Research Korner

HEALTH IS DEFINED BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) AS A STATE OF COMPLETE PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING AND NOT MERELY THE ABSENCE OF DISEASE OR INFIRMITY

Health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” and it promotes the attainment of "highest possible level of health" by all people. Moreover, one’s health and well- being are affected by both the inner and outer dimensions and their impact to us can be fully understood on how we perceive and deal with these dimensions.   Louise Harms’ book entitled “Understanding Human Development: A Multidimensional Approach” reiterates that social ecology of human behavior and adaptation examines the role of social networks in building social capital, adaptation in traumatic situations, risk and resilience in the face of adversity, and the influences of human development, gender, culture and social class. Moreover, how one adapts in this world is dictated by the fact that one’s perception and attitude is a mere outcome of these inner and outer dimensions. An inner or innate behavior is determined by the "hard-wiring" of the nervous system. It is usually inflexible, a given stimulus triggering a given response while an outer or learned behavior is more or less permanently altered as a result of the experience of the individual organism. (RCN Available at users.rcn.com .Accessed 24/01/2008).   Furthermore, both the internal and external variables influence health as they can increase the risk of certain diseases or serve as warning signals of impending medical conditions. Internal variables are composed of biologic (genetic makeup, race, sex; age, developmental level), psychological (mind-body interactions & self-concept; conscious versus unconscious) and Cognitive (spiritual & religious beliefs; lifestyle choices may) while environment, standards of living, family & cultural beliefs and social support networks comprise the external variables. The presence or absence of these factors functions either initiate or restrain healthy behaviors. For example, perceived personal susceptibility to a particular disease within the internal factor of attitudes, beliefs and core values augments the probability that the individual will engage in a health relevant behavior. On the other hand, lack of perceived seriousness of the threat would not serve as a motivation to change risky behaviors. (Cole et al., 1992).     To cite an example, certain types of cancer are hereditary in nature and its impact may vary from one person to another. One person although aware of the familial tendency may continue to engage in detrimental activities that may predispose him to develop cancer while another person will keep in mind his vulnerability of developing cancer and this knowledge will serve as a warning sign to him to be more meticulous with his health condition. Aside from this, some illnesses also are caused by external factors such as the environment. "The environment can operate as a stressor, evidenced by the physical debilitation resulting from chronic exposure to uncontrollable environmental demands." (Stokols, 1992).     However, Coates (1988) cited that information is necessary, but is not sufficient to effect and sustain behavioral change in large segments of the population. One’s attitude is also important since one’s ability to deal with issues concerning health affects how we promote or prevent them from occurring. Meanwhile, there are individuals who believe that they themselves influence their health and there are others who think that outer variables control their health. No matter what one believes, it is important that an individual will participate in disease prevention and health promotion. It is therefore important that the health care system is well implemented. "The individual's attitudes toward health care and accessibility to health services suggest a relationship in which access factors affect and/or are affected by one's evaluation of health care." (Cummings, 1980)     On the other hand, one’s well- being is one’s responsibility and to keep it functioning in optimal condition is one’s revered goal. Thus, health promotion and disease prevention is very essential and these are just two of the WHO’s pillars in attaining the goal of achieving a highest possible health by all people. Furthermore, many awareness drives and campaigns are being initiated by the Government especially by the health department to ensure that the proper information dissemination is implemented even in the remotest regions.     An old adage says that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure thus the three levels of prevention strategy is initiated namely: primary, secondary and tertiary.  Primary prevention dwells on protection against certain diseases. An example of this is vaccination. Early detection such as doing self breast examination is categorized under secondary level of prevention and tertiary level of prevention is geared towards rehabilitation and restoration. An example of this includes rehabilitation of a post stroke patient. Ewart (1991) stressed that prevention must strive to promote individual self-protective activity by altering laws and policies, rendering environments conducive to personal action, and educating the public." In addition to this, different health promotions are established. These are activities directed toward increasing level of well being (Pender, 1996); Individual & community activities to promote healthy lifestyle.   Furthermore, a nurse plays a major role in inculcating the importance of health and how one can optimally maintain it within the inner and outer dimensions and since health is viewed as a whole component, holistic nursing is then initiated. Holistic Nursing is defined as “all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal.”  Holistic Nursing is further defined as practice that draws on nursing knowledge, theories, expertise and intuition to guide nurses in becoming therapeutic partners with clients in strengthening clients’ response to facilitate the healing process and achieve wholeness.  The practice of Holistic Nursing is grounded in nursing theory -- fully recognizing that there are two views in the profession regarding holism (the view that defines the whole in terms of component parts -- bio-psych-social-spiritual -- believing that the whole is greater than these parts; and the view that defines the whole as an irreducible unit).  Different from other nursing practice, the practice of Holistic Nursing requires the nurse to integrate self-care and self-responsibility into his or her own life and to strive for an awareness of the interconnectedness of individuals to the human and global community.     The nurse institutes the nursing process in dealing with this. Moreover, assessment is important as it gauges the clients’ ability to cope health issues concerning him. The nurse then is able to identify the client’s health history, risk factors, social support system, strengths and weaknesses. With this, the nurse will be able to give his nursing diagnosis appropriate for the client and planning follows. In this process, the nurse guides the client in making his short term as well as his long term goals that are systematic, measurable, attainable, and realistic and time- bounded. With plans in hand, the nurse together with the client can now implement the necessary actions catered for the client within the level of his ability. Lastly, to measure effectiveness, evaluation is done and continuous revision is instituted.   However, aside from the medical professionals like the nurses, the community in general has a role to fulfill.  According to Ewart (1991), systems of production, distribution, and promotion, together with government regulatory policies, affects exposure to settings, products, and messages that influence health choices. It is the function of the Government to ensure that the public is well informed and guided with different health choices available. Stokols (1992) believes that as incremental health promotion and environmental protection efforts are adopted in local communities, they can exert a positive, albeit gradual, influence on the quality and healthfulness of the global environment. Stokol (1991) further emphasized that environmental impact assessment regulations are intended to protect public health and environmental quality and opportunities for designing health-promotive environments at local levels will be more and more influenced by the regulatory and economic policies implemented in municipal, regional, and international contexts.     Unfortunately, it is still up to the individual to change his behavior for the better and perception since one’s well- being is highly personal. Thus, people's belief that they can motivate themselves and regulate their own behavior plays a crucial role in whether they even consider altering habits detrimental to health. (Bandura, 1990). Different attempts to focus on health issues will be useless if the people will not cooperate and what the government or the medical professionals are doing will be put to waste if no mobilization from the people will take place.  Bandura (1990) cited that neither intention nor desire alone has much effect (on self-regulation) if people lack the capability for exercising influence over their own motivation and behavior and according to Becker (1990) intention to perform a behavior can be accounted for by a combination of attitudes about an action and perceptions of likely normative reactions to that action.               In conclusion, what the people need to maintain a healthy life within the inner and outer dimensions are the combination of proper attitude and perception towards health, sufficient knowledge concerning health issues, right amount of self- directed motivation, continued and proper guidance from the concerned institutions and direct support from the Government for sustenance.  Becker (1988) accounts that knowledge regarding (the disease), and the perceived value of behavioral change in reducing one's risk of (infection), were both consistently related to various measures of risk reduction, appropriate knowledge and attitudes are prerequisites for alteration of behavior and knowledge and attitudes are generally supportive of behavioral risk reduction.               Lastly, performance of a behavior is a function of the strength of a person's attempt to perform a behavior and the degree of control the person has over that behavior. The harder the person tries, and the greater his or her control over personal and external factors that may interfere with the behavior, the greater the likelihood that the behavior will be performed and the more favorable an individual's attitude toward attempting a behavior, and the more he or she believes that significant others are in favor of his or her trying, the stronger will be his or her intention to try. (Becker, 1990)

HEALTH IS DEFINED BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) AS A STATE OF COMPLETE PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING AND NOT MERELY THE ABSENCE OF DISEASE OR INFIRMITY

Health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not mer...

