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Literature review Reducing the rate of SSBs consumption
Literature review: Reducing the rate of SSBs consumption
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Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980768” 1.Introduction PAGEREF _Toc372980768 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980769” 2.History of sugar sweeteners PAGEREF _Toc372980769 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980770” 3.Sugar-sweetened beverages in America PAGEREF _Toc372980770 h 4
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980771” 4.Correlation between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity PAGEREF _Toc372980771 h 6
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980772” 5.Reducing the rate of SSBs consumption PAGEREF _Toc372980772 h 7
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980773” 5.1 Moderate taxation of sugar sweetened beverages PAGEREF _Toc372980773 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980774” 5.2 Extreme tax on SSBs PAGEREF _Toc372980774 h 9
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980775” 6.Media influence in SBBs consumption PAGEREF _Toc372980775 h 10
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980776” 7.Banning of SSBs in schools PAGEREF _Toc372980776 h 14
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980777” 8.Participation of beverage manufacturers PAGEREF _Toc372980777 h 14
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372980778” 9.Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc372980778 h 15
Introduction
The available statistics on consumption of caloric sweeteners indicates that between 1977 and 19996, the consumption of SSBs increased by 22% while between 1994 and 1996 the consumption increased by 30% (John & Chad, 2012). Currently, the most common source of the added sugar is non-diet soft drinks which account for half of the total added sugars in the American diet. Soft drink includes products as fruit drinks, lemonade and iced tea. Beside soft drinks, consumption of fruit drinks and fruitades are equally common especially in children and young children. The literature review focuses on the potential that can be used to reduce the rate of SSBs consumption, in the American context.
History of sugar sweetenersAccording to Apovian (2004) sugar derived from sugar cane was first developed in India and New Guinea and then the concept spread to Europe and Americas. Sugarcane was brought to the Americas and the Caribbean Islands by the Christopher Columbus. At the time, sugar was a very precious commodity, but afterwards mass production, increased its availability to the public. Today, sugar is a common ingredient in foods and drinks. Before introduction of sugar in diet, people normally depended on starch-based alternatives such as barley, wheat, oats, and rye. High-fructose corn syrup was introduced in the American market in 1970s and is preferred to normal sugar due to its long shelf life and is used in soft drinks, fruit punches, pastries and processed foods. According to Apovian (2004) both sugar and high fructose corn syrup have increased calories intake among the Americans population by 30% over the pat 40 years. With increased consumption of sugar, researchers have started becoming wary of its effects on peoples’ lives.
Sugar-sweetened beverages in AmericaSugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contain added sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and caloric sweeteners. They have become prevalent in America, where they are found to provide the general population with empty-calories besides being a major contributor to the current obesity epidemic. According to Babey, Wolstein and Goldstein (2013) for the pasts 50 years consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverage has increased by 500% and the rate of consumption of SSBs in children is higher than that of milk. The available statistics suggest that SSBs account for 10-15% of total daily calories in children. Given the negative effects of Sugar Sweetened Beverage in children past efforts have bee taken by organizations such as the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation to remove sweetened products in schools and replacing them with lower-calorie drinks.
Looking globally, the consumption of SSBs has been on the rise. In Mexico, the rise in the consumption of the SBBs has forced the government to take serious interventions while in China, India, Vietnam, and South Asian countries positive consumption trajectories have been reported. Incidences of obesity vary according to many factors including age, gender, education, and geographic distribution. In this regard, obesity menace is likely to affect elderly patients and thus consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages for members of this group should be discouraged. On the other hand, women have higher obesity rates than men. This means that adults, especially women should limit their daily SSBs consumption because they are more likely to gain weight than men. The level of family income also determines the level of SSBs consumption and ultimately the risk of obesity. In this regard, person from poor backgrounds are more predisposed to using sugar-sweetened beverages and hence are more susceptible to becoming overweight and obese. Babey, wolstein and Goldstein (2013) attribute this outcome to the fact that persons from poor backgrounds have low education and food knowledge, compared to their counterparts from high income families.
The available literature has investigated the prevalence of SSBs consumption in the society. Data released by the World Health Organization indicates that more one billion adults are overweight with a BMI of more ≥25 while 300 million people are obese with a BMI of ≥ 30. In the U.S. about 130 million are obese, and indication that the country accounts for a huge proportion of obesity cases in the world. These trends are worrying given that obesity is associated with negative outcomes such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, prostrate cancer and depression. A study conducted by Ogden and Carrol (proposal) indicates that in America is obese and suggests that increased consumption of SSBs is likely to increase the already high obesity rates. The high levels of obesity in the country negatively impacts on the resources available. Already, the U.S. government spends more than $147 billion for the treatment of obesity-related ailments and this account for almost 10% of the total health care expenditure. At the same time, obesity is associated with lost of productivity costs. This ie because obese employees are more likely to miss work more that health works due to health-related problems and work for less hours. The employers are affected by the obesity menace as they are forced to pay higher in premium for employees diagnosed with obesity. A recent study conducted by John and Chad (2012) provides us with worrying statistics which illustrate the gravity of the obesity menace. According to John and Chad (2012) obesity-related ailments account for a fifth of the national health expenditures and while another one conducted by Rappange, Brouwer, Hoogenveen and Baal (2009) suggest that life-time drug expenditures for the obese persons is higher than for the healthy ones. This comprehensive study further concluded that obesity prevention significantly reduces drug expenditures and this one of the ways in which the government can be able to reduce the increasing health-care expenditure.
