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Behavioral Biases of Mutual Fund Investor
Main Points of the Paper
Warren Bailey, Alok Kumar, and Ng look at the effects of the biasness that investors display on the choices of mutual funds of a big sample of American discount brokerage utilizing newly incorporated components encompassing demographic and behavioral features of early researches, level of awareness on tax, familiarity of biasness regarding fund-level, and state of the news. The scholars realize upon completing their investigation that in many scenarios, investors who are behaviorally biased tend to take poor decisions regarding their frequency of trade, style of funding, the expenses, and the time, causing unexpected outcome. The study further discovers that emergence of different trends happens to be connected to behavioral biasness, and not from the managerial competence displayed in the past undertakings. The study by Bailey, Kumar, and Ng (1) holds that investors who are biased normally fall into stereotypes that can be grouped into the groups of a mature, narrow framer, overconfident, smart, and a gambler.
The researchers embark on the study after learning of the fact that studies in the past touching on the biasness related to investment only focus on individual stocks, and learning that individual investors usually depict some level of biasness when picking stocks. The investigators are primarily motivated by the fact that not much has been carried out to comprehend the connection between the biases individual investors have to their investment of funds mutually. The surveyors also get the desire to conduct the study after it becomes apparent that more individual investors are turning towards mutual funds to put their investment in the equity markets rather than trading in individual stocks. The data Bailey, Kumar, and Ng (1) give indicate that whereas individuals held nearly 47.8% of the market in the beginning of 1980, the number declined to 21.5% in the beginning of 2007. The drop is related to an upsurge in the state of mutual funds, from about 4.6% in the 1980s, to about 32% in 2007, thus making it quite essential to comprehend how individuals invest and trade in mutual funds (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 1).
The scholars embrace two aspects to study and understand the connections and effects of the choice of mutual funds and the biasness individuals tend to display. First, they carry out tests among individual investors, and estimations of several measures of behavioral biasness for every person in the sample are applied to narrate choices of individual investor across individual stocks, other forms of mutual funds, and index funds (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 2). The researchers also carry out tests to find out whether the biasness individuals display impact on the connections between the recent past performance in fund and trading choices because the biases could lead some investors to use information on performance inappropriately. The three scholars also carry out tests across dissimilar forms of funds, and summarize the period of investor holding by individuals as well as returns in mutual funding defined by the magnitude of behavioral biasness of every fund investor and the structure of fee (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 3). Bailey, Kumar, and Ng also evaluate a number of past documents to acquire much insight on the specific measures or tenets of the mutual fund decisions individual investors make.
The findings of Bailey, Kumar, and Ng are as follows. The investigators discover that investors who have relatively higher income, are more informed, are older, and have more experience make appropriate use of mutual funds, tend to hold a higher quantity of funds for longer periods, try to avoid high expenses, and in many situations achieve satisfying outcome (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 3). Investors who have strong biasness as part of their behavior, or who do not pay adequate attention to macro-economic content or who have high behavioral biasness are not highly likely to settle on mutual funds or settle on such an approach for no apparent reasons. The study discovers that when such traders acquire mutual funds, they frequently trade them, prefer active and higher expense funds to index funds, and happen to be timely with their purchases as well as sell so badly (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 3). The inquiry further revealed that biased investors tend to chase the performance of funds, thereby casting doubt as to whether the act of chasing trend really depicts a rational choice in selecting funds.
Behavioral Theories in the Paper
Reading the paper one gets to learn behavioral theories that influences the actions of individual investors and one of these influential theoretical concepts is the disposition effect, which is significant in influencing behavioral biases impacting on the selection of mutual fund. The disposition effects works in such a manner that investors tend to overestimate the anticipated period of holding, and to mistakenly choose higher front-end funds (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 2). Such an approach contrasts investors who have narrower framing biasness because such persons purchase without looking at the total effects of portfolio, and who tend to be much confident.
Critics and Weaknesses of the Paper
The paper presents vital insight on the possible factors that drive investors to prefer mutual funding as opposed to the individual investment that was trending in the past, which might be very essential to learners and other researchers as well. The writers try very much to be elaborate in their presentation, and this is the reason they choose a detailed narration approach. The paper is also effective in the way it employs statistical data to offer precise measures rather than sticking to theoretical approaches that may not be as informative as employing statistical evaluation (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 6). Other than the use of statistical data to make the study more real and convincing, the authors present their data using tables to help readers acquire the concept without much struggle or without having to spend a lot of time going through the whole document trying to locate specific points. Instead, the table presents vital components that help to acquire so much information within short period. The investigators also display proficiency in the paper by using numerous references to allow readers confirm what they read, and to present more opportunity to carry out further inquiry into the matter. Otherwise, the information in the article would not be as convincing if the authors did not reference their work. The authors also present the list sources they use thereby making it easy for readers to carry out further inquiry into the issue.
Even though the paper depicts some strong features, it is vital to understand some of the weaknesses that are evident in the scholarly work. One of the weaknesses is the paper is developed in such a manner that it might be difficult for undergraduates or individuals without adequate knowledge or prior insight to understand what the authors are trying to communicate. Other than using technical terms that may only suite graduate learners or researchers who look into a particular factor, the graphical presentations (tables) present statistical data that would require adequate knowledge to comprehend what the investigators present. Taking the example of table 8, which shows the behavioral biasness, the features of mutual fund portfolio, and the performance of portfolio, for example, employs a cross-section regression approach as well as the Sharpe ratio computational approach to analyze data, thus making the content not very easy for learners who are not at their advanced levels to understand with ease (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 19). The same applies to table 9, which shows the connection between the aggregated behavior biasness and other features, fund choices, and repercussions (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 21). Looking at the table, one might not deduce its meaning or exact requirements unless after going through a significant portion of the document and gets some assistance on how to interpret the data. Indeed, such level of complexity in the way the authors present the statistical data indicate the paper’s one form of weakness, which may keep some readers away from knowing what the authors present.
The other weakness is the study and its outcome is only bound within American individual investors, thus creating some form of uneasiness as to whether the outcome is a reflection the scenario across the globe. Bailey, Kumar and Ng make it clear that they only pay attention to individual investors in the U.S., and how behavioral biasness tend to impact on the individual decisions to have individual stocks rather than investing in mutual funds (Bailey, Kumar and Ng 24). The study, however, would be more enlightening if the investigators compared with other nations to affirm whether it is true that investors who have relatively higher income, levels of education, and experience in investment practices are likely to utilize mutual funds and get more benefits from taking such decisions. The inquiry would also be more enlightening if it compared with other nations to show whether persons with behavioral biasness that is so strong happen to embrace individual stocks and keep away from expense index funds that are low. Carrying out inquiries from other regions and affirming that investors with strong biases happen to trade more often, do not plan or time their purchases and sells well, invest in mutual funds, and do not prefer index funds (Isidore and Christie 73) would affirm that the argument in the paper in valid, and not only applicable in the U.S. Other than the weaknesses mentioned herein, the document is educative, and is enlightening to investors who may either want to put their investment in individual stocks or mutual funds.
Suggestions and Future Ideas
Investigators should not relent in their studies to acquire much insight on how such ways of investment could change or remain the same in the coming years. Investigators if possible should rely on past information to understand how the change is taking place, and should be willing to share information such that the findings are harmonized and not clashing so evidently. Coming up with harmonized findings will restore confidence among learners and any other group in need of such information, and would help investors understand the merits and demerits associated with both individual or investment in mutual funds (Jasmine and Basariya 46). Furthermore, future investigations should create a clear distinction on the merits and demerits of utilizing either way of investment to avoid the poor decision-making usually associated with investment of funds, either in individual stocks or mutual funds (Jasmine and Basariya 46). Other than clarifying the merits and demerits associated with each approach, the findings would be more convincing to the audience when scholars come together to carry out investigations over a wider scale and find out whether the outcome still holds. Repeated findings would suggest that the discovered outcome is valid, and no amount of alterations or inquiries would change the state of things.
Such reports would also be more enlightening when investigators spend considerable time presenting more features, rather than focusing on limited aspects as it appears with Bailey, Kumar and Ng who mostly pay attention on the biases pushing individuals to mutual funds. Investigators in the coming years, for instance, may choose to focus on the objectives that drive people to choose a particular investment plan as opposed to the other, and may also describe how investors could monitor the performance of their investment, to know whether they are headed towards the right direction. More importantly, future studies would be more educative and impactful if investigators offer insight on factors that exit load, which Trivedi, Swalin and Dash (215)describe as the cost investors are likely to incur when withdrawing some portion of their investment. Scholars in the field should not relent in their investigations to deliver outcomes and directives that are more effective and influential.
Works Cited
Bailey, Warren, Kumar Alok and Ng David. “Behavioral Biases of Mutual Fund Investors.”
Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 102, 2011, pp. 1-27.
Isidore, Renu and Christie Patrick. “Review of the Individual Equity Investor’s Behavior in the
Indian Context.” Ge-International Journal of Management Research, vol. 3, no. 6, 2015,
pp. 71-75.
Jasmine, Katherine and Basariya Rabiyathul. “A Study on the Customers Benefits on Mutual
Funds.” International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, vol. 9, no. 4, 2018,
pp. 45-48.
Trivedi, Rajesh, Swalin Prafulla, and Dash Manoranjan. “A Study of Investor’s Perception
Towards Mutual Fund Decision: An Indian Perspective.” International Journal of
Economic Research, vol. 14, no. 9, 2017, pp. 209-219.
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Comprehensive Plan Evaluation
Plan background
The Choctaw Comprehensive Plan of 2017 is the comprehensive plan for the city of Choctaw in Oklahoma country in the State of Oklahoma in the United States. The plan was adopted in 2017 after a 14-month development process and spans 20 years. This plan outlines the shared vision of the Choctaw City community and how it would be realized effectively. As such, this plan guides daily decision-making regarding the development of the City of Choctaw. The Choctaw City Council adopted the Choctaw Comprehensive Plan after the unanimous approval the city’s Planning Commission. An elaborate and participatory approval process for the comprehensive plan was undertaken through the stewardship of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), the City Council, and the Planning Commission.
Public participation was involved at all stages of the plan-making process because of the need to raise awareness, educate, get input, interact, and forge partnerships (Widener 31). The public was represented by residents of the city, business owners operating in the city, and a team of professional consultants, who are essential stakeholders (Kelly 94). The public engagement comprised of stakeholder interviews, an online survey, and public meetings. For the interviews, focus groups and one-on-one formats were used. Also, the interviewees were drawn from various community groups and organizations in the city that represented the policymakers, business community, schools, and professional bodies. An online survey was used to unearth the issues afflicting the city and the opportunities available. The study attracted 365 respondents who provided valuable feedback related to the needs of the city dwellers to the planning team. Various formats of public meeting were used including open house meetings and joint public hearings. Open house meeting allowed the community to engage freely with the planning team through the entire process of plan development. However, the public hearing allowed the public to witness the engagement between the planning teams and city leaders. Specifically, the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) would explain the planning process and present its drafts to the Planning Commission and the City Council for adoption.
Critical analysis of plan
Current and future conditions
The Choctaw Comprehensive Plan has clearly articulated the current and future conditions of the city. For instance, the population of Choctaw City was growing at 7.6 %, which was consistent with that of Oklahoma country (City of Choctaw 4). Most city dwellers were aged between 45 and 64 years and below 19 years, and as such, the proportion of the elderly was expected to increase in the future. This would increase the demand for facilities and services that cater to the elderly in the community. Although the city is sparsely populated, having 11,992 residents living in the space of about 70 square kilometers, it is located near Boeing Industries and Tinker Air Force Base who are the major employers in the region. Besides, it is a suburban city located near the populous Oklahoma City (City of Choctaw 15). Therefore, it is projected that the growth of Oklahoma City, Boeing Industries and Tinker Air Force Base would trickle into Choctaw City, increasing the demand for housing, road infrastructure and social amenities.
Plan goals
The goals of the Choctaw Comprehensive Plan of 2017 are guided by the vision statement, which states that, “If you’re looking for great quality of life, open green space, schools, and economic opportunities, Choctaw, Oklahoma is the place to be.” (City of Choctaw 17). The plan has eight goals that are articulated according to their focus. The goals focus on land use, transportation, infrastructure, public facilities, recreation, economic development, downtown revitalization and the livability of the city.
The land use goal is to meet the needs of the community through balanced land uses, maximize the revenues of the city and conserve its natural environment. The transportation goal is to construct and maintain a road infrastructure that facilitates the movement and connectivity in the city. Also, the road network should enhance safety and portray a positive image of the city to the visitors and the residents alike. The infrastructure goal aims at ensuring that the infrastructure system in Choctaw would serve the growing community.
The public facilities goal is to continue providing high-quality public services to a growing community in Choctaw while the recreation and open spaces goal aims at the provision of recreational amenities for the physical activities and entertainment of community members of all ages. The economic development goal is to attract business investments into the city and explore the financing options of improvement projects in Choctaw. Similarly, the downtown revitalization goal is the creation of a downtown area in Choctaw that is an attractive destination, and the livable city goal aims at ensuring that Choctaw is a desirable living place for people of all demographics.
The eight common goals of comprehensive planning focus on public health, public safety, circulation, public services and facilities, fiscal health, economics, environmental protection and redistribution (Widener 31). The goals in the Choctaw Comprehensive Plan are mostly consistent with the eight common goals of comprehensive planning. For instance, the land use goal of Choctaw has elements of environmental protection and fiscal health of the city. In addition, the transportation goal in the city plan has elements addressing the circulation, public safety and environmental protection goals in comprehensive planning. Moreover, the economic development goal in the Choctaw master plan contains aspects related to the economic, fiscal health and redistributive goals in a comprehensive plan. Altogether, each goal in the Choctaw Comprehensive Plan addresses multiple goals in a comprehensive plan.
Connection to goals
The Choctaw Comprehensive Plan makes proposal for the retrofitting sidewalks and bike lanes into the existing road infrastructure. This proposal addresses the transportation goal in the city plan. The retrofits address the constraints in movement and safety in the city because they will improve the mobility and safety of pedestrians and riders on the roads.
Another proposal is the development of an employer discount program that would attract investments into the city of Choctaw and in turn, increase employment, generate revenue and attract people to the city. This proposal connects with the economic development goal, which also focuses on attracting investments and enhancing revenue generation alongside providing financing options for developmental projects in the city.
The Choctaw Comprehensive Plan proposes the maintenance and improvement of the Lloyd Williamson, Choctaw Creek, Optimist, Tan Acre, Abts and Bouse parks to realize the recreation and open space goal. The maintenance of these parks aims at refurbishing the park equipment, which is dilapidated, while the park improvement program would modernize the park amenities. Some of the park improvement proposals include the construction of restroom facilities for golfers at the Choctaw Creek Park, providing a fishing pier at the Ten Acre Park and constructing a new pavilion at the Lloyd Williamson Park for community gatherings among others. Moreover, implementation of modern amenities for horseshoes, basketball and volleyballs is proposed for most of the parks in the city (City of Choctaw 97). These proposals would enable people of all ages to engage in physical activities and entertainment as part of the realization of the recreation and open space goal.
Works Cited
City of Choctaw. Choctaw Comprehensive Master Plan. 2017. Retrieved from https://mychoctaw.org/DocumentCenter/View/559/Choctaw-Comprehensive-Master-Plan-PDF. Accessed 30 September 2019
Kelly, Eric Damian. Community planning: An introduction to the comprehensive plan. Island Press, 2012.
Widener, Michael N. “Moderating citizen visioning in town comprehensive planning: deliberative dialog processes.” Wayne Law Review, vol.59, 2013, pp. 25-47.
Target Corporation
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Target Corporation
Target Corporation (Target) has displayed robust financial health in the retailing industry in the United States. The expansion of its online shop, as well as its store remodeling strategy, have yielded growth in sales. Similarly, investment in technology has improved operational efficiency and enhanced the customers’ shopping experience. Therefore, Target’s growth strategy is pegged on its ambitious investment program that focuses on repositioning its brand in a highly-competitive retail industry. Specifically, the reinvention of Target’s supply chain, enhancement of its fulfillment capabilities, and the reimagining of its stores yielded traffic growth. This increased the company’s comparable sales at an industry-leading proportion of 5 % in 2018 (Target, 2018). Besides, investments in technology delivered a 36-percent growth in digital sales by bringing in revenues of over 5 billion dollars in the same year. Without departing from its business model of being a discount retail outlet, Target seeks incremental improvements through the incorporation of technology to deliver sustainable profitability. The ensuing analysis delves into the organizational strategy, operational plan and significant financial events that are backed by an analysis of its financial statements since 2017. Future projects are also provided.
Background
Target Corporation is a retailing giant in the United States that specializes in selling discounted merchandise and groceries. Since its foundation in 1902, it has grown to become the eighth largest retailing chain in the United States in the highly-competitive retail industry. Target’s extensive supply chain, continuous innovation, a variety of fulfillment options and incorporation of technology have enabled it to provide its guests, as it refers to its customers, with an exciting shopping experience. Target reaches its guest through 1,844 stores and an online platform, which are supported by 40 distribution centers strewn all over the country and nearly 360,000 employees (Security and Exchange Commission, 2019). Besides, the company dedicates 5 % of its profits to society as part of its corporate social responsibility (Target, 2018).
Organizational vision, mission and financial goals
Target’s vision statement is, ‘Guided commitments to great value, the community, diversity, and the environment’. From its vision, Target prioritizes all-inclusive impacts and guided commitment to its brand. Itsmission statement is, ‘To make Target the preferred shopping destination for our guests by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experience by consistently fulfilling our Expect More- Pay Less brand promise’. As such, Target, focuses on pricing its merchandise reasonably, offering convenience to its customers and exceeding expectations. Financial goals include remaining sustainably profitable while investing sufficiently to maintain and expand its market share. By investing heavily to remodel existing stores, open new small-format stores and expand its online outlet, Target expects to increase its revenues over time and maintain robust financial health (Target, 2018).
Organizational structure
Target has a hierarchical organizational structure. However, it combines the functional and geographical structures by having 11 executive departmental vice presidents and regional managers under its chairperson and CEO, Brian Cornell, who reports to a board of directors. The functional organizational structure is evident in the top management of the company, while the regional and store managers are evidence of the geographical structure down the management rank. The functions captured in this structure include human resources, marketing, and digital, legal and risk, food and beverage, information, operations, strategy and innovation, stores, finance, merchandising, and external engagement (Target, 2018).
In its geographical structure, the country is divided into four regions, namely Northwest, West, Southeast and East, which are headed by senior vice presidents who report to the executive vice president in charge of store operations as the chief stores officer. Each senior vice president is in charge of all the stores and distribution centers in their region. Senior vice president also oversees the group directors who are in charge of the stores in their groups within a region. This hierarchy trickles down to store managers and employees, also called team members at the company. Altogether, while the hierarchical structure at Target provides a central command for the entire retail chain, it also allows regional autonomy, which makes stores responsive to the unique characteristics of their location (Target, 2018).
Although no significant changes in the company’s leadership occurred in 2018, 2019 saw the reassignment of senior managers and the creation of new positions to drive efficiencies and accelerate progress. For instance, the chief human resource officer, Stephanie Lundquist, was reassigned as the president of food and beverage. Similarly, the senior vice presidents of human resources, Mellissa Kremer, and communications, Katie Boylan, were promoted to the chief human resource officer and the chief communications officer, respectively. Similarly, new positions were created. For instance, enterprise data analytics and business intelligence were added to technology services under the chief information officer, Mike McNamara. The digital portfolio was added to marketing, to be headed by the chief marketing officer, Rick Gomez, who became the chief marketing and digital officer (Hulbert & Boylan, 2019). The inclusion of technology into the information and marketing dockets illustrated the company’s prioritization of technology in its business and growth strategies.
Strategy
Target’s business strategy is to refresh its brand continuously by modernizing its brick-and-mortar stores while expanding its online shop to enhance the customers’ shopping convenience and experience. As such, the company seeks incremental growth by leveraging innovation and technology to make it more responsive to the ever-changing customer preferences (Target, 2018). To this end, Target Corporation remodeled over 400 existing stores and looks forward to refurbishing another 600 by the close of 2020. Additionally, the company opened over 24 small-format stores, with plans to add another 30. The new additions are located on college campuses and urban locations that have a high customer traffic. Moreover, Target now offers Drive Up and same-day fulfillment of orders across the entire United States, making it the first retailer to do so in the country (Target, 2018). This was after it acquired Shipt, a same-day online delivery company, for 550 million dollars (Dignan, 2017). Besides, the company raised the minimum wage of its employees to an hourly rate of 12 dollars in 2018 and 13 dollars in 2019, and plans to increase this to 15 dollars per hour by 2020.
Another strategy is to grow digital sales by over 25 % annually. In keeping up with the technology use strategy, the company acquired Grand Junction, a transportation technology company, to improve its supply chain and delivery services (Dignan, 2017). In addition, Target has a social media presence through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Linked-In, and rss-feeds to drive traffic to its webpage and online shop (target.com). Besides, the company was using technology to link its stores to the online shop. Specifically, items bought online could be collected from a target store within an hour (Target, 2018). With these efforts, the company expects to continue surpassing the 25-percent digital growth rate in the future, and subsequently sustain its financial growth as well.
Financial analysis
Horizontal analysis
Target exhibited financial growth, as indicated in the 3.63-percent-increase in its total revenue between 2017 and 2018. Similarly, Target’s total assets grew by 4.1 % while it invested 65.5 % more in the refurbishment of its existing stores. Consequently, the net profits grew by 0.8 % while the earning per share increased by 4.3 % in the same period as illustrated in figure 1.
Table 1. Selected data from 2018 and 2017
Item2018 (million US$)2017 (million US$)Change (million US$)Change (%)Sales74,43371,7862,6473.69Total revenue75,35672,7142,6423.63Total assets40,30338, 7241,5794.1Capital expenditure on existing stores2,6991,6311,06865.5Net profits2,9372,914230.8Net earnings per share5.555.320.234.3
Source: Target (2018)
The 36 % growth in digital sales contributed significantly to the revenue growth in 2018, continuing the over 25-percent growth trend for the last five years. This can be attributed partly to the 65.5 percent increase in refurbishment expenses, which have included linking the stores to the online outlet.
Vertical analysis
In the vertical analysis, two or more items in Target’s financial statement of 2018 have been compared to inform about the financial health of the company. Table 2 presents the data that has been used alongside that in table 1 to measure, liquidity, profitability, leverage, and management efficiency. Specifically, the current ratio, net profit margin, return on assets, debt ratio, debt to equity ratio, inventory turnover and asset turnover are calculated and interpreted.
Table 2. Selected data from the 2018 financial report
Item2018 (million US$)Sales74,433Current assets12,540Total assets40,303Current liabilities13,052Total liabilities28,652Inventory8,597Cost of sales53,299Total shareholders’ investment (equity)11,651Net income2,937
Source: Target (2018)
Financial ratios
Liquidity ratio
Current ratio = current assets / current liabilities.
= 12,540 / 13,052
= 0.96
Performance ratios
Net profit margin = net income / sales
= 2,937 / 74,433
= 0.04
The net profit margin measures the profitability of a company.
Return on assets = net income / total assets
= 2,937 / 40,303
= 0.07
Evaluates the efficiently of management in using the company assets to generate revenue.
Leverage ratios
Debt ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets
= 28,652 / 40,303
= 0.71
Debt to equity ratio = total liabilities / Total shareholders’ investment
= 28,652 / 11,651
= 2.46
This indicates that Target relies on debt to finance its growth. Indeed, the company has been engaged in an ambitious initiative of remodeling more than 400 stores and opening over 24 small-format stores, which required debt financing.
Activity ratios
Inventory turnover = cost of sales / inventory
= 53,299 / 8,597
= 6.2
Asset turnover = sales / total assets
= 74,433 / 40,303
= 1.85
Interpretation of the financial ratios
Since the current ratio 0.96, which is very close to 1, Target has no problem repaying its liabilities because it has sufficient liquidity. The net profit margin was 4 % compared with the industry average of 1.33 % (CSI Market, 2019). However, the low margin is consistent with that of discount stores, which focus more on sale volumes rather than large profit margins. In addition, the return on assets (ROA) was 7 % compared to the industry average of 3.9 % (CSI Market, 2019). This is indicative of efficient management at the company, considering that the company still relies heavily on its capital-intensive brick-and-mortar store model.
The company’s debt ratio was 0.71, which is higher than the recommended value of 0.4. Moreover, the company’s debt to equity ratio was 2.46, which was higher than the average of online shops (0.52) and retail apparel (0.61) but lower than that of the entire retail industry of 8 % (CSI Market, 2019). This implies that although the company was heavily indebted due to its huge investments in its ambitious modernization strategy, it could service its debt comfortably if the investments yielded positive results rapidly.
From the asset turnover ratio, Target generated $ 1.85 from every dollar worth of assets. However, the company had an inventory ratio of 6.2, which means that it can sell its merchandise entirely and replace it 6.2 times every year. Although this value is indicative of fast-flowing merchandise, it is high enough to present the risk of running out of stock if products are sold out. Although this value was higher than the average in the department and discount retail industry of 6.59, it remained lower than the grocery industry average of 10.6, according to CSI Market (2019). Nonetheless, these values are indicative of the high reliance on inventory rather than company assets to generate revenues, which is consistent with the retail industry.
Future projections
The company CEO, Brian Cornell, informed shareholders and investors in 2017 that the company had earmarked 7 billion dollars, including 1 billion dollars of its annual profits, to grow its sales, increase its market share and respond to the changing preferences of customers in the next three years (Target Brands, 2019). Moreover, the company will continue leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, voice and data analytics to enhance customer targeting, engagement and personalization. Already, the application of new technologies had cost down the costs of fulfillment by 20 %, thus having the potential to improve the operational efficiency of the company and sustain its profitability in the future (Gagliordi, 2019). Besides, digital sales had grown by over 25 %, which was expected to be sustained by investments in technology.
Already, the company was engaging startup accelerators, specifically, the Metro Target Retail Accelerator and the Target Incubator, to reinforce its in-house data capabilities. From this initiative, the company would use the lessons learned to create new tools that would improve customer connection between the online and physical stores while providing real-time product personalization and recommendations (Milnes, 2019). In addition, the startup program was instrumental in creating new and innovative products that can be added to the company brand going forward. This program is expected to supply the company with new products and operational innovations in the future, to sustain its profitability and growth.
Conclusion
Target has continued to post a good performance as a significant player in the retail industry in the United States. Besides, its strong financial health and good reputation have enabled it to access internal and external financial resources to fund its ambitious improvement program. Considering that Target operates in a highly competitive retail environment, responsiveness to the changing customer preferences is essential. Therefore, the company has directed much of its capital towards the refurbishment of its existing stores, opening new stores with a small format, and using technology innovatively. Already, investments in technology are yielding significant growth in traffic and revenues. This has contributed to the financial health that was illustrated by the financial analysis. With the injection of 7 billion dollars into the improvement program, the company is focusing on improving its operational efficiency while increasing customer engagement, personalization, and shopping experience. As such, technology is expected to play a major role in driving the profitability and performance of Target in the future.
References
CSI Market (2019). Screening. Retrieved from https://csimarket.com/screening/index.php?s=it&pageI=5&fis=#tableind.
Dignan, L. (2017). Target buys Shipt for $550m, will offer same-day delivery on most stores by holiday 2018. CBS Interactive. Retrieved from https://www.zdnet.com/article/target-buys-shipt-for-550-million-will-offer-same-day-deliver-in-most-stores-by-holiday-2018/.
Gagliordi, N. (2019). Target’s digital efforts drove $5 billion in sales for 2018. CBS Interactive. Retrieved from https://www.zdnet.com/article/targets-digital-efforts-drove-5-billion-in-sales-for-2018/.
Hulbert, J. & Boylan, K. (2019). Target reports November/December sales, maintains full-year sales and EPS guidance – press release. Target Brands. Retrieved from https://corporate.target.com/press/releases/2019/01/target-reports-november-december-sales-maintains.
Milnes, H. (2019). How Target uses its startup accelerators to strengthen its in-house data capabilities. Digiday. Retrieved from https://digiday.com/retail/target-uses-startup-accelerators-strengthen-house-data-capabilities/.
Security and Exchange Commission (2019). Form 10-K: Target corporation. Retrieved from https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/27419/000002741919000006/tgt-20190202x10k.htm.
Target (2018). 2018 annual report. Target Corporation. Retrieved from https://corporate.target.com/annual-reports/2018.
Target Brands (2019). Investing to grow: Target commits more that $7 billion to adapt to rapidly evolving quest preferences. Retrieved from https://corporate.target.com/article/2017/02/financial-community-meeting.
Study of a Life Journey
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Study of a Life Journey
Mahatma Gandhi is renowned as the father of India having championed the independence of the country from British rule using nonviolent approaches,for which he is fondly referred to as Bapu in India, which is the Gujarati equivalent of father. Born Mohandas, Karamchand Gandhi in 1869, he was bestowed the title Mahatma that means ‘vulnerable’ or ‘high souled’ in 1914 because of his nonviolent approach to freedom and civil rights. He lived for 78 years after being assassinated in 1948 in New Delhi, the then capital of the dominion of India, which later became the present-day country India. Indeed, Gandhi lived during an era of western colonization, discrimination, violence meted out by two world wars, and civil rights pursuits (Gandhi, 2018). As such, he lived a full life having grown from childhood, through adolescence, adulthood and into late adulthood experiencing different aspects of political, social, economic, and religious and the psychological tensions these presented. Therefore, Gandhi’s his life can be analyzed across the different developmental stages that led to his maturity using a stage-based theory of development that suggests that human development progresses through the eight stages of development as advanced by Erik Erikson, a renowned psychologist. The analysis would not only reveal the utility of Erikson’s model but would also help identify the levels to which Gandhi managed to resolve the psychological conflicts he experienced throughout his life.
Summary of Life Journey
Gandhi was born into a polygamous Hindu family in Porbandar, with his mother, Putlibai, being the fourth wife of his father Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi, who was serving as a chief minister. As such, he spent his childhood and was reared in a political and religious environment considering that his father was a powerful political figure and his mother was a strong adherent of Vaishnavism, which is a Hindu religious practice that has a significant influence of Jainism (Mandelbaum, 1973). Despite having undergone a rudimental elementary education while developing his religious, political and life philosophies, his demeanor was characterized by general passivity, which was divergent from the regular childhood and adolescent growth and development trajectory. Indeed, he barely scraped through education as an average student during his youth although he managed to get a college education. Despite having interrupted college education in India in which he dropped out of Samaldas College, he managed to England to further his education against protests from his family, especially his mother and young wife, and become a lawyer. His lawyer career took him to South Africa in 1893 to offer his services to his cousin, Abdullah. Although he ended up staying for 21 years in the midst of racial discrimination, his political interests were only ignited when he came face-to-face with racial discrimination in which the whites oppressed the black and colored people in the country. His political interests saw Gandhi return to India in 1915 to assist in the country’s struggle for independence. His late adulthood was spent in religious activities, political mentorship and a humble immaterial life before he was assassinated in New Delhi in his way to evening prayers. His nonviolent approach to politics and immaterial approach to life saw him influence greatly the pursuit for civil rights and eradication of discrimination particularly in South Africa and India, and subsequently political and economic ideologies. Seclude
Analysis of the Development of Gandhi’s Life Using Erikson’s Theory
Erik Erikson advanced a stage-based theory of development that explains the 8 stages of development of a person in the maturation process. The theory also asserts that each stage of development is accompanied by specific psychological struggles that influence the personality of an individual. As such, exterior forces such as social, religious and economic systems influence the interior emotional life of an individual and as such, individuals undergo ego modification and personality changes as one progresses from one development a stage to another. However, although the developmental stages are interdependent because of the influence that one stage has on another later stage, the psychological conflicts experienced in one developmental stage do not have to be resolved before one proceeds to the next stage (Agronin, 2013).
The first stage is the prenatal and infancy stage in which a child experiences a psychological conflict between trust and mistrust (Agronin, 2013). Gandhi was very close to his mother during his infancy as his father was a busy chief minister (diwan) and having to juggle his polygamous life (Barresi & Juckes, 1997). In this regard, he learnt trust from his mother as a primary caregiver. This can be derived first, from the cultural practices of a caste-based society in which a mother and her newly-born child were secluded from the society, including the immediate family, for 40 days, which shielded Gandhi from the many realities of his society and life (Mandelbaum, 1973). Indeed, such seclusion was meant to protect the child from the pollution of birth and contamination from the society such that the mother was meant to care for the child until deemed fit enough to interact with the society. As such, Gandhi may have developed a mistrust of others in his community apart from his mother. During this time, Gandhi was acculturated to being conscious in his nutrition, his movements and the people he touched to safeguard the status of the people he loved and especially his mother. However, he developed much trust for his mother and gained hope that things would be okay, particularly due to her high religiosity, which allowed him to base his trust in spirituality and therefore have hope as a member of his society. Altogether, the psychological conflict between trust and mistrust in him may not have been completely resolved because while he adhered to the nutritional values and practices instilled by his mother, he remained unaccepting of the caste system in which some members were termed as untouchables.
Early childhood also known as toddlerhood is the second development stage in which the child struggles between autonomy and shame/self doubt (Agronin, 2013). During this time, Gandhi was exposed to the caste-culture and the numerous sanctions place by his society on food. It is from these experiences that he learnt that untouchables and meat were dirty. Indeed, he was later in life to disapprove of the caste system while continuing to embrace vegetarianism strictly. These notions were instilled by his society and his mother especially, which denied him of the independence of thought as many aspects of his life were dictate by the society, culture and religion. As such, Gandhi may have experienced more doubt than autonomy at this age, which not only entrenched his psychological conflict but also fostered his willingness to seek out the truth and develop a strong will later in life.
The third developmental stage occurs at the beginning of middle childhood, usually between the ages of four and five, in which the child experiences psychological conflicts between initiative and guilt (Agronin, 2013). Gandhi is said to have had a high level of motor energy, which became evident from restlessness and ability to stay awake for long hours while working (Mandelbaum, 1973). Therefore, his restlessness saw him take up initiatives in thought and action to explore the deviations from the norm, usually exhibited by his questioning and even humoring some of the customary practices such as vegetarianism and the touching of the untouchables. It is during this time that Gandhi stated exploring his purpose in life.
The fourth developmental stage that also occurs towards the end of the middle childhood, which ranges between the ages of 6 and the onset of puberty, is characterized by the confusion between industry and inferiority (Agronin, 2013). In this regard, he developed an industrious character. His indulgence in books and general passivity are indicative of his quest for competence rather that a purpose in life because he was not only expected to a suitable colonial employee later in life but was also expected to advance the family name in governmental service once this father retired.
Adolescence as the fifth stage is often characterized by the psychological conflict between identity and role confusion (Agronin, 2013). This stage is markedly characterized by a search for the identity of the individual and the identity crisis it presents as one struggles with the different roles. Gandhi clearly experienced role confusion because of the different roles he had to play at this age, notably, being a husband, being a friend to young Muslim and being a caregiver to his ailing father. Each of these roles influenced his psychological development profoundly, which was largely in conformance to the society norms in his community at the time. For instance, he married at an early age of 13 and his perceptions of sex and intimacy were developed and established at this time. Although he believed that sex was for procreation and not physical enjoyment and adhered to the strict Hindu teaching, he lustful thoughts of his wife that he could not enact, which may have left him with guilt feelings (Alter, 1996). Besides, the extended times he spent away from his wife such as the separation from his wife in the first five years of marriage as his customs demanded, the years he spent in England, and the time he spent in south Africa diminished the opportunity to enact his lustful thoughts while helping him to adhere to his religious tenets as well. In the same vein, Gandhi has a compelling wish to dominate his wife, who was illiterate and sexually immature. Although he managed to convince her to let him go to England, he was prohibited to exert his domination directly due to his lengthy separation from her physically, despite loving her deeply. In addition, befriending Mehtab, who was a Muslim, was opposed by his family although he chose to maintain his friendship over giving in to the wishes of his family. During this friendship, Gandhi indulged in meat eating against his customs, suspected the sexual fidelity of his wife and therefore was tempted to indulge in prostitutes, a temptation he withstood, and even lied to his parents, an action he regretted and apologized to his father for in writing. Clearly, his friendship with Mehtab was riddled with experimentation and temptations to violate his beliefs, and Mehtab epitomized his negative identity, which was a source of intense psychological tension in Gandhi. Moreover, he spent considerable time nursing his ailing father as the only son in the family and the future carrier of the Gandhi family name. In all these occasions, Gandhi stood out as having fidelity to family and religious beliefs and values although he was unable to resolve completely his role confusion during this stage.
The sixth stage is emerging or young adulthood in which conflict is experienced between intimacy and isolation (Agronin, 2013). Considering that Gandhi entered into marriage early as was the custom of arranged marriages, he did not have an opportunity to foster an intimate sexual relationship with his wife especially because he spent most of his young adult life away from home. In this regard, his intimacy was impaired. However, his high regard from truthfulness (ahimsa) and the confessions of his lies to his father seemed to endear him closely to his father (Mandelbaum, 1073). In addition, nursing his father for most of the time after his accident and injuries until his death developed his connection to his father. However, these situations also fostered isolation because the love and high regard for his wife and father were usually not enacted regularly and as such, his intimacy was most of the times confined to his mind, thus worsening the intimacy/isolation conflict. Interestingly, Gandhi was able to transfer his love to the course of Indians in South Africa and in his home country India, which gave him a sense of belongingness and thus prevented him from experiencing profound loneliness. Evidently, the resolution of the conflict between intimacy and isolation was resolved in Gandhi through the love he projected toward higher spheres of human life such as spirituality, humility and self-preservation rather that worldly love for human affection and material wealth.
Adulthood marks the seventh developmental stage, which is demarcated by life from the age of 40 to about 64 years when old age sets in. The psychological conflict afflicting an individual at this age, is between generativity and stagnation (Agronin, 2013). At this stage of life, Gandhi had already defined himself and understood his strengths such that his focus had transcended beyond self and was directed towards the caring of other and future generations. Using his intense energy and originality, Gandhi was able to dedicate his time to inspire others towards a collective development of their ego. Specifically, Gandhi was able to transform the negative and weak identity of his country people, the Indians, into a collective positive identity marked by the use of hunger strikes and nonviolent protests to break away from the colonial rule by the British (Carducci, 2009). In this regard, Gandhi was able to overcome stagnation in him and look forward to a bright future for his fellow Indians that was free from the British colonization (Dalton, 2012). As such, Gandhi was able to demonstrate his care for others alongside sacrifice of self through the self-denial of necessities such as food and material things such as wealth (Barresi & Juckes, 1997).
Lastly, the eighth stage of development is late adulthood or old age stage and the conflict at this stage is between integrity and despair (Agronin, 2013). During his old age and particularly in his 77th and 78th years, Gandhi dedicated much of his active life pursuing the reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims in India, and particularly the Bengal region. Nonetheless, Gandhi led a secluded and humble life as he aged, which was marked with a dramatic self-denial and the consolidation of his beliefs through numerous reflective writings (Dalton, 2012). He appeared to have come to terms with the possibility of death and was proudly going through the aging process as he commanded a deity-like respect from his country people and others in the world. His inability to reconcile the religious differences in India that even led to the partitioning of the country into Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim country and the rest of India which was predominantly Hindu was a cause of disappointment and regret for Gandhi, although it did not invoke despair (Dalton, 2012). From Erikson’s perspectives, Gandhi was able to document and share the wisdom he had accumulated throughout his, as demonstrated by his well acknowledged philosophies regarding various aspects of life such as economics, politics, and spirituality among others.
Effectiveness of Erikson’s Theory in Explaining Gandhi’s Psychological Development
Erikson’s theory is effective in explaining the psychological development of Gandhi at an early age but becomes difficult to apply in his adult life due to the unusual outcomes in his life. Specifically, the explanatory power of Erikson’s theory for the early stages of Gandhi’s life is evident in the demonstration of the psychological conflicts that Gandhi experienced and his ever-changing life trajectories. For instance, although Gandhi experienced psychological conflicts related to societal norms such as vegetarianism, sexuality suppression and the caste-system and even explored their violations, he was able to ingrain these beliefs deeply and continued to question them through the search for knowledge. Therefore, although Gandhi led a regular childhood by Indian cultural and socioeconomic standards the psychological conflict appeared to have been unresolved until much later in his life as illustrated by his steadfastness and focus of purpose.
However, Erikson’s theory provides a simplistic view of the adulthood of Gandhi and the psychological conflicts he experienced. The weakness of the theory is in its inability to explain why Gandhi made the choices he made in his adulthood considering that he found himself in challenging circumstances that brought in experiences that were different from those of his childhood. For instance, Erikson’s theory is not able to adequately explain Gandhi’s adolescence and young adulthood stages. Notably, although Gandhi developed a strong self-identity, it was often threatened by role confusion, which manifested in his adulthood. For instance, he was thrust into marriage life early and therefore had no opportunity to explore his sexual urges without the burden of being unfaithful to his wife. Indeed, he had many sexual fantasies and almost acted them out with prostitutes if it was not for his fear of lying.
In his young adulthood, Gandhi experienced both intimacy and isolation, and although he was able to sire children with one wife and remain with her without taking after the polygamous life of his father, he remained isolated and even became celibate to pursue his spiritual calling (Alter, 1996). In addition, he did not actively participate in parenting due to his lengthy absence from his family although he was a husband and father at a young age, and therefore it not clear how he overcame the intimacy/isolation conflict within the family setting. In fact, there is more evidence of social involvement and participation rather than that of his intimate and sexual relationships, which makes it difficult to apply Erikson’s theory at this stage. As such, it not clear whether Gandhi was ever able to resolve the intimacy/isolation conflict in Erikson’s terms. Contrastingly, the young adulthood of Gandhi was marked by self discovery and conflicting emotions about personal beliefs, which should have been resolved at an earlier age. For instance, his embarrassment about his vegetarianism while in England is an indication that his ego and self-identity were still under development and the British were important influencers. It is only after his vegetarianism was supported and validated did Gandhi feel strong enough to display it openly and even advocate it among his peers.
Conclusion
Erikson’s eight stages theory of psychological development provides insights into the psychological development of Mahatma Gandhi throughout his lifetime. The theory can be used to explain the psychological conflicts that Gandhi experienced at each developmental stage although it provides deeper insights for his childhood development as opposed to his development in adulthood. Gandhi did not have an ordinary life and therefore his psychological conflicts were not often resolved in the appropriate states, with some being left unresolved to later stages and some not at all. Yet, at the end, Gandhi comes out as an achieved and accomplished human being who managed to life a full life and self-actualize his aspirations.
References
Agronin, M. E. (2013). From Cicero to Cohen: Developmental theories of aging, from antiquity to the present. The Gentrologist, 54(1), 30-39.
Alter, J. S. (1996). Gandhi’s body, Gandhi’s truth: Nonviolence and the biomoral imperative of public health. The Journal of Asian Studies, 55(2), 301-322.
Barresi, J., & Juckes, T. J. (1997). Personology and the narrative interpretation of lives. Journal of Personality, 65(3), 693-719.
Carducci, B. J. (2009). The psychology of personality: Viewpoints, research, and applications. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Dalton, D. (2012). Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent power in action. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Gandhi, M. K. (2018). The story of my experiments with truth: An autobiography. Noida: Om Books International.
Mandelbaum, D. G. (1973). The study of life history: Gandhi. Current anthropology, 14(3), 177-206.
Resource Analysis on Substance Use and Abuse
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Resource Analysis on Substance Use and Abuse
Abstract
Drug and substance abuse has developed into an issue of global concern. It has effects on not only the individual users and drug addicts, but also their immediate families, communities, and the economy. While drugs can treat individuals of diseases, its misuse can also contribute to street violence, generation of crime, and other social harms. Substance use and abuse contributes to increased incidences of emergency room (ER) visits, which adversely affects the economy. Similarly, substance use and abuse leads to lost income when people do not participate in the labor force because they are indisposed or have to undergo drug rehabilitation and related therapies. For these reasons, the government and other non-governmental organizations and health care facilities have provided significant volumes of resources intended to raise awareness regarding substance use and abuse. Among the most popular resources are from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, the United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, among others. It is essential to analyze the sources of information to assess their authenticity, credibility, and effectiveness in addressing the needs of individuals who abuse substances.
Background
A pattern of recurrent alcohol or drug use that tends to interfere with social relationships, work, or health is described as “abuse” (World Health Organization, 2019). Psychoactive substance abuse can contribute to dependence syndrome, which represents a cluster of behavioral, physiological, and cognitive phenomena that manifest following repeated substance use. The phenomena typically involves a strong wish to use the drug, inability to control its usage, higher priority placed on the substance use over other obligations and activities, persistent use of the substance despite its detrimental consequences, increased tolerance of the substance, and often, a physical state of withdrawal (World Health Organization, 2019). Hence, researchers and health professionals have called for measures to prevent and mitigate the situation. Policies that influence the patterns and levels of substance use and associated harm can considerably decrease public health challenges attributable to substance abuse, and intercessions at the health care structure level can contribute to the restoration of health among affected people. One way of remedying the situation is availing pertinent information to the public and professionals on the topic. Here, it is important to analyze the authenticity, credibility, originality, and relevance of informational resources from various sources.
Substance abuse is an important theme because it directly affects the social and health wellbeing of individuals, their families, their communities, and by extension, their entire communities. Mostly, the effects of substance abuse and subsequent addiction pose challenges for the immediate family members (Appel et al., 2014). However, it is noteworthy to point out that the problems emanating from substance abuse are of cumulative, diverse proportions. It is never easy to ascertain or predict the precise effects that a repercussion of drug abuse or addiction could cause. There might be issues, which include suicides, crimes, homicides, child abuse, domestic violence, teenage pregnancies, physical fights, sexually transmitted diseases, and AIDS. While the sphere of nursing and abuse of illegal substances has made a significant, positive stride in handling matters associated with substance abuse, especially among the youth, it is clear that the issue has not been dealt with appropriately, thereby requiring heightened efforts. NIDA has data that demonstrates that, between 2004 and 2009, there was a significant decline in the utilization of methamphetamine among all grades from approximately 2.3 percent to1.6 percent (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). Simultaneously, the behavior of the groups under investigation changed positively, with regard to substance abuse and interventions. NIDA, as a federal government agency, is tasked with researching the requirements of the afflicted groups’ needs and recommending applicable solutions.
Resource Analysis
One of the most important sources of information on substance use is the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The institute, a United States (U.S.) federal-government research body was founded in 1974 and is tasked with leading the nation in “the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction” (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). The source is credible because it was instituted by the government and has a team of professional health researchers who produce reports on drug use consistently. The researchers comprise a multi-disciplinary team whose members are experts in their relative fields. Being a trusted institution, the information from the source can be utilized by both experts and laypersons in a variety of ways, including for general knowledge, deterrence, and acquisition of knowledge of novel and creative ways of deterring and addressing substance abuse.
The federal government, from taxpayers’ money, sponsors the NIDA website. Its parent organization is the National Institutes of Health and it has a yearly budget of 1.05 billion USD. The government supports NIDA through training and research grants, which are made available to individual or group researchers who study interventions to treat drug and substance abuse among different groups of people. The capacity to maintain information on substance use and treatment is important for various reasons. In the United States, family structures have become increasingly complex. They have advanced from the conventional nuclear family structure to foster families, single-parent families, multigenerational families, and stepfamilies (Appel et al., 2014). Consequently, when a family member utilizes substances, there is a ripple effect on the family, which could differ based on what particular form of family it is. Thus, it is pertinent that all members of society possess pertinent information regarding substance abuse and treatment, which is expensive. Treatment matters such as economic repercussions of substance abuse are essential, including studies on the psychological consequences that parents, spouses, children, and other relatives experience.
In terms of retrieving information from the website, the resources are on open access basis. Here, the implication is that any user can visit the website at any time to download, copy, read, and distribute resources. The resources are free and are accessible subject to the availability of internet connection. Besides, the website offers detailed information on the services that it offers. More specifically, the content of the website is quite diverse. The information ranges from statistics on substance abuse, including demographics, drug prevalence, areas most affected, and intervention measures being undertaken (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). Besides, the information is available in both digital and print forms; it is possible to download a report and print it for future reference or simply save a digital copy in a computer or mobile phone. The information is extensive, depending on the theme. Besides, the website has various links that lead to different information types when opened. However, the website does not have specific information regarding the types of people served and their numbers, which is something they ought to resolve.
NIDA offers various services to the population. It has supported various treatment interventions for drug and substance addiction (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). NIDA-supported investigations have contributed to the utilization of nicotine gums and patches for nicotine addiction therapy. Similarly, NIDA scientists have developed Levacetylmethadol (LAAM), which is applicable in the treatment of heroin addiction. The other treatments that have been made available because of NIDA-supported studies include bupreneorpine and naltrexone. Besides, NIDA has undertaken research into conditions linked to substance use, such as Hepatitis and AIDS. The body perceives drug therapy as a way of adjusting risky behavior like sharing of needles and unprotected sex. In addition, NIDA has funded research that address harm reduction. For example, a NIDA-supported research on pregnant substance abusers concluded that professionals in treatment and research ought to learn to settle for less since insisting on total abstinence might only exacerbate the issue.
To make the services more effective and accessible, various other professionals have to be included. First, social community workers are an integral component of the rehabilitation process (Appel et al., 2014). Often, when the government intervenes in matters of crisis, it does so through policies. Alterations of policies tend to contribute to different or new initiatives and programs being introduced at local levels. Therefore, changes in policy possess a flow-on upshot to all members of the community. Some examples of professionals whose input could be of importance include law enforcement, advocates, general practitioners, pharmacists, and schoolteachers. In particular, law enforcement officers are an important component because they help to deter the problem in communities through apprehending cartels that sell outlawed substances to the youth.
NIDA also offers another service that is quite controversial in the United States, which is the production of medical marijuana. NIDA possesses the monopoly of the production for research purposes (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). NIDA has been criticized for refusing to supply cannabis to medical marijuana researchers who had received all the mandatory federal clearances and permits (Pacula & Smart, 2017). Medical marijuana activists then alleged that NIDA is not a regulatory agency and therefore does not have the legal disposition to effectively determine or regulate who obtains and who does not obtain research rights to study medical marijuana. However, NIDA continues to be the supplier of medical marijuana for research. Besides, NIDA collaborates with other bodies and institutions to grow the country’s sole legal marijuana crop for clinical and investigation services. For example, NIDA has collaborated with the University of Mississippi to cultivate the crop. Similarly, NIDA provides anti-cannabis ad campaigns as one of its core services. The body contracted a research organization, Westat in 2005 with funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which conducted a five-year investigation of federal government ad promotions intended to dissuade teenagers from abusing cannabis (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). The campaigns between 1998 and 2004 had cost the taxpayers over $ 1 billion USD. The study established that the ad campaigns were not effective and that the most significant way to deter teenagers from marijuana use was through stronger anti-drug customs. Finally, NIDA publishes approximately 85 percent of the total global research on substance use and interventions (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). The implication is that the organization provides quality resources for industry stakeholders to use in innovating interventions for substance use.
From a personal opinion, the website source offers sufficient information for managing substance abuse. NIDA notes updates the readers regarding research progress in the root causes, prevention, consequences, and treatment available to drug addiction, abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Similarly, the website makes it possible for individuals to subscribe and subsequently, receive periodic updates on the same (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). Interest areas include prevention, public health, basic science, and treatment. Overall, the researchers try to utilize simple language that even laypersons can comprehend easily. Similarly, the use of colorful images appeals to curious people who might have visited the website unintentionally. The website has addressed various target groups as per demographics. For example, there is a section on the incident rate of substance abuse among teenagers, women, and men in different states and cities in the United States. The website draws attention to services such as treatment, rehabilitation, and social re-integration that are essential for remedying the situation.
Another website resource is the Journal of Food and Drug Analysis (JFDA), which is a database of peer-reviewed articles by researchers and experts in different disciplines associated with foods and drugs. Specifically, the JFDA is the certified peer-reviewed periodical of the Taiwanese Food and Drug Administration. It is an international journal committed to publishing original studies and review publications on analyses of drugs, food, cosmetics, and medical devices. The government, through the Department of Health, sponsors the website. Given that the products are innately involved in individuals’ daily lives, medical welfare, and health, the government has been endeavoring to facilitate organizational reform through concentrating on consumer health with regard to food and drug safety (Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, 2019). The journal accepts publication contributions in the form of case reports, original articles, and research notes, which are not being considered elsewhere for publication.
Consequently, the source is an accredited authority on the topic because of its insistence on originality from scholars in various fields. The journal is part of Elsevier, Inc. publications, which is globally renowned for groundbreaking research articles on many disciplines. The information is very detailed. The website applies a catalogue format where it classifies journals by topics and release dates. Using the search feature, it is easy to locate any relevant information as required. However, the website fails to provide statistics regarding the type and number of people who visit to acquire information. Thus, it is impossible to recognize such essential information. Despite this, the website offers relevant resources on substance abuse, including examples from research and current trends of intervention. The information is open access, which means that anyone can retrieve it from the website at no cost, at download, distribute, or copy at any time. Besides, the information is in both digital and print formats, which means that it can be retrieved and read later by experts and laypersons.
In my opinion, the website’s services are too technical and therefore do not satisfy the needs of individuals and institutions. In other words, the study resources on the website are targeted at people with advanced knowledge on food, drugs, and substances. Often, the groups to be served do not possess advanced knowledge and competencies, which is a shortcoming. It would be prudent for the website managers to consider accepting publications that are easier to understand. Besides, the website contains minimal images and diagrams, which further complicates matters.
For the services to be applicable, it is essential that it involve other professionals. Such professionals include pharmacists, who deal directly with drug dispensation, general practitioners who diagnose and prescribe medication therapies, and social workers who help in the rehabilitation initiatives. Similarly, because of the technical nature of the resources on the website, it is important to have reviewers who can assist the readers to authenticate the information provided by researchers.
The other resource is United States National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (NLM NIH). The NLM started with a few books in the early 19th century and has grown into a massive library that serves the resources needs of the entire country’s professionals (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2019). The website has many databases that serve different disciplines, for example, LocatorPlus, ClinicalTrials, MEDLINE, and MeSH, among others. The library collaborates with over 20 countries to maintain an impressive collection of material on various health topics, of which substance abuse and interventions is critical. The resources are from acknowledged authority, which include researchers and academicians.
In terms of sponsorship, the website gets its funding from research grants by the federal government, as well as from institutions of research, training, and learning. The information regarding services provided is quite detailed. It is segmented into categories of services, such as population groups, environmental health and toxicology, public health, nursing, and drugs and supplements, among others. The use of filters makes it easy for readers to select the specific product or service they want to learn about. However, the site does not contain information regarding the type and number of people who have visited it.
Conclusion
Substance abuse is a serious global concern that requires innovative solutions, which are derived from research. Researchers have studied how substance use affects the society and economy, but have not obtained a definitive solution that can eradicate the problem. Instead, most of the studies have tended to focus on the prevalence of substance use and addiction, as well as ramifications for society, but have not achieved much success in proposing interventions. Therefore, various online resources have attempted to offer detailed information and services to be used by relevant stakeholders, for instance, pharmacists, general practitioners, community social workers, and law enforcement. One prominent online resource with detailed information on substance abuse is the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The resource offers credible information on substance use, statistics, intervention services, and other pertinent information for readers. The information is free to everyone and can be retrieved, copied, downloaded, or distributed. The information is useful for people who desire to know more about substance abuse in the United States and those who will use the information to address the issue.
References
Appel, P., Ellison, A. A., Jansky, H. K., & Oldak, R. (2014). Barriers to enrollment in drug abuse treatment and suggestions for reducing them: Opinions of drug injecting street outreach clients and other system stakeholders. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 30(1), 129-53.
Journal of Food and Drug Analysis. (2019). Current issue. Retrieved from https://www.jfda-online.com/
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2019). The latest in NIDA drug abuse research. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/
Pacula, R. L., & Smart, R. (2017). Medical marijuana and marijuana legalization. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 13, 397–419. Doi: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045128.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019). News and Highlights. Retrieved from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/
World Health Organization. (2019). Substance abuse. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/topics/substance_abuse/en/
Questions for sex therapy
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Questions for sex therapy
Describe the four major trends in the practice of sex therapy. How have these trends impacted the professional field of sex therapy and counseling?
The four major trends in the practice of sex therapy that are emerging in the 21st century include, i) the preference for psychotherapy interventions over medical approaches, ii) the increasing use of mindfulness-based interventions, iii) continued expansion of inclusivity and iv) increasing inclusion of the couple’s perspective in addressing sexual dysfunctions (Weir, 2019). Each of these trends is having an impact of the professional field if sex therapy and counseling in the following ways. Firstly, the increasing focus on psychological interventions rather than medications is base on the increasing evidence that has demonstrated that sexual dysfunctions are often accompanied by psychological ramifications and that medical interventions also have some psychological effects as well. This has resulted in the conclusion that pharmaceuticals alone are not able to cure most of the sexual disorders that are experienced by both men and women. In addition, psychosocial interventions help address the risk factors associated with sexual dysfunctions and as such, may help in the prevention of the occurrence of sexual dysfunctions in the first place, hence diminishing the necessity for medication interventions. In this regard, sex therapy professionals is prioritizing sex education and counseling as ways of mitigating the emergence of sexual dysfunctions. Secondly, mindfulness-based interventions are increasing in sex therapy practice because of their broad applicability in addressing a wide variety of sexual problems and their effectiveness, when compared to other interventions. Mindfulness addresses the feeling of disconnection from one’s body and the lack of the sense of self that are experienced by people with sexual problems. Mindfulness is integrated into psychological interventions such as in the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in which the patients are taught how to connect with their bodies and erotic sensations by focusing in the present moment. Thirdly, inclusivity is being extended beyond the traditional stereotype of people that were predisposed to sexual problems as being middle and upper class married white couples. The realization that sexual problems can afflict anyone including those in same sex relationships has motivate the inclusion of minorities and the underserved segment of the population among sex therapy professionals. Fourthly, the couples’ perspective is permeating sex therapy practice because it has emerged that a sexual dysfunction in one person often affects the sexual partner. As such, sexual therapy professionals are increasingly treating sexual dysfunctions involving couples to improve the outcomes.
