Challenges of Marketing to Children

Challenges of Marketing to Children Creating outstanding products and programs to win marketplace is not an easy job. Specialists in marketing have to develop comprehensive research plans, carry out market researches, analyze the data collected and finally come up with marketing plans that target specific consumer segments. Finding out about human psychology, their preferences, choices and appeals are not only difficult but at times disappointingly inaccurate. Yet marketers today consider themselves experts in such endeavours, and are capable of achieving the almost impossible marketing objectives.   As if these aspects of marketing are not difficult enough, in modern-day marketing field there is a niche in which the marketers have to deal with children. The most difficult task is perhaps the determination of the choices and preferences of these fickle individuals who are still developing, absorbing the environment and learning to become like their adult counterparts. The task of marketing to children is not only daunting but also critical for many businesses such as Nike, Microsoft, Johnson Johnson, Disney, Pepsi, Sega, Kellogs and Mattel to name a few. These companies go through extensive research and consultancy to get to the untapped market of child consumers. One such example is evident in Dan S. Acuff and Robert H. Reiher’s (1998) Youth Market Systems.  According to the authors the development of outstanding products and programs to win childrens marketplace is entirely different from the rest of the market segments. For this purpose they invent a marketing process called Youth Market Systems. The System ensures marketers consider all aspects of marketing to children or teens for any category of goods or services that companies want to sell. There Isa great need for a system of analysis and interpretation as the authors feel that information pertaining to cognitive, emotional and social needs of age groups could transform the programs or product features that target them. Acuff and Reihers (1998) strategy merely opens a window to the world of advertising to children. As one investigates the categories of products and services that are available to young children, one also tend to develop the consistent belief that children are a separate kind of consumer group and must be treated differently, from advertising to the designing of products. All these efforts no doubt are valid and justified in their own place and position, however a niggling thought crosses the mind when one observes the various approaches and efforts that marketers adopt to reach out to the vulnerable youth consumer segment. There are reasons for these tactics. Acuff and Reiher record approximately $1 billion annual gross revenue for Mattel Incorporated that sells Barbies. There are others such as Garfield, He-Man, Cabbage Patch Kids, Power Rangers, LEGO, GI Joes and a myriad of upcoming products invading the market with the sole purpose to tap on these young consumers who are bound by childish emotions and penchant for toys and games. Schemes and strategies are being devised to win over these young consumers for highs takes amounting to billions of pounds. What is more, advertising and marketing to children does not only involve the youngsters but their parents also. For example the Youth Market System identifies parents, grand parents and other close family members as the most influential on children’s purchasing decision. Exploring this group is critical because they are the ones who have control over the wallet and it is on them that children are dependent. The complexity in children marketing therefore lies in attracting both the youngsters and appealing to the parents. A winning formula must be developed to attract both the parents and children. The complexity of this formula makes success rate low which induces marketers to resort to all kinds of schemes and strategies to achieve their desired target, including crossing the line of ethics especially in the field of advertising of children related products (Acuff and Reiher 1998). Scholars and parents alike feel that there are no avenues that advertisers and businesses will not exploit to reach to the young consumers. Exploitations through mental, moral and physical developments of children are common. The strategies to target children involve creation of wants to satisfy the impulse rather than actual needs. For example consoles such as Mattels Hot Wheels, and Barbie’s fashion collections are not really required by children but wants created by advertisers and marketing campaigns. Long term needs satisfaction has been replaced by short term needs. They are not the only ones exploited. Their parents are also plagued with different kinds of created needs for their children such as the well being; status symbol; and their selfish need to have their child preoccupied with the multitude of products and free them from child responsibilities. These aspects portray not only the ugly but also the unethicalsides of the world of advertising. How true are these aspects and towhat extent do advertisers reach to capture their target consumers? Dothey cross the borders of ethics or not to maximise gains from avulnerable consumer market? And what, if anything, should be done tocontrol and ultimately restrict the freedom of advertising aimed atchildren are some of the areas that the following research willendeavour to enumerate. Children have become the key target for many advertisers. Childrenare vulnerable, easy to exploit consumers and they perceive things asadvertisers want them to perceive, or so many of us believe. Despitethe fact that children are nowadays smart and knowledgeable of themarketplace nevertheless for many marketers they are relatively easy totarget due to the sheer size of the childrens consumer market.Advertisers thrive by earning billions of pounds with the backing andfunding of the profit seeking organizations that hire them. Thesecompanies are not only producing goods that appeal to the children butthey are also exploiting their parents. The dual targeting approachmakes this market segment attractive as well as representative of highyield for investment. For example in many regions of the worldincluding the US, Europe and Japan, companies are investing billions sothat they can capture and tap the youth market segment but at the sametime they are also reaping billions in return. Adver tisers andmarketers are entrusted with the task to achieve sales targets bygenerating desired actions from the segment. The wide appeal hasmotivated many professionals to enter and adopt whatever means andmeasures to achieve their targets. Ethical implications surpasses but afew in the field of advertising that target children. For these reasonsthe authority, lobbyists and parents are demonstrating their concernsregarding the impact of media and advertising on children. Thefollowing literature review will first outline why and how children aretargeted, followed by a review of the kind of ethical implicationsadvertising and the media has on children. This will be followed by anexploration of the measures that are being taken to counteract theproblem, if any. Advertising to children has not been an issue until recently withthe boom of the media. More and more parents are concerned about thelegal controls that the authority levy on advertising criteria as mostare concerned about the kind of tactics advertisers are using toinfluence children for the sake of maximizing their profits. Forexample Bejot and Doittau (2004) note that pornography, cigarette andtobacco related, alcohol and other products prohibited for children arebeing promoted on television freely without restriction. Advertisementmessages for these adult related products are tailored for adultconsumption but due to the appeal of mass viewership and the higherprofits, the advertisements are aired during children televisionprimetime. As a result the advertisements expose children to contentsthat are not meant for them. Had that been the only case then the issueof advertisement would not have been so controversial. Research suggest that children between the ages of 6 and 14 years oldwatch about 25 hours of television per week in the US and they areexposed to 20,000 commercials in a   year (Moore and Lutz 2000).Children at this age are vulnerable because they are developing a senseto comprehend and evaluate messages in the environment. Stimulatedmessages on television not only have a harmful impact but they are alsodetrimental in persuading children to develop wants for products thatare not meant for them. According to Moore and Lutz (2000) Beyondadvertisements, children gain marketplace information from the productsthey encounter, advice from friends and relatives, and their ownconsumption experiences. Through consumption, children learn whatproducts are good and bad, whether advertising claims are truthful,what brands they prefer, and even products that convey social meaningsapart from their functional properties. For children the experiencesthat heighten their importance in their social cir cle and the adultworld have the most meaning. They do not have the ability to counteractor check on the viability or the authenticity of the message initiallywhen they are young as they are dependent on adults for explanatoryinformation accessible only through print media. By the time childrengrow to the teenage level the functionality of literacy diminishes tobe replaced by their desire and need to fit in their social life.Without consideration for product usefulness or content, childrendevelop wants for products beyond their pockets and reach. Similarly, children are also exposed to advertisements for fashionproducts that are actually designed for adult consumers but they areoften condensed to tailor to the younger audience with the purpose toinclude the young consumers in the marketing campaigns. For this reasonchildren develop receptivity for fashion products without the requiredinformation for decision making.   Moore and Lutz (2000) recognize theimportance of childrens advertising and its impact on young audienceby revealing that children are receptive to advertising demonstrated inexperiments of relation between ads and products. They write: Research investigating childrens receptivity to televisionadvertising has studied what children understand, under whatcircumstances they are persuaded, and how their responses evolve asthey mature (e.g. Macklin 1987; Roedder 1981). Drawing extensively oninformation processing and stage models, researchers have gainedsubstantial insight into the development of childrens cognitive skillsand their deployment during ad processing. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Their research indicates that children are at a stage where they aredeveloping cognitive abilities. Advertisers vie on this susceptibledevelopmental stage by targeting the limited processors of childrenthat have not yet acquired efficient information processing strategies,a fact that may be reflected in their inability to distinguish betweencentral and peripheral content in message learning. (Moore and Lutz2000). They further this idea by writing that at the stage of ages 8and 12 children are susceptible to information that are stimulated andthat target the vulnerability of the strategic processors.   