Consumer Buying Behavior And Decision Making

Consumer Buying Behavior And Decision Making Recent research discovered that consumers are just likely to make purchase and to be influenced not only by relatives and peers, by endorsers but also by attitudes, situations and emotion (Olsen et al., 2007). The process of consumer decision making can be viewed as three well defined stages namely the Input, the Process and the Output as shown below (Schiffman, 2005). The Input Stage influences the individuals recognition of a product need and consists of two main sources of information which is the firms marketing efforts in term of its price, promotion, location of the retail outlets and the second source is the external sociological influences on the consumer which includes family, friends, neighbors, social class amongst others. The Process stage emphasizes on the way consumers make their decisions. The psychological factors built-in each individual like motivation, perception, learning, personality and attitudes which affect the way external elements from input stage affects the consumers recognition of a need, pre-purchase search for information and evaluation of alternatives. The output stage comprises of two related post-decision activities namely the purchase behaviour and post-purchase evaluation. A low-cost and non-durable product may be influenced by the manufacturers coupon and may actually be a trial purchase. The consumer evaluates the product through direct use. For a relatively durable product such as a laptop, the consumer decision-making model is examined in greater depth (Schiffman, 2005). 2.1 Factors influencing Consumer Buying decision 2.11 Cultural Factors In a sense, culture is a societys personality (Wayne, 2008). According to Hawkins (2009), culture is defined as the sum of total learned belief, values and customers that serve to direct the consumer behavior of members of a particular society. Individual are brought up to follow the beliefs, values and customs of their society and to avoid behavior that is considered as taboo. (Graham, 2009). Overall societies are segmented into subcultures. The sub-cultural divisions are based on nationality, religion, geographic locality, race, age and sex. 2.12 Social Factors A reference groups are groups that serves as frames of reference for individuals in their purchase or consumption decisions. Indirect reference group consist of groups with whom a person does not have direct face to face contact, such as movie stars, TV personalities, sports heroes or even interesting-looking people on the street (Graham, 2009). An individual who has little or no experience with a durable product is more likely to seek out the advice or example of others (Solomon et al., 2009). When consumers are concerned with obtaining accurate information about the performance or quality of a product or service, they are likely to be persuaded by those whom they consider trustworthy and knowledgeable (Hoyer et al., 2007). Appeals by celebrities and other reference group are used very effectively to communicate with their market. For many consumers, their family is their primary reference group for many attitudes and behavior. The members of a family assume specific roles in their everyday functioning, such roles or tasks extend to realm of consumer purchase decisions. 2.13 Psychological Factors Psychological factors arousing within individuals relatively drive general behavior of consumers and thus affect their behavior. The main influences on consumer behavior are personality and self-concept, motivation, learning and perception (Sorensen, 2009). 2.14 Individual Factors Demographic variables are individual characteristics which consist of occupation, sex, income, origin, ethnic, race and age (Kanuk,1999). 2.2 Organizational Buying Behavior The decision making process by which formal organizations confirm the need for products and services to be purchased, consider and select among alternative suppliers and brands (Glavee, 2009). (Hutt, 2009), as an outcome of the vast area of prior research, proceeded the characterization of the industrial buying behavior divided into three major aspects: The Buying Process, The buying Centre and Factors influencing the buying centre. As Kelly (2007), the buygrid model is a conceptual model, which describes the different combinations of buying phases and buying situations. It incorporates three types of buying situations: (1) the new task, (2) the straight re-buy, and (3) the modified re-buy, combined with eight phases in the buying decision process. The model serves as an easy framework for visualizing the otherwise complex business buying process and enables the vendor to identify the critical phases and situation requiring specific types of information. 2.3 The Buying Centre As Hutt (2009) mentioned, companies do not buy, people do. It is of utmost importance to have a concrete knowledge about those involved in the buying decision making process of the goods or services that a vendor aim to sell. It has been indicated that many individuals are pertained in the buying process of industrial goods. 