Effects of Music on Counsumer Behavior Free Essays

string(178) " and three types of involvement \(low involvement, cognitive involvement, affective involvement\) on the formation of attitudes towards a brand in the context of TV commercials\." The idea of using music as a way of advertising goes all the way back to colonial times when street vendors hawked their good to the tune of a melodic chant. Of course we also know that music has been used often as a way of fixing a product in our mind. A memorable tune that â€Å"sticks in your mind† is the marketer’s dream. We will write a custom essay sample on Effects of Music on Counsumer Behavior or any similar topic only for you Order Now Music that is written for a company or industry often benefits the entire industry. One of the first industry wide musical plugs (no pun intended) was for the tobacco industry through songs such as the 1836 song Think ; Smoke Tobacco, by John Ashton and Pipe de Tabac by John Hewitt. Lyrics also play an important part in the use of music as advertising. Just as a catchy tune could attack your senses, a good â€Å"jingle† or cute lyrics could become a part of society for quite some time. The power of this form of advertising is just formidable. Consumer researchers have found emotional response to advertisement, by consumers. Background music is one of the major component influencing audience responses to certain products that they buy. Popular music in television commercials is nothing new. In fact, television advertising right from its very beginning in the early 1950s has relied heavily on music to get people’s attention, set a mood, creates the right brand image and sells the advertiser’s product. The reason why is simple it works. Music plays an important role on individuals belonging to various cultural backgrounds. Music can relax us, excite us, make us want to get up and dance or simply involve ourselves by listening. That’s what makes it such a powerful tool in advertising. Very often, more recognizable songs are used as background usic to set a mood or to help establish an image for the product. Early television commercials in the 1950s featured well known classical masterpieces as background music, to attract consumers towards their product. Advertisers later on expanded themselves into jazz and rhythm and blues. Soon TV commercials were featuring songs like Duke Ellington’s â€Å"Satin Doll† and Gershwin’s â€Å"Rhap sody in Blue† as background music to help sell a variety of different products. Music plays the following role Entertainment: Music contributes to the effectiveness of an advertisement by making it more attractive. A good ad always tries to engage the attention of an audience, and makes it entertaining for them. To an extent all music broadcasted on commercial ads as well as radio serves as a loss leader. Any music can potentially act in this role of entertainment. Moreover, the music need not necessarily be evident of any special attraction with a particular product or service in order to play an effective and useful function. Structure/Continuity: Music can be used in various structural roles. As a structural role, music helps in tying jointly a sequence of visual images and series of dramatic episodes, narrative voice-overs, and a list of product appeals. This is the function of continuity. Memory ability: Music should be such in advertisements that it increases the Memorability of the product’s name. Consumers are known to favor products which give some degree of recognition or familiarity, even if it is merely the product’s name. Thus, the association of music with the identity of a certain product may greatly aid in product recall. Lyrical Language: A fourth technique of musical enhancement is the use of lyrical language. Vocal music permits the conveyance of a verbal message in a non spoken way. Language utterances can sound much less naive or self-indulgent when couched within a musical phrase rather than simply spoken. An individual can respectably sing things which would sound utterly trite if said. Targeting: Once an appropriate medium is chosen, second considerations are targeting the consumer, thereby engaging or charm those viewers who constitute the target demographic group. Music has long been identified with various social and demographic groups. Musical style therefore assists in targeting a specific market. The style may function as a socioeconomic identifier or may act as a device for addressing a specific group of audience. Authority Establishment: Music enhances to the credibility of the product in this way that establishes its authority. A simple way of establishing authority is through expert testimony. Authority may also be fostered through testimonials of non-technical authorities . Thus to an extent to succeed in advertising an audience, should also be kept in mind , advertising done must also have genuity in it. Music affects shopper time perception: Several studies indicate that music can effectively reduce anxiety, increase positive mood ratings, alleviate depression, and decrease frustration. Music has also been seen to influence consumer’s time perception. Standing in queues listening to the right kind of music makes the waiting experience more pleasant and entertaining hence reducing the perception of time in store. Music helps in making impulsive purchases: Music helps consumers associate some feelings or emotions such as joy, love, fear, hope, sexuality, fantasy and helps in developing a mood for shopping. Music also helps in creating an impulsive environment that can be extremely beneficial to the consumers in selecting a particular product. Increase brand loyalty: Music helps in enhancing brand loyalty in a way that it integrates the meaning of a message of the particular brand thus creating brand loyalty amongst the customers. Music is a positive addition to the consumer environment: Music plays an important role by creating a positive environment, under which all consumers are influenced by music. Example: When an individual enter the shop of K;N’s the jingle of the brand keeps on playing thus creating a positive effect on the consumer . Music has also been used to induce either a pleasant or unpleasant affective state and examine its Interaction with the affective tone of an advertisement (Gorn, Pham, ; Sin 2001). Both arousal, pleasure can be manipulated with music. Music and Congruence: Park and Young (1986) examined the effect of music (present, absent) and three types of involvement (low involvement, cognitive involvement, affective involvement) on the formation of attitudes towards a brand in the context of TV commercials. You read "Effects of Music on Counsumer Behavior" in category "Papers" Music increased the brand attitude for subjects In the low involvement condition but had a distracting effect for those in the cognitive involvement condition. Its effect for those in the affective involvement condition was not clear. They argue that music acted as a peripheral persuasion cue. When the music was attention grabbing it pulled listener’s attention away from the message and negatively influenced recall. The no music ads performed as well or better than the musical ads in terms of recall and recognition. Thus the relationship between the fit of the mood, induced music (happy/sad) developed the purchase decision for the customer. USES OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF MUSIC Fast or slow music in a retail environment Research found out that people move steadily when slow rhythm music is played. Study was conducted in two supermarkets found a huge increase in sales when slow rhythm music was played: â€Å"In that study the gross sales increased from $12,112 for the fast rhythm music to $16,740 for the slow rhythm music. This is an increase of 38%. In addition to it â€Å"Customers moved slowly when soft music was played, taking 128 seconds, and faster when fast music was played, taking 109 seconds. † Same results have been observed in restaurants: customers tend to persist when the music is slow and soft. Where you don’t want people to linger, you could be better off playing loud, fast tempo music especially if you run a fast-moving restaurant. But, retail environments often want the ir clients to stay for longer time in their stores, so softer music is more appropriate. A study discovered that customer spent almost 23% more money in a restaurant when softer music was being played. Interestingly, increase in spending came on the drinks bill (which grew by almost 51% on avg), which are the most profitable items in most restaurants. ? Loud or soft Usually, people spend much less time in the environment where louder music is played One article wrote: â€Å"A person is likely to stay in a restaurant playing soft music 20% longer than if the music is loud, with a slight increase in the amount of money spent on food and drinks. For grocery stores, it was found that the volume made no difference on how much money was spent. Another study by Caldwell and Hibbert (2002) found that when slow music was played, patrons stayed for 20% longer but also spent more on food and drink – in fact, up to 50% more. In other words, to keep your customers, keep it soft and slow. And likewise, if you want quick turnover, speed things up and keep it loud. † In bars, where music is very loud and fast that it hinders conversation, people drink more and drink faster. An academic study found: â€Å"Environmental music was associated with an increase in alcohol consumption. †¦ Forty male beer drinkers were observed in a bar. †¦ The results show that high level volume led to increased alcohol consumption and reduced the average amount of time spent by the patrons to drink their glass. † Use of hit songs and unknown songs In business and retail environments, popular music tends to be too distracting, taking people away from the task at hand, and makes them focus on the music. You want the music to â€Å"MELT† in the environment, giving a feeling of calm or energy, but not grabbing the attention of the people. â€Å"Popular or hit† music is too catchy, and causes lower purchasing in retail environments and decreased productivity in offices. The usic that should be played has to be good and very close enough to hit music that people enjoy it, but it must not be too catchy. Classical or chill outs In a study it has been found out that â€Å"Classical music† increases the amount of money people are willing to spend. Normally, people will buy more expensive goods when classical music is being played. MUSIC AND MARKETERS Marketers uses music to reach at own goal in making advertising. Marketers doing in following way: Music Exists In A Context Music does not work alone. It exists within an advertisement with complex visual, verbal, and other nonverbal stimuli. How all of these are perceived depends on the complex interaction of internal (biological) and external (social, cultural influences) factors which also affect when and how musical taste is developed. Music is primarily a cultural and social phenomenon and reflects the values and attitudes of a subculture. Sociological forces affect images and preferences about products that are desirable, and music, if it fits with those images, may enhance the following variables: 1) persuasion through prior learning and verbal association, 2) recall, 3) overall ad effectiveness, Preference for the product and 5) facilitation of mental images. The following-discussion will elaborate further on the topic of music as a facilitator of mental images, and its role in advertising, education, communication, psychology, and marketing. The Importance of The Role Assigned To Music In An Ad It seems that the salience of music in an ad will depend on whether the ad is primarily affective or cognitive based (Park and Young, 1986; and Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982), who the target market is, and how well the message communication goal (meaning) of the ad will fit with the music. Consequently, we suggest a tentative hierarchy of musical presence model, to define the role assigned to music in communicating the advertising message. Basically, the degree to which music is assigned a dominant role is revealed by the degree to which it will be in the foreground, be distinctive, will be noticed, and will be more likely to be part of an affect-based ad. The degree to which music is assigned a less dominant role is the degree to which it will recede into the background, be less distinctive, be less attention-getting, and the ad will be less likely to be affect-based. This model is based on observation of about 60 advertisements on day-time T. V. , and is presented here as way of summarizing the role music plays going from a most dominant and distinctive to a barely noticeable presence, to no presence. Since many ads have a combination of cognitive and affective components, with degrees of emphasis on one or the other, the role of music will tend to follow this degree of emphasis in the advertisement. That is, all things being equal, the more salient the role music has in the ad, the more affect-based the ad is likely to be, and We less salient role music has, the more cognitive-based the ad will be. The hierarchy of musical presence model is suggested as follows, going from most to least