Outline And Evaluate The Working Model Of Memory

Baddeley and Hitch proposed that memory has 4 components. The central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer. The central executive decides how to share out and direct attention to incoming information. The phonological loop can be thought of as a maintenance rehearsal mechanism for retaining verbal information. It is sub-divided into two other components, the phonological store (inner ear), which holds acoustically coded information, and the articulatory process (inner voice), which allows for sub vocal rehearsal (words you are about to say).Furthermore, the visuospatial sketchpad (inner eye) is responsible for storing visual and spatial information. In other words, it codes information in images and can create and manipulate visual and spatial images. Finally, the episodic buffer. This component takes information from different sources and integrates them together. For example, Baddeley suggested if we imagine an elephant playing ice hockey, we have to draw out images stored in long term memory and combine them into a moving image.The working memory model is good and is an improvement over the multi-store model. It demonstrates how the short term memory works because it explains how we can store information briefly and simultaneously manipulate it, for example, mental arithmetic. This shows that the model has face validity, which means that the test appears to measure what it is intended to. There is evidence to prove the existence of the phonological loop.Baddeley thought that because longer chunks of information take longer to say, this may affect how much the short term memory can hold, rather than the capacity. This is known as the word length effect and it supports the existence of a phonological loop. However, there are also arguments to suggest weaknesses of the working memory model. The main limitation is the lack of clarity about the central executive. A psychologist argued that the central executive may be more than just one system, possibly consisting of more than one component.This could make the working memory model appear reductionist because it has only been described as being unitary and over simplified. From this, it could be suggested that it is lacking in detail and is not fully reliable. Finally, much of the supporting evidence for this model was by one of the psychologists who proposed it (Baddeley). Here, assumptions could be made as to whether investigator effects play a part as Baddeley may want to prove his beliefs. This means that the supporting evidence many not always be fully reliable.

The Ethics of Food Advertising Targeted Toward Children: Parental Viewpoint

O Springer 2009 Journal of Business Ethics (2010) 91:299–311 DOI 10. 1007/s10551-009-0084-2 The Ethics of Food Advertising Targeted Toward Children: Parental Viewpoint ABSTRACT. The children’s market has become significantly more important to marketers in recent years. They have been spending increasing amounts on advertising, particularly of food and beverages, to reach this segment. At the same time, there is a critical debate among parents, government agencies, and industry experts as to the ethics of food advertising practices aimed toward children. The present study examines parents’ ethical views of food advertising targeting children.Findings indicate that parents’ beliefs concerning at least some dimensions of moral intensity are significantly related to their ethical judgments and behavioral intentions of food advertising targeting children as well as the perceived moral intensity of the situation. KEY WORDS: parents, children, ethics, food advert ising The children’s market has become signi? cantly important to marketers (McNeal, 1998). Many marketers spend millions of dollars on advertising to reach this growing segment (Jardine and Wentz, 2005). More speci? cally, food and beverage companies in the USA spend an estimated US $10–12 billion targeting hildren and adolescents (McKay, 2005). According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, children are exposed to more than 7,600 commercials on candy, cereal, and fast food in any given year (Kotz, 2007). The effects of advertising on children have been highly debated among various groups, including parents, researchers, industry experts, and government agencies. One of the primary debates has been the potential impact of food advertising directed at children. A variety of institutions are involved in this debate. Some of these organizations such as public advocacy groups criticize the food companies and elevision networks concerning the increased amounts spent as well as the types of promotional efforts targeted Aysen Bakir Scott J. Vitell at children (York, 2007). Furthermore, statistics provide substantial concern about obesity, showing that approximately 50% of elementary-school children and 80% of teenagers will battle obesity during their lifetime. There is also debate among practitioners on advertising practices directed at children, with even marketing professionals indicating concern about advertising targeted at children. When interviewed, 35% of them consider the general ethical and moral tandards in the industry to be ‘‘lower than in the past,’’ with 40% believing that these standards are about the same (Grimm, 2004). Thus, only 25% believe the standards are improved. Some companies have already started taking actions to deal with criticisms and even with government warning. In Europe, soft-drink companies have developed self-regulatory measures to stop advertising junk food and to help tackle child obesity. To avoid stricter laws, soft-drink companies have pledged to stop marketing towards children under 12 years old. The companies also have pledged to limit soft-drink sales at schools (Wentz, 005). Other countries in Europe, however, have been taking an even stricter stance on regulations; for example, starting in 2005, Ireland introduced a ban on celebrities who appear in food and beverages targeted at children (Jardine and Wentz, 2004). Furthermore, some companies have also responded to government calls by promoting active lifestyles when targeting children in food ads. McDonald’s, in the UK, ran a campaign that featured Ronald McDonald and used animated fruit and vegetable characters which were called Yums. These characters urged children to eat right and stay active (Jardine and Wentz, 2004).Given all these statistics showing the potential impact of food advertising targeting children, parents 300 Aysen Bakir and Scott J. Vitell are concerned over whether or not marketers have been conducting ethical practices in promoting their products. However, this issue has not received signi? cant attention in the marketing literature. This paper attempts to ? ll this apparent gap by examining parents’ ethical views of food advertising targeted at children. In doing so, it also examines the potential impact of parents’ attitudes toward food advertising and toward the use of nutrition information on their thical judgments and behavioral intentions. Marketing ethics and advertising to children Advertising to children has long been one of the most controversial areas of marketing. The debate ranges from whether or not it is even ethical to advertise to children and includes the types of advertising practices that might be considered ethical. At the center of this debate is food advertising targeted at children. The impact of advertising to children has been shown in previous studies (Goldberg and Gorn, 1974; Gorn and Goldberg, 1977). Findings include the fact that low-income children exposed to a commercial just nce had favorable attitudes towards the advertised product (Gorn and Goldberg, 1977). Furthermore, these authors found that exposure to television ads among 5- and 6-year-old children directly in? uenced breakfast food and snack preferences (Goldberg et al. , 1978). Finally, exposure to advertisements has also been shown to in? uence the frequency of snacking among children (Bolton, 1983). Advertising has been criticized for promoting materialism, persuading individuals to buy things they do not need, and providing false or misleading information (Pollay and Mittal, 1993). Parents’ concerns toward the impact of advertising directed at hildren have risen signi? cantly in the last decade (Hudson et al. , 2008). These concerns have also been expressed by academicians (Moore, 2004). However, only a limited number of studies have examined ethical issues aimed at the children’s segment (Ahuja et al. , 2001; Hudson e t al. , 2008). Despite these increased concerns and the ensuing debate, parents’ ethical views of food advertising targeting children have not been examined in the marketing literature. Ethical judgments and behavioral intentions Understanding how parents view and make decisions about ethical issues targeted at children is important to marketers.Several factors might in? uence ethical decision-making, including situational factors (Hunt and Vitell, 1986) and individual differences (Hunt and Vitellm, 1986; Jones, 1991). Ethical (or unethical) behavior is in? uenced directly by the ethical judgments and behavioral intentions of the individuals. An individual’s ethical judgment is de? ned as ‘‘the degree to which he or she considers a particular behavior morally acceptable’’ (Bass et al. , 1999, p. 189). Ethical judgments have been considered a central construct in several ethical decisionmaking models (Dubinsky and Loken, 1989; Hunt and Vitell, 1986; Jones, 1991).These decision-making theories provide an understanding of how an individual’s behavioral intentions and ethical judgments are relevant to making decisions in situations involving ethical issues; for example, the theory of reasoned action suggests that individuals act in a manner consistent with their attitudes. On the other hand, other factors might cause individuals to develop behavioral intentions that might be inconsistent with their attitudes (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Past research has also shown that individuals are more likely to state their behavioral intentions if they perceive the situation as ethical (Bass et al. , 1999).Furthermore, Hunt and Vitell (1986, p. 9) de? ned behavioral intentions as ‘‘the likelihood that any particular alternative will be chosen. ’’ The authors also suggest that ethical judgments would impact the individual behavior through behavioral intentions. Overall, ethical judgments and behavioral in tentions are important constructs to gain insights regarding advertising directed at children. Attitude toward food advertising As noted, research examining parents’ attitudes toward advertising, particularly to food advertising, directed at children is limited. Past studies examined the relationship between family communication atterns and parental reactions toward advertising (Rose et al. , 1998), and parental involvement The Ethics of Food Advertising Targeted Toward Children and authoritative parenting and attitude toward advertising (Carlson and Grossbart, 1988). Only one study examined the relationship between attitude toward food advertising and parental styles (Crosby and Grossbart, 1984). The authors found differences regarding attitudes toward food advertising based upon parental styles, with more authoritative parents being more concerned about children’s food advertising as compared with more permissive parents.Governments and health advocates in different countries are trying to introduce stricter regulations on food advertising targeting children since they blame marketers for increased levels of childhood obesity. In France, food marketers are faced with choosing between paying a 1. 