American individualism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American individualism - Essay Example Individualism becomes part of American culture as it is nurtured in the homes a children grew up. As a child, American children are taught to become independent, both emotionally and economically by their family. This kind of upbringing is observable on how American raise their children. For example, when an American child falls down, the child is encouraged to stand up by himself or herself as a way of teaching individualism. American children are also given their own rooms where they could do anything with it which nurtures individualism beginning at childhood. Individualism is also reinforced by society as the child grows up to become adult. Growing up, an American is often praised for doing things by himself or herself. Material success associated with the achievement of an individual is also glorified in American society. For example, individual success is featured in almost all of its media with all its material attachments making individualism a desirable trait because it is financially rewarding. American society also puts more credit on individual success than collective success. The long held American idealism of freedom which is present in America psyche also equates to individualism that further reinforces individualism. Individualism is continuously practiced in American’s everyday life that make it integral in its culture. Individualism permeates in every sphere of American life cementing it as a value among Americans. This is expressed in many ways in American society. For example, Americans respect individual effort more than collective effort compared to other cultures such as the Thai. American importance towards privacy and of leaving people alone to do their own business is also a manifestation of how individualism permeates and expressed in American’s everyday life. In sum, American individualism becomes part of American

Week 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 4 - Assignment Example The trait theory examines various personal attributes that a person has, and provides a deeper look into how they act, look, think, feel and function in varied circumstances and settings. The theory is used by organizations all over the world to help understand their employees better in their quest to utilize their creativity and specialties. The trait theory expounds the ability that a leader has across several industries. Nardelli’s leadership style was a bit interesting. In some way, he is considered a mastermind because he raised the company’s profits, and reformed the organizational structure. However, the problem arose when his leadership style started to rub shareholders, employees, and customers the wrong way. With his authoritative and militaristic leadership style, employees were not confortable at general meetings. Shareholders were even upset at the way he conducted himself. While he was a CEO at Home Depot, Nardelli embarked on a bellicose plan to centraliz e control in the organization. He often neglected the sense of humility, enthusiasm of his subordinates, as well as care of the shareholders. Nardelli was maniacal about objectives and goals, and ignored the autonomy of others. This was unethical since he did not respect the autonomy of other people. Instead, he treated them as subjects by heavily investing in technology as a way of monitoring everything the top managers were doing (Baack, 2012). All leaders have a room to grow their leadership styles, and should be compassionate towards their employees, but when they refute to adapt to change, and remove salespersons that provided customers with a sense of security while shopping, a problem arises. In terms of performing his duties to help the organization grow, Nardelli did that, but at the expense of reducing the probability of future sales, by reducing the quality of service to its customers. According to the theory

