Monday, January 27, 2020

What Is Advertising Theory?

What Is Advertising Theory? We live in a consumerist society. That is a known fact. We are surrounded by ads that say Buy this now. You will save time and money or Do you want your skin to be softer? Try this body cream and you will have the much-wanted baby skin!. And even though some of us ignore the fact that we are, indeed, the victims of these carefully planned slogans which mingle with some eye-catching images, we, the readers of advertisements, interact with them and construct meaning from particular given elements the visual signs that represent something familiar with which readers associate, or the language of the ad that can be related, as Angela Goddard states, with any piece of literature, using fully the resources of language and inviting creative and subtle readings from their users. With this statement, Goddard makes the first approach in the long debate concerning whether ads can be seen as literature or not (1998: 15). In the process of trying to define the ad we stumble upon an inconvenient truth: we are unable to answer the question What is an ad? with anything but it tries to persuade us to buy something, and we do not take into consideration how it does that and by what means we are tricked and that the advertising industry means more than just selling a product. That is the reason why linguists became involved in this subject, as well as sociologists or sociolinguists, psychologists and even anthropologists. The study of advertising is, therefore, taken to another level: linguists came to study and analyze the verbal language and have come to a certain point in their research to say that we can talk about a genre of discourse in advertising; sociologists keep studying nowadays the impact ads have on society and how they contribute to the way people and readers of advertising interpret and build their world and their beliefs and the degree to which we define our identities under the influence of the omnipresent ads. Advertisements are not only a tool used to compel people on an economic territory, but also a kind of tool used to conquer people socially, psychologically and culturally. According to Davidson (1992: 6) studying advertising quickly and inevitably means studying how we read language, images, myths and how it is we build out of them our sense of who we are. From this perspective, ads not only help to sell things (White, 2000: 5), but their existence defines gender construction or stimulates the audience to develop their interest by creating new meanings. In the discussion about some theoretical issues of the advertisement, it must be mentioned that the ad always has an audience and we may call it addressee(s) while the addresser(s) is the one who sends the message (to buy a product, to apply to a service, to support some charity organization, etc) through language (slogans, short texts, etc) and visual tools (Goddard, 1998: 7) Throughout the evolution of advertising, defenders of its effects on society contradicted with those who claimed that ads have a dreadful effect on how one relates to a certain ad and constructs a world around a sold idea. It is partially true that advertisements may have a negative influence in unfolding gender stereotypes and shaping consumers lives on certain levels. A relevant example given by the non-believers is that ads continuously cultivate low self-esteem among young girls exposed to huge billboards showing a girl with a perfect body, perfect shiny hair and perfect skin, making them long for an idea of beauty which is not real at all and manipulating them to buy those products advertised to get that kind of hair or that kind of skin. With this, advertising theorists developed the idea that advertisements come to fill in a much bigger need of comfort, thus improving the corporate image of the company in order to create the icon of a trustworthy and benevolent firm (Brierley, 1995: 43). Its defenders used the argument that not all advertising is deceiving people into buying certain kinds of products, but some advertisements are based on social change and use true stories or/and shocking images to create a (positive) impact on society, aiming constantly at changing the way in which people behave: here we can mention the anti-smoking, healthy eating or anti-drug campaigns, which try to shock people by presenting statistics that show the death rate among smokers or drug users or aim to touch the emotional level by telling the stories of the ones in one of the mentioned situations, for successful advertising appeals both to the head and to the heart, to reason and emotions (Beatson, 1986: 265). Finally, advertising is defended as being a form of artistic expression (Leiss, 1997: 3) and contributing to a certain level to the education of the people, teaching them how to behave and what to think, feel, believe, fear and desire and what not to. (Kellner, 1995 : 5). Advertising must always be theorized according to the development of society towards this consumerist culture that exists nowadays. Therefore, one cannot talk about the impact of advertisements only economically. The evolution of the individual within the advertising culture must also be taken into consideration. In the historical evolution of advertising, one can identify the process of constructing gender identities in society. The most world-wide discussed example we can mention to sustain this idea is the evolution of the image of women in society, from the male supremacy towards the emancipation of women. The researchers in the advertising field stated that this evolution of gender identities must always be related to its context. That is the reason why a sexist ad from the 50s could easily cause laughter, because it no longer relates to the cultural context nowadays. Theorists of advertising conclude that another issue which we must take into consideration when analyzing an ad is the context. Linguists came and said that there is more to take into account when advertising analysts decide the context of the advertisement; according to Guy Cook (1992: 1) context includes also the following: substance, music and picture, paralanguage, situation, co-text, inter-text, participants and function, and, therefore, the correct approach in the study of ads must consider these features too. Cooks holistic definition of the ad (Cook, 1992: 2-6) comes as a breath of fresh air after decades in which specialists ignored the fact that the ad is an interaction of elements and linguists who analyzed the language of the advertisement ignored the picture which comes with it and which also contributes to the construction of meaning. What will an ad look like without the picture? I agree with Cooks idea that elements interact in an advertisement and that the first contact we have with the ad is through the visual tools and only after that do we stop and read what is written under the image. One cannot just simply leave behind the meaning of the picture, because it can be integrated in the sphere of the context. Let us take as example an ad in which two or more people who seem to have different nationalities are shaking hands and smiling gathered at a big table and maybe celebrating something. The readers, at first, interpret this visual information and they do not expect to read u nder this image something about a dreadful event, but they associate the people shaking hands with friendship, peace or something positive; and just after that do they come to read about a charity organization. As Cook states, we cannot just cut out important pieces from