Chinese reform of State Owned Enterprises

Chinese reform of State Owned Enterprises State corporations, globally, have poor business performance stemming from competing loyalties of these firms: to the state as their owners and to capitalism as businesses. This is no different in china State Owned Enterprises, which previously, languished under operational inefficiencies, massive debt due to their ease in getting government debt and consistent losses for most of them.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Chinese reform of State Owned Enterprises specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These state corporations had to face restructuring to reduce production inefficiencies, improve management, increase their returns to the state, and compete with other organizations both at home and abroad. The reforms in China State Owned Enterprises have been an ongoing process, which has taken place over many years. It began with the management reform between 1978 and 1984. The focus of this period was to increase the capacity of management in the state owned enterprises.  Instead of all profits reverting to the government, the organizations would keep some of it for reinvestment after meeting state quotas. The reinvestment money was in technology, building expertise, and capital investment. The second stage focus was on the dual track system (1984-1992). In the dual track, management had greater autonomy over human resource: they could employ and fire employees. However, this was only to implement government agenda and not with a business motive. Secondly, the management could sell their products at 20% above state prices once they met production quotas set by the government, which were under regulation of state prices. Later in this stage, government relationship with management of state corporations had a change from general administration by the state to contractual contracting; Profit remittance also had a change to profit tax. Third stage of Chinese State reforms begun from 1992 with a focus on or ganizational and management structure. The reforms gave state corporations the ability to overhaul their organizational structure to improve their industrial competitivity. Additionally, leasing state corporations were permissible by law; employees and the public could invest in them partially or entirely sold to private organizations or public. In 1997, 500 largest state corporations held 37% of china industrial assets while contributing 46% of state tax. By 1998, 25% of Chinese state corporations had undergone restructuring, which rose to 86% 2001. 70% of state corporations had undergone some form of privatization in 2001.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The government state owned corporations share of GDP fell from 78% at the beginning of the stage two of the reforms in 1984, to 11%. This was, however, at the behest of massive layoffs within state corporations. Their redeployment and compensations have undergone further criticism by the people of China. The result of the efforts of China to reform its public sector has been enormous, but it is now crossing national borders. Western countries are now wary of the increasing influence of China state corporations, which can now bid competitively for contracts in the west. The awarding of western government contracts, and approval for mergers and acquisition to china state corporations has become quite a tacky issue. An example is China CNOOC intention to takeover Nexen oil (Canada) has undergone many political hurdles in its path to fruition. Given source of economic growth in china over the past three decades has been foreign investment that is now slowing due to a growing middle class; an increase of domestic investment is essential if China is to maintain its growth trajectory, Chinese State Owned Enterprises have a key role in this agenda.

How to Remove Super Glue (Cyanoacrylate Adhesive)

How to Remove Super Glue (Cyanoacrylate Adhesive) Super Glue is a strong, fast-acting adhesive that sticks to just about anything almost instantly, so its easy to accidentally glue your fingers together or drip the glue onto clothes or surfaces. Even though it sets quickly and wont wash off, you can remove Super Glue with acetone. Acetone: The Anti-Super Glue Super Glue is a cyanoacrylate adhesive. Its impervious to water, but it can be dissolved in an organic solvent such as acetone. Some nail polish removers contain acetone, but be sure to check the label because many acetone-free products are available and will not dissolve Super Glue. You can find pure acetone in stores that sell home or art supplies because it is a useful solvent. If you view the Material Safety Data Sheet for acetone, youll see its flammable and toxic, so its not a chemical you want to ingest or inhale. It is absorbed into the skin on contact. It dehydrates and de-fats skin, so wash any spills with soap and water and apply a moisturizer, if possible. Removing Super Glue How you apply the acetone depends on what you stuck together with the glue. Do not apply acetone to your eyes or lips, but its still possible to remove Super Glue from other areas. Fabric: Acetone will remove Super Glue from fabric, but it may discolor the material or alter its texture. Work acetone into the affected area from both sides. Use a gloved finger or a soft-bristled toothbrush. The acetone will dissolve the glue and be rinsed away by still more acetone. Acetone evaporates quickly, but wash any fabrics that can withstand cleaning. Glass: Super Glue does not bond very well to glass, so you can scrape it off. It may help to soak the affected area in water until the glue is loosened. Acetone wont harm glass, but its use shouldnt be necessary. Counters and surfaces: Acetone dissolves Super Glue on counters and surfaces, but it may harm varnish on wood. It will cause some plastics to become cloudy in appearance and it may discolor some materials. Try to pry or scrape off the adhesive using acetone as a last resort. Skin: For fingers and most body parts, remove Super Glue by soaking the skin in warm water and then slowly peeling away the glue. You can usually pull the stuck skin apart because your skin is more likely to tear than to detach from the glue using this method. If necessary, apply a small amount of acetone using a cotton swab. Since acetone is toxic, avoid using it if possible. If you do need to use acetone, apply only the smallest amount needed to remove the glue. When to Seek Medical Help If you stick together lips or eyelids or if Super Glue gets stuck on an eyeball, contact a physician: Do not use acetone. The cyanoacrylate adhesive bonds instantly to moist areas, so its nearly impossible to swallow liquid Super Glue or for it to travel far into the eyes. Thats the good news. The bad news is that youll have to wait for your cells to rid themselves of the glue on their own. Fortunately, eye and lip tissue regenerates very quickly, so the glue naturally detaches. If you get Super Glue on your eyeball or eyelids, you may wish to wear an eye patch or cover it with gauze. The glue naturally detaches from an eyeball after several hours. According to Super Glue Corporation, there are no known cases of permanent damage from this type of injury. It may take a couple of days to unstick eyelids or lips, although tears and saliva hasten the removal. People who have stuck their lips together tend to work at it with their tongue, but even if you leave the area alone, it will un-stick in one to two days.

The Passion Food Catering Parties Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Passion Food Catering Parties - Lab Report Example In the events and parties that will be organized by this business, the serving of items will be carried out under strict supervision to ensure that the clients get the best services from the service provider. Passion Food will rent space for the office and kitchen in the same region where it will be located. Renting the kitchen and the offices will be done in the industrial areas of the town. This is done to ensure that the cost of the rent is kept as low as possible. Due to the fact that space will be used to prepare and store food, there is no need of having a store that is aesthetically pleasing or stores that are in a classy or nice neighborhood. Passion Food d projected to generate annual revenue of about $ 100000.This revenue is expected to rise after the first three years of operation after the business is able to cut a niche for itself in the catering industry. For every business that wants to get into the markets and succeed, it is very important that a market research is carried outlaw market research entails studying and evaluating the current market in order to fully understand the dynamics of the market. Market research provides the business with the much need information that it will require in order to be able to operate efficiently and to be able to match and even outdoor the competitors in the market. It is due to this reason that a market research is required before the Food Passion business is rolled out. The market research, in this case, is done for three major goals and reasons. First of all, the market research is will be carried out in order to understand the dynamics of the catering industry. With this understanding, the business will be able to determine the best-operating ways that will enhance its efficiency and profitability.  

Development and career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Development and career - Essay Example More often in psychology and education, the process that combines cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences in order to acquire, enhance or to make any kind of changes in an individuals’ knowledge and values all around the world is known as learning. The process of learning focuses on the result of learning and their explanations are known as learning theories. The learning theory describes the way in which the people and the animals learn and it helps us in understanding the complex process of learning. The two main value of learning are mentioned below.1.It provides us with vocabulary that helps us in interpreting the various examples of learning. 2.It also suggests solutions in order to solve practical problems. The learning theory does not actually give theories but they direct us to find solutions.The three categories in which the frameworks of the learning theory falls are behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism from which behaviorism focuses mainly on the objectivity of learning while the cognitive theories look beyond the behavior of an individual, however, the contructivism sees learning as a practice in which the learner constructs new ideas and concepts. (Huselid, 1995).Many people have also criticized the learning theory because it focuses on the traditional educational practices and the critics have said that there is no such need of this theory and it has created more problems than the solutions.