Correlation between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesityThere are many studies that have examined the associations between consumption of SSBs and risk of diabetes. Schulze et al. (2004) used a sample of 116,671 women aged between 22-44 to examine the relation between SSBs consumption and weight change. Follow up studies were carried out between 1991 and 1999, and Schulze et al. (2004) concluded that there is a positive relation between SSBs consumption and weight gain and incidences of obesity. On the other hand, Vasanti, Mathias and Fran (2007) conducted a systematic review to investigate the effects of SSBs consumption on the health of the consumers. The systematic review included fifteen cross-sectional studies, all of which confirmed the positive association between consumption of SSBs and body weight gain, and risk of obesity. The studies involved in this systematic review all had strong methodologies and underwent a strict selection criterion. In addition, all the studies have large sample population, thus allowing the researchers to obtain conclusive evidence. The effects of the SSBs are also captured in a study by Dubois, Framer, Girard and Peterson (2007). In the study, a sample population of 1,944 schools going children was used and the data was collected through qualitative methods and then a multivariate regression analysis was conducted. As expected, the study conduced that regular SSBs consumption puts young children at a higher risk for obesity. The study challenge parents to limit the number of SSBs they give to their children. Research evidence for reducing SSBs in children is again given by Bellisle and Drewnowski (2007) in a study who sample population was aged between 2 and 5 years. Bellisle and Drewnowski (2007) evaluated the longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between SSBs consumption and weight gain and found out children in this age bracket should decrease SSBs consumption for healthy living.
While the available studies have established a positive association between SSBs consumption and obesity, a few have examined the biological mechanisms leading to weigh gain. Bellisle and Drewnowski (2007) believe that SSBs lead to decreased satiety and incomplete compensatory reduction in energy intake in the subsequent meals. On the other hand, sucrose, and high-fructose corn syrups, lead to high dietary glacemic load and hence a higher risk for diabetes mellitus type 2 and cardiovascular diseases. The available literature has also found out that SSBs promotes accumulation of intra-abdominal adiposity and other unintended consequences. To prevent the high risk for obesity, the American Hearty Association recommends a daily intake of 100-5150 kcal and other alternatives such as consumption of water. Beside obesity, consumption sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with multiple obesity-related co morbidities such as hypertension, and cardiovascular diastase. Experts believe that increased calorie intake, not only leads to hypertension and also stroke, heart failure and myocardial infraction.
Reducing the rate of SSBs consumptionIt is apparent that there is strong epidemiologic and clinical evidence linking SSBs and increased risk of obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities. From the above section, it is also apparent that there is need to provide school children with proper diet with low calories. This fact is exemplified by Babey, wolstein and Goldtsein (2013) in an article titled, still bubbling: California adolescents drinking more soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages. In this study, which was conducted in California, Babey, wolstein and Goldstein (2013 found out that consumption of SSBs in adolescents and children is still unacceptably high and SSBs are inferior compared to solid foods because they are associated with decreased intake of nutritious and more healthy foods. The study further found out that social and environmental factors are contributing to the increased consumption of SSBs. The article offers helpful suggestions such as educating children and parents about the health effects of SSBs. Despite these findings, it is apparent that there is limited literature on the interventions that can be used to reduce the higher obesity rates. This literature review, seeks to feel gaps by critically examining some of the potential measures that could prove helpful.
5.1 Moderate taxation of sugar sweetened beveragesBrownell et al. (2009) gives us irrefutable evidence on the adverse effects of sugar-sweetened beverages and then goes ahead to propose a tax system that could promote good nutrition and the national government to recover the additional healthcare costs associated with their consumption. According to Brownwell et al. (2009) an appropriate tax system has a potential of reducing the intake of beverages and this conclusion is based on the fact that changes in relative prices of foods and beverages will lead to changes in how much people consume. In this regard, Brownell et al. (2009) observes that a 10% increase in prices of sugar-sweetened beverages will translate to a 11% reduction in the consumption rate while Apovian (2004) argues that a 10% increase in the price of fast food, is associated with a 6% reduction in adolescent obesity. At the same time, researchers have established that an increase in SSB prices could increase consumption of healthier beverages such as milk and tea. Ultimately, increased consumption of healthier diets will reduce the prevalence of overweight among adults and children.
At the moment, most of the states only levy a sales tax on SSBs products and this situation can be improved on by placing an excise tax of 1% per ounce for beverages. Alternatively as Brownell et al. (2009) suggests the government could levy an excise tax on SSBs that exceed a threshold of grams of added caloric sweetener. The extra revenue generated could then be used to run obesity-prevention programs. While this idea could be appropriate, it could be prove inadequate as obesity-related prevention programs should be multipronged rather than increasing taxes on SSBs only.
Although research indicates that modest taxation on SSBs products could lead to a reduction in obesity levels, some studies tend to differ. A study by Powell, Chriqui, and Chaloupka (2009) found no association between modest taxes and adolescent weight outcomes. Just to illustrate this point, it is well acknowledged that in most states, SSBs attract higher sales tax, than other food products at 5.2%. However, despite this higher tax relative to other products in the same category, the level of consumption of SSBs is still high. The results of this study are reinforced by Kim (2009) who argues that modest taxes may not be result in a relative change in SSBs consumption. The results of these two studies, suggests that the government the needs to use stricter tax regimes in order to achieve tangible results as far as reduction of obesity in the society is concerned.
