Adolescence and Mental Disorders

Mental health refers to a psychological and emotional state. It is how people think, feel, and act as they face life’s situations. It affects how people handle stress, relate to one another, and make decisions. Mental health influences the ways individuals look at themselves, their lives, and others in their lives. Like physical health, mental health is important at every stage of life. All aspects of our lives are affected by our mental health. Caring for and protecting our children is an obligation and is critical to their daily lives and their independence. When untreated, mental health disorders can lead to school failure, family conflicts, drug abuse, violence, and even suicide. Mental health problems and mental illness for children and adolescents refer to the range of all diagnosable emotional, behavioral, and mental disorders. They include. But are not limited to: depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, conduct, and eating disorders. Serious emotional disturbances for children and adolescents refer to the above disorders when they severely disrupt daily functioning in home, school, or community. According to studies by Health N. I. (2003), in early to middle childhood, mental illness affects about 1 in 10 children. In adolescent years, the number doubles to 1 in 5 young people. During adolescence, many biological changes are taking place as the child becomes an adult. Many of these changes are physical but emotional, social and psychological changes take place as well. Adolescence in itself brings on emotional highs and lows similar to the symptoms of bi-polar manic depressive disorder. Therefore proper diagnosis of some mental illnesses, unless somewhat severe, can go unnoticed and undetected. In children and adolescents, the most frequently diagnosed mood disorders are major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder. Because mood disorders such as depression substantially increase the risk of suicide, suicidal behavior is a matter of serious concern for clinicians who deal with the mental health problems of children and adolescents. The incidence of suicide attempts reaches a peak during the mid-adolescent years, and mortality from suicide, which increases steadily through the teens, is the third leading cause of death at that age (CDC, 1999; Hoyert et al. , 1999). Although suicide cannot be defined as a mental disorder, the various risk factors, especially the presence of mood disorders, that predispose young people to such behavior are given special emphasis in this section, as is a discussion of the effectiveness of various forms of treatment. The evidence is strong that over 90 percent of children and adolescents who commit suicide have a mental disorder. Bipolar manic-depressive disorder is a mood disorder in which episodes of mania alternate with episodes of depression. According to the surgeon general, frequently, the condition begins in adolescence. The first manifestation of bipolar illness is usually a depressive episode. The first manic features may not occur for months or even years thereafter, or may occur either during the first depressive illness or later, after a symptom-free period (Strober et al. , 1995). The clinical problems of mania are very different from those of depression. Adolescents with mania or hypomania feel energetic, confident, and special; they usually have difficulty sleeping but do not tire; and they talk a great deal, often speaking very rapidly or loudly. They may complain that their thoughts are racing. They may do schoolwork quickly and creatively but in a disorganized, chaotic fashion. When manic, adolescents may have exaggerated or even delusional ideas about their capabilities and importance, may become overconfident, and may be uninhibited with others; they start numerous projects that they do not finish and may engage in reckless or risky behavior, such as fast driving or unsafe sex. Sexual preoccupations are increased and may be associated with promiscuous behavior. Reactive Depression, also known as adjustment disorder with depressed mood, is the most common form of mood problem in children AND adolescents. In children suffering from reactive depression, depressed feelings are short-lived and usually occur in response to some adverse experience, such as a rejection, a slight, a letdown, or a loss. In contrast, children may feel sad or lethargic and appear preoccupied for periods as short as a few hours or as long as 2 weeks. However, mood improves with a change in activity or an interesting or pleasant event. These transient mood swings in reaction to minor environmental adversities are not regarded as a form of mental disorder. All in all, I have concluded that it is definitely more likely for mental illness symptoms to surface during

Hamlets Delay Essay

In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet†, the character Hamlet aspires to kill his uncle and, in doing so, avenge his father. During Act I, Scene V, Hamlets father comes to him as a ghost. The ghost explains that Claudius, Hamlets uncle, murdered him in order to become King of Denmark and marry Hamlets mother, the Queen of Denmark. The ghost of Hamlets father then asks Hamlet to kill Claudius and make his mother feel guilty for allowing his murder to happen. However, Hamlet delays his achievement of this goal for reasons that are not directly confronted in the play. There are many theories on the matter of why Hamlet continuously waits to avenge his fathers’ murder. Of these theories, the most plausible is that Hamlet simply spends too much time thinking about how he will act rather than actually taking action. Hamlet takes an oath at the end of Act I saying â€Å"†¦thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  meaning that all he will think about is what the ghost has told him to do. The problem is that, while Hamlet does constantly think about what the ghost said, he does not do a lot about it. One thing Hamlet does do is try to confirm that what the ghost said is true. In Act II, Scene II, Hamlet uses a play called â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago† to make Claudius look guilty or, as Hamlet says, â€Å"The plays the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King. † Hamlet does this by writing a short speech for the beginning of the play. The speech is a complete recollection of how the ghost described his murder to Hamlet. Everything goes as planned and Claudius outwardly shows his guilt. Now Hamlet has all the evidence he needs to kill his uncle. However, Hamlet still does not take action in Act III but rather he thinks even more. The difference is that this time he is not trying to form a plan against his uncle but is contemplating life in general. â€Å"Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles. And by opposing end them. † Hamlet proclaims while wondering if death would be better than dealing with his problems. At this part in the play, Hamlet acts as if he has given up on planning to kill Claudius. In Act IV, Scene IV Hamlet reacquaints himself ith the goal of killing his Uncle. Hamlet meets with a messenger from Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, who says that the Norwegian army is going to attack Poland for no reason other than retaining honour. Hamlet is taken back by the lack of motivation for action and is ashamed because he has a lot of motivation to kill Claudius but still has not taken action. At the end of Scene IV hamlet says â€Å"O, from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth! † The implications of this sentence are that Hamlet had not thought about killing his Uncle very seriously in previous Acts. In the scenes following Act IV Scene IV, Hamlet becomes more impulsive and acts without thinking more often than he used to and this leads to the accomplishment of his goals. One may argue that there are more plausible explanations than Hamlet over thinking everything. One argument could be that Hamlet was being deterred by things such as the Kings guards or by other outside forces. If this was the case then Claudius would not have been able to kill the previous King so easily. Also, the only time guards are mentioned in the play are when they are outside guarding the walls rather than being personal guards for the King at all times. We can see this in Act III Scene III when Claudius is praying. If he had guards they would be somewhere close by most likely at the door to whatever room Claudius was praying in. However, Hamlet was able to not only enter the room but be in a position where he would be able to kill Claudius if he had chosen to. Hamlet then leaves the room and, during all of this, not once are guards mentioned or heard from. Another part of this theory states that Hamlet was waiting to have more proof before he acted against Claudius. This is why Hamlet puts together the ruse to make his Uncle look guilty in Act II Scene II but, even after he has proved Claudius’s guilt, Hamlet neglects taking action. Instead, he continues to obey what Claudius tells him to do like getting on a ship to England. The theory that Hamlet is stopped by external obstacles is invalid because the obstacles stated are either non-existent in the beginning or are removed part way through the play. If we are only looking at this theory, there is nothing left to stop Hamlet and yet he does not act. Out of all the theories presented for why Hamlet delays his revenge I believe the best choice is that he is overthinking everything. Starting from the beginning of the play, all he does is think about what he should be doing or how he should be doing it and there really is not anything stopping him from killing the King. For his plans to come to fruition, Hamlet needed to become motivated enough that he would act and not stop to think about what he was doing. With this narrow mindedness achieved, Hamlet was able to finally kill the Claudius and avenge his father.

Physical Security in Different Situations Assignment

Physical Security in Different Situations - Assignment Example It is evident that only negative outcomes result from the scenario in discussion both indirectly and directly. A complex system developed by the Federal Reserve System is vital for ensuring continuity of the bank’s operations because it minimizes the possibilities of negative impacts resultant from the disastrous scenario. In this case, economic development and security on finances of the society is at a minimum in comparison to lack of the complex system. Continuity of operations eliminates unemployment of personnel in the wake of the disaster and offers financial security on resources belonging to its clients and investors. The development of the system is an approach referred to as disaster preparedness. It allows efficient management of the discussed scenario while aiming to achieve a smooth transition from response to the disaster through to sustained recovery transition. An immediate consequence of the bombing, classified as a complex emergency, is the loss of lives and injury of individuals present at the time of attack. The damage of the available resources and assets of the Federal Reserve is an immediate consequence of the scenario as well. On the other hand, indirect effects of the disaster in discussion include the loss of both local and foreign investors from the Federal Reserve. The banking system collapses for this matter and economic depression sets in. In the long-term, the working force of the nation is retrenched due to economic depression. Consequently, the unemployment rate is on the rise while the purchasing power of the consumer decreases because of inflation of goods and services. Crime as a vice stems from the fore mentioned consequence. The security of the nation is then compromised. One negative consequence produces a ripple effect to the nation as an economy.  

