Marketing Environment an Example of the Topic Education and science by

Marketing Environment by Expert Ellah PHD | 16 Dec 2016 Many companies are now using and/or are shifting to e-Business, and this exaggerated the effectiveness of marketing. Before using the non-e-Business, companies had problems with identifying, segmenting, and targeting the consumers, one of the reasons why a company cannot stabilize. Using the electronic technology nowadays, companies need not spend more time and penny in order to track the behaviors and patterns of the consumers as it was 50 years ago. Using the information gathered from tracking, companies can design products and effectively execute marketing initiatives that covers not just advertising but as well as planning and executing the conception, pricing, and promotion. Marketing also distributes ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges, which looks forward to satisfy inpidual and organizational objectives. The four Ps in marketing, product, pricing, promotion, and placement/distribution, were made simpler and easier with the quick hand of analysis of capabilities thr ough e-technology. Need essay sample on "Marketing Environment" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Also, more and more business transactions and processes are aided by technology that can create, improve, or align the product to customers needs. Affiliate Marketing Strategy for e-business, for instance, uses one site to lead track to online marketing which is similar to manufacturers that pay commissions to selling agents. Companies like Amazon use affiliate marketing reduce the cost-way to acquire customers. For each client who access on the companys logo and buy from the company, content site partners called affiliates, will get an income. A 15% commission of the sales is given by the Amazon for every customer/client referred to the company. The needs of the customer/client of Amazon are addressed by the companys report. The affiliate program is also known as syndicated selling (James, 2007). Content sponsorship, direct selling, infomediary, and intermediaries are all parts of the e-business model marketing strategy. For intermediaries, there are brokers for an online exchange, agent, and e-tailer. Next, an agent represents the seller, which is the affiliate program. Manufacturer's agent, metamediary, virtual mail, purchasing agent, shopping agent, reverse auction, and buyer cooperative are additional classifications. An e-tailer is a bit vendor for tangible products. The Amazon uses multilevel marketing network. The company gets information through the aide of the internet, and finds new customers as well as discovers new opportunities with existing customers and target new markets in effect to a fast-changing business world using that information. Its successful sales and marketing with the aide of the internet are due to five reasons. First, the company sets specific criteria to find competent leads, and develop effective lead-generation processes. Second, with extensive and accurate information in the internet, Amazon is able to project and makes it easy to clients/consumers to mail and provides the lists of sales leads online. Third, Amazon discovers new opportunities, and grab on the competitive landscape and target for business marketing programs. Fourth, clients get an easy search access of the Amazon. And lastly, the company is aided by powerful and cost-effective online tools. It helps create accurate lists of targeted sales leads. The company and its products and operations are known geographically speaking. For that reason, the lines of business bring the bulk of sales to the company. Furthermore, Amazon has extensive and impressive roster of brand names or customers. Not only that the company can access its competitors, but also the clients. EBay uses the same strategy as Amazon for its major products that include clothes, collectibles and sports equipments. As an auction company that needs larger market, it employs the internet where thousands of people could be the clients. This tool has also been used by ETRADE that gives answers and information for ebusiness. Important considerations like practicality, affordability and scalability of ebusiness are its concern. Similarly, one of the worlds leading computer manufacturers, Dell, has transformed and persified into wide range of business segments, which remains to be global over the years. Indeed, the strategy of Dell is global. The use of the internet to put the consumer closer to its market enables them to build customer base. Dell also finds the brick and mortar market strategy. As a result, sales offices and manufacturing outlets across North America, Europe, Asia and South America, are established. This way it has been able to gauge the local customers' needs as well as services desired. This strategy to gauge on local consumers was before and again is the strategy of Schwab, Gateway, Staples, and Borders. Even the company is global in approach; it cannot miss to think of the local consumers. Staples are effective on distributing promotional items that can help the company achieve a number of goals. In shifting to e-business the company still applies to generate referrals and repeat customers, memorable messages on promotional pens or t-shirts, etc, and give aways (Gallagher, 2007). There is no problem for the companies who start the business offline to later decide to extend the business online. In summary, ebusiness makes strategies and makes the business successful because of the transformation on how customers find the go-to place for information. Second is that customer find the way through the internet where they can expect to browse the products they want, and purchase it, because companies can place a wide range for customer information, thus greatly tracking the consumers who have the highest potential for purchasing products. Third, the e-business takes prospects right to the sale. After the customer had experience the promotion, he/she can immediately purchase the product. Fourth somehow takes an advantage to ebusiness over the brick-and-mortar. Ebusiness conveys a perception of being a full-service provider because for distributors and retailers, the company is an easy and comprehensive supplier. While brick-and-mortar are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand and service provide at store. Fifth, ebusiness provides lower overhead, lower costs and better service like for music, publications, graphic design products because delivery is through digital form. And lastly, ebusiness creates worldwide presence through communication and distribution channel that offers global access on companys products and services. References: Edeh, C. (2007). Internet marketing Yesterday and Today: a Research Report [Electronic Version], 1-8. Retrieved August 24, 2007 Gallagher, M. (2007). Put Promotional Goods to Work for Your Business [Electronic Version], 1. Retrieved August 24, 2007 from http://www.staples.com/sbd/content/article/o-r/promoproduct.html James. (2007). Affiliate Marketing Strategy for e-Business. [Electronic Version], 1. Retrieved August 24, 2007 from http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/48102/Affiliate_Marketing_Strategy_for_e_Business.htm

Political concepts affect on 2004 election essays

Political concepts affect on 2004 election essays Political culture, public opinion, and the media represent significant political concepts in the American political system. All affect the views of the general public. All of these political concepts are interconnected, each influencing the other, and similarly these three political concepts often affect the general publics political tendencies. The American political culture consist of the common values and beliefs of citizens that have political consequences. The beliefs composing the political culture are generally structural beliefs based on the American ideals of freedom. A general consensus exists among citizens on these beliefs and they often shape the political playground. Public opinion encompasses the political attitudes expressed by ordinary citizens on various issues, usually measured through opinion polls. In a strong democracy, public opinion should affect government action. Though greatly influenced by the media, public opinion also tends to reflect our basic political culture. The medias job is to bring the public valid and relevant information about politics and the policies that affect ordinary citizens. The media greatly influences public opinion by shaping an agenda and nearly dictating what issues are of importance. Living in a democracy, citizens should ultimately control the government, and to do they must be well informed. These three fundamental political concepts all have an influence on how the American people vote. The influences vary from subtle to great but combined, these often these political concepts probably have the largest influence on how the electorate votes. Of the three political concepts being discussed, political culture has the least noticeable effect on the way citizens vote. It is very important that a candidates fundamental beliefs are in sync with the American electorate and President Bush and Senator Kerry do both share in those central American ideals. Had a major ...

Corporate Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Corporate Strategy - Essay Example Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a changing environment and to fulfill stakeholders’ expectations. So strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature and may be made in situation of uncertainty i.e. they may involve taking decisions with views of the future. It demands an integrated approach to managing the organization. Strategic decisions will very often involves change in organization, which may prove difficult because of heritage of resources and culture. They have to manage perhaps change relationship and network outside of the organization. So strategic decision-making requires special qualities of skills and knowledge. i) Corporate level strategy is concerned with the over all-purpose and scope of an organization. This could include issues of geographical coverage, diversity of products/services or business units and how resources are to be allocated between different parts of the organization. ii) Business unit strategy is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. The concerns are therefore about how advantage over competitors can be achieved; what new opportunities can be identified or created in the markets; which products or services should be developed in which markets; and the extent to which these meet customer needs in such a way as to achieve the objectives of the organization perhaps long term profitability or market share growth. So, whereas corporate strategy involves decisions about the organization as a whole, strategic decisions here need to be related to a strategic business unit (SBU). iii) Operational strategies is at the operating end of an organization, which are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. Strategic management is the management of the

