The effect of globalisation on national economies

The effect of globalisation on national economies The assignment is based on the wider implications and effects of European and global integration on organisations. It identifies the effects of globalisation on national economies and the influence of international institutions. We shall try to summarise the role and responsibility of European Union membership on the workplace. In the second partition of assignment focus on investigate the range and effects of environmental legislation, directives and guidance and the processes organisations need to adopt. The economics of adopting a policy of environmental awareness and summarise actions that need to be taken by organisations to maintain the environment. Here we shall also specify the measures that exist to improve workplace health and safety practice. In final partition explore the socio cultural, ethical and moral issues that affect organisations in the current economic environment to establish and implement good practice. Analyse the responsibilities of organisations to improving workforce welfare. Review approaches to the management of diversity and compare organisational approaches to ensuring positive policies of workforce diversity. First Part What is Globalisation? Globalisation can usefully be conceived as a process or set of processes which embodies a transformation in the spatial organisation of social relations and transactions, generating transcontinental or interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction and power. 1(www.polity.co.uk) Globalisation has four types of change. Firstly, globalisation includes growing social, political and economical actions across political limits of countries and continents. Secondly, it recommends the growth of inter bondness and flows of trade, investment, finance, and society. Third, it is developing extensity and intensity of global inter bondness can be depended to a speeding up of global connections and developments as the progress of world wide actions of transport and communication speed up the flow of ideas, goods, information, investment and communities. Fourthly, the growing extensity, intensity and speed of global communications can be attached with their developing impression such that the results of indistinct actions can be very important else where and yet all the local growth may come to have massive global consequences. It makes the sense, that the boundaries between local affairs and global matters can become increasingly blurred. In total globalisation can be consideration of as expanding, increasing speed up, and developing influence of world wide inter connections. In sum globalisation in this way, it makes possible to draw observe patterns of world wide contacts and business across all type of fields of human activity, from the military to the cultural. What are the effects of globalisation on national economies? Globalisation creates major change on the economic environment of any nation; it changes any nation in terms of economic development policies under national government. The globalisation provides the free movement of trade and investment, labour and assets. Through globalisation nations economy growth globally so it opening up the barriers of international trade which increase the stability and creates positive impact on quality of life with in a nations individuals. Economic growth through Globalisation has both positive and negative impacts on the society. One of the main benefits of economic growth is the higher incomes per capita and higher living standards due to an increase in output. It increase in output has also created employment opportunities which takes the nation towards prosperity. Example The best example of Globalisation is Microsoft Windows which is done in United State of America but the technical support is provided in India which provides support to Indian economy. Job opportunities create in India for IT professionals and governments income increases in terms of Taxes. In same way Toyota cars made some cars others are made in United State of America. The animation on cartoons is done in South Korea. The characters voices are done in the United State of America or in country who buys these cartoons. The native impact of Globalisation is that the revenue earned in the nation is not spend in that particular country for growth of this countrys economic conditions of its people, this revenue is spend in other countries along the globe and the ultimate benefit goes to the companys home country, For Example the American based company Nike is one of the company around the glob where ever in the world Nike products sale the ultimate benefit goes to America but the Nike enjoys the cheep labour and resources of that country. It also eliminates the difference of skilled and unskilled persons. Other main weakness of Globalisation is that it increases possibilities of unintentional motion of diseases between the countries. Globalisation gives attraction towards the money oriented lifestyles and selfish attitudes, which suppose to consumption to be a mean to manage overall economic affluence. As Amartya Sen said in 2002 The market economy does not work by itself in global relations indeed, it cannot operate alone even within a given country Some believer of globalisation has the aim to expand market relations, push back state and interstate interference, and create a global free market. It is a political plan that seen at work in the activities of transnational organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and has been a significant objective of United States involvement. Part of the impetus for this project was the limited success of corporate/state structures in planning and organizing economies. However, even more significant was the growth in influence of neo-liberal ideologies and their promotion by powerful politicians like Reagan in the USA and Thatcher in the UK. The influence of international institutions International institutions are a present feature of many world areas. These institutes include World Bank, IMF, GATT, WTO and OECD. These institutions have the same objective to expand the market relations and create a global free market. World Bank: The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors. 2(www.worldbank.org) The World Bank provides low interest loans, interest free credits and grants to developing countries for a wide range of reasons that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture and environmental and natural resource management. IMF (International Monetary Fund): This institution has aimed at established a system of multilateral trade and payments compatible with the maintenance of high level of income and employment. The IMF provides temporary funding to its member for balance of payments problems. GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) Treaty organization affiliated with the United Nations whose purpose was to facilitate international trade. The primary actions of the organization were to freeze and reduce tariff levels on various commodities. GATT was created in 1947, and was originally intended to become a part of the International Trade Organization (ITO); however, the ITO failed to be created, so the GATT was left as an independent organization. In 1994, GATT was superseded by the WTO. 3( www.investorwords.com/2152/GATT) The objective of the GATT is to liberalize trade for the mutual benefit of all nations. OECD (The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) The OECD is an organisation that provides for intergovernmental discussion among 24 industrial countries in the field of economic and social policy. The OECD was formed in 1960. It has major objective to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and rising standard of living in member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; to contribute to sound economic expansion in member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development and in accordance with international obligation. While almost are agree that such institutions matter but there is less agree that how much effective. This special issue brings together European Union specialists and international relations theorists who address the latter issue. à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · With the rapid spread of Globalization, there are chances for international organizations like World Trade Organization (WTO) to violate both national and international sovereignty. The Role and Responsibility of European Union Membership on the Workplace In particular, we explore the socializing role of institutions in Europe, with our central concern being to better specify the mechanisms of socialization and the conditions under which they are expected to lead to the internalization of new roles or interests. Drawing on a multifaceted understanding of human rationality, we consider three generic social mechanism strategic calculations, role playing, and normative suasion and their ability to promote socialization outcomes within international institutions. This disaggregation exercise not only helps consolidate nascent socialization research programs in international relations theory and EU studies; it also highlights points of contact and potential synergies between rationalism and social constructivism.

