A cultural analysis of Greece Essay

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

Implementation of Porter Dimond Theory in Beximco

Report On â€Å"Implementation of Porter Diamond theory in Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd† Course Title: International Business Course Code:BUS-302 Semester: Fall’12 PREPARED FOR: Gouranga Chandra Debnath Senior LECTURER, Department of Business Administration FACULTY OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS (DIU) PREPARED BY: Esteak Ahmed ID: 091-11-809 Contents Chapter 12 Introduction2 Background of the Report:2 1. 5 Overview of the Porter Diamond Theory:4 Chapter 26 2. 2 Firm Structure, Strategy, and Rivalry6 2. 3 Demand condition8 2. 4 Factors of Endowments: (both basic and advance)10 2. Related and supporting industry:12 2. 7 Overall analysis of the company position based on porter’s diamond:13 Log Frame:14 Chapter 316 Conclusion:16 3. 2 Recommendations16 3. 3 References:16 Chapter 1 In an attempt to master and perfect the trade system many research has been conducted and many theories has been proposed. International Trade Theory provides explanations for the pattern of interna tional trade and the distribution of the gains from trade. In an attempt to master and perfect the trade system many research has been conducted and many theories has been proposed.International Trade Theory provides explanations for the pattern of international trade and the distribution of the gains from trade. Introduction Background of the Report: For thousands of years humans are involved in trade and always tried to perfect this system. In an attempt to master and perfect the trade system many research has been conducted and many theories has been proposed. International trade theory provides explanations for the pattern of international trade and the distribution of the gains from trade.The theory convinces most economists of the benefits of liberal trade. But many non-economists oppose liberal trade. Opponents include some who may have encountered trade theory but nevertheless fall prey to fallacious reasoning. Porter diamond theory is an attempt of Professor Porter to expla in the apparent relationship of international trade and other components of a country. Apparently pharmaceutical sector is technologically the most developed manufacturing industries in Bangladesh and the third largest industry in terms of contribution to government’s revenue.Porter Diamond theory can be implemented to a company of this sector to understand the prospects, potentials, and problems of this sector. 1. 1 Purpose Of The Report: The purpose of the report is to implement the porter diamond theory in the Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd Company of Bangladesh and to understand the problems, prospects and potential of this company. 1. 3 Methodology: Secondary data are used to analyze the implementation of the Porter Diamond Theory. 1. 4 Objective of the study The objectives of this study are- * To find out whether all the element of Porter’s diamond are available in the company. To find out our company’s current condition in the market and also the opportuniti es and prospects. * Porter Diamond Theory is the result of an intensive research conducted by Michael Porter and his team on 100 industries of 10 nations. For Porter the essential task was to explain why a nation achieves international success in a particular industry. Pharmaceutical industry contributes the 1% of the total GDP of Bangladesh. Porter Diamond Theory is the result of an intensive research conducted by Michael Porter and his team on 100 industries of 10 nations.For Porter the essential task was to explain why a nation achieves international success in a particular industry. Pharmaceutical industry contributes the 1% of the total GDP of Bangladesh. To analyze the current situation of the rivals * To discuss the demand condition & customer base 1. 5 Overview of the Porter Diamond Theory: Porter Diamond Theory is a creation of Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School. In 1990 he published the result of an intensive research effort that attempted to determine why some nations succeed and other fail in international completions.Porter and his team looked at 100 industries of 10 nations. Like the work of new trade theorists, Porters work was driven by a belief that the existing theories of international theory told the half of the story. For Porter the essential task was to explain why a nation achieves international success in a particular industry. Porter argues that four broad attributes promote or impede the creation of competitive advantage. These attributes are: * Factor of Endowments * Demand Condition * Relating and Supportive Industries. * Firm strategy, structure, and rivalry.Porter maintains two additional variables that can influence international business: * Government * Chance 1. 6 Overview of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Bangladesh: Pharmaceutical sector is technologically the most developed manufacturing industries in Bangladesh and the third largest industry in terms of contribution to government’s revenue. The industry co ntributes about 1% of the total GDP. There are about 250 licensed pharmaceutical manufacturers in the country; however, currently a little over 100 companies are in operation.It is highly concentrated as top 20 companies produce 85% of the revenue. According to IMS, a US-based market research firm, the retail market size is estimated to be around BDT 84 billion as on 2011. Bangladesh pharmaceutical companied focus primarily on branded generic final formulations, mostly using imported APIs (Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredient). Branded generics are a category of drugs, including prescription products, that are either novel dosage forms of off-patent products produced by a manufacturer that is not the originator of the olecule, or a molecule copy of an off-patent product with a trade name. About 85% of the drugs sold in Bangladesh are generics and 15% are patented drugs – the structure differs significantly from the international market. Branded generic drugs represent about 25% years. The success of the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh can be defined by the Porter Diamond Theory. Bangladesh manufactures about 450 generic drugs for 5,300 registered brands which have 8,300 different forms of dosages and strengths.These include a wide range of products from anti-ulcerates, flour quinolones, anti-rheumatic non-steroid drugs, non-narcotic analgesics, antihistamines, and oral anti-diabetic drugs. Some larger firms have also started producing anti-cancer and anti-retroviral drugs. Domestic manufacturers account for 97% of the drug sales in the local market while the remaining 3% are imported. This is a complete turnaround over from two/three decades back when imports are a complete turnaround over from two/three decades back when imports used to dominate the market.The imported drugs include essential live saving drugs and other high quality drugs. The ratio will further increase in favor of the local production as some of the big players are poised to manuf acture these high quality drugs in-house in the future. 1. 7 Overview of the Company: Beximco Pharmaceutical Limited (BPL) is one of the largest pharmaceuticals company in Bangladesh. Beximco Pharma was founded in 1976 and started operations in 1980, manufacturing products under the licenses of Bayer AG of Germany and Upjohn Inc. of USA.It has now grown to become a leading pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh, and it supplies more than 10% of country's total medicinal needs. Today Beximco Pharma manufactures and markets its own branded generics for several diseases including AIDS, cancer, asthma, hypertension, and diabetes for both national and international markets. The company owns and operates modern  pharmaceutical factories mainly in Bangladesh and also has a separate division to operate a modern chemical factory which produces and sells basic chemical products. It also has divisions to produce and sell agro vet and pesticide products.Chapter 2 2. 1 Implementation Of the Theo ry As we said before we studied our company based on Porter’s diamond which include four  internal factors which are- 1. Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry 2. Demand conditions 3. Factor Conditions (both basic and advance) 4. Related and Supporting Industries And two external factors which influence the factors mentioned above are- 1. Chance 2. Government 2. 2 Firm Structure, Strategy, and Rivalry Our Position in Bangladesh: In Bangladesh there are currently a total of 245 companies out of which 200 have operations in the country.The market is totally dominated by the local companies and there are only 5 multi-nationals currently operating. The 245 companies’ together have5300 brands registered in Bangladesh. Among this companies BPL is one of the leader  with almost 8. 4% of the market share. Company (BDT m)| Market Size| Growth in 2011| Market Share| | | | 2010| 2011| SPL Pharmaceuticals | 15,725. 8 | 20. 5% | 18. 7% | 19. 2% | Incepta Pharmaceuticals | 7,851. 