Developing Brand Positioning Strategy for Canadian Club

Developing Brand Positioning Strategy for Canadian Club Whiskey [pic] Developing branding strategy for Canadian Club A. Assess and fully critique the success of Canadian Club’s repositioning strategies used in the case. Use brand theories and concepts to evaluate the company’s branding strategies listed in the case. According to Keller(1993) the effective brand positioning gives a brand a competitive advantage or â€Å"unique selling proposition† that determines a reason why consumers are buying this product or service (Keller, 1993).Similarly, Kay (2004) argues that brand’s strength depends on its successful positioning within consumers’ mind. Furthermore, it is claimed that strong brands should possess â€Å"difference† and â€Å"consistency†, however the difference should be meaningful for consumers. In the case of Canadian Club whisky it aimed to differentiate its quality and uniqueness through exciting advertising campaigns such a s â€Å"Adventure Series†, â€Å"Hide A Case†, â€Å"CC Find-A-Case Challenge† or â€Å"Damn Right Your Dad Drank It†. Also, Keller (1993) claims that brand knowledge consists of brand awareness and perceived brand image among consumers.Brand image is further divided into favourability, strength and uniqueness of brand associations. Therefore, in the case of Canadian Club a brand image is conveyed through unique and distinctive experiences that consumers associate with a brand. For example, introduction of â€Å"Adventure Series† advertising campaign in 1920s aimed to increase CC’s global sales whilst showcasing print ads of travellers going to remote locations all over the world and performing brave actions. After that they were relaxing with a glass of CC.As a result a brand’s image is distinctive from the category as it appeals to its target audience as a unique and exclusive drink associated with adventures. Also, it benefits cons umer experientially. In addition, Keller (1993) claims that developing a brand equity requires four value stages: marketing program investment, customer mind-set, market performance and shareholder value (Keller, 1993). Furthermore, marketing program should be clear, relevant, distinctive and consistent throughout all the marketing communications.For example, CC introduced â€Å"Hide-A-Case† campaign in 1967 which aimed to challenge drinkers to search for bottles of Canadian Club kept hidden at remote locations all over the world. CC cases were hidden in places such as the Swiss Alps (Switzerland), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Angel Falls (Venezuela) etc. Therefore, the campaign was interactive and engaging which is another distinctiveness for the category. Also, the campaign was communicated through the hints of where to find CC cases published in magazine ads or sport pages in daily newspapers.Therefore, it was relevant for targeted audience and consistent throughout all the communications. Other campaigns involved â€Å"CC Find-A-Case Challenge†(1981) and â€Å"Find A Case Challenge†(2004) which were similar to earlier launched â€Å"Hide-A-Case† campaign, however CC cases were hidden in locations such as in Death Valley in California, on top of a skyscraper in New York City, etc. Also, the campaign involved a form of contest where teams were participating in 7 different fun-filled events or games assessing their physical and mental skills like CC Poker Run, Roll the Barrel, CC Hockey Challenge etc.The winning team was awarded of US 10000. Hence, all these campaigns were interactive, engaging and communicating brand’s uniqueness and exclusivity to the target audience. However, due to failure to address declining sales in 1990s the company had to develop new repositioning strategy for a brand. Therefore, they launched â€Å"Damn Right Your Dad Drank It† campaign aiming to expand their target audience into young male d rinkers. The campaign was based on nostalgia branding concept. According to Kay (2006) reviving brands is a viable strategy.Furthermore, it is claimed that retro branding or nostalgia branding is where perception towards brand depends upon consumers’ nostalgic leanings can be a powerful management option (Kay, 2006). Similarly, Kessous and Roux (2002) argue that nostalgia can be used to reposition company’s product in the market and differentiate it through creating emotional appeals to the consumers of their past experiences (Kessous, 2002). Therefore, nostalgia is defined as a preference towards objects (people, places or things) which were common when one was younger.The nostalgia can be further classified into â€Å"first-time nostalgia† and â€Å"long-standing nostalgia†. However, nostalgia branding is usually used within confectionary or sweets market which is why pursuing this type of strategy for Canadian Club whisky was criticised as being risky. Furthermore, whisky category itself is viewed as drinks for mature and old consumers and there was a threat to strengthen this image even more whilst using nostalgia branding. However, the campaign succeeded as it was relevant to the target audience (young males) and consistent to its brand image as it provoked masculinity and stylishness.Also, it was consistent through all the marketing communications such as billboards, point-of-sale items, radio advertising, out-of-home advertising, in-market events, and experiential elements. In addition it was distinctive to the usual category’s advertising campaigns that usually consisted of stereotyped â€Å"sex sells† ads playing on hot chicks and smoking’ bods or â€Å"James Bond† appeal. Finally, the brand’s image and values were clearly communicated through the campaign. Therefore, nostalgia branding enabled company to reposition itself from being an exclusive and sophisticated drink into more of a mass market product.Finally, Shamma (2011) claims that total brand equity consists of product and corporate brand equity which depends on company’s market, social and financial performance. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between company’s corporate brand and socially responsible marketing and total brand equity (Shamma, 2011). Similarly, Grace and King (2011) talks about employee brand equity, which is the result of positive and productive employee brand-related behaviour and is strongly linked with brand’s strength (Grace and King, 2011).In contrast, Kay (2004) argues that corporate branding differs from product and service branding as it is aimed at different target audiences. For instance, corporate branding usually targets company’s shareholders and employees whereas product and service branding is focused on consumers who are not really interested in corporate brand identity (Kay, 2004). However, it is also claimed that some companies, esp ecially those that started as niche businesses that appealed to small segments of socially conscious customers succeeded in creating strong and distinctive corporate brands.Referring to CC and Jim Beam corporation consumers are not that concerned about company’s overall image, however introduction of corporate social responsibility and socially responsible marketing could enhance employees’ satisfaction and therefore employee brand equity. B. You have assumed the role of, Brand Manager for Canadian Club. Develop a brand positioning plan to strengthen the Canadian Club brand for the next three years (2014-2017). Suggest a variety of branding strategies that are appropriate for the brand’s identity and target market.Use current research about the brand and the whiskey industry prior to answering this part of the assignment. Use theory to justify your arguments! Canadian Club whiskey belongs to UK spirits market which was estimated to be worth ? 11. 09 bn. at curre nt prices in 2011 (Keynote, 2012). The UK spirits and liquors market is expected to grow by 16. 4% reaching a value of ? 13. 42bn in 2016. Thus, there is an opportunity for Canadian Club to further increase and strengthen its share of market. Canadian Club whiskey is a prestigious brand owned by Beam Global Spirits & Wine Corporation which is US-based company.It also owns brands such as Jim Beam, Courvoisier and Tequila Sauza. Since 1920s Canadian Club differentiated itself as a high quality, exclusive whisky offering experiential experience for its drinkers. Its current target market is those from legal drinking age to 34, however company is looking forward to strengthen its appeal among younger consumers in order to capture their life-time loyalty (Twiss, 2012). Referring to its main competitors the direct competitors are Diageo’s Johnnie Walker scotch whiskey and Jack Daniels â€Å"Tennessee Whiskey†.Diageo is a leading distiller which currently owns more than 35% o f the spirits and liquors market globally and is expanding to emergent markets such as India and Asia (BBC, 2013). It also owns brands such as Smirnoff Vodka and Gordon’s Gin. Furthermore, Scotch whiskey is the leader of whiskey category in UK and worldwide and its exports were worth ? 4. 23bn in 2011 (BBC, 2013). However, there is an increasing trend among younger consumers to choose vodka and other â€Å"white† spirits to mix them in their cocktails.Therefore, in order to sustain and increase its market share Canadian Club needs to tackle competition arousing not only from â€Å"dark† spirits but also from â€Å"white† spirits such as vodka, rum, gin etc. Referring to category’s recent adverts Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky (Diageo) launched a new global advertising campaign in September 2012 entitled â€Å"Where Flavour is a King†. The campaign uses facebook application to educate users about different flavours that make up each Johnnie Wal ker label (MarketingWeek, 2012).Meanwhile, Jack Daniels â€Å"Tennessee Whiskey† has recently introduced their â€Å"Legend† campaign where it is positioned as a whiskey of â€Å"Rock & Roll† era (International Business Times, 2013). On the other hand, Canadian Club recently introduced its â€Å"Beer fairies† campaign in Australia featuring unattractive beer drinker possessing all the negative traits associated with beer drinking. The campaign seeks to position CC as a refreshing alternative through the use of parody and provocative advertising (Campaign Brief, 2012).Furthermore, it introduced â€Å"Join the Club† campaign where company’s CEO is represented as a brand ambassador and is sharing his â€Å"Whiskey wisdoms† with consumers about masculinity and manhood. It is evident that several classic liquor companies have been recently using manly images in order to appeal to growing macho men population. For instance, John Jameson and its campaign â€Å"legend of John Jameson† with images of its founder arm-wrestling or Canadian Wiser’s whiskey and its â€Å"Wiserhood† campaign featuring a â€Å"society of uncompromising men† who applaud any man who resists an occasion that threatens his manhood (Krashinsky, 2012).Also, many of spirits and liquor companies are incorporating social media when creating a branding strategy in order to target younger and more affluent audience. For instance, Canadian Club whiskey fans are encouraged to share their â€Å"Whiskey Wisdoms† on facebook in order to get an access to exclusive content, invitations to local events and wisdom (Lukovitz, 2012,). Similarly, Smirnoff promoted its Vodka Ice drink through social media whilst encouraging fans to participate in a drinking game and share experiences and photos on facebook page.According to Avery and Fournier (2011) open source branding is a new concept in marketing where a â€Å"brand is embedded in a cultural conversation such that consumers gain an equal, if not greater, say than marketers in what the brand looks like and how it behaves† (Fournier, 2011, pp. 194). It is enabled through social media technologies such as blogging, video sharing, social bookmarking, social