5.2 Extreme tax on SSBsThe limited research available shows that moderate taxation may not be effective in obesity prevention. These findings suggest that maybe states and government should consider levying extremely high taxes, either through excise tax to increase sales tax. The effectiveness of such a strategy is discussed in an article titled, 20% tax on sugary drinks would help cut obesity researchers say. In this article, medical researchers from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges support a high tax on coca-cola, Pepsi, Fanta and other sugar-sweetened products. While supporting this move, researchers associate the 20% tax increase with a 1 % reduction in obesity cases. Those who are most likely to benefit from this strategy are those aged between 16 and29 while the government would be able to realize higher revenue. The additional revenue would be used to subsidize the prices of nutritional foods such as fruits and vegetable. Already countries such as Hungary, Finland and France have introduced high taxes on SSBs. While the information contained in this article is important, the information it contains is not supported by hard data.
It seems the proposal to levy SSBs high taxes is not supported by manufacturers as they would loose profitability due to high customer churn rate. To examine the likely impact of charging high taxes rather than modest prices, Maria et al. (2013) conducted a systematic review. In the study, Maria et al. (2013) used research articles from credible databases published between January 2000 and January 2013. Majority of the articles satisfied the selection criteria and showed that higher taxes on SSBs would translate to a decrease in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity.
The effectiveness of high taxation on SSBs is revisited in an article titled, taxation prevention and as a treatment for obesity: the case of sugar-sweetened beverages. The article supports the introduction of high taxes on nutrient-poor products in order to nudge the customers towards healthier feeds. Novak and Brownell (2011) are disappointed that currently, the level of taxation on SSBs is very low, to affect consumer behavior. According to Novak and Brownell (2011) tax reduction of 20% would lead to an average weight reduction of 3.8 pounds per year for adults. In addition, this level of taxation would result in a 30% to 33% reduction of obesity incidences in the country. From these results, it is apparent that the obesity epidemic in the country can only be resolved through introduction of high taxes and not moderate taxes. However, the strategy is unlikely to work due to the stiff opposition from the players in the beverage industry.
Media influence in SBBs consumptionOne of the powerful tools that have been used to market the SBBs is the media. The importance of the media to businesses is well investigated by Berger (2004). Advertising is an important part of the American society and is a useful tool in portraying a particular attribute about a product or a service. Whether print or non-print, advertisements are supposed to attract consumers within a particular segment, and then stimulate action that results in the actual purchase of products and services being advertised. SSBs manufacturers will go to any extent to sell their products and services. As of now, consumers are becoming increasingly careful of what they eat, and some of the manufacturers are advertising their products to be healthy while they are not. This whole issue is related to the concept of branding and the use of marketing mix elements, which are important in conveying the right information to the buyers to help them make healthier food choices. According to Chrysochou (2010) most of the media tools that are used during branding of foods are primary communication channels and secondary channels. At the same time, the manufacturers use innovative strategies such as celebrity endorsements to endear their products to the consumers.
One of fundamental questions concerning the consumption of the SSBs is why consumers continue using the products, knowing too well their harmful effects. The answer to this question can be found in the article titled, communication on food, health and nutrition. According to Gram, De la Ville, Le Roux, Boireau and Rampnoux (2010) the beverage industry uses a lot resource in marketing their products. One of the common strategies used by the large companies such Coca-Cola is differentiation of their products. Currently, the company offers a wide range of products to suit the needs of different customers’ needs. The company has sizable market share in the fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, iced tea and vitamin-enriched water markets.
To increase the penetration of their products, the players in the food industry depends on the market segmentation. Through micro-segmentation they are able to fulfill particular characteristics of the target population and according to Gram, De la Ville, Le Roux, Boireau and Rampnoux (2010) the young population is segmented by gender, lifestyles and values. The other concept, as discussed by Gram, De la Ville, Le Roux, Boireau and Rampnoux (2010) is the use marketing positioning concept which allows consumers to identify products or bands. The players in the beverage industry depend on the functional and symbolic dimensions to sell different products and services to their wide clientele. The symbolic dimension is particularly important among the young people as they are sensitive to particular characteristics and values unlike the consumers in the other age groups. The marketing mix used by the beverages industries vary according to the type of the product being sold. In this regard, the soft drinks market targets the young consumers and to increase the consumption of products and service in this segment, the players in the food industry use multi-platform marketing. Likewise, energy drinks target the young population, and to increase their consumption, the food industry primarily uses the celebrity endorsement strategy. To promote the consumption of the soft drinks beverage manufacturers uses the similar strategy of celebrity endorsements.
While media can be used to popularize the use of SSBs it can also be used to influence good consumer choices. The effectiveness of the media in the reduction of SSBs consumption is well discussed in the article titled, developing media interventions to reduce household sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. In this article Jordan, Piotrowski, Bleakley and Mallya (2012) used a sample drawn from Philadelphia and the researchers used an integrative model to determine the most cost-effective message content. Jordan, Piotrowski, Bleakley and Mallya (2012) determined that effective messages should highlight concerns such as child weight gain in order to increase the intention to reduce SSBs.
