Present, Review and Analize anOrganization Research Paper

Present, Review and Analize anOrganization - Research Paper Example GMC became a part of General Motors incorporated in 2009. GMC has incorporated strong operational and financial policies after a short period of losses and has reverted back to high profits in 2010 after a strong audit over its financial and accounting policies. 1) Identify the core functions of each department, their strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations for improvement, as appropriate. GMC is world’s largest automobile manufacturing company based in the US. It provides employment opportunity to more than 200,00 people. They manufacture cars and trucks under many brand names. Marketing is an important activity for all firms. Regarding the marketing department of GMC, they have their presence all over the world. Besides, they are one of the leading brands in automobile industry and this is an opportunity for them. They have goodwill and reputation among customers. Though the competition in this field is stiff, they are in a position to tap their good will and repu tation to exploit the opportunity and can convert to sales. They also have some threats because they are facing a severe competition from Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota etc. As a marketing strategy they are still using celebrity. However, it appears that using social advertisements media and internet marketing will be helpful to cover a wider segment of audience. Their Sales Department focuses on expanding their sales and wants to maintain existing volume. GMC has registered good sales figures at this time and this is a good opportunity for them to expand the market. Globalization and the subsequent economic in many countries have boosted vehicle market all over the world and GMC has potential to cash in on this opportunity. â€Å"General Motors dealers in the United States reported 214,915 total sales in July, an 8-percent gain compared to July 2010† (Sales & Production: GM U.S. Sales Increase 8 Percent in July on Cruze, Crossover Demand, 2011, para. 1). While considering the pr oduction department, they have plants in all major regions, which offers them the opportunity to capture the market easily and can reduce production cost. This is also strength for them because they will be able to easily remain in touch with customers. The accounts department of GMC controls all financial activities and for the last few years they were under the grip of financial difficulties. This had led to bankruptcy, which was a weakness for the department. However, but soon they recovered now their liquidity position in the present is good. It also needs to be appreciated that their debts have reduced considerably, which can be a major strength for future growth. 2) Identify and describe the underlying problem or conflict. During the year 2009, GMC has faced severe allegations of bankruptcy due to which they did not reveal their exact figures in the balance sheet. â€Å"The bankruptcy system is based on the theory that a debtor will make full disclosure of all assets and liab ilities so that the final disposition is in accordance with the requirements of the law† (Brown et al., 1999, p. 1). The management has tried to convince people that business is running on profit but in fact they have sustained heavy loss. Therefore, they concealed the statement of accounts and produced wrong information. The bank account of GMC was shrinking by $ 1 billion every year and this also showed that their financial

In present time Essay Example for Free

In present time Essay In present time, women have obtained more freedom to express their thoughts  and more privileges to achieve their goals. Their social status had a qualitative leap in the United States compare with the last couple of centuries; this subversion will continue lead women to enter a world which their talent and ability can be completely recognized. Different from today’s value, women who lived in previous centuries do not have the rights to do things the way they prefer. Social morality and family obligation force them to obey others and renounce independent. This inveterate principle stifled generations of women and their freedom. Both works include The Revolt of â€Å"Mother† and A New England Nun by Mary Wilkins Freeman showcased that in order for a woman to regain the pleasures in her life, she has to be intrepid and determined under certain social pressure. By descripting both characters Louisa and Sarah’s detailed inner world such as their characteristics and other social aspects such as other’s judgments, Mary Freeman provided the reader with vivid sense of equality that led the society into deep consideration and introspection of why feminism is necessary. Bothworksservedasimilarpurpose,tospreadtheconceptoffeminism,but with different approaches due to different social status of both characters in The Revolt of â€Å"Mother† and A New England Nun. Mary Freeman’s Puritan way of living had a huge impact on how she considers the world differently. In The Revolt of â€Å"Mother†, Mary Freeman portrayed a married woman, Sarah Peen, who has been serving for the 1 Sun family for forty years without any complain, had an emotional outburst about the new farm that her husband was building. Her husband, Adoniram, promised Sarah that he would build her a house when they are financially improved. Instead of building her the dream house, he planed to build another farm without informing her. She then decided to move into the new barn to live when her husband had gone out. (Freeman) In Freeman’s other work, A New England Nun, she depicted Louisa Ellis, a woman who waited for her fiancà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s returning from Australia for fifteen years, had decided to end the relationship with him after she hears that he has no love to her. (Freeman) This may be an excuse for her to escape from the relationship that will eventually force her to ingratiate others and put her own needs second. However, Louisa made up her own mind and went the way she preferred. By observing the behaviors of these two characters, it is certain that both of them have their own belief and rule of life that is beyond reach. Sarah Peen wants changes in her life, changes that can overturn her current life. As the story begins, Sarah provides service for her family everyday hoping to move into a new house like her husband promised her to. (Freeman 666) Moreover, She is a woman with ideas and goals. Freeman writes, â€Å" ‘There ain’t no use talkin’, Mr. Hersey,’ says she. ‘ I’ve thought it all over an’ over, an’ I believe I’m doin’ what’s right. I’ve made it the subject of prayer, an’ it’s betwixt me an’ the Lord an’ Adoniram. There ain’t no call for nobody else to worry about it.’† (670) This is what Sarah replied to the minister when he came to convince Sarah not to disobey her husband. After 2 Sun forty years of waiting, Sarah decides that she is strong enough to take a stand for the change. She is surprisingly independent and rebellious. Her rebellion does not only exist for against her husband, but also for against the social role that she is suppose to play as a submissive wife. Even though she accepts her responsibilities as a wife and a mother, her determination and resistance to the power of tradition was never stifled. As a wife whose husband often ignores, she opposes her husband’s male dominance over hers and remains integrity, courage, and privation overall. However, Louisa Ellis from A New England Nun had an opposite lifestyle with Sarah has but the same perception of individualism. LouisaEllis,unlikeSarah,isafraidofchangesandunknowns,butshestill forwards her life regarding what others would think. Her engagement with Joe Dagget is full of uncertain. Freeman did not deliver Louisa’s remorse of engagement directly. Instead, she implied some details to inform her readers that Louisa is satisfied with her own life by enlarging her trivial acts such as using china. Freeman writes, â€Å"Louisa used china everyday – something which none of her neighbors did. They whispered about it among themselves.† (654) This indicates that Louisa lives her own quiet life and enjoys her own pleasure. All of sudden, Joe Dagget shattered Louisa’s peace, the peace that only belongs to her. Freeman writes, â€Å"He remained about an hour longer, then rose to take leave. Going out, he stumbled over a rug, and trying to recover himself, hit Louisa’s work-basket on the table, and knocked it on the floor.† (654) All his acts reminded Louisa that she has to put herself at second after their marriage and 3 Sun renounce her independent. She then realized that she wants to be who she is, not to be a wife of a man who she has less love with. She is mainly descripted as a dainty and methodical woman; she pays most of her attention to details and perfections. Therefore, after she overheard that Joe has no love to her either, she quickly made her decision that she is not going to marry Joe because she desires for remaining alone. (Freeman 661) Even though both Sarah and Louisa have similar lives, they have different characteristics. Both women have comparable lives. Louisa and Sarah both reside at rural area where men do most of the working, and women do most of the housework. (Freeman 654, 662) This is one of the reasons why both characters chose to make astonishing decisions of their own. Initially, they must identify themselves, and then make decisions regarding tradition that has been persisted for centuries. Both women are also conflicted with men in a relationship that lasted a long period of time. Louisa waited her fiancà © for fifteen years while Sarah waited forty years to move forward of her life. Eventually, they both have achieved their goals and won the victories. However, in A New England Nun, the social influence is less conscious. There is less portrayal of judgments made by other members in the society. Instead, Freeman inserted implicit approach such as Louisa’s pet, Caesar, to display how the community would tie her up in a promise of engagement. (Freeman658) Different from Louisa, the community that Sarah lived in for forty years does not allow her to determine her own life. Her husband and son ignore her by not answering her questions; the minister 4 Sun came to her house to criticize her â€Å"inappropriate† conduct; people in her community also talks about her rebellion against her husband. Freeman displayed how they treat Sarah like a woman who should not have equal rights and dignity with a straightforward picture. Consequently, the two characters Sarah Peen and Louisa Ellis in both Freeman’s work The Revolt of â€Å"Mother and A New England Nun overcame dilemmas effectively. Both stories are relevant to the concept of feminism, which is equal justice between both sexes. The endings are similar: Sarah moved to the new barn while Louisa lived her own stilled life. Their encounters influenced and united generations of women to go forward together and break rules and instructions in order to live in freedom. Works Cited Freeman, Mary. A New England Nun. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Gen. ed. Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York: Norton, 2013. 653-661. Print Freeman, Mary. The Revolt of â€Å"Mother†. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Gen. ed. Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York: Norton, 2013. 662- 672. Print 5

Strategic Planning Company Background Business Essay

