Strategies for Vicarious Trauma

Strategies for Vicarious Trauma Frances Roulet Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue Professional Quality of Life, ProQOL 5. The ProQOL 5 was an easy and short-timed instrument to respond to. Based on the responses and personal scores the results were given as follows: Compassion Satisfaction: 47 High Burnout: 15 Low Secondary Trauma Stress: 19 Low The obtained scores in this instrument revealed that in the subscale of Compassion Satisfaction indicated a 47 score, which means that there is a high level of satisfaction in deriving pleasure of being able to do my work, and perceive high level of pleasure in helping others through my work. In the Burnout sub-scale indicated a 15 score, which means there is a low level of elements of compassion fatigue associated with feelings of hopelessness and difficulties in dealing with work or doing effectively my job. On the other hand, the subscale of Secondary Traumatic Stress scored 19 points, which means there is a low possibility of developing problems due to the exposure to other’s extreme or traumatic events is low, therefore, there is no real secondary exposure symptoms interference. Two areas to prevent and avoid vicarious trauma. Although, the overall results of this instrument indicated a very good handle of my professional quality of life, there is two areas where I believe there should be preventive measure to avoid developing and suffering from vicarious trauma. And, even though, these subscales are under control, they are exposed and can create a mayor problem to me if they are unattended. These areas are burnout and compassion satisfaction. I selected compassion satisfaction because if the environment where I work is not adequate or not supportive (referring to the administrative system) or if the lack of personal or professional satisfaction provokes feelings of restlessness or not being productive then I begin to feel bored. There is no sense in working in a place where there is no meaning or being productive, therefore, there is not satisfaction in working. Then, I begin to have an internal struggle where I end up feeling negative effects, such as, hopelessness and difficulties in dealing with the la ck of internal motivation and performing my job effectively. If there is no challenge and space for growth. The feeling that your effort is worth nothing or makes no difference it would push me to the limits. Justification of two strategies to avoid vicarious trauma. According to Bride, Radey Figley (2007) in their investigation indicated that there is a high prevalence level of trauma exposure within the general population, social workers encounter high level of professional contact with traumatized clients. In their investigation the general population indicated that a lifetime prevalence of exposure to traumatic events was identified from a 40 percent to an 81 percent. Moreover, the clients from outpatient mental health reported within their information history of exposure to traumatic events, and these were from an 82 percent to a 94 percent; along with a 31 percent to a 42 percent classifying with criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Bride, Radey Figley, 2007). According to Bride, Radey Figley (2007) and their findings clinicians should be spending more time in getting involved in leisure, self-care among other activities, such as spirituality activities, in order to enhance quality of life. Indeed, the need of disengagement strat egies becomes one of the most important strategies in order to proceed in a positive manner (Figley, 1995). For example, setting the boundaries in your work environment, setting up rituals, such as utilizing music and humor or using motivational breaks during the day. Utilizing self-statements, such as, â€Å"it is not my problem or responsibilities, tomorrow will be another day, among others (Gerding, 2012). Furthermore, using strategies to gain a sense of productiveness and achievement, in which the clinician sets-up achievable standards goals, trust colleagues assessments, tolerance setbacks and make self-statements, such as under the circumstances I did my best or I can only do so much. Subsequently, you can also use the strategies for health and stress reduction, in which we can require adequate rest and relaxation, eat healthy and exercise (Figley, 1995). Last but not least of the strategies, you may build a sense of satisfaction by reviewing life and asking yourself â€Å"w here am I now†, â€Å"where do I start† and â€Å"where will I end my career†. Procedure of desensitization of trauma, may be used in order to better access memory (Figley, 1995). Controlled empathy influence the development of vicarious trauma. The vicarious trauma syndrome can be developed by anyone in the helping field. It characterizes by a set of symptoms that uses controlled empathy while being exposed to listening or seeing traumatic events. Izzo Carpell-Miller (2009) discussed in their article the importance of controlled empathy, these researchers explained that controlled empathy is being used as an instrument to empower awareness around and it’s the neurological process that contributes to the syndrome of vicarious trauma. For example, when a person is listening to a traumatic event, the brain and the body can be observed that it is not calm, they manifest non-verbal communication. The person listening is absorbing all type of shocking communication, nevertheless, their response is constrained and directed to aid the person who is in pain and suffering. Although, there are two types of empathy, known as controlled empathy and automatic empathy, they are not the same because they have different neurological process in the brain. Controlled empathy process is simply automatic empathy interrupted, that affects the professionals physiological, cognitions, emotions and spiritual health (Hodges Wegner, 1997; Izzo Carpell-Miller, 2009). The brain pattern perceived by an activation of the visual cortex, as the listener hears the traumatic events he/she begins to visualize the events as if they are actual protagonists of the event (Hodges Wegner, 1997; Izzo Carpell-Miller, 2009). The process occurring in the brain at the present time is that the right hemisphere of the brain activates mirrors neurons, which automatically flow routing itself to the left side of the brain, but other brain chemicals hold them back. This process occurs internally and manifests in the behaviors’ of the professionals, when she/he remains calm, cool and collected in front of the client. Basically therapeutic empathy may develop a paradox, because the client wished to be understood, seen and accepted. Strategically controlling the attention of the client becomes essential within treatment process. But, constant controlled empathy can also be hurtful provoking a counterintuitive for each and one of us. When a therapist recognizes that empathy hurts, the clients has been observed how their conflicts has affected them in all aspects, and also how these continue to play throughout the therapeutic relationship and the client’s life. Once the therapist empathy seems to be compromised and getting in the way of treatment progress, therefore, therapist affective attunement begins to play a role in the present relationship. The therapist must recognize a disruption in the interpersonal process between the client and therapist, and addressing what has happened. The main therapeutic idea here is to change the therapeutic conversation from whatever issue was being addressed to focus on the immediate experience of engagement with the therapist. Otherwise, this disengagement can cause interpersonal disruption and trauma. References Bride, B., Radey, M. Figley, C. (2007). Measuring compassion fatigue. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35(3): 155–163. Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York: Brunner/Mazel. Gerding, A. (2012). Prevention of Vicarious Trauma: Are coping strategies enough? Master of Social Work Clinical Research. http://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027context=msw_papers . Izzo, E. Carpell-Miller, V. (2009). Vicarious trauma: The impact of controlled empathy. http://www.selfgrowth.com/print/588454. Hodges, S. Wegner, D. (1997). Automatic and controlled empathy. In: Ickes, W. J. Empathic accuracy. Pp. 311-339. New York: Guilford.

