Censorship And Its Effect On The Creativity And Enjoyment...

How does censorship in media undermine the creativity and enjoyment of what we indulge ourselves in? The existence of censorship itself can take many forms in media. Sometimes it can exist for reasonable reasons to the most absurd. This filter has existed as long as public demonstration has existed; there was always information that has not has not been shown or spreadto the public. Now in modern times, it has been used and implemented in across several formats in media and entertainment. Is it the opinions of people or someone in a higher power for something to be a product of censorship? Berserk had its debut in 1988 with its prototype and 1989 as a full-fledged story. This is a manga written and drawn by Kentaro Miura who has been in†¦show more content†¦Censorship is like a veil in art and originality. The same can apply to the stories artist tries to create for a viewer. Once censored it is just another story with likely a different meaning of what it was originally. When it comes to Berserk, it be viewed as mindless violence at a quick glance, but when fully read the reader can see it is the story of the protagonist Guts, he is not a mindless killer who brutally murders every foe in his path. Guts has a reason for doing so and a very specific one as well, since the story of guts is the living example of someone who had everything go wrong in their life. From being picked up by a prostitute traveling with mercenaries from his hanging mother in the middle of nowhere to seeing nearly all his comrades betrayed by his dear friend and left to the point of being mentally broken, Having that kind of story in a protagonist would be censored due to how unreasonably violent it would be. Now if Berserk did not have its creativity and twists that censoring would not allow, would it be a flavorless graphic manga lost before the new millennia? The manga itself wou ld be very restrictive with its material and likely leave the reader with too much to ponder if many of its original ideas were squandered and extremely toned down. Would it still be better than it originally was or would it be some manifestation of senseless entrainment, is there a difference?Show MoreRelatedMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 Pageslanguage, whereas speech is the utterance, the actual practice, of a lan ´ xiii xiv A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY guage system. (See de Saussure, Course, pp. 7-17.) De Saussure saw the linguistic sign as a unit of relation between a signifier (signifiant) and what it signifies, or conveys, the significate (signifià ©).* Signs (or units of relation) are related to other signs syntagmatically or paradigmatically: Syntagmatic relations are those which exist among the actual (or present) elements of a statement

Analyzing The Association Between The Emotional Stroop...

Words Have Feelings Too Aminah Hilaire Howard University Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze the association between the emotional stroop with trait and state anxiety. Researchers chose a cluster of eight random female students in an experimental psychology course to complete an STAI form and online emotional stroop test. By filling out and participating in the prior stated procedures, researchers would be able to determine if cognitive processes are linked to emotional disorders. The STAI forms determined the state and trait anxiety scores of each individual participant. The emotional stroop test assessed emotions by keeping time with how long it took participants to determine the†¦show more content†¦There is anxiety that is only situational, state anxiety, and anxiety that is general, trait anxiety. Researchers in this study wanted to know if state and trait anxiety could calculate a correlation coefficient with the emotional stroop. They also wanted to identify whether trait or state anxiety would have a stronger associat ion with performance on the emotional stroop. Researchers hypothesized that both state and trait anxiety would be able to be calculated with a strong, positive correlation coefficient and that state anxiety would have a stronger association with performance on the emotional stroop. Previous studies have shown that there is no correlation between a high-ordered construct and the time it takes on an emotion stroop test. In a study conducted by Klug and Matthews (1993), results showed that general emotionality was not important in predicting the extent of interference for color-naming emotional words. Brosschot and Ruiter (1994) found the emotional stroop to be bias in anxiety states. If not bias by the emotional stroop, then bias by the participants with anxiety. A study found that participants in various phobic groups try to suppress their high anxiety when taking the emotional stroop test (Amir et al, 1996). Few prior studies involving anxiety and the emotional stroop have a signif icant interference. Egloff and Hock (2001) found that only for individuals who have high trait anxiety

Challenges Managing Global Teams for Cultural - myassignmenthelp

