Dominant Ideology in British News Broadcasting Essay

Dominant Ideology in British News Broadcasting - Essay Example The answer lies between the lines that bring out the news of the war in both Britain and the US. Steven was a victim of terror - no doubts about it. But his being American was just half the story. His murder is only an attempt by a pagan enemy to a nation of soldiers and newsmongers called the US, an attempt by the people to tell the world that these men did not report the brewing of the soup as much as they cry about the murderous soup called the war on terror being served on the platters of international diplomatic circles. It was not what the press said that lead to the murder of Steven, but what the press did not say that led to his killing. Or rather does the silence of the press intend to say more than they said in words. Do the gloomy looking news readers on channels in the UK say more than they could express in words Should that really have been the scenario Did that silence warrant the murder of a promising journalist Where do we go from here They are perceived as independent commentators by the people and in many cases - such as the Iraq war, their independence has turned out to be a spook rather than truth. Independent reporting is a thing of the pastor is at least as fictitious as Jack and his Bean Stalk. What is most obvious from these reports is that it has sidelined human rights largely in countries where western armies are operating. In most cases, the despots are simply terrorists that need to be done with and in certain countries, the despots are the best available choices and friends of these nations. Press in the west has made this mistake time and again. The recent examples are President Suharto of Indonesia and his mass murder venture in East Timor which was largely underplayed by the western media. This process went on for a substantial period of fifteen years.

Shakespeare and Macbeth Essay Example for Free

Shakespeare and Macbeth Essay The age of Shakespeare was a great time in English history. The reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) saw England emerge as the leading naval and commercial power of the Western world. European wars brought an influx of continental refugees into England, exposing the Englishman to new cultures. In trade, might, and art, England established an envious preeminence. At this time, London was the heart of England, reflecting all the vibrant qualities of the Elizabethan Age. This atmosphere made London a leading center of culture as well as commerce. Its dramatists and poets were among the leading literary artists of the day. In this heady environment, Shakespeare lived and wrote. London in the 16th century underwent a transformation. Its population grew 400% during the 1500s, swelling to nearly 200,000 people in the city proper and outlying region by the time an immigrant from Stratford came to town. A rising merchant middle class carved out a productive livelihood, and the economy boomed. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and was baptized a few days later on 26 April 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove maker and wool merchant and his mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a well-to-do landowner from Wilmcote, South Warwickshire. It is likely Shakespeare was educated at the local King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married to the daughter of a local farmer’s daughter, Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582. After seven years of disappearing from 1585 to 1592, he was eventually mentioned again in a London pamphlet, Shakespeare has made his way to London without his family and is already working in the theatre. As well as belonging to its pool of actors and playwrights, Shakespeare was one of the managing partners of the Lord Chamberlains Company (renamed the Kings Company when James succeeded to the throne). Shakespeare was prolific. His earlier plays were mainly histories and comedies such as Henry VI, Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Merchant of Venice and Richard II. The tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, was also published in this period. By the last years of Elizabeth Is reign Shakespeare was well established as a famous poet and playwright and was called upon to perform several of his plays before the Queen at court. In 1598 the author Francis Meres described Shakespeare as England’s greatest writer in comedy and tragedy. In 1602 Shakespeares continuing success enabled him to move to upmarket Silver Street, near where the Barbican is now situated, and he was living here when he wrote some of his greatest tragedies such as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in New Place in Stratford. He died on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. He left his property to the male heirs of his eldest daughter, Susanna. He also bequeathed his second-best bed to his wife. It is not known what significance this gesture had, although the couple had lived primarily apart for 20 years of their marriage. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623 and is known as the First Folio. Shakespeare Macbeth: The emphasis on the fact that Shakespeare worked for the Lord Chamberlain’s Company (renamed the King’s Company when James succeeded to the throne) is very crucial to the productions of Shakespeare. Although Macbeth wasn’t bad at all, Shakespeare was paid by the King so he was supposed to cheer the King to portray Macbeth as an evil figure. Theatres were booming at that time, but they were certainly tools manipulated by the governors. James 1, the King especially obsessed with witches. These two elements mixing with the distinction between genders converged to one of the most famous tragedies, Macbeth. Witches stood out right in the opening scene of Macbeth, which suggests the exact time setting of the story James 1 time. Although witches are quite entertaining to people now, they were definitely signs of devil back in James1 time. And it was James who made witchcraft illegal. According to law in 1542, â€Å"it was a serious crime to use witchcraft for unlawful purposes†, then in 1563, â€Å"it was a serious crime to invoke evil spirits and to practice magic if somebody is killed†, afterwards in 1604, â€Å"it was a serious crime to consult with, entertain, employ, feed or reward any evil or wicked spirit; magic becomes a crime that is punished by death†. During 16th and 17th century, science wasn’t widely spread, religious was controlling over the people so that they believed in magic and ‘mysterious’ things. That was one of the main reasons why witches were so popular at that time and the rulers were so afraid of them. The first identification of the detailed list James 1 wrote in his book, Daemonologie, was that â€Å"they are mostly old women† which reflects the roles of men and women in Jacobean England. Women were considered to be inferior to men because people still hold the belief that Eve tempted Adam to sin against God by encouraging him to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. In general, women were governed by the rules and men dominated the society, which made some women stand up to fight against them, including Lady Macbeth. Disobedience was seen as a crime against their religion. The Church firmly believed this and quoted the Bible in order to ensure the continued adherence to this principle. The Scottish protestant leader John Knox wrote: Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man. To summarize, Shakespeare lived in the most prosperous time of the English history when theatres were booming and his masterpieces were praised by both the governors and the ordinary. References: 1. October 18th, 2013 http://www. elizabethan-era. org. uk/ 2. James 1, Daemonologie (1597) 3. October 17th, 2013 http://www. bbc. co. uk/history/people/william_shakespeare (January 28th, 2013) 4. October 17th, 2013 http://www. bardweb. net/england. html