Developmental studies

At the beginning of the twentieth century underdeveloped countries began to look for the ways to diminish their dependency on agricultural exports and to bring on an industrial revolution. The situation which evoked this need was critical. The problem was that the underdeveloped countries developed mainly the policies of supporting primary commodity exports. Transportation policy was used in the infrastructure for delivering the export crop to the harbour.The research institutions specialized in agriculture worked only on improving crops for export, for example, sugar cane, coffee, cotton, etc.  while crops for domestic consumption, for instance, beans or manioc corn, potatoes, left with little or even without expenditure. As a result some of the underdeveloped countries had to follow the policy of import substitution to induce industrialization. Import substitution industrialization will be the goal of study of this paper. This economic policy will be investigated in the frames of an economic term with the necessary characteristics and also in a wider meaning as the experience of the countries of East Asia and Latin America.In the process of research different points of view, both pro and contra, will be cited in order to shed the light on positive and negative aspects and cover the field broadly. In the conclusion of the paper the main findings will be summed up. The term of import substitution can be defined as an economic process and as a policy strategy. As a process import substitution relates to the situation â€Å"where regions (more precisely, existing or new economic activities within regions) take up the production of goods or services which formerly were imported, but, for whatever reasons, now can be viably produced within the region (e.g. as a result of population increases leading to increases in demand or as a result of productivity increases resulting in greater competitiveness. †(Economic Geography Glossary, 1999)Import substitution i ndustrialization (ISI) as the economic strategy means encouraging the development of domestic industry by limiting manufactured goods import. The need of ISI implementation arouses from the belief that there is a potential comparative advantage in some of the industries of developing countries, but these industries are too weak yet to compete with foreign well-established ones.Thus, in order to allow infant industries to establish themselves and to realize their potential, and consequently to be able to compete internationally, governments should support the initial period of their development. The protection of government implies temporary measures such as using tariffs or import quotas to start industrialization in the country. As a policy strategy import substitution can be used to achieve the following goals: 1) to utilize the capacities which are underused; 2) to fight unemployment in the regions;3) to protect infant industries. The policy of import substitution industrializati on, according to the definition provided by the encyclopaedia, is â€Å"a trade and economic policy based on the premise that a developing country should attempt to substitute products which it imports, mostly finished goods, with locally produced substitutes. †(Wikipedia, 2005) The theory of import substitution has much common with the theory of mercantilism. Both the theories promote minimal imports and high exports as the means of inducing the growth of national wealth.In order to implement the policy of import substitution industrialization, the following three main tenets must be pursued: 1) protective barriers to trade, which can be set up in the form of tariffs. Tariffs or custom duties are applied to the goods which are imported and in this way they artificially protect domestic industries from competition with foreign companies; 2) a particular industrial policy, which orchestrates and subsidizes production of the substitutes; 3) a monetary policy, which will keep th e domestic currency overvalued.Monetary policy is implemented by setting reserve requirements and changing some interest rates directly or indirectly. The chief tools of monetary policy are operations in open market. In open market money circulates through the selling and buying of deferent foreign currencies credit instruments, or commodities. Such sales or purchases create a certain base currency which leaves or enters market circulation. Usually open market operations are aimed at achieving a specific short term interest rate target.However, monetary policy may also target a certain â€Å"exchange rate relative to some foreign currency or else relative to gold. † (Wikipedia, 2005) Equally important is to note that import substitution as economic protectionalizm can have negative outcomes. Stutz pointed out that â€Å"This form of economic protectionism helped some countries industrialize in the past but involves economic risks. † (Stutz and Souza, 1998) The risks of import substitution meant by Stutz are potential inefficiencies and higher prices.Successful implementation of this policy as a rule needs massive expenditure on infrastructure. Additionally, import substitution is accompanied by the establishment of state firms in the areas of industry which are thought to be too risky or too large for the private sector (or example, steel, aircraft) or estimated to be too important to be owned by foreign firms (or instance, oil). The policy of import substitution industrialization was argued by the advocates of absolute free trade theory.Generally, free trade becomes possible when the flow of services and goods between countries is not taxed. In particular, the economists who supported free trade policy stated that economic strategy would become successful only under the following conditions: 1) international trade in services must be without trade barriers, or tariffs; 2) international trade of goods must not be free from any possible tariffs (n amely taxes on imports) or trade barriers (for example, quotas on import); 3) the free movement of international labor; 4) the free movement of international capital;5) the absence of any economic protectionalizm, implemented by trade-distorting policies (for instance, subsidies, regulations taxes, or laws), which gives an advantage to domestic firms, factors of production, and households over foreign ones. Thus, it becomes obvious that free trade proponents advocated the policy which totally contradicted the fundamental tenets of import substitution industrialization. On the other hand, free trade proponents suggested that a foreign subsidy should be considered as another of comparative advantage and consequently domestic barriers should not be imposed on the purchase of goods produced overseas.Free trade economists pointed out that unlimited imports will be beneficial for domestic consumers which overweighs the loss of domestic producers. Thus, the lower prices of foreign subsidie s can be considered as net positive. Therefore, the domestic society where any import restriction is applied becomes â€Å"a whole worse off than it would be with unlimited imports. † (Wikipedia, 2005) Anyway, the viewpoints of the both theories – import substitution industrialization and absolute free trade – were checked in the process of their implementation and in real life experience.In the period from 1930 to 1940 the policy of import substitution industrialization was adopted in many underdeveloped countries of Latin America. The driving force which precipitated the acceptance of import substitution idea was the Great Depression which took place in 1930s. According to article Concern with Policy-relevance in the Latin American School of Economics authored by Bianchi, â€Å"Import substitution was a necessary condition for peripheral growth, in association with structural reforms in the economy.The focus should be placed on the strenghtening of the domest ic market, which was seen as the crucial element of an inward-looking model of development. † (Bianchi A. M. , 2003) Later on, in the 1950s Raul Prebisch, the prominent Argentine economist, expressed his belief that the only way to succeed for developing countries was to build forward linkages domestically and to create industries which would work on primary products already produced by the countries themselves. The policy of tariffs would help the domestic industry to prosper.By implementing the policy of import substitution industrialization in the period from 1950 to 1970 a number of Latin America countries, in particular Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, attempted to reach positive results and to increase their national wealth. The success of the policy in these countries was based on either high living standards or large populations. However, poorer and smaller countries, for example, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, were not successful in adopting import s ubstitution policy.Also it is notable that the countries which succeeded in import substitution industrialization managed to change the structure of their governments. Thus neo-colonialism collapsed and was replaced by democratic way of governing. Nationalization turned banks and utilities into public property and returned to nation some of the companies previously owned by foreigners. A case of implementation of import substitution industrialization can be examined with the help of the example of Brazil.Brazil was the country which carried the policy of import substitution industrialization later than other underdeveloped countries. The economists in Brazil carefully analyzed its effects and were planning the industrial development of the country while the other countries started import substitution mainly by accident. It is important to note that Brazil initially had all the chances for success in the policy of import substitution, since its population goes up to 170 