Acculturation and Ethnicity in Consumer Behavior

Acculturation and Ethnicity in Consumer Behavior The concepts Acculturation and ethnicity are often used by the researcher to describe consumption experiences of ethnic minority consumers. This paper presents a review of the relationship between cultural process, specifically what has been termed Acculturation, and how it helps to understand consumer behavior of ethnic minority consumers. Consumer Acculturation is a socialization process in which an immigrant, or marginalizes consumer learns the behavior, attitude and values of a culture that are different from those of their culture of origin (Lee 1998). Ethnic groups are ..any group which is defined or set off by race, religion, or national origin, or some combination of these categories, (Gordon, 1964, p.27). Historically Acculturation has been primarily shown as a one-way process where the microculture adopts the dominant cultures norms without corresponding influences. This paper looks for explain the impact of acculturation on consumer purchase decisions of ethnic minority gr oup and how it helps to understand consumer behavior of ethnic minority group. INTRODUCTION: Minority ethnic audience in all over the world represents a significant cultural and consumer force. Increasing ethnic and cultural diversity- like other forms of social change represents both a threat and an opportunity to marketers. New consumer segment can provide fresh sources of top-line growth with focused new product development to the marketer. And for that producer has to be aware of the cultural change among the ethnic minority consumer. Acculturation provides a qualitative overview of how cultural differences of the larger minority ethnic communities affect their consumer behavior. Acculturation and Ethnicity in Consumer Behavior: Acculturation and Assimilation: Redfield, Linton and Herskovits (1936,p.149) ) define acculturation as those phenomena which result when group of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent change in the organizational culture patterns of either or both groups. Under this definition, acculturation is to be distinguished from culture-change, of which it is but one aspect, and assimilation, which is at times a phase of acculturation. Acculturation is a process of adopting the believes and behavior of one culture group by another cultural group. The direction of adaptation can be a minority group adopting habits and language patterns of the dominant group, and can be other way- that is, the dominant group also adopt patterns typical of the minority group. The changes may take place in dominant culture, the subculture or both groups, according to Berry (1977); in practice Acculturation tends to produce more substantial change in one of the groups. Assimilation of one c ulture group into another may be evidence by changes in language preference, adoption of common attitude and values, membership in common social groups, and loss of the separate political or ethnic identity. Many researchers have used the term acculturation and assimilation interchangeably, or in some case, the meaning has overlapped (Gordon 1964). To ass to the confusion, different disciplines use the terms to mean different concepts (Berry and Annis 1974; Padilla 1980). For example, sociologists like Gordon (1964), typically use the term assimilation to describe encounters between ethnic groups and the cultural negotiation process to find common ground. In contrast anthropologists prefer the term acculturation to describe the same cultural negotiation process (Gordon 1964). A review of the consumer acculturation literature reveals a similar inconsistency. Therefore, it is important to relay the predominant difference between assimilation and acculturation in terms of their usage in the consumer acculturation context and the next outcome of the cultural negotiations. While assimilation occurs when an immigrant fully adopts mainstream values and gives up their cultural heritage, accultur ation can occur when some elements of the mainstream culture and added without abandoning the native culture ( Berry 1980; Padilla 1980; Wallendorf and Reilly 1983; Jun, Ball et al 1993; Rossman 1994). Consumer Acculturation: Consumer Acculturation is a subset of acculturation and socialization. While acculturation is more general, consumer acculturation is specific to the consumption process. Consumer acculturation can be seen as a socialization process in which an immigrant consumer learns the behaviors, attitude and values of a culture that are different from their culture of origin (Lee 1988). Webster (1994) views ethnic identity as a subset of acculturation and assimilation as a mode of acculturation. In the Websters study, ethnic identification is operationalised by determining which language is used in the home. Webster believes the combination of the ethnic identification and self-identification captures assimilation dimensions. Laroche, Kim and Tomiuk (1998) state that the primary different between the two constructs is that ethnic identity measures focus on maintenance/retention of the culture of origin and acculturation