Thought people might find this BBC Article interesting.
A particularly difficult social issue in Ireland is the excessive drinking habits that Irish culture instils and propagates amongst the youth. Believe it or not, one of the major reasons for Irish binge drinking habits can be traced back to the Irish 'church rule' culture that dominated the minds and hearts of the peoples here for centuries. It's not an argument I will get into here but if interested I recommend the works of noted Irish sociologist Tom Inglis.
Despite numerous attempts the government to curb this facet of society (like raising alcohol taxes, 'shock factor' television ads [NB: this is an English ad but the message is still the same]) I don't think many would argue that binge drinking has decreased in any significant proportion any time recently. An unfortunate but concurrent side effect is that deaths due to drink driving are relatively common. Now the name of my blog is Ireland via Chile, so it would be unfair of me not to compare with my home country. Drink driving is also a very relevant problem back home, but in contrast to Ireland, the mortality rate isn't as high and as such it is not as high up on the social agenda.
The points I wish to make here are of a analytical and observational approach respectively.
1. In relation to the socio-cultural aspect of binge drinking - I can see no way of changing this without a complete overhaul of Irish values and norms. All the way from the top of the top of societal leaders to the most 'average joe' and the bottom rings of society. I had an argument once with an Irish person where they a) laughed about the fact that their leader (then Bertie Ahern) had once been photographed coming out of a pub visibly intoxicated and b) would not accept that Chile's president (Michelle Bachelet) does not occasionally get drunk in her spare time. The attitude that it's ok for people in powerful positions to drink excessively (Ahern is still viewed as a 'man of the people' and this just further endeared him to many - though not all) is frankly absurd, and I won't get into why as I deem these reasons to be fairly self evident.
2. The second point - deaths on the road. Why here more than some other places? Infrastructure is my best argument. At best, it's difficult to navigate Irish roads when sober, in the day time, with no traffic. Many countries have based their road infrastructure on the Roman chess board model (in other words it's a grid) and I think this really contributes to road safety (not only in relation to drink driving) as it minimizes confusion whilst maximizing flow of traffic.
Can a drinking problem be solved by any forceful means like the Australians are trying this weekend (refer to the BBC article above)? Or does the discourse of daily lives have to, unequivocally, change? As always; food for thought.
Manuel
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Short essay on 'Consumer Behaviour'
The different theories on learning, personality and motivation and their effects on consumer behaviour and subsequent adoption in marketing strategy. Enjoy:
When it comes to the different elements that can affect consumer behaviour, we can notice influences from a wide range of academic backgrounds; from marketing management to sociology and psychology. As such we need to look at all these different disciplines in the light of their unique takes on issues such as personality, motivation and learning. In this essay, we will look at the different theories put forward by Freud, Maslow, Herzberg and Bourdieu. Subsequently, we shall compare and contrast the different theories in order to provide us with a comprehensive view of which ideology has the strongest argument. Due to the fact that these thinkers come from varied backgrounds (psychology and sociology), we will be able to formulate a well rounded argument regarding the different factors that can influence consumer behaviour. Once we have done this, we can begin to look at the implications that these theories have in relation to the formulation of marketing strategy. Lastly, we will conclude that marketers need to be aware of all of these different elements, and should only proceed forwards in developing strategies within a specific empirical framework (attained through intensive market research) in order to maximise the effectiveness of their current marketing practices.
We begin with Freud, whose theories are widely discussed and still hold relevance to this day; this is not without reason. For Freud, our motivations come mainly from unconscious desires, and as such, we may not always understand or even realise the extent to which these desires affect us (Kotler et al., 2009: 238). As a result of this, we become influenced by a wide variety of stimuli (which we don’t always notice and aren’t always the focus of the marketing – e.g. the size of a product). However, one could argue that oversimplifies the role of the consumer, who often times is extremely fastidious about the most minute detail of the product he/she wishes to purchase. On the other hand, Herzberg viewed levels of motivation as being a consequence of the existence (or lack thereof) of satisfying features (satisfiers). Though Herzberg was more concerned with how to motivate workers, his work (1966) provides us with an insight into the logic behind motivation (as a general concept). We, as consumers, will not be content to purchase something simply because there is nothing about it that dissatisfies us. There have to be elements that satisfy other standards as well as the lack of dissatisfiers. However, the problem with Herzberg’s views are that it makes too much of an assumption insofar as it postulates that people will automatically be motivated simply due to presence of certain prerequisite conditions (i.e. the presence of satisfiers in the workplace does not automatically mean worker productivity will increase). Furthermore, we can safely assume that not every individual responds the same way to different stimuli (and therefore what may be a satisfier for one may be irksome for another).
