Response 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Response 1 - Assignment Example I would like to add that health informatics technology is specifically important in the present age when people are generally endorsing more carefree and riskier lifestyles with respect to their diet and life choices, and at the same time, are becoming increasingly forgetful of their medical conditions and history. Health informatics technology is a great addition to the ever-advancing medical technology in that the focus of nurses and clinicians will now be on the selection of the best method of treatment rather than on finding ways to retrieve accurate information from the patients. Your’s is an elaborative response to the discussion questions and the statements and assertions are supported by reliable and credible sources, which reflects depth of research and richness of intellectual response. Just a small suggestion; in my opinion, in the response to the first discussion question, the concluding sentence â€Å"a recent article†¦Ã¢â‚¬  can be relocated to the beginni ng section where other definitions of meaningful use have been discussed to give a better flow and structure to the

Childrens Day Essay Example for Free

Childrens Day Essay Children are adorable. They are like divine gifts that parents get from the almighty. Their eyes are full of innocence. They smile when they receive love and admiration, they cry when it is their first day at school away from their parents, they giggle when they mingle with their buddies, and they signify nothing but the pure and faithful love. They truly symbolise god. 14th November is celebrated as childrens day in all over India. 14th November is also the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. Childhood memories are sweetest of all. They can be savored for a lifetime. Childrens day celebration is fun for the little ones but it is important for the parents too. Every parent must understand the importance of the childrens day. Parents should be well aware about the little desires of their angels. Chacha Nehrus love for children Do you know why Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus birthday is celebrated as the childrens day? Pandit Nehru was a great leader. He worked passionately for the welfare of children and youngsters soon after independence. He was keen about welfare, education, and development of children in India. He was fond of children and thus became popular as Chacha Nehru (Uncle Nehru) among his little admirers. Nehru was very particular about the progress of the Indian youth. He wanted to create responsible citizens out of young boys and girls. Under his regime he established several educational institutions including All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Institutes of Technology, and Indian Institutes of Management. He included and highlighted the point in his five years plan that every child in India would get free and compulsory primary education. Over thousands of schools were built through out the villages of India when Nehru was in power. He also brought the scheme to distribute free meals and milk to school children in India to prevent malnutrition. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru himself was destinys child. He struggled a lot for the welfare of India. It is believed that he admired two things a lot, red roses and children. His love and passion towards children is the reason why we celebrate Childrens Day on his birthday. Why do we celebrate Childrens Day? Childrens Day celebration is the tribute to childhood. John Kennedy, 35th US president has quoted it rightly, Children are the worlds most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. We cannot hide the fact that many children in India are not getting basic privileges like education. Many children are earning money instead of playing with toys. The true essence of childrens day is to understand the significance of childhood in our lives. The values and disciplines learned as a child are responsible for the kind of adulthood one has. Thus childhood is special and should be celebrated. Childrens Day is to remind all young and adults about childrens right to enjoy their childhood without any boundaries and to be educated adult in the future. Childrens Day is to revise the right methods of raising children. Childrens Day Celebration 20th November is Universal Childrens Day. In India lots fun activities and programs are organized on the childrens day. Childrens Day is called as Bal Divas in Hindi. On this particular day government, NGOs (non government organisations), schools, and some private bodies conduct competitions and events for children. Various cultural programs are organized through out the schools. Special television programs for children are broadcasted on 14th November. Parents too are eager about childrens day. Some parents buy gifts for their sons and daughters. Some parents give greeting cards to their children to express their wishes on this special day. As parents we should not let this day pass as other ordinary day. It is our duty to make childrens day special for our child. You may take your child to visit some NGO or childrens home on this day. You can imbibe some precious values in him though generous acts. Your child can give away some of his belongings to other poor children. In such a way he will get to know the real significance of this day. Make every 14th November special for your child. After all, Children will not remember you for the material things you provide them but for the feeling that you cherished them.