measures focus on acquisition of the host culture. Ethnicity and Ethnic Identity: Although closely related, ethnicity and ethnic identity are two separate constructs. Ethnicity is an objective description and refers to a group with common national or religious background. In contrast, ethnic identity is more subjective ( Cohen 1978; Hirschman 1981; Minor 1992) and is a self-designation which relays a persons commitment and strength of association to a particular group (Zaff, Blount, Philips and Cohen 2002; Chung and Fischer 1999). The concept of acculturation refers to a process or change. Ethnic identity , on the other hand, refers to a status, which may or may not be statics. Thus the strength of ethnic identity may influence the level of acculturation as suggested by Penazola and Gilly (1999) and others. The contrasts of the ethnic identity and acculturation are neither parallel nor opposite of each other; rather they influence and shape each other. Measurement of Acculturation Constructs: Measures of acculturation typically attempt to determine the extent which a person has adopted to a new culture (Magana et al 1996) and the resulting behavioral changes that occurs a result of the contact (Ward and Arzu 1999). There has been a great deal of variation in the measurement of acculturation and ethnicity in both the social science and the consumer behavior literature. Some factors, either individually or in combinations, that have been considered in the measurement are language, reference groups, intermarriage, identity, culture (Laroche, Kim and Tomiuk 1998; Lee and Um 1992), and religion (Hirschman 1981). Communication based measures =, such as media usage, have also been used (O Guinn and Faber 1985; Kim, Laroche et al. 1990).

marketing concept Essay example -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The marketing concept is a managerial philosophy that an organization should try to satisfy customers’ needs through a coordinated set of activities that also allows the organization to achieve its goals. The marketing concept strives to satisfy customers by determining what buyers want and then by using that information. Businesses also have to alter, adapt, and develop new products to continue earnings profits. By being customer oriented, objectives of a business, such as, increasing profits, market sharing, sales, or a combination can be achieved. This philosophy is aimed at helping the customers, but if the customers’ objections are not met the business may not stay open very long.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The local business that I have visited is Table D’Art, which is located in Roslyn Heights on Glen Cove Road. The store sells many unique and elaborate items that could be given as gifts or for your own home. Although they are luxury items they are a good asset to a home. There were also more types of products that may appeal to customers more. I have been here before and noticed that they have many new and unique items.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The store is located in a very nice area, and the shopper’s usually have a lot of money to spend on nice things. This is what the buyer’s...

Nepotism Essay

Workers who are the most innovative or productive or those who possess visionary leadership are inevitably propelled to the top of the working ladder. This is the image many people have of the workplace. In reality, the practice of favoring and promoting relatives, more commonly known as nepotism (Employee Issues), is widely practiced in companies large and small across the country. The dangers of nepotism to your company shouldn’t be overlooked. It is not only wise to promote antinepotism policies but also to regularly monitor ones staff to ensure that such relationships have not developed. Some problems nepotism can cause is a disruption of the work day, unfair treatment between employees and unfair job opportunities, and favoritism. One of the chief complaints in a company that operates through nepotism is the obvious lack of fairness. Perceived favoritism of a relative can cause dissatisfaction amongst the workers and it can lower morale in the workplace. Employees may have less incentive to perform their jobs diligently and proficiently if they feel that the path to promotion is undermined by nepotism. Although, a company employing such tactics may find its more valuable employees seeking new employment where their talent is better recognized. At a minimum, workers will likely complain and become bitter and less productive in the face of blatant nepotism. Gill Corkindale, a writer for Harvard Business Online, described a typical workplace scenario involving nepotism at a newspaper for which she used to work. A young, inexperienced colleague was hired in her department, and she actually spent several months helping him adjust to his role at the paper. Soon after, the young colleague was promoted to become her b oss. Only then did she discover that he was actually an editor’s nephew. Given the nephew’s effortless and unwarranted promotion, Corkindale ended up leaving the paper (Corkindale). Another disruption to