Lack of Proper Discipline

They are everywhere, in the malls, the grocery store, airports and even public parks.   The nation is being over run by spoiled screaming children, who know if they scream loudly enough their parents will give in and give them their way just to keep them quiet.   The reason children are allowed to behave this way is because parents fear they will be charged with abuse if they speak harshly or dare spank a child. Innocent parents are constantly being reported to the child protective workers for simply spanking children with their hands or picking up a squirming hard to hold onto child and removing them from a store.   The witness assumes that because the child is making all manners of noise the parent is causing them harm.  Ã‚   Once protective services are called, the children can tell any type of horror story they want to make up and the workers will automatically believe them, because they could not imagine that children could lie. The children have learned this and know that a parent will never discipline them in public places, therefore the child causes scenes in public places to control the parent.   There is and should be a limit to the amount of discipline a parent can inflict upon children and child abusers should be punished.   No parent who intentionally inflicts injuries such as cigarette burns or broken bones to a child should continue to be allowed to raise their children. The problem is however, that the child abuse laws have become strict to the point that normal caring parents do not dare to set limits for children for fear of losing their children. Many people every year have their children removed from their homes at least temporarily due to mistaken reports and children telling stories to turn innocent disciplinary practices into reports of child abuse.   This fear has led parents to allow children to control them, children who grow believing they can get away with breaking laws as they did parental rules, and a society of people filled with disrespectful people. In past generations, parents disciplined children when they misbehaved, thus teaching the children to follow the parent’s rules and to obey what they told them.   Unfortunately, during those generations parents sometimes went to the extremes with discipline to the point that the children were injured and actual abuse sometimes occurred.   Due to this abuse, laws were created to protect the children. These laws were important and well intentioned.   However, because of the laws, parental disciplinary practices were forced to go from parents being allowed to do whatever they needed to in order to make their children behave to being reported for child abuse if they even speak harshly to their children.   There should be some middle ground.   Parents still need to be able to make their children mind within reason (spanking with hand, scolding, and physically removing from places or situations). Children in current society know that their parents are afraid to spank or in most cases even scold them especially in public. For this reason the children throw temper tantrums in the malls if the parents tell them they do not need the expensive toy they want.   The parents could continue to say no and the child would then continue to argue until the frustrated parent gives in and gets them the toy.   The same thing happens in the grocery store for the best snack and in the park when the child refuses to go home when the parent tells them it is time to go.   This allows the child to be in control of the parent rather than the parent in control of the child. Because these children learn that they do not have to listen to or obey their parents, they grow up with the belief that they do not have to listen to anyone.   This leads them to take advantage of other people and make decisions based only upon the advantages that can be gained for themselves regardless of the effects these decisions may have on others.   This complete disregard of rules often includes such things as the law.   If they as teenagers or sometimes even adults see something in a store they want, they may be very inclined to take it. They have never been taught that they have to earn things and they can not just take what they want, therefore they feel entitled to take anything they want any time they want it.   They are more likely to cause harm to people who attempt to keep them from achieving their goals or cheat others out of opportunities.   This has helped lead to the increased crime rate in the country.   Crimes such as shoplifting, assault and in some cases even murder come as a result of spoiled undisciplined children growing into spoiled undisciplined adults. In the generations when children were still disciplined for not listening to parents, children were taught to respect their elders and other people as well as rules.   The children of the modern generation learn to respect no one and nothing, because they have no rules to follow.   They simply learn that no means they simply need to throw a bigger fit or do whatever else they need to do in order to get their way. As adults, these people yell at others and call other people names any time they want to for no reason.   They push and shove their way to the front of lines even if it means stepping on all of the people in front of them.   By taking away the rights of parents to teach their children to be respectful of others, society is creating a whole group of people who do not care about anyone. This is the society where people run over and trample each other in malls to get the last hot children’s toy in the store before Christmas.   Stampedes like those of frightened cattle herds leave people injured or even dead, when large groups of people all try to enter popular events or exit buildings in a hurry.   Once people would stop to assist others, but now if someone falls down, the others simply step over or on them and go on. It is sad to discover that laws designed to protect children have effectively led to an entire society of people who do not care about anyone but themselves.   The laws were needed, but some people have said that violence leads to violence and therefore children should never be subjected to physical discipline.   While it is true that extreme and unnecessary punishment is abusive and may lead children to imitate violence later, there is a middle ground between the two extremes. A swat from a parent’s hand on the seat of the pants does little more than embarrass the child in public.   This would lead the child to be less likely to throw screaming tantrums in public, which embarrass the well intentioned parents who did nothing more than choose to take their children out into public with them.   Children who are raised with some degree of discipline and well defined rules that are followed through with, grow up to be much more well-rounded, respectful and realistic adults. If a child is allowed to raise a parent instead of providing the parents the right to raise the child, then the crime rate will continue to rise and people will become increasingly more disrespectful.   People have begun to look at hand outs and even luxuries as entitlements rather than things that should be strived for and earned.   These declines in society are caused by over zealous people, who as well intentioned as the may have been have taken away all leverage parents once had to teach their children that rules are made for a reason and the word â€Å"no† actually means no not â€Å"scream louder†. Most people who become parents take the first look at the helpless new life and want to give the child the whole world.   They do not wish to inflict harm or create hardship for the child in any way.   They do however want that child to grow into a happy healthy, well adjusted adult.   In order to be a well-adjusted adult, the person needs to respect laws, rules and other people.   No one learns this automatically, it has to be taught, and the parents, who want the world for their children should have the right to teach this. They need to be able to set limits and follow through with discipline.   Loving parents who care for their children should not have to live in fear that if they discipline their children in order to teach them to respect rules and people, they will lose their children forever.   There should be more specific guidelines as to what constitutes abuse and it there should be more evidence to substantiate it rather than just taking the child’s word that Daddy hit me for a child to be removed from a home. In addition to this parents need to be informed as to what these guidelines are in order to insure they are operating within the limits of the laws. Although the days in which children should be seen and not heard are gone forever, the entire mall should not be subjected to hearing a child simply because the parent is afraid to discipline him. Lack of Proper Discipline They are everywhere, malls, grocery store, airports and even public places.  Running screaming as loud as they can where everyone can hear them. So that their  parents will give in to them just to keep them quiet. The reason why the children behaved  this way is that the children knows their rights. Parents are anxious to reprimand their  children or even punish their children in a certain way, otherwise, they will be  charged with child abuse. Innocent parents are the one being reported to the child  protected workers for spanking their children with their hands or just picking up a   squirming hard onto the child and removing them from any public places.And if the  observer assumes that that the child is making noise they think and conclude that the  parents is causing them harm, then call the protective services. Children can tell stories  that can get the sympathy of the workers just like telling a horror movie. The service  workers will entirely believe in the heartbreaking story of the children, because little  children doesn’t know how to fabricate stories and that they don’t tell a lie. Children  knows that there is a law that the parents cannot reprimand or hurt them in public places  as a result, the children will make scenes especially in public place. They are the ones  who are abusing their parents.There should be a boundary to the amount of discipline a parent can impose upon their children. Child abusers should be punished. No such parents who physically or emotionally abuse their children are allowed to raise them. However, the real problem is children abuse their rights to the point that normal caring parents do not dare to set limits in fear of losing their children.Every year, many children are temporarily removed from their homes due to mistaken reports and children telling stories   to turn innocent parents to disciplinary actions in child abuse.   This fear has led the parents to allow their children in control. Children who grew believing they can get away breaking laws as they did parental rules.  Ã‚   The society is full of discourteous people.In the past, parents reprimand their children when they misbehave implementing rules to follow and obey them. Unfortunately, during the past parents seem to discipline their children to the point that actual abuse occurred. Appropriate to this abuse, laws were created and implemented to protect the rights of the children. However, due to the laws, parents are forced not to take disciplinary actions for their children. They are not allowed to do what they ought to do in order to discipline them. There should be some focal points on this. Parents should be able to discipline their children at some points. In this generation, children know that parents are afraid to spank or scold them most especially in public places.Children take advantage of this by showing tantrums, refusing to listen to what parents say, ignoring them can b e a lot of trouble also to the parents. This behavior allows the child to be in control of their parents rather than the latter. Parents are more likely to feel manipulated by this kind of behavior They do not have to listen or obey because they can get what they want.  Ã‚   The last few decades have shown a rise of disobedience along with violence among children. and adolescents.This child learns that they don’t have to listen to anyone but themselves This children will grow up into spoiled, disrespectful adults and turn into a menace of the society. They do not listen to anyone, they believe in themselves and so they will break the law just to get what they want just like when they were still little children.Before, when children are well disciplined by their parents, they were taught to respect the elders and other people, as well as the law unlike in this modern generation now. In taking away, the rights of the parents in implementing their own disciplinary actions to c hildren, the society now is full of people that don’t care about anyone or anybody. They only think of themselves only. It is sad to know that the laws designed for the protection of the children were abused and used by the children. . This laws are good if you use it for the better and not exploit it.. While it is true that extreme and pointless punishments is rude and make children to imitate violence later, there is a focal point between the two extremes.If we look at it the other way, children will raise parents according to their manner as spoiled brats, discourteous individuals what will happen to the society? In reality, when an individual become a parent, most likely they do not want to inflict harm to their helpless child. They want to give the child the best of everything. Hence, protecting them from harm, showering them with love and affection. They want that child to grow up into a happy, healthy, well adjusted and good mannered adult.Parents should set limits, di scipline and teach their children about the rules and the law. They should inculcate the young minds with the rules and train them in a nice way so that when they grow up they will not depart from it. Parents should not be afraid in doing so. There are specific guidelines in constituting abuse. It is sad to realize that the laws was designed to protect the children but there is no result on the whole society because if we cannot discipline our children when they are still young, they will be more violence in the future they always think that they are always right.This is not in general but most children go in the wrong path in the future if they don’t know what discipline is. In the early generations children were closely controlled and monitored by their parents and they were trained how to respect for their elders and other people as well as they are the rulers. There’s a big difference between children born yesterday than today. Most modern children don’t kno w what respect is they have their own set of laws and one of their rules is parents should follow their set of laws. They don’t even call their parents as mom and dad, they only call them by names, not only their parents but for their sisters and brothers and even their elderly.They press on their way to the front of lines even if it means stepping on all of the people in front of them. They don’t care if other peoples hurt or not as long as they know that they are content of what they doing. Captivating away the rights of parents to teach their children to be deferential to others. But new society is creating an entire group of people who do not care about the right of a parent.A society where people run over and squash each other in malls to get the last hot children’s toy in the store before Christmas. Stampedes like those who are like a scared farm animal’s leave people hurt or even dead when huge groups of people all try to enter popular events or ex it buildings in a hurry. It’s so depressing to discover that laws wished-for to protect children have effectively led to an entire society who do not care about anyone but themselves. The laws were considered essential, but some people have said that violence leads to violence and therefore children should never be subjected to corporeal discipline.Research shows that although, love is the crucial basis on a child’s moral and civilized character is build, it is not enough. Parental discipline is extremely vital in helping a child to develop moral and civilized character.Work CitedBartkowski, John P. and W. Bradford Wilcox. â€Å"Conservative Protestant Child Discipline:The Case of Parental Yelling.† Social Forces. 79.1 (2000): 265-90.Baumrind, Diana. â€Å"The Discipline Controversy Revisited.† Family Relations. 45.4 (1996): 405-14Dowshen, Steven A., Neil Izenberg and Elizabeth R. Bass. The Kidshealth Guide forParents: Pregnancy to Age 5. Chicago, IL: McG raw-Hill Professional, 2002.Erlanger, Howard S. â€Å"Social Class and Corporal Punishment in Childrearing: AReassessment.† American Sociological Review. 39.1 (1974): 68-85.Flynn, Clifton P. â€Å"Regional Differences in Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment.† Journalof Marriage and the Family. 56.2 (1994): 314-24.Giles-Sims, Jean, Murray A. Straus and David B. Sugarman. â€Å"Child, Maternal and Family Characteristics Associated with Spanking.†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Family Relations. 44.2 (1985): 170-176.Herzberger, Sharon D. and Howard Tennen. â€Å"The Effect of Self-Relevance on Judgments of Moderate and Severe Disciplinary Encounters.† Journal of Marriage and the Family.47.2 (1985): 311-18.Holden, George W., Pamela C. Miller and Susan D. Harris. â€Å"The Instrumental Side ofCorporal Punishment: Parents’ Reported Practices and Outcome Expectancies.†Journal of Marriage and the Family. 61.4 (1999): 908-19.Larzelere, Robert E. and Jack A. Merenda. â €Å"The Effectiveness of Parental Discipline forToddler Misbehavior at Different Levels of Child Distress.† Family Relations. 43.4(1994): 480-88.Larzelere, Robert E., Paul R. Sather, William N. Schneider, David B. Larson and Patricia L. Pike. â€Å"Punishment Enhances Reasoning’s Effectiveness as a Disciplinary Response to Toddlers.† Journal of Marriage and the Family. 60.2 (1998): 388-403.Pearson, Linda Joan and L. A. Stamford. The Discipline Miracle: The Clinically ProvenSystem for Raising Happy, Healthy and Well-behaved Kids. New York: AMACOM Books, 2006.Szalay, Lorand B., Jean Bryson Strohl and Kathleen T. Doherty. Psychological Forces in Substance Abuse Prevention. New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.