Because atthis age group children tend to spontaneously employ efficientinformation storage and retrieval strategies. They organize andretrieve information based on available information and stimulus. Unless their knowledge of advertising is expressly activated by such acue, these children tend not to think critically or generatecounterarguments spontaneously. They may also neglect to differentiatebetween central and peripheral content when learning new information.When there is an appropriate cue in their environment, however, theyare likely to retrieve and use relevant information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Therefore children may develop recognition mechanism on how advertisingshould be viewed but that is dependent on external factors likeparental guide, government policies or other mediating channels.Evidence suggests that there is substantial amount of influence on thisage group when they are not guided in the preliminary stages inunderstanding the intent of advertisements. Research reveals thatsignificant guidelines must be levied before children rationale anddeliberate on the content of advertisements shown on television.Advertising is thus implicitly accorded substantial power to shapechildrens thinking until they acquire sufficient cognitive andattitudinal defences. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Other than the cognitive development impressions on children,advertising also influence them to take actions. In a study by Smithand Swinyard (1982) on consumer behaviour and response towards producttrials offer through advertisements suggests that because consumersknow that advertisers wish to present their brands in a favourablelight, they react to ads by partially discounting claims and formingtentatively held brand beliefs and attitudes. In contrast whenconsumers have direct usage experience, they form stronger, moreconfidently held brand beliefs and attitudes. This phenomenon has beenobserved in a number of studies with adults and may be consistent withthe case of children. The same expectations is held with regard tochildren advertising as researchers are of the opinion that with age,the capacity to form brand opinions tend to be more among olderchildren. For example children of age groups 10 and 12, and 12 and 14year olds tend to tell the truth and more likely to be scepticalt owards the institution of advertising rather than blindly acceptadvertisement claims. According to Michel Bejot and Barbara Doittau (2004) childrenadvertising are dynamic and highly appealing. The authors are of theopinion that children are the key target for advertisers because brandpreferences in this age group remain unchanged for a long time.Children remain loyal to the brands they are used to yet at the sametime they have growing pockets to afford more expensive items as theygrow older. The above aspects indicate that children though are smart andknowledgeable to sceptically evaluate and experiment with productsthrough advertisement claims they are also aware of the fact that theseadvertisers claim may not be true. At this point it is arguable tonote that some school of thoughts separate the vulnerable youngstersfrom the smart young consumers who have the cognitive ability tocritically examine the advertisement claims and disregard them if notproven true. According to Robertson and Rossiter (1974) if ads presentinformation different from a childs actual experien ce, confusion mayresult and trust in advertising may be determined. Conversely, otherssuggest that until children actually experience discrepancies betweenproducts as advertised and as consumed, they are unable to fullycomprehend advertisings persuasive intent. For this reason Moore andLutz (2000) claim that advertising use frames for product trials knownas transformational advertising in which adult consumers are drawntowards the products prior to advertising exposures by asking them toparticipate in the process of experimenting and interacting with theproduct with the view to interpret, evaluate and subsequently formtheir experience impressions. The expectancy or discrepancy frame setsare formed for comparison of later product trials which help indetermining discrepancies or consistencies of product qualities. Mooreand Lutz (2000) present the testing paradigm to show that rationalconsumers are clever in testing advertising claims of productperformances. Testing paradigm enable the m the opportunity to evaluateand form opinions. Children, on the other hand do not have the samereaction or taste for distinguishing discrepancy in the same manner. On the other hand Siegler (1996) believes that advertising and producttrials have different effects on childrens capacity to integratemultiple sources of information for consideration. Young children tendto engage in one-dimensional thinking pattern and rely on multipledimensions for a given task. Integration is imperative for childrenbecause they are dependent on this integration processing ofinformation for forming perceptual domains and consumer behaviour. Whenyounger children are presented with information it is encoded andstored in the recesses of the mind, and whenever needed retrieve it forevaluation. Information integration is basically combining newinformation presented in the media with the old information, andcomparing the two. Disparate media information result in discrepancy inexperience. This in turn results in loss of trust in advertisementmessages. Not all children however are wise enough to discriminate information.Moore and Lutz (2000) believe that age differences differentiateexpectations and credibility of advertising. They write Youngerchildren have been found to hold more positive attitudes aboutadvertising, to be more likely to believe its claims, and to be lesslikely to understand its essential purpose. Thus, among youngerchildren advertisings credibility is not likely to arise as a concern,and they are likely to perceive both advertising and a product trialexperience as believable sources of information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Clearly, this statement identifies with the fact that youngerchildren are more susceptible to advertising and they are prone to takeactions without critical evaluation. For older children advertisers maynot integrate strong expectations about a brand and instead focus onthe stronger results to generate confidence in product usage (Fazio1986). Alternatively there are groups of advertisers who vie on the physicalhabits of children. For example one of the most invidious techniques isto use junk food in advertising for children. The use of celebrities toendorse these foods without any consideration for balanced diet orfitness is common in the industry. In the UK the BBC which is fundedby licence and tax payers, received around 32 million pounds in 2001for franchising its Tweenies characters to McDonalds the FoodCommission found that the Tweenies products were high in junkelements. Despite this fact the UK government continues to allowbrands such as Cadburys to market its products and launch campaignsthat have negative effects on the physical health of children. Theseefforts are designed to generate more profits and not the publicinterest. They are aware of the fact that the lack of exercise coupledwith high calorie food result in obesity and other related diseases inchildren. The rate of obesity has doubled in the past 10 ye ars from 8.5percent to 15 percent among children under 16 years (The Lancet 2003).Yet advertisements continue to infiltrate the media and other channelswith the objective to vie on children. Children have long been recognized as the target market for manycompanies due to its economic potential. Recent estimates by Moore(2004) indicate that children and associated markets account for 24billion dollars of direct spending and it has an additional 500 billiondollars influence over family purchases. Children are considered to bepotential gold mines for campaigners and advertisers alike. Televisionchannels and the print media as well as companies are constantlyengaged in complex product placements, sales promotions, packagingdesign, public relations, and in-school marketing activities with theview to reach out to children and their parents. Given the timechildren spend in front of the television, on the Internet and mediagadgets, marketers realize that children form a huge consumer base fortoys, breakfast cereals, candy and snacks etc. For this purpose thereare more and more commercials on television to induce buying preferenceand action. TV commercials especially are being de veloped to inducechildren to purchase and participate in programs promoting cars,fashion, cell phones and other such adult related products. Accordingto Moore (2004) At the root of the childrens advertising debate isthe question of childrens unique vulnerabilities. Concerns about youngchildren range from their inability to resist specific selling effortsto a fear that without benefit of well-developed critical thinkingskills they may learn undesirable social values such as materialism†(Macklin, 1986 qt. Moore 2004). Her view is also affirmed by Acuff andReiher (1998) who indicate through their study that children aresusceptible to advertisements because of the extensive measures andstrategies adopted by the advertisers. Their study reveals thatmarketers devise winning formulas to gain the confidence of children bysending out messages that winning children are those who are associatedwith certain brands. These may be Barbie, He-Man, Teletubbies orSpider-Man. Identification and association are the keys to the winningformula. The success rate of the winning formula depends on how deep an impactthe product or brand has through the advertisements. These aredeveloped based on the knowledge of the development of the mind of thegrowing consumers. The product leverage mix is formed based onqualities that are demanded by children such as characteristics of ahero, power of a character and/or qualities of the product. The productleverage matrix is a comprehensive model formed for analyzing the needsand wants of the young consumers and a guide to allow marketers to havea look at the bigger picture. Once the matrix is determined the medium, concept, content, context,process, characters or personality, and attitude or style areestablished. Elements to be noted include: What is the psychologicalpoint of view of the target audience? What are the visual and verbalcontents that will be used for the product? How marketers will form thecontext of the advertisements for the target audience and the kind ofprocesses that will be involved to create an interface for interactionwith the potential consumers? Character association or the use ofpersonality to denote product quality is also common in the designingof the matrix etc. (Acuff and Reiher 1998). The marketers are also aware that young children are intelligentindividuals who exercise their developing cognitive abilities byassociating qualities with certain images. For example Bugs Bunny is aclever rabbit or Kellogg’s Pop Tarts are fruity flavoured etc. They areable to associate as well as distinguish between products andcharacteristics of the products. Identifying the points of differencefrom the children’s perspectives is critical but not impossible. Acuffand Reiher (1998) also note that these are assumptions that adults makeregarding the preferences of children such as teens wanting moreenergy; identifying with hero athletes; wanting great taste or newproduct names. Yet at the