The Influence of Celebrities

The Influence of Celebrities The influence of celebrities especially in this century has extends far beyond the traditional role meant for it in the society. The World Wide Web is one of the major causes behind this phenomenon (Choi and Berger). We have now put the celebrities on a pedestal that is on the same or even a higher level than that of our leaders. Simply put, we treat them as the modern day gods. This phenomenon can be seen where in Twitter; Justin Bieber has a lot more followers compared to Barack Obama. (Mell) in his article discusses that it is noticeable that today’s headlines often revolve around celebrity news than other types of news. The quantities of entertainment magazine such as Us Weekly are noticeably a lot more than any other types of magazine. Generation Y’s obsession over celebrities baffles the Generation X simply because they are wondering why are stars and celebrities are so popular. In his article (Callaway) explains about a new psychology study that helps determine on why some stars are popular. The study showed that people just need something to talk about and that it is a basic human desire to connect and find common ground with others. This basic desire pushes us to discuss on an already popular celebrities. The article also states that fame is self-perpetuating thing even when that celebrity is not doing anything that is fame-worthy anymore. Take Brad Pitt for example, he is a very famous actor and while he is now are doing less acting but when his name are mentioned most people would definitely know who he is. (Austin) in her article discusses that the society paints celebrities and stars as they are just like us but they are the better versions of ourselves in every aspect. Her article also highlight that children these days sees fame as a cure for all problems and that fame appears to be an attractive way to fix things. We aimed to be just like them because in our mind, they are living the perfect life – lots of money, fancy cars, big houses, perfect body, and many others. That is why celebrities and stars are so popular. Take Jay-Z for instance, he is a music mogul who was born in an area that is filled with gang violence but he rose from the slums of where he was born to become rich, successful and have a beautiful family. This is what makes celebrities famous because we relate ourselves to them and we want to be like them. Each of us have our favourite stars and celebrities and for us the term stars and celebrities basically bear the same meaning but these two term bears a totally different meaning. According to (Merriam-webster.com), a celebrity is someone who is famous or well-known because of something that the person does. That person can be a socialite, a famous spokesperson, a radio deejay and many more. For example, Paris Hilton is a celebrity because she is famous for her luxurious lifestyle. Meanwhile according to (Dictionary.com) a star is someone who excels in their respective field and has an added charm to them or what we call as charisma. The combination of excellence in their respective field and their charisma is what makes stars stand out from the rest. An example of a star is Sandra Bullock; she is an award winning actress – she won an Oscar for Best Actress in 2010 because she possesses an excellent acting skill plus she has charisma. With the rising demand for more entertainment shows, reality TV shows are created to fulfil the said need thus a new term are coined for its stars. Reality TV shows stars are called media personality. According to (Urban Dictionary), media personality is celebrities that lack in natural presentation talent. For instance, Kim Kardashian falls under the media personality category simply because she got no real talent. Stars are worth millions or more in the entertainment industry. A star worth is based on their characteristics and personality. A star will worth more if they possessed good norms and ethics and of course a star worth more if they have credible skills in the field that they went into. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo, a famous football player in the world, is beating Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique. He gets the highest paid salary estimated around $21 million every year (Kornowski). Beside Cristiano Ronaldo, there are still a number of famous celebrities who got paid the same or more amount as he is. One of them is Jennifer Lawrence. According to the (The Inquisitr News) Jennifer Lawrence was the most bankable star of 2013. Based on Hollywood Stock Exchange, it claims that at first the market value displayed of Jennifer Lawrence in last September is at $125.49 per scene and currently, her market value has significantly increase to $147.83 per scene (Perez). Stars are easy to rose to fame and fade away from it – they tend to become expandable. Thus, stars like film stars need to be worried if they want to remain Hollywood worthy. This is because they need to use their ability and profession to stay bankable. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s author S. Galloway, stars have more pressure to be the first pick for studios because unless they have an impressive box-office record, they cannot demand and negotiate more about clauses that is in their co ntract (Kiisel). In addition to that, people will judge the stars on how do they look, how do they dress themselves and how do they carry themselves. It means that, looks and appearance is very important for a star to gain popularity. An article by (Kornowski) stated that less attractive stars get paid less whereas good looking stars are paid handsomely. If we notice the current trend of how stars look is that almost all the star is good looking and they have a nice body shape which is slim and muscular. Arirang TV conducted a survey with 699 fans to found out which star has the best appearance. The result that came out was interesting. 2NE1 member and Sandara Park is ranked number one with the votes of 24.5%. For the next survey, the question is which female star has the most perfect body. The result shown that 4Minute member, HyunA got the most votes with 13.9% (Oh-dara.com). This shows that it is very important for a star to own a good appearance and perfect body. Star image can be argued that they are the representative of person which they eventually change the ordinary preconception of what is it to be a normal human being in the society. However it is proposed that the society is what stressed them like others in the social group or class to which they belong (Wilson). For example, Lady Gaga is an image and definitely not the real person. Furthermore, star image is not a real person that is created out of range of materials. They could also be reappearing as icons and font. A star’s images use different type of media forms to be recognized by the public. Many stars use their image for advertising and other purposes. Stars image representative of attitudes, shared values and to promote a certain ideas. The star image’s quality is based on the audience’s interest and views. Stars image usually give the audiences a picture or idea or what people are supposed to be like. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the s trength of their meanings (Dyer). For example, Lady Gaga was made to create a physical embodiment pop culture. Star image also influences the audiences or fans to copy them in the sense of fashion and hairstyle. Sometimes, stars they have a unique image that is impossible to copy but the image they portray has created many fan bases. A star image motif is a running theme for an artist and the aim is to help to establish the artist as a brand (Dyer). Basically, the star image shows how those medias promote or how they advertise in a way that they will make the star popular and earn money. For example, YouTube stars have to produce a good quality of image to attract more viewers and fans. Moreover, they can earn money by getting more views and subscribers. Some of the stars use their image as logo or icons to promote themselves through media. By that they can also earn money from there. For example, Eminem uses his star image in a style in which he has been using for many years like posters and caps. Even though he wasn’t in the music industry for quite a while but he still maintain he style until today. He also earns more than a million by using he own style to promote himself. This idea makes him even popular because the brand makes him stand out and also makes his fans think that he never left. Furthermore, most of the Korean stars use their image to promote themselves and become popular even though there are not very talented. This is because media is what makes them good looking and popular. Through media also helps them earn more money and also more fans. Pop star like Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars earn more money because of their talent and also their appearance. On the other hands, they also promote themselves through their albums and also cover magazines that make them even popular and earn more incomes. Paparazzi and journalist are known as the ones who publicize famous stars and celebrities for the public. Even though, they are known as annoying yet persistent stalkers who would go against their ethical practices to get the shot or story they desire but this day and age what we think and talk about with our friends and family greatly revolves around the glamorous, and usually scandalous, lives of the rich and famous as said by (Tong). Nowadays, we have created a new platform of entertainment by introducing stars and celebrity television program or better known as reality TV shows to parade themselves and earn money from us like TMZ, Perez Hilton, E! News, web-blogs, tabloids and so on. However, many argued that stars and celebrities chose a career that requires them to be in the public eye and receive a lot of attention. Many believe that if a star or celebrity stays out of the media, they could be unrecognizable and someone might steal their spotlight. Therefore, it is undoubted t hat the press who sells explicit photos, the public who buys them and the celebrities themselves are as responsible for the invasive journalistic practices that pry onto star and celebrities private lives. All three parties are equally as responsible in such practice as the journalist; press and celebrity make money out of it. Paparazzi and journalist target famous people whom they consider the public to have voracious appetite for. The public obsession towards a star or celebrity could result in encouraging paparazzi and celebrities to go above the limits of invasive antics. It is only when harm occurs that the public becomes outraged enough to criticize the news gathering techniques of the paparazzi. For example, who would blame Britney for losing control or Lindsay Lohan for feeling she cant trust anyone† says (Tong). It is because people like us are the ones who pressure stars and celebrities to give portray and image we want to see the in. Whether or not it is bad or good. They may be able to disgrace some people, but in the end, the publishers and readers will make a decision based on the bottom line of it, not whether its right or wrong says (Puente). Frank Griffin, co-owner of the Bauer-Griffin paparazzi agency mentioned that paparazzi does not waste time on famous people whom they fail to cover in as time is the essence of money and the demand on different famous people changes all the time. The paparazzi â€Å"are so easy to avoid Griffin says. Just cover your face, and if you do that every day, theyre not going to get any pictures, theyre not going to make any money and theyre not going to sit outside your door anymore. It is a cycle of demand where it is through the demands of the public that encourages paparazzi and journalist to covers on a certain famous people who they desire to know and is obsessed about. Thus, making the press company to buy photos and stories of famous people the public demand and publicize it. Although it may seem like famous people often avoid paparazzi and press but it was argued that famous people themselves wants to be publicize as well and be used for product endorsements and advertising schemes (Tong). Most of celebrities go to places where they know paparazzi will always be there. Some even call ahead of time to notify paparazzi and journalist of where they are. An article by the (Urban Times) stated that â€Å"There are even rumours that celebrities themselves asked their public relations team to alert paparazzi to their locations in ensuring maximum coverage. In some ways it is win-win for both parties; it’s certainly a complicated relationship.† Meanwhile, in a written article by (Anderson) said that â€Å"the stakeouts and high-speed chases that the paparazzi are notorious for sound horrible, but if people didn’t read the magazines or didnt care so much about the celebrities, there wouldnt be a demand, and the paparazzi may disappear.† In this era where the World Wide Web creates a ‘limitless’ kind of world where information is literally at the tip of your finger celebrities are seen to be centre of it. The internet provides an easy and perfect platform for celebrities to further spread their fame and thus cemented their status in the public eye. From what we gather is that the society put celebrity’s life as benchmark for what a good life should look like – celebrities are put on a pedestal and they are our modern day god. Other than that, we learn about what makes a star bankable – their good looks. Also we look into the fascinating relationship between the stars and paparazzi where we can conclude that it is a win- win situation for both party but there are some boundaries to be obey because now the paparazzi does not only portrays the star alone but also they are lurking about the star’s family. An article by (Schaefer) discusses about â€Å"a bill aimed to protects the children of celebrities and public staff officials from paparazzi.† This bill basically protects the child’s star from any form of harassment including photographing or recording that child without parental consent. In a support to help this bill to be passed, actress Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner both testify in front of the legislative committee. Berry in her statement said â€Å"They ask my daughter questions that are inappropriate for a 5-year-old to have an answer.† While fellow actress Jennifer Garner states that â€Å"she made the decision to have a public life when she chose her career (acting), but her children are private citizens, just like anyone elses.† This bill clearly creates a strain in this star-paparazzi relationship with the newspaper publishers are among those who oppose the bill stating that it would violate on the journalists’ ability to do their job s. With all of this fame that the stars garnered over the years we cannot stop to but to wonder that with fame come great consequences. Julia Roberts once said that â€Å"I dont think I realized that the cost of fame is that its open season on every moment of your life.† This simply portrays that once you are famous your life are owned by the public or so to speak. Word Count: 2624 words References Anderson, Christina. Are The Paparazzi Just Doing Their Job, Or Are They Overstepping Their Boundaries?.The Huffington Post. N. p., 2014. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Austin, Anastacia. Why Are We So Obsessed With Celebrities?.Buzzle. N. p., 2007. Web. 20 Jun. 2014. Callaway, Ewen. How Celebrities Stay Famous Regardless Of Talent Science-In-Society 24 June 2009 New Scientist.Newscientist.com. N. p., 2009. Web. 20 Jun. 2014. Choi, Chong Ju, and Ron Berger. Ethics Of Celebrities And Their Increasing Influence In 21St Century Society.Journal of business ethics91.3 (2010): 313318. Print. Dictionary.com,. The Definition Of Stars. N. p., 2014. Web. 20 Jun. 2014. Kiisel, Ty. You Are Judged By Your Appearance.Forbes. N. p., 2013. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Kornowski, Liat. Shes Worth HOW MUCH?!.The Huffington Post. N. p., 2013. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Mell, Mic. Is Celebrity Obsession Destroying Our Society? | Thecelebritycafe.Com.Thecelebritycafe.com. N. p., 2009. Web. 18 Jun. 2014. Merriam-webster.com,. Celebrity Synonyms And More From The Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. N. p., 2014. Web. 20 Jun. 2014. Oh-dara.com,. Article: Dara Ranks First In Arirang TVs Survey Which Star Has The Best Appearance. N. p., 2012. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Perez, Adrian. â€Å"The Bankable Star: Why Jennifer Lawrence Is Going To Be Around In The Film Industry For A Long Time†; -A Close Look At Market Value Improvements -How A Film’S Box-Office Success Makes Its Stars More Bankable.Cineasts POV Press. N. p., 2014. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Puente, Maria. Celebs Push Back Against The Paparazzi.Usatoday.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Schaefer, Samantha. Halle Berry, Jennifer Garner Testify On Paparazzi Bill.Los Angeles Times Articles. N. p., 2013. Web. 22 Jun. 2014. Dyer, Richard. Star Image.Slideshare.net. N. p., 2014. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. The Inquisitr News,. Jennifer Lawrence Was The Most Bankable Box Office Star Of 2013. N. p., 2014. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Tong, Arianne. Do Celebrities Deserve Some Level Of Privacy By Arianne Tong | Entertainment Scene 360.Entertainmentscene360.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Urban Dictionary,. Media Personality. N. p., 2014. Web. 20 Jun. 2014. Urban Times,. Celebrities Are Using The Power Of The Paparazzi For Good. N. p., 2013. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Wilson, Karina. Mediaknowall ASA Level — Stardom.Mediaknowall.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 22 Jun. 2014. 1

Political Critique of Race Relations in Alice Walkers Color Purple Ess

The Color Purple as Political Critique of Race Relations      Ã‚  Ã‚   If the integrated family of Doris Baines and her adopted African grandson exposes the missionary pattern of integration in Africa as one based on a false kinship that in fact denies the legitimacy of kinship bonds across racial lines, the relationship between Miss Sophia and her white charge, Miss Eleanor Jane, serves an analogous function for the American South. Sophia, of course, joins the mayor's household as a maid under conditions more overtly racist than Doris Baines's adoption of her Akwee family: Because she answers "hell no" (76) to Miss Millie's request that she come to work for her as a maid, Sophia is brutally beaten by the mayor and six policeman and is then imprisoned. Forced to do the jail's laundry and driven to the brink of madness, Sophia finally becomes Miss Millie's maid in order to escape prison. Sophia's violent confrontation with the white officers obviously foregrounds issues of race and class, as even critics who find these issues marginalized elsewhere in The Color Purple have noted. But it is not only through Sophia's dramatic public battles with white men that her story dramatizes issues of race and class. Her domestic relationship with Miss Eleanor Jane and the other members of the mayor's family offers a more finely nuanced and extended critique of racial integration, albeit one that has often been overlooked.(11)    Like Doris Baines and her black grandson, Sophia and Miss Eleanor Jane appear to have some genuine family feelings for one another. Since Sophia "practically . . . raise[s]" (222) Miss Eleanor Jane and is the one sympathetic person... ...nold, 1993. 85-96.    Sekora, John. "Is the Slave Narrative a Species of Autobiography?" Studies in Autobiography. Ed. James Olney. New York: Oxford UP, 1988. 99-111.    Shelton, Frank W. "Alienation and Integration in Alice Walker's The Color Purple." CLA Journal 28 (1985): 382-92.    Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. "Explanation and Culture: Marginalia." Humanities and Society 2 (1974): 201-21.    Stade, George. "Womanist Fiction and Male Characters." Partisan Review 52 (1985): 264-70.    Tate, Claudia. Domestic Allegories of Political Desire: The Black Heroine's Text at the Turn of the Century. New York: Oxford UP, 1992.    Tompkins, Jane. Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction. New York: Oxford UP, 1985.    Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Harcourt, 1982.      