5% tax on their ad budgets to fund healthy-eating messages or else adding a health message to commercials. In Canada, one-third of children between 2 and 11 years old are overweight and some marketers are promoting healthy lifestyles for children. Given the different proportions of childhood obesity problems from ne county to the next, multinational food marketers such as McDonald’s now have differing strategies in each country based on how they must undertake this global challenge (Jardine and Wentz, 2005). Clearly, advertisers have been questioned about their ethical standards. Although there is increased discussion among parents regarding the potential impact of advertising and concern about how ethical (or unethical) advertising practices are towards children, this issue has not been adequately researched. Since the relationship between parents’ attitude toward food advertising and ethical judgments and behavioral intentions f the advertising tactics targeted at children has not been examined in the marketing literature, this study focuses on those parental perspectives. Therefore, based upon the previous discussion, it is hypothesized that: Parents’ attitude toward food advertising will be positively related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. H2: Parents’ attitude toward food advertising will be positively related to their behavioral intentions of the food advertising targeted at children. H1: 301 Attitude toward use of nutrition information Concerns about children’s nutrition include multiple actors. Some of these concerns are centered on nutrition de? ciencies in children’s diets due to economic factors, poor eating habits, and inadequate nutrit ional knowledge of parents. The government has taken several steps to deal with children’s nutrition problems by being involved in school lunch programs, regulation of children’s advertising, and nutrition education in schools (Crosby et al. , 1982). Research has also shown the positive impact of parental in? uence and nutrition education (Grossbart et al. , 1982). Parents’ attitudes toward the use of nutrition vary from one parent to the other.Furthermore, parents, particularly mothers, wield a signi? cant impact on children’s consumption of a balanced diet and exposure to a variety of foods. Previous research has shown that mothers who endorsed nutrition information had more positive attitudes toward nutrition and expressed more concerns about food advertising targeted at children (Crosby et al. , 1982). Therefore, it is further hypothesized that: Parents’ attitude toward the use of nutrition information will be positively related to their ethica l judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. H4: Parents’ attitude toward the use of nutrition nformation will be positively related to their behavioral intentions of the food advertising targeted at children. H3: Moral intensity Jones (1991) de? nes moral intensity as ‘‘the extent of issue-related moral imperative in a situation’’ (p. 372). Furthermore, he suggests that ethics-related contexts vary with their level of moral intensity. Jones (1991) identi? ed six categories (magnitude of consequences, probability of effect, temporal immediacy, concentration of effect, proximity, and social consensus) of the moral intensity construct. The ? rst four items refer to the various dimensions of harm the action might cause.More speci? cally, magnitude of consequences refers to the cumulative 302 Aysen Bakir and Scott J. Vitell harm (or lack thereof) the action might cause. Probability of effect refers to the likelihood that the action will caus e harm (or lack thereof). Temporal immediacy refers to ‘‘the length of time between the present and the onset of consequences of the moral act in question (shorter length of time implies greater immediacy)’’ (Jones, 1991, p. 376). The concentration of effect refers to the number of people who would believe that the action would cause harm (or lack thereof). Proximity is the ‘‘feeling of nearness social, cultural, psychological, or physical)’’ (Jones, 1991, p. 376) that the individual has for those affected by the action in question. Finally, social consensus is the extent of the feeling that action taken is good (or not). Moral intensity is a multidimensional construct that measures the moral intensity of the situation. Ethical decision-making process must be in? uenced by the perception that the potential action has a moral or ethical facet that needs to be evaluated (Barnett, 2001). For marketing practitioners, studies have shown that perceived moral intensity affects the perception of ethical problems in various situations Singhapakdi et al. , 1996a; Singhapakdi et al. , 1999). Furthermore, past studies also have shown that moral intensity in? uences behavioral intentions of the individuals in ethics-related situations (Robin et al. , 1996; Singhapakdi et al. , 1996a). Also, Hunt and Vitell (1986) suggest a theoretical link between intentions and ethical judgments. Therefore, moral intensity would also be expected to in? uence ethical judgments. The relationship between moral intensity and ethical judgments and behavioral intentions has also been empirically shown (Barnett, 2001; Vitell et al. , 2003). Thus, it is hypothesized that:Parents’ attitude toward moral intensity will be positively related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. H6: Parents’ attitude toward moral intensity will be positively related to their behavioral intentions of the food advertisi ng targeted at children. H5: contexts (e. g. , Singhapakdi et al. , 1996c; Singhapakdi et al. , 1999). Forsyth (1980) suggests that idealism and relativism can be considered as individual differences that might impact individuals’ judgments of moral issues. Idealism measures an individual’s acceptance of universal moral absolutes. This construct focuses on the assumption that, if ight actions are taken, this will lead to desired outcomes. On the other hand, relativism measures individual’s rejection of universal moral tenets (Forsyth, 1980). Therefore, the conceptualization of these constructs might suggest that individuals who are more idealistic would be more likely to have higher ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. Previous research provides some support for these relationships (Singhapakdi et al. , 1996c). Relativism is de? ned as a belief that moral standards are relative to one’s culture or society. Forsyth (1992) also indicates that relati vistic individuals might ormulate their decisions based on skepticism and evaluate situations based on other than ethical principles. Furthermore, relativistic individuals evaluate what is right or wrong based on the speci? cs of the situation (Park, 2005). Forsyth (1992) also indicates that idealism and relativism are not contrary concepts, but rather independent of each other; for example, an individual might have high scores both on idealism and relativism, which indicates that the person might simultaneously accept absolute moral rules and yet also evaluate the alternatives available based upon the speci? c situation and its possible onsequences. Therefore, parents would evaluate each of the advertising tactics directed at their children on a situation-by-situation basis. Since food advertising directed at children has received signi? cant attention recently due to the health concerns of children and increased obesity rates (York, 2007), speci? c types of advertising tactics suc h as potentially developing unhealthy eating habits might be received more negatively due to their apparent impact on children. Therefore, it is hypothesized that: Parents’ idealism will be related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at hildren. H8: Parents’ idealism will be related to their behavioral intentions of the food advertising targeted at children. H7: Idealism and relativism Idealism and relativism have been used to measure moral philosophies in various marketing-related The Ethics of Food Advertising Targeted Toward Children Parents’ relativism will ethical judgments of the geted at children. H10: Parents’ relativism will behavioral intentions of targeted at children. H9: be related to their food advertising tarbe related to their the food advertising Method Sample The survey was sent to parents at several schools ocated in the Midwest. The researchers contacted the schools and got permission to send the survey to paren ts at the schools that agreed to participate in the study. The number of schools that participated in the study provided signi? cant diversity in terms of economic background. The majority of the sample included educated and employed middle-income families. Of the 1,020 surveys sent, 189 surveys were completed, for a response rate of 18. 52%. Of the 189 surveys, 28 surveys had missing data for individual questions. Among the respondents, 78% were mothers and the rest of were fathers. Table I isplays the complete demographics of the respondents. Procedure Once the school principals gave permission, the researchers contacted the teachers from kindergarten to eighth grade. The teachers in each grade sent the questionnaires home to parents with the children. Once the parents ? lled out the questionnaires, the children returned the completed questionnaire to the schools. Measures and reliability The dependent variables were behavioral intentions and ethical judgments. The independent var iables were moral intensity, idealism, relativism, attitude toward food advertising aimed at children, and ttitude toward the parents’ use of nutrition information. 303 TABLE I Demographics of the respondents Variable Parent Mother Father Age of the parent 29 years old or under 30–39 years old 40–49 years old 50–59 years old Education level of the parent High-school degree Some college degree College graduate Some graduate study Graduate degree Household income (US $) 100k Work status of the parent Working full time Working part time Not working No. of children One child Two children Three children Four children More than four children % 78. 1 21. 9 4. 8 48. 9 39. 8 6. 5 5. 4 19. 4 38. 7 5. 4 31. 2 12. 2 14. 5 26. 6 3. 9 22. 8 67. 9 17. 1 15 18. 7 42. 2 27. 3 7. 5 4. 3 Moral intensity This scale measures parents’ attitude toward moral intensity in a given situation. This construct was developed by Jones (1991) and includes six dimensions. However, the scale used to measure the construct was developed by Singhapakdi et al. (1996b). Responses were measured by a seven-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The harm dimension included three variables: magnitude of consequences, temporal immediacy, and concentration of effect. The other two items were proximity and social consensus.The reliability of the harm scale was 0. 