Global logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Global logistics - Essay Example This paper will present a report to discuss various logistical issues and logistical procedures that should be considered by Middle East Division of MedicalCare International (MEDMI) before commencing the export of pharmaceuticals from Sao Paulo, Brazil and cosmetics from Bangalore, India. This report will discuss various modes of transport and destination ports that can be depended for MEDMI’s supply chain procedures. In order to develop and sustain effective global logistics, the management of MEDMI will have to address environmental issues apart from a number of issues related to logistics networks, inventory handling, organizational relationship, and performance measurement. These issues are discussed below: The global presence of MEDMI will certainly impact the channel structure it chooses for transportation between Jebel Ali and ports in Sao Paulo and Bangalore. Transportation between these ports involves longer distance leading to greater levels of risks, uncertainties and costs. Complexity of channel relations and costs for logistical operations will increase proportionately or more than proportionately when the firm’s network relation between global supplier, intermediary and customer expand (Gourdin, 2006). Severity of competition in global logistics is one of the main issues the management of MEDMI will have to address before starting exporting from Bangalore and Sao Paulo. Firms playing in global logistics compete with others through product differentiation or other strategies, and therefore, it is important to evaluate those factors that contributing to the competitive advantages of its competitors. Marketing strategies and distribution systems are normally interrelated. Well before arranging the export from Bangalore and Sao Paulo, managers of MEDMI have to take strategic decision regarding what type of distribution will be most supportive of its marketing strategies. There are three modes of distribution;

An Insight into Academic Writing Essay Example for Free

An Insight into Academic Writing Essay Authors Gerald Graff and Cathy Berkenstein claim in their book, They Say, I Say, that academic writing is not about â€Å"playing it safe and piling up truths and bits of knowledge,† like many people assume. Rather, it is about the dynamic interaction between other people’s points of view and the author’s response to those perspectives. In chapter one of Graff and Berkenstein’s book they emphasize the necessity of balance when implementing certain writing â€Å"moves,† specifically, when introducing a counter-view, summarizing other’s arguments, and when quoting someone else’s words. Graff and Berkenstein contend that by opening an argument with an explanation of what the thesis is responding tointroducing a counter-viewgives the main point clarity and relevance. They encourage stating the opposing view or assumption initially so that it will define and explain what the thesis is addressing. But, they also caution the writer not to bloat their introduction with extraneous information for fear of losing the audience’s focus and engagement. What Graff and Berkenstein suggest, then, is that â€Å"as soon as possible you state your own position and the one it’s responding to together, and that you think of the two as a unit. † Basically, they insist that the best way to give a â€Å"genuine response to other’s views† during academic writing is to have a balance between introducing what â€Å"They Say† (the opposing point of view) and what â€Å"I Say† (the writer’s response). If being in a constant dialogue with others’ positions is essential to arguing persuasively, as Graff and Berkenstein claim, â€Å"then summarizing others’ arguments is central to [the writer’s] arsenal of basic moves. † All too often during a summary, writers will provide their own opinions on an article’s topic rather than revealing what the article is actually stating. On the opposite extreme, there are the writers who â€Å"do nothing but summarize,† which dilutes their own views in an ocean of someone else’s ideas. Graff and Berkenstein remind us that a â€Å"good summary requires balancing what the original author is saying with the writer’s own focus. † In other words, an exceptional summary contains the perspective of the original author, while emphasizing the points the responding author wants to address. One of the best ways to initiate an effective argument is not only to summarize what they say, but to quote their exact words. According to Graff and Berkenstein, â€Å"Quoting someone else’s words gives a tremendous amount of credibility to your summary and helps ensure that it is fair and accurate. † By quoting someone else’s exact statement it serves as a proof of evidence that you are not just fabricating another’s claim, but that you are disclosing their true ideas. Like introducing a counter-view and summarizing, quoting requires that you find an ideal balance between the quantity of quotes and content of commentary. A common issue with quoting is when the author assumes the quote speaks for itself. As Graff and Berkenstein, quotes are like literary orphans that have been taken from their original context, â€Å"they need to be integrated into their new textual surroundings. † In simpler terms, a quote needs to be introduced, interpreted, and then connected to the central idea. I found chapter one of Graff and Berkenstein’s book, â€Å"They Say,† to be extremely interesting and useful. The way they tied all their information to a central idea, while explaining how to do just that fascinated me. I felt like their writing had a constant flow from introduction of a move, to implementing balance, to common problems, how to fix those problems, and then to exercises that would reinforce their primary concepts. Their style and content kept me engaged and focused. Also, I learned a handful of writing tactics, like introducing a counter-view, summarizing, and inserting quotes, that I was not one-hundred percent sure on how to do prior to the reading. Overall, I found the chapter to be engaging, informative, and beneficial to me and my writing style.

Argument for Welfare in the United States Essay -- essays research pap

Can a single mother of three working full time for minimum wage afford to pay ' by herself ' for food, clothing, transportation, childcare, occupational training and medical care? Without government aid, the obvious answer is no. Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), as described by Robert Kuttner, is a government aid program designed 'to help all of the working poor rise out of poverty.' It includes tuition reimbursements, wage supplements, and above all, childcare? (Kuttner). It creates a more equal opportunity for those at a disadvantage to improve themselves and their situation. TANF, 'which limits the time families can remain on welfare, appears to be a smashing success' (Cohn). First, if eligibility were to become stricter, seeking employment would become even more difficult for those in need of aid. Second, it would hinder the ability of an individual to become a productive member of society without proper training. And finally, if a family in need is not adequately aided be cause of strict requirements, they can ultimately suffer more than if they were never on welfare. With this in mind, I believe that welfare programs in the U.S., specifically TANF, have set the correct requirements for eligibility. According to the Department of Human Services (DHS), in order to acquire and maintain TANF aid, one must ?be pregnant or have a child under age nineteen who lives with them. Any child who is eighteen must be a full-time high school student. [The applicant] must be a U.S. citizen or meet certain immigration requirements. A client must work with DHS staff and develop a plan that outlines the steps they will take to become self-sufficient. [Applicants must] be screened for issues related to substance abuse, mental health,... ...mistakes or sick children. As a result, a great many people are diligently working but even worse off economically? (Kuttner). This statement illustrates the hoops that working people are jumping through to attain welfare. If these requirements became stricter, TANF and welfare in general, would become more difficult to maintain. This would not only discourage clients but also leave them more in need than before. If society expects these disadvantaged individuals to become self-sufficient, they must understand that they cannot do so without the help of TANF and other welfare programs. Society must also understand that the requirements for eligibility are as strict as possible without hindering the program?s original goals. If the requirements become stricter, welfare programs such as TANF, will become less attainable and will inevitably worsen the welfare state.

