Marketing startegy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing startegy - Essay Example Their costs for customer service remained at the same value. They retained the same amount of cash reserve in the end of this period one as period zero. They also did not tamper with any pricing strategy and kept a markup of 49.48% for channel 1 and 2.They kept the same number of sales representatives. They used to have equal distribution for both channels but this year they increased quantities of channel 1 and the weight of the units sold were heavier than channel 2. It must be noted that all products ordered in period zero were sold and disposed leaving no ending inventory for the firm but this was not the case in period 1. No changes in strategies but the firm did not deliver the same results. For Firm 2, the distribution intensity is largely found in channel 2 with a higher markup relative to channel 1 and even to period zero's data. They doubled their production by 37.5% but was not able to sell all. It could be seen that they incurred expenses for R&D for product modifications. Product features were improved.Also they increased their advertising as seen in their increase of 16% in expense. It should be noted that Firms 1,2 and 2 did not invest in Marketing Research Reports. They only had very minimal expenses for such and they were not competitive in this manner because they were not able to connect with the consumers and they were not equipped with what the market needs and demands. They could have increased a feature in their product and still not entice the consumers. Additional promotions and commission expense was incurred. they concentrated in improving customer service and incurring an additional $27,500 outflow. Firm 2 and 3 applied the same strategies. Lastly, Firm 4, the considered most successful implemented various strategies and optimized the changes. Product development is the root of the major edge and advantage of this firm against the 3 others. The values of product features were all improved. The highest average retail price of $ 279.70 for both channels was riveted by this firm.Unlike the previous year, they augmented the production by 5,000 units and still exceeded by 3,710 units leaving no inventories to be transferred. They incurred a net contribution.They had no remaining reserve funds though like the other 3 but increased their budget for the next period by 49.85%. More distribution intensity of sales for channel 1 was realized and that made up 80.4% of the total units sold. Competitive strategy of theirs was to focus on product development and market research. Promotions strategy wise, they diminished advertising expense and affected the pioneering type. Sales promotion bore more bearing this year and results prov e its effectivity relative to distribution channel 1 which obviously they concentrated much on. The results of firm 4 was the positive reverse of firms 2 and 3 and definitely of firm1. The market segmentation is constant with their product positioning strategy . 2.) From the perspective of Firm 2, competition might unfold in this industry and there is potential primarily because this period is considered a trial and error allowance for the firms who is deviating from their norms to explore the market. With this, there are major points and the first would relate to launching a new product. As period ended, only Firm 4 incurred net contribution. They all had the option to adapt a new product at the beginning but no one opted for such. In the coming of second

Supreme Court Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Supreme Court Justice - Essay Example He joined his father's law practice before entering politics. John Marshall Harlan vigorously defended slavery and thought the government should not interfere, but at the same time, he believed that the Union must be preserved and even enlisted in the Union Army in 1861. His family background played a part in his racial attitudes. John Marshall Harlan was confirmed by the Senate in December, 1877, and was the 45th justice of the Supreme Court. 'John Marshall Harlan II' (May 20, 1899 - December 29, 1971) was an American jurist. He served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. He was the grandson of another Associate Justice, John Marshall Harlan, who served from 1877 to 1911. Harlan is often characterized as a member of the conservative wing of the Warren Court. He advocated a limited role for the judiciary, remarking that the Supreme Court should not be considered "a general haven for reform movements." In general, Harlan adhered more closely to precedent, and was more reluctant to overturn legislation, than many of his colleagues on the Court. He strongly disagreed with the doctrine of incorporation, which held that the guarantees of the federal Bill of Rights were applicable at the state level. At the same time, he advocated a broad interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, arguing that it protected a wide range of rights not expressly mentioned in the Constitution. Harlan is sometimes called the "great dissenter" of the Warren Court, and is often regarded as one of the most influential Supreme Court justices in the twentieth century.( Yarborough,1992) John Marshall Harlan II was born on May 20, 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of John Maynard Harlan (a Chicago lawyer and politician) and Elizabeth Flagg. Harlan's family had, historically, been a politically active one. His father, George Harlan, served as Governor of Delaware during the seventeenth century; his great-grandfather, James Harlan, was a congressman during the 1830s; and his grandfather, John Marshall Harlan, was a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In his younger years, Harlan attended The Latin School of Chicago. Harlan later attended two boarding high schools in Canada, Upper Canada College in Toronto, and Appleby College also near Toronto. Upon graduation from Appleby, Harlan returned to the U.S. and enrolled at Princeton University. There, he was a member of the Ivy Club, served as an editor of "The Daily Princetonian", (Yarborough ,1992) and was class president during his junior and senior years. After graduating from the university in 1920, he received a Rhodes Scholarship, which he used to attend Balliol College, Oxford.(Leitch,1978) He studied jurisprudence at Oxford for three years, returning from England in 1923. Upon his return to the United States, he began work with the law firm of Root, Clark, Buckner & Howland (now known as Dewey Ballantine), one of the leading law firms in the country, while studying law at New York Law School. He received his law degree in 1924 and earned admission to the bar in 1925. In 1928, he married Ethel Andrews, with whom he had one daughter, Eva Dillingham.(Ariens) Between 1925 and 1927, Harlan served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of