The Buying Decisions of ‘Consumers’ on the Use of Microsoft

â€Å"The Buying Decisions of ‘Consumers’ On the Use of Microsoft or Apple Products† Submitted By: SANUSI SANI BUHARI Student No: 200922R7018 The Dissertation has been submitted to the Skyline University College In partial Fulfillment of the Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration (International Business) December-2012 Acknowledgement The writing of this dissertation has been one of the most significant academic challenges I have ever had to face. Without the support, patience and guidance of the following people, this study would not have been completed.It is to them that I owe my deepest gratitude. * Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al Saed, who undertook to act as my supervisor despite his many other academic and professional commitments. His wisdom, knowledge and commitment to the highest standards inspired and motivated me. * My friends and whoever directly or indirectly helped me to during the course of the dissertation. * The authors of the various books and web sit es as well as the facilities and university library that helped me gain various information for this dissertation. AbstractThis research paper describes the buying decisions of ‘consumers’, as to whether they prefer Microsoft or Apple products. People have different choice according to needs. Business organizations and telecommunication sectors judge product on usability. Data analysis suggests many important elements impact the buying decision of an individual or any specific company. Data analysis also suggests Microsoft and Apple continue to push the envelope when it comes to developing software and hardware. The main objective of this research is- which product do people prefer?To find answers to the research questions of this research, data analysis and descriptive study has been used, because it involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. This method is used to obtain a general overview of the subject, and answers who, what, and why of the study. The two giants pride themselves for producing cutting edge consumer and business products, and are leading the developments in software and hardware. But what about their websites how do they both compare, and more important, which one is better and more usable?This study will help reader to find all this answer. Chapter No. | Particulars| Pg No. | 1| Introduction * Aims of Independent Study * Objectives| 6-7| 2| Literature Review| 8-29| 3| Research Methodology| 30-32| | * Research Design| 31| | * Research Approach| 31| | * Research Instrument| 32| | * Sampling Design| 32| 4| Data Analysis| 33-37| 5| Conclusion| 38-40| | Bibliography | 41-42| | Appendixes | 43-46| Aims of the Study Technology has slowly started to rule our lives. No matter where we are, we have access to some sort of technological appliance such as cell phones, computers or televisions.Anything one could think of that might, in even the slightest way, make our lives easier is now av ailable. So many different types of devices have been conceived and developed that is has become a complicated and confusing decision when trying to choose the right product. Computers and other forms of technology impact our lives daily. We encounter computers in stores, restaurants, and other retail establishments. We use computers and the Internet regularly to obtain information, experience online entertainment, buy product and services as well as communicating with others.Most of us carry a computer or a mobile phone with us at all times so we can remain in touch with others on a continual basis and can access internet information by the touch of a button. Businesses use computers to keep track of bank transactions, inventories, sales, credit card purchases and also provide business executives up to date information to make important decisions. Government’s use computers to support our nation’s defense system, for space exploration, for storing and organizing vital information of citizens, and other important tasks. Computers are used everywhere, and is a vital tool in one’s life.When you turn to your computer, it’s nice to think you’re in control. There’s the trusty computer mouse, which you can move anywhere on the screen, summoning up your music library or the internet browser by one click. Although it’s easy to feel like the director in front of your own desktop or laptop, there’s a lot going on inside, and the real man behind all these operations is the ‘Operating System’. The purpose of an operating system is to organize and control hardware and software so that the device it lives in behaves in a flexible but predictable way.Most desktop or laptop PCs come pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows. Macintosh computers come pre-loaded with Mac OS X. The operating system (OS) is the first thing loaded onto the computer. Without the operating system, a computer is useless. When it comes to co mputer technology, the two biggest giants are ‘Microsoft’ and ‘Apple’. Microsoft and Apple are by and large the biggest producers in cutting edge consumer and business products. Between the two companies, they continue to push the envelope when it comes to developing software and hardware.Question is, which do people prefer? Prior to this, I’ve decided to base my study on ‘†¦ The buying decisions of consumers’, as to whether they prefer Microsoft or Apple products†¦ ’ Research Objectives Research Objectives ascertains specific points that may aid in gathering information related to the main objective. The purpose of this research will be: * To know the factors that affect the buying decisions of customers * To determine the products and services provided to customers Literature ReviewAs stated by (Allan 2001), Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions. While jointly developing a new Operating System (OS), working alongside IBM, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows. On February 26th 1986, moved its headquarters to Redmond, and decided to make the company go public.Microsoft worked closely with Apple during the development of Apple's Macintosh computer, which was introduced in 1984. Revolutionary in its design, the Mac featured a graphical user interface based on icons rather than the typed commands used by the IBM PC, making its programs simple to use and easy to learn, even by computer novices. ( Iceboat, Daniel, and Susan L. Knepper 1991 p. 304) Apple INC was established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated January 3, 1977; the company was previously named Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years, but removed the word â€Å"Computer† on January 9, 2007, to reflect the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers. (Price 1987) On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer important of the Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who would later design the iPod and the iPhone. The iMac featured modern technology and a unique design. It sold close to 800,000 units in its first five months.Through this period, Apple purchased several companies to create a portfolio of professional and consumer-oriented digital production software. On May 19, 2001, Apple opened the first official Apple Retail Stores in Virginia and California. Later on July 9 they bought Spruce Technologies, a DVD authoring company. The same year, Apple introduced the iPod portable digital audio player. The product was phenomenally successful  Ã¢â‚¬â€ over 100 million units were sold within six years. In 2003, Apple's iTunes Store was introduced, offering online music downloads for $0. 99 a song and combination with the iPod.The service quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 5 billion downloads by June 19, 2008. It can understandably be said that when it comes to computer technology, the two biggest names are ‘Microsoft’ and ‘Apple’. (Suhail 2009) It success has become so immense that a customer’s choice can either be one of the two. Other competitors are too far off, but what do these two giants give in return to society? To most people, Microsoft represents computing. Those with a dynamic interest in technology usually believe that Microsoft Windows is the computer.This kind of brand association you won’t see in other companies, which makes it a very powerful source in the world of technology. Apple computers have grown very popular in the last few years, and its simplicity and user-friendly attributes is what keeps customers capti vated. Historically, Microsoft began the personal computer revolution with their Windows Operating System, which offered people a different platform for their computer needs. Apple also introduced, with their own line of Macintosh computers and devices, though it did have it ups and downs.Microsoft followed a general policy by marketing their computers with non-expensive hardware and software parts which allowed every house to have a PC (personal computer). People can afford their computers with no restrictions on the type of hardware. Apple had a different mind frame whereby they went for exclusivity and decided to sell their products at a much higher price than Microsoft PC’s. Its elite hardware and software is what makes it more expensive. (Admin 2010) Although where Apple has the upper hand over Microsoft is related to security. Apple Mac computers are generally more secure because of its OSX operating system. Suhail 2009) It has more protection built in against malware a nd viruses. Customers want to feel comfortable and safe, knowing that the product they are purchasing is protected against threat at all times. Windows (operating system of Microsoft) is more prone to malware and viruses, and requires expensive protection software to make the PC more secure. Another advantage of Apple computers is they are more efficient when it comes to graphics acceleration and games. Microsoft has problems with that. If one would buy a Microsoft based PC, they would need to spend an additional amount to handle graphics of that scale.On the other hand, Microsoft is committed in making its products and services easier for everyone to use. The Windows operating system has many in-built accessibility features that are useful for individuals who have difficulty in typing, using the mouse, seeing or hearing difficulties. Microsoft also produces other computer hardware’s such as Xbox, Zune, Xbox 360 and MSN TV. (MSJ 1986) Apple also offers a wide variety of produ cts such as the iPhone, iPod, Apple TV and the newly introduced iPad. Factors affecting buying decision HomepageThe homepage is one of the most important pages of the whole site because it’s the first, and in many cases the only chance you get to impress the visitor enough to keep them browsing. You’ve got a few seconds to convince them that the site has enough value for them to keep using it, because if it doesn’t, the visitors will leave. Apple’s approach to the homepage has been consistent throughout all the years that the site has been running. They use this page as a kind of advertising board that always shows a big ad of their latest product, followed by 3 other ads to another 3 products or news that is important at the moment.If you’re not interested in any of the 4 suggested items, you can use the large navigation bar at the top, which is split into their core businesses: Mac, iPod and iPhone, followed by a couple of other important links, such as the online store and support pages. The navigation bar also incorporates a search field. (Dmitry Fadeyev) One other thing to note is the lack of content. You’re not distracted by sidebars, notices or extra navigation items — there are only a few items on the page, focusing your attention and making the decision of where to go next easier. Microsoft has a different approach to their homepage.Firstly, they feature a similar style of ad at the top, designed to be attention grabbing. These are large images, but only one out of 3 ads is shown at a time — you have to hover over the other two to expand them. This focuses attention, but may potentially weaken the effectiveness of the two hidden ads since the visitor has to work to see them right at the top of the page is the navigation, together with search. Flow All of the content of Microsoft is extremely monotonous, especially the â€Å"Learn More† box with a list of 8 links. The dry presentation gives the user less incentive to click around.Some Microsoft sites use better layout to direct the flow of attention, but they generally all suffer from the same illness: too much content. When you present the user with too many choices, you make them work — they have to think about what they want and they have to process more information. By reducing choice, Apple directs the users through a more carefully designed funnel, which generally delivers a better experience. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Navigation Apple’s website has a large navigation bar at the top, which remains there consistently whichever section of the site you go to.The options available show the main sections split by its lines of business as well as a couple of essentials, such as support and the store. The bar also integrates search and branding as the home button displays the Apple logo instead of a label. Any extra sub-navigation is located on individual site pages and is placed within the context of that page, w hether on a sidebar, or as a horizontal bar at the top. Microsoft has a similar navigation bar on the homepage, but that navigation bar is not consistent across the site. Actually, all of the sub-pages tend to use their own navigation bar, in style and in content.The homepage navigation thus acts as a site map to the rest of the Microsoft website sections. In a lot of the navigation bars, including the one on the homepage, Microsoft uses drop-down menus — unlike Apple. They don’t just use drop-down menus — they use huge drop-down menus. In some cases, the menu even has a scrollbar (in Firefox): Is this good or bad? In a recent Alertbox entry, Jakob Nielsen, a well known usability guru, has written that mega drop-down menus can work. They work because they present a lot of choices in groups, so they allow for easier scanning as you can jump to the group that you want and scan the items inside them.You have to get certain things right though, like the order of the groups and only mentioning each element once, for them to work well. In this case, it makes sense for Microsoft to go the route of the drop-down menus, but feel that they may have gone a little too far. For example, some options point to the same thing, like the ‘Office’ drop down and ‘Office’ option in the ‘All Products’ drop down. The drop-down also blocks the content below, so if you accidentally moused over the menu, you have to mouse off from it again to get to the content below — all the while being careful not to hover over other items.There are also a lot of options under each group — sometimes showing about 13 items, which makes processing the options much more difficult. Also, the inconsistency of navigation across the different sections makes it much harder to jump from one area of the site to another, e. g from the Office site to the Xbox site. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Readability Because most of the content on the sites is t ext, it’s vital to ensure that everything is readable and legible. Here are the main things to consider when working on readability of your site’s content: * Make the text large enough so that it’s easy to see and read. Ensure that there is enough contrast between the text and background. * Provide enough white space around the text to keep other content and graphics from distracting the reader. * Provide plenty of headings or highlighted/bold text to allow users to quickly scan the content for key information. * Add images and icons to make it easier to focus on individual sections of the text, i. e. product or feature descriptions. * Keep the text short and to the point. Apple does a great job of keeping everything easy to read.The text is generally small, but never too small so as to be a problem. Headings are set in heavier type and stand out, allowing you to quickly get the gist of each section. Apple also makes heavy use of white space to separate everythi ng apart and adds images to make each text blurb more interesting. It follows the general usability guidelines by breaking things down into small bite size pieces of text that are easy to digest. It looks a lot busier than the Apple site because there is more content on one page and there are many different treatments for headings and highlighted words. Dmitry Fadeyev) Too much variety causes visual chaos on the page, with each different colored or bold item competing for your attention. In this case, the page really needs to be simplified to make it easier for the viewer to process. Search Apple’s search is integrated into the navigation bar. When you type something in the search box you actually get live search results with AJAX, by way of a little box which pops up, showing you the results as you type. It’s very well done — there is no lag when typing, the results are grouped in categories and are fetched very quickly, usually before you finish typing your fu ll query.If you want to see more results you can just hit Enter when you’ve finished typing and you’ll be taken to the standard search results page. It’s very clean and organized by categories. You can drill the results further down by category, selectable from the menu on the right. It’s functional and clean, and works well when you’re trying to find any products that they sell. Aesthetics Apple’s website aesthetics closely mirrors that of its product line. The navigation bar looks like it’s crafted out of aluminium and features gentle gradients and indented text. There are also plenty of reflections and minimalist design elements.Apple has always worked on unifying the look and feel of its interface across its entire product line, from the hardware to software, and their website is no exception. Do aesthetics have anything to do with usability? Actually, they do. Research shows that people perceive better looking interfaces as more usable. The site follows a faint Windows theme with the light blue clouds, but there is little else to say that this is a page for Internet Explorer or Windows. The look and feel is very generic and doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself or build a coherent brand.The designs are overall pretty good, but pretty good just isn’t enough. There are plenty of inconsistencies and a lack of polish, which puts Apple ahead in this area. Consistency Consistency is important because it allows you to develop usage patterns. This basically means that if your site has a consistent interface throughout, your visitors will quickly learn how it works and will be able to use this knowledge in any of the new pages that they visit, since they’ll all be using the same, or very similar, interface. Apple does a great job of keeping the interface consistent.All of the product pages feature very similar aesthetics and are structured in the same way. The whole site looks and feels the same throughout and the global navigation bar at the top is always there, on every page. This means that the entire experience is very unified and coherent — you know you’re on the same website wherever you go. Could you tell that this is a Microsoft page if you took away their logo? Custom graphics, styles and colour palettes across all the Microsoft sections help little to maintain a coherent brand image on the web. Microsoft really struggles here.There are many different sections across Microsoft. com and they all feature their own look and feel, including their own navigation. So once you go to a section on their site, be it the Microsoft store, the Office site, or the Security pages, they will all look and feel like separate websites. What’s worse, the global navigation bar is also gone, meaning that you have to go back to the homepage, or the site map, to see an overview of all of their sites. It’s really an ecosystem of websites hosted under the sa me domain and therefore it doesn’t get the benefit of consistency that Apple has.The brand image is also terribly fragmented making it impossible to define what a Microsoft site looks like. (Dmitry Fadeyev) Marketing Nobody will argue that Apple is the kind of viral marketing. You might find some PC ads/commercials on local magazines and newspapers, but you will not find great â€Å"Mac vs PC† / â€Å"Get a Mac† / â€Å"Buy a Mac† / â€Å"Hello, I am a Mac, and I am a PC† commercials like Apple produces. Security When it comes to Mac vs. PC security concerns, many experts think that Windows has caught up with Apple.Before Microsoft Windows 7, we have all heard that Windows operating system is a targeted platform for malicious attacks. Of course it is true, but the question is. Does the operating system has the right tools to defend itself? With Mac computers, you won't need to worry about viruses as you do in Windows operating system. The real prob lem is not only about viruses, but about security breaches that allow hackers to penetrate into your computer, and steal your valuable art works, photographs and important (and sometimes secret) media assets.It was proven that both Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard have their own glitches. DailyTech. com posted an article, saying that one prominent Mac hacker has pointed out that Mac OS X Snow Leopard is less secured than Microsoft Windows 7 OS. Well, if a Celeb hacker says so, we should probably take it pretty seriously. So it seems, at least when making a business decision, that you shouldn't pick a Macintosh over a PC, just because people are telling you that Macintosh doesn't have viruses, or they are more secure. Apple OS X Snow Leopard is based on the UNIX core.That fact alone doesn't make it more secure than Windows 7 as you can see. We just couldn't ignore the fact that viruses are real pain in the axe. As a power PC user, with all those pop-out windows saying â€Å"You h ave been infected with a Virus†¦ † I would probably be very happy knowing that I can work quietly, without worrying about viruses and all that crux horrors that the Internet brings with it. You just can't blame Windows operating system for being more popular. Financial Analysis It's important to step back and examine just how close each of these companies really are in terms of revenue and earnings.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to report approximately $2. 85 billion in net income ($3. 07 in EPS) on about $14. 62 billion in revenue when it releases its results. Yet, it's well known that Apple regularly beats consensus estimates by quite a large margin and that actual results will come in well above the consensus. Just last quarter, Apple not only beat revenue estimates by over $1 billion, but it annihilated EPS estimates by reporting $0. 88 above the $2. 45 consensus – a 36% beat.In fact, Apple has regularly beaten consensus estimates by well over 35% each quarter over the past year. (Andy M. Zaky) Financial Alchemist's Turley Muller, who is currently the most accurate analyst on Apple, offers a more realistic view of the company. Muller believes that Apple will report about $3. 1 billion in net income on ($3. 35 in EPS) on $15. 15 billion in revenue. And while I think Muller has left some room for upside surprise, it's clearly best to use his numbers rather than the consensus as a measure of comparison. Microsoft, on the other hand, is expected to earn $4. billion in net income ($0. 46 in EPS) on $15. 26 billion in revenue when it releases its results – just a hair above Muller's revenue estimates for Apple. And while Microsoft regularly reports upside surprises itself, the gap between consensus estimates and Microsoft's actual results is nowhere near as wide as it is with Apple's results. Thus, if Apple reports at the higher end of Muller's estimates, and if Microsoft reports closer to the consensus, it's quite possi ble that Apple might have a shot to beat Microsoft in revenue for the first time in its history this quarter.The chart (Appendix 2(A) details a quarterly revenue comparison of Apple and Microsoft over the past few years. As one can see from the chart, Apple is within striking distance of surpassing Microsoft's quarterly revenue. Since Microsoft and Apple are on a different fiscal year, the chart realigns their results based on the calendar year. (Andy M. Zaky) So the big story in tech earnings is whether history will be made in the decades-long battle between Apple and Microsoft, or whether Microsoft will postpone the inevitable and maintain its dominance over Apple for at least one more quarter.Even if Apple doesn't beat Microsoft in sales this quarter, it will almost certainly do so next quarter and by quite a large margin. For the September quarter, analysts expect Apple to generate approximately $16. 81 billion in revenue compared to a projected $15. 16 billion in revenue for Mi crosoft. So even conservative estimates, which have yet to be adjusted to account for iPad sales, already put Apple ahead of Microsoft by nearly $1. 2 billion next quarter. My estimates put Apple ahead by $3. 2 billion as I expect Apple to record nearly $18. 9 billion in revenue.What's even more surprising is that Apple will likely far surpass Microsoft in revenue for the entire 2012 fiscal year (Appendix 2(B). I'm looking for Apple to record $81. 6 billion in revenue, well above the $70 billion I'm expecting out of Microsoft for the year. You can view my track record on Apple at Philip Elmer-DeWitt's column Apple 2. 0. Even the analyst consensus puts Apple well ahead of Microsoft next year, with revenue estimates of $72. 6 billion (AAPL) versus $67 billion (MSFT). The chart below compares Apple and Microsoft's annual fiscal revenue for the past several years.While quarterly data must be compared on the calendar year to show a side by side comparison over a particular 3-month period , yearly data can be analyzed on the fiscal year. And, what about other metrics? Net income growth, total net income, total net cash, cash flow, book value, total assets and the economic sensitivity of each company's primary operations are just a few of the other key factors to consider when comparing the two companies. While Apple will surpass Microsoft in revenue in the near future, that doesn't necessarily mean that Apple automatically deserves a larger market capitalization.But it does appear that Apple will not only record more revenue than Microsoft, it will also eventually (within the next few years) earn more in net income, generate a larger amount of cash, and outpace Microsoft in terms of growth in net income and revenue. The earnings beat won't come easy for Apple. Due to Microsoft's extraordinarily high operating margin, the only way Apple will beat Microsoft in earnings is by simply outpacing it in sales. Since Microsoft pushes more of its revenue to the bottom line, Ap ple will have to significantly outpace Microsoft in revenue to win on the net income front.The chart below compares Apple and Microsoft's net income for the last several fiscal years (Appendix 2(C). Though these two companies no longer really operate in the same space as they once did with Apple turning its focus on the consumer and Microsoft on enterprise spending, both companies are dominating their respective industries. Update 7/20: As expected, Apple has once again crushed the consensus estimates on the top line, beating analyst revenue expectations by over well $1 billion when it reported $15. 7 billion in revenue Tuesday afternoon. In fact, Apple even surpassed my lofty expectations of $15. billion by $100 million in sales. Unless Microsoft far surpasses analyst expectations of $15. 24 billion in revenue, it appears that Apple has already won the race. Microsoft primarily makes its profits from business to business, which mainly consists of selling licenses to its operating s ystem to computer manufacturers and office suites for enterprises. That’s not to say that they don’t sell to consumers — they do, and they have consumer only product lines as well, such as the Xbox gaming console, and of course home users also buy Windows and Office.This means that their business targets pretty much everyone, from home computer owners to developers and enterprises; which in turn stretches the purpose of their website to try and serve everyone. On the other hand, Apple is primarily a consumer company, and makes most of its profit selling hardware, like its iPod music players and Mac computers. This makes the target of Apple’s site much clearer — marketing, selling and providing support for its products to consumers.They don’t have to worry about selling licenses to manufacturers because they’re the only manufacturer, so the key purpose of the website would be to advertise and promote their multiple product lines, as we ll as selling them through their online store. (Andy M. Zaky) Cost Analysis Other factor that affects buying decision is cost. People have been arguing online about how much more expensive Macs are than PCs — or not — for more than a decade (and in print for years before that). These discussions usually involve some hard facts but also some persistent myths. As a longtime Windows guy who has recently migrated to the Mac, I think I'm in a retty good position to try and sort out reality from fiction. Let's take a look at what you can really get for your money these days. Hardware For those of you who are left, what I have found in my research is that neither side has a lock on good value. If you start with Apple's relatively short list of SKUs (three or four model variations for each of its lines, such as MacBook Pro, MacBook, and iMac) and then look for comparable Windows machines, you'll find that Apple bests the competition in some ways and not in others, but the pric ing, overall, is surprisingly on par.Only a few years ago, it seemed like a no-brainer that Windows hardware was much cheaper. But if you're talking name-brand hardware, that's just no longer the case. On the other hand, if you search the Windows side first, you'll quickly discover machines that — in features and price — fit in between the Mac SKUs. And in those niches, they represent very good values. So there's one answer to the question of whether Macs or Windows represent a better value: If one of those â€Å"in between† PCs suits your needs best, you'd be paying an unnecessary premium to get a Mac instead.Let's look at some hard numbers. I started my research with top-of-the-line notebooks — I spent an hour on Dell's site trying to find the cheapest notebook that offered everything Apple's $2,799 MacBook Pro 17 provides. That includes: * Glossy 17-in. screen with 1,680-by-1,050-pixel resolution (optional 1,920-by-1,200 resolution for $100 more) * 2. 