Media Systems Dependency Theory

Media systems dependency theory (MSDT), or simply â€Å"media dependency,† was developed by Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur in 1976. [1] The theory is grounded in classical sociological literature positing that media and their audiences should be studied in the context of larger social systems. MSDT ties together the interrelations of broad social systems, mass media, and the individual into a comprehensive explanation of media effects.At its core, the basic dependency hypothesis states that the more a person depends on media to meet needs, the more important media will be in a person's life, and therefore the more effects media will have on a person.The relationships between componentsDependency on media emerges from three relationships.1) The relationship between the society and the media Within this relationship, media access and availability are regarded as important antecedents to an individual’s experience with the media. The nature of media dependence on s ocietal systems varies across political, economic, and cultural system.2) The relationship between the media and the audience This relationship is the key variable in this theory because it affects how people might use a mass medium. This relationship also varies across media systems. The more salient the information needs , the stronger are the motivation to seek mediated information and the dependency on the medium. In result, the likelihood for the media to affect audiences becomes greater. 3) The relationship between the society and the audience. The societies influence consumers’ needs and motives for media use, and provide norms, values, knowledge, and laws for their members.  Social system can function an alternatives to the media by offering similar services of the media.Media needs and media dependencyThree types of needsAccording to Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur, three media needs determine how important media is to a person at any given moment: 1) The need to understa nd one's social world (surveillance) 2) The need to act meaningfully and effectively in that world (social utility) 3) The need to escape from that world when tensions are high (fantasy-escape) When these needs for media are high, the more people turnto media to meet these needs, and therefore the media have a greater opportunity to effect them. That said, none of these media needs are constant over long periods of time. They change based on aspects of our social environment.Two basic conditions for hightened media needsMedia dependency theory states two specific conditions under which people's media needs, and consequently people's dependency on media and the potential for media effects, are heightened. The first condition of heightened media needs occurs when the number of media and centrality of media functions in a society are high.For instance, in modernized countries like the United States, there are many media outlets and they serve highly centralized social functions. In the United States alone, the media act as a â€Å"fourth branch† of government, an alarm system during national emergencies, and as a tool for entertainment and escape, whereas in the underdeveloped world the media are not as numerous and serve far fewer functions. As such, the media have a greater opportunity to serve needs and exert effects in contemporary America than in a third world country.The second condition of heightened media needs occurs when a society is undergoing social change and conflict. When there is a war or large-scale public protests like during Vietnam or the Arab Spring, a national emergency like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, or a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina, people turn to media to help understand these important events. Consequently, the media have a greater opportunity to exert effects during these times of social change and conflict.The effects of media messageBall-Rokeach and DeFleur suggests that the cognitive, behavioral a nd affective consequences of media use are premised upon characteristics of both individuals and their social environment.CognitiveThere are five types of cognitive effects that will be exerted on audiences, the first of which is the creation and resolution of ambiguity. Ambiguity occurs when audiences receive inadequate or incomplete information about their social world.When there is high ambiguity, stress is created, and audiences are more likely to turn to mass media to resolve ambiguity. Ambiguity might be especially prevalent during times of social change or conflict. The second effect is agenda-setting. This is another reason why we might call dependency a â€Å"comprehensive† theory of media effects – it incorporates the entire theory of agenda-setting within its theoretical framework. Like any other effect, media agenda-setting effects should be heightened during times when the audience’s needs and therefore dependency on media are high.So, for instance, if our informational needs and dependency on media was high during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, we would have been more susceptible to agenda-setting effects, and we would have therefore perceived the Iraq War as the most important problem (MIP) facing the United States. Third is attitude formation. Media exposes us to completely new people, such as political figures and celebrities, not to mention physical objects like birth control pills or car safety mechanisms that we come to form attitudes about.Dependency does not suggest media are monolithic in their ability to influence attitudes, but the theory does suggest that media play a role in selecting objects and people for which people form attitudes about. If a person is experiencing greater media dependency, we would therefore expect that the person will form more (or more complex) attitudes about these attitude-objects than people with low media dependency. Media also have the potential cognitive effect of expanding people's b elief systems.Media can create a kind of â€Å"enlargement† of citizen's beliefs by disseminating information about other people, places, and things. Expansion of people’s belief systems refers to a broadening or enlarging of beliefs in a certain category. For example, a constant flow of information about global warming will expand people’s beliefs about pollution affecting the earth’s atmosphere, about cap and trade and other policies, and about personal contributions to global warming.These beliefs meet with and are incorporated into an existing value system regarding religion, free enterprise, work, ecology, patriotism, recreation, and the family. Last is value clarification and conflict. Media help citizens clarify values (equality, freedom, honesty, forgiveness) often by precipitating information about value conflicts. For instance, during the 1960s the mass media regularly reported on the activities of the CivilRights movement, presenting conflicts between individual freedoms (e. g.  , a businessman’s property rights to deny blacks entrance) and equality (e. g. , human rights). When such conflicts play out in the mass media, the value conflicts are identified, resulting in audiences forming their own value positions. Such a position can be painful to articulate because it can force a choice between mutually incompatible goals and the means for obtaining them. However, in the process of trying to decide which is more important in a particular case, general value priorities can become clarified.AffectiveBall-Rokeach and DeFleur mentions several possible affective media effects that are more likely to occur during times of heightened dependency. [13][14] First is desensitization, which states that prolonged exposure to violent content can have a â€Å"numbing† effect on audiences, promoting insensitivity or the lack of desire toward helping others when violent encounters happen in real life. Second, exposure to ne ws messages or TV dramas that portray crime-ridden cities can increase people's fear or anxiety about living in or even traveling to a city. Media can also have effects on morale and feelings of alienation.The degree of positive or negative mass media depictions of social groups can cause fluctuations in people's sense of morale in belonging to that group or in their sense of alienation from that group.BehavioralThere are two broad categories of behavioral effects that Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur identify. The first broad category is called â€Å"activation† effects, which refer to instances in which media audiences do something they would not otherwise have done as a consequence of receiving media messages. Behavioral effects are largely thought to work through cognitive and affective effects.For instance, a woman reading a news story about sexism in the workplace might form an attitude toward sexism that creates a negative emotional state, the culmination of which is joining a women’s rights march in her local community. The second broad category of behavioral effects is called â€Å"deactivation,† and refers to instances in which audiences would have otherwise done something, but don't do as a consequence of media messages. For example, the primary presidential campaign has become longer and increasingly use more media to target audiences.As such, primary campaigns might elicit negative attitudes toward the electoral process and negative affective states such as boredom or disgust that in turn might make a person not turn out to vote.The levels of media dependenceIn the MSD view, the media system has two-way resource-dependency relations with individuals (micro-level), groups and organizations (meso-level), and other social systems (macro-level).The microlevel(individual level) of dependencyMicrolevel, or individual level application focus on the relationship between individuals and media.The microlevel dependency, better known as individu al level media system dependency(IMD)begins with an assessment of the types of motivation that bring individuals to use the media. In the perspective of IMD, goals are preferred to needs to conceptualize the motivations that affect media behavior. According to Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur, goals are the key dimension of individual motivation. While needs imply both rational and irrational motives, goals imply a problem-solving motivation more appropriate to a theory of media behavior based upon the dependency relation.Three types of motivational goalsThe IMD approach provides a comprehensive conceptualization of three motivational goals:understanding, orientation, and play. 1) Understanding- needs for individuals to have a basic understanding of themselves and the world around them. 2) Orientation- needs for individuals to direct personal actions effectively and interact successfully with others. 