Consumer Perceptions of Private Label Brands in China and UK

Consumer Perceptions of Private Label Brands in China and UK CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF PRIVATE LABEL BRANDS IN CHINA COMPARED WITH THE UK Summary In China there are fewer studies of private label brands (PLBs) that take up less market share than generic brands and national brands. However, there is a successful development of PLBs in the UK. Therefore, this thesis aims to explore the difference of consumer perceptions on PLBs between China and the UK with national brands as a standard. The literature review will review theories like brand equity/image, PLBs and double jeopardy; PLBs development compared with national brands in China and the UK; the influencing factors of consumer purchase behaviour and previous researches of consumers perceptions about PLBs in China and the UK. The main objective of this part is to ascertain the difference of consumers perceptions between PLBs and national brands in the UK. Primary research will take the form of a non probability convenience sampling method to randomly select 200 members of the public from two shopping malls of Xidan and Wangfujing and several large-scale supermarkets in Beijing. Questionnaires will be used for data collection, and data is analysed by Snap statistical programme. The finding shows that there is a significant difference of PLBs perception between China and the UK. Before the evaluation of brand image, the awareness of PLBs in China is understood and just less than half of respondents know the own-label biscuits. With reference to the literature reviewed on consumer perception in the UK, it can get the result that Chinese PLBs are perceived lower than British PLBs on the all attributes except â€Å"cheap† and â€Å"good value†. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 The topic of research The aim of this thesis is to better investigate how private label brands (PLBs) are perceived by consumers in China, and compare it with the UKs. 1.2 Principle research question To understand how Chinese consumers perceptions of private label brands differ from the UKs. 1.3 Overall research objective The primary purpose for this research is to discover the main difference of consumers assessment of private label brands between China and the UK. This thesis will explore if there are significant differences between Chinese consumers evaluation on PLBs and the UKs, and analyse the relevant factors that cause the distinctness of consumers evaluation roundly on the basis of prior research in this subject scope. 1.4 Individual research objectives In order to achieve the principle objective of this study, it will intend to fulfil the following objectives: To identify the actual development of PLBs in China and the UK To establish the influence factors of consumer purchase behaviour in China and the UK To determine consumers perception of PLBs and national brands in the UK To determine consumers perception of Chinese PLBs and national brands To ascertain the different brand perceptions of PLBs in China and the UK 1.5 Report Structure This thesis contains eight chapters. Chapter2 to 4 are based on a literature review about theories and relevant knowledge of marketing background. Chapter2 outlines the theories about branding, and then chapter3 introduces the private label brands and their development in the UK and China. Chapter4 refers to consumer perception of PLBs review between two countries based on analysing the determining factors of purchase. The research method is explained in chapter5 with some specific designing scheme. The results of surveying Chinese biscuit category is presented, interpreted and analysed in chapter6, and discussed relating with the UKs market of literature review in chapter7 before conclusion and recommendations are given in chapter8. Chapter 2: Branding Chapter 2 introduces the definition of branding with its importance in the retail market, and moves to realize â€Å"brand image† and â€Å"brand equity† as well as the shift between them. In addition, the Double Jeopardy (DJ) Effect is identified finally. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate Chinese consumers perceptions of private label brands (PLBs) in comparison to UKs. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the background knowledge about â€Å"brand† first. 2.1 The conception of branding A brand was defined as â€Å"a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors† (p.404, Kotler, 2000). Aaker (1996) indicated that brand was used for suppliers to reflect the consumers purchase information and make communicate with customers easier, so that it is helpful to build a long-term relationship of belief between buyers and sellers. Wileman and Jary (1997) had realized that retail branding was playing an important role in the modern retail market gradually. Managers and executives also perceived that retail branding could be used to increase benefits as a strong vehicle in the competitive retail industry (Carpenter, et al. 2005). The reason is that the relationship between a product and consumers is personified by the brand name (organizations name) on the product itself, like Microsoft and Nescafe (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2003). The difference between a brand and a commodity is shown below in figure1, which describes the process of decline from brand to commodity. Following the disappearance of brand characteristic, a reduction in the differentiation of price and product/image is demanded to achieve the likeness of product offerings in the particular category. Thus the â€Å"added values† is the main difference between a brand and a commodity. The result proved the strong power of added values in the blind (brand cancelled) and open (brand revealed) test of Coke and Pepsi preference (de Chernatony and McDonald, 2003). 2.2 Brand image Brand image is explained as the integrated effect of brand associations (Biel, 1992). Also, Faircloth et al. (2001) cited Engel et al. (1993) as claiming that brand image refers to consumers perceptions of brand tangible and intangible association. Keller (1993) stated that brand image, a part of brand knowledge, belongs to the perceptions about a brand that is reflected by the brands attribute, benefit, and attitude association in the memory of consumers. Besides, consumers brand image is derived from the accumulative effects of marketing mix actions of companies (Roth, 1994). Wulf el al. (2005) has argued that image is one prerequisite for the presence of brand equity. Brand image in the consumers memory network that is decisive to make decision, provides preferred brand reminding and evaluation (Holden, 1992), and so it can contributes the positive effect on brand equity (Yoo et al. 2000). Furthermore, Winchester and Fletcher (2000) argued that measuring brand image was one of the most important research projects undertaken by a company, because it could help firms to understand their products perceptions in consumers memory. For example, retailers have the cheaper brand image than the manufacturers in most of consumers memory. Also, they suggest that consumers consider retailer brands as â€Å"me too† products compared with manufacture brands (IGD, 2003). Thus it demonstrates that retailers are trying hard to build up a strong image for their own brands to shoppers. The enhancement of brand image will be beneficial to drive the sales, brand equity and increase the gross margin of private label products (Quelch and Harding, 1996). Therefore, brand image is an important determinant of consumers perception about private label brands. 