Corporate Social Responsibility: History, Benefits and Types

Corporate Social Responsibility: History, Benefits and Types Corporate Social Responsibilityis know by many other names. These include corporate responsibility, corporate ethics, coporate accountability and corporate citizenship just to name a few. A key point to note is that Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR has no universal definition; however, it generally refers to clear business practices with respect to ethical values, compliance with Legal requirements and respect for economic values. CSR goes beyond making profits, companies and stakeholders are responsible for their impact on people and planet. Increasingly, stake holders should expect that companies should be more responsible both socially and environmentally in their conduct of their business. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has described CSR as the business contribution to sustainable economic development. A Brief History of Corporate Social Responsibility The history of CSR dates back many years and in one instance can even be traced back 5000 years in Ancient Mesopotamia around 1700 BC, King Hammurabi introduced a code in which builders, innkeepers orfarmers were put to death if their negligence caused the deaths of others, or major inconvenience to local citizens. In Ancient Rome senators grumbled about the failure of businesses to contribute sufficient taxes to fund their military campaigns, while in 1622 disgruntled shareholders in the Dutch East India Company started issuing pamphlets complaining about management secrecy and self enrichment. With industrialisation, the impacts of business on society and the environment assumed an entirely new dimension. The corporate paternalists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries used some of their wealth to support philanthropic ventures. By the 1920s discussions about the social responsibilities of business had evolved into what we can recognise as the beginnings of the moder n CSR movement. The phrase Corporate Social Responsibility was coined in 1953 with the publication of Bowens Social Responsibility of Businessmen (Corporate watch report, 2006). The evolution of CSR is as old as trade and business for any of corporation. Industrialization and impact of businesses on the society led to a complete new vision. By 80s and 90s CSR was taken into discussion, the first company to implement CSR was Shell in 1998. (Corporate watch report, 2006) With well informed and educated general people it has become a threat to the corporate and CSR is the solution to it. In 1990 CSR was standard in the industry with companies like Price Waterhouse Copper and KPMG. CSR evolved beyond code of conduct and reporting, eventually it started taking initiative in NGOs, multi stake holder, ethical trading. (Corporate watch report, 2006). Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility There are no generic CSR methods, each method is based on the individual firms needs and circumstances. Each method will vary in its attentiveness of CSR issues and how much work needs to be done with respect to the approach. CSR can be utilized integrated into a firms core decision making, management processes, strategy and activities, be it over a period of time or systematically. Most companies already possess policies with respect to the handling customers, community, employees and the environment. These can be perfect starting points for firm-wide CSR approaches. What follows below is a framework for the development and implementation of a CSR approach that builds on current existing policies as well as experience and knowledge of other fields, such as economic and environmental. The broad framework follows a familiar plan, do, check and improve model. This framework has been designed with the intention to be flexible so that firms would be able to mold and adapt it as appropriate for their organization. Implementation Framework When? (Conceptual phase) What? (Task delineation) How? (Checkpoints on the journey) Plan arrow 1.Conduct a CSR assessment Assemble a CSR leadership team Develop a working definition of CSR Review corporate documents, processes and activities Identify and engage key stakeholders 2. Develop a CSR strategy Build support with senior managment and employees Research what others are doing prepare a matrix of proposed CSR actions Develop ideas for proceeding and the business case for them Decide on direction, approach and focus areas Do arrow 3. Develop CSR commitments Do a scan of CSR commitments Hold discussions with major stakeholders Create a working group to develop the commitments Prepare a preliminary draft Consult with affected stakeholders 4. Implement CSR commitments Develop an integrated CSR decision-making structure Prepare and implement a CSR business plan Set measurable targets and identify performance measures Engage employees and others to whom CSR commitments apply Design and conduct CSR training Establish mechanisms for addressing problematic behaviour Create internal and external communications plans Check arrow 5. Verify and report on progress Measure and verify performance Engage stakeholders Report on performance Improve arrow 6. Evaluate and improve Evaluate performance Identify opportunities for imporvement Engage stakeholders return arrowCross-check: One cycle completed Return to plan and start the next cycle Benefits of corporate social responsibility CSR offers many benefits both externally and internally to companies. Externally, the benefits are greatly positive amongst the people for its company and their peers. It can create short term employment opportunities by taking various community projects like construction or maintenance of local parks and sporting complexes, etc. Working with keeping in view the interests of local community bring a wide range of business benefits. Businesses also have an impact on the environment. Plantation and cultivation activities taken up by many companies are highly respected programs, as well as recycling used products. This also acts as a step towards minimizing wastes. Internally, the benefit are mostly but not only felt by its employees, the attraction and retention of qualified and skilled employees as well as employee loyalty, increased productivity, quality, sales and financial improvement for all. Most importantly, it also serves as a diversion from the routine workplace practices and gives a feeling of purpose and meaning to the entire work force. Apart from this, companies also benefit from CSR in areas such as business sustainability; competitive advantage; easier compliance with regulatory requirement. CSR and BRANDS Brands are basically the identification in which a companys product is identified by the consumer. The sales and revenue of the company are widely dependent on the brand they give to their product. Here are some CSR traits that positively / negatively affect the brand Positive Marketing/ Brand Building Times of India (kalingatimes.com) Brand insurance NIKE (Corporate Social Responsibility, 2003) Crisis management- Pepsi (wikipedia.org) CSR and Globalization As companies expend through globalization, many challenges have