American Me Essay Example for Free

American Me Essay The film; American Me is an epic depiction of 30 years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles, California. The movie focuses on the life of a 1950s teen named Montoya Santana, who forms a gang with his close friends. The gang is arrested for a break-in, and sentenced to time in juvenile hall. Santana finds trouble on his first night in juvenile hall and goes from juvenile hall to prison for 18 years. There he created and led a powerful gang that operated both inside and outside the prison. When released from Folsom Prison, he tries to make sense of the violence in his life, in a world that has changed greatly. Inspired by a true story, the film provides a fictionalized account of the founding and rise to power of the Mexican Mafia in the California prison system from the 1950s into the 1980s. The story opens by taking the viewer on a journey back in time to the Zoot Suit era of World War II before the birth of Montoya Santana. Santana’s parents were Zoot Suitors. It is here that Santana’s destiny began. Because of the wartime labor shortage of this era, the American and Mexican governments agreed to a program by which braceros (contract laborers) were admitted to the United States for a limited time to work at specific jobs.. Mexican Americans were the second largest group of migrants after Black Americans in the 1940s. The influx of Mexican Americans created societal change. â€Å"The sudden expansion of Mexican American neighborhoods created tensions and some conflicts within white society and governmental bodies. White residents of Los Angeles became alarmed at the activities of Mexican American teenagers, most of whom were joining street gangs. Zoot Suits became popular (baggy pants, long loose jacket, the big collar, the long watch chain, the slicked back hair, broad-brimmed hats), which became a symbol of rebellion against conventional white society† (www. stuffliketaht. org, 2010). Thus the term, Zoot Suit was born. â€Å"In Mid-1943, a four-day riot in LA broke out because of the hatred toward the Zoot-suitors. White sailors invaded Mexican American communities and attacked Zoot Suitors. The city police did nothing to restrain the sailors, who grabbed the Hispanic teenagers, tore off and burned their clothes, cut off their hair, and beat them. However, when Hispanics tried to fight back, the police moved in and arrested them. After the Zoot Suit riots, LA passed a law prohibiting the wearing Zoot Suits† (www. stufflikethat. org, 2010) It was during these riots that Santana’s parents Pedro and Esperanza were attacked. After being beaten, Pedro was arrested by local police for being a Zoot Suitor. Violently raped, Esperanza had her clothes torn off by a multitude of Caucasian sailors. The film brings the viewer forward in time to 1959 with Santana as a young man of 16 growing up in the barrios with his friends and fellow gang members Mundo and JD. After being arrested and sent to juvenile hall, Santana has his â€Å"manhood† taken from him on the first night and murders the man who sodomized him. The power and respect that killing this man brought from his peers was intoxicating; his act also brought him a long prison sentence. During many years of incarceration, Santana and his gang affiliates grew their business and their numbers both inside and outside the prison. Upon his release from prison, he was surprised how much life and the barrios had changed. Santana struggled as he observed the power plays between the Italian mafia, the Black Guerillas, and the Aryan Brotherhood. They all wanted more territory and more business. This created internal conflict for the main character as the roots of his belief about his gang Por Vida (for life) was to lift and strengthen the Chicano communities. . His associates saw this internal struggle as weakness. Santana’s challenges in society were appropriate socialization and healthy behavior in romantic relationships. After a short time on the outside, Santana is arrested, and returned to prison. It is here that Santana’s life ends. He is brutally murdered by his gang associates for not going along with a decision. The Santana family lived in the same home in the barrios (ghetto) of East Los Angeles for some 30 years, their economic status described as poor working class. Santana’s’ parents were Mexican American. Santana’s ethnicity is partially unknown, as he was born as a product of his mothers’ rape. Some of Santana’s strengths were his strong family and neighborhood ties, his abilities to organize and lead people, his loyalty, and pride. He also had a very sensitive side to him, which was deep, poetic, and soulful. The primary presenting issues of the character Santana are: He comes from a background of poverty, lacking education and job skills. His neighborhood role models and leaders were gangbangers or Zoot Suitors. He spent most of his life