5 | 28. 6% | 9. 3% | 9. 0% | Beximco Pharmaceuticals | 7,415. 0 | 30. 5% | 8. 8% | 8. 4% | Opsonin Pharma | 4,275. 4 | 27. 2% | 5. 1% | 4. % | Renata | 4,076. 8 | 26. 1% | 4. 9% | 4. 8% | Eskayef Bangladesh | 3,980. 3 | 18. 9% | 4. 7% | 4. 9% | ACI | 3,578. 2 | 24. 9% | 4. 3% | 4. 2% | Acme Pharmaceutical | 3,500. 7 | 13. 7% | 4. 2% | 4. 5% | Aristopharma | 3,412. 8 | 26. 3% | 4. 1% | 4. 0% | Drug International | 3,070. 2 | 18. 9% | 3. 7% | 3. 8% | Top 10 Companies | 56,886. 5 | 23. 6% | 67. 7% | 67. 7% | Top 20 Companies | 71,382. 5 | 24. 1% | 84. 9% | 84. 6% | Others Companies | 12,661. 6 | 20. 7% | 15. 1% | 15. 4%| Total Sector| 84,044. 1| 23. 6%| | | Source: World Bank Table 1: Major Players In the Market . 2(a) Company structure: BPL gives highest importance to the principles of Corporate Governance and its implementation within the organization. In BPL we follow some rules like: 1. All new recruits at BPL undergo a mandatory training on Company’s Code of Conduct. 2. Fr om the very inception, BPL like the other Strategic Business Units (SBU) of  the Group maintains and upholds HR policies that are consistent with the Labor  Laws of the country. 3. BPL Pharmaceuticals Ltd leads the Group in encouraging workers’ freedom of association and their right for collective bargaining. . The Company follows laws and encourages a work environment that welcomes diversity and fair treatment in the recruiting process and the workplace. 5. BPL encourages diversity and equal employment opportunity in the recruiting  process and the workplace. 6. The Company pursues policies that proactively address all forms of  discriminations in terms of minority, gender and cultural issues. 2. 2(b) Company strategy: For years our company’s strategy is to capture the maximum share through customer  satisfaction by quality product. In words we put our strategies in this way: 1.In BPL we value, above all, for top quality health care products at the least cos t reaching the lowest rungs of the economic class of people in the country. 2. We are obliged to our shareholders and strive for protection of their capital as well as ensure highest return and growth of their assets. 3. We try hard for best compensation to all the employees who constitute the back-  bone of the management and operational strength of the Company 4. BPL endeavor for best co-operation of the creditors ; debtors the banks ;financial institutions, the suppliers of raw material, the providers of utilities-  power, gas ; water etc. nd the customers 5. BPL fulfills her responsibility to the Government through payment of entire range of due taxes, duties, and claim to various public agencies. 6. We strive, as responsibilities citizen, for a social order devoid of malpractices, anti-environmental behaviors, unethical and corruptive dealings. 2. 2. b (1) Long term corporate vision: In order to meet increasing demand in the domestic as well as foreign markets, BPL has unde rtaken an ambitious expansion program to be completed in two phases. †¢The first phase, which is already under way, is expected to be completed by 2012at a total cost of BDT 3. billion. We anticipate a 25% cost overrun for a final cost of BDT 4. 5 billion. The first phase is expected to nearly double the current capacity. †¢The second phase will start in 2014, completing in 2017 for a total cost of BDT2. 0 billion (including an estimated cost overrun of 25%). We expect the expansion programs contributing to revenue growth after 2012. We made an assumption that the new plants will operate with an 85% efficiency and after the year  of completion, 25% of the capacity will come on line in each of the following four years. Second phase will also do the same. 2. 2. b(2) Financial condition:BPL Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BPL) is one of the two Public Limited Companies of the Group that is listed at the two stock exchanges of Bangladesh. And company’s share is considered as â⠂¬ËœBlue Chip’ at both the stock exchanges. BPL Pharmaceuticals is the stand out market leader with a market share of 19. 3%and domestic revenues of BDT 11. 2 billion in the four quarters from April 2009 to March 2010. Because of its dominating presence throughout the country, BPL has enjoyed steady growth in sales volume. Cost of sales as percentage of sales has also been declining gradually over the year, improving gross margin. . 2(c) Domestic Rivals: As we said before BPL Pharmaceuticals stands at number three in terms of market share of 8. 4% and domestic revenues of BDT 8,860. 3 MM in the four quarters from April 2009 to March 2010. BPL’s nearest competitors are Incepta Pharmaceuticals and SPL Pharmaceuticals with market shares of 8. 5% and 19. 2% respectively. Incepta and SPL had BDT 4. 9 billion and BDT 11 billion in domestic sales for the last four  quarters. Although a number of MNCs are operational in Bangladesh, no MNC is among the top ten in terms of dom estic sales.Between two top rivals we consider BPL to be our arch rival though their market share is almost half compared to ours but here we have tried to find out there position in the market. Here’s market study of BPL: If we analyze the present market condition of BPL we can clearly see that it is in a good position. 2. 3 Demand condition In Bangladesh we have huge demand for its products. The demand of local market has helped us to build a strong customer base and gave us the strength to go for international market. The huge demand of our market leaded us to produce large volume of product.The medicines we are producing now are given bellow: 2. 3(a) Products Category: BPL offers a range of pharmaceutical products (400 types of medicine), which include 1. Tablets 2. Capsules 3. Suppositories 4. Injections 5. Liquids 6. Spray, Drops, Ointment, Cream and Powder 7. Oral Dry Powders. 8. Dry Powder Inhalers 9. Metered Dose Inhalers 2. 3(b) Types of Customer: By maintaining the quality we set our price conveniently for the mass population of  Bangladesh. We never compromise about our drugs quality thus we acquire the thrust of  our customer. 2. 3(c) Present Market status:Besides Bangladesh demand of international market driven us to supply our product in these markets †¢ Europe: UK; †¢ Asia: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Iraq, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, The Philippines, Vietnam, Yemen; †¢ Africa: Comoros Islands, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania; †¢ South America: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala And these are the market under there exploration: †¢ Asia: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, UAE; Africa: Algeria, Botswana, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa; †¢ South America: Jam aica, Chili 2. 3(d) CSR activities: Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is one of the signatory of UN Global Compact in Bangladesh. Our CSR activities helped us to increase our demand. Some examples of our  activities are: †¢ BPL supports global business community to uphold social issues in businessoperations and being convinced of the benefits which will accrue out of voluntaryadherence to universally recognized social values in transaction of businesses. †¢BPL regularly interacts with the underprivileged segment of the societydirectly or through different NGOs. †¢ The Company assists the HIV positive/AIDS patients in gaining better access tomedicine through donation of AIDS medicine to local NGOs. †¢ BPL has donated two ambulances to Pabna Municipal Corporation ; IshwardiMunicipal Corporation for public use. 2. 4 Factors of Endowments: (both basic and advance) 2. 4(a) Basic factors: Basic factors like natural resources, climate geography demography everything is in our  favor in Bangladesh to produce and provide quality health care. . 4 (b) Advance factors condition: In the discussion bellow we tried to describe the advance factors condition of our  company at present. 2. 4. b. (1) R and D department: Beximco has a strong reverse engineering. It has made a collaborative research agreement with Ciba Specialty Chemicals of Switzerland in proprietary research. In formulation R;D, it focuses principally on developing new formulations, predominantly through reverse engineering. BPL also focuses on simplifying manufacturing processes and improving cost efficiency.Its growing innovation is evident from successful launching of a number of cutting-edge products (for example, Oseltamivir capsules for bird ; swine flu treatments, ARVs, anti-cancer products etc. ) advanced formulations like multi-layer tablets, sustained release formulations, dispersible tablets, chewable vitamins etc. With considerable experience in MDI formulations, BPL’s R;D team has successfully developed a range of CFC-free HFA MDIs. In addition, BPL is also developing a number of APIs to ensure availability of raw materials across the range of therapeutic classes.Beximco Pharma has also signed agreements for collaborative research with leading international API manufacturers to strengthen its API pipeline in order to fully capitalize the WTO patent opportunity. 2. 