Importance of ERP in the Banking Sector

Importance of ERP in the Banking Sector Banking industry has progressed greatly and still growing exponentially covering entire range of transactions and products under widespread umbrella. When all such activities are carried out by a bank, it is known as Core banking. Other main reasons apart from financial drivers, for opting for core banking system are Globalization, booming IT industry and consolidation of industries. Today banking sector is feeling limited of their present systems due to consolidation of industries and continuous increasing demand from customers as well as data management pressure. Therefore most of the banks are focussing on growth rather than cost reduction. Benefits and Prospects of ERP for Banking Industry Banking Sector has huge potential for applications of ERP due to its vast data oriented nature. ERP offers extensive integration among various modules. It integrates information, users and various processes for better productivity. It helps in decision making which includes decision for strategic, tactical and operational planning and uses various technologies which help in saving time, reducing cost, and effective communication. It provides solution for various things which include cash accounting, payment processing, security of cash and cash management. ERP systems also help in analysing financial condition of an enterprise, account management and preparation of financial reports and statements. All the back office systems and financial system can be integrated using ERP systems. Helps in effective cash flow by simplifying processing of outgoing and incoming payments. It also offers facility for sharing various processes of banks with customers, vendors and partners. Reporting, planning and analysis of bank assets are combined in one process, and everything is available on single platform. Provides tools which monitor every transaction in real time and other important range of services. An ERP system is also responsible for strengthening the logistical capability which includes handling of non-banking goods and services and handling of bank notes. MEETING TODAYS CHALLENGES Banking sector is facing tougher competition and demands rapid change. Moreover regulatory and legal requirements want information to be accurate and most important of all, it should be timely. Transparency is also a common requirement. Successful banks are more flexible and effective in this aspect. They have boosted the profitability of their banks and controlled their costs even in such environment. In order to achieve the goals banks should evaluate an IT investment so that they can provide fast return and also reduce the heavy operating costs. At present banks have following needs: IT structures should be flexible and allow speedy adjustments in the business procedures. Efficient business procedures and IT structures that are comparatively less complex Employees should be in a position to access tools, solutions and personalized data at any time and from anywhere Core technology should not be harmed while integrating new processes and functions. Integration should be easy and simple. In order to meet all the demands and increase the transparency level, ERP should increase the efficiency and moreover it should improve the Integrations between the existing technology and various business processes. ERP solutions should also provide a secure access and definitely it should be readily available to all the people from organizations and also to the partner, customer and the vendor. Cash Management Teller Operations Position Management Technical architecture Open source software CASE STUDY-IDBI BANK IDBI Bank was established in 1964 by the Government of India. IDBI became commercial bank in 2004 with a network of more than 700 branches and approximately 1200 ATMs IDBI AND CORE BANKING After the drastic change in top management in January 2001, the bank felt a need to improve the technology platform so that bank can transform itself in order to fulfil the challenges in the future. Inadequate network forced IDBI to adopt a technology platform which enabled IDBI to communicate with its customers with the help of many delivery channels. Scalability Complete integrated solution was the need of the hour. IDBI initially used centrally system from Kindle but it was proving to be inefficient to meet new objectives, so it was changed. Pre-requisite of IDBI- Agility of the Business and Time to market IDBI required a system that would provide bank the flexibility apart from quick and easy solution to launch various products easily. They required the solution that gave them a time to market and which can provide faster core banking solution. Key driver for the bank was to achieve business agility which was technology driven. Choosing a Vendor-Solution Overview (Deployment Architecture- Appendix fig 2) Finacle by Infosys was finally deployed after a detailed evolution of different solutions. It was deployed for corporate and retail banking, e-business and consumer operations. Another important point in IDBIs successful