3) play(or recreation)- a way through which one learns roles, norms, and values and its ref lected in such activities as sport, dance, and celebration.The macrolevel of dependencyEvery country's media system is interdependent on the country's other social systems (e. g. , its economy, its government) for resources, and vice-versa. At the macrolevel, dependency theory states these interrelationships influence what kinds of media products are disseminated to the public for consumption, and the range of possible uses people have for media.Media and Economic SystemThe media depend on a society's economic system for 1) inculcation and  reinforcement of free enterprise values, 2) establishing and maintaining linkages between producers and sellers, and 3) controlling and winning internal conflicts, such as between management and unions. In turn, the media is dependent on a society's economic system for 1) profit from advertising revenue, 2) technological developments that reduce costs and compete effectively with other media outlets, and 3) expansion via access to banking and f inance services, as well as international trade.Media and Political SystemA society's media and political system are also heavily interdependent.  Political system rely on the media to 1) inculcate and reinforce political values and norm such as freedom, voting, or obedience to the law, 2) maintain order and social integration, 3) organize and mobilize citizens to carry out essential activities like waging war, and 4) controlling and winning conflicts that develop within political domains (e. g. , Watergate). Conversely, the media rely on a country's political system for judicial, executive, and legislative protection, formal and informal resources required to cover the news, and revenue that comes from political advertising and subsidies.Media and Secondary SystemsTo a lesser extent, media has established interdependencies with several other social systems. The family is dependent on media for inculcation and reinforcement of family values, recreation and leisure, coping with eve ryday problems of child rearing, marriage, and financial crises. On the other hand, the media is dependent on the family for consuming their media products. The same is true of media and religious systems. Religious systems rely on media for inculcation and reinforcement of religious values, transmitting religious messages to the masses, and successfully competing with other religious or nonreligious philosophies.In turn, the media relies on the religious system to attain profits from religious organizations who purchase space or air time. The educational system in a society relies on media for value inculcation and reinforcement, waging successful conflicts or struggles for scarce resources, and knowledge transmission such as in educational media programming. Media depends on the educational system for access to expert information and being able to hire personnel trained in the educational system.Finally, the military system depends on the media for value inculcation and reinforcem ent, waging and winning conflicts, and specific organizational goals such as recruitment and mobilization. The media, in turn, depends on the military for access to insider or expert information. The consequences of all of these interdependencies, again, are alterations in media products that audiences consume. In this way, the system-level interdependencies control media products, the range of possible social uses for media, the extent to which audiences depend on the media to fulfill needs, and ultimately media effects on audiences.Individual differences due to demographics or personality traits might change what people actually do with media messages or how they interpret media messages, but the messages always begin as the result of interdependent social systems.A comparison of use and gratification theory and media system dependency theoryBall-Rokeach summarized the major differences between uses and gratification (U&G)theory and media system dependency(MSD) theory.Conception o f audience membersBoth U &G and MSD theorists view the audience member as active, but the basic conceptions of the audience member differ.  U&G theorists focus on psychological and sociodemographic origins of differences in media use. In this perspective, the variability of text interpretation suggests an audience member in charge of the text. MSD theorists focus on psychological, interpersonal, and sociological origins of differences in micro MSD relations as well as the macro MSD relations that constrain media text production and individual’s MSD relations. The responsiveness of micro MSD relations to environmental conditions and the ecological constraints on media production and consumption are important features.In this perspective, the audience member is neither in charge of the text nor controlled by the text. The only way we can predict the effects is the audiences’ MSD relations in context of the ecology of macro relations.Conception of interpersonal networks and communicationU&G theorists emphasize the role of interpersonal communication in the distortion of media messages and of networks as interpretive communities. In this conception, interpersonal networks are regarded as a safety way against the cultural apparatus of the media and its partners.They believe that the interpersonal network contributes to individual â€Å"agency,† and the â€Å"networked† individual is empowered to manipulate media texts, not to be manipulated by them. The MSD conception is compatible with the U&G conception up to a point. Consistent with MSD conceptions of the individual member of the active media audience, the interpersonal networks play major roles in MSD theory. They link the individual to public and they link and influence the nature of the individual’s relations with the media system.Conception of the Media system and of media powerU&G theorists in the psychological tradition think of the media system as creators of tentative texts subject to multiple reconstructions. In this perspective, the media system is functional to the extent that it is useful or affords ways for individuals to gratify needs. The MSD conception is closer to a macro functionalist version of U&G. MSD shares the macro functionalists’’ view of the media’s interdependence with other social and cultural system. In this view, the function of media is seen as a key structure for vertical and horizontal integration of society.The MSD viewpoints seem to be even closer to cultural studies traditions in that the central concern for structural relations of control over information resources that generate the power to create social realities and to negotiate social conflict and social change.Methods of observation, analysis, and interpretationAlthough both U&G and MSD researchers ask similar questions of individuals, they do so for very different reasons. Those differences are reflected most clearly in (a) the logics of hy pothesis formation (b) item and scale construction (c) modes of data analysis, and (d) interpretation of findings.The MSD researcher essentially wants to know the micro and macro determinants of stability and change in micro MSD relations to learn something about their cross-level consequences for individuals and their interpersonal networks-the dynamics of their inner worlds and how they live in their social worlds. The U&G theorist wants to learn something about the individual's attraction to media texts and the interaction between text and reader to better understand the contributions of reader characteristics to text processing.The differences between micro U&G and micro MSD are, thus, in their epistemological origins, assumptions, concepts, and missions. Criticisms[edit] Baran and Davis identify four primary criticisms of dependency theory: 1) Variability in microlevel and macrolevel measurement makes between-study comparability problematic. 2) The theory is often difficult to empirically verify. 3) The meaning and power of dependency is sometimes unclear. 4) Dependency theory lacks power in explaining long-term effects.

Opportunity Network Application Essay

The best-selling author and motivational speaker Roger Crawford once said, â€Å"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.† I have encountered numerous obstacles in my life, but none were as difficult as learning my second language, English. When I moved to the United States in 2009, I knew no English. Thus, my dad enrolled me into a bilingual school, hoping that I would learn English quickly with the help of Chinese-speaking teachers. Instead, all of my classmates spoke in Chinese and so I learned English much more slowly. By the time I entered high school, my relatively poorer English skills prevented me from doing homework efficiently and making friends. After half a year, my teachers noticed how depressed I was. They helped boost my self-esteem by complimenting my academic achievement. That was when I realized I had strengths, too. I began striving for excellence, because I realized that my dedication and hard work would ultimately be recognized and rewarded. Gradually, more classmates talked to me and I began to feel like I belonged in my community. I am grateful for this challenge as it opened my heart and taught me to be determined. Not only do I like making new friends, I also like challenges. Even though some challenges seem beyond my reach, I demand myself to do the best I can. I don’t always succeed, but I see each challenge as a learning experience. I know that, as a Chinese proverb says, an intense storm is always followed by a beautiful rainbow.