4-GHz Core 2 Duo processor * 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 4GB) * 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT video * 160GB 5,400-rpm SATA hard drive * 8x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD ±RW/CD-RW) Gigabit Ethernet port * 54Mbps a/b/g/Draft n Wi-Fi * Bluetooth 2. 0+EDR, Express Card/34 card slot * Three USB ports * One FireWire 800 port * One FireWire 400 port * DVI port * Built-in insight video camera * One-year warranty (upgradeable to three years) I continued my comparisons with a visit to Circuit City last weekend to take a look at high-end 17-in. notebook PCs. Like Dell, Sony has one with every conceivable bell and whistle selling for more than $3,000 — the Vaio VGN-AR390E, which goes for $3,150.Like all the other Windows models available at Circuit City, the processor is a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, slower than the one in the MacBook Pro. On the other hand, the Vaio comes through with 1,920-by-1,200-pixel screen resolution, a 5,400 rpm 240GB hard drive, and a whopping 527MB of video memory. Like the D ell, though, at 8. 4 lb. , the Vaio makes the 6. 8 lb. MacBook Pro look like a lightweight. Moving downscale a little, both Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba have models in the $2,000 range that approximate the MacBook Pro's equipment.The HP Pavilion DV9260US comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo 2-GHz processor, a 240GB 5,400 rpm drive, Windows Vista Ultimate, and a 17-in. screen whose maximum resolution is only 1,440 by 900 pixels (a major drawback). Circuit City's price is $2,000. Bottom line: Assuming that you want a high-end notebook PC designed to work, play, and be your everyday machine with style, the MacBook Pro is a surprisingly good value. The models that I compared it with, the Sony and the Dell, had some extras here and there, but they were also more expensive.The key to the perception that Macs are more expensive is that Apple offers very few in-between models. A graph showing the market capitalization between ‘Apple’ and ‘Microsoft’ conducted by (T3 2009 ) shows that in the year 2000, Microsoft had a huge upper hand over Apple, and did so for a long period. It wasn’t until March 2005 that Apple started to rise and actually started to have a competing chance. Research Methodology Research Design The research paper design conducted is a descriptive one because it involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way.This method is used to obtain a general overview of the subject, and answers who, what, and why of the study. It is also useful where it is not possible to test and measure the large number of samples needed for more quantitative types of experimentation. They are often used by market researchers to judge the habits of customers, or by companies wishing to judge the morale of staff. The results from a descriptive research can in no way be used as a definite answer or to disapprove a hypothesis but, if the limitations are understood, they can still be a useful tool in many area s of scientific research. JA Maxwell – 2005) Research Approach As the research design is descriptive, the research approach would be a ‘qualitative’ one. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. (Creswell 2003) A qualitative study indicates that no statistical tools will be applied within the research. Methods such as surveys, questionnaires and interviews can be done when dealing with a qualitative research approach. Research InstrumentResearchers have decided to carry out ‘interviews’ to obtain the responses they need for study. (See Appendix 1 for interview questions) A set of questions will be asked to the interviewee, and their answers will be dealt accordingly. The interview questions will be structured; as there are specific questions the researchers will ask the respondents. Qualitative nature of stud y contains independent variables along with various assumptions. Sampling Design A ‘non-probability’ sampling technique will be used in this study. This method of sampling is non-random and subjective.Each respondent does not have a known nonzero chance of being included. A ‘convenience’ sampling method will be applied. The researchers will choose freely those respondents who are the most convenient. The researchers will interview people from I. T departments in areas of Telecommunication Centers (mainly concentrating on consumers). Data Analysis Being a qualitative study, descriptive statistics would be used to produce data and evaluate results. The data that is generated, from the interview (See Appendix 1 for interview questions) technique will be analyzed qualitatively.This would be followed by physically reading the miscellaneous number of responses and then concluding to which company people prefer. A little less than a year ago, Wall Street reached a Microsoft vs. Apple milestone: for the first time, Apple’s corporate value surpassed Microsoft’s. And Apple’s market cap (the total value of all of its shares) topped Microsoft’s even though the latter company had more revenue and double the profit margins. Clearly, Wall Street was looking at growth potential, not current income statements and balance sheets, in anointing Apple the more compelling buy.What has happened since? With Apple due to report its latest quarterly earnings  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Microsoft reports its numbers next week – we look at some recent numbers, as well as data over time. Market cap While total values for Microsoft and Apple were close last spring, that’s no longer the case. Since May 26, 2011, when Apple first inched ahead of Microsoft, Apple’s market capitalization has risen from US$223 billion to more than US$306 billion (as of April 14). Microsoft’s, meanwhile, has slipped from US$219 billion to US$212 b illion. Sharon Machlis) Bottom line: Wall Street currently thinks more highly of Apple’s growth potential and overall prospects than it does of Microsoft’s. Investors were right last year, but only time can tell whether that outlook is still justified, given the company’s high stock price. Market share Beyond Wall Street, how do the companies stack up in the battle for tech users? Microsoft maintained an overwhelming lead in the desktop operating system business, keeping a roughly 92 percent share of the market from 2005 to 2009 (the last figures available from IDC).Mac OS X’s share has varied between just 3. 5 percent and 4. 0 percent. Apple took a significant lead in the Smartphone race, capturing 15. 7 percent of the worldwide market last year, compared with just 4. 2 percent for Microsoft. However, both Gartner and IDC predict Microsoft’s Windows Phone will beat out Apple’s iOS for mobile market share by 2015, with Gartner expecting a 19 . 5 percent share for Microsoft and 17. 2 percent for Apple. In addition, Apple had a commanding 87. 4 percent share of the worldwide tablet market last year, according to IDC.Gartner predicts Apple will keep a 69 percent share this year and will still have 47 percent by 2015. Windows doesn’t show up in that forecast. Bottom line: In one high-growth area, smartphones, several influential analysts believe Microsoft will eventually come out on top. In another, tablets, it’s getting crushed. However, Microsoft has maintained its enormous lead on the desktop. Investment value over time If you invested US$1,000 in each company’s stock on Jan. 3, 2000, what would you have ended up with in April 2011?Accounting for stock splits and, in Microsoft’s case, dividends, but excluding taxes and broker’s fees, you would have US$2,072 from Microsoft stock and US$13,294 from Apple stock. And if you had invested US$1,000 in each company on May 26 last year, your App le stock would have been worth US$1,427 in mid-April, compared with US$1,033 for your Microsoft stock. Bottom line: Apple has been by far the superior investment over the past decade. Revenue Microsoft’s fiscal year 2006 revenue was more than double Apple’s FY ’06 revenue: US$44. 3 billion to US$19. 3 billion. What has happened since?Apple’s revenues have more than tripled, while Microsoft’s have grown by less than 50 percent. Bottom line: Apple’s fiscal year 2010 revenue edged Microsoft’s, US$65. 2 billion to US$62. 5 billion. (Note: Microsoft’s fiscal year is July through June, and Apple’s is October through September. ) Profits Microsoft’s profits were six times larger than Apple’s in their respective 2006 fiscal years. Apple’s net income has subsequently grown sevenfold, while Microsoft’s has increased roughly 50 percent. (Sharon Machlis) Bottom line: While Microsoft still generates more p rofits than Apple, the gap has narrowed significantly.If current trends continued – a big if – Apple would likely top Microsoft’s profits in a couple of years. Number of employees Microsoft still employs substantially more people than Apple does, although the size of Microsoft’s workforce has dropped a bit, from 93,000 in 2009 to 89,000 in 2010. Apple’s reported headcount has been rising, with a significant jump from 34,300 in 2009 to 46,600 in 2010. Bottom line: Apple’s revenue per employee at the end of its 2010 fiscal year was substantially higher than Microsoft’s: US$1. 4 million versus US$702,000.Likewise, Apple’s profits per employee were US$300,429, compared with US$211,236 for Microsoft. So how do they stack up overall? Opinions aside, Apple has impressed investors much more than Microsoft has, despite the latter’s considerably larger size and continued dominance on the desktop. Apple’s recent ability to c reate category-changing (or category-creating) devices such as the iPhone and the iPad –as it did with the iPod several years earlier – appears to carry much more weight than Microsoft’s assured, steady income stream from a maturing market.However, experts do expect Microsoft to overtake Apple in the Smartphone market. Bottom line: Those of us who thought a year ago that Apple might be overvalued have been proven wrong †¦ so far. Conclusion Which Company do people prefer? After all the analysis it can be understood from this study that a lot of reason and authentic facts impact on specific company and buyer’s decision. There is always a continuous rivalry between the two companies, but the most important thing to consider before buying a computer is the purpose it will serve.Microsoft primarily makes its profits from business to business, which mainly consists of selling licenses to its operating system to computer manufacturers and office suites for enterprises. On the other hand, Apple is primarily a consumer company, and makes most of its profit selling hardware, like its iPod music players and Mac computers. This makes the target of Apple’s site much clearer — marketing, selling and providing support for its products to consumers. (Andy M. Zaky) If you’re looking at usability alone, Apple comes out ahead.They have a better designed homepage that offers less choice, which means the user needs to think less. They have consistent navigation across all of their pages. They use a lot of white space and sub-headings to make everything more readable, yet they keep things simple by not overusing too many different text treatments. The Apple site is generally more user friendly and offers a much better experience to consumers who use it to check out Apple’s latest products. Having said this, the Apple website is much smaller in scale than Microsoft’s site.Unlike Apple, Microsoft hosts many differen t sites and sections under the Microsoft. com brand, creating a whole ecosystem of sub-sites. Each site is packed with information and the live powered search that Microsoft offers tends to yield good results. The biggest problem for Microsoft is consistency. (Dmitry Fadeyev). In a nutshell, both companies need some area to improve to fit for customer wants, to give customers master product and to provide consistency in telecommunication originations. BIBLIOGRAPHY WEBSITES Suhail M (2009)-Apple vs Pc: What is better?Available: http://ezinearticles. com/? Apple-Vs-PC—What-is-Better? &id=4337642 visited: 25th September 2011 Admin (2010)-Why Do People Like Apple Computers So Much? Available: http://www. asiaosc. org/why-do-people-like-apple-computers-so-much. html visited: 3rd october 2012 Dmitry Fadeyev (2009)-Apple vs. Microsoft: A website usability study. Available: http://www. webdesignerdepot. com/2009/05/apple-vs-microsoft-a-website-usability-study/ visited: 28th October 2 012 Andy M. Zaky (2010)- Apple closes in on Microsoft revenue race. Available: http://tech. fortune. cnn. om/2010/07/19/apple-closes-in-on-microsoft-in-revenue-race/ visited: 28th October 2012 Sharon Machils (2011)- Analysis: Apple versus Microsoft – by the numbers. Available: http://www. macworld. com. au/blogs/analysis-apple-versus-microsoft-by-the-numbers-28800/ visited: 29th November 2012 Journals Thurrott P. (2005) – Microsoft: The inside Story (Penton Media) Furgason N. (2009) (Feb) – T3: Tomorows Technology Today (issue 48) ISSN-1364-2640 MSJ – Microsoft System Journal Publisher: Microsoft (1986) Books Allan Roy A. (2001) A History of The Personnel Computer Allan Publishing ISBN 0968910807 Iceboat, Daniel, and Susan L.Knepper, (1991) The Making of Microsoft: How Bill Gates and His Team Created the World's Most Successful Software Company, Rocklin, Calif. : Prima Publishing, p. 304 Price R. (1987). So Far: The First Ten Years of a Vision. Apple Comp uter. ISBN-  978-1-55693-974-7. Creswell J. W. (2003) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. APPENDIX-1 Interview Questions The following questions will be asked by the interviewer to the respondent, which will aid study in finding out which of two companies’ most people prefer. Which company do you prefer, Microsoft or Apple? * Why do you prefer the company you have chosen? * What are the advantages and disadvantages of the company you have selected? * In your opinion, which company has a greater market share? * Which product do you widely use in your environment? * Have you ever faced major barriers in your company? Explain. * Who are your major competitors? * What advice would you give to weaker companies? How can they improve in order to attract customers, regain lost customers and retain present customers? APPENDIX 2(A) APPENDIX 2(B) APPENDIX 2(C)

