Thursday, October 3, 2019
Bone Cancer Essay Example for Free
Bone Cancer Essay Bone cancer is a disease that occurs on or inside a bone. Usually, bone cancer involves a tumor filled with abnormal cells that will occasionally appear on the exterior of the bone. Similar to other types of cancer, bone cancer can be life threatening. Doctors are not completely sure what causes cancer, but they continue the search to find an answer. There are five different types of bone cancer that can affect people from ages 10-60 years old. Bone cancer can occur in any bone in the body from the legs to the head. Unfortunately, symptoms of bone cancer are not always obvious. Most of the time, pain is the most apparent symptom. When recognizing symptoms at an early stage, doctors can complete testing and supply treatment to the patient. Treatment for bone cancer usually begins with surgery followed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Because of the need to kill all of the abnormal cells that are growing on or inside the bone, treatment for bone cancer can be very powerful. In most cases, treatment is very successful. Before starting cancer treatment, many patients rely on statistics for a survival rate, but statistics are simply averages. Each patient has a different circumstance with his/her disease. There are 206 bones in the human body. Each bone serves several purposes. The bones of the body act as the structure that helps to support and protect many internal organs. The bones also serve as a muscle attachment that connects to the muscle to help during movement. But, most importantly, the bones of the body produce and store cells in the bone marrow. Cells make up the body tissue. However, some cells can become abnormal. Given that healthy cells make up body tissue, unhealthy cells grow and destroy body tissue and can often spread to other parts of the body. This abnormal growth of cells is called cancer. There are more than 100 types of cancer known to man, and 5 out of 100 are bone cancer. The most common type of bone cancer is Osteosarcoma, which commonly affects people from ages 10-25 years old. Osteosarcoma develops in new tissue usually in the arms, legs, or around the knee joint. Chondrosarcoma is another type of bone cancer. It usually develops in the cartilage of the pelvis, upper part of legs and arms, and the shoulder. Chondrosarcoma affects people from ages 50-60 years old. Ewingââ¬â¢s Sarcoma is a bone cancer that is known to begin in immature nerve tissue in the bone marrow. It attacks the pelvis, femur, and tibia. Ewingââ¬â¢s Sarcoma usually affects people from 10-20 years old. The last two types of bone cancer are Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma and Fibrosarcoma. Both of these types of bone cancer are very rare and usually develop in the arms and legs or around the knee joint. Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma and Fibrosarcoma are known to affect middle aged people. Bone cancer can sometimes be hard to detect. Symptoms of bone cancer can develop very slowly if at all. Often, one will develop swelling or tenderness in the affected area. Sometimes, a slightly visible lump may be felt through the skin. Bone cancer can also interfere with body movements like walking or hiking. Broken bones can also result from bone cancer. In one case, a victim of bone cancer recently started seeing symptoms of bone cancer. She developed a strong pain in her knee joint that enabled her to walk. The victim experienced a large amount of swelling around the joint. When she consulted a physician, the patient found that she had a fracture and a cancerous tumor in her knee. Even though the above symptoms can also lead to other injuries or diseases besides bone cancer, it is strongly recommended that one should consult a physician if in doubt. When diagnosing bone cancer, a doctor must first complete some tests. According to a summary of tests and procedures by Medicine Net on line, a doctor will first ask about a patientââ¬â¢s personal and family medical history in order to find out if there is any history of cancer in the family. Next, the doctor will order blood tests and x-rays. The exact size, shape, and location of a bone tumor can be seen through an x-ray. Then, a CAT scan (Computed Axial Tomography) will be completed to show whether the cancer has begun to spread to other parts of the body. A CAT scan will give detailed pictures of the cross section of the body. There are also similar tests like an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and an Angiogram (x-ray of the arteries), but a biopsy is the ultimate test that will make sure that cancer is present in the body. After the victim was told that she had bone cancer, she experienced a biopsy in Seattle, Washington. The Medicine Net on line explained that during a biopsy, doctors test a sample of the bone tumor and determine through a microscope whether or not the tumor is cancerous. The many different tests of bone cancer are very critical to the outcome of the disease. The tests are used for staging the bone cancer. For example, if a patient of bone cancer had a CAT scan, and it showed that the bone cancer was not spreading, the doctors could stage the patientââ¬â¢s cancer as controlled. There are three types of treatment for bone cancer: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The treatment preference depends upon the type, location, size, and extent of tumor along with a patientââ¬â¢s needs. Sometimes, a combination of the three treatments is used on a patient. Because cancer can recur in the original affected area, surgeons often remove the tumor, tissue, and some healthy bone surrounding the tumor. In some cases, especially in children, a metal device will be implanted in place of the bone that was removed by a surgeon. This metal device functions to save a limb and lengthen as the child grows. Another type of treatment is chemotherapy. The National Cancer Institute, which covers both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, states that chemotherapy uses several drugs such as Cyclophosphamide, Vinblastine, and vincristine to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy is a very intense treatment that can be given by mouth or by injection into a muscle or blood vessel. Chemotherapy is so powerful that there has to be a treatment period followed by a recovery period, which is usually when one has fully recovered from the intense drugs used in chemotherapy. Recovery periods can vary with each person. The last treatment for bone cancer is radiotherapy. This type of treatment uses high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing. Radiotherapy can sometimes be used in place of surgery to remove the bone cancer. Another use for radiotherapy is to kill cancer cells remaining in the affected area after treatment. All treatments for bone cancer are very strong. The treatments are so strong that they kill not only cancer cells but also some healthy cells. The five bone cancers are a very small proportion of the 100 or more cancers known to man. However, the National Cancer Institute is developing and sponsoring clinical trials on bone cancer patients in many hospitals and cancer centers. The National Cancer Institute is trying to find new effective treatments and methods for bone cancer. The future for bone cancer patients is very promising. Doctors and scientists are hoping to discover the cure for cancer in the next ten years.