Love in the Western World

This paper will trace in general the different views on love as expressed by the different speakers in Plato’s Symposium and explore in detail the theories of Eros, Philia, Storge and Agape and the bearing it has on the notions of erotic love, filial love, sacrificial love and spiritual love. Another area that will be drawn into focus is the theory of â€Å"platonic love† based on Plato’s hypothesis. The context of the symposium is a get-together of the students of Socrates who get to talking and decide to take turns and speak in praise of Eros, the God of Love. Of the speakers Phaedrus speaks first and talks about the virtuosity Eros promotes in those who experience love. He talks about the awareness that true love can inspire in humans so that man becomes conscious of the noble qualities of honor, loyalty, courage and fidelity. Pausanius is the next to speak and dwells on the different kinds of love, from the common banal love to the higher, spiritual kind of love. The earthy love is not as noble as the intellectual love which is more faithful and elevates the mind and is completely devoid of desire. According to him the pursuit of higher knowledge and wisdom is the more honorable and the wantonness of physical love is shameful. Eryximachus talks about the concept of good love that helps man to be judicious and methodical. Eryximachus is a doctor and philosopher and talks about love beyond relationships, about intellectualism, the love of ideas, concepts and the fine arts like music. He speaks of the advantages love brings to humans, the most important being the ability to discern between honor and dishonor. He believes that there are opposing kinds of loves in every living being including animals and plants. However, true love is achieved through a synthesis of these opposing elements and that it can be the fountain and source of power, friendship and happiness (Plato’s Symposium). Aristophanes, the jester and humorist came up with the concept of love as man in search of his soul mate and partner in order to feel one complete whole. He talks about man being split into half by Zeus for threatening to over run the Gods. Later Zeus modified his terrible act and allowed the two halves to marry as man and woman. It is said that ever since the two halves have been in search of the other. Socrates himself speaks last of all and talks of love as being the human desire for knowledge, wisdom and beauty. Love is the desire for what is beautiful and may not necessarily mean beauty in itself. According to Socrates love is the mere interface between what he desires and the object of his desire. When man has achieved real love he will be able to create beauty, conceptualize perfection and become wise and virtuous. In Greek mythology Eros is one of the three oldest Gods along with Cronos and Chaos and stands for love. The word ‘erotic’ is derived from the God of love, Eros, who encourages and endorses all those who seek him to perform acts of virtue and merit. As has been mentioned before, all those present at the party or symposium have laid down their postulates and have spoken about different kinds of love and what it does for man. To further explore the concept of the various kinds of love let us consider the broad definition of these categories: Agape, Storge, Philia and Eros. Agape stands for spiritual love, the kind of love God has for his creatures and the love man strives to return. This kind of love transcends physical boundaries and is a higher form of love which finds fulfillment in just being there. It kindles spirituality and is perfection itself. Nothing can tarnish this kind of love and to most mortals seems almost impossible to attain. We can find examples of this kind of love in Christianity. In literature, I have found this kind of love being depicted in certain kinds of love lyrics that belong to the Renaissance age. In Petrarch’s poetry for instance, the poet’s object of desire, the enigmatic Laura, is continually shown as someone unreachable. Laura’s eyes are compared to stars; her face is often described as being so radiant as to make looking at her impossible. This imagery often ties up with how the apprehension of God is described in Christianity. Here, the conflict between Eros and Agape is continually present. The poet often feels helplessly tied between the demands of the earthier, physical Eros and the spiritual, the allegedly purer kind of Agape (Houston). Storge is synonymous with love that engenders sacrifice and purity. This is the kind of love parents feel for their children. This kind of love does not wait for reciprocity to grow and is there notwithstanding. The story of Abraham and Isaac is an interesting biblical instance of these two kinds of love where Storge is compelled to be sacrificed for the greater Agape. In order to prove the full extent of his Agape, his total devotion to God, Abraham is asked to sacrifice the thing he loves most. This happens to be Abraham’s son Isaac, the person for who he feels the greatest Storge. In the biblical context, Agape is undeniably higher than Storge. Abraham is therefore first made to prove the full extent of his Agape before God relents and lets him keep the object of his Storge. Other instances of pronounced Storge in literature include the love Cordelia feels for her father, King Lear in Shakespeare’s play. In this case however the Storge is made to complete its sacrifice in a sense because both the king’s beloved daughter and the king himself die in the end. Philia, or brotherly love, exists between friends, brothers and neighbors. This kind of love helps people to bond closely without being passionate or amorous. This kind of love prompts the feeling of camaraderie and brotherhood. A good example at hand would be the kind of love soldiers have amongst each other, where they bond intimately and share their joys and sorrows together without a hint of any physical attraction or manifestations. In Greek history, I have noticed the love depicted in the story of Damon and Pythias to be of this form. In the legend Damon and Pythias both survive Dionysus’ wrath because of their intense love for each other. But in another tale from the bible, the ending is not nearly as fortunate. Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve, at first loved each other in the truest sense of Philia. However, with the preference God showed for Abel’s sacrifice of animals over Cain’s agricultural offerings, Cain’s love turns to intense jealousy and he ends up killing Abel. This is possibly the best known example of Philia getting overturned. Eros is passionate love, which can in most cases be closely linked to physical attraction and sexual love. Eros is often closely associated with the animal kingdom and therefore classically considered to be a lower form. Eros can often contend with Agape as we have seen earlier. And a popular example of this is in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The love that the two young nobles feel for each other is no doubt arising from a certain attraction, or Eros. And yet the manner in which they express their love for each other in a language that is similar to that of Agape. Romeo and Juliet address each other in abject terms, making it a love not of equals but of one subservient to the other. This of course is one of the most common features of Agape. Although classically Eros is considered to be a lower form than Agape, as we have seen discussed in the Symposium, I personally feel this is not entirely fair. It is true that people often consider it nobler to love a person without wanting to possess him or her in a physical or earthly way. By implication this means that a person loves someone for more than their physicality, that is to say a love founded on something deeper than superficial beauty. This is true in theory, but not always in practice. We often find that the Agape is more often than not directed towards someone of higher social standing, or towards a woman who is unreachable, like a noblewoman or even the queen. This amounts to nothing short of sycophancy sometimes. Is it then less hypocritical than loving someone for their appearance? Eros is also equated with the animal kingdom and is therefore considered â€Å"lower. † But why should something, that takes place in the natural world, be considered lower? If animals love each other erotically, does it not make it a more natural, or even a â€Å"higher† love? After all this kind of love is based on the truth of the body’s responses to the beloved; if someone is beautiful and attractive physically, why should it be wrong to feel attraction or love for this person? Even if it is based only on appearances, Eros is more genuine. There is no verbal intrusion that allows lovers to lie to each other or praise each other in hollow terms. Philia too I think is often under-rated in the present generation. Friends can often feel a lot of love between them without it being the Erotic or even the Agape type of love. We have been brainwashed by popular movies and books into always expecting friendships to turn into love as that fits in with the perfect happy ending of the plot. But why should this be? Why is simple, platonic love that expects nothing physical or romantic in return be less of a love than any other kind? After all, is it not nobler for two friends to love each other in spite of the fact that they have nothing physical or romantic to gain from each other? Storge also is often under-appreciated in popular culture. Love that exists within families has become such a rare instance in the days of divorce and estrangement that perhaps more of art needs to depict it now, more than ever. People seem to forget that our families are what we are born into. We carry our parents’ genes and share them with our siblings and nothing or no one else can ever change that. It is true that we are often unfortunate in this regard and there are many children brought into this world in an unloving family, but even so the love that exists between members of the family is something that precedes life itself. Just to think about what a pregnant mother endures for nine months and so many years following the birth, is enough to prove the argument. In conclusion, I think it is fruitless to spend hours debating on which form of love is higher than the others because each kind of love, whether borne out of devotion, lust, filial ties or friendship, is a distinct kind of love. A sort of love that is unique to itself and therefore deserving of special attention. Instead of trying to compare them it is perhaps best to be grateful to know that they all exist.

The Basic Principles Of Ancient Chinese Philosophy

The Chinese region is profound and quite extensive. In Chinese culture and history, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism seem to blend together. In the Shang Dynasty around 2000 BC, the people of China were polytheistic, worshipping many gods at a time. People of this time worshipped their own ancestors as gods, as they believed they became like gods after dying. The basic principles of ancient Chinese philosophy consisted of five features: spiritual existence, morality, harmony, intuition, and practice. The philosophies before the Qin era were marked by various ancient philosophical views. Most influential of these views were those of Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, and Mohism. According to Laurence Thompson, author of Chinese Religion: An Introduction: In China, people did not belong to an institutionalized sect, nor did their religious life have anything to do with signing articles of faint. Religion in China was so woven into the broad fabric of family and social life that there was not even a special word for it until modern times, when one was coined to match the Western term. (Thompson 1) Thus, Chinese religious culture is a profound and deeply intricate part of Chinese life even today. Most of China’s ancient beliefs still exist today and, because of it’s great size and population, subsequently has a larger impact on the modern world than one might think. Although ancient Chinese philosophers studied different kinds of philosophical issues based on experience andShow MoreRelatedThe Life and Work of Confucius Philosophy Essay Confucius1052 Words   |  5 PagesConfucius Philosophy Essay Confucius (551 – 479 BCE), was a thinker, political figure, educator and founder of the Ru School of Chinese thought. Confucius was born at Shang-ping, in the country of Lu. His given name was Kong, but his disciples called him Kong-fu-tse, (i.e. Kong the Master, or Teacher.) 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Why I Was The Only Person Who Was Ready - 1228 Words

My thirteen-year-old mind could not handle waiting idly in an uncomfortable, wooden chair. By that time, my powdered makeup had turned into beads of liquid. â€Å"Can we please leave,† I yelled â€Å"we’re going to be late!† In response to no response, I stood up from my chair and marched into my cousin’s room. I was startled as I walked in on one of the most frantic scenes I had ever witnessed. There were clothes sprawled on the floor, makeup powder on the dresser and jewelry on the bed. My cousins and aunts were running around the room; some were getting ready, some were arguing and some were talking on the phone. The mixture of heat and expensive perfume was asphyxiating. â€Å"We’re going to miss the trip tia !† I failed to understand why I was the only person who was ready. We had all been aware of our reservations for the party boat in Old San Juan for almost a week. â€Å"We’re almost ready Val, go start the car.† Her response was almost humorous because I knew she was nowhere near being ready. On her head, rested her shower cap and in the closet, hung her dress. Respectfully, I continued to follow her orders and accept our inevitable lateness. I was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on February,4th, 1999. Since that day, I have come to the conclusion that no one on the island is familiar with the concept of time. Puerto Ricans often jokingly regard reoccurring tardiness as a common quality. Along with their skewed view of time, they also seem to have an aversion to frugality. Unfortunately,Show MoreRelatedNarrative Essay1068 Words   |  5 Pagessocieties both present and in antiquity have considered it a most serious crime worthy of the harshest of punishment. 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The Impact Of Social Networking On The Privacy Of An...

