Consumer perception between international and local brands - A western Dissertation

Consumer perception between international and local brands - A western vs asian perspective - Dissertation Example Managers face challenges because of lack of synthesis between managerial concepts of brand identity and socio-cultural conception of inter-group dynamics, which may result in ill-fitted brand identities is a given sociopolitical context. Singapore is one of the top shopping destinations in Asia and hence attracts numerous international brands. These brands operate in a highly competitive environment trying to attract the attention of consumers as well as gain recognition against other international brands. This is because Singapore is a multicultural city compromising of Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians, and with one in four resident being a non-Singaporean (SEDB, 2009). Consumer companies have been trying to tap into the opportunities presented by Singapore’s strengths and unique positioning. 1.2 Rationale for Research Studies have been conducted by different researchers on the subject such on attitude towards foreign and local brands – uniqueness theory to diffe rentiate themselves from others (Kashi, 2013), consumer ethnocentrism (Rice & Wongtada, 2007) and on the influence of animosity (Fullerton et al, 2007). Researches on this subject have been conducted but most of the researches have been conducted in developed countries. No such study has been found that focuses on the Asian countries. This research aims to go deeper and compare local and international brands in Singapore to identify local consumers brand perception. Singapore has been chosen as the focus of this study because of her ability to attract a wide range of international brands. Besides, Singapore is a useful setting because it is strongly influenced by both eastern and western traditions. In fact this can serve as a guideline for other Asian nations as they adopt western habits and consumption patterns. However, there is a tendency in Singapore to support the home grown design talents to the extent that domestic fashion brands have been gaining international exposure with government support (The Straits Times, 2012). Renowned local brands that originated in Singapore include Raoul and TWG. This significantly shows that Singapore brands do have the ability to compete with international brands such as T.M. Lewin. Therefore, this research expands into Singaporean’s reaction and attitude towards branding and how they perceive the established international brands against renowned local brands in various sectors. This research emphasizes on how Singaporeans come about having a particular opinion towards brands and what factors may influence consumer’s choice of brand. Customers globally have developed enhanced ability to select local and foreign brands even in developing countries. Business environments being competitive, it has become imperative for sellers of both domestic and foreign goods to explore customer purchase behavior. 1.3 Research Aims and Objectives With the aim to explore Singaporean consumers’ attitude and perception t owards brands, the objectives of the research are: To identify what factors can affect consumer’s attitude to brands Identifying models to assess consumers attitude towards branding To find out the different perceptions between international and local brands Comparing the attitude towards

