Tyco Company Phone Services

Table of Contents High quality value Easier to operate Friendly services Pay bill services and banking services Advances High quality value Tyco Company is a major dealer in communication gadgets such as phones. Their phones are of high quality, durable, and they are sold at affordable prices. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Tyco Company Phone Services specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Tyco sells phones, which meet the international standards from leading phone manufacturers. These manufacturers include Samsung, Nokia, Doro and Motorola. The company provides automated Usage Alerts services that help customers know the lapse of the minutes they had intended to be on air. This is done without asking them to pay even a penny. Lot of the company’s esteemed consumers are happy with this service. The company ensures that the calling rate reduces as one talks. When the consumer satisfactions is the main obje ctive, the organization ensures that the airtime the customer feeds to his or her phone will be converted to donga point. The donga points can later be converted into free calling minutes, free SMS or free internet bundles. Easier to operate The company phones and services are not complicated; therefore, they do not require any training in order to enjoy them. The services offered are remarkably fast to access. Tyco services are reliable and meet every customer need. This makes the company the best choice for every mobile user. The company operating manuals are written in clear straightforward words. To ensure customers are capable of understanding the manual, they are written in different languages. Friendly services The company cares for all its customers. The company management considers all suggestions, recommendations and complaints. Tyco act immediately to all what customer tell them, because they value him or her. In case a customer wants to terminate his or her contract with the company, there are no hidden charges. Tyco believes that the consumer is independent to decide when to enter and to terminate his or her contract. The organizations’ customer care service is run by competent staff. They are friendly and are available 24 hours 7 days per week. Tyco ensures research and innovation are stressed in business. This leads to quality and efficient services to satisfy the customers’ needs as much as possible. Pay bill services and banking services It has become crucial to ensure customer does not have to carry cash whenever he or she wants to do shopping. Tyco has established formal relationship with different key selling outlets to make them pay their bills from the phone. This has minimized burglary since the company cares about the customer’s safety. Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Apart from this, the company has also established a strong rapport with the banking sector, whereby the banks have agreed to offer the customers banking services through their phones. Customers can deposit, withdraw, and check their account balances among other services. Indeed this is the reason why the company is labeled as the leader in the phone industry. Advances Tyco has customer’s interest in its objectives, and that is why it always comes up with services tailored to meet his or her needs. The company knows that it is not always possible for customer to have the credit in his or her phone. In such circumstances when he or she does not have the credit, and he or she feels the need to make a call, the company intervenes, and gives them a soft loan. The company’s loyal customer, who has been using the services for more than 8 months, is provided with 20% of the amount he has used within a year. Tyco believes that as the business grows, so should the consumer do. The client will never regret, as the c ompany is caring, and considers phone service providers. This essay on Tyco Company Phone Services was written and submitted by user Elsa Patterson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Motorolas Case Study

Motorolas Case Study Introduction Motorola is a Chicago based firm that was started in 1928 as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. It is a top producer of handheld cell phones and markets wireless web devices. In 2003, phone gadgets contributed to 40% of the revenue and 60% of Motorola’s operating profits. Motorola is good in communication and technology creativity.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Motorola’s specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This has been possible through its strong branding and technological innovation. The firm strives to achieve breakthroughs in technology and to emerge at the top of its competitors (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2010). This paper seeks to explain the SWOT analyses of Motorola incorporation, as well as merits and demerits of Motorola’s strategies. Additionally, the essay identifies the levels of strategy in a firm and issues in business administration. Salient opportunities and threats that exist in Motorolas external environment The external environment analysis helps an organization to know if its resources are enough to thrive among its competitors. Opportunities are favorable external environmental factors while threats are unfavorable external environmental factors. Brand is an important opportunity for Motorola. Its brands are strategically located in the telecommunications market. This increases the chances of customers seeing and buying its products. Additionally, the firm has strong marketing and promotional tactics. It uses various marketing devices such as print media and TV. As a result, it is able to inform millions of customers about its products. Another opportunity is strong ability and readiness to take risks. For instance, through creation of new products that enables Motorola to achieve a competitive advantage. The innovation of new products brings differentiation to Motorola therefore reducing the prices of its products. Some products like Telco TV have helped the firm to be better placed in the market. The corporation has also been winning different contracts that enable it to supply its products in large volumes for a long period of time. This has also helped to boost its sales as well as performance. These opportunities have enabled the firm to grow and establish itself internationally. For instance, it has entered other markets like Taiwan and United Kingdom. The main threat that Motorola faces is competition from new and foreign firms. For instance, in 2003, Japanese, Korean and Chinese businesses were entering the market to produce and supply cell phones. Their products were cheaper and of higher quality as compared to Motorola’s.