International HRM A Case Study of Apple Inc.

Abstract International human resource management has become a necessary undertaking in many multinational corporations. Globalization, a major driver of international trade, is one of the factors behind this development. Success in international ventures is significantly driven by the input of expatriates or international assignees.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on International HRM: A Case Study of Apple Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this paper, some issues relating to these assignees were highlighted. They include such issues as the various aspects of pre-departure training, recruitment, and selection criteria. Staffing strategies were also reviewed in this study. The author of this paper proposed a system of measuring return on international assignments. The topics mentioned above were analyzed in the context of Apple Inc., a top ranking multinational corporation. The success of this organization is one of the reasons why it was selected for this study. Key words: International human resource management, international assignees, multinational corporations, Apple Inc. International Human Resource Management: A Case Study of Apple Inc. In the recent past, there has been an increase in the number of multinational corporations operating in the world. Such companies are heavily investing in the global market. A number of factors have influenced the growth of these organizations. They include dynamics of international trade, amalgamation of the financial markets, and human migration. Other factors include speedy movement of capital as a result of globalization. All these factors have facilitated trade on the international arena. Human resource management entails the activities carried out by organizations to effectively utilize their human resource. Consequently, effective human resource management at the global level is a major determinant of success in international trade.Advertisi ng Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Human resource development at the international level has largely focused on the formulation of effective and highly skilled workforce. By doing this, individual employees and the organization at large can realize their ultimate goals of serving customers. Apple Inc. is a competitive global company in the communications and electronics industry. It is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of communications and media devices. It is also involved in the manufacture and distribution of digital music players and portable computers. The company has operations in different parts of the world. It has an elaborate international human resource management system. The current study addresses the element of international human resource management with regards to Apple Inc. Various aspects related to management of personnel in this organization are review ed. They include, among others, training of employees, deployment across the world, and return on investment. The author of this paper holds that effective management of human resource at Apple Inc. has contributed to the success of the organization. International Human Resource Management and Apple Inc.’s Experiences Components of Pre-Departure Training Overview. According to Avril and Magnini (2007), pre-departure training provides expatriates with the knowledge and skills required to survive following their immediate arrival at the destined country of work. Essentially, employees going to work in another country require information on various aspects of the host nation before they leave home. Some of the things they need to know include the culture and customs of the host country. They also need to be aware of the language and dress code appropriate to the new environment. In addition, international assignees need information on business etiquette in the new country (Avril Magnini, 2007).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on International HRM: A Case Study of Apple Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Information on verbal and non-verbal communication, taboos, rules, decision-making techniques, and business management structures should be provided to international employees during pre-departure training. Culture and customs of the new country. Training on host country’s customs is essential in ensuring that the expatriates adapt to the local culture. It is noted that business operations would be negatively affected if the behavior patterns of the new employees conflict with the cultural expectations in the host country. For instance, a US citizen working for Apple Inc. may be deployed to Saudi Arabia. Such an employee should be aware of how Saudi nationals regard alcohol. In addition, female employees would be expected to conform to the societal expectations with regards to t heir dress code. Language. Language is an essential component of communication in international business. Expatriates and inpatriates require more than just basic knowledge on the host country’s language for effective execution of their assignments. In addition, they should be aware of non-verbal communication techniques. Such awareness would facilitate communication in foreign countries. Business etiquette in the new environment. Business etiquette may vary between countries. In some parts of the world, governments regulate business policies. For instance, such elements as tax policies, power distance, and human resource management may differ from one country to the other (Katz Seifer, 1996). An expatriate manager at Apple Inc. would be required to understand the variation of such policies. Failure to comply with the new rules and regulations would most likely jeopardize the operations of the corporation in the host market. Business management structures and decision-making techniques. Different countries adopt different approaches in relation to business structures and decision-making techniques. For instance, decision making in high-power distance cultures differs with that in low-power distance communities.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As such, a manager working for Apple’s branch in Korea should be aware of the best approach to adopt in directing employees. The same applies to a German employee working in Africa, where decisions usually come from the top management. Rationale for Utilizing the Pre-Departure Training Components Managers are expected to effectively handle employees from different cultural backgrounds. The ability of such managers as far as the employees are concerned affects the profitability of the company. People from different countries express their nationality and dress codes differently. The approach used by international assignees when dealing with certain problems may also differ. Such issues as the need to interpret actions and comments, predict behaviors, and resolve conflicts may arise. As a result, focusing on the various components of pre-departure training would harmonize Apple’s operations with the reality in the host country. Performance Assessment among Expatriates In troducing assessment. Assessing the performance of expatriates is a major element in international human resource management. The performance can be reviewed using a number of criteria. Such criteria include determining strategy implementation and attainment of competitive advantage. According to Caligiuri (1997), there are three criteria commonly used in evaluating expatriates. They include completion of foreign assignments, performance on the foreign assignment, and cross-cultural adjustment. The criteria apply to all employees irrespective of the operations of a particular organization. Completion of foreign assignments. It is an important behavioral measurement. It is used in reviewing the results of tasks assigned to foreign employees. Success under this criterion is determined by the ability of the employee to complete their assignment without seeking for transfer to another country (Caligiuri, 1997). Premature termination translates to failure in relation to the performance o f the expatriate. In most cases, premature termination occurs when the expatriate requests for transfer to home country before completion of the assignment. The assignee may also be requested to return home before they have completed their work. Cross-cultural adjustment. Adjustment to foreign culture also determines the success of the assignee (Caligiuri, 1997). Inability to adjust to the host country means failure in the assignment. Successful adjustment indicates that the employee is psychologically comfortable working and living in the new country. Adjusted assignees are comfortable with the local culture. On their part, maladjusted employees find it hard to survive in the new environment. The failed employees may prematurely terminate their assignments (Suutari Brewster, 2000). Performance on the foreign assignment. Multinational corporations expect their employees to adjust culturally and remain in their foreign posts. In addition, the expatriates are expected to successfully execute their assignments. According to Caligiuri (1997), a large number of maladjusted foreign employees fail to achieve the envisaged outcomes in their work. There are various measures of performance with regards to foreign assignments. They include establishing working relationships with the locals. Others include transfer of information and the language and cultural proficiency of the foreign employee (Caligiuri, 1997). The measures are in relation to the benefits of expatriates to the multinational corporation. Recruitment and Selection Strategy for Apple Inc.’s International Assignments According to Suutari and Brewster (2000), international assignments entail three discrete phases. The first is the pre-assignment stage. It involves the selection and preparation of employees for deployment. The second is the ‘actual’ assignment. It involves the ‘actual’ stay of the expatriate in the new country. The last is the post-assignment stage. It is als o commonly known as repatriation. Recruitment and selection of expatriates is a multifaceted process. It takes into account both personal characteristics and interpersonal skills. Caligiuri (1997) postulates that most international organizations use knowledge of company systems and technical competencies in the selection process. The strategy is the most suitable recruitment and selection criteria for Apple Inc. It is noted that measuring relevant cross-cultural and interpersonal abilities is a difficult task for many organizations. In addition, most expatriate postings rely on personal recommendations. Such recommendations are derived from either line managers or specialist personnel (Suutari Brewster, 2000). As such, Apple should rely on the proposed recruitment and selection policy. The strategy would reduce chances of failure in the assigned job. Staffing Alternatives for Foreign Operations There are several approaches used in resolving the issue of human resource in relation t o international assignments. The strategies include ethnocentric and polycentric staffing approaches. Others are regiocentric and geocentric staffing strategies (Dowling, Welch Schuler, 2004). The ethnocentric approach involves filling all the key positions in the organization with local experts. The polycentric approach, on the other hand, proposes the use of host country’s nationals in managing subsidiaries. However, in this approach, key positions in the corporation’s headquarters are held by nationals of the parent country (Dowling et al., 2004). The regiocentric approach is a mixed staffing strategy. Here, executives are transferred between regions. Operations of the company are divided according to geographical regions. Apple should adopt the geocentric policy to address its staffing needs. The approach disregards the nationality and location of the candidate. It is appropriate for Apple Inc. since the corporation has a vast international experience and a global structure that is well developed. Importance of a High Quality Mentoring System for International Assignees Mentorship refers to a form of developmental relationship. In this case, an experienced employed assists less experienced members of staff in performing their tasks. The mentors can function as guides in the exploration of career interests. They provide support to international assignees deployed by multinational organizations. Mentoring systems for expatriates can be formal or informal. The former describes established procedures and specified targets. The latter, on the other hand, is initiated whenever the assignees seek advice from their superiors or from external professionals. A high quality mentoring system is very important to any multinational organization. It determines the success or failure of foreign employees. In most cases, the programs provide the management with an opportunity to support the assignees. The support is especially important during departure or r epatriation phases of the assignment. As such, the programs are powerful means of strategically retaining valuable employees with international experience. High quality mentoring programs also help the employees to adjust to their new environment. It improves their productivity and overall performance in their new posts. In addition, the programs provide continuous communication on changes in the company and the state of affairs back at home. As a result, the expatriates can effectively cope with transfers, expatriation, and repatriation. The current global economic meltdown has led to cost constraints in most organizations. As such, it is important for organizations to have the right people at the right place. High quality mentorship programs are very essential in the management of talent and employees. To this end, Apple Inc. employees should always have a mentor irrespective of their position in the foreign country. The mentors should supervise the assignee with a view to support their development. They should assist the new employee for a given period of time. Prior to the assignment, the employee must undergo an extensive pre-departure training. The training will help them settle down in the host country. Measuring Return on Investment in International Assignments Every business undertaking requires a mechanism to determine its subsequent return on investment. The same applies to international assignments in multinational organizations. The companies should analyze the profitability or importance of international assignments to the parent organization. Studies conducted with the aim of measuring return on investment with regards to international human resource have focused on numerical results of foreign deployments. In most cases, the costs and returns associated with the investment are used to determine its profitability (Caligiuri, 1997). To determine Apple Inc.’s return on investment, one should take into consideration a number of factors. The various aspects of international human resource management would help in assessing the profitability of foreign employees. The factors include identification of the assignment’s purposes, cross-cultural training costs (Dowling et al., 2004), and compensation. In addition, performance management and repatriation outcomes should be factored in. Calculation of return on investment would eventually be ascertained by analyzing the financial and non-financial costs and benefits of the venture. The costs and benefits are then linked to the expenditure incurred with regards to the assignment. Conclusion International human resource management differs with domestic management of employees in several ways. Managing employees at the international level is characterized by different labor markets, varying management practices, and dynamic labor laws. Economic and other cultural barriers make international management of human resource a complex affair. Managing international employees may differ from one organization to the other. However, according to this author, the underlying principles are similar in all organizations. As a result, effective management of assignees and their related assignments is a major determinant of the success of these international ventures. References Avril, A., Magnini, V. (2007). A holistic approach to expatriate successes. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(1), 53-64. Caligiuri, P. (1997). Assessing expatriate success: Beyond just â€Å"being there†. New Approaches to Employee Management, 4(1), 117-140. Dowling, P., Welch, D., Schuler, R. (2004). International human resource management: Managing people in a multicultural context (4th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College Publishing. Katz, J., Seifer, D. (1996). It is a different world out there: Planning for expatriate success through selection, pre-departure training, and on-site socialization. Human Resource Planning, 19(2), 32-47. Suutar i, V., Brewster, C. (2000). Making their own way: International experience through self-initiated foreign assignments. Journal of World Business, 35(4), 417-436. This essay on International HRM: A Case Study of Apple Inc. was written and submitted by user Ramon A. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How to Manipulate INI files from Delphi

How to Manipulate INI files from Delphi INI files are text-based files used for storing an applications configuration data. Even though Windows recommends using the Windows Registry to store application-specific configuration data, in many cases, youll find that INI files provide a quicker way for the program to access its settings. Windows itself even uses INI files;  desktop.ini  and boot.ini  being just two examples. One simple use of INI files  as a status saving mechanism would be to save the size and location of a form if you want a form to reappear at its previous position. Instead of searching through a whole database of information to find the size or location, an INI file is used instead. The INI File Format Initialization or Configuration Settings file (.INI) is a text file with a 64 KB limit divided into sections, each containing zero or more keys. Each key contains zero or more values. Heres an example: [SectionName] keyname1value ;comment keyname2value Section names are enclosed in square brackets and must begin at the beginning of a line. Section and key names are case-insensitive (the case doesnt matter), and cannot contain spacing characters. The key name is followed by an equal sign (), optionally surrounded by spacing characters, which are ignored. If the same section appears more than once in the same file, or if the same key appears more than once in the same section, then the last occurrence prevails. A key can contain string, integer, or boolean value.​ Delphi IDE uses the INI file format in many cases. For example, .DSK files (desktop settings) utilize the INI format. TIniFile Class Delphi provides the TIniFile class, declared in the inifiles.pas unit, with methods to store and retrieve values from INI files. Prior to working with the TIniFile methods, you need to create an instance of the class: uses inifiles; ... var   Ã‚  IniFile : TIniFile; begin   Ã‚  IniFile : TIniFile.Create(myapp.ini) ; The above code creates an IniFile object and assigns myapp.ini to the only property of the class - the FileName property - used to specify the name of the INI file you are to use. The code as written above looks  for the myapp.ini file in the \Windows directory. A better way to store application data is in the applications folder - just specify the full pathname of the file for the Create method: // place the INI in the application folder, // let it have the application name // and ini for extension: iniFile : TIniFile.Create(ChangeFileExt(Application.ExeName,.ini)) ; Reading From INI The TIniFile class has several read methods. The ReadString reads a string value from a key, ReadInteger. ReadFloat and similar are used to read a number from a key. All read methods have a default value that can be used if the entry does not exist. For example, the ReadString is declared as: function ReadString(const Section, Ident, Default: String): String; override; Write to INI The TIniFile has a corresponding write method for each read method. They are WriteString, WriteBool, WriteInteger, etc. For example, if we want a program to remember the name of the last person who used it, when it was, and what the main form coordinates were, we might establish a section called Users, a keyword called Last, Date  to track the information, and a section called Placement  with keys Top,  Left,  Width, and Height. project1.ini   [User]   LastZarko Gajic   Date01/29/2009   [Placement]   Top20   Left35   Width500   Height340 Note that the key named Last holds a string value, Date holds a TDateTime value, and all keys in the Placement section hold an integer value. The OnCreate event of the main form is the perfect place to store the code needed to access the values in the applications initialization file: procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject) ; var   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile;   Ã‚  LastUser : string;   Ã‚  LastDate : TDateTime; begin   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile.Create(ChangeFileExt(Application.ExeName,.ini)) ;   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //if no last user return an empty string   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LastUser : appINI.ReadString(User,Last,) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //if no last date return todays date   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LastDate : appINI.ReadDate(User, Date, Date) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //show the message   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ShowMessage(This program was previously used by LastUser on DateToStr(LastDate));   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Top : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Top, Top) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Left : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Left, Left);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Width : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Width, Width);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Height : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Height, Height);   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appINI.Free;   Ã‚  end; end; The main forms OnClose event is ideal for the Save INI part of the project. procedure TMainForm.FormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction) ; var   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile; begin   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile.Create(ChangeFileExt(Application.ExeName,.ini)) ; try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appINI.WriteString(User,Last,Zarko Gajic) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appINI.WriteDate(User, Date, Date) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  with appINI, MainForm do   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Top, Top) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Left, Left) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Width, Width) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Height, Height) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  end;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appIni.Free;   Ã‚  end; end; INI Sections The EraseSection erases an entire section of an INI file. ReadSection and ReadSections fill  a TStringList object with the names of all sections (and key names) in the INI file. INI Limitations Downsides The TIniFile class uses the Windows API  which imposes a limit of 64 KB on INI files. If you need to store more than 64 KB of data, you should use the TMemIniFile. Another problem might arise if you have a section with more than 8 K value. One way to solve the problem is to write your own version of the ReadSection method.

Impact of Shelf-Positioning On Impulse Buying of Fast Moving Consumer Research Paper - 1

Impact of Shelf-Positioning On Impulse Buying of Fast Moving Consumer Goods - Research Paper Example This paper tells that the findings of the research study of Kollat and Willett highlight that 65 percent of buying decisions in supermarkets are made in-stores, 50 percent of these decisions are unplanned and vary based on products and 50.5 percent of the products are bought in supermarkets as unplanned purchases. These unplanned decisions contribute to impulse purchasing which is considered very favorable for the sales of consumer products. Patterson argues that impulse buying is a result of various factors and one of these factors is the store location. Two important factors that influence impulse buying decisions include product packaging and positioning. Breygelmans, Campo & Gijbrechts conducted a research to study the impact of self-positioning on online grocery store choices and they have found that shelf management is an important factor even in the case of online grocery stores. By studying the in-store marketing of Norwegian retailing, it has been identified that are the pro motional techniques which are used to normalize consumers purchasing behavior. By positioning products on the top shelf or near the center, attention and evaluation of brands can be improved whereas, positioning brands on the middle shelves achieve attention but do not improve evaluation. Another important factor that leads to impulse buying is packaging. The difference in packaging directly contributed to sales appeal. Packaging is very significant for low involvement products like impulse purchase categories because, in these categories, consumers do not have the desire or need to investigate the products. Packaging is the key driver of impulse buying and it is significant to understand whether planned versus impulse shopping occurs as a result of packaging.

Human Trafficking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Human Trafficking - Research Paper Example People smuggling involves providing people, mostly illegal immigrants, with the means to enter into a foreign country or state without following due legal process and for a price. Once the smuggled people reach their destination, they are set free to go and start their own lives in whatever place they choose. Human trafficking is not a new phenomenon as it has its roots in ancient times when civilization was taking form, which is even before the 15th century. In places such as Rome and Greece, the vice was so prevalent and lucrative that the society had accepted it as a normal business, which put almost half of the population in bondage (Williams 36). However, it is only after the 15th century that this form of trafficking took a global dimension as a result of new explorations and establishment of colonies by the Portuguese, Dutch, British and French among others in territories outside their own continent. It is from here that capturing of indigenous people, with the help of collabo rators, began whereby the captured people were driven to work in large farms and plantations in the colonies as well as in Europe and other continents such as the US, which led to widespread transfer of populations. Some races such as African Americans were formed as a result of this atrocity after people from the African continent were procured by US slave masters to go and provide cheap or forced labor in their firms and while at it, the slaves continued to procreate both within themselves and with the indigenous Americans thus their current existence. However, anti slavery movements emerged in the 1770s and consequently several nations outlawed it and it remains outlawed even in the contemporary society most... Human trafficking is the trade of human beings for the purposes of forced servitude. Forced servitude in this context involves; forced labor, sexual exploitation, child labor, bonded labor and military enrollment. It is estimated that there are more than 27 million people world wide in modern slavery, a business which is attracting a lot of illegal money valued at more than $32 billion annually. Third world countries have been noted as the major targets for traffickers, while the developed ones such as the US are the recipients due to their high economic growth and numerous opportunities. Some of the impacts of this trade on Developing countries include and not limited to; depression of wages, high prevalence of STDs, loss of human capital as well as high crime rate. The US, which receives more than 50000 trafficked persons on yearly basis, suffers from unemployment since victims are made to provide cheap labor, insecurity as well as the burden of spending tax payer’s money in combating the above mentioned consequences.