2.4 Roles of the Buying Centre members Buyers are known to assume some common roles in a buying process (Wind, 1967). These roles are classified into six groups which are shown below. Initiator is the one or group of individuals who become aware of a company problem and recognize that the problem can be solved via acquisition of a product or service. The influencers are those who have a say in whether a product or service is bought or not. The more critical a purchase is to companys business, the higher the number of influencers. Gatekeepers usually act as problem or product experts. They have information about a range of vendor offerings. Other buying centre members therefore rely on their information for their assessment of prospective vendors offerings. Thus, by controlling information, and, by having access to decision makers in the firm, the gatekeepers largely determine which vendors get the chance to sell. Deciders are those who make the actual purchase decision. For instance, they say yes or no to what vendors offer. The buyer is one who makes arrangements for the delivery of the goods. He is also often directly involved in negotiating the conditions under which the transactions will be made. Users are those who usually make use of the products in normal working process. 2.5 Factors influencing the buying process and the buying centre Different attributable influences that affect the buying process and the buying centre previously addressed ( Nielson, 2008) : Aspects influencing the buying process Brief description Organizational Technology, goal, task, actors, structure. Interpersonal Formal authority, persuasiveness Personal Status, politics, ethics. Environmental Physical, economic, technological, legal, political and cultural. 2.6 WOM in Consumer Environment Word of mouth is about disseminating information by verbal communication, particularly references including general information in an informal or person-to-person approach. Word of Mouth is usually regarded as a verbal communication, although web dialogue, such as, message boards, emails and blogs (Olson et al., 2010). 2.7 WOM influencing consumer buying behavior WOM is considered to be of utmost importance in shaping consumers attitudes and behaviors. Silverman (2011), studied the diffusion of technology products and concluded that the pattern of ownership may be justified by the presence of an effective network consisting of neighbours exchanging product information. Songe (2006) pointed out that WOM is the most essential source of influence in the purchase of technology and household goods. It is three times effective as radio advertising, newspapers and magazines. 2.8 Characteristics of WOM WOM can be seen as positive as well as negative (Jantsh, 2010). Negative WOM arose when consumers gather information on lack of service, high prices or impolite sales personnel. PWOM is a reference to the passing of positive information. Scharffer (1998) indicated that dissatisfied customers made complain twice than when they are satisfied. Goodman (2009) justified that the services recovery programmes, service guarantees and complaints process affect the direction of WOM. WOM is considered to be an unlimited activity to consumers. The WOM activity can be perceived as a function where the individuals with whom the organization and its employees come into contact like the customers, suppliers, competitors, the general public, or other stakeholders (Misner, 1999). Throughout a decision making process, WOM may be employed at different stages. WOM can be used before or after a purchase. The use of WOM in a pre-purchase stage is referred to as input WOM and Output WOM is issued after the purchase (Assael, 1997). The effectiveness of WOM is far from being unnoticed. Some organizations regard customer WOM as one of the most strong marketing tool (Wilson, 1994). According to Scharffer (1998), marketers attempt to directly influence opinion leaders, incite WOM communication in advertising or depict communications form opinion leaders. 2.9 The Nature of WOM Nail (2002), distinguished three main types of WOM communications in an evaluation on personal influence in buying technology products namely product information, private experience and recommendation. Product information is informing about the product such as benefits of the products. Private experience includes explanations about reasons for purchasing the product. Recommendation refers to point of views about the product. These categorization implies that WOM attends to inform and to influence. Product news, for example, is efficient in bringing awareness about a product and its features. Listening about the experiences of the product from a friend help the consumer in evaluating the absolute merits of one brand or another. Eventually through the perceptions of others, advice is essential in making the purchase decision stage (Solomon et al., 2009). 2.10 Opinion leaders and followers According to Rosen (2002), mass media messages are caught and disseminated by opinion leaders. He also pointed out that mediated communication are circulated to opinion leaders who disseminate it through WOM to their peers. This in turn exert some influences. According to his theory, opinion leaders are present in all groupings of society and may be persuasive on specific topic (Songe, 2006). Lois (2007), could not differentiate between followers and opinion leaders. In his research, he inclined to talk of influencers rather than opinion leaders. He pointed out that influencers are active information searcher, more dependent and more innovative. The follower is active and may ask for information as well as considering opinions of others Those who diffuse information are also likely to receive it which denote that opinion leaders are also followers and vice versa. Wilson (1994) has certified that there is a dominance of personal influence in decision making. In his study, Hutt (2009) added that people who received positive WOM about a new product were more likely to purchase it rather than those who received negative WOM. The powerful effect of WOM is linked to various factors. There are situations where consumers referrals are perceived as being more rational and reliable than commercial sources of information (Rosen, 2002). Dialogues with either friends or relatives tend to be friendly and can help for trying out certain behaviours. Potential consumers of a particular product can acquire some of the product experience by searching for someone who has acquired recent experience with the product (Silverman, 2011). 