Nursing and Consent free essay sample

There are a number of legal and ethical duties expected of nurses. Most of these involve care for patient’s autonomy and confidentiality despite the medical care. Failure to act regarding these can give rise to liability. One aspect of Patient’s autonomy involves giving or withholding his consent about treatment. This paper takes into account ‘consent’ as the aspect of law regarding nursing. Consent is defined by NHS Choices (2010) as: the principle that a person must give their permission before they receive any type of medical treatment. †1 Under the Nursing and Midwifery Council (hereafter NMC) code of conduct (enforced in May, 2008) the patient can either extend or withdraw his consent regarding treatment after which he should be or cannot be treated as per his wishes respectively. Cowan (2009) observed that the idea underlying this is to empower patient to acknowledge the treatment options available to them and choose whether or not they want to have it. We will write a custom essay sample on Nursing and Consent or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefore, a nurse cannot administer the treatment to a patient if he withholds his consent about the treatment. As per NMC, there are three â€Å"over-riding professional responsibilities† to obtain a valid consent. These are quoted as below: â€Å"To make the care of people their first concern and ensure they gain consent before they begin any treatment or care. †2 â€Å"Ensure that the process of establishing consent is rigorous, transparent and demonstrates a clear level of professional accountability. †3 â€Å"Accurately record all discussions and decisions relating to obtaining consent. †4 The NMC Code (2008) also states that, â€Å"make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity. † Scott (et al. 2003) observed that being respected implies that not to treat patients against their will. Tomkin Hanafin (1995) observed that respecting the patient’s autonomy means respecting his ‘consent’. Mason Laurie (2010) observed that just because the healthcare professional believed that the treatment was appropriate doesn’t mean that the patient must undergo it, consent must be obtained. Failure to do so amounts to the crime of battery in English law. Booth (2002) observed that patients should not be subjected to treatment by any health professional unless their consent is at hand. He further observed that pre-requisites of obtaining valid consent include informing patient regarding disease, diagnosis, options regarding types of treatment, consequences that might or might not take place as a result of treatment to the patient. Thus, if a nurse treats the patient without his consent it would amount to treating him against his will which would constitute a crime of battery on nurse’s part. It is therefore imperative that before administering the treatment, nurse obtains consent of patient. However, consent alone is not sufficient; it must be valid as well. Therefore, the NMC code also requires from nurses that in order to obtain a valid consent it must be obtained from a competent individual i. e. one who possesses the capacity to consent. Furthermore, if a person is giving consent on behalf of another, he must be lawfully appointed. No one can give consent for someone who possesses the mental capacity to give consent. (Mental Capacity Act 2005) Consent is considered to enhance partnership between practitioner (e. g. nurse) and patient. Providing information alone is not sufficient, communication is the key to obtain valid consent. There exists difference between merely giving information and communicating effectively with patient about the information. Bristol Inquiry Recommendations are helpful in understanding the difference regarding this. These are quoted below: â€Å"The process of informing the patient, and obtaining consent on a course of a treatment, should be regarded as a process and not a one-off event consisting of obtaining a patients signature on a form. The process of consent should apply not only to surgical procedures but all clinical procedures and examinations which involve any form of touching. This must not mean more forms: it means more communication. As part of the process of obtaining consent, except when they have indicated otherwise, patients should be given sufficient information about what is to take place, the risks, uncertainties, and possible negative consequences of the proposed treatment, about any alternatives and about the likely outcome, to enable them to make a choice about how to proceed. †5 Besides, if a person lacks mental capacity to give valid consent, nurses caring for such a person should be involved in assessing the treatment to be administered. However, they must be â€Å"aware of the legislation regarding mental capacity, ensuring that people who lack capacity remain at the centre of decision making and are fully safeguarded. †6 The Mental Capacity Act (2005) offers assistance regarding ‘capacity’. The Act applies to all aged 16 and above and to those with learning disability, dementia, brain injury, autism and mental health issues. The Act presumes ‘capacity’ in relation to adults unless situation exists otherwise. It requires extending all sorts of help to the person in question before drawing conclusion that they cannot consent. Even an apparently unwise decision if is extended by a person of full mind must be respected and adhered to. Doing something for those who lack the capacity to consent must be done in the best of their interests and it should be least restrictive of their independence and rights. However, exceptions to this include: emergency situations and mentally incapacitated people. Emergency situation might involve someone who has temporarily become unable to consent e. g. due to in unconscious state of mind. In such instance he may be given necessary treatment to save life. The law in such instance allows medical practitioners such as nurses and doctors to administer treatment without the consent of person in so far it is in his best interest. There are some situations where courts must be referred to for lawfulness of administration of treatment for a person unable to consent. These include: withdrawing the patient from persistent vegetative state, sterilization for the purpose of contraception, obtaining tissue for bone marrow, where the doubt exists regarding the capacity of the person. 7 In Sidaway v Bethlem Royal Hospital Governors (1985), Lord Diplock said that the information to be disclosed to patient for obtaining consent should be done by following the Bolam standard (named after the case it was enunciated in: Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee, 1957) It was held in this case that if the medical practitioner acted in accordance with the practice which is accepted responsible by a respectable body of medical opinion he is not held in breach of law. Therefore, if a nurse is administering treatment in emergency situation (usually under the supervision of doctor) to a patient who is unable to consent and that is accepted reasonable by a respectable body of medical opinion e. g. by medical board then she may not be held in breach of law regarding consent.

ESL Lesson for Creating a New Product

ESL Lesson for Creating a New Product Nowadays, its common to talk about products, their functionality and marketing. In this lesson, students come up with a product idea, mock-up a design for the product and present a marketing strategy. Each student owns a step of the process in the final presentation to the class. Combine this lesson with a lesson on pitching a product and students can practice the essential elements of finding investors.   Aim: Learning vocabulary related to product development, developing team player skills Activity: Develop, design and market a new product Level: Intermediate to advanced level learners Lesson Outline Bring one of your favorite innovative products into class. Ask questions using the vocabulary terms provided in the product vocabulary reference. Give examples for your questions such as: What functionality does this phone have? - You can surf the internet, send email, and download apps. to help students with understanding.Once youve reviewed vocabulary as a class, ask students to provide their own examples of innovative products.  Provide the vocabulary reference and ask students to write five sentence describing a product they like.Have students divide into small groups - three to six students is best.  Ask each group to come up with a new product. They can either invent a new product, or create a variation on a product they know.  Have students answer the worksheet questions about their new product.With the worksheet answered, students should move on to developing a plan for building, designing and marketing their product. Students who feel more comfortable with drawing can design, and business orientated students can take on marketing.   Help students by checking grammar descriptions, asking probing questions about the functionality, logistics of production and marketing, etc.  Students complete the project by giving a presentation to the class. The inventor should provide a product overview, the designer provide a sketch of the product, and the marketer an advertising strategy.  Vote on the best product as a class.   Vocabulary Reference Use these words to discuss, develop and design a new product. functionality (noun) - Functionality describes the purpose of the product. In other words, what does the product do?innovative (adjective) - Products that are innovative are new in some way.aesthetic (noun) - The aesthetics of a product refer to the values (artistic as well as functional)intuitive (adjective) - An intuitive product is self-explanatory. Its easy to know how to use it without having to read a manual.thorough (adjective) - A thorough product is a product that is excellent in every way and well designed.branding (noun) - The branding of a product refers to how a product will be marketed to the public.packaging (noun) - The packaging refers to the container in which the product is sold to the public.marketing (noun) - Marketing refers to how a product will be presented to the public.logo (noun) - The symbol used to identify a product or company.feature (noun) - A feature is a benefit or use of a product.warranty (noun) - The warranty is a guarantee that the product will w ork for a certain period of time. If not, the customer will receive a refund or replacement.component (noun) - A component can be thought of as a part of a product.accessory (noun) - An accessory is something extra that can be bought in order to add functinality to a product.materials (noun) - The materials refer to what a product is made of such as metal, wood, plastic, etc.   Computer Related Products specifications (noun) - The specifications of a product refers to size, construction and materials used.   dimensions (noun) - The size of a product.weight (noun) -  How much something weighs.width (noun) - How wide something is.depth (noun) -  How deep a product is.length (noun) - How long something is.height (noun) - How tall a product is. When developing computer-related products the following specifications are important: display (noun) - The screen used.type (noun) - The type of technology used in a display.size (noun) - How big the display is.resolution (noun) -  How many pixels the display shows. platform (noun) - The type of software / hardware a product uses.OS (noun) - The operating system such as Android or Windows.chipset (noun) - The type of computer chip used.CPU (noun) - Central processing unit - The brain of the product.GPU (noun) - Graphic processing unit - The brain used to display videos, pictures, etc.   memory (noun) - How many gigabytes the product can store.   camera (noun) - The type of camera used to make videos and take photos.   comms (noun) - The different types of communications protocols used such as Bluetooth or WiFi. New Product Questions Answer these questions to help you develop your product.   What functionality does your product provide? Who will use your product? Why will they use it? What problems can your product solve? What advantages does your product present? Why is your product superior to other products? What are the dimensions of your product? How much will your product cost?

