The Main Functions Of The Central Bank - 998 Words

Central bank is a government created institution which has a very powerful impact by its behaviour on the economy of a country, this includes financial firms as it uses economic tools like credit policies and restriction and supply of money. The central bank of a country would have more impact on the day to day activities of financial services providers, including revenue and cost than any other institution in an economy. The primary function of the central bank is to make changes according to the situation in the market, this would involve supply and cost of money and credit to the financial system, which would directly or indirectly contribute to the nation’s growth and goal. (CHAPTER 2 THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT POLICY AND REGULAITON OPN THE FINANCIAL SERVICE INDUSTRY) The main functions of the central bank are that it controls the issue of legal tender and it has monopoly over it, thus in a way also has the control over the supply of money in the economy. As the central bank is the banker’s bank it has control over both the banking and the non-banking financial institutions. It is the government’s bank and performs traditional banking operations, lending and deposit taking for the government it has enough capacity to manage and administer the country’s national test. The central bank acts as the mediator and regulation with regard to the foreign exchange and gold reserve. The central bank plays a very important role in order to maintain and stabilize the price level andShow MoreRelatedCentral Bank And The Role Of The Bank Of Formulating Monetary Policy And Its Management Essay1312 Words   |  6 PagesUnderstanding central bank and the role of bb as central bank in formulating monetary policy and its management Introduction- The Central Bank is the utmost authority that is employed by the government to formulate monetary policy to guide the economy of a country. 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JuanFernandez de Leon in 1754 and ended in 1820.BANCO ESPAÑOL – Filipino de Isabella II the First Philippine Bank establish in 1851FIRST AGRICULTURAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES – established n 1906 and in 1916 allof its asset  and liabilities were transferred to the newly organized PNB.FNANCIAL MARKET – are physical locations or  electronic forums that facilitate theflow of funds amongRead MoreThe Aims Of Literature Search917 Words   |  4 Pagesresort, central bank† into two different search bar, as a consequence, the system gave me 1820 articles. In order to get the latest article, I selected the â€Å"data-newest† and chose the material type â€Å"article† and I got only 68 this time. Another approach I used is using database search. After clicking the â€Å"select database† and choosing â€Å"economics† in category, then I got 26 database and clicked the EBSCO, so I went the main search page. 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In 2010, Basel III was introduced to tighten equity holdings of banks and it was the primary instanceRead MoreBopexecutive Summary Banking History the First Banks Were Probably the Religious Temples of the Ancient World, and Were Probably Established in the Third Millennium B.C. Banks Probably Predated the Invention of Money.1747 Words   |  7 Pagescom/doc/13314549/Internship-Report-of-Nhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/13314549/Internship-Report-of-NBPBPhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/13314549/Internship-Report-oExecutive Summary BANKING HISTORY The first banks were probably the religious temples of the ancient world, and were probably established in the third millennium B.C. Banks probably predated the invention of money. Deposits initially consisted of grain and later other goods including cattle, agricultural implements, and eventually precious metals such as gold

Waiting for Godot Free Essays

Discuss the dramatic effects [meaning: plot, character, dialogue, language, stage directions]* of the passage [ refer to your photocopied text Start- pg 16. Estragon: (Violently. ) I’m hungry. We will write a custom essay sample on Waiting for Godot or any similar topic only for you Order Now / End pg 18. Estragon: Nothing to be done. (He proffers the remains of the carrot to Vladimir. ) Like to finish it? ] and how it reflects the concerns in Waiting for Godot. Waiting for Godot presents a bleak caricature of the human condition in order to examine more closely the key theme of existentialism. This short passage is symptomatic of the rest of the play, effectively condensing its concerns about human existence in several very poignant moments and metaphors. Central to the passage is the carrot, which acts as a physical and visual metaphor for life itself, and the disappointment that it brings. The fact that the carrot has a deeper meaning is not immediately evident. Initially, Beckett’s choice of food gives us an insight into his thematic concern. Carrots and turnips are a peasant’s food. They taste dull and insipid, and no one but the desperately poor would even contend to eat them day after day â€Å"make it last, that’s the last of them†. The initial dialogue (regarding the carrot) between Estragon and Vladimir further builds on our understanding, with Estragon’s weary question â€Å"Is that all there is? † finally revealing Beckett’s axiom; that hunger, hardship and (most importantly) disappointment are the unalterable laws of life. Beckett builds on this point by showing man’s eternal struggle to make something of his life via the stage directions given â€Å"Vladimir rummages†¦ e rummages again†. The word â€Å"rummages† suggests a blind fumbling, while â€Å"again† suggests repetition. When put together, and repeated several times in that scene, the physical search for a carrot, but finding only turnips â€Å"Give me a carrot. †¦ [Angrily. ] It’s a turnip! â€Å", is emblematic of the wider struggle that all humans face against hardship, but also against false hope. In particular, the curt stage directions given to Estragon [Angrily. ] suggest a sudden explosion of frustration the instant he realises he has bitten down on a turnip instead of a carrot. The intensity and immediacy of the raw emotion demonstrate the potency of disappointment that we experience because of false hope. The conversation that follows reinforces this. Interestingly enough, at the start the conversation raises our hopes that Vladimir will provide a more positive perspective â€Å"Funny, the more you eat, the worse it gets† is followed by â€Å"For me it’s just the opposite† and â€Å"in other words? â€Å". The intuitive opposite of â€Å"the more you eat, the worse it gets† is perhaps the more you eat, the better it gets. However, our expectations, much like Estragon’s earlier are let down when Vladimir wryly remarks â€Å"I get used to the muck as I go along†. All of this combined highlights Beckett’s position regarding Man’s existence, and how it is merely a continuous, unceasing Sisyphean struggle. Besides the carrot, the short reference to Godot is also significant because of the uncertainty that it induces, which is symptomatic of the uncertainty that envelopes our own existence. The conversation between Estragon and Vladimir is peppered with questions, some of which are answered in turn by another question â€Å"Did you reply† is followed by â€Å"†How’s the carrot†. This appears to be an attempt to divert attention away from uncomfortable areas, but by doing so creates a measure of uncertainty and confusion over the motivations for doing so. Vladimir’s overly innocent â€Å"Tied? † is sarcastically challenged by Estragon’s â€Å"ti-ed†. Estragon drags out the word in an attempt to deliberately over exaggerate it, mocking Vladimir. In this case, it almost appears as though Vladimir suffers from selective deafness, and creates further uncertainty as to his motives. When it finally becomes apparent that Vladimir was avoiding the question because he too was uncertain, it generates even more confusion among the audience. Vladimir’s own uncertainty is demonstrated in the way he categorically states â€Å"To Godot? Tied to Godot? What an idea! No question of it! [Pause] For the moment†. The pause before he adds a caveat to his originally (seemingly) unshakable belief shows the flimsiness of his own knowledge. Estragon’s follow up question â€Å"His name is Godot† further confuses the audience. If Estragon did not know who he was waiting for, then why wait in the first place? The confusion evoked by this scene is the intended effect Beckett desired. The confusion and uncertainty that characterises his dream-like dystopia is supposedly the same kind of uncertainty that we encounter in our own existence. Beckett then ends off on a heavy, cynical note, a slightly detached continuation from the carrot metaphor to drive home his final point that for all the disappointment and uncertainty that we face, there is â€Å"nothing to be done†. This phrase is unique for its passivity. It passively accepts without challenging, quietly but willingly resigning oneself to one’s fate. Interestingly, â€Å"No use struggling† and â€Å"No use wriggling† initially provide a contrasting picture of action but is temp ered by the passivity of â€Å"one is what one is†. Furthermore, the use of the word â€Å"No use† again has an undertone of resignation. Amidst this tragic message about the human condition that Beckett tries to put forth, is also a mixture of humour. The carrot remains, now relegated to the role of a physical prop. The stage directions, â€Å"He proffers the carrot† and â€Å"Sucks on the end of it meditatively† provide an atmosphere of nonchalance that conflicts with the tension and seriousness of the message that is being delivered. This tension between humour and the sadness of the human condition is Beckett’s final message to the audience; that while the human condition is inherently sad, it is not monolithic. Humour does exist even in the bleakest of situations and times. Ultimately, this passage conveys successfully Beckett’s views on existence and the human condition. While his views are primarily bleak here, as with the rest of the play, it is also poignant, for the incorporation of humour into the bleak world of Estragon and Vladimir somehow makes their burden simultaneously heavier and lighter. Sheldon Lim 12A13 How to cite Waiting for Godot, Essay examples Waiting for Godot Free Essays â€Å"Waiting For Godot† is a play by Samuel Beckett in which the two main characters Vladimir and Estragon wait for Godot. Both men talk like they know who he is but also agree that if they were to see Godot they wouldn’t recognize him. The play isn’t one that I like but I do like the message that I perceived. We will write a custom essay sample on Waiting for Godot or any similar topic only for you Order Now In my opinion the play is about finding what makes you, you; finding what you live for and finding God. â€Å"Waiting For Godot† takes place in a desolate area where the two men, Vladimir and Estragon wait near a tree. Vladimir, one of the main characters also goes by the nickname Didi given to him by Estragon. Didi seems to be more mature than his friend. Estragon or Gogo, has a poor memory and looks to Didi for help and protection. Pozzo is a blind man who passes by the two men but later doesn’t recall meeting them. Pozzo has a slave named Lucky, although he’s a slave he’s entertaining and smart. Later in the play he becomes ignorant. There is also a boy who comes each night to inform Didi and Gogo that Godot will not be coming but every night insists he hasn’t come the night before. Lastly, Godot who never appears in the play although he’s being waited for. Through out the play Vladimir and Estragon just wait by a tree for Godot, a few people pass through and although Godot fails to appear the men still wait in fear that they might miss him. This play is also a product of the Absurdist movement. The belief of the theater of the absurd is that without God human existence is meaningless. In these plays it’s mostly irrational and illogical communication. Man acts like a puppet, they have no meaning and are controlled by an invisible outside force. Godot is the outside force controlling what Vladimir and Estragon do because they sit and wait for him. There is no plot change and not much action in the play, it’s mostly conversation about random thoughts or actions. In my opinion I believe the play is boring, but the message portrayed is interesting. The reason the play is dull is because each character has no meaning. The whole play is basically conversation and nothing happens. Then again a lot of good messages come out of a whole lot of nothing. Didi and Gogo are simply two men and because they do not have Godot in their lives they are merely just two men. They have no meaning and the message in the play is that you have to find who you are, what you live for, and mostly that without God life has no meaning. In the play â€Å"Waiting For Godot†, Godot portrays God. Although you can not see God, it’s believed that he’s an invisible force or soul that is always there. In the theater of the absurd it says without God life is meaningless. In this play Godot or God never shows up, therefore a sign that God isn’t there and their lives were pointless and were being controlled by this false belief. If Godot would have been there Didi and Gogo’s waiting would have been for a reason. Samuel Beckett’s play â€Å"Waiting For Godot† is a product of the Absurdist movement. The two main characters are waiting the whole time for Godot also thought of as God. Vladimir and Estagon have no meaning in their lives because Godot never shows up. None of the characters know where they belong in life or who they really are because each character changes from on extreme to the other. Didi and Gogo are being controlled by the unknown which only proves how important believing in something is, although it can’t be seen. The main point and meaning in this play is that without God, mankind is nothing. How to cite Waiting for Godot, Papers