85 for the 304 Aysen Bakir and Scott J. Vitell ?rst scenario, 0. 91 for the second scenario, and 0. 86 for the third scenario. Idealism and relativism This scale measures the extent of individual’s acceptance of moral absolutes, whereas the relativism scale measures the extent of individual’s rejection of universal moral principles. The two scales were developed by Forsyth (1980). The ten items for each scale were measured utilizing a seven-point Likerttype scales, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The reliability of the scale was 0 . 83 or idealism and 0. 84 for relativism. Attitude toward food advertising This scale measures parents’ attitudes toward food advertising directed at children. The scale is adapted from a Carlson and Grossbart (1988) study and includes six items. The parents’ extent of agreement was measured by a ? ve-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The reliability of the scale was 0. 80. Attitude toward use of nutritional information This scale measures parents’ use of nutritional information. The scale was originally developed by Moorman (1998) and includes four items.The parents’ extent of agreement toward the use of nutritional information were measured by a ? ve-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The reliability of the scale was 0. 82. Scenarios This study utilized three scenarios to measure parents’ behavioral intentions and ethical judgments relative to speci? c situations. Ethical judgments and behavioral intentions were then measured by using a seven-point Likert scale asking the respondents the extent they agree/disagree with the questions. For measuring ethical judgments, the following statement was used, ‘‘I consider the action taken to e very ethical,’’ whereas for measuring behavioral intentions, the following statement was used, ‘‘I would be likely to take the same action in this situation. ’’ Therefore, a greater degree of agreement with the action taken indicates that the respondents had higher ethical levels of behavioral intentions and ethical judgments. At the end of each scenario, the action taken by an advertiser was presented. The scenarios focused on addressing some of the current advertising practices used to target children. The ? rst scenario addresses the use of ‘‘advergames’’ targeting children. Children are playing these games n the Inter net in a branded context. The games provide product-related information and even ask children to contact their friends. The second scenario focused on some of the highly debated advertising practices at schools. A food company sponsors programs at schools and child care centers. During visits, the company provides entertainment with well-known characters and exposes children to samples of their potentially unhealthy food products. The third scenario centers on a candy and cereal company who is considering selling books that spotlight the client’s brand. Children can play and learn counting by using sugar-? led sweets and cereals. The books use the company’s brand as an example in their plays and counting. The scenarios were pretested. The results indicated that most respondents believed that the actions taken by the advertisers in all of the scenarios were unethical. The majority of the respondents also indicated that they disagreed with the actions taken in the three scenarios. Data analysis and results The hypotheses were tested separately for each of the three scenarios. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. H1 measured whether parents’ attitude toward food advertising is ositively related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. The three scenarios tested did not indicate signi? cant differences. The ANOVA results were: scenario 1: F(7, 152) = 26. 836, p < 0. 926; scenario 2: F(7, 158) = 11. 334, p < 0. 933; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 21. 468, p < 0. 724. Thus, parents’ attitude toward food advertising was not related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. H2 measured whether parents’ attitude toward food advertising is positively related to their behavioral intentions of the food advertising targeted at children.Again, none of the three scenarios resulted in signi? cant differences. The Ethics of Food Advertising Targeted Toward Ch ildren 305 TABLE II ANOVA analysis: scenarios 1, 2, and 3, dependent variable: ethical judgments Variable Moral intensity: Moral intensity: Moral intensity: Idealism Relativism Attitude toward Attitude toward Scenario 1 p Value harm consensus proximity food advertising use of nutrition Scenario 2 p Value Scenario 3 p Value 0. 000 0. 095 0. 288 0. 206 0. 200 0. 926 0. 093 F(7, 152) = 26. 835 0. 000 0. 037 0. 772 0. 166 0. 006 0. 933 0. 822 F(7, 158) = 11. 334 0. 000 0. 000 0. 255 0. 633 0. 60 0. 724 0. 127 F(7, 160) = 21. 468 TABLE III ANOVA analysis: scenarios 1, 2, and 3, dependent variable: behavioral intentions Variable Moral intensity: Moral intensity: Moral intensity: Idealism Relativism Attitude toward Attitude toward Scenario 1 p Value harm consensus proximity food advertising use of nutrition Scenario 2 p Value Scenario 3 p Value 0. 000 0. 000 0. 091 0. 732 0. 162 0. 854 0. 223 F(7, 153) = 18. 707 0. 000 0. 002 0. 539 0. 186 0. 036 0. 643 0. 116 F(7, 157) = 17. 721 0. 000 0. 005 0. 809 0. 567 0. 081 0. 554 0. 004 F(7, 160) = 16. 315 The ANOVA results were: scenario 1: F(7, 153) = 8. 707, p < 0. 854; scenario 2: F(7, 157) = 17. 721, p < 0. 643; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 16. 315, p < 0. 554. Thus parents’ attitude toward food advertising was not related to their behavioral intentions relative to the food advertising targeted at children. Tables II and III display these ? ndings. H3 measured whether parents’ attitude toward the use of nutrition information is positively related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. The three scenarios tested did not indicate signi? cant differences. The ANOVA results were: scenario 1: F(7, 152) = 26. 35, p < 0. 093; scenario 2: F(7, 158) = 11. 334, p < 0. 822; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 21. 468, p < 0. 127. H4 measured whether parents’ attitude toward the use of nutrition information is positively related to their behavioral intentions relative to the food adverti sing targeted at children. There were no signi? cant differences regarding the ? rst two scenarios, but there were signi? cant differences on the third scenario among parents’ attitude toward the use of nutrition information and its relation to their behavioral intentions of the food advertising targeted at children. The ANOVA esults were: scenario 1: F(7, 153) = 18. 707, p < 0. 223; scenario 2: F(7, 157) = 17. 721, p < 0. 116; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 16. 315, p < 0. 004. H5 measured whether parents’ attitude concerning moral intensity is positively related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. Moral intensity was measured by three separate dimensions: harm, social consensus, and proximity. There were signi? cant differences on the harm construct among three scenarios. The ANOVA results were: scenario 1: F(7, 152) = 26. 836, p < 0. 000; scenario 2: F(7, 158) = 11. 334, p < 0. 000; 306Aysen Bakir and Scott J. Vitell and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 21. 468, p < 0. 000. Furthermore, there were signi? cant differences on the social consensus construct for the second and third scenarios. The ANOVA results were: scenario 1: F(7, 152) = 26. 836, p < 0. 095; scenario 2: F(7, 158) = 11. 334, p < 0. 037; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 21. 468, p < 0. 000. Finally, there were no signi? cant differences on proximity among three scenarios. The ANOVA results were: scenario 1: F(7, 152) = 26. 836, p < 0. 288; scenario 2: F(7, 158) = 11. 334, p < 0. 772; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 21. 468, p < 0. 55. Thus, overall H5 was at least partially supported. H6 measured whether parents’ attitude concerning moral intensity is positively related to their behavioral intentions relative to the food advertising targeted at children. Parents’ attitude toward the harm and social consensus dimensions indicated signi? cant differences among three scenarios. The ANOVA results for harm were: scenario 1: F(7, 153) = 18. 707, p < 0. 000 ; scenario 2: F(7, 157) = 17. 721, p < 0. 000; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 16. 315, p < 0. 000. The ANOVA results for social consensus were: scenario 1: F(7, 153) = 18. 707, p < 0. 00; scenario 2: F(7, 157) = 17. 721, p < 0. 002; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 16. 315, p < 0. 005. On the other hand, parents’ attitude toward proximity did not indicate any signi? cant differences among three scenarios. The ANOVA results for proximity were: scenario 1: F(7, 153) = 18. 707, p < 0. 091; scenario 2: F(7, 157) = 17. 721, p < 0. 539; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 16. 315, p < 0. 809. H7 measured whether parents’ idealistic moral philosophy is related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. Parents’ idealism was not signi? cantly related to their ethical udgments. The ANOVA results for idealism were: scenario 1: F(7, 152) = 26. 835, p < 0. 206; scenario 2: F(7, 158) = 11. 334, p < 0. 166; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 21. 468, p < 0. 633. H8 mea sured whether parents’ idealistic moral philosophy is related to their behavioral intentions of the food advertising targeted at children. Again the results were not signi? cant. The ANOVA results for idealism were: scenario 1: F(7, 153) = 18. 707, p < 0. 732; scenario 2: F(7, 157) = 17. 721, p < 0. 186; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 16. 315, p < 0. 567. H9 measured whether parents’ relativistic moral hilosophy is related to their ethical judgments of the food advertising targeted at children. H10 mea- sured whether parents’ relativistic moral philosophy is related to their behavioral intentions of the food advertising targeted at children. H9 and H10 were partially supported. Parents’ relativism was signi? cantly related to ethical judgments and intentions for the second scenario. The ANOVA results for idealism were: scenario 1: F(7, 152) = 26. 835, p < 0. 200; scenario 2: F(7, 158) = 11. 334, p < 0. 006; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 21. 468, p < 0. 060. Th ere were no signi? ant differences among parents’ relativism regarding the behavioral intentions for the ? rst and the third scenarios. The ANOVA results for relativism were: scenario 1: F(7, 153) = 18. 707, p < 0. 7162; scenario 2: F(7, 157) = 17. 721, p < 0. 036; and scenario 3: F(7, 160) = 16. 315, p < 0. 