Tombs for the Living, Tombs for the Dead Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tombs for the Living, Tombs for the Dead - Essay Example Archeology, through  cultural-history archaeology, bioarcheaology, post-processual archaeology, mortuary archaeology, etc. presents various theories that aim for the â€Å"recovery, restoration† and surfacing of ancient cultures, and learning how they changed (Dannenfeldt 8). They also focus on learning about the ancient histories as well as studying their reflexivity. The research paper at hand focuses on addressing the question of whether the rituals of death are reflective of the living or the dead. Rituals of death, no matter which culture they belong to, are performed by the living for the dead; therefore, it can be construed that these rituals are reflective of both the living and the dead. The human thinking process and thoughts evolve as time goes by, thus new theories are developed, which seem to be able to fill the gap of disadvantages left by earlier theories. In the same way, there have been certain changes or movements in the train of thought of the archaeologic al theory, which have led to the discovery and development of different theories or disciplines of this study. These theories or disciplines, albeit differing in only some aspects from one another, have their own unique orientation and goals that further help in revealing mysteries regarding the people of the past. First among these comes the cultural-history archeological approach developed in the nineteenth century, which basically deals with elucidating why cultures were modified or adapted according to various beliefs, and it also aims to highlight historical particularism. During the 1960s, this approach was challenged through the approach called â€Å"New Archeology,† or processual archeology, and its focus was to make studies in a more scientific and anthropological manner, thus inculcating various scientific methods and statistical analysis such as hypothesis testing etc. However, two decades later, a new approach to archeological theory evolved and it questioned the impartiality and scientific positivism which were emphasized in the previous one. This was a post-modern movement and was known as post-processual archeology, and it believed in self-critical theories and reflexivity of various cultures. However, each approach has its own pitfalls and shortcomings and as of now, a perfect approach is yet to be discovered. Despite various shortcomings, it is these approaches and disciplines to archeology that enable one to understand the lifestyle, cultural beliefs, norms and traditions of his or her great ancestors. Such archeological disciplines include bioarcheology which aims to study about human cultures and their histories, and mortuary archeology which focuses on researching about funerary practices involved in various cultures, their beliefs about after life, etc. Thus, with the help of different aspects of archeology, man is able to know about ancient cultures, histories, traditions, ways of life, beliefs and practices of his great forefathe rs. Mortuary archeology presents a good question of whether the funerary rites, or the rituals of the dead, are actually for the living or for the dead. In a general context, every culture has its own funerary practices and rituals to honor the deceased, and some of them share similarities. Culture is one of the most important identities of man, and it is this culture that presents various values and traditions to be followed during the lifetime of the individual. In that sense, it is

Iran and the freedom of speech over there Essay

Iran and the freedom of speech over there - Essay Example While the U.S. is not guilt free in regards to the suppression of speech, the situation is far superior to that of Iran where speaking out against the government often results in long prison sentences and death. The tactic is used to control information thus the opinions of the public which makes it easier to rule over them. If all they hear and read is that Iran is always in the right, such as building a strictly electric producing nuclear program, and other countries and cultures are oppressive, such as the evil intentions of the U.S. and Israel, a common target of the Iranian press, the majority of the people will believe it. If this tactic sounds familiar, it also happens to all other nations. The Iranian Constitution expressly provides for the freedom of speech, expression and the press unless that speech is deemed harmful to the elementary principles of Islam or the human rights of the public. (â€Å"Human Rights,† 2010). This exception is vague enough to extend to most any type of speech or expression but the government, in reality, acts as if nothing about free speech was included in its Constitution. Freedom of speech, expression and the press is closely monitored and rigorously restricted in Iran. â€Å"There (are) no basic legal safeguards for freedom of expression and the government, notably the judiciary, arbitrarily enforces censorship measures against the independent press.† (â€Å"Human Rights,† 2010). The distribution of information is limited due to government as well as self-censorship from fear of retaliation. The Chairman of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Larijani, was asked on the Charlie Rose Show if anyone challenged the authority, ac tions or decrees of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader. He answered â€Å"Oh, definitely yes. Definitely, I mean, nobody is immune from challenge.† (â€Å"Human Rights,† 2010). Despite Larijani’s assurances, government officials regularly stifle free speech

Global human power Essay Example for Free