Steve Biko vs. Malcolm X free essay sample

Steve Biko vs. Malcolm X BY Jdharns5210 Malcolm X and Steve Biko Black Consciousness Malcolm X and Steve Biko were one of the two most preeminent leaders in world history. These men changed lives and stood up for millions of Africans and African Americans during their short lives. These two men lived by a saying black is beautiful. They also believed that black people in the United States as well as Africans mainly in South Africa deserved the same rights and equality as any other man in the world. They lived through the rough era of the discrimination in the United States and Apartheid in South Africa. Malcolm X and Steve Bikos lives were ended shortly due to assassinations by people who hated them. Who was Steve Biko? Steve Biko was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 70s. Steve Biko was born in Kingwilliamstown, South Africa in 1946. He later studied to become a doctor at the University of Natal Medical School in South Africa. Steve Biko was the creator of the famous phrase â€Å"black is beautiful†. This amazing phrase he created was meant to generate pride in oneself and pride within the race. Specifically being the African race. In 1968 Biko formed an organization called SASO, which stands for South African Students’ Organization. He formed this group because he felt that black, Indian and colored students needed an organization of their own. He was then elected first president in July of 1969. Later in 1970 he was selected as the Publicity Secretary. This group SASO was later involved into the Black Consciousness Movement. Black Consciousness to Steve Biko is defined as â€Å"the realization by the black man of the need to rally together with his brothers around the cause of their operation† (Biko, 49†), he also said â€Å"It seeks to infuse the black community with a new found pride in themselves, their efforts, their value systems, their culture, their religion and their outlook to life† (Biko, 49). In an interview Steve Biko did he said â€Å"I basically think Black Consciousness refers itself to the black man and to his situation, and I think the black man is subjected to two forces in this country. † (Biko, 100). The Black Consciousness movement that Biko and other like-minded activists created the growth of Black Power in the United States. The Black Consciousness movements system was founded in black Christianity. This was a way to support non-violence action from his great influence from Mahatma Gandhi. In another interview when Steve Biko was asked about Black Liberation he replied, â€Å"Liberation therefore is of paramount importance in the concept of Black Consciousness, for we cannot be conscious of ourselves and yet remain in bondage. We want to attain the envisioned self which is a free self†. Steve Biko basically means that if you understand the Black Consciousness movement, you would realize that Black Liberation would not come from only imagining and fighting for political changes as the ANC (also known as the African National Congress) did. But, it would also come from a psychological transformation in the minds of black people themselves. Who was Malcolm X? Malcolm X was born by the name of Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louise Norton Little was a homemaker that had to raise her eight children. His father, Earl Little, was a Baptist minister and passionate supporter of the Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Malcolm’s fathers’ civil rights involvement stimulated death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolms fourth birthday. Growing up, Malcolm had much to deal with. He had to get over the death of his father, his mother being sent to a mental home, being separated from his family and siblings, and most of all he had to brush off the racism that was being thrown at him from early ages. Malcolm was also a very smart student. He graduated from junior high at the top of his class. Malcolm’s life did a complete one hundred eighty degree turn. He was convicted to 10 years in a federal prison and while in prison he converted to Nation of Islam. He was already influenced by his family members to convert to the Nation of Islam, but when he was in jail he became heavily influenced by a man by the name of Elijah Mohammed. His younger brother Reginald also had a great influence of Malcolm. Reginald began telling Malcolm more about the Nation of Islam’s spiritual leader, Elijah Muhammad. Elijah Muhammad’s main message was to teach everyone that all white men are devils. After hearing what Elijah says, Malcolm thinks of all the white people he has come across in his young life. He remembers the social workers who split up his family, the teacher who discouraged him from becoming a lawyer and his customers when he worked as a porter and a pimp. He also considers the white policemen, judge, and guards who have united to lock him away in jail. Every one of these people has done him harm to him in some way. He begins to undergo an overpowering change and accepts the truth of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm once said, â€Å"If you’re afraid of Black Nationalism, you’re afraid of revolution. And if you love revolution, you love Black Nationalism’’. He believed that nationalism brought freedom to those in the people in Africa, and he also believed that nationalism would bring freedom to the African Americans in the United States. Even though Malcolm X was a non-violent activist, he still believed to an extent that violence was a way to solve problems going on. He said that non-violence was the â€Å"philosophy of the fool†. He believed that African Americans would have to regain their national identity, clinch the rights covered by the Second Amendment, and defend themselves from white domination and extrajudicial violence. Malcolm also believed that African Americans must create their own society and ethical values, community-based businesses such as the Alcoholics Anonymous. These were some of that acts that the black Muslims supported. He also thought that African Americans should reject integration or cooperation with Caucasians until they could achieve internal cooperation and unity. Black Consciousness became important to Malcolm X once he got into prison. Black Consciousness in the eyes of Malcolm X was quite similar to Steve Biko’s points in Black Consciousness. For example, in the Autobiography of Malcolm X told by Alex Haley, Malcolm said, â€Å"I reflected many, many times to myself upon how the American Negro has been entirely brainwashed from ever seeing or thinking of himself, as he should, as a part of the nonwhite peoples of the world† (Malcolm X, 352). In this particular quote made by Malcolm X, he showed his commitment to race relations and oppression. Malcolm continuously blamed the whites for the problems that African Americans faced in the mid-1900’s. He felt that that blacks needed to come together as a community to work together to overcome white oppression that was taking place. Even though Malcolm X said, â€Å"America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society ‘the race problem’†. He felt that the only way for change in America was to have a faith in the Islam religion. Malcolm’s view on liberation was simple. He believed that that African Americans should embrace their heritage, avoid substances that poisoned the mind, and avoid interaction with whites. He once said, â€Å"We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us†. When he said this, most people questioned his word. He simply meant that slaves didn’t â€Å"land† on America, but America â€Å"landed† on the slaves. By doing that, America ended the hopes and dreams that were in the minds of Africans and African Americans. Steve Biko and Malcolm X shared liberation ideologies to a certain degree. They both felt that Africans and African American cannot be aware and able to expand themselves while having a mindset of being under control by white people. One difference between Malcolm X and Steve Biko was their views on white people and how their views changed in their short lives. Steve Biko didn’t have a great sense of hate for white people in South Africa as Malcolm did in America. Steve Biko was as non-violent as you could get. But, Malcolm X once said, â€Å"Non-violence was the philosophy of a fool†. Malcolm’s views on white people changed drastically throughout his life. When he was young, his parents taught him and his siblings to not take abuse from white people. While in foster care, he became quite comfortable with his situation living with the Swerlins who were white. Once Malcolm moved to Boston, he began treating white people just as they treated him and other blacks in his past; which was horrible. Once Malcolm was in jail his hatred toward white people remained the same due to the fact that his movements toward joining the nation of Islam ended up brainwashing him to think that all whites are the devil. This all changed when Malcolm was released from jail and later took his trip to Mecca where he met white Islam’s who were unprejudiced. Malcolm X and Steve Biko were a lot alike though. They had a genuine love for their race. They also had a ton of courage. They both lived their lives knowing that they had people on their back who wanted to kill them on a daily basis. Malcolm said in the Autobiography, â€Å"I could suddenly die at the hands of some white racist. Or I could suddenly die at the hand of some Negro hired by the white man† (Malcolm, 388). With the amount of death threats being received, they still pushed forward to try and change the lives of their people. One of the greatest things these two men have in common was the fact that they were men of substance and that they gave their own people hope of survival and change. They helped restore self-respect that was lost in their people and carried their selves with the greatest amount of dignity.

Why You Should Go to #WCEU 2018 21 WordCamp-ers From Around the World Share Their Best #WCEU Experience

Have you ever wondered if its worth it to get out of your comfy home and head to WordCamp Europe? As regular attendees, weve been doing our best to spread the WordCamp Europe gospel with our recaps and interviews.But maybe our enthusiasm hasnt been enough to get you to buy your ticket. So we brought in backup! We asked 21 WordCamp Europe attendees for their best #WCEU experiences. Now, were going to share their responses with you.As youll see in a second, most of their experiences involve the awesome people they met and connections they made. After reading these stories, hopefully youll be one of those people in 2018. Bridget Willard: Attending WCEU last year in Paris was a huge step of courage for me personally and professionally. It was my first time leading a large-scale Contributor Day for the Marketing Team and my first international flight ever. And I went alone. As you know, with the WordPress Community, youre never quite alone. I was able to meet many folks who had been on the Marketing Team like Nagesh and Anil from India and I found a new best friend in Yvette Sonneveld, who is now a Marketing Team Rep.Not only that but I solidified relationships I had with my fellow Marketing Team Reps like Dwayne McDaniel and my best friend Jen Miller, both of whom spoke last year. I am looking forward to WCEU with great delight this year as Ive been learning Serbian and just booked my flight. Dovidjenja, WCEU.Alex Denning: The community! I love the extended opportunity to connect with the people I get to know remotely. Contributor days are the best manifestation of this: you get to work in the same place, on the same things, as some of the smartest and kindest people in the community 🙂Peter NemÄ ok: I think the best experience for me is meeting new people and getting to know them a little bit.Milana Cap: For me its very simple. Hugs! WordCamp Europe is large enough so that you can see all your WordPress friends from around the world people youve been online chatting and collaborating with for a whole year, people you still havent met, people you learn from.. And you get to hug em all. No matter how shy or introvert you are, youll take those hugs and return the following year for more. Hug you in Belgrade 😀Marius Vetrici: WordCamp Europe has always been the place for me to feel the community, to understand the power behind WordPress ecosystem and to reconnect to the latest trends and technology. Now, if I have to mention the number one experience, I would refer to the Community workshop at WordCamp Europe back in Sofia. That was the moment when I and a bunch of volunteers got the inspiration to start a local WordPress Meetup.Ever since, our Bucharest WordPress Meetup @wprobu has grown into a community with more than 1100 members and close to 40 monthly meetings at the time of writing. And thats very fulfilling, to know that you are paying it forward so that they could reap the benefits of WordPress as well, for their own good and for the good of the others.Caspar Hà ¼binger: My best experience at WCEU is always the same one: Its the one event throughout the year where I finally get to meet all the people Id love to meet at least once a month.Ivana Ćirković: The very best experience I take out of every WordCamp Europe is the people I meet and knowledge I gather throughout those 4-5 days. All that great energy that is around us, that positive vibe we share, as well as all the valuable information and connections with people. No matter if youre a volunteer, an attendee or a speaker each and every one gets to experience the openness of the event and WordPress community. It indeed is one of a kind event that welcomes everyone, which is why I warmly recommend to you to experience it, priceless!Marcel Bootsman: Since I was asked to join the organizing team for the first WordCamp Europe in Leiden, in 2013, I have met a lot of inspiring people, I have expanded my comfort zone and got to know more a bout the WordPress Community.The best experience I had was at WordCamp Europe 2013 in Leiden, where the team of remote organizers met, some for the first time, and it felt like we already knew each other for years. This has laid the base for me to do more community tasks, and I still enjoy that and I hope the community does too 🙂Nagesh Pai: The best experience I had at WordCamp Europe was being in the company of a community that has had such a positive impact on the world at large. It was good to meet them in person. The best feeling I remember is where I found myself as a global citizen among everyone, welcomed by all as though it was a large family without any boundaries of country, caste, religion or race. It was an awesome feeling indeed!Mathieu Sarrasin: From my experience so far, my take on how to have the greatest time at a WordCamp is to be a volunteer if not an organiser or speaker. This is how you get the closest to the heart of the event by being part of it and get to meet even more awesome people. The other volunteers, the organizers, the speakers, and even the attendees and sponsors become easier to approach when youre part of the team.WordCamp is not just about WordPress and talks, but it is first and foremost about the great people you meet and the awesome connections you make. I have an encouragement to everyone: Join the #WordPress community. Come for the software, stay for the people.Another quick tip is, if at all possible, arrange to arrive early (like a day or two prior to the actual event date) and leave late. Great times happen not only during the event, but also around it during informal gatherings and diners and at pubs and co-working spaces and of course you wouldnt want to miss the after party!Jenny Beaumont: Every year has had something new and wonderful to offer me since the very first event in Leiden back in 2013. The best experience has been becoming a part of it all, from attending, to speaking, to MCing and now to or ganizing for three years in a row.Taco Verdonschot: WordCamp Europe in Leiden in 2013 was my very first introduction to the WordPress community. In just three days, I met so many people, made friends for life and fell in love with the WP community. I had never before felt this welcome in any community. And to this day, my work as a community manager at Yoast is inspired by that experience.Sonja Leix: My favorite thing about organizing WordCamp Europe is, seeing our hard work pay off when it all comes together. You can feel the atmosphere and vibrancy of the community grow each year and were here to help provide the space for it.Michael Burridge: The first time that I experienced the energy, the vibrancy, and the buzz of WordCamp Europe was as an attendee at the 2016 event in Vienna. I immediately felt that I belonged and that these were my people. The wealth of knowledge and experience that was so readily and freely offered blew me away. This experience was reinforced the following year in Paris. Im delighted to be part of this amazing and friendly community and feel privileged that Im able to contribute a little to help organise the 2018 event in Belgrade.Lucijan Blagonic: The first WordCamp I visited was WordCamp Europe 2013 and it was a turning point for me. It helped me to better understand the core values of our open–source community and empowered me to start giving something back as well, by volunteering, speaking and even organizing these great events.Jen Miller: My best experience at WordCamp Europe revolves around the people. Last year I had the opportunity to speak at WCEU. It can be a bit intimidating to step on a large stage in front of a worldwide audience, however the organizing team and international community was extremely supportive and welcoming. I made quite a few friends and solidified business relationships from many countries through my attendance too. As founder of Women Who WP, I was amazed and inspired by the enthusiasm and cama raderie of the women I met and the community at large. Plus, sharing delicious meals and adventures with friends in the WordPress community is always a joy. Have you heard about their after party?I volunteer as a marketing rep on make.wordpress.org and look forward to attending Contributor Day at WCEU. Working together, across language and cultural barriers, in the common cause of WordPress at these events has enhanced my global perspective. I am grateful for every opportunity I have to work with this inclusive, supportive, international tech community. Attending WCEU furthered my ability to see the larger open source picture, which stretches beyond code and content, and taught me how I can better contribute, as well.Emanuel Blagonic: The best experience is the WordCamp Europe itself. WordCamp Europe sparked so many new communities all over Europe and this is simply amazing. And being part of the organizing team is just a bonus as you get to work with some of the most talented peopl e in the community – and this changes every year as new people come aboard. I can say that I learned so much being part of the team, not only professionally but personally too – as I found some very good (new) friends along the way.Letizia Barbi: I have attended the first WCEU in 2014, almost by chance. After that experience I immediately wanted to do my best to be part of the organising team, to make this event every year more special. Being part of WCEU is a great opportunity to learn, to grow (personally and professionally) and to be close to some amazing people!Luca Sartoni: I have been part of this project since the very beginning in Leiden in 2013. It helped me to become a better professional, a better member of the WordPress community, and overall, a better person. We have the chance to meet all the people our ecosystem impacts and we can help them to achieve their goals. Its a great experience for sure!Tess Coughlan-Allen: A particular experience that stood out to me was during a talk at WCEU 2017 in Paris when I realised just how much I was learning. The programme catered for everyone, it felt totally inclusive and I knew at that point I wanted to be a part of the organising team. It wasnt just during the talks when I learned from others, though. The people I met at WordCamp Europe were thoughtful, honest and open to sharing their experiences. Its a whirlpool of knowledge and its not one to miss.Alexandru PÄÆ'duraru: At first, I was a little bit reserved before participating, as our main products are not part of the WordPress space. So I told myself OK, lets go and see what people are doing there, maybe I can learn some new things and also can share my business knowledge.The overall experience turned out to be awesome. I thought most of the presentations would be 100% WordPress but it wasnt like that. Ive learned a lot of new things (from doing better customer support to optimising the working flows in a business), got some great books recommendations, and met a lot of interesting people. For someone who is outside of the WordPress world, this was a great experience and I will definitely participate again in the future. That sums up our #WCEU community roundup. After hearing these first-hand stories, we hope youre fired up to attend the next WordCamp in your area.And if youre already a regular attendee, wed love to hear about your own experience at WordCamp Europe throughout the years. Is there something memorable that youve been part of? If yes, please share it with us in the comments section below.You might also be interested in our post-event reports from the last two WordCamps: WCEU 2017 and WCEU 2016. If you want even more stories, here  is how the whole WCEU experience is seen through a volunteers eyes.See you in Belgrade!  Ã°Å¸ ¤â€œ Why you should go to #WCEU 2018. 21 attendees share their best #WordCamp Europe experiences...

