Critique of relevant readings and other research on whole school Essay

Critique of relevant readings and other research on whole school development and SDPs linked to my SDP - Essay Example Clough and Corbett say that first education involves professionals been given the responsibility to deal with the handicapped and ‘difficult-to-teach children. Children with special needs need to be taken from normal schools to special schools, which can adequately cater for their needs. Where teachers have special training to handle them and the facilities suit them. Social response sees special education arising from social processes. It is true to say that the education acts of 1981 with its formal structure of assessment and statementing made it possible to remove the boundaries of public expenditure and made it possible to maintain the status quo. Clough and Corbett (2006) say that the different approaches to curricular all circulate upon the fact of what we ask the learner to do, how and when we ask it. This will help the learner establish success, as the community sees it. Using Stenhouse`s research they say that in order to bring into practice classroom and teaching pla ns closer a teacher evaluation is needed for curriculum development to take place. They say that it is only recently in the last decade that school effectiveness was considered something important in schools. Disability studies are entirely different from educational studies. They cite the work of Oliver who wrote the paper ‘The Social and Political Context of Educational Policy: The Case of Special Needs’. Ainscow (2006) inclusion associated with children with special needs when it comes to education. This meaning is gotten from the Education Act 1986 in which inclusion was seen as an act of temporarily or permanently removing a child from school institutions because of disciplinary causes. He defines inclusion as a process that involves overcoming pressures of exclusion, instead of seeing inclusion as being stopped from attending school, seeing it as a way of discriminatory, devaluing and self protection that takes place in the schools and society There are three defi nitions that he gives that the majority of people can accept. The first is that inclusion a way of improving the child`s participation and reducing their exclusion from cultures, the curricula and the communities of the local schools, secondly that it is revising the practices, cultures and practices so as to deal with the different variety of students in schools, and lastly the participation, presence and achievement of children how are likely to face exclusion pressures. Practices such as the reduction of bullying and including parents and professionals in the surroundings of the school in its running are also key aspects of inclusion. Staff in learning institutions should be included when making decisions about learning and teaching activities. The various identities and family backgrounds of the students should also be put into consideration; this will support learning and boost participation of students in school work (Holye, 1). Hoyle (2008) the government wanted that every ch ild no matter their background to have access to health and that they are safe, able to enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and that they are able to their economic well-being. This involves the institutions giving these services to children such as hospitals, the police and school coming together and establishing ways of delivering their services effectively. There are other challenges that the government of England has to deal with other

Photography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Photography - Essay Example Public disclosure of private facts would be another basis for a tort involving photography. For instance, if one takes a picture of another at an AIDS clinic, and it is clear that this picture was taken at an AIDS clinic, and this picture was published, then this would be public disclosure of private facts, and it would be actionable. Publicity that places another in a false light is another restriction. Perhaps an example of this would be to photograph a teetotaler with a beverage that resembles a beer, when it is actually a non-alcoholic beer. The fourth major restriction is that one cannot take another’s likeness or name to use for one’s own advantage (Krages, 2007). An example of this might be taking a picture of somebody, then putting this picture up on one’s own website and use it, without permission, to advertise one’s business. While the right to photograph others in public is pretty straightforward, in that, with some restrictions, there is genera lly a right to photograph individuals in public, it is different in private places. This might include residences, museums, concerts, etc. The owner of the venue or the residence has a right to restrict photography within the residence or venue. Generally they post signs stating this fact, but, even if they do not, they have the right to verbally prohibit photographers from taking photographs (Manning, 2012). In general, I think that photography laws are just right. I believe that anyone has the right to photograph anybody on the street, yet I also see the need for the restrictions. If an individual is suffering from AIDS and does not want this known, then he or she has the right to make sure that his or her picture at the clinic is not publicized. This is a basic privacy right to keep one’s illness hidden, and it is perfectly acceptable to make sure that this privacy right is not abridged. Likewise, it is a clear invasion of privacy to take pictures with long-range lenses, s o this is another excellent restriction. The false light restriction also goes a long way to protecting privacy and protecting others from defamation. In other words, I feel that the restrictions upon photographing individuals provide an excellent balance between the first amendment rights of photographers with the privacy rights of individuals. As for restrictions in private residences and venues, I wish that these restrictions would be lessened, although I understand that private places have a right to make these restrictions. Discussion 3 According to Mendelson (2007), paparazzi are denigrated by journalists, who do not consider what he paparazzi do to be in line with journalism’s ethics. This is because they are intrusive and often harass their celebrity â€Å"prey.† Not only that, their focus is often on the trivial, as opposed to the focus of a â€Å"serious† journalist. Alach (2008) takes issue with the fact that the paparazzi invade the celebrity’ s privacy. He also decries their tactics, stating that paparazzi often scare the children of celebrities, and that they often â€Å"hunt in packs,† with hordes of photographers, who have been tipped off about a certain celebrity’s whereabouts, ambushing the hapless celebrity and the family of the celebrity. Alach (2008) finds paparazzi to be exploitive, therefore their First Amendment rights

Quality Management Worldwide Total Quality Management Essay Example for Free