Question: Write about theChallenges Managing Global Teams for Cultural. Answer: Introduction Global team is widely used as a strategic Human Resource solution in a multinational organisation. It is important to note that a global team is formed across the temporal, cultural and geographical boundaries to hit into the available HR pools that are distributed around the world. The primary aim of using global team as a strategic HR solution is to increase the organisational performance and innovation by integrating diverse knowledge and targeting expertise regardless of the political boundaries (Magdaleno and Kleiner, 2016). The use of global team helps in achieving better efficiency by around-the-clock operations across various time zones. However, there are several challenges that are faced by the multinational organisations while managing global teams. The literature review has been developed in order to observe and critically evaluate challenges faced by the multinational organisations in managing global teams. Additionally, the study aims to present the impact of cultural d iversity and the implications of International HRM in the current business scenario. Defining Global Teams In order to define global teams, the previous literature reveals that most often the study of global teams overlapped with the research involving multinational teams, distributed teams, multicultural groups, and virtual teams (Dixon, 2008). Therefore to define the term global team, the topic must be distinguished from these areas of research. In recent years, globalisation has contributed towards the formation of a geographically dispersed workforce. Meanwhile, global teams are virtual teams that serve as the principal vehicle of business organisations utilised to achieve global efficiency. In order to offset management pressures come from the diversified target audience demand, converging markets, and resource allocation, organisation management has developed global teams. Modern business dynamics and internationalisation of businesses have emerged global teams to proliferate best operations and practices in the overseas markets. Evidently, in the twenty-first century, complex strategic business interventions have been managed and executed through global teams achieving sustainability and growth at the global stage (Araujo, 2009). Global teams are multinational working teams where team members are interconnected in a virtual note. Decisively, global teams have been geographically distributed and it requires significant knowledge and management skills to overcome the challenges of managing global teams operating at the different corners of the world. Managing virtuality and cultural diversity in global teams Managing global teams can be identified as one of the most difficult tasks in human resource management in compared to traditional teams (Hansen, Hope and Moehler, 2012). As global teams embed multiple geographical contexts, diversified cultural background, different time zones, and use of multiple communication technologies, the complexity of managing the teams is far trickier (Dixon and Panteli, 2010). Before reviewing the challenges of managing global teams, it is important to evaluate the methods of managing virtuality and diversity in global teams on the basis of previous literature. Scholars have evaluated a number of mechanisms that have been illustrated in the following section for managing virtuality and diversity in global teams. Mechanism for managing virtuality Managing virtuality within the international teams must be handled in an efficient order so that the virtuality of global team members cannot necessarily become berries in interactions. Most importantly, scholars have identified some of the tested mechanism to manage virtuality in global teams successfully. Traditionally, physical presence of team members has been vital in team management. Due to emerging communication technologies and presence of internet, managers now can efficiently control and monitor the performance of the global teams from any place (Gibson and Gibbs, 2006). Evidently, three mechanisms for managing virtuality in global teams have been reviewed in the study i.e. transactive memory systems (TMS), psychologically safe communication climate (PSCC), and developing trust. Transactive memory systems: Modern scholars have identified global teams as networked systems worked for a firm. In such networked system, transactive memory systems have been used as a primary mechanism to share knowledge within the global teams. As team members develop effective TMS, accurate set of knowledge and information can be transferred within the virtual teams influencing output (Hansen, Hope and Moehler, 2012). Psychologically safe communication climate: Gibson and Gibbs (2006) identified that PSCC, an interpersonal process can be effectively utilised by the managers to negate the adverse effect of virtuality of global teams. By developing such communication climate within the global teams, a bridge of unity can be structured among the team members. Developing Trust: In terms of managing the performance of global teams, building trust can be defined as one of the major functional mechanisms improving efficiency of workers. Through the development of trust among the virtual team members, the collaboration among the employees can be enhanced (Kelley, 2011). Thus, the productivity of virtual team projects will be increased. Mechanism for managing cultural diversity Managing cultural diversity must be prioritised in global team management to attain efficiency (Winkler and Bouncken, 2011). While some of the members of a team have efficiently collaborated with other teammates from diverse culture and background, most of them have failed to work together. Thus, the efficiency of managing cultural diversity may lead to expatriate