Depression and Life Satisfaction Essays

Depression and Life Satisfaction Essays Depression and Life Satisfaction Essay Depression and Life Satisfaction Essay The correlation between depression and life satisfaction for older adults was examined using questionnaires. Four hundred and one older adults (age 65 and above) filled out two questionnaires that assessing depression and life satisfaction, as well as two irrelevant questionnaires that were used to prevent from guessing the hypothesis. As hypothesized, significant negative correlation was found between depression and life satisfaction for older adults. However, the strength of the correlation was quite low. This might due to the inadequate use of questionnaires or participants’ characteristics. Keywords: depression, life satisfaction, older adults Effect of Depression on Life Satisfaction for Elderly Population People who are suffering from depression tend to have a negative view of life. Consequently, they generally have lower level of life satisfaction as well. Previous research has suggested a strong negative correlation between depression and life satisfaction. That is, as one gets more severe in his depression symptoms, his overall life satisfaction will decrease dramatically. For example, in one study conducted by Headey, Kelley and Wearing (1991), the participants completed a series of questionnaires assessing their general life satisfaction, positive affect, anxiety and depression. They found that â€Å"one of the well-being (psychological) dimension, life satisfaction, is quite strongly and negatively correlated with a distress (psychological) dimension, depression; life satisfaction and depression are near opposites† (p. 63). This result was not only limited to one study. In the early studies, Frisch, Cornell, and Villanueva (1989) also obtained significant negative correlations between life satisfaction and depression. Furthermore, Frisch et al. explored the underlying process of the relationship between depression and life satisfaction. They suggested that depression was a combination of negative self-evaluation and hopelessness, which in turn were â€Å"based on repeated failures to fulfill aspirations and meet personal standards in highly valued areas of life (life dissatisfaction)† (p. 92). Recent research suggested that one of the most susceptible groups to depression was the elderly population. According to Socio-emotional Selective Theory (Carstensen, 1992), as individuals age, they desire less social stimulation and novelty, and tend to select close, reliable relationships to meet their emotional needs. However, since access to close relationships was not always readily available for elderly people, loneliness might be a result. Consequently, there was a potential risk of developing depression. Additional research supported this theory. In his study of elderly and depression, Alexopoulos (2005) argued â€Å"psychosocial adversity, including economic impoverishment, isolation, caregiving, and relocation, tended to contribute in psychological changes, thereby further increasing susceptibility to depression or triggering depression in already vulnerable elderly individuals† (p. 1961). Both arguments were plausible in explaining the reason why older adults were the easy target of depression, and they also led us to a question – was the correlation between depression and life satisfaction for elderly population just as strong and negative as the general population? We have to recognize that the elderly population is somewhat different from the general population. Most people who comprise this group have accomplished their careers and start enjoying the relaxing later years of their lives. After all, it is time to taste the fruit of their labor. Therefore overall, elderly individuals should have more sense of achievement and therefore a higher level of life satisfaction than general population. However, as discussed before, the elderly group is also more likely to be vulnerable to depression. The deterioration in health, loss of established interpersonal relationships, and a sense of weakened control over one’s life, all could be the contributions to depression (Chao et al. , 2006). In addition, the decrease in energy and slow-paced life style may also make some elderly people feel hard to cope with. Under these unique circumstances, will depression still exert a strong influence on the perception of life satisfaction, or the feeling of achievement will override the feeling of loneliness? The current study explores possible relationship between depression and life satisfaction for older adults. Specifically, it is hypothesized that for older adults, higher level of depression is strongly associated with decreased life satisfaction. Method Participants Four hundred and one older adults (177 males, 224 females, Mage = 72. 98 years, age rage: 65. 23 – 94. 24 years) were recruited from doctor’s offices during their routine physicals in Ontario, Canada. The participants were predominantly White (92. 3%), with some Black (7. 7%) patients as well. One percent of the participants were disabled either physically, visually or audibly. In this case, the surrogate of the disabled participant could assist him to complete the study. The rest of the participants were relatively healthy and no participant was having a major health concern. Almost all of the participants (99. 1%) lived either in a house or an apartment, with only 0. 9% lived in board and care home, or other arrangements. A majority of the participants (87. 1%) were retired or were homemakers. Nonetheless, there was still a considerable proportion of participants (12. 0%) working at either a full or part time job. The participants and their surrogates were both compensated with 10 dollars for their participation. Materials and Procedure Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) Short form developed by Andresen et al. , (1994) was used in assessing depression in this study. The original CES-D comprised 20 items measuring the current level of depressive symptomatology, with emphasis on the affective component, depressed mood. The scale demonstrated a very high internal consistency for general population (? = . 85) and psychiatric patient population (? = . 90), as well as adequate test-retest reliability (correlation range: . 45 . 