Summarize the sexual response cycle as applied to a very brief case study of your design
A young woman who has been married recently engages in regular sexual intercourse with her husband, and although their sex is not perfect, it is filled with discovery of erotic emotions and their differences in their partners. This woman experiences the sexual response cycle that occurs in four phases, namely excitement, plateau, organism and resolution (Todd, 2018). Her sexual response begins with the anticipation of engaging in sex with her partner in the evening and is characterized with the making of phone calls to her husband and the promise of a romantic diner. On arrival to her home, she embarks of preparing dinner and this triggers the first phase of the sexual response cycle; excitement. This phase persists through dinner with her husband and into the onset of foreplay. During this phase, she an increase in muscle tension, the hardening and erecting of her nipples, the flushing of her skin, the quickening of her heart rate and breathing, the and lubrication of her vagina. These feelings and changes increase as the foreplay intensifies. She then transits into the plateau phase at the onset of intercourse and continues until the onset of orgasm. During this phase, she experiences intensified changes that occurred in the excitement phase such as the tensioning of muscles and the occurrence of muscular spasms, the increased sensitivity of her clitoris accompanied by the increased swelling of her vagina and high rate of heartbeat and breathing. She then experiences organism which lasts for an extended period until her husband ejaculates. During this period, she experienced uncontrolled muscular contractions, gasping for breath, tightening of her virginal muscles and a forceful and sudden release of sexual tension. Thereafter, she enters the resolution phase in which she feels a heightened sense of satisfaction, intimacy and wellbeing.
Explain how Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) is diagnosed and treatment options.(two pages)
Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) is diagnosed using three approaches that are used to supplement a questionnaire, which include a structured interview using open-ended questions, a physical examination that is undertaken in a clinical setting an a laboratory investigation (Binik & Hall, 2014).
Usually, a questionnaire is used in the initial phases of diagnosis to provide baseline information such as the demographic details of the patient such as age, status of her sexual relationship and discernable symptoms of the disorder. This facilitates the gathering of initial information related to Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) in a patient while developing a rapport that would help the patient to open up for a candid discussion about her sexual problem. (Rogers et al., 2018).
A structured interview is used to gather detailed information about the patient and her sexual problem by undertaking a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment. The interview is administered using open ended questions that can allow the patient to expound on her responses about her history, observations, feelings, attitudes and perceptions related to sexuality and her sexual problem (Binik & Hall, 2014). The inclusion of the sexual partner in the interview either alone or together with the patient is vital because it enriches the information gathered. To this end, the assessment commences by gathering information related to the demographics of the patient, a complete medical history of the patient and the details of sexual and nonsexual relationship with her spouse, and the emotional and physical developmental history of the patient. The demographic information gathered includes the family of origin, and sociocultural environment that may have influenced her views about sexuality. The information of medical history should include the hormonal status and fluctuations, and the moods experienced by the patient over an extended period. Information related the perceptions of the partner about the symptoms of his partner are gathered at this stage. The developmental history will include information related to past sexual experiences. After that, the interview proceeds to unearth the deep-seated motivations, responses, techniques that are related to the sexual functioning of the patient using the Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (SIAD) criteria stipulated in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) regarding sexual dysfunctions. In this regard, the patient is considered to be sexually dysfunctional if she experiences at least three symptoms within a period of six months.
A physical examination that is undertaken by a gynecologist in a clinical setting aids diagnosis. The physical examination includes the evaluation of tone and voluntary control of the pelvic floor muscles, the presence of pain, infection, discharge and epithelial disorders of the pelvic organs, the size of introitus and the presence of vaginal atrophy. The physical examination also presents an opportunity to explore the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of the patient regarding her genitals and her body (Binik & Hall, 2014).
A laboratory investigation is used to determine the levels of estrogen, estradiol, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which may inform on the sexual dysfunction in a patient (Binik & Hall, 2014). Although this approach is rarely used, it can supplement the interview and the physical examination where findings from these are inadequate and inconclusive.
Treatment options include nonpharmecological and pharmacological treatment approaches. The nonpharmecological treatments, whose evidence of their effectiveness is increasing, include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). In turn, the pharmacological treatment approaches that are gaining consideration through investigations include the use of prostaglandins, α-andrenergic antagonists, dopaminergic agonists, hormonal treatment such as the use of melanocortin-stimulating hormones and nitrogen oxide delivery systems (Binik & Hall, 2014).
Explain in detail the discussion in the text about Male hypoactive sexual desire disorder versus hidden sexual desire disorder, for example what are the differences and similarities
Low sexual desire is a sexual dysfunction as categorized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) by the American Psychiatric Association and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) by the World Health Organization.
Low sexual desire in men is largely misunderstood and mysterious because it is manifested in two ways mainly, which are often confusing; low sexual desire and lack of sexual interest (Binik & Hall, 2014). Specifically sexual desire and sexual interest are often used interchangeably and therefore confused for each other. In this regard, hidden sexual desire disorder is often thought to be part of male hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) and therefore share many similarities owing to the low understanding of the desire mechanisms in men. One similarity between the two conditions is that they are both related to low sexual desire and therefore thought to be similar. As such low sexual desire is thought to be similar to, and inseparable from low sexual interest. For this reason, low sexual desire can result from low sexual interest. Secondly, the two conditions involve a complex interaction of psychological, biological, sociocultural and relational forces that influence the sexual health of the male individual (Binik & Hall, 2014). Therefore, distinguishing the two types of sexual disorders are often difficult to distinguish using the psychological, biological, sociocultural and relational factors unless there is full and candid disclosure by the male patient, which is often difficult to encounter. In many cases, men experiencing low sexual desire do not confess that they may be fulfilling their sexual desires through other avenues other than those involving their sexual partners. Indeed, in many occasions, the men attend clinical attention of the low desire issues from the insistence of their sexual partners or spouses regardless of the type of sexual dysfunction they may be experiencing.
However, with increasing evidence from research, the differences between male hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) and hidden sexual desire disorder have emerged and become recognizable. Specifically, it is now possible to differentiate hidden sexual desire disorder from male hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). Notably, the criteria for diagnosis of the male hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) provided by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) from the American Psychiatric Association helps distinguish between the two conditions. These criteria include firstly, the absence or deficiency of desire for sexual activity and sexual fantasy; secondly, the existence of the association to interpersonal conflict or marked distress; and thirdly, that the low desire is not attributed to substance abuse, or any major medical or psychiatric condition (Binik & Hall, 2014). In this regard, while the male hypoactive sexual desire disorder is often attributed to the lack of the desire for sexual activity accompanied by the absence of sexual fantasies, the hidden sexual desire disorder is accompanied by the presence of sexual fantasies that cannot be acted out with the current sexual partner. As such, the man experiences low sexual desire only when relating to his current sexual partner, and their sexual desire resumes when sexual activity is enacted with other sexual partners or under different circumstances other than those presented by his present sexual partner such as pornography, masturbation and extramarital activities. In addition, sexual attitudes may help differentiate between the two conditions, with the hidden sexual desire disorder differing from male hypoactive sexual desire disorder because of the general inability to engage in unusual sexual activity with female sexual partner that is harbored in his sexual fantasies. In this regard, the man is able to act out his sexual fantasies through other activities such as engagement in pornography and masturbation in the absence of partnered sex. As such, this individual lacks interest in normal sexual activity with female partners, which is dissimilar to the general lack of sexual interest in HSDD.
You have a client who is experiencing Delayed Ejaculation. Please explain what that means and describe what type of treatment might be indicated.( one page)
Delayed ejaculation is identified as a sexual disorder afflicting the men by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) from the American Psychiatric Association. Specifically, delayed ejaculation is the difficulty in men in ejaculating and experiencing orgasm in men (Binik & Hall, 2014). However, delayed ejaculation is not associated with the difficulty to attain or maintain erections as men afflicted with delayed ejaculation experience erections are able to engage in normal sexual activity and experience sexual pleasure.
For a man to be diagnosed with delayed ejaculation, two symptoms should be manifested together or individually. Firstly, the man should experience a marked delay in ejaculation in occasions ranging between 75 and 100 % of the occasions of sexual activities within a six-month period. Secondly, the man should experience a marked absence or infrequency of ejaculation in similar occasions for at least six months. It has been suggested that delayed ejaculation may caused by masturbation-relation issues such as high frequency of over three times a week, a disparity between the sexual fantasies preferred by the man during masturbation and the reality in partnered sex, and the engagement in idiosyncratic masturbatory styles (Binik & Hall, 2014).
Delayed ejaculation can be treated in a variety of ways in which masturbatory retraining is a pivotal aspect of the sex therapy. The treatment aims at reducing the anxiety of the man and his sex partner alongside the reduction of mutual recriminations. The ultimate goal of the delayed ejaculation therapy is to induce a higher level of psychosexual arousal within an experience that is satisfying to the man and his sex partner. In this regard, masturbation training engages in stimulation and self-exploration that helps the patient to identify his sexual arousal preferences. The masturbation exercises should progress from neutral to pleasurable sensations that are not accompanied by orgasm and fantasizing to eliminate the demand for performance and block thoughts the interfere with arousal respectively. In addition, autosexual orientation is used to remove the stigma associate with the withholding of sexual activity from a sex partner. Further, techniques for the reduction of general anxiety in the man are also effective in treating delayed ejaculation. Moreover, couple therapy is often incorporated in the treatment regime because it encourages the man and his sexual partner to share their sexual preferences with the aim of meeting their sexual needs mutually (Binik & Hall, 2014).
A couple has come to see you for sex therapy. Describe what you would say to them when explaining Genito-pelvic pain penetration disorder? (Remember, from one of our slides: Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder is new to the DSM-5 and combines the previous diagnoses of vaginismus and dyspareunia. You can use your text to answer this with presenting symptoms of vaginismus and/or dyspareunia) (two pages).
I would explain to them that genito-pelvic pain / penetration disorder (GPPPD) is a sexual disorder that afflicts women mostly, although some men may experience similar symptoms. I would tell them that it is a sexual dysfunction that is characterized by difficulty in having intercourse and the feeling of significant amounts of pain upon vaginal penetration, with the severity of the dysfunction ranging from the ability to experience vaginal penetration in one circumstance and not another to the total inability to experience the penetration of the vagina. In other words, the condition is a sexual dysfunction because it impairs the ability of the couple to engage in regular and healthy sex because it is accompanied by extreme pain, the inability to penetrate the vagina and the fear and anxiety that is associated with these difficulties. I would tell them that the disorder afflicts, particularly the experiencing of pain recurrently during intercourse afflicts about 15 % of women in the United States and therefore it is not such as rare occurrence, although when well diagnosed, it can be treated thus allowing the couple to resume having healthy, pleasurable and satisfying sexual intercourse.
I would explain to them the different manifestations of the genito-pelvic pain / penetration disorder and the complexity of differentiation between the different symptoms, which has seen the evolution of diagnostic criteria into what is currently used under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria from the American Psychiatric Association. Specifically, prior to 2013, the genito-pelvic pain / penetration disorder was known as sexual pain disorder which comprised of two conditions that manifested differently and therefore were categorized differently as vaginismus and dyspareunia as indicated in the fourth edition (DSM-IV-TRR). However, since the symptoms of vaginismus and dyspareunia overlap in many aspects, the diagnostic criteria was merged for the two under the new category that is now known as the genito-pelvic pain / penetration disorder as published in the fifth edition (DCM-5) (Binik & Hall, 2014).
To differentiate between vaginismus and dyspareunia, I would explain their distinguishing characteristics alongside the characteristic they share. Notably, vanigismus is a sexual problem that is characterized by the tightening of the vulva and specifically the pelvic floor muscles such that it prevents the insertion of any object into the vagina, including the penis. Usually, the tightening of the pelvic floor muscles is involuntary and occurs in the muscles surrounding one third of the outer end of the vagina, giving the semblance that the woman is a virgin, and therefore making sexual intercourse impossible or uncomfortable. Sometimes, the muscles in the rectum, the thighs and buttocks of the woman may undergo similar muscular contraction that is presented as severe vaginismus. These contractions can be induced by real, anticipated or imagined attempts to penetrate the vagina. On the other hand, dyspareunia is the extreme pain experienced by the woman during coitus and included discomfort that is persistent and recurrent during attempts or actual engagement in coitus. These two conditions can be categorized as primary, secondary, situational and complete depending with the severity and context of the condition. For instance, vaginismus is characterized by the involuntary spasm of the muscle at the opening of the vagina upon attempts to insert anything inside, while the secondary form, muscular contractions occur due to painful experiences related to the penetration of the vaginal, which can be real or imagined. Likewise, primary dyspareunia is indicated by the sensation of pain while the penis is inside the vagina during coitus while in the secondary form, pain is felt after the occurrence of comfortable coitus. In addition, the conditions are situational if the symptoms are experienced under certain circumstances and not others, while in the complete category, the symptoms are experiences in all circumstances.
Summarize what you believe are the most important parts of Chapter 14 Therapy with LGBTQ Clients to consider when working with LGBTQ+ clients
This chapter dwells on the perspectives that should be used by sex therapy professional when treating the sex problems among LGBTQ individuals. In this regard, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) community should be considered as a minority even in the manner in which sex therapy is conducted by sex therapy professionals. As such, although the member of this community experience many sexual problems that are similar to those of other people, the treatment of their problems should not be based on the heterosexual standards of healthy, ideal or normal sexuality. As such, the treatment should be focused on the improvement of sexual satisfaction rather than on the facilitating the LGBTQ individuals to accept or change their sexual orientation. Therefore, sex therapy should address the treatment of those with gender expression issues and atypical sexuality as well as those with sexual dysfunctions, thus making it inclusive. This can only be done if same sex behavior, feelings and attractions’ are viewed as a normal variant of human sexuality, as prescribed in the normal variance model and transgender or crossgender identity is not a psychiatric disorder (Binik & Hall, 2014).
Due to the challenges and complexities surrounding orientation such as the blurring of gender lines, the increasing overlap in LGBTQ assignments and the changing notions of fixed orientation and identity, the need to approach gender nonconformity is becoming more pertinent. Therefore, the use of DSM-5 diagnostic categories can be employed to diagnose sexual disorders because their workings are unbiased while sex therapists should consider paraphilias and gender atypicality as issues of concert to the LGBTQ community. However, the chapter goes on to outline the major sexuality issues that arise among lesbians, gay man, and bisexuals that would be useful to the sex therapist.
Describe what is meant by Gender Dysphoria. Is there a recommended treatment?
Gender dysphoria (GD) is the discomfort experienced by an individual that is related the discrepancy or incongruence between his or her biological gender and the expressed or experienced gender. The disconnection between the two gender perspectives should be profound for the condition to be termed as gender dysphoria. However, it is not necessarily a sexual dysfunction and controversy exists around whether the condition is a nonpsychiatric medical condition or a psychiatric disorder. People that are afflicted by gender dysphoria experience sense of discomfort and awkwardness towards the incongruence in their gender role alongside desiring to possess part or the whole body of the opposite sex. People with this condition also experience negative effects emanating from the incongruence in their natal gender and their expressed gender such as distress and/or impairment (Binik & Hall, 2014).
The treatment of gender dysphoria is implemented differently for children, adolescents and adults. For children, the three approaches commonly used include psychosocial treatment approaches, the watchful waiting approach and the facilitation of early gender social transition using psychosocial support. Among adolescents, biomedical treatment approaches are used to address gender dysphoria, and involve the gradual reassignment of sex using hormonal medications that are prescribed to delay or suppress the inset of somatic puberty before the age of 16 years, cross-sex hormonal therapy at the age of 16, and sex change surgery once the adolescent reaches the majority age. However, if there is comorbidity between gender dysphoria and psychiatric disorders such as severe trauma from sexual abuse, borderline personality disorder and autism spectrum disorder, the treatment of the psychiatric disorder may help the dissipation of gender dysphoria. In adults, gender dysphoria is treated using hormone therapy and surgical sex change.
Summarize what you believe are the most important parts of Chapter 15 Culturally Sensitive Sex Therapy to consider when working with clients from a culture different than your own
This chapter emphasizes the importance of cultural consideration when addressing sexuality issues and undertaking treatment for sexual problems because people come from diverse cultures, some of which do not have sexual perceptions similar to those of the western population. Therefore, this chapter calls for the diversification of perceptions and approaches to accommodate the cultural and ethnic minorities who are often underserved by the sexual therapy regimes, which are premised on the western-defined sexual dysfunctions and therapeutic approaches (Binik & Hall, 2014).
The chapter dwells on the influence of culture on sexual dysfunction such as the phenomenology of symptoms, the syndromization of symptoms into patterns and the diagnostic processes and goes on to notes that the diagnostic criteria for sexual dysfunctions provided by DSM-5 is inclusive of cultural considerations. In this regard, cultural sensitivity rather than cultural competence among sex therapists is thought to lead to better sex therapy outcomes. In this regard, the mutual understanding of the meaning of the sexual problem by the therapist and the patient, who may be an individual or a couple, requires cultural sensitivity rather cultural competence because culturally sensitive treatments have been evidenced to be effective. From this understanding, sex therapists are advised tailor their sex therapy techniques culturally because culture should be considered as a potential source of strength and not a source of problems alone (Binik & Hall, 2014).
The chapter also dwells on the importance of expanding the application of sexual therapy to cultures that are not aware of such approaches of in cultures that still harbor and practice harmful cultural beliefs and practices that often worsen the sexual problems and make treatment ineffective. In this regard, practices such as sex trafficking of children and women, forced marriages, female genital mutilation and culturally-sanctioned make violence against women are some of the harm cultural practices that cause sexual dysfunctions and make their treatment ineffective (Binik & Hall, 2014).
Summarize what you believe are the most important parts of Chapter 17 The Treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions in Survivors of Abuse to consider when working with Survivors of Abuse
This chapter dwells on the challenges presented by sexual abuse when addressing the causes and treatments of sexual dysfunction among individuals that have been sexually abused especially during their childhood. Importantly, the sexual therapist is advised not to make assumptions that the sexual dysfunctions afflicting an individual who has undergone sexual abuse have been cause by the abuse; such conclusions should only arrived at after the information gathered indicates that the patient fits the clinical profile of the sexual abuse survivors who have experienced sexual problems. In this regard, although sexual dysfunction and sexual abuses are associated significantly patients of sexual dysfunction that have undergone sexual abuse also experience other psychological disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, borderline personality disorders and other anxiety disorders (Binik & Hall, 2014). However, adults exhibit a significant relationship between their sexual functioning and sexual abuse and as such; their sexual dysfunction can be closely correlated to the sexual abuse they have experienced as adults. However, in children, the development of sexual dysfunction is preceded by child sexual abuse, considering that children may be sexually abused before they become sexually mature.
The diagnosis of sexual dysfunction in survivors of sexual abuse is supported largely by the DSM-5 diagnosis criteria although some symptoms such as having unwanted sexual abuse fantasies or engaging in promiscuous and risky sexual behavior is not accounted for in the diagnostic criteria (Binik & Hall, 2014). As such, sex therapists are advices to gather as much information as possible about the history of the patient regarding the sexual abuse experiences, sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction. In this regard, the article brings to the attention of sex therapists to the importance of delving comprehensively into the history of sexual satisfaction even for patients that do not confess having sexual problems because the capturing of sexual difficulties among sex abuse survivors is incomplete when using the sexual abuse definitions that are currently in use. In the same vein, diagnosis is also complicated by the negative connotation accompanying the sexual abuse label and therefore, patients often have difficulties in revealing the occurrences of sexual abuse during interviews. Considering that information about sexual abuse experiences may shed light on the causes of sexual dysfunctions, sex therapists are advised to use non-judgmental and supportive language with carefully chosen words that are devoid of the term ‘sexual abuse’ and other intimidating or degrading terms alongside exhibiting patience during the interview. In this regard, therapists are advised to look out for the patient’s perceptions of abusive experiences as being pleasurable and with this, the positive experience associated with some sexual abuse occurrences, the association of sexual abuse with love especially if the abuse occurred during childhood, and the acceptance of sexual abuse due to socialization.
The chapter also goes on to emphasize on the importance of the consideration of the various forms of abuse during the formulation of a sexual dysfunction treatment plan, considering that sexual abuse commonly occurs alongside psychiatric conditions. While sexual dysfunctions and psychiatric conditions require to be treated in survivors of sexual abuse, the sex therapist is often left with the decision about which condition to address before the other, although it has been evidenced that the treatment of some types of psychiatric conditions may lead to the disappearance of some sexual dysfunctions.
References
Binik, Y. M., & Hall, K. S. (Eds.). (2014). Principles and practice of sex therapy. Guilford Publications.
Rogers, R. G., Pauls, R. N., Thakar, R., Morin, M., Kuhn, A., Petri, E., … & Lee, J. (2018). An international Urogynecological association (IUGA)/international continence society (ICS) joint report on the terminology for the assessment of sexual health of women with pelvic floor dysfunction. International urogynecology journal, 29(5), 647-666.
Todd, N. (2018). Your guide to the sexual response cycle. WebMD. Retrieved 19 July 2019 from https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/sexual-health-your-guide-to-sexual-response-cycle#1.
Weir, K. (2019). Sex therapy for the 21st century: five emerging directions. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 19 July 2019 from https://www.apa.org/education/ce/sex-therapy.pdf.
Case Study: End of Life Decisions
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Case Study: End of Life Decisions
Healthcare practitioners continuously encounter the end of life decisions amid advancing medical technologies. Patients with devastating and terminal diseases have access to pain management and life-prolonging solutions through palliative care. However, ethical dilemmas surface when patients contemplate ending life through euthanasia. Caregivers are confronted with the moral justification of supporting or not supporting a patient’s wishes. The Christian worldview provides a foundation upon which end-of-life decisions can be made and morally justified. George has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is a degenerative disease without a cure. He is contemplating euthanasia to avoid his suffering and reduce the burden on his caregivers. It George adheres to the Christian worldview, he is likely not to sanction euthanasia until it is the last resort after exploring all other options. In the ensuing case study, George’s interpretations of his condition are explored and interpreted through Christian concepts such as the fallenness of the world and hope of resurrection. The Christian worldview is used to explore his justifications for euthanasia based on his views about the value of his life.
Degenerative diseases are debilitating to the body, mind and spirit of a person, and evoke numerous spiritual questions and dilemmas. For George, the temptation would be to accuse God of allowing him to suffer despite having been a good person to others all his life. However, such a perspective would blind George from seeing God’s sovereignty and believing that God is in control (Hill, 2018). Therefore, George would interpret his suffering by reconciling two perspectives that would comfort him as he contemplates life with a degenerative disease. On one side, George was created in the image of God, which is without fault and displays God’s splendor. On the other hand, his suffering is part of the original sentence to the fallen man, which faulted God’s unique design. However, fallenness and sinfulness are inseparable. As such, both are punished with suffering and ultimately, death. Therefore, George should be comforted by accepting that his disease is one of the manifestations of the fallenness of humanity, similar to any other human suffering, including death (Smith, 2011). In this light, George would not interpret his suffering as being caused by any sins he may have committed in his life but rather as a consequence of the original sin that led to man fallenness (Smith, 2011). Such an interpretation would allow George to display God’s work and glory rather than God’s wrath. It would also bring acceptance of the disease as being inevitable, instead of the guilt and anger that God was punishing personal wrongdoings. Although as fallen creatures, George understands that he cannot achieve God’s view, he can view his suffering as a chance to display God’s magnificence (Smith, 2011).
While suffering is a legacy of the fallenness of humanity, the resurrection of Christ is the atonement for the original and subsequent sins. Subsequently, resurrection provides hope to every person that believes in Christ, regardless of his or her sins (Kirby, 2019). Therefore, George would view his suffering as the path to eternal life, which is the ultimate price promised by God. Christ was able to endure his suffering and imminent death during crucifixion because he believed in the promise of resurrection from his Father. Likewise, George would feel motivated to bear his disease and suffering with courage by the hope of resurrection in the afterlife. Resurrection promises the ending of suffering, hunger, and want. It also promises an eternal presence in God’s splendor (Kirby, 2019). Therefore, by bearing the suffering bravely from disease and the looming death, George would be guaranteed resurrection and ascension to paradise. The hope of the resurrection is particularly useful for bearing the long-lasting suffering from a terminal disease. Indeed, the degenerative nature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and its lack of cure make death a real eventuality and resurrection a vital reassurance of the eternal end of suffering. To George, the hope of resurrection would be an invitation to view the big picture of existence beyond suffering, sorrow and pain (Kirby, 2019). This expectation would bring George spiritual peace and freedom that would help him bear the ailment. Moreover, suffering provides George with an opportunity to turn towards God and contemplate his master plan for humanity.
George will embrace his condition and life as a precious gift from God if he uses the Christian world view. As such, the purpose of God is revealed in the ability to overcome human frailties such as disease and returning humans to their designed life path, that of glorifying God (Hill, 2018). Moreover, such as viewpoint would inspire him to spend the remaining days of his life in a godly manner, that is, being of more service to others, helping spread the knowledge of God and enjoying life. This would alleviate his suffering and bring peace to his remaining days. A Christian worldview is a framework that conceptualizes the world from a Christian or biblical standpoint (Blevins, 2018). Worldview elements such as the view of human nature and the good life help shape the view about the value of life as a person. Important pillars in the Christian worldview include the belief that all life was created by God with a purpose and man was created in God’s image, and thus possesses dignity. As such, life’s true value and meaning are revealed when one follows and enjoys God, and spreads the Good News (Blevins, 2018). Transhumanism explains the meaning of life by asserting that the destiny of humans is to transcend the human condition and achieve a post-human eternal existence. Therefore, the human life form is a transition phase existence designed by God to allow humans to cherish his love and enjoy his glorification (Trothen & Mercer, 2017).
George is contemplating whether to opt for euthanasia or not. He has to weigh between saving his carers and family from the anguish of caring for him when he becomes incapacitated and whether he has the right to take life into his hands, considering that it is God-given. To make the decision, George has to contemplate on the meaning of life, the sanctity of life, the purpose of life. His values regarding these three existential questions will influence his decision on sanction euthanasia or not. From a Christian worldview, God is the owner and giver of all life. This worldview upholds the sanctity of human life and its sacred essence (Jackson, 2019). As such, no human has the right to take life, whether his/hers or that of another person. To do so is to try to attain God’s status, which is the reason for the original fallenness of humankind. Taking life or authorizing others to do so, places George in direct competition with God, which plunges him further into sin. Moreover, suffering with grace and gratefulness is a highly-esteemed Christian value that enables people to endure sickness and other forms of suffering. Christ exemplified suffering as the embodiment of struggle, strength and hope (McTavish, 2016). Therefore, George’s ability to endure his debilitating disease is it to share in the redemption of Christ.
George can opt to continue living with his disease until he dies or to seek voluntary euthanasia or medically assisted suicide. Both options have more justifications that are premised in Christian beliefs. On one side, the Christian worldview prohibits the taking of human life of a person by another. Therefore, George would be justified in refusing to agree to euthanasia, despite his level of suffering. As such, while he may be placed on life support systems, George may not sanction the removal of such support to allow him to die, even when his death appears imminent. This perspective is based on God’s sovereignty and the sixth commandment, ‘though shall not kill’, an absolute prohibition of the taking of human life, including suicide, is justified (De Villiers, 2016). The moral justification is that human life is sanctified and belongs to God, and therefore, only God can take it (De Villiers, 2016). However, George may sanction euthanasia if his suffering is unbearable to himself and his caregivers. In addition, euthanasia may be morally acceptable if any means to alleviate his suffering have been explored and proven unsuccessful. Specifically, passive euthanasia that withholds treatment for upholding George’s life is morally permissible if such treatment would not cure his ailment, but instead prolong his life without alleviating the suffering (McTavish, 2016). The value for love of others would morally justify Georges opting for euthanasia. In other words, euthanasia would be morally justifiable if it relieves his suffering and that of his loved ones and caregivers when no medical solution is in sight. However, this decision is morally justified if it comes from an agreement between George, his family and medical caregivers (De Villiers, 2016). However, if I was in George’s situation, I would let the disease run its full and natural course. Instead of requesting euthanasia, I would use my remaining time to bond with my family and other people. I would display my love for them and be open to receiving their love as well. I feel that this would make my life more worthwhile that opting out of it and giving up through euthanasia.
In conclusion, the Christian worldview provides George with a framework for making end-of-life decisions related to his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Since he still has his mental faculties, George can explore all the alternatives presented to him and the moral foundations of his decisions from a Christian perspective. As such, George my consider his disease as one of the manifestations of the fallenness of humankind and may choose to use it to glorify God’s splendor through his remaining life. Moreover, George may be comforted by the hope of resurrection as he bears the anguish from the disease bravely. Using principles such as the sanctity of human life and sovereignty of God, while applying God’s commandments, especially those related with killing and love, George should be able to make morally-justified decisions related to his end of life. Altogether, he should avoid euthanasia unless it is absolutely necessary, and all other alternatives have been explored, to no avail.
References
Blevins, K. (2018). What is the meaning of life? Crosswalk. Retrieved from https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-is-the-meaning-of-life.html.
De Villiers, D. E. (2016). May Christians request medically assisted suicide and euthanasia? HTS Theological Studies, 72(4), 1-9.
Hill, B. (2018). Is God sovereign over illness and suffering? The Village Church. Retrieved from https://www.tvcresources.net/resource-library/articles/is-god-sovereign-over-illness-and-suffering.
Jackson, W. (2019). The value of life. Christian Courier. Retrieved from https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/338-value-of-life-the.
Kirby, J. F. (2019). Resurrection an invitation to see beyond pain, sorrow and suffering. Crux. Retrieved from https://cruxnow.com/commentary/2019/04/21/resurrection-an-invitation-to-see-beyond-pain-sorrow-and-suffering/.
McTavish, F. J. (2016). Suffering, death, and eternal life. The Linacre Quarterly, 83(2), 134-141.
Smith, R. S. (2011). Finitude, Fallenness, and Immediacy: Husserlian Replies to Westphal and Smith. Philosophia Christi, 13(1), 105-126.
Trothen, T. J., & Mercer, C. (Eds.). (2017). Religion and Human Enhancement: Death, Values, and Morality. Springer.
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AND INNOVATION AWARDS
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Sustainable Business and Innovation Awards
Table of contents
Contents pages
Introduction. 3
Nomination criteria. 4
Value creation. 4
Shared value. 5
Sustainable value. 5
Innovativeness of business model 5
Net positive global effect 6
Support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 6
Focus. 7
Runner Ups. 8
LanzaTech. 8
Apeel sciences. 9
Cargill 10
BMW… 10
Winner 11
Conclusion. 12
References. 13
Introduction
Sustainability is now viewed as critical to business success due to the realisation that businesses contribute significantly to environmental degradation, proliferation of unsustainable energy sources, unequal and unjust societies, and wasteful consumerism. The 21st century has seen an increased focus on sustainability issues when it emerged that the prevailing business practices were not sustainable in earth’s fragile ecosystem. While profits assured businesses of success previously, sustainability is now accepted as being critical to business success (Porter & Kramer 2019). While mainstreaming sustainability into business practices remains a challenge, efforts such as the sustainable development goals (SDGs) introduced in 2015, the United Nations Global Compact, have set into motion the corporate sustainability movement (Dyllick & Muff 2016). Therefore, many corporations have incorporated sustainable practices in their business models to not only reduce their environmental footprints along their value and supply chains but also to spearhead the innovation of the practices in the global business environment (Baldassarre et al. 2017). Unfortunately, many of the well-established companies persist with their profit-focused business practices and engage in sustainability efforts as an additional corporate responsibility exercise that drives their capitalistic intents. However, some start-ups are founded on innovative business models that have entrenched sustainability into their core business operations at the onset. These companies are not only creating sustainable value but also sharing this value widely with shareholders to mutually benefit the business and society simultaneously. Nonetheless, some longstanding corporations have modified their business model to redirect their focus towards sustainability and innovation.
Sustainability awards motivate business enterprises to look beyond profits upon the realisation that the society rather than the government is increasingly granting the corporate license to operate in the rapidly changing world. In this report, a sustainable business and innovation awards, dubbed The Earth Awards, is proposed to honour business enterprises with transformative innovations that mutually benefit business and society. Using 6 criteria, five deserving business enterprises are shortlisted and an overall winner selected. In this report, the criteria for arriving at the awards nominees are described. After that, the five shortlisted companies are detailed and the selected winner presented based on the set criteria.
Nomination criteria
The criteria are based on the pursuance of transformative innovations that mutually benefit business and society. The seven criteria include value creation, shared value, sustainable value, innovativeness in business model, net positive global effect, support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and focus. The first five criteria are gauged using a three-level Likert scale as illustrated in the table 1. Very high means that the criterion is highly evident while present means that the criterion is recognised in the company. For the criterion about the SDGs, the number of SDGs pursued by the firm is recorded as the score. Likewise, for the focus criterion, is scores that that a local focus scores 1, regional = 2 and global = 3.
Table 1. Scoring of the criteria.
Evaluation of criterionVery highHighPresentScore321
Value creation
Value creation is the process of creating outputs that are more valuable than inputs. Businesses thrive of value creation as their core essence. In many cases, this value is captured as profits. However, value creation is transforming from being powered by the economies of industrial scale and mass production to creating innovative solutions to problems through new products and services (Porter & Kramer 2019). This criterion focuses on the ability of a firm to develop solutions to problems that vex their customers.
Shared value
Shared value is the maximisation of the competitive worth to address societal needs and problems. Shared value brings together corporate assets, business opportunities and social need, that enabling society to benefit from the value created by a business entity. As such, share value goes beyond the acts of minimizing harm to the society and environment or giving back to society through philanthropy and corporate social responsibility activities (Porter & Kramer 2019). As such, the value created should be valued by multiple stakeholders, who also participate in its creation, thus creating stakeholder synergy (Tantalo & Priem 2016). This criterion evaluates the extent to which the firms solve societal problems as their core activity. Also, it gauges the extent of stakeholder synergy in the creation of the value and the multiplicity of stakeholders who benefit.
Sustainable value
Sustainable value is the value that sustains a business entity in the context of its existence. It calls for the attention to the triple bottom line comprising of a focus on profit, people and planet. Therefore, sustainable value is created from economic, social and environmental capital (Evans et al. 2017). This criterion evaluates the ability of the firm to focus on the triple bottom line in its business operations.
Innovativeness of business model
Sustainable business models should facilitate firms to capture sustainable value through the innovation opportunities created by the changing resource landscape and business environment. Collaboration and co-creation are the new approaches in business models because it values networks over competitiveness (Baldassarre et al. 2017). Due to the changing patterns in value movement and emerging networks in value creation, collaboration amongst various businesses is desirable for a sustainable business model (Evans et al. 2017). This criterion gauges the networking initiatives of the firms as a feature of their business model.
Net positive global effect
A net positive global effect is the overall impact that a business has globally. Although many sustainable business initiatives focus on reducing harm to the society and environment, the positive global effect attends to the broader advancement of the wellness of the environment and society. This criterion evaluates the ability of the firm to go beyond harm reduction to positively impacting the world.
Support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable development goals were formulated in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly. They comprise of 17 goals with 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. The seventeen SDGs are summarised in table 2.
Table 2. Description of SDGs
GoalDescription 1No povertyEradicating extreme poverty by ensuring that everyone lives on more than $1.25 dollars a dayEnsuring that the poor have equal rights to economic resources2Zero hungerEradicating all forms of hunger Use of sustainable food production systemsEnsuring sufficient genetic diversity preservation in seedsDoubling income and output of small scale food producers 3Good health and wellbeingReducing child mortality to below 70 per 100,000 birthsEradicating preventable disease-related fatalities4Quality educationEnsuing completion of primary and secondary school education by all boys and girlsEqual access to quality education for disadvantaged people, including women 5Gender equalityEradicating all forms of violence against women 6Clean water and sanitationEnsuring access of water and sanitation for everyone7Affordable and clean energyEnsuring access to energy that is modern, reliable, affordable and sustainable8Decent work and economic growthEnsuring that all workers can experience equitable and sustainable economic growthUsing innovation, technological upgrading and diversification to achieve high economic productivity9Industry, innovation and infrastructureBuilding resilient infrastructurePromoting sustainable industrialisationFostering innovation10Reducing inequalityEradicating all forms of inequalities across countries Eradicate discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, disability, gender and age11Sustainable cities and communitiesGuarantee access to affordable and safe housing for everyoneEnhance access to basic services such as transportation, sanitation and water12Responsible consumption and productionEradicating food wasteEncourage the making of environmentally-sound decisionsEncourage companies to adopt sustainable business practices13Climate actionEncourage education and mitigation of human impactChange how people impact the planet 14Life below waterConserving and sustainable use of seas, oceans and marine resources15Life on landEncourage sustainable management of forestsArrest desertificationStop and turn around land degradationStop the loss of biodiversityDevelop proven strategies in the next 10 years16Peace, justice and strong institutionsPromoting inclusive, peaceful and just societies 17Partnerships for the goalsRevitalisation of global partnerships
Source: United Nations Global Compact (2019)
Focus
The focus criterion evaluates the expansiveness of the reach of the firm’s processes, services and products. The focus ranges from local to regional and global. A local focus means that the company operates within one country and its services or products are marketed within the country, however, a global firm not only has a presence in multiple countries but also has a variety of services, products and programs that are available internationally.
The scores by each company are tallied and the company with the highest score is selected to win the Earth Award. Table 3 illustrates the scores of each company based on the criteria and the tally of the scores.
Table 3. Performance of the 5 companies based on the 6 criteria
CriterionNominated companyLanza TechApeel SciencesBechtel Cargill BMWValue creation12332Shared value22322Sustainable value33223Innovativeness of business model33223Net positive global effect33333SDGs33664Focus32332Total score1818222119Position44123
After tallying the scores of each company based on the seven criteria, Bechtel emerged with the highest score. As such, Bechtel is selected as the laureate overall winner of The Earth Awards 2019 edition.
Runner Ups
The four runners up companies are described briefly to create an understanding of their operations and activities, explaining the variation in scores.
LanzaTech
LanzaTech Inc. was New Zealand firm founded in 2005 with the vision of a new carbon economy. The company’s innovative business model is based on the circular economy in which carbon can be held in a closed loop material cycle. The company believes that carbon can be licked into new products which can be recycled to recover the carbon at the end of their lifecycle. LanzaTech Inc. has partnered with companies such as India Glycols limited (IGL) of India and Shougang Group of China to develop innovative products from industrial carbon wastes (Burton 2019). Its innovative technology uses bacteria to convert carbon pollutants into chemicals and fuels (Peters 2019). For instance, the company managed to produce more than 90 million gallons of ethanol from emissions from steel mills within the first year of the joint venture with the Chinese partner firm. The company is looking to using the same technology to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a polymer resin that is used to make consumer goods such as clothing and packaging containers (Burton 2019). The company pursues three SDGS, including affordable and clean energy, responsible consumption and production and partnerships for the goals. However, some of its products are still being tested in the market and therefore, are yet to deliver value to stakeholders in the short-term. The carbon recycling technology is scalable to all areas experiencing carbon-related pollution considering that the bacteria is easy transportable to various locations.
Apeel sciences
Apeel Sciences is an American firm founded in 2012. Its mission is to use food to preserve food. This business was inspired by the realisation that food spoilage rather than food production was the major challenge of global food security. As such, the company looks into nature to develop new ways of improving the quality, reduce wastage and ensure abundance of food, and thus assist the global food system (Apeel Sciences 2019). The firm developed a tasteless, edible food-based product that is sprayed on fruits and vegetables to extend their shelf life (Gagne 2019). The company works with good retailers in United States such as Harp Food Stores, Kroger and Costco, and farmers in Kenya and Uganda to create and share value from its innovations (Richardson 2018). The company addresses the goal of zero hunger by combating food wastage and partnerships for the goals by engaging multiple partners domestically and in under-developed countries to create and share sustainable value. However, most of its focus in inside the United States and the company is yet to realise the full returns from its innovative products. The production of the food-based protectors can be scaled up to meet the global demand for preservation. Moreover, the technology is important to all parts of the world due to the prevalent of food spoilage regardless of the availability of refrigeration in some areas.
Cargill
Cargill Incorporated is an American multinational that was founded by William Cargill in 1865. It is a large company with operations in 66 countries and employs about 166,000 employees. Although its essentially an agricultural firm, it developed agricultural technologies to assist farmers all over the world. For instance, Cargill has installed water reuse systems in many of its international locations, invests heavily in research on the global food system, and engages ethical sustainable supply chains (Kimmelshue). For these reasons, its operations advance the achievement of 6 SDG goals, including clean water and sanitation, industry, innovation and infrastructure, responsible consumption and production, life below water, life on land, and partnerships for goals. Moreover, the company trains huge numbers of farmers on improved farming methods (2019United Nations Council for International Business 2019 a). The business model is scalable because it can be used by companies to change their focus. Notably, food security is a pressing issue that threatens the survival of many people. Focusing on food systems allows attention to be drawn to enablers such as water, human capital, supply chains, infrastructure and many other issues affected simultaneously (Kimmelshue 2019).
BMW
Bavaria motor works (BMW) is a German automaker that was founded in 1916. It is a very profitable company with over 130,000 employees. The company produces cars and motorbikes in Germany and various other foreign plants across the world. The company is renowned for its contribution to the development of commercial electric cars, the i models, and participation in car-sharing initiatives through DriveNow and ReachNow (BMW Group 2019). Moreover, BMW proactively removes gender and age discrimination from its workforce by introducing innovative ways of accommodating an aging workforce (Putrill 2018). The company advances 2 SDGs by advancing the good health and wellbeing of its older employees and the use of clean energy (electricity) in motor vehicles. The business model addressing the human factor and particularly the ageing workforce is scalable to all firms, considering that the aging population is a global phenomenon that poses challenges presently and in the future.
Winner
Bechtel Corporation is a large American engineering and construction firm headquartered in Virginia in the United States. Since its founding in 1898, it has contributed to a safer, cleaner and prosperous world through increasing access to energy and resources, improving the resiliency of the infrastructure, and growing economies in over 160 countries (Bechtel Corporation 2019 a). It has engaged in large projects that impact society through innovations that attend to the needs and challenges in society (Bechtel Corporation 2019 b). For instance, Bechtel is supplying a mining site in Chile’s Atacama Desert with desalinated seawater, building power plants for Panda Power Funds that use natural gas in the world’s most efficient way, helped develop the Ivanpar Solar Power generating plant in Mojave Desert, enhancing the use of wind power generated offshore, improving Peru’s economy by constructing a copper concentrator in the remote Las Bambas, innovated the removal of carbon form gas-fired power plants, and developing smart cities in Saudi Arabia (United Nations Council for International Business 2019 b). The company has modified its business model over time to focus more on the pressing social problems rather than profit making.
The company pursues 7 SDG goals through its projects. These include i) the pursuance of clean water and sanitation through its desalination project, ii) affordable and clean energy through its solar and wind power projects, iii) descent work and economic growth through it project in Peru, iv) industry innovation and infrastructure through the road infrastructure projects in Gabon and Kosovo, v) sustainable cities and communities through its Saudi economic cities project, vi) responsible consumption and production through its projects in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates and vii) partnerships for goals through the collaboration with multiple partners in the various locations of its projects globally (United Nations Council for International Business 2019 b). The business model of undertaking multifaceted projects can be scaled up with sufficient networking between firms. Large projects that are strewn across the world influence many people and large spaces simultaneously, thus significantly and positively impacting the world.
Conclusion
The Earth Awards aims at recognising companies around the world that have innovative sustainable business strategies. The criteria for the award is based on value creation, shared value, sustainable value, innovativeness in business model, net positive global effect, support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and focus. Shortlisted companies drawn from diverse industries were shortlisted and scored based in the criteria. Bechtel Corporation emerged the best company deserving the award. Its strength was drawn from its huge impact on national economies and communities around the world through its innovative projects. Besides, the company was championing advanced technologies in water and energy, which were pressing problems in the contemporary world due to scarcity and unequal distribution. The various projects undertaken by company are scalable for use across the world in addition to addressing various SDGs simultaneously.
Reference List
Apeel Sciences 2019, ‘Our story’, Available from: https://apeelsciences.com/our-story/#targetText=Welooktonatureto,abundantfutureforourplanet [30 October 2019].
Baldassarre, B, Calabretta, G, Bocken, N M P & Jaskiewicz, T 2017, ‘Bridging sustainable business model innovation and user-driven innovation: A process for sustainable value proposition design’, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 147, pp.175-186.
Bechtel Corporation 2019 a, ‘About Bechtel’, Available from: https://www.bechtel.com/about-us/ [30 October 2019].
Bechtel Corporation 2019 b, ‘Bechtel releases 2019 annual report showing strong financial and sustainability performance’, Available from: https://www.bechtel.com/newsroom/releases/2019/04/bechtel-releases-2019-annual-report-showing-strong/ [30 October 2019].
BMW Group 2019, Sustainable value report 2018, Available from: https://www.bmwgroup.com/content/dam/grpw/websites/bmwgroup_com/responsibility/downloads/en/2019/2019-BMW-Group-SVR-2018-Englisch.pdf [30 October 2019].
Burton, F 2019, ‘World first products made from recycled pollution reduce emissions and keep carbon in the ground,’ LanzaTech. Available from: https://www.lanzatech.com/2019/10/07/world-first-products-made-from-recycled-pollution-reduce-emissions-and-keep-carbon-in-the-ground/ [30 October 2019].
Dyllick, T & Muff, K 2016, ‘Clarifying the meaning of sustainable business: Introducing a typology from business-as-usual to true business sustainability’, Organization & Environment, vol. 29, no. 2, pp.156-174.
Evans, S, Vladimirova, D, Holgado, M, Van Fossen, K, Yang, M, Silva, E A & Barlow, C Y 2017, ‘Business model innovation for sustainability: Towards a unified perspective for creation of sustainable business models’, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol, 26, no. 5, pp.597-608.
Gagne, Y 2019, ‘This company can double the shelf life of avocadoes. Next up? Strawberries, citrus and asparagus,’ Fast Company. Available from: https://www.fastcompany.com/90298908/apeel-sciences-most-innovative-companies-2019 [30 October 2019].
Kimmelshue, R 2019, ‘Advancing sustainability’, Cargill Incorporated. Available from: https://www.cargill.com/about/advancing-sustainability [30 October 2019].
Peters, A 2019, ‘This biotech startup uses hungry microbes to transform carbon emissions into clean jet fuel’, Fast Company. Available from: https://www.fastcompany.com/90299037/lanzatech-most-innovative-companies-2019 [30 October 2019].
Porter, M E & Kramer, M R 2019, ‘Creating shared value’, In Managing sustainable business (pp. 323-346). Springer, Dordrecht.
Putrill, C 2018, ‘Perennials, not millennials, will trigger the next wave of talent retention efforts’, Quartz at Work. Available from: https://qz.com/work/1476842/the-future-of-work-will-be-shaped-by-an-aging-workforce/ [30 October 2019].
Richardson, J 2018, ‘California startup Apeel Sciences reduces food wastage by protecting produce,’ Clean Technica. Available from: https://cleantechnica.com/2018/08/27/california-startup-apeel-sciences-reduces-food-waste-by-protecting-produce/ [30 October 2019].
Tantalo, C & Priem, R L 2016, ‘Value creation through stakeholder synergy’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 37, no. 2, pp.314-329.
United Nations Council for International Business 2019 a, ‘Business for 2030: Cargill’, Available from: http://www.businessfor2030.org/cargill [30 October 2019].
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THE SECOND SHIFT
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The Second Shift
The quest for gender equality is transforming the perceptions of work, gender, and family, although the traditional stereotypes of gender roles persist to date. Increased participation of women in the workforce has not eradicated the stereotypical roles of women as caregivers and homemakers in society. The much-acclaimed gender equality revolution that gained momentum in the 1950s was stifled by the second shift, whose ramifications continue to prevail in the contemporary 21st-century society. Women are still expected to perform home-based activities such as housework and childcare alongside their paid work outside the home, while men are exempted from such duties. Notably, despite the importance of caregiving in nurturing human life, household work continues to be undervalued, unpaid and considered not to comprise work by society. The persistent uproar from the advocates of gender equality and feminists has not changed the deeply-ingrained perceptions on gender roles, although modern women and families have devised ways of multitasking and lessening the double burden through outsourcing and leveraging the technology. Moreover, transformations of some workplace practices have neither freed women from the societal caregiving and home-building expectations nor encouraged men to partake in the second shift equally. As such, the persisting perspectives about the second shift are likely to persist, slowing down the much-anticipated gender equality revolution, which has stalled.
The Second Shift
When workforce participation, especially among women, increased after the Second World War, household chores and childcare assumed a new connotation; the second shift. In other words, paid work outside the home constituted the first shift, and therefore prioritized in the highly paternalistic western society, while home-related work was relegated to a second shift, requiring no pay because it was not that important (Sullivan, Gershuny & Robinson 2018). In the gender equality revolution, the first shift is seen as an advancement of the revolution, while the second shift is views as a stall in the revolution (Sullivan, Gershuny & Robinson 2018).
The second shift is a term coined by Arlie Hochschild in the 1980s to describe the work performed at home after the paid work done in the formal employment sector (Hochschild & Machung 1989). The tasks performed in the second shift are viewed as being natural to women and therefore not burdensome or deserving of payment. Marital roles have been influenced by the second shift in various ways. Notably, these roles experienced traditional, egalitarian and transitional forces that led to the leisure gap between men and women, with the women baring most of the work burden in a changing society. A study undertaken by Hochschild revealed that most women performed the second shift, with men’s participation in domestic chores being rare. Moreover, the traditional ideology of women seeking identity from home activities was prevalent among men and the working class, while the egalitarian view of women having similar powers to men and seeking to identify with similar attributes to those of men was common among the middle class and preferred by women (Hochschild & Machung 1989). Notably, the traditional ideology prevailed in the United States and many other western countries, while the egalitarian approach was predominance in Nordic societies (Isaksen 2010). The transitional philosophy views the woman as mixing the egalitarian and traditional perspectives about work at home. Increased commoditization of care work lends credence to the transitional ideology because it involves the unstable segments in society, such as the migrants, minorities and underprivileged (Brailey & Slatton 2019; Ehrenreich, Hochschild & Kay 2003).
While the second shift paradigm has helped highlight the plight of working women in society and the challenges of the gender equality movement, it has been criticized for presenting a middle-class white woman’s perspective. The second shift oversimplifies the experiences of working women by assuming all women have the option of working formally or staying at home and that they are conflicted in having a work-family balance (Brailey & Slatton 2019). However, many women not captured in the second shift have been forced to work outside the home to escape poverty and support their families. Single mothers are most pressured to work diligently outside the home because they do not have the support of husbands. Moreover, the second shift philosophy assumes a double-shift system, whereas some women work multiple shifts comprising of paid and unpaid work. Sometimes, the paid and unpaid work is intermingled because of the expectation to do extra unpaid work beyond their paid assignments. Such additional duties are demanded by employers who prey on the vulnerabilities of the women. As such, the second shift viewpoint is biased and unjust because it ignores, devalues and dismisses the longstanding working experiences of poor, marginalized and minority women (Brailey & Slatton 2019). Moreover, it does not account for the realities in modern societies where men are losing their jobs and many women are the only breadwinners in their families.
The Second Shift and the Workplace
The second shift has influenced workplace practices to accommodate male and female workers who want to have a work-family balance. Employers are intent on maximizing the productivity of their employees to generate large profits and deliver a return on investment (ROI) to their stakeholders. Moreover, they are focused on having employees dedicate more time at work than at home. Therefore, narrowing the gendered pay gap is one of the significant changes in the workplace, which seeks to reward women similarly to men for the same work done. Besides, women are increasingly being represented in the management level in firms.
Also, some employers have devised ways of ensuring that parents can perform their duties at the workplace without neglecting their home duties. Flexible working hours that allow employees to tailor their time at the workplace, paternity leaves that enable new fathers to have time for their newborns and provision child-friendly workplaces to reduce the maternity leaves of nursing mothers, are some of the ways employers are responding to the demand for childcare duties of working parents. Moreover, with the global phenomenon of an aging workforce, some employers are creating conducive working atmospheres for mature workers to encourage them to stay longer in employment. Employers advocating these practices implicate the benefits in cost-effectiveness, corporate loyalty and employee productivity. For instance, employees were more productive when they were more engaged with their infants and had a significant life-work balance. Besides, having mothers care for their newborns within the workplace premises presented a cheaper option compared to engaging caregivers. Contrastingly, employers opposing these initiatives felt that employees were distracted by their childcare duties, which reduced their concentration and productivity at work. These initiatives have encouraged women to pursue higher education and professional careers. For instance, studies indicate that women in the United States were outperforming men in educational achievements. Besides, women are increasingly venturing into professions such as engineering and medicine that were previously the preserve of men alongside aspiring to higher corporate positions (Blair-Loy et al. 2015).
However, gender equality at the workplace remains an ideal as women incurred motherhood penalties (Corinaldi 2019, p. 16). Women continued to be paid less than their male counterparts for the same jobs and were underrepresented at the senior management level of companies, which had instant financial implications and long-term repercussions due to career stagnation. The workplace continues to be systematically structured around sexism, which penalizes all women because of their womanhood (Corinaldi 2019). This can be attributed to the definition of the ideal worker that prevails in the American society. The ideal worker is seen as one who works the longest, is devoted to the workplace without competing interests, and gains status by winning higher compensation (Blair-Loy et al. 2015; Davis, Winslow & Maume 2017).
The labor market has transformed significantly since the coining of the second shift paradigm. Due to increased labor mobility, flexibilization is used by employers to accommodate the highly mobile and globalized labor force. As such, work has become insecure as workers opt for contract assignments and part-time jobs amid outsourcing options (Blair-Loy et al. 2015). Working unmarried women are the most afflicted by these changes because they have to contend with unpredictable work and inadequate, expensive childcare. Employers and society dislike such women because they are seen as uncommitted mothers and employees (Blair-Loy et al. 2015).
The Second Shift and the Family
The family has undergone a radical transformation due to economic ambitions and hardships. The aspiration for a comfortable life has seen the rise of dual-earner families, yet earning couples experience power tensions and intersectionality that influence the division of domestic labor and the survivability of the marriage (Davis, Winslow & Maume 2017; Waismel-Manor, Levanon & Tolbert 2016). Altogether, in the typical American family, the man is expected to be the breadwinner while the woman may supplement the family income without neglecting her wifely duties.
However, marital structures have changed much due to the second shift, with income inequalities worsening. For instance, the higher income group is supported by highly-paid men who marry high-earning wives. On the other end, the marriage institution was not tenable for those at the low-income levels, with divorce being commonplace. Also, job security influenced the family structure because it affected the ability to sustain a long-term relationship and marriageability. For this reason, women preferred men with stable jobs (Blair-Loy et al. 2015). Moreover, marriage patterns were influenced by the division of labor at the household level, when viewed from the second shift perspective. This may explain why workers stressed by their jobs and lacked college education were less likely to marry. For women with low incomes, staying single to escape divorce and avoiding jobless men who would increase the caregiving burden were viable options toward financial freedom and happiness (Blair-Loy et al. 2015).
Interestingly, in American society, even prosperous career women that earned highly felt obliged to undertake their wifely duties to keep their marriages intact. This means that these women outsourced their domestic services to migrant and low-income women in the global care chain to lessen their struggles with the second shift (Blair-Loy et al. 2015). Performing the gendered roles in a family is premised on power negotiations between the man and woman. Marriage thrives on gifts that are recognized and appreciated by the couple. Men may accommodate wives that earn higher salaries as a gift to their wives, while women gift their men with the salaries they earn to appreciate being allowed to participate with paid work. However, in many cases, the one who earns more in a family often hold power to choose what to do at home. As such, the lower-earning partner was often tasked with performing more of the home and childcare tasks, which were deemed to be less burdensome.
Socio-cultural Implications of the Second Shift
The American and European societies lag behind the Scandinavian countries in progress towards gender equality due to the deeply-ingrained paternalistic and capitalistic culture alongside system-wide stereotypes about gender roles. Despite the progress made in the legal sector and workplace policies, American women still do most of child-caring and domestic chores compared to their male counterparts, even when both parties are employed. Contrastingly, the Nordic people pride themselves as the embodiment of modern women-friendly societies because they have internalized gender equality (Isaksen 2010, p. 11).
Notably, Americans who had embraced gender equality for women confronted the flexibility stigma at the workplace and in society, albeit at different levels. The United States society is highly stratified, according to class. On one end, men working in professional and managerial positions work for long hours while workers earning low wages struggle to find employment (Blair-Loy et al. 2015). While the men who work for long hours are glorified for their masculinity, those who advocate caregiving duties at home suffer the flexibility stigma because they are viewed as being feminine (Ehrenreich, Hochschild & Kay 2003). Meanwhile, working women suffer the flexibility stigma in two ways. Career women are condemned for failing to cut back on their work to care for their children while lowly-paid mothers are faulted for bearing children they cannot afford to rear.
Moreover, the marriage institution was under pressure from the societal expectations of married couples. The work-family conflict was experienced differently by women in different social classes. Americans are usually anxious about the welfare of their children regardless of their social class, although the middle-class and working women also worry about family finances when resources are not guaranteed (Blair-Loy et al. 2015). Women were emotionally tied to their second shift work, which hindered their ability to experience equity and equality at the workplace (Brailey & Slatton 2019, p. 32). This explains why many American women judged their self worth on their mothering abilities rather than their earning capabilities (Kanji & Cahusac 2015). Indeed, working women experienced conflicting self-conceptions as mothers and working professionals because of the challenges of reconciling the two roles. As such, peers and society always judged the working woman from two lenses, as a mother first, then as a worker.
However, some cultural shifts are evident across societal divides in developed economies. Most care and domestic services are outsourced, especially to migrant workers, while parents focus on earning and developing their careers (Isaksen 2010, p. 11). But this seems to have transferred domestic servitude to another cadre of exploited women (Ehrenreich, Hochschild & Kay 2003). Moreover, technological advancements in the form of drycleaning equipment alongside the emergence of the culture of eating out and availability of prepared foods in stores have relieved the bus career women of some of the homely duties (Sullivan, Gershuny & Robinson 2018). In this regard, the minimization of the second shift has eroded the nurturing ability of the working woman.
Similarly, reforms in national laws and policies are attempting to reconcile the realities in contemporary society regarding the so-called second shift work. Nondiscrimination laws in employment alongside increased government participation in childcare are indications of the recognition of the value of the second shift in the wellbeing of citizens, and particularly families (Sullivan, Gershuny & Robinson 2018). However, institutions lag behind policy in the American and European contexts compared to the Nordic arena. The neotraditional approach to the gender debate in which men are the primary breadwinners, which their spouses are primarily in charge of caregiving and housework prevails in contemporary society (Thébaud & Pedulla 2016).
