Kellers Model Of Customer Based Brand Equity Marketing Essay

Kellers Model Of Customer Based Brand Equity Marketing Essay How do consumers evaluate service brands: An investigation of the performance of Harrods as a service brand to get their brand image Background of the Research Branding has been one the most exciting yet phenomenal marketing concept of the 21st century. A brand can be viewed as a promise made with consumers, the promise of providing consistent quality and satisfaction (Balmer Greyser, 2003). Therefore the term brand can be defined as a name, symbol, design or a combination of these to identify a product in the marketplace (Keller, 2006). Brands have become very important in recent years and are part of our everyday life and with so much choice available it becomes difficult to choose a particular branded product. Usually consumers tend to select products that are familiar to them, products that tend to have a clear meaningful set of values, attributes and brand names that are trusted (Keller, 2006). Both physical goods and services can be branded, however there has been a vast focus towards the branding of physical goods and very little work carried out on the branding of services (OCass Grace, 2004). The growth of services has been rapid across the world and it has become important to understand the tools that can be used to brand a service to initiate differentiation. Branding of physical products tends to be simpler because the consumer is able to hold, touch and feel the end product. Branding a service is slightly more complicated due to its intangible nature, because youre not going home with an item but more of an experience that occurs with services. Many scholars such as de Chernatony and DallOlmo Riley (1999), Berry (2000), McDonald, de Chernatony and Harris (2001) and OCass and Grace (2003, 2004) have taken an approach to create a framework that can be used towards branding a service. Most of these frameworks are created to measure services that are intangible such as banks, hotels, airline, financial and consultant services. This study will be focusing on the branding of Harrods services. The study has been motivated by the nature of service branding and the frameworks that have been created by scholars previously mentioned. However not all of these frameworks are applicable for this study and therefore will be concentrating only on the framework created by OCass and Grace (2004). The main reason being the framework created by OCass and Grace (2004) is the only one that measures service brands from the consumers point of view. The service brand model by OCass and Grace (2004) will be used against services being offered by Harrods. Harrods is basically famous for the luxury and high class products it offers, however this research emphasises on the services it offers. The main services Harrods offers are as follows: Karim Fayed hearing centre Beauty Sports Fitness Financial and property services Home lifestyle The studio Interior Design Innovation Furniture and interior design Food Fashion and accessories Fine Jewellery Weddings Occasions Corporate gifting services Healthcare Airport Services This research is not particularly focusing on one service it provides, rather it takes all these services in general and the respondents would be the customers of Harrods who have used any of its services. Aims and Objectives The main aim of this project is as followed. What are the service branding factors taken into consideration by consumers when selecting a luxury brand service provider; Harrods? The following objectives have been suggested and need be reached for a successful achievement of the project aim a) To identify, examine and discuss the relevant service branding associations consumers hold towards service brands b) To identify and discuss all the relevant service branding associations directly linked towards Harrods Services c) To examine how important are the service brand association for Harrods service consumers d) To evaluate the influence these associations have on the purchase of services from Harrods Literature Review Overview What is Brand? A brand is basically a trademark or a distinctive name of a product or manufacturer, it conveys and portrays the image of the product; word brand refers to a name, term, symbol, sign or design used by a firm to differentiate its offerings from those of its competitors, to identify a product with a particular seller, Kotler, (1999) stated. Developing a good brand has become a major task for many organizations today because it provides a number of advantages. Strong brands help the firm establish an identity in the market place (Aaker, 1991). A successful brand has a recognizable name which provides specific attributes to the consumer (i.e. quality, elegance, value). According to The Economist (1988) the basic purpose of branding is to build the products image, this image will influence the perceived worth of the product and will increase the brands value to the customer, leading to brand loyalty. From the marketing perspective, Kotler (1994) believes brands convey a few meanings to th e consumers like: Benefit: The help and benefit sought provided by the firm to its consumers, which is transformed by its attributes Culture: The brand reflects an organizations image and equity Personality: The brand is regarded with certain characteristics Users self-image: The brand reflects or consistent with consumers self-image Brand Value: Both physical and mental values provided by the brand to its customers Attribute: The functions of the product brand provide Companies normally develop brands as a source or mode to attract and keep customers by promoting value, image, prestige, or lifestyle. Hence, a brand is not just a symbol but comprises of core product, packaging and marketing communication, which includes many important meanings and values of a firm; the objective of brand building is to develop more valuable profits and benefits to the company. Relationship of Brands and Their Equity According to Motameni and Shahrokhi (1998) today brands play an important part in marketing strategy because it has become an important marketing component for the company and a source of information for the consumers. Branding and brand equity has been a key topic of interest to the researchers of marketing for many years. The term brand can be explained as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combinations of them which is intended to identify the goods and the services of a seller or a group of sellers to differentiate them from those of competitors (Kotler, 2005. pp 42). This topic of branding and brand equity has been a detailed research topic in the marketing literature. Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993) have gave some thorough insight into brand equity, and both have provided theoretical schemes that link brand equity with various consumer response variables. Brand equity has emerged as a marketing imperative, so too has the need to fully understand and manage brand associations (OCass Grace, 2003). Aaker (1996) has defined brand equity as a set of assets (and liabilities) linked to a brands name and symbol that adds to (or subtract from) the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firms customers. Aaker has also identified five assets of brand equity: brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand associations and other proprietary brand assets. Aaker (1996) also presented brand isentity model which is very important in elaborating the concept of brand identity. Fig. 2.1 Source (Aaker 1996) The brand is a very important tool for marketers as consumers use it as a reminder to conclude certain product attributes such as quality (Krishnan Hartline, 2001). Lim OCass (2000) stated that brands are seen to be valuable assets and sources of differentiation that plays a vital role in marketing strategy. Branded goods make it simpler for consumers to identify the product in the marketplace (Lassar et al, 1995), brands also reduce the consumers search costs, perceived risk and signals the quality of the product (Keller, 2006). Kellers Model of Customer Based Brand Equity On the hand Keller (1993, 1998) has proposed a knowledge based framework which is a customer based brand equity model. The framework consists of two dimensions commonly known as brand awareness and brand image. The model consists of product related and non product related attributes (OCass Grace, 2003; Keller, 2003). The product related attributes are explained as the components of the core product or service wanted by consumers (Keller, 1993). The related attributes of service can be described as the process that takes place before, during or after receiving the service. For example when a customer uses a dry cleaning service they are paying for getting their clothing cleaned and the price charged is usually for the unseen elements such as the use of premises, detergent, cleaning equipment and employee expertise (OCass Grace, 2003). The non product related attributes refers to all other attributes that are external to the function or the process of the service offering (Keller, 1993). The four non product related categories are: price, user and usage imagery, brand personality and feelings and experiences. Price is considered a non product related attribute as it remains external to the purchase or consumption of a service (Keller, 1993, 1998). In terms of branding the price does not directly reflect the service or performance. Moreover price is established as an important association in brand image evaluation and a strong quality indicator (OCass Grace, 2004, Keller, 1998). User imagery is related to the type of person who is going to use the product or service (Keller, 1998). The attributes are usually formed by the consumers own experience via contact of brand users or by the image represented by marketing communications. On the other hand usage imagery illustrates the situational factors in which the brand is used (Keller, 1998). For example time of day, week or year, location, or type of activity. The user and usage imagery typically reflects the conventional users of a product or service in the context within which it is used. Brand personality has been defined as set of human characteristics or traits that consumers attribute to a brand (Keller, 2006, p.369). In simpler terms brand personality can be expressed by both demographic and psychographic characteristics, providing a concept upon which the brand can be positioned in the consumers mind. Brand personality or personality characteristics are used to target consumers, hence attracting that particular market where the people can relate themselves to how they see their ideal self (Keller, 2006, p.66). A well established brand personality has the ability to increase emotional ties with the brand along with developing trust and loyalty. According to Keller (1998) feelings and experiences which are also non product related attributes, have become important in terms of consumer evaluations of brands, often occurring through the evaluation of advertising. In the context of services, it is important to evaluate the feelings and experiences of service brands. For the reason that production and consumption occur simultaneously in services, the service experience is the active structure of meanings associated with the behaviours, thoughts and feelings that occur during consumption, which directly impacts on the consumers perceived brand image (Keller, 1998, 2006). The measurement of brand equity has also been a high interest area of study. There are direct and indirect measures for brand equity. The direct approach is an attempt made to assess the value added by the brand to the product (Keller, 1993). The indirect approach focuses on the identification of the potential sources of brand equity (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993). Both these approach can be given a merit, however Keller (1993) argues that direct and indirect approach to measuring brand equity are complementary and should be used together. Concept of Service Branding in the Marketing Literature Basically branding is basically an effective marketing strategy, tool and technique which have been utilized with great results for organizations and enormous success in the past (Rooney 1995). Nowadays, branding is facing a new popularity due to new and innovative applications. Though there have been times when branding was less than successful. Now marketers are working to get the appropriate applications in the given settings. All the problems regarding branding strategy in current time include the selection of a proper brand name. Coonan (1993) stated that this fundamental issue will impact on the success of a branding strategy. Marketers have to choose the advertising strategy to support and communicate the name, once a name is selected. Hence keeping the brand in a strong position is a critical concern. New areas of branding include corporate, industrial, and service branding. These non-traditional branding environments are becoming the future for marketers using branding strategy. To add to the new branding areas, there are new branding techniques. These techniques include brand extensions and ingredient branding. New strategies, techniques, and arenas for branding have to be managed. The organization must support and identify with the strategy. The goals, objectives, and mission of any organization should be in line with the branding strategy employed. There has been a lot of work carried out on branding and brand equity by academic researchers like Keller (1993, 1998) and Aaker (1991, 1996), but majority of their work has been focused on physical goods branding. In the last decade there has been many frameworks created to assist marketers to realise how consumers think about, and respond to brands, as a result enabling marketers to implement effective consumer centred marketing activities. Turley and Moore (1995) have stated that there is an increased growth of service economies throughout the world, but the branding literature has mainly explored branding in terms of physical goods, whereas the branding of services has been minimal and left out of the picture. Several researches have been done on services marketing that has focused on topics such as measuring service quality, service failure to service switching but the examination into branding of services has not been undertaken (OCass Grace, 2004). Keller (1993, 1998) and Aaker (1996) have suggested branding frameworks that can be applied to measure brand equity, however these frameworks are excellent when used towards physical goods but are not fully adaptable for service brands as some attributes need to be taken out or completely adjusted. Keller (1993, 1998) has created a construct known as dimensions of brand knowledge which is an in-depth analytical view of the brand from the perspective of the consumer. The model has been criticised because only a small section of the model has been empirically tested to date and the model overlooks the variations found in the area of consumer evaluation concerning goods and services (OCass Grace, 2003). Keller (1998) has however argued that hi s model can be applied to both branding of goods and services. With respect Berry (2000) has criticised that these models by Keller (1993, 1998) and Aaker (1996) have some aspects in common across the two domains of goods and