Social Science Theory and How it relates to Social Phenomena

Social Science Theory and How it relates to Social Phenomena The social sciences have adopted the scientific principles of natural or physical sciences such as mathematics for a long time. Social science perspectives rely on the scientific methods of natural sciences such as sampling, observation and other means in data analysis, data interpretation and chiefly, data collection.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Science Theory and How it relates to Social Phenomena specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Social scientists use a social scientific perspective and social theories to hypothesize about the world around them and how it has an impact on society at large (Jones, 2003). It is therefore in the light of this that the topic of gender and mass media must be examined in detail to determine that it is of social importance to individuals, communities and society. The question therefore is how does the mass media influence gender perceptions? How has the mass media influenced ge nder perceptions? The question above has been a sociological issue for a long time. TV, newspapers and mostly the internet have various depictions of different genders and their social roles (gender stereotyping). The mass media also portray the female gender as sexual objects or as the weaker sex in general because it has become widely believed that it is so. From music videos to epic movies, women have been portrayed as the helpless weaklings who can only serve the purpose of catering to the whims of their male counterparts to the dancers who dance half-naked and in erotic manners as the men look on in bewildered amusement. For example, the Video Phone music video by Lady Gaga and Beyonce’ This is fast changing in this dynamic world where feminism, rights for women and emancipation of women is a common aspect of most of the modern world ( that is the First World Countries and the some developing countries).’ According to a research paper by McConnell (2008), the medi a also has a significant role in stereotyping along the lines of gender. She postulates that the media is a tool for perpetuating gender stereotypes that mostly target females. These ideas become so prevalent that they go without question and even force some people to adopt these characteristics that they believe are the required norm.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Movie characters, celebrities and sports personality have become the models of what the physical appearance of most women should be. It has even been extended to what they wear and how they wear it. Their works out regimes and diets have been splashed all over tabloids and reality shows as the â€Å"holy book† in weight loss programs or â€Å"having the perfect body. This can have such a negative impact on the feeble and malleable minds of most teens such that they begin to doubt themselves and ess entially starve themselves so that they can look like Angelina Jolie. This may have the disastrous effects of eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia and in the worst-case scenario, death. Men are not spared either. The ideal man should have the ideal body that is tan, tall, muscular or athletic and possess the ‘non-balding gene’. If a man does not achieve these requirements then he feels he may be doomed to loneliness as no one finds him attractive. The statistics of men having eating disorders and going for plastic surgery sessions is on the rise (McConnell, 2008). Our society is losing a sense of social perspective in this narrow view of physical measures of attractiveness. â€Å"By focusing too intensely on the physical, our society risks losing sight of the fuller sense of what people are, and what makes us truly beautiful† (McConnell, 2008). Social scientific methods in social sciences entail testing and proving hypothesis. â€Å"The basic technique of this method is called scientific observation, which is a precise systematic collection of data under controlled conditions by trained observers† (Perry Perry, 2003, p. 4) This question of media and gender can be analyzed scientifically through 3 research method problems: What data can be used to quantify the influence of media on gender especially in the portrayal of ideal types of physical attractiveness? The methods that can be adopted to provide data include sampling and experimentation on a group of impressionable youth. However, when it comes to distinguishing the applicable data, social scientists can opt to look at medical reports and statistics on the cases of eating disorders, plastic surgery and fitness regimes and work out plans as well as the dieting programs that are popular. The scientific analysis entails defining the problem as physical attractiveness in the media.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Science Theory and How it re lates to Social Phenomena specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Next, the hypothesis that these two are correlated is tested to be proven true by analyzing the collected data available on the topic. This is followed by drawing conclusions and recommendations based on the data through logical deductions of the the future holds for people with eating disorders and how media can change or elevate the numbers, and finally performing experimental tests on the medical data to affirm findings, predictions and conclusion (Moulton Schiferres, 1960). What is the reason for mass media perpetuating gender stereotypes and sexually objectifying women? The media usually perpetuates these views because when it comes down to it, â€Å"what the audience wants, the audience gets.† The media operates on what the audience wants to see because it generates rating which translate into money in advertising. The social scientific analysis involves defining how th e media thinks and its role of perpetuating stereotypes to achieve ratings. It can therefore be hypothesized that gender stereotypes are only prevalent because we indirectly allow it to permeate societal views by boosting ratings of stereotypical shows. The conclusion and recommendations based on the findings by logical reasoning can be made as to whether this will end if society stops glorifying these stereotypes as well. Lastly, an external researcher should retest the hypothesis through a series of experiments to determine the likelihood of this scenario (Scientific Method, n.d.). Why are men not targeted as much in the media or why are the perspectives towards them mostly positive? We mostly live in a patriarchal society. Most of the mass media do not sexually parade men on screens or magazines as objects. So why is media so imbalanced when it comes to the views of males? The researcher will identify the topic of media and gender bias. The next step is to formulate a hypothesis of the role of generational cultural beliefs on influencing perceptions of gender, which is verified through data analysis and collection. The researcher will use this hypothesis to make conclusions and recommendations about the how this could change in the future with the rise of feminism and lastly, the social scientific analysis will involve retesting of these hypothesis and predictions to ascertain that these facts are empirically true and are applicable to society (Zeiger, n.d.). Comparison of the research methods to those in the natural sciences In the natural sciences, the scientific method involves these four steps: Observing and describing the phenomenon or group of phenomena that encompass the subject matter. Formulating a hypothesis to explain the phenomena identified in step one. For example† in physics, the hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a mathematical relation† (Wolfs, n.d.). Using the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena that relate to the subject, or to predict the results of new observations from a quantitative aspect. (McComas, 1998). Performing tests and retests of the phenomena observed through experiments. This is usually done by several independent experimenters and involves setting up proper experiments in a controlled environment (Wolfs, n.d.). According to Barrow (1991), the main aim of scientific analysis is the predictive power of the subsequent theory, which is the â€Å"ability to get more out of the theory than you put in.†Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the natural sciences, the aim is to provide empirical evidence of phenomena based on these methods also adopted in social scientific perspectives with the difference being in the subject of study (Godfrey-Smith, 2003). In the formulated questions above, the research methods include the scientific methods generally applied to the natural sciences. The four steps of identification of topic, hypothesis formulation and subsequent studies in form of sampling, conclusions and recommendations and finally availing research for testing is all an aspect of social scientific analysis. A social science method does not fully rely on the natural science method as it incorporates data that may not have been found to be empirically true such as interviews on the perspectives of sexual objectifying of women. The idea that rationality can be used in verification of the topic also shows that natural science scientific methods tend to rely on consensus on how to solve grey matters in the research su bject (Meyer, 1999). Reference List Barrow, J. D. (1991). Theories of Everything. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Godfrey-Smith, P. (2003), Theory and Reality: An introduction to the philosophy of science, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Jones, P. (2003). Introducing Social Theory. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Blackwell. McComas, W. (Ed.). (1998). The Principal Elements of the Nature of Science:  Dispelling the Myths, The Nature of Science in Science Education (pp. 53–70). Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. McConell, M. (2008). Media and Gender Stereotyping. Retrieved from https://serendipstudio.org/local/scisoc/sports03/papers/mmcconnell.html Meyer, P. (1999). An Essay in Philosophy of Social Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.hermetic.ch/compsci/pss1.htm Moulton F.R. Schiferres J.J. (1960). (Eds.). The Autobiography of Science (2nd ed.). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Perry, J.A. Perry, E. (2008). Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Social Science. Boston, MA : Allyn and Bacon. Scientific Method in Social Sciences. (n.d.). Web. Wolfs, F. (n.d.). Introduction to Scientific Method. Retrieved from http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/PHY_LABS/AppendixE/AppendixE.html Zeiger, P. (n.d.). Scientific Method in Social Sciences. Retrieved from sdp.org/sdp/spirit/SocSci.htm

Science and its Limits essays

Science and its Limits essays In Del Ratzschs Science It is safe to say that I am fairly unfamiliar with these issues that are being discussed. I am examinging this material for the first time. Therefore, I realize that I have been influenced by Ratzschs presuppositions and beliefs on the issues he discusses. However, coming from a Christian point and having some background on what the faith generally believes on some of these issues, for the most part his ideas seem rational and understandable. After his discussions on a subject, he raises questions and voices his opinion on that particular topic. The opinions and doubts he has on the subject were pretty convincing and I found myself taking his stance on most, if not all of the subjects at hand. This statement from Ratzsch seems to sum up of my view on the majority of the issues. It should be clear that what one believes concerning the integration of ones science and Christianity will be affected by ones conception of science (Ratzch 141). Regardless of what you believe or why you believe it, your religious believes and how they relate to science will without a doubt influence how we perceive science. The first discussion is on Baconianism which was developed by Francis Bacon (1561-1626). His view held that science began by collecting data in an objective form, which would be free of all prejudices on the issue at hand. This idea would include being free of any religious influences. The data tha...