Trends changing how companies hire in 2018 and beyond -TheJobNetwork

Trends changing how companies hire in 2018 and beyond -TheJobNetwork The HR world has certainly changed over the past decade- after all, when was the last time you saw a resume or cover letter on thick, expensive paper that came via snail mail? (Or if it was recently, it was probably a rare sighting.) Like every other field, HR is susceptible to changes and trends. Some aren’t built to last (remember the video resume trend for a minute?), but others are geared toward making your job easier in the long term.Better interviews = better hiresIt’s possible that nothing will ever truly replace the good old â€Å"gut feeling† you get when you meet with a candidate. But as a rule, making the interview process more inclusive, less biased, and less time-consuming is a huge plus. Traditional interviews aren’t going anywhere, but they’re getting a bit of polishing this year and beyond. Having someone sit across from you and tell you what they know you want to hear isn’t always the most effective use of your hiring time. I f you’re looking to streamline or equalize the interview itself, there are HR software programs that essentially craft your interview script, standardizing interviews across a pool of candidates. (This has the added bonus of helping to eliminate personal bias or individual quirks if there are multiple interviewers.)Online skill assessments, designed to gauge a candidate’s soft skills, give you more data before a candidate ever walks through your doors in their best interview suit. Gaps and strengths are more apparent up front, allowing you to be more selective about who makes it to the next round, and bring in stronger candidates up front.â€Å"Job auditions† are also hot right now. These are less â€Å"tell me your five-year plan† interviews and more â€Å"show me how you’d do the job† interviews. This takes away some of the guesswork about how a candidate would likely perform the job. Nerves and novelty won’t always show you 100% of what a candidate’s potential is, but it gives you a chance to see how he or she thinks, whether the candidate can apply past experience and skills, etc.Prioritizing diversityDiversity is a priority in just about every industry right now, and for good reason. Lack of diversity is becoming a significant liability and can lead to issues with an ever-more-diverse public. Companies that don’t actively seek diversity in their hiring are likely to find themselves at a significant disadvantage as talent pools shrink. According to LinkedIn surveys, diversity is the top hiring trend for 78% of hiring managers.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Still, for all its trendiness, truly diverse hiring continues to be a challenge. Many companies are tackling this by branching out in their talent sourcing and using non-traditional recruitment methods (or venues) to find hot new talent.Bingeing on Big DataMetrics, metrics, metrics. With the increased use of hiring databases and HR software platforms capable of collecting information on employees from application to retirement, there’s no shortage of information that companies can use. The challenge here is using it in a smart, speedy way that allows for real-time employee engagement and development to help ensure that great hires stay great employees. According to LinkedIn’s annual global recruiting trends report, more than half of HR professionals say that employee retention is the most valuable use of employee data.The heart of this data trend is using the information to make hiring predictions, not just hiring decisions. HR departments are really starting to harness the power of this data by using increasingly sophisticated AI and automation platforms to create predictive models based on a candidate’s information, compared to information about past hires and current employees.The most important takeaway from this year’s hot trends in hiring is that com panies are moving toward a more efficient, better-rounded talent pool, with concrete data that can be offered up to support those gut decisions. This year, it’s all about streamlining and maximizing the resources we already have in place- not necessarily replacing them.

Individual case study analysis(Ireland's Tiger Economy) Essay

Individual case study analysis(Ireland's Tiger Economy) - Essay Example A stiff prohibition on foreign ownership of firms and high tariff barriers from the 1930s to the late 1950s hindered Ireland’s economic growth (Barry,1995). By the 1950s, it was evident that policies, which aimed at giving local investors the priority was not beneficial at all (Barry,1995). This was because infant industries had not matured and were not sufficiently competitive to generate sizable exports. As a result, Irish policy makers changed tact. The â€Å"control of manufacturers’ act†, which gave local investors priority, was abolished. Policy makers engineered the development of the foreign direct investment. The first step was to introduce zero corporate profits tax on manufactured exports. Secondly, policy makers initiated attractive investment grants to foreign investors. Thirdly, policy makers abolished tariff barriers. The Irish economy in the past three decades is strongly linked to FDI. The investment platform has significantly changed. Currently, foreigners who own export-oriented firms, additionally, own almost sixty percent of gross output and forty-five percent of employment in manufacturing. U.S. investors are the majority of foreign investors operating firms in Ireland followed by UK and Germany (Barrell, 1996). Amazingly, a majority of foreign manufacturing firms in Ireland imports their raw and semi processed materials. This is because FDI has abolished barriers, which hinder investment making the cost of investment extremely affordable. Current data indicates that companies, which are owned by the locals, export only 35 percent of output (Barry, 1996). On the other hand, foreign owned manufacturing companies exports a whopping 86 percent of the output (Barry, 1996). This indicates that Ireland’s economy cannot strive without the investment from foreign firms. The success of Ireland’s economy is also because of a solid political economy. Furthermore, the political, economic and legal systems of any give n country take a huge role in determining the economic well being of that particular country. Ireland’s political economy and legal systems offer a perfect environment to foreign investors. Although, seen as the most successful economy in Europe and the world at large, Ireland’s economy was greatly affected by the global financial crisis. Between 2002 and 2007, the economic prowess that Ireland enjoyed changed in fundamental ways. At that moment, the economy continued to grow steadily owing to the rapid expansion of credit cards and an increase in personal indebtedness by the Irish natives. Rising property prices were seen as one of the igniters of this situation. Between 2002 and 2007, construction activities grew rapidly, accounting for the economic boost and rise in employment (ESRI, 1997). Amazingly, the rampant growth in the construction industry was supported by huge bank lending. At that moment, the balance sheets of many Irish banks expanded relative to the siz e of the economy. Reports indicate that a majority of the banks relied, on their deposit base, to fund loans. Unfortunately, greater financial integration, which was initiated partly by the introduction of the euro, forced local banks to source funds from abroad. In addition, the same period realized an increate appetite in financial markets, which caught Irish banks with surprise. A concentration in risky lending practices and lending in property

Book review on Olaudah Equiano Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book review on Olaudah Equiano - Research Paper Example One of Equiano’s masters and a captain in a British trade ship, Henry Pascal, changed Equiano’s name to Gustavus Vassa. This is a name he used his entire life, with an exception of the autobiography’s publishing. Equiano Olaudah travelled extensively during his service to Pascal and succeeding masters. For instance, he visited Holland, England, Gibraltar, Scotland, Nova Scotia, Caribbean, Georgia, South Carolina and the Pennsylvania. After his purchase from Pascal by a Quaker merchant, Robert King, Equiano’s life gradually took a turn. He worked as Mr. King’s clerk and also had the opportunity to explore his minor trades, which enabled him to save some money and later buy his freedom in the year 1766. In the subsequent year, Equiano Olaudah settled down in England where he attended school and worked for Dr. Charles Irving, a prominent scientist, as an assistant. In the year 1792, Equiano married a lady known as Susanna Cullen, with whom they had two daughters before his death in 1797. Equiano’s autobiography is rather intriguing owing to its narrative approach. He begins the book by describing the ordinary life he used to live with his family in Africa, prior to his kidnap. He indicates that he was the last son, hence his mother’s favourite child and irrespective of the large size of his family they had a home and sufficient food. Equiano’s greatest worry was his slight failure in warrior classes, a clear sign of the carefree life he had as a typical young African male. At the tender age of eleven, he heard of rumours that malicious people were kidnapping young children and selling them off as slaves. Equiano remembers climbing trees and looking around to see if these people would come to get him or his siblings. As fate would have it, Equiano, his brother and sister were taken away in the dark of night when his parents were not around. This marked the drastic and change in his life, especially after being separated from his brother and sister. The emotional upheaval caused by the situation is described by the author’s own words that â€Å"She was torn from me and immediately carried away, while I was left in a state of distraction not to be described. I cried and grieved continually, and for several days I did not eat anything but what they forced into my mouth† (54). On reaching a slave market, Equiano got sold and accompanied his new handler to a house where other people spoke his native language, a form of consolation, albeit little given the critical situation. Owing to his dedication to work, Equiano was considered to be the best slave in the house. However, his life changed soon after, when he was loaded into a ship with other slaves with no knowledge of what would happen next. He feigned fainting when being shoved into the ship with the hope of being left behind, to no avail. Equiano had to work as soon as he got into the Virginia bound ship and he remembers how bad the conditions were in the ship, to the extent of most slaves committing suicide by jumping overboard. Equiano spent some little amount of time in a Virginia farm but he was then taken back on the British slave ships and Trade Vessels serving the captains as a trusted slave. It was in the course of sailing, that he was given the name Gustavas Vassa, by Captain Pascal (Equiano 26). When still serving under Captain Pascal, Equiano travelled to many

Role of Public Relations in the Re Establishment of Failing Barands Essay Example for Free