services, but the application of these models can be questioned. The reason being the marketing principles of goods and services are inconsistent because the difference between the two domains. The core offering of goods is different from the offerings of a service, because core service offering of a service is more complex and largely compromises of elements such as processes, people and physical facilities (Tax Stuart, 1997 cited in OCass Grace, 2004). As a result the evaluation of service brands by consumers maybe different as there maybe the need for more or newer attributes required in examining service brands than physical goods brands, hence the models by Keller (1993, 1998) and Aaker (1996) are inconsistent and cannot be completely relied on when eval uating consumer perceptions of service brands. Service When exploring the concept of service Youngs contribution is very important. Youngs (2000: P 43) says, A service, combined with goods products, is experienced and evaluated by customers who have particular goals and motivations for consuming the service. Gronroos (1990) stated that service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature. He also stated that service normally, but not necessarily, takes place in interactions between the customers and the service employees and/ or physical resources of goods and/or systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customers problems. Young (2000) has mentioned three areas of service, to elaborate it in much better way. First is that service takes place via interaction of consumers and the service provider, it can be a company or an individual. The other factors are the physical resources or the environments playing a vital medium role in the process of service production and consumption. Third service is needed by consumers to provide certain functions such as problem-solving. Boone and Kurtz (1994) have worked on services and according to them each of service characteristics is as follows: 1. Intangibility: Customer cannot sample a service before purchasing it that appealing to customers sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. 2. Inseparability: Customer perceptions of the service provider become their perceptions of the service itself. Often Customers are unable to judge the quality of a service before purchase. 3. Perish-ability: The organization cannot put an unsold service into storage. 4. Difficult to Standardizes: It is mostly impossible to standardize offerings among sellers of the same service or even to standardize the service of a single seller. 5. Buyer Involvement: It is very important that buyers are often involved in the development and distribution of services. 6. Service quality is actually high variable in all aspects. When goods and services are compared on the grounds of their characteristics following table can be helpful in doing comparison. Fig. 2.2 Comparison of products and services and service branding implications (Source Grace and OCass 2003) Kristen (2008) stated that when its about providing service, knowing the expectation of customers and the customers perception of the service encounter is a vital component to delivering superior service. Delivering superior service, especially in the hospitality industry creates a myriad of opportunities for the service organization to surpass the competitive and become a recognized leader in the service industry. It only stands to rationalize that the concept of the service encounter directly affects satisfaction, loyalty and future behavioural intensions; which in turn, has a direct affect on the organizations success and financial stability. There are four basic unique features of services: intangibility, inseparability of production and consumption, heterogeneity and perishability. Heterogeneity of Service Brands The advertising that positions the brand should be met by frontline staff as if imitating the brand. Regular planning, control, automation and regular reviews of performance improvement and consumer reaction should be made use of to overcome heterogeneity and quality control difficulties of service brands (Chernatony Riley, 1999). The human element in service condition cannot be subjected to quality control measures as a product from a factory, thus each service experience is potentially distinctive, where consistency can prove difficult to achieve on a regular basis (Berry, 2000). Berry (2000) believes the concurrent product and consumption of services can enable to customise the service brand to serve the needs of particular consumers better, thereby making the practice of marketing the responsibility of every employee. The previous branding strategy is unlikely to accommodate differing consumer needs because of the rigid structure and almost inflexible approach. By making brandin g an internal as well as external activity, may help ensure consistency across time and differing situations (Chernatony Segal-Horn, 2003). Internal branding also known as internal marketing, has received great deal of attention and an area of vast interest, which has created a consistent organisational culture revolving around the brand concept. Within the service company the brand concept needs to be understood, which allows the brand to become an internal cohesive device, enabling employees to retain flexibility to deal with different people and situations, while conforming to the brand concept. As a consequence employee relations and internal communications are essential means to motivate and retain consumer conscious employees and ensure greater consistency in service quality (Chernatony Riley, 1999). Employees with positive attitudes and behaviour can increase consumer satisfaction with the service brand, which results in increased market share and sales. Intangibility of Service Brands The factor of intangibility of the services of the organization makes it hard for customers to identify and assess the quality of a service and differentiating between other competing brands. There is also a concern to firms as they find it difficult to set accurate prices for services. To overcome this problem number of branding strategies can be implemented. It has been suggested the size and reputation of companies, which are perceived associations of the firms brand name, that are used by consumers as an indicator to measure the quality when selecting between very intangible services (Chernatony Riley, 1999). It has also been noted by Balmer and Greyser (2003) that consumers are willing to pay higher premiums for services of a company with a strong reputation. Moreover firms that recognise the company name as the brand name, categorised by a distinctive corporate identity, personality and image is considered an important service branding strategy, providing endorsements recognit ion and acceptance as well as making the service more meaningful hence tangible (Balmer Greyser, 2003; Berry, 2000). Another service branding strategy that has been encouraged is the use of unique logos or physical facilities that consumers can immediately associate with specific service providers by offering relevant tangible clues (Chernatony Riley, 1999). Many researchers have considered the branding of goods and services have their similarities; however specific nature of services requires tailored approaches (McDonald, de Chernatony and Harris 2001). Since every service is based on series of performances, service brands become a target of being perceived as commodities. To overcome this problem McDonald, de Chernatony and Harris (2001) have taken a different approach and recommended to make service brands more tangible to provide consumers with favourable set of perceptions. The authors have distinguished an effective