How IT improves managerial role Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How IT improves managerial role - Essay Example The new model of management suggests ways of flattening the organization structure, streamlining its processes, and speeding up its feedback systems in order to help produce these continuously improving results. This essay will examine how IT improves the managers’ performance. To meet the demanding expectations of a good model, an agency requires a great deal of complex data that is timely, complete information about both processes and outcomes. The model also requires that the organization have the ability to act promptly on that information. These requirements can be met only by agencies that take advantage of recent developments in information technology. Today’s companies are much larger and complex. They most likely manufacture, service, and finance what they sell. They also operate in complex, fast-changing, competitive, global environments that can quickly turn competitive advantages into competitive disadvantages. If I am given managerial roles I will ensure that I integrate information technology in the accomplishment of organizational aims in an effective and efficient approach through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational assets. The type of information am likely to deal with is on how to set annual budgets for the entity, analyzing financial information and statistics of the firm, managing staffing and recruitment levels, deal with customer complaints, and make risk assessment and health safety checks. In all these a manager can integrate IT to make his work easier for example in preparing the budget he can use applications which makes it possible to prepare budgets quickly. The manager can post performance information on intranets, making weekly and even daily information available for decision making at all levels. Coordinated service system requires coordinated information streams. Integrated information system not only increases client satisfaction but more imp ortantly increases the agency’s ability to

Project Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Project Management - Assignment Example Department managers will directly report to the project manager. Hence, with reduced hierarchy the project will efficiently with no delays and increased cost due to extra reporting levels (Ingason and JÃ ³nasson, 59-69). The project manager directs all the activities and task for the overall project, acting as information central point for the subcontractors. After getting all the information of the project’s direction and tasks assistant manager divided the task and responsibilities among the functional managers. Assistant project manager works as chairman of steering committee and interacts with both functional managers and contractors. The functional managers receive the guidelines and task responsibilities from assistant manager. In actual the role of contract officer is to serve as a central point for all the cost and information of the contract. The military type manger has some special skills that differentiate its personality from other mangers. The military manager focuses on these factors: insist on clear communication and alignment, produce high performing teams, relaxed in continuously changing environments and hire the replacement and alternatives. If the hierarchy adapted military kind of approach then it would boost the competence of collaboration among the employees, it would give more effective and efficient tem work results and it would make the attitude of managers adjustable in the changing environment (Forbes). The division of work among many authorities increases the efficiency and accuracy of decision making. And with the involvement of two higher mangers makes the evaluation and monitoring activities better in results (Atkinson, 337-342). This hierarchy is difficult to implement in any industry because of its limitations regarding the delegation of authorities and responsibilities among the employees and

Impact of Advertising on Fashion

Impact of Advertising on Fashion Introduction: The use of advertising in the fashion industry was started as early as in the Victorian period. Advertising is been very important to the fashion industry as its one way of reaching a mass group of people quickly, as fashion today is very competitive and need speed marketing. Advertising is used from the high street fashion retailers to the low fashion retailers. According to (Dittrich,2000) it has been estimated that an average women sees between 400 to 600 advertisements per day. The fashionable female silhouette has changed with time and the body has been manipulated frequently (Fay and Price 1994) The most famous type of fashion that todays consumers goes for is the fast fashion, where the latest line of clothing from a designer is copied by the fashion retailer especially stores in the middle fashion market like Top Shop, Marks and Spencers, Next , New look, and HM. Thirty-two percent say that they get their clothing ideas from fashion magazines, up from 23% the previous year. ( cottoninc 2000). In fast fashion, sourcing and buying decisions are compounded by the speed by which decisions have to be made and innovation introduced into the store (Bruce Daly 2006). The introduction to the store can be given through a mass media that is advertising, advertising can be done through many ways like television, print, ad radio, an even through word of mouth. According to Aaker et al (1994) advertising is effective to influence consumer attitude. Govoni et al mentioned that the most images of well-liked brands are established by successful advertising. Modern consumers want to be entertained as well as informed through advertising (Lea-Greenwood 2002). In 1996 companies invested more than $1 billion in athletic endorsements deals and approximately $ 10 billion more to advertise and promote the celebrities endorsements (Farrell et al., 2000). A recent estimate indicates that approximately 25 percent of American commercials use celebrity endorses (Shimp, 2003). Celebrity endorsements have become prevalent technique in advertising in the past recent years. The consumers attention is the most important to the retailers. The retailers use advertising as one of the strongest aspect to catch their consumers attention. in Japan, there are roughly 70 percent of Japanese commercials featuring a celebrity (Hus and McDonald, 2002). Advertising also has some negative and positive effects, but in this paper both the aspects will be investigated. Fashion brands and retailers have a long-standing relationship with womens magazines and, more recently, with mens magazines (Mintel 2005). Fast fashion always need more advertising than the high street fashion market, the only way the can reach out to a mass audience is through media and through word of mouth. It has been estimated that the average woman sees between 400 and 600 adverts per day (Dittrich, 2000). Looking particularly at this age group who all read magazines and one of the famous magazines is the heat magazine, where this magazine compares the style and clothing of celebrities and give out the cheaper way to gain the look of the celebrities. In todays star-focused society, it may be more accurate to see celebrities and fashion magazines as a confluence in womens apparel-buying decision process. (Cottoninc 2000). The fast fashion retailers have to choose the right kind of medium to reach the particular target audience and should help the retailers to reach out to their consumers before their competitors reach. But while the celebrity influence does seem to ebb proportionally as a woman ages, it still plays a large role in the wardrobes of average women. According to the Monitor, 26% of women ages 25 to 34, and 24% of women ages 35 to 55, indicated that celebs served as their personal fashion innovators (cottoninc 2004). This fashion for slimness portrayed throughout almost all womens fashion advertising provides a standard for social comparison and respectively heightened dissatisfaction amongst females (Graner Grafinkel, 1980). When confronted with ultra thin models on a regular basis this is bound to have an effect especially when the thin ideal are totally unrealistic of womens bodies today (Hamburg, 2002). Celebrities are our new designers, relates Irenka Jakubiak, editor-in-chief of Accessories Magazine, the trade publication (cottoninc 2004). The Red Carpet is our new runway. Designers are going overboard to make the product, and manufacturers and retailers are turning stuff around fast to have it available for consumers (cottoninc 2004). In early 2001, approximately one in five marketing programs in the UK featured some type of celebrity endorse, with the number closer to one in four programs in the US (Erdogan et al 2001). Research has found that celebrities are more effective than other types of endorsers, such as the professional expert, the co mpany manger, or the typical consumer (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). Glamour editor Jo Elvin said: Kates back with a vengeance. Her maverick approach to fashion is an inspiration.(smh 2008) Advertising also helps to sell new products to the consumers, this way it helps the product to be marketed in the industry quick and efficiently. Advertising also manipulates the consumers using psychology in most of the advertisements. A woman who may not directly point to a celebrity influence in considering her wardrobe is likely to purchase something within a trend that can typically be tied back to a famous person. (Cottoninc 2004). Fighting AIDS is always of great importance, and HM is overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and the commitment from each and every celebrity involved in this collection. Ann-Sofie Johansson, HM head of design. (Onenationmagazine 2009). Celebrities are the trendsetters of our time. And they are wearing clothing and accessories that are more accessible to the general public (visavismag 2009). In the end, celebrities and modern fashion will always be inseparable commodities, and will continue to influence each other, and in turn the American public. (Helium 2009). Researches suggest that endorsers are more effective where there is a fit between the endorsers and the endorsed products. (Till and Busler, 2000). Psychologists Petty and Casioppo suggest the Elaboration Likehood Model (ELM) to explain the process consumers to be persuaded by the advertising message (Shimp, 2003). In a recent report in The Sunday Telegraph, Ashley Sharpe, head of money research at Which? Magazine stated: The danger is that, if the use of a credible celebrity is combined with a message that sounds great but doesnt tell you the full story, then many more people could be taken in, because they trust the person promoting the product. (Fashionunited 2004). 2.1 Aim: To analysis the role of advertising and body image in the context of fashion and manipulation of the consumers. 3.1 Objectives: To analysis the use of advertising in the fashion industry. To analysis the manipulation of consumers through advertisements by the fashion retailers. To analysis the impact of celebrities on fashion and consumers. To analysis the relationship between fashion and body image. 