4. b(2) Human recourse: Strategic Human Resource Development Programs are the energy sources for BPLHR for running towards the peak of success. BPL employs more than 2,400 staff, including over 300 qualified professionals such as pharmacists, chemists, microbiologists, engineers, doctors etc. BPL is the third largest pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Bangladesh with net sales of BDT 4. 7 million, according to the 2009 annual report. We believe in company growth by increasing efficiency level of  employees and for that offering excellent environment and support for skill and knowled ge up gradation. Our HR department– ensures the strong supporting role to develop & implement HR policy guidelines for ensuring uninterrupted operation and spontaneous participation to achieve organizational objective as well as fulfillment of employee needs. – maintain an effective way to deal with labor union and still no unrest has been recorded as dispute. 2. 4. b(3) Raw materials:We are proud to say that we are capable of producing raw materials for our own medicines. Some info about our firm’s capability of production is given bellow :(a) API unit: Established in 1992 and commercial production started in 1995. It is presently the largest quality-bulk drugs manufacturer in the country producing international standard bulk pharmaceuticals to satisfy more than hundred pharmaceutical companies throughout the country. b) Factory plants: BPL Pharmaceuticals has invested in state of the art formulation plants aligned to regulated market standards.Four plants base d on the Dhaka site can produce  pharmaceutical products to the highest GMP specifications. These four plants are: †¢ General plant (approved by MHRA) †¢ Cephalosporin plant (quality systems aligned to MHRA requirements, plant being  prepared for EU regulatory agencies and FDA inspections) †¢ BFS plant (quality systems aligned to MHRA requirements, plant being prepared for EU regulatory agencies and FDA inspections) †¢ Biotech (insulin) plant under construction These plants have been designed by internationally recognized firms and equipped with the best machines that can currently be found on the European and US markets.BPL Pharmaceuticals has also created quality systems and SOPs according to FDA and EU regulatory agencies specifications 2. 4. b(4) Distribution system: It has one of the largest distribution channels in the pharmaceutical industry. The sales force of Beximco, led by a large number of â€Å"medical representatives†, is one of the most aggressive among all local manufacturers. This ensures that BPL’s products always have a considerably large outreach. 2. 4. b (5) Technology: Beximco Pharma has always been a pioneer in adopting innovative technologies that introduced both sophistication and scale in the business processes.The company’s focus on technology is intended to take the company to a standard which would match with other top global generic pharma companies. BPL is the pioneer company from Bangladesh in introducing technology driven (specialty) products in local and international markets. Such specialty products include: – Inhalation aerosols, including Ozone-benign HFA MDIs – Suppositories – Nasal sprays Beximco Pharma has shown its capability in the past by installing state-of-the-art MDI plant and IV fluid plant in collaboration with Pamasol, Switzerland and Pharmaplan, Germany, a sister concern of Fresenius AG, Germany. 2. Related and supporting industry: Related and su pporting industries like Hospitals and health centers Healthcare  professionals Insurance and public health bodies Retail pharmacies and stores diagnosticcenters etc are available to support our business firm. In 2006 the total number of hospitals in Bangladesh was 1683. Of these 1683 hospitals, 678 were government hospitals and 1005 were non-governmental 2. 6 The condition of two external factors: Chance and Government: BPL have enough chance and government support throughout our company life. The  prove of it is the rate of our market share and growth in our country.Though we have some restriction from government about the advertising of our medicine in the media but except that we have our governments’ full support where we need it. 2. 7 Overall analysis of the company position based on porter’s diamond: Why Beximco Pharma is doing well ? The answer lies in the Porter’s diamond as we can see from our report the entire element that make a successful indust ries are there in the market. It has strong supporting industries that help us to stay firmly in its feet. It has got all the factors endowment both basic and advanced.It got a study demand and customer base. And last but not the list its strategies structure is strong enough to face out rivals bluntly. Though we know BPL got strong competition in the market but the pace they are moving we know we are strong enough to any kind threat no matter from where it’s coming from. Factors of Endowments (both basic and advanced) Factors of Endowments (both basic and advanced) Related and Supporting Industries Related and Supporting Industries Demand conditions Demand conditions Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry Firm Strategy, Structure, and RivalryLog Frame: Intervention Logic| Objectively verifiable indicators| Source of Verification| Factors of Endowments-Basic Factors-Advanced Factors -communication Distribution System -Skill Labor Human Resource-Research -RnD-Technology| -Avail ability ofNatural resources, climate geography demography is in favor. It has one of the biggest distribution systems in Bangladesh. 2,400 staff, including over 300 qualified professionals such as pharmacists, chemists, microbiologists, engineers, doctors etc. Oseltamivir capsules for bird ; swine flu treatments, ARVs, anti-cancer products etc. advanced formulations like multi-layer tablets, sustained release formulations, dispersible tablets, chewable vitamins etc. – Inhalation aerosols, including Ozone benign HFA MDIs – Suppositories – Nasal sprays-Installing state-of-the-art MDI plant and IV fluid plant in collaboration with Pamasol, Switzerland and Pharmaplan, Germany, a sister concern of Fresenius AG, Germany. | World BankAnnual Report 2011Annual Report 2011Annual Report 2011Annual Report 2011| Firm Structure, Strategy, and Rivalry-Structure-Strategy-Rivalry| Corporate Governance -mandatory training on Company’s Code of Conduct. BPL like the other St rategic Business Units (SBU-collective bargaining. -diversity and fair treatment in the recruiting process -diversity and equal employment opportunity-Top quality health care products at the least cost reaching the lowest rungs -Highest return and growth of shareholders assets. -Best compensation to all the employees. -Best co-operation of the creditors ; debtors the banks ;financial institutions. -Supporting the Government through payment of entire range of due taxes, duties, and claim to various public agencies-Rivalry among existing firms is intense. Incepta Pharmaceuticals and SPL Pharmaceuticals with market shares of 8. 5% and 19. 2% respectively. | Annual Report 2011World Bank| Demand Condition| -Huge demand of local market -large volume of product -Range of pharmaceutical products and 400 types of medicine. -Maintaining the quality setting the price conveniently. Exports: Europe: UK;Asia, Africa, South America| World Bank| Related And Supportive Industries| In 2006 the total number of hospitals in Bangladesh was 1683. Of these 1683 hospitals, 678 were government hospitals and 1005 were non-governmental. Wikipedia| Chapter 3 Conclusion: BPL Pharmaceuticals Ltd, as part of a progressive business group, believes that the advancement of good health occurs not only through the innovation, production and distribution of its products, but also through the creation and preservation of a healthy environment. Transparency is a core value of BPL Pharmaceuticals Ltd and other  SBUs of the Group and is strictly followed at every step of the business process. BPL Pharmaceuticals Limited has extended her range of services towards the highway of global market.We believe the way we are leading towards our goal soon we will be known as one of the top leading pharmaceutical company on the world 3. 2 Recommendations After analyze the whole report we can recommend that – †¢ We have to give more emphasis on the technological support to compete in global market because after 2016 the TRIPS agreement will expire. †¢ Should pursue the government to established export cell to promote export of  pharmaceuticals to grab and capitalized the huge export opportunity in LDCs. †¢ R;D activities of the company have to be improved if it wants to compete with global players. Patent Law, which is valid up to 2016 for Least Developed Countries like Bangladesh. After 2016 the advantage enjoyed by Bangladesh will evaporate so to face that condition we have to prepare our selves. †¢ Though we have our own API plant still we have to import the API equipment’s  but we should try to produce our own API requirement. 3. 3 References: We used these references to prepare our study: †¢ International Business by Charles W. L. Hill †¢ www. BPLpharma. com. bd †¢ www. beximco – pharma . com .World bank