the ad, because the meaning of the entire campaign is based on how these elements interact with one another and thus sell the idea or the product. Linguists have launched different theories concerning the new type of discourse that ads use. Even though ads are seen as ephemeral discourses, one cannot ignore the long-lasting impact they have. The debate is taken further at the point of discussing whether ads can be seen as literature. So, can we answer the question What is advertising? by claiming that advertising is a new type of literature? Some specialists state that ads use creativity to stimulate people to read between the lines and find the hidden message and, of course, here they refer to the use of narrative techniques. But some of them also claim that it is impossible to put the label literature on any piece of text produced and that there are certain characteristics that a text must have to be literature. So, both parts have come to a consensus, to create a middle category for ads, and include them in the new sub-literary genres (Cook, 1992: Foreword). Ads still being considered the exception and debates still being ar gued, we cannot totally associate literature with ads. Whatever history the field of advertising has, there is an absolute truth about its changeability. Ads change over time, change being influenced by the social and cultural context. Since the 1900s advertising has changed massively, first because of the technological progress that enables ads to be delivered worldwide through radio, media or through the Internet, commercials being delivered in ways that were beyond belief decades ago; and, on the other hand, due to the changes undergone by society and its cultural values which ads have changed enormously. The public changed its identity, and advertising companies reinvented old ads and updated them to suite the new world. Here we can give the example of brands like Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Dove, and so on and so forth. If we have a look, for example, at a Dove ad from 1955, when the company made its debut, and a 2010 Dove ad we find the old one rather simple, plain we could say, because the cultural context has changed and, thus, the com pany nowadays sustains in its ads this battle between natural beauty and the artificial one, real women vs. supermodels. Cook identifies two levels at which one could observe the evident changes of the ads, one is at the lower level of substance, surroundings, mode and paralanguage, and also at the level of text (Cook, 1992:179); the lower level of substance has been partially covered before, but at the text level we can see a change in the accompanying discourses, because within 50 years there has been a shift from print ads accompanied by stories to very short discourses, nowadays, advertising companies claiming that they would rather use slogans that are short and easily remembered. This change happened mainly because people have nowadays a different life- style, and are not interested in reading a one page ad text or, they probably no longer have the time to do so. Ogilvy claims that we have lost the pleasure of reading advertisements, the pleasure of being captivated by the wit ty, tricky story of a product. Here is an example of the changes in the print ads of The Coca-Cola Company: Then Printed vintage Coca-Cola ad Now Ads as a discourse type Different theoretical approaches have generated a variety of definitions of the concept of discourse, but each of them had as a starting point the concept of language and how language is used in particular situations. Various texts are explored within the field of discourse analysis which is based on examining the way in which meanings are created throughout the text and studying language in its cultural form. Researchers have used the concept of text separate from the one of discourse, due to the common belief that when we talk about a text we strictly refer to the written language and that discourse is strictly limited to the spoken area of language. The modern theorists of language introduced the theory that the concept of text includes many other utterances and statements, so that we can put the label text on almost any magazine article, interview or conversation we stumble upon everyday. In Dresslers view, a text is a communicative event that must accomplish the following seven criteria: Cohesion representing the relationship between text and syntax and the use of phenomena such as ellipsis, anaphora, recurrence or conjunction. Coherence which has to do with the meaning of the text. Intentionality representing the attitude and purpose of the speaker or writer. Acceptability concerning the role of the reader or of the hearer to asses the relevance of the important information of a text. Informativity referring to the quality of the new information. Situationality representing the importance of the situation in which the text is produced. Intertextuality which refers to the fact that a text is related to some other discourses. Discourse analysts have always given a more important role to the external factors, believing that they play a significant part in communication. Cook sustains this idea that discourse analysis is not concerned with language alone (1992: 1) and makes the difference between text and context, the first having linguistic forms, separated from context for the purposes of analysis, and the second including, in the case of advertisements all of the following (Cook,1992: 4) : à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · substance: the physical material of the text. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · music and pictures. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · paralanguage: referring to all the accompanying language (gestures, facial expression, or the size of the letters in writing). à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · situation: the relations of objects and people in the surroundings of the text, as seen by the participants. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · co-text: which refers to the text which precedes or follows that under analysis, and which readers/listeners judge to belong to the same discourse. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · intertext: refers to the text which the readers/listeners perceive as belonging to other discourse, but which they associate with the text under consideration and which affects their interpretation. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · participants: each participant is at the same time a part of the context and an observer of it. Participants are usually described as senders, addressers, addressees and receivers. The sender of a message is not always the same as the addresser. Neither is the receiver always the addressee, the person for whom it is intended. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · function: which refers to what the text is intended to do by the senders and addressers, or perceived to do by the receivers and addressees. In order to establish the type of discourse advertisements use, we need to focus first on the field of discourse analysis and see how the ads have been perceived and received into the sphere. James Paul Gee states that the area of discourses can be seen as an institution and prompts us to imagine that we have a giant map. Each discourse is represented on the map like a country, but with movable boundaries that you can slide around a bit and we move the boundaries of the discourse areas on the map around in negotiation with others (Gee, 1999: 22). That is the reason why some types of discourses seem to be hybrids; because of this continuously interaction between them and the contestable boundaries. The only difference between one discourse and another is the grammar they use; grammar as referring to what linguists have named for a long time now as collocational patterns. In the advertising area these patterns signal the type of social language (informal/formal) used to achieve somethi ng like the customers attention and curiosity. Ads caught the attention of the linguists first because they were an evidence of the fact that language is always in context, and second because their discourse was complex, sometimes associated with that of literature, always holding out more to be analysed. According to Cook, describing advertising as a discourse is both more complete and more difficult than the approaches which separate out components of ads, underline a few, and ignore the rest (Cook, 1992: 2). This approach was summed up in Figure 1 by Cook who also believes that the ad is not a stable entity and that any change that occurs at any level, the whole discourse changes (Cook, 1992: 6): Figure 1 Interaction of elements in ads. There are many categories of discourses, or discourse types, which surround us at any time. Some of them are perceived as conversations, others as news bulletins, gossip, jokes, games, lessons, etc. The categories can be drawn further on, but they all merge and defy the same purpose. It is the cultural background that makes us to separate the discourses into units, to give those units names, and to assign them categories (Cook, 1992: 10). Discourse types also cover the area of non verbal communication, and here we can include the category of advertisements discourse. Ads usually have at least a representative slogan, and/or a text sustaining the product advertised. But this is not a general rule. The importance of these non verbal elements depends and varies from spectator to spectator. There are ads without language which have a greater impact through the image associated with what is being promoted, and there are ads in which language plays a subordinate part. When it comes to define what type of discourse ads embody, specialists find themselves in difficulty. It should not be that way, since we are surrounded by them and they represent a conspicuous discourse type in almost all contemporary societies. Cook is among the first linguists to overcame traditionally bias when it comes to define the ad. When trying to distinguish ads from other discourses, he states that people tend to put in the first place as the major qualifying facet the function of the ads. This is because they simply see the surface aim: to convince people to buy a certain product. But ads are not discourses simply related to that universally known purpose, they also are discourses which do not try to sell anything, but advocate a cause, or sustain a campaign. The ads can also be seen according to their intention to inform, misinform, warn or simply amuse the reader. If one considers that the only function is to persuade people, that person leaves a great amount of information aside. For example, if a non-smoker receives ads for cigarettes, or a person who has limited funds receives an ad for a brand-new, expensive, ecologically car, it is clear that the receiver of these ads will know that they are certainly not for him. But this does not mean that those ads do not say anything to the receiver. This is the reason why Cook understands the function from two different perspectives: the function which the sender intends the discourse to have may not be the same as the function it actually does have for the receiver (Cook, 1992: 14). The receiver can use the cigarette ad in a further discussion about smoking/non-smoking. These changes in the function of advertisements are due to the fact that, with ads, there is no single sender and receiver, because ads are not created by a single individual, neither are they the expression of one unique, universal message for the receivers. Advertising is a difficult genre to describe, because it is very wide and merges with other genres; it is Cooks idea of the interactional features in an ad. Every text, as Roland Barthes argued in one of his works, is a multidimensional space in which a variety of writings blend and clash (Barthes, 1977: 146). Donald Matheson studied further this premise and states that according to the intertextual theory, one must ask himself three kinds of questions about all ads and, indeed, all texts: The first one is about identity, and as Barthes noted, a writers work is about the point where that writer puts himself/herself to what has already been told. Matheson uses this theory at a more general level and states that by using language with a particular history, we are placing ourselves, the messages and meanings we produce, in a particular relation to society and culture (Matheson, 2005: 46). A second kind of question concerns the social struggle, which in Mathesons terms is the struggle to re-accent language that has been tied to particular interests before. One can analyze further on the social component of a particular sign to trace its impact and workings on the society. A third and final question refers to the role of media (such as advertising) in shaping shared repertories of intertexts in society. For example, when a passerby sees the following beer advertisement, he/she will immediately make the connection with the popular saying An apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Alluding to other texts is a valuable technique for advertisers. First, it requires a certain degree of cognitive work from consumers and, as rhetorical analysts argue, the more work people have to do to get a meaning, the further they go through the path a particular text is trying to lead them, the more active they collaboration with the texts meaning is. In the text ads carry with them, their receivers recognize previous ways of talking, especially ways which have been solidified over time and used into genres, and these guide them as to how they should fit the elements of the ad together to form larger meaningful units. Fairclough (1995: 55) argues that we can identify social change and challenges of the social structures to this generic heterogeneity. A particular text can draw upon the language of another genre, or it may perform some of the functions of another genre, and also it mat draw upon the graphic form of another genre (Cook, 1992: 46, describes a Hamlet cigar ad that plays with the British Channel 4 station logo). The ad opens up quite unique and specific identity for its readers/viewers. The reference to other texts is sometimes ironic, so we are being asked by those types of ads to be ironic readers and take a critical standpoint towards media. According to Matheson, before an advertisement can create a desire for a product, it must first create a sense of inadequacy which that desire will fill in Matheson (2002: 48). Advertising works not only when people notice the ads, but when they change their behaviour, preferences and their habits in line with the ad. The goal of advertisements is first to participate in the foundation of peoples lifestyles, of their everyday activities and their understanding of themselves and the world that surrounds them. Cooks study concerning the prototypes, not definitive components of ads resulted in the identification of ads as being embedded in an accompanying discourse, foregrounding connotational meaning, thus effecting fusion between different spheres. Adv ertisements