I Stand Here Ironing

I stand here ironing is a story that tackles numerous societal problems including mother daughter conflicts, gender roles, diligence, personal effects of national economic struggles and the challenges of single parenthood. These themes make the story relevant today as it was during the time of its writingAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on I Stand Here Ironing specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Theme in â€Å"I stand here ironing† The prevailing theme in the book is challenges of single parenthood. Olsen is a single mother who is faced with the task of bringing up a sickly child Emily on her own. Things are further complicated by the fact that she is very young and quite poor – having come from an immigrant Russian family herself. Throughout the book, one cannot help but wonder what would have happened to Emily if her father had been around. Olsen lacked the strength to confront the social workers who re commended the placement of Emily in a sanatorium. Perhaps things would have been different is Emily’s father was around because two people would definitely feel strong enough to challenge the health workers; especially if their instincts went against them. Emily ended up being very happy in the health facility because of her mother’s decision and this may have changed if she was not a single mother. The story illustrates that single parenthood often puts parents in a position where they cannot cater to their children’s needs thus compromising on what they become in the future. Emily’s mother found herself in these difficult circumstances after her partner opted out of the marriage when Emily was less than a year old. Providing for her child on her own made it quite tricky to Olsen so she had to send Emily to relatives (Olsen, 6). These circumstances were somehow beyond Olsen’s control because she had tried all she could to make things work. Eventua lly, she had to accept that she could not be there for her child and subsequently sent her elsewhere. Olsen is filled with lots of self doubt in subsequent parts of her life over her choices concerning Emily and the manner in which she chose to raise this child. Mother daughter conflicts (or parent to child conflicts) are also an important theme in the book. As Olsen narrates the story of raising her first born daughter, one can see the guilt and loss of time that she feels concerning this matter.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The relationship between mother and daughter in this narrative is quite complex thus leading to the negative feelings that Emily has towards Olsen. Emily feels that she missed out on some of the critical factors of growing up. She did not get much attention from her mother and this makes her act out against her and the rest of society. In fact, at th e beginning of the narrative when Olsen receives a call from an external party about Emily needing help, she starts to wonder what the problem was and what she could have done to prevent those problems. In a certain way, Olsen contributed towards Emily’s resentment of her because she did not offer her child stability. Minor signs of affection such as smiles (6) were a virtually unknown to Emily. This relationship between mother and daughter is therefore characterized by continual reflection and bitterness over the past and what could have been done. Emily longs to enjoy a normal life but may feel that too much has been said and done to allow her this (Olsen, 8). Her mother also goes through numerous reflections on the past and realizes that she could have offered her daughter a better life if she had been more knowledgeable or if she had been wiser. This story therefore places the mother daughter conflicts in perspective by illustrating the origin of these problems. Motherhoo d in the story is not presented in the usual romanticized manner that most people have grown accustomed to in that era. The author was bold enough to present a realistic picture devoid of any alterations. It is essentially a story about internal struggles that a mother faces and the need to redefine herself and her understanding of this role as she reflects on the life of her daughter. It shows how members of that society often struggled with selfhood and therefore had to sacrifice some of their other roles in order to meet these perspectives head on. Indeed, this story illustrates how a mother’s love for her children is very real it was. Olsen wishes that she was in a position to give her daughter a better life than the one she lived when she was young. This is the reason why Emily’s mother is filled with regret when she thinks about the choices and the life she accorded her daughter (Olsen, 8). As one goes through the narration, one can evidently see that most of the tough times this family went through were inevitable and that it was nobody’s fault that what happened actually did. Olsen had the best intentions and actually did what she could at those times. Also, as one thinks about Emily, one gets this image of a girl who wanted an ideal parent and this was not possible at the time.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on I Stand Here Ironing specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The poor and strained relationship between this mother and daughter therefore illustrates a deep history between these two individuals. Emily is overwhelmed by her past which was filled with a lack of involvement by her mother and also lack of affection from the same individual. This story shows that when relationships do not look as good in the present, then they have probably been brought on by a series of past incidences and events. All in all, it can be said that the book was responsible for bringi ng out a fresh perspective on motherhood. Stereotypical images of happy American families were challenged through this short story and therefore contributed to an understanding of motherhood as being an immensely personal and unique experience to all individuals. Another emerging theme in the story is the personal effects of national economic downfall. The story’s setting can be traced back to the nineteen thirties during the economic depression. Families all over America had to contend with economic challenges and nowhere were these forces more evident that in the single parent homes. Olsen found it hard to make end meets at such difficult times. The kind of jobs she could secure required her to sacrifice her time away from her family or the things that mattered most to her. This eventually affected her parenting abilities. In fact, the story revealed how the economic history of the country affected lives of Americans personally. The predicaments faced by this young mother w ould have been much less if her external environment had been less harsh. In fact through Olsen’s eyes, it is possible to see the inevitability of certain situations. Life may sometimes be determined by factors that cannot be controlled by specific individuals. In such circumstances, all one can do is try and cope with the challenges rather than resist them and deal with the consequences later. As one reads through the story, one realizes that Olsen was a victim of circumstance. First, she had to abandon the plans that she had for her education. At the tender age of sixteen, Olsten could no longer go to school because her family needed her to make economic contributions to their income. This put Olsen at a serious disadvantage because the lack of education meant minimal access to great economic opportunities and hence a life of poverty (Olen, 4). The fact that her family members were refugees from Russia did not help either because it was this difficult situation that caused them to resort to child labor from their daughter in order to make ends meet. External factors are therefore critical in determining how the lives of individuals eventually play out.