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This threatened Motorola’s profit margins such that they were almost reaching one percent (Hitt et al., 2010). Additionally, the firm does not enjoy government protection against entry of foreign businesses in to the market. As a result, foreign market players have entered the market and are almost replacing Motorola. Another threat is barrier to trade in some foreign markets. For instance, Motorola has been facing difficulties in penetrating Japan. Considering that Japan has already entered Motorola’s market, then blocking Motorola from entering Japan seems unfair. The other threat is from Sagem, which achieved the top most market position in France. It has been difficult for Motorola to surpass Sagem’s performance as it is a very strong company. Its products are of high quality and affordable. Motorola also faces threat from environmental, health and safety rules. For instance, it is required to ensure that the environment is kept clean during its production process. The costs associated with this are high and they affect the overall profits and performance of the firm. The credit ratings in the market are unfavorable to the company. High credit ratings mean that the company is charged more interest on loans. As a result, this cost is passed over to the consumer therefore reducing the competitive advantage over the other market players. Motorola’s most prominent strengths and weaknesses Strengths are internal favorable environmental factors while weaknesses are internal unfavorable factors of a business. Motorola’s strength is that it is a prominent company in provision of wireless handsets, communication devices and the single provider of iDEN network. Motorola is a leading and strong market player. For example, it acquired and managed Kreaatel therefore gaining higher chances of entering European and North American markets. The other strength is the ability to manufacture large volumes of mobile handsets at a given time. This enables it to meet the market demand with ease. It is also able to enjoy economies of scale that come with large scale production. Additionally, it is able to surpass its competitors by ensuring that its products are readily available. Motorola’s weakness is that the general quality of its business operations makes customers unsatisfied. This is because at times, the products happen to have defects which make them to function improperly. Therefore, the customers tend to opt for other technological devices which can function smoothly. Another weakness is that their employees are less skilled and trained. They also lack motivation.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Motorola’s specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They offer substandard services to the consumers because they may not know how to manufacture and operate the mobile handsets. This has reduced quality, customers and sales of Motorola’s products around the world. Another threat is weak profitability. Motorola’s profits and market share have b een dropping because of the weaknesses and threats it has been facing. This requires that the company adopts different strategies in order to regain its market position. Advantages and disadvantages associated with each of Motorolas strategic options Motorola’s strategic plans have been made using intangible and tangible facilities. The intangible facilities are employees who aim at achieving the firm’s goals and experts who possess technological creativity. The tangible facilities are the products such as telephone handsets. These intangible and tangible facilities enable the company to produce, market, sell and obtain income from its produce. However, this strategy is disadvantageous because there are many IT firms using it. Therefore, Motorola needs to identify and advance other tactics that will enable it to achieve competitive advantage. Another Motorola’s strategy is the implementation of the new WiMaX expertise. This is an essential strategy for Motorola given that WiMaX has several advantages. It can take the place of many telecommunication facilities and cellular telephone networks. It can also provide internet facilities to Motorola products. For instance, Motorola has installed WiMax in to its cell phones therefore making it an international performer in technological innovation. Introduction of WiMaX has made other big providers of communication devices to be on toes in order to offer similar facilities. For instance, Nokia and Cisco Systems are aiming at providing WiMaX services to the mobile industry. However, the strategy of using WiMaX is disadvantageous. For example, there is increased competition since other mobile technology companies are starting to provide the same services.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Additionally, the costs required to use WiMaX are getting lower as more manufacturers turn up. This has increased supply and lowered selling price therefore affecting Motorola’s profits. How the corporations strategy and organizational structure can be designed to solve the companys strategic issues There is stiff competition in the technology market. Therefore, Motorola is expected to fight for its place in order to endure and achieve competitive advantage above its competitors. It can do this by differentiation of its products and provision of competitive prices to its customers. Since there are upcoming and innovative telecommunications providers, it is important that Motorola improves its strategies (Hitt et al., 2010). In order to remain competitive, Motorola can identify and implement different products that have not yet been launched by its competitors. Additionally, it can adopt bargaining power by purchasing its production materials at affordable price. For example, it can buy in large volumes in order to obtain discounts. This way, it can be able to sell its mobile handsets at a price lower than its competitors. Motorola should also strive to create more products. Since the costs of producing digital products are reducing, customers and demand are also increasing. These customers aim at obtaining variety of products for comparison purposes. They also expect to buy quality products. This should motivate Motorola to increase its production capacity, create new products and advance its technology in order to take advantage of increasing demand. How Motorola should proceed In order to improve its strategic planning, Motorola should be highly innovative. This is in order to ensure that plans with the right procedures, mechanisms and technology are introduced. As a result, the future product needs of consumers can be met. The technological plans initiated by Motorola Corporation will need a mechanism of checks and balances which will remove market s urprises and errors. Road mapping is a strategic plan that Motorola can adopt because it can make the company to be different from its competitors. This road map offers a general procedure and database for every Motorola company to follow. This enables the companies to be in a position to advance, build and share their products, missions, visions and strategies with the whole corporation. Additionally, it is possible to centrally solve issues that are facing various sections therefore reducing problem solving procedures and time. Road mapping can also provide strategic planning which creates a competitive advantage. Various levels and types of strategy in a firm Business level strategies are methods that firms use to carry out several operational roles. These strategies are used in order to assign duties and guidelines for proprietors, managers and employees. Some of these strategies are: coordination of unit functions, utilization of labor, development of competitive advantages, id