networking, and community platforms (Fournier, 2011).Furthermore, it is evident that engaging with the â€Å"right† individuals through social media platforms can help to promote word-of-mouth for a brand, spread brand knowledge, generate sales and increase return on investment (Kumar, 2012). However, since the marketers do not have so much control on the overall brand’s image in open source branding social media can also have a negative impact on brand’s equity.Therefore, it is claimed that when incorporating social media in their marketing activities companies should take into consideration four powerful and challenging Web-enabled themes: The Age of the Social Collective, The A ge of Transparency, The Age of Criticism, and The Age of Parody (Fournier, 2011). Referring to social collectiveness it is evident that online communities provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion of shared interests among consumers, therefore strengthening group bonds. Also, some of the companies developed their business models based on social collectiveness concept.For instance, Groupon offers a variety of daily deals for restaurants, spas, massages and other activities for its members but offers are valid only if enough people sign up to receive them (Fournier, 2011). The Age of Transparency and The Age of Criticism claim that due to significant technology changes the news and opinions about particular brand spread very fast and can have a significant impact on brand equity (Fournier, 2011). For instance, due to transparency BP recently experienced a fiasco with its leaking Deepwater Horizon oil rig.The news had a significant impact on negative brand’s reputation as B P was pursuing an image of the environmentally-friendly petroleum company and was developing activities to strengthen this image. Similarly, there is a power of disappointed company’s internal employees revealing market’s and firm’s secrets to a wider public that can damage company’s image. Criticism enabled through social media technologies can also have a great impact on company’s brand equity even if a small number of consumers is complaining. For instance, when introduced its new product formulation called Dry Max,Pampers had to deal with a negative impact arousing from consumers who claimed that a product caused diaper rash and was not suitable for consumers. Finally, The Age of Parody refers to online users’ view of social media being a pastime or a source of entertainment. Therefore, it is not surprising that many companies are trying to grab consumers’ attention through creating funny and interactive campaigns that go viral. H owever, the difficulty is to evaluate the impact and reach of these campaigns. Another recent trend in social media applications is mobile marketing and mobile social media.With increasingly powerful mobile devices, many social media applications have gone mobile in order to reach customer instantly without any time or location limitations (Kaplan, 2012). Thus, mobile marketing is defined as â€Å"any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device† (Kaplan, 2012, pp. 130). In contrast, mobile social media is defined as a â€Å"group of mobile marketing applications that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content† (Kaplan, 2012, pp. 31). It is also claimed that mobile social media applications can be classified according to users’ time and location sensitivity. For example, quick-timers involve transfer of traditional social media applications to mobile devices to increase immediacy such as posting Twitter messages or Facebook status updates. In contrast, space-timers involve exchange of messages with relevance for one specific location at one specific point-in time, for example Facebook places, Foursquare and Gowalla.Space-timers are the most sophisticated form of mobile social marketing applications as user’s participation does not primarily depend on user’s monetary motivation. According to the theory the increasing willingness to check in certain locations through Foursquare can be explained through self-presentation and self-disclosure concepts, and impulsiveness theory which claims that individuals often struggle between displaying long-term control and giving into short-term temptations (Kaplan, 2012).Therefore, lots of companies are collaborating with Foursquare to promote their sales and discounts, develop relationships and loyalty programs. Furthermore, it is estimated that by 2020 a mobile device will be the primary Internet connection tool for most people in the world (Kaplan, 2010). However, when integrating mobile social marketing applications companies should also make sure that it is integrated into the lives of consumers, offered activities or promotions are individualized according to each user’s preferences and interests and users are involved through engaging in conversations.Otherwise, it can become intrusive, annoying and threaten personal privacy. Nevertheless, mobile marketing provides high rate of personalisation, interactivity, low cost of reaching large audience at the right time at the right place, immediate, one-to-one communication, does not depend on time and space etc. Hence, followed the benefits of increased brand awareness and sales through social media and mobile social marketing applications here are proposed brand positioning strategies for Canadian Club 2014-201 Strategy OneFirstly, a new brand positioning campaign called â€Å"Canadian Club-Unexceptional Qua lity† will be launched in September 2014. A campaign will focus on promoting major brand’s assets quality and exclusivity in order to capture wider audience. The main company’s strategy will be to use facebook application to educate users of brand’s quality and suitability for various occasions in order to increase the usage. It will involve posts of various taglines such as â€Å"There’s no better way to impress a woman than†¦ Canadian Club-Unexceptional Quality† or â€Å"To be well groomed is an exception†¦Canadian Club is Unexceptional! † in order to strengthen marketing communications message. The campaign is also going to encourage users to post and share photos of various occasions when CC can be consumed. This way brand tries to engage with audience whilst suggesting that CC is not only old men drink and can be consumed during various occasions. Additionally, in order to boost users’ confidence and strengthen th e relation between brand’s image and quality the campaign will provide tips on their facebook page for exclusive Canadian Club consumers of how to best dress up when drinking Canadian Club.These tips will only be accessed if users liked a page. This campaign’s aim is to engage users in open and active conversations about the brand and its quality, as well as increase awareness. The campaign will be supported by billboards, radio and youtube videos. Strategy Two Secondly, since company aims to target younger audience in order to capture their life-time loyalty the use of mobile social marketing is essential. Therefore, it is suggested to develop a mobile application that either engages, interacts or benefits consumer.Furthermore, many of the companies nowadays collaborates with mobile social media applications such as Foursquare in order to generate users’ word-of-mouth, facilitate sales promotions and discounts or develop relationships through loyalty programs. Hence, Canadian Club will use foursquare website to promote brand’s image and increase sales. Therefore, users will be encouraged to check-in at five high class luxurious bars, restaurants or hotels listed on Canadian Club’s foursquare web page in order to get a 40% discount for a suit for upcoming occasion from a local high quality retailer.The check-ins should be followed by user’s comment about Canadian Club’s exceptional quality and shared on facebook with his friends. The number of discounts will be limited and the promotion campaign will run until all the discounts will be given away. Users will be updated of the remaining promotions on Canadian Club’s facebook page and personally reminded how many more locations they need to check-in if entered a competition. The campaign firstly will be tested in US and then adopted in emerging markets such as India, China, Russia. Some adjustments will be made if needed to adapt to local market. Conclusion sFor decades Canadian Club whiskey was known for its exclusivity and unexceptional quality. A brand always tried to differentiate itself from competitors whilst launching various interactive and exciting advertising campaigns that were unusual and innovative for the category. Therefore, when suggesting different brand positioning strategies for 2014-2017 Canadian Club should remain enforcing its distinctive image and promoting high quality in the market. Hence, a number of social media and mobile social marketing strategies were suggested in order to capture younger users’ attention and build life-time loyalty towards the brand.For instance, the use of facebook application to educate users about Canadian Club’s high quality and suitability for various occasions is suggested, which will increase brand’s awareness whilst engaging in users’ conversations and encouraging them to share comments and photos. Also, due to increasing number of mobile applicationsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ users and forecasts of mobile phone becoming as a primary internet connection tool marketers should pay a great attention into mobile social media marketing when developing a brand positioning plan.Therefore, a Canadian Club’s collaboration with Foursquare website was advised in order to grab consumers’ attention, spread word-of-mouth and increase sales whilst asking users to check in at 5 high class listed locations to get a 20% discount for a high quality suit from a local retailer. Overall, both of these strategies will allow Canadian Club to position itself as high quality and suitable for various occasions drink among younger consumers and will help to achieve a competitive advantage through the use of mobile social marketing. References E-jounals: Fournier, S. , 2011.The uninvited brand. Business Horizons, [Online]. 54, 193-207. Available at:http://www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0007681311000024  [Accessed 02 March 2013] Kaplan, A. M. , 20 10. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, [Online]. 53, 59-68. Available at:http://www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0007681309001232  [Accessed 03 March 2013] Kaplan, A. M. , 2012. If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile social media 4Ãâ€"4. Business Horizons, [Online]. 55, 129-139. Available at:http://www. ciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0007681311001558  [Accessed 06 March 2013]. Kay, M. J. , 2006. Strong brands and corporate brands. European Journal of Marketing, [Online]. 40, issue 7, 742-760. Available at:  http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? articleid=1562577&show=abstract[Accessed 11 March 2013] Keller, K. L. , 1993. Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Csutomer-Based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing, [Online]. 57, 1-22. Available at:  http://www. jstor. org/stable/1252054? seq=2&uid=3738032&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101887384081  [Accessed 12 March 20 13] Kessous, A. , 2008.A semiotic analysis of Nostalgia as a connection to the past. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, [Online]. 11, issue 2, 192-212. Available at:http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? articleid=1718576&show=abstract  [Accessed 11 March 2013] King, C. , 2011. Employee brand equity: Scale development and validation. Journal of Brand Management, [Online]. 