waited for them from Government regulations to the varying standards of what is deemed to be labor exploitation, these challenges have the potential to cost companies millions of dollars. Some companies are of the view that these policies are merely a cost hindrance, while other companies use CSR tactics as a strategy to gain public support for the presence in the global market. CSR and Human resources A CSR program can be an aid to hire and retain staff particularly within the competitive graduate student market. Potential recruits often inquire about a firms CSR policy, and having a comprehensive policy can give an advantage. CSR can also add value in the perception of a company among its staff, particularly when staff can become involved through fundraising activities or community volunteering. Also CSR can be driven by employees personal values, in addition to the more obvious economic and governmental drivers. CSR and Risk Management Managing risk is a central part of many corporate strategies. No matter how hard a company tried their reputations which took decades to build up can be questioned in a matter of minutes through incidents such as corruption or environmental accidents. These can also draw unwanted attention from courts, governments and media. Building and promoting great CSR policies can sometimes offset the risks. CSR and Government Policies Government politics have tremendously shaped the regulation of businesses in several ways. First, government business policies insist that organizations operations shall bring no harm to society or the environment. Businesses shall be friendly to society and vice versa, to ensure that businesses follow these policies, the government enacts laws to monitor both the conduct and operations of a business. In addition, to these laws violators also face punishment if they are not followed. Secondly, governments provide businesses with various grants and incentives provided that they comply with those government regulations and policies. Studies show that a very high percentage of businesses have reported more benefits than expected from complying with the government policies. Finally, governments regulate businesses in the interest of protecting stakeholders and shareholders. With the absence of proper business regulation societies can be misled, manipulated and exploited, therefore the government needs to be responsible and regulate businesses in order to provide a level playing field where all business have the opportunity to operate and expand. Governmental policies have been designed and put in place to assist not only consumers both organizations as well, by protecting consumers from unfair business practices as well as protecting the organizations from public misconduct and interference. Criticisms and concerns Critics of CSR debates a number of concerns, these include CSRs relationship to the fundamental nature of business and questionable motives for engaging in CSR, including concerns about insincerity and hypocrisy. Conclusion I believe that the above problems are not inherent flaws in CSR, but rather that they result from both a disingenuous commitment to CSR on the part of many business managers as well as an uninformed public opinion on many CSR issues. It is important to expose and confront CSR abuses not so that the CSR movement could be turned back, but rather to protect the kind of CSR that genuinely promotes social advancement. Nobody would be opposed to business practices that benefit both individual firms and society at large. In an ideal world, competent managers would always conduct business in a matter that translates productive relationships into real value for society. After all, the economy is not a self-serving machine: it is a purposeful system for organizing everybodys interests in such a way that people can engage in mutually beneficial exchange. I agree with the notion espoused by CSR advocates that profits should not be the sole motivator in business decisions. Although the profit mot ive is the driving force for both firms and the macro economy, there is a point at which it degenerates into greed: breeding microeconomic ethical dilemmas that, when can collectively threaten the economys health and ought to be curbed by a proper concept of social responsibility. CSR becomes less of an outside pressure and more of a genuine business principle. It is the responsibility of an informed public to be able to separate reasonable CSR from harmful CSR. All too often, people support counter-productive initiatives out of romanticized views of social justice, environmentalism, or nationalism, not realizing that ideas are not as appealing in the real market as they may appear in the public imagination. It seems to me that a root cause of CSR abuses is a conflict of interests between firms three main stakeholders: shareholders, employees, and management. For individual managers, the best course of action may be to engage in as much CSR as possible. Managers who receive positive press for their leadership initiatives become eminent in their fields, and therefore more valuable. For this reason, managers have an intense focus on expanding companies and investing in high profile projects that earn them the publics attention, and may make uninformed decisions in the process. This differs substantially from the interests of shareholders. A shareholder is uninterested with a managers popularity but very interested with the return that the  manager is able to deliver on the shareholders investment. Unless a corporation can  justify CSR practices in very clear terms, i.e. revenue and cost, shareholders will be  unhappy with the result. Likewise, workers in a company benefit greatly from responsible CSR policies. Companies that deal honestly will build trust within their workforce. Managers that earn obscene salaries while simultaneously throwing millions of dollars into charitable causes and announcing layoff plans can only blame themselves when workers beco me more dissatisfied and less productive, or when the public places less faith in their product (consider the slow death of the American auto industry). Like shareholders, employees are unwilling to support frivolous practices that jeopardize the companys financial strength: they are most concerned about their long-term employment security, an interest that managers should take into account as well. Influence of Price on Decision Making: Research Influence of Price on Decision Making: Research Nowadays, many businesses have launched in the market. But its not easy to make appreciate for every people. Maybe, that is a reason of the customer decision. While, the student is part of purchasing power that the trader directed. Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals make decision to spend their available resources on consumption-related item(SchiffmanKanuk, 1997). In University the product is important for the student. While, the product not cover all student because maybe the teenager choose the product follow the life style that their love. So, the product have more effected to decision purchasing with the student in teen ages. Specially, the foreign brand is trust brand that have support purchasing power by the customer. In Global setting, every product have evaluated and developed all time for customer need that is heart of competition in a commercial sale. The most people have selected the product follow several factor. So, the companies will be improving your products. Otherwise, the customers that have purchasing power can be change to other royalty brand. The better they understand the factors underlying consumer behaviour (Assael, 1998). The better able they are developing effective marketing strategies to meet consumer needs. In National setting, the several factor to make a purchase. Its reason to consider for trader to select product that sales and support. The several factor have effect to making a purchase (Scheinberg, 1992) such as marketing strategies, sex, ages, occupation, prices and also the product name have a reputation values. The last factor is important to study that why the brand name have effected to customer decision. Locally, the product names have a reputation values is the trust brand. The product that sale for student in business bachelor administration for Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi will be in trends to response their customer in this age. This study concern with the behaviour in making a purchase that Brand is what consumers purchase and product is what consumers use; this shows that branding is very important. The brand name is the trust brands that have effected to make a purchase. Present, student cant said that dont love their brand name and specially, the foreign brand is part factor to making a purchase. Even though, the trust brand has copyright infringement but the student will buy for owner that products. May be, the lower prices and closer style of real band are instead in using. Follow the plaza, student would like to view every week and someone choose to owner. While, the real trust band name from foreign in the Leading department stores have student only high purchasing power that only few percentage. All of behaviour from student in business bachelor administration for Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi is thing to study for know the reason why their choosing. Consumers make many buying decisions every day (Kotler Armstrong, 2001). Most large companys research consumer buying decisions in great detail to answer question about what consumers buy where they but, how and how much they buy, when they buy, and why they buy. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Foreign brands are expensive for students. Quality of product imitates. The current materialism of society makes students feel like they have to buy foreign brand products or imitations of them. The personality of the customers. 1.3 Research Objective The objective of the study is to meet the answers of the problem; Foreign brands are expensive for students. Quality of product imitates. The current materialism of society makes students feel like they have to buy foreign brand products or imitations of them. The personality of the customers. The answer to the problem is as follow: To find out how the price of foreign brand products and imitations of them influence decision making. To find out how the quality of foreign brand products and imitations of them influence decision making. To find out how the social value of foreign brand products and imitations of them influence decision making. To find out the supplement personality of foreign brand products and imitations of them influence decision making. . 1.4 Scope of research The scope of this research is the population studying at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi. This includes males and females aged 18-25 years old of 11 different faculties totalling approximately 24,053 people. (http://www.oreg.rmutt.ac.th/SKOStdCourse/2552/report%203-2.asp) The sample in this study was students from the faculty of Business Administration, University of Technology Rajamangala Thanyaburi. This faculty has seven branches including both men and women aged 19-25 years who make a purchases by themselves; a total of 6,299 people. The variables studied: Independent variables are students gender, age, department of study and the year of study. Dependent variable is the attitude toward buying foreign brand products (price, quality, brand names and value.) 1.5 Limitations of the Research We acquired this information by sending questionnaires to students at Rajamangala University of Technology Thunyaburi; this includes both men and women. One of the limitations of this study is, if a sample of students does not send the questionnaire back to the researcher, or if they send it back incomplete. Another limitation is the amount of time we have is to send the survey to the students, receive the information and calculate the received information. 1.6 Significance of the study This research is a study of factors that influence behaviour of students (of business administration at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi) when buying product imitated foreign brands. The findings of this study will help those interested in doing business foreign or interested in operating foreign brands companies by determining marketing strategies to suit the needs of target customers. 1.7 Definition of Terms Foreign brands are expensive for students. The students will receive the money from their parent. So, they dont have money to buy foreign brands product. Quality of product imitates. Continually, imitates products quality have very good quality compare to foreign brand products, so there is a choice for students who has limited their money and want to use same brand but good quality. The current materialism of society makes students feel like they have to buy foreign brand products or imitations of them. Following the student social in university, the students want to be in trend of fashion for concept from their friends. The personality of the customers. Some students, they dont have confident in themselves. So, the students will use the product from foreign brands to help them have more confident. CHAPTER II Review of related literature and studies 2.1 Definition and Features of the Independent Variable In this chapter, discusses the title of research. Because this research is relevant to consumers: students of business administration at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi. So, need to know the meaning of consumer behaviour on buying for study factors affecting the decision of the students. Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals make decision to spend their available resources on consumption-related item. It includes the study of what they buy, why they buy it, when they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, and how often they use it (Schiffman Kanuk, 1997). The aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target customers needs and want. The field of consumer behaviour studies how consumer select, buy, use, and dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires (Kotler, 2003). Marketers have come to realize that their effectiveness in meeting consumer needs directly influences their profitability. The better they understand the factors underlying consumer behaviour. The better able they are developing effective marketing strategies to meet consumer needs (Assael, 1998). Consumers make many buying decisions every day. Most large companys research consumer buying decisions in great detail to answer question about what consumers buy where they but, how and how much they buy, when they buy, and why they buy (KotlerArmstrong, 2001). Possibly the most challenging concept in marketing deals with understanding why buyers do what they do. But such knowledge is critical for marketers since having a strong understanding of buyer behaviour will on what is important to the consumer and also suggest the important influences on consumer decision-making. Using this information, marketers can create marketing programs that they believe will be of interest to consumers (Kanhasiri, 2006) In addition to this, also need to know meaning of the word imitate foreign brands. Imitate foreign brands means the product copy as products of a foreign brand. Popular products make copy are bags, watches, clothes, and shoes. The imitate foreign brands products that we know and see often in everywhere are Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Nike, Christian Dior, Gucci and etc (Kanhasiri, 2006 ). 2.2 Theories Related to the Independent Variable (s) 2.2.1 Foreign brands are expensive for students. Prices, product differentiation and quality measurement: a comparison between hedonic and matched model methods studied by Gian Maria Tomat (2005); related contributions to Pakes, Berry and Levinsohn (1993) and Nevo (2003) consider the problem of making exact welfare comparisons on the basis of the estimated parameters of consumer preferences in a discrete choice model. This approach has been used in these works to study problems such as the effect on consumer welfare of changes in environmental regulation or of the introduction of a new brand of a product. Specifying the consumers choice problem in the space of product characteristics, simplifies the analysis in comparison with analogous problems studied on the grounds of traditional demand theory, as is done for example in works by Hausman. However, the results of the prices, product differentiation and quality measurement: a comparison between hedonic and matched model methods studies show that the approach can at most generate up per and lower bounds to the true price indexes and the empirical evidence shows that these bounds are usually quite wide. 2.2.2 Quality of product imitates. From Quantity-Discount Dependent Consumer Preferences and Competitive Non-linear Pricing studied by Z. Jane Gu and Sha Yang (2009); they investigated the quantity-discount effect, a type of transaction utility consumers derived from the unit price difference between a small and a large package size of the same product in a non-linear pricing environment. Consumers may perceive quantity discounts as gains for purchasing larger package sizes with lower unit prices, or as losses for purchasing smaller package sizes with higher unit prices. In addition, consumers may differ in their tendencies to perceive quantity discounts as gains or losses. 2.2.3 The current materialism of society makes students feel like they have to buy foreign brand products or imitations of them. Post-Materialism as a Cultural Factor Influencing Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations studied by Lorraine M. Uhlaner, Roy Thurik and Jan Hutjes(2002); the underlying premise of this research study is that the material gains that are central or crucial to entrepreneurial activity are of less value to post-materialist individuals. The Research by McGrath, MacMillan and Scheinberg (1992) shows that individual entrepreneurs from a wide variety of countries are more likely to have materialistic values; such as viewing success as making lots of money, than their non-entrepreneur counterparts. However, they do not test for country differences. Blais and Toulouse (1998) made such comparisons and conclude that entrepreneurs across countries tend to have similar motivations. In another studied of individual entrepreneurs Robichaud, McGraw and Roger (2001) find a positive correlation between extrinsic motivation of the entrepreneur and sales performance whereas they find negative relationsh ips between the independent variables, intrinsic motivation and autonomy and independence on the one hand and the dependent variable, sales performance, on the other. These findings are interesting because at the micro-level they correspond to the thesis that entrepreneurs, especially successful ones, are more materialistic than their counterparts. Lacking comparable research at the macro level of analysis, we can only draw on these studies for our hypotheses. In particular, assuming that trends from the micro level can be aggregated to the societal level, we predict that the relationship between post-materialism and entrepreneurship is also negative, i.e., the less materialistic the culture, the fewer people choose to become self-employed. The central hypothesis of the present paper then reads: The more post-materialistic the culture, the lower the overall level of entrepreneurship. 2.2.4 The personality of the customers. Consumer Assessment of Social Product Features: An Empirical Investigation Using Choice Experiments by Pat Auger, Timothy M. Devinney and Jordan J. Louviere studied the growing importance of this topic can be seen in the current movement toward social accountability audits (Economist 1999), and the increasing amounts of money that corporations spend to fix systems under pressure from increasingly sophisticated interest groups. Their research is relevant to this issue because it shows that although consumers do not understand the ethical dimensions of the products they purchase, their purchases can be influenced by these dimensions if properly presented. From a managerial perspective, more work needs to be done on educating consumers to the hidden ethical nature of the products they purchase. Corporations also need to understand which customers care about ethical dimensions and what dimensions they care about. However, our results also suggest that consumers wont sacrifice product per formance for ethical considerations in spite of what activists might hope. 2.3 Critical Analysis/Discussion of the Theories Related to the Independent Variable Motivation Theory 2.3.1 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs; (Abraham Maslow,1908-1970) Abraham Maslow was a psychologist. He developed a theory called the Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy referred to the various needs that he believed characterised humans. He identified five main human needs. These are: Physiological needs These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need water, air, food and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met. Security Needs These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighborhoods and shelter from the environment. Social Needs These include needs for belonging, love and affection. Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as involvement in social, community or religious groups. Esteem Needs After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition and accomplishment. Self-actualizing Needs This is the highest level of Maslows hierarchy of needs.  