4.1Literature Review: In todays world to market a product and to make to reach the target audience on time is done through advertisements, where media is the one of the medium that can reach out to mass target consumers on time and to make the product famous among the consumers. The medias images and messages become what they see as a soothing voice in a storm of conflict, confrontation and confusion (Thomsen et al, 2001). In aspects to fast fashion the ideology of the retailers should reach the consumers fast, as the fast fashion industry is competitive. The most advanced marketing companies in the country had learned how to adapt their strategies to this new medium and it completely changed their perspectives. (Henry, 1986). Looking at the fashion market like Top Shop, Next, Marks and Spencers, New Look, HM. tend to spend much more than the other fashion retailer like Zara who does not spend anything of advertising for them marketing their products is through their own customers, where they believe word of mouth is more than enough to promote their products, this only helps to reach out a small group of people where the mass consumers wont be aware of their latest collection in store. On the other than the other retailers spend a lot on advertising and try to reach out a mass group of audience and market their product fast, this also helps to see the demand of the particular garment and helps not to over stock. The relatively small size of the UK and its heavy population concentrations allow this system to work particularly well in the interest of the marketers. (Henry, 1986). Through advertising most of the retailing companies develop their marketing strategy. Press advertising was the most important medium for 18 of the top 30 fashion retailer advertisers, and seven spent their entire advertising budget here. (Mintel 2005). Advertising is now taking up the upper hand in the fashion industry, which helps the retailers to market their product. Advertising is mostly done through manipulating the consumers, but the consumer does not like the idea of the retailers manipulating them, this is where psychology advertising comes into place. In this type of advertising is where they use colours, shapes, sounds, etc. The fashion industry works in this way by using adverts that imply by purchasing the brand the consumers will be buying the social esteem and image of model (Anderson et al, 2000). The advertisements are made to catch the consumers attention to the product. Although the highest paid super model of the 1900s were not classed as waifs i.e. Cindy Crawford, designers and magazines chose to use extremely thin models to advertise clothing and beauty products (Gorgan, 1999) Marks and Spencers have one of the biggest advertising budgets in the fashion industry. With an estimated  £ 43.5 million in 2006/07, making up a 12.0% share in the total (Mintel 2007). After Marks and Spencers Next have spent a lot of advertising their products. There are positive and negative aspects of fashion advertising. The positive aspect helps the retailers to boost their income whilst the consumers get the latest range of copied clothing from designer at a lower price which help them to look fashionable and to keep a track of the latest fashion. Employment opportunities for women are steadily improving, meaning that they have ever greater spending power and economic autonomy. They are the most important consumers of clothing and footwear, buying not only for themselves, but also for their children and male partners. Additionally, they enjoy fashion advertising much more than men and more influenced by it. (Mintel 2007). The negative aspect is the fashion is always related to skinny, thin, flawless skin models, this makes the consumers want to look like them. For the retailers is that fashion is one industry which changes season to season and the clothing line as well changes according to the current trend as fashion changes quickly the retailers tend to spend more on advertising very time a new trend is come into fashion. The average woman is estimated to see between 400- 600 adverts per day (Dittrich, 2000). One of the main reasons that advertising is used by the fashion retailers is to grab the attention of the consumers. Most of the fast fashion retailers target audience is from the age group 20 – 40 years. Teenagers ages 16-19 are more inclined to use fashion advertising to get inspiration (38% compared to 18% on average) (Mintel 2007). The retailers keeps in mind the age group and make the advertisements which will be liked by the group and catch their attention. The other way the retailers get the attentions from the consumers is by sale and offers which will make a consumer to walk into the store. On the other than magazine also help the fast fashion retailers to sell the garment faster as they compare the celebrities style which a cheaper alternative to gain the same style by the consumers. Fashion and beauty magazine availability is immense in society today (Gordon, 2000). Fashion maga zines are a great influence on the women of today where they want to look like the celebrities. This influence the consumers mind of being thin and skinny to gain the style of the celebrities. As the amount of media attention devoted to celebrities increase its apparent that celebrities them selves have taken up the position of role models (Weaver 1997). 4.2 Impact of body image: In todays world fast paced society relationships and judgments about others start with outward appearance while personality and inner values play a secondary role (Anderson, 2000). Western society is obsessed with body image. Women want to be thinner; men want to be more muscular (BBC, 2009). The feminist perspective suggest that in the 1960s thinness was equated with independence and success- today it has become the defining criteria for feminine beauty (Kilbourne, 1994). This has become a very important factor among people of today to look good outside, which has a major influence on the daily lifestyle of the person. In any form of interaction or communication verbal cues account for only 7% of total impact, vocals cues for 38%, whilst facial cues account for a major 55% (Mehrabian, 1972). With the face playing a central role in the way we think and feel about both ourselves and others (Partridge, 1996). The world that we live in has move towards to a position which has a big stre ss on appearance. Preoccupation with the visual image if self and others has become an obsession in a society where people continually compare themselves to cultural ideals of beauty (Coward, 1984). Advertisements for women reflected changing notions of the female body shape away from sever body chart to angular boyish shape (p.76, Reekie, 1987). The ideal human body began way back in time, where it started in ancient Greece. Viewing the body as potentially godlike, it was the Greeks who began the custom of treating the body as an aesthetic object (Seid, 1989). The society of today has experienced a big outburst of interest in the human body like never before. Todays consumers are very conscious of what they wear and how they look from the out side. Reekie (1978) suggested that one can look to advertisements for women they reflect the changing ideals of body shape. This has happened as a result of a huge influx of visual images of the human body circulated by the mass media (Shilling, 1997). The body beautiful augmented by fashion advertising in particular has helped lay the foundation for our preoccupation with looks and the priority we give to visual appearance. (Coward, 1984). Physical attractiveness is central to human communication as virtually all communication situations involve visual contact and the more physically a ttractive a person is, the more favourably they are respond to (Patzer, op cit). Other studies consolidate this view and results have indicated that more physically attractive people will have socially exciting and more active lives than less attractive people (Bassili, 1981). Body image is the term widely accepted as internal representation of your own outer appearance: your own unique perception of your body (Thompson et al, 1990). Physical attractiveness trend is a belief that an individual should look good and get better in looking good, which enables physically attractiveness. This enhancement is seen by many as a natural instinct that has been a trait of mankind since ancient times (Fiser and Fiserova). There is a huge money and time spent in cosmetic surgery in todays world, in order to look like their idols. As in the western society there is an increasing importance in looking good physically. The physically attractiveness phenomenon is deeply entrenched in modern society a nd there seems no future development likely to reduce it importance (Patzer, 1985). What is beautiful is good which was said by Dion et al (1972). When a study was taken by Dion et al found that physically attractive people have more socially attractive personality, they have happier marriages and in a whole their lives are happier and more successfully than the one who are less attractive. When women were asked whether they were willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion, 40% said yes, up 3.7% from 1998. (Cottoninc 2000). 4.3The impact of Ideal body image on consumers: In todays consumers society where womens bodies are frequently used to sell products, the ultimate commodity has become the female ideal body image. (Orbach, 1993). Since the 1960s the ideal body for women bodies has become lighter while real bodies have been getting heavier (Garneret al 1980). This has resulted in a bigger difference between the real and the ideal (Benson,1997). As popular models and actress represent current female ideals it is necessary to examine their depictions in the media (Wiseman et a, 1990). Today a lot of consumers are overwhelmed because of media. The effects that advertisements have on the consumers have changed everything from their fashion to their lifestyle in the society. Circulated as the norm, notions about the ideal are culturally specific trends that become mistaken for reality (Gorgan, 1999). The concept of an ideal body is given to us by the society of the world of today. The ideal now dictates a slim- hard – toned body (Benson, 1997). this perfect female body would be between five foot five and five foot eight, long legged, tanned and vigours looking (p.39 Coward, 1984). The media has drilled into the minds of people about the ideal body as being thin, tall and looking good to the society. With links to neurobiology, ideals are viewed as in-built responses guiding men and women in how they want to look and how they want others to look (Anderson, 2000). Overweight people are discriminated against in a culture that is unforgiving and judgmental towards fat people (Anderson, 2000). An ideal body for women has to perfect without any flaws. Achieving the ideal body will take time and money, where people are willing to spend these days. There are people in the society will go all the way out to look perfect and get their ideal body shape, even if the person has to go through many cosmetic surgery. In advertising technology has over taken, today every celebrities and super models have their photo shoot airbrushed before come out in magazines. Many of the images seen are artificially constructed using modern photographic techniques and air brushing (Coward, 1984). Although consumers know that these images are modified to look nice, they still opt for cosmetic surgery. Among other proposals are for success rates to be included on cosmetic surgery adverts and for local sports centres to be made more female friendly by being cleaner and safer (BBC, 2009). There are many celebrities have gone through many cosmetic surgeries and these consumers think this is the ideal body image and start to admired. Airbrushing should be banned in advertisements aimed at children to tackle body image pressure, say the Liberal Democrats. (BBC, 2009). President Douglas McGeorge has said he was particularly concerned about younger vulnerable readers of magazines who are being targeted very heavily (BBC, 2009) Although it is true that women may be entrapped in this system if beauty, the potential to change society and resist cultural pressure is negligible (Bordo, 1997). Smith (1990) believes that women should actively seek to achieve the ideal body in a form of femininity, body dissatisfaction is positive. He also argued that does not take in account the negative consequences of body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and eating disorders. This also brings in the male to be more dominated and stronger than compared to women, where women are pressured to be thin and weak. The view also ignores the role of the fashion industry, which is said to dictate the ideal (Grogan, 1999). When a study was conducted on teenage boys (Huenemann et al, 1966) found that more than half of the response wanted bigger biceps, bigger chest and bigger shoulder. This should that the even male are now getting conscious about their body image and when it is looked back , the media started about in women and then now in men. A recent study says that cosmetic surgery is increasing rapidly in men. It has also been suggested that male dissatisfaction is more pronounced in older men (Anderson, 2000). Although men have different perspective of body image when compared to women. As women are objectified for the active male gaze, they become objects of desire and all emphasis is place on their bodies. (Mulvey, 1980). 36% women seriously consider plastic surgery cause theyre unhappy with the way they look. 90% of women said their bodies made them feel down and they think about it everyday. 50% of school girls say they are on a diet (BBC, 2001). The focus on womens appearance has got out of hand no-one really has perfect skin, perfect hair and a perfect figure, but women and young girls increasingly feel that nothing less than perfect will do.(BBC,2009). Body image is a persons subjective evaluation of what it means to them to have that body within their culture (Grogan, 1999). 4.3 Effect of celebrity advertising on consumers and society: Tellis, (1998) defined advertising as communication a firms offer to customers by paid media or space. There is no doubt that advertising is a formative influenced within modern Western culture (Pollay, 1986). According to recent research statistics, the number of celebrity advertisements has doubled in the past ten years. (Brandchannel ,2006). There is now little dispute that the content of commercial television is primarily a vehicle to deliver audiences to advertise to advertisers and that glossy magazines serve that same purpose (p.75, Giles, 2003). Studies show that we are significantly more dissatisfied with our own appearance after being shown TV ads featuring exceptionally slim and beautiful people. (BBC, 2001). The effect that advertising has on the consumers of today is very big impact. Studies have also shown that women who read fashion magazines are more likely to have poor body image and suffer from eating disorders (Harrison and Cantor, 1997). By becoming a reference point against which comparisons are made, fashion adverts can greatly effect men and womens body esteem (Grogan, 1999). When a survey conducted by Glamour magazine (1984) found that 75% of women taught that they were fat. The advertisement is based on the marketing strategy of the company, when there is a marketing outcome its generally changing the behaviour of the consumers. The process are classified as cognitive that are know as consumers attitude (Tellis, 2004). According to Foxall (1998) consumers attitude is recognised as a crucial link between the consumers thinks about the products and advertisements and what they buy in the market place. Aker et al (1994) suggested that the attitude concept is an important factor to advertising Management. The attitude of the consumers in one of the important factor for a company to plan their marketing strategy, and to find out the consumers attitude can be done through advertisements. The distortions are characteristic of anorexia and bulimia are some times literally and concretely evident in fashion advertising (p.134, Gordon, 2000). First, studying the advertising efficiency on market outcome is mainly for accountability (Tellis, 2004). Few advertisements depict mundane levels of attractiveness and instead exclusively star the overwhelming handsome and beautiful (Patzer, 1985). It is such models that become icons and set the ideals to which people try to adhere (Ibanga, 2002). As the fashion industry is said to represent the true ideal of beauty models create the standard to which people are to meet (Winkler, 1994). The task of the advertisers is to favourably dispose viewers to his product, his means, by and large, to show a sparkling version of that product in the context of glamorous events. The implication is that if you buy the one, you are on the way to realizing the other- and you should want to (p.26, Goffman, 1979) Fashion has become a global business since the 1960s to dress to have success and the power of the brand has become more significant in the past few years. The fashion advertisings has become a very powerful and a multi-pound business, as the brands have become more of a social symbol in the society of today. the survey found that online advertising could extend the reach of an ad by about 10% and increase brand awareness by around 6% (BBC,2003) Fashion plays a very major part of peoples lives. As models become role models, consumers are increasingly growing up with feelings of complete inadequacy attractive people are repeatedly shown in adverts on a daily basis (Body Image, 1998). In fashion adverts directed at both men and women the consumers is seduced, dazzled and offered a visual feast with the central piece, the object of desire being the model (Winkler, 1994). When a study was conducted by Garner (1997) among men and women how fashion models influenced their feelings about th eir appearance, 27% of women said that the always or more often compared themselves to models in magazines and 28% said that they study the shape of the models. Modelling came to epitomise dominant characteristics of western femininity : the importance of appearance; fetishisation of the body; manipulation and moulding of the body; the discipline and labour associated with beauty and body maintenance; the equation of youth with femininity lifestyles (p.70 Craik, 1993). The Advertising Standards Authority said they received only a small handful of complaints on the issue. (BBC, 2009) In advertising magazines is one of the most important media to fashion to advertise their product, this results to a heavy use of magazine among the female consumers. The same applies to reading fashion magazines. Experiments show that magazine photographs of super-thin models produce depression, stress, guilt, shame, insecurity and body-dissatisfaction. (BBC, 2001). The volume of content is growing and it is trapping young people in particular, into unhealthy obsessions about their own bodies (BBC, 2008). The fashion industry works in this way by using adverts that imply that by purchasing the brand the consumer will be buying the social esteem and image of model (Anderson, 2000). Thousands and billions of dollars came to ride on the common determination that these women were the most beautiful and fashionable in the world. It was a conspiracy bent on harnessing them to purely commercials needs (p.149, Howell, 2000) President Douglas McGeorge has said he was particularly concerned about younger vulnerable readers of magazines who are being targeted very heavily (BBC, 2009). Men and women increasingly get their ideas of what they should look like from the imagery they see in the media (BBC, 2008). Highly attractive models act only to perpetuate such views, lowering satisfaction among viewers. (Grogan, 1999). WHERE WOMEN GET THEIR CLOTHING IDEAS: 1999 1998 +/- pts. Already Own and Like 52.7% 50.4% -2.3 Store Displays 47.6% 44.3% -3.3 People I See Regularly 36.1% 38.6% +2.5 Catalogs 35.4% 36.3% +0.9 Family Members 23.7% 20.1% -3.6 Commercials/Ads 28.8% 25.6% -3.2 Fashion Magazines 23.2% 31.9% +8.7 Celebrities 10.0% 14.9% +4.9 Salespeople in Stores 12.4% 13.7% +1.3 Looking at the table above shows a clear view of what people look up to in terms of fashion in the year 2000. The highest in the table is the fashion magazines and then come the celebrities. This gives a very clear view that most of the consumers around the world follow the advertisement to get their fashion sense and these days it has a big effect on the society and their personality. According to Hall-Duncan (1979) claims that the content of fashion advertisements, its just not about clothes but also about the image that brings out the attitude of the person. Therefore in a sense it is both the cause and effect (Patzer, 1985). Thompson et al claims that a significant number of women and girls are exposed to print media. Fashion and beauty magazine availability is immense in society today (Gordon). †¦womens beauty and fashion magazines, which may be among the most influential media formats in perpetuating and reinforcing the socio-cultural preference for thinness and in creating a sense of dissatisfaction with ones own body ( p.49, Harrison and Cantor, 1997). In the society most of the people are influenced by the advertisements. This influence is not directly applicable to most endorsement advertising because there is very little interaction between the endorser and the consumer in the communication process (Kamins, 1989). Followers of socio-cultural theories have accused womens magazines of being propaganda for the desirability if the thin ideal (Wolf, 1990). The medias images and messages become what they see as a soothing voice in a storm of conflict, confrontation and confusion (p.60, Thomsen et al, 2001). By the first decade of the twentieth century, the fashion models of Paris had already established a standard of extreme thinness (Gordon, 2000). Vogue employee wrote that the figure of the time was straighter with less of a bust and hips, more waist and long lean legs (Steele, 1985). The classic and most widely utilized method is the paid-for media advertisement mostly found in fashion magazines and on television. (Brandchannel, 2006). In receiving messages from parents, peers, mass media and other outlets, young people undergo a process of socialization in which they learn how to be consumers in the marketplace. (Lear et al, 2009). The presence and presentation of celebrity role models in pre-adolescent magazines, as well as details regarding the kinds of activities the celebrity participates in, may powerfully affect how girls view their role in todays society (Fabrianesi et al , 2008). 