Sunday, September 15, 2019
Analysis of Banduraââ¬â¢s Cognitive Theory and Beckââ¬â¢s Cognitive Theory
The study of human behavior or behaviorism focuses on attributes of humanity that are discernible, measurable and which can be manipulated. The emphasis of behaviorism is on experimental methods and avoids attributes that are subjective, internal or unavailable.The experimental method involves the manipulation of one variable and measurement of its effect on another variable. It is from the study of variable and effects that a Canadian psychologist, Albert Bandura found the cognitive theory (or social cognitive theory) (Bandura, 2006).Bandura for instance observed aggressive behavior in adolescents and opined that the aggressiveness is caused by the environment in which the adolescents grow. On the other hand, he also realized that behavior causes an environment as well.Thus, since behavior and environment are causes and effects of each other, Bandura referred to the concept as reciprocal determinism (Bandura1986). In short, Banduraââ¬â¢s theory was based on the fact that the worl d and a personââ¬â¢s character (behavior) affect each other (Bandura, 1986).While it would appear that the environment was the cause of behavior and personality, Bandura also realized that personality is an interaction of a personââ¬â¢s psychological responses in relation to the environment (Bandura, 2006).The psychological processes consist of the human beingââ¬â¢s ability to entertain different images and languages. Thus, the cognitive theory is built on two essential principles. The first one is a framework for explaining how different personalities function, whereas the other one addresses the type of variables (that is the elements of analysis) on which the personality theory should be centred (Bandura, 2006).In analysis of the influence of reciprocal determinism, Bandura categorically uses the word ââ¬Å"determinismâ⬠to imply the aspect in which effects are produced by events (Bandura, 2006). However, this opinion does not mean that a human beingââ¬â¢s actio ns arise from straightforward and predictable chains of cause and consequence.Rather, it implies that events produce effects by chance. As a result, the probability or chance of an event producing an effect is emphasized in Banduraââ¬â¢s cognitive theory (Bandura, 2006). Perhaps the most significant aspect of Banduraââ¬â¢s theory is the way in which the theory treats behavior.Unlike many other theoretical frameworks, this theory has equal action on both the input of the personality and the output of personality (Bandura, 1986). In essence, Banduraââ¬â¢s opinion is that a personââ¬â¢s actions and the resultant effects shape the personââ¬â¢s aptitude, feelings and belief in one self (Bandura, 2006).For example, many behaviorist theories depict scant curiosity in self-process because the theorists assume that human functioning is caused by external stimulus rather than the internal stimulus which is only considered as transmitting rather than causing behavior (Bandura, 1 986).This paper critically evaluates the notable features of Banduraââ¬â¢s cognitive theory and discusses in detail the viewpoint of the Bandura at the time of formulation of the theory and the theoryââ¬â¢s subsequent modification.The paper will also appraise the strengths and weaknesses of the theory based on the discussion. Analysis of the salient features of Banduraââ¬â¢s cognitive theory The most notable feature of Banduraââ¬â¢s social cognitive theory is the concept of reciprocal determinism (Bandura, 1986).Reciprocal determinism is a phenomenon that implies the causes and effects of different actions on behavior and environment and how they affect each other. Thus, Banduraââ¬â¢s theory was based on the point that personal factors in the form of cognition, biological events and affect, behavior and environmental factors create interfaces that result in a triadic reciprocality as illustrated in Figure 1. Bandura modified the label of his theory from the common per spective of social learning to social cognitive in order to distance it from the common social learning theories of his time (Bandura, 1986).He also wanted to lay emphasis on the idea that cognition plays a significant role in peopleââ¬â¢s capability to construct reality, regulate their personality, encode information and display other kinds of behavior. According to Bandura (1971), the reciprocal form of the determinants of individual human functioning in social cognitive theory enables services such as therapeutic and counseling efforts to be rendered with focus on personal environment or behavioral factors as illustrated in the diagram above.Based on this, strategies to improve a personââ¬â¢s well-being can be aimed at ameliorating the emotional, cognitive and motivational process of the human being (Bandura, 1986). The focus can also be on improving behavioral capabilities or changing the communal conditions under which people live and work.As an example, teachers in schoo ls have a role to not only improve their studentsââ¬â¢ academic learning and confidence, but also boost their (studentsââ¬â¢) self-beliefs and habits of thinking. Hence, teachers and