Individual Reflective Account Of Leadership Development

Individual Reflective Account Of Leadership Development Title: A personal reflective narrative on how engaging with the leadership literature has affected my own conceptualisations of leadership. Introduction The theories of transformational leadership (Bass, 1985; Bass and Avolio, 1994) and charismatic leadership (Conger and Kanungo, 1987) represent popular approaches to the conceptualisation of leadership and have arguably evolved to be central to the field. However, a number of scholars have raised several issues with these approaches (Pawar, 2003; Yukl, 1999). and it is the intention here to highlight a number of concerns that relate to the challenge of teaching leadership. This addresses an area of neglect in the literature as there has been limited consideration of the teaching of leadership (Doh, 2003). The Meaning of Leadership Researchers interested in leadership have approached the development of an understanding of leadership from a variety of perspectives. Much of the leadership research conducted during the first half of twentieth century was focused on the identification of personal traits (attributes) that characterised those individuals who emerged as leaders. A review of the leadership literature reveals that there are multiple definitions that have been given to the leadership construct. Bass (1990) focuses on the concept of leadership. He suggests that there are several different approaches to the definition. While each of these perspectives and uses of the term is a legitimate use of the construct of leadership, each reflects a different conceptualization than that which traditionally has been employed. Bass points out that definitions can be used to serve a variety of purposes. Bass (1960) noted that the definition used in a particular study of leadership depends on the purposes of the study. Consistent with this, Yukl (1994:5) concluded that leadership research should be designed to provide information relevant to the entire range of definitions, so that over time it will be possible to compare the utility of different conceptualizations and arrive at some consensus on the matter. Bass (1990:19) further notes that researchers have developed definitions to serve the following different purposes: (1) to identify the object to be observed, (2) to identify a form of practice, (3) to satisfy a particular value orientation, (4) to avoid a particular orientation or implication for a practice, and (5) to provide a basis for the development of theory. The definitions indicate a progression of thought, although historically, many trends overlapped. The earlier definitions identified leadership as a focus of group process and movement, personality in action. The next type considered it as the art of inducing compliance. The more recent definitions conceive of leadership in terms of influence relationships, power differentials, persuasion, influence on goal achievement, role differentiation, reinforcement, initiation of structure, and perceived attributions of behaviour that are consistent with what the what the perceivers believe leadership to be. The truth is that leade rship may in fact involve all these things. Rethinking leadership Barker (1997) argues that the ambiguity surrounding what we understand as leadership is central to the struggle of teaching leadership. Rost (1991) indeed notes that the leadership literature although vast, is often contradictory, confusing and lacks cohesion. BrymanHYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb11HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb11s (1996) documentation of four chronological phases of leadership theory, is illustrative of changing conceptions of leadership: Trait theories (concerned with an identification of leaders traits). Behavioural theories (concerned with identification of behavioural styles of leaders). Contingency theories (concerned with a focus on fitting behavioural styles to situational factors). New theories of leadership (concerned with a focus on the articulation of a vision). Arguably, such new theories of leadership have over recent years evolved as central to our understanding of leadership with an emphasis on transformational leadership where a leader stimulates followers to change their motives, beliefs and values and capabilities so that the followers own interests and personal goals become congruent with the organisation (Bass, 1985). An important facet of this leadership is charisma, and indeed Conger and Kanungo (1987) have developed a leadership theory that specifically focuses on this dimension. Conger HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb17et al.HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb17 (2000, p. 748) suggest that charismatic leaders differ from other leaders by their ability to formulate and articulate an inspirational vision and by behaviours that they and their mission are extraordinary. In both models there is a common suggestion of a leader inspiring followers to a shared vision. This conceptualisation has arguably become widely accepted in the literature. However, some have questioned such mainstream thinking and invite a greater openness to the consideration of leadership than is presently found (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2003). It is suggested here that a notion of a leader inspiring followers to a shared vision represents only one way to think about leadership and may not be of much assistance to those concerned with the teaching of leadership. It is in this respect that I intend to argue that this dominant conceptualisation represents a particular way of thinking about organisations and managerial work (of which leadership is one aspect), namely what may be described as systems-control thinking. Systems-control orthodoxy tends to promote a rather mechanistic view of organisations and managerial work seeing managing as an activity mainly concerned with designing and controlling work organisations as if they were big machine-like systems rationally devised to meet unambiguous organisational goals (Watson, 2005, p. 2). Such thinking derives from modernist and universalistic aspirations to maximise control over human circumstances with the manager being