Motivation Factor Toward Vitamin Supplement

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background of the Research Vitamin supplements bring added nutritional values to people’s health. With their contents of the certain recommended amount of minerals and vitamins needed for staying healthy, vitamin supplements have become more and more popular especially for those with hectic and busy lifestyles. These people believe that daily or regular consumption of vitamin supplements helps to ensure the proper intake of nutrition needed—a compensation for what they might have missed or lost as a result of workload or lifestyle.Unlike medicines or drugs for any medicinal purpose, vitamin supplements are taken for various reasons. Strength, health, and energy seem to take the lead as the top priorities, while illusions of youthfulness, fear of lack of complete nutrients, or long term protection follow. As work life and lifestyle in the global community have become more dynamic and healthy meals with proper dining are rare, people have resor ted more to the help of vitamin supplements. Advertising plays a major part in creating more desire for vitamin supplements.Several marketing schemes of pharmaceutical manufacturers make a continued bombardment of publicity, using both soft and hard persuasion to convince consumers believe in the efficacy of vitamin supplements. These movements create motivational factors for consumers, and their reasons for consumption of vitamin supplements can be endless. Modern lifestyle and work behavior remain the catalyst for the market viability of vitamin supplements. While vitamin supplements aim to maintain the good health of their consumers, they could deteriorate health in many ways.Natural nutrition is certainly better than short-cut nutrition. The market, the manufacturers, and the consumers who live a fast-paced lifestyle should look for equilibrium of vitamin supplement exposure. The supplements should help enhance people’s wellbeing, instead of benefiting certain groups. 1. 1. 1 Consumption of Vitamin Supplements Nowadays, people are concerned about their health and they think that they do not eat proper, well-balanced, and nutritious foods which results in a lack of key vitamins, illness, and poor health.This is especially true of businessmen and office workers because, as the world is moving at a busy and faster pace, they spend most of the time working, which uses all their mental and physical energy, and sometimes they are very stressed and do not often eat proper food and rely instead on junk food or fast food because of its convenience. Therefore, these people purchase vitamin supplements to prevent nutritional deficiencies. People do not purchase and consume food supplements or health products as a cure.They purchase and consume then because they think vitamin supplements can help them improve their quality of life. There are several motivational factors that encourage business people or office workers to purchase vitamin supplements which creat e the demand in the market. The market for vitamin supplements has increased significantly because they have the need to consume vitamin supplements which play an important role in providing nutrition which supports and maintains their good health. 1. 2 Statement of the ProblemConsumers of vitamin supplements are mostly business people in the central business districts (CBD) of any of the big cities in the world. Bangkok is no exception. With increasing stress, workload, and the hectic lifestyle of many CBDs in Bangkok, Thai business people try to keep their health stable by consuming more vitamin supplements, rather than observing proper gastronomy. Vitamin supplements of imported and local brands flood the shelves of trendy drug stores like Boots and other popular dispensaries.GNC, an American brand of vitamin supplements, has started to appear around downtown Bangkok’s shopping malls. Competition among manufacturers of vitamin supplements has become fierce, while several c onsumers have started to realize the side-effects of long-term intake of vitamin supplements. The issues of both the pharmaceutical market’s competitiveness and growing awareness of natural nutrients seem to be intertwined within the consumers’ minds.This study therefore aims to identify the motivational factors of the consumers in CBD Bangkok in their purchase intention of vitamin supplements. Recognizing the motivational factors reveals the consumers’ rationale and the impact of marketing techniques that have brought vitamin supplements to their present status. Manufacturers—both at home and abroad—will benefit from realizing consumers’ motivational factors, so that they are able to plan their research well and develop the technical and marketing sides.Surely Thailand, as a tropical country where herbs and pharmaceutical ingredients are found in abundance for making good vitamin supplements, can partake in this fierce competition with succ ess, while the imported brands are ready to compete in any overseas market. However, if vitamin supplements are to become an essential food for people in CBD, all parties concerned need to use studies of consumers’ motivational factors to determine directions that not only yield a healthy result to the consumers but help them avoid risks too. . 3 Research Questions 1. What motivates business people in central business district (CBD) to purchase vitamin supplements? 2. What characterizes the profile of business people of central business district (CBD) in relationship with their consumption of vitamin supplements? 1. 4 Research Objectives 1. To identify motivational factors of business people in buying vitamin supplements; 2. To describe characteristics and behavior of business people in relation to their decision to purchase vitamin supplements; and, 3.To describe the characteristics and behavior of business people in relation to their decision to consume vitamin supplements. 1. 5 Scope of the Research This research aims to understand motivational factors affecting purchase intention regarding office workers and vitamin supplements. The research will break down into four main variables which constitute Individual Characteristics, Situational and Attitudinal Factors, Motivational Factors, and Purchase Intention of vitamin supplements. The target population was around the Silom area which it is the center of the business area and the most crowded place in Bangkok.The respondents were executive managers, senior managers, and managers or work in lower positions. 1. 6 Limitation of the Research This research was conducted in the Silom area because it is a central business area of office workers. Hence, the result of the research might be different if data are collected from other areas because of difference in demographics and individual characteristics. 1. 