Intergenerational Family Violence Essay Example for Free

Intergenerational Family Violence Essay The family violence has taken a new toll in the current times. The family violence has become very common indeed and the number of offenders in these crimes has increased far beyond the reach. The cases originate on daily basis and the statistics show that most of the times victims are females who are physically and mental abused in different ways. In these scenarios it has been observed that these events cause much more damage to the children who watch these events often. The child abuse on the other hand has also become debatable as the cases increase. The intergenerational family violence might not have been studied before but it has always been available to study whenever there is an event of family violence. The human nature is based on social learning theory. It is the human tendency to watch the behaviors and then try to implement in their personalities (Murrell et al, 2007). Behaviorists have put forward the theory that the social learning theory is applicable only when if it triggers a change in the behavior of the observer whereas the theorists say that the learning process is an ever going process and it is not incomplete if it doesn’t cause any change in the behavior (Kernsmith, 2006). Whatever the theorists and behaviorists state about the social learning theory, it is evident that the observations of these events cause damage to the future lives of those who watch these family violence events. Postmodern thinking supports these claims, stating that individuals â€Å"create the social reality for their behavior according to how they interpret norms in particular milieus† (Markward, 1997). Child abuse has different effects on the victims. Some children after these events become reserve and some become violent. Even also watching the abusing of their mothers in front of them creates a negative notion in their minds about the realities of life (Pollak, 2004). This is the learning process as described by the theorists. The observations made by child make a deep impact on the mind intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes the action doesn’t come right after the observation. It is dependent about the mental strength of the individual on how much extreme extent he has to formalize his mind towards these events. But surely the mind is working as the interpretation process continues from time to time (Kernsmith, 2006). In order to cause change the mind works in such a way to determine how much impact such event has made. For example, continuous abusing observations might make the child to become violent at times, even if he is not violent the aggregation of emotions might be taking place in his mind which makes him to get reserved to the situations from time to time. A time comes when the mentality of the child becomes harnessed by the violent activities and he also starts to become violent at times (Corvo, 2006). Thus the change has been triggered in the behavior of the child after looking at these abusing events continuously. This makes the situation awful not only for the child because by this way they cause different violent activities and the victims may increase in numbers depending upon the strength of activities (Pollak, 2004). The violent psychology taken forward by the children has been creating lot of issues. The US population is filled with those who have tensions grown up in their households due to different financial and emotionally problems (Kernsmith, 2006). These usually end up fighting and one of them getting beaten. The children also come down in the impact of these fighting resulting in long term future damage to their lives. The behaviorists say that the children have a tendency to attract to those thing quickly which make a deep impact on their mind and heart. They are emotionally immature at early stages and an action like abusing them or their parents can increase their interest towards these activities (Murrell et al, 2007). It has also been observed that the continuous family violence has been exhibited by those who have gone through this violence before in their lives when they were young (Corvo, 2006). Thus an event like this happening in their early lives provides them the luxury to be like them in the future as they commit family violence by abusing their children and their spouses. Many researchers have observed a relation between the events happening in an early age of a young one when he experienced violence and those offences which he committed when he was adult. This phenomenon is now known as intergenerational transmission of violence and aggression. Researchers believe that the pattern of social learning theory makes its mark by providing the model to the child as he also sees the positive results due to this violence (Kernsmith, 2006). Most often the result of abusing her mother by her father results in the victory of the father due to his aggressive attitude and then therefore inherits these positive results to implement them in his behavior. Learning theories, such as socialization, social learning, and elements of feminist theory, asserts that behaviors are learned throughout our lives through our interactions with others. This is how the socialization then gets affected by the family violence as it is then exhibited outside the homes (Corvo, 2006). The social learning theory is based on the study of behaviors. With change in behaviors the extremism of these violent acts can be configured by the child as he observes all these events. When we critically evaluate the works of the researchers we come to know that there theories are practical and are very close to reality. That is, formally it was believed that the social learning theory doesn’t have any impact on the child’s behaviors and how he interprets different things and scenarios differently. These theories are nevertheless were thought to be just taught in the classrooms without any practical implementations to be viewed. But certain examples with results have provided the evidence that each and every action is based on some behavior and behavioral change in the children. Alan Sears has been the follower of the social learning theory and he stated the change to be inevitable in each case. It, however, depends upon the current and future scenarios when the person feels the extreme need to behave in a particular order. According to Hume Lock’s theory of empiricism the child mind is a blank slate after he is born. He just starts to observe things when his mind becomes little bit old. But still the child doesn’t have any ability to differentiate between the things quickly. He first acknowledges difference between things and then tries to remember them. The object of family violence plays its part when the child starts to learn these behaviors and try to compare them with others in contexts of their results. This learning process binds these actions in his mind and produce intimidation. The intimidation is considered as the urge of something to do. This urge is the force that drives the child to implement those actions which he had learnt over time and time. Now when this intimidation gets extreme, the action follows (Pollak, 2004). The strength of the action will be less at first but the result might be satisfying for him thus providing him the strength to commit this again. These continuous steps will make the child habitual of these things and the interpretation of things and difference between good and bad become ineligible in the mental stature of the child. The intimidation process is then followed by reinforcement. The reinforcement is the final phase of the social learning theory where the mind of the person has become mature enough to stand by his rules and principles and actions which he first observed and then followed over the course of his. The string of these events has made the mind to do violent as a good act and the maturity of the man accepts these actions as inevitable to bring about a change in others as well. In order to clearly view the reasons of these violent activities we have to go through a number of research steps through the prison record checks and the information provided by various NGOs. This information depicts the facts that the family violence is caused by difference in mental statures of the two who are involved. The gender differences, the act of domination by male on his spouse, the financial and emotionally tensions and the mentality of the person of his childhood when he would have experienced such event and would have thought that it will be better off to get aggressive and make people agree by force rather than negotiations, thus providing a lot easier battleground to them to conquer (Pollak, 2004). The intergenerational transmission of family violence has made the problems to arise in whole of the America. There are very common cases of these events taking place on common basis. People get hurt physically without any reasons and the innocent children who grow up by being abused or watching get people abused try to implement these behaviors afterwards. In order to remove these kinds of violent activities it is imperative that the laws should be made more severe for those who are adult and also they have to provide a facility where they can control their aggression and should be treated for the change in behaviors. The children which have been affected by these events should be taken in for great care as to change their pattern of thinking process which could benefit them in their future lives. References Murrell, Amy R. Christoff, Karen A. Henning, Kris R. (2007). Characteristics of Domestic Violence Offenders: Associations with Childhood Exposure to Violence. Springer Science + Business Media. Corvo, Kenneth. (2006). Violence, Separation, and Loss in the Families of Origin of Domestically Violent Men. Kernsmith, Poco. (2006). Gender Differences in the Impact of Family of Origin Violence on Perpetrators of Domestic Violence. Pollak, Robert A. (2004). An Intergenerational Model of Violence. Springer Verlag.