implementation was the time taken for implementation. It was done across entire bank in a record time of five and half months. This gave IDBI critical time to market advantage which they badly needed and moreover they were in a position to roll out products at a much faster rate than before. Like for e.g. Welcome Kit was introduced-concept consisting of the deliverables that customers generally expect on day 1 which includes cheque book and phone banking and e-banking details. This reduced the time taken to open an account which initially took at least 6-7 days. Advantages of Finacle (Functional Architecture- Appendix fig. 3) Main differentiator was latest technology. Various types including straight through processing, 24*7 banking, E-Xtensibility tool kit were deployed by Finacle. With the help of Finacle which proved to be a right choice IDBI brought down their End of Day processing time by more than 79%. After Implementation of Finacle Capabilty of handling 3 lakhs transactions in a day from 8 lakhs customer accounts IDBI became 3rd largest pvt.bank in terms of distribution of branch networks. Retail banking sector of IDBI has grown to many folds after deployment of Finacle. It also helped in rolling out of new products and services quickly. New products include the debit cards, gift cards and family accounts. Finacle offers customers a unified view of their relationship with bank which helps in achieving customer satisfaction. Helped in process centralisation. Challenges faced by the Vendor To cope up with the dynamic and ever-changing business processes and consumer needs To be in-line with the regulatory guidelines To assist the banking service with regular up gradation. Integration with Legacy Systems Integration of ERP Modules of different vendors or versions and E-Business Applications. IDBI decided for restructuring in 2008 for various business units which were customer focussed. Restructuring was done to streamline the business processes and improve the quality of customer service. Robust system was required so that all the managers can easily monitor earnings from each branch and also from each of its products which will help in increasing the profitability of the firm and also to maintain the growth. Problems before ERP IDBI was not in a condition to evaluate profitability of each segment of business at different level like customer and branch level. It was important for IDBIs future growth to assess the performance of their business units products which was not possible. IDBI Bank goes with Oracle Apps Implementation Process was basically carried out in 2 phases:- Performance Management System was deployed in 2008 which included modules of Oracle like Transfer Pricing Profitability Manager Financial Services Profitability Analytics All these systems helped the bank to better analyse the performance of individual business unit and take necessary action if in case it was not achieving the desired profits. Oracle Consulting was engaged in 2009 to deploy Oracle Risk Manager Oracle Hyperion Planning Integrated Approach Delivers Greater Control Oracle Transfer Pricing NII contribution can be measured from assets liabilities with the help of oracle transfer pricing. It also allowed the staff to dissect NII contributions assets and liabilities. Oracle Profitability Manager For allocation of costs which is related to banks line of business and other branches, Oracle profitability manager was used. Effect:- Since the data is coming from the single source, Earning reports which used to take two to three days, can now be produced within one or two hours. Oracle Financial Services and Oracle Profitability Analytics (Appendix figure 4) Information regarding profitability was delivered over internet using Oracle Financial Services Profitability Analytics. Now staff was in a position to analyse different trends, variances and the rankings across lines of business and products. With the help of the system there was a better access to important information which allowed Senior managers and other decision makers to accurately measure the performance of their portfolios and also their responsibility areas on a continuous basis It helped in improving decision making quality which eventually increased the overall profits of the bank Capability to Evaluate Performance of Employees Performance assessments can also be done on individual members of staff by the Oracle solution. Moreover it can be done at the group level also which enables IDBI to develop an appropriate reward system. It also helps in evaluating the contributions which are made at different levels. Automated Liquidity and Rate Risk Measurements Oracle Risk Manager To assess the liquidity and interest rate risks which are calculated on day to day basis, IDBI Bank used Oracle Risk Manager. It helped IDBI to select the best place to allocate their funds. It also helped various analysts and other bank managers to measure the effect of interest and also the impact on NII or economic value. Effect:- Advance analysis of assets and liabilities Helped in generating key info such as the avg.cost and