2.11 Importance of WOM in service sector Good service is essential to promote positive WOM. Consumers depend largely on personal communication with other customers since their experiences are regarded as a trial (Goodman, 2010). Wilson (1994), in turn found that services consumers choose to search for reference from relative and peers rather than promotional sources. Customers are skeptical. They do not believe anymore about what they see or hear. (Kelly, 2007). According to Finch (2003), it is considerable when reference groups are likely to influence especially when the customer is dealing with a decision process and the purchase of the product involve certain risk. Proctor (1995) noted the individuals who have ongoing involvement are more prone to be opinion leaders. Consumers would rather seek information from friends and family if risk is likely to emerge when making a purchase (Scharffer, 1998). 2.12 Motives for engaging in WOM communication Finch (2003), concluded that there are a multitude of reasons for engaging in WOM communication. Sernovitz (2009), supported with evidence that those who disseminate information are certainly those who are experiencing the product. The involvement in the product-related decision is an essential component in personal communications. According to Songe (2006), WOM communication is the basic interest in the product category concerning ongoing involvement. Individuals who have an enduring interest in a product category experience satisfaction in discussing about it (Wilson, 1994). Additionally, Rosem (2002), pointed out that WOM communication is usually introduced to remove any doubt about product choice. According the theory of Wilson (1994), a consumer may try to decrease discomfort by explaining the positive aspects of a recently purchased product to peers and family. Furthermore, purchasing the similar product by a friend or relative proves the original judgment of the consumer (Skubal, 2002). Discussing about the product may likely to drive people to personal satisfaction (Songe, 2006). 2.13 Post-Purchase Decision-Making Negative WOM is known to be a framework of customer complaining behaviour. Harris (2008) suggested that consumers can either express their dissatisfaction or end up the relationship when confronting with unmet expectations. Furthermore, Burg (2005) classified three main reactions to dissatisfaction namely switching to another brands or substitute, making a complaint to the retailer or personnel and finally informing others about the unsatisfactory product or service. Concerning minor dissatisfaction consumers are not likely to complain nor do they spread negative WOM (Finch, 2003). When the level of dissatisfaction is important, consumers are more likely to complain (Kelly, 2007). Goodman (2009), referred that after purchases, consumers are likely to engage in a post-purchase evaluation of the product. If the consumer is not satisfied, psychological discomfort may occur. 2.14 Pre-Purchase DM According to Scharffer (1998), WOM is seen as a process through which consumers convey both informational influence in evaluation of the product and the purchase intention of fellow consumers. This type of information can thus be expressed according to the choice of the referral source or the task of selecting the product (Lees, 2007). 2.15 WOM has a powerful influence on organizational DM WOMC is thus considered as a growing necessity in B2B markets. According to Neilsen (2000) , WOM consists of informal communications directed by consumers at other consumers about ownership or characteristics of particular goods or services and or their sellers. WOM is perceived as an exit outcome to dissatisfaction with the product quality it can be perceived a behavioral manifestation of a latent loyalty towards the supplier or the brand (Canning, 2007). The WOM system is referred to a network where personal, verbal, face to face communication take place. It is also defined as the attribute of the information dealt and how these information would determine the role of the participants (Balter et al., 2009). 2.16 Provision of WOM While in any prevailing WOM circumstances, recommendations, opinions, information are likely to succeed in both ways. Emotions influence how decisions are formulated. In B2B purchase, the buyer does not encounter the overall benefit of the solution and may not be compensated for making a good purchase, but a bad purchase can damage the reputation and job security of the buyer. The study of Prahalad (2004) revealed that organizational buying decisions are normally influence fear. Organizational buyers tend to reduce fear by reducing risk. Personal risk is mostly hidden from the rational process and is considered as an important factor in B2B buying. Like in quality judgments, satisfaction can result to positive WOM through an exit, voice and loyalty logic argument (Nielson, 2002). To such a degree that satisfaction has affective bases, the statement specified earlier about the influence to WOM route has validity as well (Robins, 2008). The involvement with a product certainly provides a person with the motivation and ability to come up with product-related conversations with others. Like Jantsch (2010), observed an individuals frequent engagement with a product or service brings out to overflowing thoughts and emotions that can easily recalled in WOM experiences, frequently willfully so, in order to clear out the tension or the experience. Dissatisfaction with a product presumed to be essential by the