Sample Paper on #arguementative essay | abortion and culture issue

Sample Paper on #arguementative essay | abortion and culture issue

Sample Paper on #arguementative essay | abortion and culture issue - Arguementative essay - it must relate to cultere european and african...

Career Portfolio

Career Portfolio   I am writing to express consider self-assessments of my strengths and weaknesses as a student.       My strength and capabilities has also been improved when I worked as  a leader. Through these experiences, I developed my office ability, teamwork, and leadership skills to make decisions and solve problems for my team. The experience allowed me to learn important skills, to develop the confidence needed to succeed in a competitive environment, and to use my knowledge and skills and apply them to the real world.   I have different strengths which enables be to work hard and become an asset.  I am creative, resourceful and hardworking. I also consider myself as a dynamic team player and an individual player to finish the tasks given to me. I also have proven leadership skills involving managing, developing and motivating teams to achieve their objectives. In addition, through the things I learned from my previous schools and the experiences I have with my previous endeavors I am able to have well organized plan, methodical and charismatic working attitude.             With strong communication skills and dynamic presentation, let me also note that one of my strengths is my ability to build harmonious relationships within and outside the organization. As described, that the learning that I have sounds like a perfect match for me to become an important asset of the society.   I believe that communicating with my colleagues is most effective when I practice good listening behavior (Model, 1993). I make it a point to hear them out and follow their line of thought, see myself in their situation, and analyze where they are coming from. In this light, I am able to comprehend and better their stand and the approach they are utilizing in dealing with the conflicts and challenges that beset our team. This most often than not produce well-rounded output in which all sides of the issues were dealt with thereby fostering productive and dynamic interpersonal communication within the members of the department.  Being optimistic is considered to be my greatest strength. In this manner, I can say that I can tackle all the issue regarding me positively. I took all the challenges positively while doing the job the best that I can. As a group, I can say that the main ingredient for our success is our teamwork and respect to one another. Through better teamwork, we cooperate to one another especially to our leader. We all share our information and opinions regarding the company, its management and leadership style, culture, the issues in human resource and to the other areas. We did our best in every task that given. I am also a good listener, specifically in doing activities with my groups. . In terms of listening, I can be a good listener and can comprehend well with what the person is trying to impart or imply. Although I have much strength, I also have some weaknesses. I found some flaws in terms of my leadership styles. These instances occur mostly when I am confronted with relationship issues among colleagues that beset my function as a leader and member of my group and with my considerations to practice good leadership styles. Sometimes, my beliefs as a person go against the things that are required of me to perform. But fortunately, I was able to make both ends meet whenever I face these types of challenges by explaining myself to the people who are concerned.    In addition, I also found some shortcomings on some of my actions in my profession. Through these assignment exercises I was able to learn about myself not just as a chairman and a leader but also as a person. I have learned that I am capable of being compassionate when I least expect it and that there are a lot of opportunities for me in my profession. My responsibilities are great due to my influence and my ability to change other people’s lives and I am grateful that with such realization I am still able to place myself in the shoes of the individuals I work with and empathize with their concerns. My proficiency takes place through natural processes, because I can use it when interacting and communicating with other people.  In addition, I am also good when it comes to comprehension. I have learned a lot from all the activities that strengthened more my competencies which I am excited to apply in my work setting expecting good results.  Know that my weaknesses can hinder my work, hence, I tried to learn from others and train more to ensure that I achieve my career objectives. Some of our ideas are opposing but through our extensive conversation and mutual respect to each other’s opinion, we were able to meet on the same ground highlighting my important stakes and her intelligent reflections. She was likewise thankful since she learned a lot from my assignment. The leadership experience I have gone through at work richly contributed to the development of my personality mainly because my work is one of the major aspects of my life. The things I have learned about myself and from the people around me were not only applicable and limited to my career life but alt also to the other aspects of my existence as a person. By and large, I can say that my current position and activities I have done helped me to develop my strengths and capabilities more and helps me to enhanced other skills which needs improvement.   Reference   Model, A. H. (1993). The Private Self. (Chapter 2, pp.42-69). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Career Portfolio

Career Portfolio I am writing to express consider self-assessments of my strengths and weaknesses as a student. My strength an...

Thesis Chapter 1 on Assessing the Relationship of Maternal Attitudes toward Discipline in Emotional and Behavior Problems in Children of Battered Women