Role of Public Relations in the Re Establishment of Failing Barands Essay These regions later set up their private stations pioneered by the West, at Ibadan, prior to independence. In 1960 and 1962 respectively, Enugu and Kaduna followed suit. And with the creation of more regions by the General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) administration and creation of more states by both Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Ibrahim Babangida regimes, more state government-owned television and radio stations were established. Daily Times, Express, Tribune, New Nigeria and Sketch were among the fore-runners in newspaper publishing. Some state governments also published 15 ewspapers that addressed their local audience. Two major magazines- Drum and Spear from Daily Times stable were also at the time published. Between the early 1960’s and 1970, there was no spectacular development in the industry. But the promulgation of Nigeria Enterprises as promotion Decree of 1972 popularly known as Indigenization policy ushered in a new phase in the industry. The policy transformed key positions in corporate organisations to indigenes. Mr Silvester, Muoemeka was by the dictates of the policy to emerge the first indigenous chief executive of Lintas. Lintas further empowered more Nigerians to take up the business of advertising some of whom had to leave broadcasting to embrace the new thinking. By the later 1970’s however, two ambitious agencies, Rosabel Advertising and Insight Communication, sprang up. The coming of the two agencies which till today are still doing very well, no doubt, was a watershed in the industry of advertising in Nigeria as the agencies brought new ideas into the industry while taking creativity to a higher. Before the turn of the decade, 23 agencies had been formed. With the steady growth in the number of practitioners and agencies arose the need for associations to be formed to advance their common interests and a regulatory body to that would regulate and standardize advertising practice. A 16 meeting of the agencies held at Ebute Metta, Lagos in 1971 was to metamorphose into Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN) with the objective of protecting practitioners against unfavourable business. The association was later renamed Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria. As the industry continued to grow in volume of business and complexity, more and more people were attracted to the industry. The need to establish an institution to regulate advertising practice became apparent. This gave rise to the establishment of Advertising Parishioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) by Decree 55 of 1988, later renamed Act 55 of 1988 by the civilian administration on November 1989, the first meeting of the association held somewhere in Ebute-meta, Lagos finally culminated to the birth of APCON. APCON started operation in 1990 with the employment of the pioneer registrar in the person of Dr Charles Okigbo. The era of economic restructuring and liberalization opened up the Nigerian business to global economy. Foreign investments started flowing into the economy the expatriates who once left the shores of the land due to the indigenization policy gradually returned. And with them, the boom in economy. Aside, privatization of mass communication medium in the 1990’s also witnessed the setting up of private owned media houses which are platforms for advertisement placements. But in the 1990’s the sector came alive. Not only that alarming and ambitions agencies such as Prima Garnet, Sotu and Caesers sprang up, the sector began to 17 xpand beyond advertising as full services public relation firms such as the Quadrant JSP and Quest were established. Also the era witnessed the mad rush of foreign affiliations. While some agencies sought this affiliation to help boost their human capital, others just joined the bandwagon just to feel among. As the business expanded, related servic es providers joined the fray to cash in on the boom. Not long after they formed themselves into association to also further heir cause and protect their interest. Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) emerged. Not long the industry became an all corners affairs. Competition became very stiff and practitioners started adopting unwholesome means to undercut one another. Industry debt became a major issue to the extent that it attracted the attention of past federal government who encouraged the practitioners to find a way of resolving the perennial problem. Just as competition continued to get stiff, agencies did not rest on their oars as they embarked on training of their staff that will be able to meet the challenge of modern day advertising. As creativity took centre stage, the industry witnessed a lot of innovation and creative ideas. The foreigners who started coming back brought with them standard and professional which changed the advertising landscape. Restructuring, training and brand building and creativity have taken centre stage. 18 Today, Nigerian advertising industry is making efforts to ensure that they measured up to global industry practice. Affiliations also avails them of technical know-how in the areas of creativity and training. From deploying foreign adverts, the industry has grown to shooting their adverts locally and injecting a lot of local content in their campaigns. . 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This research would critically consider three different theories that are relevant to the research topic. The theories are as follows: Excellence theory by J. E. Grunig DAGMAR theory by Mackay Lavidge Steiners Hierarchy-of-effects theory EXCELLENCE THEORY The â€Å"Excellence Theory† (J. E. Grunig et al. , 2002) was initially developed, and is continually being tested, in order to demonstrate wha t makes for public relations practices that are both efficient and ethical for all parties involved. Public relations, as defined by J. E, Grunig (1992), is â€Å"the management of communication between the organization and the publics that it interacts with†. Through the continued work of the Excellence Project, the â€Å"Excellence Theory† demonstrates how excellent public relations is able to interact and 19 work with both internal and external publics, recognizing that publics are not merely passive audiences accepting messages in a hegemonic structure,1 but that each public that comes into contact with the message is viable and enfranchised with agency. The â€Å"publics† in public relations exist within and outside the organization. Each public, through the interaction with the public relations professional, allows for a variety of perspectives and insights toward a single goal or a collection of goals. If these groups are not allowed the choice to have their respective voices heard and recognized as active and important, decisions are made by the dominant coalition (L. A. Grunig et al. , 2002) without all of the mitigating factors and facts placed in front of them, resulting in the once dominant organization losing economic, political, and social capital within and among the publics served. It is this critical perspective to public relations, respecting publics as ethical and moral beings, that L. A. Grunig et al. (2002) aligned with when they considered the most important question for ethical public relations: â€Å"How can one balance the interests of society, of the public relations profession, and of the individual professional† (p. 556). The â€Å"Excellence Theory,† originally proposed in 1992 (J. E. Grunig et al. , 1992), was grounded upon an â€Å"extensive literature† review and evaluation, examining theoretical positions from various academic disciplines and ontologies, including: marketing, psychology, communication, and feminist 20 tudies (J. E. Grunig, 1991). The project’s purpose was to develop a new approach to public relations, detailing to public relations practitioners what organizations must have (both in expectations and characteristics) in order to be excellent and how to communicate those same concepts. The resultant cha racteristics of excellent public relations programs look at all levels of organization: program, departmental, organizational, and societal, along with the desired effects of excellent public relations practice. These characteristics not only present the â€Å"Excellence Theory† as a normative ideology, but also as an emancipatory system that strives for egalitarian opportunities for all publics. The characteristics and effects of excellent public relations, as presented by L. A. Grunig et al. (2002, p. 9), offer an opportunity for the critical inquiry of the dominant coalition within either an antonymous public relations organization or an organization with a public relations component. This new possibility for the theory and its pragmatic capabilities position the â€Å"Excellence Theory† as a critical paradigm applicable to the current calls for critical research within public relations. DAGMAR Russell Colley created DAGMAR when he prepared a report for the Association of National Advertisers. This report was entitled Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results, shortened down to 21 DAGMAR, and thereof the name, (Belch Belch, 1995) and was later in 1969 published as a book with the same title (Mackay, 2005). DAGMAR was created to encourage measurable objectives for each stage of the communication (Smith Taylor, 2002) and does not deal purely with the message (Mackay 2005). DAGMAR focuses on the levels of understanding that a customer must have for the organisation and on how to measure the results of an advertising campaign (Belch Belch, 1995). The main conclusions on the DAGMAR theory were expressed in the following quotation: All commercial communications that weigh on the ultimate objective of a sale must carry a prospect through four levels of understanding. . The prospect must first be aware of the existence of a brand or organisation 2. He must have a comprehension of what the product is and what it will do for him 3. 4. He must arrive at a mental suspicion or conviction to buy the product Finally he must stir himself to action. (Mackay, 2005, p. 25-26) 22 The communication has to be specific and measurable, and is therefore based on a hierarchical model containing the four stage s set out above in the quotation (Mackay, 2005). The DAGMAR approach has had a huge influence on the how to set objectives in the advertising planning process and many planners use this model as their base. However, just as the other approaches within advertising, DAGMAR has been met with critique. One of the major criticisms towards DAGMAR is on its reliance on the hierarchy-of-effects theory, just as with AIDA. Customers do not always pass through the stages in a linear way. Another criticism made towards the DAGMAR approach is that it focuses too much on strategies. Many creative people within advertising are looking for the great unique idea that can result in a successful campaign and feels that the DAGMAR approach is too concerned with quantitative measurements on the campaign (Belch Belch, 1995). LAVIDGE STEINERS HIERARCHY-OF-EFFECTS MODEL This model was published during the same period as DAGMAR. The model was named the hierarchy-of-effects model which is the same name as some authors used on the foundation theory, and will therefore go under the name, Lavidge Steiners Hierarchy-of-effects model in this study. 23 According to this model customers do not switch from being completely uninterested to become convinced to buy the product in one step. Lavidge and Steiners hierarchy-of-effects model is created to show the process, or steps, that an advertiser assumes that customers pass through in the actual purchase process (Barry Howard, 1990). The model is based on seven steps, which as with the other models must be completed in a linear way. The big difference between this model and the others is not only the steps, but also the view on how to pass them. Lavidge and Steiner (1961) write that the steps have to be completed in a linear way, but . potential purchaser sometimes may move up several steps simultaneously. (Lavidge Steiner, 1961, p. 60) which is supported by Munoz (2002) who writes that normally ultimate customers do not switch directly from being interested to become convinced buyers. Lavidge and Steiner identify the seven steps in the following order: 1. Close to purchasing, but sti ll a long way from the cash register, are those who are merely aware of its existence. 2. 3. Up a step are prospects who know what the product has to offer. Still closer to purchasing are those who have favourable attitudes toward the product. 24 4. Those whose favourable attitudes have developed to the point of preference over all other possibilities are up still another step. 5. Even closer to purchasing are customers who couple preference with a desire to buy and the conviction that the purchase would be wise. 6. Finally, of course, is the step which translates this attitude into actual purchase. (Lavidge Steiner, 1961, p. 59) Lavidge and Steiner (1961) also wrote, in their article, that they are fully aware of the impulsive purchases that customers can make, but they mean that for higher economical goods these steps are essential for the advertiser to include. This model also has as a premise that advertising occurs over a period of time, and may not lead to immediate response and purchase. It is rather a series of effects that has to occur, with each step fulfilled on the way towards the next stage (Lavidge Steiner, 1961) Behind this model is according to Belch Belch (1998) the premises that advertising effects occur over time and advertising communication may not lead to immediate behavioural response or purchase, but rather, consumers must fulfil each step before (s)he can move to the next stage in the hierarchy. Belch and Belch 1998, p. 146). 25 As with the former models discussed, this model has also been criticised. The criticism on Lavidge Steiners model is very similar to the one made on DAGMAR and AIDA. There is still no evidence on the fact that awareness of a products leads to purchase, and the steps are still unclear. Criticism has also been made on each individual step in the model. Critics do not think that the model expla ins how the customers will go from one step to another and to point out the steps without explaining them further is not seen as enough. CRITICISM ON THE HIERARCHY OF EFFECTS THEORY. The models that are based on the hierarchy of effects theory (Mackay, 2005) can be very helpful but are not conclusive. There are several factors that these models do not take in consideration. 1. Not all buyers go through all stages, 2. The stages do not necessarily occur in hierarchical sequence, 3. Impulse purchases contract the process. (Smith Taylor, 2002, p. 97) The hierarchy models help the advertiser to identify the stages that buyers generally passes through, but cannot be used as obvious guidelines (Smith Taylor, 2002). 