Strategic Planning Company Background Business Essay The founder of the Hyatt Hotel was Hyatt R. Von and Jack D. Crouch. Hyatt R. Von Dehn was eager to get out of the hotel business and he sold his share in the hotel to Jay Pritzker. The name of the Hyatt came from the compromise between Jay Pritkzer and Hyatt R. von Dehn. Jay Pritzker heard about the hotel which has for sale while sitting in the coffee shop called Fat Eddies, waiting for his flight. They had a bid between them and also Jay Pritzker and Jack D. Crouch who remained partner until 1965. The Hyatt Corporation was born on September 27, 1957, at Los Angles, International Airport and the name became famous when the Hyatt chain hotel established in Atlanta in the year 1965. The name of the Hyatt became more popular when it first international chain established as Hyatt Regency in Hong Kong in 1969. In 1980, the Grand Hyatt and Park Hyatt were introduced. It has also name Resort when the Hyatt Resort introduced in Hyatt Regency Mani, in 1980. Today the numbers of Hyatt are over 340, worldwide.In December 2004, global Hyatt announced it would acquire Ameri-suites, which has suites affiliated to the Blackstone group. It is a private firm. In 2004, the Global Hyatt rebranded it name Hyatt Palace. The Global Hyatt and Hyatt palace started to provide better services like Marriott and Hilton Garden Hotels.In December 2005, Global Hyatt announced a second one called Summerfield Suites; the affiliation was the Blackstone Group. Thus, in different years, Hyatt introduced different Palace, Resorts, etc, so we can see the popularity of the chain Hotel nowadays as well. Hyatt Regency is the old Brand of the Hyatt International Hotel. In Kathmandu, Nepal, we have Hyatt regency which is Located in the Bouddha on the 4 KM far from the Tribhuvan International Airport and only 10 KM far from centre city Kathmandu. Strategic Planning: Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more and how its going to get there. Typically, the process is organization-wide, or focused on a major function such as a division, department or other major function. Simply put, strategic planning is clarifying the overall purpose and desired results of an organization, and how those results will be achieved.(Mc Namara, September 30, 2010) Strategic Planning in any organization clearly define its strategy or direction by using its available resources, making decisions for achieving its strategy including its investment and the manpower. Many organizations can use SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) in strategic planning process. It helps an organization to find out the future roadmaps, where to go. It deals with: Where are we nowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Current situation. Where we want to beà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..Objectives How to go thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..Strategy Which is the best possible meansà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..Tactics Who is going to do whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Activities How do we ensure safety arrival?Control Measures This is all about the Strategic planning process. If an organization is clear about its mission and vision; than it can achieve its common goals by using its available resources and by using different strategy. Strategy planning is most essential in any type of firm. Ac1.1 Explain the importance of external factors affecting on Hyatt Regency: External factors are also called the macro factors. Market environment consist of all factors that in one way or another that affects or getting affected by an organization decision. The macro factors which may affects indirectly in an organization are- -Political -Environment -Social -Technological -Economical -Legal These all the external factors that may affects in the internal environment of an organization. The interior factors like 5 Ms are Management Money Manpower Machine Material The political disorder of any country may affects in the decision making process in an organization. Similarly the unstable government may be the other factor which may affects to provide the regular service to the customers. Similarly Social factors may include life styles of the people, age, sex, income of the people, etc. The legal factors, by which legislation in society may affect the business, e.g.: changes in the working hour of the manpower, etc. The term economic affect the business in the term of Taxation of the government, demand and supply policy, interest rates, exchange rates, etc. Besides these, the technological issues may affect in the business like how rapid pace of change in production processes and production of the business. The ethical issues may include the moral lesson like what is right and what is wrong for an organization to do. It may be culture of the society, norms and values, etc. Thus, we can say that the external factors will indirectly affects in the business. In order to get success in the competitive market, an organization has to think ahead and act according to the situation of the environment. AC1.2 Analyses the needs and expectations of stakeholders of Hyatt Regency: Stakeholders are an integral part of a project. They are the end-users or clients, the people from whom requirements will be drawn, the people who will influence the design and, ultimately, the people who will reap the benefits of your completed project. (Nick Jenkins 2011) Thus, Stakeholders can be a person, customers, group of people who have direct or indirect shares in the organization. In the Hyatt Regency, there are different types of stakeholders in the Hyatt regency, who play an important role in up grating profits for an organization. Some of the stakeholders are- Customers Board of Directors Government Staffs Shareholders Suppliers Stakeholders Needs and Expectations Customers -good customer service Quality product at reasonable price -Good, warm and peace, environment Board of Directors(BOD) -high profit margin -Bonus -expansion of Business -High Turnover Government -TAX -Security deposit -Community Support(CSR) -Creating job opportunities. Staffs -Secured job -High pay rate -Promotion -Annual pay leave -Intensive and benefits Shareholders -Dividend -Bonus shares -right shares -Loan at low interest Suppliers -Loyalty -Regular supplies -Money on time. Thus different stakeholders have the different expectations and different needs, they want from an organization and thus, they are investing their money within it. So, an organization has to look after each members expectation and make them unified in order to achieve target goals. Ac1.3 Analyses the major changes taking place in the external environment that will affect strategy of Hyatt Regency: PESTLE Analysis: This is the macro environment of the company which deals with all the environments which affects the company policy. PESTLE stand for Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Legal and Environmental. These all are same of PEST Analysis or PESTLE Analysis. (Andrew Whalley, 2010) Political/ Legal: Environmental regulation and protection Taxation international trade Regulation These all are about political and legal issues. Government may change policies, making rules and regulation may directly affect the business. So the Hyatt Regency (a food service industry) should develop its marketing strategy according to government policy. Economic: Economy growth (overall; by industry sector) monetary policy (interest rates) government spending (overall level, Specific spending priorities) These all about the economic issues, the increasing in the purchasing capacity of the people, Government policy towards unemployment benefits and government taxation will directly affects in the Hyatt Regency strategy. Social: Income Distribution (change in distribution of disposable income) Demographics (age structure of the population; gender; family size and composition; changing nature of the occupations) Labor / Social mobility These points are all about the Social aspect. The changing in the life style of the people will directly affect on our business, similarly the education will play a major role in the marketing strategic policy. Technological: Government spending on research. Government and industry focus on technological effort New discoveries and development These factors are all about the changing in technology. In this modern age, technology are changing rapidly, like internet, new discoveries, research, etc will directly affects on the marketing strategy of the Hyatt Hotel. So the hotel has to develop its plan by the above mentioned factors. Benefits of PESTLE in an organization: By knowing the current environment and the external factors, it will better placed an organization for the future than the competitors. It is the useful tools for understanding the risks associated with the market. It will helps an organization to understand Meso-economic and the macro- economic environments in which they operate. (The Meso-economic environment is the one in which we operate and have limited influence or impact, the macro-environment includes all factors that influence an organisation but are out of its direct control) Ac2.1 Use appropriate tools to analyses the effects of current business plans of Hyatt Regency: There are different marketing tools which can be used in an organization in order to lead the business in the path of success and prosperity. Some of the marketing tools are as follow: . BCG Matrix: This is called Boston Consulting Group Analysis. This is about chat which has been created by Bruce Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1968. The main purpose of this BCG-matrix is to help the organization business units or product lines. It will help an organization to use the available resources and its brand marketing by using strategic management and the portfolio analysis. BCG-Matrix is very important for the manager and its a great tool because for studying it has two aspects. One is for relative marketing share and another one is marketing growth. Relative marketing is about the competitor around business. BCG Growth Share Matrix Relative Position (market share) Fig1.: The BCG Matrix Strategic marketing, page 58 BCG Matrix is divided into four areas. They are: Stars: Stars are high growth of businesses and the profitability is very high in compare to competitors. More often they need the very high investment in order to sustain. Frequently their business will be slow down and they have to maintain the market. Cash cows: Cash cows are the low growth business with the relative high market share. This is the successful period and maintain continue profit with less investment. So they continue gives strong cash flow to became star in the business. Question Marks: This is about the low market shares which operate in high market shares. They will have potentiality but in order to sustain they may invest in the business in order to struggle with competitors. The managers will have ideas about which one area should focus and which area should shrink. This is about question marks what to do and what to think. Dogs: The dogs refer in business which has low relative shares in uninterestingly. In this period the growth of market will be low. This period may generate enough cash flow to break-even but it is rare. Effects of this model in the organization: There are different stages in the business and the manager should evaluate their business in order to move a straight away with range of investment. The matrix ranks is about market shares, about the industry growth and its profitability. In the dogs period, may be business flowing continuously and may not require cash investment. The second things is that its all about business growth and the estimate or guesswork for the future. In the period of question mark, if the leader is smart and enthusiastic, he may invest lots of cash in order to maintain continuous profit. He should have an idea about time and situation and ability the capacity to grab it. Thus it is all about present situation of the organization and estimate for the future, how to go, where to go and what to achieve. B. Product life cycle: It has been assumption that every product has its life period, it will introduce in the market, it grows, and at the last point it may die. There are four stages on it. They are- 1. Market introduction stage 2. Growth stage 3. Maturity stage 4. Saturation and decline stage. 