Making race, sex and empire Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Making race, sex and empire - Assignment Example Challenges of the living in America included racial segregation on different grounds. A point in case is that affluent students undermined the lowly class members. The standard term for the day was â€Å"Check your privileges† developing from a majority perspective of superior individuals. The term had several implications for various people who tried to understand the cause of segregation. As such, the school environment posed numerous challenges that included lack of concentration and an uncomfortable feeling. I remember the majority class members segregating students hailing from poor families. Importantly, teachers also added another element of racism by specific comments. Personal experiences in the American neighborhood inflicted a sad reality of the harsh treatment in the world for minority individuals. As such, growing up had various challenges that served as hard lessons. In conclusion, racism is a despicable matter finding roots to the contemporary societies. As an opinion, civic education is important in fighting the vice within the modern

Religion and TV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion and TV - Essay Example Each of these theories, in turn, yields specific hypotheses for empirical tests. Informational Needs: A Theory of Social Influence Giddy and Pritchard (1985) applied the theory of "informational needs" (Harris and McCombs 1975) to help explain variation in viewing religious TV programming. They did not, however, point out that this theory has its roots in a theory of religious influence promulgated by White (1968). In particular, White's conceptualization of how individuals acquire religious values, broader moral orientations, and other attitudes with motivational consequences was focused on the interactional forces at work within specific communities and congregations. For Catholics, this approach would view members' attitudes and behaviors as grounded in a specific parish context. Such an approach would appear quite valuable for understanding patterns of exposure to religious media For example, it would not be surprising if parishioners communicated their religious orientations to one another during various parish-related activities, thus reinforcing even greater levels of interest in religious values and orientations. Such heightened interest might likely be expressed through greater consumption of Catholic religious programming, as parishioners attempted to gain more religious information and knowledge from these programs. Parishioners who were less integrated into parish activities and networks, and thus less exposed to the forms of interaction that would promote the growth of such "informational needs," would probably be less likely to view this type, or any type, of programming. Thus, it is our hypothesis that those individuals with a greater number of ties to a parish congregation, who interact more frequently with other members of the parish community, and who are more involved in parish life would be more likely to consume Catholic religious programming than other types of programming. Justifies offered to support financial assistance There are several additional questions, which cannot be explored with our data, also emerge. What is the actual content of the support of financial assistance primarily for spiritual growth and development, the increase in religious television programming, both locally and nationally, clearly make this an area of research to be pursued. In addition, the commitment of mainline religions to increase their presence on the television airwaves suggests that religious institutions have implicit theories about why home viewers attempt to participate in financial matters with a spirit. The viewers offering utilities against the contributions return Pentecostal. A principal theme of these programs is that "right thinking" must be wed with the charismatic gifts (charisma) of the early Church (for example, glossolalia, prophecy, and d vine heating). Glossolalia is often interpreted as evidence that an individual has received the fullness of the Spirit. Pentecostal spokespersons agree in their d istinctive doctrines, the Pentecostal experience, d vine healing and fundamentalism; however, in other matters there is wide diversity Neo-Pentecostal: These programs utilize spokespersons who practice the Pentecostal experience but who remain members of non-Pentecostal denominations. In these glossolalia is practiced but not regarded as more important than other charisma. Prosperity Preachers: Programs featuring Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal evangelists who, claiming revelational knowledge, propagate the idea that God has already guaranteed not only spiritual comfort and physical healing but also material prosperity. Believers are taught that they can have any and

Internal Memorandum of Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internal Memorandum of Law - Essay Example Owen and Dolly Jones, owners of the campground does not have any security, lifeguards, or the proper posting of safety precautions available despite its years of operation because it is a mom and pop ownership and the funds were unavailable. The morning after their arrival, they all went to breakfast to a restaurant while waiting to go swimming at the pool which opened at 10:00 a.m. The girls left early to get ready to go to the pool while Tamera’s parent stayed at the restaurant drinking alcoholic beverages. Tamera’s parents told them to get ready for the pool and wait for their arrival. After twenty to thirty minutes had passed, the parents still have not showed. The girls decided to go ahead and go swimming without supervision. The girls entered the pool at 9:30 a.m. They ignored the sign posted at the pool which states that the pool will only open at 10:00 a.m. Due to Shayla’s dyslexia, she was unable to comprehend the sign. After Tamera had entered the pool first nearly injuring herself, she yelled something out but Shayla did not hear. Shayla dove in the pool. She hit the bottom and broke her arm. After Tamera had pulled Shayla to the side of the pool and save her from drowning, the Owens arrived and then called an ambulance company for their services. Shortly after the ambulance arrived, Tamera’s parents arrived back at the campground and then Shayla was taken to a hospital were she was treated. Mary has incurred medical bills from Shayla’s accident. The current estimates of medical bills that have been incurred are $8,000.00 and will be incurring more bills for future medical treatment and physical therapy sessions. The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine which was applied in numerous cases involving swimming pool liabilities states that the owner of the land or property may be held liable for the injuries sustained by a child-plaintiff while in the said property, if the property imposed a condition or situation which attracted the child and caused

Investigating and Developing Ready-to-Eat Desserts Dissertation

Investigating and Developing Ready-to-Eat Desserts - Dissertation Example This dissertation reveals that the market for chilled desserts is estimated to be worth 302 million in 2004, which showed an increase of 29% since 1999. The market is split into two key sectors, loosely described as 'sharing desserts' and 'fresh cakes', which includes fresh in-store bakery items as well as pre-packed sliced cakes and desserts. The dessert sector is larger with 51% value share delivering a 13% growth across the period since 2000. However, it is the fresh cake sector, which has driven the largest growth, 40% up from its 2000 value to account for 49% of the category. A report by the 'Mintel' group has some interesting findings and is worth discussing. Mintel International group, which is a market research and consumer intelligence group, provides expert analysis on all aspects of consumers' economic activity. Mintel's latest report is based on an up-to-date market and original consumer research and offers ideas and motivation one needs for designing clever, creative and profitable marketing plan in the chilled desserts market. In conclusion, Mintel's report has been designed to help identify the important factors that determine the scale and nature of the UK chilled dessert market. Mintel's consumer intelligence is supposed to provide valuable insight to unlock some of the secrets of the dessert market for the more effective-and more profitable-business plan. The findings show that 48% of the consumers have eaten ready-to-eat desserts in the last 12 months while 32% believe that frozen foods are as good as fresh ones. Women are 50% more likely to buy cheesecake (34% versus 25%) and 33% more likely to buy a cream cake than men (32% versus 20%). Research design Shop Research For the shop research, visit was made to Tesco food joint in Trent Vale. I surveyed the range of desserts, both frozen and chilled and made notes of the products, the main ingredients, the price, packaging, and portion size. The survey result is shown in the following table: Type of dessert Ingredients Price (per head) Packaging Portion size Texture Remark Tiramisu Italian dessert Cream and chocolate topped chocolate cookie crust 39.95 Cardboard and plastic Serve 8 Not too soft to the touch Outstanding1 Chocolate tart with cranberries Chocolate, cranberries 19.95 plastic Serve 12-16 Soft Terrific3 Profiterole Butter, sugar, cream, vanilla, yolks, milk 2.25 plastic Individual soft Outstanding1 Lemon pudding Lemon, cream, sugar, 1.29 plastic Individual soft Excellent4 Tunisian lemon pudding Almond and lemon topped with cream and fresh berries 22.95 Cardboard and plastic Serve 12 Soft to touch but not too soft Excellent2 Ranking order *1,2,3,4 The survey revealed that most desserts are packed for 8 to 12 people, so price for individual portion had to be worked out by taking out the averages. Most of the desserts were served in porcelain plate or bow. Packaging is done either in plastic or cardboard or both. The individual price range of all the desserts was within 2 except Tiramisu Italian dessert individual portion