Theories Of Corporate Social Responsibility Management Essay
Theories Of Corporate Social Responsibility Management Essay Introduction The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) shows to have become more important around the world. The role of business and the way it is perceived by society has gone through several changes throughout the history. Over time, until today, an increased awareness of the impact of business and its interaction with social and environmental issues have emerged. Companies are today obliged to some certain responsibilities in the society where they are active. The most basic responsibilities are laws and rules that they have to supply under. Organizations today are forced to show that their business stands for something more than just profits, and that their activities add some value, or at least do not negatively affect the community around them (Ledwidge, 2007). What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) CSR is a concept that has many different definitions and a concept that is growing in the corporate world today. Look in most journal articles and you can find the list. But do the people really understand what exactly means by corporate social responsibility? van Marrewijk, (2003) defined CSR is regarded as the panacea which will solve the global poverty gap, social exclusion and environmental degradation. Refer to a work by Abeysuriya et al, (2007), corporate social responsibility of CAR common purpose for facilitating the move towards a socially and ecologically sustainable future through voluntary business activities. Boyd et al, (2007) defined corporate social responsibility as general sense reflects obligations to society and stakeholders within societies impacted by the firm. Beckman et al, (2009) pointed out that CSR known as the organizations status and activities with respect to its perceived community responsibility. CSR is developing in the ethics, marketing, and management fields. The ethics consists of three types of issues i.e., macro-, meso- and micro-level based. The macro- and meso- refer to stakeholder engagement and micro- is center of specific such as code of ethics. van Marrewijk, (2003) defined CSR is regarded as the panacea which will solve the global poverty gap, social exclusion and environmental degradation. Ethical challenges Robinson et al, (2006) noted that one challenge entrepreneurs face is about how to define the ethical dilemma explicitly, so as to address it within the context of the entrepreneurial purpose. The ethical issues in business has to do with making the right choices and there is often no apparent single right way and may meet optimist expectations. Entrepreneurs are therefore frequently faced with choices in business that creates tensions between their need to be ethical and their desire to optimize profits. This tension may sometimes manifest as a fundamental choice between private gain and public good, though this is perhaps to simplistic a way to view the matter Robinson et al, (2006). The author noted that any decision where moral considerations are relevant may give rise to an ethical dilemma. In general, an ethical dilemma may result from a decision that: requires a choice between rules has no rule, precedent or example to follow morally requires two or more courses of action, which are practically incompatible should be taken (in self-interest), but which appears to violate a moral principle The process of Corporate Social Responsibility Figure 1: Phases and steps within the CSR process (Extracted from ORiordan and Fairbrass, 2008) ORiordan and Fairbrass, (2008) demonstrated the potential moves (CSR processes, phases, and steps diagram) in figure 1. According to the authors, there are two distinct stages can be identified i.e. strategy development and strategy implementation of CSR. The strategy development phase includes the following factors: Values which drive the strategy; Alternatives which encompass the various range of options available to decision makers (e.g. using an analogy from chess, the pieces on the board that are available to be moved); The strategy (or action) which is the ensuing results from the decisions taken in the two earlier steps of phase 1. The implementation phase marks stage two of the CSR process. It includes the factors: Implementation and control which involve the technical aspects of implementation at a more tactical level and the crucial step of control of the entire process (i.e. the feedback loop); Finally, the output step is included based on the rationale that a results-orientated approach is beneficial to ensure an effective and efficient use of managerial resources. Theoretical foundation Refer to Clark, (2000) CSR consists of four steps process i.e., awareness or recognition of an issue, analysis and planning, response intern of policy development and implementation. The process of CSR also includes environmental assessment, stakeholder management, and issues management. Becker-Olsen et al, (2006) mentioned that CSR a link between social initiatives and improved financial performance. According Besley and Ghatak, (2007) CSR is dependable with profit-maximization in competitive markets. In equilibrium firms sell ethical brands and neutral brands, and consumers self-select according to their valuation of the public good. According to Margolis et al, (2008) the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance across eight categories of CSR and found that different initiatives have significantly different impacts on financial performance. Pies et al, (2009) documented that the ordonomic approach can be used in business ethics to foster effective leadership skills and encourage CSR. The ordonomic perspective is a valuable framework for discussing the meaning and role of ethics in effective leadership and CSR in the age of globalization. The authors explained that the ordonomic approach provides a three-tiered conceptual framework for analyzing society and social interaction (refer to figure 2). Figure 2: the three-tiered conceptual framework of the ordonomic perspective (extacted from Pies et al, 2009) This framework distinguishes between the basic games of antagonistic social cooperation, the meta-games of social rule setting, and the meta-meta games of rule-finding discourse. The authors stated that the basic game of social interaction refers as cooperation is only made possible by the existence of institutions, i.e., rules. for mutual advantage. The meta game is rule-setting processes that are geared toward creating a mutually advantageous social structure. Finally, the meta-meta game serves as a rule-finding discourse. Its discursive practices aim at critically discussing semantics and with the goal of developing shared perceptions as to the social interdependence of the players (Pies et al, 2009). Levels of Corporate Social Responsibility Carroll (1991) stated that CSR consists of four level basic responsibilities to society i.e., economic, legal, ethical and discretionary. From these four level responsibilities, Carroll uses to build his CSR model (refer to figure 3). Philantropic Responsibilities Ethical Responsibilities Legal Responsibilities Economic Responsibilities Be a good corporate citizen. Contribute resources to the community; improve quality of life Be ethical. Obligation to do what is right, just and fair. Avoid harm Be profitable. The foundation upon which all others rest Obey the law. Law is societys codification of right and wrong. Play by rules of the game Figure 3: The pyramid of corporate social responsibility (Extracted from Caroll 1991) Refer to the Carrolls model, economic responsibility is the foundation of the pyramid. The next level involves legal responsibilities, which is followed by ethical responsibilities. At the top of the pyramid is philanthropic responsibilities which is to be the highest level of corporate responsibility. Economic and Legal Responsibilities Economic responsibilities mean that the core activity of a business is to provide goods and services. The legal responsibilities refer to companies cannot only focus on the profit motive; simultaneously they are expected to act in accordance with current laws and regulations transmitted by federal, state and local communities as the ground rules under which business should operate (Carroll, 1991). Table 1: Economic and Legal components of Corporate Social Responsibility (extracted from Carroll, 1991) Economic Components (Responsibilities) Legal Components (Responsibilities) 1. Perform in a manner consistent with maximizing earnings per share. 1. Perform in a manner consistent with expectations of government and law. 2. Be committed to being as profitable as possible. 2. Comply with various federal, state and local regulations. 3. Maintain a high level of operating efficiency. 3. Be a law-enduring corporate citizen. 4. Maintain a strong competitive position. 