The research approaches adopted and methodology

The research approaches adopted and methodology The aims of this paper are evaluate the research approaches adopted and methodology used in assigned research reports. Moreover, reflect and point out the strengths and weaknesses of reports. Social research is a scientific study of society and it purposes are exploring, describing or explaining the social phenomena. Thus, there are major methodological approaches which are quantitative approach and qualitative approach. Firstly, according to Alan Bryman (2008), the quantitative research can be construed as a research strategy which emphasis the quantification in collection and analysis data and involves a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research which the accent is placed on the theories testing. Moreover, it has incorporated the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism in particular and there is an external, objective, social reality (or entity).Objective reality exists beyond the human mind (researcher). Secondly, qualitative research can be construed as a research strategy which emphasis in the words in collection and analysis data and involves an inductive approach to the relationship between the theory and the research which emphasis is placed the generation of theories. Thus, it has rejected the practice and norms of the natural scientific model and emphasis on individuals interpret the social world. There is no absolute external, objective, social reality (or entity) which is constituted by how the human mind (researcher) perceives, thinks, interprets or experiences about it. Furthermore, the most common methodologies within the social research include experiments, survey, in-depth Interview, participant observation Part 1 Youth-this research aims to investigate the factors conductive to the success of young people growing up in low-income families and exam the factors that help them to their lives from failure, poverty and social exclusion. It also identifies a range of indicators and necessary conditions for the positive development of them. Thus, evaluate the way which the functions of service participation, friendship networks and various family factors support them in different areas. Youth-the research focus on the effects of service participation, friendship networks, and family support on developmental outcomes in a study of young people from low-income families in Hong Kong. In this research, there are three research hypotheses as follow, firstly, a young person who has received vocational training, services provided by social workers or other helping professionals will have greater opportunity for positive development despite his/her deprived family background. Secondly, a young person who has better friendship networks will have a greater opportunity for positive development despite his/her deprived family. Lastly, a young person with better family support will have a greater opportunity for positive development despite his/her deprived family background. Youth-In this research report, it used the survey research. According to Earl Babbie (2008), the survey research is the popular social research method which is the administration of questionnaires to a sample of respondents selected from some population and it is appropriate for making descriptive studies of larger population. Thus, the questionnaires can be administered through the self-administered questionnaires, face-to-face interviews or telephone surveys. For this report, the research used the quantitative survey of 405 young people recruited from the schools and integrated youth service centres in Hong Kong. Furthermore, as the researcher investigates the factors based on the youth development indicators which are according to the scholars, therefore, this research study used the deductive analysis which is a form of reasoning in conclusions are formulated about particulars from general or universal premises. Youth-In this report, researcher used the survey as the tool in social research. According to Babbie (2008), the survey includes a question which is either open-ended or close-ended and employs an oral or written method for asking these questions. The goal of a survey is to gain information from the selected group and the result is used to investigate the social phenomena. Thus, in this report, a quantitative survey of 405 young people from the low-income families was conducted to explore the factors relevant to their development and success. Also, the respondents were between 17 to 21 years old -the critical age range from teenage transit to young adulthood. Therefore, the result can investigate the factors conductive to the success of young people growing up in low-income families and exam the factors that help them to their lives from failure, poverty and social exclusion Youth-In the findings of research report, over a half of the respondents were female, their average age is 18.33 years and around 55% are completed senior secondary education and 36% has matriculation qualification. Also, most of the respondents are students at the time of the data collection. For the family background of respondents, most of their parents are low educated and employed, living in public housing and low-income. Thus, the result showed that receipt of social work service has positive effects on academic achievement, work performance and mental health. In Addition, the data demonstrated that the size of friendship networks had a significant positive impact on work performance and showed that having more friends with better educational achievement, high employee status and positive social experience contributed to pro-social behaviour. Finally, it evaluated the prediction of youth development resulting from various factor that parents material status had significant posi tive effect on respond ents financial adequacy and their social behaviour. Part 2 Youth-In this report, it is used the quantitative approach as the research methodology and used the survey as the tool in the research. As the researcher set the quantitative survey and hypothesis for given topic, the answer of respondents should be present in