Fleet of Foot Essay Example for Free

Fleet of Foot Essay Up until now, Navado Carrillo’s present strategy was working just fine. Her idea of providing high-end running shoes made her a very good return on her investment in the first 10 years. Selling mainly Nike products was also a very good idea Navado had because Nike was well accepted and seen as top quality to her customers. Her current strategy of also adding other Nike shoes, including walking shoes, shoes for aerobic exercise, basketball shoes, tennis shoes, and cross trainers was a good idea for the business because it offered her loyal customers different options of shoes now that jogging is becoming too demanding. I think where Navado went wrong is adding in a line of sportswear and putting more emphasis on fashion. Her business is known for high quality running shoes and other shoes, not fashion. Other companies like to sell other brands and have a few line of sportswear fashion to separate themselves from well-known shoe stores like Navado’s. Now that she added this extra line and incorporated more fashion into her store, she is in direct competition to other stores, which results in her losing business and having her sales flatten out. To help her sudden fall in business, Navado tried an experiment that was great in my opinion, where â€Å"she took a line of high-performance athletic shoes that were made to order. The distinctive feature of these shoes was that the sole was molded to precisely fit the customer’s foot† (Perreault). This was a great idea because when someone came in looking for high-end running shoes, her sales clerks would tell them all about it and once the shoes came in two weeks later, they were delighted. Since those shoes were going for $170, only serious runners would buy them but seeing how they were happy with the product, they could spread the word about these shoes to other runners, which would increase Navado’s sales. However, the company that offered them ran into financial trouble and went out of business. The alternative strategies Navado is considering is going through another company that is offering a very similar custom shoe program. The only problem is that this new company requires many more requirements that the other company didn’t require. Having to spend more money on updating the website to promote this company, as well as travel, hotel, and food expenses for the two day training program for her salesclerks makes Navado uncertain in what to do. Personally, I think she should do this even though it would cost her several thousands of dollars to begin with. The other strategy she is considering is making fashion her main attraction because of the recent success of other women’s wear businesses. This would not be a good idea because she would just be competing with more powerful fashion retailers in which she would lose business and go astray from what she built her business upon. I believe Navados primary problem isn’t her emphasis on running shoes or emphasis on trying to hang on to her current customer, but instead, her indecision on who her target market should be. To fix this problem, I think Navado should solely focus on selling high-end running shoes as well as other Nike athletic shoes to gain customers who are just looking for a good pair of shoes. Also, seeing how she had success in the custom molding shoes before that company went out of business, I think she should go through this other company so that she can expand her running shoes into making custom ones for customers. Although it would cost several thousands of dollars to begin with and there are more promotional expenses that this company requires, the company in return provides exclusive sales territories that would separate Navado’s business from her competitors. Selling women’s apparel and adding a line of sportswear just results in more competition and a loss of business for Navado. Keeping her main focus on high end, custom running shoes and other athletic shoes would increase her sales, keep her loyal customers coming in and stay with what made her business flourish in past years.

Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay

Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay The driving forces behind the urgency to have quality marketing research and marketing information are hinged on the two factors. The continued decline in the unit cost of computer hardware and steady improvement in the flexibility and power of computer software, (Vitale, Ives, and Beath, 1989) and the quick pace in which environment changes, (Miles and Snow, 1987). The purpose of marketing research is to assist and improve marketing decision. Market research narrows the gap between producer and consumer, and increase the chance of successful decisions. In any field, the basis of decision making is having effective information available and using it. Processed, analysed and correctly used, market information can reduce risk, time and waste by providing the best basis for decision, (Tinniswood, 1986). Naturally, it seems, this leads to well defined marketing strategy. However, (Assad, 1990) posited marketing research must be conducted vigorously and systematically to fulfil its intended role, which is only vigorously when data collected are valid, reliable and representative. 2.0 The Quality of Marketing Research and Marketing Information What is Quality Marketing Research and Marketing Information? We will tackle this question by first collecting related framework, model and system and then discuss the issues of accuracy, reliability, amount of information required and data analysis complication that affect the quality of marketing research and marketing information. Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Dr. Malcolm Mcdonalds concept of marketing intelligence system is depicted in fig. 1. As explained by Mcdonald, marketing research and marketing information are inseparable and hence synergistically entwined to effect a good marketing strategy. From the above, data from the market through marketing research are processed and analysed to form relevant marketing information which forms intelligence (knowledge) to make quality decision focuses on key determinants for example, the significance of market share or correct service levels for profitable growth. In marketing, these can be realised with a shrewd marketing mix (i.e. the 7 Ps). Hattons Information Priority Framework Marketing research is just one source of information available to the business planner. Also, the collection of new data can be very expensive. It is therefore imperative for the marketer to go through the process of identifying the priority for information need as in fig 2. The easy and hard can be defined by either time or cost. Weicks Theory of Marketing Research Limits On the same vein, (Weick, 1984) felt similar concern espoused a model with three