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Olsen also got involved in communist centered movements such as the Warehouse union and the Young communist league. She probably got involved because she was a member of the working class. The unfairness and difficulties inherent in the class system were a harsh reality to the young Olsen. Her involvement in these movements was therefore a way of protecting her interests as a working class mother and member of an exploited class. Gender roles are also another important theme in the book. The book was written at a time in America’s history when the feminist movement just started picking up. In this regard, there was a need to highlight the plight of women who were confronted with unfair situations. Olsen was abandoned by her husband and left to fend for her family at an early age (Olsen, 5). It did not matter that both these adults were responsible for bringing Emily to the world; it was a woman who was left to handle the responsibility alone. Indeed the story of Olsen was one that was rarely told in fictional tales at the time. This explains why it became a reference point for explaining how women were often ignored during difficult times. Olsen had been abandoned and had to find a way of coping with poverty. This illustrates that American society at that time was quite tolerant of runaway fathers who do not take responsibility for what they had done. Furthermore, society had not instilled certain social support services such as welfare and the like. This meant that the biting realities of poverty were quite inclined to one gender over the other. Additionally, the image portrayed of women in this story is one of an unfair economical system. Throughout the story, one does not find any description of women who happen to be economically successful. Even the narrator herself appears to hold insignificant jobs in her life. At the time when she is reflecting over her life as a mother, one gets the picture of a stay at home mother who has not gotten an opportu nity to make a substantial contribution to her country’s economy. This could be an illustration of how unfair the system was to them. The issue of persistence in the face of turmoil is also an important theme in the short story. As Olsen thinks about her early life with young Emily, she creates an image of very difficult circumstances. She talks about all the poverty that they had to deal with. Furthermore, she highlights how difficult Emily herself was. She used to complain a lot of times and was never happy with the way they lived. In addition, Olsen was left by her spouse. Some individuals facing such hard times would simply decide to give up and let go of their responsibilities. However, Olsten persisted through all these problems. Eventually, she was able to come out of her difficult predicaments and thus show some optimism for the future. A number of issues crop up as one looks through the life underwent by Emily’s mother. First, she was lonely; at the time of he r spouse’s departures, she had no one to give her support, to share her struggles with or even to look up to but she still overcame this problem (Olsen, 4). Emily’s mother was also very vulnerable. Because of the nature of her background, she was not in a position to stand up for her rights. This was probably why she got convinced by Emily’s father to get involved with him. Her economic situation made her settle for less even when she knew that she deserved better. Conclusion I stand here ironing is a personal and rich piece of literature owing to the fact that its subject matters have not been presented as black or white; they each have their own flaws and inadequacies. However, through the use of theme, readers can identify with their circumstances and hence understand the source of their troubles. Reference Kelly, Joseph, ed. I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen The Seagull Reader Stories. New York: W.W. Norton Company, Inc., 2001. This essay on I Stand Here Ironing was written and submitted by user Connor Bailey to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Brand management Essays

Brand management Essays Brand management Essay Brand management Essay Brand management BY auk022 INTER FLOW COMMUNICATION: Type of Business: Creative media Outdoor agency Services: Consumer research Brand development Branch architecture Corporate identity Communication Audit Creative Concepts TV, Radio Commercial production Print point of sale and Premises Branding 3D Design Photography Film Production Post Production Media Planning and Buying Clients: 7UP Cheetos Pso Ptcl Barclays Skin Care Kisan Singer Mirinda Bubblegummers Maria Claire Free walk Samsung FauJi Fertilizers Lays Kurkure USAids Urban sole G Cross roads Planta Pepsi Adsells: Type of business: Media agency igital printing, outdoor advertising, vehicle graphics activation Warid Engro foods Mc donals UBL Ufone Standard charterd Uniliver Nestle Bank alfalah NIB sank Tetra pack Interwood Makro Total Emaar Wi tribe Etihad Faisal bank Castrol monsanto Zong pso Tapal Honda Coca Cola Telenor Mobilink Metro Dawn Nishat Suzuki Wateen MCB Abbot Maxim Advertising Account Manag ement Creative Media Production Support Services Expertise Department of Health, Govt. of Sindh Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Sindh Department of Information Technology, Govt. of Sindh Department of Zakat Ushr, Govt. of Sindh Department of Works, Govt. Sindh Hyderabad Electric Supply Company Hyderabad Development Authority Distt Govt. Tando Allah Yar. Distrcit Govt. Hyderabad Atomic Energy Commission of Pakistan Bagh-e-Quaid-i-Azam Builders Cantonment Board Clifton Cantonment Board Karachi Cantonment Board Faisal Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Dr. A. Q. Khan Laboratories Enercon Head Quarters Engineers (5 Corps) Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Investment Corporation of Pakistan (ICP) Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation (KESC) Medicine (KIRAN) Karachi Nuclear Power Project (KANUPP) Maritime Security Agency Ministry of Health, Govt. of Pakistan Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Govt. f Pakistan Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) Minis try of Science Technology, Govt. of Pakistan National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) National Institute of Health National University of Modern Languages National Savings Directorate Pakistan Army Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP) National Highways Pakistan Motorway Police Pakistan Post Office Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD) Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) Pakistan Steel Mills Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Peoples Steel Mills Sindh Engineering (Pvt. Limited State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) University