Legal M&S has to perform internal controls and assessments in compliance with the Turnbull report (2007). Also, the company has to follow government regulations that affect corporate governance. Social According to Mellahi et al (2002), the company faces resistance from staff members who may not want to comply with changes in the organisation. M&S also has to make a lot of changes in relation to factors affecting consumer behaviour. Some of these factors are health consciousness causing increased preference for organic foods, rejection of sweatshop labour and products that are safe, preference for products that can be micro waved. Technological The company has to consider internet shopping. It has come up with new products in line with technological advancements like laser scanning. Technology has brought a shift in the retail market to a diffuse international market. Environmental According to the annual report (2007), M&S has adopted Eco plan A, which affects the way the company manages its waste. The company has engaged in campaigns that promote animal welfare. Lastly, the company has introduced use of bags that can be recycled. John Lewis Political A modification has been introduced by the EU Aerosol Dispensers Directive that limits filling to 90%; JL has to comply. The company's name has been tarnished after it sold Unite- a Union. This showed that it does not reward loyal members of staff. Economic The company is facing competition from international markets; it also has to deal with the challenge of credit markets. In light of these factors, the company has decreased its operating costs and may get profits in the future. JL has a strong position in the organic market

Factors Influencing Supply and Demand of Food Research Paper - 1

Factors Influencing Supply and Demand of Food - Research Paper Example It highlights the main reasons for some of these factors such as food scarcity, prices and volatility. Food scarcity is a significant issue affecting economies globally as they strive to maintain healthy communities. As population increases, pressure on arable land has mounted leading to reduced soil fertility and pasture for livestock production. Potential land for food production is no longer available for farming as a human settlement has continued to expand. FAO (2012) postulated that a 60% increase in food production will be required to sustain the global population by 2050. Many other forces are influencing the availability of food. Climate change and global warming have led to negative changes that have occurred in areas that formed part of the global food basket but no longer support farming as a result of reduced rainfall and desertification. Desertification in Africa, Asia and Southern Australia, arid areas of Spain, Northern and Southern America has caused significant food shortages. Poor farming methods, overgrazing and deforestation of vast areas have accelerated desertif ication to the current crisis leading to dire food shortage globally (Kendall & Pimentel, 2010). Among other dynamics, demand for food is influenced by socio-economic factors that influence people’s food habits. For example, improved incomes globally as more people are able to participate in gainful employment has increased the demand for expensive food such as fast foods and chicken that require more energy to produce compared to the conventional foods. Culture and religion influence what people believe to be edible and hence lower or increase demand for particular foods (Kendall & Pimentel, 2010). Nutzenadel & Trentmann (2008) argue that malnutrition and global food scarcity can be curtailed by discouraging prohibitive beliefs and promoting acceptance of a wide variety of food materials  especially animal proteins that are not eaten by members of certain religious and cultural groups such as pork consumption among communities in the Middle East and beef consumption among the Hindu. Many insect species have been found to be important protein sources but people have not accepted them as food sources (Brouver & Staveren, 2006).  

Reflections on Bowling for Columbine Essay Example for Free

Reflections on Bowling for Columbine Essay The Columbine High School massacre struck me the hardest. It was horrifying to see the whole school in turmoil. Students and teachers were running wild and everyone screamed and panicked as the vitriolic killers aimed for their next target. Even more repulsive, the killers were only teenagers who study at that exact school in Columbine and were killing their own classmates. They were also seen going to bowling class that morning of the calamity. How could they do such a leisure activity when they were preparing to lay innocents to waste, to end their lives? How could they embark on such a shooting rampage, and finally, committing suicide? The deaths, injuries, and upheaval of the school plunges audiences into thinking the abuse of firearms and the seriousness of gun violence in the USA. What is the cause for such massive gun abuse in the USA? Michael Moore has tackled with some of the suggested reasons. Some may say the USA has a violent history, yet Germany, considering what its been through during the second world war, does not have as much snipers roaming about as the USA; countries other than America also have violent video games or movies but does not seem to suffer from gun abuse; Canada has a larger diversity of ethnic groups and higher unemployment rate, and people can possess a gun out of their own volition, but they dont have as much homicides through guns. One of the real causes behind the extreme behaviour of murderers can be because of the influence of the media. What has media done to their lives, to our lives? It can bring us with the latest news from all corners of the earth, convey messages, influence docile citizens, start a fad, or perhaps, spread fear and anxiety among people in the society as well? If the media announced that from tomorrow onwards no more imports will be allowed to enter Hong Kong, there is no doubt people will start panicking right on the spot and rush to supermarkets to hoard food and supplies. This would have wreaked a complete havoc on Hong Kong. This actually happens in the USA, where the media always tends to alert the public by exaggerating (or sometimes truthfully saying) facts. Americans start to live in fear, and as they start to live in fear, they begin to secure themselves with weapons. When everyone has a weapon and is ready and prepared to use it at anytime, the country will soon end up chaotic with everyone suspicious of his own  neighbour and ready to for some homicide. With the use of irony and mockumentary, Michael Moore has successfully presented Bowling for Columbine in a light-hearted way in some respects. Clips of South Park totally subdued the taut atmosphere from the scenes of the grisly massacre and the cartoon on American history was a brief mocking version that is flippant but true. Its theme song What a wonderful world was played several times throughout the documentary and the lyrics trees of green, red roses too, I see them blue echoed over black and white picture of dying war victims, massacres and killing sprees that went out of control. The contrast was stark which imprints deeply into audiences mind. Nothing can be too biased, nor can it be too democratic. Although this documentary seems to present us with an omniscient viewpoint, but are we restricted to one perspective (naturally Michael Moores) only? It is often impossible for directors to totally subjugate personal political convictions to their professional commitment to fairness and balance, and in this case, we might be oblivious of a few blatant facts that are not presented in the documentary. Like Canada may not be as crime-free as it seems (is it possible that all Canadians do not lock their doors?) and what would really happen if it was declared illegal for Americans to own a firearm. Would a greater disorder be resulted?

