Ethical Pursuations Essay

Each of the three different theoretical approaches proposed for public relation ethics has admirers and detractors as well. All the three theories require practical ways of incorporating them into public relation campaign, using the suggested pyramids (Barney & Black 1994:233-244). Virtue ethics involves fostering a strong internal moral compass to guide anyone in choosing the right action. It requires one to first develop ethical judgment by stimulating the moral imagination in order to recognize ethical issues. This can only be achieved in a campaign through ethics brainstorming sessions or ethical reflection time, and this is where individuals considered ethical implications and report back to the team or through discussion with an independent ethics consultant, who could then highlight potential ethical issues in the upcoming campaign and stimulate debate on appropriate approaches. This approach allows other virtue tests that accord with their values and enables them to set relevant virtue objectives to be revisited and tested at the end of the campaign. Virtue ethics becomes a formative step in public relations process, rather than a reactive process once a problem arise. However, it is flexible, by the fact that in the middle segment pyramid, each of the facts used can be assessed in the campaign using a virtue approach tactics. Virtue ethics clearly has benefits for practitioners who are seeking ethical guidance but many times it is be inadequate alone. For example tests using external virtue referents like a ‘significant other’, are ‘at odds with the idea of developing virtues by purchasing the internal goals of a practice’ (Baker & Martinson 2001: 148-275) Deontology involves following a prescribed set of duties or obligations for example, religious rules such as ‘Thou shall not lie’, and one of its common deontological positions in public relations is advocacy, and this is the belief that provides practitioners specific behaviors that are ethical against an agreed standard like a professional ethics code at the same time, they can easily promote clients self-interests above all other interests when compared to virtue ethics and consequatialisim; in addition deontological approaches are also useful in the campaigns communication phase and this enables them to assess ethics of messages and communication outputs when compared to virtue ethics, as well as consequantialism. Their approaches are useful because they clarify the limits of reasonable behavior by providing absolute prohibitions, and directives for specific acts, however at times, although occasional their inflexibility can be problematic (Baker 1997: pp. 197-210). Lastly but not least, consequantialism uses the approach of judging actions by their customers. One of the well-known techniques of consequentialism is ulitarianism; where an assessment is made of who has been affected, and determines in what ways, and consequently the right action that is supposed to be taken which creates maximum total benefit. Their main method of determining the outcome involves drawing a flow chart or a mind map which is cumbersome. Their only closest related test is the benefit or harm assessment, in which calculation is made about whether the benefits to stakeholders outweigh the harm (Baker 2002: 191-205). The approach is clearly a very crucial component of public relations, but on its own at many times it obscures the means used to obtain a desired outcome, for instance, a pure consequantialist can endorse a lie if it ultimately resulted in more happiness or a more wide-spread benefit than truth-telling (Barney & Black 1994:244-248). Conclusion The two approaches; virtues ethics and consequentialism to public relations have benefits but they have serious limitations. One can only manage these limitations by using deontological approaches, because it has a high persuasive power with respect to public relation practitioners.

The Development of Multi-Faceted Literacy in American Culture

Though many theories have been formulated about literacy and how to apply proper education to it, few seem to grasp the fact that true literacy involves lots of different aspects. Though many educators have tried to put the term literacy into a strict definition, it is best understood as a complex educational aspect. Literacy combines elements of culture, both nation and international. It involves picking up essential skills that can be taught in the classroom, as well. In addition to all of that, it involves a person learning the advanced art of articulation. Speaking well, writing well, and understanding how to get a point across are three things that should be included in that discussion, as well. How a person understands literacy is dependent upon which of these theories that person accepts as being the standard. According to Dr. Robert Needlman, literacy needs to be understood in a broad sense, as it is very important to all other forms of learning. In a recent article on the matter, Needlman wrote, â€Å"Literacy is more than just being able to read and write. Literate children see reading as fun and exciting. They use reading to learn about a wide range of subjects, and they use writing to share their ideas† (Needlman). This means that teachers must learn to teach their students how to read and write at the most basic level, but that is rarely enough. True literacy can not be gained without a wide application of many different principles. One position that has become very popular among educators in recent years is one that employs a strategy of teaching students to communicate. Learning how to frame words in sentences and paragraphs is not enough in order to truly teach someone to be literate. In order to be literate, a person has to be able to take those words and put them into coherent thoughts. This position is probably the one that most closely represents what today’s educators should be aiming for when they frame curriculums for students. Skills based literacy is the building block from which all other things have to come. This is generally accepted by most educators out there. The problem is that some of these educators are not going beyond that. Though literacy starts with the basic skills, it certainly cannot stop there. It can only be effective if it is combined with a literacy program that teaches students cultural literacy and communications skills, as well. Teaching one without taking the time to teach the other is like teaching a person how to fish, giving them all of the equipment, and then forgetting to tell them where the pond is located. Though learning the actual skill of reading and writing is obviously an important part of the process, the cultural aspects are even more important. Especially in the United States, cultural literacy has not been nearly as much of a concern as other aspects of education. This is partly because teachers have been teaching with their eye on standardized tests and partly because no real value has been placed on cultural literacy. Now, the value and importance of both understanding how to read and write and understand how to put those things into context is being stressed more and more in schools and to America’s youth. Certain school districts have taken the initiative of instilling this sort of program within their curriculum for students. According to literature put out by the Poway Unified School District, cultural literacy is important to the development of students. Their website states, â€Å"The best lessons for cultural literacy come from the many students who sit in front of us each day in our classrooms. Their cultures, heritage, and stories formulate the most powerful cultural literacy curriculum† (Poway Unified School District). Elementary schools are not the only ones taking notice in this. College writing programs have implemented strategies as well to give their students a chance to become fully literate. Reed College, for example, has an entire writing program that is dedicated to teaching students the proper rules for communicating in their writing. This program not only focuses on writing, but it also teaches the value of things like drama and other liberal arts. Hampden-Sydney College is another college in the United States that has put an emphasis on this type of education. Their rhetoric program must be completed by all students who come through the school, whether those students are business majors or history majors. In the full context of a college liberal arts program, writing takes on a huge level of importance. Universities that offer these programs need to instill a writing intensive program across the board. This does not mean that just journalism or English students should have to concentrate on refining their skills. It means that in history courses, religion courses, philosophy courses, and other sorts of classes, a bunch of writing should be required. By incorporating writing into the curriculum of these other subjects, students will further learn how to communicate with their writing and they will become better at the other subjects, as well. Without an emphasis on writing, a liberal arts program is doomed to failure. Successful communication is a necessary aspect of these programs, as well. That cannot be gained without learning how to write critically, though. As E.D Hirsch is quick to point out, the English language lends itself to much interesting diction for writers. In his book, Hirsch wrote, â€Å"Literature in English excels in every kind of writing. Its particular glory is its poetry. For historical reasons, the English language acquired a vocabulary that is unusually rich and nuanced, combining words of Germanic root (such as see and glimpse) with words of Latin root (such as perceive and envision)† (Hirsch). There are quite a few different approaches to organizing a program such as this. Some colleges have started specific writing courses that teach students how to put their ideas into writing. More times than not, these classes are put into freshman year experience programs. These are the programs that teach students how to learn and how to be good college students. More times than not, these classes are taught alongside a study skills course. After all, most students are going to have to write multiple essays when they enter college and writing will be an essential part of their life. It only makes sense to preach the importance of writing from the very beginning of the college experience. This is not enough, though. In today’s world, being able to write and communicate is essentially important. Just about everything revolves around it, including the business world. According to the Educational Testing Service, which handles much of the student testing in the United States, the situation is extremely dire. They state, â€Å"As society becomes more technologically advanced, the quantity and types of written materials are growing. Adults are expected to use information from these materials in new and more complex ways and to maintain and enhance their literacy skills through lifelong learning activities. Literacy skills are critical not only for the personal achievement of individuals, but also for the social and economic development of each nation. These skills are no longer linked to a single threshold that separates the literate from the nonliterate† (Educational Testing Service). This quotation does much to state the overall importance of literacy in society and it also hammers home the point that literacy is becoming more important and more relevant, despite what some might think. In fact, it is dire, according to C.H. Knoblauch. In his Literacy and the Politics of Education, Knoblauch writes, â€Å"However, if literacy today is perceived as a compelling value, the reason lies not in such self-interested justifications but in its continuing association with forms of social reality that depend on its primacy† (Knoblauch). In addition to that, there is sentiment from other literary sources about the American situation. The Formation of National Cultures states, â€Å"In America, the reality is that we have not yet properly achieved monoliteracy, much less multiliteracy† (Foundation of National Cultures). This means that the United States still has to work on both the simple parts of literacy, as well as the more advanced aspects. One of the staples of any liberal arts program is a good history department. History courses are interesting because of the fact that they incorporate many different aspects of reading, writing, critical thinking, and lots of other skills. Students are not only forced to write and read critically, but they are often forced to do these things in a cultural sense. History courses not only teach what happened and when it happened, but they study cultural trends. Writing and reading have to be a huge part of any history course. Framing a history course with an eye on literacy is easy. In fact, it would be very difficult to even consider teaching any sort of history class without the inclusion of these things. As far as the actual setup of a course is concerned, it would not be all that difficult to integrate. The course would need a strong textbook, which must be read each and every night. In addition to that, the instructor of the course would teach the class in a lecture/discussion format, where students have to get used to both critical listening and critical communication. During each class period, students would have to listen to an instructor and take notes on what that professor is saying. This is one way to not only teach students the art of writing, but it also teaches students to think about the most important things that they are hearing. From that, they will react to that knowledge. The course would not be taught with only lectures, though. There would obviously be some grading that would be required. Writing would be integrated into the course in both essays and in tests. For the essays, students would be required to submit a number of them, depending upon length. This would give students a chance to not only explore the liberal arts staple of history, but it would also make them learn how to express themselves in a logical way. Essays would require proper writing skills, as well as good organization and good understanding of the material at hand. This would be an appropriate test of the knowledge and a good way to further integrate literary skills into the course. When it came time to give the test, writing would be on that, as well. Some part of the test would include an essay, where students would have to prepare a concise thought without too much time to research the issue. By doing these things, writing, reading, and critical communication could take their rightful place of importance in the liberal arts field. Without them, the courses would be naked and barren. By including writing and reading in liberal arts programs, a university would not be precluded from also offering advanced writing courses. Traditional definitions of literacy have come up with the conclusion that it is actually a skill that must be learned and mastered. Though the cultural literacy idea has become much more popular in recent years, the idea of literacy being a skill has still not been lost. With the right amount of instruction, students can learn how to both read and write at a very high level. Like with other subjects in a curriculum, writing programs must take the opportunity to teach both the basics and the advanced aspects of writing and reading. Colleges would be well advised to offer a literacy major or minor within their course catalog. With this program, the university could offer tens of classes on writing and reading. Everything from critical writing to business writing could be offered within this major. With that knowledge, a student would be able to go on to many different careers, since it has been established that writing and reading is such a large part of the business culture today. As long as literacy is a skill, it is something that must be harnessed and taught in universities and in lower levels of schools, as well. Elementary, middle, and high schools would be smart to adopt similar programs, which would further prepare students for the rigors of college literacy programs. In short, this would take a concerted effort at every level of academia if it is going to be successful. This is something that Allan Bloom takes very seriously in his book, The Closing of the American Mind. In there, Bloom writes, â€Å"I used to think that young Americans began whatever education they were to get at the age of eighteen, that their early lives were spiritually empty and they arrived at the university clean slate unaware of their deeper selves and the world beyond their superficial experience† (Bloom). The need for education at early levels is of the utmost importance to people like Bloom. No matter what definition of literacy a person subscribes to, the fact remains that it is a very important part of education that must be addressed. At current standing, schools are not doing nearly enough to teach the skills and to instill the type of cultural knowledge that is essential in order to truly communicate. Literacy is far more complicated than many educators have been willing to give it credit for. The first step to truly teaching literacy in a correct way is to understand that it is a changing thing. According to the folks at the Perkins School for the Blind, literacy includes many different aspects that must be accounted for. Their website reads, â€Å"The development of literacy is founded upon our experiences – beginning with birth – and our interactions with the world and those around us. Over time, these experiences enable us to develop the ability to connect meaning to words and letters. First, though, the path to literacy requires establishing communication and connecting meaning to objects, events and people in our world† (Perkins School for the Blind). This means that literacy is constantly being learned by everyone, each and every day. With this sort of knowledge in hand, it is easy to conclude that literacy must be included in every aspect of education. When talking about a classic liberal arts education, this is especially true. No matter if the skills-based literacy interpretation is correct or the other interpretations are correct, one must concede that all aspects of the idea should be considered. When shaping the plan for literacy training within a liberal arts program, lots of things must be considered. Luckily for those people who frame curriculums,   many liberal arts classes already require many pieces of literacy to be included to begin with. From critical writing to reading to other forms of communication, literacy will always be a part of history, philosophy, English, and the other subjects within liberal arts. With that in mind, the key is to highlight those skills and make sure that students are given an opportunity to enhance them. Works Cited Bloom, Allan. Closing of the American Mind. Educational Training Service. What is Literacy? http://www.nocheating.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.c988ba0e5dd572bada20bc47c3921509/?vgnextoid=2a8eaf5e44df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=6773e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD Hirsch, E.D. Cultural Literacy. Knoblauch, C.H. Literacy and the Politics of Education. Perkins School for the Blind. Perkins Panda Early Literacy Kit. http://www.perkins.org/literacy/panda/ Poway Unified School District. Cultural Literacy. http://www.powayusd.com/projects/edtechcentralnew/culturallit.htm â€Å"Formation of National Cultures† Needlman, Robert. What is Literacy? http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,5133,00.html         