financial return across various products, which ultimately helped in making better decisions. With the help of Oracle Risk Manager, IDBI became the 1st PSU bank which generated reports on asset liability management on daily basis. Streamlined Budgeting and Planning Oracle Hyperion Planning (Appendix- Figure 6,7,8) To create budgets and for rolling forecasts Oracle Hyperion Planning was used, which were basically linked to the profit and loss models and with the balance sheet as well. Sales targets can be fixed for individual branch and for individual product. Managers can then measure branch performances after analysing variances across every area. Effect:- To assess all areas, there was a common language Business targets were set with the help of same metrics which was used to measure performance and budget can be planned accordingly. Resources were better allocated in line with their objectives since managers were in a position to easily determine what exactly is happening at particular branch. Why Oracle? Functionality provided by Oracles solution and Oracles previous experience in applying ERP in other top banks. Solutions offered by Oracles different modules were appropriate from their business point of view Expertise of the implementation team of Oracle, previous experience, Flexibility of the Oracle system, Cost allocation principles of the bank convinced IDBI that based on their knowledge and skills they should engage Oracle again. Major Achievements of Oracle Due to dedicated resources and efficient coordination among the implementation team of Oracle, the aggressive project deadlines were met and implementation was successfully completed. Past Experience also helped Oracle team in implementation due to which testing, integration and data extraction went well. CONCLUSION Over the years, implementation of ERP has helped banking sector in a huge way. Integration of data has helped banks to analyze financial condition, account management and also helped in preparation of financial reports and statements. It has also provided solution for many things including cash management, cash security, cash accounting and payment processing. The need of the hour is to perform core banking activities and increase the quality of customer service by integrating its various components and avoid data redundancy. Industries look for ERP solution that can provide a common technology platform with capabilities of analyzing business data. They expect to meet the global business requirements, with simultaneously adhering to the country specific necessities. Thus there is a significant improvement in IDBI after new solutions and restructuring. The bank can now handle almost 3lakhs transactions. It also helped IDBI to launch various new products and services. Rate of customer satisfaction also increased. There was a remarkable change in the revenue and the overall profit of the organization.

Love Story :: essays research papers

I was born into a non-Christian family. We thought we were Christians, because we used to go to church on Sundays. But we didn't know about the Bible verse that says we must be â€Å"born again† if we ever want to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Even if we'd heard it, we never stopped to think about how we could get â€Å"born again†. I got a job in a music store. Christine was a sales clerk there. She was one of the sweetest, most honest people I had come across up to that time. And she was open about being a Christian. I could see there was something different about her, and I was sure it had something to do with her Christianity. Her self-assurance, peace, and love for Jesus Christ made a strong impact on me. When I left the music store I got an office job. A young woman there, named Ruth, reminded me of Christine from my former job. It wasn't long before I found out that Ruth was a Christian too. I think these two young women were the only â€Å"born-again† Christians I had ever met up to that time, and they both stood out in a wonderful way. Ruth used to ask me about my beliefs, and I would ask her about hers. Whenever I asked her a question she didn't know the answer to, she said she would ask her pastor and get back to me with the answer. She always did. On the other hand, whenever she asked me a question I couldn't answer I would try to bluff my way through. I made some stupid comments to her at times, and looking back I don't know how she stopped herself from laughing at me. I guess it was her respectful Christian upbringing. I once told her that everyone in the world had been Roman Catholic until the time of Martin Luther. Ruth had no trouble demolishing that argument. In fact, she had no trouble demolishing all my arguments. Ruth was a happy person. She was always doing something exciting with her church youth group while I was doing little with my friends at all. Even after we both left that job, she kept in touch with me a few times, and made it clear that my spiritual life concerned her. Then events started happening in my life that kept me wondering whether I was missing something by not being a Christian.

Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education Essay

Abstract In 2011 there is still disproportionate representation of African American Students in special education classes. This can be defined as conflict in the education environment because, government legislation mandates that No child be left behind, yet African American students, males in particular, are disproportionately being just that, left behind. The purpose of this study is to discuss disproportionate representation. What it means and who it affects most will be identified. Contributing factors such as socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity will also be discussed. Possible solutions in the form of equity and early intervention will be discussed as well. Lastly with these factors identified, it is the hope that feasible and probable solutions can be reached or at least recommended. Review of Literature For more than 40 years the topic of Disproportionate representation has been addressed by scholars. The data collected has been qualitative and quantitative. According to Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Morgen, and Brauen â€Å"The issue of disproportionate identification and placement of racial/ethnic minorities in special education has been investigated extensively (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, & Brauen, 2007). † They go on to share that the risk ratio, which is used to compare one racial/ethnic groups likelihood of receiving special education and related services to all other students is one of the most useful tools in this research (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, & Brauen, 2007). Sometimes referred to as disproportionality, disproportionate representation covers both over and underrepresentation. Overrepresentation happens when the percentage of students from one group is larger than expected based on their numbers in the general population. Underrepresentation is occurring when a specific group of students are involved at a lower rate than their numbers in the general population. According to Beratan â€Å"The disproportionate representation of minority students in special education is as clear of a racist outcome as one can find. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) formally recognizes such disproportionate representation as a problem in special education (Beratan, 2008). † He goes on to share the following thoughts and statistics: A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the intensification of problems connected with mislabeling and high dropout rates among minority children with disabilities. B) More minority children continue to be served in special education than would be expected from the percentage of minority students in the general school population. C) African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. D) In the 1998-1999 school year, African-American children represented just 14. 8 percent of the population aged 6 through 21, but comprised 20. 2 percent of all children with disabilities. E) Studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education (Beratan, 2008). Disproportionate representation not only speaks to the overrepresentation of African-American students labeled as learning disabled, but also to the gross lack of African-American students being labeled gifted. Bonner and Jennings share â€Å"According to the literature, African American males have been disproportionately place in special education classrooms and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings go on to say that â€Å"The story of the African American male in gifted and talented programs is one of widespread underrepresentation (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings further share that lack of instructor referrals, substandard performance on standardized norm-referenced test scores and student and family choice contributed to the underrepresentation of African American males in gifted programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). The  authors continue to expound on this phenomenon by stating â€Å"Due to the potential for underachievement among African American students in first, second, and third grade, a time in which most identification processes for these programs are implemented, these students often go unidentified (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Artiles and Bal maintain that African American males and Native American students appear to be the most affected groups at the national level (Artiles & Bal, 2008). While disproportionate representation has touched all minority groups, African American males in particular have continually been identified as the most over represented population in Special education. Several factors are said to contribute to the disproportionate representation of minority students in Special Education. Yolanda Anyon shares: Barton and Tomlinson (1981) argue that the identification of students with learning disabilities and subsequent placement in special education is a form of social control to minimize problem behaviors in mainstream classrooms. Other researchers have documented that teachers and principals refer children for special needs assessment who are causing the biggest problems in the classroom be it passivity, failure to learn material or aggressiveness (Anyon, 2009). She further goes on to share â€Å"in this way, special education primarily serves social control functions in schools as it legitimizes the removal of â€Å"deviant† students from regular classrooms (Anyon, 2009). † Socioeconomic status is said to increase the likelihood that student will be placed in special education. It is also said that race and ethnicity of students can be a large variable that causes excessive amounts of students of color to be referred and placed in special education. Skiba and fellow scholars share: Among the most longstanding and intransigent issues in the field, the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education programs has its roots in a long history of educational segregation and discrimination. Although national estimates of disproportionality have been consistent over time, state and local estimates may show varying patterns of disproportionality. A number of factors may contribute to disproportionality, including test bias, poverty, special education processes, inequity in general education, issues of behavior management, and cultural