1. Market Introduction stage: This is the first stage of product life cycle. In this stage an organization has to spend lots of money on advertisement, demand has to be created, no profit margin , no competition at all, and in facts no sales volume. Growth Stage: This is the second stage of product life cycle. Here, profit will begins to rise, customers will aware about product, sales volume will increase, will increase competitions, etc. Cost and expenses will reduced and start to have more profits. Maturity stage: This is the third stage of product life cycle, here, in this stage, cost of an organization will minimum because of huge production, sales volume will reach on the peaks, brand differentiation and features diversification, and the industrial profits go down. Saturation and decline stage: This is the last stage of the product life cycle. Here, in this stage, sales volume decline, prices, profits diminish; profit will be more challenges on production volume, etc. http://www.quickmba.com/images/marketing/product/lifecycle/plc.gif Fig: Product life cycle The effects of product life cycle use in the Hyatt Regency: An organization can introduced new products in the market with fix separate budget. It will help an organization to lead their product globally and in competitive market. It will give general ideas about skills and resources required to launch new product in the market. Company can focus on the different stages for profit margin. Thus the use of marketing tools use by an organization will help them to come ahead in this competitive world with right products on the right place on the right time. 2.2 review the position of an organization in its current market. In order to find an organization position, a company can focus on the different criteria, which are as follow: Existing market shares: An organization should find out how much shares they have and how much percentage covered the market. The current product and services offer: The product which is supplied in the market, are up to customer target and these meet the customer expectation or not. Their competitive strength: The Company needs to find their strength and their possible criteria in the market. Their current size and location of the market: A company needs to understand the market size and their product consume customers, they can calculate to find out their position in the market. Their current planning strategy: In order to cover some marketing shares, planning plays an important role and their strategies for the future. Thus to find out company shares and their spreading products in the market, an organization can do more homework on its own for more quality product, applying reasonable pricing strategy (like different skim), etc. By doing so, a company will boost up with new and new ideas and cover more market shares. 2.3 evaluate the competitive strengths and weaknesses of an organizations current business strategies. In any organization, there are some strength and weaknesses on its own. The organization has to find out its strength and its weaknesses on its own. When finding out weaknesses and strength, they can convert the strength in to opportunities and can alert from the potential threats. Some of the strength of Hyatt Regency is as follow: Strength: Loyal customers: Customers are Loyal on the brand of the company. Being international chain hotel, it has its own customers who always loyal and believe on the brands. High quality Products: Hyatt regency produce the high quality products by which guest are satisfy form it. High Skilled workforce: In the Hyatt regency there are lots of skilled members by which company is getting more popular among others. Locations: Hyatt Regency is opened in the heart of centre city Kathmandu, Nepal which is the strong points on its own. Weaknesses: Insufficient Resources: There are some less resources like Refrigerator, chilling freezer, big utensils for the party, etc. Outdated Technologies: The machines and electronics item use in Hyatt regency are old and not working properly. Lack of Planning: In the kitchen department, there is improper planning during party time and the busy time. Everyone are getting puzzle because of not clarity of job among them. Thus, if the company can rectify its weakness on its own, this company will lead successfully in the number one position in this competitive market. Ac 3.1 Use modeling tools to develop strategic options for Hyatt Regency: Strategic options are creative alternative action-oriented responses to the external situation that an organization (or group of organizations) faces. Strategic options take advantage of facts and actors, trends, opportunities and threat of the outside world. Strategic options can be identified after an institutional assessment, keeping in mind the aspirations (basic question) of an organization. The tool Strategic options helps to identify and make a preliminary viewing of substitute strategic options or perspectives. There are different types of strategic options use in an organization. such options are- Ansoff strategies, vertical, backwards and forwards integration, horizontal integration, differentiation, cost leadership, Mintzbergs strategies emergent, leadership and differentiation, strategic alliance, merger, acquisition, competitive strategies, value-based strategy, contingency strategy, etc. Some of them are describe below: Mintzbergs strategies: There are five definitions of strategies are- Plan Ploy Pattern Position Perspective Plan: In this strategy, the actions are made in advance to which is to apply and this actions are developed consciously and purposefully. Ploy: As plan, a strategy can be a ploy too; really just a specific man oeuvre intended to take in a challenger or competitor. Pattern: A pattern in a stream of actions. Strategy is regularity in behavior, whether or not intended. The definitions of strategy as plan and pattern can be quite independent of one another: plans may go unrealized, while patterns may appear without preconception. Position: Position means of locating an organization in an environment. By this definition strategy becomes the mediating force, or match, between organization and environment, that is, between the internal and the external context. Perspective: Perspective shared by members of an organization, through their intentions and / or by their actions. In effect, when we talk of strategy in this context, we are entering the realm of the communal mind persons united by common thinking and / or actions. B. Cost Leadership: This is concept developed by Michael Porter which is used in business strategy. The meaning of cost leadership is to operate a lowest cost of operation in an organization. The cost leadership strategy is depending upon organization efficiency, size, scale, and cumulative experiences. The main function of the cost leadership strategy is to find out the scale of production its scope and in other economies, producing highly standardized product and using of new technology. Cost leader companies do compete on  price  and are very effective at such a form of competition, having a low cost structure and management. Ac 3.2: Create options to form the basis of future organizational strategy (p9): Among all the strategic options I would like to recommend Vertical Integration in the Hyatt Regency. Vertical Integration: The word vertical integration  describes a style of  management control. Vertically integrated companies in a  supply chain  are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different  product  or (market-specific) service, and the products combine to satisfy a common  need. It is contrasted with  horizontal integration. The concept and use of  vertical integration is introduced by Andrew Carnegie.  This led other business people to use the system to promote better financial growth and efficiency in their businesses. Vertical integration is the point to which a firm owns its downstream suppliers and its upstream buyers. Contrary to  horizontal integration, which is a consolidation of many firms that handle the same part of the production process, vertical integration is typified by one firm engaged in different parts of production (e.g. growing raw materials manufacturing, transporting, marketing, and/or retailing). The Benefits of using vertical integration by Hyatt Regency: Hyatt Regency is the chain international service industry. There are many hotels under the same management throughout the world, i.e. the same management policy. It has its own brand name products use in every hotels. For example, a company is using its own soaps, shampoos, towels, carpets, etc. Whenever we go, we will find out same quality and same brand name products, thus by being chain hotel, it has same system of servicing guest in each hotel. The same suppliers and manufacturer are engaged in producing guest supplementary product. Thus the vertical integration, a strategic option is the best in this scenario. Ac3.3 For your chosen organization purpose a suitable structure that would ensure participation of all stakeholders. (P10)   A person, group, organization, or systems that affect or can be affected by an organizations actions are the stakeholders. The stakeholders may be directly or indirectly may involve in the organization decision process. The following chat would be suitable structure for the participation of all the stakeholders in the Hyatt Regency: Stakeholders strategies Way of communication Duration/time Customers Research on the needs and expectation of the customers, involving customer service department. Flip card, survey 3months Staffs Invent new products, Technicians, recruitment on research. Meetings with managers, survey and feedback, presentation, spot training, job trainings 1 month shareholders awareness about new products Internal meetings, 1 month Government BOD(board of director) Launching new product which has to be environmentally friendly, not affecting by government policies. Financial structure for the purposed plan, giving executive decision, Invitation on seminars, presentation Newspapers, meetings 15 days Up to 1 month Thus different stakeholders can participate in the organization decision process and launching of the new products according to their label. AC4.1: Develop criteria for reviewing potential options for a strategy plan (P11) There are different strategy plan for reviewing potential options are: attractiveness to stakeholders, balanced score card approach, stakeholder participation, feasibility studies, etc. Balanced scorecard approach: The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals. (2011 Balanced Scorecard Institute ) http://www.balancedscorecard.org/Portals/0/images/balancedscorecard.jpg Adapted from Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System, Harvard