Network Design Consultation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Network Design Consultation - Research Paper Example These elements will all certainly be discussed very in-depth in this piece. II. Recommended Design, Hardware, & Software That Meets The Customer’s Needs A recommended design that will meet the customer’s needs will have 3 computers; a printer will also be included. File sharing is included, along with wireless internet access, several Gmail and Yahoo! and/or Admin addresses at the organization’s official address; additionally, basic security like Norton Antivirus, can be purchased. This would all be within the ballpark of $4000, $1000 under budget, with running costs about $200 per month. There have been several studies done showing that good technical writing yields helpful results, especially when it comes to task-oriented information.   According to Pringle and O’Keefe (2003), â€Å"Task-oriented writing makes up the bulk of technical documentation—installation manuals, getting started manuals, and user guides, for example† (pp. 91).    III. Original Diagram of the Configuration IV. ...   This would probably be done with the help of an online site such as CodePad (at http://www.codepad.org) or others which helps a programmer figure out if his or her C++ (or other type of code) works functionally.   Thus, one can test one’s own code being entered intothe online program and see if one’s code works.   Finally, the written report would basically demonstrate how the code works, why it would be used, and how it would be beneficial to the organization that would be utilizing it.   To be brief, basically the written report would demonstrate the facility of use and usefulness of the scheduling code for the supervisory roles or Admins.   It might also be a code which could be marketed to other organizations and/or business or be put online as open source code in order to enhance businesses’ functioning so they would run more smoothly. V. Cost Table Listing All Items Needed to Purchase and Associated Costs ITEM COST Virus Protection (Norton Antiv irus) Subscription for One Year $100 3 computers (1 Mac OSX, 2 Windows 7) $2000 Admins’ Salary $1900 Total Cost $4000 VI. Basic Configuration Recommended for a Secure Computing Environment The core activities to be focused upon are to provide clear purpose and direction to the workforce, optimize use of financial and other resources, increase operational efficiency and effectiveness, plan and prioritise projects and activities and deliver on time, and remain within budget and achieve performance targets. There are six important activities that lay at the heart of organizational dealings, many of which are aligned with becoming a â€Å"green† or environmentaly-friendly company. These are technical, commercial, financial,

Hanes Brand Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hanes Brand Analysis - Case Study Example This text shall examine Hanes brand and strategies to make it effective and completive it is in its market. Several instruments and brand analysis such as the SWOT analysis (Fine, 2009) and the Porters five forces analysis shall be used to give guidelines and possible suggestions on possible strategies to be employed a. Description of industry and market segment The clothes and apparel industry in which the company deals with has good growth prospects both in the United States and in international markets (Textile international outlook). It is critical to examine the greater industry trends in general and then narrow down to the market segment of the company’s focus. The company is in the clothing and fashion industry which is a very sensitive industry and fast changing. Branding is also a key critical success factor for any company or individual in that particular industry. The company’s focus is in a small fraction of the fashion industry dealing mainly with innerwear and a bit of outerwear. The innerwear and hosiery markets have grown substantially with increase in brand names from the traditional big names. There has also been an increase in designs and innovations in this industry. The leading trends are the use of new and innovative fabrics and designs with major firms investing heavily in developing new materials and designs. The markets are dominated by large wholesale producers and distributors and very few small scale industry players. There has been growth in this market by middleclass and upper-class individuals who have more spending power with the relative stabilization of the global economic outlook. Globally the underwear markets for the year 2010 grew by 11% in the US according to the global underwear report of 2010 (Global Underwear Market Report 2010, 2010) b. Market Dynamics Important elements of this market that need to be noted that it has been established by the global underwear market report that the market in the United Ki ngdom was worth a massive 2.57 billion British pound. The apparel market segment like the larger fashion industry is very volatile and changes very rapidly. However it could be noted that there is a predominant brand loyalty by many of the customers of this markets. Since this is an industry in which large volumes have to be distributed it require proper distribution channels and companies such as Hanes brands need to seek more local marketing strategies to achieve substantial sales increase. The apparel industry is quite easy to start and thus provide quite a challenge of completion and is a real threat. For Hanes brands competitors comes mainly from other established brands. Completion may also arise from mergers of several competitors to create larger firms that can extent more massive branding campaigns. The future of the industry seems bright according to surveys due to the increase in economic stability as predicted in world economic outlook by the IMF (international monetary fund) and this in turn increases the spending power of individual and hence more demand for luxury items such as branded apparels and underwear. The increase in brand awareness and development of more designs in the industry has greatly increased the prospects for the industry. Many areas and opportunities have been developed in the recent past in terms of specialization. However with globalization and entry of the

President Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

President Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt - Essay Example He was born in the Bacos district of Alexandria on Jan 15th 1918 (Aburish 2004). He was the first born of thirty-year old Abdel Nasser Hussein who had been transferred to Alexandria as a postal clerk. The fact that his father's position merited transfer from one part of Egypt to another suggests a middle-class status. During that time, only upper classes had family names, the remainder of the populations, peasantry and non-aristocrats, were named after their fathers. Without a family name, he had to use his father's name, Abdel Nasser Hussein. Gamal's grandfather, Hussein Sultan, belonged to the small class of local notables and owned a few acres of land in a village where most of the inhabitants tenanted the land of rich pashas in Cairo. The pashas who comprised less than 2 percent of the population in the 1930's owned more than 65 percent of the land and employed and exploited over four million peasants who tenanted for them. A tenant farmer usually lived off two acres of land and his small share of what they produced. He hardly had any rights and when elections were held, was told to vote accordingly to the pasha's wishes. There was little social mobility since banks did not deal with the poor. As a result very few overcame their peasant background. Egypt has been rightly described by historians as a "hydraulic society", totally dependent on irrigation from the Nile river. Five percent of the land was intensively farmed and it happened to be the only part that was cultivated. Apart from agriculture, the country had no other resources. Years of drought and the threat of crop failure forced many farmers including Hussein Sultan who owned small plots of land to adopt other vocations to protect themselves. Adbel Nasser Hussein married above his class. Adbels wife was the daughter of a wealthy coal merchant, Mohamed Hamad and seemed to be homely person who did the duty of a wife. When she died in 1926 leaving eight year old Gamal and his three younger brothers, Gamal had been living in Cairo with his paternal uncle Khalil (Aburish 2004). According to rumour Gamal's father did not tell him about his mother's death for months and did not get a chance to attend the funeral. It is still left to speculation as to why Gamal was in Cairo. If Fahima was ill then she could not look after him. Or, Gamal showed much promise in academics and his parents decided to send him to a better school in a bigger city. Whatever the truth, there is little doubt that Fahima was a major influence in her son's life and contributed to his education. Her forty dollar monthly income, received from her family, went to educate her four children. Fahima's noble gesture was returned with Gamal's interest in his studies. There is also speculation that Fahima was responsible for sending Gamal to a school superior to the Koranic one in Beni Mur. Gamal felt deeply saddened at not being informed of his mother's death when his father remarried two years later. In the Arab world it is not unusual for widowers to remarry after their spouse's death. It's quite common to see the children of widowers to be looked after by relatives and other people. The carrier of bad news is usually frowned upon. Even after learning of his mother's demise Gamal continued to live with his relatives but the event left a deep mark in his psyche. Gamal Nasser, or

Interventions associated with amiodarone therapy in Aterial Essay

Interventions associated with amiodarone therapy in Aterial fibrilation in a cardiac paitent - Essay Example In addition, the patient has ectopics. Importantly, an ECG done on the patient indicates arterial fibrillation. A day after his surgery, Mr. Patel’s blood pressure is found to be unstable. The other features identified with the patient one day after the operation are Good CO, Good CI, is normal ABG, 4.3 potassium, on inotropic support, sedated, ventilated , PICCO inserted . The 4.3 potassium was replaced with 20mmol of KCL. Lab results indicated magnesium levels of 0.98, which was replaced with 10mmol of magnesium. After carrying out TOE, it was revealed that the patient had heart muscle edematous. Hence, Cardioversion was forgone. Consequently, a 300mg loading dose of Amiodarone was started on the patient, followed by a 900mg maintenance dosage. The patient was back to SR the following day. This case study highlights the importance and effectiveness of using Amiodarone as medication against Mr. Patel’s arterial fibrillation, outlining and emphasizing the NICE guideline s observed during Mr. Patel’s treatment and management. In addition, the use of the NICE-recommended nursing observation, strategies and intervention practices on Mr. Patel are outlined. In the United Kingdom, it is reported that atrial fibrillation (AF), one of the most common class of arrhythmia managed in clinical practice, affects about 5% of the population aged 65 years and above. The condition is found in both genders with men reporting higher prevalence. As in the case of Mr. Patel, the disease is characterised by lack of synchronisation of rhythm between the ventricles and atria, thus disturbing his regular rhythm of the heart. AF is general regarded as an electrical energy disruption that causes the upper chambers of the heart to vibrate at an approximate rate of between 300 and 600 times a minute (NCC-CC, 2006). Although the overall mortality rate for atrial fibrillation has recently risen to the hitherto unseen levels of up to 90%, many doctors and nurses continue to disregard the potential of modifying the cardiovascular risk factors associated with this disease to reverse the situation (NCC-CC, 2006). As a matter of fact, it has been established that nurses have a great potential to positively contribute to the detection, prevention and management of this progressively common condition (Flegel, 1995). It has also been noted that people aged above 65 years old such as Mr. Patel, are the most affected by this condition. Interestingly, this age group account for huge portion of people under nursing care (NCC-CC, 2005). The role of nurses in Mr. Patel’s case is quite clear since his condition, and the fact that he is aged require that he is placed under intensive treatment and nursing care. For instance, that Mr. Patel just has just undergone surgical procedures and has his cardiac and metabolic systems’’ stability impaired makes his case rather care-intensive. Since most of AF’s signs and symptoms are asymptotic, it is recommended that nurses suspect the disease in patients with irregular pulses (Flegel, 1995). It is not enough to merely suspect the disease in such patients; nurses should do more by informing physicians and recommending referral to an electrocardiogram. The objectives of nursing observations and activities on Mr. Patel, after his surgery includes the following: to alleviate the signs and symptoms of AF and to prevent other related complications he might contract. Among the procedures that are likely to be applied should be suffer these complications

Innovation versus Invention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Innovation versus Invention - Essay Example Novelty is the introduction of a new idea into the world. While dealing with innovation, an idea does not have to be new except in a specific situation. When a company introduces an idea to the world, it is said to be innovative regardless of whether it is new to the industry or not. Basically, an invention is novel and potentially practically applicable whereas an innovation is usually practically applicable and hence introduced into the market. In terms of stages, invention is seen as an early stage while innovation is the end stage where the introduction of the ideas is presented to the end user. Innovation is categorized into two namely, product or service and process. Product or service innovation is about launching of new and improved products or services to the market. Some of its advantages to man include higher prices and profitability, added value, increased market shares and improved public relations. Process innovation deals with better and efficient ways of producing existing products and better ways of delivering existing services. This has benefited mankind in terms of reduced costs, improved quality of services and more responsive customer services. One example of innovation that has impacted man’s existence is the application of Bluetooth technology in mobile and computer devices for faster, cheaper and more convenient transfer of files and information.

Kerzner Office Equipment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kerzner Office Equipment - Essay Example The compny mngement hd limited time to prepre this celebrtion nd needed high performnce tems for this project. Shiseido's mngement ws frid tht on bdly plnned projects this stge often involved considerble negotition nd ltertion to the pln. It ws likely tht Shiseido's wild hve lots of chnges to mke to the pln nd tht the mngers did not relly understnd the pln (Shiseido Home Pge 2007). The problem ws tht the nniversry ws coming but nothing ws redy for the celebrtion (Burkun, 2005). 2. To void too much chopping nd chnging t this stge, Shiseido decided to involve the mngers so tht this pprovl stge becomes formlity. To improve the sitution nd 'sve' the project, Shiseido motivtes its workers finncilly nd personlly, nd sets relistic objectives. The new objectives hve motivted tem running the project, nd motivtion ws creted by setting relistic trgets tht the project tem. Its executive tem spent time with the people involved getting them to tell how things will work (Frme, 2002). 3. This sitution provides the opportunity nd motivtion for the compny nd its employees to think hed bout the project they re undertking. This process tends to revel problems nd therefore helps find solutions to them. Problems get solved while they re still smll, remote problems (Gry nd Lrson 2003). Few problems re overlooked nd left until they loom lrge. The more people tht the compny gets involved in this thinking-hed process, the better the project will be. Shiseido cnnot get someone else to do it. If nothing else, project plnning systems provide focl point bout which the project tem cn spend some time thinking bout the future, spotting problems nd overcoming them (Shiseido Home Pge 2007). Jgur Crs 1. Jgur Crs is luxury cr mnufcturer relying on innovtion technologies nd new methods. Working on 'SfeIT" progrm, Jgur Crs hs to crete high performnce tem nd meets tine limits. The project mnger ws busy trying to blnce the three objectives of the project: time, cost, nd qulity, when the specifiction suddenly chnges. SfeIT" progrm ws prt of UK. Government's progrm nd needed creful plnning nd effective mngement. gret dnger is where the cost nd time limits re precise nd the project is not. Jgur Crs found the scope of the project growing, putting the mngement under more nd more pressure s the cost nd time limits did not chnge (Frme, 2002; Jgur Compny 2007). 2. The nture of the project nd the type of resource required chnge t key dtes. The min problem is tht in softwre development projects there is very little with which to mesure progress (Frme 2002). For this reson softwre development is broken down into discrete stges seprted by key dtes or milestones. It gives the project mngement tem something to mesure ginst. s mny softwre projects re very similr to ech other, stndrd sets of milestones nd phses. This process explins wht ech stge in the project should chieve, wht informtion is needed to begin the stge, nd wht informtion should be vilble t the end. Phses hve nmes such s design, coding, nd testing. Key dtes id the preprtion of summry report-the report cn summrize the project in ten or dozen key dtes (Burkun, 2005). 3. pplying this pproch, Jgur Crs ws ble to meet objectives nd finish the project on time. lso, it creted high performnce tems nd improved communiction mong employees. in this project, the leder who concentrted only on the tsk did well in the short term. The tem gve tht leder

Faith Community Nursing Spiritual and Health Assessment related to Research Paper

Faith Community Nursing Spiritual and Health Assessment related to Cancer within the Hispanic Faith Community - Research Paper Example faith healing infringe upon early cancer screening, prevention, and / or treatment, as well as how in presence of treatment, individuals still retain their belief in faith healing. The target community was an online community. The target community were 35 – 65 years old Spanish speaking Christian Hispanics. There were 4, 373 members of the blog: 2,500 females and 1,875 males (Graph 2). However, out of them, only 90 females (54% respondents) and 77 males (46% respondents) responded to the survey (Graphs 1 & 2). Respondents came from nineteen different countries: the U.S., Mexico, and several Central and South American countries (Appendix B). Moreover, 25 females and 33 males came from rural areas, and 65 females and 44 males came from urban areas. The survey was distributed on Facebook, where it was posted in a blog, and personal e-mails were sent as well. The survey was distributed under complete confidentiality and anonymity. The target group was highly religious – with a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. All respondents (90 females and 77 males) prayed on a daily basis, read the Bible each week and believed it to be the guide on how to behave, turned to Jesus Christ for everything they did, had a personal relationship to Jesus Christ and believed Jesus Christ would help them with all their problems (see Appendix C). Their sense of community is strong as they all stated they love praying in groups, and go to underprivileged and disrespected communities to preach the Gospel (see Appendix C). However, their health habits are at times inadequate. Participants were split into those with cancer and without. First the latter group will be discussed. Both genders were optimistic that Jesus would save them from cancer: 39 females and 29 males believed so (see Graph 6). As a result, 41 females and 31 males believed they cannot get cancer, and 58 females and 41 males had never been screened for cancer prior to this survey (see Graphs 5 & 4), out of 90

Multiple Regression Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Multiple Regression - Coursework Example Simple regression analysis is used to establish the relationship between one variable and the other. One set of the variables is the dependent variable and the other set is the independent variable. The independent variable changes and in turn affects the dependent variable. Simple regression is used to establish whether or not indeed the independent variable determines the change that takes place in the dependent variable. It is also used to establish the way in which the two variables are related, such that on having one of the variables, it is possible to predict its corresponding value using the determined regression formula. On the other hand, multiple regressions is used to establish the relationship between one dependent variable and more than one independent variables. In this case, the dependent variable is affected directly by more than one independent variable and the manner in which it is affected is established by the multiple regression analysis. This analysis comes up with a formula which can be used to predict the value of the dependent variable given a set of corresponding independent variables. It is not possible to conduct multiple regression analysis using only the data that I have been collecting as shown above. Multiple regression analysis is used in the case where the dependent variable is affected directly by the more than one independent variables.