individual is particularly filled with WOM potential (Balter et al. 2009). Researchers have been able to separate several product-related factors that reduce the occurrence and extent of WOM activity. Price awareness for product, for one, has been encountered to correspond remarkably with WOM transmission. Preceding a dissatisfactory experience, individuals have demonstrated to participate in more or less WOM conversations depending on the seriousness and controllability and composure of the problem (Bowman, 2009), as well as the perceived likelihood of a favorable redress (Wilson, 2006). Positive outcomes concerning complaint handling and redress, like the diffusive and synergetic justice of the redress orientation and the convenience of recovery, can lead positive consequences for a provider as individuals have the tendency to respond to positive things about the provider (Balter et al., 2009). 2.17 Strategies for managing risks Rosen (2009) introduced three strategies for managing risk namely: Approved supplier list. B2B buyers are prone to select companies they already know. If a member from the buying centre has pre-approved a supplier, the risk is reduced even if it is not the right solution. Word of mouth for example colleagues and friends. User communities are one of the main sources of information for researching B2B purchases. A recommendation from a credible source tend to reduce risk. Word of mouth from existing suppliers. A good representative build good relationship with their suppliers to create a credible source for referrals. 2.18 Buyers seek personal recommendation The most influential channels across decision making process were blogs, word of mouth, websites, trade journals and other form of media. According to Nail (2002), organizational buyers valued WOM communication which provide a personal recommendation. 2.19 The Buying Process Bowman (2009) made the conclusion that B2B buying is a decision process driven by the emotions of the people involved. Business buyers are mostly motivated to reduce personal risk of making mistakes. The decision making process in the B2B environment is not an easy task. Generally doers are those making the purchase of the product or service. The buyer has the entire responsibility for reducing corporate risk. The presence of a broad chain of gatekeepers in organizations means determine the level of complexity in decision-making process in B2B environment. In the B2B environment, decision making process is much more puzzling where there is no specific decision-maker across organizations (Nail, 2002). Graham (2009) implied that in an organization there is a gatekeeper who is allowed to share ideas and information to the members in the buying centre. Both the doers and the buyers need to search for information in the buying process. B2B website should take into consideration the information needs of those who search the Internet. Person to person meetings are crucial to reach the emotional needs of prospects. Building credible relationship through person to person meetings with both doers and buyers is necessary in the complex decision making process. Analytical plan offer recommendations about which options and information to consider or to reject. This help the organization to facilitate decisions to their relevant core. 2.20 The impact of Social Media Robins (2008) declared that online channel, precisely the social media occupied an essential role in how research is proceeded and finally the decision on business purchases in the future. Social media like Website, Blogs or Facebook are also considered to be influential. Inactive channels like the press advertising are equally influential. Robins (2008) pointed out that decision-makers need to search social media channels for information to their actions. Colleagues and peers add value to decision and thus minimizing risks (Siguardarson, 2000). Factors like the ability to learn from experiences of others, the ability to access to information and the ability to communicate with others. According to the study of Robins (2008), B2B buyers refer to trade journals as well as professional online media for B2B decision making. The study also regards word of mouth and personal reference from professional colleagues or peers which is considered as the most influencing source in buying decisions. According to the study of Fader (2010), there is a noticeable change in the influence of supplier websites at the beginning of the purchasing process. He further characterized websites as very influential. Personal recommendation is clearly approved as the most valuable factor in B2B purchasing decisions. Channel like Trade journals, Website, Blogs and Facebook are seen as large influencers concerning the provision of information to help buyers identify potential suppliers. Buyers and deciders are personally involved in the final decision making process. The members in the buying centre regularly used word of mouth and supplier websites as sources of information (Bowman, 2009). Mass media is a mean of reaching directly opinion leader, follower or the gatekeeper (Jantsch, 2010). According to Santeller (2010), the gatekeeper is considered as a source of information to both opinion leaders and followers. The research of Hoyer et al. (2006) showed that diffusion of social of social media is increasing constantly. According to the study of Sorensen (2009), some B2B buyers prefer to use of social media channels while others refer more to traditional information channels. He further observed that B2B buyer opted for issue-based information from supplier websites as a main source of information at the beginning of the buying process. Furthermore the level of influence are reduced towards later stages.

