Wednesday, July 31, 2019

A cultural analysis of Greece Essay

This paper presents a cultural analysis of Greece and how this translates into the country’s business practices. The importance in such profiling can be seen in the emergence of many cross-cultural studies that aim to come up with an effective theoretical framework that guides international companies to relate to other companies from different countries with different cultures. One of these frameworks was formulated by a series of national studies conducted by Hofstede in which the author identified cultures according to five indices. Basically, Hofstede’s approach presents that culture can be described as a set of characteristics ingrained or â€Å"wired-in† to the brains and the psyche of the members of a particular society thereby affecting behavior. With such understanding according to national cultures, cross-cultural managers can therefore make use of this information that can serve as a basis for cross-cultural and international initiatives of the organization. In application, this paper examines Greece according to Hofstede’s five dimensions and how this translates into the country’s business culture; this paper then compares this with the business culture in the United States. The conclusion then leads to the identification of the different points of compatibility and conflict, and the areas which the Greek and the American business cultures can reconcile for a more successful business communications and relations. Global Business Cultural Analysis: Greece I. Section One Introduction Communication plays an important role in any cross-cultural relations, and in the aspect of business, communication in the international context spans beyond language and includes protocols, perceptions and other elements pertaining to business practices. According to Hendon, Hendon and Herbig (1996), the challenge is that although two or more parties are trying to reach an agreement aiming to serve each other’s interests, cultural factors — whether in terms practice and perception — significantly contribute to the processing of information that would lead to either the success or the failure of the negotiations or the management strategy should international companies decide to operate together. As Hendon, et al. (1996) pointed out, cultural aspects influence managers, thereby affecting their behavior; this also reflects at the organizational level thereby the degree of the embodiment of the national culture of these companies is constantly present. Cross-cultural issues have become crucial given that more and more businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities brought by globalization. One of the issues that emerged from this is that there was an identified potential point of conflict based on the precept that the differences in the values of the different groups may lead to problems, thereby jeopardizing the advantages offered by the global and international markets (Fontaine, 2007). As a result, international organizations have invested in cross-cultural management initiatives in order to create the most effective approach should the company reaches the point of venturing into foreign operations or cross-cultural negotiations. In addition to the organizational dimension in cross-cultural issues are the elements that can further influence the operations of any business. Kanungo (2006) identified that globalization ha also created a significant impact to the consumers’ behavior now that they are aware of the strong global forces; technological innovation; and the environment. These elements do not only represent modifications in terms of the markets and the societies global businesses cater to but also the potential overall shift and cultural perceptions that resonate at various levels, from the individual to the organizational behaviors. Which is why given that globalization has become a phenomenon that represents present-day reality (Steger, 2003), even companies who are not â€Å"internationalized† are still subject to many global forces such as buying or selling their supplies from sources overseas. It is also possible that the company may have to work with a foreign employee or a worker from a different cultural background. In any case, the instances of a â€Å"cultural add-on† has become more and more regular (Berger, 1998, 124). However, it is important to look at the many theoretical foundations on cross-cultural studies, especially as to how national cultures are perceived as an important influence in organizational and management behavior. There is one distinctive studies that can be considered to have created a substantial buzz in the entire context of cross-cultural studies: Geert Hofstede’s four dimensions, which would later add another component. Hofstede’s studies gave way to conclusions that would help in the different approaches towards understanding different cultures, and how these can also create effects at individual, organizational and national levels. Hofstede’s Four Dimensions One of the most commonly used model in cross-cultural studies is Hofstede’s four dimensions; these dimensions emerged from Hofstede’s studies on 40 different countries in which he identified four major prevailing factors in terms of the cultural aspect (Bjerke, 1998): ? Power distance ? Uncertainty avoidance ? Individualism/collectivism ? Masculinity/femininity In order to understand these four dimensions, it is important to look at how Hofstede views culture and how this plays a role in global business applications. Hofstede is renowned for his research on differences among countries in terms of their culture and how these differences are essential. Hofstede operated based on the concept that comparisons among cultures can play a significant role in the making the right decisions based on the acquired information about other cultures; this is deemed helpful when it comes to making negotiations and even designing business strategies should companies decide to enter a foreign market. Hence, Hofstede’s works have been founded on how the differences of these cultures are influential to behavior across may social levels. Hofstede’s dimensions tend to generalize groups, hence, for instance, multicultural nations are taken as a singular culture (Fontaine, 2007). The four dimensions Hofstede formulated are the main indicators that can identify the points of similarities and differences across these many national cultures (Vinken, Soeters & Ester, 2004). His studies on many national cultures have therefore served as a reference point among many cross-cultural managers. Hofstede’s approach is known to adapt a more scientific approach as he argued that cultures can be â€Å"measured† and analyzed (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohavy & Sanders, 1990); such can be seen not only in his database which analyzed countries according to their measures in power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, and masculinity/femininity but also in terms of how these factors can impact many organizational tasks such as business negotiations. Culture is therefore an important indicator of behavior and at the same time, it acts as a binding force that defines a group, a society or a region. The four dimensions Hofstede identified are based on how a culture can be also defined according to relations, attitudes and values; in specific contexts, it can be observed that these four dimensions that pertain to Hofstede’s definition of culture — â€Å"the programming of the mind that differentiates one group of another† (as cited in Fontaine, 2007, 125) — presents a predictable framework of characteristics. A fifth dimension was also introduced by Hofstede by including Confucian framework to his dimension, and he identified this as the long term/short term orientation. The long term/short term orientation, a recent addition to Hofstede/s dimension, was founded on the perceptions of time, and how this can affect the behavior of people. This dimension was based on the Confucian orientation with respect to past, present and future, and for Hofstede, this fifth dimension can reflect a society’s perception of time, especially as to how this affects their perseverance and regard for values, and how societies also wish to command respect and gain stability (Jacob, 2005). This orientation is seen as an important component as this can reflect how some people can act as based on their expectations with respect to time, such as, for instance, whether their actions are motivated by long-term causes or their short-term goals. The power distance aspect refers to a culture’s orientation towards authority. This orientation includes how people understand power and how power works in their communities. With this component, power distance serves as an indicator of equality such as whether some cultures tend to be more democratic or practices a great amount of inequality (Hofstede, 2001). Another index identified by Hofstede (2001) is the uncertainty avoidance. Generally, this refers to how society can tolerate uncertainty. This therefore shows how a culture may be more comfortable in a more structured and rational framework because the tolerance of ambiguity is low whereas some societies may tend to live in the uncertainty, hence, their systems do not adhere to strict rules. Individualism/collectivism pertains to how a culture tend to be more individualist and autonomous or the spirit of the collective fills the members of its society (Hofstede, 2001). In the former, there is a greater sense of independence because the individual is encouraged to think for himself or herself. A collectivist culture, its opposite, tends to have a greater degree of influence according to the social or cultural psyche and norm. Although individuals can be said to initially come from defined groups such as families, the degree of cohesion across social levels differs from one culture to the next. Last but not the least, the masculinity/femininity index measures gender roles in a culture, especially as to how each of these genders are positioned in the society. The values among these two genders are among the fundamental elements in any society because one tends to dominate the other, if not, the attempt to equalize roles can be said to be also present in some cultures (Hofstede, 2001). In addition to the aspect of the relevance of power in these roles, this indicator also describes whether the country is â€Å"masculine† or â€Å"feminine†; the former associates the culture as more assertive and competitive, thereby embodying the male characteristics whereas feminine cultures are viewed as caring and more modest. The strength of Hofstede’s approach is that the study and the gathered data have come up with a set of information that generally describes the national cultures thereby demonstrating a general sense how people in a certain country can be expected to behave. The five dimensions have served as an important framework and Hofstede’s model has served many nation-level researches especially as to how the applicability of his collected data can be regarded to be valid at a certain point (Smith, 2006). However, the model is not without any criticisms as this brings the issue on how many dimensions must be used as a means to measure culture (Smith, 2006). Another study conducted by Blodgett, Bakir and Rose (2008) that the model has limitations especially as to its validity among individuals. From this, it can be gathered that applicability of Hofstede’s framework mainly gives a good reference for a cultural overview of nation, but in more specific terms, there is still some debate as to the design of a more effective cross-cultural analysis model. II. Section Two Greek Culture: an Overview Greece can be easily associated with its glory during the antiquity, with the country immersed in a rich culture of intelligence and might, in addition to the production of several works of art and architecture that can be considered to still have an influence in the modern world. Hence, Greece has always had the impression of classicism, especially with the mark left by Hellenism in the world and Greek history transcending fact and has become an interesting subject for literary works. From political thought to mythology, Greek as a culture remains to be an object of fascination, especially as it has founded an important definition where the Western world begins in this Mediterranean archipelago. Culture can be basically defined through customs and traditions, and in Greece, albeit its development into modernity, has maintained a strong grasp for tradition; this tradition is defined by the roles played by religion and paganism in the country. Greece is dominantly Orthodox Christian although some variations of the faith, as determined by paganistic influences, can be seen to be present and also vary from island to island. This is why Greek culture is generally regarded to have a higher degree of mixed beliefs and that Greeks also tend to be superstitious (Buxton, 1999). Early Greek civilization has demonstrated a significant amount of intellect yet at the same time, the society was also driven by its mythological past. Such combination can be seen to present an attempt to balance myth and reason, and in modern Greece, this can be seen to have developed as modern Greek society remains to take pride in its past through the continuous presence of its customs and traditions, yet at the same time, modern Greek culture has demonstrated significant social changes that have take place in the last century. This is discussed by Mouzelis (1978) who mentioned how societal values remain to be dictated by its core values, and these core values, evidently, play a significant role in the definition of a society’s culture. The economy, in the past centuries, has created a significant impact to the social development of any society, and Greece, as it moved on to the modern times, had adapted to these changes. In the social context, Greece had demonstrated the ability to adjust to these new economic demands, and its society, inevitably, has redefined social classes. Its economy also started to redefine itself especially as to how it would define its role in the modern world. All in all, the modernization of Greece has created a degree of impact to its modern culture, but interestingly, Greek culture has strongly maintained what it has always been. As previously mentioned Greek culture has been distinct in terms of the roles religion plays in the lives of the people; this religion fuses the more organized leanings of the Christian Orthodox Church and the more paganistic or mythical practices that many Greeks still practice today. In addition to customs and traditions, Greek culture has maintained its strong identity across many cultural facets, from its art, music, food and wine. The Greek people has demonstrated a strong sense of resilience considering the number of wars they had to endure in the modern times. These wars include its conflict with the Ottomans in which the country fell under rule for a long time, the Balkan Wars, the First World War, and the Greco-Turkish wars. The country also fell under military dictatorship from 1967-1974. With their wounded past, the Greek people had redeveloped a strong national