2.3 Brand equity Brand equity, like the concept of brand, has been identified as having multiple meanings. For instances, people have debated the concept of brand equity both in the accounting and marketing literature for several years (Wool, 2000). The original concept of brand equity is the added value that a brand name offers to the fundamental product (Quelch and Harding, 1996; Wulf el al 2005). Wood (2000) also cited Feldwick (1996) as claiming a classification of different meanings of brand equity as: â€Å"- the total value of a brand as a separable asset when it is sold, or included on a balance sheet; a measure of the strength of consumers attachment to a brand; a description of the associations and beliefs the consumer has about the brand.† (p. 662, Wood, 2000) According to the statement of Wood (2000), brand equity rests on financial accounting no longer, but extends to the measure of brand strength (brand loyalty) and the description of brand image. Additionally, Aaker (1996) identified the major asset categories of brand equity to include brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality and brand associations (brand image). It reflected the value supplied by a product or service to a firm and/or customers in the various different ways. If the name and symbol of the brand change, the assets or liabilities will be affected and even lost due to the link between both sides. To brand awareness, the strength of a brands presence is mentioned in the consumers minds, ranging from recognition to recall to â€Å"top of mind† to domination. Recognition is more important than others due to the perception obtained from the past exposure. Also, recall can be a deciding factor of the purchasing of products. Otherwise, Chou (2002) also insisted on two categories of definition of brand equity—the customer-based and financial brand equity. The customer-based one is defined as the different effect of brand knowledge on consumers response to the purchase of brand (Keller, 1993; Lassar, et al. 1995), and the financial one refers to the intangible asset of the value of brand name to the firm (Chou, 2002). Through understanding the multiple concepts of brand equity, it can deduce that brand equity has attracted more attention in the marketing literature over the last decade, because it reflects if a brand would be repurchased by consumers. As Shapiro (1982) has demonstrated, certain brand equity offered genial value even though the appearance of products is uncertain. Nowadays Broniarczyk and Gershoff (2003) still emphasise the importance of brand equity; also, as one of the most valuable assets, it should be maximised to manage brands for the company (Keller and Lehmann, 2003). High brand equity can increase the opportunity on consumer choice of a common sales promotion (Simonson et al., 1994) and reduce the negative debates of consumers for a price increase (Campbell, 1999), because consumers lean to buy the brand more than the real product. Consequently, brand equity is also a factor to evaluate consumers perception of own brands. 2.4 The Double Jeopardy Effect In recent years, more authors (Sharp et al. 2002; Ehrenberg and Goodhardt, 2002) have been interested in understanding, developing and reinforcing the concept of Double Jeopardy (DJ), which represents a natural constraint on customer loyalty, which cannot be increased by marketing inputs much or for long unless a significant benefit increases the brands penetration (Ehrenberg and Goodhardt, 2002). The DJ effect is that â€Å"small share brands have fewer customers, but these customers buy the brand less often than the larger brands get bought by their customers† (p. 17, Sharp et al. 2002). A conceptual model of the DJ effect is showed in the figure2, which illustrates if a small firm would have higher turnover of their customer base if they lost the same number of customers as a large firm. The DJ effect is fit for the discussion of national brands and PLBs. Bigger brand will be known by more customers, and have more opportunities to be purchased and receive more responses than smaller brand. It will be an essential theory to support the last result of investigation about the comparison between own labels and national labels. Chapter 3: Private Label Brands This chapter attempts to understand private-label brands, their development in UK and China and the reason for focusing on them. National brands will be also mentioned as the scale for the validity of comparison between Chinese and UKs own labels. 3.1 The definition of private label brands â€Å"Retailer brands are designed to provide consumers with an alternative to manufacturer brands, to build customer loyalty to a retailer or improve margins.† (p.11, IGD, 2003) They are particular to a definite retailer, and may have a same or different name of the retailer but exclude other retailers name (IGD, 2003). The terms â€Å"own label† and â€Å"own brand† are always used together; also private label, retail brands or distributor brands are in common used (Fernie and Pierrel, 1996). Own brands can help retailers reduce the direct impact of price competition, since retailers carry their own brands instead of national brands that are sold in the most of the stores (Carpenter, et al. 2005). Furthermore, according to IGD (2003) study, doing own brands can provide competitively priced products, increased profitability and loyalty due to the special store, establishes store image, drives innovation and targets specific consumer groups. 3.2 The development of PLBs in UK Based on more previous researches about UKs PLBs, it will specify them as the base to compare with Chinese growing PLBs. 3.2.1 The history of development The generation of own brands in the UK can date back to the end of the nineteenth century (Key Note Market Review, 2001). Until mid-1960s, manufacturers perceived that the development of store brands could be a direct threat for them (Ogbonna and Wilkinson, 1998). After that, own brands rose to penetrate into grocery markets gradually (Fernie and Pierrel, 1996), because supermarket had to implement a new strategy under the tough economic crisis (Ogbonna and Wilkinson, 1998). The growth of own labels in the UK had been rapid during 1980s, and slowing down in the 1990s (Laaksonen, 1994). After 1980, the UKs retailing had a big metamorphosis to change their own-label products from previous low-price/low-quality/poor-packaging to current high quality, competitive price and good packaging (Burt and Davis, 1999; Key Note Market Review, 2001). Especially from 1990, more retailers began to provide own brand lines in stores and penetrated towards the grocery field (Veloutsou et al., 2004), and even innovated in product categories to be consistent with branded-products, such as the expansion from grocery to clothing (Quelch and Harding, 1996). Fernie and Pierrel (1996) illuminated that Marks Spencer, Sainsburys, Tesco and Safeway had developed their own brands, which competed successfully with other brands in the UK. Otherwise, there were more private labels on the shelves of supermarkets than ever before (Quelch and Harding, 1996). The main reasons for growth of own-label products include lower pricing (60%-85% of branded products), improved quality and higher profits for retailers (Ashley, 1998). Through the review of historical evolvement of PLBs, the current bloom of PLBs development in UK that is built on the basis of constant change can be seen. Also, it can be a good explanation for the condition, in which customers choose more own brands of supermarket rather than manufactures brands. 