Communication and technology has turned a new leaf in the chapter of the age of globalization, where the entire world has been turned into a small village. Today, one can sit in one corner of the world and access information with the minutest of details, through the click of a button. For many, whether teenagers, young adults or even mature middle aged professionals, the internet is a second being, sometimes an extension of one’s own self. This has been facilitated by the emergence of social networking – a tool to socialize with friends and make new friends through a virtual medium and also a platform to express one’s views. Observers, thinkers and even psychologists have been debating the good and the bad of the phenomenon of the internet and the effects of social networking that has brought upon ‘a digital era’ and have presented several arguments to highlight their views. Zizi Papacharissi (2010) questions the impact of social networking on the privacy of an individual and presents a picture where she explores how social networking has penetrated into the privacy of a person in her article, Privacy as a Luxury Commodity. This assignment attempts to go deep into the aspects of social networking that can interfere into the privacy of an individual. Privacy compromised for sociality One may choose to be a part of the social networking wave in this ‘digital era’ or may chose to distance themselves from this phenomenon, but there is no denying the impact of socialShow MoreRelatedThe Issue Of Security And Privacy In Social Network Users1023 Words   |  5 Pages The Issue of Security and Privacy in Social Network Users Purpose statement The purpose of the study is to examine the issues related to using of social network users and the applications that offered by the third-party websites and impact of the security and privacy. 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As everything has pros and cons, so doRead MoreAdministrative Ethics1259 Words   |  6 PagesFind a current administrative issue in a newspaper, magazine, or journal article relating to topics such as patient privacy, confidentiality, or HIPAA. Write a 1,050 word paper that includes the following: †¢Describe the issue and its impact on the population it affects most. †¢What arguments or facts are used in the article to support the proposed solution? †¢What are the ethical and legal issues reported for your administrative issue? †¢Explain the managerial responsibilities related to administrativeRead MoreAdministrative Ethics1267 Words   |  6 PagesFind a current administrative issue in a newspaper, magazine, or journal article relating to topics such as patient privacy, confidentiality, or HIPAA. Write a 1,050 word paper that includes the following: †¢Describe the issue and its impact on the population it affects most. †¢What arguments or facts are used in the article to support the proposed solution? †¢What are the ethical and legal issues reported for your administrative issue? †¢Explain the managerial responsibilities relatedRead MoreThe And Social Networking Sites1630 Words   |  7 PagesNext time when you are hiring, do not look at the resume, just â€Å"stalk† the candidate’s Facebook profile page. Social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. are definitely corrosive especially to communities that want to socialize by meeting peers in person, but are societally forced to gain access to such social networking sites. What is the true meaning of social networking? How has it changed in this fast paced society? 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Up to 2010, more than 500 million users globally have been regularly using Facebook (Kirkpatrick, 2010, 2). For this purpose in this essay, social networking site is defined as an online platform where socially related users can communicate and share information with each other, such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Renren. It has long been a question that whether these services brought more

Blue Ocean Strategy Free Essays

string(96) " political hurdles in spite of emitted time and resources† \(Blue Ocean Strategy, 2014\)\." In the past ten weeks, this class has tested me by having to read challenging articles that presented several different strategic theories to us. While all of the theories brought us interesting and valuable information, the one that resonated most with me and stuck out the most was the Blue Ocean Strategy. I have always been someone who enjoys a challenge and I feel that while this theory is a challenge, it has the most potential to bring organizations the greatest amount of success. We will write a custom essay sample on Blue Ocean Strategy or any similar topic only for you Order Now To fully understand why I selected this theory opposed to one of the other ones, I feel that first I need to explain exactly what Blue Ocean Strategy is and who has used it and gained enormous amounts of success. While there are many people who believe taking down the competition is the best plan for their company and will result in huge success, Blue Ocean Strategy does not even factor it into their decision making process as a way to reach success. To discuss Blue Ocean Strategy, we also have to understand Red Ocean Strategy. Red oceans are all other strategies that are currently trying to out-compete one another in hopes of being the one on top. The first thing that comes to mind when I think off taxation such as this is the results of Apple first launching the pod. All a sudden a portable music player like this was what everyone wanted, so other companies started doing the same thing and came out with comparable products such as the Zone. Sadly, no one has been able to reach the success that Apple has when it comes to portable music devices. As you can see from the chart, Microsoft, the creator of Zone, tried to reach success by hitting all five points that were mentioned on the left side of the chart. However, they were unable to do so because they underestimated the demand that the pod was producing. Microsoft as well as other companies tried to compete, but could not maintain as high of a demand as the pod and eventually the market became too crowded and the products eventually became undervalued and over produced. When the creators came out with Zone it sounds like a Hyperventilation strategy was being used. Hyperventilation is defined as rapid and dynamic completion that is escalated on price-quality positioning (Divine, 1998). While a Zone is very similar to an pod, what the creators thought would make them out-sell the pod was that the Zone cost half of what the pod was. While often times cost is a huge consideration when buying a product or service in this case people were willing to pay the extra money and choose the company that used the Blue Ocean Strategy. Potential Risk: Now take a complete 180-degree turn and you have Blue Ocean Strategy. With this strategy, demand is created rather than fought over. By doing this, there is more room for growth that can be quickly profitable. At first when I read the article, I thought to myself that this seemed too risky and why would a company bother using this strategy; after doing a lot of different research on the topic, I have come to the inclusion that there is a minimal amount of risk. I think it is important to realize that with any strategy there is a certain amount of risk, no matter what choice you decided to make. For Blue Ocean Strategy, there are currently six key risks that a company could face (Kim Maneuvering, 2004). Of these six risks, the first four revolve around the creation of the strategy itself and the final two relate to the actual execution of the strategy. Search risk Planning risk Scope risk Business model risk Organizational risk Management risk However, there are six principals represented in Blue Ocean Strategy that are signaled to protect an organization from that risk (Kim Maneuvering, 2004): Reconstruct market boundaries Focus on the big picture, not the numbers Reach beyond existing demands Get the strategic sequence right Overcome key organizational hurtles Build execution into strategy The first principal identifies the direction by which managers can methodically create conclusive market space across diverse industry domains and crippling search risk. It teaches companies how to make the competition irrelevant by looking across the six conventional boundaries of competition to open up commercially important blue oceans† (Blue Ocean Strategy, 2014). The second principal has to do with looking at the big picture and not focusing on Just what the numbers would be, it deals with planning risk. By looking at the big pictur e first and foremost I believe this is why, when using this strategy, there