Quantitative Decision Making Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quantitative Decision Making - Research Paper Example - the independent and dependent variables can be determined incorrectly (in this case it is hard to determine whether change in export production of passenger cars influences export production of commercial vehicles or vice versa); - the perceived relationship may be a result of simultaneous influence of the third (moderator) variable on both of the variables separately (for example, correlation between export production numbers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles can be explained by the influence of the increase/decrease of the exchange rate on exports of the automotive industry in general). It may be true in this case, as the suggested regression model explains only 22.2% of variance (R-Squared value is indicated in the table below). Thus, if the export production number of passenger cars increases by 10,000 the export production number of commercial vehicles will go up by 572 (0.0572 coefficient). The constant 13,002 can be considered rather an anchor point for the regression line and should not be taken as the value of JCYF when JCYL is equal to 0 due to the fact that the data set available contains no observation with JCYF equals to or is close to 0. To project the export production number of passenger cars (... - the perceived relationship may be a result of simultaneous influence of the third (moderator) variable on both of the variables separately (for example, correlation between export production numbers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles can be explained by the influence of the increase/decrease of the exchange rate on exports of the automotive industry in general). It may be true in this case, as the suggested regression model explains only 22.2% of variance (R-Squared value is indicated in the table below). Linear regression equation JCYF = 13002 + 0.0572 x JCYL (coefficients indicated in the table): Multiple R-Square Adjusted StErr of Summary R R-Square Estimate 0.4708 0.2217 0.1730 4184.251262 Degrees of Sum of Mean of F-Ratio p-Value ANOVA Table Freedom Squares Squares Explained 1 79773016.56 79773016.56 4.5564 0.0486 Unexplained 16 280127337.9 17507958.62 Coefficient Standard t-Value p-Value Lower Upper Regression Table Error Limit Limit Constant 13002.19876 7187.903864 1.8089 0.0893 -2235.476735 28239.87425 JCYL 0.05720163 0.026797739 2.1346 0.0486 0.000392961 0.1140103 Thus, if the export production number of passenger cars increases by 10,000 the export production number of commercial vehicles will go up by 572 (0.0572 coefficient). The constant 13,002 can be considered rather an anchor point for the regression line and should not be taken as the value of JCYF when JCYL is equal to 0 due to the fact that the data set available contains no observation with JCYF equals to or is close to 0. To project the export production number of passenger cars (JCYL), given export of commercial vehicles (JCYF), the JCYF value should simply be plugged into the regression line equation. The point of estimate number would be

Compare and contrast two main characters from Don Quioxote and the Essay

Compare and contrast two main characters from Don Quioxote and the movie Toy Story - Essay Example "That is impossible," said Don Quixote: "I say it is impossible that there could be a knight-errant without a lady, because to such it is as natural and proper to be in love as to the heavens to have stars" (Chapter 13). Both protagonists, Don Quixote and Buzz, are men of almost divine tolerance and sympathy, with a feeling for humanity that only a few have possessed and revealed. The main difference between Don Quixote and Buzz lies in their motives which force tem to fight for truth and universal virtue. Love and romance are the main features of Don Quixote while honesty and desire to save the planet from Evil emperor Zurg characterize Buzz. Don Quixote describes his feelings: "when they are in love; and so true is this that there have been knights who have remained two years on rocks, in sunshine and shade and all the inclemencies of heaven" (Chapter 13). Both of the charcaters are on predestined journeys, all striving for what sometimes seemed unobtainable to them and the audience alike. But, wherever the meeting with Roque Guinart took place, Don Quixote remained with him in those craggy solitudes for three days, moving about with the gang and finding matter for observation and wonder. "There's a remedy for everything except death" (Chapter 54). The other difference between these characters is pessimism of Don Quixote and bravery of Buzz. Don Quixote con tribution to the pessimism which characterizes so much of the important writing was to probe the inner recesses of human behavior to see by what instincts people are governed. Sancho describes their journey with Don Quixote "We squires to knights-errant have to bear a great deal of hunger and hard fortune, and even other things more easily felt than told" (Chapter 31). Don Quixote proposes a view of man's essential nature which one might more normally expect to find argued in a philosophical treatise. Indeed, if the reader feels sometimes that the plotting of this hero is too schematic and relentless, this may be because Buzz are more concerned to demonstrate his theory about the incipient self-centeredness of the human species than to explore the psychology of individual characters. Another similarity can be found between Woody and Sancho Panza. Both of them play secondary roles and depicted as the common man. Using these characters, authors unveil thoughts and actions of the protagonists their inspirations and self-esteem. Both of these characters support protagonists and their actions remain independent doers of their destinies. "Senor," replied Sancho, "is it a good rule of chivalry that we should go astray through these mountains without path or road, looking for a madman who when he is found will perhaps take a fancy to finish what he began" (Chapter 25). The main difference between these characters is that Sancho-Don Quixote relations are based on master-men relations while Woody and Buzz are enemies. Don Quixote describes Sancho "Sancho, my friend, night is drawing on upon us as we go, and more darkly than will allow us to reach" (Chapter 8). In contrast to Woody, the main feature is that Sancho exhibits the remarkable prevalence of humanism in a movement that claimed to promote peace and love. He is fascinated about Don Quixote. "And what greater misfortune can

Oil ALternatives Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Oil ALternatives - Research Paper Example Impacts of Alternative Fuels 1. Environmental Impacts 2. Social Impacts 3. Economic Impacts Conclusion: More research must be done on the various sources of fuel other than oil, in order to identify the most suitable and environmentally beneficial alternative. Karen Duneen Margaret Wilhelm English 1102 24 Apr. 2012 OIL ALTERNATIVES Alternative and effective sources of energy to oil must be found, as oil is a limited resource which is extremely bad for the environment. Oil is a non-renewable energy which is obtained through the drilling of oil reservoirs in particular regions. In the contemporary world, our daily operations are driven by oil (Sherman and Freemuth 6). The industrial world is well aware of the significance of oil in its operations. Ostensibly, oil was a great catalyst of the industrial revolution and was instrumental in enabling the economic advancement of numerous countries. Petroleum is the fuel of choice for industrial equipment while others are run by diesel. In the past coal was the preferable fuel until oil became known as a better alternative. A vast proportion of automobiles for example, are reliant on oil since they encompass oil-dependent engines. In addition, modern ships and boats have a structure that requires oil to propel it to various destinations. The aviation industry also constitutes engines that require the introduction of oil into their systems to enable them to function properly. Evidently commercial industries have been integrated with oil since it is cheaper and widely useful in most of their operations unlike electricity. Petroleum has high-energy capacities; its transportation is relatively easy and efficient in initiating numerous operations (Sherman and Freemuth 6). Its relevance in modern society is growing with most of its producers emanating from the Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. Processing of oil also gives rise to several oil products like kerosene, diesel, petroleum, and gasoline. Kerosene is instr umental in cooking and other domestic tasks that require fuel. Invariably, oil is an essential element in the manufacturing of products that comprise of clothing, ink, crayons, paints, upholstery, antiseptics, heart valves and many others. Oil is increasingly becoming essential and thereby its price fluctuates especially in recent years. Recently doubts regarding the abundance of oil are surfacing, together with the detrimental effects of oil pollution to the climate. According to Sherman and Freemuth (7), oil is a finite resource and hence upon exhaustion the suppliers cannot replenish it. This suggests that oil is not adequately dependable as a resource in the end. This element has facilitated the debate of adoption of other renewable resources of power as an alternative to oil. There is a simmering debate over the possibility of replacing oil as the predominant energy resource, due to its limitations. Irrespective of the high-energy capacities of petroleum, it is essential to ack nowledge the fact that oil is a limited reserve. There are dreadful assertions that some of the oil wells could be drying up since there is a reduction in the quantity of oil barrels that they produce. Such a stance also has undesirable ramifications politically, socially, and economically. Evidently, there is an increasing global effort in initiatives resulting from this awareness, for example, the introduction of electric cars and the manufacture of environmentally friendly containers. The alternative sources of energy will mitigate the