way to carry this out is by using physical components associated with the service. For example making changes to the physical elements associated with the brand such as staff uniform, consistent office decorations to the type music played in store. However making these changes doesnt assure that consumers will have a positive view when assessing the service, because the actual service the company provides cannot be imp roved due to these changes being made. Inseparability of Service Brands As consumers are involved in services production, their expectation usually differ between encounters, mainly due to the fact how they interact with different service providers. The main influence of satisfaction with a service brand is caused by the similarity between expected and perceived behaviour, making it complex to control service quality (Summers, 1996 cited in Chernatony Riley, 1999). Moreover there is an increased emphasis towards selecting and training staff to provide a service that is consistent, however it has been argued firms should emphasis the use of corporate branding to establish a favourable consumer nature towards the company (Balmer, 1995). According to this perspective, the company brand provides consistency to the employees behaviour while maintaining consumers expectations. On the other hand it has been stated that by involving consumers in the production process, firms are better able to adapt services to individual needs. Perishability of Service Brands Service brands face a great challenge not only does the firm have to build a strong image and reputation to attract consumers (Balmer Greyser, 2003), but also preventing competitors from making promises that attract consumers away, even before the service brand has been experienced. Services cannot be stored and the service encounter often does not involve any transfer of ownership. In services such as life insurance or pensions the service is purchased long before the benefits have been received and evaluated. To overcome these difficulties it has been suggested the company should build strong brand image and reputation as one of the branding options available. Another problem arising from the characteristic of perishability is the difficulty in synchronising supply and demand. Service firms need to formulate strategies either to cope with fluctuating demand or make adjustments to match capacity and demand more closely, or they will not only face financial problems but branding iss ues as well (Chernatony Riley, 1999). The brand as recognised by consumers, encapsulates both the quality of the service and the efficiency with which the service is provided. Chernatony Riley (1999) have provided an example that the brand image of a supermarket chain depends not only on the price and the product they stock , but also how quickly and efficiently customers can pay for the good and exit the store. Long waits at queues can adversely affect the image, unless ways are found to speed up the queues or persuade consumers to shop outside peak times. Therefore organisation systems become part of the branding process that enable the delivery of promises with regards to service quality, speed and efficiency. Frameworks of Branding of Services Because of the unique features of services, consumers have a complex time evaluating the content and quality of a service prior to, during and after the usage of the service. It has been stated by Krishnan and Hartline (2001) branding is more important in services due to the complexity faced by consumers in assessing the purchase of a service. Branding of services is critical for the reason that consumers view services as a commodity. Branding of services has not been a well researched area; hence the literature is slow in development and primarily basic in nature (de Chernatony Segal-Horn, 2003; Grace OCass, 2002). Berry (2000) has suggested service brands should be distinctive, relevant, memorable and flexible and should be named same as the company rather than another name. The intangibility of services makes it difficult for consumers to evaluate the quality of the service. Regarding the growth of services across the world and the incompatibility of brand equity frameworks used for services, academics such as Berry (2000) Chernatony and Riley (1999) McDonald, Chernatony and Harris (2001) have tried to resolve this issue by creating a framework that can be examined towards consumer service branding. Chernatony and Rileys model Chernatony and Riley (1999) have carried out research with brand consultants about what they thought the difference is between goods and service brands and how they address this issue and in doing so they have come up with the double vortex brand model. The study was implemented using qualitative approach consisting of semi structured in-depth interviews with selected brand consultants in the UK. The purpose of the interview was to find out how brand consultants make sense of brands and do consultants have similar views regarding the components of the brand. The aim of this model is to find out can branding be equally used towards goods and services, and consultants perceptions towards the principle of branding a service is similar to branding for goods. In order to describe in simple terms the complex nature of brands the authors Chernatony and Riley (1999) had discovered that all participants had adopted a mental model of some description. Brand elements such as functional capabili ties, symbolic features, signs of ownership, distinctive name, service, shorthand notation and legal protection were all referred by consultants that were interviewed and these elements are used to make the double vortex model. Service Branding of Service Brand Equity Berry (2000) has taken a different approach by analysing strategies of 14 mature service companies and has created the service branding model of service brand equity. Berry (2000) believes that brand equity is made up of two components: brand awareness and brand meaning (brand image). The following has also been argued by Berry (2000) that the most important source of brand awareness is the companys presented brand, being the companys controlled communications. The controlled communications typically consists of advertising, service facilities, the appearance of service providers, the company name and logo (Brassington Pettitt, 2006). The secondary impact on brand awareness is the external communications, which is usually information consumers receive about the service that are uncontrolled by the company. Brand meaning on the other hand is said to be mainly influenced by customers experience with a particular service company (Berry, 2000). The reason being service businesses are sa id to be labour intensive, consisting of human interactions and performance, rather than machinery. Berry (2000) has emphasised that this construct plays a critical role in building the brand. The secondary influence on brand meaning is said to be the companys presented brand and the external communications. The service brand model by Berry (2000) has introduced new conceptual elements such as servicescapes, controlled and uncontrolled communications, which are significant towards branding of services. These are the typical elements which are missing from the brand knowledge model constructed by Keller (1998). Service Brand Model In response OCass and Grace (2003, 2004) have created their own version of the service brand model. This model has been constructed by adopting various measures from other branding models and potential branding dimensions applicable for services to create an integrated approach to resolve issues in consumer service branding. The authors believe by identifying the dimensions within the consumers consciousness they can gain greater knowledge of what brands mean to consumers as well as begin to understand to what extent such dimensions impact on the brand attitudes and purchase intentions of service consumers. This construct specifically gathers first hand responses of consumers evaluation of service brands in terms of how they see the brand, what expectations they have and overall feelings attitudes towards the service brand. This model by OCass and Grace (2004) includes the following dimensions: core service, interpersonal service, perceived values, se