numerical. Therefore, in quantitative approach, the data collection is easier to summaries, analysis and measurable because the answer for respondent converting to numerical format. However, there is some weakness of quantitative approach. Firstly, since the respondents recruited from the school and integrated youth centers, some of the youth may not be counter as the respondents (e.g. Hikikomori).it implies that the survey research represents the least minimally appropriate to all respondent and it is often appear superficial in coverage of complex topic. Secondly, the validity of quantitative research is heavily rely on the sampling because most of the quantitative research used survey as the tool, in this report, researcher only recruited 405 youth people as the respondents for investigate the factors conductive to the success of young people growing up in low-income families and exam the factors that help them to their lives from failure, poverty and social exclusion, compare to the large population of the youth group, the result cannot be representing for the group. Moreover, the quantitative research is inflexibility caused the study design is standardized, it would be unaware the new variables importance. As the researcher focus the study on testing the hypothesis and indicate the several factor, the research should be neglect the other factors which related to the positive development of the youth. Part 3 Youth-The study just mentioned the respondents are recruited from 13 secondary school and 18 integrated school located in different districts, however, It has blurred to explain the method for sampling the agency for data collection. Moreover, the definition of the factors of service participation and social capital are undefined. For example, there is no illustration of the positive social experiences in the friendship network, the term seems to be obscure .Also, since the research has targeted the respondents between 17-21 years old which is the critical age range in the transitioj to young adulthood,and the time that is chart Reference Babbie, Earl R. (2007), The practice of social research, 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth Crotty Michael (1998), The foundations of social research: meaning and perspective in research process, London: Sage Publications Bryman Alan (2008), Social research methods, New York: Oxford University Inc

Impact Of Prematurity On Development Essay -- essays research papers

Impact of Premature Birth on Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Years ago, premature birth almost always meant death for the baby. Today, however, we have the technology to nurture these infants’ development, and many of them survive to lead normal, healthy lives. Although, very premature infants (that is, those born before about the fifth month) are still not likely to survive, many born at five months and older will thrive. Some preterm babies, however, do have many obstacles to overcome. There are a variety of medical problems that affect some of them, they may have impaired mental or physical conditions, and they may be looked upon by others in their environment as slow, or they might be treated differently because they were premature. All of these factors, plus a few more that will be discussed, affect the development of preterm infants into their adolescent years, and sometimes beyond.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many preterm babies are born with medical problems because they simply were not ready to come into the world yet. They will not have very developed primitive reflexes, and they may look a little strange, with translucent skin, misshapen ears, and fine hair covering their entire bodies. One of the biggest problems for premature infants is a condition called Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), in which the lungs do not produce enough surfactant, which is the substance that keeps the airsacs in the lungs from collapsing. If not treated in time, the infant’s brain will become oxygen deprived, which would lead to death. It can cause some brain damage. Another condition that often affects premature babies is Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). This happens when the ductus arteriosus, which connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta, doesn’t close, leading to the infant’s blood not being properly oxgenated. This can also lead to brain damage if not caug ht in time. Premature infants also may just stop breathing, which is called apnea. This is why they must be closely monitored, for without close supervision, they could die.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another medical condition common to premature infants which affects the brain is Intraventricular Hermorrage, where the blood vessels in the brain bleed. This affects most premature babies, but it is not very severe in most cases, and is easily treated. In more severe cases, it can be associat... ...nd child had a better relationship, the child showed fewer behavioral disturbances than when the mother/child relationship was bad (Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, v.23 p 328-9). Typically, the more negative the environment, the less well-adjusted the premature child was. Another factor in their emotional development is the income of the family. In higher SES environments, the children were typically more well-adjusted. Birth weight is also a factor in this. The smaller the birth weight, the less emotionally adjusted and more behaviorally disturbed the child will be. Levy-Shift and Gili Einat concluded that the reason why premature babies have these problems is that they are generally less intelligent than full terms. They had more trouble learning, which could lead to negative emotional reactions. They say that premature children sometimes have impaired neurological processes that underlie cognitive dysfunction which is detrimental to behavioral and emotional functioning (Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, v.23 p 329). Premature children are less responsive, less alert, and less active when they are babies, which can lead to a bad start to the mother-child relationship.