Business Review (January-February 1996): 76. The balanced scorecard is a management system (not only a measurement system) that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It provides feedback around both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. The balanced score card have four perspective in order to develop metrics, collect data and analysis it. These four perspectives are as follow: The learning and growth perspectives: This is the growth phase of the organization. This includes employee training and corporate cultural attitudes related to both individual and corporate self-improvement. Here, employee skills are the most important factors than other else. The business process perspective: These perspectives indicate internal business processes. Metrics based on this point of view allow the managers to know how well their business is running, and whether its products and services conform to customer requirements. The customer perspective: These perspectives indicate how important customers are. Customers needs and expectations are the most important factors in this area. If the customers are not satisfy, they will choose the other options and our business will be on the decline stage. Thus we have to meet their needs and satisfy them. The financial perspective: Timely and accurate funding data will always be a priority, and managers will do whatever necessary to provide it. It is more over related to financial status of the company. Thus, balanced scorecard approach is the best approach to find out the plan and progress report of an organization. Ac4.2 Construct an agreed strategy plan that include resource implication: In order to launch the new product from the Hyatt Regency, we have to analysis, assessing and addressing issue. To analysis the current situation, SOSTAC is the best methods to evaluate. S stands for  Situation Analysis   which means where are we now? O  stands for  Objectives  which means where do we want to go? S  stands for  Strategy  which summaries how we are going to get there. T  stands for  Tactics  which are the details of strategy. A  is for  Action  or implementation putting the plan to work. C  is for  Control  which means measurement, monitoring, reviewing, updating and modifying. Situation analysis In the situation analysis, we are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in this position and we want to reachà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. in this position. Objective Increased no of customer by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦%, brand expansion Strategies Launch new product within à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Months. Tactics Break down the strategy in to action, investment decision, new market shares, differentiation Action Company tactics into action, planning about finishing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.within 1 month à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦will finish with in 2 month, survey on the effects, feedbackà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..cost, location, etc Control Measures Control measures through monitoring, new technology Ac4.3: Compare core organizational values (ethical, cultural, environmental, social, and business) with the current business objectives of an organization. (P13) A business objective is a detailed picture of a step you plan to take in order to achieve a stated aim. Objectives should be SMART in order for the business to know what progress it has made towards achieving the objective:   Specific clear and easy to understand.   Measurable i.e. able to be quantified.   Achievable possible to be attained. Realiable- Durable and T stand for time bound. In order to get the objectives of the company, the organization should focus on ethical, cultural, environmental social and business factors. Ethical: In order to operate the business the company not only should look forward for the profit but should also look for norms and values of the society; i.e. either the product of the company accepts by the society either it match with the society standard or not, right to life, right freedom, and right to privacy, such things are lies under ethics. Culture: Culture includes life style of the people, demand, age group, etc. The product what we launched in the market should focus on the people lifestyle and the demand of the people. Environmental: The Company should bring such a product which should be environmentally friendly. The product should not harm the environment from inside the organization and outside the organization. Social: The product should be community based like preservation of the wildlife, ecological friendly. In society there are various types of community and the product should focus on the societies norms and values Business: Business makes things happen and affect every part of our society. Whatever you want to do, understanding business will help you achieve it. Thus the Hyatt regency if launched a product in the market, the above mentioned points has to consider in the mind for the better product and public better life. Ac5.1 Develop appropriate vision and mission statements the organization. (P14) Mission: A mission report is the head and the heart of an organization and serves as the lens through which organizational programs and strategies are viewed.  In this case a mission statement should be closer to the social need rather than the visionary social impact.  Ã‚   A mission statement evolves as the social need evolves while also remaining anchored to the vision. In this context, a facilitator also has a role for helping an organization understand its mission as well as its vision. The following illustration creates the linear process: Social Need ==> Mission ==> Programs/Strategies ==> Vision of Social Impact. Vision: Vision creates that force of growing expectation about the future, where change is embraced as a step closer to that very compelling picture of whats coming next. The excitement about the future trumps any worry about the unsure change is recognized as the catalytic converter it is. Vision is being able to see where youre going, to see whats up the road ahead, in both literal and symbolic senses.

Nature vs. Nurture and the Developing Theory of Nature via Nurture Essa

Outline Thesis: At the moment, there is no definitive answer to the question of nature vs. nurture, there is, however, compelling evidence that the theory of Nature via. Nurture could be the solution. I. Introduction A. Nature versus Nurture II. Nature vs. Nurture A. Nature: Genetic Factors 1. Nature Defined 2. Genes Defined 3. Human Genome Project B. Nurture: Environmental Factors 1. Nurture Defined 2. Biological and Social Environment C. Behavioral Genetics III. Twins A. Twins Defined B. Types of Twins 1. Identical Twins 2. Fraternal Twins C. Twin Studies 1. Definition and Validity 2. The Skeptics of Twin Studies and Their Concerns 3. Minnesota Twin Study of Twins Reared Apart 4. Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) 5. Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) D. Twin Stories 1. Jim Twins 2. Beth and Amy 3. Harold and Bernard Shapiro 4. Judith and Julie Swain 5. Charlie and Bill Duke IV. Nature via Nurture V. Heritability A. Definition B. Personality C. Intelligence D. Toxic Environment E. Disease and Mental Illness VI. Political and Social Ramifications A. Biological Determinism VII. Conclusion An Introduction to Nature vs. Nurture and the Developing Theory of Nature via Nurture Are we exclusively the creation of nature or the reflection of nurture? The first attempt to study nature and nurture was published by Sir Francis Galton in 1865. (Plomin, 2004) Galton wanted to know how to measure intelligence, what the components were and the degree to which it was inherited. (Santrock, 2004) He would be the first of many researchers to question the role of heredity. The first twin and adoption studies were published in 1924 by Sophie Van Senden Theis. (Plomin, ... ...nce on life events during the last half of the life span. Psychology and Aging. 5(1), 25-30. Plomin, R., Reiss, D.R., Hetherington, E.M., Howe, G.W. (1994) Nature and nurture: genetic contributions to measures of the family environment. Developmental Psychology. 30(1), 32-43. Ridley, M. (2003). What makes you who you are. Time. 161(22), 54-60. Santrock, J.W. (2004). Child development. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. Segal, N. L. (1999). Entwined lives: Twins and what they tell us about human behavior. New York: Dutton Segal, N. L. (1999). New twin studies show: The career of your dreams may be the career of your genes. Psychology Today, 32(5), 54-8. Wright, L. (1997). Twins and what they tell us about who we are. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Wyatt, J. W. (1993). Identical Twins, Emergenesis, and Environments. American Psychologist. 1294-1295. Nature vs. Nurture and the Developing Theory of Nature via Nurture Essa Outline Thesis: At the moment, there is no definitive answer to the question of nature vs. nurture, there is, however, compelling evidence that the theory of Nature via. Nurture could be the solution. I. Introduction A. Nature versus Nurture II. Nature vs. Nurture A. Nature: Genetic Factors 1. Nature Defined 2. Genes Defined 3. Human Genome Project B. Nurture: Environmental Factors 1. Nurture Defined 2. Biological and Social Environment C. Behavioral Genetics III. Twins A. Twins Defined B. Types of Twins 1. Identical Twins 2. Fraternal Twins C. Twin Studies 1. Definition and Validity 2. The Skeptics of Twin Studies and Their Concerns 3. Minnesota Twin Study of Twins Reared Apart 4. Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) 5. Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) D. Twin Stories 1. Jim Twins 2. Beth and Amy 3. Harold and Bernard Shapiro 4. Judith and Julie Swain 5. Charlie and Bill Duke IV. Nature via Nurture V. Heritability A. Definition B. Personality C. Intelligence D. Toxic Environment E. Disease and Mental Illness VI. Political and Social Ramifications A. Biological Determinism VII. Conclusion An Introduction to Nature vs. Nurture and the Developing Theory of Nature via Nurture Are we exclusively the creation of nature or the reflection of nurture? The first attempt to study nature and nurture was published by Sir Francis Galton in 1865. (Plomin, 2004) Galton wanted to know how to measure intelligence, what the components were and the degree to which it was inherited. (Santrock, 2004) He would be the first of many researchers to question the role of heredity. The first twin and adoption studies were published in 1924 by Sophie Van Senden Theis. (Plomin, ... ...nce on life events during the last half of the life span. Psychology and Aging. 5(1), 25-30. Plomin, R., Reiss, D.R., Hetherington, E.M., Howe, G.W. (1994) Nature and nurture: genetic contributions to measures of the family environment. Developmental Psychology. 30(1), 32-43. Ridley, M. (2003). What makes you who you are. Time. 161(22), 54-60. Santrock, J.W. (2004). Child development. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. Segal, N. L. (1999). Entwined lives: Twins and what they tell us about human behavior. New York: Dutton Segal, N. L. (1999). New twin studies show: The career of your dreams may be the career of your genes. Psychology Today, 32(5), 54-8. Wright, L. (1997). Twins and what they tell us about who we are. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Wyatt, J. W. (1993). Identical Twins, Emergenesis, and Environments. American Psychologist. 1294-1295.