Global human power Essay Most of the victims in the novel were Frankensteins family, William, Henry, Justine and Elizabeth. These people all suffered due to the creatures anger from Frankensteins original neglect, which is what begun the hatred in the creature. It is not fair to view the creature as a human, as he was artificially created he has no human morals and has never been taught the difference between right and wrong, in the same sense that a court would never convict a baby. Although the creature did manage to master human language skills, it only pushed him further away from society as it allowed him to express his alien nature. We can see this in the novel when the creature put his hand into a fire, because the colours and heat of the fire attracted him I thrust my hand into the live embers but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain. The creature was a victim in the way that he was uneducated of the world before he stepped into it. Elizabeth can easily be portrayed as a hero in the novel as she represented a saintly soul and a living spirit of love. This lets her down however, when she attempts to save Justine in a religiously Christian based way, which was not successful. Although viewed as a hero she doesnt contain any power over other characters, just a good heart. There is controversy over whether Frankenstein could be viewed as a hero or not, as a cowardly attribute is certainly not a trait of a true hero. When the monster asked him to create a companion for him, he said no as this would enables the creatures to breed and possibly take over global human power. On the other hand he could have spared his family a lot of trouble if he had just created another being who could have possibly shown the love and understanding the creature needed. Frankenstein later realises this when he says For the first time, I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness. Elizabeth, Frankensteins wife, was also a hero as she managed to bring up everyones spirits at sad times, and she continually believed in Justines innocence. This particular genre creates a need for both heroes and villains, as it is usually the case of good trying to overpower evil, or vice-versa. To conclude, I believe that there are heroes and villains, as well as victims in this novel. Most of the characters seem to change from villains, heroes and victims throughout the novel, especially the creature and Frankenstein. In my belief the creature was made to be the victim from the opening of the novel as he was neglected, uneducated and ostracised. I believe Frankenstein could have changed everything if he had befriended the creature in the first place. On the other hand Frankenstein was also an isolated individual, although his isolation from society was brought on himself. The novel shows the shallowness of people in society by showing what the monster had to endure because of his appearance, as well as the moral irresponsibility of Frankenstein as a scientist. Frankenstein was always the villain deep down as he attempted to play God, which I dont think should be attempted by any human being. He was obsessed with the fact that he could create life, but never once to considered if it was the right thing to do. I think Shelley is basing the whole novel on, not what Frankenstein actually did, but what he fails to do.  The way the creature is portrayed in 3rd person narrative allows us to see the creature as a hero, villain and a victim. I believe that the creature viewed Frankenstein as a father figure and was mentally tortured when his own creator neglected him. He had nothing to live for, except revenge.

Brief and Time-limited Therapy: Types and Effects

Brief and Time-limited Therapy: Types and Effects Brief Therapy – Promising or Abusive? Brief and time-limited therapy experienced much controversy about its usefulness before it has finally established itself as a valid form of therapy for certain patient populations while being accepted by most professionals in the field. Some therapists have even hailed brief therapy as having already filled the place of longer-term psychotherapy and having emerged as the 21st century’s preferred treatment (Carlson Sperry, 2000). This brief paper intends to investigate whether these assertions are acceptable or whether brief therapy should be rejected in favour of traditional longer-lasting intervention models. Definition and Characteristics of Brief Therapy Brief therapy is neither unequivocally defined nor represents a unity as demonstrated by Sperry (1989) who compared eight contemporary brief therapy models. He concluded that none of the investigated models would agree upon the ideal clients to treat, the ideal definition which decides over what is exactly comprised by the term brief and most importantly in the targets and aims for brief therapy (Manaster, 1989). The present paper will focus on these points and also emphasise the practical and ethical bases for brief therapy. Psychotherapy generally embraces a therapeutic negotiation which can last from a few months to a few years (brief vs. long-term therapy) although these therapeutic transactions may even take place after shorter periods of time during a therapeutic dialogue. Notwithstanding, there was for a long time the notion persisted among leading therapists that the longer a therapy endures the better the improvement experienced by the patient (Fiester and Rudestan, 1975). This belief, however, was neither backed up by scientific research nor by clinical experience. In contrast, recent research repeatedly and uniformly demonstrated that therapeutic interventions which are designed for shorter amount of sessions are more effective than longer lasting interventions (Sperry, 1989). As a