Toyota Product Development System Essay Example for Free

Toyota Product Development System Essay Toyota’s LPDS starts with the customer who is represented by the Chief Engineer. Toyota uses the Chief Engineer’s concept paper as a guiding tool to align thinking on the planning process. They very efficiently use the Obeya (big room) to bring together the members of divergent teams and allows them to function as a unit. The teams are structured so that all of the voices that need to be heard, from the designers to the managers of the factory, who can provide input on the impact decisions will have on the workers and the final produce, are there. One of the advantages to Toyota’s process is that it allows them to retain valuable employees. Their system of â€Å"Creating a Leveled Product Development Process Flow† means that workers will not be overworked and will be able to focus their full attention on the project at hand. When the project is finished, they are provided with new challenges to help them grow. The process of innovation is woven into the fabric of the organization. Toyota supplements its processes with a culture that is finely aligned with the process. They have also developed a number of tools to serve the process such as the already mentioned Obeya, a system of checklists which until recently were kept in three ring binders, Hansei, teardowns, A3 reports which summarize problems and help to ensure alignment. All of the processes at Toyota are highly standardized, and their culture ensures that the standardization process continues. Toyota has a corporate structure that reinforces and perpetuates itself. Sakicki Toyoda learned the loom business from the ground up, and this instilled in him a belief that to be successful, one must understand all aspects of the business. He used this knowledge to build an empire and it his conviction that one must learn by doing that still guides the thinking of Toyota employees. Power is gained through merit with all engineers working their way up â€Å"through the ranks. † Unlike other automakers who hire the best and brightest out of college and immediately give them a great deal of responsibility, Toyota takes the best and brightest (discovered through a rigorous and highly selective process) and has them go through a mentoring system where they are judged at each phase of the training. It is a socialization process that produces an employee who is trained in Toyota standards and procedures. It takes many years for a newcomer to be given a large responsibility such as a Chief Engineer. Consequently, the Chief Engineer is imbued with respect, as the entire organization knows that person has obtained the rank through perseverance, hard work, accomplishment and a deep understanding of the â€Å"Toyota Way. † Toyota is fiercely loyal to its employees, retaining them even in times of economic downturn. Even employees who are not living up to Toyota’s exacting standards are retained, however, they are given jobs with no responsibility; a great humiliation in an environment that values achievement. This has given Toyota a reputation as an excellent employer, and jobs there are highly prized. One realizes when one takes a job at Toyota that you are a highly valued part of the family, and the success of the rest of the family rests directly with you. This surely makes new employees dig into their work with great zest and humility. By studying from the ground up, the workers are able to gain insight into the whole development process. They can see how their work literally fits into the larger structure. This harmony is further reinforced by their mantra of â€Å"Customer First. † When trade-offs are presented, the overruling concern is that of the designer, as the designer is the customer. For items that are not necessarily â€Å"Customer First† issues, Toyota has developed â€Å"trade-off curves† and decision matrices to standardize decision-making. PROCESS PRINCIPLES Anyone who has spent a long time at Toyota will have absorbed the Toyota Way. † The processes of the LPDS will be firmly engrained in minds of the employees. It is difficult to separate the â€Å"lean thinking† of Toyota employees from the LDPS. They reinforce each other. The process principles of LPDS are a manifestation of the lean thinking that is a part of Toyota’s culture. By defining the customer as the starting point of the entire LPDS process, Toyota is able to align the thinking of the entire organization. It also sets the goal of eliminating waste to greater serve the needs of the customer. Other companies have tried to adopt Toyota’s processes without success. This is due to the fact that the process is only one part of Toyota’s success, the other, and in some instances, more compelling part of the success, is Toyota’s ability to create a culture indoctrinated in that process. The culture subverts ego, and turns problems into learning opportunities. Toyota has developed the most effective â€Å"knowledge job shop† in the automotive industry. It beauty lies in its ability to bring together representatives of all facets of the production process in harmony. In thinking about Goldratt’s principle of identifying and bottlenecks, you can see that Toyota has developed a process to dramatically reduce the number of bottlenecks it will face. By using standardization of parts and platforms and bringing in the right representatives to the Obeya to discuss problems before they are built into the design, Toyota is able to smooth out the potential bottlenecks before they occur. There is a great deal of alignment between all members of the team, so one is not operating in a vacuum; trying to solve problems without seeing how your solution fits into the larger product. Toyota’s focus on a leveled product development process also helps to eliminate bottlenecks by keeping the batches of work at a manageable level, eliminating variability and keeps utilization levels constant. As mentioned before, standardization is extremely important in creating a successful innovation environment. Standardization creates a common language that fosters greater communication. It even promotes communication of best practices over time as the best practices are engrained in the process by being adopted a standards. It enhances the scheduling process by allowing anticipation in the schedule, which in turn leads to great synchronization of efforts. It allows platforms, technology and subsystems to be reused in different designs saving time and money. As a result of their standardization process, Toyota is often able to eliminate the expensive prototyping phase of vehicle development. This can be done because with so many â€Å"tried and true† components being used in consistent ways, prototyping would be redundant. Standardization is one the key element to Toyotas speed in developing new vehicles. PEOPLE PRINICPLES Toyota uses a matrix system rather than a skunk works operation to develop new vehicles, Toyota’s LPDS is fully integrated into Toyota’s structure. They assemble a cross functional team that has representatives from the full range of functions involve with design, manufacturing and sales. Unlike other cross functional teams, where there is some ambiguity as to who the employee serves, Toyota is able to get an extremely high level of productivity out of them. This is due to several factors. Toyota’s culture where employees have a high level of trust for one another and deep understanding of the process thanks to the leadership to the Chief Engineer. The Chief Engineer (CE) is the head of the development project. This position is given to a senior engineer with a proven track record as an outstanding engineer and as one who is successful in using the â€Å"Toyota Way. † Management chooses CEs based on their ability to handle challenges and then tasks them with developing a vehicle that satisfies an overarching strategic direction. The CE acts as the voice of the customer who is the main focus of the LPDS. As such, the CE articulates the overall concept for the vehicle in a concept paper. This concept paper is the guiding principle that aligns the entire team working on the project. The CE is not the direct supervisor of the engineers working on the program, however, the CE does have full responsibility for the design’s success from development through sales and the concept paper ensures accountability. Unlike the â€Å"heavyweight project managers† the CE is imbued with more authority. Even without direct supervisory responsibilities, the position of CE is highly revered within the Toyota organization and commands great respect. Many within the Toyota family strive to achieve the role of CE. In fact, it is the continual striving for excellence that has helped Toyota to develop and maintain a culture of continuous learning. When an employee starts at Toyota, they undergo a long mentoring and socialization process. The socialization process that Toyota employees go through instills them with the spirit of Kaizen, which says that there is always an opportunity to learn and that learning is ongoing. This is reinforced by Toyotas practices of Hansei (reflection). Toyota builds in time and encourages its workers to step back and reflect on the work that they are doing. Toyota’s culture that embraces problems, because problems combined with Hansei can lead to Kaizen. This gives them a huge advantage over American car companies were problems are not valued and people will often cover up problems that they are having in order to maintain their status. By not embracing their problems, the problems get compounded as they are often discovered too late. TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY The best thinking to be used in choosing supporting technology is to think about it in terms the broader framework of your company’s people and processes. Toyota uses this thinking very effectively. At Toyota, technologies do not stand alone. On the contrary, their product development systems are all seamlessly integrated into their V-Comm system. This enables information to be passed quickly and efficiently to all team members. Toyota also adheres to a belief that technology should support your processes and not drive it. Consistency of process is valued at Toyota more highly than keeping up with the latest advancement. They chose technology to solve specific problems and do not look for a one size fits all solution. Finally, Toyota makes sure that the technological solutions are the right size for the problem rather than constantly going for the biggest and best. While Toyota uses this principled approach to technology, their tools that support successful innovation and organizational learning are not technology driven. Along with the V-Comm system mentioned earlier One of the first tools that is used is the CE’s concept paper. This paper is used to align the thinking of the product development team. It provides enough guidance that it allows the team to work in harmony, but at the same time, it gives the team enough flexibility that they are able to be creative. They also use a simple device called the A3 report, which distills problems and solutions down to their essence. It is really the process of reducing a problem to one sheet of paper that helps to hone the thinking and promote learning. However, the A3 also facilitates increased communication. They also use teardown analysis performed by the engineers who are working on the project and have a system of checklists that provide guidelines for product design. One of the most effective tools in Toyota’s arsenal is their constant and codified post-mortem process of Hansei. The standardization of Toyota’s processes allows the learning from this reflection to be captured and implemented. THREE CONCEPTS In looking at Toyota, one might say that they are an ambidextrous organization. Or one could say that they are successful because they have achieved a strong balance between the red and green quadrants of the Competing Values Framework. Much like Dell computers, Toyota’s culture looks very red on the surface. The strict adherence to checklists and standardization seem to indicate a company that is focused on control. But like Dell, the rigorous structures that the put in place are actually innovative (green). And in fact, the reason that Toyota and Dell are able to be successfully innovative is that they have these supporting structures in place. It is an interesting dichotomy to be at once extremely controlled and very innovative. However, by balancing these two aspects of the corporate culture, Toyota has gained great success. Toyota has also developed strategies that help it to avoid the â€Å"enemies of innovation†. First they use standardization to speed the innovation process to avoid lengthy development times. Second, by using tools like the concept paper, the Obeya, Hansei and standardization they are able to coordinate their efforts to a high degree. Third, they have come to grips with the risks that they are willing to take and have a high degree of trust throughout the organization. Finally, the CE truly understands the customer and has done much anthropological work to foster that understanding. KEY TAKE-AWAYS There were three main take-aways I gained from reading â€Å"The Toyota Product Development System: 1. Creating a culture that is aligned with your strategic goals is the greatest goal a manager could achieve. The Toyota LPDS works because it is engrained in the culture of the organization. The great reward for an engineer is to become a CE and lead a team in producing something that will best serve the needs of the customer. In order to become a CE, you have to demonstrate that you can work effectively within the systems of Toyota. This gives one a great incentive to work within the structure of Toyotas system. 2. Do not let technology drive your process, let your process drive technology. I was amazed to learn that a company with such advanced capabilities in development used checklist bound in three-ring binders to ensure that its processes were followed. It seems that most people, including myself, feel that newer and faster technology will lead to productivity breakthroughs. We are usually disappointed with the results. Toyota shows us that the problem is that technology without a solid process to back it up seldom works. If one can find technology that will improve a successful process, then it has great potential to have that breakthrough quality we expect. Toyota did this with their V-Comm system, which made the information previously stored in three-ring binders more accessible. 3. Structure leads to greater innovation It always seem counter-intuitive to me that by being more structured, one could be more creative. Having been trained as an artist, I often bristled at structure and standardization as I felt it stifled creativity. But Toyota’s LPDS made me realize that structure is the platform that allows innovation to happen. I then began to realize that within jazz music, there is a great deal of standardization. Jazz musicians spend years studying chord progressions, scales and modes and learning the songs that make up the jazz repertoire. They also spend years listening to other players and absorbing many of their ideas. This provides a foundation for musicians to communicate. Many people often ask me how it is that a group of jazz musicians who have never met before can come together for the first time and create great music together. It is because of the standardization of the repertoire that they are able to do that. The musicians know and understand the structure of a song and the â€Å"rules† for performing. This provides them with a common language to communicate their ideas to each other. In my own business, I see increasing our standardization preventing us from constantly reinventing the wheel. It is the best ways to promote and capture organization learning. The great challenge will be to change the culture, which I have created, from one that is adverse to structure to one that embraces it.

Graduation Speech: Listen Carefully -- Graduation Speech, Commencement

Listen carefully, Class of '2012, for the sounds you hear tonight will last a lifetime. Store them up and save them in your hearts, for they are priceless. Each whisper, each tick of the clock is a reminder of something you've gained here. Pay attention, so when you hear them later in life you will remember. When you hear a bell ring, remember our first day of school, back in September of 2008. The coolness of the desks chilled our sun-tanned skin as we sat timidly in our seats, quietly absorbing the shrill sound of our first high school bell as it rang at 7:30 in the morning. As much as our eyelids wanted to sink into a sweet abyss, fear crept through our bones as we eyed the monstrous seniors sitting nearby. For many of us, they may as well have been pro-wrestlers, but we did not run from them. Rather, we learned to pick the biggest one and follow him through the halls, avoiding the grueling task of maneuvering through a sea of students. We learned to problem solve quickly in those first days, a valuable skill. Don't forget this lesson, for it will take you far in life. When ...