26 As seen earlier in this chapter the criticism on the models and theories are very similar. They have all been met with the criticism that customers do not always follow a straight line of steps when purchasing a product. Not all customers pass through all the steps before buying a product, some may stop at one stage, and some may go back several steps before later on going back for the product. 2. 3 REASONS WHY PRODUCTS FAILS It would surprise one to hear that, a staggering 70-80% of all new products in the retail grocery industry fail (www. allbusiness. com). In Great Britain, the rate may be as high as 90% (www. rchives. tcm. ie/irishexaminer). Of every 3,000 raw ideas for new products, only one makes it to the marketplace (www. faculty. msb. edu). And a whopping 46% of all resources allocated to new product development process in the U. S. are spent on products that fail (www. faculty. msb. edu). Marketing Wise Group in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX is of the opinion that no com pany can do without introducing new products or extending their brand line if they want to remain afloat in a competitive market or if they do not want their products and brand image to go stale. It is the opinion of this group that Quisp Cereal, Ipana Toothpaste or Commodore Computers failed because they failed to implement a new product development process to keep their 27 stable of brands vital or had a flawed new product development process to begin with. According to Gwinavere Johnston; founder and CEO of Johnston Wells Public Relations, if your answer to one or more of the following questions is yes, then chances are that is the reason your product failed. 1. Did you do the right amount and kind of marketing research in the initial stages of your new product development process? . If you conducted research, did you follow the results or ignore them? 3. Was your product launched ahead of its time? 4. Was your product launched on the downward side of a waning fad or trend? 5. Did your product take on a life of its own and you got to a point your new product development process couldn’t turn back? 6. Were you as a company able to execute the product to the consumerà ¢â‚¬â„¢s desires? 7. Did your new product development process create a â€Å"me-too† product? Second in the marketplace is a grim position to be. How many flavoured waters does the world need? 8. Was your company too financially conservative and too aggressive in its expectations for a quick ROI? 9. Is your new product development process as streamlined as it should be? 28 10. Is your product hitting a little before or on top of a trend, or is it a fad? According to Gwinavere Johnston when such a problem arises what is oftentimes needed is an overhaul in your new product development process, which is difficult to see from inside the organization. One may need a specialist in the new/returning product development process, someone who has been in the trenches and has had a fare share of successes and failures. That person has the unique ability to observe your new product development process and, from their years of observing other organizations, is able to pinpoint where in your new product development process modifications need to be made. According to Glenn Moray, companies that fail or that are at the verge of collapsing, at one point in time all made the same mistake that brought about their waterloo: failing to focus on the concerns of their publics. If publics are the groups a company relies on for success, it is dangerous to neglect them by ? ? ? ? Focusing on share price to the detriment of quality and integrity, Forming boards that are not designed for strong corporate governance, Misleading shareholders, employees and others by not sharing the full story, Emphasizing what is legal, rather than what is ethical, and/or Jeopardizing employee jobs and savings through business misconduct. 29 From the above statement by Glenn Moray, it can be deduced that customer awareness and unders tanding is paramount to the success of any company or product. When a company is in distress, tell shareholders and indeed all stakeholders that full extent of the damage and what are in place to curb the problem or mitigate the effect of the problem/distress. 2. 4 THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MARKETING A CONSUMER B R A N D . According to Glenn Moray of the Moray Evans Advertising, The strategic role of PR for consumer brands is critical to extending the impact and credibility of advertising. The questions we so often ask from a PR effort are: (1) what are you trying to achieve with your PR over the long run, and (2) how does it integrate with your marketing and communications plan? The most obvious strategic role for PR-a role that meets a communications objective that is difficult for conventional advertising to address-is to create community affinity while at the same time complementing consumer affinity for the brand. PR is uniquely capable of building relationships with communities (geographic, demographic, social, political, special interest, etc. ) through events, sampling, causes, in-kind support, and sponsorships, to name a f e 30 w . PR delivers messages not normally addressed in conventional advertising. For example, good news about the clients business, new services or new level of commitment to service, how well the client is measuring up within its competitive set, the clients business heritage, or the clients involvement in the community. These types of messages are critical to creating a positive selling environment for our advertising. Equally important, it creates buzz for our client as a company. According to Leana Clark (2002), PR builds momentum into the launch of a new ad campaign. This provides exposure between media flights and increases frequency of brand exposures during the duration of the advertising period. In the fight for brand awareness and top-of-mind consideration, there are few substitutes for pure frequency. And last, but certainly not least, we like to see PR reinforce, in the consumers mind, those moments when a company chooses to put a stake in the ground: The launch of a new market, acquisition of another company, a new partnership, a product release, relevant differentiation, or new leadership with a new vision. All of which provide value to the consumer. 2. 5 ROLES OF THE PR PRACTITIONER IN AN ORGANISATION 31 According to Gwinavere Johnston, there are four principal roles for a corporation’s chief public relations officer. The first is to serve the corporation as a sensor of social change. He/she perceives those societal rumblings that auger good or ill for the organization. In a way, he/she is like the radar chief who gives the early warning. And after pondering the yearnings and stirrings, he/she interprets the signals for the management team. Part of the job as corporate sensor is to keep management focused on those external problems not usually considered part of managing a large business. He/she is the one who says you dont care for the likes of a Ralph Nader or a Jesse Jackson, but you should never underestimate the power they wield over people and problems that can damage our business. † The second role is that of corporate conscience. I trust you and your colleagues in management will not infer that only public relations executives have a conscience or that public relations people are either more ethical or more moral or have a greater commitment to serving the public interest than executives with other titles. In fact, there may be others with more of these qualities than the person with the public relations/ communications title. But the fact is that being the corporate conscience is not in the job description of other 32 executives. It is or should be in the job description of the chief public relations officer. The third role of the chief public relations/communications officer is that of communicator. The tendency especially in recent times, as I referred to earlier is to think that communications, mainly working with the media, print, electronic and digital is his/her only role. Though communications is an important part of the job that is hardly the case. The global corporation has two distinct audiences; one external, the other internal. Communications with both audiences move in two directions: what the corporation says to its external stakeholders and what it says to its employees, distribution and supply chains, and shareowners. Listening is as important a part of the job as speaking and the chief public relations officer should be equally adept at both. For both audiences, the why and how of an action or policy is invariably as important, if not more so, than the what and the when. The goal of communications is more than to tell or inform; its primary purpose is to bring about understanding. No matter how effective the dissemination of information about a corporation, it will not succeed unless it truthfully reflects the corporations behaviour. Above all, the corporation must always deliver on its promises, whether guaranteeing the reliability of a pr oduct or achieving earnings goals. In the words of the rapper, if youre gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk. 33 The fourth role is to serve as corporate monitor. Since the public relations/ communications department is the companys voice and also has so major a role dealing with and commenting on public issues, there is a need for constant monitoring of policies and programs to make sure they accord with both the companys commitment and with public expectations. If they fall short, its the job of the chief public relations officer to agitate for new programs and policies. Failing to do so means, simply, that he/she is not living up to the requirements of the job. To summarize, the chief public relations officer has four roles: corporate sensor, corporate conscience, corporate communicator and corporate monitor. As corporate sensor and corporate conscience, he/she contributes to and participates in the decision making process. It is his/her job to anticipate changes in the social environment and make sure the corporations response is in the public interest and accords with public expectations. In the roles as corporate communicator and corporate monitor, he/she speaks for the corporation both truthfully and timely and makes certain the corporation is delivering on its promises. . 6 BRANDING A very famous proverb goes: What is in a name? A rose will still smell the same, even if it is called by another name! 34 However, with the advent of latest technology and changing trends, the time has come when we need to do some rethinking. Today, everything is online and virtual: virtual money, online business and so name or rather branding is the most i mportant facet for anything. Not just any business, but for any particular entity, branding is the key word. A brand is the identity of an entity. Just think of Marilyn Monroe and the first thing that comes in your mind is flying skirt. When we talk about online business, the brand identity is the foundation for building a relationship with your customer beyond product, distribution, pricing, or location of your business. It plays an integral part behind the success of any product. Brand is the relationship that secures future earnings by securing customer loyalty. Leana Clark (2002), states that, â€Å"Usually consumers have lot of choice of products in the same market segment so brand loyalty plays a very important role for your business growth. A company with high credibility and brand loyalty succeeds in keeping consumers re-buying their product rather than going to a competitor. Statistics tell that it takes five times as much money to gain a customer as it does to retain one. Moreover a satisfied customer also helps in generating word of mouth publicity which increases your potential c u s t o m e r s † . Branding goes beyond marketing. All aspects of your business should reflect 35 and support your intended brand to create a long term and fruitful relationship with your customers. According to Helen Katz in her book Advertising Principles, A lot of effort goes in developing a brand. It involves more than just picking a catchy name. The following steps may be followed to create a brand: * Define your brand * Determine the objective of your brand * Identify your target audience * Identify the barriers and crush them * Package your brand then sell and market your brand 2. 7 REPUTATION AND WHY IT MATTERS The reputation of a company or product is what determines how a strong a product is in the long run and how their customers perceive such a product. It would be remembered that in 1986, Coca-Cola made a blunder by trying to change the flavour of coke which reduced their sales drastically. This reduction in sales was largely due to the perception customers have about coke. The taste of a product ultimately defines the brand and is also part of what customers perceive when they see the product. So when the taste changes, then of course perception changes. Customers want to see their brands as reliable and constant, and for a company to maintain its reputation, such a company must 36 ensure that it gives it customers what they want. This statement was upported by Gwinavere Johnston (2002), when he said, â€Å"Reputation can account for a large portion of a companys market capitalization, and can be its most important long-term asset. It impacts an organization in a myriad of ways, including stock price, and the ability to attract and retain customers and employees. Corporate reputation is based on factors such as ? ? ? ? ? ? Qualit y of products or services, Earnings and business performance, Stability and fairness as an employer, Level of integrity in business practices, Degree of honesty and openness, and Involvement in local communities. Today, with distrust of the corporate world at an all-time high, corporate credibility is an over-riding factor. Whether they like it or not, companies today are at the mercy of public constituencies. That means there is growing recognition of the need to foster a good reputation by developing positive relationships with various publics. † 2. 