Quality Management Worldwide Total Quality Management Essay For more than four decades after independence the companies in India enjoyed a protected market with virtually no competition, and some of them even monopolised the market, with customers having little or no choice. As a result complacency set in, and no pressure existed for improvement or change. However, the policy of globalization and liberalization adopted by the Indian Government five years ago, has hrown open new avenues and challenges to companies in India. The new policy has resulted in open doors through which global corporate players have entered the Indian markets, and are threatening the domestic manufacturers and suppliers, using quality as a weapon. This has compelled the managers of local companies to look for those tools and techniques, proven and tested, which would help them to maintain and improve their strategies and positions in the market. One such policy or philosophy that has captured the attention of industry and the business community is TQM. Particularly, in the recent years TQM is even regarded as bsolutely essential for growth, stability, and prosperity. This paper has the main intention of presenting an overview of TQMs progress in the country, starting from its initiation to its current status. Besides, the paper also describes how the organizational attempts by various agencies enabled the establishment of a TQM culture. Further, these attempts are presented in a chronological order, to appreciate the role played by various agencies, which resulted in growth and propagation of TQM in India. Towards the end, the gaps that still exist and hence the efforts that eed to be channeled are pointed out, so as to result in appropriate guidelines about the work to be done. The author R. Jagadeesh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, S. J. College of Engineering, Mysore, India. Keywords TQM, India, Quality Abstract Total quality management (TQM) has spread its wings in every sphere of the global corporate world and Indian companies are no exception. In this paper, first the growth and spread ofTQM in India is traced from its initiation to current status. Further, the paper has tried to identify the causes for poor quality of products and ervice, and the gaps that exist between the expectations and the outcome after adopting the TQM practices. Later a critical view of the quality scene in India is presented, and finally, based on these observations suitable guidelines and recommendations are made to bridge this gap. It is concluded that there is still a long way to go for Indian companies to receive the stamp of acceptance for their products at international level. Electronic access The current issue and full text archive of this Journal is available at http://www. emerald-library. com are synonymous with high quality products and trust worthiness. However, the post- independent era did not witness any spectacular improvement regarding the quality of goods and services produced in the country. According to Agrawal (1993) due to protected business environment many positive attributes of the Indian industry have been lost and weaknesses have surfaced. These weaknesses based on the study are: lack of trust and credibility in the working system, lack of clarity/seriousness for achieving target, lack of precise observance of rules and norms, low quality of supplies and components, lack of consciousness of time as money, viewing only short term benefits ahead of long term oals, politicalization of labor unions, lack of accountability for actions, lack of management commitment, lack of national quality policy, inadequate economic resources, lack of indigenous technology, inadequate infrastructure, preferring quantity to quality, lack of team spirit, cartel formation, and sellers market. Besides, lack of consumerism, Government control on everything, bureaucratic delays, quick profit making attitudes by the companies, all resulted in quality getting a low priority and consequently Indian products were constrained to serve only the domestic market being not able to compete in the international markets. Further, the factors mentioned before, clearly proved to be obstacles in the path to progress, and India in spite of possessing good resources and rich scientific and technical manpower, could not produce world-class products acceptable in the international markets. The TQM movement in India The TQM initiatives were first set by the Confederation of Indian Industries (Cll) in the early 1980s, in its pioneering effort in promoting awareness about quality among Indian industries. The work done by Cll in this direction is well documented in Deccan Herald Advertising Feature (1993) and also in The Standards Engineer (1996). In 1982, quality circles took birth in India, and some of the companies to launch quality circles first were Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore, and Bharat Heavvy Electricals Limited, Trichy. In 1986 the Cll then known as CEI (Confederation of Engineering Industries), invited Professor Ishikawa to India, to address industry people about quality. Later in 1987, a TQM division was set up by the Cll. This division owes its foundation to 21 companies who agreed to support the cause by pooling resources and pledging to start the Journey to TQM. Chief executives of these companies formed the National Committee on Quality, 22 Total quality management in India ? ± perspective and analysis R. Jagadeesh The TQM Magazine Volume 1 1 . Number 5. 1999 . 321? ±327 newsletter on quality. In 1987 and 1988, the Cll invited the Juran Institute to India to conduct three training workshops, and then in 1989 a team from India attended the Deming Seminar in London. Study teams organized by the Cll were taken to Japan and the USA to study quality practices. During 1990, the Cll consolidated and focused on training, and in February 1991, an Indian company with the assistance of the Cll, obtained the first ISO 9000 certification in India. The Cll organized the launch of the National Quality Campaign led by the Prime Minister of India in May 1992. It is around this time, the process of globalization and liberalization was started in the country, bringing a new dimension to the business and industrial sectors. From then on, a new line of thinking in terms of quality, productivity, and competitiveness has begun. Since 1993, the Cll has been organizing The Quality Summit every year. This provides an opportunity for all business leaders, and higher level managers of member and non-member organizations of the Cll to network, learn, and contribute hrough experience sharing, and listening to the experts who gather there. The National Productivity Council (NPC) has set up a TQM and Benchmarking Division in New Delhi, and offers TQM implementation services, which include modular training programs and consultancy services. In 1996, the Government of India announced the setting up of the Quality Council of India, (QCI) with the Industry Ministry bringing in half the seed capital of Rs. 1. 5 crores. The rest of the seed capital will be contributed by the corporate sector. The setting up of a national agency for quality certification is art of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, under which member countries will not trade in non-certified products two years down the line. The corporate sector too was demanding the setting up of an internationally recognized quality council as it found the certification process from foreign agencies too expensive. Besides, it would save vital foreign exchange for the country. The QCI will be entrusted with monitoring and administering of the National Quality Campaign and will also oversee the effective functioning of the National Information and Enquiry Services. Post-liberalization scene ? ± improvement in quality The economic reforms that started in 1992 have ushered in a new era of progress and prosperity in the country. According to a report published in YoJana (1997), the real gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a growth rate of 6. 8 per cent in agriculture and allied sectors, 7. 0 per cent in industry, and 7. 4 per cent in services. The Eighth Five Year Plan (EFYP) (1992-97) which ended with an average growth rate of 6. 5 per cent per annum, compares well with the target rate of 5. 6 per cent for the EFYP, and actual achievement of 6. 0 per cent in the Seventh Five Year Plan. In fact his is the highest average growth rate achieved in the planning period since 1951. The sectoral average growth rates for the period 1992-97 are: Agriculture and allied sectors ? ± 4. 0 per cent, Industry ? ± 7. 8 per cent and, Services ? ± 9. 2 per cent. Further, exports during 1996-97 registered a growth rate of 4. 