million, whic h makes Brazil the fifth largest country in the world.Also Brazil is the fifth largest country by its land area. And finally, Brazil is rich in forest reserves, minerals, navigable rivers agricultural land, and hydroelectric capability. The development of Brazilian economy in the period from 1950 to the 1970s confirmed the most optimistic views. Brazil with its rich resources and reserves was called â€Å"the land of the future†. In 1950 Brazil attempted to establish the largest industry of motor vehicle having practically no sufficient basis. Thirty years later aircraft of Brazil were working on commuter airlines on the United States.Brazilian shoes spread everywhere. Moreover, Brazil opened up the richest iron mine in the world and Brazilians found out the capital city on the place where previously had been a roadless jungle and built the network of roads going deep into Amazon. When the oil prices rose and began threatening the development of Brazil economy, Brazilians lau nched huge hydroelectric projects to operate the growing industries of the â€Å"Golden Triangle†, which included Sao Paulo Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte and required the new automobiles to run on rum instead of gasoline.At the beginning of the 1980s even pessimists agreed that Brazil was â€Å"the country of future†, however added â€Å"and always will be†. The growth of Brazil stopped, when it was almost close to ripening. The modern cities in Brazil coexist together with miserable shanty-towns surrounded with open sewers. The roads are shared by modern vehicles and hand carts. The wages of Brazilian executives are the highest in the world, but at the same time average workers hardly reach subsistence level. Some economists call Brazil â€Å"a Switzerland within an India.† Other economists consider that the case of Brazil brightly illustrates economic growth without economic development. Economist Celso Furtado characterized the state of Brazilian economy in the following way: â€Å"The Brazilian economy constitutes a very interesting example of how far a country can go in the process of industrialization without abandoning its main features of underdevelopment: great disparity in productivity between urban and rural areas, a large majority of the population living at a physiological subsistence level, increasing masses of unemployed people in the urban zones, etc.† (Development policies, Catching Up, Sec 2, Chap 14) By the 1950s the industrial development by means of import substitution had been already a planned process in Brazil. New industries were protected from the foreign competition with the help of a number of methods. Basic industries (for example, steel, electrical power, petroleum reining) became either fully owned by state or received direct subsidies. Law of Similars aimed at putting high tariffs (sometimes tariffs went up to 300%) on imported goods as soon as any domestic firm somewhere in Brazil started manufacturing something ‘similar’.The industries considered high priority always could be credited under favorable terms by a national development bank. For some period of time, the government even set multiple exchange rates in order to lower the cost of imported capital equipment while the price of imported finished goods was kept expensive. One of the growing Brazilian industries in the mid of twentieth century was motor vehicles. The government hoped that foreign financing would help to expand Brazilian firms which were already producing motor parts, bus bodies, truck and so on and soon would turn them into real vehicle manufacturers.But this approach had to be changed for the government of Brazil faced the reluctance of American government to extend loans and the disapproval of the firms from Europe and the USA who owned a critical technology. The world famous giants – Fiat General Motors, Mercedes Volkswagen, and Ford – were threatened to lose their markets in Brazil if they did not manufacture vehicles within the country. It is important to note that modern manufacturing, in particular the production of appliances, motor vehicles, TVs and so on is a complex process that requires substantial knowledge and skill.Final assembly became possible in Brazil since it was the last stage of production and required the least skill. So, launching modern industries Brazil could start with final assembly and gradually came to more complicated â€Å"backwards†, which included more difficult procedures. For example, Volkswagen could start importing complete parts, such as engines, wheels etc. and assemble them in Sao Paulo plant. The tariffs allowed Volkswagen to sell 1960 30% Brazilian Beetle for twice what Europeans would pay even if the quality was not that high. Eventually, most of the parts became produced in Brazil and the quality of assembly improved.Gradually, the competition from Brazilian Fiats, Fords, and Chevrolets pushed the price down. In this way, Brazilian motor vehicle industry became more and more efficient and even in the 1970s Brazil exported subassemblies and parts to America and to the European countries. By 1980 Brazil started exporting entire vehicles. When import substitution industrialization was implemented in Latin America, the drawbacks of the policy soon revealed themselves. In Brazil as well as in other Latin America countries import substitution model led to foreign ownership in all the sectors in industry except those occupied by state enterprise.When the interests of foreign firms were threatened by Brazilian taxes, environmental or labor legislation, American, German, Italian, British Japanese or French owners were quick to call on their state departments. In particular, the Department of the United States defined one of its key objects as establishing favorable â€Å"business climate†. This meant undermining Brazilian government. Thus, in 1964 some Brazilian generals, b eing encouraged by American officials, made an attempt to overthrow constitutional government of their country.Another drawback of import substitution industrialization revealed in the fact that this policy led to huge foreign debts. It was not accidental, that Brazil and Mexico ran into debts in order to cover the expenses of their infrastructure development. The development of infrastructure needs a large number of hard currency imports. If infrastructure grows and increases exports together with hard currency earnings, a country can borrow in dollars. Then, under such condition, the country has to earn dollars in order to make the interest payments.But import substitution requires borrowing in dollars for the purpose of economic development of the domestic production that will not necessarily expand exports. By the end of the seventies the countries of Latin America faced the problem: Where to go next? And the next logical step was to export the goods which had been already produ ced efficiently. By the middle of the eighties Brazil became the largest exporter of shoes and coffee, among ten major exports to America, six were manufactured projects. Nevertheless, the expansion of manufactured goods made Brazilian economy vulnerable to retaliatory tariffs.Moreover, in the 1980s Brazil as well as other underdeveloped countries of Latin America did not manage to pursue the next layer of import substitution ( in particular, microchips, computers, capital equipment), although they attempted to create open markets for their manufactured consumer goods. Unlike the nations of Latin America, the majority of East Asian nations rejected the policy of import substitution industrialization. Due to this, as many economists think, East Asia had its superior performance in the seventies and the eighties of the twentieth century.Generally speaking, the Asian growth had started before World War II in Japan. The process of Asian growth included three groups of countries whose ec onomic â€Å"miracle† began at different times: 1) Japan (after the Second World War); 2) The â€Å"four tigers†: Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore (the sixties of the twentieth century); 3) Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China (from the 1970s to the 1980s) In fact, by rejecting import substitution industrialization Asian nations managed to avoid some negative results of this policy. First, their economies were not dragged by inefficient industries.Second, East Asia did not have to implement policies benefiting industrial workers at the expense of those working on the farms. This was crucial for Asian countries because farmers made up the majority of their population. In addition, in order to diminish the cost of industrialization, the cost of food needed to be kept artificially low. And also, East Asia attempted to prevent the appearance of rent seeking behaviours, which resulted from the usage of the licensing schemes for import substitution strategy and whic h usually increased inefficiency of economics.High tariffs on manufactured goods, which were imposed by many countries in order to create their manufacturing bases, forced multinational companies to assemble or produce them locally. For example, manufacturers of motor industry exported vehicles for local assembly. Their vehicles were delivered ‘completely knocked down’ and the local assembly resulted in poorer quality and higher expenditures in comparison with those imported already built up. Moreover, the local assembly of identical products only duplicated resources and reduced economies of scale, which became increasingly inefficient for manufacturers.On the whole, at the beginning of 1980s the policy of import substitution industrialization began to fail both in Latin America and in those Asian countries where the policy was adopted. Generally, it happened because the governments involved in the policy started to overspend reserves in order to keep the stability of currency. The governments in