Merger And Acquisition Joint Ventures

Merger And Acquisition Joint Ventures Mergers and acquisitions (MAs) are becoming a strategy of choice for organizations attempting to maintain a competitive advantage. This paper reviews related literature to identify some underlying issues related to the success rate of MAs. It also discusses critical issues of joint ventures and also the problems and benefits of them. In addition, there has been an increased focus on the use of inter-firm relationships or strategic alliances in todays business. This paper also argues the factors which lead to successful strategic alliances. When firms are dealing with negative earnings and/or economic downturns, operational restructuring and consolidation are initiated as a rescue tool. Some firms recover, while the others fail to survive. Restructring and consolidation are the next issues which discuss generally. Introduction and Background Mergers and Acquisitions Acquisitions and mergers are a national as well as global trend. They occur everywhere in organizations, administrative units and businesses in all industries and of all sizes. Many people are at stake and a great deal of money as well (Balle, N. 2008). Mergers and acquisitions are becoming an increasingly popular strategic option for organizations (McEntire and Bentley, 1996). In fact, recent stimates indicate that the annual price tag of mergers and acquisitions consummated in the USA exceeds $1 trillion (Stanwick, 2000). Mergers are commonly characterized as the consolidation of two organizations into a single organization. Acquisitions, by contrast, are commonly characterized as the purchase of one organization from another where the buyer or acquirer maintains control (Borys and Jemison, 1989). Mergers and acquisitions (MAs) have been a very popular strategic maneuver for global businesses, attaining growth, diversification, or profitability (Fowler and Schmidt, 1988). In fact, the merger mania that started in the 1980s, continued throughout the 1990s and is still vigorous (Houghton et al., 2003). MAs are nothing but extreme forms of organizational change, and change is often perceived by employees as threatening, due to their feeling of vulnerability and fear of losing security (Saunders and Thronhill, 2003). Under these circumstances, they have become increasingly important in helping to redefine employment relationships (Anderson and Schalk, 1998; Cartwright and Cooper, 1993; Guest, 1998; Herriot and Pemberton, 1995, 1996; Hiltrop, 1995; McLean Parks and Kidder, 1994; Turnley et al., 2003). Joint Ventures Joint ventures (JVs) occur when two or more legally separate bodies form a jointly owned entity in which they invest and engage in various decision making activities (Geringer, 1988; 1991). A joint venture may be termed International (IJV) where at least one of the parties (or parents) is based outside the country where the venture is taking place or if the joint venture is being administered on a wide level in more than one country (Geringer and Hebert, 1989). JVs are now seen in terms of weaponry employed by companies within the context of their business networks to facilitate competition in relation to firms core markets and technologies (Beamish and Banks, 1987; Harrigan, 1987; Buckley and Casson, 1996); they are thus of vital strategic importance for international business and their significance is growing. It has been argued that various features of culture might affect the development of joint ventures. In their article Swierczek and Hirsch (1994) concluded that it is important that future partners understand the impact of differences in culture before they begin to joint venture. They added that JVs are often characterized by problems of misunderstanding and limited effectiveness because of the lack of compatibility of the cultures represented in the joint ventures. Similarly Beamish and Inkpen (1995) found that MNEs could benefit equally well from local market knowledge which their partners could provide. They also stated that the life cycles of many manufacturing subsidiaries are short because the MNE is unable to understand the knowledge of local culture, economy and politics. Strategic Alliances A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more partners to share knowledge or resources which could be beneficial to all parties involved. Strategic alliances can be as simple as two companies sharing their technological and/or marketing resources. In contrast, they can be highly complex, involving several companies, located in different countries. These firms may in turn be linked with other organizations in separate alliances. The result is a maze of intertwined companies which may be competing with each other in several product areas. (Niren M. Vyas, William L. Shelburn and Dennis C. Rogers 1999). A few years ago strategic alliances were perceived as an option reserved only for corporate giants. Today, however, for many companies, a go-it-alone strategy no longer seems to be a viable alternative. As a result of the maturation of several trends of the 1980s intensified foreign competition, shortened product cycles, soaring capital investment costs, and the evergrowing demand for new technologies alliances are becoming an attractive strategy for the future (Niren M. Vyas, William L. Shelburn and Dennis C. Rogers 1999). Restructuring and Consolidation It is rare to find a single product company. Most have diversified their interests into related or unrelated areas. Some companies are known as restructuring companies, The latter acquire other companies essentially for the purpose of reorganizationing or streamlining and selling them off subsequently to other owners at a profit. Restructuring companies also have the function of aiding the process of restructuring an industry (Proctor, T. 2001). Operational restructuring involves making decisions about appropriate workforce size and skill requirements, plant capacity and location, functions consolidation, and possible shifts in production focus. More specifically, operational restructuring can be considered a program: that is planned and controlled by management, and materially changes either: the scope of a business undertaken by an enterprise; or the manner in which the business is conducted (Lin and Lee and Gibbs, 2007). Focusing is on operational restructurings for two primary reasons. First, such events often affect a companys business strategies, operations, organizational functions, and existing management structures. Second, operational restructurings entail controversial corporate accounting practices of restructuring charges (Lin and Lee and Gibbs, 2007). Corporate consolidation is a topic of active debate among academics and practitioneres alike. Academic reserches emphasis the importance role corporate consolidation play in disciplining under-performing management and imposing operating efficiences (Healy 1992; Jarrel et al., 1988), practitioners view it as a tool of market share expansion and an effective response to a plethora of competitive challenges (Read, 1999; Howell, 2002). In its most visible form, M As, corporate consolidation is a sizable business run in Europe by established national players operating, increasingly, on a cross-border basis (Berg, 2002). Merger and Acquisitions Several researchers have suggested that in most cases MAs fail to meet initial financial expectations (i.e. Bruner and Spekman, 1998; Haveman, 1992; Very and Schweiger, 2001; Zollo, 2003). Back in the 1980s, Lubatkin insisted that although MAs had been a very important and popular means for executing organizational strategies, less than 20 percent actually achieved its expected financial or strategic objectives. Almost a decade later, Cartwright and Cooper (1992) quoted nearly 40 per cent failure rates for change efforts and a few years later, 1996, nearly 50 percent of MAs failure rate to achieve initial objectives. Along the same lines, Weber (1996) found that 35 per cent of those MAs that fail in their first three years of life are a result of poor employee relations. Over the years, several researchers have raised that percent again, advocating that more than two-thirds of MAs fail to create meaningful shareholder value (Ashkenas et al., 1998; Carr et al., 2004; Marks and Mirvis, 1998). As for the main reasons for such failure rates, there is a dispute among researchers. Existing literature has identified among the main reasons for not fulfilling initial goals both hard and soft factors. Specifically, there are researchers suggesting that paying the wrong price, buying for the wrong reason, selecting the wrong partner, and buying at the wrong time are some of the most prominent ones (i.e. Armenakis, 1999; Haleblian, 1999). However, others insist that underestimation of depth of the problems related to the human factor during a M or A condemns the projects success, and thus, more attention has to be given on employees needs (i.e. Bijlsma-Frankema, 2001; De Cock and Rickards, 1996; Houghton et al., 2003; Lesowitz and Knauff, 2003; Seibert, 1995; Stahl et al., 2003). Focus on value creation, not just integration Many companies organize their post-merger integration activities on a functional basis rather than a value-added basis. While many functional activities must be consolidated (such as bringing databases together and rationalizing policies, procedures and IT systems), not all integration activities yield equal benefits. Blindly and aggressively integrating various functions and businesses without regard to a value-creating hierarchy can actually destroy value (Chanmugam, Shill, Mann, Ficery and Pursche, 2005). Use culture as a value-creation tool The most successful acquirers of the future will see culture as a tool in three ways. First, they will look at cultural differences during the target identification and bidding phases, assess the potential impact of those differences, and incorporate their analysis into the valuation and bid. Second, they will try to avoid the pitfalls common during