failure (Orhan, 2014). Lack of training and collaboration has forced expatriates to seek a transfer from the host country leading towards operational failure (Wang, 2013). In order to solve the problem of managing cultural diversity in global teams, scholars and researchers have identified three mechanisms i.e. cultural intelligence, cultural agility, and global mindset. Cultural Intelligence: Evidently, Scholars and modern researchers have claimed that developing cultural intelligence can be imperative for contemporary management leaders to succeed in the cross-cultural group effort (Magdaleno and Kleiner, 2016). Understandably, cultural intelligence enhances interactions among the team members so that different cultural barriers can be broken during developing global teams. Thus, the output of the team will be increased. Cultural Agility: Caligiuri (2012) elaborates cultural agility as a meta-competency increases flexibility and performance of the professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural circumstances. Having cultural agility, global team members can influence their work efficiency in alien cultural norms (Caligiuri, 2012). Furthermore, cultural agility must be developed as a recommended skill for management personnel working with global teams. Global Mindset: Global mindset can be addressed as a mechanism that influences the sense of responsibility of the global team members avoiding diverse cultural barriers. A global mindset of international human resource managers can be utilised to adapt different cultural orientation to develop a positive frame of mind among the team members. Challenges in Managing Global Team According to Armstrong and Cole (2002), the multinational corporations face several communication challenges while managing global teams. The low level of nonverbal and physical cues available in technologically mediated and geographically distributed workforce have created different challenges such as difficulty of sharing knowledge and faulty attribution of others (Kelley, 2011). The distribution of workforce across space, time and multiple groups creates challenge in managing attention and time among the multiple commitments that further results in high level of stress among the executive members. Furthermore, the presence of multiple culture and differences in ethical practices results in conflict and faultiness among the team members belonging to different nations and cultures due to the variation in attitudes, behaviour, values and broader institutional environments. The primary challenges that are faced while managing global teams are discussed in details herein below: Geographical separation: The geographical separation may lead to lack of mutual knowledge among the team members about each others situations and way of working that further leads to faulty attribution about the other team members (Kelley, 2011). It has been found through research that distributed team members are likely to make negative acknowledgments about the colleagues from other zones due to lack of situational awareness and limited cues regarding their working environment (Orhan, 2014). Hence, a lack of trust and mutual understanding can be evident among the members of global team. Furthermore, the level of conflicts among the team members is relatively high in global teams. Sharing knowledge across the globe: Another problem that is faced by the global teams is the challenge of sharing knowledge across the political borders. Furthermore, working at distances may lead to fewer opportunities to share tacit knowledge among the workforce. Additionally, the team members work in multiple teams with unequal commitment to share and contribute expertise and knowledge. According to Lee and Qomariyah (2016), local knowledge such as knowledge of working conditions and local holidays are difficult to share among the distributed teams as it is mostly taken for granted. Managing time and attention: The third issue or challenge that is faced by global teams is the management of time and attention. With the development of technology and internet, better communication tools such as instant messaging, email, and social media can be used as communication channel for transmitting messages across the time zone (Kelley, 2011). However, the excessive use of collaborative technologies may lead to information overload that further results in massive stress among the workforce (Barley, Meyerson and Grodal, 2011). The interaction between different time zones also leads to distraction and interruption of primary tasks. For example, the decision makers of the global organisations need to be available across the clock in order to promptly respond to the queries of other team members working in different time zones. Cultural Differences: The last and the most important challenge faced by the members of global teams are the cultural differences among the employees. According to Hofstede (2005), the members of global team can be differentiated as individualist and collectivist, high context and low context, and feminine and masculine on the basis of their culture and ethical practices. Cultural conflicts can be seen in several cases across the globe, which has emerged to be a major challenge for international human resource management (Orhan, 2014). Hence, it is important for the manager of an international team to understand the cultural differences and give equal importance to individual cultural believes to maintain peace and