survival essays

survival essays 1. DEFINITIONS 2 Survival Survival is emerging from natural or manmade disaster in a better position than the average person. Preparedness Preparedness is making preparations before disaster or disasters strike to improve your chances of survival. Shelters are made to stay out of the wind, rain, and sun. Shelters are also used to live in and get plenty of rest. There are many types of shelters. The shelters are classified in to two categories, natural and man made. Natural shelters are shelters that you can find naturally made or not man made. There are many natural shelters. Here are some examples of natural shelters, caves, rocky overhangs, thickets, and many more. You can also find some other types of natural shelters. Man made shelters are shelter that you make. You may be lucky and find an abandoned building or some type of shelter. There are many types of man made shelters like lean-tos, igloos, brick shelters and many more. Here are some examples below that you can make. You can also create and make your very own shelter for your specific needs. Lean -To shelters are shelters that you lean branches or some item onto another. You just need branches or trees, leaves and ferns. Ferns will help waterproof the roof and any other areas that you want waterproofed. Mud brick shelters are sturdier but may take longer to build. You cut the turf in to the size of bricks you want. Then you can build the walls for the shelter. Next you need to build a roof (ferns would work well). Igloos can be made if there is snow. You need a snow pile. First put a backpack or some object in snow at top. Then, dig out an entrance that is big enough for you to get in and out. Next, dig until you find backpack or object, then pull it out carefully. Finally, excavate or shape the inside. Here are some ideas of shelter that you may be able to build. ...

Analysis Of Creative And Innovative Management

Analysis Of Creative And Innovative Management The good organizations become best by adopting innovation. It is more than an invention as it also includes an attitude that encourage new concepts and risk attach with that new concepts. Excessive investments are not needed if a company has awareness about innovation and can use it to create products with unique features. So they create a friendly behaviour for new concepts, ideas, risk, change and even failure (Fortune, March 3, 1997). Managerial innovations are those adjustments in the process of management that gives ideas of products and services and than help in their production and delivery to the customers. It is not essential that effectiveness and efficiencies of product or services get effects from innovations by management (http://tumipc.info). Product versus Process Innovations: Innovations in processes and products are very significant classifications of technical innovations. Product innovations either generate entirely new products with distinct features or may help in increasing the performance and physical features of old products and services. Process innovations are changes in the way products or services are manufactured, created, or distributed. Whereas managerial innovations generally affect the broader context of development, process innovations directly affect manufacturing (http://tumipc.info), the implementation of robotics. Thus product innovations are particularly important during these beginning phases. Later, as an innovation enters the phases of growth, maturity, and decline, Vodafone’s ability to develop process innovations, such as fine-tuning manufacturing, increasing product quality, and improving product distribution, becomes important to maintaining economic return (http://tumipc.info). Explain how management in your selected organization would lead staff to accept and implement innovation The Human Energy of Innovation Innovation is difficult. It’s hard not to be constrained by organisational history, politi cs and budgets. It’s even harder to think of innovation as a human energy and not a process (www.10again.co.uk). Lead the Way to Successful Innovation in Vodafone The collaboration necessary, general cultural differences that can influence the process and the importance that organizational culture has on creating an environment that supports innovation, after these presentation keynotes, I often get a few people who approach me with their stories about innovation in their organizations. They tell me how great the information was and wished they could apply it into their own organizations, but they know that it would never be supported (www.bia.ca). It seems that while individuals are given the necessary time in their jobs to generate ideas, they are not given the time that is really required to explore them through a proper process for innovation. This therefore makes it difficult, if not impossible, for true innovation to happen. Now I realize that those who asked me the que stion may not necessarily be in positions to change their organization’s cultures but maybe they could start to create change within their own spheres of influence, such as a department, plant, location, store, etc. Sometimes Vodafone need to think on a smaller scale and then demonstrate to the organization the value of what they are doing, demonstrated success will help greatly to sell the idea.

Understanding Marketing Strategic Planning Processes (Marketing Idea Research Proposal

Understanding Marketing Strategic Planning Processes (Marketing Idea Product Plan) - Research Proposal Example Being alone is rather frightening to most senior citizens (Sachteleben, 1) supporting psychologists stating that warm interpersonal relationships are the most fundamental of human needs (Singer, 28). Off 2 Gran Grans will provide psychological adjustment for its target consumers and also fill a tangible need that need fulfilling due to limited mobility, lack of access to transportation, or lack of family and social support. The competitive innovation, completely unique in the competitive market, is the installation of a communications device modeled after the Life Alert system, a pendant/base unit system that contacts the company (Life Alert, 2012). Technology is intimidating to seniors (Sachteleben, 1) and this maintains significant comparative advantage to other similar, low-profile competitors. Off 2 Gran Grans will provide short- and long-term contracts with financed and pre-paid elements to ensure revenue that include device installation, with fees applied for early termination. The business will be positioned under quality and responsibility with less emphasis on pricing. Start-up costs will be higher than average, but revenues will offset the initial

Assistive Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assistive Technology - Essay Example Introduction Assistive technology refers to the technology used by disabled persons to enable them overcome the difficulties they experience. This technology includes devices such as wheelchairs and walkers, which aid in mobility (Pruski & Knops, 2005). Hardware and software used to access computers and information technologies by disabled people also form part of assistive technology. For instance, persons whose hands have limited function can use keyboards that have large keys or a specific mouse while operating computers. Blind people can use software that generates text in a computer screen from a voice generated by the computer. In addition, people who do not see properly can use software that will enlarge the content in the screen of the computer; while deaf persons may use a text telephone (Solarz, 1990). Research Methods, procedures, and instruments. Data in this research will be collected using the interview method, by asking the participants questions regarding the study to pic. Participants in the study will include beneficiaries of assistive technology; people faced with disabilities to the extent that they wholly depend on assistive technology. Data will also be collected from families of disabled persons, and teachers who use assistive technology while dealing with disabled students. ... Previously documented sources of data can also be reliable as they include empirical findings on research already conducted on the topic. The data collection tools, methods, and instruments will be pretested to determine their validity and reliability. Findings advantages Assistive technology enhances learning in people with disabilities, as it helps them to communicate with ease, and receive instructions in a manner they can easily comprehend. When disabled persons use this technology, they become independent because they can move and play without seeking assistance from other persons (Blackstone, 1990). Therefore, the adoption of assistive technology promotes learning in children with disabilities. Pruski & Knops (2005) assert that teachers and caregivers find the technology useful while dealing with the disabled children, as it speeds up learning in children and enables them to be at the same level with other children. The use of the technology makes people with disabilities to be more functional than they could be without the technology. As a result, the technology turns out to be useful in early interventions to model the disabled persons. Assistive technology enables the disabled persons to access recreation facilities and entertainment. Resulting from the technology, persons with disabilities become rehabilitated; they can be employed in organizations because computers enable them to have the ability to work (Jonge et. al, 2006). Teachers apply different styles of learning to instruct students while using assistive technology. Instructions based on the use of computers improve motivation of the students and gives immediate feedback. Once disabled

