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Group Dynamics as an important aspect in life
Group Dynamics as an important aspect in life
Group dynamics is a very important aspect in life and as such people will always form groups to achieve specific objectives. One of the key drivers in a group will be the goals that members set for themselves. For Jonathan’s group to function normally all the members must exhibit common goals that they intend to achieve as this will lead to greater cooperation among the members of the group. I would therefore strongly recommend that all the members are guided by the common goal of investment which they must all subscribe to. This would increase the sense of ownership and enhance participation by all the members of the group. Johnson and Johnson have identified the seven aspects that should influence the operations of any group and as such all the seven aspects must be manipulated in a particular way to make the group more effective. They are discussed below:
Goals:
As mentioned above members of Jonathan’s group must work under common goals and in this case they should all subscribe to the three options that have been presented, that is real estate, a limousine service and a liquor store. Common goals will inspire members and help them realize their individual goals. The first step for Jonathan’s group will therefore be to prioritize which of the three should come first. In my opinion, the group should start with the easiest of the three; a liquor store. This is due to the fact that it is the least capital intensive, and beginning with it will help build trust within the group and allow them to invest more time and money towards achieving the other two goals. Investment goals must have a specific measure and value hence the members must determine the value that will be derived from this investment. Once the overall value of capital required to start is determined, there will be a need to divide these figures between the group members and set individual targets for everyone. The chances of achievement of these undertakings must be very clear and lastly the members must set specific time lines within which they are going to meet their targets.
Once the goals and targets have been refined, the members must also consider the aspect of communication, leadership and participation as well as power and influence. These are very critical attributes that guide the running of a group. Within Jonathan’s group, there certainly is leadership. It however feels as if participation and communication is lacking. The best way to remedy this would be to ensure each group member is assigned a particular task, which will then contribute towards the achievement of the overall group objectives, thus not only improving participation, but also communication in the sense that each member will feel more a part of the group due to the responsibilities they have been accorded, fostering confidence in each other and thus improving communication.
As the leader of the group, I feel that Jonathan does have the necessary influence and power and influence necessary for the smooth running of the group. It would however be wise to institute some sort of board that can govern the overall running of the group as it would create some checks on Jonathan’s authority and ensure he does not overstep his mandate. Constituting this board would also ensure that matters such as conflict management and decision making are not left to an individual. In addition it may also help in avoiding or sorting out of controversial issues.
All in all Jonathan’s group is on the right track, but still needs some fine tuning if it is to achieve its objectives and cope with the various obstacles it is bound to face. Incorporating the various recommendations given, will definitely take the group closer to its goals and make it a stronger unit.
Prison System and the Society
Prison System and the Society
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The criminal justice system in any society is anchored on a belief that prison will not only punish offenders, but correct them so that when they re-enter the society after serving their terms, they would have been reformed. Therefore, locking them away, and denying them certain rights and freedoms is thought to deter not only them, but also other members of the society from commission of crimes. On this score, prison is therefore beneficial to the society.
However, there is a growing mass of evidence to suggest that prison is failing to reform inmates and keep crime rates down. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (2006) reports that about 62 percent of all prison inmates who are released in the United States, are again rearrested within three years. Gaynes (2005) blames this situation on the fact that the society is in most cases ill prepared to welcome the released inmates through support structures such as job programmes and counseling services. They therefore have to face a hard life which may force them into crime to make ends meet. On the other hand, exposure to violent criminals coupled with the psychological trauma that comes with incarceration may end up hardening the criminals. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (2006), most of the nonviolent offenders will not be nonviolent by the time they reenter society. What this means is that the safety of the society which was to improve as a result of prison, is compromised the more.
It is therefore clear that the society cannot rely on prison walls alone to correct the inmates. The society should play an even greater role at reforming the inmates, so that at the end of their prison terms, they are able to quit crime. Gaynes (2005), is of the opinion that the society should provide the assistance prisoners need to fit back into the society. This support should be offered during and after incarceration. This assistance may involve visiting the inmates during their terms, offering counseling services, drug treatment and training in job skills. These kinds of services are sometimes difficult for the authorities to avail at the prison. This may perhaps call for the criminal justice system to be more aligned towards community based sanctions rather than incarcerations (Gaynes, 2005).The community will therefore play an active role in not only reforming, but also helping the criminals turn over a new leaf.
References
Gaynes, E. (2005). Reentry: Helping Former Prisoners Return to Communities. Baltimore: The
Annie E. Casey Foundation.