harmony among the global teams. Implications for IHRM On the basis of the above analysis, the International Human Resource (IHR) managers needs to attend and overcome the challenges related to cultural differences of the global team members as well as challenges related to virtuality such as knowledge sharing across the political contexts, faulty attributions, and managing time and attention in order to improve the effectiveness of the global teams (Winkler and Bouncken, 2011). The IHR manager plays a key role in training the global team members and leaders by developing transactive memory systems (TMS), psychologically safe communication climate (PSCC), and trust. Such techniques will help the multinational organisations to overcome challenges of virtuality and enhance employee productivity and satisfaction (Palthe, 2014). IHRM helps in developing global skills among the leaders to manage global mindset, cultural diversity and cultural intelligence. Hence, the challenges of managing global teams can be overcome by implementing IHRM str ategies in the multinational organisations. Literature Gap In managing global teams, significant level of descriptive research has been conducted by the scholars and modern researchers. Precisely, most of the literature reviewed in the past failed to identify the financial and non-financial parameters that should be considered in determining talent management of the virtual global teams. Besides, previous literature has put substantial emphasis on top level managers and their strategic interventions in managing global teams (Wang, 2013). But, literature reviewed in the past has not put much importance on non-executive level staffs associated with the global team management. In terms of managing virtual global teams, sometimes corporate culture and work-life balance of the global team members have not been prioritised. Therefore, a thorough research must be conducted in the identified area. Preferably, the identified contexts can be defined as the major constituents of literature gaps that must be taken into account during the further researc h on the subject. Conclusion By considering the above analysis, multinational organisations face different challenges in terms of managing a culturally and geographically diversified workforce. The geographical separation, cultural differences, and time zone differences lead to conflicts among the global team members. Furthermore, the variances in attitude, believes and ethical practices of the workers make it difficult for the IHR managers to maintain peace and harmony at workplace. Hence, modern IHRM strategies must be applied in order to overcome the issues and seek sustainable growth of business. However, it can be seen that the literature on challenges in managing global teams have not put much effort on non-executive level staffs. Therefore, further research can be conducted in this area to gain better knowledge on the chosen topic. References Araujo, A. (2009). Implementing global virtual teams to enhance cross-border transfer of knowledge in multinational enterprises: a resource-based view.International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 6(2), p.161. Armstrong, D.J. and Cole, P. (2002). Managing distances and differences in geographically distributed work groups, in P. Hinds S. Kiesler (eds.), Distributed Work, 167-186, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Barley, S., Meyerson, D. and Grodal, S. (2011). E-mail as a Source and Symbol of Stress.Organization Science, 22(4), pp.887-906. Caligiuri, P. (2012).Cultural Agility: Building a Pipeline of Successful Global Professionals. Jossey Bass Inc. Dixon, K. and Panteli, N. (2010). From virtual teams to virtuality in teams.Human Relations, 63(8), pp.1177-1197. Dixon, N. (2008). Building Global Capacity with Global Task Teams.Performance Improvement Quarterly, 11(1), pp.108-112. Gibson, C. and Gibbs, J. (2006). Unpacking the Concept of Virtuality: The Effects of Geographic Dispersion, Electronic Dependence, Dynamic Structure, and National Diversity on Team Innovation.Administrative Science Quarterly, 51(3), pp.451-495. Hansen, T., Hope, A. and Moehler, R. (2012). Managing Geographically Dispersed Teams: From Temporary to Permanent Global Virtual Teams.SSRN Electronic Journal. Hofstede, G. (2005). Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Newbury Park [u.a.]: Sage. Kelley, E. (2011). Keys to Effective Virtual Global Teams.Academy of Management Executive, 15(2), pp.132-133. Lee, L. and Qomariyah, A. (2016). Managing expatriate success through expatriate-related, family-related and social capital factors: a meta-analysis.International Journal of Services and Standards, 11(3), p.193. Magdaleno, G. and Kleiner, B. (2016). Global Trends in Managing Cultural Diversity.Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 3(4), pp.31-36. Orhan, M. (2014). Extending the Individual Level of Virtuality: Implications of Task Virtuality in Virtual and Traditional Settings.Administrative Sciences, 4(4), pp.400-412. Palthe, J. (2014). Cross-Level Cultural Congruence: Implications For Managing Diversity In Multinational Corporations.Journal of Diversity Management (JDM), 9(1), p.51. Wang, Y. (2013). Collaboration in Global Distributed Teams: An Interdisciplinary Review.SSRN Electronic Journal. Winkler, V. and Bouncken, R. (2011). How Does Cultural Diversity in Global Innovation Teams Affect the Innovation Process?.Engineering Management Journal, 23(4), pp.24-35.

