Communication Skills in Management

Communication Skills in Management Introduction Organisations bring together people from different backgrounds. To ensure that diverse groups of people working in an organisation are organised such that they work towards common aims and goals, communication is an essential skill for any leader. Organisational leaders select various communications strategies depending on the situations that they encountered in their work environments.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Communication Skills in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Communication strategies are crucial in organisations, particularly in the information age. Organisations are growing into immense complexities and are constantly looking for mechanisms of becoming competitive. One of the ways of gaining competitive advantage is by â€Å"discovering and implementing a communications strategy that supports company business objectives for its customers, workforce and partners† (Perry Bodkin, 2000, p.89). Good communication strategies have multiple benefits for an organisation ranging from enhancing workforce motivations to the creation of additional customers and retention of the existing clientele. The main aim of this paper is to provide an outline of communication skills and discuss its benefits. It also discusses how managers can deploy communication skills to make their work efficient and effective. The discussions of the paper are based on the existing literature of the roles of organisational communication in enhancing the success of organisations and on the understanding of the roles of communication in organisations developed over the semester. Thus, an opportunity is seized to offer authors personal opinion on the development of communication skills, propose an action plan for learning and utilisation of the communication skill in the future. Communication is selected for discussion as a managerial skill that is essential in an organisation since its incorporation or its negation in an organisation determines the extent of effectiveness of organisational leadership. The benefits of good communication Communication refers to exchange of information, either verbally or non-verbally. Verbal communication entails the transfer of meaning through sounds and words. Non-verbal communication entangles transfer of meaning, intentionally or unintentionally, via symbols or actions.Advertising Looking for report on business communication? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In organisational settings, communication refers to exchange of information between organisational leaders and employees and or from employees to employees (McShane, Olekalns Travaglione, 2010, p.54). It also entails the transfer of information from the organisations to the customers and the owners (shareholders). Organisations’ leaders encounter various pressures to comply with various demands raised by a myriad of organisational stakeholders while still ensuring that an organisation remains competitive in the short and long run. Ensuring compliance to these dual anticipations, organisational managers have to design and execute various business strategies (Fernstrom, Reed, Rahavi Doohe, 2012: Malina Selto, 2001). Although failure of such strategies may initiate at the design phase, many of business strategies, irrespective of how well they have been designed, have more failure rates at the implementation and execution phases (Kaplan Norton, 2004). In the implementation and the execution phase, communication is of great paramount. Philport and Arbittier (2007) agrees with this assertion and further adds, â€Å"MBA- trained managers know a lot about how to decide a plan and very little about how to carry it out† (p.69). Consequently, when leaders have communication challenges, showcased by inadequate expertise in execution of communication strategies within an organisati on, harmonious operation of all organisational stakeholder may be impaired. The benefits of good communication in an organisation may be studied from the paradigm of the challenges that organisations encounter when leaders in an organisation fail to embrace effective communication strategies. The effects of poor organisational communication, a key indicator of lack of possession of good organisational communication skills are reflected in a research conducted by McFarlin, Sweeney and Cotton (2003), in which 197 management executives for 197 companies were surveyed to unveil their anticipations for success of their communication strategies. The research findings indicated that only 63 percent of all the surveyed executives had expectations for their strategies of communication to succeed.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Communication Skills in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Considering that 37 percent o f the surveyed executives were not sure whether their communication strategies would succeed, the researchers concluded, â€Å"much of expectation and performance failures were a failure to execute the company’s strategy effectively† (McFarlin, Sweeney Cotton, 2003, p.380). Strategies are implemented through the collective effort of all people who must work to attain given goals and missions for which an organisation is established to accomplish. For coherency in operation of all these stakeholders, effective communication is important. A leader who endeavours to develop business strategies that would succeed requires ardent communication at all hierarchical structures of business administration. Such an effort in incredibly important since the implementation of new business strategies often involves change (Williams Seaman, 2001). People are normally reluctant to change. Consequently, it is important that leaders within an organisation effectively communicate the be nefits that employees would gains once they embrace proposed organisational change. Poor communication often results to resistance to change especially where the persons working in an organisation consider the changes being implemented as threats to their jobs and personal excellence. For instance, while personnel at the headquarters of an organisation may be fighting for standardisation of products produced by an organisation to ease supply chain and logistics challenges, personnel at departmental levels for various products may be opposed to such an endeavour. In such a situation, a leader deserves to portray assertive communication skills to ensure that things are done in a manner that would of benefits to an organisation. How leaders should use communication Communication is the tool that enables leaders within an organisation to articulate their ideas to the employees and/ or employees to articulate their ideas to the leaders. Wok and Hashima (2013) argue that good communicatio n is essential in fostering morale of workers.Advertising Looking for report on business communication? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This means that leaders in an organisation should deploy communication as a tool for breaking down communication barrier channels to enhance free interaction between the leaders and employees or employees and their fellow workers. When leaders communicate effectively, employees get satisfied with their jobs. Since job satisfaction is correlated to employees’ retention, it implies that leaders can utilise communication as a tool for dealing effectively with issues of employees’ turnover. This suggests leaders who are effective communicators experience low incidences of turnover. Leaders deserve to plan and design effective formal and informal communication strategies to take into consideration mechanisms of handling negative perceptions about an organisation in the effort to boost strategic initiatives for re-claiming and or acquiring new market. Wal-Mart is perhaps one of the best organisations whose focus on effective communication led to success of the company. For i nstance, the company was in 2010 incredibly criticised for labour practices that were highly questionable. Critics claimed that the company pursued policies that encouraged gender discrimination, low wages incommensurate to the efforts of the employees and even mistreatment of employees. The organisation was also challenged for putting small retailers out of business through her pricing strategies. Wal-Mart also encountered situations in which her organisational culture failed to measure up to the cultures of new possible profitable markets. Faced with these challenges, the organisation’s leaders focused on deployment of communications as the tool for clearing the negative profiling coupled with provisions of employees with clear channels of articulating their issues with the Wal-Mart leadership. Borrowing form the case of Wal-Mart, it is evident that leaders needs to put in place strategies for ensuring that people are free to expresses themselves whenever certain issues the y perceive as having negative implications on their work or where conflicts between personal needs and work requirement emerge. This underlines the significance of open communication in an organisation. Impediments to communication lead to low workforce productivity through reduced work morale and job satisfaction. In fact, according to Dasgupta, Suar and Singh (2013) communication is an essential tool for resolving work force conflicts. This implies that when leaders are effective communicators, communication is used in management of employees’ conflicts. One of the noble roles of managers in an organisation is to monitor and control processes and the manner of execution of job elements allocated to different people. Consequently, communication is the means by which managers are able to get information from the employees on work progress and possible impediments to successful completion of the job facets. Work groups are composed of people who have different opinions and lev els of innovation and creativity. To turn around these diversities into organisational success, managers should deploy communication to garner information of the workforce talents and capabilities, which are essential in successful realisation of organisational aims, goals and objectives. Understanding how to effectively communicate with employees and other organisational stakeholders call for managers to have an understanding of issues that may hinder their capacity to communicate effectively. Such hindrances encompass barriers to effective communication in an organisation. They include information filtering, selective perception, emotions, information overloads, language barrier and communication comprehension (Robbins et al., 2011). Zeng, Anh and Matsui claim that management has the noble role of identifying hindrances to effective communication and looking for strategies for resolving them (2013, p.457). Additionally, management also needs to resolve the problem of gender and cu ltural barriers to effective communication Robbins et al. (2011), effective managers seeks for ways of overcoming barriers to effective communication by enhancing interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. This provides an amicable opportunity for an organisation to achieve its aims, objectives and goals. This suggests that communication is used in an organisation to eliminate ineffective communication created by communication barriers. My development for communication skills this semester At the beginning of the semester, I had very poor communication skills. As an introverted person, I encounter challenges in opening to people with whom I am not well acquitted. Faced with this challenge, I have the perception that it would influence my effectiveness in the work environment where I expect to pursue a career as an organisational leader. Possession of good communications skill is essential in helping a leader to succeed in his or her work involving planning, directing, controllin g and monitoring the process of execution of tasks within an organisation through people. Based on these cognitions, which has been developed in the course of my university education, I consider communication skills as essential skills to develop. In fact, the skills are required in aiding leaders to create channels for open communication in an organisation. On the successful development of the learning contract at the beginning of the semester, I considered developing the goals that I would work towards in the course of the semester. This was critical in availing means of evaluating the learning outcomes. I maintained a journal for tracking various experiences coupled with the outcomes of efforts of improving my communication skills. In the process of development of the communication skills, I chose to read widely from the university library on how communication skills can be developed and implemented. This was followed by actualisation of the skills by engaging in practical implem entation of the acquired knowledge in the university settings. My focus was on