Sunday, August 4, 2019
Insanity and Madness in A Rose For Emily and Yellow Wallpaper
Insanity in A Rose For Emily And The Yellow Wallpaper  The women in Faulkner's and Gilman's stories are victims of male over-protectiveness. The men that rule their lives trap Emily in "A Rose For Emily" and the narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper". Each character must retreat into their own world as an escape from reality. Emily is destroyed by her father's over-protectiveness. He prevents her from courting anyone as "none of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such" (82). When her father dies, Emily refuses to acknowledge his death; "[W]ith nothing left, she . . . [had] to cling to that which had robbed her" (83). When she finally begins a relationship after his death, she unfortunately falls for Homer Baron who "liked men" and was "not a marrying man" (84)... ...the trap that society has placed them in. Works Cited Faulkner, William. "A Rose For Emily." The Norton Introduction To Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th Ed. New York, Norton, 1998. 1: 502-509. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Norton Introduction To Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th Ed. New York, Norton, 1998. 2: 630-642.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
frost bite :: essays research papers
     Frostbite occurs when skin tissue and blood vessels are damaged from exposure to temperatures below 32 degrees fahrenheit. It mostly affects the toes, fingers, earlobes, chin, cheeks and nose, body parts which are often left uncovered in cold temperatures. Frostbite can occur rapidly or gradually, depending on the temperature conditions and how long it is exposed.           Frostbite has three stages. They are frostnip, superficial frostbite, and deep frostbite. Frostnip occurs when you have this pins and needles sensation and the skin turning very white and soft. This stage has no permanent damage and may be reversed by soaking in warm water or breathing warm breath on the affected area.           Superficial frostbite is the stage of frostbite when blistering occurs. the skin feels numb, waxy, and frozen. There are ice crystals that form in the skin cells and the rest of the skin remains flexible.      Deep frostbite is the most serious stage of frostbite. The blood vessels, muscles, tendons, nerves, and bone all may be frozen. This stage leads to permanent damage, blood clots and gangrene, in severe cases. You have no feeling in the affected area and there usually isn't any blistering. Serious infections and loss of lims accur frequently when frostbite reaches this stage of its development. However, even in deep frostbite, frozen lims may be saved if medical attention is obtained as soon as possible.      If you are in a situation where a patient can't be transported to a hospital immediately, the following rewarming techniques may help until reaching an emergency facility.      - Bring them indoors as soon as possible.      - Apply warm towels or immerse the area in circulating warm water for twenty minutes. However DO NOT      rub or use hot water.      - Do not hold the area near fire since the area may be burned due to the reduced feeling in the area.      - Offer the patient warm coffee or tea, but never alcohol.      - Keep the affected area raised.      After re-warming, a superficial frostbite will reddon and become painful as circulation resumes in the area. Blisters are likely to form within 24 hours.      While a frostbite injury is healing, do the following:           - Avoid infection by leaving the blisters alone.      - Watch for signs of infection such as redness, swelling, fever, oozing pus, and red streaks on skin.      - Take all prescribed medications.      - Don't expose the affected area to cold temperatures until cleared to do so by a physician.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Illegal Immigration Essay
What Are The Negatives of Illegal Immigration in The U. S.? 1 . ) What I already know (and don’t know) about my topic I know that illegal immigration is a big topic that is always talked about in the United States. I know that some people believe it is a big problem, but others don’t think it is a problem at all. I know that illegal aliens come to our county for many different reasons. Some of them include work, to get a better life, or to escape a dangerous homeland. These immigrants have to come to this country illegally because the process to come legally is long and they may never be granted citizenship. I know that them coming to our country is hurting our economy. They come here and get jobs that could be going to unemployed U. S. citizens, and since they aren’t citizens they don’t pay taxes that all true citizens have to pay. Also they send a lot of the money they make back to their homeland and it never goes back into the U. S. economy. I know that our government spends a lot of money hiring border patrol and buying equipment to help keep these illegal aliens from getting across the border, and the money that pays for this comes out of the legal citizens taxes. If these illegal mmigrants come to our country and need medical care the hospitals are legally required to give them the medical care they need and hardworking American citizens pay for their care with our taxes. What I don’t know is how much these illegal aliens actually cost the economy. I don’t know much about the immigrant’s trip to get to the United States. I want to know the details about their Journey and how that impacts the legal Americans that live right around the border where these immigrants are crossing, and how it affects people from all over the rest of the United States. I want o know if the Jobs that these illegal immigrants are getting are actually taking them away from legal citizens or are these Just the Jobs that the Americans don’t want to work. Is all the money that they make here illegally being sent back to Mexico or where ever they come from or do they help our economy and spend it here? I want to know if the dangerous trip here is actually worth risking your life to make it to the U. S. 2. ) Why I want to answer this question You hear about this problem being talked about by almost everyone. You can turn on the news and see something pertaining to illegal immigration in our country. They ven have TV shows now that are all about border patrol and catching these illegals. I want to know how it directly affects me, and I want to know what is being done to prevent this and what can be done to make it worth going the legal route instead of sneaking across the border. 3. ) The story of my search I began my research while sitting in my dorm. I was lying around procrastinating and watching TV. The guide channel was on and I saw a show called Border Wars. I thought to myself might as well watch it, it should be an easy way to do research. While watching this show it was amazing to me how many men, women, and children ctually try to cross the border every day. According to the show thousands of illegals attempt to cross the border illegally every day (Border Wars). What I also found so interesting is how they cross. They would come up with some of the craziest ways that I would never think of. One of the ways that this show pointed out was they immigrants over the fence with the crane and set them down on the other side. The show also pointed out that people were digging tunnels that went from the Mexican side of the border under the fence and they would come up in a house on the U. S. side. Most of them however Just walk across the border and try to stay hidden by the cover of darkness. The trip over is no easy one, it is very dangerous and they cross a lot of tough terrain. In the past year there have been over 200 immigrants found dead that were trying to cross the border. Many immigrants try to cross our border illegally every day but how much do the aliens actually cost the U. S. citizens? Many people don’t realize how much money illegal aliens actually cost legal citizens in the U. S. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), illegal mmigration cost tax payers $113 billion a year at the federal, state, and local level (Illegal Immigration). The majority of this goes to paying for the education of the illegals children. Another big part of this number being this high is the medical cost of all the aliens. If they get hurt they can go to the hospital and get treated. Since they are illegal they will most likely not pay their bill, and all the legal citizens are stuck paying for their medical care. Also hiring border patrol and getting high tech equipment is a big cost to the people in America. The government has to get motion ameras, infrared cameras, helicopters, and many other supplies to keep the crossing of illegals to a minimum. The illegals are not helping pay hardly any of this because they don’t pay taxes, and the ones that do pay taxes get most of it back in refunds. According to the Center for Immigration studies illegals pay much less in taxes than do legal citizens. The numbers show that illegals pay around $1 ,3710n average in income taxes while legal citizens are paying o average $7,103 yearly (Camarota, Steven). People always complain about taxes being too high and illegal immigrants play a part in this problem. Immigration is also a danger to people living near the border and to the immigrants themselves. People who live near the border have to come in contact with these illegals who could want to do anything possible to make it into our country; some might even resort to harming them. Also with the illegals coming drug smugglers are also crossing our border to get there drugs sold. These drug runners can be very dangerous and willing to do anything to not get caught. They are willing to do anything because the cartels that are having them bring the drugs could be threatening them or their families to do so. A story of this posted by ABC News said that a border patrol agent was shot in the back and killed during an altercation with drug smugglers. In the article ABC News stated 40 year old Brian Terry was shot in the back and killed while pursuing drug smugglers. He was with a team of three other men when they approached the men and they opened fire. Terry was able to shoot one of the men but then was shot from behind. He was life-flighted to the hospital but had passed away in route. The other border agents were able to apprehend four of the suspects but one of them happened to escape (Hossford, Matt). This Just goes to show you that some of these people crossing our border illegally can be very dangerous. It is dangerous for the immigrants because of the terrain that they have to cross and also because of the cartels. Many of the immigrants that cross the border do so with the help of the cartels. They charge the immigrants a big fee to get them here and if immigrants don’t pay them in full they members of the immigrant. This also causes a big threat to the men and women working for the border patrol, they face dangerous situations every day when dealing with the problem of illegal immigration. How do we solve the problem of our dangerous borders and illegal immigration? One way to help solve the illegal immigration problem is to allow more immigrants to come into our country legally per year. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act the United States allows 675,000 legal immigrants to gain citizenship per year (Wasem, Ruth). If this number was raised then less people would have to cross the border illegally each year. Another way we could prevent this problem is to build a fence that covers the whole border. However this would be a very expensive build and many people don’t think it ould be affective. Part of the border with Mexico already does have a fence and illegal aliens still manage to cross it in various ways. Also a way to solve this problem would be to allow more immigrants to get into the country on work visas. If they would allow more work visas immigrants would be able to make money to send back to their families and they would be paying taxes that could help support the U. S. economy instead of doing all their work under the table. . ) What I learned After completing all my research on the topic of illegal immigration from Mexico I ave learned a lot of valuable information. One of the most valuable pieces of info I learned about was how the immigrants will take any measures necessary to get into our country even if it means risking their own lives. Another thing that I learned while doing my research is the actual number of immigrants that cross the border every year. I believe that this number is so high because there is no real punishment if you get caught crossing the border. All that will happen to you is you will be sent back to your homeland. I learned that the number of legal immigrants allow into the country s kind of a low number so a lot of these immigrants don’t have the chance to be allowed legal citizenship. I also learned that the immigrants that make this effort to cross have a very hard and dangerous Journey. It was surprising to me how many of them died on their trip to the United States. I think this number is probably higher than what we know; there are probably many illegals that die on their Journey and are never found. It was also interesting to me how little illegal immigrants pay in taxes each year compared to legal U. S. citizens.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Global Ethical Position Of Bp Commerce Essay
In a 2006 interview with ProPublica after the Prudhoe Bay spill, published in Fortune BPs main executive of American operations, Robert Malone, said â€Å" There is no uncertainty in my head, what happened may non hold broken the jurisprudence but it broke our values. Corporate societal duty is merely a responsibility of attention which an administration owes to its stakeholders and the environment in which it operates. Hodgetts et at ( 2006, p65 ) states that: â€Å" Corporate societal duty ( CSR ) can be defined as the actions of a house to profit society beyond the demands of the jurisprudence and the direct involvements of the house. Pressure for greater attending to CSR has emanated from a scope of stakeholders, including civil society ( the wide societal involvements in a given part or state ) and from nongovernmental administrations ( NGOs ) . These groups have urged MNCs to be more antiphonal to the scope of societal demands in developing states, including turn toing concerns about working conditions in mills or service centres and go toing to the environmental impacts of their activities. †Harmonizing to Stewart Broome the Director of Business Ethical motives at BP, BP operate under planetary criterions through its usage of advanced engineering, safe working conditions and operational procedures, safer operational patterns for the protection of the environment in conformity with planetary ethical criterions. However, contrary to BP ‘s ethical place the undermentioned incidents have occurred within the last five old ages which resulted in the loss of lives, devastation of the environment, and marine life.Lustgarten ( 2010 ) reported that:A BP ‘s refinery explored in Texas, March 2005 this resulted in the decease of 15 workers and the hurt of 170 others. Probes determined that BP ignored its ain protocols in the operation of the tower and that the company ‘s warning system was besides disabled. BP accordingly pleaded guilty to federal felony charges and was fined more that $ 50 million by the US Environmental Protection Agency. One twelvemonth subsequently 4,800 barrels of oil leaked into the Alaskan snow through a hole in the company ‘s grapevine at Prudhoe Bay. It was reported by Fortune that BP failed to look into the grapevine in 2002 even though they had been cautioned to look into the grapevine in 2002, they failed to make so. As a consequence a $ 12 million mulct was imposed on BP for a misdemeanor misdemeanor of the federal Water Pollution Control Act. It was subsequently determined by a Congress commission, that BP had ignored chances to forestall the spill and that â€Å" Draconian †cost-saving steps had led to short cuts in its operational projects. BP ‘s most recent incident, on the 20 April 2010 what was confirmed sealed on 19 September 2010 resulted in the decease of 11 individuals. Though the company has investigated the possible causes of the oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico given its path record in the yesteryear there is a deficiency of warrant that such calamities would non go on once more. The households of the workers who died have filed cases impeaching BP of carelessness. Reviewing BP ‘s operations it appears that BP should revisit its planetary ethical place as it relates to the safety of its work force and the environment. It seems that the proper steps and strategic execution of procedures are non being adhered excessively. BP should take the necessary stairss to guarantee the proper care of rigs, regular wellness and safety preparation of staff, proper care of works and equipment to forestall incidents and accidents.The deductions of their trade name and sellingThe universe over the past 20 old ages or so hold become more environmentally painstaking and caring towards prolonging, continuing and keeping the environment. The BP trade name has been affiliated with saving of the environment. BP.Com stated: â€Å" The systems, criterions and engineerings we apply to minimise our environmental footmark. †In giving its operations to responsible planetary leading the company was able to better its repute and increase its bottom line. As a consequence, BP ‘s fiscal position has been sound as stated by Dailyfinance ( 2010 ) stated: â€Å" Due to higher oil monetary values, BP ‘s first one-fourth 2010 net incomes were $ 6.08 billion compared to $ 2.56 billion in the first one-fourth of 2009. †The BP trade name captured a big portion of the mark market this was a contemplation of the company ‘s success. For 16 back-to-back old ages BP individuality as Amoco was rated the best crude oil trade name by consumers and they besides enjoyed one of the three highest trade name trueness reputes for gasoline in the US this was comparable merely to Chevron and Shell. However, the BP trade name is now perceived as socially and environmentally uncommitted to the