abound in intertextual references, this hypothesis being at the core of Cooks metaphorical definition of parasitic ads: appropriating and existing thorough the voices of other discourses (Cook, 1992: 176). In his study, Cook (1992: 12) heightens the following question: since discourse types may be described in terms of their social function, and vice versa, societies may be categorized in terms of the types of discourses they use, where do we place the advertising discourse? Foucault (1971) argues that a culture represent the sum of its orders of discourse. In this position, advertisements occupy a dual position: they help create a new global culture and a new type of discourse, and also it reflects the differences between cultures. The study of advertisements not only draws attention upon language facts, but they give a great amount of information regarding the cultural and social development of a particular civilization. To define what type of discourse advertisements use it is necessary to notice the attitudes towards this discourse. In this respect, ads are the most controversial of all contemporary discourses, partly because it is relatively new and studies and theories keep comin g to light, and partly because it is associated with the market economy from nowadays which helps the advertising corporations to thrive. Attempts to define ads as a discourse type run into different approaches and theories. One of these theories sustains that analysts must consider first the individual meaning of each of the word, and it was developed by Professor Eleanor Rosch and was named the prototype theory (Rosch, 1977: 34). Her research suggests that we choose or understand a word by referring to a mental representation of a typical instance (Rosch, 1977: 41). That given entity can be a bird, she states, and its image will depend on its resemblance to our prototype of a bird. This will vary from culture to culture, and individual to individual. Rosch states that a typical bird for Europeans can be a sparrow, while for the most North Americans is perhaps a robin. We are less likely to identify with the word from the category, if a particular instance does not match with our prototype. This approach, if applied to the debate of defining ads, simplifies the definition, because discourses that are described as ads, but do not share these prototypical elements of an ad, will no longer make the subject of further analysis. But the prototypical ad varies between a community, individuals and of course periods of time. Another theory that was launched first by Cook (1992) has as a starting point the fact that in order to fulfill its aims, advertising discourse use strategies, especially textual-discursive strategies, and makes use of techniques of manipulation of the language, words, creates ambiguity and also addresses to the emotional and personal feelings of the individual. That is why these discourses are more difficult to pin down. It is because their changing and hybrid nature. The language of advertisements, which linguists state that attests a deviation from the linguistic forms, employs both direct and indirect convincing techniques. In order to achieve their communicative effect, sometimes ad discourses appear ambiguous or use contradictory statements. In the process of constructing ads discourses, the signifier and the signified relationship, in the terms of Saussure (1959), is somehow twisted, misrepresented. In advertising discourses the arbitrariness of sign takes over and the old law s disappear. For example, cohesion, according to Vestargaard and Schroder (1985), ceases to exist in the advertising language, and is replaced by the interpretation of the advertisement message that demands coherence from the point of view of the consumer, and his understanding of that message.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Nathaniel Hawthorne :: essays research papers

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE: THE AUTHOR AND HIS TIMES It was a brash, bustling, energetic country in which Hawthorne grew up and carved out his writing career. The covered wagons were rolling West, with signs that bravely declared "California or bust!" The first passenger railroad opened, and the trains went huffing and puffing along at the (then) incredible speed of 20 miles an hour. Jackson was elected president, throwing the conservative statesmen out of office and ushering in the age of democracy and the common man. It was an age between wars, when America, having beaten England for the second time--in the War of 1812--was flexing its adolescent muscles. Hope was in the air, and also a feeling of impatience with the imported, second-hand, European way of doing things. "Down with the past" might have been the slogan of the time. Americans sensed a fresh, creative task at hand in the building of a new country. It was a task that called for strong backs, clear eyes, and open minds. There were experiments in living going on to match the experiments in politics and technology. Starry-eyed intellectuals gathered outside Boston to thrive on a vegetarian diet at Alcott's Fruitlands. Thoreau conducted his own private experiments in a life close to nature at Walden Pond. Horace Mann planned to change the world by changing education. Where was Hawthorne while all this excitement was going on? In his bedroom in Salem, reading a book. You get the distinct feeling about this man that, so far as the great adventures of his time were concerned, he simply wasn't paying attention. Hawthorne was gazing intelligently off in another direction. Most of his generation looked expectantly toward the future. Hawthorne kept his eyes on the past. He was an introvert, almost a recluse, this native son of

Saturday, January 11, 2020

How gangs are portrayed in the media Essay

Gangs are portrayed on TV and in the movies as if they are totally evil, but in reality there are more positive aspects that are not shown. The media only shows gangs involved with drugs and the violence, and as a result the media has scared many people into believing that gangs will take over our cities if we do not stop them. The movie Colors and the TV show American Justice overwhelmingly portrays gangs as bad. The movie Colors displays the bad things in gangs like how easy it could be to join a gang and to distribute the drugs for them. This movie portrays the working of a gang in California.. The movie also showed how the older gang members got the younger members to go out and sell the drugs for them. The idea behind this was that if the younger person was to get caught there would be a lesser chance that they would rat on the main dealer and they would get a lesser punishment, as juveniles. In the movie they always show you the parts of the gangs running from the police or doing something bad like the drugs and violence. What the movie does not show you how the gangs contributed to the society or if they did where is it then. The movie was based on the fact that gangs are bad and that is how they showed it. A TV program called America Justice, talks about the gangs negatively. They just show the bad parts of being in gang. In an interview they had with a former gang member, and all they seem to ask him was questions on the illegal aspects of the gang. The person doing the interview asked him how his gang got the younger kids to sell the drugs for them and he said, ‘all we need to provide was a free initiation to a gang, and we would get the younger kids to do our dirty work for us and make money at the same time.’ The person doing the interview asked him if he or any one in the gang ever killed someone and he did not reply to the question making you think that he did or someone else did but he does not want to rat on himself or other gang members. With these types of questions it makes you think that gangs are based on the bad stuff. People may think something different if they ask him questions on like what contributions has you brought to your society instead of all the drugs and violence. The question of what do you do for work would be more driven towards the positive aspects of the gang instead of questions on the illegal stuff. With them asking all negative questions makes you  think that they are doing it to stress the bad parts. TV shows usually show all the bad parts of belonging to a gang like the drugs, the violence, but do you ever see anything on the good parts of a gang. What about the ‘Guardian Angels’ wouldn’t they be considered to be a positive helping gang? I have seen an article on Guardian Angels it talked about the aspects of them doing a fund raiser for the homeless and how they contributed to the people around them. This was all done without the drugs and violence unlike the other gangs we here about doing them. If the media would stop running to cover all the gang activity in this country, I am sure the number of gang related problems would be reduced and the crime rate would be on a slow but steady decline. By doing this there would be a less of an influence on the people, by showing just the bad stuff in gangs like the drugs and violence and make it less appealing to them. This country seems to love violence on TV. The big deal is that they affect our lives so drastically that they are a problem. The main fact is that the gangs where around for a long time and it is going to take a while to stop them. My feelings toward the coverage of the gangs are as if the media is there to put thought in your mind making you think all gangs are bad. The sad fact is that not all gangs are bad, but the way movies and TV programs make them to be all evil. I feel that they should do less coverage of the gangs doing bad stuff and more on the good aspect of what they may do. The media is constantly focusing on the bad stuff giving you the idea that they are bad, but not in all cases.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Scientific Management - for a Different Time and Place

Scientific Management Introduction Scientific Management was first described by Frederick Taylor in the late 19th century. Its relevance to modern day management is widely debated in academic circles. In this essay, I will address the question of whether Scientific Management has a place today, in a 21st Century Knowledge Economy, or whether it belongs to a ‘different time and place. I will argue that much of modern management practice is derived from Taylor’s theories and that in this sense his work is very relevant. Next, I will examine the context in which Taylor developed his principles and contrast this with the contemporary context. Then I will evaluate the relevance of each of Taylor’s 4 Principles to today, with help from a†¦show more content†¦From this comes the argument that today we have moved into a knowledge economy and a new style of management must replace the now obsolete Scientific Management which was designed for standardized physical tasks. Gary Hamel terms this new st yle ‘Management 2.0’. Taylor developed SM to counteract phenomenon of soldiering which he encountered in the steel industry. The reasons for soldiering were as follows: â€Å"1. The almost universally held belief among workers that if they became more productive, fewer of them would be needed and jobs would be eliminated. 2. Non-incentive wage systems encourage low productivity if the employee will receive the same pay regardless of how much is produced, assuming the employee can convince the employer that the slow pace really is a good pace for the job. Employees take great care never to work at a good pace for fear that this faster pace would become the new standard. If employees are paid by the quantity they produce, they fear that management will decrease their per-unit pay if the quantity increases. 3. 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More recentRead MoreTaylorism Is A Scientific Management System1480 Words   |  6 PagesTaylorism is a scientific management system that was developed by Fredrick Taylor in the 1880s. Taylorism works in a method based on F. Taylor’s scientific study of accomplishing different tasks instead of empirical methods or methods inspired by past experience and knowledge. Taylorism also tends to scientifically train and help develop employees’ skills instead of letting them train themselves during their time in the workplace. Another princi ple of Taylorism is that it gives comprehensive and

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Gender Roles And Gender Socialization - 985 Words

Forum 1: Gender Roles and Gender Socialization 1. Explain why gender is not a property of individuals but rather a feature of social situations. Give specific examples, including your own experiences, in which gender differences were assumed to be natural but were really social constructed. Note: It helps to distinguish between the concepts of sex and gender in answering this question (see definitions in Chapter 3 and lecture notes). Gender is not a property of individual because it provides more fluidity then sex is. Unlike sex, gender does not depend on a person’s biological attributes. It rather focuses on society perception of femininity and masculinity and how society identifies with these roles. â€Å"West and Zimmerman wrote, that gender is not a set of traits, nor a role, but a product of social doings of some sort.† (Andrew 2013). By separating gender roles from sexual characteristics, a person is able to identify as a man, woman, transgender, etc. One person may view someone’s feminine or masculine actions, different then another person would. For example, there has been a lot of controversy with body image and female athletes. For instances, females like Serena Williams, who possess a lot of muscle mass are seen as â€Å"masculine† or â€Å"manly†. While Serena Williams has a very muscular frame, she has also had quite a roster of boyfriends. Therefore, there should not be a correlation between muscularity and masculinity. I have also noticed a negative perception ofShow MoreRelatedGender Socialization And Gender Roles998 Words   |  4 Pagesattention to the gender equality issues many societies face. Is this increased awareness helping towards a neutral gendered socialization process which will inevitably eliminate the inequality? Gender socialization is the process where an individual is impacted by agents of socialization through their life stages which consequently creates the gender roles we see in today’s society. The only way to start working towards a gender equal world is by making changes towards the gender socialization process. GenderRead MoreGender Socialization And Gender Roles999 Words   |  4 PagesEarly gender socialization is perhaps one of the most relevant issues and debates of early childhood. The beginnings of stereotypes for gender roles are typically established at birth, and continue a process of learning specific cultural roles and standards in accordance with the sex of the individual. Gendered interactions begin early in the family and hence influence the process of gendered socialization, as was such the case for myself growing up. Socialization comes from a number of sources:Read MoreGender Socialization And Gender Roles1452 