081. Discussion This paper examined parents’ views of the ethics of food advertising targeted at children. The marketing literature, surprisingly, has not examined this topic. This study attempts to ? ll this gap by examining how parents view various types of food advertising directed at children. Children as consumers have ecome signi? cantly more important to marketers in the last decade. Marketers have heavily promoted their products to this segment and spent millions of dollars on advertising to reach this segment (Jardine and Wentz, 2005). Food advertising represents a signi? cant portion of all advertising spending for marketers while food advertising targete d at children has received signi? cant criticism from both parents and public policy-makers. The ? ndings of the study provide interesting insights. Parents were asked to respond to three different scenarios outlining various food advertising strategies directed at children.Furthermore, parents’ ethical judgments and behavioral intentions were measured for the three scenarios. One of the independent variables was parents’ attitude toward food advertising. The ? ndings indicated that parents’ attitude toward food advertising did not affect their ethical judgments and behavioral intentions concerning speci? c food advertising directed at their children. One of the reasons for not ? nding a signi? cant relationship might be due to the measurement of other food advertising practices targeted at children in the scenarios that was not included in the The Ethics of Food Advertising Targeted Toward Children cale measuring attitudes toward food advertising. This ? nding provides important implications for marketers which might indicate that parents evaluate speci? c food advertising targeted at children independently of their potential views on general food advertising directed at children. Thus, marketers who are cognizant of the potential harm of advertising to children might still be highly regarded by consumers even if the consumer, in general, has negative or skeptical views of advertising to children. Parents’ attitude toward the use of nutrition information displayed interesting ? ndings.The third scenario, in particular, focused on speci? c implications of a food product that might have unhealthy eating implications for children. Parents’ attitude toward the use of nutritional information for this scenario was related to their behavioral intentions. On the other hand, there were no signi? cant relationships between an attitude toward the use of nutrition and ethical judgments of food advertising targeted at children for any of the scenarios, including scenario 3. Parents might have not perceived using well-known characters to distribute food company products at schools and child care acilities to have any potential harm. The lack of a relationship between an attitude toward the use of nutritional information and ethical judgments of food advertising targeted at children should be considered on a scenario-by-scenario basis; for example, for the ? rst scenario, it might be that parents did not really think the advergames and the use of well-known characters to distribute food company products at schools and child care facilities presented any potential unethical practices. Particularly, advergames are new promotional tools used on the Web to attract adults and children within a branded context.Advergames are somewhere between advertising and computer games and include product-related information from the companies with the use of games or part of a game (Nelson, 2002; Mallinckrodt and Mizerski, 2007). Past studies also suggest that advergames might be more persuasive for young children than traditional advertising (Oanh Ha, 2004). Parental awareness of advergames targeting children needs further investigation in future research. Future research should also examine how parents use nutritional information in their food purchase decisions to have a better understanding of the relationship between attitude 307 oward use of nutrition information and ethical perspectives regarding food advertising. Moral intensity signi? cantly affected parents’ ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. This ?nding offers signi? cant implications for marketers and public policy-makers. Parents indicated concerns regarding the potential harm of various food advertising targeting children in the three scenarios. It is important that marketers should be more careful when they create their advertising tactics targeting children. It might also be that more regulations might be needed to address parent al concerns regarding the potential effects of food dvertising. The moral intensity measure of proximity was not signi? cantly related to the ethical judgments and behavioral intentions of parents. Proximity measures the ‘‘feeling of nearness (social, cultural, psychological, or physical)’’ (Jones, 1991, p. 376) that the individual has for those affected by the action in question. It might be that parents considered the action taken unethical whether the results affected their friends/relatives or not. The ?ndings relative to social consensus and its effect on their ethical judgments and behavioral intentions were signi? cant, in most instances.Thus, parents did consider what others might think about a speci? c situation when forming their ethical judgments and intentions. The ethical perspectives of idealism and relativism also provide some insights regarding parents’ ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. Findings indicated that there is no s igni? cant relationship between parents’ attitude toward idealism and their ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. Parents, in this study, may not have perceived the scenarios as situations that should carry universal moral absolutes. On the other hand, parents’ attitude toward relativism signi? antly affected their ethical judgments and behavioral intentions but only for the second scenario. Relativism might be more likely to in? uence opinions on a situation-by-situation basis. The second scenario in particular expressed potential unhealthy effects on children. Therefore, parents might have perceived this scenario as involving questionable ethical practices. Our study has some limitations. Although parents were instructed to ? ll out the questionnaire individually or as a couple, we could not verify whether or not they communicated with each other. This raises the 308 Aysen Bakir and Scott J.Vitell possibility of a potential demand artifact. Secondly, although survey methods provide important information on individuals’ perceptions and beliefs, qualitative methods would bestow more detailed information on parents’ perceptions and attitudes. Future research should focus on more qualitative techniques to have a deeper understanding of perceptions and attitudes. Third, our ? ndings provide insights only from parents in the Midwestern USA. These ? ndings are not yet generalizable to other cultures or subcultures. Understanding parents’ perspectives on advertising directed at children is important.Future research should focus on a more detailed parental perspective to uncover how parents make judgments on whether advertising directed at children is ethical or not. Qualitative studies might provide more in-depth understanding. Uncovering these issues might minimize the discrepancy between parents and marketers. The debate on the effects of food advertising targeted at children has intensi? ed in the last several years among academicians, public policy-makers, and marketers. Companies need to respond better to the food-related debates in society, particularly to those related to healthy eating and ethical food marketing.In conclusion, our ? ndings assist both research and theory in the children’s advertising ? eld. With the increasing prominence of ethics in business/ marketing research, this study presents important ?ndings that advance our understanding of the potential antecedents to the ethical decision-making process for parents in situations involving advertising directed toward their children. We trust that the results generated by this research can be successfully used to guide future ethics research projects in this growing ? eld. Appendix A: scenarios Scenario 1 A food company whose products are, in part, argeted at children is planning to use ‘‘adver- games’’ (online games in which a company’s product or brand characters are featured). It is also consi dering encouraging children to contact their friends about a speci? c product or brand as part of their new advertising campaign. The company is considering using the internet, rather than more traditional media such as television, due to the highly debated relationship between aggressive food advertising and increased obesity among children. Action: The company decided to use Internet advertising for their new campaign. Scenario 2An advertising agency recommended that their client sponsor programs at schools and visit child care centers. These sponsored programs would make a ?nancial contribution to each school and child care center. During these visits the company would provide entertainment with the company’s wellknown characters and provide a sample of the company’s food products to children. If they do this, children who are less than 5 years old would be introduced to a range of products that might be considered ‘‘unhealthy. ’’ Action: T he sponsor decided to conduct these visits to the child care centers/schools and provide a sample of their products.Scenario 3 A candy and cereal company is considering selling books that spotlight the client’s brand. These children’s books provide content on ‘‘counting and playing. ’’ Children can play checkers with various fruit-? avored candies and can learn to count using various forms of calorie and sugar-? lled sweets and cereals. The books use the company’s brand as an example for the ‘‘counting and playing’’ content. Action: The candy and cereal company decided to sell these books to children. The Ethics of Food Advertising Targeted Toward Children Appendix B: scale items 309 APPENDIX B continued Moral intensity 4.The overall harm (if any) done as a result of the action would be very small Harm 2 The action will harm very few people, if any Harm 3 The action will not cause any harm in the immediate futu re Proximity If one were a personal friend of the person(s) harmed, the action would be wrong Social Most people would agree that the action is consensus wrong 5. Harm 1 6. 7. 8. Idealism 9. 1. A person should make certain that their actions never intentionally harm another even to a small degree 2. Risks to another should never be tolerated, irrespective of how small the risks might be 3. The existence of potential harm to others is always rong, irrespective of the bene? ts gained 4. One should never psychologically or physically harm another person 5. One should not perform an action which might in anyway threaten the dignity and welfare of another individual 6. If an action could harm an innocent other, then it should not be done 7. Deciding whether or not to perform an act by balancing the positive consequences of the act against the negative consequences of the act is immoral 8. The dignity and welfare of people should be the most important concern of any society 9. It is never necessary to sacri? ce the welfare of others 10.Moral actions are those which closely match ideals of the most ‘‘perfect’’ action 10. Attitude toward food advertising 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 2. 