TWA flight 800 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

TWA flight 800 - Research Paper Example The technology leading to the case was the location of the plane, possible electrical arcing, and auto-ignition. The investigations were led by the NTSB and FBI, who disapproved the bomb and the missile theory. The findings include that the defective condition of the wiring could have caused the ignition of the fuel vapor at the central tank. Recommendation presented include that the central tank should be kept full and that air conditioners should be relocated or insulated from the tank. Impacts on engineering include change to continual review of the aircraft’s hardware. Abstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.1 Table of Contents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..2 List of figures†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....3 List of Figures†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 1. ... .†¦13 2.3 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦14 3. IMPACT ON ENGINEERING PRACTICES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.15 4. CONCLUSION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦16 5. WORKS CITED†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦17 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Image of the TWA Flight 800 before the explosion: www.stat.ucla.edu, 1996 Figure 1.2 Image of the TWA Flight 800 after the explosion (a CIA explosion) www.washingtonpost.com, January 1997 Figure 1.1 Image of the TWA Flight 800 showing the position of the central fuel tank www.elvis.engr.wisc.edu, 1997 Figure 1.3 Image of the TWA Flight 800 showing the position of the central fuel tank www.elvis.engr.wisc.edu, 1997 1. INTRODUCTION Twenty minutes after its take off from the JKF international Airport at New York – on July 17, 1996 – TWA Flight 800 exploded. The plane was heading to Paris. During the clash, all the 230 passengers aboard the plane died from the explosion. The cause of death for the passengers – as explained by medical specialists – was the phenomenal whiplash of the flames after the explosion of the central fuel tank (Flanner 4). This report presents the general theories explaining the causes of the explosion – including the bomb and the missile theory as well as the conditions of the central fuel tank, which may have led to the explosion. The paper will discuss the investi gation of the explosion, the findings after inquiry and the recommendations developed. The impact of these findings on engineering practices will also be reviewed. Figure 1.1 Image of the TWA Flight 800 before the explosion www.stat.ucla.edu,

Role Of Mathematical Programming

Role Of Mathematical Programming Introduction In order to survive and lead todays highly competitive and demand driven market, there is a great deal of pressure on management to make economical decisions. One of the essential managerial skills is the ability to allocate and utilize resources appropriately in the efforts of achieving the optimal performance efficiently. Mathematical models have long played an important role in management and economics but it is only in the last few decades that management per se has received the sort of rigorous study that permits the application of mathematics. It is one of the primary tools used by operations researchers in making decisions. Mathematical programming Mathematical programming is the OR technique that has been most widely applied in management and economics. It has been used to solve a considerable range of problems in financial markets forming portfolios of equities, bonds, loans and currencies, generalized hedging, capital budgeting, cash management, insurance management, equity and bond index tracking, estimating the implied risk neutral probabilities for options, designing leveraged leases, computing the maximum loss sustained by shareholders, spotting insolvent banks, sorting out the failure of a stock exchange and understanding the forces leading to financial innovations. It deals with models comprising of an objective function and a set of constraints. An objective function is a mathematical expression of the quantity to be maximized or minimized. For example, manufacturers may wish to maximize production or minimize costs, advertisers may wish to maximize a products exposure, and financial analysts may wish to maximize rate of return. Constraints are mathematical expressions of restrictions that are placed on potential values of the objective function. For example, production may be constrained by the total amount of labor at hand and machine production capacity, an advertiser may be constrained by an advertising budget, and an investment portfolio may be restricted by the allowable risk. Symbolically, mathematical models in operations research may be viewed generally as determining the values of the decision variables which will Optimize subject to The function is the objective function while represents the constraint, whereis constant. The constraintsare the non-negativity constraints. In general,optimization of the objective function signifies either amaximization or minimizationof this function. The types of the objective and constraint functions of a mathematical model depend directly on the systems which they represent. Thus, these functions may be linear or non-linear. Also the decision variables may be continuous or discrete and the parameters of the system may be deterministic or probabilistic. The result of this diversity in system representation is the development of a corresponding number of optimization techniques suitable for solving these models. These mainly include linear programming, integer programming, goal programming, non-linear programming, dynamic programming, and stochastic programming. The Mathematical Programming Approach There is an orderly sequence of steps that is followed for a systematic formulation, solution and implementation of a mathematical programming model. These steps could be applied to the development of any management science model. Although the practical applications of mathematical programming cover a broad range of problems, it is possible to distinguish five general stages that the solution of any mathematical programming should follow. These stages along with their main characteristics are as follows : A. Formulating the Model The first step to be taken in a practical application is the development of the model. The following are the elements that define the model structure : Selection of a time horizon Selection of decision variables and parameters Definition of constraints Selection of the objective function B. Gathering the Data After defining the model, the data required to define the parameters of the model must be collected. This involves the data regarding the objective function coefficients, the constraint coefficients and the right hand side of the constraints. C. Obtaining an Optimal Solution Due to the lengthy nature of calculations required to obtain the optimal solution of a mathematical programming model, a digital computer is invariably used in this stage of model implementation. Nowadays, all the computer manufacturers offer highly efficient codes to solve mathematical programming models. D. Applying Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity analysis, also called post-optimum analysis, is performed on the optimal solutions obtained for the linear programming problems originally formulated. This analysis is important for several reasons : Data uncertainity Dynamic considerations Input errors E. Testing and Implementing the Solution Once the optimal solution is obtained, it should be tested fully to ensure that the model clearly represents the real situation. The importance of conducting sensitivity analysis as part of this testing effort has already been discussed. If the solution is unacceptable, new refinements have to be incorporated in the model and new solutions obtained until the mathematical programming model is adequate. When the testing is over, the model can be implemented. Implementation usually means solving the model with real data to reach a decision or a set of decisions. Types of Mathematical Programming A. Linear programming Linear programming is one of the most successful disciplines within the field of Operational Research. It arose as a mathematical model developed during the second world war to plan expenditures and returns in order to reduce costs to the army and increase losses to the enemy. It was kept secret until 1947. Post war, many industries found its use in their daily planning. Linear programming is a technique for making decisions under certainity i.e.; when all the courses of options available to an organization are known in advance and the objective of the firm along with its constraints are quantified. Out of all the possible alternative that course of action is chosen that which yields the optimal results. Mathematically, linear programming problem calls for finding non-negativeso as to maximize a linear functionsubject to a system of linear equations : There are two extensions of Linear programming which are as follows : a) Integer Linear programming The Integer Linear Programming (ILP) is an extension of Linear programming where all of the variables must only take on integer values. b) Mixed Integer Linear Programming The Mixed integer Linear Programming (MILP) is also an extension of the Linear programming, but some of the variables must take on integer values while others take on real values. B. Quadratic programming Quadratic Programming is a special type of mathematical optimization problem. It is the problem of optimizing (minimizing or maximizing) a quadratic function of several variables subject to linear constraints on these variables. C. Goal Prgramming Goal Programming is promulgated as an aid for decision-making problems with multiple, possibly conflicting goals. In a typical goal programming model, each goal is formulated as a constraint. There are two variables associated with each goal (each constraint), over-achievement deviation and under-achievement deviation. The value of these two deviational variables measure how well the corresponding goal is accomplished. An objective function in a goal programming formulation is usually a linear function in deviational variables. Specifically, the objective function takes the weighted summation of the deviational variables. The weights assigned to a deviational variable indicate the importance of the corresponding goal in decision-making process. The objective is thus to minimize the weighted sum of deviations from goal achievement, i.e., to accomplish the best overall achievement. D. Dynamic Programming Dynamic Programming is a mathematical programming technique which fragments a large problem into several smaller problems. The approach is to solve the all the smaller, easier problems individually in order to reach a solution to the original problem. This technique is useful for making decisions that consist of several steps, each of which also requires a decision. In addition, it is assumed that the smaller problems are not independent of one another given they contribute to the larger question. E. Stochastic Programming Many optimization problems are described by uncertain parameters. When these uncertain parameters can be considered as random variables and have known probability distributions, new optimization problems can be formulated that involve expected values of these random variables. In this manner, a new problem (called the deterministic equivalent) is obtained that removes the uncertainty and results in a deterministic optimization problem. This is the approach of Stochastic Programming. Application areas of Mathematical Modeling The applications of mathematical modeling in management and economics today are so manifold that it is difficult to list them down. A few of the major application areas of mathematical models are as follows :

Essay --

At this point in time, seniors at Mira Costa feel trapped, as if they can't get out of Mira Costa and Manhattan Beach soon enough. Imagine being physically trapped in their city, surrounded by nothing but a big concrete wall holding them hostage. The Berlin Wall kept half a city hidden behind, what was known as, the iron curtain. The wall was â€Å"...a symbol of oppressive and divisive government, not only to the East Germans it contained, but to the rest of the world as well.†("Transitional Justice.") The people of Germany were separated from their jobs, their loved ones, and were forced to live under communist rule. Before the wall was built, the city was split, given no notice on Sunday, and â€Å"overnight brutally severed streets† (Heilbrunn) became known as ‘Stacheldrahtsonntag’, barbed wire Sunday. Shortly after, the creation of the concrete wall began. During the construction of the wall, there was outrage in West Berlin over the new barbed wire wall that ran through their city. There was outrage in East Berlin as well but it was quickly controlled by their secret police who made many arrests for any who did not want to follow the communist rule and spoke out about it. Unlike other walls built around the world to keep enemies out, this wall was designed by communists to keep people in. 11-13 feet high and was a total of 28 miles long the wall encircled East Berlin. Surrounded by â€Å"towers, guards, and dogs stood watch over a barren no man's land. A pipe, too large in diameter for a climber's grip, ran along the top of the wall.†(â€Å"Newseum:Berlin Wallâ₠¬ ) Aside from the wall construction, there was other damage to East Berlin, â€Å"Buildings...were demolished, and the wide open area became known as "no man's land" or the "death strip," wh... ... the concrete prison. Soon after the wall fell, most of the East Berlin cabinet resigned and the remaining member were removed. East Berlin and West Berlin were finally reunited and renamed, The Federal Republic of Germany. â€Å"The world watched the celebrations on television. After 28 years, the Berlin Wall had fallen.† ("NEWSEUM: Berlin Wall.") The people of East Germany finally saw the light on the other side of the wall, and escaped the concrete nightmare. Imagine, literally being trapped inside of your hometown, behind the iron curtain of communism. Thousands of people lived that way for twenty-eight years, forced to live unseen and unheard. Some were born directly in the East side and some died, never to see the curtain lift from them. Life in the 1980’s in America was guided by the truth of real life, which real life was taken away from those trapped in Berlin.