For Maslow, our drives are far more instinctual in nature. He based his argument on the logic that we, as human beings will, in different situations, react according to what we need in life. In his original paper Maslow laid out the different human ‘needs’ in a specific, ranked structure (1943: 370 – 396), now commonly known as the ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. If we follow Maslow’s argument, we can see that the we, as consumers, are not influenced by subconscious (or even conscious) stimuli, but rather by deep-rooted desires linked to where we are (financially, socially, personally) in life. This is limited in scope though as it overlooks the fact that we often make impulse buys, and sometimes for things we cannot afford/do not need. In other words, we can argue that Maslow’s hierarchy is slightly oversimplified and therefore can be (potentially) limited. Gratton notes this, in discussing Maslow, when she says we should be “concerned with the oversimplification involved in speaking of a ‘need level’ in a holistic manner.” (1980: 474). Despite some of the generalizations of Maslow’s theory, it unquestionably has some valid points, and we can see these reflected in Bourdieu’s views on ‘habitus’ in his seminal work ‘Distinction’ (1984). For Bourdieu, habitus is (essentially) the world we live in as influenced by a variety of social, financial, political and personal factors. If Maslow’s hierarchy works off the logic that we buy what we ‘need’ as decided by external factors, then we can deduce that this will influence the consuming behaviours of people from different social backgrounds (as they need different things - as shown by Gratton in her work). Therefore we can immediately draw similarities between Maslow and Bourdieu insofar as their works imply that consumer behaviour is (at different levels) driven by external (and sometimes unchangeable) influences. Furthermore, Bourdieu’s work is extremely useful as you can use his analysis to understand motivation (socio-economic factors), personality and perception (the ‘habitus’ we are born into shapes these) at virtually any class/group level.
It would be erroneous to assume that concepts as complex as personality and perception have only one root cause or definition. Like motivation, we can see that different theorists have a veritable plethora of views on these next two topics. Lindsay and Norman (1977) describe perception as being the process by which we interpret, analyse and organise stimuli (what they call ‘sensation’) in order to experience the world within a meaningful context. Kotler et al. provide a similar definition to Lindsay and Norman’s in the words of Berelson and Steiner. It states that “Perception is the process by which we select, organise and interpret information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world.” (2009: 239). Kotler et al. delve in deeper and explain that perception is a multi-faceted concept and the way we perceive stimuli is based on selective attention (screening out certain stimuli), selective distortion (tendency to interpret information in ways that suit our preconceptions) and selective retention (retaining information which supports our attitudes and beliefs) (2009: 239-240). If we analyse the implications of what this means we could argue that consumers tend to purchase things based on: what we choose to pay attention to, that reinforce our preconceptions and reflect our personal beliefs. Thus as a marketer, being able to target a specific market segment is about effectively mapping out how that segment perceive their needs and then supplying them. Furthermore, we can argue that the manner in which we choose to screen out certain stimuli and not others can be attributed to issues such as our needs (e.g. Maslow’s hierarchy) or our socio-economic standing (e.g. Bourdieu’s habitus). The final cognitive process we have to look at is learning (which will give us more insight into consumer behaviour as well as tying into motivation and perception). Once again we turn to Kotler et al. who define learning as including “changes in our behaviour arising from experience.” (2009: 240). Certain theories put forward such as ‘Information Processing Theory’ (I.P.T.), view human learning as analogous to how a computer learns, by inputting, processing, and outputting information. However, if we view learning as an ongoing experiential approach we can see that it is intrinsically linked with the other two key cognitive processes; learning affects perception which affects motivation which affects future learning, and so on and so forth. Thus we are working off the belief that viewing learning from a behavioural perspective (rather than I.P.T.) is a more beneficial approach for marketers.