Advertising Statement Essay Example for Free

Advertising Statement Essay ? Rosser Reeves was the one who invented the term â€Å"USP†. The Unique selling proposition is sometimes referred to as â€Å"product difference.† In rare cases, some products or services have a unique and impressive proposition/benefit. A unique selling proposition is the ultimate proposition because its one that no other competitor can claim. It has to be something that you could also sell from. The concept of a unique selling proposition, or USP, is based on a benefit statement that is both unique to the product and important to the user. The heart of a USP is a proposition, which is a promise that states a specific and unique benefit you will get from using the product. If the product has a special formula, design, or feature, particularly if protected by a patent or copyright, then you are assured that it is truly unique. This is why a USP is frequently marked by the use of an â€Å"only† statement, either outright or implied. There are various methods that can be used to find a USP as it is demonstrated in advertising strategies and ideas. In advertising, â€Å"strategy† refers to the overall marketing or selling approach. It is the thinking behind the concept/idea. (The thinking behind the thinking, if you like.) Decisions about selling premises are central to the overall advertising strategy. The strategy (or strategic thought) can come from a proposition/benefit of the product, how it used, the market background, the choice of target audience, or any combination thereof. Every strategy should have an element of distinction ( small or large ) from the competition’s strategies, as should the proceeding concept and campaign. All strategies should be written in the form of a strategy statement, also known as â€Å"creative brief†. However, there are several questions we should seek to answer to cover the area of strategic analysis. Competitor, best prospects, and what buying appeals have the greatest leverage. At the corporate level what takes place in the advertising department would be seen as tac tical whilst in the advertising department this would be seen as strategic. * Corporate strategies are concerned with the major functions of the company, and cover finance, human resource management, production, administration, and marketing. * Marketing strategies are concerned with ANSOFF’s matrix and the marketing mix. * Promotional strategies are concerned with the promotional mix options (advertising, sales promotions, PR, publicity, selling, sponsorship, exhibitions). Advertising that is effective creates the message that best expresses the product-prospect relationship. In addition, the message has to be intrusive enough to battle through the clutter in the contemporary media marketplace. To reach the effectiveness in advertising, a creative strategy should be involved in the process. It has to sell the product effectively by promoting them through smart and well designed advertisement. When forming a strategy from which to create ideas, it needs to be written down in a black and white. This helps to focus and steer the formation of ideas from the onset. When people suggest that an idea is â€Å"off strategy,† they mean that it doesn’t relate back to the defined strategy, and will therefore be much harder to sell the idea to the client. By having a strategy statement at hand, you can keep referring back to it whilst generating ideas from that strategy. It is very hard, even if you are an experienced creative, to produce a great campaign idea (or even a single one shot) without a solid, tight strategy. In short, the better you are briefed, the easier your job will be. A poorly defined, vogue, â€Å"wooly† brief is no use to a creative person, nor is highly specific one that restricts the number of ideas. Below are the basic examples of the headings in a creative brief, * Client * Product/service * Product and market background (supposition) * Competition * Business/Advertising Objective (problem to solve) * Media * Target market/Group/Audience * Proposition/Promise/Benefit * Proposition Support Points * Tone of Voice * â€Å"Mandatories† (Inclusions/Exclusions) Media in Advertising The choice of media depends upon the type of product or service being advertised, the target market, and the client’s budget. Each campaign can be in one form of media, or multiple forms. Traditional advertising media includes print, TV, and radio. Non-traditional includes ambient and guerrilla concepts. In addition, there is direct media, and interactive media. In the UK, each type of media is defined by its relation to a hypothetical â€Å"line† that divides the two. Traditional media is â€Å"above the line,† whereas direct marketing and interactive advertising is â€Å"below the line.† Companies that produce work in all the forms are referred to as â€Å"through the line† agencies, or â€Å"full service.† Other divisions within advertising include sales promotion, and business-to-business. Whereas business-to-consumer advertising, once the skill is developed, the same creative process can easily be applied to these other forms of media an d advertising. All products and companies, as seen by the customer, occupy some kind of ‘position’ in the market whether they intend it or not. This might be, for example, high price-high value, low price-low value, high price-low value, good company-not-so-good company and so on, when compared with comparable competing products and competing organizations. Most modern organizations now attempt to actively influence this position in the market by matching product and corporate benefits with the needs of clearly identified segments. The managers have performed professionally, be integrated to match the identified needs of the target market. Positioning is how the marketer wants the consumer to view its product relative to the competition. Although product differentiation plays a role in creating a product position, product differences account for only part of a product’s position. A positioning strategy also includes the manner in which a product’s factors are combined, ho w they communicated, and who communicates them. The size (and value) of the advertising corporate and brand positioning is crucial to the well-being of any company and so should be left to the agency professional. Copywriting is an essential part of the design communication mix, and those of us who do it for a living will tell you that crafting massages and telling stories is a rewarding mental process, even in the business context. You’ll find that being able to generate a response from your audience is a valuable and highly sought-after skill. Copy (or text, or words) used in design is a very particular type of creative writing that requires the inspiration of an artist and the control of a craftsman or craftswoman. In comparison to the rails on which the copywriter runs, the novelist or poet has no limitations. Poetry and storytelling are flights of the imagination, with no client or news editor to bear in mind. Whether the personality of the writer shines through directly or indirectly, this is the purest creative writing – it can take off in any direction, be as fictional as it wants to be, and go wherever it pleases. Writing copy, however, is all about sticking to brief, while paying homage to the creativity and style of the poet and storyteller. Journalists and copywriters are commercial writers, but the essence of the role is completely different. In most cases journalist have to create the story from the scratch, usually by following leads. They will have to research the facts to get to the heart of the matter, discover the different viewpoints and opinions, and bring this material together accurately and coherently. Articles are often written to a tightly defined structure, while features can allow more room for individual expression and the interweaving of the writer’s viewpoint. The message has to be factually correct, balanced, and fair, but the writer is allowed to take a stance, which could reflect that of the newspaper or, in the case of regular column, the writer’s opinion. Copywriting borrows from all other fields of writing in its quest for creative expression, but ther e is no room for your personality in the copy that you write; you are simply a scribe, a hired mouthpiece for your client, and it is the brand’s voice that must come through, loudly and clearly. Advertising Statement. (2016, Oct 12).