Definitions of Attitude Essay

An attitude can be defined as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment, but there is debate about precise definitions. Eagly and Chaiken, for example, define an attitude â€Å"a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor.†[2] Though it is sometimes common to define an attitude as affect toward an object, affect (i.e., discrete emotions or overall arousal) is generally understood to be distinct from attitude as a measure of favorability.[3] This definition of attitude allows for one’s evaluation of an attitude object to vary from extremely negative to extremely positive, but also admits that people can also be conflicted or ambivalent toward an object meaning that they might at different times express both positive and negative attitude toward the same object. This has led to some discussion of whether individual can hold multiple attitudes toward the same object.[4] Whether attitudes are explicit (i.e., deliberately formed) versus implicit (i.e., subconscious) has been a topic of considerable research. Research on implicit attitudes, which are generally unacknowledged or outside of awareness, uses sophisticated methods involving people’s response times to stimuli to show that implicit attitudes exist (perhaps in tandem with explicit attitudes of the same object). Implicit and explicit attitudes seem to affect people’s behavior, though in different ways. They tend not to be strongly associated with each other, although in some cases they are. The relationship between them is poorly understood. Jung’s definition Attitude is one of Jung’s 57 definitions in Chapter XI of Psychological Types. Jung’s definition of attitude is a â€Å"readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way† (Jung, [1921] 1971:par. 687). Attitudes very often come in pairs, one conscious and the other unconscious. Within this broad definition Jung defines several attitudes. The main (but not only) attitude dualities that Jung defines are the following. †¢ Consciousness and the unconscious. The â€Å"presence of two attitudes is extremely frequent, one conscious and the other unconscious. This means that consciousness has a constellation of contents different from that of the unconscious, a duality particularly evident in neurosis† (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 687). †¢ Extraversion and introversion. This pair is so elementary to Jung’s theory of types that he labeled them the â€Å"attitude-types†. †¢ Rational and irrational attitudes. â€Å"I conceive reason as an attitude† (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 785). †¢ The rational attitude subdivides into the thinking and feeling psychological functions, each with its attitude. †¢ The irrational attitude subdivides into the sensing and intuition psychological functions, each with its attitude. â€Å"There is thus a typical thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuitive attitude† (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 691). †¢ Individual and social attitudes. Many of the latter are â€Å"isms†. In addition, Jung discusses the abstract attitude. â€Å"When I take an abstract attitude†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 679). Abstraction is contrasted with concretism. â€Å"CONCRETISM. By this I mean a peculiarity of thinking and feeling which is the antithesis of abstraction† (Jung, [1921] 1971: par. 696). For example: â€Å"I hate his attitude for being Sarcastic.† Pasted from The classic, tripartite view offered by William J. McGuire[9] is that an attitude contains cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. Empirical research, however, fails to support clear distinctions between thoughts, emotions, and behavioral intentions associated with a particular attitude.[10] A criticism of the tripartite view of attitudes is that it requires cognitive, affective, and behavioral associations of an attitude to be consistent, but this may be implausible. Thus some views of attitude structure see the cognitive and behavioral components as derivative of affect or affect and behavior as derivative of underlying beliefs.[11] Despite debate about the particular structure of attitudes, there is considerable evidence that attitudes reflect more than evaluations of a particular object that vary from positive to negative. Attitudes also have other characteristics, such as importance, certainty, or accessibility (measures of attitude strength) and associated knowledge.[12] There is also considerable interest in inter-attitudinal structure, which connects different attitudes to one another and to more underlying psychological structures, such as values or ideology.[13] Attitude function Another classic view of attitudes is that attitudes serve particular functions for individuals. That is, researchers have tried to understand why individuals hold particular attitudes or why they hold attitudes in general by considering how attitudes affect the individuals who hold them.[14] Daniel Katz, for example, writes that attitudes can serve â€Å"instrumental, adjustive or utilitarian,† â€Å"ego-defensive,† â€Å"value-expressive,† or â€Å"knowledge† functions.[15] The functional view of attitudes suggests that in order for attitudes to change (e.g., via persuasion), appeals must be made to the function(s) that a particular attitude serves for the individual. As an example, the â€Å"ego-defensive† function might be used to influence the racially prejudicial attitudes of an individual who sees themselves as open-minded and tolerant. By appealing to that individual’s image of themselves as tolerant and open-minded, it may be possible to change their prejudicial attitudes to be more consistent with their self-concept. Similarly, a persuasive message that threatens self-image is much more likely to be rejected.[16] Attitude formation According to Doob (1947), learning can account for most of the attitudes we hold. Theories of classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning and social learning are mainly responsible for formation of attitude. Unlike personality, attitudes are expected to change as a function of experience. Tesser (1993) has argued that hereditary variables may affect attitudes – but believes that they may do so indirectly. For example, consistency theories, which imply that we must be consistent in our beliefs and values. As with any type of heritability, to determine if a particular trait has a basis in our genes, twin studies are used.[17] The most famous example of such a theory is Dissonance-reduction theory, associated with Leon Festinger, which explains that when the components of an attitude (including belief and behavior) are at odds an individual may adjust one to match the other (for example, adjusting a belief to match a behavior).[18] Other theories include balance theory, origincally proposed by Heider (1958), and the self-perception theory, originally proposed by Daryl Bem.[19] Attitude change Main article: Attitude change Attitudes can be changed through persuasion and an important domain of research on attitude change focuses on responses to communication. Experimental research into the factors that can affect the persuasiveness of a message include: 1. Target Characteristics: These are characteristics that refer to the person who receives and processes a message. One such trait is intelligence – it seems that more intelligent people are less easily persuaded by one-sided messages. Another variable that has been studied in this category is self-esteem. Although it is sometimes thought that those higher in self-esteem are less easily persuaded, there is some evidence that the relationship between self-esteem and persuasibility is actually curvilinear, with people of moderate self-esteem being more easily persuaded than both those of high and low self-esteem levels (Rhodes & Woods, 1992). The mind frame and mood of the target also plays a role in this process. 2. Source Characteristics: The major source characteristics are expertise, trustworthiness and interpersonal attraction or attractiveness. The credibility of a perceived message has been found to be a key variable here; if one reads a report about health and believes it came from a professional medical journal, one may be more easily persuaded than if one believes it is from a popular newspaper. Some psychologists have debated whether this is a long-lasting effect and Hovland and Weiss (1951) found the effect of telling people that a message came from a credible source disappeared after several weeks (the so-called â€Å"sleeper effect†). Whether there is a sleeper effect is controversial. Perceived wisdom is that if people are informed of the source of a message before hearing it, there is less likelihood of a sleeper effect than if they are told a message and then told its source. 3. Message Characteristics: The nature of the message plays a role in persuasion. Sometimes presenting both sides of a story is useful to help change attitudes. When people are not motivated to process the message, simply the number of arguments presented in a persuasive message will influence attitude change, such that a greater number of arguments will produce greater attitude change.[20] 4. Cognitive Routes: A message can appeal to an individual’s cognitive evaluation to help change an attitude. In the central route to persuasion the individual is presented with the data and motivated to evaluate the data and arrive at an attitude changing conclusion. In the peripheral route to attitude change, the individual is encouraged to not look at the content but at the source. This is commonly seen in modern advertisements that feature celebrities. In some cases, physician, doctors or experts are used. In other cases film stars are used for their attractiveness. Emotion and attitude change Emotion is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and attitude change. Much of attitude research emphasized the importance of affective or emotion components. Emotion works hand-in-hand with the cognitive process, or the way we think, about an issue or situation. Emotional appeals are commonly found in advertising, health campaigns and political messages. Recent examples include no-smoking health campaigns and political campaign advertising emphasizing the fear of terrorism. Attitudes and attitude objects are functions of cognitive, affective and conative components. Attitudes are part of the brain’s associative networks, the spider-like structures residing in long term memory that consist of affective and cognitive nodes. By activating an affective or emotion node, attitude change may be possible, though affective and cognitive components tend to be intertwined. In primarily affective networks, it is more difficult to produce cognitive counterarguments in the resistance to persuasion and attitude change. Affective forecasting, otherwise known as intuition or the prediction of emotion, also impacts attitude change. Research suggests that predicting emotions is an important component of decision making, in addition to the cognitive processes. How we feel about an outcome may override purely cognitive rationales. In terms of research methodology, the challenge for researchers is measuring emotion and subsequent impacts on attitude. Since we cannot see into the brain, various models and measurement tools have been constructed to obtain emotion and attitude information. Measures may include the use of physiological cues like facial expressions, vocal changes, and other body rate measures. For instance, fear is associated with raised eyebrows, increased heart rate and increase body tension (Dillard, 1994). Other methods include concept or network mapping, and using primes or word cues in the era . Components of emotion appeals Any discrete