Ininternet Addiction and How It Affects Educational Success Essay Example for Free

Ininternet Addiction and How It Affects Educational Success Essay Many people carry out most of their daily activities using the internet, for example, banking, paying bills and trading which has led to a marked dependence on the internet. According to the Center for On-Line Addiction (1998), there are several types of internet addiction: The first is Cyber-sexual Addiction where people get addicted to pornography on the internet. The second is Cyber-relationship Addiction where people make on-line friends in chatrooms and soon the online friends replace life friends and family. The third is Net- Compulsions where people engage in different compulsive behaviors such as gambling, auctions and excessive online trading. People develop an internet addiction for different reasons. Some people become addicted to the Internet because of the social connections they make online. This is because they develop emotional attachments to the online friends they ‘meet ’on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. The internet offers anonymity where people can talk about issues that they would not feel free to talk to close friends or family about. The internet also provides a wide array of activities which keeps people online in search of new and exciting forms of entertainment The internet has both positive and negative affects on education. Internet addiction negatively affects the social life of students; it leads to an inability to communicate in the ‘real world’. Lack of communication skills it makes it hard for students to form healthy relationships with their peers at school. The internet can also be very distracting. There are a lot of fun activities on the internet like games and social networks which distracts students from doing their school work. Internet addicts spend a lot of time on the internet which leads to exhaustion due to lack of sleep which in turn leads to a lack of concentration at school. Internet addiction continues to be a major problem in today’s society and measures should be taken to ensure that students who are addicted to the internet receive help in order to continue with their studies. Students should be made aware of the reality of internet addiction and its negative effects on their academic performance. Teachers and parents should also limit the time spent by students on the internet to enable them to achieve better academic excellence. References Centre for Internet Addiction (2011). A Growing Epidemic. Retrieved 5, 2013 from http://www. netaddiction. com Young K. S. (1998). Caught in the net: how to recognize the signs of Internet addiction-and a winning strategy for recovery. New York: J. Wiley.