Baba and Mr. Big

Summary Chapter 1 Jim Anderson and his parents Harold and Mrs. Anderson recently moved to Kendal from Savanna La Mar where his father worked as a mechanic. It was during the Christmas vacation that he met three boys in this new Village: Mule, Mongoose and Milo who were spinning tops for fun. The boys laughed at Jim’s feet because unlike them, Jim wore shoes. While Jim was telling the boys of his hobbies like helping the mechanics (such as his father), going swimming and helping the fishermen row in their canoes, the boy who appeared to be the leader, Milo, was getting jealous. A while after Jim had introduced himself to the boys he asked to join their secret club and was tricked into giving them all 15 of his marbles without being allowed to join the club. The boys who though that it was impossible, gave Jim a test to catch a hawk alive in order to join the club. Summary Chapter 2 On his way home, Jim thought of his task of catching the hawk. While walking, he stumbled upon Baba, an old man who spoke with much colloquial language, liked smoking tobacco and lived in a very small, sparsely furnished house. He explained his task of catching the hawk to Baba and Baba later told him of a plan to catch the hawk whom he called Mr. Big. According to Baba’s plan, Jim found a calabash gourd with soft, tender flesh. He found some feathers around the yard and stuck them in the gourd which he shaped to look like a chicken. When the hawk swooped down to pick it up he would get stuck and the hawk would be caught. Later that night Jim had a dream that he was flying behind the hawk towards the mountains but the bird flew through a hole and Jim was shut out. Did this mean that the bird would escape his trap? Summary Chapter 3 On the fifth day after setting the trap Jim went to town and was jeered by the boys that he wouldn’t catch the bird. On the sixth day the hawk came and was caught in Jim’s trap. Jim was afraid to get the hawk from the gourd now and take him back to his cage. In a small space of time, some of the villagers who wanted the hawk dead came marching up and asked Baba if they had seen the hawk but they replied no. When Jim and Baba began examining the bird they realized that it had broken one of its legs; so they nursed the ird and made a bamboo cage for him and Jim decided to keep the hawk for himself until he got better. Summary Chapter 9 Christmas vacation came to an end so Jim had to return to school. As a result, Baba had to take care of Mr. Big while Jim was in school. Baba took Mr. Big to â€Å"the bush† where Mr. Big responded happily to his environment. Although his leg was not fully healed, M r. Big moved from branch to branch and eventually was flying on the chord. Baba realized Mr. Big trusted him and that they now had a friendship. This made Baba content.

Global Warming †Persuasive Essay Essay

The United States of America constitute four percent of the world’s population, yet produce one-fourth of the world’s carbon dioxide (Arbitrage 2005). It has been controversial if carbon dioxide is causing to rise the world’s temperature with long-term destruction to the environment or not. This research involves trying to find out if in fact global warming is happening or not. There are climate research findings which state global warming is happening, and there are also findings that this man-caused climate change is not evident. To the layman person, the conflicted issue can be rather confusing. The goal of this paper is to show which argument is stronger. International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC), the interest group which focuses on publicizing the consequences of ill-advised ideas of global warming. Its goal is to create awareness about rational discussion about climate changes, in so doing, moving the debate away from implementation of costly, dangerous, and ineffectual energy sources such as wind turbines, solar power, and biofuels. The core principles consist of ten criteria; however, these core principles can be overthrown with scientific discoveries by global warming activists such as EDF. The interest group, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), focuses on preserving the natural systems on which all life depends. Its mission is to find practical and lasting solution to the most serious environmental problems. ICSC (global warming skeptic) states the first core principle as following. 1.) Global climate is always changing in accordance with natural causes and recent changes are not unusual. To answer the Regarding the climate change issue, EDF stated that humans are causing global warming by two main actions burning fossil fuels and deforestation which causes large amounts of carbon dioxide to be released in the atmosphere and act as a greenhouse. The second core principle is 2.) Science is rapidly evolving away from the view that humanity’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other ‘greenhouse gases’ are a cause of dangerous climate change. EDF disputes, as the earth’s atmosphere plays a great role in the climate for an example the earth and the moon is the same distance from the sun but they both have drastic differences in temperature. Greenhouse gases are what keep the earth habitable because it acts like a giant blanket the more greenhouse gasses the hotter the earth becomes. The third core  principle is 3.) Climate models used by the IPCC, United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, fail to reproduce known past climat es without manipulation and therefore lack the scientific integrity needed for use in climate prediction and related policy decision-making. EDF defends that the EDF is not the only interest group that is supporting climate change for an example the IPCC has done research involving climate change without the use of manipulation. The IPCC has also made an assessment report on the reliability of their climate models stating the reliability of their conclusion. The fourth core principle is 4.) The UN IPCC Summary for Policymakers and the assertions of IPCC executives too often seriously misrepresent the conclusions of their own scientific reports. EDF states the IPCC once again made assessments of their own scientific reports reducing their misrepresentation of their conclusions. The fifth core principle is 5.) Claims that ‘consensus’ exists among climate experts regarding the causes of the modest warning of the past century are contradicted by thousands of independent scientists. EDF declares International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) has stated that many independent scientist debunked the fact that many scientist have a consensus on views but this is generally untrue because according to the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) ninety-seven percent of the climate scientists agree that climate warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities, and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position. The following is a partial list of American scientific societies who gave statements on climate change: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Medical Association, American Meteorological Society, American Physical Society, and The Geological Society of America. The sixth core principle is 6.) Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant – it is a necessary in plant photosynthesis and so is essential for life on earth. EDF came back with the ICSC has also stated that carbon dioxide is beneficial and It is true that carbon dioxide is a necessary factor as it is essential for life on earth but excessive carbon dioxide can disturb the balance of the greenhouse gasses which is harmful in great amounts. The seventh core principle is 7.) Research that identifies the Sun as a major driver of global climate change must be taken more seriously. EDF  argued the sun is a major driver of global climate change in the sens e that it is what gives us heat it is the atmosphere that regulates temperature it is important to keep our environment steady and it is taken extremely seriously. The eighth core principle is 8. ) Global cooling has presented serious problems for human society and the environment throughout history while global warming has generally been highly beneficial. EDF’s argument was that due to global warming many travesties like Drought, insect overpopulation, disease spread, rising sea levels and weather related disasters have occurred. The ninth core principle is 9.) It is not possible to reliably predict how climate will change in the future, beyond the certainty that multi-decadal warming and cooling trends, and abrupt changes, will all continue, underscoring a need for effective adaptation. EDF’s answer was it is impossible to reliably predict how the climate will change in the future but you cannot deny the evidence that the earth is progressively heating at a rapid level. EDF also states that scientists are almost certain that the humans are the utmost cause of global warming. The tenth core principle is 10.) Since science and observation have failed to substantiate the human-caused climate change hypothesis, it is premature to damage national economies with ‘carbon’ taxes, emissions trading or other schemes to control ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions. EDF, once again, stated the ICSC states that carbon tax will just destroy the economy but carbon tax will decrease the use of fossil fuels which may be a limited source and will help organizations efforts to decrease greenhouse gasses. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which COMMITS its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. From United Nation web: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

