Employee Resourcing Essay Example for Free

Employee Resourcing Essay Edwards, Scott and Raju (p. 71, 2003) have defined the term recruitment as â€Å"organizational practices and policies developed for the primary purpose of motivating applicants to apply, remain in the candidate pool, and accept offers. † Recruitment has been traditionally considered to have a minor role in the hiring process. Earlier the term recruitment to the hiring managers was primarily a means to indentify and use the sources, for instance the print media, which would give the maximum output in terms of applications from promising candidates. The importance of recruitment has increased multi-fold in recent times. This has been due to trends in 1990s like the changes in market which has necessitated a need for a large work force of specialized labors, and the internet which has given a wide platform for both the recruiters and job searchers to come in contact with each other (Edwards, Scott and Raju, p. 71, 2003). As a result of these trends the organizations have come to a scenario that not many people might apply when a job is posted. Even when the organization has selected a candidate it can no longer be assumed that they would be accepting these offers. Hence, there is an increasing awareness among people who take care of a company’s recruitment that the process covers far more than merely looking out for sources where the advertisements for job openings are to be put. This report gives an overview of the recruitment trends and selection practices in recent times in UK, the factors impacting these trends and selection practices in the country. Recruitment trends in UK in recent times The recruitment practices of organizations in UK have seen a drastic change in the recent times. Various practices and conditions are seen to exist in the organizations these days, which were not present a few decades ago like provision of creches, job-sharing, part-time work, and home-working. There is also a lot of stress on gender equality by the various companies. For instance, banks are seen to be the pioneers in devising various schemes to hire and retain women. Another of these trends is also to review policies such as those which used to encourage early retirement based on various conditions (Hendry, p. 42, 1995). There have been some additional schemes like performance related pays, which brought about the appraisal management system to fore. The trends for various organizations in UK is to use systems like the 360 feedback system for performance related pays, to motivate their employees so that they stay and work with the company and see this translated to an increase in the pay packages (Anderson, p. 130, 2005). Internet boom has been seen to impact all the aspects of businesses. Recruitment is no exception, and has seen a major change in the way companies recruit people. The trend to adopt internet as a means to recruit people, has also seen in face of the increasing number of companies looking to recruit people. The ease of finding people has increased as the companies can now access databases of people living in far off places in a short time. The online recruitment activity in UK increased by 30% for August 2007, from last year August 2006 (Monster, p. 1, 2007) For the managerial vacancies, the trend is that the vacancies are filled from the internal labor market while the senior management positions are as likely filled internally as externally. This trend means that on the supply side there has been an increase in new entrants in the labor market while on the demand side the organizations have a need for new managerial recruits. Selection Practices in UK in recent times Swift and Robertson (2000) cite several surveys conducted for selection practices to point out that the employers use a wide range of selection techniques depending upon the type of jobs for which the people are being recruited. They also said that the survey showed that no one method for selection was used as a standardized or stand-alone technique in small, middle, and even large sized corporations. The most used current selection practices were found to be application forms, interviews with single interviewer, panel interviewers, personality tests, references, ability tests, selection centers, CVs, and group selection centers. Despite the many reports of unreliability and invalidity, traditional selection methods of interview, application form and references are the most popular selection practices used. Of these, personal interviews are considered to be the most widely criticized method of selection, and the third most popular toll behind reference checking and application forms. The more sophisticated techniques like the assignment centers and psychological testing are relatively less used in UK. Though there has been a rise in the number of psychometric tests used by large sized corporations while selecting new recruits, the traditional methods are still the most common tools for selection (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 60, 2004). Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley (2004) also point out that there has been a rise in the flexible working practices in UK, in particular the non-standard contracts. There has been a rise in flexible contracts related to salary packages like sharing profits, introduction of performance incentive and also flexibility in the working hours. Changing environment in UK in the last few decades Organizations in UK faced the impact of the economic changes that occurred in 1980s through the 1990s. There were changes in the economic environment, labor law, government labor market policy, demographic changes and also the political climate, all of which had an impact on the organizations and hence their personnel management policies. There was a severe recession of 1980-81, followed by a period of growth till the early 1990s and again a slump in the last quarter of 1990s when the economic growth ceased (Hendry, p. 23, 1995). Due to the recession in the country there was a need for bringing in more foreign currency, hence imports became cheaper and foreign firms were drawn to the UK market. All of these brought about a collapse in the manufacturing sector which could not keep up with the measures taken by the government to bring up the recession. The industries began to restructure and this brought about the internationalization of various firms due to acquisitions and mergers (Hendry, p. 25, 1995). The trend for internationalization was present in UK but was chiefly restricted to Europe both in terms of trade and movement of capital. But the 1980s and 1990s saw the companies expand overseas in other countries to explore newer market and / or use cheaper labor due to the inherently tight labor market (Hendry, p. 27, 1995). There were other changes for instance the demographic and social changes brought about by the education system, which meant that more people were trained in higher education, and hence the labor force fell sharply through the 1980s. However, the proportion of women entering the labor market started to rise. Politically too UK saw marked changes as the Thatcher government gave way to new governments and different work related policies as well as the overall policies (Hendry, p. 40, 1995). Effects of External Environment on Labor Markets All the changes in the UK environment affected the personnel management practices by the organizations. The section above gave a brief on some of the major environment changes while this section would be giving the impact of the changes on the labor market and the next section would give the corresponding consequences in the recruitment and selection process. The collapse of the industrial segment in UK had far reaching impacts on the labor market. There was large scale unemployment which was well over 3 million for almost five years, with large regional imbalances. There were forced redundancies and many of the units were closed down. This made the companies look out for increased measures in productivity by using flexible working practices. This also led to the sharp demarcations between the various levels of employees. The slump led to internationalization in two ways. First the people in the middle class who were traditionally the labors increasingly sent their offspring to universities for higher studies. This led to an increase in the number of people qualified tor white collar and professional jobs, and the number of labors decreased. Organizations in UK hence started looking to countries in Asia and Africa for filling this labor gap. There were also direct acquisitions which led to foreign companies acquiring stakes in UK companies, which led to internationalization. The internationalization brought people from different cultures in contact with each other on regular basis. This meant that the people needed to be culturally conditioned to blend in easily with the increasingly changing work environment. The increase in the number of women in the industry at various levels brought about massive changes in the working culture of the organizations. There were issues like employee safety and newer incentives were introduced to attract employees like facilities of creches, providing pick-up and drop facilities. Effects of External Environment on Recruitment Process The labor market in UK has traditionally being tight due to the reasons outlined above. The market was affected due to two important events foot-and-mouth disease and 9/11 crisis. These events brought about crisis in the financial markets, a fall in tourism and other related activities, thus increasing the unemployment. However, in spite of these changes the labor market remains a challenge for recruiters in terms of recruitment and selection (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 48, 2004). The recruiters need to attract people to work in their organizations, which is the first important step. The second step is to follow a rigid but effective selection process which would ensure that the right people have been selected to work in the company. Recruitment and selection process are seen to be the most important functions of Human Resource Management process. This is because an effective recruitment and selection process ensures an efficient labor force while a poor one might have negative effects to the company’s productivity which are long lasting. The companies prefer that their employees are sources both internally and externally, so that the internal employees are motivated and fresh blood is brought into the company which is necessary for innovation. The rise in technology especially the internet has seen to it that the companies can have a diverse work force. The large companies have also used software technologies to use databases to keep track of their employees for checking their performance levels which would air the process of internal recruitment. UK companies traditionally preferred to fill their positions internally especially for managerial recruitments, though this is changing in the face of internationalization. Various organizations are also seen to improve the process of re-training and provide attractive incentives like performance related packages for recruiting and retaining employees (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 0, 2004). Effects of External Environment on Selection Process After potential candidates apply for the position, the selection process must ensure that the most promising candidates are selected for the positions. This is again a challenge to the recruiters because of the increasing stress laid on the employees to excel not only in their job but also added skills like team-spirit and adapting to change. Many of the positions require that the candidate must be comfortable for working in newer locations, which was traditionally limited to people in the sales and marketing department. In addition, the potential candidates must also be abreast with the fast changing technological environment, and be able to cope up with it. All these must be the elements of the selection process, which means a high burden for people designing the process to ensure only the right candidates, are selected (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 60, 2004). As is already mentioned above, personal interview though is the most criticized, is still the most preferred by recruiters in UK. The reason for this is probably the importance the company people give to personal judgment. With the increasing number of people coming from different regions and countries, references and applications are considered to be the most important tools in the selection process. The reference checking is done with due diligence and the responses are always recorded. In many cases, the companies also go in for reference checking by employing private agencies to check up on the potential candidate. Application forms are of course the necessary input for any further steps in the selection process (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, p. 60, 2004).