Objectives of the Firm Essay Example for Free

Objectives of the Firm Essay The standard economic assumption underlying the analysis of firms is profit maximization. Real world firms, however, might not, and many times do not, make decisions based on the profit-maximization objective, or at least exclusively on the profit-maximization objective. Other objectives include: (1) sales maximization, (2) pursuit of personal welfare, and (3) pursuit of social welfare. Although firms are assumed to make decisions that increase profit in standard economic analysis, real world firms often pursue other objectives on a day-to-day basis. Some firms set their sights on maximizing sales. For other firms the owners or employees are inclined to enhance personal living standards. And more than a few firms take steps that promote the overall welfare of society. In some cases, these other objectives help a firm pursue profit maximization. In other cases, they prevent a firm from maximizing profit. Profit Maximization Profit maximization is the process of obtaining the highest possible level of profit through the production and sale of goods and services. This is the guiding principle underlying the analysis of short-run production by a firm. In particular, economic analysis is assumed that firms undertake actions and make the decisions that increase profit. Profit is the difference between the total revenue a firm receives from selling output and the total cost of producing that output. Profit-maximization means that a firm seeks the production level that generates the greatest difference between total revenue and total cost. Consider how profit maximization might work for The Wacky Willy Company. Suppose that The Wacky Willy Company generates $100,000 of profit by producing 100,000 Stuffed Amigos, the difference between $1,000,000 of revenue and $900,000 of cost. * If profit falls from this $100,000 level when The Wacky Willy Company produces more (100,001) or fewer (99,999) Stuffed Amigos, then it is maximizing profit at 100,000. Alternatively, if profit can be increased by producing more or less, then The Wacky Willy Company is NOT maximizing profit at the current level of production. Suppose, for example, that producing 100,001 Stuffed Amigos adds an extra $11 to revenue but only $9 to cost. In this case, profit can be increased by $2, reaching $100,002, by producing one more Stuffed Amigo. As such 100,000 is NOT the profit maximizing level of production. * In contrast, suppose that producing 99,999 Stuffed Amigos reduces cost by $11 but only reduces revenue by only $9. In this case, profit can also be increased by $2, reaching $100,002, by producing one fewer Stuffed Amigo. As such 100,000 is NOT the profit maximizing level of production. Sales Maximization A reasonable, and often pursued objective of firms is to maximize sales, that is, to sell as much output as possible. Clearly sales lead to revenue, meaning that maximizing sales is also bound to maximize revenue. But as the analysis of short-run production indicates, maximizing sales does NOT necessarily maximize profit. So why do firms do it? Are firms unreasonable? Are they irrational? Do they NOT understand the basic economic principles of short-run production? For some firms, the answers to these questions could be yes. But for other firms, sales maximization is actually a reasonable, even better, alternative to profit maximization. Consider, the day-to-day production of Wacky Willy Stuffed Amigos. Suppose the President of The Wacky Willy Company, William J. Wackowski, issues a corporate directive to sell as many Stuffed Amigos as possible, to maximize sales. Is Willy Wackowski wacky? It might be that Mr. Wackowski has no knowledge of basic economic principles. Alternatively Wacky William might have more business sense than it appears. In particular, if the price received from selling Stuffed Amigos is greater than the cost of producing each one, and looks to remain that way regardless of the quantity produced, then a reasonable goal is to maximize sales. If sales are greater, then so too is profit. Wacky Willy does NOT maximize profit under these circumstances. That is, it does not produce the quantity that achieves the highest possible profit. However, with each Stuffed Amigo produced, profit increases. In fact, Wacky Willy might not KNOW the profit-maximizing production level. All it knows is that selling more Stuffed Amigos, increases profit. While sales maximization can serve as a means of pursing profit maximization, it can also prevent a firm from maximizing profit. The reason, of course, is that if sales become so large that the cost of production increases such that marginal cost exceeds marginal revenue, the maximizing sales does not maximize profit. Pursuit of Personal Welfare The people who make decisions for a business are, in fact, people. They have likes and dislikes. They have personal goals and aspirations just like people who do not make decisions for firms. On occasion these people use the firm to pursue their own personal welfare. When they do, their actions could enhance the firms profit maximization or, in many cases, prevent profit maximization. How about a few examples? Once again, consider William J. Wackowski, the president of The Wacky Willy Company. Perhaps Willy enjoys the finer things in lifea large house, fancy cars, and expensive vacationswhich require a hefty income. As the primary stockholder of The Wacky Willy Company, when the business maximizes profit, then William J. Wackowski benefits with more income. In this case, the pursuit of personal welfare coincides with profit maximization. Alternatively, suppose that the Mr. Wackowski hates the color purple. He simply refuse to produce ANY purple Stuffed Amigos. However, market studies clearly indicate that buyers want purple Stuffed Amigos. Moreover, the purple fabric that would be used to produce purple Stuffed Amigos is significantly less expensive than other colors. Mr. Willy clearly is wacky in this case. His purple-phobia prevents profit maximization. William the Wackster might also decide to enhance his corporate lifestyle at the expense of corporate profit. He could, for example, give himself a bigger, more luxurious (but unneeded) office, a higher (but unneeded) salary, a company jet (also unneeded), season tickets to Shady Valley Primadonnas baseball team (clearly unneeded) and other (unneeded) amenities that are NOT needed to profitably produce Stuffed Amigos. These improve Williams personal welfare, but at the expense of corporate profit. Pursuit of Social Welfare The people who make decisions for firms also have social consciences. Part of their likes and dislikes might be related to the overall state of society. As such, they might use the firm to pursue social welfare, which could enhance or prevent the firms profit maximization. How might William J. Wackowskis pursuit of social welfare enhance or prevent profit maximization of The Wacky Willy Company? Suppose that William wants a cleaner environment. As such, he might implement more costly environmentally friendly production techniques and materials. He does his part to clean the environment, but at the expense of company profit. Then again, Mr. Wackowski might feel that government environmental quality regulations restrict capital investment and economic growth. As such, William might have The Wacky Willy Company use part of its advertising budget to promote this view point. He might even use company revenue to set up the Wackowski Foundation for Policy Studies that is both a scientific think tank and a special interest lobbying organization with the goal of reducing environmental quality regulations. While the pursuit of social welfare is likely to reduce company profit, it could have the opposite effect as well. Such activities could give The Wacky Willy Company a likeable public image that motivates people to buy more Stuffed Amigos than they would otherwise. In fact, some firms use the pursuit of social welfare as one aspect of their overall advertising efforts. They enhance their public image at the same time they do something good for society. Natural Selection Whichever objective a firm pursues on a day-to-day basis, the notion of natural selection suggests that successful firms intentionally or unintentionally maximize profit. That is, the firms best suited to the economic environment, and thus generate the most profit, are the ones that tend to survive. The natural selection of business firms is an adaptation of the biological process of natural selection, in which biological entities best suited to the natural environment are the ones that survive. The concept of economic natural selection means that those firms that generate the greatest profit are the ones that avoid bankruptcy and survive to produce another day. While firms might pursue sales maximization, personal welfare, or social welfare, only those firms that also maximize profit remain in business. 2) The following   is from chapter one in the text   Financial Management and Policy, by James C. Van Horne, Copyright 1974 by Prentice-Hall. It is classic finance. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE FIRM In this [course], we assume that the objective of the firm is to maximize its value to its shareholders. Value is represented by the market price of the company’s common stock, which, in turn, is a reflection of the firm’s investment, financing, and dividend decisions. Profit Maximization vs. Wealth Maximization Frequently, maximization of profits is regarded as the proper objective of the firm, but it is not as inclusive a goal as that of maximizing shareholder wealth. For one thing, total profits are not as important as earnings per share. A firm could always raise total profits by issuing stock and using the proceeds to invest in Treasury bills. Even maximization of earnings per share, however, is not a fully appropriate objective, partly because it does not specify the timing or duration of expected returns. Is the investment project that will produce $100,000 return 5 years from now more valuable than the project that will produce annual returns of $15,000 in each of the next 5 years? An answer to this question depends upon the time value of money to the firm and to investors at the margin. Few existing stockholders would think favorably of a project that promised its first return in 100 years. We must take into account the time pattern of returns in our analysis. Another shortcoming of the objective of maximizing earnings per share is that it does not consider the risk or uncertainty of the prospective earnings stream. Some investment projects are far more risky than others. As a result, the prospective stream of earnings per share would be more uncertain if these projects were undertaken. In addition, a company will be more or less risky depending upon the amount of debt in relation to equity in its capital structure. This risk is known as financial risk; and it, too, contributes to the uncertainty of the prospective stream of earnings per share. Two companies may have the same expected future earnings per share, but if the earnings stream of one is subject to considerably more uncertainty than the earnings stream of the other, the market price per share of its stock may be less. For the reasons above, an objective of maximizing earnings per share may not be the same as maximizing market price per share. The market price of a firm’s stock represents the focal judgment of all market participants as to what the value is of the particular firm. It takes into account present and prospective future earnings per share, the timing, duration, and risk of these earnings, and any other factors that bear upon the market price of stock. The market price serves as a performance index or report card of the firm’s progress; it indicates how well management is doing in behalf of its stockholders. Management vs. Stockholders In certain situations the objectives of management may differ from those of the firms stockholders. In a large corporation whose stock is widely held, stockholders exert very little control or influence over the operations of the company. When the control of a company is separate from its ownership, management may not always act in the best interests of the stockholders [Agency Theory]. [Managers] sometimes are said to be satisficers rather than maximizers; they may be content to play it safe and seek an acceptable level of growth, being more concerned with perpetuating their own existence than with maximizing the value of the firm to its shareholders. The most important goal to a management [team]of this sort may be its own survival. As a result, it may be unwilling to take reasonable risks for fear of making a mistake, thereby becoming conspicuous to the outside suppliers of capital. In turn, these suppliers may pose a threat to management’s survival. It is true that in order to survive over the long run, management may have to behave in a manner that is reasonably consistent with maximizing shareholder wealth. Nevertheless, the goals of the two parties do not necessarily have to be the same. Maximization of shareholder wealth, then, is an appropriate guide for how a firm should act. When management does not act in a manner consistent with this objective, we must recognize this as a constraint and determine the opportunity cost. This cost is measurable only if we determine what the outcome would have been had the firm attempted to maximize shareholder wealth. A Normative Goal Because the principal of maximization of shareholder wealth provides a rational guide for running a business and for the efficient allocation of resources in society, we use it as our assumed objective in considering how financial decisions should be made. The purpose of capital markets is to efficiently allocate savings in an economy from ultimate savers to ultimate users of funds who invest in real assets. If savings are to be channeled to the most promising investment opportunities, a rational economic criteria must exist that governs their flow. By and large, the allocation of savings in an economy occurs on the basis of expected return and risk. The market value of a firm’s stock embodies both of these factors. It therefore reflects the market’s tradeoff between risk and return. If decisions are made in keeping with the likely effect upon the market value of its stock, a firm will attract capital only when its investment opportunities justify the use of that capital in the overall economy. Put another way, the equilibration process by which savings are allocated in an economy occurs on the basis of expected return and risk. Holding risk constant, those economic units (business firms, households, financial institutions, or governments) willing to pay the highest yield are the ones entitled to the use of funds. If rationality prevails, the economic units bidding the highest yields will be the ones with the most promising investment opportunities. As a result, savings will tend to be allocated to the most efficient users. Maximization of shareholder wealth then embodies the risk-return tradeoff of the market and is the focal point by which funds should be allocated within and among business firms. Any other objective is likely to result in the suboptimal allocation of funds and therefore lead to less than optimal level of economic want satisfaction. This is not to say that management should ignore the question of social responsibility. As related to business firms, social responsibility concerns such things as protecting the consumer, paying fair wages to employees, maintaining fair hiring practices, supporting education, and becoming actively involved in environmental issues like clean air and water. Many people feel that a firm has no choice but to act in socially responsible ways; they argue that shareholder wealth and, perhaps, the corporations vary existence depends upon its being socially responsible. However, the criteria for social responsibility are not clearly defined, making formulation of a consistent objective function difficult. Moreover, social responsibility creates certain problems for the firm. One is that it falls unevenly on different corporations. Another is that it sometimes conflicts with the objective of wealth maximization. Certain social actions, from a long-range point of view, unmistakably are in the best interests of stockholders, and there is little question that they should be undertaken. Other actions are less clear, and to engage in them may result in a decline of profits and in shareholder wealth in the long run. From the standpoint of society, this decline may produce a conflict. What is gained in having a socially desirable goal achieved may be offset in whole or part by an accompanying less efficient allocation of resources in society. The latter will result in a less than optimal growth of the economy and a lower total level of economic want satisfaction. In an era of unfilled wants and scarcity, the allocation process is extremely important. Many people feel that management should not be called upon to resolve the conflict posed above. Rather, society, with its broad general perspective, should make the decisions necessary in this area. Only society, acting through Congress and other representative governmental bodies, can judge the relative tradeoff between the achievement of a social goal and the sacrifice in the efficiency of apportioning resources that may accompany realization of the goal. With these decisions made, corporations can engage in wealth maximization and thereby efficiently allocate resources, subject, of course, to certain governmental constraints. Under such a system, corporations can be viewed as producing both private and social goods, and the maximization of shareholder wealth remains a viable corporate objective.