result of these findings, brief therapy enjoyed greater popularity and it became necessary to finally formulate the brief therapy model more thoroughly. Thus, Koss and Shiang (1994) identified in the fourth edition o f the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behaviour Change the basic principles of brief therapy. They concluded that it involves around six general considerations that enable therapeutic processes to be brief: 1) time-limitation 2) focus on change over the client’s life span, 3) working alliance between counsellor and client, 4) therapists pro-activeness, directiveness, optimism, 5) flexibility of technique, 6) focus on termination issues (Nicoll, Bitter, Christensen, and Hawes, 2000; Bitter and Nicoll, 2004). Number of Treatment Sessions A fundamental and enduring discordance between idealised hypothesis and realisable practice involves the average number of treatment sessions undertaken by patients. Hansen, and colleagues (2002) discovered that the median number of treatment sessions in time-unlimited therapies is below seven. However, after having reviewed the literature it can be said that most definitions regard brief therapy as including at maximum 20 to 30 sessions while the numbers appear arbitrary. Most investigated interventions, however ranged from seven to 25 sessions (Sperry, 1989). Shulman (1989) notes that prior to the emergence of psychoanalysis the necessary time period for psychotherapy was not an issue. Nonetheless, by the time psychoanalysis indicated to be both popular and lengthy length of time required for successful psychoanalysis interventions became an issue. Ferenczi (1951) and Rank (1945) pioneered in finding new ways to reduce the treatment period. Consequently, Shulman (1989) defined brief therapy by the therapist’s endeavour to significantly improve the client’s condition in a short period of time while Gentry (1981) described brief therapy as emphasising on â€Å"current observable behaviour and social interaction.† Brief therapists, as a conclusion, excludes the exploration of childhood traumas and experiences as it is not intended to make the client aware of impact of past experiences upon current functioning. Thus the fundamental aspect of a brief therapy definition seems to be the focus on keeping therapy short and limited rather than specifying the maximum allowed amount of necessary time (Manaster, 1989). Limiting targets and time are the two ways which have been identified by therapists as making it possible to keep therapies as short as possible. Limiting targets involves reducing the attention to a specific resolution of an identifiable trouble or problem. This approach is characterised by under standing individuals in parts in such a form that it is possible to treat their crisis more briefly. Those who prefer a more holistic approach regard patients as more complex and believe that thus it is only feasible to treat solely superficial dilemmas and crises. Consequently, according to Evans (1989) it is very complicated to vindicate the limiting of targets in a holistically based therapeutic transaction (e.g. Individual Psychology). The matter of setting joint targets is important as clinicians often have different expectations about treatment results than their clients. Whilst most therapists attempt to succeed in achieving more complex and thorough treatment results most clients are normally requiring relief from psychotherapy (Beutler and Crago, 1987). As a matter of fact, the therapist should strive towards being professional, and thus, offer as many sessions as necessary. As a consequence of choice given to clients or economic and policy considerations, the norm in both Britain and America is that to undertake brief therapy in no more than about 25 sessions. The new trend, however, are currently so-called ultra-brief therapies which involve therapies of less than six sessions. Again, these ultra-brief therapies result due to treatment services and resource constraints. A few recent experiments have already tried to establish its usefulness. Copeland and colleagues (2001), for instance, contrasted one- and six-session cognitive-behavioural interventions aiming on clients to cease and maintain abstinent from cannabis usage and revealed that only the six-session group demonstrated observable decreased amounts of cannabis consumption relative to controls while one-session programmes resulted only in marginally significant reductions in cannabis usage. Brief Therapy Conditions (Referral, Contracts) As Randolph (1992) maintained â€Å"brief therapy is viewed as realistic and geared to the demands (and needs) of clients and not to the restraints of the market place† (p.159). In other words, brief therapies are more client-focused and centred in contrast to long-term therapies and therefore it is important to consider for which type of clients brief therapy is more meaningful and promises to be more effective. Hence, both referral out and in should be based upon cautious and thorough assessment of patient’ suitability for brief therapy. Most time-limited work takes place in settings and as a consequence involves more than the therapist alone. In essence, what is made available to the patient is usually determined on the applied exclusion and inclusion criteria. Additionally, the practising counsellor should be preferably the only person who decides over what exactly can be done to improve the patient’s condition, who is the ideal person to assess the present client and future patient and how the therapy has to be set up, contracted, conducted, and ceased. Due to limited resources it is not always possible to consider the client’s choice over what s/he desires to receive. Both prognosis of potential outcome and availability play mostly a more important role than the patient’s ideal therapy plan. There are no strict rules of how contracts have to be negotiated as they are very context specific. They can be arranged as Mander (2003) noted by â€Å"the therapeutic couple or by service managers who hold the purse strings and stipulate the number of sessions allowed.