4. It is important that a successful firm is defined as one that fulfils its obligations. 5. It is important that a successful firm is defined as one that is consistently profitable. 5. Provide goods and services that at least meet minimal legal requirements. Ethical Responsibilities Refer to Caroll, (1991) ethical responsibilities represent standards, norms and expectations that consumers, employees, shareholders and the community look upon as fair, even though they are not transferable into laws. The ethical responsibility is the voluntarily responsibility by the company to act in a manner that is fair and justice and to avoid or at least minimize the risk that the shareholders of the company is affected in any negative manner. In the latest years the ethical responsibility has created high expectations on corporate managers and social pressure forces the companies to act in a manner that is far beyond their legal responsibilities. Philanthropic Responsibilities Philanthropic responsibility is always voluntarily and could be implemented through both devote the employees time and the companys money for the best of the society and always try to strive for improving the world around them. The societal approach indicates that companies are responsible to the society as a whole, of which they can be seen as an integral part (Carroll, 1991). Table 2 Ethical and Philanthropic components of Corporate Social Responsibility (extracted from Carroll, 1991) Ethical Components (Responsibilities) Philanthropic Components (Responsibilities) 1. Perform in a manner consistent with expectations of societal mores and ethical norms. 1. Perform in a manner consistent with the philanthropic and charitable expectations of society. 2. Recognize and respect new or evolving ethical moral norms adopted by society. 2. Assist the fine and performing arts. 3. Prevent ethical norms from being compromised in order to achieve corporate goals. 3. That managers and employees participate in voluntary and charitable activities within their local communities. 4. It is important that good corporate citizenship be defined as doing what is expected morally or ethically. 4. Provide assistance to private and public educational institutions. 5. Recognize that corporate integrity and ethical behaviour go beyond mere compliance with laws and regulations. 5. Assist voluntarily those projects that enhance a communitys quality of life. Different approached had been used by van Marrewijk, (2003) i.e, three theories about different levels of CSR (refer to figure 4). Figure 4: General model of CS/CR and its dimensions. (van Extracted from Marrewijk, 2003) According to van Marrewijk, (2003) there the ultimate objective of CSR is to obtain Social Sustainability. This cannot be achieved without the different levels of CSR, in economy, social and environmental issues. In the shareholder approach it is clear that the central aim for a company is the pursuit of profit maximization and that the social responsible activities are not concerned with the corporate body but are a major task for the government and the public sector. In this process CSR is only interesting in the way that it contributes to achieve he objectives of the company, which in the long run is profitability for the owners. Theories of Corporate Social Responsibility The implementation theories correspond to the basis to create a model that describes a CSR implementation process According to Carol, (1991) business and politics communities have been influenced by the globalisation process and the displacement of values from material to immaterial values that has taken place. Refer to a work by Garriga and Melà ©, (2004) CSR theories associated with four groups i.e., (table 3) Instrumental theories The corporation is used strategic tool for wealth creation. There are three main groups of instrumental theories which depend on the economic objectives. The three groups are; Maximizing the shareholder value According to the authors, any investment social demands that contribute to maximizing the shareholder without deception and fraud are include in this group. It has been noted that the shareholder value maximization as the supreme reference for corporate decision-making. Strategies for achieving competitive advantages Garriga and Melà ©, (2004) noted that this group of theories are concentrated on long term social objectives by knowing how to allocate resource and create a competitive advantage. There are three approaches can be included within this strategies i.e., social investments in competitive context, natural resource-based view of the firm and its dynamic capabilities and strategies for the bottom of the economic pyramid. Cause-related marketing Cause-related marketing refers as the process of formulating and implementing marketing activities and the goal is to enhance company revenues, sales or customer relationship by building the brand through the acquisition of, and association with the ethical dimension or social responsibility dimension (Garriga and Melà ©, 2004). Political theories The authors pointed out that political theories focus on interactions and connections between business and society and on the power of business and its inherent responsibility. There are two major theories can be distinguished through Corporate Constitutionalism and Corporate Citizenship Corporate Constitutionalism The authors mentioned that the firm has power to influence the equilibrium of the market. Social powers of the firm are internally and externally without destroy power. They channel organizational power in a supportive way and protect against unreasonable organizational power. Corporate Citizenship Corporate citizenship refers as responsibilities and possible partnerships of business in society. It has been reported that some theories on corporate citizenship are based on a social contract theory. Corporate citizenship theories generally have a strong sense of business responsibility towards the local community, partnerships which are the specific ways of formalizing the willingness to improve the local community and for consideration for the environment. (Garriga and Melà ©, 2004). Integrative theories According to the authors, the integrative theories depend to social demands for its existence continuity and growth. Social demands means society interacts with business and gives it a certain legitimacy and prestige. In addition, the authors noted that the theories of this group are focused on the detection and scanning of, and response to, the social demands that achieve social legitimacy, greater social acceptance and prestige. Issues management The concept of social responsiveness broadens with the concept of issue management which refers as a process for making a corporate response to social issues. Issues management is a process of the corporation can identify, evaluate and respond to those social and political issues which may impact significantly upon it. The principle of public responsibility Public policy consists of law, regulation and broad pattern of social direction reflected to public opinion, emerging issues, formal legal requirements and enforcement or implementation practices. Garriga and Melà ©, (2004) noted that if business adhered to the standards of performance in law and the existing public policy process, then it would be judged acceptably responsive in terms of social expectations. Stakeholder management Stakeholder management focuses on the public responsibility principle and combines groups with a stake in the firm into managerial decision making (Garriga and Melà ©, 2004). Corporate social performance Refer to Garriga and Melà ©, (2004) the corporate social performance theories includes social legitimacy with process for giving appropriate responses. The corporate social performance also include the principles of CSR, expressed on institutional, organizational and individual levels, processes of corporate social responsiveness, such as environmental assessment, stakeholder management and issues management, and outcomes of corporate behavior including social impacts, social programs and social policies. Ethical theories Garriga and Melà ©, (2004) documented that ethical theories focus on the ethical requirements that strengthen the relationship between business and society which is based on principles that express the right thing to do or the necessity to achieve a good society. Normative stakeholder theory The authors noted that the normative stakeholder theory is a way to integrate social demands. Normative stakeholder theory has a normative core based on two major ideas stakeholders are persons or groups with legitimate interests in procedural and/or substantive aspects of corporate activity (stakeholders are identified by their interests in the corporation, whether or not the corporation has any corresponding functional interest