planetary environment in which they operate and as a consequence there will be â€Å" fall-out †from the BP trade name and its merchandises. John Kleine executive manager of the BP Amoco Marketers Association ( 2010 ) stated: â€Å" Some BP gas station proprietors in the United States want to drop the BP name and return to the Amoco trade name to retrieve concern hit by public choler over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill catastrophe. The worst seaward oil spill in U.S. history fouled beaches from Texas to Florida, lay waste toing the Gulf seashore fishing and touristry industries. Some environmental groups called for a boycott of BP gas Stationss. †Due the negative impact of that the company ‘s operations has on the environment they are traveling to be individual who would reject the BP trade name. Kleine ( 2010 ) stated: â€Å" The BP spill has had a psychological impact on distributers. He described it as a clip of crisis and triageaˆÂ ¦.That truly comes from being concerned about their concern, their support, their investing, seeing every twenty-four hours the intelligence that would be given to do you believe that the concern is traveling to worsen. †Johansson ( 2006, p11 ) stated that in planetary selling it is indispensable that selling activities are coordinated and integrated across geographical lodgers. Merchandises are standardize, packaging of merchandises are uniformed with indistinguishable stigmatization in a figure of states. JOHANSSON ( 2006, p15 ) states that: â€Å" Global trade names are trade names that are available, good cognize, and extremely regarded throughout the universe ‘s market. Examples include Swatch, Mercedes, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Nike, Mc Donald ‘s, Sony and Honda. †BP can be compared to the instance of planetary company Nike and the allegations of child labor, insecure working conditions and inhumane conditions of work. Though Nike ne'er admitted straight to any incorrect making they did nevertheless, raise the minimal hiring age from 16 to 18 old ages, improved the conditions of work and the company even created a place of a frailty president for corporate and societal duty. The universe may mostly comprehend BP as an irresponsible company non presently taking caring for the environment, its workers and the planetary community at big. BP ‘s company image as it relates to the environment, Marine and wildlife is tainted due to the figure and badness of oil spills, particularly given the length of clip about five months ( September 2010 ) which it took for the well to be sealed. The public appears to hold lost trust and religion in BP ‘s ability to carry on its operations in a mode which is safe for their workers and the environment in which it operates. Non-governmental groups would clamor for stricter control and harsher punishments for companies through their operations. The fishing industry, mostly little concerns, along the seashore expressed concerns that they may be taken for â€Å" a drive †due to BP ‘s hold in covering with their claims for losingss, after what has been considered the worst natural catastrophe in recent times. There is the urgency for stricter statute law by authoritiess which would guarantee that companies that operate in their state follow wellness and safety policies harmonizing to the Occupational Health Safety Act. Failure by any company to implement safer working conditions and operations can merely weaken the company ‘s image and present a menace to the endurance of the company. Persons would seek alternate merchandises and services from other companies which in its production and fabrication phases are non harmful but safer to the environment. PERREAULT ( 2005, p256-257 ) stated that: â€Å" Brand rejection means that possible clients wo n't purchase a trade name unless its image is changed. Rejection may propose a alteration in the merchandise or possibly merely a displacement to aim clients who have a better image of the trade name. Get the better ofing a negative image is hard and can be really expensive. †Global clients dissatisfied with trade name image can ensue in consumers globally rejecting the trade name which would finally impact BP ‘s net incomes.What planetary selling scheme should they follow now?In reappraisal BP has a â€Å" up- hill †conflict to reconstruct its bruised repute through its acceptance of an international civilization of safety for their workers and the environment. Fredrx, ( 2010 ) argues that: â€Å" BP may hold plugged the leak in the Gulf Oil spill, but the harm done to its trade name will take old ages to repair. A new selling industry study released Wednesday shows the British oil company has tumbled off a list of the universe ‘s top 100 trade names. †It is extremely recommended that BP strengthen its trade name unity through corporate societal duty and planetary ethical behaviour, which would pull clients one time once more to the BP trade name. By signaling to its stakeholders it is committed to run intoing its moral duties and outlooks beyond what they are required to make by statute law leting for the buy-in to the BP trade name. It is indispensable at this clip the BP re-strategize its operations to ‘regain ‘ its image of an environmentally friendly â€Å" green †crude oil company. Therefore, it would be prudent for BP to reconstitute the company and its direction construction. Freeman et at ( 2007, 6 ) stated that: ( painstaking trade names, †¦ intend trade names that see socially responsible behavior as an built-in portion of what they do, instead than as an attention deficit disorder on. †¦ .conscientious trade name proprietors are human-centric and transparent, focused on making positive alteration in the universe ( non merely on understating the negatives ) and cognizant of the demands of all stakeholders. †To retrieve rapidly it is of important importance that BP focuses its resources and attending on issues of safety. The assignment of Mr Robert Riley to the place of Head of Safety and Operational Risk, Competency and Capability Development was as a direct consequence of his 10 twelvemonth reign at the caput of BP Trinidad without incidents and accidents. The company wants to further a civilization on nothing accidents in their planetary operations. Paul, ( 2010 ) stated that: â€Å" In this new function Riley will describe to Bly and will take BP ‘s worldwide attempts to develop industry taking quality and rigour into BP ‘s operations, peculiarly as it relates to safety and operational hazard. aˆÂ ¦As a effect of the spill BP established a new Safety and Operation Risk unit to let functionaries to step in in all of BP ‘s proficient activities. †This move was necessary to cover with the concerns from the planetary environment sing the issues of safety in BP ‘s operations which resulted in the oil spill of April 2010. Their purpose is to standardize BP ‘s planetary safety and operational unity to a degree which would extinguish accidents and incidents go forthing negative impacts on the environment. Mr Riley was hence given this assignment to assist reconstruct the image and repute of BP as an environmentally caring company, since Mr Riley while he take BPTT had zero incidents. Johansson ( 2006, p537 ) stated: â€Å" Global public dealingss is a signifier of indirect publicity of merchandises and services that focuses on making good will towards the corporation as a whole. The corporate communications staff at central offices and its opposite number in the assorted host states serve as boosters of the corporation to assorted stakeholders interested in the company ‘s foreign enlargement †It is of import that rigorous policies on the Occupational Health and Safety Act are decently implemented and enforced. The Company ‘s image has to alter reflecting that they are an environmentally painstaking company. Therefore this is an effort by BP to reconstruct its trade name and image. Their image has to alter to one which is socially, ethically and environmentally witting. The spill of April 2010 has surely impacted negatively on BP ‘s image as a â€Å" green †company. It is of import that they return to the company ‘s vision and develop and implement schemes which would enable the company to cover with its image and trade name rebuilding. â€Å" The 1000000s of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be contending for months and even years.A But do no error: A We will contend this spill with everything we ‘ve got for every bit long as it takes.A We will do BP wage for the harm their company has caused.A And we will make whatever ‘s necessary to assist the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this calamity. †In the wake of the spill it would be advisable to BP to redrand its advancing the â€Å" new †company as a more human-centric and environmental painstaking company. BP would besides be advised to work with its stakeholders to guarantee such a catastrophe ne'er happensAFour possible ethical stance BP can followResearching Corporate Strategy, Seventh Edition A © Pearson Education Ltd 2005Word count: -2049
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
To What Extent Do Sociologists Agree That Religion Is a Force for Social Change?