7 Significance of the Research The importance of this study is primarily focused on understanding what motivates office workers in terms of the benefits of, and their intent to purchase vitamin supplements.The outcome will be able to help people concerned about the need to consume vitamin supplements through studies of the motivational factors to determine the directions that provide a healthy result to office workers as well as to characterize their individual profiles regarding the intent to purchase vitamin supplements. It will also be useful for marketers to help them analyze and evaluate this study to assist marketing management in marketing decisions and formulating strategies to increase efficiency. 1. 8 Definition of Terms Central Business District (CBD) – the central district of a city or it is office or retail center of the city. In this study, the survey was conducted in the Silom area as it is the center of the business area and suitable for understanding motivational factors on purchase intention of office workers which are the target of this study. * Vitamin sup plements – vitamin supplements help provide a consistent source of necessary vitamins and nutrition. People who are busy in their working life and do not eat properly would benefit from taking vitamin supplements.CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 Theories 2. 1. 1 Individual Characteristics Individual characteristics can be classified in many ways such as age, gender, educational level, income and personal appearance. It can refer to a set of personal traits of individuals (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000). Individual characteristics can be described demographically or physically. Individual characteristics are unique. Some people may have the same characteristics in some areas just as some people may look Asian but no one person is identified to another.People will have different characteristics. According to Beatty and Smith (1987), and Mitchell (1993), demographic factors can fall into one category of individual characteristics which gender and age are mostly described as factors that usually affect consumer behavior. Additionally, we can include other individual characteristics such as educational level, working position and income, household size and time that spent on groceries shopping as factors that affect consumer behavior as well. Educational level can strongly affect consumer behavior.People with a higher education tend to spend more time searching for information and are willing to try something new in the market. Some products are designed for and required by highly-educated person such as laboratory equipment, international textbooks, etc. A Less educated person may seek and consume ordinary or routine products. They tend to have less awareness of new innovative products. Working status and income are perfectly related to each other. People cannot gain an income if they do not work. Income levels vary according to working status and position.Working status and income are usually used as influential factors that could affect consumer behavior. The re is no market when there is no income. Income is required by profitable markets. What people can afford affects the products that people are likely to buy. Therefore, income is often one of the most popular demographic factors used to study the effects of consumer behavior. A household is an individual who lives alone or a group of individuals living together in a common dwelling, regardless of whether they are related.Households can be cohabitating couples who are unmarried and the opposite sex, same sex or simply roommates. Household size is determined by the number of people who live in the dwelling. Household size could affect buying decisions and consumer behavior. Logically, each household is likely to buy and consume different products at different quantities. Lastly, for individual characteristics, time spent on groceries is the number of hours spent grocery shopping per week. According to the study of Goodman (2008), over 32 million American adults shop at a grocery store on a typical day.That is a large population density in grocery shops which could be a potential market for marketers. The time spent grocery shopping may affect the buying behavior of consumers in terms of buying more other products. 2. 1. 2 Situational and Attitudinal Factors Consumer behavior of individuals could be affected by the individual’s needs, benefits sought, attitudes, motivation and purchasing situation. Since people have different attitudes, beliefs and situations, consumer behavior of each person will be expressed differently as well.Situational factors are all those factors related to the time and place of observation which do not require the knowledge of a person. These factors could strongly affect consumer behavior (Beck, 1975). People may act and consume differently in different purchasing situations. Time influences a purchase situation. Attitudinal factors are related to an individual’s tendency toward a specific thing and it is also a personâ₠¬â„¢s propensity to be persistent and consistent.Attitude encompasses general knowledge and constitutes the cognitive, emotions, and actions. When an individual holds a positive attitude toward a target, he or she will hold the same attitude toward a similar target (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005). According to the study of Kim and Chung (2011), health consciousness and appearance consciousness could affect consumer behavior. People who are at the stage of health and appearance consciousness do care about the desired stage of well-being and are willing to put in hard effort to maintain this.People with high health and appearance consciousness tend to spend more time searching for information on healthy living and they are likely to buy more vitamin supplements and other related health products. According to the Oxford English Dictionaries, a special diet means a special course of food to which people restrict themselves with either the purpose to lose weight or for medical reasons. It impli es a specific intake of vitamin supplements or nutrition for weight management and health purposes. Grocery shopper can be used to measure motivation regarding consumer perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.The more involved grocery shoppers go shopping by themselves and are more likely to employ purchase strategies that will enhance their purchase intention (Smith & Carsky, 1996). A meal planner is also the same, according to Moore and Lehmann (1980), who found that an individual who is a meal planner or who prepares food seems to be more involved in purchase intention. Hence, they will be concerned about their food and nutrition and if they think they may lack benefits from their meals, they will be more likely to purchase vitamin supplements. . 1. 