1 per cent. Foreign direct inve stment amounted to US $2,696 million during 1996-97. These facts clearly indicate that the economic reforms brought through globalization and liberalization have yielded rich dividends, and hold a lot of promise for the coming years. While all ndividually to improve their product quality, besides overall performance through TQM practices. For example, Gupta and Sagar (1993) describe a case of total quality control in an engineering company through the extensive use of personal computers, and state that the Indian company was able to overcome many quality related problems which included: high rejection levels, slow inspection rates, frequent errors in measurement, inconsistency in interpreting inspection data, time consuming data storage and retrieval, rigid inspection schedules, not responding to changing environment, and quality plans not adjusted to varying batch sizes. The company improved the problem solving capacity through quality circles, and quality database at each stage. Comprehensive information systems enabled the personnel to obtain better guidance leading to improved decision making. Thus the success is attributed to systematic application of TQM. 323 The TQM Magazine volume 11 . Number 5 . 1999 . 321? ±327 Business Today (1995) in an exclusive coverage on status of quality of India, presents a detailed report on companies which are market leaders and corporate giants. The cases covered include reports on leading Indian companies like Mukand, BPL, Arvind, IFB, ABB, HDFC, Amex, Hidustan Lever, Ranbaxy, Indal, Gujarat AmbuJa, Wsya Bank, Oberoi Hotels, and Thermax. It is emphasized that these companies carved a niche for themselves by focusing on quality in their planning, operations, and marketing strategies. Awareness of quality ? ± a positive change Pati and Reis (1996) state that India is emerging as a leading economy in the new world economic order. The phenomenal increase in Indias export earnings, which rose to IJS$ 26. 2 billion in the 1994-95 fiscal year showed an increase of 18. 27 per cent over its 1993-94 export earnings of IJS$22. 7 billion. This is said to be an indicator of how its products and services are perceived by its global customers. It is further stated that the thrust has been shifted from import substitution to development of an export-oriented economy. Other pertinent observations made are: . Indian businesses are pursuing paths of superior quality and high productivity; . quality conscious consumerism; . inc reasing competition; . industries expanding their domestic share and venturing into global markets; . significant rise in the ISO 9000 certified companies. The survey conducted by Pati and Reis (1996) has further revealed many interesting aspects bout quality practices in India. The survey questionnaire has used a five-point Likert interval to capture the strength of perception, where points 1 (very high), 2 (high), 3 (medium), 4 (low), and 5 (very low) indicate the degree of current practice related to quality. The critical success factors contributing to quality and overall average scores (3. 43); . role of quality department/personnel (3. 14); . training (3. 69); . product/service design (2. 91); . supplier quality management (2. 6); process management and operating procedures (2. 74); quality data reporting (2. 72); employee relations (2. 2). It is concluded from the survey that the manufacturing sector in India is well aware of importance of quality, and efforts have been channeled to improve product quality. However, the service sector mostly Government owned and operated, lags behind the manufacturing sector in all aspects that i mply quality. TQM ? ± success stories of Indian companies Many Indian companies are beginning to realize that customer focus is an absolute requirement of TQM. Jain (1996), while writing on TQM in India, states that companies are paying closer attention to consumer feedback in order to tailor roducts to meet customer needs and are using a wide variety of methods that include benchmarking with rival products, regular customer meetings, and even engaging market research companies to collect consumer feedback on their product range and after sales service. Two specific cases are worth mentioning. Escorts Limited, an automobile manufacturing company, based on the feedback from customers and dealers, changed the delivery route to ensure safe and quick delivery. Similarly, J. K. Synthetics, based on feed back from customer meetings, focused on standardization of quality parameters, and started after-sales service. This resulted in the sales rise from 220 tonnes in first quarter of 1995 to 632 tonnes in the last quarter of the same year, an impressive growth in the sales by three times the previous value. According to a report published in Business Today (1998), some Indian companies are being guided by Yoshikazu Tsuda, a counselor at JUSE (Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers) in their quest for total quality. Some of these companies are Sona Steering, Jai Bharat Maruti, GKN Invel, Asahi Float Glass, Brakes India, Lucas TVS, India Pistons, and India Piston Rings. Further, as stated in The Economic Times (1998), sixsigma technique, which is considered to be a classic TQM technique, is being practiced by several Indian companies notable among 324 significant achievement by an Indian company due to its practicing TQM principles is reported by Sridharan (1998a). The Indian company Sundaram Fasteners located near Chennai, India, has received the Best of Best Vendors Award consecutively for two years during 1996 and 1997, for its supply of metal radiator caps to General Motors, USA. The award was given to the company for its consistent zero defects rate, 100 percent reliability in delivery schedules, and lowest price. The company is the only supplier to General Motors, USA from India out of its 3,000 supplier companies scattered all over the globe. In an exclusive interview covered by Premchander (1996), the managing director of Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (a partly owned subsidiary of Asea Brown Boveri Limited, Zurich) one of the very successfully operating multi-national companies in India, has stated that the managers have to spend time and resources on TQM. A historical achievement by an Indian company winning the coveted Deming Prize for Overseas Companies, for successful implementation of TQM, is reported by Sridharan (1998b). The Indian company Sundaram Clayton, has successfully turned its people into quality practitioners by the actual deployment of TQM tools, techniques, and systems. 38 ? ± time to market; 22 ? ± corporate credibility. Indian quality scene ? ± a critical view The developments related to Indian companies, concerning quality of products and services, need to be examined on a comparative global scale. This would enable judgement of the progress made in improving quality. A survey made in 1994 in which products and services from 41 countries were ranked by World Competitiveness Report indicates that the quality of Indian products and services is isappointing. According to the summary of results given in Skaria (1995), Indias rank based on different quality parameters is as follows (the rank out of 41 is given followed by the parameter): . 39? ± price to quality; . 38 ? ± practice ofTQM; . 40? ± customer orientation; . 28 ? ± product liability; . 