Saturday, January 25, 2020

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa The developing economies of Africa must on their part make deliberate and sustained efforts to attract the much needed inflows of foreign investments. To achieve this, the enabling economic, financial and political environment for such inflows must be created. An economy that is exposed to higher levels of political instability, economic uncertainties and financial risk will not be able to gain the confidence of investors. These risk factors if not well mitigated with a great degree of transparency and accountability could serve as barriers to both local and foreign investments. According to Banz and Clough (2002), the major reasons among many others for not investing in developing economies are the lack of transparency and poor governance policies. Therefore, Nigeria and other developing economies of Africa must work towards an environment that has a relatively reasonable economic risk, ensure political stability and demonstrate moderate financial risk to attract foreign capital inf lows especially in the form of equity investment. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) markets to which Nigeria belong have of recent experienced some legal, regulatory and supervisory changes resulting into increased transparency in the operation of their markets. The liquidity of the markets have increased and operations also liberalized to attract more foreign investors. The Nigerian economy is the largest of the 15 member body and has a lot of political and economic influence over the other members. Conscious efforts have been made by the various member countries to partially open up their economies, through systematic privatization programs, overhauling of their legal and financial institutional infrastructures and use of modern trading platforms have resulted in real development of their markets and manage to attract some foreign direct investments (FDI) to them. Nigeria is currently the biggest economy in Africa after the recent rebasement of its GDP, thereby beating South Africa to the second place ((Magnowski, 2014). The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 80% of fiscal revenues and 90% of export earnings (World Fact book).The country is also one of the major exporters of petroleum, and plays a significant role in OPEC (OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2013). To diversify its economy Nigeria is encouraging the growth of their private sector by offering some incentives to private sector equity investors who are willing to invest in the country. The country has an increasing GDP of $422.6bullion, $450.4billion and $502 billion for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively, and diminishing foreign debt stock of $15.73 billion and $13.4 billion for 2012 and 2013 respectively. There is also an increasing Foreign Direct Investment of $7.444 billionand $9.212 billion for 2012 and 2013 respectively (World Fact book: World Bank). The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is the second largest exchange in Africa; it was established in 1960 to provide listing and trading services among others. Its activities are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the country. The value of publicly traded shares stood at $50.88 billion, $39.27 billion and $56.39 billion for 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Despite all the above mentioned strong economic fundamentals or good indicators, Nigeria has been plagued by several daunting challenges, notable among them are the issues epileptic power supply, inadequate infrastructures, insecurity, endemic corruption, increasing rate of unemployment and its heavy reliance on petroleum products (Global edge, 2014; World fact book). These factors pose some uncertainties about the Nigerian economic and stock market outlook. Nevertheless, the Nigerian economy is still growing. Fortunately, the government is also conscious of some of these teething problems. Programs are initiated to diversify the economy in the areas of agriculture, power, telecommunication, transport and other services. These efforts seem to be yielding the desired results as evidenced in the country’s 6-8% per annum pre-rebasing growth rate. With these measures a seemingly conducive economic environment is created which could be exploited by investors. This therefore, presents reasonable economic risk. There is also institutionalized democracy leading to political stability in its own form in terms of the country’s ability to carry out declared programs. Nigeria is also able to finance its commercial and trade debt obligations and has at no time defaulted in payment of its external financial commitments; thus demonstrating relatively moderate financial risks. These indices send strong signals in terms of information content about Nigeria’s overall economic health to domestic, international investors and rating agencies among others. Therefore, it will be of interest to empirically explore how these factors (economic, financial and political risks) when taken together or separately can affect the country’s stock market performance and vice versa. Country risk ratings assess the probability of a country’s default on its debt from a variety of perspectives: from socio-economic condition to growth in the real gross domestic product (GDP), government stability to corruption, to exchange rate stability among others. The objective of this paper is to empirically investigate the short and long-run relationships between Nigeria’s country risk ratings; political, economic, and financial components and its stock market in order to provide further information for current and potential investors to enable them make better informed investment decisions. In our knowledge this is the first few studies of this nature conducted on an emerging economy like Nigeria. Our main instrument of investigation is the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach formulated by Pesaran and Pesaran (2009) and Pesaran et al. (2001), to empirically investigate the relationships. The ARDL method is adopted because of its econometrics techniques. One important advantage of the ARDL model over other traditional approaches is that it can be used in time-series data irrespective of their order of integration, whether I(0), I(1) and/or fractionally integrated (Pesaran and Pesaran, 2009). The ARDL approach can also test for cointegration by the bounds testing procedure and can estimate the short-run dynamics and long-run relationships. The rest of the paper is organized as follows; section two discusses related literature. Section three explains the methodology adopted in this paper. Section four presents the ARDL procedure and discusses its empirical findings. Conclusion and implications are given in section five. The globalization of trade and financial markets in the past years has created huge investment opportunities and its attendant risks. It has therefore, becomes inevitable to know the credit worthiness of participating players. The motive behind such an assessment of the economic and financial condition and sometimes political stability of a country is to be able to evaluate the country credit risks involved in doing business or investing in such a country. Any event in a country that will affect not only the prospect of profitability but also restrict the movement of capital in the form of profits, dividend etc is worth evaluating. The need for such critical evaluation of credit worthiness of countries has resulted in the establishment of several rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s and Standard Poor among many others. These risk ratings are considered as indicative of possible future default. A higher rating is seen as a lower risk of default, while a lower score indicates a higher risk of default. Though the primary significance of ratings is due to their impact on interest rates at which countries source for funds in the international financial markets, studies have also shown its influence on stock market movements. This argument is linked to the influence of country credit risk ratings on the inflows of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), into the host’s economy, especially through equity shares investments. There is no scarcity of research papers on sovereign ratings and their critical roles for encouraging and facilitating investment flows especially in developed economies, but there is paucity of studies conducted on the impact of these ratings on movements of national stock markets, particularly for emerging markets such as Nigeria. Some of the early studies by Erb et al (1995, 1996a, 1996b) show that there is association or relationship between country credit risk (i.e. the risk of a country’s inability to service its external debts) and returns on equity investments. The existence of relationship between country credit ratings and stock market returns was confirmed in the early work of Erb et al. (1996a) using data that cut across boundaries. As a follow up to their earlier work, Erb et al. (1996b) investigated the influence of economic, financial and political risks on expected fixed income returns. They show that there is relation between the country risk measures and world bond market expected returns. For the ICRG economic variable, they find positive and significant signs in unhedged, local, and foreign exchange portfolio returns. They also show that the country risk attributes are significant to the real yields of fixed income securities. Kaminsky and Schmukler (2001) also examine the influence of sovereign ratings and outlook changes on the sensitivity of emerging financial markets. They find that these variables have substantial influence on both bond and stock markets. A domestic downgrade is associated with an average increase change rate of two percentage