Assessing the Relationship of Maternal Attitudes toward Discipline In Emotional and Behavior Problems in Children of Battered Women     Chapter 1   Introduction                While maternal attitudes toward child discipline methods are multi-determined, two variables are associated with harsh parenting beliefs and practices. Persons with histories that include both childhood abuse and the witnessing of domestic violence (DV) as a child (Dubowitz, Black, Kerr, Morrell et al., 2001; Gelles, 1997) are prone to harsh parenting behaviors and attitudes that condone physical punishment.   In a nationally representative sample of parents, Thompson and Christiansen (1999) found, via cluster analysis, that persons who hold attitudes that devalue and denigrate children and believe in the efficacy of physical punishment tend to employ brutal child management practices. Such parents are more likely to have a history of victimization, such as witnessing DV. The researchers found that participants in all clusters reported using mixed forms of discipline with conflicting effectiveness. So, in an attempt to explain such variance, Thompson and Christiansen (1999) concluded that such variables as parents’ perception of their discipline effectiveness and their ensuing choices of discipline practices need further exploration. Thus, it is reasonable to look into parental attitudes toward child discipline and child behavioral outcomes within a domestically violent background.         Domestically violent surroundings are plentiful in the United States. Approximately 1,800 women experience abuse from an intimate partner every day (Texas Council on Family Violence, 1998).   From their national representative sample of more than 1,600 couples living in the continental United States, Schafer, Caetano, and Clark (1998) estimate that one in five couples in the United States experience at least one episode of between-partner violence during their relationship. The National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence (2002) reports that 12% to 50% of women in the United States experience some form of physical violence from their husbands or cohabitating intimate partner each year. Three to 10 percent of these abused women are believed to be victims of brutal, recurring assaults from their intimate male partners (Straus & Gelles, 1988). Many women who experience frequent, brutal battering seek protection in shelters for domestic violence. Jouriles et al. (1998) found that two thirds of a sample of families residing in DV shelters reported an incident of spousal violence that involved a knife or gun. In contrast, the rate of 0-2% weapon use in physical marital violence was reported in a nationally representative community survey sample (Straus & Gelles, 1990). While women who seek sanctuary in shelters are the most obvious victims of intense DV, they are not the only ones affected. Somewhere between three million (Carlson, 1984, 2000) to 10 million children (Straus, 1991) are exposed to, and possibly traumatized by, domestic violence annually. Well-designed research on the effects of DV on child observers has documented the connection of exposure to DV with several behavioral, emotional, and cognitive difficulties as varied as aggression against property and other persons to withdrawal and self-castigation (Carlson, 2000; Cummings, Pepler, & Moore, 1999; Hughes, 1988; Peled, Jaffe, & Edleson, 1995).  Some of the child difficulties reported are aggressive, noncompliant externalizing behavior (Grych et al., 2000; Hughes & Luke, 1998; Jouriles et al., 2001) as well as internalizing problems such as anxiety, depression, and a heightened sensitivity and reactivity to other types of conflict (Cummings & Davies, 1994; Eisenberg, et al., 2001; Jouriles, Spiller, McDonald, & Swank, 2000).  Research also suggests that disruptive parenting and a child’s gender either moderate or mediate the child’s response to DV (Carlson, 2000; Cummings, Jouriles & LeCompte, 1991; Jouriles, et al., 1998; Pepler, & Moore, 1999). While the aforementioned externalizing and internalizing behavioral variables are established “danger signs” for children who have observed DV, other factors may help explain the relationship between DV and child emotional and behavioral problems. For example, parents’ attitudes regarding the regulation of their children’s behaviors and the appropriateness of corporal discipline methods could be specifically important precursors for identifying children who may develop long-term emotional and behavior problems.     Background Previous research shows that DV has spillover effect on other family relationships (Brody, Arias, & Fincham, 1996; Erel & Berman, 1995); moreover, conflict between marital partners significantly increases the partners’ negative attributions of other family members (Fincham, Bradbury & Scott, 1990). Parental attributions about each other are closely associated with attributions they make about their child (Fincham & Grych, 1991). Additionally, McGuigan, Vichinich, & Pratt (2000) found that families who experienced DV during the first year of their child's life develop a significantly negative view of their child.  Thus, it seems safe to surmise that families who experience DV may hold more negative attributions and attitudes about their children than those who have experienced no family violence. It is not surprising that negative parental attitudes and attributions towards ones’ children may be expressed in overt behaviors. Pinderhughes et al. (2000) found that parents who make disparaging or hostile judgments about their children are likely to choose more severe discipline than parents without such antagonistic attitudes.  McGuigan et al. (2000) established that a negative parental attitude toward offspring is associated with both domestic violence and child abuse while Strassberg (1995) found that hostile parental attributions toward their children correlate with severe disciplinary practices. Moreover, previous research suggests several moderating or mediating variables in parental attitudes toward discipline. Jouriles & Thompson (1993) found high levels of general life stress tends to be prevalent in clinic-referred families. Pinderhughes et al. (2000) established that individuals experiencing higher levels of stress were more likely to report more reactive cognitions than did a control group and, in turn, use more harsh discipline responses. Because harsh discipline often is linked with inconsistency and unpredictability  (e.g., Patterson, 1982), such discipline methods may negatively affect children's functioning (Pinderhughes et al., 2000).  An additional moderating variable that may that has been shown to negatively affect parental attitudes toward child discipline is gender.  Jouriles and Norwood (1995) found that, in families characterized by “extreme battering,” both parents punish sons more aggressively than daughters.  Further, as domestic battering becomes more intense, child externalizing behaviors increase, as does the probability of more extreme parental discipline methods. Thus, much research has focused on parents’ negative attributions about their children combined with various other factors such as domestic violence, stress, inconsistency and unpredictability in parenting practices that may be associated with coercive physical discipline practices.  However, the relationship between parental attitudes toward their offspring, parenting beliefs and practices, and children’s resulting conduct is less clear. Attitudes about parenting responsibilities and direct parenting practices are not necessarily the same phenomenon: many adult values and beliefs about parenting tasks are not directly observable in their interactions with children. For example, parental beliefs in planning for the future or in creating a safe home environment are not usually expressed in distinct parenting activities. Rather these values may be identified by such indirect acts as saving money for the children’s future education and maintaining constancy and predictability in child management techniques. Children raised in such an atmosphere may assume their parents’ attitudes and beliefs and respond accordingly to the underlying, unstated values by evidencing responsibility in their schoolwork and maintaining stable peer relationships.  Thus, parents’ attitudes, unexpressed as direct behaviors, may be more predictive of child behaviors than are many distinct parental procedures (Grigorenko & Sternberg, 2000).   Some parental attitudes about child management have been found to be consistent with observable behaviors. Thompson and Christiansen (1999) found that parents who believe in corporal punishment frequently hold attitudes that demean children, have anger management problems, and have a history of childhood abuse. These parents are more likely to abuse their own offspring than parents with a less punitive outlook. (Straus & Gelles, 1990 50% of men who frequently physically abuse their wives also physically abuse their children… and beaten moms are more than twice as likely to beat their children than non-abuse women) While research shows that parents respond to each child selectively and individual child attributes moderate or mediate parental discipline practices (Grigorenko & Sternberg, 2000), DV adds to the risk of child maltreatment to all children. Domestically violent families have been found to be more physically aggressive and, at times, the differentiation between their discipline practices and violent aggression is moot (Straus & Gelles, 1990).   