Timber Products Corporation Case Study

Timber Products Corporation Case Study Lawler uses an effective strategy when entering the contracting process. He begins by setting a meeting with Richardson and Bowman for briefing on exact nature of services they require from him. He then analyzes the information given and gives his potential employers three different course of actions which they should take regarding a decision to hire him. He proposes recommending someone else, using his consultancy skills or receiving assistance from his students. Richardson and Bowman opt for the third alternative. Lawler also opts to develop an independent investigation of the plant in order to disclose the issues facing it as opposed to relying on the management to provide information on the same. He uses his students judgment skills together with his personal skills to analyze the perception of the problem from both the employees viewpoint and the consultants viewpoints. This information forms the basis of developing a report. This independent report forms gives recommendations which may solve issues facing the plant. Lawler is also careful to discuss the issues of payment with the management. He decides to charge them for three consultancy day every week in addition to expenses occurred in visits to the plant with his students. 3. Do you think Lawler faces any resistance in getting the manager and supervisor to support this effort? Why or why not? If yes, what can be done to reduce any resistance? (10 points) I think that Lawler faces challenges as far as the supervisor and manager are involved in supporting his efforts. This is due to the fact that he is an outsider to the company and these employees may be suspicious of his intentions. Employees are usually suspicious of intentions of third parties who they may view to be a threat to their careers. They are aware that there are certain weaknesses present in the plant and they may not cooperate fully for fear of being implicated in the shortcomings. In addition, recommendations are usually made at the end of the report by Lawler. The supervisor and manager are unsure of recommendations which may be made, which they may view to be a threat to their careers. Many employees also oppose organizational change due to uncertainty associated with it, which is another reason the supervisor and manager may not be cooperative for fear of change which will result as a basis of the report developed by Lawler. 4. List the problems that Richardson and Bowman see in the plant (do not include your own opinions). (5 points) There are various problems which are seen in the plant according to Bowmans and Richardsons views. One of the major problems regards safety. Employees are seen to be working in unsafe working environments where they are exposed to injury. A while back, one employee was fatally injured when working and this led to several employees quitting work in frustration. This is a problem which Bowman and Richardson aim at solving. Another problem involved employee motivation. Bowman was under the impression that employees had low morale and that they needed a motivation course to boost their motivation levels. Another problem involved the authoritative rule which was employed by one plant manager. Bowman needed advice regarding the issue of authoritative leadership by the plant manager. Richardson and Bowman hoped to use Lawlers expertise to solve these challenges facing the plant. 5. Using the open systems framework, discuss each of the following elements as related to the information in this case: (5 points for each, 35 points) A. Inputs Inputs in this case are organizational change, teamwork, motivation and human resource management. These inputs are likely to change the perception which employees have on their facility and increase their motivation levels. However, they should be involved in the process if they are to achieve the goals set. B. Outputs The output in this case is increased safety records, improvement in employee motivation and effective leadership by managers. The organizational changes effected will trigger change among organizational players and these outputs will be achieved. C. Each of the design components These will be classified into human process interventions, techno-structural interventions, human resource management interventions and strategic interventions. Human process interventions should involve team building. Techno-structural interventions should involve total quality management. Human resource management intervention should involve analyzing employee welfare, remuneration and their training. Finally, strategic intervention should involve culture change where change is effected in leadership, communication and teamwork. 6. Discuss how the elements of the system fit together or do not fit together. Use this analysis as the basis to identify problems you see in this facility. (20 points) In order to achieve higher employee motivation, employees should be effectively remunerated and trained. This forms the basis of the first problem since the system does not fit together. In the facility, employees are not effectively trained and they work for longer hours hence low morale. In order to achieve a clean safety record, employees should have safety clothing and equipment. These elements do not fit since in the plant, employees do not have access to these clothing and equipment and the ones present are of low quality. It is therefore difficult to achieve a good safety record hence the fatality in the plant. In order for an organization to enjoy effective leadership, the democratic leadership style should be employed. In the case study, the authoritative style is used and hence the system does not fit and forms the basis of the leadership problems facing the plant. The management should implement changes which will be discussed below in order to ensure that the system compo nents fit and organizational goals are met. Some of these changes include human process interventions, techno-structural interventions, human resource management interventions and strategic interventions. 7. Chapters 9 and 12 through 22 present OD interventions. Which interventions do you believe are applicable in this case? Explain. (15 points) There are several OD interventions which should be applied in order to solve the issues which arise in the case. These will be classified into human process interventions, techno-structural interventions, human resource management interventions and strategic interventions. Human process interventions should involve team building where employees should be taken to a serene environment where they can interact with each other and with their managers. This will improve their motivation and communication with top leadership. Techno-structural interventions should involve total quality management. This is the improvement of all processes in the fir to achieve goals of all stakeholders. When TQM is implemented, safety issues and leadership will improve since the goals of all stakeholders will be taken into account. Human resource management intervention should involve analyzing employee welfare, remuneration and their training. When employees are well trained, remunerated and their welfare improved, they will have high motivation levels thereby solving the problem of low morale. Finally, strategic intervention should involve culture change where change is effected in leadership, communication and teamwork. This will motivate employees and they are likely to give higher output. 