Supporting the Commander’s Leadership Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Supporting the Commander’s Leadership Philosophy Essay This thesis will cover the Support of the Commander’s Leadership Philosophy, command climate, strategies, and the role of the gunnery sergeant’s importance in the execution of the Commander’s leadership philosophy for Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. We feel that the command climate at this unit is good. The three strategies that we will use to discuss this will be communication, training and leadership and how important they are in order to establish an effective and productive environment. We will also discuss how the gunnery sergeant’s important role is the key to ensuring that these strategies are well executed. The process used in analyzing this units’ command climate was through the assistance of the Commander’s Leadership Philosophy, blotter, and miscellaneous command photos. Command Climate The assessment of the unit is good within the Commander’s philosophy. The Commander’s policy will have more of a significant change in the command. The Commander stands by his policy by being a band of brothers. He has done a good job making it clear about upholding our traditions as Staff Non Commissioned Officers (SNCO) and Non Commissioned Officers (NCO). The Responsibilities, Leadership, and Core Values are what the Marine Corps is about. By following theses values and the Commanders’ philosophy the command should be able to carry on the mission and goals set before the Squadron. Commander’s Philosophy of Leadership The Commander’s expectations for the Squadron as a whole is Teamwork, Leadership, and Communication. According to base reports they have less than 10 percent of incidents within the Squadron. That’s what team work is about taking caring for each other. Taking time to get to know you’re Marines. One person is not stronger than a team. This plays a big part with every Marine in the unit pushing for success. The leadership is a key role, Honesty is the best policy, and a college degree does not make you a leader. Any Marine can be a leader; for the mission to be successful we need loyalty and core values. By the command climate survey showing that the unit takes care of each other, this is another step to success. Communication the most important part of the Commander’s philosophy. This is what holds all of the Commander’s three words together (Team work, Leadership, and Communication). Keeping lines open are very important. Knowing what’s being said in meetings, passing the word down to the Marines and making sure they understand what is going on. Our SNCO’s and NCO’s are essential to this action. Any delay with this action will create problems within the unit. The Commander has an open door policy, but the Marines will utilize the chain of command. With the command policy in place the unit should have no problems achieving their mission of success. Strategies to Create/Foster Positive Command Climate As part of ensuring the command climate stays positive and even further improve, the following are three strategies formulated in order to define and implement the commander’s vision and expectations from his squadron: Communication Leaders must be able to clearly express the commander’s vision and expectations to their Marines. They must dedicate the time necessary to ensure that their Marines have a full understanding of commander’s intent, mission, and how they are to contribute to the squadron’s success. The senior Leadership will facilitate the clear communication of such by means of more daily interactions with their subordinate Marines and get feedback to ensure that the vision and expectations of the commander are understood. The Noncommissioned officers (NCO), on the other hand, should provide the same to their junior Marines and ensure the same feedback is received. Training Senior leadership will ensure an NCO Professional Military Education (PME) is conducted once a month to discuss small-unit leadership, by means of guided discussions on core values and how they relate to their daily operations on and off-duty and to their surroundings. A junior PME is also to be conducted once a month and should be guided by an NCO, to discuss the same issues. Also, physical training (PT) will be held at the squadron level on Fridays and from Mondays through Thursdays on the smaller unit levels. This ensures consistency in PT, but at the same time allows Marines to take advantage of regular weekend liberty, vice conducting PT events on Saturdays. Leadership As part of leadership, the mentoring program must be implemented across the squadron as a great tool to counsel, coach, look after the welfare of, and ensure Marines accomplish the mission in support of commander’s vision and expectations of teamwork, leadership, and communication. Also, a Values-Based Leadership Integration (VBLI) program will be incorporated into small-unit leadership. The VBLI is a good tool in that it improves communication skills of each Marine during a guided discussion as well as builds and sustains trust and loyalty between subordinates and leaders. Overall, making ever Marine relate better to the commander’s vision and expectations. Gunnery Sergeant’s Importance As the Company Gunnery Sergeant for VMF 214, my main responsibility is, to ensure that the strategies developed to improved command climate aboard VMF 214 are planned and executed properly to ensure maximum success. Communication among the SNCOs will be crucial in order for these strategies to work. Before making any changes, as the Company Gunnery Sergeant, my initial task will be to hold a meeting for SNCOs. The purpose of this meeting will be to ensure that all SNCOs understand and can clearly articulate our Commander’s vision and expectations to our junior Marines. This will not only help us eliminate the â€Å"I assumed† factor out of the equation, but it will show our junior Marines that we know what we are talking about, that we have a plan to correct the situation, and that we will lead them to success. To improve communication in the command will be the first agenda, there will be a staff meeting once a week for all SNCOIC in the command conference room. We will use this opportunity to discuss the progress of our strategies and any other issues around the command. The NCOs will be required to sit down with their junior Marines once a week as well, before they sit down with their SNCOs. This will allow our young leaders the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by mentoring the junior Marines on the things accomplished in their sections and in the command on a weekly basis. All Squadron safety briefs will be reviewed by the Company Gunnery Sergeant for accuracy and relevance to the topics we want to focus on. Before the start of any holiday weekend, all SNCOICs will be required to submit a vehicle inspection checklist on all their Marines. I expect the NCOs to perform most of the vehicle inspections, but I also expect the SNCOs to be involved in this process. The goal is to ensure our Marines safety, so they can enjoy their liberty and comeback to work ready to accomplish bigger and better things for the command. The training is our Second agenda and the training section (S-3) will provide the Company Gunnery Sergeant with a list of Marines names that need to complete their resident PME. Those Marines will get that information passed down from the Company Gunnery Sergeant with school dates. In return, those Marines will be required to respond NLT close of business 3 April 2012, with the date of the course they choose to attend, or a valid response on why they are unable to attend during fiscal year 2012. Physical training (PT) will be conducted at the squadron level on Fridays and at the section level Monday through Thursday. We will add cross-training in all levels of the squadron to be done periodically, to improve proficiency of Marines, ensuring they are trained to handle their respective duties and those of others in case the latter are out of the office due to Temporary Active Duty, leave or liberty, and Personnel change of duty. Last but not the least, there will be a command field meet the last week in August. This can infuse Marines with camaraderie and teamwork and foster esprit de corps. We will be implementing the Professional Reading Program for all sections. SNCOs will be required to build a folder for all Marines in their section to include themselves; the No Later Than (NLT) date will be 3 April 2012. By this date, all NCOs will be counsel by their SNCOs and all NCOs will counsel the junior Marines on the commander’s vision and expectations for all Marines belonging to VMF 214. Furthermore, as part of the check in process, all Marines checking in to the command will be required to write a one page essay explaining what they understand about the commander’s philosophy. This can be submitted to their SNCOs NLT one week after checking in to the command. As part of the Professional Reading Program, every Marine will be required to submit at least one book report to the Sergeant Major or senior leadership. Finally, our leadership will show strong in these few ways, at the conclusion of weekly section PT, every other Thursday session a Valued-based Leadership Integration session will go. A SNCO will lead that section on a chosen VBLI that can cover work or life. The mentoring program will be fine tuned and we will ensure that every Marine has a folder with detail information in it. All Marines will have a mentor to help with life events or skills training and all safety documents for TAD or other wise to include holiday routines will be logged in this folder. It will be the SNCOs to assist the younger Marines that will be in the leadership position of a Mentor. The squadron will implement Hails and Farewells and will be conducted every month to introduce new Marines to the squadron and to recognize achievements and say farewell to departing Marines. Conclusion In conclusion, we discussed how important it is to have an effective command climate and that all strategies must be imposed for a command climate to have successful results. We talked about having effective communication and how important it is for a unit to understand the commander’s intent, how conducting adequate training will promote core values and how leadership is the glue that holds the trust and loyalty between subordinates and leaders. We also discussed how the gunnery sergeant’s importance is an additional key to success and in the end, the Support of the Commander’s Leadership Philosophy, positive command climate that was evident in Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214, strategies, and the role of the gunnery sergeant’s importance is essential for the satisfaction and the development for the Squadron.