Latin America defaulted on their debts and had to turn to the help of the International Monetary Fund. Another process which contributed to the failure of import substitution was globalization.However, some economists think that the collapse of the policy of import substitution industrialization â€Å"should not necessarily be taken as an endorsement of globalization. † (Wikipedia, 2005) Such point of view was supported by the fact that some countries of East Asia also used high tariff barriers while rejecting the rest of the strategy of import substitution. This mixed policy was focused on investment and subsidies on the industries which would produce goods for export. As a result, these Asian countries managed to create competitive industries.However, irrespective of all their achievements, the policies described above also proved to be inefficient and later led to many problems during Asian financial crisis. The closing period of import substit ution industrialization was in 1989 when the Washington Consensus as a set of policies designed to promote economic growth in the countries of Latin America was presented by John Williamson. The Washington Consensus included reforms which continued the policy of import substitution industrialization offering a modernized version of its tenets.In particular, the Washington Consensus proposed the following: 1) the discipline of fiscal policy; 2) tax reform. It flattened tax curve: the tax rates on high tax brackets were lowered and the tax rates on the low tax brackets were raised. Also it suggested lowering the marginal tax rate; 3) Competitive exchange rates; 4) Trade liberalization by means of low and uniform tariffs which would replace quantitative restrictions; 5) Reduced limitation for foreign direct investment; 6) Privatization of state enterprises;7) Deregulation, which implies â€Å"abolition of regulations that impede entry or restrict competition, except for those justifie d on safety, environmental and consumer protection grounds, and prudential oversight of financial institutions† (Wikipedia, 2005) 8) Property rights must be legally secured; 9) Public spending should be redirected toward the investment of health, education, and infrastructure; 10) â€Å"Interest rates that are market determined and positive (but moderate) in real terms. † (Wikipedia, 2005) In the nineties the Washington consensus was being disputed.The critics of the reforms argued that they would lead vulnerable countries to crisis instead of helping to overcome it. Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky claimed that the neoliberal policies of the Washington consensus would lead to the exploitation of labor market of an underdeveloped economy by a more developed one. (Wikipedia, 2005) Privatization of state industries, deregulation, and tax reform were seen by the opponents as the reforms which would ensure the development of the layer of local monied elite who would pursue loca l interests and try to maintain local status quo.Jorge Taiana, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Argentina, also disapproved the Washington consensus saying that such policies never had a real consensus and nowadays â€Å"a good number of governments of the hemisphere are reviewing the assumptions with which they applied those policies in the 1990s,† adding that governments are working on a development model which would ensure productive employment and guarantee the generation of real wealth. (Wikipedia, 2005)Another economist Duncan Kennedy in the article for The Boston Review stated that the Washington Consensus completely opposed the initial tenets of import substitution industrialization and more favoured American political interests: â€Å"In the form promoted by the United States, ISI was as hostile to free-market economics as to Communism. The overarching idea of the Washington Consensus was to wipe out every aspect of ISI: the Washington Consensus is both that free mark ets are good and that ISI [Import substitution industrialization] was bad.Developing countries were to develop through integration into the world commodity and capital markets, with policies of deregulated private enterprise, foreign investment, and open economic borders. † (Kennedy D. 2003) All in all, taking into consideration the mistakes of the previous experience and the criticism of the economists, the developmental policy of import substitution industrialization has never been returned since the time of the Washington Consensus. Thus, in the paper import substitution industrialization as a process and as a policy was investigated.It was found out that import substitution pursues three main goals: utilization of underused capacities, reducing unemployment and infant industries protection. The implementation of the policy of import substitution industrialization is based on three tenets: particular monetary and industrial policies, and protective trade barriers. However, it turned out that success and efficiency of import substitution industrialization was doubted by the proponents of absolute free market.Potential risks of import substitution were also visible while careful theoretical analysis and pointed out by economists. The underdeveloped countries of Latin America and East Asia implemented the policy of import substitution industrialization. It occurred that the potential risks and the negative aspects found out by the proponents of absolute free market constituted the drawbacks of the policy and finally became the chief factors of its failure.However, the major part of East Asian countries rejected the policy and experienced economic growth. The example of Brazil demonstrated that the policy of import substitution industrialization can stimulate economic growth for some period of time, but its drawbacks (first of all high expenditures and inefficiencies) pose real obstacles for continuous and strong economic development.

Lady Macbeth As A Catalyst To Evil Essay

The expression â€Å"behind every man, there is a woman,† rings true even in the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is the catalyst that ignites the fire to Macbeth’s ambition. It is because she challenges his masculinity, questions his love, and belittles his bravery that Macbeth murders Duncan. His lady provides impetus for him to abandon all honorable nature in order to achieve what they both desire. Macbeth would not have murdered Duncan and continued on a downward spiral of evil were it not for the extra push from his ruthless and overly ambitious wife. Macbeth is filled with great hubris. Lady Macbeth plays on this pride when she challenges his masculinity. She goads him by saying, â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man / [. . .], you would / be so much more the man.† (Shakespeare, Macbeth. 1.7.49-51). Lady Macbeth tells her husband to kill Duncan to prove that he is a man, and states how much more of a man he will be as king. Eugene M. Waith states in his criticism Manhood and Valor in Macbeth, that â€Å"the pangs of Macbeth’s conscience [. . .] are no more than effeminate, childish fears to Lady Macbeth.†(64) She has a great deal of power over Macbeth; this power is the mere truth that she possesses more of a manly quality that he himself does. Macbeth is ambitious enough to want to become king, but would not think of murdering Duncan. Because Lady Macbeth knows this, she understands the necessity to push Macbeth into performing the deed. She does this by questioning his love for her. † What beast was’t then / that made you break this enterprise to me?/ [. . .] I would, while it was smiling in my face, / have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums a/ nd dashed the brains out, had I sworn so as you / have done to this.† (Mac. 1. 7. 47-48. 55-58) In saying this, Lady Macbeth proves her devotion to her lord and asks him to do the same. Lady Macbeth tells him that his love is worth nothing if he refuses to go through with the plan, â€Å"[. . .] saying that his love is as accountable as his indecisiveness.† (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Switch Roles. www.planetpapers.com) Macbeth wants his wife to love and trust him, so he follows through with their plan. Macbeth is brave when it comes to thought, but when it comes to action he is  somewhat of a moral coward. Lady Macbeth bullies her husband into the action that will gain them the throne. The final way she badgers Macbeth is by deprecating his bravery. â€Å"We fail! / But screw your courage to the sticking-place / and we’ll not fail.† (Mac. 1.7. 59-61) Macbeth views himself as the epitome of bravery and upon hearing these words from the woman he loves, he succumbs to their ambitions. Lady Macbeth taunts him for his cowardice, â€Å"under the weight of her reproaches of cowardice he has dared do more, and has become less [. . .]† (Brooks. 45). Throughout the Renaissance, the idea that to be courageous is to be a man prevails. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth represents the ideal Elizabethan hero; therefore, bravery is an important character attribute. Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness and manipulation of Macbeth causes him to defy his true principles and to murder Duncan. From the beginning of Act One Scene Five, until after the murder of Duncan, it is evident that Lady Macbeth manipulates and convinces Macbeth to do evil. Lady Macbeth knew that he would never go through with it alone, she realizes that he holds too much of the â€Å"milk of human kindness† (Mac. 1.5.12) to ever complete such an appalling feat. Lady Macbeth uses persuasion to coerce her husband. Had she not mocked his masculinity, challenged of his love, and vilified his bravery, Macbeth would not have been pressured into the murder of his king and thrust onto a path of malevolence led by ambition.

Equal Opportunity in Education and the Brown vs. Board of...