pre- and post-merger planning, and actively incorporate the elements of each companys culture that best support the desired combination. Finally, they will proactively use culture to create value through the use of high-visibility retention, promotion, termination and structural organizational design decisions (Chanmugam, Shill, Mann, Ficery and Pursche, 2005). Joint Ventures Critical Issues for IJVs An IJV is defined as an equity sharing arrangement in which a foreign corporation and a local firm (either private or government owned) pool their resources, sharing risks and operational control to operate an independent business unit on a continuous basis for profit and/or to attain some strategic objective (Geringer and Hebert, 1991). Broadly viewed, the IJV market entry mode represents two opposing trends. First, judged by the number of entries, it is becoming increasingly popular as a mode of market entry and expansion (Makino and Beamish, 1998; Vanhonacker and Pan, 1997). In recent years an increasing number of global corporations have become involved in IJVs at home and overseas, covering many sectors, industries, and product groups (Griffith, Zeybek and OBrien, 2001). The second issue relates to the fragile nature of IJVs, and it has been repeatedly argued that the failure rate or instability rate of IJVs is above thirty percent, and it is often markedly higher compared to other alternative forms of market entry and operation (Makino and Beamish, 1998). Gomes-Casseres (1989) offered two explanations for reasons of instability in any JV, arguing that the partners simply made a mistake; forming a JV when it may not have been the best thing to do, or they joined up with the wrong partner. Further, that their ini tial decision was right, but conditions changed so that the JV was no longer useful (Cullen, Johnson, and Sakano, 1995). Problems with Joint Ventures Some of the main problems with Joint Ventures include: Significant differences in the major goals of the parties, Details of the joint venture contract, The foreign corporations global integration and the local partners national orientation, Differences between the partners concerning marketing, Desire for control, Transfer pricing conflicts, Conflict over decision making, managerial processes and style (Julian and OCass, 2003). Benefits of Joint Ventures Joint ventures provide companies with the opportunity to obtain new capacity and expertise. They allow companies to enter into related businesses or new geographic markets or obtain new technological knowledge. Joint ventures have a relatively short life span (5-7 years) and therefore do not represent a long-term commitment. In the era of divesture and consolidation, they offer a creative way for companies to exit from non-core businesses (companies can gradually separate a business from the rest of the organization, and ultimately, sell it to the other parent company (appr. 80% of all joint ventures end in a sale by one partner to the other) (Trafford and Proctor 2006). Succe of a Joint Venture success of a joint venture may be influenced by five important characteristics. These characteristics are illustrated as building blocks in a model which Trafford and Proctor(2006), have termed the COPED model. COPED Model (Trafford and Proctor, 2006) Communication Many business alliances fail to meet expectations because little attention is given to nurturing the close working relationships and interpersonal connections that unite the partnering organisations (Weitz and Jap, 1995). An awareness of communication processes is essential within alliances if maximum efforts are to be coordinated and directed towards the success of strategic alliances. Ineffective communication can reduce the effectiveness of a strategic alliance and thus lead to conflict between partners (Jain, 1987). There is an assumption that organisations will function better if communication is open, if relationships are based on mutual understanding and trust, if relationships are co-operative rather than competitive, if people work together in teams, and if decisions are reached in a participative way. These conditions, however, are not observed in many organisational situations. Main barriers to communication concern are power differences; gender differences; physical surroundings; language; and cultural diversity (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). Openness Trust is considered a prerequisite for alliance success (Byrne, 1993) and lack of trust is a major reason for alliance failures (Peng and Shenkar, 2002). There is evidence to point to the fact that strategic alliances may be unstable and their success rate poor (Gant, 1995). Partner firms need to manage this risk adequately by understanding the conjoint roles of trust and control. The establishment of a new relationship between members of the organisation at all levels a relationship based on trust is an issue that is becoming increasingly important to organisations (Handy, 1995). Planning Many strategic alliances lack alliance strategies. A coherent alliance strategy has four elements: (1) a business strategy to shape the logic and design of the alliance; (2) a dynamic view to guide the management and evolution of the alliance; (3) a portfolio approach to enable co-ordination among the alliance to enhance flexibility; and (4) an internal infrastructure that supports and strives to maximise the value of external collaboration (Gomes-Casseres, 2000). When managed well, the above elements can create tremendous value. At the wrong time and when managed poorly, they can be costly distractions (Gomes-Casseres, 2000). According to Hill and Jones (2001), the strategic planning process can be broken down into five main steps: (1) mission and objectives; (2) environmental scanning; (3) strategy formation; (4) strategy implementation; and (5) evaluation and control. Ethos Ethos is the characteristic spirit or attitudes of a community, or people (Webster, 1992). It comes very much to the fore in strategic alliances when the co-operating firms continue to be independent organisations and a new situation appears in which an interaction is established between two firms with different organisational cultures. This usually implies different leadership styles and different objectives, which may lead to lack of trust between the parties and to conflicts which may arise when the time comes to make decisions (Buono, 1991). Similarly, cultural conflicts are more common in joint ventures, where a closer contact between the partners is required, than in contractual alliances (Schultz, 1998). Direction The public sector is under pressure to improve service delivery and cooperate more effectively (Cabinet Office, 2003). There is a growing demand for leaders able to carry out these tasks, and to see through fundamental processes of change. The appointment, monitoring, reward and accountability structures and processes all play some part in inhibiting and/or encouraging certain forms of leadership which give the correct direction. Strategic Alliances Parkhe (1993) defined a strategic alliance as a: relatively enduring interfirm co-operative agreement, involving flows and linkages that use resources and/or governance structures from autonomous organizations, for the joint accomplishment of individual goals linked to the corporate mission of each sponsoring firm. Following from this definition, it can be seen that an alliance must be a formal part of business strategy (Johnson, 1999), meaning that an agreement between two partners must be formalised into a contract, as opposed to a handshake deal or a verbal agreement. Second, alliances must be mutually beneficial; that is, they must result in a win-win situation. Koza and Lewin (1998) argued that one of the many reasons that strategic alliances were formed was to seek out new knowledge by acquiring new technology and skills. In this type of alliance they argued that the partners would seek to reduce information asymmetry between the partners. This may involve the standardization of service delivery of production processes, joint strategic planning, sharing of databases and knowledge transfer through staff exchanges. A second and related motivation for forming an alliance was to explore for new market opportunities. This involved innovation, basic research, invention, risk taking, building new capabilities, entering new lines of business, and investments in the firms absorptive capacity. Barriers to successful Strategic Alliances Barriers to successful strategic alliances must also be recognized. The three major barriers are: (1) Failure to understand and adapt to new style of management. The adaptation of a new style of management requires a change in corporate culture which must be initiated and nurtured from the top. (2) Failure to learn and understand the cultural differences. Not only do the cultural differences exist among international firms seeking alliances, but corporate cultures may be different among firms from the same country. Flexibility and learning are the greatest tools in overcoming this barrier. (3) Lack of iron-clad commitment to succeed. Individuals who negotiated or implemented the initial alliance agreement may change due to promotions, transfers, retirement, or terminations. Continuity of total commitment for the alliance is needed at all levels in the organization without which the alliance will fail to reach its full potential (Vyas, Shelburn and Rogers, 1995). Importance of Knowledge in Strategic Alliances Inter-firm cooperative initiatives are one of the precious ways for firms to identify, transfer and internalize external knowledge. Koguts review of literature addressing joint ventures found that one of the firms main motivations for entering into collaborative agreements was to transfer organizational knowledge (Kogut, 1988). Berg and Friedman, in a study of over 300 JVs at the 2-digit SIC level showed that in many cases, joint ventures did not in fact enhance the market power of the parent firm, but rather