Marketing strategy for Swatch Original watches in Vietnam

Marketing strategy for Swatch Original watches in Vietnam Statement of purpose Swatch (Swiss + watch) is a famous brand of the Swatch Group. In Vietnam, one of the main product lines of Swatch is the Original family which targets the young Vietnamese (aged, 18-25). In recent years, the brand faces not only fierce competition but also new opportunities. Thus, this report aims to introduce an approach for Swatch to increase the brand identity, sales volume and maintain customer loyalty in Vietnam market. Wrist watches industry in Vietnam: Back ground: Due to the limitation of available data, it is difficult to account the numbers of wrist watch brands in Vietnam market. However, according to an informal source, it is believed that there are about 400 brands have been recorded. They are classified to eight levels (website): Mass market Mid-end market US$150 -300 Premium market US$1.000 10.000 Low market US$10 50 Upper mid-end market US$300 -500 Super premium market >US$10.000 Lower mid-end market US$50-150 High-end market US$ 500 1.000 Focus segment: (US$50 -150) Currently, Swatch Original watches address in lower mid-end level, with the pricing vary from US$60 -80 (website) Players in lower mid-end market include: Casio, Endura, Guess, Ogival, Seiko, Swatch, Titan, Roamer, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. However, Casio is the main competitor of Swatch because these firms target the same segment, the young Vietnamese with extrovert lifestyle. Company and products: Swatch Swath is one of 19 brands which belong to the Swatch Group. This brand is famous for watches that utilising plastic housing, strap, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. with fresh and cool designs. Mission statement: Though Swatch hasnt announced its mission statement, it is believed that the brand implicit mission is to offer low cost, high quality and accurate watch with synthetic material (website) Products: Swatch has 5 product lines named: Skin, Irony, Original, Beat, Bijoux, in which the Original family is designed as youthful, witty and colourful. Distribution: Swatch watches are distributed in Vietnam mostly through Trading Development Company Limited (TDC Ltd.), the authorised distributor of Swatch. Following that, TDC Ltd. utilises 6 retail outlets (shop-in-shops, stores) and its website to deliver watches to customers (website). However, the website of the dealer is poor developed. The website provides poor contents in meager format. There are little details of Swatch watches specifications and the prices of most of the products are unavailable to check. Casio Casio Company Co. Ltd. is a famous company in consumer electronics field. Casio watches are designed as both digital and analogue watches. Mission statement: Casio Watches believe the beauty of time lies in precision with no compromise, no shades of grey and no half measures. Its all about accuracy and control (http://www.thewatchhut.co.uk/casio-watches.htm). Products: Casio has 13 different brands that target different segment. Among these, Casio Standard is competitor of Swatch Original. Casio Standard: This is the basic range of Casio watches. The concepts behind Standard are digital watches that are durable, long lifetime battery and affordable price. Casio standard target low to lower mid-end market with the pricing vary from US$35 -80 (website) In overall, regarding added functions, durability and battery lifetime, Casio watches are more competitive against Swatch (figure). Situation analysis: Internal environment analysis: Tangible resources: The Swatch Group is the world largest watchmaker corporation. Belonging to the Group, there are 156 production centers which are in charge of producing watches and watch components (website). Furthermore, there are 6 electric components and systems companies(website) which take response for manufacturing automotive, industrial electronics. Together, these firms form a system of interrelated values chains, so each parts of Swatch watches are produced with high compatibility and high quality. On the other hand, the Swatch Group has 6 general corporate companies (website) which specialise in RD, designing, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Thus, Swatch watches are likely to be updated with the latest technologies and designs. Intangible resources: Considering branding, it is one of the most valuable assets of the Swatch Group. Firstly, the Swatch brand is well known in many places worldwide. Secondly, there is a solid reputation for the brand as Swiss made watches and cool design watches. Unique selling proposition: Overall the corporations intangible and tangible assets contribute to three exclusive points: The brand reputation for quality and creative designs Ability to produce a vast array of different watch collections Ability to develop and implement new technologies and new materials in watches External environment analysis: Political: Vietnam is a country which follows one-party political system, with the central role of the Communist Party. This entity is believed to put an end to a long time of internal conflicts and generally conductive to political stability. However, regarding wrist watch businesses, there is little support from the government, the