Case Study Skin Care Segment

Case Study Skin Care Segment From soaps and shampoos in the morning to overnight repair face creams, from sunscreen products in summers to moisturizing lotions in winters; skin care products literally touch our daily lives. These products we use are in some measure the signature of our lifestyles and standards of living. The skin care industry worldwide is a 50 Billion Dollar plus business. Caring for the skin of people throughout the world is an extraordinary business. It is a business where people are passionate about their work, because it matters. It matters to their families, to their communities and to the world. It is a business filled with tremendous opportunity for leadership and growth in the 21st century; a business where unmet needs still abound and where people around the world are waiting for new and better solutions. Skin care includes dramatic breakthroughs in science and technologies are opening the doors to bold new approaches; where global demographic and economic trends favor growth. It is a business where a broadly based company with a strong vision, a culture of caring and the resources to invest in the future has the opportunity to take the skin care to a new level for people throughout the world and where such a company can make a profound, positive difference for its customers. As the worlds obsession with fair blemishes skin continues, skin care products have emerged as a key driver for the personal care category. All the personal care majors, from HUL, PG and Emami to LOreal, CavinKare, Nivea and Dabur, are fighting a high-pitch battle to gain share in the small, but fast-growing skin care market. Indian skincare market ~ Rs 2,100 crore Skincare moisturizer market ~ Rs 1,600 crore Premium Skincare Market ~ Rs 450 crore Skincare market has been steadily growing at 16 per cent as of last year Anti-Ageing Market ~ Rs 60 crore Avons Face care Recommendation: Steps to cleanse and moisturize your face Step 1: Wash face thoroughly with a Cleanser. This opens up the pores on ones face Step 2: Apply Toner to close the pores to prevent dirt and dust from accumulating in the opened pores Step 3: Apply a Treatment (meaning a product like a wrinkle cream, firming cream, brightening etc.) Step 4: Apply a Moisturizer (During the day, your moisturizer should have a SPF in it. One can even use a combination of a fairness cream with SPF) Thats it! This process should only take about 3 to 5 minutes. Remember, a small amount goes a long way with your products. Dont over apply. That may decrease the effectiveness of the product. We note that every step caters to a different range of products LARGEST SKINCARE MARKETS WORLDWIDE France- It lives up to the reputation of the skincare knowledge centre with its the consumers having regular skincare routines The US is the second largest skincare market in the world, with a strong forecast growth in hand care The Japanese purchase high amounts of skincare products, as caring for skin forms a key element of their beauty routines Skin whitening creams form an important basis of Middle Eastern womens skincare regimes Per capita consumption in Hong Kong US$ 40, US$ 9 in Philippines, US$ 10 in Malaysia and Taiwan, 12 US$ in Japan and US$ 1.5 in China. Segment Market Overview Personal care category in India is valued at Rs 54.6 billion. An average Indian spends 8% of his income on personal care products. Skincare forms the largest part of the overall personal care market in volume terms. In 2009, around 15% of all spend on personal care came in the skincare category. The market size of this segment is US$ 200 million. Skin care grew by 13% in 2009 to reach nearly Rs32 billion. Skin care products comprise of personal grooming and personal hygiene products. The broad product categories are as follows- Personal Wash: soaps, face wash, body wash, shower gels Facial Care: face packs (or masks), anti acne, anti ageing, fairness, lip calms, astringents, toners Body Care: sunscreens, moisturizers, talcum prickly heat powders, antiseptics Foot care: Anti crack creams Hand care: Untapped market Skin Care Category: All India Urban Volume 13265.3 tonnes Conclusions derived from the above chart: Fairness sub category- 60% of the Skin care category volumes comes from this segment Winter Care sub category- Decline in consumption and decrease in small pack size buyers resulting in decline in volume Antiseptic sub category- New customers are driving the growth for this segment Sunscreen sub category- Low new trier rate Cleansing sub category- Increase in consumption from retainers is increasing volumes The anti-ageing phenomenon continues to gather momentum, with the worldwide market expected to reach $115.5bn by the end of 2010. Nourishers/anti-agers saw the fastest value growth of 19% in 2009. SWOT STRENGTHS Worlds largest FMCG company with a 61% share in the Indian skincare market Hindustan Unilever Ltds products continue to dominate skin care sales in 2009 The companys brands Fair Lovely, Ponds and Lakme were the top three skin care brands in India in 2009, with Fair Lovely accounting for 48% of the value sales of skin care in India. Long product mix Sophisticated Supply chain Strong brand name Major brands Ponds, Lux, Dove, Vaseline, Lifebuoy, Liril, Pears, Breeze, Hamam Since the brands have individual names, HULs reputation is not tied with that of the product. HUL carries all the advantages that come as a result of being a house of brands. Broad product line catering to all segments Low-priced sachet SKUs, free samples and new variants for its major brands boosted sales WEAKNESSES Significantly higher advertising expenditure incurred by HUL to build up all its brands from scratch since a blanket family name is not attached to the individual brands. Unilever generated revenues of $55.4 billion in the financial year (FY) ended December 2009, a decrease of 1.7% over 2008. The companys net income totaled $4.7 billion in FY2009, a decrease of 33.0% over 2008. OPPORTUNITIES The personal care division of HUL is recording an increase in revenues to the tune of $ 16.5 billion in 2009, an increase of 4.1% over 2008 owing to a volume growth of 2.3% driven by stronger innovation, advertising and promotional activities. Skin care grew by 13% in 2009 to reach nearly Rs32 billion Average unit prices continued to rise in 2009 Skin care is forecast to see a constant value CAGR of 10% Skin care continued to attract new players, both in the mass and premium categories, and, despite concerns about economic and financial security in the first half of 2009, skin care continued to see dynamic growth in 2009. THREATS Large numbers of relatively unorganised local players give it competition in the lower-price segments. Since these players typically operate in small geographies, they invest almost nothing in brand building and are thus able to offer higher trade margins and sell to consumers at prices lower than those of HLLs brands. Competition from organised national brands especially P G in the higher-price segments. In recent years, price war between the two FMCG giants has resulted in a dwindling of profits for both. 4.2 PROCTOR GAMBLE PG Hygiene and Health Care Limited is one of Indias fastest growing Fast Moving Consumer Goods Companies that has in its portfolio PGs Billion dollar brands such as Vicks Whisper. With a turnover of Rs. 500+ crores, the Company has carved a reputation for delivering high quality, value-added products to meet the needs of consumers. SWOT STRENGTHS Diversification: Product diversification with about 300 products. The diverse product mix includes personal and beauty items, household products, health and wellness, Baby and family and pet care and nutrition. Research and development: PG invests 3 4 % of Net outside Sales in research and development (RD). This amount easily exceeds their leading competitors, among consumer products companies. They also have more Ph.D.s working in labs around the world than the combined science and engineering faculty at Harvard, MIT and Berkeley. Innovation: In fiscal year 2004-05, PG was granted 27,000 patents globally. PG has produced a number of new products like diapers; shampoo and conditioner in one; toothpaste that prevents osteoporosis. Its diversified product mix helps in connecting technology across categories and brings innovation to the product. Brand building: Advertisement expenditure of PG is twice than the next company on the list of companies which spend highly on advertising. WEAKNESSES Has only recently, in 2007, made a foray into the skincare sector in India with the launch of its Olay brand. Is still a novice in a sector full of highly experienced competitors. Inadequate quality control: With large number of product profile, the quality control of all the products has deteriorated. OPPORTUNITIES Developing markets: The economies of China and India are growing at a very fast pace. The company currently competes in only about 10 of its top 25 categories in most developing countries. This provides PG with an opportunity to enhance its market share as well as expand its presence in other categories. THREATS Its brand Olay faces direct competition Ponds premium skincare range. Faces competition from local low-cost manufacturers 4.3 JOHNSON JOHNSON SWOT STRENGTHS Johnson Johnsons range of baby products is used widely by adults as it is one brand which is known for being very gentle on the skin. Clean and Clear face wash has effectively targeted the teenage segment which is paranoid of pimple problems and needs an effective and affordable remedy to acne. WEAKNESSES Neutrogenaoffering around 25 beauty items ranging from fairness creams, face cleansing lotions to sun protection and hand and body care products which was launched as a premium product is priced too steeply and not differentiated enough from Clean and Clear to justify the high price. OPPORTUNITIES The skincare segment is growing at a rate of 13% in India and thus provides immense growth opportunities to Johnson and Johnson. THREATS Ayurvedic products which are similarly gentle on the skin for e.g. Himalaya Faces competition from FMCG giants HUL and P G which have very long product line Factors shaping the industry 5.1 Growth Drivers Consumers clearly believe that taking care of their skin is one of the most important parts of their overall health and beauty regimes. Research shows that more consumers rated taking care of their skin as important than they did for looking their best in day-to-day life, highlighting how pivotal skincare is to the majority. Rapid urbanisation Increased purchasing power Greater awareness of fashion amongst the younger population Rising participation of women in urban work force Growing tendency to focus on individual and self gratification Growing importance of looks and personal grooming for personal and professional reasons Market trends like spread of organized retail to Tier II cities Development of non-traditional segments like mens cosmetics Development of a wide range of products at different price points Increasing competition with entry of large MNCs Increased brand building Customer awareness initiatives by companies Source-EIU CIA world fact book 5.2 INHIBITORS CULTURAL ISSUES Some cultures are more complex to service beauty-wise than others. It has been widely documented that some brands fail to build successful relationships with Muslim consumers because they fail to understand the consumers they are talking to. Because of cultural and religious issues, women focussing too much on looks are considered to be sinners and hence are not encouraged to focus on beautifying themselves. PRICE SENSITIVITY India is a very price sensitive market and thus there is a dire need for innovative solutions to cater to the Indian preferences and budgets. 5.3 Trend Analysis Key Trends in terms of product categories: Anti- ageing Anti-ageing solutions are nascent but gaining ground. It is the fastest growing segment in the skincare market (approximately 3 per cent of the overall skin category, it has doubled in the last three years) Brands Companies in anti ageing HUL Ponds Age Miracle Range PG Olay Total Effects: Fighting the 7 signs of ageing (lines and wrinkles, sagging, uneven skin tone, age spots, pores, dullness and dryness). Olay is a $2-billion brand. LOreal Garnier: In India since last decade Target Consumer for anti ageing: Indian Women looking for one product that will help her stay young and beautiful (Agelessness) Consumer Activation: Counters at cosmetics stores with counselling by expert beauty consultants at departmental stores and large modern retail outlets and further education on skincare Ayurveda Ayurveda is one of the most ancient medical traditions practiced in India, Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries, and has a sound philosophical and experiential basis. [4] Ayurveda has several formulations for management of aging and other skin care related conditions. Its literature describes over 200 herbs, minerals and fats to maintain and enhance the health and beauty of the skin. Today there is once again a revival of preference for natural products, and in recent years there has been a great upsurge in the study of Indian herbs. [7] Thus brands like Himalaya and Dabur Uveda have come to the fore. They offer specific solutions to skin problems. For example: Himalaya offers Neem (the derma specialist), Acne and pimple cream, antiseptic cream, foot care cream for cracks and a variety of face packs Clinics for skin treatment: Clinics such as VLCC and KAYA provide acne, hair removal and anti ageing treatments And this is in addition to offering a range of products in skin care. Fairness: Fairness creams have become the major drivers of the skin care segments growth. Fair and Lovely dominates this market catering to the needs of Indian women who wish to be fair (fair is beautiful) and that too at a very affordable price. Another new trend is the introduction of Emami and Garniers fairness creams for men. An overview of trends in India: The pace of new brand/product launches in skin care remained robust in 2009. Leading players, including Hindustan Unilever Ltd, modernized their brands with the addition of new product variants to feed female consumer appetite for more sophisticated products and male consumers increasing willingness to pay for specialized products for men. Skin care continued to attract new players, both in the mass and premium categories, and, despite concerns about economic and financial security in the first half of 2009, skin care continued to see dynamic growth in 2009. 