3 Motivational factors and product class involvement factors Consumer motivation is described as the influences that lead a consumer’s behavior toward a goal (Wang, 2001). Motivational factors are identified as a set of specific factors that influence motivation to individual needs. According to Drichoutis, Lazaridis, and Nayga Jr, (2007), this study defines price, nutrition, ease of intake, brand, and advertisement as variables in a measurement of product involvement, referred to by Moorthy (1997), which in this case is vitamin supplements.In addition, Rose (1994), and Thayer (1997) both concluded that these factors are important in consumer purchase intention. Price has a psychological impact that is used to influence consumer purchasing power. Nutrition can be defined as food or nourishment that is needed to keep growing, healthy, and to support life. Ease of intake has an emphasis on the convenience and difficulties of taking vitamin supplements. Brand enables a consumer to easily identify products of a particular company and decide to purchase them.Advertisement reflects an increasing trend in which people are concerned about their health. 2. 1. 4 Purchase Intention Purchase intention is a measurement of the possibility that a consumer will purchase a product and if the purchase intention is high, there is more chance that the consumer is willing to purchase a product. Purchase intention indicates consumers will follow their experience, preference, and motivation to collect information then evaluate their choices and choose alternatives so they can make a decision to purchase a product (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000).Purchase intention also leads consumers to not just purchase a product once but to repeatedly purchase or repurchase a product and to recommend it to others. Customers repurchase intention depends on the value obtained in their previous transactions (Wathne, 2001; Kaynak, 2003; Bolton, 2000). So purchase intention is based on that value with a relationship with expected future benefits. Recommendation in purchase intention is consumers who are willing to recommend others to purchase the same products that they bought (Olaru, Purchase, & Peterson, 2008).CHAPTER 3 FRAMEWOR K AND METHODOLOGY 3. 1 Theoretical Framework 1. Figure 3. 1 – Drichoutis, A. C. , Lazaridis, P. , & Nayga Jr, R. M. (2007). An assessment of product class involvement in food-purchasing behavior. This study aims to use the following framework to access the factors affecting the importance of different aspects such as price, taste, nutrition, ease of intake, and brand name of products (which in this study is food). The overall involvement with food, based on attribute importance, is affected by attitudinal factors and Socio-economic.In this framework, it provides different profiles of consumers who are not involved or more involved with food based on specific aspects. 2. Figure 3. 2 – Kim, H. Y. , & Chung, J. E. (2011). Consumer purchase intention for organic personal care products. The proposal of this framework attempts to study the effects of consumer values and past experience on consumer purchase intention of organic products and to consider the effect of perceived behavioral control on the attitude intention relationship by using the theory of planned behavior. . 2 Conceptual Framework Individual Characteristics * Age * Gender * Education * Work position * Income * Household Size * Time Spent on Grocery Shopping Figure 3. 3 – Motivational factors on purchase intention of vitamin supplements Purchase Intention * Purchase * Repurchase * Recommend others to purchase Motivational Factors * Price * Nutrition * Ease of Intake * Brand * Advertisement (trend) Situational & Attitudinal Factors * Health Consciousness * Appearance Consciousness * Special Diet Status * Grocery Shopper Meal Planner After clearly understand two theoretical frameworks, the conceptual framework in this research aims to study motivational factors on purchase intention of vitamin supplements regarding office workers in the Silom area. First of all, it is necessary to study individual characteristics of office workers and how these affect purchases of vitamin supplement s. Second, the study aims to identify situational and attitudinal factors that effect on consumer motivation leading to purchase of vitamin supplements.Third, the study aims to consider motivational factors of office workers and their effect on purchase intention of vitamin supplements. 3. 2. 1 Individual Characteristics The demographic factors are included in the individual characteristics category. Gender and age are factors that affect consumer behavior. Moreover, this study used education, working position, income, and household size as factors to further evaluate consumer characteristics to indicate how this effects their motivation and purchase intention of vitamin supplements.This research suggests these factors are crucial to profile consumers that intend to purchase vitamin supplements. 3. 2. 2 Situational & Attitudinal Factors This research defines health consciousness, appearance consciousness, special diet status, grocery shopper, and meal planner under situational and a ttitudinal factors. People who are concerned about their desired state of well-being or require a special course of nutrition are likely to make an effort to maintain a healthy life, and are interested in caring about their appearance, by purchasing vitamin supplements.People who go shopping and prepare meals themselves are more likely to purchase vitamin supplements because these situational and attitudinal factors can influence and motivate an individual’s perception about nutritional values. 3. 2. 3 Motivational Factors Motivational factors are identified as factors that influence motivation of office workers to purchase vitamin supplements. The perceived importance of price, nutrition, ease of intake, brand, and advertisement are included in the model in which these factors are defined to effect consumer perception of the benefits of vitamin supplements and influence their purchase intention.The researcher would like to determine if these factors create a positive or a ne gative relationship toward their purchase intention. 3. 2. 4 Purchase Intention This research defines purchase, repurchase, and recommending others to purchase under the purchase intention category. People are motivated to take action based on their behavior, attitude, and perception so they intend to purchase vitamin supplements for health benefits. They may intend to repurchase in the future based on their previous expectation in products and they may also recommend others to purchase vitamin supplements. . 