viewed as an expert who controls and motivates subordinates to behave in particular ways consistent with the organisations goals. Indeed, Barker (2001, p. 479) challenges the notion of new leadership theory, arguing that the work of Bass (1985, 1990) for example, clings to the idea that leadership is about leaders supervising subordinates, about subordinates working hard toward institutional objectives as the primary goal for leadership and about the leaders ability to persuade/inspire/motivate subordinates to release their own n eeds to work toward the interests of the leader or the institution that the leader represents. The extent then to which new theories provide an alternative perspective of leadership is thus questionable since along with previous conceptualisations, they continue to be framed by systems-control thinking. It is suggested that an alternative way to think about leadership is to adopt process-relational thinking. To adopt such thinking would be to recognise that: Managers like everyone else in organisational settings, are continually striving to make sense of numerous crosscutting and conflicting goals and purposes. Managers and non-managers alike constantly have to make and remake bargains, exert power, resist power, cope with conflicts of interest and negotiate understandings with others to make sure that the goods are produced or services provided to a level and quality that enables the organisation to remain in existence (Watson, 2005, pp. 2-3). The origins of such thinking may be seen to be associated with a dissatisfaction with mainstream systems-control thinking and in particular, the critique of Silverman (1970) which drew upon ideas from social action theory (Berger and Luckman, 1967), highlighting an understanding of organisations as social constructs produced and reproduced through their members activities and later being built upon to emphasise the notion of negotiated order (Day and Day, 1977). To view the organisation in process-relational terms thus involves a shift from seeing the organisation as a goal pursuing entity as suggested by a systems-control perspective to thinking about the organisation as ongoing patterns of meaning making and activity brought about as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ people in relationships to others and to their cultures (Watson, 2005, p. 6). Viewing the organisation through a process-relational lens thus accepts that only partial managerial control can ever be achieved given the ongoing and emerge nt nature of organisational activity and the centrality of people in relationships to others with their inevitable complexities and differing interests. However, it is important to note that the adoption of a process-relational perspective (or indeed a systems-control one) goes beyond a way of seeing the organising and managing of work, it also represents a way of talking and acting towards organising and managing. Thus a manager who adopts a process-relational framework is more likely to take into account broader and more-subtle aspects of work behaviour. Arguably, the central notion of leaders inspiring followers to a shared vision seen in new leadership theories becomes more problematic when thinking in process-relational terms. It is thus suggested here that thinking about leadership in process-relational terms may be more helpful to management educators as it does greater justice to the complex, messy realities of organisational life and as such provides greater assistance in helping managers to make sense of their management practice, and in particular, the part of their practice that is leadership. Systems-control vs process-relational framing of leadership It is suggested that theories of transformational and charismatic leadership are tied to a systems-control perspective of organisations. Below we raise a number of issues that emerge from the adoption of such a perspective. The issues raised here are by no means exhaustive but rather serve to illustrate some of the difficulties in framing leadership in a systems-control way and in particular ensuing tensions for the teaching of leadership draws on the work of Watson (2005) and summarises the issues discussed below, highlighting the central features of a systems-control leadership perspective contrasted with a process-relational one. We problematise a number of features of systems-control thinking in relation to leadership, namely the assumption of a unitary organisation; the emphasis placed upon the individual leader often portrayed in terms of superhero status and the subsequent neglect of others involved in leadership processes, and relatedly the separation and elevation of leaders hip from other organisational activities. We suggest that adopting a process-relational leadership perspective offers a more grounded and realistic conceptualisation which accepts the plurality of organisational life, focuses on leadership as an emergent process which includes the contributions of others and sees leadership as integral to the organising and managing of work. The unitary and fixed organisation Central to systems-control thinking is a notion of the pursuit of clear organisational goals, designed by the manager or leader who then motivates others to act in ways which will achieve these goals. It is suggested that this is problematic for a number of reasons. Such a way of thinking about leadership is based upon a unitary view of organisations that proposes all organisational members share the goals of the organisation and are thus motivated to act in ways that will ensure the realisation of such goals. Both transformational and charismatic leadership theories can be seen to uphold unitarist assumptions. Central to Basss theory is a notion of subordinates transcending their self interests for the goals of the organisation, with Bass and Avolio (1994, p. 3) for example suggesting that the (transformational) leader creates clearly communicated expectations that followers want to meet, and similarly Conger and Kanungo (1987) hypothesise that charismatic leadership will result in high internal cohesion, low internal conflict, high value congruence and high consensus. It is suggested that such assumptions are problematic since they downplay the multitude of conflicting