70). CES-D Short form consisted 10 out of 20 items from the original scale that was aimed to test for reliability and validity among well older adults. Items without high correlation to the total score or items deemed redundant by high correlations to each other were eliminated to form the 10-item version. The response to the CES-D ranged from 1 (rarely or none of the time) to 4 (most or all of the time), and the total was calculated by summing across items and dividing by the total number of items (10). Patients who had a total of 10 or higher on the CES-D were classified as possessing a high number of depressive symptoms. Life Task Participation/Satisfaction Questionnaire developed by Harlow Cantor (1996) was used in assessing participants’ level of life satisfaction. The first part of the questionnaire, Participation, comprised 33 activities that fit into 8 clusters: social activities (e. g. informal visiting with friends or neighbors); mass communication use (e. g. reading books); building knowledge (e. g. reading professional publications); home activities and hobbies (e. g. home repair or maintenance); artistic activities (e. g. playing or singing with musical group); activities outside home (e. g. ttending sporting events); service activities (e. g. community service); and games (e. g. board games with others). Participants indicated the extent to which the participated in these activities on a four point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (frequently). In the second part of the questionnaire entitled Life Satisfaction. Participants indicated their level of satisfaction on a five point sca le in the following eight areas: paid work, hobbies and recreation, marriage, children, friendships, community service activities, participation in cultural activities and religion, where 1 = extremely satisfying and 5 = not at all satisfying. Finally, in the last part of the questionnaire, Prior Life Satisfaction, participants indicated how satisfied and important they felt with each of the following domains: occupational success, family life, friendships, richness of cultural life, and service to society. The response was recorded a five point scale, where 5 = Extremely satisfied / Extremely important and 1 = Not at all satisfied / Not at all important. Procedure CES-D and Life Task Participation/Satisfaction Questionnaire, along with two other irrelevant questionnaires were administered to the patient and his surrogate at the same time in the doctor’s office after the patient finished the physical examination. The purpose of the irrelevant questionnaires was to prevent the participants from guessing the real hypothesis. If the surrogate was absent, a copy of the questionnaires would be mailed to him with detailed instructions (e. g. how to fill out the questionnaire and how to mail it back). If the patient was unable to physically complete the questionnaires, his surrogate could record his response for him, but could not complete the questionnaire for the patient. There was no time limit on completing the questionnaires and the patient and his surrogate were not allowed to communicate. At the end of the study, both patient and his surrogate received a compensation of 10 dollars. Results Six participants’ partial data were missing and therefore excluded from the analysis tests for those variables of CES-D. The dimensionality of the 10 items from the CES-D short form was analyzed using principal axis factoring analysis. The scree plot indicated that the CES-D short form was one-dimensional. This result was consisted with what CES-D designed to emphasis on – depressed mood. All the correlations were greater than . 30 except for one item: â€Å"sleep was restless† (r = . 189). This item differed in content from the other nine items in that sleeplessness was not exactly a depressive mood, but more of an outcome of depressed mood. Based on the result, this one item assessing the outcome of depression was eliminated from the scale. All the item-total correlations for the revised nine-item scale were greater than . 0. The revised scale was retained the name â€Å"Depressive Mood† to reflect the content of the items. The internal consistency estimates of reliability were computed for Depressive Mood scale using coefficient alpha. Value for coefficient alpha was . 78, indicating satisfactory reliability. Similarly, the dimensionality of the eight items from the Life Satisfaction part of Life Task Participation/Satisfaction Questionnaire was analyzed using principal axis factoring analysis. Based on the scree plot, two factors were rotated using Direct Oblimin rotation procedure. The rotated solution yielded two interpretable factors, satisfaction with personal life and satisfaction with interpersonal groups. No items loaded on both factors. The internal consistency estimates of reliability were computed for Life Satisfaction scale using split-half coefficient. For the split-half coefficient, the scale was split into two halves such that the two halves would be as equivalent as possible. In splitting the items, we took into account whether items assessing the satisfaction of personal life or the satisfaction of interpersonal groups. One of the halves included items â€Å"how satisfying is paid work,† â€Å"how satisfying is community service, â€Å"how satisfying is culture,† and â€Å"how satisfying is religion,† while the other half included items â€Å"how satisfying are hobbies,† â€Å"how satisfying is marriage,† â€Å"how satisfying are children,† and â€Å"how satisfying are friendships. † Values for split-half coefficient was . 52, indicating a low internal consistency. Note that for Life Satisfaction scale, eight indicated â€Å"not applicable. † Therefore in factor analysis and reliability test for Life Satisfaction scale, the data of the participants who indicated â€Å"not applicable† were excluded. The reason why they were excluded was because an indication of eight could be a large influence on the mean and therefore the results would be misleading. More than half (68. 1%) of the participants’ data were excluded for this reason. The results shown above were based on 128 (31. 9%) valid cases. Pearson Correlation coefficients were computed between two items: CES-D total for patients and total life satisfaction for patients. The test was based on 393 participants, with eight participants excluded from the analysis due to their missing data. The result of the correlation analyses was significant, r(391) = -. 1, p = . 