Integrated Marketing Communications

Integrated Marketing Communications Introduction Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is a development of current and customary strategies of marketing, to upgrade the correspondence of a steady message passing on the organizations brands to partners. Coupling different strategies together is added value in making successful correspondence as it tackles the individual advantages of each channel, which when consolidated together forms a clearer and greater effect than if utilized exclusively. To have the capacity to make progress through IMC, advertisers will recognize the limits around the promotional mix components and how the adequacy of the campaign message will be gotten a handle on by the gathering of people. Discussion Integrated Marketing Communications is a basic concept. It guarantees that all types of communications and messages are deliberately connected together. At its most fundamental level, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, as well call it, implies coordinating all the limited time instruments, so they cooperate in agreement. Promotions is one of the Ps in the marketing mix. Promotion has its own blend of specialized tools. These specialized instruments work better in the event that they cooperate in amicability as opposed to in disconnection. Their entirety is more noteworthy than their parts furnishing they talk reliably with one voice constantly, unfailingly. This is upgraded when coordination goes past simply the essential specialized devices. There are different levels of coordination, for example, Horizontal, Vertical, Internal, External and Data joining. Here is the way they help to reinforce Integrated Communications. Brand Communication and Integrated Marketing Brand communication is an activity taken by associations to make their products and services famous among the end-clients. Brand communication goes far in promoting products and services among target buyers. The procedure includes recognizing people who are most appropriate to the buy of items or administrations (likewise called target customers) and advancing the brand among them through any of the accompanying means: Advertising Sales Promotion Public Relation Direct Marketing Personal Selling Social media, and so on Integrated marketing communication alludes to coordinating every one of the strategies for brand advancement to advance a specific item or administration among target clients. In incorporated showcasing correspondence, all parts of promoting correspondence cooperate for expanded deals and most extreme cost adequacy. Components of Integrated Marketing Communications The Foundation As the name recommends, this stage includes detailed examination of both the product and also target market. It is fundamental for advertisers to comprehend the brand, its offerings and end-clients. You have to know the necessities, states of mind and desires of the objective clients. Keep a close watch on contenders exercises. The Corporate Culture The elements of items and administrations should be in accordance with the work culture of the association. Each association has a vision and its imperative for the advertisers to remember the same before planning items and administrations. Give a chance to comprehend it with the assistance of a case. Association As vision is to advance green and clean world. Normally its items should be eco benevolent and biodegradable, in lines with the vision of the association. Brand Focus Brand Focus speaks to the corporate personality of the brand. Purchaser Experience Marketers need to concentrate on shopper encounter which alludes to what the clients feel about the item. A buyer is probably going to get an item which has great bundling and looks appealing. Items need to meet and surpass client desires. Communication Tools Communication devices incorporate different methods of advancing a specific brand, for example, publicizing, coordinate offering, advancing through web-based social networking, for example, Facebook, twitter, Orkut et cetera. Promotional Tools Brands are advanced through different special devices, for example, exchange advancements, individual offering et cetera. Associations need to reinforce their association with clients and outer customers. Integrated Tools Organizations need to keep a customary track on client criticisms and audits. You need particular programming like client relationship administration (CRM) which helps in measuring the adequacy of different coordinated advertising specialized instruments. Incorporated advertising correspondence empowers all parts of showcasing combine to work in congruity to advance a specific item or administration successfully among end-clients. Benefits of Integrated Marketing Communications Albeit Integrated Marketing Communications requires a considerable measure of efforts, it conveys many advantages. It can give competitive advantage, help sales and benefits, while sparing cash, time and stress. IMC wraps correspondences around clients and helps them travel through the different phases of the purchasing procedure. The association all the while combines its image, builds up a discourse and supports its association with clients. This Relationship Marketing concretes an obligation of devotion with clients which can shield them from the inescapable issue of competition. The capacity to keep a client forever is an intense competitive advantage. IMC additionally expands benefits through expanded viability. At its most essential level, a brought together message has more effect than an incoherent heap of messages. In a busy world, a predictable, and perfectly clear message has a superior shot of slicing through the commotion of more than five hundred business messages which hits clients every single day. At another level, introductory research proposes that images partook in promoting and regular postal mail help both publicizing mindfulness and mail shot reactions. So IMC can help deals by extending messages over a few specialized devices to make more roads for clients to wind up distinctly mindful, stimulated, and at last, to make a purchase. Integrated messages additionally help purchasers by giving convenient updates, refreshed data and exceptional offers which, when displayed in an arranged succession, help them move serenely through the phases of their purchasing procedure and this lessens their hopelessness of decision in a mind boggling and occupied world. IMC additionally makes messages more reliable and in this manner more strong. Office expenses are lessened by utilizing a individual organization for all correspondences and regardless of the possibility that there are a few offices, time is spared when gatherings unite every one of the offices for briefings, imaginative sessions, strategic or key arranging. This lessens workload and consequent anxiety levels one of the many advantages of IMC. Barriers Regardless of its many advantages, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, has numerous barriers. Notwithstanding the standard imperviousness to change and the unique issues of speaking with a wide assortment of target gatherings of people, there are numerous different hindrances which limit IMC. These include: Functional Silos; Stifled Creativity; Time Scale Conflicts and an absence of Management know-how. Take useful storehouses. Unbending hierarchical structures are swarmed with managers who secure both their financial plans and their energy base. Tragically, some hierarchical structures detach correspondences, information, and even supervisors from each other. For instance the PR sector frequently doesnt answer to promoting. The business drive seldom meet the publicizing or deals advancement individuals et cetera. And the greater part of this can be exasperated by turf wars or interior power fights where particular managers oppose having some of their choices (and spending plans) decided or even affected by somebody from another department. IMC can confine imagination. Not any more wild and wacky deals advancements unless they fit into the general showcasing interchanges procedure. The delight of uncontrolled inventiveness might be smothered, however the innovative test might be more prominent and at last all the more fulfilling when working inside a more tightly, incorporated, imaginative brief. Include diverse time scales into an inventive brief and youll see Time Horizons give one more hindrance to IMC. For instance, picture publicizing, intended to sustain the brand over the more drawn out term, may strife with shorter term promoting or deals advancements intended to lift quarterly deals. However the two targets can be suited inside a general IMC if precisely arranged. However, this sort of arranging is not normal. A review in 1995, uncovered that most directors need mastery in IMC. Be that as it may, its chiefs, as well as organizations. There is a multiplication of single train offices. There give off an impression of being not very many individuals who have genuine experience of all the promoting correspondences disciplines. This absence of know how is then intensified by an absence of duty. The Shift from Fragmented to Integrated Marketing Communications Preceding the development of integrated marketing communication amid the 1990s, mass interchanges-the act of relaying data to substantial portions of the populace through TV, radio, and other media-dominated promoting.   