†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Starting clients off will depend on whether they are ready to engage in an active working alliance and have sufficient trust to reveal at assessment the extent of the emotional crisis that has made them seek help.† (p.486-487). Although both parties generally agree on the fact that the therapy should remain brief it should be possible to arrange a prior or post-therapy referral-on when a serious problem and crisis has been discovered. This referral-on should be very flexible and could even include relocation and therapist change if necessary. It makes sense to regard brief therapy as a kind of pit-stop which has the power to update, re-energise and adjust the human minds vehicle while allowing the individual to come back to the repair station whenever it is neede d again. Thus clients can be accompanied by brief therapies from childhood to maturity. Self-evidently not everyone will be in need of constant check-ups and pit-stops as the majority of individuals will adapt and acquire skills to deal with the working-through processes independently. The therapist him or herself can view this service as similar to intermittent parenting of an individual (Mander, 2003). Despite the fact that some (e.g. Bitter and Nicoll, 1994) view the integration of time limits into the intervention programme as leading to both meeting and leaving people in the middle of their lives other researchers are of the opinion that it must be possible to extend the contract in a therapeutic alliance and that the counsellor must even feel free to transform a brief therapy into a long-term therapy. In a nutshell, in deciding who to treat, clinicians of different fields should aim to match their techniques, clinical experience and theory with patients who they evaluate as being ideal to be helped by this intervention model. Whitaker (1996) noted furthermore that some groups like students with disabling emotional problems should not be included in brief therapy programmes. Likewise, severe eating or personality illnesses or serious sexual perversion and severe alcohol and drug addiction are hardly curable in intensive but limited and brief therapeutic interactions. Cooper and Archer (1999) added that the clinical service mission and criteria for therapy must underlie a well-defined, unambiguous and clear assessment model like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV). Suggestions for a Counsellor in Training Starting to practise as a brief therapist is both very challenging and rewarding. However it can also become difficult to constantly motivate oneself to continue if the desired outcomes do not become evident in the short available time. It is rewarding as one has the opportunity to see how patients’ conditions transform and improve in a short period of time whereas achieving set goals is certainly an uplifting and worthwhile experience. The real secret and difficulty for the beginning counsellor is, however, to know themselves perfectly and to not only be aware but also to tightly monitor one’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, â€Å"being able to bear the repeated hellos and goodbyes of brief therapy may depend on how the therapist has managed the meetings and partings in their own life, and their ability to focus on significant psychodynamic details will be a function of how they analyse their own life experience in terms of linking past and present†. (Mander, 2003; p.498). Without both it is rarely possibly to allow patients to move on when their contract has terminated. Discussing and being aware of transference helps additionally not to hanker about past clients while receiving and accepting new patients in need of brief therapy. It is debatable whether a young counsellor has already achieved a certain level of maturity which is necessary in order to accept imperfect rather than ideal treatment outcomes. Consequently, one must permanently be empowered to control for the balance in both the practitioner’s and patient’s expectations while being utterly optimistic that both expectations will be met. One has to constantly bear in mind that the client needs to leave the treatment sessions with a positive impression and feeling as a client will have to force and push him or herself real hard to ask for help the next time s/he needs therapeutic help again. Conclusion By setting targets and a time limit clients may feel that they are not imprisoned by the therapy but that an improvement of their condition is both in sight and tangible. This optimism unleashes positive energies which benefit the overall therapy. Additionally, patients may perceive for the first time that the therapy is more tailored to their own needs and that the therapist is not so much interested in the potential commercial benefits but is more concerned that the set goals are achieved in a brief period of time. The fact that clients may feel better understood enables a beneficial therapeutic relationship to develop which facilitates clients to come back after the brief therapy and attempt to tackle another experienced personal problem or crisis. References Bitter, J. R. and Nicoll, W. G. (2000). Adlerian Brief Therapy with individuals: process and practice. Journal of Individual Psychology, 56(1), p31-46. Bitter, J. R. and Nicoll, W. G. (2004). Relational strategies: two approaches to Adlerian Brief Therapy. Journal of Individual Psychology, 60(1), 42-66. Beutler, L., and Crago, M. (1987). Strategies and techniques of prescriptive psychotherapeutic intervention. In R. Hales and A. Frances (Eds.), Psychiatric updates: American psychiatric association annual review. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Cooper, S. and Archer, Jr, J., (1999). Brief Therapy in college counselling and mental health. Journal of American College Health, 48(1). Copeland, J., S., Roffman, R., and Stephens, R. (2001). A randomized controlled trial of brief cognitive-behavioural interventions for cannabis use disorder. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 21, 55-64. Evans, T. D. (1989). Brief Therapy: the tradition of individual psychology compared to MRI. Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research Practice, 45(1/2), p48-57. Ferenczi, S. (1951). Further contributions to the theory and techniques of psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books. Fiester, A. and Rudestan, K. (1975). A multivariate analysis of the early treatment dropout process. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 528-535. Garfield, S. (1986). Research on client variables in psychotherapy. In S. Garfield and A. Bergin (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy and behaviour change. New York: John Wiley Sons. Gentry, D. L. (1981). Brief therapy. In R. J. Corsini (Ed.), Handbook of innovative psychotherapies. New York: Wiley. Hansen, N. B., Lambert, M. J., and Forman, E. M. (2002). The psychotherapy dose-response effect and its implications for treatment delivery services. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9, 329-343. Koss, M. P., and Shiang, J. (1984). Research on brief therapy. In A. E. Bergin and S. L. Garfield (Eds.), Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behaviour Change (4th ed.). (pp. 664-700). New York: Wiley. Manaster, G. J. (1989). Clinical issues in Brief Psychotherapy: a summary and conclusion. Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research Practice, 45(1/2), 243-248. Mander, G. (2003). Dilemmas in Brief Therapy. Psychodynamic Practice, 9(4), 485-500. Nicoll, W. G., Bitter, J. R., Christensen, O. C., and Hawes, C. (2000). Adlerian brief therapy: Strategues and tactics. In J. Carlson and L. Sperry (Eds.), Brief therapy strategies with individuals and couples (pp. 220-247). Phoenix: Zeig/Tucker. Randolph, J. L. (1992). Brief Therapy: myths, methods, and metaphors. Health Social Work, 17(2), 159-160. Rank, O. (1945). Will therapy: truth and reality. New York: Knopf. Shulman, B. H. (1989). Some remarks on Brief Psychotherapy. Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research Practice, 45(1/2), 34-38. Sperry, L. (1989). Contemporary approaches to Brief Psychotherapy: a comparative analysis. Individual Psychology: Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research Practice, 45(1/2), 3-26. Whitaker L. C. (1996). Treating students with personality disorders: a costly dilemma. J Coll Student Psychotherapy, 10(3), 29-44.

Apocalypse :: essays research papers

Apocalypse FOLLOWING IS AN IMPORTANT REVELATION BEING MADE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME YOU WILL BE CONTACTED. Disclaimer: The following information contains predictions of the future. This has been written for people who want to know what is on the horizon for humanity, and most importantly, WHAT THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT. Please understand that if you read this material, you will be doing it by your own choice. If your reaction causes you to want to report me to AOL for sending unsolicited email, it could result in my account being closed. I don't ask that anyone believe what I say just because I say it. I do ask that if you choose to read this material, please suspend your judgment of it until enough time passes for its validity to be proven or disproven. Please don't let your personal beliefs cause you to want to deprive others of receiving this. Written October 20, 1996 NOTE: This document is quite lengthy, so it might be best to either print it or copy it to your word processor so it may be read off-line. Dear Friend,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The choice of whether or not to read this message all the way through may have important consequences for you as the events of our immediate future unfold. This is being done solely for the benefit of others so that people may understand what to do about the times now approaching humanity. What I'm about to explain will strike many people as ridiculous, because this kind of thing has been predicted over and over again and people are not inclined to take things like this seriously. I am not your average tabloid psychic. In fact, I'm not a psychic at all. I am what could be called a modern day seer, but I prefer to be thought of as just a human being with an important message.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have studied prophecy and the techniques used to produce it for many years now. Through a combination of my own findings, the prophecies of Nostradamus, the prophecies given by Jesus and the prophet Daniel, I have figured out the future of humanity. As stated above in the disclaimer, the reader's belief in what I say is not necessary at this point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This message has been written over and over again since I first set out to do this. In previous versions, I have tried to describe what will cause the rough times to come... but everyone is pretty much aware of the world's problems and they don't really need to have it all pointed out to them. Besides, it makes the message unnecessarily long.