8. Lawler has employed you as on OD practitioner to assist with this project: A. Who should be involved in the initial feedback meeting? (5 points) The initial feedback meeting should involve the two organizational leaders who hired Lawler to undertake investigations into the issues facing the plant. It should also involve Lawler and the OD practitioner. All other parties should be involved in later stages in order to safeguard the investigations and prevent sabotage or interference in the investigations by employees and manager who may oppose organizational change. B. How should Lawler describe the sources of the information? (hint: issues of confidentiality) (5 points) Lawler should not disclose the individual sources of information and should present them as employees and managers. This is due to the importance of confidentiality in such a process. Confidentiality is the major factor which enabled Lawler to gain trust from employees and receive feedback on various issues. If their identities are given away, they may not be cooperative in future. The management may also sabotage the process through intimidating employees who are perceived to have given adverse details or comments. C. Write an outline of the feedback session Dr. Lawler will use to make the presentation (15 points) a) The first stage involves conveying a meeting with Bowman and Richardson, the OD practitioner and I. This meeting should be convened at a time which is convenient to all parties involved and it should be held in a confidential location. b) The second stage is providing a summary of the report developed. This report should dwell on different issues facing the plant from the perspectives of both the employees and consultants. Individual names of employees and managers who provided the information will not be disclosed. c) The third stage is providing a diagnosis of the problems facing the plant. These problems which range from safety issues, poor leadership from the plant manager and low employee morale will be discussed in detail. Evidence in support of the same will also be provided. d) The fourth stage is providing recommendations on steps which the management should take to deal with the challenges experienced. These will range from increase in employee remuneration and decrease in working hours to increase motivation, improvement in safety equipment and clothing as well as applying other non-financial means of motivation. e) The fifth step is explaining the various stages of implementing these changes. There is also the need to involve employees and managers in this process in order to ensure effectiveness. Employees and managers who totally oppose the changes should be sacked since they will be barriers to achievement of these goals. f) Finally periodic evaluations should be done to ascertain the effectiveness of the changes. The management will be encouraged to user tools such as employee feedback to assess whether the changes have achieved goals intended including improvement of safety, leadership and increase in employee motivation. D. How do you think meeting participants will react to the information presented? Can anything be done to temper or diffuse these reactions? (5 points) Participants are likely to embrace the report developed since they hired Lawler to develop solutions to problems they experienced. The initial meeting with four members is likely to beg for time to discuss the report and is not likely to reject the findings. However, managers and employees may reject findings owing to the normal opposition to organizational change earlier discussed. The management should hold dialog with employees and managers to sensitize them on the benefits of the report in order for them to embrace it and participate in implementing the recommendations.

Commodifying Children Through Cartoon

2. Abstract Cartoons are the most frequent, popular and easily accessible source of entertainment to children. Because in today‘s world cartoon industry is one of the most successful and bustling industries in the global market various multinational corporate companies using cartoon in order to attract and influence children to buy their commodity. The present study on ? Commodifying Children through Cartoon: An Anthropological Research on Bangladeshi Children living in Urban Area? ims to find out how various corporate and international company using cartoon to immerse young children with commodity and into popular culture and what kind of effects children show as they begin to associate themselves with more materialistic possessions. For gaining in-depth understanding of the situation several anthropological methods such as observation, informal interviews, Participatory Urban Appraisal, Focus Group Discussion, Questionnaire Survey will be carried out for this study and also S econdary data will be used to support the research study.From this study researcher is expecting to find out that there is a relationship between cartoon endorsement and children impulse buying. It means when a children sees a cartoon endorsed products he/she insists to buy the product. Key words: Cartoon, Children, Commodity, Impulse buying, Corporate Company, Popular culture, Globalization. 3. Introduction: In Today‘s World Consumerism is fundamental to society. The marketing industry is integral to the economy and includes countless businesses and corporations that compete vigorously to survive and increase profits.Therefore they must use marketing strategies that will convince people to buy their products. Over the years, marketing strategies have developed into complicated psychologically targeted persuasive techniques for persuading, manipulating, and altering consumer perceptions. Furthermore, as corporations have advanced their understanding of marketing, they have als o begun to follow people‘s social trends and focus their attention on audiences that wield the most power and money. Over the years, this focus has turned toward children. Marketers now see children as potential and ucrative consumers who can be influenced through media to desire certain products and to either buy or persuade their parents to purchase for them. Because most of the children watch cartoon in their leisure time big corporate company are now using cartoon to sell their product. Over the last several years, child-directed advertising has grown exponentially. These increases indicate that corporations believe in their marketing strategies and therefore continue to invest in them to increase their profits. And for good reason: consumers respond.Children spend on average twenty hours in front of TV in a week and see hundreds of advertisement related to child product. In effect, previous researches have shown that when children reach first grade, they have received an average of 50 new toys a year and can recognize approximately 30 name brands. By age six, girls begin immersing themselves into popular culture, while boys already show interest in masculine commercials and violent video games. This immersion of young children into popular culture consequently has some startling