0125. This result suggests that there is a negative correlation between depression and life satisfaction. However, the relationship between these two variables is weak. Discussion The finding from the current study indicated that for older adults, there was a significant negative correlation between depression and life satisfaction, despite the relationship was weak. It supported the hypothesis of higher level of depression would be associated with decreased life satisfaction. However, the finding failed to support the hypothesized strength of the relationship. This result was consistent with the findings of Headey et al. (1991) in terms of direction, but not strength. This might indicate that the questionnaires used in this study were not fine enough to discover a high correlation between the two variables in reality. A replacement of one or both of the questionnaires could be taken into account in future studies exploring the relationship between depression and life satisfaction. The low correlation might also due to the characteristics of the participants. For example, the participants were predominantly (92. 3%) White and almost all of them were living independently. Consequently, a replication of the study to other ethic groups was necessary before generalizing the finding to other populations. Similarly, almost all the participants (99. 1%) lived independently in a house or an apartment. Therefore, a replication of different living arrangements could be conducted as well. The result of the current study supported that an increase in life satisfaction could result in a decrease in depression. This might gain some insight into the treatment for depression for older adults. That is, the treatment for depression could be directed towards increasing in life satisfaction. For example, engaging in extensive social interactions or employment could make one feel fulfilled and satisfied, and therefore decreased the likelihood of developing depression. Previous research supported this implication. A study conducted by Aquino, Cutrona, and Altmaier (1996) suggested that social support, as well as participation in paid and volunteer work, were significantly and positively related to life satisfaction within elderly populations, with volunteering activities â€Å"significantly related to higher levels of social support. In summary, the current study yielded partially similar results to previous research. That is, there was a negative correlation between depression and life satisfaction for older adults, but the relationship was weak. Therefore in general, life satisfaction seemed to be a good indicator of signs of depression for both general population and elderly population. Furthermore, future research could explore whether gender difference will affect th e direction or strength of the relationship.

Colgan Air flight crash Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Colgan Air flight crash - Essay Example Based on the investigations from the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB), the accident was as a result of the pilot not being able to respond to stall warnings in a proper manner. There is high probability that the plain crush was as a result of improper training of the captain. It is the families of the victims that brought about a significant improvement in American flights; â€Å"Due to a tireless campaign from the families of the victims on that flight, the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, announced [†¦] it would increase the qualification requirements and training standards for pilots...† (Johanson, 2013).As a result of the Colgan air crash investigation, the major change that was made involved issuing of a new rule that outlines enhanced pilot training measures (Schaal, 2013). According to the rule, should any pilot fail to satisfy any form of performance milestone then the commercial airline for which the pilot is working should track their remedial trai ning. According to the new FAA pilot training standards, enhanced pilot training, training on runway safety procedures and dealing with crosswinds must be put in place to prevent faults such as poor response to flight stall warnings (Schaal, 2013). Adjustments have also been made on co-pilot qualification standards. The co-pilots must complete not less 1500 hours of their training in order to qualify for the Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. It is only until then that they can be allowed to fly a commercial plain.

Writer's selection Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writer's selection - Personal Statement Example She reminded me that I would become a resourceful person that everyone in the society would be looking for if I By inculcating good virtues into my lifestyle if I would inculcate good virtues into my lifestyle. As far as picking ‘Communications’ as my major is concerned, I have to admit that I had considered reasons in my mind at the time I was joining Seattle community College. In this respect, I have to mention that my very first reason was to be able to interact with all the diversified persons living in Hong Kong. Fundamentally, Hong Kong is a metropolitan with diverse cultures that are autonomous hence ‘communications’ will play a major role when it comes to meeting new people from various backgrounds. The second reason as to why I chose communications as my major is the fact that I like to get out of the comfort zone. This was particularly evident when visited Los Angeles for 3 weeks in July 2010 as an exchange student. I deemed it essential to learn certain skills of communicating with various personalities. Lastly but more importantly, I picked communications as my major is because I like communicating with people and discovering new things. When it comes to my professional experience, I find it worthy to mention that I have participated in quite a number of initiatives that have added significant value to my personal and professional life. For instance, between January 2013 and March 2013, I volunteered as a teaching assistant at ACRS (Asian Counseling and Referral Services). In that capacity and organization, I acquired excellent interpersonal and interpersonal skills. Moreover, I carried on with the volunteering work from April 2013 to June 2013 Arts Corps. I gained invaluable knowledge during the two-month period that I still hold dear to date. My third place where I gained invaluable experience was at CJR where held the position of an Education Consultant. In this position, I played several roles including

Sociological Approaches To Health And Ill Health