Ten Things You Most Likely Didnt Know About Academic Writing %

Academic writing services can be fun loving if you want to learn the basic principle and writing styles properly. To make your academic writing excellent you should know the following ten amazing tips that you never know before. Perspicuity precision: All writings are addressed to their readers and they should convey the relevant meaning with full force and impact to the reader’s mind. Perspicuity satisfies the need of your reader and he completes the reading without any confusion and ambiguity. Precision is achieved in an expression when the writer is expressing his ideas without going in unnecessary details which of less interest of the reader or cause to distract him from reading. Therefore, both perspicuity and precision are the most important ingredients for good academic writing. Best Academic Writing Services provide vast knowledge-based material on academic writings you can use that material to enhance your understanding for academic writing. Argumentative purposeful style: Your style of expression also matters a lot in academic writings. it counts as interaction and communication with your reader. Argumentative style with all relevant justifications and supporting evidence is highly appreciated by the reader. There should be proper purpose shown in the writing. Each point or statement should be analyzed and supported with all relevant details in logical manner. Professional Academic writing services provide different kind of academic writings having argumentative and meaningful writings which can be very helpful for your academic use. Brevity formality: There should be brevity and formality in academic writing style. Brevity is the soul of academic writing. You should write relevant, to the point and straight forwardly. The style of the essay should be formal, dignified and literary. Language and construction of the essay should be clear, simple and direct. Clarity is the result of clear thinking and simple expression. Use of slangs and monotonous should be avoided. Academic writing service provide bulk of academic writing which are very useful to learn different writing styles. Use good thinking process positive attitude: Academic writing can be fun loving if you know the basic principle and writing styles properly. The characteristics like good thinking and positive attitude towards writing can make your academic writing outstanding and extraordinary. is the hub of the professional writers who can help you to write an essay with good thinking process which cause positive effect on reader’s mind. General introduction specific conclusion: To make your academic writing brilliant provide an interesting starting. You can use; A hook statementsA questionA statement Interesting starting compel the reader to start reading the topic while an exclusive end would lead them towards the end of the writing. Paper Writing Service provide highly skilled writers who provide academic writings with can easily grab the attention of the reader to the topic. They make sure that the reader should read the topic till the end. You can take their services to make your academic writing extra-ordinary. An exclusive conclusion includes; Sense of completionNo confusion and ambiguity

St. Augustine On Death Essays - Amillennialism, Augustine Of Hippo

St. Augustine On Death Death is a very natural occurrence in life, and everyone experiences death differently, but yet in the same way. When Augustine was a young boy his father died, and he makes a small account of this in the Confessions. Later on in life, he loses a dear friend, and his loving mother. With time, he mentally matures and death affects Augustine differently each time. The death of his father was merely mentioned in the Confessions, while the death of Monica, his mother, was an elaborate detailed account of the time of her death. The death of his close friend, when Augustine was a child made him realize that life is temporal. Growing up, Augustine was not very close to his father. He confided in his mother and leaned towards her Christian beliefs. Patricius, Augustine's father, was a pagan, but later became a catechumen. Patricius did not pressure Augustine about following his mother's beliefs, and gave him the freedom to do so. When Augustine was a child, he was subjected to the verbal abuse his father laid on Monica. His father was also not faithful, and this left a lasting scaring impression on Augustine. Patricius never hit Monica, and she realized that other wives were being beaten, so she accepted the verbal abuse. Patricius was proud of his son's accomplishments, and was admired by all for the sacrifices Patricius made for Augustine. Patricius was considered"generous," but then was also very "hot-tempered." In the Confessions, Augustine only makes note of his father's death, and one reason may be that Augustine was not happy with the way Patricius treated his loving and ever-forgiving mother. Shortly after Patricius' death, Augustine deals with death once more, with his childhood friend. In the Confessions, Augustine tells of a close friend he had as a child growing up. They both went to school together, and enjoyed each other's company. "...I had come to have a friend who because of our shared interests was very close. He was my age, and we shared the flowering of youth. As a boy he had grown up with me, and had gone to school together and played with one another..." Augustine and this unnamed friend knew each other for a short time, yet Augustine felt that he was losing someone he had known all his life. "You [God] took the man from this life when our friendship had scarcely completed a year. It had been sweet to me beyond all sweetnesses of life that I had experienced." The unnamed friend came down a bad fever, and he was baptized while he was unconscious. Augustine