39 ? ± time to innovate; The report clearly suggested that on a global scale, Indian products and services are far from satisfactory, and have a poor image. This is a major cause of worry for the corporate managers particularly for those looking for new markets, and ventures with oreign collaborators. One commonly quoted reason for getting away with low quality in India, is lack of pressure from consumers. Many managers are of the opinion that unless the customers are aware of their right to demand high quality, and insist on companies to invest in quality, they continue to receive poor quality products. While the growth and spread of quality practices are slow in India, TQM has firmly seated itself in other Asiatic countries. In a cover feature on Quality in Asia reported in World Executive Digest (1996), it is stated that as Asia grapples with the challenge of lobalization, more and more companies seek ISO 9000 certification and adopt TQM. Companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and China are overtly involved in embracing practices of total quality to march ahead in global markets. According to The Economic Intelligence Unit (1996), which surveyed companies in Hong Kong on issues in the region. The growth of TQM across Asia however means that new approaches are being developed in the region. These observations clearly suggest that India has to carefully watch the developments in the Asiatic region, as TQM principles have been successfully applied by several countries improving their utput quality, attracting more foreign investment, and hence capable of restricting Indias share in the global market. What the quality experts say In spite of the hype created by the ISO 9000 bandwagon, which today has more than 1,500 companies certified as such, quality is yet to emerge as a major strength of Indian products. Managers of Indian companies have still a lot to learn and implement in the image building process based on quality. This is perhaps aptly summarized by a statement made by Philip Crosby as reported in The Times of India (1997). While addressing a 325 ews conference at the end of his weeklong visit to India, Crosby has said that complacency is a major problem with the Indian management system. The managers of Indian industries should take this seriously. In an interview published in Business India (1997-98) James Harrington, a leading authority in the field of quality, has stated that India still has four types of companies: those with poor performance, with good performance, with better performance, and with outstanding performance. Harrington remarks that companies with poor performance went bankrupt in other parts of the world, while those with good performance would follow them. But those with better performance will survive and those with outstanding performance would explode into the twentyflrst century. This indicates that India still has scope for bad products, and bad performance, which need to be immediately curbed. It is pointed out by Sukumar (1998) that TQM continues to baffle corporate India, as evident by the different interpretations made by each person in the industry about what is TQM. It was observed during the Sixth Quality Summit organized by the Cll in New Delhi, that TQM means anything and everything depending on the individuals perspective, politics, and paradigms. During the summit as many as nine different definitions were presented by the speakers about what constitutes TQM. This means people in the corporate sector have no consensus about the concept of TQM and it could be a deterrent in its implementation. In another survey conducted by Arun et al. (1998) with regard to ISO certified companies interesting observations were made about implementing TQM in a company. Out of 17 companies that were surveyed, managers in seven companies said that though they believe in TQM they do not know how to implement it. The survey further revealed that the long term supplier elationship, an essential ingredient for successful implementation of TQM, has not the implementation of TQM were found to be: continued dependence on traditional incentive schemes, numerical targets, performance rating, slogans for improving productivity, and not identifying and providing the right type of training for each and everyone as demanded for every Job. The survey concludes that if all these factors are not mitigated a company may continue as ISO certified but not be recognized as a TQM company. Comments and conclusion The various surveys independently conducted by researchers and business ublications have revealed that awareness on quality of products and services has picked up in India. With quality based competition intensifying, Indian industries and business people are showing keen interest in improving the quality of products through TQM. A number of organizations, private and Government are actively propagating TQM through a variety of training and educational programs. TQM has proved to be a vital ingredient for success, and now has its permanent roots in the mission and vision of the Indian corporate sector. However, based on common observations the requirements for quality to succeed in India can be summarized as ollows: . a strong consumer movement; . a sincere and committed drive by the corporate sector to keep quality as the main focus; . trict enforcement of standards by the regulatory bodies and authorities; . avoidance of multiple grading of quality in products, like export quality, first grade, seconds, import rejects, etc. ; . setting an example in adhering to high quality performance and output, before pointing to others. While TQM no doubt has enabled the Indian companies to improve the quality of products and services, the international market demands still higher uality levels to give due recognition a nd acceptance.

Introduction Marketing Communication Definition Marketing Essay

Introduction Marketing Communication Definition Marketing Essay Belch defined Integrated marketing communication as a strategic business process used to plan, develop, execute and evaluate coordinated, measurable, persuasive brand communication programs with consumers, customers, prospects employees and other relevant external and internal audiences (Defining IMC). On the other hand, Fill (2009) defined Marketing communications as a management process through which an organization engages with its various audiences (p. 54). According to Fill (2009), the use of the word integrated refers to the use of various strategies in marketing communications. What is marketing communication audit A marketing communication audit involves the research of how successful are the companys internal and external communications (Thomas, 2008) to enhance the performance of the organization by identifying weaknesses and ways to improve it. Brief description of the company: Louis Vuitton History of the company Louis Vuitton (LV) is a luxury brand which was founded by Louis Vuitton in 1854 in Paris (Diniz, 2009). From then onwards, it has grown to become one of the most well known luxury brands in the world. Today, its product line includes luggages, bags, watches, shoes, jewelleries, and many more items (Diniz, 2009). Strength of the brand Husic and Cicic (2009) claimed that the customers of today have more disposable income, making them more attracted to luxury products. This claim is supported by Kapferer (2012) who agreed, saying that the performance of LV has shown promising growth. Apparently, the company seems to have a lot of potential for further development. The brand also has its own loyal customer base. These customers make decisions to buy the products of the company through a decision-making process which in theory is called the Consumer Decision Process Model shown below. Need recognition Search for information Pre-purchase evaluation of alternatives Purchase Consumption Post-consumption evaluation Divestment Source: Blackwell, Miniard Engel, 2006 Figure 1 The Consumer Decision Process Model Statistic /Plan The economic downturn has affected businesses worldwide, especially those which are luxury goods (Berman Evans, 2010). 