Friday, January 31, 2020

Communication styles Essay Example for Free

Communication styles Essay The impact of communication in marriage cannot be overemphasized as it is the main method of solving any crisis or conflict arising. There are different communication styles that can be applied in a marriage, expressiveness, driving, and relativity or analytical are forms of communication that may be used in marriage. Expressers get excited personal, waste time with too many facts or even show emotion to their partners while those with driving communication styles become very decisive and offer strong view points. Those who are relative in the way they are communicating, like positive attention and may want their partners to be helpful. This group of persons however, shies off when real problems come in especially when it comes to handling the children. This communication style is used by young marriages where partners just about 25 years of age get married. Communications styles can also be described as passive, assertive or aggressive. Passive forms communication involves putting the tights of the other partner before yours i.e. minimizing your own self worth at the expense of the marriage. Being assertive means that one partner in the marriage stands up for his or her rights while maintaining respect for the other i. e. all the partners in the marriage are all equal. Aggressiveness is a communication style that ensures that a wife or a husband stands up for his pr her right and in the process violate the rights of the other. This style of communication is usually the worst and may lead to divorce in extreme cases. Marriage resiliency Marriage resiliency is the couple’s capacity to develop and cultivate strengths from each other for the common good of the marriage in order ton meet their challenges . Resiliency can be defined to describe the responsive capabilities, social dynamics that foster health development of the marriage. Resiliency starts from an individual capacity to a family and community level making sure that the marriage bounces back after experiencing non-normative and expected challenges. Family resilience is characterized by invariant approaches that are dimensioned to help families resist any form of disruption in the face of change and become adaptive when a crisis occurs. Immigration and marriage Marriages are usually negatively affected by immigration procedures. Different countries have different laws governing the marriage of its citizens to non-citizens. It is usually an impediment to couples’ relationships because certain laws may offer recognition to one of the partner and the other is left out. However, with the emergence of dual citizenship rights, the issue may in the near future become a thing of the past. ‘Till death do us part? ’ This figure of speech is common in all wedding ceremonies and the couple getting married solemnly swear to the congregation that they will remain together till death do them part. Most critics believe that as long as there are increased cultural differences, modernization of societies and increases in domestic violence, the metaphor no longer makes sense. Every man and woman believes that they can live happily with each other especially when it is based on the performance of the two during courtship. This is not usually the case because immediately after marriage, the two members start quarrelling over this or that. This is the major contributing factor to the family problems and other domestic issues that families experience these days. It has been said that the more society becomes complicated, the more marriages become complicated and finally the more families become complicated. It is however, recommended that a personal commitment to each other within the marriage become the kingpin of the relationship. Lessons learnt from writing on marriage It has been interesting while researching on this topic. It is one of the research works that not only serves as an academic tool but also provides a learning opportunity for a person like me. Marriage is part and parcel of life and majority of the young people would dream of having better lives in future through marriage. Most young people believe that to secure there future and their old age days, they need to have married properly and have children who will look after the in future. Going through the types of marriages, its integration to the family setting and the importance of knowing the exact roles of each partner in a marriage is particularly useful. The various rules and boundaries that must be set to ensure the sustainability and stability of a marriage gives one an overview of how it is possible to develop them in real life situations through the experiences of other people and such kind of research. Therefore, this is one of the rare opportunities in life where one gets to learn more about what directly affects him or her in life. Personally, I feel grateful for the work I have done on this subject and I feel obliged to tell others about the integration of marriage systems in our families to enable them form good families now and in the future Questions for further research Marriage as part of a family practice continues to be complex especially with the emergence of contradicting legislation and complex societies; there is need for further research on; the impacts of different types of marriages on the extended families, development of policies and laws, and the society in general . What are the solutions to these? And what could be the role of governments and learning institutions in maintaining and making sure that marriages serve the purposed they are intended to. Other issues of concern are the ability of people to adopt resilience as a way of recovering from married related violence such as divorce, is divorce the answer to breaking marriages? With advancement in technology including foster mothers, test tube babies and the like, what could be the implications of these in cultural marriages and societies? Conclusion Marriages are forming a family. Marriage roles, rules, resilience abilities, communication styles, and spouse differences are issues that can affect the formation, development and improvement. Good marriage values are important not only for family cohesion but also for societal cultural maintenance. Challenges regarding re-orientation of the marriages within a family are many and common in this modern society, the problem is the manner in which they are currently addressed. References Antonovsky, A. , Sourani, T (1988): Family sense of coherence and family adaptation.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 79-92 Kaufman, J. , Ziegler, E. (1987): Do abused children become abusive parents? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 186-192 McCubbin, H. , Patterson, J. M. (1983): The family stress process; The Double Helix ABCX model of adjustment and adaptation, Social stress and the family: Advances in family stress theory and research New York pp. 7 -38. Nichols, M. , Schwartz, R. (2000): Family communications: Concepts and methods, 5th edition, Needham Heights press Rolland, J. S. , Weine, S. (2000): Kosovar Family Professional Educational Collaborative. AFTA Newsletter, 79, 34-43 Rutter, M. (1987): psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 316-330 Stacey, J. (1990): Brave new families: Stories of domestic upheaval in late 20th century America. New York: Basic Books. Walsh, F. , McGoldrick, M (1998): Families in later life: Challenge and opportunities. The expanded life cycle Needham Heights, MA: pp. 307-327 Walsh, F. , McGoldrick, M (1991): Living beyond loss: Death in the family. New York: Norton.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Cloning :: essays research papers