Uniting Mind, Body, and Spirit in Hermann Hesses Siddhartha Essay

Uniting Mind, Body, and Spirit in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha Each of us has innate desire to understand the purpose of our existence.   As Hermann Hesse illustrates in his novel Siddhartha, the journey to wisdom may be difficult.   Organized religion helps many to find meaning in life but it does not substitute careful introspection. An important message of Siddhartha is that to achieve enlightenment one must unite the experiences of mind, body, and spirit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the first part of the book, Siddhartha is consumed by his thirst for knowledge.   He joined the samanas and listened to the teachings of the Buddha in attempt to discern the true way to Nirvana.   Though he perfected the arts of meditation and self-denial, he realized that no teachings could show him the way to inner peace.   While with the ascetics only a third of his quest was accomplished.   Siddhartha said, "You have learned nothing through teachings, and so I think, O Illustrious One, that nobody finds salvation through teachings" (27).   His experiences with the samanas and Gotama were essential to his inner journey because they teach him that he cannot be taught, however this knowledge alone would not deliver him to enlightenment.   Siddhartha had taken the first step in his quest but without the discovery of the body and spirit, his knowledge was useless in attaining Nirvana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second part of the book describes Siddhartha's indulgences of the body.   The narrator stated, "How many long years he had spent without any lofty goal, without any thirst, without any exaltation, content with small pleasures yet never really satisfied" (67).   Though at the time he did not realize it, Siddhartha had to experience the lowliness of a material... ...is wound was healing, his pain was dispersing; his Self had merged into unity" (111).   He now understood that all things are in harmony, heading towards the same goal and he therefore knew he had no reason to mourn over his son.  Ã‚   Siddhartha had then completed his search for inner direction and attained Nirvana through experiences of the mind, body, and spirit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When the experiences of mind, body, and spirit are united inner direction is found and meaning is given to life.   Herman Hesse documents specifically the Buddhist inner journey but this path is applicable to all faiths.   He implies that we must all acknowledge the unity of everything and understand how we belong to it.   Our inner journey is very personal but our goals to achieve complete love and compassion are one and the same.   Work Cited Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. Dover Publications, 1998.

Review the changing perception in marketing planning Essay

Marketing is what you say and how you say it when you want to explain how awesome your product is and why people should buy it. Marketing is an ad Marketing is a brochure. Marketing is a press release. And more recently, Marketing is a Face book page or a Twitter account. Marketing, too many business people, is simply selling at a larger scale. The reality is that marketing sits at the intersection of the business and the customer – the great arbiter of the self interests of the business and the needs of the buyer. As the global economy settles into a new normal of consistent doubt, Marketing has an identity problem, a brand perception gap, maybe even a crisis of confidence. Marketing can seem like a science, but it also requires creativity and instinct. When you create a marketing plan, you can benefit from looking at your marketing resources, goals and methods from several different angles. Varied perspectives can help you consider possibilities and pitfalls that may thwart your marketing or help it succeed. How you blend the varied viewpoints can make your marketing stand out in the crowd and be well-suited to your products and services. The Four P’s Traditional marketing planning focuses on product, pricing, place and promotion. Planning that uses the four P’s starts with product considerations such as features, benefits, packaging and brand name that will make a product viable. Pricing issues must be decided with competition and profit in mind to properly position the item in the price-point hierarchy of similar products. Then the marketing plan must give details that will put the product in the right place, literally, for people to buy it. Only then can the plan deal with the types of promotions that will get the product attention in the marketplace. An example of the four P’s approach would be a company that creates a superior vacuum cleaner with a sleek design. Then the company prices that vacuum cleaner for the upscale market. The company finds luxury stores that will carry the vacuums, and then creates an ad campaign that is elegant and sophisticated for leisure  magazines that appeal to affluent people. Assess Main barriers in marketing planning? However there are some barriers in marketing planning; A strong marketing strategy and planning is essential and vital component for any organization. However, sometimes, there are certain barriers of marketing planning. For example, Lack of motivation of change: If stakeholders are demotivated and do not feel the need to overcome the threats or