character that had adapted to the realities they faced, especially as Greece’s glory would seem to be stuck more in the past and the modernity seems to have favored more the Western nations (Chilton, Dubin, Edwards, Garvey, Fisher, & Ellingham, 2008). Interestingly, as Greece would struggle to find its place in the modern world, the Greek society and the people had gone through periods of diaspora in order to escape the conflicts at home. Those who were left behind would be stuck in the chaos of the country in which the economy would find a hard time adjusting to the greater powers coming from the western world, more specifically Europe. The Greek people experienced lack of opportunities in addition to poverty, especially as the country would prove to lack in enough economic resourcefulness until recently. Greece, for a significantly portion of the 20th century, was under-developed, but it was not until in the 1980s that the country would start to catch up and become more integrated with the rest of Europe (Chilton, et al. , 2008) There are some interesting factors in Greek culture that can be regarded to have influenced attitudes of its people. One of these concepts is filotimo. Although hard to translate, filotimo generally refers to the Greeks’ love for deep honor that they should possess; this goes well with anther important Greek characteristic of integrity which is about behaving as an upright individual. Although a sense of deep honor, as a translation, does not provide enough interpretation of the concept, filotimo can be considered to refer to a character that is highly desirable, but basically, it can be associated with a sense of self who is intrinsically good (Makedon, 1995). In addition to the concept of filotimo, modern Greece had emerged with additional cultural concepts in terms of character, and these are leventia and palikaria. Leventia refers to a sense of â€Å"manly excellence† thereby emphasizing the importance of having certain male characteristics. Leventia is paired with palikaria which also refers to the same meaning. As pair, possessing or being leventia and/or palikaria is about the ability to survive through hard times, especially if the individual or the family has been subject to a critical amount of duress. Having leventia and palikaria can gain an individual substantial admiration from those around him because of the display of a strong sense of self as seen in courage or proactiveness that addresses the source of any problem (Makedon, 1995). Last but not the least, albeit its painful periods of oppression, the Greek people have a great amount of love towards freedom. The love for liberty has always been a Greek characteristic, as seen from the ancient Greek civilization to the modern Greek society. Many themes in the Greek arts have portrayed the importance of freedom, and evidently, as the cradle of democracy, Greek culture had long wanted to fight oppression and aimed for a more liberal and democratic society in which they get to possess a certain amount of freedom despite the restrictions posed upon them (Makedon, 1995). Generally, these characteristics show how modern Greece have managed an important element of its identity, and that is its Orthodox church; however, despite the practice of orthodoxy, this aspect of â€Å"freedom† is practiced in such a way that the Greek people remains to have an open mind towards its paganistic past. In a way, the Greek culture can be regarded to have managed to lessen the conflict between mythos and logos, and today, the Greek people has been finding ways to make room for the modern and how it fits to its long standing tradition. Greek Business Culture Studies on the Greek business culture has had references to Hofstede’s cultural framework. In terms of the scores of Greece according to Hofstede’s four dimensions, Greece has the following measures in these four indices (Hofstede, 2001): ? Power distance index: 63 ? Individualism: 35 ? Masculinity: 57 ? Uncertainty avoidance index: 112 In terms of Greece’s score in the power distance index, this score shows how its people, according to Hofstede’s framework, demonstrates the emergence of the social classes in Greek society. This is to say that people are aware of the powers that are present in the society and they know their place with respect to that power. The score of the country in this index can be considered to be average, hence, demonstrating that although people do recognize the presence of inequalities in its society, they see the presence of means to get over certain barriers. The median score for this index is 55, and with Greece at 63, the amount of inequality is above average yet not as drastic as compared to other countries. Basically, this shows how hierarchy plays in the society which can be considered as a paradox considering the Greeks’ love for liberty and democracy. In a sense, such score shows how the Greeks have embraced reality and that certain powers have created a strong influence in the country. The next score shows that the country has lower measures of individualism thereby showing that Greece is a highly collective society. This shows how Greeks have a strong regard for family and community, and how individuals are strongly influenced by their environment. Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) mentioned that when Greeks enter an organization, there is already the expectation that the Greek employee expects to work for this company for the rest of his or her life, and at the same time, in exchange for this loyalty, they expect that the firm will also look after their family. The next indicator is masculinity, and Greece scored slightly above the global average of 50 (Hofstede, 2001). This is an interesting score as generally, the Greek society has demonstrated the strong male influence in terms of their position in the family and the society. The roles between males and females have been regarded to be also more distinctive, in which case the women know their positions and the limits of their power and influence. The uncertainty avoidance index shows the highest score for Greece, and based on this, there are many rules that prevail in the Greek society. Again, this is an interesting score because this contradicts the Greeks’ love for freedom, but then again, such rules and restrictions may have brought the Greek people to be hungry for more liberty in its societies. The many bounds in Greek society can be seen in its history where the country went through oppression through foreign occupancy and dictatorship. Overall, as employees, Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) discussed the characteristics of Greek employees, as follows (273): â€Å"For Greek people, the working culture is based on sense of honour, dignity, loyalty, and sense of duty reflected in the Greek word ‘filotimo’†¦ which is similar to the concept of ‘face’ as reported for China†¦ in these societies, ‘filotimo’ or ‘face’ becomes an asset for organizations. In cases, however, where expectations are not met, the personnel can be alienated†. From the results of Hofstede’s study, Greece can be summarized as â€Å"high power distance, strong uncertainty avoidance, collectivistic and masculine† (Joiner, 2001, 232). This profile, as translated into Greece’s business culture, strongly demonstrates its association with societal values. According to Hofstede (2001), among the four indicators in his cultural model, the most relevant in the aspect of organizational design can be attributed to power distance and uncertainty avoidance which is why these factors are important in assessing the relationship of national cultures and the organization. In the organizational context, the Greek business culture shows a strong sense of hierarchy and the partenalistic relations that exist in Greek companies; this is evident in the high score in the power distance. In further putting this with respect to Hofstede’s description of this dimension, the Greek society as well in Greek organizations, there is the accepted presence of inequalities in terms of the distributio of power. The acceptance in human inequality, interestingly, may not fair well with the Greek fundamentals on democracy but apparently, such cultural characteristic is more of an indicator of a strong sense of respect towards authority (Joiner, 2001). Leadership is therefore emphasized in Greek organizations, and in business, there is much dependence on the company’s leaders when it comes to making decisions. Such cultural factor can then be attributed to the historical development in Greece which, accoding to Psychogios and Szamosi (2007), lived in a society with the centralized Greek political system that highlights the â€Å"powerful state and the large public sector† (8). In terms of the reflection of Greece’s high uncertainty avoidance index, many studies have actually revealed that groups with hih uncertainty avoidance index demonstrate a fear of making decisios, hence, the presence of many rules that can be easily referred to. In Greece, according to studies by Bartholomew (1995), Bourantas, et al. (199), among others (as cited in Joiner, 2001), fear of decision-making has been found among Greek managers and subordinates, hence, much of these activities are left to the upper management. There is indeed the influence of culture in terms of the business’ own practices. Although this may not be true in all cases, the general perception towards Greek businesses reflect how the business culture have its foundations according to its societal values, these values are which influenced by the country’s culture. III. Section Three In Comparison with the US Business Culture Based on Hofstede’s cultural model, Greece scored high in power distance index, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance index, whereas it scored low in individualism. These scores translate to the Greek business culture of centralization, concentrated power, more distinct gender roles, and high reliance on the organizations to take care of the employees’ family. Greek employees are also found to possess the characteristics of loyalty, integrity and dignity, as guided by the concept of filotimo. In comparing this to the American culture, the contrasts can be immediately seen the differences in the scores Hofstede gave the United States (Hofstede, 2001). The US scored high in individualism, low in power distance index, uncertainty avoidance index, and long term orientation, whereas in terms of masculinity, the US scored above average. The similarities can be therefore seen in the masculinity aspect in which both shows that gender roles remain to be differentiated in the American business culture. However, the similarities end there. Based on the scores, the American culture can be described as highly individualistic, with a greater sense of equality and fewer rules thereby showing greater tolerance in new ideas and beliefs. Basically, the American business culture does embody these characteristics. As the country embraced capitalism and industrialization earlier than Greece, the country’s business culture tends to have a more progressive and liberal approach. There is a strong presence of market economy forces in the United States, and employees are also driven by the economic opportunitis presented to them. One of the important aspects in the American business culture is the presence of competition, and competition is present not only among businesses but among individuals as well (McCraw, 2000). Hence, unlike in Greece where a bulk of the important responsibilities are left to upper management, American organizations and their employees grab these opportunities to hold more responsibilities because it means more opportunities for them to gain better positions. Competitive is therefore a characteristic of the American business culture, and this makes sense according to the results of the scores of the United States according to Hofstede’s model. Although these scores and comparisons between national and business cultures can be regarded to be applicable, it should be noted that the degree of relevance may not be true in all cases. In addition to the challenges as to the validity of Hofstede’s model (Blodgett, et al. , 2008), there is also the case of change that can possibly take place at social and business levels. As discussed in the first section, the applicability is limited as to the relevance of national cultures to business cultures although the fundamentals of a national culture tends to become apparent generally. For instance, the Greek concept of filotimo can be considered to be true even at business levels, and at the same time, the collective spirit can be seen in how many Greek corporations are family-owned. Such is true in the case of the United States in terms of the masculunity scores. Although in some instances gender roles remain defined in the US, in the business world, more and more women have started to hold significant positions across many organizations. Therefore, the relevance of national culture perceptions are only true up to a certain extent but information such as those gathered by Hofstede’s studies serve as useful references to the basics of the social and business dynamics in a country. IV. Section Four Opening an American Business in Greece Based on the scores in Hofstede’s cultural framework, the USA’s national culture distance from Greece is at 3. 47 according to 42 surveyed American firms in the country (Kessapidou & Varsakelis, 2002). With this number, it can be assumed that there will be greater difficulty in the successful establishment of the American company in Greece; however, this may not be the case, and the same is true even if the company has a Greek affiliate. According to Kessapidou and Varsakalis (2002), the strength lies in the Greek’s characteristic to be collective, hence, they tend to comply with the requirements of the company. In addition, the concept of filotimo can drive Greek employees to perform better, thereby filotimo, in a sense, serves as a source of competitiveness, which is compatible with the American busines culture. However, there may be some problems in terms of the management aspect between the American and the Greek managers, or the Greek managers needing to comply with the demands of American management practices. Although there are highly centralized American companies, the delegation of power and responsibility is one of an American’ company’s assets, hence, should decisions need to be made, even some subordinates may step in and show a sense of leadership. This may intimidate Greek managers and employees, especially if the firm would have American employees working in the Greek operations. In addition, the Greek employees may think that the Americans are too aggressive and ambitious in the workplace, thereby possibly creating a rift among the employees. Hence, the recommendation is that prior to the establishment of the American operation in Greece, both sides need to be educated about the cultures they are about to encounter. Since that Greece is going to host the company, the American company needs to comply more with the Greek culture, but since it is the American company that is going to establish the business, the Greek employees and managers also need to

