A Study On Barbie Global Market Marketing Essay

A Study On Barbie Global Market Marketing Essay International marketing is the performance of a companys product and services to consumers in more than one nation to produce profit. It is one of the most vital elements of marketing functions to trade their companys products or services internationally rather than locally. This brings more advantages and benefits the organization itself as well as the country. However, trying to trade internationally influences by many factors and cause difficulties. And it is the task of these companies to study these factors prior in order to initiate business or trade with other countries effectively. These factors include the culture, economic and political factors. This essays discussion base on the case study, Barbie: The American Girl Goes Global. Barbie is worldwide brand name invented by Ruth Handler defining as a small scale anatomically improbable modelled plastic figure of a human being especially a childs plaything and collectable dolls. It is the brand name for Mattel Inc., the organization for producing these toys and dolls. Barbie effectively starts its operation and selling out of its products at the American Toy Fair in New York City in 1959. Since then, Barbie become popular and operate effectively due to its increasing sales and revenues thus earning high profit compare to other American toy markets. Therefore, Mattel Inc expands its marketing situation and trade internationally where Barbie is currently selling out in more than 150 countries. These include European countries, Middle East, India and Japan. Therefore, this writing will discuss how Mattel Inc. deals with different culture issues, economic environment and political factors in these different countries in trying to market its products, the American Barbie doll. Throughout the given case study, it was basically talk about how different culture affects Mattel in trying to sell Barbie in the above mentioned countries. Culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social behaviour (Keegan Green 2003). Each country has its own culture values and different from one another. And because Barbie trade worldwide, Mattel tend to carefully study the culture environment in those countries and analyze culture issues arise. The cultural issues of these countries affected the selling of Barbie can be reflected from different things. These include the language use, the religion involves, the social behaviour and the traditional dress code of each country. However, some economic issues and political factors appear to influence its international trading. Barbie is a worldwide brand and they first entered the US market for selling their products because it was the place of founder. Since then, Ruth Handler realizes the importance of children then decides to produce Barbie to motivate her daughters dream of her future. These products were three dimensional adult female dolls using by children to play with and it was popular in America because they initiate with high amount of sales of total 351,000 dolls at $3 each for the first year on the market. This occurs because Mattel identify its target market such as the group of children up of 1 to 11 years old and they fully satisfy their needs for toys made of plastic and long lasting rather than the first available dolls were made of paper and cardboard. However, moving to other countries cause Mattel to create changes on Barbie according to culture issues of each county to make effective. For instance, Mattel was successfully launched in India at 1995 because they make changes of Barbie appearance according to local taste of painted with a head spot and dressed in a sari but still the universally recognize Barbie. When moving to Middle East, culture factors in these countries are very strict and Barbie face difficulties in trying to sell their products in these countries because they face opposition on religious and social grounds. Women in these countries including Iran and Egypt have very strict dress code. They are not allowed to expose any part of their hair and due to Islamic law they have to completely cover their body and only their eyes are shown. But the appearance of these female dolls highly affected their culture values because Barbie female doll illustrate the opposite side of their dress code. This causes parents and religious leaders to more strange reactions with the culture values represent by Barbie and Ken and they believe Barbie is seen in the Middle East where modesty matters as something of a tramp. Therefore, Egypt government exist with setting up government agencies for producing local dolls aimed to provide Islamic alternative to Barbie and trying to eliminate the image of Barbie in their nations. These dolls called Laila were making in accordance to the local taste of Egypt people and their culture because local toy producer believe Barbie is more dangerous than an American missile. Laila also