8 HOW COMPANIES CAN RESTORE TRUST If business is to regain the trust it has lost due to questionable ethics and other business practices, it must provide public relations with a seat at the executive 37 evel management table rather than just relying on public relations when a crisis a r i s e s . Consumer confidence is at its lowest point, as evidenced by ongoing studies in 2002, by Schenkeins research partner Roper ASW. Corporate wrongdoing, stock market plunges, and layoffs were cited as reasons for the erosion in corporate trust. Americans put the blame squarely on the shoulders of CEOs, Nigerians also put the blame on those in power an d CEOs of large organisation and financial organisations such as banks, insurance companies, investment firms and the likes, who according to Roper, wont be let ff the hook easily. Consumers view CEOs as the bad guys, and blame their greed for the ensuing crises that have elicited their anger. Clearly, we live in an environment where every company is under the microscope and negative business stories appear every day on the front page of our newspapers. According to Jerry Donovan, â€Å"Quite literally, public relations is managing relations with various publics, a role that grows in importance as reputation becomes ever more critical to business success. Companies can restore trust in a number of ways, many involving traditional PR strategies, such as: ? ? ? Using integrity and fairness as criteria for all business decisions; Maintaining an emphasis on quality of products or services; Openly sharing truthful information with all publics; 38 ? ? ? Actively seeking input from publics and being responsive to concerns; Renewing a commitment to local communities; and Creating forums to encourage dialogue with constituencies. The bottom line is that companies must make it a priority to value the needs of all publics, and to forge good relationships with them. The cornerstone of a good relationship is trust, and trust is based on open and honest communication. Effective public relations tell a companys story in a way that is accurate, honest, and easy to understand, helping to establish a reputation for credibility. † A good relationship also requires a willingness to listen, and true public relations is a two-way process. PR professionals recognize that to manage relationships, they must understand and respect public concerns and viewpoints. They must also go a step further, to serve as the publics advocate within an o r g a n i z a t i o n . In effect, corporate public relations professionals frequently play the role of an outsider. By questioning decisions and their impact on customers, the community, employees, and others, public relation professionals bring the public perspective to an organization, fostering its ability to be responsive to public concerns. 39 CHAPTER THREE 3. 0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY According to Jacobsen (2002: pg 34) there are two ways to conduct scientific research, one is the qualitative approach the other is the quantitative approach. The qualitative approach is more appropriate for research that aims to get a deeper knowledge about a certain subject, i. e. explorative. An explorative research method aims to investigate a small number of units since it is used to explore nuanced data (Jacobsen 2002: pg 38). Researchers using a qualitative approach are more into finding how people experience their lives and their goal is rather to come to an understanding rather than to reach a static analysis (Bell, 1999). A quantitative approach on the other hand is more appropriate when the research is a broad spectrum of units since it is a theory testing research method. A research like this has a goal of getting broader knowledge about a certain subject (Jacobsen, 2002: pg 29). A researcher using this approach collects data and then tries to analyse the relation between the different 40 productions. The researcher measures and uses scientific techniques that can give quantifiable and possible general conclusions. Since Advertising and public relations is all about emotions and catching people’s interest. Quantitative research used alone could lead to faulty conclusions because it could give the researcher difficulties when trying to understand attitudes and perceptions among the interviewees. But when used alongside the qualitative approach, it gives the researcher a broader perspective about the subject area. The researcher shall therefore make use of the survey method and the in-depth interviews (which is a combination of the qualitative and the quantitative research methods). 3. 1 DATA COLLECTION METHOD CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SOURCES Critical analysis of sources is according to (Bell, 1999: pg 80) divided into two examinations: Internal and external examination. The external examination is used to investigate how genuine and correct the source is whereas the internal examination is the one usually used when investigating smaller projects. Internal examinations looks more into which type or source it is, under which circumstances it devolved and if it has changed lately etcetera. 41 The researcher for the purpose of this research would use in-depth interviews and also the questionnaires/ survey method. The in-depth interview would be directed towards owners of the shops and also the account officer in charge of the Vita foam campaign in Tie Communications. These interviews were conducted to get first hand information on why Vita foam almost went out of the market and what the company did to get back in business focusing on advertising and public relations. The questionnaire, would be used to gather the opinions of customers and potential customers of Vita foam products 3. 2 CHOICE OF STUDY OBJECT The selection of Vitafoam PLC as the case study has been based on the fact that they had experienced drop in sales, which fits the definition of a failing brand by the researcher and as risen today to become one of the market leaders in their product category. A bar chart on the sales of Vita foam product since 2004-2008 by PeaceWaterCoopers House for Vita foam Nigeria Plc) 42 The reason for using Mushin, Ikeja and Agege local government areas as my sample population is because there is a high density of mattress sellers in these areas. Another reason is that these areas are easily accessible. Choice of interviewing officials of Tie Communicat ions Ltd is based on the fact that they were responsible for the rebranding campaign of Vitafoam in 2005/2006 that eventually brought them to their present position in the market. . 3 CHOICE OF ORGANISATION The organisation (VITAFOAM) selected for this study was used because the researcher aims to explore the roles advertising and public relations play in re-establishing a failing product into the market. The case study was chosen based on the fact that it is today one of the leading mattress brands in Nigeria and had in 2005 experienced a rapid decrease in sales of their products. How they overcame this period and what they did to achieve their present position in the market is what piqued my interest in them. Below are bar charts showing the dividend and earnings of Vitafaom Nig. Plc form the year 2004 to the year 2008. 43 FIG 1: DIVIDEND VS EARNINGS PER SHARE FOR VITAFOAM (extracted from the 2008 annual report compiled by PeaceWaterCoopers House) FIG 2: PROFIT AFTER TAX VS SHAREHOLDERS’ FUNDS 44 (extracted from the 2008 annual report compiled by PeaceWaterCoopers House) FIG 3: PROFIT AFTER TAX VS DIVIDENDS 45 (extracted from the 2008 annual report compiled by PeaceWaterCoopers House) 3. 4 CHOICE OF CUSTOMERS/RETAIL OUTLETS In the selection of customers to be interviewed for this study, the researcher has been looking for persons that have been exposed to advertising from the chosen organisation and that have bought their products at least once, but not 46 necessarily the product that have been promoted in the chosen advertising campaign. The researcher shall interview ten (ten customers) in three different retail outlets from each of these local government areas; namely: Ikeja, Mushin and Agege local government areas. Making it a total of 90 (ninety) customers to be interviewed. The customers shall be selected randomly. Also the researcher shall also be interviewing 5 shop owners from each of these local government areas, making it a total of 15 shop owners that would be interviewed. Also the account officer in charge of the advert campaign of Vitafoam shall be interviewed. 3. 5 PROCESSING OF THE RESULTS In the work of analysing the findings found during the interviews the researcher has chosen to record the interviews to make it easier to go back and go through them again later on. The interviews have also been written down to paper from the recordings to make it easier for the researcher to go through them and compare them to points in the literature. By doing it this way it is easier for the researcher to go back without missing out on something. 47 3. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What caused the decrease in sales of Vita foam products? 2. How did public relations and advertising help restore Vita foam into the market? 3. How do we identify a failing product? 4. What strategies do public relations experts employ in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? 5. What advertising strategies were employed in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? 48 CHAPTER FOUR DATA PROCESSING, PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 4. 0 INTRODUCTION In this chapter the information gained in the interviews with the account officer that handled the adverts for Vita foam in 2005/2006, shop owners around the speculated local government areas in Lagos, and customers of Vita foam products will be presented. The information will be presented by first retelling the information gained in the interview with the interviewee from TIE COMMUNICATIONS, and then shop owners around Lagos. Also information gotten from the questionnaires distributed among customers of polymer products generally would be presented in this chapter. 4. 1 DATA PRESENTATION SHOP OWNERS From the interviews conducted by the researcher on shop owners in Ikeja, Mushin and Agege local government areas, it was found out that, Vita foam Nigeria has been a very popular brand since the 1990s. They all agreed that around 2004, sales for the product had remarkably reduced and by 2005, Vita foam product was hardly in demand. 49 The interviewees said the reason for this decrease in sales can be attributed to the fact that other brands where springing up and where willing to sell the same or almost the same quality of products for a lesser price. They gave examples of this price differences that might have caused this reductions in sales one of which is; the queen size mattress (ordinary) was selling for Thirteen thousand Naira in 2005 and Mouka foam was selling the same type of mattress with the same quality for eleven thousand five hundred naira. The interviewees speculated that even the less popular brands like Vono foam, Sarafoam etc where producing good quality mattresses for a reduced price. The interviewees said that Vitafoam’s greatest rival in the polymer market was Mouka foam and Sarafoam, because these brands were not as expensive, available and also of good quality. It is the opinion of the interviewees that the adverts Vita foam did though were not so popular; they left an impression in the mind of anyone that was exposed to the advert. They are of the opinion that the rigorous Vita foam campaign carried out from year 2005 though to 2006, helped boost the sales of the product and helped re-establish their relevance in the market place. 50 ACCOUNT OFFICER FROM TIE COMMUNICATIONS. The interviewee asserted that the company was in charge of the Vita foam account in the year 2005/2006 and were responsible for the PR and Advert campaign carried out by Vita foam in the same year. The interviewee said that the company was approached by the client (Vitafaom) to help organise and advert and PR campaign to help boost sales and popularity level of the brand. The interviewee went on to say that the client was troubled about the constant decrease in sales of its product. The interviewee said that the first thing they did when they got the account was to carry out a research to find out why Vita foam is facing the problems there are facing, also to get a clear picture as to how Vitafaom is faring in the consumer market and to test the popularity of the brand. After which they came back to brainstorm on the strategies to use to tackle the problems discovered in the cause of the research. It was discovered that the major cause of the problem was the fact that the competition was giving the same quality for a reduced price and Vitafaom was also losing its name as people hardly knew their name anymore as products like Mouka foam was quickly taking over the market. 51 So they (TIE COMMUNICATIONS) advised Vita foam to carry out a line extension program to develop a product under Vita foam that would be the same quality with Mouka foam but that would be cheaper than Mouka foam. This brought about Rainbow foam which is a brand of Vitafaom and is relatively cheaper than most of the other quality brands in the Nigerian market. The company also proposed a 9 month advert and PR campaign for Vitafaom products which would promote all the products Vitafaom is producing including Rainbow foam. Also they made their presence felt in the Nigerian market by organising scholarship and other social responsible programs in the society. He asserted that in the world of advertising and Public relations it is believed that out of sight is out of mind, so it is important that a product is never out of sight for the consumers. According to the interviewee, an evaluation was conducted at the end of the campaign and it was the general c consensus then that the campaign was successful. The interviewee went on to say that the evaluation was based on the following criteria: 1. After campaign sales volume vis-a-vis sales volume before the campaign. 2. Popularity of the brand. 3. Current market share of Vita foam products. 52 According to the interviewee, a product can fail when it stops satisfying a need, when a competing brand is producing the same quality for lesser prices, when a product is not readily available in the market, when adequate advertisements and Public relations campaign and activities are not carried out, amongst others. The interviewee explained that, though times were hard for Vita foam during the period under review, what made them remain relevant simply was the fact that they kept producing quality products, but ensured that they improve the Public Relations and advertising activities. They started giving out scholarships, giving Vitafoam products to orphanages, also sponsorship of events and programmes were carried out to ensure that the brands image is secure in the minds of the consumers/publics. Some of these events includes, donations to professional bodies like ICAN, donations to clubs and associations like Business Club, National Union of Chemical, Footwear Rubber, Leather and Non Metallic, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Federal road safety Corps, donations to schools such as Jextoban Secondary school, Ketu, Lagos, end of the year children party sponsored and also organised by the company, sales promotion, price slash etc. The interviewee went on to explain that media relations is an essential tool when trying to win back the loyalty and trust of your consumers. He explained 53 that Vitafoam organised series of facility tour for both media houses and also the regulatory agencies such as Standard Organisation of Nigeria and Manufacturer Association of Nigeria, Polymer Institute of Nigeria, Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Employees Federation and National Union of Chemical, Footwear Rubber, Leather and Non Metallic so as to get endorsements and approval for the products and also for the media to promote them in a positive light. QUESTIONNAIRRE TO CUSTOMERS Ninety questionnaires were distributed and ninety were returned. Based on the data collected through the questionnaires, the following is the outcome of the research. TABLE 1: AGE OF RESPONDENTS Variable 18-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 60 and above Total No. respondents 5 27 29 16 9 4 90 Of Percentage 5. 