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Familiar Writing Style

Speech without circumlocution sometimes can hurt others' heart. – tact: n. The ability to do or say things without offending or upsetting other people Ex) SAT evaluates students' tact to understand a college level education. 6. Appeal to authority: citation of information from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening a speaker or writers arguments.Causal relationship: of, involving, or constituting a cause in a relationship; cause and effect relationships Declamation: a rhetorical exercise or set speech. Capricious: given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior. Conciliatory: intended or likely to placate or pacify. Contemplative: expressing or involving prolonged thought. Glib: (of words or the person speaking them) fluent and voluble but insincere and shallow. Linguistic: the scientific study of language and its structure, including the duty of morphology, syntax, phonetics, and semantics.Pretentious: attempt ing to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc. , than is actually possessed. Strident: loud and harsh; grating. 7. L. The author put an anecdote about general misconceptions of familiar writing style on line 1-3. By criticizing the ideas which are opposite to his statement, his thesis can gain more power. This skill is the reduction to absurdity. II. The author used an antithesis on line 7-10. The author emphasized his idea through contrasting his idea with wrong conception.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Compare and Contrast Psychodynamic Theory and Person Centerd

Title – Critically compare and contrast two counselling theories Module code- Cg2030 Module tutor – Phill Goss Word count-2500 Counselling takes place when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty a client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. It is always at the request of the client as no one can properly be ‘sent' for counselling. (Counselling central) By listening the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the client's point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, possibly from a different perspective. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a particular course of action. Counsellors do not judge or exploit their clients in any way. ’(Counselling central). The two main therpaies withi n counselling that I will focus on comparing on contrasting are person centerd counselling.PCT is a form of talk-psychotherapy  developed by  psychologist  Carl Rogers  in the 1940s and 1950s. The goal of PCT is to provide clients with an opportunity to develop a sense of self wherein they can realize how their attitudes, feelings and behavior are being negatively affected and make an effort to find their true positive potential  In this technique, therapists create a comfortable, non-judgmental  environment  by demonstrating  congruence  (genuineness),  empathy, and unconditional positive regard toward their clients while using a non-directive approach.This aids clients in finding their own solutions to their problems. Secondly Psychoanalysis  is a  psychological  and  psychotherapeutic  theory conceived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in differe nt directions, mostly by some of Freud's colleagues and students, such as  Alfred Adler,  Carl Gustav Jung  and  Wilhelm Reich, and later by neo-Freudians such as  Erich Fromm,  Karen Horney,  Harry Stack Sullivan  and  Jacques Lacan.The basic tenets of psychoanalytic therapy include the following beside the inherited constitution of personality, a person's development is determined by events in early childhood, human behaviour, experience, and cognition are largely determined by irrational drives, those drives are said to be largely  unconscious. This main aim of this assignment will be taking both person centred and psychoanalytic therapy and critically comparing them I will do this by giving an overview of the two therapies how they were developed, the principles they lie upon, what their relationships are based on.We will then look at how they are similar and also how they differ by looking at the skills used and how they work as therapies to come to both do the same thing which is to help a client overcome an issue in their life. Person centred therapy is based on the idea that humans have a drive to grow towards their potential and will act with the best interest to themselves, if they are provided the right atmosphere (Mcleod,2008). The direction of therapy is guided by the client with the support of the therapist. The client is always the expert on themselves if they are provided with the right atmosphere for self-actualisation to occur.The central component being the client knows best the client knows where it hurts the most. The counsellors main motive is to relate to the client in such a way that he or she can find there sense of self direction. Carl Rodgers was the founder of person centred therapy. The development stemmed from Rodgers experiences of being a client and working as a counsellor (casemore) Rodgers didn’t like the view of behaviourist that humans were organisms that react to stimuli and developed habits from learned experiences.Therefor in his work as a counsellor became increasingly uncomfortable with being â€Å"the expert† so began to develop a different view of what clients needed to experience in counselling, empathy congruence and unconditional positive regard. Rodgers proposed that human beings were always in the process of becoming rather than being in a fixed state. As humans we have the captivity to develop in a basically positive direction given the right conditions.That’s not to say that he thought people are not sometimes cruel or hurtful but every person has the tendencies towords strong positive direction. Rodgers proposed that when the conditions were growth promoting an individual could develop into a fully functioning person. Rodgers described his approach as a basic philosophy rather than a simple technique which empowers the individual and leads to personal and social transformation, grounded in empathic understanding being non-judgemental and congruent .For this reason the person centred approach is often seen as touchy feel relation and seen as soft skilled that lacks structure, sometimes said as a way of preparing the road for real therapy. However it does have a clear theory of self, the creation of distrees and the tehraputic process. It’s aims are transformational and asks the counsellor to be a human and transparent â€Å"be real†(langridge). Freud is regarded as the founder of modern psychology, developing psychoanalysis. The therapy is based on the idea that a great deal of the individual behavior are not within conscious control.Therefor the main emphasis is to help the client get to the deep root of the problem often thought, to stem from childhood. Based on the principle that childhood experiences effect our behavior as adults and effect out thinking processe, Freud belived that these thoughts and feelings can become repressed and may manifest themselves as depression or other negative symptoms. The client is able to reveal unconscious thought by talking freely aboput thought that enter their mind the analysis will attempt to interpratate and make sence of the clients experiances.Deeply burtied experiances are expressed and the opportunity to share tehase thoughts and feelings can help the client work through thease problems. Clients are asked to try and transfer thougts and feelings they have towords people in their life on the analyst this process is called transfernace the success depends on how the analysats and client work together. Psychoanalysis can be life changing if successful howver around 7 years of therpay is needed to discover the full unconcious mind . regular sessions provide a setting to explore there thoughts and make sence of them.Psychoanalytic therapy is based on freuds work of pychoanalysis but less intensive it is found to be bennaficial for clients who want to understand more about tehmselves and useful to people who feel tehir problems have affcted them for a long period of time and need reliving of emotional disstress. Through deep exploration client and therapist try to understand the inner life of the client. Uncovering the uncocncious needs and thoughts may help the client understand how their past experiances affect their life today.It can also help them to work out how they can live a more fulfilling life. Person centred counselling and psychoanalytic therapy are both off springs of two great minded people Sigmund Freud and carl Rodgers the originators of these two approaches. Freud based his framework on his medical background , Rodgers was influenced by excistential phillosphy were the person is there central role in their growth and change. Some similarities can be drawn from a comparison betwewen the two models they both want to widen the concioussness but this is done in different means.Psychonalsis aims to make the unconscious conscious and by doing this helps the person gain controle over their thought and feelings. And the person cneterd approach helps the client to overcome a state of incongruence whilst psychoanalytic objective is two seek the repressed childhood experiances. The person centerd works through the concioussness by focusing on the here and now. Kahn (1985) compares the term incongruence with psychoanalytic defence mechanism repression. To him both are the same thing but different versions.Both prevent the person from being aware of his their own feelings the onluy diffrnece being that Rodgers belives by imputing the core conditions of Two persons are in Psychological contact, The first, whom we shall term the client, is in a state of incongruence, being vulnerable or anxious,The second person, whom we shall term the therapist is congruence or integrated in the relationship,The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client. The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the clients internal frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience to the client.The communication to the client of the therapist’s empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved. Then if thease are imputed incongruence will be shifted and psychoanalytic belive through interpretation of childhoon events repression can be acchived. Both psychoanalytic and person centred involve empathy that is applied to client and therapist, enabling the client to gain new understanding and move away from distress and towards harmony with self and others. Therefor potentially both try to increase insight and strength towards the self.Other areas that overlap are also evident simple areas such as setting bounderies, along with assessment for therapy. From the first minuite of contact both persons become aware of their own and others aims, values and lifestyle by empathic attending. Both types of therapist are warm and open minded and accepting. In both therapies the therapist is bidden to provide a non judgemental respe ctful attitude towords the client. Both also share a commitment to the use of silence beliving it is an effective tool for therapy commiting to listening without impediment.The similarities are strongly guided by personal growth and development both have the interest of promoting self-reflection of the client. Their interest is to promote self-reflection of the clirnt. The relationship is very important in both and the main reason for this is to gain a beter insight and clearer understanding of the client. The aim is to build a relationship built on trust honesty and reliance on one another. The relationship is crucial in both therpays as without a tight relationship there is no ground work in place for the client to feel safe to explore.Both models encourage the client to relase emotions and it is through tehase that empathy can be experienced. On the other hand psychoanalytic theory stresses the importance of unconscious procedures and sexuality as the key terms for a deep underst anding of the human pychopathology. Freud thought that dreams were the best way to explore the unconscious since they are disquised as the id whishes repressed by the ego in order to escape from awareness. The goal of counselling to Rodgers is the congruence of personality acchived when the self gains access to a variety of experiances. he need for self actualization can only be atteneded to once counsellor creates an atmosphere of unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding. There are considerable diffrences between the two approaches ialthough stated that they both create a strong knitted relationship between client ancd counsellor . person centers counselling the counsellor takes on a non directice role more like a companion rather than a leader and the client takes lead of the session were as psychodynamic counsellors take more of an authority figure in the relationship.Person centred firmly believes that the 6 core condition are necessary for change. Hoewever psych odynamic use of transference is to make interpretation to the client for effective change. Person centred would see using transference would not create a genuine relationship between counsellor and client. One of the central themes in person centred is the emphasis on the present behaviours of the client. Psychodynamic focuses on the past and how it determines the present behaviours.Pychodyanmic counsellors choose to remain neutral during a session as this encourages transference a major tool in psychodynamic therapy. McLeod (2004) points out that in person centered counselling, questions are only asked to clients when necessary and may also answer questions if asked by clients, as this was supports to create the quality of the relationship. This again differs to the way Psychodynamic counsellors' work; as asking questions are pivotal during therapy as this elps to explore and build up relevant material, furthermore, it would be unlikely for a psychodynamic counsellor to answer any personal questions by the client and instead try to figure out why the question is important. Although both see the relationship as crucial each therapy maintains a diferent way to responding to the client attitudes and values. for instance defences and transferance excist in both forms but handled in different ways. For person centerdit is a requirement that the core conditions are stimuiltaneous for the therapist thease core conditions repersent an openess to self experience and to the experience of another.Rodgers belived counsellors should be egalitarian in their meetings with clinets and a major diffrence concerns pychodynamic interpretations. Appearing as all knowing and going beyond what is un-concious based mostly on theory rather than a clients spacific experiances. Thorne (1996) states that â€Å"pychodynamic therpay may go to early in interpratation to make sence to clients† Pychodynamic interpratation specifically concerns the naming of the unconcious for causeing problems that the clinet may be having.Only in the hermanutic meaning does the word interpratation make sence of things Hermeneutics applies to all persons who make sense of all situations, whereas psychodynamic interpretation in the narrow sense is the most specific ingredient of psychodynamic therapy’s efforts to make positive changes for clients. All in all psychodynamic approaches are based on freuds work based on the unconscious of the ID ego and superego which emphasis on sexual aggression.Person centerd is based on the belief that humans have unique qualities for freedom and growth beliving that we are beyond being controlled by ID ego and superego not controlled by sexual urges. The similarities between both approaches promote and guide the idea of progress and development. There main interest to promote self reflection and awarenss for the client in order to do this they effectively use communication. Both approaches are the result of hypothesis the main diffrences lie at the foundations and what is belived to work best however sometimes they meet for what may be the best too to use at the time of hearapy. prehaps what makes any thrapy work is the belief that they can work if the client wants it to work there emotional needs and expectataions I belive that theory used does play a a very important role but it is the client who has the ability to change which ever root of therapy they take they can change no matter how they recive therapy weather it be in a humanistic approach or psychodynamic because if they expect it to work it will so maybe I am more for the person cneterd view as I belive that self actualisation and awarenss is very important to be able to facilitate growth.