Leadership and Management Essay

Initially I plan on reviewing the prevailing leadership styles in my organisation and then assessing the impact of these on the organisation’s values and performance. In order to assess the leadership styles I have produced a questionnaire (see appendix 1). The questionnaire was designed to find out how directive, participative and permissive each manager in our organisation is and then study the most prevailing style. It was evident from the information collated that the prevailing leadership style in our organisation is participative and directive rather than permissive. On assessing this information it became apparent that our manager’s leadership styles reflect a Contingency theory and they rather be present and take part in services in order to ensure controlled success. Contingency theory is a class of behavioral theories that claim there is no best way to lead a company, or to make decisions. Instead, the best action is contingent (dependent) upon the situation. Several contingency approaches were developed in the1960s. They suggested that previous theories such as Weber’s bureaucracy and Taylor’s Scientific Management had failed because they neglected that management style and organisational structure were influenced by various aspects of the environment: known as contingency factors. There could not be â€Å"one best way† for leadership or organisation. Historically, contingency theory has attempted to formulate broad views about formal structures that are typically associated with or best fit the use of different organisations. This perspective originated with the work of Joan Woodward (1958), who argued that skills directly determine differences in such organisational attributes as a span of control, centralisation of authority, and the formalisation of rules and procedures. My Organisation Values and Performance The organisation that I work for delivers a range of high quality services and projects, these services follow the principles of empowering communities, developing lives, furthering equality, diversity and inclusion and strengthening local voluntary sector delivery. These principles dictate the values in which we function. We are very much a voluntary sector, charitable organisation ensuring that at the heart of our services are the people that access them. Performance is measured through a set of service delivery indicators which form the base of our promises to funding bodies, staff, volunteers and customers in everything we do. These indicators are measured via our service development plan. Each year we publish an Annual Report based on our Service Delivery Indicators, which measure our progress and informs the public of our work over the previous year in delivering against our priorities. (See Appendix 2 for our organisations SDI’s) Our organisation values and performance clearly highlight a need for the leadership to be open and receptive. This allows us to except feedback and input from our service users. A directive and participatory leadership style is imposed by managers in our organisation for staff; however when dealing with service users we have to adopt a more directive style to ensure commination is clear and there is no room for bought. We have found in the past when we have given service users who are vulnerable and have mental health difficulties an opportunity to contribute to services they feel empowered, however they need time and guidance in order to make informed decisions. Effectiveness of my Own Leadership Style On assessing my own leadership style I appeared to be more directive, in the middle when it came to participation, however I did not seem to be very permissive. The results did not surprise me and seemed to be consistent with my approach. I tend to direct staff by the use of many models including action plans which are produced in team meeting and each member of staff is allocated actions, timescales, budget and directions. I am participatory when tasks are being carried out I ensure I understand the delivery method and observe when necessary. For example if we are promoting a new group I will ensure all promotion literature is checked by me prior to going out and visit the new group to view session delivery. I do not hide away form front line delivery and ensure I gage with staff, clients and volunteers therefore I understand the reason why on my leadership assessment I did not score highly on being permissive. Therefore I feel my management style suits the organisation. However with the changing nature of our organisation leading towards a more business-like approach I may find I have to review my management style. I may need to become more permissive, less participatory and even more directive. This will ensure I can work more strategically to order to retain services and staff. Changing my approach may be difficult for my staff to accept, however explaining that their jobs may be at risks if I do not manage differently may put it all into perspective. By applying a Contingency theory mentioned earlier I should be able to manage this effectively. I asked my staff to assess my leadership style using the questionnaire I produced and gave to fellow managers (Appendix 1). The results mirrored my self assessment, demonstrating that I understand my own leadership style well and that the staff have the same opinion. Apply Own Leadership Style in Range of Situations Over the last two weeks I have begun to assess my own leadership style in a variety of situations. These have mainly taken the form of meetings. I have chaired a client/volunteer meeting and a full staff meeting. My leadership style tended to change in these situations. I became less formal with the client and volunteer meeting in order to project at their level of understanding. Less detail was presented and less decision making was required. The meeting was more informative and decisions had been made by the staff team prior to the meeting. Feedback and participation was welcomed however it was in a manner in which it could be controlled so as a staff team we could make informed decisions.