Abortion in America States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Abortion in America States - Research Paper Example There are various reasons why women in America have abortion. These reasons range from a variety of factors including economic status, age, social and marital status. This paper holds the view that abortion should be legalized and women should be allowed to have abortions as long as they choose to, rather than being forced to keep unplanned pregnancies. Therefore, the decision to continue or to end a pregnancy should be personal (Webmd.com, 1). According to religious views, abortion is a bad thing, which is punishable before God and hence should not be allowed. It is morally bad and contrary to the will of God to take a life – killing of the fetus. According to the Biblical context, life begins at conception, and therefore the conceived fetus becomes a living thing with the right to life like any other human being. Moreover, over the years, abortion has been considered an immoral act and against many cultural beliefs and values. Therefore, when one is suspected to have done abortion, she is at a high risk of facing rejection in the community. Abortion is also considered immoral because it affects the health of the woman leading to serious mental problems. Women who have previously had abortion have been associated with post abortion syndrome where she becomes traumatized and stressed while others experience serious psychological disturbance (Lee, 19-20). Lee further points out that, feelings of shame, anger and guilt against the doctor and people who suggested abortion are said to accompany women after abortion. Other problems like grief, weeping, depression, self-pity, withdraw from others, sleeplessness, nightmares, and eating problems have been associated with women after abortion. Other women end up into drug abuse as a relief for stress. Drug abuse may however lead to other problems like loss of job, divorce or separation and accidents. All these problems interfere with the health and welfare of the woman (Lee, 20-21). Abortion leads to physical complications. Uterine perforations, pain, bleeding, serious infection, hemorrhage, incomplete abortions and cervical lacerations and injury are some of the reported physical complications with the risk of the complications being dependent on the abortion procedure undertaken. Breast cancer, premature delivery, sterility and placenta previa complications in the future pregnancies are th e long-term physical consequences of abortion leading to prenatal death, low birth weight and maternal morbidity. In addition, many cases of deaths resulting from abortion have been reported in America. This was a study done between 1973, when abortion was made legal nationwide to 2004 (Gaul, 1). Despite the above arguments against abortion, I strongly believe that it is helpful and of great value, and that the law should legalize it. This is because it helps to save a woman’s life in case of complicated pregnancies, for instance, when a woman becomes pregnant with more than one fetus, which mostly happens due to the use of fertility drugs or fertility procedure like IVF. Because of this, a woman may end up becoming pregnant with even as many fetuses as six or more. This increases the risk of both the woman’s life as well as that of the fetuses as it can lead to premature birth or expose the mother to many other health-associated problems. When such a condition occurs, both the woman and the physicians are presented into a dilemma because they want to preserve the life of the woman and at the same time, want to take good care of the

Management - Integrative Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management - Integrative - Term Paper Example There are usually two types of organizational change: Initiated or planned change and unplanned or reactive change. The first one refers to a situation where there is a deliberate adoption of new processes and methods of operations. In regard to managerial view of planned change, it originates from the individual who has experience in the particular day-to-day operations and, therefore, is the proposer of the change and implementer as well (Hughes, 2006). Unplanned or reactive change is one which occurs spontaneously and which does undergo a conscious and rational process for its implementation. It is also critical to understand that change within an organization can be both internally and externally generated. As such, the approach towards organizational change management seems to be varied and the complexity within such approaches varies depending on the nature of the situation and the human relations therein (Hayes, 2010). The subsequent discussion shall focus on organized change and change management processes within the organization. Discussion Building the guiding team The importance of the organizational role in achieving its own objectives cannot be stressed enough. The organization’s role is heavily dependent on the ability to attain cohesion within the efforts of individuals, teams and management within the organization. The two authors collectively address themselves to this concern, highlighting its ever-growing importance within the global trade. Kotter and Cohen (2002) place emphasis on the people’s quality and the ability to create cohesive efforts within the change-led team. It identifies and elaborates the role of human impact in change management as irreplaceable. Firstly, the proposals for such alterations in the mode of organizational operations are intimated by the person(s) in charge of the operational function, i.e., the person who actively and directly engages in that level of activity is the identifier of more efficient wa ys of performing the role, thus proposes the changes for evaluation. Secondly, the proposed change(s) needs be assessed in light of the impact on people. Change is likely to elicit resistance from members in the organization. This is one of the prime challenges for managers in the introduction and managing change in the firm (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2007). Getting the vision right However, the authors take two different approaches in examining this concept. According to Ivancevich et al. (2011), the global approach focuses on individual behavior within the organizational setting in response to setting â€Å"right† organizational goals. Kotter and Cohen (2002) address the global trade question by focusing on how change can be effected within the organization to better increase their capacity to handle the emergent global business environment through an eight-step process. The problem with the former strategy lies in its simplification of goal setting within the organization. I n practice, however, organizations are faced with a multiplicity of goals; some of which may be in direct conflict with each other (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2011). Similarly, the dominant challenge in the latter’s approach is its assumption that effective change management is a process that can be effected at will within the organization (by management) towards the desired direction and objectives. Additionally,

Humans are rational. Critically discuss the theoretical and empirical Essay

Humans are rational. Critically discuss the theoretical and empirical evidence from psychology for and against this assertion - Essay Example These biases, such as confirmation bias, anchoring, base rate neglect and overconfidence, make up the first section of this essay. The biases are present in behavioral economics, which dictates that humans will behave in a way that is efficient for them in an economic sense, and this makes up the second portion of this essay. There is some indication that humans can be rational when it comes to domain specific tasks – such as exposing cheating or enforcing social contracts. Because of this, more study should be done regarding other domain specific tasks to indicate if there are pockets of rationality in other domain specific areas. Moreover, there is considerable thought that the irrational nature that is detected on the tests could be the result of something other than irrationality at work – such as poorly worded tests, computational errors, incorrect norms being applied, or inattention of the participants. Therefore, it is possible that humans are not as irrational a s these tests might presume. This analysis makes up the third and last portion of this essay. Discussion Reasoning is a part of cognition, which is virtually wholly made up of using inference. There is some question of whether or not reasoning has a separate cognitive system unto itself, or whether or not it is merely a part of the whole of cognition (Manktelow & Chung, 2004, p. 66). That said, reasoning must be distinguished from intuition. The main difference between reason and intuition is that reasoning is done deliberately and consciously, while intuition springs forth from the mind in a spontaneous fashion, without effort or a conscious search (Kahneman, 2003, p. 1450). Thus, when a person is doing an income tax form, he is using reasoning; when that same person revolts at eating a piece of chocolate that is the shape of a cockroach, that person is working from intuition (Kahneman, 2003, p. 1450). Reasoning is a function that is only in the higher order beings, as there has be en no evidence that reasoning is present in animals or children who are pre-verbal (Mercier & Sperber, p. 3). There are three basic types of reasoning, according to Samuels et al. (2004). They are descriptive, which describes how humans actually reason; normative, which describes how humans should reason; and evaluative, which describes the difference between how humans actually reason and how they should reason. In other words, there is an assumed standard that has been established by the normative project, so researchers interested in the evaluative project are interested in finding out how actual reasoning fit the assumed standard (Samuels et al., 2004, p. 1). These are the bases of deciding whether humans are rational or irrational – does their reasoning fit what is normative? If this is the case, then rationality can be presumed, for this would mean that the individual is making decisions that benefit him or herself. There are a series of normative rules that prescribe h ow humans should behave. One of these is cancellation, which means that a human will eliminate â€Å"any state of the world that yields the same results, regardless of one’s choice† (Tverskey & Kahneman, 1986, p. s252). Cancellation is important because only one state will be realized, which makes it easy to evaluate the other options separately for each state. Transivity is another rule, which means that each option in an

Jury Decision-making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jury Decision-making - Case Study Example After the authenticity of DNA evidence had been proved, many judgements have been overturned and one such famous case is The Case of the Winchester Three, (1990) where three Irish people were sentenced for 25 years of imprisonment for the murder of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Tom King. Eye witnesses had spotted them in the crime scene and they had money, a second hand car, a radio, a woolly hat, a list of prominent British people and also had false name driving licences. Jury relied on eye witness evidence and any reasonable jury could do so and in this case it eventually proved to be a miscarriage of justice. Even though it was not Actus reus, it was easy to convince the jury. "An eyewitness who has no motive to lie is a powerful form of evidence for jurors, especially if the eyewitness appears to be highly confident about his or her recollection. In the absence of definitive proof to the contrary, the eyewitness's account is generally accepted by police, prosecutors, j udges, and juries" says Wells (2006). Wells and Loftus (1984, p. 1), mention the bewildering case of Robert Dillen, a freelance photographer, who was charged with indecent exposure for relieving himself in the park bushes, after ascertaining that the public lavatory was locked. Unfortunately, his photo was published and identified by many eye witnesses as the man who conducted rape, armed robbery, kidnapping etc. in various cases. Fortunately, his strong alibis and the weakness of eye witnesses convinced the jury otherwise, and he was released every time. This shows that people can feel convinced that they saw the accused and they are absolutely sure that even a lie test fails to point out. Psychological studies have proved that it is possible to convince a person that he has witnessed something that had never happened. A confluence of memory combined with complexly operating socially influential alternatives could be responsible in eye witnessing errors and courts should consider them from every angle. "The eight factors that have been shown to affect identification accuracy, disguise of robber, weapon focus, violence of robbery, retention interval, exposure, to mug shots, biased line-up instructions, line-up size, and fairness of the line-up, had trivial effects on probability ratings and on verdicts" Culter et al (1988). Sometimes eyewitness confidence and accuracy are very poorly related and the memory of the face that could go through changes in the mind of the witness, and this shows that vibrant psychological effects are behind eyewitness evidence. Cultler concludes one of his researches: "This research provides some justification for admitting expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification. The juror apparently does not evaluate eyewitness memory in a manner consistent with psychological theory and findings." Cutler (1990). In one of his researches, Kassin concludes: "Clearly, participants distinguished between a voluntary and coerced confession. Yet at the same time, the presence of any confession powerfully increased the conviction rate-even when it was seen as coerced, even when

APPLIED RESEARCH METHODS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

APPLIED RESEARCH METHODS - Essay Example The proponent will discuss concisely the research aims and objectives. Next to this, the proponent will show related and significant literature that may add up insight to the subject of the research. Then next to this will be the discussion of research methodology. It is through this that the proponent will detail the needed structure in order to work out the research and obtain substantial information. The other important part will be data analysis. It is through this that the proponent will analyse the data gathered in order to come up with important information as the main contribution of the entire research. Finally, ethical issues would also be included in the research. This is to ensure that the entire research process is conducted with strong emphasis on ethical considerations so as to come up with Research Aims and Objectives In this section, the proponent will discuss in general what the research is all about. Thus, the proponent will present the general aim of the research and that this research is in line with the investigation on how the channels of communication with employees might be improved in a multi national organisation. Next to this, the proponent will discuss a little background about the importance of communication in an organisation that especially deals with manpower. This will give substantial idea on the proposed objectives of the study. The following discussion is considered the background of the study that will serve as opening thoughts as far as the introduction of objectives is concerned. Communication is important because it is through this that an organisation will succeed in dealing with employees and all other aspects in the operation. Communication is one of the most important applications in the operation because it is having this that every detail in the operation will substantially be implemented. For instance, if the vision is not clear among employees, then the company will end up being hopeless in achieving its objectiv es may it be in the short-term or long-term run. In fact, communication both in its verbal and non-verbal forms is important in the operation on a daily basis because there is a real need to do so in order to interact with employees, customers and everyone in an organisation. Thus, it is important that the most effective and efficient channels of communication should be chosen especially in a multi-national companies. The only possible way to effectively improve the channels of communication that are integrated in the multinational company is to evaluate it in the first place. Such evaluation should be essentially done among the users. Thus, it is important that this study must emphasise that one of the best options is to conduct evaluation on the current channels of communication used in a multinational company. Thus, the following objectives should be included in the research process. 1. To choose a multinational company where channels of communication will be evaluated. 2. To eva luate the channels of communication in that certain organisation based on the employees feedback. 3. To evaluate the channels of communication based on their accuracy and efficiency. 4. To present a detailed conclusion and recommendation on how the channels of communication in a certain organisation might be improved. The above objectives imply that the general objective for this research is to actually choose an organisation to be

