Monday, July 6, 2020

Social Influences in the Change of Opinion Research Paper - 1375 Words

Social Influences in the Change of Opinion Research Paper (Essay Sample) Content: SOCIAL INFLUENCES OF CHANGEBy:(Name)Presented to(Instructor, Course)(Institution, Location)Date:IntroductionThe social setting within which individuals live or interact is a major determinant of change and adoption of behavior among other things. Social influences are the major determinants of individual behavior and the decisions that different personalities will make with regards to different areas of their livesCITATION Sol14 \p 43 \l 1033 (Solomon, 2014, p. 43). As such, people make decisions either to fit within a given social group, or due to the benefits that such decisions will yield for them and their beloved ones. To determine such benefits, individuals refer to other persons within their social environment. As such, social psychology provides a lens through which the influences of individual behavior can be determined and how such is important in the adoption of new approaches to business such as the digitization of business. This paper seeks to review the various social influences that are likely to determine the changes that an individual ought to make in order to flourish within the contemporary digital economy.Social RolesThe presence of other persons within an individualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s social context may prove to be highly important in influencing their behavior in different ways. Nevertheless, social roles tend to be the most important influence of individual behavior as it involves the expectations that other persons set up of others. Individual do not expect other personsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ behavior to be random, but to be particular to a certain way as defined by their situationCITATION Han14 \p 228 \l 1033 (Kaufmann, 2014, p. 228). As such, every social situation has been accorded a given set of expectations concerning how best it is to behave. These expectations vary from one group to the other. These expectations are apparent in the roles played by different individuals within the society. As such, social roles refer to the part pl ayed by individuals within their social group. The adoption of each social role leads to changes in behavior and decision making approaches that are particular to such a role.The social roles adopted by individuals within their social environment are defined by the available social normsCITATION Ros11 \p 78 \l 1033 (Reiter, 2011, p. 78). The latter are a set of rules that define the course of action that ought to be take in every given situation by those bearing certain roles. This is an important consideration when it comes to making of decisions in the business environment. With the social roles being a major determinant of social behavior and social behavior being a major determinant of economic behavior, social roles are an important consideration of economic behavior. Individual tend to uphold behavior that fulfills certain norms within, an aspect referred to as conformity CITATION Pau12 \l 1033 (Adams, 2012). In the current digital environment, individuals are bound to pick on changes that allow for their conformity with the social norms that define their social roles.NurtureAnother important determinant of individual behavior is the aspect of being nurtured. The process of nurturing involves the kind of exposure that individuals have and what they consider as being important to themCITATION Ant15 \p 60 \l 1033 (Biglan, 2015, p. 60). Under nurturing, the two most important determinants of decision making, which could be important in deciding the kind of changes to implement in the current digital economy, include humanism and behaviorism. Under humanism, Maslow established basic physical needs that individuals aim at attaining or achieving. As such, persons are more receptive to ideas that fulfill their needs and reject those that do not. This is a highly important point when it comes to making decisions on the kind of changes to adopt from the established market system. Consumers are likely to engage in transactions that will uphold their needs as de fined by Maslow, and such needs may vary with the context in which they operate from and the level of fulfillment of their previous needsCITATION Fro14 \p 135 \l 1033 (Pirson, et al., 2014, p. 135). In addition, the social context of an individual influences their self-concept, an aspect that allows individuals to develop a certain understanding of themselves and their needs. As such they make decision based on such needs, established based on the constructs of the society in which they live.On the other hand, behaviorism dictates that individuals learn all behavior from their environment via conditioningCITATION Spe121 \p 437 \l 1033 (Rathus, 2012, p. 437). Contrary to internal events including emotion and thinking, behaviorism is mainly concerned with behavior that is observable. As such, individuals tend to respond to certain stimulus within their immediate environment through their decision making. In this perspective, when making decisions on changes that ought to be upheld i n order to succeed in the global digital economy, it is important to understand the various environmental factors that influence the behavior of individuals, including technological factors.ConformityConformity is another major social influence that is important in determining the various changes that ought to be adopted within the global digital economy in order to experience success. This involves changing the behavior or belief of an individual in order to fit within a certain group. In this case, individuals make change in response to imagined or real group pressureCITATION Soc12 \p 88 \l 1033 (Smith Haslam, 2012, p. 88). Group pressures are likely to occur in different forms such as persuasion, bullying, criticism, and teasing, among