Thus, DV, negative parental attitudes toward their children, along with parental beliefs about child management techniques seem to be related harsh discipline practices and long-term child emotional and behavioral problems. Problem Statement Therefore, the problem this study will examine is the relationship between maternal attitudes toward discipline and child behavior problems in a clinical sample of  (number) mothers and (number) children who received shelter from domestically violent environments. Hypotheses In a select clinical sample comprised of mothers and their children who request shelter for themselves and their children as a result of DV, it is predicted that maternal attitudes about discipline (hereafter known as MAD) will be significantly associated with child externalizing problems (e.g., aggressive, delinquent behaviors) and child internalizing problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, somatic complaints).             It is predicted that the relationship between MAD and child externalizing problems will be stronger in male children and internalizing problems will be stronger in female children.   Theory Attitudes are general evaluations people make about themselves and their surroundings (Petty & Capioppo, 1986). Attitudes help people summarize and categorize characteristics and traits along dichotomous dimensions such as good-bad, beneficial-detrimental, likeable-dislikable (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2000 ; Petty, Wegener, & Fabrigar, 1997). However, not all people form attitudes at the same rate or with the same intensity. Jarvis and Petty (1996) found that people differ in their tendency to evaluate with high -evaluators evidencing more and stronger attitudes toward social and political issues than those who evaluate their environment less frequently.  No matter how strongly-held an attitude may be, a person can hold conflicting positions about an object or situation, simultaneously, with one belief being a habitual or implicit one and the other explicit.  It is not surprising that people tend to act upon their implicit beliefs more than their explicit ones as extra motivation and ability seem to be required to retrieve explicit attitudes (Ajzen, 2001). Thus, parents can hold an explicit belief in the value of non-violent parenting methods; yet act upon their habitual, co-existing belief in the efficacy of physical punishment. Furthermore, the expectancy-value model of attitude formation and activation assumes that the more accessible attitudes are in one’s memory, the more influence the attitude has. Continual accessibility tends to increase the belief’s importance and value to its holder (Ajzen, 2001).  Thus, it would seem that habitual, implicit beliefs would become more persistently accessible than the harder to retrieve, explicit ones and would thereby increase their importance.             In addition to implicit and explicit belief retrieval issues, affect and cognitions seem to influence attitude retrieval.   Both cognitive and affective facets of memory influence memory retrieval, however, feelings tend to predominate and, like implicit attitudes, affect retrieval increases with practice (Ajzen, 2001). However, individuals differ in reliance on affect versus cognition as attitude determinants and the two mechanisms differ in importance depending the subject toward which an attitude is directed (Ajzen, 2001). Implicit attitudes may be formed by one’s socialization and early childhood experiences. Possibly early attitude development is an outgrowth of exposure to parental explicit beliefs and behaviors.  Bandura’s (1973) Social Learning Theory suggests that individuals learn coping methods by observing and imitating the behaviors of significant others in similar situations. Thus, children exposed to maltreatment personally and/or vicariously by exposure to parental aggression and domination may not only imitate the behaviors observed, but also adopt the predicted underlying belief system that drives those behaviors.   Sample The participants were  (Number) women who were sought shelter from an abusing partner and had at least one child (ages 4-9) with clinical levels of either oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or conduct disorder (CD). This age range was selected because children who develop early onset conduct disorder are at increased risk in adult like for risk for long-term behavioral problems, mood disorders, and substance abuse (American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., TR, 2000). This project was a true experiment in which the families were randomly assigned to either intervention or existing support services groups.  The treatment consisted of two major aspects: (1) providing emotional and instrumental support and (2) teaching child management skills to the mothers. After departure from the shelters for domestic violence, both groups were assessed on five occasions over a period of 16 months. The following inventories were are part of the program and will be evaluated in this study: Parental Attitudes: Attitudes Toward Physical Punishment Attitudes Toward Physical Punishment Partner   Child Functioning -- Teacher assessments:             Report Cards             Grades and Attendance Form             Teacher Reporting Form             CBCL Teacher Short Form Child Functioning -- Mother assessments:             ODD, CD, ADHD Diagnostic Interview             CBCL Mother             Eynberg Child Behavior Inventory             Parenting Dimensions Inventory   Significance of the Study             As previously mentioned, violence toward women by their male partners is a widespread problem in the United States as it is estimated that 16% of married couples engage in at least one act of physical violence every year (Straus & Gelles, 1990).  While women are the apparent victims in domestically violent homes, many have children who are troubled not only by witnessing inter-parental violence but also by their parents’ attitudes about and use of violent discipline practices.             Several literature reviews link witnessing violence between parents with a variety of behavioral, psychological, and social problems among children (e.g. Hughes, 1988, Margolin, 1998).  McDonald and Jouriles (1991) hold that children’s exposure to uncontrolled violence may have negative psychological outcomes similar to experiencing other childhood traumas such as sexual or physical abuse.  In the short term, witnessing parental domestic violence is associated with higher levels of aggression, passivity, withdrawal, somatic symptoms, anxiety, and suicidal gestures.              Adult children of domestically violent families also exhibit long-term difficulties. Studies indicate that adults suffering from depression and other psychological disorders report more childhood family conflict than do matched controls (Forsstrom-Cohen & Rosenbaum, 1985; Higgins & McCabe, 1994).  Other research suggests that individuals who witnessed parental violence as children are more likely to be in violent relationships as adults, as either perpetrators or victims (Cappell & Heiner, 1990; Carter, Stacey, & Shupe, 1988).  While these studies have some basic design problems, the research difficulties do not dilute the basic issue: battered women’s children are at high risk for continuing mental health and behavioral problems. Thus, evaluating possible correlates such as parental attitudes toward discipline along with child behavior problems seems to be worthwhile in attempting in guiding policy-making decisions of child welfare agencies and family courts systems.   Operational Definitions of the Terms Attitudes: general evaluations people make about themselves, other persons, objects or issues (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Battered women: women who have experienced physical assault by an intimate partner (Jouriles, Norwood, McDonald, Vincent, & Mahoney, 1996). Externalizing behaviors: aggressive, delinquent behaviors vs. Internalizing behaviors: depression, anxiety, somatic complaints (Cummings and Davies, 1994).  Physical domestic violence: physical assault on intimate partner’s body (Jouriles, Norwood, McDonald, Vincent, & Mahoney, 1996) Mediator variable – intervening variable: variable that plays a causal role in outcome (Grych, Fincham, Jouriles, & McDonald, 2000). Moderator variable: variable that influences the strength of association between two other variables and produces an interaction (Cohen & Cohen, 1983). Spillover: direct transfer of mood, affect, or behavior from one setting to another (Erel & Burman, 1995). Violence: aggressive acts that that cause harm such as assault, rape, robbery, and homicide (Loeber & Hay, 1997).   Assumptions and limitations Generalizations drawn from this project sample may be limited to families in which mothers seek shelter for themselves and their children as a result of DV.  Mothers who are forced to seek such protection usually experience levels of violence so extreme that their children may comprise a subset whose functioning may be highly disturbed.   Thus, this may be a very select sample of children who are at high risk for behavioral, emotional, and cognitive difficulties (Jouriles & Norwood, 1995).    Summary            In this research, I will examine the relationship between parental attitudes toward discipline, discipline methods employed, and ensuing child behavior problems in a clinical sample of mothers and children who received shelter from domestically violent environments.   I project that parents who hold attitudes that devalue their children will employ aggressive physical punishment procedures that will be associated with externalizing behaviors in male children and internalizing behaviors in female children.