James Joyces Araby Essay -- Araby Essays

James Joyce's Araby   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story â€Å"Araby,† by James Joyce, shows how people often expect more than that which ordinary reality can provide and consequently feel disappointed when they do not receive what they expect. Another fascinating piece of literature is the poetry collection The Black Riders and Other Lines by Stephen Crane. What, if anything, does one have to do with the other? This paper will compare one of Crane’s poems to Joyce’s story. â€Å"Araby† tells the story of a young boy’s disillusionment with life as he experiences his first adult feelings of love for a girl, but is then denied expression of his feelings for her by the adult world. The key theme is frustration, as the boy deals with the limits forced on him by his situation. He has a succession of romantic ideas about a girl and an event to which he attributes magnificent qualities, a common bazaar called â€Å"Araby,† that he will attend on her behalf. On the night when he waits for his uncle to return home so that he can go to the bazaar, the reader witnesses the boy's frustration increasing and building. By the time he finally gets to go to the bazaar, it is more or less over. His fantasies about the bazaar and about buying a special gift for the girl of his dreams are revealed as being ridiculous. The boy’s anticipation of the event, and of pleasing the object of his affections with a gift from the event, provided him with n ice fantasies. However, reality turns out to be much harsher than fantasy. Crane’...

Fashion Trends

Fashion Trends of Youth in Pakistan Consumer Behavior Chapter 1 Introduction * Fashion It’s not just an outfit that is the offer of fashion. Rather it resides in every corner of the present landscape. Our mobile phones, our cars, our kitchens, our choice of media, the places where meet our friends- all add to the meaning of fashion. Its not enough to wear the clothes, you have to don the lifestyle too. Fashion is a conceptual term though it covers almost all aspects of our daily life.Dress is very important facet of our personality and fashion in our dress and clothes have taken its step towards international market. The retail and wholesale sector in Pakistan was worth about $40 billion in fiscal year 2012, and has been growing at 5. 3% in real (inflation-adjusted) terms for the past five years, much faster than overall economic growth during that period. Parallel to this trend in consumerism,  Digital Marketing in Pakistan has also been on the rise which has resulted in th e  Fashion Industry (specifically formal and informal lawn brands), fast accepting this unique phenomenon.Also, with the Ramazan on the go; Eid approaching in the near future and summers near their destined end, many new clothing brands have gone active and are advertising their Eid collection and Summer Sales on Facebook vigorously. So much so, that as per my calculations, one in every ten recommendations/sponsored stories or ads I see, are related to a clothing brand. Whether it be established brands like Kayseria, Khaadi  and Gul Ahmed, or newly launched premium brands like Sana Safinaz or Asim Jofa, or relatively smaller designer names like Rang Ja, The Working Woman, Mariam Aziz and Echo ll can be found actively on Facebook. Fashion industry of Pakistan has made quite a lot of progress in just a few years. Ten to fifteen years from now, this industry was still unknown to actually exist to the masses. Late with the formation of fashion councils and education centers under th e enthusiastic few who wanted to make a difference and promulgate this very institution of fashion, * Quick glance at fashion back in TIME The Swinging 60's The focus of the time was on fittings. Bell bottoms, hair pieces, narrow fitted shirts, narrow dupattas, heavy eye makeup for girls and side burns for men was order of the time.People in those times took influence from the actors whom they idealized. The Political 70's In 70's the political times changed. People turned towards patriotism. Cotton came in vogue and people were seen in loose kurtas called Awami Suits and Saris. The Materialistic 80's The 80's emerged from the drabness of the 70's and ushered in disco, glitz and glamour. People were indulged in their material instincts. In Pakistan, loose was â€Å"in† and tight was â€Å"out†. Glitter and glitz was trendy and simplicity took a back seat. Back To The East With 90's It was a time for the rival of our culture.Traditional costumes made a comeback. A lot o f embroidery, gharara, Sheirwani and Paishwaz were seen. Everyone wanted to look sleek and thin. The New Millennium â€Å"The Y2Kâ€Å" The year 2000 came with a bang moving people towards hi-tech and fast-paced living. The clothes too have become more streamlined and structured. The defined boundaries of eastern and western fashion have collapsed people wear no fuss Chinese trousers, cargo pants, iron easy cloth and manageable preferably short hair. Fusion is the call of this time * Interview with designers Maria B:Fashion is an extension of self ,an ___expression of individuality, of art and modernism- It has no borders or divides- Its passion and It is the constant evolution of society. Fashion is a form of ___expression on an individual as well as a social level—The general shift in Pakistan thank God! is towards intelligent broad-minded ideas and its now starting to reflect in the way that people are dressing up HSY: Fashion for me is your sense of living. It’s not only about dress, but it’s about you and what you live with. It can be your values and ethics, it can be everything around you. Nida ali:I think the average customer is price conscious, style conscious, trend conscious and the element of brand consciousness comes right at the end. Chapter 2 The Consumer Segmentation & Targeting In a broader view and unbiased analysis, the Pakistani fashion industry has certainly played a very constructive and optimistic role in building the fashion sense and fashion trends amongst all the age groups The target we have selected to conduct a survey on the changing trends in fashion scenario is a combination of both the genders from the age range of 15 to 35 years of age regardless of any income bracket from the educated community.This range can be justified with the projection of the following statistics. The income ranges depict that our target market is almost equally from all income groups and people do follow fashion regardless of incom e brackets in one way or the other. Our target market of research comprises of a major chunk from the age range of 21 to 25 years being 76%. While having smaller portions of age 15-20 and 26-30 with sizes of 14% and 10% respectively. The youth mainly the fashion seekers and followers are in the continuation of their education period.As, this is the age when fashion becomes a craze for them. 63% females are fashion conscious willing to participate in a fashion survey while 37% are from the male category of consumers. * Media of Approach The fashion consumer of today is constantly bombarded with different types of stimuli in different forms of advertising. Today’s fashion consumer is more sophisticated and demanding than the consumer of the past. Looking at history, fashion runways and fashion shows have been the biggest inspirations for the fashion industry.We have assessed from these facts that regardless of the rapid growth in new mediums of information search like online so urces of 13%, The traditional media is still more trustworthy for the consumer to attain the information they require for their shopping like Fashion shows & Exhibitions having 20%, Fashion Magazines 24%, TV Commercials 40% and Billboards 10% chunk respectively. Fashion magazines are an extension of the marketing departments of large fashion companies. For a designer, the fashion show is a way to broadcast ideas. It is a medium. The growing Online trend The growing trend of online queries and locating stores, if not e-purchases, have also seen a tremendous rise which is understandable considering  Ã‚  females make up 31% of Pakistan’s Facebook population of almost 7 Million and the age group from 18-34 years makes 76% of the said population. These stats quite clearly infer that  Digital has most certainly become an effective medium of  transforming  information and communicating with this industry’s target group. In addition to the remarkable customer service m ost of the fashion brands inPakistan are providing online, it is worthy to note that digital media has leveled the playing field for all brands, irrespective of their sizes. It has given all sorts of brands the leverage to promote themselves and explore social media marketing for their advantage, especially if traditional mediums like billboards, print ads, TVCs etc are out of budget. This graph represents the presence of facebook fans of various brands locally in Pakistan and worldwide as well. The appreciation of facebook and other social media networks as a tool of marketing is growing very rapidly in a very short time among our young generation.Considering these statistics, we can appraise the standing of these various brand among the consumers and their level of appreciation in the market. Keeping these stats and trends in mind, one can evidently conclude that digital and eventually mobile marketing has an immense potential for the Fashion Industry. If the growth trends continu e to move in the same direction and at a similar pace, there should certainly be no stopping social media marketing from making brands re-allocate  their budgets from traditional to online mediums. Chapter 3 Market Research * Problem StatementHow does the behavior of a fashion consumer changes with upcoming fashion trends? * Research Methods * Questionnaire We have gathered information from our target market with 30 questionnaires duly filled by the prospects from our target market at various places with different set of ideals for a broader perspective and analyzed the results. The questionnaire is attached. * Focus Group We conducted a focus group of 8 attendees from our target market and concluded healthy discussion on the concerned issue. The moderator guide of the focus group is attached at the end. Online Focus Group on FaceBook We have conducted a focus group online through the platform of facebook as we do realize that the major chunk of our target study is active on socia l media networks. * Interviews Our search also consists of the interviews from the fashion industry to gather an over view about fashion from the producers of this wave. * Mall Intercepts We have visited quite a few stores, brand outlets and malls surveying for practical encounters and recorded the views of some consumers in video and others in writing.Our surveys destinations included Suzy, Shirt & Tie Shop, Hyperstar at Fortress Stadium while some interviews were conducted on the streets there. * Boutique Survey We also encountered the people running those boutiques and assessed their perceptions briefly. Chapter 4 Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior is deeply influenced by the demographics and household structures, needs, emotions, values and personality, group influences, information processing and decision making along with purchase behavior. Consumers are becoming more demanding, which is forcing fashion retailers to provide the right product at the right time.Information and trends are moving around the globe at high speed, resulting in more options and thus the consumers shop more often. The consumers need for uniqueness forces fashion retailers to constantly renew their styles. * Culture In case of cultural preferences, we often see people with different style statements living in the same area or same people having same appearances living at areas with vast distances. This is a fact which projects the importance of presence of culture in our lives which we tend to follow in almost all walks of our life.The most followed culture is equally distributed among regional and family preferences with the health of 37% each. Most of the population tend to follow what is being pursued in their region for ages, for instance, in Pakistan, with many differences in lifestyle, we all still follow some basic similar values. On the other hand, if we take Family culture into account, it refers to the values we share with our family, the way we present ourselves based on our family background, living standards and lifestyle. 19% incorporate multiple cultures in their attire and appearance while 4% opts for Western style of dressing.Social Class Fashion reflects our society and our culture. likewise it reflects how people define themselves People tend to follow what is in and what is the wave of the present current in fashion. 44% of our participants from consumer market are inclined towards the ongoing trends, while another major chunk is attracted towards the designer cuts or brand for their choice of attire. Former categories comprise of the majority while small parts of the market follow Celebrity with 6%, 6% towards price, 6% of advertisements while 10% people go for friend’s advise and attire. * Consumer Behavior Model Involvement of senses (Touch, sight) When we judge the quality of an apparel, the foremost concern for the consumer is the quality of the product which is preferred by 50% even for the youngsters who do not really care for the long life of the products. Some follow View of the fabric and its name share the same standing of 17% while a greater appreciation of Brand name of 24%. * Personal Selection Factors * Hedonic consumption Value of a garment is being defined as an interactive partiality experience, and distinguishes a person’s experience of interacting with an object or event.Enjoyable experiences in a store reflect different types of hedonic values. Values are defined as consumer behavior that regards the emotional and fantasy aspect of consumers’ interactions with products. Comparing to its utilitarian counterpart, the hedonic shopping value is more personal and associated with playfulness and fun. For instance, it is fairly common that people shop for both utilitarian and hedonic grounds, as well as a positive mood can come from consumers following either type of shopping. A reason for consumers to go shopping can also be the possibility to socialize with their friends.An indi vidual’s set of values is very important regarding consumption activities. Many purchases are made because consumers think that purchasing products will result in reaching value-related goals. Shopping for clothes is considered recreational, satisfying and rewarding. Impulse buying is important to fulfill hedonic desires. There is an evident link between impulse buying behavior and hedonic shopping. Clothes purchased to satisfy hedonic needs seem to be chosen without planning and characterize an impulse buying event as can be witnessed like 50% of the buyers.Consumers are driven to hedonic shopping experiences by new fashion styles and brand image salience, which in turn motivates fashion-oriented impulse buying behavior. On the other hand, people who are rational in their decisions and finalize their action after going through all pros and cons. * Consumer Involvement * Motivation Clothing is referred to as specialty good since consumers often make the effort of seeking out the garment that they require. Motivational need can be both utilitarian and hedonic. The end state that the consumer has the intention to reach is the goal.How urgent the consumer wants to reduce the need depends on whether the need is hedonic or utilitarian, this is called the consumer’s drive. One indication of a need is a person’s want, which is created by a combination of cultural and personal factors. These statistics project the motivational elements which encourage a consumer to make a purchase. The most prominent motivator is an occasion or event which motivates 43% of the targeted sample. While, 20% are for Friends and 20% for family suggestions. Celebrity styles and icons attract and motivate 17% of our audience.Fashion-oriented impulse buying happens when consumers find a new fashion product and buy it due to the motivation to buy new products; products they did not plan on buying. Here we can see the level of motivation and the elements which influences a person to make a purchase. 