criteria , (fig 3) to keep within the research limits i.e. generality, accuracy and simplicity. He provokes the thought of tradeoff among the three components. In reality, he stress that no all can be met at the same time but rather at most, any theory can meet two of these criteria. General accurate theories are complex, general simple theories are inaccurate, and simple accurate theories have no generality. The strategic implication of McDonald, Hatton and Weicks theory is that marketing researcher and the marketing manager have to work hand in hand to define problem correctly in the first place, prioritising information required and subtract, simplify, distil, (The Sunday Times, 18th May 1997) marketing information. This could improve the quality of information at optinium time and cost. All these certainly give us an indication of the complexity of the real world and management judgement is required. Lunns Database Marketing (DBM) Technology can increases the ease of data collection and provides new form of data analysis (Stone and Shaw, 1987). (Lunn, 1986)s thorough and ingenious DBM is a cut across functional boundaries system which can be a benchmarking tool to to information system designer. It helps in the linking of data collection to alternative marketing scenario which could lead to quality marketing strategies as depicted in fig 4. This system embraces organisational and cognitive process reliant on a solid IT foundation. 2.1 Accuracy of Marketing Research Most market research information does not have to totally accurate. For example, if a firm wants to know its market share, it will not matter whether the figure is 26 per cent or 27 per cent, but it will be important to discover whether it is 26 per cent or 50 per cent. Suppose a firm wants to know what portion of 10,000 person in a specific target group used their brand. They discover this information by asking everyone in the group. This is both expensive and time consuming Alternatively, they could take a proportion of the sample which should reflect the group. However, it is possible that the sample is not true reflection of the group and representative enough. The key to quality information is to have just enough information. Weicks theory come handy in this process. 2.3 Is there a need for more information? Elaborating on the above, it is easy to forget that market research is not usually needed for it own sake. In fact marketing research is not providing a direct recommendation about the correct decision to be taken. It usually provides indirect information about the environment, customers behaviour and attitude and so forth. In short, it will provide information which has to be combined with a mass of other already existed information before a final decision can be made. This indirectness can represent a potential problem. A question will arise is the present data not good enough? It is much more difficult to judge whether the information is really worth the cost and delayed involved, (Barron, and Targett, 1985). Although, the value of information can be calculated by comparing the profit available with and without the marketing research and its processed marketing information, for example, decision tree technique, it is unfortunately complicated and not reliable as the value will var y from situation to situation. One further problem is the calculations involve issues of probability and uncertainty which many people find difficult. An illustration of a survey on the likelihood of different sales level with three columns : sales, original probability estimate %, and revised probability estimate % as show in table 1 and could not find any change in it principle in making decision. For example for both estimates, the high portion of sales still fall in the region of  £40m  £50m. The revised probabilities make the decision process easier (is this quality enhancement ?), but they did not change the principle. Thus the important question is whether the revised odds would result in final decision. If not, the forecast is worthless. Hattons priority framework can provides a good guide to this consideration. 2.4 Data Analysis Accurate marketing research data needs not necessarily and automatically provides quality marketing information. Data have to be analysed. Most market researchers have learnt the art of data collection but there is certain room for improvement in the science of data analysis. (Drucker, 1992) also strongly advocates executives have become computer literate but data illiterate. As such, market reseachers should be urged to co-ordinate with the marketing manager and master the skill of interpreting data and re-look at the use of basic inferential procedures as an extra area to marketing decision making. It should use multivariate methods based on matching the technique to problem rather than the problem to the technique. The key issue here is not only to focus excessively on forecast accuracy but instead decision usefulness. For example building a consumer profile enables the firm to make quality and informed decisions. Thus, reducing the risk of making wrong decision on how to distribu te, promote and price its products. Lunns DBM model should be considered for overcoming some the above problems. Cost Issues Once data is collected and processed, the information must be distributed to the decision-makers. Its availability at the right time, right cost and its delivery in a user-friendly format will be critical to its usefulness and value. 3.0 Marketing Strategy and the Innovative use of Marketing Information (Bonoma, 1985) defines marketing strategy as the analysis of alternatives opportunities and risks to the firms, informed by environmental (e.g. competitive, social) and internal (e.g. production or people abilities) information, which leads management to choose a particular set of market, product, and customer goal. This administrative approaches carry the underlying assumptions that strategic marketing decisions are well understood and widely agreed upon within organisation (Skivimgton and Daft, 1991). At this junction we accept this unconditionally although many marketing experts discover inherent inadequacies of this nostrum, (Hamrick 1983, Mintzberg and McHugh 1985). This view holds that strategy drives structure, a strategic direction require the development of new market structure, effort and administrative mechanisms. Fig. 5 shows the corporate management spells out the mission and goals in which marketing strategy and plan are formulated after carefully evaluates the external and internal factors. Relatively, the quality of marketing strategy is definitely dependent of the marketing audit, in this case we can take as marketing research/marketing information sandwiched between the corporate mission and marketing strategy. Sharing the same view, (McDonald, 1995)s marketing planning process depicts below: According