face-to-face communication. I realised I had challenges in articulating information through words and non-verbal forms of communication. Making a strategic decision to implement communication skills in a university setting introduced the need to develop the ability to deal with people from cross-cultural environments. This is because a university is an institution that brings people from different cultures and different demographic characteristics. In my case, I am an international student from Middle East. I have challenges in communicating well in English since it is not my native language. This underlines the significance of developing effective communication skills when dealing with people from mixed backgrounds due to challenges of the language barrier and proper articulation of information to create the desired meaning. In the effort to determine whether I have developed communication skills, I had several goals that I intended to achieve. The first goal was to improve my performance in the work groups’ assessments in all the subjects that I take in the university. This goal was essential in measuring my success in development of communication skills. Effective communication of ideas is necessary in answering questions correctly. Language barrier is also an important aspect, which may contribute to poor understanding of questions. Secondly, I would like to have improved peer relationships in both class setting and the whole university at large. This goal is crucial since communication skill is essential in helping to break down peer conflicts. I also want to develop good relationships with sports’ teams, which I encounter during sports competitions. As an introverted person, I also find it difficult to communicate well with people even those who are close to me including my family members. Hence, my goal is to create better channels for communication with family members and friends. Ability to communicate effectively is a function of having good listening skills. Thus, my last goal was to develop better listening skills. In a short time basis, for the period that I was engaged with the learning contract, I believe that these goals are crucial preliminary steps that I can deploy to enhance good organisational communication in the future. Evidence of skills Over the period of 9 weeks, I maintained a journal where I was recording the success details for my process of development of communication skills. In the journal, I was recording the changes in my grades since I enrolled for the learning contract. Therefore, my analysis for success in the contract is essentially quantitative. The evidence derived from the analysis of the data entered in the journal indicates that I have attained a lot in term of performance improvements, although having spent a lot of time in extra tasks involving development of communication skills. This made me to minim ise time required in studying other subjects. In terms of performance, my grades have been steadily improving since I decided to develop communication skills. They have charged from credits to distinctions for the subjects that have involved group work discussion and collective group work challenges. This achievement is attributed to the effort that I made as the group leader to enhance active involvement of all members and tracking the group members’ ability to understand the subject matter under discussion. I also made an effort to ensure that whenever a group is formed, the first task was the creation of avenues for a good group communication by allowing adequate time for members to introduce themselves to one another. This was crucial in eliminating possible hindrances to group communication articulated to fear. One of the groups had two domestic students and two international students. This give room for development of crosses cultural communication skills. In the group, effort was made at the initial phase to lay down the anticipated outcomes, setting periods when the outcomes would be achieved and the contribution of each member in the realisation of the anticipations. This was essential in ensuring that all group members were at the same knowledge levels, which was essential in creating the synergies required for the improved grades. At the beginning of the semester, it was incredibly difficult for me to create friendships. Following the initiative for creating open communication with other students amid their diversity differences, I have managed to create close and effective personal relationships with other people. These friendships have survived even after I finished the assessment for the capacity to develop effective communications skills upon taking the learning contract. During my interaction processes, I am likely to call people with whom I have had group work experiences. This suggests my efforts for creating open communication and tru sting relationships yielded fruits. On the extracurricular activities platforms, I play soccer. For a long time, I was feeling that there are some important ideas that the team would implement to enhance its performance. Unfortunately, before taking the initiatives to develop communication skills, I was too afraid to speak about them. Through the creation of open communication channels, am now able to deal with the inhibitors to communication in the team. This has changed me from being a passive team member to an active member. Through the ideas that I have been able to articulate in the team, I have been made the assistant –captain. Additionally, I have also managed to develop better interaction processes with the team members. Indeed, some team members come seeking my opinion and advice on some issues affecting our team. This did not happen before. Despite the communication skills learning contract helping me to communicate effectively, listening skills have been instrument al in gathering information from the team members on areas where strategic initiatives needs being developed. Without the listening skills, it is problematic to interpret the issues that affect the team performance. This opening up of the group to engage every team members in the decision making process has seen the team register improved performance in all games. My friends and family members have noted the effort that I have been making to communicate better with them. They are to the opinion that the efforts that I have made over the last 9 weeks were incredible in aiding them to communicate better with me. The arguments that I have been engaged with friends