long days journey into night essays

long day's journey into night essays >LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT For many generations now, dysfunction, for whatever reason, has been a more common dynamic in the relations of the modern family. Many writers have captured this dynamic in their work for a plethora of reasons. Some may do it simply to get the reader to identify, while others may do it to give us a bit of insight into the dysfunctional life, regardless of weather we can relate or not. This was the case in Eugene ONeills classic play, Long Days Journey Into Night. In his work, he tries to show the reader that dysfunctional dynamics are not resulted from one, maladjusted member of the family, but rather the result of the defects and shortcomings of many if not all members of the family, each adding something to the cycle of defectiveness. He uses the nuclear familiar characters, Tyrone, Mary, and Jamie to illustrate this. One example would be the father of the household, James Tyrone. Tyrone has influence over the entire household. His first mistake is the way in which he always tries to protect or to boost the self-esteem of his wife, Mary, so as to avoid upsetting her. This does not help Mary in the long run. Another of Tyrones faults is the way that he always suspects, doubts, or disapproves of his son Jamie. Given, Jamie is a bum with no ambition, but Tyrone fails to see that constant criticism and debasing of Jamie only hurts the situation. One of these incidents can be found in act one, scene one: Tyrone and Mary are eating, and the boys are in the other room talking. They hear the boys laugh, and Tyrone heads straight for Jamie. Mary- Well, no matter what the joke is about, its a relief to hear Edmund laugh. Hes been so down in the mouth lately. Tyrone- Some joke of Jamies, Ill wager. Hes forever making sneering fun of somebody, that one. Rather that motivating or giving i...

Ofcom and Product placement following the changes in European broadcasting legislation The WritePass Journal

Ofcom and Product placement following the changes in European broadcasting legislation Introduction Ofcom and Product placement following the changes in European broadcasting legislation IntroductionConsumer BehaviourMethodologyReferencesRelated Introduction UK Regulatory company Ofcom (2011) state that, â€Å"Product placement is when a company pays a TV channel or a programme-maker to include its products or brands in a programme†. Product placement has been allowed on UK television for many years in the form of movies and international programmes but regulations have been relaxed as of 28th February 2011 in accordance with the recent changes in European broadcasting legislation (Ofcom, 2011). Consumer Behaviour In order to examine the effectiveness of product placement, it is important to first understand how consumers behave and ways that we can best communicate our advertising message to them. Seminal papers on the topic of consumer behaviour (Stigler, 1961) suggest that consumers behave in a rational and predictable manner. Research done by Stigler (1961), suggests that consumers will continue to perform an information search on a product until the costs of doing so out weight the benefits. Kotler (2003) goes on to suggest that purchase is a purely rational response to a problem and identified that the consumer must execute several steps in order to resolve the problem. Mowen (1988) suggests a five stage purchase process whereby the consumer behaves in a linear and economically rational fashion. Simon (1957) suggests that consumers are limited by ‘bounded rationality’ and that we have the ability to perform simple rational problem solving tasks but are unable to rationally perform complex problem solving tasks. The theory suggests that in order to perform complex rational problem tasks we must eliminate some of the outcome variables. The simplicity and linear structure of consumer behaviour was first questioned by Palda (1966), in relation to advertising theories suggesting that existing consumer behaviour theories did not allow for whimsical decisions of the consumer.   Christensen, Torp and Firat (2005), note how in our postmodern markets fragmentation is a predominant feature and as consumer choice increases, nuclear family structures decline in numbers resulting in an ever increasing number of markets. Goulding (2003) has also analysed the difficulties presented to the postmodern consumer as segment and market fragmentation increase the level of choice and make it difficult for consumers to perform problem solving tasks (Kotler, 2003). According to Simons (1957) and Gouldings (2003) theories, it could be argued that brands and lifestyle products help to eliminate consumer choice outcome variables by projecting a set of aspiration values to define themselves in the marketplace. The consumer is then able to align themselves with a brand that best reflects the desired projected lifestyle the brand represents (Reynolds, Gengler and Howard, 1995). Jacoby et al., (1977) argue brand names (along with packaging, price and other branding indicators) make this decision process easier for the consumer as they are provided with a ‘chunk’ of learned information associated with the brand reducing the need for further unnecessary information searches. According to this theory, strong brand equity can add significant advantage in today’s saturated market places as it is the added value to a product or service (Farquhar, 1989). Brand assets add or subtract value and thus to the brand equity (Aaker, 1991) and these assets are communicated through marketing strategies. Keller (1993) suggests measuring brand equity serves two purposes: to establish the financial position of the brand and to establish brand differentiation benefits built through the brand assets. In his summary of brand knowledge, Keller (1993) suggests that brand assets belong under types of brand association and within this are categorised into attributes, benefits or attitudes. In an advertising perspective, it is important to fully utilise brand assets in order to enhance brand differentiation in the marketplace (Wright, 1973). Marketers use forms of advertising to communicate these brand attributes, of which there are two basic theories of how advertising works; cognitive theories and affect theories. Cognitive theories were the first advertising theories suggested and assume the consumer as ‘a purely rational information-processor’ (Ambler and Vakratsas, 1996). It is likely that in 1898 the seminal advertising theory model AIDA (attention, interest, desire and action) was developed by St. Elmo Lewis (Strong, 1925, p.76). Colley (1961) presents a similar model known as DAGMAR whereby the consumer is first aware of the product and involvement is also a mediating factor. The consumer then experiences an affect response and finally a conative response. The simplicity of these models and assumption of consumer predictability was first criticised by Palda (1966) and is juxtaposed with affect theories. Affect theories suggest that brand attitude and favourability is formed in a post advertisement ex posure scenario through classical conditioning (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961). This suggests that affect theories could change attitudes through a number of exposures known as the ‘Mere Exposure Effect’ (Zajonc, 1968). More modern theorists (such as Batra and Ray, 1986 and Biehal et al., 1992) suggest that in low involvement situations liking the ad can have positive effects on brand attitude which is in some circumstances linked to brand persuasion and choice. Theoretically it could be argued this is where the idea of product placement stems from. If the entertainment medium the placement is contained in is considered ‘the advert’, as consumers liking for this increases so should the liking for the brand. Lutz et al. (1983) propose 5 influencers which will affect how the advertisement is perceived: (a) the credibility of the ad; (b) other perceptions of the ad; (c) attitude toward the advertiser; (d) attitude toward advertising in general; and (e) the recipients general affective state or mood at the time of exposure. These 5 antecedents could be applied into a product placement context when considering Petty, Cacioppo and Schumann (1983) peripheral processing theory. This theory suggests that a person’s change of attitude can occur not purely through logical consideration of the pros and cons of an advocacy but that an attitude change can be influenced by positive or negative cues or the individual’s disposition before exposure to the advocacy (Batra and Stayman, 1990). William’s (2001) findings on the influences soap operas can have on developing nations support the application of these 5 perception influencers in a product placement context. Williams (2001) found that non-advertising soap operas were creating a demand for sewing machines and condoms in developing countries. This suggests that attitudes towards the programme or movie (or the characters placed within it) can have an effect on purchase intention, perception and behaviour even when no brands or products are spe cifically being promoted. Karrh (1998) has found that products placed in a movie elicit better explicit memory brand recall then those that are not placed within a movie. Conversely, brand favourability is positively enhanced after exposure to a prominent placing when viewers have reported a disliking to a product placement medium or television programme (Cowley and Barron, 2008). It is important to note that in these circumstances the