Tv Advertising vs Online Advertising

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY DISSERTATION TELEVISION VS ONLINE ADVERTISING: THE CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE PREPARED BY: AMBIKA KHANNA STUDENT ID: 3500576 MA MARKETING & ADVERTISING 1/12/2012 ABSTRACT THIS DOCUMENT STUDIES THE CONSUMERS PREFRENCE OF TELEVISION AND INTERNET AS ADVERTISING MEDIA. IT THROUGH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS OF RESEARCH TRIES GAIN INSIGHTS INTO THE CONSUMERS PERCEPTION OF CURRENT TRENDS IN TELEVISION 7 INTERNET ADVERTISING. THESTUDY USES GROUNDED THEORY AND PRIMARY RESEARCH TO ESTABLISH THE POSSIBLE REASONS FOR PREFERENCE OF ONE ADVERTISING MEDIAOVER ANOTHER.THE STUDY CONCLUDES THAT TELEVISION IS STILL THE MORE POPULAR MEDIA WITH THE CONSUMERS AS IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE MORE ENTERTAINING WHEREAS INTERNET AS A MEDIUM IS HIGHLY RELIED ON WHEN IT COMES TO INFORMATION AND INSTANT ACESS TO PRODUCTS AND OFFERS. 1 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE NO. ABSTARCT 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 INTRODUCTION 5 LITERATURE REVIEW 8 PROPOSITIONS TO BE STUDIED 26 METHODOLOGY 27 DATA ANALYSIS 37 DICUSSION 51 CONCLUSION 52 SCOPE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 53 REFERENCES 53 APPENDIX 58 2 3500576DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor and my guiding light during the course of this research project Miss Sarah Hydes, who was there with me at every step guiding me and helping me with any hurdles that I faced while conducting the research. Her constructive criticism were taken into account and helped create a more accurate report. I would like to thank my family & friends who were there for me selflessly. Most of all I would like to thank God for his grace and kindness. 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 BACKGROUND Advertising has long been a part of most integrated marketing communication plans, most advertisers have concentrated on television media, having the highest reach. But with the onset of the recession the focus of adverti sers has shifted from tr aditional media to online media (Kirchhoff, 2009). According to Waterman et al (2009) â€Å"Internet advertising remains small, but is growing even more quickly than multichannel television advertising. With the wide reach and easy access to the internet as a media and the various paid product reviews available on the internet (Kirchoff,2009), it has become important for advertisers to understand what drives the consumer to pay attention to one media more than the other, and the factors which affect recall. Is it just based on needs or does the trust generated by an advertisement affect consumer perception of the product or the brand? Advertising today is based on what the consumer needs, the advertisers then make an effort to convert the need into a „want? y the means of an advertisement which allows them to retain the consumer and generate a certain level of recall and brand value. The advertisers do this by trying to understand the consumer? s need s and their goals. They make the consumers feel they can achieve their goals by using the product by portraying the product in such a way which is reflective of the target consumer? s perception of desired self (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007, pg 87). The fact that consumers have a choice, even in terms of the advertising they want to be exposed to, has to be taken seriously by researchers.Therefore the medium which is used to reach to the audience and its effectiveness in terms of the trust of the consumer in the medium and the recall it generates is of immense importance (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007, pg 13). Ducoffe (1996) suggests that most exposures to advertisements are made when the consumer is not actually shopping for the products, thus they are a waste. Therefore the advertisers now focus on the interactive element of advertising which gives them the scope to get the consumer to revert back to the company and 4 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING uild a long term relati onship with them. With the growth of internet advertising the advertisers have more opportunities to reach out to the consumers and get them involved (Evans, 2009). This study is aimed at consumers who are well exposed to the television and internet as advertising media. This study has been undertaken to understand the factors which motivate people to pay attention to the various types of advertisement in a particular media. The study looks to understand the consumer? s take on which media works for them better in terms of recall and trust.Wang et al (2002) suggest that it is important to understand that the consumer is not passive and evaluates their need satisfaction before purchasing a product, thus advertising needs to ensure that it should not only be able to gain the consumers attention but also gain their trust in order to convert the curiosity about a product or service into a successful enquiry for the product. Neilsons Online Global Survey (2009) shows that people trust te levision advertisements more as compared to online banner advertisements, although the degree of trust in online reviews is much higher than that of trust in television advertisements.The survey suggests that all over the world 61% people trust television advertising, whereas in Europe 49% completely or somewhat trust television advertising. The Global average for trust in online media is 41% whereas the trust in Europe is 36%. Stone (1999) suggests that internet allows not only two way communications but also scope for a commercial transaction; therefore it is easier to convert advertisements into business transactions online, thus increasing value to customers who would otherwise place their orders on the phone or visit a store.The Neilsons online consumer survey (2009) suggests that two thirds of the global consumer thinks that advertising allows the consumers to make more informed choices. The survey also suggests that the highest trusted form paid advertising is signed up e-mai ls followed by brand sponsorships. Consumer trust is often subjective based on familiarity with the brand and the medium and the security of the consumer, apart from the perceived risk. (Ha , 2004). It is thus important to understand how these factors lead a consumer to perceive the relevance of a particular medium particularly internet.Another important factor is the value of the information passed on to the consumer as it is one of the main functions of advertis ing 5 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING (Kotler et al 2009). The relevance and the accuracy of the content contribute to the trustworthiness of an online advertiser. (Abels et al, 1999). The way the content is presented also often aids recall. The consumers? find advertisements with comic content easier to recall in both television and online advertising, although the television advertisements are more engaging than online advertisements based on comic element, emotion and the informational content. The Neilso n online consumer survey,2009). This study has been conducted based on a combination of secondary and primary research. The secondary research has been used to understand the already existing data and expert opinions of the researchers related to online and television advertising in order to build a foundation for the research. Further a survey and In depth Interviews have also been conducted to understand the following: Which media is preferred better by the consumer? Which types of online advertisements are more popular? Is online advertising more specific and informative?Does television advertising motivate the consumer to buy the product? What are the tangibles that a consumer notices about a television advertisement? What factors aid recall in both Television and Online Advertising? The data has been collected and systematically analyzed, based on which conclusions have been drawn. The study also has some limitations and managerial implications which have been discussed later. 1. 2 AIM The study aims to understand the consumer perception of the current television and online advertising. It aims to understand which form of advertising do consumers prefer 6 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING nd also establish the reasons as to why consumers prefer one form of advertising over the other. 1. 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives for the study are as follows: To understand consumer preference between Television advertising and Online advertising. To establish grounds based on which consumers may prefer one form of advertising over the other. To understand the factors which enhance consumer recall and trust in Television and Internet 2. LITERATURE REVIEW In order to understand how consumers perceive advertising on television and on the internet, it is important to understand how consumers perceive advertising in the first place.The literature review forms in this study forms the basis for conducting primary research. The work of various authors h as been studied, reviewed and analysed in order to gain insights on what have been the trends of consumers till now relating to television advertising and internet advertising. The literature review also studies the scope in television and online advertising. 2. 1 CONSUMER PRECEPTION OF ADVERTISING Advertising by definition is a structured and composed, non personal form of communication of information. Most advertising we see, in most mass medi a is consumer oriented.The focus of all of it is to drive the end consumer to purchase the product or service (Arens, 2006). Literature suggests that advertising is not necessarily seen with keen interest, unless what is being advertised is of value to the consumer. Whether its television watching or 7 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING internet browsing, there are multiple activities carried out by the consumers, especially in order to avoid the commercial breaks and in case of the internet, consumers have the free choice to clo se the advert all together or to skip it (Blunden & Blunden 1996; Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007).It is important to track consumer attitudes towards advertising due the cumulative effect the consumer attitude can have on the exposure, attention and reaction that consumers have towards any particular advertisement. (Alwitt & Prabhakar, 1999) Blunden & Blunden (1996) in their book advertising in a multimedia age mention that with the advent of globalization, the new media particularly internet provides a platform for advertisers to send out a globally uniform message across various cultures without many extra costs. Key roles of Advertising to the consumerInformation Entertainment Every day culture Figure 1 According to a report of Advertising Standards Authority prepared by Rothwell and Hutchinson (2002) the consumer views advertising to be a part of daily life, in the absence of which life could be dull and boring. According to this report the consumers perceive advertising to have the following roles: Everyday Culture: Advertising today blends into the daily life of people, by creating needs and wants in their minds. Advertising also generates views of how 8 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING eople want to be seen in the society and forms the basis of self image. This fact mentioned by Rothwell and Hutchinson (2002) is also backed by the theory of Self –Perception (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007) which states that the consumer observes and makes judgments about their own behavior and choices. In case a decision works in their favor they would attribute the success to themselves and incase it does not they would attribute it to the source. Marketers use the theory of Self Perception using the Attitude towards the ad model of consumer behavior given by Schiffman and Kanuk (2007).The authors state that the consumer forms various feeling and judgments based on the exposure to an advertisement which in turn affect the consumer? s attitude and their perce ption towards a brand based on what it could make them look like or what it would deliver to them. Entertainment: Rothwell and Hutchinson (2002) in their research found out those 2 things which drive consumers towards advertising especially in terms of television advertising is that firstly they are high on entertainment. The consumers today feel that the advertising