Relationship Between Self Esteem Stress Health And Social Care Essay

Emerging surveies further reveal that persons who initiate substance usage before 15 old ages of age take an norm of 29 old ages to accomplish one twelvemonth free of substances ( vs. 18 old ages for those who start utilizing after 20 old ages of age ) . In consonant rhyme with the above, the existent quandary of substance maltreatment stems from the fact that mistreating young persons frequently display co-occurring mental wellness issues ( Kim & A ; Jackson, 2009 ) . The early intercessions with those who initiate substance usage during adolescent old ages remain a lost chance for many persons ( Liddle, Rowe, Dakof, Henderson, & A ; Greenbaum, 2009 ) . Eitle ( 2006 ) noted that populating in single-parent families peculiarly the male parent predicted increased marihuanas use among Hispanic/Latinos, but non among African Americans or Whites. Harmonizing to Wagner, Olson, Chou, Pokhrel and Duan, et Al ( 2010 ) , the features of the household such as its operation and construction may play both protective and worsening functions in adolescent substance usage. The hazard factors for early stripling substance maltreatment have been identified ( Hawkins, Catalano, & A ; Miller, 1992 ) , and utilized by research workers to develop intercessions aiming vulnerable striplings ( Dishion, Kavanagh, Schneiger, Nelson, & A ; Kaufman, 2002 ) . However spheres which may chair or intercede the consequence of substance maltreatment on adolescent substance maltreaters remains grossly under researched hence the demand for the present survey on the relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, household background and substance maltreatment among striplings. The term substance maltreatment was defined as a unidirectional concept. In kernel the term captures substance maltreatment as one concept, though multi-directional positions exist.Background of the StudyExperts in developmental epidemiology of substance maltreatment suggest that substance usage during adolescence disrupts necessary adolescent developmental procedures ( Liddle, Rowe, Dakof, Henderson, & A ; Greenbaum, 2009 ) thereby easing the divergence from protective influences, such as the household and the school. Scholars every bit contend that it leads to the acceptance of a configuration of aberrant attitudes, activities, associations, an d behaviours ( Okoza, Aluede, Fajoju, & A ; Okhiku, 2009 ; Flory, Lynam, Milich, Leukefeld, & A ; Clayton, 2004 ; Lynskey et al. , 2003 ) . Surveies conducted by the Indiana Preventive Resource Center ( 2003 ) indicated that striplings are normally introduced to substance maltreatment through ‘gateway ‘ drugs such as intoxicant and coffin nails. Furthermore, late emerging surveies suggest that male striplings use and abuse drugs more than their female opposite numbers ( Igwe, Ojinnaka, Ejiofor, Emechebe, & A ; Ibe, 2009 ) . Though, female striplings favor stimulations ( Chassin, Ritter, Trim, & A ; King, 2003 ) .In line with the above, substance maltreatment among striplings continues to be a important public wellness concern. Irrespective of the recent national informations collected in the US which shows lessenings among eighth-graders, 13 % of the group were still reported as holding abused substances in the past 12months ( Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman & A ; Schulenberg, 2008 ) . The writers stated that 5.5 % had reported holding been intoxicated. The theoretical underpinning of adolescent substance maltreatment lies within the context of societal cognitive theory ( Bandura, 1986 ) and changing grades of influence as espoused by Bronfenbrenner ( 1979 ) . These theories jointly maintain that parents, sibling, school, and equals account for an striplings overall motor to mistreat drugs. Harmonizing to Baron and Kalsher ( 2008 ) striplings involved in substance maltreatment do so because of the demand to conform to others around which underscores the demand for belongingness. The bookmans stated that striplings learn to utilize consciousness changing drugs because they are by and large in trend. In the position of Dennis and Scott ( 2007 ) an person who developed substance maltreatment jobs initiated the usage during adolescence. To buttress their statement, the bookmans contended that 85 % of about 600 young persons come ining outpatient intervention for marihuana maltreatment or dependance in the hemp young person intervention survey started substance maltreatment before the age of 15 ( Dennis et al. , 2004 ) . The impression of integral household and engagement in spiritual activities has been reported by so many bookmans as a protective factor in the etiology of substance maltreatment ( Wagner et al. , 2010 ; Demuth & A ; Brown, 2004 ; Grunbaum, Kann, Kinchen, Williams, & A ; Ross, 2002 ; National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2003 ; Chu, 2007 ; Mack, Leiber, Featherstone & A ; Monserud, 2007. In the position of Brook, Whiteman, Finch and Cohen ( 1998 ) many factors are basically interrelated, and have cumulative effects on the flights of drug maltreatment and delinquency. Rohde, Lewinsohn, and Seeley ( 1996 ) stated that substance maltreatment heralded future depression in female striplings. With available grounds bespeaking that substance usage and behavior jobs before the age of 15 was among the strongest forecasters of chronic offending, depression, school failure, unemployment, relational jobs with equals and household members through adolescence into maturity ( McGue & A ; Iacono, 2005 ) .1.2 Statement of jobThe effects of substance maltreatment among striplings in Nigeria scope from a diminution in academic public presentation, hooky, stealing, contending, chancing and dependence ( Okoza et al. , 2009 ) . Epidemiologic ratings in the state indicate that substance maltreatment is widespread and is one of the most alarming health-related jobs among striplings ( Igwe, Ojinnaka, Ejiofor, Emechebe, & A ; Ibe, 2009 ) . Evidence suggests that the beginning of substance maltreatment is multi-faceted crossing assorted spectrums which includes biological, personal and societal surroundings ( Igwe et al. , 2009 ) . Studies therefore suggest that substance usage among striplings in Nigeria usually occurs in schools, with current estimations confirming the incidence of the phenomenon as high among striplings ( Eneh & A ; Stanley, 2004 ) . Available informations from school studies in Nigeria farther reveal lifting prevalence and diminishing age of oncoming in reported instances of substance maltreatment ( Igwe et al. , 2009 ; Okoza, et al. , 2009 ) . The prevalence degree of the phenomenon was put at 33.7 % , with Alcohol noted as the most normally abused substance ( 31.6 % ) , while hemp was reported as the least ( 4.1 % ) abused substance among Nigerian striplings ( Igwe et al. , 2009 ) . Surveies have besides revealed a rise in ingestion, early induction, increasing female engagement and a tendency in the way of multiple substance usage among striplings in Nigeria ( Igwe et al. , 2009 ) . Oshodi, Aina and Onajole ( 2010 ) contend that the prevalence rates for life-time usage of substances varied from 3.8 % for Heroin and Cocaine to 85.7 % for psycho-stimulants. In the state, current use of substances the bookmans revealed varied from 2 % to 56.5 % . For â€Å" gateway drugs, life-time prevalence was estimated to run from 9.2 % to 5.2 % for intoxicant and baccy severally. However, the life clip use of hemp was put at 4.4 % . With respect to gender, prevalence estimations for males were by and large higher than for their female opposite numbers, except for antibiotics, anodynes heroin and cocaine. However, diverse grounds have been adduced by bookmans as to why adolescent maltreatment drugs, some of which include alleviation from emphasis, to handle unwellness, and to remain awake at dark to analyze ( Oshodi, Aina & A ; Onajole, 2010 ) , still there is a few documented surveies on the inclination of striplings substance maltreatment. This survey therefore intends to make full an bing spread found in the literatures by researching outstanding issues or variables comparatively under studied by bookmans in adolescent substance maltreatment. Some of these issues include the function of self-esteem, emphasis, equal relationship and depression in the anticipation of substance maltreatment among striplings. Despite the being of limited literature peculiarly on the function of self-pride, nevertheless findings remain contradictory. This survey hence seeks to clear up some of the built-in constructs and misconceptions on adolescent substance maltreatment by placing the alone forecaster of the concept substance maltreatment from the host of variables posited for the current survey. Although bookmans agree that the beginnings of substance maltreatment are multi-faceted in nature, nevertheless, few bookmans have examined this multi-faceted nature of substance maltreatment in their surveies peculiarly within the Nigerian context. This survey therefore fills a spread in the literatures by acknowledging the influence of assorted concepts from different spheres in the prognosis of substance maltreatment. This survey is therefore multi-dimensional in capturing aspects from self-esteem, stress, peer-relationship, depression and household background. In surveies with young person in intervention for substance maltreatment, striplings tended to get worse more frequently in state of affairss of direct or indirect societal force per unit area ( 66 % ) compared with grownups ( Ramo & A ; Brown, 2008 ) . In general, the few work on female striplings leaves open the inquiry of temporal sequencing with certain substance maltreatment comorbid factors. Earlier surveies have provided reasonably consistent findings in footings of the protective function of parental monitoring ( Macauly et al. , 2005 ; Parker & A ; Benson, 2004 ) and support ( Olvera, Poston, & A ; Rodriguez, 2006 ; Simantov et al. , 2006 ) . However, most old surveies have non focused on Africans and peculiarly Nigerians. It is clear that among both grownups and striplings, multiple personal and environmental factors influence adolescent substance usage ( Brown & A ; Ramo, 2006 ; Witkiewitz & A ; Marlatt, 2004 ) . The underlining subject of the current survey therefore is to detect how striplings can be protected from substance maltreatment, therefore the usage of concepts like integral household and spiritual activity as go-betweens in the survey on the relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, household background and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria.1.2.1 Research inquiryIn line with the statement of job, the undermentioned research inquiries were raised to make full the bing spreads in the research literatures reviewed on the relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, household background and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria In position of the identified spreads, the survey will react to the undermentioned research question: What is the background information of striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria? What is the age and gender difference in substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria? Is there any relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, integral household, spiritual activity and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria? What is/are the forecaster ( s ) of substance maltreatment ( self-esteem, emphasis, equal relationship, depression ) ? Is there any interceding consequence of integral household and spiritual activity on the relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria?1.2.2 Research aimThe research aim of the current survey will be captured chiefly from two aspects or dimensions. These dimensions include the chief and the specific aim of the survey as captured below.1.2.2.1 General aimThe ultimate end of this research is to find the relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, household background and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria.1.2.2.2 Specific aimThe chief aim is supported by the undermentioned exact aims: To depict the background information of striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. To find the age and gender difference in substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. To find the relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, integral household, spiritual activity and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. To find the alone forecaster ( s ) of substance maltreatment from self-esteem, emphasis, equal relationship and depression among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. To find the interceding consequence of integral household and spiritual activity on the relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria?1.2.3 Research HypothesesIn response to the specific aims of the current survey, the undermentioned nothing hypotheses were formulated: Ho1: There is no important age difference in substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho2: There is no important gender difference in substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho3: There is no important relationship between self-pride and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho4: There is no important relationship between emphasis and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho5: There is no important relationship between equal relationship and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho6: There is no important relationship between depression and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho7: There is no important relationship between integral household and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho8: There is no important relationship between