felt as if this baptismal sacrament would have no affect on him and he would carry all the sins of his childhood. The unnamed friend did awake from his unconscious state and Augustine and the friend had a minor conflict over a joke Augustine made over the friend's baptism. The friend did not find it a laughing matter, but they did resolve the conflict. Augustine left for a few days and while he was gone, his friend passed away. Augustine explains that he was stricken with grief from the death of his friend, that made him want to leave his hometown. Everything made him think of his friend, and he was always looking for him. Augustine was constantly weeping and was a wreck. "My home became a torture to me; my father's house a strange world of unhappiness; all that I shared with him was transformed into a cruel torment. My eyes looked for him everywhere, and he was not there. I hated everything because they did not have him...I had become to myself a vast problem..." Augustine explains that during this time of sorrow, he did not look towards God for help, and was too wrapped up in the misery of the death of his friend. One thought he had was that he was angered by the fact people in general do not realize that they are on this earth for a short time, and they do not understand the temporality of life. "What madness not to understand how to love human beings with the awareness of human condition!" With this sorrow, Augustine moves from Thagaste to Carthage. The third death Augustine had to confront in his life was that of his mother's, which ends the biographical accounts in Augustine's life. During days of Augustine's childhood, Monica felt as if he was the "son of tears." He turned away from Catholicism, and became a Manichean. Monica greatly disapproved of

How Organizations Monetize Their Presence On Social Networking Platforms The WritePass Journal

How Organizations Monetize Their Presence On Social Networking Platforms Introduction How Organizations Monetize Their Presence On Social Networking Platforms ). With advances in technology, businesses have learnt to use them to their benefit.   Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and eBay are Prime examples of technology driven companies. Given the proliferation of social networking sites, such as Myspace, Linked In, Facebook and twitter, it has become almost impossible to design marketing strategies without taking into consideration these media platforms. Social media has gained prominence and is considered vital for todays marketing mix. Both the small and big businesses have flocked to these media platforms. Whilst Major brands, such as Virgin and Starbucks, appear to have established their presences in these media platforms, social media adoption seems to be increasing amongst small businesses as well. According to study conducted by the University of Maryland, the rate of adoption among the small enterprises doubled from 12% in 2009 to 24% in 2010 (Rao 2010). The use of social media as a business tool is particularly evident in emerging markets of China, India and Brazil. According to a KPMG report, these countries are 20% more likely to expand their business frontiers into social media than their counterparts in UK, Germany, Australia and Canada (KPMG 2011). This can be attributed to their lower dependence on legal systems compared to the developed economies which bind their organizations to their long-established channel strategies. How organizations can monetize their presence in social networking platforms Businesses are targeting social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, as key market surveillance areas given their large user base. This becomes the key source for the businesses to innovate in congruence with the demands for their mutual benefit (Trottier, 2013). Given the popularity of these social networking platforms in various parts of the world, companies seeking to engage the vast and increasingly affluent online audience can use it as a marketing tool. Marketers can use these social networks for customer acquisition, retention and even generating their revenue. Business units such as marketing, sales, and HR can use these powerful tools to stimulate innovation and monetize their presence. Starbucks is a good example of a company which has successfully established its online presence in social media platforms. Having amassed over 35 million Facebook likes, Starbucks is without doubt one of the largest company that has successfully established presence in social media platforms (Smith 2013). One strategy which Starbucks used to attract Facebook users was through deals. This retailer company offered to give free coffee to the first 30,000 Facebook users that checked in at UK Starbucks stores using their phones (Smith 2013). This went a long way towards increasing the number of followers and ultimately translated to greater returns. Further, Starbucks used these media platforms to communicate with its ever increasing customer base abou t their favourite products (Smith 2013). Besides just informing their customers about their products via Facebook, Starbucks has also done well by integrating social issues that people care about into their brand. Given Starbucks success in establishing presence in social media platforms, other retailers across all sectors have similarly followed suit, from clothing sellers such as GAP who have amassed 4.6 million likes to general good retailers such as Target, and even to telecom providers and video games stores such as Verizon wireless and GameStop respectively (Smith 2013). Another company that has monetized its presence in Facebook is The New York Jets. In September 2010, the NFL team launched their ultimate Fan social game, the first application to generate revenue through Facebook (Carolyn 2011).   