others. As such conformity refers to being in agreement with a majority position that results from the desire to be liked or fit in, or due to the desire to be considered correct. This is a major issue of concern in the business environment, espe cially for marketers as it defines the causative factors for consumer behavior. Consumer behavior is highly influenced by the environment from which they operate and the group in which they can be categorized CITATION Efr16 \l 1033 (Turban, et al., 2016). As such, market segmentation is important not only in determining the particular needs of each group, but also the various patterns of group pressure among them.In most cases, individuals embrace certain forms of change to be accepted within a certain group and to fulfill the need for a belongingness. Considering the adoption of changes within the digital economy that are likely to lead to success, of the major influences of such change is compliance, where one is likely to adopt changes suggested by the group, if they believe that such changes will be of benefit to themCITATION Den13 \p 561 \l 1033 (Coon Mitterer, 2013, p. 561). Another factor that is likely to influence adoption of change is internalization, which refers to th e acceptance of group influence with increased consideration of the intrinsic reward that one ought to achieve.NomotheticThe personality of individuals is highly important in determining their behavior and decision-making approaches. As exploited by different market researchers, it is evident that there are certain traits that are particular to certain people, which categorize them under certain sets of consumers, allowing businesses to develop a better understanding of them and business strategies that are specific to their behavior. Five of the most common traits of importance include agreeableness, emotional stability extroversion, openness to experience, and conscientiousnessCITATION Gor14 \p 668 \l 1033 (Redding, 2014, p. 668). The traits of an individual are ...

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Richard Bransons Profile - 1650 Words

Richard Branson's Profile and Entrepreneurial Skills (Case Study Sample) Content: PROFILE OF VIRGIN GROUPAbstractThis paper illustrates the development and growth of Virgin Group since its inception. It outlines the profile of its renowned CEO, Richard Branson, and the entrepreneurial skills that he manifested into the organization, which led to the realization of feted success across the globe. In addition, the paper analyzes the various marketing strategies that the CEO used in the process of transforming the organization from small scale enterprise to a multi-national corporation. The various organizational cultures that shape and define the activities of the enterprise are highlighted with emphasis being on the aggressiveness of the workforce. Finally, employees ways of motivation are highlighted, and the future trend of Virgin Group is also incorporated into this paper. Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019368" Abstract  PAGEREF _Toc340019368 \h 1 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019369" 1.0 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc340019369 \h 3 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019370" 2.0 Richard Bransons Profile and Entrepreneurial Skills  PAGEREF _Toc340019370 \h 3 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019371" 3.0 Marketing Strategies  PAGEREF _Toc340019371 \h 5 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019372" 4.0 Organizational Culture  PAGEREF _Toc340019372 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019373" 5.0 Employees Motivation  PAGEREF _Toc340019373 \h 7 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019374" 6.0 Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc340019374 \h 8 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc340019375" References  PAGEREF _Toc340019375 \h 10IntroductionVirgin Group is one of the leading organizations in UK. The company provides a dizzying range of commodities and services throughout its numerous business units. Indeed, from a small business operation to a multi-national organization that operates across the world, Branson and the executive committee have undertaken realistic and effective transformation in the companys operations. Currently, the organizatio n is involved in various operations including nightclubs, food and drinks services, record label, among others. With such immense operations, Branson has focused on planning as a core factor that necessitates smooth flow of operations across the organization (Jones, 2004). The company is undertaking strategies, either marketing or production, that will enable it to conquer the economy in the next three or four decades. Richard Bransons Profile and Entrepreneurial Skills Richard Branson is a renowned entrepreneur who initiated the operations of Virgin Group to a world class level. Born in 1950, he attended Stowe School where he incorporated a school magazine at the tender age of 16. Towards the end of 1970, Branson founded a retailer of mail order record known as Virgin. His entrepreneurial skills were manifested in every activity and operation he undertook and, two years later, he built a recording studio that was situated in Oxfordshire. With the signing of Sex Pistols, Virgin com memorated the greatest achievement that marked the start of the organizations success. He signed numerous household names to be included in the Rolling Stones, majorly from Culture Club, thereby enabling Virgin Music to be recognized as the best operating companies in the industry. Currently, the Virgin Group incorporates more than 200 companies across the globe, and its expansion has been attributed to the skills and dedication of one Richard Branson. The operations of the company include travel, mobile, tourism, health, finance, leisure, radio, broadband, TV, and Music festivals (Jaray, 2006). Kitchen