Holy Trinity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Holy Trinity - Essay Example Lastly, the Holy Trinity is â€Å"immutable and unalterable forever† (Knight). This implies that nothing can ever destroy the Holy Trinity and that it can never be destroyed or the Three Persons ever be separated. The proofs of the Holy Trinity are found in both the Old and New Testaments but mostly in the latter, although these proofs are rather implied than stated directly. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states after His Resurrection, â€Å"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit† (Mt. 28:19, New American Standard Bible). This passage clearly implies the distinction between the Three Persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the fact that the conjunction â€Å"and† connects the names of these Three Persons somehow ascribe to them a sense of equality in terms of Godhood. All three therefore are One God. Moreover, the three words that precede the nam es of the Three Persons – â€Å"in the name† – somehow implies and affirms the God nature of not only one but all these Three Persons. Thus, the Father is not the only Person in One God but also the Son and the Holy Spirit. ... On the other hand, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity – the Holy Spirit – is mentioned by Jesus Christ Himself in the Gospel of Luke: â€Å"†¦the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say† (Lk. 12:12). Moreover, Jesus mentions the Holy Spirit again in the Gospel of John: â€Å"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jn. 15:26). These aforementioned passages imply only one thing – that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, and that He is always mentioned to have a divine connection with the Father and the Son. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, however, met with several oppositions from various individuals as well as other Christian denominations. The first of these oppositions was from the Alexandrian priest named Arius in the year 325. His proposed doctrine, which was known as Arianism , denied the doctrine of the Holy Trinity on the grounds that â€Å"personal distinctions were not eternally present within the nature of God† (Dorman). Moreover, according to Arius, â€Å"Before time began, the Father had created the Son by the power of the Word to be His agent in creation† (Dorman). Thus, for Arius, the idea of the Son being created by the Father means that the Son must not be identified with the Godhead. As a creation of the Father, the Son is therefore, although created before the world, lacks the divine nature of the Father and is therefore NOT equal to Him (Schaff). This heresy, however, was condemned at the ecumenical Council of Constantinople in the year 381 (â€Å"The Doctrine of the Trinity†). The one who faced Arius and the Arians in opposition was Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria during the 4th century

Consumer Behavior Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Consumer Behavior - Research Paper Example It was primarily responsible for introducing smartphones to the public. This product made consumers realise that they could browse the web, communicate and do several other things on their mobile phones. It was after the Apple iPhone that the mobile app market rose to its current status. Apple was not the engineer or pioneer of mobile applications or smart phones; however, they were responsible for introducing it to the mass market. Through their elegant presentation, gracious store atmosphere, and well planned innovations, the company has garnered a loyal following from electronic and mobile enthusiasts alike (Sass 2). Every time Apple launches a new version of the IPhone, hoards of consumers will be waiting in line at any of their stores for the purchase of its products. Sometimes, buyers may camp outside their branches overnight. The organisation may get pre-orders for about 2 million iphones within the first hour of release. For the past five years, the same hype has been created around Apple’s products, and it looks like this trend will continue in the foreseeable future. As explained earlier, clanning is a phenomenon that takes place among consumers who share similar values and interests. Part of the reason why Apple products create a lot of excitement is the fact that they bring together persons with similar interests. When one consumer was asked why they would wait for hours in line in order to buy an iPhone, the person replied that it is an opportunity to meet people who have the same passion. The company has a community of enthusiasts who simply enjoy being part of something new and exciting. They thrive in the anticipation and suspense created around a new product launch. Apple is well aware of this consumer behaviour, thus explaining why it always creates a lot of secrecy around its launches (Vuong 6). The organisation never tells buyers how many phones it has stocked in order to create suspense.

GE cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

GE cases - Essay Example Crotonville is basically a business oriented university for GE Company. It is at times referred to as the John F. Welch Leadership Development Center (Nikravan, 2011, p. 38). It has attained a wide recognition over the past years due to its commitment to excellence in management and leadership development of employees. Besides, it is also known for sharing the best leadership practices and values throughout the world. Crotonville therefore enables organizations to look positively towards the future thereby making them to gain a competitive advantage. This is attained through the exchange of knowledge with consumers, suppliers and associates. Comparatively, Crotonville has been seen to improve the present and future managers. For instance, it has introduced a cultural diversity framework hence spreading the main corporate inventiveness all over GE. This also enables the managers to interact and gain more experience. The absolute mission of Crotonville is to â€Å"invent, detect and transfer organizational knowledge† (Fulmer & Goldsmith, 2000, p.60) in order to enhance the growth and competence of GE’s employees all over the world. From this, it can be ascertained that Crotonville has multiple duties and purposes to GE. First of all, it educates the employees. This is achieved through the provision of executive development programs which focuses on leadership, management, change, stigmatization and the company’s key initiatives among other aspects. Secondly, it is a tool or channel that GE uses to communicate and strengthen its values with the general stakeholders of the company. For instance, it offers programs and sessions with key customers that enable them not only to succeed, but to improve the customer relations as well. Examples of these programs could include customer briefings, change management, adaptation, and integration. Equally important, Crotonville acts as a link to transmitting the best

A Rhetorical Analysis Paper Essay Example for Free

A Rhetorical Analysis Paper Essay DR. Michael Hawes gave an informative speech on Economics, politics, pipelines and the election: as well as Canada-US relations in an increasingly complex world. He used a PowerPoint to portray his ideas and talked about topics such as roots of Canadian foreign policy, the rising impact of the U.S, free trade and North American integration, and diversification. His speech wasn’t that interesting to younger adult’s such as me because he talked a lot about politics but he was very funny keeping me entertained which is always a plus. He established a clear central thesis, although he said â€Å"this is my central thesis† and established his main points. He transitioned into each point individually and took time to explain each concept it took a long time but he didn’t shy away from all the details. Dr. Michael Hawes speech was credible because he is a professor of political science, a tireless advocate of international education, and a proud alumnus of the fullbright program. He assumed the leadership of Fulbright Canada in September of 2001 and has had the privilege of directing the program through some very exciting times. He is Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America, Executive Director of the Canada U.S. Fulbright Program, and Executive Director of the Killam Fellowships Program. Under his direction Fulbright Canada has witnessed dramatic growth in its programs and in the number of students and scholars that the program supports. DR. Michael Hawes appealed to the audience because he took his time to explain he concept he was talking about with full detail. He used statistics sparingly but with great effect because they were such interesting statistics. He was funny and made the audience laugh several times during his speech. He used a PowerPoint as a visual aid to we could clearly see the trends he was talking about and to see things visually which is always a plus. He appealed to me as a very funny but profession man who wasn’t just some stiff figure who made me fall to sleep. His body got pretty dull during the end though after the talk of politics and relations though. DR. Michael Hawes appealed to my emotions as well as the other audience members I believe because of his style. He didn’t stand at the podium and talk he actually came down at one point and still talked to us. He gave real and true eye contact. He showed passion and enthusiasm for the topics he was talking about and answered peoples questions at the end he didn’t understand one of the questions and you could tell but he still gave a pretty good answer to whatever he though the question was. In conclusion Dr. Michael Hawes I believe was a very good speaker one thing I didn’t like though was the PowerPoint and how he had to look at it to explain some of the concepts because it cut his connection with the audience. I left feeling good about the speech I just saw though maybe just a little bit tired though because it was long. I did learn a lot though from his presentation which was really nice, I also wanted to read up more about what he was talking and learn more about the topics he talked about after I got back to my dorm.