emotion can be used in a persuasive appeal; this may include jealousy, disgust, indignation, fear, blue, disturbed, haunted,and anger. Fear is one of the most studied emotional appeals in communication and social influence research. Important consequences of fear appeals and other emotion appeals include the possibility of reactance which may lead to either message rejections or source rejection and the absence of attitude change. As the EPPM suggests, there is an optimal emotion level in motivating attitude change. If there is not enough motivation, an attitude will not change; if the emotional appeal is overdone, the motivation can be paralyzed thereby preventing attitude change. Emotions perceived as negative or containing threat are often studied more than perceived positive emotions like humor. Though the inner-workings of humor are not agreed upon, humor appeals may work by creating incongruities in the mind. Recent research has looked at the impact of humor on the processing of political messages. While evidence is inconclusive, there appears to be potential for targeted attitude change is receivers with low political message involvement. Important factors that influence the impact of emotion appeals include self efficacy, attitude accessibility, issue involvement, and message/source features. Self efficacy is a perception of one’s own human agency; in other words, it is the perception of our own ability to deal with a situation. It is an important variable in emotion appeal messages because it dictates a person’s ability to deal with both the emotion and the situation. For example, if a person is not self-efficacious about their ability to impact the global environment, they are not likely to change their attitude or behavior about global warming. Dillard (1994) suggests that message features such as source non-verbal communication, message content, and receiver differences can impact the emotion impact of fear appeals. The characteristics of a message are important because one message can elicit different levels of emotion for different people. Thus, in terms of emotion appeals messages, one size does not fit all. Attitude accessibility refers to the activation of an attitude from memory in other words, how readily available is an attitude about an object, issue, or situation. Issue involvement is the relevance and salience of an issue or situation to an individual. Issue involvement has been correlated with both attitude access and attitude strength. Past studies conclude accessible attitudes are more resistant to change. Attitude-behavior relationship This section requires expansion. (September 2012) The effects of attitudes on behaviors represents a significant research enterprise within psychology. Two theoretical approaches have dominated this research: the theory of reasoned action[21] and, its theoretical descendant, the theory of planned behavior,[22] both of which are associated with Icek Ajzen. Both of these theories describe the link between attitude and behavior as a deliberative process, with an individual actively choosing to engage in an attitude-related behavior. An alternative model, called MODE for â€Å"Motivation and Opportunity as DEterminants† was proposed by Russell H. Fazio, which focuses on motivations and opportunities for deliberative attitude-related behavior to occur. MODE is a Dual process theory that expects deliberative attitude-behavior linkages – like those modeled by the theory of planned behavior – only occur when individuals have motivation to reflect upon their own attitudes. Pasted from Theory of reasoned action From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The theory of reasoned action (TRA), is a model for the prediction of behavioral intention, spanning predictions of attitude and predictions of behavior. The subsequent separation of behavioral intention from behavior allows for explanation of limiting factors on attitudinal influence (Ajzen, 1980). The Theory of Reasoned Action was developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen (1975, 1980), derived from previous research that started out as the theory of attitude, which led to the study of attitude and behavior. The theory was â€Å"born largely out of frustration with traditional attitude–behavior research, much of which found weak correlations between attitude measures and performance of volitional behaviors† (Hale, Householder & Greene, 2003, p. 259). Pasted from Definition and example Derived from the social psychology setting, the theory of reasoned action (TRA) was proposed by Ajzen and Fishbein (1975 & 1980). The components of TRA are three general constructs: behavioral intention (BI), attitude (A), and subjective norm (SN). TRA suggests that a person’s behavioral intention depends on the person’s attitude about the behavior and subjective norms (BI = A + SN). If a person intends to do a behavior then it is likely that the person will do it. Behavioral intention measures a person’s relative strength of intention to perform a behavior. Attitude consists of beliefs about the consequences of performing the behavior multiplied by his or her evaluation of these consequences. (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) Subjective norm is seen as a combination of perceived expectations from relevant individuals or groups along with intentions to comply with these expectations. In other words, â€Å"the person’s perception that most people who are important to him or her think he should or should not perform the behavior in question† (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). To put the definition into simple terms: a person’s volitional (voluntary) behavior is predicted by his/her attitude toward that behavior and how he/she thinks other people would view them if they performed the behavior. A person’s attitude, combined with subjective norms, forms his/her behavioral intention. Fishbein and Ajzen say, though, that attitudes and norms are not weighted equally in predicting behavior. â€Å"Indeed, depending on the individual and the situation, these factors might be very different effects on behavioral intention; thus a weight is associated with each of these factors in the predictive formula of the theory. For example, you might be the kind of person who cares little for what others think. If this is the case, the subjective norms would carry little weight in predicting your behavior† (Miller, 2005, p. 127). Miller (2005) defines each of the three components of the theory as follows and uses the example of embarking on a new exercise program to illustrate the theory: †¢ Attitudes: the sum of beliefs about a particular behavior weighted by evaluations of these beliefs ââ€"‹ You might have the beliefs that exercise is good for your health, that exercise makes you look good, that exercise takes too much time, and that exercise is uncomfortable. Each of these beliefs can be weighted (e.g., health issues might be more important to you than issues of time and comfort). †¢ Subjective norms: looks at the influence of people in one’s social environment on his/her behavioral intentions; the beliefs of people, weighted by the importance one attributes to each of their opinions, will influence one’s behavioral intention ââ€"‹ You might have some friends who are avid exercisers and constantly encourage you to join them. However, your spouse might prefer a more sedentary lifestyle and scoff at those who work out. The beliefs of these people, weighted by the importance you attribute to each of their opinions, will influence your behavioral intention to exercise, which will lead to your behavior to exercise or not exercise. †¢ Behavioral intention: a function of both attitudes toward a behavior and subjective norms toward that behavior, which has been found to predict actual behavior. ââ€"‹ Your attitudes about exercise combined with the subjective norms about exercise, each with their own weight, will lead you to your intention to exercise (or not), which will then lead to your actual behavior. Pasted from In psychology, the theory of planned behavior is a theory about the link between attitudes and behavior. The concept was proposed by Icek Ajzen to improve on the predictive power of the theory of reasoned action by including perceived behavioural control.[1] It is one of the most predictive persuasion theories. It has been applied to studies of the relations among beliefs, attitudes, behavioral intentions and behaviors in various fields such as advertising, public relations, advertising campaigns and healthcare. The theory states that attitude toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, together shape an individual’s behavioral intentions and behaviors. Pasted from Extension from the theory of reasoned action The theory of planned behavior was proposed by Icek Ajzen in 1985 through his article â€Å"From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior.† The theory was developed from the theory of reasoned action, which was proposed by Martin Fishbein together with Icek Ajzen in 1975. The theory of reasoned action was in turn grounded in various theories of attitude such as learning theories, expectancy-value theories, consistency theories,[2] and attribution theory.[3] According to the theory of reasoned action, if people evaluate the suggested behavior as positive (attitude), and if they think their significant others want them to perform the behavior (subjective norm), this results in a higher intention (motivation) and they are more likely to do so. A high correlation of attitudes and subjective norms to behavioral intention, and subsequently to behavior, has been confirmed in many studies.[4] A counter-argument against the high relationship between behavioral intention and actual behavior has also been proposed, as the results of some studies show that, because of circumstantial limitations, behavioral intention does not always lead to actual behavior. Namely, since behavioral intention cannot be the exclusive determinant of behavior where an individual’s control over the behavior is incomplete, Ajzen introduced the theory of planned behavior by adding a new component, â€Å"perceived behavioral control.† By this, he extended the theory of reasoned action to cover non-volitional behaviors for predicting behavioral intention and actual behavior. Extension of self-efficacy In addition to attitudes and subjective norms (which make the theory of reasoned action), the theory of planned behavior adds the concept of perceived behavioral control, which originates from self-efficacy theory (SET). Self-efficacy was proposed by Bandura in 1977, which came from social cognitive theory. According to Bandura, expectations such as motivation, performance, and feelings of frustration associated with repeated failures determine effect and behavioral reactions. Bandura (1986)[full citation needed] separated expectations into two distinct types: self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. He defined self-efficacy as the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce the outcomes. The outcome expectancy refers to a person’s estimation that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes. He states that self-efficacy is the most important precondition for behavioral change, since it determines the initiation of coping behavior. Previous investigations have shown that peoples’ behavior is strongly influenced by their confidence in their ability to perform that behavior (Bandura, Adams, Hardy, & Howells, 1980).[full citation needed] As the self-efficacy theory contributes to explaining various relationships between beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behavior, the SET has been widely applied to health-related fields such as physical activity and mental health in preadolescents,[5] and exercise.