E-Business report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

E-Business report - Assignment Example According to the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), "the UK gaming industry recorded a trade close to 200m in 2005 and is on a continuous inclination". These facts are favorable to the success of GameODrome. Being nave, GameODrome has to compete with several competitors and prove to the consumer that striking a deal with them is easier and more accessible. The advent of Internet has drastically changed lifestyles. E-Marketing is the latest revolution in Internet which allows buying goods while sitting at the luxury of one's home. Many companies now provide their sales and services through internet. One should know and understand various frameworks of E-marketing and their role in promoting a company. E-Marketing consists of several theoretical models, which provide a company with the tools to support the essential elements of marketing, namely price, promotion, product and place. The important models are: Merchant Model: This model is typically used by traders, resellers, wholesaler and retailers of goods and services. It includes 24x7 ordering and one to one custom marketing (embellix, 2000). This would be the most efficient solution for GameODrome, as its main form. It provides catalogues which make it easy for the consumer to choose a product. Auction Model: This model emulates the traditional 'bidding' model. It implements the bidding mechanisms by presenting goods and their value online. For GameODrome, this model would not be an immediate prospective. However once GameODrome establishes itself in the online industry, it can use this model to make 'year-end sales' and allow flagship firms to auction their goods. Manufacturer Model: It is used by the manufacturers directly to communicate to the consumers about their goods and services. Affiliate Model: In this model a company becomes an 'affiliate' of another company to advertise itself or its products and needs to pay certain amount for using it. This model can work well as a secondary model for GameODrome. Advertising Model: In this model, a company uses another website to advertise with the use of banners. Subscription Model: This model is generally used by Online Libraries and Scientific Organizations, where certain amount has to be paid as subscription charges to view or download any content offered (commissionjunction.com, nd). Logistics Model: In this model a company manages the logistical activities of another company. It is useful to organizations that have a strong foothold and already generated sufficient revenue. E-Business Implementation The implementation of the

Corporate governance - Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate governance - Law - Essay Example According to Andreasson (n.d. P 2) corporate governance in emerging markets is a critical issue where companies are constantly struggling for investors to raise capital base. About the scope of governance, Abdulla and Valentine (2009, p89) point out that â€Å"corporate governance includes all types of firms and its definitions could extend to cover all of the economic and non-economic activities† p 89. This needs to be embraced by the UK in its bid to improve its corporate governance. One way by which the UK can improve its corporate governance as shall be discussed in diversity is by incorporation of corporate governance and the complexity theory which encompasses many approches integrated into the governance system. Because the perception that the stakeholders about a company is an elastic issue that depends on the corporate image created by the company there has been experienced varying business performances by corporations in the financial and stock markets. This has led to the new wave seeking to transform the way legislative and procedural policies are made and employed by companies to stay afloat in the internal and external market. Therefore board actions on corporate management need effective monitoring so as to avert the corporate failures resulting from traditional corporate strategies as experienced in the UK capital markets. Their short-term policies are feared to be the main reasons for the low efficiency and low return on invested capital yet the companies largely depend on public equity financing amidst their many financial access options (DoB 2010, p 10). A look at the Bitish policies on company opertations shows an emphasis on the accountability of the directors to the shareholders while they set the policies for the company (FRC 2010, p9-11). However the weakness in the Companies Act 2006 which allows for freedom by companies to adjust corporate rules using their constitutions remotely diminishes the corporate sense of the shareholder s who are the main contributors of investment through public equity funds. This calls for real improvement that will address the weaknesses that have led to failure of many corporate organisations which lies in the role played by the company directorate (Kiarie 2007, p2). Kiarie identifies the non-specificity of the management roles in the companies especially the non-executive directors (NEDs) whom she says must play an important role in checking the power wielded by CEOs based on their independance and autonomy. This is possible if the companies willingly offer relevant and sufficient information other than the one the NEDs solicit for use in decision making and judgment. Therefore the NED should be part of the shareholder pressure on the corporate board that would enhance the value of the firm in form, of policies and strategies (Brenner, 2008 p 3-5). It is realised that most companies are reluctant to freely disclose their portfolio in the bid to cut on costs and keep competitor s at bay a fact that has made the shareholdders and the NEDs in darkness on the exact positioning of the company in the corporate market in what Brenner calls â€Å"free rider problem† p 5. This in a way has been the reason for mixed responses from stakeholders ranging

The Protagonists's Experiences in the Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Essay

