Consumerism -- Definition and Discussion

While  consumption is an activity people engage in, sociologists understand consumerism to be a powerful ideology characteristic of Western society that frames our worldview, values, relationships, identities, and behavior. Consumer culture drives us to seek happiness and fulfillment through mindless consumption and serves as a necessary component of capitalist society, which demands mass production and unending sales growth. Sociological Definitions Definitions of consumerism vary. Some sociologists consider it a social condition where consumption is â€Å"especially important if not actually central† to someones life, or even â€Å"the very purpose of existence.† This understanding binds society together to channel our wants, needs, longings, and pursuit of emotional fulfillment into the consumption of material goods and services. Sociologists will similarly describe  consumerism as a way of life, â€Å"an ideology that seductively binds people to [the] system† of mass production, turning consumption â€Å"from a means to an end.† As such, acquiring goods becomes the basis of our identity and sense of self. â€Å"At its extreme, consumerism reduces consumption to a therapeutic program of compensation for life’s ills, even a road to personal salvation.† Echoing  Karl Marx’s theory of the alienation of workers within a capitalist system, consumerist urges become  a social force separate from the individual and operating independently. Products and brands become the force that propels and reproduces norms, social relations, and the general structure of society. Consumerism exists when the consumer goods we desire drive what happens in society or even shape our entire social system. The dominant worldview, values, and culture are inspired by disposable and empty consumption. Consumerism is a type of social arrangement that results from recycling mundane, permanent and so to speak regime-neutral human wants, desires and longings into the principal propelling force of society, a force that coordinates systemic reproduction, social integration, social stratification and the formation of human individuals, as well as playing a major role in the processes of individual and group self-policies.(Bauman, Consuming Life) Psychological Effects Consumerist tendencies define how we understand ourselves, how we affiliate with others, and the overall extent to which we fit in with and are valued by society at large. Because individual social and economic values are defined and validated by spending practices, consumerism becomes the ideological lens through which we experience the world, what is possible for us, and our options for achieving goals. Consumerism manipulates the probabilities of individual choices and conduct.† Consumerism shapes us in such a way that we want to acquire material goods not because they are useful, but because of what they say about us. We want the newest and the best to fit in with or outshine others. Thus, we experience an â€Å"ever-increasing volume and intensity of desire.† In a society of consumers, joy and status are fueled by planned obsolescence, premised on acquiring goods and disposing of them. Consumerism both depends on and reproduces an insatiability of desires and needs. The cruel trick is that a society of consumers thrives on the inability to ever consume enough, on the ultimate failure of the mass-produced system to satisfy anyone. While it promises to deliver, the system only briefly does so. Rather than cultivating happiness, consumerism cultivates fear—fear of not fitting in, of not possessing the proper things, of not signifying the right persona or social status. Consumerism is defined by perpetual dissatisfaction. Resources and Further Reading Bauman, Zygmunt. Consuming Life. Polity, 2008.Campbell, Colin. â€Å"I Shop Therefore I Know That I Am: The Metaphysical Basis of Modern Consumerism.† Elusive Consumption, edited by Karin M. Ekstrà ¶m and Helene Brembeck, Berg, 2004, pp. 27-44.Dunn, Robert G. Identifying Consumption: Subjects and Objects in Consumer Society. Temple University, 2008.Marx, Karl. Selected Writings. Edited by Lawrence Hugh Simon, Hackett, 1994.