Natural Calamity in Uttrakhand

As a child I was amused at the premonition of the Soothsayer when he predicted the Death of Julius Caesar, who out of sheer vanity not only discarded his advice, but also admonished him for the same. A similar analogy can be drawn to the travesty that now surrounds Uttarakhand, the sole exception being, the vanity and obliviousness of the Government has gravely pulverized the State Exchequer and costed the lives of its own denizens, as against the death of one ruler. The blame game, which is a necessary by product of every mishappening in our country, has already begun, where both the Central Government as well as the State Government are rebuking each other and their predecessors in chair for faulty policy making, ineffective implementation, absence of rescue and relief strategy, steaming constitutional debates on whether the present system should be governed under Entry 56 of the Union List or under Entry 17 of the Sate List, and the classic press release phrase â€Å"mis-governance†. What lies on the other hand of this scale is innumerable unreported deaths, devastation of public property, and over sixty thousand stranded people, who are yet to be afforded anything as remotely close to the term â€Å"relief†. Genesis of the Problem and Observations made by the CAG Report India boasts of being ranked sixth in terms of largest hydel power generation capacity countries. Domestically, hydel power accounts for 1/4th of India’s dependence on energy. The Hydel Power Report of Uttarakhand published in the year 2008, categorically acclaims that the State has the potential to harness almost 20,000 MW of electricity through hydel power. Blinded with such ambitious target, the State Government failed to notice, either deliberately or otherwise, the very first objective on the same page, which has been reproduced as: â€Å"To harness the environment friendly Renewable Energy resources and enhance their contribution to the socioeconomic development of the State. Another important objective which the State while implementing the said project, was oblivious to, is â€Å"To enhance the use of energy sources that assist in mitigating environmental pollution. † The current policies, as the CAG Report categorically points out, are aimed at aggravating and not mitigating environmental pollution, and have been a cause of the floods in and around the region. Periphrastically speaking, the ngoing havoc that was witnessed in Uttarakhand was preordained in the report published by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as late as in 2009, reproaching the Central Government and the Government of Uttarakhand for its dual role of faulty hydro power policy making as well as ineffective policy implementation. Some of the main concerns highlighted in the CAG Report are: 1. Due to the over ambitious policy of the State Government to create multiple river channels, and multiple power projects on the same tributary, a serious endangerment of environment is certainty. With over 42 Projects currently functioning, and 203 projects in construction and clearance stage, at every 6 – 7 kms stretch, there will be a dam to obstruct the flow of the river. 2. All the projects are based on high seismic areas in and around districts chamoli, rudra prayag, pithoragarh, Almora and despite severe earth quakes in 1720, 1803, 1991, and 1999 the multiplicity of hydro power projects, without adequate counter seismic measures continue to run rogue thereby causing serious risk to the lives of the people. 3. There is a clear enumeration of Flash Floods which would result in severe destruction to life and property in and around the low lying areas of the hills. Table Appended to the Report has further highlighted various instances wherein such flash floods have occurred previously in the same areas. 4. No evidence to suggest that for failure to comply with the conditions of Environmental Impact Assessment, a penalty was imposed on the builders. 5. Failure of the nodal agency to ensure submission of quarterly and half yearly compliance reports by the management. . Flagrant Negligence towards Environmental and Security Concerns. 7. The adverse impact on the ecology was further underscored by the fact that almost 4 out of 5 Power Projects have shown the complete drying up of river beds to a trickle resulting into severe impairment and devastation of the ecology, and imbalance in the water table resulting into drying up of natural aquifers in the nearby areas. 8. According to International Standards, the minimum discharge of river downstream should be maintained at 75 % so that the aquatic life remains intact. However, the present projects are discharging downstream river by 90 % and above which results into complete devastation of the aquatic life. 9. Faulty Pre-Feasibility Survey Reports, which gives inaccurate data for evaluation of the hydro power station, which means serious short comings in ascertaining whether the location to construct is feasible or not, questions on plant efficiency and what would be the impact of soil erosion, etc. remain in a state of serious jeopardy. 10. As much as 38 % of the total projects which have been granted an Environmental Clearance have failed to carry out mandatory plantation. By – Passing The Law As per the Gazette notification issued by the Central Government under Sections 2 and 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the area surrounding the river Bhagirathi from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi, which is 135 kms stretch, was declared to be â€Å"eco sensitive area†. A total area of about 4179. 59 sq km came under the eco-sensitive zone. This will impose restrictions on quarrying, commissioning hydropower projects on Bhagirathi, and construction of roads in the prohibited area. Besides, it will impose a ban on felling of trees and setting up of factories to manufacture furniture and other wooden items. For the purposes of effective implementation, the State Government, with the help of the local NGO’s and people was mandated to formulate a Zonal Master Plan surrounding the area, whereby every hydel power which is below 20 MW of Power Generation Capacity had to take a clearance from the State Ministry. However, the State Government opposed the said notification in May as they were not â€Å"consulted† before this policy was formulated; among concerns voiced by the citizens that an embargo on development would send them back to the Stone Age, which in reality was not what the notification envisaged. This mutual blame game and inter-ministerial trifles have led to such travesty. Today the very area surrounding Bhagirathi and parts of Uttarkashi are the worst hit areas of the State. Travesty of Environmental Clearance. Another notification issued by the Central Government warrants deliberation. It was mandated that before sanctioning the projects, or before expanding or modernizing hitherto existing projects, it was obligatory to procure an Environmental Impact Assessment Clearance from the Central Government and the State Government. Every Hydel Power project was subjected to the same strictures as have been mandated under Section 3(1) and Section 3(2) (v) of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Such an EIA has to be in conformity with the Standards laid down by the National Environment Policy, and the guidelines that have been made under Rule 5 of the Environment Protection Rules. There are four stages before procuring an Environmental Clearance: 1. Screening wherein the projects are divided into two categories, those to be assessed by the Central Government (Category A Projects which are over and above 25 MW capacity power projects), and those to be assessed by the State Government (Under 25 MW Capacity Power Projects). 