Publicists communicated their offerings and strategic offers with little respect for the assorted needs, tastes, and estimations of purchasers. Frequently, this one size fits all approach was expensive and uninformative because of the absence of devices for measuring brings about terms of offers. Be that as it may, as techniques for gathering and breaking down consumer information through single-source innovation, for example, store scanners enhanced, advertisers were progressively ready to connect limited time exercises with customer buying designs. Organizations likewise started to scale back their operations and grow promoting errands inside their associations. Promoting organizations were additionally anticipated that would comprehend and give all showcasing capacities, not simply publicizing, for their customers. Today, corporate marketing spending plans are distributed toward exchange advancements, customer advancements, marking, advertising, and promoting. The allotment of correspondence spending plans far from broad communications and conventional promoting has raised the significance of IMC significance for viable showcasing. Presently, promoting is seen more as a two-path discussion amongst advertisers and purchasers. This move in the publicizing and media businesses can be condensed by the accompanying business sector patterns: a move from broad communications promoting to different types of correspondence the developing ubiquity of more particular (specialty) media, which considers individualized examples of utilization and expanded division of shopper tastes and inclinations the move from a maker commanded market to a retailer-ruled, shopper controlled market the developing utilization of information based promoting rather than general-center publicizing and showcasing more prominent business responsibility, especially in promoting execution based remuneration inside associations, which expands deals and advantages in organizations boundless Internet get to and more noteworthy online accessibility of merchandise and ventures a bigger concentrate on creating showcasing correspondences exercises that deliver an incentive for target gatherings of people while expanding advantages and decreasing ex penses The Tools of Integrated Marketing Communications The IMC procedure by and large starts with an incorporated showcasing interchanges arrange for that depicts the diverse sorts of promoting, publicizing, and deals instruments that will be utilized amid crusades. These are to a great extent limited time instruments, which incorporate everything from site improvement (SEO) strategies and pennant notices to online courses and websites. Integrated marketing communication components, for example, daily papers, announcements, and magazines may likewise be utilized to educate and induce buyers. Advertisers should likewise settle on the fitting mix of customary and advanced correspondences for their intended interest group to fabricate a solid brand-buyer relationship. Notwithstanding the brands special blend, it is critical that advertisers guarantee their informing is steady and credible over all correspondence channels.Integrated Marketing Communication is characterized as the coordination and reconciliation of all advertising specialized instrument, roads and sources inside an organization into consistent program that augment the effect on client and flip side clients at a negligible cost. This reconciliation influences all firm business-to-business, showcasing channel, client centered, and inside coordinated correspondences. Incorporated Marketing Communications is an administration idea that is intended to make all parts of showcasing correspondence, for example, publicizing, deals advancement, advertising, individual offering and direct promoting cooperate as a bound together compel, instead of allowing each to work in disconnection. Additionally, it goes about as a forceful promoting arrangement since it sets and tracks advertising methodology that catches and uses broad measure of client data. It likewise guarantees that all types of correspondences and messages are precisely connected together to accomplish particular target. Advertising Advertising has four qualities: it is powerful in nature; it is non-individual; it is paid for by a recognized support; and it is dispersed through mass channels of correspondence. Publicizing messages may advance the reception of merchandise, administrations, people, or thoughts. Since the business message is scattered through the broad communications-instead of individual offering-it is seen as a substantially less expensive method for achieving shoppers. Be that as it may, its non-individual nature implies it does not have the capacity to tailor the business message to the message beneficiary and, all the more critically, really get the deal. Accordingly, promoting impacts are best measured as far as expanding mindfulness and changing dispositions and suppositions, not making deals. Public Relations (PR) Advertising is characterized as an administration capacity which recognizes, builds up, and keeps up commonly valuable connections between an association and general society whereupon its prosperity or disappointment depends. Though promoting is a restricted correspondence from sender (the advertiser) to the beneficiary (the shopper or the retail exchange), advertising considers numerous gatherings of people (purchasers, representatives, providers, sellers, and so forth.) and utilizations two-path correspondence to screen input and conform both its message and the associations activities for greatest advantage. Sales Promotions (SP) Sales promotion are immediate actuations that offer additional impetuses to improve or quicken the items development from maker to buyer. Deals advancements might be coordinated at the customer or the exchange. Buyer advancements, for example, coupons, examining, premiums, sweepstakes, value (packs that offer more noteworthy amount or lower cost than ordinary), minimal effort financing arrangements, and refunds are buy impetuses in that they prompt item trial and energize repurchase. Personal Selling (PS) Individual offering incorporates all individual to-individual contact with clients with the reason for acquainting the item with the client, persuading him or her of the items esteem, and bringing the deal to a close. The part of individual offering changes from association to association, contingent upon the nature and size of the organization, the industry, and the items or administrations it is promoting. Direct Marketing (DM) Coordinate promoting, the most established type of showcasing, is the way toward discussing specifically with target clients to energize reaction by phone, mail, electronic means, or individual visit. Clients of direct showcasing incorporate retailers, wholesalers, makers, and specialist organizations, and they utilize an assortment of techniques including regular postal mail, telemarketing, coordinate reaction promoting, online PC shopping administrations, link shopping systems, and infomercials. Emerging Tools of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Sponsorships (Event Marketing) Sponsorships, consolidate publicizing and deals advancements with advertising. Sponsorships increment consciousness of an organization or item, fabricate unwaveringness with a particular target crowd, help separate an item from its rivals, give marketing openings, show responsibility to a group or ethnic gathering, or effect all that really matters. Like promoting, sponsorships are started to assemble long haul affiliations. Associations in some cases contrast sponsorships and promoting by utilizing gross impressions or cost-per-thousand estimations. Social Media Marketing The idea of web-based social networking marketing fundamentally alludes to the way toward advancing business or sites through web-based social networking channels. It is a capable promoting medium that is characterizing the way individuals are imparting. It is one of the altogether minimal effort special strategies that give organizations extensive quantities of connections and gigantic measure of activity. Organizations figure out how to get huge consideration and that truly works for the business. Online networking promoting is a powerful technique connected by dynamic organizations for offering their items/administrations or for simply distributing content for commercial income. Internet Marketing Internet Marketing likewise alluded to as i-promoting, web-marketing, online marketing or e-Marketing, is the marketing of items or administrations over the Internet. The Internet has conveyed media to a worldwide gathering of people. The intuitive way of Internet advertising as far as giving moment reactions and inspiring reactions are the one of a kind characteristics of the medium. Mobile Marketing Portable Marketing includes speaking with the customer by means of cell (or versatile) gadget, either to send a straightforward showcasing message, to acquaint them with another group of onlookers support based crusade or to permit them to visit a versatile site. Conclusion The rise of integrated marketing communication (IMC) has turned into a important case of development in the area of marketing. It has affected thinking and acting among a wide range of organizations and associations confronting the substances of rivalry in an open economy. From the earliest starting point of the 1990s IMC turned into a genuine intriguing issue in the field of promoting. Four phases of IMC have been recognized, beginning from strategic coordination to budgetary and key reconciliation. Be that as it may, the greater part of firms are tied down in the primary stages and not very many have moved to a vital level. One conclusion is that there are obstructions to creating IMC from strategies to technique. Integrated marketing communication is a way to deal with arranging communications that gives your independent company the possibility to show signs of improvement results from your campaigns and decrease promoting costs. By incorporating tools, for example, publicizing, direct mail, web-based social networking, telemarketing and deals advancement, you give clearness, consistency and greatest interchanges affect. An integrated campaign helps you give clients data in the configuration they incline toward. Buyers and business clients can indicate in the event that they need to get item data through email, direct mail, instant message or phone. Coordination guarantees they get a similar data in all interchanges. You can likewise address the issues of clients who scan the Internet for item data by incorporating your web architecture and substance with different