points in bond yield spreads and a decrease of one percentage point in stock returns. SubaÃ…Å ¸Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ± (2008) expressed a contrary view, stating that in most cases news of a downgrade is often anticipate earlier before its announcement; therefore the potential negative effect of such information on stocks and exchange rate returns is diluted. The impacts of rating changes on both bond yield and sovereign debt have been tested severally by many authors. Reisen and Maltzan (1999) using the three main rating agencies, find that there is mutual interdependencies among rating changes and changes in bond yield spread. The study by Cantor and Packer (1996) also reported similar findings. Among several authors that have provided valuable insight into the influence of rating changes on sovereign debt and corporate securities are Hand et al. (1992) and Richards and Deddouche (1999). The degrees of sensitivity in all these studies tend to vary probably because of the methods used for the country risk analysis. Hammoudey et al. (2011) using emerging economies; Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (commonly referred to as the BRICS countries) establish various degrees of sensitivities of these countries’ stock markets to their respective country risk ratings. China is most sensitive to all the risk variables, followed by Russia, while all the BRICS countries show moderate economic risk sensitivity. The spillover effect of sovereign debt rating changes on national stock markets and international debts is also confirmed by various authors, among them are Ferreira and Gama 2007; Li et al 2008. This situation is common among countries that share common economic features and unrestricted Evidence of flow of information. Common border also suspected to play a significant role. Regional stock market movements are also influenced by country credit risk rating news. This development is consistent with the study by Christopher et al. (2008), stating that there is a positive relationship between the two factors. While Brooks et al. (2004) in their study, though under a different setting did not find any sensitive association among the two variables. Turkey’s stock market index also seems to have association with its economic, financial and political risk ratings. Using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, Sari et al. (2013) established a steady long-run relationship among the stock market and some of the risk variables. There are many leading commercial publishers of country and political risk analysis, but data for this study is sourced from the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) economic, financial and political risk ratings for Nigeria covering the period 2001 to 2013. The ICRG rating system is made up of 22 variables representing three major components of country risk, namely economic, financial and political. These variables essentially represent risk-free measures. There are 5 variables representing each of the economic and financial components of risk, while the political component is based on 12 variables (Hoti, 2003). The specified allowable range for each factor reflects the weight attributed to each factor. A higher score indicates a lower risk and vice versa. The stock market returns variable is obtained by taking the first logarithm difference of the monthly stock of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the period earlier specified.s

Friday, January 17, 2020

Nature’s Work (Anaylsis of a Blizzard Under Blue Sky)

Houston seems to be an extremely talented writer. It comes as no surprise that â€Å"A Blizzard under Blue Sky† is a truly compelling short story (despite the fact that it only spans four pages). The reason Houston is able to draw readers in is because she opens by introducing the underlying topic of the piece, than puts the topic on the back burner to make room for a fascinating narrative, and in the end ties the theme and the tale together without making the connection seem forced.Based on her writing structure, the three key points of â€Å"A Blizzard under Blue Sky† seem to be identifying her problems/treating depression, persevering through a near death experience, and then realizing how the two are intertwined. Houston opens the story by detailing what has got her down in life: there are bills to pay, work to be done, and uncommitted men. The combination of this, and maybe even the haze of winter, made it so that â€Å"the machine that drives you is broken† (Houston 284).In the story, the doctor suggested medication to get her functioning correctly again, but Houston was adamant that she would never fix her depression with pills. She came up with an alternative solution: winter camping. From here, Houston drops basically all discussion about her depression. As a result, the reader almost forgets why she was going camping in the first place. Instead of dwelling, she immerses herself in nature hoping to get the same results as a prescription would have achieved artificially.One quote in particular perfectly describes her healing journey through nature, â€Å"when everything in your life is uncertain, there’s nothing quite like the clarity and the precision of fresh snow and blue sky† (Houston 284). Although her initial accounts of winter camping seem jovial and fun (she even mentions that the clarity and the sereneness feels like the fourth dimension). Houston’s experience quickly takes a turn for the worse. The sun creeping behind the mountains amplifies her lack of experience and her lack of supplies.Accordingly, she is faced with a fourteen hour sleepless night where her only concern is survival (for both her and her dogs). When the sun came up on House’s snow cave the next day, she describes a feeling of pure joy and relief based on the fact that she is alive. â€Å"For the first time in many months I was happy to see a day beginning† (Houston 287). She forgot about the bills, the man, and about the depression. Life and happiness because synonymous.The final key point of â€Å"A Blizzard under Blue Sky† is the first two key points combined: experiencing nature is an excellent way to deal with depression because it allows one to have â€Å"remembered about joy†. Houston asserts that nature forces you to step outside of your problems and embrace simplicity. Her story is tangible (maybe a little extreme) example of this, but it undoubtedly encourages the readers to use the natural world as a resource to facilitate â€Å"hopefulness†. I thought â€Å"A Blizzard under Blue Sky† was a wonderful story and achieved exactly what it intended to.It provoked happiness, maybe even amazement based on the fact that upon setting out Houston was initially skeptical about the healing power of the natural world, and in turn found how revolutionary an extreme experience can be. What’s most interesting is that Houston immediately turned down anti-depressants. Most people would be thrilled at the prospect of a pill filling the void in their lives. Pam Houston had a different view, â€Å"one of the things I love most about the natural world is the way it gives you what’s good for you even if you don’t know it at the time† (Houston 284).The important thing to note here is that she did not know how nature would heal her, but she had an unwavering faith that it would even in extremely harsh conditions. Prior to reading this story, my experiences with nature have not been all that rewarding; I have never had a life changing experience as a direct result of the natural world. Houston helped me to identify why I have never stumbled upon such an organic change before. While she experienced joy by letting go of everything but the prospect of life, I have always gone into the environment with expectations and goals. I intend to change this.In the terms of the big picture, this story ties directly with all her other writings I have read in my free time (Cowboys are my Weakness, Waltzing the Cat, Sight Hound). What we can gather from this story, is that nature is a powerful tool for contemplation, introspection, and healing. It is no coincidence that nature retreats are popular and powerful experiences. One can undoubtedly experience God, and do some meaningful soul searching while experiencing God’s creation first hand. I think that this piece of literature is getting at a very important point: emotio nal fluctuations are inevitable but they don’t have to be debilitating.In her story, Houston is going through a very difficult time, and her problems are very universal: love, work, and money. The natural journey that she consequently details prove that sorrow is curable (medication is not needed). In terms of my life, I intend to take the lessons taught by Houston and apply them to my life. With that being said, I don’t have the time to go camping on a regular basis, nor do I have the desire to, but I will seize any opportunity I can to expand my natural boundaries.This might include exploring a national park on a weekend instead of going to a movie, or it might mean vacationing to the wilderness of Utah instead of defaulting back to the same beaches I have always gone to. Whatever my wilderness emersion ends up being, rest assured that I will go out of my way to seize it. Maybe I will experience a life or death situation and come out with a new found conception of jo y, but even if I don’t, I will soak up whatever nature has to offer me.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Abortion Is The Termination Of A Pregnancy After, Accompanied