in them) and The interests of all stakeholders are of intrinsic value (that is, each group of stakeholders merits consideration for its own sake and not merely because of its ability to further the interests of some other group, such as the shareowners). Universal rights Universal rights (human rights) UN Global Compact includes in the area of human rights, labor rights and the environment protection as a basis for CSR. Sustainable development Sustainable development requires the integration of social, environmental, and economic considerations to make balanced judgments for the long term. In order to maintain the sustainable developmenet there is a need for the organizations aims and intentions be aligned with the organization strategy, as an appropriate response to the circumstances in which the organization operates (Garriga and Melà ©, 2004). Table 3: Corporate Social Responsibility Theories and related approaches (extracted from Garriga and Male, 2004) The common good approach Refer to the authors, this approach maintains that business, as with any other social group or individual in society, has to contribute to the common good, because it is a part of society and it shouldnt be harmful to society. Morimoto and Hope, (2005) are using Grounded Theory approach to undertake the complex issues CSR auditing. According to the authors the grounded theory is grounded in the data; developed from it by the analysis process and tested in the existing data for verification. It is systematic rigor and thoroughness from initial design, through data collection and analysis. Chih et al, (2009) institutional theory on CSR comprising a series of propositions specifying the conditions under which corporations are more (or less) likely to behave in socially responsible ways such as financial performance and economic environment, competition, legal environment, private regulation and the presence of independent organizations, business education environment, and employer-employee relations Another study by Frederiksen, (2009), the author had chosen two kinds of teleological moral theories, i.e. egoism and utilitarianism, and two kinds of deontological moral theories, i.e. libertarianism and common-sense morality and moral theory, i.e. utilitarianism and common-sense morality. From the authors finding, the companies act in CSR is not according to their CSR policies on goal-orientated teleological moral theories, such as ethical egoism or utilitarianism, but they prefer on duty based common-sense morality. In addition, managers mainly perform with goal-oriented teleological moral the ethical guidelines, utilitarianism and this theory is in disagreement with deontologically oriented theories i.e., common-sense morality. Teleological moral theories Egoism According to Frederiksen, (2009), CSR concerned with benefiting the company such as employees, the local community and companys self-interest. Ethical egoist refers to any kind of social arrangement that would be rational for their own best-interest. Therefore, egoism in a company should to do good or refrain from doing harm only if it is good for the company, normally meaning if it helps to maximize profit. Utilitarianism It has been stated that the relationship between CSR and utilitarians is companies have a moral obligation to promote the best possible outcome, i.e. maximise happiness from an impartial perspective. Impartiality refers as the one is impartial in relation to who the benefactor is and who the beneficiary is such as those who closely related to the company, employees (Frederiksen, 2009). Deontological moral theories Libertarianism The author noted that the relation of CSR and libertarianism, it is believe that companies have no moral obligation to positively help anyone; they are only morally obligated not to violate anyones negative rights. Common-sense morality The relationship between CSR and the common-sense orientation believe that companies have a moral obligation not to violate anyones rights and that they also have positive duties towards certain groups, such as employees, the local community and others closely related to the company. The author mentioned that common-sense moral principles seem to be principles concerning special obligations; for example special obligations towards shareholders or other closely related groups. Hsieh, (2009) documented that there are two prominent theories of corporate purpose i.e., stakeholder theory and corporate citizenship theory. Stakeholder theory The corporation ought to be managed for the benefit of all its stakeholders Corporate citizenship theory It emphasize business enterprises in respecting and defending human rights and in contributing to social welfare and human development within society Refer to Padgett RC, Galan JI, (2009), resource-based view (RBV) theory related to CSR in the sense of they can generate competitive advantages; the firm is also affected by external factors. RBV in the study of CSR is explained by the emphasis it places on the importance of specific intangible resources, such as know-how, corporate culture and reputation for firms to obtain competitive advantages. Table 4: In summary of Corporate Social Responsibility Theories Theories Types of theories Authors CSR theories associated with four groups Instrumental theories- strategic tool for wealth creation Political theories- on interactions and connections between business and society and on the power of business and its inherent responsibility Integrative theories- social demands for its existence continuity and growth. Ethical theories- ethical requirements that strengthen the relationship between business and society Garriga and Melà ©, (2004) Undertake complex issues regarding CSR auditing Grounded theory It is systematic rigor and thoroughness from initial design, through data collection and analysis. Morimoto and Hope, (2005) Institutional theory CSR comprising a series of propositions specifying the conditions under which corporations are more (or less) likely to behave in socially responsible ways such as financial performance and economic environment, competition, legal environment, private regulation and the presence of independent organizations, business education environment, and employer-employee relations Chih et al, (2009) CSR associated with two kinds of teleological moral theories and two kinds of deontological moral theories. Teleological moral theories Egoism Any kind of social arrangement that would be rational for their own best-interest to help maximize company profits. Utilitarianism To promote the best possible outcome, i.e. maximise happiness to those who closely related to the company, employees. Deontological moral theories Libertarianism The companies have no moral obligation to positively help anyone; they are only morally obligated not to violate anyones negative rights. Common-sense morality and moral theory Principles concerning special obligations not to violate anyones rights and that they also have positive duties towards certain groups; for example special obligations towards shareholders or other closely related groups. Frederiksen, (2009) There are two prominent theories of corporate purpose Stakeholder theory the corporation ought to be managed for the benefit of all its stakeholders Corporate citizenship theory It emphasize business enterprises in respecting and defending human rights and in contributing to social welfare and human development within society. Hsieh, (2009) Resource-based view (RBV) RBV theory allows to analyse the effect of RD intensity on CSR Resource-based view (RBV) theory Importance of specific intangible resources, such as know-how, corporate culture and reputation for firms to obtain competitive advantages. Padgett and Galan, (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility Implementation Marimoto et al, (2005) there are six key elements to the achievement of successful CSR are perceived as good stakeholder management, good corporate leadership greater priority for CSR at board level, integration of CSR into corporate policy at all levels and in all divisions of business, regulation at the national and international level understood and demonstrated across all areas of business, active involvement of, and good coordination between, government business, NGOs and civil society. Raps (2005) noted that in order to achieve successful implementation of CSR, there is a need to understand a long-term process that requires creativity and careful planning. The author pointed out ten critical points to overcome and improve the difficulties in the CSR implementation context. Commitment of top management Refer to Raps, (2005), the importance of having top-managers working hard to achieve the purpose of the strategy is crucial for the implementation to succeed. Top-managers must influence middle managers in order to get their true message forward; they