3. There are no ethical principles that are so important that they should be part of any code of ethics What is ethical varies from one situation and society to another Moral standards should be seen as being individualistic; what one person considers to be moral may be judged to be immoral by another person There is too much food advertising directed at children Advertisers use tricks and gimmicks to get children to buy their products Advertising to children makes false claims about utrition content of food products There is too much sugar in the foods advertised to children Advertising teaches children bad eating habits Advertising directed at children leads to family con? ict Attitude toward use of nutritional information Relativism 1. Different types of moralities can not be compared as to ‘‘rightness’’ Questions of what is ethical for everyone can never be resolved since what is moral or immoral is up to the individual Moral standards are simply personal rules which indicate how a person should behave, and are not to be applied in making judgments of othersEthical considerations in interpersonal relations are so complex that individuals should be allowed to formulate their own individual codes Rigidly codifying an ethical position that prevents certain types of actions could stand in the way of better human relations and adjustment No rule concerning lying can be formulated; whether a lie is permissible or not permissible totally depends upon the situation Whether a lie is judged to be moral or immoral depends upon the circumstances surrounding the actions 1. 2. 3. 4. I usually pay attention to nutrition information when I see it in an ad or elsewhereI use nutrition information on the label when making most of food sele ctions I don’t spend much time in the supermarket reading nutrition information I read about nutrition in magazines or books 310 Aysen Bakir and Scott J. Vitell References Ahuja, R. D. , M. Walker and R. Tadepalli: 2001, ‘Paternalism, Limited Paternalism, and the Pontius Plate Plight When Researching Children’, Journal of Business Ethics 32, 81–92. Barnett, T. : 2001, ‘Dimensions of Moral Intensity and Ethical Decision Making: An Empirical Study’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 31(5), 1038–1057. Bass, K. , T. Barnett and G.Brown: 1999, ‘Individual Difference Variables, Ethical Judgments, and Ethical Behavioral Intentions’, Business Ethics Quarterly 9(2), 183–205. Bolton, R. N. : 1983, ‘Modeling the Impact of Television Food Advertising on Children’s Diets’, in J. H. Leigh and C. R. 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Franke: 1999, ‘Antecedents, Consequences and Mediating Effects of 311 Perceived Moral Intensity and Personal Moral Philosophies’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 27(1), 19–36. Vitell, S. , A. Bakir, J. Paolillo, E. R. Hidalgo, J. Al-Khatib and M. Y. A. Rawwas: 2003, ‘Ethical Judgments and Intentions: A Multinational Study of Marketing Professionals’, Business Ethics: A EuropeanReview 12(2), 151–171. Wentz, L. : 2005, ‘Pop Stops Kids’ Marketing In Europe’, Advertising Age, January 30 issue. York, E. B. : 2007, ‘Another Study Slams Food Ads Aimed at Children’, Advertising Age, September issue. Aysen Bakir Department of Marketing, Illinois State University, Campus Box 5590, Normal, IL 61790-5590, U. S. A. E-mail: [email  protected] edu Scott J. Vitell School of Business Administration, The University of Mississippi, Universi ty, MS 38677, U. S. A. E-mail: [email  protected] olemiss. edu Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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Starbucks - Case Study Example It still had to face criticism as people believed that it was not an actual size reduction but just a fad on the part of the company. Due to this they started producing the snickers mini and phased out the giant. The environmental aspects that have positively impacted the company include demography of the area of operation which is within cosmopolitan regions. This also has been amounted to by the technological advancements within these regions especially that their products are furnished brands to the existing products. Lastly, the cultural trends of the regions of operations have been characterized by fashionable products which basically triggered the entry of Snickers into the market space. Moreover, the success of starting the company was amounted to the level of education of the management; this accorded the management technical as well as managerial skills, having studied a bachelor’s degree in business management. By extension, prior experience in a sugar processing far m came in handy as regards the stages of production and general processing. In addition to this there was adequate savings to initiate the company as initial capital. Product Description and Segmentation The Starbuck Company produces products made up of Nougat, caramel and covered with chocolate. They have a range of products, the original snickers, the dark snickers, the almond snickers and the ice cream. The ice cream comes in three forms, a cone, a brownie and a bar. Current Market Target Starbucks Company has enjoyed a whopping 30% market share owing to its quick establishment as regards to the core products which long before never existed to satisfy the consumers’ needs, but if they did then were of poor quality. The main area addressed by Starbuck coming in handy as a cutting edge was their technological inclusion in the venture. This furnished the brand of the product. In addition to their quality products the government was quite impressed and considered funding the e xpansion in the production of this new brand of products. In addition to the aforementioned market share, Starbucks Company’s considerations come along with the knowledge of the customers of probable benefits accruing from the entry of the new product, their willingness and capability to pay higher prices for the new products, their likelihood to adopt the new brand based on their attitude and their criticisms about the product which they would wish to be addressed; especially the health concerns. Proposed Promotion Mix The current advertisement that Starbuck Company has been running is the â€Å"when you are hungry, you are not you†. It is this concept that has received recognition and they have made some really interesting advertisements that have earned them acclaim. This advertisement focuses on the fact that the company products give you energy and makes you young and energetic. Other than this the company has also used various promotion strategies like Push strat egy as well as the pull Strategy which has ensured the maximal exploration of all available channels of distributing the product to the market. In these methods of advertising the company has employed various stratagems like Product comparison advertising; whereby it has enjoyed the benefit of an outstanding product. Other equally competitive marketing

Music and Tourism in Scotland Essay Example for Free

Music and Tourism in Scotland Essay Scottish Tourism bloomed in the 1990s due to major cultural changes in society. Scotland began to create a new identity through the use of media that promoted the social and cultural attributes of the country. Scotland’s home-grown artists were used as a voice at the forefront of the promotion of Scotland’s culture and heritage to world tourism. My essay will consider a range of issues surrounding the relationship between Scottish tourism and the development of Scottish music during the 1990s. It will consider the artists and songs that played a key role in the development of Scotland’s national identity through outlining particular advertising campaigns used to promote for Scottish tourism. My essay will also discuss the future plans for Scottish Tourism and how music will be part of them. Scottish Music and Scottish Tourism Tourism contributes an enormous part of the economy in Scotland – boasting a visitor spend of approximately  £4b per year. As a tourist destination, Scotland boasts idyllic opportunities for its visitors such as the hillwalking the Munro Mountains, fishing the River Tay, immersing in the history of Edinburgh or Stirling and admiring the cultural diversities of Glasgow. These opportunities are realised and exploited by Government body: Creative Scotland, which was set up in 1993 and is dedicated to supporting the promotion of culture in Scotland on both national and international levels. Creative Scotland support the current Scottish Governments Corporate Plan, which promises: ‘To focus Government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.’ Scotland has developed an exceedingly strong worldwide reputation for its diverse culture and is continuing to do so by championing music and the arts through large scale events and festivals such as Celtic Connections, a relatively new festival of traditional Scottish music which is exclusively held across a number of high-profile venues in Glasgow including the flagship Glasgow Royal Concert Hall which was opened as part of the cultural renaissance of Glasgow in 1990 with Glasgow becoming a European City of Culture in 1990. The formation of this festival alone has increased global interest from its multiple televised broadcasts on BBC and HD and a promotional tour to Chicago in 2012 during the Ryder Cup at the nearby Merdinah Country Club. Another notable festival is T in the Park which is sponsored by Scottish Brewery; Tennents. Established in Glasgow in 1993, the festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2013 and showcases international artists with a focus on new and established Scottish acts such as Scottish Band; Travis, who gained international recognition through performing at the festival from 1994 as an unsigned band and subsequently becoming a headlining act of the festival in 2000. The festival moved to Perthshire in 1997 and politicians in the area were united to promote ‘A Soundtrack for Scotland’s Tourism’, linking traditional music and tourism and diversifying the tourist industry. The festival attracts 85,000 people from all over Britain and in some cases worldwide, to Fife, Scotland, the festival has become: ‘One of the most important and critically acclaimed music events on the international festival circuit.’ The festival has been televised on BBC and footage of the festival includes shots of the backdrop landscape of Kinross and Fife regions. Promoting Scottish Nationalism and Tourism with Music in Sports Branding Branded produce from Scotland provided the tourism sector with an indirect source of advertising the heritage and culture of Scotland during the 1990s. Many advertising campaigns were televised; in particular for the alcohol industry, which used iconic songs synced with images of rural and urban Scottish landscapes which helped create an escapist image of Scotland. An example of this would be Tennents’ Lager, who used Dougie Maclean’s song Caledonia against the imagery of a grimy busy city with arrogant people compared to the contrasting escapist, social, warm and friendly atmosphere of a public house in Edinburgh The sense of nationalism and pride in the cultural diversity in Scotland went from strength to strength in the early 1990s. Scotland celebrated a period of excellence in sport on a global scale which also helped boost the number of visitors to the country. Although Scotland’s national football team failed to advance through the group stages of all the World Cup tournaments in the 1990s including Italy, USA and France respectively, Scotland’s national Rugby team celebrated international success, beating England 13-7 in the 1990 Five Nations Grand Slam. This event penned The Corries lament: ‘Flower of Scotland’ as the unofficial national anthem of Scotland, boosting the national pride and identity and has been used ever since at most sporting events. The song was written to: ‘Kindle a new awareness of what is being lost and what can be regained. Scotland’s resistance, not its defeat is stressed here.’ Another notable use of Scottish music for advertising Scottish Tourism is the 1997 television campaign which used The Silencers version of Wild Mountain Thyme, which is a traditional piece of music popularised by the particular advert which featured iconic scenes of Scotland’s rural landscapes, castles and activities such as travel, surfing and walking. The advert quoted Scottish Poet Norman MacCaig who wrote about Scotland: ‘Only mens minds could have unmapped into abstraction such a territory.’ Another song of note which relates to a worldwide audience and captures the picturesque imagery of Scottish landscapes would be Runrig’s version of the traditional Scots Lament; ‘Loch Lomond’, which was voted as Scotland’s best song by a reader poll in Scottish publication The List in 2008, beating Dignity by Deacon Blue, Caledonia by Dougie MacLean and 500 Miles by the Proclaimers, all of whom are regarded as Scottish Nationalist artists with Pete Wishart, Keyboardist of Runrig being elected as an SNP MP at Westminster in 2001. Conclusion The Future of Scottish Nationalism and Tourism Scotland’s culture and heritage will continue to grow in the tourism spotlight through the commitment of Creative Scotland and its relationship with VisitScotland which is evident from its goals: ‘Creative Scotland’s ambition is to see Scotland as one of the world’s most creative nations by 2020.’ An example of this commitment is apparent as 2012 is the ‘Year of Creative Scotland’ which continues the celebrations of Scottish culture and promotes it to the world through festivals such as the Sound Festival which will be held over October and November and aims to bring visitors to the North East areas of Scotland to enjoy alternative music of Scotland. The internet has increasingly become a major role in the promotion of Scotland’s live music events with internet website; www.visitscotland.co.uk, acting as the information and marketing gateway for prospective visitors to find information, link to external websites such as event homepages and furthermore, purchase event tickets directly with great ease. Glasgow will again become City Of Culture in 2014 and will host the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup, which will be an ideal opportunity for sports and Scottish music to join forces once again.

Contrast in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

Contrast in Nigeria Essay The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast in Nigeria to that in the United States. The emergence, development, and settlement of ethnic conflict are related to the cultural, legal, and socioeconomic conditions in which a conflict takes place. These conditions are strikingly different in developed and developing countries. One more mediating factor in the cross-national study of ethnic conflict is the attitudes towards conflict in a society. Therefore, this paper will start with analyzing societies in the U. S. and Nigeria as well as their histories. The U. S. is the world largest economy and a country with a strong tradition of democracy. Its uniqueness is associated with the fact that the U. S. is an immigrant nation. Although ethnic conflicts were (and still remain, to a certain extent) frequent and acute, the American society has found effective ways to resolve such conflicts. The government of the U. S. tries to prevent conflicts between different ethnic groups, ensure equality, and promote tolerance. On the contrary, Nigeria is a poorer country with GDP per capita being only $2,000 (in the U. S. this figure is $45,800). However, it is Africa’s most populous country. Almost half of the population is under the age of fourteen. Mortality from AIDS is high (the percentage of people living with HIV is 5. 4%), and healthcare is inadequate. The country is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups, the following groups are the most influential: Hausa and Fulani (29%), Yoruba (21%), Igbo (18%), Ijaw (10%), Kanuri (4%), Ibibio (3. 5%), and Tiv (2. 5%) half a population are Muslim, Christians constitute 40% of the total population, and indigenous believers account for the remaining 10% (CIA, 2008). Waters (1996) suggests studying the following questions in order to understand cross-cultural perspectives on ethnic conflict: the meanings of ethnic identities (whether they are oppositional identities, immigrant identities, or symbolic identities); the attitude of ethnic groups to the state (whether they trust the institutions of the state to be fair and honest, whether these institution perpetuate oppression, whether the state is perceived by ethnic groups an instrument of power to be employed by their own group or another group or as a neutral arbiter); and the perceptions on hate crimes, violence, and intergroup encounters (whether they are seen as temporary, accidental and individualized, or as permanent, systematic, and institutionalized). In the U. S. , many people coming from other countries perceive themselves as immigrants at the initial stages of integration, yet eventually they accept their new, American identity. The overarching nature of American identity prevents the creation of sharply oppositional identities. However, double identities (such as African Americans or Hispanic Americans) remain string and may become a basis for ethnic conflict. However, the state directs a lot of effort and resources on preventing ethnic conflict. While the general view on the state’s handling of racial issues is generally positive, racism in entrenched in the social system, and there are even accusations of institutional racism. The unique feature about the American society is that it has an experience of successful resolution of ethnic conflicts, such as the movement for equal rights between Black and White citizens or governmental programmes to support Mexican immigrants. The risk of ethnic conflict in Nigeria is much higher than in the United States. In 1999, frequent clashes were taking place between Yoruba and Hausa ethnic groups. This conflict was the legacy of the British colonial rule: ‘Nigeria was brought into being under British colonial rule, when in the early 1900s Lord Lugard forged together the Moslem Northern protectorate and the Southern Christian sphere’ (Mason, 1999, para. 9). Regionalism was encouraged at that time: the country was divided into three self-governing regions based on ethnic allegiance, such as the western region (dominated by Yoruba), the northern region (mainly Hausa and Fulani), and the eastern region (mainly Igbo). ‘[T]he separate governments were designed to strengthen the colonial grip on Nigerian society and weaken the peoples potentials for resistance’ (Irobi, 2005, ‘Second Case: Nigeria,’ para. 2). The attempts of the Nigerian government to create a fully functional federal state have had limited success following the independence. Ethnic clashes turned into a civil war when Igbos attempt to form an independent state called Biafra. Nigeria took over Biafra in 1970 and maintained territorial integrity, but the conflict remained unresolved. There were incidents of sectarian violence in 2004. More recently, the conflict has centered in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. Access to oil revenue and environmental pollution are the main reasons for clashes. The government is perceived as hostile by Delta communities who used to prosper historically from the natural richness of their homeland. The clashes occur between two local ethnic groups, Itsekiris and Ijaw. Cases of vandalism are frequent; the conflict has been especially acute in 2004 when Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force threatened to destroy oil facilities and infrastructure in the region. In 2005, employees of Shell were kidnapped by the Iduwini National Movement for Peace and Development. In 2006, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger River Delta continued the attacks on Shell decreasing the oil production by three quarters. All these groups demand international companies and the government to take appropriate care of the region’s environmental situation and contribute to the region’s development (GlobalSecurity, n/d). As concerns ethnic identities in Niger Delta, they are fluid and dynamic: inhabitants of the region are quick to reconstruct their identities influenced by political opportunities and economic inducements. However, the inhabitants of the region can be regarded as having a common regional oppositional identity. The government is perceived as an inimical body responsible for the ethnic unrest: ‘When citizens perceive that the system has failed to provide essential political or economic goods, they are more likely to gravitate to communal identities and to pursue contentious mobilization’ (Lewis, 2004, ‘Abstract’). Summing up, there are several features which are typical for ethnic conflict in Nigeria, as well as the rest of Africa, namely ‘the demand for ethnic and cultural autonomy, competing demands for land, money and power, and conflicts taking place between rival ethnic groups’ (Irobi, 2005, ‘Introduction,’ para. 6). Therefore, there are many differences between the U. S. and Nigeria in terms of interethnic relations. The most significant differences are the role of the government in conflict management and the creation of oppositional identities as contrasted with an overarching American identity. References CIA. (2008). ‘The World Factbook: Nigeria. ’ Retrieved August 26, 2008, from https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni. html GlobalSecurity. (N/d). ‘Niger Delta. ’ Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://www. globalsecurity. org/military/world/war/nigeria-2. htm Irobi, E. G. (2005). ‘Ethnic Conflict Management in Africa: A Comparative Case Study of Nigeria and South Africa. ’ Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://www. beyondintractability. org/case_studies/nigeria_south-africa. jsp? nid=6720 Lewis, P. (2004). ‘Identity and Conflict in Nigerias Niger Delta: New Evidence from Attitude Surveys. ’ Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://www. allacademic. com/meta/p59519_index. html Mason, B. (1999). ‘Ethnic conflict escalates in Nigeria. ’ Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://www. wsws. org/articles/1999/aug1999/nig-a17. shtml Waters, M. C. (1996). ‘Ethnic and racial groups in the USA: Conflict and cooperation. ’ In Ethnicity and power in the contemporary world, ed. Rupesinghe, K, Tishkov, V. A. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://www. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu12ee/uu12ee0o. htm