United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. (2006).Custodial and Non-Custodial
Measures. Vienna: United Nations
The Fashion Industry
The Fashion Industry
Whenever the word fashion is mentioned there is always a stereotypical process that follows. The thoughts that come into mind include snobby attitudes, supermodels on catwalks, expensive clothes and of course money. Despite all these people fail to understand is that there is more to the industry than what they think. Fashion is a social force that is usually underestimated but it is quite effective. The fashion industry comprises of a mass amount of places, people including buyers, sellers and many different types of stores. I choose the fashion market since it can be found virtually anywhere and everywhere since there are so many people involved (Pereira, 2012).
There are various factors that affect the fashion market. Some of these factors include macroenvironmntal factors. These are factors that are beyond the company’s jurisdiction. Business owners have little or no control over these external factors and therefore they have a minimal impact in changing them. In fact business owners are forced to adapt these microenvironment factors in order for the business to stay relevant in the fashion market. The important macroenvironantal factor within the fashion market is consumer characteristics. Consumer behavior tries to examine the buying behavior of consumers in a specific market. Consumer behavior will therefore enable one understand why individuals buy specific goods and at the same time why they opt not to buy the goods from the market (Deschamps, & Walker, 2012). Consumer micro environmental factors include cultural factors, norms, lifestyles, demographics and population changes. The paper will focus on cultural factors such as beliefs, values, norms and folkways which affect consumer preferences and behavior within the fashion market.
The buying decision of consumers is influenced by various factors cultural factors being one of the most important of them. Cultural factors include set of values and ideologies that have been set within a particular community.it an individual’s culture that determines how they behave.in simple terms culture is nothing short of the values an individual holds. Culture is termed as a handed down way of life which is considered as having a great influence on the behavior of consumers. But how are the beliefs and attitudes created? When a child is growing up they are influenced by their parents, siblings and other family members who teach them what is perceived as right or wrong ( Suttle, 2010).Children learn about their culture that helps them in the development of their own beliefs and attitudes .what a child learns from their parents and relatives ends up being their culture.an individuals culture gives a prescription on how they are supposed to live thus greatly influencing the things they buy. Culture is seen to build the value of the society an individual’s vein which ends up driving a person’s style. Deviation of a particular dressing sense is not only seen as being imprudent but it is also toilsome. Today, it is a common trend to promote a specific kind of dressing which advocates and promotes a specific culture and its unity in a nation (Yakup, Mucahit, & Reyhan, 2011)
Many people hold the belief that clothes are not just a necessity but they are a representation of cultures and beliefs of people. With this in mind people will focus on buying of clothes which they perceive as being a representation of their culture. You will find that consumers will only buy a specific type of clothing simply because other people in their community are wearing that .they associate the specific clothes with their culture and therefore their preference and behavior towards those particular clothing is greatly influenced by their cultural beliefs. They view these clothes as a form of expression their culture and that is the main reason why they wear them. For instance saris are a common cloth among the Indians.it is a representation of the Indian culture and therefore those who wear saris. Women Indian has grown up wearing saris and they take it as a representation of their culture. Therefore when they wear the saris they feel as though they are full Indians and they have represented their culture fully as required ( Ijaz , 2013).
Cultural factors therefore have a significant role in any individuals buying decision everyone has their own sets of habits, principle and beliefs which they develop from their family from their childhood and ends up becoming their culture. When it comes to the fashion market we can say that cultural factors play quite a significant role when it comes to the consumers buying decisions. There decision on whether to buy a specific cloth will be majorly influenced by their cultural beliefs. The cultural beliefs also impact the preferences individuals have when it comes to the specific clothing they wear and hence buy.
An example is females who stay in Asam have preference of buying saris as compared to the westerners. This is because it is the culture of these females from Assam to put on Sires which is not the case for westerners. Therefore these females from these regions would prefer buying saris and not any other clothing. This means that no matter what form of marketing or advertising to carry out for other clothing apart from saris there will be no market for these clothing apart from saris .those who are in the fashion industry within the regions where wearing saris is a way of life have no option than to sell saris and nothing else. This would be quite different in European countries where saris are not that common. People in western countries have no cultural ties to saris thus do not buy or wear them.it could be quite useless to open a big store for selling saris in a western country knowing very well that there is no preference to this particular type of clothing.
There are some regions where culture does not allow women to wear trousers.in such regions trousers are only meant for men and they are the only ones who are allowed by culture to put on trousers. Therefore in such regions it is clear that women can not be found buying or wearing trousers.in such a region the behavior of women not wearing trousers is culturally determined. There will be no market for trousers for women in that area thus it would be a waste of time to even venture into the manufacturing of trousers for women.