is such long-term success that comes with it. Using a visualizing approach that drives managers to focus on the big picture, this principle proposes a four-step planning process for strategies that create and capture blue ocean opportunities† (Blue Ocean Strategy, 2014). To reach beyond existing demands hose using the Blue Ocean Strategy must challenge the traditional process of aiming for finer segmentation in order to meet existing customer preferences. Instead, this principle, which addresses scale risk, states the importance of aggregating demand, not by focusing on the differences that separate customer but rather by building on the powerful commonalities across uncustomary† (Blue Ocean Strategy, 2014). In order to accomplish correct strategic sequence companies must ensure that their business model will be able to produce and maintain profitable growth. This sequence consists of the followi ng: (1) utility, (2) price, (3) cost, and (4) adoption requirements (Blue Ocean Strategy, 2014). When a company follows this sequence, it addresses the business model risk. The fifth principal is all about overcoming the hurdles that come your way. This is the first principal in the execution portion of the strategy and therefore in this principal the organizational risk is heavily considered. â€Å"This principle mitigates organizational risk, outlining how leaders and manager can surmount the cognitive, resource, motivational, and political hurdles in spite of emitted time and resources† (Blue Ocean Strategy, 2014). You read "Blue Ocean Strategy" in category "Papers" Last, but certainly not least, is building execution into the strategy and this is defined as having the ability to encourage others to execute the strategy in the best way they know how. This principle addresses the management risk associated with people’s attitudes and behaviors. â€Å"By integrating execution into strategy formula, people are motivated to act† (Blue Ocean Strategy, 2014). While there is still a certain amount of potential risk involved in this strategy, you can see that there are several different principals that were created to eliminate said risk. Cost and Value: A lot of traditional strategies state that you much choose if you want to be known for cost or for value. However, when deciding to use Blue Ocean Strategy, it is possible to have both differentiation and low cost. If you look to the chart to the right you can see that Blue Ocean Strategy has figured out that the key to value innovation is equal parts cost and buyer value. While the chart makes it look simple, in order for this to happen, utility, price, and cost all need to be aligned. By driving both the cost down and the value, the product has the potential to meet so many more people. A really good example of this balance is the Ford Model T. In 1908, Henry Ford was a person with vision who created a company and a product that was not in the market. He made it price friendly so that people could actually afford it and it would fall under the category of value pioneering. When the Model T first came out in 1908, it cost $ 850. 00, which was half the price of anything else out there at the time (Kim Maneuvering, 2004). The key to success in this example was not using the competition as a benchmark. While Henry Ford could have followed everyone else and created a actionable and customizable car, he knew that it was not what the market needed; they needed affordability and reliability. Long Term Viability: When a company or organization is in the process of selecting a strategy to use, they want something that will not only last a long time, but also help them build a brand. There have been several companies that have used Blue Ocean Strategy and have had decades of brand equity (Kim Maneuvering, 2004). Companies will be happy with the results that many have and are expected to continue to use Blue Ocean Strategy multiple times. Blue Ocean vs.. Strategic Supremacy through Disruption and Dominance: Almost the opposite of Blue Oceans is the theory of strategic supremacy, which has been influenced by hyperventilation and understanding the relationships in this theory. By understanding the interaction between strategy and environment, managers can better tailor their strategies to the environment or change the environment to their advantage. This begins with analyzing the current competitive environment (opposite of Blue Oceans) then understanding the rules of the game in that industry. Simply put, the leaders in the industry control the â€Å"rules of the game†, if they do something, he smaller brands will follow to compete. Having the ability to control the rules of the game and controlling the evolution of the market and its competition is part of strategic supremacy. Sometimes old leaders in an industry do not want to change and this gives new entrants an opportunity to sneak in and disrupt the rules of the game and use it to their advantage. Overall, this strategy is all about controlling your market at large and if you do not have the caliber to do this, then you find a niche market to focus on. When competitors disrupt the â€Å"rules of the game† then it comes a competitive battle. When this happens, it eventually turns into a Red Ocean. Leaders often are in their position because they have battled with lowering prices and are able to compete with lower margins. If a leading competitor was disrupted by a new entrant with lower prices it would change the game and they would be forced to lower their prices or create a new strategic approach to beating the new threat. In this business strategy, I think it leads to saturation in the market where there really isn’t a new value for the customer; they Just battle over perceived values, marketing and price wars. If you are someone who is going to enter into a particular market strong, would you rather go into a bloody war with dominant leaders and try to find a way to sneak past them and out into the market with the threat of them copying you and crushing you because they have deeper pockets and more control or avoid this fight and go where nobody else has gone? I think that many existing firms find themselves battling for strategic supremacy and if you are a new business, you should let them fight and enter the market through a Blue Ocean Strategy instead, but you are also never too old to use your brand equity and create a ewe space. Blue Ocean Strategies vs.. Coping with Hyperventilation: Companies regularly struggle to sustain their competitive advantages and the reality is that no advantage is sustainable. Technological wonders can happen overnight, aggressive competitors enter the market, organizations are restricted, new laws change the field, markets and trends appear and fade away. In a hypersensitive environment companies must disrupt the advantages of their competitors. To fight back with this, managers must apply the g’s according to this theory to analyze industries and competitions strengths and weaknesses. Huge companies that were once thought to be untouchable have been brought to their knees, such as IBM GM. Having economies of scale, large advertising power, deep pockets and all the other things that give them buyer and supplier power is no longer enough. â€Å"Leadership in price and quality is also not enough to assure success. Being first is not always the same as being best. Entry barriers are trampled down or circumvented. Goliath are brought down by clever Davis with slingshots. Welcome to the world of hyperventilation† (Divine, 1995). According to Divine, companies cake progress in hyperventilation by actively disrupting advantages to others in order to adapt the market to themselves; this is done by applying the g’s framework. The new g’s framework is: Superior stakeholder satisfaction, strategic soothsaying, positioning for speed, positioning for surprise, shifting the rules of the game, signaling strategic intent and simultaneous and sequential strategic thrusts. Before going further in depth with applying these g’s, this would seem like a very bloodthirsty strategy to destroy your opponents. When you strike first, you better be ready to take a hit or keep swinging. I am not saying that this is not the way to compete, but I am saying that it is not the best way to be in business or enter. Hyperventilation is a Red Ocean Strategy and all of these battle tactics do not have to be your fundamental strategy in a Blue Ocean. Moving on, these g’s are only based on a strategy of finding and building temporary advantages in the market. These advantages are from market disruption and not sustaining advantages because of the reasons mentioned in the beginning of this paragraph. Looking at the chart below, you can see the qualities of