tariff on imported watches is relatively high (20% imported tax) compares to other nations (5% imported tax in Philippine) (website). Economic: Over the last decade, Vietnam is one of the best performing economies in the world. Real GDP has grown on average by 7.3 percent per year during 1995-2005, reached 90.64 billions US$ in 2008. In 2010, GDP of the first nine months is predicted to increase by 6.52% as compared to the same period last year (Vietnam key country index WB). Considering the GNI per capita, it rose double from US$ 390 in 2000 to US$ 910 in 2008 (Worldbank). As the economy continues to grow, Vietnam has moved from poorest country list to lower-middle income group in 2010, with average income per capita reached an estimated US$ 1.200. (Ministry of planning and industry) Consumer Confident Index of Vietnam remains in the top score groups (14th out of 50) in the first half 2009 (figure). Likewise, Vietnamese customers showed a great optimistic about future prospect, with the trend went upward from 85 points in the first half 2009 to 109 points in the second half of the same year (figure). Thus, it is confident to say that Vietnamese will spend more in the next year. Overall, it is believed that Vietnam economic is still growing briskly in 2011 and customers are more willing to purchase luxury products as they are becoming wealthier. Thus, there are relatively high potential for wrist watch demand in the next year. Social: Population Vietnam is one of the largest population countries in the world (ranks 13), with the composition of population reached 87,279,754 in 2009 (Worldbank). Among that, 20% of the total population is at age 15-24 in which there are approximately 1.45 million males in Ha Noi city and Ho Chi Minh (Nielsen). The number of young females is roughly equal to young males. Lifestyle: Vietnamese youngsters (aged, 15-24) are identified in three categories: Regular (48%), In-betweens (27%) and Uber modern (23%) (Nielsen). Regular group is limited in social activity and traditional values whereas the Uber modern is more individual and has high demand for social and consumer activity. On the other hand, the in-betweens embody a combination of the Regulars daily routine and Uber moderns mind set. Thus, there is a large gap between how the three youngster groups prefer products features. Regular: they are conservative buyers who look for established brand watch. They prefer durability, products functions and value over cost. In betweens: they are trendy and fun loving who look for similar values as the Uber modern, however, their consumer activity is comparatively lower. Uber modern: they are extrovert, enthusiastic who look for cool watches which can reflect their style. They are also impulse buyers. Approaches to the young Vietnamese: (see more detail in appendix B) The main points that Swatch should consider are: High quality products Creative designs watches Innovative marketing campaigns Technology: Currently, the most remarkable technology trend in Vietnam is communication technology. It is estimated that by the end of September 2010, there was 142.1 million of cellular phone subscribers. On the other hand, in 2010, the numbers of internet users was 26.6 million (Ministry of planning). Among the composition of internet users, a large part is young Vietnamese. It is reported that 88% of aged 15-24 Vietnamese (in HN and HCM) uses internet more than once a day. Moreover, Vietnamese youth show great fascinated to cyber activities, with 49% of those surveyed by TNS Vietnam had responded that they engaged in social networking (TNS). On the other hand, a lot of Vietnamese youngsters are also TV user, as the research of TNS pointed out that one of teens main activities is watching TV and movie (TNS). In conclusion, TV and internet are very potential communication channels to approach Vietnamese young generation. However, telephones pose a deliberate threat to wrist watches as they are designed with clock capabilities as well. SWOT analysis: Strengths: Swatch watches value perceived is very high among young customers For a long time, Swiss watchmakers have built for their watches a solid reputation of quality and reliability which have been experienced by numerous Vietnamese. Through mostly word of mouth, young Vietnamese have been profoundly influenced by this perception. The creative and artistic appearances The Swatch watches of the Original family have long been favored for its design. Bering simply characterized by plastic housing and trap, those products can come up in vast array of different styles from the fresh and wittiness of Gent to the dandy and femininity of Lady. Weaknesses: Electronic commercial website is poorly developed It is believe that the distributors website with regards to a bridge connects customers and the firm is not well designed. The website provides poor contents in meager format. There are little details of Swatch watches specifications and the prices of most of the products are unavailable. By contract, the results for keywords such as Swatch Vietnam, dai ly Swatch give 242.000 addresses; however, the authorised dealers website is not among the top results. Thus, this is very inconvenience for customers to find the website. Few added values A part from branding and designing, there is few added values