cannot relay on and believe that the middle-managers perception of the implementation is the same as theirs. Involve middle managers valuable knowledge The author pointed out that to make use of the knowledge that middle managers possess and make sure they are involved increases their motivation and make them feel like they are a part of the process. This motivation boost is important for everyones everyday day work since the middle managers engagement increases the awareness of the implementation throughout the organization. Communication is what implementation is all about Refer to Raps, (2005) illustrates in his communication-model how it is possible to provide appropriate information regarding implementation throughout the organization (Figure 5). Figure 5: Issues to be addresses in the communications plan (Extracted with Raps 2005). Integrate point of view It is essential to see the implementation as a method used integrated within all aspects of the company. Traditionally implementation often overemphasizes the structural aspects e.g. organizational structure and disregards other existing components such as cultural aspects and human resources perspective. All of these aspects need to be taken into consideration to create an integrated measure for implementing activities (Raps, 2005). Clear assignment of responsibilities To avoid power struggles between departments and within hierarchies, there should be a plan with clear assignments of responsibilities regarding detailed implementation activities. This is a preventive way of proceeding. Responsibilities are clear and potential problems are therefore avoided (Raps, 2005) Preventive measures against barriers Change is a common phenomenon for companies today and the companies that are capable of handling change has a great advantage. The ability to manage change has become a core competency. A great challenge within strategy implementation is to deal with potential change barriers. Therefore, it is important to prevent these barriers and by changing the way they view and practice strategy implementation, senior executives can effectively transform change barriers into gateways for a successful execution (Raps, 2005). Emphasize teamwork activities Teamwork is an important part when implementing a strategy. It is however often forgotten when it comes down to implementation process activities (Raps, 2005). Respect the individualsà ´ different characteristics Human resources are valuable and intangible assets within a company. Latest studies indicate that HR is the key factor for successful implementation (Raps, 2005) Take advantage of supportive implementation instruments According to the author, there are two implementation instruments can be applied i.e., the balanced scorecard and the supportive software solution. The balanced scorecard provides a functionality to translate a companys strategic objectives into a coherent set of performance measures. In addition, it provides a framework to integrate the strategic planning and meets the requirements that the strategic planning system itself can display. The software solutions can be helpful to improve the quality of strategy implementation and provides clear assignments of responsibilities throughout the organizations implementation process. Calculate buffer time for unexpected incidents The author reported that the most important in strategy implementation is the exceeding of time restrictions. The important key is to find out the time-intense activities and harmonize with the time capac
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Social Interface :: science
Social Interface In the introduction of the book of Norman Long, ââ¬Å"Battlefields of Knowledgeâ⬠, Long states that theoretical and the application itself cannot be segregated into their respective venues. His book takes a different perspective specifically by not discriminating between the ââ¬Å"knowledge of understandingâ⬠and ââ¬Å"knowledge of action.â⬠Longââ¬â¢s book assumes that the theoretical and the pragmatic issues are so intimately entwined that it would be like separating melted ice from your coke. Long stresses that we must work on an actor-oriented approach where we can base new types of theorization and methodologies. The proposed model suggests that a theoretical technique be developed to take into account the actions of the actors and be able to construe them clearly. It also should show how different analyses work themselves out through accommodation and negotiation. By this method, we concentrate on the performer and recognize the multiple realities and diverse social practices of a variety of actors. The interaction between diverse social interests encourages social change and is essential when it comes to understanding development processes. The intersection where we have different social organization mixing with one another negotiating is called the interface. The interface is where the social systems interacts in their own worlds and where the different actors see their own realities and work on how to achieve certain goals they may have set for themselves or goals that the society they are in have been set for them. For this paper, I will attempt to process the relation of a drug addict under going rehab with his/her therapist through our actor oriented approach and hopefully something intelligent will come out. As stated above, the actors are the physician and the patient. It can be noted that such a small group may not produce much of a social change but from trivial matters arise serious obstacles. We may use this interface as to how our society views such a problem and tries to resolve it. Drug addiction in our country has recently become a growing concern for our citizen. Designer drugs have entered our country from illegal drug exporting countries like China or Thailand. And instead of enticing the usual mid-thirties demographic, these pushers peddle their merchandize to young teenagers ranging from twelve to twenty, most of them still easily influenced by their peers. In order to counter this new scourge that our society faces, we have set up rehabilitation centers or detoxification cente rs for the addicted ones.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Sisters in The Color Purple Essay -- Alice Walker
In The Color Purple, written by Alice Walker, Celie's life was falling apart. Due to her step-father's actions, she became pregnant and then quickly had her children whisked away from her. She was sent away to marry a man she didn't know, and experienced more hardships than many could even attempt to fathom. Thankfully, she had her dear sister, Nettie, to think of and lean on both mentally and emotionally even when she wasn't able to be with her physically. In the beginning, the girl's mother was very sick. Their step-father took charge of the household and he began abusing Celie. Celie, being the oldest, accepted the abuse as a duty and attempted to stand her ground. She wanted to remain strong in order to insure the safety of her younger sister, Nettie. For Celie, the strength she found in enduring the abuses of her step-father remained with her throughout her life. Celie silently held her emotions inside and didn?t speak up in opposition when horrible things were going on all around her. When her step-father wanted to marry her off to Mr. _____, all she could think about was Nettie?s safety, and she never said a single word against it, though she was greatly conflicted in her mind. After she had been married off to Mr. , his sisters came to visit. They liked Celie a lot saying, ?Good housekeeper, good with children, good cook. Brother couldn?t have done better if he tried.? They weren?t able to see all the activity going on inside Celie?s head, though. She absolutely abhorred living with Mr. _____ and his horrendous children, but she had the strength she acquired from protecting Nettie, and she utilized it to suppress her emotions and in doing so, protect her well-being. Nettie was able to teach Celie any thin... ... because they had adopted Celie?s children before they had met Nettie and suspected she might have been the mother. All of this, though, was unbeknownst to Nettie. These two sisters had such an impact on the paths their lives took through their relationship. They provided each other with the strength each required to trudge though the situations their lives laid before them. They taught each other many valuable life lessons and to show love to other people. Even though they were literally oceans apart, they provided each other with a support system of family and friends, and most importantly they gave each other hope. Hope for the present and hope for the future, a future together. If Celie and Nettie didn?t have the intimate relationship they did, they wouldn?t have been able to make it through the trials to finally reach the reward of a life together in the end.