Race and ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Race and ethnicity - Essay Example Another thing that became a major hindrance in the community is racial abuse. Racial abuse has resulted in diversified and serious effects on adolescents and adults. The effects of racial harassment have long-standing issues and may stretch through out the life span. Short term or long term bullying tend to have serious mental difficulties on adults. Adults who continue to bully get into serious troubles and commit crimes like, marital violence, child abuse etc. It also affects the cordial relationship between the family members and friends. Though inequalities still exists, it doesn't mean that there shouldn't be any racial and ethnical categorization. In the present world scenario utmost importance is given to human rights. Under United Nations resolution human rights to every citizen of every country should be considered as an important factor. It's every country's responsibility to protect its citizen's basic human rights. Human rights violation should be considered as a serious offence, legal and appropriate action should be taken against those who violate these rights Assessing student's abilities and disabilities is the major factor and teachers should strive to identify these issues. By identifying their strengths and weaknesses one can easily work on these issues. Self-confidence plays an important role in everyone's lives. It is the deciding factor that decides a winner and a loser. In US the Blacks are the largest immigrants. They migrated from the far lands of the black continent Africa. In the past, since these countries were not as developed as US and their socio-economic structure was on decline, many of the citizens were forced to work as slaves and have to migrate to US. In US, Black immigrants have less education and less skill set, even among Black women also. Apart from other groups these Blacks have less human capital, so they have very less employers in their group and it is indirectly affecting their economic status and social environment also. Gender inequality was always prevailed among the Blacks. Since they were not the major community and further more they were immigrants, they had to face the brunt of racial abuse. One of the reasons of racial abuse was, fear among the US citizens was losing the jobs to these immigrants. Since the Blacks were ready to work for fewer wages there always lies the danger of losing jobs. Most of the Blacks were more or less unskilled or semi-skilled. This makes them of losing jobs very often. This brings more responsibilities on average Black women. Now she has to work outside to meet the daily requirements and look after the family. Bullying and racial harassment were the most dreaded things that most of the blacks and their children experienced in the pre and post civil war. The major reasons to start bullying and racial abusing depends on the characters surrounding the respective environment (like parents, neighbors, etc.,), children will face the immediate effect since they are the immediate guardians to the children, if not this parents or teachers at school whoever are close to the children with respect to time get to influence them. Human beings develop or grow by observing the surroundings and so they are called as social animals. The madness of depression is the antithesis of violence. It is a storm indeed, but a storm of murk. Soon evident are the slowed-down responses, near paralysis, psychic energy throttled

Skills required to provide clinical leadership in nursing mental Essay

Skills required to provide clinical leadership in nursing mental health - Essay Example The rest of the essay will broadly foray into these required skills. One of the most requisite skills for nursing officers is conviction and courage in handling financial decisions for their hospital or clinic. With healthcare insurance becoming unaffordable for an increasing number of Americans, people end up in hospital wards with insufficient finances. While running a hospital or a clinic has a business element to it, its first priority is to serve needy patients, especially the ones suffering from mental ailments. An ethically conscious leader will always keep this in mind and put the interests of the patient before that of the organization. While this may sound a touch idealistic and its implementation may seem unfeasible in a competitive healthcare industry, it is nevertheless an ideal worth persevering for. According to Shawn Ulreich, the chief Nursing Officer at Spectrum Health, â€Å"It is time to bridge the gap between nursing--and all of operations--and finance†¦Nursing leadership entails measures to tackle the massively flawed payme nt system. Other times, it is demonstrating that you sincerely care about patient care† (Fifer, 2007). Continuing in a similar vein, leaders in Nursing should reverse recent trends of high employment dissatisfaction among nurses and other support staff. Nurses across the country are not happy with the remuneration package handed to them and consequently shifting to jobs that pay more. Another reason cited for this state of affairs is the lack of mutual understanding between the business and nursing wings of the healthcare organizations. For example, according to a recent survey, â€Å"Approximately 38 percent of the respondents reported having left a CNO position--13 percent within two years before the survey and 25 percent within five years before the survey. When asked about the context of their departure, a high percentage reported leaving their

Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children

Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children Ethical Dilemma, Practices and Implications of Children Advertising Creating outstanding products and programs to win marketplace is not an easy job. Specialists in marketing have to develop comprehensive research plans, carry out market researches, analyse the data collected and finally come up with marketing plans that target specific consumer segments. Finding out about human psychology, their preferences, choices and appeals are not only difficult but at times disappointingly inaccurate. Yet marketers today consider themselves experts in such endeavours, and are capable of achieving the almost impossible marketing objectives.   As if these aspects of marketing are not difficult enough, in modern-day marketing field there is a niche in which the marketers have to deal with children. The most difficult task is perhaps the determination of the choices and preferences of these fickle individuals who are still developing, absorbing the environment and learning to become like their adult counterparts. The task of marketing to children is not only daunting but also critical for many businesses such as Nike, Microsoft, Johnson Johnson, Disney, Pepsi, Sega,Kellogs and Mattel to name a few. These companies go through extensive research and consultancy to get to the untapped market of child consumers. One such example is evident in Dan S. Cuff and Robert H. Reiner’s (1998) Youth Market Systems.  According to the authors the development of outstanding products and programs to win childrens marketplace is entirely different from the rest of the market segments. For this purpose they invent a marketing process called Youth Market Systems. The System ensures marketers consider all aspects of marketing to children or teens for any category of goods or services that companies want to sell. There Isa great need for a system of analysis and interpretation as the authors feel that information pertaining to cognitive, emotional and social needs of age groups could transform the programs or product features that target them. Cuff and Reiner’s (1998) strategy merely opens window to the world of advertising to children. As one investigates the categories of products and services that are available to young children, one also tend to develop the consistent belief that children are a separate kind of consumer group and must be treated differently, from advertising to the designing of products. All these efforts no doubt are valid and justified in their own place and position, however a niggling thought crosses the mind when one observes the various approaches and efforts that marketers adopt to reach out to the vulnerable youth consumer segment. There are reasons for these tactics. Cuff and Rehire record approximately $1 billion annual gross revenue for Mattel Incorporated that sells Barbie’s. There are others such as Garfield, He-Man, Cabbage Patch Kids, Power Rangers, LEGO, GI Joes and a myriad of upcoming products invading the market with the sole purpose to tap on these young consumers who are bound by childish emotions and penchant for toys and games. Schemes and strategies are being devised to win over these young consumers for high stakes amounting to billions of pounds. What is more, advertising and marketing to children does not only involve the youngsters but their parents also. For example the Youth Market System identifies parents, grandparents and other close family members as the most influential on children’s purchasing decision. Exploring this group is critical because they are the ones who have control over the wallet and it is on them that children are dependent. The complexity in children marketing therefore lies in attracting both the youngsters and appealing to the parents. A winning formula must be developed to attract both the parents and children. The complexity of this formula makes success rate low which induces marketers to resort to all kinds of schemes and strategies to achieve their desired target, including crossing the line of ethics especially in the field of advertising of children related products (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Scholars and parents alike feel that there are no avenues that advertisers and businesses will not exploit to reach to the young consumers. Exploitations through mental, moral and physical developments of children are common. The strategies to target children involve creation of wants to satisfy the impulse rather than actual needs. For example consoles such as Mattels Hot Wheels, and Barbie’s fashion collections are not really required by children but wants created by advertisers and marketing campaigns. Long term needs satisfaction has been replaced by short term needs. They are not the only ones exploited. Their parents are also plagued with different kinds of created needs for their children such as the wellbeing; status symbol; and their selfish need to have their child preoccupied with the multitude of products and free them from child responsibilities. Statement of the Problem These aspects portray not only the ugly but also the unethical sides of the world of advertising. How true are these aspects and to what extent do advertisers reach to capture their target consumers? Do they cross the borders of ethics or not to maximise gains from vulnerable consumer market? And what, if anything, should be done to control and ultimately restrict the freedom of advertising aimed at children are some of the areas that the following research will endeavour to enumerate. Literature Review Children have become the key target for many advertisers. Children are vulnerable, easy to exploit consumers and they perceive things as advertisers want them to perceive, or so many of us believe. Despite the fact that children are nowadays smart and knowledgeable of the marketplace nevertheless for many marketers they are relatively easy to target due to the sheer size of the childrens consumer market. Advertisers thrive by earning billions of pounds with the backing and funding of the profit seeking organizations that hire them. These companies are not only producing goods that appeal to the children but they are also exploiting their parents. The dual targeting approach makes this market segment attractive as well as representative of high yield for investment. For example in many regions of the world including the US, Europe and Japan, companies are investing billions so that they can capture and tap the youth market segment but at the same time they are also reaping billions in return. Advertisers and marketers are entrusted with the task to achieve sales targets by generating desired actions from the segment. The wide appeal has motivated many professionals to enter and adopt whatever means and measures to achieve their targets. Ethical implications surpasses but few in the field of advertising that target children. For these reasons the authority, lobbyists and parents are demonstrating their concerns regarding the impact of media and advertising on children. The following literature review will first outline why and how children are targeted, followed by a review of the kind of ethical implications advertising and the media has on children. This will be followed by an exploration of the measures that are being taken to counteract the problem, if any. Children Advertising Advertising to children has not been an issue until recently with the boom of the media. More and more parents are concerned about the legal controls that the authority levy on advertising criteria as most are concerned about the kind of tactics advertisers are using to influence children for the sake of maximizing their profits. For example Begot and Dottie (2004) note that pornography, cigarette and tobacco related, alcohol and other products prohibited for children are being promoted on television freely without restriction. Advertisement messages for these adult related products are tailored for adult consumption but due to the appeal of mass viewership and the higher profits, the advertisements are aired during children television primetime. As a result the advertisements expose children to contents that are not meant for them. Had that been the only case then the issue of advertisement would not have been so controversial. Research suggest that children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old watch about 25 hours of television per week in the US and they are exposed to 20,000 commercials in a  year (Moore and Lutz 2000).Children at this age are vulnerable because they are developing a sense to comprehend and evaluate messages in the environment. Stimulated messages on television not only have a harmful impact but they are also detrimental in persuading children to develop wants for products that are not meant for them. According to Moore and Lutz (2000) Beyond advertisements, children gain marketplace information from the products they encounter, advice from friends and relatives, and their own consumption experiences. Through consumption, children learn what products are good and bad, whether advertising claims are truthful, what brands they prefer, and even products that convey social meanings apart from their functional properties. For children the experiences that heighten their importance in their social circle and the adult world have the most meaning. They do not have the ability to counteract or check on the viability or the authenticity of the message initially when they are young as they are dependent on adults for explanatory information accessible only through print media. By the time children grow to the teenage level the functionality of literacy diminishes tube replaced by their desire and need to fit in their social life. Without consideration for product usefulness or content, children develop wants for products beyond their pockets and reach. Similarly, children are also exposed to advertisements for fashion products that are actually designed for adult consumers but they are often condensed to tailor to the younger audience with the purpose to include the young consumers in the marketing campaigns. For this reason children develop receptivity for fashion products without the required information for decision making.  Moore and Lutz (2000) recognize the importance of childrens advertising and its impact on young audience by revealing that children are receptive to advertising demonstrated in experiments of relation between ads and products. They write: Research investigating childrens receptivity to television advertising has studied what children understand, under what circumstances they are persuaded, and how their responses evolve as they mature (e.g. Macklin 1987; Redder 1981). Drawing extensively on information processing and stage models, researchers have gained substantial insight into the development of childrens cognitive skills and their deployment during ad processing. (Moore and Lutz 2000) Their research indicates that children are at a stage where they are developing cognitive abilities. Advertisers vie on this susceptible developmental stage by targeting the limited processors of children that have not yet acquired efficient information processing strategies, a fact that may be reflected in their inability to distinguish between central and peripheral content in message learning. (Moore and Lutz2000). They further this idea by writing that at the stage of ages 8and 12 children are susceptible to information that are stimulated and that target the vulnerability of the strategic processors.   Because at this age group children tend to spontaneously employ efficient information storage and retrieval strategies. They organize and retrieve information based on available information and stimulus. Unless their knowledge of advertising is expressly activated by such acute, these children tend not to think critically or generate counterarguments spontaneously. They may also neglect to differentiate between central and peripheral content when learning new information. When there is an appropriate cue in their environment, however, they are likely to retrieve and use relevant information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Therefore children may develop recognition mechanism on how advertising should be viewed but that is dependent on external factors like parental guide, government policies or other mediating channels. Evidence suggests that there is substantial amount of influence on this age group when they are not guided in the preliminary stages in understanding the intent of advertisements. Research reveals that significant guidelines must be levied before children rationale and deliberate on the content of advertisements shown on television. â€Å"Advertising is thus implicitly accorded substantial power to shape children’s thinking until they acquire sufficient cognitive and attitudinal defences. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Other than the cognitive development impressions on children, advertising also influence them to take actions. In a study by Smithland Wynyard (1982) on consumer behaviour and response towards product trials offer through advertisements suggests that because consumers know that advertisers wish to present their brands in a favourable light, they react to ads by partially discounting claims and forming tentatively held brand beliefs and attitudes. In contrast when consumers have direct usage experience, they form stronger, more confidently held brand beliefs and attitudes. This phenomenon has been observed in a number of studies with adults and may be consistent with the case of children. The same expectations is held with regard to children advertising as researchers are of the opinion that with age, the capacity to form brand opinions tend to be more among older children. For example children of age groups 10 and 12, and 12 and 14year olds tend to tell the truth and more likely to be sceptical towards the institution of advertising rather than blindly accept advertisement claims. According to Michel Begot and Barbara Dottie (2004) children advertising are dynamic and highly appealing. The authors are of the opinion that children are the key target for advertisers because brand preferences in this age group remain unchanged for a long time. Children remain loyal to the brands they are used to yet at the same time they have growing pockets to afford more expensive items as they grow older. The above aspects indicate that children though are smart and knowledgeable to sceptically evaluate and experiment with products through advertisement claims they are also aware of the fact that these advertisers claim may not be true. At this point it is arguable to note that some school of thoughts separate the vulnerable youngsters from the smart young consumers who have the cognitive ability to critically examine the advertisement claims and disregard them if not proven true. According to Robertson and Resister (1974) if ads present information different from a childs actual experience, confusion may result and trust in advertising may be determined. Conversely, others suggest that until children actually experience discrepancies between products as advertised and as consumed, they are unable to fully comprehend advertisings persuasive intent. For this reason Moore and Lutz (2000) claim that advertising use frames for product trials known as transformational advertising in which adult consumers are drawn towards the products prior to advertising exposures by asking them to participate in the process of experimenting and interacting with the product with the view to interpret, evaluate and subsequently form their experience impressions. The expectancy or discrepancy frame sets are formed for comparison of later product trials which help in determining discrepancies or consistencies of product qualities. Mooreland Lutz (2000) present the testing paradigm to show that rational consumers are clever in testing advertising claims of product performances. Testing paradigm