Physical Structure Of Management Information System

Physical Structure Of Management Information System Jump to: Physical Structure of Management Information Systems Management Information System Types Advantages of Management Information Systems Disadvantages of Management Information Systems Management Information Systems in Banking Conclusion and Recommendations The report on Management information systems reviews the role of information systems in an organization. It is a system through which organization takes an effective decision which help to attain the overall objectives of an organization. A management Information System is a system which consists of people, computers and procedures for collecting and organizing of information that will help mangers to take decision in an organization. It aims as to provide information to the top level managers so that they can take effective decisions in an organization. Information system is a system which helps manager to make effective decisions for an organization. Information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and distribute information to the management of an organization for making effective decisions, to ensure coordination and control in an organization. (Laudon, 2006) Information systems consist of information related to people, places and things in an organization or outside the organization .i.e. the environment surrounding business. (Laudon, 2006) Functions of an Information System Information systems consist of three important activities which provide information to an organization to make relevant decisions, to control operations of an organization, to identify problems and to create new products and services. Three important activities in an information system are input, processing and output. (Laudon, 2006) Input collects data from within the organization or from its external business environment. Processing converts the data to an useful and meaningful form i.e. information Output helps to make available the processed information to the user of information. Output also provides feedback to the organization. Management Information System A management information system is a computerized system (Sarkissian, 2009) that is designed to provide useful information to an organization which will help them to make decision so as to attain their short term and long term goals. MIS is a combination of people, computers and procedures for collecting and organizing information in an organization that is useful for decision making in an organization. (Sarkissian, 2009). MIS is an integrated system for gathering relevant data, convert it in to right information and supplying the relevant information to concerned executive thus it is a system to provide the right information to the right person at the right time.(management-hub.com) The main objective of MIS is to provide necessary information to an organization so as to manage organization effectively. It is a communication tool between the top management and staffs that helps organization to attain their overall goals.( Sarkissian, 2010) Physical Structure of Management Information Systems A MIS is an organized system which consists of people, hardware, and communication networks and data sources that collects, transforms and distributes information in an organization. It is a tool which helps mangers in making decisions by providing regular flow of accurate information in an organization. (Sarkissian, 2009) The physical components of an MIS include hardware, software, database, personnel and procedures. Hardware Hardware consists of all physical components of a computer system like central processing unit (CPU), input devices, output devices, storage and communication devices. (Sarkissian, 2009) Software Software is an interface between the information system and users of information system. Software can be of two types system software and applications. The system software includes the operating system and special purposes programs. Application is developed to achieve a specific task. Software plays an important part in MIS. (Sarkissian, 2009) Database A database is a centrally managed and organized collection of data. Database helps to store data in an organized manner and to make available to those who need that data. Database helps to reduce duplication of data as it is centrally managed data one data can be store at one place avoiding redundancy and duplication of data. (Sarkissian, 2009) Procedures Procedures are essential for effective use of information system. Procedures consist of various instructions like user instructions, instructions for input preparation and operating instructions. These instructions help in using information system effectively. (Sarkissian, 2009) Personnel Number of personnel is required for implementation of MIS like computer operators, programmers, systems analysts and managers. Human beings are key requirements for implementation of MIS. In MIS both technical and managerial level people are required for proper implementation of MIS. (Sarkissian, 2009) Types of Management Information Systems There are four types of Management Information systems (Sarkissian, 2009) Transaction processing systems: TPS is a type of MIS which records a huge volume of recurring and routine data. They were introduced in the 1960 and are used widely today. TPS record transactions relating to inventories, raw materials, customers and sales. Many organizations use these systems to record day to-day transactions like banks use these systems to record deposits and payments made into bank accounts and Manager Use TPS to record transactions related to payments made to suppliers, customer billing and so on. (sarkissian, 2010). These systems help manager to determine trends in data and help them to plan accordingly in order to achieve overall organizational objectives. Operations information systems: These systems were introduced after TPS. They access data from TPS and organize data into a useable form. They were basically used to obtain data related to sales, inventory, and accounting and other performance related information. Operations information systems are used to plan and schedule production and assembly functions. (sarkissian, 2010). They help managers to take various curial decisions like how much raw materials to be ordered, when to schedule production and when to assemble the final products. It also help managers to take decisions about the manpower which will be require in the production and assembly processes. Decision support systems: A DSS helps managers to make important decisions. It consists of three fundamental components: Database management system (DBMS): it stores large amount of data related to all problems the DSS has been designed to tackle. Model-based management system (MBMS): it helps to convert data from DBMS into useful information which help managers in decision making process. Dialog generation and management system (DGMS), it provides a user-friendly interface between the system and the managers who are not experts in computer. (sarkissian, 2010). Expert systems: These systems uses human knowledge stored in a computer to solve problems same as human beings. These systems recognize, formulate and solve a problem. They also explain their solutions and learn from their experience. (sarkissian, 2010) Advantages of MIS MIS helps organization in their functioning. MIS record, process and tabulate all business transaction which helps organization to refer to the relevant data and to make improvements in the business transaction where the organization feels that they are lacking behind. (Moorty, 2009) For example the organization can compare actual and projected sales and can take necessary steps to improve their sales performance. (Moorty, 2009) MIS helps the top management of an organization in good decision making. It also helps the top management to evaluate whether the allocated resources have been properly utilized and whether the targets are been met by each department. It helps to facilitate a two way communication process in an organization. (Moorty, 2009). The top management communicates to employees what is expected from them and employees discuss their problems to their top management. Therefore MIS ensure an effective communication in an organization. Facilitates planning and controlling MIS provides relevant information from the top management to people working as staffs in an organization. It helps the top management to facilitate proper planning of organizational activities by providing relevant data of past and present. MIS integrates all information and ensures that each department is aware of the problems and requirements of another department and thus leads to co-ordination in an organization. (management-hub.com) Relevant Information MIS only provides relevant data by compressing the huge amount of data which helps management in quick decision making. Fast reaction to market changes MIS provides facts, data and trends which help organization to react immediately accordingly to the changes happening in the market. (Pirraglia, 2010) Competitive advantages Today Competition is very strong in any industries. It is important for an organization to identify their competitive advantage in order to differentiate them in the market. MIS provides huge amount of data to management which help them to identify their competitive advantage and to make strategies to enhance their competitive advantages through their decisions. (Pirraglia, 2010) Disadvantages of MIS MIS is a useful tool for management for making effective decisions for an organization. But there are many limitations of MIS which are as follows. MIS cannot be used independently MIS cannot be use independently in an organization. MIS provides only information which is useful for an organization but the interpretation and analyzes of the information requires human being and therefore MIS cannot use interpedently in an organization. (Moorty, 2009) MIS Expense MIS helps in effective decision making process but the implementation of MIS in an organization can be very expensive as all the divisions and processes of an organization should be reviewed. Training of new employees for the MIS can also add up to implementation charges. Besides this the installation charges are also huge. (Vitez, n.d) Employee Training MIS helps in effective decision making through review of all the processes and operations of an organization and proper trained employees are important for MIS implementation. Employees are involved in all the operations and processes of an organization and providing proper training to the employees will help the organization to achieve their overall