6 30 32. 2 18 10 4. 5 100 TABLE 2: AWARENESS ABOUT VITAFAOM 54 VARIABLE I AM AWARE I AM NOT AWARE TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 79 11 90 PERCENTAGE % 87. 8 12. 2 100 TABLE 3: USAGE OF VITAFOAM PRODUCTS VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 48 42 90 PERCENTAGE % 53. 3 46. 7 100 TABLE 4: WHEN DID YOU START USING VITAFOAM? VARIABLE MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO LESS THAN TEN YEARS LESS THAN 5 YEARS DO NOT USE IT TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 5 23 20 42 90 PERCENTAGE % 5. 6 25. 5 22. 2 46. 7 100 TABLE 5: DID YOU EVER NOTICE A PERIOD WHEN IT SEEMED OTHER BRANDS WERE TAKING OVER THE MARKET VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 65 25 90 PERCENTAGE % 72. 2 27. 8 100 TABLE 6: REASON VITAFOAM LOST MARKET SHARE VARIABLE NO. OF REPONDENTS PERCENTAGE % Reduction in quality of the 5 7. 7 product 25 38. 4 55 High price of the product Better quality by competition Better price by the competition Lack of availability of the product TOTAL 23 5 65 10. 8 35. 4 7. 7 100 TABLE 7: WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA THAT VITA FOAM MIGHT NOT BE FARING WELL VARIABLE NO. OF REPONDENTS PERCENTAGE % When it was no longer available for sale When I stopped seeing or hearing their adverts When other brands of mattresses became very prominent When friends and colleagues advised me to buy other products TOTAL 0 45 25 20 90 0 50 27. 8 22. 2 100 TABLE 8: IN YOUR OPINION DO YOU THINK VITAFOAM HAS MADE A COMEBACK INTO THE MARKET VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 70 20 90 PERCENTAGE % 77. 8 22. 2 100 TABLE 9: WHAT MADE VITAFOAM’S COMEBACK POSSIBLE VARIABLE Vigorous advert and PR campaign Reduction in price Increase in quality 56 NO. OF RESPONDENTS 50 7 3 PERCENTAGE % 55. 6 7. 8 3. 3 Creating another competing brand to 20 tackle the competition 10 Friends and colleagues attesting to the 90 quality of Vita foam and the good price TOTAL 22. 2 11. 1 100 TABLE 10: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN OR HEARD ANY VITAFOAM ADVERT ON ANY LOCAL MEDIUM VARIABLE YES NO TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 80 10 90 PERCENTAGE % 88. 9 11. 1 100 TABLE 11: VITAFOAM ADVERT RATINGS VARIABLE VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR TOTAL NO. OF REPONDENTS 50 20 5 5 0 80 PERCENTAGE % 62. 5 25 6. 25 6. 25 0 100 TABLE 12: WHAT INFORMED YOUR DECISION TO START USING VITAFOAM VARIABLE The new packaging The adverts on TV and radio Recommendations from friends Attractive price Sales promo Innovative additions to the product TOTAL 57 NO. OF REPONDENTS PERCENTAGE % 2 40 20 10 10 8 90 2. 2 44. 4 22. 2 11. 1 11. 1 8. 9 100 TABLE 13: MOST EFFECTIVE VITAFOAM ADVERT VARIABLE The radio advert The TV advert The Billboard adverts Print adverts Road shows TOTAL NO. REPONDENTS 10 15 25 40 0 90 OF PERCENTAGE % 11. 1 16. 7 27. 8 44. 4 0 100 4. 2 ANALYSIS OF PRESENTED DATA Based on the data gotten from the interviews conducted and questionnaires distributed, the researcher shall now attempt to answer the research questions this research aimed to answer. RESEARCH QUESTION 1: What caused the decrease in sales of Vita foam products? From the interviews conducted with the shop owners and the account officer in charge of the Vita foam account in year 2005/2006, it is clear that the main reasons for the drop in sales of Vita foam products are; stiff competition from Mouka foam, who was producing a similar product with almost the same quality, but was selling at a lower price. Another reason for the decrease in sales of Vita foam products was lack of advertisement and Public Relations 58 activities on the part of the Vita foam Nig. Ltd; this reduced their popularity in the market place. From the responses gotten from the questionnaires distributed to the customers in different retail outlet around Agege, Mushin and Ikeja local government it is clear that price of the product played a major role in diminishing the sales of the Vita foam products. 38. 4% of the 90 respondents said that the high price of Vita foam products caused the decrease, while 35. % of the same respondents said that better prices offered by competition might be the cause, 5% said Vita foam products were not readily available, 7% said better quality offered by competitors might be a cause for the reduction in sales of Vita foam products. Form the above it is clear that the major reason for the decrease in sales of Vita foam products can be attributed to high price and lack of advertiseme nt and Public Relations activities RESEARCH QUESTION 2: How did public relations and advertising help restore Vita foam into the market? From the interviews conducted with the account officer in charge of the Vita foam account in the year 2005/2006, it is clear that Public Relations and advertisement played a major role in restoring Vita foam into the market. The 59 interviewee pointed out that, through Public relations activities such as giving scholarships, giving free Vita foam products to orphanages etc, the company was able to register in the mind of the consumers as a socially conscious organisation which helped in promoting their image. Also the advert campaign proposed and executed by Tie Communications helped re-establish the Vita foam presence in the polymer industry and also in the long run helped boost the sales of the product. All of which helped restore Vitafaom back into the market place. Data gotten from the questionnaires distributes also asserts that advertising and Public relations activities played a major role in restoring Vita foam into the market place. 55. 6% of the 90 respondents said that vigorous adverts and PR campaign made the comeback for Vita foam possible. While 44. % of the respondents also claim that the adverts they saw informed their decision to buy Vita foam products. RESEARCH QUESTION 3: How do we identify a failing product? Based on the questionnaires distributed and interviews conducted. A product can be said to be failing if there is a sudden and constant decrease in sales. Also about 50% of the 90 respondents that got the questionnaires said that they knew Vitafoam was failing when they stopped hearing or seeing their adverts, 27. 8% of the respondents said that they noticed when other brands became very 60 prominent, while 22. % of the respondent said they noticed when friends and colleagues advised them to buy other products. From the above statistics, a product can be said to be failing, if they is a constant reduction in sales of the product, when adverts are suddenly not heard or seen any more, when other brands become more popular, when friends discourage you to buy the product. RESEARCH QUESTION 4: What strategies do public relations experts employ in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? From the interviews conducted, it can be said that Public Relations played a major role in re-establishing a failing products. The interviewee said that scholarships and Cooperate Social Responsibility were carried out to ensure that the brand name Vitafoam is registered in the minds of the consumers, also sponsorship of important programmes and events were carried out to boost the popularity of the brand. Media relations were also used, series of facility tour for both media houses and also the regulatory agencies such as SON and MAN were organised. RESEARCH QUESTION 5: What advertising strategies were employed in re-establishing Vita foam in the market? 61 From the research, the advertising strategy used to re-establish Vitafoam ack into the market was to create a nine month advert campaign that would run through 2005 and parts of 2006 on radio, television and print media. 55. 6% of the respondents that filled the questionnaires distributed agree that the Vigorous advert campaign embarked on by Vitafoam made it possible for vitafoam to come back into the market, also 44. 4% of the 90 respondents said that the print adverts were most effective in making them buy Vitafoam products. 27. 8% of the respondents said that the billboards advert were most effective in making them buy Vitafoam products, while 16. % said it was television and 11. 1% said it was the radio adverts that got them to buy the product. The strategies used were billboard adverts, radio, TV and print adverts that ran over a period of nine months. 62 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5. 0 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the major findings of this study will be discussed and summarized, recommendations will also be given. 5. 1 SUMMARY In this study, it was observed that public relations and advertising played a very crucial role in re-establishing Vitafoam into the market after the company experienced an alarming decrease in sales. It was also found out in the cause of the research that through Public relations activities such as giving scholarships, giving free Vita foam products to orphanages etc, the company was able to register in the mind of the consumers as a socially conscious organisation. This 63 helped in promoting their image. Also the advert campaign embarked on by the company helped re-establish the Vita foam presence in the polymer industry and also in the long run helped boost the sales of the product. All of which helped restore Vitafaom back into the market place. It was found out in the cause of the research that a failing product can be identified when; ? The product is no longer available in the market ? When other brands become more prominent ? When the product no longer satisfy a need ? When there is a sudden and constant decrease in sales. ? When friends and colleagues discourage you to buy the product. It was discovered that stiff competition from rival products, high price of Vitafaom products, lack of advertisements and Public Relations activities were the major factors that caused the failure if Vitafoam as a brand in 2005/2006. It was also discovered that through Public Relations and advertisement, Vitafoam Nig. Ltd was able to re-establish dominance in the polymer industry. 64 5. 2 CONCLUSION This study has shown that advertising and public relations play a major role in re-establishing and also maintain a product in the market. The study has shown that high prices of products, availability of the product, lack of PR, advert and other promotional activity might lead to a product failing. The major findings of this study are summarized below: ? Price, availability of the Vitafoam products, lack of adverts and public relations, and competition, caused the failure of the Vitafoam brand in the market place. ? Advertising and public relations helped restore consumer trust and helped restore Vitafoam back into the market. ? A product can be said to be failing if there is a sudden and constant decrease in sales, when adverts are suddenly not seen or heard anymore by the consumers, when friends and colleagues advised them to buy other products. 5. 3 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Due to the time limit and the level of this study the outcome has been limited. For future research within this area it could be interesting to investigate this in a deeper study. The use of various products can give a better perception on the 65 roles Public Relations and advertising plays in re-establishing a failing product into the market. Also a study can be carried out to find out how advertising and public relations if not done properly could lead to a product’s extinction. This study could help advert and PR practitioners understand the value of advertising and public relations and know the dangers they stand to face if they are not done properly. 5. 04 RECOMMENDATIONS Looking at the outcome of this study, it is suggested that organisations in the Polymer industry should not look down on adverts and public relations as they can make the difference between a successful company and a failing company. Organisations should ensure that their products and services are constantly in the mind of the consumers because they are the most important factor in the growth of the company. Brand colours and logos of companies in this industry should be used in every retail outlet, as this could attract customers to buy and also tell the public that they are available. Also Public Relations activities that covers a wide geographical area should be embarked on by companies on this industry ion a regular basis, because it boost the goodwill of the organisation and helps maintains consumer/customer loyalty. 66 BIBLIOGRAPHY Barry. T, Howard. D, (1990) A review and Critique of the Hierarchy of Effects in Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 9, Iss. 2, P. 121 Bearden. W, Ingram. T, LaForge. R. , (2004) Marketing: Principles Perspectives, 4th Ed, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, USA: New York Belch. G, Belch. M. , (1995) Introduction to advertising and promotion: an integrated marketing communications perspective, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston Berge B. G and Katz H. (1999) Advertising principles, NTC Publishing Group, A Division Of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, INC. 4255 West Touhy Avenue, Lincoln (Chicago), Illinois 60646-1975 U. S. A. 67 Brierley. S (2002) The Advertising Handbook, Routledge, London: UK Butterfield. L (1997) Excellence in Advertising, The IPA guide to best practice, British Library Cataloguing, Oxford: UK Ciadvertising. (2007) Hierarchy-of-effects models, [online article], http://www. ciadvertising. org/studies/student/97_fall/theory/hierarchy/modern. html, 2007-04- 26 Kirk Miller (1986) Reliability and validity in qualitative research, Sage Publications, USA: Beverly Hills Lavidge. R. J, Steiner. G. A. , (1961) A model of predictive measurement of advertising effectiveness, Journal of Marketing, 52, p. 59-62 Lavidge. R. J, Steiner. G. A. , (1961) A model of predict ive measurement of advertising effectiveness, Journal of Marketing, 52, p. 59-62 Mackay. A. , (2005)