and family members have also been based on open communications. This has reduced incidence of conflicts. How I will use these skills in the future Currently, I have managed to develop good communication skills, which have proved to be effective. The main concerns are how to utilise these skills in the future in the work envir onment. The lessons, skills and knowledge developed during the semester are important in enabling me to resolve work conflicts through effective communication. The plan is to continue developing the skills so that I can also incorporate various issues that may make communication strategies in a work environment different from the communication strategies required in the university settings with peers and/or with family members. Conclusion Leaders in a dynamic operational environment for an organisation require having good communication skills for them to have the capacity to win the confidence of all employees and other organisational stakeholders. Communication is an important aspect of an organisation, which helps to facilitate the transfer of information from one person to another within the organisation. In the course of the last 9 weeks, I had been learning communication skills via experience. The results indicated that I have realised positive outcomes. The plan is continue wi th this learning spirit to become an effective. Reference List Dasgupta, S., Suar, D., Singh, S. (2013). Impact of managerial communication styles on employees’ attitudes and behaviours. Employee Relations, 35(2), 173 – 199. Fernstrom, M., Reed, K., Rahavi, E Dooher, C. (2012). Communication strategies to help reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases: Proceedings from the inaugural IFIC Foundation Global Diet and Physical Activity Communications Summit. Nutrition Reviews, 70(5), 301 –310. Kaplan, S., Norton, P. (2004). How strategy maps frame an organisations objectives. Financial Executive, 20(2), 40−45. Malina, M., Selto, F. (2001). Communicating and controlling strategy: An empirical study of the effectiveness of the balanced scorecard. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 13(3), 47−91. McFarlin, B., Sweeney, D., Cotton, L. (2003). Attitudes toward employee participation in decision-making: A comparison of European and American managers in a U.S. multinational. Human Resource Management Journal, 31(4), 363−383. McShane, S., Olekalns, M., Travaglione, T. (2010). Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim. Australia: McGraw Hill. Perry, M., Bodkin, C. (2000). Content analysis of Fortune 100 company web sites. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 5(2), 87-97. Philport, J., Arbittier, J. (2007). Advertising: Brand communications styles in established media and the Internet. Journal of Advertising Research, 37(2), 68-76. Robbins, S., Judge, T., Millett, B., Boyle, M. (2011). Organisational Behaviour. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Williams, J., Seaman, E. (2001). Predicting change in management accounting systems: National culture and industry effects. Accounting, Organisations and Society, 26(5), 443−460. Wok, S., Hashim, J. (2013). Communicating and sharing working relationships with older employees. Journal of Communication Management, 17(2), 100–1 21. Zeng, J., Anh, P., Matsui, Y. (2013). Shop-floor communication and process management for quality performance: An empirical analysis of quality management. Management Research Review, 36(5), 454–477.

Online Versus Offline Phone Accessories Sales Dissertation

Online Versus Offline Phone Accessories Sales - Dissertation Example The purpose of the study was to establish the level of sales that can be realized for both online and offline phone accessories dealers in UK. Data for the study was collected through questionnaires that were given to 50 participants. The participants were 18 years and above. The study findings showed that despite various challenges that were encountered by numerous participants, information relative to the level of sales was obtained. In addition, there was a positive correlation established between the level of income and the sales level. On a similar note, the study revealed that there is a positive relation between the level of online and offline sales and both short and long-term positive effects attributed to the overall economic growth. Further, study indicated a positive correlation between the price index and the money circulation constraints, which poses a big challenge for those aspiring to own phone accessories businesses. In essence, the results indicate that the variati ons in financing constraints have only limited results on phone accessories sales prices. In the case of the retailers who are poor, the effect of calming down the borrowing challenge on the cost of accessories will be absorbed by the exchange of own phone accessories businesses into public own businesses. Analysis and processing of data involved a number of operations performed with the aim of summarizing the data collected and organizing them to answer the questions of the research (Menard 2008).

Electrical Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Electrical Energy - Essay Example This have made the technologists to search for more energy efficient practices and hence could achieve major break through in energy efficiency as it is reported that the efficiency have really doubled since 1954. The reports available show that the fuel mix has more or less remained constant since 1980 (Lave, 291). According to the reports of U.S. Department of energy, half the quantity f electricity generated is from coal, nuclear plants account for 20 percent of the generated electricity, while hydroelectric plants contributes 7 percent and finally renewable energy and petroleum products account for 2 percent each. The significant thrust has been given by most of the state administrations to maximize the use of the renewables. But the major challenge in the use of renewables is said to be absence of feasible electricity storage system. The estimates say that according to the prevailing conditions 8 to 10 hours of sunlight is adequate to generated electricity for 24 hours but lack of efficient and low cost units to store this energy is the major drawback (Lave, 291). So is the case of wind energy also. The availability of wind and period of electricity demand don't match, the wind in required manner are not available especially during the summer months when the electricity demand is at its peak.