Cloning humans is a threat to our society. It presents a vast number of problems that arise with each new discovery. The first is the decrease in distinct genetic make-up. Cloning also brings up many ethical points dealing with creation and psychological well being of clones. Cloning is such a new area of study that it requires a large amount of money and offers a lot of room for mistakes. The biggest problem with the use of cloning is the decline in genetic diversity. The biological definition of a clone is "an organism that has the same genetic information as another organism or organisms". This means that gene donors would obviously have the exact same DNA as their clones. If large groups of people have the same genetic information, a disease could instantaneously wipe out the entire population. Our genetic make-up is what makes us unique. It gives us a sense of individuality and distinctiveness. If many people had the same DNA, how would we preserve our diversity and sense of self? Human cloning also raises many ethical and moral issues. Different religious groups regard cloning in different ways, but most agree on one point. Cloning puts the work of God into our own hands. The creation of life then becomes a manufacturing of duplicates instead of a "creative act of God". It is also important to consider the repercussions of cloning on the cloned individual. Numerous psychological problems may arise if a person discovers that he or she was cloned. How would a child feel if they found out that they were created to be used to donate organs or replace a lost loved one? A cloned child may also feel obligated to follow the pre-determined path of their gene donor. This would bring about a lot of confusion and emotional damage for the individual. There is a great margin of error in the new technology of cloning. Because we are still developing these scientific procedures, there is a lot of room for mistakes. This means that in the process of experimenting, clones with great genetic abnormalities could be created. What would happen to these degenerate individuals? Should they live life as rejects of society or be disposed of as mistakes? Cloning is currently a very expensive process. It requires large amounts of money and biological expertise. It took 277 tries to create Dolly, the first successfully cloned sheep. New techniques are constantly being developed, but even they have a success rate of 2-3%.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Lvmh and Luxury Goods Marketing