Sociological Approaches To Health And Ill Health In this assignment I will look at the different sociological perspectives on health and ill health as well as the different definitions of it. Defining health is really difficult as there are many different views. There have been many criticisms of the defining of health. The definition of health has changed over the years. For example In Mauritania; a small country in N.W. Africa, obesity is considered a sign of beauty. Girls are force-fed so that they grow up with that obesity look. In the western country obesity is seen as ill health, unattractive and associated with negative stereotypes. Obesity is still seen as a sign of wealth and well-being in many parts of Africa. Functionalist Approach The functionalist approach on health and ill health derives from Talcott Pearson. Talcott saw ill health as a threat to society and believed that good health was essential in order for society to be still functioning. He said that ill health affects our ability to work and perform our roles in society. For that reason he said that for a person to be considered sick there are several expectation to be met. He called the expectations the sick role which indicated how people are supposed to be like when they are ill and how they should be thinking. The sick role divides into two groups; the rights and the obligations. Rights; The sick person is free from any social roles. For example work, or school, they should be allowed to take the day off in order to get back to normal The sick person is not responsible for their condition Obligations; The person should seek for medical assistance. For example going to the doctors to get checked up and get treatment The person should not like being sick. For example the person should not fake being sick just because they get attention as well as getting a day off their normal duties. However the sick role backfires sometimes as people tend to lose patience with the sick person or deny that they are sick for reasons such as liking the role. For example family, they may show sympathy at the beginning but after a while they lose patience with the sick person and assume he/she is seeking attention or is a hypochondriac. Marxist Feminist Approach Marxist approach believes that the health and social care service care services are provided just to help the bourgeoisies gain profit. The Marxist believe that the health and social care of the service users should be maintained in order for them to quickly get back to work so that they can make profit for the bourgeoisies. In order to maintain the social hierarchy the government purposely ignores the selling of products which can harm ones body for example, cigarettes, tobacco etc. In the modern world I believe the hierarchy is shaped into a pyramid with a few elite at the top controlling and manipulating those below which allows the rich to always be the rich and the poor to be the poor giving no chance for movement in the hierarchy. Feminist writers believe that the medical profession and pharmaceutical industries have given a low priority to developing male contraceptive pills which have fewer harmful side effects compared to contraceptives used by women. This shows that society is exploiting women and increase anxiety and stress for women there by suppressing their abilities and making life outside of family harder so that women resume their position as a housewife. For example a women experiencing depression or nausea at her workplace will perform badly therefore in comparison to males who are performing better and getting better result she will seem inferior .This clearly shows how society and its medications are purposely full of side effects to marginalise women, so that the males will be more dominant. While Marxist and Socialist Feminist argue that women are not receiving the same medications as males. Women have two roles, also known as double day which signifies two roles women have to undertake. First of all as a housewife, taking care of her domestic duties, and the other as a worker/employer. Sociologist Doyal suggests that it is the fact that women have two roles in society, that they getting sick. Personally I believe it is due to the medication we receive as women, which could otherwise be given to men with far less side effects. It is the due to the lack of consideration and its need for male dominance that women are sick. Even now in this modern day the definition of health is not clear. There are two opposing theories one being that health means the absence of disease the other being not only an absence of disease but also a state of physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being. The negative concept is the absence of disease which would mean that the person needs to be diagnose with a disease in order to be unhealthy. However the positive definition which is provided by the World Health Organization (WHO)in 1974;not merely an absence of disease but also a state of physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being means that you dont have to be diagnosed with a disease you could be mentally ill ,physically, spiritually ,socially, emotionally, or intellectually. So therefore the health and social care sectors usually take a holistic assessment in order to address the needs of the whole person rather than single issues. (Btec level 3 health and social care book 3). Sociologist Mildred Blaxter carried a large survey and then identified three definitions to health and well-being; One positive definition; regarding health as being fit Two being a negative definition; Regarding health as being free from pain or discomfort And lastly a functional definition; regarding health in terms of being able to perform certain, day-to-day tasks Concepts of ill health Clinical Iceberg One concept of health is Clinical Iceberg this is a term used to describe unreported illness. The statistics produced by the government and the doctors have a 94% off unreported illness missing from the statistics. For example Lyme Disease is one of the highest unreported illnesses that is unreported. A survey last month for the Everyman Male Cancer Campaign suggested that nearly twice as many men as women had not visited their GP in the past year. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8154200.stm last accessed 22/10/12 18:02) (http://www.anh-usa.org/lymedisease/ last accessed 27/12/12 )So therefore this could be one of the reason why there are so many unreported illness because men do need see a doctor because the try and live up to the saying of men dont cry and they are tough so this leads them to think that if they do go to the doctors that they are weak. Impairment Impairment is the restrictions to our day-to-day activities caused by physical or mental dysfunctions for example Down syndrome; a learning difficultly. Disability Disability is seen by Tom Shakespeare as restrictions that arise for a person with impairments because society does not take into account the needs of people with impairment for example someone in a wheel chair not having ramps in buildings or someone deaf not having hearing aids available. However some people may refer this to disabling environment which suggests an environment where facilities for the impairments are not available for people to take full part in social life.