functioned as a means of knowledge acquisition (Berg and Friedman, 1981). Thus the issues of knowledge creation, knowledge transfer and learning have attracted researchers and have been examined several times in academic research and management consulting applied studies. Restructuring and Consolidation Why and how to Restructure an Ailing Business A number of typical situations that a firm with declining performance may encounter and could cause this firm to go through an operational restructuring are stated in this section. -Needs for operational restructuring The decision to restructure is driven by a number of considerations. At times, restructuring is in response to significant sea changes in the business environment while in other cases it is done to address poor operating/stock performance. Both internal (e.g. financial distress) and external (e.g. recessions) economic and financial conditions can drive the decision to restructure. Additionally, votes of no confidence in management will likely lead to corporate restructuring (Lin and Lee and Gibbs, 2007). -Typical activities of operational restructuring and consolidation Restructuring and consolidation efforts can take on a couple of forms. Often times management takes steps to contain costs, but in at other times drastic changes such as a refocusing of business direction occurs. For a firm that incurs losses, cost control is often the first step to return to profitability. Slashing labor costs, production costs, selling and administrative expenses, RD expenditures, and financing costs are common measures of corporate restructurings (Denis and Kruse, 2000). Downsizing and employee layoffs are the restructuring actions that are typically taken to cope with poor operating performance, especially within contracting economies(Lin and Lee and Gibbs, 2007). Other Issues Operational restructuring and consolidation has been considered as one important turnaround strategy for a firm in a bad situation, especially during an economic recession. Lin and Lee and Gibbs (2007), stated that delisting risk increases when firms undertake repetitive restructurings, massive workforce reduction, and large-scale asset downsizing. Moreover, firms with high levels of debt and failure to cut costs and/or narrowing its focus on core competencies are also more likely to delist. Conclusion As more and more companies opt to supplement organic growth with mergers and acquisitions, the earlier stages of MA transactions are becoming relatively mature, commoditized processes. According to Galpin and Herndon (2008), in order to build replicable MA integration, MA integration must be managed as an end-to-end business process. MA integration is a competency set with specific skills that must be built throughout the organization. The organizations MA integration process and capabilities must be in place before the train leaves the station that is, before the deal gets done. The organizations MA integration process must be continually improved by learning from previous mistakes and successes. The researches indicate the existence of five helpful characteristics identified under the heading of Communication, Openness, Planning, Ethos and Direction, which may be present in a successful partnership (joint) venture. The COPED model, is for building more comprehensive and productive relationships between public sector organisations and private sector companies which lead them to a successful joint venture. Strategic alliances are in the age of business without boundaries. A strategic objective aimed at expanding the competitive knowledge resource, and clearly there are special skills in bringing these arrangements to fruition. Professional managers recognize that in the age of business without boundaries it is essential that they provide learning opportunities and the necessary knowledge that will enable their employees to effectively and securely collaborate internally and externally. So there is a need for knowledge and learning regarding to strategicalliances (Dealtry, 2008). Operational restructuring has been considered as one important turnaround strategy for a firm in a bad situation, especially during an economic recession. Moreover, firms with high levels of debt and failure to cut costs and/or narrowing its focus on core competencies are also more likely to delist. So considering and learning about restructuring and consolidation is another important isuue to take account for managers.

Impact Of Agents Of Socialization On Pester Power Education Essay

Impact Of Agents Of Socialization On Pester Power Education Essay Introduction In this ever changing world, there is an increasing trend in the recognition of pester power of children by the marketers. Pester power is basically the influencing power of the children which they exercise in their routine life to get what they want and indirectly affect the buying decision of their parents. The basic reason behind the acknowledgement of pester power is that exposure of the children is growing over time as they are getting more social so dictating buying decisions of their parents. Thus pester power will be the main focus of my dissertation and the researcher will attempt to determine various factors of socialization that are gradually playing their role in strengthening this kid-influence on parents purchase of products. Background The term Pester Power first originated in US in late 1970s, described as the power children had, by repeated nagging, of influencing their parents to buy advertised or fashionable items. Nicholls and Cullen (2004) studied this parent-child relationship which results in pester power and developed a matrix for it which shows that while a family in making a buying decision parents and child both have to make a tradeoff between desire of control over decision and self realization of resulting purchase. Figure below is the matrix developed by Nicholls and Cullen (2004) it depicts that when children has high self realization and parents have high desire for control their interaction results in pester power of children. Source: Nicholls, A. J., Cullen, P. (2004). The child-parent purchase relationship: pester power, human rights and retail ethics. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services Problem discussion Children has an increased access to pocket money and a bigger say in purchase decisions is a result of children getting more information from various sources, being more social and demanding as well. This increase in population of youngsters and their influencing power determines a large potential customer base for marketers. Objectives and research question Based upon above background of study and problem discussion, purpose or main objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of how the agents of socialization of children make them influence their parents purchase decision. In order to conduct this research, research questions are Primary Research question RQ: Do the agents of socialization have an impact on pester power of children? Subsidiary Research questions RQ2: Does parents/peer pressure has an impact on pester power? RQ3: Do advertisements and TV programs have an impact on pester power? Literature Review Kids represent an important market segment to marketers because kids have their own buying behavior. More importantly, kids could monitor the buying decisions of their adult parents because they are the adults of future. Today most of the advertisers spend more on TV advertisements having children content to attract more children which are going to change the behavior of their parents. There are different variables involved in pester power effectiveness. That is what McNeal and Yeh, (1997) has also stated that due to increase in awareness of children market potential had increased in three ways that the children were spending money they had, that is essentially their pocket money, to satisfy their own needs and wants. Secondly, they influenced their parents spending and finally they eventually would become a loyal customer base for the companies in the long run. Interaction with parents is the first thing that influences children buying behaviors. The parents teach their children the buying behavior. Same proposition was given by Ward et al (1977) that primary socialization agents for children were parents and children behavior in adulthood was dominated by their parental influence. If there is a direct and clear communication between the children and their parents then children could be easily influenced by their parents. Mostly the pester power works if there is more emotional engagement between the parents and their children. Children learn from their parents the way in which they live, buy and eat. Moore and Moschis (1981) and Mascarenhas and Higby (1993) stated that the most instrumental among social entities were parents from which children learnt consumer behavior. Another researcher Moschis (1985) has concluded that interaction of children with all other entities was majorly influenced by their parents, when they were in direct or in direct contact with each other. Along with this he also postulated that, because of the nature of parent-child relationship, effects of other agents of socialization like peer groups and mass media were modified to a large extent. Peer Pressure is the second component of the research question, which influences children buying behaviors. Children spent a lot of their time in certain peer groups such as at school, play places or street friends belonging to different families. A child learns a lot from other children. The extent to which these gatherings influence varies from situation to situation. For example, a child can even make a decision to buy his school bag by looking at other children. Same element of influence was studied by many researchers including Parsons et al., (1953), David and Roseboroug (1955), Moschis and Moore (1981) has described the impact of peer pressure in two ways, expressive consumption and effective consumption. By