enable them the opportunity to evaluate and form opinions. Children, on the other hand do not have the same reaction or taste for distinguishing discrepancy in the same manner. On the other hand Ziegler (1996) believes that advertising and product trials have different effects on childrens capacity to integrate multiple sources of information for consideration. Young children tend to engage in one-dimensional thinking pattern and rely on multiple dimensions for a given task. Integration is imperative for children because they are dependent on this integration processing of information for forming perceptual domains and consumer behaviour. When younger children are presented with information it is encoded and stored in the recesses of the mind, and whenever needed retrieve it for evaluation. Information integration is basically combining new information presented in the media with the old information, and comparing the two. Disparate media information result in discrepancy inexperience. This in turn results in loss of trust in advertisement messages. Not all children however are wise enough to discriminate information. Moore and Lutz (2000) believe that age differences differentiate expectations and credibility of advertising. They write Younger children have been found to hold more positive attitudes about advertising, to be more likely to believe its claims, and to be less likely to understand its essential purpose. Thus, among younger children advertisings credibility is not likely to arise as a concern, and they are likely to perceive both advertising and a product trial experience as believable sources of information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Clearly, this statement identifies with the fact that younger children are more susceptible to advertising and they are prone to take actions without critical evaluation. For older children advertisers may not integrate strong expectations about a brand and instead focus on the stronger results to generate confidence in product usage (Fazio1986). Alternatively there are groups of advertisers who vie on the physical habits of children. For example one of the most invidious techniques is to use junk food in advertising for children. The use of celebrities to endorse these foods without any consideration for balanced diet or fitness is common in the industry. In the UK the BBC which is funded by licence and tax payers, received around 32 million pounds in 2001for franchising its Tweenies’ characters to McDonalds the Food Commission found that the Tweenies’ products were high in junk elements. Despite this fact the UK government continues to allow brands such as Cadburys to market its products and launch campaigns that have negative effects on the physical health of children. These efforts are designed to generate more profits and not the public interest. They are aware of the fact that the lack of exercise coupled with high calorie food result in obesity and other related diseases in children. The rate of obesity has doubled in the past 10 years from 8.5percent to 15 present among children under 16 years (The Lancet 2003).Yet advertisements continue to infiltrate the media and other channels with the objective to vie on children. Advertising Strategies Children have long been recognized as the target market for many companies due to its economic potential. Recent estimates by Moore(2004) indicate that children and associated markets account for 24billion dollars of direct spending and it has an additional 500 billion dollars influence over family purchases. Children are considered to be potential gold mines for campaigners and advertisers alike. Television channels and the print media as well as companies are constantly engaged in complex product placements, sales promotions, packaging design, public relations, and in-school marketing activities with the view to reach out to children and their parents. Given the time children spend in front of the television, on the Internet and media gadgets, marketers realize that children form a huge consumer base for â€Å"toys, breakfast cereals, candy and snacks etc. For this purpose there are more and more commercials on television to induce buying preference and action. TV commercials especially are being developed to induce children to purchase and participate in programs promoting cars, fashion, cell phones and other such adult related products. According to Moore (2004) At the root of the childrens advertising debate is the question of childrens unique vulnerabilities. Concerns about young children range from their inability to resist specific selling efforts to a fear that without benefit of well-developed critical thinking skills they may learn undesirable social values such as materialism†(Macklin, 1986 qt. Moore 2004). Her view is also affirmed by Cuff Andrei her (1998) who indicate through their study that children are susceptible to advertisements because of the extensive measures and strategies adopted by the advertisers. Their study reveals that marketers devise winning formulas to gain the confidence of children by sending out messages that winning children are those who are associated with certain brands. These may be Barbie, He-Man, Teletubbies or Spider-Man. Identification and association are the keys to the winning formula. The success rate of the winning formula depends on how deep an impact the product or brand has through the advertisements. These are developed based on the knowledge of the development of the mind of the growing consumers. The product leverage mix is formed based on qualities that are demanded by children such as characteristics of aero, power of a character and/or qualities of the product. The product leverage matrix is a comprehensive model formed for analysing the needs and wants of the young consumers and a guide to allow marketers to have look at the bigger picture. Once the matrix is determined the medium, concept, content, context, process, characters or personality, and attitude or style are established. Elements to be noted include: What is the psychological point of view of the target audience? What are the visual and verbal contents that will be used for the product? How marketers will form the context of the advertisements for the target audience and the kind of processes that will be involved to create an interface for interaction with the potential consumers? Character association or the use of personality to denote product quality is also common in the designing of the matrix etc. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The marketers are also aware that young children are intelligent individuals who exercise their developing cognitive abilities by associating qualities with certain images. For example Bugs Bunny is clever rabbit or Kellogg’s Pop Tarts are fruity flavoured etc. They are able to associate as well as distinguish between products and characteristics of the products. Identifying the points of difference from the children’s perspectives is critical but not impossible. Acuffand Rehire (1998) also note that these are assumptions that adults make regarding the preferences of children such as teens wanting more energy; identifying with hero athletes; wanting great taste or new product names. Yet at the same time they also warn the marketers that: more often than not these assumptions are left unexamined as to veracity and strength. Its an important practice to check assumptions: check what the leverage actually is, and its relative power versus what has been assumed. More often than not, adults make erroneous assumptions about what kids perceive to be important and powerful because adults are looking at their product or program through adult eyes. It is critical to get at the actual leverage rather than the assumed leverage. With the above hypothetical Enerjuice example in mind, adults may be surprised when testing directly with kids focus groups reveals that the new products blue colour is its most powerful point of leverage and that the majority of kids tested dislike the new name. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The basic premise in such a condition is that marketers need to ensure they give promises and fulfil them too thereby gaining competitive advantage. This kind of positioning helps them to organize and categorize products in the mind of the targeted consumers. In the end however, the marketers must realize that it is the bigger picture that needs to be satisfied that is product leverage matrix. At the centre of the matrix are the crucial elements that should not be neglected such as gender, stage, age, structure, dimension, style and past experience. The consumers are at the end of this list and are the most powerful deciding factor that can make or break their products. They conclude that Successful products and programs are those that satisfy their needs and wants in the short term (impulse) or in the long term. While a colourful and involving Tricks cereal package with a maze on the back provides for short-term needs satisfaction, Mattels Hot Wheel scars year after year continue to provide young boys with something they need and want small, easily manipulability, colourful minibars that are fun and involving to play cars with (Vroom! Vroom!) And to accumulate and collect. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Ethical Implications Children advertising have attracted legal, scholars and parental attention. Proponents of the children targeted marketing and advertising argue that the financial backing that children programs are getting derive from sponsors who make programs on television possible. Advertising to children are therefore motivated by profitability. Furthermore they also argue that these sponsors target a separate niche market of children of age group 12 and 14. Advertising provides them with product information and does not really provide stimulus as children in this age group are more like adults with their specific ideologies, attitudes and behaviours where preferences of products and services are concerned. They have been exposed to persuasive messages for a long time and can distinguish persuasive messages from empowering ones. Thus they are product and advertising savvy. On the other hand opponents such as parents and consumer protection groups argue that advertising directed at children are not only unethical but they are also manipulative stimulants that promote consumerism in children from a very young age. Advertisements create wants and poor nutritional habits that induce children to pester parents for products that are harmful for them (Berger 1999). Their opinions have been affirmed by Cuff and Rehire (1997) who suggest that preschool children at two and three years old tend to identify with frequently seen images and therefore would be attracted towards spokes-character in advertising and marketing. The desire to see these characters and related products they see on television, packaging and promotions induce demand for the same among children. According to DelVecchio (1998, p. 225), The objective is to select an effective piece of advertising that will break through clutter, communicate the name of the brand, its key feature and benefit, and do so in a cool way that will elicit a childs request. Those advertisers are successful who successfully use innovation, meticulous marketing, planning and massive exposures in their key characters according to Schneider (1989). The ethical dilemma enters the scenario when one refers to the degree and extent of the use of stimuli. Research indicates that spokes-characters use role play and features that would relate animated with human characters and thereby influence childrens attitudes(Cheat et al 1992). The issues surrounding the use of advertising characters to children stem from the fact that the characters are commoditized without consideration for its impact on the children. Without regulations, advertisers tend to deviate from the conventional use of these characters. They treat children and adult related products alike. That is perhaps the reason why Cross (2002) indicates that there has been a rise in restrictions on tobacco advertising during the 1990sto curb tobacco companies from targeting children by the use of spokes-characters in their advertising and marketing campaigns. In this context advertisements have a deep ethical impact on the cognitive and development of growing children and the authority needs to recognize this fact. According to Redder (1981) children are vulnerable and fail to utilize cognitive plans for storing and retrieving information. The categorization of processing deficiencies stem from the childs inability to use the actual strategies and aids for storing information in the memory. Limited processing capabilities in young age group especially induce children to learn through memorization and are not capable of using tools for separating, segregating and processing information according to utility. Instead they use information incidentally. Television uses fast pace visual graphics and audio-visual medium to influence pre-schoolers and around that age group. The effects become consistent when children are regularly exposed to these audio-visual images so that they become imprinted on the minds of the young children (Alit et al 1980).Animation and other stimulus have double impact on the information processors of children. As children become receptive to advertisements or images that are regularly shown they come to recognize it in their daily experiences. Once the images are imprinted in the targeted group’s mind it is easy to generate brand recognition through triggering keys which may be in the form of visual or audio effects. Spokes-characters such cartoon characters have this essential effects on the children. Studies have found that young children often discriminate between products on simple heuristic of whether one particular quality (which may include brand name or character) is present or not (Rust and Hyatt 1991 qt.Neeley and Schumann 2004). Another aspect of advertisements is that children tend to associate with the characters and brand that they prefer. Instilling a brand in children’s minds is easy when spokes-characters are used to define the qualities of the products. For example in Ban’s (1996) study four and five year olds proved to be receptive to product characteristics by inferring spokes-characters. Bah gives the example of cereal boxes. Boxes with cartoons are associated with sugary and sweet cereal meant â€Å"for kids while those that do not have cartoons are bland and not sweet, and are meant for adults. This logic for cereal preferences and choices indicate that advertisements with their logos, characters and cartoons all have a great impact on the minds of young children in this age group. While Ban’s example seem harmless whereby advertisers are merely using the characteristics and qualities of products to appeal to the young consumers, Fischer et all’s (1991) example raises ethical dilemma. In their study the researchers asked children ages three to six to identify logo brands with the appropriate product. They observe that children tend to associate the Old Joe character with cigarettes. This association has been developed through the inference of the Camel advertisements that uses Old Joe a cartoon character for brand personalization. Hence, the researchers conclude that regardless of the intentions of advertisers and marketers, the effects of advertising on children are inevitable. Yet there are arguments against this view by psychologists such sapient (1929). This group of individuals are of the view that preoperational children between ages two and seven do not really process information logically or abstractly. They rely on processing strategies such as â€Å"transductive† to connect between thoughts and reasoning and therefore not susceptible to the underlying qualities. They may understand simple expressions of but have difficulty in associating it with product differentiation. Consequently Neely and Schumann (2004) write: While research findings show that young childr Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children Ethical Issues of Advertising to Children Ethical Dilemma, Practices and Implications of Children Advertising Creating outstanding products and programs to win marketplace is not an easy job. Specialists in marketing have to develop comprehensive research plans, carry out market researches, analyse the data collected and finally come up with marketing plans that target specific consumer segments. Finding out about human psychology, their preferences, choices and appeals are not only difficult but at times disappointingly inaccurate. Yet marketers today consider themselves experts in such endeavours, and are capable of achieving the almost impossible marketing objectives.   