Effect of Brand Equity on Consumer Perception of Brand

Effect of Brand Equity on Consumer Perception of Brand Brand equity plays an important role in the firms in creation and development of both product and company brand strategy. The study aim to analyze the relationship of different variables of brand equity with the purpose of providing the relationship between effectiveness of brand equity and customer perception of the brand the research focuses on the dimensions of brand equity which involve brand awareness, brand image, brand quality, brand loyalty and brand association However the researches examine relationship between dimension of brand equity and consumer perception of the brand Primary and secondary data source will be used so as to be able to achieve the objectives questionnaires will be constructed to provide answers to research question. Also interview and focus group will be among the secondary data In this study, eighty (1o0) questionnaires will be distributed, The study will make a survey for these dimensions of consumers based-brand equity and their perception of brand so as to determine the accuracy and validity of the research for current and future use. Key words: consumer perception on brand, brand equity, loyalty, image quality and association CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIO This chapter of the project present a brief discussion about background to the research ,followed by problem statement ,aim and objectives ,justification for the research methodology and conclusion of the chapter BACK GROUND OF THE PROBLEM Based on the rapid changes in the global market and high competition between firms or companies the concept of brand management has become more important .Because good brand management bring about clear different between products and services provided by different companies brand management is important because it ensure strong brand equity which help customers especially when customers need to purchase product or services. Concept of brand equity has received a great deal of research interest in the past 18 years and continues to be one of the most appealing fields of marketing for private and public sector firms. Brand equity issues are important in the design and development of a company and its product or service offerings(Keller ,2004) However academics have not achieved a widely accepted methodology of measuring firms brand equity or the effect of different variables of brand equity on the valuation of a brand. Researchers have also found that brands with high brand equity receive a considerable purchase price, even when a company has declared bankruptcy (Kaikati 2003) suggesting that high brand equity can provide rewards even when a company is in a poor financial position Brand equity is recognized in the name and symbols associated with a company and the very act of social responsibility is believed to be a significant driver for Building strong brand Despite many other factors that global and local brands of different products use brand equity as measurement of its effectiveness to their customers Prasad and Dev,(2000) presented some factors which are the simplest way for hotel industries to recognise and distinguish between themselves in the mind of their customers is through strong brand equity .(Low and Lamb,2000) also stated that in the service market the main brand is firms brand while the packaged goods market the main brand is seen to the product brand itself. As research shows a powerful brand enhance customers attitude and strength toward brand. According to (Keller, 2004) customer awareness and association influences attributes of perceived quality and finally result to brand loyalty especially when customers are satisfied with product or service they purchase. Strong brands allow its customers to have better perception of brand regardless either intangible or tangibility. Branding has been conducted for centuries as a means for producers to distinguish their goods against those of competitors by creating a recognizable and memorable image. Aaker, D.A Kumar and Day (2007) Kotler p (2002) states A brand is a name, symbol, design, or mark that enhances the value of a product beyond its functional purpose. The term brand equity focuses on the added value with which a brand endows Brands such as coca cola their brand equity is difficult to measure because the company extended their product with strong brand awareness. This is same as TBL drinks ( alcohol and non alcohol ) the company have extended their brand within the country and out of the country . Aaker, D.A Kumar and Day (2007) As far as brand associations are concerned researchers narrated a minimum of nine brand associations that can affect brand effectiveness toward consumer perception brand association communicate the approach or the meaning of product in specific term on how consumer needs can be fulfilled in any competitive environment Additional research has revealed that companies will pay a premium to acquire or merge with a competitor that has recognized high brand equity as a means of hedging against new product costs (Aker 2004) Purchasing a company or product line with high brand awareness has a high potential for carryover to the new parent company, as long as the brand name remains effective and consumers do not see a visible reduction in performance Researchers such as (Merrilless and Millers 2008)state that loyal customers who perceive higher brand image tend to act more favourably toward rebranding because when the company face any down fall they can make innovation or rebranding and improve some factors that will make the brand more known to create top mind and mind recall.Marketers should enhance some core peripheral brand concept to build up connections between the initial brand image to attract the target customers and this is importance especially when the competition is high Although several brands within different product and service categories used different method to measure brand equity .Also other researchers (Prasad and Dev ,2000:23)state that relatively limited research on brand equity within the hotel industry and other companies has been conducted and more others by different researchers where they shows some gapes from different research conducted which indicate the importance of strong brand equity on customers perception of the brand For the company to archive a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace one has to value the importance of building strong brand (Kim , Kim An 2003,Parasa and Decade 2000) this is by maintaining and improving brand to ensure customers satisfaction is high compared to what your competitors do Conclusively the most important or best way of building strong brand value and support product or service performance will is to ensure effective brand management and strong brand equity because if the brand management and brand equity is poor then it will have great effect to the customers as researchers suggest there should be effective brand equity to ensure that all the measurement of brand are active to avoid effects to customers especially when they make perception or decision of what brand to purchase. Therefore the company need to have effective brand equity because consumer perception on a brand is based on the brand equity (Kotler, P and Armstrong, 2002) THE PROBLEM STATEMENT The failure of companies in maintaining effectiveness of their brand which as a result it affect customers perception of brand this is because companies try to come up with different brand which keep them different from other competitors but some of them they fail to perform well despite that they have brand. While the failure of the company to build effective brand equity will actually leads to the failure in achieving the desired organization goals because even if the company have brand but if the brand can not compete then the firm will not do well. . This is because brand equity play an important role in maintaining customer loyalty and organization performance in the market place. So Having the brand itself is not enough the company should have strong brand effectiveness because brand equity have great effect on consumer perception of brand When reading through literatures researches shows different gaps regarding customer base brand equity in service industry and most focus on relationship between firm performances using brand awareness and image as a moderating effect. Also I noticed that most researches {Aaker (2001), Keller (2003), cob-walgren et al (2005), Lasser et al (2005), Yoo et al (2003) Yoo and Donthun (2001) surveyed these dimension of brand equity and determine their effect to the customers especially when the brand is not well managed More over due to the fast change in consumer wants and high competition has influence brand management to ensure better performance of the company because brand equity has great effect on consumer perception of the brand (kotler P. 2002). Therefore I have chosen to carry out this research to indicate the effectiveness of brand equity on customer perceptions of a brand and examining their effect on customer perception and organization performance. Accurate method of data collection will be primary and secondary data in which I will base on literature review, interviews and questionnaires to get the validity and reliability of the problem. PURPOSE OF THE RESEACH The project has to do with the effectiveness brand equity on customers perception of brand the main objective will base on the following: Determine relationship between brand awareness and customer perception of brand Analyze the effect of brand image to the customer perception of the brand Examine the relationship between brand quality on customer based- brand equity and their perception of brand Determine the effectiveness of brand association in brand equity to the customer perception of brand Analyze the effect of brand loyalty to customers and customer perception of the brand Lastly the findings will show or tell what dimension seems to have least or lower consideration when customers make perception about the brand .this will be used as one of the recommendation for this research for the companies and future research on what they should focus on for the future DEFINITIONS OF THE KEY CONCEPTS The following model demonstrates that brand equity is developed based on the five dimensions of brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and other proprietary brands assets (example distribution system). How the brand performs on these dimensions is what leads consumers to develop an overall, intangible rating of brand equity. This equity then provides value to the consumer and the firm in the outlined ways. The model by Aaker was one of the first seminal works in the field of brand equity and led to future research in the area. KEY CONCEPT Figure: Aakers Brand Equity Model 2002. Brand: Kotler et al (2005, p.549) state that brand is a name, term, sign design or a combination of all of these factors that identify different product or marketers of any product or any service. According to (Kapferer (2004) a brand is a name that has power to influence a buyer he also said that these influences could be the result of strong brand association and relationship built up over time among customers or distributers. Brand Equity Aaker (2004) stated that brand equity is a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand example brand name and symbols that add or subtract from the value provided by produce or services to a firm direct to its customers. Brand loyalty Aaker (2004) Brand loyalty is the attachment that customers has to the brand or is the consumers preference to purchase a particular brand in a product class and this is due to consumers awareness about the product or the quality and image of the product or customers satisfaction .all of these add to customers loyalty Brand image Keller (2005) Brand image is consumers perception about the brand or how they view the brand. Also brand image is symbolic construct created within the mind of consumers and it consist all the information and expectation that customers expect to get from a certain brand of Product or service Brand awareness (Aydin and zer, 2005).Brand awareness refers to the ability for a buyer to recognize or recall a brand is a member of a certain product category Rossiter and Percy (1987) state that brand awareness is essentials for communication because good brand awareness create top mind which help to make marketers work more simplified when customers are aware of the product . Without brand awareness no communication effect can occur for customers to buy a brand they must be aware of it. BREACK DOWN OF THE WORK The research consists of five (5) chapters. The first chapter based on brief discussion about background to the research, followed by problem statement, aim and objectives, justification for the research methodology and conclusion of the chapter The second chapter present the theoretical frame work with theories which are relevant to the study literature review has been structured in the following way starting by consumer behaviour ,brand ,brand equity conceptualization of brand equity brand equity in service industries and finally dimension of brand equity and conclusion of the chapter Chapter three presents the method which will be used in data collection. It explains the research design that has been used, also research approaches, data collection method, source of data, reliability and validity and lastly limitation of the research The fourth chapter present data analysis and result of the findings Finally chapter five deals with conclusion, recommendations and suggestion for the companies and future research, the references and appendix are presented at the end of the research CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAME WORK This chapter put together what other researchers have Witten about this topic which is addressed in the title. this include literature reviews from different research which will help to identify gaps and limitation from previous research also literature review help to add on the body of knowledge to support the problem oh hand CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOR Consumer behaviour For better understanding about brand equity on customers perception about brands , it is necessary to start with consumer behaviour. Belch and Belch (2004) defined consumer behaviour as the process and activities people engage in especially when searching ,or selecting ,or purchasing the product ,it involve evaluating and disposing of product and services to satisfy their needs and desire. Dalqvist and Linde (2002) characterized consumer behaviour into four bases which include rational, learned, unconscious and social behaviour and they are represented in three ways KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE ACTION Rational behaviour: (Dalqvist and Linde 2002) customers with rational behaviour, first they get some knowledge about the product and what in offers then they get attitude toward the product and finally they may act to buy or not to buy the product .This is usually when customers purchase expensive product Example cars (KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE ACTION) Unconscious behaviour: consumers with unconscious behaviour start with an attitude toward the product this attitude may either be from emotional or feeling .then consumer find more information about the product and then get knowledge about it and finally they may choose to buy or not (ATTITUDE KNOWLEDGE,ACTION) Learned