spiritual activity and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho9: There is no important alone forecaster of substance maltreatment from self-esteem, emphasis, equal relationship and depression among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho10: There is no important interceding consequence of integral household on the relationship between self-pride and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho11: There is no important interceding consequence of integral household on the relationship between emphasis and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho12: There is no important interceding consequence of integral household on the relationship between equal relationship and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho13: There is no important interceding consequence of integral household on the relationship between depression and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho14: There is no important interceding consequence of spiritual activity on the relationship between self-pride and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho15: There is no important interceding consequence of spiritual activity on the relationship between emphasis and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho16: There is no important interceding consequence of spiritual activity on the relationship between equal relationship and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Ho17: There is no important interceding consequence of spiritual activity on the relationship between depression and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria.Theoretical/conceptual modelAlthough different theoretical predications possibly used in explicating substance maltreatment among striplings, nevertheless the present survey will use societal cognitive theory in explicating the diverse relationship that exist among the variables of the survey. On the other manus, ecological systems theory will be used to explicate stress one of the variables used for the survey. Based on the two theoretical predications, the conceptual model for the survey was built.Theoretical modelThe theoretical model of the survey will be guided by the societal cognitive theory as captured by Albert Bandura. The theory was chosen based on its rightness for the current rational exercising and based on its used by most of the research workers whose surveies were reviewed for the presen t academic job. The implicit in dogmas of societal cognitive theory are herewith discussed below.Social Cognitive TheoryThe term societal knowledge implies a broader aggregation of mental activities than societal acquisition ( Thomas, 2005 ) . The cosmopolitan civilization and constellation of societies, communities, groups, and other contexts provide larning chances that determine what is accepted and condemned by striplings. The presence and reaction of people ( for case in refering to societal countenances ) and the continuance of other stimulations attach dissimilar reinforcing or wash uping punishment to persons ‘ behaviour. Social construction can be conceptualized as an apprehension of agendas of beef uping exigency and other societal behavioural variables ( Bandura 1969 ) .BehaviorPERSONAL ENVIRONMENTALFACTORS FACTORS( Cognitive, affective, And biological events )Socio Cognitive Theory of Reciprocal Determinism. Adapted from Bandura ( 1969 )The household, equals, schools, churches, and other gathering offer instant backgrounds that encourage or deter adolescent substance usage. Social cognitive theoretician propose that most striplings larning comes from active imitation or mold of what they see and hears theoretical accounts in the society do. Bandura used the word mold along with such footings as experimental acquisition and vicarious acquisition ( Bandura 1969 ) . Adolescents learn from experience by hive awaying in their memory the consequences of their incidental observation for usage at some ulterior appropriate clip. Therefore, they combine different sunglassess of behaviours to organize new behavioural paradigms.Ecological Systems TheoryEcological systems theory as propounded by Bronfenbrenner ( 1979 ) and other aligned bookmans focus on five primary universes of the stripling ( household, equals, school, societ y and the planetary environment ) 1 ) micro-systems, or the immediate societal contexts that straight influence striplings ( household, school, and equals ; Pantin, Schwartz, Sullivan, Coatsworth, & A ; Szapocznik, 2003 ) ; 2 ) meso-systems, or the connexions between the striplings ‘ universes ( parental engagement in school ) ; 3 ) exo-systems, or the fortunes in a parent ‘s life that indirectly influences striplings ( work emphasis, societal support ) ; 4 ) macro-systems, or the cultural or social ideals that describes a society or civilization ( norms, imposts, belief ) . It influences what, how, when and where striplings carry out their relationship ( Bronfenbrenner, 2005 ) 5 ) chrono-system or the history of relationships in an striplings household ( Swick & A ; Williams, 2006 ) . Harmonizing to Pantin, Schwartz, Sullivan, Coatsworth and Szapocznik ( 2003 ) and in line with Bronfenbrenner ( 1979 ) these contexts besides can interact with one another. For illustration, a supportive household or school environment can buffer the harmful effects of vicinity disorganisation, poorness, and force on delinquent striplings ( Cicchetti & A ; Aber, 1998 ) . In the position of Pantin et Al. ( 2003 ) , the household context has the most influence on the stripling. In line with this propositions and sing the cardinal function of the household in civilizations ( Miranda, Bilot, Peluso, Berman, & A ; Van Meek, 2006 ) , household features may be an particularly of import influence on substance usage among Nigerian striplings. Basically, ecological-contextual intercession paradigms have been suggested ( Biglan, 1995 ) , chiefly for early intercession attempts, given the significance of societal contextual factors in finding developmental paths ( Cohen & A ; Siegel, 1991 ) . Basically, family-based multiple-systems-oriented intercessions are compellingly advocated and extensively investigated ( Drug Strategies, 2005 ) .Conceptual modelFrom the research inquiries, aims and posited hypothesis, the conceptual model for the survey is as shown below:Background Independent Mediating DependentIntegral household Ho 10-13 Ho7 Self esteem Substance Maltreatment Stress Age Gender Peer relationship Ho3 – Ho6 Depression Religious Activity Ho 14-17 Ho1 Ho 8 Ho2Conceptual model of the survey on â€Å" Relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, household background and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria †Definition of footingsIn this subdivision, effort will be made to operationally specify the constructs to be used in the survey, particularly the dependant, independent and interceding variables of the survey. The definition is to guarantee unvarying specific mentions across the assorted spectrums of the thesis.Substance maltreatmentOperational definition The respondents entire mark on the 20item Drug Abuse Screening Test ( DAST: Skinner, 1982 ) will be used to stand for substance maltreatment in the survey. High tonss will bespeak high substance maltreatment.Self-esteemOperational definition The respondents score on the 10item Rosenberg self-esteem graduated table ( Rosenberg, 1965 ) will be used to stand for self-pride in the survey. High mark will bespeak high self-prides, while low mark will bespeak otherwise.Peer-relationshipOperational definition The respondent ‘s entire mark on the 20item equal relationship questionnaire ( Rigley & A ; Slee, 1993 ) will be used to stand for equal dealingss in the survey. High mark indicate high equal relationship.StressOperational definition The respondents score on the 14item perceived emphasis graduated table ( Cohen, 1983 ) will be used to stand for emphasis in the survey. High tonss will bespeak high emphasis in the survey.DepressionOperational definition The respondents score on the 27item Children ‘s Depression Inventory ( Kovacs, 1985 ) will be used to stand for depressive symptomatology among striplings in the survey. High tonss will bespeak high depression in the survey.Integral householdOperational definition The term integral household is used to stand for striplings populating with both parents ( male parent and female parent ) .Religious activityOperational definition The term spiritual activity is used to mention to the degree of adolescent engagement in spiritual activity. Adolescent Operational definition The term stripling as will be used in the survey implies anybody between ages of 10 to 19years.1.5 Significance of the surveyThe survey can supply the necessary consciousness on the dangers of stripling substance usage and by so making trigger treatments on the topic among policy shapers in the state. The survey will assist edify households and communities on the hazard and protective of adolescent substance maltreatment. The survey will underline the demand for early intercession for striplings at hazard for substance maltreatment given its manifest and latent effects. The survey will besides make the consciousness of â€Å" gateway † drugs such as coffin nail normally abused by striplings.1.6 Restrictions of the surveyDespite the identified importance of the survey as captured in the significance, there are several likely restrictions that warrant consideration. These awaited restraints include the followers: The sample of the survey will merely be selected from secondary schools in Somolu local authorities country of Lagos, Nigeria. The information for the survey will merely be collected at one clip point ( cross-sectional ) . The full instrument to be used in the survey will be based on self-report. Given the sensitiveness of the capable affair, pupils may non give the needed information.Chapter IILITERATURE REVIEWThe chapter will reexamine literatures on self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, integral household, spiritual activity and substance maltreatment. The reappraisal will therefore uncover a causal relationship between the independent, interceding and dependent variables of the survey. In the position of O ‘ Malley, Johnson, Bachman and Schulenberg ( 2000 ) substance maltreatment typically emerges during adolescence. Although there are some gender differences in adolescent substance usage ( Igwe, Ojinnaka, Ejiofor, Emechebe, & A ; Ibe, 2009 ) , available grounds indicate that male striplings use and abuse drugs more than their female opposite numbers. However, female striplings favor stimulations ( Chassin, Ritter, Trim, & A ; King, 2003 ) . Epidemiologic surveies conducted in the present decennary suggest that substance maltreatment symptoms additio n steadily across adolescence peculiarly among female striplings ( Johnson, Cohen, Kotler, Kasen, & A ; Brook, 2002 ) . Earlier literatures based on the comparing of young persons populating in integral versus disrupted households have suggested that life with both parents may hold a protective consequence on stripling substance usage ( Grunbaum, Kann, Kinchen, Williams, & A ; Ross, 2002 ; National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2003 ) . More so, late emerging literatures contend that the issue of adolescent substance usage was more complex than originally believed. The impact legion bookmans have argued varies with gender, figure of household passages, quality of relationship with parent, alterations in socioeconomic resources, possible break of equal relationships, and other factors ( Hair, Park, Ling, & A ; Moore, 2009 ; Krohn, Hall, & A ; Lizotte, 2009 ) . Shelef, Diamond, Diamond and Myers ( 2009 ) examined whether having substance usage upset intervention had a differential impact on coffin nail smoke behaviours of mild ( 10 coffin nails per twenty-four hours ) , moderate ( 10-19 ) , and heavy ( 20 ) tobacco users ( smoked on 60 yearss in the past 90 ) utilizing 378 striplings from the Cannabis Youth Treatment survey. Findingss of the survey indicated that mild tobacco users decreased yearss of smoking during intervention and followup, whereas centrist and heavy tobacco users demonstrated a little lessening over intervention, and no alteration over follow-up. More so, the writers noted little lessening among heavy tobacco users during coffin nails per twenty-four hours intervention stage. The findings of the survey affirmed the impression that although smoke may diminish for mild tobacco users, nevertheless moderate and heavy tobacco users require more attending. In add-on, research besides affirm that depressive symptoms and substance usage portion relationships with of import hazard and protective factors, such as parental abnormal psychology, rearing jobs, kid exposure to force, school jobs, sexual activity and love relationships ( Harrison & A ; Sidebottom, 2009 ) . Studies every bit indicate that the developmental path of substance maltreatment symptoms rely chiefly on the age of oncoming, with initial oncoming of substance maltreatment before the age of 15 associated with increasing maltreatment for misss ( Chassin, Pitts, & A ; Prost, 2002 ; Nagin & A ; Tremblay, 2001 ) . Besides, well-known organic structure of research, both longitudinal and cross-sectional has demonstrated that adolescent substance maltreatment and hardship were associated with hapless mental wellness results among grownups ( Grella, Stein, & A ; Greenwell, 2005 ) . Harmonizing to Ramo and Brown ( 2008 ) a major focal point in research analyzing the procedure of dependence impairment has been the word picture of diminution â€Å" determiners, † or contextual characteristics of state of affairss in grownups and striplings after been in intervention for substance maltreatment related jobs. Ramo and Brown ( 2008 ) examined adolescent and big