expressive consumption they mean the social motivations and the materialistic values that are associated with the purchases while on the other hand, purchase styles and modes of consumptions were categorized as effective consumption influence. This study comes in line with my study that social motivation and the purchase patterns of both the parents and peers influence children. This influence may or may not be productive as Bachmann, et al (1993) stated that consumption learning from peers affected child consumer socialization directly or indirectly. Another research, stated earlier, by Ward (1974) has explained the relationship of parental influence and peer pressure with age that as age increases parental influence is over shadowed by peer pressure Impact of advertisements content and TV programs on children has gained significant importance by researchers and marketers. Berns (2004) has given a reason for the fact that children are now being used as a marketing tool is their cognitive immaturity, he argued on this point by saying that children were more likely to believe that the images or characters they see on TV were real. Some of ways in which this agent of socialization influences the pester power of children are: Making children desire things which their parents do not want to purchase by showing attractive contents in advertisements. Encouraging children to influence or advocate the buying behavior of their parents Presenting children as heroes in a particular situation such as showing a scene in which other children are in danger and one child adopts the rule of savior etc. Making Children feel inferior by showing them that if they will not buy a particular product they are not good but bad. According to OGuinn and Shrum (1997),a advertising and programming content are the two channels of communication which inform children and young people about products and encourage them to purchase. Another point that O Guinn and Shrum (1997) has stated in their findings is that consumer behavior was learned by children more easily if they were targeted with persuasion shown in commercials and various TV programs. Expansion in media messages and continuous changes in media environment are two key contributors for increasing the level of advertisement subjected towards children. Store Visits and Retailing environments also influence children buying behavior as Shim, et al (1995) proposed that children became more conscious about the information regarding products such as price and brands the more often parent took their children for the shopping. Keeping this in view marketer induce sales by adding some incentives for children to influence their parents to buy a product. For example, a fast food restaurant usually adds play place along with the dining hall or some retailer give away toys, snacks, sweets as gift with the products purchased. Although products are for adults but retailers make children pester their parents to buy that product. The attractive display of product also works in inducing this power more efficiently; these kinds of purchases made by parents under the influence of children are usually impulse purchases. According to research conducted by Schulman and Clancy (1992) on the most admired after school activities among the children depicts that watching TV got the highest attractive scores while second on the list was shopping which shows that in either of the two cases our research questions are being supported that these agents of socializations are impacting children behavior to a large extent. Cartoon character and Celebrities endorsement also has some bearing on children buying behavior. A recent study conducted by Dotson and Hyatt (2005) states that association of brands with certain popular sports, music and stars had increase the level of influence on children. Almost all children watch cartoon programs and other children oriented TV programs such as Quiz shows, Sports Shows etc. By introducing heroic characters like super-man, spider-man and various celebrities in advertisement make children buy that product because of emotional attachment of children with these things. Product category and stage of decision making process are being varied by children as the amount of influence they exert and product they prefer. For some product categories they influence purchase made by the parents and for some other products they are active initiators, information seekers, and buyers. Children influence is different for different products, product sub division, nature of socialization of children and they prefer product what they are attracted towards. Beside of the goods which are for direct consumption, children shows their influence in buying of goods for their family as their parents are less involved in the goods are preferred by them and preference increases in case of less expensive and the products for their own use. (Belch, 2004) Today, most of the marketers are targeting kids because of the change in demographics and psychographics of children population. The first learning point for the children about Where to buy is from family. The family characteristics such as family environment and parental lifestyle enhances the impact of the role of children in the different stages of taking buying decisions, as stated by Belch (2004) as well. Most of the children, when they go out with their parents on shopping, learn where a particular product or service is available and how they can reach them. The second source of children learning about where to buy comes from peer or social group they usually spend their time. As Belch (2004) stated that cultural values influence consumption related behaviors of children. The third source of children learning about where to buy comes from different advertisements and TV programs. There is big problem for children and their parents as viewers because young children are easily at tracted towards the content of advertisements and promotions. Theoretical Framework The independent variable in this study is agents of socialization and the dependent variable is pester power of children. Agents of socialization Pester power Independent variable Dependent Variable Operationalization In order to quantify independent variable, agents of socialization, the researcher has identified two indicators based upon the findings of literature review which are operationalized as under: Parent/Peer pressure: How the parents buying behavior and patterns are learned by the children because they are in constant contact with them and to what extent the interaction of children with their peer transform their preferences for products? Advertisements / TV programs: How much attention children pay to what they see on television, the retail environment impact children in nagging for a particular product and to what extent children get inclined towards a cartoon character or even children in a commercial? In order to quantify the dependent variable, pester power the researcher has identified three indicators which are operationalized as follows: Product preferences: How much differences in preference of children make them influence their parents purchase decision? Where to buy: How do children know from where they can get their desired product? How to buy: Do they know the tactic of buying the product, by nagging? Hypothesis The hypotheses developed for conducting the research are: H1: There is a relationship between agents of socialization and pester power Null Hypothesis: There is no relationship between agents of socialization and pester power Alternative hypothesis: There is a positive relationship between agents of socialization and pester power. Objectives of the Research Study Several factors such as interaction with parents, interaction with peers, shopping experiences and advertisement (Normal + Celebrity endorsement) has increased the nagging behavior of children. The more increase in interactions of a child with all these factors; it gives rise to pester power or the power of nagging in the child. For measuring pester power, the researcher has prepared a questionnaire (See Appendix) for measuring the impact of these two variables (parent/peer pressure and advertising) on pester power in children. The objective of this study is to measure the nature of relationship that exists between parent/peer pressure, advertising and pester power. Another objective is to find out if only these variables are there to boost up the pester power or there is also something else which has not yet been discovered in the previous research conducted (literature review) on pester power. Due to limited time and money constraints, it is not possible to get accurate and pure results, but the researcher will try his best to get the better results from limited resources. The finding of this study will also be helpful in the professional career of researcher being a business student. There is dramatic increase in the population of youngsters. Being an entrepreneur or marketer, this study will help the researcher to devise an efficient marketing communication strategy in his professional career for example this part of population can be targeted in marketing campaigns because of their larger proportion in the total population and maximum net marketing contribution can be obtained out of it. Secondly, this study will also be beneficial to the parents. The reason is, due to increase in population of youngsters, the marketers are targeting them in their marketing communications. This trend has positive as well as negative effects. Some marketers are using unethical tactics to market their product which is socially unacceptable. This study will help the parents to efficiently control the exposure of children to advertising and parent/peer pressure to minimize pester power and its negative effects. Research Methodology Design This study will be a questionnaire study. In questionnaire study, the respondents will be given a questionnaire and they will have to select from only available options. It is not