same time they also warn the marketers that: more often than not these assumptions are left unexamined as toveracity and strength. Its an important practice to check assumptions:check what the leverage actually is, and its relative power versus whathas been assumed. More often than not, adults make erroneousassumptions about what kids perceive to be important and powerfulbecause adults are looking at their product or program through adulteyes. It is critical to get at the actual leverage rather than theassumed leverage. With the above hypothetical Enerjuice example inmind, adults may be surprised when testing directly with kids focusgroups reveals that the new products blue colour is its most powerfulpoint of leverage and that the majority of kids tested dislike the newname. (Acuff and Reiher 1998). The basic premise in such a condition is that marketers need to ensurethey give promises and fulfil them too thereby gaining competitiveadvantage. This kind of positioning helps them to organize andcategorize products in the mind of the targeted consumers. In the endhowever, the marketers must realize that it is the bigger picture thatneeds to be satisfied that is product leverage matrix. At the centreof the matrix are the crucial elements that should not be neglectedsuch as gender, stage, age, structure, dimension, style and pastexperience. The consumers are at the end of this list and are the mostpowerful deciding factor that can make or break their products. Theyconclude that Successful products and programs are those that satisfytheir needs and wants in the short term (impulse) or in the long term.While a colourful and involving Trix cereal package with a maze on theback provides for short-term needs satisfaction, Mattels Hot Wheelscars year after year continue to provide young boys with something theyneed and want small, easily manipulability, colourful minicars thatare fun and involving to play cars with (Vroom! Vroom!) And toaccumulate and collect. (Acuff and Reiher 1998). Children advertising have attracted legal, scholars and parentalattention. Proponents of the children targeted marketing andadvertising argue that the financial backing that children programs aregetting derive from sponsors who make programs on television possible.Advertising to children are therefore motivated by profitability.Furthermore they also argue that these sponsors target a separate nichemarket of children of age group 12 and 14. Advertising provides themwith product information and does not really provide stimulus aschildren in this age group are more like adults with their specificideologies, attitudes and behaviours where preferences of products andservices are concerned. They have been exposed to persuasive messagesfor a long time and can distinguish persuasive messages from empoweringones. Thus they are product and advertising savvy. On the other hand opponents such as parents and consumer protectiongroups argue that advertising directed at children are not onlyunethical but they are also manipulative stimulants that promoteconsumerism in children from a very young age. Advertisements createwants and poor nutritional habits that induce children to pesterparents for products that are harmful for them (Berlger 1999). Theiropinions have been affirmed by Acuff and Reiher (1997) who suggest thatpreschool children at two and three years old tend to identify withfrequently seen images and therefore would be attracted towardsspokes-character in advertising and marketing. The desire to see thesecharacters and related products they see on television, packaging andpromotions induce demand for the same among children. According to DelVecchio (1998, p. 225), The objective is to select an effective pieceof advertising that will break through clutter, communicate the name ofthe brand, its key feature and benefit, and do so in a cool way thatwill elicit a childs request. Those advertisers are successful whosuccessfully use innovation, meticulous marketing, planning and massiveexposures in their key characters according to Schneider (1989). The ethical dilemma enters the scenario when one refers to the degreeand extent of the use of stimuli. Research indicates thatspokes-characters use role play and features that would relate animatedwith human characters and thereby influence childrens attitudes(Chebat et al 1992). The issues surrounding the use of advertisingcharacters to children stem from the fact that the characters arecommoditized without consideration for its impact on the children.Without regulations, advertisers tend to deviate from the conventionaluse of these characters. They treat children and adult related productsalike. That is perhaps the reason why Cross (2002) indicates that therehas been a rise in restrictions on tobacco advertising during the 1990sto curb tobacco companies from targeting children by the use ofspokes-characters in their advertising and marketing campaigns. In this context advertisements have a deep ethical impact on thecognitive and development of growing children and the authority needsto recognize this fact. According to Roedder (1981) children arevulnerable and fail to utilize cognitive plans for storing andretrieving information. The categorization of processing deficienciesstem from the childs inability to use the actual strategies and aidsfor storing information in the memory. Limited processing capabilitiesin young age group especially induce children to learn throughmemorization and are not capable of using tools for separating,segregating and processing information according to utility. Insteadthey use information incidentally. Television uses fast pace visualgraphics and audiovisual medium to influence preschoolers and aroundthat age group. The effects become consistent when children areregularly exposed to these audiovisual images so that they becomeimprinted on the minds of the young children (Alwitt et al 1980).Animation a nd other stimulus have double impact on the informationprocessors of children. As children become receptive to advertisementsor images that are regularly shown they come to recognize it in theirdaily experiences. Once the images are imprinted in the targeted group’s mind it is easyto generate brand recognition through triggering keys which may be inthe form of visual or audio effects. Spokes-characters such cartooncharacters have this essential effects on the children. Studies havefound that young children often discriminate between products on asimple heuristic of whether one particular quality (which may includebrand name or character) is present or not (Rust and Hyatt 1991 qt.Neeley and Schumann 2004). Another aspect of advertisements is that children tend to associatewith the characters and brand that they prefer. Instilling a brand inchildren’s minds is easy when spokes-characters are used to define thequalities of the products. For example in Bahns (1996) study four andfive year olds proved to be receptive to product characteristics byinferring spokes-characters. Bahn gives the example of cereal boxes.Boxes with cartoons are associated with sugary and sweet cereal meantfor kids while those that do not have cartoons are bland and notsweet, and are meant for adults. This logic for cereal preferences andchoices indicate that advertisements with their logos, characters andcartoons all have a great impact on the minds of young children in thisage group. While Bahns example seem harmless whereby advertisers are merely usingthe characteristics and qualities of products to appeal to the youngconsumers, Fischer et als (1991) example raises ethical dilemma. Intheir study the researchers asked children ages three to six toidentify logo brands with the appropriate product. They observe thatchildren tend to associate the Old Joe character with cigarettes. Thisassociation has been developed through the inference of the Cameladvertisements that uses Old Joe a cartoon character for brandpersonalization. Hence, the researchers conclude that regardless of theintentions of advertisers and marketers, the effects of advertising onchildren are inevitable. Yet there are arguments against this view by psychologists such asPiaget (1929). This group of individuals are of the view thatpreoperational children between ages two and seven do not reallyprocess information logically or abstractly. They rely on processingstrategies such as â€Å"transductive† to connect between thoughts andreasoning and therefore not susceptible to the underlying qualities.They may understand simple expressions of but have difficulty inassociating it with product differentiation. Consequently Neeley andSchumann (2004) write: While research findings show that young children can exhibit highlevels of character/product recognition, association, and affect, thechallenge arises when we assume that these early responses lead toproduct preference, intention, and choice. Recognition, association,and affect are manifestations of simpler cognitive processing abilitiesthan preference, intention, and choice, and research supports thenotion that these simple abilities would be present in children asyoung as two or three years old. More advanced cognitive abilities arerequired for the later behavioural stages of preference, intention, andchoice because these responses require a child to position one item(e.g., brand/product) relative to others, something that a child maynot be able to d Challenges of Marketing to Children Challenges of Marketing to Children Creating outstanding products and programs to win marketplace is not an easy job. Specialists in marketing have to develop comprehensive research plans, carry out market researches, analyze the data collected and finally come up with marketing plans that target specific consumer segments. Finding out about human psychology, their preferences, choices and appeals are not only difficult but at times disappointingly inaccurate. Yet marketers today consider themselves experts in such endeavours, and are capable of achieving the almost impossible marketing objectives.   As if these aspects of marketing are not difficult enough, in modern-day marketing field there is a niche in which the marketers have to deal with children. The most difficult task is perhaps the determination of the choices and preferences of these fickle individuals who are still developing, absorbing the environment and learning to become like their adult counterparts. The task of marketing to children is not only daunting but also critical for many businesses such as Nike, Microsoft, Johnson Johnson, Disney, Pepsi, Sega, Kellogs and Mattel to name a few. These companies go through extensive research and consultancy to get to the untapped market of child consumers. One such example is evident in Dan S. Acuff and Robert H. Reiher’s (1998) Youth Market Systems.  