1. Bernard Arnault has built LVMH into a luxury goods empire by making numerous acquisitions. Describe the strategy is being used here? Discuss why you agree or disagree with this type of strategy. If you disagree, what alternative tactics would you use? Actually Mr. Bernard Arnault, one of the richest men in the world who took control of LVMH in 1990, has been snapping up luxury brands during past two decades one after another. He has build LVMH into a luxury good empire by conducting a selective acquisition strategy with which I agree. Now LVMH has more than 60 brands under control and is still pursuing some others including the old famous family business; Hermes. LVMH structure is made up of Wines and Spirits, Fashion and Leather goods, Watches and Jewelry, Perfumes and Cosmetics and Selective Retailing. Although some may argue that there are issues such as lack of concentration on core business thereby exclusivity and rarity which are main characteristics of luxury brands can be faded, I firmly believe that not only has Mr. Arnault saved these special features of the business and is still focused on prestige, he has improved the profitability of each division by creating synergy between subsidiaries in terms of cost, corporate and management synergy. â€Å"Synergy, in general may be defined as two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the agent independently. Corporate synergy occurs when corporations interact congruently. A corporate synergy refers to a financial benefit that a corporation expects to realize when it merges with or acquires another corporation† (Synergy). As result of corporate synergy and this partnership, LVMH now has a bigger market share, wider range of products and less competition because the competitors are now members of the group and are all working together in a coordinated way. On top of that, they can take advantage of the existing selective retailing outlets to differentiate their products by adding value in their offering and demonstrate them as distinctive. Also, prestige, luxury and quality associated with the brand ‘LVMH’ influences every item being presented in these shops. â€Å"A cost synergy refers to the opportunity of a combined corporate entity to reduce or eliminate expenses associated with running a business. Cost synergies are realized by eliminating costs that are viewed as duplicate within the merged entity.† (Synergy) This means reducing; promotional and advertising costs, sales cost, shipping cost, travel cost and also some managerial cost such as certain executives, human resources and head quarters office cost which finally influences companies bottom-line. â€Å"Synergy in terms of management and in relation to team working refers to the combined effort of individuals as participants of the team. The condition that exists when the organization's parts interact to produce a joint effect that is greater than the sum of the parts acting alone† (Synergy) As stated in the text of this case study,† Arnault implemented a corporate restructuring that groups the company’s subsidiaries into divisions. Previously, the heads of individual subsidiaries reported directly to Arnault; now, division heads meet with him to discuss strategy. Notes Arnault, â€Å"It’s much more efficient, because it allows us to put into practice all the synergies between the different brands in a coordinated way.† Francesco Trapani, CEO of the Bulgari Gruop, the luxury brand recently acquired by LVMH, said: â€Å"The 2010 financial results show how the Company was able to brilliantly overcome the economic slump, reaping the benefits of the efficiency and cost containment strategy and therefore becoming more solid. At the same time, the intense creative and product development activity generated an even more competitive product offer, which enjoyed great success in all product categories.† (Knowel) He added: â€Å"At this positive moment of strong top-line growth, our alliance with the LVMH Group has created new synergies that will enable Bulgari to strengthen even more and pursue its long-term, worldwide growth.† (Knowel) In conclusion, I believe that Mr. Bernard Arnault has made LVMH into the word biggest luxury brand by adopting acquisition strategy and creating cost, corporate and management synergy between divisions of the group. 2. How do LVMH executives adjust prices in response to changing economic conditions, and why? In response to changing economic conditions, LVMH executives adjusted prices in sepcific ways in each market. In Asian markets, Patrick Choel, president of the perfume and cosmetics division has increased wholesale prices in order to discourage discount retailers from selling the products to consumers at low price. Instead, he has reduced the advertising budget to offset profitability in case the company faces a decline in sales. In countries where LVMH faced currency devaluation, managers raised the price to counteract the effect of currency depreciation. In Indonesia, the chairman of Vuitton, Mr. Yves Carcell canceled the plan for opening a new store. Since Japan market is sluggish and there has not been a sign of soon economic recovery, Japanese consumers are reluctant to invest in stock market. Mr. Arnault figured out the difference between Japan where most of his business is, and the rest of Asia. He noted: â€Å"Japan is in a growth slump, but it isn’t going to have the same difficulties as Korea or Indonesia†. Japanese had not many other spending option and executives decided to raise prices at Louis Vuittons Japanese store. Also Louis Vuiton manageres has worked closely with tour operators to predict the number of Japanese tourists traveling in Asia and to Hawaii whom 75% of sales depends on. At peak of tourism, they increase the price by 10 to 22 percent to maximize profit. Furthermore LVMH took advantage of crisis by renegotiating store leases in Asian cities. In some cases, the company extended lease terms longer than before and reduced the rate by as much as one-third which resulted saving for the company. The overall result has been an increase in price and the rationale behind this decision is the fact that price perception is a critical component of luxury goods’ appeal. In fact, executives know that sales volume would decline sharply due to the effect of crisis and they have lost a big number of their customers. It is not a good time for expansion and opening new stores, so they decided to stay focused on the narrow market segment of their loyal customers. Those who still had notable disposable income shaped a niche market which was still large enough to be profitable. On the other hand, LVMH helped profitability by reducing the cost and cutting expenditures on advertisements. This was the adjustment executives made as opposed to the other alternative; reducing the price and presenting products to a bigger number of consumers. 3. Explain why some customer might think the high retail prices charged for luxury goods are worth paying? As peoples income increases, they are more willing to buy luxury goods because the demand of luxury items increase as people get wealthier. According to wikipedia.com once the consumption of luxury was limited to the elite classes which meant whatever the poor cannot have and the elite can was identified as luxury. Consumers are willing to pay high prices for luxury goods because the brand is associated with quality, durability, scarcity and beauty. In fact, consumers pay for these values that they obtain by purchasing a luxury item. â€Å"Several researchers focus on exclusivity dimension and argue that luxury evokes a sense of belonging to a certain elite group. Prof. Jean-Noel Kapferer, takes an experiential approach and defines luxury as items which provide extra pleasure by flattering all senses at once† (Luxury). Using luxury goods is a lifestyle and shows the wealth of consumer. These can also be reasons behind why some pay high retail prices charged for such items. 4. How were luxury goods marketers affected by the slowdown in tourism that followed especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001? If we take a look at marketing mix, we can see what has been affected by slowdown in tourism is place, where a good or service is presented. Luxury goods are mainly presented in duty free shops at airports, in hotels and attractive places as tourist destinations. With the slowdown in tourism, as people are less willing to travel, airports hotels and attractive places are not that busy compared to the days before September 11 terrorist attack. Even those who still travel might care less about luxury because their main concern is security during the flight and at destination. I think this is how luxury goods marketers were affected by slowdown in tourism.

Monday, January 6, 2020

The Role of Socialism and Capitalism in the American Society Free Essay Example, 1250 words

The prices are the drivers of the capitalist economy. Prices coordinate the millions of activities and ensure that everyone interest is served and leaves all parties better off. The price system has three major functions. It conveys information, provides an incentive to the production process and helps utilize available resources to the maximum. A free market is one of the benefits of capitalism. It is through the market that resources are equitably distributed to various sectors of the economy. The market forces of supply and demand enable people to get the best products in the market and at the appropriate price that relates to her or his disposable income. Capitalism has grown from the exchanges of goods in ancient time to the gold and silver and to the money economy. The money economy has enabled people from distance shore to trade and thus international trade had dominated the world since its inception in the 15th century. However, international trade has benefited some countri es over others and has led to the establishment of tariff to control exploitations and protect infant industries. The American industries have a competitive advantage over countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Socialism and Capitalism in the American Society or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Capitalism has been the engine of industrialization and promotes economic growth of America s economy. The free market economy offers the best incentive for firms and individuals to innovate.