ASOS Case Study Essay

ADVERTISING & DIGITAL MARKETING 1. Describe how ASOS applies the marketing mix online? With the help of a marketing mix, the company can meet its marketing objectives. There are seven points which are popularly known as the 7P’s, they are product, place, price, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. Product- ASOS uses an online platform to sell fashion. ASOS has a wide range of clothing from shoes, coats, accessories, swimwear, nightwear and many more. Under ASOS wide range of famous brands are available like Nike, Adidas, Calvin Klein etc. except this ASOS sells brands at competitive rates with other online sites. It has about 50,000 products available and is widening its range everyday Price ASOS believes in reasonable pricing strategy, but many of their products are expensive especially the high end brands. Most of the products sold are those worn by celebrities that are sold at cheaper rates than other brands. The best thing about ASOS is that they have sales now and then, and most of the products go on 50% sale. ASOS doesn’t have free delivery service which could be one negative impact. Place ASOS only uses an online platform to sell their products, and operates totally via the internet. So customers don’t have to visit any stores, they just need to log in to the website- select the products- add them to basket- and pay. ASOS has a warehouse where they keep the stock and when ordered by customers, it delivers from there. They have a huge warehouse of 32,500 square meters. They have a head office which is located at: Greater London House Hampstead Road London NW1 7FB UK Promotion ASOS promotes itself by giving out discount codes. They are always active in emailing their registered customers about the updates fashion. Once the customer has purchased a product, they will start receiving the newsletter and booklets about the website. As they are on internet they promote it by posting videos of catwalks, fashion shows and more. They even promote themselves on social networking sites as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. People People are the employees that work for the business, without them it’s impossible to handle such a huge business. These employees are highly trained and professional in their work. In ASOS the customer service is bit different than what is provided in the retail stores. These people are highly skilled in the IT sector, so they are updated with the trends. Some of the BOD who are in charge of ASOS are Chairman-Lord Waheed Alli, Chief Executive- Nick Robertson, and Non- Executive Director- Karen Jones. Process Shopping experiences at ASOS are totally different from any other high street store. Customers are not able to try the product but they can only see it through images. The product they want to buy, will then be passed on into the basket and then it can be purchased through PayPal, credit card. The delivery will be expected in 4-5 working days. Physical Evidence As mentioned before ASOS operates totally from an online platform, so it does not have any physical evidence. The physical evidence is the receipt or the printouts of the products they have purchased. The official website of ASOS is http://www.asos.com/. At ASOS they regularly update their website with new products and promotions. 2. Summaries the integrated communications strategy used by ASOS? ASOS is now number two retailer in UK. They are among the hugest retail online fashion store. Their recent activity was to open an e-tailing shop inside Facebook, and it was launched on 27th January 2011. ASOS is always working hard to change the market trend. Customers can now track their deliveries. Customers  can shortlist their products, choose color. ASOS also included catwalk features for women wear. So repeatedly ASOS is trying its best to communicate with their customers on an integrated level ASOS used various communications methods. a. They have increased the pages of their magazine to 116. The first three issues of magazine generated more than 1.5 million pounds in sales and 9% was the average response rate. After that magazine on menswear was also launches in May 2008, which talked about style, trends, entertainment and good fashion sense. b. ASOS always is in contact with their 1.8 million customers. The newsletter helped in sales by 137% in 2001 c. In 2006, there was almost 2236 fashion editorial content about asos.com and its products , which also helped the sales go up by 59% d. ASOS acts as a best friend would to its customers. This means customers spread the word to other people. Most of its customers feel that they have a personal relationship with ASOS. This type of word of mouth has helped the sales go up and helped building loyalty. It was seen that 15% of customers visited the site on recommendation of friends. e. In the last survey by asos.com 73% of customers stated that they spread the word to th eir friends. ASOS has a team of 30 customer service advisors. This team responds to emails, newsletters and updates the social networking site and regularly communicates with its customers. To connect with customers ASOS is always active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and they even have their own magazine app for iPhones. To get more engaged, they launched the F-store in 2011. Now they have more than 1.7 million likes on Facebook, more than 325k followers on twitter and more than 440k followers on Google+. 3. What risks do you think managing as ASOS expands overseas? ASOS has to continuously change its market segment in such a changeable industry. People nowadays are unpredictable and their fashion sense changes regularly. Building brand loyalty in such changeable markets is very difficult, and building loyalty is the key to success for ASOS. The main question here is how ASOS will create a stronger connection with its customers in a difficult issues? Since ASOS doesn’t have any physical evidence, for e.g. A Store, a shopping bag etc. There are a number of risks that come hand in hand with  the benefits of expansion: 1. Personalized content will increase to keep in mind the different locations, their cultures, climates and buying habits 2. Things as trial and returns are also more complicated when businesses expand worldwide 3. Communicating with a personal effect to make each customer feel unique and appreciated takes a lot of effort and when a platform becomes worldwide