is very clever and the consumer has to pay attention to get to the message.Another feature which consumers enjoy is humor which seems to make its way into the consumers mind. This theory is relevant for both Television and Internet advertisements which try to work on the emotional appeal. Tony Yeshin (2006) in his book Advertising states that humor when integrated well with the brand messages and imagery with an element of surprise is seen to enhance attention, credibility, recall, evaluation and purchase intention as shown by various researchers. (Weinberger et al, 1995; Cline et al, 2003; Alden, Mukherjee & Hoyer, 200 0).Information: consumers value the information provided by advertising and prefer advertisements which inform them about new products or offers or prices of products rather than just acting as reminders of the brand (Rothwell and Hutchinson, 2002). Tony Yeshin (2007) in his book Advertising talks about the Informational function of advertising and states that the advertising focuses on keeping the customer informed, the information itself could be for a new product to a new user, for an old product to a new user, new uses of an old product etc. 9 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING ased on the purpose of advertising. According to the Neilson online global survey (2009) on Advertising, by providing information advertising allows consumers to make better choices. Apart from that advertising delivers values such as public service economic opportunities and creating value for customer via competition. It is at the same time important to understand what the consumer perceives of differen t media which advertisers use. According to various authors despite consumer? s opinion of it being intrusive, Television remains the biggest medium for advertising. Kirchhoff, 2009; Tony Yeshin, 2006; Rothwell & Hutchinson, 2002). According to Kirchhoff (2009) in the time of recession where every form of advertising is seeing a downfall, it is only internet advertising that has seen growth. Kirchhoff (2009) in her work also mentions that interactive advertising on platforms such as social networks, gaming, mobiles, online videos and websites holds the key to the future of advertising. Thus it can be said on the understanding of the work of authors mentioned above that consumer attitudes towards advertising are based on their day to day preferences, way of living and culture. . 2 THE GROWTH ONLINE ADVERTISING With the growth of new media the advertising is moving from the push concept of marketing towards the pull concept of marketing (Blunden & Blunden & Blunden & Blun den, 1996). According to Corey (2005) pull strategy is designed to generate endconsumer response. It is used as a tool of trust building, interactive form of communication which leads to the consumer pulling the products through channels. Corey (2005) also states that Pull strategy has often been seen to establish a brand identity and personality, by allowing the consumer to interact with the brand.Blunden & Blunden (1996) suggests that the advertising in the new media, particularly internet focuses on three main elements: 10 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Communication: the message should be clear and innovatively represented to gain consumer attention and retain it as well. Information: the information provided should be relevant and easy to understand and should motivate consumer response. Service: there should be sources of instant service available in order to cater to any consumer interaction.The authors (Blunden & Blunden, 1996) mentions in the book â€Å"Adv ertising in a Multi Media Age†, that it is important to deliver the above three elements to the consumer as with the growth in technology the communication is now on a one to one basis. The consumer engages with the message directly due to its constant availability and no space or time constraints. This also works to the advantage of advertisers as they are able to keep a tab on consumer responses and the message can be altered easily and widely sent without compromising on content.The authors suggest that the success of online advertising is based on the level of involvement it is able to generate with the consumer rather than the exposure. With its wide reach and scope for interactivity, online advertising can lead to serious branding activities. Previous researches have shown that consumers find advertising on the internet both informative and entertaining; however the consumer focus remains on the informative element of the advertising (Ducoffe,1996; Diaz et al, 1996; Meht a and Sivadas, 1995). Advertising on the Internet is a great source of income for web based business.And with further growth predicted for internet, it is growing into a global phenomena reducing the cost and increasing the effectiveness of advertising by allowing the marketers to target the consumers who are interested in their products and services and are more likely to act on the advertisements they are exposed to. (Evans, 2009) Online Advertising revenue has increased from 8. 1 billion dollars in 2000 to 21. 2 billion dollars in 2007. Over all Internet advertising has shown a growth of 8. 8% during the same time period. (Interactive Advertising Bureau Press Releases 2000-2007) 11 500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Figure 2 Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau Annual Report and Press Releases, 2000 -2008. Literature (Blunden & Blunden 1996; Zeff & Aronson, 1999) suggests the following advantages of online advertising: 12 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETIN G High degree ofConsume r control Consumers /consumer responses can be easily tracked Effective Targeting Advantages of online advertising Not bound by geographic al limitations Deliverabilt y/High quality entertainme nt Flexibility Figure 3Online advertising first started in the form of promotional emails for discussion groups in the early 1990? s. Over the years what started out as a medium for early adopters, internet by 1998 had turned into an important platform for mass marketing, gaining wide acceptance from audience for advertising on the internet (Zeff & Aronson, 1999). Some popular forms of advertising on the Internet have been explained by Zeff and Aronson (1999) as follows: Websites as advertisements: they were seen as the first kind of Internet advertising, but since they were either too simple (focused on giving out brochure 13 3500576DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING like information) or too complicated (technical features and complicated design) they failed initi ally. Since then marketers have come a long way. Today the websites not only act as a mirror to the brand image but also provide the marketer a platform to sell himself to the vast pool of consumers, interact with them and develop a relationship with them based on two way communication and understanding their needs. From being technically complicated the websites today have gone to being innovatively simple. They use humor and contextual information to convert a browser into a buyer.A very good example for this has been cited by Zeff and Aronson (1999) they mention the Cadillac website which allows the consumer to chose the model of the car they want to buy and then from that point onwards, the user can decide on all the options they want in the car from the exterior colour to the interior design. Direct Mails: what started out as email newsletters, discussion lists and sponsorships has evolved into advertisers sending direct mails to their consumers. Direct mailing is a brand build ing exercise which acts as a time to time reminder of the brand and helps gain an insight into changing consumer trends.Although it has been a popular mode of advertising, it has been very often criticized for its Spam status and poor results. ( Zeff & Aronson, 1999) Banners: Banner advertising is a standardized type of online advertising (typically 468 ? 60 pixels in size) that consists of graphic and textual content and contains a link to the advertiser? s Web site (Manchanda et al. 2006). Banners have been one of the mostly spent on form of web advertising. From being static to interactive today banners have evolved which allow the consumer to view videos or even complete transactions without actually leading to the website of the brand.Banners today are more interactive and entertaining. The role of banner advertising has changed from generating website traffic to creating brand recall and providing the customer a good experience. (Zeff 7 Aronson, 1999) 14 3500576 DISSERTATION-M A ADVERTISING &MARKETING According the study on online behavioral advertising (2009) by the Internet Advertising Bureau 50% more people can trust online advertising than five years ago. The study also states that almost 46% people like online advertising and reflect a positive attitude towards it. Figure 4 Source: Internet Advertising Bureau (2009) 5 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Figure 5 Apart from the traditional forms of online advertising, online advertising today based on elements of interactivity uses more creative and wide spread instruments such as games and social networking websites to cater to the advertising needs of the consumers. Online advertising has gone another notch above by using 3 -D advertising to enhance consumer experience. Using 3-d effects in advertising products has been seen to enhance the consumer experience and increase advertising effectiveness. Debbabi et al, 2010). The study of the literature in this section suggests that internet as a medium has come a long way and the way consumers utilize it is also dynamic. Thus in an age where internet is one of the most popular mass medium it has become important to understand what drives the consumer to notice and trust one form of advertising over another. 2. 3 THE CHANGING SCENARIO OF TELEVISION ADVERTISING Hackley (2010) in his book Advertising and Promotion argues that TV till date remains the most prestigious way of reaching out to an audience of millions.Although it has a wide reach and is capable of creating huge dramatic impact Television advertising can prove to be very expensive. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that 15 16 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING commercial programme makers serve the entire UK via the ITV network and the BBC does not carry any advertising on any of its channels. (Hackley, 2010) Arens (2006) in his book Contemporary Advertising states that Television as a medium of advertising is available to advertisers i n two main forms broadcast and cable.Although Television has been used in the past as a strict form of mass media, today it is much more versatile than that. From offering advertising about mass consumption goods to niche advertising, today Television advertising caters to a variety of advertisers needs. The Author is of the opinion that Television apart from delivering creative big ideas also plays a very important role in building brand personality and consequently develops consumer relations with the brand.Today advertisers use it as a leverage tool, where the consumer can identify themselves as prospects by responding to a commercial and interacting further with the brand via other media such as internet or SMS. Kotler et al (2009) in their book Marketing Management back the above theory by mentioning two major strengths of Television advertising, first it can be effective means of demonstrating product attributes and persuasively explaining their corresponding benefits to the c onsumer. Secondly it helps define brand personality with the use of imagery.Hackley (2010) further feels that television as a medium is so powerful that it tends to dominate in a room demanding attention even if the viewers are not necessarily interested. It is the medium which reflects and projects audience fantasies and aspirations and brands use this to promote themselves as accessories to these aspirations. The author further explains that TV as a medium has the power to convey different values across various cultures and has the ability to adapt to the various ways people perceive the information broadcasted on it.TV is seen as a social medium which reaches to the people looking for entertainment, information and ideas about new ways of living and consuming. 