mismatch/cultural reproduction (Skiba, et al. , 2008). They further go on to say that â€Å"special education was born out of, and owes a debt to the civil rights movement†, alluding to the fact that both the inspiration for and the strategies used by those whose work resulted in the initial national special education legislation came from the civil rights movement (Skiba, et al., 2008). They also maintain that â€Å"concerns about racial inequity were central to litigation that led to the promulgation of the first special education legislation (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA) (Skiba, et al. , 2008). The scholars aptly point out the irony of racial disparity rates of special education service remaining one of the key indicators of inequity in our national educational system (Skiba, et al. , 2008). An additional contributing factor that they share is â€Å"A second factor that might contribute to a disproportionate rate of representation in special education among students of color are sociodemographic factors associated with economic disadvantage (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Skiba, et al, give this insight into the role of poverty in disproportionate representation: In order to directly assess the contribution of poverty to the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education, Skiba et al.(2005) studied the relationship of special education enrollment, race, socioeconomic and demographic factors, and test score outcomes in a sample of 295 school districts in a Midwestern state. Across ordinary least squares and logistic regression equations, poverty made a weak, inconsistent, and often counter-intuitive contribution to the prediction of disproportionality across a number of disability categories (Skiba, et al. , 2008). While there are no definitive causes of the issue of disproportionate representation the above named ones come up in study after study which lends ample credence to them as real and possibly surmountable issues. â€Å"It might well be expected that the students whose educational opportunities are limited will be more likely to be referred for special education services (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Another point expressed by Skiba and fellow scholars is: Of the possible links between general education practices and special education disproportionality, however, only the proportion of culturally consonant teachers in the teaching force has been directly investigaed. Serwatka, Derring and Grant (1995) found that as the percentage of African American teachers increased, overrepresentation of African American student in the emotionally distrubed category decreased. Similarly, in a cross-state comparison, Ladner and Hammons (2001) found that the discrepancy of African American and white rates of eligibility for special education rose in direct proportion to the percentage of the teaching force that was White, especially in districts with a White percentage of more than 60% (Skiba, et al., 2008). Just as there are no definitive causes identified, there are not any fool proof solutions laid out for correcting the issue of disproportionate representation. There are varying thoughts about strategies such as the following: If disproportionality in special education is multiply determined, no single intervention strategy can be universally relied on to reduce racial disparity. Rather, complex causality clearly suggests the need for comprehensive and multifaceted assessment and intervention plans. In particular, the possibility that the determinants of disproportionality are locale-specific suggests that remediation plans must be driven by local needs assessment capable of identifying unique local patterns (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Early intervention approaches are said to possibly reduce disparities to the level that economic disadvantage is at work (Skiba, et al. , 2008). â€Å"Early intervention would not be expected to address systemic failures or bias and would hence fail to address disproportionality that is due to institutional inequity (Skiba, et al. , 2008). † Researchers are beginning to look at the problem of disproportionate representation within the arena of equity studies (Artiles & Bal, 2008). According to the authors â€Å"researchers, practitioners, and policy makers continue to debate this problem and critical questions remain unanswered (Artiles & Bal, 2008). They go on to question the ability to, or lack thereof, explain how the phenomenon of disproportionate representation consistently remains in existence. Artiles and Bal have raised the following questions â€Å"How have researchers approached the study of this problem, and what are some key gaps in this knowledge base? Does the problem exist in the United States only (Artiles & Bal, 2008)? † These scholars have chosen to conduct research on â€Å"the problem of disproportionate representation as related to equity concerns in educational systems’ responses to difference (Artiles & Bal, 2008). Artiles and Bal share the following about equity in the United States educational system: Educational equity in the United States has aimed historically to enhance access and participation for students considered different. For instance, programs were created to address the educational needs of students who have different ability levels or whose proficiency in English is limited (i. e. , special education and bilingual education, respectively) (Artiles & Bal, 2008). They further go on to share that special education in the United States was created as an answer to some of the issues of difference: The creation of special education was a landmark achievement in the attention of students considered different on the basis of ability. Special education legislation entitled these students to free and appropriate public education, individualized educational programs, due process, and education in the least restrictive environment. Interestingly, an increasingly louder debate has emerged in the past 40 years in the United States about the disproportionate representation of ethnic minority and poor students in special education (Artiles & Bal, 2008). Laws that require states report placement data as it pertains to socioeconomic and racial lines to stay abreast of the problem of disproportionality have been imposed. States and school districts that find themselves faced with the issue of disproportionate