competition in different levels of competition. The g’s are about paying in the 4th category whereas Blue Ocean Strategy is about figuring out a way to compete in the first or second category. Even if you are a company who is part of hyperventilation it does not mean you have to play a part of the price war, you can use your branding and find a way into an area of more moderate competition. Blue Ocean vs.. The Core Competence of the Corporation Another theory of competitive advantage is in the knowledge and diversity of core competencies. Focusing on your core competencies creates unique, integrated systems that reinforce your business model. Once you clarify your competencies, then you will know how to support them, increasing your competitive advantage and reducing the ability of a competitor copying you. The theory states that once you establish your competencies you must enhance them by investing in needed technologies and creating strategic alliances. This theory seems to be not as brutally competitive as some of the other theories. It is difficult to argue because identifying your company’s core competencies is indeed very important for strategic decisions and success. The reason I believe Blue Ocean Strategy is still a stronger strategy is imply because I do not believe that understanding your core competencies alone will be a sustainable enough advantage. There will still be competitors who change the game, new technologies and entrants that will emerge and I do not think that focus on your competencies are enough in a highly competitive market. In a Blue Ocean Strategy you do not need to worry about the competition as much. This theory points out that your competition may not be able to copy you as easily but that does not mean that they wont be able to take more of the marketplace. For these reasons, I think blue ocean is still the smartest strategy. Blue Ocean vs.. Resource Based View of the Firm The resource based view of the firm (RUB) is a basis for the competitive advantage of a firm that is based on application of their tangible and intangible resources. By doing this a business can transform their short-run competitive advantage into a more sustained competitive advantage. The basic idea is that you first identify potential key resources within your organization. Next, evaluate if the resources are valuable, rare, in-imitable, non-substitutable and other criteria. By protecting and sustaining these resources you can achieve greater organizational success. Similarly to understanding the core competencies of your business, this business strategy is also difficult to argue. A business should evaluate their resources and these resources may very well be their core competencies especially if they are rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. I believe that simply having a resource based view does not protect you from changes in the market, always or guarantee long-term sustainability or competitive advantage. As mentioned before, technology advances happen overnight and these types of changes can make resources obsolete. Example of Successful Blue Ocean Strategy – Apple: Sometimes the only way to fully understand something is by looking at examples to get a better idea. In my opinion, the most successful company using a Blue Ocean Strategy has been Apple. A game changer for Apple was when they launched what we know of today as tunes. In 2003, they launched tunes, which to this day has changed the way people buy and enjoy music (Blue Ocean strategy, 2014). They saw a need in the market for digital music that was not illegally downloaded and were able to fill the need by providing clear music that was priced reasonably. One of the biggest perks of this is because there are a lot of people that only want one or two songs and no longer need to purchase the entire CD. They have been able to maintain their success by launching a program that was easy for users to use and provide great customer service; it was very difficult for others to even try to replicate. Apple did not want to stop there and saw another chance to move a new idea into the market when they came out with the pad. Apple was getting people to move away from laptops and cheap notebooks and offered customers an entirely new experience. With billions of dollars of success, we have to wonder what they know that others cannot seem to figure out. I feel the biggest reason why this is happening is because they are focusing on the end user. Apple continues to create projects that are solely customer driven. Also, they do an excellent Job highlighting their assets. For example, do you ever wonder why people get so excited when a new model of their device comes out? It is because Apple markets the parts that others want. I once watched a documentary that claimed when the pad 2 came out, it was almost exactly he same with the exception of the size and weight. This attracted business because the pad is portable and can travel anywhere. A theory that shares similar characteristics to Blue Ocean Strategy is Core Competency by C. K. Parallax and Gary Hammer; the products and services that are produced with this theory is hard to replicate (Hammer Parallax, 1990). However, Blue Ocean Strategy stands out since they created a market of their own and they have a much greater chance of focusing on things like pricing. It is something that no one has ever seen before so it gets a lot of attention right off the back. Example of Successful Blue Ocean Strategy – WI: Another company who has displayed success as a result of Blue Ocean Strategy is Microsoft when they created the WI. Video games are a billion dollar industry and companies continue to try and top their competitors with what they can provide consumers. Instead of fighting this trend, Microsoft decided to ignore the standard features that most video game consoles offer, such as built in DVD players and low processor speed; and in its place offer us something that no one had ever imagined: a censored video game that requires the movement of the player (Stewarded, 2007). In the article, Nineteen’s Blue Ocean Strategy: WI, the author writes, â€Å"In Kim Embrasure’s terms, this means that while Microsoft’s Oxbow and Sonny’s ASS are fighting each other fiercely in a red ocean (I. E. The existing market), Nineteen’s WI is calmly sailing in the blue ocean it created for itself (I. E. A new market)† (Stewarded, 2007). This was an extremely successful strategy, to put WI into the market because not only did it attract video game users but also brought in a whole other market. When it first came out, I was surprised and shocked to see the gaming system in my grandfather’s nursing home. I soon learned that not only were the gaming systems being placed in nursing homes all over the country, but they were also being placed in physical therapy and rehab centers. I believe this example especially proves that Blue Ocean Strategy is superior to Michael Porter’s Theory. If Microsoft were to follow Porter’s theory instead, they would have looked at the OXBOW or ASS gaming system and did something comparable because he believes that you should try to top the competition (Porter, 1996). This leaves very little room for creativity and the chance to create something as innovated as an interactive video games. Conclusion: â€Å"The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition†. As you can see, Blue Ocean Strategy has a lot to offer companies and organizations that wish to succeed. Out of the eight strategies that we learned about, I feel that not only is Blue Ocean Strategy most different from all the others, but also offers people the most potential. Instead of going off what is already out there or creating something that resembles something else, Blue Ocean Strategy decides to do the exact opposite and create something that is not already out there. How to cite Blue Ocean Strategy, Papers