Counterfactual Thinking Essay
The experience of regret arguably relies on a multifaceted, counterfactual analysis of two previously possible outcomes. An important question to consider is at what age these counterfactual emotions develop, and what enables these responses to occur. Previous research proposes that regret emerges at around 4 years old, marginally earlier than more recent studies conducted by Guttentag and Ferrell, who suggest that the experience of regret occurs relatively late in child development. The results of these studies argue that understanding, rather than simply experiencing counterfactual emotions relies heavily on a childââ¬â¢s ability to simultaneously conceive alternate realities, and that a recognition of differing outcomes is a necessary, rather than sufficient component of the development of regret. These findings accumulate and extend previous research, and demonstrate that the development of counterfactual thinking in children is positively correlated with a complex cognitive p rocessing of two alternate realities. The experience of regret and relief are counterfactual emotions based on a comparison of reality with a better, alternative situation. Counterfactual emotions are considered to perform important emotional regulatory functions, and require additional complex cognitive processing than more basic emotions such as anger, fear or happiness. They require us to consider ââ¬Ëdual possibilitiesââ¬â¢ (Byrne, 2002) in which both outcomes were possible at some point in the past. The ability to experience emotions such as regret isà believed to play an important role in decision-making following the emergence into adulthood. Significant differences however, exist between when children are thought to first experience regret. It is arguable that childrenââ¬â¢s understanding of regret develops relatively late due to the complex nature of not only comprehending counterfactual thinking (Guttentag and Ferrell, 2004), which requires an identification and comparison of two equally possible, alternate actions. If children are unable to generate these comparisons, they are unable to experience the emotion of regret. Little research has been done on the cognitive processes behind the emergence of regret in young children, and thus many questions still exist as to why the experience of counterfactual thinking develops relatively late in childhood. Many inconsistencies exist in the theoretical understandings of regret, and subsequently further research is required in order to overcome these age-related discrepancies. Counterfactual thinking refers to an ability to think ââ¬Å"about what could have been had an alternative decision been made or had the outcome been differentâ⬠(Roese, 1991). It is within the intriguing paradigm that the ongoing research into the experience of regret takes place. Recent findings have shed further light into the development of regret during the early years of childhood. Beck et al (2006) proposed the theoretical perspective that counterfactual emotions develop relatively late because it requires more complex cognitive processing to conceive two possible outcomes, as opposed to recognizing basic emotions of happiness and sadness. This perspective is widely agreed upon, however theories differ in the age at which the emotion of regret actually emerges. Daniel Weisberg (2001) located the emergence of regret at about 4 years, however Guttentag and Ferrell (2004) speculated that it was not until children are 6 or 7 years old that they are able to simultaneously comp rehend counterfactual and actual situations. Further research however, has revealed that within the emergence of counterfactual thinking, is a distinction between experiencing and reasoning about regret. The latter involves a reflection on the reasoning behind the emotion, i.e. _why_ does the child feel bad that he/she picked box ââ¬ËAââ¬â¢ containing nothing, when he/she could have picked box ââ¬ËBââ¬â¢, containing the chocolate. Experiencing regret however, involves a comparisonà of reality with a better, alternative outcome. Given that it is a difficult task to simultaneously comprehend two equally plausible realities, it must be even more difficult to understanding the reasoning behind _why_ this feels bad. Interestingly, although Guttentag and Ferrell (2004) located the experience of regret early in childhood, they argued that it wasnââ¬â¢t until later in life ââ¬â around 7 years old ââ¬â that a child was able to demonstrate _why_ an alternative reality might affect the emotional reaction to the actual outcome. Guttentag and Ferrell (2004) suggested that children less than 5 or 6 years old cannot generate a comparison between a real and counterfactual re ality. According to this perspective, the comparison between two previously possible outcomes is critical. In 2009, Beck and Crilly adapted this theory, and hypothesized that ââ¬Å"an inability to compare the two worlds limits childrenââ¬â¢s thinking about regret.â⬠(Beck, & Crilly 2009). Beck, Robinson, Carroll and Apperly (2006) proposed a similar perspective, arguing that it wasnââ¬â¢t until children were 5 or 6 years old that counterfactual and actual events were two equally plausible events. Studies conducted following this proposal revealed corresponding results. Children between the ages of 3 and 6 were asked an open and a closed question regarding the pathway chosen by a toy mouse. Children aged 3 found it difficult to correctly answer the question ââ¬Å"what if he had gone the other way, where would he be?â⬠as opposed to the simpler ââ¬Å"could he have gone anywhere else?â⬠Comparatively, children aged 6 and older performed significantly better, with 85% answering the open question correctly. Beck et al reasoned that regret could not be felt if the child had no understanding of the possibility of a counterfactual reality replacing the actual reality. In 2009, Beck and Crilly replicated these studies, but alternatively used an open question and a regret question to measure childrenââ¬â¢s ability to comprehend regret. The results indicated that, contrary to Beck et al, it is in fact not sufficient to simply distinguish two counterfactual possibilities in order for children to recognize regret. The study gave more weight to Guttentag and Ferrellââ¬â¢s 2004 claim that the comparison of two alternate realities is critical in the development of regret. Beck and Crilly (2009) went on to suggest that perhaps understanding two counterfactual realities was a necessary rather than sufficient developmental goal in the cognitive processing of regret. In 2003, Germanà and Nichols proposed that the experience of counterfactual thinking could occur as early as 4 years of age. In their study, a group of 3 year olds were given stories that involved two possible outcomes. When given the negative alternative, the children were asked whether the character in the story would feel happy or sad. German and Nichols reported that children answered more than two thirds of the simple counterfactual questions correctly . This data was used to theorize that children as young as 3 could comprehend basic counterfactual realities, and thus indicated the early emergence of regret. Although much discrepancy exists as the to the exact age at which regret begins to emerge, the view that counterfactual thinking develops much earlier than previously thought has become widely accepted amongst both cognitive and developmental psychologists. However, evidence exists that contradicts this perspective. Beck et al argue that the studies used by German and Nichols contain a number of false positives. Further research has suggested that the supposed counterfactual thinking demonstrated in the 3 year olds tested, could simply be use of the childââ¬â¢s general knowledge, and that the questions used were too simple to reliably indicate an experience of regret. Questions used in the experiment by German and Nichols arguably lead to answers that could be answered using the childââ¬â¢s general knowledge, such as recognizing that squashed flowers make people unhappy, and ââ¬Ëunsquashedââ¬â¢ flowers make people happy (Beck, Robison, Carroll, & Apperly 2006). Where German and Nichols may have revealed an emergence of counterfactual thinking; may simply have been the childââ¬â¢s expression of past experience. The most widely agreed upon theory of regret in childhood appears to be ability to not only distinguish two previously possible realities, but to also compare them in order to come to an emotional understanding. Theorists including