40% are the impulse buyers who immediately opt for purchase with the product and the internal drive. The other major category observed in our survey was that of people who are motivated with advice of friends and family. This 46% require someone to support their choice.Two small classes of 7% being those who spent more tie and opt to search for further alternatives or more information about the item before making a purchase. * Motivational Conflict Approach-Approach According to our survey results, consumers often face Approch-Approch conflict when they have to choose between two dresses appealing them at the same level. Approach-Avoidance Another conflict of Approach-Avoidance also exists when a design attracts to a consumer at a designer shop but meanwhile price element restricts a particular customer. Level of Involvement Inertia: Inertia basically describes the low level of involvement towards the chosen product that either the consumer is willing to p ay an effort before purchase or not? In fashion industry, according to our survey some respondent’s level of involvement was low because they just go to any shop; strongly use their heuristics and mental short cuts to buy apparel. Cult: The second concept which also prevails in the fashion industry is that, a part of consumer’s level of involvement is also very high in terms of shopping clothes.Because they put a lot of exertion in choosing and purchasing outfit having a feel of passion and consider their apparel as a symbol of their individual personality. * Need Theory Implementation * Self Concept * Self Concept When clothes leave the fabric they are merely garments. It is not until the marketers get hold of them that they become fashion. Clothing and accessories express how we feel, how we see ourselves and how we wish to be conceived by others. When we buy clothes we buy an identity. Fashion constitutes an important societal part of the individual’s well-be ing.Through the right choice of clothing it is possible for an individual to improve his or her self-esteem and acceptance by other people. Identities and social roles appear through people’s choice of clothing and accessories. Clothes function as symbols that indicate status, gender, social group allegiance and personality. Fashion is a way of expressing oneself and it says a lot about the person. * Fantasy Clothes shopping is considered to be more attractive. It is a break from the normal routine and it is an opportunity for fantasy and self-expression.What we wear is a complete expression of who we are. The appearance is the first indicator of personality to be judged. We portray ourselves what we fantasize about our own personality following our ideals through our accessories, our choice of movies, the interior of our house and most prominently our attire. We judged from our sample that majority of our sample portrays themselves to be decent yet fashionable being 54% of t he whole sample depicting a major part of our culture. Secondly, 30% fashion consumers tend to portray themselves to be lively and energetic.Some 14% try to explicitly present themselves as an open personality and extrovert. A few demonstrate themselves to be shy and submissive. It’s not enough to be fashionable-one wishes to appear intelligent as well. * Gender Orientation â€Å"Modern marketing has relied on gender to help understand and explain consumers and their behavior. † Women see clothes as a mean for self-identity, whereas men focus more on functional benefits. Women see shopping as something recreational, it is important to emphasize the hedonic and experiential attributes of shopping.Women spend twice as long time in a shop as men and the typical window-shopper is a woman. Men and women think differently, and these gender-specific brain differences show a significant effect on how the individual absorb, process and retain information. The following Pivot Ta ble exhibits the relation of gender with the style they follow for their purchase with a graphical representation which is extracted from our Online Facebook survey. | Values| | Row Labels| Sum of Male| Sum of Female| Casual| 4| 8| Celebrity| 0| 1| Formal| 4| 3| Present day| 3| 12| Grand Total| 11| 24| | | Another Pivot Table is extracted from our survey which depicts the relation of gender with the inclination of consumer towards Price or Style conscious personality. | Values| | Row Labels| Sum of Male| Sum of Female| Price Conscious| 7| 9| Style Conscious| 4| 15| Grand Total| 11| 24| Men don’t buy fashion – they buy clothes Men are comparatively less sophisticated consumers of fashion than women. * Extended Self â€Å"Fashion is an extension of self and expression of individuality† All the possessions of a person add an extra glamour to the personality.These can be the clothes, accessories, cell phones or your jewelery which adds an extra charm to what you ide alize and portray about your personality. This extract shows the inclination of people towards various categories to embrace an additional appeal to their personality. This is clearly visible that clothes and shoes are the possessions that exhibits glamour and is the centre of attention for most of the youngsters being 37% each. While 14% go for jewelery, 6% for glasses, 6% for wrist watches and 7% opt for mobile phones as their charming accessory. Personality & Chosen Product MatchYour perception towards fashion is what you personality is regarding this particular field. This graphical representation clearly demonstrates the personality of our target youngsters in terms of fashion trends and their own self. Sober looks and Maturity is the dominant trait occupying 34%. * Product symbolization The Fashion Pyramid * Freudian Theory (diagram interpretation) [Id = Brain attack , Superego = Heart attack, Ego = A balance with heart on one and brain on the other side) (landscape) * Trait t heory Various distinct traits are associated with different fields of life projected by the consumer of that particular segment.Likewise many traits are associated with fashion industry and consumers monitoring and following the changing trends. For instance, it is suggested that people who are more communally oriented (a female trait) will enjoy shopping more because of their psychological identification with the communal nature of the task. * Product congruence & Consumer Lifestyle Loyal customers spend more each shopping trip, and are more time-conscious. Our clothes are often an expression of our spirit and character, so there is nothing wrong with finding a look that suits you and relying on it.Here the question is do consumers calibrate their wardrobe to better illustrate their present mood & personality to therefore show overall congruence and harmony? Well, a direct relation exists between the clothing you choose to wear and your overall personality in terms of congruency. A ccording to our one of the consumers view, â€Å"I have noticed that when I am feeling very energetic, and very outgoing, I will pick out clothing from my closet that resembles my mood: loud, and vibrant. Yellow t-shirts, red watch, etc. Meanwhile, other times, when I’m n a mellower and laid back mood, I will wear more toned down clothing, sometimes just a black tee-shirt and jeans. † Fashion is based on creating a need, where in reality, there is none. Fashion is a factory that manufactures desire. Pre occupation with fashion reveals a level of insecurity. It’s like they are worried about being judged. People obsessed with fashion feel that if they’ve changed their look, they’ve also evolved emotionally. They live in a state of being extremely conscious about their appearance. * Decision Making * Heuristics * Shopping Atmosphere * Post Purchase Satisfaction Product Disposal The product disposal is an important issue to be discussed as we keep on a dding accessories to our wardrobe and stuff it with articles. It is essential to know what consumers opt for after It is deducted that 75% people give their clothes to others which is a good indication of society. While 19% stuff it forever even if not in use. On the other hand. 6% completely destroy them. * Risks associated with new trends The elements of fashion not liked by the target youngsters can backfire and become a risk for the Fashion Brands. As, â€Å"The fashion industry is the ultimate fashion victim†Other Risks include: Chapter 5 Extract Chapter 6 Attachments Survey Questionnaire Fashion Trends in Pakistan I am a student of MBIT from IBIT, PU and this questionnaire is purely for research purpose and the information you provide help me gain better understanding of Changing Fashion Trends in Pakistan. The success of this research depends on honest answers so I assure that your response will be kept confidential. Tick the answer you prefer. SECTION 1: YOU C. Occupa tion? a) Student b) Job c) Business d) Other, Please Specify ___________ 1. A. Age? a) 15-20 b) 21-25 c) 26-30 d) 31-35D. Gender? a) Male b) Female B. Family Monthly Income? e) 15000-25000 f) 26000-35000 g) 36000-50000 h) Above 50000 E. How are you feeling today? c) happy c) excited d) sad d) depressed SECTION 2: YOUR FASHION 1. Fashion to you is: a) Looking cool and hipc) Comfort ability b) Looking sober and matured) A way to express my inner self 2. Which current fashion trend you love the most? _____________________________________________________________________ 3. Which fashion trend you hate the most? ______________________________________________________________________ 4. c) Present day fashion ) Celebrity Which fashion style/trend do you tend to follow when you purchase clothes? a) Formal b) Casual 5. Who is your ideal fashion personality? _____________________________ 6. What does your clothing portray about your personality a) Open Personalityb) Shy person c) Hip Hop d) D ecent e) Lively f) Bold 7. Which of your accessories adds glamour to your overall personality? a) Clothingb) Mobile phone c) Jewelry d) Shoes e) Wrist watches f) Glasses 8. What influences you the most when you buy clothes? a) Ongoing Trendsb) Designer/Brand c)Celebrity d) Pricee) Advertisementsf) Friends 9.How much are you willing to spend on one item of clothing from a new trend of fashion? a)1000-2000 b)2000-5000 c)5000-10000d)10000 & above 10. What would encourage you to try out new fashion and style? a) Celebrity’s Styleb) Friend’s Suggestion c) Family’s Suggestiond) An Occasion | 11. What do you mostly dislike about fashion? a) Changes quicklyb) Expensive c) Not suitable d) Turns into a craze 12. What is the most recently added item to your accessories? ____________________________ 13. Does a new trend influence your wardrobe? a) Yes b) Noc)Oftend) Rarely 14. Do you readily adopt new trends? ) Yes b) Noc)Oftend) Rarely 15. How do you judge a fabric? a)Touc hb) Viewc) Brand named) Fabric name 16. Are your purchases? c) Plannedb) Immediate | 17. What is your action when a dress or an accessory attracts you? d) Immediately buyc) Consult a friend or family member e) Search for alternativesd) Search for more information 18. Which kinds of shopping destination you buy most of your clothes from? a) Super markets and shopping mallsc) Fashion shows and exhibitions b) Designer boutiques & Brandsd) Bazaars 19. What are your cultural preferences in fashion? a) Family culturec)Western culture ) Regional cultured) A combination of trends from multiple cultures 20. What do you do after your purchase? i) When satisfied a) Refer others b) Feel achievement c) Repeat purchases from the same place ii) When dissatisfied a) Feel angry b)Tell others to avoid c) Never visit the same place 21. How do you dispose of your clothes a) Keep the item b) Destroy c) Give it to others to use 22. What would you mostly like to see in an advertisement? a) Pictures of the shop and locationc) Products available b) Information about the designer d) All the above 3. Which medium do you trust for your purchases? a) Magazinesd)Fashion Shows & Exhibitions b) Billboardse) TV Commercials c) Online Sources Moderator Guide I Thank you all very much for helping us and participating in our project research. What we are conducting is called a focus group. It is mainly a form of discussion among all of you on our research topic. You can agree, disagree on any point or you can just provide with a comment. You can also propose any new idea regarding the subject and you can freely express your views and opinions. This is just like a routine lounge talk.We request you to convey your point clearly and if possible one at a time to save from any confusion or misunderstanding. If any questions regarding the format of the focus group, you can ask ? Now, I’l explain the topic, we are here to discuss. That is The Changing Fashion Trends in Pakistan. Everybody today, is somehow associated with fashion either in favor or against. . Similarly, you all must be used to of decorating your wardrobe with latest fashion articles. Most of you would be used to of visiting various bazaars and malls for your clothing needs. And must be having your views and suggestions for this very industry.We are going to talk about the same. Before we start, if any one have any queries. Please do ask? Now friends , We’ll continue with our discussion Warm Up Questions:- 1. How much time do you spare for your leisure activities? 2. How much time in a month do you spent on shopping? 3. Do you consider shopping a source of entertainment? Specific Questions:- Current Scenario of Audience 4. Do you visit exhibitions for your purchases? 