Self-actualizing  people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others and interested fulfilling their potential. Figure 1 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Maslow suggested that the first need dominates a persons behavior until it is satisfied, and then the second, and so on. A learner would not be interested in learning, need 5, until needs 3 or 4; belonging and being esteemed by others had been satisfied. Nor indeed, would they be interested in learning until they were warm, and replete. A light, airy, warm, comfortable safe learning environment, adequate comfort breaks and realistic timings can help to facilitate these conditions. An awareness of, and proactive approach to, group dynamics will also help to satisfy (or at least not de-satisfy) some of the affiliation and esteem needs. (Abraham Maslow, 1908-1970) (Source:http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/Maslows_Needs_Hierarchy.html) 2.3.2 Clayton Alderfers ERG Theory; (Clayton Alderfer, 1969) An attempt to simplify Maslows needs theory was put forward by psychologist Clayton Alderfer with his ERG theory. Both theories see needs as the motivating force behind behaviour. People are motivated to do things by different needs, of which Alderfer identified three: Existence Needs Include all material and physiological desires (e.g., food, water, air, clothing, safety, physical love and affection) Maslows first two levels. Relatedness Needs Encompass social and external esteem; relationships with significant others like family, friends, co-workers and employers. This also means to be recognized and feel secure as part of a group or family. Maslows third and fourth levels. Growth Needs Internal esteem and self actualization; these impel a person to make creative or productive effects on himself and the environment (e.g., to progress toward ones ideal self). Maslows fourth and fifth levels. This includes desires to be creative and productive, and to complete meaningful tasks. Figure 2 Clayton Alderfers ERG Theory Alderfer argued that it was possible to move in either direction. This means that, if growth needs become difficult or impossible to meet, frustration regression occurs, causing individuals to concentrate on fulfilling their relatedness and their existence needs. Unsatisfied needs, therefore, become less rather than more important. Maslow proposed the opposite. In this study the researchers used two theories are Maslows Theory (Maslows hierarchy of needs) and Clayton Alderfers ERG Theory are main formulated in this study (Clayton Alderfer, 1969). (Source: http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/ERG_Theory.html) 2.4 Discussion of the Dependent Variable The price of products have effected to making decision. In addition, Arthur Rafael (2002) found When the new product launches and better quality also this product will be compared to increase price. While, Aart Jaume (2000) said that When the products have high demand so the products prices that will be increase on demand also Ray (2002) found Business will find the ways to avoid the problem to improve the popular product and harder to imitate for decrease their risk as a result Amine, Taimur Joseph (2007) supported Vendors will be developing price products to get the popularity may be the consumers using pirated goods in fact Gian (2006) said that The price is appropriate adjustments so the product will be popular Increasing then Xavier Giround (2008) found The quality prices will be changed follow the quality products in the past Laszlo Miklos (2004) stated The import product price will be rise follow depend on the technology and competitive environment of the buyer. On the other hand, Joanna (2006) found The analysis of price convergence to the consumer market is examined on aggregate and disaggregates levels although Peter, Judith Anil (2002) stated The decision purchas e of consumer will depend on price by the lower price also the purchasing power that so rise. Finally, Emek (2005) supported The quantity the price of a low-cost have more effected to consumer decision. The quality of product imitates have effected to making decision when, Wong Zhou (2005) found perceived value has a greater effect on purchase intention for conspicuous foreign products While, Heflin, Shaw Wild found The liquidity of equity markets depends on quality information and Faruq (2006) found RD activities and FDI inflows are important determinants of quality then Sharma found The brand must be relevant to a latent need of the consumer but Jin Leslie (2002) found Providing people with better information causes people to change their purchase decisions and causes à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rms to modify their behaviour while Orosel Zauner (2003) found goods quality is unobservable to buyers, a continuum of quality levels is technologically feasible, and minimum quality is supplied under competitive conditions although Koppius Heck(2002) found Electronic auctions have rapidly incr eased in popularity, but the consequences of switching to an electronic auction are unclear Moreover Borin Lamieri (2008) found empirical studies over clear evidence on the increasing importance of intra-industry trade in presence of vertically deferential products however Matsa (2009) found Product quality is an important element of competition in a wide range of markets, including the supermarket industry in addition Bertini, Wathieu Iyengar (2010) found parsimony and simplicity in consumption is necessarily advantageous across all categories of business The current materialism of society makes students feel like they have to buy foreign brand products or imitations of them have effected to making decision then, Mehrotra (1919) found collect various technical information about managing your tax affairs and mergers and acquisitions, tax law and the special rights or intellectual property rights and the idea of the American company. Each other based on principles of law and political economy of the country. while Closius (1995) said that the termination of the movement of certain groups of people in America with a change to the political policy of national unification and the creation of justice to occur and create social awareness to the public more than ever Moreover Kyvelidis (2001) stated that Measure currents in the Black Socialist materialism may be obtained from the GDP of each country, which evaluates the value per head was increased from the current popularity with the increasing materialism. After that Anderson (2001) has found that satisfaction in materialism is one of the psychological problems that make people in society are trying to do everything to get it occupied, such as car, house and fashion. And Boven (2005) study that most people want to live well and happily in every person and found that materialism, such as the car home fashion is important to create happiness for them very good. However, Uhlaner, Thurik, Hutjes (2002) supports that found that entrepreneurs across countries tend to find a way to trade against the competition in