effects as children begin to associate themselves with products and demand more materialistic possessions.There are a few grounds or open space left in urban area of Bangladesh in which children can play. As a result children are spending most of their time in home watching TV especially watching cartoon related program. As the numbers of channels have increased in the recent years so as the Cartoon and advertisement related to cartoon which have allowed the companies to directly access their desired target market. In Bangladesh – Cartoon Network, Disney, Nickelodeon, Pogo and Disney XD provide such platform to the companies to reach the children market.Marketers adve rtise their products through different cartoon characters and promoting different premium offers which make the children to buy these products instantly. Cartoon has become one of the main sources of their entertainment. Accordingly, the cartoon industry is one of the most successful and bustling industries in the global market. Because cartoon has become one the main source of entertainment all around the world various company using cartoon, cartoon characters to sell their product. Today every child is trying to emulate the characters from which they get inspired and pushing themselves to be like them in every manner.If we follow a routine of a child, we can clearly observe that a child wakes up in the morning wearing Disney character Pajamas, roll out of bed sheet having some licensed character on it, his toothbrush and everything covered in his favorite cartoon characters and even in his breakfast he eats up cake or cereal packed in some cute cartoon box. Strapping his Ben Ten b ackpack he moves to school but this commercialism even does not stop in school boundaries. In today‘s world kids have more independence in making their decisions as compared to the earlier generations and they can influence their parents to buy what they like.Parents are spending more on their children these days because they have more disposable income in their hand due to smaller family size and dual incomes. So marketers are trying to catch the attention of children using different means like cartoon, cartoon related figure and advertisement to increase sell. In this research, researcher will try to find out how various corporate and market oriented company using cartoon to immerse young children with commodity(=products) and into popular culture and what kind of effects as children begin to associate themselves with more materialistic possessions.Researcher will also try to show how corporate company using globalization (in this case especially cartoon industry) to their a dvantage to produce a popular culture in order to increase their product sell. The present research proposal is contented in the following way: In 1st part, abstract, introduction, and background of the study, in 2nd part, conceptual and theoretical framework, statement of the problem, objective of the study, rationale of the study and finally research methodology, time plan are discussed. 4.Problematization: Background of study and Literature Review: Today‘s children are the future of the tomorrow. So basically the future depend on how children grow up, that‘s why it‘s important to know what kind of environment they‘re living in and what kind of mentality they‘re developing. If they don‘t learn how to treasure various social and cultural norms including family and friendship and if they grow up in the world of falsehood and consumption there is a possibility that they will become a doll of the corporate world.Bangladesh has a population of 160 mi llion and 73 million or 44 percent of the total populations are children. The total area of Bangladesh is 1,47,570 square km so it‘s a one of the densely populated area in the world. The urban area in Bangladesh is even more densely populated than the rural area and the numbers of urban people are increasing everyday as people from rural area coming to find a place to live in urban area. So there is a competition among people to occupy open space as there are almost no place left in residential area.As people occupying more and more open space and playground, children in urban area have few places left to play. They have to compete with each other to more and more to play in the ground. Therefore most of the children have no choice but to stay in the home and amuse themselves with electric media like TV, computer, video games etc. As the number of the channels grows in Bangladesh so are the cartoon channels. They spending countless hours in front of TV and watching various car toons like Doraemon, Pokemon, Ben 10 just by clicking their remote control.Various corporate company now aware of the situation where children spend a substantial amount of their time watching cartoon and they‘re now trying to use cartoon to take advantage of children. Marketers now see children as potential and lucrative consumers who can be influenced through advertising media to desire certain products and to either buy or persuade their parents to purchase for them. So now they‘re promoting cartoon which will specifically endorse their commodity.Furthermore, children, unlike adults, do not have the critical thinking and analytical skills necessary to make informed decisions and analyze situations; thus they are more vulnerable to manipulations that could harm them. Now the situation is reaching an alarming stage. Children are very willing to buy and associated themselves more with the product that have their favorite cartoon character with it. They are now engulfing themselves in the sea of commodity without realizing it.Although it is natural for society‘s values to change, it is unacceptable that mass marketing and corporate manipulations force society in the direction of carelessness and superfluity. Children's values are degrading into insignificance as they are manipulated into believing the messages corporations advertise. In the following section researcher will try to review some of the existing literature related to child consumerism and globalization. Born to Buy – Juliet B. Schor ?Born to Buy‘ is an excellent book written by Juliet B. Schor.This book is a major contribution to our understanding of a contemporary trend and its effects on the culture. Marketing targeted at kids is virtually everywhere — in classrooms and textbooks, on the Internet, even at Girl Scout meetings, slumber parties, and the playground. Product placement and other innovations have introduced more subtle advertising to movies and tele vision. Drawing on her own survey research and unprecedented access to the advertising industry, Juliet B. Schor, examines how marketing efforts of vast size, scope, and effectiveness have created â€Å"commercialized children. Ads and their messages about sex, drugs, and food affect not just what children want to buy, but who they think they are. In this groundbreaking and crucial book, Schor looks at the consequences of the commercialization of childhood and provides guidelines for parents and teachers. Selling Out Childhood – Kiku Adatto In this article Kiku Adatto reveals that advertising for children has been changing rapidly. Where 25 years ago marketing children‘s products revolve around ? innocence of the child‘ now it is not selling innocence but the selling out of innocence.Today‘s advertisement and market strategy even involve teen nude and sexuality, Teen Vogue is the perfect example for this perspective. She shows how image especially photograp hy‘s theme has change since World War 2 and how image carries subliminal message and how does corporate company use it to sell their product among children. When Childhood Gets Commercialized Can Childhood Be Protected? –Juliet B. Schor In this excellent article Juliet B. Schor shows how childhood is being commercialized through media ( TV, cinema, radio, advertisement, internet etc) and she also turn our attention to how corporate power spends billions of dollars to ommodify children, how this corporate company influence government to stop taking preventive public policy regarding child safety. Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood – Susan Linn In Consuming Kids, psychologist Susan Linn takes a comprehensive and unsparing look at the demographic advertisers call â€Å"the kid market,† taking readers on a compelling and disconcerting journey through modern childhood as envisioned by commercial interests. Children are now the focus of a marketin g maelstrom, targets for everything from minivans to M counting books.All aspects of children's lives—their health, education, creativity, and values—are at risk of being compromised by their status in the marketplace. Globalization and Children: Exploring Potentials for Enhancing Opportunities in the Lives of Children and Youth. –Natalie Hevener Kaufman and Irene Rizzini In this book Natalie Hevener Kaufman and Irene Rizzini explore and explain how children have been excluded from our conceptualization of the world and our research about globalization.The contributors represent a variety of perspectives from different disciplines including anthropology, sociology, psychology, politics, international relations, law, and economics. Writers argued that Since today we look at the world from the vantage point and the sensibilities that came only through difficult conflicts about children and the meaning of childhood, unpacking those experiences will help us to bette r understand how other cultures are likely to react as their children become part of the forces altering the world everywhere today. Globalization (a Public Culture Book) – Arjun AppaduraiEdited by Arjun Appadurai this book is a collection of essays which makes a striking intervention in the increasingly heated debates surrounding the cultural dimensions of globalization. This books includes discussions about what globalization is and whether it is a meaningful term. Seeking an alternative to the dead-end debate between those who see globalization as a phenomenon wholly without precedent and those who see it simply as modernization, imperialism, or global capitalism with a new face, the contributors seek to illuminate how space and time are transforming each other in special ways in the present era.They examine how this complex transformation involves changes in the situation of the nation, the state, and the city. While exploring distinct regions—China, Africa, South America, Europe—and representing different disciplines and genres—anthropology, literature, political science, sociology, music, cinema, photography—the contributors are concerned with both the political economy of location and the locations in which political economies are produced and transformed.Apparently all the literacy discussed earlier focus on how media and globalization affect children but they did not focus on the idea that there might be a relation between cartoon endorsement and impulse buying and how various corporate and international companies using cartoon to immerse children into popular culture so that children will associate themselves with commodity. 5. Conceptual and theoretical framework For this study researcher is going to use various theoretical concepts. These concepts are drawn from various theorists.Researcher is mainly going to use Karl Marx theory on Media and commodity and also Arjun Appadurai‘s concept of ? Globalizationâ⠂¬Ëœ. First researcher is going to introduce and define the concept then researcher will try to show how they‘re related to each other and to the research problem and finally researcher will try justify why he‘s using these concepts. Cartoon: In this study researcher only going to refer certain type of shows as cartoon. Researcher define cartoon as, ? The two-dimensional illustrated visual art which is created to show on media (especially TV and internet) and supposedly to entertain children is called cartoon?.Researcher for the purpose of this study also called Japanese animation as cartoon. Biologically, a child (plural: children) is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as â€Å"a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier†. Children generally have fewer rights than adults and are classed as not able to make serious decisions, and legally must always be under the care of a responsible adult.For this study researcher refers child as anyone whose age is between (3. 5-12) years. Children: Capitalism and Corporate Capitalism: Capitalism is an economic system that is based on private ownership of the means of production and the production of goods or services for profit. Other elements central to capitalism include Capital accumulation and often competitive markets. Corporate capitalism refers to a capitalist marketplace characterized by the dominance of hierarchical, bureaucratic corporations, which are legally required to pursue profit.Commodification: By Commodification researcher refers to the process by which something which does not have an economic value is assigned a value and hence how market values can replace other social values. It describes a modification of relationships, formerly untainted by commerce, into commercial relationships in everyday use. Market: In capitali st society market is one kind of system where parties engage in exchange and usually these exchanges is conducted through money. There are usually two kinds of parties that mainly participate in market – 1. Buyer. 2.Seller Popular culture is a hopelessly commercial culture. It is mass produced for mass consumption. Its audience is a mass of non-discriminating consumers. The culture itself is formulaic, manipulative. It is a culture itself which is consumed with brain-numbed and brain-numbing passivity. Popular culture undermine folk culture in order to industrialized and commercialized society. Popular Culture: Globalization: Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture.Put in simple terms, globalization refers to processes that promote world-wide exchanges of national and cultural resources. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the ri se of the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities. In 2000, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified four basic aspects of globalization: trade and transactions, capital and investment movements, migration and movement of people and the dissemination of knowledge.For this the purpose of this study researcher going to mainly focus on effects of the first two aspect of globalization. By ? imagined world‘ researcher refer to the community of people where they belief to have same culture. An important fact of the world we live in today is that many persons on the globe live in such imagined ? worlds‘ and not just in local communities and thus are able to contest and sometimes even subvert the traditional or indigenous mentality that surround them. Imagined World:Mediascapes: ‘Mediascapes' refer both to the distribution of the electronic capabilities to produce and disseminate informati on (newspapers, magazines, television stations, film production studios, etc. ), which are now available to a growing number of private and public interests throughout the world and to the images of the world created by these media. These images of the world involve many complicated inflections, depending on their mode (documentary or entertainment), their hardware (electronic or pre-electronic), their audiences (local, national or transnational) and the interests of those who own and control them.What is most important about these mediascapes is that they provide (especially in their television, film and cassette forms) large and complex repertoires of narratives and images to viewers throughout the world, in which the world of commodity is produced. What this means is that many audiences throughout the world experience the media themselves as a complicated and interconnected repertoire of print, celluloid, electronic screens and billboards. As a result the lines between the Ã¢â‚¬Ë œrealistic' and the fictional landscapes they see are blurred. Mediascapes ‘ produced by private company tend to be image-centered, narrative-based accounts of strips of reality, and what they offer to those who experience and transform them is a series of elements (such as characters, plots and textual forms) out of which scripts can be formed of imagined lives, their own as well as those of others living in other places. Karl Marx Marxist theory emphasizes the importance of social class in relation to both media ownership and audience interpretation of media texts.Whilst content analysis and semiotics may shed light on media content, Marxist theory highlights the material conditions of media production and reception. Marxist ‘critical theory' exposes the myth of ‘value-free' social science. Marxist perspectives draw our attention to the issue of political and economic interests in the mass media and highlight social inequalities in media representations. Marxism helps to situate media texts within the larger social formation.Marxists view capitalist society as being one of class domination; the media are seen as part of an ideological arena in which various class views are fought out, although within the context of the dominance of certain classes; ultimate control is increasingly concentrated in monopoly capital; media professionals, while enjoying the illusion of autonomy, are socialized into and internalize the norms of the dominant or popular culture. Mass media research in this fundamentalist tradition interprets the ‘culture industries' in terms of their economic determination.According to this view, ‘the contents of the media and the meanings carried by their messages are†¦ primarily determined by the economic base of the organizations in which they are produced'. Consequently, ‘commercial media organizations must cater to the needs of advertisers and produce audience-maximizing products. The base/superstructur e model as applied to the mass media is associated with a concern with the ownership and control of the media. The ideological operation of the mass media in the West contributes to the reproduction of the capitalist system.Neo-Marxist stances have typically come to grant more active roles to audiences. As Curran et al. put it, whilst dominant meaning systems are seen as ‘molded and relayed' by the mass media, they are also seen as ‘adapted by audiences and integrated into class-based or â€Å"situated† meaning systems'. Researcher found both traditional Marxism and Neo-marxism perspective useful. So researcher is going to use both perspectives simultaneously. Arjun AppaduraiThe central problem of today‘s global interactions is the tension between cultural homogenization and cultural heterogenization. A vast array of empirical facts could be brought to bear on the side of the ‘homogenization' argument, and much of it has come from the left end of the s pectrum of media studies and some from other, less appealing, perspectives. Most often, the homogenization argument subspeciates into either an argument about Americanization/globalization, or an argument about ‘commoditization‘, and very often the two arguments are closely linked.There will always be a fear in general public about cultural absorption or homogenization. The complexity of the current global economy has to do with certain fundamental disjunctures between economy, culture and politics. An important fact of the world we live in today is that many persons on the globe live in such imagined ‘ worlds' and not just in imagined communities, and thus are able to contest and sometimes even subvert the ‘imagined worlds' of the official mind and of the entrepreneurial mentality that surround.Because researcher‘s one of the main theme in this research is on about the effect of globalization and how corporate company use globalization to expand the ra nge of their product sell researcher found that Arjun Appadurai‘s concept of ? Mediascapes? is very relevant to this research. The main form of entertainment for Bangladeshi children living in Urban Area is watching Cartoon. Because children rely on cartoon for entertaining purpose these cartoon are made in such a way that children are inspired to buy the commodity show in these cartoons.These types of cartoon shows are usually sponsored by corporate company. They use highly advanced market and advertising strategy in cartoons to sell their commodity among children and expand their market zone. These corporate companies use globalization in their favor and try to inject certain kind of notion in children which undermine tradition cultural value and encourage children to think that they belong to popular culture and to an imagined community- The community where the protagonist of the cartoon lives.Because children tend to think that they belong to popular culture and to an imag ined community they tried to buy products that are shows in cartoons. So as we can see the main theoretical concept researcher using are related to each other in a deep level and they are also related to research problem. 