students have to embrace all the components of Banduraââ¬â¢s triadic expression of cognitive theory.As earlier mentioned, Banduraââ¬â¢s social cognitive theory sets itself aside from other theories that overemphasize the role played by environmental factors in the development of human behavior (Bandura, 1986; Bandura, 2006).These theories are often dismissed since they have the redundant factor of cause and effect that is unworthy in the context of evaluating the psychological aspect of human beings. Thus according to Bandura, psychology per se without a clear self-examination cannot purport to explain the complexities of human intricacies of human functioning.Bandura (1986) further noted it is by evaluating their own conscious minds that people discern their own psychological processes. The refore, in order to predict how the human behavior is affected by environmental outcomes, it is imperative that the individualââ¬â¢s cognitive process and how he or she interprets the outcomes be understood.Personal determinants An important factor in addressing how a person interprets the outcomes is recognition of the personal determinants. This is affected by the choice of variables to be used in the evaluation process.Banduraââ¬â¢s choice for such variable depicts what may be the most distinctive aspect of human life, that is, people have abilities to adapt to different environments (Bandura, 1986). For instance, people are able to live in a variety of physical environments such as deserts, rainforests, Polar Regions and so on.They are also able to live and engage in a variety of social environments such as nomadic systems, diverse religious beliefs, different socio economic and socio cultural activities and so on. People also exhibit a variety of unique capabilities that cannot be attributed to the occurrence of evolution over time (Bandura, 1971).In fact, the list of human beingsââ¬â¢ unique capabilities relative to animals cannot be exhausted in a single book. Hence, in order to perform an analysis of psychological functioning, one must specify the psychological mechanisms that facilitate the unique capabilities. Banduraââ¬â¢s (1986) theory has a focal point on the cognitive methods that enable people to learn about the world around them (environment) and also about themselves, and use the knowledge gained to control their behavior and mental experiences.In particular, Bandura (1986) enlisted five basic capabilities that facilitate the learning process, as described below. Symbolizing capability implies the ability of people to represent their knowledge symbolically. The most common symbolic representation or conveyance of messages is language (Bandura, 1971). The ability to use symbols in terms of language is perhaps the most fundamental ca pability in human beings as it serves as a leeway for the other capabilities.Vicarious capability is the ability to acquire skills, knowledge and other emotional tendencies through observation or a similar approach (Bandura, 1971). Banduraââ¬â¢s (2006) assiduous analysis of vicarious processes that are involved in acquiring skills makes the cognitive theory not only realistic but also unusually easy to comprehend and interpret. In addition, it clears most of the issues that are usually overlooked by psychological theories such how people acquire knowledge and skills that enable them to act efficiently.According to Bandura (1997), vicarious capability enables people to keep away from risky or costly undertakings that could lead to fatal outcomes. This is because the people ideally have a sense of experience by observing their own characters relative to the characters or behavior of others.Bandura (1986) referred to the ability to anticipate future contingencies as the forethought capability of human beings. Forethought capability is vital for both emotional and motivational perspectives of life.For instance, contrary to popular belief, psychological distress arises from peoplesââ¬â¢ anticipated dreadful experiences and not the present or actual experiences. It is because of the ability to derive alternative approaches that one can foresee the consequences of an action without actually being involved in it.According to Bandura (1986), the fourth unique human capability is the self-regulatory capability. This is the capacity of an individual to set goals. In addition, this capability allows individuals to evaluate their performance in relation to their own (internal) standards of performance.Bandura (1986) further noted that the ability of people to evaluate their self-concept, esteem and values enables them have a sense of self-direction and ability to lead life without much reliance on others. Much similar to the above capability is the self-reflective ca pability.According to Bandura (1997), this is the capacity of human beings to have personal thoughts. In this context, personal reflections lay a course for action and formulation of ideas by individuals based on self-efficacy. The aforementioned capabilities do not work in isolation but in concert.In particular, according to Bandura (1997), the aspects of self-reflection, self-regulation and forethought act in synergy to form a self-system, which