Thesis Chapter 1 on Assessing the Relationship of Maternal Attitudes toward Discipline in Emotional and Behavior Problems in Children of Battered Women

Assessing the Relationship of Maternal Attitudes toward Discipline In Emotional and Behavior Problems in Children of Battered Wo...

MARKETING COMMUNICATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY   Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world's leading fashion and clothing line companies in terms of profit and sales volume. The company has also the widest presence among all international companies. This is made possible through a positioning strategy of global networking of distributors. Tommy Hilfiger uses the name of both the company and its mainstream fashion labels, and this strategy has allowed the company to pursue an integrated marketing approach directly related to the company name. There are also a variety of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) tools available that Tommy Hilfiger could make use of in order to control all of their promotional activities. These tools include a combination of advertising, branding and personal selling. When used appropriately, these IMC tools will be able to help Tommy Hilfiger to consistently disseminate the valuable information that they want to convey to their valued consumers. However, certain points have to be taken into consideration by Tommy Hilfiger regarding IMC tools. Since their income is relatively higher than most of their competitors, the time for implementation of their chosen IMC tools would take longer than usual, aside from being expensive. But since the goal of Tommy Hilfiger is towards a long-term dominance and stability in the fashion industry, then the pursuit of these promotional campaigns will be beneficial for the company in the long run. INTRODUCTION The fashion industry over the years has developed an efficient and effective process of implementing the policies and tasks necessary to satisfy its consumers and management of companies and organizations. There has been a recent focus on the careful management of the processes involved in the production and distribution of fashionable products and services within the industry (, 1998). More often than not, small fashion companies don't really have the capabilities to implement international marketing strategies. Instead, these companies engage in activities that various schools of management typically associate with implementing integrated marketing strategies. These activities include the manufacturing of creative fashion products, product development, production and distribution. However, international marketing strategies deal with all operations done within companies and organizations. Activities such as the management of purchases, the control of inventories, logistics and evaluations are often related with operations management. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, international marketing strategies include the analysis and management of internal processes. Tommy Hilfiger will be the model business entity that will be used in this research based on their history in international marketing strategies. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS A. Measuring Tommy Hilfiger’s Performance a. Financial Analysis In the fiscal year of 2003, Tommy Hilfiger was able to experience a significant progress in several key metrics. The inventory was reduced from $55 million to $23 million and inventory turns rose from 12 to 26. The cost of revenues, excluding the benefit from previous special charges and the applicable portion of the amortization of intangible assets, decreased from 72.3% of revenues to 67.8% of revenues. The combination of sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative expenses was reduced from $ 435 million to $339 million, while at the same time improving on the pace of innovation. Tommy Hilfiger’s total revenue has approximately grown from $1 million in fiscal year 1995 to $ 871. 9 million in fiscal year 2003. b. Marketing The retailers in Europe represent Tommy Hilfiger’s largest sales and marketing channel which encompass national and regional office supply stores and mass merchants. Distributors represent Tommy Hilfiger’s second largest European channel and generally sell to both traditional and Internet resellers and retailers. In Europe and the US, Tommy Hilfiger’s market share is still relatively high. Tommy Hilfiger has more than 100 international distributors located worldwide.             The company also uses online stores as a venue to sell its products. This is accomplished through the use of e-marketing campaigns and product bundles. The company is able to build awareness of its products and brands through mass media advertising, public relations efforts and branded Internet properties. The company also makes it a point to receive feedback from its customers through market research. The company then uses these feedbacks to refine its product development efforts and marketing strategies (. 1999). c. Operations Tommy Hilfiger out-sources all of the fashion designs of its products to third party manufacturers. This outsourcing extends from prototyping to volume manufacturing and includes activities such as material procurement, quality control and delivery to distribution centres. The company is assured that there is an adequate supply of components to manufacture its products. The majority of the company’s products are assembled in Europe and the US. Distribution centres are operated on an outsourced basis in Europe and the US. d. Human Resources Tommy Hilfiger knows that its future depends on the company’s ability to attract new personnel and retain existing personnel in key areas including engineering and sales. None of the company’s employees is subject to a collective bargaining agreement. The company considers its relationship to its employees to be good. B. Tommy Hilfiger SWOT Analysis Strengths: <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger has products that boast of a very powerful retail. This includes a reputation for value of money, convenience and a wide variety of products </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger has grown significantly over the years, and has experienced global expansion.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger’s main competence lies on the use of information technology (IT) to fully support its international logistics system. Therefore, the company can see how their individual products perform within the United States, or even at stores at a glance. IT also supports Tommy Hilfiger’s efficient procurement. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger is able to deliver good customer care, as the limited amount of work would mean plenty of time to devote to customers.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger’s lead consultants have established a strong reputation within the market.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger can afford to change direction quickly if its management finds that the company’s marketing strategy is not effective.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger has little deficits and overheads. Therefore the company can offer good value to customers on a consistent basis.</li> </ul>     Weaknesses: <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world's largest companies in luxury goods but has a weak control of its empire, despite its IT advantages. This could lead to a decrease in productivity in some areas where they have the least control of.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Since Tommy Hilfiger sell products across many sectors, the company may lack the flexibility that some of its more focused competitors possess.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger operates globally, but its presence is located in only relatively few countries worldwide.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Some of the company’s weaker branches lack market presence or reputation </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Some of the company’s personnel still lack the essential skills base in many areas.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The company is still vulnerable to the temporary losses of its vital staff (e.g. being sick, leaving).</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The company’s cash flow is unreliable especially in the early stages of a new product development.</li> </ul> Opportunities: <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Taking over, merging, or forming strategic alliances with other fashion companies while focusing on strong markets like Europe or the Greater China Region. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The branches of Tommy Hilfiger operate only on trade in a relatively small number of countries all over the world. Thus, this would open the opportunities for future businesses in expanding various consumer markets, such as those in China and India. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The opening of new locations and branches offer Tommy Hilfiger the opportunities to exploit market development. This could lead to the diversification of the company’s branches from large super centers to local-based sites. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Opportunities exist for Tommy Hilfiger to continue with its current strategy of establishing large branches worldwide.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Tommy Hilfiger is continuously expanding, with plenty of future opportunities to exploit for success.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The local councils of Tommy Hilfiger are in the process of encouraging local businesses with work whenever possible.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The competitors of Tommy Hilfiger may be slow to adapt to new luxury goods especially the ones that the company releases.</li> </ul> Threats: <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Being number one means that Tommy Hilfiger is the target of competition, the company to beat, both locally and globally. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Being a global retailer means that Tommy Hilfiger might be exposed to political problems in the countries where the company has operations.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The production costs of most consumer products have the tendency to fall because of lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturing costs fall because of outsourcing to low-cost regions around the globe. This phenomenon could lead to competition in prices, which in turn would result in the deflation of prices in various ranges. Intense price competition must definitely be considered a threat. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The latest developments in information technology which could possibly change the markets might challenge the company’s ability to adapt to these changes </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> A slight shift in focus of a large competitor might wipe out any market position that Tommy Hilfiger has achieved over the years. This could force the company to specialize in rapid response but good value services to local businesses. This would put so much pressure on the company’s consultancy staff to keep informed with the latest changes in technology where possible.