56 percent of adults in a survey involving 2,700 consumers from Europe said that they would reduce optional spending by 12 percent on average (Berman Evans, 2010). This can lead to a serious problem for LV if its customers are affected. On the contrary, a study by Nunes, Drà ¨ze and Young (2011) revealed the opposite, showing improvements in LVs performance in the face of recession. This can be attributed to the companys effective marketing communication strategies. Context analysis Internal Factors Company analysis LV has built an international reputation for outstanding quality, creativity and craftsmanship in the duration of five generations (Fujiwara, 2007, p. 1). Maintaining the authenticity of the past while at the same time forecasting the future has been pivotal in the company values (Fujiwara, 2007). Today, the brand has outlets all over the world (Kapferer, 2012). Product analysis LV products include handbags, luggages, purses, jewelleries, and others. The issue here is the vulnerability of its products to counterfeits. Almost 99 percent are counterfeits (OFlaherty, 2008). Thus, the company has taken several steps to curb this problem by implementing the Principle to Eliminate Counterfeiting which includes distribution of warning notices and registration of trademarks (Shiganawa, 2008). However, these strategies are not always successful because the root problems are not tackled. External Factors Environmental factors Delpal (2011) reported an increase from 72 billion euros in 1994 to 168 billion euros in 2010 in luxury goods sales, making the yearly growth 5 percent on average. The growth of the luxury market has led to the entrance of many luxury fashion brands, increasing the competition (Kim Ko, 2011). Therefore, LV should design competitive marketing strategies. Competitor analysis LV has many competitors such as Hermà ¨s, Dior, and Gucci. Hermà ¨s expanded its operations by employing more craftsmen and acquiring several companies of French origin (Delpal, 2011). On the other hand, Delpal (2011) reported that Dior, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent eliminated most license agreements to have better control of its operations. Then, LV launched several production units to keep up with increasing demands (Delpal, 2011). These strategies employed by luxury brands show that the companies sometimes do replicate the marketing strategies of its competitors competitively. Objective / Goal of the company The goal LV is to be the undisputed leader of the luxury goods sector (LVMH Codes of Conduct, 2010, p. 5). This objective is backed up by the values shared by the company employees: (a) Innovation and creativity: because our future success will come from the renewal of our product offering while respecting the roots of our Houses. (b)Excellence of products and services: because we embody what is most noble and accomplished in the artisan world. (c)Brand image enhancement: because our brands represent an extraordinary asset, a source of dreams and ambitions. (d) Entrepreneurship: because this guarantees our ability to react and our motivation to create and seize opportunities. (e) Leadership-Be the best: because it is through continually excelling that we accomplish the best and achieve the best results. Source: LVMH Code of Conduct, 2010. What is the need for organizational objectives? Yip (2007) mentioned that it provides a sense of direction and focus, maximizing the potential for long term success. What is the promotional objective and strategies of the company? The general promotional objective of the companies is to build a luxury brand image so that the brand is associated with luxury among its customers (LVMH Codes of Conduct, 2010). What is the relationship of corporate strategy and promotional objective The promotional strategy is closely related to the corporate strategy of LV because it is derived from the overall objective of the company which is to become the leading luxury goods company. The company utilizes the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) (Yip, 2007) guidelines to create its five core values. Budget and other resources Finocchiaro (2010) reported that the company increased its total advertising expenditure in 2010 by 57 percent from 2009 to 2010. This major increase may be attributed to a rebound from the bad economic conditions in 2009. It was also mentioned that in 2010, from the month of January to June, $ 22 million was allocated for advertising, compared to $ 14 million of the last year (Finocchiaro, 2010). This is a promising development in keeping up with the competitive environment. What are the differences between sales and communication-based objectives? Sales based objectives are more concerned with the bottom line of the company and short term profits of the company whereas communication based objectives focus on building a favorable image of the company (Berman Evans, 2010; Kotler Armstrong, 2008). Message Strategy of the company LV utilizes newspapers and magazines to display image ads as a pull strategy rather than aggressive ads which uses the push strategy to attracts customers (Shiganawa, 2008). Source: Kotler Armstrong (2008) Figure 3 Push versus Pull Promotion Strategy The push strategy pushes the product to consumers while the pull strategy creates consumer demands for a product through marketing activities (Riley, 2012). Accordingly, LV has a principle of avoiding mass advertising such as television commercials to build its image as a luxury good (Shiganawa, 2008). Target Audiences What is the target market According to Diniz (2009), the target market of LV is males and females between the ages 30 to 50 years old, with income of  £35, 000 or more. The company also targets graduates and professionals with sense of self worth and novelty seekers (Diniz, 2009, target segmentation). Plus, the company focuses on people who value luxury brands as a symbol of status as well as those who respond to peer pressure (Nunes, Drà ¨ze Young, 2011). Consequently, the feedback of these customers is important in order to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing efforts towards one of the most important goals which is customer satisfaction. What is the feedback from customers The figure below shows the least things that customers like about shopping at LV based on a survey of 2,318 respondents from all over the world (Lee, 2009). Source: Lee, 2009. Figure 2 What do you Like the Least about the Louis Vuitton Shopping Experience? From the figure, service is seen as the least thing customers like about the brand while the second least liked attribute is the price-value relationship. However, Lee claimed that the satisfaction of LV customers has little to do with the price-value relationship as customers who purchase the brand value the prestige of owning the brand, not its economical benefits. The survey also outlined several interviews with the customers of LV to obtain their feedbacks. One customer said I dont look like a typical LV customer, so the salespeople were in a hurry to have me out of their store as fast as possible while another customer remarked I guess I did not fit the image I was not wearing all labels(Lee, 2009, Voice of the Customer from Louis Vuitton Shoppers). Lee (2009) said that the brand focuses its promotional activities and services towards people who seem to embody the target market of the brand, which are people with high social status. Although this is a differentiation strategy w hich may benefit the company, it may have adverse effects in the long run if the company does not recognize that they have diverse clientele from various backgrounds, not necessarily high status. This may be because today, people who are average in terms of income level has changing needs and is moving more towards satisfying their wants for status rather than physiological needs. Marketing communication The aim of marketing communication (Brief) and role The aim of marketing communications is to engage the target audience in terms of processing rational information or emotional information (Fill, 2009). Dion and Arnould (2011) said that LV is more concerned with the emotional aspects of consumption, due to its association with luxury goods. However, Fill (2009) suggested that there should be a balance between both elements (rational and emotional) rather than focusing on solely one need. The promotion tools For LV, the focus of the promotional