trade and create stability for themselves as to dominate the growing market and found that many of the cultural factors and materialism of the people affected. In addition Fuchs said that the theories of cultural objects are important factors correlated with the values of people in society. Therefore Sarkar(1996) found the role of men is to purchase goods and Research indicates that attitudes in the possession of materialism rather than value of the object with the purchase of such products used in life Which led to satisfaction and success of many people. As a result of Kroh (2008) discovered that the role of the purchases is likely to change the price level and economic security but Boven, Campbell Gilovich(2005) the study found that current flow in the materialism in society more selfish, selfish private interests over public. The personality of the customers have effected to making decision when, Devinney Louviere (1986) study that of interpersonal psychology, ethics and personality have been shown correlated with the number of complex social problems. While Rajagopol (1986) found that of the model to measure the performance of brands and attitudes, including personalities, image, reputation and trust. But Balaji a Raghavan (1970) discovered that Cultures and different image for the product of themes related to technology and brand reputation. Therefore Pandey (1968) found that Experiment designed to examine the role and relevance of the personality of the person. Found that the advertisement or communication program plays an important role in the perception of brand personality although Bartholomew Horowitz (1994) study that Changes in market and competition has reduced the cost of marketing and new product introductions, including the risk of failure of the product. Thus Sharma (1997) supports that w e also found that consumer ratings of management performance in the context of consumer retail low but Zhenzhong Ma (1970) found that Aims to create understanding about the local brand can survive. In fact Mckenzie Woodruff (1964) study that present the basic concepts for exploring the relationship between personality and patterns of conflict behavior and business negotiations. Then Koufopoulos (1999) stated that Product innovation. Personality and affect a very important opportunity to entrepreneurs to innovate. Finally, Kanhasiri (1990) found that Products and measure the relationship between the feature comparison in the future. Quantitative methods of analysis and means of collecting data, frequency analysis of research and planning data in line charts and bar graphs and suggestions for future research will take effect to competitors with better customer loyalty. 2.5 Relationship of the Independent Variable (s) to the Dependent Variable Arthur Rafael (2002) found When the new product launches and better quality also this product will be compared to increase price. Although many business office products are brand name copyright infringement very seriously and prohibit all research and product development at the time out to study consumer satisfaction, with the updates of new products out of the market demand. But still have other business products illegally copied out widely. Consumers like the products that they are cheaper and look like the real. While, Aart Jaume (2000) said that When the products have high demand so the products prices that will be increase on demand Cheap is increasing on demand. Many consumers decided to buy imitation products backpack instead of the genuine product is expensive. Also Ray (2002) found Business will find the ways to avoid the problem to improve the popular product and harder to imitate for decrease their risk The quality of product imitates have effected to making decision when, Wong Zhou (2005) found perceived value has a greater effect on purchase intention for conspicuous foreign products and Faruq (2006) found RD activities and FDI inflows are important determinants of quality The Company that manufacture high quality products to the market are disclosed information to consumers less known because those are important to the company and the liquidity of the market. The company has disclosed only basic information only. Countries are exporters of quality differences. This is the result of differences in factors such as endowment, technology, research and development (RD). While, Heflin, Shaw Wild found The liquidity of equity markets depends on quality information The current materialism of society makes students feel like they have to buy foreign brand products or imitations of them have effected to making decision then, Anderson (2001) has found that satisfaction in materialism is one of the psychological problems that make people in society are trying to do everything to get it occupied, such as car, house and fashion. And Boven (2005) study that most people want to live well and happily in every person and found that materialism, such as the car home fashion is important to create happiness for them very good. The materialism is satisfied from the hearts of individual values resulting psychological advantage over the other now, value of the crop cover materialism has resulted in increasing attitude of buying commercial end epicurean and often not satisfied with the simple life and different people require a comfortable life. Although materialism has a negative effect, but many people will want to own it like a big house, luxury cars, expen sive clothes , beautiful furniture and other. Because human needs are infinite, they seek what they want to come and have a genuine product if the price is too high, making them purchases commercial grade copy. Although it is copied, it can substitute the same name that looks realistic and cheaper it is one reason consumers purchase decision without regard to copyright infringement laws. The personality of the customers have effected to making decision when Devinney Louviere (1986) study that of interpersonal psychology, ethics and personality have been shown correlated with the number of complex social problems. While Rajagopol(1986) found that of the model to measure the performance of brands and attitudes, including personalities, image, reputation and trust. But Balaji a Raghavan (1970) discovered that Cultures and different image for the product of themes related to technology and brand reputation. Therefore Pandey (1968) found that Experiment designed to examine the role and relevance of the personality of the person. Found that the advertisement or communication program plays an important role in the perception of brand personality The cultural and social including kick similar picture with Bush. This is sometimes the product to the personality of our products or we like it because it is often too expensive brand, so many people chose to be turned to imitate instead of the actual product. 