a laboratory experiment where the environment of respondents can be controlled. It is a social research and the respondents are humans. The environment or context of this research cannot be controlled. The researcher will conduct questionnaire surveys. Questionnaire surveys are appropriate because these surveys allow quantification of data and thus quantitative evidences will be used to justify the results from research study. Questionnaire Surveys will help to gain required responses which can be further converted in quantitative terms for research. Subjects To test above mentioned hypothesis, the researcher will need to find data about agents of socialization and level of pester power. This data will be collected from parents having kids entering a shopping mall. The researcher will be using non-probability sampling method. A sample size of 100 parents entering shopping malls will be taken. Large shopping malls will be targeted for carrying out this research study. Convenience sampling method will be used for this research study. Instruments Instrument for carrying out research is already discussed above which is questionnaire surveys (quantitative research) for getting deep insights of the research problem. The researcher chose questionnaire surveys to get desired responses because quantification of data was desired. Moreover, the subjects find it easy to select an answer from given responses and therefore the response rate of questionnaire surveys are high. An interviewer completed questionnaire of close-ended statements will be used. Each questionnaire is expected to be completed within 10 minutes. So, questionnaire surveys are more flexible than any other instruments for research. Therefore, the above instruments for research study are reliable. Similarly statistical tests like z-test and t-test will be used to measure the reliability of measures. Context The research will be applied to the retail industry of United Kingdom (UK) by visiting the retail chains, retail stores and shopping malls. The research will be conducted from parents visiting the retail stores, retail chains and shopping malls of UK retail industry. Only those parents will be interviewed who will have the children under the age of 10-20 years old. Results Results obtained from the research study will be tested and validated by statistical measures using Microsoft Excel and SPSS. A z-test and t-test will be used to test significance among variables. Moreover, ANOVA will also be used to test significance of variables. Similarly, results obtained from focus groups and in-depth interviews will be tested qualitatively by recording video of these events. Research Paradigm This study Impact of agents of socialization on pester power is a quantitative, deductive and correlation study. The study is quantitative because it involves collection and analysis of numerical data as questionnaires responses can be measured on different scales and could be coded. The study is deductive because hypotheses is tested as There is a positive relationship between agents of socialization and pester power. The researcher arrived at the above hypothesis from the literature review. Now, the researcher already has a statement in the form of hypothesis, and this statement would be tested by collection of data and analysis which is a deductive approach. Finally this study is correlation study because a relationship is being measured between two different kinds of independent variables and dependent variable. In this study, agents of socialization are independent variables and pester power is dependent variable. Ethical Concerns The participants of the research study will be involved in the research with their informed consent by explaining them the purpose of the research study. The participants of the research study will be at minimal risk with no physical harm. A briefing would be given to respondents about the purpose of study by explaining the true nature of our study in order to have their informed consent. The respondents will be given a free choice to opt for giving information and responding to the questionnaire. The element of confidentiality and privacy will be of major concern during this study. The researcher will ensure confidentiality by using dummy data. Limitations It is a single mans effort and therefore some limitations will also be associated with the project and these limitations would be constraints of time and cost. In case of questionnaires surveys, participant in hurry or thinking about something else may choose a wrong response. Moreover, fatigue, anger and hunger may alter the interpretations of surveys. There could be human errors in the analysis and presentation of results. Conclusion The prime users of the study conducted will be the marketers who have to develop their advertising campaign. This point is also very important for parents as well, they try to reduce this pester power in their children, because it bring about negative changes in them, this is the reason that many countries like Canada have banned such advertisements that enhances pester power in children.

Single Slit Diffraction Pattern of Light :: Mathematics Math

Missing Figures SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION PATTERN OF LIGHT The diffraction pattern observed with light and a small slit comes up in about every high school and first year university general physics class. The intention of this paper is to explain this pattern at the academic level mentioned above. Light is interesting and mysterious because it consists of both a beam of particles, and of waves in motion. WAVE PARTICLE DUALITY: All carriers of energy and momentum, such as light and electrons, propagate like a wave and exchange energy like a particle. It wasn't until the 19th century that convincing evidence was found showing that light behaves like waves. Before reading on, you may wish to review some wave terminology. The key to understanding why light behaves like waves is in INTERFERENCE and DIFFRACTION. Interference and Diffraction are the phenomena that distinguish waves from particles: waves interfere and diffract, particles do not. Light bends around obstacles like waves do, and it is this bending which causes the single slit diffraction pattern. Some assumptions must be made for this description of the single slit diffraction pattern: * The slit size is small, relative to the wavelength of light. * The screen is far away. * Cylindrical waves can be represented in 2D diagrams as cicular waves. * The intensity at any point on the screen is independent of the angle made between the ray to the screen and the normal line between the slit and the screen (this angle is called T below). This is possible because the slit is narrow. point1 Consider a slit of width a, light of wavelength l, and a smaller than l. When the light encounters the slit, the pattern of the resulting wave can be calculated by treating each point in the aperature as a point source from which new waves spread out. pointb Let L represent the distance between the slit and the screen. Let T represent the angle between the wave ray to a point on the screen and the normal line between the slit and the screen. point2 The top part of the figure to the left is an imitation of a single slit diffraction pattern which may be observed on the screen (there would really be more blending between the bright and dark bands, see a real diffraction pattern at the top of this page). Below the pattern is an intensity bar graph showing the intensity of the light in the diffraction pattern as a function of sin T. Single Slit Diffraction Pattern of Light :: Mathematics Math Missing Figures SINGLE SLIT DIFFRACTION PATTERN OF LIGHT The diffraction pattern observed with light and a small slit comes up in about every high school and first year university general physics class. The intention of this paper is to explain this pattern at the academic level mentioned above. Light is interesting and mysterious because it consists of both a beam of particles, and of waves in motion. WAVE PARTICLE DUALITY: All carriers of energy and momentum, such as light and electrons, propagate like a wave and exchange energy like a particle. It wasn't until the 19th century that convincing evidence was found showing that light behaves like waves. Before reading on, you may wish to review some wave terminology. The key to understanding why light behaves like waves is in INTERFERENCE and DIFFRACTION. Interference and Diffraction are the phenomena that distinguish waves from particles: waves interfere and diffract, particles do not. Light bends around obstacles like waves do, and it is this bending which causes the single slit diffraction pattern. Some assumptions must be made for this description of the single slit diffraction pattern: * The slit size is small, relative to the wavelength of light. * The screen is far away. * Cylindrical waves can be represented in 2D diagrams as cicular waves. * The intensity at any point on the screen is independent of the angle made between the ray to the screen and the normal line between the slit and the screen (this angle is called T below). This is possible because the slit is narrow. point1 Consider a slit of width a, light of wavelength l, and a smaller than l. When the light encounters the slit, the pattern of the resulting wave can be calculated by treating each point in the aperature as a point source from which new waves spread out. pointb Let L represent the distance between the slit and the screen. Let T represent the angle between the wave ray to a point on the screen and the normal line between the slit and the screen. point2 The top part of the figure to the left is an imitation of a single slit diffraction pattern which may be observed on the screen (there would really be more blending between the bright and dark bands, see a real diffraction pattern at the top of this page). Below the pattern is an intensity bar graph showing the intensity of the light in the diffraction pattern as a function of sin T.