Engineers Without Borders: Water Supply Work in Thailand

Engineers Without Borders: Water Supply Work in Thailand Jeremy Frisone Background Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization established to support community-driven development programs worldwide through partnerships that design and implement sustainable engineering projects. EWB-USA was founded in April 2000 when a representative of the Belize Ministry of Agriculture invited Dr. Bernard Amadei, Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, to visit a community in San Pablo, Belize, to assess the communitys water supply. When Dr. Amadei visited the community, he learned that they lacked clean water and sanitation infrastructure. Though the community had the resources to fix the problem, they lacked the engineering expertise to complete the work and Amadei decided to send his engineering students there to create a mutually beneficial partnership within the community (Engineers Without Borders USA, 2015). Today, there are over 12,000 members of EWB-USA, and the members are mainly composed of professional and student engineers. They work with local communities and NGOs in 47 countries and 5 continents around the world on water supply, sanitation, civil works, structures, energy, agriculture, and information system projects that comprehensively address the needs of a given community (Engineers Without Borders USA, 2015). Engineers Without Borders USA follows ten principles of development when completing international projects. These principles require that the projects be engineering-related, safety and quality-oriented, and performed within the scope of the engineers’ expertise. Also, the principles place a high focus on the importance of the community in which the project takes place. Since all EWB-USA projects are community-based, each project must be evaluated for appropriateness in the region and must develop a partnership with the impacted community that lasts at least five years. EWB also works closely with in-country partners (usually other in-country NGOs) to acquire the cultural experience that is required for the completion of the project. Finally, the EWB maintains that education of the partnering community and education of the active members is key to the success of the project infrastructure (Principles of Development, 2013). These principles of development show that EWB-USA main tains a high level of cultural awareness and works to develop projects which are specific to the needs, resources, and constraints of the region in which the projects are occurring. Mapping Engineers Without Borders USA has a highly specific method of mapping out regions to plan projects that places a substantial amount of focus on collaborating with the region’s community to improve quality of life. EWB begins the process of mapping out a region when they receive applications from villages for help on solving engineering problems. Once an application goes into the review process, the community receives a decision in four to six weeks. If the application is approved, the program will be posted on the EWB website, where it becomes available for acceptance by one of the student or professional chapters. According to the EWB website, â€Å"after a program is officially adopted, the community and chapter will coordinate the first assessment trip, which can occur anywhere between three months to one year after the date of adoption. The purpose of the first assessment trip is for the chapter to acquaint themselves with the community and to gather sufficient informatio n to assess the economic, social, environmental and technical viability and sustainability of the project. The assessment trip also allows the chapter to collect important data for both future project designs and the monitoring and evaluation phase. The highly participatory assessment trip typically lasts one to four weeks and allows the chapter and community to discuss whether or not the project should move forward† (Engineers Without Borders USA, 2015). Once the decision is made that the project should move forward, EWB enters a pre-specified partnership agreement with the community and a local partner organization such as a local NGO, municipality, or city government. Each of these entities has its own set of responsibilities that allows for the engineering experts to involve the community and organization leaders during each step of the project. For example, the community members and community based organizations are responsible for contributing to the project design, handling permits, permissions, and feedback, and helping to select and implement the final design (Project Partners Roles and Responsibilities, 2012). This involvement of the community members ensures that the project is completed in a way that suits the region’s specific needs and best improves the current situation. When the partnership is established with the impacted community, EWB-USA follows its specified framework that they refer to as â€Å"Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning† or PMEL. According to the official terms of reference, the PMEL framework â€Å"helps EWB -USA to better understand and account for the extent to which our efforts are going in the right direction, whether progress and success can be claimed, whether we are making the changes we hoped to make, and how future efforts might be improved† (Martindale, 2014). The first phase of the PMEL framework, â€Å"Planning,† is essentially EWB-USA’s method of mapping out the region of interest. It includes â€Å"conducting a situation analysis in the community, identifying program and project goals and strategies, collaborating with partner organizations and developing a plan for monitoring and evaluation† (Martindale, 2014). It is clear that in this phase EWB places a strong emphasis on working closely with the region’s community through situation analysis and cooperation with partner organizations. EWB relies on collaboration with the community members and partner organizations in every step of the â€Å"Planning† phase, including the project design, data collection, and preparing the site for work (Project Partners Roles and Responsibilities, 2012). By including the community members and local stakeholders in every step of the planning and implementation process, EWB-USA creates an exceptional level of communication that allows the project to adequately suit the needs of the specific region. The last three phases of the PMEL process are used in the actual application of the engineering project. In the â€Å"Monitoring† phase, EWB places focus on making sure that the project is going according to plan and noticing if adjustments need to be made. The â€Å"Monitoring† phase also works as a â€Å"communication system designed to improve management and policy decisions for different stakeholders† (Martindale, 2014). This emphasis on improving decisions for the â€Å"stakeholders,† or members of the impacted community, shows EWB’s commitment to involving the community members in every step of the project. Similarly, the â€Å"Evaluation† phase â€Å"measures progress the program or project has made, not only in completing activities but also in achieving its objectives and overall goal† within the community (Martindale, 2014). Finally, the â€Å"Learning† or â€Å"Impact Reviews and Assessment† phase is â€Å"des igned to determine if the completed program work did or did not have any direct influence on the changes experienced by the community members† by analyzing the significant and lasting change that has occurred in the lives of the target group (Martindale, 2014). Like the first three phases, the â€Å"Learning† phase also clearly places its focus on improving the lives of community members through collaboration. Region The focus of this paper lies in the region of Thailand and will look specifically at a case study that shows how Engineers Without Borders USA implemented its mapping and action strategies to complete an extensive water supply project in the village of Nong Bua. Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia that was first established in the mid-fourteenth century and is the only Southeast Asian country to never have been colonized by a European power. A constitutional monarchy has been in place in Thailand since 1932, and in 1954 Thailand became a U.S. treaty ally after sending troops to Korea and fighting alongside the U.S.in the war against Vietnam. Since then, Thailand’s political history has suffered through turmoil, political uprisings, and coups. In May of 2014, the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the government and placed the head of the Royal Thai Army in charge as the prime minister. The government has since created temporary drafts of constitutional reforms that will be voted on in 2016 elections (East and Southeast Asia: Thailand, 2014). Currently Thailand is divided into 76 provinces and one municipality. Each province varies slightly in religion, average income, industry, and cultural norms depending on the location within the country, but the majority of the population speaks Thai and practices the Buddhist religion (East and Southeast Asia: Thailand, 2014). The geography of the country plays a strong role in shaping the economy and the culture of Thailand. The climate is tropical, warm, and rainy, and the most prevalent natural resources are tin, rubber, natural gas, and tungsten. The recent increase in industrial practices and combined with the naturally tropical climate has caused an increase in both air and water pollution (East and Southeast Asia: Thailand, 2014). In fact, water pollution is one of the most serious concerns facing Thailand today. There is a high level of pollution due to substances that include household chemicals, such as surfactants, pharmaceuticals and insect repellents, agricultural chemi cals, such as pesticides as well as industrial chemicals, inorganics and heavy metals. Since these substances have a high level of tenacity, â€Å"these pollutants can cause contamination of surface water and groundwater which are the main water resources for drinking water production in Thailand† (Kruawal, et. al, 2004). This is a major issue for the health and safety of the residents of Thailand. This is particularly because â€Å"a considerable part of the Thai population lacks an access to health insurance, with the poor disproportionately unprotected† (Suraratdecha, et. al, 2004). Being that the water supply contamination is a major concern for the provinces of Thailand, Engineers Without Borders USA has been asked multiple times to assist in the development of clean water harvesting methods. Case Study The EWB-USA case study focuses on a water supply project that Engineers Without Borders USA Rutgers University Student Chapter completed in the Thai village of Nong Bua in 2009. The project formulated due to the lack of clean drinking water in the village of Nong Bua. Although the people in the community had made numerous attempts to drill wells to provide