ELLE Magazine Publication and Audience Analysis - 1609 Words

ELLE Magazine Publication Audience Analysis Introduction of Publication. ELLE is a fashion magazine that began in France in 1945 when sellers were transitioning from the sales-oriented era into the market-oriented era, which is characterized by marketing based on a determined target market and focusing on what consumers want and need. Adhering to this prevailing notion of the time, ELLE’s aspiration to advise females of the latest trends in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and relationships has satisfied many women’s needs and wants by inspiring them to begin a new life after World War II. Targeted User Profile and Audience Dimensions. ELLE employs a unique mix of all four segmentation techniques, namely geographic, demographic,†¦show more content†¦Your Style.† Positioning Statement and Benefits Offered to Target. Through close analysis of the advertisement and Chamilia’s slogan, which can also act as a positioning statement, it is apparent that Chamilia is appealing to consumers as a company where customers can discover their own personalized style in jewellery. Through the use of a drawn picture, Chamilia’s message through the advertisement is that they can assist their customers in exercising their creativity and retaining control in painting their own unique world of fashionable jewellery. Furthermore, Chamilia claims this can be accomplished while maintaining high quality of the resulting piece of jewellery, as indicated in their advertisement by telling consumers that they can â€Å"[d]esign combinations of dazzling sterling silver, 14k gold, Swarovski crystal, colored stones and Italian Murano glass† (ELLE). This is furthered by their website, which describes their company as one where your â€Å"†¦options are endless. Create a special piece around a†¦style that’s meaningful to you. Your finished designs will be as dazzling as they are personal† (Chamilia). The benefits that can be derived from customers also include the satis faction of social needs. Chamilia provides their customers with products that identify them as belonging to a higher status in society. Target Market of Chamilia. The advertisement is targeted at sophisticated women withShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Advertisement For Rimmel London For The New Provocalips Campaign Essay1610 Words   |  7 Pagesexplains as â€Å"visible, tangible, and audible aspects of a sign that carries a meaning†. A semiotics analysis can be used as a means to understanding communications found in the media such as print advertisements. By conducting a semiotic analysis I will be analyzing the advertisement for Rimmel London for the new Provocalips campaign that was recently published in the March 2015 edition of Elle magazine. This essay will be analyzing the connotation and denotations found in the advert, the iconic andRead MoreVogue Essay3998 Words   |  16 Pages1. Introduction In this report I have focused on Vogue magazine. Vogue is a product from the magazine publisher Conde Nast which publishes magazines including Glamour, GQ and Vanity Fair. Vogue is an American fashion magazine and was founded in 1892. The current editor of American Edition is Anna Wintour. The purpose of this report is to recommend a marketing communications campaign focused on the Digital Edition of the magazine in order to increase sales and reduce costs. In order to do thatRead MoreMedia Representation Of Male And Female Magazine2566 Words   |  11 Pagesand woman magazines reflect constructed identities, telling readers what they are suppose look like, constructing identities that does not reflect who their readers are however men and woman publications are becoming stereotypical orientated by the media in the use of advertising and editorials. Mainstream media representation plays a role in reinforcing ideas of genders in magazines. Inclusion of controversial male and female magazine this essay will look at who are these publications reflectingRead MoreDesigning New Ranges And Collections Essay1820 Words   |  8 Pagesinspiration or mood board with textile swatches, flat sketches and floats. Research methods are the processes used to collect information and data for the purpose of making decisions, may they be in business or otherwise. The methodology may include publications, research, interviews, surveys and other techniques which may include both present and historical information. Research Methods The processes involved in designing new ranges and collections normally begin with researching and gatheringRead MoreHUL Lakme Project Report7068 Words   |  29 PagesEXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 3.2 HYPOTHESIS 3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 4. SAMPLE DESIGN 4. INDUSTRY PROFILE 5. DATA,FINDING ANALYSIS 6. RECOMMENDATION CONCLUSION 7. BILIOGRAPHY 8. REFRENCES Executive summary About the project Within a short span of the last five-six years, the use of cosmetics by Indian consumers hasRead MoreLanguage of Advertising and Communication Via Advertising16651 Words   |  67 Pages37 3.3. Relational Aspects of Advertising 39 3.4. Speech Acts in Advertising 41 3.5. Conclusion 44 Conclusion 46 Bibliography 49 Appendix 52 Introduction The subject of this research is the analysis of the language of advertising and its relation to social environment. The impact of advertising on the modern world is increasing and thus became a major area of study from a broad multidisciplinary approach. Sociology and psychology attempt toRead MoreLanguage of Advertising and Communication Via Advertising16638 Words   |  67 PagesAppeal 37 3.3. Relational Aspects of Advertising 39 3.4. Speech Acts in Advertising 41 3.5. Conclusion 44 Conclusion 46 Bibliography 49 Appendix 52 Introduction The subject of this research is the analysis of the language of advertising and its relation to social environment. The impact of advertising on the modern world is increasing and thus became a major area of study from a broad multidisciplinary approach. Sociology and psychology attempt toRead MorePantene Marketing Plan6904 Words   |  28 Pagespart of the essay is mainly talking about the internal and external situation of Pantene. The internal analysis includes branding analysis, objectives, target market, company and brand analysis, industry, product, price, consumption value, financial trend and distribution channels. The external one contains political, economic, social, technological and environmental forces. In competitive analysis, Pantene has a competitive advantages promotion and strong distribution network. Due to the high technologyRead MoreHow Tv Commercials Influence Consumer Cosmetic Products Purchasing Decisions18056 Words   |  73 Pages3 Previous studies related to topic 29 2.3 Summery and hypotheses 31 Chapter Three: Methodology 32 3.1 Research philosophy, approach and strategy 32 3.2 Sampling 33 3.3 Research instrument 34 3.4 Procedures for data collection 35 3.5 Data analysis 35 3.6 Research ethics 36 3.7 Methodology limitation 37 3.8 Summery 37 Chapter Four: Research Results 38 4.1 Personal information 39 4.2 The extent of impact of TV advertisements 40 4.3 The extent of impact of TV commercial elements 41 Read MoreMba Outline16812 Words   |  68 PagesLeader: Dr. Rajendra Kumar: rajendra.kumar@lsclondon.co.uk Course Administrators: Assignment Deadline 1 Contents Christina Giovi: christina.giovi@lsclondon.co.uk Grace Freeman: grace.freeman@lsclondon.co.uk Page 3 3 4 4 5 Financial Analysis and Management Module Description Learning Outcomes Indicative Content Delivery Indicative Reading List Lecture Sequence 6-8 Sample Questions 9-16 Information Systems Management Module Description 17 Learning Outcomes 17 Indicative Content 17