product placement was very prominent and lacked modality to the plot. A common finding within the literature suggests that modality and plot connection to the product or brand being placed can increase positive attitude change in subtle product placements. Russell’s (2002) research on modality and plot connection to product placement effectiveness shows that if the brand placement is well connected to the plot it can have a positive effect on attitude change. Hudson and Hudson (2006) discuss the increasing use of placements of placements with high levels of plot modality and the stronger emotional connection this technique can potentially create with the target. Russell (2002) also found that in low plot connections visual only placements could be more persuasive then audio only placements. Interestingly, Gupta and Lord (1998) found that in high modality placement situations there was a 37.5% brand recall rate for audio only placements in comparison to a 5.6% recall rate for visual only placements. Law and Braun’s (2000) research also ref lects these audio/visual comparison results. If there is little modality between the brand and the plot this can unfavourably effect brand attitude and the brand is often discounted if it is a subtle placement. Conversely, a highly prominent incongruent placement can result in increased brand recall and better explicit brand memory (Von Restorff, 1933; Russell, 2002; Brennan et al., 1999; d’Astous Chartier, 2000). Yang and Roskos-Ewoldsen (2007) discuss the consequences of better understanding the consumer’s ability to process and comprehend the story within a movie or television programme and how it can affect explicit memory. They suggest using situation models and identifying enablers within the story line in order to better place a product within the plot. They use the example of Reece’s Pieces in the movie E.T. and how they are used to lure the alien inside the house. Here, the product is described as the enabler as it enables the plot of the film to progress forwards. Attempting to obviously elicit a strong explicit memory response can have repercussions. Bhatnagar et al. (2004) uses the adverse reaction to Fay Weldon’s book The Bulgari Collection as an example of the critique and negative associations that can occur as a result the palpable placement of Bulgari jewellery in the title. Balasubramanian (1994) suggests that these adverse reactions and cognitive dissonance are created through the knowledge that it is a persuasion effort. In their seminal paper, Friedstad and Wright (1994) were able to identify that consumers have developed a way of coping with persuasion attempts in order to achieve their own goals such as a consumers internal beliefs as to how they process and utilise a persuasion attempt. The model illustrates how the agent’s topic, persuasion and target knowledge leads to a persuasion attempt. When in contact with the target this then becomes the persuasion episode and leads to persuasion coping behaviour. This expos ure can then potentially lead to topic knowledge, persuasion knowledge and even agent knowledge. Bhatnagar et al. (2004) believe that it is most consumers’ unawareness to the fact that a product placement effort is a persuasion attempt is what makes it successful. Karrh et al. (2003) conversely claim that placements unable to induce brand recall with the target are deemed unsuccessful, this could be due to the fact that recall demonstrates a cognitive response which according to early advertising theories (Colley, 1961) may lead to an affect state and eventually a conative response. Studies have however shown that despite inability to perform brand recall, high frequency placement exposures where persuasion knowledge is low and involvement is high have shown to positively affect brand attitudes (Matthes et al., 2007). The ‘Mere Exposure Effect’ should also be considered here as it suggests an individual’s favourability towards a target will increase with each target exposure (Zajonc, 1968; Kunst-Witson and Zajonc, 1980). There is great debate not only in the literature but also from a regulatory perspective, about the ethical validity of a target’s topic knowledge without persuasion or agent knowledge. This type of knowledge is stored using implicit memory. Law Braun-LaTour, (2004) discuss the importance of considering both implicit and explicit memory when exploring product placement. Findings produced by Bhatnagar et al. (2004) indicate the potential power of product placement through the fact that participants involved in their study were able to perform brand recall yet were unable to recall where and when the brand was placed suggesting the application of implicit memory. Schacter (1987) examines a history of implicit memory and how subjects involved in implicit memory studies do have the ability to learn without cognition. Kunst-Wilson and Zajonc (1980) exposed subjects to geometric shapes for a period of time which was deemed too short for them to consciously acknowledge (1 ms) thereby reducing the chances of explicit memory recall. Despite this subjects involved were able to show implicit memory use through distinct preference of shapes they had been exposed to. Research has shown that not only does implicit memory give an individual the power to recall without cognition but it can also influence perception and attitude (Bargh and Pietromonaco, 1982). Bargh and Pietromonaco (1982) exposed subjects to subliminal hostile words and then asked the subjects to rate a target. The subjects exposed to the hostile words consistently rated the targets more negatively than the control group. Lewicki (1985) found that after subliminal exposure to adjective-noun pairs (for example big-dog), subjects had a tendency to choose the preceding adjective when asked how they â€Å"felt† about the noun (for example is the dog old or big?). Despite the inquisitive experiments in the early to mid 1980’s, advertisers had already been using subliminal techniques for thirty years. In 1957 Coca Cola produced its first subliminal advertising attempt provoking public outrage and shock (Moore, 1982). Audience members viewing a movie in progress were presented with superimposed flashes of ‘Eat Popcorn’ and ‘Drink Coca Cola’ on screen. After these exposures, sales of popcorn and Coca Cola during the movie increased by 57.5% and 18.1% respectively (Rodgers, 1992). The ethical indignation is the issue of directly influencing audience members – without their knowledge – to buy a product they neither desired nor required (Klass, 1986). It has been suggested that some practitioners might consider product placement to be a subliminal method of advertising (Karrh, 2003; Balasubramanian, 1994; D’Astous Chartier, 2000). If the subject does not experience persuasion knowledge and the persuasion effort is below the conscious threshold, does this mean they are being subliminally targeted? Conversely it has been accepted that even advertisements above the conscious threshold level do not always reach a subject’s conscious level (Klass, 1986). This could explain the delicate issue of product placement aimed at children who are often unable to recognise even obtrusive persuasion attempts (Auty and Lewis, 2004). The ethical concerns associated with product placement could explain the independent UK regulations authority for the UK communications industry, Ofcom’s (2011) effort to make product placement ‘transparent’ and ensure ‘consumer protection’ in the UK. New regulations (see appendix 1 for a full list of UK regulations) state that a special product placement logo (consisting of the letter ‘P’ with a bold outline – appendix 2) must precede the beginning, recommencing of a programme containing paid-for brand placement and again at the end. Ofcom (2011) have provided basic information on product placement, the changes in law and what UK consumers are now to expect on their website and are also broadcasting campaigns to raise awareness of the regulation changes. In addition, measures have been taken by Ofcom (2011) to further protect consumers by insisting placements must be ‘programme-related material’ and banning the placem ent of smoking, alcohol, gambling, instant formula, any product that is already banned from appearing on television and food and drinks high in salt or sugar. The restrictions on placing ‘programme-related material’ only could mean that brands advertising on UK television could see greater brand attitude transformation (Russell, 2002) and a reduced brand memory function (Von Restorff, 1933; Russell, 2002; Brennan et al., 1999; d’Astous Chartier, 2000) unless it is in an audio only situation (Gupta and Lord, 1998; Law and Braun, 2000). Product placement as an evaluation of a mass media =   Product Placements in Movies: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Austrian, French and American Consumers Attitudes Toward This Emerging, International Promotional Medium.(Statistical Data Included), Journal of Advertising, | December 22, 2000 | Gould, Stephen J.; Gupta, Pola B.; Grabner-Krauter, Sonja = uses a US movie and collects a questionnaire across international boarders in order to study brand perceptions on a multi national basis. Uk product placement will be directly targeted at a UK audience. Will it be at the right target audience if it is in the right programme and the right characters are using it? Celebrity endorsement theories hold the potential to providing additional leverage for placed brands.   