clean, inexpensive water, their efforts failed and the impoverished residents were forced to purchase bottled water. Luckily, Carole Ketnourath, D. Michael Shafer and Chatree Saokaew from the NGO Warm Heart heard about the situation and decided to act by contacting the Rutgers chapter of EWB-USA to help solve the problem. (Silagi, et. al, 2012). Since the Rutgers chapter of EWB was specifically asked to take on the project, the village was able to bypass the typical application process. Once the Rutgers chapter reviewed the information and decided to accept the project, they began the process of mapping out the region. EWB started the mapping process by conducting a situation analysis in the community and collecting general information on the specific region. They found that Nong Bua, a village in the sub-district of Phraro, is predominantly a farming village with 143 households. They found that the income per household is ~40,000 Baht (US$ 1,270) per year, with 68% of their income spent on purchasing sources of clean water. More importantly, it was discovered that the government constructed a water filtration and distribution system for an 88m well. However, the continuing poor water quality forced the community to purchase costly bottled water for drinking, or dig personal, shallow wells that do not provide clean water (Silagi, et. al, 2012). Once the EWB team had sufficient general knowledge on the situation, they conducted actual testing on the chemical composition of the water wells in the village and found that the water had a high level of contamination including unsafe levels of iron and ma nganese. They used this information to establish the general goal of improving the accessibility and affordability of clean drinking water in the village. The team then continued the mapping or â€Å"Planning† phase of the project by collaborating with Warm Heart, a local partner organization. Warm Heart is a grassroots organization that helps villagers in mountainous rural northern Thailand. They organize community projects that improve access to education and basic health services, create jobs and sustainable incomes for the poorest in the community, and restore the environment to sustain future generations (Warm Heart Worldwide, 2015). With the help of Warm Heart, the EWB Rutgers students were able to collaborate closely with the community members and local university students to assess the baseline health of the community and to brainstorm possible effective solutions to the water supply problem. After extensive planning that involved the engineers and the community members, the team began installation of a water system that had backwashing capabilities and a maintenance schedule that was designed to reduce the amount of iron and manganese to acceptable levels. Following the aforementioned PMEL framework, the team monitored and evaluated the project by continuously testing the system and relying on the community members for constructive feedback. Using this information, the EWB team â€Å"implemented various changes to combat the remaining fecal coliform contamination, the entire system was shock- chlorinated, and a hypo-chlorinator was installed to deliver a constant chlorine injection to the water system† in order to ensure that the water remained clean and safe for drinking (Silagi, et. al, 2012). After the project was completed, the EWB team began the â€Å"Learning† or â€Å"Impact Reviews and Assessment† phase of the project. They created a communication plan with the lead partner organization, Warm Heart, and agreed to stay in close contact to address problems in the future. They also made sure that the community was equipped with the proper coliform testing kits and operations and maintenance manuals so that they could ensure the future upkeep of the system. According to the official document, â€Å"the EWB-USA Rutgers team is confident about the future of Nong Bua after the final implementation trip during which educational programs were conducted and multiple meetings were held with the communities and local government to ensure that the project will be sustainable† (Silagi, et. al, 2012). Since the EWB Rutgers team made such a strong effort to educate and work with the local community members, government, and partner organization, it is clear that they highly valued collaboration with the affected region of interest. Throughout the mapping and completion phases of the project, the EWB team continually placed emphasis on the needs and feedback of the community in order to best achieve their goal of improving the water quality and access in the region. Conclusion Engineers Without Borders USA is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that uses a highly specific planning process to â€Å"map out† and complete engineering projects in over 47 countries around the world. One region in which EWB-USA has completed quality of life improvement projects is Thailand. Due to recent growth of industry, one of the biggest issues that is facing Thailand today is the abundance of pollution specifically water pollution that causes negative health effects for the general population. As a result of this issue, Engineers Without Borders USA has been asked to help mitigate the water supply issues in multiple villages across Thailand. One of the most prominent examples of EWB’s work in Thailand was the water supply project that the Rutgers chapter of EWB completed in the village of Nong Bua in 2009. To complete the project, the EWB team began their process of â€Å"mapping† the region by conducting site visits, gathering village-specific infor mation, and communicating with the members of the community and a local partner organization. They maintained this high level of communication with the community members throughout the project implementation by including the residents in the planning, designing, and upkeep of the new water supply system. As shown in the Nong Bua case study, it is clear that EWB-USA places a very high amount of focus on collaboration with the community during the mapping of a region and completion of a project within that region in order to ensure that the solution best fits the needs of the community. References East and Southeast Asia: Thailand. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html Engineers Without Borders USA. (2012). Project Partner Roles and Responsibilities [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/ewbgeneral/511 Project Partner Roles and Responsibilities.pdf Engineers Without Borders USA. (2013). Principles of Development [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/ewbgeneral/EWB-USA_Principles-of-Development.pdf Engineers WIthout Borders USA. (2015, April 30). Retrieved May 01, 2015, from http://ewb-usa.org/ Kruawal, K., Sacher, F., Werner, A. (2004). Chemical water quality in Thailand and its impacts on the drinking water production in Thailand. Retrieved from http%3A%2F%2Fac.els-cdn.com%2FS004896970400614X%2F1-s2.0-S004896970400614X-main.pdf%3F_tid%3D8162c9a2-f367-11e4-a079-00000aacb362%26acdnat%3D1430858840_a616e75e376e38244de835b5426bfe6e Martindale, T., P.E. (2014). Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Program Program Description. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/ewbgeneral/COMPILED PMEL Program Description.pdf Silagi, E., Kretch, J. (2012). Thailand Project (Issue brief). Retrieved http://ewb.rutgers.edu/projects/thailand.html Suraratdecha, C., Saithanu, S., Tangcharoensathien, V. (2004). Is universal coverage a solution for disparities in health care? Findings from three low-income provinces of Thailand. Retrieved from http%3A%2F%2Fac.els-cdn.com%2FS0168851004002672%2F1-s2.0-S0168851004002672-main.pdf%3F_tid%3D716c58c4-f4f2-11e4-b27d-00000aab0f6c%26acdnat%3D1431028465_6547fe9d9e83439cb473ec48c34fc224 Warm Heart Worldwide. (2015). Retrieved from http://warmheartworldwide.org/ Chartism: A Failed Success Chartism: A Failed Success British children born into farming families in the early nineteenth century stood little chance of remaining in agriculture their entire life. The society in which they lived was changing in large ways. Industrialization was slowly creeping into the countryside as men implemented new technology alongside the old. The domestic market grew markedly as income per head of population expanded and a consumer revolution percolated down from the richer classes to the middle ranks and artisans. People began moving to the city. It remains debatable as to whether individuals and families were compelled to move searching for work or if they were compelled to move due to enclosure. Villages such as Styal and Cromford were constructed to house some of the workers moving to factory towns. A quick journey down these village streets today provides some glimpse of the crowded conditions people endured. The rear alleyway below bedroom windows reserved for swine and human refuse reminds visitors of the intimacy working class people had with their animals and waste. Today birds singing from the chimneys are a far cry from the high volume of soot once produced by the coal burning within. No matter the motivation for moving, migrants found life in the industrial English city or town in the 1800s quite grim. Westminster played little role in the regulation of cities. England was still a country with very little government from the center, and almost all the local responsibilities, health, housing, education, police, that are now subject to strict inspection and control, were left to the unchecked discretion and pleasure of magistrates and borough rulers. Unfortunately for members of the working class many of the magistrates and rulers were sympathetic to factory owners or were owners themselves. It was an incredibly unjust system of governance presided over by men such as Cromford industrialist Joseph Arkwright. Therefore the Chartist movement was likely to fail. This is a vital reminder that those with power rarely surrender it to those without unless they feel compelled by the threat of physical harm or superior moral authority. Chartists arose from Britains working class determined to gain a voice in their destiny through democratic participation. Their goals were admirable but their strategy weak. The working class lived in squalid conditions and was used repeatedly as political leverage by the merchant class. The Reform Bill of 1832 was one such example. Harold Faulkner wrote of the event: When the smoke of the struggle cleared away, the great class disfranchised discovered that not only had they reaped no benefit from the reform they had so largely helped to win, but that their lot under a reformed Parliament dominated by the doctrines of the Manchester School seemed to be worse than ever. Economic thought of Manchester School politicians was that of laissez faire capitalism. Clearly their policies were not designed to aid the abused workers of Britain. However, determined Chartists planned to overcome the lockout workingmen had long endured in the political arena. Unfortunately, time