institutionalized in prison and lacks socialization skills, such as knowing how to buy a pair of shoes or how to go about build relationship with a woman. He has never had a healthy sexual relationship and his sexual and relational development was largely thwarted by living in prison. The main character would be well served with supports in assessing and developing career skills and opportunities for continuing education as well. A human service worker could best help assist Santana by having knowledge of the culture background, local cultural competency support and resources, pertinent cultural information and have certain skills that are common to assisting with minority individuals and groups. These common skills include communication, access to interpreters, assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation, drawing upon a range of theories of human and group behavior, knowledge of individual differences and the minority identity development model and stages for change, and an awareness of the larger social context of Santana’s. â€Å"To be an effective human service worker, it is important to apply various skills with an understanding of relevant theories and minority identity models and be able to choose appropriate intervention strategies and methods for particular situations. There is no substitute for working with individuals or groups; an important part of enhancing a workers intervention skills is obtaining hands-on experience† (Human services Interventions, 2002). Some culturally competent local support services and agencies suggested for Santana are as follows: â€Å"Friends-CARE is a nonprofit organization designed to break the cycle of generational crime. Its purpose is to raise awareness regarding the children and families of the incarcerated. Friends-CARE does provide services, intervention, community resources, and programs for these families and supports the appropriate relationships between inmates and their families upon returning to the community† (www. friends-Care. org, 2010). California Gangs Anonymous (CGA) â€Å"CGA is a twelve step program for criminals and gang members both inside and outside the prison system. Participants attend meetings regularly and express the genuine details, past and present of their lives, CGA is a place to let our emotions out freely in a safe environment. CGA is about honesty, hope, solutions, and alternatives to living a happier life† (www.cganon. com 2010). Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services – â€Å"Adult Education program provides unique learning opportunities to adults at no cost in a supportive, highly personalized and non-judgmental environment. Education is provided in the classroom setting as well as through one-on-one tutoring and appointments. All services are free to the community and open to adults over the age of 18. Educational services include tutoring in literacy, math, reading and writing, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, assistance with job searches, resume building workshops, computer basics classes in English and Spanish† (www.sfbfs. org, 2010). After evaluation of Santana’s background and presenting issues, the assessors recommend an intervention treatment plan consisting of the above-mentioned community resources Criminals/Gang Members Anonymous for working through what it means to be gang affiliated, Friends-CARE as an external support including participating in a program intended to build/re-build family relationships after incarceration. As these family relationships may serve as strong supports as the client moves away from gang related activities and individuals. Additionally, the SFBFS Adult Education Program, where Santana can build his English-speaking skills, acquires an education, job skills, and takes computer classes. Socialization and sexual socialization therapy is strongly suggested. The founding and rise of the Mexican mafia in 1950s East Los Angeles was inevitable. The wartime indecencies to the previous Mexican American generation known as the Zoot-suitors caused a community to want to stand strongly as a people. A natural and inherent part of Mexican culture is to gather, to band together as family and friends in strength and celebration. Perhaps a Mexican gang is a distorted extension of this natural inclination to gather and join in strength caused by acculturation present within white society. References CGA (n. d. ). CGA. Retrieved August 30, 2010, from www. cganon. org (n. d. ). History Review Sheet. Retrieved August 30,2010, from www. stufflikethat. org/minorities Human Service Interventions (2002). Working with Individuals or with Groups. Retrieved August 31, 2010, from http://www. cpcs. umb. edu/support/studentsupport/red_book/humser_intervention_one. htm Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. (). SFBFS [Brochure]. Sacramento, CA: Author. Universal (Producer), Olnos, E. J. (Director).