from Swatch watches as compare to competitors products. In terms of additional functions, durability and battery lifetime, Casio watches are move competitive over Swatch. Threats: Threats from competitors (High) A major threat which Swatch has to confront is the fierce competition of rivalry brands such as Casio G-shock, Casio Standard, Tommy Hilfiger and so on. Especially Casio Vietnam, this firm has built a wide and large distribution network, with roughly 36 stores in HCM and about 6 stores in HN. Threats from replica watches (Low) On the other hand, counterfeits of branded watches also pose an implicit risk. Firstly, they are cheap. Spending about US$25 US$75, people can have a replica of luxury watch which is difficult to be detected just by judging its appearance. Secondly, replica watches are selling in many places and in the internet without being banned by the government. Threats from substitute (Medium) The large number of mobile phones used in Vietnam is another threat to Swatch. However, mobile phones are vulnerable to water and their batteries are not last for long and must be charged daily. Threats from governments policy (Medium) Finally, the high imported tax on watches of Vietnam government increases the costs of the Swatch distributor and adds higher VAT to the end customers. Consequently, the profit margin for the dealer goes down while the retail prices rise up. Opportunities: The increasing Vietnamese household income There is a bright prospect for Swatch watches as Vietnam economic is growing relatively fast. There is an estimated 77% in HN households and 67.5% in HCM achieved middle income rank and above (Nielsen). Hence, increasing income can boost up the demand for quality wrist watches. The increasing of young population Secondly, there is a population of 3 million of urban Vietnamese who are at age 18-24 (Statistical yearbook). They are currently demographic targets of Swatch Vietnam and a vast major of them have not been converted to customers. Furthermore, it is estimated that in the next 1-3 years, there will be roughly 1.5 million young Vietnamese enter the target market (Statistical Yearbook). Marketing strategy for Swatch in Vietnam market: Poster generic strategies, the Differentiation strategy will be implemented for Swatch in Vietnam. This strategy will be designed to differentiate Swatch and the competitors, then conductive to the raising of the brand awareness. Furthermore, the strategy is also expected to boost up sales volume in the targeted markets. Overall, the marketing strategy will aim to emphasize strong points of Swatch watches that are the Swiss made reputation and cool designs. Segmentation and targeting: Segmentation: Variable Typical breakdowns Geographic North Vietnam Ha Noi Middle Vietnam Da Nang South Vietnam Ho Chi Minh, Can Tho Demographic Gender Male Female Age 0-10 10-14 14-17 18-25 26-35 36-49 50-64 65+ Psychology Life style Regular In-betweens Uber Modern Targeting: Regarding geographic variable, there are five key cities in Vietnam (Nielsen). However, only HN and HCM can be targeted markets. First of all, there are considerable high expenses to open a Swiss wrist watch store due to high stocking costs, renting and interest rate. On the other hand, Swatch should invest more in HN and HCM market in order to achieve sustainability and profitability. Males and females at age 15-25 will be the target group of the firm. Because the designs of the Swatch Original are shaped as youthful, witty and colourful, which are symbol of youth. Following that, the choice market is narrowed down to 50% of the young Vietnamese who are fashion seekers (In-betweens and Uber modern group). Positioning: In order to incorporate with the differentiation strategy, Swatch Original watches will be positioned based on its two main advantages: Swiss made quality and youthful design. On the other hand, the Original watches have higher value as compare to Casio Standard in overall (figure). Hence, the products should be positioned as more value more price. Objectives: Marketing objectives: Increase brand awareness in HN and HCM market by 20% by the end of 2011 Financial objectives: Increase sales volume by 15% by the end of 2011 Marketing programmes: Marketing mix Product policy: The product choice is the Original family which embody for youthful, artistic and outlandish. New designs should be developed regularly and new collections must be released each year because the young Vietnamese are well updated to the new trends of global youngsters Regarding quality, it is vital that Swatch watches must satisfy the customers expectation of the products. Basically, the watches have to be water-resistant (up to 100 feet) and durable enough to take certain levels of impact without being scratched or broken. Additionally, packaging should also be designed artistically in order to contribute to the brand image and satisfy customers expectation. Place policy: Push strategy In short-term, Swatch watches are distributed mainly through the authorised dealers retail outlets and its website. In long-term, as the Vietnam market grows mature, Swatch manufacturer should consider open Swatch stores which are decorated in artistic style and sell only Swatch watches. These selling entities will polish the brand image and become a channel to