Conclusion
The second shift sets the stage for interrogating the link between work, gender, and family. Despite its initial bias towards the white middle and upper-class working women of the 1980 and before, the concept remains relevant to contemporary society in which women are yet to achieve equality at home and in the workplace. The second shift focuses on the gendered roles of a working woman, which have not progressed much from the traditional perspective of housework and childcare. The paternalistic and capitalistic culture in the United States and most of the European countries except the Nordic ones perpetuate the marginalization and oppression of women despite their increased economic contributions in society. Nonetheless, the second shift paradigm needs to be explored beyond the traditional home and workplace to accommodate the realities presented by migration, commoditization of care and housework, and changing societal trends. That way, the gender equality revolution would progress rather than stall, which would improve the recognition and appreciation of the work of women at the workplace and home.
References
Blair-Loy, M, Hochschild, A, Pugh, AJ, Williams, JC & Hartmann, H 2015, ‘Stability and transformation in gender, work, and family: insights from the second shift for the next quarter century’, Community, Work & Family, vol. 18, no.4, pp.435-454.
Brailey, CD & Slatton, BC 2019, ‘Women, Work, and Inequality in the US: Revising the Second Shift’, Journal of Sociology, vol. 7, no.1, pp.29-35.
Corinaldi, M., 2019. Motherhood in the workplace: A sociological exploration into the negative performance standards and evaluations of full-time working mothers. Philologia, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 13-16.
Davis, SN, Winslow, S & Maume, DJ 2017, Gender in the Twenty-First Century: The Stalled Revolution and the Road to Equality. University of California Press. Available from: https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=92kmDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=the+stalled+revolution+of+gender+equality&ots=PBTLnGQIAq&sig=30Oij7IJVHDsTZUwPtplYE4LHGk&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=thestalledrevolutionofgenderequality&f=false [1 November 2019].
Ehrenreich, B., Hochschild, A.R. and Kay, S 2003. Global woman: Nannies, maids, and sex workers in the new economy. Macmillan. Available from: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=05&q=Global+woman+Nannies+maids+and+sex+workers+in+the+new+economy&btnG= [1 November 2019].
Hochschild, AR & Machung, A 1989, The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home, Penguin Publishing Group. Available from: https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/The_Second_Shift.html?id=St_6kWcPJS8C&redir_esc=y [1 November 2019].
Isaksen, LW 2010, Global care work: gender and migration in Nordic societies. Nordic Academic Press. Available from: https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=OHKkceDjzQoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=Global+care+work:+gender+and+migration+in+Nordic+societies&ots=PEeKmE9JYr&sig=RdVl2iH5q0gLQTvgy4Hs3hszVO0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=GlobalcareworkgenderandmigrationinNordicsocieties&f=false [1 November 2019].
Kanji, S & Cahusac, E 2015, ‘Who am I? Mothers’ shifting identities, loss and sensemaking after workplace exit’, Human Relations, vol. 68, no. 9, pp.1415-1436.
Sullivan, O, Gershuny, J & Robinson, JP 2018, ‘Stalled or uneven gender revolution? A long‐term processual framework for understanding why change is slow’, Journal of Family Theory & Review, vol. 10, no.1, pp.263-279.
Thébaud, S & Pedulla, DS 2016, ‘Masculinity and the stalled revolution: How gender ideologies and norms shape young men’s responses to work–family policies’, Gender & Society, vol. 30, no.4, pp.590-617.
Waismel-Manor, R, Levanon, A & Tolbert, PS 2016, ‘The Impact of family economic structure on dual-earners’ career and family satisfaction’, Sex Roles, vol. 75, no.7-8, pp.349-362.
Management of Physical Activity Practiced in Primary School on Academic Achievement
Student’s Name: Shaheen Ali
Professor’s Name: Dr, Souhail Hermassi
Date
Abstract
The academic performance of young students is a significant indicator of adult physical and mental health. As such, engaging in physical activity, being physically fit and maintaining a healthy body composition may be crucial for better health later in life. Likewise, the management of the institutional-educational dimension focuses on whether the different educational requirements (curriculum, teachers, organization, and teaching methods) are appropriated to achieve the proposed aims. The purpose of this study is to examine the management effects of in-school physical activity (PA) on academic performance in sciences among students in Qatari primary schools. This study will involve more than 200 public primary school students. The students’ grade point average (GPA) for three exams in mathematics and biology taken in the trimester will be used as the academic performance indicators. The physical activity measurements will include anthropometric data (height, mass and body mass index (BMI)), and agility T-half Test (T-test). The study hypothesizes that students who participate regularly in-school physical activities should have better academic and cognitive performance in science-oriented disciplines (mathematics and biology) than students who do not. The information gained from this study will aid the discussion concerning maximizing the management of academic performance in schools and its implications on the educational policies in primary schools in Qatar.
Management of Physical Activity Practiced in Primary School on Academic Achievement
Introduction
The Qatari government has prioritized science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in its educational reforms to improve the scientific research culture and encourage technological advancement in the country. Qatar, like many other Arab countries, is highly reliant on the oil economy; but lacks sufficient professionals to spur the diversification of its economy. Besides, scientific research in Qatar has stagnated, which has jeopardized the reduction of the overreliance on oil. As such, the government hopes to develop its human capital by investing heavily in science education from the lowest levels of its education system (Nasser, 2017). The ‘National Vision 2030’ has entrenched these efforts by directing the transformation of Qatar into a knowledge-based economy, in tune with the global trend. The substantial financial investments through the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, which was launched about two decades ago, are intended to develop a culture of research and facilitate the creation of new technologies (Said, Summers, Abd-El-Khalick & Wang, 2016). Indeed, the Qatari government continues to be committed to raising the education standards in the country to the level of that in developed countries through educational reforms (Said, 2016). As such, the educational reforms that the Qatari government has undertaken are directed at positioning the country as a scientific research and innovation center globally.
The influence of physical and mental health on academic performance has been widely studied. Some studies have indicated that physical activity improves cognitive functioning in children. For instance, Donnelly et al. (2016) found evidence that demonstrated the influence of physical activity on areas of the brain that supported complex cognitive processes. However, the results of these studies yielded mixed results, with studies on the benefits of physical exercise on academic performance in school settings being recommended, as most research has been undertaken in controlled experiments. Physical activity has been shown to improve memory, which is critical in learning (Phan et al., 2018). Physical activity can improve psychological wellbeing by preventing mental health disorders (Mavilidi et al., 2019). Moreover, physical activity reduces the likelihood of being overweight and obese among children. Such activity, when instilled in children at an early age, is likely to remain habitual in their adult life. As such, adults with a physical activity habit enjoy improved health, making them productive citizens who incur minimal expenses in their healthcare.
The integration of physical activity in teaching has emerged as a new approach for improving learners’ achievements in various subjects. Mullender-Wijnsma et al. (2016) demonstrated that lessons that integrated physical activities improved the performance of elementary school children in mathematics and spelling. The approaches to incorporating physical activities in the classroom have generated much interest among educators and are still being developed (Cothran, Kulinna & Garn, 2010). Already, the education system in Qatar has recognized the importance of physical activities in schools and colleges. However, physical activity is often treated separately from the learning process that takes place in classrooms. The prudent management of education at the institutional level is crucial for the success of an education system. Much research has been dedicated to finding ways to improve education outcomes. As such, educational management science is a well-established discipline. However, this science is continuously evolving as new pedagogical approaches emerge. The management of physical classroom pedagogy is an emerging field that requires more research activity. So far, there is a lack of standard approaches to managing physical lessons in a classroom setting that can inform the integration of physical activity in the learning of science. Qatar students would benefit from the modalities of integrating physical activity in their lessons because they would improve their learning and academic performance. However, such integration should be based on evidence drawn locally in Qatar to supplement the empirical findings from studies outside the country.
The majority of empirical studies investigating the physical education practices in school settings and the use of physical activity in academic performance have been conducted mostly in European and North American countries. Many of these studies have evidenced the beneficial link between physical fitness, cognitive abilities and academic achievement. However, the findings from these studies are inapplicable in Qatar because of its unique circumstances and culture (Al-Thani & Semmar, 2016). Additionally, studies that have focused on the effects of physical activity on the performance of students in primary schools in Qatar are nonexistent. Many Qatari studies have instead ventured into educational reforms that promote physical education and science education. Many highly-developed countries have built an enviable mass of technical and scientific professionals that have spurred their economic development. These countries have aligned their education systems with the development of STEM capabilities, making them leaders in scientific research and technological innovations. Therefore, a study connecting the performance of Qatari primary school students in sciences and the physical activities they partake at school is necessary and timely. This study would go a long way in facilitating the realization of National Vision 2030 by informing the education practitioners and policymakers on ways of improving the country’s journey towards a scientific and technical human capital and a knowledge-based economy.
The research questions that this study will seek to answer are:
Do primary school students who participate in regular in-school physical activity perform better in mathematics than those who do not?Do primary school students who participate in regular in-school physical activity perform better in biology than those who do not?What is the relationship between regular in-school physical activity and performance in sciences among primary school students?
References
Al-Thani, T., & Semmar, Y. (2016). Physical education policies and practices in Qatari preschools: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(28), 46-52.
Cothran, D. J., Kulinna, P. H., & Garn, A. C. (2010). Classroom teachers and physical activity integration. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(7), 1381-1388.
Donnelly, J. E., Hillman, C. H., Castelli, D., Etnier, J. L., Lee, S., Tomporowski, P., … & Szabo-Reed, A. N. (2016). Physical activity, fitness, cognitive function, and academic achievement in children: A systematic review. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 48(6), 1197-1222.
Mavilidi, M. F., Lubans, D. R., Morgan, P. J., Miller, A., Eather, N., Karayanidis, F., … & Riley, N. (2019). Integrating physical activity into the primary school curriculum: Rationale and study protocol for the “Thinking while moving in english” cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 379-391.
Mullender-Wijnsma, M. J., Hartman, E., de Greeff, J. W., Doolaard, S., Bosker, R. J., & Visscher, C. (2016). Physically active math and language lessons improve academic achievement: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics, 137(3), 1-9.
Nasser, R. (2017). Qatar’s educational reform past and future: Challenges in teacher development. Open Review of Educational Research, 4(1), 1-19.
Phan, D. V., Chan, C. L., Pan, R. H., Yang, N. P., Hsu, H. C., Ting, H. W., & Lai, K. R. (2018). A study of the effects of daily physical activity on memory and attention capacities in college students. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 1-9.
Said, Z. (2016). Science education reform in Qatar: Progress and challenges. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(8), 2253-2265.
Said, Z., Summers, R., Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Wang, S. (2016). Attitudes toward science among grades 3 through 12 Arab students in Qatar: Findings from a cross-sectional national study. International Journal of Science Education, 38(4), 621-643.
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AND INNOVATION AWARDS
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Sustainable Business and Innovation Awards
Table of contents
Contents pages
Introduction. 3
Nomination criteria. 4
Value creation. 4
Shared value. 5
Sustainable value. 5
Innovativeness of business model 5
Net positive global effect 6
Support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 6
Focus. 7
Runner Ups. 8
LanzaTech. 8
Apeel sciences. 9
Cargill 10
BMW… 10
Winner 11
Conclusion. 12
References. 13
Introduction
Sustainability is now viewed as critical to business success due to the realisation that businesses contribute significantly to environmental degradation, proliferation of unsustainable energy sources, unequal and unjust societies, and wasteful consumerism. The 21st century has seen an increased focus on sustainability issues when it emerged that the prevailing business practices were not sustainable in earth’s fragile ecosystem. While profits assured businesses of success previously, sustainability is now accepted as being critical to business success (Porter & Kramer 2019). While mainstreaming sustainability into business practices remains a challenge, efforts such as the sustainable development goals (SDGs) introduced in 2015, the United Nations Global Compact, have set into motion the corporate sustainability movement (Dyllick & Muff 2016). Therefore, many corporations have incorporated sustainable practices in their business models to not only reduce their environmental footprints along their value and supply chains but also to spearhead the innovation of the practices in the global business environment (Baldassarre et al. 2017). Unfortunately, many of the well-established companies persist with their profit-focused business practices and engage in sustainability efforts as an additional corporate responsibility exercise that drives their capitalistic intents. However, some start-ups are founded on innovative business models that have entrenched sustainability into their core business operations at the onset. These companies are not only creating sustainable value but also sharing this value widely with shareholders to mutually benefit the business and society simultaneously. Nonetheless, some longstanding corporations have modified their business model to redirect their focus towards sustainability and innovation.
Sustainability awards motivate business enterprises to look beyond profits upon the realisation that the society rather than the government is increasingly granting the corporate license to operate in the rapidly changing world. In this report, a sustainable business and innovation awards, dubbed The Earth Awards, is proposed to honour business enterprises with transformative innovations that mutually benefit business and society. Using 6 criteria, five deserving business enterprises are shortlisted and an overall winner selected. In this report, the criteria for arriving at the awards nominees are described. After that, the five shortlisted companies are detailed and the selected winner presented based on the set criteria.
Nomination criteria
The criteria are based on the pursuance of transformative innovations that mutually benefit business and society. The seven criteria include value creation, shared value, sustainable value, innovativeness in business model, net positive global effect, support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and focus. The first five criteria are gauged using a three-level Likert scale as illustrated in the table 1. Very high means that the criterion is highly evident while present means that the criterion is recognised in the company. For the criterion about the SDGs, the number of SDGs pursued by the firm is recorded as the score. Likewise, for the focus criterion, is scores that that a local focus scores 1, regional = 2 and global = 3.
Table 1. Scoring of the criteria.
Evaluation of criterionVery highHighPresentScore321
Value creation
Value creation is the process of creating outputs that are more valuable than inputs. Businesses thrive of value creation as their core essence. In many cases, this value is captured as profits. However, value creation is transforming from being powered by the economies of industrial scale and mass production to creating innovative solutions to problems through new products and services (Porter & Kramer 2019). This criterion focuses on the ability of a firm to develop solutions to problems that vex their customers.
Shared value
Shared value is the maximisation of the competitive worth to address societal needs and problems. Shared value brings together corporate assets, business opportunities and social need, that enabling society to benefit from the value created by a business entity. As such, share value goes beyond the acts of minimizing harm to the society and environment or giving back to society through philanthropy and corporate social responsibility activities (Porter & Kramer 2019). As such, the value created should be valued by multiple stakeholders, who also participate in its creation, thus creating stakeholder synergy (Tantalo & Priem 2016). This criterion evaluates the extent to which the firms solve societal problems as their core activity. Also, it gauges the extent of stakeholder synergy in the creation of the value and the multiplicity of stakeholders who benefit.
Sustainable value
Sustainable value is the value that sustains a business entity in the context of its existence. It calls for the attention to the triple bottom line comprising of a focus on profit, people and planet. Therefore, sustainable value is created from economic, social and environmental capital (Evans et al. 2017). This criterion evaluates the ability of the firm to focus on the triple bottom line in its business operations.
Innovativeness of business model
Sustainable business models should facilitate firms to capture sustainable value through the innovation opportunities created by the changing resource landscape and business environment. Collaboration and co-creation are the new approaches in business models because it values networks over competitiveness (Baldassarre et al. 2017). Due to the changing patterns in value movement and emerging networks in value creation, collaboration amongst various businesses is desirable for a sustainable business model (Evans et al. 2017). This criterion gauges the networking initiatives of the firms as a feature of their business model.
Net positive global effect
A net positive global effect is the overall impact that a business has globally. Although many sustainable business initiatives focus on reducing harm to the society and environment, the positive global effect attends to the broader advancement of the wellness of the environment and society. This criterion evaluates the ability of the firm to go beyond harm reduction to positively impacting the world.
Support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable development goals were formulated in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly. They comprise of 17 goals with 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. The seventeen SDGs are summarised in table 2.
Table 2. Description of SDGs
GoalDescription 1No povertyEradicating extreme poverty by ensuring that everyone lives on more than $1.25 dollars a dayEnsuring that the poor have equal rights to economic resources2Zero hungerEradicating all forms of hunger Use of sustainable food production systemsEnsuring sufficient genetic diversity preservation in seedsDoubling income and output of small scale food producers 3Good health and wellbeingReducing child mortality to below 70 per 100,000 birthsEradicating preventable disease-related fatalities4Quality educationEnsuing completion of primary and secondary school education by all boys and girlsEqual access to quality education for disadvantaged people, including women 5Gender equalityEradicating all forms of violence against women 6Clean water and sanitationEnsuring access of water and sanitation for everyone7Affordable and clean energyEnsuring access to energy that is modern, reliable, affordable and sustainable8Decent work and economic growthEnsuring that all workers can experience equitable and sustainable economic growthUsing innovation, technological upgrading and diversification to achieve high economic productivity9Industry, innovation and infrastructureBuilding resilient infrastructurePromoting sustainable industrialisationFostering innovation10Reducing inequalityEradicating all forms of inequalities across countries Eradicate discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, disability, gender and age11Sustainable cities and communitiesGuarantee access to affordable and safe housing for everyoneEnhance access to basic services such as transportation, sanitation and water12Responsible consumption and productionEradicating food wasteEncourage the making of environmentally-sound decisionsEncourage companies to adopt sustainable business practices13Climate actionEncourage education and mitigation of human impactChange how people impact the planet 14Life below waterConserving and sustainable use of seas, oceans and marine resources15Life on landEncourage sustainable management of forestsArrest desertificationStop and turn around land degradationStop the loss of biodiversityDevelop proven strategies in the next 10 years16Peace, justice and strong institutionsPromoting inclusive, peaceful and just societies 17Partnerships for the goalsRevitalisation of global partnerships
Source: United Nations Global Compact (2019)
Focus
The focus criterion evaluates the expansiveness of the reach of the firm’s processes, services and products. The focus ranges from local to regional and global. A local focus means that the company operates within one country and its services or products are marketed within the country, however, a global firm not only has a presence in multiple countries but also has a variety of services, products and programs that are available internationally.
The scores by each company are tallied and the company with the highest score is selected to win the Earth Award. Table 3 illustrates the scores of each company based on the criteria and the tally of the scores.
Table 3. Performance of the 5 companies based on the 6 criteria
CriterionNominated companyLanza TechApeel SciencesBechtel Cargill BMWValue creation12332Shared value22322Sustainable value33223Innovativeness of business model33223Net positive global effect33333SDGs33664Focus32332Total score1818222119Position44123
After tallying the scores of each company based on the seven criteria, Bechtel emerged with the highest score. As such, Bechtel is selected as the laureate overall winner of The Earth Awards 2019 edition.
Runner Ups
The four runners up companies are described briefly to create an understanding of their operations and activities, explaining the variation in scores.
LanzaTech
LanzaTech Inc. was New Zealand firm founded in 2005 with the vision of a new carbon economy. The company’s innovative business model is based on the circular economy in which carbon can be held in a closed loop material cycle. The company believes that carbon can be licked into new products which can be recycled to recover the carbon at the end of their lifecycle. LanzaTech Inc. has partnered with companies such as India Glycols limited (IGL) of India and Shougang Group of China to develop innovative products from industrial carbon wastes (Burton 2019). Its innovative technology uses bacteria to convert carbon pollutants into chemicals and fuels (Peters 2019). For instance, the company managed to produce more than 90 million gallons of ethanol from emissions from steel mills within the first year of the joint venture with the Chinese partner firm. The company is looking to using the same technology to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a polymer resin that is used to make consumer goods such as clothing and packaging containers (Burton 2019). The company pursues three SDGS, including affordable and clean energy, responsible consumption and production and partnerships for the goals. However, some of its products are still being tested in the market and therefore, are yet to deliver value to stakeholders in the short-term. The carbon recycling technology is scalable to all areas experiencing carbon-related pollution considering that the bacteria is easy transportable to various locations.
Apeel sciences
Apeel Sciences is an American firm founded in 2012. Its mission is to use food to preserve food. This business was inspired by the realisation that food spoilage rather than food production was the major challenge of global food security. As such, the company looks into nature to develop new ways of improving the quality, reduce wastage and ensure abundance of food, and thus assist the global food system (Apeel Sciences 2019). The firm developed a tasteless, edible food-based product that is sprayed on fruits and vegetables to extend their shelf life (Gagne 2019). The company works with good retailers in United States such as Harp Food Stores, Kroger and Costco, and farmers in Kenya and Uganda to create and share value from its innovations (Richardson 2018). The company addresses the goal of zero hunger by combating food wastage and partnerships for the goals by engaging multiple partners domestically and in under-developed countries to create and share sustainable value. However, most of its focus in inside the United States and the company is yet to realise the full returns from its innovative products. The production of the food-based protectors can be scaled up to meet the global demand for preservation. Moreover, the technology is important to all parts of the world due to the prevalent of food spoilage regardless of the availability of refrigeration in some areas.
Cargill
Cargill Incorporated is an American multinational that was founded by William Cargill in 1865. It is a large company with operations in 66 countries and employs about 166,000 employees. Although its essentially an agricultural firm, it developed agricultural technologies to assist farmers all over the world. For instance, Cargill has installed water reuse systems in many of its international locations, invests heavily in research on the global food system, and engages ethical sustainable supply chains (Kimmelshue). For these reasons, its operations advance the achievement of 6 SDG goals, including clean water and sanitation, industry, innovation and infrastructure, responsible consumption and production, life below water, life on land, and partnerships for goals. Moreover, the company trains huge numbers of farmers on improved farming methods (2019United Nations Council for International Business 2019 a). The business model is scalable because it can be used by companies to change their focus. Notably, food security is a pressing issue that threatens the survival of many people. Focusing on food systems allows attention to be drawn to enablers such as water, human capital, supply chains, infrastructure and many other issues affected simultaneously (Kimmelshue 2019).
BMW
Bavaria motor works (BMW) is a German automaker that was founded in 1916. It is a very profitable company with over 130,000 employees. The company produces cars and motorbikes in Germany and various other foreign plants across the world. The company is renowned for its contribution to the development of commercial electric cars, the i models, and participation in car-sharing initiatives through DriveNow and ReachNow (BMW Group 2019). Moreover, BMW proactively removes gender and age discrimination from its workforce by introducing innovative ways of accommodating an aging workforce (Putrill 2018). The company advances 2 SDGs by advancing the good health and wellbeing of its older employees and the use of clean energy (electricity) in motor vehicles. The business model addressing the human factor and particularly the ageing workforce is scalable to all firms, considering that the aging population is a global phenomenon that poses challenges presently and in the future.
Winner
Bechtel Corporation is a large American engineering and construction firm headquartered in Virginia in the United States. Since its founding in 1898, it has contributed to a safer, cleaner and prosperous world through increasing access to energy and resources, improving the resiliency of the infrastructure, and growing economies in over 160 countries (Bechtel Corporation 2019 a). It has engaged in large projects that impact society through innovations that attend to the needs and challenges in society (Bechtel Corporation 2019 b). For instance, Bechtel is supplying a mining site in Chile’s Atacama Desert with desalinated seawater, building power plants for Panda Power Funds that use natural gas in the world’s most efficient way, helped develop the Ivanpar Solar Power generating plant in Mojave Desert, enhancing the use of wind power generated offshore, improving Peru’s economy by constructing a copper concentrator in the remote Las Bambas, innovated the removal of carbon form gas-fired power plants, and developing smart cities in Saudi Arabia (United Nations Council for International Business 2019 b). The company has modified its business model over time to focus more on the pressing social problems rather than profit making.
The company pursues 7 SDG goals through its projects. These include i) the pursuance of clean water and sanitation through its desalination project, ii) affordable and clean energy through its solar and wind power projects, iii) descent work and economic growth through it project in Peru, iv) industry innovation and infrastructure through the road infrastructure projects in Gabon and Kosovo, v) sustainable cities and communities through its Saudi economic cities project, vi) responsible consumption and production through its projects in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates and vii) partnerships for goals through the collaboration with multiple partners in the various locations of its projects globally (United Nations Council for International Business 2019 b). The business model of undertaking multifaceted projects can be scaled up with sufficient networking between firms. Large projects that are strewn across the world influence many people and large spaces simultaneously, thus significantly and positively impacting the world.
Conclusion
The Earth Awards aims at recognising companies around the world that have innovative sustainable business strategies. The criteria for the award is based on value creation, shared value, sustainable value, innovativeness in business model, net positive global effect, support of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and focus. Shortlisted companies drawn from diverse industries were shortlisted and scored based in the criteria. Bechtel Corporation emerged the best company deserving the award. Its strength was drawn from its huge impact on national economies and communities around the world through its innovative projects. Besides, the company was championing advanced technologies in water and energy, which were pressing problems in the contemporary world due to scarcity and unequal distribution. The various projects undertaken by company are scalable for use across the world in addition to addressing various SDGs simultaneously.
Reference List
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Face-to-Face Communication versus Electronic Communication
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Face-to-Face Communication versus Electronic Communication
A recent report revealed that the millennial cohort prefers electronic communication like email and text over face-to-face communication with peers and acquaintances. However, as per the same study, electronic communication like emailing and instant messaging are not as effective as engaging in face-to-face communication (Tilleman, 2018). Similarly, there is a general understanding in the business world that, whereas digital communication represents a powerful communication tool, it cannot replace face-to-face (F2F) communication. In the absence of F2F conversations, the lack of facial emotions and nonverbal cues deters successful communication and encumbers advancement of relationships. A particular study of preteens spending time at a summer camp established that when they spent five days without any form of electronic communication, the preteens demonstrated improvement in their nonverbal communication abilities (Uhls & Bos, 2015). It is in the public domain that nonverbal communication represents a considerable per4centage of all communication and that when faced with F2F interaction, as diminutive as seven per cent of communication is verbal (Uhls & Bos, 2015). Hence, the preteens improved immediately their capacity to understand what forms the larger proportion of communication in real life. That said, it is important to realize that the form of communication adopted at any instance is convenient with the purpose, audience, and general context.
The Significance of Face-to-Face (F2F) Communication in the Digital Age
In the contemporary digital age, it is evident that technology has transformed how individuals and corporations communicate. It is now possible for colleagues to collaborate irrespective of their location, leaders can relay important messages to their employees efficiently, and employees can even work from the comfort of their homes or remote offices. Yet, in spite of the distinct benefits of telecommuting and digital communication, many restrictions make it inefficient, and it would be fallacious to assume that F2F communication within workplaces could lose its value (Tilleman, 2018). Akin to many other soft aptitudes and skills, it is possible to undervalue communication within organizations since it is a difficult concept to measure with precision, but its influence in moulding business outcomes, staff engagement, and organizational culture cannot be underestimated. Regardless of the level of innovation in communication, the impact of F2F communication cannot be replaced.
That said, it is easy to circumvent F2F communication in the digital age. For example, communicating via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has gained increasing popularity over the past years, with individuals finding themselves having increased interactions with peers online as opposed to meeting up. To test this hypothesis, Tilleman (2018) used data gathered from 742 participants to gain an intensive insight into the influence of frequency, relational distance, and information content on the mode of communication, as well as the interaction between electronic contacts and F2F communication. The results demonstrated that F2F contact frequency is positively correlated with that of electronic communication, indicating a complementary effect. In terms of relational distance and information content, the investigation revealed that, based on descriptive analyses, synchronous services or modes of telephone conversations and F2F contacts are utilized more for matters considered urgent and modes, asynchronous especially email, tend to be more influential with increases in distance (Tilleman, 2018). Lastly, ordered probit analyses demonstrated that the frequencies of both electronic and F2F communication diminishes when the relational and physical distance to social network followers increases.
Consequently, it is important to point out the complementary nature of F2F and electronic communication. The increased access to mobile technology and networks should not be the reason to abandon F2F communication (Baruah, 2012). Investigations of virtual teams have established that individuals are even inclined to construe email texts for nonverbal communication. However, the challenge with this assumption is that individuals tend to use shorthand, for instance, construing direct communication as annoyance or anger, when it might be the opposite. Moreover, it has been established that it becomes more challenging to manage intercultural differences when using electronic communication (Baruah, 2012). As it is, people struggle with F2F communication, but there is a significant need for more contextual cues in intercultural interactions. Thus, people are even more challenged to understand intercultural electronic communication. Essentially, F2F communication permits individuals to express and construe a more complete range of concepts and emotions. While individuals might be adapted to enhance their capacity to construe electronic communications such as texts, it remains lesser than F2F concerning effectiveness.
Electronic communication is a poor supernumerary for the human interaction necessary for individuals to establish a more meaningful association with others and foster trust, credibility, and loyalty (Wood, 2015). More so, in the business world, the choice of communication will determine the effectiveness of the message and fostering the desired organizational culture. However, it is important to note that electronic communication can also convey emotions. Emotions are relevant to online and digital communications in various ways. According to Wood (2015), the reasons that people might not express emotions during F2F conversations might also be relevant when using social media platforms. There is a perception that it is socially unacceptable to express particular feelings online, and people might decide not to express their thoughts to protect others or themselves, or they might realize that their roles it makes it incongruous to express distinct emotions. When communicating with peers, family, and friends, any of the reasons might lead individuals not to portray their emotions. Yet, individuals might be more likely to show emotions, including those that are socially unfitting, when they are communicating to people who they do not know personally. The anonymity that social media provides might embolden some individuals to post their hate speech, rants, and other invasive or belligerent comments that they would not say in F2F communication. In other words, the people involved might feel less inhibited by social morals when they communicate digitally or online.
Secondly, the use of electronic communication such as social media might help individuals to experience and express their feelings. When something shocking or sad occurs, people tend to connect more with others who are likely to share their feelings regarding that particular incident (Turkle, 2016). For instance, following the demise of pop star Michael Jackson, his fans grieved together on online platforms. Studies established that the content found on YouTube helped the fans to overcome their grief (Turkle, 2016). Likewise, many individuals find like-minded groups to celebrate together during happy occasions such as weddings or make sense of incidences of violence, for example, school shootings.
Third, electronic communication can substitute emotional involvement with individuals in F2F relationships. It becomes easier to turn to online acquaintances than real-life partners or friends when individuals desire emotional connection (Wood, 2015). People can say what they really feel, which is not always the case for F2F communications. It becomes less emotionally threatening and easier to turn to online associates than F2F friends. As people share more of their feelings through electronic means such as social media, they become more attached to their virtual friends. However, whereas relying on such acquaintances can satisfy individuals’ emotional needs, there is the risk of becoming overly involved with virtual friends than real F2F friends. Essentially, people who rely more on electronic communication to satisfy their emotional needs tend to develop antisocial behaviours like being introverts.
Consequently, the issue of how to balance the two modes of communication becomes significant. Whereas there is a place and time for both modes of communication, each possesses its merits and demerits.
Convenience
In contemporary society and across various spheres of interaction and disciplines, digital communication has been established to be convenient. Written digital communication, which includes SMS, email, or other instant messaging platforms provide an instant technique of expression, while simultaneously generating a conversation record for future reference (Baruah, 2012). In other words, digital communication eliminates the need to ask people to repeat messages they had already conveyed. Besides, in-person communication depends on the distance between the parties and scheduling. In the present world’s distributed workplaces, the aspect of team proximity is increasingly becoming more of a luxury. Also, it is often challenging to sustain F2F conversations with colleagues even when people work in the same office, particularly if they are all more invested in participating in lengthy teleconferences or answering emails.
Relational
F2F represents a real human interaction, permitting individuals to build synergy collectively, discuss issues thoroughly, and interact in person. While social scientists argue that digital communication can attain identical outcomes, it is not the best substitute for human connection. Individuals need to establish a more evocative connection with others (Uhls & Bos, 2015). Loyalty, trust, and credibility are important aspects of business relationship management and can be fostered better through F2F communication. Additionally, it is possible to infer non-verbal cues in real-life engagement to analyze reactions to opinions and concepts, while communication is more impersonal.
Susceptible to brevity, emails and text messages tend to lack the personal aspect that is necessary for building relationships, and while teleconferences and phone calls are less impersonal, they fail to account for the inference of group dynamics and verbal clues (Baruah, 2012). Well-intentioned messages can be interpreted wrongly and lead to miscommunication or at times, hard feelings.
Efficiency
F2F and electronic communications both possess their merits and demerits. Electronic interactions are perceived as efficient when the requests, tasks, and messages are relayed with clarity and executed as desired (Tilleman, 2018; Turkle, 2016). Contrariwise, unclear multiple message email thread can only serve to frustrate and confuse all parties involved. Similarly, it is evident that email threads spiralling out of control can be better resolved in ten-minute in-person conversations. In contrast with electronic messages, F2F meetings have proven to be productive, collaborative, and energizing when properly facilitated (Uhls & Bos, 2015). However, in the absence of strong leadership, F2F interactions can become repetitive, meander, and lack any results. Many staff members in different organizations have been privy to discussions that went in circles and had no apparent end result or conclusion. Thus, individuals need to endeavour for outcome-inclined dialogue, regardless of whether it is online or in person. For either case, precision is important.
Hybrid Meetings
Through teleconferences, WebEx, and video chats, hybrid meetings magnify the capacity of F2F meetings by connecting the parties with distant addressees and offering a virtual prevue into an on-site event. The growth of virtual communications is proof of the rising desire to adopt technology as a channel to human connection and interaction (Turkle, 2016). Hybrid meetings provide benefits like including more speakers, enhancing interaction among the attendees, and reaching a larger audience. Consequently, people need to focus on planning hybrid meetings to make them superior to simple in-person meetings using teleconferencing units.
Here, it is important to ensure that the hybrid meeting is structured to engage individuals in the room equally to the attendees participating virtually. Additionally, it is critical to facilitate the dialogue, implying that the engagement will not be exclusively dominated by particular attendees in the room, which is a common pain aspect for individuals virtually attending from a distance (Uhls & Bos, 2015).
Choice between Face-to-Face Communication and Electronic Communication
In the contemporary age of technically driven business, it becomes easy to downplay the significance of actual, physical human connection for electronic communication. People instant message, email, text, converse using their phones and utilize social media. However, these forms of communication lack the important aspect of real in-person human interaction (Turkle, 2016). Some social scientists have even coined a term for the scenario, “alone together” (Turkle, 2016). Therefore, it is critical to question whether real human connection in communication really matters. Organizational leaders have to ask themselves whether F2F time with their teams makes any difference or if they are willing to receive instructions through phone calls and email. The question has a lot of relevancy in the modern-day. Given that people and organizations exist in the age of digital communication, which assists in many ways, it is important to question whether the trend has crossed its boundaries. Often, employees can feel disconnected and disillusioned because of the lack of personal, human connection, which in turn becomes detrimental to their productivity.
Consequently, the answer to whether F2F is superior to electronic communication or vice versa is relative to people. There might be individuals who are comfortable conversing face-to-face as often as they can, but there is also a percentage of individuals who would benefit from tangible, actual human interaction, particularly when management is concerned (Tilleman, 2018). Hence, the real question would be whether the advantages offered by electronic communication surpass those provided by F2F communication and vice versa. Answering the question helps individuals to make a decision that will ultimately function best for their teams and their organizations.
That said, however, F2F communication fosters more motivation within teams and organizations. Undoubtedly, speaking to individuals in person makes it easier to motivate them (Wood, 2015). While one could write a very long and winded message to employees commending them for what they do at the firm, the much more effective approach would be to go to them, smile, and thank them in person for their input. Definitely, there is no denying that leaders can motivate their employees through electronic communication, but F2F communication possesses greater relevance in this sphere.
Besides, F2F communication makes it easy for individuals to sense what others are really thinking. Whereas people might “read” the other parties’ thoughts through their choice of wording in their texts or emails, the best way to conceive what they are thinking is through speaking to them personally (Tilleman, 2018). In humans, spoken words comprise less than 10 per cent of all communication, with the rest lying in nonverbal cues such as facial cues, voice inflection, and body language (Ashton College, 2019). Hence, it is logical to state that, to really communicate with others on a platform that one will be able to discern the subtleties in the communication not conveyed through actual words, a healthy volume of F2F communication is necessary. Besides, individuals who engage in F2F communication are likely to create a bond between them that will make them more productive. F2F communication fosters camaraderie-ship, a good working relationship, and friendship. More so, teams require a real bond to foster trust and loyalty, as well as build positive synergies at work.
Conclusion
Face-to-face communication is more suitable for teams in organizations than electronic communication because it permits the transmission of more information to others. F2F includes all the signals and non-verbal cues that humans instinctively utilize to express their feelings. Aspects such as voice inflections and even pauses during conversations can express a lot of information. Facial cues such as brows and eye movements are capable of communicating indications that portray pleasure, annoyance, curiosity, anger, and other human emotions. However, it is important to note that electronic communication also has a role in human interactions and can be utilized for urgent matters or when conversing with people separated by a significant distance. For better conveyance of messages, it is important to apply the two modes of communication in a hybrid meeting, which will allow effective engagement regardless of the distance of the attendees.
References
Ashton College. (2019). The importance of face-to-face communication. Retrieved from https://www.ashtoncollege.ca/the-importance-of-face-to-face-communication/
Baruah, T. (2012). Effectiveness of social media as a tool of communication and its potential for technology-enabled connections: A micro-level study. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2(5), 1-10.
Tilleman, T. (2018). Face-to-face and electronic communications in maintaining social networks: the influence of geographical and relational distance and information content. New Media & Society, 12(6), 965–983.
Turkle, S. (2016). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New York: ReadHowYouWant.com.
Uhls, Y., & Bos, N. (2015). Anger and happiness in virtual teams: Emotional influences of text and behaviour on others affect in the absence of non-verbal cues. Organizational Behavior and Human Processes 116(1), 2-16.
Wood, J. T. (2015). Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters. New York: Cengage Learning.
The Most Important Lesson on the Contemporary Business Environment
The contemporary business environment is highly competitive, with organisations implementing new strategies and tools to gain an advantage. The business climate changes at a fast pace with new concepts in logistics, management, and other organisational aspects. It is therefore essential to adapt accordingly using a wide range of skills and resources at the organisation’s disposal. Typically, companies focus on developing reliable and logical strategies to help them utilize the available tools to facilitate effective decision-making, long-term planning, and overall control in the industry. An important lesson is the significance of creativity and innovation in the contemporary business environment.
Creativity is the capacity to generate new and unique concepts, whereas innovation is the integration of these concepts within a given setting. Using creative approaches can improve problem-solving, leading to the incorporation of perfect solutions that could provide the organisation with a competitive edge. The management should include all employees in problem-solving to diversify the answers and to improve the decision-making process. Creativity also helps to propel innovation by evaluating the available opportunities and assessing the most effective approach. Incorporating unique strategies is integral in differentiating a brand across the industry, thereby expanding its consumer base an attracting more customers. With increased sales and recognition, the enterprise’s productivity would also increase. Organisations can also use creativity to boost morale in the workplace based on corporate culture. Some organisations focused on providing flexibility through unconventional approaches. In turn, they noticed increased productivity and inventiveness among employees.
Innovation is critical in meeting the ever-evolving consumer needs and in staying ahead of the competition. Through technical innovation, a company creates new goods and services that address urgent and long-term concerns. It is crucial to consider the current market and the role of the organisation in meeting the market’s demands accordingly. The telecommunication industry is a suitable example of a contemporary business environment where innovation is at the epicentre. Every year, telecommunication companies strive to release new products and services to maintain competitiveness while surpassing the market’s expectations. Innovativeness in this industry resulted in improved communication, and more expansively, enhancements in telemedicine. Technical innovations typically result from research and development (R&D). R&D requires substantial investments in time, finances, and human resources, making it a challenging endeavour for many companies. Process innovation entails creating new approaches to production, distribution, and marketing products and services. Factors to consider in process innovation include efficiency, the market size, and the organisation’s resources. Through administrative innovation, the management could develop better ways of supporting the company’s operations and its reach in the community.
An essential component of innovation is technology, which is currently the most dominant and beneficial asset in almost all industries. Progressive technological advancements result in product obsolescence, creating a demand for innovative and more efficient products. Managers have an integral responsibility of understanding the emergence of technologies, their development, and their impact on an organisation’s competitiveness. It is also vital to consider how it may influence operational costs and employee morale in the workplace. For example, while technology saves on production costs, many workers worry that it would eventually replace them as organisations would prioritize efficiency over human labour. It is, therefore, the management’s responsibility to establish a balance between technology use and the workforce to boost morale and overall productivity.
Managers also need to understand the driving forces and patterns of innovation to help them anticipate, manage, and monitor technologies accordingly. For one, there should be a demand for novelty. This demand functions as the driving force that would facilitate the development of essential solutions. Secondly, there should be a convertible theoretical context highlighting the possibility of meeting this need based on the available knowledge and science. The organisation should have the required resources needed to execute the project, including time, finance, space, and skilled labour, among others. An entrepreneurial initiative is also critical in identifying and integrating the essential elements of the project’s success.
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The Digital Marketing Activities of Mercedes Benz
Introduction
Mercedes-Benz AG (Mercedes-Benz) is a renowned German automotive manufacturer and brand that was founded in 1926. As a division of Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz is an automotive marque specializing in passenger cars, trucks, coaches and ambulances. Mercedes me, Mercedes –Maybach and Mercedes-AMG are some of the sub-brands of Mercedes-Benz. With 175,000 employees and 40 production sites across 4 continents, Mercedes-Benz sold over 2.3 million passenger cars and 420,000 vans in 2018, to position it as the best selling luxury brand in the world. The company earned 93,193 and 13,626 Euros from cars and vans respectively, in 2018, and its third-quarter sales in 2019 are up 8 % courtesy of Ola Kallenius, the chairperson of the Daimer AG management board and head of Mercedes-Benz cars, and his management team. In early 2019, Mercedes-Benz AG took control of the Daimler AG website to conform to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) and reflect the new corporate structure at parent the company. Mercedes-Benz has mastered the digital space by combining user engagement, customer experiences and product bundling to showcase its innovativeness and funnel prospects into buyers (Letki).
Despite its longstanding history, Mercedes-Benz faces stiff competition from other German and foreign automotive manufacturer, and the digital platform remains pivotal for staying ahead of rivals. An analysis of Mercedes-Benz’s online brand presence is undertaken to unearth the aspects that need improvement and inform the recommendations.
Situation analysis
External analysis
An analysis of the macro-environment around Mercedes-Benz is undertaken using the PESTLE analysis and Porter’s five forces analysis to reveal forces that shape the automotive industry and the opportunities and threats facing the company.
PESTLE Analysis
The political environment influences the automotive industry significantly because of their contribution to national economies, considering that automakers are large employers and taxpayers. Recent development in the European Union occasioned by Brexit may be detrimental to the company’s business in the United Kingdom, as one of its largest markets. For instance, the company abandoned plans to establish a plant in the UK and has warned against a hard exit because it would impose tariffs that would increase the prices of its cars in the UK market (Morrison; Taylor and Schwartz). Rising economic nationalism globally as governments adopt inward-looking policies rather than out-ward looking ones may create new hurdles for the company in its large global markets like the United States and China and interfere with its foreign production plants.
The economic environment remains volatile and depressed as the recovery from the financial crisis of 2007 remains slow. The automotive industry is witnessing a preference for low-priced fuel-efficient models and depressed demand for luxury models. The Chinese market, which held much promise for the automotive industry and Mercedes-Benz, registered a drop in sales returns from 9 % to 6.1 % between 2018 and 2019 on Mercedes-Benz cars (Boston).
The sociological factors affecting the luxury automotive brands are engrained in the values, attitudes and culture associated with high-end products. Mercedes-Benz is positioned as a luxury brand appealing to the affluent and the ambitious middle-class who want to display upward social mobility. Therefore, the emerging middle-class in many emerging economies is targeted by the company and its shrinkage or economic disempowerment would injure the sales and profits of the automaker.
The automotive industry is engaged in a technological to make electric cars a reality for the common person and competition between different companies is fierce. This competition is also intense in Germany with companies like BMW and AUDI making significant progress.
The legal environment surrounding the automotive industry is changing fast as governments rein in on vehicular environmental pollution. Moreover, the EU enacted the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018, which will influence how automakers engage with clients online and conduct their marketing activities (Mercedes-Benz Southwest).
Environmental concerns related to the use of fossil fuels and global warming are pertinent to the automotive industry and inform the advancement towards alternative fuels. Mercedes-Benz is committed to lower automotive emission rates by developing electric cars and keeping the emissions of its regular cars low.
Industry Rivalry
The threat of new entrants is low due to huge capital, economies of scale, distribution, and legal requirements. The bargaining power of suppliers is low because the firm dictates the prices and can easily switch suppliers for its standardised parts. Similarly, the bargaining power of buyers is low considering that Mercedes-Benz is a luxury brand targeting buyers who are not price sensitive. The threat of substitutes is low in the automotive industry, with alternatives being few and highly priced. The rivalry among the few luxury automakers is fierce because they are providing almost similar features and capabilities in their automotives. Companies such as BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen and AUDI offer stiff competition to Mercedes-Benz.
Opportunities and Threats
The developing of electric cars, reducing fuel consumption and lowering greenhouse gas emissions present opportunities to the automotive industry and Mercedes-Benz. Moreover, the expansion of the middle-class increases the target market for luxury car brands. However, the industry and Mercedes-Benz are threatened by the slowing economic growth, which is reducing the disposable income to be spent of car purchases. Also, changing laws and trade tariffs instigated by politically-motivated economic nationalism may reduce the international market for luxury vehicles. Moreover, tightening of internet-related laws will challenge the online marketing activities by automakers.
Internal analysis
Marketing Mix
Product
Mercedes-Benz has a longstanding brand history and presence, which it leverages as a distinguished luxury car brand. The easily recognisable design and use of advanced technologies are differentiating features of Mercedes-Benz cars. The brand is also associated with utility vehicles such as vans, buses, and trucks, renowned for their durability and performance.
Place
Mercedes-Benz is available worldwide through an elaborate network of dealerships, transporters and service stations served by its 40 production sites. The brand is available in large cities globally, where the target market is concentrated. Europe, North America and recently, China and Russia are its major markets in the world. A combination of brick-and-mortar showrooms and online channels allow customers to interact with the products and the firm.
Price
Mercedes-Benz uses the value-based pricing strategy in which the vehicles are priced as premium products to resonate with the customers’ beliefs of their worth. The price ranges from about 20,000 euros for the more regular vehicles to millions of euros for the rare, concept, high-end machines. The premium pricing of these vehicles is based on the features and competing models.
Promotion
Mercedes-Benz is an aggressive promoter that uses a multichannel approach comprising of a mix of traditional and new media advertising channels. Promotions range from television and print commercials, to sports tournaments, celebrity endorsements, driving challenges, social media presence and product bundling.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The company has remarkable presence in motorsport and numerous other sports, which it uses to showcase the quality of its vehicles. Its omni-channel marketing approach makes the brand easily recognisable across the world. However, intense competition threatens the growth of its global market share. Similarly, the global recognition of the brand makes it vulnerable to reputation damages from the exaggeration of minor issues.
Digital analysis
The digital analysis is bases of Google Chrome, which is the predominant web browser used by many online users as illustrated in figure 1.
Figure 1. Most popular web browsers
Source: Martin
Website
Mercedes-Benz has been promoted extensively through its website, using captivating pictures and videos. However, the company’s value proposition was absent in the landing page, an indication that the company assumed that the website visitors were already familiar with the quality of the vehicles. The website is rated 89 by Website Grader as illustrated in figure 2. While the website was optimized for the search engines, secure and mobile-friendly, its performance was suboptimal. The website performance was graded 19 out of 30, while mobile, search engine optimization and security got a perfect score, according to Website Grader. However, while the website is responsive on mobile devices, this avenue is not leveraged by the company to capture smartphone enthusiasts such as the millennials. Notably, the website is secure because the company owns the SSL certificates, which is important in this era of increased privacy and cybercrime concerns. Users can be confident that the website is trustworthy and authentic, which is valued by loyal customers.
Figure 2. Mercedes-Benz website ranking
Source: Website Grader
Further analysis of the website performance revealed performance areas that needed improvements, as illustrated in figure 3. For instance, the page size was 3.6 MB, while the recommended size is below 3 MB. Moreover, the website received 107 requests, which are on the higher side because they make the website slow. Nonetheless the page speed is 3 seconds, which is within the acceptable loading speeds that would prevent visitors from looking elsewhere.
Figure 3. Page size, requests and speed of the Mercedes-Benz webpage
Source: Website Grader
The overall report from Nibbler-sliktide.com rated the website 8.0. Although website accessibility was rated 8.1, with the page titles and mobile compatibility being rated at 10 each, the website had minimal internal links, which were rated at 2.5. Notably, the marketing performance of the website was rated lowly, at 6.6, because of the low social interest and few meta-tags, as shown in figure 4. The link texts were too long, while only 60 % of the web pages had a description meta tag.
Figure 4. Performance ranking using various metrics of the website
Source: Nibbler.
Nonetheless, Mercedes-Benz is now responsible for its website as illustrated in the notice displayed in figure 5. The reorganisation of the parent company, Daimler AG, has empowered Mercedes-Benz to control its website and make it suitable for the marketing of the vehicles.
Figure 5. Notice of website control change
Source: Mercedes-Benz
User experience
The Mercedes-Benz website was legible, as shown by green bars in figure 4. Moreover, about 15.5 % of the words were complex, with each sentence containing about 8 words. Since the readability indices are referenced to the American school level, the website is readable by people with a reading competence between grades 6 and 7.
Figure 6. Readability analysis
Source: Web FX
Moreover, the high-contrasting of black and white texts and backgrounds, as shown in figure 7, facilitates legibility of the website. However, this is not translated in the other pages of the websites where pictures dominate the background, making some text unreadable.
Figure 7. Text and background contrast in the contact page of the website
Source: Mercedes-Benz
Most traffic to the company’s website is though desktop computers, including laptops. Most internet users go directly to the website, while a significant proportion uses search engines to access it. Although much traffic is generated from referrals, very little of it originates from social media platforms. The electronic mailing channel hardly generates any traffic, which indicated a departure from traditional marketing preferences among the nbrand enthusiasts, as exhibited in figure 8.
Figure 8. Source of traffic to the Mercedes-Benz website
Source: SimilarWeb
Search Engine Optimization
Mercedes-Benz domain is search engine optimised, going by the position and number of returns that point towards the company in Google search (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Mercedes-Benz Google SEO
Source: Mercedes-Benz
However, SEO Site Checkup graded the website at 74 % as shown in figure 10, which indicates the presence of optimization gaps that need to be addressed. Notably, the code ration was below 10 %, while many titles were either too shirt or too long. Moreover, there were only 47 out of 2007 backlinks to the website. Another analysis revealed that the website had 32,000 keyword opportunities breakdown due to 17,300 keyword gaps.
Figure 10. SEO ranking of the Mercedes-Benz website
Source: SEO Site Checkup
Despite having 2.7 million visitors, the website has a bounce rate of 43.87 % as shown in figure 11.
Figure 11. Total website visits in the last 6 months
Source: SimilarWeb
Reach
Mercedes-Benz.com was ranked the twenty-six best vehicle website globally. The ranking of was reducing around the world and in Germany, as illustrated in figure 12, which indicated that less people were either disinterested in the company’s vehicles or the competitors were becoming more popular.
Figure 12. Global ranking of Mercedes-benz.com
Source: SimilarWeb
Social media
Despite having several social media links on its landing page, as illustrated in figure 13, social media engagement is ranked lowly. Seven social media platforms have links in the website, although there was little evidence indicating their effective use.
Figure 13. Social media links on Mercedes-Benz website
Source: Mercedes-Benz
Only 2.6 % to the traffic to Mercedes-Benz.com is attributed to social media platforms. Most of the traffic is through Facebook and YouTube, as shown in figure 14. This means that there is minimal electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) among the public, an indication that the brand is not exciting. Indeed, the very low traffic on Twitter, Instagram and WhatApp is indicative of the lack of customer engagement over social media.
Figure 14. Contribution of social media platforms to company website traffic
Source: SimilarWeb
Engagement
An inspection of the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the company revealed that the focus was selling vehicles and sharing rare experiences among the elite in the society, as illustrated in figures 15 and 16. As such, Mercedes-Benz was not engaging the emerging customer segment enough. The corporate culture at the company may be holding on to traditional approaches of engaging customers and ignoring the millennials and other youthful potential customers, who were ardent enthusiasts of social media.
Figure 15. Facebook page of Mercedes-Benz
Figure 16. Twitter page of Mercedes-Benz
When compared with competitors such as BMW, Volvo, Audi and Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz performed the worst, with engagement strength at 33 %, as illustrated in figure 17. Moreover, the positive sentiments were the lowest among rivals, although they shared the aspect of having most sentiments as neutral. However, Mercedes-Benz can be comforted by the low negative sentiments and high passion level among social media users.
Figure 17. Social media engagement among Mercedes-Benz competitors
Source: Social mention
However, although Mercedes-Benz is an endorser of sporting activities such as formula 1 and golf tournaments, it has not mastered influencer marketing in its digital marketing strategy. The highest ranked influencer, Vaderklasse, had only 62,600 followers, while Laura Tobon, who had 485,000 followers, was ranked 6th, as illustrated in figure 18. This demonstrates that social media influencers were having little impact in the digital marketing strategy of the company. In any case, there were few influencers in the company’s traditional markets in Europe and Northern America.
Figure 18. Top 6 influencers of Mercedes-Benz
Source: Influence.co
Recommendations
The Mercedes-Benz website is captivating to traditional customers who are conversant the brand; but its linkage to social media platforms is ineffective. As such, the digital marketing strategy of the company is not effective at targeting the millennial customers, whose proportion is rising significantly in the global middle-class. Besides, the website can be improved to engage the customers more and create a buzz around new cars rather than just furnishing technical information to the target population. Improvements in search engine optimization, social media presence and user experience
Search engine optimisation
It is recommended that the webpage is reduced to below 3 MB to improve loading speed. This can be done by compressing the numerous images, videos and JavaScript files. Alternatively, JavaScript and the cascading style sheets (CSS) that interfere with the loading of the above-the-fold content should be removed. Meta tags should be added to all pages of the website, while link texts should be shortened.
Website accessibility
The use of plain backgrounds rather than images is recommended to enhance website legibility. Also, backlinks between the website and the online merchandise shop and other pages, would help direct users to the company’s website. In this regard, the page requests should be reduced to less than 30 by combining files. Moreover, to improve the quality and effectiveness of the links, the links’ destinations should be accompanied by important anchor text.
Social media
Although the website had social media links, the pages were weakly linked to the social media platforms. From the analysis, there was little evidence that social media was being leveraged enough to create buzz and activate e-WOM among social media enthusiasts. To turn the neutral sentiments to positive ones, millennials needed to be targeted by the online marketing strategy, using seamless linkage between the corporate website and the social media platforms. Optimising the webpage for mobile gadgets is recommended because the new age of emerging customers were smartphone and tablet enthusiasts.
Content strategy
It recommended that pop-ups that guide users to prevent them from abandoning the website once they bounce. Moreover, the company’s online merchandise shop should be linked to the corporate webpage, considering that some brand enthusiasts may start by going through the merchandise before going through more technical content about the vehicles. Indeed, increasing the backlinks to the website would not only draw more traffic to it but also instigate content creation and sharing among users. Also, optimizing the placement of calls for action in the website may reduce the bounce rate
Conclusion
Mercedes-Benz still approaches marketing traditionally in many aspects. The company has leveraged traditional marketing channels, such as television, print and out-of-house, to advance its premium brand. Moreover, the company is successful in promoting its brand through sports endorsements. The company is still holding on to its traditional marketing approaches, while the customer preferences have changed as more millennials enter the middle-class. Moreover, the newly enacted General Data Protection Regulation alongside the autonomy to control the website by the Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz are posing challenges to the company as it assumes a bigger role in its marketing strategies.
Despite depressed economic environment in the company’s major markets, millennials are increasingly seeking luxurious cars as their financial position increases. Moreover, they are attending sporting activities such as formula 1 to watch the performance of the premium vehicles on the race tracks. Mercedes-Benz has the financial muscle to invest in social media to engage this emerging customer segment globally. Therefore, linking its website to social media platforms would not only increase traffic but also endear the interest of social media enthusiasts to the company’s vehicles without diminishing their value positioning. Moreover, optimizing the website for mobile devices many increase traffic from this customer segment, based on their enhanced mobile use. Altogether, which digital marketing is evolving rapidly and challenging companies with a longstanding history, culture and tradition, it can be embraced by Mercedes-Benz, which has done well enough to make cars that are attractive to the affluent and the utility-conscious emerging middle-class.
Works Cited
Boston, William. “Daimler earnings slump as weaker china sales hits Mercedes.” The Wall Street Journal. 26 April 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/daimler-earnings-slump-as-weaker-china-sales-hits-mercedes-11556270486. Accessed 21 November 2019
Daimler North America. “Daimler launches new corporate structure.” PR Newswire. 4 November 2019. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/daimler-launches-new-corporate-structure-300949744.html. Accessed 21 November 2019
Influence.co. “Find top ranked Mercedes Benz social media influencers.” 2019. https://influence.co/category/mercedes-benz. Accessed 21 November 2019
Letki, Gosia. “How Mercedes-Benz uses social media-case study.” Brand 24. https://brand24.com/blog/how-mercedes-benz-uses-social-media-case-study/. Accessed 21 November 2019
Martin, Jim. “The best web browser for 2019.” Tech Advisor, 6 August 2019. https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/software/best-web-browsers-3635255/. Accessed 21 November 2019
Mercedes-Benz Southwest. “What does the GDPR mean to you?” 2019. https://www.mercedes-benzsouthwest.co.uk/about/news-and-events/what-does-gdpr-mean/. Accessed 21 November 2019
Morrison, Caitlin. “Mercedes-Benz abandoned plans to move production to UK after Brexit vote.” Independent. 4 October 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mercedes-benz-brexit-production-move-nissan-plant-sunderland-a8568331.html. Accessed 21 November 2019
NibblerSliktide. “Report for www.mercedes-benz.com.” Nibbler, 2019. https://nibbler.silktide.com/en/reports/www.mercedes-benz.com. Accessed 21 November 2019
SeoSiteCheckup. Projects: http://www.mercedes-benz.com.” 2019. https://sitechecker.pro/app/main/dashboard. Accessed 21 November 2019
SimilarWeb. “Mercedes-benz.com.” 2019. https://www.similarweb.com/ Mercedes-benz.com. Accessed 21 November 2019
Social mention. “Mentions about Audi.” 2019. http://socialmention.com/search?t=all&q=Audi&btnG=Search. Accessed 21 November 2019
Social mention. “Mentions about BMW.” 2019. http://socialmention.com/search?t=all&q=BMW&btnG=Search. Accessed 21 November 2019
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Taylor, Edward and Jan Schwartz. “German carmakers warn hard Brexit would be fatal.” Reuters. 16 January 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-autos-germany/german-carmakers-warn-hard-brexit-would-be-fatal-idUSKCN1PA173. Accessed 21 November 2019
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Ageing Workforce in the Global Marketplace
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Ageing Workforce in the Global Marketplace
Abstract
The aging workforce is a global phenomenon that presents new challenges to human resources management (HRM) practices. Countries and firms around the world were grappling with the impact that globalization, technological advancements and increasing power of multinational corporations had on human resources management practices. Considering the difficulty in devising HRM initiatives by companies with a global presence amid the rapidly-aging workforce, this study sought to enhance the understanding of these issues in a global context. The question ‘how can Canadian multinational companies resolve the human resources management challenges of an aging workforce?’ was formulated to generate recommendations that would help multinational firms address the global demographic phenomenon. A qualitative study using secondary data available in publication available online was formulated. The findings revealed that although the aging population inspired HRM innovations, negative age-related stereotypes and bias alongside misalignment of HR practices across cultures hindered the effectiveness of the prevailing HRM practices. An age management approach that individualized the aging workers and incorporated diverse HRM practices and traditions to develop a fit rather than a best practice was recommended.