Words   |  6 Pages120 Professor Lessor 5/14/2016 Gender role in socialization Gender socialization and gender roles have always existed in society. Gender roles are playing major part in our way of living. As we grow, we learn how to behave and respect from those surrounding us as well as children learn at a young age what it means to be a boy or a girl in our society . there are certain roles placed on boys and girls in accordance with their gender. These gender roles are set on children from birth andRead MoreGender Socialization And Gender Roles Essay2371 Words   |  10 PagesSociety has this unknown expectation for genders to have a type of distinction toward one another, attitudes and behaviors that males and females are required to have. Gender socialization is society’s way to categorize the propensity for males and females to be socialized differently. Media, violence, even politics has a large contribution to the division among genders in the 21st century creating by creating a new culture of independents. Media has been promoted very sele ctively and carefully,Read MoreSocialization Of Gender Roles1524 Words   |  7 Pagesborn, we are born into a world of conformity and obedience. Early in our lives, we look at authority figures like parents or teachers as these sentinels of guidance, as omnipotent beings with unwavering precision in their lessons. The concept of socialization is very perplexed, and it’s difficult to identify the variables that shape our development as we grow. As children, we communicate with the world free of inhibition, and find no fault in any of our actions; we could throw a tantrum and no one wouldRead MoreGender Socialization and Gender Roles Essay1184 Words   |  5 PagesGender socialization and gender roles have always existed in society. When analyzing gender roles, they are not always equal or consistent when comparing cultures, however, the expectations of females and males are often times clearly defined with a little to no common area. The Japanese culture is an example of th e defined gender roles that change over time. According to Schafer (2010), because â€Å"gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males andRead MoreThe Role Of Socialization And Gender Roles852 Words   |  4 PagesINTRODUCTIOn tell me what you are focussing on†¦..family and theirgender roles Socialisation is the process by which a child learns to respect his or her environmental laws such as norms, values and customs. Socialisation helps the infant gradually become self-aware and a knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of the culture into which he or she is born. Children within the primary socialisation of the family learn a great deal from parents and other care givers such as grandparents, grandmothersRead MoreThe Role Of Socialization On Gender Identity2394 Words   |  10 PagesThe Influence of Socialization on Gender Identity Gender-Role Conformity As evident from the generalized patterns found in differences in behaviour and outlook observed between the sexes, it may be tempting, as has been done in the past, to conclude that gender is an unavoidable aspect of human existence as determined purely from one s genes. Indeed, human physiology is subject to sexual dimorphism; statistically significant differences in brain size and rate of maturation of specific substructuresRead MoreGender Socialization Is The Process Of Learning Gender Roles And Expectations1177 Words   |  5 Pagestradition of gender socialization that facilitates prejudicial practices within the work environment. Gender socialization is the process of learning gender roles and expectations. It is what determines which things are considered masculine or feminine. This process tends to reinforce traditional gender ideologies. The cult of domesticity, or the idea that a woman’s place is in the home taking care of children while the man works, is one prominent expression of traditional gender roles. During childhoodRead MoreHow Toys Play A Role On Gender Socialization1229 Words   |  5 Pagesunusual for their gender. Toys are a prominent factor in this socialization, because they are typically presented for one gender and are unacceptable for the other. To assess how toys play a role in gender socialization, I made a trip to Toys â€Å"R† Us in College Station and was surprised by how the store was organized. The first thing that went through my mind when walking into the store was to look for the Girls and Boys signs that would indicate to me which section was for which gender. There weren’t

Monday, December 9, 2019

Emirates Airlines free essay sample

Emirates earned profit on March 31,2010 is more than $3,538 since last 17 years and it’s growth ration more than 20% a year. (BBC News) External Environment Airline Industry Analysis Airline industry Profile Presently airline industry growing very well and world top level profitability industry where from we can earn profit . On the other hand political and some other economic factors are affected on this industry, after 11th September there was a great change in the trend of abroad journey for visit, studying and business purposes etc. Another big factor is rapidly rising in oil prices over the world specially in middle east as well, due to this cost increased of airline industry and in this way profit has been decreased and these losses has been reached round $ 6 billion in 2009 (IATA) 6 billion in 2009 (IATA) Eventually, the airline industry has been restored number of passengers. We are watching again the trend of tourism, international trade and development of globalization and in this way numbers of passengers has been increased and exceed 2. 3 billion by the end of 2009. (IATA). Thus, for winning and strong image in aviation market its compulsory for airlines that cut of their prices and improve their services. Life Cycle of Airline Industry. The Product Life Cycle refers to the sequence of stages a product goes through. Any new product in market go through a sequences of stages from introduction to maturity ,growth to decline and this sequence of all stages is called product life cycle. We can also say the stages through which individual products build up over time is called The Product Life Cycle. (Saaksvuore. A and Immune. A, 2008) The classic product life cycle has four stages are: Introduction Stage or Development stage Growth stage Maturity stage Decline stage Airline Industry Life cycle: According to product life cycle at the movement airline industry on its maturity stage due to big and perfect competition in the market. In this Maturity stage competition is more hostile in order to increasing advertisement and promotion activities. Further more many competitors increased their budgets on Research and development (Ramp;D) Through increasing customers’ brand loyalty many companies want to differentiate them from their competitors in their services and products. In this stage companies starts cutting their operating cost mean profit margin decreases result least efficient companies are not more in market. Accordingly, many companies’ use offensive strategies instead of defensive strategies by using methods of changing their market strategy ,product development and marketing mix for stay alive and compete during this aggressive stage. â€Å"(Development of new product)† Porter’s 5 Forces Threats of New Entrants The new entrants in any industry face some threats from existing companies because new company offer more attractive product with low cost etc. In airline industry threats are low as comparatively barriers are high. Some challenges under below due to new entrants.. Capital Requirements. We need huge capital for this industry for purchasing new crafts and also for starting new projects and also need for attractive to customers. Brand name amp; Customer loyalty: Airlines companies with excellent goodwill and strong image in market will easily compete with new threats at the time of entry. # Bargaining Power of Supplier’s Suppliers can easily change market trend through their high demand and control on prices and quality of their products amp; services. Boeing and Airbus are globally suppliers of the airline industry. Bargaining Power of Buyers Buyers are also can change the industry trend due to their demands for high quality ,demand for low prices and also have skill I reduction of the cost. Buyers are more powerful due to huge amount of passengers in market and approximately 1. 