2.6 Previous Studies There are 4 standards section; Introduction background The brand name is the trust brand that have effected to making a purchase from student at RMUTT. Now, the student say love brand name. According to Schiffman Kanuk (1997) Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals make decision to spend and choose this things. When, notice the students that show their use accessories brand name. This is normal happen now but its not fair in their suppliers that think and make it for sale. While, the real trust band name from overseas in the Leading department stores have student only high purchasing power that only few percentage. Behaviour from student in business bachelor administration for Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi is thing to study for know the reason why their choosing. Methods The methods to study behavior of student at RMUTT such as notice, questionnaires, and bring the theory that related to concerning study with case study. Result Now days, Counterfeiting is so much. In a view of supplier, the so called product piracy can be only roughly outlined. The Experts and everyone, who well know that product piracy: trade mark rights in a commercial as trust global brands have effect to Counterfeiting and Criminal way. Such as the actions of someone that who only thing for make a benefit to yourself as The aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target customers needs (Kotler, 2003). While, who would like to be owner of the trust brands product. That all said that

Evaluating Mintzs Sweetness and Power :: Sugar Sweet Tooth Foods Essays

Evaluating Mintz's Sweetness and Power Why would anyone feel the need to write an entire book on such a mundane topic such as sugar? Look around at some food products you might have and you will realize that many if not all of them contain sugar in some form or another. For example, a can of soda, which most people drink everyday, contains (depending on the brand) approximately 40 grams of sugars. Look further and you might find that even things such as cheese or chips or soup contain several grams of sugar in them. The wide diversification of products that contain sugar just goes to show you how widespread the use of sugar really is. This fact alone could be enough to convince someone to create a book solely about sugar. One passage that Mintz quotes on page 15 that really seems to capture our (Westerners) infatuation with sugar, and a strong reason the book at hand is as follows: Western peoples consume enormous per capita quantities of refined sugar because, to most people, very sweet foods taste very good. The existence of the human sweet tooth can be explained, ultimately, as an adaptation of ancestral populations to favor the ripest-and hence the sweetest-fruit. In other words, the selective pressures of times past are most strikingly revealed by the artificial, supernormal stimulus of refined sugar, despite the evidence that eating refined sugar is maladaptive. With such an obsession with sweet foods, there is an obvious desire for an explanation of how such a once unknown substance took center stage on everybody's snack, dessert, and candy list. That's where Sidney W. Mintz comes into play. He decided to write this book Sweetness and Power, and from the looks of all the sources he used to substantiate his ideas and data, it seems that he is not the first person to find the role that sugar plays in modern society important. By analyzing who Mintz's audience is meant to be, what goals he has in writing this book, what structure his book incorporates, what type, or types, of history he represents within the book, what kind of sources he uses, and what important information and conclusions he presents, we can come to better understand Mintz's views and research of the role of sugar in history, and how much it really affects our lives as we know them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin to understand and evaluate Mintz's Sweetness and Power, one must first understand who his book is aimed toward, in other words, his audience.

Narrative Technique of Sula Essay

Although Sula is arranged in chronological order, it does not construct a linear story with the causes of each new plot event clearly visible in the preceding chapter. Instead, Sula uses â€Å"juxtaposition,† the technique through which collages are put together. The effects of a collage on the viewer depend on unusual combinations of pictures, or on unusual arrangements such as overlapping. The pictures of a collage don’t fit smoothly together, yet they create a unified effect. The â€Å"pictures† of Sula’s collage are separate events or character sketches. Together, they show the friendship of Nel and Sula as part of the many complicated, overlapping relationships that make up the Bottom. Morrison presents the novel from the perspective of an omniscient narrator — one who knows all the characters’ thoughts and feelings. An omniscient narrator usually puts the reader in the position of someone viewing a conventional portrait or landscape rather than a collage. (In such situations, the viewer can perceive the unity of the whole work with only a glance.) To create the collage-like effect of Sula, the omniscient narrator never reveals the thoughts of all the characters at one time. Instead, from chapter to chapter, she chooses a different point-of-view character, so that a different person’s consciousness and experience dominate a particular incident or section. In addition, the narrator sometimes moves beyond the consciousness of single, individual characters, to reveal what groups in the community think and feel. On the rare occasions when it agrees unanimously, she presents the united community’s view. As in The Bluest Eye and Jazz, the comm unity has such a direct impact on individuals that it amounts to a character. In narrative technique for Sula, Morrison draws on a specifically modernist usage of juxtaposition. Modernism, discussed in Chapter 3, was the dominant literary movement during the first half of the twentieth century. Writers of this period abandoned the unifying, omniscient narrator of earlier literature to make literature more like life, in which each of us has to make our own sense of the world. Rather than passively receiving a smooth, connected story from an authoritative narrator, the reader is forced to piece together a coherent plot and meaning from more separated pieces of  information. Modernists experimented with many literary genres. For example, T. S. Eliot created his influential poem The Wasteland by juxtaposing quotations from other literary works and songs, interspersed with fragmentary narratives of original stories. Fiction uses an analogous technique of juxtaposition. Each successive chapter of William Faulkner novel As I Lay Dying, for instance, drops the reader into a different character’s consciousness without the direction or help of an omniscient narrator. To figure out the plot, the reader must work through the perceptions of characters who range from a seven-year-old boy to a madman. The abrupt, disturbing shifts from one consciousness to another are an intended part of the reader’s experience. As with all literary techniques, juxtaposition is used to communicate particular themes. In Cane, a work that defies our usual definitions of literary genres, Jean Toomer juxtaposed poetry and brief prose sketches. In this way, Cane establishes its thematic contrast of rural black culture in the South and urban black culture of the North. Morrison, who wrote her master’s thesis on two modernists, Faulkner and Virginia Woolf, uses juxtaposition as a structuring device in Sula. Though relatively short for a novel, Sula has an unusually large number of chapters, eleven. This division into small pieces creates an intended choppiness, the uncomfortable sense of frequently stopping and starting. The content of the chapters accentuates this choppy rhythm. Almost every chapter shifts the focus from the story of the preceding chapter by changing the point-of-view character or introducing sudden, shocking events and delaying discussion of the characters’ motives until later. In â€Å"1921,† for example, Eva douses her son Plum with kerosene and burns him to death. Although the reader knows that Plum has become a heroin addict, Eva’s reasoning is not revealed. When Hannah, naturally assuming that Eva doesn’t know of Plum’s danger, tells her that Plum is burning, the chapter ends with Eva’s almost nonchalant â€Å"Is? My baby? Burning?