Society holds a beneficial belief that education is a very prominent source that is necessary to engage in life’s successes. Education gives one the endurance to gain knowledge and the will power to accomplish goals and reach high standards. It allows individuals to know and understand the skills of life and the values it hold. Education has a history that has been around for hundreds of years that continuously develops as education improves, but the history of equal opportunity in education must continuously improve as well. Although education is known for its good deeds, inequality still plays a significant role in education today. There are opportunities that students must receive to relinquish some inequalities that are still present†¦show more content†¦Since the rule of the Brown vs. Board of Education case it is still a factor as to how the opportunity of education is affected by race and diversity. The promises of Brown have not been fully realized. Platitudes about diversity will not overcome the cultural divide that continues to persist in education at all levels (Smickle, 2004, p. 2). Financial concerns have placed an emphasis on equal education in the past and it remains of concern today. Students who lived in communities of poverty ability to achieve were less than those in communities of wealth. The schools in wealthy communities flourished with an advanced opportunity to excel in academics due to greater funding. Whereas those students in communities of less funding was not given the best education to successfully achieve. Poor children as well as those of certain minority groups, it was noted, consistently failed to achieve (Webb, 2010, p.190). This history of educational opportunity was what turned the funding of education to be an involvement of student’s endeavors with the program Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965. This program entailed funding from the federal government to create a parallel means of education. In 1965 the ESEA Act was set into place to allow students of low-income families to have an improved education that would target greater funds to education by means of school needs which were recognized as â€Å"Title† schools. Title I is the principalShow MoreRelatedWhy I Believe Education Is Right1335 Words   |  6 Pages EDUCATION IS A RIGHT Tausha Robertson Keiser University ABSTRACT In this essay I will talk about why I believe education is right. Also, it will state some things that happened in previous history that made education become a right. How many black were denied the equal opportunity to learn because of the color of the skin. Thurgood Marshall who was also mentioned in this essay was denied the right to go to the University of Maryland, but later became a Legal Defense forRead MoreBrown vs. Board of Education Essay1308 Words   |  6 PagesBrown v. Board of Education The case of brown v. board of education was one of the biggest turning points for African Americans to becoming accepted into white society at the time. Brown vs. Board of education to this day remains one of, if not the most important cases that African Americans have brought to the surface for the better of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education was not simply about children and education (Silent Covenants pg 11); it was about being equal in a society thatRead MoreBrown vs. Board of Education Essay1490 Words   |  6 PagesBrown vs. Board of Education Ever since the founding of the United States of America, blacks have continuously been considered inferior to the white race. In the year of 1954, a substantial advancement in the fight for equality for blacks was prevalent. Countless prominent leaders of the United States realized the injustices that the blacks were forced to endure daily. Stated blatantly in the Declaration of Independence, it is said that all men are created equally. Disregarding the opinions of theRead MoreWhite Vs. Board Of Education Essay1662 Words   |  7 Pagesmany cases in history that have a racial element like segregation to it. One of the most important, influential, and more well known court cases that dealt with segregation was Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka. It is commonly understood that Brown vs Board of Education dealt with a little girl suing because she wanted to attend an all white school in her neighborhood. In reality, the case was far more complex than that. In December, 1952, the U. S. Supreme Court had on its docket cases from KansasRead MoreBrown V. The Board Of Education1136 Words   |  5 PagesBrown v. The Board of Education Topeka, Kansas, 1950, a young African-American girl named Linda Brown had to walk a mile to get to her school, crossing a railroad switchyard. She lived seven blocks from an all white school. Linda’s father, Oliver, tried to enroll her into the all white school. The school denied her because of the color of her skin. Segregation was widespread throughout our nation. Blacks believed that the â€Å"separate but equal† saying was false. They felt that whites had more educationalRead MoreDiverse Student Body from Brown vs. the Board of Education Essay950 Words   |  4 Pagesof the Brown vs. The Board of Education court case that allows the University of Texas at Austin, along with hundreds of universities, to be have a diverse student body. This case opened new doors to racial opportunities. What started off as a plea for equality, would change the world in its own way. Brown, who is not defined to one person but rather a group that wanted freedom of segregation from scho ols, would go against the Board of Education in a duel of words to bring an equal education towardsRead MoreThe Disintegration Of Integration Of America s Schools932 Words   |  4 PagesIntegration in America’s Schools Brown vs. Board of Education will celebrate its 62nd anniversary on May 17, 2016. Brown vs. Board of Education was the result of a series of appeals presented to the Supreme Court at about the same time other court cases around the United States dealt with the same issues of equal rights of what was taught in the schools, how it was taught, and bussing of students (â€Å"What Was Brown...†). Thurgood Marshall, chief attorney for Brown who later became a Supreme CourtRead MoreThe Chicago Public School System1226 Words   |  5 PagesThe Chicago Public School system was slow to integrate even after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling of 1954. It took much protesting, federal involvement and public outrage to finally bring about more racial equality for the students of Chicago. While the Brown v. Board of Education ruling is thought of as being the reason any racial equality was brought to schools after such long hardships for the African American students, Chicago had a difficult time bringing the ruling to fruition and federalRead MoreEssay on Brown vs. Board of Education786 Words   |  4 PagesBrown vs. Board of Education Although slavery was finally ended at the end of the nineteenth century black people found themselves still in the process of fighting. What they had to fight for was their own rights. The Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the civil war brought about literal freedom but the beliefs and attitudes of whites, especially in the south kept the black people repressed. In this paper I would like to share the research that I found that helped to launch the fightRead MoreIt Was Not Fair, By The Brown V. The Board Of Education1340 Words   |  6 PagesIt was Not Fair â€Å"Knowledge overcomes ignorance and was the best weapon in the fight against injustice.† Words as these were the only form of consolation for children who were separated but they remained to be â€Å"equal† because they were either worthless in society or they were inferior. But the inferior here were the whites, it was whom a black child â€Å"noticed were always in charge.† This inferiority was what caused black children like Moses attend schools were children who looked like himself attended

How to Be a Productive Citizen - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 441 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Citizenship Essay Did you like this example? Hello, in this essay I will be explaining how to be a productive citizen. Lets begin, there are many ways to become a productive citizen, heres a lot we all should know. Get a job, provide for your family, donating to the poor, following laws and rules, volunteer to be active in your community, be honest and trustworthy, be informed about the world around you, respect the property of others and most important of all, take responsibility for your actions. The benefits of helping your community. First of all helping your community has been proven to reduce stress combating depression keeping you mentally stimulated as well as providing a sense of purpose as well as making you feel like a better person over all just for helping out the people in your community. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How to Be a Productive Citizen" essay for you Create order I mean you really have nothing to lose. Okay lets move on. Ahem, Now we will move onto laws. Just because there is so many laws and there is no way I can cover them all well just cover only a few mostly like 1-3, Okay lets get started. Dont rob dont steal respect police officers and you might end up still alive at the end of the confrontation, another law is to respect sound pollution laws, dont blast music past 11PM cause I have encountered the exact problem especially in the summer as there is more partys and I can say for myself that its not fun waking up at 12PM to someone blasting very obnoxious music. Lets cover another one, dont speed in a residential zone especially without lights on at night, first off think of the familys youre endangering and your own life your endangering especially if your driving an old car youre just spelling your own death.. Now were explaining civil duties, Are you still with me? Okay well who cares cause Im still going to start. One that we all know is, obeying laws of the country, paying taxes on time or youll go to jail. Man its so funny when you see a kid rushing to be an adult and your like woah kid slow down then they reply, no i cant wait to pay taxes. Okay back on track, serving as a jury or as a witness to a court case. As Well as registering to vote. I dont care what you say everyones vote count, people who say, It doesnt matter as I am only one single vote EXCUSE ME NOW LOOK WHAT YOU CAUSED CAUSE NOW WE GOT TRUMP. Okay okay welp thats all I got hope you enjoyed. I dont care who I offended with that trump statement.