grab the emerging opportunities, it would be a main barriers to a good marketing plan. Overconfident with problems solution: Overconfident would cause a flawed or inappropriate solution for the problems. Failure of co-operation between management: Human resources and financial department are not willing to share resources and goals, manifestly the marketing effort will be impaired. Lack of knowledge and skills: Without proper knowledge and skills may lead to unrealistic plan and ideas. Source Cima official learning system How organization can overcome barriers? There are ten rules that can help to overcome the barriers of the marketing planning, which contains: Strategy before tactics Situate marketing within operations Shared values about marketing Structure around marketing Scan the environment thoroughly Summarize information on SWOT analysis Skills and knowledge Systematize the process Sequence objectives Style and culture Source http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/review-changing-perspectives-in-marketing-planning-marketing-essay.php Why marketing planning is essential in strategic planning process? Marketing plan provide information that enables stakeholders to measure the progress and highlighted the most appropriate marketing strategies. An effective marketing plan helps to increase product  sales and enhance company profit margins. There are several advantages of market plan, it contains: Focus on your target market Identifies consumers’ needs and wants Determines product demand Identifies potential customers Identifies competitor and analyze competitive advantage. Measurement for generating the daily cash operational activities and how to make profit. Manifestly, a good marketing plan will also benefit an organization with the analysis of how to achieve the company objectives and capability to create a new opportunities for organization. Therefore, it is essential in the strategic planning process for an organization. Source http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/review-changing-perspectives-in-marketing-planning-marketing-essay.php How ethical issues influence marketing planning? Ethical problems in marketing stem from conflicts and disagreements. Each party in a marketing transaction brings a set of expectations regarding how the business relationship will exist and how transactions should be conducted. Each facet of marketing has ethical danger points as discussed below. Market Research Some ethical problems in market research are the invasion of privacy and stereotyping. The latter occurs because any analysis of real populations needs to make approximations and place individuals into groups. However, if conducted irresponsibly, stereotyping can lead to a variety of ethically undesirable results. Ethics in Advertising and Promotion In the 1940s and 1950s, tobacco used to be advertised as promoting health. Today an advertiser who fails to tell the truth offends against morality in addition to the law. However the law permits puffery (a legal term). The difference between mere puffery and fraud is a slippery slope. Sexual innuendo is a mainstay of advertising content, and yet is also regarded as a  form of sexual harassment. Violence is an issue especially for children’s advertising and advertising likely to be seen by children. The advertising of certain products may strongly offend some people while being of interest to others. Examples include: feminine hygiene products as well as hemorrhoid and constipation medication. The advertising of condoms has become acceptable in the interests of AIDS-prevention, but are nevertheless seen by some as promoting promiscuity. Through negative advertising techniques, the advertiser highlights the disadvantages of competitor products rather than the advantages of their own. These methods are especially used in politics. In these ways ethics can impact on marketing planning for organizations its vary from country to country. Source https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-responsibility-ethics-in-marketing-16/ethics-in-marketing-102/issues-in-marketing-502-10770/ Analyze how these ethical issues can overcome? Adler and Bird suggested few strategies to enhance ethical behavior and avoid unethical behavior in organizations. They suggested that, firstly, top managerial should encourage ethical consciousness to their subordinates by providing support and care upon ethical practices. Secondly, it is recommended that top managerial level should focus on the institutionalization of ethical norms and practices that are incorporated into all organizational levels. Besides, organizations should provide an ethical training to strengthen and gain their employees’ personal ethical framework to ensure that it practice employees’ self-discipline and capable to make an ethical decisions in a difficult circumstances. Meanwhile, organizations should be avoiding these unethical issues happen in their institution: Product: Misleading product information, lack quality control and deliberately produce poor quality product, unfit product description. Price: Expensive price with a poor quality product Place: Different product price in different location Distribution: Control the product supply and increase the product selling price when out of stock. Source http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/review-changing-perspectives-in-mark eting-planning-marketing-essay.php#ixzz3E8gDdF00