The Influence of Technology in Business Essay Example for Free

The Influence of Technology in Business Essay Technology has changed the way the world operates and conducts business. I remember walking into an office and being impressed at how cool the receptionist was by instant messaging the person I was there to see to let them know I had arrived instead of picking up the phone and ringing their office. She received an immediate reply to have me seated and said the he would be right with me. What was really happening is that he was on a phone call but was able to multitask more efficiently due to the instant messaging software, filling the need for instant gratification. That was well over ten years ago. Today, managers can hold global staff meetings and significantly cut costs with regard to travel and expense accounts while fulfilling the new trend of being â€Å"green†. Much of corporate America now has people in telecommuting programs, and the number of people involved is continually growing. Information sharing is faster and more convenient than ever before. You never have to leave your home or book a flight out to acquire information or survey a property or even meet clients thanks to teleconferencing where you can see the other person virtually face-to-face. While there are many advantages to the new virtual office up rise there are challenges as well. Many businesses find one of the biggest hurdles in setting up the virtual office is the responsibility of providing technical support. Whereas, technically proficient employees usually improve their skills while learning on their own, those that don’t understand computers can end up costing much more because of support costs. Interestingly, IT departments are behind the virtual workplace curve: As employees overall are increasingly distributed geographically (more than 90% work someplace other than headquarters), IT departments are increasingly centralized. Telecommuting is actually considerably rarer in IT departments than in the workforce at large, (Johnson, J. , 2009). This may be causing them to miss out on a revolution that the rest of the company may be experiencing. Another hurdle that companies must face is that they must evaluate virtual workers without directly supervising them. To do this successfully, the employee must be evaluated on the quality, quantity, and timeliness of the work as opposed to the hours involved, so it is imperative that the work be specific and measurable (Roman H. Kepczyk, 1999). The demand for the virtual office is on the rise and will continue to develop and progress as companies realize the significant savings impact it can have on their budget and the increase in productivity it has been shown to have. From the employee’s perspective it also saves them money by not having to commute and buy lunch, therefore, increasing their retained income. They are more engaged due to the lack of interruptions by colleagues such as those present in a brick and mortar office setting and typically, employees use less sick leave when working from home. Reduced stress levels and a more productive and balanced lifestyle contribute the employees level of job satisfaction. An employer can save around $5,000 on cubicle and office equipment for just one employee. Telecommuting is the same thing as operating a virtual office. An employee can work from home but still communicate effectively with managers and colleagues. Employees may create a sort of â€Å"social working network† to compensate for the â€Å"water cooler† action they may miss from having human contact at the office. Judy Duplisea, a regional vice president for the company CheckFree, lives in Canton while other members of her sales and client relationship staff live in Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, and New York. They work out of their houses, connected by computers, fax machines, and conference calls in a virtual office. My group is probably tighter now than any of the groups that I was working with in regular offices, Duplisea said. We go out of our way to stay in contact with each other. You can get real lonely if you dont (Cindy Krischer Goodman, 2010). The advances in technology and business will increase the rate of global expansion of companies in general. Not having to budget money for international travel or physically exhaust employees with the act of actually traveling but being able to conduc t business effectively in over seas markets is a huge benefit to any company’s the bottom line. While business relationships should still incorporate some kind of human one-on-one contact with their clients and colleagues, businesses can communicate more effectively and more often, globally and domestically, with the increasing technological advances available to them. Clients, colleagues, suppliers and the like, are more than just a telephone call away, they are a teleconference, an email, and quite recently as demonstrated in the last presidential campaign on CNN, a hologram away.

Childrens Morality Vs. How Moral Are You? :: essays research papers

A Reaction Paper to: â€Å"How Moral Are You?† by Kohlberg, L. (1963); The Development of children’s orientation†¦of moral thought & â€Å"Telling The Truth† by Barasch, Douglas S.(Family Life)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I read both of these articles and found them to be interesting. In the first article, â€Å"How Moral Are You?† published in Forty Studies that changed Psychology IV by Roger R. Hock, what is discussed is Lawrence Kohlberg’s research on the formation of morality. Kohlberg believed the ability to moralize situations encountered in life develops in a specific pattern during our childhood years. He believed that a child must reach a certain stage and mentality in order to create a level of morality. I found the information he presented was interesting. Things such as: each ‘stage’ a child undergoes increases the understanding of the concept of morality and the stages always occur in a step-by-step pattern. Kohlberg reasoned the stages are â€Å"prepotent,† meaning the child understands every stage that he/she has been through and a vague idea of the stage above them (197). As for how he researched his theory, the process seems simple enough. He supplied children of different ages with â€Å"10 hypothetical moral dilemmas†(197). I found myself answering the questions about moral issues with confusion. The question that was most difficult to answer was the ‘Heinz Dilemma’ in which a man commits a crime to save his wife from dying. I would forgive his [the husband] actions because the druggist was being unfair in his offering price for his medicine. That kind of druggist shouldn’t be allowed to be creating drugs anyway†¦his job is to aid people not the antithesis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I enjoyed reading this article but conceived of a few flaws in his theory that he [Kohlberg] did not address though many other critiques did. The glitches in his theory were such as: although Kohlberg represents an interpretation of morality, most of these ideas represent Western culture’s and failed to apply to non-Western cultures. It was also difficult to apply his theory equally for both men and women. He did a wonderful job of explaining morality even though it would not stand up on it’s own in the years to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second article I read, I found to be similar to my first in the fact that they both discussed moral reasoning of children and different so-called ‘stages.’ It was published by Douglas S. Barasch in the 1998 February issue of the magazine, ’Family Life.