3 Hypothesis H1o: There is no relationship between situational & attitudinal factors and motivational factors for vitamin supplement consumption H1a: There is a relationship between situational & attitudinal factors and motivational factors for vitamin supplement consumption H2o: There is no relationship between motivational factors and purchase intention of vitamin supplements H2a: There is a relationship between motivational factors and purchase intention of vitamin supplemen ts 3. Operationalization of Variables Variables| Concept of Variable| Operational Component| Measurement Scale| Situational & Attitudinal Factors| – Situational factors are related to the time and place of observation that do not require the knowledge of a person and situational factors could strongly affect consumer behavior (Beck, 1975). – Attitudinal Factors are related to an individual’s tendency toward a specific thing and it is also a person’s propensity to be persistent and consistent (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2005). – Concerned about health and diet all the time- On a special diet due to a health problem – Worried about physical shape and appearance- Do most of the grocery shopping- Always plan all family meals| Interval ScaleQ1 – Q5| Motivational Factors| Motivational factors are identified as a set of specific factors that influence motivation to individual needs (Wang, 2001). – Pay attention to price- Pay attention to nutri tional value – Pay attention to convenience and ease of intake- Pay attention to the brand- Pay attention to popularity, advertisements and social trends| Interval ScaleQ6 – Q10| Purchase Intention| – Purchase intention indicates consumers will follow their preference, experience, and motivation to collect information then evaluate their choices and choose alternatives so they can make a decision to purchase a product (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000). – Intend to purchase vitamin supplements- Recommend others to purchase- Intend to repeat purchasing| Interval ScaleQ11 – Q13| Individual Characteristics (Personal Information)| Individual characteristics can be classified is many ways such as age, gender, educational level, income and personal appearance. It refers to a set of personal traits of an individual (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000). | – Gender- Age- Education level – Work position- Household size- Income- Time spent grocery shopping| Ord inal and NominalQ14 – Q20| 3. 5 Statistical Treatment of DataThe research used a quantitative research method to prove the findings. Quantitative research is used to measure how many people feel, think or act in a particular way using surveys or questionnaires. Quantitative research also provides numerical data or can convert data into numbers for a statistical review. The research used a questionnaire for collecting data because it is the most proper way based on the number of questions to be answered and to get reliable data and information from the target population. 3. 5. 1 Respondents Sampling Procedure 1. Target PopulationThe target population was office workers in the Silom area, which we considered to be the suitable location in the business area because this area is very famous, crowded, and at the center of the business area. 2. Sample size and unit The data were collected from 384 sampling units as this is the minimum sample sizes required from the population of of fice workers located in the Silom area. The population of office workers from this area is numerous because Silom is the center of the business area and many people from different areas work there. 3. Sampling ProcedureThe sampling method in this study is non-probability sampling because it is the most appropriate sampling method for this research as the target population are selected at random. Thus the research used the following type of non-probability samples technique in order to get questionnaire completed – Judgmental or Purposive sampling – This sampling is based on the assumption that the researcher can select elements which represent a typical sample from the appropriate target population: office workers in the Silom area. 3. 5. 2 Research Instrument and Questionnaire DesignThe researcher used a self-administered questionnaire which is a tool that helps the respondents to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire design was based on the conceptual framewo rk and was divided into four parts as follows – Part 1 (Situational & Attitudinal Factors) – this part of the questionnaire is about understanding the situational and attitudinal factors regarding office workers and vitamin supplements. Part 2 (Motivational Factors) – this part of the questionnaire is about understanding the motivational factors of office workers toward vitamin supplements.Part 3 (Purchase Intention) – the researcher wanted to understand office workers purchase intention of vitamin supplements. The researcher would also like to know if they think vitamin supplements are very important in today’s business world. Part 4 (Individual Characteristics) – this part consisted of questions that acquired individual data of the respondent: it helped the researcher to understand what a characteristic profile of office workers are and their attitudes toward vitamin supplements. Questionnaire Scale A 5-point Likert Scale was used in the q uestionnaire. = Strongly Agree 4 = Agree 3 =Neutral 2=Disagree 1=Strongly Disagree 3. 5. 3 Collection of Data The researcher can collect 384 sets of questionnaires from respondents who are office workers in the Silom area. The questionnaire was carried out only during business hours. The researcher spent two weeks collecting questionnaire and the researcher had two assistants to help distribute questionnaires for obtaining data. The researcher collected all questionnaires and analyzed the data using the software package Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). 3. 6 Reliability TestReliability Analysis of Research Instrument To test variables in the questionnaire using Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient scale and if the alpha test result from the calculation is above . 6 or equal, it means that all questions in the questionnaire are reliable and consistent and can be applied as research instruments in this study. Situational and Attitudinal Factors Reliability Statistics| Cron bach's Alpha| No. of Items| .800| 5| Motivational Factors Reliability Statistics| Cronbach's Alpha| No. of Items| .727| 5| Purchase Intention Reliability Statistics| Cronbach's Alpha| No. f Items| .907| 3| Overall Reliability Statistics| Cronbach's Alpha| No. of Items| .895| 13| Table 3. 6: The Summary of Reliability Test Analysis Variables| Alpha test| Situational and Attitudinal Factors| . 800| Motivational Factors| . 727| Purchase Intention| . 907| Overall| . 895| The reliability test results of research instrument according to Table 4. 8 indicate that all variables in the questionnaire are greater than . 6. Therefore, all questions are reliable and consistent and can be applied as research instruments in this study. CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTThe researcher used Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) to analyze the data using the following analyses – Frequency Analysis – To point out the individual characteristics of business people or office workers Descriptive Analysis – To test attitude, motivation, and intention of office workers and point what is the factor that they believe is the most important for them Correlation – To study the relationship or correlation between variables 4. 