would prove they were not the well-organized army the working class so desperately needed. The movement functioned far better as a social, emotional, and even religious agent than one of political change. Chartists failed to achieve their stated goals due to their nature as an emotionally fuelled reactionary coalition bound only by their six simple objectives articulated in the Peoples Charter of 1838. Life was absolutely miserable for the working class. The idea of the town as a focus for civilization, a center where the emancipating and enlightening influence of the time can act rapidly and with effect, the school of social arts, the nursery of social enterprise, the witness to the beauty and order and freedom that men can bring into their lives, had vanished from all minds. Industrial change allowed powerful capitalists to dominate life in small towns across England. Discontent was not unique to Chartism. Social angst in the period existed in several forms. Eric Hobsbawm identifies unhappy segments of the population including: Luddite and Radical, trade unionist and utopian-socialist, Democratic and Chartist. The largest class of people was unhappy with life and increasingly conscious of their group identity. It could have been caused by the changes slowly eliminating traditional trades, shift in power from landed nobility to the capitalist class, or movement of people from the soil to the city. Nevertheless the sheer number of protest movements demonstrates a clear unhappiness in nineteenth century Britain. All that was needed to turn consciousness into conflict was an economic or political crisis. For the working class that outrage first occurred on the moors at St. Peters Fields and combined with the knowledge of revolutionary France. The so-called 1819 massacre at Peterloo in which eleven were killed struck an emotional chord among the working class. They had rehearsed the event repeatedly. Men, women, and children donned their Sunday best and marched in columns to show their non-violent nature. The working class intended to prove it too could be an orderly component of society. However the government feared anarchic results akin to those in France at the Bastille. The local military contingent was intimidated by the workers discipline and a magistrate became alarmed and ordered the march on the field outside Manchester be stopped. The event turned bloody! The cartoon in Appendix A reveals the attitude often attributed to the middle class of the day. Hefty cavalry members sit atop sturdy steeds with swords raised to mutilate men, women, and even children. The caption reads, in part: remember the more you kill the less poor rates youll have to payà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The viewer cannot help but sympathize with the skinny-likely hungry-mother whose baby clings to her breast as she stares at a sword raised to strike them by a man who has had far too much for dinner. The cartoonist does an excellent job portraying wealth and power through weight and garb. State-condoned murder on St. Peters Fields near Manchester by those in positions of authority contributed to the sense of class-consciousness Kenneth Morgan identifies in The Birth of Industrial Britain. The Peterloo tragedy further energized by the pang of unhappiness deep within the workingmans gut finally pushed a number of radical groups to join forces as the Chartists. They offered a simple-albeit difficult to enact-political solution to mend Englands social and political ills. They rallied around a platform of six reforms, which they published as the Peoples Charter on 8 May 1838. The resolution called for: universal suffrage, no property qualifications for the electorate, annual parliaments, equal representation, salary for MPs, and implementation of the secret ballot. A number of historians argue that this was a major peak of the movement. D.G. Wright argued that the movement was not unilinear but had three peaks, one being 1839-40, the others included 1842 and 1848. Coincidentally, each of the identified peaks in the movement closely mirrors low points economically for Britain when poverty was greatest. The unmistakable correlation reminds us that Chartism was fuelled by passions of the impoverished. Most participants of Chartist events were neither intellectual nor bourgeois. Politically the movement never firmly gelled; it remained a movement of regional organizations guided by a single unifying document and no clear agreement among leaders. The Chartist paper called The Northern Star published accounts from numerous leaders. The best known was Feargus OConnor. The Chartist movement required leadership. Vocal leaders traveling throughout England took turns masking and exacerbating the divisions within Chartism. The leading men did not always concur on political issues, social goals, or Chartist strategy. Leader George Julian Harney exemplified this in a mid-1840s letter to his friend Friedrich Engels. Harney a national leader of Chartism thrice imprisoned for disobeying the stamp laws wrote: As to what OC [onnor] has been saying lately about physical force, I think nothing of it. The English people will not adopt [Thomas] Coopers slavish notions about peace and non-resistance but neither would they act upon the opposite doctrine. They applaud it at public meetings, but that is all. The absence of unified strategy allowed politicians to employ a divide and conquer strategy. This proved fatal to the underdog movement. Feargus OConnor was the most virulent of Chartist leaders. He was quite self-absorbed, a pompous self-promoter. His charisma captivated the working classes in a way few other movement leaders could. What OConnor did do was to link the various aspects of Chartism, and while dividing the leadership he united the movement. The unstable nature of the working class coalition united behind the Peoples Charter needed strong leadership in order to be successful. OConnor derived authority from his physical appearance and charismatic character. Historian R.G. Gammage described OConnor in his 1854 account of Chartism. There he wrote: Upwards of six feet in height, stout and athletic, and in spite of his opinions invested with a sort of aristocratic bearing, the sight of his person was calculated to inspire the masses with a solemn awe. So true is it that despite the march of civilization, and the increase of respect for mental superiority, men are generally impressed with a veneration for superior physical power. The Irishmans physical presence alone demanded some confidence from the crowd. Unfortunately for Chartism physical dominance of one charismatic man could not carry the agenda of an entire class of people. The average working class individual did not spend every waking hour attempting to make Chartism successful. Nor did the workingman await every word or message spewed from the fractured leadership. Chartist rallies were spectacles during which the working class nodded and applauded. That was the strongest action most Chartist men and women took! One imagines tired men and women attending a great open-air speech by OConnor much like those of Methodisms John Wesley. It was an uplifting experience, but there was limited ongoing dedication to the crusade. It was a periodic commitment with robust bursts of energy during times of severe hunger and unemployment. Many of the regional units-such as London Working Mens Association and the Birmingham Political Union-associated with Chartism sought to satisfy peoples needs for community, especially through entertainment. There was a need to engage the imagination in order to raise important questions of the day. Men and women were engaged socially through events sponsored by working class groups. The camaraderie built by the work environment and common belief that they were fundamentally mistreated went a long way in maintaining the loose confederation of regional movements that had differing interests outside the Chartist platform. Religion also found its place as an energy source for the Chartist movement. The established Church of England was of little use to the working class. High church was not the place for the working class. After all, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the typical Chartist was a horny-handed son of toil. Anglicanism made no attempt to appeal to men with fustian jackets, unshorn chins, and blistered hands. The Wesleyan Methodists were more accommodating than the established church. However, during the nineteenth century Methodism was dominated by a forbidding clerical autocracy-Chartists wanted democracy! Therefore many Chartists made their Christianity personal. The favorite scriptural teaching of Chartist Christians is found in the Gospel of Matthew. The verses are quite elementary and committed to memory by Christians worldwide: Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hand on these two commandments. Jesus conveys basic teachings in only a few lines, which the workers could easily interpret. By this Biblical standard they knew they were being wrongly treated. On this issue Chartists could claim the moral high ground. The religious experience was part of a much larger Chartist movement. Chartist branches at the local level, like those of the Owenites, provided a substantial menu of recreational, educational, and religious activities which amounted to an alternative culture, within which members could move freely during their leisure hours. This further reinforced the ideas promoted by the Peoples Charter. And, it gave the middling class supporters a place of refuge. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Being a Chartist was a risky business that invited abuse and threatened career, reputation, and liberty. However the support offered by the working class to members of the intelligentsia or bourgeoisie supporting Chartism on moral grounds was minimal given the non-existent social influence of the laborin g class. The six-point Peoples Charter faced an intense battle from its inception. The platform would have been difficult to enact even if all conditions were stellar. Had Chartists been the ideal protest movement of outraged, politically astute, impoverished masses, guided by unified leadership and common interests across regions, motivated by a deep sense of moral justice, supported by the middle class, and determined at all costs their demands-or should we say requests-would have had a better chance of parliamentary ratification. In addition, the failure of the 1832 Reform Act to address working class needs was a demoralizing shock to its labor advocates. The Whigs used labor to gain a greater say in British government my using, then marginalizing, the working class. Hindsight reveals the situation was far from ideal for Chartists. The 1849 Punch cartoon by John Leech found in Appendix B is far more indicative of reality. The cartoonist is likely poking fun at the Chartist failures of 1848 which included London riots, a Day of Protest, a failed Irish rising, and a planned British uprising all in the month of June. Not to mention the failed petition submitted to Westminster in April 1848, which a parliamentary committee found rife with fraudulent signatures. Leech drew an unidentified Chartist leader with before and after frames juxtaposed. When confronted by a constable, the ragged leader who had called for a march on the palace suddenly cowers changing his tune to God Save the Queen. This is an accurate depiction of Chartist fervor. It was lukewarm at best! Chartists failed to achieve their six goals due to their nature as an emotionally fuelled reactionary coalition of regional labor groups dedicated to different social agendas. Divided and sometimes self-absorbed leaders who failed to meld the various labor organizations of the north and south into a truly unified movement compounded the difficulty of their task. The issues for laborers in the various regions of England remained quite diverse due to varying stages of industrialization. It is unlikely they could have ever formed a strong unified bloc. Chartism was forced to remain an uneasy coalition of regional interests with a leadership of diverse opinion advocating peaceful and militant tactics simultaneously. The movement further lacked the motivation to sustain itself consistently. There was little talk of reform when the economy was doing well. The masses were mollified when there was plenty of bread in their bellies and a stable government at Britannias helm. Chartism began in the 1830s, an era that experienced no fewer than five national elections. And Wright reminds readers that the movement peaked with public disorder and petitioning on three occasions when the economy ebbed. Workers were motivated by the desperate situation in which they and their families were stuck. Contemporary scholars should resist temptation and refrain from being overly critical of Chartists. There is a need to overlook the megalomania of OConnor and the mediocre dedication to the charter by the exhausted working class. The Peoples Charter articulated six issues on which its adherents could agree. As it turned out those were the only six items about which they could agree. James Epstein and Dorothy Thompson expressed this perfectly in The Chartist Experience. According to these authors: For all its failings, the mass platform [Peoples Charter] had given shape and protection to working-class radicalism rendering it impervious to any diluting. Following the abandonment of the mass platform, Chartism was permeated by a miscellany of reform groups all of whom repudiated confrontation, intimidation, and exclusive nature of working-class protest. The charter established a common cause for the working class. However the movement stood little chance no matter how unified it became. Chartists faced a powerful national government of aristocrats and capitalists with a well-equipped military at its command. The Chartist movement had ceased to exist by 1858. But its ideas live on in various splinter reform groups. Universal suffrage, no property qualifications for the electorate, annual parliaments, equal representation, pay for MPs, and the secret ballot all exist in todays Britain and most of its former possessions. The historian of Chartism might dwell on the dark side, and select those aspects of working-class life which prompted political concern and social protest, but these need to be set against the broader canvas of what urban life could be. Chartists successfully shaped the political conversation of their day. Try as they might, leading politicians in the government could not eradicate the ideas of Chartism. The legacy of beliefs enshrined in the Peoples Charter lived long after Chartism ceased to exist. Appendix A Cartoon. Text in upper right: Down with em! Chop em down my brave boys: give them no quarter they want to take our Beef Pudding from us! - remember the more you kill the less poor rates youll have to pay so go at it Lads show your courage your Loyalty Available at: 31 Jul 2006. Appendix B John Leech. Great Chartist Demonstration 9 from Punch, 1849. Available at: 31 Jul 2006.

Macro Environment of Nestle

Macro Environment of Nestle Nestlà © is the worlds largest food company and has held offices in the UK as early as the 1860s. Nestlà © was originally made up of three major companies: Nestlà ©, the Anglo- Swiss Condensed Milk Company and Rowntrees of York. In 1905 Nestlà © merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company and quickly became known for infant formula, chocolates and tinned milks. In 1939 Nestlà © launched Nescafà © in the UK, which became an immediate success for instant coffee (Nestlà © UK, 2012). In 1988 Nestlà © obtained Rowntrees of York and has since invested over  £200 million into the York site and  £100 million in their Tutbury factory. Between the years of 2006 2011, Nestlà © invested  £224 million in their UK sites (Nestlà © UK, 2012). With 6,500 employees across 20 different locations in the UK and exporting as much as  £300 million worth of products each year to 50 different countries, Nestlà © is not only a major employer in the UK, but also one of the UKs food industrys major exporters (Nestlà © UK, 2012). In 2002, Nestlà © UK acquired Ski Yoghurt from Nestlà © Australia and six years later in 2008, Ski Yoghurt was re-launched with only natural ingredients combining real fruit with thick, creamy tasting yoghurt and no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives (Nestlà © AU, 2012). 1.2 Previous Positioning of Ski Ski yogurt is currently positioned as a naturally delicious product and its positioning strategy focuses mainly on its fruit heritage and its value to the consumer. After the last re-launch of 2008, the new re-designed packaging tries to connect ski back to nature and puts forward an all natural ingredients story by featuring plenty of fruits in their natural environment for every flavour (Appendices 9.1). 2. Situational Analysis 2.1 Macro environmental analysis In the analysing of the macro environment of the product category, PEEST analysis is used to identifiy five main forces which affect marketing decision-making. The five forces analysed are political-legal factors, ecological-physical factors, economic factors, social-cultural factors and technological factors. (P)olitical Legal factors: EFSA bro-biotic dossiers companies that have vested interest in functional health adopt a more cautious approach or focus on benefits that have secured EFSA approval (Mintel, 2012). Trade negotiations under WTO. Bilateral trade deals (Doha, 2011). Compliance with legislation is becoming more costly April 2012 Dairy UK intention to sign up to the Department of Healths calorie reduction pledge which aims to support and enable consumers to eat and drink fewer calories on daily bases. (E)cological Physical factors: Environmentally friendly, reduced packaging is being promoted by the government (recycling good for corporate social responsibility image) Climate change adaptations Water management is an emerging priority (E)conomic factors: Unemployment rates on the rise, reaching 8.4% during January 2012 (Trading Economics, 2012) Economic growth of the market UK yoghurt market grows in a slow but steady pace over the last year at a rate of approximately 2.5% (Mintel, 2012) (S)ocial Cultural factors: Good intentions, such as not snacking between meals and eating more fiber, have become less of a priority in the recent years. Preoccupation with trying to loose weight Adults within a family are expected to remain the largest population segment Strong growth expected in the number of children between 5 and 9 years old Projected increase of one-person households (contribute less to volume sales of yoghurt). (T)echnological factors: The use of the internet through online grocery retailing directly influenced the supply chain, operations and processes of grocery and food retailers Online retail shopping has gained considerable popularity due to the increased accessed to broadband internet in the UK; 70% of overall market are broadband users (Keynote, 2010) Lack of applied RD and knowledge exchange as Government reduces funding 2.2 Micro Environmental Analysis In order to analyse the companys both internal and external environment, the SWOT analysis is used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation as well as the opportunities and threats from within its market environment. SWOT Analysis: Strengths Ski is apart of a global established brand Nestlà © Nestlà © stands for product Innovation Strong promotional activities e.g. Exclusive gifts as a part of their promotional offers Product availability and distribution to all major stores Perceived as a quality brand Strong historical background One of the first in the yogurt market Strong ability to recover from market share loss in the short term (2008) Weaknesses Frequent re-launches over the years lacks consistency Weak TV advertisements Very weak presence on social media platforms less interactive and informational, lacking updates Current positioning is not consistent with the current image of Ski, therefore its losing its roots Frequent re-launches over the years lacks consistency Opportunities Over three quarters of yogurt users view Ski as a healthy alternative to other treats (Mintel, 2012) Use of social media is growing extremely fast Backing of Nestle known as a established brand Spoonable yogurt represents over four fifths of the yogurt market (87%) (Mintel, 2012) Consumer engagement Capitalize on organic/historic brand positioning Increase of online advertising Increase of use of internet Increase of nutritional awareness Threats Decrease in popularity Higher competition from competitors Competitors stealing market share Due to the Economic downturn consumers switch to store-brands (Mintel, 2012) Customers choosing healthier or non dairy yoghurt options Brand loyalty Customers not making the switch from their usual brand to trying Ski Only gaining an older demographic because of history and recognition Nestle boycotts within the UK 2.3 Market Trends Overall since 2007, there has been a 0.9% increase in the eating of yoghurt, with an increase 7.1% in heavy users, and decreases of 1.9% and 5.2% in medium and light users respectively. The yoghurt market in the UK is saturated, making it hard to add new users. Yoghurt is considered a healthy option, with low fat varieties making up 56% of purchases. The growth of low-fat yoghurts, at 1.9%, has been faster than that of standard yoghurt, at 0.6%. Those in families are more likely to eat yoghurt compared with those not. The group that buys the most yoghurt is that of women and households with children aged 1-9. An increase in the number of 5-9 year olds of 11% is expected between 2012 and 2017, meaning the number of people in the above group will expand, giving potential for more growth. More affluent families are also more likely to be consumers of yoghurt, and are likely to consumer more of it (Mintel, 2012). 