Functional Relationships Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Functional Relationships - Assignment Example Therefore production function interlink inputs and outputs as in the case provided. Taking for example the industrial production of sugar at a sugar mill. For production of sugar several inputs are required for production process to be complete. Although there are many inputs from labor, fuel, sugarcane supply, water and machinery the main inputs are sugarcane supply. To produce output y, input x1 and x2 are required for it to be produced. Therefore, such input set has the following effects on production of y. x is the sum input x1 and x2 referred to as the isoquant. Consider a situation where there are two main inputs x1 and x2 for production of sugar. Let x1 be sugarcane supply and x2 be labor. All these inputs work together for production of sugar. For Y quantity of sugar to be produced the firm need to use x1 quantity of sugarcane and x2 labor in the firm. Therefore, production process requires different inputs put together to produce a given output required. Inputs such as labor, capital and raw materials are equally important in the production process. In conclusion, addition of extra inputs in production clearly has great impact in production process. Production functions are determined by inputs that are used. Such inputs for example labor, capital and raw materials are used in the production process to determine the amount of outputs in

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Hominins Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hominins - Assignment Example The original airing of the film was on March 27, 2003. It reveals the events that occurred nearly three million years ago (Turner 67). Professor Winston achieves to trace the history of humankind from the ape-man to the upright man. The film also captures the main points such as stone tool manufacture, meat eating, extended childhood, and bipedalism. The development stages start with an Afarensis, Lucy, also called the â€Å"First Ancestor.† The ape was the first primate to walk on two legs. Lucy’s societies engage in leadership conflict. The film focuses on the bipedality of the species. The second species is â€Å"Blood Bothers† that mainly dominates East Africa. The species consists of Homo habilis, Paranthropus boisei, and Homo rudolfensis. The third species in the tree is â€Å"Savage Family† which consists of Homo erectus and Homo ergaster (Barry, Robert, and Lynn 56). The setting of the species is Kenya and China. The last species in the species is â€Å"The Survivor† that includes Homo sapiens idaltu, Homo sapiens, Neanderthal and Homo heidelbergensis. The film has the strengths of enabling the audience to understand the evolution of human beings successfully. It presents the species as they occur in n orderly manner. It does well in covering the main these and events in human evolution. It gives detailed explanations on the environmental factors that could have influenced the species to acquire their distinct characteristics (Turner 79). The films use special effects from the latest scientific theories to enable the audience understand t easily. The film uses good visual effects that appeal to the audience. Though the film achieves to provide a comprehensive explanation about the evolution of human beings, it has some flaws. It uses a weak theory. For instance, it does not analyze the factors that the species were responding to when acquiring specific features. Strong theories should

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Military discourse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Military discourse - Essay Example It is inevitable rivalries will arise due to the intense competitive and fighting spirit of all military personnel that results from the very nature of their jobs. In this regard, this paper will examine some of the unique military discourses of the Ground Forces of the Army to which I belonged. The Ground Forces of any armed forces is usually the biggest and most well-funded unit of the military service of a country. This is because it forms the bulk of military personnel needed to fight a war which is usually fought on land. Because of their size, members of the Ground Forces feel a sense of entitlement and priority when it comes to military appropriation for their budget such as that used for the acquisition of weaponry. The nature of war makes it imperative for a military unit to be flexible which is why it happens there is an overlap of the functions of each service. When this happens, rivalries arise due to encroachment of functions and a threat to a service branchs primary responsibilities. The rivalry can intensify to a point of being destructive such as a lack of cooperation although it can improve the esprit de corps. Obedience – being a member of the Ground Forces, I was witness to many of its rules regarding military discipline to maintain unit cohesion. Discipline is the backbone by which the ranked hierarchy is being reinforced daily through total obedience. Discipline is instilled in all recruits right from the very beginning, at the start of their training. The most important rule to remember is the notion of â€Å"obey first before you complain† which is second nature to every military person.