17 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING However television advertising is not without its limitations. Zhao et al (2011) cited authors such as Kent (1993) and Zhao (1997) who in their work mention that the growth of clutter in television advertising has always been of concern to marketers, as it causes great amount of confusion in the mind of the consumer and may even be a negative influence on the overall success of television advertising.Nail (2004) supports this argument by stating that most consumers, even those who believe advertising claims or pay attention to forms of advertising online and offline are keen on signing up for devices and services which allow them to block advertisements. The reasons for this trend have been showcased in the figure below: Figure 6 Source: Nail (2004) Bellman et al (2010) in their study of using interactive banners to reduce television advertisement avoidance stated that the use of interactive banners can re duce the frequency of channel switching by almost 40%, although they did reduce the recall of the viewers.However they also stated in their work that it has become important to retain the consumer at any cost, rather than letting them avoid advertise ments . The Authors are of the opinion, that with the change in time and development of new technologies, Television advertising, which was once seen as an intrusive one way form of communication has turned into an interactive form of communication, allowing sco pe for feedback and further enquiry, via communication channels like the internet and 18 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING telecommunication.Brian and Margot Blunden & Blunden & Blunden & Blunden (1996) suggest that the two toughest challenges phased by television advertising are: Networked Interactivity: with the internet offering various opportunities of detailed interaction and the growth of niche marketing, television is mostly competing for consumer time which is finite in nature. Internet here gains serious advantage in terms of information retrieval, gaming, transactional activities etc. Interactive Video Networks: with the growth of high quality video channels and online version of television channels, t he way television advertising is perceived has changed a lot.With great audiovisuals of products available on servers, consumer? s choice has become paramount and programming today reflects more and more of the marketplace. Television is growing into a mass medium with something to offer to a niche market at the same time. As the viewers control over his/her viewing increases, advertising is moving towards a more specialized strategy in terms of targeting and even in terms of content. (Blunden & Blunden & Blunden & Blunden, 1996)In this age where Advertising can easily be perceived as intrusive it is important to understand what drives the consumer to trust a certain form of advertising and to understand what draws the consumer? s attention. According to Neilson? s online global survey of advertising (2009) the trust in television advertising since 2007 to 2009 has increased by 2%. Further the trust in Brand sponsorships has increased from 49% in 2007 to 63% in 2009. The survey furt her shows that the trust in all advertising categories online has increased. These are positive signs which show that although there is clutter in the 19 500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING advertising world and brands have various claims to make, the trust of the consumer may be shifting from one medium to another but is not lost. This can be further understood by the charts given below which give a clear idea of level of trust in various advertising media. Figure 7 Source: Neilsons Online Global Survey for Advertising (2009) 20 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING In Neilsons Online Global Survey for Advertising (2009) the elements of humor and emotion are very important for the consumer to be engaged in advertising.According to their survey they found that the consumer engagement in TV adverts was more than the consumer engagement in online video adverts. This is further validated by the chart given below: Figure 8 Source: Neilsons Online Global Survey on Adve rtising (2009) Though television is still the most widely used form of advertising, the way television is used and programmed all over the world has changed a lot. This study intends to understand how consumers are dealing with the interactive element of television advertising and how do they perceive television advertising in today? world. 2. 4 ONLINE VS TELEVISION MEDIA FOR ADVERTISING Traditional media although offer a very wide reach they have a definite schedule and are broadcast at a particular time, the advertisers can not in this case do much to ensure that the consumers they have targeted are exposed to the advertisement. The consumers may often be undertaking more than one activity while viewing television; 21 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING they may get up for a coffee or switch channels, all these factors of avoidance are out of control of the advertiser. (Evans, 2009)Internet and Online advertising offer a distinct advantage over television in thi s case; they allow the advertiser to track consumer activity and the level of engagement of the consumer in a particular advertisement. (Zeff & Aronson, 1999; Evans, 2009). Further Evans (2009) that since it is easy to track consumer activity online it is also easy to offer advertising related to the activities the consumer is involved in thus creating a link between the two and creating a relationship between the brand, the advertisement and the consumer. A great example of this is the advertising on face book.Based on recent online history and the personal likes and is likes updated by an individual on their profile advertisements are updated on the wall of the individual thus offering what the consumer may be interested in on a platform that the consumer chooses to be exposed to on a frequent basis. Blunden & Blunden (1996) in their book Advertising in the Multimedia Age state that television advertising is bound by textual, visual and acoustic formats in order to convince the consumer that the product being advertised is a way of fulfilling their desires.The consumer in such a case has to go through the entire advertisement to get the message. The linear form of communication makes television advertising strictly a form of push marketing whereas the Internet works on the pull marketing concepts, the advertising on the internet allows the consumer to view the advertisement on a one to one basis and engage with it, allowing the consumer access to it without any limitations of time and space making online advertising more niche in its approach. Nel et al. 1999) suggests that offline business extend their business online to offer support to it just as TV networks are doing so thus keeping their target audience with them. In order to ensure that this consumer market is not lost to advertisers media companies have introduced many cross-platform advertising packages that use both online and offline versions of the media to make the medium more attractive to advertisers. For example, NBC used its cross-platform advertising package for its Winter Olympics program and achieved considerable success (Beard 2002). 2 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Although many studies have been conducted about the online advertising and television advertising (Evans, 2009; Forest, 1998; Nail, 2004; Debbabi, 2010; Bellman, 2010) there is not much written about what the consumer thinks of the changes in the advertising media and the changes in the pattern of advertising in both media. Forrest et al (1998) states that â€Å"New theoretical models are emerging to explain the many-to-many communication processes evolving (Hoffman & Novak 1996) from Internet communication.However, theorizing and further research needs to extend beyond the process to the structure of attitudes to Internet advertising, as has been proposed by the current research. † Based on the study of the above mentioned literature it can be said that both television advertising and In ternet Advertising have evolved a lot. Television has gone from being one way communication to adopting a more interactive approa ch of advertising by making online websites a part of their advertisements and moving towards recorded television allowing people to skip commercials altogether.Similarly Internet is also continuously evolving, with new forms of advertising becoming popular; it has become crucial to understand that eventually it is up to the consumer to choose what they want to pay attention to and what they chose to remember. Thus making the consumer the king, with the advantages of both the media, it becomes essential to understand what makes the consumer remember the advertisements in one media better than the other and what kind of advertisements work in which type of media. 2. 5 SCOPE FOR TELEVISION & ON-LINE ADVERTISINGThe advertising scenario is dynamic and is changing rapidly. With the digital media gaining more and more importance the advertising campaigns are cr oss channel. Kirchhoff (2009) in her work states that the internet will have to focus on the new developing platforms for advertising and be creative with it in order to gain the consumers attention and retain it. For a better understanding of the consumer and a wider reach, advertisers have to focus on platforms such as social networking and gaming. 23 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETINGOnline advertising is moving towards behavioral marketing, meaning it is based more and more on the information provided by the consumer on various platforms such as facebook or websites where they are registered. Ingis et al (2009) in their report developed for the Advertising Association of America state that a dvertising today is based on the major following fundamentals: Transparency Data safety and sensitivity Consumer control With the growth in interactivity these three aspects of online advertising need to be considered seriously.Further in television Brennon (2011) in his nuerosci entific study of advertising on television states that advertising on television works at a very deep level. Advertising on television is more about creating emotional associations, telling stories & influencing the way we feel about brands rather than creating awareness alone. The study conducted by Brennon (2011) states that television as a medium is more about engagement and thus affects the emotional part of the brain more than the rational part. Brennon argues that what makes television commercials work is the creativity.The advertisers must focus on the fact that the advertisement should be able to tell the story in an emotionally engaging manner, the most effective tool for which is music. The study states that TV as an advertising medium generates almost 30% higher levels of emotional intensity, engagement and detailed long term memory, all of which are indicators of future brand purchase. It also suggests that internet as a medium of advertising is more effective when appea ling to the rational part of our brain and is more attention in terms of visuals. The study further states that launching a campaign which uses television and nternet advertising in a manner that it compliments each other, tends to increase the level of 24 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING engagement, but that is order specific, i. e. first the consumer has to be exposed to television advertisements followed by online reminders or engaging activities. In conclusion, it can be said that, based on the thorough study of the literature that the way the consumer perceives any form of advertising or the medium of advertising is not only content based but also depends on the exposure to the medium, personal needs and wants.The use of emotion and information along with clear feedback or response options are the common links in both television and online advertising. Both the media are functioning on the basis of interactivity and the aim of all advertising it seems has become t o get the consumer to revert back the advertising brand. The study ther efore focuses on finding out the motivational factors which lead the consumer to pay attention to a particular advertisement or respond to it.The study also focuses on understanding a deeper understanding of how entertainment and use of emotion aids recal l and trust in advertising in one medium over another by using qualitative methods. Further the study uses quantitative methods in order to understand the general preference of the consumers of television and online advertising. It analyses the trust, valu e and engagement factors which consumers consider important using an online survey. Having understood how consumers react to different media can have various managerial implications for the companies which have been highlighted in the study later on. . PROPOSITIONS TO BE STUDIED Before commencing the primary study, it is important to understand the propositions being investigated. The through study and analys is of the literature in the above section has highlighted that although a lot has been said about consumer attitude towards advertising, the growth of internet as an advertising medium and the dominance of television, there are no studies in particular which take in the consumers perspective about the advertising in both television and internet as media and account for popularity with the consumers.This study aims to find answers to the following propositions: I. To understand which of television advertising & online advertising is more popular with the consumers? 