produced according to recommendation from the Arab league department for children suggested that there is cultural gap when an Arab girl plays with a doll like Barbie because the average Arab girls reality is different from Barbie. Thus Mattel face more challenges and more competitive market place due to Laila because they appeared in local taste using Arab costumes for decorating and designing their quite and serious looking doll. Meantime, Iran has its own local doll producer, Sara and Dara still to compete against Barbie. These dolls apply the same situation as Egypt in producing with the local culture taste by featuring traditional clothing, headscarves and are available with family members thus reinforcing the importance of family for Iranian children. Meantime Sara and Dara are to provide an Islamic alternative to Barbie. However, Mattel did not attempt to stop there though they are forbidden but continue fight against Sara and Dara. And thus still able to operate successfully by gaining high revenues with high profit due to higher price with approximately 7 times the average monthly salary. Though that Mattel faced tough position in Egypt and Iran but still continue to struggle against local competitors. Facing the challenges of competition, Barbie has been losing market share to Susi the Brazilian local dolls made by local company, Estrela. This company has licensed to distribute Barbie throughout Brazil. Brazil is the best chance of successful marketing for Mattel because they account 37 percent of the countrys annual sales earn from toys market. Additionally, Brazil is one of the largest countries in South America in according to its rich economy, population and geographic territory. Unfortunately, the selling of the Susi dolls increase more than the Barbie sales in terms of cultural values. The Susi dolls were designed as an image of the Brazilian girls and reflect values as a true Brazilian girl and every Brazilian is proud of it rather than showing what they want to be. So instead of helping distributing the Barbie doll all over Brazil, the Barbie face a strong competition cause losing of their market share to Estrela the company that produce the Susi doll. Distributing Barbie throughout the Asian countries, Mattel faces great difficulties overcome the worlds second largest toy market, Japan. In terms of economic environment, Japan has high, favourable and competitive economic situation. Japan is a high income country, the second largest economy in the world and has large industrial capacity. And thus, Japan and the United States face strong and big challenges to compete each other because they have similar economic situation. Therefore, during its first 20 years of operated in Japan, Mattel realised that it is the most difficult situation a company faced because of their complex distribution system. Additionally, Mattel attempt to face strong competition from local brand and local competitor. For example, Mattel enters into marketing without studying the Japanese requirements for foreign investor to sell out their products. And thus, selling out Barbie in Japan has only a limit success because Japanese girl didnt know what the product is and it didnt work, commented by the Chief Executive Officer of mid 1990s, Josh Amerman. With that issue, a problem of low sales rise then Mattel joins with Takara, a Japanese toy specialist in order to make a difference for the Japanese to understand their product. They then join forces with Bandai, the largest toy company in Japan to sell their products legally after terminating relationship with Takara due to license disagreement. Moreover, a cultural fact appears that the Japanese has valued their dolls seriously because of their strong cultural tradition with a heritage of over 800 years and ceremonial importance. Consequently, Mattel started to cope with the Japanese culture in a view of the fact stated but they then discovered that the Japanese girls has preferred the local American Barbie is the best and the most well known. Mattel then dropped forces with Bandai and operates its own marketing office then introduced the American Barbie to Japan and they experienced a success with Long Hair Star Barbie as one of the top-selling dolls in Japan. These cultural factors helps increase the amount of Mattel global marketing. Fortunately, Mattel rejoined with Bandai once again and forming marketing, sales and product development to overcome the complex Japanese distribution system thus reducing operating expenses. Efficiently, a rise of 10 percent in the international revenue indicates from the 31 percent of Mattels total revenue as according to the good performance of Mattel marketing and their share to the international revenues. This effect of International Marketing helps Mattel improves the increasing of revenues and their shares. In conclusion, Barbie is fun and huge success story. I suggested that every company attempt to trade internationally and marketing their