The Protagonists's Experiences in the Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier, All Quiet on the Western Front and If Die in a Co - Essay Example The paper also explores the lead characters motivation to join the war and motivation behind their continued fight in the war despite the tough conditions. The books and memoirs provide more information on the protagonists’ views of the enemy and later changes. Finally, the paper will also identify the similarities and differences in their wartime and the role of technology in shaping the war experiences. The focus of the paper will be on the following books and memoirs; Jakob Walter’s The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier, Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and I O’Brien’s If Die in a Combat Zone. Discussion Jakob Walter’s Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier is one of a major source of information on war and in this memoir; Walter shares experiences of his life. Jakob, a German soldier, was in Napoleon’s Grand Army during the campaigns of 1806, 1809, and in 1812. The main objective of the diary is to share the army experiences to the present and future together with keeping in touch with his family and friends. At nineteen, Walter enrolls to the army by mobilization and immediately dispensed to the regiment of Romig. In this role, Walter was to escort several convoys of captured Prussians, from Glogau to Dresden. In the case of Walter, his joining the army's motivation is the fact that the brother was in the army too. Walter’s brother was in the army and stationed at in the Lilienburg Regiment (Walter, Jakob and Marc pg 45). Having a relative in the army was a source of inspiration for the young man to join and continue serving. Whenever they fought and were in the same city, the brothers would take care for one another because of the strong brotherly love. On the views of the enemy, Walter provides minimal information, as he was just a common soldier. The better of the source focuses on foraging, which explores the complexity of forcing peasants to show where they hide their food. In his descripti on, the emphasis is one poor weather conditions the soldiers experienced while at war. According to the memoir, Walter shows minimal support for Napoleon as he rarely touches on the subject. During this time, few soldiers had minimal idea. The main character in this novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, is Paul Baumer and at the age of 21, he joins the German army. Different people joined the war because of various motivations and for Paul; he got the motivation from his schoolmaster. Under the guidance, of their schoolteacher through inspiring nationalistic speeches, Paul and his friends willingly enlist to the army in order to fulfill the patriotic and partisan. Upon joining the army, the youngsters face hard and brutal life of the war, which makes them reconsider their initial reason for enlisting. In war, Paul stabbed a solder of the enemy troop, who he watched die and the thoughts of being a dead man disturb him for the entire time (Remarque, Erich and Wheen pg 100). At this p oint, it is obvious that the character’s view of the war has drastically changed. During this time, the soldiers participating in the war were deprived the basics of existences such as health, clothing, food and appropriate shelter. Paul sentiments in the book suggest that World War 1 would be over if the soldiers got better remunerations and proper supply of food. In this book, war experiences snuffed Paul’s ideas, dreams and expectations, which he felt he could not

Bribery at Siemens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bribery at Siemens - Essay Example Bribery is definitely an unethical and illegal practice. Bribery cannot be considered as a cost of business just to get contracts for the company or securing their financial position in any international state or country. The reasons given by the employees when they were accused with the bribery scandal was mainly focusing on one aspect. They said they did it for the benefit of the company, so that the organization could get good business and be stable in all their different business units. The employees said in their defense that the bribery was asked to them by the employees of Enel if they wanted the contract for their company, Siemens. The employees of Siemens also defended their case by saying that the practice of bribery was common to get the contracts for the company on an international level. In late 2006, Siemens had faced another scandal of bribery in the telecommunication department which was bribing foreign officials for securing of contracts. Accusations were also made by IG Metall Company to Siemens for bribing their unions. Many other countries like US, Italy, Greece and Switzerland has accused Siemens for having misconduct while doing their foreign business. Siemens had practiced bribery so that they could win the contracts in the international market and become a strong player in their respective field. This is an unethical practice but it has been observed that for multinational organizations, the concept of bribery is considered a norm. Siemens has also been charged for bribing the employee representatives of different organizations so that they can get their work done easily. The former Siemen managers were also convicted of bribing the foreign officials for getting the business contracts for their organization. The main worrying aspect is that the practicing of bribery may be spread along many levels of management and to get to the

Bolton Thermal Recovery Facility Case Study Essay

Bolton Thermal Recovery Facility Case Study - Essay Example The construction of Bolton thermal recovery facility is meant to generate electricity and other sources of energy for Manchester and its surrounding. The facility seeks to create enough energy that can power over 7,000 homes in the city and its neighbourhood. The operation of the Bolton thermal recovery facility has a number of environmental impacts and issues that must be considered. The operations of the facility are also governed by strict environmental legal requirements and provisions that must be adhered to. Analysis of the impacts that may arise from operating the facility which are economical, environmental and social must be done by the management. Introduction The purpose of this report is to provide a critical analysis of the operations of Bolton thermal recovery facility that is based in Manchester. ... There is need for the management to be well averse with the laws, regulations and provisions that influence the operation of the facility. This report will provide a detailed description of the available environmental laws, legal notices and statutory provisions that affects the operation, profitability and efficiency of the facility. The aim of Bolton thermal recovery facility environmental laws and regulation assessment report is to provide benchmark for the implementation of the various environmental requirements that guide operations of such facilities. To facilitate this study, a number of literatures that have been done on the environmental impacts of operating a thermal facility were analysed. These ranged from academic materials and scholarly articles written by academic institutions and departments on their research results on the facility. Literature reviewed articles will also be evaluated to understand the environmental impacts of a thermal recovery facility. To gain insi ghts on the available environmental laws and provisions that govern the operation of a facility of this magnitude, environmental based peer reviewed, academic and university research articles will be evaluated. The press release and legal announcement by bodies and government agencies on the environmental impacts such a facility and the legal requirements that govern its operation will be evaluated. Workshops and symposiums conducted on environmental assessment of thermal recovery will also provide accurate data on the emerging regulatory issues that may affect the operations and smooth running of the firm. Bolton Thermal Recovery Facility The energy produced powers the activities of the

Discussion Questions Week One Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion Questions Week One - Essay Example When applying a check and balance system in a business function, the most common approach is auditing. Outside auditors help business with inventory, expenditures, payroll, business credit cards, and so forth. This helps check employees and management holding them accountable for their business practices. On the other hand, if an auditor does not do a good job, like in the case of Enron’s auditors they can be held accountable to state and federal law. The three check and balance branches of the government can also be useful in business. Laws, implementing the laws, and enforcing the laws constitutionally can help businesses. I would apply a check and balance system similar to the federal checks and balance system. Charles-Louis de Secondat, a French philosopher, introduced the concept several hundred years ago of separation of powers. It has been used as an example for not only the U.S., but many other democracies. The check and balance I would apply would be managerial (Executive), board of directors (Legislative), and shareholders (Judicial). These branches could execute many decisions, like the auditor brought in by the board of directors, or even a merger voted on by shareholders. The value of the checks and balance system on a business would depend on how successful the business was. Enron and WorldCom did not have a good check and balance system or they would not have gone bankrupt. On the other hand, Exxon/Mobile, IBM, and other successful companies execute their checks and balance system efficiently, hence their success. 2. What are some examples of several methods of discovery? How would you differentiate between these types of discoveries? How would you determine what must be provided by the party receiving the discovery request? A few examples of discovery are depositions, interrogatories, request for an admission, request for a physical examination (teeth impressions, DNA, hair

