Fan, Ying : Branding the Nation: What Is Being Branded?

Fan, Ying : Branding the nation: What is being branded? Journal of Vacation Marketing Volume 12 Number 1. 2005 p. 4-13 Abstract: The paper by Fan explains what nation branding is. So first the difference between Nation branding and Nation brand is explained. Every Nation has a certain image with or without Nation branding. It examines the concept of nation branding, focusing especially on the question of what is being branded. The paper tries to explain what nation branding is and tries to explain the differences between on the one hand nation branding and product branding and on the other hand nation branding and product- country image. Furthermore it discusses paradoxical issues of nation branding and tries to give a broader context in which nation branding can be applied. But to find out how nation branding could help economic development in a country , more research is needed. It is hard to say how important the role of nation branding really is. Key Words: ation branding, country branding, country-of-origin effect, product- country image, place marketing The author: The paper is written by Ying Fan a senior lecturer at Brunel Business School, Brunel University in London. Dr Fan has held faculty positions at the universities of Lincoln, Hertfordshire and Durham. His research interests surround branding and marketing communications, and cross-cultural management issues. Topic: Branding the nation: What is being branded? The major topic of the paper is what nation branding is and what the purpose of nation branding is. Research question : What is being branded? Is a nation brand a separate entity, or an element in the product brand? What is the direction of the correlation between countries that have produced strong brands and those that are strong brands themselves ? Method : The research method is a literary analysis Material and Structure of the paper: On the first page of his paper contact informations, informations on the author including a photo of Fan are given. An Abstract sums up the Keywords and gives an overview over the article. All in all the paper of Fan is 9 pages long and is structured in the chapters: Introduction What is Nation Branding? What is being branded? Nation branding and product branding Nation brand image and product-country image Paradoxes The broader context For a further understanding Fan gives 3 Tables: Terms used in the literature ; Examples of nation branding where he gives 5 examples and explains what is being branded and a table on Comparison between nation branding and product branding . In his paper Fan makes indirect citations which are listed in the references. Here the references are ordered by appearance in the text not alphabetically. The paper is easy to read and understand, it gives a good overview of the topic nation branding. The structure is easy to follow. The paper is anonymously refereed. Finding of the article : The author points out that there is no single definition on nation branding but gives a working definition for the paper: ‘Nation branding concerns applying branding and marketing communications techniques to promote a nation’s image. Nation branding can be used in different ways: using the nation’s image to promote sales and exports ; place branding which is part of tourism marketing ; political marketing for example the expression â€Å"axis of evil†; Nation branding in it's true sense like Cool Britannia. The author points out that a nation is not a product in the conventional sense . The Nation itself can hardly be changed, the benefits are purely emotional, the Image is complicated and the ownership is unclear. A nation brand is not centered on any specific product, service or cause that can be promoted directly to the customer. But Nation branding concerns a countries whole image, covering political, economic, historical and cultural dimensions. A Nation has not one but multiple images. What image is retrieved depends on the audience , the context and the time. The author finds out that negative national image does not necessarily affect the purchase of products made by that country, by giving the example of Japan and China. The author tries to find out the direction of the correlation between countries that have produced strong brands and those that are strong brands themselves . Nation branding must be distinctive and help the country to position itself against competitors . A difficulty is that an international audience have a different degree of knowledge of a nation and each country has different cultural values, thus decodes the message differently. Nation branding often try to communicate a single image or message to different audiences in different countries . This renders for the author the message meaningless, but to try to be all things to all people will in the opinion of the author inevitably fail . What is the message a nation wants to send, give up a old but unique image in favor of the new image. This can fail like for example â€Å"Cool Britannia† did. Another difficulty in nation branding is that a national identity is very difficult to define. Furthermore in nation branding, an understanding of the customers’ existing perception of the nation is very important. A certain image is made over time. Another important aspect of nation branding is the internal audience. The author points out that Nation branding is just one part of a marketing strategy which is part of the business strategy and that often nation branding is overestimated even if it is a powerful tool. It is for example not sufficient for the country to promote its image enthusiastically to other nations if the economic basis for the nation brand is not there or the political situation is unstable. The image problem of a region or nation most often results from political and socio-economic troubles which must be solved, nation branding will not solve a country’s problems but only serves as the final touch .