correspondences. In the customary approach to deal with marketing communication, organizations and their agencies plan different campaigns for publicizing, press relations, coordinate advertising and sales promotion. Coordinated campaigns utilize a similar promotion apparatuses to fortify each other and enhance showcasing viability. In a coordinated crusade, you can utilize promoting to bring issues to light of a product and produce leads for the business compel. By conveying a similar data in official statements and highlight articles, you fortify the messages in the promoting. You can then utilize post office based mail or email to catch up request from the promoting or press crusades and furnish prospects with more data. Integrated Marketing Communications Integrated Marketing Communications INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS: ISSUES Introduction The emergence of integrated marketing communications (IMC) has become one of the most significant examples of development in the marketing discipline (Kitchen, 2003). Because of the realities of competition in an open economy it has influenced thinking and acting among corporate organisations, Some 20 years ago academics and professionals discussed theory and practice of business communication but without considering the idea of integration as a realistic approach to reach a competitive strategic position for the company. Some early attempts in the beginning of the 1980s initiated academic interest and articles appeared in the academic literature (Dyer, 1982; Coulson-Thomas, 1983). From the beginning of the 1990s IMC became a real hot topic in the field of marketing (Caywood et al., 1991; Miller and Rose, 1994; Kitchen and Schultz, 1997, 1998, 1999). Twenty years ago, 75 percent of marketing budgets went to advertising in the US. Today, 50 percent goes into trade promotions, 25 percent into consumer promotions and less than 25 percent into advertising (Kitchen, 2003). The allocation of communication budgets away from mass media and traditional advertising has obviously promoted IMC in recognition and importance for effective marketing. The emergence of IT has greatly chang ed the media landscape, contributed to an extensive deregulation of markets and individualized patterns of consumption and increased the segmentation of consumer tastes and preferences (Eagle and Kitchen, 2000; Kitchen, 2003). Four stages of IMC have been identified by Kitchen and Schultz (2000) starting from tactical coordination of promotional elements, redefining the scope of marketing communications, application of information technology to financial and strategic integration. They found that the majority of firms are still operating in the first two stages, some are moving into stage three and very few have moved to stage four. One fact is that there are barriers to developing IMC from tactics to strategy. If we accept that communication is the foundation of all human relationship (Duncan, 2002) we also have to accept that only strategically oriented integrated brand communications can help business to reach a sustainable competitive position. My main purpose, thus, is to systematically review the literature of the marketing concept Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) by identifying key debates within the academic research, summarize them and propose opportunities for further research. LITERATURE REVIEW Communication is the process by which individuals share meaning. This means that each participant must fully understand each other otherwise no dialogue will occur. Only through knowledge and understanding of the communication process are the actors likely to achieve their objectives of influencing attitudes, knowledge and/or behaviors to persuade, which is one of the most prominent reasons why organizations need to communicate (Fill, 1999). With increasing worldwide interest in the emergent concept and field of IMC it is important to investigate its theoretical foundations. An English exile in Paris Thomas Hobbes produced his major work: Leviathan in April 1651 (Hobbes, 1651, pp. 46-8). He argued that our cognizance, i.e the thinking, such as beliefs (Peter,J.P., Olson,J.C., Gruert, K.G. 1999) of the world are really of the pressures materially exerted on us by external motions (or signals from the environment). Also our passions are influenced by material motions. Men are therefore mostly influenced by internal material perceptions of an external material world (Hobbes, 1651, p. 52). While not accepting his thesis wholeheartedly, it is evident that we live in a material world (Lansley, 1993) one which supports the perspective that men are expected to be influenced by external motions. However, the outcomes associated with the Hobbesian metaphor suggest that conditions now are quite different from those early years a position supported by the communications revolution taking place in the twentieth century alone. The opinion that we are influenced by external motions gains credence when standard models of consumer behaviour are considered (Kotler, 1992, pp. 161-4). Such models describe consumer behaviour as a black box of consumer characteristics and decision-making processes. The black box is influenced by inputs consisting of environmental characteristics (social, economic, technological, political and cultural) and marketing characteristics (product, price, promotion, and place). These may lead to attitudinal change (i.e. brand loyalties and behavioural tendencies) and ultimately to actions in the form of product, brand, and store choice, timing, and amount.Clearly, such communications are not alone in their attempts to influence thinking or behaviour. So what is occurring within the black box? Marketing communicators are aiming to progress consumers through the cognitive, affective, and behavioural stages of decision making as exemplified by, for example, the AIDA model (Strong, 1925) which asserts that, for advertising to work, it must be effective through four distinct stages: Attention. The consumer must notice the communication. Interest. The consumer must be drawn to take in the message which is being communicated. Desire. The consumer must want to acquire the product or service which is the subject of the communication. Action. The consumer must make the purchase. There are many other communication models all of which describe promotional communication in terms of altered cognitions, emotional feelings, or behavioural tendencies towards a firm and/or its products or services. Marketing communications does not and cannot operate in a vacuum of its own making. Consumers perceive social reality in a number of ways in which , the least being, by social interaction with others (Berger and Luckman, 1991). Media content and other forms of promotion, together with knowledge derived from a diversity of origins, and social interaction, form a constructed view of temporal existence within consumer minds. Consumers make use of, and are not just affected by, promotional activity. Marketing communications are limited in the effects they can have on consumer minds (Katz, 1987). But, undoubtedly, in order for marketing communications to have an effect on consumer minds, they have to reach the sense organs of the person(s) to be affected. However, what happens after is debatable. Most consumers are continually bombarded with communications virtually every waking moment of the day. On an average day this may amount to over 2,000 exposures (Kotler, 1988). The majority of such exposures are screened out either by lack of interest or sensory overload. Messages may be distorted or twisted to fit with pre-existent cognitive structures (Cartwright, 1972), i.e. recipients of communications may twist them to fit in with their existing knowledge or information base. Selectivity in memory retention is evident dependent on the extent to which elaboration and message rehearsal take place in receivers. Thus communication systems are very essential in affecting consumer opinions. By a communication system Shannon and Weaver meant a system essentially contained five parts: An information source which produces a message or sequence of messages to be communicated to a receiving terminal. The message may be of various types. A transmitter which operates on the message to produce a signal suitable for transmission over the channel. The channel is merely the medium used to transmit the signal from transmitter to receiver. The receiver, reconstructing the message from the signal. The destination is the person for whom the message is intended (Shannon and Weaver, 1949, p. 3). Shannon and Weaver classified communication systems into three main categories: discrete, continuous and mixed. By a discrete system they meant one in which both the message and the signal are a sequence of discrete symbols, for instance telegraphy. A continuous system is one in which the message and signal both are treated as continuous functions, e.g. radio or television. A mixed system is one in which both discrete and continuous variables appear, e.g. transmission of speech. Related to the broad subject or communication, Warren (1949) identified, problems at three levels.Level 1 The technical problem how accurately the symbols of communication can be transmitted. Level 2 The semantic problem how precisely the transmitted symbols convey the desired meaning and Level 3The effectiveness problem how effectively the received meaning does affect conduct in the desired way. Figure 1 shows a communication system, where the information source selects a desired message out of a set of possible messages. The selected messages may consist of written or spoken words, or of pictures, music, etc. The message is changed by the transmitter into the signal, which is sent over the channel to the receiver. The kinds of questions which Shannon seeks to ask concerning such a communication system are: How to measure amount of information? How to measure the capacity of a communication channel? The action of the transmitter in changing the message into the signal often involves a