19, issue 4, 268-288. Available at:  http://www. palgrave-journals. com/bm/journal/v19/n4/abs/bm201144a. html  [Accessed 14 March 2013] Kumar, V. , 2012. Increasing the ROI of Social Media Marketing. MITSloan Management Review, [Online]. 4, issue 1, 55-61. Available at:  http://scholar. google. co. uk/scholar? q=Increasing+the+ROI+of+Social+media+Marketing&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_vis=1  [Accessed 03 March 2013]. Shamma, H. M. , 2011. Integrating Product and Corporate Brand Equity into Total Brand Equity Measurement. International Journal of Marketing Studies, [Online]. 3, i ssue 1, 11-17. Available at:http://scholar. google. co. uk/scholar? q=Integrating+Product+and+Corporate+Brand+Equity+into+Total+Brand+Equity+Measurement&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_vis=1[Accessed 14 March 2013] Websites and Industry Reports: Campaign Brief. 2012.Canadian Club hires comic legend John Cleese to poke fun at ‘beer fairies' in new campaign set to launch tomorrow via The Works, Sydney. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. campaignbrief. com/2012/04/canadian-club-hires-comedian-j. html. [Accessed 05 March 13] Fraser, D. 2013. How Scotch whisky conquered the world. BBC News. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-scotland-20946411. [Accessed 15 March 13] Joseph, S. 2013. Johnnie Walker launches first umbrella brand campaign. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. marketingweek. co. uk/news/johnnie-walker-preps-umbrella-brand-campaign/4003702. article. Accessed 11 March 13] Key Note (2012) Spirits and Liquors Market 2012. Hampton: Key Note Krashinsky, S. 2012. M ustache marketing: Selling ‘whisky wisdom’ to younger drinkers. [ONLINE] Available at:  http://m. theglobeandmail. com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/mustache-marketing-selling-whisky-wisdom-to-younger-drinkers/article5508749/? service=mobile. [Accessed 05 March 13] Lukovitz, K. 2012. Canadian Club Intros â€Å"Join the Club† Campaign. Marketing Daily. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. mediapost. com/publications/article/188057/canadian-club-intros-join-the-club-campaign. html#axzz2O2P5U9uX. [Accessed 14 March 13]

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Experiment - Lab Report Example he most important factor affecting the availability of these nutrients is soil pH, a measure of the amount of hydronium ion (H+) that is present in solution. Pure water has a neutral pH of 7, lower values mean that the solution is acidic and soils with pH higher than 7 are alkaline. Different crops vary in their response to acid and alkaline soil conditions (Mathers, 2001). However, for most field crops, slightly acidic (pH = 5.6) to neutral soils are optimal for growth. Soil pH affects plant growth and productivity indirectly because, depending on the nutrient, availability is affected which can result in nutrient deficiency or nutrient toxicity. In higher pH or alkaline soils, result in deficiencies in the essential micronutrients iron, zinc, and manganese. Soil pH of less than 5.5 is already considered strongly acidic and will not support growth of economically important crops. Thus, the right soil pH is a requirement for maximum yield production. The development of acid soils has been due to high weathering brought about by warm temperatures and rainfall, and manmade events like the continuous use of nitrogen fertilizers and acid rain effects. At pH below 6 or under acidic soils, increased availability of micronutrients like iron, manganese, zinc , copper and aluminium result in toxicity symptoms (CSIRO Plant Industry, 2004); while decreased availability of phosphorus results in deficiency of this element . This is very true in humid countries where soil acidity is often associated with low crop productivity (Schroth, Lehman, & Barrios, 2003). The class was divided into eight groups. Each group was asked to bring soil samples from the area near their residence. In the laboratory, the pH and temperature of pure water was determined. After adding water to the soil and mixing the slurry, the pH and temperature of each sample were measured. Mean values of the soil pH of each group were determined, and the hydronium ion concentration was calculated using the

Lesdership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Lesdership - Research Paper Example Furthermore, this research should determine the role that a motivation plays towards the success of a certain leader and of the employee. Moreover, manifold topics are set to be discussed underway including the importance of motivation in the sustainability of employment status, building relationships and friendships in the workplace and in the improvement of self-confidence which is initially perceived as contingent to the leader, the environmental influence and the type of reinforcement an employee is getting. The different applications of motivational leadership in various activities including sport, education, in the development of our future leaders, speaking engagements, seminars and annual meetings are going to be elaborated. This shall be clinched by deciding the imperative aspects of motivational relationship towards the success of not only leaders and followers but the entire human race as a whole. Investigations pertaining to leadership have permeated the administrative literatures for so many years. Discovered amongst the numerous theories are remarks and assertions that ideal and better leaders motivate. But how does motivation affects the organizational setting of a certain company? Further, how do describe motivational leadership? Motivational leadership is a skilled method in which a leader employs a paradigm and deliberate steps for motivating people to admire and shadow them. They are fascinated in establishing a harmless and trusting work setting, at the same time, safeguarding that the company is sited to be effective and productive in the market. Motivational leaderships main values and ideologies expounds that the leader must possess strong morals and principles, well-defined vision, reasonable values, genuine communication, and should be truly motivated to encourage partnership and affirmative energy