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. People have used the negative psychological effects of abortion as a basis to either promote or discourage abortion; making it one of the most highly debated topics for years. Many studies argue that abortion can lead to serious mental illness as people have disclosed effects ranging from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, substance abuse, sexual dysfunction, sleep interruption, and suicidal ideation or attempts. Others claim that while abortion may lead to some negative psychological effects, they are only temporary; reporting positive outcomes for the female choosing abortion in the†¦show more content†¦Researchers tend to agree that, at some level, abortion is a stressful experience for all women. (APA, 1987) Young women reporting abortions can generate significant resulting psychosocial distress. (Speckhard, 1987) Wome n’s experiences of abortion may vary as a function of their religious, spiritual, and moral beliefs and those of others in their immediate social context. (Major et al., 2009) However, they admit in the study that choosing an abortion can be a significant stressor for women coming from families and cultures that look at abortion negatively. Major et al., (2009) also concur that women who belonging to religious groups that oppose abortion on ethical and moral grounds, may struggle and be more conflicted about the termination of the pregnancy through abortion. Those who sense pressure to have an abortion by others or feel coerced into having an abortion may indicate that also as a potential cause of stress. Major et al., (2009) however, trivializes having an abortion as nothing more than a potentially stressful life event within the range of other normal life stressors. While some may experience nothing more than stress, others may experience a host of other reactions ranging a ll the way to severe trauma. Some studies purport higher rates of depression and suicide among women post-abortion. Post-abortive women were more likely to land in a higher risk category for depression, according to an analysis of the National Study ofShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay On Abortion1293 Words   |  6 Pages Abortions are one of the many things that everyone has an opinion on. As defined by the 2012 Merriam-Webster dictionary, an Encyclopedia Britannica Company, an abortion is, â€Å"the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus as a spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation--miscarriage, the induced expulsion of a human fetus, or the expulsion of a fetus by a domestic animal often dueRead MoreA Opinion On Abortion And Abortion897 Words   |  4 PagesEveryone has a different opinion on abortion. According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary, an abortion is â€Å"the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus, spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation, induced expulsion of a human fetus, expulsion of a fetus by a domestic animal often due to infection at any time before completion of pregnancy.† Abortion is, and always will be a controversialRead MoreEssay on The Right to Life: Pro-Life 863 Words   |  4 Pagesdefinitions proclaim that an embryo is not yet a human life; as conception begins two to three weeks after implantation occurs, a heartbeat is heard, and a the embryo can sustain life outside of the womb. The laws vary from state to state and in our home state of Texas political parties clash so hard the state shakes with a jolt felt across the country. Arguments weigh in from all over the globe against abortion and none more prevalent that of churches all over the world. For Pro-Life activists, there isRead MoreAdoption: the Alternative to Abortion1489 Words   |  6 PagesAlternative to Abortion The word â€Å"positive† is both feared and revered by women around the globe. A simple plus sign on a pregnancy test can be cause for elation or terror. Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion (Finer and Henshaw 2001). Abortion, legalized in 1973 by the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, is defined by the Merriam-Websters Dictionary of Law as the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, or closelyRead MoreSocietal Views on Abortion Essay example615 Words   |  3 PagesWhen asked about abortion most people try not to even think about the subject. â€Å"Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus.† (Merrian-Webster) Since abortion was legalized in 1973 there have been over 35 million abortions performed. Approximately 1 in every 6 women has had an abortion, giving a total of about 4,000 abor tions each day in the United States only. Planned Parenthood’s mission is to help everyRead MoreAbortion Is Morally Wrong And Should Be Illegal1617 Words   |  7 Pages Abortion has become a serious topic in American culture today. If you were to ask someone on their street whether they were Pro-Life or Pro-Choice odds are they would know exactly what you were talking about and then be able to give a clear statement of their opinion on the matter. This issue has provoked many strong opinions in people around the country, so much so that the act of abortion has been petitioned to become an illegal procedure. There are many reasons to support abortion along withRead MoreAbortion : The Termination Of A Pregnancy Essay1606 Words   |  7 Pages In American culture today, Abortion is one of the most personal, widely discussed, and controversial topics. As stated in Merriam Webster dictionary, abortion is ‘the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus’. Pro-life and pro-choice sides take moral positions. While pro-life advocates fight against the termination of an unborn child, pro-choice advocates defend a soon-to-be mother’s legal right to make personal and heartrendingRead MoreTaylor Meyers. Christine Capen . English 3. May 12, 2017.1076 Words   |  5 Pagesalive? Pro-life or Pro-choice? These two groups upon abortion will bring opinions flying in from everywhere. The topic on abortion is a very sensitive issue and always has been and probably always will remain a topic upon which we all will never agree on. Before I continue any further, for those who may not know, what exactly is an abortion? Defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an abortion is, â€Å"the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by death ofRead More Abortion Essay600 Words   |  3 Pages According to Webster’s dictionary, abortion is the termination of pregnancy after, accompanied by resulting in, or closely followed by death of the embryo or fetus. I believe that abortion should be illegal. Our world today is full of unsolved, devising and controversial issues. Most of them relate to our morals, ethics, and religion, thus creating a very strong ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. If you were to come to any kin d of conclusion on abortion, there would still be a downside to it, and that is primarilyRead MorePro Life Or Pro Choice1524 Words   |  7 PagesPro-Life or Pro-choice is the highly debatable question that is discussed when the topic of abortion is brought up. Abortion is one of many controversial topics in America. Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines abortion as; â€Å"the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus: as a: spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation b: induced expulsion

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Ethics in Construction Industry - 4554 Words

Contents Acknowledgement 2 Introduction 3 Professional Ethics and Construction 5 Professional Ethics 5 The case in Ethiopia 13 Ethical Issues 15 Construction Business and Ethics 22 References 25 Acknowledgement The group would like to take this opportunity to thank our Ethics and Legal Environment Instructor, Dr. Tilahun Goshu, who gave us the chance to explore the ethical issues in the construction industry at present time. Introduction Construction is the largest industry in the world, benefiting all stakeholders. Improved productivity thought virtuous collaborating will help in bringing to the owner a quality facility, in a shorter time, at lower cost. When we look to ethics in the area of†¦show more content†¦A professional operates in a world of people with whom they work, colleagues and other specialists, and people whom they serve, such as their clients and the public. Professionals are not exempt from the common ethical behaviors - such as obligations, duties and responsibilities - that are binding on ordinary people and are usually bound by a set of principles, attitudes or types of character dispositions that control the way the profession is practiced. This has been termed Professional Ethics, and concerns potential problems confronting members of a profession or group and their impact on society, with the implication that fairness should be attributed not only to clients but also colleagues and the public. One important aspect is that of conflict of interest, defined as an interest which, if pursued, could keep professionals from meeting one of their obligations. Another is the relevant professional right termed the â€Å"Right of Conscientious Refusal†, which is the right of an employee to refuse to partake in unethical conduct when forced to do so by an employer. This may occur in work or non-work situations and not necessary involve breaking the law. Conscientious Refusal may be done by either simply not participating in the activity that one sees as immoral, or it may be done with the hope of making a public protestShow MoreRelatedEthics And The Construction Industry1081 Words   |  5 PagesAs we all know, ethics play a major role in the construction industry. Many contractors and other construction related companies today are being judged not only on their quality of work, but by their professional reputation as well. Owners are coming to the conclusion that although they may not provide the absolute lowest price, the more professionally rated contractors provide a better experience throughout the construction process. Ethics are at the root of a construction company’s reputation.Read MoreEthics in Construction Industry4564 Words   |  19 Pages Introduction 