As if these aspects of marketing are not difficult enough, in modern-day marketing field there is a niche in which the marketers have to deal with children. The most difficult task is perhaps the determination of the choices and preferences of these fickle individuals who are still developing, absorbing the environment and learning to become like their adult counterparts. The task of marketing to children is not only daunting but also critical for many businesses such as Nike, Microsoft, Johnson Johnson, Disney, Pepsi, Sega,Kellogs and Mattel to name a few. These companies go through extensive research and consultancy to get to the untapped market of child consumers. One such example is evident in Dan S. Cuff and Robert H. Reiner’s (1998) Youth Market Systems.  According to the authors the development of outstanding products and programs to win childrens marketplace is entirely different from the rest of the market segments. For this purpose they invent a marketing process called Youth Market Systems. The System ensures marketers consider all aspects of marketing to children or teens for any category of goods or services that companies want to sell. There Isa great need for a system of analysis and interpretation as the authors feel that information pertaining to cognitive, emotional and social needs of age groups could transform the programs or product features that target them. Cuff and Reiner’s (1998) strategy merely opens window to the world of advertising to children. As one investigates the categories of products and services that are available to young children, one also tend to develop the consistent belief that children are a separate kind of consumer group and must be treated differently, from advertising to the designing of products. All these efforts no doubt are valid and justified in their own place and position, however a niggling thought crosses the mind when one observes the various approaches and efforts that marketers adopt to reach out to the vulnerable youth consumer segment. There are reasons for these tactics. Cuff and Rehire record approximately $1 billion annual gross revenue for Mattel Incorporated that sells Barbie’s. There are others such as Garfield, He-Man, Cabbage Patch Kids, Power Rangers, LEGO, GI Joes and a myriad of upcoming products invading the market with the sole purpose to tap on these young consumers who are bound by childish emotions and penchant for toys and games. Schemes and strategies are being devised to win over these young consumers for high stakes amounting to billions of pounds. What is more, advertising and marketing to children does not only involve the youngsters but their parents also. For example the Youth Market System identifies parents, grandparents and other close family members as the most influential on children’s purchasing decision. Exploring this group is critical because they are the ones who have control over the wallet and it is on them that children are dependent. The complexity in children marketing therefore lies in attracting both the youngsters and appealing to the parents. A winning formula must be developed to attract both the parents and children. The complexity of this formula makes success rate low which induces marketers to resort to all kinds of schemes and strategies to achieve their desired target, including crossing the line of ethics especially in the field of advertising of children related products (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Scholars and parents alike feel that there are no avenues that advertisers and businesses will not exploit to reach to the young consumers. Exploitations through mental, moral and physical developments of children are common. The strategies to target children involve creation of wants to satisfy the impulse rather than actual needs. For example consoles such as Mattels Hot Wheels, and Barbie’s fashion collections are not really required by children but wants created by advertisers and marketing campaigns. Long term needs satisfaction has been replaced by short term needs. They are not the only ones exploited. Their parents are also plagued with different kinds of created needs for their children such as the wellbeing; status symbol; and their selfish need to have their child preoccupied with the multitude of products and free them from child responsibilities. Statement of the Problem These aspects portray not only the ugly but also the unethical sides of the world of advertising. How true are these aspects and to what extent do advertisers reach to capture their target consumers? Do they cross the borders of ethics or not to maximise gains from vulnerable consumer market? And what, if anything, should be done to control and ultimately restrict the freedom of advertising aimed at children are some of the areas that the following research will endeavour to enumerate. Literature Review Children have become the key target for many advertisers. Children are vulnerable, easy to exploit consumers and they perceive things as advertisers want them to perceive, or so many of us believe. Despite the fact that children are nowadays smart and knowledgeable of the marketplace nevertheless for many marketers they are relatively easy to target due to the sheer size of the childrens consumer market. Advertisers thrive by earning billions of pounds with the backing and funding of the profit seeking organizations that hire them. These companies are not only producing goods that appeal to the children but they are also exploiting their parents. The dual targeting approach makes this market segment attractive as well as representative of high yield for investment. For example in many regions of the world including the US, Europe and Japan, companies are investing billions so that they can capture and tap the youth market segment but at the same time they are also reaping billions in return. Advertisers and marketers are entrusted with the task to achieve sales targets by generating desired actions from the segment. The wide appeal has motivated many professionals to enter and adopt whatever means and measures to achieve their targets. Ethical implications surpasses but few in the field of advertising that target children. For these reasons the authority, lobbyists and parents are demonstrating their concerns regarding the impact of media and advertising on children. The following literature review will first outline why and how children are targeted, followed by a review of the kind of ethical implications advertising and the media has on children. This will be followed by an exploration of the measures that are being taken to counteract the problem, if any. Children Advertising Advertising to children has not been an issue until recently with the boom of the media. More and more parents are concerned about the legal controls that the authority levy on advertising criteria as most are concerned about the kind of tactics advertisers are using to influence children for the sake of maximizing their profits. For example Begot and Dottie (2004) note that pornography, cigarette and tobacco related, alcohol and other products prohibited for children are being promoted on television freely without restriction. Advertisement messages for these adult related products are tailored for adult consumption but due to the appeal of mass viewership and the higher profits, the advertisements are aired during children television primetime. As a result the advertisements expose children to contents that are not meant for them. Had that been the only case then the issue of advertisement would not have been so controversial. Research suggest that children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old watch about 25 hours of television per week in the US and they are exposed to 20,000 commercials in a  year (Moore and Lutz 2000).Children at this age are vulnerable because they are developing a sense to comprehend and evaluate messages in the environment. Stimulated messages on television not only have a harmful impact but they are also detrimental in persuading children to develop wants for products that are not meant for them. According to Moore and Lutz (2000) Beyond advertisements, children gain marketplace information from the products they encounter, advice from friends and relatives, and their own consumption experiences. Through consumption, children learn what products are good and bad, whether advertising claims are truthful, what brands they prefer, and even products that convey social meanings apart from their functional properties. For children the experiences that heighten their importance in their social circle and the adult world have the most meaning. They do not have the ability to counteract or check on the viability or the authenticity of the message initially when they are young as they are dependent on adults for explanatory information accessible only through print media. By the time children grow to the teenage level the functionality of literacy diminishes tube replaced by their desire and need to fit in their social life. Without consideration for product usefulness or content, children develop wants for products beyond their pockets and reach. Similarly, children are also exposed to advertisements for fashion products that are actually designed for adult consumers but they are often condensed to tailor to the younger audience with the purpose to include the young consumers in the marketing campaigns. For this reason children develop receptivity for fashion products without the required information for decision making.  Moore and Lutz (2000) recognize the importance of childrens advertising and its impact on young audience by revealing that children are receptive to advertising demonstrated in experiments of relation between ads and products. They write: Research investigating childrens receptivity to television advertising has studied what children understand, under what circumstances they are persuaded, and how their responses evolve as they mature (e.g. Macklin 1987; Redder 1981). Drawing extensively on information processing and stage models, researchers have gained substantial insight into the development of childrens cognitive skills and their deployment during ad processing. (Moore and Lutz 2000) Their research indicates that children are at a stage where they are developing cognitive abilities. Advertisers vie on this susceptible developmental stage by targeting the limited processors of children that have not yet acquired efficient information processing strategies, a fact that may be reflected in their inability to distinguish between central and peripheral content in message learning. (Moore and Lutz2000). They further this idea by writing that at the stage of ages 8and 12 children are susceptible to information that are stimulated and that target the vulnerability of the strategic processors.   Because at this age group children tend to spontaneously employ efficient information storage and retrieval strategies. They organize and retrieve information based on available information and stimulus. Unless their knowledge of advertising is expressly activated by such acute, these children tend not to think critically or generate counterarguments spontaneously. They may also neglect to differentiate between central and peripheral content when learning new information. When there is an appropriate cue in their environment, however, they are likely to retrieve and use relevant information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Therefore children may develop recognition mechanism on how advertising should be viewed but that is dependent on external factors like parental guide, government policies or other mediating channels. Evidence suggests that there is substantial amount of influence on this age group when they are not guided in the preliminary stages in understanding the intent of advertisements. Research reveals that significant guidelines must be levied before children rationale and deliberate on the content of advertisements shown on television. â€Å"Advertising is thus implicitly accorded substantial power to shape children’s thinking until they acquire sufficient cognitive and attitudinal defences. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Other than the cognitive development impressions on children, advertising also influence them to take actions. In a study by Smithland Wynyard (1982) on consumer behaviour and response towards product trials offer through advertisements suggests that because consumers know that advertisers wish to present their brands in a favourable light, they react to ads by partially discounting claims and forming tentatively held brand beliefs and attitudes. In contrast when consumers have direct usage experience, they form stronger, more confidently held brand beliefs and attitudes. This phenomenon has been observed in a number of studies with adults and may be consistent with the case of children. The same expectations is held with regard to children advertising as researchers are of the opinion that with age, the capacity to form brand opinions tend to be more among older children. For example children of age groups 10 and 12, and 12 and 14year olds tend to tell the truth and more likely to be sceptical towards the institution of advertising rather than blindly accept advertisement claims. According to Michel Begot and Barbara Dottie (2004) children advertising are dynamic and highly appealing. The authors are of the opinion that children are the key target for advertisers because brand preferences in this age group remain unchanged for a long time. Children remain loyal to the brands they are used to yet at the same time they have growing pockets to afford more expensive items as they grow older. The above aspects indicate that children though are smart and knowledgeable to sceptically evaluate and experiment with products through advertisement claims they are also aware of the fact that these advertisers claim may not be true. At this point it is arguable to note that some school of thoughts separate the vulnerable youngsters from the smart young consumers who have the cognitive ability to critically examine the advertisement claims and disregard them if not proven true. According to Robertson and Resister (1974) if ads present information different from a childs actual experience, confusion may result and trust in advertising may be determined. Conversely, others suggest that until children actually experience discrepancies between products as advertised and as consumed, they are unable to fully comprehend advertisings persuasive intent. For this reason Moore and Lutz (2000) claim that advertising use frames for product trials known as transformational advertising in which adult consumers are drawn towards the products prior to advertising exposures by asking them to participate in the process of experimenting and interacting with the product with the view to interpret, evaluate and subsequently form their experience impressions. The expectancy or discrepancy frame sets are formed for comparison of later product trials which help in determining discrepancies or consistencies of product qualities. Mooreland Lutz (2000) present the testing paradigm to show that rational consumers are clever in testing advertising claims of product performances. Testing paradigm