Table of contents
Contents pages
Abstract 2
1.0 Introduction. 5
1.1 Background of the Study. 5
1.2 Problem Statement 6
1.3 Purpose of the Study. 7
1.4 Research Question and Objectives. 7
1.5 Significance of the Study. 8
1.6 Theoretical Framework. 8
2.0 Literature Review.. 10
2.1 Introduction. 10
2.2 Causes of Aging Workforce. 10
2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of an Aging Workforce. 13
2.4 Human Resources Management and the Aging Workforce. 15
2.5 Human Resources Management Challenges of an Aging Workforce in Multinational Companies 16
2.5.1 Economic challenges. 16
2.5.2 Legal challenges. 16
2.5.3 Sociocultural challenges. 18
3.0 Methods. 18
3.1 Introduction. 18
3.2 Research Perspective. 19
3.3 Research Design. 20
3.4 Data Collection and Analysis. 21
4.0 Results. 21
4.1 Introduction. 21
4.2 Challenges presented by an aging workforce to organizations. 21
4.2 Interventions by countries and companies to address the aging workforce. 22
4.3 The effect of an aging workforce on international human resource management practices 23
5.0 Discussion. 23
5.1 Introduction. 23
5.2 Challenges presented by an aging workforce to organizations. 24
5.3 International HRM and the aging population in multinational organizations. 24
5.3.1 Redefining HRM practices. 24
5.3.2 Redefining mature workers. 26
5.3.3 Age management in the global context. 27
6.0 Recommendations. 28
7.0 Conclusions. 29
References. 31
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Persons aged over 65 years (seniors) are the fastest-growing age group in the world’s aging population, according to the United Nations. Currently, nine percent of the global population is above the age of 65, and the proportion is expected to rise to 16 % by 2050 when there will be more than 2 billion seniors (United Nations, 2019). In Europe and Northern America, the figures stand at 18 % currently, with projections for 2030 and 2050 being 22.1 % and 26.1 %, respectively. Similarly, 17.5 % of Canada’s population comprises of seniors (Statistics Canada, 2019). The workforce population is aging fast, especially in highly developed countries, and Canada is no exception.
The aging population is increasingly becoming an issue in human resource management (HRM). This issue is amplified in countries that have a rapidly-aging workforce, particularly the highly-developed ones. Field, Burke and Cooper (2013) observed that the globalization of business, pressured by an aging workforce, will increase the global demand for talent. Notably, countries such as Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have relied on immigrants to fill the need for talent, while developing countries such as China and India were coming to these formerly host countries for talent (Field, Burke & Cooper, 2013). As such, human resources experts have devised strategies such as talent management, future-focused recruitment and succession planning to ease the threat of the aging workforce. However, these strategies present new challenges to contemporary multinational companies regarding diversity management, differences in economic, legal and political structures in the different countries, and creating senior-friendly work environments.
This report is structured in sections. Section 1 is the introduction; section 2 is the literature review; section 3 describes the methods, section 4 presents the results; section 5 discusses the findings; section 6 makes recommendations, and section 7, concludes the study report.
1.2 Problem Statement
The workforce in Canada was aging as rapidly as its population. Statistics Canada (2019) reported that Canada’s population was growing at 1.4%, the highest among G7 nations. Moreover, 6,592,611 Canadians are 65 years old and above, with baby boomers comprising 51.1 % of this population segment. Besides, of its population of 37.6 million, 10,795 were centenarians, and the figure was growing fast (Statistics Canada, 2019). Previously, Statistics Canada revealed that in 2018, the proportion of senior workers in the Canadian workforce was 21 %, up from 10 % in 1996 (Ranosa, 2019). Moreover, the percentage of seniors and those between 25 and 34 years old in the workforce has reached parity, and soon, working seniors may outnumber their young counterparts (Ranosa, 2019). Companies were reacting to these demographic changes in different ways, ranging from automating operational processes to designing work to fit the seniors. Moreover, the workforce demographic changes were influencing the human resources management practices in firms in Canada and globally. Aging workforces present both challenges and benefits to multinational companies. As such, companies are not sure whether to embrace seniors or avoid them in their workplaces. This dilemma is escalated in companies that have an international presence in countries with aging workforces as well. Such companies have to contend with the aging workforce within their countries and in foreign countries where they have a presence. As such, the human resources management in such companies faces dilemmas when the aging population in the domestic workforce presents different challenges from those in foreign locations. Besides, age stereotypes influence human resource management practices, and the work experiences and behaviors of individuals in business enterprises (Field, Burke & Cooper, 2013). Moreover, the influence of the aging workforce on the management of human resources in Canadian multinational companies has not been studied sufficiently. Most studies have focused on the generalized challenges and opportunities presented by an aging workforce in companies. Therefore, how the human resource managers in Canadian multinationals respond to the aging workforce, domestically and internationally, is poorly understood.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
This study aims to identify and explain the issues influencing human resource management practices and activities in Canadian multinationals. Understanding these issues will help device approaches that can help these companies address the changing workforce demographics in their international operations.
1.4 Research Question and Objectives
The aim of this study is to enhance the understanding of the influence of an aging workforce in the global labor market and how this affects human resources management practices in multinational operations. The impact of an aging population on the IHRM practices focuses on Canadian multinationals because Canada is one of the countries experiencing the aging workforce phenomenon. Therefore, this study seeks to answer the question, ‘how can Canadian multinational companies resolve the human resources management challenges of an aging workforce?’
To answer this question, the research objectives are as follows.
To describe the challenges presented by an aging workforce to organizationsTo explain the effect of an aging workforce on human resource management practicesTo identify the human resources management challenges of an aging workforce in Canadian multinational organizationsTo describe how multinational companies address the aging workforce phenomenonTo identify the problems that multinational organizations face when addressing the aging workforce issues in the global marketplaceRecommend solutions for the human resources management of an aging workforce in Canadian multinational organizations.
1.5 Significance of the Study
The significance of the study is premised on the additional information that is added to guide human resources management departments in organizations that have or intend to have an international presence. Describing and explaining the challenges presented by an aging workforce to organizations and their human resources management sets the stage for understanding the emerging challenges in transnational organizations. Moreover, Canadian multinational organizations have domestic and foreign operations and therefore, are exposed to the aging population phenomenon at home and abroad. As such, the HR approaches used in different countries and locations may lack strategic coherence. However, since the aging population phenomenon is inevitable, and Canadian companies will continue expanding internationally, human resource managers could address these issues by developing senior-friendly human resources management policies and initiatives. Such actions would help Canadian multinational firms embrace the aging workforce as a source of competitive advantage rather than a burden to be avoided.
1.6 Theoretical Framework
Three theories were selected to guide this research and build the framework around which this study was developed. Institutional theory is anchored in organizational theory that follows the neo-institutionalism paradigm. Imitation is a critical concept in this theory that emphasizes legitimacy, isomorphism and rational myths found in organizations (Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015). According to the theory, organizations conform to the belief systems and rules that prevail in the environment, to survive (Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015). As such, multinational organizations with a presence in different countries with diverse institutional settings experience different a variety of pressures that influence their competitive strategies and HRM practices (Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015). In this case, Canadian multinationals will adopt the HRM practices that prevail in organizations in the different countries of operation to survive the global market.
Selection, optimization and compensation (SOC) theory is one of the lifespan development theories, which explains how workers capitalize on gains and reduce age-related losses (Truxillo, Cadiz & Hammer, 2015). As such, workers select and prioritize goals that maintain their resources and avoid those that divide their resources. Also, employees focus their efforts and resources to achieve their set goals in an optimization process. Besides, age-related declines resources are offset using compensation strategies to maintain a certain performance level. Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) is another lifespan development theory that posits that workers’ perception of time influences the selection and pursuit of social goals (Truxillo, Cadiz & Hammer, 2015). Emotional regulation and knowledge acquisition are to social goals prioritized by young workers and seniors at different times in their working lifespan. As such, older employees focus more on emotion-related goals because they focus on positive work experiences. These two theories are relevant to this study because they explain the age-related motivational changes that occur in adult development at the workplace (Truxillo, Cadiz & Hammer, 2015). Human resource management should understand these motivations to accommodate seniors in the contemporary workplace.
The resource-based view is an organization management theory that focuses on the internal resources of an organization as a means of organizing company processes to obtain a competitive advantage. The theory postulates that resources can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage if they are valuable, rare, imitable and non-substitutable (Bal, Kooij & Rousseau, 2015). This theory is applicable in this study because it suggests that the senior workforce can be a source of sustained competitive provided it is managed adequately (Bal, Kooij & Rousseau, 2015). In this regard, HR practices should be tailored to the needs of senior workers to derive competitive advantage in an aging-workforce environment.
These theories provide a framework that can explain the changing needs, motivations and pressures that influence senior workers and organizations in an aging workforce environment. They provide the foundation for devising HRM policies and practices that can be used by contemporary multinational Canadian firms confronted by age-related demographic changes in the global labor market (Kollmann et al., 2019).
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
This section reviews the literature related to the aging workforce that is relevant in a global labor environment. It discusses the causes of the aging workforce, and the advantages and disadvantages of an aging workforce to identify the opportunities and challenges presented by this workforce demographic. It also discusses the literature addressing the influence of the aging workforce on human resources management practices, focusing more on multinational companies.
2.2 Causes of Aging Workforce
An aging workforce is prevalent in many industrialized and industrializing countries because the world’s population was aging. According to figures from the United Nations (2019), the world’s population was aging, with people aged 65 years and older aging the fastest among the population age groups. The number of the elderly is projected to reach about 2.1 billion by 2050, doubling the 2015 figures (United Nations, 2018). Seniors outnumbered children aged five years and below in 2018. Already, the number of seniors will grow from 9 % in 2019 to 16 % by 2050, reaching about 2.1 billion and doubling the 2015 figures (United Nations, 2018). Also, a quarter of the population in Europe and North America could comprise of seniors by 2050. Moreover, in the coming decades, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean will experience the fastest growth of the older population, with Africa poised to witness an increased from 64 million to 226 million between 2015 and 2050 (reach about 2.1 billion by 2050, doubling the 2015 figures (United Nations, 2018). Besides, in Canada, 17.5 % of the population is attributed to seniors (Statistics Canada, 2019). This trend in the demographic shift is reflected in the workforce. According to the International Labor Organization (2018), the proportion of seniors in the labor force is expected to grow from 42 % to 55 % between 2017 and 2030 in Europe, with similar trends expected in the Russian Federation and China.
Similarly, according to Statistics Canada (2017), the proportion of seniors in the Canadian working-age population has increased from 30 % to 36 % between 2007 and 2016, and was projected to reach 40 % by 2026. Increased longevity and reduced mortality rates due to the improvements in health and healthcare technologies and services and reduced fertility rates across the world were responsible for the increasing proportion of older people in the world and especially in highly developed and developing countries.
Unique work habits of the working population were influencing the preference to remain working beyond the retirement age. In this regard, the high number of Baby Boomers (born after the Second World War) reaching retirement age contributes significantly to the aging workforce, globally. In the same vein, the number of workers in the Baby Burst Generation is much smaller than that of the Boomers Generation, hence not sufficient to replace the retiring workers. As such, senior employees are staying longer in employment. Besides, Baby Boomers remained longer in the workforce because they enjoyed working and being productive, unlike millennials, who pursued purpose in their work.
Changing dynamics among women contributed to the aging workforce. For instance, Ones et al. (2015) reported that in most industrialized countries, delayed entry into the labor market, increased participation of women, the stability of economic conditions and the changes in family structure contribute to the enlarging proportion of the elderly in the workforce. Similarly, Balachandran et al. (2019) attributed the significant reduction in the birth rate to the pursuance of higher levels of education and successful careers, which delayed parenthood, especially among women, thus delaying giving birth. Besides, Hom, et al. (2009) observed that more women were not only participating in the labor force but were also ascending to positions of leadership and management in their organizations. This reduced the number of women staying at home to bear and rear children.
Lack of sufficient pension and savings by workers reaching retirement age was causing seniors to remain longer in the workforce (Truxillo, Cadiz & Hammer, 2015). Truxillo, Cadiz and Hammer (2015) explained that the recent economic downturn in 2008 and subsequent economic hardships had forced workers to remain working longer to meet their financial needs. This was experienced in virtually all countries globally (United Nations, 2018). Similarly, the lack of specialized skills in the labor market alongside the retention of valued employees was causing seniors to remain longer in employment in some companies and industries (Gerontological Society of America, 2018). Notably, Canadians persisted in employment due to factors related to education, family and demand for skills (Fields, Uppal & LaRochelle-Côté, 2017).
These causes of the aging workforce phenomenon are relevant to this study because they inform on the areas that HRM managers can influence and those that are beyond their scope. Besides, the causes that are common around the globe and those that are unique to countries are identified.
2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of an Aging Workforce
Most publications presented the aging workforce phenomenon in a negative light because of the adverse implication on productivity, financial health, competitive advantage, and the economy. At the country and global level, the aging workforce was associated with rising healthcare burden, increasing pension costs, labor shortages, loss of institutional knowledge, demand for HRM innovation and reforms, negative age stereotypes and poor economic performance (Čiutienė & Railaitė, 2014; Ones et al., 2015). For instance, pension costs were high due to the aging workforce, with the retirement savings difference between retirement needs and actual retirement income being estimated at 70 trillion US dollars and was expected to reach $400 trillion by 2050, globally (Agarwal et al., 2018). As such, the pension needs of the older people were being supported by a small and shrinking workforce. In Japan, Agarwal et al. (2018) reported that the shortage of about one million employees cost the economy about 90 billion US dollars between 2015 and 2015. This shortage was caused by the employee attrition not being replenished by the labor market in the country.
At the organizational level, a high proportion of senior employees presented the risk of loss of institutional knowledge, intergenerational conflicts, lower productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism, (Čiutienė & Railaitė, 2014; Ones et al., 2015). For instance, Ones et al. (2015) observed that some workplace conflicts were caused by negative age stereotypes in which older workers were associated with dependency on others, a decrease in performance, physical decline and cost burden on society. These stereotypes were prevalent in western societies and industrialized countries because of youth-centeredness (Ones et al., 2015). Moreover, the negative age-related stereotypes created an opportunity for discriminatory HR practices, exposing organizations to discrimination-related litigations and hindering senior employees from working at full potential (Ones et al., 2015). Calzavara et al. (2019) discussed the disadvantages of senior employees in the manufacturing industry extensively. They observed that older workers were prone to fatigue and work-related health complications, which lowered their physical and cognitive capabilities, and diminished their productivity (Calzavara et al., 2019). Fatigue was caused by standing, dehydration, noise, and fast-paced processes. Similarly, ill-health was caused by exposure to cold, likelihood and severity of injuries, risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Ones, et al. (2015) argued that these physical attributed presented safety concerns at the workplace. Moreover, older workers experienced slower decision-making and learning capabilities that restricted their cognitive performance (Calzavara et al., 2019). Aging affected complex tasks requiring fluid intelligence the most (Kollmann, et al. 2019; Ones, et al., 2015).
Senior workers presented various advantages to the global marketplace, countries and organizations. For instance, Ones et al. (2015) observed that elderly workers increased job opportunities in the healthcare and service sectors, motivated HRM practitioners to innovate different working models, and inspired research in policy. Moreover, senior workers supported the economy as taxpayers while reducing the pressure for pension payouts (Gerontological Society of America, 2018). Gerontological Society of America (2018) estimated that the economic benefits from elderly working Americans were worth 78 billion US dollars in 2017.
Mature employees had desirable work ethics that saved costs in the short and long term, and improved the bottom line of companies. These qualities include dedication, punctuality, honesty, attention to details, maturity, focus, role modeling, confidence, efficiency, good organizational and communication skills (Bastien, 2006). Besides, their corporate citizenship, prosocial and safety behavior improved workplace climate and organizational performance (Beier, 2015; Calzavara et al., 2019). Moreover, senior employees preserved institutional memory, enabling the transfer of knowledge and skills to the younger employees (Miller, 2018). In summary, the aging workforce was viewed as a burden rather than an asset by many organizations.
2.4 Human Resources Management and the Aging Workforce
The human resources management professionals recognized the implications of the aging workforce phenomenon because it influenced the practices in recruitment, retention, compensation, rewards, promotion and human resource management policies. Strategies such as talent management, diversity management, succession planning and professional development programs have been devised by HR experts and used in many multinational companies to attract, develop and retain valued human capital (Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015). In addition, HR managers have innovated new approaches to create a workplace environment that is favorable to old workers. For instance, Lavallière at al. (2016) noted that employers were creating a conducive working atmosphere for senior workers by encouraging exercises over the lunch hour and using ergonometric workstations to secure the health and wellbeing. They added that wearable technologies could ensure that senior employees remained productive, healthy and safe, thus extending their working lives. Miller (2018) also found that BMW was improving the ergonomics of its work environment to retain its senior staff alongside promoting age-neutral language at work. For instance, Purtill (2018) reported that BMW, a renowned German automaker, retained its older workers to maintain its competitive advantage. She argued that many companies in the manufacturing sector were retaining their senior employees to preserve institutional knowledge (Purtill, 2018). Moreover, Daimler AG was using and exhibition to conduct an attitude-change campaign (Thomasson, 2018). This reduced the negative stereotypes and biases against mature workers.
2.5 Human Resources Management Challenges of an Aging Workforce in Multinational Companies
2.5.1 Economic challenges.
An aging workforce was having a negative impact on the economies of countries and financial health of companies. The United Nations (2018) reported that 68 % of the global elderly population receives a pension. However, regional disparities existed with 95 % of people in retirement in Europe getting a pension compared to 23 % in Africa. Moreover, Tan, Viet and Yulianti (2017) reported that in Singapore, the average medical cost for each employee was expected to increase by 108 % between 2016 and 2030. Besides, senior employees were susceptible to health-related absenteeism, which was projected to increase by 89 % between 2016 and 2030. This translates to 5.12 days lost per employee in 2016, increasing to 5.64 days in 2016, or a productivity loss of 1,903 dollars from 1,041 dollars per employee in the same period (Tan, Viet & Yulianti, 2017). Also, companies contend with high medical bills due to the proneness of the elderly workers to accidents, injuries and illness (Gerontological Society of America, 2018).
2.5.2 Legal challenges.
Senior workers faced various legal hurdles that limited their continued participation in the job market. For instance, Bal, Kooij and Rousseau (2015) argued that the statutory retirement age embedded in the employment laws and human resources policies of many countries including the highly developed hindered the continued employment of seniors. Similarly, Baruch, Sayce and Gregoriou (2014) argued that the default retirement age (RDA) of 65 in the United Kingdom was not tenable in the era of an aging workforce because it relied on the replacement of retirees with younger workers. However, the proportion of young people to replace the retired workers was shrinking while some of those in retirement age were still professionally strong. Therefore, the maintenance of RDA was not only economically expensive due to increased pension costs but also contributed to the shrinking workforce (Baruch, Sayce & Gregoriou, 2014). However, Neumark, Burn and Button (2019) revealed that although many countries outlawed discrimination by age, senior workers continued to experience hiring difficulties because they were treated as class actions in which the aggrieved person needed to sue the employing firm. As such, they prevented dismissal based on age but did not prevent the discrimination of the elderly gains discriminatory hiring practices. Besides, the lawsuits contesting age-based discrimination in hiring were often lengthy and expensive, discouraging the seeking of employment by senior workers (Neumark, Burn and Button, 2019). However, while many countries had specific laws addressing age discrimination explicitly, others had laws that implied such protection while others has no legal framework. the inconsistency in legislations within and across countries hindered the formulation of cohesive IHRM policies and practices. For instance, the age discrimination in employment act (ADEA) in the United States protected workers above 40 years as a protected class, but the retirement and re-employment act (RRA) in Singapore does not protect older employees against training, promotion selection or recruitment (Gonzales, Matz-Costa & Morrow-Howell, 2015). Instead, the Singaporean law advices employers to adhere to the guidelines in the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) (Lin, Ngo & Tan, 2019). Further, Canada had fragmented and contradicting laws addressing age discrimination. Specifically, age discrimination is encoded as a human rights violation under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Dinsdale, 2018). However, the laws are fragmented among the federal government and provinces and territories in the country. However, the jurisdictions in the country define age differently with some excluding people above 65 years. As such, some jurisdictions such as Ontario limit the application of mandatory retirement policies while others allow organizations to discriminate against senior workers using HRM policies (Dinsdale, 2018).
2.5.3 Sociocultural challenges.
Japanese multinationals had successfully retained their valued senior staff using seniority-based compensation and promotion alongside long-term employment contracts and professional development programs (Sekiguchi, Froese & Iguchi, 2016). Although this strategy worked well in retaining talent the miracle economic growth era prior to the 1990’s, it failed after the bursting of the economic bubble in the 1990s. Failure to attract and retain global talent was attributed to the ethno-centric international human resource management (HRM) style and other traditional Japanese human resource practices used by the MNCs. The unique Japanese HRM style was based on kaisha, the corporation organizing principle, hierarchical recognition of senior employees, and a high-context collectivistic culture based on the Confucian tradition (Sekiguchi, Froese & Iguchi, 2016). This business and HRM culture was entrenched so much in the instructional structure of the Japanese HRM such that foreign employees could not aspire to managerial positions. However, increased competition from foreign companies, global integration of research and development, the high proportion of foreign customers and talent shrinkage due to demographic decline presented challenges to the traditional IHRM style, making it ineffective in the contemporary global business environment (Sekiguchi, Froese & Iguchi, 2016).
3.0 Methods
3.1 Introduction
This section details the research plan and details the method used in conducting the research. The philosophical and theoretical frameworks that explain the reasoning behind the qualitative research are explained in the research perspective. Thereafter, the research design, data collection method and data analysis process are described and justified. .
3.2 Research Perspective
Qualitative research methodology was used because of its multifaceted nature, which facilitates the development of a holistic perspective of the phenomenon being studied. Besides, qualitative research interrogates the relationships within a system while enabling the understanding of a given social setting (Silverman, 2016). This study aimed at understanding the influence of an aging workforce on the human resource management in the global labor market and particularly, in multinational companies that are headquartered in Canada. Therefore, qualitative research was found to be suitable for this study because it could explore the phenomenon of an aging workforce in the setting of human resources management in Canadian transnational firms. While developing new theory is not the focus, the study intend to device ways to dealing with an aging population in Canadian multinationals from the information already available in the literature and other secondary sources.
A descriptive and explanatory research was adopted to help explain the influence of the aging population on the human resource management practices in multinational organizations (Silverman, 2016). Understanding this influence would help Canadian multinational organizations respond to the challenges presented by the aging population in their different countries and regions of operation. Therefore, a phenomenological research was performed to understand how different human resource managers and experts approach the aging workforce issues in organizations (Silverman, 2016). This understanding would help formulate approaches that human resource managers in Canadian multinationals could use to address the aging workforce phenomenon in the global labor market.
The interpretivist research approach was used in this study. Interpretivism acknowledges the existence of multiple knowledges. Also, interpretivists argue that knowledge in highly dependent on cultural location and time (Silverman, 2016). As such, in this regard, human resource management practices are influenced by the cultural perspectives in different labor markets and the prevailing changing labor demographics.
The study seeks to understand and explain human resource management practices in multinational organizations faced with an aging workforce. The viewpoints, experiences and interpretations of various people reported in publications provide an understanding of the phenomenon. This can help human resource managers in Canadian multinationals to develop initiatives that would help their organizations take advantage of the senior workers at home and in different countries and regions of their international operations.
3.3 Research Design
Secondary research was conducted using existing data from secondary sources. Compared to primary research, secondary research presented various advantages that informed the choice. Firstly, secondary research is cost effective because it utilizes data that is already existing and published (Walliman, 2017). Contrastingly, primary research is expensive because data has to be collected first hand. Besides, secondary research utilizes less time compared to primary research because the required information is already available in publications and online sources. Secondly, secondary research enables the gaining of an in-depth and broader understanding of the research topic. This is because secondary research relies on data from various sources that has been tried, tested, analyzed and filtered (Walliman, 2017). However, sometimes, the data obtained may not be arranged according to the researcher’s requirement. In other cases, insufficient sample sizes and outdated measures may compromise the usability, relevance and reliability of the published findings (Walliman, 2017). Therefore, the researcher has to carefully sift through enormous and fragmented data volumes and information presented in the secondary sources to guarantee quality. Moreover, determining the most appropriate data may be challenging. As such, the research should identify the most relevant information from reliable sources.
3.4 Data Collection and Analysis
Discriminate sampling of publications was undertaken until the different categories of the research objectives were well developed and validated. The theoretical saturation allowed sufficient achievement the different objectives and the answering of the research question (Rudestam & Newton, 2014). As such, archived materials such as published peer reviewed journal articles, publications from the Canadian government and international bodies such as the United Nations, news items from renowned media houses such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal, and expert opinions from HRM professionals, were retrieved from online sources.
Content analysis was used to unearth the important themes and information from the secondary data according to the research objectives. The information was used to describe the causes of the aging workforce phenomenon, explain the effect of an aging workforce on human resource management practices, and the challenges faced by HRM professionals in multinational settings, and particularly in Canadian multinational firms.
4.0 Results
4.1 Introduction
This section details the findings from secondary sources related to the research question. This study seeks to enhance the understanding of the aging workforce within the global marketplace. The results are presented in figures, tables and text.
4.2 Challenges presented by an aging workforce to organizations
The literature revealed that the aging workforce was a global phenomenon. The proportion of the elderly in the workforce was highest in highly industrialized countries while the developing and under-developed countries were set to experience the highest growth in the coming decades. The challenges presented by an aging workforce to organizations are summarized in table 1.
Table 1. Economic, legal and sociocultural challenges presented by an aging workforce to multinational organizations
ChallengeReferenceEconomic High pension payouts High health insurance and medical costs Training costsCalzavara et al. (2019); International Labor Organization (2018);Tan, Viet & Yulianti (2017); United Nations (2018; 2019)Legal Lack of sufficient legal protection Lack of laws and policies promoting the employment of older workers Mandatory retirement ageBal, Kooij & Rousseau (2015); Baruch, Sayce & Gregoriou (2014); Lin, Ngo & Tan (2019); Neumark, Burn and Button (2019)Sociocultural Intergenerational conflicts Differences in cultural valuesAl Ariss and Sidani (2016); Sekiguchi, Froese and Iguchi (2016)
4.2 Interventions by countries and companies to address the aging workforce
Countries and organizations had implemented various measures to address the aging workforce phenomenon. Countries focused mainly on the legal frameworks while companies used HRM strategies. The different approaches used by countries and companies are summarized in table 2.
Table 2. How countries and companies address the aging workforce phenomenon
Intervention ReferenceCountriesRaising the retirement age Implementing elderly-friendly policies and employment lawsDinsdale (2018); Ng and Law (2014); Truxillo, Cadiz and Hammer (2015)OrganizationsDiversity management Talent management Knowledge management Continuous professional development Improve ergonomics in workstations Introduce variable-paced processes and assembly lines Provide exercise and physiotherapy sessions to avoid musculoskeletal disorders Change negative stereotypes and biasAl Ariss and Sidani (2016); Calzavara et al. (2019), Ones, et al. (2015); Purtill (2018); Theodorakopoulos and Budhwar (2015); Thomasson (2018); Veth, et al. (2019)
4.3 The effect of an aging workforce on international human resource management practices
The findings indicated that the aging workforce phenomenon affected contemporary HRM practices in three significant ways as summarized in table 3.
Table 3. How IHRM was influenced by the aging workforce globally
Effect ReferenceInfluence HRM innovationAgarwal, et al. (2018); Calzavara et al. (2019); Ones et al. (2015); Stone and Deadrick (2015)Age related stereotypes in HRM practices and policiesAgarwal, et al. (2018); Ciutiene and Railaite, R. (2015); Theodorakopoulos and Budhwar (2015)Misalignment between HRM practices designed for the knowledge/service economy and those that are elderly-friendlyAgarwal, et al. (2018); Dinsdale (2018); Sekiguchi, Froese and Iguchi (2016); Stone and Deadrick (2015)
The aging workforce inspired HRM experts to innovate novel approaches of accommodating the mature workers in the workplace and changing the workplaces to suit these workers. Notable examples of innovation were found in German companies such as BMW and Daimler AG. Also, HR professionals focused on dispelling the negative stereotypes and bias, which could not be addressed through legislation, yet they poisoned the workplace atmosphere. Further, HR practitioners labored to align the different HRM practices around the world to improve international compatibility of staff.
5.0 Discussion
5.1 Introduction
This section discusses the findings to help answer the research question. The discussion is arranged thematically based on the objectives of the study.
5.2 Challenges presented by an aging workforce to organizations
Organizations all over the world were grappling with the aging workforce phenomenon. The results indicated that organizations faced challenges in their finances, organizational culture, workplace design, job design, remuneration and reward structure because of the high proportions of elderly employees. These hurdles were experienced by Canadian multinational as well. Al Ariss and Sidani (2016) insisted that while these challenges cut across different organizations in different countries, HR practices addressing these differed due to country and context specific factors.
5.3 International HRM and the aging population in multinational organizations
5.3.1 Redefining HRM practices.
While the aging workforce was a global phenomenon, HR practices focusing on elderly workers were not. The HR practices used in multinational firms, including Canadian MNCs, were devised in the West, viewed through an Anglo-Saxon lens, and taken as the best practices. As such, HR managers made many assumptions when their companies ventured abroad without realizing that the strategies may not hold in the different contexts as explained by Ones, et al. (2015). This explains why traditional Japanese HR practices had failed the country’s multinational corporations in the global marketplace. Al Ariss and Sidani (2016) argued that information about the HR practices in emerging countries in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, was scarce. Moreover, even within Europe, the collectivistic HR practices in Scandinavian countries differed from those in individualistic countries such as (Stone & Deadrick (2015). This means that HR practices in multinational organizations continued to be challenged regional differences in HR culture.
Many HR interventions in firms were aimed at retaining valuable elderly workers but not their recruitment. Besides, HRM focused more on the supply side and ignored the demand side. For instance, HR strategies such as talent management, diversity management, succession planning and professional development programs succeeded in retaining employees the global marketplace. However, their focus was more on the younger workers rather than the old workers. As such, Őnday (2016) argued that these strategies failed because they lacked inclusivity. Moreover, many of these strategies were developed in western countries and therefore were not compatible with non-western countries where multinational companies had presence (Őnday, 2016). The same can be said about pension schemes, which were structured to encourage the exit of elderly workers rather than induce them to remain longer in employment (Sonnet, Olsen & Manfredi, 2014). Moreover, statutory retirement age was prevalent in many countries to let coerce elderly workers to make way for younger employees. This is because the mature employees were not valued as a human capital that needed to be attracted, recruited and retained, leading to low demand. Besides, these strategies did not address the diverse economic, legal, sociocultural and political environments in which multinational organization operated. As such, the strategies failed to address effectively the aging workforce phenomenon in the global marketplace, which is in agreement with Agarwal, et al. (2018). However, looking at mature workers as a source of competitive advantage, as advocated by the resource-based view, may increase their demand in multinational companies (Gerontological Society of America, 2018; Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015). Indeed, Ng and Law (2014) argued many countries were reviewing their retirement age limits upwards, albeit progressively, or eliminating them altogether, to remove the legal restrictions on the participation of mature workers in the workforce.
While antidiscrimination policies were present in many organizations, workplace environments hostile to mature employees persisted because age discrimination was hard to prove. Ageism, and insidious and subtle discriminatory acts such as verbal, paraverbal and nonverbal behavior were common in multigenerational workplaces (Beier, 2015; Gerontological Society of America, 2018). For this reason, HR initiatives that sought to change age-related stereotypes and bias contributed to an elderly-friendly workplace climate and organizational culture. Companies such as BMW and Daimler AG had succeeded in this area as reported by Miller (2018) and Thomasson (2018). This approach is supported by Al Ariss and Sidani (2016) and Agarwal, et al. (2018) who argued that a best-fit IHRM strategy was more effective than best practices in the global context.
5.3.2 Redefining mature workers.
The results revealed that HR practitioners found older workers difficult to define. As such, the performance of these workers was gauged through inappropriate measures that did not capture their unique attributes. Prevailing international HRM practices did not focus on the elderly as a workforce population requiring unique consideration; instead they were appraised like younger workers. Indeed, Truxillo, Cadiz and Hammer (2015) insisted that individuals aged differently. Therefore, more attributes than the age of mature workers needed to be considered in HRM. Moreover, sociocultural attributes of the elderly were often ignored. As such, HRM strategies that worked in the homogeneous home country context were ineffective in a global environment (Sekiguchi, Froese & Iguchi, 2016; Stone & Deadrick, 2015). For instance, older employees had different motives from younger employees, which influenced why they sought and remain in employment. (Kollmann, et al. (2019) provides insights into the motivations of mature employees by revealing that they were less concerned about monetary rewards because they were less materialistic because of their immediate and short-term orientation. According to the socio-emotional selectivity theory (SST), the elderly perceived time boundaries differently compared to young employees. Veth, et al. (2019) agreed when they argued that older workers prioritized present-oriented goals that had emotional meaning. Moreover, aging workers strive to minimize losses due to physical and cognitive decline instead of maximizing gains brought about by developing, growing and expanding horizons. However, mature employees needed support from their employers to seek and remain in employment as suggested by Ng and Law (2014). Ones, et al. (2015) agreed by recommending that employers needed to fit job characteristics to the motives of mature workers to endear their engagement and productivity as recommended by SST.
5.3.3 Age management in the global context.
Multinational businesses stuck to institutionalized HRM traditions because they were projected as the best practices, yet they did not accommodate the lesser-known HR practices from non-western cultures. For instance, some countries like Canada defined age differently, which allowed different HRM practices targeting elderly workers (Dinsdale, 2018). In other countries, especially the undeveloped ones, antidiscrimination laws were poorly formulation and in other cases, enforcement of laws against age discrimination was poor. These legal inconsistencies challenged the application of Canadian HRM practices outside the country. Nonetheless, HR experts were innovating new approaches to entice and retain mature workers to overcome the ineffectiveness of strategies such as talent management, diversity management, succession planning and professional development programs. To overcome these challenges, HRM practices needed to be people-centric despite the growing power of multinational corporations, globalization forces and technological advancements (Al Ariss & Sidani, 2016). For instance, Sekiguchi, Froese and Iguchi (2016) suggested that merging western HRM perspectives with those of non-western cultures through strategies like inpatriation would reduce the misalignment in HRM practices in the global marketplace. Moreover, by understanding the needs of the mature employees and the intergenerational dynamics at the workplace, HR practitioners can create policies and interventions that not only accommodate elderly employees but also drive them to perform at full capacity.
The aging population presented additional challenges to the management of human resources, which was grappling with the transition from a manufacturing to a knowledge-based or service economy (Stone & Deadrick, 2015). Knowledge organizations stressed employees’ skills and knowledge, and designed jobs to encourage participation in decision making, continuous improvement, autonomy and innovation, which influenced new HR practices (Stone & Deadrick, 2015). Therefore, HRM in contemporary global firms needed to develop HR practices that could accommodate old employees who were accustomed to traditional HR practices. Besides, Truxillo, Cadiz and Hammer (2015) argued that mature workers were capable of adapting to the changing working environments as explained by the SOC theory.
Ciutiene and Railaite (2015) proposed age management as a holistic way of addressing the aging workforce phenomenon. They argued that age management is a preferable HR approach because it focused on recruitment, workplace environment and ergonomics, age-related attitudes, flexible working conditions, health management and leaning and knowledge management (Ciutiene & Railaite, 2015). Moreover, looking at the aging workforce as the longevity economy rather than the silver tsunami or the age quake, would facilitate the inclusion of mature workers in IHRM practices (Lavallière, eta l., 2016; Veth, et al., 2019).
6.0 Recommendations
To address the human resource management issues presented by an aging workforce in the global environment, the following interventions are recommended. These recommendations apply to Canadian multinationals as well.
Implement HRM practices and policies that favor baby boomers to encourage them to seek and remain in employment. Recognition-based reward systems, ergonomic work environments, slow-paced processes, training opportunities, mentorship roles and removal of statutory retirement age would attract and retain the aging baby boomers.Monitor the health wellbeing of senior workers using technology to maintain performance and guarantee workplace safety.Change negative age-related stereotypes using innovative initiatives to reduce intergenerational conflicts and HR biases at the workplace. Age-neutral language and highlighting of the positive attributes of elderly employees could improve the perceptions and attitudes about such workers. Moreover, stronger age-discrimination HR policies can attract old workers.Implement HRM practices that accommodate multigenerational work environments to help old employees to work along their younger counterparts and reduce intergenerational conflicts.Implement human resource practices and policies that favor multicultural work environments to enable old employees from different cultural backgrounds to work together. Flexible reward systems, work schedules and work design, culturally-sensitive systems and culture-neutral language can improve organizational harmony in the global environment.
7.0 Conclusions
This study set out to enhance the understanding of the influence of an aging workforce in the global labor market and how this affects the human resources management practices in multinational operations. The research question was how could Canadian multinational companies resolve the human resources management challenges of an aging workforce? The study revealed that multinational companies such as those in Canada were faced with challenges presented by the globalised aging workforce phenomenon. This was aggravated by poorly developed HR practices to accommodate the transition from manufacturing-based to knowledge and service based economies. Moreover, multigenerational and multicultural international workplaces challenged contemporary HR practices, which lacked evidence-based support. While there was sufficient evidence from western countries, HR information from Asian, South American and African contexts was minimal or lacking altogether, yet Canadian multinationals has operations in these locations. Since the aging workforce comprised of baby boomers globally, it is recommended that HR practices attend to their unique needs and preferences in the light of diverse economic, legal, cultural and political environments in the global marketplace. Besides, multicultural and multigenerational considerations should inform HR initiatives in multinational companies.
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Origins and Development of Islamic Science and Philosophy in the Golden Age
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Origins and Development of Islamic Science and Philosophy in the Golden Age
Introduction
The achievements of Islam during the Golden Age that lasted more than five centuries have been a source of substantial pride and joy among Muslims across the globe. Many evaluators have the view that even in the contemporary time, many Muslims await the reemergence of the Golden Age, and through the rebirth, the emergence of Islam as one of the globe’s renewed religious and cultural influences (Renima et al., 2016). The report explores how the contributions of the scholars during the Golden Age of Islam contributed towards the growth and development of philosophy and science during the period. The translation of texts from the West into the Arabic language served as a major driving force for more discoveries in the field of philosophies. Scientists during the time made vital discoveries in the field of physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and mathematics that still influence practices today. The study holds that the decline of the philosophic and scientific practices in the Western Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire gave scholars in the Arabic world a good chance to exemplify their capabilities as philosophers and scientists whose discoveries and innovations would influence the global view.
Describing the Golden Age
The term Golden Age emanates from Greek mythology, and partly describes the decline of people’s states through five ages with the Golden Age being the first one. Kronos led the people who lived during the Golden Age. The Silver, the Bronze, and Heroic, and finally the Iron Ages followed thereafter (Renima et al., 2016). Overall, the Golden Age marks a time of much stability, prosperity, peace, and harmony. People did not really have to work so hard to get food as the earth offered so much for everyone to consume. So many people lived up to vast ages yet they still maintained a youthful appearance, and ultimately die in peace (Renima et al., 2016). The Islamic Golden Age, specifically, was a time of economic, scientific, and cultural development and progress in the history of Islam. The era commenced during the leadership of Harun al-Rashid (786-809) who started the House of Wisdom in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, where wise scholars from several parts of the world with varying cultural backgrounds came together to translate much of the globe’s ancient knowledge into Arabic language (Renima et al., 2016). Many believe that the invasion by the Mongols during the Siege of Baghdad in mid-1258 AD caused the end of the period. Scholars, however, seem to have varying views as to when the Golden Age came to an end because whereas some think that the era fell around 1050AD, a few contemporary Islamic scholars argue that the period extended to the early parts of the 16th century.
The Development of Islamic Philosophy in the Golden Age
Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina played key roles in developing the Islamic philosophy during the Golden Age. The two worked tirelessly to interpret the works of Aristotle, whose thoughts came to influence the non-religious views of the Muslim and Christian worlds. Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina worked with competent teams to translate Roman, Greek, and Aramaic texts into Arabic, which facilitated the influence of the Roman and Greek practices into the Islamic world. The existence of the famous House of Wisdom in Bagdad is perceived to have brewed an environment that is conducive for great philosophic work. The House of Wisdom was a place where philosophers from different confessions and ethnicities assembled and translated the world’s recognized knowledge. Philosophically, it became an acknowledged model to be emulated across all Islamic sectors and territories. Scholars such as Avicenna made great contributions towards metaphysics during the Islamic Golden Age. He built his concept of the floating man that helped people to understand how it is very difficult to deprive one of his or her existence.
The Development of Natural Sciences during the Golden Age
Ibn al-Haytham also known as Alhazen is attributed to be crucial figure in the development of scientific methods during the Golden Age in the Islamic world. al-Haytham’s ways of scientific experimentation earned him the title of the world’s initial true scientist. He worked closely with Ibn Sina who developed the guidelines for evaluating the effectiveness of medicinal drugs (Hajar, 2013). Ibn Sina held that proof for effectiveness of a drug is evident when it gives consistent results even after repeated tests (Hajar, 2013). Rhazes who was a renowned physician also contributed towards the development of medicinal science during the Golden Age, particularly through his call for controlled clinical studies. Rhazes, for example, said if a medical practitioner wants to test the effects of bloodletting on a particular condition, the best approach would be to separate the patients into two sides and carry out bloodletting test on one side alone, and then observe both before comparing the outcome (Hajar, 2013).
Many other scholars during the Islamic Golden Age worked very hard to improve scientific operations, and their contributions remain influential up to today. Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi was a prominent Persian astronomer, and in about 965 AD he identified and described a nebulous faction in the Andromeda constellation, and his contribution is regarded as the first to what many now know as the Andromeda Galaxy, which astronomers today affirm to be the closest spiral galaxy to the earth’s galaxy (Renima et al., 2016). Another prominent astronomer during the Golden Age (Nasir al-Din al-Tusi) contributed towards the development of astronomy through his development of the Tusi-couple geometrical approach, which produces linear motion from the addition of two circular movements to replace the difficult equant by Ptolemy (Renima et al., 2016). Al-Biruni (973-1048) also offered valuable insight into the size of the earth when he estimated the radius of the earth to be about 6,339.7 kilometers with the modern evaluators placing the figure at 6,372 km. The astronomical developments in the Islamic world during the Golden Age influenced developments in other regions, including the Western world.
Many other scientists in the Arabic world made contributions that helped to develop scientific operations in the region. Alhazen was an influential figure in the development of physics during the Golden Age. He developed the idea of optics that elaborates how humans achieve their vision (Falagas et al., 2006). He formulated the emission theory that received considerable support from Ptolemy and Euclid. The theory asserts that people get to see because the eyes emit rays of light (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). Alhazen also championed the Aristotelean theory that eludes that people get to see when the essence of the object flow into a person’s eyes. The physician held that people achieve their vision when light moving in straight lines, bounces off an object into the eyes (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). Al-Biruni offered more insight into the findings by Alhazen and stated that the velocity of light is much immense compared to how sound moves. Al-Kindi was so influential in the field of chemistry during the Islamic Golden Age (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). Al-Kindi, for example, warned against the attempts by the alchemists to transmute base metals that are simple in nature into precious commodities such as gold. His contributions influenced the production of alloys not only in the Islamic world, but also in other parts of the globe.
Several scholars during the Islamic Golden Age worked hard to develop the field of biology. Ibn al-Nafis’s work helped to improve awareness regarding the functioning of the cardiovascular system. He opposed the argument that blood move between the ventricles through the inter-ventricular septum that separates the two, arguing that no passage exist between the ventricles (Faruqi, 2006). Ibn al-Nafis precisely held that blood first passed through the lungs before reaching the left ventricle. Ibn al-Nafis further asserted that there is some link between the pulmonary vein and the pulmonary artery, a thought that preceded the identification of the pulmonary capillaries by Marcello Malpighi nearly 400 years later (Faruqi, 2006). Rhazes, on the other hand, was so influential in creating awareness about the nervous system. He argued that the nerves have sensory and motor functions, and identified about 31 nerves in the spinal cord and 7 cranial nerves. Rhazes further set a numerical pattern to the cranial nerves from the hypoglossal to the optic nerves (Faruqi, 2006). Rhazes gained more attention when he critically analyzed the spinal nerves and identified 3 coccygeal, 3 sacral, 12 thoracic, 8 cervical, and 5 lumbar nerves. Rhazes’ identification of the key spots of the spinal cord helped him connect the clinical signs of the damage or injury to the various locations of abrasions or damage in the nervous system (Faruqi, 2006). The realization by Rhazes is still applicable in the modern times, and helps medical practitioners rectify abnormalities in the nervous system.
More essentially, the contributions of the Arabic-Islamic scholars and scientists to the field of mathematics form part of the scientific developments during the Golden Age of Islam. Two wide perceptions of ancient mathematical thoughts were fused in Baghdad, joined into a rational whole, formed, and transmitted on to the future as a guideline for mathematics in which mathematicians and scientists still use today (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). The scholars during the Golden Age formed more approaches to trigonometry and geometry, and the influence from India and Babylon improved general understanding of numerical symbols and calculations. The earliest identified documented Arabic discourse on the Hindu-Arabic system comprising of nine features and a zero was created by Al-Khwarizmi around early-830s CE (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). Al-Khwarizmi is praised to be the most prolific mathematicians of his time, whose works on algebra (a termed borrowed from an operation utilized to explain the quadratic equation known in Arabic as al-jabr) (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). The scholar also formulated the concept of decimal arithmetic that became so influential in the West that the Westerners later named after the Arabic scholar one of the ancient names for arithmetic, the algorithm or algorism.
How the Islamic Golden Age Created a Sense of Science
Whereas an enlightening cultural development was taking plan during the Islamic Golden Age, a significant portion of Europe had collapsed following the fall of the Roman Empire. The scientific innovations in the Islamic world continued to flourish and many Westerners acknowledged the influence from the Arabic scholars (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). The need for science in Europe between the 5th-9th centuries was completely suppressed under feudalism, and practices such as literacy, culture, and science were left to the clergy. The scientific innovations and practices in the Byzantine Empire did not record any better progress. The suppression of free and transparent inquiry, the closure of the School of Athens in 529 CE, and the religious persecutions, particularly of the Monophysites and the Nestorians compelled many scientists and scholars to move into the east to the Arabic-Islamic Islands that were more tolerant and cosmopolitan. The settlers became link between the Arabic-Islamic sciences and ancient Greek sciences, more so in the newly formed metropolis of Baghdad.
While scientific innovations and discoveries ultimately declined in the Arabic world around the 14th century, it is clear it offered modern scientific practices with a vital base to progress through the ages. Students and researchers need to understand that studying the history of science help them to perceive the area of study as well as mathematics as human enterprise (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). Furthermore, gaining more knowledge into the history of science offers understanding on the role science has played in the formation of various cultures. Learning how science developed during the Golden Age of Islam informs how hard it was for scientific discoveries and innovations to penetrate through the recognized ideas of the time to reach the levels that currently influence scientific practices (Alexakos & Antoine, 2005). Students and modern researchers and scholars gain a deeper knowledge of the basics of modern science by appreciating the enormous influence of Arabic-Islamic scholars and scientists.
Conclusion
The analysis presents how philosophy and science developed during the Islamic Golden Age. Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina helped build philosophic concepts in the Muslim world with the through their translation of the works by Aristotle into Arabic language. Avicenna and Ibn Tufail made considerable discoveries in metaphysics and epistemology respectively. The Islamic Golden Age happens to be vital to the development of scientific innovations that later influenced discoveries. Scholars such as al-Haytham and Rhazes helped build medicinal concepts and their numerous experiments helped to improve drug production. Prominent astronomers in the Islamic Golden Age such as Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, and al-Biruni offered vital insight into the nature of the galaxy and the earth’s measurements that continue to influence astronomical practices. Alhazen through his vital contributions helped to advance the field of physics, especially with his innovations in optics. Al-Biruni and Al-Kindi also provided more insight into the field of physics and chemistry respectively that continue to influence practices in the subjects. Scholars such as Ibn al-Nafis and Rhazes made significant contributions to the field of biology that continues to influence clinical practices. Ibn al-Nafis’s discoveries of the cardiovascular system and Rhazes’ findings about the nervous system offered great insight into modern-day practices. The contributions by Al-Khwarizmi among other scholars also helped to develop mathematics as a science during the Islamic mediaeval period.
References
Alexakos, K., & Antoine, W. (2005). The Golden Age of Islam and science teaching. The
Science Teacher, 3, 37-39. Retrieved from
alexakos_islamic_golden_age_p36-39.pdf
Falagas, M., et al. (2006). Arab science in the Golden Age (750-1258 CE) and today. The FASEB
Journal. Retrieved from www.fasebj.org/doi/full/10.1096/fj.06-0803ufm
Faruqi, Y. (2006). Contributions of Islamic scholars to the scientific enterprise. International
Education Journal, 7(4), 391-399. Retrieved from files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854295.pdf
Hajar, R. (2013). The air of history part III: The Golden Age in Arab Islamic medicine an
introduction. Heart Views, 14(1), 43-46. Retrieved from
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Renima, A., Tiliouine, H., & Estes, R. (2016). The Islamic Golden Age: A story of the triumph of
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he_Triumph_of_the_Islamic_Civilization
GNC Financial Statement Analysis
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GNC Financial Statement Analysis
Summary
GNC Holding Inc. (GNC: NYSE) is currently valued at $170 million. This value is expected to reduce further going by the diminishing revenues, reducing profitability and lowering share prices. The future of the company is bleak unless the strategic partnerships in foreign markets and the brand repositioning strategy yield positive results quickly.
Summary financials
Price$ 2.01Cash$ 67.2 millionShares outstanding Equity$ 98.8 millionBasic83.4 millionProfit margin2.29%Diluted86.2 millionOperating margin7.27 % ROA4.5 % ROE–52-week price range$1.32 – $4.47Dividends–Market capitalization$ 170 millionCurrent ratio1.88Estimated institutional ownership51.0bt to equity8.18Estimated insider ownership2.35 %P/E ratio2.83
Company highlights include
A fortune 500 company, ranked at no 840 in 2018 (Federof, 2018).GNC entered into strategic partnerships with Harbin Pharmaceutical Group in China, Banco De Franquias in Brazil and Guardian Healthcare Services in India. This is expected to increase its foreign market presence and bolster sales.GNC partnered with International Vitamin Corporation (IVC) to advance its product development and innovation agendaEarnings per share increased by 138 %, turning a loss into a positive earning
Description
GNC Holding Inc., otherwise known as General Nutrition Centers (GNC), is an American multinational specializing in retailing health and nutritional products such as supplements, herbs, vitamins, sports nutrition and minerals. In addition to manufacturing a proprietary brand line, it retails its own and recognized third-party brands through its domestic and global distribution network. GNC retails its products through its company-owned, franchised and online stores. It has 6200 outlets in over 50 countries. Although the company has an enormous presence in the American market, it also operates in foreign locations such as Canada, China, India and Brazil, among others. Since it was founded in 1935 by David Shakarian in 1935, GNC has grown into a multinational firm valued at 170 million US dollars going by its market capitalization in October 2019.
Operations
The company has segmented its operations into the United States and Canada, international and manufacturing or wholesale. The United States and Canada segment earns income from selling its products to customers while the international segment generates revenues through franchise fees, royalties and product sales (General Nutrition Centers, Inc., 2018). It online store, The health Store and Chinese operations are included in this segment. The manufacturing or wholesale segment manufactures the proprietary-brand products and supplies its wholesale partners (The Wall Street Journal, 2019).
Strategy
The mission of GNC is to ‘motivate and support the desire to live well’. It focuses on innovation, personalization and convenience. As such, the strategy of the company is to develop innovative products and retail them alongside other recognized global brands through its diversified omnichannel model (GNC Holdings, Inc., 2018 b; SEC, 2018 b). Besides, it aims at delivering a differentiated retail customer experience supported by its loyalty programs and the One New GNC single-tier pricing model. The pricing model aims at enticing bulk purchases (Hökelekli, Lamey & Verboven, 2017). GNC’s competitive advantage is in its intellectual properties, a 15,500-strong workforce, strategic partnerships in lucrative markets, and its extensive global distribution network (SEC, 2018 b).
To revitalize the company, GNC is repositioning its brand to reflect the changing customer preferences and global market trends. Therefore, the company is focusing more on its brand and customers, and less on retail stores (Reuters, 2019). As such, the created new positions and expanded others at the senior management level. The director of brand management, chief global officer and chief brand officer are new positions while electronic commerce has been added into the executive management level to reflect the prevailing trends favoring electronic shopping. Also, GNC seeks to expand its global presence through strategic partnerships in significant markets. For instance, GNC has partnered with Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd, Banco De Franquias and Guardian Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd. to expand its presence in the Chinese, Brazilian and Indian markets, respectively (Getz, 2019 b; GNC Holdings, Inc., 2018). In advancing its product development and innovation strategy, GNC entered into a strategic partnership with International Vitamin Corporation, renowned for its manufacturing efficiency (GNC Holdings, Inc., 2019 b; Reuters, 2019).
Management
Being a public company, GNC is overseen by a board of ten directors while its operations are handled by a senior management team of eight, which is headed by the CEO and chairperson, Ken Martindale. The company expanded its board of directors by adding two members onto the previous eight to accommodate the strategic partnership with China’s Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, who bought a 40-per-cent stake in 2018 (Torrance, 2019). Hsing Chow, who served as the group’s vice president and Yong Kai Wong, a former managing director in an affiliate of the group, CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, joined the board in January of 2019 (Torrance, 2019).
Also, GNC enriched its senior management team by appointing and promoting three new executives. The new unit will spearhead the company’s focus on international operations and online retail presence (GNC Holdings, Inc., 2019 b). Notably, GNC appointed Ryan Ostrom as the chief brand officer. Ostrom served as the global chief digital officer at KFC, a renowned fast-food brand and as the chief marketing officer at Sears Holding Corporation before that. Carl Seletz became the chief global officer after being promoted from the senior vice president of the international segment. He will lead the distribution, wholesale and retail operations, e-commerce support and operations outside the United States. Rachel Jones was promoted to vice president of global brands from being the vice president of international merchandizing and marketing. These changes are aimed at supporting the ongoing repositioning of the company as a strategy for expanding the brand and product portfolio globally and driving future growth (Wilson, 2019).
Markets
GNC is in the retail industry and serves the health and wellness food market, which was valued at about 747.27 billion US dollars in 2018, globally (Shahbandeh, 2019). The company cuts across various sectors in the retail industry. For instance, GNC operates in the sports nutrition industry, which was valued at 11.64 billion US dollars in 2017 and expected to reach $44 billion by 2021. Additionally, it can be categorized under the dietary supplement industry, which is valued at $40 billion. Besides, the firm has a global presence, although it is predominantly in the US and Canadian markets. The US and Canada segment generates about 85 % of the firm’s total consolidated revenue. Nonetheless, GNC is present in about 50 countries, with over 55 % of its international franchise stores being in Chile, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa. Strategic partnerships in China, Brazil and India are expected to grow the company’s global market share significantly (Getz, 2019 b).
The four leading rivals of GNC are Herbalife, Mannatech, Vitamin Shoppe and Eliver. These companies are located in the United States except Elivar, which is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Herbalife, Mannatech and Vitamin Shoppe earned $4.9 billion, $173.56 million, and $1.11 billion dollars in 2018, respectively (Yahoo Finance, 2019).
Financial analysis and projections
Financial performance (2016-2018)
Consolidated revenues decreased by $ 89.0 million US dollars in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, and another $ 127.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2018, representing a drop of 3.5 % and 5.1 %, respectively. The reductions were attributed to lower sales in the US and Canada and manufacturing/Wholesale segments despite being offset by increased sales in the international segment. The sale of Lucky Vitamin, closure of 307 stores, termination of the Gold Card Member Pricing program and lower store sales caused the revenue drops. However, the loyalty program, namely PRO Access and myGNC Rewards, and online sales, offset some of the revenue reductions. However, the proportion of sales through GNC.com increased in the same period, rising from 5.1 % to 7.9 % of the US and Canada segment. The cost of sales also reduced in the period, dropping by $26.9 million between 2016 and 2017 and by $74.7 million between 2017 and 2018, representing 1.6 % and 4.5 %, respectively. In turn, gross profit dropped by $62.2 and $52.7 million during 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, respectively (SEC, 2018).
However, operating income improved from losses in 2016 and 2017 to a profit in the year ending December 31, 2019. Likewise, the net losses experienced in 2016 and 2017 became profits in 2018. Similarly, while shares lost $4.11 and $2.18 between 2016 and 2017, they earned $0.83 in 2018, registering a 120.2 % increase in the period between 2016 and 2018. This change came amid a rise in outstanding shares in 2018 (SEC, 2018). These changes are attributed to the performance of the online outlet, which offset the poor performance of the brick-and-mortar stores.
Recent results (last three months ending March 31, 2019)
Decreases in consolidated revenues, cost of sales, gross profit continued in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the previous year’s first quarter. The consolidated net revenues decreased by 7.0 % from $607.5 million USS dollars to $568.4 million. However, revenues from the international segment increased by 0.6 million dollars (2.1 %) from $40.1 million in the previous year’s quarter to $40.0 million. Also, the cost of sales reduced $39 million between the two quarters. However, although the gross profit decreased by $3.8 million, it increased as a percentage of revenue, to 36% compared to 34.1% in the first quarter of 2018. Contrastingly, the international segment earned higher revenues, which increased by $0.81 million (2.1%) between both quarters (SEC, 2019).