Friday, July 26, 2019

History of ECON 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of ECON 4 - Essay Example Social wealth comes from the production of economic goods in a capitalist economy (Heilbroner, 168). Organization of economic activities leads to division of labor among individuals. The division of labor and the economic organization meets the material needs of the society, which creates social wealth. Max argues that production is done for producing exchange value, but the benefits do not last. Max argues that capitalist economies buy labor with money because production is an important part of the development. Labor power is a special kind of commodity because it involves the special kind of abilities of human beings. Labor is a special kind of commodity because individuals should be willing to sell their labor power. Max argues that individuals and employers should meet in the marketplace as equals. Employers should be able to put his employees in the position of a buyer’s disposal. It indicates that the laborer distances him or her from labor to be able to claim rights it rights. Labor is a special kind of commodity because individuals should not sell the labor he has created (Heilbroner, 169). The individual should sell the labor power because they do not own the means of production. Max argues that some people own the money while some individuals own labor power. It is the reason labor power is a special kind of commodity. Labor power exists in the capacity of a living person. According to Karl Max, interpretation of the increase in the population is in the context of a capitalistic fiscal system. He argues that a capitalist takes a huge role in the economic sense. He feels that offer capitalist labor relative trivial share of labor productivity. Capitalist introduce more machinery in the society to increase the value of surplus of labor efficiency. According to Max introduction of machinery, creates a surplus of individuals due to lack of jobs to create balance in the economy (Heilbroner, 170). The population is a result

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Officer Safety and the risks of policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Officer Safety and the risks of policing - Essay Example Indeed, in every aspect of their lives, it is evident that the lives of police officers are always endangered, both when on-duty and off-duty (Asbury and Jacobs, 2014). These points out clearly on the importance of officer safety and the risks associated with policing, requiring the development of appropriate strategies that would work to provide effective solutions to such risks. Many studies and researches have been conducted in examining both the mental and physical health of police officers, in order to identify the different conditions for which the officers have a greater risk. Police officers are usually mandated to provide the public with security without taking into consideration the circumstances involved in the provision of such security (Asbury and Jacobs, 2014). This has indeed contributed substantively towards increased police causalities, mostly in the line of duty where the officers have always become victims to assaults, in some instances by the public while in others the criminals under their watch, vehicle crashes, stress, overexertion, and falls. Officers are always the first in crime scenes, when in possession with the least of information about the potential risks in such areas, and therefore, risks to which they expose themselves (Asbury and Jacobs, 2014). Dependent of the various aspects pertaining to police safety and the risks associ ated with their job, it is important that much still needs to be done in order to improve police officers’ safety and health. Many studies have been conducted in order to get the most appropriate ways of improving the safety and health of police officers be it on or off duty, however, little success has been realized. Improving the safety and health of police officers involves an in-depth understanding of the range of health and safety risks that the police face in their profession (IFPO, 2010).

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Attacks in Computer Systems versus Web-based Systems Case Study

Attacks in Computer Systems versus Web-based Systems - Case Study Example The similarities are also influenced by the homogenous nature of the technologies used in both types of systems. A web-based system is, essentially, a computer system that supports activities on the internet. This makes web presence the only contrast between the two systems and creates the uniformity in the types of attacks employed. The growth in web-based cybercrime has been enabled by various factors, which have had different magnifying effects on the observed increase in this type of criminal activity. The first factor is the increasing availability of internet connectivity in many areas of the world. Although it may appear trivial at first glance, greater access to the internet has inspired many hackers to engage in cybercrime; to the extent that they can find whichever resources they want (Provos, Rajab, & Mavrommatis, 2009:42). Using the internet, potential hackers can easily access information that instructs them on how to commit cybercrime. For example, currently, anybody with an internet connection can view links containing â€Å"tutorials† on how to engage in cybercrime. It is safe to say that this information is more easily accessible to people with internet connections than those without. The second factor is an increase in online transactions that have created opportunities for people to engage in criminal activities like stealing of online financial information. The internet has brought with it an explosion in e-commerce, and since e-commerce relies on web presence, cybercrime has grown alongside it. It is a case of people taking advantage of the weaknesses involved in online transactions like the provision of credit card information and identification data (Provos, Rajab, & Mavrommatis, 2009:44). However, this could also be said to be a direct result of technological development. As technology becomes more advanced, its flaws become more pronounced.  

Policy Choices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Policy Choices - Essay Example Coming to an individual, what are the factors that influence actions of self interest Basically, individuals are goal oriented, and as such, they depend on their skills and resource to achieve their goals. Also, in order to achieve his goals, an individual may look for information, evaluate alternatives, and choose the ideal option. In the absence of these, there is manipulation due to lack of information and ignorance. There are also other factors involved in the process of decision making. "The rational ideal not only overstates the purity of information, it also exaggerates the rationality of the people using information. That humans do not make decisions in purely rational fashion is a point that needs no belaboring." [1] This is what Charles Lindblom has called "the preceptoral system," whereby "a system of social control is exercised by a highly unilateral governmental persuasion addressed not to an elite or to a bureaucracy alone but to an entire population" [2] "While the individual in the rational ideal is autonomous, free to deliberate and choose on the basis of accurate information, in the preceptoral system the individual is a puppet whose mind has been invaded by others and who acts as though he or she chooses voluntarily but is in fact directed from without." [3] The practice of restriction or suppression of information is not only confined to totalitarian regimes, it is also practiced in the highly scientific corridors of medical research, mega business houses, the media, law agencies, political parties, and at the highest levels of the proponents of free society. [4] Nonetheless, public-interest is the result of experience and proper understanding of what the problem is and how the solution could be achieved with minimum confusion and confrontation. It involves public debate and perception, and allows for discussion and information based solutions, instead of leaving it to the discretion of a single individual. "The rational ideal, in sum, offers a vision of society where conflict is temporary and unnecessary, where force is replaced by discussion, and where individual actions are 1Policy Paradox, p314. 2Policy Paradox, Chapter 13, page 316. 3Policy Paradox, p308. 4Why Public Ideas Matter Chapter 2, page 31 brought into harmony through the persuasive power of logic and evidence. Government by persuasion brings out the highest human quality - the capacity to deliberate." [5] However, the decision making process often tend to be long and tedious on issues related to public interest. That is why sometimes it is felt that that there is the need for some element of totalitarianism in government. That is to say, it is not always necessary for government to be of the totalitarian type in order to use persuasion. "Let us for the moment, however, not make totalitarian government a necessary condition for indoctrination and so not limit indoctrination to totalitarian regimes by definition. Instead, let us regard it as a relationship in which dominant elites control people's beliefs and

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Personal Injury Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personal Injury Law - Essay Example The duty of the proprietor is measured using the reasonable man’s test: that is, what a reasonable man would have done when presented with similar circumstances. The law imposes a duty on a proprietor to maintain the premises in a reasonably secure or safe condition. This means that he has a duty to offer premises that are safe and secure for use. This duty is owed to every invitee: that is, somebody who has either express or implied permission to be in the premises. Additionally, he has a duty to inspect the premises for that which was likely to cause injuries. A breach of this duty makes the proprietor liable for any resulting injury to an invitee. The basis of liability for this duty is the presumed â€Å"superior knowledge† on the part of the proprietor. The law presumes that the proprietor has better knowledge on the existence of a factor that predisposes the invitee to risks. If the invitee has as much knowledge of the hazard as the proprietor, there is no duty on the part of the proprietor to warn him and the proprietor is not liable for any resulting harm if the invitee voluntarily assumes the risk. ... Therefore, the proprietor is more likely to be found culpable where he has more comprehension of the quality and quantity of risks presented by a particular set of circumstances than the invitee. The proprietor is not liable for readily observable hazards that should be appreciated by the invitees. He has no duty to warn about obvious risks that the invitee should decipher from the use of reasonable senses. Additionally, in both cases the court addresses the question on the circumstances in which it shall grant a judgment notwithstanding the verdict of the jury. As a general rule, the court shall try as much as possible to uphold the verdict of the jury unless, even without weighing the credibility of evidence presented, there can be only one conclusion as to the proper judgment. The question as to negligence shall be left to the jury, unless in indisputable cases. The standard of review for a motion of judgment notwithstanding the verdict requires that the court weigh the evidence i n the most favorable manner to the non-moving party, giving the party all the benefit for all favorable inferences that may be made. Oates V. Mulji Motor Inn, Inc. The brief facts of this case are that a school tennis team registered to stay overnight at the appellee’s motel. At about 9pm, the team decided to go swimming at the motel’s pool. While swimming, a 17 year old Jarvis Coates drowned while swimming in the defendant’s motel pool. Coates parents commenced an action against the motel and the coach alleging that their negligence led to the death of Jarvis. At the time of the drowning, the pool did not have overhead lights, or a safety rope separating the deep from the shallow end. Although there was an underwater light

Monday, July 22, 2019

Understanding Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences by Managers and Professions Essay Example for Free