Managed healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managed healthcare - Assignment Example With control, the use of resources is properly managed and can be assured of the sort of outcome to expect. Through control, the patterns of the medical practice are kept in track and it is easier to make arrangements of future advancements in technology as even the finances are well handled. Managed care in itself refers to care that is under control and is helpful to the management in promoting the success of quality healthcare delivery. It also helps in determining the efficiency of the resources in place and ensures quality outcomes of the health care sector (Kongstvedt 2012). In conclusion, has there not been the rising cost of receiving proper healthcare then perhaps there would not have been pressure on the government to impose policies that lead to managed healthcare. However, there needed to be a controlled system of healthcare provision that ensured the needs of the public were met and that there was balance in the finances that were demanded of

Characteristics of Language in Latino Community Essay

Characteristics of Language in Latino Community - Essay Example Latinos in the US are an example of a language community. Their main language is Spanish, but most of them adapted to English after they migrating to the US. Other than language, Latinos also share the same beliefs and cultural practices. The term Latino refers a section of the United States that originated from Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Latinos trace their history back in 1500 when Spaniards migrated to the US and settled in Texas, Florida and Mexico. Factors that contributed to their migration from Caribbean and Latin America in to the US included expansion of territory by the US, neoliberal economic policies in US, wars and military interventions, and forced cheap labour, among others.Moreover, the history of the Latinos has been overlooked and even forgotten in current discussions and debates over immigration, but it started developing in the late 1980s when more case studies were conducted in New York, Chicago, Texas, Los Angeles and other major cities. H owever, despite the fact that Latinos settled in the US and even adopted their culture, their proximity to the border, constant migration and close ties to their homeland helps them to replenish their culture (Stuart and Hirschberg 443).â€Å"Machismo† is a term that plays an important role among the Latino/Hispanic groups. They use it as a flattering word, which means courage to fight, honour and dignity, protecting ones name, keeping one’s word, respect for others, love for one’s family and affection for children....They use it as a flattering word, which means courage to fight, honour and dignity, protecting ones name, keeping one’s word, respect for others, love for one’s family and affection for children. It can also be used in order to influence a person’s behaviour and to distinguish between sexes. Other examples of word used by Latinos include Corazon which means heart in English, respecto-respect, dignidad-dignity, afecto-warmth and demonstratives, and sensibilidad-sensitivity. The Latinos are said to avoid competition or activities that set them apart from their own group. They claim that standing out among one’s peers places a person in great jeopardy; thus, it should be avoided as much as possible. Latinos say that European Americans are not trustworthy; hence, they teach their children to treat them with a lot of hostility and fear. For this reason, Latinos children do not believe that European Americans professionals want the best for them. Moreover, Stuart and Hirschberg (445), claim that Latinos children are not good at expressing themselves verbally; thus, they are not able to express their emotions to their friends, adults and authority figures. Properties of the Latino language community Since the Latinos started migrating into the US, their population has increased dramatically. Stuart and Hirschberg (448) claim that Latinos were estimated to reach 40 million and become the largest minority g roup in the US by 2010. The most affected states where Latinos have dominated are; New York, California, Texas and Florida. They are now transforming the Unite States into Latino dominated region due their increasing population. Also, they have significantly influenced culture, politics and economy of many states in the US.