Customer Loyalty Schemes in Automotive Sector

Customer Loyalty Schemes in Automotive Sector The creation of customer loyalty in the automotive sector Marketers push for brand loyalty, across all product ranges, from toothpaste to larger purchases such as a new car. Within the automobile industry there is little product differences in each segment, as partnerships, coalitions and takeovers bind manufacturers together. Each manufacturer is striving to obtain brand loyalty, not only at the point of purchase, through servicing the vehicle, supply parts and encouraging repurchases. This adds value to the organisation, and increases profits. Loyalty schemes have been a success in supermarkets and other retail outlets, can this form of marketing be transferred to the automotive industry. This paper sets out to review the current literature of the subject, discuss what loyalty schemes the automotive industry offers its customers, and to focus on one Manufacturer Volvo. Volvo have in the last decade turned around flagging sales, this was achieved through placing a higher value on their customers, who responded by increased usage of their service departments. 3.0 Introduction The ultimate obtainment for marketers would be for complete brand loyalty, across all product ranges, from toothpaste to larger purchases such as a new car. Although without any brand loyalty, organisations could not survive. So is it possible to increase brand loyalty through schemes that target the consumer? One of the hardest areas to increase brand loyalty is the automotive industry. Manufacturers are constantly offering discounts, free insurance, sales and other packages to attract new customers and to resell to existing consumers. Consumers expect a good service and deal as it will be their second largest purchase (a house being the first). The result of partnerships, coalitions and takeovers in the automobile industry has bonded manufacturers together. This has left very little product differentiation, with more marketing on the brand than product. Manufacturers have to look for different methods to attract customers. Each manufacturer is motivated to obtain brand loyalty, not only at the point of purchase, through servicing the vehicle, supply parts and encouraging repurchases. This adds value to the organisation, and increases profits. The added value can be the emotional tie the customer has with the brand. Customer loyalty is not a new notion, although it is now the focus of many PR actioners, retaining existing customers is more important than attracted new. If you lose your core customers a higher level of resources is required to maintain the same level of sales. Therefore it’s vital to maintain loyal customers to utilise economies of scales. Loyalty schemes have been a success in supermarkets and other retail outlets. Some schemes involve several brands collaborating to give the consumer a choice of where to spend. The question is can this form of marketing be transferred to the automotive industry. This paper sets out to review the current literature of the subject, discuss in general what loyalty schemes the automotive industry offers its customers, and to focus then on one Manufacturer Volvo. Volvo was chosen for this research as an example of using customer loyalty as a change agent to turn the organisation around. Brand loyalty is very strong with Volvo, although this did not correlate with the dealerships. Volvo has introduced methods to increase loyalty with their dealerships. They have taken loyalty a step further and strengthen all supply chains Volvo traditionally had a strong brand recognition, but went sales went into decline the organisation had to re-focus on core values. The methods that Volvo used to build the brand and to increase customer loyalty will be discussed, comparing them to the literature. We are loyal to brands; our degree differs as to how we value the closeness of the product. Can this be influence by strong marketing tactics? With such a large purchase as a vehicle can the manufacturers sway our opinion, or do we remain loyal to what we know and trust? 4.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the research methods used for the project and the justification for the choice of methods. It discusses methods that were not used, with justification of why they were not included. Included is a critique of methods selected, and with hindsight identifies any changes that would have enhanced the research. This paper evaluates brand loyalty within the automobile industry. Selection of the topic was stimulated and formed out of all manufacturers offering loyalty schemes; therefore could they individual schemes succeed. The nature of the research was discussed with colleagues and fellow students this not only added practical ideas and suggestions, it opened new avenues of thought. This was the discussed with lecturers sounding out ideas, gauging opinions and clarifying the question. Focusing in on the question was obtained by employing relevance trees, narrowing the research area. This gave direction tithe research, although with reviewing the literature this changed several times (Buzan, J. 1995). Next, a research proposal was compiled, with the benefit of organising ideas and setting a time-scale for research. Theoretically, the proposal would highlight any difficulties with the research question and access to data. Creating a time-scale would focus on targets and meet deadlines in the completion of the paper. The literature review, discussing theories and ideas that exist on the topic formed the foundation of the paper. The findings from the research are then tested on theories for validity (Saunders, M. et al1997). The literature review was challenging, there is very little academic research specifically on the topic area, although is a lot of research in the wider markets for example Supermarket loyalty schemes. Journals and books were the back bone for the review, together with internet sites. Tertiary data sources, such as library catalogues and indexes were used to scan for secondary data. This produced journals and newspaper articles, books and Internet addresses. With the amount of literature, it took time to sort out relevant material to the research. Narrowing down the search Bell’s (1993) six point’s parameters was applied. Applying key words that were identified in the first search produced relevant and up-to-date material (Bell, J.1993). A limitation on the literature search was the amount of time to read all articles and books on the subject. Whilst reviewing the literature references to other publications were followed and reviewed. Bells checklist on identifying the relevance of literature found was a practical method to reduce the amount of reading (Bell, J. 1993). Ethical considerations in research fall into three categories, during design, collection, and reporting of the data. These areas were carefully considered at all stages of the research (Oppenheim,A.1996:84). The data sought throughout the research should remain within the scope of the project (Saunders, M. et al 1997). Case studies of organisations that through varying factors have use customer loyalty schemes to improve market share have been reviewed and compared to the literature. The case studies discuss the organisations strategy in the use of the data they have collected. This information was gathered from secondary data and their web sites. To produce primary data on brand loyalty within the automobile industry proved to be a vast task, taking a lot of time to produce results. Internal and external operations of several organisations would have tube compared to reach any level of validity. Instead it was decide to review previously published case studies, interviews and surveys. This was then compared to the literature review. Other methods of data collection were considered and rejected. Focus groups would have offered free flowing information. This could have been facilitated with discussion led by the researcher. The idea was rejected due to the limited resources. The major limitation of the study lies in its relatively small sample size and the limited coverage. This was mainly attributable to the limited time and other resources available for the study. 5.0 Literature review This chapter will review and discuss all the relevant published material on brand loyalty. This starts of wide to gain insight into brands and the theory that has driven brand loyalty. 5.1 Brands Kotler (2000) described a brand as a â€Å"name, term, symbol, or design (oar combination of them) which is intended to signify the goods or services of the seller or groups of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the competitors† (Kotler (2000) cited in Groucutt, J etal 2004:275). The brand is part of the products tangible features, it’s the verbal and physical clues that help the consumer identify what they want and to influence choice (Groucutt, J et al 2004). The actual word â€Å"brand† is derived from a Norse word which means to â€Å"burn†. It is assumed that this means to imprint ideas or symbols on product. This then gives the product identification and leaves lasting mark on the consumer (Groucutt, J et al 2004). Because product features are easily imitated brands have been considered a marketers major tool for creating product differentiation. Even when differentiation based on product characteristics is possible, often consumers do not feel motivated oracle to analyse them in adequate depth. Therefore the combination of brand name and brand significance has become a core competitive asset in an ever-growing number of contexts. Brands incite beliefs, evoke emotions and prompt behaviours (Aaker, D. (1991) cited in Kotler, Pand Gertner, D. 2002:249). The brand in the automobile industry is of great importance, purchasing vehicle is a status indicator for the consumer. Manufactures brand their vehicles to attract the target audience; the next step is retaining the customer to the brand. This is not just for repurchase, there is great value in retaining the customer to the brand through out the life of their purchase (Kottler, P et al . 2005). 5.0 Global Brands There are very few car manufactures products that are not a global brand. Their appeal can span in a multitude of markets. Each manufactures portfolio is designed to attract a wide audience. The rapid development of telecommunication and strong consuming capability of youth have created common demands, tastes and values globally in last two or three decades, which thus has driven international marketers to increasingly focus on the importance of global brands. In recent years, global branding has not only taken root, its in full bloom. As Peter Doyle (1998:165) said: Brands area the heart of marketing and business strategy The purpose of marketing is to create a preference for the companys brand. The trend towards global branding, moreover, is accelerating rapidly. Successful global brands are powerful to obtain a number of benefits. Consumers are willing to pay a premium price for global brands; they imply credibility, high quality and up-to-date global trend. To the consumers, brand choice somewhat reflects a certain lifestyle, taste, image or even social status beyond the product. If they feel the brand fits into this category, theyll not only prefer it, but are also willing to a higher price for it. Consumers perceive added values, it’s the the subjective beliefs of the customers (Doyle 1998:168). Global branding can benefit the organisation by considerably cut costs, not only because of the significant scales of economy it achieved(Aaker 2000:306) in terms of new brand development, packaging and manufacturing, but also because with global reputations can enter new markets at lower cost than new national brands: if you move into a Newmarket with a brand that is already global in scope, it reduces the cost of introductory and follow-up marketing programs. Suppliers and distributors obtain a comparatively stable marketing environment and can obtain higher profit, with less risk by trading as business partners with global brands. Therefore companies that market global brands posses’ powerful trade leverage, in bargaining with for efficient service and lower costs, they have more options on choosing its suppliers and retailers. Although there are many advantages to a global brand, each area has tube considered as an individual market. Firstly, culture and custom difference can lead to market difference, which enhance the difficulty of growth of global brand. To meet the different preference of consumers in different countries, global brand may have to adjust its marketing strategy accordingly and customise products. Secondly, localisation and increase in nationalism to some extent may resist the marketing development of global brands. Thirdly, the political factories considered as another main barrier to global brand. Last but not least, along with the technology improvement and product innovation, the rise of local competitors is becoming an inevitable threat to global brand. 5.3 Brand Building Once a brand is established it requires nurturing, to bring out the full potential and add value to the organisation. Kashia (1999) believes that powerful brands are built over time through a conscious management effort. This is achieved through strategic decision making and appropriate actions. All brands â€Å"need tube based on values and attributes that are permanent and, purposeful and fundamental to its strategy† (Kashia (1999) cited in Groucutt, Jet al 2004:285). Therefore by creating such values in an organisation it will provide direction and a future for the brand. A brand with strong â€Å"brand equity† is a valuable asset to an organisation. This asset is difficult to measure; although it has emerged as key strategic asset. A powerful brand enjoys a high level of consumer awareness and loyalty, with the organisation benefiting from lower marketing costs relative to revenues. Consumers expect more outlets to carry strong brands; therefore the organisation has more leverage when bargaining with retailers. This all adds to the â€Å"brands equity†, which needs to be managed by the organisation (Kotler, P. etal 2005). This brand asset management is a concept that is closely related to positioning, since certain brands are central to a companys current and future performance. They need to be managed, enhanced and protected as assets. This allows brand names like Coca-Cola, Sony, Intel and Disney to extend into new product categories, and produce product variants and services (Kotler, P. 2004). Brand asset management is an area of increasing importance to marketers today, particularly as organisations move toward attempts to communicate ever complex and intangible messages, as part of brand management strategies (Davis, 2000; Goodchild and Callow, 2001). Brand managers are concerned with how to develop a better understanding of the appropriate relationship between brand equity and customer loyalty, particularly in relation to the multitude of known variables to customer loyalty (Davis, (2000) Goodchild and Callow (2001) cited in Taylor, S. et al 2004:219). It is vital that marketers position the brand correctly, and consider the fit with its attributes, values, culture, benefits, and personality. For example Mercedes suggests that it attributes are â€Å"well engineered and well built, it is durable, high prestige, fast and expensive†. These attributes tell the consumer the benefits and values that are placed in the product. These attributes represent the German philosophy and culture, which reassures the consumer the high value of the product. The personality of the product is wealthy, well-built and reliable (Kotler, P. 2005). Within the Motor Industry it is difficult to extend products without inexpensive development and launch of a new vehicle, although continual research and development are vital to