Causes of the Flu Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Why We Still Get the Flu This winter, media reports of early influenza (flu) deaths in American and British children sparked a panic that is spreading throughout the United States and the world. People are currently rushing to get flu shots to try to prevent this virus, which can be temporarily debilitating and even lead to death (1). With readily available flu vaccination and medication, it is a wonder that the flu is still an extant disease. In fact, in any given year, the flu kills about 15 million people world wide, more people than are killed by AIDS, lung cancer, and heart disease combined (2). With so much modern medical technology, why is it that we are still getting the flu? Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a virus that infects the trachea (windpipe) or bronchi (breathing tubes) (1). Strains of the flu may belong to one of three different influenza virus families, A, B, or C (3). Symptoms include high fever, chills, severe muscle aches, headache, runny nose, and cough. Complications can lead to pneumonia. Those most at risk of dying from the flu or contracting complications include asthmatics, people with sickle cell disease, people with long-term diseases of the heart, kidney, or lungs, people with diabetes, those who have weakened immunity from cancer or HIV/AIDS, children on long-term aspirin therapy, women who are on their second or third trimester of pregnancy, children under the age of nine, and adults over the age of 50 (1). Flu shots may be a miracle of modern technology, but they are not received by everyone. The flu is a world-wide problem. While Americans spend $2 billion treating and preventing the flu every year, those countries known as the Third or Developing World simply cannot afford su... ... VA – Flu Vaccine http://www.fin.org/n_flu.html 9)Fujian flu vaccine ready by next year; news article on the Star Online, a Malaysian Newspaper. http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file= 10)ScienceDaily New Release: Australian National University Scientists Find Genetic Trigger For The 1918 Spanish Flu http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/09/010907081636.htm 11)WHO 50th – Smallpox Eradication, Site Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/governance/en/smallpox.htm 12)FluMist: No More Flu Shots? , On the Mayo Clinic website. http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=591BCB8D-4339-4653-86B9311B648BF021 13)ScienceDaily News Release: A Better FLU Vaccine? Nasal Spray Vaccine May Give More Protection Against 'Drifted' Strains http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/12/031209081457.htm

Research paradigm Essay

The research paradigm considered by the researcher in regard to this work included the consideration of packaging in special occasions and which factors companies should focus during the period of social occasion in order to make their packaging their selling point. During the festival seasons market is flooded with various gift options. Due to the competition various organizations offer attractive schemes and offers to allure the consumers. Consumers due to various kind of motives of buying gift which can be personal, individual, altruism, cultural, reciprocal and other reason wants to buy attractive gifts for the people within his circle from family to the friends and relatives. The competitions companies face to attract these customers comes from various sectors of the industry or outside the industry. Now a days even service organization have become very competitive and services can also be offered as a gift. In such case company faces all kind of product, generic, industry specific and other kind of competitions. The packaging decisions are one of the important aspects of the marketing mix which can not be ignored in such a competitive environment where everything needs to be perfect. This paradigm has been utilized many times in the study of packaging in special occasions for all the group of respondents. I. i. a. Sample selection The data sampling was randomly managed utilizing stratified means with sixty five questionnaires completed by both male and female retail consumers. The percentages of female respondents were higher than that of male. The choice to use retail consumers alone in this research was made for three reasons. †¢ First, it was far simpler to have access to consumers from retail organization in regard to the researcher’s availability. †¢ Second, the focus itself is on understanding attitudes and perceptions for the packaging of gifts in special occasions and retail organization is a place attracting major customers to buy gifts. †¢ Third, the quantification of such information allows the researcher to gain a broader perspective on how respondents observe and realize the meanings of different components of packaging during special occasions and how it impacts their buying behaviour. I.i. b. Reliability and viability Reliability for the researcher was achieved in the assurance that only a specified group of men and women were utilized in regard to the research. The focus of the research has been on the consumers from retail organization. These consumers from retail organization were approachable. Data was collected in the presence of researcher. This gave the research a more focused view of the research goal. The validity was managed as a result of this focus and emphasised in the considerations involved in the data collection, variables and sampling methods. Privacy and confidentiality methods included assigning numeric and alphabetic coding to each responding questionnaire. This ensured anonymity in regard to the researcher and the subjects of the research process. I. i. c. Sample size Approximately 100 questionnaires have been distributed to collect the information. However in 35 questionnaires the information was not completed and due to that these has been withdrawn from the studies. 65 fully filled questionnaires have been utilized for the purpose of study. I. i. d. Questionnaire design The questionnaire design was simple. The questions included in the paper are related to the attributes of the packaging. The time taken to complete the questionnaire was less due to its simple nature. Most of the questions are simple circle question where respondent has to make a circle around the most appropriate and applicable option. I. i. e. Data analysis and findings Analysis of information in regard to research managed by the researcher must include complete and full understanding of the questionnaire. This understanding focuses in the use of the questionnaire created specifically for this process. It is the considerations realized within the questionnaires, no matter their simplicity, that will focus considerations in later chapters of this work. Within this section of Analysis and Findings there will be measurement of all responses in regard to the questionnaire. †¢ Analysis strategy Analysis strategy included a full series of statistical diagrams of all information collected including positive and negative responses, gender variations and marital status. This strategy provided the researcher with a wider spread for the conclusions that became evident in regard to the researcher’s focus. This information was broken down into specific charts for the benefit of visual context. The visual context provided insight in regard to perceptions of packaging and considerations by consumers from retail organization in regard to the impact of components on them. These perceptions and considerations provide the researcher with evidence to support the hypothesis made in that effective packaging decisions during the special occasions will support organizations to delight the consumer. †¢ Awareness The researcher held awareness of the potential for study in regard to packaging during special occasion through many methods. Those methods include observation, interaction and extensive research. The awareness of the media discussions of packaging amongst collegiate level men and women and the similar studies within this idea would in fact have influenced the choice made. The choice of analyzing how consumers from retail organization amongst this particular population would in fact consider their packaging options and knowledge allows for a singular perspective isolated from the more broadly painted view. The focus itself was on the consumers from retail organization and how they absorbed information available before deciding on packaging decisions. Overall, the respondents to the questionnaires provided insight in regard to how many individuals are learning more and more about packaging decisions. From the literature review it is evident that usually colour of the packaging which makes impact on sender or receiver of any gift. The questionnaire aims to measure the frequency to which people buy gifts for others and what are the factors they consider for the packaging. †¢ Understanding The understanding of this information gathered is proven in the statistics within the questionnaires that were completed and submitted. Each respondent have been explained the objective of study. Researcher has helped the respondents if s/he faces any difficulty in understanding any question. The research found that all respondents understood the material being requested and filled the questionnaires accordingly in timely fashion. The responses of questionnaires were filled in the database as the completed questionnaires had been received from the respondents. This information was then examined thoroughly for consistency and validity. The researcher now understands that there is a great deal of diversity in gift buying and packaging behaviour among the consumers from retail organization. Respondents can learn about better packaging options through their own personal research, their parents, friends or other family members. †¢ Findings The questionnaire included demographic details like of the respondents Demographic Profile †¢ Age Large section of the respondents (41. 