This application allowed Facebook users to predict game scores, root for their teams and to hold a virtual party with fans from different parts of the world. Further, the Jets engage with their fans on a regular basis via twitter. For example, towards the 2011 AFC playoff championship, the Jets advertised a contest for winning tickets to the tournament. The contest was twitter-based and winners were guaranteed free tickets to the 2011 AFC championship game against Pittsburgh Steelers (Carolyn 2011). It is clear that these companies are leveraging social media platforms to generate sales and increase their revenues. Many more businesses have also begun to exploit social networking sites as business tools, offering various deals and discounts through the sites. Whereas the opportunities created by social networking sites are many, success depends on how best to deploy creative skills to achieve the business goals. Creating traffic and brand awareness As a first step to monetizing social media presence, marketers must build their brand awareness and create traffic. Unless the brand is widely recognized such as Apple, it is necessary to develop social media magnetism (Conroy Narula 2010). Social media campaign can be done by word of mouth or advertising through TV commercials. Audience engagement  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second step is building audience engagement. Unless marketers successfully engage with the audiences, they will not be able to reap great returns. For the social media campaign to be a success, marketers must effectively engage with the audience through meaningful conversation and by creating great content that raises awareness and increase sales (Carolyn 2011). Online Advertising Once a consistent traffic has been built and the audience have been engaged, then it becomes easy to monetize. The most basic form of monetizing is putting ads on social media sites and adding affiliate advertising links. Marketers can also choose to offer special promotions such as offering discounts exclusively to followers. Dell computers is a good example of a company that offers discounts to its followers. Dell tweets 15% off for any of their computers with special coupon code entered at checkout (Carolyn 2011). Social media has enabled Dell to amaze over 1.6 million followers and generate more than 2 million incremental revenues. Use of applications Companies may also use apps to monetize social media. They can charge a certain fee for the apps or give it freely in order to strengthen customer relationship. Gucci Connect is a quintessential example of a mobile marketing app (McKinsey 2007). The app enables users to watch live runway and to chat live with Facebook and twitter guests via their mobile devises. Setting up an online store on social media Finally, marketers need to set up a shop on Facebook. Companies can list their products and put updates on social media sites. Whereas these strategies should enable the company to monetize themselves on media platforms, most of the benefit has been branding and not actual purchases. However, for products which are inherently social in nature such as DVDs, books, and event tickets, these have translated to greater returns on investments. Challenges with the use of social media as a business tool Social media has certainly impacted on business. While many companies have found significant benefits with these social platforms, some have encountered unexpected risks and challenges along the way. There have been some challenges such as loss of sensitive information, reputational, legal and operational risks, and reduced productivity as a result of time wastage. Whereas there are many remarkable upside to using social media as a business tool, the vast reach of these media platforms also offer a vast uncharted sinkhole of risk (Merril et al 2011). The benefits may be outweighed by reputational risks. For example, in 2009 an employee from a national pizza delivery chain was recorded in a video camera tainting a sandwich which was to be delivered to a customer (Merril et al 2011). When the video was posted on YouTube where it drew heavy reaction from millions of viewers across the world. Viewers tweeted the news and in a span of 48 hours, the chain had experienced a change in consumers’ perception from positive to negative. Such embarrassing moments can tarnish the image of the company. Other risks of particular concern include risks pertaining to intellectual property and media risks, security risk and risk pertaining to employment privacy (Stelzner 2013). Companys security may be breached by malwares downloaded onto their website. Intellectual property risks may arise if employees post others information without their permission. Claims can be made against the company under such situations and contractual breach claims may result where the intellectual property belongs to an existing client (Merril et al 2011). Beyond these risks, some companies may face the challenge of integrating social media into their strategies. According to a Harvard Business review survey, 79% of the 2,100 organizations surveyed used social media platform as a business tool (Gullin 2010). The remaining 21% were in the process of launching social media initiatives. However, majority of these organizations pointed out to the challenge of integrating social media into their strategies. A vast majority of them seem to have no formalized social media strategy whereas others appear to struggle with how best to use the different channels. Methods and approaches to building relationships with customers that could potentially increase revenues in organizations A key important aspect that marketers should take into consideration is knowing how to communicate the right message with customers over media (Smith 2013). Most companies often post their updates through social media