3 Professional Ethics and Construction 5 Professional Ethics 5 The case in Ethiopia 13 Ethical Issues 15 Construction Business and Ethics 22 References 25 Acknowledgement The group would like to take this opportunity to thank our Ethics and Legal Environment Instructor, Dr. Tilahun Goshu, who gave us the chance to explore the ethical issues in the construction industry at present time. Introduction Construction is the largest industry in the world, benefiting all stakeholdersRead MoreEthical Ethics Of The Construction Industry2012 Words   |  9 Pagescruellest of things† (The Tide That Left and Never Came Back: One Tree Hill 2005). The construction industry lost its way, over the years the industry has faced many accusations for undertaking in unlawful practices and performing unethical behaviour. This is detrimental to our nation as a whole as Australia’s growth and development is dependent on the performance and wellbeing of the construction industry. The industry is responsible for satisfying the needs of our ever expanding society by contributingRead MoreConstruction Management896 Words   |  4 PagesConstruction Management Introduction Construction Management is the organization, coordination; planning and the process of overseeing a building project from the start of that project to the end. Construction management is carried out by managers who supervise building projects and all the work involved so as to achieve a clients goal or meet his expectation. He works together with other people in the project like the structural engineer, contractors and the architect so as to produce a functionalRead MoreMorals Vs. Ethics : Morals And Ethics Essay1374 Words   |  6 PagesMorals vs. Ethics Morals and ethics are often thought of as interchangeable terms, and both can be applied in various situations. Morals are ultimately the â€Å"groundwork† for ethics. However, the two nouns have a distinct meaning. Morals are internal principles that a person focuses upon when deciding between right or wrong conduct. A person’s true character can be revealed by understanding that said person’s morals. Ethics are a set of rules or rules of conduct that a person follows due to socialRead MoreImproving The Quality Of The Delivered Project By Utilizing Quality Planning Technique During The Construction Industry1685 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction: The construction industry is considered as one of the most complicated industry in the world. Different problem could be raised during the construction process starting from the bidding phase and ending with close out phase. During that time, the construction managers will be responsible to take many of the critical decisions to minimize the influence of a specific event. Quality in the construction industry occupying a high priority among other characteristics. In fact, providing theRead MoreIntegrity Of The Field Of Engineering1307 Words   |  6 PagesIntegrity is a trait important in and outside of the field of engineering. While it can refer to a state of being sound, or strong, such as in construction, it also refers to being sound and whole as a person. Integrity has to do with the quality of execution of one’s moral and ethical codes, and largely to do with their power of leadership. With integrity a person can ensure their success in both their personal and work live s, and also ensure public safety in the practice of civil engineering. Read MoreRole Of A Professional Civil Engineer1378 Words   |  6 Pagesa professional civil engineering in the manufacturing industry. Furthermore, there are some key works that engineers doing in our daily life. Moreover, this article will introduce how civil engineers do for their professional. And what kind of ethics that engineers require to be respect. In addition, how do they practice to solve issues to avoid failure generate again. This report will shows the roles of engineers do in manufacturing industry and what kind of works that they need to complete. BaseRead MoreThe Ethical Theories Of Duty Ethics And Virtue Ethics Essay1588 Words   |  7 Pagesthe character Thor in Thor: The Dark World. In these words we find a frightening tension. Almost everyone agrees that it is good to be ethical; this is an easy affirmation. It is much more difficult, though, when ethics is in direct opposition to success. This dichotomy- between ethics and success- will no doubt confront an engineer during a professional career of any substantial length. Can you say that you would rather be a good man than rich? Or popular? Or a successful engineer? What should happenRead MoreMinority Set Aside Programs1526 Words   |  7 Pagesmen better candidates for certain jobs and/or professions; women are a hassle to employee because of all the special treatment that they require due to their particular body chemistry. These are just some of the common reasons why the employment industry lacks the presence of women. African Americans are prone to criminal behavior such as theft and illegal drug activity. They have also been labeled as extremely violent individuals, academically inferior and neglect to pay their debts. Along with

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Myths Of The Underworld - 1405 Words

The myths of the underworld reflect many ideas in regard to the journey through hell. In Dante’s Divine Comedy, readers are able to take a deeper look at how myths are represented at a psychological level through the importance of death and rebirth.As Dante progresses through the imaginary journey of Hell, Hell’s inferno is represented by the nine regions arranged around the wall of a huge funnel in nine concentric circles. As the hero, Dante starts his journey by losing his way on the true path of life. Dante is then placed on a quest in order to overcome his sins and also to win over the love of â€Å"God†, where he then meets and is led by a ghost named Virgil. During this era, Virgil is represented as a deceased Roman poet, who came to†¦show more content†¦Dante understands this as he progressives on his journey because he sees the difference between minor sins to major sins and also how sins relate to how deep you are in Hell.In the beginning of hi s path through the afterlife, Dante begins to feel sympathy for lost souls, however, as the he progresses further into the inferno, Dante becomes less sympathetic to give his pity. For example, the myth of Persephone, Greek goddess of the underworld, corresponds to Dante’s understanding because â€Å"all through history, it is true that only by going through hell does one have any chance of reaching heaven. The journey through hell is a part of the journey that cannot be omitted—indeed, what one learns in hell is a prerequisite to arriving at any good value thereafter† (The Therapist and the Journey Into Hell). Dante’s first circle of hell represents what we know as Limbo, this part of hell consists of heathen and the unbaptized, who led decent lives. The second to fifth circle of hell represents the sins of people who were lustful, gluttonous, prodigal, and wrathful on earth. The sixth circle of hell is where heretics are punished for their sins and the seventh circle of hell is devoted to the punishment of people who had sinned violence. The eighth circle of hell is devoted to those guilty of fraud and the ninth circle of hell are for those who betrayed other people in life. In the last section of hell, Dante sees Satan and his frozen lakeShow MoreRelatedThe Between Greek And Roman Mythology1128 Words   |  5 Pagesboth ruled what is told to be the Underworld. In each of their myths, the reclusive gods became infatuated with their niece and kidnapped the unsuspecting maiden. This act is the root of the major conflict in a myth about unrequited love, desire, deprivation, and insat iability, centered around Hades and Pluto, which are two gods with parallel stories and characteristics. Hades has not one, but two versions of a myth involving him, both of which are akin to Pluto’s myth. In the first version, Hades fallsRead More Contrasting the Black Orpheus Film and the Greek Myth of Orpheus1259 Words   |  6 PagesContrasting the Black Orpheus Film and the Greek Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice If you met a man named Orpheus who had a girlfriend, would you assume her name was Eurydice? Many people would, because the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is from â€Å"many, many thousand years ago† and is still passed on today, verbally and through works of literature. In his 1959 film Black Orpheus, Marcel Camus interprets this well-known myth, making changes to the story to make it more dramatic and interesting. BlackRead MoreEssay on The Film Black Orpheus and the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice1250 Words   |  5 PagesThe Film Black Orpheus and the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one that has been passed down through generations for thousands of years. Almost every generation has heard a rendition of how Orpheus and Eurydice fall in love with one another and are eventually parted by death. I say rendition because this myth is passed on by word of mouth, which in return causes the story to change depending on the story teller. This may also have a great deal to do with theRead MoreEssay about The Ancient Greeks Belief in the Underworld773 Words   |  4 PagesGreeks while trying to further explain the world, invented beguiling myths (Evie). From these myths a world of human like gods and goddesses was formed (Evie). Through narratives, legends, and myths this world justified various abstract ideas, thus creating Greek mythology (Evie). A central element in Greek mythology is the underworld. The underworld is considered to be the place where one’s soul goes to after death. The underworld has played a vital role in G reek culture by serving as an incentiveRead MoreAncient Myth And