Voice of the Customer Case Study Essay Example for Free

Voice of the Customer Case Study Essay 1. Explain how the Voice of the Employee sup ports improved internal processes (Voice of the Business), and how the Voice of the Business supports customer satisfaction (Voice of the Customer).  As stated by the United States Postal Service annual performance report, The Voice of the Customer goal category focuses Postal Service resources on growth to generate sufficient revenue to support the public service mission of universal service that â€Å"binds the nation together. † Providing timely, consistent delivery across all classes of mail will increase customer satisfaction and generate growth in support of our central mission (2002). The Voice of the Employee goal category focuses on creating a workplace environment that fosters a motivated, productive and inclusive workforce and embraces the values of fairness, opportunity, safety, and security. The Voice of the Business goal category focuses on maintaining the affordability of Postal Service products and services by improving productivity so as to control costs and improve contribution levels to grow business (USPS annual performance report, 2002). For each Voice, a goal statement focuses on the overall performance sought. For Voice of the Customer, the goal is to provide services that meet the needs of different customers in competitive markets and grow the revenue necessary to support the public service mission of the Postal Service. For Voice of the Employee, the goal is for a motivated, productive and inclusive workforce and a goal of affordability for the Voice of the Business. 2. While Figure 8. 14 shows only representative measures associated with the balanced scorecard, suggest some other measures that might be included, using your knowledge of postal operations. Traditionally, performance measures used to assess success were financial in nature. This allowed only one view of what happened. The measure is complete only at the moment, and there are limited indications where current operations are effective or ineffective as the measures are historical in nature. Financial measures are outcome measures that show what has happened in the past. A more forward looking set of performance measures tells managers and employees where they are headed, what aspects of the organization are succeeding, and what aspects need improvement to effect future successful outcomes. For example, customer satisfaction levels tell us something about the future predisposition of customers to use our service in the future, which relates to future financial measures. In the same manner, if we know there is a connection between meeting customer requirements and internal process measures that are tracked, and then there is a clear sense of what we need to do in managing our processes in order to meet customer needs (Thompson Mathys, 2006). 3. Note what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using a Balanced Scorecard approach. The first advantage of using the balanced scorecard method is that by looking at four aspects of a companys performance, you really do get a balanced view of company performance. Unlike traditional methods of tracking the financial health of a business, the balanced scorecard gives you a full picture as to whether your company is meeting its objectives. While it may seem that a company is doing well financially, it may be that customer satisfaction is down, employee training is inadequate, or that the processes are outdated (Bowen, 2011). As explained by Bowen (2011), by using a balanced scorecard approach, the immediate future isnt the only thing being evaluated. Often, when an accountant sees the financial bottom line (perhaps the company isnt doing well), suggestions are given that are immediate, but do not look at the long-term. Using balanced scorecards allows for stakeholders to determine the health of short, medium, and long-term objectives at a glance. Finally, by using a balanced scorecard, a company can be sure that any strategic action implemented matches the desired outcomes. Will raising the price of a product help the bottom line of the company in the long run? It might, if the customer is satisfied with that product, or if the processes involved with creating that product make the product of a higher quality (Bowen, 2011). While there are many advantages to using balanced scorecards in your accounting toolbox, there are a few disadvantages to the method as well. First, the balanced scorecard takes forethought. It is not a tool you can just think up one night to solve a problem. Instead, it is recommended that you hold a meeting to plan out what goals you would like to see your company reach in each of the four above areas. Once you have clearly stated objectives, you can then begin to break down these objectives in what you will need, financially, to bring these objectives to fruition. As explained by Bowen (2011), while the balanced scorecard gives you an overall view of the four areas for concern in business growth and development, these four areas do not paint the whole picture. The financial information included on the scorecard is limited. Instead, to be successfully implemented, the balanced scorecard must be part of a bigger strategy for company growth that includes meticulous accounting methods. Many companies use metrics that are not applicable to their own situation. It is vitally important when using balanced scorecards to make the information being tracked applicable to your needs. Otherwise, the metrics will be meaningless.