Project Report on Consumer Preference towards Cadbury

Project Report on Consumer Preference towards Cadbury Cadbury India is a fully owned subsidy of Kraft Foods Inc.Cadbury began its operations in Indiain the year 1948 by importing chocolates. And after 60 years of existence, it today has five company-owned manufacturing facilities at Thane, Induri (Pune) and Malanpur (Gwalior), Bangalore and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and 4 sales offices (New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota and Chennai). The corporate office is in Mumbai. Cadburys core purpose is to make today delicious that captures the spirit of what they are trying to achieve as a business. The company makes delicious foods that people can feel good about. Whether one is considering itsown weight or preparing to celebrate, grabbing a quick bite or sitting down to family night, the company poursits hearts into creating foods that are wholesome and delicious. Currently, Cadbury India operates in four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In the Chocolate Confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years. Some of the key brands it offers in India are Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5 Star, Perk, Éclairs and Celebrations. Today, Cadbury enjoys a value market share of over 70% the highest Cadbury brand share in the world.The companys billion-dollar brand Cadbury Dairy Milk is considered the gold standard for chocolates in India. The pure taste of CDM defines the chocolate taste for the Indian consumer. Cadbury has annual revenue of approximately $50 billion; the combined company is the worlds second largest food company, making delicious products for billions of consumers in more than 160 countries. It employs approximately 140,000 people and has operations in more than 70 countries. Corporate Social Responsibility Since 1965 Cadbury has also pioneered the development of cocoa cultivation in India. For over two decades, we have worked with the Kerala Agriculture University to undertake cocoa research and released clones, hybrids that improve the cocoa yield. Our Cocoa team visits farmers and advise them on the cultivation aspects from planting to harvesting. We also conduct farmers meetings seminars to educate them on Cocoa cultivation aspects. Our efforts have increased cocoa productivity and touched the lives of thousands of farmers. Hardly surprising then that the Cocoa tree is called the Cadbury tree. Today, as a combined company with an unmatched portfolio in confectionery, snacking and quick meals, Cadbury and Kraft are poised in their leap towards quantum growth. They are the worlds No.1 Confectionery Company that we will continue to make today delicious. The Research Research objective: To measure consumer preference towards Cadbury chocolate bars. Need for the study: To find out the consumer preferences towards Cadbury chocolate Research methodology: Research tool: Questionnaire. Sampling technique: Random sampling Sampling size: 150 Sample frame: Respondents who have experienced eating cadbury chocolate bars. Sample locations: Equal numbers of respondents (75 each) were surveyed from both the cities of Mapusa and Panjim. Data collection method: Primary data: Primary data was collected directly from the respondents through distribution of structured questionnaire. Secondary data: Secondary data was collected from sources like internet, advertisement and TV commercials. Limitations of the research: As the research is restricted only to the two cities of Mapusa and Panjim, the results may not hold true for other cities, villages and entire Goa as a whole. The survey was conducted in a limited time of six weeks. Graphical representation Tools for analysis: Tools such as pie charts and percentages are used for the analyzing the data and getting to the conclusion. Do you eat chocolate? From the above analysis of the given sample of 150 respondents it is concluded that out of150 people 100% that is all 150 people likes to eat chocolate. Which brand of chocolate bars do you prefer to eat? From the above chat it is clearly seen that out of 150 respondents 82 (55%) like Cadbury, 56(37%) like nestle 11(7)like Mars and 1(1%) like others. Which sub-brand of above mentioned chocolate bar do you prefer to eat? Tick mark the option that are applicable to you. What form of chocolates do you prefer? What pack size do you normally prefer? How frequently do you buy your preferred chocolate bars? Rate the importance you give to the following factors while purchasing a chocolate: Price Quantity. Flavour Shape Brand Packaging How much satisfied are you with your preferred brand with respect to the following factors: Price Quantity Flavour Shape Brand Packaging Do you feel that your preferred chocolate is worth the price? Which promotional offers attract you the most? Which of these factors affect your purchase? Do you unlike any of the chocolate bars? If your preferred brand is not available for repeat purchase in the market what are you likely to do? If a similar product of another brand appears in the market, will you prefer to stop buying this brand and buy the new one? Will you recommend your preferred Cadbury chocolate bar to others? Gender Age group Occupation FINDINGS Majority of the people surveyed prefer Cadbury chocolate than Nestle chocolate. In Cadbury people prefer dairy milk the most. Taste wise too they like Cadbury dairy milk better. Most of the consumer of Cadbury dairy milk are loyal to the chocolate as the dairy milk chocolate is not available they dont switch to some other brand or chocolate they either postpone their purchase or they go to some other shop for repeat purchase. Shape of the chocolate bar is important for the people surveyed. The brand of the chocolate to matter a lot for the people Price and packaging too is very important for the people where chocolate are concerned. Quantity and flavour is very important for the people. Favourable price makes people buy chocolates even more. Where promotional factors are taken into consideration, price offers attract more customers than other offers. Advertisement affects the sales of chocolate bars more than any other thing. RECOMMENDATIONS Cadbury should focus on more advertisements, so that they can increase their sales even more and publicise their products They should try to give importance to price related offers to attract more customers because according to the survey it is indicated that people mostly prefer price related offers rather than other kind of offers. They can even come up with unique shapes of the bar to create a buzz in the market and gain more customers. Advertisements too can be displayed in a new and altogether different manner to make the customers buy the products in more quantities. To target each segment and attract more customers, products can be shaped, priced and advertised differently. Where Nestle comes in the picture, they should ad CONCLUSION After conducting the survey on consumer preference towards Cadbury chocolate bars, it can be concluded that consumers have more preference towards the Cadbury chocolate bars. Also it was a great experience learning the customer preference towards the chocolate as I came to know what they feel about the chocolate and also learn about the cholotate. Learning Through conduct of this research, following learnings were generated: Customers sensitivity towards each of the factors that are involved while purchasing the product was learnt in detail. Practical exposure to various psychologies of chocolate bar consumers. This led me to understand various perspectives of people and the psychology behind it. Understandings of various factors that lead to satisfaction or dissatisfaction in chocolate industry were learnt.