2.4 Competitors Within the dairy market in the UK, retailers own-label products have significally increased the competition since due to the economic downturns of the last several years, consumers tend to switch towards them. The two bigger players of the market are Danome and Muller which together capture 60% of the spoonable yogurt sales and continue to dominate the market. The direct competitors of the Ski yoghurt are Activia, Muller, Yoplait, Yeo Valley, Onken, Munch Bunch, Weight /watchers and own-label products (Appendices 9.2). 3. Objectives The roles of objectives play an important part of the overall campaign. Both the marketing and communications objectives provide direction, focus, values, and a time frame, while also providing a means by which the success of the campaign can be evaluated (Fill, 2009) 3.1 Marketing objectives Increase market share by 1% by June 2013. Increase volume of sales by 20% by June 2013 3.2 Communication Objectives Increase re-launch brand awareness by 30% by June 2013 Impart nutritional knowledge, brand heritage and Ski yoghurt diet plan to both males and females, ages 25-40 within the first 2 months of the re-launch. Build project the position of a healthy, active, and convenient product image of Ski to both males and females, 25-40 years old within the first 4 months of re-launch. Increase shelf space in supermarkets by 20% by June 2013 Expand saturation on trade grounds by 15% by June 2013 20,000 consumers to sample the product by the end of the campaign-June 2013 4.0 Consumer Strategy 4.1 Segmentation Demographic Trends According to Mintel (2011), The group that buys the most yoghurt is that of women and households with children aged 1-9. The current target market of Nestlà © is working mothers, aged bwtween 35-44 years old with older kids. However, an 11% increase in the number of children aged 5-9 year olds is expected between 2012 and 2017. (REPEAT and needs a Reference). This gives potential of growth and more affluent families being more likely to be yoghurt consumers, and are likely to consumer more of it (Mintel, 2011). In terms of social class, AB, C1 and C2, social class who are professionals, supervisory and skill manual workers, the geographic location of these classes is in United Kingdom. Hence, the yoghurt market should focus on British customers to gain an effective marketing strategy. Behavioural/Psychographic Trends The reason being that British customers are more concerned with their health. More and more, they consider calories consumed and fat content to ensure that they are eating well. Their healthy lifestyle can safeguard them from the widespread obesity epidemic (Key note, 2012). Some customers, who find themselves lack of time having proper food, consume snacks instead of main meals. Yogurt is the choice of healthy food of this target market, containing essential nutrition to make them healthier (Mintel, 2011) 4.2 Target Audience Ski Yogurt is marketing to group of people who prefer natural yogurt products in effective quality and sufficient quantities. This target audience covers; working mothers aged 25-50 with older children. Our target audience would be A, B, C1 and C2 (Appendices 9.3) which primarily concern with health and nutrition. We will expand our target audiences network with family who would like active activities and has busy lifestyle. 4.3 Pen Profile Within the Ski consumer strategy, young families, especially mothers who take a considerable interest in both their appearance and health will be targeted. In addition, young working people that like outdoor activities such as exercising, walking, and socializing. Also, someone who is of a higher social class, and will therefore typically think more about nutrition in trying maintain a more attractive physical appearance. A good approach to reach the target audiences is through advertising messages on television; press media and outdoor media that attract the consumers. Alternatively, a more efficient communication network is through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Accordingly, marketing activity will adapt and respond to changes in customer behavior. 4.4 Positioning The aim of the campaign would be to maintain the current positioning of Ski as a healthy and natural product choice and focus on strengthening the healthy aspect of the product as well as introducing the convenience factor. The ultimate goal of the campaign would be to move Ski yogurt towards a healthier position among the competitors within the perception map (Appendices 9.4). 4.5 Creative strategy Strap line: How do YOU doSKI? From Skis previous re-launch in 2008, it has been positioned as a brand with high nutritional value using only natural ingredients, and no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives (Nestlà ©, 2012). The Ski UK brand is one that naturally composes historical and nutritional value while also being backed by Nestlà ©, one of the biggest food distributors in the UK. Starting in January of 2013, Ski UK will begin their re-launch by focusing on the promotion of new beginnings, and will accordingly play an important role in influencing consumers to aim for a healthier and happier lifestyle in the new-year. By enhancing their current traits, the re-launch and creative strategy of Ski will be positioned as an active brand with high nutritional value and convenience for those with a busy lifestyle. In order to support the re-branding of Ski, the colours will change from its current blue, white and red to a more unique and fresh white, black and green. The new colour of Ski will directly reflect the active and green-friendly image of the brand. Ski yoghurt will be seen as a product that will enhance your overall health, happiness and lifestyle. The logo will also change to differentiate Ski from its competitors and to reflect the new positioning of the overall Ski UK brand. Also, the Nestle logo, currently on the packaging will become smaller to give the consumer the feel of a more organic, and family-owned product (Appendices 9.5). It is shown that the attractiveness of packaging affects the volume of sales and packaging can be essential in affecting the positioning of a product (Fill, 2009). In order to attract the attention of Skis target market, the packaging of Ski will become more durable, sustainable and pleasing to the eye to reflect the new active and green image of the brand. The basis of the re-launch will be based around the new slogan: How do YOU doSKI? In the advertisements, the produced concept will introduce new ways of eating and using Ski yoghurt. People will be shown how they can DoSki. This will be shown through sports activities like football, young professionals with busy lifestyles and health-conscious families. The look and feel of a product will change while still holding on to its natural heritage and nutritional value. The overall goal within the Ski UK re-launch and creative strategy is to enhance the product. 5.0 Communication mix 5.1. Media Planning The media plan of the campaign will take place within a six month time period, which is broke down into 24 weeks for precision. The brand can take advantage of the spirit after the New Year by initiating an image of a new start, new beginning and changed behaviors. Thus, the repackaging, and the pre and post-testing of the new design will take place three weeks before New Year. Advertising among business clients will take place in the third week of the repackaging and in the first week of the communication campaign delivered by B2B print media. The developed company website and a new Facebook page will start at the same time but remain active throughout the whole period of the campaign. In order to attract the consumers attention, the first week of the media activities plan will start with TV advertisements. During January, February and the first week of March, the tools used will help create awareness among non-users and regular or inconsistent users. Apart from TV commercials, these tools include online and outdoor media. From week 10 (second week of March) to week 13, print, online, outdoor and TV media will be used to inform people about the competition-taking place in weeks 14 and 15 (middle of April), which is intended to provoke interest among customers. During the competition, online media will remain active as well as sampling, which would create desire among people. Sales promotion will start in the second week of the competition (week 15) and will be used again throughout the whole month of March. Meanwhile, online media will be used after the end of the competition to the end of the campaign in June to inform people about its results. In addition, print and outdoor media is implemented in the end of June in order to prompt customers about the competition and its beneficial outcomes. Successfully, at the end of the campaign a complete AIDA model would be applied. Appendix 9.6 shows a detailed media plan including time frame and Appendix 9.7 shows the budget of the campaign. 5.2.1 Advertising Most marketing communications campaigns rely on advertising as it is an important communication mix tool and is best used for awareness as it is has the potential to reach a large number of target audiences with simple and understandable message content. Hence Ski has given emphasizes to their advertising campaigns with their amounting to  £72,6277; the highest amongst other communication mixes. This includes the production cost of advertisements in the communication mix. Advertising would give Ski an excellent platform to control the message, content, show-case creativity, and give it a competitive advantage to their competition. This would enable the increase of brand / product awareness, associations and encourage the change in consumer perceptions including their involvement with the advertisement. Their prime communication objective is awareness. The emphasis on the strategy for Ski is to introduce better understanding of the yoghurts features. Broadcast Television This broadcast medium has a huge influence over mass coverage and it makes a good platform for skis target segment. Skis budget allocated to the TV commercials would cost  £420,121. The commercials would air during the time slots, 11.00 to 21.30 between weeks 1 to week 13. The chosen channels would be ITV 1(This morning, Early evening news and Movie / drama) and ITV 2 (all-day campaign). Through this time slot allocation, Ski would be able to target mothers during the morning slots and during news and drama slots the message can be sent to families with younger children. ITV would air the commercials to increase awareness of the product between weeks 1 to week 5 at various time slots. In week 12 and 13, the media would air commercials promoting an upcoming sports event for schools. Print media Ski will use print media as a part of their awareness strategy as it has a huge impact on mass audience because of its easy access and availability to mass audiences. The target audience of The Sun would be parents, both working