Mega Rex :: English Literature Essays

Mega Rex A man crawled down a sewer main ladder. He swam in the sewer water until he came to what seemed to be a warehouse. He got behind a large box and called to someone. "Colonel, its Snake. I'm inside the warehouse," said the man. "Great. There's an elevator in the back. Wait for it to come down and go to the ground level. Make sure none sees you. If you have a question contact me by codec. To do this, push the button on your wrist and select the frequency you want. My frequency is 140.85," said the Colonel. Snake waited patiently for the elevator to come down. When it finally came down slowly crawled out from behind the box and quickly went up the elevator unnoticed. Snake called the Colonel on codec. "Snake, what took so long?" said the Colonel. "That suit is hard to move in," said Snake. "Its purpose is to prevent hypothermia not to be comfortable. This is Alaska, you know," said a woman. "I know, Naomi," said Snake. "Snake, this operation is being run by Fox Hound and Russian terrorists. There are currently 6 members of Fox Hound. They are the best soldiers in the world," said Naomi. "I know, I was in Fox Hound," said Snake. "Oh, yeah," said Naomi. "Call Naomi if you have any questions about Fox Hound, Snake," said Colonel. "I would like to introduce you to Mei Ling, she designed you codec and radar," said the Colonel. "It is an honor to meet a legendary military hero like you," said Mei Ling. "Thanks," said Snake. "Your radar gets jammed easily, I'm afraid, because of the signals the terrorists use. You need to find the DARPA Chief (Defense Advanced Research Projects), Kenneth Baker. He will be a green dot on your radar. When you use your codec talk into your wrist.. No one but you can hear your codec because it directly vibrates the bones of your ear," said Mei Ling. "Snake, find the DARPA Chief. Hurry, you only have 18 hours left. By the way, we made a diversion. We sent an F-18 so it would go into the terrorist's radar and then back to Washington Airforce Base. That is your chance to sneak in unnoticed, said Colonel. There should be a vent on the first and second floor. Go in the second floor vent. "There's a Russian H-4 leaving now," said Snake. Mega Rex :: English Literature Essays Mega Rex A man crawled down a sewer main ladder. He swam in the sewer water until he came to what seemed to be a warehouse. He got behind a large box and called to someone. "Colonel, its Snake. I'm inside the warehouse," said the man. "Great. There's an elevator in the back. Wait for it to come down and go to the ground level. Make sure none sees you. If you have a question contact me by codec. To do this, push the button on your wrist and select the frequency you want. My frequency is 140.85," said the Colonel. Snake waited patiently for the elevator to come down. When it finally came down slowly crawled out from behind the box and quickly went up the elevator unnoticed. Snake called the Colonel on codec. "Snake, what took so long?" said the Colonel. "That suit is hard to move in," said Snake. "Its purpose is to prevent hypothermia not to be comfortable. This is Alaska, you know," said a woman. "I know, Naomi," said Snake. "Snake, this operation is being run by Fox Hound and Russian terrorists. There are currently 6 members of Fox Hound. They are the best soldiers in the world," said Naomi. "I know, I was in Fox Hound," said Snake. "Oh, yeah," said Naomi. "Call Naomi if you have any questions about Fox Hound, Snake," said Colonel. "I would like to introduce you to Mei Ling, she designed you codec and radar," said the Colonel. "It is an honor to meet a legendary military hero like you," said Mei Ling. "Thanks," said Snake. "Your radar gets jammed easily, I'm afraid, because of the signals the terrorists use. You need to find the DARPA Chief (Defense Advanced Research Projects), Kenneth Baker. He will be a green dot on your radar. When you use your codec talk into your wrist.. No one but you can hear your codec because it directly vibrates the bones of your ear," said Mei Ling. "Snake, find the DARPA Chief. Hurry, you only have 18 hours left. By the way, we made a diversion. We sent an F-18 so it would go into the terrorist's radar and then back to Washington Airforce Base. That is your chance to sneak in unnoticed, said Colonel. There should be a vent on the first and second floor. Go in the second floor vent. "There's a Russian H-4 leaving now," said Snake.