salient: A. in ads where music primarily carries the entire message and meaning, music will be used in the following ways: 1. When music with lyrics carries the ad’s verbal message and meaning, it has been assigned a dominant role in also providing an atmosphere, creating an image, setting a mood, and influencing affect throughout the ad. The ad will be primarily affective-based, appealing to feelings. In this case, music will always be in the foreground, with very little voice-over, if any. Sometimes music composed especially for the purpose of the ad, or a fairly well-known song for example, such as â€Å"April in Paris† (for rich French roast coffee by Maxwell House), can be used primarily to carry the message of the ad. The use of â€Å"April in Paris† reflects the age of the target market, desire for foreign travel, and its taste in style of music; 2. When the lyrics of the song do not carry the ad’s message directly (the words are about things other than the product and do not contribute to the atmosphere or mood), but the music is in the foreground throughout the ad, and is the primary form of communication; 3. hen instrumental or electronic music (without lyrics) is in the foreground, there is almost no voice-over, and the verbal message is brief and in written form, music has also been assigned a dominant role and will provide the above-mentioned attributes; B. in ads where the message is carried primarily by a voice-over, music is used in t he following ways: 1. Music is in the background, very quiet, generally not distinctive, resembles â€Å"elevator music,† and the voice-over continues throughout the ad; 2. The music background lasts for the duration of one or two short verbal phrases, usually at the end of the ad. It is used to emphasize a phrase as in a key brand attribute, or logo; 3. No music. Although most commercials use music, some research has indicated that music may distract from message processing, and other research supports the facilitating effect of music. While musical characteristics or elements do shape overall musical meaning, a musical selection can distract or enhance message processing, if placed in an inappropriate advertising context, where the ad’s intended meaning and the music are not a good. While music may enhance processing in one setting, it may distract in another. Its impact largely depends on how well it fits with the advertisement’s meaning, and the audience’s level and type of ad involvement. In trying to determine what musical selection fits with what advertisement, a clear communication goal of the ad is required (cognitive, affective), along with knowledge of the intended target market’s musical taste, preferences, and if possible, the meanings and feelings associated with particular musical selections. Finally, it is useful to possess an understanding of the musical characteristics or elements of the designated musical selection, as these often affect the above variables. From the musical presence hierarchy model, we note through preliminary observation that the more salient music is in an ad, the more affect-based the ad is. In general, advertising practitioners have used music which was familiar with their target market, and which fit with the ad’s meaning. Note that under conditions of high cognitive involvement, music is seldom used, and when used, seldom effective. How, When, Why Music Works In Imagery Production A number of studies find that music is considered as a valid facilitator of mental images. Music also has been used as a stimulus to evoke images in educational and therapeutic settings. Music used simultaneously with words and sounds was found to increase image production. Farnsworth (1976) reports that music evokes very little universally similar mental imagery beyond what appears in all cultures, such as the use of soft melodies for mothers’ lullabies. He also states that in western culture most people of the same subculture have similar imagery stimulated when presented with a descriptive narrative with specific imagery using concrete words. These words used to accompany music make for powerful, learned associations, so that when we hear the â€Å"Star Spangled Banner,† we hear the words that go with it and we all tend to have similar visual imagery. Since the same music may not evoke uniform imagery among listeners, there is uncertainty regarding whether or not high and low imagery music can be 1) agreed upon, and 2) distinguished by the type of music represented. Although the designative meaning of music is made up of individual images, thoughts, and memories associated with a particular musical piece (Meyer, 1956), and is therefore frequently individualistic, musicians have often written programmatic music with titles which encourage similar imagery. For example, Mussorgsky used pizzicato strings to represent what he labeled â€Å"chicken clucking† in his â€Å"Pictures at an Exhibition. † Advertisers of course supply â€Å"labels† with verbal statements about the product (emphasized by music) and/or lyrics of jingles. It appears that prior learning and verbal associations, when paired repeatedly with certain pieces of music, are likely to evoke more nearly uniform mental imagery among listeners. In a marketing and advertising context, imagery impacts consumers’ knowledge in many important ways. Imagery systems contribute to a definition of product imagery and affect how a brand â€Å"communicates† with the consumer. Imagery is a process through which sensory information is stored in working memory. Since memory imagery involves sensory and concrete representations of ideas, feelings, and memories, it can allow a visual reconstruction of an event in one’s mind which has been experienced before and stored in memory. Among the variables that can produce imagery-in an advertisement are words, imagery instructions, and music. Stewart, Farmer, and Stannard (forthcoming) note that in those situations where image advertising uses music, the use of a musical cue provides the opportunity to elicit images, beliefs, and associations. Their forthcoming study’s results indicate that music with lyrics is statistically significant in eliciting more image types of responses referring to people, actions, or setting than verbal cues. Findings in this study suggest that the musical cue is a more sensitive measure of memory than verbal product and brand cues. Another example where imagery plays a part in the degree of fit between the music and the meaning of the advertisement is in the romantic, nostalgic song â€Å"I’ll Be Seeing You. Used as background for a FTD florist ad, this song may prove effective. However, if paired with the