Cultural Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Cultural Tourism - Essay Example A thriving cultural economy can often improve the socio-economic status of a city and contribute positively to local community life. An improved packaging and marketing of The Thames Gap which consists of the Hampton Court Palace, the Richmond Park, the Kew Gardens and the view from Richmond Hill will result in higher revenues in the form of higher visitor arrivals for this cultural venue. Hence, the management of The Thames Gap must derive useful inputs from the SWOT Analysis which is tackled in this paper. A better and improved marketing strategy will redound to higher revenues and ultimately, the greater well-being of the residents of the City of London. Various tourism studies have highlighted the importance of cultural tourism and its contribution to the socio-economic development of the City of London. Von Eckardt (1980:140) has emphasised that culture is something that rises up from below. This development is a result of the new cultural planning which leads to community development. Fox-Przeworski et al. (1991:250) suggest that there is no single set of measures that can bring about successful urban economic regeneration for all cities. Hence, a cultural planning approach aims to combine cultural planning with other urban policies covering the. economic, environmental, social, political, educational, symbolic parts to ensure a more integrated development (Bianchini, 1993). Evans (2001) provides a complete analysis of the development of arts and cultural planning within the context of urban renaissance. Von Eckhardt (1980:142) again emphasised the integral nature of cultural planning by emphasizing that the art of architecture, the art of urban design, the art of winning community support, the art of transportation planning, and the art of mastering the dynamics of economic development.In addition, Harvey (1989) argued that cultural tourism is inextricably linked in the context of urban development. planning has a significant economic dimension, as stated by Von Eckhardt (1980): Good cultural planning is quite similar to good economic planning. Smith (1996:57) suggests that 'the so-called "urban renaissance" has been stimulated more by economic than cultural forces'.In the past, heavy focus been placed on the economic imperative in regeneration strategies. Fox-Przeworski et al. (1991:237) claim that the basic basis for successful local economic regeneration is an honest evaluation of the challenges and opportunities facing the local economy. Social, cultural and welfare issues whic h are crucial to the welfare of local communities has not been neglected by key officials.Cultural tourism requires global competitiveness. For instance, specific measures to enhance the competitiveness of the local economy should consider the entire economic, social and environmental structure. The local population is the priority where jobs are to be created or housing improved. Bianchini (1993:212) also stressed the importance of local community interests in urban regeneration initiatives in Western Europe as a clear goal to revitalise the cultural, social and political life of local residents which should always precede and sustain the formulation of physical and economic