coding process. When the coding process is as efficient as possible, at what rate can the channel convey information? What are the general characteristics of noise and how can undesirable effects of noise be minimized or eliminated? If the signal being transmitted (as in written speech, telegraphy) how does this fact affect the problem? Shannon and Weaver developed what is now accepted as the basic model of communications. It is a sequential and linear model, which has survived for decades and appears in somewhat different shapes in common literature in the field of marketing communications. However, the model is essentially a one-step model of communication and is oversimplified since communications do not necessarily occur in a single step. The linear model of communications emphasizes the transmission of signals, ideas and information primarily through symbols. As we have seen the linear model focuses on transmission effectiveness and efficiency and emphasizes measurability. Holm (2002) found that 70-80 percent of relevant literature in the field of marketing communications during the 1990s is based on the linear, process-oriented perspective on communication theory. We assume that communication is intentional and a deliberate effort to bring about response. We also assume that communication is a transactional process between two and more parties whereby meaning is exchanged through the intentional use of symbols. This means that all those involved in the process must share a common view of what the symbols and signs actually mean. This, then, means that a senders and a receivers field of experience, understanding and interpretation to a certain extent must overlap. This requires a somewhat different and developed theoretical approach to marketing communications, a qualitative approach, which pays attention to the reader, to the listener and the viewer since meaning can only be derived socially (Blythe, 2000). Meaning, signs, symbols, syntactic and culture become essential elements in the developing of communications. The linear, process-oriented model and its components are straightforward, but it is the quality of the linkages between the vario us elements in the process that determine whether the communication will be successful (Fill, 2002). However, this crucial perspective on communications is focused by only 20-30 percent of the relevant literature in the field of marketing communications. IMC as a concept has gained recognition on an international scale during the 1990s. Thus its widespread use is comparatively recent. Let us assume that the ultimate purpose of marketing is to deliver a higher standard of living (Kotler, 2003). If we use a more limited definition we could say that marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and freely exchanging products and services of value with others (Kotler, 2003, p. 9). The keyword is value, which can be defined as a ratio between benefits and costs, between what the customer gets and what he/she gives. To increase greater customer participation the marketer can use several combinations of methods, all aiming to raise benefits and reduce costs. It is then evident that the main purpose of marketing communication is to affect the consumers conception of value and of the relation between benefits and costs. Defining IMC, Smith et al. (1999) distinguishes three definitions: Management and control of all market communications. Ensuring that the brand positioning, personality and messages are delivered synergistically across every element of communication and are delivered from a single consistent strategy. The strategic analysis, choice, implementation and control of all elements of marketing communications which efficiently (best use of resources), economically (minimum costs) and effectively (maximum results) influence transactions between an organization and its existing and potential customers, consumers and clients. In order to reach a better understanding of the full meaning and process of IMC Smith et al. (1999) have developed a tool which is supposed to show marketing integration as occurring at one or more of seven levels. They distinguish the following levels and corresponding degrees of integration. Vertical objectives integration. It means that communication objectives fit with marketing objectives and the overall corporate objectives. Horizontal/functional integration. Marketing communications activities fit well with other business functions of manufacturing, operations and human resource management. Marketing mix integration. The marketing mix of product, price and place decisions is consistent with the promotion decisions, e.g. with the required communication messages. Communications mix integration. All the 12 communications tools are being used to guide the customer/consumer/client through each stage of the buying process and all of them portray a consistent message. Creative design integration. The creative design and execution is uniform and consistent with the chosen positioning of the product. Internal/external integration. All internal departments and all external employed agencies are working together to an agreed plan and strategy. Financial integration. The budget is being used in the most effective and efficient way ensuring that economies of scale are achieved and that long-term investment is optimized. Smith et al. claim that the most important and fundamental level is that of vertical integration of objectives and activities and that no effective marketing communication objective can be formulated, which is not directly linked to specific marketing objectives and to relevant corporate objectives. All these levels contain specific critical issues which might occur during the process and need to be solved. One of the most essential tasks is to make sure that goals on different levels and character are mutually achievable. Objectives for profitability must be consistent with objectives for growth, for gaining increasing market share and for certain social responsibilities and to broader societal concerns. Goals and strategies must deal with industry threats and take into consideration risks of competitive response. When it comes to communication and implementation it must be sure that the goals are well understood and accepted by the key implementers. The emergence of the internet and new information technology has led many companies to reconsider their key factors to competitive success. Porter (2001) states that some companies have used internet technology to shift the basis of competition away from quality, features and service toward price, making it harder for anyone in the ir industry to reach profitability. Porter has pointed out how internet influences industry structure. Some of his findings are: differences among competitors are reduced; competition migrates to price; geographic market widens increasing the number of competitors; new substitution threats are created by the proliferation of internet; standardization of products reduces differentiation; reduced barriers to entry shifts power to suppliers; traditional powerful channels are eliminated; end-users bargaining power is increased through reduced switching costs; difficult to keep internet applications from new entrants; and the internet can expand the market by making the industry more efficient. Evidently, these and other factors must be taken into consideration when developing marketing communication. However, the most essential difference, from a communicative perspective, is not the changing set of tools. More important is to adjust objectives and strategies to changing marketing and communication realities. As we can see, IMC is a more complex issue. It is the art of uniting a senders purposes and goals with the carefully selected receivers prerequisites of interpretation and preunderstanding, to develop a creative strategy, where content and form of the messages are congruent and to optimize the selection of channels. The process has obvious similarities with classic methodology of rhetoric (Vossius, 1990). Thus IMC has become a strategic issue and should, therefore, be treated in accordance with the nature of strategy and strategic decisions. The characteristics commonly associated with the concept of strategy and strategic decisions are, first, that strategy is concerned with the long-term direction of an organization or a company. Second, strategic decisions are likely about to gain some competitive advantage. Third, strategic decisions are concerned with the scope of the organizations activities. It is to do with what owners and managements want the organization to be like and to be about. This could and should include important decisions about visions, product range, withdrawal from or entering markets. Johnson and Scholes (2002) claim that strategy can be seen as the matching or resources and activities or an organization to the environment in which it operates, sometimes known as the search for strategic fit. Besides identifying strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities in the business environment it would be seen as important to achieve the correct positioning of the company including the organization of the three concepts identity, profile and image. Questions concerning the connection between these concepts are of the utmost importance for the organizations relations to its market, for its ability to develop, maintain and increase a competitive position (Holm, 1998). There are many tactics at the marketers disposal when using the elements of the communications mix in order to maximize the impact of the communications activities. The basics of this is the four-way division into advertising, public relations, sales promotion and personal selling (Blythe, 2000). Traditionally, the tools of marketing communications are around 12-20. Collectively, these are referred to as the promotional mix (Blythe, 2000; Burnett and Moriarity, 1998; Fill, 1999; Kitchen, 2003; Kotler, 2003; Pickton and Broderick, 2001; Smith et al., 1999). In order to illustrate the complexity of the communication