Research has suggested that the use of celebrity endorsements can lead to an increase in brand favourability (Till et al., 2008) and even an indirect increase in brand equity (Spry et al., 2011). Comparable to the ‘parasocial theory’, Agrawal and Kamakura (1995) discuss how a successful celebrity endorsement can reflect some of the brand’s attributes. Halonen-Knight and Humerinta (2010) concur with this theory, suggesting that meanings and values can be transferred from the celebrity endorser to the brand and vice versa. White et al., (2009) attract our attention to the possibility of negative attitude transference from the celebrity endorser to the brand if the endorser’s reputation has for some reason been compromised. Silvera and Austad (2004) have suggested in their study that the target’s perceived similarities between themselves and the end orser can be an influence when measuring celebrity endorsement effectiveness. This principle could theoretically be applied to the target’s perceived similarities between themselves and a character within the television programme using or wearing the placed brand. Russell and Stern (2006) found that consumers align themselves with placed products in accordance with how characters in the programme align themselves with the product. Their research discusses the ‘genre theory’ whereby characters are associated with the brands and products they use in order to help the viewer identify the character’s social grouping. The ‘parasocial theory’ suggests that viewers form attitudes and relationships with sitcom characters and the running length of a sitcom is therefore important so as viewers can form a deeper, trusting relationship with the character. The ‘parasocial theory’ could mean that placements within television programmes could be more effective then product placements in movies (Avery and Ferraro, 2000). These theories are combined by the ‘balance theory’ which is based upon Heiders (1946, 1958) balance theory in social psychology and explains an individuals desire to maintain consist ency among a triad of linked attitudes. Using celebs helps to gain audience attention Limited capacity of attention? Gamers are they more focussed then passive viewers? Advertising noise Practitioner attitudes towards product placement Bhatnagar et al. (2004) claim that â€Å"companies expect consumers to form attitudes towards brands based on the contexts in which they are presented† suggesting that industry professionals have a simplistic and linear approach to product placement. Difficulties in measuring product placement performance, helps to relieve squeezed income streams due to recession for broadcasters, practitioners might think it will help them get around the problem of ad avoidance behaviour Product placements trends – more zapping, gupta and lord 1998 found that product placement induced better brand recall then commercial advertisements, saturation of advertising mediums Ben Kozary and Stacey Baxter http://anzmac2010.org/proceedings/pdf/anzmac10Final00353.pdf, ad avoidance behaviour, Marian Friestad and Peter Wright pre-empt = teaching adolescents when they are being targeted Go back through literature review and fill in with papers already printed Methodology Avery and ferraro 2000- virtually impossible to tell what products are deliberately placed and which ones feature as part of the set Important to firstly establish the level of modality the brand has in the examples to be used in the research Difficult to distinguish between the effects of product placement and other ongoing promotional campaigns in the research (suggested by batnagar et al http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/faculty/malkoc/Chapter%206.pdf ) Good for how to measure product placement ideas: juhl.co.uk/the-effectiveness-of-product-placement-in-video-games.pdf by Jasper K. Juhl good for research ideas RECEPTIVENESS OF GAMERS TO EMBEDDED BRAND MESSAGES IN ADVERGAMES: ATTITUDES TOWARDS PRODUCT PLACEMENT Tina Winkler and Kathy Buckner psychological memory tests have in the past largely used free recall cued recall and recognition, To test implicit memory instead of being asked to try to remember recently presented information, subjects are simply required to perform a task, such as completing a graphemic fragment of a word, indicating a preference for one of several stimuli, or reading mirror-inverted script; memory is revealed by a facilitation or change in task performance that is attributable to information acquired during a previous study episode: History and Current Status, Daniel L. Schacter, Journal of Experimental Psychology: 1987, Vol. 13, No. 3. 501-518 â€Å"An evaluation of the potential of Product Placement within UK   TV advertising.† Or â€Å"Product placement in UK TV advertising an exploratory study.† Objective 1 Determine whether product placement improves brand recall among consumers. Objective 2 Examine whether product placement influences consumers’ attitude towards the brand. Objective 3 Explore the importance of congruency between the placed product and programme format. Objective 4 Assess whether product placement increases the likelihood of purchase of the placed brand. We can play around with the precise wording of these, but basically it is getting at the key theme of Does product placement a) raise awareness b) influence how the brand is perceived c) Lead to purchase?   These are the things that really matter with advertising. Questions for Joe: Do I need to put examples in? Do I need to connect the theory with practise more in the literature review? Do the topics I have sketched in my methodology need to go in the literature review instead? do I need to define implicit and explicit memory? Do I need to talk more about product placement at the start? References Aaker, D. (1991) Managing Brand Equity: Capitalising on the Value of a Brand Name, Free Press, New York Agrawal, J., Kamakura, W.A. (1995), The economic worth of celebrity endorsers: an event study analysis, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59 No.3, pp.56-62 Ambler, T., Vakratsas, D., ‘The Pursuit of Advertising Theory’, Business Strategy Review, vol 7, issue 1, pgs 14-23, March 1996 Auty, S., Lewis, C., ‘Exploring Children’s Choice: The Reminder Effect of Product Placement’, Psychology and Marketing, Volume 21, Issue 9, pages 697–713, September 2004 Avery, R., Ferraro, R., ‘Verisimilitude or Advertising? 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Free sample - People and Organization One. translation missing

People and Organization One. People and Organization OneIntroductionThe unemployment in the world is increasing with very high rate and is not certain if the figure will reduce; in fact the job market has not been able to cope up with high influx of fresh graduates who are produced year after year. Therefore, it has become a great task for companies on who to hire from many interested qualified graduates. To reduce this stress, organizations are delegating this responsibility to privately own firms that are involved with human resource selection. Hiring right candidate for a specific job is the most important achievement every company wishes; the highly performing employees are valued assets to a company. Group and Team BehaviorSelecting individual for team-based jobs is so challenging; there are a lot of factors to be considered. One of these important considerations is the fact that the individual performance in the job depends upon the effort of other people (Evers, Anderson Voskuijl 2005, p.478). It was suggested that ‘an individual generic characteristic which makes him or her particularly team-worthy must be considered (p.478). The fundamental point that informed this approach is the reason that some candidates work better in teams than others whereas there are those who work better as individuals. Additionally, the unique characteristics of a particular team can be used to identify potential candidate. It is found that teams vary widely on several task or duties they performed and this variation influences the choice for specific candidate. Evers, Anderson and Voskuijl (2005, p.478) asserted that task which a team performs is very crucial for consideration, however, they suggested that other factors such as ‘team structure, design, contextual and process characteristics are also essential. Group Oral InterviewOther companies use the group oral interview to identify potential candidate. Bertram Strauss (1964, p.139) described this method as similar to ‘member-centered meeting’ where interviewees themselves take control of discussion and as they do so, their different qualities surface. Oral interview are set of questions meant to provide answers about certain characteristics of a candidate (Hudson Clark, 2008, p.141).The panel leading the interview is able to note the different qualities exhibited by each candidate. Each interviewee is assigned a topic and is allowed to discuss in a group. The topics often chosen are those which the candidates have no clue about. Their capabilities are evaluated by the way they engage themselves in the discussion and solve the problem. Bertram Strauss (1964, p.139) argued that ‘quick, clear thinking and ability to handle oneself well’ is essentially what the panellist are looking for. This method is best for selecting candidate for executive position or those positions that involves interaction with the public. It was noted that when candidates are taken through such interviews several qualities can be identified; some of these qualities are shyness-some candidates can be tongue-tied- and problem solving. They elaborated that other candidates my have problems in expressing their ideas orally but can write well; therefore it will be the task of the panel to decide who to select based on the qualities they are looking for. The role of panellist in the group oral interview is to listen to the candidates in the course of the discussion (Lata Kumar 2007). More to this point, the panellist appointed are always not related or known to the candidates. Immediately the discussion is over, the panellist who feels that the information they have acquired is not enough can still speak to candidates separately. Finally, each panellists writes report on individual candidate (Bertram Strauss 1964, p.141a).   