To what extent do Sociologists agree that religion is a force for social change? Throughout history, there has been an on-going debate as to whether or not religion is a conservative force, or a force for social change. Whilst many Sociologists such as Durkheim, see religion as a positive conservative force; creating social harmony and solidarity, others disagree claiming religion to be a strong force for social change and as neo-Marxist Otto Maduro believes, religion has the power to initiate revolutionary change.Firstly, both Functionalism and Marxism takes on the approach that religion is a conservative force as both hold the view that religion aids society, in terms of allowing it to stay within its existing practices. However, the two perspectives disagree on why and how religion helps to do this. Functionalist, Durkheim stated that religion is essential in creating shared norms and values. He claimed that practices of religion and in the law, help people to live their lives.In modern Western society there are thirteen bishops in the House of Lords, who all influence which laws are made and passed, in accordance with Christian teachings. Such issues as abortion, euthanasia, and divorce are discussed and decisions are made about them, which are influenced by the church. Through this system of having a religious guidance, a value consensus is created, by which most of society accepts. This is also known as a collective consciousness which Durkheim taught, formed â€Å"social solidarity†; leading to a harmonious and stable environment for people to live in.Durkheim and many other Functionalists viewed social solidarity as highly important, as they believed it allowed people to feel socially supported reducing the risk of people feeling a sense of anomie. Durkheim himself was very focused on the â€Å"sacred†and â€Å"profane†. He claimed that religious procedures are something which societies see as being divine. For example, a supernatu ral being such as an omnipotent God, would be sacred. However, not only that but something does not have to be scared for it to be divine, thus meaning, as the Bible is full of religious teachings it is a divine object.Durkheim emphasised that divine matters, cause strong feelings of respect and defence. These strong beliefs can cause passionate emotions of dedication and encouragement thus establishing group solidarity; again ruling out the sense of anomie. The Functionalist argued that in a more profane manor, the church unites the community by having events like, tea afternoons, fates, jumble etc. This way the church is permitting people to give something back to their society but also receive help or companionship if they need it. Nevertheless, Durkheim is criticized for discarding the idea of a sacred being, being the main attribute of religion.On the other hand, Neo-Marxist Otto Maduro observes how religion contains the authority to inspire a revolt thus generating social chan ge. Maduro refereed to the â€Å"liberation theology†to put his view forward. Between the 1950’s and 1960’s, South America was largely Catholic but many priests started to separate themselves from the Catholic Church; claiming that it was their duty to assist and liberate those who were being oppressed. This is when the â€Å"liberation theology†first started to be taught. These teachings opposed the current situation; leading to a revolution.Oscar Romero was a Catholic bishop who spoke out about the injustice of so many people, and for this he was assonated. His death sparked a huge amount of outrage and fury by the people he was trying to help, groups such as the Democratic Revolutionary front united to oppose what the government was doing, in terms of exploiting the people. Maduro used the â€Å"liberation theology†to highlight how religion can perform as a force for social change. Another example, of religion being a force for social change is the Apartheid system in South Africa.This was the legal racial separation of people from1948 until 1993, which meant that various races were separated into different districts and discriminated against in coherence with their colour. White people had priority over housing, jobs, education, and political power, whereas the coloured people were forced to live in poverty and suffer. Reverend Trevor Huddleston travelled to South Africa and spoke out peacefully against the Apartheid, which soon led to his arrest but also put a lot of attention on what was occurring in South Africa for other countries to take notice of.Soon after the arrest, Western democratic countries put into place anti-apartheid policies and took action. South Africa was forbidden from sporting events and trading was made more difficult for them, forcing for them to come to an arrangement. By 1980 the Apartheid had completely broken down and black South Africans were freed. Desmond Tutu then became the first ever black Arch Bishop, underlining how significantly religion had led to social change, for the better. Conversely, Marxists view religion as acting as a conservative force because they propose it prevents revolutionary change.Marx argued that religion is an important form of social control. All through history the church has acted in such a way that people conform to it. This was done through God and Hell, which were exercised as a deterrent. The people in power quickly realised that religion had a great hold over the population and so it became part of â€Å"the power group†. For example, Kings used to give money or land to the church in exchange, the church would preach the peasants whatever the monarchy told them to. Even in today’s society, Queen Elizabeth still has the title â€Å"Defender of the faith†and she is also head of the Church of England.Illustrating that those in power, still have control over the church, and what the republic hear. Marx explo red how the dominant ideology was conveyed through sermons, and Bible teachings. These sermons and Bible teachings could be said to consist of a false hope for some people. Many of the Bible stories communicate that idea that if you are poor in this life and you suffer, when you die you will be rewarded by God in Heaven. These promises of a perfect afterlife, keep the working classes in their place; reducing their aspiration to change society.The Caste system in India is a good model of how religion keeps people in their places. The Hindu Caste system separates the people into four different classes, depending on their occupation and family background. The Kshatriyas are the top class and according to the traditional Hindu principles, they are there to protect the people. The Chandalas also known as the untouchables are the lowest class, and are discriminated against as they are believed not to follow the â€Å"true†Hindu faith. It used to be that these people were not allow ed to walk around the village or city during day time, or speak to anyone other than other Untouchables.The Cate system was enforced through law books, religious teachings, kings and the threatening of being punished in this life and the next if you question which class you are placed in to; again preventing people from changing their social conditions due to fear of God but leaving the alienated. In contrast to this, Althusser rejects the concept of alienation because he feels it is unscientific, and based on an idealistic theory that human being have â€Å"true self†. Nevertheless, Functionalist Michael Robert Bella stated that in modern societies that state connects with religion to unite the country.This is known as a â€Å"Civil religion†. Through creating a religion around the idea of a nation state, the religion acts as a value consensus; creating social solidarity. For example, in America the people pledge their allegiance to the flag, to honour their country a nd to God. On the dollar bills, the words â€Å"In God we trust†are printed, to remind people that God is there for them no matter what. Bella accentuates that religion is not a force for social change as it united a society and makes it stronger as it holds something in common, that being a belief in God.On the contrary, Neo-Marxist Gramsci looked into Hegemony, which is the way in which the ruling class maintain their privileged positions by making them seemed justified. In this instance, Gramsci looks at how hegemony occurs through religious ideas, rather than coercion. The ruling class rely heavily on the majority of the population consenting to their rule. During the 1920’s Gramsci observed that there was a large amount of traditional moral control of the Church in helping to gain support for Mussolini’s fascist regime in Italy.This highlights how the ruling class and religion combined to reach a certain goal, and to achieve the population’s approva l. However, Gramsci also specified that religion does have to potential to develop and either support or challenge the ruling class. For example, The Archbishop of Canterbury recently published his highly critical feelings of the Conservative parties polices. Also the â€Å"Stop Capitalism†campaign outside St Pauls Cathedral was primarily supported by the church; allowing the protesters to correspond their thoughts on our society.This stressed Gramsci’s point that the church is not directly under the influence of the ruling class, and so does have the potential to create social change if an anti-hegemony situation occurs. As well at this, Functionalist Parsons, declared that religion is a positive force in times of uncertainty. People turn to religion to answer those â€Å"ultimate questions†about life, such as â€Å"What is the point? †Parsons maintained that in situations like death, marriage and birth, people turn to God for answers and hope. Religi on does not create social change, as it is not intending to do so.Religion is there for when a person is scared, looking for salvation or just needs someone to care about them. Similar to Parsons, Malinowski, who was an anthropologist, carried out a study to find out if all societies had a religion. He travelled to an ancient society in The Trobiand. Malinowski observed that when the men went out of the lagoon to fish, entering into the open water, it was seen as a highly dangerous event, which not everyone would come back from. He then went on to see that before the men left the lagoon a ritual of yam giving took place.It appeared to Malinowski, that this was a religious ceremony which gave consolation to the families as well as wider society. Consequently, a Functionalist may assert the point that religion does not provide social change, as again it is there to produce social solidarity, in the way that it aids people, giving them something in common again to minimise the risk of anyone feeling unwanted or alone. Conversely, recent research on the Trobiand islands has challenged Malinowski’s research and his interpretation of the meaning of yam giving.Whilst carrying out his research Malinowski did not speak directly to the people, he simply observed; placing his own version of events onto the situation. Modern research has shown, through the use if interpertistic techniques, that the yam giving was a marriage intension, much like a proposal rather than being worried about the fishermen. The modern researches were not looking at what the action was, unlike Malinowski, they were looking at what the meaning behind the action was (commonly known as Verstehen. ) This new research brings to light the fact that these people, who appeared to have no religion, were living happily with each other.This could them further suggest that if religion was introduced to them, their society could change because it something they have never needed to consider before, co nsequently implying that religion could be a force for social change, if it is introduced as a completely alien topic. In addition, Weber wrote â€Å"The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism†examining how Protestantism was a huge part of how society changed into a capitalist economy. He claims that the values of ascetic Calvinist Protestantism shaped a work ethic which encouraged capitalism.Calvinists believed in â€Å"predestination†, the theory that God chooses whether you go to heaven or hell before you are born. This formed a psychological problem for Calvinists, as they did not know if they were one of the â€Å"elect†. As a solution to this they developed a set of values that expressed hard work, frugality and the growth of wealth. These ethics inherently led to the â€Å"spirit of capitalism†, and Weber assured that this is why Capitalism first developed in Northern Europe, where Calvinism and Protestantism were most commanding. Weberâ₠¬â„¢s research is a firm paradigm of religion generating social transformation.His research is still useful when looking at today’s societies, with countries such as Germany and Sweden which converted to Protestantism, and are model countries economically. Whereas, countries which are still Catholic like Spain and Greece are in a financial crisis. Lastly, many feminists view religion as being a patriarchal institution that presents inequalities through religious beliefs; functioning via a patriarchal ideology. Feminist’s dispute that most of the religious organisations are male dominated. Judaism and Catholicism forbid women from becoming priests.Karen Armstrong debates that the clear discrimination against women in this manner, is evidence of women’s demotion. As well as this, in places of worship the two sexes are often segregated, the women being put at the back perhaps behind screen, whilst the men are in the sacred areas. Sometimes women are not allowed to participate in the practices, this maybe reading out a passage or preaching. In the Islamic culture, women are menstruating are not allowed to the Qur’an and could be asked to leave the place of worship all together, so as not to pollute of contaminate the sacred environment.In many of the sacred texts, like the Bible, women are stereotyped as a temptress and blamed for anything that goes wrong, For example, in Genesis Eve creates the fall of humanity by picking the fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge. This is ironic as the entirety of the Bible stories are supposedly written by men. However, before the rise of Christianity women were not always seen as the males subordinate. Armstrong identifies that in early religions women were central in the beliefs, being the mother of goodness and nature. It wasn’t until Patriarchy began that women lost their godly statuses.This could suggest that when Christianity rose, and people read about the evil of women, Patriarchy was promoted, as women are referred to in the Bible as â€Å"man’s helper†; giving men power to rule over women. Therefore, a feminist may argue that religion does create social change but in a negative way, as it inspired men to take control of women and oppress them, as punishment for their â€Å"sins†. In conclusion, Functionalism and Marxism have strong arguments which describe how religions help to maintain social order and counteract social change.A Marxist may also say social change does not occur through religion, as the ruling class want it to stay the same. Juxtaposing this view, history has revealed that in some extreme cases such as the â€Å"Liberation theology†religion has been a positive force for social change. Whereas, a feminist could say religion has been a negative force for social change as seen throughout the history of women’s oppression. For that reason, I would say religion is a force for social change, but only in extreme conditions where the change happens on a considerable scale.