Understanding Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Differences by Managers and Professions Essay It is nearly impossible to have a successful business without considering the important aspect of the cultural, ethnic and gender differences among the employees. Culture refers to a set of beliefs that a certain group of people have in common. In at least every working environment, it is more than obvious to have people having different cultures, ethnicities, and of course different genders (Carlozzi, 2004). In order to ensure that people work together and efficiently, it is highly advisable for the managers and professionals to understand these diverse cultures (Carlozzi, 2004). Most countries have different cultures, and it is possible that in any given working environment, there are many cultures that exist. It is therefore an apparent fact that there is a need in the understanding of cultural, ethnic and gender differences to ensure success in businesses. Understanding cultural and ethnic differences at workplace can be termed as cultural diversity and not biasness as may be conceived by other critics. Cultural diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, education and background among others. Understanding cultural and ethnic differences does not only involve how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. What results is that those perceptions affect the way they interact with each other at the work place (Carlozzi, 2004). For many employees to perform effectively in an organization, managers and professionals in human resource need to deal effectively with issues related to communication and adaptability and change (Carlozzi, 2004). Communication is the most basic concept of success in any business environment. If it is not properly fostered by the managers to their employees, the success of the business may be at stake. This implies that the managers and human resource professionals, should take the initiative to understand the cultural values and ethnic differences so as to know how well to approach issues with the employees without collusion. From the look of things, the issue of understanding cultural differences is likely to increase significantly in the coming years. Managers and professionals in all those businesses that have succeeded have come to see the need in building an understanding of cultural differences in the work place. They are ready to spend even resources, if needs be, to manage cultural diversity. It is very beneficial in many ways, and most importantly, they help to create an understanding in the working environment. A business entity’s success and competitiveness depends upon its capability to understand different cultures and ethnicities and realize the benefits involved. If a business organization actively assesses its handling of workplace diversity issues, and develops and implements diversity plans, multiple benefits can be realized (Carlozzi, 2004). One benefit is the increased adaptability of one another. Getting used to each other in a business environment is very vital in the success of the business. There will be free flow of information because people will be free to each other, and with perfect communication, issues will be approached in a friendly manner. Business organizations that embrace cultural diversity have the capacity to supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from different backgrounds bring individual talents and expertise in suggesting of ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and the demands of the customers. With understanding of cultural differences and ethnicities, the business organization will have a broader service range, in terns of business delivery. The presence of different cultures in a business implies that there is a collection of skills and experiences in that particular business. This allows the enterprise to provide a service to customers on global basis. The managers and professionals in human resource department will give positions to employees with regards to capacities (Carlozzi, 2004). After understanding each individual’s culture, they will know where and on what field someone is good at. This will make the business succeed because an employee will be given a position where he or she is likely to perform best. This will also reduce job burnouts which greatly lower the performance of employees. The understanding of the cultural, ethnic and gender differences will enable managers to understand different view points that their employees possess. Different cultures in the work place possess different ideas, skills and experiences. In decision making process, different ideas will be suggested which will obviously find a solution to the problem at hand. This will only be achieved if there is cultural, gender and ethnic understanding by the managers. It will be better and most comfortable to communicate varying points of view as it will provide a large pool of ideas and experiences (Carlozzi, 2004). The business organization can now draw from that pool to meet the needs of its customers more effectively. In conclusion, it is wise to say that promoting cultural, ethnic and gender sensitivity in a business setting does not really mean promoting biasness in the business scenario as most people may try to argue. Instead, this clear understanding will take into account variations in the interactions of each employee to facilitate cooperation and communication in the business. Understanding the employees and trying to exploit their different potentials is a practice that can really benefit the business to grow to prosperity.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay Elderly abuse has been prevalent in our society and it has not been discussed frequently as compared to other issues in our society and not much research has been done on elder abuse in Singapore. Due to such limitations present in the study of elderly abuse, this creates an impression that elderly abuse is a rare occurrence and is not a potential threat to our society. With the reports on real life elderly abuse cases, it is evident that elderly abuse does exist and is not a rare occurrence in Singapore as most of the time, such incidences go underreported. Furthermore, it is often difficult to detect elderly abuse as in the first place, there is a lack of awareness as to what actually comprises elderly abuse. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for community youth and sports, at the annual family violence symposium in the year 2009, cautioned that as Singapore comprises one of the fastest ageing populations in the world, we have to be prepared and expect an increase in the number of c ases involving elder abuse. ( straits Times). What is more worrying that majority of the elders suffer abuse under the hands of their own children due to the stress induced on them from care giving. Hence, elderly abuse has become one of the most important compelling social issues which have to be addressed due to the nature of Singapores demographic trends which consists an increasing proportion of elderly. Thus, in this paper, the social issue of my focus would be elderly abuse in Singapore. A common problem faced with regards to the discussion of elderly abuse would be the issue about what exactly constitutes elder abuse. As a result, many cases of elder abuse go unreported. ( pg 28, say no to elder abuse).The Golden Life Workgroup on Elder Abuse Prevention formed in Singapore in the year, 2002, adheres to the World Health Organization (WHO)s definition of elder abuse. It defines elder abuse in its report presented to the government as A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust or duty of care, which causes harm or distress to an older person. (Golden life workgroup on elder abuse, 2004 PG 16, World Health Organization 2002) CITE PROPERLY The Ministry of Community Youth and Sports (MCYS) categorises elderly abuse into 5 main groups such as financial, neglect, abandonment, physical and psychological abuse. (Understanding Elder Abuse and Neglect pg 8 check year 2004?). The ageing trends of Singapore suggests that with increase in life expectancy, the elderly would now require more long term care than before and there will be an increasing level of dependency on their children to support them. With declining birth rates, there would be fewer care givers in the family. This creates ample opportunity for elderly abuse to take place. (UN Secretary-Generals Report, March 2002). The percentage of elderly who are aged above 65, in 2009 was 8.80% and the projected percentage of elderly in the year 2030 is expected to rise to 18.7%. (Statistical Indicators on the Elderly, MCYS) .The United Nations uses the dependency ratio as a marker of the potential dependency burden to predict the amount of burden which has to be carried by the working population. (Source: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat 2007 http://www.un.org/ageing/popageing.html). In the case of Singapore, as the old-age dependency ratio is in creasing each year whereby in the year 2008 it was 11.9 per 100 and in the year 2010 it increased to 12.2 per 100. (Department of Statistics, 2011). This has serious implications for Singapore, as the working population has to shoulder the burden of care giving and financial support. Now, it becomes even more challenging with the rising number of singles and married couples choosing not to have any children or just having one child . Such situations have serious repercussions as the future trend will be such that care giving on the elderly will be solely shouldered by the only child and this creates an increasing amount of stress and pressure on the sole caregiver which in return causes them to abuse the elderly. It was reported in the Straits times that each year a total of about 178 cases of elderly abuse were being reported and out these 178 cases reported about 120 cases of the elderly were abused by their own children. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore) October 22, 200 9 Thursday). There are various theories to explain the reasons for the occurrence of elderly abuse. The social exchange theory seeks to further explain the reasons for elderly to experience violence from their perpetrators using the concept of social resources such as power, financial stability and status. ( Quote : social work textbook pg 324), Pillemer, 1989 refer to no eldlerly abuse book behind). Increasing level of dependency on children creates a potential environment for abuse to take place, as the elderly authority is now diminished due to lack of power and necessary resources which the potential caregiver has. Hence, such a power dimension with regards to the availability of resources creates imbalance and strain in the relationship between the elderly and the caregiver. Another instance whereby an elderly abuse can take place can be explained through another theory known as the ecological theory, is when the caregiver of the elderly themselves might be undergoing several problems for in stance they themselves might have financial difficulties or could be suffering from some health conditions. Thus, looking after an elderly may induce stress on the caregiver whereby in some situations, as a form of coping mechanism they might vent out their frustrations on the elderly under their care through verbal and physical abuse and this causes the elderly to be in a greater exposure to abuse. (MCYS , booklet). An example to illustrate such a case which was cited in a Straits times article will be about an unmarried son who was in his forties who had to give up his job to look after his mother who was bedridden and suffering from dementia. Not being able to handle the stress that he was going through, he used to hit his mother frequently. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore October 22, 2009 Thursday). Most of the times , the victims of elderly abuse tend to be elderly who are completely dependent on their children in terms of financial and healthcare aspects and therefo re the perpetrators of elderly abuse are usually their children or someone they dependent on.( Quote: The Pattern of Elderly Abuse Presenting to an Emergency Department, G W M Cham, E Seow, 2004, pg 571). Although, the number of elderly abuse and neglect cases are less than 200, it should not be taken at face value that the elderly abuse is a rare phenomenon. Coming from an Asian society, especially in a region whereby Confucian values are prevailing, since most of the perpetrators are their own children, the elderly seldom report about them being abused as they do not want to be embarrassed or do not want to be judged upon, looked down for raising children who are abusive. ( Penhale 1993, british journal of social work, 23,2) . For other elderly, they might choose to suffer under the hands of their children rather than reporting them as they are increasingly dependent on their children to fulfil their basic needs, they fear of losing them or they fear of the future consequences such as intensified level of abuse from the perpetrator when they resort to reporting them.(Lee and Pang, 2003, pang 2000). Due to such underreporting and the denial of being abused further heightens this soci al issue as the elderly tend to suffer in silence. The social issue of elderly abuse should be viewed in terms of a micro and macro level. (social work)From the examples cited in this paper, it can be seen that most of the Elderly abuse which is one form of family violence was initially seen to be a private affair which was confined to and occurred usually in the family sphere which is the micro level. When the issue of the elder abuse is also being experienced by majority of the citizens in Singapore as well, with the increasing number of cases of elder abuse being cited in the newspapers and with the fast paced ageing population in Singapore, this issue of elder abuse now becomes a public and national issue which the state has to address. (textboo) For instance, in the earlier years when it came to issues about abuse more attention had been given to child and spousal abuse but not elderly abuse.(say no elderl abuse) Currently as more cases of elderly abuses are coming to the limelight, it is an issue which is worthy of concern. The refore, elderly abuse and neglect is a social issue which not only affects the elderly but it also the rest of the population who now have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the elderly. There are many perspectives with regards to the issue of elderly abuse and how it should be tackled. Firstly from the states point of view, it strictly adopts a non-welfare approach .The state believes that various social safety nets such as the community, social services and non-profit organizations have to come together to tackle the social issue of elderly abuse. The state mainly uses the legal approach and tertiary intervention in the form of laws to tackle elder abuse and neglect. For example the Womens charter seeks to deal with family violence and protect family members including the elderly who are being abused. The financial neglect of elderly is being handled under the Maintenance of Parents Act which allows the parents to demand financial support from their children through the Tribunal court. ( say no to elder). The Maintenance of Parents Act although allows parents to demand for financial provison from their children. This solution can help the elderly to seek financial support from their reluctant children especially when they have no one to turn to. Unfortutantely, this is only a temporary solution as the law only address the financial neglect aspect and does not address the emotional aspect of the elderly. It is because the law cannot mandate children to be loving towards their parents .This present solution posses certain shortfalls, for instance, ,many parents may not want use this maintenance act in order not cause further trouble for their children. Another problem with this solution is that many of the elderly are not even aware about the existence of such legal framework. From the medical doctors and healthcare professionals perspective, there has been increasing concern with regards to elderly abuse and neglect. Hospitals now see an increasing number of care givers committing suicide due to not being able to handle the pressures of care giving and some even result to abusing their parents under their care not because of the intention of abusing them but because they do not know who to handle the situation.( srraits times) In a recent stratis time a doctor in the article mentioned that one of her patientss daughter who was the sole care giver would force feed her until the patient had to be treated in hospital for malnutrition and despite continuously being admitted into the hospital, she was not told where to get help and the caregiver by chance found out that there is a centre which provides help in care giving. ( straits Times). From the health care professionals view, they feel that the state can come up with even more rigourous legal framework an d the state could help in creating a strong network between hospitals and various caregiving centres so that the patients are able to get revelant help to cope with the demanding tasks of care giving. Furthermore, health care professionals can play a key role in detecting elderly abuse. The emergency department is one important place whereby elderly who are abused are being isolated and it can be the only appropriate situation to detect cases of elderly abuse. (W S Pang, 2000).The health care professionals face a dilemma when they encounter or suspect that their elderly patients might have been abused. It is because there are no specific laws addressing elderly abuse or neglect which results in not having a clear focus of what actually constititues an elderly abuse. (Quote pg 50). There are efforts to implement laws such as Maintenance of Parents Act by the state to protect elderly in some ways however, there is no laws which calls for mandatory reporting of elderly abuse cases. Hen ce this creates a predicament on part of the doctors as to whether or not to report cases of abuse. Due to the absence of a clear and proper framework or solution for the hospital professionals to strictly adhere to, such a situation causes an elderly to be trap in a vicious cycle of abuse. This has underlying consequences in the future as more cases of elderly abuse may become undetected. From the social workers and policy makers perspective, they believe that more can be done in training healthcare professionals and social workers in terms of understanding and detecting elderly abuse. In addition, they believe that more care giving centers can be set up to reduce stress of the care givers and serve as an intervention for abuse cases. This solution is can be very useful in the long run as it helps to protect elderly and helps to consell and educating the stressed caregiver which eventually helps to prevent the elderly from being further abused. However, one area of concern would be that the availability and increasing number of caregiving centers and residential homes can also create a room for misuse whereby children of the elderly for their convenience and in order to discard their responsibility as they might use such places to dump their parents there. Thus, there has be stricter regulations with regards to the admission into the caregiving centers. After considering all the different perspectives being offered pertaining to elderly abuse, in my view, I would support and favour health professionals, social workers and policy makers view especially with the view that the state has to adopt stricter and harsher laws when it comes to elderly abuse. The absence of mandotary reporting of elderly abuse, creates the main problem for allowing elderly abuse cases to go unreported. Furthermore with the absence of a clear framework of what actually constitutes elder abuse or how this social issue can be tackled it creates a form of helplessness on the part of the healthcare and social work professionals as they are not being able to intervene in elderly abuse cases promptly. In my view once the state has come up with a clear set of laws specifically addressing to elderly abuse and once there is an the implementation of mandatory reporting then it becomes easier for the healthcare professionals and social workers to be better equipped in in tervening in elderly abuse cases. In conclusion, as discussed in this paper, elderly abuse is one of the key social issues which the states has to constantly look into as elderly abuse requires lots of intervention programmes, training and education of the public and social work professionals. Elderly abuse can have serious consequences on the mental health of the elderly and they might lose their dignity in living as a normal human and their basic human rights such as the freedom to fight against any abuse and discrimination against them is being lost. Therefore it becomes a necessity to ensure that these group of elderly not just will have the proper healthcare facilities but it is also our societys outermost duty to ensure that the elderly age with dignity and they spent their last years in a protected and non abusive family environment. .