According to the authors the development of outstanding products and programs to win childrens marketplace is entirely different from the rest of the market segments. For this purpose they invent a marketing process called Youth Market Systems. The System ensures marketers consider all aspects of marketing to children or teens for any category of goods or services that companies want to sell. There Isa great need for a system of analysis and interpretation as the authors feel that information pertaining to cognitive, emotional and social needs of age groups could transform the programs or product features that target them. Acuff and Reihers (1998) strategy merely opens a window to the world of advertising to children. As one investigates the categories of products and services that are available to young children, one also tend to develop the consistent belief that children are a separate kind of consumer group and must be treated differently, from advertising to the designing of products. All these efforts no doubt are valid and justified in their own place and position, however a niggling thought crosses the mind when one observes the various approaches and efforts that marketers adopt to reach out to the vulnerable youth consumer segment. There are reasons for these tactics. Acuff and Reiher record approximately $1 billion annual gross revenue for Mattel Incorporated that sells Barbies. There are others such as Garfield, He-Man, Cabbage Patch Kids, Power Rangers, LEGO, GI Joes and a myriad of upcoming products invading the market with the sole purpose to tap on these young consumers who are bound by childish emotions and penchant for toys and games. Schemes and strategies are being devised to win over these young consumers for highs takes amounting to billions of pounds. What is more, advertising and marketing to children does not only involve the youngsters but their parents also. For example the Youth Market System identifies parents, grand parents and other close family members as the most influential on children’s purchasing decision. Exploring this group is critical because they are the ones who have control over the wallet and it is on them that children are dependent. The complexity in children marketing therefore lies in attracting both the youngsters and appealing to the parents. A winning formula must be developed to attract both the parents and children. The complexity of this formula makes success rate low which induces marketers to resort to all kinds of schemes and strategies to achieve their desired target, including crossing the line of ethics especially in the field of advertising of children related products (Acuff and Reiher 1998). Scholars and parents alike feel that there are no avenues that advertisers and businesses will not exploit to reach to the young consumers. Exploitations through mental, moral and physical developments of children are common. The strategies to target children involve creation of wants to satisfy the impulse rather than actual needs. For example consoles such as Mattels Hot Wheels, and Barbie’s fashion collections are not really required by children but wants created by advertisers and marketing campaigns. Long term needs satisfaction has been replaced by short term needs. They are not the only ones exploited. Their parents are also plagued with different kinds of created needs for their children such as the well being; status symbol; and their selfish need to have their child preoccupied with the multitude of products and free them from child responsibilities. These aspects portray not only the ugly but also the unethicalsides of the world of advertising. How true are these aspects and towhat extent do advertisers reach to capture their target consumers? Dothey cross the borders of ethics or not to maximise gains from avulnerable consumer market? And what, if anything, should be done tocontrol and ultimately restrict the freedom of advertising aimed atchildren are some of the areas that the following research willendeavour to enumerate. Children have become the key target for many advertisers. Childrenare vulnerable, easy to exploit consumers and they perceive things asadvertisers want them to perceive, or so many of us believe. Despitethe fact that children are nowadays smart and knowledgeable of themarketplace nevertheless for many marketers they are relatively easy totarget due to the sheer size of the childrens consumer market.Advertisers thrive by earning billions of pounds with the backing andfunding of the profit seeking organizations that hire them. Thesecompanies are not only producing goods that appeal to the children butthey are also exploiting their parents. The dual targeting approachmakes this market segment attractive as well as representative of highyield for investment. For example in many regions of the worldincluding the US, Europe and Japan, companies are investing billions sothat they can capture and tap the youth market segment but at the sametime they are also reaping billions in return. Adver tisers andmarketers are entrusted with the task to achieve sales targets bygenerating desired actions from the segment. The wide appeal hasmotivated many professionals to enter and adopt whatever means andmeasures to achieve their targets. Ethical implications surpasses but afew in the field of advertising that target children. For these reasonsthe authority, lobbyists and parents are demonstrating their concernsregarding the impact of media and advertising on children. Thefollowing literature review will first outline why and how children aretargeted, followed by a review of the kind of ethical implicationsadvertising and the media has on children. This will be followed by anexploration of the measures that are being taken to counteract theproblem, if any. Advertising to children has not been an issue until recently withthe boom of the media. More and more parents are concerned about thelegal controls that the authority levy on advertising criteria as mostare concerned about the kind of tactics advertisers are using toinfluence children for the sake of maximizing their profits. Forexample Bejot and Doittau (2004) note that pornography, cigarette andtobacco related, alcohol and other products prohibited for children arebeing promoted on television freely without restriction. Advertisementmessages for these adult related products are tailored for adultconsumption but due to the appeal of mass viewership and the higherprofits, the advertisements are aired during children televisionprimetime. As a result the advertisements expose children to contentsthat are not meant for them. Had that been the only case then the issueof advertisement would not have been so controversial. Research suggest that children between the ages of 6 and 14 years oldwatch about 25 hours of television per week in the US and they areexposed to 20,000 commercials in a   year (Moore and Lutz 2000).Children at this age are vulnerable because they are developing a senseto comprehend and evaluate messages in the environment. Stimulatedmessages on television not only have a harmful impact but they are alsodetrimental in persuading children to develop wants for products thatare not meant for them. According to Moore and Lutz (2000) Beyondadvertisements, children gain marketplace information from the productsthey encounter, advice from friends and relatives, and their ownconsumption experiences. Through consumption, children learn whatproducts are good and bad, whether advertising claims are truthful,what brands they prefer, and even products that convey social meaningsapart from their functional properties. For children the experiencesthat heighten their importance in their social cir cle and the adultworld have the most meaning. They do not have the ability to counteractor check on the viability or the authenticity of the message initiallywhen they are young as they are dependent on adults for explanatoryinformation accessible only through print media. By the time childrengrow to the teenage level the functionality of literacy diminishes tobe replaced by their desire and need to fit in their social life.Without consideration for product usefulness or content, childrendevelop wants for products beyond their pockets and reach. Similarly, children are also exposed to advertisements for fashionproducts that are actually designed for adult consumers but they areoften condensed to tailor to the younger audience with the purpose toinclude the young consumers in the marketing campaigns. For this reasonchildren develop receptivity for fashion products without the requiredinformation for decision making.   Moore and Lutz (2000) recognize theimportance of childrens advertising and its impact on young audienceby revealing that children are receptive to advertising demonstrated inexperiments of relation between ads and products. They write: Research investigating childrens receptivity to televisionadvertising has studied what children understand, under whatcircumstances they are persuaded, and how their responses evolve asthey mature (e.g. Macklin 1987; Roedder 1981). Drawing extensively oninformation processing and stage models, researchers have gainedsubstantial insight into the development of childrens cognitive skillsand their deployment during ad processing. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Their research indicates that children are at a stage where they aredeveloping cognitive abilities. Advertisers vie on this susceptibledevelopmental stage by targeting the limited processors of childrenthat have not yet acquired efficient information processing strategies,a fact that may be reflected in their inability to distinguish betweencentral and peripheral content in message learning. (Moore and Lutz2000). They further this idea by writing that at the stage of ages 8and 12 children are susceptible to information that are stimulated andthat target the vulnerability of the strategic processors.   Because atthis age group children tend to spontaneously employ efficientinformation storage and retrieval strategies. They organize andretrieve information based on available information and stimulus. Unless their knowledge of advertising is expressly activated by such acue, these children tend not to think critically or generatecounterarguments spontaneously. They may also neglect to differentiatebetween central and peripheral content when learning new information.When there is an appropriate cue in their environment, however, theyare likely to retrieve and use relevant information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Therefore children may develop recognition mechanism on how advertisingshould be viewed but that is dependent on external factors likeparental guide, government policies or other mediating channels.Evidence suggests that there is substantial amount of influence on thisage group when they are not guided in the preliminary stages inunderstanding the intent of advertisements. Research reveals thatsignificant guidelines must be levied before children rationale anddeliberate on the content of advertisements shown on television.Advertising is thus implicitly accorded substantial power to shapechildrens thinking until they acquire sufficient cognitive andattitudinal defences. (Moore and Lutz 2000). Other than the cognitive development impressions on children,advertising also influence them to take actions. In a study by Smithand Swinyard (1982) on consumer behaviour and response towards producttrials offer through advertisements suggests that because consumersknow that advertisers wish to present their brands in a favourablelight, they react to ads by partially discounting claims and formingtentatively held brand beliefs and attitudes. In contrast whenconsumers have direct usage experience, they form stronger, moreconfidently held brand beliefs and attitudes. This phenomenon has beenobserved in a number of studies with adults and may be consistent withthe case of children. The same expectations is held with regard tochildren advertising as researchers are of the opinion that with age,the capacity to form brand opinions