of Arid Agriculture Brookes Pharmaceuticals Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited Allama Iqbal Open University Greenwich University (Islamabad) JARA Financing Incorporation (Pvt. ) Limited Ministry of Interior, Govt. of Pakistan Ministry of Finance, Govt. of Pakistan Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (KAMRA) Pakistan Science Foundation Planning Development Division, Govt. of Pakistan IT Telecommunications Division, Govt. of Pakistan Regional Development Finance Corporation Kolson (Slanty) Monga Corporation (Casio) Topnet Internet Services UHU (Sethi International) PARC Makro Cash Carry City District Govt. Karachi Malir Development Authority (MDA) Skin Care Centre Slimmers Club Cosmoderma Clinique Karachi Water Sewerage Board Dominos Pizza Osman Housing (Pvt. ) Ltd. Chapal Builders DawoodEngineerning Technology University Federal Urdu University ORIENT ADVERTISING: Integration communication services Strategic development Creative development Executive and production Media services cover strategy, planning and buying OOH services cover site selection and erecting through Media partner and our outdoor company Printing and btlactivaties through our partners In house facilities Media planning Complete media unit in operation Media buying Largest in Pakistan and 2nd in worldwide Monitoring In house Research Film production Print production Dentonic Sony Haier State life Amreli steels Coca cola Shan Unilever Bank Islamic Dewanfarooque spinning mills Ltd Pakistan oilseed Development Board Bawany sugar mills Loreal Astro Pack PICL National Savings FAST National insurance Company FPCCI SNACK CITY Candy land Bisconni Enshaa NLC As the term Marketing may replace Advertising it is the overall strategy and function of promoting a product or service to the customer. The concept of marketing has changed over time. Previously, people preferred only production and selling as a part of marketing. But as the competition rose, they started valuing product quality, customer relationship, societal responsibilities as well as other supply chain participants. From a societal point of view, marketing is the link between a society’s material requirements and its economic patterns of response. Marketing satisfies these needs and wants through exchange processes and building long-term relationships. . Marketing can be looked at as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, delivering and communicating value to customers, and managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organisation and its shareholders Major concepts related with marketing can be outlined as: a. Studying consumer behavior b. Brand management c. Selling and sales management d. Managing market intermediaries e. Service marketing f. Identifying customer needs, wants, market segment and product positioning g. Distribution logistics and supply chain relationships h. Responsibilities towards society and customer In this proposal, we focus on one of the major aspect of marketing, Brand management. Branding has been around for centuries. The word brand is derived from the Old Norse brandr meaning to burn. Initially, branding was adopted to differentiate one persons cattle from anothers by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animals skin with a hot iron stamp, and was subsequently used in business, marketing and advertising. A brand is the most valuable fixed asset of a Corporation. For any organization to make its identity in the market requires a specific domain name. It helps to get recognized in the market. Brand name gives identity and helps it get recognized differently in the market. A modern example of a brand is Coca Cola, which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company. Similarly, Harley Davidson, Apple, Samsung, Adidas, Nike, Britannia etc. are other examples of brand. According to American Marketing Association (AMA) –â€Å" A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a ombination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition. † BusinessDictionary. com describes brand management as the process of maintaining, improving, and upholding a brand so that the name is associated with positive results. Brand Management is actually the process of maintaining the value of brand and revising any as sociated entities as per the need of situation. It plays a crucial role in the success and failure of the organization. Why is brand an important aspect of modern marketing? The reasons are: 1. Means of identification as a unique name in the market 2. Means of legally protecting the unique features 3. Signal of quality level to customers 4. Base for competitive advantage 5. Increases level of awareness of the brand 6. Customers feel safe to negotiate with registered brands 7. Gives idea about product association 8. Brand is a promise made by the company to customer 9. It serves as a means of advertising 10. It explains what the product is associated with Several companies put their brand names based on different variables. Some name their product on the basis of their owners. Honda motors were named after Soichiro Honda, Harley Davidson motors was found by combined efforts of William S. Harley, Arthur Davidson and Walter Davidson. TATA motors was named after Jamsedji Tata(JRD Tata), Adidas sports wear was named after Adi Dasler and Bajaj auto was named after Jamnalal Bajaj. Some have named the products after the name of places like Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, British Airways, Sanmiguel beer, hamburger named after â€Å"hamburg†, a place in Germany, Hindustan petroleums named after â€Å"Hindustan† meaning India and others. Brand names named after names of animals and birds are Dove soap, Mustang automobiles, Greuhound buses, Panther condoms and others. Brand names has always been an important aspect of marketing strategy. Organizations spend millions searching for a valid name for the organization. They make sure that the names suit to the product or service the company is offering. They too ensure that those names do not collide with brand of other organization. Eg: World Wide Fund (WWF) filed World Wrestling Federation (WWF) a legal suit for keeping a similar name. Due to this world wrestling federation had to change its name. Therefore choosing brand name is a very sensitive decision. For choosing a brand name, an organization has to follow given procedures: 1. Define objectives 2. Generate possible names 3. Screen initial candidates 4. Study the candidate names 5. Properly research final candidate 6. Select the final name Therefore to establish a strong brand, it has to take in consideration the following blocks of brand building: Resonance Resonance Imagery Imagery Feelings Feelings Salience Salience Performance Performance Judgements Judgements Fig: Brand Building Blocks Fig: Brand Building Blocks Salience is the level of awareness regarding the brand to the customers. It checks the ability of a customer to recall and recognize a particular brand or its logo, symbol, name. After the customer’s awareness is identified, it checks the performance of the brand regarding how reliable and durable the brand is. It also checks the serviceability i. e. ease of repairing the product if needed. After the performance is identified, it views the imagery aspect i. e. who uses the brand, conditions