Beside the use of mainstream media, studies have investigated whether social media could be used in the promotion of health behaviors in children and school going children. It is well acknowledged that consumers have huge access to the internet and social media tools and these social networks can be used to disseminate information to the most affected persons in the society. The results of 8 randomized trials support the use of internet-base interventions especially among children and adolescents who are heavy consumers of SSBs. The results of these studies indicate that social interventions can effectively be used to promote positive behaviors such as weight loss, reduction of the BMI, physical activity and natural diet intake. However, these studies used small samples, and the length of follow-ups was short hence the need to conduct further research using larger samples.
An alternative to using social media tools would be to regulate initiate federal regulations to limit consumption of SSBs. Only recently, the Council of the Better Business Bureau established guidelines to direct child-related advertisements. The use of federal regulation to regulate children-related advertisements is reinforced by Wiecha, Peterson, Ludwig, Kim, Sobol, and Gortmaker (2006) in a study conducted among 6th and 7th grade studies. According to Wiecha, Peterson, Ludwig, Kim, Sobol, and Gortmaker (2006) high rates of TV viewing translates to higher total calories, while low rates of TV viewing leads to lower total calories intake among the adolescents. The other available research on this issue concur that television marketing influences the short-term consumption of children aged between 2 and 11 years. Wiecha, Peterson, Ludwig, Kim, Sobol, and Gortmaker (2006) proposed a model to examine the likely effect if SSBs advertisements were banned, and found out that it would reduce prevalence of obesity by 2% and BMI by 0.38 kg/m2. Based on these results, some of the schools have taken deliberate measures to limit TV exposure to children and a good example is the State of Maine School Advertising Policy which prohibits brand-specific advertising in school building. Likewise in San Francisco, the Commercial Free School Act prohibits adverting of commercial products including SSBs within San Francisco Unified School District.
Banning of SSBs in schoolsFor long, school children have had unfettered access to SSBs but for the past few years some states and school districts have initiated policies to restrict these younger users. However, while such policies could limit access to SSBs they do not reduce their consumption. These findings are supported by a study performed by researchers led by Taber, Chriqui, Powell, and Chaloupka (2012). In this study, 6,900 students were surveyed in 40 different states and concluded state and school police are not associated with a reduction in consumption sweetened beverages (Taber, Chriqui, Powell, & Chaloupka, 2012). The results of these finding suggest that maybe schools and the authorities should rather use education programs to inform potential consumers about the negative effects of the SSBs. The effects of the school education programs are well documented in the study by James, Thomas, Cavan and Kerr (2004). In the study, use of school education programs led to a significant decrease in SSBs consumption and other positive outcomes. These results are replicated in a different study performed in sample drawn from the Midwestern families. Use of public education programs was found to increase consumption of health foods while reducing consumption of SSBs (Lawrence, Boyle, Craypo, & Samuels, 2009).
Participation of beverage manufacturersWhile the available literature has focused on the role of the media and taxation, in the reduction of SSBs consumption, few studies have investigated the potential role of the food industry in reducing consumption of unhealthy drinks especially among the youths and the adolescents. Despite the health concerns resulting from the use of SSBs, companies in the food industry have not take sincere steps to promote healthy behaviors among the consumers. Lack of commitment from the SSBs raises the issue of whether they can be able to cut calories in their products while maintaining profits. This issue is revisited by Kleiman and Popkin (2012) where they observe that some of the 16 biggest food and beverage companies in America have come together with the goal of reducing the number of calories consumed by the Americans. This partnerships, is intended to cut down calories consumption by 1.5 trillion by 2015. As Kleiman and Popkin (2012) observes, as a result of this initiative, positive effects are already being experienced, but more empirical studies need to be conducted to investigate the validity of these results.
ConclusionFor the past few decades the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has increased considerably and is one of the major contributors to the current obesity epidemic. The intake of sugary diet has also been linked to obesity-related co-morbidities such as hypertension, stroke, heart failure and myocardial infraction. Due to the strong epidemiologic and clinical evidence linking SSBs with adverse health outcomes, the available research has proposed introduction of higher taxes or decreasing the relative costs of more healthful beverage alternatives. The available literature seems to suggest that higher taxation is more effective than moderate taxation. Other alternatives are: regulating child-directed advertisements, increasing the participation of the beverage manufacturers and initiation of education programs. However, there is consensus on whether limiting access of SSBs in school could reduce obesity, and other related outcomes.
References
Apovian, C.M. (2004). Sugar-sweetened soft drinks, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. JAMA, 292(8), 978-979.
Babey S., Wolstein J., & Goldstein H. (2013). Still Bubbling Over: California Adolescents Drinking More Soda and Other Sugar-Sweetened Beverages. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and California Center for Public Health Advocacy.
Bellisle, F., & Drewnowski, A. (2007). Intense sweetener, energy intake and the control of body weight. Eur J Clin Nutr, 61(6), 691-700.
Berger, A. (2004). Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture: Advertising’s Impact on American Character and Society. Lanham, Md.: Rowman& Littlefield Pub.
Brownell, K., Farley, T., Willett, W., Popkin, B., Chaloupka, F., et al. (2009). The public health and economic benefits of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages. The New England Journal of Medicine, 361(16), 1599-1605.
Chrysochou, P. (2010). Food health branding: The role of marketing mix elements and public discourse in conveying a healthy brand image. Journal Of MarketingCommunications, 16(1/2), 69-85.
HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Dubois%20L%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=17524711” Dubois, L., HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Farmer%20A%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=17524711” Farmer, A., HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Girard%20M%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=17524711” Girard, M., & HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Peterson%20K%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=17524711” Peterson, K.(2007). Regular sugar-sweetened beverage consumption between meals increases risk of overweight among preschool-aged children. HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17524711” o “Journal of the American Dietetic Association.” J Am Diet Assoc.107(6), 924-3
Gram, M., de la Ville, V., Le Roux, A., Boireau, N., &Rampnoux, O. (2010). Communication on food, health and nutrition: A cross-cultural analysis of the danonino brand and nutri-tainment. Journal of Marketing Communications, 16(1/2), 87-103.
James J, Thomas P, Cavan D, & Kerr D. (2004). Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 328, 1237–9.
John, C., & Chad, M.(2012). The medical care costs of obesity: An instrumental variables approach. Journal of Health Economics, 31 (1), 219
Jordan, A., Piotrowski, J., Bleakley, A., & Mallya, G. (2012). Developing media interventions to reduce household sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 640(1), 118-135
Kim, D. (2006).Food Taxation and Pricing Strategies to “Thin Out” the Obesity Epidemic. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 30(5), 430–437
Kleiman, S., Ng, S., &Popkin, B. (2012). Drinking to our health: Can beverage companies cut calories while maintaining profits? Obesity Reviews, 13(3), 258-274.
Lawrence, S., Boyle, M., Craypo, L., & Samuels, S. (2009).The food and beverage vending environment in health care facilities participating in the healthy eating, active communities program. Paediatrics, 123, 292
Maria, A., Lennert, V., Stephen, M., Melanie, Y. & Karen, H. (2013). Eviedence that a tax on sugar sweetened beverages reduces the obesity rate: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 13, 1072
Novak, N. & Brownell, K. (2011). Taxation as prevention and as a treatment for obesity: the case of sugar-sweetened beverages. Curr Pharm Ds, 17(12), 1218-1222
Powell, L., Chriqui, J., & Chaloupka, F. (2009). Associations Between State-level Soda Taxes and Adolescent Body Mass Index. Journal of Adolescent Health, 78, 90-94
Rappange,D., Brouwer, W., Hoogenveen, R. & Baal, P. (2009). Healthcare costs and obesity prevention: drug costs and other sector specific consequences. Pharmaeconomics, 27(12), 1031-1044
Schulze, M.B., Manson, J, E, Ludwig, D.S., Colditz, G.A., Stampfer, M.J., Willett, W.C., & Hu, F.B. (2004). Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. JAMA, 292, 927-934
Taber, D., Chriqui, J., Powell, L. & Chaloupka, F. (2012).Banning all sugar-sweetened beverages in middle schools: reduction of in-school access and purchasing but overall consumption. Arch Pediatric Adolesc Med, 1666(3), 256-262
Wiecha, J.L., Peterson, K.E., Ludwig, D.S., Kim, J., Sobol, A., & Gortmaker, S.L. (2006). When children eat what they watch: impact of television viewing on dietary intake in youth. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 160(4), 436-442.
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Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u 1. Introduction PAGEREF _Toc86266001 h 22. Challenges Leaders Face Due to Ongoing Remote Working PAGEREF _Toc86266002 h 22.1 Lack of Trust PAGEREF _Toc86266003 h 22.2 Communication Issues PAGEREF _Toc86266004 h 22.3 Issues of Time and Distance PAGEREF _Toc86266005 h 23. Evaluation of Traditional Leadership Traits and Practices PAGEREF _Toc86266006 h 33.1 Great Man Theory of leadership PAGEREF _Toc86266007 h 33.2 Trait-based Theory of Leadership PAGEREF _Toc86266008 h 44. Traditional Versus Contemporary Leadership Styles and Traits PAGEREF _Toc86266009 h 54.1 Transactional Leadership PAGEREF _Toc86266010 h 54.2 Transformational Leadership PAGEREF _Toc86266011 h 64.3 Authoritarian-Autocratic Leadership PAGEREF _Toc86266012 h 64.4 Examination of whether both Traditional and Contemporary Leadership Styles Play a Role in Organizations and Remote Working PAGEREF _Toc86266013 h 75. Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc86266014 h 7References PAGEREF _Toc86266015 h 8
1. IntroductionThis paper will discuss challenges that leaders in Unilever are facing due to the ongoing remote working, the traditional leadership styles with their advantages and disadvantages when leading the telecommuting teams and a comparison with more contemporary leadership styles and the roles they play in leading teams and projects remotely to meet strategic business objectives.
2. Challenges Leaders Face Due to Ongoing Remote WorkingTo succeed as a leader in a remote working environment, leaders face various challenges. The challenges include:
2.1 Lack of Trust
Being a multinational company, Unilever needs to establish successful international alliances which is based on trust. However, virtual teams face uncertainties and do not have complete knowledge of all the team members (Alfehaid & Mohamed, 2019). As a result, trust is considered to be more vital in virtual working environments compared to traditional face-to-face working environments. In fact, it is a necessary condition to ensure success in the organization.
2.2 Communication Issues
Virtual communication is different from face-to-face communication in the workplace because in the former, communication is characteristically based on asynchronous information mediated on a computer (Allen et al., 2015). However, traditional face-to-face communication uses turn-taking basis in which only one team member talks at a time (Kilpi, 2020).