Managing Customer Engagement Communities †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Managing Customer Engagement Communities? Answer: Introduction The main purpose of this research is to explore the effect of brand image up on the level of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Brand image is one of the essential components of any company, which intends to maintain high level of reputation among target group of customers. The impression that exist in the mind of the customer is believed to be one of the essential driving factor in marketing decisions of brand choice and buying behaviour. The current research proposal will provide a plan to investigate all types of factors which decides upon the brand image of a company thereby affecting the level of customer satisfaction. Background The branding is believed to be one of the powerful tools, which is used by all categories of company to attract the target customer groups. The perceptions that exist within the mind of the customer, is highly dependent upon the strength of brand image and brand awareness. It is also relevant to mention that the brand image also plays a significant part in retaining the customers, thereby increasing the level of customer loyalty. According to Hapsari et al. (2016), brand image is believed to be one of the effective psychological factors, which influences upon the decision taken by the customers while choosing any particular product of a brand. The process of purchasing is believed to be a combination of various types of mental and physical activity that ends up with the product that every customer purchases from a particular brand. It is one of the essential areas of Investigation for all market researchers to depend upon the perception level of the customers to decide upon the marke ting strategies. In fact majority of the marketing strategy and planning are aimed to increase the level of brand image and awareness among the customers. It is relevant to mention in this context that customer satisfaction rate is one of the important parameter which decides upon the level of business success. With high level of customer satisfaction, it is possible for all types of companies to maintain high brand image and reputation. Brand management is an essential part of all types of marketing activities, which decides upon the level of customer retention capability of a company. Research Problem In the context of current days, where the customers are highly aware about the quality of product and brand reputation, it is essential for all successful companies to maintain the level of brand image in order to satisfy the needs of the customer. Brand image is also believed to be one of the essential elements of gaining competitive advantage in the Global market. The research problem in this context that are encountered by most of the business organisations is due to the fact that they are and not able to maintain high reputation of the brand due to the increase level of awareness and changes in consumer market, which are occurring at a rapid rate. Moreover the high level of challenging competition is also causing major issue in the matter of brand sustainability. Research Objectives Following are the objectives of the current research proposal To explore the factors that affect the brand image and reputation of a business organisation To explore the factors, which decides upon the level of customer satisfaction To establish a relationship between brand image and brand reputation with that of the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty Effect of brand image on brand equity According to Wirtz et al. (2013), brand equity is one of the important parameters, which decides upon the commercial value of a company that exist within the mind-set and perception of the target customer groups. The brand name or perception is believed to be the major identity that is recognised by the customer, while they are making decisions about purchasing any product. Saeed et al. (2013), have added in this context that brand equity provides a premium value all the product and services of a company, which is compared to all other product of equivalent genre. The customer perception plays the most important part in providing value to a brand and its level of equity. It is essential for the company to provide valuable knowledge to the customers about the features of the service or product that is been offered in the market. This knowledge and information that are being provided to the customer, ultimately creates a negative and positive impression. This perception is believed to be ultimately responsible for the level of brand image and awareness that exist within the target group of customer. As per the research of Zhang (2015), positive impression not only affect the process of brand choosing, it can also decide upon the level of Expenditure that a customer is willing to pay for a particular brand of product. For example, a customer may be willing to spend huge amount for a product of reputed brand compared to that of a lesser known brand. This is mainly economy they have a perception of relying upon the quality provided by the reputed brands. This perception can help to improve upon the level of trust and reliability that customers show up on any particular brand. Brand equity is also one of the important parameter as per the research of Bowen, and Chen (2015), when a company wants to expand its product line. Positive level of brand equity, which is usually gained with the help of positive brand image, can encourage the company to introduce new product and service in the market, which can easily gain popularity with the help of high level of brand reputation among target customer. Positive level of brand equity can also encourage the customer to buy the new products. According to Ene and Ozkaya (2014), brand equity can also help to measure the level of strength of the company and its existing performance level in a consumer market. The external business environment can also contribute largely in influencing the level of brand equity. Hence it can be said that brand equity is one of the essential component of a company's asset that has a strong interconnection with brand image and brand name along with the symbol, which is an essential element of brand recognition. Brand equity is therefore responsible for providing the value in the mind-set of the customers about any particular product. Deviation and changes in brand loyalty along with brand image One of the very basic elements of marketing research is about the fact that it is essential to have a positive relationship between brand image and brand usage, which is one of the oldest concept of marketing. Positive relationship has often been used by the Brands in their promotional activities, which can improve upon the existing popularity of a company among target group of customers. This positive relationship between the brand and its target audience is believed to be the essential component of brand loyalty, which is developed over the years in order to improve the level of brand awareness (Huang et al. 2014). It is often believed as per the research work of Nyadzayo and Khajehzadeh (2016), brand with greater market share is most likely to have greater level of brand image, then all the Rival business firms. Similarly it can be said that companies with lower level of market share generally is seen to have significantly low level of brand loyalty and thereby do not have the ability to retain customers. This term is referred to have double jeopardy pattern, which was also mentioned in the research paper of Zameer et al. (2015) and have focused upon its importance upon deciding upon the factors related to customers buying behaviour. This is also one of the important benchmark in understanding the irregular changes in the buying behaviour of the customer and their tendency to switch over brands of same genre. It can also help to decide upon the buying psychology of the customers, who are dependent upon less reputed brands. It is important to mention in this context that the sustainability of the brand image is also one of the essential components, which can help to decide upon the level of customer loyalty and the capability of a business organisation to retain upon its old customers. From the data which is obtained from the research work of Chao et al. (2015), it has been seen that introduction of new brands and new market entrants has significantly affected the level of brand loyalty of the customers. This is mainly due to the fact that in the current days the customers are easily attracted towards the brands, which are introducing new offers and discounts within the market. On the other hand, Saleem and Raja (2014) have argued upon this fact by mentioning that the level of customer loyalty is irrelevant the factors related to new entrants in the market mostly due to the fact that a group of customers, do not have high level of trust about the quality of the materials that are used in the product man ufacture. Nevertheless, it is one of the important areas of marketing research, which determines upon the level of brand loyalty and its relationship with brand image. It is often one of the major challenges for marketing researchers to establish a fixed theory to interrelate the matters related to brand image and brand loyalty. This is mostly due to the fact of irregular change in behaviour of the customers buying behaviour. Brand Switching and its effects The tendency of the customers to switch over various brands is one of the major factors that can help