These authors argued that some companies have found this approach better in choosing the best candidates. They commented that the approach is time saving; it eliminates the tedious and repetitive process of interviewing one candidate at ago; and the last important positive attribute about this method is the idea that the each interviewer presents their own summary of the candidates which are later harmonised and the best candidate is selected Direct Physical FeaturesSome people have raised concerns over the use of direct visible features of a person in selection of personnel. Elsy (2009, p.93) cited David Cohen analogy of the onion different layers as similar to human ‘behavioural tendencies’. The analogy relates the human different behaviours to the different layers of onion which can be pearled off.   She compares the outer layer of onion which can be easily pearled off to the observable human behaviour; and the layer below to be similar to the human personality ‘the can do factors’ and the layer beneath to resemble human characters which are intrinsic to individual and cannot be change. Therefore the use of direct physical features will not identify the intrinsic behaviour which defines the character of that person RefereesThe method used to select an individual must be accurate to measure the candidates’ intrinsic qualities. Lewis et al. (2007, p.245) asserted that any criterior used must be capable of identifying candidate with exemplary qualities and who can perform better than those who were not selected. The first information that an employer receives from a potential candidate is the application form and a resume. After receiving the applications the company conducts background checks to proof authenticity of the information in the resume (Smith 2000). One of the cretarior of conducting authenticity of the information in the resume is by contacting the referees provided by the candidate. However, the likelihood of getting true information through references is very minimal; this is because of the biasness of some referees in giving information about their candidates and more so the reluctance of giving the desired information. Most often than not candidates choose references that they are sure they will provide positive information about them to the employer and even recommend them for the job (McKenna 2000, p.532). The reluctance of some referees to provide information could possibly be due to some companys’ regulation that may prohibits the release of such information concerning their past employees or either, he/she may be fearing loosing his/her friend in the case of giving out true information. Despite the shortcoming in this method, Ingram et al (2008, p.54) asserts that contacting referees is one of the best approach of determining the truthfulness of the information provided in the resume and eliminating the raising case of forgery and fraud in the res ume. Furthermore, it helps an organization to abate cases that can lead to legal prosecution for negligence in hiring employees. Organisational designWritten TestsWhen the background checks as been completed the organization may proceed with the written test. The written tests are meant to measure candidates ‘knowledge, skills and abilities’ (Lewis et al. 2007, p.245). There are three types of test that are frequently used by employers, these are: personality test, written test and performance test. Fundamentally, written test are used by employers to measure candidates ‘ability, skills, intelligence, or interest’ (p.245). Moreover, the test is widely used to measure knowledge of the candidates’ mathematical skills and interest in specific types of work. The cretarior in this method is that, the higher the score of the candidate the better is he/she for the job. The other category of test is performance test; in this test candidate is assigned a specific task to perform. There are two types of performance test: ‘work and assessment centre’ (Lewis et al. 2007, p.245).   Work sample is commonly used in jobs that are more specific such as assembling of computer. If the candidate manages to perform the task well, then the company hires him/her. It was also commented that the method is very effective and its accuracy level is high. Consequently assessment centres are more suitable for selecting individual to fill up executive positions. This method is essentially used to predict individual performance in a specific job (p.245). It applies techniques such role plays, group discussions and public speaking and presentation (Ingram et al. 2008, p.153). The candidate is assigned specific duties to do such as addressing people, making decision on certain issues, attending meetings and so many others. The tasks are tailored to assess the candidate behaviour in particular challenges and also predict its performance in the specific assignments as a manager. More to this point, the method also evaluates how a candidates decides on ‘which assignment to do and which to ignore’ (p.245). The assessment centres is gaining more usage than oral and written interviews in many companies (Rosenbloom 1985, p.72). Although the assessment centres takes time to present its results and is very costly, it is more accurate; it is very effective for assessing candidates’ for managerial positions (Beaumont 1993, p.70). The method has also been proofed to be excellent in selecting individuals for sales positions. Ingram et al mentioned that some life insurance firm used the method to select salespeople and the results were remarkable: they were able to identify candidates who possessed the much needed qualities of a salesperson such as sales prospecting, presentation skills and time management than the previous method. In fact Ingram et al noted that the company was able to make a lot of profits within the same period. Individual personality/AttitudesAccording to Lewis et al (2007, p.246) it is valuable to employ individual whose attitude and character rhyme well with the core values of the company. They lamented that ‘teaching an individual about the job is easier than teaching him or her to change deeply held attitudes’ (p.246). The use of personality test by companies to select suitable personnel’s has remarkably increased. Personality tests are tests that are carried out to measures individual attributes or characteristics. Shah (2010, 117) adds that personality test are used to evaluate candidates emotions, maturity and temper in specific situations. It is also very important in testing the ability of a candidate to adapt to various challenges faced in life while upholding his or her reputation. This method is widely used in selecting individuals for executive positions. There are four types of personality test: Objective test, protective test, situation test, and interest test (Shah 2010, p.117). Objective test is used to test individual neurotic behaviour and self-confidence; a protective test is used to assess candidate character and values; while the situation test is employed to assess candidate behaviour towards challenging situation and his ability to cope up with stress and pressure; interest test determines kind of work a candidate likes most. The tests are prepared in different forms: written test or evaluation by an interviewer. Under the personality test, some organizations perform physical examinations test to the candidates to find out any physical impairment that may hinder work performance. This kind of test is frequently used when selecting people to be employed in military field. The only limitation about personality test is that the questions sometimes may have been poorly designed such that it can’t produce meaningful resul ts (Furnham 1994, p.331). InterviewsInterviews are basically, detail conversation done for the aim of ascertaining individual skills, abilities and knowledge. This is done between representatives of an organisation and the candidate (Stewart 2008, p.26). It has been noted that about 90% of people recruited in industrial positions went through interviews (Lewis et al. 2007, p.246). The interview questions that are frequently asked are straightforward and are meant to understand interviewee background of education and relevant experiences. Stewart identified three types of interviews employed by organisations: bio-data or biographical, behavioural, and situation interviews. Bio-data interview is basically used to ascertain candidate background; it asks questions concerning candidate education, self-assessment, abilities, work experience and extra-curricular activities (Prasad Mohan 2005, p.221). Behavioural interview on the other hand asks questions which are meant to understand the candidate past experiences. Out of these four types of interview test, behavioural test has been identified as the most predictive (Stewart 2008, p.28). McKenna (2010, p.532) pointed out that the poor performance of biodata is caused by the problems of interviewers not being keen in correlating the certain biographical information with beneficial performance in the work. However, he suggested that the solution to problem is by focusing on the theoretical relationships of the biodata with appropriate work and moreover, retaining biodata information that are essential to specific work performance. Interestingly, interviews as an approach for selecting personnel has very ‘low validity’; this is because many interviewers are not well equipped with the necessary skills to facilitate interviews (Lewis et al. 2007, p.246).   