The Terrorist’s Extradition Loophole Essay -- Terrorists Terrorism Ter

The Terrorist’s Extradition Loophole Most extradition treaties between states call for an exemption for crimes that are political in nature. The political offense exemption was originally created to allow states to protect those that another state may wish to prosecute for crimes that are politically committed against that government. R. Stuart Phillips, a Judge Advocate in the United States Army, distinguishes between â€Å"pure† political offenses and â€Å"relative† political offenses. â€Å"Pure† political offenses are directed specifically against the state and do not directly affect civilians. They also do not contain acts that would normally be considered a common crime. This can include efforts to overthrow the government, treason, and espionage. These types of crimes should be protected by a political offense exemption. A problem with the extradition exemption comes up with the â€Å"relative† political offenses. These offenses are not entirely political in nature. These crimes tend to be common crimes that are committed for a political purpose. The reason behind the crime is not enough to warrant an exemption from prosecution for the crime itself (Phillips 340-343). Terrorists should not be allowed to find the loopholes in a system that enables them to continue to terrorize those whom they blame for their problems. This problem is a direct result of the â€Å"gray areas† that make it difficult to tell the difference between a common crime and a political crime. It combines the two acts into one, blurring the line of distinction (Anderson). The government being attacked sees it as a common criminal attack on its sovereignty, while the terrorist sees it as a legitimate means to an end. The government behind which the terrorist is trying to... ...d for. Bibliography Anderson, James H. â€Å"International Terrorism and Crime: Trends and Linkages.† James Madison University. http://www.jmu.edu/orgs/wrni/it.htm (8 Mar. 2002). Kash, Douglas A. â€Å"An International Legislative Approach to 21st-Century Terrorism.† The Future of Terrorism: Violence in the New Millennium. Ed. Harvey W. Kushner. London: Sage Publications, 1998. Phillips, R. Stuart. â€Å"The Political Offense Exception and Terrorism: Its Place in the Current Extradition Scheme and Proposals for its Future.† Dickenson Journal of International Law Winter 1997. 337-359. Van den Wyngaert, Christine. â€Å"The Political Offense Exception to Extradition: How to Plug the ‘Terrorists’ Loophole’ without Departing from Fundamental Human Rights.† International Criminal Law and Procedure. Eds. John Dugard and Christine van den Wyngaert. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1996.

Chinatown

What is the central theme of Chinatown and what key symbols and motifs are used to develop this theme? Fashioned as a great film nior the 1974 classic; Chinatown is a crime drama in which central themes coincide with the idea that the world is an inherently corrupt place where men of vice conquer over the helplessness of the innocent and ignorant. Plot, characters, and setting mark this piece as a neo film nior. However it is the use of pessimistic tone, also found common in many film niors, that sets to assist develop the central themes through common motifs and symbols.The motifs within the film include the ignorance to truth, an inescapable past, and a daunting fate. We also find abstract ideas within the symbolism Chinatown itself. The term motif may be defined as recurring structures, contrast, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the major themes. With in Chinatown we find that the characters are ignorant to the point in which they are unable to see the truth . Each character is surrounded and involved to some degree within the corruption that leads to there down fall.The protagonist of the film J. J. Gttes ( Jack Nicklson), a former police officer of chinatown turned private investigator in a neighboring town, spends the majority of the film investigating a murder only to find that once he has discovered the murderer that the police are corrupt as they turn a blind eye. Gittes is ignorant to the fact that not only in Chinatown money is power and those with in power stand above the law. The intertwining of the past and fate that parallel corruption also are used as a motif.The past haunts just about every character to the point that they are unable to overcome the adversity of the corruption of the world. It is the past and secrecy of the past the past that becomes the undoing of Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), which in turn once again lets the corruption of her father prevail. Symbols within the film include Chinatown. Chinatown is not o nly the place from Gittes past that haunts him but is also the symbol for corruption in a ity. As lawlessness runs rampant and justice is silenced by those in power. The only scene to take place in Chinatown is the final scene in which the story unravels to show the corrupt Noah Cross (John Huston) triumphant as he gets away with fraud, incest, and murder. Filmed during a time of political unrest director Polanski film Chinatown may be used as a commentary on the corruption in the institutions that are suppose to provide for the well being of all.