parents and stay-home mothers. The Sun is one of the leading daily newspapers in the UK with a readership of more than 2 million per day (Insight, 2011a). The advertisement in The Sun will appear in 6 issues in week 10 and 11 and the results of the event will feature in 2 issues during the last 2 weeks of the campaign. The Grocer will focus on business to business advertisements to attract the interests of potential clients to promote Skis products in the stores. These advertisements would feature in the magazine during the pre-launch weeks and the first week of the campaign. Additionally, before the Ski holiday competition, retailers will be targeted again through the magazine in order to raise interest in supporting the event and giving it a space in their stores. The approximate cost of advertising in print media would cost Ski  £14,616. Digital media (online) This new form of communication is high in frequency and offers a direct route of advertising to a wider audience; it is faster, easily accessible, flexible and can get instant responses, hence Ski will focus on improving on their web/social media presence. Through websites such as Yahoo!, the advertisements will be start from week 3 to week 17 and on the Good Food (targeting online shoppers who spend time with families and enjoy nutritious food) from week 10 to week 20 (BRAD Insight, 2011d). An online group page for Ski would be created on Facebook as well as advertisements on the site. The group page would focus on the upcoming sporting event and follow all the stages of the event, as well as interacting with existing ski consumers, sharing recipes, comments and feedback. The Facebook adverts will run from week 2 to week 22 and the online group page would commence in week 3 of the pre-launch period until the end of the campaign. The approximate cost of online advertising is  £ 30, 700. ( appendix ). Yahoo! reaches 22 million people in the UK per month; it offers corporate partnerships and provides a unique search and display engine. There are a high number of users using this search engine and it is likely that our target market will come across our adverts, hence the decision to choose Yahoo! for advertising. (BRAD Insight, 2011c). Ski will give importance on building their new interactive website. This would cost  £ 10,600 including half yearly maintenance. The website will include 10 pages and those will include recipes, news / events about ski, a feedback page, image gallery, links to social networking sites, promotional offers and tracking of the entire football event and family Ski holiday competition. Outdoor media In terms of Skis marketing strategy, this form of of media will be a support tool to other mediums such as broadcast and print. It is an effective technique of grabbing the attention of a large audience. Ski will use the 3 main formats of out-door media in order to achieve this. Billboards: To be placed at various central locations. Amounting to  £68,640 in cost. Bus Stops: Posters will be placed in bus stops. Amounting to  £36,000 in cost. Transit: Ads will be placed on buses. Amounting to  £67,600 in cost. The out-door media will run for a period of 8 weeks (from week 5 to week 12). The first 5 weeks will focus on brand and product awareness while the remaining 3 weeks will include details about the sporting event competition. The event result adverts will commence from week 22 to the end of the marketing campaign. Cinema The cinema adverts will run between week 7 and week 10. The cost for 100 screens at 12 cinemas would be  £ 40,000. The advertisements will be mostly run during the screening of movies for children especially when families spend time together. This will focus on the awareness of the football event and the family Ski holiday competition. Packaging Skis new design and packaging (industrial designer charges) will cost approximately  £15,000. The new packaging and design will be completed during the pre launch week before the media plan is implemented. 5.2.2 Sponsorship Sponsorship will be an integral part of Skis marketing communications mix. Through sponsorships new business opportunities emerge such as media coverage, increase of goodwill, increased consumer base and interaction between Ski and the consumer. Skis sponsorship cost is  £6,10,000. Ski will organize a sporting event for schools across England, where in the schools will participate in a football tournament. The winner of the competition will receive sporting equipment sponsored by Ski. The main aim behind holding this event is to promote the health and fitness lifestyle that Ski and Nestlà © stand for. 5.3 Sales promotion Through sales promotions Ski seeks to influence consumer behavior with their interactive promotional strategies. These strategies are especially designed to facilitate consumer interest, interaction and to promote fitness and nutrition. The total cost of Skis sales promotion would amount to approximately  £ 131,055. Vouchers Part of the promotions would include vouchers in Good Housekeeping magazine. The circulation of the magazine is over 400,000 per month (BRAD Insight, 2012). This is a monthly lifestyle issue focused on home and family; hence the rate of vouchers being received by potential consumers is relatively higher since the target market for this is also for mothers. During the sports event, vouchers would be distributed to students and their families to encourage the sales of the product. The vouchers would offer a 20p reduction on the price of any Ski Yoghurt. The total cost of these vouchers would amount to  £ 99,255. Good Housekeeping magazine voucher cost and magazine space amounts to  £ 99,105, whereas school promotional vouchers amount to  £ 150. Sampling Skis sales promotions will include sampling during the school competitions and in supermarkets. The overall cost of the sales promotional activities amounts to  £ 31,800. The sampling event will introduce consumers to a new package design and will focus on building awareness of the yoghurt. 5.4 Public relations A variety of promotional activities will be conducted during the sampling phase in supermarkets and during the sporting event. The main activity would include a life -size cutout with an image of a person skiing and holding a pot of Ski yoghurt and it will be displayed in both school competition finals and supermarkets. A professional photographer will take pictures of people. People need to be creative and imaginative and they can show different ways of using the yoghurt for a snack. Images with captions will then be uploaded on Facebook. Three families of four with the most Likes on their images will win a Ski trip to the French Alps. The Ski holiday will cost approximate  £2,000 each (Adapted from Thompsons, 2012). Twitter will be kept up-to date during the entire campaign. The school football competition videos will be uploaded to You Tube after the event. Post the ski holiday, Videos / images of the families that won the holidays to the Alps will be uploaded to YouTube / Faceb ook. The total cost of a Web administrator will cost  £16,000 per year, which would include maintaining and updating social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (Adapted from PayScale, 2012c). 5.5 Budgeting The media used in the new campaign for Ski includes television, print media, online and outdoor advertising, and improvement of Skis website. Also, sport competition among primary schools, ski holiday competition, sampling during the finals of the competitions and in supermarkets, sales promotion in the form of coupons and repackaging are part of the marketing activities. Furthermore, the costs of pre-testing are calculated on the basis that Ski will need 1 focus group for the testing of the packaging; one focus group testing perceptions; and one focus group testing advertisements. The pre-testing of the awareness will be held by ambassadors in front of 50 central stores in London and Cardiff. The post-testing of the awareness will be the same in the end of the campaign and the post-testing of the perceptions will require one focus group. Additionally, the production cost of the advertisements is estimated as  £30,000 as 5% of the total advertising tools used. The budget of the campaign is estimated at about 5% of the intended market objective to increase sales to  £32 million in six months. During that time the budget should not exceed  £1.6 million. The total amount of the assessed costs is  £  £1,565,467 inclusive of  £50,000 for unexpected costs, especially having in mind that a competition among children can bring many unplanned activities involving extra costs. (Appendices 9.7). 6.0 Evaluation 6.1 Pre-testing To assess how well the new campaign will be received, tests will be carried out upon the prospective advertisements, guiding developers towards advertisements that are conducive to fulfilling the objectives. Five focus groups will used as they can accurately determine the reception of the advert, and therefore inform the creative process. To avoid bias brought in by participants interpretation of their own views, projective techniques will be used. Specifically completion will be used; where partially formed sentences are given to participants, helping to reduce bias and to structure responses in a way that gives responses that are easy to analysed. These should be carried out for all advertisement media developed for the campaign. 6.2 Post-testing Examination of the sales figures before and after the campaign will indicate whether the marketing objectives have been achieved. An examination of data showing any fluctuations in shelf space will of course show whether the desired increase in space has been achieved. Similarly, if all samples of the yoghurt are given out, the target number of people trying a sample will be met with room to spare. Awareness will be measured before and after the campaign to show whether the increase in awareness sought has been achieved. Measurement of this will be carried out with surveys. They will be carried out using opportunity samples outside supermarkets in two city centres within the UK. The locations of central London and Cardiff city centre have been selected as they are within the areas of highest and lowest consumption of yoghurt respectively, giving a more representative sample (Mintel, 2012). Focus groups will be used, separately to those used in pretesting, to show changes brought about in the perceptions of ski. Two groups will be run before the campaign, and two after. Monitoring the campaign and Public Relations Activities Considering the commencement of Skis social media presence in the UK, analysis of feedback from consumers and press will be carried out continuously during the campaign. Thus making it possible to refine and adapt. Using a number of different evaluation methodologies is key giving a holistic insight into the effect the campaign generally (Fill, 2009); and a variety is utilised here, giving a rounded picture whilst showing how the objectives were fulfilled.