Evaluation of Subway’s Branding and its SWOT analysis Essay

NAMEA brand is a combination of name, term, sign, symbol and design intended to identify the goods or services of one seller, which helps him/her to differentiate from those of competitors (Kotler 2006, 269). Subway is first known as Pete’s Super Submarine in 1965. The name was shortened to Subway and it is also then, the first franchised unit was opened in 1974 in Connecticut (Subway 2008). Perhaps, the founder of subway – Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck – realized the importance of developing a good brand name. There are several desirable qualities for a brand name. It should (i) suggest about the product’s benefits and qualities, (ii) be easy to pronounce, recognize and remember, and (iii) distinctive. Subway has fulfilled all these qualities. Its slogan ‘Eat Fresh† suggests the freshness of the ingredients used for the submarine sandwiches. Also, as Subway offers a wide assortment of products like sandwiches, salads, cookies, potato chips etc, making every visit a fresh one for its consumers. The colour green and the use of tomatoes in the logo symbolize the healthier aspect of Subway’s food products. Subway has a high degree of brand awareness; consumers are able to associate Subway with its submarine sandwiches that are filled with fresh vegetables. The brand name is not offensive; it did not create any inappropriate excitement like French Connection’s provocative slogan – FCUK, which has resulted in many controversies in countries including Singapore. Brand name is very important as a good one can add greatly to a product’s success (Kotler 2006, 273). SUBWAY’S OVERALL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES StrengthsSubway has successfully market itself as a healthier alternative to traditional greasy fast food. In the press release on 18 November 1999, Subway has listed the seven low-fat subs with 6 grams of fat or less menu offering convenience and good nutrition food products for consumers’ fast-paced lives. This has made Subway as the best fast food choice for consumers who are concerned about eating right; counting calories or trying to eat healthy. Also, according to the press release, Subway is conscious of the dietary needs of vegetarian consumers and offer options for them – Veggie Delite, which is simply a salad sandwich. At Subway, consumers are able to personalize their own submarine sandwich by choosing the type of ingredients, condiments and salad  dressing they wish to have for their sandwiches. The choice of getting the sandwich toasted is available too. This personalized service is not common in most of the fast food restaurants. Besides, unique sides like freshly baked cookies and potato chips are offered instead of the usual mash potatoes, French fries or coleslaw. Generally, the portion served is relatively in comparison to normal burgers. Overall, Subway’s sandwiches are loaded with fresh ingredients that differentiate Subway from its competitors. WeaknessesSubway’s sandwiches tend to become soggy after kept for a period of time without consuming. This will affect the overall tastiness of the sandwich. Such situation happens most frequently to people who do take-away. In addition, Subway’s sandwiches only come in Six-inch or foot-long sizes. This may be considered a relatively large portion to consumers whom may have smaller appetites, especially for the tweens and those younger. Also, Subway’s sandwiches are not Halal Certified. ‘Halal’ is an Arabic word which means lawful or allowable. Any food or drink that falls under this category is permitted for consumption. (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapore 2008) Since subway’s products are not Halal Certified, the affected people would mainly be the Muslims. As a result, Subway may lose such potential consumers, where actually there could be opportunities to tap a global Halal food market of about 1.4 billion people. Hence, stalls with Halal Certification will have a competitive advantage over Subway. (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapore 2008) RECOMMENDATIONS 1.To prevent Sandwiches from becoming soggy easily, Subway can separate Sandwich’s dressing for take-away orders. Thus, the taste of the Sandwiches will not be affected. 