entification of market gaps and monitoring of product plans. Issues in business administration Human resource issues: These are matters or problems that face the employees. Some of them are: guaranteeing of open communications, balancing of stress and the labor force, setting up of responsibilities and conflict resolution (Bishop, 1991, p. 6). Structural issues: These are basically the factors affecting the organizational structure. Some of them include competition, characteristics of customers and suppliers and the technological and regulatory environment. Although these issues can affect business, it is important to converse with the administration before changing the organizational structure (Bishop, 1991, p. 7). Policy and Procedural Issues: This is mainly the authority that is either granted or earned by the employees or owners of a business. Authority entails application of control within a firm. For instance, there are procedures for approving and delegating of responsibiliti es and authority. An organization can use Management by Objective (MBO) to coordinate and allocate authority and duties. Current Operating Reports should be made in order to give management and employees an updated schedule of expected goals and objectives (Bishop, 1991, p. 8-10). Risk management issues: This involves identifying and solving uncertain factors that can affect the profitability or goals of an organization. It is the role of management to weigh the consequences of these concerns on the whole business. Some of these issues are: asset theft, computer offenses, scams and breach of laws (Bishop, 1991, p. 10). Conclusion Motorola Incorporation has various opportunities and strengths that allow it to establish a stable market position. Its opportunities are strong marketing and promotional tactics, strong brands which are strategically located, creative technological advances, different contract awards and strong ability and readiness to take risks. Its strengths are the abi lity to manufacture in large volumes and becoming a leading and strong market player. On the other hand, Motorola faces threats from its competitors such as Japanese and Korean cell phone manufacturers. They sell related telecommunications devices and sell them at a lower-cost price. The other threat is barrier to trade in foreign markets as well as environmental, health and safety rules. High credit ratings deny Motorola the chance to borrow capital at an affordable rate. As a result of these threats, Motorola has initiated competitive techniques such as WiMaX technology which has enabled it to attain a competitive advantage. There are various business level strategies that have been initiated in order to assign duties and guidelines for proprietors, managers and employees. There are also issues affecting business administration. These are human resource issues, structural issues, policy and procedural issues as well as risk management issues. References Bishop, J. (1991). Manageme nt Issues for the Growing Business: Emerging Business series. Web. Hitt, M., Ireland, R., Hoskisson, R. (2010). Competitiveness and Globalization, Concepts: Strategic Management Series.Concepts. Connecticut, U.S.: Cengage Learning.

Superorder Dictyoptera, Roaches and Mantids

Superorder Dictyoptera, Roaches and Mantids Dictyoptera means network wings, referring to the visible network of veins present in the wings of this order. The superorder Dictyoptera includes orders of insects related by evolution and features: Blattodea (sometimes called Blattaria), the cockroaches, and Mantodea, the mantids. That being said, the world of science is ever-evolving, and taxonomy is no exception. This branch of the insect taxonomic tree is currently under revision. Some insect taxonomists also group termites in the superorder Dictyoptera. In some entomology references, the Dictyoptera may be ranked at the order level, with the mantids and roaches listed as suborders. Description: Perhaps no other pairing of insects seems as unlikely as cockroaches and mantids of the order Dictyoptera. Cockroaches are almost universally reviled, while mantids, also called praying mantises, are often revered. Taxonomists rely only on physical and functional characteristics to determine groups of like insects, however. Compare a cockroach and a mantid, and youll notice both have leathery forewings. Called tegmina, these wings are held like a roof over the abdomen. Roaches and mantids have long and spiny middle and hind legs. Their feet, or tarsi, nearly always have five segments. Dictyopterans use chewing mouthparts to consume their food, and have long, segmented antennae. Both cockroaches and mantids also share a few anatomical features that you would only see through close examination and dissection, but theyre important clues to establishing the relationship between these seemingly different insect groups. Insects have a platelike sternite near the end of their abdomens, under the genitalia, and in the Dictyoptera, this genital plate is enlarged. Roaches and mantids also share a special digestive system structure. Between the foregut and midgut, they have a gizzard-like structure called a  proventriculus, and in the Dictyoptera the  proventriculus has internal teeth that break down solid bits of food before sending them along the alimentary canal. Finally, in roaches and mantids, the tentorium – a skull-like structure in the head that cradles the brain and gives the head capsule its form – is perforated. Members of this order undergo incomplete or simple metamorphosis with three stages of development: egg, nymph, and adult. The female lays eggs in groups, then encases them in foam which hardens into a protective capsule, or ootheca. Habitat and Distribution: The superorder Dictyoptera contains nearly 6,000 species, distributed worldwide. Most species live in terrestrial habitats in the tropics. Major Families in the Superorder: Blattidae - Oriental and American cockroachesBlattellidae- German and wood cockroachesPolyphagidae - desert cockroachesBlaberidae - giant cockroachesMantidae - mantids Dictyopterans of Interest: Blatta orientalis, the Oriental cockroach, gains access to homes through plumbing pipes.The brown-banded cockroach, Supella longipalpa, is called the TV roach. It likes to hide inside warm electronic appliances.Brown-hooded cockroaches (Cryptocercus punctulatus) live in family groups. Females give birth to live young; the nymphs take 6 years to reach maturity.The Mediterranean mantid takes its scientific name, Iris oratoria from an unusual marking on the underside of its wing. Literally, the name means talking eye, a smart description of the eyespot which is displayed when the mantid feels threatened. Sources: Dictyoptera, Kendall Bioresearch Services. Accessed online March 19, 2008.Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, by Eric R. Eaton Kenn KaufmanDictyoptera, Tree of Life Web. Accessed online March 19, 2008.Evolution of the Insects, by David Grimaldi, Michael S. Engel.External Anatomy - The Insects Head, by John R. Meyer, North Carolina State University Department of Entomology. Accessed online November 9, 2015.Unlikely Sisters – Roaches and  Mantises, by Nancy Miorelli, Ask an Entomologist website. Accessed online November 9, 2015.