behaviour: this is when consumers do not plan their choice of product they do it by habit example of this habit is when buying a newspaper (ACTION KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE) Social behaviour : consumers with social behaviour tends to choose theirs product as the result of social environment which they live in .the status, lifestyle and other influences they may influences the product they may buy ( ACTION ATTITUDE KNOWLEDGE) FACTORS THAT INFLUENCES CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DIAGRAM Cultural factors: this may include factors such as culture, subculture or social classes in which a consumer identifies his or her self with Social cultures :this may include factors such as family ,reference group, and consumer role and status example religious leader Like pastor Personal factors :this include factors such as lifecycle ,status, and age of consumers also the economic situation, occupation self-concept and consumer personality Psychological factors include perceptions ,motivational ,learning attitude and belief of consumers .These factors have great effect on consumer perception The above factors have great effect on customer perception of the product this is because people differ in geographical location and the norms and conduct differ so this can affect the purchasing of product due to customer perception CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR According to sderlund (2001) consumers buying behaviour include attitude, intention, preference, strength and commitment of consumer to purchase a product. Consumers buying behaviour this may be called buying behaviour of the final product. . From the diagram above it shows stages that consumers pass through when they want to buy a product but these stages also may depend with a product and if its a first time customers to purchase that product (kotler p 2004) proposed five stages that consumers go through when they need a product, need recognition, information search ,evaluation of information, purchase decision , post purchase DIAGRAM Need recognition: this is when consumers define their need or their problem .this may be due to internal stimulus or external stimulus Example of internal stimulus is when you need a drink as a result of hunger .External stimulus arise due to many things example commercial on television about something my force or influence a certain need (Kotler, 2005) Therefore it is importance that marketers find out what stimulus attracts interest in their brand. Information search: (kotler p ,2005) this is when customers find informations from different sources based on their need example sources such as commercial source, personal source, and experiential source these sources are important to enhance knowledge and awareness of any available brand Alternative evaluation: this is where consumers evaluate and rank alternatives from the obtained information example of evaluation may base on quality price, warrant and package and other information Purchase decision: this is where consumers purchase product that they want, their perception may be influenced by unforeseen factors and attitude of others. Post purchase decision: this is when consumers compare their expectation and the actual perceive performance (Kotler et al (1999) stated that they get satisfied when their expectations are the same with the product performance Consumers behaviour may depend on type of the product consumer is buying Kotler (2001) designed a buying behaviour model which consisted of four different buyer behaviours. DIAGRAM Complex buying behaviour: when consumers buy a high quality brand and before making purchase they seek more information about it .This is high consumer involvement example when a person want to buy a car other electronic product like laptop they need significant differences between brands. Habitual buying behaviour: when customers purchase a product out of habit these customers have low involvement with the brand Variety seeking buying behaviour: when customers go around the shopping mall and experiment with variety of product Dissonance reducing buying behaviour: this is when customers are highly involved with buying product as a result of fact that is expensive or rare Example buying Apple laptop or buying a car like BMW FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF BRAND PERCEPTION: Perception is a process by which the information is received, selected evaluated, organised and interpreted by an individuals when they need to purchase product. (Kotler 2005). Factors influencing customers perception Diagram Influence by others: influences by others play an important role when one need to buy something .consumers have habit of consulting each other regarding a new brand that they need to purchase to seek their advice .some advice are very strong and help buyers to buy quality brand these influence my be from friends, cultural value behaviour and preference or socially like small group like family or membership group. So these influences can make someone buy a product which he or she was not planned to buy. (Derlund 2000) Quality: this is the strongest factors which consumers take into account when making their choice on what to purchase .According to (Uggla (2001) quality is an integrals part of brand identity. Price: is used as an exchange of product or services, price can be used as a reason for a choice of a certain product or service example guying at lower cost to escape financial cost or risk or highest product to get good quality. (Derlund 2000) price place and brand are the three important factors when deciding consumers purchase choice in every product. Advertising: the ain of advertisement is to create top mind and awareness to the target customers target consumer about the product or service. Advertisement is a major way of communication .According to (Aaker 2002) advertising, promotion and packaging empress are the key factors to influence customers to purchase your brand because advertisement create top of mind and brand recall. Packaging: this is designing the cover of the brand or product that will help to attract and influence customers (Kotler 2001) packaging is a form of advertisement in the sense that it sales duties such as attracting customers describing and selling the product. Convenience :the brand should have things that can convince buyers , conveniences of brand has significant effect on consumers because in a real sense no one can buy product which have no easy access or no store available ,sellers must create ways to customers to get product in easy way to avoid unnecessary cost (Lin and chang 2003). DETAIL ON BRAND: BRAND: Kotler et al (2005 p.5490) state that brand is a name, term, sign design or a combination of all of these factors that identify different product or marketers of any product or any service. According to (Kapferer (2004) a brand is a name that has power to influence a buyer he also said that these influences could be the result of strong brand association and relationship built up over time among customers or distributers. Brand is a means where sellers can be differentiated because everyone can produce a product but to make them different the branding is very important. (Jones and Slater 2003) They sum up these added value that develop from different experiences that customers may have from the brand which rise as the result of using the brand which could be as a result of consumer association with the brand Having strong brand companies not only could facilitate the differentiation of their product to with their competitors .but with branding companies are able to create confidence and loyalty in their firm performance (Halverson Revaz, 2006). IMPORTACE OF SRONG BRAND According to (Dave Dolak 2003) strong brand will create the following benefit amongst others Build name and brand recognition for your product or the company which may influence consumer buying behavior decision Build trust and emotional attachment to firm product or services Make purchase decision more easy and it will enable customers to have trust toward the brand and create belief as result they become loyal to your brand even without knowing the uniqueness of your brand Any strong brand can create the consumer attitude toward a particular product and services and the strength of such attitude is developed through experience with such brand A strong brand enjoys the benefit such as reduced competitive advantages, premium price, customer loyalty, profitability, reduced the perceived risk of consumers who are not so sure of their decision THE BRAND EQUITY Concept of brand equity has received a great deal of research interest in the past 18 years and continues to be one of the most appealing fields of marketing for private and public sector firms. Brand equity issues are important in the design and development of a company and its product or service offerings. However academics have not achieved a widely accepted methodology of measuring firms brand equity or the effect of different variables of brand equity on the valuation of a brand Aaker (1991) defined brand equity as assets and liabilities that add or detract value to a firm and/or its companies. Brand equity help to increase seals ,price premium and customers loyalty this is because brand equity comprises all the importance element of the brand example brand awareness , brand image , brand quality and other element .so when brand equity is strong it will help the company performance to be good and also influence more customers toward the product or services In other words brand equity can be said to be an asset or liability connected to brand name that adds or subtract value to the product This definition of brand equity can be widely described into other three ways which could be based on financial perspective which stress the value of brand to firm, or customers perspective which sees brand equity as the value of brand to consumers and the combination of the two The study focuses on customers perception .consumer based brand equity can be divide into customers perception which based on brand awareness, perceiver quality, image, loyalty and association and their buying behaviour DIMENSIONS BRAND EQUITY The following diagram illustrates the measurement of brand equity. Brand equity by reasserting the lack of tangibility and clear definition of the concept Brand equity is due to large sales and a sizeable advertising budget, since consumers are more likely to favour the larger brand names. Baldinger and Rubinson (2007) argued against the assertions of Ehrenberg by showing research that customer attitudes can be measured with some level of validity and that brands (large or small) do show a decrease in strength when observed over a long period of time DIMENSION OF BRAND EQUITY Aaker (2001) BRAND ASSOCIATION: Chen (2001) identifies the types of brand associations and examines the relationship between the characteristics of brand associations and brand equity. He uses the research of (Aaker 2001) to develop his model concluding that the underlying value of a brand name is often a set of 11 associations. Chen suggests classifying brand association into product and organizational associations and further sub-associations as outlined in his brand association model. Chen (2001) provides useable examples for the functional attribute associations and non-functional attribute associations to increase the readers understanding of the framework. He then conducts his research to determine the effect of brand associations on brand equity Apelbaum, Gerstner, and Naik (2003) highlight the difference in price provided by brand awareness and examine whether quality is as much a price determinant as brand equity. The authors study the variations in product quality between national and store brands from selected Consumer Reports lists and compare the use of premium pricing. As noted earlier, consumer beliefs about brand attributes and benefits can be formed in different ways. (Ian and Taylor 2002) Brand attributes are those descriptive features that characterize a product or service. Also brand benefit are the personal value and meaning that customers attach to the product or service attributes In general, the source of information creating the strongest brand attribute and benefit associations is direct experience. This type of information can be particularly influential in consumers product decisions, as long as consumers are able to interpret their experiences accurately. Word of mouth or other non-commercial sources of information (consumer organizations, the press, etc.) can also create strong associations (Ian and Taylor 2002). Many authors (Ian and Taylor 2002) as cited by Juan Carlos et al 2001)find that quality differences between national and store brands vary significantly across product categories and for 25 percent of product categories, the average quality of store brands is higher. In spite of this difference in quality, national brands receive a substantial price premium (30 percent on average) and when the quality of national brands is higher than store brands the price premium increases to 50 percent Both Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993) define brand associations as the information in the consumers mind linked to the brand consumers use associated to process and store information in their memories that can be used especially when they need to make decision on what to purchase good association of the brand will take organisation into customers consideration and it can be liked to trust which result to better organisation performance . BRAND AWARENESS Brand awareness can be referred as the degree of consumers familiarity with a brand (Aaker 2001 and Keller 2003 stated that brand awareness is a vital element of brand equity in which when the brand is well known it become important to the company since customers may be influenced by the brand (Rossiter and Percy 2007) brand is the ability of customers to distinguish the brand amongst other brand Keller (2003) Conceptualized brand awareness as a source of good brand recall and brand recognition .He went further to say that the recall is the ability of customers to remember a brand from their mind when the product class is made known Brand awareness is reflected in the consumers ability to identify the brand under different Circumstances (Keller, 1993). Also is considered as important in low involvement product categories .when it come to high involvement product like cars and other expensive and durable product its however likely that customers spend more time when they make their decision on what to buy so when that product is well known and all the specification are known and where to get also it become more convenience for the consumers and hence may customers may favor that particular brand According to (Aaker, 2001 p 34) there are three level of brand awareness namely: Brand recognition: is the ability of consumers to identify a certain brand amongst others that is aided as recall situation where bay a person is asked to identify a recognized brand name from a list of brand from the same product class Brand recall: is a situation where by a customer is expected to name a brand in product class, also it can be referred as Unaided recall as they are not given any clue from the product class Top of mind: this is referred as the first brand that consumers can recall among a given class of product Different researchers have seen brand awareness as an element that play an important role to both customer and the company ,to custom