Consumer Decision

Consumer Decision Abstract The present report utilized secondary research and positivist research philosophy to critically evaluate two Consumer Decision-making Process (CDP) models – the Consumer Decision Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior –, with the aim to bring into the limelight the dark spots of the models when applied to the hospitality industry.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Consumer Decision-Making Models in Hospitality Contexts: An Evaluation Critique specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Current literature, though anecdotal in scope and context, has illuminated the fact that many CDP models are vague, inconsistent, and assume an all-encompassing orientation, which constricts their effectiveness and efficacy in explaining post-modernism consumer behavior. Many of these models have been accused of being largely descriptive in nature and ascribing to a ‘phases-based’ school of thought that is no t in sync with today’s consumers and their behavior orientations. Upon analysis and critique of the sampled models, it has been demonstrated that these models may no longer be tenable in explaining behavior as they view consumers in a rather mechanistic approach and constrict behavior to rationalistic approaches, devoid of any interpretation relating to the consumer as a unique individual who desires to sample unique experiences in the hospitality industry. The models are vague in their explanation of why consumers must follow the noted phases, and fail to account for external factors that influence consumer behavior in the hospitality industry, such as globalization, hyperreality, and hedonistic consumption patterns. It is recommended that new paradigms must have the capacity to delineate how consumers find fulfillment through consumption, and how they develop creativity and express their individual capabilities through the consumption of services. Introduction The present p aper is an attempt to account for perceived vagueness, inconsistencies and all-encompassing orientations of consumer decision-making models by evaluating and critiquing two such models, namely the Consumer Decision Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). These models will be evaluated and analyzed within the services context, with particular reference to the hospitality industry.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Despite the broad attention focused on the concept of consumer behavior (Dellaert et al 2012), and in spite of the obvious advantage generated by consumer decision-making models in providing conceptual frames of reference that make it easy to understand different consumer decision processes and marketing paradigms (Erasmus et al 2001), a large portion of these models continue to attract criticism from various quarters due to their perceived vaguenes s, broad generalizations, and an all-encompassing orientation (Lye et al 2005). Consequently, the ability for marketers to predict and understand consumer behavior and decision-making is still at a less than desirable level due to the inconsistencies and variances noted in these models. Consumer Behavior in Hospitality Industry Belch (1998) cited in Schiffman (2000) defines consumer behavior â€Å"†¦as the behavior that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs† (p. 2). Modern research on consumer behavior no longer derives interest in viewing the consumer as a rational economic being; rather, marketing studies have introduced a range of factors and variables that act either independently or dependently to influence the consumer consumption patterns beyond the mere self-interested act of purchasing as proposed by rational economic theories (Lovelock Wirtz 2010; Bray n.d.). To this effect, the hospitality industry must focus on the ‘process nature’ of the service production process (Lovelock Wirtz 2010), the unique characteristics of services on offer (Tsiotsou Wirtz 2012), and the impact of these contextual variables on customer behavior (Pachauri 2002). Extant services literature (e.g., Williams 2006; Miljkovic Effertz 2010; Oh 1999) demonstrates that marketers in the hospitality industry are still faced with the problem of adopting or developing new paradigms for evaluating customer behavior and decision making, primarily because most of the players in this sector have an imperfect picture of their customer, while only a few have put in place the capacity and capability to monitor patterns of consumer behavior at a degree of detail essential to maintain a competitive edge. As noted by Bowie Buttle (2004), many hospitality organizations believe that there are adequately close to their clients due to the co-creation of the serv ice experience.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Consumer Decision-Making Models in Hospitality Contexts: An Evaluation Critique specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Consequently, it becomes increasingly important for hospitality organizations to understand the major facets of consumer behavior and decision-making because consumption of services is basically typified as â€Å"process consumption†, where the production process is considered to form a fundamental component of service consumption and is not merely perceived as the outcome of a production process, as is the case in the traditional paradigms associated with the marketing of physical goods (Miljkovic Effertz 2010; Tsiotsou Wirtz 2012 ). Postmodern Consumerism within the Hospitality Industry Today, more than ever, the hospitality industry is increasingly encountering an era that is not guided by any dominant ideological orientation in consumption pat terns, but by pluralism of styles (Williams 2002). This is postmodern consumerism – a trend that is increasingly being reflected in a multiplicity of variables that drive consumer behavior, including advertising and promotions, product and service development, as well as branding (Firal et al 1995). Available literature demonstrates that postmodern consumerism in the hospitality industry is predominantly initiated by shifts in the social-cultural, psychological and technological domains, which generate new options for experiences and self-expression in consumption (Williams 2002). This section purposes to briefly describe some the factors that are associated with the new means of consumption, hence new approaches to consumer behavior Hedonism The increasing awareness of hedonic consumption among contemporary consumers has not only enhanced pleasure seeking behavior as the only intrinsic good but also luxury consumption to fulfill the variant needs of individuals (Williams 200 2). In the hospitality context, the postmodern consumer is embracing the richness of choice, traditions, and styles to sample products and services that will enable them to achieve the intrinsic good.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a direct consequence, however, it is increasingly becoming difficult for industry players to predict behavior since consumers are guided by the unconventional urge to experiment on new products and experiences (Firal et al 1995; Thomas 1997). Fragmentation of Markets Experiences The absence of a central ideology to guide postmodern consumption patterns gives rise to a multiplicity of norms, values, beliefs and lifestyles that are adhered to by individuals in the quest for unique products and services. To satisfy this rising demand for unique experiences, hospitality organizations are increasingly segmenting or fragmenting their product and service offerings (Firal et al 1995), making it increasingly difficult to objectively evaluate consumer behavior and decision making process. More importantly, the post-modernity orientation is on record for enhancing the production of smaller niche markets in fragmented dispositions, not only making it difficult to successfully evaluate behav ior using the current models but also eating into the profitability of hospitality organizations (Van Raaij 1993). Hyperreality of Products and Services The hospitality industry is abuzz with hyperreal experiences; that is, experiences that passed as real and authentic but they are, in context and scope, light and empty (Van Raaij 1993). Hyperrealism is largely driven by the insatiable appetite of consumers to enjoy disjointed experiences and moments of excitement, leading industry players to simulate some of the experiences and pass them as authentic and value-added events. For example, consumers visiting hospitality organizations such as the Disney World and popular theme hotels are made to believe in the physical surroundings, which are mere simulations in the image of hypes (Firal et al 1995). Globalization Globalization and convergence of technology have assisted to break down geographical barriers that fueled economic nationalism and chauvinism. Consumers are no longer consumi ng products and services based on their ethnic and cultural backgrounds (Van Raaij 1993), though some scholars still maintain consumption patterns are still predetermined by the consumer’s culture, and that globalization has no capacity to standardize consumer behavior (Firal et al 1995; Williams 2002). More importantly, the intangible nature of services within the hospitality industry necessitates comprehensive individualized marketing and customized services for the customer to experience the unique and superior value. In this context, it can be argued that the idea of global hospitality organizations to increasingly standardize and customize their products and service offerings is paradoxical in essence based on the fact that these organizations must deal with cultural variations that to a large extent influence consumer’s mind-sets and buying behaviors (Williams 2002). Brief Overview of Consumer Decision-Making Process Lye et al (2005) posit that consumer decision- making models are extensively employed in consumer behavior studies not only to structure theory and research but also to comprehend the contextual influences that come into play to influence consumer decision making. In a comparative assessment of the consumer decision-making process, Engel et al (1995) cited in Erasmus et al (2001) argue that â€Å"†¦a model is nothing more than a replica of the phenomena it is designed to present†¦It specifies the building blocks (variables) and the ways in which they are interrelated† (p. 83). Drawing upon this description, these authors argue that models should therefore have the capacity to provide conceptual frames of reference that assist individuals to grasp visually what transpires as variables and circumstances interrelate and shift. A number of academics, however, punch holes into the existing models of consumer decision-making process due to a multiplicity of weaknesses (Lovelock Wirtz 2012), which will be illuminated in subsequent sections of this paper, particularly in respect of their incongruent dynamics and operational deficiencies in the hospitality context. A strand of existing literature (e.g., Schiffman 2000; Lovelock Wirtz 2010) demonstrates that most paradigms of consumer decision-making presuppose that the consumer’s consumption decision process consists of precise phases through which the customer passes as they interact with the service. Indeed, a meta-analytic review of marketing literature (e.g., Bowie Buttle 2004; Lovelock Wirtz 2010; Pachauri 2002; Miljkovic Effertz 2010) confirms the most dominant phases a consumer passes through while making purchasing/consumption decisions to include: need identification; information search; appraisal of available alternatives; purchase/consumption decisions, and; post purchase decisions. Other researchers, however, argue that â€Å"†¦the process of consumer decision-making can be viewed as three distinct but interlocking sta ges: the input stage, the process stage and the output stage† (Schiffman 2000, p. 14). But, as acknowledged by Abdallat El-Emam (n.d.), the overreliance of phases in attempting to explain consumer decision making leads to generalizations of consumer behavior as not every consumer may wish to pass through all these stages when making purchasing/consumption decisions. Aim Objectives of the Study Aim To critically analyze and critique the two chosen models of Consumer Decision-making Process, namely the Consumer Decision Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior, with the view to determine the extent of their vagueness, inconsistency, and all-encompassing orientation when applied within the hospitality industry. Objectives The present paper is guided by the following objectives: To critically review extant literature on consumer behavior and decision-making process, particularly with reference to hospitality organizations; To identify, justify and critically analyze the two mod els of Consumer Decision-making Process selected for this study; To determine the extent or level of vagueness, inconsistency, and all-encompassing orientation of the two models as they relate to the hospitality industry; and To provide some alternatives and recommendations that could be used by industry players to better influence consumer behavior and decision making. Methodology Research Philosophy This report heavily relied on the positivist research philosophy and the deductive approach to critically analyze the selected models of Consumer Decision-making Process for vagueness, inconsistencies and typical all-encompassing orientations, with reference to contemporary hospitality industry. Positivism entails â€Å"†¦manipulation of reality with variations in only a single independent variable so as to identify regularities in, and to form relationships between, some of the constituent elements of the social world† (Research Methodology n.d., p. 3-1). Consequently, th e researcher evaluated facts from the more general to more specific using the deductive approach with the aim of drawing logical conclusions about the weaknesses of the discussed models from available literature (Burney 2008). Data Collection Relevant data and information for this study was collected through secondary research; that is, the researcher engaged in collecting information from third-party sources or information that had been previously collected for some other reason. Secondary research fits the demands and expectations of this study as it is not only easier and less costly to undertake, but it guides the researcher to effectively answer the research aim and objectives through the use of already existing materials (Thomas 1997). The research primarily utilized book resources, websites and peer-reviewed articles from a number of subscription databases, including Ebscohost and Emerald, to