2.To overcome the weakness of Sandwiches being a relatively big portion to people with smaller appetites, Subway can introduce smaller sizes of sandwich. Also, even though Subway Singapore does provide kids meal to cater to the tweens and younger crowd, known as â€Å"Kids’ Pak†, when compared to kids meal available in McDonald’s and Burger King, Kids’ Pak is relatively unknown. The image of Kids’ Pak. (Official SUBWAY Restaurants’ Web Site 2008)Kids’ Pak ®, a specially designed meal package for children that includes a  sandwich prepared on a 4-inch round deli-style roll, a fruit roll fruit snack, a 100% juice box and a toy premium. (Subway Singapore 2008) (Is it possible for this paragraph to shift to beside the above pic?)Hence, Subway Singapore should widely advertise on the availability of such kids meal to gain more consumer awareness of the product. This can be done through posters and TV advertising, especially on Kids Central – Singapore’s local channel for kids, where children are the main viewers. This way, it will appeal greatly to them and parents will see the meal as a great option for a healthier meal as fats contained within the Subway’s Kids’ Pak – similar to Subway Fresh Fit for Kids is much lesser than in Kids’ Meal offered by McDonald’s and Burger King. (Subway Fres h Fit n.d.) The Image of Halal Certification (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapore 2008)However, presently, Subway is not able to obtain Halal Certification due to various market, regulatory and business issues. However, Subway still does cater to customers who need a non-pork menu. Subway obliges by recommending them what is suitable in the menu and would change to a fresh pair of gloves to prepare the sandwiches. (Subway Singapore 2008) IN GENERAL, GIVE 5 EXAMPLES OF PACKAGING OR BRANDING WHICH SERVES A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR A FIRM Coke: The packaging of coke not only offers convenience to consumers, but also helps consumer to identify the product easily through its shape and colour – red and white, of the bottle. In addition, the branding of Coke has facilitated the promotion of all same-brand products. Examples are Coke Zero, Coke Light and Vanilla Coke. McDonalds’: The logo ‘M’ is well recognized worldwide which helps speed consumer purchases by identifying the firms’ product. The colour combination of the logo – red and yellow also acts as a tool in identifying its product. Apple: The logo of Apple denotes product quality and a form as status and self-expresion as apple has successfully brand and market itself. According to Gobe, M., â€Å"The power of their branding (Apple) is all that keeps them alive†, where brands have established deep, lasting bonds with their customers. (Kahney 2002) This foster of brand loyalty serves as a competitive advantage over rival firms. KFC: The acronym of Kentucky Fried Chicken makes it easier for consumer to say and spell. It also denotes the product that it’s selling and differentiates the quality of it chicken sold from competing firms. Moreover, the use of ‘Colonel Sanders’ as a mascot/logo further helps in identifying KFC’s product. (Armin. 2006)Nike: Nike has effectively brand itself using a ‘tick’ as its logo. The incorporating of the simple ‘tick’ onto the design of its products makes it distinctive from rival firms. In general, all these brands are widely recognized, where consumers are simply able to relate the brand name and its products. (Need to write conclusion?)Reference List1.Kotler, P., S. Adam, L. Brown, and G. Armstrong. 2006. Principles of Marketing. Australia. Pearson Education Australia. 2.Subway 2008. n.d. About Subway : History. http://www.subway.com.sg/exec/sam/view/id=540/node=206/ (accessed October 2, 2008). 3.Singapore. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapore. 2008. Halal Main Page: Basic Principles. Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/services/hal.aspx?id=1706 (accessed October 5, 2008)4.Singapore. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapore. 2008. Halal Certification: Halal Certification Benefits. Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/services/hal.aspx?id=1704 (accessed October 5, 2008)5.Majlis Ugama Islam Singapore [Image]. 2008. http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/services/hal.aspx?id=1704 (accessed October 5, 2008)6.Subway Singapore. 2008. About us: Subway FAQ’s. http://www.subs.sg/aboutus/aboutus_faq.html7.Subway Singapore. 2008. Frequently Asked Questions. http://www.subway.com.sg/exec/sam/view/id=544/node=294/8.Official SUBWAY Restaurants’ Web Site [Image]. 2008. http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/menunutrition/menu/menu_kidspak.aspx9.Subway Fresh Fit. n.d. Fit Kids: Nutritional Information.