4.4 Celebritys endorsements: Any individual who enjoys public recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement (McCracken, 1989). Aaker et al (1997) says that An endorser is a source of the information in the advertisements, which plays an important role in persuasive communication. Celebritys endorsements gives out an image that you move a step closer to the idols that the consumers admire by just buying one piece of garment. Celebrity endorsement transfers the personality and status of the celebrity as successful, wealthy, and distinctive directly to the brand. (brandchann Impact of Advertising on Fashion Impact of Advertising on Fashion Introduction: The use of advertising in the fashion industry was started as early as in the Victorian period. Advertising is been very important to the fashion industry as its one way of reaching a mass group of people quickly, as fashion today is very competitive and need speed marketing. Advertising is used from the high street fashion retailers to the low fashion retailers. According to (Dittrich,2000) it has been estimated that an average women sees between 400 to 600 advertisements per day. The fashionable female silhouette has changed with time and the body has been manipulated frequently (Fay and Price 1994) The most famous type of fashion that todays consumers goes for is the fast fashion, where the latest line of clothing from a designer is copied by the fashion retailer especially stores in the middle fashion market like Top Shop, Marks and Spencers, Next , New look, and HM. Thirty-two percent say that they get their clothing ideas from fashion magazines, up from 23% the previous year. ( cottoninc 2000). In fast fashion, sourcing and buying decisions are compounded by the speed by which decisions have to be made and innovation introduced into the store (Bruce Daly 2006). The introduction to the store can be given through a mass media that is advertising, advertising can be done through many ways like television, print, ad radio, an even through word of mouth. According to Aaker et al (1994) advertising is effective to influence consumer attitude. Govoni et al mentioned that the most images of well-liked brands are established by successful advertising. Modern consumers want to be entertained as well as informed through advertising (Lea-Greenwood 2002). In 1996 companies invested more than $1 billion in athletic endorsements deals and approximately $ 10 billion more to advertise and promote the celebrities endorsements (Farrell et al., 2000). A recent estimate indicates that approximately 25 percent of American commercials use celebrity endorses (Shimp, 2003). Celebrity endorsements have become prevalent technique in advertising in the past recent years. The consumers attention is the most important to the retailers. The retailers use advertising as one of the strongest aspect to catch their consumers attention. in Japan, there are roughly 70 percent of Japanese commercials featuring a celebrity (Hus and McDonald, 2002). Advertising also has some negative and positive effects, but in this paper both the aspects will be investigated. Fashion brands and retailers have a long-standing relationship with womens magazines and, more recently, with mens magazines (Mintel 2005). Fast fashion always need more advertising than the high street fashion market, the only way the can reach out to a mass audience is through media and through word of mouth. It has been estimated that the average woman sees between 400 and 600 adverts per day (Dittrich, 2000). Looking particularly at this age group who all read magazines and one of the famous magazines is the heat magazine, where this magazine compares the style and clothing of celebrities and give out the cheaper way to gain the look of the celebrities. In todays star-focused society, it may be more accurate to see celebrities and fashion magazines as a confluence in womens apparel-buying decision process. (Cottoninc 2000). The fast fashion retailers have to choose the right kind of medium to reach the particular target audience and should help the retailers to reach out to their consumers before their competitors reach. But while the celebrity influence does seem to ebb proportionally as a woman ages, it still plays a large role in the wardrobes of average women. According to the Monitor, 26% of women ages 25 to 34, and 24% of women ages 35 to 55, indicated that celebs served as their personal fashion innovators (cottoninc 2004). This fashion for slimness portrayed throughout almost all womens fashion advertising provides a standard for social comparison and respectively heightened dissatisfaction amongst females (Graner Grafinkel, 1980). When confronted with ultra thin models on a regular basis this is bound to have an effect especially when the thin ideal are totally unrealistic of womens bodies today (Hamburg, 2002). Celebrities are our new designers, relates Irenka Jakubiak, editor-in-chief of Accessories Magazine, the trade publication (cottoninc 2004). The Red Carpet is our new runway. Designers are going overboard to make the product, and manufacturers and retailers are turning stuff around fast to have it available for consumers (cottoninc 2004). In early 2001, approximately one in five marketing programs in the UK featured some type of celebrity endorse, with the number closer to one in four programs in the US (Erdogan et al 2001). Research has found that celebrities are more effective than other types of endorsers, such as the professional expert, the co mpany manger, or the typical consumer (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). Glamour editor Jo Elvin said: Kates back with a vengeance. Her maverick approach to fashion is an inspiration.(smh 2008) Advertising also helps to sell new products to the consumers, this way it helps the product to be marketed in the industry quick and efficiently. Advertising also manipulates the consumers using psychology in most of the advertisements. A woman who may not directly point to a celebrity influence in considering her wardrobe is likely to purchase something within a trend that can typically be tied back to a famous person. (Cottoninc 2004). Fighting AIDS is always of great importance, and HM is overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and the commitment from each and every celebrity involved in this collection. Ann-Sofie Johansson, HM head of design. (Onenationmagazine 2009). Celebrities are the trendsetters of our time. And they are wearing clothing and accessories that are more accessible to the general public (visavismag 2009). In the end, celebrities and modern fashion will always be inseparable commodities, and will continue to influence each other, and in turn the American public. (Helium 2009). Researches suggest that endorsers are more effective where there is a fit between the endorsers and the endorsed products. (Till and Busler, 2000). Psychologists Petty and Casioppo suggest the Elaboration Likehood Model (ELM) to explain the process consumers to be persuaded by the advertising message (Shimp, 2003). In a recent report in The Sunday Telegraph, Ashley Sharpe, head of money research at Which? Magazine stated: The danger is that, if the use of a credible celebrity is combined with a message that sounds great but doesnt tell you the full story, then many more people could be taken in, because they trust the person promoting the product. (Fashionunited 2004). 2.1 Aim: To analysis the role of advertising and body image in the context of fashion and manipulation of the consumers. 3.1 Objectives: To analysis the use of advertising in the fashion industry. To analysis the manipulation of consumers through advertisements by the fashion retailers. To analysis the impact of celebrities on fashion and consumers. To analysis the relationship between fashion and body image. 4.1Literature Review: In todays world to market a product and to make to reach the target audience on time is done through advertisements, where media is the one of the medium that can reach out to mass target consumers on time and to make the product famous among the consumers. The medias images and messages become what they see as a soothing voice in a storm of conflict, confrontation and confusion (Thomsen et al, 2001). In aspects to fast fashion the ideology of the retailers should reach the consumers fast, as the fast fashion industry is competitive. The most advanced marketing companies in the country had learned how to adapt their strategies to this new medium and it completely changed their perspectives. (Henry, 1986). Looking at the fashion market like Top Shop, Next, Marks and Spencers, New Look, HM. tend to spend much more than the other fashion retailer like Zara who does not spend anything of advertising for them marketing their products is through their own customers, where they believe word of mouth is more than enough to promote their products, this only helps to reach out a small group of people where the mass consumers wont be aware of their latest collection in store. On the other than the other retailers spend a lot on advertising and try to reach out a mass group of audience and market their product fast, this also helps to see the demand of the particular garment and helps not to over stock. The relatively small size of the UK and its heavy population concentrations allow this system to work particularly well in the interest of the marketers. (Henry, 1986). Through advertising most of the retailing companies develop their marketing strategy. Press advertising was the most important medium for 18 of the top 30 fashion retailer advertisers, and seven spent their entire advertising budget here. (Mintel 2005). Advertising is now taking up the upper hand in the fashion industry, which helps the retailers to market their product. Advertising is mostly done through manipulating the consumers, but the consumer does not like the idea of the retailers manipulating them, this is where psychology advertising comes into place. In this type of advertising is where they use colours, shapes, sounds, etc. The fashion industry works in this way by using adverts that imply by purchasing the brand the consumers will be buying the social esteem and image of model (Anderson et al, 2000). The advertisements are made to catch the consumers attention to the product. Although the highest paid super model of the 1900s were not classed as waifs i.e. Cindy Crawford, designers and magazines chose to use extremely thin models to advertise clothing and beauty products (Gorgan, 1999) Marks and Spencers have one of the biggest advertising budgets in the fashion industry. With an estimated  £ 43.5 million in 2006/07, making up a 12.0% share in the total (Mintel 2007). After Marks and Spencers Next have spent a lot of advertising their products. There are positive and negative aspects of fashion advertising. The positive aspect helps the retailers to boost their income whilst the consumers get the latest range of copied clothing from designer at a lower price which help them to look fashionable and to keep a track of the latest fashion. Employment opportunities for women are steadily improving, meaning that they have ever greater spending power and economic autonomy. They are the most important consumers of clothing