Essay on Drugs - 1471 Words

Prescription drugs and Street drugs By Checeba Lawton Date: 09/15/2012 Gail McElroy Prescription drugs and street drugs that are destroying the world and the problem are increasing each year. More individuals that are realizing that they are becoming addicts. What can society do about this situation? One thing is with prescription drugs, make sure the patient’s that come in to see these doctor really have a full physical and make sure they have not been in that office or any other office several of times for pain/ the same issues.2). Street†¦show more content†¦These drugs will take anyone to another level and they will make people do things they don’t want or don’t know they are doing it. These drugs and any other drugs are easy to find. All an addict has to do is go in an area where it’s being sold and it will be found, someone is selling them. The sellers don’t care about the ones that are buying them they just care about the money. I t could be pregnant women, a sick person, kids, it don’t matter as long as the seller is getting money. Drug addiction is one of the most hard and mind over powering habits that anyone with an addiction can overcome. All these drugs can damage a person mentally and physically. When a drug over powers a mind and body it’s best that person stay in a rehab or get the help that is needed. Drugs will damage, and can cause short-term memory loss, cause depression to a person, vision problem, and poor lung function. These things are all caused from the addiction to drugs. It’s sad but so true. Drugs have this way of destroying, families, friendships, interest, goals and anything a person has and wants to do in their future. Addicts act wild and out of control. An addiction will make a person act at times sweet and normal when they want something. Then when they get up and then they start getting around and start wanting there drug. If they don’t get it then they will turn into another person and start acting likeShow MoreRelated Drugs Essay1467 Words   |  6 Pagestypical politicians are afraid to address is that of what to do with the nation’s illegal drug problems. Although we hear terms like quot;The War on Drugsquot; and quot;Drug Treatmentquot;, a fresh approach to this issue is needs to come soon. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The country should take a new look at drug legalization as a solution to a problem that has been long out of control. Addiction and drug abuse are such â€Å"buzzwords† these days that a clarification is needed of what is meant byRead More Drugs Essay509 Words   |  3 PagesDrugs An issue of personal, local, and national concern that I would like to focus in this essay is drugs. There are many reasons why I find drugs to be an issue of great importance to me. First, drugs is a personal issue to me. For most of my life, I have been living in places where drugs have surrounded me. For the past ten years, I have been living in the Duncan Projects in Jersey City, where the temptation of selling, buying, or even using drugs seems to be growing every day. EveryRead MoreDrugs And Drugs Essay1768 Words   |  8 Pagespay for another person’s potential drug habit or abuse of the system? While taking away government benefits from someone abusing drugs, may cause the crime rate to increase, everyone trying to obtain assistance would need to pass a drug test, eliminating people on welfare that are drug users; at the same time, provide more assistance to the honest Americans that genuinely need the help; in addition, stop enabling drug users. Before there is a discussion on drugs in the welfare system, there needsRead More Drug Legalization Essay957 Words   |  4 PagesDrug Legalization Drug abuse has progressively, over the last thirty years, become a tool for crime organizations and bureaucracies, independent and under the control of the federal government, used to transform drug addiction into a profit through the passage of countless laws against drug abuse. Gore Vidals assertive essay communicated his belief that drug addiction should be legalized in order to ensure the eventual well-being and individual freedom guaranteed to Americans by the constitutionRead More Drugs Essays1536 Words   |  7 Pages Drugs nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Drugs have always been a big part of our society. Many issues arise with whether or not some of them should be legalized for medication purposes or if they all should just be kept as illegal. Drugs are a very interesting topic to learn about and discuss. There is so many things that people don’t know and maybe they should. Not everyone is aware of all the risks or what can happen to you if you get caught with them. If you’re ready to hear about five illegal drugsRead MoreDrugs Essay755 Words   |  4 PagesDrugs may be used in many ways. There are good types of drugs and very harmful, illegal types of drugs. Too many, of any type of drug, are bad for you, but, illegal drugs can cause the worst type of damage to the human body. Drugs can affect your mental and physical health. Accordingly, drugs which are psychoactive, such as cannabis, alcohol, ecstasy and heroin have the ability to affect your mood. They can cause certain emotions to spike or cause others to go down. Drugs intervene with the chemicalsRead Moreplug in drug Essay676 Words   |  3 Pagesaffect the developing childrens relationship with the real world?† In the essay â€Å"Television: The plug in Drug,† by author Marie Winn, the author examines television’s impact on children. The author uses rhetorical devices such as causal analysis to support her argument on television non-effectiveness on society and cause and effect to illustrate and persuade the unaware attitude of parents towards television. This is an essay on how television affects children’s and how families should interact. Read MoreDrug Essay1041 Words   |  5 PagesHave you ever been addicted to drugs? â€Å"There are about 18 million adults are addicted to alcohol.†(Teens, and self-injury: Causes, Signs, and Prevention Web MD) Those people needs to drink alcohol in order to function normally. It is a problem because drugs can cause heart diseases. Heart disease is extremely dangerous, and can cause heart attack, which is able to cause death. Although people takes drugs in order to feel pleasant. However drug is able to put one in abominable conditions such asRead More Drug Legalization Essay1115 Words   |  5 PagesDrug Legalization Drug legalization has become a great issue among Americans for many years, and there have also been those that try to stop that legalization. The article, â€Å"Legalizing Drugs is Not the Solution† by Gerald W. Lynch, has a good argument based on facts and incidents that have occurred from drug use. In this article a person thinks twice about what they are really doing when they use drugs, and it is clear as to why legalizing drugs would not be a logical solution As spokenRead MoreEssay on drugs`992 Words   |  4 Pagesdisintegrate, and Tyrone gets into one bad situation after another as his drug dealer gets shot in front of him and he finds himself in the middle of a drug war between two rival gangs. Harry and Tyrone, now almost broke, hatch a plan to make a trip to Florida so they can score drugs there, as now the supply on the streets has all but dried up. In the meantime Harry talks Marion into prostitution in order to help him raise enough money and drugs for the trip. She does and Harry and Tyrone leave for Florida.

Brand and Packaging free essay sample

The Power of Packaging Alice Louw Michelle Kimber The Customer Equity Company* In recent years packaging has developed well beyond its original function as merely a means of product protection and now plays a key marketing role in developing on shelf appeal, providing product information and establishing brand image and awareness. As packaging’s role in the marketing mix gains momentum, so research into this arena becomes increasingly important. Given the potential for packaging to successfully achieve marketing goals; does research into packaging truly reflects its value within the marketing mix? Do we fully understand the role that packaging plays in a marketing environment and how best to leverage this tool to influence consumers? If packaging is so important, what is the best way to measure its effectiveness? * The Customer Equity Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of TNS (UK) which has been set up to develop the marketing sciences and support brand equity and Commitment modelling worldwide. 1 What is packaging? The definitions of ‘packaging’ vary and range from being simple and functionallyfocused to more extensive, holistic interpretations. Packaging can be defined quite simply as an extrinsic element of the product (Olson and Jacoby (1972)) an attribute that is related to the product but does not form part of the physical product itself. â€Å"Packaging is the container for a product – encompassing the physical appearance of the container and including the design, color, shape, labeling and materials used† (Arens, 1996). Most marketing textbooks consider packaging to be an integral part of the â€Å"product† component of the 4 P’s of marketing: product, price, place and promotion (Cateora and Graham, 2002, pg 358-360). Some argue that that packaging serves as a promotional tool rather than merely an extension of the product: Keller (1998) considers packaging to be an attribute that is not related to the product. For him it is one of the five elements of the brand – together with the name, the logo and/or graphic symbol, the personality and the slogans. While the main use for packaging can be considered to be protection of the goods inside, packaging also fulfils a key role in that it provides us with a recognisable logo, or packaging, so that we instantly know what the goods are inside. From the consumer perspective, packaging plays a major role when products are purchased – as both a cue and as a source of information. Packaging is crucial, given that it is the first thing that the public sees before making the final decision to buy (Vidales Giovannetti, 1995). Objectives of packaging Packaging and package labeling have several objectives: †¢ †¢ Physical Protection – Protection of the objects enclosed in the package from shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc. Barrier Protection A barrier from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Containment or Agglomeration Small objects are typically grouped together in one package for transport and handling efficiency. Alternatively, bulk commodities (such as salt) can be divided into packages that are a more suitable size for individual households. Information transmission Information on how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product is often contained on the package or label. Reducing theft Packaging that cannot be re-closed or gets physically damaged (shows signs f opening) is helpful in the prevention of theft. Packages also provide opportunities to include anti-theft devices. Convenience features which add convenience in distribution, handling, display, sale, opening, re-closing, use, and re-use. Marketing The packaging and labels can be used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase the product. Although packaging plays a role in both logistics and marketing, this paper will be focusing mainly on its relevance in the area of marketing. 