6. Statement of the problem Cartoons are the most frequent and easily accessible source of entertainment which we provide to our children. With the vastness of media and extension of channels, it has become easier for children to watch their favorite cartoons on a single click and at he same time it has become more convenient for parents to provide children with this all-time favorite activity of theirs. Time which was previously spent by children in outdoor activities is now replaced, as now they can be found glued to the TV sets for long hours, peering at all sorts of cartoons, mostly without the supervision of elders who are mostly unaware that this might have certain effects on their psychological development later on displayed in their behavior patterns. Child ren‘s values are changing in accordance with the messages major corporations send through cartoon and its related advertising.Major corporations can use their power, money, and influence to sculpt society through advertisements and promote the value systems that will allow them to gain more profit by bombarding consumers with advertisements and connecting their products to certain feelings such as hipness or luxury. The strategy uses peer pressure and an acceptance factor to manipulate children into believing that if they buy product related to cartoon character they will be accepted. Advertisers use such connections to generate consumers‘ mental perceptions of their surroundings, which ultimately influences societal views.Adult consumers are less vulnerable to these advertisements and do not as readily modify their beliefs in accordance; young children, however, are more susceptible to their lure. Thus cartoon and its related advertisers persuade children to disregard t heir values and accept the new values that corporations formulate for them. Although all generations modify their values and beliefs, today's society is accepting and glamorizing current beliefs that are not only superficial—they are immoral. These beliefs are immoral because they disregard the qualities that make people caring and involved.Instead individuals become obsessed with consumption and rashness. Although it is natural for society‘s values to change, it is unacceptable that mass marketing and corporate manipulations force society in the direction of carelessness and superfluity. Children's values are degrading into insignificance as they are manipulated into believing the messages corporations advertise. Children are focusing more on materialism and forgetting and discrediting deeper, more intimate aspects of life such as family and friendship. Being a good person, being well-liked, being a good friend is no longer basic.Instead, consumerism has taken basic va lues of human goodness and warped them into being products in need of labels. To fit in and to be cool, children must wear certain brands or have a certain number of things. The evidence related to this issue is not hard to find. If we follow a routine of a child, we can clearly observe that a child wakes up in the morning wearing Disney character Pajamas, roll out of bed sheet having some licensed character on it, his toothbrush and everything covered in his favorite cartoon characters and even in his breakfast he eats up cereals packed in some cute cartoon box.Strapping his Ben Ten backpack he moves to school but this commercialism even does not stop in school boundary. Nowadays every food company is using some branded characters which gets associated with the company and hence promote the company name. The character of Doraemon is used to advertise the Prince‘s brand food product. Similarly KFC is using the character of Colonel Harland Sanders to promote its brand name. Mos t of the campaigns which became popular in children consisted of branded characters— characters which are used to promote the company products.There is a vast quantity of research that has been performed regarded children, some of them are -violence in mass media and their effects on children, psychological and behavior disorder in children watching TV- but there is not a single research has been done regarding how various corporate and international company using cartoon in their benefit to increase their product sell and also there is very little research has done in Bangladesh regarding this issue.This research will recommend strategies and measures, based on empirical findings, that will helpful to policy maker and law-enforcers to come up with new idea and law that will minimize the problem that have stated in this proposal and will also be helpful to parents who are most concern for their children. Hopefully this study will create some new perspective and knowledge that will help future researchers and educators in their studies. 7. Objectives of the study:The main objective of this study is to find out how various corporate and international companies using cartoon to immerse young children with commodity and into popular culture and what kind of effects children show as they begin to associate themselves with more materialistic possessions. The specific objectives of this study are to find out? how corporate company use cartoon to increase their product sell ? if there is a relation between cartoon endorsement and impulse buying. ? the effects of popular culture on children ? the effect of globalization on children 8. Rationale of the study:There is a vast quantity of research that has been performed regarded children. Children are frequently studied with regard to how the media influences. Most research in this area focuses on how television, movies, music, and video games affect children and adolescents, but relatively little research have bee n done on the link between cartoon endorsement and impulse buying and how various corporate and international company using cartoon to immerse young children with commodity and into popular culture and what kind of effects children show as they begin to associate themselves with more materialistic possessions.Also there is not a single piece of anthropological research has done in Bangladesh regarding how cartoon effect children mind‘s to buy more product. Based on empirical findings, the study will recommend strategies and measures that may be helpful to policy maker and law-enforcer to enforce laws that will minimize the problem and also to parents who are most concern for their children. 9. Research design and methods 9. 1 Assumptions about methodology: This study will follow a quantitative and quantitative research method by which the research will be completed systematically.Theoretically this study is based on Marxist media theory which highlights material conditions of media production and reception and Appadurai‘s concept of ? Mediascapes? which shed lights to how corporate company use globalization to expand the range of their product sell. So in the fieldwork, the relation between cartoon endorsement and children impulse buying, and the information about effects of media and globalization will be collected. Because this research problem is an observable phenomenon the researcher can assume that most of the research methodology that will be used in this research will rely on observation. . 2 Sources of Data: Collection of data is essential for any anthropological research. For the purpose of this study researcher will collect data from different sources which can be grouped into two categories: ? Primary Sources ? Secondary Sources 9. 2. 1. Primary Sources: Primary source of data will be collected for this research for the specific purpose of addressing the problem at hand. That means all data that researcher will collect date directly fro m children, their parents, market and advertising specialist and shopkeeper. 9. 2. 2 Secondary Sources:For this purpose of the research data will also be collected from the secondary sources such as various books, various journals, research works, government publications , census etc. 9. 3 Selection of the study area: 9. 3. 1 Researcher has choosen Mirpur Thana under Dhaka district as study area. There are several kindergarden, elementary schools and shopping malls located in Mirpur and it‘s easy to reach Mirpur because of the various transportation facilities. Mirpur is chosen because researcher will be able to visit different school, malls and neighborhoods pretty easily. . 