process, we must add a number of tools of varying importance and of different character, both personal and mass marketing communications. On a macro level, the scope of marketing should include ideologies, political as well as commercially oriented. Examples like the Nazi era in Germany (The Ministry of Propaganda systematically used sports events like the Olympic Games, as large-scale event marketing. Music, opera, art, architecture, uniforms, badges, flags, exhibitions, film, literature, education and parades were all used as communications tools in order to sell a political ideology). We find similar examples in the former Soviet Union and in todays North Korea. However, increasing need and opportunities to reach the single individual consumer, buyer, guest, client, visitor, patient or voter, leads to the search for more sophisticated and in several situations critical tools. It is of utmost importance to widen the methodo logical perspective and take into consideration tools of particular interest in a one-to-one marketing perspective. The numerous tools and the uncountable possible combinations illustrate the complexity of IMC and that decisions concerning IMC is a strategic issue mainly consisting of principals and guidelines rather than instructions on a tactical level, mostly handled by advertising agencies (Schroeder, 2002; Percy et al., 2002) and account executives. Also on a macro level, we can distinguish three factors which have fundamentally changed the conditions for IMC; deregulations of markets, globalization of the economy and individualization of the consumption. The emergence of new information technology can be considered as the dominating underlying factor. Communication has always been built upon three different systems sound, image and writing. All these systems have been depending on technological development. Up till now no technology has been able to transmit all systems, at t he most two. Gutenberg produced writing and image. Sound film came 1929, based on sound technology and photography. The numeric revolution handle the three systems and has become a fourth system, the digital system which itself has had tremendous economic and social consequences. Previously, the three communication systems were separate. The IT-revolution has made a total communicative integration possible, which in its turn has changed business structures. Three large business areas are now integrated: telephony, television and the computer industry. The importance of specialization has decreased and differences between previously separate cultures as publishing, film industry and music industry have diminished. Fusions have brought the three spheres together and they have become the heavy industry of our time. The development of the industrial revolution took around 200 years. The new technology has reached practically all over the world in 20 years. However, communication remains as one of the most human of activities. We can, again, define communication as a transactional process between two or more parties whereby meaning is exchanged through the intentional use of symbols (Engel et al., 1994). Notice the key elements: communication is intentional; a deliberate effort is made to bring about a response. It is a transaction and the participants are all involved in the process and it is symbolic where words, pictures, music and other stimulants are used to convey thoughts (Blythe, 2000). Computer-based systems have revolutionized communications. Computer-based communications include data based systems and web sites. We can argue that technological development has put good old days far behind. The competitive arena of today bears little resemblance to that of the mid-1990s (Blythe, 2000, p.10). Non-differentiated mass markets rarely exist today. A number of factors have emerged and interact in such a way that the environment for c ommunication strategy is radically changed. Engel et al. (1994) claimed that appealing to unidentified individuals in a mass market is increasingly becoming a dead end. One fundamental consequence is that the traditional emphasis on heavyweight mass communication campaigns (so-called above-the-line), has been replaced by more direct and highly targeted promotional activities using direct marketing and other tools aimed to reach the smallest of all target groups, the single individual. Conclusions The primary goal of IMC is to affect the perception of value and behavior through directed communication. The development and diffusion of IMC is closely associated with fast technological advancement and of a rapidly globalizing and deregulations of markets and individualization of consumption patterns. This has emphasized the need to adjust objectives and strategies to changing marketing and communication realities. In the rapidly changing and highly competitive world of the twenty-first century only strategically oriented IMC can help business to move forward. However, Kitchen and Schultz (2000) have found that a majority of firms have remained on a level mainly dealing with tactical coordination of promotional elements and that very few, a handful in todays world, have moved to financial and strategic integration. We can assume that the theoretical and methodological perspectives and frameworks are influenced by educational background and tradition. On a tactical level marketing, communication is handled by professionally skilled account executives, art directors and copy directors with very limited competence and experience from strategic management. A study of the current educational program, specially designed for management on strategic level, shows that communication theory and methodology takes up approximately 3 percent of total time. The rest of the time is devoted to strategic planning, applied management, financial analysis, marketing, politics and economics. This educational structure has remained during at least the last two decades. A main conclusion we can draw is that those who have strategic and tactic responsibility for IMC live in separate educational, cultural, intellectual and empirical spheres. Those responsible for strategic management decisions possess, at the best, strategic management ability but lack insight and awareness concerning communication theory and method. And those professionally skilled in communication lack relevant skills concerning strategic management, theoretically and empirically. If we imagine these two spheres as areas, we can easily notice that the intersection field is very small. A study of relevant literature published during the 1990s shows that a simplified theoretical perspective on communication as process oriented, sequential and linear is dominating 70-80 percent of the books, thereby overlooking the complexity of communication. Different educational cultures might be an essential obstacle to move IMC from tactics to strategy. A study of leading Swedish schools and institutes in the fields of management shows that approximately only 3 percent of total time is devoted to communication theory and methodology. The study also shows that the education programs of the leading marketing communications schools contain less than 10 percent of leadership and strategic management while more 90 percent is aimed at communication theory, various techniques, advertising, art, copy and account executive training. A concluding remark is that the concept of IMC is dominated by a simplified and insufficient theoretical perspective and handled by professionals with skills on a technical and tactical level. This indicates that there is a gap between two cultural, intellectual and empirical spheres. Opportunities for further research. 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Conflict and Ambiguity in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber :: essays papers

Conflict and Ambiguity in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber I recently read Earnest Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." This is a story about a thirty-five year old man, Francis Macomber who is on an African safari hunt with his wife, Margot. Led by his guide, Robert Wilson, Macomber tries to display his manhood by killing dangerous creatures. This in fact has the exact opposite effect when he humiliates himself by running from a wounded lion. Samuel Shaw stated in Earnest Hemingway, "†¦this is about much more than a hunting yarn, although it is that, too. It is a story that examines that elemental bases of the male-female relationship and the sources of human freedom and dependence" (82). The situation is complicated when Margot sleeps with Wilson and Macomber knows about it. Macomber has another chance to prove himself when they go into an island of trees to shoot a wounded buffalo. This time he stands his ground and shoots repeatedly as the buffalo charges forward. Seeing the whole situation from the car Ma rgot shoots at the last instant, and in a brilliant ending by Hemmingway, misses and hits Macomber right in the back of the head, leaving the reader to wonder, "Did she mean to hit him?" Prevalent in this story is Hemmingway's use of the literary conventions conflict and ambiguity. Conflict is described by James H. Pickering as, "The struggle or encounter within the plot of two opposing forces that serves to create reader interest and suspense" (1169). This is found all throughout this story. (1169) Macomber faces both internal and external conflict. The author displays conflict between Macomber and his wife: He was very wealthy, and would be much wealthier, and he knew she would not leave him ever now. That was one of the few things that he really knew†¦ His wife had been a great beauty and she was still a great beauty in Africa, but she was not a great enough beauty any more at home to be able to leave him and better herself and she knew it and he knew it. She had missed the chance to leave him and he knew it. If he had been better with women she would probably have started to worry about him getting another new, beautiful wife; but she knew too much about him to worry about him either.