Advertisements Exploiting Children

Are current practises of advertising to children exploitative? What restrictions should be placed on advertising to children? Up until recently, parents had been the intended target audience for advertising efforts aimed for children of young age groups. However it is now the children who have become the main focus.The growth in advertising channels reaching children and the privatisation of children’s media use have resulted in a dramatic increase in advertising directly intended for the eyes and ears of children (Wilcox et al. 2004). It is estimated that advertisers spend more than $12 billion a year on the youth market with more than 40,000 commercials each year. The current practises of advertising to young children definitely exploit their lack of understanding and comprehension of the aim of advertising and promotion of products.In the early 1970’s, The Federal Communications Commission originally set out to ban all advertising that was aimed at young children, ho wever ended up settling for a more lenient proposal of limiting the amount of time advertisements were aired within children’s programs and put in place certain restrictions to do with advertising practises (Wilcox et al. 2004). Studies have shown that the age range of 8-12 year olds spend $30 billion directly and influence $700 billion on family spending each year.This can be attributed to a relatively high extent to the fact that 46% of 5-14 year olds watch more than 20 hours of television per week with tens of thousands of TV ads shown per year (Neil 2012). Neil (2012) quotes that a child who watches 4 hours of TV per day over a 6 week holiday period would have viewed a total of 649 junk food ads including 404 advertisements for fast foods; 135 advertisements for soft drinks; and 44 for ice cream products. Until quite recently, advertisers viewed children around and under the age group of 8 as off limits when it came to advertising targets.However, industry practises have now developed and make for greater degrees of age niche advertising (Wilcox et al. 2004). Along with this growth in marketing efforts, there has become a rapid increase in the use psychological knowledge and research to effectively market products to young children. An example of this includes a study that was specifically designed to determine which strategy best induced children to nag their parents to buy the advertised product (Wilcox et al. 004). Exploitation refers to the idea of taking advantage of something you shouldn’t take advantage of. In relation to ads, advertisers are taking advantage of children’s lack of understanding, their innocence and their vulnerability to persuasion (Neil 2012). Young children tend to be particularly vulnerable to advertising as they do not fully understand the intent of advertisers and the process of creating an ad (Gunter, Oates & Blades 2005).Children are not born with any knowledge of economic systems with their awareness of advertising and marketing developing only gradually later in life. Adults too can be influenced by an ad, which is the reason for ads in general, but they are able to interpret the messages in the context of the advertisers’ intentions to prevent them from being exploited, unlike children (Gunter, Oates & Blades 2005). Neil (2012) states that children up to the age of 4 see ads merely as entertainment, progressing to believe advertisements provide information at ages 6-7.At ages 7-8 they still cannot distinguish between information and intent to persuade and once they reach 10-12 years they can understand the motives and aims of advertising but are still unable to explain sales techniques. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (2007) explain that advertisers may create advertisements that appeal to a child’s cognitive abilities. Research was conducted that indicates different age groups respond differently to formal stimuli in commercial, for example colour s attract younger children while message text attracts older children.This uses leverage of children’s cognitive development to entice the purchase of the product. Furthermore research on the language of advertisements, while used to promote products, may be purposefully constructed to confuse younger children at lower levels of cognitive development. Simple correlation research in the US indicates that children typically aged 2-6 years who view more television advertising request more products from their parents. This is known as pester power.It has been found that parents are more likely to buy products when kids ask for them in the shop (nag factor). As children age, they develop the cognitive capacity to contextualise and act critically on the observations made, reducing the amount of requests for products (Australian Communications and Media Authority, 2007). Children who are exposed to TV commercials for toys not only develop the initial idea for the toy but repeatedly pester their parents to buy it. This is exploitation on the arents’ behalf as it often causes parent-child conflict when the parents deny their children the product (Wilcox et al. 2004). Another troubling issue relating to child advertising exploitation is in reference to food ads. Half of the advertisements in the UK directed at children concern food. There are little ads emphasising healthy eating and since the start of television advertising, the largest proportion of ads aimed at children has always been unhealthy food products (Gunter, Oates & Blades 2005).The Australian Communications and Media Authority (2007) detailed the New South Wales Department of Health content analysis which found that 43% of all food advertising was for high fat/ high sugar foods and 36% was for core foods (such as breads, pasta). Additionally, approximately 48% of food advertising in times defined by the study as ‘children’s viewing times’ was for high fat/ high sugar foods . Consequently, children become confused and consider unhealthy foods to actually be healthy. Toys aren’t as controversial as they don’t exhibit the same health implications as do fast food ads.However, over-playing how good a toy is, or presenting misleading information is very unethical as children cannot comprehend some messages. The writing on the screen about disclosures are usually too quick to read or even understand as an adult, let alone a young child (Gunter, Oates & Blades 2005). Wilcox et al. (2004) demonstrates the exploiting nature of advertisers when it comes to tobacco and alcohol. A variety of studies show a substantial relationship between children’s viewing of these products in ads and positive attitudes toward consumption of such products.The studies conclude that advertising of tobacco and alcohol contributes to youth smoking and drinking. Characters from movies and television programmes often attract children’s attention with researc h indicating that the use of real life or animated