1 Frequency Analysis Table 4. 1. 1: The Analysis of Gender Levels using Frequency and Percentage Gender| Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| Male| 122| 31. 8| 31. 8| 31. 8| | Female| 262| 68. 2| 68. 2| 100. 0| | Total| 384| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Table 4. 1. 1, indicates that 68. 2% (262) of the respondents were female and 31. 8% (122) were male. Table 4. 1. 2: The Analysis of Age Levels using Frequency and Percentage Age| | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| 20 – 30 years old| 153| 39. 8| 39. 8| 39. 8| | 31 – 40 years old| 121| 31. 5| 31. 5| 71. 4| | 41 – 50 years old| 78| 20. 3| 20. 3| 91. 7| | 51 – 60 years old| 32| 8. | 8. 3| 100. 0| | Total| 384| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Table 4. 1. 2, indicates that the highest percentages of respondents 39. 8% (153) were 20 to 30. 31. 5% (121) were 31 to 40, 20. 3% (78) were 41 to 50, and 8. 3% (32) were 51 to 60. Table 4. 1. 3: The Analysis of Educational Levels using Frequency and Percentage Educational levels| | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| Bachelor’s degree or lower| 212| 55. 2| 55. 2| 55. 2| | Master’s degree or higher| 172| 44. 8| 44. 8| 100. 0| | Total| 384| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Table 4. 1. 3, indicates that 55. % (212) of respondents held a bachelor’s degree or lower and 44. 8% (172) held a master’s degree or higher. Table 4. 1. 4: The Analysis of Work Position Levels using Frequency and Percentage Work position| | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| Manager or lower| 214| 55. 7| 55. 7| 55. 7| | Senior manager| 131| 34. 1| 34. 1| 89. 8| | Executive manager| 39| 10. 2| 10. 2| 100. 0| | Total| 384| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Table 4. 1. 4, indicates that the highest percentages of respondents worked as a manager or a lower position: 55. 7% (214), 34. % (131) were senior managers, and 10. 2% (39) were executive managers. Table 4. 1. 5: The Analysis of Household Size Levels using Frequency and Percentage Number of family members(household size)| | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| 3 or less| 104| 27. 1| 27. 1| 27. 1| | more than 3| 280| 72. 9| 72. 9| 100. 0| | Total| 384| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Table 4. 1. 5, indicates that most households contained more than 3 people 72. 9% (280), and 27. 1% (104) contained 3 people or less. Table 4. 1. 6: The Analysis of Income Levels using Frequency and Percentage Income per month| Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| Up to 30,000 baht| 217| 56. 5| 56. 5| 56. 5| | Greater than 30,000 baht| 167| 43. 5| 43. 5| 100. 0| | Total| 384| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Table 4. 1. 6, indicates that the highest percentages 56. 5% (217) earned up to 30,000 baht while 43. 5% (167) earned greater than 30,000 baht. Table 4. 1. 7: The Analysis of Time Spent Shopping Levels usuing Frequency and Percentage Total amount of time spent shopping per week| | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| 2 hours or less| 171| 44. 5| 44. 5| 44. 5| more than 2 hours| 213| 55. 5| 55. 5| 100. 0| | Total| 384| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Table 4. 1. 7, indicates that most respondents 55. 5% (213) spent more than 2 hours shopping, and 44. 5% (171) spent 2 hours or less. 4. 2 Descriptive Analysis Table 4. 2. 1: The Analysis of Situational and Attitudinal Factors using Average Mean and Standard Deviation Descriptive Statistics| | N| Mean| Std. Deviation| I am concerned about my health and diet all the time | 384| 3. 85| . 911| I am on a special diet due to a health problem| 384| 2. 96| 1. 207| I often worry about my physical shape and appearance| 384| 2. 8| 1. 269| I do most of the grocery shopping myself| 384| 3. 65| . 985| I always p lan all family meals| 384| 3. 55| . 979| Valid N (listwise)| 384| | | As indicated in table 4. 2. 1, the researcher found that the highest average of situational and attitudinal factors is 3. 85: those concerned about health (health consciousness) and the lowest average is 2. 96: those on a special diet. The highest standard deviation is 1. 269: those who worry about physical shape and appearance (appearance consciousness) and the lowest standard deviation is 0. 911: those concerned about health (health consciousness).Table 4. 2. 2: The Analysis of Motivational Factors using Average Mean and Standard Deviation Descriptive Statistics| | N| Mean| Std. Deviation| I often pay attention to price when I go shopping| 384| 3. 67| . 989| I often pay attention to nutritional value when I do grocery shopping| 384| 3. 75| . 822| I often pay attention to convenience and ease of intake of medicine and vitamins| 384| 3. 63| . 858| I pay attention to the brands of vitamins and supplementary food| 3 84| 3. 42| . 902| I pay attention to popularity, advertisements, and social trends of vitamin consumption| 384| 3. 0| . 958| Valid N (listwise)| 384| | | As indicated in table 4. 2. 2, the researcher found that the highest average of motivational factor is 3. 75: those who pay attention to nutritional value and the lowest average is 3. 20: those who pay attention to the popularity, advertisements, and social trends. The highest standard deviation is 0. 989: those who pay attention to price. The lowest standard deviation is 0. 822: those who pay attention to nutrition value. Table 4. 2. 3: The Analysis of Purchase Intention using Average Mean and Standard Deviation Descriptive Statistics| N| Mean| Std. Deviation| I intent to purchase vitamin supplements| 384| 3. 14| 1. 145| I want to recommend others to purchase vitamin supplements| 384| 3. 28| . 936| I intend to repurchase vitamins and supplements continuously| 384| 3. 09| 1. 156| Valid N (listwise)| 384| | | As indicated in table 4 . 2. 3, the researcher found that the highest average of purchase intention is 3. 28: those who recommend others to purchase vitamin supplements, and the lowest average is 3. 09: those who intend to repurchase vitamin supplements. The highest standard deviation is 1. 56: those who intend to repurchase vitamin supplements and the lowest standard deviation is 0. 936: those who recommend others to purchase vitamin supplements. 4. 3 Inferential Analysis Table 4. 3. 1: The Analysis of the Relationship between Situational & Attitudinal Factors and Motivation using the Person Correlation (Bivariate) Correlations| | MeanSAF| MeanMF| MeanSAF| Pearson Correlation| 1| . 638**| | Sig. (2-tailed)| | . 000| | N| 384| 384| MeanMF| Pearson Correlation| . 638**| 1| | Sig. (2-tailed)| . 000| | | N| 384| 384| **. Correlation is significant at the 0. 1 level (2-tailed). | According to Table 4. 3. 1, the results from the inferential analysis using the Pearson correlation show that the significant is equ al . 000 which is less than . 01 (. 000