there is a huge mix of customers that could become loyal, to deal with each one on its own level is also a challenge 4. Delivery channels also have to broaden, new ones also need to be created, new management for each part needs to be recruited etc. 5. Quality control needs to be maintained when a company goes into mass production If we talk about popularity ASOS is less well known outside Europe. GAP and ZARA are the main competitors of ASOS as they also have online shopping platform, and they are well recognized all over the world in compare to ASOS. So for ASOS to be popular all around the world, it has to target new segments and build the loyalty around the world. ASOS is starting to gain popularity in Australia and USA as they opened their new offices there. With further expansion of ASOS, they should start to consider making more warehouses around the world. Most of their stuff is made in China, Eastern Europe or many other low cost countries, and are then shipped to the UK. They could be more active on social networking sites, post videos on You-Tube in different languages, so people can get engaged to them. Social networking can be a problem at the start. Except this, CRM can be a major problem as well. ASOS can enhance Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for some promotional engines like interest graph. Customerâ€℠¢s interest can be measured through Business Intelligence Data collected online. As mentioned before the main problem would be to create loyalty to the customers, so another way to enhance CRM is to give the customers loyalty program. As ASOS target markets are same in UK and some other countries, if ASOS has to go worldwide, it has to change their target audience from youth to everyone, to attract all demographic segments. ASOS would face many competitors around the globe, there would be many fashion websites similar to ASOS. 4. Identify the key elements of ASOS’s strategic marketing plan? Situational Analysis- ASOS targets customers who are young and know the sense of fashion, the latest trend. And except this they enjoy shopping online more than going to the actual shop, standing in the queue. To shop online ASOS is providing user friendly interface on their mobile devices also. SWOT Analysis- Strength: ASOS has variety of products from shoe wear to accessories. People don’t need to go out and shop and waste their time, they can easily call for products online according to their choices. Weakness: This can be weakness too, if some people wants to go out to shop and see the products, feel them or try them, they can’t as they don’t have any physical evidence. ASOS should work hard to make their product recognized, by putting adverts or small articles in magazine about ASOS. Opportunity: To be more active on Facebook, as the people worldwide may not know ASOS that much, but through social networking to be in contact with them. Updating their fashion on Facebook page or group. Answering their problems and dealing with their complaints. Threat: ASOS has many rivalries, such as GAP, ZARA and H&M and many more who are also dealing online fashion store. As mentioned before there are no physical evidence on ASOS where people could go and try clothes, or exchange or take refunds. Competitor- ASOS has many competitors who want to become like it, but they can’t. The top most competitor of ASOS are GAP and ZARA, as they both also targets the same target markets and now they even started the online shopping platform. And they both are active on the social networking websites too. The strategy of ASOS covers a lot of area from designers, marketing to customer services. Customer loyalty is their main key element. They consider customer as their king. But this is not the end. By being active on social networking and internet will not help ASOS that much. ASOS always kept design in their mind as the priority. So their designer kept this in the mind as ASOS  targets young people and youth, so they want updated fashion and new trends every time. In order to meet this need ASOS became partners with London College of Fashion and promised to give internships to the 2nd year and 3rd year students. Even the corporate culture helped ASOS in many ways, as trading director said à ¢â‚¬Å"our approach is simple, we work hard and we do it†. Marketing and customer service are other point which as important as others. They believe in speedy, reliable and convenient deliveries. There is no minimum order amount, so in this way customer can start building trust. So customer can order and start building loyalty. ASOS emails their customers so that they can track their delivery. Return and refund policy is also there. In 2012 ASOS also started their international office in Sydney and New York to give better customer services. They even give 10% discount to students to promote their brand between youth. ASOS have tailored their website with different languages. They have even introduced cat-walks and ramp shows on the website to get engaged with the consumers. 300 videos are been uploaded every day. Many IT people are working hard to make ASOS #1 website. They are using many web-trends analytics and visitor data marketing, which helps them to analyze the best campaign. Beside this, the business intelligence data is also one important key element of ASOS. They use web based application to track and to sa ve the database of their customers. Except all this they even used warehouse management system to read the code. Apart from this, ASOS’s 2nd market strategy is that one can sell their old clothes, which will be bought by ASOS and they will pay you back and from that money you can shop at ASOS. If you see the best technology, ASOS is the best example. The high technologies used and IT people working under ASOS are highly skilled. Except this customer relationship is their key element and the most important part of ASOS. Bibliography College, E. (2011, December 18th). http://press.emerson.edu/imc/2011/12/18/asos-is-now-as-seen-on-facebook/#more-1407. Retrieved from http://press.emerson.edu/: http://press.emerson.edu/imc/2011/12/18/asos-is-now-as-seen-on-facebook/#more

Impossibility of Auditor Independence