comprises the framework of personality. Furthermore, people are able to control their emotions and social lives by integrating the constituents of the self-system (Bandura, 1986).Self-reflection in particular is ââ¬Å"distinctly humanâ⬠and forms a prominent feature of the social cognitive theory. Through self-reflection, individuals derive sense from their experiences and embrace their cognitions and self-beliefs.Consequently, they are able to engage in self-evaluation and are able to shift their thinking and behavior accordingly (B andura, 1986). Self-efficacy When the capabilities so far described are integrated effectively, the self-system acquires a state of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997).Perceived self-efficacy refers to peopleââ¬â¢s ability to evaluate their own efficiencies in solving problems and attaining certain levels of performance (Bandura, 1997). The relevance of perceived self-efficacy to the social cognitive theory postulated by Bandura is that self-efficacy judgments have a pervasive role in human affairs.In the scope of both achievements and interpersonal relationships, peopleââ¬â¢s stances are calculated by how effectively (and wisely) they can make decisions and how efficiently they can act in fulfilling the decisions taken. From the above perspective, it is evident that evaluation between an individualââ¬â¢s skills and the requirements of the environment is pertinent in determining the courses of action that are viewed as being the determinants of oneââ¬â¢s personality. Efficacy beliefs are vital in that not only do they act on overt behavior but they also address the internal psychological affairs of individuals.This is an important aspect of the social cognition theory with respect to the triadic scheme. This is because an individualââ¬â¢s personality is judged from acts that are done both overtly and covertly. In view of Banduraââ¬â¢s (1997) ideas, people with robust perceptions of their efficacy envisage more positive futures, experience less distressing emotions, and are capable of planning for their life programs more effectively. In addition, such people are able to deal with demanding tasks more efficiently than people who have lower opinion of their efficacy. How personal determinants relate with individual differences and dispositionsWith reference to Bandura (1999), the basic capacities of the social cognitive theory are dissimilar in three ways from the units of measurement employed in the character-related theories of personality. To begi n with, the capabilities are not single variable differences with reference to personality.For instance, Bandura (1999) accentuated that a single-difference analysis may hinder the realization of other vital capabilities possessed by an individual. Such an instance would occur if the ability in an individual is rare and is therefore not detected as an important factor in analysis (Bandura, 1999).As is common with many forms of analysis, there is usually an investigation for a small number of primary units of variation, or for capabilities that are common but possessed to uniformly high level by many individuals.The fact that almost everyone possesses a unique capability (for example the ability to use symbols of the ability to be self-reflective and selfââ¬âconscious) does not necessarily make the capabilities less important in the context of the functioning of personality. These capabilities are still important in spite of the fact that they may not be identified as the primary dimensions of individual dissimilarity.The second difference in the context of the capabilities in the social cognitive theory is related to average tendencies. For instance, Banduraââ¬â¢s (1999) category of cognitive capabilities does not just mention the average tendencies.Rather, Bandura opines that self-reflection and self-regulation contribute to both constancy and variability of actions among individuals. Along this line, it is important to note that peopleââ¬â¢s goals, choices and cognitive abilities are displayed in the manner in which they act and handle different circumstances that they come across in their lives.This point is of importance in describing an individualââ¬â¢s personality (Bandura, 1999). It implies that dispositional characteristics per se cannot suffice the description of personality as they refer to the average tendencies in behavior and are devoid of reference to particular individuals (Bandura, 1999).In addition, a single individualââ¬â¢s so cial cognitive may not contribute significantly to the distinct patterns of behavior that are not in line with the contemporary descriptive characteristics that are used in the analysis of standard individual difference categories.The third point is that the social cognitive theoryââ¬â¢s definition of personality and the role personality factors play in contribution to social behavior is significantly different from the dispositional approach. The social cognitive theory does not view dispositional tendencies as personality structures. Instead, the theory realizes personality structures as consisting of cognitive and affective systems, which contribute to the patterns of individualsââ¬â¢ behavior in a much informal way. These, according to Bandura (1999), are the dispositional tendencies.In this context therefore, dispositions are effects and not causes. Bandura opposed the proponents of personality description based on behavior as being mistaken since the aspects of behaviora l description ââ¬Å"locate the personality structure in the wrong placeâ⬠(Bandura, 1999, p 200).Therefore, the Banduraââ¬â¢s social cognitive theory views the standard dispositional units of personality description as being inadequate to fully describe an individual or to explain his or her personality functioning. Strengths and weaknesses of the theoryAs discussed, Banduraââ¬â¢s theory has many points of strength, notable of which being that it describes the relationship between behavior and the environment. In addition, the theory gives a clear picture of how behaviors are learned and developed.On the other hand, it is evident that the theory puts too much emphasis on what happens to people rather than what the people do. Along the same line, the theory does not address consistent differences among individuals as they go through different developmental stages. a
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Marketing â⬠product, pricing &description Essay
Initial Product: The Company plans to pursue vigorously and at an accelerated rate the development, production and marketing of artificial lumbar disc . The goal would be apart from being superior to other products it should affordable for the masses in Canada keeping in mind that very few people rely on medical insurances and pay from their own pocket.. Emphasis would be on improving the reliability of the device, and also incorporating digital circuitry or sensors to monitor the position of the device after it has been implanted on to the patient. The company would also like to pay for any revision surgeries for the patients if required. We would also manufacture associated devices/instrumentation required for surgical procedures. Short term Product: In the second year of business the Spinal Dynamics would try to pursue development of a cervical (upper back) artificial disc based on the previous design but much smaller in size. Long Term Product: Plan would be to improve the lumbar artificial disc and come up with better device material, in order to make it more durable and wear resistant. We would also try to incorporate digital circuitry in order to monitor the position of the device post surgically. DESIGN PROTOTYPE The design would be similar to the current Charite disc by Depuy Spine . A polymer sliding core at the middle with two cobalt chrome end plate would be the basic construct design. KEY FEATURES & BENEFITS The strategic product benefit of Prime disc would be its being minimally invasive, ability to alleviate pain and capability to restore normal range of motion. The main benefit would be that the device would be manufactured in Canada, and thus would be first of its kind. Spinal Dynamics would also file for patent protection . It would be economically priced, in order to make it more affordable for the masses in Canada. PRICING PLANS The current market price for an artificial disc implant is approximately 5000USD-10,000USD. The aim of Spinal Dynamics is to minimize the cost of the implant, by manufacturing the implant in Canada at half of the existing price. The price per device would be approximately 1000USD. COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT Companies Differentiators Medtronic De-puy Synthes Spine. Core Competency brand name Huge range of products Backed by Johnson&Johnson Established brand name Technology/Innovation Highly innovative Highly innovative Specialized in spinal areas Unique distribution NO NO NO PART C: OPERATIONS LOCATION & FACILITIES Spinal Dynamics would be renting a 1500 sq feet area for our office space in Toronto, Canada. The space would be divided into 10 cubicles, with two cabins for the presidents and the senior scientist. 15 Dell Inspiron Desktops would be bought and housed in each cubicle and cabins. An annual license from Abaqus and CATIA would be purchased, which could be renewed from time to time. Apart from these a high speed internet connection, an office LAN would be required. A back up system would be put in place to secure the data files every week. External hard disks and other data storage devices would be bought for this purpose Also a Plotter and two HP Laser printer would be bought. On a parallel level a small office place would be leased in U. S at Toledo, Ohio from where few team members would be working. This group would be dealing with testing and development of experimental protocol for the device. Both the groups would be communicating via emails , phone calls etc. This model would enable Spinal dynamics to save some cost on procuring expensive equipments for testing , and also they can work with various universities in and around Toledo. Apart from this there would be direct communication with experts like Dr Vijay Goel and Lisa Ferrara who all belong to the Advisory committee and currently reside in U. S. R&D Plans: Spinal Dynamics will produce artificial disc implants with the strategic product benefits of being minimally invasive, will alleviate pain and would restore normal range of motion. Spinal Dynamicââ¬â¢s unique product design is based upon extensive market research. Though some reverse engineering concepts would be applied to the pre-existing products in the market, the idea would be to incorporate the best features from all of them. CATIA CAD software in synchronization with ABAQUS an FEA tool would be used for design development. After the design concept is fully developed a prototype will be manufactured. The design team will comprise of 5 team members who will be proficient in CAD/FEA area, this team will be headed by The R&D head Dr Ahmad Faizan. 