enable them the opportunity to evaluate and form opinions. Children, on the other hand do not have the same reaction or taste for distinguishing discrepancy in the same manner. On the other hand Ziegler (1996) believes that advertising and product trials have different effects on childrens capacity to integrate multiple sources of information for consideration. Young children tend to engage in one-dimensional thinking pattern and rely on multiple dimensions for a given task. Integration is imperative for children because they are dependent on this integration processing of information for forming perceptual domains and consumer behaviour. When younger children are presented with information it is encoded and stored in the recesses of the mind, and whenever needed retrieve it for evaluation. Information integration is basically combining new information presented in the media with the old information, and comparing the two. Disparate media information result in discrepancy inexperience. This in turn results in loss of trust in advertisement messages. Not all children however are wise enough to discriminate information. Moore and Lutz (2000) believe that age differences differentiate expectations and credibility of advertising. They write Younger children have been found to hold more positive attitudes about advertising, to be more likely to believe its claims, and to be less likely to understand its essential purpose. Thus, among younger children advertisings credibility is not likely to arise as a concern, and they are likely to perceive both advertising and a product trial experience as believable sources of information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Clearly, this statement identifies with the fact that younger children are more susceptible to advertising and they are prone to take actions without critical evaluation. For older children advertisers may not integrate strong expectations about a brand and instead focus on the stronger results to generate confidence in product usage (Fazio1986). Alternatively there are groups of advertisers who vie on the physical habits of children. For example one of the most invidious techniques is to use junk food in advertising for children. The use of celebrities to endorse these foods without any consideration for balanced diet or fitness is common in the industry. In the UK the BBC which is funded by licence and tax payers, received around 32 million pounds in 2001for franchising its Tweenies’ characters to McDonalds the Food Commission found that the Tweenies’ products were high in junk elements. Despite this fact the UK government continues to allow brands such as Cadburys to market its products and launch campaigns that have negative effects on the physical health of children. These efforts are designed to generate more profits and not the public interest. They are aware of the fact that the lack of exercise coupled with high calorie food result in obesity and other related diseases in children. The rate of obesity has doubled in the past 10 years from 8.5percent to 15 present among children under 16 years (The Lancet 2003).Yet advertisements continue to infiltrate the media and other channels with the objective to vie on children. Advertising Strategies Children have long been recognized as the target market for many companies due to its economic potential. Recent estimates by Moore(2004) indicate that children and associated markets account for 24billion dollars of direct spending and it has an additional 500 billion dollars influence over family purchases. Children are considered to be potential gold mines for campaigners and advertisers alike. Television channels and the print media as well as companies are constantly engaged in complex product placements, sales promotions, packaging design, public relations, and in-school marketing activities with the view to reach out to children and their parents. Given the time children spend in front of the television, on the Internet and media gadgets, marketers realize that children form a huge consumer base for â€Å"toys, breakfast cereals, candy and snacks etc. For this purpose there are more and more commercials on television to induce buying preference and action. TV commercials especially are being developed to induce children to purchase and participate in programs promoting cars, fashion, cell phones and other such adult related products. According to Moore (2004) At the root of the childrens advertising debate is the question of childrens unique vulnerabilities. Concerns about young children range from their inability to resist specific selling efforts to a fear that without benefit of well-developed critical thinking skills they may learn undesirable social values such as materialism†(Macklin, 1986 qt. Moore 2004). Her view is also affirmed by Cuff Andrei her (1998) who indicate through their study that children are susceptible to advertisements because of the extensive measures and strategies adopted by the advertisers. Their study reveals that marketers devise winning formulas to gain the confidence of children by sending out messages that winning children are those who are associated with certain brands. These may be Barbie, He-Man, Teletubbies or Spider-Man. Identification and association are the keys to the winning formula. The success rate of the winning formula depends on how deep an impact the product or brand has through the advertisements. These are developed based on the knowledge of the development of the mind of the growing consumers. The product leverage mix is formed based on qualities that are demanded by children such as characteristics of aero, power of a character and/or qualities of the product. The product leverage matrix is a comprehensive model formed for analysing the needs and wants of the young consumers and a guide to allow marketers to have look at the bigger picture. Once the matrix is determined the medium, concept, content, context, process, characters or personality, and attitude or style are established. Elements to be noted include: What is the psychological point of view of the target audience? What are the visual and verbal contents that will be used for the product? How marketers will form the context of the advertisements for the target audience and the kind of processes that will be involved to create an interface for interaction with the potential consumers? Character association or the use of personality to denote product quality is also common in the designing of the matrix etc. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The marketers are also aware that young children are intelligent individuals who exercise their developing cognitive abilities by associating qualities with certain images. For example Bugs Bunny is clever rabbit or Kellogg’s Pop Tarts are fruity flavoured etc. They are able to associate as well as distinguish between products and characteristics of the products. Identifying the points of difference from the children’s perspectives is critical but not impossible. Acuffand Rehire (1998) also note that these are assumptions that adults make regarding the preferences of children such as teens wanting more energy; identifying with hero athletes; wanting great taste or new product names. Yet at the same time they also warn the marketers that: more often than not these assumptions are left unexamined as to veracity and strength. Its an important practice to check assumptions: check what the leverage actually is, and its relative power versus what has been assumed. More often than not, adults make erroneous assumptions about what kids perceive to be important and powerful because adults are looking at their product or program through adult eyes. It is critical to get at the actual leverage rather than the assumed leverage. With the above hypothetical Enerjuice example in mind, adults may be surprised when testing directly with kids focus groups reveals that the new products blue colour is its most powerful point of leverage and that the majority of kids tested dislike the new name. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). The basic premise in such a condition is that marketers need to ensure they give promises and fulfil them too thereby gaining competitive advantage. This kind of positioning helps them to organize and categorize products in the mind of the targeted consumers. In the end however, the marketers must realize that it is the bigger picture that needs to be satisfied that is product leverage matrix. At the centre of the matrix are the crucial elements that should not be neglected such as gender, stage, age, structure, dimension, style and past experience. The consumers are at the end of this list and are the most powerful deciding factor that can make or break their products. They conclude that Successful products and programs are those that satisfy their needs and wants in the short term (impulse) or in the long term. While a colourful and involving Tricks cereal package with a maze on the back provides for short-term needs satisfaction, Mattels Hot Wheel scars year after year continue to provide young boys with something they need and want small, easily manipulability, colourful minibars that are fun and involving to play cars with (Vroom! Vroom!) And to accumulate and collect. (Cuff and Rehire 1998). Ethical Implications Children advertising have attracted legal, scholars and parental attention. Proponents of the children targeted marketing and advertising argue that the financial backing that children programs are getting derive from sponsors who make programs on television possible. Advertising to children are therefore motivated by profitability. Furthermore they also argue that these sponsors target a separate niche market of children of age group 12 and 14. Advertising provides them with product information and does not really provide stimulus as children in this age group are more like adults with their specific ideologies, attitudes and behaviours where preferences of products and services are concerned. They have been exposed to persuasive messages for a long time and can distinguish persuasive messages from empowering ones. Thus they are product and advertising savvy. On the other hand opponents such as parents and consumer protection groups argue that advertising directed at children are not only unethical but they are also manipulative stimulants that promote consumerism in children from a very young age. Advertisements create wants and poor nutritional habits that induce children to pester parents for products that are harmful for them (Berger 1999). Their opinions have been affirmed by Cuff and Rehire (1997) who suggest that preschool children at two and three years old tend to identify with frequently seen images and therefore would be attracted towards spokes-character in advertising and marketing. The desire to see these characters and related products they see on television, packaging and promotions induce demand for the same among children. According to DelVecchio (1998, p. 225), The objective is to select an effective piece of advertising that will break through clutter, communicate the name of the brand, its key feature and benefit, and do so in a cool way that will elicit a childs request. Those advertisers are successful who successfully use innovation, meticulous marketing, planning and massive exposures in their key characters according to Schneider (1989). The ethical dilemma enters the scenario when one refers to the degree and extent of the use of stimuli. Research indicates that spokes-characters use role play and features that would relate animated with human characters and thereby influence childrens attitudes(Cheat et al 1992). The issues surrounding the use of advertising characters to children stem from the fact that the characters are commoditized without consideration for its impact on the children. Without regulations, advertisers tend to deviate from the conventional use of these characters. They treat children and adult related products alike. That is perhaps the reason why Cross (2002) indicates that there has been a rise in restrictions on tobacco advertising during the 1990sto curb tobacco companies from targeting children by the use of spokes-characters in their advertising and marketing campaigns. In this context advertisements have a deep ethical impact on the cognitive and development of growing children and the authority needs to recognize this fact. According to Redder (1981) children are vulnerable and fail to utilize cognitive plans for storing and retrieving information. The categorization of processing deficiencies stem from the childs inability to use the actual strategies and aids for storing information in the memory. Limited processing capabilities in young age group especially induce children to learn through memorization and are not capable of using tools for separating, segregating and processing information according to utility. Instead they use information incidentally. Television uses fast pace visual graphics and audio-visual medium to influence pre-schoolers and around that age group. The effects become consistent when children are regularly exposed to these audio-visual images so that they become imprinted on the minds of the young children (Alit et al 1980).Animation and other stimulus have double impact on the information processors of children. As children become receptive to advertisements or images that are regularly shown they come to recognize it in their daily experiences. Once the images are imprinted in the targeted group’s mind it is easy to generate brand recognition through triggering keys which may be in the form of visual or audio effects. Spokes-characters such cartoon characters have this essential effects on the children. Studies have found that young children often discriminate between products on simple heuristic of whether one particular quality (which may include brand name or character) is present or not (Rust and Hyatt 1991 qt.Neeley and Schumann 2004). Another aspect of advertisements is that children tend to associate with the characters and brand that they prefer. Instilling a brand in children’s minds is easy when spokes-characters are used to define the qualities of the products. For example in Ban’s (1996) study four and five year olds proved to be receptive to product characteristics by inferring spokes-characters. Bah gives the example of cereal boxes. Boxes with cartoons are associated with sugary and sweet cereal meant â€Å"for kids while those that do not have cartoons are bland and not sweet, and are meant for adults. This logic for cereal preferences and choices indicate that advertisements with their logos, characters and cartoons all have a great impact on the minds of young children in this age group. While Ban’s example seem harmless whereby advertisers are merely using the characteristics and qualities of products to appeal to the young consumers, Fischer et all’s (1991) example raises ethical dilemma. In their study the researchers asked children ages three to six to identify logo brands with the appropriate product. They observe that children tend to associate the Old Joe character with cigarettes. This association has been developed through the inference of the Camel advertisements that uses Old Joe a cartoon character for brand personalization. Hence, the researchers conclude that regardless of the intentions of advertisers and marketers, the effects of advertising on children are inevitable. Yet there are arguments against this view by psychologists such sapient (1929). This group of individuals are of the view that preoperational children between ages two and seven do not really process information logically or abstractly. They rely on processing strategies such as â€Å"transductive† to connect between thoughts and reasoning and therefore not susceptible to the underlying qualities. They may understand simple expressions of but have difficulty in associating it with product differentiation. Consequently Neely and Schumann (2004) write: While research findings show that young childr