tools is more towards enhancing the brand image rather than directly generating sales. Advertising LV does not use mass advertising to create sales volume (Shiganawa, 2008). In fact, the company does not advertise in television commercials, which is one of the common ways of advertising. Television commercials are considered mass advertising. On the other hand, the company also uses magazines to display image ads. According to Laitinen (2009), this form of advertising is quite powerful because of its ability to be passed down to many people and retained in the magazine for a period of time. Personal selling According to Shiganawa (2008), LV values the richness of communication between sales persons and customers because then, they are able to communicate more effectively about the product information and other details which cant be achieved through mass advertising. Sales promotion Sales promotions are focused on creating value for money which involves tools such as coupons, deals, discounts and other means which create quick sales (Kotler Armstrong, 2008). However, LV has a principle of prohibiting bargain sales and selling in value sets due to its emphasize on quality rather than price (Shiganawa, 2008). This is related to the objective of LV which aims to become the leading luxury goods brand. Public relations Public relations are concerned with building trust of the public through sponsorships, events, features and others to form a good image for the company (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). As Fujiwara (2012) reported, 64 percent of luxury goods customers are in favor of socially responsible brands. Thus, LV puts great importance in being involved with the community. This is evident through the companys effort in constructing a forest in Japan, contributing scholarships in China, creating an arts course in London and making a playground in Russia (Fujiwara, 2007). The focus of its social responsibility activities towards local context shows how the company is aware of the needs of its local customers. Direct marketing The company markets the product by showing demonstrations on how to care for the products and providing relevant information face-to-face. This encourages feedback and enquiries can be made directly while receiving prompt responses. Intercultural Marketing communication It is advisable to take into consideration the local factors in carrying out marketing communication. LV demonstrated its ability to adapt to local context by organizing various marketing strategies to build public relations. For example, the company built 40 playgrounds in 30 Russian states through the Naked Heart Foundation, preserved the environment in Japan through the Louis Vuitton Forest through More Trees program, participated in fundraising activities in South Africa through the Mandela Rhodes foundation and other social responsibility programs in Thailand, Spain, China, France, and many other parts of the world (Fujiwara, 2007). This shows that the company pays attention about the happenings in different parts of the world and takes part in helping as part of it public relations effort. Problem statement of the Company The LV brand has the potential to increase its performance through various marketing communication tools. However, several issues must be highlighted. Nunes, Drà ¨ze and Young (2011) reported that the recession may have an adverse effect on the performance of businesses such as LV which emphasizes luxury. Another problem faced by the company is the wide availability of counterfeit products, an estimated of 99 percent which is a very high percentage of counterfeits (OFlaherty, 2008). Recommendation During recessions, the company can temporarily change its marketing strategies to reflect the changing market situation. For example, instead of prohibiting the placement of ads in televisions to reach the mass community, the company can employ this method to increase awareness and create new trend towards better value. Plus, the company can be more flexible towards its target audience to include younger generations who has increasing buying power as well as having the ability to generate greater word-of-mouth communications. In terms of combating counterfeit products, the company should reinforce the Principles Prohibiting Appraisal of Authenticity more strictly and adhere to the rules set by the companies themselves. Conclusion The LV company has a differentiated promotion strategy and is more selective in the way it conducts marketing activities such as ad placement, pricing, and others. This is important to build an exclusive brand image in line with its aim to become the leading luxury brand in the market. The company also avoids mass advertising to a certain extent and mainly aims to advertize to its target audience. However, the company still maintains good public relations through its socially responsible strategies. In conclusion, the planning of marketing communications is important and is mainly dependent on the key objective of the company. In the case of LV, it is to become the leading luxury brand. (2180 words)

Plastic Surgery :: Cosmetic Surgery

Outside beauty and staying forever young are the newest trends among today's society. Women are the highest percentage of this trend because women have been conditioned at young age to believe outer beauty is unsurpassed. Plastic or cosmetic surgery in the past has been kept hushed, never knowing did she have her nose worked on? Today plastic surgery is being embraced by the millions and highly looked upon. Recently a friend of mine had a breast augmentation. Her argument was the need to feel more confident in her own body. She felt out of proportion to the rest of her body. Young and old women today feel the need to look like Barbie, which undoubtedly comes from the need to replicate their favorite celebrities. Other causes for plastic or cosmetic surgery come from low self-esteem issues, sexual satisfaction and the need to be accepted as beautiful. For Instance, in 2000 more than 6.3 million women went under the knife by surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, says the American Society of Plastic Surgeons statistics. The five most popular invasive surgical procedures for women in 2000 were liposuction, eyelid surgery, nose reshaping, breast augmentation and facelift (ASPS statistics). There were nearly 11.9 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in 2004, according to the most comprehensive survey to date of U.S. physicians and surgeons by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS Statistics). In addition the top five surgical cosmetic procedures in 2004 were, liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty, and facelift. The top five non-surgical cosmetic procedures in 2004 were, Botox injection, laser hair removal, chemical peel, microdermabrasion, and hyaluronic acid. Overall, since 1997, there has been a 465 percent increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures. Surgical procedures increased by 118 percent, and non-surgical procedures increased by 764 percent (ASAPS Statistics). Firstly in most recent research from Dental and Health Articles, women who have had cosmetic surgery have found greater satisfaction in their sexual lifestyles. Women reported that their partners were more sexually satisfied, dressed to enhance their new figures, and were compelled to try more and different sexual activities post-surgery. Especially, the greatest benefits were seen in women who had breast augmentation, breast lift and or body contouring procedures. The study was published in the January-February 2006 issue of Aesthetic Surgery Journal (Dental and Health Articles). "The benefits of cosmetic plastic surgery appear to go beyond enabling patients to feel better about their physical appearance," commented Mark Jewell, MD, President of ASAPS, which publishes Aesthetic Surgery Journal (Dental and Health Articles).