communicate the firms campaigns to customers. Furthermore, new Swatch stores should be opened in other cities which have high household income such as Hai Phong, Can Tho and Da Nang, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. However, these stores are required to locate in good location and well decorated. Pull strategy To adapt with customers expectation and to retain their loyalty, a pull strategy must be implemented in which customers can order their favourite watches through the authorised distributor, who in turn asks the Swatch manufacturer for those products. Regarding an important source of Swatch watches information, the website of TDC Ltd. should be improved. Actions that the firm should take are re-designing and working with a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) agency. These steps aim at raising the websites attractiveness and improving its accessibility. By contract, information about pricing, watches specification and new collections must also be updated regularly. Pricing policy: Pricing from the Swatch manufacturer to the distributor A cost-based value approach should be employed by Swatch manufacturer. The pricing to the wholesaler is set by taking total production costs plus desired margin. Thus, a fair price can be offered to the distributor. Furthermore, as businessmen are very price conscious, the firm should also leverage them by price promotion. Pricing from the distributor to customers Value-based pricing policy should be employed for Swatch watches. As Swatch watches quality and designs are highly evaluated. Hence, the price should not be low; otherwise, it may confuse customers about the watches value. On the other hand, the pricing also reflect the value of Swatch watches against Casio Standard. So the products price should ranged from US$60- US$80 On the other hand, a pricing relation policy should also be implemented. For customers who have purchased more than three watches, they will receive a loyalty card which offer 15% discount for next purchases. This policy is not only aim to incentive customers but also build a firm footing for Swatch community in Vietnam in future. Promotion policy: A promotion policy is built to retain customer loyalty and leverage them to re-purchase Swatchs watches. Two types of sales promotion that will be applied are loyalty card and free gift giving on special occasions. Marketing communication mix: In order to achieve to the firms objectives in 2011, it is vital that Swatch must employ different media channels to reach its targeted customers. Three approaches that will be applied are advertising, public relations and sales promotion. These media channels are not only being utilised to convey the brand message and image but also to introduce a fashion trend to young Vietnamese. Finally, product features such as quality and designs must be emphasised in the media message. Advertising: (see detail in appendix C) Advertising on magazines and newspapers for youth Advertising in social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Advertising in internet media Advertising in TVs Public relations: (see detail in appendix C) Holding flash mob events Sales promotion Where as advertising and public relations are implemented to increase Swatch watches awareness and sales volume. The promotion approach is used to retain customer. Two types of sale promotion are loyalty program and free gift offering. With loyalty card promotion, customers will be given a special ticket for each time they purchase a Swatch watch. Following that, they will get a discount card for 3 tickets that they collected. On the other hand, on special events like Vietnamese New Year Event or Christ Mast, a free gift will be giving to customers associating with the watch they buy. Conclusion: Because of Vietnamese average income is rising, it is believed that the demand for wrist watch will grow higher in next years. Hence, Swatch should invest more in RD, distribution and communication channels to not only increasing revenues but also to capture more market share. Appendix Appendix A Figures Figure 1 Vietnam quarterly GDP growth Source: Taking stock 2010 An update on recent Vietnam economic development Figure 2.1 1H Nielsen Consumer Confident Index (Source: Nielsen Global Online Survey Consumer Confidence, March 2009) Figure 2.2 _ 2006-2009 Consumer Confidence Index: Vietnam Source: Nielsen 2H 2009 Global Omnibus Study, September 2009 Reasons for favourite brand of Vietnamese youth 59% Top quality 39% Innovative, ground breaking 38% Well designed, easy to use 34% Affordable, good value of money 27% Great marketing and advertising Figure 3 Reasons for favourite brand of Vietnamese youth Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Swatch Original Product attributes Casio Standard 3 Materials 3 3 Lifetime battery 4 5 Cool design 3 3 Durable (water-proof, shock-proof, scratch-proof) 4 5 Reputable brand 4 4 Precision 4 3 Additional functions 4 Very low Low Normal High Very high 1 2 3 4 5 Figure 4 Value assessing between Swatch Original and Casio Standard This figure is designed based on my estimation from available data in http://store.swatch.com/ and http://www.casio-intl.com/wat/g_shock/standard.html Vietnamese youth top sources to get news and information Television 84% Internet 58% Magazines