† (48). Not until midway through the next chapter, â€Å"1923,† does Hannah’s questioning allow the reader to understand Eva’s motivation. Juxtaposition thus heightens the reader’s sense of incompleteness. Instead of providing quick resolution, juxtaposition  introduces new and equally disturbing events. Paradoxically, when an occasional chapter does contain a single story apparently complete in itself, it too contributes to the novel’s overall choppy rhythm. In a novel using a simple, chronological mode of narration, each succeeding chapter would pick up where the last one left off, with the main characters now involved in a different incident, but in some clear way affected by their previous experience. In Sula, however, some characters figure prominently in one chapter and then fade entirely into the background. The first chapter centers on Shadrack, and although he appears twice more and has considerable psychic importance to Sula and symbolic importance to the novel, he is not an important actor again. In similar fashion, Helene Wright is the controlling presence of the third chapter, â€Å"1920,† but barely appears in the rest of the book. These shifts are more unsettling than if Shadrack and Helene were ancestors of the other characters, generations removed, because the reader would then expect them to disappear. Their initial prominence and later shadowy presence contribute to the reader’s feeling of disruption. The choppy narration of Sula expresses one of its major themes, the fragmentation of both individuals and the community. Sula. New York: Knopf, 1973. Rpt. New York: Penguin, 1982

Abortion Essay - 1154 Words

John T. Noonan makes the argument that the jump in probability for a fetus’ coming to term, at a specific point in the development of the fetus, has an important implication for the humanity (personhood) of the fetus. He bases this argument on the reasoning that â€Å"life itself is a matter of probabilities, and most moral reasoning is an estimate of probabilities.† He goes on to state that his argument in which a fetus has an implication for the humanity of the fetus is strictly an â€Å"appeal to probabilities that actually exist.† To demonstrate his point concerning probabilities he uses an analogy. The analogy he uses is of a man who shoots into the bushes because of movement in the bushes. If the chances of this movement in the bushes being a†¦show more content†¦In order for the violinist to be saved, you must remain wired to that person for 9 months. The key point to this analogy is that you were kidnapped and did not have a choice to be wired to the violinist or not. You were forced into it. Analogously, when a female is raped and impregnated, they did not have a choice; they were forced into it. The analogy works well in rape cases, but not in all unwanted pregnancy cases. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A rape is very similar to this hypothetical situation because a rape is forced upon you without your choosing. Similarly, in the hypothetical situation the person did not choose to be wired to the violinist; she was kidnapped and forced to by the Society of Music Lovers. This analogy would not work well, though, with a case in which a female voluntarily has sex and gets pregnant without intending to. The pregnancy was unwanted, but she chose to have sex; she was not forced into it like the case of the person and the violinist. The analogy therefore, does not work well with all unwanted pregnancy cases. Regardless of whether the analogy is reasonable or not, the quality of this comparison is irrelevant for her larger argument. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Thomson makes her large argument real clear by explaining her position clearly, thoroughly, and through the use of analogies. The larger argument she makes is that the mother has certain undeniable rights – such as the right to controlShow MoreRelatedAbortion : Abortion And Abortion998 Words   |  4 PagesAbortion Abortion is defined in several ways all of which stop a pregnancy. There are different ways of abortion, which are spontaneous abortion, surgical abortion, and medical abortion. Abortion has been arguable topic for decades. One can neither believe abortion to be good nor bad. The idea of individuality and human life is not quite the same. Idea of human life has come from conception; simultaneously on the other hand, fertilizer eggs used for in vitro fertilization are also human lives butRead MoreAbortion : Abortion And Abortion Essay921 Words   |  4 PagesPaper: Abortion Laws The topic of abortion is a widely debated and very heated topic in Texas. The Republican party’s platform supports family values and are completely against abortion under any circumstances, including abortifacients. The Democrat party’s platform supports the rights for women to make choices about their own bodies. They support abortifacients and a person’s right to have an abortion. There is also a large percentage of those that are in the middle in that they believe abortion shouldRead MoreAbortion, The, And Abortion998 Words   |  4 PagesIn the United States there are more than a billion abortions performed each year. 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Those are two of the various methods that are performed in the different trimesters of pregnancy. According to writer Steven Ertelt of Li feNews.com, Oklahoma’s abortion laws are restrictive compared to otherRead MoreAbortion : Abortion And Abortion1930 Words   |  8 PagesAbortion has been around for quite some time. Laws have been set allowing it and banning it during different periods of time. The procedures that can be done are all very different. There is a medical abortion involving drugs and there are surgical abortion involving a more invasive procedure. There are also different points of view on it. There are those who fully support the termination of a pregnancy and those who are completely against it. There are many factors to consider and very differentRead MoreAbortion And Abortion2038 Words   |  9 PagesMostly seen as a religious issue, abortions are anything but that. Biology and science are the only deciding factors when it comes down to it. 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