Knowing the different psychological perspectives affecting consumer behaviour is a crucial factor that any marketer should be aware of when attempting to devise a marketing strategy. Kotler at al. suggest several different means of gaining this crucial information (2009: 260). The first is the ‘introspective method’ which involves the marketer considering how they would act in a given situation. The obvious problem with this is that sometimes they lack the experience or external conditions necessary to glean necessary, relevant information (e.g. a wealthy marketer might find it difficult to adequately emulate the situation and needs of a person with much less disposable income). The ‘retrospective method’ involves interviewing people who have recently bought a given product or service and asking them to retell the process that led to the ultimate purchase, but just as any information gained from interviews, it is subject to bias, inaccurate retelling and potentially imperfect information. The ‘prospective method’ involves asking customers to think aloud about the purchasing process before they’ve bought the product/service while the ‘prescriptive method’ asks consumers to describe how they would ideally like to purchase a product. A huge problem with all but the ‘introspective method’ is that they are dependent on both man power (e.g. availability of staff/volunteers) to track down consumers and carry out the interviews, and the accurateness/honesty of the interviewees.
Thus far we have discussed the different perspectives put forward by the likes of Freud, Herzberg, Maslow, Bourdieu and Kotler on the subjects of the psychological processes of motivation, perception and learning. As we went we studied what implications each of these different processes can have in affecting the overall process of consumer behaviour. Further to this we reviewed some of the more common methods used by marketers in order to gain key data regarding the mindsets and habits of consumers before devising their marketing strategies. With all of this information, what can we conclude? Firstly, it is crucial to understand that marketers absolutely must take into account the experiential aspect (of the consumer) regarding purchasing and consuming. Holbrook and Hirschman put it succinctly we they say “Abandoning the information processing is undesirable, but supplementing and enriching it with an admixture of the experiential perspective could be extremely fruitful.” (1982: 138). Furthermore the marketing team need to re-evaluate their strategic marketing plan in order to reflect the motivations of the consumer (this should be done in a theoretical framework and for this Maslow and Bourdieu would be the best options). The best way to do this is to implement the ‘prescriptive’ and ‘introspective’ methods laid out by Kotler et al. as this gives the researcher an idea of what is going through the consumer’s mind. However, as we already mentioned, this takes a lot of time and man power. Furthermore, to gain any real insight into the consumer behaviour patterns of large groups (such as socio-economic groups) these techniques would have to be widespread and dozens (potentially hundreds or more) of people would have to be interviewed (which again, can often be virtually impossible in practical terms). Following on from this, it is possible to revamp the tactical marketing plan in accordance with the new findings implemented in the strategic plan. A concise and effective study into specific, market based consumer behaviour will allow for the possibility of successfully developing new marketing strategies.
Bibliography:
• Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Herzberg, F. (1966) Work and the Nature of Man. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
• Holbrook, M.B. & Hirschman, E.C. (1982) ‘The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun’. The Journal of Consumer Research, 9(2): 132 – 140.
• Gratton, L.C. (1980) ‘Analysis of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy with Three Social Class Groups’. Social Indicators Research, 7(1/4): 463 – 476.
• Kotler, P., Keller, K., Brady, M., Goodman, M. & Hansen, T. (2009) Marketing Management. London: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
• Lindsay, P. & Norman, D. (1977) Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology. New York: Academic Press.
• Maslow, A. (1943) ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’. Psychological Review, 50(4): 370 – 396.
When it comes to the different elements that can affect consumer behaviour, we can notice influences from a wide range of academic backgrounds; from marketing management to sociology and psychology. As such we need to look at all these different disciplines in the light of their unique takes on issues such as personality, motivation and learning. In this essay, we will look at the different theories put forward by Freud, Maslow, Herzberg and Bourdieu. Subsequently, we shall compare and contrast the different theories in order to provide us with a comprehensive view of which ideology has the strongest argument. Due to the fact that these thinkers come from varied backgrounds (psychology and sociology), we will be able to formulate a well rounded argument regarding the different factors that can influence consumer behaviour. Once we have done this, we can begin to look at the implications that these theories have in relation to the formulation of marketing strategy. Lastly, we will conclude that marketers need to be aware of all of these different elements, and should only proceed forwards in developing strategies within a specific empirical framework (attained through intensive market research) in order to maximise the effectiveness of their current marketing practices.