3.2.2 Current development At present, private label brands have taken up a significant share of nearly 29% in the UK food market. It is expected to increase further in 2009. Especially since 2008, own label has been gaining popularity following accelerating economic downturn. As consumers have begun to feel the pitch, so they have bought own-label products instead of branded products to save money. Thus the competition between own-labels and brands is reinforced. There is the highest own-label consumption in the FMCG sectors, like milk and frozen vegetables, or some products without emotional appeal. However, manufacturer brands still account for the majority of sales in the most of grocery categories (Mintel, 2009). Table1 shows the share of brands and own-labels in the following different categories. From this table, it can see that own label is the most dominant in the category of ready meals; and it has the least share in the crisp category. Also, more share own labels account for, more increasing opportunities they have. In addition, UKs supermarkets recognise that consumers have a wide range of product needs, so they segment the market by providing the brands that cater for the best, healthy, valuable, kids and organic requirements as table2 shows. 3.2.3 The feature of development The development of PLBs, a competitive strategy adopted by retailers, is necessary for them within the current retail market of high competition in the UK (Carpenter et al. 2005). Own brands are developing fast and winning a better share of the food market with definite advantage in the supermarket product ranges, because retailers can offer their private label products with high-quality and low-price (Wulf et al., 2005). Also, own-brand products exceeding 40% of market share have expanded their presence across markets—from low-priced, value-for-money items to the premium and lifestyle arenas so as to cater for consumers concern about healthy eating (Drewer, P. 2006). Therefore, it can fetch up the limitation of national brands that segment the market less, and target desired consumers more narrowly. For instance, figure3 shows Sainsburys Be Good to Yourself range of lower fat which is one kind of â€Å"healthier† own-label ranges; and Asdas value (Smartprice), healthy (Good for You) and Premium (Extra Special). Furthermore, the feature difference of own brands has been gradually shortened from national brands in terms of aspects such as packaging, size, and label (Choi and Coughlan, 2006). In figure4, Sainsbury instant coffee products are taken as an example of private labels with reduced feature differentiation as national labels inside FMCG sector. Some of the UKs retailers such as Sainsburys and Tesco have set up own brands focusing on quality and taste due to more consumers regards on flavour and aroma. Production methods have become diversified, and manufacturers have been found around the world to get various products with exotic flavours. For instance, the recipes of multiple ready-meal foods are derived from characteristic foods of different countries, like Waitrose chicken chow mein, which is developed from Chinese stir-fried noodles. Thus it is common for retailers to compete by developing premium own brands (Fenn, 2007), yet the majority of retailers changed their attention from premium ranges to the promotion of value ranges in 2008 (Mintel, 2009). 3.2.4 Marketing support The increase of own-label products is supported by the gradually concentrated nature of the retail market. Retailers control own brand marketing, which has obtained higher promotional support than national brands since there are better space and location for private labels on supermarket shelves (Cataluna et al. 2006). Retailers have got bargaining power in the market and more confidence to invest in their own brands, which bring higher profits than generic brands (Fenn, 2007). In addition, own-label food and drink has been supported strongly in the competitive market, although the main retailers began to promote the potential of saving money on PLBs purchase in 2008 and early 2009. For example, own-label brands are promoted principally in the main retailers like Morrisons. Marks Spencer also spent a third of its total budget on MS brands in 2008 (Mintel, 2009). Table3 shows the market support on foods in the form of media advertising expenditure. Generally, an increasing trend is shown for the retailers spending on foods in this table. However, depending on the retailers spending share, it can ascertain that branded manufacturers are still the biggest spenders on advertising for food and drink. They use the â€Å"Reassurance† and â€Å"tradition† as the key themes of promotion to fight against PLBs (Mintel, 2009). 3.2.5 The biscuit category Own-label biscuits take up a fifth of the UK market, where it has remained the share stably over previous 5 years. The biscuits category has increased substantially since 2002, although there is an unhealthy high sugar content in the most biscuits. The benefits can be obtained from defying all advice of nutrition, because consumers regard biscuits as a reward for their efforts on healthy eating most of the time. Moreover, the development of biscuit market is likely to be influenced by three key factors: requirement for healthy foods, indulgent products and convenient products. The indulgent demand can benefits the branded biscuits, as consumers believe premium-branded products more than PLBs (Kidd, ed. 2007). Figure5 shows the UK biscuits market shares in 2007. From this figure, it can see own labels account for more share than any one manufacturer brand, but it is less than the total share of main large manufacturers. In short, UKs PLBs market has been described and compared with manufacturers brands specifically, so that it can be as the firm foundation for the later comparison with Chinese PLBs market. 