What is the problem with immigration, and how do we solve it Essay

What is the problem with immigration, and how do we solve it - Essay Example Economists and sociologists concur and disagree with this remark. This essay will look at what analysts have established and will attempt to work out the consequence that immigration has posed on the standards of livelihood of the workers in the U.S. Immigration is a diverse topic, although it could be assorted into two incredibly different components, lawful and unlawful immigration which will be mutually tackled in this report. The US has been portrayed as a melting pot due to the multiplicity that is found in the nation. Conversely, in instances when resources are scarce and the economy is stressed, immigration emerges as a debate of main concern (Brooks, 34). Being such extremely significant topic immigration has followers and opponents mutually having legitimate positions and concerns. To put into perception the manner in which the US has diversified is the fact that few data extend a long way. Presently, 12 percent of US’ inhabitants are overseas born and this guide has risen from 8 percent in 1990. Every year adding up together to the present inhabitants, which some might dispute is in fact overpopulation; somewhere from 700,000 to 900,000 citizens immigrate lawfully per year. In addition, it is probable that 500,0 00 additional people immigrate unlawfully annually. Individuals immigrate to the US from every place around the globe but the heavy bulk of immigrants in current years emerge from Latin America. Numerous economists have completed quantitative investigations to settle on the impact that immigration raise to put it on the natives’ level of comfort. Economists on either side of the coin or issue have not agreed on whether the effect on natives is optimistic or unenthusiastic even when they employ the identical information to support their position. Settlers can be perceived as â€Å"harmonizers† or â€Å"substitutes† to the actual citizens. As â€Å"harmonizers† to every other, citizens and immigrants do not fight for the identical jobs.

Power Imbalances Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Power Imbalances - Coursework Example 1. Introduction: Most of the great achievements of contemporary organizations have been accomplished by adopting various new strategies in almost every sphere including organizational culture, systems, technology, human resources, operations etc. These achievements have not only increased competition but also necessitated, or even given rise to, various changes in management. One such change is the organizational structure that has changed to being a flat structure from a hierarchical one in most of the organizations. On the one hand, the flat organizational structure has helped in reducing the number of managerial levels in order to improve accessibility and increase accountability besides improving efficiency, reducing costs and better empowerment; on the other hand, this structure has bred power imbalances with greater intensity than the hierarchical structure, thus giving rise to potential conflicts. Paradoxically, these power imbalances also hinder attempts to manage conflicts. Present discourse will focus on understanding this aspect of power imbalance at workplaces and its impact on conflict management based on certain situations. Recommendations will be made based on the issues identified and conclusions will be finally drawn. 2. An understanding of power and conflict: Power refers to the elusive force experienced by people, usually based on their position. According to Daft (2009), power may be defined as â€Å"the potential ability of one person (or department) to influence other people (or department) to carry orders or to do something they would not otherwise have done† (p. 497). Power is a very important strength that managers/leaders should use in the most appropriate manner to achieve desired outcomes. Power is used to set goals, define targets, rules and policies, and to manage performance; power is also used to manage conflicts among individuals and groups. Daft (2009) explains that conflict is usually the outcome of interaction among pe ople or groups with differing opinions. Conflicts can either be helpful or harmful for the organizations and its employees. Conflicts that can instigate differential thinking and innovative options are usually helpful, whereas conflicts in terms of goals, understanding, opinions, interpretation, perception etc are usually harmful and can lead to severe consequences. 3. Relationship between power and conflict: To deal with all kinds of conflicts, managers leverage their position and power. According to the conflict theory, power is an essential element in managing conflict or in influencing others to produce desired outcome (Andersen & Taylor, 2007). Power by virtue of position provides the authority for individuals to exercise their aspirations, which can also be a cause for conflict sometimes. Moreover, usage of power, by virtue of position, to manage conflicts can be a hindrance. All these instances could be a result of the phenomenon associated with power and its usage that is us ually, and also, the reason for power imbalance. 4. Power imbalance and conflict management: Weinstein (2001) has extensively elaborated on the impact of power imbalance in mediation process. In this elaboration, she has constantly emphasized on the fact that the organization’s success and instances impacted by power imbalances cannot be separated. Very often, the hierarchical positions that decide the intensity or scope of power itself act as the causes for conflicts.  