We begin with Freud, whose theories are widely discussed and still hold relevance to this day; this is not without reason. For Freud, our motivations come mainly from unconscious desires, and as such, we may not always understand or even realise the extent to which these desires affect us (Kotler et al., 2009: 238). As a result of this, we become influenced by a wide variety of stimuli (which we don’t always notice and aren’t always the focus of the marketing – e.g. the size of a product). However, one could argue that oversimplifies the role of the consumer, who often times is extremely fastidious about the most minute detail of the product he/she wishes to purchase. On the other hand, Herzberg viewed levels of motivation as being a consequence of the existence (or lack thereof) of satisfying features (satisfiers). Though Herzberg was more concerned with how to motivate workers, his work (1966) provides us with an insight into the logic behind motivation (as a general concept). We, as consumers, will not be content to purchase something simply because there is nothing about it that dissatisfies us. There have to be elements that satisfy other standards as well as the lack of dissatisfiers. However, the problem with Herzberg’s views are that it makes too much of an assumption insofar as it postulates that people will automatically be motivated simply due to presence of certain prerequisite conditions (i.e. the presence of satisfiers in the workplace does not automatically mean worker productivity will increase). Furthermore, we can safely assume that not every individual responds the same way to different stimuli (and therefore what may be a satisfier for one may be irksome for another).
For Maslow, our drives are far more instinctual in nature. He based his argument on the logic that we, as human beings will, in different situations, react according to what we need in life. In his original paper Maslow laid out the different human ‘needs’ in a specific, ranked structure (1943: 370 – 396), now commonly known as the ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. If we follow Maslow’s argument, we can see that the we, as consumers, are not influenced by subconscious (or even conscious) stimuli, but rather by deep-rooted desires linked to where we are (financially, socially, personally) in life. This is limited in scope though as it overlooks the fact that we often make impulse buys, and sometimes for things we cannot afford/do not need. In other words, we can argue that Maslow’s hierarchy is slightly oversimplified and therefore can be (potentially) limited. Gratton notes this, in discussing Maslow, when she says we should be “concerned with the oversimplification involved in speaking of a ‘need level’ in a holistic manner.” (1980: 474). Despite some of the generalizations of Maslow’s theory, it unquestionably has some valid points, and we can see these reflected in Bourdieu’s views on ‘habitus’ in his seminal work ‘Distinction’ (1984). For Bourdieu, habitus is (essentially) the world we live in as influenced by a variety of social, financial, political and personal factors. If Maslow’s hierarchy works off the logic that we buy what we ‘need’ as decided by external factors, then we can deduce that this will influence the consuming behaviours of people from different social backgrounds (as they need different things - as shown by Gratton in her work). Therefore we can immediately draw similarities between Maslow and Bourdieu insofar as their works imply that consumer behaviour is (at different levels) driven by external (and sometimes unchangeable) influences. Furthermore, Bourdieu’s work is extremely useful as you can use his analysis to understand motivation (socio-economic factors), personality and perception (the ‘habitus’ we are born into shapes these) at virtually any class/group level.
It would be erroneous to assume that concepts as complex as personality and perception have only one root cause or definition. Like motivation, we can see that different theorists have a veritable plethora of views on these next two topics. Lindsay and Norman (1977) describe perception as being the process by which we interpret, analyse and organise stimuli (what they call ‘sensation’) in order to experience the world within a meaningful context. Kotler et al. provide a similar definition to Lindsay and Norman’s in the words of Berelson and Steiner. It states that “Perception is the process by which we select, organise and interpret information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world.” (2009: 239). Kotler et al. delve in deeper and explain that perception is a multi-faceted concept and the way we perceive stimuli is based on selective attention (screening out certain stimuli), selective distortion (tendency to interpret information in ways that suit our preconceptions) and selective retention (retaining information which supports our attitudes and beliefs) (2009: 239-240). If we analyse the implications of what this means we could argue that consumers tend to purchase things based on: what we choose to pay attention to, that reinforce our preconceptions and reflect our personal beliefs. Thus as a marketer, being able to target a specific market segment is about effectively mapping out how that segment perceive their needs and then supplying them. Furthermore, we can argue that the manner in which we choose to screen out certain stimuli and not others can be attributed to issues such as our needs (e.g. Maslow’s hierarchy) or our socio-economic standing (e.g. Bourdieu’s habitus). The final cognitive process we have to look at is learning (which will give us more insight into consumer behaviour as well as tying into motivation and perception). Once again we turn to Kotler et al. who define learning as including “changes in our behaviour arising from experience.” (2009: 240). Certain theories put forward such as ‘Information Processing Theory’ (I.P.T.), view human learning as analogous to how a computer learns, by inputting, processing, and outputting information. However, if we view learning as an ongoing experiential approach we can see that it is intrinsically linked with the other two key cognitive processes; learning affects perception which affects motivation which affects future learning, and so on and so forth. Thus we are working off the belief that viewing learning from a behavioural perspective (rather than I.P.T.) is a more beneficial approach for marketers.