2. Scoping by which the Expert Committee determines on detailed concerns (current and probable) regarding Environmental Depletion or damage, at which stage the Committee is empowered to allow or reject the application seeking commencement of the project. 3. Public Consultation which provides for a public consultation held in the auspices of the site, obtain responses of all stake holders, villagers, etc. in writing and to be supervised by the State Pollution Control Board, but which specifically excludes â€Å"modernization of irrigation projects† out of its domain. . Appraisal which means the detailed scrutiny by the Expert Appraisal Committee or State Level Expert Appraisal Committee of the application and other documents like the Final EIA report, outcome of the public consultations including public hearing proceedings, submitted by the applicant to the regulatory authority concerned for grant of environmental clearance. In addition to the aforementioned checks and balances, there is a periodic Post Environment Clearance monitoring which are to be submitted on a half yearly basis by the management. This provides a very rosy picture of the law that governs such clearances; however the reality is far from such notion. For instance, according to the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, as much as 38 % of the total industries and projects functioning in the area, and which have received a green signal to operate, have not complied with the mandatory plantation of trees in and around the site. This has resulted into serious deforestation in the hilly areas, which results into soil erosion. Himalayas being young fold mountains, have a very unstable soil compaction, as compared to other mountain ranges, because of which soil erosion can assume cataclysmic proportions, it is also the reason why rivers are changing their natural course and cutting deep crevices in the hills, wreaking havoc amongst those who stand in its way. Are we to blame? This is one perpetual question, which warrants a sordid introspection. Reports have also suggested that illegal construction of motels, rest houses, guest houses, hotels and restaurants have been made in the river bed, whereas a notification issued by the State Government clearly prohibits any illegal construction in or around 100 metres from the river bed. This is supplementary to the damage that has already been carried out by the Government. Media reports further stipulate that there was no effective functioning authority in the name of â€Å"State Disaster Management Authority†. The moot question that now faces us is whether this calamity was â€Å"natural† at all, or was it brought about by our own fallacies, inactions, deliberate obliviousness, and negligence. History is replete with instances of civilizations crashing under the might of Natural Forces, and with the present rate of depletion, the future of the Upper Gangetic Basin and the Himalayas hangs in a very delicate balance.

Good Leadership Is More Important Than Good Management Essay

Leadership and management are crucial factors that determine the company’s further development. Management tries to control everything even humans, whereas leaders attempt to liberate humans and powers (Kotter 2001). Generally, the work management does is to make plan and budget, organize, control and solve the problem. The aim of management is to set up the rules. The leader’s work is to ensure the direction and target of the company, integrate all the resources, impel and encourage employees, its aim is to change, and it is obviously that this is the way leadership runs (Kotter 2001). More specially, leadership cares about the value and meaningfulness, whether the target the organization has achieved is worth or not. Leadership follows closely to humans, the dignity, value, potential and development. If management is concentrate on technology and means, procedures and methods, then leadership put emphasis on humanity and objective, the results and art (Northouse 2007). For example, management is focus on the function of power, but leadership cares the effect of enchantment. In fact, for every organization even country, they need both leadership and management. The aim cannot be achieved if lacking any one of these two. Since the leadership is playing the direction instructor role in the management process, this essay believes leadership is more crucial. Therefore, the essay will first have a literature review on leadership and management, following that, it will explain the interdependence of both two functions. Finally, it will illustrate the reason why leadership is more important through examples. Many studies have research on leadership and management from different perspective. According to Kotter (2001), the meaning of management is dealing with the assigned task, managers do key works such as planning, organizing and controlling, and then achieve the expected goal. Through management, the current organization performance can be maintained efficiently (Cuban 1988). It is certainly that in the management process, the leadership will always exhibits, but the main functions of management is preservation rather change (Bush & Heystek 2003). Both of management and leadership have their special value towards various situations, however, management deals with the technical issues while leadership deals with values (Bush and Heystek 2003). According to Kouzes and Posner (2002), leadership is the ability how the leader encourages others to volunteer to make efforts to the organization. As for leadership, it has five following styles: country club management, team management, organization man management, impoverished management, and authority obedience (Blake & Mouton 2003). Among these five styles, â€Å"team management† is proposed most. Blake and Mouton (2003) think the leadership is the ability to deal with both production and humans, and team management is the most appropriate one. In terms of Fiedler (1967), the situation has more influence on leadership. Three main situations are leader member relationship, the structure of the mission and the authority power. Different situation will show different leadership. Furthermore, all these three divisions also have impact on the leadership. Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) conclude four main styles, autocratic, known as the telling style, the leader takes the mission and let it known to the group; persuasive (the selling style), the leader would like to motivate the group without discussion, only through persuading them to believe the tasks is a good chance; consultative (the consulting style), the leader will consider member’s advices and their feelings when facing the decisions; democratic (the joining style), the leader will invite discussion, in this step the leader is not only a decision maker. Presently, how the organization can adapt to the fast changing society has become a critical problem for people to think about. In such a competitive era which is compete on knowledge (Bell 1999), an organization, particularly an enterprise which wants to gain the everlasting success should focus on both leadership and management, in this way to adapt to the changing world and keep the competitive advantage (Welch, J & Welch, S 2005). Although the leadership and management are diverse, both of they are very crucial to the organization and interact each other. Therefore, the organization needs both the objective view from managers and vision brought by the leaders (Bolman & Deal 1997). For achieving the vision and keeping high efficiency of the organization, it is necessary to pay great attention to both leadership and management. The interdependent relationship between leadership and management can be illustrated through balanced scoreboard (Kaplan & Norton 2005) shown in the following figure. The Banlance Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton 2005) According to the figure above, it looks into the key area of a business, external area like consumers, financial performance, internal one such as innovation and learning process. It clearly shows a comprehensive view of the two functions. Managers should use measurable methods to have a deep understanding of consumers’ demands, and leader should give the company goal with these demands. Managers are required to use any internal business strategy to let the consumer satisfied while leaders are give all the supports that reach that strategy. So under nowadays such a fierce globalized competition, every company wants to hold the consumers and market share. So the managers and leaders are pretty interdependent, with leaders are responsible for search the demand to adapt the change, and managers control the process and give advices. It is thus clear that good leadership and good management are very important aspects of an organization, however starts from the key esprit of the firm, leadership represents the excellence of the enterprise, and it could realize the value of every employee. Leadership needs sustained training and creation, it is regard as the key factors that influence the development, alternative and reproduce of an organization. Based on this understanding, compared with good management good leadership is a more critical issue. Following section will take Sony and P&G as cases to explain why leadership is more important than management. Sony is a leading firm in the high-tech manufactures industry, it first develops the memory stick and MP3 player, but its sales revenue did not performance well. And soon after the emerging of Samsung and Apple, Sony was soon surpassed by the two competitors. Samsung has more brand value than Sony since 2005, and the Ipod and Macbook from Apple are popular rather than Vaio (Chang 2008). Actually a firm like Sony who can perform on the international stage will of course have a good management within the company for until now Sony still do a very good job. And from the external environment, the different strategies Sony and Samsung takes will not lead to the different performance on its sales. Sony has the right strategy, the complete resources, the powerful energy, but the winner turns to Apple and Samsung. Why Sony could so easily be surpassed by the competitors? The main reason why such gap exists is because the company lacks of the leadership. Many enterprises failed due to the unsuccessful integration of strategy and operation. Take Sony’s competition with Apple as an example, Apple has no core technology on the MP3 player market, all the things they do is to implement the innovation with its computer processor technology. But in the contrast, although Sony has every factor to success, the wrong steps results in the lost in the MP3 player market. Sony took defensive strategy rather than offensive one, such strategy is not appropriate to its market and organizational management. There are two characteristic of current market: the rapid change of new technology and the fast depreciation of old ones. Sony actually do little effort to face the two emerging companies, the new leader team organized by the formal president of Sony could not meet their new visions. Why Apple and Samsung could win is not only because they know the market trend and importance of innovation, but also because the right vision from the leaders. The vision is not a dream but based on the careful market analysis and knowledge of current organizational situation. This is the reason Sony failed in the competition and meanwhile it also shows the more importance of leadership than management. Senge (1994) said that an efficient leadership is that the leader could change the path of an organization’s development and destiny, because every success eventually depends on the leaders. P&G, a global successful company in FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry, their leadership management is a good experience to learn. There has a rule in P&G, inter-dependence is a lifestyle (McDonald 2009). Every department, products and areas among the company should trust each other and closely cooperate. P&G is proud of getting the success if take other’s advices. The rule shows P&G has make a closely partnership with their suppliers, consumers, communities and employees. In this way, P&G has built an entire smooth value chain and leads to a multiple- win situation. Good leadership shown in P&G Company as following: Friendly and long-term cooperation with partners. P&G’s leadership with partners could be shown as they always built a long-term relationship. Many partners think P&G has enough respect toward its partners. The reason P&G seldom change partners is due to two reasons: first is in this way to keep the brand image, second is P&G hopes the partners should be familiar with P&G’s business, thus they can reduce lots costs and time. Innovative cooperate strategy. P&G’s another leadership performs to be creative cooperation with Wal-Mart. When many manufacturers are complained about big retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour, P&G always take an initiative position in the bargaining with the retailers. P&G make an evolution on its supply chain. They use the information technology to realize the continuous replenishment program,which manage the products by categories. The team from P&G and Wal-Mart are from many departments such as sales, marketing, operation, IT and finance, but they share the same goal. In the cooperate process, P&G carefully absorb the advices from the retailers and at the same time, P&G design some products for Wal-Mart. The two companies also intend to expand their business into other areas. Provide training and communication with employees. P&G regards people as their wealth. P&G provide systematic training program, internal promotion. Most of the management is recruiting internally; this basically increased the employee’s loyalty. Besides, P&G not only provide a competitive wages, but also its comfortable working environment. All these are the elements that can show P&G performance on leadership. P&G takes more social responsibility. Aims at sustainable management and environment protection, from 1994, P&G would release its global environment reports to the public annually. Its target is to show a clear vision of the company’s work for improving the global environment. Commitment to consumers. P&G’s belief is they produce and offer best quality products in order to improve the life of global consumers. As returns, they will first gain the leading market position and increasing profit, thus to make the society prosperity which our employees, stakeholders works and lives in. P&G put customers as the first position; they listen to their suggestions, including sales and R&D. P&G set the free call for consumers in order to keep connection with consumers, they always think and solve the problems from consumers perspective and explore the potential demands. 