Searching for knowledge: method, gloss, and the failure of information :: Ethnography

I. Sketching Knowledge I have a recurring nightmare that I am on my way to becoming a post-modern positivist. In the dark recesses of my inner sanctum, my constant justifications of the worth of inductive, nonhypothesisdriven, participatory, and emic-centered research finally give way under the pressure of graduate student’s dismissal of methods as unimportant and an all too often dismissal of anthropology by some given that its â€Å"just† anecdotes. These fears are backed by a frightening realization that I have colleagues in other disciplines (i.e., critical geography, social work, and even sympathetic political science) who appear to take our method more seriously than we do. Is anthropology doomed? This semester I am teaching ethnographic methods to a class of first year graduate students and I am often struck by how keen they are to know â€Å"how it is done.† But simultaneously, how difficult it is for them to specify any concrete method beyond interviewing and observing. Often they are actually most interested in questions of logistics: the real â€Å"how is it done† questions. How did you get a visa, where did you live, how long did you stay, how did you afford it, did your partner come with you, were you insured? And of course, a professor who has taught the course before advised me that I shouldn’t prepare lectures, but rather just â€Å"tell stories.† So I spend a lot of my time in this class telling stories, (which satisfies my pedagogical fears over not knowing enough about method to cover 20 hours of course-time – having had a significant part of my own training in the â€Å"go out and do it† approach), but also imploring these anthropologists-in-training to think about what information they are interested in, and the best ways to get it. I tell them that we need to take data collection seriously, or at least we need to have a serious think about what will answer our questions. However, some of them seem to think of it as busy-work. As they repeatedly tell me, one of the dogmas of Malinowski-as-practiced dissertation fieldwork is â€Å"your 2 questions will change once you are in the field,† so why should they spend loads of time thinking about how to answer their original question? Also, some ask, doesn’t this jeopardize the nature of inductive research? I believe in the necessity of the anthropological flexibility that these students are highlighting through their questioning of research preparation. However, it seems to me that some of them are conflating fixity and research design, rather than giving real consideration to particular methodological

Broken Angel :: essays research papers

Broken Angel by Francine Pascal Broken Angel by Francine Pascal is a story about Angel Desmond who is at the racetrack and has gambled away all of his money. His girlfriend Tia Ramirez and her friend Conner McDermott are looking for him. They find him at the racetrack and Tia gets very angry with Angel when she finds out he has lost all of his money. Angel dreads telling his parents, because he lost his whole savings account which was for college. He graduated form El Carro is supposed to go to Stanford in the spring. His parents are really excited about it.Angel stayed up late that night thinking about what happened. The next morning his mom offers to take him to get a small refrigerator for his dorm room at Stanford. He cannot take the pressure anymore so he tells his parents he does not have any money. Then he tells them what happened and they are very disappointed in him. His father fires him from his job at the garage that his father owns. Tia and Conner meet ant the cafà © and try to think of ways to help Angel. Finally when everything seems hopeless Conner thinks of a good idea. Conner’s mom is in all kinds of charities that give out scholarships at the end of school. Conner said he would ask his mom to put in some good words for Angel. Conner goes to ask his mom to help Angel. He is very nervous because she is usually drunk. She is an alcoholic. He finally gets his nerve up and knocks on her bedroom door. He walks in and she is cleaned up and sober. It was a big shock to Conner. His mom calls a few people for Angel and makes a few dinner dates.Tia goes to Angel’s house to tell him the good news. He comes to the door smiling from ear to ear. He said he has got good news for her. She tells him the news about Conner’s mom trying to get him a scholarship. He tells her tell Conner to just forget it. He is not going to college. He tells Tia he is going to stay with her. She tells him he cannot because he has worked so hard to go to Stanf ord. He then tells Tia she does not love him because she is pushing him away.