tend to be more among olderchildren. For example children of age groups 10 and 12, and 12 and 14year olds tend to tell the truth and more likely to be scepticalt owards the institution of advertising rather than blindly acceptadvertisement claims. According to Michel Bejot and Barbara Doittau (2004) childrenadvertising are dynamic and highly appealing. The authors are of theopinion that children are the key target for advertisers because brandpreferences in this age group remain unchanged for a long time.Children remain loyal to the brands they are used to yet at the sametime they have growing pockets to afford more expensive items as theygrow older. The above aspects indicate that children though are smart andknowledgeable to sceptically evaluate and experiment with productsthrough advertisement claims they are also aware of the fact that theseadvertisers claim may not be true. At this point it is arguable tonote that some school of thoughts separate the vulnerable youngstersfrom the smart young consumers who have the cognitive ability tocritically examine the advertisement claims and disregard them if notproven true. According to Robertson and Rossiter (1974) if ads presentinformation different from a childs actual experien ce, confusion mayresult and trust in advertising may be determined. Conversely, otherssuggest that until children actually experience discrepancies betweenproducts as advertised and as consumed, they are unable to fullycomprehend advertisings persuasive intent. For this reason Moore andLutz (2000) claim that advertising use frames for product trials knownas transformational advertising in which adult consumers are drawntowards the products prior to advertising exposures by asking them toparticipate in the process of experimenting and interacting with theproduct with the view to interpret, evaluate and subsequently formtheir experience impressions. The expectancy or discrepancy frame setsare formed for comparison of later product trials which help indetermining discrepancies or consistencies of product qualities. Mooreand Lutz (2000) present the testing paradigm to show that rationalconsumers are clever in testing advertising claims of productperformances. Testing paradigm enable the m the opportunity to evaluateand form opinions. Children, on the other hand do not have the samereaction or taste for distinguishing discrepancy in the same manner. On the other hand Siegler (1996) believes that advertising and producttrials have different effects on childrens capacity to integratemultiple sources of information for consideration. Young children tendto engage in one-dimensional thinking pattern and rely on multipledimensions for a given task. Integration is imperative for childrenbecause they are dependent on this integration processing ofinformation for forming perceptual domains and consumer behaviour. Whenyounger children are presented with information it is encoded andstored in the recesses of the mind, and whenever needed retrieve it forevaluation. Information integration is basically combining newinformation presented in the media with the old information, andcomparing the two. Disparate media information result in discrepancy inexperience. This in turn results in loss of trust in advertisementmessages. Not all children however are wise enough to discriminate information.Moore and Lutz (2000) believe that age differences differentiateexpectations and credibility of advertising. They write Youngerchildren have been found to hold more positive attitudes aboutadvertising, to be more likely to believe its claims, and to be lesslikely to understand its essential purpose. Thus, among youngerchildren advertisings credibility is not likely to arise as a concern,and they are likely to perceive both advertising and a product trialexperience as believable sources of information. (Moore and Lutz2000). Clearly, this statement identifies with the fact that youngerchildren are more susceptible to advertising and they are prone to takeactions without critical evaluation. For older children advertisers maynot integrate strong expectations about a brand and instead focus onthe stronger results to generate confidence in product usage (Fazio1986). Alternatively there are groups of advertisers who vie on the physicalhabits of children. For example one of the most invidious techniques isto use junk food in advertising for children. The use of celebrities toendorse these foods without any consideration for balanced diet orfitness is common in the industry. In the UK the BBC which is fundedby licence and tax payers, received around 32 million pounds in 2001for franchising its Tweenies characters to McDonalds the FoodCommission found that the Tweenies products were high in junkelements. Despite this fact the UK government continues to allowbrands such as Cadburys to market its products and launch campaignsthat have negative effects on the physical health of children. Theseefforts are designed to generate more profits and not the publicinterest. They are aware of the fact that the lack of exercise coupledwith high calorie food result in obesity and other related diseases inchildren. The rate of obesity has doubled in the past 10 ye ars from 8.5percent to 15 percent among children under 16 years (The Lancet 2003).Yet advertisements continue to infiltrate the media and other channelswith the objective to vie on children. Children have long been recognized as the target market for manycompanies due to its economic potential. Recent estimates by Moore(2004) indicate that children and associated markets account for 24billion dollars of direct spending and it has an additional 500 billiondollars influence over family purchases. Children are considered to bepotential gold mines for campaigners and advertisers alike. Televisionchannels and the print media as well as companies are constantlyengaged in complex product placements, sales promotions, packagingdesign, public relations, and in-school marketing activities with theview to reach out to children and their parents. Given the timechildren spend in front of the television, on the Internet and mediagadgets, marketers realize that children form a huge consumer base fortoys, breakfast cereals, candy and snacks etc. For this purpose thereare more and more commercials on television to induce buying preferenceand action. TV commercials especially are being de veloped to inducechildren to purchase and participate in programs promoting cars,fashion, cell phones and other such adult related products. Accordingto Moore (2004) At the root of the childrens advertising debate isthe question of childrens unique vulnerabilities. Concerns about youngchildren range from their inability to resist specific selling effortsto a fear that without benefit of well-developed critical thinkingskills they may learn undesirable social values such as materialism†(Macklin, 1986 qt. Moore 2004). Her view is also affirmed by Acuff andReiher (1998) who indicate through their study that children aresusceptible to advertisements because of the extensive measures andstrategies adopted by the advertisers. Their study reveals thatmarketers devise winning formulas to gain the confidence of children bysending out messages that winning children are those who are associatedwith certain brands. These may be Barbie, He-Man, Teletubbies orSpider-Man. Identification and association are the keys to the winningformula. The success rate of the winning formula depends on how deep an impactthe product or brand has through the advertisements. These aredeveloped based on the knowledge of the development of the mind of thegrowing consumers. The product leverage mix is formed based onqualities that are demanded by children such as characteristics of ahero, power of a character and/or qualities of the product. The productleverage matrix is a comprehensive model formed for analyzing the needsand wants of the young consumers and a guide to allow marketers to havea look at the bigger picture. Once the matrix is determined the medium, concept, content, context,process, characters or personality, and attitude or style areestablished. Elements to be noted include: What is the psychologicalpoint of view of the target audience? What are the visual and verbalcontents that will be used for the product? How marketers will form thecontext of the advertisements for the target audience and the kind ofprocesses that will be involved to create an interface for interactionwith the potential consumers? Character association or the use ofpersonality to denote product quality is also common in the designingof the matrix etc. (Acuff and Reiher 1998). The marketers are also aware that young children are intelligentindividuals who exercise their developing cognitive abilities byassociating qualities with certain images. For example Bugs Bunny is aclever rabbit or Kellogg’s Pop Tarts are fruity flavoured etc. They areable to associate as well as distinguish between products andcharacteristics of the products. Identifying the points of differencefrom the children’s perspectives is critical but not impossible. Acuffand Reiher (1998) also note that these are assumptions that adults makeregarding the preferences of children such as teens wanting moreenergy; identifying with hero athletes; wanting great taste or newproduct names. Yet at the same time they also warn the marketers that: more often than not these assumptions are left unexamined as toveracity and strength. Its an important practice to check assumptions:check what the leverage actually is, and its relative power versus whathas been assumed. More often than not, adults make erroneousassumptions about what kids perceive to be important and powerfulbecause adults are looking at their product or program through adulteyes. It is critical to get at the actual leverage rather than theassumed leverage. With the above hypothetical Enerjuice example inmind, adults may be surprised when testing directly with kids focusgroups reveals that the new products blue colour is its most powerfulpoint of leverage and that the majority of kids tested dislike the newname. (Acuff and Reiher 1998). The basic premise in such a condition is that marketers need to ensurethey give promises and fulfil them too thereby gaining competitiveadvantage. This kind of positioning helps them to organize andcategorize products in the mind of the targeted consumers. In the endhowever, the marketers must realize that it is the bigger picture thatneeds to be satisfied that is product leverage matrix. At the centreof the matrix are the crucial elements that should not be neglectedsuch as gender, stage, age, structure, dimension, style and pastexperience. The consumers are at the end of this list and are the mostpowerful deciding factor that can make or break their products. Theyconclude that Successful products and programs are those that satisfytheir needs and wants in the short term (impulse) or in the long term.While a colourful and involving Trix cereal package with a maze on theback provides for short-term needs satisfaction, Mattels Hot Wheelscars year after year continue to provide young boys with something theyneed and want small, easily manipulability, colourful minicars thatare fun and involving to play cars with (Vroom! Vroom!) And toaccumulate and collect. (Acuff and Reiher 1998). Children advertising have attracted legal, scholars and parentalattention. Proponents of the children targeted marketing andadvertising