Projections for the next two years (2019-2020)
The company is expected to continue with its downward spiral in consolidated revenues in 2019 and 2020 due to reducing sales from stores. Revenues are projected to reduce to $2,226.5 million and $1,974 million in 2019 and 2020, respectively (Table 1). The store optimization program could see the closure of more stores leading to revenue reductions. However, international franchises and online sales could improve the operating income and net income in the period. The strategic partnerships in Brazil, China and India, will continue supporting the international segment revenue.
Table 1. Consolidated income statement and projections (in millions, except per share data)
Item2016 A2017 A2018 A2019 E2020 ETotal revenue2,570.02,481.02,353.52,226.51,974.0Cost of sales1683.41656.51581.81,472.81,437.1Gross profit886.6824.4771.7754.0740.3Operating income (loss)(171.3)(256.8)112.4190.0184.0Income (loss) before tax(231.8)(310.0)57.546.454.9Interest expense60.464.2127.1130.4133.3Net income (loss)(285.2)(150.3)69.83.952.0Earnings (loss) per share: basic(4.11)(2.18)0.83––Weighted average shares outstanding: basic69.4 68.883.4––
Source: SEC (2018); Yahoo Finance (2019)
Table 2. Balance sheet (millions of dollars)
AssetsAmountLiabilities and equityAmountCash and cash equivalents67.2Accounts payable148.8Inventory465.6Deferred revenue and other current liabilities120.2Prepayments, forward contracts and other assets144,1Current portion of long-term debt158.8Receivables127.3 Total current assets804.2Total current liabilities427.8Property, plant and equipment155.1Long term debt933.6Goodwill, brand name and other intangible assets534.2Deferred income taxes39.8Deferred income taxes8.8Other long-term liabilities142.2Other long-term assets25.6Mezzanine equity98.8 Stockholders deficit(114.3)Total assets1,527.9Total liabilities and equity1,527.9
Source: SEC (2018)
Capitalization and financial analysis
The market capitalization stands at 170 million US dollars, down from a high of 5.81 billion US dollars in November of 2013. The company has many stores that are performing dismally and giving a low return on assets (ROA). The company netted an income of $69.8 million against total assets worth $1,527.9 million in 2018, providing a ROA of 4.5 %. Besides, its current assets were worth $804.2 million against $427.8 million in liabilities, which translates to a current ratio of 1.88 (Figure 1) (SEC, 2018). Although the company has excellent financial strength in the short-term, it may be unable to engage in substantial capital investments in the long-term. This may explain why it has sold some of its stock to strategic partners to avail capital for its expansion program. Working capital fell from $475.9 million in 2017 to $376.5 million in 2018. Similarly, the net cash used in investments reduced from $23.8 million in 2017 to 16.5 million in 2018. At the same time, its cash and cash equivalent improved from $64 million to $67.2 million in the same period. Despite this improvement, the company did not pay out any dividends to its shareholders in 2018. Moreover, the earnings per share were below a dollar in 2018, although they had improved from the 2.18-dollar loss in 2017 (138 %) (SEC, 2018). Although this makes the company’s shares unattractive to investors who expect to make a decent return on their investments in the short-term and long term, the turnaround is encouraging.
Risk factors
GNC operates in a highly competitive industry that is crowded by online merchants, drugstores, supermarkets, specialty retailer and pharmaceutical companies (SEC, 2018). New entrants into the industry are much smaller and able to create their niche in the market by understanding their customers better. While GNC stores are large with a sterile ambiance, those of smaller companies tend to be less intimidating to customers. As such, they could be taking some of GNC’s market share. Therefore, GNC’s store maximization initiative and brand positioning strategy have to mitigate the competitiveness of such entrants. Moreover, its new initiatives that include its pricing model, new GNC-branded products, customer loyalty program and strategic partnerships in foreign markets may take a while to yield results that are visible on the balance sheet in the near-term (SEC, 2018). For instance, the joint ventures with Harbin Pharmaceutical Group in China, Banco De Franquias in Brazil and Guardian Healthcare Services in India are likely to reduce the decision-making authority of GNC and change its strategy (Getz, 2019 a). As such, GNC has to create a good working relationship with its partners to develop cohesive strategies that can yield positive results in the future.
Partnering with small suppliers may limit the amount of stock on shelves and occasionally cause some products to be out-of-stock (SEC, 2018). This may create difficulties with vendors and customers. Disgruntled vendors and customers may switch companies, which would further reduce GNC’s revenues. Therefore, GNC has to support its vendors to deliver enough inventories to meet the demands of customers. Besides, the online retail platform is susceptible to cyberattacks the may lose the company, its vendors and customer money and valuable information (SEC, 2018). Failure to secure online transactions may expose the company to theft and fraud. This would damage the reputation of the company and expose it to expensive litigations and payouts, which would erode the company’s finances.
Conclusion and summary
GNC Holding Inc. is performing poorly, going by its reducing revenues, profits, share prices and market capitalization. Although the company is well-positioned to revitalize its brand and respond to the changing market trends, it may take a while to return to its previous profit levels and performance. However, its international expansion strategy through strategic partnerships may yield positive results in the long-term. Altogether, the company is undervalued, going by its numerous properties and diverse product portfolio.
References
Federof, S. (2018). Seven Pittsburgh-area companies on 2018’s Fortune 500 list. Biz Journals. Retrieved from https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2018/05/21/six-pittsburgh-area-companies-on-2018s-fortune-500.html.
General Nutrition Centers, Inc. (2018). Company information. Retrieved from https://gnc.gcs-web.com/company-information.
Getz, C. (2019 a). GNC: China strategy hits tariff shoals. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved from https://seekingalpha.com/article/4265767-gnc-china-strategy-hits-tariff-shoals.
Getz, C. (2019 b). Our GNC option strategy: A successful failure. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved from https://seekingalpha.com/article/4247750-gnc-option-strategy-successful-failure.
GNC Holdings, Inc. (2018 a). GNC and Guardian Healthcare announce major expansion of presence in india. PR Newswire. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gnc-and-guardian-healthcare-announce-major-expansion-of-presence-in-india-300610757.html.
GNC Holdings, Inc. (2018 b). GNC innovation strategy delivers groundbreaking weight management solutions. PR Newswire. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gnc-innovation-strategy-delivers-groundbreaking-weight-management-solutions-300587222.html.
GNC Holdings, Inc. (2019 a). GNC Holdings, Inc. Reports fourth quarter and full year 2018 results. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/03/05/1747851/0/en/GNC-Holdings-Inc-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2018-Results.html#targetText=PITTSBURGHMarch052019(,thefourthquarterof2017.
GNC Holdings, Inc. (2019 b). GNC strengthens organizational structure to further support company repositioning. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gnc-strengthens-organizational-structure-to-further-support-company-repositioning-300873745.html.
Hökelekli, G., Lamey, L., & Verboven, F. (2017). Private label line proliferation and private label tier pricing: a new dimension of competition between private labels and national brands. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 36, 39-52.
Reuters (2019). GNC Holdings Inc.: Key developments. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/companies/GNC.P/key-developments.
SEC (2018). Form 10-K: GNC Holdings, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_GNC_2018.pdf.
SEC (2019). Form 10-Q: GNC Holdings, Inc. Retrieved from https://gnc.gcs-web.com/static-files/639b3798-2fa1-491c-a67c-0095a6e0cfe6.
Shahbandeh, M. (2019). Health and wellness food market worldwide from 2016 to 2021 (in billion US dollars). Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/502267/global-health-and-wellness-food-market-value/.
The Wall Street Journal (2019). GNC Holdings Inc. CI A. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved from https://quotes.wsj.com/GNC/company-people.
Torrance, L. (2019). GNC expands board to add Chinese representatives. Pittsburgh Business Times. https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2019/01/29/gnc-expands-board-to-add-chinese-representation.html.
Wilson, M. (2019) GNC makes leadership changes. Chain Store Age. Retrieved from https://chainstoreage.com/c-suite-1/gnc-makes-leadership-changes.
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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Project
1.0 Introduction
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner project, also known as the Yellowstone project, was an ambitious and complex project by Boeing Commercial Airlines, a large American commercial airline manufacturer based in the United States. The project aimed at developing a new aircraft to replace the Boeing 767 and safeguard the competitive advantage of the company in the aviation industry, which was threatened by the European competitor, Airbus. Indeed, the Dreamliner project was executed in a highly competitive, complex and high-pressure environment in the civil aviation sector. This required the leveraging of global collaboration to benefit the project from the highly-developed and innovative technologies that were dispersed globally, to gain a competitive edge in the industry (Kotha and Srikanth 42). Although the project managed to deliver an improved jetliner, it did so after significant time and budget overruns. Notably, the first aircraft was delivered in 2011, 3 years after deadline and over 20 billion dollars over budget (Shenhar et al. 62). The project not only changed the research and development practices at Boeing but also introduced new ways of managing the supply chain by abandoning the in-house design and manufacture model and instead, adopting the systems integration model that was anchored in outsourcing (). Indeed, while the project objectives, scope and deliverables were clearly envisioned, the design, implementation and control process had not been ascertained until in the later stages. Moreover, some major decisions made by the project team had significant ramifications on the success of the project.
The Dreamliner project demonstrates the project management challenges experienced in complex mega projects that have ambiguous goals, numerous uncertainties and risks due to the application of untested project models and processes, evolving activities shifting milestones (Midler, Killen and Kock 4). The ensuing analysis focuses on the various project management practices used in the development of the Dreamliner, and their pros and cons based on the project outcomes. Various alternative project management approaches that would improve a project of similar kind are proposed, with a view of arriving at a feasible recommendation.
2.0 Analysis
2.1 The business scenario
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner project was commissioned in 2003 as a new products development (NPD) project, although it was formulated in the 1990 and was delayed by the terrorist event of September 2001 (Naghi Ganji, Shah, and Coutroubis 180). The business case of the project was premised on internal and external factors. Internally, the Boeing 767 was in the decline phase of its lifecycle, having been remodeled severally. As such, developing a new aircraft series that would enhance and extend the product line of the company was justified. Externally, various changes in the commercial aviation industry necessitated a new aircraft model. Firstly, jet fuel prices has sky rocketed in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attack. As such, the aviation industry demanded a fuel-efficient aircraft to keep airlines profitable. In this regard, the project promised to deliver an aircraft that cut fuel consumption by 20 %. Secondly, due to increasing congestion in airports, the airline industry was shifting from the hub-and-spoke model to the point-to-point model. As such, airlines demanded a smaller but long-haul aircraft that required fewer stopovers. Thirdly, Airbus was outcompeting Boeing in new orders and sales, diminishing Boeing’s market share. This necessitated the development of a new aircraft that would excite airlines and passengers, driving up demand. Altogether, research and development was a significant component of the Dreamliner project.
2.2 Project Management Practices
2.2.1 Project formulation
The value-creation strategy was used to formulate the project and develop its scope. The project sought to develop a new fuel-efficient, cost-effective and quiet aircraft that would satisfy airlines and passengers (Naghi Ganji, Shah, and Coutroubis 180). Therefore, the project scope included the increase of fuel efficiency by 20 % and improvement of passenger comfort.
The advantage of the value creation strategy is in its focus on the most significant stakeholders, in this case, airlines and passengers, who are also important in the aviation industry. The project focused on improving value for airlines by improving the fuel efficiency of the new aircraft through using composite materials, which were lighter than the traditional aluminium and the use of lithium-ion batteries to reduce the power demand of the electrical systems, while improving power stability (Suchandra 242). This would have extended the flight range of the plane, thus reducing uneconomical stopovers. Similarly, the project focused on improving the passengers’ flying experience by increasing the pressure and humidity, while reducing noise in the passenger cabin. This was to be achieved by using composite materials and improving the engine and aircraft designs. However, the disadvantage of this scoping approach is in its ambiguity of the deliverables. Notably, the deliverables were pegged on comparison to the existing performance of other commercial aircrafts in the industry. Nonetheless, the scope of the Dreamliner project managed to deliver a new aircraft that impressed the airlines and passengers, which drove up demand.
2.22 Project planning
Planning of projects is undertaken by a project team constituted by the project manager. Project managers are expected to be well-versed with the project and technically competent in the field addressed by the project. Moreover, the project team should have diverse competencies to address all aspects in the project effectively. In this case, the Dreamliner project team comprised of employees of Boeing and headed by a program manager, who was part of the senior management.
The advantage of having a competent project manager and team that are technical sound in the project area is the ability to identify and resolve technical issues before they arise. Moreover, a technical project manager can fill in the knowledge gaps that lack in the project team, enhancing its capabilities and competencies. In this case, the project manager and team were drawn internally, considering that Boeing was an established aircraft innovator, developer and manufacturer. In this case, Boeing expected to save money that would have been spent on external consultants by engaging and internal team. Moreover, such a team was expected to safeguard the secrets of the projects from competitors like Airbus.
However, an internally-drawn project team may be disadvantaged when dealing with complex project issues that are outside their competence areas. The Dreamliner project team, which comprised of the senior management in the company, may have suffered from the illusion of control bias. This phenomenon afflicts project managers that overestimate their abilities to influence the project outcome, while underestimating the complexities of the risks inherent in mega projects that use unconventional approaches (Kardes et al. 910). Major deviations from organizational project management practices can challenge internal project teams, as was evidenced by the Dreamliner project. Besides, they can inhibit accurate forecasting due to the high degree of uncertainty that is inherent in mega projects, resulting in underplanning (Kardes et al. 910). In this case, the company changed from its traditional internal aircraft development approach to an outsourced model, which tasked strategic suppliers with developing aircraft components. In this regard, Boeing’s senior management suffered from self-justification by deciding to adopt the tiered outsourcing model, even when it was against the technical advice (Kardes et al. 911). The project team was overconfident in their ability to deliver the Dreamliner, considering that they had successfully delivered previous projects. However, the team underestimated the complexity of the new project management processes. Notably, it was not equipped sufficiently to deal with the supply chain management required in an outsourced aircraft development model. As such, the project team did not plan to support the third-parties, especially the integrators tasked with assembling parts from other suppliers, some of whom were located in culturally-different countries such as South Korea and Japan. Good outsourcing practices recommend the presence of an on-site liaison from the project owner to help translate the specifications of the project to the suppliers.
Besides, the project team proposed the just-in-time supply model, in which they were incompetent and inexperienced. Although this model was justified by its success in Toyota, a highly-successful Japanese automotive manufacturer, the project team did not consider the organizational culture requirements that underpinned it. Therefore, the model was partially implemented and led to supply delays. Moreover, the build-to-performance project contracts with the suppliers focused on penalties for non-delivery rather than incentives for timely delivery. This contract model introduced a dispersed risk and revenue sharing approach that was to pay suppliers from the sale proceeds of the Dreamliner (Shenhar et al. 63). The suppliers would be paid once the new aircraft was delivered to customers, while they were expected to shoulder the cost of component development upfront. However, due to many faulty parts and component integration challenges, the project team was forced to support struggling suppliers, which overran the project budget. Also, poor management of suppliers by integrators emerged as the tier-1 suppliers were unable to correctly evaluate and select the tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers who were to manufacture the aircraft component and develop its systems. Consequently, major project delays and budget overruns.
2.2.3 Project implementation
The project used outsourcing as the project implementation strategy, based on a tiered supply chain. This strategy was used in the research and development process of developing the new aircraft. Boeing engaged 700 third-parties dispersed globally to develop and supply parts for the new aircraft, while the company focused on systems integration and assembly, as illustrated in figure 1 (Shenhar et al. 63).
Figure 1. The tiered supply chain in the outsourcing model
Source: Naghi Ganji, Shah, and Coutroubis (181)
A tiered outsourcing approach comprising of three tiers of suppliers as strategic partners, was used in the project. The first-tier suppliers (figure 2) acted as integrators of the parts produced by the second and third tier suppliers. To coordinate the implementation process, Boeing used Exostar, a web-based information system, hoping to eliminate geographical constraints while providing supply chain visibility and instantaneous monitoring.
Figure 2. Some tier-1 suppliers
Source: Shenhar et al. (64)
The advantage of this strategy is in the shortening of new product development time, which reduces project costs. Third parties have specialized competencies that may lack in a company. Moreover, the project can leverage the dispersed cutting-edge knowledge and technologies in the world. For instance, Boeing did not have competencies in batteries or composite materials, which other companies in and out of the United States has specialized in these areas. But Japan and South Korea were advanced in these technologies (Shenhar et al. 64). In addition, the outsourcing approach can be integrated into the supply chain required to manufacture the product, once the new product is approved. The third parties involved in the part development would be the ones who would supply the parts when the new aircraft went into production. This enhances supplier relations, which is vital in the production phase. Theoretically, Boeing hoped to cut aircraft development and cost, and assembly time from 6 to 4 years and from 10 to 6 billion dollars, respectively. In reality, the development took 7 years and overshot the budget by more than two-fold.
However, outsourcing is disadvantaged by firstly, the loss of control of the project commissioner/owner. In this case, outsourcing excluded Boeing management and employees from being directly involved in the development of the new aircraft. Secondly, the outsourcing model increases cost when the third-party suppliers are located in far-flung countries. This challenge is aggravated by the need for special vehicles for delivering huge and awkward parts. As such, Boeing had to remodel its aircrafts to carry the parts from foreign countries. Thirdly, outsourcing can present communication challenges when numerous culturally diverse and geographically dispersed partners are involved. Although the Exostar system was intended to enhance communication, many suppliers did not update the system with accurate information due to mistrust. Fourthly, the model can incur huge costs and time delays if a third-party supplier delays delivery or has to redo a faulty component. This problem is worsened if the supplier does not have sufficient financial and technological capacity required for revising defective parts. In this case, Boeing experienced periodic postponements due to supplier delays.
To address the communication issues and supply delays, Boeing had to buy out Vought Aircraft Industries, which was struggling financially, send out its engineers to suppliers who were producing faulty components, which escalated the project costs (Drew).
3.0 Suggestions for improvement
To improve the project formulation process, it is recommended that the complexity of projects be reduced. Clearly defined aims may clarify the project scope and objectives, thus avoiding scope creeps.
Project planning at Boeing can be improved by constituting a diverse, multidisciplinary and competent project team that not only understands the industry dynamics but is also able to plan for innovative and complex project processes that have not been used previously in the aviation industry. While the use of new project management approaches is desirable when undertaking innovation projects, the contingency planning approach instead to the traditional product development planning approach, is recommended for such complex projects. This allows the project team to anticipate changes in project scope, product designs, and innovation execution by creating sufficient allowance for multiple testing and redesigning (Midler, Killen and Kock 6). This would not only help Boeing leverage the globally dispersed and advanced knowledge and technologies, it would also enhance the collaborative capacity of the company, when is pertinent in the globalization era of crowdsourcing.
Project implementation at Boeing can be enhanced by improving the risk management and project control systems to ensure that risks are identified and mitigated early and exhaustively. Moreover, fluent coordination and tighter controls of the implementation process can help avoid project risks, while increasing the chances of project success. It is unlikely that Boeing will abandon the outsourcing model of new aircraft development. Indeed, the experience gained and lessons learnt by Boeing will incentivize the refinement of this project management approach. Therefore, Boeing’s project team should focus on improving the monitoring and control of the outsourced processes and components, considering that it was able to deliver an innovative and advanced aircraft to the civil aviation industry. To make monitoring and control effective and efficient, effective communication is pertinent because plays a key role in translating project goals and objectives into high quality products. While information technology systems can improve the promptness and visibility of information sharing, it should not only be complemented by the supply of accurate and detailed specifications to the offshore supplier but should also be accompanied by the physical presence of liaisons. Such presence would help resolve misunderstanding from cultural differences and specification ambiguities, while fostering supplier relations and development.
Agile project implementation approaches are recommended because they would allow Boeing to vary project execution promptly when challenges emerge in the project lifecycle. The implementation process should accommodate the uncertainties accompanying new technologies and innovation. This would avoid the expansive and lengthy changes in assembly plants that were experienced by Boeing as it sought to resolve the component and systems integration difficulties encountered by suppliers.
4.0 Conclusion
The analysis demonstrated the challenges that complex projects, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner project, may encounter when new and untested processes are used without exhaustive, prudent project planning. While the Dreamliner project was ambitious in developing a new and improved aircraft aimed at repositioning Boeing Commercial Airlines as the aviation industry leader in the commercial aircraft segment, it grappled with supply chain management issues and perennial delays, which threatened its success. Poorly scoped and planned projects are challenging to implement because they present numerous uncertainties that may cause the creeping of scope and time and budget overruns. Developing new aircrafts will always be complex and full of uncertainties as aircraft manufacturers compete for market share and respond to industry demand and global concerns. In addition, the management of innovation projects will continue pushing the advancement of project management approaches. As such, Boeing can appreciate having used the Dreamliner project as a learning experience on how its future aircraft development projects would be approached in the future.
To avoid future challenges, stricter project controls that are reinforced by comprehensive risk management approaches may improve the implementation of aircraft development projects at Boeing. Besides, close monitoring and control of supplier processes would not only improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the outsourcing model in management of megaprojects but would also improve the supply and value chain management during the implementation of such projects. Indeed, these considerations would ensure that defective parts would not be escalated to the integration stage before they are tested adequately and their performance ascertained. Also, Effective communication that integrates information technology systems with physical presence in supplier locations would help streamline supplier performance, and enhance the effectiveness of monitoring and control. Indeed, trust and commitment from suppliers would be enhanced when communication is used to foster supplier relationships. This is because the project execution phase of the project proved to be most challenging in the Dreamliner development project.
Works Cited
Drew, Christopher. “Boeing buys plant that makes crucial part of Dreamliner.” The New York Times, 7 July 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/business/08boeing.html. Accessed 5 December 2019
Kardes, Ilke, Ayse Ozturk, S. Tamer Cavusgil, and Erin Cavusgil.. “Managing global megaprojects: Complexity and risk management.” International Business Review, vol. 22, no. 6, 2013, pp. 905-917.
Kotha, Suresh, and Kannan Srikanth. “Managing a Global Partnership Model: Lessons from the Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’Program.” Global Strategy Journal, vol. 3, no. 1, 2013, pp. 41-66.
Midler, Christophe, Catherine P. Killen, and Alexander Kock. “Project and innovation management: bridging contemporary trends in theory and practice.” Project Management Journal, vol. 47, no. 2, 2016, pp. 3-7.
Naghi Ganji, Elmira, Satya Shah, and Alec Coutroubis. “Bridging new product development with sustainable supply chain management practices.” International Journal of Economics and Management Systems, 2, 2017, pp. 178-186.
Shenhar, Aaron J., Vered Holzmann, Benjamin Melamed, and Yao Zhao. “The Challenge of Innovation in Highly Complex Projects: What Can We Learn from Boeing’s Dreamliner Experience?” Project Management Journal, vol. 47, no. 2, 2016, pp. 62-78.
Suchandra, Paul. “Crisis in Boeing 787 Dreamliner: An Investigation from Project Management Control Perspective.” International Journal of Human Resource Studies, vol. 8, no. 4, 2018, pp. 242-251.
Urban Life – Anaheim
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Urban Life – Anaheim
A Detailed Description of the Urban Setting
The area surrounding the junction between Sunkist Street and Winston Road represents a typical urban location in Anaheim City in which residential areas coexist alongside commercial establishments. The crossroad is controlled by overhung streetlights, with Sunkist Street being the main road. From the junction, one can see the Sunkist gardens, which is a residential neighborhood on one side, and business buildings such as Kelly Paper and Spectrum Gas Products on the other. The roads are well-lined with walkways that serve as the cycling lanes, and streetlights that illuminate the neighborhood at night.
The residential area comprises of bungalows that have open front yards. As such, one can easily view the front end of the houses. No storied blocks for residential dwellings are visible in this area Also, personal vehicles are parked on the driveways and along the roads serving the neighborhood. However, across Sunkist Street, large one-storey commercial buildings with ample parking spaces are visible. Several vehicles are visible in the parking areas, which are mostly passenger cars, although a few trucks are present. Nonetheless, empty parking slots are available.
The area is largely quiet during the day, with occasional traffic breaking the silence, although traffic jams were not observed. However, loading and unloading activities are observable at the commercial premises as clients pick their orders and supplies are delivered. Pedestrian traffic is minimal, except in the evenings when children return from school and adults, from work. The majority of the people are of Caucasian and Asian descent, with Hispanics and African Americans being a small minority. Incidentally, the smell of paper dominates the air in this area because of Kelly Paper. A department store is visible down the street, although it is not very busy. Altogether, the serenity of this area is representative of Anaheim, which is a city in the suburban Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Why are these descriptions important and what do these observations tell us about urban life, social problems, and social inequalities?
These descriptions are important because they illustrate the nature of the urban dwelling in the area, which can be extrapolated to the rest of Anaheim City. In this city, residential dwellings are interspersed with commercial areas and therefore, there is no central business district as such. The mixed-use urban life characterizes the city, combining per-urban living with commercial center bustle, with people living in close proximity to their working areas and social amenities such as nature and theme parks. As such, the city serves a working middle class and business community as the dominant city dwellers. Low urbanization density characterizes the built development in the city, as evidenced by the ample spaces around the residential and commercial buildings. It also serves as a tourist attraction considering that is served by the Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate-5), hosts the largest Disney Park in the state of California and has numerous parks, museums and historical buildings, such as the Anaheim Harbor RV Park, the Los Angeles Angel Stadium of Anaheim, and MUZEO art museum.
The city has minimal social problems, which is uncharacteristic of large urban areas. The crime rates, unemployment rate and homelessness are below the nation’s average. Moreover, social inequalities are not visible because people appear to be leading a comfortable life, with 45 % of the residents owning their own houses, while the rest rent. The average income of households in the city is 65,413 dollars, which is higher than the national average of 55,322 dollars. However, about 500 homeless people dwell along the Santa Ana River. Moreover, Anaheim is grappling with lack of space for residential development because ground-floor bungalows dominate the residential areas, while the population is growing. With a population approaching 350,000 people, and growing at a rate of about 4 % since 2010, housing pressure will increase. Besides, zoning is an issue because industrials are interspersed with residential and commercial buildings. These may present health challenges to the city dwellers and environmental problems to Santa Ana River that flows across the city. However, the housing challenge is being addressed through the redevelopment of Platinum Triangle. The ongoing constructions involve the relocation of industrial building to make way for residential apartments and commercial building for offices and retail businesses.
What are the main arguments highlighted in the scholarly peer reviewed academic journals you chose for this paper?
Neighborhoods as urbanized centers in modern cities act as sites for investment and contested spaces that deserve investigation to enhance the understanding urban dynamics and facilitate policy-making (Pagano, 2015). Developed countries such as the United States are highly urbanized, with the majority of people living, working and playing in city neighborhoods. Such neighborhoods are vulnerable to economic downturns and globalization forces, presenting challenges related to housing affordability, foreclosures and education standards, alongside immigration and economic mobility. As such, the achievement of mixed neighborhoods that do not have socioeconomic disparities remains elusive in the United States, presenting urban planning dilemmas. However, by viewing neighborhoods as communities in which circumstantial and functional factors override the social and cultural issues, complex problems afflicting cities can be investigated and resolved (Park & Rogers, 2015). Large American cities sprawl wide areas comprising of multiple neighborhoods that comprise a metropolitan setting.
Cities grow according to the growth hypothesis presented by the Chicago School in 1924. According to this school, industrial cities in the United States grew drastically through a sequence of concentric zones that expanded outwards over time. The inner zone comprised of the central business district while residences and commuter infrastructure were developed on the outer zones (Palen, 2014). This may explain the growth of old cities that initiated as settlements that were attracted by natural resources or set up particular businesses. However, in Los Angeles, the growth of cities can be explained using the political economy approach that is associated with the Los Angeles School in opposition of the Chicago School (Palen, 2014). While the Chicago School was useful in explaining the growth of industrial cities, it fails to explain the growth of those without an industrial heritage. The political economy model posits that city growth progresses in an inverse zonal manner that is fragmented. The social and spatial patterns in such cities do not follow a zonal pattern; instead they process in a fragmented mixed model with the central business district intermingling with the residential and transportation infrastructure (Palen, 2014). Capitalistic interests and globalization forces, usually with little regard for the city residents, drive this growth. This may explain why many modern cities in the United States experienced deindustrialization, suburbanization and decline following the 2008 financial crisis and offshoring of industries outside the country. Moreover, the American context indicates the application of urban growth machines, in which a conducive business climate supersedes the purpose of neighborhoods as locations of life, work and social interaction (Palen, 2014). These are global and not local forces, that city managers often have no control over, thus challenging city planning and policy-making. Even when local drivers can be implicated, the business community interests override the influence of the local government, exacerbating planning and policy-making in cities.
However, the sustainability of the growth of urban environments in cities can be achieved through smart growth (Dierwechter, 2017). Intercurrence is a concept that considers the uneven geopolitical-economies, when restructuring or redeveloping cities to improve their sustainability. In addition, smart containment helps in addressing the challenges undermining environmental performance of cities alongside other traditional problems related to the reordering of residential development (Dierwechter, 2017).Based on your urban observation and the lessons learned in this course, identify a social issue/problem and a possible solution or suggestions for social change
Housing is the biggest social issue afflicting the city of Anaheim and the larger Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city of Anaheim is experiencing a population growth and deindustrialization, which is pressuring residential development. Moreover, the bungalows that dominate the residential buildings are becoming more expensive for the struggling middle-class in the current economic environment. As such, it lacks high-density residential buildings that can address the high rents and homelessness. Indeed, this problem is characteristic of the changing functionality of cities due to global forces, which presents reconfiguration challenges that are often resolved using redevelopment.
Smart city planning can help reorder and redevelop the vacant spaces and structures left by the exited industries in Anaheim city. Smart city planning that employs big data analytics to design the residential and commercial buildings, while projecting the technological development in the community to improve the city’s livability and sustainability (Rathore et al., 2017). The conservations of space and open areas alongside the maintaining the mixed urban living model of the city could benefit from integrated residential and commercial buildings that are resilient to changes in functionality without compromising land use. Moreover, smart city planning would accommodate the imminent internet-of-things, which is already being embraced by many modern Americans, albeit in varying degrees. In this case, provisions for online shopping of groceries, monitoring of pollution, electric car infrastructure are some of the benefits that would be delivered by smart city planning.
Conclusion
Modern cities such as Anaheim in Los Angeles epitomize the challenges experienced in modern urbanized communities. Globalization and local dynamics are changing the functionalities of many cities, with their economic viability being endangered. However, focusing on the economic feasibility of neighborhoods ignores the residents who form the communities and add vibrancy to urban living. Indeed, the American middle class was most afflicted by the recent economic downturn and slow economic recovery, making city life exorbitant and almost unbearable. Besides, the political economy approach of city growth is problematic because it benefits the capitalists, while disempowering the city managers and disenchanting the residents. Indeed, the ongoing redevelopment of the Platinum Triangle presents an opportunity for applying smart city planning. The use of smart data analytics that can decipher the current and future needs of Anaheim as an extension of the Los Angeles city, can yield a livable and sustainable model that combines residential and commercial structures and spaces. This can improve the quality of urban life and serve as an example that can be emulated by other suburban cities surrounding Los Angeles. Indeed, the current city dweller is manic about technology and open to smart houses and cities. By making Anaheim smart city ready, its resilience to local and global forces would be improved greatly.
References
Dierwechter, Y. (2017). Urban Sustainability through smart growth: Intercurrence, planning, and geographies of regional development across Greater Seattle. New York, NY: Springer.
Pagano, M. A. (Ed.). (2015). The return of the neighborhood as an urban strategy. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Palen, J. J. (1992). The Urban World. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Park, Y., & Rogers, G. O. (2015). Neighborhood planning theory, guidelines, and research: Can area, population, and boundary guide conceptual framing? Journal of Planning Literature, 30(1), 18-36.
Rathore, M. M., Paul, A., Ahmad, A., & Jeon, G. (2017). IoT-based big data: from smart city towards next generation super city planning. International Journal on Semantic Web and Information Systems (IJSWIS), 13(1), 28-47.
Student’s Name:
Tutor:
Course:
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Ethical hacking in Cybersecurity
The internet is a revolutionary technology that has transformed the lives of individuals, enterprises, and governments by networking the entire world. The globalization effects of the internet are evident in the pervasive sharing of information, ideas, knowledge, and culture that is not constrained by time or geographical location. However, while cyberspace has presented numerous advantages to modern living, it has also provided an alternative channel for criminals. As such, cybercrime is the most significant disadvantage of internet technology, and its growing trend has made cybersecurity a prime personal and organizational concern. According to the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC Council), hackers launch attacks every 39 seconds, with one in every three Americans being targeted. Moreover, only 38 % of international companies proclaim their preparedness for a cyberattack. Indeed, hackers have gained notoriety by their ability to penetrate networks and launching their criminal activities remotely and anonymously. Although various cybersecurity approaches have been used to secure personal and organizational cyberspaces, hackers have always found a way of breaching them, causing untold anxiety and harm to individuals, organizations, and governments. Moreover, the vulnerability of the cyberspace has been exacerbated by the proliferation of mobile technologies and the rapid development of the internet-of-things (IoT), presenting challenges to conventional cybersecurity interventions (Abraham, Chatterjee and Sims 540).
Regular vulnerability testing of online systems is recommended to reduce the ever-changing vulnerability of cyberspace because it keeps cybersecurity abreast with the evolving hacking methods used by cybercriminals. Ethical hacking is an emerging field in cybersecurity that promises to reduce systems vulnerability continuously as ethical hackers think like cybercriminals and, therefore, able to anticipate system breaches before they occur. However, ethical hacking carries a negative connotation that prevents its acceptance in the mainstream cybersecurity community, even after ethical hackers continue to reveal vulnerabilities in information systems and networks (Marks). The ensuing discussion investigates the nature of ethical hacking and its potential to improve cybersecurity as part of a comprehensive cyber-resilience strategy in organizations. The link between hacking and cybersecurity is expounded alongside the characteristics of ethical hacking as an emerging profession in cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is the securing of information and networks from internet-aided penetration and attacks by cybercriminals. It is a collection of tools, strategies, and human capital focusing on deterring malicious and unauthorized access to networks and information (Rathore 7). In turn, ethics is the collection of rules and regulations guiding human behavior according to prescribed moral principles (Bashir and Khalique 14). From this premise, ethics and cybersecurity are closely linked, and this relationship influences hacking. The proper use of these technologies requires adherence to the highest level of ethical conduct to ensure that the information remains secure and no harm is perpetrated through the information systems. However, since societies are always infiltrated by unethical people, some of whom have criminal intents, cybersecurity approaches and tools have been developed to protect information systems. Nonetheless, hackers specialize in penetrating such systems by identifying their inherent technical vulnerabilities. Moreover, they have gone further to employ mobile technologies, social media, and social engineering, by exploiting the frailties in human behavior when interacting with information systems, to use people to penetrate such systems (Caldwell 10). As such, hackers are highly skilled in IT, psychology, sociology, mathematics, and other disciplines. Hackers not only test the security of information systems, but their moral behavior necessitates the continuous development of cybersecurity strategies and tools.
Ethical hacking is an emerging profession that is different from unethical hacking because of the differences in moral foundations. While both hackers share expertise in penetrating information systems and networks, their intentions differ, based on their contradictory ethical outlooks. As such, the terms white hat and black hat are used to describe the ethical and unethical hackers, respectively (EC-Council). In this regard, the ethical hacker (white hat) is intent on identifying the system vulnerabilities to improve their security and reduce harm, while the unethical hacker (black hat) focuses on breaching the systems to perpetrate a crime or cause harm. Besides, the legality of the penetration act differentiates the ethical hacker from the unethical one. The ethical hacker is authorized to penetrate the system, while the unethical one is not authorized and therefore does so illegally (Bashir and Khalique 15). Altogether, the ethical hackers employ their skills for constructive and defensive reasons, while unethical hackers pursue offensive ends (Rathore 7). Interestingly, the possibility of changing from a black hat to a white hat exists, although the transformation has been questioned. For instance, Kevin Mitnick, who was a notorious unethical hacker, converted to a white hat (Thomas, Burmeister and Low 6)
From these differences, Bashir and Khalique (15) concluded that the ethical hacker is characterized by firstly, securing permission from the organization to scrutinize the information systems and network and identify the security risks. Secondly, the hacker must respect the privacy of the organization and individuals therein by not only guaranteeing confidentiality but also ensuring that their work is not susceptible to exploitation at a later date. Thirdly, the hacker must disclose all the identified security vulnerabilities regardless of whether they are already known or unknown. In turn, the benefits of ethical hacking include i) subjecting the system to real-life attacks, ii) discovering the system susceptibility from a cybercriminal’s perspective to enhance its security, iii) thwarting data theft and misuse by cybercriminals, iv) developing and implementing secure systems that are breach-proof, v) endearing trust from stakeholders, and vi) reinforcing national security by preventing terrorists’ access to data (Ding, De Jesus, and Janssen 3). These characteristics indicate that ethical hacking is a preventive and proactive cybersecurity strategy because it prevents cyberattacks beforehand (Shah and Vaswani 396). To achieve these ends, ethical workers use the black-box, white-box and grey-box testing approaches (Caldwell 13). In the black-box approach, ethical hackers are provided with the company name only, while in the white-box model, detailed information such as network topology and infrastructure technology are disclosed (Caldwell 13). The grey-box approach makes partial disclosure of the company’s system that is between the two other methods. Of the three methods, the black-box testing model reveals the most security vulnerabilities.
Ethical hackers are increasingly being incorporated into the comprehensive cyber-resilience strategy of organizations because of their ability to identify the cyber risks in information systems and networks, strengthen cybersecurity (Abraham, Chatterjee and Sims 542). Ethical hackers fit in the vulnerability management practices of organizations by conducting regular vulnerability assessments of the information systems and networks. They do this by undertaking penetration tests when commissioned directly by organizations or by participating in crowdsourced cybersecurity initiatives, as illustrated in figure 1.
Figure 1, Ethical hacking methods
Source: Ding, De Jesus, and Janssen (3)
Penetration testing differs from crowdsourced testing in the onboarding approach, time frame, personnel, payment model, testing hours and vulnerability reporting, as detailed in figure 2.
Figure 2.Comparison between penetration and crowdsourcing methods of ethical hacking
Source: Ding, De Jesus, and Janssen (4)
Crowdsourcing testing prevents notable advantages over penetration testing by being more efficient and effective because it leveraged the diverse capabilities from thousands of participants, enabling continuous testing and real-time reporting of the vulnerabilities, and its cost-effectiveness by paying for valid threats only (Ding, De Jesus, and Janssen 4). However, although crowdsourcing favors organizations using cybersecurity systems and tools available in the market, it is often rejected by companies that have in-house systems for confidentiality reasons. Notably, crowdsourced testing is executed either as bug bounty programs (BBP) or responsible disclosure (RD) (Ding, De Jesus, and Janssen 4). Currently, BBPs comprise of public and private programs in which ethical hackers identify and report on the vulnerabilities in exchange for a reward. Platforms such as Synack, Cobalt Labs, BugCrowd and HackOne, which are available in the market, can be purchased by organizations, who then invite white hats and engage them after meeting the selection criteria (Ding, De Jesus, and Janssen 4). Contrastingly, public programs allow the free participation of ethical hackers. Alternatively, responsible disclosure or coordinated vulnerability disclosure provides guidelines for reporting vulnerabilities that are grounded in organizational policy (Ding, De Jesus, and Janssen 4). In summary, while BBPs invite ethical hackers and rewards them, RDs coordinate the disclosure of vulnerabilities without a monetary reward.
Ethical hacking is progressing towards a mainstream profession due to the emerging certifications and university courses. As such, organizations are engaging ethical hackers as regular employees or contractual consultants to bolster cybersecurity. To facilitate the certification and employment of ethical hackers, various bodies have emerged with certification programs and codes of ethics to regulate the profession. For example, the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC Council) offers the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification, while the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is awarded to information security experts with over 5 years experience in the United States (Caldwell 10). The recognition of the CEH certification by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) is evidence of the recognition of the importance of ethical hacking in national security. In the United Kingdom, the Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers (CREST) awards the Team Leader (CTL) and Team Member (CTM) certifications to British ethical hackers (Caldwell 10).
In conclusion, cybersecurity is challenged by fast-developing information and communication technologies alongside the proliferation of the internet across the world. Cybercriminals can now launch their illicit activities anonymously and remotely from any corner of the world. With cybercrimes escalating and cybercriminals continuously innovating new techniques to breach networks and information systems, ethical hackers who understand the criminal mindset may be the solution to cybersecurity in the 21st century. Ethical hackers launch attacks similar to those of cybercriminals, only that they are authorized and legal. As such, ethical hackers can be an integral component of a comprehensive cyber-resilience strategy because they approach cybersecurity proactively and preventively, thus forestalling cyberattacks before they are executed. Indeed, the growth of certification bodies and expansion of training are helping ethical hacking transform into a promising and respectable profession that is guided by a code of ethics. This will help erase the negative connotation associated with hacking and encourage organizations and nations to embrace ethical hackers as an effective and efficient approach to cybersecurity.
Works Cited
Abraham, Chon, Dave Chatterjee, and Ronald R. Sims. “Muddling through cybersecurity: Insights from the US healthcare industry.” Business Horizons, vol. 62, 2019, pp. 539-548.
Bashir, Bisma, and Aqeel Khalique. “A Review on Security versus ethics.” International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 151, no. 11, 2016, pp. 13-17.
Caldwell, Tracey. “Ethical hackers: putting on the white hat.” Network Security, 2011, pp. 10-13.
Ding, Aaron Yi, Gianluca Limon De Jesus, and Marijn Janssen. “Ethical hacking for boosting IoT vulnerability management: a first look into bug bounty programs and responsible disclosure.” Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Telecommunications and Remote Sensing. ACM, 2019.
EC-Council. “What is ethical hacking?” 2019. https://www.eccouncil.org/ethical-hacking/
Marks, Joseph. “The Cybersecurity 202: The government’s relationship with ethical hackers has improved, security experts say.” The Washington Post, 6 August 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2019/08/06/the-cybersecurity-202-the-government-s-relationship-with-ethical-hackers-has-improved-security-experts-say/5d48a4bf88e0fa1454f8019a/. Accessed 6 December 2019
Rathore, Neeraj. “Ethical hacking and security against cyber crime.” i-manager’s Journal on Information Technology, vol. 5, no. 1, 2015, pp. 7-11.
Shah, Niral, and Naveen Vaswani. “Cyber Crime and Security–Challenges and Security Mechanisms.” International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, vol. 36. No. 7, 2016, pp. 367-371.
Thomas, Georg, Oliver Burmeister, and Gregory Low. “Issues of Implied Trust in Ethical Hacking.” ORBIT Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, 2018, pp. 1-16.
Dorothy Johnson
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Dorothy Johnson
Dorothy E. Johnson is a nursing theorist who influenced the nursing theoretical thinking in the twentieth century. Her theory, the Behavioral System Model, is a mid-range nursing system of rules because it addresses specific aspects of nursing practice in relation to their theoretical underpinning (Lee, 2014). The paper describes this theory, explains how it influences nursing practice, and discusses how it characterizes the metaparadigms of nursing.
Background
Dorothy E. Johnson proposed the Behavioral System Model of Nursing in 1968. The theory was inspired by Notes on Nursing, a book authored by Florence Nightingale, which emphasized the pertinent of the environment around a patient and the role of the nurse in modifying the environment to facilitate healing (Alligood, 2014). The theory emphasizes the importance of creating an efficient and effective setting for a patient to prevent illnesses. It also reemphasizes the significance of research-based knowledge to the nursing care and its impact on the patients’ wellbeing (Robert, Tilley, & Petersen, 2014). The theory distinguishes the behavioral and biological systems that comprise the human being. Johnson observed that while the physicians focused on the biological system using the medicine perspective, the nurse’s attention should be on the behavioral system. As such, the Behavioral System Model distinguishes nursing from medicine.
Nursing Theory and Practice
As a mid-range nursing theory, the Behavioral System Model describes the nurse’s role in the care processes and the manner in which nurses can assist patients in preventing illness and returning to good health after controlling the illness. By using the behavioral system as the theoretical knowledge base, nurses can employ the tools that predict and modify patients’ behavior, thus facilitating the maintenance or assisting in returning to good health (Lee, 2014). Therefore, nurses are asked to assess the behavior of their patient based on the seven subsystems. According to Johnson, these included achievement, aggressiveness, attachment, dependency, eliminative, ingestive and sexual subsystems (Lee, 2014). The assessment helps nurses to identify which of these subsystems can assist patients in returning to or maintaining a balanced state. In practice, the state of equilibrium and imbalance differs across patients. As such, the nurse’s actions need to be customized to the individual patients to attend to their unique needs (Stetler, Ritchie, Rycroft-Malone, & Charns, 2014). Consequently, the Behavioral Systems Model is applicable at the evaluation stage of the nursing process. In this regard, the nurse can determine whether the patient’s subsystems are in a state of balance or not, and only after that the nurse can decide on a course of action that would help the patient.
Metaparadigm of Nursing Science
Nursing, patient, health, and environment are four nursing metaparadigms that guide nursing practice. Johnson viewed nursing as the promotion of the balance and stability of the behavioral system of a patient (Deliktas, Korukcu, Aydin, & Kabukcuoglu, 2019). According to Johnson, nurses were external agents whose force could facilitate the ordering and preserving of the organization and integrity of patients’ behavior. That external force aimed at maintaining the optimal level of the patients’ behavior. Therefore, nurses were important when the physical and social wellness of the patient was threatened by their behavior. Johnson perceived the person as system comprising of interdependent components that were patterned in a repetitive and purposeful manner related to behavior. As such, the behavioral system of a person is comprised of seven subsystems. Also, Johnson viewed health as a reflection of the organizational interaction, integration and interdependence of the subsystems in the behavioral system of a person. Finally, she recognized the environment as the collection of the forces that affected a patient and influenced his behavioral system.
Johnson’s perceptions of the nursing metaparadigms conform to the existing definitions of nursing. The nursing metaparadigms delineate various aspects of the nursing profession such as goals, outcomes, tasks, and career (Deliktas et al., 2019). Johnson described the nursing objectives by underscoring the return of a patient to equilibrium, which is the condition prior to illness. The person metaparadigm is related an individual patient in the context of the family, culture and society (Deliktas et al., 2019). In this regard, Johnson described a person as a behavioral system whose actions were influenced by social and cultural factors. The health metaparadigm defines the process involved in life and death (Deliktas et al., 2019). According to Johnson, health, as being opposite to illness, could be maintained and enhanced through regular and consistent behavior. The absence of such behavior resulted in illnesses and could end up in death. The environment metaparadigm describes all the conditions that influence human health, namely the economic, social, political conditions in a nation, region and world (Deliktas et al., 2019). Johnson linked the environmental conditions to the surrounding internal and external forces influencing a patient’s behavior.
Summary
Johnson’s Behavioral System Model is a nursing theory that relates nursing to practice by defining the role of nurses and the application of the behavioral systems to nursing practice. The model views patients as behavioral systems comprising of subsystems, which could be in stable equilibrium when the patient is healthy and imbalanced when the patient is ill. The role of the nurse is clearly distinguished from that of the physician with the nurse focusing on helping the patient attain stability and equilibrium. Nonetheless, the theory facilitates nursing practice by encouraging the nurses to use behavioral and systems theories to evaluate patients and facilitate behavioral change that would enhance patient’s health.
References
Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theory-E-book: Utilization & application. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Deliktas, A., Korukcu, O., Aydin, R., & Kabukcuoglu, K. (2019). Nursing students’ perceptions of nursing metaparadigms: A phenomenological study. The Journal of Nursing Research, 27(5), e45. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6752693/
Lee, S. W. (2014). Overview of nursing theory. Japanese Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences, 12(2), 58-67.
Robert, R. R., Tilley, D. S., & Petersen, S. (2014). A power in clinical nursing practice: concept analysis on nursing intuition. Medsurg Nursing, 23(5), 343-349.
Stetler, C. B., Ritchie, J. A., Rycroft-Malone, J., & Charns, M. P. (2014). Leadership for evidence‐based practice: Strategic and functional behaviors for institutionalizing EBP. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 11(4), 219-226.
Seismic Design and Regulations: Historical Evolution and Effectiveness Factors
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Seismic Design and Regulations: Historical Evolution and Effectiveness Factors
Seismic events have devastated human life and property historically, inspiring people to seek ways of reducing their impact. Many populous regions in the world lie on seismically active sites, endangering people and property. Earthquakes the rolling, shaking and sudden shock of the surface of the earth, devastate and destroy through violent shaking of structures, ground failure such as faulting, subsidence and landslides, and tsunamis (Lorant, 2016). Indeed, some of the most devastating earthquakes in the world have occurred in highly populated areas, often located in coastal areas, necessitating the redesigning of building and other infrastructure to make then earthquake proof. In addition, regulations have been developed to help guide, enforce and entrench prudent design and construction codes in built spaces (Ishiyama, 2011). The ensuing discussion traces the historical evolution of seismic regulations and the landmark events in Greece, Japan and the United States that have inspired their development. After that, the effectiveness of these regulations globally alongside the socioeconomic factors the influence their effectiveness and the impact of earthquakes are discussed.
Catastrophic earthquakes and their impacts
Some devastating earthquakes have influenced the development of seismic design and regulation based on the sociopolitical environment at the location and period of occurrence (Reitherman, 2012). Notably, Greece, Japan and the United States have experienced significant historical seismic events that inspired the development of seismic designs and regulation to prevent future calamities, or at least, reduce the devastation from earthquakes to a minimum.
Greece
Greece lies at the boundary of the Anatolian plate and the Adria and Aegean microplates, which makes it experience small earthquakes every 2 to 3 days alongside occasional big magnitude ones (Kouskouna & Makropoulos, 2004). The 1953 earthquake at Cephalonia is significant because it instigated the development of the first Greek Seismic Code back in 1959 (Nikolaou, 2015). This law has been the backbone of the seismic regulatory framework at the country.
The Kalamata earthquake of 1986 caused the reexamination of the building codes on high-risk zones, with higher seismic coefficients being proposed. In addition, the earth highlighted the need for anti-seismic urban planning and land-use laws, and an institutional framework for reconstruction (Theofili & Arellano, 2001). imilarly, the Grevena-Kozani earthquake of 1995 caused some minor reforms to the 1992 anti-seismic regulation. The earthquake also instigated the urgent modification to the National Earthquake Building Code Map and the updating of neotectonic mapping and microzonation studies (Theofili & Arellano, 2001). The Egio earthquake of 1995 reinforced the recommendation made after the Grevena-Kozani earthquake. In addition, the earthquake instigated the need periodic maintenance and safety checks for all buildings, and the systematic enforcement of building codes in the country. Also, a national inventory and database of resources, and the communication of accesses and escape routes were created after the event (Theofili & Arellano, 2001).
The Mt Parnitha earthquake in Attica in 1999 caused the New Greek Seismic Design Code of 1995, the Reinforced Concrete Code and the Concrete Technology Code to be revised. The resultant codes included the Greek Earthquake Design Code of 2000 and the revised Reinforced Concrete Code of 2001. As such, structure constructed using the seismic design code of 1959 and the New Greek Seismic Design Code had to be retested. Moreover, the event highlighted the importance of geological, geotechnical studies and seismic microzoning studies as a mandatory accompaniment of urban land-use and planning. Moreover, seismic safety considerations were to be included in the Code for the Design of Non-Structural Elements and the General Building Code because of their influence on building design (Theofili & Arellano, 2001). The two earthquakes that ravaged the Cephalonia Island in Greece in 2014 provided an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the Greek building codes. Two to three story reinforced concrete buildings constructed under the local seismic code withstood the onslaught. However, the collaboration between the Greeks and the Americans ushered an era of collaborative reconnaissance in which resilience observation drove studies rather than failure of structures (Nikolaou, 2015).
However, Greece has to conform to the European Union codes and regulations, also known as the Eurocode. According to the European code, Greece lies on the highest seismic zone in Europe and therefore construction must adhere to the codes. Nonetheless, the local code is more stringent than the Eurocode 8 (Nikolaou, 2015).
Japan
Japan lies on the seismically active part of the eastern side of the ring of fire that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. However, despite its vulnerable location, the country has created one of the most disaster-resilient and safest built environments in the world, through continuous improvement from the lessons learnt from earthquakes (World Bank).
The Mino-Owari earthquake of 1891 in Nobi demonstrated that earthquakes can be caused by faulting in just the same way earthquakes cause faulting (Reitherman, 2008). The magnitude 8 earthquake occurred on the Midori fault of the Nobi fault system, causing over 7,000 deaths
The 7.9-magnitude Kanto earthquake of 1923 informed the modification of the 1963 Building Standard Law, by requiring that the designs and construction of all high-rise buildings be approved by the Minister of Construction (Otani, 2004). In addition, the design seismic coefficient of 0.1 was introduced in the revised urban building law enforcement regulations of 1924. This limited the height of reinforced concrete structures to 20 meters even after the Second World War and was included in the Building Standard Law Enforcement Order of 1950. Notably, the Building Standard Law became a national level in this year. The height limitation remained in force until 1963.
The Tokachi-Oki earthquake of 1968 exposed the weakness of reinforced concrete structures, instigating research frenzy. The studies helped improve the shear design of reinforced concrete pillars and members, and saw the development of steel-encased reinforced concrete (SRC) and concrete-filled tube (CFT) column systems thereafter (Otani, 2004).
The Hanshin-Awaji earthquake of 1995 in Kobe served as a test for the seismic design and building codes in Japan. The event revealed that 76 % of the buildings that collapsed were constructed before 1971, while only 3 % of the collapsed buildings were built after 1981. Likewise, the Hyogoken-Nanby earthquake of 1995 in Kobe evidenced the shear failure of concrete from the collapse of bridges. The seismic designs developed hereafter focused on improving the shear strength of members to prevent failure.
United States
The western end of United States sits on the eastern part of the ring of fire, although the country has an active intraplate region to the east of the Rocky Mountains as well. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 led to the development of the elastic rebound law, which enables geologists to estimate the magnitude of the earthquake from the fault length (Reitherman, 2008). The magnitude 7.9 quake destroyed 80 % of the city and caused about 3,000 fatalities destroying property worth 350 million dollars at the time. However, the event did not instigate any changes in building regulations immediately.
The Long Beach Earthquake of 1933 instigated the formulation of the Field Act, which required schools adhere to the seismic building code provisions that were managed by the state (Ishiyama, 2011). This seismic event also advanced earthquake engineering by generating data on reinforced concrete structures, a technology that had been in existence for more than four decades (Laghi et al., 2017). Also, the Riley Act was enacted, setting forth the development of seismic code in the United States (Reitherman, 2012). The San Fernando earthquake of 1977 devastated unexpectedly, many structures designed and built according to the current codes at the time. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program was set up to champion the improvement of building codes and the construction environment to forestall a recurrence of the devastation. The program facilitated the enactment of National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act in the same year (Anderson & Naeim, 2012).
Seismic designs
Designs for earthquake resilience have also developed over time as new building material emerged. For instance, stone and bricks limited the height of buildings because they lacked the ability to withstand shear forces. Steel rigid frames appeared in construction towards the end of the 19th century, when steel was abundant and the urge to go higher was overpowering (Laghi et al., 2017). These structures allowed the tall buildings, which experienced internal action because of lateral loads, to have flexural and shear strength. Notably, the cantilever system characterized the structural skeleton of the buildings. However, to construct building higher than 10 stories, which was the limit for the frames structure, tubular, core-supported, bundled tubes and modular structures proved to be more efficient (Ishiyama, 2011). Notably, the tube structure, when incorporated with steel and concrete presented one of the most earthquake-resilient buildings. The shear wall structure in the form of reinforced concrete walls has superior earthquake because of the ductile behavior. Its rigidity and large lateral strength reduce the sophistication and detailing complexity required in the designs.
The traditional reinforced concrete was improved in the 1940s to ferrocement by using meshed metallic grid rather than iron bars. The meshed structure embedded in cement provided food compression and tension behavior, which enhance earthquake resilience. Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) are the more recent earthquake resistant building materials that have been developed for earthquake prone regions. Their low cost and design flexibility due to the use of expanded polystyrene synthetized (EPS) has made the appropriate and popular in developing countries (Laghi et al. 2017).
The Creation and Development of Seismic Regulations
Japan developed its first building code in 1919, which required that all building be designed for a seismic coefficient of 0.1. Seismic coefficient is determined dividing the estimated maximum ground acceleration by the safety factor of allowable stress. This code was incorporated into the building standard law in Japan in 1950 and contributed to the development of seismic codes globally (Pitilakis, 2018).
The earthquake engineering research institute (EERI) was established in 1948 in the United States, and introduced earthquake engineering in place of engineering seismology (Reitherman, 2008). This recognized the nexus between seismology and engineering, and its importance in addressing the effects of earthquakes on human environments. The royal decree of the seismic code for building structures is the first seismic code in Greece, enacted in 1959 to assess the seismic response of built structures (Maraveas, 2019). Likewise, the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 called for the establishment of seismological studies, early prediction systems, hazard reduction programs in recognition of the need to go beyond seismic engineering (Anderson & Naeim, 2012).
The number of seismic building codes regulations have increased over time as seismic knowledge expands, as illustrated in figure 1. As such, codes are increasingly weightier as they include standards and professional practice guidelines (Reitherman, 2008). The upsurge in the 1960s is attributed to the availability of computers and software for seismic analysis (Pitilakis, 2018).
Figure 1. Number of seismic codes developed globally since 1960
Source: Reitherman (2008)
In the United States, seismic codes developed at the local level before being adopted nationally. The first codes were developed Palo Alto and Santa Barbara in California in 1925, while seismic design provisions were not written until 1927. These were consolidated into the three main regional building codes in the country in the 1900s, namely the building code congress international (SBCCI), the National Building Code, also known as the BOCA Code by the building officials and code administrators (BOCA), and the Uniform Building Code (UBC) by the international conference of building officials (Anderson & Naeim, 2012).
Two regulatory framework approaches have evolved over time; one where the building standards are embedded in law and the other where building standards are developed by nongovernmental organizations outside law. Japan embeds its building standards in law while the United States and Greece prefer separating the building codes and standards from the building laws (World Bank). The advantage of embedded standards is the guaranteeing of minimum safety standards and the facilitation of compliance and control in low-capacity environments. However, revisions of the frameworks are difficult, complex, and time consuming, and thus not responsive to rapid changes in built circumstances or seismic knowledge. In turn, the separated regulatory structure facilitates revision and design flexibility, although they require authorities to be conversant with the technical details therein (World Bank).