of use of the product, brand personality, values etc. It is the way the people think about a brand and is more concerned with intangible aspect. Brand judgments are customer’s personal opinions about the evaluations about the brand that consumers form by combining brand performance and imagery blocks. Customers judge the brand on the basis of quality, credibility and superiority. Another building block is feelings with the brand. They are customer’s emotional responses and reactions towards the brand. It checks what type of feeling they get by the use of the brand like feeling of warmth, fun, security, self respect, excitement status etc. Final brand building is resonance. It is the ultimate relationship with the brand. Resonance is measured in terms of intensity of psychological bond with the brand and the degree of loyalty towards the brand. Positioning aspect of brand In marketing, positioning is the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Brand positioning is at the heart of marketing strategy. It is the act of designing the company’s offers and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the minds of target customers. As the name implies, positioning means finding proper location in the minds of customer. Any company cannot formulate its marketing strategy without positioning its brand in certain aspects. Positioning explains what the brand intends to provide to the customer. It reveals what the product is related to. Brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where, or how, it sits in a particular market. The company has to keep in mind that positioning should be clear, distinct and relevant. For example, Apple and Windows both are well known brand. Consumers are aware that they both are computer brands dealing in entertainment, but Apple stands for style, cool quotient, iPod etc. here as Windows stands for world class operating system, quality etc. Consumer can easily identify point of similarities and points of difference between the two brands. This process of creating point of similarities and points of difference in consumer’s mind is called Brand Positioning. Companies position their brands in different ways so as to create a distinct i mage in the market. They may position it on different bases like low price, high price, size, package, quality, gender, endurance, substitution and many others. Positioning of different brands: 1. Low price brand: Wal-Mart retail store . High price brand: Rolex, Mercedes Benz 3. Quality brand: IBM, Toyota, Motorola 4. Endurance: CEAT tyres, Land rover, Honda 5. Size: Nano car, Slim Motorola mobile 6. Gender: Gillette Razor, Axe perfumes, Fair ; Handsome for men Femine magazine, Avon cosmetics, Fair ; Lovely for women 7. Substitution: Sugar free Natura has placed itself as substitution for sugar and Eveready milk powder for liquid milk Similarly Coca-Cola has positioned as a cold drink useful in summer and there are many feelings associated with it and not only as a mere drink. On the other hand Pepsi has positioned as a cold drink for the young generations and Mountain Dew has presented its image as a drink for adventure loving customers. Sometimes, same positioning does not work out for the company in long run. It has to reposition and revitalize its brand over times either to revive or strengthen its brand. Different marketing strategies, several research plans has to be worked out and sometimes-even management structure has to be changed in order to revalue the brand. There are several Brand reinforcement strategies that the organization can adopt overtime to cope with the changing situations. Some of them are: 1. Maintaining brand consistency: Brands should be able to provide a consistent image to occupy a shelf in the mind of customers. If not, it may fail in the market situation. For example Gateway computers applied various strategies and themes to extend the brand with mergers and portfolios. Due to this, customers confused with its positioning and its stock price reduced from USD100 to USD 3 in 2005. 2. Protecting sources of brand equity: Any organization should know its strength factor. It should identify its major source of brand equity to sustain in the market. At certain times, brand have to revitalize itself since there many forces acting in the market to rule out other brands. Companies might have to adapt to following Brand Revitalization strategies to resurrect itself: 1. Expanding brand awareness: Brand awareness can be expanded through: a) Identify new usage opportunities Charles Revlon introduced nail polish not only as a matter of covering nails but as a match for dress, style sense and beauty. b) Identify completely new ways to use the brand Wrigley’s chewing gum introduced itself as not only a gum but as an alternative for smoking. 2. Improving brand image: Different ways of improving brand images are: a) Repositioning the brand Harley Davidson’s motorbikes were previously believed to be used by rowdies. The riders who rode Harley had some rough like character like long hairs, big muscular arms, and tattoos painted on their bodies and moustache and beards. Those made people perceive that only rowdies rode those motors. Later Harley Davidson relaunched itself as a bike for gentlemen leaving apart its previous image. Similarly Harley encouraged lady riders to take the riders edge by introducing a poster of a lady rider with a tagline –â€Å"I am not a back rest†. b) Changing brand elements Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name (brand element) to KFC (although, it is only short version of the full name) to perceive a healthier image. Also, Federal Express (a courier company) changed its name to FedEx to sound more professional. c) Entering new markets Brunswick Billiards introduced new strategy to pool market to enforce its sales targeting female customers. Initially wives would not approve the purchase of billiard board in their home as it was called a male type of game. Later it introduced elegant designs targeting design conscious women who would now purchase a pool table on aesthetics ground and a showpiece to room. Lets take an example of a company who adopted Brand revitalization strategy to resurrect its brand position after being at height at its low: Lacoste sportswear, founded in France, 1933 became a style icon by selling polo shirt featuring a crocodile logo in it. In 1980, when it was owned by General Mills (cereal makers), it failed to keep up with fashion trends and sales began to drop. Company cut prices and started to sell it to discounter’s like Kmart and Wal-Mart that further damaged brands image. Then in 2002, Robert Siegel, former Levi’s executive was appointed to oversee the brand in United States. He withdrew Lacoste products from all non-luxury stores and discounters. It regenerated its fashion trends by introducing tight fitting shirts for women that raised revenues of women wear from 7% to 33%. It opened own brand boutiques in fashionable shopping areas. Due to this, Lacoste’s US revenues rose more than 280% between 2003 and 2005. There are several challenges to products today sometimes because of the competition and sometimes due to the implementation of wrong product strategy. An organization has to keep in mind the nature of product and suitable marketing strategy. Marketing campaigns has to be launched depending upon what class of customer it is intending to serve, gender of customer, objectives of campaign whether it is market penetration or improving market share or survival mode. Appropriate strategy at the right time invites fortunes and mistimed marketing strategy might backfire the organization. Therefore right plan for the right brand is always critical. Marketing strategies for effective brand building 1. Selecting brand elements like name, logo, symbols, slogans, and packaging. 