argue that the financial backing that children programs aregetting derive from sponsors who make programs on television possible.Advertising to children are therefore motivated by profitability.Furthermore they also argue that these sponsors target a separate nichemarket of children of age group 12 and 14. Advertising provides themwith product information and does not really provide stimulus aschildren in this age group are more like adults with their specificideologies, attitudes and behaviours where preferences of products andservices are concerned. They have been exposed to persuasive messagesfor a long time and can distinguish persuasive messages from empoweringones. Thus they are product and advertising savvy. On the other hand opponents such as parents and consumer protectiongroups argue that advertising directed at children are not onlyunethical but they are also manipulative stimulants that promoteconsumerism in children from a very young age. Advertisements createwants and poor nutritional habits that induce children to pesterparents for products that are harmful for them (Berlger 1999). Theiropinions have been affirmed by Acuff and Reiher (1997) who suggest thatpreschool children at two and three years old tend to identify withfrequently seen images and therefore would be attracted towardsspokes-character in advertising and marketing. The desire to see thesecharacters and related products they see on television, packaging andpromotions induce demand for the same among children. According to DelVecchio (1998, p. 225), The objective is to select an effective pieceof advertising that will break through clutter, communicate the name ofthe brand, its key feature and benefit, and do so in a cool way thatwill elicit a childs request. Those advertisers are successful whosuccessfully use innovation, meticulous marketing, planning and massiveexposures in their key characters according to Schneider (1989). The ethical dilemma enters the scenario when one refers to the degreeand extent of the use of stimuli. Research indicates thatspokes-characters use role play and features that would relate animatedwith human characters and thereby influence childrens attitudes(Chebat et al 1992). The issues surrounding the use of advertisingcharacters to children stem from the fact that the characters arecommoditized without consideration for its impact on the children.Without regulations, advertisers tend to deviate from the conventionaluse of these characters. They treat children and adult related productsalike. That is perhaps the reason why Cross (2002) indicates that therehas been a rise in restrictions on tobacco advertising during the 1990sto curb tobacco companies from targeting children by the use ofspokes-characters in their advertising and marketing campaigns. In this context advertisements have a deep ethical impact on thecognitive and development of growing children and the authority needsto recognize this fact. According to Roedder (1981) children arevulnerable and fail to utilize cognitive plans for storing andretrieving information. The categorization of processing deficienciesstem from the childs inability to use the actual strategies and aidsfor storing information in the memory. Limited processing capabilitiesin young age group especially induce children to learn throughmemorization and are not capable of using tools for separating,segregating and processing information according to utility. Insteadthey use information incidentally. Television uses fast pace visualgraphics and audiovisual medium to influence preschoolers and aroundthat age group. The effects become consistent when children areregularly exposed to these audiovisual images so that they becomeimprinted on the minds of the young children (Alwitt et al 1980).Animation a nd other stimulus have double impact on the informationprocessors of children. As children become receptive to advertisementsor images that are regularly shown they come to recognize it in theirdaily experiences. Once the images are imprinted in the targeted group’s mind it is easyto generate brand recognition through triggering keys which may be inthe form of visual or audio effects. Spokes-characters such cartooncharacters have this essential effects on the children. Studies havefound that young children often discriminate between products on asimple heuristic of whether one particular quality (which may includebrand name or character) is present or not (Rust and Hyatt 1991 qt.Neeley and Schumann 2004). Another aspect of advertisements is that children tend to associatewith the characters and brand that they prefer. Instilling a brand inchildren’s minds is easy when spokes-characters are used to define thequalities of the products. For example in Bahns (1996) study four andfive year olds proved to be receptive to product characteristics byinferring spokes-characters. Bahn gives the example of cereal boxes.Boxes with cartoons are associated with sugary and sweet cereal meantfor kids while those that do not have cartoons are bland and notsweet, and are meant for adults. This logic for cereal preferences andchoices indicate that advertisements with their logos, characters andcartoons all have a great impact on the minds of young children in thisage group. While Bahns example seem harmless whereby advertisers are merely usingthe characteristics and qualities of products to appeal to the youngconsumers, Fischer et als (1991) example raises ethical dilemma. Intheir study the researchers asked children ages three to six toidentify logo brands with the appropriate product. They observe thatchildren tend to associate the Old Joe character with cigarettes. Thisassociation has been developed through the inference of the Cameladvertisements that uses Old Joe a cartoon character for brandpersonalization. Hence, the researchers conclude that regardless of theintentions of advertisers and marketers, the effects of advertising onchildren are inevitable. Yet there are arguments against this view by psychologists such asPiaget (1929). This group of individuals are of the view thatpreoperational children between ages two and seven do not reallyprocess information logically or abstractly. They rely on processingstrategies such as â€Å"transductive† to connect between thoughts andreasoning and therefore not susceptible to the underlying qualities.They may understand simple expressions of but have difficulty inassociating it with product differentiation. Consequently Neeley andSchumann (2004) write: While research findings show that young children can exhibit highlevels of character/product recognition, association, and affect, thechallenge arises when we assume that these early responses lead toproduct preference, intention, and choice. Recognition, association,and affect are manifestations of simpler cognitive processing abilitiesthan preference, intention, and choice, and research supports thenotion that these simple abilities would be present in children asyoung as two or three years old. More advanced cognitive abilities arerequired for the later behavioural stages of preference, intention, andchoice because these responses require a child to position one item(e.g., brand/product) relative to others, something that a child maynot be able to d

Shaping the 21st Century Government Revolution

Bill Clinton says that the government must shape a 21st century revolution. He carried on in his last state of the union address making all kinds of proposals ranging from healthcare, fighting crime and education to name a few. He says they must focus on the middle class, proposing a 350 billion dollar tax cut. But exactly how does he propose this shaping take place, and how will it effect our economy? I would like to focus on what he proposed for education. He says the government spends $15 billion a year in our schools. He proposes schools that show progress get rewarded for it. The way to do that is to bring in the best trained teachers, and by having more after school programs to help kids in problem areas. Also he says they need to make schools more up to date, by connecting all classrooms to the Internet. In 1994 only 3% of the classrooms had access now 90% of schools have at least one internet connection. Clinton wants to make the American dream affordable for everyone. By making pell grants larger, having more affordable student loans, hope scholarships, and education IRA's. It would make it more possible for people to go to college and get the education needed to get a good job and further themselves. Clinton says high school graduates that go on to college is up 10% from 1993. He proposed a $30 billion college opportunity tax cut. which means a tax deduction for up to $10,000 in college tuition costs. That would mean more people would be able to afford to go on to collegeNow all these things sound great right? But will it all be possible, and how will all these things affect our economy as we know it? Will it have a huge impact, and if so will it be good or bad? I do not think following though on these proposals will have a bad effect on the economy. If anything I think it will just strengthen the economy. If more people got a better education and were able to afford to go to college to make themselves even better. They would be more likely to find a better job or start a business of their own. If all those things took place then communities would grow stronger and cities would have more businesses which would make more and more jobs. And that would help to bring the poverty level down. There would be less people on welfare and it would probably cut the crime rate also. Now another issue that clinton brought up was health care. He had all kinds of ideas on how to spend money on healthcare but is it really worth it? In 1997 the children's health insurance program was passed. So far there are approximately 2 million children enrolled the goal there is 5 million. Also there are over 40 million Americans that don't have any insurance at all. A large portion of those are people between the ages of 55 and 65. Clinton says Medicare needs to be strengthened and modernized. In his budget he dedicates $400 billion to Medicare that will keep it solvent past 2025. Is all this government spending necessary? I don't think it is. They should make it a requirement for companies to have medical insurance for their employees. Then that would save them a lot of money that can go on other things. One more thing I would like to touch on is a proposal Clinton made on childcare. He says parents spend a quarter of their earnings on childcare. He says that the childcare tax credit should be up to $2,400 for people that make under $30,000 a year. He says that last year alone the government provided childcare for 2 million children. Now I am glad he says all these things about childcare but the simple fact is this, there are so many people that can't work because they can't afford childcare. And the only way they can get help to pay for it is if they are on welfare. Now to me that doesn't sound like the government is trying to help the average American move up or better themselves in that aspect that they try to help the people that really need it. Now taking that and putting it all together, it would make our country all together stronger if the government put money where it really needs to go instead of putting it in their own pockets. Which in all reality in the stretch of things we all know that's where it will end up.