Its Impact On Modern Society902 Words   |  4 Pagesimportant to study ancient myth. I feel that it is more so for the sake of entertainment because myth essentially offers explanations for things we already have in society. The stories behind how we have the institutions that we have today are interesting however not vital to further developing our knowledge. Furthermore, I do not think that our modern society can still gain from its study because of the way that we already have these institutions and studying ancient myth would not enable us to makeRead MoreHades, an Influence on Greek Society1029 Words   |  5 Pagessuperstitions and ways to worship. These relate to the god’s origin and their deeds in their myths. Gods can either show jealousy, courage, or kindness to mortals and other gods, so Greeks label the gods based on their qualities. In most circumstances, the Greeks decide whether to worship o r despise a god only by whom or what they rule over. For example, Greeks show reluctance in worshipping Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. Greeks hold celebrations and festivities to earn favor from the gods. Greek gods canRead MoreAncient Greece : An Amazing Place With Culture And A Thriving Population1353 Words   |  6 Pages Greek Anthropology Ancient Greece was an Amazing place with culture and a thriving population. With all these people someone had to wonder, Where do I go when I die? Myths of great places, terrible monsters and amazing heroes grew out of this question. The people invented the underworld, the place you go when you die. The Greeks also performed rituals on their dead. Some rituals and customs are unorthodox and considered strange in these times. The Greeks thought that at the moment of deathRead MorePersephone s Myth Is An Outstanding Way Of Explaining This1011 Words   |  5 PagesWhat about knowing when is the best time to plant, why can’t seeds grow in the winter months? Persephone’s myth is an outstanding way of explaining this . The Greeks lived because of this myth that they followed. We can’t plant in winter, but we can in the sun time. This is all because of Demeter and the loss of her daughter. Proserpina is the goddess of the spring and Queen of the underworld. Her father Zeus is the king of gods and the god of the sky. Proserpina s mother is Demeter the goddess,Read MoreComparative Essay : Greek Mythology1344 Words   |  6 Pagesrelates to human life. Hence, through the anthropocentrism of myth human feelings, emotions, and philosophical ideas are expressed which can be captivating to the film audience. One of such myths is the myth of Persephone. The re-telling of this usually depicts Persephone with her counterpart, Hades, the God of the underworld, who had an infatuation with her. Per Hesiod, he kidnapped whilst playing in a meadow and brought her to the underworld to be the Queen. Demeter’s, Persephone’s mother, quest toRead MoreHades : The God Of The Underworld And The Dead1089 Words   |  5 Pagesgod of the Underworld and the dead Introduction: Hades or Polydegmon, which means ‘’ the unseen’’ and ‘’ host of many guests’’ respectively was the Greek god of the underworld and the dead in ancient Greece. Hades’ adopted Roman name was Pluto which literally means wealth and riches because the hidden wealth of the Earth. Hades is a third generation god and the offspring of the Titans Rhea and Cronus. Hades’ did not live on Mount Olympus with the other Olympians but rather in the Underworld to look

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Effective Listening Free Essays

In a monthly marketing meeting, the marketing manager wants 5 of his staffs to conduct a research on market share on 5 different areas. Each staff is assigned a territory. The manager rejects, one month later in the same meeting, one of the 5 reports because the research is on the wrong territory. We will write a custom essay sample on Effective Listening or any similar topic only for you Order Now If we assume the ability of all staffs is the same, then it is obviously a communication breakdown that causes the wrong research was conducted. The consequence of misunderstanding may be costly to a company. Often when a misunderstanding occurs on the job, it is attributed to a lack of communication, which most of time implies that whoever was delivering the message did not do an effective job. But what about the other side, the listener? Listening is important in business because it is the communication skill most often used in human interaction (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.56). Between 45 and 55 percent of people’s communication time will be spent in listening to others (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.6, Werner 1975, p.26). However, listening is not a skill that most people perform well. Studies show that people do not listen effectively. On an average, people listen only at 25% efficiency (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.ix). It is difficult to define listening, but generally it can be defined as † a receiver orientation to the communication process; since communication involves both a source and a receiver, listening consist of the roles receivers play in the communication process† (Floyd 1985, p.9). Listening is a process that includes hearing, attending to, understanding, evaluating and responding to spoken messages. (Floyd 1985, p.9) Our own listening habits have been developed since we were born. Such habits are so well established that we perform them without thinking. But unfortunately, such habits are usually undesirable and lead to poor listening. There are numbers of reasons for ineffective listening. These do not apply equally to all listeners and the degree to which they do apply will vary from different situation, speaker, topic and so forth, They represent common and important reasons for ineffective listening: Rehearsing Your whole attention is designing and preparing â€Å"what to say next†. You look interested, but your minds are miles away because you are thinking about the next comment. Judging Negatively labeling people can be extremely limiting. Everyone has biases, but it leads to ineffective listening. For example you hear a speaker discuss an idea that you don’t like, you might stop paying attention to that speaker says, you might distort the message, and therefore failing to understand it because of prejudgment. As a result, your evaluation of the speaker and /or message could be unfair or in error (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.59). So, A basic rule of effective listening is to that judgements should only be made after you have heard and evaluated the content of the message (Johnson). Identifying You take everything people tell you and refer it back to your own experience. They may want to tell you about a car’s braking system, but that reminds you of your car accident. You launch into your story before they can finish theirs (Johnson). Talking rather than listening We too often love to hear our own voice and feel that our comments and ideas are always right (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.58). You are a great problem solver that you do not have to hear more than a few sentences before you begin searching for the right advice. But, while you are coming up with suggestions, you may have missed what is most important. Sometimes, people argue and debate with others who never feel heard because these people are so quick to disagree. In fact these people’s main focus is on finding things to disagree with. Filtering We usually filter out messages and listen only to those topics and materials that we want to hear. We will stop paying attention to those topics that we do not want to hear, such as messages that criticize us. Then we cannot be corrected, and we cannot take suggestions to change (Johnson). Placation As we have been taught to be nice, pleasant and supportive to others, we seldom criticize others especially when others are telling you things that we want to hear. But too hasty acceptance of messages that tells us what we like and want to hear can lead to serious problems (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We may half-listen just enough to get the drift, but not really involved. Instead, we should be careful to pay attention, to comprehend, and then to analyze and evaluate what speakers say (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60) Distraction A distraction is anything that pulls your attention away from that which you want, or need, to pay attention to (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). It is difficult to avoid distraction. There may be distraction in the environment and within you – day dreaming. When we dream, we pretend to listen but we actually drift about in our interior fantasies. Instead of disciplining ourselves to truly concentrate on the input, we turn the channel to a more entertaining subject. We may have missed some important points while we are dreaming. It is the major reason for ineffective listening. Fear of difficult This block applied when we need to listen and understand new materials or subjects that are new, difficult and challenging to us. In such situation, it is difficult to listen (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We always try to avoid or rationalize these subjects and not to listen. It is mainly due to the fear of failing. People does not like failing and try any methods to avoid it. There are numbers of ways to avoid failure. We stop paying attention to the subject and spend our time to somewhere else. Then we may tell ourselves, we are not fail to understand the topic, but refused to deal with it. Rationalization also helps people to avoid failure (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We usually hold someone else responsible for the consequences of not listening or understanding by