and footwear, buying not only for themselves, but also for their children and male partners. Additionally, they enjoy fashion advertising much more than men and more influenced by it. (Mintel 2007). The negative aspect is the fashion is always related to skinny, thin, flawless skin models, this makes the consumers want to look like them. For the retailers is that fashion is one industry which changes season to season and the clothing line as well changes according to the current trend as fashion changes quickly the retailers tend to spend more on advertising very time a new trend is come into fashion. The average woman is estimated to see between 400- 600 adverts per day (Dittrich, 2000). One of the main reasons that advertising is used by the fashion retailers is to grab the attention of the consumers. Most of the fast fashion retailers target audience is from the age group 20 – 40 years. Teenagers ages 16-19 are more inclined to use fashion advertising to get inspiration (38% compared to 18% on average) (Mintel 2007). The retailers keeps in mind the age group and make the advertisements which will be liked by the group and catch their attention. The other way the retailers get the attentions from the consumers is by sale and offers which will make a consumer to walk into the store. On the other than magazine also help the fast fashion retailers to sell the garment faster as they compare the celebrities style which a cheaper alternative to gain the same style by the consumers. Fashion and beauty magazine availability is immense in society today (Gordon, 2000). Fashion maga zines are a great influence on the women of today where they want to look like the celebrities. This influence the consumers mind of being thin and skinny to gain the style of the celebrities. As the amount of media attention devoted to celebrities increase its apparent that celebrities them selves have taken up the position of role models (Weaver 1997). 4.2 Impact of body image: In todays world fast paced society relationships and judgments about others start with outward appearance while personality and inner values play a secondary role (Anderson, 2000). Western society is obsessed with body image. Women want to be thinner; men want to be more muscular (BBC, 2009). The feminist perspective suggest that in the 1960s thinness was equated with independence and success- today it has become the defining criteria for feminine beauty (Kilbourne, 1994). This has become a very important factor among people of today to look good outside, which has a major influence on the daily lifestyle of the person. In any form of interaction or communication verbal cues account for only 7% of total impact, vocals cues for 38%, whilst facial cues account for a major 55% (Mehrabian, 1972). With the face playing a central role in the way we think and feel about both ourselves and others (Partridge, 1996). The world that we live in has move towards to a position which has a big stre ss on appearance. Preoccupation with the visual image if self and others has become an obsession in a society where people continually compare themselves to cultural ideals of beauty (Coward, 1984). Advertisements for women reflected changing notions of the female body shape away from sever body chart to angular boyish shape (p.76, Reekie, 1987). The ideal human body began way back in time, where it started in ancient Greece. Viewing the body as potentially godlike, it was the Greeks who began the custom of treating the body as an aesthetic object (Seid, 1989). The society of today has experienced a big outburst of interest in the human body like never before. Todays consumers are very conscious of what they wear and how they look from the out side. Reekie (1978) suggested that one can look to advertisements for women they reflect the changing ideals of body shape. This has happened as a result of a huge influx of visual images of the human body circulated by the mass media (Shilling, 1997). The body beautiful augmented by fashion advertising in particular has helped lay the foundation for our preoccupation with looks and the priority we give to visual appearance. (Coward, 1984). Physical attractiveness is central to human communication as virtually all communication situations involve visual contact and the more physically a ttractive a person is, the more favourably they are respond to (Patzer, op cit). Other studies consolidate this view and results have indicated that more physically attractive people will have socially exciting and more active lives than less attractive people (Bassili, 1981). Body image is the term widely accepted as internal representation of your own outer appearance: your own unique perception of your body (Thompson et al, 1990). Physical attractiveness trend is a belief that an individual should look good and get better in looking good, which enables physically attractiveness. This enhancement is seen by many as a natural instinct that has been a trait of mankind since ancient times (Fiser and Fiserova). There is a huge money and time spent in cosmetic surgery in todays world, in order to look like their idols. As in the western society there is an increasing importance in looking good physically. The physically attractiveness phenomenon is deeply entrenched in modern society a nd there seems no future development likely to reduce it importance (Patzer, 1985). What is beautiful is good which was said by Dion et al (1972). When a study was taken by Dion et al found that physically attractive people have more socially attractive personality, they have happier marriages and in a whole their lives are happier and more successfully than the one who are less attractive. When women were asked whether they were willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion, 40% said yes, up 3.7% from 1998. (Cottoninc 2000). 4.3The impact of Ideal body image on consumers: In todays consumers society where womens bodies are frequently used to sell products, the ultimate commodity has become the female ideal body image. (Orbach, 1993). Since the 1960s the ideal body for women bodies has become lighter while real bodies have been getting heavier (Garneret al 1980). This has resulted in a bigger difference between the real and the ideal (Benson,1997). As popular models and actress represent current female ideals it is necessary to examine their depictions in the media (Wiseman et a, 1990). Today a lot of consumers are overwhelmed because of media. The effects that advertisements have on the consumers have changed everything from their fashion to their lifestyle in the society. Circulated as the norm, notions about the ideal are culturally specific trends that become mistaken for reality (Gorgan, 1999). The concept of an ideal body is given to us by the society of the world of today. The ideal now dictates a slim- hard – toned body (Benson, 1997). this perfect female body would be between five foot five and five foot eight, long legged, tanned and vigours looking (p.39 Coward, 1984). The media has drilled into the minds of people about the ideal body as being thin, tall and looking good to the society. With links to neurobiology, ideals are viewed as in-built responses guiding men and women in how they want to look and how they want others to look (Anderson, 2000). Overweight people are discriminated against in a culture that is unforgiving and judgmental towards fat people (Anderson, 2000). An ideal body for women has to perfect without any flaws. Achieving the ideal body will take time and money, where people are willing to spend these days. There are people in the society will go all the way out to look perfect and get their ideal body shape, even if the person has to go through many cosmetic surgery. In advertising technology has over taken, today every celebrities and super models have their photo shoot airbrushed before come out in magazines. Many of the images seen are artificially constructed using modern photographic techniques and air brushing (Coward, 1984). Although consumers know that these images are modified to look nice, they still opt for cosmetic surgery. Among other proposals are for success rates to be included on cosmetic surgery adverts and for local sports centres to be made more female friendly by being cleaner and safer (BBC, 2009). There are many celebrities have gone through many cosmetic surgeries and these consumers think this is the ideal body image and start to admired. Airbrushing should be banned in advertisements aimed at children to tackle body image pressure, say the Liberal Democrats. (BBC, 2009). President Douglas McGeorge has said he was particularly concerned about younger vulnerable readers of magazines who are being targeted very heavily (BBC, 2009) Although it is true that women may be entrapped in this system if beauty, the potential to change society and resist cultural pressure is negligible (Bordo, 1997). Smith (1990) believes that women should actively seek to achieve the ideal body in a form of femininity, body dissatisfaction is positive. He also argued that does not take in account the negative consequences of body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and eating disorders. This also brings in the male to be more dominated and stronger than compared to women, where women are pressured to be thin and weak. The view also ignores the role of the fashion industry, which is said to dictate the ideal (Grogan, 1999). When a study was conducted on teenage boys (Huenemann et al, 1966) found that more than half of the response wanted bigger biceps, bigger chest and bigger shoulder. This should that the even male are now getting conscious about their body image and when it is looked back , the media started about in women and then now in men. A recent study says that cosmetic surgery is increasing rapidly in men. It has also been suggested that male dissatisfaction is more pronounced in older men (Anderson, 2000). Although men have different perspective of body image when compared to women. As women are objectified for the active male gaze, they become objects of desire and all emphasis is place on their bodies. (Mulvey, 1980). 36% women seriously consider plastic surgery cause theyre unhappy with the way they look. 90% of women said their bodies made them feel down and they think about it everyday. 50% of school girls say they are on a diet (BBC, 2001). The focus on womens appearance has got out of hand no-one really has perfect skin, perfect hair and a perfect figure, but women and young girls increasingly feel that nothing less than perfect will do.(BBC,2009). Body image is a persons subjective evaluation of what it means to them to have that body within their culture (Grogan, 1999). 