</li> </ul> C. Marketing Mix Analysis A. Product Tommy Hilfiger’s dedication to quality for almost three generations now has led to the satisfaction of millions and millions of its customers worldwide. Tommy Hilfiger was created by a group of people who pursued the best quality and craftsmanship in terms of luxury goods designing and production. The various Tommy Hilfiger products that its customers patronize today are still being manufactured using nothing but the original and unparalleled raw materials discovered three generations ago by the Hilfiger family. Tommy Hilfiger’s durability and bright colors are obtained by using only the purest raw materials. The raw materials used in the production of Tommy Hilfiger products are able to meet the high quality standards and specifications. The packaging materials where Tommy Hilfiger products are sold are also being subjected to strict quality standards. In line to Tommy Hilfiger 's policies in product safety, appropriate measures are taken in the production process of Tommy Hilfiger and all of its brands to prevent the possible contamination of the products. Tommy Hilfiger manufacturing plants implement the principles of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system as a testament to their dedication to quality. B. Promotion Tommy Hilfiger has been able to maintain its reputation as one of the world's leading fashion companies for more than 130 years now. It is able to face the challenges in many of its markets directly. This is made possible by the effective promotional and positional strategies aimed to deliver not only profit growth, but also on building down the foundation of Tommy Hilfiger’s brands and business. The promotional campaigns and strategies of Tommy Hilfiger are focused mainly on driving the growth of its brands and improving the company’s financial performance. These campaigns have also helped secure significant acquisitions and partnerships. And more importantly, these campaigns have led to the release of the potentials of the company’s employees, thus building a quality performance- based culture. The promotional strategies of Tommy Hilfiger’s local products are practically reinforced by the local employees themselves. These moves certainly allow the company to improve even more without the costs of introducing new technologies. These efforts have resulted in increased financial gains for the company and have allowed the establishment of distribution networks for both the local and international Tommy Hilfiger products. C. Place Tommy Hilfiger has grown and expanded virtually around the entire globe. This was made possible by their strong efforts to acquire smaller luxury goods companies and firms from other countries. Over the years and decades, Tommy Hilfiger has slowly but surely established an empire, with strong segment markets established in Asia and the Middle East, the Western Hemisphere, the Europe and most recently the Asia Pacific. In Europe for instance, Tommy Hilfiger was able to achieve a broad market leadership through various acquisition deals over the years. The company also exerts efforts to communicate with their customers in every local culture about Tommy Hilfiger products and their impressions. And this is no easy thing because Europeans have different tastes in fashion and technologies. Therefore, Tommy Hilfiger products might not really have an appeal to them. This critical information gathered by Tommy Hilfiger paves the way for them to make the right decision regarding the appropriate strategies to pursue. Management Team The management team of Tommy Hilfiger determines the best ways to utilize its basic factors of production. These resources include the company’s people, materials, information, and energy needed in the production. Excellence is the bridge that links the goals of management and operational performance. They are concerned with the increase in productivity through the proper management of people and choosing the appropriate methods of business organization. The management team of Tommy Hilfiger performs the careful analysis of the company’s products and their requirements. In this process, they make use of various mathematical methods in its operations research to meet the requirements. They also develop systems of management control in order to aid in the planning of finances and cost analysis. These systems are eventually subjected to improvements for the effective distribution of goods and services. The management team of Tommy Hilfiger performs the tedious task of selecting which among the various Tommy Hilfiger store locations have the best combination of raw materials availability and costs. This time, the management team of Tommy Hilfiger makes use of computers for simulations and robots for controlling various activities and devices. Internationalization Issues It is a common knowledge that the fashion industry is still a relatively new industry in China and is still in its early stages of development. However, it has shown signs of rapid growth and it is being estimated that there will be more than a million fashion products that will be shipped within the year. And it is further being expected that within the next years the tremendous growth and technological advancements will continue in the fashion industry. Mobile commerce and multimedia terminals are just some of the technological advancements already being expected. Therefore, the continued growth and development will also make it imperative for localization to occur in the fashion industry in China in the years to come. The development of style for the Tommy Hilfiger clothing line in China certainly will become the target for localization because of its dynamism. There are still plenty of styles and designs that Tommy Hilfiger can use. But since development cycles are much shorter in the fashion world, Tommy Hilfiger may need to rush the release of its localized versions of clothing. By doing this measure, they will be the first to launch Tommy Hilfiger signature fashion wears in various Chinese markets, thus putting more pressure on the localization process. Also, the redesigning and streamlining of both clothing development and the localization process will become imperative if this scenario happens. A majority of the localization projects of Tommy Hilfiger for its Chinese clothing lines are part of various deals. Tommy Hilfiger often partners with smaller companies to ship its fashion products. Hence the huge customer influence on localization projects and fashion design is undeniable.  Changes are also frequently made to the documentations and the overall look of the signature clothes. Therefore, this will require the localization process to be a lot more flexible than in other situations localizers are used to dealing with.   There is also an issue of Tommy Hilfiger’s lack of experience in dealing with the Chinese consumers in both the fashion and localization industries. Thus, there is still no knowledge base from where to get the troubleshooting tips. Since most projects require both the fashion and localization industries to sign non- disclosure agreements, fashion designers who are working on a project and encounter problems won’t be able to go outside Tommy Hilfiger to ask for assistance. Thus, they would have to find answers and solutions to their problems by themselves. Their solutions also may never be shared with others. Clearly, there is an immediate need for a knowledge base that will guide all those in this field. The points discussed so far bring out the necessity of having cooperation between Tommy Hilfiger and the Chinese localization vendors. Both should strive hard in order to establish streamlined processes for localization. Close collaboration will help guarantee successful localization for Tommy Hilfiger clothing lines.   BUSINESS MODEL for Tommy Hilfiger The subscription business model has been widely used by most fashion companies, but the application of this model has started to spread up to this time. Instead of selling the clothes and accessories directly, most fashion companies nowadays are doing the process of selling their monthly or yearly access to a particular product or service. As a result, the company is able to convert a one-time sale of a product into a recurring sale of a service. Effect on Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Hilfiger will surely benefit because of the fact that they are guaranteed of a constant revenue stream. This will significantly reduce the uncertainty and the risk-taking of Tommy Hilfiger. Also, most of the time, the subscription pricing structure is carefully designed in order to make sure that the revenue stream from the recurring subscriptions could be significantly higher than the revenue coming from simple one-time purchases. In most subscription schemes, it also induces the increase of the company’s sales through disallowing the subscriber’s option to either accept or reject any specific product. This triggers the reduction of customer acquisition costs, and allows the implementation of a personalized marketing or database marketing. However, subscription business models also have their disadvantages. Tommy Hilfiger needs to invest to a large infrastructure in order to help in the management and monitoring of subscriptions. Effect on the Tommy Hilfiger Customers Tommy Hilfiger consumers can also benefit greatly from this business model. If they will be able to buy Tommy Hilfiger products regularly, then they will significantly benefit from the convenience. However, since they will only have to make one particular Tommy Hilfiger purchase decision, then they will just simply have to wait for the product to arrive. This model will be of great help for those consumers who are in search for structure and constancy in their hectic lives. Critical Success Factors For Tommy Hilfiger to be a viable player in the fashion industry in China, the following success factors are critical: ·         Financial Stability Financial stability is crucial especially in the pursuit of research and development activities. In the fashion industry, it is important to remain updated with the latest tdevelopments to be able to stay competitive in the market. ·         Product Performance and Price The designing of the best clothing products comes as a result of well-funded research and development activities. The strong performance of Tommy Hilfiger products in the market could also be linked to their cost-effectiveness. However, the company has to be aware of the positioning in terms of process so as to maintain satisfactory profits margin and remain competitive in the market. ·         Marketing Strategy and Distribution High brand awareness among the buyers has created the need for aggressive marketing, and access to strong distribution channels is critical for the introduction of new models. TARGET MARKET (CHINA) Segmentation is a key factor especially in markets where a broad leadership position has yet to be fully developed. In these markets Tommy Hilfiger strives for strong positions especially in the premium/import and specialty segments.           