There are also areas where it is culturally unacceptable for women to wear any short clothes or clothes that are reveling.in such areas women are allowed to wear long clothes that are decent and do not show any part of the body. This is a common culture in Asian countries. There is no where you can walk in streets of such countries and come across a woman who is wearing short clothing.it means that the preference of the long clothing has been created by the cultural factors .in western countries particularly during summer skimpy clothes are acceptable. This is something that is unheard of in countries that have strict cultural beliefs and norms.in countries like Lebanon, Beirut it is common to see women wearing miniskirts.in these countries there are no cultural restrictions when it comes to women wearing miniskirts. However this is quite different in a country such as Afghanistan, a woman found wearing a miniskirt could face bodily harm or eventually death. What is acceptable for women in Afghanistan is burgas which cover them completely from their head to their toes.in the same way women in Saudi Arabia are expected to put on abaya or very long black garments. This is why abayas have become great business in this country over the years .this is because there is no other acceptable clothing that culture in Afghanistan allows. This means that this is the only marketable form of clothing in the region which is acceptable culturally.
Within cultures there are also some subcultures that might have an influence of the markets and purchasing behavior. A subculture is a group of people that are from a different dominant culture but usually a specific thing in common like job, religion, common interest, ethnic background and so on. For instance a particular job can be a subculture that influences the fashion market. This is because there is some particular clothing that is acceptable in a specific line of duty while others are completely unacceptable. An example is decent clothing that is required for anyone who is working in an office.one is expected to wear a nice suite and some clothes which can be termed as indecent are not acceptable in such areas. Therefore, the subcultures also have a great influence on the buyer’s decisions when it comes to the fashion industry.
Clothing manufactures should ensure that they create styles that are appealing to different cultures particularly when the cultural groups are a representation of a large segment of the fashion market. Those in the clothing industry should also ensure that they do not create clothes that fall outside the society norms .for instance it would not be logical for the continued manufacturing of clothes that were worn over 100 years ago. These clothes would not have any market today if they were made since they are outdated.no one especially the youth would wear anything that they peers term as outdated ( Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 2011).
The youth normally like to go with the trends and fashion. They have created their youth culture whereby they have some form of clothing that is acceptable to them .it is not common for you to find the youth especially in western countries to wear loosely fitting clothes. The youth like wearing clothes that is tightly fitting to their bodies. This is a culture they have created among them and it is only acceptable by them. The older generation find some of the clothes the youth wear to be quite indecent. However, the youth often do not care provided this is what is acceptable by their peers.
Globalization has contributed to the growth of fashion industry and marketplace attractions have become a significant driving force to the cultural attributes of consumers along various segments of consumers. A focus on cultural values, consumer preferences and the intention of purchase towards the fashion products is a very critical issue that those in the fashion market face today.
Most of those in in the fashion industry are trying to counter intercultural differences and ensure that they build cultural consonance along the consumer segments in a variety of context which will lead to the stimulation of interest in fashionable clothing. If the retailers and manufactures of fashion apparel correctly identify the preferences of their target consumers they will end up attracting and maintaining this target consumer group (Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 2011).
References
Deschamps,S.& Walker,L,J.(2012). Tokyo fashion: cultural factors and the appeal of dynamic Japan.Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://moderntokyotimes.com/2012/01/17/tokyo-fashion-cultural-factors-and-the-appeal-of-dynamic-japan/Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management (2011) Consumer culture and purchase intentions toward fashion apparel in Mexico. Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://www.palgrave-journals.com/dbm/journal/v18/n4/full/dbm201133a.htmlSuttle,R.(2010). The Macroenvironmental Factors Affecting the Clothing Industry. Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/macroenvironmental-factors-affecting-clothing-industry-37254.htmlmanagementstudyguide.com(2013). Cultural Factors affecting Consumer Behavior. Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/cultural-factors-affecting-consumer-behaviour.htmYakup,D,.Mucahit,C.,& Reyhan,O.(2011)The impact of cultural factor on the consumer buying behaviors examined through an empirical study.
Ijaz , M.(2013). Factors that Affect the Clothing Choices of Women in New Era. Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/39/3803/factors-that-affect-the-clothing-choices-of-women-in-new-era2.aspLawan,L.& Zanna,R.().Evaluation of soci-cultural factors influencing consumer buying behavior of clothes in Borno Stae,Nigeria.Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://www.insikapub.com/Vol-01/No-03/07IJBAS%281%29%283%29.pdfPereira, M.(2012).Fashion marketing and theory: Chapter 5:Factors that influence the clothes buying decision. Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://www.academia.edu/368361/FASHION_MARKETING_and_THEORY_Chapter_5_FACTORS_THAT_INFLUENCE_THE_CLOTHES_BUYING_DECISION Harder, C.(2010). Why Fashion Matters to You. Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://www.qideas.org/blog/why-fashion-matters-to-you.aspxeTwinning.(2013).clothing and culture.Retrieved October 11,2013 from http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/collaborate/kits/detail.cfm?id=362&klang=en&lang=en