Guttentag and Ferrell (2004), and Beck and Crilly (2009) argue that a distinction must be made between simply experiencing a counterfactual emotion, and understanding _why_ someone may feel unhappy when comparing the actual reality with a counterfactual world. This theory is based on the premise that counterfactual thinking is a complex cognitive process, requiring a multifaceted understanding of two dual possibilities. Research on counterfactual thinking in childhood also suggests children mayà experience regret as early as 4 years old, however this view has generated much criticism and requires further research in order to rule out experimental limitations, such as small research groups and over generalized questions. Future research may focus on overcoming these limitations in order to generate reliable data. Compiling the findings from these and future studies will enable researchers to form a much clearer of picture of exactly when children not only experience, but also understand the emotion of regret, and what cognitive processes underpin this development. In conclusion, research examining childrenââ¬â¢s regret has focused on the criticality of the moment children begin to comprehend two dual realities, and feel remorse after choosing one outcome over another. Current studies lend weight to the complex nature of the role of cognition in emotional experiences, and this data, taken in conj unction with earlier studies, suggests a number of age-related stepping stones are implicated in the development of counterfactual thinking. REFERENCE LIST Beck, R. S., & Crilly, M. (2009) Is understanding regret dependent on developments in counterfactual thinking? _British Journal of Developmental Psychology_. 27, 505-510. Beck, R. S., Riggs, J. K., & Burns, P. (2001) Multiple developments in counterfactual thinking. _Understanding Counterfactuals, Understanding Causation_. 2-21. Beck, S. R., Riggs, J. K., & Gorniak, L. S. (2009) The effect of casual length on counterfactual conditioning reasoning. _British Journal of Developmental Psychology_. Doi: 10.1348/026151009X450836. Beck, S. R., Robinson, E. J., Carroll, D. J., & Apperly, I. A. (2006) Childrenââ¬â¢s thinking about counterfactuals and future hypotheticals as possibilities. _Child Development._ 77, 413-426. Burns, P., Riggs, J. K., & Beck, R. S. (2012) Executive control and the experience of regret. _Journal of Experimental Child Psychology_. 111(3), 501-515. Doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2011.10.003. Brocki, K. C., & Bohlin, G. (2004) Executive functions in children aged 6-13: A dimensional and developmental study. _Developmental Neuropsychology_. 26, 571-593. Diamond, A. (2006) The early development of executive functions. _Lifespan Cognition: Mechanisms of Change_, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. 70-95. Ferrel, J. M., Guttentag, R. E., Gredlein, J. M. (2009) Childrenââ¬â¢s understanding of counterfactual emotions: Age differences, individual differences, and the effects of counterfactual-information salience. _British Journal of Developmental Psychology_. 27, 569-585. Guttentag, R. E., Ferrell, J. (2004) Reality compared with its alternatives: Age differences in judgments of regret and relief. _Developmental Psychology_. 40, 764-775. Mitchell, P., Riggs, K. J. (2000) Childrenââ¬â¢s reasoning and the mind. _Psychology Press_. 121-147. Oââ¬â¢Connor, E. (2011) The emergence of regret in childhood. _Pediatrics for Parents_. 27, 11-12. Oââ¬â¢Connor, E., McCormack, T., & Feeney, A. (2012). The development of regret. _Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,_ 111, 120-127. Doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2011.07.002. Roese, N. J. (1997) Counterfactaul thinking. _Psychological Bulletin_. 121, 133-148. Rafetseder, E., & Perner, J. (2011) When the alternative would have been better: Counterfactual reasoning and the emergence of regret. _Cognition and Emotion_, 26, 800-819. Rafetseder, E., Schwitalla, M., & Perner, J. (2012) Counterfactual reasoning: From childhood to adulthood. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 114(3), 389-404. Doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.10.010. Weisberg, D. P. (2011) Childrenââ¬â¢s thinking about regret and relief. _University of Birmingham (thesis)_. 56-83. Weisberg, D. P., & Beck, S. R. (2010) Childrenââ¬â¢s thinking about their own and otherââ¬â¢s regret and relief. _Journal of Experimental Child Psychology_. 106, 184-191. Weisberg, D. P., & Beck, S. R. (2011) The development of childrenââ¬â¢s regret and relief. _Cognition and Emotion._ 26, 820-835. Van Duijvenvoorder, K. C. A., Hulzenga, M. H., & Jansen, R. J. (2013) What is and what could have been: Experiencing regret and relief across childhood. _Cognition and Emotion_, 28, 926-935. Zeelenberg, M., Van Dkik, W. W., Manstead, A. S. R., & van der Pligt, J. (1998) The experience of regret and disappointment. _Cognition and Emotion_, 12, 221-230.
Monday, September 30, 2019
A Study on Internet Marketing Strategies Essay
A study on online marketing strategies used by new media entrepreneurs in India. S. Vivin RichardMs. Sri Jothi M. Sc Electronic Media,Lecturer Department of Media Sciences Department of Media Sciences College of Engineering,College of Engineering Anna University, Guindy. Anna University, Chennai Abstract: This research investigates the characteristics of online marketing strategies used by new media Entrepreneurs. This research helps to understand the nature and extent of business strategies used by successful online Entrepreneurs. Nowadays, most people prefer to get first-hand information from the internet. Being a terrific medium of communication, internet not only helps people to stay informed but gives them a fair idea about the consumer market as well. Hence, it is important to analyze and utilize the power of internet technology in the best possible manner. The need is to analyze and research needs of customers who come online to satisfy their wants. 1. 2. Introduction: Internet is primarily a source of communication, information and entertainment, but increasingly, it also acts as a vehicle for commercial transactions. Since the explosion of the web as a business medium, one of its primary uses has been for marketing. Soon, the web could become a critical distribution channel for the majority of successful enterprises. (Thompson 2002) In online world, companies try their best to make their products much more physically good that actually becomes the possession of life of a customer. The concentration of internet marketing is giving a similar experience to a customer ad help him/her to get the utmost satisfaction. Internet is a large repository of information, ever expanding database and a true knowledge hub. The impact of internet over people has grown over a period of time and people started trusting internet and they bank over the internet for major activities, be it personal, official and business related. Therefore this presents the perfect scenario for the entrepreneurs to market their products across the globe, to a large customer base that their sales force cannot even dream of identifying. Getting on the wings of internet technologies, organizations can easily enhance their overall worth by reaching to new heights of success. Online companies can engage in fruitful marketing activities by using effective new media marketing strategies to boost their product offering in the online market. 1. 1 Online marketing: Advertising in internet provides a major contribution to brand competition in the market. Advertising here not only provides information about a product or service but also promotes innovation. Besides it also facilitates consumer satisfaction. Big and small companies, individuals of all walks of life, major and minor events, concepts, etc. , nowadays lay their base on online marketing to get recognized in the market (Zarrella, 2010). When eBay was started, it was just a hobby, an experiment to see if people could use the Internet to be empowered through access to an efficient market. It was really about helping people connect around a sphere of interest so they could do business. â⬠(Pierre Omidyar, eBay) 1. 2 Aim and Objective * To study the new media marketing strategies used by dotcom Entrepreneurs in India and to determine the most effective practices for the same. To study the dotcom entrepreneurs and their strategies in India. * To analyze the new media marketing strategies used by dotcom entrepreneurs. To identify the different marketing strategies of business enterprises using new media technology. * To determine the effectiveness of new media marketing. 