goals, purposes and beliefs that organisational members hold in reality that seriously questions ideals of consensus and cohesion. Although Bass and Avolio (1994) acknowledge that followers hold a diverse set of views, needs and aspirations, they suggest that through the use of inspirational motivation the leader is able to align diverse followers around a vision. Thus there remains a belief that high consensus can be achieved and thus conflict, negotiation and politics that are inevitable in organisations tend to be marginalised. Notably, Barker (1997) reminds us of BurnsHYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb12HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739 volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb12s (1978) definition of leadership which emphasises leadership as a process which occurs within a context of competition and conflict. Interestingly, Basss theory of transformational leadership has built upon Burnss work and yet downplays this important dimension. It may be argued that assumptions of a unitary organisation may oversimplify the reality that is found in organisations. Similarly, systems-control thinking implies that the goals of the organisation are somehow fixed and once achieved the work of the leader is done. Again, this is seen to oversimplify the case. Conger and Kanungo, 1987, p. 46) exemplify a focus on achievement of fixed goals suggesting that one cannot lead when there is no future goal to pursue. This is seen to ignore the essentially emergent nature of organisational life in that organising and managing is in a constant state of becoming (Watson, 2002). The fluid and dynamic nature of organisations makes it difficult to envisage when there would be no future goal to pursue. Generally, given that models of transformational and charismatic leadership are framed by systems-control thinking means that they may be seen as less helpful in assisting managers to understand leadership as they do not do justice to the complex reality found in organisations. Recent leadership research and findings from our own work further suggest a number of issues with such theories that relate to this tendency to present an oversimplified and sometimes romanticised view of organisational life. The promotion of the superhero Consistent with systems-control thinking, theories of transformational and charismatic leadership present an individualistic conception of leadership, since there is a focus on the leader as a special person. Indeed, there is a focus on a gifted individual seemingly in possession of almost superhuman, magical powers that may be seen to spellbind followers to act in ways desired by the leader. Words such as extraordinary, unconventional and heroic typify a description of leader behaviours. Bass (1985, pp. 47-48) for example, highlights the extraordinariness of the transformational, charismatic leader suggesting that the unusual vision of charismatic leaders that makes it possible for them to see around corners stems from their greater freedom from internal conflict whereas the ordinary manager is a continuing victim of their self doubts and personal traumas. However, it is unclear from the literature what exactly it means to be extraordinary or unconventional and therefore limited hel p is offered to our practical attempts to teach leadership. Moreover, Alimo-Metcalfe HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb1et al.HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb1 (2002) argue that new theories of leadership create dangerous myths because they create a notion of leadership that is inaccessible to most ordinary mortals. Further, the idea that a leader must in some way be gifted shows a regression to notions of leadership as an innate ability and as such suggests little can be done by way of teaching leadership. Indeed, in my own auditing work, I found several managers who perceived leadership as an inspirational gift and therefore attempts to teach leadership were seen as limited: I dont think good leaders are people that you can, I think the term is a good leader is born, you cant turn somebody from being a poor leader into a good leader by putting them on some courses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ that sort of inspirational skill is something that that individual has and I dont think you can always train that into somebody (project manager). Whilst the notion of heroic leadership may hold weight for some there is a growing body of evidence that debunks this leadership myth. Numerous studies are now found which may be said to contribute to an emerging anti-heroic leadership perspective which suggests leaders are not larger than life individuals with special powers rather they are far more ordinary and reserved. The work of Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe (2001) offers a very different conception of transformational leadership to that described earlier. Their work highlights the salience of what the leader does for the individual such as empowering, valuing, supporting and encouraging. This is contrasted with dominant ideas of the leader acting as a role model and inspiring the follower. Indeed, Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe suggest that followership, so central to transformational and charismatic leadership theory is absent in their work. Comments made by managers during my own audit work were consistent with this view with managers talking of supporting and encouraging others rather than inspiring followers: Well those things leadership can be a reassurance, a firm decision, a supportive decision, giving people encouragement, being actually prepared to stick your head above the parapet where other people arent sometimes. Being decisive rather than indecisive. Not always leading from the front but just letting people know that you are supportive of what they are doing that they can rely on you if things go wrong (operations director). Taking away the notion of followership diminishes the importance of the heroic leader since there is a decreased need for an inspirational figure to model the way for followers. Instead Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe (2001) argue that their work suggests a greater sense of proximity, openness, humility