[6] Concepts of key variables Behavioral beliefs and attitude toward behavior †¢ Behavioral belief: an individual’s belief about consequences of particular behavior. The concept is based on the subjective probability that the behavior will produce a given outcome. †¢ Attitude toward behavior: an individual’s positive or negative evaluation of self-performance of the particular behavior. The concept is the degree to which performance of the behavior is positively or negatively valued. It is determined by the total set of accessible behavioral beliefs linking the behavior to various outcomes and other attributes. Normative beliefs and subjective norms †¢ Normative belief: an individual’s perception about the particular behavior, which is influenced by the judgment of significant others (e.g., parents, spouse, friends, teachers).[7] †¢ Subjective norm: an individual’s perception of social normative pressures, or relevant others’ beliefs that he or she should or should not perform such behavior. Control beliefs and perceived behavioral control †¢ Perceived behavioral control: an individual’s perceived ease or difficulty of performing the particular behavior (Ajzen, 1988).[full citation needed] It is assumed that perceived behavioral control is determined by the total set of accessible control beliefs. †¢ Control beliefs: an individual’s beliefs about the presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of the behavior (Ajzen, 2001).[full citation needed] The concept of perceived behavioral control is conceptually related to self-efficacy. Behavioral intention and behavior †¢ Behavioral intention: an indication of an individual’s readiness to perform a given behavior. It is assumed to be an immediate antecedent of behavior (Ajzen, 2002b).[full citation needed] It is based on attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, with each predictor weighted for its importance in relation to the behavior and population of interest. †¢ Behavior: an individual’s observable response in a given situation with respect to a given target. Ajzen said a behavior is a function of compatible intentions and perceptions of behavioral control in that perceived behavioral control is expected to moderate the effect of intention on behavior, such that a favorable intention produces the behavior only when perceived behavioral control is strong. Pasted from Cognitive dissonance is a term used in modern psychology to describe the feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. In a state of dissonance, people may sometimes feel â€Å"disequilibrium†: frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc.[1] The phrase was coined by Leon Festinger in his 1956 book When Prophecy Fails, which chronicled the followers of a UFO cult as reality clashed with their fervent belief in an impending apocalypse.[2][3] Festinger subsequently published a book called â€Å"A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance†, published in 1957, in which he outlines the theory. Cognitive dissonance is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements.[1] It is the distressing mental state that people feel when they â€Å"find themselves doing things that don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold.† [4] A key assumption is that people want their expectations to meet reality, creating a sense of equilibrium. [5] Likewise, another assumption is that a person will avoid situations or information sources that give rise to feelings of uneasiness, or dissonance.[1] Cognitive dissonance theory explains human behavior by positing that people have a bias to seek consonance between their expectations and reality. According to Festinger, people engage in a process he termed â€Å"dissonance reduction†, which can be achieved in one of three ways: lowering the importance of one of the discordant factors, adding consonant elements, or changing one of the dissonant factors.[6] This bias sheds light on otherwise puzzling, irrational, and even destructive behavior. Pasted from The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion[1] is a dual process theory of how attitudes are formed and changed that was developed by Richard E. Petty and John Cacioppo in the early 1980s (see also attitude change). The model proposes an â€Å"elaboration continuum,† which determines the extent to which arguments are processed and evaluated (high elaboration) versus peripheral cues such as source expertise or attractiveness (low elaboration) shape persuasion. The model is similar to the Heuristic-systematic model of information processing developed around the same time by Shelly Chaiken. Pasted from Central route Central route processes require the audience to use a great deal more thought, and therefore are likely to predominate under conditions that promote high elaboration. Central route processes involve careful scrutiny of a persuasive communication (e.g., a speech, an advertisement, etc.) to determine the merits of the arguments. Under these conditions, a person’s unique cognitive responses to the message determine the persuasive outcome. If a person evaluates a message centrally as reliable, well-constructed, and convincing, it will often be received as favorable even if it is contrasting to the receiver’s original stance on the message. So, if favorable thoughts are a result of the elaboration process, the message will most likely be accepted (i.e., an attitude congruent with the message’s position will emerge), and if unfavorable thoughts are generated while considering the merits of presented arguments, the message will most likely be rejected.[1] In order for the message to be centrally processed, a person must have the ability and motivation to do so. In order for the receiver to have motivation to centrally process a message it must have relevance to him or her. Peripheral route Peripheral route processes, on the other hand, does not involve elaboration of the message through extensive cognitive processing of the merits of the actual argument presented. These processes often rely on environmental characteristics of the message, like the perceived credibility of the source, quality of the way in which it is presented, the attractiveness of the source, or the catchy slogan that contains the message.[1] It is also frequently used when the argument presented is weak and/or lacking evidence. The peripheral route is a mental shortcut process that accepts or rejects a message based on irrelevant cues as opposed to actively thinking about the issue [2] The peripheral route is a process in which outside influences affect the decision making process. This is also the process used when the audience is unable to process the message. This could be from having a message that is too complex, or an audience that is immature. The most common influences would be factors such as reward. Reward could be objects like food, sex or money. These inducements create a quick change in mind and action. Celebrity status along with likability and expertise are other factors in the peripheral process that have become more popular. Humor within messages is a dominant influence in this process as well. Appearance also has the ability to gain the attention of individuals which can create an interest in the topic, but will not create a strong change in individuals. The goal of the peripheral process is to create change, this change can be weak and even temporary as opposed to the strong and lasting change in the central route. Choice of route The two factors that most influence which route an individual will take in a persuasive situation are motivation (strong desire to process the message; e.g., Petty & Cacioppo, 1979) and ability (actually being capable of critical evaluation; e.g., Petty, Wells, & Brock, 1976). Which route is taken is determined by the extent of elaboration. Both motivational and ability factors determine elaboration. Motivational factors include (among others) the personal relevance of the message topic, accountability, and a person’s â€Å"need for cognition† (their innate desire to enjoy thinking). Ability factors include the availability of cognitive resources (e.g., the presence or absence of time pressures or distractions) or relevant knowledge needed to carefully scrutinize the arguments. The ability to understand the message that is being communicated. Distractions such as noise can affect the ability for one to process a message. An example of noise would be a persuader trying to share his message in a room full of crying babies, this would make it extremely difficult for listeners to concentrate on the message being given. Noise that you can’t physically control would be if a persuaders listeners could concentrate on the message because they had something else on their mind which was more important than the persuaders message like a death in the family, or problems they’re having in their relationship. Another example of this is in children. A child will change their behavior because his or her parent told them to do so rather than taking the information given and processing it. As that child grows up, however, he or she will have a higher cognitive complexity, and therefore be able to process the information of the situation centrally in order to draw a conclusion of their own. (O’Keefe) The subject’s general education level, as well as their education and experience with the topic at hand greatly affect their ability to be persuaded. Under conditions of moderate elaboration, a mixture of central and peripheral route processes will guide information processing. There are benefits and consequences for both processes. An individual who disagrees with the message being presented will likely have a boomerang effect if he or she centrally processes the message and bounce farther away from the speaker’s goal. If that same situation takes place, but the message is peripherally processed, a weak change will not have as large of a negative effect on that individual. (O’Keefe) Type of Elaboration: Objective Versus Biased Thinking Attitude, motivation, and ability strongly increase the likelihood that a message will be ingrained in the minds’ of listeners. Although, as the social judgement theory suggests, they may not process the information in a fair, objective way. Attitudes are general evaluations that people hold that correspond with how they perceive themselves in relation to the world they live in. One way to influence attitude is to give peripheral cues. Peripheral cues can be things that lead to good or punishing or they can invoke provide guiding rules or inferences. These are often effective because they cause the audience to draw the conclusion themselves, therefore, making them believe it is their own idea, so they buy in to it. (Griffin) Many of the evaluations are based on Cognitive intelligence, behavior, and guidance. Given a basic understanding of an individuals attitudes one can interpret which type of elaboration would better suit the situation. There are two types of elaboration a listener can possess: (Biased elaboration, Objective elaboration) Elaboration can lead to both positive and negative results depending on the audience who is receiving the message. Individuals who have a Pre conception of a certain topic are going to be much harder to persuade oppose to an individual who has an open mind about a topic where only the facts hold truth. Biased Elaboration: Top-down thinking in which predetermined conclusions color the supporting data. This is used on people who likely already have their minds made up about a situation before the message is ever conveyed to them (Cacioppo) Ex. Someone who has had a negative personal experience with motorcycles will probably have made up their minds and be biased in the way they process the message.