to him, marketing strategy is about the manipulation of 4 Ps Product, Price, Promotion and Place based on marketing theory (Structure, framework, models, etc.). These could include market research, market segmentation studies, response elasticities and the budgeting of resource allocation decision which may includes the distribution of people and money need to put marketing strategy into effect. (Lunn, 1986)s approach to database marketing (DBM) which allows market research data to be blended with the system database (derived from previous internal and external market research data) to enhance marketing information for predictive decision marketing by combining marketing managers intuitive skills. This would allows marketer to test the effect of difference marketing mixes on specific segments. In another words, positioning by creating an USP for target market defined by research. His marketing modelling is useful for the presentation of marketing research/marketing information defining the marketing strategy. One of the many such example is the success of General Motors innovative rebate programme which became an eye opener for company like Ford, Apple Computer, who follow similar program. Synthesising the concept of relationship marketing and the segmentation technique, General Motor groups customer by their purchasing level. Loyal, heavy and creditworthy users are being rewarded with free gifts, upgrades and allows accumulating rebates toward the purchase of new vehicles by tracking the researched database. The quality of this type of marketing information was confirmed with the result of 12 millions cards, (Berry, 1994) being issued in the United States. The strategic implicati on to this is the accuracy of GMs targeting which enables quality marketing strategy. Such are not possible without a quality marketing research, database system and the innovative use of interpreted information. 4.0 Power, politics and the dissemination of information There are many literatures elaborating power, politics and the dissemination of information which is centred to the quality of marketing strategy. However, what seems to be obscuring is its specific co-relation relative to marketing strategy. Let digress slightly to discuss these issues. Knowledge, derived from organised information, which in turn is interpreted from raw data, is power, (Francis Bacon, 1957). Building on this ground, (Emerson, 1962) espoused the beholder of knowledge is a powerful figure within the organisation. Further, (Piercy, 1985) argued and introduced the information-structure-power theory of marketing emphasising on the political aspect of information in the marketing environment. Such a view is compatible with (Bonoma, 1985)s claim that it is naÃÆ' ¯ve to belief that data, especially numerical data, are science-associated and therefore somehow purer than intuitions or qualitative statements. Adding he reiterated that there is nothing so politicised in management as the collection and use of quantitative information. Data or information in management, as in science is politicised, tortured, bent, and occasionally broken in the service of vested interests in the marketing organisation. For example, in my corporation, sales expense reports are put on hold by manager until call report are turned in at the end of every month. This is to use as a punitive mean to red-line salesmans moonlighting rather than use as a base for customer research or marketing intelligence gathering. There are also numerous cases, where divisional managers are under pressure to increase market share. These sales executives came up with a manipulated pricing plan of 30% increment in vo lume, supported by dressed marketing research information. What went conveniently unreported, however, was that the current fleet of equipment would be obsolete in a few month time; much earlier, because of the forced increased in capacity. One can imagine the future repercussion of having to fund the purchase of the new equipment which the top management is unaware of. In consistent with this, (Piercy, 1984) co-relates power and politics of marketing with marketing information seamlessly. He focuses on the implications for the management of marketing in organisations, where a political analysis suggests that the management of marketing should concentrate not only on techniques of marketing research or of rational, scientific decision making but also on structure and process, i.e on power and political systems, to influence and control outcomes. His works provide the empirical support that structures and decision making processes are frequently political in nature. Piercy builds on (Velasques and Cavanagh, 1983)s defense that politics in organisations are in someway bad in themselves, but in reality power goes to the politically able rather than others with more legitimate claims. This is due to organisational situation of high ambiguity relative to structure and process, as in the case of information gathering in strategic problem formulation, (L yles and Mitroff, 1984). For example, in the allocation of fund to even within the marketing department, top management may favours the lower level executives request for his endeavour due to him being a politically competent manager as against the request of the most effective superior with better marketing information supporting him. This is in reality possible as the strategic decision are often unstructured and broad in nature, (Hayes, 1984). With the awareness of the above, quality of marketing strategy is not narrow down to only quality information. What seems to define quality marketing strategy is the interconnectedness of power, politics which are structure and process related. 5.0 Quality Marketing Strategy and Corporate Strategy We have discussed marketing strategy with some reservations in section 3 on this paper. To further demonstrate the true meaning of quality marketing strategy we continue to elaborate more. (Levitt, 1960)s Marketing Myopia adds favour to it by arguing that customers buy solution to their needs, not products. A domestic example is our home grown Creativity Technology, a PC sound card maker is introducing new kit by solving customers upgrading problem by providing the next generation DVD solution, (Strait Times, 30th July 1997). Having all said and done about marketing strategy, then precisely what is quality marketing strategy? Robet Pirsigs Zen in his art of Motorcycle Maintenance provokes some unusual thinking. He do not use the term productivity in connection with marketing activities but prefers to use phrase like peace of mind and feeling good about the marketing actions undertaken. Pirsig would say that we move from being uncomfortably involved with what is going on to more comfort with events, people, and things by our acts. As we do this, we move toward Quality. In this view Quality is bred of caring, not