8 billion yearly. (ITAT) Threat of a Substitute Products or Services Another big threat of substitute product due to availability of substitute in the market for any product. For example people use theirs cars and use trains and buses within the same area or country. Rivalry amongst existing firms He trend of rivalry in airline industry is very famous and high due to availability of large numbers of airlines in the market which also offering best services, best cost etc. For example a lot companies want to increase their share price and want to increase their image want to gain best goodwill among the customers only due to offer best services, cost and also others lot of promotions to attract and attain the customers. (Thompson amp; Strickland, 1995) Key Competitors (Strategic Group analysis) 1st British Airways is one of the biggest in the world. nd Qatar Airways getting success from its aggressive growth plan. Singapore Airlines have very good repute in market as most respectful travel brands in the market and was established in 1947. American Airlines established in 1930 and largest airlines over the world due to yearly passengers of this airline more than 80 million. Strategy Strategy is the  long term planning to achieve business objective s through arrangement of resources  of organization within a difficult environment, to fulfill the market needs and also satisfaction of stakeholder’s expectations. (Dibb. S, Simkin. L, 2008)   Emirates Airlines Strategies: Emirates Airlines has a good and effective business model which is very helpful to gain company objectives and help to company become leader in the airline Industry . following are strategies of the emirates airlines strategies. Quality Control strategy: This is the basic and fundamental strategy to achieve goals of any organization so in this way airlines have very attractive and best strategy to control its quality and standard of the brand. Extensive Aviation Training strategy. This is another fundamental and key strategy of the Emirates for Aviation training . In this way company get maximum benefit through extensive training of its employees . In this way not only keep their employees with it but also open new opportunities for outsiders as well. International Airline Information Technology Development Strategy. This is another fundamental and very important strategy of the company for development of its e-business system, self check services system and also maximize the profit through its advancement in Information technology system in this way it make a lot of contracts with very big companies of the world. Resort, Hotel and Tourism Strategy. This is also another fundamental strategy of the company for increased the numbers of tourist in this way it assist to local bodies and advice for development of new Hotels, Restaurants, new buildings etc. Growth strategy New Bases. Expansion of existing bases. More opportunities available as airlines close/ consol. Cost, cost, cost (long term minimization). Efficient facilities. Demographics. Geographic. Strategic. Auctioned winter capacity. Increasing communication of benefits. Strategic Capabilities of Emirate’s Strategic capabilities means the skills are abilities to accomplish the stage for the surveillance in the market. It may be in two forms; (1). Resources and (2). Competences Emirate has its threshold resources which include its flights, office equipment, head quarter, finance resources and employees. Emirate also has core resources in the form of management team, Ahmed Bin Saeed Makhtoum (CEO/Chairman). Same as resources Emirate has threshold competences which includes online booking, operations of on time delivery and point to point routing. While in its core competences includes IT development, no frill strategy and route policy strategy. Key Success Factors Differentiation Airline companies can be differentiated by offering latest and modern services like big comfortable seats, advance aircrafts and new e-ticketing system. These all thing not only distinguish the companies also helpful to attractive new customers for the company. (e. g. British Airways). Strong brand name Strong brand name with loyal customers is very important for career of any company. It’s proved with strong brand name companies are most untactful for customers. Alliances In Airline industry establishing the alliances between different companies is very important trend in this way different companies will share their resources through strong network and will gain benefit of wide range customers network and will develop many others routes. In this way operations cost also will be decreased. Relations with supplier Strong relations with suppliers are compulsory for Airline companies through long term agreements companies remain safe in order to any future change in pricing strategy. PESTEL Analysis. Political factors The Airline industry is very sensitive industry and immediate affected by and changing in political conditions including wars and instability in economic situation in different countries. The recently political and economic instability in pacific Asia region disturbed the business Middle East and rest of world due to this Airline companies unable to join any International Alliances with top Airlines companies like American Airlines. (Growth phenomena, Nora amp; Byman) Economical factors Modern airports along with latest technology are important factor for success of airlines business. UAE have been planed to big investment on development of Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports. This investment on airport development will exceed up to Dh 71 billion over coming 20 years. Developed airports can give us following benefits: enhancing economy, increasing tourists overcome the dependency on oil revenues by alternatives business strategies. Social factors There is rapidly increasing world population and in this way increasing in number of tourist and educated people. For example, globally growing population especially in UAE according to The National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority Tanmia, UAE population in 2010 has been reached up to 7. 557million from 5. 63million, increased by 1. 