packing up of a seasonal, everyday item like a portable fan, the effect will be somewhat comical. The organization of musical elements remain the same in the song, but the context surrounding the music has changed from a romantic, nostalgic setting (a good fit in terms of imagery) to a more mundane one. Therefore imagery of the product and the ad can be affected by the f t betw een musical meaning and the meaning of the ad. Music Also Affects Important Mood States. When a person enters in a restaurant, supermarket, or malls for shopping, Customers when enter in shopping malls, restaurant, or supermarkets their walking pace is fast and no product catch their eye they follow their mind set. They usually do not have in good mood due to huge traffic and unpleasant noise. Music not only slow down their pace but make their mood positive which ultimately increase the sales. Music not only enhances recall for a product or an ad through an evoked image, but it may evoke a mood, feelings, emotions, and behaviors. Consumer behavior theorists have conceptualized how consumers’ attitudes, affective states, and behaviors have been impacted by moods under central and peripheral processing, as well as affect -and behavior conditioning. Variables Affecting Mood Moods can be affected by many different variables. Gardner (1985) discusses studies of independent variables found to induce mood states, such as weather and temperature variation, positive test feedback, finding a dime in a phone booth, winning a computer game, receiving a free gift, getting cookies, and receiving good news and bad news. Participation in activities such as smiling or frowning, reading stories, and recalling or imagining emotional experiences may also induce mood changes. In view of the fact that music is a common element in commercials, and one which has a long history of mood inducement in a variety of contexts, the next section will focus on how music has been used as an independent variable to affect moods, as well as other dependent variables of interest to marketers. For brevity, this section will highlight key studies. Details on these and other studies are in Alpert and Alpert (1990) and Bruner (forthcoming). Gorn (1982) suggests that peripheral influences such as background music used in commercials may become associated with the advertised product (in memory, even if not consciously), and influence product choice through classical conditioning. Mere exposure did not lead to liking, which apparently depended on whether the target product, a pen, was presented with liked vs. disliked music. The second experiment by Gorn (1982) provided support for his hypothesis that when subjects were not in a decision-making mode; the commercial’s impact appeared to be more influential in its appeal when presented with musical background as opposed to product information. He concluded that through classical conditioning, the product becomes associated with the positive feelings of liked music. ? Commercial Business Uses of Music in Advertising Business uses of music in advertising date back to the earliest days of broadcast media. In the 1920s and 1930s, marketers like Procter and Gamble pioneered the concept of linking brand names to distinctive musical and dramatic themes. The approach was used not only in radio ads, but also in programming that the companies developed and controlled. It was later adapted to television commercials and to the enormously popular soap operas of the 1950s. Now music is used in advertising in key formats as a useful tool to sell products. Radio Two characteristics of radio give music a particularly important role. First, the medium is entirely dependent on engaging, creative audio. Second, because most listeners tune into the radio while driving or performing other activities, music helps to focus the consumer’s attention on the product. Jingles, which are original tunes composed specifically to support a certain brand, are widespread in radio advertising. They are effective in enhancing recall of the brand name and key selling points. Television and Multimedia Producers of television commercials and other forms of multimedia advertising frequently purchase licensing rights to popular music. They also hire composers and lyricists to create original music. In these media, it is important for music to complement, not compete with, the visual elements of an ad. However, songs and background tunes can be more memorable than pictures and words in establishing a mood or bringing a brand image to life. Branded Entertainment or Product Placement: Rapidly growing in popularity, this is the newest way of integrating music with a business strategy. An original entertainment product, like a music video, is created by marketers to showcase their brand. The idea is to build consumers’ sense of connection to a brand by engaging them with music. Coke Studio a big Success for Coke: Music is helping Coke against its competitor Pepsi in the cola war in Pakistan. By sponsoring â€Å"Coke Studio, Coke has gained major market share at Pepsi’s expense, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Coke now claims 35% of market share in Pakistan; Pepsi’s market share is now down to 65% from a high of 80% in 1990s which was achieved mainly through sponsorship of cricket in Pakistan. Coke Studio, sponsored by Coca Cola Pakistan, is a one-hour show that features musicians playing a distinct blend of fusion music that mixes traditional and modern styles. Helped by the media boom in Pakistan, the show has had dramatic success since it was launched three years ago. Effects of Music on Shoppers and Restaurant Patrons: According to a research people who heard music while shopping or eating at a restaurant or mall is influenced by the music and it affects what they buy and what they spend. Loudness, pace, rhythm of music effects on how long consumer spends their time in malls and restaurants, how much they purchase and how they view brands or products positively or negatively. Another research shows that departmental stores which play, top 20 music on the music chart, shoppers over 25 of those departmental stores believe that they have spent more time there and purchased more. On the other hand, departmental stores which play soft instrumental music, shoppers under 25 believe that they have spent more time shopping than they have. Therefore, these findings indicate that less preferred or unfamiliar music slows down the perceived time of the shoppers. (Yalch Spangenberg, 1990). REFERENCES http://www. queenslandnewsagents. com. au/assets/images/MusicConsumerBehaviour. pdf www. musiccog. ohio-state. edu http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Songs_in_advertising http://www. acrwebsite. org/search/view-conference-proceedings. aspx? Id=7166 suit101. com southasiainvestor. com riazhaq. com pakistanlink. org How to cite Effects of Music on Counsumer Behavior, Papers