saying the material is â€Å"boring†, † stupid†, â€Å"nothing to do with my daily work† and so forth. But as a result, we still do not understand the material. Like any other skill, the first step to improve listening is to understand of what you can do or stop doing in order to get better. The second step is to practice the new skill over and over again to make it as your habit. We have examined the blocks for effective listening. Let us move on to the elements to improve effective listening. There are 2 major elements to improve effective listening, namely comprehension and Analysis/Evaluation. Comprehension means that you are able to understand the speaker (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). There are some basic ways to improve our ability to understand speakers. The first step towards more effective listening comprehension is paying increased attention (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). Attention is your focus to the speaker and his/her material and sustaining the focus. Paying long and well enough attention help you to keep these verbal and nonverbal stimuli into your long-term memory. Then you are able to compare the information with new and old materials. Otherwise, information not stored in long term memory will be lost in a second and you are not able to understand the content because you will bot remember it (Tyson 1982). Everyone can increase attention by realizing its importance, avoid common tendency to day dream, fighting the tendency to give in to external and internal distractions, remove distractions if possible or learn to listen over distraction. We have the ability to listen to and understand speech even when there are severe distraction (Moore 1977, p.239). The second step to improve your ability to understand speaker is to understand the nature of non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is any communication expressed not in words but in body motion, paralanguage (how something is said), proxemics (the use of space), artifacts (physical objects), or environment (Knapp 1980, p. 4-11). It serves a variety of functions that to repeat, contradict, substitute, complement, accent, or regulate verbal communication (Knapp 1978, p. 38). However, it does not mean nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication. In case nonverbal communication is contradicted to verbal communication, it does not always the case that nonverbal communication is more reliable. The third step towards more effective listening is to increase your ability to comprehend verbal symbols, or message (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63). Although it is the speaker’s responsibility to make himself/herself clear and meaningful, communication is a two way process that listener has the same responsibility to understand speaker’s materials. This task can be accomplished by (1) increasing the quality and quantity of your experience, (2) learning to use context as a mean of increasing your understanding, (3) keeping your bias away, (4) controlling any fear of failure, (5) improve your vocabulary (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63-64), and (6) feedback to confirm your interpretation. The next element that helps to improve effective listening is analysis and evaluation. Once you have attended to and understood the speaker, you are ready to analyze and evaluate the message. Analysis is to examine the message in order to learn what the meanings are. Evaluation is the rendering of judgement on message to decide the value of the message. Both analytical and evaluative functions require you to examine a speaker’s support and reasoning, such as data, conclusion, reasoning process, examples and statistics. Effective listening will benefit as well as those who work with you. It breaks up the barriers between people and can understand each other more. In workplace, effective listening minimize the losses of potential revenues which may result from shipping the wrong products to customers. Or from miscommunication objectives and priorities among staffs. Or even from time lost because of having to re-communicate a second or third time to get things straightened out. To listen effectively, one must be positive, active, prevent affected by blocks we mentioned earlier, paying and sustain enough attention to the speaker, able to analyze after understanding. It is not an easy skill, but it is the most fundamental and powerful skill we need. When someone is willing to stop talking or thinking and begin truly listening to others, all of their interactions become easier, and communication problems are all but eliminated. How to cite Effective Listening, Essay examples Effective Listening Free Essays In a monthly marketing meeting, the marketing manager wants 5 of his staffs to conduct a research on market share on 5 different areas. Each staff is assigned a territory. The manager rejects, one month later in the same meeting, one of the 5 reports because the research is on the wrong territory. We will write a custom essay sample on Effective Listening or any similar topic only for you Order Now If we assume the ability of all staffs is the same, then it is obviously a communication breakdown that causes the wrong research was conducted. The consequence of misunderstanding may be costly to a company. Often when a misunderstanding occurs on the job, it is attributed to a lack of communication, which most of time implies that whoever was delivering the message did not do an effective job. But what about the other side, the listener? Listening is important in business because it is the communication skill most often used in human interaction (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.56). Between 45 and 55 percent of people’s communication time will be spent in listening to others (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.6, Werner 1975, p.26). However, listening is not a skill that most people perform well. Studies show that people do not listen effectively. On an average, people listen only at 25% efficiency (Nichols and Stevens 1957, p.ix). It is difficult to define listening, but generally it can be defined as † a receiver orientation to the communication process; since communication involves both a source and a receiver, listening consist of the roles receivers play in the communication process† (Floyd 1985, p.9). Listening is a process that includes hearing, attending to, understanding, evaluating and responding to spoken messages. (Floyd 1985, p.9) Our own listening habits have been developed since we were born. Such habits are so well established that we perform them without thinking. But unfortunately, such habits are usually undesirable and lead to poor listening. There are numbers of reasons for ineffective listening. These do not apply equally to all listeners and the degree to which they do apply will vary from different situation, speaker, topic and so forth, They represent common and important reasons for ineffective listening: Rehearsing Your whole attention is designing and preparing â€Å"what to say next†. You look interested, but your minds are miles away because you are thinking about the next comment. Judging Negatively labeling people can be extremely limiting. Everyone has biases, but it leads to ineffective listening. For example you hear a speaker discuss an idea that you don’t like, you might stop paying attention to that speaker says, you might distort the message, and therefore failing to understand it because of prejudgment. As a result, your evaluation of the speaker and /or message could be unfair or in error (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.59). So, A basic rule of effective listening is to that judgements should only be made after you have heard and evaluated the content of the message (Johnson). Identifying You take everything people tell you and refer it back to your own experience. They may want to tell you about a car’s braking system, but that reminds you of your car accident. You launch into your story before they can finish theirs (Johnson). Talking rather than listening We too often love to hear our own voice and feel that our comments and ideas are always right (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.58). You are a great problem solver that you do not have to hear more than a few sentences before you begin searching for the right advice. But, while you are coming up with suggestions, you may have missed what is most important. Sometimes, people argue and debate with others who never feel heard because these people are so quick to disagree. In fact these people’s main focus is on finding things to disagree with. Filtering We usually filter out messages and listen only to those topics and materials that we want to hear. We will stop paying attention to those topics that we do not want to hear, such as messages that criticize us. Then we cannot be corrected, and we cannot take suggestions to change (Johnson). Placation As we have been taught to be nice, pleasant and supportive to others, we seldom criticize others especially when others are telling you things that we want to hear. But too hasty acceptance of messages that tells us what we like and want to hear can lead to serious problems (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We may half-listen just enough to get the drift, but not really involved. Instead, we should be careful to pay attention, to comprehend, and then to analyze and evaluate what speakers say (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60) Distraction A distraction is anything that pulls your attention away from that which you want, or need, to pay attention to (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). It is difficult to avoid distraction. There may be distraction in the environment and within you – day dreaming. When we dream, we pretend to listen but