Personal Values

Personal values are beliefs, missions, or philosophy that is meaningful on a personal level. They are reinforced by emotions and feelings, which turn mental perceptions into vital passions that we hope to realize in our lives. Whether we are consciously aware of them or not, every individual has a core set of personal values. Whatever our values are, when we take them to heart and implement them in our lives, great accomplishments and success happens. When we implement, commit to, and apply personal values in our lives, energy is released that attracts success, achievement, and well-being. Some of the more common personal values include; accomplishments, freedom, prosperity, success, friendship, punctuality, self-reliance, concern for others, harmony of purpose, accountability, quality of work, goodwill, reliability, goodness, cleanliness, commitment, creativity, customer satisfaction, equality, loyalty, justice, resourcefulness, family, independence, spirit, hard work, and faithfulness. People relate to personal values in a number of ways; thoughtful people continually think about those things they cherish and believe in, while the powerful are motivated and driven to implement personal values in their lives. Interestingly, not only do values energize us, but when we implement them, it energizes everything we come in contact with. Personal values drives and motivate us to move forward in life, which in turn enables progress. Whether they drive our own individual lives in a positive direction, improve the economic, social, and cultural conditions of a nation, or move society forward in a path of progress, personal values are important in our lives. We all have values that determine our decisions and guide our lives. Accomplishments in life depend not only on physical energy, but also on the psychological energy we are able to bring to our actions. Personal values also direct our psychological energies for accomplishment. The quality of the values we embrace and the intensity of our commitment to them determine the level of our accomplishment in life. Values, personal values, and core values all refer to the same thing. They are desirable qualities, standards, or principles that are the driving forces in our lives, and also influence our actions and reactions. They are inherited, and/or learned from our environment. Knowing your values helps you to follow a clear set of rules and guidelines for your actions, make good decisions, nd choices, find compatible people, places, and things that support your way of living, live with integrity, learn to identify and live from your values, and to manage stress (Ibtissem, 2010). Cultural Values Cultural values are sets of common understandings around which actions are organized, and the finding of expressions in language, whose finer distinctions are peculiar to the group. They are sets o f meanings shared by a group of people that are largely inferred among members, and are clearly relevant, and distinctive to the particular group. Cultural values are also passed on to new members. These values are systems of knowledge, standards for perceiving, believing, evaluating, and acting that serve to relate human communities to their environmental settings (Khalil, & Seleim, 2010). They are also deeper levels of basic assumptions and beliefs that are learned responses. Any social system arising from a network of shared ideologies consisting of substances – the networks of meaning associated with ideologies, norms, and values, and forms – the practices where the meanings are expressed, affirmed, and communicated to members, defines the cultural values of an organization. Culture is what naturally emerges as individuals transform themselves into social groups. A culture encompasses distinct observable forms – language, use of symbols, ceremonies, customs, methods of problem solving, use of tools, or technology, and design of work settings – that groups of people create through social interaction, and use to confront the broader social environment. Culture can be characterized as consisting of three levels; the first and most visible level is behaviors and artifacts, which consists of behavior patterns and outward manifestations of the culture. This is the privileges provided to executives, dress codes, level of technology utilized, and where it is utilized, and the physical layout of the work spaces. Artifacts and behavior also tell what a group is doing, but not the reasons why. The second level of culture is its values. The cultural values determine behaviors, but values are not directly observable, as behaviors are. There is a difference between stated values and operating values. To really understand culture, we have to get to the deepest third level, the level of assumptions and beliefs. Underlying assumptions grow out of values, until they are taken for granted and discarded. Many are unaware of, or unable to articulate their beliefs and assumptions. To understand culture, all three levels have to be understood (Vauclair, 2009). There is an additional aspect that may complicate the study of culture: the group or cultural unit which owns the culture. An organization may have many different cultures or subcultures, or even no apparent dominant culture at the organizational level. Recognizing the cultural unit is essential to identifying and understanding the culture. Organizational cultures are created, maintained, or transformed by people, and by organizational leadership (Khalil, & Seleim, 2010). Leaders at the executive level are the principle source for the re-infusion of an organization's ideology, articulation of core values, and the specification of norms. Organizational values express preferences for certain behaviors or certain outcomes, and organizational norms express behaviors accepted by others. They are the culturally acceptable ways of pursuing goals. Leaders also establish the boundaries for the formal lines of communication, and the formal interaction rules for the organization. Values and norms, once transmitted through the organization, establish the permanence of the organization's culture. Groups, societies, or cultures have values that are largely shared by their members. These values identify those objects, conditions or characteristics that members of the society consider important. Values are related to the norms of a culture, with the norms being the rules for behavior in specific situations, and the values identify what should be judged as good or evil. Members take part in a culture even if each member's personal values do not entirely agree with some of the normative values of the culture. This reflects an individual's ability to integrate and extract aspects valuable to them from the multiple of sub-cultures they belong to. If a group member expresses a value that is in serious conflict with the group's norms, the group's authority may carry out various ways of encouraging conformity or stigmatizing the non-conforming behavior of its members. Commonly held standards of what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable, in a community or society, is determined by cultural values. These values determine the ideas about what is good, right, fair, and just. Creating a culture based on moral excellence requires a commitment among managers to embody and develop two qualities in their leadership: virtue and wisdom. Creating an organization characterized by moral excellence is a lengthy process, because it involves changing the organizational culture (Vauclair, 2009). One of the primary responsibilities of strategic leadership is to create and maintain the organizational characteristics that reward and encourage collective efforts, with the most fundamental of these being the organizational culture. An organization's culture develops to help cope with the environment. Organizational leaders are confronted with many complex issues during their attempts to generate organizational achievement. Their success depends to a great extent on understanding organizational culture. Many of the problems that organizational leaders face are caused by their inability to analyze and evaluate organizational culture. Many leaders, when trying to implement new strategies or a strategic plan leading to a new vision, will discover that their strategies will fail if they are inconsistent with the organization's culture. Difficulties with organizational transformations arise from failures to analyze an organization's existing culture. Strategic leaders have an additional set of challenges; they have to create the means, and the opportunities to infuse their employees with new ways of looking at themselves, and their capabilities. Leaders' new ideologies and values need to be communicated effectively, internalized by employees, and then translated into productive methods of thinking, and working. Organizations consist of subgroups that have specific characteristics and a sense of identification. Within organizations, people can easily classify themselves and others into various social categories or groups based on identification with their primary work group, occupational, or professional skills, or union membership. Subgroups in organizations can and do create subcultures that comprise specific networks of meaning, and they remain associated with the ideologies and values of the organization's leadership. Organizations do not always have standardized or consistent subcultures. The social products produced by subcultures within organizations can be widely diverse, and even result in countercultures. These countercultures can have both productive and unproductive outcomes. The key to a counterculture's success is the group's ability to demonstrate how its unconventional behaviors are consonant with the core ideologies, values and norms of the dominant culture. Cultures provide members with a reliable means to interpret a highly vague environment. It is the organization’s leaderships’ responsibility to specify the features of the environment that are relevant to the organization, and then provide the supporting assumptions, and rationale for its operating strategies. Leadership should recognize that their cultural messages should specifically address cultural uncertainties associated with subculture practices within the organization, and limit their attempts to eliminate distinctions that are important to the subculture's identities. They would have a better chance of creating, or transforming an organization’s culture if they accept, and foster productive organizational subcultures, and consistently communicate how employees must perform in order for the organization to achieve its objectives. Cultural change then relies on leaders' communication techniques that cross sub cultural boundaries and carry messages about ideologies, values and norms that can be internalized by all employees. Cultural forms function as the linking mechanism by which networks of understandings develop among employees. These cultural forms act as a medium for communicating ideologies, values, and norms. They also enable leaders to transmit messages about desirable behaviors to influence thinking and ways of behaving. Cultural forms also address the emotional aspects of organizations that are commonly referred to as cohesion or camaraderie. Productive cultural change will occur if leaders correctly analyze the organization's existing culture, and evaluate it against the cultural attributes needed to achieve strategic objectives. They must first possess a clear understanding of the strategic objectives for their organization, and then identify the actions needed to reach those objectives. The next step is to conduct an analysis of the organization’s existing ideologies, values and norms. Strategic leadership needs to be transformational if it is to serve the organization, and it must operate from a foundation of high morality and ethical practices. Even though culture is deep seated, and difficult to change, leaders can influence or manage an organization's culture. It isn't easy, and it cannot be done rapidly, but leaders can have an effect on culture. An understanding of culture, and how to transform it, is a crucial skill for leaders trying to achieve strategic outcomes. Strategic leaders have the best perspective, because of their position in the organization, to see the dynamics of the culture, what should remain, and what needs transformation. This is the essence of strategic success. Values and ethics are one of the most important characteristic of an individual. They basically define who we are and what we believe. There are many factors that determine our values and ethics. Culture, religion, and many other factors affect our beliefs. Many times our values and ethics can clash with different people who hold different views and beliefs. This doesn't mean our values or ethics are wrong it just means we think differently than others. Most people have a good sense of ethics and values. Knowing between right and wrong is a good foundation to practicing good ethics and morals. Family members, Grandparents, friends, and school teachers all influence our thoughts and beliefs. Educational Values Education is not all about book learning and passing exams, it is also about developing personal values and living these values. Ethical Values To behave ethically is to behave in a manner that is consistent with what is generally considered to be right or moral. Ethical behavior is the bedrock of mutual trust. Values are what we believe to be right, individually or organizationally. Values distinguish between right and wrong, and doing what is right or wrong is what we mean by ethics. The first place to look in determining what is right or wrong is society, because almost every society makes some determination of morally correct behavior. Societies not only regulate the behavior of its members, but also define their societal core values. Experience lead societies to develop beliefs about what is of value for the common good. Societies may differ from one another in the specifics, but not in the general principles; reciprocity – one good deed deserves another, the notion of good intent – a person’s word is their bond, or the appreciation of merit in others regardless of personal feelings – give the devil his due. To determine what is generally considered to be right, look at the positive values of society and the organizations one belongs to. Societal or organizational norms are other aspects that should also be considered. Norms are the unstated rules, usually informally reached by the members of a group, which govern the behavior of the group's members. Norms often have a greater effect on what is and isn't done by the members of a group than formal rules and regulations. Norms are a important part of ethics, in that they allow and/or even encourage certain OK behaviors that are not in keeping with societal or organizational stated values. Ethics and morality are important for individuals, groups, organizations, and society. they should also be important for public officials, and for very much the same reasons. Some very important individual, group, organizational, and/or societal ethical values are; basic honesty and conformity to law; conflicts of interest; service orientation and procedural fairness; the ethics of democratic responsibility; the ethics of public policy determination; and the ethics of compromise and social integration. People behave unethically because of the complexity of the strategic issues that may cross that ethical line, difficulty in determining what the most ethical alternatives are, competition for scarce resources, power, or positions, conflicting loyalties, groupthink, is. There are several systemic factors also contribute to people behaving unethically; the competition for scarce resources, trying to gain a competitive advantage in the race for position or power, conflicting loyalties, groupthink among homogeneous groups with strong leaders, the presence of ideologues, or individuals who view their own extreme positions as right and any opposing positions as wrong, and an organization's negative response to dissent. Organizational members have only three choices when confronted with unethical behavior: Exit, the most direct response, means if you can't live with behavior that does not meet your own ethical standards, leave. Voice, means expressing discomfort with and opposition to the observed unethical behavior. Go public, to engage in ‘whistle blowing’. The final response to unethical behavior in an organization is loyalty, the alternative to exit. Instead of leaving, the individual remains and tries to change the organization from within. An organization cannot maintain high ethical standards without ways for eliminating unethical behavior. The steps to building an ethical climate, and to foster corporate ethics; (1) Determine the actions of strategic leadership and the ways they deal with ethical issues. The pattern of top leaders' behavior determines organizational values. (2) Make explicit ethics policies. (3) Increase awareness of how to apply ethical codes. (4) Training on how to deal with situations with an ethical dimension. 5) How to anticipate situations that involve ethical choices. (6) Expand the information system to focus on areas where ethics may come into play. Knowing what actually is going on in the organization is essential to understanding the ethical principles which govern behavior. The information system should also support ethical behavior, and allow the strategic leader to know when or where there are potential ethical breaches so that corrective action can be taken. There is real danger when unethical behavior goes unnoticed, or unpunished, members will assume it is excused by the organization's leadership. Encouraging leaders to pursue their own moral development is critical at higher levels because strategic leaders set the moral climate for the organization. Business ethics is the application of the disciplines, principles, and theories of ethics on the organizational level. These are the principles, and standards that guide behavior in the business environment. Ethical behavior in business is critical. When businesses are charged with infractions, and when employees of those firms come under legal investigation, there is concern raised about the moral behavior of that business. The level of mutual trust, which is the foundation of our free-market economy, is threatened. Business ethics is also concerned with the day-to-day ethical dilemmas faced by millions of workers at all levels of an organization. All people have their own sets of personal values that come from society, families, religions, and experiences. Ethical dilemmas can arise when those personal values conflict directly with the company’s practices. Organizations can manage their culture and ethical climate by trying to hire employees whose values match their own. Some firms even measure potential employees’ values during the hiring process and strive to choose individuals who fit within the ethical climate rather than those whose beliefs and values differ significantly. Family Values Some of the more common family values are; belonging, it is important that each member of a family feel that they are loved, that they belong and that they matter; flexibility, the order, schedules and structure of the family that helps to maintain a level of sanity; respect, to take feelings, thoughts, needs, and preferences in to account when making decisions; acknowledging and valuing everyone’s thoughts, feelings and contributions to the family as a whole; honesty, the foundation of any relationships that are meant to last; forgiveness, forgiving is an important choice to make (yes, choice); generosity, giving without thinking about what you will receive is an important value for anyone wanting to be a responsible, contributing ember to society; curiosity, which helps to build critical thinking skills, includes the spoken word, tone, volume, expression, eye contact, body language and effective listening; responsibility is something that is learned; and traditions, which ma kes a family unique (Arnier, & Stein, 1998). Religious Values Religion plays a vital role in our lives and in reinforcing personal values. It does not matter what our religious preferences are, personal values are formed and reinforced through religious teachings. Tolerance, honesty, truthfulness, respect for others and elders, purity are some of the values formed and reinforced through religious teachings. Organizational Values Organizations and institutions have values and ethics are that are central to its existence. Often time, there are one or more business values that are the key to a business’s success. Examples are Sear’s commitment to ‘trusting the customer’, Apple Computer's belief in ‘the value of solving the problems of society’, or the Marriott's value of ‘systemization and standardization’. Values are those things important to or valued by someone, whether they are an individual or an organization. Organizational values are important to its vision, which is based on and consistent with the organization's core values. Organizational values are more than words; they are the moral, ethical, and professional attributes of character, and what professionals judge to be right. These core values must be instilled in all organizational members. They determine our character, guide our lives, and are central to our profession. Some of the more common organizational values; loyalty, duty, honesty, selfless service, professionalism, caring, teamwork, stewardship. and integrity. When these values are shared by all organizational members, they can be very important and useful tools for making judgments, assessing probable outcomes of contemplated actions, and choosing among alternatives. Organizational values put all members on the same page with regard to what all members as a body consider important. These values are the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and should be the basis for the behavior of its members. When we implement, commit to, and apply personal values in our lives, energy is released that attracts success, achievement, and well-being. With organizations and nstitution’s employees, customers, products, services, and all the stakeholders, their energy attracts success, new opportunities, new sources of revenue and income, and other material and psychological benefits. In some organizations, any discord by its members may be rewarded by termination, or they may be expelled, or ostracized from the group. Group members quickly learn the operating values, or they don't survive for long. To the extent they differ from stated values, the organization will not only suffer from doing things less effectively, but also from the cynicism of its members, who have yet another reason for mistrusting the leadership, or doubting its wisdom. Organizational values provide the basis for judgments about what is important for the organization to succeed in its core business. There are three aspects to ethical behavior in organizations: the development of the individual as an ethical person, the effect of the organization as an ethical or unethical environment, and the actions or procedures developed by the organization to encourage ethical behavior and discourage unethical behavior. Most of an individual's ethical development occurs before entering an organization. The influence of family, church, community, and school will determine individual values. The organization is dealing with individuals whose value base has already been established. The organization also has a major impact on the behavior of its members, and can have a positive or negative influence on their values. There are three qualities individuals must possess to make ethical decisions; the ability to recognize ethical issues and to reason through the ethical consequences of decisions, the ability to look at alternative points of view, deciding what is right in a particular set of circumstances, and the ability to deal with ambiguity, uncertainty, and to make decisions on the best information available. Individual characteristics and organizational influence are very important attributes that determines ethical behaviors. The ethical standards that one observes in the organization will have a significant effect on individual behavior. The organization has the greatest impact in the standards it establishes for ethical and unethical conduct in its formal reward systems. Informal norms also have a strong influence on individuals' behavior as do the actions of the leaders of the organization. Strategic leaders must understand that their actions, more than words alone, will determine the operating values in the organization. Many people behave ethically, in spite of the apparent lack of gain. Ethical behavior is intrinsically rewarding; most people behave ethically because it's the right thing to do. People are guided by their personal value systems.