to determine the level of customer satisfaction. It is relevant to mention that one of the important causes of changing of brands for a customer is due to the fact that they are either not satisfied with the existing brand product or they are expecting better quality of product from the new brand. In both the cases, switching over of the brands by customers can great compromise upon the reputation of an organisation. This can in turn have serious effect on the brand image. It is essential for every companies to ensure that their existing customers is having high level of satisfaction, otherwise there is a chance that they might switch over to some other brands thereby compromising upon the profit margin and business reputation. Gaps in Literature In spite of the fact that wide range of research have been conducted about the factors related to relationship between customer satisfaction and brand image, existing gap is due to the fact that the current literature have not focused on the ways, which can help the companies to determine ways to retain customers and thereby maintain upon their existing reputation. Research methodology It is important for the current research investigation to follow certain methodological steps in order to execute the purpose of the study in systemic manner. The current section will highlight upon the research methods which will be used in the current investigation work. Proper justification will also be provided for each type of Research Design that will be implemented in the following case. With the help of appropriate research method it is possible to collect proper and relevant data about the research subject, which will help the researchers to draw proper conclusion. Research Design With the help of accurate Research Design it is possible to integrate different components of the investigation, thereby making an effective strategy. With the help of effective Research Design it is possible to address the research problem by properly collecting relevant information, which can be the blueprint of the overall investigation. Gast and Ledford (2014), have mentioned above Three Types of Research Design, which can be implemented by the researchers depending upon the type of Investigation work and also the type of data that are needed for respective cases. The exploratory type of Research Design is dependent upon the collected information from previous research works. On the other hand the descriptive Research Design deals with the detail type of investigation, which is based upon the current situation of the research subject area. There is also the process of hypothetical Research Design, where the researchers have to deal with the effective hypothesis to make the resear ch design. Current research work will focus upon descriptive Research Design, which will ensure relevant data about the matters related to the customer perception towards the matter of brand name and brand recognition. It can also ensure that the research is done with the help of all types of proper data that are being collected before the conclusion is drawn. Research Philosophy There are two types of research philosophy,which can help in the process of examining the issue related to the research work. According to Panneerselvam (2014), the positivism research philosophy is believed to give effective test result in order to properly identify the research problem that is best according to therelevant collected information. It can help to draw a logical conclusion and evaluationfrom the collected data related to the research issue. On the other hand the interpretivist research philosophy, which will be used in the current research work,helps to deal with the matter related to the social issues of the research work. It can help to deal with the human factors, which are associated with the concept of brand imaging. Hence, it is possible to draw a relationship between the level of customer satisfaction and image of the brand. The positivism research philosophy cannot be applied in this context due to the fact that it is not possible to evaluate the social factor related to research, which is the main subject area of the current research work. Data Collection Methods The data collection procedure is the most important part of the research methodology, which can ensure that proper data relevant to the research subject area are being collected that is needed to draw proper conclusion. It is also important to ensure that proper method of Data Collection are being applied, which will ensure only relevant and genuine data are being collected from the fixed sample size. Vaioleti (2016), hasmentioned that there are two types of Data Collection method which are generally implemented in all types of research work. In primary data collection method,the researchers are dependent upon direct information collecting from the sample size. This can be done with the help of interview and survey of the selected sample size. Proper survey questionnaire and interview questions are designed in order to collect relevant information related to the research topic. On the other hand, secondary data relies upon information that is being collected from the previously condu cted research work of the same subject area. For the given research work, the investigators will depend upon both primary and secondary types of data, which will ensure all types of relevant information related to the relationship between customer satisfaction and brand image are being properly analysed before drawing the conclusion. From the secondary sources it is possible to compare the current data with that of the previous research work, which focused upon various factors related to level of customer satisfaction and brand recognition. With the help of both forms of primary and secondary data it is possible for the researcher to compare the changes, which are occurring in the consumer market. Sample Size and Methods There are two types of sampling method, which can be used by the researcher to decide upon the sample size to collect relevant information. The random sampling method is used to select the sample size, which are not predetermined at the initial stage. In this case the sample size is determined by probable method. There is also the method of non-probability Sampling size, where the researcher collects relevant data from the given group of sample, which have been determined initially before the start of the research (Silverman 2016). In the given case the researchers will collect data from random probable sample size. The approx. sample size that are predetermined are 10-20 business organisations of Australia, where the researchers will collect data related to their brand image and also conduct interview of the company management of the strategies they are implementing in the context of improving their brand image. The researchers will also conduct survey from random sample size of nearly 100 customers from each of the chosen business organisations. The customers will be selected on random basis, which will ensure wide range of data are being collected and thereby help to determine the factors related to customer satisfaction. Data analysis The researcher will analyse the collected data from the given sample size with the help of both quantitative and qualitative tools. The quantitative data analysis process will use the statistical data and thereby use proper statistical tools in order to draw conclusions from collected information (Flick 2015). There are also the qualitative analysis tools, which will help to provide proper explanation by implementing and initiating proper themes related to the research subject. Ethical considerations The ethical considerations are an important area of the research work, which helps to ensure that there are no unfair means adapted to collect data for the research work. For example while conducting the interview and survey it is the duty of the research workers to take proper permission from the authority in order to collect information. It is also their duty to not enforce any customers to participate in the survey work (Taylor et al. 2015). While collecting data from the secondary sources, which are from the previously conducted research work and Research articles, it is the duty of the investigators to take proper permission from the copyright holders. With the help of the ethical considerations, it is possible to ensure that the conclusion drawn from the research work is reliable and can be used as a source of future reference. Limitations The major limitations which will be faced by the researcher are due to the shortage of time and budget that is needed to collect all data relevant to the research work. 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