IMC Plan Essay
Executive summary The strategy of this IMC plan is to extend Abercrombie & Fitch target audience, young generation, to the senior segment; the reason by doing this strategy is because there are more potential customer that haven’t been discover yet, so if we can reach to those people, the brand can expand its market and gain more profit. Furthermore, the current image that A&F holds in people mind might be a brand that provides casual luxury products or a brand that is only for young people, but if the brand can have the opportunity to upgrade its image to compare with those high-end brands, the brand value will increase dramatically. And so by, we must add the element of maturity into our brand image and appeal senior customer to purchase our product. In order to carry out this strategy, this IMC plan will use different marketing communication tools such as product placement, event marketing, advertising and public relationship to accomplish this goal. Eventually, after execute this new strategy for A&F, more and more senior will consider A&F is a brand not just for teens but also for them. Business situation review * Brand introduction: Abercrombie & Fitch, also known as A&F, is a renowned worldwide fashion brand that provides people the sense of causal luxury; it has a variety of product from the shoes that you wear on foot to the hat wear on the top, even fragrance and those exquisite accessories you can buy one at the store as well. Nowadays, A&F has more than 300 branches within the U.S, and several stores around the world. The reason why A&F is so popular recently is because the style of the product is unique and modern; furthermore, the products also possess high quality as well. Additionally, another reason that A&F has such high popularity is because the affordable price, take the T-shit for instance, the average price is 25 to 30 dollars, if we compare A&F to those famous brand such as Armani, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, we can find out the price that A&F stands is much friendly than the others. * Target market: The main market of A&F is target at those young adults, from the age 18 to 25, different nationalities, color and characteristic, and those people who love fancy stuff but can’t afford extremely expensive brand. One of the things that A&F attract people is the image that displays the personality of vivid, young but a great sense of mature. Many people might consider a brand that is for young population as premature, the massage that, however, convey from A&F is the sense of fashion and the high-class feeling. Furthermore, due to the affordable price, young adult Can have the ability to buy such a brand that provides the sense of fashion and distinguish themselves among others. * Competitive Among the retail-clothing industry, there are various of brand that possess almost the same brand image as A&F, but the reason why A&F still can distinguish from those brand is because the unique brand equity that it stands. Therefore, although there are some attributes that similar with A&F, we still can scrutinize into those nuance and seek out some different between each others, and that’s quite important to execute before doing our own IMC plan. Therefore, those brand listed below are similar with A&F, and all in the same category. 1. H&M H&M (Hennes & Mauritz AB) is an international fashion brand, which comes from Swedish. The target market of H&M is for men, women, teenagers and children, and those people who love fashion products. The feature of this retail-clothing company is to provide fast-produce product that provides consumer the fast pace of trend, it means that the time from the design process to the product been displayed in the store is short. Because of that, consumer can enjoy those fashion products at the very first hand. The company has more than two thousand chain store around the world. Meanwhile, H&M often co-branding with other fashion designer such as MARNI, VERSACEï ¼Å' LANVINï ¼Å'JIMMY CHOOï ¼Å'ROBERTO CAVALLI, etc. This strategy makes the product more valuable than before, and triggers the collecting enthusiasm among those consumers. 2. ZARA ZARA is one of the most famous fast-fashion brands in the world now, it owns by Inditex Group, a giant Spanish closing retail company. The company claims it only takes two week from producing a new product to any chain store. One of the marketing strategies that ZARA possess is that they don’t execute any commercial advertisement, instead of doing that; they transfer the capital to set up another branch. The target audience is those people prefer enjoying fast pace fashion product, and want to be distinguishes from other people. 3. Forever 21 Forever 21 is a fashion brand that from the U.S., and it has many branches in major cities around the world. The brand offers trendy clothing and accessories to those people who love exquisite product, especially the female market. The price position that the brand stands is quite friendly compare with those high-end fashion brands such as Armani, Gucci, LV, etc. 4. GAP GAP is a brand that owned by The Gap, Inc., an American clothing and accessories retailer. The target market that the brand focus at the first place is only on blue jeans and T-shit, but later the brand expands its product category to suit the needs of men, women and children. The personality of GAP is more general than those others brand such as H&F, A&F, Forever 21, and the spectrum of age for using GAP’s product is much broader as well. * SWOT analysis for A&F STRENGTHS: 1. Acceptable price The price strategy is a very essential factor that determines the brand position. One thing that makes A&F so popular is the affordable price; more people can enjoy certain level of luxury or fashion based on a friendly price. Because of the affordable price, fashion is not a privilege hold by those rich people. Take the price of a pair of jeans for instance; compare with a 190 dollars jean that DIESEL sale, the price of the jeans that A&F is only around 70 dollars. Therefore, the friendly price is a factor that can strengthen this brand, and make more people interest in it. 2. Specific market audience Abercrombie & Fitch creates a very specific target segment that helps the brand to focus on certain consume. The target audience consists of various people, but the most important factor is all about the young generation. Meanwhile, due to the specific marketing segment, the brand can come out with more specific strategy that makes them easier to reach through the consumer. 3. Strong distribution strategy There are several ways for A&F to distribute its product; the first one is the brick and mortar store, such as those stores inside Macy’s. Second, the consumer can purchase the product online due to its own online store, allowing those busy people to shop instead going to the store. Meanwhile, some times there are some special promotion only carries out on the online store. 4. Unique atmosphere for shopping in store The atmosphere within the store provides consumer a really pleasant circumstance to shop, moreover, the unique decoration and the aura makes the brand distinguish from the others. 5. Stylish design The image that shows on A&F’s product is simple but stylish. However, maybe there are fewer picture or character on the product, but the design that shows on all product convey a sense of modern and fashion, and that’s the reason so many people get appeal on this amazing brand. WEAKNESS: 1. Few branch chain store in the Asia and Europe market The number of the chain store within Asia and Europe market is way below the number in the U.S. First of all, during the past ten years, the closing market in Asia has growing extremely, and due to A&F is an international fashion brand, the distribution strategy should emphasize on this booming area more in order to generate more profit and enhance the brand awareness and loyalty. Furthermore, when talk to fashion; the first place that pops out in your mind will definitely be Europe, such as London, Milan, Paris, etc. Thus, in order to strengthen A&F fashion image, letting more people aware of this brand is necessary. 2. Provoking image In order to make the advertisement more attractable; A&F usually use the idea of sex to appeal consumer. Lots of advertisement or picture imply some kind of sexual implication that some times makes people feel unpleasant especially those conservative. 3. Untruthful information via on-line advertising When A&F is doing some kind of promotion via the on-line store, some time the information is not clear and not congruent with the information that they promoted in the brick and mortar store. 4. Similar design concept with the competitor Some time is a little bit hard to distinguish A&F’s product from those competitor, not because the design but also the attributes of the brans parity, especially when the target audience is similar with each other THREATS: 1. Losing senior market Because the target market that A&F holds is focus on the young generation, therefore, senior might not consider A&F as the brand when they want to shop for garment. 2. Generate negative brand image The advertisement that A&F usually conduct is by using sexual appeals to attract people, or using macho male or sexy female to enamor consumer. This, however, tactic might creates some negative feeling among the brand, the consumer; especially those parents might deems A&F as a bran which is not ethical. 3. Losing market share due to brand parity There are several brands that possess similar product or design with A&F. Therefore, how to distinguish each other will be the most important things that the brand needs to take into consider. Otherwise, the consumer can’t recognize the difference between A&F and the others. 