Knowing the different psychological perspectives affecting consumer behaviour is a crucial factor that any marketer should be aware of when attempting to devise a marketing strategy. Kotler at al. suggest several different means of gaining this crucial information (2009: 260). The first is the ‘introspective method’ which involves the marketer considering how they would act in a given situation. The obvious problem with this is that sometimes they lack the experience or external conditions necessary to glean necessary, relevant information (e.g. a wealthy marketer might find it difficult to adequately emulate the situation and needs of a person with much less disposable income). The ‘retrospective method’ involves interviewing people who have recently bought a given product or service and asking them to retell the process that led to the ultimate purchase, but just as any information gained from interviews, it is subject to bias, inaccurate retelling and potentially imperfect information. The ‘prospective method’ involves asking customers to think aloud about the purchasing process before they’ve bought the product/service while the ‘prescriptive method’ asks consumers to describe how they would ideally like to purchase a product. A huge problem with all but the ‘introspective method’ is that they are dependent on both man power (e.g. availability of staff/volunteers) to track down consumers and carry out the interviews, and the accurateness/honesty of the interviewees.
Thus far we have discussed the different perspectives put forward by the likes of Freud, Herzberg, Maslow, Bourdieu and Kotler on the subjects of the psychological processes of motivation, perception and learning. As we went we studied what implications each of these different processes can have in affecting the overall process of consumer behaviour. Further to this we reviewed some of the more common methods used by marketers in order to gain key data regarding the mindsets and habits of consumers before devising their marketing strategies. With all of this information, what can we conclude? Firstly, it is crucial to understand that marketers absolutely must take into account the experiential aspect (of the consumer) regarding purchasing and consuming. Holbrook and Hirschman put it succinctly we they say “Abandoning the information processing is undesirable, but supplementing and enriching it with an admixture of the experiential perspective could be extremely fruitful.” (1982: 138). Furthermore the marketing team need to re-evaluate their strategic marketing plan in order to reflect the motivations of the consumer (this should be done in a theoretical framework and for this Maslow and Bourdieu would be the best options). The best way to do this is to implement the ‘prescriptive’ and ‘introspective’ methods laid out by Kotler et al. as this gives the researcher an idea of what is going through the consumer’s mind. However, as we already mentioned, this takes a lot of time and man power. Furthermore, to gain any real insight into the consumer behaviour patterns of large groups (such as socio-economic groups) these techniques would have to be widespread and dozens (potentially hundreds or more) of people would have to be interviewed (which again, can often be virtually impossible in practical terms). Following on from this, it is possible to revamp the tactical marketing plan in accordance with the new findings implemented in the strategic plan. A concise and effective study into specific, market based consumer behaviour will allow for the possibility of successfully developing new marketing strategies.
Bibliography:
• Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Herzberg, F. (1966) Work and the Nature of Man. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
• Holbrook, M.B. & Hirschman, E.C. (1982) ‘The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun’. The Journal of Consumer Research, 9(2): 132 – 140.
• Gratton, L.C. (1980) ‘Analysis of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy with Three Social Class Groups’. Social Indicators Research, 7(1/4): 463 – 476.
• Kotler, P., Keller, K., Brady, M., Goodman, M. & Hansen, T. (2009) Marketing Management. London: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
• Lindsay, P. & Norman, D. (1977) Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology. New York: Academic Press.
• Maslow, A. (1943) ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’. Psychological Review, 50(4): 370 – 396.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Gillette: Time for Damage Control?
If you live in Ireland, you most likely know all about Thierry Henry's little 'incident' the other night. For those of you who don't, have a look at the following video:
Die-hard footballs fans and Irish patriots are FURIOUS about this, and rightly so. This handball esentially cost Ireland the chance to qualify for the South Africa World Cup 2010 (by means of a penalty shoot out) after a grueling 90 something minutes, 1 great goal and an overall huge effort from the Irish side.