Effectiveness of Earthquake Regulation
Earthquake design and regulation are aimed at not only informing the development of structures in a country to ensure that they are earthquake resistant but also guaranteeing the safety of people and their property. Indeed, earthquake-related designs and regulations were motivated by devastating earthquakes that occurred when earthquake engineering could benefit from the added knowledge and when the political environment was least resistant to earth-quake proof construction laws (Reitherman, 2012). Therefore, at the onset, earthquake engineering advancements is sensitive to the sociopolitical environment in a country at the time of a significant seismic event. Interestingly, many earthquake designs and regulations from the advancement of earthquake engineering have been inspired by other sociopolitical aspects other than the momentous earthquakes themselves. For instance, increased research, education and implementation of earthquake engineering knowledge in China occurred after the demise of Mao Zedong in 1976, despite the occurrence of the Tangshan Earthquake in the same year (Reitherman, 2012). This is because during Mao’s regime, the political ideology favored populism over science and engineering, hindering the advancement of earthquake engineering in the country at the time. Moreover, the reforms undertaken by Deng Xiaopin, who succeeded Mao, led to a construction boom, which necessitated the application of earthquake engineering knowledge (Reitherman, 2012).
The effectiveness of the seismic designs and regulations are influenced by the country in which they are implemented. The transferability of the designs and laws across countries is hindered by the differences in building materials, construction details, construction sites, local standards and codes and socioeconomic factors such as budgets and culture. Moreover, the data collected from buildings and other structures in one country during an earthquake cannot be transferred to another structure in a different country because the structures differ. Furthermore, differences in methodologies among earthquake engineers challenge the replication of findings from one country to another, despite the existence of global organizations such as the International Association for Earthquake Engineers.
The socioeconomic status of a country can determine the effectiveness of the seismic regulations. There is no doubt that poor countries suffer more from earthquakes than wealthy ones, as was demonstrated by the Haiti earthquake of 2010. Booth (2018) observed that Haiti was terribly devastated compared to Chile in 2010, although Chile experienced a stronger earthquake. The Haiti event had at least 100,000 fatalities while in the Chile one, 525 people died. The engineering properties of the physical infrastructure in Haiti were poor reflecting a resource-scarce country. Moreover, earthquakes are often accompanied by fires, tsunamis, mudslides and flooding, which add another dimension to structural resilience other than that focused on the violent shaking of ground (Booth, 2018). This indicates that erecting earthquake-proof buildings requires capital and political commitment despite the presence of enabling technologies and standards (Booth, 2018). Moreover, the diversity and inclusivity in the earthquake engineering teams and among politicians fan influence the effectiveness of the building codes for earthquake resilience. Booth (2018) argues that earthquakes affect people and therefore seismic engineers should learn to deal with people, an area women perform better than men despite being underrepresented in the profession. The unpredictability of earthquakes require effective communication about the benefits and limits of seismic engineering, and a diverse engineering team comprising is people of different gender, race, ethnicity, social standing and such like strata could be more effective communicators. Moreover, residential building may be expanded according to increasing family size over time. Unfortunately, these modifications may be undertaken under different building codes and regulations, making the structures lack uniform resilience (Nikolaou, 2015).
Conclusion
Seismic engineering has facilitated the development of designs and regulation facilitating the construction of earthquake-resilient buildings. Earthquakes and the great devastations they cause have been valuable in advancing seismic engineering as an autonomous field alongside facilitating the development of earthquake-proof designs and supporting regulations. Greece, Japan and the United States have faced many different seismic events that have contributed to the evolution of building standards in the countries and globally as well. Moreover, the earthquakes have afforded the engineers opportunities to test the resilience of new building materials and designs to improve the structural stability and longevity of buildings. However, earthquake-proof construction is expensive, which may render earthquake-resilience regulations ineffective in poorly-resourced countries. Moreover, the diminishing quality land for construction upon population increase pressures makes some seismic designs untenable. Indeed, countries like Japan has succeeded in creating habitable environments in seismically active areas because of the integration of building codes and regulation alongside the political commitment to direct resources to enhancing earthquake resilience in the country. Unfortunately, developing countries with limited resources may continue to be devastated by earthquakes because of their low socioeconomic status, which hinders their ability to domesticate and enforce the new building technologies and standards available in the construction industry globally.
References
Anderson, J. C., & Naeim, F. (2012). Basic structural dynamics. John Wiley & Sons.
Beavers, J. E. (2002). A review of seismic hazard description in US design codes and procedures. Progress in Structural Engineering and Materials, 4(1), 46-63.
Booth, E. (2018). Dealing with earthquakes: the practice of seismic engineering ‘as if people mattered’. Bulletin of earthquake engineering, 16(4), 1661-1724.
Ishiyama, Y. (2011). Introduction to earthquake engineering and seismic codes in the world. Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kouskouna, V. & Makropoulos, K. (2004). Historical earthquake investigations in Greece. Annuls of Geophysics, 47(2.3), 723-731.
Laghi, V., Palermo, M., Trombetti, T., & Schildkamp, M. (2017). Seismic-proof buildings in developing countries. Frontiers in Built Environment, 3(49), 1-12.
Lorant, G. (2016). Seismic design principles. National Institute of Building Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.wbdg.org/resources/seismic-design-principles.
Maraveas, C. (2019). Assessment and Restoration of an Earthquake-Damaged Historical Masonry Building. Frontiers in Built Environment, 5, 112.
Nikolaou, S. (2015). Learning from structural success rather than failures. Structure. Retrieved from https://www.structuremag.org/?p=8211.
Otani, S. (2004). Japanese seismic design of high-rise reinforced concrete buildings: an example of performance based design code and state of practices. In Proceedings, 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering.
Pitilakis, K. (2018). Recent advancements in earthquake engineering in Europe. Geotechnical, Geological and Earthquake Engineering 46,
Reitherman, R. (2008). International aspects of the history of earthquake engineering. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. California.
The World Bank (n.d.). Building regulation for resilience: Converting disaster experience into a safer built environment – the case of Japan. Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.
Theofili, C. & Arellano, L. V. (2001). Lessons learnt from earthquake disasters that occurred in Greece-Nedies project. European Commission. Retrieved from https://www.preventionweb.net/files/1497_Earthquakes20Report20with20logo.pdf.
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Impact of E-commerce on Brick-and-Mortar Stores in London
Abstract
In the wake of the internet, the advent of electronic commerce and the growing popularity of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores have become endangered and their future looks bleak. Modern cities renowned traditionally as shopping destinations are in danger of losing their reputation and economic contribution from the retail industry is shopping is conducted online. Already, major retail brands in London and other large cities are either under administration due to bankruptcy threats, are closing shop or are reinventing their business models. This study sought to identify how electronic commerce had impacted the brick-and-mortar street stores in London in a bid to understand the improved efficiency of online stores and project the future of the brick-and-mortar stores in large cities. A qualitative study using secondary sources was used to answer the research question on what is the impact of e-commerce on the brick-and-mortar stores in London. The study revealed that electronic commerce had presented challenges to many brick-and-mortar stores, with some shops closing down, increasing the vacancy of retail space in London. Moreover, while some retailers had exited the retail industry and laid off workers, others had embraced e-commerce by opening online shopping sites. Therefore, the omnichannel model was recommended to London high street retailers to remain competitive in the rapidly changing retail environment.
Table of Contents
Abstract 1
1.0 Introduction. 4
1.1 Brief Description of the Background. 4
1.2 Research Aims, Question and Objectives of the Study. 5
1.3 Justification of the Study. 5
2.0 Literature Review.. 6
2.1 The Internet and Electronic Commerce. 6
2.2 Online Stores vs. Brick-and-Mortar Stores. 7
2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Online and Physical Shops. 8
2.4 The Retail Sector in the United Kingdom.. 9
3.0 Methodology. 10
3.1 Research Method. 10
3.2 Study Setting. 10
3.3 Data Collection. 11
3.4 Data Analysis. 11
4.0 Findings and Discussion. 11
4.1 State of Retail in London. 11
4.2 The challenges that confronted street stores in London. 13
4.3 How were street shops in London dealing with the challenges presented by e-commerce? 15
4.4 The future of street shops in London. 16
5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations. 17
Works Cited. 18
Appendices. 22
Appendix 1: Factors driving the adoption of electronic commerce. 22
Appendix 2: Transformation of the retail industry. 22
Appendix 3: The changing role of the retail store. 23
Appendix 4: Distribution of retail areas in London. 23
Appendix 5: The density of retail units in London. 24
Appendix 6: Penetration of online retail in the United Kingdom.. 24
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Brief Description of the Background
The internet is a revolutionary technology that has impacted all spheres of modern life. Many aspects of daily life have been made simpler, more convenient and faster, courtesy of the internet. Besides, mobile technology and social media have made it possible for people to seek, create and share information and transact business at their convenience. As such, spatial and temporal barriers have been reduced or eliminated by these technological advancements (Laudon and Guercio Traver 6). The internet has become ubiquitous globally, with countries like the United Kingdom experiencing almost 100 % connectivity. As such, in the contemporary society, many adults are becoming accustomed to the digital way of doing things, while children are growing up in a digitized environment (Hagberg, Sundstrom and Egels-Zandén 694). Therefore, the younger generation is expected to become adults who are reliant on the internet for their daily activities in future.
Electronic commerce is one of the innovations based on the internet, with the traditional conduct of business being forced to adjust to the increasing popularity of online approaches. The retail industry has been especially transformed by the advent of electronic commerce, with the traditional brick-and-mortar stores struggling for survival. Notably, the shopping experience, purchasing decisions and customer behaviour have changed since the advent of electronic commerce. Shoppers are now able to click on a computer or smartphone to choose between different products and services, compare their prices, purchase them, share usage experiences and provide feedback to business owners (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson 6).
The retail sector is digitizing rapidly and online shops are increasing at a phenomenal rate. In the United Kingdom, 20 % of the retail sales are attributed to online transactions currently, which is projected to reach 53 % in the next decade (Butler). Also, by 2028, online shopping is projected to more than double its retail market share (Butler). Already, the brick-and-mortar stores are experiencing the competitive pressure from online shops, with some of them opting to reinvent their business model, while others are closing down altogether.
1.2 Research Aims, Question and Objectives of the Study
This study sought to identify the emerging issues affecting brick-and-mortar stores in London due to the upsurge in electronic commerce, why online shops were more efficient and how the traditional street shops were addressing this trend to remain relevant and reduce damages. In addressing these issues, this study seeks to answer the question on what is the impact of e-commerce on the brick-and-mortar stores in London. Therefore, the objectives of this study included:
To explore the challenges that confronted street stores in the retail sectorTo compare the efficiency of online and the brick-and-mortar storesTo identify the approached used by street stores to address the challenges presented by electronic commerceTo project the future of the brick-and-mortar stores
1.3 Justification of the Study
The purpose of this study is to outline the issues faced by the brick-and-mortar stores and determine how new electronic commerce technologies created online shops that are more successful than street stores. The rise of e-commerce is a global phenomenon that is experienced most in developed countries and cities that have a well-established retail sector. For instance, the United Kingdom, and specifically London, is a renowned retail centre in which many world-famed brands have a strong foothold. The streets of London have been lined with street shops that make the city a shopping destination. However, upcoming retailers and online startups are using electronic commerce to outcompete the traditional brick-and-mortar stores and transforming the entire retail environment, threatening the traditional street shop model. Already, renowned UK retailers such as Bathstore have been forced into administration to avoid bankruptcy, while others like Marks & Spencer, Topshop and Debenhams the plan to close their brick-and-mortar stores in future because of the pressure from online stores (Butler). However, many others have embraced electronic commerce, which has called for a reinvention of their business models to remain relevant and survive in the highly-competitive retail sector. Therefore, in these circumstances, it is important to understand why the electronic commerce retail model is more successful than the traditional street store model if the brick and mortar stores are to survive in London and other large modern cities in the world. Moreover, it is also pertinent to identify what street stores were doing to address these challenges to secure their future in the retail industry.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 The Internet and Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is the commercial transaction between people and organisations in society using internet technologies. The term is commonly used alongside internet retailing ad internet shopping (Visser, Nemoto and Browne 16). Due to the rapid development of the internet, e-commerce was integrated in business activities in the mid-1990, and has been growing ever since (Scarpi 233).
Awa, Ojiabo and Emecheta (573) described how the adoption of electronic commerce can be explained using theoretical frameworks such as the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the technology-organisation-environment (T-O-E) model. According to TAM, the perceived ease of use and the perceived usefulness influenced the adoption of information technology. In addition, TPB added subjective norms and behavioural control to the technology adoption process. The two theories were tied together by TRA, which posited that the adoption of technology was a reasoned and deliberate process. The TOE framework posited that technology adoption was influenced by the industry environment, conditions that influenced business and organisational reconfiguration, and technology development. By combining these theories, Awa, Ojiabo and Emecheta (575) arrived at 18 constructs that ultimately influenced the adoption of electronic commerce by businesses as summarised in appendix 1. Hallikainen and Laukkanen (104) indicated that trust played a major role in the adoption of electronic commerce and influenced the distinction between online buyers and non-buyers. Besides, trust in e-commerce platforms increased purchase intentions and reinforced the relationship between website appeal and buying intentions (Liu et al. 752).
2.2 Online Stores vs. Brick-and-Mortar Stores
Hånell et al. (12) contended that online stores experienced few market entry barriers that enabled retailers to internationalise their business with ease. However, the online models used were influenced by competition, resources and institutions. Herring, Wachinger and Wigley (4) observed that physical store attributed their growth on the replication of proven store formats across new catchment areas. However, the advent of e-commerce and its virtual space concept had lessened the need for physical stores as illustrated in appendix 2. They also noted that retailers were conflicted in adopting online strategies, with the finance departments being sceptical about adopting new and unproven online technologies, while IT experts advocated the adoption of digital strategies. As such, the management of retail enterprises found themselves with excess physical retail space, while being hesitant to adopt electronic commerce models because of their fixed mindsets. Besides, Herring, Wachinger and Wigley (4) noted that online retailers such as Amazon had pressured traditional retailers by lowering prices by between 13 and 20 %, reducing the footfall and diminishing the return on capital on physical outlets.
However, physical stores were not obsolete; rather they played a different role in the retail sector as illustrated in appendix 3 (Herring, Wachinger and Wigley 5). Online retailers were using physical locations to display their wares in a multichannel business model. Allcock noted that 67 % of renowned online brands had opened brick-and-mortar stores in the 2014-2017 period.
2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Online and Physical Shops
Online stores present numerous advantages to the business and consumers. According to Madahi and Sukati (140), Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson (6) and Roy, the benefits to businesses include, firstly, the lowering of the entry barriers into the retail market and thus, easing access to markets. Secondly, they can widen markets by enabling retailers to sell their wares without time and distance constraints. Besides, they can grow rapidly because they can be easily scaled up without experiencing the traditional constraints associated the retail growth. Thirdly, online shops enable the use of tools to gather customer intelligence, which improves customer targeting and the personalisation of customer shopping experiences. Fourthly, online outlets can be cost effective by eliminating the need for retail premises and their accompanying staff. However, online retail stores present several disadvantages to the business owners. Firstly, establishing trust from customers is challenging because of the limited face-to-face interaction between the staff and customers. Secondly, they expose the retailer to numerous legal issues related to customer rights and protection. Thirdly, online stores are susceptible to cybercrime, which can lose retailers huge amounts of money, let alone the high cost of litigations and the fines and compensation that may result. Fourthly, online stores require a significant investment in infrastructure to support order fulfilment activities such as warehousing and delivery or collection points for customers (Jung, Cho and Lee 2080).
To the customers, online stores present benefits such as increased convenience because of the ability to shop in real-time from any location at any time. Also, online stores enable the comparison of prices across different retailers, thus enabling the customer identify and access discounts and special offers. The customer can also compare the quality of the product or service based on the reviews posted by previous customers. This allows shoppers to cut on their shopping expenditure and travel while obtaining value for their money (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson 6; Suel and Polak 148).
Herring, Wachinger and Wigley (6) observed that physical outlets offered instant gratification to customers by satisfying impulsive buyers, enabled customers to interact with the brand and merchandise, provided sites for social interaction and entertainment and were convenient when in close proximity. However, the customer may be defrauded if cyber criminals obtain personal information related to bank accounts, credit and debit cards and other online payment modes. In addition, customers may be dissatisfied with the product or service if it does not match its description on the shop’s website. According to Allcock, physical stores were advantageous because they enhanced the shopping experience by allowing customers to interact with the brand and products, and provided an avenue for conducting market research due to enabling the observation of customers and their interactions.
2.4 The Retail Sector in the United Kingdom
Although online shopping was increasing in the UK, many Britons still preferred visiting physical shops (Butler). Meng (20) noted that the ICO Cookie Law and the data protection law of 1998, alongside other regulations, protected consumers from the misuse of electronic commerce. A study by Clarke, Thompson and Birkin (389) revealed that the usage of e-commerce in the UK was influenced the income and age of consumers, their distance from physical stores and whether they were located in urban or rural settings. Altogether, Britons aged between 25 and 44 years, living in cities or far from supermarkets, affluent and male were more likely to engage in online shopping compared to the rest of the population in the country.
However, Eley and Wright noted that the retailing sector in the country was in crisis because online shops had cased loss of jobs, particularly by women. They reported that about 60,000 retail jobs had been lost in the UK in 2018, threatening the retail outlets along high streets. Moreover, traditional retailers were either in receivership/administration, had been acquired by other retailers or had closed down due to the onslaught of online shopping. Examples such as BHS and Debenham’s were cited as victims of electronic commerce in the UK.
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Research Method
A qualitative research using secondary resources was used in this study. The qualitative approach was used because it gives in-depth information regarding a phenomenon using a wide selection of strategies. Moreover, it is preferable for investigating phenomena in their natural settings, thus providing enormous detail about events that cannot be studied in controlled or experimental conditions. Likewise, the secondary data was preferred due to its cost effectiveness, ready availability though online technology, wide variety of information and time-saving potential. Altogether, the qualitative secondary data approach suited this study by fitting into the time and resource constraints, while addressing the research question comprehensively.
3.2 Study Setting
London was chosen as the setting for this study because of its reputation as a global retail centre and a shopping destination of the world. Its numerous street shops that host world-famous brands made London a site from where the effects of e-commerce on brick-and-mortar stores can be studied. Besides, the competitiveness that pits brick-and-mortar stores against online stores is evident in London as street stores struggle with the rapidly changing retail environment.
3.3 Data Collection
Secondary data was obtained from online sources. Online search was conducted using Google Scholar search engine and the University of Westminster library. Academic journals, books, new articles and industry reports that did not exceed 10 years were obtained and perused for relevant secondary data.
3.4 Data Analysis
The information from these sources was sorted and analysed thematically to aid the answering of the research questions in this study. Emerging themes were identified, noted and presented descriptively, addressing the research question and attending to the study objectives.
4.0 Findings and Discussion
4.1 State of Retail in London
London is a leading international commerce and business centre globally covering an area of about 1,500 square kilometres with an estimated population of over 8.7 million residents. Being the capital of the UK, London has a vibrant retail industry, which was driving the city’s and the country’s economy. The city had about 43,000 retail outlets occupying about 17 million square meters of floor space (Barett 9). Although most of the retailing activity was concentrated in central London, each of its 32 boroughs has retail activity as illustrated in appendix 4. While some boroughs in central London have between 500 and 1000 retail units per square kilometre, the rest of them had at least one area with at least 50 outlets per square kilometre as displayed in appendix 5. The large retail stores in the city were found along New Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street in central London (UNC-SBRP).
The largest retail floor space was found in Croydon, Kensington and Westminster, while the least was in boroughs such as Barking, City of London and Dagenham. The retail outlets served London households as well as tourist and commuters. While tourist frequented the high profile retail outlets located in Knightsbridge, west end, Ealing Broadway and Victoria Street, commuters preferred Bishopsgate, Liverpool Street and London Bridge because of their transportation connectivity. In addition, household spending was higher in South and West London, while commuter and tourist spending dominated the stores in central London. Adoption of e-commerce was most visible in the online sales of books and music, with consumer electronics and fashion gaining traction as illustrated in appendix 6 (Savills Commercial Research 3).
The retail sector of London contributed to the economy by accounting for about 40 % of the money spent in the city. It also supported other industries such as real estate, warehousing, transport, logistics, financial service, tourism, and construction. Moreover, the retail sector was a major employer in the city, employing about 400,000 people comprising mainly of the youth, women and part-time workers (Barett 8; UNC-SBRP).
London was attracting international brands into its retail market with 57 of them having set shop in the city by November of 2019, which were up from 55 new openings in 2018. The food and beverage segment led the new retail entrants accounting for 44 %, followed by the fashion segment, which attracted 37 % newcomers. For instance, the French-based Sezane’s, Rains from Denmark, and Bluemint from Turkey opened permanent physical stores along Westbourne Grove, Upper Street and King’s Road respectively in 2018. Other notable entrants included Blaiz from Latin America and Chloe from the United States. Notably, most of the new entrants came from the European Union, accounting for 63.6 % of new entrants into London in 2018. Retailers from the Asia-Pacific region increase four-fold in London accounting for 15.2 % of the city’s new entrants. Besides, many other large retailers had entered the London market as online retailers due to the ease of overcoming international barriers (Hånell et al, 6).
However, the city was also experiencing decline in occupancy of retail premises in its high streets. It was estimated that in the first half of 2019, 16 stores shut down, while only 9 new ones opened (Butler). This had resulted in an overall closure of 1,234 chain store retail outlets in the top 500 high streets of the United Kingdom (Butler). Besides, independent stores were closing at a higher rate, making these closures the highest since 2010.
4.2 The challenges that confronted street stores in London
The challenges confronting London’s street stores can be categorised as those emanating from the retail environment and those from customers. The secondary data revealed that the brick-and-mortar stores in London were experiencing lower profitability due to reduced margins related to the retail environment in the country and globally. Firstly, online stores were growing in popularity with their discounted offers, which was exerting pricing pressures on the brick-and-mortar stores. This forced the physical stores to lower their prices to remain competitive, which narrowed their profit margins. Moreover, the barriers to entry into the online retailing were low enabling new local retailers to emerge and established international retailers such as Amazon to penetrate the UK market, providing stiff competition to physical stores in the city. Many of these new entrants had online presence and therefore, their establishment of physical stores in London aimed to consolidate their gains from the online retailing channel in the UK. For instance, Sezane’s is a renowned online fashion retailer based in France, which opened its first physical store in London in 2018 (Haliday).
Secondly, operational costs for running physical stores were escalating, stifling profitability. Notably, the cost of rent was high in London, becoming unmanageable for stores that were already struggling with narrowing margins. According to Statista, the annual rent of retail space in prime locations such as the London west end was as high as 16,407 euros per square meter compared to locations in London whose rent was 2014 euros. However, these rates remained higher than in other UK cities where retail space in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Cardiff was rented at 1766, 1550, 1302 and 1178 respectively (Cherowbrier). This means that rents in high-end streets of London was about 10 times higher than in other streets in the city and other cities in the United Kingdom. Further, scarcity of delivery bays coupled with restrictions on street parking due to the high cost of parking tickets challenged retail business, particularly the independent small retailers (Carmona 27). Moreover, the devaluation of the sterling pound had increased the cost of imported goods, which was detrimental to importers of retail (FTI Consulting 1).
Thirdly, uncertainties surrounding Brexit had caused retailers to lower their investments in the sector. Besides, this uncertainty has resulted in increased inflation and the devaluation of the sterling pound, causing retailers further anxiety (FTI Consulting 1).
Customers were also presenting challenges to physical retail stores by their changing characteristics and shopping habits. Notably, customers in London were increasingly well educated, from diverse cultural background and were aging progressively. As such, they were more conscious about product and service quality, and demanded information about the merchandise on offer. Therefore, although the younger shoppers were digital natives, the older ones were embracing new technologies, albeit cautiously.
Moreover, the behaviour of the contemporary customer was characterised by fragmented activities in which the shopping process was divided into discrete activities that could be undertaken in different places and at separate times. For instance, a shopper could discover merchandise from the recommendations of a friend over social media, research about the product on a smartphone while commuting and purchase the product from a store over the weekend.
These conditions suited the electronic commerce model of retail shopping, with online stores enabling customers to gather information about products, allowing them to shop at their convenience and delivering numerous savings for the bargain-conscious consumers. Moreover, contemporary consumers did not exhibit brand or retail outlet loyalty because of the wide choice of retailers offering similar merchandise. What mattered more to the customer was the ability to obtain a product of the desired quality at the preferred cost in the most convenient manner. Therefore, retailers that were able to fulfil customer orders according to or exceeding the consumers’ expectations gained customer confidence and bolstered retail sales.
4.3 How were street shops in London dealing with the challenges presented by e-commerce?
Retail outlets along London streets were responding to the challenges presented by electronic commerce in several ways. Firstly, physical stores were adopting the e-commerce retailing model by establishing their own websites. The click and collect model was the most popular approach that allowed retailers to combine their brick-and-mortar stores with online outlets. Customer would identify and purchase their desired items online and collect them from physical stores. Besides, the physical shops acted as showrooms from where customers could interact with their desired products before making their sales online, where prices were lower. Retailers like Next had adopted this model. This not only improved their in-store shopping experience but also staved off store closure, while enabling them to withstand the fierce competition from pure online retailers that had entered the London market. Secondly, street shops were reducing the number of outlets in the city that were performing poorly. This allowed to them to retain only those outlets that were profitable. Others were retreating to residential areas where they could remain close to their customers. Thirdly, some physical retail outlets were being acquired by other that had gained online experience and needed to expand their physical presence in the city. This enabled the acquiring retailers to use the physical stores as collection points for their online customers. Lastly, some street shops were closing their premises due to insolvency. This was after they were unable to remain profitable and transform their business models to address the headwinds in the retail environment. Some of those that had abandoned their physical shops had opted to sell their merchandise over online outlets such as Amazon Marketplace platform. Altogether, street stores in London could no longer continue with the traditional brick-and-mortar store model, with some adopting innovative electronic commerce strategies in their business models, while others were succumbing to the fierce competition and exiting the retail industry altogether.
4.4 The future of street shops in London
The future of physical retail outlets lay in their ability to digitalise their operations and therefore, adopt business models that were more suited for the digital retail market. Adoption of digital technologies, which when combined with physical stores to improve the shopping experience was pertinent for the survival of London’s street shops. Notably, by changing the role of the physical store to that of being a showroom and a collection point, alongside the adoption of the multichannel shopping model, the physical store could accommodate electronic commerce in their business models. Moreover, the contemporary consumer valued a personalised and engaging shopping experience that combined utility and leisure. The omnichannel model was the future of retailing because it combines online and offline channels allowing retailers to engage with their customers at all touchpoints of the purchasing process (Verhoef 176).
While adopting online retailing approaches was recommended, the brick-and-mortar stores needed to integrate new technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality into their e-commerce models. Moreover, tests on drones, robots and driverless vehicles has revealed potential for improving the efficiency of retailing significantly, while lowering the operational costs once they are approved for use in the retail industry (Grewal 5). These technologies had the potential to improve the shopping experience, which facilitating that targeting of customers to endear their loyalty.
5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations
The study confirmed that the street shops of London were impacted heavily by the technological innovations that had caused the growing popularity of online shopping. Although the retail sector was performing poorly globally, its survival was predicated on how well retailers adopted and leveraged e-commerce technologies in future. It is recommended that retailers adopt the onmichannel model to leverage be benefits of online and physical outlets.
Works Cited
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Factors driving the adoption of electronic commerce
Appendix 2: Transformation of the retail industry
Appendix 3: The changing role of the retail store
Appendix 4: Distribution of retail areas in London
Appendix 5: The density of retail units in London
Appendix 6: Penetration of online retail in the United Kingdom
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Impact of E-commerce on Brick-and-Mortar Stores in London
Abstract
In the wake of the internet, the advent of electronic commerce and the growing popularity of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores have become endangered and their future looks bleak. Modern cities renowned traditionally as shopping destinations are in danger of losing their reputation and economic contribution from the retail industry is shopping is conducted online. Already, major retail brands in London and other large cities are either under administration due to bankruptcy threats, are closing shop or are reinventing their business models. This study sought to identify how electronic commerce had impacted the brick-and-mortar street stores in London in a bid to understand the improved efficiency of online stores and project the future of the brick-and-mortar stores in large cities. A qualitative study using secondary sources was used to answer the research question on what is the impact of e-commerce on the brick-and-mortar stores in London. The study revealed that electronic commerce had presented challenges to many brick-and-mortar stores, with some shops closing down, increasing the vacancy of retail space in London. Moreover, while some retailers had exited the retail industry and laid off workers, others had embraced e-commerce by opening online shopping sites. Therefore, the omnichannel model was recommended to London high street retailers to remain competitive in the rapidly changing retail environment.
Table of Contents
Abstract 1
1.0 Introduction. 4
1.1 Brief Description of the Background. 4
1.2 Research Aims, Question and Objectives of the Study. 5
1.3 Justification of the Study. 5
2.0 Literature Review.. 6
2.1 The Internet and Electronic Commerce. 6
2.2 Online Stores vs. Brick-and-Mortar Stores. 7
2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Online and Physical Shops. 8
2.4 The Retail Sector in the United Kingdom.. 9
3.0 Methodology. 10
3.1 Research Method. 10
3.2 Study Setting. 10
3.3 Data Collection. 11
3.4 Data Analysis. 11
4.0 Findings and Discussion. 11
4.1 State of Retail in London. 11
4.2 The challenges that confronted street stores in London. 13
4.3 How were street shops in London dealing with the challenges presented by e-commerce? 15
4.4 The future of street shops in London. 16
5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations. 17
Works Cited. 18
Appendices. 22
Appendix 1: Factors driving the adoption of electronic commerce. 22
Appendix 2: Transformation of the retail industry. 22
Appendix 3: The changing role of the retail store. 23
Appendix 4: Distribution of retail areas in London. 23
Appendix 5: The density of retail units in London. 24
Appendix 6: Penetration of online retail in the United Kingdom.. 24
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Brief Description of the Background
The internet is a revolutionary technology that has impacted all spheres of modern life. Many aspects of daily life have been made simpler, more convenient and faster, courtesy of the internet. Besides, mobile technology and social media have made it possible for people to seek, create and share information and transact business at their convenience. As such, spatial and temporal barriers have been reduced or eliminated by these technological advancements (Laudon and Guercio Traver 6). The internet has become ubiquitous globally, with countries like the United Kingdom experiencing almost 100 % connectivity. As such, in the contemporary society, many adults are becoming accustomed to the digital way of doing things, while children are growing up in a digitized environment (Hagberg, Sundstrom and Egels-Zandén 694). Therefore, the younger generation is expected to become adults who are reliant on the internet for their daily activities in future.
Electronic commerce is one of the innovations based on the internet, with the traditional conduct of business being forced to adjust to the increasing popularity of online approaches. The retail industry has been especially transformed by the advent of electronic commerce, with the traditional brick-and-mortar stores struggling for survival. Notably, the shopping experience, purchasing decisions and customer behaviour have changed since the advent of electronic commerce. Shoppers are now able to click on a computer or smartphone to choose between different products and services, compare their prices, purchase them, share usage experiences and provide feedback to business owners (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson 6).
The retail sector is digitizing rapidly and online shops are increasing at a phenomenal rate. In the United Kingdom, 20 % of the retail sales are attributed to online transactions currently, which is projected to reach 53 % in the next decade (Butler). Also, by 2028, online shopping is projected to more than double its retail market share (Butler). Already, the brick-and-mortar stores are experiencing the competitive pressure from online shops, with some of them opting to reinvent their business model, while others are closing down altogether.
1.2 Research Aims, Question and Objectives of the Study
This study sought to identify the emerging issues affecting brick-and-mortar stores in London due to the upsurge in electronic commerce, why online shops were more efficient and how the traditional street shops were addressing this trend to remain relevant and reduce damages. In addressing these issues, this study seeks to answer the question on what is the impact of e-commerce on the brick-and-mortar stores in London. Therefore, the objectives of this study included:
To explore the challenges that confronted street stores in the retail sectorTo compare the efficiency of online and the brick-and-mortar storesTo identify the approached used by street stores to address the challenges presented by electronic commerceTo project the future of the brick-and-mortar stores
1.3 Justification of the Study
The purpose of this study is to outline the issues faced by the brick-and-mortar stores and determine how new electronic commerce technologies created online shops that are more successful than street stores. The rise of e-commerce is a global phenomenon that is experienced most in developed countries and cities that have a well-established retail sector. For instance, the United Kingdom, and specifically London, is a renowned retail centre in which many world-famed brands have a strong foothold. The streets of London have been lined with street shops that make the city a shopping destination. However, upcoming retailers and online startups are using electronic commerce to outcompete the traditional brick-and-mortar stores and transforming the entire retail environment, threatening the traditional street shop model. Already, renowned UK retailers such as Bathstore have been forced into administration to avoid bankruptcy, while others like Marks & Spencer, Topshop and Debenhams the plan to close their brick-and-mortar stores in future because of the pressure from online stores (Butler). However, many others have embraced electronic commerce, which has called for a reinvention of their business models to remain relevant and survive in the highly-competitive retail sector. Therefore, in these circumstances, it is important to understand why the electronic commerce retail model is more successful than the traditional street store model if the brick and mortar stores are to survive in London and other large modern cities in the world. Moreover, it is also pertinent to identify what street stores were doing to address these challenges to secure their future in the retail industry.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 The Internet and Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is the commercial transaction between people and organisations in society using internet technologies. The term is commonly used alongside internet retailing ad internet shopping (Visser, Nemoto and Browne 16). Due to the rapid development of the internet, e-commerce was integrated in business activities in the mid-1990, and has been growing ever since (Scarpi 233).
Awa, Ojiabo and Emecheta (573) described how the adoption of electronic commerce can be explained using theoretical frameworks such as the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the technology-organisation-environment (T-O-E) model. According to TAM, the perceived ease of use and the perceived usefulness influenced the adoption of information technology. In addition, TPB added subjective norms and behavioural control to the technology adoption process. The two theories were tied together by TRA, which posited that the adoption of technology was a reasoned and deliberate process. The TOE framework posited that technology adoption was influenced by the industry environment, conditions that influenced business and organisational reconfiguration, and technology development. By combining these theories, Awa, Ojiabo and Emecheta (575) arrived at 18 constructs that ultimately influenced the adoption of electronic commerce by businesses as summarised in appendix 1. Hallikainen and Laukkanen (104) indicated that trust played a major role in the adoption of electronic commerce and influenced the distinction between online buyers and non-buyers. Besides, trust in e-commerce platforms increased purchase intentions and reinforced the relationship between website appeal and buying intentions (Liu et al. 752).
2.2 Online Stores vs. Brick-and-Mortar Stores
Hånell et al. (12) contended that online stores experienced few market entry barriers that enabled retailers to internationalise their business with ease. However, the online models used were influenced by competition, resources and institutions. Herring, Wachinger and Wigley (4) observed that physical store attributed their growth on the replication of proven store formats across new catchment areas. However, the advent of e-commerce and its virtual space concept had lessened the need for physical stores as illustrated in appendix 2. They also noted that retailers were conflicted in adopting online strategies, with the finance departments being sceptical about adopting new and unproven online technologies, while IT experts advocated the adoption of digital strategies. As such, the management of retail enterprises found themselves with excess physical retail space, while being hesitant to adopt electronic commerce models because of their fixed mindsets. Besides, Herring, Wachinger and Wigley (4) noted that online retailers such as Amazon had pressured traditional retailers by lowering prices by between 13 and 20 %, reducing the footfall and diminishing the return on capital on physical outlets.
However, physical stores were not obsolete; rather they played a different role in the retail sector as illustrated in appendix 3 (Herring, Wachinger and Wigley 5). Online retailers were using physical locations to display their wares in a multichannel business model. Allcock noted that 67 % of renowned online brands had opened brick-and-mortar stores in the 2014-2017 period.
2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Online and Physical Shops
Online stores present numerous advantages to the business and consumers. According to Madahi and Sukati (140), Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson (6) and Roy, the benefits to businesses include, firstly, the lowering of the entry barriers into the retail market and thus, easing access to markets. Secondly, they can widen markets by enabling retailers to sell their wares without time and distance constraints. Besides, they can grow rapidly because they can be easily scaled up without experiencing the traditional constraints associated the retail growth. Thirdly, online shops enable the use of tools to gather customer intelligence, which improves customer targeting and the personalisation of customer shopping experiences. Fourthly, online outlets can be cost effective by eliminating the need for retail premises and their accompanying staff. However, online retail stores present several disadvantages to the business owners. Firstly, establishing trust from customers is challenging because of the limited face-to-face interaction between the staff and customers. Secondly, they expose the retailer to numerous legal issues related to customer rights and protection. Thirdly, online stores are susceptible to cybercrime, which can lose retailers huge amounts of money, let alone the high cost of litigations and the fines and compensation that may result. Fourthly, online stores require a significant investment in infrastructure to support order fulfilment activities such as warehousing and delivery or collection points for customers (Jung, Cho and Lee 2080).
To the customers, online stores present benefits such as increased convenience because of the ability to shop in real-time from any location at any time. Also, online stores enable the comparison of prices across different retailers, thus enabling the customer identify and access discounts and special offers. The customer can also compare the quality of the product or service based on the reviews posted by previous customers. This allows shoppers to cut on their shopping expenditure and travel while obtaining value for their money (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson 6; Suel and Polak 148).
Herring, Wachinger and Wigley (6) observed that physical outlets offered instant gratification to customers by satisfying impulsive buyers, enabled customers to interact with the brand and merchandise, provided sites for social interaction and entertainment and were convenient when in close proximity. However, the customer may be defrauded if cyber criminals obtain personal information related to bank accounts, credit and debit cards and other online payment modes. In addition, customers may be dissatisfied with the product or service if it does not match its description on the shop’s website. According to Allcock, physical stores were advantageous because they enhanced the shopping experience by allowing customers to interact with the brand and products, and provided an avenue for conducting market research due to enabling the observation of customers and their interactions.
2.4 The Retail Sector in the United Kingdom
Although online shopping was increasing in the UK, many Britons still preferred visiting physical shops (Butler). Meng (20) noted that the ICO Cookie Law and the data protection law of 1998, alongside other regulations, protected consumers from the misuse of electronic commerce. A study by Clarke, Thompson and Birkin (389) revealed that the usage of e-commerce in the UK was influenced the income and age of consumers, their distance from physical stores and whether they were located in urban or rural settings. Altogether, Britons aged between 25 and 44 years, living in cities or far from supermarkets, affluent and male were more likely to engage in online shopping compared to the rest of the population in the country.
However, Eley and Wright noted that the retailing sector in the country was in crisis because online shops had cased loss of jobs, particularly by women. They reported that about 60,000 retail jobs had been lost in the UK in 2018, threatening the retail outlets along high streets. Moreover, traditional retailers were either in receivership/administration, had been acquired by other retailers or had closed down due to the onslaught of online shopping. Examples such as BHS and Debenham’s were cited as victims of electronic commerce in the UK.
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Research Method
A qualitative research using secondary resources was used in this study. The qualitative approach was used because it gives in-depth information regarding a phenomenon using a wide selection of strategies. Moreover, it is preferable for investigating phenomena in their natural settings, thus providing enormous detail about events that cannot be studied in controlled or experimental conditions. Likewise, the secondary data was preferred due to its cost effectiveness, ready availability though online technology, wide variety of information and time-saving potential. Altogether, the qualitative secondary data approach suited this study by fitting into the time and resource constraints, while addressing the research question comprehensively.
3.2 Study Setting
London was chosen as the setting for this study because of its reputation as a global retail centre and a shopping destination of the world. Its numerous street shops that host world-famous brands made London a site from where the effects of e-commerce on brick-and-mortar stores can be studied. Besides, the competitiveness that pits brick-and-mortar stores against online stores is evident in London as street stores struggle with the rapidly changing retail environment.
3.3 Data Collection
Secondary data was obtained from online sources. Online search was conducted using Google Scholar search engine and the University of Westminster library. Academic journals, books, new articles and industry reports that did not exceed 10 years were obtained and perused for relevant secondary data.
3.4 Data Analysis
The information from these sources was sorted and analysed thematically to aid the answering of the research questions in this study. Emerging themes were identified, noted and presented descriptively, addressing the research question and attending to the study objectives.
4.0 Findings and Discussion
4.1 State of Retail in London
London is a leading international commerce and business centre globally covering an area of about 1,500 square kilometres with an estimated population of over 8.7 million residents. Being the capital of the UK, London has a vibrant retail industry, which was driving the city’s and the country’s economy. The city had about 43,000 retail outlets occupying about 17 million square meters of floor space (Barett 9). Although most of the retailing activity was concentrated in central London, each of its 32 boroughs has retail activity as illustrated in appendix 4. While some boroughs in central London have between 500 and 1000 retail units per square kilometre, the rest of them had at least one area with at least 50 outlets per square kilometre as displayed in appendix 5. The large retail stores in the city were found along New Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street in central London (UNC-SBRP).
The largest retail floor space was found in Croydon, Kensington and Westminster, while the least was in boroughs such as Barking, City of London and Dagenham. The retail outlets served London households as well as tourist and commuters. While tourist frequented the high profile retail outlets located in Knightsbridge, west end, Ealing Broadway and Victoria Street, commuters preferred Bishopsgate, Liverpool Street and London Bridge because of their transportation connectivity. In addition, household spending was higher in South and West London, while commuter and tourist spending dominated the stores in central London. Adoption of e-commerce was most visible in the online sales of books and music, with consumer electronics and fashion gaining traction as illustrated in appendix 6 (Savills Commercial Research 3).
The retail sector of London contributed to the economy by accounting for about 40 % of the money spent in the city. It also supported other industries such as real estate, warehousing, transport, logistics, financial service, tourism, and construction. Moreover, the retail sector was a major employer in the city, employing about 400,000 people comprising mainly of the youth, women and part-time workers (Barett 8; UNC-SBRP).
London was attracting international brands into its retail market with 57 of them having set shop in the city by November of 2019, which were up from 55 new openings in 2018. The food and beverage segment led the new retail entrants accounting for 44 %, followed by the fashion segment, which attracted 37 % newcomers. For instance, the French-based Sezane’s, Rains from Denmark, and Bluemint from Turkey opened permanent physical stores along Westbourne Grove, Upper Street and King’s Road respectively in 2018. Other notable entrants included Blaiz from Latin America and Chloe from the United States. Notably, most of the new entrants came from the European Union, accounting for 63.6 % of new entrants into London in 2018. Retailers from the Asia-Pacific region increase four-fold in London accounting for 15.2 % of the city’s new entrants. Besides, many other large retailers had entered the London market as online retailers due to the ease of overcoming international barriers (Hånell et al, 6).
However, the city was also experiencing decline in occupancy of retail premises in its high streets. It was estimated that in the first half of 2019, 16 stores shut down, while only 9 new ones opened (Butler). This had resulted in an overall closure of 1,234 chain store retail outlets in the top 500 high streets of the United Kingdom (Butler). Besides, independent stores were closing at a higher rate, making these closures the highest since 2010.
4.2 The challenges that confronted street stores in London
The challenges confronting London’s street stores can be categorised as those emanating from the retail environment and those from customers. The secondary data revealed that the brick-and-mortar stores in London were experiencing lower profitability due to reduced margins related to the retail environment in the country and globally. Firstly, online stores were growing in popularity with their discounted offers, which was exerting pricing pressures on the brick-and-mortar stores. This forced the physical stores to lower their prices to remain competitive, which narrowed their profit margins. Moreover, the barriers to entry into the online retailing were low enabling new local retailers to emerge and established international retailers such as Amazon to penetrate the UK market, providing stiff competition to physical stores in the city. Many of these new entrants had online presence and therefore, their establishment of physical stores in London aimed to consolidate their gains from the online retailing channel in the UK. For instance, Sezane’s is a renowned online fashion retailer based in France, which opened its first physical store in London in 2018 (Haliday).
Secondly, operational costs for running physical stores were escalating, stifling profitability. Notably, the cost of rent was high in London, becoming unmanageable for stores that were already struggling with narrowing margins. According to Statista, the annual rent of retail space in prime locations such as the London west end was as high as 16,407 euros per square meter compared to locations in London whose rent was 2014 euros. However, these rates remained higher than in other UK cities where retail space in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Cardiff was rented at 1766, 1550, 1302 and 1178 respectively (Cherowbrier). This means that rents in high-end streets of London was about 10 times higher than in other streets in the city and other cities in the United Kingdom. Further, scarcity of delivery bays coupled with restrictions on street parking due to the high cost of parking tickets challenged retail business, particularly the independent small retailers (Carmona 27). Moreover, the devaluation of the sterling pound had increased the cost of imported goods, which was detrimental to importers of retail (FTI Consulting 1).
Thirdly, uncertainties surrounding Brexit had caused retailers to lower their investments in the sector. Besides, this uncertainty has resulted in increased inflation and the devaluation of the sterling pound, causing retailers further anxiety (FTI Consulting 1).
Customers were also presenting challenges to physical retail stores by their changing characteristics and shopping habits. Notably, customers in London were increasingly well educated, from diverse cultural background and were aging progressively. As such, they were more conscious about product and service quality, and demanded information about the merchandise on offer. Therefore, although the younger shoppers were digital natives, the older ones were embracing new technologies, albeit cautiously.
Moreover, the behaviour of the contemporary customer was characterised by fragmented activities in which the shopping process was divided into discrete activities that could be undertaken in different places and at separate times. For instance, a shopper could discover merchandise from the recommendations of a friend over social media, research about the product on a smartphone while commuting and purchase the product from a store over the weekend.
These conditions suited the electronic commerce model of retail shopping, with online stores enabling customers to gather information about products, allowing them to shop at their convenience and delivering numerous savings for the bargain-conscious consumers. Moreover, contemporary consumers did not exhibit brand or retail outlet loyalty because of the wide choice of retailers offering similar merchandise. What mattered more to the customer was the ability to obtain a product of the desired quality at the preferred cost in the most convenient manner. Therefore, retailers that were able to fulfil customer orders according to or exceeding the consumers’ expectations gained customer confidence and bolstered retail sales.
4.3 How were street shops in London dealing with the challenges presented by e-commerce?
Retail outlets along London streets were responding to the challenges presented by electronic commerce in several ways. Firstly, physical stores were adopting the e-commerce retailing model by establishing their own websites. The click and collect model was the most popular approach that allowed retailers to combine their brick-and-mortar stores with online outlets. Customer would identify and purchase their desired items online and collect them from physical stores. Besides, the physical shops acted as showrooms from where customers could interact with their desired products before making their sales online, where prices were lower. Retailers like Next had adopted this model. This not only improved their in-store shopping experience but also staved off store closure, while enabling them to withstand the fierce competition from pure online retailers that had entered the London market. Secondly, street shops were reducing the number of outlets in the city that were performing poorly. This allowed to them to retain only those outlets that were profitable. Others were retreating to residential areas where they could remain close to their customers. Thirdly, some physical retail outlets were being acquired by other that had gained online experience and needed to expand their physical presence in the city. This enabled the acquiring retailers to use the physical stores as collection points for their online customers. Lastly, some street shops were closing their premises due to insolvency. This was after they were unable to remain profitable and transform their business models to address the headwinds in the retail environment. Some of those that had abandoned their physical shops had opted to sell their merchandise over online outlets such as Amazon Marketplace platform. Altogether, street stores in London could no longer continue with the traditional brick-and-mortar store model, with some adopting innovative electronic commerce strategies in their business models, while others were succumbing to the fierce competition and exiting the retail industry altogether.
4.4 The future of street shops in London
The future of physical retail outlets lay in their ability to digitalise their operations and therefore, adopt business models that were more suited for the digital retail market. Adoption of digital technologies, which when combined with physical stores to improve the shopping experience was pertinent for the survival of London’s street shops. Notably, by changing the role of the physical store to that of being a showroom and a collection point, alongside the adoption of the multichannel shopping model, the physical store could accommodate electronic commerce in their business models. Moreover, the contemporary consumer valued a personalised and engaging shopping experience that combined utility and leisure. The omnichannel model was the future of retailing because it combines online and offline channels allowing retailers to engage with their customers at all touchpoints of the purchasing process (Verhoef 176).
While adopting online retailing approaches was recommended, the brick-and-mortar stores needed to integrate new technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality into their e-commerce models. Moreover, tests on drones, robots and driverless vehicles has revealed potential for improving the efficiency of retailing significantly, while lowering the operational costs once they are approved for use in the retail industry (Grewal 5). These technologies had the potential to improve the shopping experience, which facilitating that targeting of customers to endear their loyalty.
5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations
The study confirmed that the street shops of London were impacted heavily by the technological innovations that had caused the growing popularity of online shopping. Although the retail sector was performing poorly globally, its survival was predicated on how well retailers adopted and leveraged e-commerce technologies in future. It is recommended that retailers adopt the onmichannel model to leverage be benefits of online and physical outlets.
Works Cited
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Factors driving the adoption of electronic commerce
Appendix 2: Transformation of the retail industry
Appendix 3: The changing role of the retail store
Appendix 4: Distribution of retail areas in London
Appendix 5: The density of retail units in London
Appendix 6: Penetration of online retail in the United Kingdom
The 1988 San Francisco’s Needle Exchange Program college essay help
The 1988 San Francisco’s Needle Exchange Program
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The 1988 San Francisco’s Needle Exchange Program
The United States has struggled to combat the drug abuse epidemic for a long time through a combination of policy deterrents and over addict-focused approaches. Criminalization of illicit drug use, along with drug abuse paraphernalia, has not yielded the desired results as the opioid crisis persists to date. Moreover, although methadone therapy has been effective in treating drug dependence, it does not address diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS, which are transmitted by sharing of contaminated needles during intravenous drug use. However, needle exchange programs or syringe exchange programs have emerged to address these challenges and combat the spread of drug-related viral infections. If a needle exchange program such as the one in San Francisco is implemented universally in the United States, it can stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among people who inject drugs. The effectiveness of needle exchange programs and their unintended consequences are discussed while referring to the 1988 San Francisco’s Needle Exchange Program.
The Needle Exchange Program was mooted in San Francisco in 1988 following the spread of HIV/AIDS among intravenous drug users in the 1980s. Moreover, methadone as an addiction medication approach did not contain the HIV/AIDS epidemic that was spreading rapidly in San Francisco at the time. Besides, the possession of needles without a prescription remained illegal across all government levels under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 2020). This forced many injectable drug users to access and share needles in hiding, exacerbating their health wellbeing. The situation was worsened by the large number of Vietnam veterans who had returned with a drug habit. In 1988, volunteers in San Francisco established Prevention Point, which introduced needle exchange as a practical countermeasure to the criminalization of drug use and paraphernalia (San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 2020). Despite having operated underground for four years, the needle exchange program gained acceptance after it evidenced the link between HIV/AIDS and access to syringes. It was integrated into San Francisco AIDS Foundation in the 90s and is administered on a need-based needle access modality (San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 2020). Therefore, the persistence of Prevention Point in circumstances that judged its activities as illegal paid off when demonstrable benefits emerged from their data. Today, the needle exchange program is categorized as a harm reduction initiative, which is a public health philosophy, commonly used to the harmful effects of substance abuse rather than eliminating addictive behavior. The program recognizes that abstinence is not feasible for drug addicts and therefore accepts a continued level of drug use while focusing on reducing morbidity and mortality instead (Leslie, 2008). In this regard, the needle exchange program recognizes the deadly link between the injection of drugs such as heroin, opioids and crystal meth and the spread of viral infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C (Leslie, 2008).
Initially, Prevention Point provided injectable drug users with 10 new syringes and replaced every syringe returned. By early 1990, accessibility was increased to 20 syringes, and by August of that year, the syringe limit was lifted and users could access any number of syringes based on their needs (San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 2020). The Needle Exchange Program gained political recognition in 1993 when Frank Jordan, San Francisco’s mayor at the time, pledged $138,000. In 2005, California enacted a policy change that allowed the purchase of syringes without a prescription under the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project in the legislation SB1159 (Riley, 2010). However, the legislation required that pharmacies register to sell syringes over the counter. Glide Memorial Church, which is an advocate of the civil rights movement, enlisted is support by supplying needles to the Tenderloin neighborhood that was leading in injectable drug use and homelessness in downtown San Francisco (Riley, 2010). This roped in non-profit organizations to help fund the program because public funds were not forthcoming, particularly for the purchase of syringes for drug addicts. Therefore, Prevention Point initiated a social movement that morphed into a cross-cultural phenomenon, which has been replicated in other drug-ridden cities in the United States. As of 2018, San Francisco had 13 sites for accessing and disposing of needles and syringes available to drug users and was distributing about 400,000 syringes monthly (Associated Press, 2018). With the city was receiving over 9,000 requests for new syringes and needles per year, it was evident that the needles exchange program had been embraced by the intravenous drug users in the city (Associated Press, 2018). Increasing evidence about their efficacy has caused the needle exchange programs to spread across the country, although resistance against public funding and decriminalization of injectable drug use prevails. By 2015, there were close to 200 needle exchange programs across 33 states in the United States. In addition, policymakers and politicians were increasingly supporting this approach, as demonstrated by their endorsement by the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Blue Print by the President in 2012 and the National HIV/AIDS strategy in 2015 (Frakt, 2016).
Needle exchange programs deliver numerous benefits, including the lowering of the number of contaminated needles in the community. Intravenous drug users have access to sufficient needles while returning the used ones to the program administrators for safe disposal, which mops up used syringes in the community. The removal of contaminated syringes from public circulation reduced the spread of infections such as Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Frakt, 2016). Similarly, Martinez, Lorvick and Kral (2014) revealed that syringe exchange program sites in San Francisco provided safe disposal of used syringes and were used by injecting drug users more than pharmacies. However, pharmacies complemented needle exchange programs by providing additional sites for needle access and disposal.
The drug users are referred to drug treatment services from where they can be tested and diagnosed for hepatitis B and C and HIV/AIDS, enabling early and timely disease management. In this regard, the needle exchange programs served as entry points into drug-related medical and social services that would rehabilitate them from their addictive habits (Elkins, 2017). Takácsa and Demetrovics (2009) demonstrated the efficacy of needle exchange programs in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS among intravenous drug users in a study that reviewed existing literature. They viewed these programs as vital prevention and harm reduction interventions that could address the HIV scourge when directed by the needs and sociocultural circumstances of the targeted populations. This not only reduces the prevalence of new infections but also raises awareness about the dangers of drug behavior. Moreover, the needle exchange programs have redefined the relationship between city administrators and drug users, making it possible to enlist and interact with the hard-to-reach drug-ravaged populations (Elkins, 2017). In this regard, needle exchange programs provided a channel for reaching communities that were afflicted by drugs and HIV/AIDS that would have been otherwise difficult to reach (Frakt, 2016). As such, these programs helped address the bigger public health concerns that were afflicting entire communities rather than individuals only.
Consequently, increased communication with the targeted people has increased access to education, which has reduced drug-related and sexual-risk behaviors among drug users. For instance, between 1987 and 1992, needle sharing in San Francisco fell from 66% to 36% due to participation in Prevention Point (San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 2020). Moreover, new HIV infections halved from a peak of 212 incidences in 1992 to roughly 100 in 1998 (San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 2020). Williams and Metzger (2010) demonstrated that the behavior of injection drug users (IDUs) was dependent on geographic and socioeconomic variables such as racial clusters and economic endowment in neighborhoods. Injection-related HIV risk was higher for drug users who used public spaces like vacant properties and parks because of the likelihood to engage in risky behaviors in such settings. Such public places lacked access to unused needles, and clean water and bleach for rinsing. Also, people in affluent neighborhoods were less likely to inject drugs in public places. As such, unhygienic sharing of needles was more likely to occur in public places than in the privacy of homes. Another study reported by Williams and Metzger (2010) revealed that African Americans has a higher HIV incident rate and prevalence compared to white Americans despite engaging in less risky behavior. This is because African Americans tended to live and operate in neighborhoods with higher HIV prevalence than those of their white counterparts. Therefore, targeting at-risk populations that injected drugs in public places or engaged in risky behavior reduced the risk of transmitting HIV by needle sharing (Williams and Metzger, 2010).
The needle exchange programs were more cost-effective compared to the lifetime treatment of hepatitis B or C or HIV/AIDS. For instance, 1 dollar used in needle exchange programs saved at 6 dollars needed for HIV treatment (Frakt, 2016). The proponent use the financial statistics to urge the government for support because of the benefits in reducing the taxpayers burden in healthcare.
However, the needle exchange programs have suffered various setbacks because of their unintended consequences. Contaminated needles are prevalent in the streets because users do not always return them to the program administrators (Elkins, 2017). Access to new syringes is no longer pegged on returning the used ones, which served as an incentive for their proper disposal through the program channels. Associated Press (2018) reported that the parks and streets of San Francisco were polluted visibly with discarded syringes despite the city having 13 syringe return sites. The compactness of the city, which covered 12,950 square hectares, high level of homelessness and the increase in heroin use worsened and made the problem visible. The city’s mayor in 2018 had hired 10 people to collect the disposed syringes, indicating that the needle exchange program was unable to avoid the accumulation of needle litter (Associated Press, 2018). This conforms to the findings of Wenger (2011), which indicated that 13% of used needles and syringes were disposed improperly by injection drug users in San Francisco.
The programs have also been associated with high infection rates among participants (Elkins, 2017). This was true especially among African Americans who resided and operated in areas with high HIV prevalence and where needle-sharing was a normal practice of preventing suspicion and displaying trust (Williams & Metzger, 2010). Moreover, in neighborhoods dominated by African and Latino Americans, needle sharing prevailed despite the easy access of sterile syringes because these groups tended to source them from non-syringe exchange program sites to avoid publicizing their drug behavior (Williams & Metzger, 2010).
The programs are perceived negatively by those who feel that promoting needle exchanges using public funds normalizes the drug problem by supporting drug use. Indeed, some counties in California continued to criminalize the possession and distribution of syringes while many programs lacked public funding, therefore relying on the meagre resources from private donors. Moreover some studies indicated that although mobility and homelessness of the injecting drug users was associated with needle sharing, in San Francisco, the presence of syringe exchange program sites did not guarantee their utilization by drug addicts (Martinez, Lorvick & Kral, 2014). Such contradicting research findings were used by opponents of the needle exchange programs to discourage free access to sterile syringes and needles to drug users.
The needle exchange programs are not accessible equally in all locations where injectable drug users are found because most of them are administer in cities and especially in neighborhoods with known high prevalence of drug use. This leaves out rural areas where drug users exist, albeit in few numbers (Elkins, 2017). Martinez, Lorvick and Kral (2014) revealed that the syringe exchange programs were concentrated in downtown San Francisco where commercial activity and population density were high while the affluent areas were underserved.