Twelve Angry Men Debrief Questions

Twelve Angry Men Debrief Questions 1. What type of decision was the group instructed to reach (e. g. majority, consensus, authoritarian, etc. ) * When the 12 person jury meets in the room to vote on a guilty or non-guilty verdict, the method used to vote was 1st based on a majority decision-making process where those would raise their hands for guilty and a non-guilty verdict. Once the results were in and 11 voted guilty and 1 voting not guilty. Based on the movie, 11 members of the jury voted guilty while 1 juror voted non-guilty. The 1 non-guilty, disrupted the dynamics of everyone else’s vote; which leads to a major conflict.They now needed to illustrate the pros and cons of both guilty and non-guilty parties. 2. How did personality and interaction styles influence the group's dynamics, conflict management and decision-making process? * With one voting not guilty, the group wanted to discuss why he voted â€Å"not guilty†. The dynamics in a few members in the group b ecame irritable due to his vote; which prolonged the voting process. With the rise of conflict, the jury needed to come up with a decision. In order to come up with their decision, they were to influence and cross referenced their facts.They discussed why they thought the man was guilty and not guilty. Based on the conflict cycle, the jury has reached the first stage of conflict, escalation. 3. How did bias/prejudices influence the group's dynamics, conflict management and decision-making process? * Under a majority influence, the decision making process demonstrated group thinking. Bias and prejudice opinions influenced the group’s dynamics through stereotyping the opponent based upon their prejudice references. Another tactic of influence was isolating the voter to think that his decision was wrong, making him believe that he was disloyal to the jury.Despite the pressure of being ridiculed from the majority, Fonda (non-guilty voter) illustrated a different kind of presentat ion with his interpretation of the facts; which diverted the majorities’ way of thinking. 4. What, if anything, did the foremen do well that helped the group's conflict management and decision-making process? * The foreman in order to diffuse conflict from escalating is the mediator. His job is to mediate conflict by calming everyone down through their presentations. The foreman suggests that the group should, one by one, explain why they think the boy is guilty. 5.What, if anything, could the foremen have done differently to help the group's conflict management and decision-making process? * The foreman should’ve been more involved when conflict rose between all the men. Thirty minutes into the movie, an insensitive comment was made by one of the jurors. Another juror found his comment unnecessary and believed that it shouldn’t be joked about. As he looked at the foreman and told him this, the foreman simply said with an (I don’t care attitude), â€Å"n ow what do you want me to do about that? † It seems to me that while arguments got out of hand, the foreman didn’t care to mediate the situation.I believe he needed to be a little more proactive. 6. Who was most influential on the group's decision-making process? What did he do that was so influential on the group? And what interaction style did he appear to be using? * The most influential individuals in the group were the juror who was very biased against the 18 year old boy, who’s trailed for murder. That juror discussed his thoughts in regards to a situation where his boy struck him in the jaw. He stated that he pushed his boy over the edge; which caused him to strike. With his experience, his beliefs influenced the jury to believe that: 1.The kid was from the slums and that all people from the slums are bad. 2. His situation with his son punching him in the jaw due to the rage of his father. Another influence was the juror who owned a garage. He segregated a nd divided the world by stereotyping â€Å"them† and â€Å"us†. â€Å"Us†, being the people who were rich and/or middle-class, and â€Å"them† being poor people who lived in slums. He believed that the young man was guilty due to the fact the he was born and raised in the slums; which influenced the other members of the jury to think the same way too.Lastly, is the juror who was a refugee from Europe who was faced with many hardships and the reality of injustice. Because of his background, he wanted to see that there is justice for the boy during his trial, hence he voted not guilty. Based on his beliefs, on the facts of this boys pass, the juror is unbiased and wants to do the right thing; which is not sending the boy to the electric chair. This juror’s reflection and his willingness to strive for justice is what influence members of the juror. 7. What constructive responses to conflict (refer to class handout on constructive and destructive respo nses to conflict) were displayed?Explain. * Some constructive responses to conflict were of passive-constructive responses and active-destructive responses to conflict. In certain situations, the juror who voted not guilty wanted to deescalate the issue by discussing all of the facts. Although, all 11 jurors wanted to vote guilty for the boy, this juror wasn’t too at ease with sending a boy to the electric chair without everyone discussing why. During everyone’s evaluation, they illustrative reflective thinking during discussion. 8. What destructive responses to conflict (refer to class handout on constructive and destructive responses to conflict) were displayed?Explain. * Majority of the juries responded with active-destructive responses. They wanted the boy dead. With that, the issue escalated every time the juror who found the boy not guilty pleaded his reasoning. Majority of the jury displayed tension, anger, irritability, and hostility. They retaliated by influen cing the decision to send the boy to the electric chair. 9. What behaviors seemed to most escalate conflict among the group? * I’ve noticed several behaviors that escalated conflict within the group, the first behavior was that of people getting upset and walking away while the speaker was talking.The second behavior were of those who would rudely interrupt the speaker, the third behavior are from those who were playing tic-tac-toe during the speakers presentation, and lastly those who made unnecessary discriminating comments. One behavior that extremely escalated the issue was one of the jurors charged another juror for calling him a sadist. 10. What behaviors seemed to most de-escalate conflict among the group? * Some behaviors that deescalated conflict were when one of the jurors stood up for the old man during his presentation on why one of the witnesses â€Å"wanted attention. Another behavior in deescalating conflict was when the European juror discussed the meaning of democracy. For that reason, he seeks justice in the boy’s trial. He is also very impressed with the idea of democracy: â€Å"This is a remarkable thing†¦that we are notified by mail to come down to this place and decide on the guilt or innocence of†¦a man we have not known before (back). † Because of these beliefs that this foreign-born juror has, he is actually unbiased and will try hard to do the right thing. This is also reflected in his interaction with other jurors and his willingness to strive for justice for the accused. 1. What did the group do to transition forward each time it appeared headed for a stalemate? * For each time the group wanted to move forward, they all re-voted. Re-voting on the verdict increase the non-guilty vote. It was the final moment the last juror who believe the boy was guilty came to the conclusion that the boy was not guilty after seeing his son’s photo. The last juror, at that point had no reason to justify his beli ef with all the facts evaluated. This ended the case with a non-guilty verdict, the boy was set free.

Free Essays on Viola Pallens

Viola pallens â€Å"Northern White Violet† This beautiful flower is a member of the Plantae Kingdom. Its Subkingdom is Tracheobionta. Division: Magnoliophyta, Class: Magnoliopsida, Subclass: Dilleniidae, Order: Violales, Family: Violaceae, Genus: Viola, and species: pallens. Viola pallens, the Northern White Violet, is a North American native perennial herb. It is an autotroph with five white petals, the lower ones veined in a deep shade of purple. The fragrant petals are under one inch long are not radially symmetrical, therefore the flower is an irregular shape. The leaves are bluntly heart-shaped, alternate, basal, simple, and pinnate. The leaves and flowers are on separate stalks, and there is a wide indentation at the junction of the leaf blade and the leaf petiole. The plant is a dicotyledon with adventitious rhizomes that run across the ground forming a network of flowers. The seeds are explosively ejected from the (fruit) capsule and then further distributed by ants. Viola pallens also plays host to caterpillars who like to eat the leaves. The leaves and flowers of the Northern White Violet are edible for humans as well. In fact, they are delicious and healthy. They contain a significant amount of Vitamin C and A. The flowers (and leaves) can be made into jelly, put in salads, boiled (for cooked greens), or dried for use as tea, among other applications. Early European settlers used violets for medicinal purposes. The settlers made poultices out of the seeds and leaves and applied them to treat swelling and inflammation of the skin. The violets were also used as children’s laxatives. There is no reason why this therapy cannot still be applied today for the modern hiker or naturalist. The Viola pallens blooms in March, April, and May. It can be found throughout most of North America except for the south central and southwestern United States. Its habitat is in moist woods, thickets, wetland, ma... Free Essays on Viola Pallens Free Essays on Viola Pallens Viola pallens â€Å"Northern White Violet† This beautiful flower is a member of the Plantae Kingdom. Its Subkingdom is Tracheobionta. Division: Magnoliophyta, Class: Magnoliopsida, Subclass: Dilleniidae, Order: Violales, Family: Violaceae, Genus: Viola, and species: pallens. Viola pallens, the Northern White Violet, is a North American native perennial herb. It is an autotroph with five white petals, the lower ones veined in a deep shade of purple. The fragrant petals are under one inch long are not radially symmetrical, therefore the flower is an irregular shape. The leaves are bluntly heart-shaped, alternate, basal, simple, and pinnate. The leaves and flowers are on separate stalks, and there is a wide indentation at the junction of the leaf blade and the leaf petiole. The plant is a dicotyledon with adventitious rhizomes that run across the ground forming a network of flowers. The seeds are explosively ejected from the (fruit) capsule and then further distributed by ants. Viola pallens also plays host to caterpillars who like to eat the leaves. The leaves and flowers of the Northern White Violet are edible for humans as well. In fact, they are delicious and healthy. They contain a significant amount of Vitamin C and A. The flowers (and leaves) can be made into jelly, put in salads, boiled (for cooked greens), or dried for use as tea, among other applications. Early European settlers used violets for medicinal purposes. The settlers made poultices out of the seeds and leaves and applied them to treat swelling and inflammation of the skin. The violets were also used as children’s laxatives. There is no reason why this therapy cannot still be applied today for the modern hiker or naturalist. The Viola pallens blooms in March, April, and May. It can be found throughout most of North America except for the south central and southwestern United States. Its habitat is in moist woods, thickets, wetland, ma...