objectives. (Vitez, n.d) MIS Flexibility MIS once installed in an organization may prove to be inflexible. And Changes in MIS program may require huge cost Information Flaws MIS helps management in effective decision making by providing information to the management. The main disadvantage of MIS could be that MIS sometimes gives improper or inadequate information to the management which makes it difficult for management in making decisions. (Vitez, n.d) Analysis and Discussion Example: Lakshmi Vilas Bank Lakshmi Vilas Bank is a fast growing private sector bank in India. The bank provides its banking services to several customers through a network of 271 branches and 168 ATMs spread over 14 states and one union territory. (lvbank, 2010) The products of Lakshmi Vilas bank consists of business credit, home loans, rental loans, car loans, education loans, SME credit facilities, NRI Services and online banking. It also provides mutual funds products and life insurance products of Aviva Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and general insurance products of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd. (lvbank, 2010) The LVB has been offering various technology products through innovative delivery channels like NEFT, RTGS, SMS Alerts, SMS Pull Services, Net Banking, ATMs Mobile Payments and E-commerce. (cxotoday) Online services provided by Lakshmi Vilas bank National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) NEFT is an efficient, secure and reliable system of funds transfer between accounts of customers of different banks. (lvbank, 2010) REAL TIME GROSS SETTLEMENT SYSTEM (RTGS) RTGS enables an efficient, secure and reliable transfer of funds between accounts of customers of different banks. (lvbank, 2010) INTERNET BANKING Internet banking allows customers to do their financial transaction from secure website of bank. Lakshmi Vilas Bank started internet banking on August 9, 2008. This facility is available to all their customers, who wish to do online banking. (lvbank, 2010) SMS BANKING Lakshmin Vilas bank also provides SMS banking to their customers. Using the mobile customers can enquire about their account balance and the status of their cheque book (lvbank, 2010) Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) Lakshmi Vilas Bank provides ECS facility to their customers. It allows fund transfer electronically and it is generally used for bulk credit and debit transactions like distribution of dividends, interest, salary pension, payment of bills. (lvbank, 2010) Problems Faced By Lakshmi Vilas Bank The Banks systems were unable to provide collective information to the manager which resulted into delay in decision making process even during emergency. (Microsoft, 2009) The accounts and planning team spend a huge amount of time in collating financial data from 250 branches which was submitted in various format. Analyzing all these data and preparing statutory reports took valuable time and resources of the bank. (Microsoft, 2009) The efficiency of the bank was affected due to lack of up to date information (Microsoft, 2009) Customers wanted fast information and more reliable information. Employees Productivity was affected Management was facing problem in their decision making process due to unavailable of proper information. Use of Information systems in Lakshmi Vilas Bank Lakshmi Vilas Bank International Visa Debit Card. The Visa debit cared introduced by Lakshmi Vilas Bank has help the bank to provide its new as well as existing customers with the facilities to shop, pay their bills, book their movie or airline and rail tickets online. (lvbank, 2010) MPLS architecture It is the first bank in Tamil Nadu to achieve 100% Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Architecture. The implementation of MPLS architecture helped LVB to reduce network operating cost as well as to provide higher availability of network for the branches. It helped bank to better performance of the application at branches through lesser congestion o the network. MPLS architecture will help bank to reduce maintenance and operational cost of 21 hubs of their bank. (cxotoday) Enterprise storage solution LVB has acquired enterprise storage solution which is a centralized system and will help bank to consolidate all its business database into one single system to effectively manage their customers. This solution has helped the bank to improve their overall efficiencies. (Information week, 2010) Datacraft IT security infrastructure and datacenter upgrading Datacraft is a provider of IT solutions and services. It had given IT security infrastructure and datacenter upgrading to LVB which will help the bank to avail the benefit of security for all their branches. (ciol, 2010) D2K technologies The bank chose MIS solution offered by D2K technologies while helped bank for consolidating real and accurate information for internal and compliance related reports.(Microsoft, 2009) Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Microsoft SQL Server 2008 provides security and reliability to banks business applications. As Mentioned by chief technology officer of Lakshmi Vilas Bank which says that the speed with which they were able to provide information to internal stakeholders, customers and government departments has improved significantly. (Microsoft, 2009) Advantage of information Technology and MIS in the Lakshmi Vilas Bank MIS in LVB helps the bank in their accurate reporting and functions of the bank. It helps them to plan their business activities, performance their business review and to exchange information in accurate time. (expressindia, 2001) Savings and Earning Potential Up MIS has help bank to savings in many forms. The branch is not busy preparing statement and the account department does not spend much of their time collating reports of 251 branches. On an average each person saves almost 3 hours a day leading to huge savings in people cost. The systems has also helped bank to available all the data centrally and that is why the branches doesnt have to submit their report to central office. (Microsoft, 2009) Improves Financial Management Compliance The time spends on consolidation of statements from 251 branches by the account department and planning department has been reduced by 30%. As stated by assistant manager of Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Compliance and reporting to the RBI and other government agencies have become fast and accurate as per compliance requirements. (Microsoft, 2009) Dashboards Enable Management with Decision Making The decision support system type of MIS enables management in fast decision making process by providing tabular and graphically representation of information. This system provides banks management by setting new goals by evaluating past trends. Each employee of the bank can access relevant and more secure information from central location. Customers and all stake holders of the bank can access relevant information from the bank. (Microsoft, 2009) Conclusion and Recommendations Information system is a system which helps management to take effective decisions for an organization. It is a tool which collect, process, store and distribute information to the management. Information systems are useful for providing information rather than raw data to the management. Data only shows number whereas information provides logical understanding of a figure. Information systems basically consist of data related to people, process and procedures inside the organization as well as it provides information of external business environment affecting the business. Information system performs the functions of processing of input into output .i.e. collecting of data and processing of the data into information and thereby helping managers in their decision making process. Management information system is a computerized system of providing information to the manager so that they can take long term and short term decisions in an organization. MIS is organized system which consists of people, hardware, and communication networks that collect data and transform that data into information. There are various types of Information systems based on different levels of organization i.e. strategic level dealing with the top most management for their long term decisions. Management level which deals with various managers with their plans and operational level that deals with the day to day activities of business. There are different types of Management information systems like Transaction processing systems that records huge volume of recurring and routine data like raw materials, inventories, customers and sales. Operations information systems track data from TPS and whose aim objective is to plan and schedule production and assembly functions. Decision support systems deal with making important decisions. Experts systems is a system which helps organization in solving their problems like human beings through their past experience. MIS helps organization by providing various benefits like MIS compares the performance of an organization which helps managers to identify whether the organization is performing good or not. It helps management in their decision making process by providing useful information to them. It is a tool of communication between top level management and employees. It provides only relevant data to management by compressing huge amount of data. It helps to ensure better co-ordination in an organization. It helps company to identify their competitive advantage and help them to enhance the value of their products. Besides various benefits there are some limitations of MIS like MIS cannot be independently used in an organization. The expense of installing MIS is very huge. MIS is a technical product which requires organization to provide training to huge number of their employees. Once a MIS is installed it is very costly to change that MIS system. Sometimes it may happen that MIS provides inadequate data which may not prove helpful for an organization. We have also taken example of Lakshmi Vilas bank in order to understand the impact of information systems on the working of the bank. It helped this bank to increase the speed and accuracy of information flow in the organization as well as outside the organization Today MIS is a useful tool of making effective decisions in an organization so it is very important that it should have no limitations. The cost of implementing MIS in an organization is very huge and is not flexible enough so it is important to make available MIS which doesnt cost much for an organization and which can accept changes. As stated earlier in our example of Lakshmi Vilas bank, the bank is using Information systems effectively and earning profits from it but there are many things bank should focus on With the increase in technology Bank should update their IS so that they can provide their customer with better services and increase its productivity. The IS used in a bank should be more secure. Thus Management Information system helps management in their effective decision making process and help them to run their organization profitably.