products worldwide must consider the culture issues, the economic situation and political factors of that foreign country in related to chosen products to trade. This led them to make their decisions and reflect the required changes to make on their products in relation with foreign country interest. As we can reflect from the above discussion, Egypt and Iran have very strict culture at how women dress up which not allowing them to expose any part of their body. But Barbie exists with the opposite site of their belief causing high risk in trying to sell out their dolls. Unfortunately, some situation may not affected by the culture issues. As in Europe, Barbie generate success because there was an average of 5 Barbie dolls at the childrens toy collections because Mattel adopted pan European approach to the Western European market. And thus, acting C hief Executive Officer Ronald Leob recommended that Barbie believes that the company will proactively adapt its products to local tastes, economic conditions and pricing rather than viewing the rest of the world. REFERENCES Textbooks: Keegan, W.J., Green, M.C (2005).Global Marketing (4th ed.).Upper Saddler River, N.J.:Prentice Hall Kotab, M., Helen, K. (2008). Global Marketing Management (4th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Websites: Barbie Doll History Invention of the Barbie Doll, Retrieved on 14 September 2009 http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/barbiedoll.htm Culture of Iran, Retrieved on 14 September 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Culture Culture of Iran, Retrieve on 14 September 2009 http://www.cultureofiran.com/ Doing business in Brazil, Retrieve 09 September 2009 http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/country/brazil/doing-business-brazil.html Doing business in India, retrieve 09 September 2009 http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-india.html Japan Economy, Retrieve 14 September 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan#Economy Japan Government and politics, Retrieve 14 September 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan#Government_and_politics

Emperor Hadrian in Marguerite Yourcenars Memoirs of Hadrian and E.L. D

Emperor Hadrian in Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian and E.L. Doctorow's Everyman figure of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime As Marguerite Yourcenar states in Memoirs of Hadrian, â€Å". . . there is always a day where Atlas ceases to support the weight of the heavens, and his revolt shakes the earth.† (114) When Coalhouse Walker strides knowingly, even willingly, into his death, he is more powerful at that moment than he has been at any other point in his crusade. Because he has no regard for death or for the effect of his decision upon the rest of the world, his chosen fate sends a resounding reaction through all who witness his end. And what might drive a man to abandon his life so freely? Love and death. Inextricably meshed in both Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar and E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, these timeless states profoundly change the outlooks of Emperor Hadrian and Coalhouse Walker Jr. Despite being separated by centuries, both men go to extreme lengths for their perception of love, but when death intervenes they have curiously opposite reactions. Hadrian is Emperor of the vast Roman Empire, and when he first comes into power he is afire with new ideas of beautification and improvements for all the provinces of the Empire, whether the people of said provinces wanted to be improved or not. He is secure enough in himself to consider himself, while not a god, something like a lieutenant, â€Å"seconding the deity in his effort to give form and order to a world, to develop and multiply its convolutions, extensions, and complexities.† (Yourcenar, 144) After many personal triumphs, he still refuses the accolades that previous Emperor’s have felt were rightfully theirs, preferring to let his people and his ... ...ife. This concept is totally foreign to Coalhouse Walker Jr. who, only after achieving the love that he sought and then losing it so quickly and so inhumanely, gains almost godlike power over the people of the city, inspiring fear and no little awe for the man who would go to such lengths over an automobile and some inconsequential (to them) black woman who wasn’t even his wife. Death and love: inseparable through the course of time, transcending the ages– both Emperor Hadrian and Coalhouse Walker Jr. face them, and while one gains conviction and a purpose, even if that purpose is ultimately his own death, the other declines, never seeing that the death of his love could possibly serve a purpose other than simple grief and mourning, never understanding that, with time and action, â€Å"the future [could] once more [hold] the hope of the past.† (Yourcenar, 176)

Cryonics Cryogenics