we actually drift about in our interior fantasies. Instead of disciplining ourselves to truly concentrate on the input, we turn the channel to a more entertaining subject. We may have missed some important points while we are dreaming. It is the major reason for ineffective listening. Fear of difficult This block applied when we need to listen and understand new materials or subjects that are new, difficult and challenging to us. In such situation, it is difficult to listen (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We always try to avoid or rationalize these subjects and not to listen. It is mainly due to the fear of failing. People does not like failing and try any methods to avoid it. There are numbers of ways to avoid failure. We stop paying attention to the subject and spend our time to somewhere else. Then we may tell ourselves, we are not fail to understand the topic, but refused to deal with it. Rationalization also helps people to avoid failure (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.60). We usually hold someone else responsible for the consequences of not listening or understanding by saying the material is â€Å"boring†, † stupid†, â€Å"nothing to do with my daily work† and so forth. But as a result, we still do not understand the material. Like any other skill, the first step to improve listening is to understand of what you can do or stop doing in order to get better. The second step is to practice the new skill over and over again to make it as your habit. We have examined the blocks for effective listening. Let us move on to the elements to improve effective listening. There are 2 major elements to improve effective listening, namely comprehension and Analysis/Evaluation. Comprehension means that you are able to understand the speaker (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). There are some basic ways to improve our ability to understand speakers. The first step towards more effective listening comprehension is paying increased attention (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.61). Attention is your focus to the speaker and his/her material and sustaining the focus. Paying long and well enough attention help you to keep these verbal and nonverbal stimuli into your long-term memory. Then you are able to compare the information with new and old materials. Otherwise, information not stored in long term memory will be lost in a second and you are not able to understand the content because you will bot remember it (Tyson 1982). Everyone can increase attention by realizing its importance, avoid common tendency to day dream, fighting the tendency to give in to external and internal distractions, remove distractions if possible or learn to listen over distraction. We have the ability to listen to and understand speech even when there are severe distraction (Moore 1977, p.239). The second step to improve your ability to understand speaker is to understand the nature of non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is any communication expressed not in words but in body motion, paralanguage (how something is said), proxemics (the use of space), artifacts (physical objects), or environment (Knapp 1980, p. 4-11). It serves a variety of functions that to repeat, contradict, substitute, complement, accent, or regulate verbal communication (Knapp 1978, p. 38). However, it does not mean nonverbal communication is more important than verbal communication. In case nonverbal communication is contradicted to verbal communication, it does not always the case that nonverbal communication is more reliable. The third step towards more effective listening is to increase your ability to comprehend verbal symbols, or message (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63). Although it is the speaker’s responsibility to make himself/herself clear and meaningful, communication is a two way process that listener has the same responsibility to understand speaker’s materials. This task can be accomplished by (1) increasing the quality and quantity of your experience, (2) learning to use context as a mean of increasing your understanding, (3) keeping your bias away, (4) controlling any fear of failure, (5) improve your vocabulary (Curtis, Floyd and Winsor 1992, p.63-64), and (6) feedback to confirm your interpretation. The next element that helps to improve effective listening is analysis and evaluation. Once you have attended to and understood the speaker, you are ready to analyze and evaluate the message. Analysis is to examine the message in order to learn what the meanings are. Evaluation is the rendering of judgement on message to decide the value of the message. Both analytical and evaluative functions require you to examine a speaker’s support and reasoning, such as data, conclusion, reasoning process, examples and statistics. Effective listening will benefit as well as those who work with you. It breaks up the barriers between people and can understand each other more. In workplace, effective listening minimize the losses of potential revenues which may result from shipping the wrong products to customers. Or from miscommunication objectives and priorities among staffs. Or even from time lost because of having to re-communicate a second or third time to get things straightened out. To listen effectively, one must be positive, active, prevent affected by blocks we mentioned earlier, paying and sustain enough attention to the speaker, able to analyze after understanding. It is not an easy skill, but it is the most fundamental and powerful skill we need. When someone is willing to stop talking or thinking and begin truly listening to others, all of their interactions become easier, and communication problems are all but eliminated. How to cite Effective Listening, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Evaluation of the elements of Integrated Marketing Communication

Question: Discuss about the Report for Evaluation of Integrated Marketing Communication Campaign. Answer: Introduction Govindarajan (2009) Integrated Marketing Communication consist of all strategies such as Advertising, Sales promotion, Personal selling, PR/Publicity and Direct marketing which links together for conveying a message to a particular target segment. In todays highly competitive market an Integrated Marketing Communication campaign plays a key role for an effective communication (pp. 265). In this report we will evaluate the Integrated Marketing Communication campaign of Hungry Jacks Australia, our main focus will be on evaluation of theoretical concept under IMC and examining and evaluation of various elements under contemporary communication mix. For evaluation process we will relate the IMC campaign of Hungry Jacks Australia with the communication theories given by Belch et al. We will do a critique analysis on Hungry Jacks IMC campaign and apply various communication models for providing them better recommendations on their Integrated Marketing Communication campaign. For completing this task we will use kind of quality resources such as: Internet, Web sources and books written by Belch et al and other marketing writers. Importance of communication in IMC This report is going to provide a critique analysis on Integrated Marketing Communication campaign of Hungry Jacks Australia with relation to Belch et al communication model. Before going to the main discussion it is essential to understand the importance of communication in IMC to get an initial grasp on our study area. Kazmi Batra (2008) Integrated Marketing Communication plays a major role for conveying message to a particular target audience; it conveys and spread the message in same time to future and existing customers. This helps an organization to create awareness about the brand among its customers. An integrated marketing communication is not only important in marketing but also to maintain a good interaction between an organization and its customers (pp. 121). In todays highly competitive market an effective IMC campaign helps an organization to create brand loyalty related to a particular product or service. Dutta (2010) If your communication is effective and creative and you are able to present the features of the product or service nicely in front of the customer in that case a customer will not think twice to purchase your product, it doesnt matter how a different brand providing similar product or service with lesser price, it is all about creativity. The main purpose of an integrate d marketing communication campaign is to build a relationship with your customers for a long term basis. An integrated marketing communication is not all about spreading message in the same time it is also taking feedback from its customers regarding the usability of a product or service so that a company or an organization can eliminate those unwanted issues which may affect the brand image (pp. 180-183). These days are gone when a company or an organization focused only on promoting products or services through IMC campaigns, the market scenario has changed a lot due to globalization it is all about competition. Therefore taking of feedback is also important to maintain the long term sustainability of a brand. In order to convey message efficient and effectively an appropriate medium of communication is also essential in integrated marketing communication campaign. Though there are various medium of communication present now days to convey marketing message such as Television, Radio, News Paper, Web and Social media etc. If an organization or a company is not able to identify the correct medium for their campaign sometimes the message spread may go against the company and can harm the overall brand image. Suppose a company spread the massage over internet for its remote and rural areas target audience where internet is not easily accessible in that case there will