maintaining market position. Many manufacturers have extended their brands by introducing for example clothing, toys, consumables and sporting equipment. These are retailed mainly through their network of dealerships, utilising economies of scale. These items are inclusive to them, adding value to the products(Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). The emerging literature suggests that customer brand loyalty is generally considered the ultimate desirable marketing-based outcome from strategic marketing activities (Chaudhuri, (1999) Gwinner et al.,(1998); Kumar, (1999) Mittal and Lassar (1998) Reichfeld and Schefter,(2000) Strauss and Friege, (1999) Kotler (1999) have all published article that point to loyalty as the ultimate attainment in marketing. This assertion is largely based on the growing influence of the relationship marketing orientation on marketing theory and practice (Taylor, S. et al 2004:219) 5.4 Brand Loyalty Brands have a personality and speak for the user. They enhance the perceived utility and desirability of a product. Brands have the ability to add to or subtract from the perceived value of a product. On one hand, consumers expect to pay lower prices for unbranded products or for those with low brand equities. On the other hand, they pay premiums for their treasured or socially valued brands. Brands have equity for both customers and investors. Brand equity translates into customer preference, loyalty and financial gains. Brands are appraised and traded in the marketplace. Brand equity has been pointed out to include many dimensions, such as performance, social image, value, trustworthiness and identification (Kotler, P and Gertner, D. 2002) The four types of brand loyalty are characterised as (1) No loyalty: No purchase at all, and a complete lack of attachment to the brand, no social influences to be even cognitively loyal to a brand. (2) Covetous loyalty: No purchase but, unlike the case of no loyalty, the individual exhibits a very high level of relative attachment to the brand as well as a strong positive predisposition towards the brand, which is developed from the social environment. (3) Inertia loyalty: An individual, although purchasing the brand, does so out of habit, convenience or for some other reason, but not as a consequence of emotional attachment to the brand or a real social motive. (4) Premium loyalty: An individual exhibits a high degree of relative attachment tithe brand, a high instance of repeat purchases, and appears to be highly influenced by social pressure. Premium loyalty is characterised by the greatest degree of consumer attachment to the brand, and in this case the consumer purposefully see ks to purchase the particular brand, while attempting to overcome obstacles (Gounaris, S. and Stathakopoulos, V. 2004). Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) proposed a model of brand loyalty that suggests that purchase loyalty tends to lead to greater market share, while attitudinal loyalty leads to higher relative brand pricing. Morgan (2000) suggests that the term loyal can be interpreted indifferent ways, ranging from affective loyalty (what I feel) to behavioural loyalty (what I do)†. Thus separating loyalty into emotional and actionable (Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) and Morgan(2000) cited in Taylor, S. et al 2004:221). There are different levels of trust that affect brand loyalty, they are(1) calculus-based trust, the consumer believes it is in the service provider interest are not to suffer the loss of reputation and profits(2) Knowledge-based trust, as the name suggests, is based on knowing the service firm well and being able to anticipate its actions. Effective two-way communication is important for knowledge-based trust to develop because it ensures that the parties exchange information about their preferences and approaches to problems. (3) Customers with identification-based trust have full confidence in the service company and believe that it will act in their best interests. The service provider has in-depth knowledge of customers needs and desires, and customers perceive that their desires are fulfilled, and they shared values (Liljander, V. and Roos, I. 2002) In terms of brand purchase expectations, the implicit assumption is that a satisfied customer will remain loyal to the brand (all other factors being equal). In the modern automotive marketing environment, this is indeed a fair assumption to make. The degree of price competition at the retail level is so intense that, when factoring in discounts, rebates and low interest finance rates, price parity inevitably results. Furthermore, the growing oligopolisation of the manufacturing industry (e.g. Ford owning/controlling Jaguar, Mazda,Volvo and Aston Martin) and co-operation between manufacturers (e.g.Ford/VW, Ford/Nissan, GM/Toyota) has resulted in few, if any, sustainable product differences (Liljander, V. and Roos, I. 2002) Is brand loyalty resistance to change? The literature accepts that commitment is central to relationship marketing. There is a link between commitment, trust and loyalty. Pritchard et al. (1999) define commitment as â€Å"the emotional or psychological attachment to a brand†. They argue that resistance to change is the root tendency of commitments well as the primary evidence of commitment, and that resistance to change is a key antecedent to loyalty (Pritchard et al. (1999) cited in Taylor, S. et al 2004:221). 5.5 Relationship Marketing Organisations should build a stronger relationship with their profitable customers. There are five different levels of relationship marketing that can be practiced. The basic level does not really involve building a relationship, for example it is when a car salesperson smiles and sells you a car and waves good-bye as you drive it off the lot. You never see him again; if you need service you talk to someone in the service department. Very few auto dealership systems succeed in building such a strong bond between the dealership and the client that the client keeps buying from the same dealership (Kotler,P. 1992:52). Reactive marketing is the next level of relating. At this level, as the salesperson wave’s good-bye to the customer, he says, By the way, if there’s any problem, please call me. You dont have to call the service department; I am responsible for your satisfaction The employee has taken on some of the responsibility of managing the customer’s needs(Kotler, P. 1992:52). A higher form of relationship is accountability. At this level, the salesperson calls the new car owner within two weeks of the sale and asks how he likes the car, and if there is any way the car could have been better. Those salespeople often get an earful. The customer might say, I wish the door had a pocket for maps. I wish there was a rear window wiper. At that point, the dealer should ask, How much would it have been worth to you if the car did have a map pocket in the door and rear window wiper? That type of information will help the automobile manufacturer continuously improve its product (Kotler, P. 1992:52). Still, a higher level is proactive, where the salesperson will call the customer from time to time and say The manufacturer has developed product that will help you save fuel, its something we can add to your engine and it will reduce your fuel costs. Customers get a sense that the company still is interested in their needs. Partnerships are the ultimate form of relationship marketing. They involve actually living with the customer and are mostly confined to business-to-business relationships (Kotler, P. 1992:52). Each level requires more cost, so it is important for organisations to determine when it is worth going to the next level. Two dimensions that are particularly critical are the margin that the firm makes on the business and the number of customers making purchases. For example, allow-margin business with many customers, for example selling toothpaste would operate at the basic level. The organisation has so many customers for that product and makes so little per unit that it would not be cost-effective to develop a high-level relationship (Kotler, P.1992:52). There are five levels of response for each customer service and retention tool. Those levels vary within companies; an organisation might be reactive with respect to technical assistance, accountable with respect to service and basic in terms of value-added. The important thing is to know where your competitors stand, what is their profile with respect to relationship investments, and what things should you do to be superior to the target market. 5.6 Service Quality The organisation has to decide and implement which level of value-added service it will offer its customers. This experience of the customer will reflect in brand loyalty. Relationship marketing strategy will decide the level of service customer will receive. For example on the basic level technical assistance might be a owner’s manual, yet on the reactive level perhaps help line, at the level of accountability, perhaps an occasional visit to the customer to see if the customer is using the product correctly and efficiently(Kotler, P. 1992:52). Training of employees would appropriate at the proactive level. This can offer the customer a higher level of service, making them feel valued by the organisation. Many manufacturers offer in house training to the employees within the dealerships. This not only trains employees to a similar level of customer service skills, it reinforces the brand. The customer’s experience of the brand is uniform across the manufacturer’s network (Kotler, P. 1992:52). Frequently organisations move from one strategic initiative to another with little consideration of their natural progression. This has been the case for many companies that have moved from an emphasis on quality in the 1980s, to customer satisfaction in the early 1990s, to customer loyalty and retention today. Managers proclaim that they have moved beyond quality and customer satisfaction to focus on what really matters, namely loyalty and profitability. Although it is argued that there is â€Å"no such thing as moving beyond quality and satisfaction. They are essential building blocks toward building loyalty and a valuable business organisation.† (Gustafsson, A. and Johnson, M. 2002:249). The service quality perceived by the customer varies across the spectrum. Relationship benefits are perceived advantages that the regular customer receives over and above the core service. These are rewards; the individual has gained over time by being a regular customer. The benefits tie him or her to the company by making it unattractive to switch providers. They may take the form of loyalty programmes, which are offered to all customers, or benefits that can be customised to individual consumers (Liljander, V. and Roos, I. 2002) . This then becomes a relationship benefit, but only when it is not offered to any customer who enters the dealership, regardless of relationship length. However, companies may believe that they are offering benefits, but only customers can tell if they are experiencing any. Therefore the level of service received is subjective (Liljander,V. and Roos, I. 2002) 5.7 Customer Value Customer value management (CVM) has become a major focus in current marketing, as value marketing has become a slogan among marketing practitioners. Sinha, I and DeSarbo, W. (1998) defined this as â€Å"in the marketplace, value often is defined as quality at the right price and is seen as more important to consumers than quality, because value is quality that the consumers can afford (Sinha, I and DeSarbo, W.1998:236). Zeithaml (1988) reports considerable heterogeneity among consumers in the integration of the underlying dimensions of perceived value. They define the perceived value as a trade-off of higher order abstractions, such as perceived benefits and sacrifice, which are formed from both intrinsic and extrinsic product attributes, including texture, quality, price, performance, service, and brand name (Zeithaml(1988) cited in Sinha, I and DeSarbo, W. 1998:236). Zeithaml 1988:236) There is a strong link between relationship marketing and customer value, the higher value placed on the customer will reflect in their purchasing choices. True and spurious relationships are the extreme points on a continuum. At the lower end, customers may be behaviourally committed to the service but satisfaction is only latent. At the higher end, customers are more manifestly satisfied and more affectively committed to the service (Liljander, V. and Roos, I. 2002) Berry (2000) proposed three relationship levels of customer perceived value. These are based on financial, social and structural bonds. Financial bonds, such as loyalty programmes, are considered the weakest form and may only lead to spurious relationships Social and structural bonds are more closely related to true customer relationships. According to Berry (2000), â€Å"structural bonds offer value-adding problem solutions that are not dependent on individual service representatives, and which are difficult for competitors to copy† (Berry (2000) cited inLiljander, V. and Roos, I. 2002:598) 5.8 Customer Loyalty Customer satisfaction can be considered the central determinant in all phases of the contact chain. Multi-dimensional recording of customer loyalty reveals clear differences in the interactions first with brand loyalty and, second, with dealer loyalty. In contrast to the opinion widely held in practice, customers in the automotive sector definitely do not perceive the brand and the dealer as one unit. The results obtained are so fundamental that they can be translated into implications even by internationally operating companies (Huber, F and Herrmann, A 2001) The relationship between the purchase intention and customer satisfaction has been widely investigated (for example, Oliver 1980;Bearden and Teel 1983). The evidence suggests that there is a strong positive relationship between the two. Several of these studies indicate that higher levels of satisfaction lead to greater customer loyalty (Yi (1991); Anderson and Sullivan (1993) Boulding, Staelin,Kalra, and Zeithaml (1993) all cited in Dervaraj, S. et al 2001:425) Consumers who purchase higher quality vehicles expect to receive higher quality service, therefore the assumption is made that poor service will lead to greater dissatisfaction among those that purchase the higher quality vehicles. Conlon, et al (1997) observed that â€Å"customers who purchase higher quality rated vehicles are more likely to use dealer facilities to maintain their vehicles† (Conlon, et al(1997) cited in Dervaraj, S. et al 2001:425) An explanation for such behaviour is that there is a correlation between the perception of vehicle quality and the perception of the quality of service at dealer facilities. Therefore, high customer expectations of service quality can lead to better service performance which, in turn, this positively influences customer satisfaction with service. Therefore in the higher end of the industry there is greater loyalty (Dervaraj, S. et al 2001:425) Oliver (1999) suggests that â€Å"ultimate customer loyalty is a function of perceived product superiority, personal fortitude, social bonding, and their synergistic effects. His arguments generally support the assertion that measures of loyalty that are constrained only to repurchase considerations fail to capture the richness of the loyalty construct â€Å" (Oliver (1999)cited in Taylor, S. et al 2004:219). If loyalty is essentially an irrational and emotional attachment to product, service or business, then marketers need to focus on elements that create this emotional attachment. In developing a strategy that draws on the irrational attitudes of consumers, brand equity plays an important role. All the elements that contribute to the development of brand equity are difficult to mea