Radiohead and Kid A Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Radiohead and Kid A - Research Paper Example Band leader Thom Yorke commented that the album simply reflected the music the band was mainly listening to at the time they were creating the album, though there is evident an obvious attempt to depart from the band’s previous ‘rock’ style. There are evident influences from synthesised bands such as Aphex Twin, Talking Heads and jazz artists such as Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. Some songs, particularly ‘How to Disappear’, contain heavy classical influences. ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ is a particular example of the band’s new direction, and experimenting with minimal sound yet varied instruments, as well as new and old styles. The album’s style is certainly a new direction from the band’s older albums, and it perhaps symbolises the band’s injection of personal influences into their musical style. Concepts Behind the Album Radiohead experimented with the music of Kid A, and its comparison to earlier albums s hows a distinct move from their usual ‘alternative rock’ style to a more electronic music style (Gilbert). For this album, Radiohead experimented with a broader range of musical instruments; a rather different approach compared to their previous focus on the use of guitars. Radiohead incorporated the use of keyboards, brass and strings – a depiction of their classical music and jazz influences. The music contains less use of lyrics than previous albums, and the lyrics that the band does use are more conceptual and theoretical than the lyrics they had created before. Many described Kid A as an evolution of the band: â€Å"their core sound had changed† (Koehler 193). Perhaps the success of Kid A is owed to its new sound; the inability to slot it into any one musical genre, as Kaye claims: â€Å"the album is a motley painting of many types of music, mixed and bended in playful and satirical ways, that cannot be boxed into any neat compartment (sic)† (241). Perhaps the most prominent feature of Kid A’s music style is Yorke’s adamant departure from rock; he claimed â€Å"I never wanted to be in a...rock group† (Lin 32). One can hear the band’s avoidance of producing yet another ‘alternative rock’ album, and the experimentation they undertook, although it is mainly synthesised and electronic, cannot be particularly classed as any single genre. It seems that the band achieved this goal very successfully. Tension Among the Band Led to this Album The problems faced by the band, particularly Thom York e leading up to and during the creation of the album are certainly not few and far between. There was not only tension in the band, but Yorke had begun to feel alienated from the fast paced life of the rest of the world, as well as feeling that his music had become mainstream and unimportant (‘Meeting People is Easy’). Yorke shunned media attention which had been created as a result of Radiohead’s success, and the exhausted band almost split up before the making of Kid A. The main problems facing the band as a whole, however, were due to the constant disagreements which arose between the members as to the musical style the album should be based on. The main tension was between Yorke’s desire to inject electronic music into the band’s style and the rest of the band’s desire to remain with the guitar ‘rock-pop-alternative’ style. As a result of the conglomerated problems, Yorke faced many difficulties while trying to write songs

Criminal justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Criminal justice - Essay Example When a person studies law and is even given the license to practice it, one is made aware of the unforgiving unethical mistakes one can commit against the court among which is perjury and falsifying the documents of the court. This offense not only shows disrespect to the court but to the legal system and the American inhabitants at large all of which depend on the court and its legal officers to follow the law. Taking over the houses of other people is theft and a lack of justice and integrity. Instead of helping the owners or their relatives get their property back or even know of its existence as a lawyer, Sheldon went ahead to take over the property as his own intending to make millions off them through fraudulent means. The houses were abandoned but according to the law which he is well aware off, these are supposed to do to the state if no next of kin or living relative is acknowledged. The act committed by the lawyer amounts to lack of proper moral judgment a virtue that is a necessity in his career as an attorney of the court. Because of his unethical behavior and lack of guidance to the rest of his crook associates as a lawyer, he might be earning himself 15 years in jail for the counts brought up in court by the prosecutor. Obtaining money or property through fraudulent means always leads to negative consequences sooner or later. Attorneys and other court officers should be subjected to constant review of their property including bank accounts even offshore ones. This procedure should be carried out indiscreetly and randomly. This is in a bid to unveil those engaging in unethical actions that are also against the law. If this had been done, then Sheldon’s unethical scheme would have been unveiled as soon as it started saving him embarrassment, jail time and even his family and job. The other way to curb such unethical behavior is to carry out tough actions against those court officials

Costs And Contributions: The Wave From South Of The Border :: essays research papers