2.3 Issues of Time and Distance
Typically, distance is among the major challenges faced by virtual leaders in Unilever. In a working relationship, distance may be physical when it is produced by time zone, geography, or organizational size (Bentley et al. ,2016). Geographic distance and overlapping hours of work tend to impose burdens on not only the team leader but also on the team members.
3. Evaluation of Traditional Leadership Traits and Practices
For a few months, telecommuting has been growing thanks to the pandemic and this has led to considerable changes in the methods of work. Unilever is one of the multinational companies that has implemented the telecommuting method of working amidst the COVID-19 pandemic (Contreras et al. , 2020). The company has successfully implemented a flexible working methods not limited by location, time, communication technology, and use of information. Successful telecommuting requires technological, organizational, and social support through e-leadership practices in which the emergence of Internet services and digital technology facilitates the progress of telecommuting. According to Samartinho, Silva, & Faria, (2014), global virtual teams tend to face the same challenges as traditional teams in addition to the challenges that dispersion of team members generate and the complete dependence on ICT as a communication media. The communication media application affects a leader’s ability of conveying social presence integral to the traditional face-to-face environments (Mehtab et al. ,2017). Therefore, with telecommuting, leaders tend to face diversified challenges which forces leaders to adapt to the new working environments. Below are some of the traditional leadership theories that were being implemented in the past. These theories are not applied in Unilever today but even so, they have their respective advantages and disadvantages.
3.1 Great Man Theory of leadership
The Great Man Theory of leadership argues that leaders in general, and particularly great leaders are not made, rather, they are born. According to this theory, it is mandatory for leaders to have certain qualities such as charisma, persuasiveness, charm, intuition, commanding personality, intelligence, courage, action orientation, and aggressiveness (Rüzgar, 2019). It asserts that these qualities are not taught and can never be learned formally. Leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, among others are considered to be born with leadership traits and as a result, they were successful in their domains as leaders.
One advantage attributed to this leadership theory is that there is some level of credibility to an extent that great leaders in particular and leaders in general have some mystique about them and their followers view them with awe (Rüzgar, 2019). In some respects, the actions and qualities of such leaders tend to inspire implicit respect.
However, this theory has its fair share of disadvantages; firstly, it is based on the great leaders’ blind faith which happened in history. It looks at the change that these leaders brought without insights into their selfish motives and the real actions behind those changes (Rüzgar, 2019). Secondly, there is lack of great logic behind the great man theory of leadership. It is only based on assumptions and myth. Thirdly, the theory did not take into account the great leaders’ upbringing and childhood and also disregarded the impact of culture, environment, and society in their development. Finally, this theory lacks any scientific evidence to back it up.
3.2 Trait-based Theory of Leadership
This theory of leadership focuses on the identification of various characteristics and personality traits linked to successful leadership across different situations. This research line emerges as among the earliest forms of studies into the effective leadership’s nature and is linked to the great man theory of leadership. According to Hammershaimb (2018) extraordinary leaders continue to shape history. He asserts that the ability to be a leader is something than an individual is born with, rather than something that is developed. The ideas of Carlyle inspired earlier studies on leadership, whose focus was entirely on inheritable traits. Trait-based Theory of Leadership was based on the following rationale; certain behavioral patterns are produced by certain traits, patterns tend to be consistent across various situations, and that individuals are born with traits of leadership (Hammershaimb, 2018). From the standpoint of training and development, this theory implies that if an individual lacks the ‘right’ traits of leadership, then they will not lead effectively and their leadership will not be as successful as natural-born leaders. Furthermore, Hammershaimb (2018) claims that to some degree, training and development can nurture leadership abilities but the most important aspect is to possess the right personality profile or traits.
An advantage of this leadership theory is that is boasts over one hundred years of research to confirm its approach and provides a benchmark for the identification of leaders. It also has disadvantages; firstly, this theory is leader-centric and its focus is exclusively on the leader and not the situation or the followers. Secondly, the Trait Theory research does not take into account the way leadership outcomes is influenced by specific traits. Outcomes can be productivity, performance, and satisfaction.
4. Traditional Versus Contemporary Leadership Styles and TraitsIn leadership just like every aspect of human activity, technology has permeated. With the constant evolution of technological advancements, leaders have experienced different challenges and opportunities in quest to accomplish the organizational objectives and goals. Along with other leadership styles, organizational leaders practice e-leadership irrespective of the size if the organization. As seen from the discussion above, e-leadership allows for leaders and team members to not only share but also improve communication. However, there are disadvantages with each style of leadership which include among other things breakdown of links, technological advancement, handling virtual teams, and lack of social connections among team members. Also, there are costs associated with the implementation of styles such as e-leadership.
An overview of traditional versus contemporary leadership styles reveals contrasts and similarities, yet the ultimate goal of every system is to motivate, guide, and inspire people towards a goal. According to Hussain et al. (2020), traditional leadership styles and traits are all about boundaries, control, regulations, and an array of rules. In the same vein, Bentley et al. (2016) remark that contemporary leadership approaches tend to provide more freedom in terms of thought and decision making, allows more room for innovation and creativity, welcoming new ideas, value the outcome, and embraces multiple perspectives in the decision-making process. Due to these differences in styles and traits, 21st century leaders who are still focused on traditional leadership approaches are unable to make lasting impacts and barely manage to motivate, inspire, and uplift people. For example, a modern-day leader who does not embrace the concept of shared ideas, multiple perspectives on issues, warm welcome on innovative and creative opinions, and a relaxed environment in terms of rules often ends up frustrating the younger generation of employees. As such, only contemporary leadership approaches would fit the modern business environment that makes the people a part of leadership and makes the organization vision a united objective.