9million people as per the official population statistical report issued 2006. A number of emigrants are increasing in UAE, airlines firms’ profits will increase due to travelling of those emigrants to their home countries. Furthermore, diseases also disturb the population of different countries, big example of this Bird Flue which is a killer unprocurable disease. Economic Development) Technological factors The latest technology also affected in both ways positively and negatively. Negative impact is that teleconferencing decreased the need of physical and face to face business meetings which directly affects on the sale of the company and decreased the passengers. On the other hand positive impacts of e-booking system make reservation sys tem very easy and accessible to any one and it has very good impact on the sale of the company. (Current State) Competitive advantage of Emirate’s Emirates Airlines implement differentiation generic strategy by offering high quality services in order to gaining benefit among its competitors and getting palce in market as Leader Company. For this purpose the emirates airlines was the 1st Airline in the world who offered TV screen in its all airline and 1st time introduce e-ticketing system in UAE. Thorough segmentation of market it also gained another competitive advantage. It was only company in UAE which providing training by using latest technology called plane simulator. The purpose of all changes only become the leader company in over the world in this order enhanced brand name awareness by locally, regionally and also world level and in this way it will increase profit and goodwill as well. Internal Environment SWOT analysis Strengths Membership of the Arab Alliance, which is known as â€Å"Arab Air Carriers Organization† First Airline company in the Arab world who introduce e-booking system Self check-in system at airport offered by Emirates Emirates Airlines world biggest purchaser Airline company by order of new 45 Super jumbo Air Buses. Providing qualitative training, benefits and rewords’ and very impressive salary packages and benefits to his employees and also cutting labour cost increasing employees loyalty (People). Latest March, 2010 held Festival of Literature and in 2006 sponsored Fifa World Cup in both way he gained its brand awareness and also makes its goodwill in market. Balance sheet looking sound and showing Profits for 2009-2010 grew four-fold to $964m inspite high oil prices and tough trading environment. Latest progress of Emirates Airlines rolls out flights to San Francisco. It is ready to rule the roost to take world leader in Airline business with the latest technology in hand. Weaknesses High operation cost due to big investment on purchasing aircrafts and application of latest technology. High Prices as comparatively other airlines companies. Non membership of any International Alliances. Non availability of hub in Abu Dhabi. As establishment not much old just in 1985 ,so it’s young airline. Opportunities Good growth in Per capita income in UAE. Huge investment plan by Government on the development of its airports in UAE. Growth in population of the world and in also in UAE . Forecasting of World Travel amp; Tourism Council that tourists will be increased in UAE due its best locality, huge beautiful buildings, safe and secure environment luxury hotels and restaurant and good economic condition after 2010. Rapidly enhancement in internet users over the world and in also in UAE. A different Aviation event like Air Show of Dubai good promotes Middle East airlines in the whole world. A lot of international companies want to shift their headquarters in Dubai due to safety and sound political situation so in this way bright chances for increasing in number of passengers. Threats Emirates airlines located in the region where politically instability going very high due to terrorism activities has been increased. Rapidly increasing in the operations cost due aviation security. Recently increase in fuel prices which is also cause of high operations cost. Due to non controlling of oil prices in this way might be Airline industry suffered loss by $ 3 billion (IATA) New arrival of airlines companies with low cost.. Modern online ticketing system can be hack by hackers and can be crashed by virus so in this way database of the company will destroy and eventually company will suffer huge amount of losses. The natural crises and deserters in the region like earthquake, flooding and hurricane. Latest worst flooding situation in Pakistan as before he faced crises by earthquake as well which was worst impact on the sale of airlines companies. The quickly increase of fresh sensitive unprocurable diseases like as SARS and Bird Flue that have very bad impact on airline industry sale. Summary of Internal Environment With the help of external environments, organizations or companies able to recognize their internal factors. Recognizing of that factors and make companies in this position that companies utilize their strength’s, overcome their weaknesses, get advantages from opportunities of the companies and can easily avoid from threats of the companies. Current situation of Emirates Airline: Any new arrival or entry in any industry is considered unattractive due to very low demand, high prices and strong competition. But attractive for Emirates Airlines due to its good strategy and strong market position. Also, it has many opportunities to handle any uncertain situation because it is member of very strong Emirates Group which share its resources and reduce the company expenses. Overall, Emirates enjoying with great market position along with high profitability rate which is considered as competitive advantage of the company and high profit rate of the company of its best competing strategy and other expansion strategy. Conclusion and Recommendation At the time of strong competition which refers to maturity stage of Airline Industry so each company should approach offensive and use the offensive strategy after in detail review its internal and external environment and all related factors which directly effect the company position. The following recommendations are for Emirates airlines. Operational cost of Emirates is very high only due to huge investments on technologies, aircrafts and best quality services. Emirates should control its cost and should decrease its cost through improvement and development of operations activities . Emirates should improve maintenance process, effective and efficient flight schedule of the company and better utilization of the company resources like aircrafts etc. Another way for reduction of cost is advancement in its technologies by investment in technologies and in this way cut of labour cost. For example it is strongly recommended to new installation of self check service system on all airports. In reply to the threat of low cost airlines in UAE market. Emirates should offer advance level services and control cost and this way no need to reduce the prices and in this order it should introduce its new brand as subsidiary which should be base on low cost. a subsidiary Extension in routes strongly recommended and should be special growth in tourism UAE. In this order to it should extend its route worldwide most attractive areas and Canada one of them. Joining with global alliance will help to increase its worldwide destinations in this way should offer more impressive and effective strategy for competing low cost airlines. Advancement in Information Technology is most important for progress of emirates airlines and in this order it should make contracts with E-Business Company for improving its services and increase the customer’s satisfactions. E-CRM is the latest technology and dopted by Emirates this strategy since increasing in numbers of the internet users and this way out for keep long term relation with customers. (Jiang, 2003). Eventually, Emirate’s Airlines make comprehensive analysis and review of company internal and external factors and its competitors and should develop new strategies for staying and keep good position in airline industry at this maturity time.