[2] Objective Elaboration: Bottom-up thinking in which facts are scrutinized without bias; seeking truth wherever it might lead. These listeners let the facts speak for themselves and approach the message with an unbias mind. Which leads to a true unbiased result or opinion. (Cacioppo) Ex. A person who is listening to a motorcycle salesman and already has a mindset about them. This person would let the facts influence their attitude.[2] Testing the Elaboration Likelihood Model To design a way to test the Elaboration Likelihood Model, it is crucial to determine whether an argument is universally seen as strong or weak. If an argument is inconsistent in opinions of strength, the results of persuasion will be inconsistent. A strong argument is defined by Petty and Cacioppo as â€Å"one containing arguments such that when subjects are instructed to think about the message, the thoughts they generate are fundamentally favorable† (Griffin). In general, a weak argument that is universally viewed as weak will entice unfavorable results if the subject is instructed to and is in an appropriate environment to consider it logically (or when testing the central route of the Elaboration Likelihood Model). In turn, a strong argument under similar circumstances will return favorable results. The test arguments must also be rated for ease of understanding, complexity, and familiarity. To scientifically study either route of the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the arguments themselves must be designed to have consistent results.[3] Conclusions of the Elaboration Likelihood Model In addition to these factors, the ELM also makes several unique proposals.[1] It is suggested that attitudes formed under high elaboration, the central route, are stronger than those formed under low elaboration. This means that this level of persuasion is stable over time and is less susceptible to decay or any type of counter-persuasion. Attitudes formed under low elaboration, the peripheral route, are more likely to cause a short term attitude change. Variables in ELM routes can serve multiple roles in a persuasive setting depending on other contextual factors (examples below). Under high elaboration, a given variable (e.g., source expertise) can either serve as an argument (â€Å"If Einstein agrees with the theory of relativity, then this is a strong reason for me to as well†) or as a biasing factor (â€Å"if an expert agrees with this position it is probably good, so let me see what else agrees with this conclusion† — at the expense of information that may d isagree with it).[4] Under conditions of low elaboration, a given variable can act as a peripheral cue. This could happen, e.g., through the use of an â€Å"experts are always right† heuristic. Note that, while this is similar to the Einstein example presented above, this is a simple shortcut, which, unlike the Einstein example, does not require careful thought. Under conditions of moderate elaboration, a given variable can serve to direct the extent of information processing: â€Å"If an expert agrees with this position, I should really listen to what (s)he has to say†. Interestingly, when a variable affects elaboration, this can increase or decrease persuasion, depending on the strength of the arguments presented. If the arguments are strong, enhancing elaboration will enhance persuasion. If the arguments are weak, however, more thought will undermine persuasion. More recent adaptations of the ELM (e.g.)[5] have added an additional role that variables can serve. They can affect the extent to which a person has confidence in, and thus trusts, their own thoughts in response to a message (self-validation role). Keeping with our source expertise example, a person may feel that â€Å"if an expert presented this information, it is probably correct, and thus I can trust that my reactions to it are informative with respect to my attitude†. Note that this role, because of its metacognitive nature, only occurs under conditions that promote high elaboration. Pasted from Attitudes Attitudes are evaluations people make about objects, ideas, events, or other people. Attitudes can be positive or negative. Explicit attitudes are conscious beliefs that can guide decisions and behavior. Implicit attitudes are unconscious beliefs that can still influence decisions and behavior. Attitudes can include up to three components: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. Example: Jane believes that smoking is unhealthy, feels disgusted when people smoke around her, and avoids being in situations where people smoke. Dimensions of Attitudes Researchers study three dimensions of attitude: strength, accessibility, and ambivalence. †¢ Attitude strength: Strong attitudes are those that are firmly held and that highly influence behavior. Attitudes that are important to a person tend to be strong. Attitudes that people have a vested interest in also tend to be strong. Furthermore, people tend to have stronger attitudes about things, events, ideas, or people they have considerable knowledge and information about. †¢ Attitude accessibility: The accessibility of an attitude refers to the ease with which it comes to mind. In general, highly accessible attitudes tend to be stronger. †¢ Attitude ambivalence: Ambivalence of an attitude refers to the ratio of positive and negative evaluations that make up that attitude. The ambivalence of an attitude increases as the positive and negative evaluations get more and more equal. The Influence of Attitudes on Behavior Behavior does not always reflect attitudes. However, attitudes do determine behavior in some situations: †¢ If there are few outside influences, attitude guides behavior. Example: Wyatt has an attitude that eating junk food is unhealthy. When he is at home, he does not eat chips or candy. However, when he is at parties, he indulges in these foods. †¢ Behavior is guided by attitudes specific to that behavior. Example: Megan might have a general attitude of respect toward seniors, but that would not prevent her from being disrespectful to an elderly woman who cuts her off at a stop sign. However, if Megan has an easygoing attitude about being cut off at stop signs, she is not likely to swear at someone who cuts her off. †¢ Behavior is guided by attitudes that come to mind easily. Example: Ron has an attitude of mistrust and annoyance toward telemarketers, so he immediately hangs up the phone whenever he realizes he has been contacted by one. The Influence of Behavior on Attitudes Behavior also affects attitudes. Evidence for this comes from the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and the effect of role playing. The Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon People tend to be more likely to agree to a difficult request if they have first agreed to an easy one. This is called the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. Example: Jill is more likely to let an acquaintance borrow her laptop for a day if he first persuades her to let him borrow her textbook for a day. Social Norms and Social Roles Social norms are a society’s rules about appropriate behavior. Norms exist for practically every kind of situation. Some norms are explicit and are made into laws, such as the norm While driving, you may not run over a pedestrian. Other norms are implicit and are followed unconsciously, such as You may not wear a bikini to class. Social roles are patterns of behavior that are considered appropriate for a person in a particular context. For example, gender roles tell people how a particular society expects men and women to behave. A person who violates the requirements of a role tends to feel uneasy or to be censured by others. Role requirements can change over time in a society. The Effect of Role Playing and the â€Å"Prison Study† People tend to internalize roles they play, changing their attitudes to fit the roles. In the 1970s, the psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted a famous study called the prison study, which showed how roles influence people. Zimbardo assigned one group of college student volunteers to play the role of prison guards in a simulated prison environment. He provided these students with uniforms, clubs, and whistles and told them to enforce a set of rules in the prison. He assigned another group of students to play the role of prisoners. Zimbardo found that as time went on, some of the â€Å"guard† students became increasingly harsh and domineering. The â€Å"prisoner† students also internalized their role. Some broke down, while others rebelled or became passively resigned to the situation. The internalization of roles by the two groups of students was so extreme that Zimbardo had to terminate the study after only six days.

Neologisms Come and Go

Neologisms Come and Go Neologisms Come and Go Neologisms Come and Go By Mark Nichol New words are being developed all the time, and there’s nothing we can do to stop this continuous expansion of our vocabulary- other than stop speaking, writing, and thinking, that is. After all, every word was new once. However, the lexicographical graveyard is crowded both with words that never caught on and with others that were long ubiquitous but are now obsolete. And though many dictionary entries have existed for decades, and quite a few are centuries old, many neologisms do not survive. Dictionary.com recently announced that it is adding about 300 new words to its website and updating nearly 2,000 more definitions to reflect changes and additions to word meanings. Some of the new words have been coined in response to an evolving understanding of gender and sexuality. For example, hijra, borrowed from Hindustani, refers to transgender people. (Some Asian countries have begun to recognize as a third gender people who identify as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth.) Misgender is a term pertaining to the misidentification of a person’s gender. Panromantic denotes someone whose sexual attraction is not limited by gender. Meanwhile, ze is the result of a persistent effort among gender activists to remedy the awkward absence of an official English pronoun that pertains to both- ahem, all- genders. (Here’s the already widely accepted solution to that problem.) No matter what your opinion about gender fluidity or gender identity, such words will continue to elbow their way into dictionaries; after all, they fill a need that some people believe exists. These specific terms might not survive, but because art imitates life, the art of verbal expression will always evolve to reflect changes to culture and society. Other words that pertain to gender or sexuality but have more jocular senses are more likely to be ephemeral. New Dictionary.com entries in these categories that no one should bet on include lumbersexual, a play on metrosexual- does anyone use that word anymore?- that refers to men who affect outdoorsy-looking attire in urban settings; manspread, referring to the habit among some males of claiming more than their fair share of seating space by parting their legs widely; and presstitute, a portmanteau word of sorts describing a journalist biased toward financial interests. Then there’s â€Å"mom jeans,† a phrase referring to an unfashionable item of clothing. One can influence the acceptance or rejection of terms on a small scale by refusing to use them or by avoiding publications or programs that do so, but development of new vocabulary terms is an organic process that, like life itself, is not easily suppressed. But as is the case with new types of life-forms, many new words will not prevail. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Dialogue Dos and Don'tsWhat to Do When Words Appear Twice in a RowPunctuation Is Powerful