Toyota Corporation Issue management plan

Table of Contents Introduction Issues Identification Issues Analysis Strategy Options Action Plan Evaluation of Results Reference list Introduction Toyota Corporation is a Japanese automobile manufacturer that is involved in robotics, biotechnology and financial services. The corporation has been in the industry since 1937, and has had a stain-free history and experienced an unprecedented growth in its operation, currently with over 500 subsidiaries and a labor force of more than 300,000 globally; however over the recent times, the corporation has been facing nightmares of all sorts.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Toyota Corporation Issue management plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company has been encountered by a number of crises ranging from leadership crisis, public relations, diminishing returns, and the global economic meltdown to the most recent crisis, the accelerator pedal defaults. In coun ter to these unanticipated situations threatening its continuity and in an attempt to recover from these crises, the corporation’s public relations department was necessitated to formulate an issue management plan. In developing the issue management plan, the corporation has identified the important aspects that need consideration: the crisis management methods to be adopted, the Toyota communication plan, and the corporation’s management team. It consists of ways of response to the crisis in reality and perception and metrics to define what scenarios are to be handled as crisis (Gottschalk 2002). Issues Identification The company’s issues identification approach takes into consideration the entire process of ascertaining the financial, political, legal, government and communication problems associated with the crisis at hand. It all started with the financial warning that was issued by the corporation anticipating its first ever loss since its operations commen ced close to seventy years ago. A financial forecast that revealed the first ever operating loss was attributed largely to the slump in sales of the manufactured automobiles and robotics and the fact that that the value of the Yen was continuously becoming inferior to the dollar and other major world currencies. Toyota problems was compounded by stiff competition from other automobile manufacturers notably Honda and the slump in the global economy occasioned by the events in Wall Street. Manufacturers of automobile around the world were faced with a tough challenge due to a shake in the operating environment that caused a sharp shift in demand because of the deepened financial crisis that spread over consumers in worldwide. According to The Economist (2010), â€Å"the entity had reduced its operating estimate to a loss of 150 Billion Yen in its fiscal year that ended March 2010; the reduced estimate was subsequent to surprising the international economic markets by decreasing its g roup working earnings predictions by an unparalleled 1 trillion Yen.†Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Toyota’s situation was further aggreviated by the recall crisis of its recently manufactured automobiles with supposedly faulty braking systems. This all started on 28th August, 2009 when a Californian highway patrol officer was travelling on Highway 125 in Santee California with members of his family when the Lexus ES350 they were travelling in unceremoniously accelerated out of control hitting other vehicles and rolling over an embankment bursting flames, killing all the four occupants. The incident was said to have been caused by a stuck accelerator that made the vehicle speed uncontrollably. This was followed by a series of similar accidents and complaints from customers over the issue, which led to the recall of over 8.1 million with US reporting 5.5 millio n cases and also led to suspension of sales of about eight of its best selling brands costing the corporation at least $54 million every day on lost sales. These crises coupled together have rely had a negative impact on the company’s operations in terms of moneys spend in rectifying the faulty pedals, lost sales, reduced profitability, decreased production and also its public relations. Notably the devastating impacts of these crises are evident on the company’s share, which has hit a new low of $71.80 in the New York stock and the corporation has reduced its networth by about $25 million. Issues Analysis Due to the proneness of the corporation to variations in the industry, the corporation has adopted a crisis contingency plan to cover uncertainties occurring, unlike in earlier times the corporation operated without a contingency plan that left the corporation at the risk of bad reputation, public scrutiny, even compromising its continuity in case where a crisis erup ts. The recall crisis took the American market by storm because of the negative publicity and anxiety caused to other customers with the latest Toyota models, the public went into a frenzy with many fearing to use our automobiles and discussions on social networks, televisions and print media reaching fever pitch. The management of the corporation in the US market went into a crisis meeting to evaluate the accuracy of the allegations and possibly do some damage control. The mangled wreck of the vehicle was collected and taken to the Toyota laboratories for investigations. However, preliminary reports on the crash from both the corporation and independent local authorities indeed showed that the Lexus ES 350 was acquired on a loan from Bob Baker Lexus Showroom of San Diego where the personal car of the victim was being held for repair in return. It was also clear that the Lexus may have been fitted with the wrong floor mats thereby interfering with its gas pedal. From these investiga tions, management learnt of the inherent risk in the latest automobiles from the American plant supplied into the market. In October 2010, an article in The Economist highlighted the level of hazard caused by the company’s automobiles.