Napster Vs Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) :: essays research papers

Napster Under Glass   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Online, you can find a digital version of any song that your heart desires from classical to hardcore to country in less than 10 – 15 minutes. Terabytes or 1000000000000 (a trillion) bytes of Mp3 files can be found online at peak times, which roughly translates to 330,000 songs in 3100 different collections. A Mp3 is an individual song converted into a digital format and playable on computers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A popular program easily accessible on the Internet is called Napster. After you download it from Napster’s site, you basically tell it where you keep your Mp3 files and when it connects it cross-references everyone’s files and lets you search through them all and download as you please. 90% of the files that are traded daily are illegally â€Å"ripped† from CDs. Napster has a blurb at startup that states â€Å"Copying or distributing unauthorized Mp3 files may violate United States and/or foreign copyright laws. Compliance with copyright law remains your responsibility.† The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is charging the site with copyright infringement and alleges that Napster has created a base for music piracy on an unprecedented scale. Napster contends that they provide the platform, not the actions, and that as the blurb states it’s up to the people. Napster is not at fault because the RIAA has overstepped their boundaries and infringed on first amendment rights online.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Should the owner of the gun shop be charged with murder if a man he sold a gun to decides to shoot another man in cold blood? Of course not, if the shop owner followed all of the laws that govern him. Should the car dealership be charged with vehicular felonies every time one of their vehicles is involved in a crime? Certainly not. So why should software’s originator be responsible for what their software is used for? They shouldn’t, but the only reason the RIAA is jumping all over the Napster community is that they can’t just go out and arrest everybody who decides to trade Mp3s online.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The real people that the RIAA should crack down on are the people who use the rippers. A ripper is a computer program used to convert (rip) a musical track off of a CD and into a Mp3. They can be found on public shareware sites fairly simply with a search engine. The problem here is that the public in general uses them and can download them just like any other software.

Mass Media Effects and Messages Essay

Where would society be without mass media? How would our society evolve with electronic communication? These are important questions. They demand investigation into how our world functions on a daily basis. The answers to these questions tell us how we think, act and feel every day. Without mass media and without mass communication, society would look much different. Every generation had its own leap in technology which dramatically changed the course of human existence. With each technological leap, communication and mass media evolved with it. When broadcast radio became mainstream, households across America gained access to live news and entertainment. When computers became the main source of filing and storing information, government, media, and the general public had a new resource for communication. As technology grew, so did society’s demand and with each new image, debate, journal entry or story, came a new challenge for the media industry. Media and society have a symbiotic relationship. There is the idea that media drives society’s conversation. Can it also be true that society drives the media? Mass media is very powerful. The industry has its finger on the pulse of the world. Twenty-four hour news cycles, readily-accessible entertainment and social media have all greatly affected the psychology of society. There is no better example of this than of body image. In 1991, a study was performed to investigate what young girls and teenagers thought the ideal woman is. This study showed that girls believed the perfect woman is five feet, seven inches tall, 100 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. (Groesz, Levine & Murnen, 2001) This image may evoke the prototypical Barbie doll. This, of course, is an almost unattainable stature  for most women. How did this philosophy develop and where did adolescent girls attain that image? Is it possible this idea of the ideal woman was perpetuated by peer pressure or school? Yes. However, some of the most egregious purveyors of body image is mass media. This study, performed almost 24 years ago, shows that this has been an evolving problem that continues to go unaddressed. In fact, it can be said that it has gotten worse with the â€Å"age of information†. Today, images of celebrities, pseudo-celebrities and models plague the internet. Photoshopping, airbrushing and other image manipulation methods can seemingly erase any flaw on the human body. It would be obvious to many people that this sort of perversion of the truth would be immensely unethical, but it goes unaddressed or unnoticed to the general population. Magazines sell these images to target markets to which they use to advertise their products. The health, fitness, and cosmetic industries, in turn, stand to profit from portraying what the perfect person should look like. (Groesz, Levine & Murnen, 2001) Mass media also has a great influence on sexuality. Television shows, films and reality television depict a world that is often in direct opposition to reality. In 2005, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that seven out of ten television shows depict racy or sexual content. This is almost double the sexual content that was shown only seven years earlier in 1998. (Shiver Jr., 2005) Mass media has a hand in popularizing both phenomenon, but can the chicken or egg theory be applied here? Did society already believe Barbie to be the epitome of perfection? Does the progression of social attitudes make sexual content more acceptable? If the media simply giving society what it wants? Or is the media brainwashing society into its beliefs? Professor Marissa Wagner Oehlhof of Bowling Green University is an instructor in the psychology department and teaches classes on human sexuality. She contributes much of the peer pressure on adolescents to friends, family, but also the media. (Kin g, 2012) â€Å"We live in a sex-saturated society,† she says. Ms. Oehlhof believes the media can affect society. â€Å"People aren’t running out and having sex because TV or radio told them, but rather this media affects our attitude†¦It desensitizes us to what we think and hear, makes it seem more common than it is, like it’s no big  deal.† (King, 2012) If mass media can contribute to society’s psychology about ideas itself, can it also influence politics? New ways of communicating and information-seeking are constructed every day. The wireless world changes everything. Mary Cate Cary of the US News and World Report shows fives way mass media is changing the political atmosphere. First, it is acknowledged that constituents are selective in how they access information. White House Communications Director, Dan Pfeiffer says, â€Å"With the Internet, with YouTube, with TiVo, with cable TV, people are selective viewers now. [They] approach their news consumption the way they approach their iPod: You download the songs you like and listen to them when you want to listen to them.