3.3 The development of PLBs in China Private label in China is still in an emergent stage, where many retailers had increased the place of own label development in 2004, but most do not have their own brands until they have greater scale in the market. According to IGDs estimation, own brand only takes up 2% of sales at Wal-mart and less than 6% at Carrefour, which is the strongest retailer in China. Although the foreign retailers have a long history to sell private label brands, this is a big challenge for them to sell in China, where own brand is a new concept for the Chinese consumers. They just believe the value and quality of local branded products. Thus retailers need to prove their own products are not only cheaper, but also provide better value to consumers (IGD, 2005b). Auchan, Carrefour and Wal-mart will be chosen as the example of private label development, because they have wider range of own label products than others. â€Å"Pouce†, â€Å"Auchan† and â€Å"First Price† ranges were introduced by Auchan in 2003. And they were developed across both food and non-food categories by the end of 2004. In Carrefour, own labels can be found in most categories, especially strong in non-food. Its private label brands include â€Å"Great Value†, â€Å"Equate† and â€Å"Kids Connection†. Wal-mart is developing their own brands including â€Å"Simply Basic†, â€Å"Equate† and â€Å"Great Value† in China, where the quantity is more limited than other developed international markets (IGD, 2005b). But actually, most of supermarkets usually just focus on the value with low price, and use the name of supermarket as their own brands name to attract consumers attention, such as â€Å"Ito-yokado†, â€Å"Dia%† and â€Å"Tesco†. 3.4 Why the focus on PLBs Veloutsou et al (2004) indicated that all grocery retailers have been entangled by private brands in Great Britain in the last decade. Also, the growth of private labels is one of the most obvious successes to the retail stores (Drewer, P. 2006); own brands have been seen as the strategic weapon to provide retailers with more powers and opportunities to distinguish themselves from national brands and build store image (Juhl et al. 2006). Nevertheless, there is a completely different situation in China, where the study of PLBs is less than the UKs and is strongly encouraged (Song, 2007). PLBs is undeveloped with low sales account in China, even if some foreign retailers (e.g. Carrefour, Wal-mart) have launched their own brands (IGD, 2005b). Consequently, there is a need to expose why PLBs have little market in China, and understand the shortage of Chinese PLBs development through comparing consumers different perceptions between China and the UK. Chapter 4: Consumers Perception of PLBs in China and UK This chapter will evaluate private label brands and national brands based on a cognizance of factors determining purchase. A generality of different viewpoints about consumers perceptions on brands will be discussed and some factors influencing the PLBs purchase will be presented. 4.1 Determinant of Purchase behaviour Consumers purchase can be influenced by environment, personal preference and psychological factors. Customers who live in diverse regions have their own experience about private-label products (Veloutsou et al 2004). Individual consumers often choose certain brands that they know to be guaranteed due to their habits, instead of spending more time to re-evaluate the brands with different attributes when purchasing (Ehrenberg, 2004). Furthermore, consumers preferences are different following the change of age (IGD, 2005a). For example, young people high on the new things more than old people. From the psychological aspect, â€Å"the right customer mindset can be crucial to realizing brand equity benefits and value† (p29, Keller and Lehmann, 2003). During the decision making process, purchase can be influenced directly by several factors. Veloutsou et al (2004) cited Omar, Burt and Sparks (1995) as claiming that many consumers always consider their products characteristics, quality and perceived value instead of the prices of products when consumers make purchasing decisions. However, the price cannot be excluded from factors of decisions, because most of consumers go shopping after they have a budget in mind (Hogan, 1996). Additionally, a generalized private-label attitude is discovered to influence purchase behaviour; factors include: â€Å"consumer price consciousness, price-quality perception, deal proneness, shopping attitudes, impulsiveness, brand loyalty, familiarity with store brands, reliance on extrinsic cues, tolerance for ambiguity, perceptions of store brand value, and perceived differences between store brands and national brands† (p347, Collins-Dodd and Lindley, 2003). 4.2 Consumer perception in China Due to the limitation of consumption per capita, the market was driven by price instead of brand loyalty in China (IGD, 2005b). According to China Management Newspaper (2008) reported, it is a fact that consumers who realise the supermarket own labels account for rather low percentage of total population. Moreover, â€Å"low price† and â€Å"high quality† are the main motivations to drive consumers purchase. Thus national brands with better quality can attract more consumers, although they have higher price than own labels. This results from the increase of Chinese consumers purchase power and the improvement of living level in recent years. Moreover, PLBs and national brands were considered as less difference on price (Chen, 2009). Thus it can be deduced that â€Å"low price† strategy of own brands in China would be successful due to less brand loyalty. However, following the improved standard of living, people would increase their demand from low price to high quality, which could be a challenge for the PLBs. 4.3 Consumer perception in UK 4.3.1 Comparison of PLBs with national brands Following the quality improvement of PLBs, Richardson (1997) found that store brands could be compared with national brands from the aspect of quality and consumers preferred to buy store brands where they usually shopped. As Quelch and Harding (1996) discovered that this was similar for consumers to perceive and judge the manufacturer and retailer brands in the orange juice private-label test, because consumers had a low involvement activity on grocery shopping. Nevertheless, â€Å"If all retailers stock manufacturers brands, they can only differentiate on price or sales promotions; with own labels/brands, they can offer further differentiation in the market place.† (p49, Fernie and Pierrel, 1996) They supported that own labels/brands could bring retailers more differentiation in the market place than manufacturers brands that just differed on price or sales promotions from each other. However, there is a different understanding based on consumers mind. Dick et al. (1996) considered that private labels were less famous than national brands, which have a distinct identification with a particular manufacturer. Richardson (1997) also supported the unification of store brands without the speciality of national brands. In the research of Harris (2007), he also demonstrated a significant difference of brand image evaluation for national brands and store brands. He established that PLBs have the advantage of â€Å"cheap† and â€Å"good value† to compare with national brands, while national brands were used more with higher quality/superiority based on attributes than store brands. However, after breaking down PLBs into three relative positions (premium, standard and value), he discovered that premium private labels were overpriced more without better value for money than national labels; customers buy more value private labels than national labels due to their cheapness. This implicates that consumers prefer the high quality of national brands and the good value of value PLBs at the same time. Therefore, he identified the characteristic of â€Å"worth more† regarded by consumers mostly. The brand association strengths are summarized in the following figure7 from his study. Furthermore, his researching results (see Appendix3) will be used as the reference of British consumer perception of PLBs to compare with Chinas later. In addition, according to Mintel research (2009), it has been a long-term trend for more consumers thinking that own labels are better than national brands. 