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Toyota Corporation Issue management plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Those affected were mainly individuals who had purchased their latest automobiles from the American plant. It was also reported that nine other separate incidents where local authority investigations on other accidents involving Toyota vehicles were done. Majority of the accidents were a consequence of wrong bottom mats and a number of others due to the spruce pieces on the Sienna models. Investigations reported also revealed that the other fatality accidents were as a result of unintended acceleration of the vehicles. â€Å"In depth investigations and analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) further revealed that the mats used on the floor of these automobiles were specifically meant for the RX 400 SUV Toyota Lexus but these were erroneously used on the ES 350 model.† This manufacturing error resulted in the accelerator gearshift to wedge against the rubber mats causing the vehicles to speed up abruptly. Strategy Options The issues management plan shall incorporate specific management strategy options to be taken during crisis, depending on the nature and extent of the crisis, to minimize the impact of a looming crisis and provide a response mechanism that will mitigate any crisis occurring. The strategic options should address diverse scenarios of crises ranging from environmental crisis, natural calamities, and technological mishaps; confrontational crisis such as industrial action or crisis arising from management goofs and skewed management values. For effective strategic positioning in anticipation of cri sis, the corporation should provide for crisis planning. Since most crises occur within the predictability of a corporation, for the anticipated crisis, it should identify the dangers or risks involved in its market and come up with an issues management plan, which shows the measures to be put in place when crises strike. Crisis planning is aimed at minimizing the impact of the crisis and provides a response system and also aims at putting the organization at the best possible position to counteract and recover from crises. However, when planning, the crisis team should be inclusive and not limited to specific disasters, although it can lay more emphasis on the anticipated crisis. A more effective way for the organization to take is creating a crisis management function within its operations.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This operates as a division in the organization and its functions includes; predicting any occurrence of a crisis, planning to curb crisis, communicating and advising the management about the vulnerability of the organization. Issues planning will address matters like crisis management methods, communication plan, management team and the evacuation team. Another option is creation of a crisis team that is well prepared to combat any crisis. The management should identify the main players to take positions in the team, based on their specialty, character and ability to work. The crisis team responsibilities include: restoring information networks, control and commands in times of a crisis while acquiring information, so as to provide the senior staff with adequate information on the situation. To enable teamwork and to solve the crisis, the crisis team needs to adopt crisis management, for example performing drills or scenarios to create an imaginary crisis, to evaluate how the team would respond in times of a real disaster. At the post-crisis stage, the management should put in place a crisis recovery plan. This involves steps that are necessary to bring back the organization to its functioning position. This involves: existing backup of important information, logs, staff and other lists; conducting an insurance review to make sure that it can adequately compensate all risks incurred; exploring legal elements of recovery with the legal department; and reviewing all current service agreements and check for post-crisis provisions and recovery support. In a case where the company has experienced enduring crisis, which hinder the company’s operation, it could consider discontinuing the business segment, brand or subsidiary affected by the crisis for sometime or forever; or engaging a strategic business combination, such as merger, takeover or amalgamations. Although this may seem unwise in the short-term, in the long-term it makes sense to the company in te rms of; the crisis may spread to other segments, savings in future losses, company reputation and improve on the company’s return on investment (Reid 2000). Action Plan For the organization to successfully implement the strategic options at hand, it needs to adopt an action plan. More importantly the action plan should incorporate an elaborate and well-structures communication plan. The communication plan involves coordinating, directing and communicating and providing the levels of command and channels of communication among the crisis team, the stakeholders and media when handling a crisis. Crisis communication can transform the unexpected into the anticipated and save the company’s credibility and reputation. More importantly is the media management strategy. Media centre is set up that will be headed a chief spokesperson or a senior communications and public relations officer. From this centre, the Chief Executive Officer and the Managing Director will be personall y available to give media updates on the state of affairs. The chief spokesman is supposed handle the media while the rest of the staff are advised to keep off not to communicate with the media personally or give any information that could interrupt the process. However, the adopted action plan should not be static rather flexible and adaptable with pertinent inclusion of issues and specifics that have come up. The action should ensure inclusion of a clear hierarchy of command that mentions by name and authority assigned to a given position in the case of an emergency. The contact of such personnel both physical addresses, postal addresses and cell phone contacts shall be part of the list to ensure information is conveyed expeditiously. Evaluation of Results This will entail establishing a mechanism for setting an agenda for evaluation and review. In evaluation of results, feedback is an important pointer. In the midst or after a crisis, the company should institute a corporation fe edback mechanism where affected parties will forward their responses and feedback on how they think the situation was handled and ought to have been done or not. On the corporation’s official website, the management should place a commentary or feedback portal that is interactive and offers necessary information. Also the corporation should design a facility level stakeholders’ scorecards† managed by the corporation’s CSO (The Economist 2009). Reference list Gottschalk, E. (2002). Crisis Management. Melbourne: John Sons. Reid, L. (2000). Crisis management: planning and media relations for the design and construction. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons. The Economist (2009). Losing its shine: Toyota. The Economist, vol. 393, pp. 75-83. This essay on Toyota Corporation Issue management plan was written and submitted by user Trevor Frye to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Michel Trudeau Killed by Avalanche in 1998