Erik Erikson In Search for Your Own Self. Before the Identity Crisis Hits

Erik Erikson In Search for Your Own Self. Before the Identity Crisis Hits The idea of searching for one’s own identity is far from being new; as a matter of fact, people noticed quite long ago that at certain age, one starts to pick all sorts of various attitudes, trying to figure out which one suits him-/her better and helps survive in the given environment the most.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Erik Erikson: In Search for Your Own Self. Before the Identity Crisis Hits specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, it is really hard to imagine what the entire humankind would be doing without Erik Erikson’s theory about the identity crisis and how it affects people’s behavior. Learning more about the biography and the theoretical findings of the psychologist, one can see how incredibly helpful Erikson’s pieces of advice were, are and will be for the majority of the humankind. Erikson was one of those people whose life track one could predict since the day they wer e born. Even being a little kid, he was extremely interested in the way people interact and the way things influence them as they grow up (Erikson). However, his passion did not boil down to guesswork; even being a boy, he experienced enough identity-related issues to have certain idea of the results at the very beginning of his future research. As the psychologist recalled, â€Å"having been born a Dane and having had to stand the scorn of German children against a foreign-born child† (Friedman 40). Weirdly enough, Erikson did not consider his talents as something out of the ordinary for the first time and, when choosing the track for his studies, picked arts.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Just to think what could have happened to the identities of millions of people if Eriksson became an accomplished artist he wanted to†¦ However, the Providence made him bum p into Anna Freud one day, which predetermined his further track as the world’s renowned psychologist. As Friedman explains, talking to Anna Freud took Erikson to the place long forgotten – his own childhood, and the memories of how fun it was to learn about the human nature took their toll: â€Å"When they both were in analysis with Anna Freud [†¦] this advice to take charge had called to mind a woodcut he had completed of himself as a little boy on a ship looking away from Theodor and Karla and toward the captain† (80). However, as time passed, Erikson managed to show what he was capable of; not only did he defeat is fears, but also researched them thoroughly and uncompromisingly, coining the term â€Å"identity crisis† and showing the ways out of this psychological problem. As the author of the term explained himself, identity crisis was â€Å"the temporary absence of ‘a sense of what one is, of knowing where one belongs, of knowing what on e wants to do’† (Friedman 161). Thus, it is obvious that Erik Erikson has contributed a lot to the further development of psychology and helped to understand the peculiarities of people’s psychological development at certain stages. Owing to the findings of the psychologist, modern teenagers have a plenty of excuses for their deviant behavior, which alone proves that learning more about Erikson is a worthy thing to do. In addition, Eriksson proved that the deviation can be considered a way to adjust to the rules of the society, which proves that people are meant to be social animals and that a rebellion is a part of being a human, and it is by far not its worst part.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Erik Erikson: In Search for Your Own Self. Before the Identity Crisis Hits specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Jokes aside, solving the mysteries of a human nature is a hard task, and Eriksson deserves ap preciation for what he did for psychology and its further development, as well as for the entire humankind. Erikson, Erik H. Identity: Youth and Crisis, New York City, NY: W. W. Norton Company, 1994. Print. Friedman, Lawrence Jacob. Identity’s Architect: A Biography of Erik Eriksson. Harvard, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000. Print.

The Involvement in the Manufacturing Industry and High Rates of Research Paper - 4

The Involvement in the Manufacturing Industry and High Rates of Joblessness - Research Paper Example Trade between two economies is very sensitive to the slightest changes in understanding. It is factual that the cost of tyre production in China is lower than that in America. This enables the sales of Chinese tires at affordable prices while still making profits. Furthermore, some American firms have established their tyre manufacturing industries in China to benefit from the least cost of production (Mankiw et al. 165). This implies that the imposition of the trade tariffs cannot be effective without an equal disruption of the American investors in China. On the other hand, the imposition of specific tariffs for partner countries arouses diplomatic questions on the legitimacy of the protective approach to trading. During the accession of China to the World Trade Organization, it ratified the agreement that gave a loophole for such unprecedented tariffs. This ratification gave room for The protectionist measures undertaken by the American government translates into mere political posturing without any substantial positive effects on trade (Sutter 214). This scenario may escalate into a trade war and inflict a serious economic slump on both the American and Chinese economies. The spill of the trade row may necessitate equal invocation of key agreements such as the anti-dumping policy for the American goods by the Chinese government. Setting the tariffs on Chinese rubber tires at 35% may have appeared plausible for the American government since the world trade organization had preferred a 55% tariff. However, as it turns out, this form of protectionism in the end only incurs expenses to the American economy overly.

Why Growth is Good Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why Growth is Good - Essay Example In the article Why Growth is Good the author asserts that U.S. economy is slowing down but this is not the case of the current times as the nation’s total output of goods and services grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent from July to September and this rate of growth is double the rate of growth from the last quarter. The economy is not following a brisk pace but showing the signs of take off. But the economic growth of Germany is on the slower side and the government of the concerned country has nearly halved its growth forecasts to one percent. The reason being shocks in exports and the powerhouse of Europe is on the slower side. Government intervention is necessary in cases to push up demand but to a certain extent. Free market is necessary to achieve the equilibrium. Economic growth is the amount of goods and services produced over time. With economic growth, development is creating a healthy environment will come under its purview. Per Capita Income can be taken as a mea sure to capture economic growth. Let the population of country A and B be 20 and 5 respectively and the average income be $ 200 and $100 respectively. It will appear country A as the economically developed country but it is not the case as PCI of country A is 10 and that of country B is 20. Poor countries are often exploited by the richer ones as industries that cause environmental degradation are shifted in those countries. This tends to pollute the natural resources which have negative effects on the life of the people residing in the poor countries. The open up of new industries has created growth or employment opportunities but the darker side of the coin is the extraction of irreversible natural resources. (Office of the Management and Budget, 2010, p.153). The above pie chart proves that U.S. allocates a large proportion of its capacity in social security. The budget of 2001 allocates $ 17.5 billion to support small business access and 25 billion dollars on microloans which wi ll create employment opportunities. A path that leads to most optimal growth path is the toughest to get recognized. Earlier a school of economists believed in trickle down hypothesis where the benefits of growth will trickle down to the people who form the base of the society. But soon another school of economists began to contradict by arguing that those who are in the higher levels of the society will reap all the benefits and the poor will be confined in a vicious circle. This theory was proved right in the later stages. So growth may not create equal opportunities for all (Basu and Mallik, 2007). The statement of the rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer is well known. The statement that middle class is happy to pay taxes and contribute in the welfare is controversial as all are involved in finding out ways to evade taxes and keep their money in their own pockets. Consider the case of China. China announced to lower the GDP target to 7.5 percent which gave rise to mixed f eelings around the globe. This created tremors in the market but some were of the opinion that this strategy will revive China in taking the path of sustainable development. They argue that this would help China to achieve a higher quality and higher level development over a longer time span and all are certain about the amount of welfare sustainable development can bring about (Prasad and Rajan, n.d., p. 1). A recession is followed by recovery. In this phase growth is bound to be slow but this situation is welcomed from every levels of society.