4.3.2 Evaluation of PLBs To the quality/value thinking, other authors have had same ideas. Quelch and Harding (1996) predicted that consumers would choose PLBs readily rather than the higher-priced name brand, if there were more quality PLBs in the market. Richardson (1997) cited Richardson et al. (1994) as claiming that store brand market share could be increased by successfully communicating a quality rather than a low price strategy. Moreover, according to the IGDs research, PLBs have become one of the important factors for shoppers to choose the supermarket they shop in. The satisfaction of quality with lower price has attracted more consumers. The proportion of main reasons is â€Å"45% lower price, 45% better value than branded equivalent, 26% the same as branded, 24% a good reputation for own brand (IGD, 2003). Furthermore, consumers are not confused about the increasing number of own-label brands, but the segmentation is beneficial for them to choose products that are fit for themselves. The clear d ifferentiation among brands is also the key for retailers to success (Mintel, 2006). Chapter 5: Methodology On the basis of the relevant literature review about the market analysis of PLBs and national brands, especially the UK market, this has been analysed for the final discussion to compare with Chinese PLBs. This chapter will look for the most appropriate approach to implement the needed research and achieve the objective of this thesis. 5.1 The objective of this study Perceptual variables related to consumers perception are investigated in this study. It needs to finish the following objectives: The difference of consumer perceptions between PLBs and national brands in the UK (achieved in literature review) The difference of consumer perceptions between PLBs and national brands in China The difference of consumer perceptions of PLBs in China and the UK Based on the understanding of the UKs markets and perceived PLBs compared with national brands by consumers in the literature review, the Chinese situatio

A Response to Mark Twain’s the Lowest Animal

What makes a being more evolved? Who are we to say that humans are the most evolved or even the least? It is believed by some that we are descended from the â€Å"higher animals†, whereas others believe that we have ascended from the â€Å"lower animals†. In Mark Twain's essay, â€Å"The Lowest Animal† (1896), he portrays the idea that the human race has no hope, as we have too many flaws. It is undeniable that we have our flaws, but what creature on this planet does not? The human race may not be perfect, or reaching perfection anytime soon, but it does progress and develop as time goes on.As humans, we are neither substantially higher nor lower than animals. Although foolish actions are performed towards each other and our planet, we have also accomplished plenty to accompany this. This can be seen through our use of moral sense, fight against slavery and dedicated medical help. Despite our faults, we do have our redeeming qualities and this is why were are not as Mark Twain says, â€Å"the lowest animal†. Having a moral sense can be a weakness in some aspects, however this is not always so. This sense shows that we acknowledge our boundaries and allows us to be civilized as human beings.It can be argued whether or not the human race is civilized, based on our faults. Our race is not innocent of murder and other cruel actions and this may seem to validate Mark Twain's (1896) accusation that â€Å"Man is the Cruel Animal† (pg. 236), but these actions do not define us because they are not considered to be the norm. Without this sense, these actions could nonetheless be the norm. Actually, it is this â€Å"great defect† known as our moral sense that holds us from being at our worst and as monstrous as we could be.Another example of what is known to be a fault of the human race is slavery. Twain (1896) states â€Å"Man is the only slave. And he is the only animal who enslaves. â€Å"(pg. 237) The fact that man takes par t in slavery cannot be denied, however it cannot be confirmed that he is the only animal that does. Studies show that other species of animals do indeed deal with this issue. A species of ants called Protomagnathus Americanus abduct the young of others and force them into labouring for their new masters.These ants conduct violent raids on nests of other species killing the adults. This is one of several examples that proves that man is surely not the only slave, neither the only animal that enslaves. Mark Twain(1896) claims about man that â€Å"he is always some man's slave for wages, and does that man's work.. â€Å"(pg. 237), however without this basis of hierarchy our communities and economy would not function. What Twain sees as the allowing of enslavement is how each part of the economy works together to keep it running and how each individual is able to afford to survive.Over time it is seen by many worldwide that forceful, unfair enslavement is considered unacceptable. This cruel act is not allowed with strong rules set against it in many areas. Although it still exists in certain countries, as previously stated Mark Twain's â€Å"higher animals† fail to be above this as well. Our bodies are not perfect and they do have their flaws that result into many different diseases, as Twain(1896) wrote, â€Å"†¦ man starts in as a child and lives on diseases till the end, as a regular diet. (pg. 240) However, it is man who also works and creates cures for these diseases. Although there is seemed to be more types of diseases common to man than animals, diseases and sicknesses are not uncommon to them. It is also humans that study animals and work as veterinarians to cure these problems for certain animals as well. The hard work put in by the human race to find these cures and successfully cure many should outweigh the fact that we are prone to more diseases that Twain's â€Å"higher animals†.We may be imperfect animals, as Twain had pointed out with his list of flaws of the human race, but we do strive for this so called â€Å"perfection† and work to improve ourselves to reach it. This is not a fast process, but through time we are developing and progressing. Why lose hope on humanity because of what is done wrong, when there is so much that is done right? These redeeming qualities should prove that unlike Mark Twain(1986) believed, we are an important species and should not be seen as failures when we have reached so much success.