Economic Growth and Financial Development

There are three views about the relation between economic growth and financial development. First, financial development has impact on economic growth (i. e. Bagehot, 1873; Schumpeter, 1912; McKinnon, 1973; Shaw, 1973; Patrick, 1966; Goldsmith, 1969; Fry, 1973). Second, economic growth leads to financial development and that where there is economic growth financial development follows (i. e. Robinson, 1952). The third view, however, contends that both financial development and economic growth Granger cause one another.In the essay, our group focus on the first view which financial development will has passive influence on economic growth. During the year from 1955 to 1993, many scholars has study the relationship between financial development and economic growth. Along with the time goes, the theory that financial development will real promote economic growth has been more and more prefect. In the years between 1950s and 1960s, economists such as Gurley and Shaw began to stress the c redit markets and the importance of financial intermediaries, which they believed play an important role in economy. 5] They argued that tradition monetary transmission mechanism ignores the factor of financial structure and financial flow and only pays attention to the total amount of money and the connection of the output. In 1955, Gurley and Shaw bring up the development of financial institution is both a determined and determining variable in the growth process. (Gurley and Shaw, 1995, p. 532). Gurley and Shaw stressed that financial intermediaries exert influence on credit supply rather than money supply.In this way, financial intermediaries improve the efficiency of savings turning into investments and then affect the whole economic activities. They are the earliest scholars to study in-depth the relationship between financial and economic development in developing countries. Gurley and Shaw pointed out that the main access road of monetary policy transmission probably have di verted from money quantity, which is traditionally thought as the medium of exchange.Whereas, the â€Å"financial capability† of economy would has a closer relationship with the gross expenditure. They put forward financial development enhances the intermediation of loanable funds and therefore growth will be stimulated and they have a debt-intermediation view. The Debt-intermediation view establishes relations between finance and growth. First, economic growth would be associated with financial development, as external indirect finance provides surplus units with the capacity to spend beyond their earnings.Second, growth would stimulate and be stimulated by the â€Å"institutionalisation of saving and investment†; income grows, richer wealth-holders will increase their desire to diversify their asset portfolio. If financial innovation is such to accommodate this â€Å"diversification demand†, financial institutions can enhance their lending capacity and thus bo ost growth; the process becomes a cycle. Gurley and Shaw has earlier pointed that the growing importance of NBFI (non-bank financial intermediaries) when they discussed their activities about potentially serious problems for monetary management and monetary policy. 1] Subsequent analysis of the problems had to two results. [2] First, if the monetary authorities exerted control over the financial system through the operating of the financial markets, monetary management would not be undermined. [3] Second, which placed specific restrictions on banks, at that time the dominant financial entities, the growing role of NBFI was stimulated in part by the opportunities for intermediation created by monetary policy measures.These contributions stressed the relevance for financial â€Å"deepening† (mean financial development) of rising wealth and income, then attempts to control the activities of financial intermediaries. Wealth and income incent the demand for financial services. Res trictions and Controls on financial intermediaries create the stimulation for further financial intermediation by generatingâ€Å"quasi-rents† that risk among participants in financial and capital markets and reflect differences in information. 4] However, Gurley and Shaw do not address the issue of causality between financial development and economic growth. In 1966, Patrick make the causality issue is addressed, he posed theâ€Å"stage of development† hypothesis, where the direction of causality between financial development and economic growth changes over the course of development. [6] Two hypotheses are developed, one is Demand-following hypothesis: a causal relationship from real to finance and the other is Supply-leading hypothesis: a causal relationship from finance to growth.The supply-leading hypothesis supposes a causal relationship from financial development to economic growth, which means mature creation of financial institutions and markets increases the supply of financial services, and thus leads to real economic growth. Patrick suggests that initial development is spurred by supply-leading process, which gives way to demand-following process. He posed financial institutions and services emerge as demand for those services unfolds. The idea is that finance is passive in the growth process, but lack of financial institutions may prevent growth to occur.Financial institutions and their services precede the emergence of demand; government support is needed to finance and nascent modern sector, such as subsidized loans, information to small business and long loan durations. He points out the importance of finance in economic growth. The difficulty of establishing the link between financial development and economic growth was first identified by Patrick (1966), he argued that a higher rate of financial growth is positively correlated with successful real growth. [7] In his theory, commercial banks may issue banknotes and accept â€Å" easy† collaterals. Easy loan† can induce economic growth, for it can finance innovation-type investment, however, in fact it can also induce irresponsible borrowing. Since the important work of Patrick, that first postulated a bi-directional relationship between financial development and economic growth. A large empirical literature has emerged testing this hypothesis as the Patrick's (1966) problem remains unresolved: What is the cause and what is the effect? Is finance a leading sector in economic development, or does it simply follow growth in real output which is generated elsewhere. References: [1] de Oliviera Campos, R. 1964) â€Å"Economic Development and Inflation with Special Reference to Latin America† in Development Plans and Programmes Paris: Organisation for Cooperation and Development [2] Duesenberry, J. S. and M. F. McPherson (1991) â€Å"Monetary Management in Sub-Saharan Africa† HIID Development Discussion Papers no. 369, January [3] Friedm an, M. (1973) Money and Economic Development The Horowitz Lectures of 1972 New York: Praeger Publishers [4] Malcolm F. McPherson and Tzvetana Rakovski (1999) â€Å"Financial Deepening and Investment in Africa: Evidence from Botswana and Mauritius†, Copyright 1999 Malcolm F.McPherson, Tzvetana Rakovski, and President and Fellows of Harvard College [5] Liu Pan Xie Tao (2006) The Monetary Policy Transmission in China-â€Å"Credit Channel† And Its Limitations, Working Papers of the Business Institute Berlin at the Berlin School of Economics (FHW-Berlin) [6] Anthony P. Wood and Roland C. Craigwell Financial Development and Economic Growth: Testing Patrick’s Hypothesis for Three Caribbean Economies [7] Philip Arestis (2005) FINANCIAL LIBERALISATION AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FINANCE AND GROWTH, University of Cambridge