5. Do you consider fashion shows a source of latest updates for your fashion? 6. May I ask about your favorite places to shop? 7. What is your recently added item in your clothing? 8.Are you price conscious or style conscious? Reason of F ailure 9. What do you think is the main content of our Pakistani fashion currently being promoted? 10. What is that one factor that stops you from adopting a fashion trend? 11. In your opinion, what is the one major difference between ordinary and designer brand items? 12. When I speak of Fashion, What picture comes to your mind? 13. Now, what if the same product is being sold in a local and a designer brand, Which one you’ll prefer to buy? Why? I am really thankful to you all for this valuable effort and specially your time. Bibliography Solomon, M. R. Consumer Behavior. Fashion Trends Fashion Trends of Youth in Pakistan Consumer Behavior Chapter 1 Introduction * Fashion It’s not just an outfit that is the offer of fashion. Rather it resides in every corner of the present landscape. Our mobile phones, our cars, our kitchens, our choice of media, the places where meet our friends- all add to the meaning of fashion. Its not enough to wear the clothes, you have to don the lifestyle too. Fashion is a conceptual term though it covers almost all aspects of our daily life.Dress is very important facet of our personality and fashion in our dress and clothes have taken its step towards international market. The retail and wholesale sector in Pakistan was worth about $40 billion in fiscal year 2012, and has been growing at 5. 3% in real (inflation-adjusted) terms for the past five years, much faster than overall economic growth during that period. Parallel to this trend in consumerism,  Digital Marketing in Pakistan has also been on the rise which has resulted in th e  Fashion Industry (specifically formal and informal lawn brands), fast accepting this unique phenomenon.Also, with the Ramazan on the go; Eid approaching in the near future and summers near their destined end, many new clothing brands have gone active and are advertising their Eid collection and Summer Sales on Facebook vigorously. So much so, that as per my calculations, one in every ten recommendations/sponsored stories or ads I see, are related to a clothing brand. Whether it be established brands like Kayseria, Khaadi  and Gul Ahmed, or newly launched premium brands like Sana Safinaz or Asim Jofa, or relatively smaller designer names like Rang Ja, The Working Woman, Mariam Aziz and Echo ll can be found actively on Facebook. Fashion industry of Pakistan has made quite a lot of progress in just a few years. Ten to fifteen years from now, this industry was still unknown to actually exist to the masses. Late with the formation of fashion councils and education centers under th e enthusiastic few who wanted to make a difference and promulgate this very institution of fashion, * Quick glance at fashion back in TIME The Swinging 60's The focus of the time was on fittings. Bell bottoms, hair pieces, narrow fitted shirts, narrow dupattas, heavy eye makeup for girls and side burns for men was order of the time.People in those times took influence from the actors whom they idealized. The Political 70's In 70's the political times changed. People turned towards patriotism. Cotton came in vogue and people were seen in loose kurtas called Awami Suits and Saris. The Materialistic 80's The 80's emerged from the drabness of the 70's and ushered in disco, glitz and glamour. People were indulged in their material instincts. In Pakistan, loose was â€Å"in† and tight was â€Å"out†. Glitter and glitz was trendy and simplicity took a back seat. Back To The East With 90's It was a time for the rival of our culture.Traditional costumes made a comeback. A lot o f embroidery, gharara, Sheirwani and Paishwaz were seen. Everyone wanted to look sleek and thin. The New Millennium â€Å"The Y2Kâ€Å" The year 2000 came with a bang moving people towards hi-tech and fast-paced living. The clothes too have become more streamlined and structured. The defined boundaries of eastern and western fashion have collapsed people wear no fuss Chinese trousers, cargo pants, iron easy cloth and manageable preferably short hair. Fusion is the call of this time * Interview with designers Maria B:Fashion is an extension of self ,an ___expression of individuality, of art and modernism- It has no borders or divides- Its passion and It is the constant evolution of society. Fashion is a form of ___expression on an individual as well as a social level—The general shift in Pakistan thank God! is towards intelligent broad-minded ideas and its now starting to reflect in the way that people are dressing up HSY: Fashion for me is your sense of living. It’s not only about dress, but it’s about you and what you live with. It can be your values and ethics, it can be everything around you. Nida ali:I think the average customer is price conscious, style conscious, trend conscious and the element of brand consciousness comes right at the end. Chapter 2 The Consumer Segmentation & Targeting In a broader view and unbiased analysis, the Pakistani fashion industry has certainly played a very constructive and optimistic role in building the fashion sense and fashion trends amongst all the age groups The target we have selected to conduct a survey on the changing trends in fashion scenario is a combination of both the genders from the age range of 15 to 35 years of age regardless of any income bracket from the educated community.This range can be justified with the projection of the following statistics. The income ranges depict that our target market is almost equally from all income groups and people do follow fashion regardless of incom e brackets in one way or the other. Our target market of research comprises of a major chunk from the age range of 21 to 25 years being 76%. While having smaller portions of age 15-20 and 26-30 with sizes of 14% and 10% respectively. The youth mainly the fashion seekers and followers are in the continuation of their education period.As, this is the age when fashion becomes a craze for them. 63% females are fashion conscious willing to participate in a fashion survey while 37% are from the male category of consumers. * Media of Approach The fashion consumer of today is constantly bombarded with different types of stimuli in different forms of advertising. Today’s fashion consumer is more sophisticated and demanding than the consumer of the past. Looking at history, fashion runways and fashion shows have been the biggest inspirations for the fashion industry.We have assessed from these facts that regardless of the rapid growth in new mediums of information search like online so urces of 13%, The traditional media is still more trustworthy for the consumer to attain the information they require for their shopping like Fashion shows & Exhibitions having 20%, Fashion Magazines 24%, TV Commercials 40% and Billboards 10% chunk respectively. Fashion magazines are an extension of the marketing departments of large fashion companies. For a designer, the fashion show is a way to broadcast ideas. It is a medium. The growing Online trend The growing trend of online queries and locating stores, if not e-purchases, have also seen a tremendous rise which is understandable considering  Ã‚  females make up 31% of Pakistan’s Facebook population of almost 7 Million and the age group from 18-34 years makes 76% of the said population. These stats quite clearly infer that  Digital has most certainly become an effective medium of  transforming  information and communicating with this industry’s target group. In addition to the remarkable customer service m ost of the fashion brands inPakistan are providing online, it is worthy to note that digital media has leveled the playing field for all brands, irrespective of their sizes. It has given all sorts of brands the leverage to promote themselves and explore social media marketing for their advantage, especially if traditional mediums like billboards, print ads, TVCs etc are out of budget. This graph represents the presence of facebook fans of various brands locally in Pakistan and worldwide as well. The appreciation of facebook and other social media networks as a tool of marketing is growing very rapidly in a very short time among our young generation.Considering these statistics, we can appraise the standing of these various brand among the consumers and their level of appreciation in the market. Keeping these stats and trends in mind, one can evidently conclude that digital and eventually mobile marketing has an immense potential for the Fashion Industry. If the growth trends continu e to move in the same direction and at a similar pace, there should certainly be no stopping social media marketing from making brands re-allocate  their budgets from traditional to online mediums. Chapter 3 Market Research * Problem StatementHow does the behavior of a fashion consumer changes with upcoming fashion trends? * Research Methods * Questionnaire We have gathered information from our target market with 30 questionnaires duly filled by the prospects from our target market at various places with different set of ideals for a broader perspective and analyzed the results. The questionnaire is attached. * Focus Group We conducted a focus group of 8 attendees from our target market and concluded healthy discussion on the concerned issue. The moderator guide of the focus group is attached at the end. Online Focus Group on FaceBook We have conducted a focus group online through the platform of facebook as we do realize that the major chunk of our target study is active on socia l media networks. * Interviews Our search also consists of the interviews from the fashion industry to gather an over view about fashion from the producers of this wave. * Mall Intercepts We have visited quite a few stores, brand outlets and malls surveying for practical encounters and recorded the views of some consumers in video and others in writing.Our surveys destinations included Suzy, Shirt & Tie Shop, Hyperstar at Fortress Stadium while some interviews were conducted on the streets there. * Boutique Survey We also encountered the people running those boutiques and assessed their perceptions briefly. Chapter 4 Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior is deeply influenced by the demographics and household structures, needs, emotions, values and personality, group influences, information processing and decision making along with purchase behavior. Consumers are becoming more demanding, which is forcing fashion retailers to provide the right product at the right time.Information and trends are moving around the globe at high speed, resulting in more options and thus the consumers shop more often. The consumers need for uniqueness forces fashion retailers to constantly renew their styles. * Culture In case of cultural preferences, we often see people with different style statements living in the same area or same people having same appearances living at areas with vast distances. This is a fact which projects the importance of presence of culture in our lives which we tend to follow in almost all walks of our life.The most followed culture is equally distributed among regional and family preferences with the health of 37% each. Most of the population tend to follow what is being pursued in their region for ages, for instance, in Pakistan, with many differences in lifestyle, we all still follow some basic similar values. On the other hand, if we take Family culture into account, it refers to the values we share with our family, the way we present ourselves based on our family background, living standards and lifestyle. 19% incorporate multiple cultures in their attire and appearance while 4% opts for Western style of dressing.Social Class Fashion reflects our society and our culture. likewise it reflects how people define themselves People tend to follow what is in and what is the wave of the present current in fashion. 44% of our participants from consumer market are inclined towards the ongoing trends, while another major chunk is attracted towards the designer cuts or brand for their choice of attire. Former categories comprise of the majority while small parts of the market follow Celebrity with 6%, 6% towards price, 6% of advertisements while 10% people go for friend’s advise and attire. * Consumer Behavior Model Involvement of senses (Touch, sight) When we judge the quality of an apparel, the foremost concern for the consumer is the quality of the product which is preferred by 50% even for the youngsters who do not really care for the long life of the products. Some follow View of the fabric and its name share the same standing of 17% while a greater appreciation of Brand name of 24%. * Personal Selection Factors * Hedonic consumption Value of a garment is being defined as an interactive partiality experience, and distinguishes a person’s experience of interacting with an object or event.Enjoyable experiences in a store reflect different types of hedonic values. Values are defined as consumer behavior that regards the emotional and fantasy aspect of consumers’ interactions with products. Comparing to its utilitarian counterpart, the hedonic shopping value is more personal and associated with playfulness and fun. For instance, it is fairly common that people shop for both utilitarian and hedonic grounds, as well as a positive mood can come from consumers following either type of shopping. A reason for consumers to go shopping can also be the possibility to socialize with their friends.An indi vidual’s set of values is very important regarding consumption activities. Many purchases are made because consumers think that purchasing products will result in reaching value-related goals. Shopping for clothes is considered recreational, satisfying and rewarding. Impulse buying is important to fulfill hedonic desires. There is an evident link between impulse buying behavior and hedonic shopping. Clothes purchased to satisfy hedonic needs seem to be chosen without planning and characterize an impulse buying event as can be witnessed like 50% of the buyers.Consumers are driven to hedonic shopping experiences by new fashion styles and brand image salience, which in turn motivates fashion-oriented impulse buying behavior. On the other hand, people who are rational in their decisions and finalize their action after going through all pros and cons. * Consumer Involvement * Motivation Clothing is referred to as specialty good since consumers often make the effort of seeking out the garment that they require. Motivational need can be both utilitarian and hedonic. The end state that the consumer has the intention to reach is the goal.How urgent the consumer wants to reduce the need depends on whether the need is hedonic or utilitarian, this is called the consumer’s drive. One indication of a need is a person’s want, which is created by a combination of cultural and personal factors. These statistics project the motivational elements which encourage a consumer to make a purchase. The most prominent motivator is an occasion or event which motivates 43% of the targeted sample. While, 20% are for Friends and 20% for family suggestions. Celebrity styles and icons attract and motivate 17% of our audience.Fashion-oriented impulse buying happens when consumers find a new fashion product and buy it due to the motivation to buy new products; products they did not plan on buying. Here we can see the level of motivation and the elements which influences a person to make a purchase. 