Programmed costs

The following definition of terms with corresponding examples will help us fully understand the meaning of costs. A cost may be broadly defined as being the sacrifice required to obtain a given object or objective. If costs are to be identified with some relevant unit, such as a department, product line or given amount of service, it is necessary to determine how costs can be expected to behave under different conditions. For example, which costs can be expected to remain constant when there are increases or decreases in the amount of work done?Also, which costs increase as more work is performed? If costs are to be estimated and controlled properly, it is necessary to know whether or not the cost can be expected to change under given conditions and, if so, by what amount. In accounting, fixed costs refer to the costs that do not change in total amount with changes in volume of output or activity over an established or relevant range. Such items as salary of plant of a plant superint endent, depreciation, insurance, taxes, and rent usually remain the same regardless of whether the plant is above or below its normal operating capacity.However, a fixed cost, like any cost, is subject to certain variations. Rent may increase or insurance rates go up, but these changes are caused by factors independent of the firm’s operating level. Fixed costs are sometimes classified as being either committed costs or programmed costs. Management, in making long-range decisions, may commit a company to a cost pattern that extends several years in the future. For example, when a building is acquired, future years have to absorb the depreciation cost and the related property tax, insurance, repairs, and maintenance.These fixed costs are committed costs. Programmed costs, also referred to as managed costs or discretionary costs, are determined as a part of general management policy. A budget for product research and development, for example, may be established each year; or su pervisory salaries are set each year by management decisions. These costs are established at a certain fixed amount, but the amount is determined by management. Variable costs are costs that vary in direct proportion, or in a one-to-one relationship, to changes in productive output or activity.For example, direct material cost is usually a variable cost with each unit manufactured requiring a certain quantity of material. Thus, the materials cost changes in direct proportion to the number of units manufactured. Irrelevant cost is a cost that will not be changed by a decision. Because an irrelevant cost will not be affected, it may be disregarded in the decision-making process. The cost may be variable cost or a fixed cost . The important point is that the cost is not changed by the decision.If the decision involves the production of more units of product, variable are increased and are not irrelevant costs. On the other hand, if no change in productive output or hours of activity is involved in the decision, the variable cost may not be affected, in which case they are disregarded with respect to the decision. Costs can also be classified as being direct or indirect with respect to an activity, a department, or a product. The distinction depends upon whether or not the cost can be identified with the activity or other relevant unit without allocation.A cost such as the plant superintendent’s salary can be readily identified with the plant and hence is a direct cost of the plant. However, it is an indirect cost of any department within the plant or of any line of product manufactured. The plant superintendent’s salary cannot be identified with any unit within the plant except by allocation. A sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred in the past whose total will not be affected by any decision made now or in the future.Example, an individual may regret having made a purchase but, after the purchase have been made, cannot avoid the cost by taking subsequent action. Perhaps the property can be sold, in which case the cost of the property is matched against the proceeds from the sale in the determination of gain or loss. Or the person may decide to keep the property, in which case the cost is matched against revenue over the time that it is used in operations. In any event, the cost has been incurred and cannot be avoided.It is sunk cost with respect to present and future decisions. Another important aspect of cost to be considered is the distinction between cost that can be controlled by a given person and those that cannot be controlled by that person. Cost are incurred upon the authorization of some member of the management group. If a manager is responsible for a given cost, that cost is said to be controllable with respect to that person. If the manager does not authorize that cost, the cost is uncontrollable with respect to that manager.For example, top management can increase or decrease executive salaries and c an initiate or abandon major projects. At intermediate or at lower management levels, such cost are beyond their authority and are uncontrollable. Costs that can be authorized at a certain managerial level are said to be controllable at that level. REFERENCES : Blocher, E†¦ et al. (2005). Cost Management: A strategic emphasis. Boston : Mcgraw-Hill/ Irwin. Edmonds T†¦et al. (2006). Fundamental managerial accounting concepts. (3rd ed). New York: Mcgraw-Hill/ Irwin.