representation are required to take remedial actions to address it (Artiles & Bal, 2008). If equity is the solution and special education was designed to level the playing field, why then the issue of disproportionality? This same question is posed by Artiles and Bal, â€Å"But why then is placement in programs that purportedly address equity issues for students with different ability levels considered a problem when it involves other groups of different students, namely, ethnic minorities and poor students (Artiles & Bal, 2008). † While that is a very rational and valid line of questioning, it is far too complicated to answer without factoring in the historical issues that plagued African American students long before special education legislation was implemented. Conclusions Disproportionate representation of African Americans in special education is not a new phenomenon. It has been studied and researched for well over 40 years. Whether it is referred to as disproportionality or disproportionate representation, the terminology covers both over and under representation within a group. While most of the research addresses overrepresentation, there is some out there that speaks to the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted programs, more specifically African American males. There are no concrete reasons for this phenomenon, but several different factors have been considered contributing factors. Socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity are often the most discussed contributing factors. Special education having roots that stem back to civil rights legislation lends a great amount of credence to the belief that those two factors are probably the leading cause of disproportionate representation. The research shared a very specific accusation of how racism plays a very real part in disproportionate representation. Examples to that end were that studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education and African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. In regards to equity Skiba and fellow scholars give this advice to educators in regards to making effective interventions: Thus, educators and policy makers seeking effective interventions to close special education equity gaps must be willing to openly discuss and address issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, culture, and language. Moreover, processes chosen to address inequity must have at their core a mechanism to ensure that the perspectives of all stakeholders, especially those of historically marginalized groups who have been the recipients of unequal treatment, are represented when interpreting data on racial and ethnic disparities (Skiba, et al. , 2008). As educators we must take heed to the information shared about disproportionality. Though this information is not new, it must continue to be shared as if it was. While this resarch was specifically about African Americans, other minorities are affected by disproportionate representation. I will be more cognizant of how I determine whether or not to suggest a student be tested for special education services. It is so easy to refer them, before taking the time to investigate the reasons behind the undesireable behavior. Works Cited Anyon, Y. (2009). Social Theories of Learning Disabilities: Understanding Racial Disproportionality in Special Education. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 44-57. Artiles, A. J. , & Bal, A. (2008). The Next Generation of Disproportionality Research Toward a Comparative Model in the Study of Equity in Ability Differences. The Journal of Special Education, 4-14. Beratan, G. D. (2008). The song remains the same: Transposition and the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 337-354. Bollmer, J. , Bethel, J. , Garrison-Mogren, R. , & Brauen, M.(2007). Using the Risk Ratio to Asess Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education at the School-District Level. The Journal of Special Education, 186-198. Fred A. Bonner, I. M. (2007). Never Too Young to Lead: Gifted African American Males in Elementary School. Gifted Child Today, 31-35. Skiba, R. J. , Simmons, A. B. , Ritter, S. , Gibb, A. C. , Rausch, M. K. , Cuadrado, J. , et al. (2008). Achieving Equity in Special Education: History, Status, and Current Challenges. Exceptional Children, 264-288.

Honestly is the Best Policy

â€Å"Honestly is the best policy† is the best way to live life. This aphorism is something that my parents were constantly telling me when I was younger. All throughout life you are told to tell the truth and not lie. Lying about something will only make the problem worse. In my experience prolonging the truth from your parents just creates a bigger problem then you were trying to keep covered in the beginning. Once you start lying you then need to keep up with all the lies you told and make sure you remember them so you don't get caught. Sometimes depending on the gravity of what type of situation you lied in you can cause yourself a lot of stress trying to cover up the truth. When the truth comes which it almost always does you will disappoint the people around you. Most parents mine especially don't get mad at me rather they just tell me how disappointed they are. Sometimes hearing your parents say they are disappointed in you hurts more then them screaming at you. When you lie to your parents and they find out, they may feel like you are breaking their trust. Once you have broken that trust it will take a long time for you to rebuild it. You can also feel very guilty after you have lied to someone that holds an important place in your life. No matter how many times you tell them how sorry you are it won't change what you did. If you choose to live by â€Å"honesty is the best policy† and not lie you will feel no guilt or disappointment. Without all of the guilt and disappointment that lying brings you can live a happier and less stressful life. You also will not sever the sometimes very little trust that your parents have put in you. This will allow you have strong relationships with your parents and even give you the opportunity to strengthen them. Family is super important to me, so having a healthy and genuine relationship with my parents is what I would like. You won't have to deal with all of the stress that keeping up with your lies requires. Instead of causing yourself so much heartbreak just remember honesty is the best policy.