4. Losing market share due to few chain store oversea There are over 300 stores within the U.S, but just couple branches in the international market. In comparison with A&F, many brand expand their chain store all over the world, letting more people enjoy the pleasure of shopping their products, such as H&M, ZARA, GAP, etc. The sake of setting branches around the world is not just generate company’s revenue but also build up brand awareness in people’s mind, forcing people to familiar with the brand image and strengthen the brand loyalty. OPPORTUNITIES: There are many possible opportunities that A&F can deal with, and each opportunity can set up different positive consequence that will provides somewhat benefit to A&F and give the brand various direction to manage their strategy and fulfill the mission they possess such as adding the â€Å"Green†concept to the product, offer free modification among all pants, enhance the on-line system that gives more access for customer to shop or some special event like Issuing limited products. However, within this IMC plan for Abercrombie & Fitch, the main idea that I want to express the most is the target market exist some certain possibility to generate more profit or brand awareness by playing more attention on those seniors. Based upon this idea, there are several opportunities that we can follow: 1. Make A&F more suitable to senior by redesign the products The reason that redesign the product can appeal more senior customer is due to the style or graphic that display on the product might be deemed premature by those senior. Therefore, if the brand can place more effort on designing the right style senior likes, the brand can expand its target market to a higher level. 2. Change the stereotype that A&F is a brand for young generation In the mind of people who love fashion product, A&F always be considered as a brand for young people, not because the product itself, but also the image that the commercial present to the public. Thus, A&F should dedicate more on the image, the image that convey more maturity. As a result, it will attract more senior customer to purchase A&F’s product. 3. Positioning A&F as a brand to senior Abercrombie & Fitch can be the brand that provides not just the casual feeling but also the high level of exquisite perception. Expanding the product category to more mature product might be a way to strengthen the image of maturity. Meanwhile, A&F can make itself be seemed as the level of those high level fashion brand such as Gucci, LV, PRADA, etc. This move will give the massage to the consumer that A&F can also suit the need of their desire for the product that is fashion and also possess the personality of mature. Marketing objective According to the 2010 Form 10-k, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. provided by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the revenue of A&F is $ 3.469 billion, and it’s getting better compare with those previous years. In order to, however, make the company generate more profit and brand loyalty, we must scrutinize into those potential opportunities and carry out the best one, therefore, the marketing objective within this IMC plan is that Abercrombie & Fitch will increase the revenue and develop more potential customer from expand the target market which is from the young generation to those senior consumer, by three years later. As we know, the target customer for A&F is focus on those young generations, especially from the age 18 to 25. Thus, by extending the target audience, A&F can attract more potential customer and gain more profit. 1. Product Within this IMC plan, we are not selling any particular products or item but rather the brand or any products that associated with A&F. The idea of this plan is to expand the age segment in order to attract more senior customer than before. Therefore, how to make the products appealed to those older customers is the concept that me need to take into account, in addition, putting more mature element in the design process will give the final product a sense of maturity and a bit more fashion. Thus, the marketing objective at this part will be adding more mature flavor to the product and strengthen the product image to a high level that indicate the sense of maturity. After the fulfillment of this objective, Abercrombie & Fitch will not just the brand only focus on young people but also justify the reason why the brand suit the senior as well. 2. Price Sometimes the price is the hardest part to decide in the process of setting objectives. Different brand price range from cheap to outrageous high, one of the reason that why A&F is so popular is due to the affordable price, the price that most of the people can afford it. However, affordable price is not equal with the normal quality, adding value to the price, make the price value beyond the price itself. There is several ways to accomplish this concept such as providing a higher quality of customer service in order to enhance the relationship between both sides, or strengthen the brand image by making people believe A&F is a brand that provides high quality merchandise. Eventually, the goal is to convince consumer the value of the price is way beyond the actual one. 3. Place Most of the time when shopping in the store, it’s obviously that the majority of customers are teenager, and one of the reason might be the environment is designed to attract the target market (young people), therefore, all the decoration or the aura inside the store is more like a young generation style, such as the picture on the wall usually are those macho men and sexy female; the perfume inside the store is so strong that you can smell it after you leave the store and the light is a little bit gloomy that some time make people feel dizzy. As a result, all the reason that I mentioned above might be the causes that hesitate senior to shop in the store. Therefore, the marketing object of this part is to create a better and comfortable environment for senior. Meanwhile, it’s important not just to provide a suitable circumstance to shop but also an understandable way to reach through. 4. Promotion One of the problem that we need to solve with the promotion is to break through the generation gap, this gap might seems nothing seemingly, but it sure does matter the way that the promotion take place. The reason that I mention it is because the way senior see through the promotion process is totally different than young people, therefore, the marketing objective is to concentrate on the meaning of the promotion, providing information that will attract senior customer to the store and also form the knowledge that A&F is a brand not just for kids but also for adult. As a result, by using the proper promotion, A&F can attract more people to generate more reputation, and boost the revenue as well. The central strategic idea Among those fashion brands, A&F is the one that focus on the casual luxury segment, many people willing to buy its product due to the quality product and the fashion brand image, because of that, A&F become one of the most popular apparel brand among the world nowadays. However, when talking about the position that A&F stands, most of the people will consider A&F as a brand that only suit for young people, most of the product that display in the store are hoody, T-shirt or jeans, those product usually deem as for children, but that is only the stereotype among all of us, if A&F can attract more people that is older to purchase the product, the image will eventually change, and the brand will be widely consider as a mature brand such as Ralph Lauran, Tommy or Calvin Klein. As far as I’m concerned, the reason why I think expand the target market from young people to senior is a proper strategy for Abercrombie & Fitch is because there still exist a great amount of potential custo mer that can bring a huge profit to A&F; having a bunch of young loyalty customer is not enough, the best way to build up a phenomenal reputation is to provide service to both junior and senior, make the brand broadly acceptable. Furthermore, when talk to those renowned brands such as LV, Gucci, Armani, we won’t consider them as a premature brand or a bran that is only suit for young generation or some certain group but a brand that provides high quality of exquisite product. The purpose of this strategic idea is not putting Abercrombie & Fitch at the same position as those fashion brands that I mentioned above. The reason of this strategy is to elevate the brand to a higher level that provide the mature feeling that can attract senior customer, meanwhile, when more and more senior customer enjoy A&F’s products, the brand image will become more solid and convince people that A&F is a brand that not only suit for teens but also for adults. However, before starting this strategic idea, there are several thing that we need to reconsider, such as the communication situation, how’s the current communication channel looks like? What’s the tactic that Abercrombie & Fitch utilized to reach through customer? Is the current tactic suit for our new customer? Those questions are the one we need to elaborated, and come out with a more specific plan that can appeal more people, especially senior, to purchase our product. Furthermore, we have to redefine our customer, make sure me know the attributes of their shopping behavior or even the style that those senior prefer, this effort will give us the knowledge to know our customer deeper and better. Communication situation analysis According to this strategic plan for Abercrombie &Fitch, the main problem for senior to shop for A&F’s product is the wrong cognition that the brand is only suit for young people, and because of this reason, most of the senior will rather choice other brand that will provides them the sense of maturity and possess the fashion feeling at the same time. Therefore, based on this obstacle, we need to convey the right information to the right person. Thus, the information must