Saturday, July 20, 2019

An Over View Of The Costa Coffee Campaign Marketing Essay

An Over View Of The Costa Coffee Campaign Marketing Essay It has always been said that distinguish a correct market place for a business is very difficult as well as to gain sustainable interest from a customer as a steppingstone when there is such a fragmented marketplace with many competitors. However the Costa coffee campaign will make a definite difference. It will emphasize the quality of the coffee and its value of spending time discovering your favourite coffee. This will take place in shopping centre in Auckland City as well as on television, radio and magazines. This initial advertising is sure to establish Costa Coffee as a new brand name for the New Zealand Coffee Lovers. Sending the message to our target consumers both male and female aged between 18~45 years old that drinking Costa coffee can be enjoyable and worth experience than other brand outlets coffee. Then when the target consumers realise a positive impact (benefits) the Costa Coffee is having on their daily life the product is sure to be promoted through word of mouth. This initial advertising is sure to establish Costa Coffee as a brand name for the leading New Zealand Coffee shop in future. Coffee consumption in Australia and New Zealand has increased massively in the past few years. It is easy to find lots of different cafes around that are open and lots of people drinking coffee steadily inside and outside the cafà ©. New Zealander loves drink coffee in their daily life and a Flat white is a good example. A Flat white is one of most popular coffee beverage served in Australia and New Zealand which created by New Zealander called Derek Townsend in the early eighties. Coffee is actually one of the healthiest beverages that billions of people consume regularly and it is one of the most widely researched ingredients. The growing body of scientific research has shown that coffee is safe for healthy adults and can even have beneficial health implications as a part of a healthy diet and physically active lifestyle. For example, the most predominant fact is that regular consumption of coffee decreases the risk of type II diabetes and many other health risks. Therefore, the concept of creating healthier, pleasant and high quality coffee beverage of Costa Coffee will be implemented. This idea revolves around the importance of reinstating the value of spending time with their favourite coffee beverage more effectively, and also the attempt to break into the competitive market of Coffee shops (including private cafes) in Auckland City. Costa Coffee is one of the largest and fastest growing coffee chains in the UK. It was founded in 1971 in Italy by two Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa. Costa Company which introduced the first Costa coffee shop in the UK in early 1980s had as a main objective to create and serve the finest authentic Italian coffee. Costa became part of Whitebread PLC in 1995 and has followed an expansion program, so to become recognised nationally. With over  1,000 stores in the UK and over 400 internationally, Costa has enjoyed a remarkable period of growth since it opened its first store.  Costa is now the leading UK branded coffee shop with over 300 stores that now operates in 25 countries (Costa Coffee, n.d.). In addition, it opened its 1000th milestone store in March 2008 in Moscow (Whitbread PLC, 2010). Costa Coffee has a specially blended coffee called Mocha Italia that created by Sergio and Bruno Costa 37 years ago, made of their own special blend of coffee beans. Its a unique blend as it manages to combine the sweetness, bitterness and body needed to make the perfect cup of coffee. As for the blend itself, thats a closely guarded secret, but you can enjoy a cup of its distinctive flavour and a warm Italian welcome at any of our Costa coffee shops (Costa Coffee, n.d.). Just beyond the Mocha Italia, Costa Coffee provided variety range of coffee beverage selections like other coffee shops have, it also includes non-coffee beverages (tea, juice and hot chocolate etc) and snacks (sandwiches, muffins and cakes etc). (Costa Coffee, n.d.). TARGET MARKET In the advertising plan, the target market would be divided into smaller segments as geographic, demographic and psychographic. Firstly, geographic includes of the country, town, place or city. This advertising plan is for Auckland City, and it covers all central city area and it also including areas such as Parnell, Newmarket and Mission bay. Auckland Central city is known as a heart of Auckland; consequently, large populations can be found because this is where most universities and the business are located. After 12 months, the target market can be extended to other area such as North Shore, Waitakere City and Manukau City. Secondly, under the demographic, both male and females aged between 18 45 years old is our products target market, but it does cater for everyones needs. The reason for this is primarily because the product itself is ideally for the adults (business men and women). They usually go to Costa at the office-going hour to take morning coffee before starting the work and at lunchtime. Costa coffee is relatively high price is the reason why working people take a bigger part of customers than students despite their similar using hour. However, it will also include university students who can afford to buy priced coffee. Overall, our advertising will directly towards to people who are interest to spend their money on coffee beverage. Additionally, Costa introduced the Kids menu for new target market Family. As many Costa stores are located in high streets and shopping malls in UK, there is an massive potential for family target. To meet this demand Costa has launched a specific range of food for children- Costa Kids, comprising a little sandwich, new Smarties American style cookies, yoghurts and Robinsons Fruit Shoot drinks placed in special Costa Kids bags so that children can take the food with them (Costa Coffee, n.d.) Under the psychographic, all internet users can be our target market. It includes students of final year in college or in university and young employees who could be Costa coffees potential customers. Yet, not many coffee shops offering free Wi-Fi, therefore, open 24 hours and providing unlimited free Wi-Fi will attracting those ADVERTISING OBJECTS Our advertising objectives have been created to be something that advertising can accomplish, for instance a shift in perception or to create awareness. In order to launch the advertising plan effectively, both the marketing objectives as well as the communications objectives are important to be considered. Marketing Objectives These are the marketing objectives that Costa Coffee should achieve after launching the advertising campaign. To increase the brand recognition To increase unit sales of both coffee beverage and non-coffee beverage To generate steady profit over the next 12 months To increase the market share by 10% over the next 12 months Communication Objectives These are the communication objectives that Costa Coffee should achieved after launching the advertising campaign. To increase the quality of blended coffee beverage and excellent customer service To maintain Costa Coffee as the preferred brand of coffee shop among 50% business men/women and student customers in Auckland city next 12 months To build the awareness of Costa Coffee among 70% of the target audience in the next 12 months To enhance the brand and corporation image in the consumers mind-set over next 12 months ADVERTISING STRATEGIES Our campaign plan for the advertisement of the Costa Coffee mainly covers the aspect of interaction between customers and Costa Coffee and how this will ultimately effect customers daily life. Definitely its focus based on the activity of customers spending time at one of Costa coffee outlets for relax. Strategy is the means by which we aim to achieve the objectives (White, 2000). Our strategy is to encompass a significant aspect of advertising, incorporating elements of the marketing mix. As White states that enable advertising to fulfill its role in the overall marketing mix (2000), it also covers the development of identifying specific objectives that can be met by advertising. Strategies It is recommended to Costa Coffee to use the three types of strategy to achieve its marketing and communications objectives as stated earlier. Those three strategies that are suggested to implement are position strategy, message strategy, and media strategy. Position Strategy Costa Coffee position for its product as high quality blended coffee beverage which using affordable pricing strategy. In order to accomplish this position strategy, it is suggested to Costa Coffee to emphasize its quality and excellent customer service in all outlets. These will creates a trust and strong commitment on Costa Coffee and its coffee beans quality and customer service. Once the customers have trust and believed the quality and the services provided by the Costa Coffee, they will go around talking more about Costa Coffee to others. Costa Coffee will be the first on to choose among other competitors, likely, Starbucks could be the second choice.   