4 Data Collection Form Primary Sources: 9. 4. 1. 1. Observation Observation is a well-defined methodological component in anthropology. It involves establishing rapport with the research population. The researcher will try to build close relationship with children, children‘s parents and shopkeepers who sells child product. Through observation researcher will try to see how child reacted to product which is associated with their favorite cartoon character and their parent‘s reaction toward their children and shopkeeper strategy to attract children. 9. 4. 1. 2.Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) Focus group discussions will be held in the study area. The objective of these sessions is to collect appropriate and intensive information and create space for target people to discuss and explore issues pertinent to this research proposal. 9. 4. 1. 3. Case Study A case study involves the in depth study of a single example of whatever it is the researcher wishes to investigate. In this study, case study method will be used for focusing the data especially what parents have to say about their children behavior when it comes to the product related to cartoons. . 4. 1. 4. PUA (Participatory Urban Appraisal) This method is now popular in rural development sector. Because Participatory Urb an Appraisal ? emphasizes local knowledge and enables local people to make their own analysis of the problems they face and to identify their own solutions? this tool will help research to find out parents strategies regarding how they cope with their child‘s unreasonable pester for buy commodity and how they plan to discourage children from buying product. 9. 4. 1. 5.Questionnaire Survey This method is an appropriate method to get the required information. A set of questionnaire will be prepared to conduct the field survey. In the present study data will be collected from structured questionnaire. 9. 4. 1. 6. Field Notes: Taking field notes is a field technique which allows researchers to produce a lot of data. During the fieldwork the researcher will keep a notebook which will record a lot of data. 9. 4. 1. 7. Tape Recording: There will be a lot of information that might not be possible to write down on the spot.In this situation the researcher will use tape recorder to reco rd the information. 9. 4. 1. 8. Visual Technique: Different visual techniques such as taking picture, diagram, or video clips will be used to collect data and later explaining situation. For this purpose researcher will use a video camera. 9. 4. 2 Sample Size and Selection of Sample: 9. 4. 2. 1. It is important to select that population which share common characteristics so researcher will select middle and lower middle class children of age ranging from 3. 5 to 12 years as the spend most of their time in front of TV.The sample size of the questionnaire survey will include three kinder garden schools and 30 households 9. 5 Data Analysis and Report Preparation: 9. 5. 1. After completion of the initial search, the materials will be screened and preliminarily data will be sorted out on the basis on broad subjects. Each document will be summarized with a view to eliciting the major findings. 9. 6. Scope and limitation of the proposed research: 9. 6. 1 There will be limited time for this study which will not allow the researcher to study most of the children living in the Mirpur.There is a strong possibility that researcher will get bias response in some of the answers although care will be taken to word when selecting question. A few quantitative findings may have to be drawn on selfestimated data, which may not be very reliable. 10. Timeframes: Activities Fieldwork (Data Collection from primary & secondary sources) Data Processing Data Analysis Writing Revision for submission Print bind & Submit Month May/2013 May/2013 May/2013 May/2013 May/2013 June/2013 Date 1-18 19-22 23-25 26-29 30-31 1st June

Man Is Known by the Company He Keeps Essay

Man is a social creature. None can live alone, away from the society of his fellow being, like shipwrecked Alexandra Selkirk who aspired for company in the lonely island. It is always very natural for him to seek the company of others. Even when all his immediate physical needs are met, he must have someone to talk to enjoy himself with. At home he has his near and dear ones by his side. But that is not enough. He must have other companions— friends to whom he can unburden his heart and with whom he can exchange his ideas and share his enthusiasm. Hence, we must intimately associate with others; we must do so that our friends may come to exert a great deal of influence over us, on our character and conduct. Man is by nature imitative, and he will often be led to imitate others. For good or for evil, others very often lead and guide us. They may mould our tastes and interest, and shape our character. We become good or bad as our friends are. For instance, if a man is virtuous and honest, he will by his speech and conduct inspire his friends with goodness and honesty. Similarly, if our friends are wicked, we may follow them do as they do and become wicked ourselves. Naturally, we cannot blame people if they judge us by the company we keep. The same boy shapes differently if placed in different companies. Furthermore, no companionship, at least no lasting companion ­ship is possible unless the parties have similar tastes and interests, likes and dislikes. It is like the magnetic affinity. A man who is bad in instinctively drawn to those who are similarly bad. It has been most truly said that birds of the same feather flock together. Here also the character of our companions is an index of our own character. If he does not show his dislike nor try to avoid uncongenial company, having found undeserving, he will surely, in course of time, become quite as bad as his friend. It is quite axiomatic that one who is virtuous will shun the company of those who are given to the ways of vice. He will try to make friends with those that are good and on the right path. Companionship thus is a positive factor not only in the formation of character but in the estimation of man’s true worth. It is at once an influence on character and a measure of one’s real worth. A man is often judged by the collective quality and identity of his group. Nobody will believe that a particular robber of the gang is honest. As we are drawn to men who feel and act like ourselves and we are influenced by them. An estimate of the moral character of an individual can easily by made in reference to that of his companions. He cannot be different from his friends. So we conclude that he is what his friends are. Just as one rotten mango spoils the rest in the basket, similarly one wicked man corrupts a lot of friends. In the choice of our companions, we must be cautious and careful because on this choice depends so much. Before we make friends with others, we must watch their conduct and know what kind of men they actually are. But as children do not know what is right and wrong, parents must see that boys and girls do not fall into evil company. This task should begin at school, — in the formative years of a boy or girl.

Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement Essay

Intellectual property (IP) is defined as property that is developed through an intellectual and creative processes. Intellectual property falls under the category of property known as intangible rights, which includes patents (inventions of processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter), copyrights (original artistic and literary works of), trademarks (commercial symbols), and trade secrets ((product formulas, patterns, designs). Intellectual property rights has a significant value to both individuals and businesses, providing in the case of large companies, over one half of their value on return. Since intellectual property rights are so important to the U.S. economy and its citizens, federal and state law provides†¦show more content†¦By contrast, the constitutional basis for federal trademark law is the Commerce Clause.† (Yeh, p.1, 2012). As a result, many laws, such as the Uniform Trade Act, the Misappropriation of a Trade Secret, the Economic Espionage Act, the Copyright Act, the Federal Patent Statute, and Lanham Act just to mention a few, have been enacted to provide legal protection against the unauthorized use, theft, and other violations of the rights granted by those statutes to the intellectual property owners. For instance, the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) was enacted by congress making it a federal crime to steal another’s trade secrets for own or another’s benefit. In addition, the EEA was passed to address the ease of stealing trade secrets through computer espionage and using the internet, and to penalize those who commit these type of crimes. Additionally, these laws allow the IP owners to recover any profits made by the offender, recover any damages, provide severe criminal penalties, fine organizations, and impose prison terms and injunctions to all perpetrators as a remedy. Furthermore, intellectual property rights gives their owners or holders monopoly rights as a protective measure for a specific period of time. For example, in 1995, congress modified the U.S. patent law to make invention patents valid for 20 years and design patents valid for 14Show MoreRelatedThe Beginnings Of Intellectual Property Rights1630 Words   |  7 Pages Beginnings of Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property rights will remain a part of international trade agreements in the future, but the global activity will likely be characterized by varying standards and improved enforcement, reflecting evolution in social, cultural and political attitudes, and a deeper understanding of the relationships among innovation, creation and the more efficient distribution of intellectual property. Increased cooperation might occur at the governance levelRead MoreIntellectual Property Rights : An Analytical Study Essay998 Words   |  4 PagesINTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – AN ANALYTICAL STUDY IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT Abstract Intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. These rights make the creator/ inventor as the owner of the product/work. IP protection is intended to stimulate the creativity of the human mind for the benefit of all by ensuring that the advantages derived from exploiting a creation benefit the creator. This will encourage creative activity and allow investors in researchRead MoreEconomic And Social Status Of China1549 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction Not only economically but socially, influences of China has been substantial. Economic and social status of China are firm that it can not be oversighted. However, law related intellectual property rights has been rising issues in China. First step to solve the problem is realize there is one. It is critical to recognize which elements are violating IPR. Basic systematic error of IPR and counterfeit culture in China are main factors for the obstacles. Current state of the world’sRead MoreThe Acta Treaty : A Multilateral Trade Agreement901 Words   |  4 Pagesright to health, the right to access to medicines around the world, especially in developing countries. It is the most important criticisms against ACTA, it seeks to stronger enforcement of intellectual property rights, surpassing international standards established by the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, the TRIPS Agreement [1]. It is the risk of this militancy to be enforced, it may lead to obstruction of dealing in the generics market, with sound medical specificationsRead MoreChinese Foreign Trade Relations : Intellectual Property Enforcement Context1164 Words   |  5 PagesImproving Chinese Foreign Trade Relations: Intellectual Property Enforcement Context I. Introduction American businesses are losing up to an estimated $60 billion each year in the global market from intellectual property violations. The problem continues to grow as more American companies invest overseas, and more products consist of intangible or intellectual property. American companies face more than just economic challenges: if losses of intellectual property rights continue to go unchecked, businessesRead MoreThe Purpose Of Copyright Laws1130 Words   |  5 Pageslivelihoods depend upon the recognition of rights† (p. 1, par. 1) for their intellectual properties. In the contemporary business world, most companies that sell products of some kind depend on other firms for the design, production, and distribution of the product to make it available for selling. Such sales are often either wholesale to retailers or retail to consumers. Violations of the copyrights of intellectual property (IP), destroys the chain of commerce reflected in these different industries;Read Mor eLegal Protection And Intellectual Property Rights1175 Words   |  5 PagesIntellectual property is defined in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as the creation of the mind. According to WIPO the work does not have to be literary in order to be protected. Names, images, symbols, designs..etc. are all protected. Intellectual property rights are mentioned in article 27 of the universal human rights act that gives the inventors and creators to benefit from their work. Those rights are obtained through registering patents, trademarks, and copyrights. ThereRead MoreCopyrights And Other Legalities. Copyrights Are More Limited1490 Words   |  6 Pagesand Other Legalities Copyrights are more limited in scope than patents. They protect the original works of authorship, not the ideas they contain. In the United States, original works include literary, drama, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. A computer program, for example, is considered a literary work and is protected by copyright. A copyright gives its owner the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the material or perform or display it publicly. However, copyrightRead MoreThe And The Industrial Revolutions1305 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is intellectual property? Intellectual property or IP for short is creations of the mind, such as; inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Among these IP also includes trade secrets, patents, copyrights, and trademarks. IP and its protection are detrimental to the success of the economy. IPs are the innovations that drive the market forward and they are what created eras like the r enaissance and the industrial revolutions. But nowadaysRead MoreThe Importance Of IP-Protection In China752 Words   |  4 PagesChinese business entities to address the longstanding intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement problems in China. About 86-90% of all IP protected goods sold in China have been illegally copied. As a result, U.S. industries lose billions of dollars in revenue and, consequently, thousands of jobs per year. Local Chinese businesses currently have a vested interest in the counterfeiting industry, so China is unlikely to support IP-protection until it has economic incentives to do so. Because China