workflow in a business is the worry and risk of lawsuits. Even though very few laws regulate nepotism at either the state or federal level. In fact, some states have no laws prohibiting the practice. Nevertheless, the consequences of nepotism may increase your risk of being sued for discrimination or hostile work environment. For instance, personal  relationships and fraternization between coworkers often lead to over the top breakups and emotional trauma at the office. One of the parties may accuse the other of sexual harassment or of creating a hostile work environment, especially if one of the parties is a supervisor. It can also have a bad effect on the management position. Subordinates will likely take a dim view of an employer’s ethics and judgment when they hire their friends for job openings. Cronyism, a partiality towards hiring close supporters, may suggest that the employer is weak, insecure and requires a network of allies to support their decisions. In addition to inspiring little confidence in their power and authority, a boss who embraces nepotism is deemed unlikely to make fair assessments of others’ accomplishments, especially when it comes to promotional opportunities. Nor will workers think such an employer can be relied upon to dispense appropriate discipline if the guilty party happens to be a friend. There are, of course, exceptions to this train of thought. Hiring someone you know means that you are already attuned to their strengths and weaknesses and feel comfortable that they know how you think. If the friendship is longstanding and secure, they have a vested i nterest in not letting you down and in maintaining the professionalism to keep both halves of your lives appropriately separate. The employee that is â€Å"favored† is also at risk of judgment. Even if the friend of the employer is truly the best qualified in the candidate pool, they enter the workplace equation under an immediate cloud of suspicion. Everything they do could be scrutinized for signs of incompetence. Every decision they make could be challenged to test their allegiance. Every friendship they attempt to make could be interpreted as just a ploy to learn secrets and report back to the boss. Although the respect of their coworkers may eventually be won if the worker proves himself worthy, the stress of being watched, judged and distrusted in the interim can take an emotional and physical toll. One should not forget about a very important aspect of any work place. This aspect is, of course, the worker’s morale. Having good or bad morale can easily make or break a company. Nepotism can foster hostile feelings of  inequality that employees may react to in one of two ways. The first is to repeatedly undermine the favored worker’s capabilities and attempt to sabotage their projects. These efforts to get them fired, however, can result in costly mistakes and loss of time which can then potentially impact customer relations. The second reaction is an attitude of defeat. If employees assume that promotions and perks will always go friends of the boss, they will likely feel less inclined to do their best work to distinguish themselves. Resentment and indifference can lead to reduced productivity as well as employee turnover if workers decide that nothing will ever get better. According to Dr. Stephen Asma, who is in full support of nepotism, favoritism(nepotism) is used more as a scapegoat. He states that â€Å"fairness† is redirected to words like tolerance and generosity, as opposed to â€Å"favoritism† which is related to words like corruption and prejudice. He says having these preconceived notions automatically labels the situation as good or bad, people just automatically assume that it’s a bad thing that the new employee is related to or has a close relationship with the boss (Asma). Adam Bellow states in his book In Praise of Nepotism that â€Å"Americans censure nepotism on the one hand and practice it as much as they can on the other. There’s much to be said for â€Å"good† nepotism, which is fortunate, because we’re living in a nepotistic Golden Age† (Bellow). In his book he talks heavily about politicians and how a lot of them were born into their roles. Along with being pretty talented politici ans, they have the extra help coming from their status their parents had built for them, but he doesn’t state that this is a bad thing. Bellow says that having that image put on them, gives them the attention they need to get their ideas across, which has been a great gateway to finding a lot of our most famous politicians in history (Bellow). When it comes to something as touchy as favoritism or nepotism in the workplace, there are definitely many opinions on the topic. Each side can give a relatively solid argument but when it comes to most people, especially employees of businesses, they are wanting fair treatment between everyone. In my own opinion, I feel nepotism has no place in the workplace,  every employee should have the same treatment and opportunities available to them. In conclusion, this essay has went over how nepotism affects the workplace in most every aspect, the unfair treatment between employees and unfair opportunities it can create, and what favoritism does. A person chooses a career because they really enjoy that field of work and they want to be successful in it, but when an obstacle enters the picture and stunts your ability to move forward in your career it can have dire consequences. Lastly, looking at all the evidence and facts, I feel nepotism should be a very closely watched incident in ever y business as to ensure fair treatment between all of the employees. Works Cited Asma, Stephen. â€Å"The Upside of Nepotism.