Michel Trudeau Killed by Avalanche in 1998 Michel Trudeau, the 23-year-old son of former Canadian Prime Minister  Pierre Trudeau  and Margaret Kemper and younger brother of current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was killed by an avalanche in British Columbias  Kokanee Glacier Park  on November 13, 1998. Three other skiers also present on the slopes were rescued by a national park service helicopter from the provincial park in the wilderness area northeast of Nelson, B.C., where the young Trudeau was presumed to have been pushed off the ski trail by the avalanche and swept down into Kokanee Lake, where he was believed to have drowned. A private memorial service for family and friends was held on Friday, November 20, 1998, in Outremont, Quebec, though his body was never recovered from the lake. After the Incident Nearly ten months after the avalanche that killed Michel Trudeau, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.) sent a dive team into Kokanee Lake to search for his body, but a long winter, cold summer, and snow in the Rockies hampered search efforts. Before beginning the search, the R.C.M.P. cautioned that it was possible young Trudeaus body may never be found because divers could only go down to a depth of 30 meters (about 100 feet) while the lake is 91 meters (close to 300 feet) deep at its center. After nearly a month of searching - largely due to the limited number of days of open waters on the lake and the high altitude that prevented deep diving - Trudeaus family called off the search without recovering the body and later erected a chalet nearby as a memorial to Michel. More About Michel Nicknamed Miche by Fidel Castro (of all people) during a visit with his grandparents to Cuba in 1976, Michel Trudeau was born only four months before on October 2, 1975, in Ottawa, Ontario. Upon retiring from politics, Michels father Pierre moved the family to Montreal, Quebec, where the 9-year-old Michel would spend the rest of his childhood. Michel attended the Collà ©ge Jean-de-Brà ©beuf before pursuing a graduate degree in microbiology at Nova Scotias Dalhousie University. At the time of his death, Michel had been working at a mountain resort in Rossland, British Columbia for about a year.   On November 13, 1998, Michel and three friends set out on a backcountry skiing trip in the Kokanee Glacier Park, but the avalanche separated the group from Michel as he was swept downhill into the lake.   After his death, a newly discovered varietal of rose was named after him, dubbed the Michel Trudeau Memorial Rosebush, with proceeds from sales of the new flower benefitting the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, which helps survivors and victims of Canadas many avalanches recover after getting caught in one of natures most destructive natural disasters.

Alice in Wonderland Quotes Make You Ponder About Life

'Alice in Wonderland' Quotes Make You Ponder About Life Alice in Wonderland is not just any ordinary child fiction. This classic story is full of philosophy and truisms. The absurdity of the plot is enthralling, but the underlying message leaves a lasting impression. These famous Alice in Wonderland quotes throw light on important issues in a subtle way.At first, Alice in Wonderland quotes sounds quite mundane. However, if you search carefully for inner meaning, you will find these quotes rich in truisms and lifes great philosophies. These 7 Alice in Wonderland quotes explained help you get into the skin of the character with these quotes. 1. AliceThis line is the opening text of the story. Right off the bat, Lewis Carroll introduces Alice to his audience as a girl who had a highly imaginative mind, and a love for creativity. The reference of a book without pictures and conversations points to a little girl with a head full of ideas, and a heart for adventure. 2. RabbitLewis Carroll could have used an ordinary expression such as Oh! My goodness or Oh dear! However, by using an uncommon phrase such as Oh my ears and whiskers! Lewis Carroll coined a new phrase that caught the imagination of young and old alike. Also, he sets the tone for the rest of the story, where the White Rabbit, which to Alices astonishment is one of the first animal characters she encounters that can speak. The speaking White Rabbit piques the curiosity of young readers who are now hooked on to the story.   3. AliceThis phrase is as legendary as the novel itself. The fact that Lewis Carroll uses an ungrammatical expression (the comparative degree of curious should have been more curious) to facilitate his story creates a grand introduction to the plot. The term curiouser and curiouser has now become popular in the English lexicon, alluding to a world of untold imagination, where normal rules dont apply.   4. AliceLewis Carroll had an uncanny way of bringing in deep questions in the middle of seemingly innocuous situations. Alice, who goes down a rabbit hole, gets acquainted with a strange world that lay buried beneath the ground. She finds everything about this world so bizarre, that she wonders whether she is dreaming. While pondering about the illogical turn of events, Alice also wonders about who she is and what is the purpose of her life. This contextually relevant, thought-provoking question urges the reader to also question his existence and how he relates to the world he lives in. 5. AliceIn the story, Alice faces a conundrum that makes her question her own sanity and wellbeing. She is so confused and befuddled, that she no longer trusts her own judgment and is unable to even talk about herself. 6. AliceAlice encounters a strange situation where the Duchess is nursing a baby which, for some reason resembles a pig. As the story unfolds, it turns out that the baby is actually a pig and it trots off quietly from the scene. Though on the face of it, this episode seems highly bizarre, Lewis Carroll points to deeply rigid social structures and the formalities that are accepted as good social behavior. The baby and pig metaphor points to our rigid views on what we find disgusting and cute. 7. The CatThe Cheshire Cat sums it all. This is a statement that helps the reader to connect with Alices feelings as she meets the strange characters in the rabbit hole. Here are 13 famous and bizarre quotes that make Alice in Wonderland a wonderful read. As you read these quotes, ponder on them with a philosophical point of view and find yourself staring at lifes greatest mysteries. 8. The Queenï » ¿15. The King18. Alice19. The Queen