25 3500576 II. DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING To understand which features of television advertising & online advertising do consumers enjoy? III. To understand why consumers trust advertising in one medium over another? IV. To understand what motivates recall in one medium over another for the consumers? 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This section examines the methods which have been used to carry out the study.A critica l examination of all the methods used has been undertaken to ensure that they are best suited for this study. Proctor (2000) in his book â€Å"Essential of Market Research† defines market resea rch as the disciplined collection and evaluation of specific data, in order to help suppliers understand their consumers better. (Citing: Chisnall, 1992) 4. 1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study has been conducted in order to gain an insight into the consumer understanding and preference of the advertising in Television and online media.Understanding of literature in the previous section suggests that although a lot of research has been conducted in terms of the consumer belief towards a dvertising in different media, there is very limited research available which is indicative of what is the consumer? s evaluation of advertising in the current media and gets the consumer to notice advertising in one medium over another. The study has been conducted in two phases: the exploratory and the des criptive.The study uses a mixed methods approach of marketing research, using quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to understand consumer perspectives on television and online advertising. Johnson et al (2004) in their work state the following advantages of mixed methods approach 26 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING A mixed method approach allows a larger array of questions to be answered more specifically. The use of quantitative and qualitative methods allows the researcher to validate the data in terms of numbers as well as attributes.A mixed methods approach helps increase generalization of the results and use the numbers to validate insights. Can provide stronger evidence by convergence of both results. Bryman (2006) further states that conducting a mixed methods research can be advantageous as it allows the researcher to clarify the nature of their intentions and accomplishments. The study through comparison of trust and popularity of advertising in television and online media helps gain an insight into what the consumers are willing to pay attention to and whether it has any effect on their purchase decision and overall experience further enhancing recall.The quantitative part of the study allows the consumer motivations and preferences be represented in numbers showing a clearer picture of consumer choices of exposure and the quantitative part of the study is reflective of the causes for the choices. 3. 2 RESEARCH DESIGN Churchill (1979) defines research design as the tool for overall guidance for the collection and analysis of data. Research design is very important as it acts as a very critical link between the theory and data collected (Nachmias & Nachmias, 2008).Bryman and Bell (2007, p. 40) state that the research design is reflective of the priority given to the different dimensions of the research process. The research design for this study can be depicted as follows: 27 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETI NG Research Design Exploratory Face to face Interview (6) Descriptive Online Survey (100) In Depth Interviews (4) Figure 9 The research has been conducted in two stages. The first being the exploratory research where the study tries to establish the grounds for the actual study.This phase uses qualitative tools to probe the consumer in order to gain insight into consumer habbits and perceptions relating to television viewing and internet browsing. The study focuses on the consumer specific aspects of television and online advertising to are the consumers aware about and how much attention they pay to these forms of advertising followed by Descriptive research using Quantitative an d Qualitative research about Television Vs Online advertising – the consumer? s perspective. The descriptive phase deals with representing consumer preferences in numbers.Exploratory research can be defined as the study undertaken to identify new problems without any awareness of the nature of the p roblem or to define characteristics or variable which affect the nature of the problem. The exploratory research is used in order to gain insights in to the general nature of the problem and the relevant factors which need to be considered (Aaker, Kumar and Day, 2001). The study uses exploratory research to understand the consumer dynamics and usage of television and internet as media.The exploratory research aims to understand the consumers? usage of television and internet and their perception of features of television and online advertising that the consumers notice and what they like about television and online 28 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING advertising in particular. Since the consumer? s perception of the advertising in both media cannot be gauged, this phase of the study uses unstructured face to face interviews in order to conduct the exploratory research. Aaker, Kumar and Day, 2001) The findings from the exploratory research have been used as the premises for the Descriptive research, by using the findings to design the questionnaire and the in depth interviews. The second phase of the research is Conclusive –Descriptive. According to Aaker, Kumar& Day (2001), descriptive research is widely used in market research to describe systematically a phenomenon, attitude towards an issue, service or programme. Glass & Hopkins (1984) in their work state that descriptive research can be both, qualitative and quantitative.It involves gathering data which is descriptive of an event or situation which can further be organized in to data tables and charts which describe the outcomes of data collection. This phase of the study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. This phase aims to understand which medium is preferred by most consumers in terms of advertising appeal and experience. In this section the study is designed to gain insights into motivating factors which may lead to an inclination towards advertising in one medium over the other.In order to understand over all preference of the consumer, an online survey has been used and in order to understand the possible motivating factors in depth interviews have been conducted. 3. 3 Data Sources The study has been conducted based on relevant sources both secondary and primary. Secondary data has been used to understand the existing theories and consumer perspectives on advertising in general and advertising in different media. Primary data has been collected in order to highlight which of television or internet advertising is more popular among the consumers of today and why?Secondary Data Secondary data refers to the already existing data which has been collected by persons or agencies for purposes other than solving the problem at hand. (Aaker, Kumar & day, 29 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING 2001) Aaker, Kumar& Day (2001) list the following benefits of using secondary data as a part of a research a) It forms the basis of p rimary research and helps understand and define the problem. b) Study of secondary data may provide enough information to resolve the problem. ) Study of secondary data helps understand data collection methods and plan the research accordingly. d) It helps define the population and set criteria for data collection. According to Proctor (2000) secondary data can be either internal: produced within an organization based on its day to day operation or external: collected from a wide variety of sources such as journals, books, trade publication etc outside an organizatio n. Books have been used extensively in the study for underlying theories. The theories have then been validated and their application has been studied through various articles.The study uses secondary data from journals which have been accessed via student resource bases such as EBSCO, EMERALD & SAGE. The books in this study have been accessed via the Lanchester Library at Coventry University. Primary Data Primary data refers to the data which has been collected for the first time in order to address a particular problem or to find answers to particular questions; it is usually conducted by market research institutions, educational institutions, government bodies and independent researchers (Curtis, 2008).Primary data helps the researcher actually gain answers to the research questions and move towards finding a solution to the research problem. It helps identify the relationship between existing variables and also if there are any new factors which need to be considered are brought into light. The primary data for the purpose of the study has been collected using an online survey with 100 Coventry university students and 4 in depth Interviews with Coventry university students. 30 3500576DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING 3. 4 Data Collection Methods Data collection is an important part of this study as it helps fulfill our objectives of trying to find out consumer preferences of television ad vertising and online advertising. For the purpose of this study both quantitative and qualitative methods of da ta collection have been used. a) Quantitative Data The quantitative data plays an important role in this study, as it helps establish the overall preference of the consumers.Johnson (2004) in their work mention advantages of the quantitative data, these have been listed below: It helps validating existing theories and also allows generalization of results. It helps assess cause and effect relationships better. Quantitative data is relatively easy and less time consuming to collect. It is precise in nature and data analysis is simpler. It is relatively independent of researcher bias. The Quantitative data for this study has been collected using an online survey. A Survey has been most often used to undertake descriptive studies.The Survey has been used as a main tool for data collection in this study as it allows the researcher to examine and explain the differences in choi ces and the relationship with factors that affect consumer choices (Saunders et al, 2007). Curtis (2008) states that the type of survey to be conducted depends on various factors such as the number of respondents required for the survey, time constraints, budget constraints &characteristics of the sample population. 