2009 value growth was slightly higher than the CAGR of 12%. Robust growth towards was driven by increasing consumer sophistication and premiumization. Some consumers may have traded up from basic products such as Fair Lovely to more sophisticated variants offered by mass brands such as Ponds Flawless White, which incorporates SPF, UVAB filters and matt effect. Premium skin care grew slightly faster at 15% in current value terms than skin care as a whole in 2009. While skin care sales continued to be dominated by mass brands in India, urban women increasingly added one or two premium brands such as Este Lauder and Artistry to their skin care regimen alongside staples such as Fair Lovely and Ponds Word-of-mouth publicity for direct selling brands and the growing visibility of international brands in outlets in the major cities boosted the growth of premium products in 2009. Whitening and fairness and glowing/clear complexion remained the most prominent marketing claims in skin care in India in 2009 due to the prevailing preference of Indian consumers for fair skin. Acne treatment brands are commonly available in cream/ointment, lotion and bar soap formats. Cream/ointment is by far the most popular format, accounting for 81% of value sales of acne treatments in 2009. In September 2009, Clean Clear Active Clear Acne Clearing Gel was launched by Johnson Johnson Ltd. Acne kits are not available in India, and sales of acne treatment products are dominated by chemists outlets. LOreal India Pvt Ltd increasingly stationed beauty advisors in upmarket chemists outlets to promote Vichy in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. Nonetheless, due to its high price points and premium positioning, Vichy remained a highly niche brand in 2009. The launch of Garnier Light Eye Roll On in early 2009 was a huge success as the product highlighted the commonly faced problems of puffiness of eyes and dark circles and leveraged consumers latent need for such a product. The use of face scrubs and peel-off face masks is very common in India and the products are mainly used to improve skin complexion by removing dead skin. Facial cleansers witnessed a higher value growth rate in 2009 compared to 2008, spurred by the emphasis among newly launched brands such as Neutrogena (Johnson Johnson Ltd) and EverYuth Menz (Cadila Healthcare Ltd) on this category through their mass-media campaigns. Moreover, existing brands with a loyal consumer base, such as StreetWear (Modi Revlon Pvt Ltd), Nivea for Men (Nivea India Pvt Ltd) and Lactocalamine (Piramal Healthcare Ltd), expanded their product portfolio by launching facial cleansers in 2009. Even premium brands such as Clinique (Elca Cosmetics Pvt Ltd) saw a robust increase in the sales of their facial cleansers in 2009. 5.4 TRENDS IN ADVERTISEMENTS LUX: Today, the brand is still heavily advertised in India using Bollywood stars. Madhubala, Hema Malini, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Rani Mukerji have all been past brand ambassadors] Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif are the present brand ambassadors of Lux. In India Shahrukh Khan was the first male in a Lux advertisement. LUX signed up the King Khan as its ambassador for its 75th celebration year. This was quite interesting and made a clutter breaking endorsement. Why SRK? We can only speculate that he is a person who relates to emotions quite strongly, especially with ladies emotions. This could also be a way of the company wanting to create a wider space around the brand LUX to cater to a wider target group. Beauty being the central theme and emotions being the space around beauty. In this respect, currently Abhi-ash (Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) endorse the brand together. We dont see much of male models doing endorsement for soaps. Cinthol got Vinod Khanna, and it made the first mark in the consumer mind of male soap. Lifebuoy advertised with a bunch of males and it was more oriented towards cleanliness and god health and not in the beauty space. DOVE: Brand managers the world over are understandably jealous. Imagine having unearthing and exposing some of the neuroses women have about themselves, create a sensitive and believable marketing campaign, and then yes inspire change! In 2004, Unilevers Dove dared to launch this as its new positioning. And of course, it worked. Till date, the brand continues to excel in its role as marketer-turned-social activist, while, naturally, never losing sight of the core business. What were getting a lot better at now is incorporating the Campaign for Real Beauty message along with the product-specific, product-superiority kind of message, says Sharon MacLeod, Doves brand manager, on its evolution this year. Ordinary women from different walks of life feature in Dove ads rather than celebrities which enhances believability of the product. FAIR AND LOVELY: Its the ultimate product in India in catering to fairness needs of women. Advertisements highlight the plight of dark women who are under confident and even ridiculed in society. Then once they use FAL they are not only fair and glowing but also confident about going out into the world and getting a corporate job or becoming a super star. Such ads have a mass appeal. india is one country where women are judged and discriminated on the basis of their complexion and this brand offers a solution to facing that so called humiliation, hence it has sold like hot cakes since its launch. A similar product has been launched by other companies for fairness creams suited for men, PONDS: The ponds googli wooglie ads are supposed to be charming and have been readily accepted by the customers. However, the launch of PONDS AGE MIRACLE has been quite successful. The ad reads see the change in your husband i.e. PONDS reverses wrinkles and spots of ageing to transform oneself into ones youthful self. This brand too doesnt use celebrities to make ads more believable and simple rather than using celebrities who often divert the attention from the brand to themselves OLAY: Olay anti-ageing ads make extensive use of celebrities to endorse its brand. these include Sushmita Sen, Gul Panag etc to vouch for these brands. This adds credibility to the brand. This a premium brand and mostly symbolizes sophistication. JOHNSON JOHNSON: Baby care products are virtually a monopoly. These ads feature cherubic babies learning to walk, being cared for by their mothers etc. The products are also used by adults with sensitive skin. In order to cater to the needs of other adult segments, Neutrogena provides cleansers toners moisturizers lotions anti-ageing creams etc. The brand is endorsed by new age icons like Prachi Desai and Deepika Padukone. Clean Clear is a major brand in treatment of acne with its astringent, face wash and pimple zapping ointment. 5.5 BARRIERS TO ENTRY India being a price sensitive market there is low penetration by international brands High rate of new product launches Calls for ability to constantly update their products to changing customer needs or else the competitor can sweep the market away High advertisement spending Barriers specific to anti ageing sub segment: It is the working woman who is more conscious of the way she looks rather than the woman who stays at home. And in India that segment is still small, unlike the Chinese market where there is a high population of working women. To that extent, the companies find it limiting to enter this segment India. Also products are on the more expensive side. They are considered premium. For example, Olay is priced at Rs 599 for a 50 gm pump jar Producing efficacious anti-aging solutions requires a lot of science and research, which can prove expensive. This compresses the target market therefore discouraging companies from entering this sub segment and competing with already established brands commanding a high degree of brand loyalty. BRAND PERCEPTION SURVEY 6.1 Questionnaire If we assume every brand to be personified, what personality trait would you associate each of these brands with? Lux Dove Fair and Lovely Lakme Ponds Johnson Johnson Baby care Neutrogena Himalaya Boroplus Olay Garnier Vaseline Clear n Clear For making a decision regarding the purchase of a skin care product, rank the importance of the following in the decision process Price Quality Advertisements Publicity Innovation Note: Fairness, Anti ageing and Winter-care have contributed to either fuelling or sustaining growth in the skin care segment. The following questions therefore pertain to one major brand from each of these sub-segments namely Fair Lovely, Olay and Pond Answer the following in Yes/No FAL OLAY PONDS Quality The brand is of superior quality You would refer the brand to others Price The brand offers competitive pricing Its value proposition for the price is best in this class Innovation You view the brand as innovative The brand offers real-world solutions The brand understands the need of the market Advertisements Publicity The ads for the brand are superior to competitors The ads are suitable to the brand 6.2 RESULTS OF THE SURVEY Popular responses to the brands were: Lux : Competent Dove: Sincere Fair and Lovely: Imaginative Lakme: Spirited Ponds: Charming Johnson Johnson Baby care: Loving Neutrogena: Fresh Himalaya: Natural Boroplus: Reliable Olay: Sophisticated Garnier: Classy Vaseline: Gentle Clear n Clear: Confident On the basis of survey the following were the criteria as ranked by consumers in making a purchase decision regarding a skin care product: Rank Criteria Quality Price Innovation Advertisements Publicity FAL OLAY PONDS The brand is of superior quality 80% 84% 80% You would refer the brand to others 92% 76% 68% The brand offers competitive pricing 100% 60% 84% Its value proposition is best in this class 96% 80% 92% FAL OLAY PONDS You view the brand as innovative 92% 96% 60% The brand offers real-world solutions 80% 92% 76% The brand understands the need of the market 100% 72% 72% The ads for the brand are superior to competitors 56% 52% 52% The ads are suitable to the brand 80% 92% 80% 6.3 ANALYSIS CONCLUSIONS DRAWN Since all responses are above 50% in favor of Yes, the percentages indirectly reflect the degree of to which people agree: 50-70: Somewhat Agree 70-90: Agree 90-100: Totally agree We found that these brands are superior in their respective sub segments. On interviewing the women, we found that while FAL is the undisputed champion in fairness creams, OLAY is viewed as reasonably good as compared to other anti-ageing creams due to its extensive advertising and PONDS is the most viable solution for winter-care hence the popularity of Ponds Cold Cream. FAL It is viewed to be reasonably priced and thus is value for money. A whopping 100% feel that the brand is catering to the needs of the market. In India, it is no secret that women wish to be fair, hence FAL provides the perfect solution at the best price. Ads are believed to be superior to competitors but by a very small margin. The ads have a mass appeal and are considered suitable to the brand. OLAY The positive responses point to the fastest growing sub segment in skin care: Anti-Ageing creams. OLAY is premium brand (not meant to cater to the masses). The brand is viewed as very innovative and effectively provides a solution to the new-age need of agelessness among women. There are other players that dilute the impact of this brand on consumer minds but OLAY has made an impression with its celebrity endorsements. PONDS anti ageing creams offer ads which are more attractive hence the OLAY ads are not able to build an exclusive brand perception in the minds of people. PONDS Its value proposition is best among cold creams. It may not cater to the needs of all people as those with oily skin may choose to avoid using PONDS. The cream may cause stickiness in such cases which can lead to acne problems. However, when it comes to using a cold cream, most prefer this brand. The ads are considered endearing and suitable to the brand. The new emerging needs for fairness and anti-ageing solutions have not completely overruled the importance of ponds cold creams. Also as noted earlier, PONDS See the difference in your husband Anti-ageing creams are preferred in terms of ads UNMET NEEDS IN SKINCARE Oily skin: For skin which is more on the oilier side. A regular matt base cream or even the anti oil creams available in the market causes flakes to accumulate on the surface and oil based cream results in stickiness which may aggravate acne. An oil control version of Fair and Lovely solved the problem to some extent but it was still on the stickier side. Moreover, this product is not to be seen in the market anymore. There is a need to cater to people with this skin type as they often find themselves not using moisturizers or sunscreens at all (rather be tanned than have an acne outbreak) Elimination acne for good: There is no effective fool proof method of preventing recurring outbursts of acne. People prone to acne succumb to outbreaks throughout their life. Even those who regularly use cleansers to maintain oil free skin as well as anti acne creams or zap pimples with anti-pimple acid based ointments have to face them again. Anti-Radiation: Long-term exposure to radiation from televisions, microwaves, cell phones, computers and laptops etc. increases the risk of all forms of cancer, tumors, blood disorders, miscarriage, headaches, insomnia and anxiety. This we have heard but little do people know that it also causes aging of the skin by drying or wrinkling the skin, skin burn, etc. This form of skin damage is identical to sun damage and causes the same health problems. Computer radiation is most harmful to skin health because we sit directly in front of the computer for long periods of time with our face absorbing the radiation. This may require extensive research and development on the part of companies but a skin care product catering to protect one from these radiations can be regarded as a latent need. Hand care : There is no product specifically catering to this sub segment. Regular manicures are not feasible to care for ones hands. Indian womens hands are abused in the course of washing clothes and dishes, Hands become rough and hard. Lotions, moisturizers and antiseptics exclusively for ones hands are an unmet need. Premium skin care range specially designed to suit mens skin is largely unmet. The only progress in this respect is with regards the new entry of fairness creams fo