Effects of Advertising Essay Example for Free

Effects of Advertising Essay Advertising may have some good points, as we know, but advertising is really just a necessary evil. Advertising has its own fair share of negative effects. While some are obvious to those with a more scrutinizing eye, most of advertising’s potentially harmful facets go undetected. How do you think advertisements have affected consumers or What are the negative effect of advertising? Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade its viewers, readers or listeners to take some action. Why should an ad be negative The main functionality of an ad is to convey the reason for existence of a brand / product and entice customers to buy. The visuals are a form of expressing the communication and making it is human as possible. How its shown or televised, printed is a subjective matter. Ideally we should be asking whether the communication is correct or not. Is it misleading the consumer Is it showcasing something and you are landed with something else Negative effects of ad would be when the communication is wrong, which seldom happens. Its really only in cases of Insurance ads, funds or generally speaking finance vertical ads. Keeping these hazards in mind even these corporates have started issuing a disclaimer immediately after the ads. Cold drink companies are using aero stunts for their ads and also staking claim that the stunts are performed by qualified experts and hence not to be done by normal unqualified people!! Ads will not really be negative, unless there may in some cases like the Red Bull ad where the content is quite derogatory where the man drinks Red Bull flies and opens his fly on top of the bird because the bird shat on him thats going too far with the tag for Red Bull. So I do not really find any negative effect of advertising per se!! Today advertising plays a dominant role for each and every product. Sometimes it becomes nuisance for the viewers, especially when watching the favourite programes in TVs and during this time the ad will not be of much effective as they will be nelected by the viewers by switching over to another channel for watching some other show. The basic objective of all ad campaign in TV channels is to reach the public immediately. Here the question is up to what extent the ads are effective and are sucessful.. we cant say 100%. o the advertisers should plan their capaign to get the milage to the greater extent. But it is true that the ad related to the children is very well watched by them and are enjoyed by the children. For every action, there is an opposite and an equievalent reaction. Hence the advertisers have to make a strategic planning on their timing and the money spent for the ad should not go waste. In other words thei ad capaign should regulated. The ad should not turn to irritate the viewers and it should not also exaggerate. It should be simple to showcase their products qualities and applications. I believe currently that advertising has become so powerful and so subtle that we accept most of it without thinking. It is our environment. We buy shirts and bags with large logos and show off most of us own a TV, the programs that exist are there only to get us to see ads. Our newspapers are covered in ads and we still call it news. My point is that advertising is in no way positive. It creates want in a society that doesnt understand the true meaning of Need. Fr. Kavanaugh was on the mark when describing the effects of advertising on society. Our moral values are being degraded by the bombardment of impropriety by the media. Adler would be quick in pointing out the reason why these messages have such a negative effect on people. There are two main tactics advertisers use to sell their product: either imply that their product will bring about the achievement of a particular (usually real) good, or make their product the object of desire, therefore making it an apparent good to people. The problem with associating products with the achievement of a good lies more in the realm of truth than in good, because it lies in whether or not the product can truly live up to its claims. The relation between a product and statements, therefore, they are directly misleading the public. The other subjective thing, it would seem to be acceptable for advertisers to qualify represent in other words, Calvin Klein products are now in and of themselves associating more importance to the product than to the good involved, like a society to advocate proper moral values in their advertising, or at least not The effects of 2 People see advertisements all around the globe that attempt to lure consumers to buy products. Advertisements are placed in newspapers, magazines, schools, and on billboards everywhere. According to marketing consultants Stan Rapp and Tom Collins, on a typical day, an average American sees over 5,000 advertisements a day (Gay, 1992). Many questions arise about these advertisements, such as â€Å"Is advertising deceptive? Does it create or perpetuate stereotypes? Does it create conformity? Does it create insecurity in order to sell goods? Does it cause people to buy things that they really don’t need? †(Alexander Hanson, 1993, p. 240). Advertisers use specific methods to target teen consumers, but these methods are not always successful or ethical. Advertising is giving the general public information about new goods and trying to increase overall sales, which increases the efficiency of the nation’s economy. It is supposed to be a significant way of getting the point across about a product and create motivation for people to buy. Advertising alone, however, does not get customers. It simply catches consumers’ attention, gets them to walk up to a shelf, and make an impulsive purchase. However, getting the customer back requires a more creative marketing approach. There are several ways to research consumers’ behaviors, likes, and dislikes. The most popular method is tests and surveys, both before and after a product is introduced. Telephone surveys are very common, but they take several thousand calls to get a substantial number of responses to work with. Along with those, written questionnaires and samples, either handed out in stores or sent by mail, are effective tests to see if consumers like a product or not. The reactions to the samples, results of questionnaires, and number of participants are all recorded as The effects of 3 a part of the researching process to come up with effective ads. All of this data collected also has other purposes, such as information on warranties and which groups to target for certain products. Companies also check whether the ads are being productive by means of comparing the money made and number of sales during periods of advertising to those during a time of no advertising. Some companies even allow average consumers to preview a commercial to get a response. As a result, companies learn what consumers want before wasting money on useless ads. A well-known advertising strategy is making consumers feel insecure and creating fears that can be overcome by buying. Advertising reveals the latest fashions and the new popular novelties on the market. It exhibits perfect individuals wearing the new styles and looking good. Consumers observe this perfection and envy it. Therefore, they go out and buy in hopes of reaching perfection. Furthermore, being an accepted member of society has become very important to most individuals. For instance, the presence of body odor on individuals makes them an outcast in society. Advertisers use this knowledge to their advantage by developing ads that show a person using deodorant and being recognized as popular. Fear also works into the whole advertising process. Due to the fear by consumers that they will not fit in, they pay close attention to the new ads for the new looks, which gives advertisers more drive to make their ads portray the ideal person. Advertisers also insure that ads are simply informational, but many disagree and believe that they are definitely persuasive. According to Douglas Kellner, a professor of philosophy, as early as the 1920s, advertising critics argue that ads began to persuade Americans, due to the new invention of the assembly lines and the concept of corporations, that buying material The effects of 4 goods was the thing to do. They tried convincing people that spending hard-earned dollars on items that could be hand-made was the new accepted behavior that would enhance their lives (Alexander Hanson, 1993). Likewise, critics of the advertising industry argue that it connects products with preferred emotions, such as happiness and popularity. For example, beer commercials often show a man after a hard day’s work enjoying an ice-cold beer to relax him. They also argue that ads give people the impression that products can give them talent. Take athletics, for example. Nike ads are accused of implying that their shoes will give a consumer athletic ability. Michael Jordan is shown in a television commercial dunking a basketball, wearing a new style of Nike shoes. Consequently, kids are going to want the same pair to be â€Å"like Mike† (Wolf, 1998, n. p. ). On the other hand, advertising agencies say that they just give the consumers up-to-date information. They show change in their ads because they know that is what consumers want and to fulfill the needs of the general public, change. Thus, persuasive strategies are considered techniques used by advertisers to get consumers to buy. Teenagers have become top consumers in today’s society, so advertisers have focused on getting their business. According to Simmons Market Research Bureau of New York City, teens bought 25% of all movie tickets and 27% of all videos, totaling $6. 6 billion. In 1998, teens spent $1. 5 billion on jeans, almost twice as much as in 1990, and $3 billion on sneakers, almost four times more than the amount spent in 1997 (Tulley, 1994). Another reason teens are being targeted is the fact that there are many more teens in America today than the past Generation X. The current number is even expected to grow in the next decade, giving advertisers more reason to target them. Winning teens over as customers, today, means possible long-term customers, The effects of 5 which equal big profits. The majority of teens also have part-time jobs or some type of income. With the possibility of the minimum wage raising once again, teens have come to possess a lot of buying power. According to the Teenage Research Unlimited, teenagers spent $140 billion in 1998, which is 14 percent more than in 1997 (Berkowitz Evangelista, 1999). Teens are able to spend their money more freely because they do not have the responsibilities of adults. They even have a greater influence on household spending, as their role in the spending of their parents’ money continues to grow. For instance, it is not unusual for a parent to send their teenager to the grocery store for them, giving them complete control of brand choice. Thus, teenagers are becoming big targets for advertisers due to their growing consumerism. Why are teenagers such big targets in the advertising industry? The answer is simple: They are different. Advertisers view them as a constant changing generation with optimistic outlooks. They want to show individuality by their clothes and possessions, yet fit in with their peers. Their optimism comes from the good rate of job placement after college, the good position of the nation’s economy, and the very low unemployment rates. Teenagers can basically strive for any career with a good chance of being successful. They like to feel good about themselves, so they buy new materials to produce that feeling. Teens are continuously purchasing new items to keeps up with the changing trends. Therefore, advertisers use their view of teens to create ads. With this in mind, advertisers devise specific ads, using a variety of tactics, to appeal to these changing teens. Although marketers each have their own unique techniques, they all use original, flashy, and funny ads to reach the teenage audience. They make posters with college age students that create a fun and happy image. Television commercials include music with The effects of 6 good beats and bizarre images because that is what gets the attention of teens. For example, the Gap’s swing dancing commercials were a big success among teens. They bought their clothes and accessories from the Gap because they could relate to it. That is one reason Gap is ranked as the number one casual clothes store among teens. Advertisers use celebrities to endorse products because teens admire and look up to them. Since teens are still trying to find themselves, advertisers try to create ads and brands that will survive past the finding years of teenagers, so they will have them as future customers. Due to the change in today’s teens, advertisers target them much more. Another controversial subject with advertising is that fact that teenage smoking is on the rise. According to TIPS (Tobacco Information and Prevention Source), at least 6,000 people try a cigarette for the first time each day, all of which are under eighteen years old. There are at least 4. 5 million smoking adolescents in the United States. From 1988 to 1996, the number of adolescents, ages twelve to seventeen, who are daily smokers, has increased by 73 percent (http://www. cdc. gov/tobacco/initfact. htm). Teenage smoking has obviously increased in the United States. As a result, tobacco advertisements are being blamed for the increase use of tobacco by teenagers. Many advertising critics argue that tobacco ads do indeed influence and contribute to the number of teenage smokers. Most teens, however, disagree and believe that their peers are the number one factor in their decision to smoke. Since image is very important to teens, they evaluate what image their smoking friends portray. If they want that image too, they may also take up the habit of smoking. A teen’s attitude towards cigarettes is a considering factor, ranking above advertising that leads to teen smoking. It is obvious that if one has a negative attitude The effects of 7 towards cigarettes, he or she will be less smoke. However, if individuals openly accept cigarettes, they may end up as a smoker. Also, those around cigarettes on a daily basis are more likely to be persuaded to smoke than individuals who are not around cigarettes. In the opinions of teens, tobacco ads do not play a big role in their decision to smoke. Advertisers use a variety of tactics to target particular groups, such as teens, to market their product. There are many views on advertising. Despite the many opinions that advertising is manipulative, a waste of money that could go towards other issues, and a bad influence on human beings, there is no true way of proving it has a bad effect on people. It is simply intended to reveal the benefits of products that consumers want. It is vital to many businesses, as some would be unable to survive without a way of making their products known. Although advertising is accused of influencing consumers to buy things they do not need, they have the choice to buy. It is up to the consumer to make wise choices and develop shopping skills that are intelligent.