Non-Employment ADR Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Non-Employment ADR Research - Essay Example eam is made up of trained, qualified and impartial fact finding individuals, who employ their expertise in offering dispute resolution services in the company (Cheeseman, 2010). This program allows for diverse evaluation of the issue at hand. Meetings are held between the conflict parties and the open door program specialists while investigations on the same issue are done confidentially. Information gathered is then analyzed in line with the rule of law and company requirements, after which a decision is arrived at. This ADR strategy has helped Intel corporation in a number of ways. First, the program provides employees with recommendations on conflict resolution. It provides the management with a basis upon which future conflicts can be avoided, alongside offering a resolution ground for the current disputes. Workable solutions have therefore been realized through this program. The most important aspect of this program is that employee participation in all activities undertaken by the program is not penalized, and therefore employees can express their concerns without fear of being sacked. This factor has facilitated the success of Intel Corporation in its ADR. Most of this company’s disputes emerge from liability claims. The company previously used to traditionally litigate claims. This means that it engaged the courts in litigating its claims. Court procedure for resolving disputes seemed favorable for the company, but the cost of the process in terms of both time and money raised concerns. The company realized that in most cases the claims were settled before trials took place and of course not before preparation time for the case (Jennings, 2006). In this regard, the company adopted mediation strategy for its ADR. This strategy allowed the company to significantly cut on the cost of making claims as well spare time for other activities within the company that generally improved the company’s welfare in business. Risks associated with the jury trials

Turkey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Turkey - Essay Example For other groups within the EU, letting Turkey become a member would greatly affect the cultural status of Europe. Because Turkey seems to be much more Asian in terms of the traditions and religion, these groups hold that Turkey would be having a hard time fitting itself in the European way of thinking (Laà §iner 17). However, from a personal standpoint, while Turkey has considerably achieved great leaps in improving its economy, if the country strongly chooses to join, the leaders must be able to immediately bring forth the changes in some of the internal and external policies up to the standards set up by the EU, otherwise the leaders are just stalling and are simply reluctant to become part of the EU. One of the strongest factors that prevented Turkey from being assimilated early was the incompatibility of its economic structure with that of the EU (Arikan 64). Due to the political and not of the economic interests of its leaders, instead of creating more liberal economic policies as well as unable to comply with the reciprocal obligations of the EU, Turkey was unable to close its status as a candidate for early accession. The instability within the Mediterranean regions also affected the status of the country (Arikan 65). Had Turkey chose to create steps in changing trade and economic policies according to EU standards, the development of the country would have been easier, as well as the accession into the EU. Despite Turkey being unable to let a reciprocal relationship with EU take place, the country was eligible to become an associate country, with the hopes of immediately starting the transition process (Arikan 65). Mutual obligations between the EU and Turkey were created, such as quantitative restrictions for Turkish exports to the EU, and the EU granting financial aids to Turkey that would mitigate workers

Sanitation and Medicine Changes in the Nineteenth Century :: Essays Papers

Sanitation and Medicine Changes in the Nineteenth Century The revolution in sanitation and medicine in the nineteenth century was a huge step forward in the public health movement. It brought about a major shift in the ideas of how individuals fell ill with a particular disease. While people used to think that diseases were sent by gods, they came to realize that illnesses were the result of germs, and could be controlled. There were new ideas about disease, and new discoveries in medicine and surgery that were a benefit to all people. What resulted was a much healthier population overall, from the working class to the upper class. Society used to think that people got sick because of religious reasons. They thought that people would become ill because they had somehow displeased the gods that ruled the earth. In order to restore health, people brought offerings to temples and prayed to the gods. Any "medical" procedures, or procedures that society later considered to be medical, were done not by any rational means, but done because they were parts of superstitious rituals. For example, when a person got a massage, or underwent bloodletting, a spell was said while the procedure was taking place, and the spell was what was considered to be the most essential part, and able to restore the person’s health (Sigerist, pg.132). Although the practice of healing through rituals took place much earlier in history (it began in ancient times), most of society still had not caught on to the idea that dirt and health were related by the beginning of the nineteenth century, and they certainly had not thought of germs yet. People bathed once a week, at most. If skin was covered by an article of clothing, there was no reason for it to be clean. Of this view, Henry E. Sigerist writes, "A woman’s leg clad in silk was attractive, even if it was filthy underneath," (pg. 26). In addition, doctors and other early health professionals had not yet come to realize that their clothes could be a transport for germs from one patient to another. Ann F. la Berge, who wrote about the public health movement in France, pointed out that society, once it began to figure out how germs could be spread, failed to realize that germs could simply be airborne, causing anyone to get sick.