Risk assessment plan Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Risk assessment plan - Math Problem Example The paper tells that in coming up with a risk management plan, there are several steps involved. The first step is identifying the risk factors involved. In this stage, the event, probability, impact, contingency, reduction and exposure is established. The event simply means an act or incidence that might happen, probability defines the likelihood of an event occurring, impact is the consequence of an event happening. Mitigation happens to be how much the probability of an event may be reduced. Reduction is represented mathematically as the product of mitigation and contingency, whereas exposure is the result of reduction subtracted from risk. In the initial steps, the project's risk management team has to identify the risks as well as their probabilities and consequences. The risks and threats are then analyzed and a risk profile created depending on the consequence and likelihood of occurrence. The threats and risks that are involved in this project may be subdivide into three main categories based on the entity the most impact is felt. The divisions may be environmental, personnel and the public. The contractor may have to execute his task with the railway being in use. Rubble and materials used overhead are a threat to the public, while the running railway is a risk to the experts on the project. Using the profiling, collapse of the bridge during construction may be catastrophic, yet rare thus falling in the high-risk category of the assessment profile. Probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) or quantitative risk analysis (QRA) or probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) is one of the most used methods of analysing risk in project development and operation (Bedford & Cooke, 2001, p. 210). The use of this technique supports and validates the improvement of control and mitigation measures against threats. Incorporating probability in the project risk management gives the problem a wider scope and allows the stakeholders a better grasp of uncertainty and the need to impr ove on the risk control measures chosen for a given project. Incorporating probability in the development process allows in the assessment of what may happen, its likelihood and the possible consequences in the case of its occurrence. The works of Kaplan and Garrick in defining uncertainties and risk in mathematical terms aids in programming. The definition of risk as a set of scenarios Si, each with a probability Pi and a consequence Xi, generate a risk curve based on the increase or decrease in severity (Goodwin & Wright, 2003, p. 49). From this, programmers can assess inputs through the variations of the severity, consequence and frequency. The Scenario represents the probabilistic sample space in which event is contained (both favourable and unfavourable) each with a chance of occurring. However, in the probabilistic equations, the chances might be equal or biased; in the risk, assessment equality of the scenarios is hard to come by. The chances of occurrence in pure probability are equated to frequency in risk management. The ideology behind introducing the probability of frequency allows the risk analysis to be conducted based on empirical data. If a given project, in a given period, suffers a number of threats and risks the probability of a certain threat can be equated to the number of times it has

Globalization Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Globalization Strategies - Essay Example This essay stresses that sophisticated ERP models are obligatory if the operation wishes to incorporate material planning with customer demands and supplier subsidiaries, both internal and external, as well as various means of distribution channels. While there are numerous strategies that can help an organization become successful on a global scale, the best strategy to use is highly dependent upon the individual company. Some, such as Nike, are built almost exclusively on close relationships with subcontractors while others, such as Zara clothing, excel thanks to a highly integrated, centrally located headquarters. Strategies will depend upon how the organization expands its base, whether through the acquisition of other firms, the development of subcontractors or the building of new facilities, as well as the type of products or services the organization has to offer. This paper makes a conclusion that locations will have an effect upon best strategies as well, as different laws, taxes, incentives and regulations will all determine the resources and practices allowable in a given area and the overall cost of production. In the end, the best way to determine best global strategy for an individual organization is through careful analysis of the company’s goals and ethics, products offered, supply and distribution chains, resources, level of technology, legal and regulatory considerations and production processes before determining which strategy will provide for the most efficient, economic and ethically balanced combination as a means of attracting and retaining consumers.

GLOBAL CORPORATE STRATEGY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

GLOBAL CORPORATE STRATEGY - Assignment Example Google and Apple introduced Android and iOS operating systems, which provided greater functionality and app support than Nokia’s Symbian. As a result, Android and iOS gained larger market shares than Nokia within less than four years after they were introduced. Nokia lost its position as the leading smartphone company in the world. The alliance between Nokia and Microsoft did not achieve the intended purposes. Rather than help Nokia to regain market share, the alliance resulted in Nokia losing more market share as the Microsoft Phone OS started losing market share to Android and iOS. Ultimately, Nokia decided to sell off its devices business to Microsoft, marking the exit of Nokia from the smartphone industry. The failure of the Nokia-Microsoft alliance was based on various factors including poor leadership, organizational culture, and structure. The business environment is continually changing (Stangler, D. 2012). These constant changes influence industries and companies in various ways (Jain, Trehan & Trehan, n.d.: 16). Within the high-tech industry, the increase and emergence of new challenges such as declining growth, growing competition, and globalization have necessitated the integration and collaboration of the industry at the global level (Saksena, 2009: 1-2).In the recent past, major integrations and collaborations have been witnessed in the global smartphone industry. One such integration was involved Nokia and Microsoft Inc., which resulted in the two tech giants working together in the smartphone industry. In 2011, the two companies entered into a partnership where Nokia would produce its high end smartphones, Lumia, which would run on Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The partnership was motivated by Nokia’s threat of losing market share after the entry of new competitors including Google Inc. and Apple Inc. The entry of these new competitors into the smartphone sector resulted in