and vulnerability. Collins (2001) provides evidence that suggests that successful organisations do not have leaders who are charismatic, heroic figures but rather individuals who display personal humility and professional will. He found that successful leaders which he terms level five leaders, were shy unpretentious, awkward and modest but at the same time had an enormous amount of ambition not for themselves but the organisation. Similarly, Badaracco (2001) suggests the importance of quiet leadership. This is seen not to inspire or thrill, but to focus on small things, careful moves and measured efforts. He further suggests that quiet leaders have an understanding of the reality of their situations noting the limits of their powers and understanding that they are only one piece on the chessboard. This emerging work would seem to conceptualise leadership in perhaps more realistic ways focusing attention away from ideas of inspirational powers and instead a suggestion of an ordinary person working alon gside others. This is consistent with a process-relational framing of leadership since it is recognised that leaders are like everybody else and do not possess special powers thus moving attention away from ideas of special personality attributes. Thus there is hope for the majority of being able to contribute to leadership and a suggestion that there may be some role for the management teacher. The isolated leader and the neglect of group processes The focus on the heroic leader is problematic since it diverts attention from others involved in the leadership process and thus downplays the relational aspects of leadership. Whilst the contribution of followers is noted, there is a tendency to over emphasise the ability of the individual leader, this is perhaps exemplified when poor performance is automatically blamed on the actions of the leader (Khurana, 2002). Yukl (1999) proposes that instead of focusing on a single person who influences followers, many people can be viewed as contributors to the overall process of leadership in organisations. He suggests that this conception of leadership does not require an individual who is exceptional or who can perform all of the essential leadership functions, only a set of people who collectively perform them. Research undertaken by Heifetz and Laurie (2001) supports the notion of a more collaborative conception of leadership. They suggest that the leader is not somebody who has all the solutions at their disposal; rather they are somebody who asks questions. They suggest that one can lead with no more than a question in hand. Research carried out with directors of public health in the UK supports the notion of focusing on others in the leadership process (McAreavey HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb28et al.HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb28, 2001). The directors of public health interviewed in McAreavey HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb28et al.HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb28HYPERLINK http://0-www.emeraldinsight.com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/journals.htm?issn=0143-7739volume=27issue=2articleid=1545747show=html#idb28s (2001) study suggested that effective leadership placed an emphasis on working with others a nd not guiding others. These shifts in focus are consistent with work by Barker (1997) and Rost (1991) who suggested that we should be focusing on group processes and think of collaborators and not followers and thus is in accordance with Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfes rejection of followership. Yukl (1999) has criticised transformational and charismatic leadership theories for a neglect of group processes and thus salient aspects of leadership are overlooked such as networking, building support for ideas and negotiation. Such arguments echo Hosking (1988) who proposed that it would be more helpful to focus on leadership as a process rather than leaders as persons which is clearly to frame leadership in process-relational terms. It is suggested here that viewing leadership as a collaborative process of interaction provides for a more grounded notion of leadership and thus potentially provides more helpful suggestions for teaching leadership. For example, a focus on helping leaders in their attempts to negotiate seems more achievable than helping leaders to inspire others. The separation of leadership and management Inherent to theories of transformational and charismatic leadership is a notion that leadership is a specialised and separate activity undertaken by heroic, isolated figures described above. This division of leadership is typical of orthodox management thinking which separates issues of managerial work tending to view these as identifiable and distinct (Watson, 2002). As Schruijer and Vansina (2002) argue such splitting obscures the complexity of life. Further, there is a tendency not only to see leadership as separate from management but also superior. In Basss theory for example, management is associated with transactional leadership which is seen to be a useful but inferior leadership approach, which is relatively simple and straightforward to achieve. Bass (1985, p. 26) argues that to be transactional is the easy way out; to be transformational is the more difficult path to pursue. Such a separation is upheld by numerous scholars such as Zaleznik (1992) who suggests that managers are concerned with humdrum activities and maintaining order whereas leaders are concerned with novel and exciting activities and stimulate change. Mangham and Pye (1991, p. 13) have criticised this separation arguing that: It results in nothing more than a vague feeling that managing is something rather mundane, looking after the nuts and bolts of the enterprise and leading is something special and precious undertaken by the really important people in the enterprise. They argue that leading is not a specialised and separate activity, but simply an aspect albeit a highly salient aspect, of managing. Others have similarly suggested that leadership and management may be more usefully seen as related roles rather than as separate activities undertaken by separate people (Nadler and Tushman, 1990; Yukl, 1999).