1) All initial manufacturing work would be done by S&S manufacturing a 3rd party prototype manufacturing company. 2) The designââ¬â¢s functionality would be tested by various experiments, namely using MTS simulator and other biomechanical-cadaveric studies. The protocols would be developed accordingly and approved by the management. The testing could be done at various universities at a much cheaper cost than buying costly equipments initially. 3) Clinical trials would be undertaken through hospitals under the guidance of physicians and patients who would be willing to participate in this trial. Legal aspects would be taken care of, in case the design does not work. The patientââ¬â¢s suitability to the trial would be selected based on the physicianââ¬â¢s decision. 4) After the first four stages a pilot manufacturing would be undertaken, and 100 devices would be produced. 5) The deviceââ¬â¢s testing results would be submitted for FDA and other approvals and accordingly vigorous testing would be undertaken if the need be. 6) After formal approval we would plan to set up a state of art manufacturing shop floor, where the devices would be manufactured and sterile packed. Title Description Start Date Finish Date Remarks Priority/ Sequence Facility development Construction June 2008 Oct 2008 Very important/ First priority Product development Design & prototype June 2009 Should be started as soon as the facility is set up Testing Clinical Trial-short term and long term September 2010 Approvals Obtaining approvals October 2010 Pilot Test Initial Pilot test November 2010 Production Full fledged production.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Marketing opportunities of Columbia Sportswe, Umbro, Ltd. and Lotto Essay
Marketing opportunities of Columbia Sportswe, Umbro, Ltd. and Lotto Sport - Essay Example Columbia Sportswear: Columbia sportswear founded in 1938 is an American company that mainly deals with manufacture and distribution of adventure wear, sportswear, outerwear and respective accessories. The company has its headquarters in Washington County, Oregon. Over the decades, the company has been able to establish a niche market for itself with great products of highest quality and service. The various products of the company are jackets, shirts, fleece, vests, shorts, bottoms, footwear and other accessories such as backpacks, gloves, scarfs, caps, etc. The company has its presence mainly in America and Europe. Umbro, Ltd.: Umbro is England Company based in Greater Manchester. It is now a subsidiary of Nike. Umbros is also a sports oriented company with its niche being sports related products. Its main activities involve designing of spots related apparels and equipments. It also sources and markets its products. Even though the companyââ¬â¢s products involve all sports related products, its niche has been football. The company is known of its products for football. Umbro owned majority stakes in the United Soccer leagues. The companyââ¬â¢s products are sold in over 90 countries across the world. Lotto Sport: Lotto Sports is again a sports apparel manufacture established in 1973 and based in Italy. It started out as a footwear manufacturer and has today branched out to manufacturing and selling of other apparel and equipments. Today, Lotto distributes its products around the world in more than 70 countries. It also is an active sponsor of various teams and sportspersons around the world (Lotto, 2011). Marketing Opportunities The various marketing opportunities that the above firms can use to gain a competitive advantage and increase their market share are: Affiliate marketing: Affiliate marketing is a tool that helps a business to reach the masses on the internet without actually making a major commitment towards marketing expenses. It is a web-based marketing practice that will generate a sale or a lead for the business with the help of an affiliateââ¬â¢s business or a website. The affiliate will be rewarded if a lead or a sale is generated from the affiliateââ¬â¢s eff orts (Ryan & Jones, 2009). Even though this is a common practise it is an effective one and can drive traffic to the website. None of the above companies use this and it is highly recommended for all the three companies. Best example of affiliate marketing on business is Amazon.com. Amazon.com has used affiliate marketing to boost its sales and at the same time reach a greater audience worldwide with an internet presence that is rivalled by very few. Affiliate marketing can be categorised into low-hanging fruit as it is not very difficult to achieve and does not need a lot of effort. It is used by many and is also affordable which can be generate consistent sales even if it fewer in number. One of the main risks with affiliate marketing is the negative perception among consumers about the numerous online tracking technologies and also affiliates who are unethical and create a negative impression for the company. This has to be countered before going forward with implementation. This strategy will result in minor financial improvements for the company and will have a public relations effect on the firm. Social Media Marketing:
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Curved OLED TV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Curved OLED TV - Essay Example à If the business does not pick the first time as was expected, more time is needed to convince the customers on the need for the product in meeting their demands. Cites for marketing should also be changed to try new cites, like leaving rural areas and focusing on the urban centres where most people can afford. In addition, the customers that are targeted should be changed and try new targets like the young who are favourites of the premium content. The best method to deliver the message is through face-to-face communication. This is because the audience involves just one person, in this case, the boss. The complexity of the product, which is the television with the modern technology, needs demonstration and thorough explanation so that the boss can understand better. In addition, to convince the boss on the need to invest in this product passion, commitment and feelings are needed for the boss to understand. The sales pitch about the television is ââ¬Å"Curved OLED TV is the lat est and the first curved television that provides premium services like face-booking, twitting, emailing, and many online services to everyone.à à Moreover, its stand is crystal clear and rotates in a reflex angle of 160 degrees that allows everyone to view it from all corners of the house. The screen also provides a wide field of view, unlike the other LED televisions. Therefore, I urge everyone to stay updated using this excellent technology and have the real experience of the globe. Thanks, everybody.â⬠à Ã
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Application of Concept Analysis to Clinical Practice Essay
Application of Concept Analysis to Clinical Practice - Essay Example Some of the concepts that are related to nursing are health, nursing, parenting, coping, and managed care. A concept analysis is thus the primary action in communicating variables such as meanings, understandings and feelings. A concept is usually considered to be a measurable variable in a hypothesis, assumption, or proposition. ââ¬Å"Nursing has traditionally valued processes of concept analysis for the identification of concepts suitable for subsequent research and as a means to determine the appropriate methodologies for investigating the concept of interestâ⬠(Penrod & Hupcey, 2004, p. 403). Shaun M. Ryles in his article ââ¬Ëa concept analysis of empowerment: its relationship to mental health nursingââ¬â¢ had used the evolutionary concept analysis of Rodgers by clarifying the concept of ââ¬Ëempowermentââ¬â¢ and the concept comparison of Morse in which the meaning of competing concepts are clarified. ââ¬Å"Empowerment is described by Gibson (1991) as a composit e of three factors: attributes that relate to the client; attributes that relate to the nurse; and those that relate to the client and nurseâ⬠(Ryder, 2001). The evolutionary concept is used to clarify the term empowerment and this is done through the analysis of the characteristics of the term empowerment. ... Empowerment as a concept aroused from the movements of political awareness of the late 1960ââ¬â¢s and early 1970ââ¬â¢s. The concept was used in the movement for raising the political awareness among the people of the community. Thus the term empowerment is used in this article so as to raise the self awareness among the nurses as a result of empowerment. Empowerment is thus considered to be important so that they are capable of recognizing and fulfilling their individual responsibility and become accountable. The political willingness of the nurses is found to be meagre and it is said to be the result of the circumstances like subservient and deferential culture in which the nursing had grown. The lack of empowerment may further lead to tension and conflict which will have negative impact on the health care environment. ââ¬Å"From these characteristics one can suggest that as a means of unifying the concept, empowerment can be seen as having a continuum that begins with an awa reness of something tangible, usually a deficit, and then proceeds to a point at which the actors feel this has been correctedâ⬠(Ryles, 1999, p. 602). Based on the literature, author divided the concept of empowerment into two models: Psychological model and community or political model. The psychological model is related to the humanistic approach to nursing practice giving emphasis to self-awareness and personal growth. The psychological model gives the path to the empowerment through the relationships. Thus it is related to the closeness of the people. The political model which is influenced by the humanistic perspective gives emphasis to the concept of synergy. The political model gives importance to the development of political consciousness. It is been made clear that the