just technical skill, and is the brother of involvement. Another school of thought came from (Gilbert,1978), who related quality with worthy performance, which he suggested, is associated with doing the most difficult thing best with the least effort. This, he said is measurable against the behaviour aspect which is difficult to qualify. (Bonoma, 1985) merges both concepts by using coping behaviour skill as a measure of output that meets Gilberts performance yardstick. Marketing effectiveness is then about managements coping quality and can be defined by referring to a comparison of achieved output with intended goals. We call this comparison satisfaction which is similar to Pirsig peace of mind and feel good about. Putting all these together, quality marketing strategy is about the triple interface of company, customer and trade. It is only achieved with satisfaction created with the least effort using coping skill to realise the intended goal. This leads us to (Skinner, 1969)s missing link which he suggests a kind of top-down approach, starting with the company and its competitive strategy, and its goal is to define tactical task (i.e marketing strategy) in support of the corporate strategy. In short, if marketing strategy defers from corporate strategy, it is not quality marketing strategy as it is not the intended goal of the corporation. We have discussed intensely that quality marketing strategy is not only about quality information as the latter is one of the many components that assist marketing decision-maker to be more effective. 6.0 Shortcomings of Marketing Research/Marketing Information On balance, not all marketing research/marketing information can help to define quality marketing strategy. These can be illustrated in the real-life examples that follows: In the early 1990s, American Express, decided to launch their resolving credit card, the Optima to compete with Visa and Master Card. In theory, the modelling of consumer profiles and credit histories from marketing research and datebase confirmed opportunities for new product line. It was a total failure with bad debts and American Express had to abandon this endeavour after 2 years. A postmortem analysis reveals (a case of reliable information yet inappropriate) although from same individuals, the various data was taken from the American Express card for corporate business travel expenses which are reclaimed or paid directly; whereas the Optima Card was used for personal expenses. Timely information is important in the defining of marketing strategy. (Stalk and Hout, 1990), in their espoused time to market strategy argues the reduction of time to gain significant competitive advantage. Collecting data requires time and too much of it may be resulted in redundancy and misinformation system, (Ackoff, 1967). This may also renders the firm to miss their market opportunity. A case in point is Levers introduction of Signal mouthwash. Signal was in the test markets for so long that it gave Scope a chance to emphasis the same benefit in a national advertising campaign and launch the new product successfully ahead of the originator. The starting point of the marketing research is to define the problem that researcher can help to solve. If the problem is defined wrongly, the result of the marketing research not only define sub-optimal marketing strategy but also lose the firms brand image which may takes years to recover or not at all. A classic example is that of Coca-Cola who focuses the wrong problem as the sweetness of Pepsi-Cola instead of the quantity. The ideal research should instead focus on the positioning of size rather than taste. This case illustrates how experienced marketer can overlook vital consumer behaviour and that the perception is stronger than reality Original Coke is the real thing. How can anything taste better than the real thing? In cases where requirement is to be entrepreneurial in nature, innovation, gut feeling and decisiveness (Drucker, 1986) may also has competitive advantage, without the need for marketing research. An example of the victory which does not belong to the side that does a better job of marketing research is American Motors. The company ignores customer needs develops the Jeep, a product borrowed from the military. No focus group is likely to have conjunct up that idea, nor is the identifying of customer need is going to have any co-relation with it, but it is a winner. 7.0 Conclusion A quality marketing research/marketing information involves the accuracy, relevancy, reliability, its time delaying elements and its cost attached with it. As traditional costing is about economic cost, a new look into the future (Farlan, 1984), involves the concern of forward looking marketing opportunity rather the present. This assignment has demonstrated other means of innovative concept such as strategic management cost encompassing the value chain analysis, cost driver analysis and competitive analysis as a better alternative evaluation of marketing research/marketing information investment. Concerns of quality marketing information is in the area of data analysis, data interpretation and decision usefulness to provide solution rather than the research and information per see. There are also two missing links from the input of marketing research to the output of quality marketing strategy. On one hand, the problem of information dissemination involving the power structure organisation. On the other, the alignment and co-ordination of corporate strategy and operations strategy (Skinner, 1969), in which marketing strategy and information system strategy becomes more blurry, (Earl, 1989, Ward, 1996). To a certain extent, technology can improve data analysis and assist the clumsiness of co-ordinating organisation, inter-organisation and external differences, but it is the innovative use of information (Keen, 1993) that put forward the marketing edge. Examples and solution to the opportunities and concerns are discussed and illustrated. In sum, strategically, in the context of marketing management, the quality of market research/marketing information related to marketing strategy narrowed to the outcome of new opportunities derived from fulfilling the perceived unfilled needs or problems of the customer. This should be done by offering creative product based on the researched information to provide benefit and solution to the end-user, the so-called marketing myopia by (Levitt, 1960) in their relationship with the market place and the relative worthiness involves the cost- and profit myopia, (Piercy, N., 1982) of the investment in their goal setting and strategic decision marking; to achieve what is required, they must also be wary of the missing links and political myopia; in implementing marketing strategies with regard to alignments and co-ordinations of the corporate strategy and the timely disseminating of information.