Good examples here include Tommy Hilfiger’s leading position in the import segment in the United States as well as its plan to establish a market in China.  In both examples, Tommy Hilfiger shows its desire to establish autonomous growth through the selling of more and more brands and expansion through the distribution networks as well as growth through acquisitions. The Chinese fashion industry has been showing steady signs of growth and progress for a couple of years now. This consistent progress can be attributed to the change in strategic directions that was implemented several years ago by its government and is still being further structured up to now. Basically, the critical element of the strategy was that the Chinese fashion industry started looking at things from the perspectives of the consumers and the customers. China possesses a strong fashion market that enables it to be easily targeted by the world’s leading fashion companies. China’s market value has even increased over the recent years especially with the steady increase of their presence. Tommy Hilfiger will be the first to strike a deal with China in its bid to strengthen its foothold as the top fashion company in the world. Why China? Because primarily, China has nearly half a million outlets where clothing and other fashionable items are allowed to be sold. If one would consider the size of the country, it would seem like that the “getting closer to the market” strategy would not work. Add the fact that it is very difficult to get detailed information about the performances in terms of sales of every independent fashion store in China. But Tommy Hilfiger must still take up the challenge. Large-scale operations must be initiated.  Business units must be started to be established to initiate the change process needed to bring Tommy Hilfiger closer to the Chinese market. In the part of marketing, the decisions taken in recent years already established positive impacts such as portfolio management and ethnic marketing. This will be a crucial initial step that can be done by Tommy Hilfiger, and they remain positive about the prospects of striking more deals with several other countries in Asia to fortify its number one position in the fashion industry. Political Trends China has experienced electoral and political transitions and crises in the last 12 months.  There have been at least four political trends that have emanated from these political events. These are: (a) the cry for democracy and reforms; (b) increased popular and local-level assertiveness; (c) greater public accountability; (d) re-definition of the concepts of power and politics. Also, the forms of political economies have slowly shifted from a bipolar (big government-big business) to a tri-polar structure (authorities - private sector – civil society).               The implementation of the Free Trade Area, or FTA, which laid out a comprehensive program of regional tariff reduction, will be continuously implemented in phases through the year 2008 (. 2008). Over the course of the next several years, the programs in tariff reductions were made broader. Efforts to eliminate non-tariff barriers and develop common product certification standards were initiated. In addition, the United States also was able to formulate framework agreements for the intra-regional liberalization of trade in services. Industrial complementation schemes meant to encourage intra-regional investment were also approved. Economic Trends Despite the adverse economic trends in the first half of the year, China as a whole experienced relatively robust economic growth. It is estimated that China posted a better-than-expected GDP growth of 4.5% last year, slightly higher than the 4.1% growth that they achieved in 2002 (. 2004). Many Chinese provinces have also seen the risk-weighted capital adequacy ratios of their banking systems improve due to government-sponsored bank recapitalization programs, continued progress in financial restructuring, and improvements in financial risk management. The capital adequacy ratio of commercial banks in these countries is now far higher than the 8% Basle norm. It ranges from about 14% in Beijing to about 20% in Guangzhou, with commercial banks reporting an average capital adequacy ratio of about 18%. Social/Cultural Trends With the rise in the middle to upper-middle class households in certain provinces within China, there exists a strategy mismatch for not considering the potential for consumer market. There have also been social and cultural trends that have been evident over the last 12 months. These include: (a) the irreversible rise of civil society among Chinese provinces; (b) the rise of civil society blends perfectly with a tri-polar structure of political economy; (c) the increase in the roles of intellectuals; and (d) the beginning of a period of introspection. Technological Trends It is a common knowledge that the fashion industry in China is still a relatively new industry and is still in its early stages of development. However, it has shown signs of rapid growth and it is being estimated that there will be more than a million fashion products and luxury goods that will be shipped within the year ( 2004). And it is further being expected that within the next years the tremendous growth and technological advancements will continue in the fashion industry. Mobile commerce and multimedia terminals are just some of the technological advancements already being expected. Therefore, the continued growth and development will also make it imperative for localization to occur in the fashion industry in the years to come. Legal Trends Intellectual property (IP) and IP Rights (IPR) creation, commercialization, and protection have been a significant source of comparative advantage of enterprises and economies and a major driver of their competitive strategies. Indeed, China is fully aware of the pressing need for a long-term policy commitment to collectively transform the region into one which is largely based on knowledge, driven by innovation and sustained by life-long learning (. 2003). China has pledged to work together to help accelerate the pace and scope of IP asset creation, commercialization and protection; to improve the regional framework of policies and institutions relating to IP and IPRs, including the development and harmonization of enabling IPR registration systems; to promote IP cooperation and dialogues within the region as well with the region’s Dialogue Partners and organizations; to strengthen IP-related human and institutional capabilities in the region, including fostering greater public awareness of issues and implications, relating to IP and IPRs. The new action plan on IPRs for 2004-2010 would cover all these aspects. CREATIVE STRATEGY This creative strategy is based on the market needs, trends, & growth of Tommy Hilfiger. Tommy Hilfiger must base its pricing strategies on several key trends that continuously shape the global marketplace of luxury goods. One particular trend is labeled as “premium-tization” (, 1981). This phenomenon causes the polarization of different markets. This would then trigger the consumers to demand and pay much higher prices for perceived quality. However, discounting in prices is also simultaneously taking place, therefore squeezing out the middle range. More often than not, retailers undergo internationalization which leads to a tighter squeeze for shelf space. This will in turn leave Tommy Hilfiger as a winner. It is for this reason why Tommy Hilfiger must value the “premise sector” so much because this would allow consumers can to try their brands at low risk and price. In terms of market segments, premium and specialty brands of Tommy Hilfiger have a disproportionate share of volume growth at an estimated 4-5% per year, as against the 2-3% overall growth rate. These rates come up as a result of both the rise in GDP among developing markets and consumer demands for higher value propositions, which is obviously dominated by international brands. Therefore, Tommy Hilfiger has to increase its portfolio and operate globally to overcome the home market. Tommy Hilfiger practically operates on a relatively fragmented market, with the top four luxury goods companies accounting for 22% of global luxury goods volume five years ago and only about 28% today (, 2004). MEDIA STRATEGY For Tommy Hilfiger to be able to reach their target markets in China effectively, a combination of media advertising and personal selling is the key strategy and communication tool that must be used. There are various kinds of media advertising that could choose from. Television Commercial Campaigns The TV commercial campaigns are generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, even amidst the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime. In the world of media and entertainment, a particular television commercial can be broadcasted continuously for months and even years. Normally, television commercial production studios often risk astronomical amounts of money for the production of a mere thirty-second television commercial. In Tommy Hilfiger’s case, the company is financially capable for this kind of huge expenditures. The resulting number of high-quality Tommy Hilfiger TV commercials, those with the best production values and the most popular personalities, will be able to offset the huge expenses later on. Billboard Advertisements Tommy Hilfiger Billboard advertisements must be able to catch the consumer’s attention and thus create an immediate impression. They also have to be readable especially because they are usually noticed in roads and highways while consumers are boarded at vehicles with high speeds. Therefore, the Tommy Hilfiger billboard must only contain a few words in large print, with a clear image in bright colors ( 2001). Event Sponsorship Campaigns  Sponsoring something means supporting an event or organization through the provision of money or other resources in exchange for advertising or publicity. Sponsorship may also refer to an arrangement to exchange advertising for the responsibility of financing a popular event or entity. For example, in China, Tommy Hilfiger could make an effort to gain sponsorships of exclusive Green Room Sessions and global world-music events. This particular music strategy that can be initiated by Tommy Hilfiger in the Chinese market could potentially gain success and perhaps be emulated also in other Asian markets, such as in Malaysia (1984). The Indy Music Series as well as Jazz Festivals are some of the most common world-music events in China. Green Nights are also starting to gain popularity in China because of its strong appeal to the younger target audience and influenced by cutting-edge music.   