Cryogenics refers to the branches of physics and engineering that study very low temperatures, how to produce them, and how materials behave at those temperatures. Cryogenics is all about temperatures below -150 °C or 123 K. One of the most amazing applications of cryogenic processing is cryonics: where the human body is exposed to cryogenic treatment in order to preserve it after death. In the United States of America, there are, currently, two organizations that offer cryogenic treatment for human bodies: The Cryonics Institute in Clinton Township, Michigan and Alcor in Scottsdale, Arizona.Once death sets in, the patient’s bodies are preserved in chemicals designed to theoretically protect cellular structure, before being lowered into steel tubes of liquid nitrogen, called dewars. Here they will be kept in ‘cold storage’ at – 196 °C in the hope that someday in the future they may be brought back to life. There are currently 147 people in cryogenic sus pension, with another 1,000 members signed up for the deep freeze. History of Human Cryogenics:In 1940, pioneer biologist Basil Luyet published a work titled â€Å"Life and Death at Low Temperatures† in which he observed that while many organisms underwent serious damages at very low temperatures. However, in some cases, he reported that he managed to restore normal function when organisms were rewarmed after freezing. Luyet's work led to a whole new area of science called cryobiology. British scientists found that by soaking cells in a solution of glycerol, red blood cells and bull semen could be frozen and then their functions could be completely restored on rewarming.The main discovery is that through human cryogenics, life can, in fact, be stopped and restarted under controlled conditions. In the United States, Robert Ettinger through his book â€Å"The Prospect of Immortality† (1964) promoted the idea that a person frozen after legal death might rationally hope to be resuscitated at some time in the far future when medicine has advanced enough to cure most diseases, reverse the aging process, and repair any residual damage caused by freezing (Klein, 2004). This came to be known as Ettinger’s concept.Many scientists shun the idea of manipulating life and death conditions of the body and hence there has not been much progress in this field since the 1960s. Cryonics is an unproven theory. There are scientific obstacles that, some would say, are insurmountable. One of the success stories in this realm is that of Gregory Fahy and his team. They have succeeded in cryopreserving a rabbit kidney, reversed the procedure and successfully re-implanted it without losing the ability to sustain the life of the recipient (Fahy, 2006). Challenges in Cryonics: Cryonic aspirants may choose to have their entire body stored or only their head frozen.The thinking behind the latter option is that an old person would not want to come back alive in his old b ody. Cryonics is an expensive option. Alcor currently charges the equivalent of ? 80,000 for the full body option and ? 42,000 for the head only (Cryonics Cryogenics, 2006). The long-term storage of biological materials, including human organs, requires very low temperatures, which typically are achieved with liquid nitrogen (LN2). While LN2 provides suitable ultralow temperatures, general storage environments have been less than satisfactory and this is an obstacle in cryonics (Lehr, 2006).Another major challenge facing cryonics is that the current technique of full-body preservation with cryoprotectant chemicals causes extensive molecular damage to the body. To successfully bring a patient back to life, cryonics would not only need to reverse this damage, but would also have to cure the original illness the patient died from. Apart from this, the process of cryonics also raises a lot of legal and ethical issues such as â€Å"How can a legally dead person have a valid contract for cryopreservation? † â€Å"Is euthanasia an option for cryonicists? † â€Å"Are cryonics organizations right in selling an unproven technology?† (Best, 2006) Cryopreservation Procedure: As soon as a patient dies, the person’s brain cells are the first to die. Hence the first step would be to stop cellular decomposition caused by oxygen deprivation. This is done by cooling the body. For every 10 °C drop in temperature there is a 50% reduction in metabolic demand which means it takes twice as long for damage to occur. The body should be kept just above freezing and then, a mechanical chest compressor is used to temporarily restore circulation before injecting medications to stop the blood clotting.Then, the patient's blood is washed out and replaced with a temporary protective fluid. Now, there is a surgical process that begins by opening the chest cavity to allow plastic cannulation tubes to be sewn into the heart to provide entry and exit points for the cryoprotectant fluid. These tubes are connected to a by-pass machine that circulates the cryopreservation fluid around the body. The process called