Soike Heels :: essays research papers

Spike Heels   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The play spike heels was written by Theresa Rebeck and directed by Deborah Mello. I viewed the play spike heels at the Miami Dade Community College Kendall campus auditorium. The play consisted of four characters; there were two males Andrew and Edward and two females Lydia and Georgie. The role of Andrew was performed by Arnaldo Carmouze and the role of Edward was played by Sheaun Mckinney. The part of Georgie was beautifully played by Natalie Morales and Lydia witch was performed by Karina Hernandez. This play took place in a Boston apartment during present time. The play opened up in a much undefined manner doing a poor job in explaining the characters that were being spoken about. For instance when the play began the characters of Lydia and Andrew were being spoken about but the audience had no idea who they were, even though the character of Lydia was a bit better explained than Andrew they still left some gaps. Another issue that was exaggerated in an un rea listic way were the curse words, I can understand that the character Georgie was supposed to be bad mouthed but not even the worst mouthed person wouldn’t have repeated the â€Å"F† word so many times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My favorite character in the play was Georgie witch was performed by Natalie Morales. This was my favorite because she performed her part more on point than any of the other characters while having the most lines. Another reason why she was my favorite of the characters in the play is because she played the role of Georgie with the most credibility. For example she was the street girl from Brooklyn, New York and she played her part like if she was an actual Brooklyn girl it looked like she wasn’t even acting the other characters didn’t look as natural as she did. The effortless credibility was not the only advantage that she had over the other characters; her body language was also something that it looked like she put most of her effort into but made it looked as if she was natural.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plot of the play was very well performed in the way that they got the point across quite well. There was only one factor that disturbed me about the plot of the play witch was that some issues were extended and made the play longer. This story was seen in my eyes as a story about a Brooklyn girl that grew up her entire life using defense mechanisms such as alcohol and sex to compensate for her bad childhood and for her unsuccessful employment life.

Integrated Marketing Communication

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) received considerable attention from practitioners and academics alike, and that interest has continued into the new millennium (e. g. , Bearden and Madden 1996; Cornelissen and Lock 2000; Duncan, Schultz, and Patti 2005; Garretson and Burton 2005; Nowak and Phelps 1994; Schultz and Kitchen 2000a; Schumann, Artis, and Rivera 2001). As the marketplace has become more fragmented over the years, organizations have embraced IMC as a means to effectively and efficiently target and attract the splintering mass market through the transmission of a unified message across all â€Å"contact points† between organizations and their consumers. Whether the contact point is product packaging, a Web advertisement, or any other â€Å"information bearing experience that a consumer or prospect has with a brand† (Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993, p. 1), the goal is to present a message to an audience that is consistent (Duncan 1993) and/or to generate valuable customer information (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002; Yarborough 1996). In short, utilization and coordination of various promotion and communication tools is necessary to assure optimal market coverage (Stewart 1996) and to develop a strong marketing program (Nowak and Phelps 1994). Despite its potential contributions, debate still exists regarding the significance of IMC as a practice (e. g. , Cook 2004; Cornelissen and Lock 2000; Gould 2001). Questions pertaining to the prevalence of IMC in the marketplace (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002) and regarding its differential applicability across product type (e. g. , Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996) remain. This study was designed to help answer these questions. In recent years, the concept of IMC has made its way into the mainstream of the marketing literature (Duncan and Caywood 1996; Nowak and Phelps 1994; Schultz 2003; Schultz and Kitchen 1997, 2000b; Zahay et al. 2004). This has occurred despite the fact that, in reality, there is no universally agreed upon definition of IMC (e. g. , Cornelissen and Lock 2000; Kliatchko 2005; Schultz and Kitchen 1997; Stewart 1996) and IMC appears to be an evolving concept (Duncan, Schultz, and Patti 2005). While a â€Å"working definition of integrated marketing communication is hard to come by† (Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993, p. xv), one simple characterization of the phenomenon poses IMC as the coordination of communication tools for a brand (Krugman et al. 1994). Central to the concept of IMC is the notion that effective communication is accomplished by blending various communication forms–for example, advertising, publicity, sales promotion, and so forth–into a