Message Strategy Costa Coffee may use a new theme or slogan called Costa Coffee A little taste of Italy worth waiting for. This message conveys the customer who used to drink American style blended coffee beverage. To create Italian heritage, interior of Costa coffee shop will provide the image of Italian heritage for their customers as well as a unique taste. It will guarantee the customers highest satisfaction. Media Strategies In order to achieve the objectives which was stated earlier, various types of advertising media will be use to communicate the selling theme to the target audience such as television, newspapers, Internet banner, billboard and magazines. All of this media may increase the Costa Coffee Companys sales, profit and awareness of the product as it can deliver the message very wide to all target audience and leave a deep impact on the target audiences mind at the same time. Tactics There are many types of media and direct marketing that can be used for advertising campaign, each media has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, it is very important to choose the best media to reach the target audience. In this case Costa Coffee may choose television, newspapers, Internet, billboard, and Magazine for the advertising campaign. Television Television is the best media to advertise the certain product/service, however, it is relatively expensive than newspapers and magazines. The main reason for this is, it contains the combination of sound, visual images, motion and colours. It offers national coverage where it can covers large amount of audiences within short period of times. Television does easily grasp consumers attention and create awareness on them. Through television, Costa Coffee will be able to achieve its objectives by creating awareness on the consumers. The advertisement will advertise equally in three most popular television channels such as TV1, TV2 and TV3 and Sky TV. The advertisement would advertise in all months throughout the year. However, more advertisement would advertise on early April, May, June, July, August and late September. The main reason for this is, these are the months that New Zealands autumn and winter season started and ends. Theoretically, more people would preferred to drink hot beverage especially in winter time. Moreover, this advertisement will advertise on daily on both the TV channels during the prime time, which is between 8.pm and 11.pm. This is considered the best timing because, most students and working people would back from colleges or work, and this is the time where they will be resting in front of the TV. However the length of advertisement would be 15 to no more than 30 seconds. 1st scene A man with a bulk of paper work in his office 2nd scene A group of university students with loads of assignments 3rd scene It is morning tea time and two seniors sitting down on the couch in their living room and willing to drink something with their snack 5th scene Showing Costa Coffee with its slogan A little taste of Italy, worth waiting for. 6th scene Happy and satisfaction faces of the working man, the college student, and seniors with the take away coffee beverage in their hand. And at the bottom of the last screen the Costa Coffees website and locations will appear saying Visit today! Newspapers Costa Coffee will choose two most popular newspapers in Auckland religion; it would be The New Zealand Herald (The Aucklander) and The Sunday Star times. According to the latest Nielson national newspaper survey, the both readership of the Weekend and Daily Herald were up strongly in 2009 (Weekend herald readers grow, 2009). For Weekend Herald was read by an average of 618,000 people aged 15+, up by 17,000 from a year ago, and about 568,000 people read the Daily Herald and as well as the combined print edition and website readership was also up 5.5 per cent to 685,000 (Weekend herald readers grow, 2009). This figure clearly shows that The New Zealand Herald is the highest readership of any newspaper in the country. Additionally, over a week the Herald audience has increased by 52,000, reaching 1.15 million New Zealanders; six out of 10 Aucklanders read a print edition of the Herald or visit nzherald.co.nz each week (Weekend herald readers grow, 2009). The Sunday Star-Times is New Zealands only national broadsheet newspaper with a readership of over 608,000 (Murphy, n.d.). Sunday Star-Times is a newspaper provides the backgrounds stories of national significance, at the same time providing quality leisure read for an audience which has time to take it in. Due to this, these two newspapers are selected in this advertising campaign. Newspaper advertisement would be done in every month throughout the whole year. The advertisement would be done only on Monday, Saturday and Sunday, where it would be in full page in colours. This is because on Monday all business people going back to their office. Of course, Saturdays and Sundays are the days that people usually rest in their house and spend enough time to go through each and every pages on the newspapers. And furthermore there are lots of special editions on weekends about lifestyle and so on, which will attract many people, read newspapers. While going through the newspapers, definitely they will come across Costa Coffee advertisement because it covers the full page with colourful image. Thus, this will create awareness on the consumers. Internet Banner The Internet banners are the best media for online advertisements. The internet banners will be advertised on the best New Zealand websites such as Trade me, Yellow pages, Stuff, TVNZ, and NZ Herald, yahoo!xtra and Google NZ and more. Banners will show with the advertising campaign and it will put for the 24/7, 12 months. It will place at the top of the search machine or the websites, therefore target audience will be aware these banners while searching or surfing the internet. To make sure, all the banners should flash shifting from one screen to another and it will only goes off when the user clicks to close it. Billboards Billboards are usually put along highway and main roads to capture the audiences who long on the road or drive along the streets and highways. The billboard advertisement will be for the whole year during the advertising campaign. The billboard will use a poster panel form which is silk screened and printed in sheets to the billboard. It is important to use appropriated size of image and font so drivers are able to see the billboard while they are driving without any distraction. The billboard will be set up on the Northern, Southern and Western Motorway and high traffic areas in the central city. Therefore, it will create the brand recognition and product identification by target audience, plus, increase the brand equity. Magazines Magazines are one of the best ways to advertise the branded Coffee shop like Costa Coffee, especially the fashionable Coffee Lovers. Normally, it contains fancy colours of pictures and photos to attract their target audience. Decided to advertise Costa Coffee in Fashion, Food Beverage and Restaurant related magazines such as Cuisine, Vogue, and Womens Weekly. The Womens Weekly magazine is the main magazine media to advertise because it ranked in number one selling New Zealand Magazines (isubscribe, 2010). The advertisement will be printed in each month throughout the whole year in full page with colourful image and a logo of Costa Coffee and simple message will be add on. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths The main strength of the Costa Coffee is the made in UK Company has a strong presence with a good reputation for creativity and coffee in UK. Therefore, the strong connection between New Zealand and UK may influence to increase the Costa Coffee consumption. The second strength for the Costa Coffee is Italian Heritage. Most of the branded Coffee outlets are selling American style or Kiwi style blended coffee beverage. However, Costa Coffee is known as an Italian influenced culture founded on Italian expert knowledge of roasting unique coffee beans to make high quality handmade drinks. As a customer, it will be great reason to motivate them to experience a new style of coffee. Lastly, the wide range of food (ie. Cake, sandwiches, muffins etc) for both adults and kids and unlimited free Wi-Fi internet connection can be also strong strength for Costa Coffee. Weakness The biggest weakness for the Costa Coffee is its market share in Auckland, New Zealand. Yet, Costa Coffee has no market share in the Central city of Auckland and no brand recognition has been made. Therefore, it will be challenge for Costa Coffee to create strong presence with a good reputation like in UK. Opportunities Expansion could be a key opportunity for Costa Coffee. For example, opening more outlets near the University campus, city council, immigration agency, banks within Central Auckland City. Also attracting a wider population especially families with specific products for children. Costa Coffees Kid menu is the good example for this opportunity. Treats As a treat for Costa coffee, Auckland Central city could become saturated with different types of coffee shops. Therefore, this area is quite challenge for Costa Coffee to entering in and targeting the same market with existing coffee shops eg. Starbucks, Columbus, Esquire etc. New entrants are also treats to Costa Coffee. For example, increasing competitive threats from donut and bagel chains as they continuously expand their outlets and increase alternatives of coffee product offering. BUDGET The table below shows the budget allocation across the different media of the advertising plan. The overall budget allocated for this advertising plan would be no more than NZ $4,000, 000. As shown in the table, it shows Television is the major media spend most of the budget followed by the Newspapers. However, it is worth spending massive budget on Television advertisements because it does exposed to larger quantity of target market incredibly within short period of time. Thus, it can easily grasp the target audiences attention by use of combination of visual images, motion, colours and sound effects. For Newspapers, it also plays an important role, because it is cheaper than Television but it also covers wide areas of target market and audience. Communication Tools Amount per year (NZ $) Television 2,592,000 Newspapers 3,512,832 Internet Banner 235,200 Billboard 222,000 Magazine 161,000 Total (NZ $) $ 3,390,116 The calculation above is the maximum amount of the advertising campaign for the whole year. MEASUREMENT Since Costa Coffee has been spending lots of money on its advertising campaign, it is very important to know whether the advertising was effective or not. The effectiveness of advertising campaign needs to be assessed in order to avoid costly mistakes (Belch Belch, 1999). In this case, pre-test can be used before the campaign is implemented and post-test is done after implementing the advertising campaign. There are many ways or methods to do these measurements, such as questionnaires/survey, interview, observations and focus group project or more. Questionnaires, survey and interview are the basic and most common methods to be used by everyone because it is reasonably cheap and easy to gather the peoples opinion towards product/service.