The Amazing Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald :: essays research papers fc

F. Scott Fitzgerald lived an amazing life throughout time, overcoming obstacles in his path and persevering through trials and tribulations. As a man who has gone through over four decades of experiencing an overwhelming amount of accomplishments, as well as hardships, F. Scott Fitzgerald is therefore acknowledged as a â€Å"True Man†. In fact, his struggles through childhood, his transition to adulthood and his unstable literary career acknowledges him as a â€Å"Real Man† who is more like a hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin with, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s childhood was a common one, like other children who grew up during the late nineteenth century. His origin played a key role in how he came to live his life according to the â€Å"American Dream†. Of the Irish ethnicity, F. Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His family life was one to be considered average for the late 1800s. His mother, Mary Mc Quilla, and father, Edward Fitzgerald were middle class Americans who worked hard to maintain a stable family. Mary Mc Quillan, was the daughter of an Irish immigrant who became wealthy as a wholesale grocer in St. Paul. Both were Catholics. Edward Fitzgerald failed as a manufacturer of wicker furniture in St. Paul, and he became a salesman for Procter & Gamble in upstate New York. After he was dismissed in 1908, when his son was twelve, the family returned to St. Paul and lived comfortably on Mary Fitzgerald’s inheritance. Both wer e of the Catholic decent. F. Scott Fitzgerald, named after his distant cousin, Francis Scott Key, the composer of the Star Spangled Banner, was the only child born to his fortunate parents. Due to several issues, his family moved regularly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also, F. Scott Fitzgerald transition to adulthood came about with a dramatic twist as he experienced ups and downs as any normal being would. Starting as a young lad and entering the field of becoming a â€Å"man†, Francis began to start a new life. He entered Princeton University in 1913 but allowed other prerogatives to take over his priorities. For example, Fitzgerald neglected his studies for his literary apprenticeship. He wrote the scripts and lyrics for the Princeton Triangle Club musicals and was a contributor to the Princeton Tiger humor magazine and the Nassau Literary Magazine. His college friends included Edmund Wilson and John Peale Bishop. On academic probation and unlikely to graduate, Fitzgerald joined the army in 1917 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry.

Collective Goods Essay -- International Community, The Kyoto Protocol

The international community is made up of many state actors that contribute in some form or other to establish a world that can establish key public goods. When more than one nation is trying to come together to achieve their collective goods, the nation may be confronted with a number of issues. There are times when the countries may need to come together to make decisions in specific topics like global warming, ozone depletion, space exploration amongst many other issues that require group attention (Stiles p269). A collective good does not belong to one specific player, cannot be withheld from a player and can be used by all players. When referring to collective goods there must be an investment or expenses may be accrued in the good by the player(s). The decision that must be made is which player will be making the investment and this is agreed to by negotiation. One of the many influences of the creation of collective goods is the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol focuses on many issues that cross national boundaries and require the attention of more than one country at a time. This leads to an international affairs situation where various countries have to solve problems of a trans-boundary nature (Stiles p.268). In order for this to occur the countries must first acknowledge that there is a need for a collective good. The problem arises however when countries use their judgment to determine how and if they should contribute to the collective good. Some countries may suggest that the country that has caused the most damage should be responsible party and should contribute more money (Stiles p269). It is rarely the case when all the countries involved offer to contribute their share without any hesitation. It ... ...re fearful of the other powerful countries (United States and Russia). This changed during the end of the Cold War giving a new era of promise and an evolving international order (Grant p572). In 1994, the Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States made it clear that national, regional and international levels need to work together for better outcomes (Grant p581). In this conference, Third World Countries that the United Nations should also place more focus on hard economic issues as well. The agenda for development was created to deal with sensitivity to development concerns and the influence of global development policy decisions that were aborted 15 years ago in the Cancun Summit (Grant p582). The global transformation will focus on advancing the interest of groups that have universal membership of the United Nations.