substance maltreatment backsliding utilizing person-centered research attack by Karl Rogers ( 1957 ) in bring outing of import developmental differences in the state of affairss that make striplings and grownups most susceptible to get worse after substance maltreatment intervention. Findingss of the bookmans revealed that both striplings and grownups demonstrated two category agreements of backsliding precursors. Adults were labeled based on societal and urge state of affairss, negative and urges state of affairss. However, adolescent categories were labeled as societal and positive state of affairss an d complex state of affairss. Abundant grounds suggests that engagement in spiritual activities and integral households serve to protect or cut down the hazard of substance usage. Adolescents who attend church or mosque at least one time monthly reportedly may prosecute in smoke or imbibing but are significantly less likely to utilize marihuana and cocaine, compared with those who infrequently or ne'er attend church ( Chu, 2007 ) . Mack, Leiber, Featherstone and Monserud ( 2007 ) noted that individual parents may be less able to supply consistent supervising and monitoring for their kids, so striplings from individual parent families have more chances to experiment with substance usage and other delinquent behaviours in comparing with striplings from two-parent families. Other surveies such as Barrett and Turner ( 2006 ) confirmed the mediating function of the usage and blessing of substances by equals and exposure to emphasize. In the position of Amato and Fowler ( 2002 ) , the place of household kineticss has been examined as both a correlative and a forecaster of adolescent substance usage. Family processes harmonizing to the bookmans act as a signifier of informal societal control that can diminish the chance of delinquent stripling behaviours by plumping chances to take part in aberrant behaviours, while supplying utility pro-social activities and promoting positive development. Available grounds from literatures indicates that female substance maltreatment enlargement is interwoven with antisocial, depressive, and eating upsets symptomatology ( Angold et al. , 1999 ) . Studies therefore denote that substance maltreatment symptoms typically result in the oncoming of other perturbations, particularly antisocial symptoms ( Brook, Cohen, & A ; Brook, 1998 ) . Rohde, Lewinsohn, and Seeley ( 1996 ) discovered that intoxicant maltreatment heralded future depression in female striplings. Research grounds from both earlier and later surveies suggest that striplings who live in an agreement other than with their two biological parents study more substance usage than those who live with both parents ( Wagner et al. , 2010 ; Demuth & A ; Brown, 2004 ) . Harmonizing to Chassin et Al. ( 2005 ) , populating with other people was associated with coffin nail smoke in a sample of largely white, 10 to 17-year-olds, even after commanding for features of rearing manner. Barrett and Turner ( 2006 ) stated that others agreements like life with other non biological parents was associated with elevated DSM-IV substance maltreatment and dependance symptoms, intensified coffin nail smoke ( Miller & A ; Volk, 2002 ) and smoking beginning ( Edelen, Tucker, & A ; Ellickson, 2007 ) . However, the bookmans revealed that the presence of an grownup or older sibling who smoked counteracted the protective consequence of the atomic household. Surveies have repeatedly besides found an opposite relationship between parental monitoring and adolescent substance usage ( Macauly, Griffin, Gronewold, Williams, & A ; Botvin, 2005 ; Parker & A ; Benson, 2004 ) . For case, in an earlier longitudinal survey of urban, Afro-american striplings Chilcoat and Anthony ( 1996 ) found lower quartile of parental monitoring in in-between childhood ( 8 to 10 old ages old ) was about three times more likely to originate the usage of cocaine, marihuana, and inhalants four old ages subsequently. In a survey conducted by Parker and Benson ( 2004 ) lower degrees of parental support ( perceived parental trust, apprehension, equity, and pride ) were associated with increased stripling usage of intoxicant, cocaine and marihuana in a big, ethnically diverse national study. In discrepancy to the above survey, a nationally representative study conducted by Simantov, Schoen and Klein ( 2006 ) revealed that striplings who reported high parental support and frequent communicating were about half as likely to smoke and imbibe as their opposite numbers who reported infrequent communicating and did non place their parents as foundations of encouragement.Chapter IIIMethodologyThe survey will consist junior secondary category three and senior secondary categories one to three pupils from selected schools in Somolu local authorities country of Lagos, Nigeria. Given that substance maltreatment among striplings peculiarly in Nigeria starts from schools. Therefore the school population will be the best topographic point for early sensing and bar of substance maltreatment among striplings ( Okoza et al. , 2009 ; Igwe, Ojinnaka, Ejiofor, Emechebe, & A ; Ibe, 2009 ) . The sample pupils will be drawn from three public schools in Somolu city. The city is a assorted urban-suburban community that is socioeconomically representative of the province population. The sample of pupils was chosen because they provide the most accessible theoretical account of striplings who may hold come in contact with assorted substances while in school. Approval for the survey will be obtained from the Lagos State Ministry of Education and from the principals of take parting schools.3.1.1 LocationThe survey will be conducted in Somolu Local Government country of Lagos. Somolu is bounded by 3rd Mainland Bridge in the East, Bariga in the South, Atunrase Estate in the North and Ikorodu in the West. The country covers about 11.6km2 of land, with an estimated population of 402, 673 people ( Census, 2006 ) . Somolu is a strategic location peculiarly in the widely distributed metropolis of Lagos. It easy links topographic points like Lagos Island, Obalende, Surulere and of clas s Akoka where the University of Lagos is located. The country harbors some of the major markets in Lagos and the oldest secondary school in Nigeria. As a consequence, people from different cultural groups reside in the country.3.1.2 Research DesignThe survey will chiefly be a correlativity survey, aimed at finding the strength and way of relationship between the variables of the survey. It is besides aimed at turn toing concerns such as the extent of substance maltreatment among school traveling striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria.3.1.3 Research Inclusion CriteriaTo be eligible for engagement in the survey, striplings have to be between the ages of 10 and 19 old ages, in line with WHO specified categorization of adolescent age scope. The age scope will farther be divided into early ( 10-13 old ages ) , mid ( 14-16years ) and late ( 17-19 old ages ) in consonant rhyme with earlier surveies conducted by Igwe et Al. ( 2009 ) on the socio-demographic correlatives of psychotropic substa nce maltreatment among secondary school pupils in Enugu State, Nigeria.3.1.4 Research Exclusion CriteriaAdolescent from selected schools in Somolu local authorities below the age of 10years and above the age of 19years as at last birthday will be excluded from the survey.SamplingCluster trying technique will be used to choose a sum of 370 striplings. The trying method was chosen for the survey due to the homogeneousness of the sample. More so, the technique was preferred due to the trouble associated with obtaining a sampling frame. The sample of the survey will consist English-speaking adolescent pupils from Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Owing to the indispensable nature of sample size in the statistical design of any research, it hence became of import to hold equal sample size. This is of import because equal sample size ensured dependable consequences. The reappraisal of literatures suggested that some statistical techniques were effectual in the finding of sample size. These consist of consequence size index, important standard and statistical illation power. Since these parametric quantities are interrelated, if the research worker knows one, it was possible to find the others. There are besides some well-known regulations for finding each parametric quantity, for case when finding the power for a survey, it can be set at.80 ( Cohen, 1988 ) . Another common regulation related to important degrees, harmonizing to Cohen ( 1997 ) was that in most instances a.05 value was acceptable. On the other manus, for two tailed trials, where the alternate hypothesis shows that Ma # Mb, we can conventionally utilize medium Es, assumed as equal to.5. For the intent of the current survey on relationship between self-pride, emphasis, equal relationship, depression, household background and substance maltreatment among striplings in Somolu, Lagos, Nigeria. Krejcie and Morgan ( 1972 ) methodological attack for the finding of sample size was adopted. The expression stated by the bookman is herewith captured below: n = X2 *N*P* ( 1-P ) ( ME2* ( N-1 ) + ( X2*P* ( 1-P ) Where: n = sample size X2 = Chi – square for the specified assurance degree at 1 grade of freedom N = Population size P = Population proportion ( .50 in the tabular array ) ME = Desired border of mistake ( expressed as a proportion ) ( See attached sample size tabular array ) . Therefore, in line with above mentioned parametric quantities, the sample size for the current survey was determined. Basically, a one or two tailed survey depends on old findings, as there was no similar survey at the local degree, the hypothesis will be two-tailed.Data CollectionThe information for the survey will be obtained through self-report instruments administered to pupils in their schoolrooms by a trained research helper utilizing standardised protocols. After reading the instructions to the pupils, the research helper will go around the steps in the schoolroom and will reply any single inquiries about peculiar points. The study will be administered under confidential conditions, and a certification of confidentiality protecting the information will be obtained from the Lagos State Ministry of Education. Students will be instructed non to compose their name on the study and will be assured that their replies will be purely confidential and would non be shown to their parents or instructors. Methodological research has shown that when participants are assured of their confidentiality, self-reports of substance maltreatment normally have good cogency ( Patrick et al. , 1994 ) . An approximative clip of disposal of instruments on participants of the survey will be determined during the pilot survey of the current research.3.4 InstrumentsThe instrument brochure for the current survey will incorporate a combination of gages and single points designed to mensurate background features such as age, ethnicity, household composing ( integral, divorced or detached households ) , and other variables such as self-esteem, emphasis, equal relationship, depression and substance maltreatment.Substance maltreatmentSubstance maltreatment will be measured with the 20item Drug Abuse Screening Test ( DAST : Skinner, 1982 ) . The mark of DAST scopes from 0-20 with high mark stand foring substance maltreatment.StressStress will be measured by the Perceived Stress Scale ( PSS ) ( Cohen, 1983 ) , a 14 point self study questionnaire designed to mensurate the grade to which state of affairss in life are appraised as stressful. The tonss of the PSS are obtained by change by reversaling the tonss on positive points and so summing all the tonss of the 14 points. The PSS graduated table tonss range from 0 to 56 with high mark stand foring high societal emphasis.Self EsteemThe 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg, 1965 ) will be used to measure planetary self-pride, with higher tonss bespeaking positive dignity. Each point will be scored on a 4-point Likert graduated table runing from 1 = strongly agree to 4= strongly disagree.DepressionChildren Depression Inventory ( CDI: Kovacs, 1985 ) will be used to measure depressive symptomatology with higher tonss bespeaking high depressive sy mptomatology. The CDI consists of feelings and thoughts grouped into 27 points. The graduated table tonss range from 0 to 54.Peer relationshipPeer relationship questionnaire ( PRQ: Rigby & A ; Slee, 1993 ) will be used to mensurate equal dealingss. The PRQ has three subscales: intimidation, equal victimization, and pro-social graduated table. The instrument is used for kids between the ages of 12 to 18year and consist of 20 points scored on a 4-point graduated table, runing from Never 1, Once in a piece 2, Pretty frequently 3, and Very frequently 4.3.5 Data AnalysissIn analysing the information, the internal consistence of the graduated tables ( correlativity ) points will be measured utilizing Cronbach ‘s Alpha. The trial is undisputedly the most normally recognized step of dependability. Each subdivision of the questionnaire will be calculated individually. Before continuing into the reported tonss of the overall responses to each step, attending will foremost be given to th e normalcy of the informations distribution. The information will be inspected utilizing graphical shows such as histogram, root and foliage secret plan, box-plot and normal chance secret plan. The overall mean tonss for all the respondents along with standard divergence value will besides be calculated. In line with the aims of the survey, Independent sample t trial will be used to analyze difference, Pearson correlativity will be used to find the relationship between variables and hierarchal arrested development analyses used examine mediation.