single, seamless entity (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). Furthermore, when it is well devised, IMC can generate information that can be used to identify and target different types of consumers with customized communication (Schultz 1997) and, ultimately, help to build a strong relationship with them (Duncan 2002). In a sense, then, IMC involves a process that is circular in nature–a sort of two-way communication between organizations and consumers that gathers and stores responses to communication and uses that information to effectively target consumers in future efforts (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002; Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993). A review of the phenomenon in practice performed by Nowak and Phelps (1994) uncovered three broad manifestations of integrated marketing communication: IMC as â€Å"integrated communication,† IMC as â€Å"‘one voice' communication,† and IMC as a â€Å"coordinated marketing-communication campaign. † While the distinction among the three manifestations is sometimes hazy, each one poses a slightly different approach that organizations may take to create messages that are uniform in tone and look (Duncan 1993). The â€Å"integrated communications† approach involves promoting brand image and direct audience behavior simultaneously by coupling devices such as brand advertising and public relations communications with consumer sales promotions and direct response tools within an organization's marketing-communication materials, particularly advertisements (Peltier, Mueller, and Rosen 1992). For instance, an ad that contains a direct-response tool (e. g. , a coupon), a public relations appeal (e. g. , support of an esteemed social cause), and brand advertising (e. g. depiction and description of the offering) would reflect the integrated communication form of IMC. A key outcome of this approach is the acquisition of consumer information that is captured when consumers respond to direct-response tools, sales promotions, and the like (Nowak and Phelps 1994). The â€Å"one voice† approach reflects a firm's focus on a single positioning strategy that emphasizes unity among brand/ image advertising, direct-response advertising, public relations, and consumer sales promotions at the outset of a promotional campaign (Reilly 1991; Snyder 1991). In this approach, the position, message, or theme is what ultimately guides an organization's IMC decisions, which ostensibly could be rendered independently by the firm's advertising, public relations, and sales promotion agencies (Nowak and Phelps 1994). The third approach, â€Å"coordinated marketing-communication campaigns,† stresses the need to integrate the activities of different marketing-communication disciplines (e. g. , sales promotions, advertising, and public relations) in order to reach multiple audiences with a synergistic effort (Rapp and Collins 1990; Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn 1993). The â€Å"coordinated marketing communication† approach differs from the â€Å"one voice† manifestation of IMC in that it does not simply focus on a single brand position; rather, multiple positions are the norm (Nowak and Phelps 1994), with a goal of targeting multiple audiences (Rapp and Collins 1990). A further comparison of the three forms of integrated marketing communication reveals that the â€Å"coordinated marketing-communication campaign† and â€Å"one voice† approaches to IMC involve an organization's communication activity at a broad level of application, whereas the â€Å"integrated communications† manifestation encompasses a more microlevel application. More precisely, the first two manifestations involve integration across communication campaigns, whereas the latter one entails integration within particular communication devices, such as advertisements. For example, early indications following Super Bowl XL suggested that the ads broadcast during the event were successful not only in terms of their brand advertising, but also in terms of direct response, as evidenced by the increased traffic to the advertisers' Web sites (Horovitz 2006). Of the three forms of IMC, it is the integrated communications† approach that appears to be the one most often utilized in practice (Phelps, Plumley, and Johnson 1994) and the one that is the focus of this study. One broad goal of our research is to discern how the â€Å"integrated communications† form of IMC is manifested in practice. Integrated Marketing Communication Research While the phenomenon of integrated marketing communications has received widespread attention over the past 15 years, there have been very few empirical investigations of its incidence and application. The scant research findings that are available suggest that IMC is perceived to be valuable by practitioners (Duncan and Everett 1993; Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002) and that its utilization seems to be increasing. For example, one early study found that approximately two-thirds of consumer product companies employed IMC in some manner (Caywood, Schultz, and Wang 1991), while a later investigation reported that 75% of the organizations surveyed had adopted IMC in one way or another (Phelps, Plumley, and Johnson 1994). A more recent investigation revealed that 95 % of Fortune 500 executives responding to an inquiry indicated that their company used IMC to some degree and that nearly the same percentage was at