The researchers built their study Free Essays

The research article by Suniya Luthar, Karen Shoum and Pamela Brown (2006) entitled â€Å"Extracurricular involvement among affluent youth: A scapegoat for ubiquitous achievement pressures† attempted to determine the extracurricular involvement of high status secondary students and how this affected their academic performance and whether it was directly the source of the pressure to achieve. The researchers built their study on the notion that children from affluent communities are overscheduled and have too many things to accomplish at a given day because it is expected by their parents. They said that children’s involvement in extracurricular activities are imposed by their parents and thus places undue stress and pressure for the student to succeed and achieve. We will write a custom essay sample on The researchers built their study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Although, some researchers had found evidence to support the assumption that involvement in extracurricular activities improved academic performance as groups, clubs and teams provide opportunities for healthy competition fostering the need to achieve as a desirable motive for subsequent endeavors. Moreover, the researchers mainly focused their attention to affluent children or students who come from affluent families because they are more likely to be pressured by their parents to succeed. At the same time, affluent students have more chances of cultivating their interests in extracurricular activities because they have the resources to do so.   The authors defined extracurricular involvement as the degree to which students participate in activities that are not directly associated to their academic performance and has no bearing on their academic grades and is conducted outside of regular school hours with the presence of a coach or trainer. Extracurricular involvement was measured in terms of four broad categories; sports, arts, academics and civic. The researchers hypothesized that upper class students are overscheduled and thus have more adjustment issues, however, they were more inclined to believe that hours spent in extracurricular activities are not to blame but the family processes that are related to academic achievement are the cause. The family processes include parent’s emphasis on achievement; parental criticism, high achievement expectations and values that promoted getting ahead of others, lack of adult supervision after school and how often children ate dinner with parents. The methods used to test the hypothesis of the researchers were varied; they used self-report questionnaires to obtain information on maladjustment indicators such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, while they used school grades and teacher rating behavior to measure academic performance and behavior. The researchers also used a two dimensional framework in assessing their research outcomes, examining extracurricular activities and involvement per se, and how extracurricular activities competed with the measured family outcomes. The results of the study indicated that there were minimal links between extracurricular activities and pressure leading to adjustment problems. The researchers found that there is a weak relationship in the time spent in sports, academic, arts and civic activities to that of behavioral maladjustments and competence. The researchers however found evidence that supported the hypothesis that parental expectations were more detrimental to the student’s adjustment. It was found that parental criticism and lack of adult supervision had a more negative effect to student behavior than other variables. How to cite The researchers built their study, Papers

Understanding the Limitations of Financial Ratio

Question: Discuss financial ratio analysis. Identify two advantages and two disadvantages to using ratios in financial analysis. Answer: The two advantages of using ratio analysis are: Projection of the firms ability Financial ratios help in shedding light on the skills of the firm to meet the obligations. Moreover, from the financial ratios, the position of the business can be known (Northington, 2011). These ratios can be compared with the past or the rivals ratio to know the position of the company. Moreover, accountants, as well as analysts to predict the variables use the ratios. Predictive purpose The company and the management to ascertain the empirical relationship can use financial ratios. This is done by comparing the computed ratios with the pre-determined ones. In short, it provides guidance on the fact that where the business will stand in the future (Spiceland et. al, 2011). The two disadvantage of using ratio analysis are: Inconsistent techniques Financial ratios are determined by the accounting principles and classifications. However, such choices might not be correct and consistent. Hence, comparability is compromised. There is a strong availability of choices and hence, declines the chances of comparability (Joseph, 2015). Different companies might choose a different method of analysis and hence, difference might occur. Problem with numerator and denominator If either of the numerator or denominator is misstated then the financial ratio will project an error. There might be a human error, or there might be an error in the collection of data leading to issues. Moreover, when manipulating accruals are used it might lead to error and hence interpretation will be affected (Joseph, 2015). References Joseph F. (2015). Understanding the Limitations of financial ratio. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 19(3), 75-81 Northington, S. (2011).Finance. New York, NY: Ferguson's. Spiceland, J., Thomas, W. and Herrmann, D. (2011). Financial accounting. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, University Press