Patriotism and National Pride Essay

Pride (without complacency and with an awareness of imperfections) is important in spurring individuals and a society on to greater achievement. The loss of faith in the achievements of the past, history and traditions can be an important factor in the decline of a culture or a civilization. a sense of national pride and purpose that enables residents in a particular area to rise above the divisions of race, politics, ideology, class and the like. It is patriotism that unites the people and enables them to rise above narrow sectarian and other interests. A sense of unashamed pride which does not degenerate into jingoism or imperialism is essential for the growth of individuals and the development of a nation. A sense of national pride has spurred achievements in science and technology (the space race), sport and in economic development. Pride in the past and patriotism (within bounds and without complacency) are essential to real human progress. Is Patriotism Dead? Many of our people will offer no salutes, feel no sense of pride, and pledge no allegiance to the flag. Some will not respond because of indifference or calloused hearts. Others will be working to tear the fabric of our national life to shreds; to worsen, not heal, our sickness; to destroy, not to build; to bring disunity, not unity, to the nation. For them, patriotism is dead; love of country is archaic. Has the time come for us to abolish what our forefathers created? Has their vision of liberty, justice, and happiness proved unattainable?Are we ready to say that the mythos, the heroes, and the folk tales that have bound us together as a people for almost two hundred years no longer enthrall us? Are we willing to forget our common heritage, dilute our sense of fraternity and destiny, and dissolve the cohesiveness that made us one? We are faced with grave and challenging problems in our national life. We see  many things we dislike, and can point to many injustices that have not yet yielded to truth and righteousness. But even as we acknowledge the defects we cannot forget the victories. The slaves have been freed; universal suffrage has become a reality; startling advances have been made to assure all our people of life and liberty as well as the right to pursue happiness. Indians need not gloss over the nation’s defects or sweep its failures under the rug. They need not claim that their country is always right. When it is right, they will support it; and when it is wrong, they will love it and work to correct it.The day that patriotism ceases, that day we will have ceased to be a people Patriotism is not dead; our nation is not finished. Let us rally behind our flag; let us love our country with all its faults; let us work to improve it with all our strength; let usdefend it with all our resources; let us hand it on to generations unborn better than it was when we received it; let us instill in our children the hope of our forefathers for the ultimate fulfillment of their dreams. But above all, let us tell them that the greatness of America lies not simply in the achievement of the ideal but in the unrelenting pursuit of it The feel of patriotism The nation celebrated its 60th year Independence recently. one can see the visual medium rolling out exclusive shorts as a mark of tribute to the heroes who fought for our Independence. It was a summit of sort, when one could see most of the big names summon together to play or sing the National Anthem. The minute one sees that visual, it is definite he/she could feel something happening within themselves. A look at the majestic flag gives a feeling that we are the citizens of the Independent India. For a second one could feel all the struggles, trials and tribulations our leaders in the past have undergone to obtain it. I was one among those who felt very proud that I am a citizen of Independent India and I was able to feel a sense of pride when I just took a look at the flag. But, my mind paused for a second to think how many of us are really patriotic? only a handful was the answer. Are the schools imparting enough amount of patriotism into the minds of the young ones during their school days. For the little ones, Independene day means nothing but a public holiday and a few choclates given at their  schools once the flag is hoisted. Beyond that, do the teachers feed the kids with the required information on freedom stuggle and the pioneers who fought for it? Nope. I felt sorry when a kid, pointing out to the portrait of a poet, whose writings worked wonders for the freedom struggle, asked who that man was? This is not a joke to laugh at but a matter to think about. Neither the teachers nor the elders at home make an effort to teach the young ones about those great leaders who were responsible for our Independence. Another incident in the bus in which I was travelling made me feel why on the first place we got Independence. The military rule suits us best. A man was smoking inside the bus, and a few women including myself, showed our objection for that. His immediate reply was, what is this? This is Independent India and I am not allowed to smoke here? This is strange! This is just a small dose of such incidents happening on a daily basis. everyone is sure to come across such incidents or characters. It is saddening to note that the world is heading towards destruction with such characters roaming about in the public. when will we get the sense of patriotism and realise the struggles underwent to obtain freedom is a million-dollar question. If this situation persists, it will not be shocking if the younger ones ask who is the father of the nation and who is Jawaharlal Nehru? what a plight that would descend on the Nation then? The structure of patriotism Every social group has its own notions of loyalty. The institution of family embeds loyalty to the family as a social group. When a son and his wife and children separate from the rest of the family or when brothers divide their property, the neighborhood reacts with sorrow and not glee. Caste associations emphasize the benefits which come from an active participation and cooperation between different members of the same caste. Tribal groups, too, emphasize similar benefits from collaboration. The notion of patriotism is different from such forms of group loyalty. The difference lies in its close affinity with the state. Patriotism is not based upon kinship or of shared descent like in families, castes and tribes. Patriotism is based upon the idea of a nation and its central institution, the state.Patriotism in modern India is thus qualitatively different from  the love of one’s community that was to be seen in ancient and medieval India. Its relation to one’s country has changed with the change in the social structure of the state and the nation. To a great extent the pre-modern states and countries were based upon the rule of one or a few social groups. The Gupta period was dominated by the Guptas and their kindred and allies. The Mughals saw the domination of the Mughal biradari, and their supporters who included the Turks, the Iranians and several other groups like the Rajputs. Modern India is based upon the ideology of equality of all. While there continue to be several hangovers of the past to be seen today, the basic character of the state and the nation have changed. Modern India is based upon the idea that all its citizens are equal and that its rulers represent the will of not just a few, but all of the different communities that make up this country. This nation is based upon different foundations than most of those which went before it. Its legitimacy lies in its being able to satisfy its various component communities that their interests will be safeguarded by the Indian state. Irrespective of the religion, caste, community, sex of the individual, the state is supposed to represent each and every of them. The modern nation has its appeal because of its being able to mediate between and reconcile often conflicting interests. The state is considered legitimate when it speaks with the same voice to all. It is the coming together of so many diverse groups which lends strength to the country. The strength of India lies in its being able to weld together a large and heterogeneous populace into a common force. Any country in modern times which seeks to progress and develop must find ways of attracting and retaining the loyalty of its constituent groups. In modern nations this is done by everybody voting to select their rulers and the creation of a bureaucracy based on selection through merit. A modern state, with its universal appeal to its people, has many advantages over the older kinds of nationhood and statehood, with their sectional support bases. The universalistic modern state is what the most powerful countries of the world have. It is through this social form that resources are used most efficiently and the diverse forces of a country focussed for the benefit of everybody. Patriotism in a modern country cannot be created on the basis of ideas that appeal to only partisan groups or some sections of society. The naked use of force to coerce acceptance of the nation is not a characteristic of a society based on reason and democracy. The content of patriotism in a modern country The transformed structure of patriotism leads to a change in the content of what patriotism would mean in everyday practice. Modern patriotism and nationhood is based upon symbols that all can share. By definition this excludes symbols that pit religion against religion. Patriotism in a modern country must be expressed through universal symbols. These are all around us and yet are ignored. The streets of a neighborhood are a truer symbol of nationhood than a place of worship. They are used by all and paid for by the contributions of all. Yet, they remain filthy while people pool money to build distant places of worship. When universal symbols are not altogether ignored here, they are attacked by all kinds of distortions. The symbols of the rich are enthroned as the symbols of the entire nation. The tragedy of the many poor who have been thrown out of their homes by big dams does not arouse us. The tragedy of the middle-class Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to leave their homes does. The latter are called refugees in their own homeland. The dispossessed adivasis and rural poor who did not have relatives that they could flee to in Delhi do not attract national sympathy. Nor do the Kashmiri Muslims who had to flee Kashmir, in spite of their outnumbering the Kashmiri Pandits. Clearly we are still in the process of moving towards modern nationhood. The model of modernity which Indians must aspire towards cannot be the same as that in the West. We are far too heterogeneous to ever become the kind of nation which fascist Germany once aspired to be. And our forms of production are still not capitalistic enough to become the kind of melting pot of identities which the USA was. We must define our own modernity. That universal framework of Indian reason must be the framework through which our  nationhood and patriotism must be defined. It must be a patriotism which seeks with Gandhiji the happiness of the poorest of the poor as the index of our national development. It must be a patriotism which sees the freedom of the smallest of the minorities as the index of our social development. It must be a patriotism which comes into action every day, through a conscience that sees lying to customers, exploiting labourers, cheating on tax, paying bribes, adding sand to cement, oppressing the poor, paying obeisance to the powerful, all these daily acts of betrayal of the people as treason. Every secular space in a modern country teaches a lesson of patriotism. But school education is a special area for our concern. It is here where most young people come together crossing the old boundaries of religion and caste. It is here where the new nation is being constructed. That makes it even more necessary to be cautious about the introduction of religious values in schools. The kind of values which we seek must be in tune with the universal appeal of our country. Where the values being taught emphasize freedom of thought and truths that are shared by all and not just a few. The modern idea of India is about equality and the transcendence of social barriers, not about narrow dividing walls. It is high time that we rethought our school experience to try and create a land where the patriot is she who risks her life to protect an unknown stranger, and where the traitor is he who kills his friend in the name of his god. Pride (without complacency and with an awareness of imperfections) is important in spurring individuals and a society on to greater achievement. The loss of faith in the achievements of the past, history and traditions can be an important factor in the decline of a culture or a civilization. a sense of national pride and purpose that enables residents in a particular area to rise above the divisions of race, politics, ideology, class and the like. It is patriotism that unites the people and enables them to rise above narrow sectarian and other interests. A sense of unashamed pride which does not degenerate into jingoism or imperialism is essential for the growth of individuals and the development of a nation. A sense of national pride has spurred achievements in science and technology (the space race), sport and in economic development. Pride in the past and patriotism (within bounds and  without complacency) are essential to real human progress. Is Patriotism Dead? Many of our people will offer no salutes, feel no sense of pride, and pledge no allegiance to the flag. Some will not respond because of indifference or calloused hearts. Others will be working to tear the fabric of our national life to shreds; to worsen, not heal, our sickness; to destroy, not to build; to bring disunity, not unity, to the nation. For them, patriotism is dead; love of country is archaic. Has the time come for us to abolish what our forefathers created? Has their vision of liberty, justice, and happiness proved unattainable? Are we ready to say that the mythos, the heroes, and the folk tales that have bound us together as a people for almost two hundred years no longer enthrall us? Are we willing to forget our common heritage, dilute our sense of fraternity and destiny, and dissolve the cohesiveness that made us one? We are faced with grave and challenging problems in our national life. We see many things we dislike, and can point to many injustices that have not yet yielded to truth and righteousness. But even as we acknowledge the defects we cannot forget the victories. The slaves have been freed; universal suffrage has become a reality; startling advances have been made to assure all our people of life and liberty as well as the right to pursue happiness.Indians need not gloss over the nation’s defects or sweep its failures under the rug. They need not claim that their country is always right. When it is right, they will support it; and when it is wrong, they will love it and work to correct it. The day that patriotism ceases, that day we will have ceased to be a people Patriotism is not dead; our nation is not finished. Let us rally behind our flag; let us love our country with all its faults; let us work to improve it with all our strength; let us defend it with all our resources; let us hand it on to generations unborn better than it was when we received it; let us instill in our children the hope of our forefathers for the ultimate fulfillment of their dreams. But above all, let us tell them that the  greatness of America lies not simply in the achievement of the ideal but in the unrelenting pursuit of it.