Locations for needle exchanges are prone to crime because they bring together many hard-drug users (Elkins, 2017). The high concentration of injectable drug users at needle exchange program collection and disposal sites presents a high possibility of violent conflict among the injecting drug users who are usually under the influence of drugs and easily irritable. The fear of exposure and contact with law enforcement causes the drug users to be apprehensive when collecting or disposing syringes at the program centers, particularly when they meet strangers.
Altogether, the disadvantages of the needle exchange programs were associated with the injection of drugs in public places, the avoidance of needle collection sites by certain members of the community and the inaccessibility of the programs in some locations. These promoted risky behavior among drug injectors exposing them to HIV infections.
In conclusion, needle exchange programs have reduced the spread of HIV/AIDS among intravenous drug users. These programs provide for the safe disposal of used syringes, thus removing them from the community and reducing the chances for their reuse. As such, the chances of contracting HIV/AIDS from a used or shared syringe are minimized, thus combating cross-contamination among drug users. However, improper disposal of used syringes persists because of the lack of punitive measures and inefficient syringe collection mechanisms. Since access to new syringes is no longer pegged on the one-on-one exchange of used ones, there is no incentive to deliver used syringes to the program administrators. Nonetheless, the benefits of needle exchanges outweigh the detriments in combating HIV/AIDS as well as injectable drug use. The misconceptions and myths surrounding these programs alongside inconclusive and negative findings from research prevent the adoption of the needles exchange approach in many communities and its universal application in the country.
References
Associated Press (2018). San Francisco’s streets are littered with free syringes. New York Post. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2018/05/11/san-franciscos-streets-are-littered-with-free-syringes/.
Elkins, C. (2017). Benefits and risks of needle exchange programs. DrugRehab. Retrieve from https://www.drugrehab.com/2017/11/06/pros-and-cons-of-needle-exchange-programs/.
Frakt, A. (2016). Politics are tricky but science is clear: Needle exchanges work. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/upshot/politics-are-tricky-but-science-is-clear-needle-exchanges-work.html.
Leslie, K. M. (2008). Harm reduction: An approach to reducing risky health behaviours in adolescents. Paediatrics & Child Health, 13(1), 53-56.
Martinez, A. N., Lorvick, J., & Kral, A. H. (2014). Activity spaces among injection drug users in San Francisco. International Journal of Drug Policy, 25(3), 516-524.
Riley, E. D., Kral, A. H., Stopka, T. J., Garfein, R. S., Reuckhaus, P., & Bluthenthal, R. N. (2010). Access to sterile syringes through San Francisco pharmacies and the association with HIV risk behavior among injection drug users. Journal of Urban Health, 87(4), 534-542.
San Francisco AIDS Foundation (2020). History of health: Needle exchange in San Francisco. Retrieved from https://www.sfaf.org/resource-library/needle-exchange-in-san-francisco/.
Takács, I. G., & Demetrovics, Z. (2009). The efficacy of needle exchange programs in the prevention of HIV and hepatitis infection among injecting drug users. Psychiatria Hungarica: A Magyar Pszichiatriai Tarsasag tudomanyos folyoirata, 24(4), 264-281.
Tookes, H. E., Kral, A. H., Wenger, L. D., Cardenas, G. A., Martinez, A. N., Sherman, R. L., … & Metsch, L. R. (2012). A comparison of syringe disposal practices among injection drug users in a city with versus a city without needle and syringe programs. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 123(1-3), 255-259.
Wenger, L. D., Martinez, A. N., Carpenter, L., Geckeler, D., Colfax, G., & Kral, A. H. (2011). Syringe disposal among injection drug users in San Francisco. American Journal of Public Health, 101(3), 484-486.
Williams, C. T., & Metzger, D. S. (2010). Race and distance effects on regular syringe exchange program use and injection risks: a geo-behavioral analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 100(6), 1068-1074.
The Medicine Wheel and Me: A Critical Reflection
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation:
The Medicine Wheel and Me: A Critical Reflection
Introduction
An individual who desires to become effective both professionally and personally can advance in skills and understanding through studying the pertinent needs and then, culturally suitable ways of fulfilling them. However, it is only possible to realize this when a person identifies his own cultural and individual identity. Subsequently, establishing situations and conditions that help to promote these two aspects are the core challenges. Individuals struggling with cultural and personal insecurity are often unable to resolve the challenges because they will suffer from anxiety, poor intra- and interpersonal communication, job and school failures, lack of comfortability, and lack of energy and spirit. When translated into different areas, for instance, in caregiving, the person feels some level of tiredness, anxiety, and restlessness. One of the ways of addressing the challenges is to apply the Medicine Wheel framework, which is an approach that has been used historically as a solution. Specifically, it will be important to address how interpersonal and inter-professional communication can benefit from the model, with a specific focus on nursing and caregiving.
Part I: Self-Reflective Analysis Using the Medicine Wheel
The Aboriginal people have for long seen the medicine as consecrated because it symbolizes the different elements of a healthy and well-rounded person. Akin to wellness, the model signals an active health state where the individual advances towards an elevated degree of functioning, hence attaining an optimum balance (Mussell, 2005; Dapice, 2019). The Medicine Wheel comprises four principal sections, where each is representative of a person’s major elements, which are the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional. Intrapersonal communication represents a key factor in developing self-esteem and self-concept (Macdonald, 2008). For a person to achieve balance in his life, it is essential to analyze each of the four dimensions and subsequently work towards enhancing communication within themselves before they can develop effective inter-professional communication skills that can enhance self-fulfillment.
Physical
As outlined by Mussel (2005), any health physical constituent comprises sufficient “oxygen, food, water, rest, exercise, sensory stimulation, security, and safety” (p. 116). I can describe the physical dimension of my Medicine Wheel based on my field of profession, which is nursing. My perspective on promoting health among my patients shifts with my expectations and expectations, which starts with rest. To achieve my tasks as required, I have to be fit physically myself. Deprivation of rest, for instance, will lead to a state of tiredness and lack of concentration, which I deem as essential for effective health care. However, I do not exercise as regularly as I ought to.
I find my attachment to food a bit excessive, especially when it comes to eating healthy. I have a tendency to treat myself with ice cream and chocolate from time to time. However, with an improved intake of nutritious, health-enhancing diets and foods, I can gain a balanced and healthy state of wellbeing and avoid conditions like heart problems and diabetes. For safety, I contend that I am active to some degree. However, my weakness becomes evident when I become too busy with school, social aspects of personal life, and work. In terms of intrapersonal communication, my greatest setback is my tendency to compare my physical outlook to those of others around me. According to Kemppainen, Kopera-Frye, and Woodard (2008) and (Mussell, 2005), the result is the creation of an adverse self-image, which diminishes the progress to achieving fulfillment. I would desire to drive myself to appropriate physical limits. My adverse intrapersonal communication has effects on how I judge others, which in turn affects my inter-professional and interpersonal communication. The implication is that I could judge my patients based on their attitudes and not their conditions.
Emotional
According to Mussell (2005), psychological or emotional maturation does not simply unfold in tandem with cognitive or physical development. The components involved in the emotional dimension of the Medicine Wheel include love and a sense of belonging, recognition, understanding, boundaries, privacy, limits, acceptance, and discipline. Overall, I would describe one of my emotional strengths as being able to maintain boundaries. I find that boundaries are important in all social contexts of life, at work, in school, and relations with others. Additionally, I am good at maintaining privacy, which is an important strength in my career. For example, I cannot divulge patients’ medical records to unauthorized entities. I feel that I need to improve in this aspect since it affects my intrapersonal communication negatively, which flows over to my inter-professional and interpersonal communication. For instance, often, when at work, I might get angry with colleagues who I feel are too clingy because they want to maintain a tight attachment to me. I ought to improve on this because, according to Mussell (2005) and Lavallée (2019), attachment with loving and attentive caregivers offers an environment where the rest of the needs are satisfied, right from cultural and socialization transmission.
Mental or Intellectual
All healthy human infants enter the world with brains wired to learn. The infants have cognitive development that occurs through mediated learning proficiencies and express exposure to situations, for example, exploratory play (Mussell, 2005). Here, the elements as outlined by the Medicine Wheel are discipline, habits, thoughts, ideas, and concepts, which influence how one communicates with oneself. One of my greatest strengths is maintaining a mental image of whatever I learn, through either experience or instruction. For instance, I remember things by creating charts, some of which I hand on the walls of my room. I have created a habit of taking down notes in crucial staff meetings or when taking instructions from my superiors. However, my habit of keeping attention to myself has made me receive negative feedback, mostly on my unwillingness to interact with others extensively. During weekends, I prefer to stroll, watch movies, or simply read a book. I feel this behavior has kept me alone and isolated. However, I do find that I get most of my inspirations, concepts, and ideas when I am alone. While it seems satisfying, it is not so because I am unable to obtain the insight of others, which means I might be wrong on most ideas.
Spiritual
Persons born in environments that are respectful, safe, and caring. Thus, they can learn to value their own lives and those of others, including animals, spirits, plants, and the Great Spirit’s creations (Mussell, 2005; Lavallée, 2019; Loughran, 2012). Being a mostly introverted person, I usually have a lot of time to reflect on my spiritual connection with animals and plants. I visit animal orphanages occasionally to help bathe and feed them, which gives me a sense of calm. Besides, I believe one of my strengths is my connection with nature in general. I can visit a park, simply collect flowers, and replant them in my small garden. Through this, I gain inner peace. However, I am still unable to attain personal harmony because I feel the guilt not always having to push people away. Humans represent one of the most remarkable creations that the Great Spirit made and therefore, avoiding interacting with them denies me total inner peace. Besides, I am a transcendent person who believes in the existence of negative spirits who spoil balance in life. I am a believer in the existence of bad spirits that humans can only avoid through honoring and caring for life.
Part II: Self-Understanding and Insight
Physical
From my assessment, I have found that among my weaknesses is being body-conscious. Therefore, I tend to compare myself with those around me, which influences negatively on my self-concept. As such, I am aware of my weight. According to Mussell (2005), when persons feel or are deprived of needs like food, it affects their progress towards developing intrapersonal communication. I am unable to communicate with people confidently because I feel they are also judging me. In addition, my apprehension in exercising deprives my body of an essential component that could help me progress to health fulfillment. With the absence of proper exercise, I am often anxious about others staring at me. By becoming too self-aware, I diminish my advancement of personal identity and awareness, which in turn affects my ability to communicate with others confidently. I have discovered, mostly from colleague feedback, that I have a tendency to avoid contact with them during communication and mostly offer brief responses when addressed. Thus, I am unable to achieve the levels of communication and interactions I would have desired, especially since nursing involves many informational interchanges
Emotional
I have found myself to be prone to judging people who feel too attached because it is not my strongest point. I feel that attaching myself to others is too emotionally draining and even annoying at times. As a caregiver, I have to be attentive and feel attached to my clients to address their needs better. I find that I connect with neither the clients nor my colleagues, as I ought to. As outlined by Mussell (2005), negative emotions can spoil personal and group interactions, which in turn affects one’s own ability to pinpoint his identity. The lack of personal identity has made me unable to describe my fears of belonging. Devoid of s sense of belonging, it is difficult to cultivate effective inter-professional and interpersonal communication. Therefore, the inability to communicate effectively with my colleagues affects my work and overall satisfaction with my input.
Intellectual
From the reflective analysis, I have discovered that I do not let myself learn new concepts or ideas because of my introvert behavior. I have tended to keep to myself most of the time and tended to desire to learn on my own. As outlined by Mussell (2005), right from childhood, individuals learn progressively via mediated efforts, in addition to intrinsic motivation. I have been utilizing innate learning motivation instead of mediated, which involves sharing concepts, ideas, and thoughts with others. Therefore, my habits have largely made my learning limited. I cannot fully make the meaning of life if I do not expand my thinking skills.
Spiritual
Here, I found that my greatest undoing was my inability to connect with the Great Spirits’ creations wholesomely. According to Mussell (2005), it is only possible to find complete inner peace, balance, and harmony when one cares for life in entirety, without fear or favor. By isolating myself from humans, I have effectively deprived myself of an important component to attain self-identity and intra-communication. I do not possess a real sense of identification because I am unable to make different forms of decisions outside my field, which is the result of avoiding pertinent things in life, including song, dance, social interactions, and ceremonies.
Part III: Effective Communication Plan
Physical
To overcome the weaknesses, I intend to adopt the teachings posited by the Medicine Wheel. The Wheel’s Eastern sphere is concerned with the physical aspects of wellbeing (Mussell, 2005). I have now learned to take greater care of myself. To function best, I have learned to rest more, engage in minor physical exercises, and adopt a proper nutrition plan. Maintaining a balanced diet will involve limiting the intake of fatty foods and eating disorders. Because of my hectic work schedule, I hardly shop for health food, but now I plan to try harder. These steps will make me develop the confidence to communicate with myself and steadily enhance my inter-professional communication.
Emotional
The Western dimension of the wheel concerns how a person will express himself, his ability for coping, self-esteem, feeling adjusted, and fostering healthy relationships (Mussell, 2005; Kemppainen, Kopera-Frye, & Woodard, 2008). I find this the most difficult to execute because I still have reservations with becoming too close to people who are not my family. Additionally, I still possess my old ways of desiring to feel or express myself, but I have started making progress. Despite keeping to myself mostly, I have seen individuals at work and even friends starting to approach me for advice, and I have even started having some close friends. I am slowly discovering that it is not hard to gain acceptance if one tries. My uniqueness alongside another person’s uniqueness creates social cohesion and enhances interpersonal communication. I now comprehend what constitutes healthy relationships, but I believe it will take me some time to adapt fully to the regimen.
Intellectual
The Southern element of the Wheel addresses the intellectual or mental aspect of health (Mussell, 2005). In this regard, I have the plan to take time to balance my schedules, be creative through writing, visit acquaintances, and talk more with clients and colleagues. I desire to start building steadily a network of individuals I can exchange information within formal and informal settings. For instance, I intend to go out more, attend work gatherings, and ensure to exchange contacts with people with whom I can relate. I feel that this will be a positive step in the progress towards achieving effective inter-professional and intra-professional skills.
Spiritual
The Northern component of the Wheel addresses the spiritual (Mussell, 2005; Dapice, 2019). As an individual who often experiences anxiety and being introverted, I easily tend to isolate myself. I only reached out whenever I had to. Now, I have a plan that involves going out each week to meet people or even call them. I have to come out of my shell, exit my apartment, and socialize with people even if I have to squeeze my schedule. I also intend to enhance my volunteering activities as part of being selfless. Besides, I intend to find ways of clearing any negativity, even if it means reconnecting with nature through yoga.
Conclusion
The four dimensions of the Medicine Wheel, namely spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional provide a means for individuals to evaluate their weaknesses and strengths concerning inter-professional and interpersonal communication. For one to communicate effectively informally or formally, he has to develop a completely healthy state that the four dimensions integrate to provide. Each of the dimensions has to exist in balance, as well as develop equally for humans to remain happy and healthy creations. I have identified my strengths and weaknesses using the Medicine Wheel model and found ways in which they affect my inter-professional communication and ways to solve them. I have made a plan based on the model to eliminate the strengths to achieve a state of healthy balance.
References
Dapice, A. (2019). The Medicine Wheel. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 17(3), 251-60.
Kemppainen, D., Kopera-Frye, K., & Woodard, J. (2008). The Medicine Wheel: A versatile tool for promoting positive change in diverse contexts. Collected Essays on Teaching and Learning, 1, 80-101.
Lavallée, L. (2019). Balancing the Medicine Wheel through physical activity. Journal of Aboriginal Health, 4(1), 64.
Loughran, J. (2012). Effective reflective practice: In search of meaning in learning about teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 33-43.
Macdonald, C. D. (2008). Using components of the Medicine Wheel to develop a conceptual framework for understanding Aboriginal women in the context of pap smear screening1. A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, 6(3), 95.
Mussell, W. J. (2005). Warrior-caregivers: Understanding the challenges and healing of first nations men. Ottawa, Ontario: Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
Comparing the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Between Saudia Ground Series Company (SGS) in Saudi Arabia and Danata Company in United Arab Emirates
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Abstract
Ground handling service companies are under similar pressure to airlines and airports to operate in an ethical, socially-responsible, and sustainable manner. The demand is likely to increase in the future if the aviation traffic grows in the anticipated rate of 8.5 % per annum. Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata) of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Ground Services Company (SGS) of Saudi Arabia are strategically located in the Middle East, where massive industry growth is projected. This study aims at comparing the CSR activities of the two companies as their source of competitive advantage. The study intends to determine the CSR activities of Dnata that can be adopted by SGS. Therefore, qualitative research using secondary data obtained from online sources will be used. The data will be analyzed through textual and thematic analysis to reveal the CSR initiatives and the motivations of both companies. Recommendation of the CSR strategy that SGS should adopt from Dnata will be provided to help SGS improve its competitive advantage in the Gulf region.
Comparing the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Between Saudia Ground Services Company (SGS) in Saudi Arabia and Danata Company in United Arab Emirates
Introduction
Background of the Study
Ground handling service firms operate in the highly competitive aviation industry. Although they are less visible than airlines, they provide vital services to the aircrafts and passengers. Data from Statista indicated that the air travel passenger traffic grew by 7.4 percent in 2018 and was projected to grow by another 5 percent in 2019, globally (Mazareanu, 2019).
The performance of airports in the Gulf region has outpaced that of traditional hubs in Europe in recent years. The convenient location of the Gulf has attracted many air travelers considering that two-thirds of the global population is only about 8-hours away from the Middle East airports (Steer Davies Gleave, 2016). Moreover, airports in the region have invested heavily in modernization and expansion programs, while airlines have increased their fleets to handle the rising number of passengers and cargo. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia account for 50 % and 21 % of the aircraft fleets in the GCC region, respectively. They also have the most airports in the region, with Saudi Arabia boasting of 33 airports against UAE’s nine (Al Masah Capital Limited, 2015).
Statement of the problem
Corporate social performance has interested social scientists since the 1950s. Since this time, this concept’s focus has changed from businesses giving back to society to reducing the negative impact of business activities and resolving social problems using business resources (Wood, 2016). The ground handling services sector is a segment in the aviation industry, which has a significant environmental footprint. In addition, this sector closely deals with people such that the quality of its services influences customer and public relations significantly. To sustain its social license to operate, the ground handling service providers need to engage in activities that illustrate their social responsibility.
Many companies focus on profits at the expense of corporate social responsibility activities, considering the slim profit margins in the aviation industry. Moreover, companies focused on growing their businesses may invest more in expansion programs and ignore the communities and environment around them (Steer Davies Gleave, 2016). Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata) of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Ground Services Company (SGS) in Saudi Arabia are ground handling service companies in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) region. However, Dnata is much larger than SGS, considering it has an international presence while SGS operates exclusively in Saudi Arabia (Aljazira Capital, 2018; Steer Davies Gleave, 2016). Besides, Dnata handles larger volumes of airport activities compared to SGS, which makes it influential to a more significant number of customers (Aljazira Capital, 2018; The Emirates Group, 2019). Therefore, although both companies engage in corporate social responsibility activities, it is likely that their initiatives may differ given the different sizes of the companies. Moreover, SGS could wish to emulate Dnata in its global expansion and therefore, may use CSR as a way of gaining a competitive advantage in the ground handling services industry. However, previous studies have not compared the CSR activities of these companies or investigated how well they have used their CSR initiatives to gain competitive advantage and grow their businesses. This study seeks to address this gap in information.
Research aim, objectives and question
this study aims to identify the good corporate social responsibility initiatives in Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata) in the United Arab Emirates that can be adopted by Saudi Ground Services Company (SGS) in Saudi Arabia. This will be done by comparing the corporate social responsibility activities in both companies and selecting the good ones that Dnata practices that can be incorporated by SGS.
The objectives of this study are:
To identify the corporate social responsibility initiatives of Dnata.To determine the corporate social responsibility initiatives of SGS.To compare the corporate social responsibility initiatives of Dnata and SGS.To determine the good corporate social responsibility initiatives at Dnata not present at SGS.To recommend the good corporate social responsibility initiatives at Dnata that can be adopted by SGS.
In this regard, this study will seek to answer the question, ‘which are the good corporate social responsibility initiatives at Dnata that can be adopted by SGS?’
Purpose and significance of the study
The purpose of the study to identify the CSR initiatives undertaken by Dnata that are absent in SGS. This will require that the CSR activities of both companies are identified and compared. The significance of the study is to improve the CSR practices of SGS to strengthen its competitiveness against Dnata. The recommendations made to SGS would enhacne its attractiveness as a ground handling service provider in the Gulf region and prepare it for diversification and international expansion.
Theoretical framework
Different reasons motivate organizations to engage in corporate social responsibility activities. Some companies engage in CSR initiatives to gain public acceptance, while others do so for financial gain or increasing employee engagement. The theories supporting the reasons for CSR practices in different organizational contexts can be explained through institutional theory, legitimacy theory, and stakeholder theory. Fernando and Lawrence (2014) argued that since these three mainstream theories were complementary rather than in competition, they provided an integrated theoretical framework for predicting and explaining the motivations of CSR practices. Also, they have been used extensively in the CSR literature to explain and support CSR actions in firms.
The institutional theory proclaims that organizations conformed to industry norms and adopted homogenous characteristics due to institutional pressure. This provided them with the legitimacy and guaranteed accruing rewards. The legitimacy theory asserts that organizations endeavor to conform to the norms of the society in which they operate as a social contract (Fernando & Lawrence, 2014). However, since the rules and expectations of society continuously change, companies experience legitimacy gaps and legitimization threats when they act in a contrary manner. The stakeholder theory posits that organizations work to meet the interests and expectations of their multiple stakeholders (Shahzad, Rutherford & Sharfman, 2016). Therefore, the accountability of firms goes beyond financial performance and should include social and environmental performance, among others. Moreover, all stakeholders have the same right for equal and fair treatment by their firms. However, managers tended to meet the expectations of the most resourceful stakeholders while ignoring the insignificant ones (Fernando & Lawrence, 2014). Therefore, companies engaged in CSR activities similar to those of their peers to conform to the industry norms, to gain, maintain, and renew the legitimacy of their operations, and to appear accountable and responsible to their stakeholders, according to the institutional theory, legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory respectively. According to Fernando and Lawrence (2014), these theories converge when they explain CSR from the system-oriented and political economy perspectives
Literature review based on the theoretical framework
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a complex and complicated concept whose definition lacks universal coherence. Yang and Guo (2014) observed that the CSR concept was associated with several labels such as business and globalization, business and governance, business and society, corporate environmental management, corporate citizenship, and business ethics. As such, various diverse definitions have emerged in the literature. For instance, Rim and Song define CSR as the ‘company’s voluntary commitment to contribute to the betterment of society’ (2017, p. 383), while Sheehy (2015) defines it as ‘international private business self-regulation’ (p. 625). Mosca and Civera define it as ‘the sum of practices, policies, and strategies linked with social and environmental benefits that corporations implement to serve multiple stakeholders’ interests simultaneously’ (2017, p. 16). Nonetheless, CSR is seen as an aspect of corporate social performance that has ethical, economic, legal and philanthropic dimensions, which is a perspective that is widely adopted in academia (Hamidu, Haron & Amran, 2015; Yang & Guo, 2014). Moreover, Alhaddi (2015) revealed that sustainability constructs, such as the triple bottom line (TBL), were increasingly being used to guide CSR worldviews. As such, the corporate social performance of enterprises could be measured along economic, environmental, and social dimensions.
The CSR concept has evolved since its emergence in the 1920s, as explained by Hack, Kenyon and Wood (2014), Hamidu, Haron and Amran (2015), Mosca and Civera (2017), Wood (2016) and Yang and Guo (2014). In the 1960s, the CSR perspective was ethically-oriented, with the focus being on doing ‘good’ for the society (Hack, Kenyon & Wood, 2014). Movements related to the rights of women and citizens, and environmental protection influenced the understanding of the CSR concept at the time; that of enhancing corporate social performance (Wood, 2016; Yang & Guo, 2014). However, differentiation and prosperity perspectives of CSR emerged in the 1970s, in which volunteerism, good neighborliness and stakeholder concerns were included in CSR. In the 1980s, the stakeholder management model for advancing the social responsibility of businesses emerged and the stakeholder theory was used to motivate CSR actions (Mosca & Civera, 2017). This shifted the ethical orientation of CSR to a business focus. In the 1900s and 2000s, CSR was seen as a strategic and managerial tool for businesses, while the new millennium came with the concepts of citizenship and sustainability. Hamidu, Haron and Amran (2015) denoted this conceptual development as instrumental or strategic CSR.
Multiculturalism and globalization have presented new views as well as challenges to the conceptualization of CSR. For example, Yang and Guo (2014) argued that the western concept of CSR conflicted with the Chinese one, bringing in the cultural differences to the complexity of defining CSR. The Chinese emphasize the legal dimensions of CSR, while the West focuses on sustainability. Likewise, Hamidu, Haron and Amran (2015) highlighted the importance of the religious influence of corporate behavior. They revealed that the concept of ‘maslaha’, meaning the public good, was emphasized by the Islamic faith and anchored in the Shariah. In addition, Rasche et al. (2017) noted that multinationals complicated the regulation of corporate conduct across national borders due to the limited capacity of some nations and civil societies. Notably, the weakness of the international legal framework, lack of formal powers by global bodies such as the United Nations and the World Bank, and the absence of political support undermined the prevention of corporate misconduct. However, Abdulrazak, Ahmad and Quoquab (2016) advised that to increase the acceptance of CSR programs in a multicultural setting, organizations needed to differentiate between the instrumental and normative bases of CSR initiatives while assessing the legitimacy of CSR effort at the planning stage and factoring in the cultural concerns of stakeholders. The cultural, religious and globalization influences on the CSR concept are important in understanding the CSR motives of Dnata and SGS.
While it is widely accepted that CSR links companies to society, there is no agreement on what motivates CSR actions or how this relationship should be secured and maintained. Some firms confess that they are coerced to have CSR programs by regulation, legislation and industry practices (Tennant, 2015). This gives credence to the legitimacy and institutional theory, in which organizations seek operational legitimacy and industry acceptance by adopting the norms and behaviors of other dominant companies in the industry or according to the expectations in the society and industry. Other companies used CSR as a ‘marketing gimmick’ as supported by the stakeholder perspective in which CSR could be viewed as an enabler of financial returns by placing the firm in good public light (Tennant, 2015). Gond et al. (2017) brought in a psychological perspective and behavioral framework to CSR motivations by discussing the individual drivers, processes and reactions towards CSR. Therefore, internal and external forces influenced the CSR actions undertaken by firms. The forces motivating CSR actions at Dnata and SGS have not been studied or compared.
Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility
Organizations derive various benefits from engaging in corporate social responsibility although until recently, many companies felt that social activities yielded no benefits to the owners, investors and employees and hence, were not beneficial to the firms. Many studies have revealed the economic, political, legal, cultural, social, environmental, and organizational benefits of CSR. Others argue that CSR delivers benefits to not only the society but also to the employees, the customers and the business. For instance, Forbes Magazine reported that companies needed to embrace CSR because it pushed innovation, cost-saving, long-term thinking, customer engagement and employee engagement (Epstein-Reeves, 2012). In the same vein, Chernev and Blair (2015) explained why corporate social responsibility was a display of social goodwill benefiting the consumer perceptions of product performance and in turn, organizational performance. Similarly, Korschun, Bhattacharya and Swain (2014) found that CSR could deliver observable, positive employee behavioral changes. Employees identified with firms engaging in CSR activities that resonated with their sense of self, which improved employee-costumer identification and in turn, their job performance. Likewise, Ferreira, P., & Real de Oliveira, E. (2014) demonstrated that internal and external CSR practices improved employee engagement, although internal practices motivated more engagement than external practices. Saeidi et al. (2015) demonstrated that CSR could deliver financial success through enhances reputation, improved customer satisfaction and increased competitive advantage.
Contrastingly, Slack, Corlett and Morris (2015) extended the debate by exploring the different levels of employee engagement with CSR. They concluded that employee engagements was impeded at the organizational level by the absence or poor visibility of CSR culture, misalignment of CSR strategy to personal and business objectives, and poor communication. In the book, Development-Oriented Corporate Social Responsibility, Blowfield, Karam and Jamali (2017) observed that multinational corporations were uniquely positioned to spread good CSR practices and supplement the development efforts of governments in developing countries. However, in the same book, Jamali, Karam and Blowfield (2017) argued that multinational corporations in developing countries were unable to respond to the concerns of local communities because of the centralized and strategic approach to CSR. Therefore, although Dnata and SGS have international operations, the benefits derived by the local communities from their CSR activities have not been compared.
Corporate Social Responsibility Activities
There is great diversity in the CSR activities undertaken by organizations depending on their understanding of the CSR concept, context, motivation and resources, among others. The CSR activities range from simple acts of philanthropy to complex society-focused projects and sustainability strategies. According to Pistoni, Songini and Perrone (2016), organizations can adopt the defensive, resign, accommodative, obstructionist, proactive, or offensive strategy in their approach to CSR. They can also use the citizenship, reciprocal, altruistic or stakeholder strategy, depending on the organizational focus. For instance, the altruistic approach focuses on philanthropy to cement the long-term relationship between the company and its community while the stakeholder strategy focuses on maximizing financial gains for stakeholders in the short-term (Pistoni, Songini & Perrone, 2016). Moreover, three categories of CSR commonly found in the literature include philanthropy, sponsorship, cause-related marketing (De Jong & Van der Meer, 2017).
Corporate social responsibility standards have emerged to direct organizational behavior at the national and international levels. De Colle, Henriques and Sarasvathy (2014) listed various stands in use currently, namely ISO 14001, 9000, and 26000, AA 1000, and SA 8000. They also included the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), responsible care, and UN global compact as codified standards that also guide CSR activities.
The types of CSR activities at Dnata and SGS need to be categorized and compared to determine whether they meet their intended goals. Similarly, the CSR standards used by the two companies have not been studied.
Ground handling services industry and CSR
Ground handling services support the aviation industry by providing cabin, catering, passenger, baggage, fuel, cargo and ramp services to aircrafts and airports. The ground handling business made over 80 billion US dollars compared to the aviation industry, which raked in about 700 billion dollars in 2013, according to Center for Aviation (2014). Besides, according to Mordor Intelligence (2019), the industry was projected to grow by more than 8.5 % between 2019 and 2024 because of growing air passenger traffic, privatization of airports and the use of advanced technologies. Much of this growth was expected from the Middle East, which was centrally located between the East and the West, and within 8 hours from most of the world’s population (Macheras, 2019). Although the ground handling service sector has been deregulated, especially in the western market, monopolistic structures continue to exist in the Middle East and Asia (Tomová, Trgiňa & Sedláčková, 2015). Both SGS and Dnata provide ground handling services for Saudi Arabian airlines and the Emirates, which are owned wholly and spatially by their respective governments, respectively (Tomová, Trgiňa & Sedláčková, 2015). Specifically, Saudi Arabia Airlines owned 52.5 % of SGS while Dnata was a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Emirates Group (Aljazira Capital, 2018; The Emirates Group, 2019).
The industry is structured as self-handling by full-service airlines, airport-owned companies or as third-party service providers (Steer Davies Gleave, 2016). However, Center for Aviation (2014) reported that the industry players were susceptible to reputation damage and financial losses aircraft damage, baggage loss, cargo spoilage and delayed flights, which invited expensive litigations. Moreover, like airlines, ground handlers were under increased pressure to act responsibly by conserving the environment, using resources sustainably, and benefiting their communities in addition to behaving ethically as enterprises. Specific actions such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, combating resource wastage, using energy efficiently, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, driving innovations in alternative energy, participating in animal and environment conservation programs, and contributing to community development were included in the CSR strategies of ground handling companies.
Dnata and SGS dominate the ground handling sector in the Gulf region and are poised to grow from the increased air traffic demand, the influx of tourists, significant government investment, and cheap aviation fuel (Al Mashah Capital Limited, 2015; Macheras, 2019). Dnata and SGS commanded 62.5 and 95 % of their domestic markets (Aljazira Capital, 2018; Steer Davies Gleave, 2016). However, Dnata operates in foreign countries as well (Steer Davies Gleave, 2016). The CSR activities of Dnata and SGS are closely related to those of their affiliated airlines, as full-service national carriers. For instance, Dnata has initiatives such as the Stop program to improve ethical behavior, the dnata4good program to undertake social programs and partnerships, purchase of eco-friendly equipment to reduce emissions, and training of employees to fit in a multicultural environment (Dnata, 2019; The Emirates Group, 2019).
Methodology
Qualitative research using secondary data will be used in this study. Qualitative research is preferred for its ability to provide a detailed and extensive understanding of phenomena in organizations (Tracy, 2019). In this regard, it would enable the researcher to determine which CSR activities and why Dnata and SGS undertake them. Moreover, it allows the use of various methods through which to conduct the study and assess the information that would be used to achieve the research objectives and consequently, answer the research question (Tracy, 2019).
Secondary research used information from publication and other archived sources to extract useful information. Secondary data is cost-effective to access and saves on time as well since the researcher does not need to collect the massive data first hand (Walliman, 2017). Secondary data will be collected from highquality sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, company reports, organizational and industry reports, articles from reputable media houses and organizational websites, and expert commentaries, which can be easily accessed online.
Publications not older than ten years will be selected because of their relevant and current information. An online search will be performed using keywords such as CSR in the aviation industry, CSR in the ground handling services industry, CSR at Dnata, CSR at SGS, sustainability reports of Dnata and SGS, among others. The data will be analyzed textually and thematically to unearth the CSR activities in the two companies.
Results and discussion
The results of the analysis will be presented using texts, tables and figures to facilitate the answering of the research question. The results will include the CSR activities in the two companies, the motives behind the activities, and the alignment of these initiatives with the corporate strategies of the firms. The CSR activities will be compared to determine which good efforts are present in Dnata but absent in SGS.
Conclusion and recommendations
The study will be concluded by answering the research question, ‘which are the good corporate social responsibility initiatives at Dnata that can be adopted by SGS?’. From this answer, recommendations on which CSR activities that SGS should adopt will be made.
References
Abdulrazak, S., Sh. Ahmad, F., & Quoquab, F. (2016). The Multicultural Business of CSR: How to Ensure a Positive Consumer Response. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 35(6), 43-52.
Al Mashah Capital Limited (2015). GCC aviation – spreading wings to the world. Retrieved from http://www.almasahcapital.com/images/reports/report_134.pdf.
Alhaddi, H. (2015). Triple bottom line and sustainability: A literature review. Business and Management Studies, 1(2), 6-10.
Aljazira Capital (2018). Saudi ground services Co.: Initiation report. Retrived from http://www.aljaziracapital.com.sa/report_file/company/FUN-1399.pdf.
Blowfield, M., Karam, C., & Jamali, D. (2017). Development-Oriented Corporate Social Responsibility: Volume 1: Multinational Corporations and the Global Context. Routledge.
Center for Aviation (2014). Airport ground handling – industry overview 2014. Part 1: liberalization, efficiency & compensation. Retrieved from https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/reports/airport-ground-handling–industry-overview-2014-part-1-liberalisation-efficiency–compensation-195301.
Chernev, A., & Blair, S. (2015). Doing well by doing good: The benevolent halo of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(6), 1412-1425.
De Colle, S., Henriques, A., & Sarasvathy, S. (2014). The paradox of corporate social responsibility standards. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(2), 177-191.
De Jong, M. D. T. & Van der Meer, M. (2017). How does it fit? Exploring the congruence between organizations and their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Journal of Business Ethics, 143(1), 71-83.
Dnata (2019). Corporate responsibility. Retrieved from https://www.dnata.com/en/about/corporate-responsibility.
Epstein-Reeves, J. (2012). Six reasons companies should embrace CSR. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2012/02/21/six-reasons-companies-should-embrace-csr/#40d92ecb3495.
Fernando, S., & Lawrence, S. (2014). A theoretical framework for CSR practices: integrating legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory. Journal of Theoretical Accounting Research, 10(1), 149-178.
Ferreira, P., & Real de Oliveira, E. (2014). Does corporate social responsibility impact on employee engagement? Journal of Workplace Learning, 26(3/4), 232-247.
Gond, J. P., El Akremi, A., Swaen, V., & Babu, N. (2017). The psychological microfoundations of corporate social responsibility: A person‐centric systematic review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 225-246.
Hack, L., Kenyon, A. J., & Wood, E. H. (2014). A critical corporate social responsibility (CSR) timeline: How should it be understood now? International Journal of Management Cases, 16(4), 46-55.
Hamidu, A., Haron, M., & Amran, A. (2015). Corporate social responsibility: A review on definitions, core characteristics and theoretical perspectives. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 83-95.
Jamali, D., Karam, C., & Blowfield, M. (2017). Development-Oriented Corporate Social Responsibility: Volume 2. Routledge.
Korschun, D., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Swain, S. D. (2014). Corporate social responsibility, customer orientation, and the job performance of frontline employees. Journal of Marketing, 78(3), 20-37.
Macheras, A. (2019). Why the Middle East’s double-digit growth in airline passenger traffic is significant. Retrieved from https://aviationanalyst.co.uk/2018/09/04/middle-easts-significant-double-digit-growth-in-airline-passenger-traffic/
Mazareanu, E. (2019). Annual growth in global air traffic passenger demand from 2006 to 2019. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/193533/growth-of-global-air-traffic-passenger-demand/.
Mordor Intelligence (2019). Airport ground handling systems market – growth, trends, and forecast (2019 – 2024). Retrieved from https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/airport-ground-handling-systems-market.
Mosca, F., & Civera, C. (2017). The evolution of CSR: An integrated approach. Symphonya. Emerging Issues in Management, (1), 16-35.
Pistoni, A., Songini, L., & Perrone, O. (2016). The how and why of a firm’s approach to CSR and sustainability: a case study of a large European company. Journal of Management & Governance, 20(3), 655-685.
Rasche, A., Morsing, M., Moon, J., & Moon, J. (2017). The changing role of business in global society: CSR and beyond. Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategy, Communication and Governance; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1-28.
Rim, H., & Song, D. (2017). Corporate message strategies for global CSR campaigns: The mediating role of perceived altruism. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 22(3), 383-400.
Saeidi, S. P., Sofian, S., Saeidi, P., Saeidi, S. P., & Saaeidi, S. A. (2015). How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Business Research, 68(2), 341-350.
Shafer, W. E. (2015). Ethical climate, social responsibility, and earnings management. Journal of Business Ethics, 126(1), 43-60.
Shahzad, A. M., Rutherford, M. A., & Sharfman, M. P. (2016). Stakeholder‐centric governance and corporate social performance: A cross‐national study. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 23(2), 100-112.
Sheehy, B. (2015). Defining CSR: Problems and solutions. Journal of Business Ethics, 131(3), 625-648.
Slack, R. E., Corlett, S., & Morris, R. (2015). Exploring employee engagement with (corporate) social responsibility: A social exchange perspective on organisational participation. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(3), 537-548.
Steer Davies Gleave (2016). Study on airport ownership and management and the ground handling market in selected non-EU countries. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/modes/air/studies/doc/2016-06-airports-and-gh.pdf.
Tennant, F. (November 2015). The importance of corporate social responsibility. Financier Worldwide. Retrieved from https://www.financierworldwide.com/the-importance-of-corporate-social-responsibility#.XaIaQdIzYy4.
The Emirates Group. (2019). Annual report 2018-2019. Retrieved from https://cdn.ek.aero/downloads/ek/pdfs/report/annual_report_2019.pdf.
Tomová, A., Trgiňa, L., & Sedláčková, A. N. (2015). Ground handling business at non-European biggest world airports as a problem of market structures. Business, Management and Education, 13(2), 321-335.
Tracy, S. J. (2019). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. John Wiley & Sons.
Walliman, N. (2017). Research methods: The basics. Routledge.
Wood, D. J. (2015). Corporate social performance. Wiley.
Yang, L., & Guo, Z. (2014). Evolution of CSR Concept in the West and China. International Review of Management and Business Research, 3(2), 819-826.
Global Strategy
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Global Strategy
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are significant vehicles of corporate strategy because of their ability to contribute to the overall strategic value creation in firms in the highly-competitive global business environment. By bringing together the capabilities and capacities of different firms, M&As can help reduce threats from competitors, markets and industry (Andriuškevičius, 2015). They can also increase market access and power, improving the market position of organizations. Besides, M&As can increase the financial health of firms, thus providing the capital required for expansion and growth strategies. Altogether, M&As aim at creating strategic value by increasing the total shareholder return (TSR), market capitalization, market presence and profitability. However, 83% of M&A fail, mainly because of strategic misfit (Bradt, 2019). Despite the high failure rate, the value of M&A transactions continued to increase, reaching $3.9 trillion globally in 2018 (Szmigiera, 2019). This means that firms continued to pursue M&As even when the prospects of failure were high. The ensuing discussion addresses the claim that M&As contribute to the overall strategic value creation in firms by delving into situations in which this claim has been justified or not justified.
For M&As to deliver strategic value creation successfully, they should not only be inspired by the right motives but should also be implemented judiciously. In this regard, synergy rather than hubris and managerial self-interest should motivate M&A. Synergy-driven motives pursue a combined firm value post-M&A that is greater than the sum of the values of the independent firms before M&A (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991). This motive contrasts with hubris in which the value-creating potential of the post-M&A firms is overestimated by arrogant and overconfident managers. Likewise, managerialism causes the overpricing of acquisitions, and exorbitance for personal gain, to the disadvantage of shareholder wealth (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991). In the same vein, the integration process after an M&A is often the most challenging because it is fraught with many risks that endanger the success of the resulting entity. While different integration methods exist, namely symbiosis, holding, preservation and absorption, they can fail if decisions are made and implemented slowly, and the integration process focuses on the technical aspects, ignoring the cultural issues (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991). Firms should therefore, consider the motives and implementation strategies carefully before concluding M&A transactions.
Various examples evidence support the claim that M&A contributes to overall strategic value creation in the resulting companies. The full potential approach has been touted to deliver mot value creation from M&As because it focuses on identifying all the possible areas of improvement in the resulting company post-M&A. This approach captures all the synergies presented by the merging or target companies, while capitalizing on all the opportunities available to upgrade the deficient areas (Löfgrén, et al., 2018). The companies that have employed the full potential approach have enjoyed strategic value creation that has exceeded expectations.
Charter Communications, Inc. (Charter) is a US-based mass media and telecommunications firm that used acquisitions successfully to deliver strategic value creation through the expansion of its market share. In 2015, Charter Communications acquired Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable to make it the third-largest multichannel video and second-largest broadband provider in the United States. This acquisition created strategic value for Charter Communications by protecting not only protecting its market share and profits in the wake of fierce competition but also outperforming its peers with a 289% increase in the annualized total shareholder return by the close of 2017 (Löfgrén, et al., 2018). After paying $67 billion for Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, which controlled 3.6% and 20.8% market share in the United States’ cable market, Charter embarked in an elaborate transformation to capture the extensive synergies presented by the three firms in the areas of information technology, engineering, product development and overhead reduction. Charter also harmonized the packaging, pricing and operating practices of the three companies, helping it increase its scale, which enhanced its bargaining power with content producers and suppliers in the industry, along with increasing its capital and operating efficiencies.
Similarly, Sanofi, a pharmaceutical firm based in France, used M&A to confront industry headwinds and transform its business strategy. The move created strategic value by repositioning the company in the pharmaceutical industry, cutting costs by about 0 million to gain operational efficiency and growing its revenue from a rate of 5% to 17% between 2011 and 2012 (Löfgrén, et al., 2018). The M&A was motivated by the impeding loss of patent protection on many of its products and the wish to enter into the biologics industry, which was a lucrative emerging field away from traditional drug manufacturing. Therefore, Sanofi acquired Genzyme in 2009 for $20 billion and embarked in a swift integration processe right after. Genzyme brought in its robust innovation capability, despite its dismal performance due to the closure of its two production facilities, which caused drug shortages and reduced sales. By streamlining the manufacturing and operational processes, and research and development pipeline, along with reducing of the workforce force and divesting the diagnostic unit, Sanofi gained operational efficiency and product innovation capabilities within a year of the M&A.
In other cases, companies use M&A to turnaround their failing business and avoid closure. Groupe PSA, which is a French automotive manufacturer, managed to turnaround its failing business following the financial crisis of 2008 by acquiring the Opel brand from general motors, which was also experiencing business turmoil. Groupe PSA had lost $5.4 billion and $2.5 billion in 2012 and 2013, respectively, while Opel had lost $19 billion since 1999 (Löfgrén, et al., 2018). However, the strategic value lay in the manufacturing and research and development capabilities, and targeted brand focus. Since Groupe PSA did not have the finances to close the M&A transaction and fund the turnaround program, it sold off 14% of its stake the French government and another 14% to Dongfeng in China, to raise $1.74 billion (Löfgrén, et al., 2018). The acquisition was finalized in 2017, after which Groupe PSA embarked in an integration process and the implementation of its turnaround strategy, immediately. The turnaround strategy after the acquisition involved brand strengthening through the reduction of model varieties and enhancing financial discipline. Within a year of the acquisition, the market capitalization of Groupe PSA increased by more than 700%, while it rebounded from making loses to a 6% EBIT margin (Löfgrén, et al., 2018). This example demonstrates that M&A can be used to turn around failing businesses and create strategic value when implemented swiftly and prudently.
Contrastingly, the claim of strategic value creation from M&A has been negated by equally numerous examples as well. Hubris and managerial self-interest are poor motives that have been implicated in many M&A debacles. Moreover, the lack of a strategic fit between the merged companies along with overconfidence of the management and the overstating of their capabilities has caused numerous M&A failures. Moreover, turf wars, cultural clashes and organizational politics can hinder the proper execution of the integration plans, leading to M&A failure (Martin, Butler & Bolton, 2017). As observed earlier, M&A failures outnumber the successful ones because of these reasons.
History is not short of M&A disasters. For instance, the merger between America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner in 2000, is memorable for its dramatic failure. The merger sought to capitalize on the convergence of the internet and mass media technologies and the emerging digitized media industry (Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991). The merger was concluded for $165 billion, making it the largest M&A deal at the time. However, the merger was unable to deliver the anticipated strategic value because AOL Time Warner lost $99 billion within the first year and by 2003, the merger had failed (McGrath, 2015). The reasons attributed to this failure include the inability to leverage the synergies of the two companies, America Online and Time Warner. American Online, which was successful in the internet industry, sought to diversify into the cable industry by merging with Time Warner, which was a successful media company. However, America Online executives were incompetent in running a large media company using their internet industry know-how. Likewise, AOL was unable to capitalize on high-bandwidth connections that were emerging in the internet industry because of the lack of capital (McGrath, 2015). Besides, AOL Time Warner experienced the devastating dot-com crash, which devastated its internet business. Moreover, the culture clash fomented suspicions from the executives of both companies, with Time Warner viewing AOL as a threat, while AOL considered Time Warner to be old-fashioned (Feloni, 2018). These perceptions caused turf wars, with every side striving to protect its business, causing the merger to lack synergy due to the selfish interests and inflexibility of the senior management (Benitez, Ray & Henseler, 2018). Steve Case, the founding CEO of AOL confessed that although the merger had the right vision, it was executed poorly because of mistrust among senior executives (Feloni, 2018). Ultimately, the company succumbed to the politics in the organizations and dissolved the merger.
Quaker Oats, a food company based in Chicago in the United States, acquired Snapple to expand its business into juices and teas. This M&A is memorable because it was highly overpriced at $1.7 billion, despite being warned by Wall Street. This purchase demonstrated the lack of due diligence and poor negotiations, which can lead to disastrous decisions (Cuypers, Cuypers & Martin, 2017; Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991). The reasons for its failure include the inability to synchronize the marketing and distribution of products. In this aspect, Quaker Oats relied on large retailers and supermarkets, while Snapple used small retail channels such as gas stations, convenience stores and independent distributors. Also, the company lacked a cohesive marketing strategy and undertook marketing campaigns that failed because of divergent cultures (Rahman, Lambkin & Hussain, 2016). Ultimately, the company lost strategic value when Snapple lost the popularity it had in the market due to brand dilution and inappropriate marketing signals. These blunders enable Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to capture Snapple’s market. This debacle demonstrated that Quaker Oats lacked a strategic vision because it did not plan for future competition properly (Cuypers, Cuypers & Martin, 2017). In the end, Quaker Oats sold Snapple at $300 million, which was a significant loss from the $1.7 billion it has spent in the acquisition.
This discussion has addressed the claim that M&A contributes to the overall strategic value creation. The claim has been supported and dispelled using examples drawn from various industries ranging from automotive manufacturing to pharmaceuticals, communications and beverages industries. It has emerged that M&As succeeded in delivering strategic value when they were premised strategic and coherent vision along with meticulous, prompt and continuous integration programs to ensure strategic-fit of the processes and culture. Contrastingly, M&A failed to deliver strategic value and consequently failed because they were motivated by hubris and managerial self-interest, which often caused the incoherent implementation of the integration program, turf wars and lack of trust among the senior executives.
References
Andriuškevičius, K. (2015). Opportunities and challenges of value creation through merger and acquisitions in cyclical economies. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 213, 764-769.
Benitez, J., Ray, G., & Henseler, J. (2018). Impact of information technology infrastructure flexibility on mergers and acquisitions. MIS Quarterly, 42(1), 25-43.
Brandt, G. (2019). What CEOs must do to avoid the 83% of mergers and acquisitions that fail. Forbes. Retrieved 27 January 2020 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2019/08/01/what-ceos-must-do-to-avoid-the-83-of-mergers-and-acquisitions-that-fail/#590227161524.
Cuypers, I. R., Cuypers, Y., & Martin, X. (2017). When the target may know better: Effects of experience and information asymmetries on value from mergers and acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 38(3), 609-625.
Feloni, R. (2018). Billionaire investor Steve Case says failure of the 2000 AOL Time Warner megamerger taught him a crucial lesson about executing. Business Insider. Retrieved 27 January 2020 from https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-case-lesson-aol-time-warner-merger-2018-10?IR=T.
Haspeslagh, P. C., & Jemison, D. B. (1991). Managing acquisitions: Creating value through corporate renewal (Vol. 416). New York: Free Press.
Löfgrén, I., Fæste, L., Seppä, T., Cunningham, J., Dawson, N., Friedman, D., & Wolf, R. (2018). Lessons from eight successful M&A turnarounds. Boston Consulting Group. Retrieved 27 January 2020 from http://image-src.bcg.com/Images/BCG-Lessons-from-Eight-Successful-M-A-Turnarounds-Nov-2018-21-R_tcm9-207599.pdf.
Martin, J. A., Butler, F. C., & Bolton, J. F. (2017). Serendipitous value creation in mergers and acquisitions of entrepreneurially-oriented firms: The moderating role of political skill. Journal of Managerial Issues, 29(4), 380-394.
McCarthy, M. J., Gibson, R. & Deogun, N. (1997). Quaker Oats to sell Snapple for Triarc for $300 million. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 January 2020 from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB859470522295331500.
McGrath, R. G. (2015). 15 years later, lessons from the AOL-Time Warner merger. Fortune. Retrieved 27 January 2020 from https://fortune.com/2015/01/10/15-years-later-lessons-from-the-failed-aol-time-warner-merger/.
Rahman, M., Lambkin, M., & Hussain, D. (2016). Value creation and appropriation following M&A: A data envelopment analysis. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5628-5635.
Szmigiera, M. (2019). Value of M&A transactions globally 1985-2018. Statista. Retrieved 27 January 2020 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/267369/volume-of-mergers-and-acquisitions-worldwide/.
Integrated Marketing Communications System – PEI Mortgage Guy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Integrated Marketing Communications System – PEI Mortgage Guy
Executive summary
An integrated marketing communications plan is devised to promote the corporate brand of PEI Mortgage Guy, which has relied heavily on the personal brand of its owner, Soubhi Abla. The plan seeks to increase the brand awareness of the firm, through an aggressive and targeted promotional campaign, which is expected to translate to increased new clients. The overarching message of the promotion and brand is ‘you can dream it, I can finance it’, which will be communicated coherently and consistently using all corporate artifacts. The IMC plan employs a multichannel approach comprising of personal selling and social media marketing, while leveraging advanced digital technology, like pipeline analytics to determine the effectiveness of the promotional campaign and IMC plan.
1.0 Introduction
Homeownership remains a priority to many Canadian families and the mortgage industry aims at fulfilling this demand. The Canadian mortgage market continues to exhibit modest growth amid a sluggish global recovery process since the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Although this market is dominated by large banks in the country, mortgage brokers play a critical role in linking prospective homeowners with the financial institutions and residential properties in the country. Therefore, many aspiring homeowners continue to seek the services of mortgage brokers to realize their dreams, thus marking the mortgage brokerage industry highly competitive.
PEI Mortgage Guy is a mortgage brokerage agency that was established in 2017 by Soubhi Abla. Abla is the brand personality of this firm, based on the expertise and professional network he has consolidated over time (The Mortgage Group, 2020a). However, as a sole proprietorship, PEI Mortgage Guy needs to spruce up its brand image to positon itself favorably in the mortgage brokerage market. The company is already being weighed down by the low customer retention and referral rates, along with inadequate online engagement and market visibility. In this regard, PEI Mortgage Guy’s clients are switching to other brokerage firms and the company is not gaining new clients, which is endangering its revenues, profitability and growth. Although, Soubhi Abla is a self-made mortgage broker, he realizes the need to have a sound and solid marketing strategy to hoist and cement the position of his firm in the mortgage industry.
To this end, the existing integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy and activities at PEI Mortgage Guy is assessed with a view of identifying its gaps and deficiencies. The information gained from such an evaluation will inform the redesigning of the overall meeting strategy and specifically, the integrated marketing communications (IMC) system to elevate the corporate brand of the firm. Several analyses related to the communications market are conducted, and thereafter, the corporate strategies that should be employed by the company are explored. Finally, a comprehensive integrated marketing communication plan is developed and recommended for the firm.
2.0 Communications market analysis
Market analysis is a critical component of the industry and environmental analyses because it focuses on the dynamics and attractiveness of a specific market within a given industry. In this case, the mortgage market in the financial industry in Canada is analyzed, to unearth the firm’s competitors and their strengths and weaknesses, a SWOT analysis to reveal the internal and external factors affecting the attractiveness and positioning of the firm, and a target market analysis to describe the targeted segment of the Canadian population.
2.1 Competitive analysis
The mortgage industry in Canada is fairly competitive due to the numerous players, such as brokerage firms, banks, deposit-taking institutions, and credit unions. Although major banks in Canada, such as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Banque Nationale, TD Bank Financial Group, Royal Bank Financial Group, Bank of Nova Scotia, and Bank of Montreal, dominate the mortgage market in the country, brokerage firms present direct competition to PEI Mortgage Guy because of their close engagement with customers and favorable rates (McLister, 2018). However, the close association with TMG Group, which is an established brand, would help the firm compete favorably with other mortgage brokerage firms in the country, like Capital Direct PEI, Citi Financial, Premiere Mortgage PEI, INVIS PEI, Mortgage Alliance Atlantic, and The Mortgage Group. In this regard, mortgage brokers have an edge over commercial banks because of the lower rates, which range between 1% and 2%.
Outside the formal financial institutions, families avail a significant proportion of financing to homeowners. Specifically, parents offered loans to their children, accounting for 15% of the financing avenues for homeownership in Canada, while other homeowners used savings to purchase homes (Huebl, 2020). However, Canadians’ home-buying behavior is influenced significantly by word-of-mouth, physical or electronic, considering that strong emotions and trust levels are involved. In this regard, financiers that forge an intimate relationship with clients enjoy higher client enrolment and retention.
2.2 SWOT/Opportunity Analysis
The SWOT analysis identifies the internal and external factors that influenced the performance of PEI Mortgage Guy, and consequently, the attractiveness and positioning of the company in the mortgage brokerage industry.
Table 1. SWOT analysis of PEI Mortgage Guy
BeneficialDetrimentalInternal factorsStrengths Corporate brand associated with the ownerBrand name highly positioned in search engines (2nd in Google Search)Well-networked ownerWeaknesses Lack of a marketing strategyAbsence of an IMC systemLimited assets and financial resourcesMisalignment between personal and corporate brandLow corporate confidence amidst competitorsBrand invisibility due to association with The Mortgage Group External factorsOpportunities Expansion into markets beyond Prince Edward Island Positioning of PEI Mortgage Guy as a corporate brandIncreasing brand visibility Differentiation of product offeringsThreats Limited supply of homesEconomic headwinds due to the coronavirus pandemicAlternative home-buying options (parent-funded)
From the SWOT analysis, PEI Mortgage Guy is well-positioned to establish itself as a corporate brand in the mortgage brokerage industry by leveraging the personal reputation of the owner and his diverse professional network. Moreover, the firm has an opportunity for expanding its reach beyond Prince Edward Island if its brand can be more visible to Canadians. However, although the company lacks a solid marketing infrastructure and cohesive marketing strategy, its biggest threat lies in the lackluster performance of the mortgage market and the economic challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, due to the weak home-owning but promising environment in Canada currently, PEI Mortgage Guy can capture a significant segment of the mortgage market through an aggressive and cohesive marketing strategy.
2.3 Target market analysis
PEI Mortgage Guy targets first-time homebuyers and investors wishing to acquire commercial and residential property. The two sets of targets have different characteristics. Specifically, the first-time homebuyers are young individuals and couples aged between 25-35 years that are starting their families and secure their future accommodation. In turn, the investors are mature adults aged between 35 and 45 years wishing to either enter into entrepreneurship or exit the declining housing market. This is a significant proportion of the 4.82 Canadians that are still tenants rather than homeowners, and the scores of real-estate entrepreneurs, considering that 6 million of the 9.91 million Canadian homeowners, have ongoing mortgages (Huebl, 2020). Despite high mortgage uptake, Canadians still desire to own homes and commercial properties, which is expected to drive demand in the coming years.
The property market is still recovering from the financial crisis of 2007-2008, and therefore, the demand is modest and outweighs supply marginally. Spurred by the slow 2.1-percent growth of the Canadian economy, the demand for real-estate dropped drastically by 19% in 2018 and the property price increased have decelerated as well (Delmando, 2019). Consequently, the central bank has raised the mortgage down payment requirements and shortened amortization periods to stem the rising property prices.
3.0 Corporate Strategies
3.1 Corporate image strategy
Although PEI Mortgage Guy has no corporate image strategy yet, it relies on the reputation of the owner and his association with The Mortgage Group (TMG). The Mortgage Group has cultivated a valuable corporate brand identity by availing diverse services to the Canadian mortgage market. The company has diversified products and services that not only educate clients and addresses their diverse needs professionally and ethically, but backs this up with a large, highly-skilled workforce that are available for the client round the clock. While the corporate brand of TMG is enviable, PEI Mortgage Guy needs to differentiate itself as a dependable mortgage brokerage brand, without severing its network with TMG. In turn, the association with TMG is expected to endear trust, professionalism, ethical behavior, and dependability to the clients of PEI Mortgage Guy.