and newspapers 24% Word of mouth 13% Figure 5 Young Vietnamese sources of information Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Figure 6 Vietnamese youths digital life Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Figure 7 Vietnamese youths attitude toward brand interaction on-line Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Appendix B Approaches to Vietnamese youth The FCB matrix was invented by Foot, Cone Belding Advertising. The matrix is applied to explain customer buying behaviour and present approaches for media strategy. There are two directions in the FCB Grid: product involvement (high low) and product emotion (thinking feeling). Thinking Feeling High involvement Swatch Original watches Expensive products but decision making is driven by emotion Low involvement It is believed that a majority part of young Vietnamese who aged 15-25 spending a lot of their time for study and having little time for working. As a result, their financial availability is mostly depended on their parents. Which this in mind, wrist watches which cost them US$ 60- 80 will be considered as expensive products. Thus, Swatch watches are classified as high involvement products. On the other hand, Swatch watches are fashion accessories which youngsters can use them to express their style, make them feel cool and fresh. Thus, Swatch watches involve high emotional responses. Regarding reasons for favourite brand (figure 3), it is clear that products quality, designs have significant impacts on Vietnamese youth by 59%, 39% respondents respectively. In contract, these elements engage high emotional responses as they are mostly based on customers perceived value. Hence, quality, designs should be focus points in Swatch media campaigns. In conclusion, FCB Grid suggests that Swatch advertising campaigns should be creative and inspire customers by psychological benefits. Appendix C Communication mix choice Advertising: Advertising on magazines and newspapers for youth Newspapers and magazines is the number three source of information and news to young Vietnamese (figure 5). They use this channel to pull out information of various aspects which they concern include entertainment, fashion trends, news and so on. Thus, it is confident to say that printed media can deliver the brand image and message to a majority of Vietnamese youth. Advertising in social media This approach is absolute must in order to reach the targeted groups. Social networking is a new trend in Vietnam, with half of the online youngster engages in (figure 6). The advantage of this media channel is that information can be spread and shared quickly and widely as internet users are keen in communicating with others. On the other hand, young Vietnamese also pose a positive attitude toward brand interaction on-line. They accept to interact with the brands in many activities from e-mail to news and social (figure 7). Thus, a Swatch community can be built to provide not only information about the products but also to offer promotions and provide a fan space. Furthermore, through social networking, global contests of Swatch (CreArt, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) can be introduced to Vietnamese. Famous cyber communities include: Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Advertising in internet media Internet magazines or information portals for youth are viable mediums for Swatch. They are Vietnamese youngster favourite sources of information in which they rank number two among the others (figure 5). The advantage of this media include: low costs, wide market coverage. Popular websites include: www.hihihehe.com, www.kenh14.vn, www.hoahoctro.vn, www.zing.vn Advertising in TVs TV media should be considered as a channel to reach customer. It is reported that television is the youngsters number one source of news and information. Its advantages are wide reach (% of targeted customers who watch the advertisement) and high frequency (number if time each customer watches the advertisement). Hence, TV advertising can highly increase the brand awareness among young customers. However, there are relatively high costs (costs to produce television commercials and costs for booking TV channels) in utilising this medium. However, it is notable that the advertisements should be creative in order to impress the young audiences. Furthermore, advertisement must be launched at an effective frequency to maximise the effect while spending reasonable budgets. Public relations: Holding special events is an indirect way to advertise for the products to the targeted customers. Alternatively, TDC limited can also give aid to events that are attractive to young customers. It is noticed that special events must be creative and bring joyful to audiences. Consequently, the products image is expected to be benefited from word of mouth and news on magazines. Holding flash mob events Recently, there is a new trend of the youngsters, flash mob event. It is recorded that three big events (with over 1200 participants) and a lot of small ones has taken place in HN and HCM in 2010. Thus, TDC limited can contact with key members of flash mob groups to offer them sponsorship. In return, these members will indirectly promote for Swatch watches and influence the preference of the other event participants.