Personal Selling Essays

Personal Selling Essays Personal Selling Paper Personal Selling Paper In the past few tutorials we saw how marketers can use advertising, sales promotion and public relations to reach a large number of customers. While these methods of promotion offer many advantages, they each share one major disadvantage: they are a non-personal form of communication. And whether a company is in retailing or manufacturing, sells goods or services, is a large multinational or a local startup, is out to make a profit or is a non-profit, in all probability at some point they will need to rely on personal contact with customers. In other words, they will need to promote using personal selling. Unfortunately, personal selling is widely misunderstood. For instance, many customers think salespeople possess traits that include being manipulative, arrogant, aggressive and greedy. While many marketers believe salespeople are only out to make a quick sale intended to increase their income and that they often do this by making unscrupulous deals undermining the marketer’s attempt to build strong brands. While there certainly are some salespeople that fit these descriptions, today the most successful salespeople are those who work hard to understand their customers’ needs with the ultimate goal of ensuring that customer’s needs are satisfied at a high level. And, more importantly, personal selling holds a key role in the promotional activities of a large number of organizations. In fact, in the business market where one company sells products to another company, money spent to support the selling function far exceeds spending on advertising. In this part of our highly detailed Principles of Marketing Tutorials, we begin a two-part look at personal selling. We will continue our coverage of personal selling in the next tutorial when we discuss the selling process used to obtain a customer order. What is Personal Selling? Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e. g. , salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with another party (e. g. , those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both parties obtaining value. In most cases the value for the salesperson is realized through the financial rewards of the sale while the customer’s value is realized from the benefits obtained by consuming the product. However, getting a customer to purchase a product is not always the objective of personal selling. For instance, selling may be used for the purpose of simply delivering information. Because selling involves personal contact, this promotional method often occurs through face-to-face meetings or via a telephone conversation, though newer technologies allow contact to take place over the Internet including using video conferencing or text messaging (e. . , online chat). Among marketing jobs, more are employed in sales positions than any other marketing-related occupation. In the U. S. alone, the U. S. Department of Labor estimates that over 14 million or about 11% of the overall labor force are directly involved in selling and sales-related positions. Worldwide this figure may be closer to 10 0 million. Yet these figures vastly under-estimate the number of people who are actively engaged in some aspect of selling as part of their normal job responsibilities. While millions of people can easily be seen as holding sales jobs, the promotional techniques used in selling are also part of the day-to-day activities of many who are usually not directly associated with selling. For instance, top corporate executives whose job title is CEO or COO are continually selling their company to major customers, stock investors, government officials and many other stakeholders. The techniques they employ to gain benefits for their company are the same used by the front-line salesperson to sell to a small customer. Consequently, our discussion of the promotional value of personal selling has implications beyond marketing and sales departments. Advantages of Personal Selling One key advantage personal selling has over other promotional methods is that it is a two-way form of communication. In selling situations the message sender (e. g. , salesperson) can adjust the message as they gain feedback from message receivers (e. g. , customer). So if a customer does not understand the initial message (e. . , doesn’t fully understand how the product works) the salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms of promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be easily adjusted to address audience questions. The interactive nature of personal selling also makes it the most effective promotional method for building relationships with customers, particularly in the business-to-business market. This is especially important for companies that either sell expensive products or sell lower cost but high volume products (i. e. , buyer must purchase in large quantities) that rely heavily on customers making repeat purchases. Because such purchases may take a considerable amount of time to complete and may involve the input of many people at the purchasing company (i. e. , buying center), sales success often requires the marketer develop and maintain strong relationships with members of the purchasing company. Finally, personal selling is the most practical promotional option for reaching customers who are not easily reached through other methods. The best example is in selling to the business market where, compared to the consumer market, advertising, public relations and sales promotions are often not well received. Disadvantages of Personal Selling Possibly the biggest disadvantage of selling is the degree to which this promotional method is misunderstood. Most people have had some bad experiences with salespeople who they perceived were overly aggressive or even downright annoying. While there are certainly many salespeople who fall into this category, the truth is salespeople are most successful when they focus their efforts on satisfying customers over the long term and not focusing own their own selfish interests. A second disadvantage of personal selling is the high cost in maintaining this type of promotional effort. Costs incurred in personal selling include: High cost-per-action (CPA) – As noted in the Promotion Decisions tutorial, CPA can be an important measure of the success of promotion spending. Since personal selling involves person-to-person contact, the money spent to support a sales staff (i. e. , sales force) can be steep. For instance, in some industries it costs well over (US) $300 each time a salesperson contacts a potential customer. This cost is incurred whether a sale is made or not! These costs include compensation (e. g. , salary, commission, bonus), providing sales support materials, allowances for entertainment spending, office supplies, telecommunication and much more. With such high cost for maintaining a sales force, selling is often not a practical option for selling products that do ot generate a large amount of revenue. Training Costs – Most forms of personal selling require the sales staff be extensively trained on product knowledge, industry information and selling skills. For companies that require their salespeople attend formal training programs, the cost of training can be quite high and include such expenses as travel, hotel, meals, and tr aining equipment while also paying the trainees’ salaries while they attend. A third disadvantage is that personal selling is not for everyone. Job turnover in sales is often much higher than other marketing positions. For companies that assign salespeople to handle certain customer groups (e. g. , geographic territory), turnover may leave a company without representation in a customer group for an extended period of time while the company recruits and trains a replacement. Objectives of Personal Selling Personal selling is used to meet the five objectives of promotion in the following ways: Building Product Awareness – A common task of salespeople, especially when selling in business markets, is to educate customers on new product offerings. In fact, salespeople serve a major role at industry trades shows (see the Sales Promotion tutorial) where they discuss products with show attendees. But building awareness using personal selling is also important in consumer markets. As we will discuss, the advent of controlled word-of-mouth marketing is leading to personal selling becoming a useful mechanism for introducing consumers to new products. Creating Interest – The fact that personal selling involves person-to-person communication makes it a natural method for getting customers to experience a product for the first time. In fact, creating interest goes hand-in-hand with building product awareness as sales professionals can often accomplish both objectives during the first encounter with a potential customer. Providing Information – When salespeople engage customers a large part of the conversation focuses on product information. Marketing organizations provide their sales staff with large amounts of sales support including brochures, research reports, computer programs and many other forms of informational material. Stimulating Demand – By far, the most important objective of personal selling is to convince customers to make a purchase. In The Selling Process tutorial we will see how salespeople accomplish this when we offer detailed coverage of the selling process used to gain customer orders. Reinforcing the Brand – Most personal selling is intended to build long-term relationships with customers. A strong relationship can only be built over time and requires regular communication with a customer. Meeting with customers on a regular basis allows salespeople to repeatedly discuss their company’s products and by doing so helps strengthen customers’ knowledge of what the company has to offer. Types of Selling Roles As we noted above, worldwide millions of people have careers that fit in the personal selling category. However, the actual functions carried out by someone in sales may be quite different. In general there are four major types of selling roles: Order Getters Order Takers Order Influencers Sales Support The objectives of each role are often very different and within each role there are serveral subclassifications. A detailed discussion of each role can be found in the Types of Selling Roles tutorial. Trends in Selling While the basic premise of personal selling, building relationships, has not changed much in the last 50 years, there are a number of developments that are impacting this method of promotion including: Controlled Word of Mouth Customer Information Sharing Mobile and Web Computing Electronic Sales Presentations Electronic Sales Training Use of Customer Teams Selling Trends: Controlled Word of Mouth One of the most influential forms of promotion occurs when one person speaks highly of a product to someone else, particularly if the message sender is considered an unbiased source of information. Until recently, marketers have had little control over person-to-person promotion that did not involve salespeople (i. e. , biased source). However, marketers are beginning to experiment with new methods of promotion that strategically takes advantage of the benefits offered by word-of-mouth promotion. Unlike salespeople who attempt to obtain an order from customers, controlled word-of-mouth promotion uses real people to help spread information about a product but do not directly elicit customer orders. With controlled word-of-mouth promotion a marketer hires individuals to spread positive information about a product but in a way that does not make it obvious to others that they are being paid to do so. The technique is especially useful when building awareness of new products and this approach has been dubbed â€Å"buzz† marketing as a way to describe its objective of building a high level of awareness for a product. For example, a brewer may form a team of word-of-mouth marketers who visit local taverns and night spots. As part of their job these marketers may talk up a new beer sold by the brewer and even purchase the product for some customers. But in the course of doing so they do not directly disclose that they are being compensated by the brewer for their efforts. Controlled word-of-mouth has received a great deal of publicity though much of it has focused on potential ethical concerns. Some have expressed concern that paying people to act as if they are interested in a product without any indication of their relationship with the product breaches ethical standards. As more companies explore controlled word-of-mouth marketing it is expect to become an even more scrutinized form of personal selling. Selling Trends: Customer Information Sharing Possibly the most dramatic change to occur in how salespeople function on a day-to-day basis involves the integration of customer relationship management (CRM) systems into the selling arena. CRM is the name given to both the technology and the philosophy that drives companies to gain a better understanding of their customers with the goal of building stronger long-term relationships. The essential requirement for an effective CRM system is the need for all customer contact points (e. g. , salespeople, customer service, websites) to gather information so that this can be shared with others in the company. But CRM has faced some rough times within the sales force for the exact reason it is important: salespeople must share their information. Salespeople have historically been very good at developing relationships and learning about customers, but often loath sharing this since, in effect, information is what makes them important. In the minds of some salespeople, letting go of the information reduces their importance to the company. For example, some salespeople feel that sharing all they know about a customer will make them expendable as a salesperson since a company can simply insert someone new into their spot at anytime. While the attitude toward CRM has made its implementation difficult in many companies, salespeople should understand that it is not going away. CRM and information sharing has proven to be critical for maintaining strong customer relations and salespeople must learn to adapt to it. Selling Trends: Mobile and Web Computing The move to an information sharing approach is most effective when salespeople have access to information sharing features when they need it most. Mobile technologies, such as wireless internet (WiFi) and cellular Internet access, allow salespeople to retrieve needed information at any time. For example, if a salesperson takes a customer to lunch, the salesperson can quickly access company material to respond to questions such as how long it may take to receive product if an order is placed. Additionally, there is a growing trend to make key business applications available through a browser rather than having programs loaded on a salesperson’s computer. This allows for the application to be accessed from anywhere at anytime. For example, many companies have moved to web-based CRM systems where simply having Internet access allows salespeople to enter and retrieve information. Also, many new office productivity applications, such as word processing and spreadsheets, are now becoming web-accessible. New generation cellphones or smartphones along with other handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDA), lighten the burden of carrying laptop computers. But because these handheld devices are web-enabled they provide access to much of the same information as a standard computer. While the computing power of handheld devices is still underpowered compared to conventional computers, the move to web-based computing may some day make the handheld the main instrument for inputting and outputting information. Selling Trends: Electronic Sales Presentations Technology is also playing a major role in how sales professionals reach prospects and existing customers. While audio/video conferencing has been available for many years using high-end telecommunication hookups, it has only been within the last few years that improvements in Internet access speeds, computing power and meeting software have made this method for reaching customers a practical alternative to face-to-face sales meetings. These options include: Online Video Conferencing – Online conferencing essentially acts in the same way as telecommunications videoconferencing, with one big exception; it is delivered over the Internet. Anyone who has an Internet connection knows that trying to deliver video over the Internet can be a trying experience as video often appears to be slow, jittery and sometimes not even recognizable. But these problems are quickly disappearing and while real time Internet video conferencing (i. e. , television quality video and audio) is still not routinely accessible to most salespeople, this is expected to change. Web/Phone Conferencing – To offset the problems associated with Internet delivery of real time audio and video, many companies deliver sales presentations using a combination of web and elecommunications. The most widely used services use the Internet, to deliver visual material (typically a slide presentation) and telecommunications, to allow for voice conversation. The process has a salesperson arrange for a conferencing time with a prospect who enters the conference by: 