3E model. The 3E model of P&G is ultimately an excellent indication of their works on leadership. The 3E model includes: envision, energize, enable. Envision encourages people to have a clear plan and strategy toward their targets, concentrate on achieve the goal; find the possibility and not the limitations. Energize inspire employees to listen, understand and trust, approve the employee’s performance. Enable improve employees productivities. And also create possible conditions for employees to get success. The 3E model seems very simple but it has included everything related to the leadership. In this model, leadership is a behavior not a job. It clearly gives three missions to the managers: setting the goal, inspiring the employees, provide any helps. From all these aspects of P&G case, people can know that leadership is not just depends on one person or one group, it rely on the whole organization. And leadership not only considers for small aspects such as company strategies, but also considers more about the social responsibility it have in the society. Generally speaking, there are three outcomes of excellent leadership: -The productivity. The only results when the employees cannot finish his job on time are the waste of time and the reduction of quality. The main reason of such consequence is the uncertain guidance and follow-ups. If the leader cannot offer guidance the employees need, then the job cannot achieve the expected level. So lots of time and strength are wasted thus reduced the productivity. -The stability within the organization. As said above, the current society is based on knowledge. If the organization wants to approve the value of the employees, it should provide continuous training and developing opportunities for them. In this way to show the organizations confirmation on their value through spending time and money invest on the knowledge. The company could use such method to increase the stability of the employees and improve the efficiency. -The consumer’s satisfaction. The excellent external consumer services are based on the internal customer service. If the company could realize that the employees are the key customers for them, then they could get the chance to earn huge profit. As a leader, the company’s attitude towards the employees mainly determines whether they wish to work for the company. To care the employees give the company a chance to provide an excellent consumer services from inside-out. Bass and Avolio (1994) mentioned that the leadership should include behaviors like inspiring others, intellectual stimulation, coaching and development, respect and faith. This paper thinks, the leadership is, under the organization’s process of implement its target, the ability of the leader influence other related be led and the interaction between leader and the one to be led. The leadership itself is not only a capability but also a process. In the process, it includes the process of onstruct a binary relationship between the leader and followers, and also includes the functions leader set the organization, improve the efficiency, and leaders help organization adapt the environment, develop and innovative process.? Conclusion To sum up, good management is also an important issue concerning the organizational development. The reason why leadership is more important is that leadership is on a higher level. Take riding the horse as example; if the stableman has an excellent technique to control the horse, perhaps the stableman has management talent. But if he always goes to the wrong direction, that is to say, though the high technique of his management, but still cannot achieve the target, then he is doing the incorrect thing. Clawson (2008) said that leadership is nothing if without changes. So under nowadays a fiercely global trend competition and rapid changing of information and technology, leadership becomes more important for the organization. But only integrate the power of these two functions can, the organization develop on the right way.

The idea of Cultural Identity - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 600 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/04/10 Category Culture Essay Level High school Tags: Cultural Identity Essay Did you like this example? The idea of cultural identity is a subject that establishes common interests, beliefs, ethics, and habits among society members. Most think that where you go they have to change how you act based off how others around you act. This form of cultural identity is known as an fluid cultural identity. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The idea of Cultural Identity" essay for you Create order In most cases this form of identity is helpful to many individuals where it allows them to fit in easier and become apart of a society allowing them to become more comfortable. Another common cultural identity is a fixed identity, this form of identity is where the individual stays true to himself no matter where they are or who they are around. InThe Absolute True Diary Of A Part Time Indianby Sherman Alexie, the main character, Junior, would have a fluid cultural identity. Junior is an adolescent who is poor and lives on an indian reservation, Junior was born with cerebral spinal fluid inside his skull. However Junior was fond of art and math and was good at basketball. In the beginning of the book Junior was attending high school on the reservation with his best friend Rowdy and other reservation kids, further on in the story Junior transfers to an affluent white high school. In his new school Junior tries to fit in acting as if he is not poor once he has found affections for a girl named Penelope. This is what you consider a fluid cultural identity, where Junior tries fitting in. An example in the story is on halloween, where both Junior and Penelope dress up as homeless people, and Junior jokes that his costume is not too far off from the clothing he usually wears. He says this as a joke but truly it was similar to clo thes Junior was used to wearing. Overall Junior is following the way of others around him in order to fit in with the crowd. In the story Junior says, Poverty doesnt give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor. Junior was used to being poor and in poverty, meanwhile in school he tried to adapt and be someone different around a new crowd. Another fluid cultural based article is the poem Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes. Hughes declares the idea of letting America be America again, it should be great strong land of lovenot a land that drove off negro slaves. The idea of this poem is that people changed how the American society was run. Once the idea of individuals not given the proper freedom and being driven off land this same idea was put to use over decades. This poem relates to a fluid based culture because America has become a society where they drive people off there own land and taking away peoples freedom. Hughes whole says It never was America to me. meaning America was or use to be considered a land of freedom and liberty and cultural influences / identities changed the ways of a land. In conclusion, there are many forms of cultural identity such as fluid and fixed. People may say having a fixed identity is better because you can stay true to yourself and be who you are no matter your surroundings. However a fluid identity is the better option because it allows you to become apart of the society you are in and be welcomed in a quicker manner and adapt to that form of lifestyle. A fluid identity allows you to face new experiences instead of sticking to your regular routine on an everyday basis.