Investigate whether firelighter, wood, ethanol, paraffin or wax contains the most energy :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Investigate whether firelighter, wood, ethanol, paraffin or wax contains the most energy Energy In Different Fuels Aim: I am going to investigate which fuels contain the most energy between; firelighter, wood, ethanol, paraffin and wax. Prediction: I think that the fuel that contains the most energy is the one that produces the highest rise in temperature of the water. I know this because†¦ Heat + fuel + oxygen => CO2 + H20 + energy. The energy realised is heat and light energy, which is dependent on the chemical potential energy in the fuel. The greater the chemical potential energy the more energy is transferred as heat and light; the greater the rise in temperature. And because of the fire triangle: tri2.gif (22406 bytes) Apparatus: List: Stop watch Thermometer Splint Clamp Matches Boiling tube Heat proof mat Fuels: Firelighter, Wood, Ethanol, Paraffin, Wax. Method (Preliminary test): first of all, I will make sure I take all of the safety precautions, I.e. tie back long hair, use goggles and make sure the room is well ventilated. Secondly I will set out the apparatus and get all the equipment from the list (shown on the previous page). Using the measuring cylinder, I will put 20cm3 of distilled water into a boiling tube, and take the starting temperature. In order to make this a fair test I will burn the fuel for one minute only, use 20cm3 of water and make sure the tip of the fuel’s flame is under the boiling tube. After the minute is up, I will blow out the flame or place the lid of the fuel over it, (cutting off the oxygen). I will then take the finial temperature. Then I will repeat the experiment for the other four fuels, in order to establish which two fuels produced the highest rise in temperature of the water. Method - Comparison: I will then compare these two fuels by heating them until they get to a certain temperature noting down the time every time the temperature increases by 10 °C in order to form a scatter graph using line of best fit. I will use step one and most of step two from the preliminary test (first of all, I will make sure I take all of the safety precautions, I.e. tie back long hair, use goggles and make sure the room is well ventilated. Secondly I will set out the apparatus and get all the equipment from the list (shown on the previous page). Using the measuring cylinder, I will put 20cm3 of distilled water into a boiling tube,) I then heat the water using the first fuel until it rises to 100 °C, noting the time every 10 °C starting from 20 °C.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury :: Veldt

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of The Veldt, is a delving into the issue of how modern technology can destroy the nuclear family.   The editor of the Encounters book, John A. Rothermich comments that "This story is almost devoid of characterization.", I agree with this statement and think it is key to the plot of the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story begins with the mother of the family, who has quite a generic name.   We are given no information of the characters background and how they came to the point in time they are now.   The lines "Happylife Home" and the familiar room settings like the parent's bedroom and the nursery give you a sense that this is a typical suburban home of the time. The mother seems alarmed or confused about something, "the nursery is...different now than it was", this at first might lead you to believe the mother has true individual characteristics.   However, when you read on, you see the stereotyped reactions to every situation that comes about, the parents then say "nothing's too good for our children".   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Later in the story the parents discuss the problems of the incredible house and nursery, "The house is wife, mother, and nursemaid, Can I compete with it?", and the father has a generic answer "But I thought that's why we bought this house".   The parents in the story look upon their children's needs as services instead of ways of expressing any love or care.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the story we never learn anything about the children except for their obsession with the nursery, "I don't want to do anything but look and listen and smell; what else is there to do?".   When the parents tell the children the idea of shutting down the computerized house "for a vacation", the children react shocked and stay with their one, single characteristic given, they act shocked "Who will fry my eggs for me, or darn my socks?". You see then the children's primary relationship is to the house and not the parents, the children exclaim "I wish you were dead!".   And sure enough, by the end of the story the children act on their on

Who Has Impacted Your Life the Most

There are certain people, when we asked them about who impact your life's, they usually mentioned their parents. However, my parents gave me the gift of life. They taught me how to talk and walk. They are always here for me when I need something. I cannot live without their advice. My parents are perfect examples of gave me the chance to have good education and better life. First, my father is my guidance with everything I had done. I cannot waived his advise to me. I always find him in the position where I need him. For example, my decision of studying in the United State or studying in Saudi Arabia.He encourage me to go to the United State because as professor working in the university. He told me that teaching in America better for you. Even thought he is teaching on university in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, he gave me the chance to choose whether I want to study in Saudi Arabia or America. Lastly, I chose to study in the U. S, and he was with me for the lest monument of supporting me and giving me advice until I arrived to the U. S. Second, my mother is the best mother in the world because she gave the impassible thing that no body can give me, is the gift of live.She always help me with whatever I need. She never forces me to do anything that I do not like to do. She wanted for me to have the best education in my entire life. She also supported me and gave me advice to my trip to the U. S. I remember she told me that â€Å"nobody was born to know† because I was afraid of learning English. And who will be the life with different culture. In this situation, she said to me you are going to harmony with other people there and do not be afraid, the life is easy.

Nike Promotion Essay

Another important factor in economy is the maturing market in athletic shoes. There is also a growing adverse demographic change in the marketplace brought about by the sweatshop expose that Nike has not overcome yet. Effects to Nike’s growth are also affected not only by domestic economy but also by the international economy. The continued weak Euro and Asian recession could potentially hurt Nikes international sales and growth. Nike’s extreme sports product line is seen as inferior quality compared to competitors and is hurting sales and brand image. CUSTOMERS In 1998, Americans spent $38 billion to buy over 1. 1 billion pairs of shoes. Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association revealed that athletic footwear makes up almost 35% of all footwear purchases. The existing domestic industry focus is on casual and comfortable shoes. Demand is up for the â€Å"brown shoe† casual footwear with a comfortable and rugged design. This is because of the increasing number of workplaces allowing casual dress codes. Multinational customers account for a large part of Nike’s sales. In 1995, Nike’s international operations accounted for 36. 6 of its total revenues. The company believes that demands from international markets will increase in future. Nike must cater to a large portion of the new generation that demands the latest trends and styles. Nike should take into account the changing US demographics due to the rising proportion of Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans. These groups have different preferences that Nike should be able to satisfy. Nike should identify the next generation of loyal customers and provide for their needs. COMPETITION Competition is very fierce due to the number of companies competing for sales. Lots of money goes to marketing and promotions using various channels to reach the young demographic group of consumers who spend the most money on Nike’s products. Growth is slowing down in the athletic footwear industry. But new markets are emerging with high growth rates. These markets include extreme sports market and the corporate merchandise market. Nike’s global market share was an impressive 30. 4% in 1998. The closest competitor, Adidas, held 15. 5% of the market share while Reebok held 11. 