least somewhat satisfied with its results (Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002). It bears noting that most of these findings are based on respondents' perceptions and may not reflect IMC as actually practiced. In general, most of the examination of IMC has focused on its perceived value and beliefs regarding its potential among packaged or durable-goods marketers. By comparison, there is little documentation of the actual existence or prevalence of IMC in these or other market contexts (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). The scant published research on the actual practice of integrated marketing communication suggests that organizations involved in green marketing have been slow to adopt IMC principles in their advertising (Carlson et al. 1996). Meanwhile, retail and consumer service organizations appear to use media and message delivery elements associated with integrated approaches, yet lack strong coordination among these IMC components (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). In a further examination of IMC across different business firms (i. e. , business-to-business, retailing, services, and consumer product), it was discovered that coordination among IMC components does indeed exist, yet the selection of specific marketing communication activities differs significantly among the business types (McArthur and Griffin 1997). Given the contradictory results and scarce empirical research, there appears to be a need for further examination of IMC and marketers' activities to plan and execute its implementation (Duncan and Everett 1993; Roznowski, Reece, and Daugherty 2002). Integrated Marketing Communication and Product Type Based on the research results discussed above, IMC appears to be a practice that is used across business contexts, but in different ways (e. g. , McArthur and Griffin 1997; Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996). McArthur and Griffin observe, â€Å"different product-market situations demand different communication tools and techniques† (1997, p. 5). Hence, it is not surprising that a study of media usage within IMC programs revealed differential emphasis on some media when comparing services and retailing firms (Nowak, Cameron, and Delorme 1996) or comparing across services, retailing, business-to-business, and consumer product organizations (McArthur and Griffin 1997). There is even some indication that consumer product firms lag behind others in terms of the degree of attention they accord to IMC (McArthur and Griffin 1997). In addition, and as suggested by Duncan (2005), IMC may be particularly relevant within the services sector. Taken as a whole, these findings suggest that the nature of the product that an organization offers may affect the emphasis it places on IMC and its utilization of different communication materials. Further supporting the notion that the nature of the promoted product may be related to the adoption of IMC is a body of literature that indicates that the advertising of services differs substantively from the advertising of physical goods in several ways (e. g. , George and Berry 1981; Grove, Pickett, and Laband 1995; Legg and Baker 1987; Mittal 1999; Shostack 1977; Stafford and Day 1995). For example, since services are essentially performances (Gronroos 1990; Grove and Fisk 1983) and not things that can be displayed (e. g. , insurance, health care, an airline flight), it is difficult for organizations to communicate about them and for customers to grasp what it is they are likely to receive (Lovelock and Wirtz 2004; Shostack 1977; Zeithaml 1981). Many years ago, in her seminal paper establishing the nature of service products, Shostack (1977) stressed that marketers must strive to â€Å"integrate† evidence of service offerings to compensate for their innate intangibility. She argued that such an effort should involve controlling a broad range of potential clues to foster a concrete, â€Å"total impression† of the service. Essentially, that effort entails coordinating various communicative devices associated with a service and its delivery, including the content of service advertising. George and Berry (1981) similarly argue for the importance of presenting a uniform message as one of the six guidelines for advertising a service. From their viewpoint, â€Å"advertising continuity,† that is, continually using distinctive symbols, formats, and/or themes can reinforce a service's image and differentiate it from the competition. Ostensibly, the creation of a consistent and uniform perception of the service product might also be accomplished as one outcome of effective integrated marketing communications. Yet in a comprehensive overview of the services advertising literature several years ago, Tripp (1997) identified IMC as one of several phenomena related to service advertising's message structure and execution that needed further study. A recent examination of advertisements across various categories of services found a high incidence of IMC portrayed within the ads (i. e. , over 60% of the ads reflected IMC), yet argued that there was room for improvement in terms of the degree of integration that was present (Grove, Carlson, and Dorsch 2002). However, a comparison of advertisements for goods versus services with respect to incidence and character of IMC has yet to be performed, despite the potential applicability of IMC in the area of services promotion (Duncan 2005).