International Failures Essays -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

International Failures Companies around the world are seeking to expand overseas, driven by many different reasons whether to lower labor costs, technological innovation or the almighty dollar. No matter what the reason, without the proper knowledge and financial funding the company will fail. There have been numerous companies that have experienced this first hand. If they would have noticed the warning signs they may have been able to salvage the company. Fast-food companies have been one of the fastest to globally expand. They also experience some of the hardest down falls. An often quoted example is the failure of Prague's first Pizza Hut which closed down because too many ingredients had to be imported in for the one existing restaurant. The added expense for importing ingredients made operating expenses too high. Fortunately, most fast-food chains are large enough to overcome closure to a couple stores. But what would happen if an entire country was rejecting the company. This is the problem that McDonald's is facing. McDonald's is one of most successful fast food chains with 29,000 stores in 119 countries and sales of 38.5 billion dollars. But now, with growth slowing worldwide, McDonald's will add just 1,400 new restaurants, the lowest numbers since 1994. International sales already represent 51% of the global sales. They arrived in Brazil in 1979; many of the franchisees had a strong business selling big macs. After many years of growth, from 175 restaurants in 1995 to 563 this year, Brazil is McDonald's eighth most important market worldwide(Smith 1). Their sales in Brazil went from 620 million Reais in 1995 to 1.3 billion last year. Until recently, the company was still planning to double its current number of restaurants here by 2003. Behind the lines of customers eager for a burger, the Brazilian franchisees are having a hard time financially. According to an estimate made by franchisees that are in judicial litigation against the fast food chain, around 80% of the 152 franchisees that own half of the stores in Brazil are having difficulty to make ends meet at the end of the month(McDonald's 1). Some decided to sell their business. Others decided to fight. The first main concern of the franchisees is the rapid growth of new stores. The expansion program that increased the fast food chain in the last two years is crea... ... can succeed globally if they know what they are doing and have the financial funding WORK CITIED AT&T, BT pull Concert plug. CNN Money. October 2001. http://money.cnn.com/2001/10/16/international/bt Capell, Kerry and Heidi Dawley. Commentary: How British Telecom blew it. Business Week Online. April 2001. http://www.businessweek.com Gomoloski, Barb. Going global: Some lessons from eToys and Yahoo that might help You. InfoWorld. February 2001. http://staging.infoworld.com McDonald's Problems in Brazil. 2000. http://mcdonalds-problems-in-brazil.com Monti, Joseph A. Taking the high road when going international. Business Horizons. July 2000. http://www.findarticles.com Smith, Tony. Brazil franchisees sue McDonald's. AP Business Writer. December 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com Pappalardo, Denise. Sprints ION, AT&T-BT's Concert reach end of the line. Network World. October 2001. Weber, Joseph. AT&T-BT: A big Telecom deal up north. August 1999. Weintraub, Arlene. How eToys could have made it. Business Week Online. February 2001. http://businessweek.com Zwaig, Melvin and Michelle Pickett. Early warning signs. MSI Network. http://msi-network.com

A Day Without Media Essay

In the book â€Å"Amusing Ourselves to Death† the idea that immersion in what we love will lead to our end is presented and analyzed. After reading this book I took it upon myself, as part of a class assignment, to go 24 hours without media. Initially I believed that this would be an easy task but found that as a whole we are surrounded by media in every instance of our lives. From car rides, to simply walking around my house I had to be observant to avoid media that would reset my 24 hour time frame. In Postman’s book, â€Å"Amusing Ourselves to Death†, he reflects on how the television brings families to the same room but creates separation between them. In my time without media I spent two meals with my family (a lunch and dinner). At both of these gatherings my family talked much more than we usually did. While watching television we would â€Å"shush† each other to hear the show, but without it we discussed school, politics, and controversies such as legalizing weed. Looking back at this I see Postman’s point. We become so focused on the story folding out in front of us that we block out each other in the process. I also noticed the same effect when I was driving with my grandfather that night. He needed to deliver a present to family and I needed driving hours, so I drove the hour and a half drive. I wasn’t allowed to touch the radio because of my media break so we talked for that time. I found out that my close grandfather, whom I see five times a week, has severe ankle problem and was going to get treatment later that week. I like to think I’m close to my family, but this occurring without me even knowing about it struck a chord in me. How much do we really know about our loved ones? What simply hasn’t come up because we spend our time learning about the new celebrity fads or who wore what where? As I’m sitting here listening to the radio while writing this I have to reflect on Postman’s