Pearson Education Essay

Training an individual requires that the teacher observes methods through which that person best understands the information being relayed. These methods must be in line with the learning styles of the trainee. Training requires sound knowledge on the subject area. The essence is to acquire knowledge and skills that transforms one’s capability to undertake a task. Training is affected by motivation, the trainer-trainee relationship, availability of resources, prior knowledge and perception (United Nations, 2001). Every trainee has a unique way of acquiring knowledge based on the learning style adopted. These categorizes learners into visual, auditory and kinesthetic or physical learners. Though one may combine all these styles, it is important to maximize on the style one is best in. A trainer may present knowledge through talking. Teachers are commonly known to adopt this kind of style where they lecture students. The key factors to consider when employing such skills include tone of voice, body language and inflection. This is appropriate for auditory learners who understand when instructions are read aloud, information is communicated verbally or speeches are required (Farwell, 2000). Auditory training requires some background sound. These could be some form of music, people talking or TV. Written instructions prove difficult for such learners to get until they are verbalized. Suck kind of learners use their listening and repeating skills in sorting the information acquired. To enhance knowledge acquisition among auditory learners, then the trainer needs to employ adequate verbal direction. They are better trained when they are placed into groups where they can discuss. Being alone limits them to written materials only. In group discussions, they air out their ideas and acquire knowledge from the other members of the group verbally. Therefore, verbal communication and group activities should be encouraged. Reading aloud helps such learners quickly understand what is being relayed. In fact, such learners have most of their work transformed into rhythmic patterns like songs and poems. The trainer should encourage this category of learners to make audio recordings of class note and listen to them when revising. Their memories are refreshed when they listen to what was said or internally recalling the voice of the trainer. As such, they should be allowed to participate in class discussions actively. They should be given room to ask questions and volunteer to answer any questions raised in the class. When tackling their assignments, they should be allowed to read them allowed as it is the only way to be assured of their understanding. When alone, auditory learners are encouraged to whisper new information. Training requires adequate skills in visual learning. This is the kind of training where the trainer has to employ images, maps, graphs or colors to pass across the intended message. A trainer should therefore befriend whiteboards, have some good sense of dressing and color balance. Learners in this category tend to also have adequate spatial skills. Therefore, training such individuals requires adequate use of maps. The trainer should try linking verbal and visual information. This will help the learner with critical thinking where the learner relates a visual object to recall any details. Therefore, even in comprehension of more complex information, the student recalls an object and connects it to the new idea. The trainer should provide such learners with visual data that will allow the students to organize large volumes of information which will aid in revealing relationships and patterns. Here, the trainees are allowed to create graphic organizers like webs, diagrams and concept maps by using symbols containing words for clarity. Visual learners are very good with sign language and they like fashion and colors. Trainers should assist learners come up with lists of things to do, written note or assignment logs (Farwell, 2000). Fleming (2005) suggest that trainers should not use listening and respond tests for this category of learners. Trainers in kindergarten employ feeling, touching and experiencing to train children. This has not only worked well with kindergarten teachers but all trainers in general. The trainer should allow these students to totally engage with the learning activities. Proper organization must be made for such learners to access science laboratories or participate in dance, skits, field trips or other related activities. Such physical activities are very important in learning for these students. They are said to be naturally discoverers and learn through doing unlike thinking first before action. To identify kinesthetic or physical or tactile learners, a trainer should identify traits such as poor handwriting, good sporting skills and restlessness. These learners also like role playing, science laboratories, takes breaks when studying, build models and are always fidget. It is therefore advisable that a trainer allows such learners to have breaks in between their studies, take laboratory classes, study with others, use memory games and use flash cards to memorize. Movement explorations have proved to work for this kind of training. Clapping or tapping out syllables or words have worked well in this circumstance. Concrete objects should be used for establishing patterns or counting. Children should be allowed to move heavy objects on number lines on the floor. They should be given short definitions, multiple choices and fill-ins. Long tests and essays do not work well with them (Fleming, 2005). The earliest form of training was on-job-training. This one involves being trained by a skilled worker on the job site. It is still being used today as it does not require organized lessons or programs. It is therefore cost effective. In the 5th century, training was done through conceptual case studies. Students in China for instance were given parables by Taoists and Confusionists so that they come up with solutions. Today, professional school highly employ these methods. It encourages philosophical thinking and finding solutions to difficult problems without first-hand experience. Nowadays, theories of development, psychology and training are employed. Among great contributors to motivational theories used in training are Abraham Maslow and Herzberg Fredrick. These assisted organizational managers to create working environment that meets the demand for workers’ basic needs. Workers who have their basic needs catered for deliver good results in their workplaces thus helping in the growth of an organization. These stages were chosen as they exhibit great variability in the mode of training. Each stage presents a unique way of training form the previous method. These developments give trainers a wide range of training styles to apply since all the styles are still applicable even in the modern world. Studies show that adults learn like children. Therefore, all the training styles used by children can be applied for adults. The trainer must divert from the â€Å"tell-me† style of training to the â€Å"show-me† style. Visual training is important for adult education just as it is for children. They should be incorporated in the process and made to feel they are part of it. Emphasis should be on doing. This incorporation in discussions and activities help in keeping memory fresh. In fact, lectures should be minimized and emphasis laid on involvement kind of training. In conclusion, the meanings of critical terms associated with training will be defined. First is education. All the activities involved in teaching and learning of technical competency, knowledge and proper conduct constitute the term education. It aims at cultivating skills, professions or trades. It is the process that leads to moral, mental and aesthetic development. It encompasses systematic instructions and teaching. Training is defined as the process of acquiring competencies, knowledge and skills due to teachings on practical or vocational skills and knowledge. Learning is the process that leads to the acquisition of knowledge and skills from perceived information. Adult education is the process of teaching and educating adults. REFERENCE Farwell, T. (2000). Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic Learners. Pearson Education Inc. Fleming, G. (2005). Tactile Learning. Retrieved October 2, 2008 from . United Nations (2001). Train the Trainer, Training Fundamentals: Instructor’s Reference Manual. New York, pp. 15-18.