Costs and Contributions: The Wave From South of The Border Every year, hundreds of millions of people enter the US via land ports of entry, and the INS each year apprehends over 1.3 million aliens at or near the border. Over 90 percent of those apprehended near the border are Mexicans, and some who enter the US legally and illegally are carrying drugs into the US. This influx of illegal immigrants from south of the border has created quite a stir in many places. Is this good that people are coming to the U.S.? What will happen if this pattern keeps up? Will they steal our jobs? What effect will this wave of people have on us? These questions plague many and deserved to be answered in the following paper on: "Costs and contributions: The Wave From South of The Border". "Dowell Myers (USC) reported on his double cohort method--by age and year of entry-- of analyzing what happened to immigrants arriving in the seven southern CA counties after 1980. His analysis shows that especially young immigrants make considerable economic progress after their arrival--as measured by their total incomes--and that some of their behavior converges rapidly to that of natives, e.g., they rapidly abandon buses and drive cars to work. In southern CA, one-third of all bus riders are recent immigrants. Myers noted that immigration is raising other issues, including overcrowded housing. The US definition of acceptable housing was two or less persons per room until 1960, when the definition was change to one or less per room. However, as immigrants moved into southern CA, overcrowding jumped, raising questions about how aggressively cities should enforce housing codes developed during a non- immigrant era." Many are haunted by the question: will we be hurt? Over crowding has had a major impact on families living near the Mexican border lowering standards of living and living space as well. Also, citizens wonder about the filthy scum that comes from south of the border-are all illegal immigrants scum? George Vernez outlined an ambitious project that is dealing with the question of whether immigration is a plus or minus for CA by examining the effects of immigration on internal migration, on wages, and on public finances since 1960. Those studies showed that immigrants from most countries do catch up to similar natives in average weekly earnings after 10 to 20 years, but not immigrants from the major country of origin--Mexico. Furthermore, immigrant children tend to follow in their parents' footsteps, meaning that the children of Asian immigrants tend to do well in school, etc., while the children of

Effect of Milk Advertising Essay

The milk of the cow is most widely used by humans, but the milk of the mare, goat, ewe, buffalo, camel, ass, zebra, reindeer, llama, and yak is also used. The composition of milk varies with the species, breed, feed, and condition of the animal. Jersey and Guernsey cows produce milk of high butterfat content; Holsteins produce larger quantities of milk but with a lower butterfat content. Milk prepared for sale is often homogenized; in this process it is pumped under pressure through small openings to break up the milk-fat globules, thus ensuring an equal distribution of fat throughout the milk rather than permitting it to rise to the top as cream. In most countries where milk is a commercial product, it is subject to regulations concerning its composition (i. e. , the proportion of butterfat and other solids) and its purity, with sanitary measures in force that cover milk handlers, herds, plants, and equipment. Pasteurization (partial sterilization by heating) checks bacterial growth, thereby making milk safer to drink and increasing its keeping qualities and range of transport. Milk, an almost complete food, consists of proteins (mainly casein ), fat, salts, and milk sugar, or lactose , as well as vitamins A, C, D, certain B vitamins, and lesser amounts of others. (Many people are unable to digest milk after childhood because they stop producing an enzyme needed to break down lactose, but usually they still can digest yogurt, hard cheeses, and lactose-reduced milk products.) Commercial dairies often supplement natural vitamin D with a concentrate. Milk is a major source of calcium and a good source of phosphorus. Low-fat and skim milk fortified with vitamins A and D have the same nutritional value as whole milk, but with fewer calories and less cholesterol . Whole milk has 3. 5% milkfat, low-fat milk 1% to 2%, and skim, 0. 5%. Heavy cream has a minimum of 36% milkfat, half-and-half not less than 10. 5% nor more than 18%. A patent was issued for the production of dried milk in Great Britain in 1855, and for concentrated milk in the United States to Gail Borden in 1856. The two types of concentrated milk are condensed and evaporated; condensed milk is a sweetened product (over 40% sugar), and evaporated is unsweetened. Dried, or powdered, milk is made by passing a film of partially evaporated milk over a heated drum or by spraying it into a heated chamber in which the particles dry. Malted milk is a dried mixture made of milk and the liquid from a mash of barley malt and wheat flour. Bibliography See S. K. Kon, Milk and Milk Products in Human Nutrition (1972); T. Quinn, Dairy Farm Management (1980); D. Carrick, Milk (1985). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia ® Copyright  © 2007, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www. cc. columbia. edu/cu/cup/ milk Liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals to nourish their young. The milk of domesticated animals is also an important food source for humans. Most milk consumed in Western countries is from cows; other important sources include sheep, goats, water buffalo, and camels. Milk is essentially an emulsion of fat and protein in water, along with dissolved sugar, minerals (including calcium and phosphorus), and vitamins, particularly vitamin B complex. Commercially processed cow’s milk is commonly enriched with vitamins A and D. Many countries require pasteurization to protect against naturally occurring and artificially introduced microorganisms. Cooling further prevents spoilage (souring and curdling). Fat from whole milk (about 3. 5% fat content) can be removed in a separator to produce cream and leave low-fat milk (1–2% fat) or skim milk (0. 5% fat). Milk is usually homogenized, forced under high pressure through small openings to distribute the fat evenly. It may also be condensed, evaporated, or dehydrated for preservation and ease of transport. Other dairy products include butter, cheese, and yogurt. INTRODUCTION This study will evaluate the influence of culture and cultural values on style of appeals used in advertising Peak Milk â€Å"its in you† to Nigerians. Also, it uses the eclectic method to decipher advertising strategies that appeal to Nigerians. The advertisement [see appendix A] is perceived as an epitome of what appeals to Nigerians because it cuts across age, gender, and lifestyle in the Nigerian society. To further understand this, a semiotic analysis is used to â€Å"decode elements of visual images† (Seale, 2004 p.274), as well as encoded message using the signified and signifier. 