The Impossibility of Auditor Independence Intentional collusion of auditors and their clients is is not the major cause of Audit integrity. Most of the times, auditors find it difficult to become objective. In 1992, Phar-Mor, Inc. drugstore in the United States seeking a court protection from corruption failed a court case. The previous auditors, Coopers & Lybrand, Phar-Mor's failed to state inventory inflation and manipulation of finanicial that lead to overstating of $985 million earnings in a period of three years. The judges found Coopers ; Lybrand answerable for fraud to the joint investors.The attorney for one investor argued that â€Å"this sends a strong signal to the accounting community that investors take very seriously the role of audited financial statements and rely on them for their integrity. â€Å"‘ The investors who successfully sued Coopers & Lybrand contended that Gregory Finerty, the Coopers & Lybrand partner in charge of the Phar-Mor audit, was â€Å"hu ngry for business because he had been passed over for additional profit-sharing in 1988 for failing to sell enough of the firm's services. â€Å"‘ Analysist, argue that Independence of audit was hindered by relationship with the management.Unjustified certification of financial statement like The Phar-Mor case are of many cases where auditors have been held responsible. Investors in the MiniScribe Corporation maintained that auditors were at least partially responsible for the now-defunct company's falsified financial statements; at least one jury agreed, holding the auditors liable to investors for $200 million. In the U. S. financial reporting of savings and loan crisis has led to lose of millions of dollars by audit firms settling lawsuits and out-court suits making them collapse.The accounting profession claim that plaintiffs unjust actions are aimed looking for a convenient â€Å"deep pocket† towards recovery of their unplanned business decisions. The accounting p rofession’s role in financial reporting has experienced low reputation by investors and lenders. How could auditors not see that so many of their savings and loan clients were about to fail? How could a prominent auditing firm with a reputation for integrity overlook such large misstatements in Phar-Max H. Bazerman is the J. Jay Cerber Distinguished Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. Kimberly P. Morgan is a certified public accountant and a Ph. D. candidate at the Katz School of Business, University of Pittsburgh. Ceorge F. Loewenstein is professor of economics, department of social and decision sciences, Carnegie Mellon University. First, the auditor-client relationship greatly influences opinions made about financial statement by auditors . Even the most professional auditors find it almost inevitable to maintain independence with the current audit procedures.Imagine situation where p rofessionals deliberate their duty without prejudice at all times. For example doctors treating patients without expecting salary. Teachers in schools guiding learners selflessly. However, teachers, doctors or judges are motivated by their own gains making them vulnerable to impartial judgments and not necessarily corrupt. Auditing mandated to provide direction to shareholders and stakeholders posses big losses in case it fails to detect malpractice in financial statements preparation. The management hire, mandates and even suck auditors.Therefore, auditors serve the interests of their employer hence seem bias. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) states in its Code of Professional Ethics: â€Å"In the performance of any professional service, a member shall maintain integrity, shall be free of conflicts of interest, and shall not knowingly misrepresent facts or subordinate his or her judgment to others. . . . Members should accept the obligation to act in a way that will serve the public interest, honor the public trust, and demonstrate commitment to professionalism. ‘ The code of ethics acknowledges to some extent compromise on integrity and objectivity of the profession. Several parties including stakeholders, business advisors, lenders and financial institutions depend on financial statements to aid in their decision making. The management strives to maintain the reputation of the company. However, temptation to give over-ambition plans and objectives drive the management to give false information about the financial position of the company. This serves to attract external potential customers and takeholders. Financial reporting suffers from unqualified auditors. Reliability, accuracy and objectivity matter a lot in financial statements. Financial statements investigation requires generally accepted standards in accordance with International Standards of Auditing. Unqualified auditors usually communicate wrong presentations about the truth and fairness of accounting. Furthermore, independence cannot be possible in intellectually. Normally, misstatements occur during presentation as auditors interpret the data.Accidentally, false judgment enters the audit reporting without conscience. In the process of reporting and analyzing financial statements false information may be relayed as well. One’s role in presentation of information plays a vital role in terms perception, interests and preference. This subjective factors manipulate facts altering fairness and justice. Inaccurate interpretation of data leads to misleading conclusions. People fall into the trap of distinguishing between personal interests and morality.The rewards participants get in the exercise expose them to difficulty in liberating themselves from bias. In many circumstances, auditors consider the people who might be hurt by their independent opinion on the financial statement. The potential people to be affected by the report may b e close associates with the audit. This may make them give false verdict about the fairness of the statements. On the other hand pointing misstatement ruins close relationships and in the event lose friends, contract and employment.Auditors reappointed periodically get used to the company’s mediocre in preparation of financial statements. In the event auditors ignore small errors and frauds in the institution. Auditor often adjusts statements reporting. People mislead to rationalize a judgment that is consistent with their own interest. People justify their inaccuracy and one sided judgment about balances through manipulation of data. Serious sanctions and even hefty charges may result. On the contrary, emerging trends auditing promotes independence in the current world.First, competitiveness increase in audit firms. Also dire results