“Sophie’s World” by Jostein Gaarder Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Sophie’s World† by Jostein Gaarder Essay After I read â€Å"Sophie’s World† by Jostein Gaarder, I was opened up to the different ways of thinking by many well-known philosophers. Each philosopher had their own point of view and ways of thinking. Ranging from religious perspectives to over the top ideas that were unaccepted by the people of their time, these men tried to answer philosophical questions such as â€Å"What is our purpose in life?† and â€Å"Where did the world come from?†. During their times, such thinking was looked down upon and some even got executed for threatening their cultures way of thinking. Socrates, who encouraged his pupils to increase their range of beliefs, got poisoned for breaking ancient Greek religious views and was said to be ‘corrupting the youth’. A few of these philosophers had points that agreed with my own beliefs, such as Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard said that the truth does not only lie in objective things such as facts, but also in subjective things. He believed that life was more about your own values and beliefs rather than reason and strict rules. I relate to his laid back since of mind, because I am a laid back type of person. Many of today’s creative ways of thinking would not have been achieved without someone just relying completely on their own imagination. Even though this book was intriguing, it really didn’t change my way of thinking. Yes, it was entertaining to learn about how ancient philosophers tried to explain the world, I’m not sure it impacted my life in any way. Like all of these philosophers changed by brain teasing ideas that were forced upon me. I did agree with some points that these philosophers made, but only ones that supported my Christian faith. The book itself said â€Å"Where both reason and experience fall short, there occurs a vacuum that can be filled by faith.† Science and philosophy can only go so far. Science can explain why things have to hit the ground after it had been thrown and philosophy can attempt to explain if it didn’t hit the ground one time why a grown person would be more shocked than a kid. But the fact is no one can explain why something happens at a  certain time, at a certain place. Only faith can do that. Even though those philosophers attempted to explain things like where the Earth came from, none of them ever came to an agreeable conclusion. This book did make me think deeper about some of the concepts that were easier to grasp, but I believe philosophy is something I am not interested in. However, I did take interest in the section of the book about psychology,and I think many of the philosophers could have also been classified as psychologists also. This section included interesting facts about dreaming and the subconscious mind. Philosophers sometimes supported their reasoning with observations from the subconscious mind. For example, unexplainable things easily classified as ‘supernatural’ actually came from the imaginative part of the brain. These chapters taught me that the brain can do impressive things, even while sleeping! Studies show that the brain usually sends messages from the conscious brain to the unconscious brain in the form of dreams. Even if you don’t realize it, your brain is secretly  telling itself what it wants during your sleep and it is receiving them and analyzing them as images that we would see when we are awake. That’s how some dreams feel so real when they are clearly just your unconscious mind â€Å"speaking† to you. All together, â€Å"Sophie’s World†, like every other book, has its pros and cons. To completely enjoy the book, let the book take you to places you never thought possible. Open your eyes and prepare for the ride of your life, one you will never forget.

The concepts of Taylorism and Fordism

The concepts of Taylorism and Fordism Taylorism is the attempt to make business decisions on the basis of data that is researched and tested quantitatively. Taylorism was advocated by Frederick Winslow Taylor, He considered it to be managements duty to identify ways in which costs could be accounted for precisely, so that efficiency could be improved. Fordism is the application of Henry fords faith in mass production run by autocratic management. This implies high division of labour and little workplace democracy, but with the consolation of high wages. Henry Ford was highly influenced by efficiency expert Frederick Taylor, he was the first to use scientific management techniques at his factory, Taylorism meant dividing vehicle production into uncomplicated repetitive steps there would be no need for skilled workers, men could learn to do any job quickly. In 1913 Ford introduced his most revolutionary change yet, his idea was, instead of workers moving around to assemble the product, why not get the product to move past the workers and thus he created the assembly line. Soon assembly lines were operational in fords factory. The lines became the key to mass production, a system that would remain nearly unchanged for most of the century. Few stood the pace of the mass production, workers began to quit, but ford was making record profits, so he could afford to increase pay. Henry Ford introduced the opportunity for a new pay system which was entirely different from Taylorism. It was a simple rule high pay for hard work. The new production methods which emerged in the early twentieth century were theorised initially, in 1911, by F. W. Taylor. Taylor coined his approach Scientific Management. Taylor had been trained as an engineer in a steel works. Taylor emphasised cooperation between management and workers. He aimed to increase productivity through reducing inefficiency caused, for example, by malfeasance. Believed that eliminating malfeasance would result in higher wages, shorter working hours, and better working conditions (Taylor, 1967, 15). Scientific management engaged a number of advances e.g. time and motion studies Division of labour is a process where you Break a job down into small, repetitive fragments, each of which can be done at speed by workers with little formal training. (David Lines, Ian Marcouse Barry Martin, 2006) The implications of the wage system is in equilibrium the quantity of labour demanded will be the same as the quantity of labour supplied so, the market will clear and there will be no unemployment. However, by paying an efficiency-wage, above the equilibrium wage rate, the labour market is thrown into