Social Networking Relationships

Social Networking Relationships Social Networking Relation 1.0 Introduction â€Å"Social networking is really recommendation between people about the things that they are interested in and they like†¦ this has stimulated people’s attention in terms of the importance of public relation. The people who are going on these sites didn’t want to be monetised, they didn’t want to be advertised to, so again editorial communication is so powerful, they would rather be communities that can exchange views that are untarnished.† Sir Martin Sorrell Social media is a global phenomenon in which old demographics no longer apply. Conversations happen at the click of a button. New communities are born every day and brands need to be involved; in the first instance to listen, and then to participate. Social media is booming. Every day new statistics, white papers and articles appear discussing its continued growth. Independent market analyst Datamonitor (2008) has revealed how quickly the number of people participating in online social networking is growing: the United Kingdom currently leads Europe, in terms of membership, and is expected to reach 27 million users a threefold increase on todays figures by 2012 (www.datamonitor.com). â€Å"Social networking sites are the reality television of the Internet,† said Jon Gibs (Senior Director of Media, Nielsen//NetRatings). â€Å"The content is relatively inexpensive for publishers to produce, and social networking is not a fad that will disappear. If anything, it will become more ingrained in mainstream sites, just as reality TV programming has become ubiquitous in network programming,† Gibs continued (www.acnielsen.com). â€Å"However, again like reality programming, the concept of ‘reality’ alone, or in this case ‘social networking,’ is not enough. In this competitive marketplace, sites also have to provide consumers with distinct content they can identify with.† A new survey reveals that almost 50 percent of attorneys are members of online social networks and over 40 percent of attorneys believe professional networking has the potential to change the business and practice of law over the next five years. â€Å"Online professional networking is a growing area of importance in the legal industry,† said Ralph Calistri, Chief Executive Officer of Martindale Hubbell and senior vice president of Global Client Development at LexisNexis. â€Å"As we develop a global network for the legal community through Martindale-Hubbell, objective research such as this survey by Leader Networks serves as an important way for us to listen to clients and guide our efforts.† Table: United States: Top 10 Social Networking Sites (March 2008) Source: AC Nielsen The Internet has broadened the area of word of mouth influences from interpersonal communication among acquaintances to online communication to general public (e.g. posting reviews). Harrison-Walker (2001) defined word of mouth as â€Å"informal person-to-person communication between a perceived non-commercial communicator and a receiver regarding a brand, a product, an organization, or a service.† Marketing practitioners try to encourage such â€Å"informal† communication in a positive manner, and several approaches such as â€Å"viral marketing† (Wilson 2000) and â€Å"buzz marketing† (Rosen 2000) have been developed. Facebook was created in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University. According to Zuckerberg, â€Å"The idea for the website was motivated by a social need at Harvard to be able to identify people in other residential houses† (Moyle, 2004). Today Facebook has more than 7.5 million registered members at over 2,000 U.S. colleges and is the seventh-most-popular site on the entire Web with respect to total page views (Cassidy, 2006). Social networking sites are online spaces that allow individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others. These sites can be oriented towards work-related contexts (e.g. LinkedIn.com), romantic relationship initiation, or connecting those with shared interests such as music or politics (e.g. MySpace.com). Users may use the sites’ communication tools to interact with those they know from offline contexts, such as school, or they may use the sites to meet new people. The way in which these sites allow for new connections to be made between individuals has resulted in proposed legislation which would bar libraries and schools to block minors’ access to social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook (McCullagh, 2006). MySpace in particular has generated public concern due to its large member base 78 million registered accounts according to one source (Wright, 2006) many of whom are teenagers. There is little academic work examining online social networks. A 2005 survey of academic community members found that 90% of the undergraduates participated in a social network community, primarily Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster, and that many of them disclosed personal information such as email address (Stutzman, 2006). In her ethnographic work examining self-presentation and social connections among Friendster users, boyd (2004) notes that users have a variety of motivations for using the site, including connecting with old friends, meeting new acquaintances, dating, and furthering professional networks. In one of the few pieces to examine this new breed of online fora, Donath and boyd (2004) point out that one of the chief hallmarks of these sites is that links between individuals are mutual, public, unnuanced and decontextualized. In the sites that Donath and boyd examine, public displays of connections serve to warrant, or signal the reliability of, one’s identity claims. Social networking sites are distinguished from the first wave of virtual community sites in that they allow for both maintenance of existing social ties and formation of new connections. A hallmark of the early research on computer-mediated communication and virtual communities in particular is the assumption that individuals using these systems would be connecting with those outside their pre-existing social group or location, liberating individuals to form communities around shared interests, as opposed to shared geography (Wellman et al., 1996). However, some online community researchers have explored how online communities present opportunities for people in a common offline community to extend their interaction. Such a theme is articulated by Wellman et al. (1996), who note that â€Å"Although CSSNs [computer supported social networks] do transcend time and space, not all ties are either totally on-line or off-line. Much on-line contact is between people who see each other in person and live locally† (p.222). 1.1 Research Question This research studies the importance of social networking sites and aims to identify how motivations for using social networking sites influence the degree of interaction and the generation of word-of-mouth. Next, in order to study use patterns of social networking sites between users in United Kingdom and to explore the relationship between the degree of interaction and the generation of word-of-mouth, the following questions are generated. Why / how often do people use social networking sites? Are social networking sites users generating word-of-mouth? If so, what makes users generate word-of-mouth? Do the motivations of using social networking sites influence on the degree of interaction or on the generation of word-of-mouth? H1 Exploring the relationship between the purpose of using social networking sites and the degree of users’ interaction H2 Exploring the relationship between the purpose of using social networking sites and the generation of word-of-mouth H3 Exploring the relationship between the degree of users’ interaction and the generation of word-of-mouth in social networking sites Main Research Question: How effective are motivations for using social networking sites influencing degree of interaction and word of mouth in United Kingdom? At the same time, the growing importance of word-of-mouth on social networking sites is understood and discussed by both marketing practitioners and academics, and online word-of-mouth communication is considered as a new marketing tool (Kozinets, 1999; Croteau, 2006; Peattie, 2007; McKinsey Quarterly, 2007). Due to the similar characteristics between social networking sites and word-of-mouth communication, namely, relationship and interaction among people, a number of researchers tried to find out the connection between online communities and word-of-mouth, then, came up with various ways to measure word-of-mouth in the virtual world (Kozinets, 2002; Godes et al, 2005; Dwyer, 2007). In addition, after their introduction, social networking sites brought in a new organisational framework for online communities. According to Boyd and Ellison (2008), early online communities were constructed as ‘communities of interest’, but social networking sites these days are constructed as personal. In other words, social networking sites are centred around people rather than topics or ‘topical hierarchies’. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 General Overview The study of personal influence and the idea that there are certain people who are especially influential over others has fascinated researchers, practitioners, and the general public for more than 60 years. Variously named in academic and popular circles, these people have been called opinion leaders (Katz Lazarsfeld, 1955), early adopters (Rogers, 1962/2003), influential (Weimann, 1994), and Influential Americans ® (Keller Berry, 2003), while the process of personal influence has been linked to, or synonymous with, various phenomena such as compliance gaining (strategic attempts to seek compliance from others in interpersonal settings; Wilson, 2002), the diffusion of innovations (how ideas spread in a culture; Rogers, 1962/2003), buzz (contagious word-of-mouth commentary about products, services, brands, and ideas; Walker, 2004), and tipping points (the point at which an idea, behavior, or product â€Å"tips,† crossing a threshold from being a minor phenomenon to a wild epidemic; Gladwell, 2000). Numerous organizations, for-profit and not-for-profit, in an assortment of industries (consumer products, fashion, health care, law, higher education, etc.) have sought to capitalize on a renewed awareness and interest in the influential role that informal conversation and relational networks play internally to an organization (e.g., in terms of sharing knowledge within and across organizational units; Cross Parker, 2004; May Zorn, 2002) and especially to external audiences (e.g., in the case of viral and buzz marketing). Thus, although the power of stimulating word-of-mouth and relational networks has been known for some time (Arndt, 1967; Whyte, 1954), a more recent phenomenon is when certain firms seek to consciously engineer buzz in relational networks (Balter Butman, 2005; Dye, 2000; Godin, 2001; Ozcan, 2004; Rosen, 2000;Walker, 2004). For example, some firms (such as Big Fat Inc.) pay people to go out and talk up a brand, either in face-toface or online settings, where the fact that they are employed by a marketing agency is not disclosed (a form of â€Å"undercover† marketing). Other firms (such as BzzAgent, Inc.) actively recruit volunteers who willingly participate in a campaign by going out and buzzing the product or service (oftentimes in exchange for points that can be redeemed for prizes or the knowledge that they are the first among their peers to have access to a new product) and then report back to the buzz marketing company their own and others’ feedback about the product (the company then compiles and analyzes these various reports from the field and presents them to the client). Still others (e.g., Proctor Gamble’s Tremor program) form an extensive network of carefully selected teenagers to create buzz among peers for their clients’ brands and products (Wells, 2004). These distinct kinds of organizational marketing practices have raised a number of ethical concerns, some more than others. In addition to whether or not the institutional identity of the agent is disclosed, whether or not the person buzzing the brand is doing so for some form of compensation, and whether or not agents involve minors younger than age 13 (Wells, 2004), a significant concern is that through buzz marketing marketers are better able to infiltrate everyday conversations and relationships (Walker, 2004), which might be regarded as further instantiation of corporate colonization of the lifeworld (Deetz, 1992). With traditional forms of marketing and advertising efforts, consumer audiences can â€Å"tune out† or â€Å"turn off† the advertising. However, what happens when the marketing is your friend or family member, in online and offline conversations? Is society increasingly falling prey to the â€Å"commercialization of chit-chat?†(Walker, 2004). Although these concerns are not new— for example, marketing to known others has been well-documented and critiqued in terms of Tupperware parties (Frenzen Davis, 1990; Taylor, 1978) and multilevel marketing companies (Biggart, 1989; Carl, 2004; Fitzpatrick Reynolds, 1997)—the fact that increasing numbers of well-known, mainstream organizations seek to amplify buzz in social networks has elevated the concern (Vranica, 2005). 