2 BACKGROUND Royal Friesland Campina, a Netherlands based company, established West African Milk Company (WAMCO) in Nigeria in 1974 (Friesland campina). They are the producers of Peak milk, a diary product which is the market leader in diary based nutrition in Nigeria (Nigerian bulletin). Therefore, one would ask should companies that are market leaders spend heavily to promote their brand given that â€Å"there is no direct link between a commercials and product usage in the mind of consumers† (Mooij, 2005 p. 275). bBut, she also affirmed that advertising works in diverse ways. Thus, the aims of this study, to find out how advertisers effectively appeal to the Nigerian market? According to World Bank report, â€Å"Nigeria is the largest country in Africa with a growing population of 148 million people, about 200 ethnic groups and 500 indigenous languages†. It is also perceived to be the second largest economy in Sub Sahara Africa. One can deduce from this that it is a multi ethnic nation enriched with diverse norms and values. In this case, how can advertisements reach out to this populace knowing the diversity that is inherent in the nation? In order words, what appeals to Nigerians? 3 SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS To understand the appeals and cultural dimensions employed in this advert, the entrenched message has to be worked out using semiotics analysis especially because â€Å"symbolism is highly used in high context culture† (Mooij, 2004 p. 33). As indicated by Baldwin, 2004 p. 51 â€Å"semiotic is the systematic study of sign† used to decipher the denoted and connoted meanings embedded in advertisements. But, it is less objectiveity and generalizable because of its reliance on personal interpretation of the researcher (Seale, 2004 p. 272). Embedded in this adverts are signs which can be understood by the â€Å"relationship between signifier and signified† (Seale, 2004 p. 273). This illustrates how â€Å"the signifier of the overt meaning in an advertisement has a function of its own† (Williamson, 1978 p. 19). In this scene, the product (the only time it appears in the advertisement) is placed by the endorser while preparing for training. The sign could be interpreted in different ways with one being that the product helps Nwankwo Kanu to become even better. Here, the significance of milk is transferred to Nwankwo’s performance. From the advertisement one can see that â€Å"this correlation is non-sequential [because] the two things are not linked by †¦ a narrative but by their place in a picture† (Williamson, 1978 p. 19). â€Å"The transference of significance [also] does not exist in the advertisement, but requires us to make the connection† (Williamson, 1978 p. 18). It was not stated in the advertisement that Nwankwo Kanu is succeeding because of his consumption of Peak milk or milk makes oneyou achieve one’s your ambitions, therefore, this meaning does not come into place until the transference is completed by the audiencewe complete the transference ourselves. Transference cannot occur if the object (peak milk) does not have any significance to be transferred. That is to say that a system of meaning must already exist in which milk is seen as a nutritious fluid that â€Å"contains some health promoting component† (Barlic, 2001 p. 3). Also, there is no direct correlation between Kanu and Peak milk in the advertisement but, the milk is strategically positioned [see appendix B] in other to create assumption in the mind of the viewers. The link relates to what Nwankwo Kanu means to Nigerians. This advertisement â€Å"presents this transference of meaning to viewers as fait accompli† (Williamson, 1978 p. 25) because it is only in the advertisement that this transference takes place. 4 CULTURAL VALUES OF NIGERIANS Goodenough 1971, cited in Usunier et al 2005 p. 5 defined culture as â€Å"a set of beliefs or standards shared by a group of people which helps the individual decide what is, what can be, how to feel, what to do and how to go about doing it† (Usunier et al, 2005 p. 5). It is seemingly the attitude and behavior that characterizes the functioning of a group (answers. com) and could also be said to be the attributes and values of a set of people. Cultural values is alleged to be the â€Å"root of consumer behaviour which is a process where people use ideas and experience to satisfy needs and desires† (who said this) therefore, advertisements of products should be adapted to a nation’s dimension of culture (Mooij 2004 p. 2). Relating this to Nigeria, Hofstedes’ dimension of culture propagates that Nigeria is a high power distance nation which is also very collectivist and has a low uncertainty avoidance nature. It is also seen as a short term oriented populace and is midway in the masculinity index [see appendix C]. From the Hofstedes’ classification of Nigeria, it could be said that there is a visible sign of status and ambition mentality with results being attributed to one’s own ability (Hofstede 2005), though identity most often is based on social network whereas, a very result oriented driven (mooij 2004) attitude is maintained. 4. 1 RELATING THE ADVERTISEMENT TO HOFSTEDES MODEL Advertising is believed to be the most culture-bound element in the marketing mix since it is highly influenced by culture which happens to be the most important factor in explaining information found in advertising (Usunier, 2005 p. 413). This is vital because response towards product based one’s interpretation of advertisement is often biased by cultural influence [see appendix D]. (this sentence is not clear) * The son’s respect for his dad and achievements depicts High power distance of Nigerians. * The likelihood of the son to follow his father’s foot step (hair style, football skills displayed) [see appendix E] shows the collectivist side of Nigerians. * Nwankwo Kanu being very ambitious despite shortcoming and high level of responsibility displayed illustrates the masculine character of Nigerians. * The ability to remain calm in adversity, less anxiety and relaxed atmosphere proves the low uncertainty avoidance nature. * Ability to focus on goal portrays short time orientation. (is it short time or short term? cos u earlier said short term) 5 ADVERTISING PEAK MILK TO NIGERIANS: USE OF APPEALS. Known to be among the happiest people on earth, Nigerians are fighters whom despite all odds try to actualize their dreams hence the slang â€Å"suffering and smiling† (mypenandpaper). As a result of this, success and achievements are celebrated. The core values that characterize Nigerian culture are achievements, materialism and sense of pride. Advertisers try to target these core values in orderother to target Nigerian attitude towards advertising messages which focuses on self improvement and achievement of personal goals as well as collective goals but overall, the feeling of harmony with others. In other to sell products, it has been discovered that â€Å"advertisers rely overwhelmingly on persuasive messages to sell product and services(where is the closing quotation sign? ) also minding the fact that â€Å"consumers have favourable attitudes towards messages that reflect their own socio-cultural values† (Alozie, 2009 p. 1) [see appendix F]. The main plot of this advertisement is brand retention. It appeals to Nigerians by using a positive figure in Nigeria and his son telling his success story thereby, associating the brand to his success. Agrawal 1995, cited in Usunier 2005 is of the belief that â€Å"‘cultural sensitivity†(be consistent with quote sign)’ is generally portrayed in advertisement via the use of appeals (p. 413). Tellis 2004 noted three major forms of appeals in advertising which are arguments, emotions and endorsement (p. 23) but two are mostly inherent is this advertisement. 