The World of Movies is also starting to get the appreciation of the general public in China. Tommy Hilfiger can also embark into securing major sponsorships in tennis and golf tournaments in China, or any other global sports events. For instance, Tommy Hilfiger can offer to sponsor the broadcasts of Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Another option is to sponsor yearly golf tournaments. To show its support for China’s hosting of the 2008 Olympics, Tommy Hilfiger can undertake a wide range of promotions in China (, 1998).   Personal Selling of Tommy Hilfiger Products Personal selling is normally conducted at the place of purchase. This is especially important because consumers still have special needs or technical questions. Personal selling remains the major promotional ingredient for intermediary being used by Tommy Hilfiger. Brand Positioning and Performance   As part of its positioning strategy to stay connected with their young consumers aged 30s and younger, Tommy Hilfiger can initiate a popular global music program. This program will be able to provide dance and music events to major cities around the world, especially in China. These programs will aim to further strengthen the positioning of the Tommy Hilfiger brands with the help of the continuous advertisement campaigns ( 1991). BUDGET FORMULATION (1 day) Advertising TV ($500/30-second ad/station) Radio ($50-$100/60-second ad/station) Newspaper ads ($500/ad) Billboard campaign ($1000) Flyers ($100 @ $0.10 each) Personal Selling Hiring of additional sales representatives to visit unserviced locations - $20,000 TOTAL BUDGET: $22, 200 daily EVALUATION and CONTROL There are several steps needed in order to evaluate and control the recommended promotional campaigns. First, the recommended promotional campaigns have to be tested first in varying situations and environments, after which a Test-result database must be established for comparisons. The tests have to determine the relative impact of the promotional campaigns, which in turn will be the basis towards evaluating the execution options regarding the appropriate promotion tools (. 2004). On the other hand, the established test-result database will be the basis towards the creation of more promotional campaign designs and decisions. The data will also provide support for the continued implementation of IMC activities. FEEDBACK MEASURES and TOOLS A. “Consumer Understanding” The occurrence of consumer research within the economy reflects the growing difficulty in the management of organizations that require the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. And Tommy Hilfiger is no exception to these. This is the reason why consumer research is being done by the company in order to determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies such as mathematics, science, and engineering. Through this process, problems are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the winery’s management. The management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with Tommy Hilfiger’s goals. More often than not, consumer research analysis are concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy, resource allocation, designing of production facilities and systems, pricing and the analysis of large databases. B. Balanced Scorecard The balanced scorecard is a strategic management system that allows Tommy Hilfiger to clearly establish and follow their goals and business strategies and put them into action. This approach also enables the company to issue feedbacks around both the internal business processes and external outcomes, and this undoubtedly helped the organization on its drive to continuously improve in terms of its strategic performance and results. When appropriately implemented, the balanced scorecard will be able to develop strategic planning into the brain of an organization. The balanced scorecard approach is based on integral concepts of past management ideas such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and measurement-based management and feedback. The balanced scorecard integrates feedback within internal business process outputs, just like in TQM. The only difference is the existence of an additional feedback loop around the results of business strategies.  This establishes the existence of a double-loop feedback process in the balanced scorecard. To establish such a process, the entire business processes must be part of a system with feedback loops. The feedback data needs to be thoroughly investigated by the company and organization managers in order to identify the causes of variation. The balanced scorecard is strategic management process based on facts. It is a universal fact that business entities nowadays rely upon measurement and outputs of performance. Measurements must come from the business entity's marketing strategy and provide accurate and relevant data and information regarding critical processes and results. Critical data and information needed for performance analysis and improvement include service performance, operations, and financial. The careful investigation involves using this critical information to identify trends that might not be obvious without at first without undergoing thorough investigation. Relevant information and thorough investigation are able to support a variety of organizational purposes, such as planning, improvement of operations, as well as the comparison of company performance with those of major competitors. C. Customer Satisfaction A major factor involved in the improvement of Tommy Hilfiger’s involves the establishment and utilization of performance measures or indicators that in turn measure their customer’s satisfaction. These measures or indicators are measurable characteristics of products and services that the company typically utilizes in order to study and improve performance. The indicators that will be chosen should be able to represent the essential factors that are crucial to the improvement of operational and financial performance. Through the analysis of accurate information brought about by the tracking processes, the measures or indicators themselves can possibly be analyzed and improved to support such goals. RECOMMENDATIONS A tie-up or merger with various local fashion companies offers tremendous benefits in terms of access to the company’s marketing strategies, infrastructure and even its resources. However, Tommy Hilfiger must not lose sight of its core competencies while pursuing these tie-ups. Otherwise, the image of Tommy Hilfiger might be put in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the collaboration of Tommy Hilfiger with its major competitors can be seen as a ridiculous move at first.  However, upon close examination, this move could pave the way for Tommy Hilfiger to improve even more its IMC strategies and capabilities. The bottom line is both sides would be able significantly gain in such an alliance. Tommy Hilfiger’s strengths in fashionable product development combined with the financial capabilities of their competitors can transform them suddenly into an unbeatable force to reckon with. One possible setback, however, is the differences in the cultures of the companies involved. Another possible setback could be whether any of Tommy Hilfiger’s competitors has the need to form alliances. The third option also focuses on alliances, but this time with either one of the suppliers specializing in raw materials for fashionable products. The benefits of these alliances should outweigh the costs in the long run. In terms of appropriateness, all three options are able to directly address the current issues mentioned. However, the question remains whether Tommy Hilfiger could be able to implement any of these options, and whether these options can be acceptable to the key stakeholders. Any merger or alliances may also involve the sharing of expertise. Tommy Hilfiger has traditionally relied on the inside-out approach. It is important to note that any merger transactions would have many implications on the company’s values and culture as well as the resources. The key stakeholders definitely would be concerned with such options and need to be convinced of the positive aspects. Somehow, Tommy Hilfiger will be able to overcome this barrier in managing strategic changes in the process of implementing any of the above mentioned strategic options. CONCLUSION As a person with knowledge of the fashion industry, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy formation regarding the analysis of this industry and at times fails to understand the reasons or logic behind certain strategic implementations imposed on it. By delving into this project paper, the author intended to have better insights into how the strategic analysis of the fashion industry is thought up, formulated and then imparted down. The author hoped to have an in-depth understanding as to how the strategic analysis of the fashion industry enabled companies and organizations in this business to compete effectively and profitably in this era of internationalization where competition is extremely intense. In order to reinforce the learning objectives, two key focal issues were focused upon i.e. innovation and diversity. Innovation was discussed with regard to the strategic analysis of the fashion industry where it was renowned for its developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity came under strategic thinking and formation as the author considered the diverse culture, political climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems in order to better understand the issues being discussed. Tommy Hilfiger has been able to remain one of the world's leading fashion companies for more than a century now primarily because of the execution of the company’s international marketing strategies to perfection. Add to the mix the company’s dedication to high quality of service and the formula for success is at hand. However, I am not totally convinced that the international marketing strategies Tommy Hilfiger implements currently would be as effective as before. For one, consolidation and globalization are taking place across most industries, and the luxury goods industry is not excluded. Tommy Hilfiger, as a leader in their industry, has implemented various strategies to fully adapt to the need to go global.  I suggest that Tommy Hilfiger should implement a more sober approach to maintain consumer loyalty with their local brands. There is nothing wrong with building new loyalties with the other global consumers like China. But there are instances where the local market is often neglected. As a result, local consumers will tend to develop a bad impression about the company and its products. While it is good to acquire new firms, it is even better to keep and maintain the older and more established markets. This way, the empire of Tommy Hilfiger will remain unscathed amidst the advent of consolidation and globalization. REFERENCES

MARKETING COMMUNICATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world's leading fashion and clothing line companies in terms of profit and sales ...