buy custom The Use of Sex Appeal in Advertising essay

buy custom The Use of Sex Appeal in Advertising essay As a 90s baby I have grown up in a world full of diverse, creative advertisements. However, recently, I have found myself having to ask what each commercial, magazine spread, or billboard is really trying to sell. Advertisements targeting males with disposable income have slowly shifted from selling products to selling the idea of sex. This, in turn, has raised some controversies over the real objectives behind these ads. Discussion Sexual positions are of central focus in how the majority of these ads are portrayed, consequently setting a new standard for marketers. Dolce Gabbanas recently published ad selling their line of fragrances features three men and three women, all of who are naked. Whereas these sexual positions prompt many men to view the ad with an increased level of interest, deviates from the norms surrounding sexuality. The men, while showing off their bodies, stand independent of one another while the women are touching either themselves or each other. From what is observable, the manner in which the nude men and women pose does not only instantly catches the eye, but it proceeds to suggest that by using the firms fragrance, one is bound to attract attention from women. Secondly, Levis redefines the art of promoting its men jeans by giving the ideas that promote oral sex, stating that women get front row action and that their designer jeans are for her eyes. This blatant use of sexual connota tion is geared toward younger, white males and left little room for misinterpretation. For instance, individuals familiar with oral sex will most likely go for such an outfit simply because of the ideology in the message. However, it appears some large companies still advertise their products only through means of creative connotations; the mainstream ad will contain some level of sexual implication. In the majority of these ads, the models face is rarely shown. Abercrombie and Fitch show two young women gently touching a fit, shirtless man and enjoying every moment of it. Being an experience that most young men would love to have, the mans face is concealed by the arms of the women. Overall, the sole purpose of this tactic is to allow the male audience to more easily place themselves in the shoes of the model and thus by identifying themselves with the products they are likey to purchase it. . Another such example is shown in one of the many Axe advertisements, which attempt to demonstrate what they call The Axe Effect. By writing show me on the doll where the sorority girls touched you, the company indicates that the viewer of the ad is the doll whom represents a man that had been touched by several young women. This easy fabrication of reality inclines many young men to buy a product based on the presumption that it would attract young, sexy women. In addition, most of these ads, apart from going beyond the moral barriers, they fail to provide a direct link between what they show on their images and what they are promoting. This, for instance is justifiable when one looks at a young man posing as a woman squats as she gazes at the mans waist. On the image it is written Front row action and For her eyes Another ideal example to show how sex sells products is the advert by Dolce and Gabbanas depicting men and women touching and making suggestive contacts fails to create a clear relation between the lotion and what the images. Furthermore, women are known to make the most appearance in most of the ads than men do. Taking a close look and thinking outside the box, the image of a dish set in a particular manner is suggestive. One clearly understands that by placing such an image, men would want to associate with such food and in the process; his free will of decision is tilted by lust. In my opinion, these ads create the impression that nudity is the best way to get the attention of most men and women. This gives us the idea that most individuals are immoral in nature. The idea that men have relatively minimal criteria for what they desire sexually is of significant importance when it comes to most marketers deciding how their adverts meant to catch mens attention will look like. Men are said to be interested in a womans outward appearance, thus if a woman is portrayed as being young, attractive and healthy, they are considered desirable. This idea suggests that, to some extent, the male gender has a narrow view as far as beauty and sexuality is concerned. Therefore by designing an ad with a woman holding out a doll and with inscription like, show me on the doll where the sorority girrls touched you, we get the idea that there can never be any other part in a mans body to bring sexual desires as is suggested by the writings. On the other hand, it is widely believed that most women want more than appearance and looks, thus the use of sexually appealing ads on women may not yield a similar result as it does in their male counterparts. This is primarily what drives most men to spend a vast sum of their disposable income on such products. This may explain why most of the images subject to our analysis can be said to be aimed at men. Even though a mere look at a well built man on an ad, either in a billboard or on a magazine is bound to elicit some kind of sexual reaction instinctively but they are less likely to get the urge to engage in sexual activities. The society views women as objects of desire and they form a vital part of advertising world. In a social context, it suffices to say that women on the other hand are aware of mens weaknesses as far as how they affect them with their physical appearance. Furthermore, it may sound funny to conclude that the producers main objective of using an image shown by image showing a meal on a plate was to suggest to its potential consumers that just like a woman would be, the meal is equally satisfying. Such images may be considered gross but different people have different interpretations. Conclusion In the US, for example, most of the sex appealing ads have women as the captivating objects and intrinsically portray them as objects of desires. On the contrary, although a mans healthy body may be used; it is often portraying romance and not really depicts the idea of sex. This shows that for ads aimed at catching mens attention, sex is of primary focus, as it has no many obligations as commitment and difficulties. Therefore, the idea of using women as a catch for men gives a clear idea of exactly how women are regarded in the society. Advertisements although by using women more often than not, have an influence on society that ultimately objectifies women. Considering the fact that whereas for a man all it takes is a beautiful picture of a woman on a magazine, women desire more than appearance, it means that women serve the purpose of satisfying mens undying sexual desires. Buy custom The Use of Sex Appeal in Advertising essay

The Change in Male and Female Roles Before & Today Essay

The Change in Male and Female Roles Before & Today - Essay Example Speaking of social expectations for both, males are expected to provide for the family or pay for dates at all times while females are to manage the children, the household, and provide emotional support (Jaffari, TTS Holistic Counselor Mehdi, n.d.) Looking at the male and females roles in relationships today in contrast to what I have mentioned above, there has been a lot of reversal of roles. Females today are not secluded to giving signals when showing interest in a guy. Being direct and honest about the feeling, verbally or inaction is already welcome. When it comes to courtship, males are not the only ones who does the pursuing. There are a lot of aggressive girls today who will do everything to get what she wants, and taking a guy out for dates have started to be a common thing. When it comes to male and female responsibilities, males are not the only ones expected to bring in food in the table. Instead, women today are more empowered to take on a job and a journey towards self-actualization that does not stop when she finally gets married.