thoughts of how intertwined our world is with media. As he put it, President Taft wouldn’t have been voted into office in today’s world because less people would vote for someone that overweight. By this Postman means to point out how media has touch our lives. Not being able to use my cell phone to call people or watch the news on television, shrunk my  world to what I could see, hear, and touch around me. I spent most of my time in my room reading books to pass the time, and when I did leave my room I only saw my family room, kitchen, and a little outside. We rely on television, radio, and other media to bring us information. But, what is never a given is that the information sources we depend on aren’t biased. When opinions disguised as â€Å"facts† are viewed without any analysis and taken at face value, we are only creating sue do opinions that aren’t even ours. This influence in our lives not only emphasizes rifts in ideals, but also can give groups the power to falsify information and mislead others. Maybe we are not simply â€Å"Amusing Ourselves to Death† but Amusing Ourselves to the Death of Ourselves. When I was in middle school up till eighth grade I had a friend who used to watch BBC all the time as a child. I remember asking him about his speech patterns, and him telling me that he even used to have a British accent! I can also relate to these thoughts. When I was smaller I used to speak using syntax that wasn’t very normal. This was because I used to be very sheltered and not get out much. Sesame Street was one of my favorites as a child. Communication skills have to be developed like anything else, with practice. When I wasn’t exposed to people talking casually, I developed a way of speaking that didn’t fit with the people around me. This is a prime example of Postman’s point. We as a new generation can’t communicate like we should be able to. Technology has stripped us of that. When most kids get don’t know what to say next in a situation, the check their phones. This is a good example of our reliance on media and technology and show s our subconscious dependence on these devices. When you turn to your television tonight who or what do you see? What do you learn? What human interaction do you participate in? Postman mentions in his book how through television we learn to interact with people. But, these people we learn how to interact with don’t act like real humans do. They are actors, their body movements and word phrasing has been planned out and set step by step for them. This means that those actors we learn to interact with, and habits we gain don’t help us to talk to people face to face. While  breaking from media I thought about this at a point. In summary I believe the time I spent without media allowed me to see through Postman’s lens. The thought that the media we love so dearly is slowly destroying us may seem preposterous at first, but when further analyzed has ground to stand on. We gain social skills, news, opinions, bias, and a central meeting place for a family from media. Are these good or bad? Does this media influence our life to the point that it is the main factor we all cling to? We have to guard ourselves against the negative effects of this technology so we are not used. That doesn’t mean we cut ourselves off from it completely. If we do that than we are shrinking our world view to that which we can see ourselves. Like everything else in life we must take new media in proportion, with a clear mind. If so we may be able to avoid â€Å"Amusing Ourselves to Death†.

The Role of Effective Communication in Improving...

THE ROLE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN Improving organizational PERFORMANCE (CASE STUDY OF flour mill of Nigeria plc) BY AWAZIE ONYINYECHI SARAH 07AB05044 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The word communication has a rich and complex history. It first appeared in English Language in the fourteenth century, taken from the Latin word â€Å"communicare† which means to impact, share or make common. Bateman (1999), defined communication as the transmission of information and meanings from one party to another through the use of shared symbols. It is a well-known fact that communication plays a coordinating and integrating role in the management of the affairs of any organization, whether in the functions of planning, organizing, staffing,†¦show more content†¦The research question states clearly what the study will investigate or attempt to prove. The research question is a logical statement that progresses from what is known or believed to be true (as determined by the literature review) to that is unknown and requires validation. The following research questions will be determined: 1. How does communication breakdown negatively affect the performance of organization? 2. How does poor listening skill of employees affect organizational performance? 3. How does effective communication improve managerial performance? RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS Hypothesis I Communication breakdown as a barrier to communication affects organizational performance. Hi there is relationship between communication breakdown and organizational performance Ho there is no relationship between communication breakdown and organizational performance Hypothesis II Poor listening skills of employees negatively influence the performance of organizations. Hi there is relationship between poor listening skills of employees and negative performance of an organization. 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