Charlotte Beers at Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide Essay

1 Recommendations 1.Define Brand Stewardship work procedures, provide coaching and training to gain support in the middle/lower management. Create an O&M-brand, use BrandPrint for O&M itself. 2.Align the organizational structures of the company by establishing profit centers. Focus the ERP system on worldwide CRM. Adjust the compensation system to reward brand thinking and brand management. 3.Recraft and connect the vision to O&M’s core values, create a visible BHAG and specify tangible objectives. Establish symbols like the colour red and a brand hall of fame. 4.Create and man a global brand stewardship coordination officer position to support Beers and enable her to focus on selling the vision to the clients. 5.Resegmentize customers by focussing on building brands for large, globally operating Fortune 500 companies. 2 Rationales 2.1 Internal Propagation of the Vision Propagation has top priority because of unbalanced internal and external situation. To ensure a high quality of customer service, it is necessary to make sure that all parts of the service marketing triangle are equally prepared and committed to the new brand-oriented vision. Currently, the management has already attracted a number of clients with the concept of Brand Stewardship, but has fallen behind in communicating its ideas and implications to the middle and lower management and to the front-line employees. This is hazardous, because it has built up a service promise to the customers which the company cannot fully keep and deliver at the moment. This will directly  lead to significant customer dissatisfaction, hence it must be the top priority to propagate the vision internally. Missionaries, training and communication are most effective for a top-down approach. In order to find the most effective measures, it is essential to keep in mind that Beers has brought the vision to the company as an outsider and has installed it from the top. Therefore it is vital to broaden the community that carries this vision. The O&M’s employees, who developed a certain inertia during the successful eighties, must gain intrinsic motivation to adapt to the vision by understanding what is in it for them and what the way is to realize these benefits. This also includes that strong resisters who cannot identify themselves at all are to be convinced that it is best for them to leave the company. The Doral Arrowwood group should be appointed as â€Å"missionnaries† to spread and anchor the idea of Brand Stewardship in all O&M departments. Besides the vision idea, brand-oriented work procedures and concepts like the brand audit and BrandPrint must be formally defined and introduced by coaching and training sessions as well as by communicating them through channels like the corporate intranet, employee brochures and letters and company speeches and forums. The early visible successes of the new approach like the Jaguar BrandPrint and the American Express recapture should be used to illustrate its potential. Shaping O&M as an own brand by using BrandPrint is important for credibility. O&M as an advertising agency sells the development of brands as their primary service. This puts it in the somewhat delicate situation that in order to not lose credibility, it has to prove its abilities by developing the name O&M itself into a brand standing for strong brands. I recommend using the concepts of BrandPrint and brand audits for the twofold benefit that it yields valuable information about the change progress towards Brand Stewardship and gives the employees a deeper insight in how to apply these concepts appropriately. 2.2 Alignment of Organizational Structures Changes in the external industry conditions call for organizational changes. The advertising industry has changed dramatically over the last few years. Globalization had its impact, advertisement spending has been cut, the importance of mass media has decreased in favour of direct marketing and simple independent campaigns have become offered as a commodity. O&M’s organizational structure has not been adapted to these changes and is therefore not adequate to meet the requirements for a successful implementation of the new vision. The communication breakdown between local offices and international management reflects this as well as the prevailing disagreements about financial allocations. Turn offices and WCS into profit centers and put the ERP focus on CRM. A method to solve the problems about how to distribute the revenues and workload between WCS and local offices is to turn them into profit centers. The WCS will manage the direct account contacts and coordinate global brands and campaigns. The local offices are then subcontracted for local adaptation and implementation. This separation will also clarify the reporting relationships between the management-oriented WCS and the creativity-focused local offices. To remedy the communication problem, facilitate a thorough knowledge and information exchange and ensure consistency as necessary for global Brand Stewardship, the company’s ERP system must be refocused on Customer Relationship Management aspects. The data extracted from Beers’ client interviews will prove helpful in identifying these aspects. Company-wide accesses to this CRM system will empower front-line employees to fulfil the quality service promise given to the clients and will furthermore create a sense of network and community in the company. In addition, it will reduce transaction cost and boost efficiency, thus enabling O&M to maximize the profitability of voluminous global accounts. Make the incentive system reward brand thinking and brand management. The salary and incentive system must reflect the differences between the local offices and the WCS, but both must award efforts supporting the Brand Stewardship idea. Therefore it is advisable to grant WCS executives a bonus dependant on the world-wide reputation, volume and number of the brands they are responsible for. Incentives for local offices should be based on the current implementation and customization success of the brand, determined for example by local polls and changes in clients’ sales revenues. 2.3 Recraft the Vision and connect it to Symbols Attach the brand vision to the company’s core values. Since the mission did not evolve from the company but was brought from outside, it is necessary to make sure that it gets connected to the core values of O&M. In order to achieve this, those core values must be â€Å"re-identified†, specified and checked whether they still prevail in the company. The allusion of fiefdoms within O&M indicates that the statement of â€Å"not having time for prima donnas and politicians† is currently rather wishful thinking than reality. Erect a BHAG and a tangible milestone plan. Besides this, the vision catchphrase might be quite elegant, but is not specific and vivid enough to create directly visible targets and a so-called Big Hairy Audacious Goal, a long-term motivation point. â€Å"We will be the stewards for two thirds of the most valuable brands† is a more suitable formulation for such a kind of goal. Tangible objectives are also of great importance for creating motivation and sustaining the momentum of the organizational change. Therefore, a milestone plan should be set up, saying that within the next year the ten most important client accounts should be turned into fully-fledged Brand Stewardship relationships, and for an equal number of new clients a Brand Stewardship should be established. Symbolize the brand vision with the corporate colour red and a brand hall of fame. In order to anchor the vision in the company and to attach it emotionally to the employees, it must be connected to symbols. The distinctive red corporate colour can be exploited and should be made associated with the brand vision, for example by slogans like â€Å"Think red!†. Founding a representative â€Å"hall of fame† with well-known and successful brands that have been developed and stewarded by O&M will also help convincing and committing employees to the idea and will generate a sense of pride of what they created. 2.4 Appoint a global Brand Stewardship Officer Beers as a leader needs a capable operations manager besides her. The good success of Charlotte Beers’ first year as the leader and change agent of O&M indicates that she has the capability to fill the leadership vacuum which was opened when the founder David Ogilvy left the company and could so far not be successfully refilled by his successors. But in order to effectively implement the brand vision, it takes more than a good leader that stands for the right things to do. A dedicated manager to then do those things right is equally crucial for a sustained change process. Appoint an established O&M executive as CBSO. For this reason, Beers should create the position of a Chief Brand Stewardship Officer, responsible for the implementation of the brand concepts and for coordinating and steering the global operations. The country and zone managers should report to him, whereas he directly reports to Beers. This gives Beers the opportunity to fully dedicate her time on what she is best at: representing the vision inside the company and selling and communicating it to the clients and to the public. It is advisable to appoint an established O&M executive for this CBSO position, since a thorough understanding of the prevailing business processes and an anchored trust base will provide helpful for this task. 2.5 Resegmentation of Customers Globally operating Fortune 500 companies are the target clients for O&M. The investment into the CRM system and the organizational structure for world-wide brand coordination is substantial. To justify that expenditure, it is necessary to build volume by targeting the largest corporations which have a need for truly global brands. In case of scarce resources or busy local offices, small accounts and local clients have to be dropped first. This will also help to establish the company image as the brand steward of the giants and aid to fully turn the recently positively developing profit margin into substantial bottom-line results.