be via the right channel and the massage must be tailor to match what seniors needs. Nowadays, most of the information exposed through different media, and it’s easy for people to see. However, there is no such a No.1 option, different media has its own function, it can’t just apply to every one’s need. For A&F, we can grab the message from various ways, such as the commercial lunched on the TV, the picture issued inside the magazines, the image display on the giant billboard, the store that we shop on-line or even the massage within the store. Those channels all can make a very well impression on us; therefore, the detail inside those channels will be the key factor to change people’s attitude. Take the magazine for example, in order to appeal senior customer, the picture inside the magazine can’t just use young people as model, it has to show some grownup that is mature enough to bring out the specific feeling. Target audience analysis When speak to Abercrombie & Fitch, the first image or feeling that pop out consumers’ mind is the perception of vitality and youth, thus, the target audience for A&F is focus on those young generations from the age18 to 25. Meanwhile, except the age, there are several attributes that possessed by those people, such as the tendency of collecting fashion products, or owning the ability to purchase fashion items to make themselves looks better. However, based upon the new marketing strategy, the final goal is to extend the age segment and bring more senior customer to this market, therefore, the new target audience among this marketing plan is the age from 30 to 50 and possess the following characteristics: 1. Self-Independent on the economic status Generally speaking, most of the young customers can’t afford to purchase a great amount of products at the same time because they are not self-independent on the economic status; they still rely on parents’ income to supply their daily cost, and subject to parents’ order. However, if the target audience is focus on those seniors who have a greater power of consumption than those youth, they can purchase more products and make the purchase decision by their own. Moreover, due to this customer characteristic, there will be more consumption either inside the store or the on-line purchase, and the revenue will have a sharp increase as well. 2. Live in the urban area There are several good parts that benefits the customer that live in the urban area, the first one is the people can have more access to purchase A&F’s product. Although the Internet is so popular now, we can even purchase the product at the on-line store just for a click, but we still can’t have the virtual contact with the products. For customers, sometime is better for them to see the product by itself and give the product a try to make sure whether the item fits the person or not. Furthermore, most of the population lives in the urban area, and the majority of A&F’s store locates at the central of the city. Therefore, the people lives in the city can have more opportunity and convenience to reach its products. Second, the latest trend and fashion info often starts from the urban area; the people lives inside the city can gain the first-hand information about the latest fashion trend. 3. Care about personal image No matter male or female, the target audience must have somewhat narcissism in her or his personality. They believe that wearing good-looking cloth and the right brand can creates the sense of confidence, and that’s the reason why they choice A&F to be the brand they want. 4. Interesting in the fashion domain People who love fashion tend to pay more focus on the apparel industry, because there is a strong connection between each other. Every time there is a new product release or a product co-branding with a famous designer, the person will follow the news and try to participate in the event, and there’s a high percentage that the person will purchase the product. Positioning strategy analysis Positioning Statement: Among all the people from age 30 to 50, who love fashion products and enjoy wearing casual luxury apparel (Target audience) Abercrombie & Fitch (Product/Service name) Is one of the most famous causal-luxury apparel brands in the fashion industry (Competitive set) That performs confidence, vitality and uniqueness to customer (Benefits proposition) Because of the high quality product and the stylish design (Product support) 1. Target audience In the positioning statement, the target audience is not just for those young people but also focus more on the senior market. Based on the Strategic idea of this IMC plan, the perfect age group is from 30 to 50, because they possess several preponderance such as having a job and a more stable income than those young people, thus, they have more opportunity to purchase A&F’s products. Moreover, seniors usually have a better taste on closing than juniors, therefore, if A&F can make those seniors become its loyalty customer, it can transfer the image that the brand is not just for young people but also for those mature adults. 2. Product/Service name According to this IMC plan, there are no specific products that the company wants to promote or use as a strategy to boost the sale. Our mission is to promote Abercrombie &Fitch ‘s name and appeal senior customer to use our product. Therefore, the goal of this plan is to redress the image and promote the concept that the bran is more likely for senior. 3. Competitive set For Abercrombie & Fitch, our competitive set is not just in the apparel business, but also the whole fashion industry. The products for A&F are miscellaneous, so that’s the reason why A&F can compete with different kinds of fashion brands. Furthermore, because the brand has already well known by the public, so they don’t have to put extra effort on creating brand awareness. 4. Benefits proposition The people who wear A&F cloth or use any of its products can feel a sense of fashion and confidence due to its unique position in the market. The feeling that elicit from the product can be somewhat energetic and mature, and that’s the feeling, which appeal to most of the consumer to purchase its product. Meanwhile, based on the new strategy, we want customers to have a different experience than before by means of a much mature image that can persuade senior to get involve in it. 5. Product support The reason why A&F is so popular around the word is because the stylish design and the unique image that convey to the world. Those apparels or products that design by A&F are usually simple but modern; there is no fancy figure or glary color on it. Therefore, the brand is easy to distinguished from the other competitors, and also that’s the reason why I think the strategy to expand the age segment to a higher level is feasible, because usually the more simple trait that the product possess, the more easy for the product to be considered mature, and that’s the thing our new potential customer wants. Communication objectives and strategies Although there are various brands within the fashion industry, different people choice the brand that suit them the most, sometime is based on status, some time is based on personal taste; however, the reason why so many people, especially teenagers, appealed by A&F is owing to its stylish design and vigorous image. However, the problem of this IMC plan is how to get seniors involve in this brand and turn them to up hold A&F’s products. Thus, the communication object is to send the massage to the target audience and boost the revenue by convincing people that the brand is not just for teens but also will be the best choice for seniors to purchase when they need closing. In order to accomplish the communication objective, there are several strategies that listed below: 1. To create a suitable environment for senior to visit A&F stores In order to fulfill this strategy, we must conduct some research to realize what’s the key element that triggers senior to shop and what’s the condition that make them feel comfortable while they doing purchase. The reason for doing this strategy is because the current environment is designed to attract young consumer, therefore, in order to attract senior customer, the company must figure out the best shopping environment to appeal them to come. 2. Promote the idea that Abercrombie & Fitch is a brand for senior Refresh the original image of A&F and put the sense of maturity into the brand whereby senior feels like this special brand is for them. In order to execute this strategy, we must use different marketing tools and various mediums to accomplish this mission. More details will be illustrated in the last part of this IMC plan. 3. Move Abercrombie & Fitch’s image up to those high-end fashion brand such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauran. The purpose of this strategy is to let people build the connection for A&F to those high-end brands in order to increase the brand value. By strengthen the brand value, more people, especially senior, will consider A&F as a phenomenal brand to purchase. Program of tactics and executions With regard to this IMC plan, there are various tools to accomplish this mission; different tactic has its own advantage so we need to slice them together then maximize the great amount of benefit from it. There are so many disciplines such as advertising, personal selling, PR, etc. Therefore, sometimes we just can’t use them all; we have to select some of the most effective ways to conduct the strategy that we came out with. And so by, according to this plan, several tactics will be elaborated in the following paragraph: 1. Product placement The reason why this alternative marketing tactic is a great choice for this strategy is because by using this method, not just the product of A &F can expose to the customer but also the image. When the products display inside a movie or commercial, the audience will have a chance to see and have the perception of it. Meanwhile, this tactic has been so popular for quite a long time and most of the company considers this tactic as a great ways to promote their brand or product, so the potential influence on customer is quite huge. Therefore, based on our strategy, we will expose our product or our brand image to the public, but we need to place it in the right place and person. We will execute our plan by putting A&F’s products or logo on senior who take part in the movie or commercial, the reason why we are doing this is because we want the customer who is in front of the TV or computer to deem the brand is looking good on those people. Generally, we seldom saw A & F’s product wearing on senior among any program, so that’s the notion we want to convey to people. Furthermore, in order to illustrate more specifically, we will choice certain people or program to expose our brand image, take the actor for instance, when choosing the people to wear our product, we might consider senior more than young guys, the actor such as Gorge Clooney or Sarah Jessica Parker will be the best candidate for translate the new image of maturity to people. In addition, we must pick the right movie or TV program to place our brand into it, because some time if the movie or program is for teens or children, the purpose of this action will be not successfully accomplished. 