Effect of Sleep Quality on IQ Experiment

Effect of Sleep Quality on IQ Experiment Project Report Title: Do sleeping qualities affect IQ? Abstract As sleep is so important that we cannot live without, there must be some reasons. Research has proven that it is associated with many other aspects of our lives such as IQ and mood. It is a process to maintain the wellbeing of our internal functioning and an activity that we necessitate, not an option. The present research examined the effects of the quality of sleep people have on IQ. 100 individuals participated in the research and were asked to complete a sleep scale made by the researchers and an IQ test. The results signify that there was a significant positive correlation between one’s quality of sleep and how intelligent they are. There was also a surprise finding of a significant difference between genders, where the results for females was significant but not for males. Introduction Why do we sleep? Every single creature on earth needs to spend time sleeping every day as a natural part of our lives; we spend on average a third of our lives sleeping. Many people decide however to spend less than the recommended time to accomplish certain tasks, there are many theories as to the exact reason why humans spend time sleeping although none of them ultimately conclusive. Investigation carried out by the National Science Foundation (1999-2004) showed that nearly 12% out of the 320 million American population suffer from different sleeping disorders. Moreover, 69% of children have reported having sleeping difficulties once or twice a week. In many cases when these symptoms occur, they are often being ignored and untreated (F. Dinges et al. 2005). In light of this we can see the ways in which sleep has an effect in many people’s lives, as well as the effects it can have on our external and internal environment. It is essential that we have good understanding of the importance of sleep, as factors such as having a higher IQ score is reflective variables such as better mood states, having the recommended hours of sleep and having a good sleeping quality. Recent research by Blackwell et al. (2014) has found that older men have developed an cognitive decline as they have an appalling quality of sleep. However, they have found no association between sleep duration and decline of the cognitive system. Even though it has no link between sleep duration and cognitive functioning, humans still need a certain amount of sleep everyday in order to have a good sleep quality. The following are some factors that will affect sleeping quality or being affected by the lack of sleep. 1. Using phones Using phone or any other electronic appliances before sleep might associate with bad sleeping quality as it can causes cognitive stimulation.(Adams et al. 2013) Just before you sleep, your brain’s electrical activity should start to decrease and neurons begin to slow down. However with the use of an electronic device, the opposite effect takes place; the light from electronic appliances such as your phone can prevent your body from resting. The light will essentially pass through the retina into the hypothalamus, making your body become tense thus causing a production of the stress hormone cortisol. As a result the body’s â€Å"fight or flight† response would occur. Thus delaying the secretion of the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, ultimately leading to a bad sleeping quality. 2.Mood Throughout the day many of us experience events or situations that can ultimately affect our mood. However if someone is experiencing a bad or low mood it can be found there is an association between this variable and sleeping quality. Some researchers have found relationships between the mood of an individual and the quality of sleep they receive. (Zawadzki et al. 2013) They found that people who have certain emotion disorders such as depression or anxiety are at a higher risk of developing certain disorder such as insomnia, which ultimately decreases one’s sleeping quality. Research by Meltzer, L. J., Mindell, J. A. (2007) has also proved that people with sleeping disorders are likely to have mood disorders and stress related illnesses too; it is found that having difficulty in and lack of sleeping are normally the first symptoms and a great risk factor when a mood disorder first develops. 3. Hours of sleep The amount of sleep one receives ultimately varies among different age groups. There was a study in 2005 by Ursin et al. that showed how the amount of sleep people received varied across populations. There were 3531 males and 5329 females, a total of 8860 participants, age ranged from 40 to 45. Participants were from Bergen and other four communities. They found that people with different work shifts, place of living education and marital status have variations in sleep duration. It was genuinely suggested that an adult should have at least 7 to 8 hours sleep a day. If taken from a biological perspective, it was also proposed that there were certain traits to indentify within genes that provide a predictor of on average how much sleep one is likely to engage in. With regards to previous research the goal of our study was to investigate whether sleep quality has an effect on IQ. This was a correlation study using 100 participants and our predictive hypothesis would be that the quality of sleep people receive does in fact have an association with IQ levels. Method Participants For this research, a sample of 100 participants (57 Females and43 Males) aged 18 or above were selected(M=23.56,SD=6.08) and obtained through opportunity sampling which included Psychology Undergraduates from University of Warwick as well as their families and friends. Their participation in the study was voluntary and they were not paid for their participation. Design This was a correlation study. This was a within subject design under self-report condition. The independent variable for this research would be the sleeping quality (mood, hours of sleep and use of electronic devices) of the participants which was being measured through a sleep scale. The dependent variable was the participants’ IQ , that they would scored on in IQ test given after completing their sleeping scale. Material A Sleeping Quality Scale which was developed by the researchers, driven by the formed hypothesis and literature reviewed. The scale consisted of 7 questions and an IQ test of 30 questions which was found on (www.iqtest.com). Please refer to Figure 1 for the sleeping quality scale used. The questions in the IQ test were generated through the following aspects: General knowledge, solving problems through mathematics, logic and analogy. The Brief Mood Introspection Scale by John D. Mayer was also used in the research, using these symbols ‘ XX,X,V,VV’ to indicate their mood state. Procedure Firstly, participants were informed of the procedure, were given a consent form and asked to sign and write their require contact details. They were then given a short semi-structured questionnaire (the sleeping quality scale) which stated â€Å"Please put a tick in the box which suits you the most† at the beginning of the page. The questionnaire consisted of seven questions about their sleeping quality such as the amount of sleep they have every night and the amount of time they took to fall asleep. They were also asked about their use of electronic devices, the number of electronic devices they own, hours spent on electronic devices as well as the hours spent each week using one at their place of employment. A Brief Mood Introspection Scale was given afterwards, there were two groups of adjectives about mood which were in positive and negative aspects, XX, X, V, and VV were used to indicate their mood. If they definitely did not feel that particular mood at that mo ment they would select â€Å"XX† and select â€Å"X† if they do not feel in that mood. Similarly, if they feel that particular mood slightly, they would select â€Å"V† and they would select ‘VV’ if they were definitely in that specific mood. After completing both of the scales, they were given an IQ test which contained 30 questions. In each question there was a statement, the participants had to indicate whether it was true or false. They were asked to complete the scales