Gender-Based Household Divisions of Labour

Gender-Based Household Divisions of Labour THE DIVISION IN HOUSEHOLD LABOUR  BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN CONTENTS (JUMP TO) Abstract Introduction Literature Review Household Labour Defined The Gender Gap Research Methods Analysis Methods Historic Housework Gender Divisions   Global Housework Gender Divisions Reasons for Gender Gap Methodology Findings Recommendations Conclusion References ABSTRACT This study considers the gender gap in performance of household labour and its change over time, particularly in the last fifty years. Methods that others have used to research and analyse household labour, historic and multi-cultural gender divisions, reasons for the current and historic gender gap from a sociological perspective. This research then determines the most effective methods of data gathering and analysis and examines several studies over the last fifty years to conclude that the gender gap in household work is actually shrinking, albeit more slightly than some contend due to societal changes. Proposals for overcoming the disparity in household labour performance are assessed from a variety of published literature. Conclusions are drawn regarding the most likely factors affecting changes to the gender gap, namely changes in gender identities from a societal standpoint. Recommendations for further research and actions to further redu ce the housework disparity conclude th e study. INTRODUCTION Almost all research conducted in the past one hundred years has overwhelmingly and consistently supported a disparity between the household labour performed by women and men, with women typically outperforming men both in terms of more distasteful tasks and number of hours by significant margins. Since the beginning of the women’s movement in the 1960s, however, some inroads have been made regarding closing the gap between male and female performance. These must be weighed in light of overall changes in societal expectations and practise of household labour, but do show a trend towards greater egalitarianism in housework performance. This research begins with a thorough consideration of published literature regarding gender division of household labour and how such studies have been conducted and analysed, with reference to historic and multi-cultural gender divisions and sociological reasons for the persistent gender gap in housework performance. A survey of secondary research using the most accurate and informative data gathering methods is then conducted to determine whether the gender gap is indeed closing and if so, why, or whether broader societal and technological changes are merely affecting the performance of housework in general. The study concludes with recommendations for further research and suggestions from both others and the author regarding ways of moving towards a more egalitarian division of household labour performance. LITERATURE REVIEW As it applies directly or indirectly to almost everyone, much research and study has been performed regarding housework, the perceptions of those who perform it, and the assignment of household labour tasks within the home or family. This literature review provides a brief survey of some of these studies. An overview of the gender gap will be followed by six broad areas of consideration. First, the various methods by which housework study is conducted will be examined, as claims of inaccuracy are rampant for certain research methods. Similar consideration of different ways of analysing and interpreting this data follows. An overview of historic housework assignment, with particular focus on gender divisions and Britain, includes information stretching back several hundred years but concentrates on the previous century through the present, when statistical analysis and similar data began to be generated. Views of housework and gender division of tasks in other countries allow for a mo re holistic consideration of the topic. Finally, reasons for the gap between performance of household labour between men and women are from various studies are presented, with a number of researchers assertions of ways to overcome such disparity. Household Labour Defined In any study of household labour, also referred to as simply housework in this research, it is first beneficial to define what is meant by or included in the term. Some studies, for example, include only inside household tasks such as cleaning and cooking, excluding outside work such as gardening and exterior home repairs. Some studies include childcare as a household task; others place it in a separate category or do not include it. Lee and Waite (2005) note some research is based on a more restricted definition of housework, limited to physical tasks such as cleaning, cooking and laundry, whilst some include intangible components of household management, such as providing advice or encouragement, or planning and managing household tasks. For the purpose of this study all non-employment household tasks will be included, grouped broadly into inside and outside tasks, primarily because gender divisions often fall along these categorical divisions. Inside tasks are those performed inside the home, whilst tasks performed outside (yard work, taking out rubbish) fall in the latter category. In addition, based on the work of Coltrane (2000), tasks may be alternatively be considered from the standpoint of routine or occasional as another, and also typical, gender division. Coltrane (2000) defines routine tasks as the most time-consuming and most frequently performed, with little allowance for flexibility in task scheduling. Typical routine tasks include cooking, cleaning, shopping, and laundry. Occasional tasks, in comparison, are not as time-consuming on a daily basis and hence require less frequent performance, allowing more flexibility and discretion in when they are performed. Yard maintenance, home repairs (interior or e xterior), and paying bills are typical occasional tasks. Childcare will be considered in a separate category, although part of the overall household labour workload. This type of grouping is supported by many researchers such as Oakley (1981), Brines (1994), Press and Townsley (1998) and Alenezi and Walden (2004), who include childcare in household labour but place it in a separate category. Child rearing activities, such as bathing, disciplining, and the like may also be separated from recreational activities involving children, such as taking a child to the park or on an outing. In addition, Bianchi et al (2000) note that childcare is also an activity typically done in conjunction with other tasks, such as minding children whilst cooking or cleaning, or helping with homework whilst folding laundry. This is a further consideration when defining time spent and proportional contribution to household functioning. For the purposes of this study, therefore, all tasks involved in the establishment and maintenance of a household, including care for the persons of the household, are considered household labour or housework. Divisions within this household labour are made when specified, typically due to existing or to highlight gender differences between categories. The Gender Gap Current and recent historical culture in Britain and similar Western nations reveals a disparity in the performance of household tasks between women and men. Termed the ‘Gender Gap,’ this difference in housework reflects a much higher proportion of typical tasks performed by women than by men, even in dual-earner situations. Whilst there are other factors contributing to difference in allocation of household work, such as education, culture, and social class, Oakley (1974, 1981), Orbuch and Eyster (1997), Coltrane (2000), Lee (2002), Davis and Greenstein (2004), and Lee and Waite (2005) and many others have determined that gender plays a major role in task and work disparity, and this will be examined more fully under â€Å"Reasons for the Gender Gap† later in this literature review. General explanation of the gap itself is provided in this section of this study. Baxter (2001), after considering a number of studies regarding housework and gender, concludes â€Å"women do a much larger proportion of child care and routine indoor housework tasks than men, regardless of marital status† (19). This is supported by similar reviews of literature by Berk (1985), Ross (1987), Becker (1991), Ferree (1991), Brines (1993), Greenstein (1996), Orbuch and Eyster (1997), Coltrane (2000), Lee (2002), Davis and Greenstein (2004), and Lee and Waite (2005). The number of hours women spend has been declining over time, from over sixty hours per week prior to 1970, as reported by Oakley (1974) and others, to less than twenty in current reports such as Lee and Waite (2005), with men’s hours moving from less than three to nearly ten in some research. However, a substantial gap between men and women’s contributions to household labour still exists, as documented by Lee (2002), Rivià ¨res-pigeon, Saurel-Cubi zolles and Romito (2002), Alvarez and Miles (2003), Davis and Greenstein (2004), Alenezi and Walden (2004), Leonard (2004), Lee and Waite (2005). A gender gap between the types of household tasks performed also remains prevalent, with men performing more outdoor housework activities and fewer routine, inside tasks or childcare activities. Men are also more likely to describe their activities as enjoyable, such as playing with children or yard work, whilst women’s participation in activities they describe as enjoyable, such as baking and decorating, have decreased with fewer hours devoted to household work. Baxter (2001) concludes that in all reviewed studies â€Å"the differences are quite stark† (19). â€Å"Wives spend substantially more time than their husbands on family work, even though women do less and men do slightly more now than 20 years ago† (Bianchi, Milkie, Sayer Robinson 2000, 192). It was initially expected that with the growth of the women’s movement the gender gap would disappear. For example, Leonard (2004) reports â€Å"a number of UK studies optimistically predicted that womens entry to paid work outside the household would be accompanied by mens increased participation in unpaid work within the household† (73). Unfortunately, research in the UK and elsewhere continues to â€Å"demonstrate the resilience of traditional gender roles within the household irrespective of womens labour market status† (Leonard 2004, 73). This research will later examine the narrowing of this gender gap and the reasons behind both its continued existence and gradual lessening. Research Methods When comparing secondary data, it is important to consider the methods implemented in data collection. In direct relation to this study, for example, Lee and Waite (2005) amongst others found â€Å"conclusions about the size of the gender gap in housework depend substantially on who provides the information about time spent on housework, what information that person is asked to provide, and how housework is defined† (334). Shelton and John (1996) and Coltrane (2000) list typical methods of data collection regarding household labour distribution and performance include interviews, surveys, time-diaries, and most recently electronic recording methods. Lee and Waite (2005) explain that interviews and surveys typically ask respondents to estimate the number of hours and type of tasks they or their spouses spend performing housework tasks. Time-diary studies ask respondents to report all their daily activities, usually within the day be ing tracked or by the next day at the latest. It is not surprising, therefore, that differences in time of reporting lead to differences in accuracy. Becker (1991), Lee and Waite (2005) and others have all found that interviews and surveys, which require respondents to both recall and estimate contributions and tasks, are highly inaccurate. Time-diaries, which require respondents to document how they spend their time daily or throughout the day, are significantly more accurate, as supported by Becker (1991), Bianchi et al (2000), and Lee and Waite (2005). For example, Bianchi et al (2000) reports a typical difference of fifteen hours per week reported by men and women regarding women’s household labour, and a typical difference of nearly four hours in reporting of men’s contribution. Similarly, Press and Townsley (1998) report that, on average, husbands estimated spending approximately eighteen hours per week on household tasks, whilst wives estimated their husbands contribution at just under thirteen hours per wee k, a statistically significant difference. In comparing data from electronic data recording versus data from similar populations collected by survey, Lee and Waite (2005) concluded â€Å"wives make accurate estimates of husbands’ time on housework, whereas husbands overestimate their own time† (333). They additionally found some evidence that both wives and husbands may substantially overestimate the amount of time wives spend on housework. For example, Lee and Waite (2005) found wives’ responses to survey questions regarding hours spent on housework estimated twenty-six hours per week of household work, but measurement of the same individuals via an electronic data recording system (ESM) resulted in an average of only fifteen hours per week. In all, the differences between survey measures and ESM [electronic data recording] time-use measures are statistically significant and-for some estimates-quite substantial† (333). Further, broader consideration of types of tasks within household labour resulted in greater hours of contribution on the part of men, but made little difference in the weekly housework hours of women. For example, Lee (2004) found that whilst in one study both types of childcare activities were counted equally towards housework contribution, husbands’ time â€Å"tended to involve recreational activities rather than those tasks that constitute the daily grind of child rearing,† which were left to women (254). Baxter (2001) similarly found that men participated in housework primarily on weekends, and tended to perform occasional tasks such as yard work; women performed housework tasks throughout the week and weekend, being responsible for almost all routine tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Analysis Methods Research is equally divergent in the methods of analysis employed to interpret data regarding gender divisions in household labour. Some methods , such as commonly used empirical models, focus solely on time allocation and the variables contributing to allocation decisions. Bargaining models, time allocation models, and the household production model are three of the more common of these types of analysis methods. Mahoney (1995) describes various bargaining theories, which contend that since women earn less, they have less power in the household and are therefore relegated to performing the majority of housework tasks. For example, Alvarez and Miles (2003) found women with university degrees, and hence greater earning power, have reduced housework time. Alenezi Walden (2004) note, however, that the inverse is true for husbands. The more educated a man is, the more likely he is to contribute a greater number of hours to housework. Bargaining models in general, however, as summarized by Alenezi and Walden (2004) all present consumption and labour supply within the family based on some form of bargaining between family members based on each member’s earning potential and similar characteristics. This type of analysis generally categorises the various attributes, market wage, and similar for family members and uses such categorisation to evaluate gender divisio n of household