Legal Research Assessment - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2288 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Case study Level High school Did you like this example? Legal Research Assessment Question 1 Could Vincents security staff be given power to issue fixed penalty notices for disorder? Issues What is a fixed pnd? Who legally can issue? How does this apply to these particular facts? Research Lexis Halsburys Laws of England – search â€Å"penalty notice for disorder† Result – 639 Directions as to Defendants good character – reference to Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 s2(1) Search Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 s2(1) – Part 1 deals with Provisions for Combating Crime and Disorder and within this section 2 with Penalty Notices S2(1) â€Å"a constable who has reason to believe that a person aged [10] or over has committed a penalty offence may give him a penalty notice in respect of the offence.† Note subordinate legislation Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166 no reference to under-age drinkers in the facts so not following up further Reviewing rest of Part 1 and noting that under s(4) a â€Å"penalty notice† is defined as â€Å"a notice offering the opportunity†¦to discharge any liability to be convicted of the offence to which the notice r elates.† S(1) lists offences leading to penalties on the spot and noting that these include â€Å"being drunk in a highway, other public place or licensed premises† , â€Å"disorderly behaviour while drunk in a public place† and â€Å"behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress† Halsburys Laws of England 542 penalty notices and penalties Halsburys Laws 543 deals with procedure Therefore appears that in addition to the police â€Å"accredited persons† may be able to issue PNDs subject to certain exceptions. Westlaw Searching for Police Reform Act 2002 s41 – accreditation under community safety accreditation schemes Applies where under s(1) a chief officer of police has entered into arrangements with an employer for the purposes of carrying out community safety functions Schedule 5 sets out the powers that may be conferred on â€Å"accredited person† Under s41 (4) chief officer of police must be sa tisfied that (a) the employer is a â€Å"fit and proper person to supervise† [the carrying out of the function of the accredited person], (b) the person themselves is a suitable person to exercise the powers (c) the person is capable of carrying out the function and (d) the person has received adequate training Under s41(5) chief officer of police may charge a fee for considering and granting applications Accreditation only applies while AP is employee of the person with whom chief of police has entered into the arrangement and for specified period, although can be renewed. S40 Police Reform Act 2002 – community safety accreditation schemes – under s40(1) chief officer of police of any police force may establish such a scheme Business Link website www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1084582443type=RESOURCES Guidance also found on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/penalty-notices/212291 Essex Police website â⠂¬â€œ details of accreditation scheme on â€Å"about us† page https://www.essex.police.uk/about.aspx . Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Legal Research Assessment" essay for you Create order Question 2 Would male customers have any cause of action against the Club for being charged twice the entrance fee of women on a Wednesday or Thursday night? If so, where could this action be instigated? Issues Is this sex discrimination? Where can proceedings be brought? Research As mentioned in memo that threatened to complain to Equal Opportunities Commission – looked for its website. Comes under Equality and Human Rights Commission (EOC) at www.equalityhumanrights.com/ Main legislation is the Equality Act 2010 which came into force 1 October 2010 and brought into one place the fragmented existing laws against discrimination. Guidance on EOC website suggest that businesses need to avoid unlawful discrimination which includes setting conditions – eg â€Å"ladies nights† would almost certainly fall into this. Says EA applies to both public and private sectors, Human Rights Act 1998 – to public bodies Also referred to Human Rights Law and Practice, Third Edition Lexis Nexis 2009 – EHRC is non-departmental government body Lexis Equality Act 2010 s13 Direct discrimination (1) A person (A) discriminates against another (B) if, because of a protected characteristic, A treats B less favourably than A t reats or would treat others. s29 Provision of services, etc. (1) A person (a â€Å"service-provider†) concerned with the provision of a service to the public or a section of the public (for payment or not) must not discriminate against a person requiring the service by not providing the person with the service. (2) A service-provider (A) must not, in providing the service, discriminate against a person (B)— (a) as to the terms on which A provides the service to B; (b) by terminating the provision of the service to B; (c) by subjecting B to any other detriment. Part 9 deals with enforcement – s113 with proceedings, 114 jurisdiction, 118 time limits and 119 remedies. Important points – bring in county court in area where business based within 6 months of discrimination. Westlaw Equality Act 2010, Part 2 (4) and (11) â€Å"protected characteristic† includes sex. Recent news – Hall and Preddy case (unreported) – same sex cou ple who were not allowed to stay in bed and breakfast received  £1,800 each in damages Question 3 Is Lucca entitled to the additional 6 months leave? If so, does Vincent have to keep his job open for him? Issues What is the entitlement to paternity leave? Can Lucca return to the same job? Research Westlaw Search â€Å"paternity leave† – Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1055) came into force 6 April 2010. Under Employment Rights Act 1996 requirement to make regulations entitling fathers to paternity leave – 2 consecutive weeks within 56 days of birth. Work and Families Act 2008 inserted s80AA and 80BB into ERA – reference to ordinary and additional leave. Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002/2788 gave entitlement to 2 weeks paternity leave. Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1055) Additional paternity leave where child due on or after 3 April 2011 – up to 6 months and entitled to return to same job after leave. Internal Report Memo From: Trainee To: Supervising Partner Date: 30.03.11 Re: Vincent Grubnic, managing director of the Vortex, Night- Club Dear Supervising Partner Thank you for your memo dated 29.03.11 in which you requested I conduct some research ahead of your meeting with Vincent Grubnic next Thursday, focusing particularly on the following issues: 1. Could Vincents security staff be given power to issue fixed penalty notices for disorder? 2. Would male customers have any cause of action against the Club for being charged twice the entrance fee of women on a Wednesday or Thursday night? If so, where could this action be instigated? 