and the IQ test in silence and were given as much time as they needed to complete both. The participant’s identity was left as anonymous. The Sleeping quality Scale was marked out of 142 (M=110.75,SD=13.75) and the IQ test was marked out of 150 (M=91.08,SD=12.64). If a participant was to score (142) on the sleep quality questionnaire, the sleep scale would determine that they have high sleep quality and therefore a score of 0 would determine a low sleep quality as 142 is t he maximum score that can be obtained. Correspondingly, if a participant was to score (150) in the IQ test would determine they are highly intelligent. The higher they got in the IQ test, the higher their level of intelligence. After the study was completed, participants were debriefed of the aims of the study and thanked for their time. Results Please refer to Table 1 for all the means and standard deviations of the sleeping scale and the IQ test. Our hypothesis was that the score of the sleeping quality scale participants would positively correlate with their IQ test score and was successfully proved by our results. There was nothing major went wrong in the conduct of the study. When examining the effects of sleeping quality on IQ, researchers created a sleep questionnaire and an IQ test found online. The dependent variable was the score participants gained in the IQ test. In the IQ test, participants will be awarded 5 marks for each question that they have answered correctly. There were 30 questions, so the highest they could get was 150. We used the scores they got from the IQ test to determine how intelligent they were. The Sleep Scale consisted of 7 questions and was marked out of 142. The higher they scored on the Sleep Scale, the better sleep quality they have. Referring to results Table 1, participants’ mean IQ score was above national average (M=110.75, SD=13.75) and their scores from the sleeping scale was rel atively high (M=91.08,SD=12.65). However, when looking at the genders separately from Table 3 Table 4, females (M=109.91, SD=13.61) was slightly less intelligent than males (M=111.86, SD=14.02) based on their performance on this IQ test; males also show slightly better quality of sleep (M=92.42,SD=11.67) than females (M=90.07,SD=13.35). Pearson Correlation test had surprisingly shown that females had a significant result r(57)=.306,p.05. This corresponded to sleep quality does have an effect on females’ IQ score while for male, the two factors do not associate with each other. Overall, it was found that sleep quality was positively correlated with IQ score gained, r(100)=.269, p Descriptive Statistics Table 1 Means and standard deviations of measures taken. Table 2 Zero-order correlations among measures taken. Note – N = 100. Correlations are controlling for other variable. Figure 1. The correlation between the scores participants gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Figure 2. The correlation between the scores females gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Table 3. Means and standard deviations of measures taken (female). Table 5. Zero-order correlation among measures taken (female). Figure 3. The correlation between the scores males gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Table 4. Means and standard deviations of measures taken (male). Table 6. Zero-order correlation among measures taken (male). Discussion Our hypothesis was that sleeping quality does have an association with IQ test performance. The predicted hypothesis was supported by the results obtained. However there is divergence exists in the gender. It has always been suggested that there is a link between sleep quality and cognitive functioning and IQ. Not only does the outside elements that might affect our quality of sleep but also the inside elements that we cannot ignore. The time participants took the test also has an impact on the score they gained, besides, it has been purposed that IQ does change over life span. Barter, E. A. (1997). Recent research from Gruber et al. (2013) has found out that sleep quality does have an effect on children’s IQ measures, however the underlying mechanism stay unidentified. They found that when the frequency of the sleep spindle was lower, it was associated with better performance on WISC-IV scales (a working memory scale) So, when considering the environment that affects our sleep quality, we should also consider the biological aspects (e.g. the sleep spindle). Gruber et al. (2013) conducted a research to investigate whether sleep quality does have an effect on children’s IQ performances. They hypothesised that sleep spindles frequencies, amplitude and duration would be associate with the performance on perceptual reasoning, verbal comprehension and working memory. However, after completing the study, they found that although there was an association between sleep spindle frequency and better performance on the perceptual reason and working memory but not with the per formance of the IQ test. Also, as sleep is such an essential part of our lives, government and companies should purpose more policies that encourage and ensure their citizens to have more sleep. Research from Kyle Stanyar (2012) has proved that high workload, lengthy shift work and work weeks has an association with poor sleep quality. Therefore, government should not just place emphasize on school children but also working adults. The research stresses the importance of the quality of sleep to IQ. Significance difference were indicated in the results, the quality of sleep does affect IQ in Females. This might be because of the biological difference in genders that researchers might consider when replicating this research. Reference Adams et al. adolescent Sleep and cellular Phone Use: recent trends and implications for research. Health Services Insights 2013:6 99–103 American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2014, March 31). Poor sleep quality linked to cognitive decline in older men. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 5, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140331170557.htm Barter, E. A. (1997). Stability and change in IQ scores: An eleven-year study in children ages 6-17. (Order No. 1384630, California State University, Fullerton). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 77-77 p. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/304428718?accountid=14888. (304428718). Dewald, J. F., Meijer, A. M., Oort, F. J., Kerkhof, G. A., Bà ¶gels, S. M. (2010). The influence of sleep quality, sleep duration and sleepiness on school performance in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 14, 179-189. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2009.10.004 Epstein, L. J. (2008) Sleep and mood. Retrieved on 4/5/14 from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/need-sleep/whats-in-it-for-you/mood. Gruber, R., Wise, M. S., Frenette, S., Knà ¤auper, B., Boom, A., Fontil, L., Carrier, J. (2013). The association between sleep spindles and IQ in healthy school-age children. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 89, 229-240. Gruber, R., Laviolette, R., Deluca, P., Monson, E., Cornish, K., Carrier, J. (2010). Short sleep duration is associated with poor performance on IQ measures in healthy school-age children. Sleep Medicine, 11, 289-294. Hatfield,H. (2008). Power down for better sleep. Retrieved on 4/5/14 from http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/power-down-better-sleep. Kong, F., Li, Q., Liu, S. (2011). Poor sleep quality predicts decreased cognitive function independently of chronic mountain sickness score in young soldiers with polycythemia stationed in tibet. High Altitude Medicine Biology, 12, 237-242. Meltzer, L. J., Mindell, J. A. (2007). Relationship between child sleep disturbances and maternal sleep, mood, and parenting stress: A pilot study. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 67-73. Ursin R; Bjorvatn B; Holsten F et al. Sleep duration, subjective sleep need, and sleep habits of 40- to 45-year-olds in the Hordaland health study. SLEEP 2005;28: 1260-1269. Zawadzki, M. J., Graham, J. E., Gerin, W. (2013). Rumination and anxiety mediate the effect of loneliness on depressed mood and sleep quality in college students. Health Psychology, 32, 212-222.