labour. Time allocation models, in contrast, contend that individual contribution to household tasks is based on available time. Each family member individually determines contribution to the household based on market wages, leisure activities, and family consumption. Bittman et al (2001) notes that these analysis methods, however, do explain in part the differences in the effects of certain variables, such as education level, on men and women within a household. As Alenezi and Walden (2004) describe, time allocation theories are difficult to use as a basis of empirical research, as they depend on individual decision versus measurable inputs. This form of analysis typically begins with the labour division and works back into variables, rather than documenting variables and then considering activity, as is typical of bargaining theories. Becker (1991) presents the most often used method of analysis for time allocation of household labour, the household production model. This analysis method divides the household consumption of goods into those that are market-produced and those that are household-produced, and measures household utility and the gender division of household tasks, as described by Alenezi and Walden (2004) as â€Å"a function of the consumption of market-produced goods, household-produced goods, and leisure time of the husband and wife†(83). Bryant (1990) describes how households â€Å"spend† their two major resources, money and time. In certain circumstances, a household might spend more money to save time, such as by using outside cleaners or eating take out food. In other circumstances, the family may chose to spend time, painting a room themselves rather than hiring the painting out, for example. A lenezi and Walden (2004) conclude â€Å"households make decisions about using time wor king for pay, working on household tasks, like child-rearing and meal preparation, or for enjoyment (leisure)† (81). Berk (1985) criticises the household production model as making undocumented assumptions about joint production, preferences, and estimation of the shadow price of housework, but it remains one of the few empirical analysis methods that factors in a large number of variables and takes into consideration complexity and diversity within and between households. As Alenezi and Walden (2004) assert, the household production model â€Å"still remains the standard for analyzing household time allocation due to its ability to account for many complex relationships in household decision-making† (86). Some researchers such as Bittman et al (2001) and Alvarez and Miles (2003) contend, however, that empirical analysis methods such as those described above place too much emphasis on economic variables in general, and therefore explain only a limited share of the inequality in housework performance. As Oakley (1981) and Becker (1991) describe, gender division in household labour can also be considered from a more sociological approach. Becker (1991) affords that sociological theoretical models offer a wide and divergent variety of explanations for the unequal division of housework tasks along gender lines, but all provide relevant areas of consideration. For example, Alenezi Walden (2004) contend, â€Å"differences between husbands and wives housework time, spousal age, educational attainment, and number of children by age should be highlighted† (101). Given the difficulty in practise of considering the wide number of variables that could play into gender division of household labour, however, many studies choose to concentrate on the societal and sociological implications of one or two of what the individual researchers consider to be the most important or effectual inputs. As such, many studies have considered the impact of education levels, presence of children, age, social class, race, and value beliefs as determinants of household labour allocation. One of the most often considered variables is gender identity. As Oakley (1981) describes, men and women are instructed in what their particular society considers appropriate gender roles and actions from an early age. As such, women in Britain are typically raised to believe that housework is their responsibility, and therefore perform the bulk of household tasks. In this analysis, which will be described in greater detail later in this study in the section presenting reasons for the gender gap, researchers examine the development of gender identity, then its impact on household labour allocation, and further investigate impacts of changes in gender roles across society on household functioning. Historic Housework Gender Divisions Oakley (1974) provides a thorough and insightful study of historic gender divisions of household labour in Europe, concentrating on Britain. Prior to the nineteenth century, women were typically employed in the family business, as were the rest of family members. This business was housed within the home, and all members of the family might perform a given household task. Fathers were considerably more involved in child rearing, and tasks such as cleaning and cooking were not divided along gender lines. Women were often equal partners in business with their husbands, could be afforded guild membership on their own standing, inherited their husband’s trade privileges upon his death (versus them passing to a son), and â€Å"were not prevented from entering any occupation by reason of their sex† (31). As such, Oakley (1974) describes women as always occupying the role of productive worker, earning a market wage and enjoying ful l market employment participation. In the 1800s, Oakley (1974) describes the gradual displacement of vocation from the home to the factory. Women followed their traditional work out of the home and into the factories through the middle of the century. In fact, men, women, and children often worked side-by-side in various factory endeavours, just as they had in home-based vocational activity. However, this societal movement of employment from home to factory meant multiple family members were no longer physically present within the household to perform housework tasks or render childcare for small children. By the 1840s, societal pressure began on women to remain at home to render these services, and a simultaneous and not surprising belief became popular that women were naturally domestic and the appropriate carers for children. Male factory workers also began to ask for limits on child and female labour, ostensibly for the women and children’s own protection. By the end of the 1880s, the traditio nal role of w omen had shifted to the keeper of the home and rearer of children, whilst men had assumed sole provider role and worker outside the home. In the early 1900s through the Second World War, women were typically employed outside the home until marriage, at which time they left paid employment and assumed responsibility for housework tasks. Most women lived with their families until their marriage, and assisted their own mothers with work in that household but were not primarily responsible. After the war, women typically worked until their first child was expected, and often returned to paid work after their children left home. However, the notion of housework as a women’s responsibility was already culturally entrenched, and continued regardless of her employment status. This was supported by various legislative measures. For example, both Ireland and Britain had marriage bars, which legally excluded married women from working in public service or administration. Leonard (2004) notes that in Ireland, â€Å"up until 1973, women had to leave paid employment in the public sector upon getting mar ried† (74). This sole responsibility for household management was not a light one, either in terms of hours or tasks. Summarising a number of studies conducted in Britain, France, and the United States from the 1920s through the 1970s, Oakley (1974) reports that average hours of housework performed by women consistently ranks over sixty hours per week, with women in urban areas often averaging over seventy hours per week of labour. As of the early 1970s, Oakley (1974) reports a British study found eighty-five per cent of all women between the ages of sixteen and sixty-four were housewives, â€Å"they carried the responsibility for running the household in which they lived,† and â€Å"nine out of ten women who were not employed were housewives, so were seven out of ten of those with a job outside the home† (6). She concludes that housework is therefore clearly women’s major occupation. Important conclusions from historical data related to gender division of household tasks are that the notion of housewifery as a â€Å"natural† condition of women is a recent one, and not supported in previous centuries. Although various ethological, anthropological, and sociological â€Å"proofs† have been offered for a woman’s role as primarily wife and mother, Oakley (1981) demonstrates that these are not supported either historically or cross-culturally. She further contends that both housework allocation and â€Å"the impact of childbirth on the roles of parents in clearly a cultural construct,† and as such should be an area given consideration as needing change, rather than held as a biological absolute. Global Housework Gender Divisions Indeed, when considering gender division of housework cross-culturally, many assumptions regarding appropriate gender roles breakdown, particularly when considering cultures outside the capitalist Western model. Using data from the International Social Justice Project, Davis and Greenstein (2004) describe the division of housework tasks in married couple households across twelve nations: four Western nations (Great Britain, the United States, Germany, and The Netherlands), seven former Soviet nations (Russia, Slovenia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary), and one Asian nation (Japan). Of note, as some data is historic, it divided East and West Germany, which the researchers took into account in analysis. Oakley (1974) quotes Lenin as writing, â€Å"No nation can be free when half the population is enslaved in the kitchen† (222). Not surprisingly, some of the former Soviet countries in Davis and Greenstein’s (2004) research evidenced the smallest gender gap in household labour. In Russia, for example, sixty-seven per cent of men and sixty per cent of women feel that housework is equally divided, with less than ten per cent of women or men allocating such work always to the wife. Interestingly, research exampled by Davis and Greenstein (2004) in post-Soviet Russia stated that fewer Russians believed they had egalitarian marriages in 1995 than in 1989, a demonstration of perception and practise change accompanying dramatic societal reforms. Such results reinforce the concept of gender divisions in household labour being culturally rather than biologically based. In a similar example, whilst Estonian households had traditionally divided household labour along gender lines prior to Communism, at the close of the Soviet era Davis and Greenstein (2004) report they had moved significantly toward shared housework, with over forty per cent of households reporting equal contributions. â€Å"Estonian women’s attitudes reflected a desire for personal efficacy rather than a complete focus on their husbands’ demands† (Davis and Greenstein 2004, 1263). Considering gender patterns over time, Davis and Greenstein (2004) reported several other research studies found â€Å"Czech women’s and men’s time spent on household work is becoming more similar, mainly because of the changing employment patterns of Czech women,† and â€Å"Czech households were more egalitarian in their division of labour than were Hungarian and Polish households† (1262). Poland was typical of half the f ormer Soviet nations and all Wester n nations in the study, with Polish women performing the majority of the housework regardless of their education or employment status, men’s housework contributions increasing with their education levels, and the most egalitarian division of housework responsibly in couples where both spouses are employed and have high levels of education. British, Dutch, and German women all were substantially more responsible for household labour than their former-Soviet counterparts, with over sixty-five per cent of households reporting household labour as primarily or always a duty of the wife, and twenty-five per cent or less reporting an equal distribution of work. Davis and Greenstein (2004) found Dutch women experienced the greatest disparity, with over seventy per cent of men and eighty per cent of women reporting housework as primarily or always the responsibility of the wife. Gender allocation of housework in the Netherlands is most affected by the presence of young children and the husband’s economic resources, with education also being a relevant variable. For example, the higher the education level of the couple together, the greater the husbands’ contribution to household work; when the wife has slightly more education than her husband, the husband performs more housework; but when she h as a significantly more education than he, there is no increase in his household contributions. Similar studies in Spain, Ireland and Germany reinforce cultural differences, even amongst European nations. In a study of dual-earner couples in Spain, Alvarez and Miles (2003) found persistent gender inequality of similar per cents to the Davis and Greenstein overview. In addition, education levels of the man were found to effect division of household labour, whilst the woman’s education and earning power had little effect. The researchers concluded, â€Å"habitual patterns of gender-differentiated activity at home are mainly the result of gender identities† (240). Alvarez and Miles (2003) find opinion polls demonstrating a clear trend in Spanish attitudes towards egalitarian gender division of labor, more so amongst younger respondents. However, similar to their findings in most developed countries Alvarez and Miles (2003) report that behaviour has changed much less than attitude and as much as two thirds of the total housework is perfo rmed by women, particularly th e more repetitive or physically demanding work. Leonard (2004) reports that in the past two centuries, Irish society â€Å"has placed a great deal of emphasis on womens role as mothers, â€Å" with the 1937 Irish Constitution specifically referencing â€Å"the special contribution to Irish society of women within the home† (74). Cooke (2004) uses the German SocioEconomic Panel to explore the division of domestic labour in Germany, finding â€Å"East German men report that they contribute a significantly greater percentage of household time than West German men† (1251). Also of note in the German study, men’s increased share of housework also increases the likelihood of divorce in childless couples, leading Cooke (2004) to conclude that within German society â€Å"childless couples with fewer gendered family roles (given the absence of mother and father roles) are more stable when they have more traditional gendered displays in the remaining domestic areas. Using data from the International Social Justice Project previously mentioned, Davis and Greenstein (2004) found support for bargaining power models in the United States, which had the greatest equality of distribution of household labour of any of the Western nations studied. US households were much more influenced by the wife’s participation in the workforce, with husbands performing at least half the housework twice as often in dual-earner families than in families where only the husband was employed outside the home. The wife’s income level had little effect on divisio