† (Cary, 2010) This kind of technology and society’s embrace of it controls how the media approaches its job. It can also contribute to how politicians and the government create their agenda. Cary also claims the ability to share images and information changes the dynamic of the political atmosphere. She cites President Barack Obama’s penchant for using social media to communicate his message to the masses. (Cary, 2010) Cary also addresses the ability to instantly show approval or disapproval of messages or campaigns through â€Å"thumbing†, â€Å"liking† or â€Å"retweeting†; the capability of connecting with like-minded people; and even making donations to causes. (Cary, 2012) She also points to the American Red Cross, which was able to raise over $8 million for relief efforts for the earthquake in Haiti. (Cary, 2012) All of these examples are ways mass media can change the paradigm for politics. There is also the claim that mass media is biased towards on polit ical party or the other. It is not out of the realm of reality that many newspapers or cable news programs are much more apologetic or favorable to respective political sides. Some even openly admit it. But how much does that sway a vote? Fox News, widely considered to be conservative-leaning, began in 1996 when Rupert Murdoch launched his channel in the United States. A study showed concluded that, in conjunction with the popularity of Fox News, the 2000 Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, could have tipped the election in Bush’s favor by half a percentage point. (Duflo, 2008) Printed media was shown to be no different. In a study conducted by Yale University researches, gave free subscriptions of newspapers to people living in the Washington D.C. area. Half the participants received a copy of the Washington Post, a Democratic-leaning  publications and the other half were given a copy of the Washington Times, which is historically conservative. Having access to the news through each of these publications upped the likelihood of potential voters by 3.5%. (Duflo, 2008) The study concluded that despite readers of the Washington Post being 11% more likely to vote Democrat, 7% of Washington Times readers were also likely to vote against the Republicans, showing that many voters do not let what they read effect how they cast ballots. (Duflo, 2008) While society may thirst for more and more information, it is also being proven that society has the ability to think critically in regards to that information. However, it does raise a new question. Is it ethical for news organizations to attempt to influence voters? After all, many cable news programs, radio broadcasts and publications are admittedly biased. This admittance shines light on the fact that the information being fed to society is not factual or being delivered in a way that may show favorability to one person or another. It can also shy people away from certain networks o r newspapers that are notoriously biased. A person may automatically dismiss a story from a publication they know to be left or right-leaning. Even though the world may never be free from bias, there are protections put in place to ensure that society will be free from oppressive thought, unethical reporting and intellectual theft. When the Founding Fathers first drafted the Constitution, they reflected on their own experiences in Great Britain. An imperial leader deciding what is best for his people, based soley on his own agenda was something they fought against. The First Amendment ensures no government of the United States oppresses its people’s freedom to think for themselves. It protects United States citizens from the government imparting its own beliefs. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This protection means all people are fee to think, speak and believe how they feel necessary, without government intervention. It is a very important line of the Constitution and a standard to which all other rights, freedoms and protections are borne. The Founders knew that without a free society, there could be no United States of America. Other laws that ensure legal and ethical behavior in media are copyright law and libel. Copyright laws protect intellectual property and creative works. (Vivian, 2011) These laws stretch from books and publications to music, catch phrases, and logos. Copyright laws ensure that proper credit is given to the creator and that profits cannot be made from someone else’s work. It is easy to see how this can be applied to media as lifting work from another party for ratings or financial gain is not just unethical, but also illegal. Libel laws also protect people from being defamed or attacked in ways that can harm a person’s reputation. (Vivian, 2011) False attacks on a person can lead to lawsuits or damages being incurred on the attacking party. Libel laws make sure that accountability is being addressed when going after a particular subject. Almost every right and protection comes with some amount of responsibility. The first amendment does not protect a person from inciting riots, viciously and falsely attacking another person or business or using someone else’s work to better their own. As technology continues to develop, it is even more important to ensure that these regulations on press, media and speech are instilled. Mass media can seem both tangible and intangible. Images, press releases, books, publications, and entertainment are all very visible things. However, media is also fluid, evolving and significantly hinges on the intangibles and the unpredictable forces in our society. With each day that technology grows, the media is already in catch-up mode. When hard-back books became e-books, marketing techniques and accessibility had to change. When music was now played on invisible things files instead of discs, the music industry had to deploy new ways of making albums interesting. The products are all very solid objects, however, the road there is often shrouded in mystery. As a result, mass media and society live and breathe together. Without each other, neither exists. Media affects our society every day, whether it is  through self-image, politics or interests. Society itself puts a demand on media to deliver all of these products. Does the tail wag the dog? That would then force us to decide who is the tail and who is the dog. Cary, M. 2010. 5 Ways New Media Are Changing Politics. The US News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/02/04/5-ways-new-media-are-changing-politics Accessed on October 18, 2014 Duflo, E. 2008. Does the mass-media have political influence? Vox. http://www.voxeu.org/article/does-mass-media-influence-voters-evidence-us Accessed on October 18, 2014. Groesz, L., Levine, M., Murnen, S. March 2001. The Effect of experimental Presentation of Thin Media Images on Body Satisfaction: A Meta-Analytic Review. Department of Psychology. Kenyon College. King, D. 2012. Peers, mass media exposure can influence attitudes on sexual activity. The Big News. http://www.bgnews.com/in_focus/peers-mass-media-exposure-can-influence-attitudes-on-sexual-activity/article_cf259f12-6291-11e1-8406-001871e3ce6c.html Accessed on October 18, 2014. Shiver Jr., J. 2005. Television Awash in Sex, Study Says. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/10/business/fi-tvsex10 Accessed on O ctober 18, 2014. Vivian, J. 2011. The Media of Mass Communication. Tenth Edition. Chapter 16. Pg. 425-436.