5. 1 CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT Oguntimehi believesbeliefs that it is â€Å"a battle for advertises to entice television target audience into viewing a commercial†. For this reason, they use celebrities to endorse brands and create a general conditioning procedure (Till, 2008 p.180) which makes the advertisement very successful in terms of keeping public’s attention throughout the duration of the advert, and also heightening retention which would ultimately lead to purchase intention of the product [see appendix G]. This can only be achieved if the audience is familiar with the endorser and identify with the source (Oguntimehi, 2009). Prior to this advertisement by peak milk majority of Nigerians do not know or have not seen Kanu’s son therefore this grabs their attention. (Tellis, (2004 p.179) pointed out that â€Å"celebrities tend to be unpredictable and can hurt brand by their behavior and statements†. However, Till noted that â€Å"the use of celebrity endorsers is profitable despite the risk involved† (Till, 2008 p. 182). Two very important models based on the work of social psychologists should be taken into account while shopping for endorsers. These are, the Credibility model and the Attractiveness model which depicts the trustworthiness of the endorser and the likeability as well as the familiarity of endorser respectively (Till, 2008 p. 183; Tellis, 2004 p.182). This advertisement features Kanu simply known as ‘Kanu’ and nicknamed ‘papilo’: Nigerians’ most decorated soccer player, striker for the National team of Nigeria and for the English Club, Portsmouth (Okon, 2009). His enthralling performance and being one of Africans most highly recognized footballer in the history of football (Okon, 2009), has endeared him to the hearts of millions of Nigerians. According to (Okon, 2009), even though celebrities have an aura of greatness in the eyes of the public, it is germane that they ideally fit the brand being projected. Since milk is seen as very nutritious and has high content of vitamins and minerals, it strategically aligns with the endorser used because of his health history and continuous success. It is believed that their popularity posses the power to influence consumers to swap loyalty to the endorsed brand as well as make such adverts linger continually in the public’s memory (Okon, 2009). This is coherent with the elaboration likelihood model where â€Å"affect transfer is considered to be stronger in low-involvement situations† like buying milk (Till, 2008 p. 182). 5. 2 EMOTIONAL APPEAL. Advertising has the power to attach emotional values to the brand which in turn builds positive reputation (Thomas 2008). According to (Fill, (2009 p. 520), advertisers often use â€Å"emotion-based messages† to make distinctions in products placement especially when there is little or no differentiation between its products and that of competitors. Therefore, this appeal uses characters within a plot to pass across emotional messages in drama like scenes (Tellis, 2004 p. 23) so as to grab consumers’ attention. Due to consumersthem preferring characters that can be identifiedthey can identify with (Usunier, 2005 p.419), in advertising the Peak brand the advertisers made use of a personality that every Nigerian across all gender, tribe, religion and ages can relate with. Also used is the subliminal effect which further entrenches the product value in the mind of the populace consequently anytime you think of Kanu’s trail, success or even his son, you think of Peak milk (prior to the advertisements majority of Nigerians did not know Kanu’s son). This also appeals to the collectivist nature of Nigerians in order to build brand loyalty which is a â€Å"key concept in collectivist cultures and spreads from people to product† (Usunier, 2005 p.93). Hofstede notes that cultures with lower uncertainty avoidance like the West African Region have tendency to ask for less information since information reduces uncertainty which they are not prone to (Hofstede 2005). One could see that the advert does not supply any information about the product. This could be as a result of Nigerians being low uncertainty avoidance in addition to the advertisers trying to create an impression in the mind of the populace in other to establish the product in their minds by associating its product to the emotional past of Kanu in that way giving the product added value. Time is not viewed as a linear fashion rather as a composition of events that have occurred. Generally, Nigerians are known to operate a two-dimensional time phenomenon- a long past and present (Alozie, 2003). This advert makes reference to past victory as a nation in the 1996 Olympics and Kanu’s victory over his health. According to (Wilson, (2005 p158), the trend of using nostalgia as a way to sell various products is not new. It is a â€Å"bittersweet emotion† (Wilson, 2005) so its application has to be well thought of. The advert â€Å"clearly attempts to trigger†(who said this? ) nostalgia in consumers as well as potential ones. The advertiser used images from the past to attract the publics’ attention (Nigeria’s victory in 1996 Olympics a feat that everyone desires to see again). The advert does not provide facts about the product, identification with the brand comes only at the end of the commercial (Mooij 2004 p. 135) it drives at associating certain traits with the product so when you think of those traits, automatically you think of the product. It focuses more on emotional appeal thus associating the product with achievements despite all odds which could be said to be the core value of Nigerians. According to Decision Analyst, the extent to which an advertisement succeeds is dependent on the strength of the creative concept. 