40% are the impulse buyers who immediately opt for purchase with the product and the internal drive. The other major category observed in our survey was that of people who are motivated with advice of friends and family. This 46% require someone to support their choice.Two small classes of 7% being those who spent more tie and opt to search for further alternatives or more information about the item before making a purchase. * Motivational Conflict Approach-Approach According to our survey results, consumers often face Approch-Approch conflict when they have to choose between two dresses appealing them at the same level. Approach-Avoidance Another conflict of Approach-Avoidance also exists when a design attracts to a consumer at a designer shop but meanwhile price element restricts a particular customer. Level of Involvement Inertia: Inertia basically describes the low level of involvement towards the chosen product that either the consumer is willing to p ay an effort before purchase or not? In fashion industry, according to our survey some respondent’s level of involvement was low because they just go to any shop; strongly use their heuristics and mental short cuts to buy apparel. Cult: The second concept which also prevails in the fashion industry is that, a part of consumer’s level of involvement is also very high in terms of shopping clothes.Because they put a lot of exertion in choosing and purchasing outfit having a feel of passion and consider their apparel as a symbol of their individual personality. * Need Theory Implementation * Self Concept * Self Concept When clothes leave the fabric they are merely garments. It is not until the marketers get hold of them that they become fashion. Clothing and accessories express how we feel, how we see ourselves and how we wish to be conceived by others. When we buy clothes we buy an identity. Fashion constitutes an important societal part of the individual’s well-be ing.Through the right choice of clothing it is possible for an individual to improve his or her self-esteem and acceptance by other people. Identities and social roles appear through people’s choice of clothing and accessories. Clothes function as symbols that indicate status, gender, social group allegiance and personality. Fashion is a way of expressing oneself and it says a lot about the person. * Fantasy Clothes shopping is considered to be more attractive. It is a break from the normal routine and it is an opportunity for fantasy and self-expression.What we wear is a complete expression of who we are. The appearance is the first indicator of personality to be judged. We portray ourselves what we fantasize about our own personality following our ideals through our accessories, our choice of movies, the interior of our house and most prominently our attire. We judged from our sample that majority of our sample portrays themselves to be decent yet fashionable being 54% of t he whole sample depicting a major part of our culture. Secondly, 30% fashion consumers tend to portray themselves to be lively and energetic.Some 14% try to explicitly present themselves as an open personality and extrovert. A few demonstrate themselves to be shy and submissive. It’s not enough to be fashionable-one wishes to appear intelligent as well. * Gender Orientation â€Å"Modern marketing has relied on gender to help understand and explain consumers and their behavior. † Women see clothes as a mean for self-identity, whereas men focus more on functional benefits. Women see shopping as something recreational, it is important to emphasize the hedonic and experiential attributes of shopping.Women spend twice as long time in a shop as men and the typical window-shopper is a woman. Men and women think differently, and these gender-specific brain differences show a significant effect on how the individual absorb, process and retain information. The following Pivot Ta ble exhibits the relation of gender with the style they follow for their purchase with a graphical representation which is extracted from our Online Facebook survey. | Values| | Row Labels| Sum of Male| Sum of Female| Casual| 4| 8| Celebrity| 0| 1| Formal| 4| 3| Present day| 3| 12| Grand Total| 11| 24| | | Another Pivot Table is extracted from our survey which depicts the relation of gender with the inclination of consumer towards Price or Style conscious personality. | Values| | Row Labels| Sum of Male| Sum of Female| Price Conscious| 7| 9| Style Conscious| 4| 15| Grand Total| 11| 24| Men don’t buy fashion – they buy clothes Men are comparatively less sophisticated consumers of fashion than women. * Extended Self â€Å"Fashion is an extension of self and expression of individuality† All the possessions of a person add an extra glamour to the personality.These can be the clothes, accessories, cell phones or your jewelery which adds an extra charm to what you ide alize and portray about your personality. This extract shows the inclination of people towards various categories to embrace an additional appeal to their personality. This is clearly visible that clothes and shoes are the possessions that exhibits glamour and is the centre of attention for most of the youngsters being 37% each. While 14% go for jewelery, 6% for glasses, 6% for wrist watches and 7% opt for mobile phones as their charming accessory. Personality & Chosen Product MatchYour perception towards fashion is what you personality is regarding this particular field. This graphical representation clearly demonstrates the personality of our target youngsters in terms of fashion trends and their own self. Sober looks and Maturity is the dominant trait occupying 34%. * Product symbolization The Fashion Pyramid * Freudian Theory (diagram interpretation) [Id = Brain attack , Superego = Heart attack, Ego = A balance with heart on one and brain on the other side) (landscape) * Trait t heory Various distinct traits are associated with different fields of life projected by the consumer of that particular segment.Likewise many traits are associated with fashion industry and consumers monitoring and following the changing trends. For instance, it is suggested that people who are more communally oriented (a female trait) will enjoy shopping more because of their psychological identification with the communal nature of the task. * Product congruence & Consumer Lifestyle Loyal customers spend more each shopping trip, and are more time-conscious. Our clothes are often an expression of our spirit and character, so there is nothing wrong with finding a look that suits you and relying on it.Here the question is do consumers calibrate their wardrobe to better illustrate their present mood & personality to therefore show overall congruence and harmony? Well, a direct relation exists between the clothing you choose to wear and your overall personality in terms of congruency. A ccording to our one of the consumers view, â€Å"I have noticed that when I am feeling very energetic, and very outgoing, I will pick out clothing from my closet that resembles my mood: loud, and vibrant. Yellow t-shirts, red watch, etc. Meanwhile, other times, when I’m n a mellower and laid back mood, I will wear more toned down clothing, sometimes just a black tee-shirt and jeans. † Fashion is based on creating a need, where in reality, there is none. Fashion is a factory that manufactures desire. Pre occupation with fashion reveals a level of insecurity. It’s like they are worried about being judged. People obsessed with fashion feel that if they’ve changed their look, they’ve also evolved emotionally. They live in a state of being extremely conscious about their appearance. * Decision Making * Heuristics * Shopping Atmosphere * Post Purchase Satisfaction Product Disposal The product disposal is an important issue to be discussed as we keep on a dding accessories to our wardrobe and stuff it with articles. It is essential to know what consumers opt for after It is deducted that 75% people give their clothes to others which is a good indication of society. While 19% stuff it forever even if not in use. On the other hand. 6% completely destroy them. * Risks associated with new trends The elements of fashion not liked by the target youngsters can backfire and become a risk for the Fashion Brands. As, â€Å"The fashion industry is the ultimate fashion victim†Other Risks include: Chapter 5 Extract Chapter 6 Attachments Survey Questionnaire Fashion Trends in Pakistan I am a student of MBIT from IBIT, PU and this questionnaire is purely for research purpose and the information you provide help me gain better understanding of Changing Fashion Trends in Pakistan. The success of this research depends on honest answers so I assure that your response will be kept confidential. Tick the answer you prefer. SECTION 1: YOU C. Occupa tion? a) Student b) Job c) Business d) Other, Please Specify ___________ 1. A. Age? a) 15-20 b) 21-25 c) 26-30 d) 31-35D. Gender? a) Male b) Female B. Family Monthly Income? e) 15000-25000 f) 26000-35000 g) 36000-50000 h) Above 50000 E. How are you feeling today? c) happy c) excited d) sad d) depressed SECTION 2: YOUR FASHION 1. Fashion to you is: a) Looking cool and hipc) Comfort ability b) Looking sober and matured) A way to express my inner self 2. Which current fashion trend you love the most? _____________________________________________________________________ 3. Which fashion trend you hate the most? ______________________________________________________________________ 4. c) Present day fashion ) Celebrity Which fashion style/trend do you tend to follow when you purchase clothes? a) Formal b) Casual 5. Who is your ideal fashion personality? _____________________________ 6. What does your clothing portray about your personality a) Open Personalityb) Shy person c) Hip Hop d) D ecent e) Lively f) Bold 7. Which of your accessories adds glamour to your overall personality? a) Clothingb) Mobile phone c) Jewelry d) Shoes e) Wrist watches f) Glasses 8. What influences you the most when you buy clothes? a) Ongoing Trendsb) Designer/Brand c)Celebrity d) Pricee) Advertisementsf) Friends 9.How much are you willing to spend on one item of clothing from a new trend of fashion? a)1000-2000 b)2000-5000 c)5000-10000d)10000 & above 10. What would encourage you to try out new fashion and style? a) Celebrity’s Styleb) Friend’s Suggestion c) Family’s Suggestiond) An Occasion | 11. What do you mostly dislike about fashion? a) Changes quicklyb) Expensive c) Not suitable d) Turns into a craze 12. What is the most recently added item to your accessories? ____________________________ 13. Does a new trend influence your wardrobe? a) Yes b) Noc)Oftend) Rarely 14. Do you readily adopt new trends? ) Yes b) Noc)Oftend) Rarely 15. How do you judge a fabric? a)Touc hb) Viewc) Brand named) Fabric name 16. Are your purchases? c) Plannedb) Immediate | 17. What is your action when a dress or an accessory attracts you? d) Immediately buyc) Consult a friend or family member e) Search for alternativesd) Search for more information 18. Which kinds of shopping destination you buy most of your clothes from? a) Super markets and shopping mallsc) Fashion shows and exhibitions b) Designer boutiques & Brandsd) Bazaars 19. What are your cultural preferences in fashion? a) Family culturec)Western culture ) Regional cultured) A combination of trends from multiple cultures 20. What do you do after your purchase? i) When satisfied a) Refer others b) Feel achievement c) Repeat purchases from the same place ii) When dissatisfied a) Feel angry b)Tell others to avoid c) Never visit the same place 21. How do you dispose of your clothes a) Keep the item b) Destroy c) Give it to others to use 22. What would you mostly like to see in an advertisement? a) Pictures of the shop and locationc) Products available b) Information about the designer d) All the above 3. Which medium do you trust for your purchases? a) Magazinesd)Fashion Shows & Exhibitions b) Billboardse) TV Commercials c) Online Sources Moderator Guide I Thank you all very much for helping us and participating in our project research. What we are conducting is called a focus group. It is mainly a form of discussion among all of you on our research topic. You can agree, disagree on any point or you can just provide with a comment. You can also propose any new idea regarding the subject and you can freely express your views and opinions. This is just like a routine lounge talk.We request you to convey your point clearly and if possible one at a time to save from any confusion or misunderstanding. If any questions regarding the format of the focus group, you can ask ? Now, I’l explain the topic, we are here to discuss. That is The Changing Fashion Trends in Pakistan. Everybody today, is somehow associated with fashion either in favor or against. . Similarly, you all must be used to of decorating your wardrobe with latest fashion articles. Most of you would be used to of visiting various bazaars and malls for your clothing needs. And must be having your views and suggestions for this very industry.We are going to talk about the same. Before we start, if any one have any queries. Please do ask? Now friends , We’ll continue with our discussion Warm Up Questions:- 1. How much time do you spare for your leisure activities? 2. How much time in a month do you spent on shopping? 3. Do you consider shopping a source of entertainment? Specific Questions:- Current Scenario of Audience 4. Do you visit exhibitions for your purchases? 5. Do you consider fashion shows a source of latest updates for your fashion? 6. May I ask about your favorite places to shop? 7. What is your recently added item in your clothing? 8.Are you price conscious or style conscious? Reason of F ailure 9. What do you think is the main content of our Pakistani fashion currently being promoted? 10. What is that one factor that stops you from adopting a fashion trend? 11. In your opinion, what is the one major difference between ordinary and designer brand items? 12. When I speak of Fashion, What picture comes to your mind? 13. Now, what if the same product is being sold in a local and a designer brand, Which one you’ll prefer to buy? Why? I am really thankful to you all for this valuable effort and specially your time. Bibliography Solomon, M. R. Consumer Behavior.