â€Å"vitrification† involves replacing over 60% of the water in the body with, potentially toxic, preservation chemicals.When exposed to cryogenic temperatures of below -120 °C they react by turning tissue to a glass-like solid. Throughout the procedure the body is kept packed in ice inside a perspex covering. Liquid nitrogen vapor is regularly pumped around the body to keep the temperature at -3 °C. After the surgery, the body is transferred to an insulated holding chamber for the rapid cool down stage. Liquid nitrogen vapor is pumped inside and probes will monitor the body's core temperature. The temperature will be dropped rapidly to just above the glass transition point.The body is then placed in a sleeping-bag and put into a pod which is the permanent storage container where it will be cooled very slowly to liquid nitrog en temperature (Cryonics Cryogenics, 2006). Conclusion: It has been man’s inherent nature to search for eternity and eternal youth. So, it is no wonder that the science of cryonics has captivated the interests of mankind. Cryonics is a science that is still in the nascent stage. It is a controversial science that is countered by seemingly unanswerable questions.Yet, the fascination for conquering age and death keeps research in cryonics advancing. Bibliography: Platt, Charles (2006). Cryonics: A Short History The â€Å"Impossible† Dream. http://www. imminst. org/forum/index. php? s=&act=ST&f=61&t=860 Best, Ben (2006). Cryonics: The Issues. http://www. benbest. com/cryonics/cryiss. html Lehr, A. Valentine (2006). Precision, flexibility critical in long-term, ultra- low-temperature storage of biological materials. Control Considerations for Cryogenic Storage Facilities. HPAC Engineering. August 2006. http://www. hpac.com/member/feature/2006/0806/0806_lehr. htm Cryonics, Cryogenics (2006). Death in the deep freeze. http://www. mymultiplesclerosis. co. uk/stranger-than-fiction/cryogenics. html Fahy, M. Gregory (2006). Cryopreservation of Complex Systems: The Missing Link in the Regenerative Medicine Supply Chain. Rejuvenation Research. Jun 2006, Vol. 9, No. 2: 279-291. http://www. liebertonline. com/doi/abs/10. 1089/rej. 2006. 9. 279? journalCode=rej= Klein, Bruce (2004). Robert Ettinger, Father of Cryonics. http://www. imminst. org/forum/index. php? act=ST&f=67&t=4112

Joel Kovels - The Enemy of Nature

Joel Kovels - The Enemy of Nature Free Online Research Papers Book Review: Joel Kovel’s The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? Joel Kovel’s book The Enemy of Nature presents a unity of red and green, socialist and environmental respectively, critiques of capitalism. Split into three sections, Kovel takes us through capitalisms responsibility for eco-catastrophe, domination of nature and critiques of eco-socialism and possible future paths, inextricably linking domination of nature and domination of labour as both under the heavy foot of capitalism. Presented as a â€Å"cold-blooded killer† (Kovel 2007 p6), the horror of the capitalist system and its effect on the ecological stability of our planet in its entirety is of such all-encompassing magnitude that it causes people to resist practical and radical intervention. An intervention that is desperately needed in order to divert impending global ecological catastrophe. An apathy is produced by the sheer weight of the problem, a condition even Kovel admits almost being tempted by (ibid. pp14-23). However, as Kovel argues, there is too much worth fighting for, a whole world, literally, in our hands to save. Thus Kovel dispels the myth that nature is ‘other’ to human kind and he critiques the illusion of our ownership of the Earth to state that we, and our fates, are utterly intertwined with and as a part of nature (ibid. p14). Therefore we are a victim of our own persecution of nature via the advancement and sustaining of capitalism. He then takes the argument one step further by marking the difference between capital as ecodestructive and as being anti-ecological, as capital â€Å"violates the whole sense of the universe, not just parts of nature† (ibid. p95). The plundering of natural resources, the destruction of forests to make way for farm-land and cars, and the polluting effects of industry are all due to the commodification of human beings in the form of labour. Economics is now about the trade itself, not the produced object in question. Thus money and capitalism is a monster that feeds off the destruction it creates, turning it around and making a profit out of it. This is why Kovel critiques voluntarism, because the notion of ‘buying green’ is a singular act that is not connected to the need for fundamental social change. It is, as Kovel succinctly writes, â€Å"ecopolitics without struggle† (ibid. p169). Whilst individual acts, such as using energy-saving light bulbs or using a bicycle instead of a car, are not without some merit, capitalism will tolerate any number of green initiatives and policies as long as the relentless drive for profit