Difference between Google, Msn, and Yahoo Essay -- Internet Computers

Difference between Google, Msn, and Yahoo When you are in hurry, which search engine do you choose in order to get the best result? Maybe you just use the one that is familiar to you. Google, Yahoo, and Msn are the three most common search engines that we use in daily life. Although Yahoo and Msn are not the top five of search engines (based on Searchengineswatch.com Feb 2003), we still use those because we are used to using those sites. In my personal experience, I also never realized why I use those search engines. I just use them because the first time I use I was told to use â€Å"google.com† by my friend and it has become my habit. In this paper particularly, I will discuss how search engines work, and the similarities and differences of those three search engines. I hope based on the information I give, you will choose the right search engines in order to maximize your result and minimize your time. First of all, I will talk about search engines. In general, there are three types of search engines. The first one is a crawler-based search engine. This term â€Å"crawler† is an acronym from â€Å"crawl† and â€Å"spider†. This system works like a spider that crawls through the sites, selects one, chooses one, and displays it. In other words, this search engine hires a special robot called a spider. It builds a list of words and notes which the spider finds, builds an index based on its own system of weighting, encodes the data to save space, and stores data for the user to access. Google uses this system. The next system is the human-powered directories implemented by Yahoo. This system has an open directory and subdirectory. This system is controlled by the user. The user must provide the website information including a right title and de... ... consider when you choose which search engine. You might see less advertisement in Google than Yahoo and Msn. I think Yahoo has more advertisement in its website than the Msn. Sometimes, it is kind of cool because you can find a good deal such as cheap price in purchasing goods, getting hotels, apartments, and any other offers. But if you don’t have too much time, you might think the advertisement is irritating. In my conclusion, the choice of internet search engine depends on the time I will spend and how well the explanation of the â€Å"keyword† that you are searching for. If you familiar with the subject you are searching for, you might use Yahoo. If you have a lot of time, you might use Msn because it provides more search results. And if you are in hurry, you might use Google. Reference: http://www.msn.com/ http://www.google.com http://www.yahoo.com/

Problem of the Drug Abuse Essay

The problem of teenagers drug abuse is not something that has sprung up in recent times. It has been one of the unsolved issues since many decades now. And with modernization, the problem seems as if it is never going to leave. There could be a myriad of causes of this problem, and there are also several types of complications associated with it. As you read further, you would realize the potency of the causes of drug abuse among teenagers. Causes of Drug Abuse Among Teenagers Prescription Drug Abuse Among Teenagers This has been found to be one of the most common causes of drug addiction, especially in the teens. The term ‘prescription drug abuse’, is plainly defined as a condition wherein, the prescribed medicine is not used in a way the doctor recommends the patient to. Meaning, the person takes higher doses of the drugs and even if his/her illness is cured. The drugs which are common in this cases include all types of pain killers, drugs for anxiety or sleep disorders, and drugs for triggering stimulant activities. It has been found that most teenagers use these prescription drugs with a thought that these are safer than using illicit drugs. Absence of Communication One of the potent causes of alcohol and drug abuse among teenagers is a space that creeps in communication, probably from the parents’ side. Most teens may have this notion that their parents might not care about them abusing the drugs. So this stresses on the importance of communication between parents and children. It is most likely that, knowing about the specific dangers and health concerns of drug abuse, would help teenagers to avoid the habit. So, work with your kids and look for some real information in the form of statistics and medical explanation about the side effects of drug abuse. Supervision Continuing this data on drug abuse among teenagers, it comes to parental supervision which can either save teenagers from getting into the grips of drug abuse or saving them from it. Parents must give importance to the fact that their children are still in their teens. This happens to be an age, where they stay the most vulnerable to get involved in all the undesirable things in their lives. Get involved in your kids’ life and let them know that you are interested in what they do and when they do. If you are one of those parents who just let their kids do whatever they please, then you may be providing your children with a fine opportunity to get exposed to drugs. It is most likely that your kids might not appreciate the fact that you are trying to interfere too much in their lives. However, it is also true that, if you do so, your kids would be the ones to thank you later in their lives, when they achieve a matured level of understanding about all the repercussion s of drug abuse. So don’t be too stringent about nor too aloof from your kids’ life. Easily Available The fact remains that teenagers get to learn most of the things from their parents. As a parent, if you are throwing a party where alcohol is served, then your kids would take it as a clear cue or message, that you have no objection to drinking alcohol. This is where, you stand to be the main offender for encouraging your kids to get vulnerable for drug abuse. Also, most parents unknowingly let their kids have access to alcohol, cigarettes, and even prescription medications, when they are not at home. Even in this way, teenagers may used this carelessness of their parents as an opportunity to at least try using all such stuffs. Stress Causing Factors Broken relationships, issues in the family, stress caused due to peer pressure, studies load, etc., are some of the common factors which trigger stress in teenagers’ life. These may also be the causes which drive them to resort to the use of drugs. So, these were some of the potent causes of drug abuse among teenagers. As far as the treatment is considered, if measures are taken at an early stage, then the condition may be well curbed before it gets worse any further. Otherwise, drug abuse rehabilitation is known to be an effective tool for the treatment. And talking about the drug abuse prevention, the most important job lies in the interest of parents. If they can reduce the opportunities their kids get themselves into, then there is no other better way to keep the condition at bay.