3.2 Brand development strategy
PEI Mortgage Guy relies on the reputation of its owner, Soubhi Abla, and therefore, lacks a brand development strategy. The company’s brand revolves around the person of the owner, who is associated with reputable mortgage brokerage firms in Canada. Therefore, investments are yet to be made towards developing a brand image for the firm. As part of the brand development strategy, the line extension strategy is recommended because it focuses on a unified brand name, while diversifying product/service offerings by the firm under the same brand (Sinapuelas, Wang, & Bohlmann, 2015). This will enable to company to offer several services under the same corporate brand.
3.3 Brand positioning strategy
PEI Mortgage Guy should be positioned as a standalone brand to avoid being subsumed by the TMG Group brand. In this regard, the firm positions itself as a mortgage brokerage firm that promises a seamless mortgage experience to homeowners and investors. To this end, the marketing objectives of PEI Mortgage Guy are:
Increase brand awarenessEnhance brand image and presenceIncrease mortgage uptake by 25% annuallyIncrease customer referrals from 40% to 50%To increase new service segments by 50% annually
3.4 Product and pricing strategy
The mortgage products are dictated by the mortgage providers and brokerage firms do not have much leeway to adjust them. However, PEI Mortgage Guy focuses on delivering the best mortgage deals to each customer and making the mortgaging process pleasurable and stress-free. PEI Mortgage Guy will connect prospective buyers to mortgage plans and provide affiliate services that make the signing up and servicing of mortgages convenient. Therefore, the firm will access residential and commercial property mortgages, along with helping the clients with the mortgage negotiations and signing-up paperwork.
Industry pricing standards will be used, with PEI Mortgage Guy charging between 1.5% and 2% of the mortgage value. The price is dependent on the value of the property and the adjoining services required by the client. The firm is able to undertake all the processes involved in identifying, signing up, and servicing a mortgage, as well as any segments of such services. Therefore, the pricing is graduated by the services rendered.
4.0 Recommendations
Considering that PEI Mortgage Guy does not have a corporate marketing strategy, it is recommended that it commences the journey of establishing one with an integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan. The IMC plan, which will be based on the marketing objectives described earlier, will promote the achievement of the marketing strategy of the firm, by delivering well-structured, cohesive, and consistent marketing messages.
4.1 Integrated marketing communications management
Managing the integrated marketing communications (IMC) at PEI Mortgage Guy involves the development and dissemination of consistent and cohesive messaging across diverse marketing channels (Payne, Peltier, & Barger, 2017). To this end, an IMC system that promotes the firm’s brand among the targeted market is critical. In this regard, the brand mantra, ‘you can dream it, I can finance it’ will be communicated to the targeted clients consistently and coherently. This single-minded message captures the aspirations and concerns of prospective homeowners and real-estate investors. Specifically, while Canadians value home and property ownership as family security and investment assets, the mortgage market has several players offering different products, which complicate the decision-making process. Therefore, PEI Mortgage Guy aims at providing a one-stop-shop for mortgage purchasers, thus reducing the inconvenience of looking for the best mortgage deal in the country, while guaranteeing a comprehensive and individualized service of prospective mortgage buyers. To give character to the brand messaging, the IMC strategy is to transfer the brand equity of the firm’s owner to the corporate entity. In this regard, the brand character will communicate friendliness, trustworthiness, reliability to endear the clients’ emotional attachment. To this end, the IMC objectives of the firm include:
Improve website utility by increasing website visits by 300% within a yearIncrease client engagement on social media by 300% through increasing content creation and user reactions by the same proportion in one yearEnhance client relations by increasing the ratio of positive reviews from 10% to 50% within one yearIncrease client referrals by 25% within a year through incentives such as referral rewards and gifts upon closure of a mortgage dealTo recruit 400 new clients in the next year from attending six public events, including community and real-estate related events, which will facilitate networking
The brand artifacts, including the corporate logo and colors, images, and audio and visual messages, will be directed towards achieving these objectives.
4.2 Integrated marketing communication methodologies
A multichannel approach will be adopted to disseminate the marketing messages to the targeted market. The channels used by the owner, Abla, such as social media marketing, will be extended to encompass the entre corporate brand. In turn, traditional and digital communication methodologies such as personal selling, loyalty programs, public relations, will be integrated into the IMC strategy.
An advertising campaign will anchor the promotional program for promoting brand awareness for PEI Mortgage Guy, as articulated in the creative brief. The brand statement is, ‘you can dream it, I can finance it’. The rationale of this brand statement is that PEI Mortgage Guy decided to integrate the personal brand of the owner with the corporate brand. Canadians dream to own homes and real-estate properties as a social and economic investment, yet they are concerned by the financing complexities and diversity. Therefore, brand statement intends to position PEI Mortgage Guy as the ultimate link between the dream of Canadians and financing of real-estate property in the mortgage brokerage industry. The advertising campaign aims at increasing the brand awareness and demand for the mortgage brokerage services of PEI Mortgage Guy. This campaign will target Canadians aged between 25 to 45 years, with the younger demography comprising potential homeowners while the older one consists of predominantly real-estate investors. The driving idea behind the consumer message is, ‘the provision of comprehensive mortgage solutions to all kinds of real-estate buyers’. This message will be disseminated using content that captures consumers’ attention and invites their engagement. In this regard, a combination of informational and emotional content will be incorporated in the advertising design of all the facets of the multichannel advertising campaign (Payne, Peltier, & Barger, 2017). Besides, the advertising tone will be warmth, friendliness, trustworthiness, flexibility, and reliability. The advertising media will comprise social media, direct selling, word-of-mouth, content, and search engine optimization.
4.2.1 Consumer promotions
An office premise will be set up to centralize the promotional campaign activities. The office will be the command center for the advertising campaign, providing a physical premise from where consumers can visit for face-to-face meetings with the owner, along with coordinating the diverse promotional activities. Such meetings are pertinent considering that Canada still relies of manual reviewing of customer documents before mortgages can be approved (McLister, 2019). Besides, the website will be refurbished to present a cohesive brand that integrates the personal and corporate elements. The cost-savings from the website upgrading project will be directed towards establishing the central office, which is expected to cost $10,000.
4.2.2 Personal selling
The personal selling strategy remains critical to the branding campaign because it enables physical interaction between the firm and its customers. Personal selling enables the deployment of personalized promotional activities that are tailored to address individual needs. It allows the firm to persuade the prospective mortgage buyer to engage it in the mortgage shopping, negotiation, and application processes, while allowing the consumers to express their needs comprehensively and obtain immediate feedback on their concerns. To this end, the firm will take advantage of the scheduled public events in the annual calendar to interact directly with prospective clients. These interactions will reinforce the friendly, personalized, and trust-building brand perception that the firm intends to communication to its target audience. However, in the prevailing circumstance occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, these events are likely to recede to online avenues, due to the prohibition of movement and physical crowds (Enberg, 2020). Therefore, the firm will engage in telemarketing by participating in the online forums and availing videoconferencing opportunities for those that cannot access the firm through such forums. The revamped website with web conferencing capabilities will support this strategy (Baran & Galka, 2016). Consequently, clients can hold a one-to-one meeting with Abla or any other firm-accredited official.
4.2.3 Database programs and customer relations management
Client and market data plays a critical role in narrowing down the prospects and realizing a return on investment from the promotion campaign. By focusing on the narrow end of the marketing funnel, pipeline marketing will be used to enhance the conversion of leads and prospects into customers (LeChasseur, 2017). Precisely, the leads generated during the public events, personal selling activities, and social media marketing, will be analyzed digitally, to determine the cost per opportunity. The pipeline management activity will use digital analytics to analyze the data and help refine the advertising campaign by optimizing the communication channels that convert most leads into customers, and therefore, most revenue in every quarter of the campaign year (Yan, et al. 2015). Data-based marketing metrics will reveal the effectiveness of the promotional campaign in measurable terms.
Similarly, the offline and online interactions with consumers with be analyzed using predictive analytics and machine learning technology to help improve the quality of customer relations (Yan, et al. 2015). In this regard, the consumer relationship management system, customer data will be collected, stored and analyzed to help tailor individualized relations with customers. These digital analytical approached will reinforce the marketing message and promote the forging of lasting relations with clients, which in turn, will encourage their referencing behavior. Consequently, this will generate more referrals, which will increase the recruitment of new clients.
4.2.4 Distribution channels: Trade Promotion Selection
Online distribution channels will be emphasized to overcome the limitations of physical interactions occasioned by the ongoing lockdown in Canada. Social media marketing will play a critical role in reaching and engaging the target audience. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and WhatsApp will be used to supplement face-to-face meetings at the company office. Live streaming capabilities of the social media platforms will be used to disseminate the corporate marketing message, while blogs will be used as discussion forums for interacting with clients and addressing their concerns promptly. Besides, the firm will have podcasts that can be accessed through its website to inform the targeted audience and assist them to make mortgage-purchasing decisions.
5.0 Conclusion
PEI Mortgage Guy can revamp its brand image by developing a comprehensive integrated marketing plan that is derived from the marketing objectives of the firm. The company has relied extensively on the brand identity of its owner, and thus has not corporate brand equity. To enhance the corporate brand awareness and increase new clients, the brand equity of Abla must be integrated into the corporate brand, without losing the emotional and intimate attachment of clients. The laid out IMC plan responds to the high need for brokerage services in Canada that helps clients navigate the complex mortgage market. In this regard, Canadians demand mortgage brokers that are informative and friendly, and are sensitive to the individual needs of home and property buyers. Therefore, the overarching marketing message emphasizes reliability, trustworthiness, and flexibility, which can be disseminated using a multichannel approach. Digital channels will be especially used in the promotional campaign because of their wide reach, cost-effectiveness, analytical opportunities, and ability to circumvent the limitations of the current pandemic-induced lockdown.
References
Baran, R. J., & Galka, R. J. (2016). Customer Relationship Management: the foundation of contemporary marketing strategy. Taylor & Francis.
Delmando, L. C. (2019). Is Canada’s amazing house price boom coming to an end? Retrieved from https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/North-America/Canada/Price-History.
Enberg, J. (2020). How COVID-19 has-and has not-affected global ad spending. Retrireived from https://www.emarketer.com/content/how-coronavirus-affects-global-ad-spending.
Huebl, S. (2020). The state of the mortgage market: 2020. Retrieved from https://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/2020/03/state-mortgage-market-2020/.
LeChasseur, N. (2017). B2B pipeline marketing: An account-based approach results in better leads and sales team alignment. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/07/05/b2b-pipeline-marketing-an-account-based-approach-results-in-better-leads-and-sales-team-alignment/#293f508fabf2.
McLister, R. (2018). Broker lender market share –Q1 2018. Retrieved from https://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/2018/06/broker-lender-market-share-q1-2018/.
McLister, R. (2019). Predictions for Canada’s mortgage market in 2020. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-predictions-for-canadas-mortgage-market-in-2020/.
Payne, E. M., Peltier, J. W., & Barger, V. A. (2017). Omni-channel marketing, integrated marketing communications and consumer engagement. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. 11(2), 185-197. doi:10.1108/jrim-08-2016-0091.
Sinapuelas, I. C. S., Wang, H. M. D., & Bohlmann, J. D. (2015). The interplay of innovation, brand, and marketing mix variables in line extensions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(5), 558-573. doi:10.1007/s11747-015-0437-6.
The Mortgage Group (2020a). Official website of PEI Mortgage Guy. Retrieved from https://www.peimortgageguy.com/.
The Mortgage Group (2020b). Official website of TMG. Retrieved from https://www.mortgagegroup.com/.
Yan, J., Zhang, C., Zha, H., Gong, M., Sun, C., Huang, J., Chu, S., & Yang, X. (2015. On machine learning towards predictive sales pipeline analytics. In Twenty-ninth AAAI conference on artificial intelligence (pp. 1945-1951). Retrieved from https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/AAAI/AAAI15/paper/viewFile/9444/9488.
HOW DOES SOCIAL BRANDING HELP TO IMPROVE ADMISSION RATE FOR HEALTHCARE INSTITUTES IN SINGAPORE?
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
How Does Social Branding Help to Improve Admission Rate for Healthcare Institutes in Singapore?
1.0 Introduction and Context
The market orientation of higher education systems has necessitated higher education institutions to adopt corporate practices like branding. Corporate branding is becoming commonplace among universities and colleges as they compete to position themselves favorably in a highly-competitive market. Contemporary higher education institutions are competing for students, staff, and funding, and corporate branding helps the establishment attract the human and financial resources (Sujchaphong, Nguyen and Melewar 2017). Higher education institutions operating in a free market economy have the autonomy run their affairs and develop strategies for addressing the opportunities and challenges presented by a competitive landscape (Ng 2016). These pro-market trends are characteristic of the neoliberal globalization that is influencing the marketing practices of higher education institutions.
Social marketing focuses on the positive social outcomes of an enterprise. It also leverages social approaches and channels of marketing. As such, social marketing incorporates service thinking along with the branding theory to influence the attitudes and behavioral intentions of the targeted audience (Gordon, Zainuddin and Magee 2016). Social branding has taken root in corporate marketing because it is able to reach a large segment of the population cost-effectively and efficiently. Social branding employs modern technologies such as social media platforms, mobile devices and the internet to reach large masses of people. Social marketing makes economic sense by using the scarce resources efficiently through leveraging user-content and influencers to reinforce the marketing messages of an organization.
Shortage in qualified healthcare personnel is a global challenge due to the limited number of school-leavers with high grades opting for healthcare training. The mismatch of the incentives and disincentives of the healthcare professions continues to fail to attract new students into healthcare training institutions (Tan-Kuick and Ng 2010). Singapore is grappling with an increasing demand for healthcare professionals in the backdrop of an ageing population and increasing incidence of chronic diseases (Au-Yong 2018). Moreover, the Singapore Medical Council reduced the approved foreign medical institutions from 160 to 103 to maintain high quality healthcare professionals and direct students towards the local institutions (Stacey 2019). Further, the ministry of health in the country has enabled people to switch to nursing mid-career by allowing graduates in diverse fields to undertake a 2-year nursing degree (Au-Yong 2018). Despite these circumstances, Singaporean healthcare education institutions have to compete with overseas establishments for students, faculty and research funding. Moreover, while social branding promises to attract human and financial resources, its application in the Singaporean healthcare institutions has not been studied. As such, the potential of social branding in attracting students to healthcare training and thus, raising the admission rates of these institutions is unknown.
This study seeks to answer the question, does social branding increase public awareness and service quality, and in turn, the student admission rate and profitability of healthcare education institutions in Singapore? To answer this question, the study’s objectives are:
To determine the prevalence of use of social branding in healthcare institutions in SingaporeTo assess the influence of social branding on the admission rate for healthcare institutions in SingaporeTo determine the influence of social branding on public awareness, quality of service profitability of healthcare institutions in Singapore
The study hypothesizes that:
HO: Social branding cannot help to improve admission rate for healthcare institute in Singapore.
HA: Social branding can help to improve admission rate for healthcare institute in Singapore.
H1: Social branding improves profitability by increasing admission rate in healthcare institute.
H2: Social branding improves change in services thus increase admission in healthcare institute.
H3: Social branding increases awareness thus allows more people accept admission to healthcare institute.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Branding
Marketing strategies by organizations have been extensively studied and reported in literature. Organizations leverage their human capital, corporate culture and strategic capabilities to create a favorable reputation in the marketplace (Verčič and Ćorić 2018). As such, positive reputation remains one of the most valuable intangible organizational assets that generate a competitive advantage (Verčič and Ćorić 2018). Branding is pervasive in the contemporary business environment.
2.2 Concepts of Branding
Davis (2017) describes numerous concepts associated with branding. For instance, brand positioning is the placing of a brand in a market using its distinctiveness and value in the customers’ mind, while brand values are the attributes the customer experiences through the brand personality and emotional association with the brand promise. The brand values tie together the brand proposition as strategy with the brand positioning in a cohesive and consistent structure (Davis 2017). Brand equity is the collection of ‘financial and marketing values associated with the strength of the brand in the market’ (Severi and Ling 2013, p. 125). The five dimensions of brand equity are brand association, brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived brand quality and proprietary brand assets (Severi and Ling 2013). Besides, brand equity can be perceived financially as brand value and from a customer’s perspective as the perceived brand value. Nonetheless, for a brand to be successful in the contemporary environment, it must speak to the attitudes of the audience and recognize the social shift in the market. Abbas (2014) reiterated that brand awareness was about the familiarity about the brand and the ability to remember it among other similar brands. As such brand recall and recognition were vital aspects of brand awareness.
2.3 Theories of Branding
Various theories of branding have emerged as the branding concept gains popularity the highly competitive organizational environment. The customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model by Keller explains the influence of the attitudes of customers towards a brand in the brand’s success (Farjam and Hongyi 2015). By defining brand equity as the different customer responses to marketing activities of an organization, Keller identified 6 elements that characterized the thoughts, feeling and perceptions of a brand. These elements include salience, imagery, performance, judgments, feeling and resonance, which have a pyramidal arrangement to illustrate the building blocks of positive brand identity, as illustrated in figure 1.
Figure 1. Keller’s CBBE model
Source: Farjam and Hongyi (2015, p. 19)
The resource-based view can explain reputation as a valuable and intangible resource capable of generating sustainable competitive advantage for an establishment (Roper, et al. 2013). Organizational branding was a way of improving the reputation of an organization with the focus being on the image of the firm. In the same vein, the Brand Flux Model, which is a derivative of the Renaming Process Model, explains the revitalization of a defunct brand, despite numerous futile efforts at making it over (Williams Jr and Omar 2014). The brand can either be retired if the changes are unable to deliver renewed position of the brand, or be renamed to embolden it, as illustrated in figure 2.
Figure 2. Brand Flux Model
Source: Williams Jr and Omar (2014, p. 251)
2.4 Social Branding
Social marketing is a new phenomenon in corporate marketing being propelled by technological advancements in information and communications. Social marketing not only highlights the positive social results of an organization, but also employs social networks to advertise these outcomes (Gordon, Zainuddin, and Magee 2016). Social marketing endeavors to create social brands that reflect the social responsibility of a firm through diverse marketing channels such as public relations, social media, print advertising and many others. Marrone (2016) noted that purse strings, policy, partnership and publics were the additional P’s over those used in the marketing mix to define social marketing strategies. Altogether, social marketing targeted the society and consumers.
Kozinets (2014) identified social brand engagement as being pertinent to the marketing impact of brands. Social brand engagement is a customer-centric assortment of connections, creations and communications between customers though brand related images, language and meanings (Kozinets 2014). Social brand engagement can be propagated through evangelism, creative activities, and impactful endorsements (Kozinets 2014). Driven by technological advancements to support social communication and increased emotional commitment by individuals, brands have developed into microcultures and legal social entities that can be shared, owned, and participated and related to (Kozinets 2014). Holt (2016) called the cultural phenomenon of branding the crowd culture, noting that it had changed the rules of conventional branding.
Social media was the channel of choice for social branding because of its wide reach and cost-effectiveness. Kohli, Suri and Kapoor (2015) and Lund, Cohen and Scarles (2018) observed that social media had wrestled the branding control from marketers and transferred it to consumers. Consumers were co-creating branding content and communication, and disbursing it freely over social media platforms outside formal marketing strategies (Lund, Cohen and Scarles 2018). Kohli, C., Suri, R. and Kapoor, A., 2015) noted that social media had made customers more demanding and discriminating, while favoring niche brands in a competitive environment filled with new entrants and short brand lifespans. Moreover, Khamis, Ang and Welling 2017) argued that social media had facilitated the juxtaposing of a human brand and a corporate brand, thus birthing the social media influencer. Influencers were individuals with a significant following over the social media platforms and whose opinions was held in high regard by virtual communities.
Brand likeability is a term coined to characterize the personality of a brand related to its persuasive ability. Melewar and Nguyen (2014) observed that brand likeability led to increased brand interest, personified quality, positive association, and brand contentment. Similarly, Roper et al. (2013) argued that social media was used as a branding and recruitment tool that could enhance the organizational attractiveness among potential employees and investors. Therefore, branding had tangible and intangible benefits.
2.5 Branding of Educational Institutions
Institutions of higher education have been forced to adopt corporate practices including marketing, in the wake of increased competitiveness and high demands from students, funders and society. More importantly, higher education institutions had adopted branding to gain a competitive edge over their rivals in a trend that emerged in the last two decades or so (Chapleo, C., 2015). As such, these institutions needed to stand out above their rivals, with some, such as those in Norway, using being promoted alongside their countries in a national branding exercise (Sataøen 2015). Major universities differentiated themselves using unique logos and emblems, while others highlighted their architecture, mascot, colors and merchandise as branding artefacts (Drori, Delmestri and Oberg 2013). Similarly, internal branding was pertinent in the rebranding process in universities because it allowed the internal community to partake in the brand management strategy. Many higher education institutions used Harvard and Oxford universities as the gold standard to be emulated (Mampaey and Huisman 2016). Successful internal branding required continuous internal consultation and engagement, sustained launching of the brand and consensus among the administrators (Clark, Chapleo and Suomi 2019). Branding was a serious undertaking in the contemporary higher education institutions.
Branding has been evidenced to deliver several benefits to institutions of higher learning and associated organizations. A study by Wong, Tong and Wong (2017) revealed that the teaching quality significantly influenced institutional branding positively, which, in turn, elevated the students’ satisfaction. Similarly, Hemsley-Brown, Melewar, Nguyen and Wilson (2016) noted that in the United Kingdom, marketization had led to the ranking of universities to position them to attract international students and funding. Already, Duffy and Pooley (2017) revealed that academic websites, such as adademia.edu, had leveraged self-branding and social media to gain popularity among the higher education community. However, Amzat (2016) noted that excellence in universities persuaded students to choose between different institutions and branding brought out these achievements to the public. Sometimes, external partners demanded too much and misused the university brand, which challenged the brand management strategy. Besides, universities often lacked a cohesive brand identity die to fragmentation of the brand management strategy across departments and faculties.
3.0 Investigative Approach and Methods
This study is anchored by pragmatism as the social research philosophical underpinning, which explains the research design, methodology and methods. Pragmatism views reality as practical outcome of ideas, whose external character is embodied in the dynamic processes, practices and experiences (Thornhill, Saunders and Lewis 2013). Epistemologically, this study seeks the practical meaning of knowledge in the healthcare training context. The study focuses on the problem of students’ admission rates and profitability of healthcare training institutions in Singapore and social branding as a possible solution. Therefore, an explanatory design combining qualitative and quantitative data will be used in the study. This design is recommended for investigating problems that are poorly understood or lack research evidence (Thornhill, Saunders and Lewis 2013).
Primary and secondary data will be collected in this study. The primary data will comprise of first-hand responses from participants, while the secondary data will be sourced from publications that are available online.
3.1 Primary Data
For primary data, clustered random sampling will be used to recruit participants for the study. The clusters include healthcare education institution administrators, students and the public. This clustering ensures that participants that represent the key stakeholders and groups of interest in the research problem are included in the sample. Administrators and students will be drawn from healthcare training institutions in all levels, including universities, colleges, medical schools and polytechnics across Singapore. Ten participants will be randomly sampled for each cluster to create a sample size of 30 participants.
Primary data will be collected using questionnaires that will be administered to the participants. A sample of the questionnaire that will be used in the study is presented in appendix 1. The questionnaire comprises of two sections. The first section will capture the demographic data of the participants such as the age, sex, cluster, education level, and so on. Closed-ended questions will be posed in this section and participants will be required to choose the response that suits them the most. The second section will gather the perceptions, opinions and experiences related to the use of social branding in marketing healthcare training institutions in Singapore. Some of items will be closed-ended while others will be open ended, to allow the participants to express themselves and provide additional details from an individual and personal perspective.
The data will be cleaned, coded and entered into computer software (SPSS) for analysis. The data will be categorized in variables. The independent variable is admission rate of students in the healthcare training institution. The dependent variables include social branding usage (separate into the different social media platforms), public awareness, and change in institutional services. Descriptive analysis such as means, frequencies and percentages will be determined using the software. In addition, the relationships between variables will be determined using the spearman rand-order correlation statistic. This correlation coefficient is preferred for ordinal variables that are represented by the primary and some secondary data. The hypotheses will be tested using the one-way and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests, such as Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) and eta squared to measure effect size. The significant level (p value) for all statistical tests will be set at p=0.05 or 95% confidence level. The null hypotheses that reveal a significant relation between the variables (p < 0.05) will be rejected, while those with an insignificant relationship (p > 0.05) will be accepted.
3.2 Secondary data
For secondary data, 10 publications and archival documents will be sampled purposively using criteria based on relevance, currency, reliability and credibility. Institutional publications, such as annual reports, that contain information related to marketing, profitability and student admission rates will be selected. For the publications that will be sourced online, keywords such as social marketing in higher education, social branding in higher education, social branding in healthcare education institutions, and institutional social branding in Singapore among many others will be used to search over Google Scholar.
The publications will be perused for vital information that can be used to answer the research question. Thematic analysis will be used to retrieved and collate the main themes and subthemes emerging from the publications. In addition, relevant secondary quantitative data such as admission rates, social branding budgets or expenditures, proportion of social branding in the marketing strategy of healthcare training institutions in Singapore will be extracted from the publications. The quantitative data will be analyzed along with the primary data collected using the questionnaires.
4.0 Ethical Issues
Studies evoke various ethical concerns that need to be addressed to maintain research integrity. This study raises ethical issues related to informed consent of participants and training institutions, confidentiality, privacy and anonymity, and data security. Moreover, safety and health risks arise because of the involvement f human participants in the study.
This study will adhere to high standards of ethical research conduct stipulated in Code of Good Research Practice of University of Roehampton. The participating organizations, including universities, colleges, medical schools and polytechnics will permit the researcher to engage them and their members in the study. Thereafter, participants will be required to give their consent to participate in the study. However, before they agree to participate, the prospective candidates will be informed about the purpose of the study, their anonymity, the confidentiality of their information and their right to withdraw at any point in the study. Therefore, once the participants are enrolled, their protections, rights and freedoms will be guaranteed in writing. The researcher will be truthful to the participants, and will encourage the respondents to be honest in return. Moreover, the participants will not be exposed to any health and safety risks in the course of the study and their right to participate or decline their participation will be assured. Furthermore, the researcher will use the findings for the intended purposes only, including sharing them with the participating institutions.
5.0 Time Plan and Resources
This study is projected to take 12 weeks. The study activities commence with the approval of the proposal and ends with the submission of the dissertation at the end of the 12th week. The study has limited time and budget, and therefore, the researcher will employ internet communication intensives to save on time and cost. Once this proposal is approved, institutional consent will be sought, along with the formulation of the questionnaire. Also, the recruitment of participants and the piloting of the questionnaire will be undertaken concurrently. Five participants will pilot the questions, and the feedback will be used to refine it before it is administered to the entire sample. These activities should take two weeks before the data collection process commences.
Questionnaire administration, the internet search, data entry and analysis, and report writing are expected to consume most of the study duration as scheduled in table 1.
Table 1. Gantt chart of the study schedule
ActivityTime (week)Month 123456789101112Proposal approval1 Questionnaire formulation and piloting1 Institutional consents Participant selection and approval1 Questionnaire administration3 Internet search4 Data entry and analysis3 Report writing5
The study will require a computer installed with SPSS and connected to the internet. Moreover, communication, travel and printing of the final thesis will also be undertaken. Besides, the data analysis will require a data analyst. As noted earlier, the researcher will be economical with time and finances by relying heavily on communication technologies. As such, travel time and cost will be reserved for the most necessary circumstances such as visiting the healthcare education institutions to obtain consent and collecting archived documents from the institutions. Moreover, the questionnaire will be administered online, saving money and time further. These activities have been itemized and costed in table 2.
Table 2. Study budget
NoItemCost per unitNo of unitsAmount (SGD)1Telephone 1502Travel 2003Internet costs50 per month31504Data analysis150 per hour57505Report printing 1406Contingencies 75 Total 1465
Appendices
Appendix 1: Sample Questionnaire
Section A:
Age:18-29 years [ ]30-39 [ ]40-49 [ ]50-59 [ ]60 and over [ ]GenderMale [ ]Female [ ]Which kind of healthcare training institution are you affiliatedUniversity [ ]College [ ]Polytechnic [ ]medical school [ ]nursing school [ ]Relation to the healthcare training institutionAdministrator [ ]Student [ ]Public [ ]
Section B
Does the institution have a marketing strategyDoes the institution use social media marketingWhich social media platforms does the institution useFor how long has the institution used social media marketing
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Gordon, R, Zainuddin, N & Magee, C 2016, ‘Unlocking the potential of branding in social marketing services: Utilising brand personality and brand personality appeal’, Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 48-62.
Hemsley-Brown, J, Melewar, TC, Nguyen, B & Wilson, EJ 2016, ‘Exploring brand identity, meaning, image, and reputation (BIMIR) in higher education: A special section’, pp. 3019-3022.
Holt, D 2016, ‘Branding in the age of social media’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 94, no. 3, pp.40-50.
Khamis, S, Ang, L & Welling, R 2017, ‘Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the rise of social media influencers’, Celebrity Studies, vol. 8, no. 2, pp.191-208.
Kohli, C, Suri, R & Kapoor, A 2015, ‘Will social media kill branding?’ Business Horizons, vol. 58, no. 1, pp.35-44.
Kozinets, R.V., 2014. Social brand engagement: A new idea. GfK Marketing Intelligence Review, 6(2), pp.8-15.
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Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
Despite the degree of similarities in humans, cultural differences appear to be more widespread than cultural universals. For instance, while all cultures possess language, the analysis of distinct conversational etiquette and language structures reveals significant differences. North Americans tend to maintain a bigger personal space and greater distance (Secord, 2015). Middle Eastern cultures tend to keep close range while conversing. Even simple things such as drinking and eating vary significantly from one culture to the other. However, it would be imperative to commence by defining the pertinent terms. As outlined by (Bennett, 2015), culture describes the knowledge and characteristics of a distinct group of people, religion, encompassing language, social habits, cuisine, arts, and music. Culture represents the adhesive that binds individuals and groups together in societies. It includes the symbols, norms, and values, as well as other aspects of life. Subsequently, people interact with different cultures through two main ways: cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism describes the belief that an individual’s ethnic group or race is the most significant or that all or some characteristics of its culture are superior to those of the rest of the groups (Zechenter, 2018). On its part, cultural relativism refers to the belief that the values and concepts of a culture cannot be wholly translated into, or completely understood, in other dialects; that a particular cultural artifact, for instance, ritual, has to be comprehended in terms of the more significant symbolic structure of which it is a component. Cultural relativism is the most viable approach to understanding one’s and other people’s cultures.
Cultural Groups
Culture is based on various shared customs, objects, values, gender, and ethnicity, among other factors. Subsequently, some cultures place considerable value on things like ceremonial jewelry, artifacts, or clothing. Therefore, it is difficult to base one’s view of cultural belonging on a single aspect (Roberson, Ryan, & Ragins, 2017). For instance, the Christmas tree could be perceived as a cultural or ceremonial object, depending on the culture. I regard myself as belonging to the Western culture. The justification is that I possess some of the characteristics that ostensibly define that particular cultural group. As Bennett (2015) writes, the Western culture is recognizable by a host of philosophic artistic, legal, and literary traditions and themes; a heritage of German, Celtic, Slavic, Jewish, Latin, Hellenic, and other linguistic and ethnic groups, as well as the distinct religion of Christianity that played an integral role in molding Western civilization from the fourth century. My political thought, rational argument that favors freethought, democracy, the need for human rights, and the assimilation of human rights, as well as the English language, offer me justification for belonging to the Western culture (Hollman, 2017). Besides, my heritage spans a significant background of constant rationalism passed on from one generation to the next. I believe in the principle of universalism, which hypothesizes that there exists an underlying human unity that entitles all people, regardless of their regional or cultural antecedents, to particular fundamental minimal rights, referred to as human rights (Zechenter, 2018). The Western culture is known for propagating such thought.
My primary influence in determining my cultural group is the overall appeal to the betterment of life through innovation and universalism, as well as the concepts of democracy and up0holding human rights. The Western culture is famed for its embrace of democracy and propagation of the same (Secord, 2015); I see myself as somebody who desires to help accomplish a world worse population is free to make choices ranging from political, socioeconomic, to overall life decisions. My inspiration also lies behind the reality that Western culture is innovative and, instead of attempting to protect traditions, learns from, and influences others.
Cultural Norms
Throughout history, the norms of the Western culture have been derived from prevalent employment of logical argument favoring freethought, political thought, the need for democracy, equality, and the assimilation of human rights (Hollman, 2017). One of the most important norms of Western culture is independent, rational thinking. When one reasons, he can adopt, adapt, and eventually influence other cultures. Besides, the political pluralism of Western culture has contributed to the enlightenment and space for democracy. The choice of religion is open for individuals to make and architecture; story-telling, visual arts, music, and dance represent human universals that individuals can express in various ways.
Characteristics and Representations of the Culture
Western culture varies depending on the specific part of the country or continent where an individual resides. For example, a Californian is different from a New Yorker and different from a Georgian. While there are various overall characteristics, there are also distinct traits, implying that it would be irrational to judge an entire group using blanket features (Zechenter, 2018). Western culture is personified by various traditions and customs that cut across the spheres of art, music, dance, and traditions. Western or country-dance encompasses a variety of dance styles or forms that vary from one country to another. In Texas, country dancing is known as “kicker dancing,” and is in response to stylistic western music (Bennett, 2015). On its part, Western art mostly describes the art from Western Europe, although it is an overall term for art forms that are now widespread geographically but with roots in Europe.
Western culture has various holidays and traditions that define people’s beliefs and customs at different times. For instance, trick-or-treat is a popular tradition of the Halloween holiday celebrated in October (Bennett, 2015). The tradition was started approximately 2,000 years ago by the Celts in present Ireland, northern France, and the United Kingdom. The underlying belief was that the departed souls returned to the world on Samhain. The Western-style of dressing borrows from the 19th-century style of Wild West dressing. AT present, the dressing style can be very informal, with blue jeans and a t-shirt form an elementary ensemble. Similarly, it might comprise tailored formal garments characterized by western accents.
Personal Perspectives
The way customs and traditions vary across cultures is a source of fascination for people. For instance, some travelers could return home feeling appreciative of their native fare (Hollman, 2017). Often, individuals in the United States show disgust at the cuisines of other cultures and think that it is uncultured to eat meat from a guinea pig or a dog, for example, while failing to question their habit of eating pigs or cows. Such attitudes depict ethnocentrism, which is the assessment and judging of other cultures based on how they match up to their cultural norms. They believe their culture is better than that of others and, therefore, ought to act as the threshold or reference standard (Zechenter, 2018). Almost everyone possesses some form of ethnocentrism. For instance, it is common for individuals from the U.S. to say that those from the United Kingdom drive on the wrong side, without considering the UK’s perspective.
On the other hand, cultural relativism involves evaluating a culture based on its standard, as opposed to perceiving it via one’s cultural lens (Zechenter, 2018). Cultural relativism demands an open mind and the willingness to consider and possibly adapt to new norms and values. However, it is not always possible to embrace everything regarding a new culture indiscriminately. It is difficult to reconcile all aspects of one’s own culture with those of others. I have been judged ethnocentrically during a meal I was invited to in a Thai restaurant. Because I was not used to chopsticks, I resorted to using a fork. I could see the revelers staring at me from their tables, probably wondering why I could not use a chopstick.
Culture provides the glue that joins individuals together within society. It is inclusive of symbols, norms, values, norms, traditions, and customs, among other aspects. The features could be shared or distinct. Humans tend to counter different cultures through two distinct approaches, which are cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism hypothesizes that individuals tend to assess and judge other cultures using their own culture as the reference point or threshold. They believe that their culture is superior to all the others and that the rest ought to adapt to their lifestyle. Cultural relativism, on its part, assesses and judges a culture based on its distinct features as opposed to forming a threshold. While ethnocentrism is present in virtually everybody, cultural relativism presents the best approach to assess other people’s cultures because it is not prejudiced.
References
Bennett, T. (2015). Cultural studies and the culture concept. Cultural Studies, 29(4), 546-568.
Hollman, J. (2017). The power of diversity: Multiple generations working together. Printing Industries of America, the Magazine, 9(4), 2-3. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/
Roberson, Q., Ryan, A., & Ragins, B. (2017). The evolution and future of diversity at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 483-499.
Secord, R. (2015). Managing cultural diversity. Leadership Excellence Essentials, 32(9), 24. Retrieved from https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/air-conditioner-sizing-rules-of-thumb-must-die
Zechenter, E. (2018). In the name of culture: Cultural relativism and the abuse of the individual. Journal of anthropological research, 53(3), 319-347. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-eth/
Unemployment Normalization
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Unemployment Normalization
Thill and Houssemand authored the article, ‘Unemployment normalization: Its effect on mental health during various stages of unemployment’, which was published in the Psychological Reports journal in 2019. The study investigated the coping mechanisms used by unemployed people to ward off mental health complication. The findings revealed that negative perceptions on unemployment influenced mental health of unemployed individuals differently over time. Positive unemployment perceptions neutralized the negative mental health effects in the first year after individuals lost their jobs. Thereafter, the unemployment norm cushioned the individuals against the ramifications on their mental wellness. The study proved that various coping mechanisms buffered individuals against the adverse mental health consequences of unemployment. This analysis assesses the methodological characteristics of the study in this paper and their impact on the findings, interpretations and conclusions.
Research design, methodological and method soundness
The research design is sound for answering the research questions that cannot be addressed under experimental conditions. In this regard, qualitative research is used to investigate a phenomenon occurring in its natural settings. Moreover, the knowledge and truth being sought resides inside individuals that are immersed into the phenomenon. As such, the participants are the critical source of the data needed to address the aims of and questions in the study. The soundness of the methodological approach used in the study comes from the choice of participants, data collection tools and statistical techniques. For instance, participants who were experiencing the unemployment phenomenon were relevant to the study. The techniques and tools chosen for the study were appropriate, making the method to be sound. Specifically, questionnaires were appropriate in collecting information from participants. Moreover, ANOVA, chi-square and eta-square are well-established statistical techniques for assessing the relationship between variables.
However, the theoretical basis of the methodology is omitted. Therefore, the justification of the research design and methods is difficult. Flick (2018) argued that the methodology needed to be grounded in sound philosophy and theory to inform the design and methods of a study. To this extent, the methodology soundness of the study is compromised because it lacks the philosophical and theoretical underpinning.
Answer to questions
Is the study replicable?
The replicability of the study depends on the information presented in the study. Some aspects in this paper facilitate replicability, while others hinder it. On one hand, the simple, straight forward processes described by the researcher facilitate the replicability of the study. The procedures are can be followed easily by other researchers. However, the absence of description of the statistical analysis methods used would hinder the replication of the data analysis. McShane & Böckenholt (2017) noted that the details included in a study report influenced its replicability. This study contains sufficient details that are straightforward along with employing well-established and widely-used data-collection and data-analysis approaches. To that extent, the study is replicable.
Are the appropriate analytical techniques applied to the data collected?
The statistical tests used in this study included chi-square (χ2), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and eta-squared (η2). Moreover, p-values and alpha (α) describe the significance levels of the statistics in the study. The significance levels of the tests is set at 5% and 1%, thus giving p=values of 0.05 and 0.01, respectively. Prajapati, Dunne and Armstrong (2010) argued that determining the significance of relationships was not adequate; the strength of the relationships needed to be assessed using parametric and non-parametric tests. In this case, eta-squared tests the strength of a relationship.
The p-values of the ANOVA tests dictate whether the hypotheses of the study should be rejected or accepted. The p-values help decide whether to reject a null hypotheses of not (Tomczak & Tomczak, 2014). However, in interpreting these values, care should be taken not to make Type I or II errors. As such, to the extent that post-hoc such as the eta-squared has been used in the analysis, the chances of Type I or II errors are minimized, making the analytical tests appropriate for the data collected.
Are the conclusions and/or implications correctly derived from the research finding?
The results are derived correctly from the research findings. The conclusions answer the hypotheses set at the beginning of the study. The conclusions are based on the results of the hypothesis tests performed using statistical techniques. The rigorous data analysis facilitated the arrival to correct conclusions and implications. Hennink, Hutter and Bailey (2020) argued that correct conclusions resulted from adequate and appropriate data analysis.
Moreover, the study tested the unemployment normalization model. In this respect, the conclusions of the study were related to the findings on the normalization process reported in this paper. Moreover, the theoretical implications are related to the theory testing approach adopted by the study.
Are the results correctly interpreted?
The results of the study are interpreted correctly. The interpretations are cognizant of the limitations of the study and therefore, avoid declaring findings as facts, but rather are logical conclusions based on the information availed from the study. The study clearly states the limitations, which is important in informing the level of generalization that can be done using the findings. To this end, the paper has avoided making unrealistic generalizations that cannot be evidenced by the findings.
Subjects: Is the description of participants adequate? Is the method of selection clear?
The participants are described as active job-seekers. Their demographics, including gender, age, unemployment duration, and nationality, are captured. However, information about the educational levels, history of mental health, and skill sets was not captured. Moreover, it is not clear whether the employment history of the participants is in public or private sector, even though they were contacted from Public Employment Services bureaus. Likewise, the participants’ field of expertise is not divulged. Therefore, the attributes describing the participants were inadequate because they ignored some significant aspects that influenced perspectives and coping mechanisms if an individual.
Although the location from where the participants were recruited was identified, the selection criteria for participants were not disclosed. Therefore, it is not possible to determine whether the participants were selected purposively or randomly. As such, the level of bias in the sample and their responses is difficult to ascertain. This is likely to introduce biases in the findings of the study.
Is the research design (sample, procedure, measures etc.) appropriate for the problem studied?
The research design is appropriate for the problem addressed in the study. The study focused on perceptions of unemployed people, which are best elucidated by self-reporting approaches. In this regard, the qualitative research is appropriate compared to quantitative analysis, which often requires experimental conditions in which different treatments can be administered. Qualitative research delivers diverse and in-depth understanding of phenomena such as perceptions.
The participants used in the study are relevant because they are active jobseekers. This target population was accessed from employment bureaus associated to Public Employment Services.
Materials: Is there any description of tests, questionnaires, etc.? Is there any description of any equipment (when applicable)?
The two questionnaires used in the study are described adequately, although they are not attached to the paper. Specifically, the Unemployment Normalization Questionnaire (UNQ) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were used in the study. The two data collection tools are standardized instruments that have been widely used to collect unemployment and health-related perceptions. Moreover, the nature of information that was collected by the questionnaires is described sufficiently. For instance, GHQ collects perceptions related to depression, unhappiness, hopelessness and strain, along with other feelings that individuals have difficulties confronting (Thill, Houssemand, & Pignault, 2019). However although the variables captured by the questionnaires are explained, the individual items addressing these variables are not disclosed as a sample questionnaire is not attached.
No tests were conducted on the participants, and thus, no test descriptions were required in this aspect. Nonetheless, the data collected using the questionnaires were analyzed through various statistical tests. Moreover, three hypotheses were presented for testing. However, the tests performed on the data that was collected are not identified and described in the method section. Apart from interfering with the readability of the paper, the absence of descriptions of the analytical tests hindered the replicability of the study.
The means of administering the questionnaire were not disclosed. Therefore, the equipment used to administer the questionnaires was not disclosed. Specifically, it is not clear whether the questionnaires were delivered as physical papers or soft copies, or whether the tool was administered physically or online. Similarly, whether a manual or computer-assisted data analysis was used is not disclosed. There is no description of any data analyzing equipment ,
Analyses: Is there any description of the arrangement and grouping of the data? Are the statistical data listed in order of use?
Although the data analysis techniques and tests are mentioned in the paper, they are not described to sufficient detail, as noted earlier. Moreover, while the arrangement and groupings of the data are implicated in the questionnaires, and evident in the results, they are not described sufficiently. The result section has subheadings demarcating different the findings on the different variables in the study. The themes addressed in the data groups are mental health, normalization and unemployment. However, the data is listed according to their use in the study. For instance, the chi-square tests are followed by significance tests and post-hoc tests to facilitate the correct rejecting or accepting of the hypothesis to avoid Type I and II errors (Tomczak & Tomczak, 2014).
Alternative methodology
Although the qualitative research should be maintained, a longitudinal design using regular interviews and questionnaires would improve the quality of the study. Longitudinal studies track participants over time to reveal the time-dependent effects of perspectives and attitudes in pragmatic contexts. The unemployment normalization process is a time-dependent phenomenon that unfolds over time though the different states of unemployment. Longitudinal studies improve the accuracy of the information related to coping mechanisms during different stages of unemployment. Harris and Orth (2019) advocated the longitudinal design for studies involving self-esteem and social relationships because of the variation across the lifespan. In the same token, unemployment normalizations progresses over a timespan and thus, can be studies using time-sensitive study designs such as the longitudinal approach.
References
Flick, U. (2018). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Limited.
Harris, M. A., & Orth, U. (2019). The link between self-esteem and social relationships: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1-19.
Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2020). Qualitative Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Limited.
McShane, B. B., & Böckenholt, U. (2017). Single-paper meta-analysis: Benefits for study summary, theory testing, and replicability. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(6), 1048-1063.
Prajapati, B., Dunne, M., & Armstrong, R. (2010). Sample size estimation and statistical power analyses. Optometry Today, 16(7), 10-18.
Primasari, D., & Abriani, N. (2019). The implementation of e-commerce system by the theoretical approach of technology acceptance model: An empirical study in Banyumas, Indonesia. Economy Transdisciplinarity Cognition, 22(1), 89-94.
Thill, S., Houssemand, C., & Pignault, A. (2019). Unemployment normalization: Its effect on mental health during various stages of unemployment. Psychological Reports, 122(5), 1600-1617.
Tomczak, M., & Tomczak, E. (2014). The need to report effect size estimates revisited. An overview of some recommended measures of effect size. Trends in Sport Science, 1(21), 19-25.
Wahyuni, D. (2012). The research design maze: Understanding paradigms, cases, methods and methodologies. Journal of Applied Management Accounting Research, 10(1), 69-80.
Coca-Cola Company: Sustainability and Social Corporate Responsibility
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Executive Summary
Despite being used interchangeably, sustainability and corporate social responsibility are distinct terms in the business world. Companies have the legal obligation to perform certain socioeconomic and environmental activities, but in contemporary society, they perform the activities for aspects beyond the stated ones. Coca Cola Company is one of the model multinationals that has succeeded in portraying exemplary sustainability and CSR efforts globally, subsequently achieving significant profit margins in the short term and sustainability in the long run. The company has incorporated a corporate strategy that blends well with its business strategy to ensure accountability, good corporate citizenship, good public reputation, and trust and goodwill among employees and stockholders. Through stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement and evolution, the company will remain a dominant player in the global food and beverage market in the next decade.
Coca-Cola Company: Sustainability and Social Corporate Responsibility
For most companies with global recognition, treating the environment appropriately in terms of recycling and replenishment is an essential business practice and influences image, and it is mirrored in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Besides, not only is it considered socially responsible practice, it symbolizes good business. As outlined by Rezaee (2019), it is important to balance the short-term goals of high-profit margins for stakeholders with the longer-term sustainability goals of becoming responsible corporate citizens by giving back to the surrounding communities. Akin to other multinational corporations, for success, Coca-Cola adopts business and corporate strategies that encompass all aspects of the organization and community, which will be discussed further in the subsequent sections. However, it is essential to distinguish sustainability from CSR. CSR possesses a fluid definition that varies across diverse corporation programs that benefit communities. According to Długopolska-Mikonowicz, Przytuła, and Stehr (2018), CSR describes any action that a corporation undertakes to benefit the partnership between its business entity and the community, as well as to make a positive contribution within the community through engagement, volunteerism, and financial support. CSR describes a business making efforts to excel in its environs through conducting itself responsibly.
On the other hand, while environmental sustainability usually forms a component of CSR concentrating on ecological concerns and government stipulations, actual CSR is broad. For many multinational corporations (MNCs), treating the surrounding environments appropriately is significant, and the value is typically reflected in their CSR programmers (Ciafone, 2019). More so, CSR assists companies in portraying a particular perspective of their business’ accountability to a broad range of stakeholders aside from the normal investors and shareholders. The principal regions of interest for CSR include safeguarding the welfare of staff, surroundings, culture, and community, at present and in the future. The idea of CSR depends on the notion that corporations cannot operate as isolated economic entities in wholesome communities that are distinct from society. Conventional perspectives of the success, competitiveness, growth, and success of MNCs in a globalized economic space no longer exist.
Literature Review
Background and Overview
As per the literature on CSR, there two distinct definitions: the conventional and contemporary approaches. As outlined by Fordham and Robinson (2018), the traditional approach essentially covered the definitions prior to 1990 when most individuals perceived CSR as a specific duty. In that prior era, for instance, most companies perceived CSR as a component of the law of contract. However, in recent times, CSR has been seen to emphasize context-specific programs that address stakeholders’ expectations and social, environmental, and economic performance (Torkornoo & Dzigbede, 2017). CSR generates opportunities for MNCs to incorporate strategic decisions regarding environmental protection and socio-economic development into their business models to diminish the negative implications of profit-making endeavors within local milieus. Over the past few decades, CSR has elicited both skepticism and support in varying measures among scholars. On one side, supporters of CSR state that it offers a balance between balance and responsibility corrects most social problems associated with business undertakings, elevates the public reputation and image of corporations, and guarantees profits and sustainability in the long run (Torkornoo & Dzigbede, 2017; Długopolska-Mikonowicz, Przytuła, & Stehr, 2018). In the past, the adverse effects of corporate activities on their societies meant businesses were enjoying so much power at the expense of the society’s socioeconomic and environmental detriments.
However, the other side of the divide contends that CSR is a necessary initiative regardless of the prevailing governmental regulations or perceptions by stockholders and other investors (Długopolska-Mikonowicz, Przytuła, & Stehr, 2018). Besides, CSR has been noted as a factor in enhancing long-term profits through promoting social betterment, generating goodwill and trust n society, promoting public image and dignity, and extending beyond the traditional tenets of legal, technical, and economic requirements. Besides, CSR can apply a combination of agency, economic, and institutional variables to achieve long-run profits, thereby satisfying both the socioeconomic needs of the surroundings and the profit intentions of the investors. Therefore, a company that embraces CSR effectively becomes profitable in the short run and sustainable in the future.
Importance of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility
The significance of sustainability and CSR for corporations around the globe cannot be understated. Despite the legal requirements for CSR being minimal, MNCs perceive it as a good practice because it takes into account pertinent issues of socioeconomic and environmental nature that make them more appealing (Tunaiji, 2019). Today, most consumers expect corporations to behave in a certain manner that aligns with the communities’ ideals. In other words, the consumers, who are among the main stakeholders, desire to be associated with companies that are seen to be conscious of the communities’ challenges. Besides, most companies report CSR activities in their annual Sustainability Reports with the objective of reassuring all stakeholders that they are accountable for their actions. As Shankar et al. (2018) write, CSR forges corporate reputation for MNCs because it emerges as an attempt to account for business transgressions while simultaneously building relationships with the society and achieving set business objectives. Similarly, Shankar et al. (2018) established that CSR activities assist a company in fostering trust among staff. Corporations that maximize CSR initiatives make the employees aware of them. Further, organizational managers ought to adopt such initiatives that possess high salience among potential or current employees to ensure their benefits are positively influencing the employees, stakeholders, and the business. The investors gain from the high profitability and the high brand reputation cultivated using CSR.
Consequently, such CSR activities include training where the workforce undergoes a series of coordinated learning forums and social welfare activities in surrounding regions. Corporations that manage to balance business objectives and corporate citizenship tend to be more sustainable in the long run (Shankar et al., 2018). From investors’ perspectives, a sustainable company is worth investing in more.
Coca-Cola Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility
Coca-Cola has effectively undertaken all the variables of CSR, which is evident from its statement of undertaking business sustainably “to make a difference in people’s lives, communities and our planet by doing business the right way” (Tunaiji, 2019). The company has a strong presence globally and serves a diversified assortment of brands in the canned and bottled soft drinks category, purified water, and carbonated water within the foods and beverages industry. Serving in more than 200 countries worldwide, CSR remains an essential aspect in each of the corporation’s business spokes. The corporation accounts for roughly 3.3 percent of the industry share, followed closely by PepsiCo’s 2.6 percent share (Torkornoo & Dzigbede, 2017). Whereas Coca Cola is intent on maximizing returns for its stockholders, its practices demonstrate that it is also convinced about maintaining a robust CSR program, which it reports annually through its Sustainability Reports. The reports typically describe an overview of the current CSR and sustainability endeavors, usually provided in metrics and graphic forms, and mapping of projected plans for the future. For example, the 2018 Coca Cola Sustainability Report demonstrates to stakeholders its current sustainability activities, its immediate successes, and failures, as well as projections for the future.
Sustainability presents an essential component of the global operations of the corporation. As outlined, its annual sustainability reports portray its strong efforts within local community development, human development, and environmental protection, particularly in the developing economies (The Coca Cola Company, 2018). However, as Torkornoo and Dzigbede (2017) write, it is important to note that sustainability reports for companies might differ because of the divergence in sustainability themes. Using a text-based analysis approach for studying corporate sustainability reports, it is evident that Coca Cola’s sustainability is based on the key phrases of human development, health and safety, community welfare, job creation, education, and biodiversity (Coca Cola Enterprises, 2016; The Coca Cola Company, 2018; Hamilton, 2015). As per a study by Torkornoo and Dzigbede (2017), it emerged that Coca Cola emphasizes major on sustainability, with the core themes being the development and engagement of the local community. The findings indicated that its main rival, PepsiCo, is also concerned about identical themes, but the frequency differs. The frequency of a distinct theme contained in a corporation’s annual sustainability report is analyzed based on its text outputs, which subsequently mirrors the company’s core themes.
Consequently, Coca Cola’s annual sustainability reports demonstrate its contributions towards emergent community needs in development and community engagement. Its Golden Triangle Initiative represents the overall program that depends on partnerships between civil society, business, and government, encompassing multiple projects and programs in local communities where it operates across the globe (Torkornoo & Dzigbede, 2017). In its 2018 annual sustainability report, the company explicitly mentioned local community support, growth opportunities, watershed protection, recycling, education, access to clean water and sanitation, and arts and culture as a core part of its CSR (The Coca Cola Company, 2018). Besides, the corporation listed economic impacts of its CSR activities within the local communities as growth opportunities, value and revenue for clients, community investment, women empowerment, and creation of employment opportunities. The entities are recorded in a chart the company calls the “shared opportunity system diagram” (The Coca Cola Company, 2018).
Figure 1: Coca Cola’s shared opportunity system diagram Adapted from The Coca Cola Company (2018)
In addition, Coca Cola has clearly laid out a sustainable approach that tells stakeholders what the company aims to accomplish, including the operational and sustainability objectives, through a concerted effort. The company continuously sets ambitious goals because of the increasingly competitive beverage industry, stakeholder expectations, and the determination to remain dominant (Hamilton, 2015). Essentially, the company has an Enterprise Risk Management team that identifies issues affecting the local communities through data collection to enable evidence-based solutions for business and community problems. Beyond the team, there is a Stakeholder Engagement function tasked with collaborating with bottling partners, business divisions, local communities, and non-governmental organizations across all locations of operation (The Coca Cola Company, 2018). Besides, on analyzing Coca Cola’s priority issues matrix, it emerges that governance, social, and environmental issues are most important (see figure 2 below). The matrix assists the managers in developing corporate and business strategies that, in turn, guide its growth, evolution, and reporting about its sustainability and business undertakings.
Figure 2: Coca Cola’s priority issue matrix Adapted from The Coca Cola Company (2018)
In addition, Coca Cola remains one of the most notable MNCs in sustainability because of its successful use of communication. Besides its press releases and annual reports, Coca Cola ensures consistency of information through its local hubs for regular, meaningful communication (The Coca Cola Company, 2018). The company has committed itself to respect divergent values and views, use open disclosure and communication, accept inclusivity, and promote accountability and transparency. Using these outlined techniques, it is able to reach all stakeholders and inform them of pertinent business and corporate strategies, programs, and initiatives, as well as gather information for strategic planning.
Overview of Coca Cola’s Sustainability and CSR in Five Years
Based on the text-based analysis of the recent sustainability report by the company and the commitment communicated through the pronunciations of James Quincey, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, it is indicative that the company will enhance its efforts in promoting sustainability through CSR activities. Specifically, in 2020, the CEO stated that “We are pleased with our progress against some of our goals while recognizing that more needs to be done in other areas. We will continue to take action and grow our business the right way—not the easy way” (The Coca Cola Company, 2020). The company has acknowledged that the planet is significant, which means that it intends its efforts to conserve it by creating a better and more shared future. Additionally, the corporation intends to make a difference in the lives of humans and the communities through improving business practice. With the increasingly competitive market and growth of awareness regarding good corporate citizenship, its benefits for different stakeholders including the company, stakeholders, governments, local communities, and the environment, and the pursuit for long term profits and good public reputation, it is inevitable that the company will intensify its sustainability efforts even as it expands its global coverage.
Additionally, Coca Cola has been known to gather data from the local communities, civil stakeholders, and government agencies to evolve its products. As per a report by CSR Europe, (2018), the company intends to reshape its packaging approach to collect and recycle 100 percent of its packaging material by 2030. Essentially, the implication is that the company will have at least met some significant proportion of the target in the next five years. The company has pledged to invest in the planet, which means reducing garbage and investing more in the conservancy. Coca Cola will cut its water usage significantly by replenishing used water, which will benefit the ecology. In 2015, the company surpassed its objective of replenishing water supply by five years, which is an indicator of its commitment to achieving even greater exploits (CSR Europe, 2018). Similarly, the company will improve its women empowerment initiatives through increased funding and more opportunities at the local levels.
Conclusion
Coca Cola Company is dominant in terms of growth and market share in the foods and beverage industry because of its progressive corporate social responsibility approach. The company has been consistent in formulating its business and corporate strategies, which align with the needs of the local communities such as education, jobs, women empowerment, arts and culture, conservation, and socioeconomic development. It has solid frameworks for collecting and processing data to achieve sustainability outcomes, which are reported in its annual sustainability reports. In the next five years, it is rational to make the assumption that the company will continue to make milestones in sustainability and CSR activities, which is based on a text-based analysis of its most recent reports.
References
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