Marketing Planning At Just Us Cafes Case Study Essay

Marketing Planning At Just Us Cafes Case Study - Essay Example Enhancing Customer Experience and Expanding Loyal Customer Base 13 Integrating New Media to Promote the Brand 17 Conclusion 20 References 22 Introduction The case study relates to ‘Just Us’ which began its operations in the year 1996 under the Co-operative Association Act. It initiated as one of the earliest fair trade coffee roasters in Canada. ‘Just Us’ evolved as a worker-owned and operated for-profit coffee co-operative that essentially imported, roasted and sold both wholesale as well as retail fair trade, organic coffee brought from fair trade authorised coffee manufacturers from different parts of the world. The main vision of the company is to be one of the leaders in the Fair Trade business focusing upon quality along with professionalism as well as innovation so that all its stakeholders would be benefited to a great extent (Just Us, 2012). Marketing planning at Just Us is significant because it will try to identify the various challenges that the company face and thus in light of the strengths and opportunities faced by the company, it will be aimed to focus upon how the company’s performanc e can be enhanced (Just Us, 2012). The main objective of the study is to discuss the internal as well as external marketing environment of Just Us. The study will also entail the ethical issues that have been raised in the context of the case study. The significance of product life-cycle concept to Juliet and the problem that can be faced by the company due to deleting a product from the company’s product range will also be discussed in adequate detail. The study will endeavour to offer suggestions to improve the cafe’s performance and provide recommendations on how the company can update its current marketing programme. Internal and External Environment of ‘Just Us’ All the factors within the organisation that affects the strengths and causes weaknesses in an organisation are referred to as internal environment. All the factors outside the organisation that offer opportunities and thus pose threats to an organisation are referred to as external environment (Kazmi, 2008). External Analysis a t ‘Just Us’ For the purpose of creating effectual strategies Just Us Cafe needs to examine the external environment in which it tends to operate. The analyses of factors such as competitor analysis, PEST analysis, Porters 5 Forces Model are crucial in this scenario. Competitor Analysis ‘Just Us’ has numerous competitors across the product line in the local market such as Nova Scotia and also in the wider market such as Canada and the US. It is quite important for the company to comprehend the competitors’ resources in order to predict the degree of future threats. Java Factory is found to be one of the significant threats to Just Us. One of the specific competitors of Just Us has been Kicking Horse in the Canadian market. Therefore, it can be stated that competition poses a major threat to the company (Loudyi & et. al., 2009). PEST Analysis It has been evident from the case study that one of the political factors, which has been hindering the success ful operations of ‘Just Us’ was certified identification of actual fair trade. There is constant alteration in the economic environment. The case study demonstrates the fact that a few of the competitors are offering partly organic ranges along with mainstream organic coffees. It has been identified that Just Us practices premium pricing strategy. However, in the recent times the companies need to consider the disposable income of the consumers in choosing the products. Therefore, it is quite important for Just Us to be aware of the fact that consumers feeling for one particular product can be impacted by their income, despite how