Anti-Smoking Campaign - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 835 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/02/05 Category Health Essay Level High school Tags: Smoking Essay Did you like this example? The image above is an older woman with a hole in her throat caused by smoking .The caption is Terrie saying â€Å"I Never Thought Smoking Would Do This.† The CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention) released this advertisement to persuade people to quit smoking . Smoking is known to cause an array of diseases. Cigarettes cost a lot of money and does not contribute positively to the smokers health. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Anti-Smoking Campaign" essay for you Create order The issue is that there are more and more people engaging in this lifestyle. The CDC created this advertisement to raise awareness of one of the brutal effects of smoking.Last but not least, this advertisement is helping smokers and non- smokers reflect on the consequences of smoking. Smoking cigarettes can cause many diseases. Lung cancer is the most common disease associated with smoking. Lung Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. This is also the number one deadly result of smoking.According to the CDC, â€Å"People who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who do not smoke.† The woman in the picture may not have lung cancer but she has another illness that has changed her appearance and lifestyle dramatically.One can detect regret in Terrie’s quote. She says â€Å"I did not know smoking could do this†. This quote implies that if she knew the true effects of smoking then she would have taken a different route in life. This advertisement is brutally honest, it helps the reader reflect and ponder on whether or not they want to live miserably like Terrie.Another disease associated with smoking cigarettes, is peripheral artery disease, this is a condition in which blood vessels reduce the amount of blood flow in the limbs.â€Å"Any amount of smoking, even occasionally, damages the heart and blood vessels. Secondhand smoke also can hurt the heart and blood vessels, greatly increasing the risk of heart attack and death in adults (Azura).†The substances that are in cigarettes have negative effects on blood cells and their function. The cost of buying cigarettes not only affect ones pockets but also their lifestyle. It cost a person 7.00 dollars or more to buy a pack of cigarettes , concurrently the cigarette manufacturing companies only spend cents to make the product.At today’s prices, if you smoke one pack of cigarettes each day for ten years, you’ll spend almost $99,000 – easily enough to buy a new car (or two) or put a deposit on a house ( Cancer Council Victoria).† When buying cigarettes or before considering buying , smokers should think of better ways to use that money. Smoking can drastically change ones lifestyle, like Terrie in the advertisements. In the image, the older woman was diagnosed with throat cancer , this disease also affects her appearance .The hole in her throat is also use do grab the attention of viewers to either avoid smoking or quit smoking. â€Å"Many of the more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke also damage collagen and elastin, which are fibers that give your skin its strength and elasticity (MFMER).† this begins to make your skin looks as if you are older than your age with saggy and unhealthy skin, this can also to lead to skin cancer. The CDC encourages people to quit because the effects of smoking can lead to more than one health problems. Many people think smoking relaxes the mind and relieves stress ,the truth is smoking cigarettes could cause a mental condition which could cause people with anxiety worse. When a person smokes nicotine it reaches the brain and releases chemicals that makes a person crave the desire to smoke more and more. This could even control the activity of the brain and cause a emotion of anger and depression, Little do people know these feelings could lead up to more critical disorder such as bipolar disorders , which could lead you to be hospitalized. If a person was to view this advertisement they would think twice about smoking, they would even try to get help to quit their smoking addiction before it becomes worse, or even lead them to have the hole in there throat which has a negative effect on your appearance. This image has a positive affect and makes people motivated to not wanting to smoke or quit smoking. In conclusion, this advertisement from the CDC is meant to discourage smoking. The image highlights one of the many effects of smoking. It changes a persons appearance, causes disease, premature aging , and costs the buyer lots of money. There is an increase the amount of individuals that smoke today so organizations like the CDC feel it is their duty to warn the public about the detrimental effects of smoking. Works Cited https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm https://www.azuravascularcare.com/infopad/link-between-smoking-and-pad/ https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/smoking-the-financial-cost https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/quit-smoking/expert-answers/smoking/faq-20058153 https://www.mittalclinic.com/stop-active-and-passive-smoking-it-makes-life-miserable/b26