4.1 Transactional LeadershipTransactional leadership is a style that values order and structure and it is the one that Unilever leaders mostly implement being that they operate in a large corporate environment. Being a multinational corporation, the leaders in Unilever require that the team members follow specific rules and regulations in order to complete the teams and individual objectives (Jensen et al. ,2016).
The advantage of transactional style of leadership is that the team members are always self-motivated despite the physical and social distance inherent in telecommuting. The use of this style in respect to remote management of teams and projects at Unilever is that it enables work to be done in a highly structured directed environment and is focused on ensuring that results are produced above anything else. Despite the remote working conditions, the use of a transactional style in Unilever ensures that employees are motivated to achieve organizational and personal goals because there are clear consequences and rewards offered (Jensen et al.,2016). The approach has a clear outline of the expectations of the management to the employees, leading to an establishment of achievable goals for every individual at every level even in the ongoing remote working environment.
However, within an innovative environment such as Unilever, it is difficult to develop achievable goals within the teams. Goals are only achievable when the ending points are defined. Transactional leaders tend to create such end points as a part of an organizational structure. This implies that each step that team members take has been outlined for them and this limits the achievable level of innovation (Kalsoom et al. ,2018). Another major disadvantage is that, combined, the remote working conditions and the use of a transactional approach lead to a loss of focus on relationship building. Relationship building is important in ensuring employee commitment, an element that is far from reach where a transactional style is used to manage teams ad projects remotely. At Unilever, the use of a transactional style in remote project and team management also follows a structured policy which dictates actions rather than common sense, thus, it is not easy for team members to demonstrate their creativity when the leaders dictate their level of creativity.
4.2 Transformational LeadershipTransformational leadership allows leaders to transform themselves through changing their actions and behaviors, they connect and interact with the team members. As a result, higher levels of morality, motivation, and performance are created. Unilever leaders practice transformational leadership during telecommuting through online interaction on zoom and other platforms (Budur, 2020). The leaders implement a dual dynamic between them and the team members to achieve organizational objectives. Through online interaction, transformational leaders at Unilever try to let the team members feel that they have mutual goals and that they are working together to achieve those goals.
The use of a transformational style in the management of employees in remote working conditions at Unilever has an advantage of ensuring full engagement amongst employees. A transformational approach creates relationships, even where employees operate virtually. It calls for interactions and enables an environment that supports critical and creative thinking in a group setting. This element is not lost even through remote management. Transformational leaders build a culture of enthusiasm and participation. These advantages are important for Unilever as it adjusts its structure to include a partial remote working environment.
In a remote work setting, the transformational style is very risky. First, the disadvantage of this leadership style is that transformational leaders always assume or think that their subordinates will always be in agreement with their ideas and that they will always be motivated by their ideas (Kalsoom et al.,2018). This is a setback because there are situations where there is need for change. Additionally, the style assumes that employees are motivated to perform, an element that id further made complex by the lack of a physical interaction.
4.3 Authoritarian-Autocratic LeadershipAuthoritarian-Autocratic Leadership is considered as one of the earliest or possibly the first style of leadership to be established. These types of leaders are described as power-orientated, closed-minded, and controlling (Hussain et al.,2020). At times, they practice transactional leadership style. Furthermore, autocratic leaders are portrayed dominant and overbearing and they control their subordinates with demands, rules, punishments, and threats.
Autocratic leadership style has a number of advantages. For remote working at Unilever, it would ensure that subordinates are aware of what is expected of them and what happens if they underperform. This way, the organizational and personal goals are achieved no matter what which improves employee productivity. The style is known to produce consistent results even where there is segmentation of groups and teams. The pressure is removed from the employee into a leader, which would mean more productivity.
The authoritarian system has a number of flaws that make it unsuitable for the culture at Unilever, especially with the introduction of a remote working environment. At Unilever, the authoritarian-autocratic leadership system is not often practiced because the leaders believe that it would lead to the employees having resentment towards the organization and leaders alike. In addition, an autocratic leadership style is not friendly for a culture of thinking outside the box nor is it innovation friendly which leaves employees feeling stifled intellectually (Hussain et al.,2020). It may breed contempt and rebellion, leading to a high employee turnover.
4.4 Examination of whether both Traditional and Contemporary Leadership Styles Play a Role in Organizations and Remote WorkingTraditional leadership styles present several communication issues. While traditional face-to-face communication is richer in para-verbal (auditory) and nonverbal (visual) cues, it also means the current issue that has demanded organizations to use remote working as a necessary requirement cannot occur. Secondly, there is a lot of information that is lost because of the multiple communication channels that team members use simultaneously. Thirdly, virtual communication minimizes feelings of conversational involvement and social presence. Moreover, virtual communication in the workplace may result in leaders losing contextual or social information such as a member’s expertise level thanks to anonymity (Allen et al.,2015). This happens because communication in a virtual setting occurs through electronic channels and that there is a lack of physical contact.