characters is positively associated with memory and attitudes toward products and has the potential to confuse children as they do not realise they are getting paid for the advertisement so it is likely it’s not genuine promotion of a product (Gunter, Oates & Blades 2005). Another trick that advertisers use is on the BBC.BBC programs are â€Å"non-commercial† but some of the programs have been specifically designed to include products directed at children to make it harder for children to recognise when they are being targeted by marketers. This shows a negative change in children’s advertising. Body image is another major aspect of young children’s lives as they are vulnerable to their self-image (Gunter, Oates & Blades 2005). Advertisements use attractive people to sell products which reinforce the pressures on young people to conform to the ideals of beauty that are hard or near impossible to achieve.M arketing of dieting products therefore appeal to young children in recent times including primary school children. Currently there are regulations in place that have been implemented under the Children’s Television Standards in 1990, enforced by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. These include placing limitations on the broadcast of advertisements during ‘Children School Age’ programs (no ad more than twice in 30 minutes) and ‘Preschool Age’ programs (no ads at all).Also, no misleading or deceiving ads, no undue pressure on children to ask their parents to buy something or any unsuitable material including alcohol and cigarette ads, or demeaning/racists/sexist etc. ads(Australian Communications and Media Authority 2007). To further these regulations, many recommendations have been made. Wilcox et al (2004) suggested that while it is impossible to protect this age group from all commercial exposure, it is essential to restrict efforts made by adver tisers to focus primarily, if not exclusively, on this uniquely vulnerable portion of society.They also state that advertising disclaimers used in ads be stated in a language that children can read and understand and be shown in both visual and audial contexts in a time length that is conducive to reading, hearing and comprehending. For example, stating â€Å"You have to put it together† instead of â€Å"Partial assembly required† in toy ads. Gunter, Oates and Blades (2005) point out that advertisers usually argue against any extension of regulations, claiming that very young children, even from the age of 3, have some understanding of advertising.If this is so, it is not enough. A child’s recognition of advertisements is not the same as a child’s understanding of their persuasive intent. Some argue that rather than extending regulations, the most effective way to help children understand advertising is through their parents by informing kids of the natur e of ads. However as children become more independent with access to their own TVs, parents increasingly have less control over what children watch and less opportunity to discuss advertisements that might have been seen during family viewing.As well as the fact that parents often lack sufficient knowledge of regulators and their regulatory responsibilities. These excuses made by advertisers just show how ignorant they are in the potential harming of young children. In conclusion, advertisers know that their efforts greatly influence child audiences. Targeting children below the ages of 8 years is inherently unfair because it capitalises on younger children’s inability to sense persuasive intent in an advertisement.Due to this, children around and below this age are exploited as they take in information placed in commercials uncritically, accepting most of the claims and appeals put forward as truthful, accurate and unbiased. Reference Australian Communications and Media Auth ority 2007, Television Advertising to Children, accessed 6/9/2012, http://www. acma. gov. au/webwr/_assets/main/lib310132/television_advertising_to_children. pdf Gunter, B, Oates, C & Blades, M 2005, ‘The Issues About Television Advertising To Children’, in Advertising To Children On TV: Content, Impact, Regulation, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, pp1-13.Neil, D 2012, PHIL106 ‘Advertising to Children’, lecture notes, accessed 1/9/2012, [email  protected] Wilcox, B, Kunkel, D, Cantor, J, Dowrick, P, Linn, S & Palmer, E 2004, ‘Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children’, American Psychological Association Australian Association of National Advertisers, AANA Code for Advertising & Marketing Communications to Children, accessed 9/9/2012, http://www. aana. com. au/pages/aana-code-for-advertising-marketing-communications-to-children. html

Paulo Coelhos The Alchemist Synthesis Essay - 1275 Words

There are many obstacles in everyday life, but none as detrimental to ones future as fear. Fear can cause people to not only avoid achieving their goals in life but it also forces them to think about it throughout every day. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist shows that those who wallow in fear will never achieve their personal legend, and those who conquer fear will achieve anything they strive for. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a commonly analyzed and criticized piece of literature. One of these articles is Rejendra Kumar Dash’s â€Å"Alchemy of the Soul: A Comparative Study of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist†. Dash’s article is a literary criticism of the different parts of the character’s journey in The Alchemist.†¦show more content†¦Despite this knowledge he knows that the outcome is worth the risk. After taking this journey he soon reaches the oasis. After traveling through the desert for many days and nights, this place is a paradise for Santiago. He fits in well with the society at the oasis and begins to create a life for himself there. He meets a girl, gets a job interpreting omens, and becomes a wealthy man. When it comes time to leave he experiences a new kind of fear. Not a fear of danger or death, but a fear of loss. He fears that if he leaves he may not return to his life that he loves so much and holds so dearly. When he gets the option to leave he confronts the difficult decision with something his tour guide told him. The guide said, â€Å"Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man† (88). This allowed Santiago to continue with his journey knowing that he is responsible for fulfilling his personal legend and not staying out of fear of loss. The Arab tribal camp is Santiago’s next stop in his journey. He is cap tured along with the alchemist, who promises them that in three days Santiago will become the wind and destroy the camp. This causes him to panic out of fear for another time, even with all he has learned. He is now experiencing the most crippling fear yet, the fear of failure. This type of fear is so bad because it causes people to not