2. Adopting proper product strategy like achieving a satisfactory level of customers perception towards the quality of the product and relationship marketing 3. Adopting pricing strategy like improving consumers price perception towards the brand and relevant price setting 4. Promotion through marketing communication options and integrating marketing communication programs like advertising, direct selling, public relation, and trade promotion etc. 5. Leveraging secondary associations: brands may be linked to other entities that have their own knowledge structures in the mind of customers. When brands are linked to these entities customers assume that those characteristics that they hold about those entities also may be true with the brand. For example when Adidas brand was endorsed by tennis star Roger Federer (then No. 1 rank), then people who knew Federer as best tennis player also developed similar attitude towards the features of Adidas brand. There are certain strategies for building a strong brand. Some of them are: Licensing: Licensing creates contractual arrangements whereby firms can use names, logos, and characters of other brands to market their brands for some fixed fee. People pay fees to use popular names such as Harry potter, Spider-Man, SpongeBob, Angry Birds or any famous celebrity in their products so that they too gain popularity easily. For example, when you buy a copy of Microsoft Office you are not actually purchasing Officeyou are entering into a license agreement that allows you to use the product under the specified terms and conditions they have outlined in the license agreement. Similarly designer such as Calvin Klein command large royalties for the right to use his name in variety of merchandise. Franchising: A franchise is a license issued to someone to operate a business using a common brand name, a common operating support system and involving the payment of initial and/or ongoing fees. A franchise also offers the franchisee with the ability to capitalize on the know-how and systems that have been proven to be successful. . Small-business owners pay companies for the rights to use their trademarks, services and products in return for support and company guidelines on how to run their particular businesses. Many industries have companies using the franchise model, including food, lodging and business services. For example McDonalds has over 75 percent of its worldwide restaurants independently owned. Business owners can purchase a new or existing restaurant. An initial down payment is required, and the rest of the cost can be financed for up to seven years. During the terms of the franchise agreement, ongoing fees include rent and service fees. It is one of the world’s famous franchises. Some challenges in Brand Management: 1. Brand switching customers 2. Media fragmentation i. e. introduction of several medias for promotion that may lead to increase cost and cluttering of information 3. Increased competition 4. Growing need for customer concern . Sometimes socio-cultural issues also leads to create problems in brand management. For example nudity in advertising are strictly banned in South Asia. Due to this, advertisements of brands of apparels, innerwear, and lingerie may not produce the desired response. 6. Sometimes the brand name themselves may imply different meanings in sever al countries. Some of the global branding Mishaps are presented below: a. When Braniff translated a slogan touting its upholstery, â€Å"Fly Leather†, it came out in Spanish as â€Å"Fly Naked†. b. Coors put its slogan, â€Å"Turn it Loose†, into Spanish, where it was read as â€Å"Suffer from Diarrhea†. c. Chicken magnate Frank Perdue’s line, â€Å"It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken†, sounds much more interesting in Spanish: â€Å"It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate†. d. Why Chevy Nova never sold well in Spanish-speaking countries: No Va means â€Å"It doesn’t go† in Spanish. e. When Pepsi started marketing its product in China, they translated their slogan, â€Å"Pepsi brings you back to life†, pretty literally. The slogan in Chinese meant â€Å"Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From The Grave†. f. When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named the product something that when pronounced sounded like, â€Å"Coca-Cola†. The only problem was that the characters used meant, â€Å"Bite the wax tadpole†. They later changed to set of characters that mean â€Å"Happiness in the mouth†. g. A hair products company, Clairol introduced the â€Å"Mist Stick†, a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that Mist is slang for manure in German. h. When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the United States, with the cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what is inside because most people cant read. i. Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors had to rename its Pajero in Spanish-speaking countries because the term related to masturbation. j. Toyota Motor’s MR2 model dropped the number in France because the combination sounded like a French swearword. Here is a list of Top ten Brands in year 2012 1. Coca-Cola : It’s brand value raised by 9% than last year. Last year too it was Ranked as number one. 2. Apple : Despite Steve Jobs passed by, its brand value rose by 129% from last year. Last year it was at number eight. 3. IBM : It’s brand value rose by 8%. Last year it was at number two. 4. Google : It’s brand value rose by 26%. 5. Microsoft : It’s market value went down by 2%. Last year it was No. 3. 6. GE : General Electric’s brand value rose by 2%. last year, it was No. 5. 7. McDonald : It’s brand value rose by 13% than last year. 8. Intel : It’s brand value increased by 12%. 9. Samsung : It’s brand value rose to 40% from last year. 10. Toyota : It’s brand value rose to 9% from last year. Source: International Business Times. Conclusion In the above-mentioned information, we have seen that brand management is really an essential element in marketing. No company can thrive towards success if it is not able to choose the right branding strategy according to the market situation. Global competition has made it even more complex. Brand name is the one that identifies the company in the market and if not careful, brand name may be solely responsible for causing downfall of the company. I chose this topic, â€Å"Brand Management†, because in my Bachelors Degree, I studied Marketing as my course of specialization in last two semesters. I am very interested in studying marketing because it a dynamic subject and I like studying more about Companies, their Branding Strategies and the easons why they succeded or failed. I am very much interested to do the marketing course in my Masters Degree. This will give me more exposure to the complex business structure and as well as help me guide my career in this field. References Websites www. wikipedia. com www. google. com www. BusinessDictionary. com www. managementstudyguide. com www. wh atis. com www. slideshare. com www. entreprenuer. com www. bigkerbang. com www. internationalbusinesstimes. com Books Strategic Brand Management, Keller, Kevin Lane Fundamentals of Marketing, Agrawal, Dr. Govind Ram