4.3 Effect of celebrity advertising on consumers and society: Tellis, (1998) defined advertising as communication a firms offer to customers by paid media or space. There is no doubt that advertising is a formative influenced within modern Western culture (Pollay, 1986). According to recent research statistics, the number of celebrity advertisements has doubled in the past ten years. (Brandchannel ,2006). There is now little dispute that the content of commercial television is primarily a vehicle to deliver audiences to advertise to advertisers and that glossy magazines serve that same purpose (p.75, Giles, 2003). Studies show that we are significantly more dissatisfied with our own appearance after being shown TV ads featuring exceptionally slim and beautiful people. (BBC, 2001). The effect that advertising has on the consumers of today is very big impact. Studies have also shown that women who read fashion magazines are more likely to have poor body image and suffer from eating disorders (Harrison and Cantor, 1997). By becoming a reference point against which comparisons are made, fashion adverts can greatly effect men and womens body esteem (Grogan, 1999). When a survey conducted by Glamour magazine (1984) found that 75% of women taught that they were fat. The advertisement is based on the marketing strategy of the company, when there is a marketing outcome its generally changing the behaviour of the consumers. The process are classified as cognitive that are know as consumers attitude (Tellis, 2004). According to Foxall (1998) consumers attitude is recognised as a crucial link between the consumers thinks about the products and advertisements and what they buy in the market place. Aker et al (1994) suggested that the attitude concept is an important factor to advertising Management. The attitude of the consumers in one of the important factor for a company to plan their marketing strategy, and to find out the consumers attitude can be done through advertisements. The distortions are characteristic of anorexia and bulimia are some times literally and concretely evident in fashion advertising (p.134, Gordon, 2000). First, studying the advertising efficiency on market outcome is mainly for accountability (Tellis, 2004). Few advertisements depict mundane levels of attractiveness and instead exclusively star the overwhelming handsome and beautiful (Patzer, 1985). It is such models that become icons and set the ideals to which people try to adhere (Ibanga, 2002). As the fashion industry is said to represent the true ideal of beauty models create the standard to which people are to meet (Winkler, 1994). The task of the advertisers is to favourably dispose viewers to his product, his means, by and large, to show a sparkling version of that product in the context of glamorous events. The implication is that if you buy the one, you are on the way to realizing the other- and you should want to (p.26, Goffman, 1979) Fashion has become a global business since the 1960s to dress to have success and the power of the brand has become more significant in the past few years. The fashion advertisings has become a very powerful and a multi-pound business, as the brands have become more of a social symbol in the society of today. the survey found that online advertising could extend the reach of an ad by about 10% and increase brand awareness by around 6% (BBC,2003) Fashion plays a very major part of peoples lives. As models become role models, consumers are increasingly growing up with feelings of complete inadequacy attractive people are repeatedly shown in adverts on a daily basis (Body Image, 1998). In fashion adverts directed at both men and women the consumers is seduced, dazzled and offered a visual feast with the central piece, the object of desire being the model (Winkler, 1994). When a study was conducted by Garner (1997) among men and women how fashion models influenced their feelings about th eir appearance, 27% of women said that the always or more often compared themselves to models in magazines and 28% said that they study the shape of the models. Modelling came to epitomise dominant characteristics of western femininity : the importance of appearance; fetishisation of the body; manipulation and moulding of the body; the discipline and labour associated with beauty and body maintenance; the equation of youth with femininity lifestyles (p.70 Craik, 1993). The Advertising Standards Authority said they received only a small handful of complaints on the issue. (BBC, 2009) In advertising magazines is one of the most important media to fashion to advertise their product, this results to a heavy use of magazine among the female consumers. The same applies to reading fashion magazines. Experiments show that magazine photographs of super-thin models produce depression, stress, guilt, shame, insecurity and body-dissatisfaction. (BBC, 2001). The volume of content is growing and it is trapping young people in particular, into unhealthy obsessions about their own bodies (BBC, 2008). The fashion industry works in this way by using adverts that imply that by purchasing the brand the consumer will be buying the social esteem and image of model (Anderson, 2000). Thousands and billions of dollars came to ride on the common determination that these women were the most beautiful and fashionable in the world. It was a conspiracy bent on harnessing them to purely commercials needs (p.149, Howell, 2000) President Douglas McGeorge has said he was particularly concerned about younger vulnerable readers of magazines who are being targeted very heavily (BBC, 2009). Men and women increasingly get their ideas of what they should look like from the imagery they see in the media (BBC, 2008). Highly attractive models act only to perpetuate such views, lowering satisfaction among viewers. (Grogan, 1999). WHERE WOMEN GET THEIR CLOTHING IDEAS: 1999 1998 +/- pts. Already Own and Like 52.7% 50.4% -2.3 Store Displays 47.6% 44.3% -3.3 People I See Regularly 36.1% 38.6% +2.5 Catalogs 35.4% 36.3% +0.9 Family Members 23.7% 20.1% -3.6 Commercials/Ads 28.8% 25.6% -3.2 Fashion Magazines 23.2% 31.9% +8.7 Celebrities 10.0% 14.9% +4.9 Salespeople in Stores 12.4% 13.7% +1.3 Looking at the table above shows a clear view of what people look up to in terms of fashion in the year 2000. The highest in the table is the fashion magazines and then come the celebrities. This gives a very clear view that most of the consumers around the world follow the advertisement to get their fashion sense and these days it has a big effect on the society and their personality. According to Hall-Duncan (1979) claims that the content of fashion advertisements, its just not about clothes but also about the image that brings out the attitude of the person. Therefore in a sense it is both the cause and effect (Patzer, 1985). Thompson et al claims that a significant number of women and girls are exposed to print media. Fashion and beauty magazine availability is immense in society today (Gordon). †¦womens beauty and fashion magazines, which may be among the most influential media formats in perpetuating and reinforcing the socio-cultural preference for thinness and in creating a sense of dissatisfaction with ones own body ( p.49, Harrison and Cantor, 1997). In the society most of the people are influenced by the advertisements. This influence is not directly applicable to most endorsement advertising because there is very little interaction between the endorser and the consumer in the communication process (Kamins, 1989). Followers of socio-cultural theories have accused womens magazines of being propaganda for the desirability if the thin ideal (Wolf, 1990). The medias images and messages become what they see as a soothing voice in a storm of conflict, confrontation and confusion (p.60, Thomsen et al, 2001). By the first decade of the twentieth century, the fashion models of Paris had already established a standard of extreme thinness (Gordon, 2000). Vogue employee wrote that the figure of the time was straighter with less of a bust and hips, more waist and long lean legs (Steele, 1985). The classic and most widely utilized method is the paid-for media advertisement mostly found in fashion magazines and on television. (Brandchannel, 2006). In receiving messages from parents, peers, mass media and other outlets, young people undergo a process of socialization in which they learn how to be consumers in the marketplace. (Lear et al, 2009). The presence and presentation of celebrity role models in pre-adolescent magazines, as well as details regarding the kinds of activities the celebrity participates in, may powerfully affect how girls view their role in todays society (Fabrianesi et al , 2008). 4.4 Celebritys endorsements: Any individual who enjoys public recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement (McCracken, 1989). Aaker et al (1997) says that An endorser is a source of the information in the advertisements, which plays an important role in persuasive communication. Celebritys endorsements gives out an image that you move a step closer to the idols that the consumers admire by just buying one piece of garment. Celebrity endorsement transfers the personality and status of the celebrity as successful, wealthy, and distinctive directly to the brand. (brandchann

Literature of the 1970s :: essays papers

Literature of the 1970s The literature of the 1970’s contains a divergent amount of writers and genres. Poems, novels, and short stories are the main forms of expression, and these were produced by writers from around the world. â€Å"Many of the books in the 1970’s revolve around a general theme of man’s alienation from his spiritual roots†(Gillis). One author of the seventies is John Updike. He portrayed his characters â€Å"trying to find the meaning in a society spiritually empty and in a state of moral decay†(Gillis). Interest in the 1970’s focused on writers as disparate in the concerns and styles as V.S. Pritchett and Doris Lessing(â€Å"English Literature†). V.S. Pritchett is noted as a literary critic of remarkable education. She is also considered a master of the short story. Doris Lessing went from writing short stories collected as African novels concerning the role of women in contemporary society. â€Å"No playwright dominated this decade of both social and artistic unrest. Among the most acknowledged were Sam Shepherd, Lanford Wilson, David Mamet, and Neil Simon†(Gillis). Another noted playwright is Edward Franklin Albee. He is an American playwright whose most successful plays focus on familial relationships. His early plays are characterized by themes typical of the theater of the absurd. The characters suffer from an inability or unwillingness to communicate meaningfully or to sympathize or empathize with one another(â€Å"English Literature†). Another author of the seventies is Iris Murdoch. A teacher of philosophy as well as a writer, she is esteemed for slyly comic analyses of contemporary lives in her many novels such as The Black Prince. Murdoch’s effects are made by the contrast between her eccentric characters and the underlying seriousness of her ideas(â€Å"English Literature†). Eudora Welty, an American writer was born in Jackson, Mississippi. Some of her novels include The Robber Bridegroom, Delta Wedding, The Ponder Heart, and Losing Hearts. Her skillful re-creation of regional patterns of speech and thought make her well-noted. â€Å"Welty’s main subject is the intricacies of human relationships, particularly as revealed through her characters’ interactions in intimate social encounters†(Eudora Welty: Biography). Most of her novels and short stories are tales of eccentric and even hideous characters. She portrays them with charm and sympathetic humor. Many of the stories that brought her fame first appeared in The New Yorker Magazine. Another American novelist during the seventies was Michael Shaara. He was a short-story writer whose writing on military matters is known for its historical accuracy and realism.