be a lack in communication process because the message spread will not properly reach to its target audiences and it will not be considered as a successful integrated marketing communication campaign. Hungry Jacks Australia and its IMC campaign Hungry Jacks is a subsidiary of Burger king Australia the company deals in franchise business. The company was found in 1971, headquarters based in Osborne Park, Western Australia. It is a fast food company and few of its products are Hamburgers, Chicken products, Deserts etc (Hungryjacks.com/au, 2016, Para. 1). We have chosen Hungry Jacks Australia to critique its IMC campaign with relation to Belch communication model theory. When we talk about Hungry Jacks Australias IMC campaign we notice bizarre of thing because from the starting the company has experimented with various IMC campaigns, though the ratio of success rate is quite low according to their investments in IMC campaign. From last few years we have noticed that Hungry Jacks has made their focus on social media campaign and they are using this social media tool as their main integrated marketing communication campaign an example of that is their shake and win mobile app after launching of that app it has become the most downloaded Australian app in Apple app store. This app has developed by Clemenger BBDO Sydney; through this app they attracted their targeted segment by availing various discounts from Hungry Jacks exclusive stores. Get the app shake the mobile after installing it and avail discount coupon. Hungry jacks have promot ed this app through various YouTube channels (Campaignbrief, 2012, Para. 1-4). Another thing of their social media campaign consist of promoting low fat burgers targeting women segment through Facebook, twitter etc. But this not the end we cannot ignore their recent move for promoting their hamburgers by taken the advantages of recent political scenario where they run a thirty seconds advertisement through various social sites and asked the Australian people to vote for their PM . People need to go to the website and cast their vote, with a successful submission of their vote people were rewarded with free meal or upgraded meal from various Hungry Jacks stores. The campaign was created by Channel T a social agency. All in all we can say that Hungry Jacks has made lots of strategically change in their integrated marketing communication campaign compare to the previous ones they have adapted the new era of marketing and implemented this through various social media IMC campaigns (Cann ing, 2016, Para. 1-8). Belch et als theoretical communication model We need to evaluate Hungry Jacks IMC campaign with relate to Belch communication model and need to apply those theories in our recommendations. Therefore discussion of Belchs model is quite important for us to get an idea about how He has mentioned all sections of an IMC for a successful campaign. Integrated Marketing Communication plan: Marketing objective Analysis of promotion program situation Analysis of communication process Budget determination Develop integrated marketing communication program Advertising Sales promotion Personal selling PR/Publicity Direct marketing Advertising Sales promotion Personal selling PR/Publicity Direct marketing Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives Message and Sales promotion Personal selling PR/Publicity Direct marketing Media strategy Strategy Strategy Strategy Strategy Integration and implementation of communications strategy Monitoring, evaluating and controlling integrated marketing communications program Caption: Belchs model of communication process Source: Internet Source: Belch Belch (2014) In communication process source is the organization from where the message starts or sent (pp. 453-455). Message: Belch Belch (2014) Message is the information which will convey to its customers for communication. In IMC message must be a creative one and specific (pp. 453-455). Channel: Belch Belch (2014) Channel is the medium through which a message transfers from one end to another. Channel must be chose according to the target audience (pp. 453-455). Receiver/Decoding: Belch Belch (2014) Receiver is the person who will receive the message and decoding is the process of analyzing the message to get its actual meaning (pp. 453-455). Noise: Belch Belch (2014) throughout the whole communication process the sent message interacts with various factors this may result in repetition of message this is called noise in communication process (pp. 453-455). Feedback: Belch Belch (2014) after decoding the message the receiver gives the response regarding the message to the sender (pp. 453-455). Critically evaluation of Hungry Jacks IMC campaign Promoting your brand through mobile app is good but for that you need to choose an appropriate channel. According to Belchs model the channel for communication must be selected by keeping the target audience in your mind. Of course Hungry Jacks chosen medium or channel is not good at all, you made a mobile app and promoting it through YouTube channels only, how many users are there in YouTube? How many of them watch videos regularly? The percentage is limited also there is a feature in YouTube to block adds most of us do it to face or watch hassle free videos. Not only this but also they have made the app availability only through Apple store and they ignored the vast Android market, the users of Android is quite higher than Apple. During the time of promoting low fat burgers for women target segment they stop all other campaigns and run only one campaign which is Nothing naughty about it especially designed for women segment and choose the social media where other segments are also attached, choosing of social media is not good when you are delivering a specific message to specific target audience, here your channel for communication must be specific where the target audience visits regularly. According to Belch your delivered message must be a creative one and need to make a positive impact on your target segment. When we talk about the Hungry jacks strategy for promoting their hamburgers by taking the help of political scenario, do you thing that it is the right way to promote, no never because there are many people who dont like politics at all this strategy may harm their brand image badly. Considering social media as your main and major integrated marketing communication tool can become risky because there are lots of disadvantages present in social media such as the review system if someone put a bad review on your message you cannot delete it or if you can, it will create a bad impression in front of your consumers that you are intentionally hiding the bad side of yours not only this but also any bad thing can go viral within a second it is impossible to control such things on social media. According to Belch you should choose a channel or medium where you can communicate effectively with your target segment. Promoting through twitter channel is not good at all your communication will not be considered as much as effective on twitter because there is a word restriction or word limit on twitter, sometime it may become impossible to deliver an effective message within 140 words. Conclusion From the above analysis we have gather the knowledge about an integrated marketing communication campaign and understand the importance of IMC in a marketing strategy. We have found that a communication medium or a channel plays a key role while delivering a message to your particular target audiences also the channel or medium must be selected by keeping the target audience in your mind, where customer interacts frequently. In its IMC campaign Hungry Jacks is not good enough, they are lacking in choosing of appropriate medium also the sent message is not appropriate for their promotion strategy, which may affect their brand image and decrease in sales. Recommendations Following are the recommendations for their successful operation in IMC campaign: While promoting a mobile app they should go for mass media strategy only a specific medium will not work, the users of YouTube are limited also now days everyone owns a mobile phone. Therefore choosing of mass media will assist them in delivering the message vastly and it will reach to maximum number of customers (Marketing-schools.org, 2012, Para. 2-3). They should avoid using social media while delivering a specific message to a specific target audience, like what they did in promoting low fat burgers it was totally a worst one. Because under social media each and every target segment is connected. A specific message for a specific target audience may create a bad impact on other segments too. You must go for specific channel where your particular segment visits regularly. For an example low fat burgers are related to women segment they can promote it through cooking TV channels, lifestyle TV channels and womens magazine (Knauer, 2016, Para. 1-2). They must avoid promoting its products with relating to political scenarios rather they can promote by relating various sports, games etc because Australian people are more involved in sports compare to other countries. Global warming is becoming a big issue now days, they must encourage people for not throwing the packets of burgers, meals etc. here and there through their sent message this way they can show that how much concern they are about eco-friendly system. According to Belch an IMC campaign must be delivered vastly so that the message can reach to maximum number of customers, only depending on social media is not good enough they should also promote through other mediums like TV, News Paper, and Radio etc. so that they can reach the maximum number of customers. References Ali, L. (2016, May 9). Era of integrated marketing communication at hungry jacks [Blog post]. 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