Service Learning Assigment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Service Learning Assigment - Essay Example The labor involved is what really opens up the mind and heart so the true meaning of stewardship can be revealed. The Arlington Chinese Church is a Christian organization that serves the spiritual needs of the Chinese community in Arlington and beyond. In addition to these spiritual needs, the Arlington Chinese Church works to provide cultural understanding, educational opportunity for Mandarin speakers and childcare services. The organization of the church centers on Pastor Leung and his wife Grace. Assisting them in their work is Brenda Bateman, Jason Tsai and Grace Lau. This core group of staff works together to meet the missions of the church. Most members of the church are Mandarin Chinese immigrants that have converted to Christianity. They are adjusting to their place in American society as immigrants and adjusting to the teachings of a new religion. The Arlington Chinese Church is a missionary minded organization. They take the mandate given to disciples to go into the entire world to spread the Gospel very seriously. The have a number of outreach programs to the Chinese community in and around Arlington as well as missions they support in several countries. All of this results in an influx of new immigrants and Christians into the church on a regular basis. New converts need to have the gospel shared with them in a simple, straightforward manner. Their spiritual needs must be met with exceedingly great compassion because there is much for them to learn about their new country and their new religion. After meeting with Reverend Leung and Brenda Bateman, the staff felt that I could best help meet the needs of the church in two areas. One area was working with the children in the daycare center. Another area was in the food service for some of our cultural meetings. Serving in these two areas helped me to more fully understand the true meaning of selfless service and

Trends of violence in juvenile crimes Research Paper

Trends of violence in juvenile crimes - Research Paper Example This paper investigates the current trends in violent juvenile crimes and its reasons. Criminal and violent activities among children are increasing day by day because of the changing life styles among children. Lack of parental care, drug and alcohol addiction, influence of print media, television and internet upon children were some of the main reasons for the childish offenses. Adult crime and juvenile crime are dealt separately by the court. For example, shooting and killing of another person by an adult and a juvenile will be considered differently by the court. â€Å"There are somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 cases of child sexual abuse each year in the U.S.† (Understanding Juvenile Sex Offenders) â€Å"Juveniles account for about one-quarter of the sex offenses in the U.S.† (JONES, p.1) Most of the juveniles who suffered sexual abuse will hide it from the public view because of shame. Compared to adults, juvenile offenders are more dangerous since in most cases, their abusive behaviour will continue throughout their life span. Some of the juvenile crimes may not be much harmful to the society whereas some other crimes may be violent also. Gun usage is not controlled much in the American society and the juveniles are using it just like a toy in their hands. Even simple juvenile clashes result in shooting incidents which kill or injure lot of innocent people because of the immaturity. The accused terrorist, Mohammad Kazab, who has been caught alive from the recent Mumbai terrorist attack, has argued that he was not an adult, in the court where the trial of the Mumbai attack is going on. Whether it is right or wrong it is a proven fact that juveniles are currently engaged in more dangerous violent activities than before. AK 47 or Missile launchers are not a surprising thing for at least some of them. Reports from Sri Lanka have showed that the Liberation tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) have

Managing Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Employee Relations - Essay Example The advantages and disadvantages of partnership are discussed and the situation existing in the current tensions between the UK government and the Fire Brigade Union is elaborated. Finally, the Strategy, tactics and models relating to HRM in managing Employment relations are discussed. The Main actor on the behalf of the government in consideration of relevant employee relation includes the Trade Unions. The provisions of the Employment Relations Act 1999 relating to compulsory trade union recognition for collective bargaining purposes came into force in the UK on 6 June 2000. The 1999 Act inserts a new schedule A1 into the Trade Union and Labor Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and this schedule contains the detail of the procedure for trade union recognition. The main elements of trade union recognition include: The first period is the period of ten working days after the request for recognition is made. If during the first period the parties agree the identity of the Bargaining Unit (BU) and that the union is to be recognized as entitled to conduct collective bargaining, the union is recognized. The second period is the period of 20 working days after the end of the first period or such longer period as the parties agree. If the employer indicates during the first period that it is willing to negotiate with the union, negotiations are to take place during the second period. The parties may request the assistance of ACAS in such negotiations. If agreement is reached during the second period the union will be recognized. Secret ballot The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) must arrange a secret ballot if one of three conditions is satisfied:- The CAC is satisfied that a ballot should be held in the interests of good industrial relations; or a significant number of trade union members within the BU inform the CAC that they do not want the union toconduct collective bargaining on theirbehalf; or the CAC doubts whether a