Racism Essay

Today Racism is so common that it has finally been recognized as an issue, however it hasn’t always been like this. In the past there has been count less acts of racism. Racism can be defined as racial discrimination over skin color, ethnic background and race, or a belief that some races are by nature superior. History is like a giant mirror, it made up of thousands of pieces that creates the whole. It reflects what we do, When the European settlers came to North America, they came with a promise of peace, yet time soon revealed differently. They took the children of the inhabitants (like the Indians and natives) and separated them from their family and people. They were beaten and punished like dogs when they showed signs of their culture (language) and were harassed (raped). They were looked down for their ethnic backgrounds, skin color, language and traditions. We can write a Custom Research Paper on Racism for you! Its hard to believe that things could get any worse as time went by, but it did. In the 1900’ African Americans were looked as servants maids factory workers and other low class jobs. This continued for awhile and became o big that it was finally recognized. This was when the African Americans were separated from the whites, in school, work places and society. They did not have the same rights as the whites did. In Canada natives weren’t given any rights to vote until not long ago. However this act was not the worse image reflected upon by history. The holocaust was an event that began with a single persons hatred for the Jews that erupted into a conflict, which involved the world. This person of course was Adolf Hitler, and the conflict, which involved the world, was World War II. Hitler was a man who took the word racism to the ultimate level both metaphorically and literally. He believed that the Arians were superior to not only the Jews but also the rest of the world. He even consider those with the same skin colour and similar cultured background to be less superior, so this means that he is racist to even those that are similar to him. This wasn’t the worse part however; Hitler soon turned his attention to the literal meaning of racism and dealt with it in a dreadful way. He killed the Jews, thousands upon thousands in concentration camps, or even in their homes. They didn’t kill for money or land, but for reasons based on racism. This was the Holocaust and throughout history this act of racism killed the most and is looked at even today, with terror. To me Racism is something I was not exposed to much because it has gotten a little better today, but it is still out there all around us, this urge which makes us feel higher when compared to others just because of the simple differences. Racism is something that can never end, its like a cycle when one act is finished (African Americans is looked at as equals with the whites) another will start, but we have to try. Racism is not needed, therefore it must stop.

Brand Management Case Study Essay

1.0 Summary Communities across the United States are enjoying healthier food grown by local farmers; and farmers are reaping better returns and helping to revitalize rural and urban communities by selling close to home instead of through distant markets. Local marketing has expanded beyond farmers’ markets and farmlands, although these are still popular and the number of US farmers’ markets is growing rapidly. New regional supply networks are linking farmers with their customers in innovative ways and taking advantage of opportunities for marketing to institutions such as public schools, hospitals and universities. In the process, they are bringing a host of other benefits to communities within the networks. But significant barriers must be overcome to increase the potential of these new marketing mechanisms and expand them to meet the needs of underserved farmers and customers. 2.0 Different Policies To do marketing easily, there are different policies that we should adopt. Some of the key policies are given below: †¢ Identify infrastructural gaps and other barriers that prevent local and regional farmers from marketing more of their crops, livestock and value added products within the region. †¢ Give small†scale and mid†scale farmers the tools they need to meet growing consumer demand for local and regional products, such as financing and technical assistance to make the transition to crops customers want and more sustainable production methods. †¢ Expand the infrastructure needed for local agricultural production and the processing and distribution of locally grown produce, meats, dairy, and other products. †¢ Ensure that farmers and consumers who have been underserved by farm and food policy benefit from these steps. Underserved farmers, including socially disadvantaged, women, and beginning farmers, benefit particularly from local and regional markets because they can accommodate small scale producers. †¢ Support mechanisms and access to information that farmers can use to aggregate regional supply in order to access high†volume markets such as large institutions. †¢ Enforce existing restrictions against excessive concentration of buying power and tighten up legislation to allow fair competition for smaller†scale processors, distributors and retailers. †¢ Support training, resources, assistance and credit for beginning farmers and youth interested in farming and food†related careers. †¢ Accommodate needs of small†scale and mid†scale enterprises in food processing regulations. †¢ Facilitate the development of convenient local and regional retail outlets for small†scale and mid†scale farmers. †¢ Compensate farmers for protecting the environment and maintaining the cultural and aesthetic values of working farmland. †¢ Educate the public about advantages of buying locally and regionally grown food. †¢ Fund the establishment of local and regional food policy councils. 