Forensic Accounting essays

Forensic Accounting essays Thousands of people all over the country fail to fully compensate the government in the form of taxes. Forensic accounting is a branch of accounting which is relatively unknown to the general public, but proves to be an important tool in the prosecution of individuals and corporations guilty of tax evasion. Despite its obscurity, this branch of accounting is responsible for many convictions and successful audits. Such successful audits resulted in the collapse of several infamous names in the corporate world; therefore inspiring legislation preventing such offenses such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Forensic accounting represents a branch of accounting which focuses specifically on the evaluation of taxes in order to determine if an individual or corporation has committed the felony crime of tax evasion. Basically, the genre of accounting is involved with examining tax documents and information for the possible conclusion of a federal or state court case based on faulty or incorrect tax filings, (Forensic Accounting Information, 2008). Although many assume the term forensic to be more associated with physical crime such as murder or assault, it also incorporates every aspect of crimes which may result in legal action. Forensic accounting, therefore, is accounting investigations based on the assumption that the filed tax information is somehow criminally altered or false. Successful forensic accounting investigations have resulted in both private and corporate audits, as well as individuals being convicted and imprisoned based on charges of felony tax evasion. Forensic acc ountants are also responsible for finding evidence of money laundering in order to prosecute individuals or other larger organizations. This branch of accounting has led investigations which resulted in the imprisonment of several individuals found guilty of tax evasion and the dissolution of major corporations based on faulty accounting practice...

Using the Spanish Verb Poder

Using the Spanish Verb Poder As one of the most common verbs in Spanish, poder means to be able; in its conjugated forms it is frequently translated as can or could. But partly because the English could can refer to the past, present or future, and partly because the preterite and conditional tenses of poder are often interchangeable, the use of poder isnt always straightforward. Like its English counterparts can and could, poder functions as an auxiliary verb, although in Spanish it is followed by an infinitive. With a few exceptions, most of which dont have counterparts in English, it cant stand alone. Keep in mind that poder is irregular. The -o- in the stem changes to -u- or -ue- when stressed, and the ending is shortened in the future and conditional tenses. Here are the various ways poder is used: In the Present Tense To Mean ‘Can’ or ‘May’ The present-tense forms of poder indicate the ability, either physical ability or having permission, to do something. It is distinguished from saber, which means to know how. Thus, while one may ask,  ¿Puedes tocar el piano hoy? (Can you play the piano today?), one normally would ask,  ¿Sabes tocar el piano? (Can you play the piano? or Do you know how to play the piano?). Puedo hacer lo que quiero. (I can do what I want.)No puede trabajar los domingos. (She cant work on Sundays.)No puedo ir al cine. (I cant go to the movies.) In the Future Tense To Mean ‘Will Be Able’​​ This is similar in usage to the present tense. Podrà © hacer lo que quiero. (Ill be able to do what I want.) No podr trabajar los domingos. (She wont be able to work on Sundays.) No podrà © ir al cine. (I wont be able to go to the movies.) In the Preterite or Imperfect To Mean ‘Could’ or ‘Was Able’ Which tense you use depends on whether the reference is to a one-time event (preterite) or something occurring over a period of time (imperfect). In the preterite, poder can have the sense of to manage to. Pudo salir. (He managed to leave.)No podà ­a salir. (He was unable to leave.)No pudo trabajar porque dormà ­a. (She couldnt work (that particular time) because she was sleeping.)No podà ­a trabajar porque dormà ­a con frecuencia. (She couldnt work because she was often sleeping.) To Make Polite Requests​​ As in English, such requests are made in the form of a question. Usually the conditional form of poder is used, but (while it may seem illogical) the imperfect also can be used.  ¿Podrà ­as darme un lpiz? (Could you give me a pencil?)  ¿Podà ­as darme un lpiz? (Could you give me a pencil?)  ¿Podrà ­a lavarme usted los platos? (Could you wash the dishes for me?)  ¿Podà ­a lavarme usted los platos? (Could you wash the dishes for me?) To Express Possibility or Suggestions​​ Either could, may, or might can be used to translate poder when it is used to indicate a possibility or offer a suggestion. In such cases, either the conditional form of poder or (again, seemingly illogically) the imperfect can be used. The imperfect form may be understood as more colloquial. Podrà ­amos ir al cine. (We could go to the movies.)Podà ­amos ir al cine. (We could go to the movies.)Podà ­a no haber salido. (He might not have left.)Podrà ­a no haber salido. (He might not have left.) To Express What Could Have Happened but Didn’t​​ The preterite is usually used in such cases, although the conditional can be used when directly criticizing somebody. Pudo salir a las tres. (She could have left at 3 oclock.)Pienso en lo que pudo ser. (Im thinking about what might have been.)Me lo podà ­as haber dicho. (You could have told me.) Poder  as a Noun The noun  poder  means power or authority. The adjective form is  poderoso, powerful. Related terms include  potente  (potent or powerful),  potencia  (power, potency, strength) and  potencial  (potential). Poder  Standing Alone as a Verb These are the main exceptions to the rule that  poder  must be followed by an infinitive: When the infinitive is implied by the context.  No  puedo.  (I cant.)  ¿Quià ©n  puede  ms? (Who can do more?)In the impersonal expression  puede  que, usually followed by a verb in the subjunctive, meaning perhaps or it is possible.  Puede  que  salga.  (Perhaps he will leave.)In the expression  poder  con, translated in various ways such as to manage or to cope.  No  puedo  con  ella. (I cant handle her.)  No  puedo  con  el  enojo.  (I cant deal with the anger.)In various expressions where it means roughly could do. La curiosidad pudo ms que el miedo (roughly, his curiosity overcame his fear).  No  pude  menos  que  dar gracias.  (I couldnt do anything less than giving thanks.)In the idiom  a ms no  poder, which means as much as possible or to the utmost. Jugaba a ms no poder.  (He played as hard as he could.)  Es  feo  a ms no  poder.  (Its as ugly as could be.)In the expression  Ã‚ ¿Se  puede?, mean ing Can I come in? Key Takeaways Although poder can be used alone, it most often is used an auxilary verb to mean can or be able to.As an auxiliary verb, poder is followed by an infinitive.The infinitive form, poder, can be used as a noun to refer to power or authority.

Short Essay (What is Affluenza) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Short (What is Affluenza) - Essay Example In the book, the authors suggest that affluenza is overemphasis to economic growth based on feelings of unfulfilled lives and characterized by overwork, indebtedness and waste in a bid to fulfill the Australian dream (Hamilton & Denniss, 2005). In explaining what they meant by ‘affluenza’, Professor Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss begin by citing figures in the Australian economy. According to them, the country’s economy grew by $25 billion. In spite of this growth, there exists gross under-funding of education, health and transport. The two authors point out that Australians are so occupied with posh life that they forget their core role in providing essential services. Actually, they write that ‘Australians today have real incomes three times higher than 1950’ (Hamilton & Denniss, 2005; p. 4). However, although Australians are some of the richest people on earth, they are not willing to pay taxes so that social or public amenities such as education and health could be improved. According to Hamilton and Denniss (2005), ‘Australia does not have a public health funding crisis: it has a flat-screen TV crisis (p. 5). This seems to be the perfect description for affluenza: being occup ied with unnecessary overconsumption at the expense of most important things. There is no doubt that the book expressly challenges capitalism. According to Cowie (2008), capitalism promotes classism. This is well evident in the Australian consumption spirit. The quest for more wealth leads to competition and creation of structures that benefit a few and disadvantage the majority. The rich become richer and the poor become poorer. No one is concerned with the welfare of the other. Instead of co-operating, people compete. This has led to propagation of classism and creation of vicious cycles of poverty in the society (Hart, 2010). Since the poor do not have an opportunity to better themselves, they become poorer. With regard to the rich, ‘as a

The Organizational Structure of the Business Research Paper

The Organizational Structure of the Business - Research Paper Example The involvement of operational staff in a budget setting will facilitate the budgetary control system and will eliminate variances. The operating staff well knows about the operating costs and thus should be involved in the budget setting. Involving staff in the budget set is not considered comfortable as it can cause a clash between departments but it can be quite helpful in smoother running operations. Budgets, which are kept secretive and made by the manager often, fail to implement. The staff often reacts severely against such budgets. It can lead to a feeling of mistrust and frustration. It can lead to misdirection and waste of resources. True integration is lacked in budgets in which staff is not involved. Ambiguous financial data should be converted into meaningful information. Operational staff must be educated about the budget and then involved in decision-making. The budget sets guidelines available for each segment. Controlling aspect of budget means to keep in check the c ontrollable costs with budgeted costs. The responsibility for cost control is assigned to the manager of the cost department who is responsible for controlling the cost under his control. For controlling the cost accountant must use standard values. This involves creating inventory values for costing and controlling physical quantities and choosing such alternatives, which might increase revenue and decrease costs. It involves executing such budgets for operating under expected competitive and economic conditions. The budget should be set within an overall organizational planning and control framework.