The Changing Mattress Business Essay -- Economy, Economic Downturn

Changes in the global environment, in conjunction with the deepest and most prolonged economic downturn since the Great Depression, have started a sea change in the domestic mattress industry. The end of conspicuous consumption for big-ticket items such as mattresses and foundations, is the result of declining new home sales, tightening of consumer credit, the consumer confidence index still well below pre-recessionary levels (Wang, 2010), and unemployment hovering near 10%. In order to remain viable in rapidly changing global and task environments, mattress manufacturers will need to lower material and manufacturing costs, develop products that differentiate them from their competitors, or develop new channels of distribution for their products. Domestic production of mattresses and foundations in 2010 was slightly below 6 billion dollars and almost 16% less than the peak mattress production of 2007 (International Sleep Products Association, 2010). Many consumers have lost confidence in the economic state of the country and therefore have begun to believe that, as Newt Gingrich said recently, "if you can’t afford to buy a house, don’t buy it" (Gingrich, 2010). The economic downturn has signaled the end of conspicuous consumption, defined as â€Å"the act or practice of spending money on expensive things that are not necessary in order to impress other people† (Merrian-Webster's Leaner's Dictionary, 2010). Identify functional and dysfunctional control systems within your own organization I am currently a Senior Vice-President of Sales for King Koil Licensing (â€Å"King Koil†). The company licenses mattress-manufacturing facilities, called licensees, both domestically and internationally, to produce the brands that King Koil owns. The l... ...ving the wherewithal to maintain our lifestyle will be difficult to achieve if this strategy fails. From a professional standpoint, I have had a certain level of success as a retail executive for the past 37 years, and have built a reputation that I do not want sullied through an association with a company that fails. The mattress industry in America has contracted as consumers have suffered through these difficult economic times and will continue to face more changes in the global environment and changes in the task environment. The enterprises that remain stuck in the middle, stick to the â€Å"old ways†, react to these changes too late will likely go the way of Two Guys, Kobackers, Woolworth’s, Montgomery Ward, Circuit City, Studebaker, and too many other businesses that failed to move their organizations through the economic mine fields that confronted them.

Women, Beauty and Self-Esteem Essay -- Body Image & Self Esteem

Ambrose Bierce (1958) once wrote, â€Å"To men a man is but a mind. Who cares what face he carries or what he wears? But woman’s body is the woman.† Despite the societal changes achieved since Bierce’s time, his statement remains true. Since the height of the feminist movement in the early 1970s, women have spent more money than ever before on products and treatments designed to make them beautiful. Cosmetic sales have increased annually to reach $18 billion in 1987 (â€Å"Ignoring the economy. . . ,† 1989), sales of women’s clothing averaged $103 billion per month in 1990 (personal communication, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 1992), dieting has become a $30-billion-per-year industry (Stoffel, 1989), and women spent $1.2 billion on cosmetic surgery in 1990 (personal communication, American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, 1992). The importance of beauty has apparently increased even as women are reaching for personal freedoms and economic rights undreamed of by our grandmothers. The emphasis on beauty may be a way to hold onto a feminine image while shedding feminine roles. Attractiveness is prerequisite for femininity but not for masculinity (Freedman, 1986). The word beauty always refers to the female body. Attractive male bodies are described as â€Å"handsome,† a word derived from â€Å"hand† that refers as much to action as appearance (Freedman, 1986). Qualities of achieve ­ment and strength accompany the term handsome, such attributes are rarely employed in the description of attractive women and certainly do not accom ­pany the term beauty, which refers only to a decorative quality. Men are instru ­mental, women are ornamental. Beauty is a most elusive commodity. Ideas of what is beautiful vary across cultures and change ... .... Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10, 129-38. Stoffel, Jennifer. (1989, November 26). What’s new in weight control: A market mushrooms as motivations change. New York Times, p. C17. Thompson, J. Kevin. (1986, April). Larger than life. Psychology Today, pp. 41-44. Walker, Alice. (1990). Beauty: When the other dancer is the self. In Evelyn C. White (Ed.), The black women’s health book: Speaking for ourselves (pp. 280-87). Seattle: Seal Press. Walster, Elaine, Aronson, Vera, Abrahams, Darcy, & Rottman, Leon. (1966). Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 508-16. Wernick, Mark, & Manaster, Guy J. (1984). Age and the perception of age and attractiveness. Gerontologist, 24, 408-14. Williams, Juanita H. (1985). Psychology of women: Behavior in a biosocial context. New York: Norton.