of losing a client and increased advantages of cordial relations with the client. Competitiveness Previously, junior auditors basic wage rate w ere at a ratio of four times the cost of the employee. Nowadays when a firm engages in corrupt reporting this amount may fall. In highly competitive markets, audit firms often accept losses audit fees in the initial years in order to â€Å"buy† the company. The client may be retained for a longer period by accepting heavily discounted fees.In the current period audit firms treat clients with great regard. Today, clients can be lured intensified competition among audit firms takes place within and without. These rules of audit business and implications in market share determine profits and even effects of losing a client in a negative audit. . Second, big partnerships such as tax and consulting firms grow rapidly due to audit. Not only do the auditing profession generate profit but also serves as a consultancy agency. In many cases, a Firm's audit client gets consultancy services from the same firm.Notably, the consulting client benefits a lot from the consultancy than from th e audit. Therefore, the views about the accounts also poses a risk on the consultancy service. On the same vein, the integrity of the reporting can be at risk too. Actually, involvement in both consultancy and audit further posses questions on whom the auditor is accountable to and working For. Focused on the obvious conflict of fulfilling responsibility to external users versus the financial benefits of pleasing the client.This conflict is typically viewed as a moral trade-of f on the auditors Face. The larger problem, however, is not with the auditors' morality, but with limitations in the way that they process information. Thus independence remains a problem For even the most moral, honest auditor. Despite the auditors' best efforts to place the external users' interests For the above the client's and to maintain objectivity, they may be unable to overcome cognitive or psychological biases that make them arrive at marginal decisions in the client's favor.The larger problem facing society is that there is good reason to believe that auditors will unknowingly misrepresent facts and will unknowingly subordinate their judgment due to cognitive limitations. While audits are done for external criitics, the negotiated relationship between the auditor and the client creates them. Both the auditor and the client benefit From auditors' self-serving bias. We believe that the auditing profession and external users of financial statements should actively seek fundamental changes in the current structure of the auditing relationship.Observers of the profession have suggested various possibilities, such as prohibiting a firm that conducts a company's audit from simultaneously providing other services for that client, prohibiting audit Firms From providing any related services, having external bodies appoint auditors or set fee structures, requiring companies to periodically change auditors, increasing oversight of auditing practices, or, the most drastic, having governmen tal agencies rather than the private sector conduct audits.While we do not know that any of these suggestions would be optimal, we believe we have made a convincing case for reform of the current auditing relationship. External users pay a huge price for the flaws in the current structure of audit. Work cited 1. Adapted from M. Murray, â€Å"Coopers & Lybrand Is Found Liable by Jury to Investors,† Wall Street Journal, 15 February 1996, p. A-8. 2. Adapted from M. Pitz, â€Å"J'-‘O' Finds Phar-Mor s Auditors Negligent,† Pittsburgh Post-Cazette, 15 February 1996, pp. A1-A6. 3. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code of Professional Ethics, 1988. 4. W . Burger, U. S.Supreme Court: 1984, United States v. Arthur Young & Co. , US Supreme Court Reports, IG April 1984, 79 L Ed 2d, 826-838. 5. J. C. Robertson, /! W/>/>/g-(Homewood, Illinois: Irwin, 1990). 6. E. Waples and M. K. Shaub, â€Å"Establishing an Ethic of Accounting,† Joumalof Business Ethi cs, volume 10, 1991, pp. 385-393. 7. C. E. Jordan and J. G. Johnston, â€Å"Auditor s Independence: A Proposal to the Profession and the Public,† The Woman CPA, volume 49, July 1987, pp. 3-9. 8. D. M. Messick and K. P. Sentis, â€Å"Fairness and Preference,† Journal of Experimental Social Psychologf, volume 15, 1979, pp. AMi-A'iA. 9. K. A.Diekmann, S. M. Samuels, L. Ross, and M. H . Bazerman, â€Å"Self-interest and Fairness in Problems of Resource Allocation,†/O; »7M/ of Personality and Social Psychology (in press). 10. D. M. Messick, â€Å"Equality, Fairness, and Social Conflict,† Social Justice Research, voune 8, 1995, pp. 153-173; and D. M. Messick and A. E. Tenbrunsel, eds.. Codes of Conduct {New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1996). 11. L. Thompson and C . Loewenstein, â€Å"Egocentric Interpretations of Fairness and Interpersonal Conflict,† Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, volume 51,1992 , pp. 176-197; C . Loewenstein, S. IssacharofF, C.Camerer, and L. Babcock, â€Å"Self- Serving Assessments of Fairness and Pretrial Bargaining,† Journal of Legal Studies, oV vtll, 1993, pp. 135-159; L. Babcock, G. Loewenstein, S. Issacharoff, and C. Camerer, â€Å"Biased Judgments of Fairness in Bargaining,† American Economic Review, volume 85, December 1995, pp. 1337-1342. 12. K. Jenni and G. Loewenstein, â€Å"Explaining the Identifiable Victim Effect,† Journal of Risk and Uncertainty (forthcoming, 1997); D. M. Messick, and M. H . Bazerman, â€Å"Ethical Leadership and the Psychology of Decision Making,† Sloan Management Review, volume 37, Winter 1996, pp. 9-22; and L. Babcock and G.Loewenstein, â€Å"Explaining Bargaining Impasse: Th e Role of Self-Serving Biases,† Journal of Economic Perspectives (in press). 13. SeeG. Loewenstein andj . Elster, Choiceove>- 7/>H(? (New York: Russell Sage Foundation Press, 1992); G. Loewenstein, â€Å"Behavioral Decision Theory and Business E thics: Skewed Ttade-offs between Self and Other,† in Messick and Tenbrunsel (1996). 14. See J. C. Corless, R. W. Bardett, and R. J. Seglund, â€Å"Psychological Factors Affecting Auditor Independence,† The Ohio CPA Journal, volume 49, Spring 1990, pp. 5-9. Reprint 3848 94 BAZEHMAN ET AI,. SLOAN MANAGEMEN T REVIKW/SUMME R 1997

Functional Areas Of Human Resources Management - 1996 Words

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