Employee Portal System

INTRODUCTION The changes and improvement of technology in the community is not unfamiliar to us. Every day there is an innovation of advance technology to improve the performance of work and lifestyle of the humanity. It is most beneficial for companies with large amounts of clients and employees using their services or products. One of these is a City hall that caters service to their clients.The proposed study aims to design and develop a web based employee portal for the city hall of Paranaque which is a public sector of the government that deals with the city ordinance, city facilities, city government, and city projects this public sector helps the people by providing their needs such as jobs, health, education and peace and order of the city. Purpose and Description The chosen client for the proposed project is the Municipal of Paranaque which is located at San Antonio Ave, Paranaque City.It is an Establishment in 1888 that started operating because of the people who needs serv ices from the government. Also for the city ordinance, city facilities, city government and city projects this public sector helps the people by provides the needs such as jobs, health, education, peace and order of the city. Even though Paranaque City hall is a building housing of the administrative offices of a municipal government, its officials considered as a group.Since the city hall was established, it still has manual processes of gathering information of every employee that consume time instead of using it to a more productive work. Based on the interviews conducted by the group with the City hall of Paranaque, the process of gathering and updating information of employee consumed more time due to the manual process of storing information. The estimated beneficiaries of the employee portal is about 5. 000 to 10,000 The Employee portal of Paranaque city hall was Web Based employee portal.The system doesn’t only helped the said city hall manage the records of each conc erned personnel related to them but could also help them improve the quality of service they are currently giving for the employee’s. Anyone who has applied for viewing records knows the frustration of form-filling – and waiting as the hard copy travels up and down the approval hierarchy. This Employee portal with its powerful features cuts out the physical movements and enables HR to have a bird’s eye view of the employee situation and status in the company.The group has decided to choice this topic to help our client to save time in looking for their employee’s record. Maintaining the services that provide by the employees of the city hall of Paranaque should come up with the used of the modern technology by the access through internet that will give the people fulfilment when it comes in their satisfaction provided by the employee portal and when it comes in the services provided by the city hall of Paranaque for their employee. Project contextSince th e Paranaque city hall has a manual process and slow the entire organization down data being rearranged and kept by hand the time allotted of the other task will be used in manipulating the data particularly when making some changes and error is encountered the longer the time will be consume the greater amount of effort will be lost during the process of looking the information that needed. With the information that the proponents have gathered upon doing researches, studies and interviews with the client representative, the idea of automating the old process of the city hall have been discussed.The proposed Web Based Employee Portal for the said city hall is greatly necessary to lessen heavy works in compiling large number of files of all the clients and other staffs in the city hall. The system doesn’t only focused in dealing with the employees’ information alone but it also caters the management of other staffs that could be related in creating an employee account. Basically, even if the system is web based, only authorized personnel of the city hall will be allowed to access it, but this doesn’t limit its use to the employees and other individuals concerning the city hall’s transactions.Objectives The general objective of this study is to develop an Employee Portal for Paranaque City Hall that will give them hassle free transaction. The reason for writing this report is to analyse the existing system of Municipal of Paranaque which is the Employee portal. The group’s objective is to be familiarized to the concepts and principles use to develop the system and does the system help to improve the quality service of each employee’s. The group wants to know the process on how the system works/function.The group wants to learn the benefits of the system and also its disadvantage. Specific Objectives a. To design an Employee Portal for Paranaque City Hall using GUI features. b. To provide user account for all system entit y. c. To provide employee’s attendance with their available leave. d. To provide health reports of the employees such as health issues and previous health record. e. To provide the salary of the employees with/without overtime. f. To create a Login/Logout module for the Administrator and the employees. g. To gather records of the employees in fast and easy way.Scope and limitation The study will focus on the development of the employee’s portal of city hall of Paranaque this will include the employee’s information where they can view and update their information or background, health records to trace their health status, employee’s attendance to view the number of absences and employee’s status, salary for the month with or without the overtime pay, available leave for the whole annual year the employee must create their account to get access to the system to avail the system features.Some features of the system are viewing the available leave, mon itoring of tardiness or absences of the employee, viewing the salary for the month and checking up their health issue. The system will be accessible and available through the use of internet the coverage of the study is entire record keeping of the employee’s information however errors may encounter on the process of making accounts for every employee due to some of the employee may not be computer literate or don’t have internet access specially to the older employee in the city hall of Paranaque. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREThis chapter discusses the main points of other written works and reports on research that were deemed as essential to this study due to their association to one another. Moreover, these related literature and studies were able to aid the researchers of this study to progress in developing the system with various existing systems. RELATED LITERATURE The proposed system concentrates on the development of an employee portal of city hall of Paranaque . In the book entitled International Encyclopaedia of Business and Management, it was noted that different systems are used these days to manage and complete transaction necessary.This goes beyond the very definition of electronic commerce that generally refers to the use of tools related to telecommunication. As more and more people are becoming used to the innovation of technology, there is a growing demand to secured use of the internet. According to the Internet System Handbook (Lynch & Rose, 2005), the realms of the internet stretches to every continent, the exact size of the cyber world can only be approximated. All the same, its growth is very dependent to the needs of the online community. The InternetThe internet generally consists of various routes of connections which accommodate delivery of information. Even if the closest path or way is out, the travel of the information to it destination still pushes through provided that there are alternative routes. Users who have th e connection may be affected by the bandwidth and the power of the server. The World Wide Web The World Wide Web consists of many web pages. Data is the core element of these web pages. This includes text data, interactive data, and the likes, which are only available for the viewing of the surfers.Web programming works hand in hand with the essentials of the World Wide Web as this is the foundation of the practice of researchers. Using PHP Programming Language PHP is typically defined as pre-processor due to the fact that the server calls the software installed in the server when opening the page. The installed PHP software operated by means of interpreting the scripting and nothing else. Consequently, all other processes are ignored to give way to the execution of the PHP processes. Scripts written in PHP can be edited and uploaded in a convenient manner. Regular text tools such as Notepad can be used to write PHP scripting.A file that will be executed as PHP scripting must have a n extension name of â€Å"php†. Using MySQL There are three different ways by which MySQL database system can be accessed. First is the local accessing which necessitates the programmer to utilize particular packages equipped towards tendering a complete and functioning system. The second way is through the use of the MySQL command line software that can be opened over the internet. The last means if through a running web interface. PhpMyAdmin As a set of PHP scripts, PHPMyAdmin works by providing access to MySQL database through installation and via web pages.A number of facilities will then utilize to have this kind of application operate. These include modules for logging in, maintenance, query, and testing of database. Content Management System A content management system is a kind of system that generally organizes contents that can be placed in the web pages. Likewise, it provides a collection of procedures that are used to supervise the work flow in a collaborative env ironment. By organization, it pertains to the addition, deletion, and editing or modification of contents published in web pages. There are different content management systems that can be found over the internet these days.One of the most popular examples is the one used in web logs or simply called blogs. Content management systems are typical for blogging platforms such as Blogger, Word Press and Live Journal. Foreign Literature A  web portal  is a  website  that brings information together from diverse sources in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displaying information (a  portlet); often, the user can configure which ones to display. Apart from the standard  search engines  feature, web portals offer other services such as  e-mail, news, stock prices, information, databases and entertainment.Portals provide a way for enterprises to provide a consistent  look and feel  with access control and procedures fo r multiple applications and databases, which otherwise would have been different entities altogether. What is a portal? â€Å"Portal† has been the buzzword of the networked age since 1997. Portals were so popular in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumers (B2C) applications that the business world borrowed an old jingle: â€Å"I'm a portal, he's a portal, she's a portal, we're a portal, wouldn't you like to be a portal, too? † Portal derives from the medieval Latin word portale, meaning â€Å"city gate. American Heritage Dictionary defines a portal as â€Å"a doorway or an entrance, or a gate, especially one that is large and imposing. † New definitions for portals in the networked environment can be found on many Web sites. A synthesis of these new definitions is as follows: a Web portal is a doorway that can be customized by individual users to automatically filter information from the Web. It typically offers a search engine and links to useful pages, such as news, weather, travel, and stock quotes. A portal can also be defined as a customizable Web search engine to reflect the MY trend in current Web development.The platform for a portal Web site is a search engine, but a portal is different from a general search engine in that it can be customized by individuals for automatic, constant search for specific information, and it can deliver the results to individuals in a predefined way. A customizable search engine is unique to the user; it is different from anyone else's. References (1. ) Jian-zhong Zhou, â€Å"The Evolution of Journals and Early Scholarly Publications from Ancient China to the Twentyfirst Century,† Journal of Information, Communication, and Library Science 7, no. 3 (Mar. 2001): 1-11. 