Ryanairs Strategic Management Practices

Ryanairs Strategic Management Practices Introduction The aim of this assignment is to explore Ryanairs strategic management practices through the theory of core competencies developed by Prahalad and Hamel (1990). Ryanair operates in the low cost carriers (LCC) industry and experienced success since the launch of its operations. Ryanairs successful strategic management position is reflected in the optimisation of its internal processes offering value to customers whilst eliminating waste. By developing a set of core competencies, Ryanair has been able to develop a strong market position while transporting millions of customers every year. The first part of the essay provides a brief overview of the company and the industry in which it operates. This section outlines the key competing forces and argues for the companys cost leadership approach towards its strategy. The second section outlines the core competence theory developed by Prahalad and Hamel (1990). This section briefly summarises the theory and its assumptions. The third section discusses the application of the strategic theory to Ryanair. This section argues that Ryanairs core competencies concern not only the efficient utilisation of its tangible resources (e.g. aircraft, contract on destinations with airports), but also intangible resources (e.g. market share, reputation, customer loyalty). Brief overview of Ryanair Ryanair gained its reputation as a low cost carrier (LCC) throughout Europe by following the SouthWest business model (Strategic Direction, 2006) (see Appendix 1 for a comparison between the two models). This model included the delivery of a no- frill service whilst offering a point-to-point service and short haul routes to secondary and regional airports. By competing on cost, Ryanair was able to offer cheap tickets to a range of European destinations with the result of changing how customers perceived their travelling experience. Ryanair was able to offer competitive prices by reducing operational costs through the utilisation of its aircrafts. In particular, by avoiding a hub-and-spoke service, creating short haul journeys, scrapping the traditional system of ticket production and seat reservation and in-flight meals, the company was able to increase the number of journeys whilst reducing costs. Moreover, the use of secondary and regional airports offer less handling costs, fewer terminal delays, and greater airport access. According to Datamonitor (2010) as of June, 2009, the company offers over 1,200 scheduled short-haul flights per day serving 145 locations throughout Europe and Morocco, with an operating fleet of 196 aircrafts. The company operates through approximately 845 routes (p.6). The scale of the companys operations indicates its positive reception by consumers seeking to reduce travelling costs whilst increasing the frequency of trips to European destinations. Current trends in the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Market 3.1 A different approach to airplane transportation Malighetti, et al (2010) argue that the growth behind the LCC market is underpinned by the consumers increasing interest in using airplanes not as a luxurious mode of transportation but as an opportunity for travelling to new destinations at a minimum cost. According to Huttinger (2006) many countries perceived the airlines as a state institution and their reason for existence as a fulfilment of public needs (p.229). The same idea is also expressed by Pitt and Brown (2001) who argue that the development of a differentiated strategy allowed the LCC firms to create a new niche. Dobruszkes (2009) argues that efforts towards deregulating the industry by the EU allowed airline firms to introduce changes in their way of operation. Lack of regulation meant fewer restrictions as to how the airlines needed to design and perform their operations (e.g. ticketing system, destinations, etc) (Dobruszkes, 2009) According to Strategic Direction (2007a, 2007b, 2007c) the emerging opportunities developing from deregulation were followed by the SouthWest business model in the USA. This model was not only copied but also extended by companies like Ryanair and Easy Jet in Europe (Barrett, 2004). As Figure 1 illustrates, a steady increase in the number of passengers carried between LCC firms can be noted. For example, whereas Virgin Atlantic achieved 28.9% growth, in contrast, Ryanair achieved 171.9% for the number of passengers carried. The difference in volume is evidence of the consumers growth and changing travel needs. Figure 1 Scheduled passengers carried, 2002-06 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 % change m m m m m 2002-06 easyJet 11.4 20.3 24.3 29.6 33.7 +195.6 Ryanair 14.9 21.3 26.6 33.7 40.5 +171.8 Flybe 2.6 3.2 5.5 +111.5 bmibaby 0.7 2.8 3.3 3.6 4.1 +583.3 Monarch na na 2 2.6 3.2 na Virgin Atlantic 3.8 3.8 4.3 4.5 4.9 +28.9 BMI 7.5 9.4 10.5 10.5 10.5 +40 BA (est) 40 38 36.1 35.7 35.6 -11 Source: Company data/CAA UK airline statistics/Mintel A key trend in the LCC market has not only been the consumers attention on cost but also opportunity for travelling to new destinations within Europe (Malighetti, et. al. 2010). As Pitfield (2008) argues, following the recent economic credit crunch the new business model favoured the LCC. Cost became a differentiating factor in the way consumers made their purchasing choices on travel (Pitfield, 2008). Moreover, from Figure 2 it can be noted that the competition between the LCC remains fierce. Ryanair and Easy Jet are the largest competitors in Europe sharing the greatest volume of passengers travelling. According to Gillen and Lall (2004) such growth is attributed to a) the number of destinations already served by the airliners, b) the reputation on cost and c) the development of a strategy that allows them to utilise resources whilst minimising waste. Efficiency remains a key attribute to the development of competitive advantage in this market. This is because excessive costs contr ibute to the firms cost structure. This means that for a LCC firm to remain competitive such company needs to sustain its levels of efficiency whilst improving the value chain with which the service is delivered. Figure 2: Passengers carried in 2006 Source: Mintel/Company data (2007) 3.2 Ryanairs cost leadership strategy According to Porter (1980, 1985) there are three types of strategies companies can adopt in an industry. These are a) cost leadership, b) differentiation strategy, and c) focus strategy. A cost leadership remains effective depending on the volume of customers served. Such strategy focuses on achieving economies of scale by maximising its profit margins through the maximised over volume of sales. In contrast, a differentiation strategy is based on the specific attributes of a service and/or product that competitors are not able to offer (Porter, 1987). The distinctive features that are unique to such service/product differentiate the companys competitive power (Porter, 1996). A focus strategy concerns a firms concentration on a particular segment in the market (e.g. consumers, product, health-related products) with the result of creating new barriers of entry for other competitors to enter (Porter, 1987). Such barriers are created because of the tacit knowledge (e.g. methods of produc tion) that is needed in order to develop the product and/or service. Ryanair is adopting a cost leadership approach to strategy. As Figure 4 shows, when comparing the companys prices against competitors and for the same destinations the cost difference remains considerable. Mintel (2007) notes that the company aims to turn flights around within 25 minutes and routes are consistently the shortest of all the Low Cost Carriers (LCCs). Wood (2004) and Boru (2006) argue that even though this cost leadership strategy has proven effective, nevertheless, it has been difficult for Ryanair to maintain it without influencing the quality of service offered to customers. In particular, Boru (2006) argues that Ryanairs hard approach on cost has resulted in a hostile behaviour towards customers. Ryanairs couldnt-care-less approach to customer care also applies to refunds and baggage. Not only are refunds never paid out, even if a passengers travel plans are disrupted by the death of a grandparent, but the bereaved customer is told to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ for having the temerity to ask (Boru, 2006, p.50). Datamonitor also reports various lawsuits, claims, and legal proceedings, arising in the ordinary course of its business. Some of these legal proceedings and claims seek damages, fines, or penalties in substantial amounts or remediation of environmental contamination (p.7). The implication of this argument is that even though cons umers continue to fly with Ryanair, they nevertheless remain weary of its behaviour to their changing travelling needs. Figure 4: Comparative fare levels (same booking date and approximate departure times Source: OHiggins in Johnson G, Scholes, K, Whittington, R. (2008, p.839) Mintel (2007) argues that in order for Ryanair to increase its revenues, it tends to engage in making incremental increases on costs that remain hidden to consumers. For example, consumers are being charged to pay for advance boarding to seat reservations, sports equipment to extra baggage and others. OHiggins (2008) mentions for example that a disabled man won a landmark case against Ryanair after it charged him  £18 for a wheelchair he needed at Stansted Airport to get from the check-in desk to the aircraft. The passenger was awarded  £1,336 in compensation from Ryanair, as the UK based Disability Commission said it may launch a class action against the airline on behalf of 35 other passengers (p.834). Such hidden costs generated a negative image for the companys low cost reputation. Donne (2004) and Groom (2004) argue that customers dislike extra charges and seek to withdraw their loyalty for carriers that are not committed to their quality of service on the grounds of reducing costs. Figure 5: Customer complaints Source: in Johnson G, Scholes, K, Whittington, R. (2008, p.842) The implication of this argument is that Ryanairs successful strategy remains contingent to the changing trends in the environment. As Figure 3 illustrates, the process of strategy formulation and evolution goes through a cycle where application needs to conform to the changing conditions of the environment. This means that Ryanair needs to develop a different approach to its cost leadership strategy by introducing modifications to its model. This can be done by placing greater importance on the customers perceptions of satisfaction