3 The Relevance of Packaging as a Marketing Tool â€Å"Never underestimate the importance of packaging. Marketers often measure consumer brand perceptions and ignore the pack. Yet we know from the way that consumers react to unbranded products that packaging plays a huge role in reinforcing consumer perceptions. Packaging helps to drive the way consumers experience a product. Yet, we spend little time researching the connections between packaging and the direct experience of the product† (Rice and Hofmeyr, 2000, Commitment-led Marketing, pg 216). Before one can assess or question the current thinking regarding packaging research (and whether the research into packaging suitably reflects its value within the marketing mix), one must first assess whether packaging as a marketing tool really justifies more attention. What relevance does packaging have in the marketing world of today? Reaching the target market In recent years the marketing environment has become increasingly complex and competitive. Although advertising can be a highly effective means of communication for those consumers who are exposed to it, reaching the entire target market for most products is generally not a feasible prospect. Media fragmentation has meant that it is becoming increasingly difficult (and expensive) to reach and communicate with customers and potential customers, forcing marketers to adopt more innovative means of reaching their target market (Hill and Tilley, 2002). In contrast to advertising, which has limited reach, a product’s packaging is something which all buyers xperience and which has strong potential to engage the majority of the target market. This makes it an extremely powerful and unique tool in the modern marketing environment. In addition to its benefits in terms of reach, some marketers believe that packaging is actually more influential than advertising in influencing consumers, as it has a more direct impact on how they perceive and experience the product. â€Å"In m ost cases, our experience has been that pack designs are more likely to influence the consumer perception of the brand than advertising† (Hofmeyr and Rice, 2000, Commitment-led Marketing, pg 282). For products with low advertising support, packaging takes on an even more significant role as the key vehicle for communicating the brand positioning (Rudh, 2005, pg. 680). 4 Winning at the First and Second Moment of Truth Packaging’s dual role is what makes it a truly unique marketing tool. Unlike other forms of communication which tend to be fleeting, packaging plays a crucial role not only at the point of sale, but also after the actual purchase of the product. â€Å"The packaging has to provide consumers with the right cues and clues – both at the point of purchase and during usage. The first moment of truth is about obtaining customers attention and communicating the benefits of the offer. The second moment of truth is about providing the tools the customer needs to experience the benefits when using the product† (Lofgrun, 2005, Winning at the 1st†¦ pg 113) The Point Of Sale (The 1st Moment Of Truth) The importance of making an impact at the point of sale cannot be underestimated. â€Å"A recent Point of Purchase Advertising Institute (POPAI) survey in the UK found that over 70% of all purchasing decisions are made in-store at the point of purchase. Brand purchases are being made or broken in the ‘final five seconds’. † (Jugger, 1999) At the point of purchase, packaging serves a number of key functions, namely: 1. 2. 3. 4. Cutting through the clutter – actually getting the consumer to notice/see the product Communicating marketing information Stimulating or creating brand impressions Providing various brand cues: o Value o Quality o Safety Of course, if packaging does not cut through the clutter and catch the consumer’s attention, none of packaging’s other functions even come into play. The most brilliant and creative packaging is useless unless it is seen. Creating a powerful shelf presence so that the brand stands out from the crowd and is actually noticed is the first and most vital step for any product on a shelf. The average British supermarket contains 25,000 items and the average shopping basket just 39 items (Jugger, 1999). What this fact illustrates is that today’s consumers have to sift through a vast amount of products to choose what they want – and not surprisingly they end up ignoring most of what they pass. 5 In a standard supermarket the typical shopper passes about 300 brands per minute (Rudh, 2005). This translates into less than one-tenth of a second for a single product to get the attention of the customer and spark purchase (Gelperowic and Beharrell, 1994, pg 7). â€Å"Even when consumers are actively shopping a product category, most actively view only about a third of the brands displayed† (Young, 2005, p1) So how does one actually cut through the clutter and get the attention of the consumer? Most would agree that â€Å"it does not pay to be subtle† (Young, 2005, pg. ) To generate initial consideration, two things are key: 1. Shelf placement – ensuring that your product is placed on the shelf in the area most likely to be seen by customers 2. Packaging that creates a visual contrast (in comparison to its surrounding products) †¢ This can be achieved through the innovative use of colour, a unique shape/structure, a strong logo/brand mark, or a unique visu al icon (Young, 2005, pg1) Packaging plays a particularly vital role in categories which have low involvement (e. g. impulse purchase categories like chocolates). In these categories, consumers tend to be driven by in-store factors and extrinsic cues as they have neither the desire nor the need to comprehensively investigate and assess all the offerings available to them. Even in higher involvement situations, most consumers don’t have the time, ability or information to assess all the pros and cons before purchase. Instead they rely on various cues (e. g. brand name, packaging, etc. ) to help them make their decision (moment of truth article: Zeithaml, 1988). In our experience, most categories have a mixture of customers with high and low involvement levels. Even categories which are traditionally considered high involvement decisions, such as motor vehicles, have people for whom the decision is made without much consideration – and categories which are often considered to have few involved consumers, such as soap, is an important, deliberated decision and assessed in depth by some. Usage (The 2nd Moment of Truth) â€Å"Unlike advertising exposure which can be relatively brief, packaging continues to build brand values during the extended usage of the product and can drive brand equity and loyalty. † (Rudh, 2005, pg. 80) 6 After purchase, packaging plays both a functional and a marketing role. Functional Role From a functional perspective, packaging is often part of the usage/consumption experience. Not only is it a means of providing any necessary information, but it can also form part of the actual product and provides functional benefits (e. g. being easy to use, fitting into storage space, etc. ). If packaging is unwiel dy it can hamper the relationship with the brand – for instance if it breaks easily, doesn’t fit in the fridge, can cut the consumer, etc. the experience with the product can be negative. Marketing Role Brand Identity and Differentiation As the only part of the marketing communication that the consumer takes home, packaging plays a key role in communicating and reinforcing brand values over time. Packaging has the power to make, but also to break brand relationships. A key example of the latter, is a case cited by Hofmeyr and Rice, where a change in pack design contributed towards a drop in a leading beer brand’s market share by more than 20% in the space of just one year. Nothing other than the packaging had changed the product itself had not changed in any way. The pack change, although not dramatic (the same style but with lighter colouring), led to a perception that the beer’s quality had been compromised and that it was now weaker. This caused many previously loyal consumers to lose faith in the brand and to move to the brand’s ‘stronger’ competitors instead. This is a clear example of the power of bad packaging. Although a non-favourable advertisement might be quickly forgotten, poor packaging (if it remains with the brand throughout its usage cycle) provides a continual reminder of the brand’s perceived failing. Likewise, favourable packaging can be a means of continually reinforcing the brand’s appeal. 