Management Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Strategies - Essay Example The ultimate aim and objective of this report will be to provide leadership/management with actionable levels of engagement that they can pursue as a means of effectively presenting iDesign to the market. Whereas it is true that there are a number of key pitfalls and challenges that are presented with respect to launching any new firm within an already saturated market, the analysis and discussion will keep these relevant difficulties in mind and seek to leverage a better understanding for how management and marketing strategies, if effectively employed, can seek to increase the potential for the brand within the market. The brand will seek to combine a high level of technical innovation and 3D printing capabilities within the nexus of cutting-edge fashion and person style; thereby allowing the individual to custom order that style and designs that they feel best suits their own personal tastes. By focusing on innovation, technology, and sustainability, the brand will help to differentiate itself greatly from the many other offerings that already exist within the bloated and saturated clothing/textile market. As has been noted previously, the brand is unique due to the fact that it directly elicits customer input as a means of creating each unique article of fashion. However, beyond this, the focus and drive towards presenting earth conscious and sustainable products directly to the consumer market without the added worry of ethics and potential sweat shop labor abuse, the firm stands well apart from the many competitors that it seeks to leverage market share from.

Team article review #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Team article review #3 - Essay Example pany, Under Armour, also tried to sign Kevin Durant for the sale of its sneakers, but Nike signed him back first, because if Durant had gone to Under Armour, then a lot of clients of sneakers would have turned to Under Armour. Hence, this all is a game of one competitor thinking about strategies to win over another competitor in business. This is why, this article is very interesting for my team, as it talks about very remarkable strategies that business adopt to earn huge revenues while losing some of it or investing some of it. This is kind of an investment that Nike has done in Kevin Durant, and then, it is also a business deal for Durant as it will benefit him too. Businesses and companies have to move very strategically while thinking about how to attract clients. Making one wrong decision, or taking one wrong step, can lead to disastrous results. Losing Kevin Durant and watching him go to Under Armour would have been a huge setback for Nike, because it would have meant losing c ustomers. The sense of competition and strategic management of business is what caused my team to choose this article. Stock, K. (2014). Nike needs Kevin Durant, even if he cant sell enough shoes. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved November 14, 2014, from

Information Systems In Banking Industry

Information Systems In Banking Industry INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BANKING INDUSTRY Executive Summary: Information systems are extremely vital for the growth and survival of business organizations in todays world. All sectors of the industry are entirely dependent on these for the management of important information and data. Small organizations to large, powerful businesses such as high street banks and central and local government are taking the help of information systems to regulate their data. In this paper, we will discuss the various advantages of the use of information systems in the banking industry. We will thoroughly analyze the requirements of information systems at the various different levels and review the security needs for these purposes. Use and Benefits of Information Systems in the Banking Industry: The advent of computers has given rise to information systems being used as a business tool on a large scale. Computers and more specifically information systems are being used on a large scale by almost all businesses. The application of the capabilities of Information systems and technologies brings out improvement in business processes (Davenport and Short, 1990). One of the major sectors to reap the benefits of computers and information systems is the banks. The nature of the banking industry along with other financial industries involves information and trust. Being in the service industry, banks are in the most need of information. Technologies like cloud computing and other internet based information storage systems have allowed banks to deliver state of the art customer services to its customers while maintain the market competitiveness required for gaining business. The following paper analyzes the information needs of the banks at various departmental levels and compares th e security levels used by banks with those in other sectors. At the end of the paper, one should be able to understand the most commonly used technologies in banks, the security measures currently used in banks and whether or not there is scope for further improvement. Information Needs in Banks: The need of information was first realized in the banking industry. Being in the service sector, banks needed to store information to better their services and gain a competitive edge over their competitors. Basic services include the book keeping records of the customers while the luxurious ones include the facility of an IVR (Interactive Voice Recording) through which customers can get answers to their F.A.Qs. However, developing an information system needs huge investments, responsibility of non-leakage of information (robustness of the system), and various other security measures. Banks therefore need information at every stage possible. The benefits of information are many. Today, decision making systems are also used by banks for purposes of marketing newer loan schemes. Typically, banks might need information at the following levels. Basic or Level 1: This is the most basic level. Information at this level might be used purely for administrative purposes. Tasks include book keeping, account handling of customers etc. The revolution of internet banking has made the basic level much more attractive to customers than it used to be. Moreover the concept of phone banking through IVRs has further proved to be a major technological step towards the progress of banks and IT systems. Advanced or Level 2: At this level, information is crucial and is used at the managerial level. Managers use certain information like stock listings, annual general meetings etc in databases that is to be kept secure. This information is supposed to be secret and cannot be distributed without consent and proper authoritative power. Information at this level is hardly for customer use. However, in cases of fraud and cheating, banks can use this as a safety measure to ensure their reputation does not lose. Evaluation