rather than just promoting the selling of low cost tickets. Figure 3 Aspects of Strategy formulation and evolution Source: Chaharbaghi and Willis (1998:1022) Core Competencies Theory According to Johnson et al (2008) Chaharbaghi and Willis (1998) the study of strategic management is concerned with understanding how an organisation can realise its corporate goals through the manipulation of its tangible and intangible resources. According to Ansof (1984) strategic management can be defined as a systematic approach to a major and increasingly important responsibility of general management: to position and relate the firm to its environment in a way which will assure its continued success and make it secure from surprises. (p. xv) According to Raduan, et al. (2009) strategic management can be seen as a combination of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation (p.406) According to Mintzberg et al (1998) there are two principle schools of thought that influenced the discourse on strategic management over time. These are characterised as the a) design school and the b) emergent school. The design school argues for the importance of careful planning. Lidtka (2000) for example argues that the orchestration of processes can lead to the achievement over the intended strategic corporate outcomes. The emergent school was influenced by the work of Mintzberg (1979, 1983) and argues for the managements inability to manage uncertainty in the course of realising its corporate goals. Mintzberg (1983) argues that the role of strategic management is to adjust a firms intentions according to the shifting conditions of the environment. Such conditions cannot be known a priori but only realised at the time of their development (Mintzberg, et al (1998). Cunah and Cunah (2006) also support this idea by arguing that firms developed their strategic positions by an emerg ent process resulting from managers and employees improvisations in response to the realities of the market (p.839). In the discourse between the two schools, Prahalad and Hamel (1990) developed the theory of core competencies. This theory argues for a firms ability to develop specific competencies which are intertwined with the employees tacit knowledge and expertise. Core competencies remain context-specific and are not easily transferable because of the specificity of the employees knowledge and skills that help maintain it. According to Grà ¶ÃƒÅ¸ler (2007) core competencies represent a firms capabilities created by the complex interaction of its resources combined with implicit or explicit knowledge about the effective combination of these resources (p.252). According to Prahalad and Hamel (1994) the implication of this argument is that the innovative capability of a firm remains closely located in its awareness of the employees skills and their continuing development. Hence, the process of fostering core competencies comprises the development of qualities which concern the advancement of products/services which are intertwined with a set of skills which are people-specific (Hamel, 1996). As Figure 4 illustrates, performance remains an outcome of the interaction between capabilities and resources. Such a process is dynamic and not static, which means that the firm is in a continuing process of identifying and strengthening its core competencies over time (Goold, 1996). Figure 4 Relationship between resources, capabilities and performance Performance Capabilities Resources Source: Adapted from Grà ¶ÃƒÅ¸ler (2007, p.253) Having outlined the theory of core competencies the following section will discuss its application on Ryanair. Assessing Ryanairs strategy through its core competencies 5.1 Waste minimisation and improvement making According to Lawton (1999) and Done (2004) Ryanairs core competencies are identified in its ability to discover and remove operations that do not add value to customers. Prices can be reduced when unnecessary processes are eradicated and/or improved. Pietfeld (2008) argues how the increase in efficiency is an activity that needs to move beyond the process of careful planning. Gillen and Lall (2004) argue that Ryanair has instilled an improvement-making strategy that resides in its corporate culture. This means, that employees can take real-time initiatives which are then evaluated and implemented by the management on the organisation as a whole (Leavy, 2003). Lawton (1999) argues that the management of the organisation remains unable to detect deficiencies as employees are the ones who have immediate contact with customers. Hence, the process of introducing quality improvements requires the necessary organisational structure to allow initiative-taking by employees whilst these are also supported by the management layer. According to OSullivan and Gunningle (2009) the literature on initiative-taking by employees remains subject to criticism. This is because employees can indicate areas of improvement but such suggestions may not be readily applicable. However, a core competency developed by Ryanair is the development of an organisational structure where the corporate culture allows them to take initiatives which are then institutionalised. The management is responsible for the development of the necessary regulations, policies and procedures that can accommodate initiatives (Barrett, 2004). The implication of this activity is that the firm is able to swiftly respond to the customers changing needs with little delay. This core competency remains difficult to copy by competitors because it resides within their existing work ethic and cultural values of employees that has matured over time. A criticism that is expressed against Ryanair, and in contrast to its effort to increase levels of efficiency, concerns the absence of unions that may exercise resistance to the managements growing demands. By increasing the array of responsibilities, employees are required to achieve performance targets, OSullivan and Gunningale (2009) argue that Ryanair has created excessive demands on employees that are not accounted for in their salary. 5.2 Utilisation of Resources A second core competence concerns Ryanairs ability to maximise the volume of customers travelling whilst increasing the number of routes offered. Barrett (2004) argues that the shorter turnaround times permit more journeys per day per plane which, coupled with the higher seat density of Ryanair planes, generate lower seat mile costs (p.92). Delays result to high maintenance costs in servicing aircrafts (Barrett, 2004). Such costs, in turn, can result in reducing the number of destinations offered in the first place. Gillen and Lall (2004) argue that a faster turn improves utilization of all factors of production such as aircraft, gates, ground equipment and labour (p.44). Ryanairs core competency concerns its capacity to maximise the utilisation of its aircrafts whilst also maximising the number of routes offered. However, such utilisation requires the management of the employees contribution for knowing how resources need to be managed. The exercise of knowledge and training remain task-specific. Employees understand how their contribution, at one segment in the business, can have a wider contribution on the companys performance as a whole. Ryanair demonstrates synergy in managing array of operations that include a) the management of its network routes, b) the punctuality with which aircrafts turnaround, and c) the employees capability to manage an increase in volume of passengers. Such understanding is embedded onto the employees. As Prahalad and Hamel (1990) argue, a competency remains difficult to replicate by competitors because it is context-specific, and subject to the tacit knowledge and skills produced in the first place. Ryanairs ability to utilise its resources whilst maintaining a cost leadership strategy results from the combination between the employees knowledge and the utilisation of its resources. Figure 5 illustrates the companys efforts to increase levels of efficiency between 2002 and 2003. A complementary dimension to the utilisation of resources is the creation of new destinations. Datamonitor (2010) argues that in January 2010, the company introduced 25 new routes to/from Alicante, Barcelona Reus, Barcelona Girona, Bratislava, Bristol, Cork, East Midlands, London Stansted, Milan Bergamo, and Pescara. In the following month, the company announced opening three new routes from Edinburgh to Faro, Marrakech, and Paris. It also launched six new routes to the Greek holiday destinations of Kos, Rhodes and Volos (p.6). The creation of new routes is subject to the companys core competencies for sustaining its cost-leadership strategy whilst expanding the destinations offered. This means that by attracting a larger volume of passengers travelling, Ryanair achieves economies of scales that help maximise its profit margins. By achieving a high seat-filling-capacity Ryanair can sustain its standard maintenance costs whilst improving on revenues. Moreover, such strategy can create barriers of entry to competitors (Dobruszkes, 2009). By gaining entry to the new network routes, other airline companies (e.g. Easy Jet, Air Lingus, etc) have greater difficulty in competing for the same destinations. Figure 5: Ryanair operating statistics between 2002 and 2003 Source: OHiggins in Johnson, et al. (2008, p.846). Conclusion The aim of this essay has been to explore Ryannairs strategic management practices. By making use of the theory of core competencies as developed by Prahalad and Hamel (1990) this essay argued for the companys cost-leadership strategy that is sustained through its efforts to minimise waste and improve efficiency. Even though Ryanairs business model has proved successful, at the same time, there is growing criticism regarding the evidence indicating the company undermining the quality of its customer service. Even though consumers continue to use Ryanair for its efficient service and low cost prices the company is struggling to avoid the mounting criticism concerning the introduction of hidden costs and lack of adequate customer service (Wood, 2004, Boru, 2006). This essay argued that the companys core competencies concentrate on improving levels of efficiency at the operational level. There are two areas in which this occurs. The first is by developing an organisational culture where employees are encouraged to take initiatives in order to reduce operations that do not add value to customers (OHiggins, 2009). The second area concerns Ryanairs ability to maximise the utilisation of resources whilst expanding on the number of destinations offered (Dobruszkes, 2009). 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