6 SLICE OF LIFE Slice of life appeals to self esteem (Taflinger 1996). According to answers. com â€Å"it is the actual experience represented realistically and with little alteration. † Shilbury, et al (2003: 176) stated that, â€Å"‘Slice of life advertising uses some aspect of daily life as a part of the advertising. The intent behind this approach is to communicate messages and images to consumers that they can relate to†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Despite this, (Fill, C. (2009 p. 518) is of the view that the message should be presented in such a way that the receiver can identify immediately with the scenario being presented. Fill’s view relates with this advertisement in the sense that the storyline used can be related to by every Nigerian (the story of the Olympics game, the health challenge the endorser faced and how he came through to mesmerize Nigerians in the world of football). (Applegate (2005:139), is of the view that slice-of-life television commercial does not work, primarily because the intended consumer’s attention is pulled away from the product and of the character or some other element in the story. He feels a slice-of-life design will only work if the customer’s attention is on the sales message. To achieve this, it aims at self-persuasion using self-imagining technique thereby allowing audience visualize themselves as the character trying to solve a particular problem and being helped by the brand (O’Shaughnessy, 1995 p483). 7 LIMITATIONS. It is important to note that in every country, there are immense inconsistencies within cultures (kitayama & markus, 1994 p. 289) therefore there would be individuals who appear to have different attributes as stated in this study. The study is partly empirical that is, it not fully based on proven theories so, partly observational. Also, due to time constraint and the word count limit, the research was restricted to cover the few areas represented in the report. To give more credence, a focus group interview would have been conducted of Nigerians to actually see how they respond to this advertisement and how it appeals to them. 8 CONCLUSION Culture is more than merely one’s lifestyle. It delves deeper to categorise ones experience (Kitayama & markus, 1994 p285). Evidently, the advertisement uses the referent system where it brings into play Kanu a notable soccer player in Nigeria. â€Å"It is a connotation that is made to denote the product† (Williamson, 1978 p. 100). Hence, the product is given value by Kanu who already has a value to Nigerians. But, if someone from another culture knows Kanu as a footballer, they will not have access to the referent system because, the meaning of the message will be difficult to interpret (Mooij, 2004 p.211). This is why this advertisement specifically appeals to Nigerians. In advertising to Nigerians, marketers have to put into consideration the cultural background, literacy level as well as income of the masses in order to permeate the market (Baker, 1965 p. 47). Also, the right type of appeal has to be employed. The most consistent used in Nigerian advertising is family value (collectivism, love, care, endurance, protection, investment) and a bit of western values (individualism, personal development, ambition, youthfulness). This advertisement promotes family value (using Kanu’s family especially his son) [see appendix H] as well as personal development (â€Å"I worked hard to be even better†). It also promotes values such as hard work, success and good health which it inferred the product could help achieve. Important also is the use of colour (green: the national colour of Nigeria) which played a major role in this advertisement. According to (Gorn, et al (1997 p. 1387), â€Å"advertisements containing color with higher level of value lead to greater liking for the advertisement†. One’s attitude towards an advertisement could be as a result of the effect of colours on feelings. The analysis of this effect on advert retention is beyond the scope of this work. 9 REFERENCES BOOKS FILL, C. 2009. Marketing Communications: Interactivity, communities and content. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited SHILBURY, D. , S. QUICK and H. WESTERBEEK. EFFECT OF ADVERTISINFG ON COSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR Every organization, or rather, Brand, invests a lot of capital on marketing, a major chunk of which is spent on making ads. Getting an iconic celeb like Amitabh Bachchan to speak about a product like Navratna Hair Oil, it seems like a piece of cake nowadays. But, to how much extent does these ads actually affect the consumers? Do they actually buy a product just because their favourite film-star is endorsing it? Is it possible that a product can change its image on the consumers overnight, just because of the flashy ad they just released? If we go by theories, there are lot many factors that influence a customer to make a purchase, and advertising is just one small part of a parameter called Psychology. Some of the more influential factors are like: 1. 1. Need of the Product – Considering the market scenario of today (I am talking about inflation), we consumers hardly buy anything when we don’t need it. 2. 2. Affordability – It is not an uncommon sight when a man sighs looking at an expensive brand of shaving cream and goes for the cheaper brand. 3. 3. Brand Image and Loyalty – Very few Surf Excel users would like to opt for a brand like Tide or Nirma just because it is cheaper. 4. 4. Peer group – now this is one factor that does not affect buying as much as it affects buying behavior. Confused? Well, what I meant to say is, we buy a product when we need it, but sometimes, especially when we are buying that particular product for the first time, we need some help with what brand shall we choose. And this is where our peer group comes into picture. It helps us choose a brand when we need a product, but does not tell us when we need that product. Advertising, it can be said, has a similar effect on our purchasing habits as our peer group does. Nobody jumps in to say â€Å"I need that thing† just because the ad that had just been aired on TV is extremely attractive, but yes, sometimes, we may say â€Å"let’s try this brand, the ad on TV looks good. † [The article has been contributed by Jayita Das. A NIFT Mumbai alumnus, she is also a very creative person in her own way. Following her graduation, she worked as merchandiser in the niche segment of Industrial wears. In her spare time she loves reading on topics related to art and motivation which are always close to her heart. She also writes her own blog at Fashion Concepts and you & Love,life,and something else. ]