31 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETINGThe survey for the purpose of the study is structured and has been designed online. It has been posted out to a database of 100 Coventry University students via social networking sites namely facebook. Couper (2001) in his review of web based surveys states that with the mass reach of internet and the low cost that it offers, internet has become an easier medium for the researcher to reach out to the samples without being bound by geographical or time limitations. This allows the researcher to gain insights into a wider variety of data and reduce to some extent sampling bias.This statement is also backed by Curtis (2008) w ho states that online surveys are particularly advantageous when sending it out to study internet users and they allow the surveys to be completed quicker and with minimal or sometimes no cost at all. T he survey for this study is a structured close ended survey which has been designed using the internet survey website- www. kwiksurveys. com . The survey aims to understand consumer attitudes towards television and online advertising thus the questions have been designed such that each question offers multiple choices.The survey also uses likert scale in order to understand consumer attitude towards online and television advertising (Proctor, 2001). The survey has been attached in the appendix. b) Qualitative data The study uses qualitative methods of data collection in the exploratory as well as descriptive phase. In the exploratory phase, personal interview has been used in order to gain insight in to consumer? s behavior towards advertising on television and internet. The personal interview has been seen as one of the best methods for in home interviews. Proctor, 2001) for the purpose of the study the personal interview has been conducted at home for 6 different people in their homes. The interviews are brief and friendly and don? t last for more than 20 minutes. The interview has been designed so as to understand what the consumers are watching and what are they actually paying attention to in terms of advertising. The interview guide has been attached in the appendix. The personal interviews use a mix of open and closed ended questions. 32 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING For the descriptive phase In depth Interviews have been conducted.Webber and Byrd (2010) define In depth interviews as â€Å"a qualitative research method which uses open ended questions to uncover information on a topic and allows interviewees to express their opinion and ideas in their own words. † Despite the fact that the survey does include questions which measur e consumer attitude, it was important to include in depth interview in the study because survey often relies on the assumption that the interviewees have understood the questions as intended and that the survey is capable of capturing the complete reality (Berg, 2009; Esterberg, 2002) however this may not always be true.Thus the study uses In -depth interviewing which acknowledges the subjective approach of the interviewee and gives them scope for addressing the question as per their reality (Webber & Byrd, 2010). Proctor (2001) states the following advantages of in depth interviews ? There is no group pressure, thus the respondent is free to reveal their true feelings. ? The one to one scenario makes the respondent feel important and valued. ? Respondents can be probed at length to reveal their true feelings and under laying motivation. ? Allows greater scope for non verbal feedback.The in depth interview for the purpose of this study has been conducted with 4 samples, each intervi ew lasts for 30 minutes. The interview uses some projective t echniques. Projective techniques can be defined as techniques which help penetrate individual? s defense mechanisms allowing their true emotions to emerge. (Proctor, 2001) For the purpose of this study word association test and sentence completion test have been used. The respondent is given a series of words or incomplete sentences which they have completed based on what comes to their mind when they think of the word or sentence given. Proctor, 2001) 33 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING The in depth interview has been based on an interview guide which was developed to give a direction to the interviewees. According to Webber and Byrd (2010) an interview guide includes specific questions, topics of interest and ques which can be used in combination thus leaving scope for flexibility of the interviewer. The interview guide helps shape the structure of the interview as per the comfort of the interviewee. The i nterview guide leaves scope for follow up questions and thus making it easier to tap the respondent? s views.The interview guide for the in depth interviews in the study has been attached in the appendix. Furthermore the In depth interviews have been videotaped for the purpose of accuracy in analysis (Webber & Byrd, 2010) with the consent of the respondents, the consent forms for which have been attached in the appendix 3. 5 SAMPLING According to Ross (1978) sampling in educational research is generally conducted to study a part of the population in detail rather than the whole population itself. The information gained from the study of this sample is used to develop generalizations about the population.To sample is to examine a portion of a whole in order to judge the nature of the whole. (Proctor, 2001) The sampling plan used to choose the sample for both the survey and in depth interview is based on the model given by Proctor (2001) Defining the Target population Developing a sam ple frame Selecting a sample design Figure 10 34 Defining the sample size Selecting the sample members 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Sample Population: The sample population for this study is students of Coventry University, UK. The population has been defined by Proctor (2001) as the sum total of what is being measured.Sampling method: for the purpose of this study, the Sampling method used is non-probability judgment sampling. Proctor (2001) defines judgment sampling as the sampling based on the purpose. Ross (1978) states that â€Å"The process of judgment, or purposive, sampling is based on the assumption that the researcher is able to select elements which represent a „typical sample? from the appropriate target population. † For the purpose of this study the judgment was based on the usage of internet for over 2 hours. Over 150 respondents were contacted for the purpose of the study of which 100 responses were successfully received and evaluated.S ample size: the sample size for the online survey is 100. For the exploratory phase a sample size of 6 personal interviews has been used. The sample size for in depth interviews in the descriptive phase is 4. The samples fall in the age group between16-45. The samples belong from different nationalities. For the purpose of this study they have been asked to mention their ethnicity, which can be categorized as Asian, British, African and other. The samples are students pursuing bachelors and masters degree. 3. 6 DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS The data analysis for the study uses tabulation.According to Proctor (2001) tabulation involves laying out data in easy to understand summarized tables. Patterns in the data can be easily identified and are easier to represent in the form of graphs. The data collected from the survey has been converted in to a table using Microsoft excel. The data collected from personal interviews and in depth interviews has been recorded with the due permission of the pa rticipants and transcribed. The data transcribed has been analysed using content analysis and study of semiotics. Content analysis has been used in order to understand common themes which emerge in terms of the consumer? perception of advertising in both the media (Weber, 1990). Semiotics has 35 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING been used in order to look out for signs and body language during the interviews which are indicative of any sort of attitude or emotion towards advertising in television or online media. These tools however cannot be used as complete proof of the consumers attitude towards the subject, and thus will only be used to highlight the common possible themes and gain insights into possibly existing attitudes. 3. 7 DATA REPRESENTATIONThe results and data interpreted for the study have been represented using tables, graphs and diagrams. 3. 8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY There are no major limitations to the study. The study is a low risk project and has bee n approved by the supervisor. An ethics form stating the same has been attached in the appendix. The limitations for this study can be stated as follows: Because of Judgment sampling, there could have been a sense of bias based on the exposure of the researcher to target population. The researcher may have passed the survey around to a known group of samples belonging to the target population.The in depth interview has been conducted with only 4 participants due to lack of time, thus they may not represent the views of everyone on the whole. Each respondent of the interview has subjective views based on their experience thus they cannot be used as a standard measure to judge the attitude of an entire population. 5. DATA ANALYSIS 5. 1 RESULTS OF THE EXPLORATORY RESEARCH The exploratory research was conducted with six people who were interviewed face to face. During the course of the conversation the suggested the respondents suggested 36 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING hat being students they usually end up browsing online more than they spend time watching television. One of the respondents said that â€Å"I enjoy watching some advertisements on television in between programmes only if they are funny. † While another said that â€Å"I cannot really sit through commercials, I end up getting up for tea or something. † The results of the exploratory research highlighted the following areas to be focused on for the descriptive phase of the research: The emotional and rational aspects of the advertisemnts need to be understood based on the media.For example one of the respondents said that â€Å"I prefer clicking on an internet advertisement because I am bound to find some relevant information there whereas TV advertisement is just a form of entertainment for me. Online advertisements are easier to avoid but they offer better deals. For example one of the respondents said â€Å"I can simply close an advertisement and carry on, at the same time if it has a great discounts or deal to offer I will have the option to look up the deal and even make the purchase then and there.The focus has to be on understanding the attitude of the respondents towards the advertising in TV and Internet and defining a definite preference for one over the other. 5. 2RESULTS & FINDINGS OF THE ONLINE SURVEY The survey was completed in the duration of 5 weeks starting 20th November 2011 and ending 28th December 2011. The results were extracted from the website www. kwiksurveys. com in the form of a pdf which gives detailed understanding of the overall responses to each question. Further an excel sheet giving an overview of individual responses to each question has been extracted both of which has been attached in the appendix. 7 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Based on the online survey, the study found that most of the students who filled in the survey were Asian followed by equal number of Africans and British. Most stude nts were in their 20? s. 7. 22 % 7. 22 % 80. 41 % 5. 15% Asian African British Other Figure 11 Based on the data collected it can be said that over all students spend more time browsing on the internet these days rather than watching television. Most students watch television for 0-2 hours. The comparison of time spent watching television in day to time spent browsing online is depicted in the figure below: 8 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Time spent watching tv vs browsing online 100 78. 35 27. 27 80 2. 06 60 6. 19 13. 4 40 0-2 hrs 22. 22 29. 29 2-4 hrs 4-6 hrs 21. 21 20 more than 6 hrs 0 Time spent watching TV Time spent Browing Internet Figure 12 60% of the sample who took the survey said that they skipped advertisements shown on television. Despite the high number of people skipping advertisements, the advertisements which people found most appealing were humorous ones; in second place were the ones which offered deals & discounts followed by the ad vertisements using emotional appeals. of people who skip Tv advverts 38. 78 yes 61. 22 Figure 13 39 no 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Type of Television advertisement found appealing 100 80 61. 62 60 40 16. 16 20 11. 11 10. 1 1. 01 0 Tv Ad Appeals Humorous Deals Emotional Social messages Ads for websites Figure 14 61. 62% of the people said that they found humorous advertisements easier to remember. Further they said that 16. 16% people remembered advertisements which offer deals and discounts.Cline & Kellaris (2007) concluded in their work that when humor is well related to the message of the advertisement not only aids brand recall but also increases consumer? s ad recall.