Another shortcoming of interviews is that they are ‘fairly informal’; studies have revealed that interviewers make their conclusion about the candidate within the first 2minutes of the interview (p.246). This raises questions on the accuracy and effectiveness of the interviews. Sometimes the interviewers are influenced by the perceptions and stereotypes they hold about the candidate. Lewis et al (2007, p.246) suggested several ways of solving the above problem: introducing structured format of interview whereby same question are asked in the same order for each candidate; and inquiring for more information based on what the interviewee has said. It was also suggested that the following points for effective interviewer: asking precise questions, avoiding perceptions, avoiding discriminative questions, taking good time before concluding and ‘keeping written records of the interviews’ (p.246). They concluded by saying that interviewers should take time to explain clearly to the candidates what the job really entails and focus entirely on the positive attributes of the job. Peer AssessmentPeer assessment is another approach that is preferred by some companies. Peers are people who have direct interaction with individual and knows individual well. This places the peer in a better position to assess the candidate. In this approach peer assesses the candidate and give their opinion. However, this method is considered as ineffective (McKenna 2000, p.534). Peers may not be willing to give genuine information about their colleges that they feel will ruin their changes of securing the job. Any approach used to select candidates for employment must be fair to all candidates and eliminate situations that give a specific candidate undue advantage over the others. McKenna (2000, p.534) commented that some ‘ethnic minorities do not perform as well as other applicants in many test of intelligence and aptitude’. This has made some nations to legislate laws to protect such vulnerable entities or group of people; an example is the UK Race Relation Act created in 1976 (p.534). Travel AgencyTravel agency is an agent who is involved with providing general travel services or specialised travel services to clients. (Lubbe 2000, p.82). Singh (2008, p.1) defined travel agency as a business company involved in selling travel based services. General Service travel agency specifically is involved with organising and making necessary arrangements for holiday or business related travels for individual and groups. Corporate travel agency involves with providing for all the needs of the travel of the corporate client or a company. Specialised agencies renders travels services to specialised group of persons such as ‘senior citizens adventure or religious groups’ (p.82). Basically, travel agency is involved with providing entire travel services-arranging for travel documents and tickets-after which the client pays for the service rendered to them. Job descriptionTravel Agency has so many departments ranging from the Chief executive officer to clerical departments. Chief Executive officer is the senior officer of the organisation and is the overall person incharge of the organisation. Every department in the organisation has specific duties and responsibilities to do. The Chief Executive Officer is entrusted with the responsibility of development strategies and formulating policies in line with the goals and objectives of the agency (US Dept of Labour, Bureau of Labour Statistics 2004, p.64).   The executive represents the agency in important meeting of the board of directors and is answerable to the board of directors of the agency. A chief executive officer also has a responsibility of hiring departmental heads of an organisation. According to Pidgeon (2004, p.192) the duties of Chief Executive Officer is to lead an organization into the future. He makes sure that the task of the employer is well done (Acutt and Hattingh 20 03, p.38). Profile Chief Executive Officer The Chief Executive officer of a travel agency must be arguably, experienced in managerial position or has held or served previously under the same capacity (U. S. Department of Labour 2000). He or she must possess high personal skills and good analytical mind that is able to analyze a lot of information within a short period of time effectively. Furthermore, he/she must be in a position to communicate ‘precisely and persuasively’ and also exemplify qualities such as ‘leadership, self-confidence, motivation, decisiveness, flexibility and sound business judgment’ (U. S. Department of Labour 2000, p.82). The minimum educational qualification for the candidate must be a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts or business administration (p.32). Approach for SelectionThe best approach to employ in select a candidate for a post of Chief Executive Officer of a travel agency is personality test. Using situation tests, behaviour of a candidate under stress situation as Chief Executive Officer can be predicted. This method also can effectively measure the candidate persuasive and decisive skill as a Chief Executive Officer in attracting investors to the agency. ConclusionIn conclusion, organizations use different approaches depending on the kind of Job description and the qualities they are looking for. For executive positions organisations prefer personality tests and performance tests. This test has proofed to be successful since it can predict the performance of candidate as a Chief Executive Officer in specific challenging situations. There are two types of performance test: work sample and assessment centres. Assessment centres employ technique of role plays and public speaking to assess candidates ability to tackle problems. This method has been echoed by many people as the most accurate; however it is a bit expensive. Likewise personality test has proofed to be the best approach in selecting candidates. There are four types of personality tests: Objective test, protective test, situation test, and interest test. The test is carried out to measures candidates’ attributes or characteristics. An interview is also one of the most widely used approaches. This is done in a way of conversation between the representatives of the employers and the candidate. There are two types of interviews employed by companies: bio-data or biographical, behavioural and situation interview. Interviews have been cited as sometimes ineffective; the interviewers’ level of training may not be adequate for facilitating interviews. In general, the approach a company chooses to use to assess their candidates should be based on the job description, necessary attributes of the candidate, and desired results.       References Acutt, J, Hattingh, S 2003, Occupational Health: Management Practice for Health Practitioners, Juta and Company Ltd, Claremont, Cape Town. Beaumont, PB 1993, Human resource management: key concepts and skills, SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA. Bertram, W Strauss, F 1964, New Ways to Better Meetings, Tavistock Publication Limited, 11 New Fetter Lane, London. Elsy, PA, 2009, Approaches to Management, Discovery Publishing House PVT. Ltd, New Delhi, India. Evers, A, Anderson, N, Voskuijl, O 2005, The Blackwell Handbook of Personnel Selection, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. Furnham, A 1994, Personality at work: the role of individual differences in the workplace, Routledge, London. Hudson, T, Clark, M 2008, Case Studies in Foreign Language Placement: Practices and Possibilities, Natl Foreign Lg Resource Ctr., Honolulu, HI. Ingram, TN, LaForge, RW Avila, RA 2008, Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY. Lata, P Kumar, S 2007, Communicate Or Collapse: A Handbook Of Effective Public Speaking Group Discussions And Interviews, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi. Lewis et al. 2007, Management: challenges for tomorrow's leaders,   Thomson Higher Education, Mason, OH. Lubbe, B 2000, Tourist Distribution: Managing the Travel Intermediary, Juta and Company Ltd, Claremont, Cape Town. McKenna, EF 2000, Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour, Psychology Press, Hove, East Sussex. Pidgeon, WP 2004, The not-for-profit CEO: How to Attain and Retain the Corner Office, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Prasad, MH Mohan, R 2005, How To Prepare For Group Discussion And Interview, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. Rosenbloom, DH 1885, Public Personnel Policy: the Politics of Civil Service,Ardent Media, Tucson, Arizona Area. Shah, B 2010, Textbook of Pharmaceutical Industrial Management, Elsevier India, Haryana, New Delhi. Singh, LK 2008, Management of Travel Agency. Gyan Publishing House, DDA Market, Delhi. Smith, T 2000, Viable values: a study of life as the root and reward of morality, Rowman Littlefield, Oxford. Stewart KL, 2008, Top of the Curve: Students’ Guide for Interviewing and Career Success, Lulu.com, Hillsborough St Raleigh, NC. Us Dept of Labour, Bureau of Labour Statistics 2004, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-2005, Claitor's Law Books and Publishing, Baton Rouge, LA.

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