Ipod Decision Making Process

Describe and explain the characteristics that affect consumer behaviour and outline the consumer decision-making process as it relates to Apple iPod Introduction ‘Consumer purchases are influenced strongly by cultural, social, personal and psychological characteristics’ (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong & Saunders). This report will investigate the characteristics that affect consumer behaviour and the consumer decision-process as it relates to the purchase of an Apple iPod.This report will be describing and explaining how consumers go through five different stages to reach a buying decision and outlining the consumer decision-making process when a consumer buys a product. The Apple iPod is a brand of portable media players and was launched on October 2001. There are four different types of players, which can play both music and videos, including the ‘iPod Classic’, ‘iPod Touch’, ‘iPod Nano’ and the ‘iPod Shuflfe’. The Apple â⠂¬Ëœitunes’ software can be used to transfer music to the iPods from computers.Both the Sony Walkman and Samsung YP-P2 are the iPods biggest competitors and have the same touch screen control panel. They both can hold similar amount of music to that of an iPod. ‘Mintel forecasts that the UK audio equipment market will grow by an estimated 8% to reach a value of ?2. 2 billion at current prices over the period 2007-12. In real terms, with massive price deflation for electronics taken into consideration, this equates to 100% rate of growth until 2012. (mintel, accessed at 19th November 2009) ‘Market growth since 2006 for the Apple iPod has been in decline due to the high pricing scheme of the devices although price cuts like those applied to the iPod shuffle on Tuesday and cheaper Internet –capable models down the line should help the company reverse course and maintain a steady rate of growth through 2009, says one Wall Street analyst’, (http://www. ap pleinsider. com/articles/08/02/20/growth_potential_seen_in_steadily_maturing_ipod_market. html 20th February 2008). The Apple iPod is aimed at young adults aged between 12-25, both males and females.The Apple iPod is aimed at people in the middle/high class and for those who have a particular interest or passion in music. The report will also provide a discussion of the type buying behaviour related with Apple iPods and compare the process with a less complex product, such as a bottle of water in this report. Marketing recommendations will then be given for the purchase of an Apple iPod. The Characteristics that Affect Consumer Behaviour It can be seen that cultural, social, personal and psychological are the four characteristics that influence consumer behaviour.This section will describe how some of the characteristics associate with consumer behaviour when purchasing an Apple iPod. For the social characteristic influence, this can be that the person who is buying an iPod can be i nfluenced by friends, family or any other groups the person is part of, a friend of the person may recommend an iPod to be the best portible audio player to purchase, which would then give the consumer more confidence to buy an iPod. Inspirational groups, such as celebrities who could be seen using an iPod, might have also influenced consumer behaviour. This may influence a consumer, due to the status of a celebrity.Personal characteristics such as the age of a person can affect consumer behaviour. In this case a consumer may be in an age group where it is cool and common to have an iPod, so this would be more of a want for the buyer to have the product. An Outline of the Consumer Decision-Making Process Type of Buying decision behaviour This section of the report will discuss the type of buying decision behaviour associated with the Apple iPod. The decision behaviour for the buyer of an iPod would be complex buying behaviour due to the high cost of the product and is mainly purchas e infrequently.It could be said that the consumer has much to learn about the product and may have little knowledge about the product before making a decision to purchase it. For example, an iPod buyer may not know what functions of the product to consider. ‘Many product features carry no real meaning to the great majority of potential purchasers’ (Kotler 2008 page 263, p1). This can relate to the iPod when looking at the memory size and price of the product, a customer may not know the difference between a ‘10GB iPod and a ‘160GB’ iPod. So the buyer will pass though a learning process, first developing attitudes, and then making a thoughtful purchase choice’ (Kotler 2008, page 263, p1). So for marketers of an iPod, they must understand the way a consumer gathers information and the evaluation behaviour of a high involvement product. The advertising and size of the iPod may be used to help make it easier for a consumer to understand what the me mory size is of an iPod. Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour can be associated with the buying of an iPod, due to how expensive the product is and how infrequent it is purchased.For example, consumers buying an iPod could face a high involvement decision because of the high price of an iPod compared to a low involvement product such as a toothbrush and how the product can express the consumer, such as the which style and colour of iPod suit the consumer best. The Consumer may evaluate and do some research into the types iPods, prior to the buying decision to make give them more knowledge of the product. An explanation of each stage of the decision-making model This section of the report will explain each stage of the decision-making model for a buyer of an iPod.Below is the five-stage decision making process, buyers go through when they purchase a product. ‘The buying process starts with need recognition – the buyer recognising a problem or need’ (Kotler 2008, p age 265, p4). The first stage of the decision making model is where the consumer has recognised a problem or a need. Need recognition In relation to the iPod, is where the consumer has recognised that the product is available to buy and may have dissatisfaction with their current portable audio player.The iPod is not necessary a need, such as food or water. It is more of an individual want and the consumer may have more income spare to purchase an iPod. The purchase of an iPod could be mainly because of its appeal. ‘A need can also be triggered by external stimuli. Anna passes a bakery and the smell of reshly baked bread stimulates her hunger; she admires a neighbour’s new car; or she watches a television commercial for a Caribbean holiday’. (Kotler et al 2008, page 266 p1). This statement states that external stimuli can trigger a need.In relation to the iPod, the external stimuli could be an advert on television or someone in the public using an iPod, who seems to be having a fun with the product. The second stage of the decision-making model is the information search stage. This is the stage where a consumer is aroused to search for more information about the product they have been attracted too in the need recognition stage. ‘The consumer may simply have heightened attention or may go into active information search’ (Kotler et al 2008, page 266 p2). Heightened attention simply means the consumer becomes more receptive to information about a product.The consumer may pay more attention to adverts and products used by friends. Active information search is where the consumer gathers information, such as searching reading material or phoning friends to gather information, this usually depends of drive of the consumer to search for information about a product. ‘The amount of searching she does will depend upon the strength of her drive, the amount of information she starts with, the ease of obtaining more information, the v alue she places on additional information and the satisfaction she gets from searching’ (Kotler et al 2008, page 266 p2).This statement explains that the more a consumer wants a product, the more searching for information about the product will occur. In relation to the Apple iPod, a consumer may have been aroused by external stimuli such as an advert on television and then may go through active information search, where the consumer can obtain information from any of the following sources: * Personal sources: Family, friends, neighbours Commercial sources: Advertising, salespeople, the Internet, packaging, displays * Public sources: Mass media, consumer-rating organisations * Experiential sources: Handling, examining, using the product Personal sources can be the most effective for some products, as friends and families recommendations can be more reliable than an advert on television. As more information has been gathered from the above sources, the consumer’s knowle dge of the iPod increases. The consumer may know the different types of iPods available and their features that best suit the consumer.The third stage of the decision-making purchase is the information evaluation or evaluation of alternatives. This is the stage of the decision-making process, where the consumer uses information from the previous stage to evaluate other brands, products and services. The consumer also evaluates the benefits and features of the product they are going to buy. For high-involvement products such as the Apple iPod, the consumer is more likely to carry out a more extensive evaluation. Such as evaluating the advantages and benefits of the product they are interested in purchasing.