2. Advertising There are various ways in advertising, each of one has it own advantage, however, in this case, there will be only few channel that appropriate to accomplish this goal, such as: * Television In nowadays, people can get a slew of information from TV, and it is also the best way to create awareness. According to this channel, the best way to convey the information that the brans is not only suit for young people but also adults as well is to launch a commercial that carry the image of senior wearing A &F product and shows how confidence they can be just because the brand can bring the sense of fashion and maturity. When people, especially seniors, see the commercial frequently, they will gradually change the original brand image in their mind. * Magazine There are tons of different magazine in the field now and it has possess several advantage such as high marketing segment, longer attention to ads, high color quality, etc. We, however, can’t put our advertisement in all of them, we must be specific, choosing the right one that can reach the right person, therefore, according to the strategy, the target magazine will definitely be those fashion one such as Elle, Ebony, Vogue, People and FHM. Furthermore, in order to promote the perception of mature and professional, those famous magazine such as TIME, Economist, ADWEEK will also be taken into consider. Take TIME for example; in order to give the audience an explicit impression, we might consider buying a whole page for our ad, thus, once the reader start to read, the image of our brand will unfold in front of them. * Outdoor The place that can display the ads are not just in the TV or magazine, there are many places we can use in the public area to show our brand image and product advertisement, such as the giant billboard out side, the bus stop next to your house, even on the public transportation can have a space to make advertising. Therefore, we will display our brand image in those places that people gather the most; make sure our exposure can reach people as much as possible. To make this tactic more specific, A &F will runs this method by putting out senior celebrity image such as Gorge Clooney; the image of him will mostly convince people that A&F is a brand that fits on senior and it looks good as well. 3. Public Relations In the tactic of PR, our goal is to build the right image we want, and let people feel positive that this new brand image is positive. Therefore, by using all the tools of PR such as the news release, annual report, news conference etc. we want people to know the brand is extending its image to a higher level, and will provides customer a better feeling that will appeals to those senior customer. To execute this strategy by using PR, we might have to combine different tactic to maximize the outcome. For instance, in order to spread the new image out, we might need to set up some event or co-branding with the others. And so by, we might need to set up a news conference or launch a press release to run our story to the public. In addition, one of the functions of PR is to create positive image and strengthen company’s reputation, so by sponsoring special event such as the Oscar ceremony, LPG golf tour and the Grand slam series; the image of A&F will be seen not just a brand that provides causal luxury apparel, but also a brand that possess high-end perception and the sense of maturity. Furthermore, in order to let people understand the reason why the company comes up with this idea, and to convince senior to use its product; the company can release some article that is relevant to this topic, getting people familiar with the new idea. 4. Celebrity Endorsement By using well-known people to promote its product can make the brand image more clear and gain more attention. In order to make our brand shine and bright among the public, the company is imperative to choose the right person for endorse its product, several condition such as the person need to have a positive image that well accepted by the public, the person’s personality needs to match with the brand or the product; otherwise, people will think the brand has no connection with the person, and that will make the credibility decline. So, in order to fulfill the condition and match the strategy we set up, we will invite celebrity such as Gorge Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Robert Downey Jr. to be our spokesman; and by using their mature charisma, more people will convert their first image of A&F and turn in to the perception as the strategy we wanted. 5. Event marketing In order to promote the strategy and boost the sale, we can create several events to accomplish this goal; more detail will be elaborated in the following paragraph: * The â€Å"A†membership To create loyalty customer and reward them for their purchase, we will conduct a membership program that give them the benefit as a return. The program will run first with applying our membership card and join the A&F club; after applying, every time when they purchase a certain amount of money, they can get some credit, and after collecting enough credit, the person can enjoy a perpetual 30% discount on every purchase afterward. Moreover, the person who gets a perpetual membership can receive a 100 dollars gift card on his or her every birthday. * The â€Å" I want to fly fashion†event In order to strengthen the function of our perpetual membership, we will co-brand with United Airline and American Express; every time when you take a flight with United Airline or purchase product from A&F by using American Express, the person can receive bonus from it, and can use the bonus to purchase flight ticket or products within A &F store. Conclusion Nowadays, Abercrombie & Fitch is one of the most famous fashion brand in the world, the brand has it own unique image and special value, the trend of buying its product is not just happen in the State but also around the world. However, besides the current situation, the company has more opportunity to enhance its brand equity by expanding the customer segment to a higher level. In order to make the brand more accepted by senior, we must create another image that can appeal to them, make them feel the brand is not just for cool teenagers but also for mature adults. Therefore, the strategy of extending target customer to the senior segment can bring more profit to the company and form a new brand image, providing customer another high- end brand to shop and make them feel special.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Communication Within Workplace
What is means by communication actually? Communications define as process of interchange of information that mainly included sending and receiving process. What is means by a successful communication? When sending a message there are kind of barriers can be interrupt, that disturb overall the communication structure, by solving the problems and finally receiving message in proper manner, than it is become a successful communication. In this research I am going identify the main purposes of communication, find out the characteristics of an organization’s structure, analyses the impact of the organization structure on how communication occurs and on its effectiveness and changes in organizational structures. In the same time, I will study on the barriers of communication in my workplace. Finally find out the way avoid the barriers to improve commutation, and the problem solving ways to have beautiful standard communication structure within my workplace. Research Question: 1. What are the benefits or purpose of communication within a workplace? 2. What is the structure of communication that should be have in a workplace and don’t have in my workplace? 3. What are the barriers of communication within workplace? 4. How to adopt the proper communication structure? 5. Who should be taking responsible to a successful communication in a workplace, who will be benefited by this proper channel? 6. What kind of communication should be have, depend on situation? 7. What is Different of current communication system and the communication should be adopted? 8. How to overcome the barriers to improve communication my workplace? Research Objective: The objective of this research is analysis the overall communication benefits and the barriers that make brake down of communication and also the ways of solving barriers within my workplace.
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