2.2 Word of mouth Word-of-mouth has grown in popularity over the past several years as a marketing and research medium (BzzAgent, 2005). Marketers seeking to find new methods for reaching customers and communicating with them have wondered if word-of-mouth could provide a potential solution to the dwindling return of traditional marketing platforms. Since the beginning of organized marketing programs, marketers viewed word-of-mouth as an incredibly valuable, yet uncontrollable, result of effective marketing practices. Many marketers have implemented plans to fool word of mouth into occurring, seeding the marketplace with shills (paid actors talking up products and services). They found the results effective but extremely risky, since consumers didn’t like being deceived. In recent years, a number of companies have formed, seeking to harness the power of authentic word of mouth (BzzAgent, 2005). By organizing real consumers, they train them to share their honest opinions more effectively. Defining word of mouth can be tricky, especially in light of the Internet and recent emergence of buzz marketing firms. According to Buttle’s (1998) review of marketing research, Arndt (1967) discussed word of mouth as face-to-face communication about a brand, product, or service between people who are perceived as not having connections to a commercial entity. Bone’s (1992) definition is similar though she noted that word of mouth could be a group phenomenon: â€Å"An exchange of comments, thoughts, and ideas among two or more individuals in which none of the individuals represent a marketing source† (p. 579). Stern (1994) distinguished word of mouth from advertising in that word of mouth is face-to-face, interactive, ephemeral, spontaneous, and does not include such features as clever turns of phrases or jingles. Buttle (1998), however, found these definitions unsatisfactory because (a) Word of mouth can include talk about an organization (in addition to a brand, product, or service), (b) it can be electronically mediated (such as cell phone, chat rooms, e-mail, Web sites, â€Å"tell-a-friend† hyperlinks, etc.), and (c) more and more companies may offer incentives or rewards for consumers to spread word of mouth or make referrals (e.g., to refer friends and family members for a company’s services). Buttle concluded that currently the only distinguishing feature of word of mouth may be that â€Å"word of mouth is uttered by sources that are assumed by receivers to be independent of corporate influence† (p. 243). In contrast to traditional word of mouth marketing research, research on buzz marketing is still in its infancy. Verlegh, Verkerk, Tuk, and Smidts (2004) mentioned, but did not study, buzz marketers in their experimental research on whether or not financial incentives used when stimulating customer referrals alter the meaning of the situation such that consumers would perceive the word of mouth episode to be â€Å"persuasive† rather than just friendly, peer advice. Thomas (2004) represented an early conceptual piece on buzz marketing where it was defined as the â€Å"amplification of initial marketing efforts by third parties through their passive or active influence† (p. 64). An early empirical study that applied insights from existing word of mouth and social network research from a firm’s perspective was conducted by Godes and Mayzlin (2004). Abundant research demonstrates that word of mouth (WOM) is one of the most influential channels of communication in the marketplace. The reasons for WOMs power are evident: word of mouth is seen as more credible than marketer initiated communications because it is perceived as having passed through the unbiased filter of people like me. At a time of declining trust in institutions, research shows that its influence is growing stronger. In a recent national survey (Harris Interactive, 2006a), U.S. consumers were asked which information sources they find useful when deciding which products to buy in four common product categories. WOM and recommendations from friends/family/people at work/school were by far the most influential sources for fast food, cold medicine, and breakfast cereal. For personal computers, a highly technical category, we saw a strong reliance on expert advice in the form of product reviews and websites, followed by WOM as the next most useful. The consumer marketplace in which any enterprise operates is a complex, dynamic system. A study found that disinterested, ill-prepared and unwelcoming salespeople lead to more lost business and bad word-of-mouth than any other management challenge in retailing. There are a variety of different triggers for having a bad shopping experience, including things like parking or how well the store is organized. Some of those things retailers can do something about and some of them they cant. But frankly, a very important part of the retail experience is the interaction with the sales associate, says Wharton marketing professor Stephen J. Hoch, director of the Baker Initiative. In a telephone survey of 1,000 shoppers who were asked about their most recent retail experience, 33% reported they had been unable to find a salesperson to help them. Many of these shoppers were so annoyed by this one problem that they said they would not return to the store. According to the Wharton analysis, sales associates who are missing in action cost American retailers six percent of their customers. Add to that the 25% of consumers reporting they were ignored outright by sales associates no greeting, no smile, not even eye contact (Arndt, 1967; Aaker et al, 1996; Reingen and Kernan, 1986). This lack of engagement turned off three percent of customers to the point where they said they would permanently stay way from the store in which they encountered this behaviour. Hoch remains puzzled by sales associates who retreat from potential customers. You would think that if these sales associates are spending the whole day interacting with people, they would be a lot happier in their own life if they were friendly. Instead, they pull into their shell (Brown and Reingen, 1987). Whats wrong with saying, Hi, how are you doing?' According to Paula Courtney, president of the Verde Group, survey respondents were not frustrated by sales associates who seemed overworked or outmanned by shoppers. Its the conscious ignoring that irritates them, she says. Customers would walk into a store and the store representative would see them and continue to put items on the shelf or watch the cash register or do administrative work absolutely ignoring the fact that an actual person was in the store (Cox, 1963, cited in Brown at el, 2007). In the above example, the degree of interaction was bad with consumers at a particular retail outlet. This provided bad word of mouth and hampered long term sustainability for the retailer. In other words, this forms the central part of the dissertation that degree of interaction and word of mouth are slightly interrelated. 2.3 Motives of Social networking British anthropologist Robin Dunbar estimates that humans can only maintain stable relationships with around 150 people. That number refers to significant relationships like those in a family or tribe and other purposeful groups. Yet in todays over-informed digital business world, where bloated data moves at the speed of thought, its not who you know that really counts, but who knows you (Kozinets, 1999; Boyd and Ellison, 2008). Professional online social networking tools are invaluable in creating personal brand equity and raising awareness about who you are, especially beyond your 150 closest friends (BBC News, 2005). Online social networking software enables you to find quality people who may not be familiar with you, or with your organization, and creates an opportunity to connect with them and sell them on your opportunities (Boyd and Ellison, 2008). They may be unfamiliar with your company or business, or may not have even been looking for something. Because you already know someone who knows them, you can feel more comfortable that they are a quality prospect or at least can do some checking around (Boyd and Ellison, 2008). Also, because of that mutual connection, you can more easily overcome cumbersome barriers and begin a relationship with a little more trust and warmth than with a total stranger. Like Six degrees of Kevin Bacon, social networking sheds light on the contacts you never knew you had. For example, you can contact people in your network to: Rekindle old connections Maximize value in your weak connections Build business relationships with clients or hiring managers Find and meet prospective job-seekers Grow a referral network Heighten your corporate and personal brand Make new connections and grow your sphere of influence Open doors to future career opportunities, increased pay, or promotions Increase visibility, which improves influence and effectiveness internally with your organization as well as externally Social networking also helps you find new leads for networking into companies to: Educate yourself and ask questions about other organizations Conduct competitive intelligence on companies, industries, or individuals Make fewer cold calls and better prepare for them Leverage contacts you already have With the help of existing literature, Ridings and Gefen (2004) categorised four reasons to join online communities: ‘information exchange’, ‘social support exchange’, ‘friendship, and ‘recreation’. Firstly, people choose to use online communities to access and exchange information. By using online communities, people can access a huge amount of information generated by other users since online community providers offer effective systems or technologies in order to make their users easily exchange, create, request and search information (Hagel and Armstrong, 1997). The second reason why users participate in online communities is to obtain the social support. Wellman et al (1996) suggested that online communities give emotional support and sociability to their users by giving ‘a sense of belonging’. For instance, Mickelson (1997) gave examples of online communities which focus on recovering social problems such as alcohol and drug addicts in order to explain why the social support can be the motivation of using online communities. Thirdly, people join online communities to manage relationships. To seek friendship or to generate social capital, which can be defined as the resources gathered through the relationships among people (Coleman, 1988), online community users interact with other users with the aim of establishing and continuing relationships. For example, offline social capital can be generated by means of online tools, especially using social networking sites when people want to expand or keep up their offline relationships. Lastly, recreation is another reason why people experience online communities. In conclusion, how word-of-mouth affects consumer behaviour can be described by those three factors; tie strength, homophily, and source credibility. As mentioned above, Brown et al (2007) and other researchers (Silverman, 1997; Money et al, 1998; Bansal and Voyer, 2000) explored the nature of word-of-mouth in online communities. Finally, the summary of the research above is compared by Brown et al (2007) as the following Table 1. Table 1: A Comparison between offline and online social network constructs Offline Online Tie Strength Definition The intensity of a social relation between pairs of individuals The intensity of an interactive and personalised relationship between an individual and a website Homophily Definition The degree to which pairs of individuals are similar in terms of certain attributes The congruence between a user’s psychological attributes and website content Source Credibility Definition Perceived competence of the individual source providing information Perceived competence of the website and its membership Source: Brown et al, 2007, pp. 10 Table 1 Bottom line: It could be seen that different internet users have diverse motives to enter social networking sites. Fulfilment of motives can enhance positive word of mouth and higher degree of interaction of a particular website. As per previous academic literature there have been negligible cases that internet users have entered social networking with out motivations. This forms the foundation of dissertation. 3.0 Research Model 3.1 Research approach The research strategy we intend to adopt is a combination of multi-methods, of deductive, inductive and exploratory. Quantitative data will be collected throughout the life cycle of the project, from secondary sources: journals, databases, past dissertations, newspapers and magazine articles etc. We propose to use the following secondary databases to conduct quantitative data research: Emerald Full text Emerald Reviews Emerald Abstracts Swet Wise Reuters Business Insight Regional Business News Questia Media Primary research will be conducted, using a closed questionnaire designed to predict average behaviour of children in general (Saunders et al. 2003). The inductive approach takes to account interpretivism or social considerations, which enables to establish the intentions of the respondents more clearly. Saunders et al (2003) says that data collected using open-ended questions allows individuals more flexibility in answering, which may confirm a hypothesis or other wise. The limitation or disadvantage of this approach is that it is subjective and can only be applied to a limited sample of participants (Saunders et el. 2003). Exploratory research will be conducted on a pilot group consisting of young internet users (mainly with Orkut profiles) within the age group 15-20 who will participate in a discussion on the following; the influence of motivations for using social networking sites on degree of interaction and word of mouth in United Kingdom. 3.2 Research Design A research design is a program that guides the investigator in the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations. According to Nachmias Nachmias (1987) it is logical model of proof that allows the researcher to draw inferences concerning causal relationships among the variables under investigation. Consequently, the appropriate research design will depend on the problem to be investigated (Churchill, 1991), the purpose of the research, the research questions, and the state of the knowledge existing prior to the research plan (Eisenhardt, 1989). Research methods and data collection, form an elementary part of the research design. Typically, the research methods and the data collection techniques are functions of the purpose of the research design. The purpose of the research may be organized into three groups based on what the researcher is trying to accomplish: explore a new topic, describe social phenomena or explain why something occurs. The three basic types of research designs are: Exploratory (Case Studies), Descriptive and Casual. 3.2.1 Case Study The case study approach is the most widely used in management fraternity. A Case study is the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. It’s a form of qualitative descriptive research and it deals intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about that participant or group and only in that specific context. This research design is not used to focus on topics such as discovery of a universal, general