† Psychology Today. 12 January, 2013. Web. 3 December, 2013. Bellow, Adam. â€Å"The Atlantic.† Editorial. Atlantic 1 July 2013: The Atlantic. The Atlantic, 1 July 2003. Web. 03 December, 2013. Cammeron, Brenna. â€Å"Six Tales of Top-level Workplace Nepotism.† BBC.com. 21 August 2013. Web. 12 November 2013. . Corkindale, Gill. â€Å"Nepotism: Wrong for the Workplace?† Harvard Business Review. Harvard, 17 October 2007. Web. 3 December 2013. Edwards, Timothy. â€Å"Issue: Whether Nepotism Constitutes a Conflict of Interest Under the Code of Ethics?† Advisory Opinion 95-11-1133. King County, Washington – Department of Information & Administrative Services, 18 June 1998. Web. 12 November 2013 http://www.metrokc.gov/ethics/1133.html Goff, Keli. â€Å"In Defense of Nepotism and Classism at the New York Times.† The Huffington Post. 21 August 2013. Web. 12 November 2013. . Green, Michael Z. â€Å"D o Anti-Nepotism Policies Avoid or Create Unfair Treatment?†, 1998. 12 November 2013 http://www.nlfpc.com/publications/archive/art27.html Huerta, Timothy. General Manager, Associated Students, Inc. – California State University, Los Angeles. 4 April 2000. Recorded Interview on the topic of Anti-Nepotism. 12 November 2013 â€Å"Nepotism† Employee Issues. Web. 12 November 2013. Risser, Rita. â€Å"What are Legal Risks of Anti-Nepotism Policies?†, Fair Measures. Santa Cruz, 1997. Web. 12 November 2013. http://www.fairmeasures.com/asklawyer/archive/summer97/ask120.html Shawe. â€Å"MD Court of Special Appeals to Determine Lawfulness of Employer’s Anti-Nepotism Policy†, Network Publication Inc. 2.97. Baltimore, MD. 1997. Web. 12 November 2013 http://www.shawe.com/nepotism.html

Nuclear Energy In Different Spheres Of Life - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 427 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/07/31 Category Energy Industry Essay Level High school Tags: Nuclear Energy Essay Did you like this example? Â  Nuclear energy is the energy that is released from an atom. This release of energy can be acquired through either the process of fission or fusion. During the process of fission, an atom is split releasing heat energy. In the process of fusion, two or more atoms are merged together at a very high speed. This action causes a release of energy. Since nuclear fusion is a challenging process, Nuclear fission is what scientist have developed in order to produce nuclear energy. Today, nuclear energy through fission is used as an alternative to generate electricity. Once the heat energy produces steam, the steam is then used in a turbine to create electricity without having to burn fuel producing greenhouse gases. This energy is serving its purpose in nuclear power plants around the world. According to the History of Nuclear Energy, Nuclear energy has been around as early as the late 1800s where they started developing nuclear fission until 1945. By 1939 Scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann had discovered that the process of Fission inside of uranium could cause a not only lots of energy to be release but it also could cause a sustain chain reaction. From this Experiment, they were able to create the first self- sustaining nuclear chain on December 2, 1942. This energy was used in making the Manhattan project come to life in world war ll. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Nuclear Energy In Different Spheres Of Life" essay for you Create order After the war many scientists were focused on in what other ways could they use nuclear energy. In 1951 scientist produced electric power from nuclear energy for the first time. This led to the use of the nuclear power that is used today. Although Nuclear energy is mainly used to create a better alternative to generate electricity, this energy is also used in many other fields including, food and agriculture preservation, medicine, and adequate drinking water. Nuclear energy helps reduce the number of diseases found in livestock. As humans consume meat and other things from animals such as milk, nuclear energy is used to kill the disease, so it will not be passed on to humans making them sick. Nuclear energy is also used in medicine. According to World-Nuclear nuclear energy is used in radiation treatments for cancer. Also, in medicine this energy is used to sterilize supplies, such as tools syringes, surgical gloves and many other tools used. Nuclear energy can also be used to make sure that humans have adequate drinking water. It is used for test and measure water resources underground that can help with preserving water. All these things and more, nuclear energy serves a purpose in.