3. Is Lucca entitled to the additional 6 months leave? If so, does Vincent have to keep his job open for him? Summary In relation to issue 1 Vincent can apply to the local police force for accreditation for his security staff to be given the power to issue penalty notices. In relation to issue 2 it is likely that the promotion described would fall foul of sex discrimination law and the complainant could bring proceedings in the county court and possibly be awarded damages. Therefore it is advisable that the promotion is changed. In relation to issue 3 it is again likely that Lucca will be entitled to the additional leave and, if his job is not held open for him, there is a risk of Lucca bringing an employment claim. Issue 1 Fixed penalty notices for disorder The starting point is the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (CJPA), Part 1 of which deals with Provisions for Combatting Crime and Disorder. This legislation created the power for the police to issue penalty notices for certain offences. A â€Å"penalty notice† is defined as â€Å"a notice offering the opportunity†¦to discharge any liability to be convicted of the offence to which the notice relates† . Therefore a person given a penalty notice, assuming they elect to pay the specified amount, will not be convicted of the off ence detailed in the notice. If, however, they do not pay the specified amount they are likely to be charged with the offence and may be convicted. The offences which may lead to on-the-spot penalties include â€Å"being drunk in a highway, other public place or licensed premises†, â€Å"disorderly behavior while drunk in a public place† and â€Å"behavior likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress .† The amount of the penalty is specified by order of the Secretary of State with the fixed amount for most of the listed offences being  £80, or  £40 in case of person under 16. The notice must include specified details including the alleged offence, the circumstances in which it occurred and the persons right to ask to be tried for the alleged offence in place of paying the fixed amount. Initially, under CJPA, it was envisaged that penalty notices would be issued by the police . However, this was later widened to include Police Community Support Officers as well as people accredited under a community accreditation scheme . The Police Reform Act 2002 (PRA) created the power for the chief officer of a police force to set up a community accreditation scheme. Under such a scheme, an â€Å"accredited person† has similar powers to the police to issue notices and therefore the chief officer must be satisfied that that their employer is fit to supervise them carrying out their role, that the person themselves is suitable to the role and that they have received training. Under s41(5) PRA the chief officer of police may charge a fee for considering and granting applications. Accreditation schemes are aimed at particular types of work including staff of private security firms . My research suggests that Vincents staff may therefore be able to obtain accreditation, assuming Vincent is prepared to pay the necessary fees for the application and training and that both he and the staff are deemed suitable to participate. If this is something Vincent would like to pursue, there are further details about the local accreditation scheme on the Essex Police website . Issue 2 Sex discrimination in promotions In order to consider this issue, I firstly reviewed the law in relation to discrimination on the grounds of sex. The legislation in relation to the various types of discrimination has recently been brought into one place in the form of the Equality Act 2010 which came into force 1 October 2010. I note that the student who made the complaint had threatened to complain to the Equal Opportunities Commission. The EOC now comes under the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) which provides a wide range of guidance and advice to both service users and businesses. The guidance suggests that businesses need to avoid setting conditions in promotions which favour either sex and suggests that â€Å"ladies nights† would almost certainly fall foul of the requirements of the new legisl ation. . This guidance is confirmed by the legislation itself. The Equality Act 2010 (EQA) states that â€Å"a person (A) discriminates against another (B) if, because of a protected characteristic, A treats B less favourably than A treats or would treat others.† The sex of a person is a protected characteristic. The EQA makes specific references to service providers and that discrimination is not permitted in the terms in which A provides a service to B. My view is that it is clear under the EQA legislation that service providers such as Vincent cannot offer a service at one rate to men and at another rate to women without breaching requirements in relation to discrimination. Turning to enforcement, this is dealt with under Part 9 EQA. The student could issue proceedings in the county court in which Vincents business is situated, which in this case would be Colchester County Court, and would have 6 months from the action complained of in which to do so. While he cannot make a claim through EHRC it may provide assistance if there is sufficient interest in the matter. If the students case was successful, he may be awarded damages and it is therefore advisable commercially that Vincent changes the promotion as soon as possible. While this would not prevent a claim, it would limit its impact and the interest of the EHRC. Issue 3 Additional parental leave Finally, I turn to the question of the bar manager, Lucca. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) states that the Secretary of State shall make regulations entitling fathers who meet specified conditions to a period of 2 weeks of paternity leave. This was carried out through secondary legislation in the form of the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002. The Work and Families Act 2008 then inserted s80AA and 80BB into ERA making reference to â€Å"ordinary† and† â€Å"additional† leave. Following this, the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 (APLR) came into force on 6 April 2010 and made provision for entitlement to additional leave where the baby was due on or after 3 April 2011. It appears that Vincent does not dispute Luccas entitlement to the 2 weeks ordinary paternity leave. However, it appears that Lucca also meets the criteria for additional paternity leave under the APLR having been employed for more than 26 weeks, being the father of the child and, along with the mother, apparently expecting to have the main responsibility for bringing up the child. In addition, the baby is due after 3 April 2011. Lucca wishes to take 6 months leave beginning 6 months after the birth, which he is entitled to do providing he gives notice 8 weeks prior to the start of the leave . The notice must be in writing and include both employee and mother declarations that the purpose of the leave is for Lucca to care for the child while the mother is at work. The APLR also confers a right for Lucca to return to the same jo b providing he does not take more than the 6 months intended leave . If Vincent does not keep the job open for Lucca then it is likely that he will have been unfairly dismissed which may give rise to a claim. I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you have any queries or would like me to do any further work on this matter prior to your meeting, such as contacting Vincent to ensure he brings along identification if he is a new client.