disequilibrium, creating unemployment. Taylor used his time-and-motion studies to develop a productive division of labour system. Taylor argued that even the most basic, mindless tasks could be planned in a way that dramatically would increase productivity, and that scientific management of the work was more effective than the initiative and incentive method of motivating workers. The initiative and incentive method offered an incentive to increase productivity but placed the responsibility on the worker to figure out how to do it. To scientifically determine the optimal way to perform a job, Taylor performed experiments that he called  time studies, (also known as  time and motion studies). These studies were characterized by the use of a stopwatch to time a workers sequence of motions, with the goal of determining the one best way to perform a job. It was supported on the division of work, this breaks down the industrial processes into several simple operations that could be precisely timed and organised. Taylor advocated bureaucratization of the shop floor (through time and motion study) as a means to solve the problems of coordination and reintegration raised by the increasingly complex division of labour. (Ash Amin, 1996) A well applied Taylor system would improve the labour returns, although an important limitation of Taylorism is that it treats people like machines, or even (economic) animals, whereas they do not want to be treated as though they were. It is very monotonous work with little space for any creativity. In contrast with Taylor, Ford has a great insight in the market factors, he saw and exploited the fact that mass production needs mass markets. With Fordism every worker has a specific task in a limited space, while the car bodies moved along the assembly line. But the maximised productive efficiency of the assembly line production had its drawbacks. The main problems were the extremely high rates of absenteeism and labour turnover. The costs of these problems even exceeded the very low training costs of the workers. Another problem for Fordism like production plants is that the set up is extremely expensive, and it is also very difficult to alter a product because of the standardization. T>F or F>T because(150) Bi Taylor and Ford were respectively the main thinker and practitioner of scientific management / managerial control based in deskilling / decomposition. Taylorism / scientific management: an attempt to transform the organisation of work to enhance profitability and to reduce work control based in craft skills. The gap between management and labour therefore grew vastly when the management took control of organising the labour proccess. No longer was the skilled worker irreplacable. Now one worker was much the same as another, in fact the less skilled the worker the better in Taylorist factories. Stifles creativity   Places people in vertical skill pipelines Reduces workforce flexibility demotivates many individuals Reduces teamwork Promotes boredom and staff churn Treats people as wealth producing units Promotes a division between workers and management Depending on your outlook, promotes unionism and collective bargaining Fordism is the organisation of work which extends the dynamics of Taylorism and in particular is centred on the use of the assembly-line. More broadly Fordism can be thought of as operating at the social level and centres on state efforts to harmonise mass production and mass consumption. Changes in patterns of consumption would therefore require changes in the work organization or else render Fordist production inappropriate. Some commentators have argued that such changes in consumption occurred towards the end of the twentieth century, and that now people are increasingly demanding specialized rather than standardized goods.   They argue that instead of mass markets, there are niche markets, and that, to supply these markets, work must be organized in new ways which allow for greater flexibility. They label this new approach  post-Fordism. the main changes from Fordism to post Fordism are flexible production or flexible specialization, customized production , vertical disintegration, cooperative network structure, creativity and innovation, new labour division.   Taylorism and  Fordism  increasing productivity at the expense of employee job satisfaction   Secondly, Fordism is a regime of accumulation. As a stable mode of macroeconomic growth it involves a virtuous circle of growth based on mass production, rising incomes linked to productivity, rising productivity based on economies of scale, increased mass demand due to rising wages, increased profits based on full utilisation of productive capacity and increased investment in improved mass production equipment and techniques. as a mode of regulation, Fordism appears linked to the Taylorist concepts and involves the separation of ownership from control in large corporations with a distinctive multi-divisional, decentralised organization subject to central controls. Thus, it is a mode of social and economic regulation that can also involve monopoly pricing, union recognition and collective bargaining, wages connected to productivity growth and retail price inflation with monetary emission and credit policies orientated to securing effective aggregate demand. Fordism can be seen as a general pattern of social organization. In this context it involves the consumption of standardised, mass commodities in nuclear family households and provision of collective, standardised goods and services by the bureaucratic state. It also manages the conflicts between capital and labour over both the individual and social wage the Taylorist organization of work: increasing intensification of work, deskilling, monotony and alienation lead to forms of resistance which affects the level of the regulatory interest-bureaucracy and increases costs regarding absenteeism, sloppiness and sabotage; Taylorism altered the way work takes place by(175) Fordism altered the way work takes place by(175) T>F or F>T because(150) Taylorism had a widespread influence, but in Japan working in teams was very important Both Taylorism and Fordism are justified in terms of enhancing production / profits but both require links to mass consumption. Both require large-scale production (and hence large-scale consumption) to be viable.   Most effective overall in extending Smiths division of labour altering the way in which work takes place(250) Taylorism was a tool for monopoly capital to strengthen its position