2. ) Hadley Reynolds and Tom Koulopoulos, â€Å"Enterprise Knowledge Has a Face,† Intelligent Enterprise 2, no. 5 (Man 30, 1999): 28. Local Literature WikiPilipinas is an online, free content encyclopedia on the Philippines. WikiPilipinas features encyclopedic articles covering its 12 Main Portals, namely; Government and Politics, Philippine History, Media and Entertainment, Culture and Arts, People and Society, Business and Economy, Geography and Travel, Philippine Communities, Religion and Beliefs, Science and Technology, and Sports and Leisure. In addition, the encyclopedia also as portals on special topics such as Philippine Music, Native Cuisine, Traditional Filipino Games, and many more. The name WikiPilipinas is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website) and Pilipinas, the Filipino term for Philippines. The project was conceptualized in February 2007 by the editors of Filipiniana. net. Together, Filipiniana. net and WikiPilipinas. org aim to become the two primary portals to Philippine knowledge. WikiPilipinas is an ongoing project written collaboratively by volunteers around the world in an effort to build the largest Philippine knowledgebase.With few excepti ons, the contents of WikiPilipinas can be edited at any time, by anyone with access to the Internet, but contributions should be guided by the policies and guidelines that WikiPilipinas editors have identified. WikiPilipinas is building the Philippine Websites portal to provide a comprehensive scope of knowledge on Philippine Websites. Our pool of editors are presenting this content outline as we build the best of what WikiPilipinas can offer for the Filipino people. The major topics divided into several categories provide the organizational framework for this Philippine Websites portal.The outline and its contents will also showcase the collaborative efforts that we can start within WikiPilipinas. This content outline will undergo a thorough review process to ensure that it meets the highest standards that WikiPilipinas upholds. http://en. wikipilipinas. org/index. php? title=Portal:Philippine_Websites METHODOLOGY We conduct a survey for our system implementation of organization po rtal system and we came up developing the system for the city hall of Paranaque due to lack of systematically process of employee’s background checking and checking of available leave, the total salary for the month, and health reports.This section presents the requirements specification, analysis, project design which includes the context diagram, data flow diagram and the system flow chart, the software development tool and the software testing. Requirements Specification Conceptual framework is used to give the readers visualization and some understanding of how the proposed system works and will develop. With the aid of this diagram, readers would find it easy to understand the existing and the proposed software. It describes what the software will do and how it will be expected to perform. Fishbone Diagram Shows the requirements to develop a Employee Portal.One requirement is that the design must be extensible, consistent and have a good concept and standard techniques. The researchers must have the determination and dedication to finish a good project, effort, Cooperation, Time Management and must have knowledge in programming. Another is the client will help the researchers in developing the system by discussing the current system of the company by giving their business rules, Analysis and company information. And in order to finish the project, the researchers must have a good project management by having develop the schedule and estimate time and cost for activities.The Materials needed of the system consists of a computer, browser. The hardware component of the system consists of a computer and Web server. These two components are needed together with the system applications to meet the required specifications. In order to maximize the performance of the system, it is recommended to at least exceed the minimum requirements. Materials: Computer System: a. ) Monitor b. ) Mouse c. ) Keyboard d. ) CPU e. ) Database of the system The Employee porta l of Paranaque city hall was developed under the following specifications: Operating System: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7Processor: Intel Pentium Memory: 2 GB Video card: 1 GB On the basis of foregoing concepts, findings and theories, here is an insight of conceptual model shown below. Employee Portal of Paranaque City hall 1. Analysis a. System Requirements b. System Definitions 2. Design a. Data Flow Diagram b. Design for the system 3. Development a. Program Coding b. Database validation c. System test and improvement 1. Knowledge Requirements a. PHP web programming b. Reservation System and Database 2. Software Requirements a. OS (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc. ) b. My SQL database c. XAMPP Control Panel . Internet Browser – INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT Analysis Operational Feasibility Since the process of gathering information of the employee we proposed this employee portal system for Paranaque city hall to lessen the cost of time or delaying the pressures fo r the employee. They can check and update their information through the use of the internet and the website we provide to check their salary for the month with or without the overtime pay, available leave, health issue and attendance report. Technical FeasibilityAs our research go further we learn that the city hall of Paranaque have already developed their system, the difference between their system and our proposed system is that the website is dynamic and we include Database, CCS/JavaScript, PHP, HTML, My SQL and it is more accessible, available, reliable, user friendly and visible for every employee We create the system using the My SQL, CSS/ JavaScript for the inscription of the website for the city hall of Paranaque, PHP for developing the accessibility and availability of the website through the use of internet and Database for gathering and updating the information of each employee Schedule feasibility Economic feasibility Design In order to carry out the objectives of the s tudy in regards to the development of the system. A system design is conceptualized with respect to the features and functionalities of the said system. Context Diagram of Employee portal Development & TestingThe system can be developed for a variety of purposes, one is to meet specific needs of a specific client/business, and it includes sets of tasks and deliverables needed to develop the system. The proponents used the scrum wherein it follows the project from the concept made by the group, by creating product backlog, sprint backlog. Scrum The scrum model includes the following stages: product backlog, and sprint backlog. In which the product backlog is a prioritized list of what is required for the project while the sprint backlog is the list of tasks that committing that they will complete in the current sprint. Product backlog Product Backlog is the core list of all functionality desired in the product to be done.It includes functional requirements and non-functional requirem ents. It utilizes the simplest and the most effective way for prioritizing a simple list. The product actually makes decisions about features priorities. Items with the highest priority are completed first. Items may be deleted or added at any time during the project. Sprint backlog The sprint backlog is a simple list of the tasks that must executed by the team in order to turn a selected set of product backlog items into a deliverable increment of functionality. Software Testing The used of positive and negative testing of the system will have to go through different tests to determine the system functionality and reliability.It is essential to test the system for the proponents not to miss any error of the software. Alpha testing The Alpha testing used for white box and black box testing techniques, the focus is on simulating real users by using these techniques and carrying out tasks and operations that a typical user might perform. Once these techniques have been satisfactory co mpleted, the Alpha testing is considered to be completed. White box testing White box testing is a method of tests structures or working of an application with the knowledge of the internal working of the code base. * Control Structure Testing – The control structure testing has three types of techniques: a. Condition testing – test the logical conditions contained in a procedural specification. b. ) Looping Testing – is a method that focuses exclusively on the validity of iterative constructs or repetition. c. ) Data Flow Testing – method selects test paths of a program according to the locations of the definitions and uses of variables in the program. Black box testing Black box testing is a software testing techniques in which functionality of the system is under tested without looking at the internal code structure. Beta Testing Beta testing can be considered a form of external user acceptance testing. The system is released to groups of people so tha t further testing can ensure the product has error or bugs.

Can Prejudice Ever Be Eliminated? Essay

The idea of prejudice has been present for several decades now, and is so deeply rooted in our society today. They can be defined as a set of negative and irrational feelings, beliefs, and actions that are directed towards those of a different race, culture and religion. In the States, the African-American race has long been under prejudice by the Whites in the community. The Holocaust during World War II is also a portrayal of extreme prejudice against the Jews. According to Psychologist Gordon Allport, prejudice emerges in part as a result of normal human thinking, in other words, it is in human nature. Despite efforts and measures taken to reduce and minimise the extent of prejudice today, as long as humans have a conscious thought, they will always be prejudice in one way or another, and prejudice can and will never be eradicated. Through all the movements toward equal rights, there are still groups of people who are faced with prejudice and unfair treatment, one of which is LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) community. LGBTs have been faced with many challenges regarding their fair rights and acceptance in society. One key issue that has become more apparent recently is the allowance of homosexual marriage. Our world has become more accepting, but still lacks in complete recognition of homosexuals. There are still many out there who do not recognize them as a part of society and it has affected more than just their community. Children who have parents that are homosexual are also affected because they face the prejudice from others who do not understand, which has damaging effects on the child’s development. Many homosexuals look to adoption when they decide to have a family because of their unique situation, and are also faced with discrimination when going through the adoption process. Though in other parts of the world like the Netherlands, Norway and recently USA, homosexual marriages are allowed, in Singapore, Section 377A of the Penal Code indicates that it is a crime to have homosexual marriages, showing the conservative of our society and the unacceptance of LGBT community. As such, though the acceptance level towards the GLBT community have been increasing throughout the years, the idea of removing the social stigma is seemingly impossible. Interracial marriages are yet another issue in which many around the world are prejudiced towards it. Interracial marriages have a hard go at it. They suffer not only from the prejudice of others, but also from problems of differences between their respective cultures which combine with those already present in a marriage. In USA, marriage between a Black and White is still being frowned upon by many in the society, mainly because of the prejudice against the Blacks which has been around since the 1900s. Not only the parents will be discriminated against, their children will also be frowned upon by the society. In the book â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† which touches largely about the topic of prejudice in USA back in the early 1900s, a White man named Dolphus Raymond was frowned upon by society by marrying a a black woman and having children with her. His children were being discriminated against for the fact that they have â€Å"dirty blood†, as the White’s blood which is supposedly ‘pure’ is tainted with a Black’s. In present times, though the final law against interracial marriages in the States was removed on 2000, the social stigma will still be present. In addition, gender prejudice had long been woven into the fabric of most societies. It was driven by a universal belief that women were the weaker of the sexes emotionally as well as physically and must be protected from the world outside the home. Normally, males were expected to be the breadwinner of the family and dominated in family matters, particularly those relating to the outside world in commerce and politics. Females were expected to assume domestic chores and cook. At the same time, it was their responsibility to bear children and raise them according to the values and morals of the society in which they live in. Similarly, sons in families enjoyed more freedoms than daughters in just about every known society. In some provinces in China, due to the one-child policy implemented by the Chinese government to reduce population size, baby girls are being thrown into a †slops pail† to die due to the Chinese’ preference for sons over daughters. Hence, this idea and notion about women being the weaker sex amongst the two will always be inherent in the world, and as such, gender prejudice can never be eradicated. One of the challenges in eliminating prejudice is that the social stigma is so deeply rooted that the mindset of people will not be easily wavered. Though the manifestations of discrimination and prejudice are not as severe as they may have been in the past, but the problems still exist, and that the problems still have their negative effects. As of late, many parts of the world have perhaps â€Å"matured† and learned to peacefully appreciate the differences in people. But there is a small group that still discriminates against the black and looks down on women – both these problems have not ceased to exist. The society which we live in also constitutes to the challenge in eradicating prejudice. In Western countries like Canada and Norway, their thinking and mindset are liberal, and as such the acceptance level of LGBT is significantly higher than that of Asian countries. As compared to a conservative society like Singapore which adheres to a set of Asian values, LGBT will be frowned upon by the society because it is â€Å"morally incorrect and of improper behaviour†. Our acceptance level towards this community will never be full. As such, societies that we live in right now will hinder the pathway to eliminating prejudice completely. The process of eliminating prejudice from our society will no doubt be an arduous one. Though world-wide efforts put in by the various organisations to assimilate everyone may reduce the extent of prejudice in today’s world, but success of it is as unfeasible as the idea of a Utopian Society. After all, just as what Edward Roscoe Murrow quotes: â€Å"No one can eliminate prejudices – just recognise them. † The idea of eradicating prejudice will only be nothing but a dream.