and Proctor (2001) posits that the success of Virgin Group has been achieved through dedication of its CEO and the managerial team. As a non-profit making organization, the focus is to harness entrepreneurial skills on its members in an attempt to realize strategic goals. Some of these skills that were fostered by Branson include Vision and leadership in the workplace, focus and exec ution of services, persistence and passion in doing chores, technical skills, and flexibility. In the case of vision and leadership, Branson has visualized where Virgin Group would be in the next few decades. In realizing the organizations vision, Branson ensured that the vision statement is clearly communicate to the employees, as they are the pillars for the companys success (Strauss, 2010). Secondly, the CEO ensured that his team was focused and executed its services at the required timeframe. The company made sure that customers satisfaction is realized, goals are attained at the right time, and motivation of employees is undertaken by the superiors. Thirdly, the success was realized due to passion and persistence that characterized the managerial team. Being led by hardworking and reliable CEO, the staff demonstrated their passion through accomplishing their tasks and, in turn, the management rewarded them for their activities. Fourth, the technical skills portrayed by the firm ensured the overall success of the enterprise. Though not the whole managerial team is technically skilled, the management needs to have a fervent foundation on technical skills in order to make well-versed decisions. Finally, flexibility denoted the success of Virgin Group. With the changes in the economic endowment, flexibility in the operations of the management ensures that it can undertake activities in diversified economic conditions. Marketing Strategies While the diversity of Virgins group business interests have always been questioned by business analysts, Branson has maintained that the company will articulate to its core values and marketing strategies in the economy. The name Virgin was selected in order to symbolize the idea that the organization is virgin whenever it enters into any form of operation. However, before undertaking any operation in new markets, the management scanned the new environment in an attempt to ascertain the relevancy of Virgin Groups operations , and to understand whether the company will offer a different product and service to the new market. The objective of the marketing strategy is to extend the organizations brand name at a much reduced price in the areas or regions where the market is relatively static (Isik-Vanelli, 2004). Virgin Group analyzes the nature of the project, and whether it challenges the authority, it is innovative, offers monetary value, good quality, and enhances growth in the operations of the organization. Bransons strategy revolved around these four crucial elements. Virgin brand is the vital asset of the company, as it sales the image of the other chains of the organizations. Based on the companys set values and attributes, the intention is to make the company the champion for its consumers. However, this was derailed by the companys marketing skills and public relations skills; the company understanding of the various opportunities prevailing in the economy as institutionalized markets; and the organizations experience in new markets (Hoskisson, 2008). The Company perceived that institutionalized markets were dominated by small group of competitors, therefore, quality was not observed when delivering services to its customers. Using well-established marketing strategies, the company has established its industry from one form of company to another with the aim of realizing competitive advantage over its rival companies in the industry. Organizational CultureIn most of the organizations across the globe, diversity and culture have shaped the operations of the organizations, and virgin Group is no exception. The success of Virgin Group is also attributed to their modern culture of undertaking operations. Its success is being driven by peoples aggressiveness, orientation, risk taking, and innovative culture. In the case of aggressiveness culture of employees, the organization ensures that its performance is superior to the operations of other rival companies in the organizatio n and markets the brand under the name of Virgins. Aggressiveness implies the degree in which the workforce is characterized by competitiveness and aggressive nature rather than cooperating with rival companies. The aggressiveness was demonstrated by the employees of Virgin Blue, which is an airline of Australia, when it expanded its operations to New Zealand, United States and, finally, to South Africa. Its main objective was to realize its strategic goal and competitiveness in the economy. In addition, Virgin Active, one of the health club chains of Virgin Group, was rescued in South Africa after it had undergone a financial crisis, and, currently, South Africa has more than 100 health clubs (Adair, 2007). Employees orientation is another culture demonstrated by Virgin Group in its operation. By employee orientation it means the degree in which the decisions of the management are put in practice in order to effect the operation of the employees. One of the key strategies that Rich ard Branson was using was employee motivation where he emphasized on the need to have cordial relationship with the workforce in order to realize success. The management set up parties that ensured there was bonding in all levels of employees in the organization. Such events ensured that employees build cordial relationship with each other; thereby, sharing opinions that are relevant to the competitiveness of the organization (Henry, 2008). Finally, risk taking and innovative culture ensures that employees are allowed to take certain level of risks and to be creative when undertaking thei...