African Americans role of Television Essay -- essays papers

African Americans role of Television The roles African Americans play on television are not satisfactory. Though the roles have changed during the development of television, the current relationship is not representative of true African American people or their lifestyles. The question is how do the past roles African Americans play in television sitcoms compare to the current roles? How does this affect society’s perception of the African American in American culture? Throughout the history of television the roles and the representation of African Americans has developed with the changing cultural conditions. However, the representation of African American’s has not fully simulated into today’s society. What the average citizen views on his or her television does not accurately portray the African American’s influence on America. The early days of television held great optimism and hope for this new form of media as an avenue for African Americans to assimilate into white American culture. However, a pattern became evident, a pattern of type casting African Americans in roles which did not accurately and wholly portray the individual. A misrepresentation of African Americans became the common image on television. Variety shows initially promoted the new media as an opportunity for equal representation and communication between the races. However, a trend developed with African Americans often being â€Å"portrayed as custodians, maids, servants, clowns, or buffoons† (Crenshaw). The negative image, which was developed by these stereotypes, was perpetuated in the Amos and Andy Show. This television show began as a radio show featuring two white men portraying two comedic black men. When the show was transferred to television, two African American men were cast in the roles, acting as buffoons. The popularity of the show was overwhelming. This was the initial image of African Americans in television, which reached mainstreams Caucasian America and was the foundation for which future stereotypes were created. A new image of African American families was presented in the eighty’s with the Cosby Show. The Huxtable’s were a successful African American family with a life similar to the accepted and established Caucasian mainstream. This show was not accepted fully because it failed to represent the full cultural scope of African Americans. The current... ...After giving the presentation there were many different views coming from the audience which were not expected. The audience did not hold the same views presented to them. The point addressed was about how Will Smith was the buffoon on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. They did not feel Will Smith was acting buffoonish, they thought he just brought comedy to the show. The audience seemed to focus on black people acting white rather than black people acting ignorant. They brought up the character Carlton, and how he acted white. When asked the question how they knew he was acting white they said he went to an all white school and was influenced by the way they acted. The audience also said Will criticized Carlton for acting white. They excused Will's buffoonish actions by saying white people were also made fun of through Carlton's character. This brings up the question how do we know what is characterized as acting "black" or acting "white", and what makes a show a "black" show or a " white" show. Again these questions revert back to the fact television shows have embedded stereotypes in our society. This makes people believe there must be a typical "black" person and "white" person.

Adolescent Gangs and Violence in Schools Essay -- School Violence Essay

Dave Reichert once said â€Å"Gang violence in America is not a sudden problem. It has been a part of urban life for years, offering an aggressive definition and identity to those seeking a place to belong in the chaos of large metropolitan areas† (Dave Reichert Quotes). These days, gangs are not only made up of adults on the streets, but teens who are in school as well. Various experts say that â€Å"gang membership is particularly widespread among urban youths under the age of 18† (Teen Gangs). As a result, gangs are now seen in many schools, and as a result may lead to increased violence among students. Schools must take a firmer stand against these gangs in order to reduce the increased violence. Throughout the history of the United States, gangs have always been groups that regularly use threats to commit crimes. Crime rates escalated during the 1960s and 1970s, partly because of the large number of teenagers involved in crime. During the 1980s, juvenile crime continued to rise even though particular types of crime fell. But according to most reports, â€Å"gang activity declined somewhat in the 1990s. Experts attribute the decline to a combination of factors, including an improved economy, a decline in crack cocaine use, stricter law enforcement and more violence-prevention programs† (Teen Gangs). Statistics show that the number of gang members dropped to â€Å"780,000 in 1998 from 846,000 in 1996, according to the OJJDP† (Teen Gangs). Another report coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that â€Å"the proportion of high-school students who reported carrying a weapon during the past 30 days declined to 18% in 1997, from 26% in 199 1† (Teen Gangs). Various people come to believe that membership in a gang is a severe dan... ...eb. 22 May 2012. . "School Safety." Issues & Controversies On File. Web. 23 May 2012. . "Teen Gangs and Crime." Issues & Controversies On File:. Web. 23 May 2012. . "Teen Gangs." Issues and Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 09 Apr. 2009. Web. 22 May 2012. . "Update: School Safety." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 May 2007. Web. 5 June 2012. . "Zero Tolerance." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 13 July 2001. Web. 5 June 2012. .

The Impact Advertising Has on Children Essay -- Advertisements Media E

The Impact Advertising Has on Children Advertising today focuses on specific targeted demographic groups. There is a direct focus on marketing products to young consumers. This age group sees the commercials, but does not really understand the directed message. This can have an adverse effect on the way children interpret and understand the message being presented to them. 'The average American child sees more than 40,000 commercials a year, and advertisers spend more than $12 billion annually marketing to them?double the amount of 10 years ago.' (APA-1) Children watching television are exposed to every channel running commercials that are sending out a mature message to an immature audience. There needs to be something done to prevent young children from receiving the wrong message at an early age. Also help for them to understand the message that is being sent out in a positive manner. Common themes that are used to sell products are sex, sex appeal and fast food. They are targeted for a younger marketing audience. Over the last thirty years advertising has focused on a younger consumer base and designs commercials to sell products to this age group. You see television ads, that are selling a mature product, but the commercial is appealing to an immature audience. For example: Trojan Condoms have created a cartoon character, Trojan Man, that is promoting the selling of condoms. This form of advertising appeals to smaller children because of the cartoon animated character. Though the product being advertised is a for an adult market, it is still sending out a message to young children that sex is okay. This direct kind of advertising with a cartoon theme, is what catches the child?s attention. The APA report points out, that children under the age of 8 can?t grasp the notion that commercials have a purpose other than entertainment. The child believes what they see a nd hear without understanding the true message. This is an effective way to advertise, because this persuades the child to want the product or to remember the product later on. Little catchy jingles and colorful carton-like commercials will catch the interest of a younger child, and using simple language that the child can understand is key to getting and keeping their attention focused on the product. Advertising focuses on the young consumer , because the marketing base is high for pr... ...m.; Sweden bans all TV advertising aimed at children under 12; and Denmark, Finland, and Norway don?t allow sponsorship of any children?s programs. Canada?s Broadcasting Code, which severely restricts children?s advertising, bans ads implying that a product will make a child happier or more popular. We are a country that will sell anything to anyone, no matter what the age or the message that is welcomed with the product. There needs to be more control in adverting to small children. Advertising is a powerful tool to bring a message to the masses. Controlling the message that is being directed towards very young consumers is critical. Mature advertising should not have an immature theme and should be limited when the commercials are aired. Advertisers need more guidelines to follow in order to help ensure that the right message comes across to children. Parents also need to be more aware of the television their children are watching. They should also talk to their children about commercials, and the message the commercials deliver. Explaining to children that everything they see on television is not real, may help the child interpret the commercials message differently.

Effect of racism from a functionalist’s point of view Essay

One of the most identifiable effects of racial discrimination in education and training is the negative impact it has on the performance of children at school. The failure to address the needs of minority children and those of migrant workers through, for example, combating racial stereotyping or through formulating school curricula that include modules on minority languages and cultures, can lead to school curricula which lack relevance for those children. As a result, children may lose interest and become bored at school which in turn increases the risk that children will drop out early or even fail to attend school at all. The failure to provide curricula adapted to the specific needs of the children of minorities and migrant workers can also lead to low literacy rates amongst these groups. Similarly, where a child does not have an adequate grasp of the official language, the failure to provide additional language classes in the official language and to provide classes in minority or migrant languages could have the effect of retarding the progress of those children through school. Another long-term effect of racial discrimination is that children learn to accept acts of racial discrimination as the norm. Such learnt behaviour can lead to the consolidation of racial discrimination within society as the norm, with children of minorities or migrants growing up and discriminating against the newest influx of migrants. Thus, a vicious cycle of discriminatory behaviour is produced which reinforces racially discriminatory behaviour. The forced segregation of children of minorities and migrant workers from other children can have serious negative effects on the capacity of these children to integrate with other children and into the society in general. In particular, segregation of children into schools for mentally handicapped children can severely retard the child’s progress through school and can affect his or her self-image. Education is arguably the basis of a functionalist’s beliefs, where children learn social skills and behaviours, these skills help build towards unity in society. Therefore racism is abhored in their beliefs.