5%) fall under the age group of 22-30 years old, followed by people within the age group of 41-50 years who are 20% of the total respondents. Approximately 15% of the total respondents fall under the age group of 18-21. Figure III. 1 Age of Respondents Ethnic background: 43% of the total respondents were from White community while 34% were Asian. Black other and Black African were 14% and 6% respectively of the total respondents. None of the respondent was from Hispanic or African background. Figure III. 2 Ethnic Origin of the Respondents Gender Majority of respondents are female with percentage of 66 while remaining 34% of the respondents are male. Figure III. 3 Gender Consumer behaviour. When respondents were asked the question â€Å"How frequently do you buy gift items? † twenty five out of sixty five responded that they buy gifts once in a month. Twenty two out of sixty five responded that they buy three to six times in a year. Nine respondents told that they buy less often gifts for anyone while the same number of respondents told that they buy gifts once in a week. No respondent told that s/he never buys any gift items. Figure III. 4 Frequency of buying Gift Items Components of Packaging on Special Occasion Colour:When consumers were asked what they feel about the statement â€Å"It feels good to receive a present in Colourful packaging on special occasions† approximately 48% of the respondent strongly agreed to the statement while 35% agreed to the statement. Remaining respondents felt they were neutral to the Colour of packaging. Figure III. 5 Colourful Packaging Respondents when asked to respond on the statement â€Å"On special occasions (like Christmas), packaging is more Colourful than normal. † Majority of them agreed to the statement. 37% of the total respondents strongly agreed to the statement while approximately 50% agreed to the statement. 10-% of the total respondents felt neutral about the statement while approximately 1% disagreed to the same. Figure III. 6 Packaging on Special Occasions Respondents were asked to respond on the shape and Colour attribute of a product. They were asked to respond on the statement â€Å"People are mostly attracted by different shapes and sizes in gift items. † 58% of the total respondents agreed to the statement while approximately 16% strongly agreed. 18% respondents were neutral to this statement while 4% disagreed. 1. 5% of respondents strongly disagreed to the statement. Figure III. 7: Colours and Shapes of Product. When respondents were asked whether or not they agree to the statement â€Å"Packaging styles vary for different occasions† 44% agreed to the statement while 30% strongly agreed. 18% were neutral to the statement and 4% strongly disagreed. Figure III. 8 Packaging Style in Different Occasions When consumers were asked about their own perception regarding shapes and Colours of the product by the statement â€Å"I am attracted to a product because of different Colours and shapes in packaging when I buy for a special occasion† approximately 40% of the total respondents agreed to the statement while 26% strongly agree to the same. 18% respondents were neutral to the same, 17% disagreed and 1. 5% strongly disagreed to the statement. Figure III. 9 Impact of Shape and Size of packaging in special occasions To the statement â€Å"Colourful and attractive packaging makes a good impression about the sender to the receiver. † Approximately 50% strongly agreed to the statement while 43% agreed to the same. 6% of the total respondents were neutral while 1. 5% strongly disagreed to it. Figure III. 10: Colourful and attractive packaging and impression about sender.

How Changes on Aggregate Demand Influence Price Levels

Diana Gaita Economics FB1 Discuss how changes on aggregate demand influence price levels, output levels and employment. The meaning of â€Å"aggregate† is added together. All of the elements introduced in microeconomics are totaled in macroeconomics. Aggregate demand and supply analysis brings together the amount that consumers wish to consume and firms wish to produce at any price levels. Aggregate demand (AD) is the total demand for final goods and services in the economy (Y) at a given time and price level. Also it is the amount of goods and services that will be purchased at all possible price levels in the economy.This is called the demand for the Gross Domestic Product of a country when inventory levels are static. The formula for aggregate demand is AD= C + I + G + (X-M); C – Consumption, I – Investment, G – Government Spending, X – Exports, M – Imports. The AD curve is downward sloping but it’s not because people buy more when things are cheaper. There are three ways to explain the downward sloping of the AD curve: * Lower prices in an economy mean international competitiveness, so there are more exports and fewer imports. In other words, net exports are higher at lower prices. The total amount of spending will be approximately equal to weather prices are low or high people have almost the same amount of money to spend, so the area under the curve is fairly constant. This is known as the real balance effect. * At higher price levels, interest rates are likely to be rising by the monetary authorities. This means that investment, a component of aggregate demand, will fall and saving might increase. There are three main components of aggregate demand: * The Price Level and Consumption:   The Wealth Effect A decrease in the price level makes consumers feel wealthier, which in turn encourages them to spend more.This increase in consumer spending means larger quantities of goods and services demanded. When co nsumers feel insecure with their job security and incomes they are more likely to save money. Since there is a positive relationship between consumption and aggregate demand, an increase in consumption will result in an in crease in the aggregate demand. This shift will contribute to higher levels of output and this could have positive and negative effects. An increase in output usually results in higher levels of employment, since more workers are needed to produce the goods and services.When consumption shifts the AD curve to right, the general price levels tend to increase. This occurs because consumers demand more goods and services and the aggregate supply may take a long time to respond to the changes due to limited resources. This can lead to a demand-pull inflation. However, this is not always the case. Countries try to increase their aggregate supply in order to respond to the changes in AD. If they achieve this, the output will rise due to an increase in consumption, promo ting economic growth and employment, but prices will remain the same or rise by a smaller percentage, preventing the high level of inflation. The Price Level and Investment: The Interest Rate Effect This usually occurs when a lower price level reduces the interest rate, which encourages greater spending on investment goods. This increase in investment spending means a larger quantity of goods and services demanded. This means when firms and individuals finance the capital stock invest in such things as machinery, this can result in employment rate decreasing. Interest rates play a big role when firms decide upon how much money to invest. If they are too high, it is a discouragement for firms to borrow as its costs rise, thus decreasing their disposable income decreases.However, investment is not only affected by interest rates. The interest elasticity of demand tends to be very low since investors have a variety of factors to take into consideration when deciding upon how much and w here to invest. In some cases, investors do not borrow money from banks, so interest rate fluctuations will not have any significant effect on levels of investment. Confidence in future sales patterns and government incentive and regulations will also affect the investment levels. Another injection in the economy is the multiplier effect of the investment.In the economy, the money invested today will have a greater impact such as increasing the levels of output in the future. This is because investment rises the capital stock. With an evolution in technology, the machineries help production become faster and cheaper, thus contributing greatly to increasing the output in long-term. * The Price Level and Net Exports:   The Exchange-Rate Effect Exports represent an injection into the circular flow of income, in that the money paid for goods and services sold abroad enters the domestic flow of income.Imports mean that there is an outflow of money, and exports minus imports gives the t otal movement of funds known as net exports. There are a number of reasons why the value of net exports might change. If the exchange rate increases in value against other currencies, imports become cheaper and exports more expensive on world markets. Over time, people respond to these relative price movements and the demand for exports falls and the demand for imports rises. A stronger currency will worsen net exports, whereas a weaker currency will improve the figure.Also, for example if a fall in the UK price level causes UK interest rates to fall, the real exchange rate depreciates, which stimulates UK net exports. The increase in net export spending means a larger quantity of goods and services demanded. However, in the short run the price elasticity of demand for exports and imports tends to be low. This may be because contracts have been signed for specific deals in international trade, or because the traded components are a very small percentage of firms’ overall cost s.In conclusion, the aggregate demand changes in response to a change in any of its components. A raise in consumption, investment, exports and net exports will shift the AD curve to the right. This usually results in an increase in prices and an increase of the total output of the economy, but there are many other factors affecting this process. All societies experience short-run economic fluctuations around long-run trends, these fluctuations are irregular and largely unpredictable.When recessions occur, real GDP and other measures of income, spending, and production fall, and unemployment rises. Economists analyze short-run economic fluctuations using the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model. According to the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply, the output of goods and services and the overall level of prices adjust to balance aggregate demand and aggregate supply. The aggregate-demand curve slopes downward for three reasons:   a wealth effect, an interest rat e effect, and an exchange rate effect.