7 Doing Something Different – A Tool to Innovate â€Å"Packaging is not a gimmick when it works† (Seth Godin, Free Prize Inside, pg. 154) An innovative pack design can help to set a brand apart from its competitors. The marketing world is full of examples of brands that have used packaging to carve a unique position in the marketplace. Pringles potato chips cylinder and Absolut vodka bottle are widely cited international examples, while in a South African context, recent examples include L’Aubade water bottle (up market coloured plastic bottles that are suitable for virtually any restaurant table), Clover milk easy pour packs (long-life screw top packs) and Country Fresh ice-cream tubs. The popularity of Ouma rusk tins is another testimony to packaging adding value to the product. The design of the pack itself can act as an incentive for purchase (Hall, 1993). A strong, sturdy mineral water bottle might be chosen over its competitors, not for its content, but rather for its ability to be reused on future occasions. It tastes so good because it looks so good The term ‘sensation transference’ was coined by Louis Cheskin in the 1930’s and is discussed further in the book, Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. Cheskin was one of the first marketers to notice that people’s perceptions of a product or service were directly related to the aesthetic elements of their design. He believed that people didn’t make a distinction between the product and the package. Instead how we feel about the package is often transferred to how we feel about the product itself. In essence, for consumers the product is the package AND the product combined. One of the most well known examples of his work is the case of Imperial Margarine (previously called Jelke’s Good Luck margarine). In 1940 margarine was not at all popular in the USA and Cheskin was asked to find out why. Was it because of the intrinsic properties of margarine (i. e. because it tasted bad) or was it because of the associations attached to it? 8 To answer this question, instead of asking people explicitly why they didn’t ike margarine, he carried out a more indirect investigation. He threw luncheons for housewives and as part of the meal served some of them bread with margarine (coloured yellow to resemble butter) and others bread with butter. He then asked the women to fill out questionnaires about the speaker, which also asked them to rate the food. Despite the negative opinio ns that were found when questioning women directly about the taste and texture of margarine, there were no complaints among those who were given the margarine instead of butter. This clearly showed that the problem was not the margarine itself, but its image. Cheskin suggested changing the color of Jelke’s Good Luck margarine from the traditional white to yellow. He also suggested changing the packaging material to foil and the name to Imperial Margarine to connote high quality. These simple modifications dramatically improved the product’s sales†¦ and every subsequent brand of margarine has followed this advice (Blink, Malcolm Gladwell). What is important to note is not only the conclusion of the research (i. e. that the packaging of a product affects how we experience its taste) but also the process used to conduct the research. Rather than using direct questioning in an artificial environment (e. g. a typical focus group scenario) he put the product in the environment where it would actually be used and gauged consumer perceptions indirectly. Asking customers directly how they feel about a product or package is going to result in just that, their perceptions about the package. What is generally more relevant is how the package makes them feel about the product itself. Gladwell raises an interesting point: if we think something tastes or works better because of its packaging, is there any difference than if it really does? Perception of a food product, for example, has been shown to be affected by a variety of factors including taste, odour, information from labelling and images, attitudes, memory from previous experience, price, prestige, nutritional content, health belief, familiarity and brand loyalty (Krondl and Lau, 1978, 1982; Raats et al. , 1995). If the halo effect created as a result of visual factors truly does modify subsequent product perceptions, then packaging is not just a form of protection or promotion but also serves as a means of improving the overall product experience. 9 Size Really Does Matter Packaging in different serving sizes can extend a product into new target markets or help to overcome cost barriers. In developing markets such as South Africa, the pack size can mean the difference between the success or failure of a brand in the informal sector. Smaller packages and portions are usually priced at a lower absolute level – making the product more readily affordable to a greater proportion of the population. Some examples of success in this regard include smaller Sunlight and Omo packs servings – which have increased the penetration of these brands substantially. The popularity of single cigarettes and smaller packs for analgesics have proven that â€Å"good things really do come in small packages†. Where smaller packages are not available, entrepreneurial individuals often buy the product and transfer it into smaller non-branded packaging for resale – which completely nullifies all the branding benefits of the original pack. In more developed countries, brands that don’t offer smaller or single-size servings make themselves immediately unsuitable for those living in smaller or single households that do not desire family-size packs. On the other hand, larger packs can extend the category to a more social environment. For example, the Fruitree 5l juice box expanded the fruit juice category from individual and home consumption to social and catering purposes. The popularity of quart size beers is another example to this†¦ the larger size means that the cost per volume is cheaper and more affordable for the masses. Pester Power In categories in which children are the end consumers, appealing packaging can be a means of driving brand choice. Research has found that â€Å"pester power† can come from an attraction to packaging (Gelperowic and Beharrell, pg. ) and as a result packaging can heavily influence mothers’ choices. In a study carried out by Siloyai and Speece (2004), mothers were shown two children’s yoghurt pots: one plain pot and one bright/cheerful looking pot. The mothers were told that both pots contained the same healthy ingredients, but that the bright pot was slightly more ex pensive. Despite the price premium, 88% of the mothers 10 said they would choose the bright pot – as their children would be more likely to eat it (Gelperowic and Beharrell, pg. 7). The popularity of Disney-branded products is another case in point of the impact of pester power: Disney co-branded products, from breakfast cereals to plasters to toothbrushes to baking products sell at a premium due to the pulling power the Disney characters have among children. So, with the relevance of packaging undisputed, the question then is: what research has been done to investigate how best to leverage this vital tool? 11 Current thinking and research on packaging Despite the importance of packaging, there is limited marketing research currently available to the public in the field of packaging research. Most textbooks and literature agree packaging plays a vital role in marketing, but there is little empirical research available investigating its impact on the marketing function and how best to leverage packaging in a marketing context (Rundh, 2005, Rudh, 2005, pg. 670, Sinclair and Knowles, 2006 and Rettie, Brewer, 2000). Looking at what is available (which is by no means extensive) there are some consistent themes in terms of the current thinking with regard to packaging. Different packaging cues impact how a product is perceived Ampeuero and Vila (2006) conducted research in Spain using packaging prototypes and found that the following aspects of packaging influence customer perceptions: †¢ Colour: Elite products require cold, dark coloured (mainly black) packaging. In contrast, accessible products that are directed to price sensitive consumers require light (mainly white) coloured packaging. Packaging typography: packaging for elegant products usually presents bold, large, roman, upper case letters with expanded characters. In contrast, accessible products of reasonable price are often associated with serif and sans serif typographies. Graphic forms: high price products appear to be associated with vertical straight lines, squares, straight outlines, and symmetrical composition with one single element. Products directed to the middle classes, use horizontal and oblique straight lines, circles, curves, wavy outlines and asymmetrical compositions. Illustrations: safety guaranteed products and upper classes products are associated with pictures showing the product. In contrast, accessible products directed at price sensitive consumers are more associated with illustrations showing people. †¢ †¢ †¢ Grossman and Wisenblit, 1999 also found that consumers learn colour associations from current brands in the market, which lead them to prefer certain colours for various product categories (in Rettie and Brewer, 2000). Using colour as a cue on packaging can be a potentially strong association, especially when it is unique to a particular brand. However, people in different cultures are exposed 12 to different colour associations and develop colour preferences based on their own culture’s associations (Rettie and Brewer, 2000). Message placement influences perception The placement/positioning of messages on the package influence how a package will be read. â€Å"Research in psychology on brain laterality, shows that perception is not symmetrical; for instance, words are recalled better if they are perceived from the right-hand side of the individual, while pictorial or non-verbal cues are more successful if coming from the left-hand side. Under conditions of rapid perception, e. g. scanning packs while walking along the aisle in a supermarket, this differential perception and the positioning of the elements in a pack design may make the difference between identifying and missing the item concerned. (Rettie and Brewer, 2000, pg. 56) Brain laterality research has found that verbal stimuli are recalled better when they are on the right-hand side of the visual field, and non-verbal stimuli is better recalled when on the left-hand side of the visual field. If we accept this theory, this would imply that in order to maximize consumer recall, pictorial elements (such as product photography) should be positioned on the left hand side of the package and important pack copy (such as brand name or flavour description) and visuals should be placed centrally or on the right-hand side of the pack.