is protected and allowed to continue (ibid. p180). A radical ov erhaul of the current system is needed if we are to stem the impending global ecological disaster. Whilst Kovel extrapolates and conjoins the radical aspects of Marxism and green politics and offers practical solutions and aims for achieving ecosocialism, he says little on the subject he claims as integral to the means out of capitalism, what he himself names as ecofeminism. Due to the â€Å"gendered bifurcation of nature† (ibid. p125) and the need for capitalism to be propagated by violence and domination particularly in the control over the production and reproduction of future workers by controlling womens’ bodies to sustain the system – â€Å"any path out of capitalism must also be ecofeminist† (ibid.p194). Why, then, devote so little to the synthesis of ecosocialism and ecofeminism when it is so integral to the radical overhaul of societies in order to avoid impending eco-catastrophe? Also, the brevity of the critiques of other ecosocialist and green politics may alienate some readers who are entrenched by those belief systems (Gates, L.A. Unkn own); thus diffusing the importance of his message somewhat, specifically with those affliated with groups that he needs to attain a synthesis with to strengthen his form of ecosocialism. In Kovel’s idea of his future ecosocialist society, he envisions that large-scale rail and communication, powergrids and cities, would still exist yet neglects to discuss how this is possible whilst preserving the environment when the global population is at the highest it has ever been and is set to rise from six to eight billion by 2028 (GeoHive 1998). In fact, he touches very little upon the problem of population pressure and the possiblity of new demand on already overstretched and limited resources. It could be that as we feel more strongly the negative effects of climate change we could see an increase in war and fighting over the scarce resources. As one writer put it: â€Å"Precisely when, between now and doomsday, do the masses finally revolt?† (Dace, T. Unknown) Despite these criticisms, The Enemy of Nature is an extremely insightful and important book. The minimum that Kovel claims is required to halt the crisis is that we must get rid of private ownership of the commons and productive resources and we must liberate our productive powers so that we can see and determine our own effect on nature (Kovel 2007 p160). However, from a historical perspective Kovel recognises the dangers of extremist radical change such as the abolition of money and market systems and alludes to the radical communist change that took place in Russia. Whilst such actions may create a Stalinist regime, Kovel also gives much weight to his earlier observation that the eco-catastrophe overwhelmingly surrounds us with such totality that people are practically blinded to it. Therefore, enforcing an immediate radicalisation of society would be like waking someone from the deepest sleep (ibid. p183). This is precisely the problematic quality of Kovels’ book and of the ecological quandry we find ourselves in; radical change cannot be immediate due to the social problems it could cause, yet it must be soon if we are to survive. Ultimately Kovel is people-based rather than nature-based as, for example, he neglects to discuss population pressure and his desire to preserve contemporary cities and lifestyles. Nature has a way of adapting and has existed long before human-kind and will survive long after. What is truly ultimately the case is if we are to retain habitable conditions on Earth for humans and other present wildlife, we must have a social system that lives within and as a part of nature – not outside and therefore free to destroy nature as capitalism does. â€Å"Humanity is not just the perpetrator of the crisis, it is its victim as well† (ibid., p.23). It is not nature, as something ‘other’ and separate to us, that finds itself the ene my of capitalism, but it is in fact ourselves as we exist entwined in nature. Research Papers on Joel Kovel’s - The Enemy of NatureGlobal Distributive Justice is UtopianGenetic EngineeringCauses of the 2008 Financial CrisisIntentism The Resurrection of the AuthorAmerican Central Banking and OilThe Gnostic JesusDefinition of Export QuotasProject Management 101Combating Human TraffickingThe Mechanics of Grading Grading Systems

Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle Cell Anemia Sickle-Cell Anemia Sickle-cell anemia is a disease that affects the shape of red blood cells. Blood cells in people with sickle-cell disease have a bent, or sickle shape. Because of this slight mutation to the cells, they have a tendency to clump together, blocking and damaging parts of the circulatory system. People with this disease experience many side affects. This disease is a sometimes fatal inherited disease that scientists are now beginning to understand and treat.Hemoglobin molecules constructed with defective proteins have a tendency to stick to one another, forming strands of hemoglobin within the red blood cells. These cells become stiff and elongated, or sickle shape. Sickle cells die much more rapidly than normal red blood cells. The body can't create replacements fast enough and anemia develops due to shortage of red blood cells. Further complications arise because sickle cells do not fit well through small blood vessels.English: Description Malaria versus sickle-cell tr...I in 10 African‚ ©Americans carry the gene, and about 1 in 400African‚ ©Americanchildren carry Sickle Cell Anemia.If a person is hybrid for the disease, they are said to have the sickle cell'trait'.Their cells can be made to sickle in a test tube, and under extremeconditions of exercise,and at high altitudes. This is rare and seldom serious,most people with the trait live full,normal lives. The trait can never turn intothe anemia.About 50% of the children of to parents who both have the trait will also havethetrait. About 25% will be born with the anemia, and about 25% will not beaffected byether one.o o|/ |// /T T‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©+‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©+‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ © T=Trait| | | | A=Anemiao o o o N=Not AffectedX X X XT T A NSickle Cell Anemia...

Drawbacks of Persuasive Technology Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drawbacks of Persuasive Technology - Dissertation Example This leaves the buyer feeling misled and betrayed. Such promotion has a negative impact on the company’s image and the brand image (Fogg & Tseng, 1999). Â  Moreover, there have been great concerns over the ethical issues that are faced by persuasive technology (Berdichevsky & Neuenschwander, 1999). As the field of persuasive technology is relatively new the persuasive factors from the advertisements are masked. Users most of the time are unaware of the fact that they are being persuaded into acting or behaving in a certain manner. Sometimes users are even unaware of the persuasive medium that is being used. Companies on a number of occasions have used video games and simulations to target children (Fogg, 2002). Â  Other than that there is a general concept among the masses that computers are fair and intelligent machines. Taking advantage of this concept companies develop biased software that confirms the claims of a particular vendor or company (Fogg, 1998). Â  Other than that computer can be used by companies as a scapegoat when companies face a problem. For example, if a person is persuaded by a piece of software and during the persuasion, the consumer suffers some loss the company could easily blame the software as being faulty or could blame the consumer for making a mistake as the software cannot make a mistake (Fogg, 2002). Â  Persuasive technology has been one of the widest tools used by companies to market their products. However, a majority these companies ignore the issues that arise with the implementation of persuasive technology.

The Sarbanes-Act of 2002 and its Effects on Businesses Essay

The Sarbanes-Act of 2002 and its Effects on Businesses - Essay Example The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was created in order to raise investor confidence in the market. The SOX regulation applies only to publicly traded companies. The act increased the accountability and transparency of the financial information that public companies release. The implementation of SOX was able to reform accounting practices by improving accountability, internal controls, auditor independence, and executive responsibility. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act attended a variety of accounting issues that were of great concern for the investor community. One of the first issues that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act attended was auditor independence. In the Enron scandal, the firm was able to get away with the con due to the fact that its auditor, Author Anderson, was an accomplice in the fraud. In order to deal with a potential situation of conflict of interest between the public firm and the auditors SOX created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). All companies that perform audi ts on public companies must be registered with the PCAOB (Pcaobox). Auditor independence was achieved by SOX because since its inception accounting firms that perform audits cannot have other accounting contracts with the audited firm. Public firms are mandated to include an independent’s auditors report within the annual report of the company. Another measure that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act created was mandatory rotations of auditing firms. Companies auditing a public company can only realize the job for four years, at that time a new auditor must take over the role. A great measure that the Sarbanes-Oxley mandated was the requirement of public companies to create internal control measures.