platforms which enables existing customers to interact with their favourite brand and get updates of their products. Whereas this approach enhances brand visibility and sometimes lead to new-customer acquisition, it often does not convert social media follows to direct sales and hence ends up hurting the bottom line (Smith 2013). A vast majority of online audience are eager to interact with their brands through these media platforms, but for them to engage in a financially meaningful way, marketers must know how best to reach them. Increasing traffic in the corporate page may seem somewhat beneficial, but it does not result in significant return on investment. As opposed to just focusing on increasing traffic, companies should focus on engaging more with the customers, both at the local and personal level. This would enable them to identify customer needs and tailor services and products to meeting those needs. Not only would this increase sales revenue, but it will also build and enhance customer relationship. Conclusion Business today has transformed from the previous pure brick business models to new approaches that utilize social media as business tools. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace and YouTube among many others have become an important gradient in todays marketing mix. Customers’ buying experience has gone beyond the traditional transactional base to a contemporary conversational tone by connecting with the clients through the various socializing networks like Twitter or Facebook. In response to the changing consumer behaviors, it has become a business imperative to integrate with the social networking sites. These tools offer business with many benefits including customer acquisition, retention and generation of sales revenue. Further, business units such as marketing, sales, and HR can use these powerful tools to stimulate innovation and monetize their presence. Whereas there are many remarkable upside to using social media as a business tool, there are some unexpected risks and challenges as well. These include the loss of sensitive information, reputational, legal and operational risks, and reduced productivity as a result of time wasted. Beyond these risks, some companies may face the challenge of integrating social media into their strategies. In spite of these risks, social media platforms appear to have had tremendous impacts on the business world, given its ubiquity and remarkable ability to attract and retain new customers which ultimately translates to more returns on investment. There is however need for companies to establish a strategy and associated policies that seek to address the pertinent issues. Although these risks and challenges may seem significant, they can be easily managed with forethought and planning. References Agarwal, S., and Mital, M. (2009) â€Å"Focus on Business Practices: An Exploratory Study of Indian University Students Use of Social Networking Web Sites: Implications for the Workplace†, Business Communication Quarterly. ATT, (2008). 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Social media: business benefits and security, governance and assurance perspectives. ISACA KPMG, (2011). Going social: how businesses are making the most of social media. KPMG International Li, C. Bernoff, J. (2008) Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies. Boston: Harvard Business Press. McKinsey. (2007). How companies are marketing Online: A McKinsey Global Survey. McKinsey Merrill, T., Latham, K., Santalesa, R. and Navetta, D., (2011). Social media: the business benefits may be enormous, but can the risks-reputational, legal, operational-be mitigated? Information Law Group. ACE publishers Oracle, (2012). Is social media transforming your business? Oracle Corporation. Smith, B., (2013). Shortsighted social media strategy misses huge revenue opportunity. [Viewed on 27th November 2013] available from http://chainstoreage.com/article/shortsighted-social-media-strategy-misses-huge-revenue-opportunity Stelzner, M.A., (2013). Social media marketing industry report: how marketers are using social media to grow their businesses. Social Media Examiner Trottier, D. (2013) â€Å"The business of Conversations: Market Social Media and Surveillance and Visibility†, First Monday. Vol. 18, pp. 2-4.

Role of NGOs In World Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Role of NGOs In World Development - Essay Example This essay stresses that some NGOs focus on improvement of infrastructure to aid development. Infrastructure is a core requirement for development. Infrastructure includes land development, house construction, road construction, solid waste collection among other activities. When an NGO develops a road, it connects the residents of a particular area to the outer world. This facilitates trade and movement, and hence the rate of development is increased. Activities such collection of solid waste improves the living standards of people that is a form of development. Some NGOs have focused on the elimination of slums by building houses for persons living in slums. Waste collection improves the appearance of an area and facilitates maintaining of good health. NGOs such as the OneAcreFund, who mainly operate in African countries, have majored in land development and have helped people start up agribusiness projects. This article makes a conclusion that non- governmental organizations play an important role in global development. They help people recover from situations that they would have otherwise not been able to recover from. The operations of NGOs save a lot of costs to governments and such costs may be directed to other areas of development. The achievements of CARE international are a perfect example of the roles played by NGOs. The organization has shown that NGOs support is imperative to global development.