Construction and De-construction of Race Essay Example for Free

Construction and De-construction of Race Essay Races exist. They are everywhere in the world. In our history classes, we have discussed the existence of Caucasians, Mongoloids, Negroes, etc. The members of each racial group have common characteristics that make them distinct from other groups. However, in the quest to understand better the human variations across races, professionals from various fields – medicine, biology, anthropology, etc – have conducted studies to prove, or disprove, the existence of races in the scientific sense. In Modern Human Variation: An Introduction to Contemporary Human Biological Diversity , three models of human classification were discussed. First is the typological model which â€Å"focuses on a small number of traits that are readily observable from a distance such as skin color, hair form, body build, and stature. † Diamond (1994) gives truth to this, citing that â€Å"all native Swedes differ from all native Nigerians in appearance† and that one race cannot be mistaken with the other. However, Diamond also argued that â€Å"there are many different, equally valid procedures for defining races, and those different procedures yield very different classifications. † He further discussed other studies in which the differing geographical locations of humans contribute to their varying human traits. Factors such as survival and sexual selection, and a third possible explanation which is no function at all, were considered in human classification. Again, inconsistencies of this theory were later discovered, showing evidences that â€Å"among topical peoples, anthropologists love to stress the dark skins of African blacks, people of the southern Indian peninsula, and New Guineans and love to forget the pale skins of Amazonian Indians and Southeast Asians living at the same latitudes† (Diamond, 2004). With these contentions, the typological model is contradicted. On the other hand, the population model â€Å"looks for breeding populations first and then considers the anatomical and physiological traits that may distinguish them. † This means looking into a single group where members mate only with people within the group. The same article discussed, however, that with the relatively convenient means of intercontinental travel, intermixture of humanity has emerged, thus making the population model relatively ambiguous in the study of human variation today. The third model, the clinal model, â€Å"is based on the fact that genetically inherited traits most often change gradually in frequency from one geographic area to another. † With this framework, the clinal model may seem to be the soundest theory on human classification. However, it cannot be fully relied on since â€Å"the distribution of some traits is partly discontinuous†¦ these can be understood as results of historical migrations or exclusive breeding within more or less closed communities. † We have tried to construct races through scientific studies but failed to establish its exact definition. This brings us back to again to the crux of our contention. Do races exist? Yes, they do. People from all over the world have been grouped based on their physical characteristics, culture, religion, ethnicity, and other factors. Groups were given names so that individuals can easily identify in which group they belong. This is how lay humans understand the word â€Å"race† today. The concept has been constructed to satisfy the human need for order. But as Goodman (2005) puts it, â€Å"race is not a mere social construct, but as a lived experience has devastatingly real effects. † The construction of race led to the emergence of racial discrimination, making some â€Å"races† assume superiority over others. With this assumption, people of the â€Å"superior race† consequently assumed power over the â€Å"minorities†. The political advantage of the â€Å"superior race† gave way for them to gain more access to resources and wealth. Discrimination further reached the social sphere, with the â€Å"minorities† being labeled as the â€Å"ugly† people since their physical traits differ, most of the time in the opposite manner, from those of the â€Å"superior race†. Looking back through world history, our books tell us stories of some â€Å"races† (e. g. Africans) who were enslaved by the â€Å"superior races† during the earlier times. At present, racism still exists in the form of prejudice to certain â€Å"races† that have been generalized to possess certain characteristics. In Asia, the revolt of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has caused prejudice against Muslims in most parts of the world, generalizing these people as terrorists. Accordingly, the social construction of races have inflicted numerous, and perhaps even millions, of incidents of social injustice worldwide. Then again, combining the clinal and population models, Keita et al (2004) contend that â€Å"the nonexistence of ‘races’ or subspecies in modern humans does not preclude substantial genetic variation that may be localized to regions or populations. † The authors cited a recent study on the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome, which can â€Å"make forensic distinctions possible even within restricted regions such as Scandinavia. † It was however clarified that â€Å"because this identification is possible does not mean that there is a level of differentiation equal to ‘races’. † We cannot totally negate the scientific studies conducted and currently being conducted on human biological variation. These studies, as in the point of view of Keita et al have policy implications for health studies. While Keita et al advocate for more refined and detailed study on human biological variation, Goodman is also supported in his position to â€Å"call for a new vocabulary and concepts† to study the same. This way, the widely-known concept of race may be de-constructed. Difference in skin color, hair form, body build, religion, culture, ethnicity, and others, does not make an individual less of a human, and as such these characteristics should not be seen as barriers to social justice.