3. Literature Review Scott (2009) states the reasons for brand promoters preferring online web for marketing is that the tools, techniques and content are constantly evolving. The buyers reward creativity by responding to the online efforts like: ââ¬Å"If you are open to trying out new things, you can be first in your industry to use something new to communicate to your buyersâ⬠. The rules of marketing had to change and the web has proved a catalyst in bringing the changes forward and amplifying their scale. The sudden emergence of the Web 2. 0 marketing techniques demand additional approaches, while most marketers are still wrestling with the first generation, savvy brands are exploring the landscape that social media and social networks create for marketers. These techniques are allowing much deeper drivers in social change to be unleashed, with a profound impact on planning customer connections. The new generation of relationship marketing responds to the additional challenges of digital media literacy and in the right hands can trigger a rebuild of the entire marketing mix through different strategies. Relationship marketing for the Face book generation demands both thinking and acting differently (Chaffey 2003). Stroud (2007) says that the ability of social networking sites to generate these huge volumes of web traffic is proof of their huge popularity. Google, Yahoo and News International have bought themselves a presence in the social networking arena. The detailed rationale for these acquisitions differs but all have a common theme of wanting access to the enormous audiences. Visitors to online websties as well as social networking sites are significantly more likely than average to visit leisure-oriented retail site categories, such as music, jewelry/luxury goods/ accessories, consumer electronics and apparel. People typically enjoy sharing their experiences with these products, whether it is to talk about their new iPhone or the pair of designer jeans they just bought. Social networking sites offer the venue for those conversations to occur. Online media advertising is ideal for promoting brand recognition. Still, there is no doubt that advertising via online media sites is an effective way to increase your overall revenue stream (Brinlee, 2007). 3. 1 Research Methodology To analyze and find the effective use of online marketing strategy in developing a business online, and to find the effective marketing strategy used online by online Entrepreneurs. Communication was done with the survey method and content analysis in the research. Methods of Data Collection: The survey method helped in finding out the reach of the websites with their advertisements and marketing strategies which they use online to promote their business, and the ways of impact of the online marketing strategies. And the content analysis is another method used to analyse the different kind of communication strategy and marketing strategy used by the online entrepreneurs with certain parameters among the top 10 online e-commerce websites. 3. 1. 2 Research Design: This research study adopted survey and content analysis in order to find the effectiveness and the impact of the marketing strategies used in branding any product or the service among the target market through Flipkart. com, Futurebazaar. com and Naaptol. com with respect to international market group Amazon. com and ebay. in. 3. 2 Survey: Survey was conducted randomly among young adults community, by sending questionnaire through online to collect the individual opinion from the respondents. 3. 2. 1 Sampling Method Non probability sampling was used to collect the opinion from the online respondents. Purposive sampling method in non probability sampling was used to get the results. Questionnaire is used as a tool and online media is being planned to be taken as the medium of the findings. The total population is online media user community, but to collect the effective data the sampling is constrained to the target population like young adults, graduates within the age of 16 years to 40 years.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Twiga Cement
TWIGA CEMENT Twiga cement is a company of Tanzania that manufactures Portland cement. The companyââ¬â¢s objective is manufacturing, selling and distribution of high quality construction cement in Tanzania. Today the company remains the market leader in the cement industry in Tanzania. Twiga cement is produced in grades of Twiga Ordinary and Twiga Extra. The companyââ¬â¢s marketing environment consists of forces outside marketing that affect marketing managementââ¬â¢s ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers.Twiga cementââ¬â¢s marketing environment is made up of micro environment and macro environment. The micro environment consists of other actors close to the company that combine to form the companyââ¬â¢s value delivery network. The forces include internal environment, marketing intermediaries, competition, suppliers, publics and the customers. The companyââ¬â¢s internal environment consists of several departments and management levels as it influences marketing decision making.The marketing intermediaries which help the company to promote, sell, and distribute products to final buyers also affect the marketing decision making. They include resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing service agencies and financial intermediaries. All these work together in order to create customer value for the products produced. The company also faces stiff competition from competitors. The competitors tend to produce similar goods at a low cost making the company to take decisions in order to keep customers. Some of the competitors include Mbeya cement and Tanga cement companies.The companyââ¬â¢s suppliers also play a big part in the marketing environment. The companyââ¬â¢s marketing managers usually watch supply availability and costs which helps them in decision making. The resources needed for manufacturing are usually available and obtained at a low cost which increases the sales in the short run and creat es customer satisfaction in the long run. The companyââ¬â¢s marketing environment also includes various publics which have an actual or potential interest in or impact on the companyââ¬â¢s ability to achieve itââ¬â¢s objectives.The various publics include financial publics, media publics, government publics, local publics, general publics, and many others. For example the financial publics enable the company to obtain funds in order to run the production process as a result creating customer satisfaction. The companyââ¬â¢s marketing environment also includes the customers. Customers are the most important actors in the companyââ¬â¢s marketing environment. The aim of the entire value delivery system of the company is to serve target customers and create strong relationships with them.The company targets different types of customer markets which include consumer markets that is individuals and households, business markets that is buy goods for further processing, resell er markets that is buy the cement to resell at a profit, others include government markets and international markets. The companyââ¬â¢s macro environment consists of larger societal forces that affect the entire micro environment. The companyââ¬â¢s macro environment consists of; Demographic environment which is the study of human population in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, occupation, and other statistics.The demographic environment is of major interest to marketers of the company because it involves people and itââ¬â¢s the people that make up the market. There has been an increase on the sales due to rapid population growth and an increase on the market share for the goods produced by the company. The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns. The economic environment offers both opportunities and threats for the company enabling it to take decisions accordingly.Natural environment involves the nat ural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities. The company faces several trends in the natural environment which include shortage of raw materials, increased pollution and increased government intervention. The other factors that affect the marketing environment include the technological environment, political and social environment, and cultural environment.
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