Overall, both traditional and contemporary leadership styles have a major role in shaping the success of remote working or otherwise. From the discussion above, the benefits of a contemporary leadership style in regard to remote working outdo the problems with traditional leadership styles.
5. ConclusionWhether in traditional or contemporary leadership style, the objectives are related. The fundamental objectives of leadership have not changed and that they continue to tackle the issues of direction, vision, inspiration, and motivation. In this regard, contemporary leadership wins in the effort to effectively apply remote working at Unilever.
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Bentley, T. A., Teo, S. T., McLeod, L., Tan, F., Bosua, R., & Gloet, M. (2016). The role of organisational support in teleworker wellbeing: A socio-technical systems approach. Applied ergonomics, 52, 207-215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.07.019
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Maxon Dixon line and the bias in Fresno’s justice systemMaxon Dixon line and the bias in Fresno’s justice system
Student’s name
Professor
Course
Date
Maxon Dixon line and the bias in Fresno’s justice system
“Introduction”
The two journalists bring out problematic issues and, at the same time, essential to the people who live in Fresno. This is because justice has not been available for so long a time and the people of color keep on suffering, as shown in the texts. Maxon Dixon’s line talks of how redlining has left many black people and some brown people in such desperate situations whereby they have been forced to live in a lot of poverty. Bias in Fresno’s justice system mainly focuses on the police and how they make the people of color suffer by arresting them anytime and in any way, which is a very big blow to their rights and democracy.
“Discussion”
The authors of the two texts are very knowledgeable about the situation as they give well-grounded examples of what is happening in Fresno. This makes the reader believe them and side with Fresno’s poor black people and try to think of the possible solutions. This is because the subject of each of the two texts is related in a great manner, and this makes it possible for a person to link the two stories and relate to them. The context of the two stories also greatly impacts how a person thinks of the situation. The context is a worrying one, as black people continue being segregated and mistreated, especially by the police.
The audience is also perfect as the information is displayed to a variety of audiences. Anyone who reads news or listens to the news can listen to the poor Fresno black population’s voices as presented by the journalists in their great skills. This paper focuses mainly on how effective the two authors are in bringing out the issues faced by Fresno people to the audience and its impact on the audience. However, above all, this paper discusses the means used to bring this information to the audience and its effectiveness.
In Maxon Dixon, Reis Thebault talks of how redlining has affected the black population in Fresno’s southern part. He details how it came to be and how powerful it is a negative divider among Fresno people as the whites had their areas to stay in and enjoyed more privileges than blacks. This is given in an example as he states, “White neighborhoods were shaded green, and white buyers in these areas were generally approved for loans. Neighborhoods with large minority populations were shaded red, denied mortgages, and labeled undesirable.” From this, it is clear that what began time ago in the 1990s has affected the black population up to the present time when black people still cannot access their basic human rights and needs.
This discussion is extended by Alexandria Fuller, who mainly discusses justice with an emphasis on the role the police play in making the black people feel inferior and making them unable to get justice when needed most.
The two authors develop the stories in a very great manner whereby there is a chronological flow of events in the two texts. They use different styles to bring the information out in the best manner possible. This manner of message delivery makes its reception very good. Therefore, the people who read these texts are convinced of the information being displayed from Fresno’s black residents through the journalists to the audience. The two authors of these texts make it very good and easy for every person to understand the texts as they both have almost a similar structure in which they have used to develop their stories. There is a thesis statement, the introduction, the main discussion in the texts’ body, and the conclusion in each of the stories. Even though there are no subtopics, these distinct parts can be seen, making it easy for the reader.
The writers use description, illustration, description, comparison, argumentation, etc., to develop the story and make sure it makes sense and greatly impacts the reader. Therefore through these, the reader is enhanced to understand and enjoy reading this type of text. Ethos can be displayed through the author’s identity as well as how they write. Alexandria Fuller is a visual journalist and producer in Atlanta in Georgia, while Reis Thebault is a local politics reporter at the Washington Post. These two make them presentable and establish ethos at the first instance, and then the writers discuss the issues in such a way they develop ethos.
The writers affect the audience’s response by ensuring that the audience is knowledgeable and, therefore, sparking the audience’s interest to consider asking questions like how can it be solved. Other questions like when can it be solved and how. Therefore they succeed in communicating with the audience and provoking a response.
The language used is a respectful one, and the whole tone of the two texts is firm and empathetic. Firm in that, it stands to say that the blacks’ treatment is not okay and at the same time empathetic to them to bring the two sides of the story.
The paragraphs are very well constructed and follow each other in chronological order while the sentences are very well connected, and therefore these are well-developed texts.
“Conclusion”
In conclusion, it is important to note that this information is essential, and it makes the audience wish to take action against this type of discrimination. The only barring issues are that most of the readers do not know how to go about this. Both of them are very good texts in determining the future of the Fresno’s as through this, they are assured of hope and a change in the way they are treated to better ways.
“Works cited”
Evans-Pritchard, Deirdre, and Alison Dundes Renteln. “The interpretation and distortion of culture: A Hmong marriage by capture case in Fresno, California.” S. Cal. Interdisc. LJ 4, (1994): 1.
Rheingold, Ira, Michael Fitzpatrick, and Al Hofeld Jr. “From redlining to reverse redlining: A history of obstacles for minority homeownership in America.” Clearinghouse Rev. 34 (2000): 642.