of Information Systems: Majority of the banks in the western countries and more recently in Asian countries to use the advent of information systems to bolster their business. Decision making tools, account management systems, and internet based systems are widely used by banks to lure customers in the quest to attract them. Since the sector they operate is the service sector, banks need to realize that they can ill afford to let their customer service affect due to the technological advances. To evaluate the information systems used by banks, one needs to realize the general nature of information systems used by banks currently. Nature of Information systems currently used by banks: A variety of information systems are being used by banks. Currently, most banks operate with multiple legacy systems that operate on a single mainframe computer (Lenard ML, Ferran C 1997). With times, this basic concept has not changed much. The concept of object oriented programming has given rise to the use of multiple servers thereby reducing the load on a single PC. Moreover, the internet has evolved as a complete source of secure technology that acts as a useful resource to the banks. The advent of internet based systems (popularly known as web based systems) has allowed banks to be more precise and keep a hassle free record system. However, the internet based systems have led to many security issues. The next section describes them. Security: The main problem of internet based applications is the level of security provided. There have been a number of cases with the most famous ones being the ATM card duplication and credit card faults have all arisen due to information system vulnerability. Therefore, banks need to provide a level of security that cannot be breached. It is tough to say that the system is â€Å"foolproof† since programming involves coding and decoding. Therefore what can be coded can also be decoded. However, many security measures have been taken by bank authorities in accordance with the IT professionals to allow smooth hassle free banking through the use of computers and information systems. Some of the common security features include the secure server technology (SSL technology), Enforcement of laws like the Data protection act enables for more careful banking by the banks. The law enables anyone the use the information provided over the internet with due care and only with the consent of the provider of that information. This law has worked wonders in that it has made the owners of websites more responsible to such mishaps. Information flooded over the internet can only be used for purposes said and described prior to collection of it. Law thus acts as one of the barriers to those who want to breach it. Apart from law, security levels include password remembrance systems, additional information provision and providing passwords to specific phone numbers only. By doing this, the internet has taken help of other acquisitions of humans into consideration. The logic is that a human cannot lose all at a time and hence is a good measure to reduce the security threats. Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is the term given to applications which operate over the web and are accessible to everyone who has an access to the internet. Intranet, knowledge based systems and websites are all examples of cloud computing. Cloud computing takes help of a third party service provider to rent the applications. With cloud computing, users need to have little expertise over the computer and its working. This calls for major security threats since it can be accessible by anyone who has access to a computer. Computer literacy is also little required. However, for our chosen organization cloud computing is not suitable. Although in other service sectors, cloud computing has worked wonders to attract customer base, banks cannot afford to use such systems. In fact, banks can operate with secure systems and yet gain an advantage by stating their expertise and care they take for their customers. To conclude, the use and benefits of information systems in banks are many. Along with these come many challenges which the banks need to take care of. However, with the wonderful invention, banks have certainly been revolutionized. References: C. Ferran and M.L Lenard, â€Å"An Object Oriented Approach to Banking Information Systems†, 1997, pp. 1-7. D.E. Avison and V. Taylor, â€Å"Information systems development methodologies: a classification according to problem situation†, Journal of Information technology, 1997, pp. 73-81. T.H. Davenport and J.E. Short, â€Å"Information technology and business process design†, Operations Management, 1990, Vol.3, pp.11-27.

How to Lose Weight Rough Draft Essay

In this essay I will discuss the different ways there are of losing weight. For some it may be simple excersize and for others they may need more help then just excersize. We will go over the different ways that your body works to metabolize what your eating so that your body will help you to lose that weight. The process of losing weight can be a hard one, but if you choose the right one it can be easy. There are lots of options. Body: There are lots of options for losing weight but first I want to talk about metabolism first. Metabolism is what processes your food at a certain speed. If you have a high metabolism youll find that your food will process at a very fast rate and youll be using the restroom pretty quick right after you eat. Metabolism also plays a big part in your figure also. If you eat nothing but greasy fattening food then your metabolism will have issues keeping up. So in order for your metabolism to be where you want it you have to stay fit and eat correctly. The next thing I want to talk about is dietary pills. These can help if used correctly. Some people think they can take them without having to do any excersize or eating right. For some diet pills this is correct but others no. Its always important to keep your health in general up by eating the correct food and keeping yourself physically fit. There is also the danger of taking too many or not eating with them. If you take too many then you have the risk of possibly overdosing and your body becoming intolerant to them. And if you don’t eat with them in your system then you come up with the risk of malnutrition. So I would suggest that anyone who takes them only takes the amound suggested on the bottle. Ok now were going to go to dietary foods. This is important for any sort of situation you decide to diet with. If you don’t use dietary food then you probably shouldn’t diet. Because your body has to become fit all over again. To become fit it has to ingest nutrients and vitamins that fruits, vegtables and meats carry. The last and final subject I want to cover is surgery as a possible resource. They have different surgeries that can help in a lot of different situations. If your dieting and excersizing and trying everything possible and you still cant lose weight then I would suggest the surgery. There are little health risks from it and it Ive heard that the lap band surgery has had amazing results. Conclusion: These are the options that I have researched for How to lose weight. The options that I have researched are diet pills, excersizing, eating healthy and surgeries. With these options anyone can become a healthier person.