2%. The remaining competitors, including Fila, Timberland, Asics, Converse, and New Balance, among others, each hold approximately 3-5% of the remaining market share. MARKETING ASPECTS OBJECTIVES Nikebiz. com stated that Nike’s mission statement is â€Å"Through the adoption of business practices Nike is committed to securing intergenerational quality of life, restoring environment and increasing value for our customers, shareholders and business partners. † Nike shows passion for their company, products, and athletes. They are determined to provide consumers with comfort and assurance. They also find ways to innovate and create. They adhere to their five brand principles namely: inspire, innovate, focus, connect, and care. Another Nike’s objective is â€Å"to be the world’s leading sports and Fitness Company. † Nike’s mission statement is similar to a vision statement and is potentially a weakness. The mission identifies the sports and fitness industry business they are in, it does not specify as to what products and services they provide. The mission statement does not mention distribution channels and customers. However, it portrays management’s beliefs and the desire to be number one and remain in the leading position in sports and fitness shoe and apparel industry. STRATEGIES Corporate Strategies. The past two decades saw a change in economy from â€Å"standardized† to flexible†. Having a strict corporate organization used to be the rule, now it is common to have a flexible organization that uses subcontracting. The main reason Nike succeeded in competing in the footwear industry for a long time is because they remain flexible in an unpredictable market by subcontracting overseas in countries with low labor-cost. Another reason for Nike’s strength in competition is their product differentiation. Aside from athletic shoes, Nike’s product line now offers a broad range of clothing, equipment and accessories. TACTICS Nike’s distinctive tactics are found in the area of marketing, specifically in consumer brand awareness and brand power. Nike’s catch phrases like, â€Å"Just Do It,† and symbols like the Nike â€Å"Swoosh,† are reminders of the Nike empire. This tactic is effective because it could not be easily replicated and it offers value or benefit to consumers. Nike is becoming a part of American and world culture, the brand power becomes more difficult to replicate. The trademark and a slogan serves as the company’s fingerprints. Nike is able to capitalize the unique identity due because of its financial strength. Nike reaches millions of consumers through large-scale marketing campaigns. The public benefits from the strength of Nike’s image when they make a purchase. Consumers often associate Nike image with quality products. By associating star athletes and motivational slogans like, â€Å"Just Do It,† consumers identify their purchases with the prospect of achieving greatness. This image they create forms a tactic that competing companies can not easily duplicate by simply improving their products. PRODUCT Nike sells a huge variety of products, including shoes for running, basketball, cross training, Women and children. All of which are currently its top-selling product categories. Nike also sells shoes for outdoor activities such as tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, auto racing and other athletic and recreational uses. Nike began selling active sports apparel in 1979 as well as athletic bags and accessory items. The company sells a line of performance equipment under the Nike brand name, such as sport balls, timepieces, eyewear, skates, bats and other equipment. They also sell a line of dress and casual footwear and accessories for men, women and children under the brand name Cole Haan. The company markets headwear under the brand name Sports Specialties, through Nike Team Sports, Inc. They also sell small amounts of various plastic products to other manufacturers through Nike IHM, Inc. Bauer Nike Hockey Inc. manufactures and distributes ice skates, skate blades, in-roller skates, protective gear, hockey sticks and hockey jerseys and accessories under the Bauer and Nike brand names Pricing Strategies Nike uses vertical integration in pricing wherein they own participants at differing channel levels or engage in more than one channel level operations. This is also an attempt to control costs and influence pricing practices. PLACE Distribution channels and policy. Should additional channels be added, why? Nike sells its product to about 20,000 retail accounts in the U. S. and in approximately 110 countries around the world. Nike sells its products in international markets through independent distributors, licensees and subsidiaries. Independent distributors has little or no pressure for local adaptation because the 4Ps of marketing are managed by distributors. PROMOTION Nike has been one of the top retail industries for quite along time. This is because they sell quality products, customer loyalty, but most of all, its great marketing techniques. Nike has a number of famous athletes to create a great deal of attention to their products. Nike has signed the top athletes in many different sports such as the Brazilian Soccer Team (especially Ronaldino, Renaldo, and Roberto Carlos), Lebron James and Jermane O’Neal for basketball, Lance Armstrong for cycling, and Tiger Woods for Golf. Sponsoring of events is another great promotional technique for Nike. It brings attention Nike’s products. Web sites are a great promotional tool as they cover these events. Such events include Hoop It Up and The Golden West Invitational. Nike also personalizes websites. They make the websites exclusively for a sport such as nikebasketball. om , nikefootball. com , and nikegolf. com Marketing strategy: Nike’s marketing strategy is an important component of the company’s success. Nike is positioned as a premium-brand, selling well-designed and expensive products. Nike lures customers with a marketing strategy centering around a brand image which is attained by distinctive logo and the advertising slogan: â€Å"Ju st do it†. [35] Nike promotes its products by sponsorship agreements with celebrity athletes, professional teams and college athletic teams. However, Nike’s marketing mix contains many elements besides promotion. These are summarised below. Advertising From 1972 to 1982, Nike relied almost exclusively on print advertising in highly vertical publications including Track and Field News. Most of the early advertising was focused on a new shoe release, essentially outlining the benefits of the running, basketball or tennis shoe. In 1976, the company hired its first outside ad agency, John Brown and Partners, who created what many consider Nike’s first ‘brand advertising’ in 1977. A print ad with the tagline â€Å"There is no finish line† featured a lone runner on a rural road and became an instant classic. The success of this simple ad inspired Nike to create a poster version that launched the company’s poster business. In 1982, Nike aired its first national television ads, created by newly formed ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, during the New York Marathon. This would mark the beginning of a remarkably successful partnership between Nike and W+K that remains intact today. The Cannes Advertising Festival has named Nike its ‘advertiser of the year’ on two separate occasions, the first and only company to receive that honor twice (1994, 2003). 36] Nike also has earned the Emmy Award for best commercial twice since the award was first created in the 1990s. The first was for â€Å"The Morning After,† a satirical look at what a runner might face on the morning of January 1, 2000 if every dire prediction about Y2K came to fruition. [37] The second Emmy for advertising earned by Nike was for a 2002 spot called â€Å"Move,† which featured a series of famous and ever yday athletes in a stream of athletic pursuits. [38] In addition to garnering awards, Nike advertising has generated its fair share of Controversy. RANDOM: The short version of this is: Nike makes itself pop up everywhere, so that it’s well known. It associates with people that most of it’s consumers want to emulate (such as michael jordan, in the 1990’s) and creates products that will appeal to as wide of an audience as possible while using those celebrities it’s consumers want as bait (eg, michael jordan and the Air Jordan shoe line). This is just the marketing side: The business as a whole creates fast, easy assembly methods that allow it to use cheap labor in southeast asia and elsewhere to get cheap products (around 10 dollars) and sell them at extremely high prices (about 150 dollars). With nike, most of what you’re buying is image. Nike, Inc. is a marketer of sports apparel and athletic shoes. The American manufacturer, through its marketing strategy which rests on a favourable brand image, has evolved into a large multinational enterprise In keeping with the brand image is its association with the distinctive logo and its advertising slogan, â€Å"Just do it. † In order to maintain and sustain this image, the company makes huge investments in advertising and brand promotion. Its promotional activities include agreements for product sponsorship with professional athletic teams, celebrity athletes, and numerous college athletic teams. Nike is involved in the production of goods for a wide variety of sports, competing with every sports fashion brand in existence. Because of the absence of any single brand that rivals the products of Nike, the company has no direct competitors, with the exception of German company Adidas. This has helped popularize the brand worldwide in all areas of sport and sports fashion. When Nike first began as Blue Ribbon Sports they only sold one product (running shoes) and because of this they had to make the target audience large. However, because of the wide-range of products that Nike sells they now have different target-audiences for each product. For young people, Nike sponsors popular athletes that their customers want to emulate.