develop and analyze the relevant themes aimed at providing accurate responses to the research aim and objectives. Research Limitations The researcher was constrained by time and budgetary resources to undertake a comprehensive study that could have brought new insights into the important topic of consumer behavior and decision making process. It is widely believed that a broader engagement with secondary sources and, perhaps, undertaking primary research with hospitality stakeholders, could have resulted in a more comprehensive analysis of the models and more generalizable findings. However, this was not possible due to strict time-lines and budgetary constraints. Additionally the word limit for the study, which was capped at 4000 words, limited the researchers capacity to expansively detail some of the relevant concepts of consumer behavior and decision making, and compare the sampled models of consumer decision making process with other contemporary models to effectively assess the variations in vague conceptualizations and inconsistent content. Analysis Critiqu e Consumer Decision Model The Consumer Decision Model, also referred to as the Engel-Blackwell-Miniard Model, was initially developed in 1968 Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell, in their attempt to propose and explain the variables that come into play in informing consumer behavior and facilitating decision making (Erasmus et al 2001). As noted by Bray (n.d.), â€Å"†¦ the model is structured around a seven point decision process: need recognition followed by a search of information both internally and externally, the evaluation of alternatives, purchase, post purchase reflection and finally, divestment† (p. 15). This model further suggests that consumer decisions are influenced by two foremost aspects: â€Å"†¦firstly stimuli is received and processed by the consumer in conjunction with memories of previous experiences, and secondly, external variable in the form of either environmental influences or individual differences† (Bray n.d., p. 15-16). It is important t o note that the environmental factors acknowledged in the model include cultural orientation, social rank, personal influence, family, and situational context, while individual factors include consumer resource/capability, incentive and participation, level of knowledge, values and attitudes, as well as individual traits and lifestyle. In illuminating the model, it can be argued that entry to the model is through need identification, whereby the consumer actively acknowledges an inconsistency between their present state and some other pleasing choices. The framers of the model assume that the need recognition process is primarily stimulated â€Å"†¦by an interaction between processed stimuli inputs and environmental and individual variables† (Bray n.d., p. 17). After a specific consumption need has been acknowledged the consumer initializes the search for information, both internally through their deeply-held reminiscences of earlier experiences in hospitality organizati ons, and externally (Bowie Buttle 2004). The model presupposes that the intensity of information search is intrinsically reliant on the scope of problem solving, with novel or intricate consumption problems being subjected to far-reaching external information explorations, while simpler challenges may rely entirely on an unsophisticated internal exploration of prior behavior (Baig Khan 2010). Bray (n.d.) notes that information passes through five phases â€Å"†¦of processing before storage and use, namely: exposure, attention, comprehension, acceptance and retention† (p. 17). The model further posit that the consumer actively evaluates alternative consumption choices using the established set of beliefs, attitudes and consumption intentions (Erasmus et al 2001), with the evaluative process being primarily influenced by both environmental influences and individual influences (Bray n.d). Consequently, the model depicts ‘intention’ as the only precursor to co nsumption. While the environmental and individual variables are largely perceived to act on purchase/consumption behavior, Van Tonder (2003) cited in Bray (n.d.) notes that the term ‘situation’ is premeditated as an environmental variable though the factor is also not clearly defined. However, according to this scholar, the term may imply â€Å"†¦such factors as time pressure or financial limitations which could serve to inhibit the consumer from realizing their purchase intentions† (p. 17). The other phases entail the actual consumption of the service, followed by post-consumption assessment which grants feedback functionality to the consumer, especially in terms of undertaking future external explorations and belief/value formation (Bray n.d.; Erasmus et al 2002). When this model is critiqued under the lens of the hospitality industry, it draws its major strength in its potential to evolve ever since the original model was published some four decades ago, to at least encompass some of the variables and challenges facing the contemporary consumer in the hospitality industry (Bowie Buttle 2004). For instance, the model has been able to move away from its mechanistic approach of explaining consumer behavior to encompass modern concepts that influence consumer consumption patterns. Individual variables such as motivation and involvement, as well as environmental variables such as social class, family and situation (Bray n.d.), are better placed to explain how consumers interact with a particular food establishments, and even how such variables may influence return behavior and satisfaction. However, it is clear that many of these variables remain vague due limited theoretical background (Erasmus et al 2001), with a section of scholars arguing that the model is even unable to specify the exact cause and effect that relate to consumer behavior (Lovelock Wirtz 2010), while others note that it is too restrictive to sufficiently accommodate the variety of consumer decision situations in a hospitality environment characterized by shifting consumption patterns and ever increasing competitive pressures (Tsiotsou Wirtz 2012; Oh 1999). Foxal (1990) cited in Bray (n.d.) argues that the Consumer Decision Model avails a clear illustration of the consumption process, making it easy for marketers to internalize its dynamics to influence purchase behavior. The present paper challenges this perspective as consecutive research studies (e.g. Cave 2002; Kotler et al 1999; Bowie Buttle 2004) demonstrate that consumers, particularly in the hospitality industry, often engage in non-conscious behaviors that may not be modeled through a rational decision making paradigm. For example, the consumer may purchase a plate of food in an up market hotel, not because they engaged in pre-purchase evaluation of available alternatives to the hotel but due the fact that the servicescape of the facility blurred their conscious decision-making proce sses. Upon testing the Consumer Decision Model, Rau Samiee (1981) were of the opinion that the model is extraordinary in scope and range, but its factual vigor in explaining and justifying consumer behavior â€Å"†¦has been significantly obscured by the fact that most research efforts so far have only been directed toward specific segments of the model rather than at the model as a whole† (p. 300). In light of these assertions, it can only be argued that this model is not only inherently weak to be of much assistance to the service marketing practitioner but it lacks specificity and thus is difficult, if not impossible, to study and operationalize in hospitality settings. According to Bray (n.d.), the environmental and individual influences of Consumer Decision Model continue to draw â€Å"†¦criticism due to the vagueness of their definition and role within the decision process† (p.). For example, while the model clearly identifies and delineates environment al influences such as social class and family, it fails to explain the role of such influences in affecting behavior, giving room to vague generalizations. In the hospitality industry, it becomes even difficult to follow the direction of the influences as the model suggests since some variables are not diametrically ordered as is the case in the goods industry. Although the model suggests that the consumer has the capacity to decipher some experience attributes before purchasing a product (Erasmus et al 2002), it is increasingly difficult to validate such an assertion in the hospitality industry because most of the experience attributes cannot be evaluated before the actual consumption of the service (Lovelock Wirtz 2010). What’s more, experience attributes and individual motives for consumption in the hospitality industry relates more to issues of emotions and the role of heuristics in determining behavior. However, these issues are not adequately covered in the Consumer De cision Model as it only limits the role of individual motives to the process of need recognition (Erasmus et al 2002; Bray n.d.). Lastly, a widespread concern of the ‘analytic’ approaches such as the Consumer Decision Model regards the unobservable nature and scope of the many variables under consideration (Baig Khan 2010). Consequently, it may still be difficult to ascertain whether this particular model provides a precise representation of consumer behavior during consumption (Bowie Buttle 2004), and whether it has any predictive value in hospitality settings (Williams 2006). Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) The Theory of Planned Behavior (illustrated in Appendix 2) is an offshoot of the Prescriptive Cognitive Models that were first developed in the 1960s by researchers such as Fishbein and Bertram, who sought to primarily focus on beliefs and attitudes as principal determinants of consumer behavior and decision-making (Bowie Buttle 2004). The famous Fishbein model , for example, proposed that the consumer’s â€Å"†¦overall attitude toward an object is derived from his beliefs and feelings about various attributes of the object† (Bray n.d., p. 20). The TPB simply extends this perspective as it seeks to address the perceived overreliance on intentions (from rationalistic models) to predict consumer behavior (Rau Samiee 1981). From the illustration in Appendix 2, it is important to note that â€Å"†¦the construct perceived behavior control is formed by combining the perceived presence of factors that may facilitate or impede the performance of a behavior and the perceived power of each of these factors† (Bray n.d., p. 22). Actual behavioral control, which in normal cases is far challenging to accurately appraise, refers to the degree to which the individual has the expertise, assets, know-how, and other fundamentals required to exhibit a given behavior (Cave 2002). Perceived behavioral control, which functions as a substitute measure of the influence, is assessed and quantified through uniquely designed data collection instruments. The TPB also asserts that consumer behavioral intention is controlled by a forceful range of variables, including the consumer’s attitude and values, their prejudiced norms and beliefs, as well as their perceived behavioral control influences (Thompson et al 2009). As such, it can be argued that actual consumer behavior as explained by the TPB is derived largely from behavioral intention, but is controlled and mediated to some extent by perceived behavioral control mechanisms (Bowie Buttle 2004). The TPB, which has over the years evolved to become the dominant expectancy-value theory (Bray n.d.), has its own strengths and weaknesses when applied within the context of the hospitality industry. For example, it is a well known fact that many consumers form a perception of a particular restaurant or bar based on their beliefs and attitudes rather than intentio n. Consequently, it can be argued that this framework has the capacity to capture a substantial proportion of variance in the consumer’s decision to consume a particular service rather than over relying on the ‘intention attributes’ popularized by rationalistic models. Additionally, the theory not only avails predictive validity for its application in a varied range of hospitality scenarios as a direct consequence of its ability to convey subjective variables that influence the consumer’s consumption patterns (Cave 2002; Reid Bojanic 1988), but it is effective in providing prudential justification of the informational and motivational influences on consumer behavior. Lastly, on strengths, it can be argued that the TPB forms one of the easiest theories to understand and operationalize in hospitality settings. The TPB has been accused of projecting a vague orientation as it relies on the researcher’s ability to precisely recognize and enumerate all p rominent attributes that are considered by the consumer in forming their belief and attitude (Rau Samiee 1981; Neely et al 2010). Such an accurate identification and measurement of prominent consumer attributes is clearly impossible in the hospitality industry as the consumer is influenced by a multiplicity of both conscious and sub-conscious variables in considering what choice of food to order (Kotler et al 1999), or what choice of holiday experience to consider. Consequently, it can be argued that employing such a theory to evaluate consumer decision-making process in the hospitality industry borders on the optimistic. The TPB also relies on the presupposition that the consumer commences comprehensive cognitive processing before making a purchase (Dallaert et al 2012; Macinnis Folkes 2010). This presupposition does not hold much water in the hospitality industry as experience demonstrates that most consumers make spontaneous and emotional decisions in deciding where to go for l unch, or in deciding which hotel facility offers the best services. Consequently, â€Å"†¦the reliance on cognition appears to neglect any influence that could result from emotion, spontaneity, habit or as a result of cravings† (Bray n.d., p.24). It is indeed true that most consumers visiting hotels and restaurants for food and drinks for the behavior not necessarily from attitude evaluation as proposed in the theory, but from an overall affective response that is especially related to the facility, food or drink of choice. Conclusion Recommendations From this evaluation and critique, it is indeed clear that marketing professionals in hospitality organizations can no longer continue to employ insufficient marketing paradigms, such as the Consumer Decision Model and the theory of Planned Behavior, in their attempt to understand consumer behavior and decision making. 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