Evaluate Research on Conformity Making Reference to 2 Studies Essay

Conformity is the tendency to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings or behaviour in ways that are in agreement with those of a particular individual or group, or with accepted standards about how a person should behave in specific situations (social norms). It is also the key ways that a society or culture passes down its values or behaviours to its peers through an indirect form of social influence. Deusch and Gerald (1995) first presented that the reasons of people conforming is due to two factors that are information social influence and normative social influences. Information social influence is based on the ways people cognitively process information about specific situations. Normative social influence is based on our nature as social animals, and our need to be accepted and to ‘belong’ in society. Individuals often conform to avoid rejection and gain social approval within society. Festinger (1954) also agreed that people evaluate their own opinions and judgement through social comparisons, which is when the individual compares themselves to the peers around them When one realizes that others are not behaving in the same way, or think differently, it leads to anxiety, which is known as cognitive dissonance. In order to test for conformity, Asch carried a test where the subject was given a simple task of matching a length of line to one of three other comparison lines. The control subjects (who were able to take the test alone without any confederates) that served as the comparison to the variable (the individual who was tested for conformity) made almost no errors. In the experimental condition, one individual was tested but were surrounded by seven other confederates of the experimenter, who were told to give wrong estimates almost 70% of the trials. The subject was also second to last giving their answers, so that they were faced either giving their own opinion or conforming to the group. The average rate of conformity was 32%. 74% conformed at least once and 26% never conformed. In order to identity factors influencing conformity, Asch conducted variations to his experiment. Asch found out that with only one confederate, only 3% of the participant conformed, and with two confederates the rate rose to 14% and with three confederates, it rose to 32%. Larger groups did not increase the rate of conformity. Unanimity was an another factor, where conformity was more prominent when all the confederates agreed. If one of the confederates disagreed, the participant was less likely to conform. The difficulty of the task also increased conformity. Also when the participant was given the choice to write down their response, conformity decreased. Confidence and self-esteem was another significant role in influencing the participants, as people with high confidence strongly believed in their opinion, and were less likely to conform. However, even the participants that did not conform still felt strong social pressure. Although these results were quite reliable to a certain extent, there were multiple criticism towards the experiment. The experiment was considered ‘artificial’ with low ecological validity. There were also ‘demanding characteristics,’ where the participant may have changed their behaviour in order to please researchers. Also there was a lack in cultural diversity as the experiment may only represent the US in 1940-1950s. Because the individuals were placed in deception and anxiety, it also resulted in ethic concerns. Also, there were ethic concerns as the individuals were placed in deception and anxiety. Berry (1967) suggested that conformity is required by their respective survival level economics. Low food receiving societies tend to produce self-reliant independent individuals, while high food producing societies are group reliant and dependent. He also proved his theory by using a variation of Asch’s experiment through using samples of the Temne Sierra Leone and the Inuit people of Canada. Hunting and fishing in Eskimos show great tolerance in disciplining children, therefore resulting in independent and risk taking individuals. Rich farming Temne people apply strict disciplinary measures, resulting in more dependent and group reliant individuals. Therefore the experiment resulted that the Temne people of Sierra Leone conformed significantly more than the Inuit people of Canada, probably because of the economic differences. The Temne people usually had to survive on a single crop that is harvested by all the people in the society, therefore requiring each other’s trust and coordination of effort. . The culture also mainly focuses on agreement and harmony. Consensus is less present in Inuit culture as their economy is based on continual hunting and gathering on a relatively individual basis. However sometimes, there have been several examples of minority commitment to a view not held by the majority throughout the 20th century. This includes women’s right’s to vote in civil rights movement, environmental movement etc. Also research proved that minority opinions are significant in a group’s decision-making process. Groupthink happens when someone in a group suggest an idea, and everyone accepts the idea without considering other possible opinions It represents the group members having concordant opinions in an issue, resulting in not seeking alternative or disagreeing opinions, often because optimism prevents their decisions from becoming successful.