Water shortages at Jordan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Water shortages at Jordan - Essay Example Almost 70% of all water is used for agricultural purposes and less than 30% is consumed by people (Jordans Water Shortage, 1998). Overall, this issue requires immediate response not to get worse. This problem requires complex approach and collaboration of people, government and even countries that border with Jordan. First of all, the government develops the water management model to make sure that the supply of water is growing and the demand is decreasing. Second, strategic relationships with Israel and Syria make sure that Jordan is backed up by its neighboring countries. Moreover, investments into existing water supply infrastructure strengthen the position of the country and avoid exploring new resources of water which is quite costly for the country. Finally, the country maintains clear data about water consumption on its territories in order to see how the above-mentioned activities influence on the situation with water shortage in Jordan. Government, local people and activists seem to be involved in the issue; they control their water consumption and support governmental
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Sylvia's Bar in Birmingham Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Sylvia's Bar in Birmingham - Essay Example Soon, even the popularity of the bar also faded away. Consequently, the main objective of this report has been to identify the issues surrounding the bar and to analyse the problems. It also aims at offering adequate suggestions to the company so that it can improve its profitability and recapture the lost popularity. Defining the Issue There are generally three reasons behind the failure of a restaurant which include economic perspectives, marketing perspectives as well as managerial views. Among these three perspectives, most of the restaurants have been observed to fail because of the economic perspectives. The economic perspective can lead to failure of a restaurant because of the reasons such as lowered profits, weakened revenues and declining profits. The restaurants may also fail because of the marketing perspective wherein they may fail to operate at any specified locations, deliberate strategic selection of relocation, adjusting with the changing demographics, meeting the un realised demand for any new product or service, consolidation of the market in order to acquire new market share in the targeted regions as well as rearrangement of the product portfolio necessitating chosen unit closures. Managerial perspective comprises the failures in the restaurants that occur because of the lack of competency within the managerial teams (Parsa & et. al., 2006). In the context of this case study, it has been noted that Sylvia faces many significant issues that need to be resolved in order to enhance the sales of the company and to increase the profits as well. One of the main issues that the restaurant has been confronting is related to the cost along with the menu of the restaurant. The drinks as well as the food menu have been targeted at high class people and therefore it becomes difficult for the middle class people to dine in the restaurant and thus the demand of the food has declined. Staffing has been the other vital issue related to Sylviaââ¬â¢s Bar. Since the restaurant employs the staffs who have completed their education from South Birmingham College, these staffs generally demand higher pay in comparison to the normal staffs. In such circumstance, it can be stated that a significant amount of the money earned by the company goes to the staffs which is a noteworthy issue in Sylvia. The other main issue hampering the profitability of Sylviaââ¬â¢ Bar has been related to the modes of entertainment that the restaurant uses for the purpose of attracting the customers. The restaurant plays old classic bands which belong to 1960s to 1990s. The old bands may be preferred by some of the customers but may not be the ultimate choice for the youth. Competition is one of the marketing problems that tend to hamper the effectiveness of the companies thereby impacting upon the sales as well as the revenues of the company. It has been noted that during the initiation of the restaurants, there were no competitors of Sylviaââ¬â¢s Bar. How ever, in the recent times there are many local bars which cause a significant problem for the company. The attractiveness of the High Street has also been declining in the current times with young customers wanting to visit fashionable canal district. The companyââ¬â¢s customers as well as the staffs are also not much satisfied with the service offered by the company. Customers state that they dislike the weekend entertainment that
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