Apple Ipod Advertisement Evaluation

How many people worldwide love to listen to their own elegant style of music? Well with the new Apple Ipod you have the power to listen to your flavour of tunes that gets your blood flowing or just brings back your fondest memories. Absolutely no one could turn down an opportunity to liven up a bad day with a fantastic song. The Apple Ipod is â€Å"probably the best† technology the music industry could grant you. One of the best ways to show people how the product will help you is by advertising on the television because it shows people exactly what the product will do for you and how it will make you a better person. As I found the commercial on the Internet I do not know when the commercial was first aired. But as the target audiences is mainly twelve year olds and all those above (12+) this keeps is short, the duration of the advert is thirty seconds with twenty clips. With a slide only being a couple of seconds long there is a large quantity to take in on the visual imagery of this advertisement. Basically the main sequences are Silhouettes dancing along to the song Flathead by Fratellis. Apple has picked the song Flathead because it makes you click your fingers, so it is powerful and makes you attracted to the screen because of the catchy song. The Song plays throughout the whole commercial without any voice-overs. The song produces energy a qualities important to the sequence through their teenaged years. When the commercial starts the image is a pink male Silhouetted body holding an Ipod stood in the centre of the screen; behind him is a blue background with thin pink and green lines passing behind his body, he is shaking his body to the beat of the music and clapping, his Ipod against his waist. You can distinguish the Ipod because it is the only white object on the screen; the bright colours make the audiences automatically drawn to the television screen. It would appeal to both genders because it shows the male is not troubled of any feminine signals he may be receiving by the audience due to the colours; he is obviously comfortable to express his sexuality with the way the colours are expressed. Then for a split second the screen changes to pink and purple with a full body shot of a silhouetted man waving his left arm in the air; again to the beat at the end of the clip a creamer pink lightning bolt strikes across the man's body, This is powerful because the jolt of lightning gives the viewers a slight flinch, and keeps the attention fixed to the screen. Even though you don't know what the people look like you would still communicate with people in the advert because the viewer is made to feel like they should the like the silhouette. The fact you don't know exactly what they look like is powerful because it could indicate that it could be any one, even the customers; the outline of the character is also powerful because it is surreal and not fixed to one human image. The next clip is of a man wearing a trilby style of hat he is a blue and pink background colour, again the Ipod is in his hand whilst he dances. He shows you the Ipod on this angle because he is showing you how thin it is, he is showing the audience this because this will make the product more appealing because the customers do not want to carry a â€Å"brick† in their pocket all the time and makes the other music player products unpopular. The contrast in colours between the background and the silhouette is also very important because then the audience can easily distinguish between the foreground activity and contrasting background. This is can influential towards the viewers because it makes them what to buy the product due to the fashion that the viewer has seen on the silhouette on the commercial. Another pink silhouette of a man, but the background is blue it still shows the contrast of colour and also shows a mixed personality at the same time. He is kicking his smart and snazzy shoes towards the camera; it makes male viewers feel like they need shoes like the silhouette so the has to go out and get some like the silhouette for the reason that it looks fashionable but at the same time also influences male to also get an Ipod. The next clip is of the first person in the commercial, you can tell since the Silhouette shape and background go back to the same colours as the first clip; so the some of the silhouettes have a individual colour. The way he is jumping in the air waving his arms round like a lunatic suggests that he is have a really good time and he is basically â€Å"freaking out†, another reason that the viewer should buy it because commercial is sending the message the viewer that the silhouettes are having a good time so why shouldn't the customers. An orange silhouette woman is in the next set of slides; it is a headshot specifically so that you can only see her earphones; they stand out specifically because it shows how perfectly slot in the silhouette's ears even when she is dancing. She has long hair and it waves when she jumps and moves to the sound of the music. The silhouette Dances is like so is non-conformity; so the message is sent to the viewers is that Ipods will set you free from all rules. In the next clip their stands a turquoise woman that shows the Ipod in the front of the shot; it is the main focus on the screen so that the viewers eyes cannot be averted from it, it also shows you the Ipod like this because it shows exactly what the Ipod looks like. Going from person to person suggesting that a lot of people like dancing to this song because it is popular or even any song on an Ipod because it is also easily carried and has a large memory so you can listen to a wide variety of the viewers idolised songs. A few clips ahead there is a clip of a man's feet that is one of the first of the clips where you don't see the Ipod at all. It shows how feet are moving to the rhythm of the music. The next clip the are two pink figures on a aqua back ground standing one on the left the other on the right; they jump in the air and a purple figure drops down from the top right to the centre of the screen. They all land at the same time and dance individually, this is a moment of intense movement as the viewer looks at the screen and it fills their body with energy; some of the cloths that they wear are quite smart so it makes you want to associate more with them. Following six more clips there are two pink Silhouettes of a man and a woman; they both dance together so it suggesting that buying an Ipod makes couples might want to dance together; it makes the audience feel as if they could get closer to their partners by buying two Ipods and suggests relationships will be better. When the text says â€Å"iPod + Itunes† it is basically saying if a person gets this Apple Ipod and any of the Itunes available you could possibly be like any the people you have seen in the advertisement. The penultimate clip is again of the couple that where dancing together; you can tell because they are the same shape, the woman walks pushing her male partner off the set so you know the advertisement is going to be over, it suggests who wears the trousers of the relationship which appears to be most female viewers around the world. Conclusively finished with a picture of the Apple logo then it no longer needs any text because it is then obvious to the viewers that this is an Apple product. The analysis of the commercial should have been undertaken to make shore that the colourful stroking images would not be dangerous towards to anybody suffering from epilepsy. A mistake that was also recently make by the advertising agency promoting the soon coming 2012Olympics. Music devices are very common, but what makes this Ipod special is they look good and they are fashionable. I would rate the advertisements effectiveness 8/10 because you could make all the clips more memorable rather than short ones, but it has a very catchy song. So it will stick in your mind along with the Apple brands, mainly the Ipod.