Ratio Analysis †Yum! Brands Essay

Yum! Brands’ consolidated net profit margin lies within the industry average and for 2 years have shown slow yet steady growth. While sales from US operations declined by 5%, the company continued to gain momentum in China, where operating profit increased at an average of 26% year-on-year. Meanwhile, their Return on Assets fairs better than competitors such as McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza, showing that management efficiently manages its asset base. The company’s efficiency can be seen in its Cash Conversion Cycle, with -49. 2 in 2009. This number is much lower from its competitors, which suggests a liquid working capital position. Yum generates sales from its inventory and cash from its sales at a faster rate than the time its pays its suppliers. This means that it utilizes the average 60-day period before it has to fully purchases with suppliers, giving them â€Å"free cash† in principle. However, while this suggests less need to borrow, the comp any still received cash by issuing long-term debt in 2008 and 2009. Due to the nature of the business, on average, 56% of its total assets are fixed. And as Yum ventures into Asian countries, especially China and India, it allocates part of its cash to capital spending. However, in utilizing its fixed assets to generate sales, Yum scores lower compared to Wendy’s and McDonald’s. This may be due to its focus on aggressively adding new stores, with 2008 and 2009 serving as introduction years, before sales can fully pick up. One could also note, however, that sales in the US and International Divisions (ex-China) have decreased from 2007 to 2009. The company’s solvency, however, provides another story. As mentioned, Yum reported negative equity in 2008 mainly due to repurchase of sales. The company used its cash surplus to repurchase sales at a time when its stock price decreased, making it gain economic profits. This may also show the company’s belief and commitment that the stock price will increase again, especially because of the surge in opportunities in China. In addition, it reported accumulated other comprehensive loss in 2008 and 2009. As stated in its 2008 annual report, this loss was attributable to a decline in the â€Å"unrecognized funded status† of U. S. pension plans and foreign currency translation adjustments brought by the strengthened position of the U. S. Dollar. What is alarming in this situation is that the company is riding on a debt level that is 30% higher than its competitors. Majority of its liabilities are long-term debt, with some maturing in 30 years. Moreover, its current ratio appears to be very much lower than its peers, due to its massive use of cash for buybacks, and which suggests increasing risks to the company. It is hence surprising to note that despite this, the company still continues to distribute dividends with an average payout ratio of 36% year-on-year. This then hints at a possibility that Yum is inflating its dividends to continue attracting investors, at the expense of paying their debt position. Source: YUM! Brands Annual Report 2008 & 2009