3.0 Scopes of new marketing opportunities †¢ Remove of infrastructure gap and other barriers according to the policy local and regional farmers can expand their business and can inform the broader target customers to fulfil their demands with their products. †¢ If funding is possible for small and mid level farmers they supply the accurate quantity of product during the time in the time of increasing demand which will provide trust and strong customer relationship with them. †¢ Infrastructure expansion will lead to produce better quality of agricultural production and distribution that will create a brand image of the regional farmer toward the customers. †¢ Support mechanism and access of adequate information about customer’s demand and wants will help farmers gain the satisfied and loyal customers. †¢ Training, resources, assistance and credit for beginning farmers will make them competitive and efficient to agricultural field. †¢ Improvement in food processing area will improve the quality of goods as well as the health condition of the customers. †¢ When people will learn the advantage of having regional grown food the farmers will get more opportunities to produce and serve the customers according to the demands.[pic]

Economic philosophies Essay

This paper will focus on the contributions of John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman to economic philosophies. Keynes is considered by many as the most famous and influential economist. Though having that veneration, a number of economists had been in opposition to the Keynesian school of thought. Among the forefront oppositions to the Keynesian economic philosophy is Milton Friedman, along with his accounts on monetarism. In his â€Å"General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money,† Keynes laid out the foundations of his framework, which nearly all macroeconomists make use of today. This framework finds its basis on spending and demand, the factors that determine the components of spending, the liquidity-preference theory of short-run interest rates, and the necessity of the government to make strategic but powerful interferences in the economy in order to keep it on balance and avoid the extremes of depression, as well as manic excess (Delong, 2006). Keynes’ theory was said to be incomplete as it only deals with interest employment and money. There was no mention on the theory about prices. Friedman introduced the principles of prices and inflation to Keynes’ framework, based on the idea that there exists a natural rate of unemployment. Friedman also made mention of the limitations of government policies have with regard to the stability of the economy, taking into consideration the trend of its long-run growth. Friedman considered these as limits beyond which an intervention from the government would trigger an inflation of uncontrollable and destructive nature (Delong, 2006). The events that took place during the Great Depression made Keynes and his orthodox followers to underestimate the influence and role monetary policies have in making a viable solution (Delong, 2006). Keynesians are inclined to prefer fiscal policy to monetary policies as a tool to influence production and employment. They believed that money has no direct influence. Moreover, they question the power of monetary policies to influence employment and production (McCain, 2007). The Great Depression was indeed considered to be a unique event in history, which called for explanation in terms of events rather than in pursuit for a new line of economic theory. One of the events that took place during the Great Depression was the failure of the money and banking system. Thus, the Great depression illustrates the influence of changing monetary conditions (McCain, 2007). Keynes and Friedman both agreed on the necessity of a superb macroeconomic management. The private economy, when on its own, might be subjected to unbearable instability and that there is a necessity for a powerful, strategic, but limited intervention coming from the government in order to maintain stability within the economy (Delong, 2006). Though having these ideas in agreement, Friedman had been a staunch opposition to some of Keynes’ economic principles. According to Keynes, the key to maintaining economic stability is to keep government spending and private investments on stable grounds. Friedman, on the other hand, opined that the key to economic stability is keeping money supply, i. e. the amount of purchasing power, which are readily available to be spent by businesses and households stable (Delong, 2006).