significant number of trade union members within the BU want the union to conduct collective bargaining on their behalf. The ballot must be conducted by an independent qualified person appointed by the CAC. The Recognition and De recognition Ballots (Qualified Persons) Order 2000 (SI 1306/2000) specifies the conditions which must be satisfied in order for an individual or partnership to be a qualified person. The ballot must be conducted within twenty working days of the appointment of an independent qualified person.. Schedule A1 sets out detailed provisions for the conduct of the ballot. There is also a Code of Practice on Access to Workers during Recognition and De recognition Ballots which came into effect on 6 June 2000. If the result of the ballot is that the trade union is supported by a majority of the workers voting and at least 40% of the workers constituting the BU, the CAC must issue a declaration that the trade union is recognized to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of the BU. Caroline Carr, Employment Law Consultancy - Trade Union recognition, August 2000. http://www.bto.co.uk/articles/elc_articles_3.htm Examination of the interests of Trade Unions and their importance 1. It can act as a

Critically evaluate the claim that adolescents and young people both Essay

Critically evaluate the claim that adolescents and young people both today and in earlier time periods have always been demonise - Essay Example When an understanding of an adolescent/young people has been established, examples will be shown of how and why they have been/ are seen by adults in ways that demonise them and represent them negatively. The writer will then explore the ramifications of the adults' perception and the impact they have on young people. As a conclusion this perception leads to how and why adults might perceive young people and adolescents to be unruly and/or a threat to social stability. The need to analyse the different stages of age is contributed to society's concept of age. Some societies in history considered the transition from childhood to adulthood without passing through adolescence. Childhood is defined as the stage in life from birth to 12 years of age. Childhood is not considered as having a natural transition point but it is a continual process of development. Aries (1960:128) â€Å"In medieval society the idea of childhood did not exist; this is not to suggest that children were neglecte d, forsaken or despised. The idea of childhood is not to be confused with affection for children: it corresponds to an awareness of the particular nature of childhood, which distinguishes the child from the young adult. In medieval society there was a lack of awareness. Emile Durkheim (as cited in Jenks, 1982:147) goes on to describe the child as â€Å"the purist of beings, a small body that the merest blow can break, that the slightest illness imperils, a collection of muscles, nerves and organs which are, so to speak, made of milk and which only form, develop and increase in strength by their beings placed in a wonderful environment of careful attention, of consideration, of favourable circumstances and protective influences†. ... rest blow can break, that the slightest illness imperils, a collection of muscles, nerves and organs which are, so to speak, made of milk and which only form, develop and increase in strength by their beings placed in a wonderful environment of careful attention, of consideration, of favourable circumstances and protective influences†. In Romeo and Juliet, a maiden was a young woman who was ready for marriage, having obviously reached puberty implicitly implying "menses" but still having her nurse. Shakespeare portrays young people/children as wilily or in need of protection because of the adults perception of having a family grudge. Biologically speaking , a child is defined not having sexual hormones in other words not having reached puberty. He/she is not an adolescent, no having reached Erikson's stage of identity and role confusion. (Erikson, 1959) Saraga (1998 and Macionis & Plummer, 2005) points out that historically children have been seen either as innocent (Montgomery , 2003) , vulnerable and in need of protection; or they have been seen as asocial, inherently evil and in need of firm control and discipline. In early Christianity both concepts are present suggesting that the child is innocent (Pollock, 1983) or that the child is born in a state of original sin (Powell , 1917; Schucking, 1969). The child, who was born wicked and full of sin, needed to have the wickedness removed through punishment or strong discipline. (Pollock, 1983) Rituals such as Baptism or Christening continue today to symbolize the purification of babies and small children. Demonising or representing children or young people negatively in a religious context, was used as a form of control and a reasoning for punishment. In art work, representing adolescents and young people in a less

Motorola in china case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Motorola in china case study - Essay Example China, represented a very significant market for Motorola in terms of manufacturing and research. According to the company sources, Motorola was successful in the Chinese market due to its understanding of the market, the people and the strategies it adopted. In 1978, Motorola established its Beijing office, then in 1992 it developed a makeshift plant in Tianjin to manufacture paging devices. In 2003, the company was regarded as the most successful foreign company in China, courtesy of its adoption of a four-point strategy which as follows: In managing success in its new environment, Motorola developed a new 2+3+3 strategy, which it used to create and sustain its competitive advantage. The numbers in the strategy represented goals that the company had developed in the process of achieving its success. The strategy was developed, following the need to consolidate on its market returns that had been found to be as follows, In this new strategy, the first â€Å"2† represented two goals, which included creating a reliable R&D centre and a successful manufacturing company worldwide. The second â€Å"3† in the strategy included the company succeeding in three main areas, that is, trunking systems, broadband creation of semiconductors. The final â€Å"3† showed goals that the company was willing to achieve by 2006. These goals were, increasing the value of its particular yearly productions to about $10 billion, increasing its investments up to $10 billion as well as purchasing trading components of the same amount. One of the important market entry strategies that the company had was an effective understanding of the Chinese market (Edmonds, 2000). Motorola Company had to take time in order to study and understand the Chinese people, thereby devising market growth and development strategies that effectively articulated their needs. In any market, the ability to succeed and develop