1) using their web browser to gain access to the visual presentation and 2) using their teleph one to call into an audio conference. Splitting the visual and audio feeds allows for smoother presentations since the conference participants’ computers need only process the visual material. It should be noted, that while audio access is now being carried out over telephone connections, the emergence of telephone over the Internet (i. e. , VOIP voice over Internet Protocol) may soon help resolve some of the problems that have been encountered when delivering both. Online Text Chat Online chat allows for real time communication between multiple participants using text messaging. While this form of buyer-seller communication may not be very effective at getting customers to agree to make a purchase, it has proven very effective in building initial product nterest. For example, potential customers visiting a website may use the chat feature to ask a few questions about the company’s products. Engaging a customer this way can then lead to the customer agreeing to receive a phone call from a salesperson to further discuss the product. Selling Trends: Electronic Sales Training Developing the skills and techniques needed to be successful at selling requires an extensi ve commitment by the individual seller and the sellers company to sales training. Sales training is the hallmark of professional selling. If there is one thing that separates the truly successful salesperson from those who are not, it is the amount of training and preparation they engage in. Most organizations that employ a sales force offer new salespeople an extensive formal training program often held at dedicated training facilities. These training programs can range from a few days to many months depending on the industry. But once a salesperson has made the move to the field, training does not stop. Those involved in selling must continue to stay abreast of their products, customers, markets and competitors. While many companies may continue to employ the same methods used when they first trained their salespeople, a large number of firms are finding that ongoing training can be just as effective using electronic options such as delivering training over the Internet, through downloadable computer programs or through interactive CDs or DVDs. While feedback using electronic means is not as personal as it might be with in-person training, sophisticated electronic training programs are effective in educating and testing trainee’s knowledge. Also, a live trainer can be contacted very quickly via e-mail, online chat or by a phone call if a question does arise. Using electronic delivery, the cost to the company for adding or updating training material is inexpensive and quick compared to the cost and time needed to produce and ship paper-based materials. Additionally, the use of RSS feeds or email enables salespeople to be quickly notified when new training material is available. This is useful when the sales force must be made aware of a recent change that will impact how products are promoted such as a price change, new information to be used as comparison to competitor’s products, a potential problem that has arisen when installing or using a product or some other adjustment. Selling Trends: Use of Customer Teams As we noted in our discussion of technical specialists, salespeople may require the assistance of others in their organization to effectively deal with prospects. In fact, many companies are moving away from the traditional sale force arrangement, where a single salesperson handles nearly all communication with an account, in favor of a team approach where multiple people are involved. Teams consist of individuals from several functional areas such as marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and customer service. In some configurations all members share bonuses if the team meets sales goals. Clearly to be effective a team approach requires the implementation of customer relationship management systems that we discussed earlier. (From nowthis. com/principles-of-marketingtutorials/personal-selling/selling-trends-use-of-customer-teams/) (From udel. edu/alex/chapt20. html) Scope and Importance of Personal Selling In the US, 14 million people are employed in sales positions, according to the department of labor. Sales personnel include stockbrokers, manufacturing sales representatives, real estate brokers etc. Most students in this class will have been employed as a sales person. Nature of Personal Selling Gives marketers: The greatest freedom to adjust a message to satisfy customers informational needs, dynamic. Most precision, enabling marketers to focus on most promising leads. vs. advertising, publicity and sales promotion Give more information Two way flow of information, interactivity. Discover the strengths and weaknesses of new products and pass this information on to the marketing department. Highest cost. Businesses spend more on personal selling than on any other form of promotional mix. Goals range from finding prospects convincing prospects to buy keeping customers satisfiedhelp them pass the word along. Types of Sales Persons Order Takers Seek repeat sales, make certain that customers have sufficient product quantities where and when they need it. Do not require extensive sales effort. Arrange displays, restocks them, answer phone calls. Low compensation, little training required. High turnover of personnel. 2 types: Inside Order Takers receive orders by mail/phone, sales person in a retail store. Field Order Takers travel to customers. Use laptop computers to improve tracking of inventory and orders etc. Order Getters Sell to new customers and increase sales to present customers, sometimes called creative selling. Generate customer leads, provide information, persuading customers and closing sales. Required for high priced, complex and/or new products. High pressure, requires expensive, time consuming training. Support Personnel Facilitate the selling function. Primarily business to business products. Missionary Salespeople Distribute information regarding new goods or services, describes attributes and leaves materials, does not close sales. Assist producers customers in selling to their own customers. IE call on retailers and persuade them to carry the product. Pharmaceuticals may go to doctors offices and persuade them to carry their products. Trade Salespeople May perform order taking function as well. Spend much time helping customers, especially retail stores, to promote the product. Restock the shelves, set up displays. Technical Salespersons Offer technical assistance to current customers. Usually trained engineers etc. Service Salespeople interacts with customers after sale is comp lete. Team selling entire team of selling professionals in selling to and servicing major customers, especially when specialized knowledge is needed to satisfy different interests in customers buying centers. Elements of the Personal Selling Process No 2 salespersons use exactly the same sales method, but it is generally a seven step process: Prospecting and Evaluating Seek names of prospects through sales records, referrals etc. , also responses to advertisements. Need to evaluate if the person is able (Undergraduate degree to attend a graduate program), willing and authorized to buy. Blind prospecting-rely on phone directory etc. Preapproach (Preparing) Review key decision makers esp. for business to business, but also family assess credit histories prepare sales presentations identify product needs. Helps present the presentation to meet the prospects needs. Approaching the Customer Manner in which the sales person contacts the potential customer. First impression of the sales person is Lasting and therefore important. Strive to develop a relationship rather than just push the product. Can be based on referrals, cold calling or repeat contact. Making the Presentation Need to attract and hold the prospects Attention to stimulate Interest and stir up Desire in the product so the potential customer takes the appropriate Action. AIDA Try to get the prospect to touch, hold or try the product. Must be able to change the presentation to meet the prospect needs. Three types of presentations: Stimulus Response Format: Appropriate stimulus will initiate a buy decision, use one appeal after another hoping to hit the right button Counter Clerk @ McDonalds Would you like fries with your burger? Formula Selling Format: (Canned Sales Presentation) memorized, repetitive, given to all customers interested in a specific product. Good for inexperienced sales people. Better with heavily advertised items that are presold. Telemarketing a credit card!! Need Satisfaction Format: Based on the principal that each customer has a different set of needs/desires. , therefore the sales presentation should be adapted to the individual customers needs, this is a key advantage of personal selling vs. advertising. Sales person asks questions first, then makes the presentation accordingly. Need to do homework, listen well and allow customers to talk etc. Must answer two types of questions: for more information overcome objections. Overcoming Objections Seek out objections and address them. Anticipate and counter them before the prospect can raise them. Try to avoid bringing up objections that the prospect would not have raised. Price objection is the most common Need to provide customers with reasons for the $s, build up the value before price is mentioned Must be convinced of price in own mind before you can sell to customer. Get budget info. on buyer before you try to sell, and must know what they want, must sell service on top of product augmented productto create value!! Must know value of product, provide warranties etc.!! Closing Ask prospect to buy product/products. Use trial closes, IE ask about financial terms, preferred method of delivery. 20% sales people generally close 80% sales. , Avon, over 1/2 US $1. 4 bn business from 17% of 415,000 SRs. Need to be prepared to close at any time. The following are popular closing techniques: Trial Close (Minor decision close) Assumptive close (Implied consent close) Urgency close Ask for the sale close If prospect says no, they may just need more reasons to buy!! Following Up Must follow up sale, determine if the order was delivered on time, installation OK etc. Also helps determine the prospects future needs. Accomplishes four objectives: customer gain short term satisfaction referrals are stimulated in the long run, repurchase prevent cognitive dissonance Old school, sell and leave!! Quickly before customer changes her mind!! Now: Stay a few minutes after salereinforce, make them feel good, made wise choice, leave small gift (with co. name on it!! ), call office at any time etc!! Follow up, reinforce, know birthdays, new year etc, friendly correspondence relationship building!! Handout Toyota Calling In Japans Car Market Half of cars are sold door-to-door. This is shrinking due to environmental changes. Toyota has more than 100,000 door-to-door sales people. Developing Long-term relationships is key, Keiretsu, do business with only those you know and trust. Face-to-face meetings before business to establish trust, the approach stage. Follow up is key to relationship: After sales: call inquiring on cars immediate performance hand written greeting cards written invitations for low cost oil changes Prospecting includes: Driving schools for people to obtain licenses = prospects Also referrals from existing customers is very important Curtesy calls to clients who referred new customers. Timing of presentation: To housewife in the middle of the day Just before 3 year Shaken, following 2 years At first I had no intention of buying a new car, but Mr. Saito is very good at proposing reasons why I should change = $1,600 shaken. Management of Salesforce Sales force is directly responsible for generating sales revenue. Eight general management areas: Establish Salesforce objectives Similar to other promotional objectives Demand oriented or image oriented. Major objective is persuasion, converting consumer interest into sales. Sales objectives; expected to accomplish within a certain period of time. Give direction and purpose and act as a standard for evaluation. Set for total salesforce and each individual salesperson. Can be $s, units sold, market share to achieve, for individual salespersons, also include ave. order size, ave. # of sales/time period, and ratio orders/calls. Organizing the Salesforce In-house vs. independent agents (manufacturers sales agents). Organize by: Geography (simplest, but not suitable if product(s) are complex or customers require specialized knowledge) Customer: Different buyers have different needs Product: Specific knowledge re: products is needed Size. Marginal analysis, or determine how many sales calls/year are needed for an organization to effectively serve its customers and divide this total by the average # of sales calls that a person makes annually. Also use subjective judgement. MBNA estimates how many calls to expect, one year in advance, and then determines the size of the salesforce at any given time. Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople Need to establish a set of required qualifications before beginning to recruit. Prepare a job description that lists specific tasks the salesperson should perform and analyze traits of the successful salespeople within the organization. May use assessment centersintense training environment that places candidates in realistic problem settings in which they give priorities to their activities, make and act on decisions. Recruitment should be a continual activity aimed at reaching the best applicants. Applicants that most match the demographics of the target market. Changing demographics, may be wise to hire hispanic sales people if your territory is in Florida!! Training Sales Personnel Use formal programs, or Informal on-the-job training. Can be complex or simple. Training should focus on: the company products selling techniques. Aimed at new hires and experienced personnel. Can be held in the field, educational institutions or company facilities. Oldsmobile spent $25 million last year to teach its dealers how to better treat its customers. Compensating Sales People To attract, motivate and retain sales people, that facilitate and encourage good treatment of the customers. Need to understand personalities of sales people. Strive for proper balance of freedom, income and incentives. Need to determine the best level of compensation required, and the best method of calculating it. Straight salary straight commission (selling insurance)single percentage of sales or sliding rate Combination plan Motivating Sales People Need a systematic approach, must also satisfy non-financial needs: Job security Working Conditions Opportunities to succeed Sales contests increase sales. Symbolic awardsplaques, rings etc. Can also use negative motivational methods for under performers. Due to burn outeven the best need motivating!! Ongoing process keep reps. hungry Need a motivational program. Spend time with reps, personal attention!! Take interest in them and the sales goals Compensation packet that rewards quality salesmanship and extra effort Recognition of extra effort of sales force Make sure SR feel important Keep SR informed of company activities Make certain reps. believe in the company Goals must be realistic and achievable and changeable Determine what they want and give it to them Controlling and Evaluating Salesforce performance Rely on information from call reports, customer feedback and invoices. Performance is determined by objectives. May compare with predetermined performance standards or with other sales people working under similar conditions. Handout Avon. $4 billion business, relied solely on personal selling until recently, environmental changes have changed this no longer is the wife expected to be at home model is dual income earning parents with children in day care. Need to develop more efficient ways to reach customers. Salespeople earn pure commission, 10% 50% for top sellers (over $32,750) Strategies tried: Avon Select. Direct mail catalog and toll free number, attract those that didnt know an Avon Lady, or didnt want to deal with one. Also used national TV and print campaign in conjunction. Problems = Salesperson creates confidence in the brand, delivering much more than advertising is able to do. When you take away the selling relationship, youre left with a brand thats relatively naked. Key is not to undercut the field salesforce, similar to dual distribution creating channel conflict. Mary Kay Corp has also tried this strategy but differently and more successfully: Catalogs carry different merchandise Forward commission to sales rep. in customers area Never have a grey area regarding competing with sales force. Other demotivational concerns: Restructured commissions Dropped awards, trips and other incentives Leadership Program. A Multi-level marketing (MLM) concept. Rewarded for products sold as well as people you recruit as a sales rep. by getting some of their commission and a portion of the commission of reps. they recruit etc. Created a hard sell environment and was consequently scrapped. To remotiva te: New CEO Reinstate Birthday presents Anniversary plates Annual Pins Phone Blitzs to indicate appreciation Gifts [and recognition] are part of the magic