Now you may also know that Thierry Henry is one of the three (clean shaven) faces of Gillette for men. To many, that may not make much of a difference when it comes to their choice of shaving products. But you have to remember, the beautiful game has a strong effect on people, and a world cup only comes around every 4 years. Because of this, I think Gillette needs to implement some damage control, and quick. A quick glance around the internet will show you that a large amount of people (Irish and non-Irish alike) are claiming they will boycott Gillette products whislt Henry is still endorsing them.
That's just my opinion anyways, and food for thought for all you people. Sound off in the comments about what you think Gillette should do (if anything at all).
EDIT: I've just seen a group on Facebook entitled 'Boycott Gillette until they drop Henry'. Fri. Nov 20th 18:25 - 505 members and growing.
EDIT: Fri. Nov 20th 21:43 - Group up to 675 people!
Manuel
Die-hard footballs fans and Irish patriots are FURIOUS about this, and rightly so. This handball esentially cost Ireland the chance to qualify for the South Africa World Cup 2010 (by means of a penalty shoot out) after a grueling 90 something minutes, 1 great goal and an overall huge effort from the Irish side.
Now you may also know that Thierry Henry is one of the three (clean shaven) faces of Gillette for men. To many, that may not make much of a difference when it comes to their choice of shaving products. But you have to remember, the beautiful game has a strong effect on people, and a world cup only comes around every 4 years. Because of this, I think Gillette needs to implement some damage control, and quick. A quick glance around the internet will show you that a large amount of people (Irish and non-Irish alike) are claiming they will boycott Gillette products whislt Henry is still endorsing them.
That's just my opinion anyways, and food for thought for all you people. Sound off in the comments about what you think Gillette should do (if anything at all).
EDIT: I've just seen a group on Facebook entitled 'Boycott Gillette until they drop Henry'. Fri. Nov 20th 18:25 - 505 members and growing.
EDIT: Fri. Nov 20th 21:43 - Group up to 675 people!
Manuel
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time Magazine: Losing the Plot?
Time released their list of the Top 50 Best Inventions of 2009. You can have a look at the full list HERE.
I have to say the list is, for the most part, frankly ridiculous. Ok first of all: 'invention' number 49....a new type of cloud. Members of the International Cloud Appreciation Society noticed this new type of cloud, known as undulatus asperatus. I'm sorry, how is this an invention?? Number 33: the no-punt offense...in American football. Umm....do I just not understand what an invention is?
Those aside, the most ridiculous thing on the list, in my humble opinion, is the fact that Microsoft's (currently in development - to be released late 2010) wireless, full body motion controller (for the XBox 360) ranks higher than certain things.....like the AIDS vaccine. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 1.5 million people died of HIV/AIDS as of the end of 2007 (figures from HERE). 1.5. Million. People. But the ability to play games using your whole body ranks higher than a vaccine that can immunize people against this disease.
Words can't describe how ridiculous this is so I leave it to you to eloquently express the absurdity of it all.
Manuel
I have to say the list is, for the most part, frankly ridiculous. Ok first of all: 'invention' number 49....a new type of cloud. Members of the International Cloud Appreciation Society noticed this new type of cloud, known as undulatus asperatus. I'm sorry, how is this an invention?? Number 33: the no-punt offense...in American football. Umm....do I just not understand what an invention is?
Those aside, the most ridiculous thing on the list, in my humble opinion, is the fact that Microsoft's (currently in development - to be released late 2010) wireless, full body motion controller (for the XBox 360) ranks higher than certain things.....like the AIDS vaccine. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 1.5 million people died of HIV/AIDS as of the end of 2007 (figures from HERE). 1.5. Million. People. But the ability to play games using your whole body ranks higher than a vaccine that can immunize people against this disease.
Words can't describe how ridiculous this is so I leave it to you to eloquently express the absurdity of it all.
Manuel
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Food for Thought - Racism in the Workplace: Statistics versus Intent
I was reading this article over at Business Week about some things managers need to keep in mind when hiring or laying off staff. The first point the author makes really caught my eye as being somewhat interesting. The author notes that, according to law, if you fire an ethnic minority worker, for reasons entirely irrelevant of the background, you could still find yourself in legal trouble "disparate impact" issues. Specifically, firing an ethnic minority affects the statistical make-up of ethnicities in your company; therefore in certain situations this could be considered a form of discrimination.
The question I want to pose to you, oh faithful reader, is the following: is this indeed a form of discrimination? Or merely more American, over sensitive, P.C. nonsense? If a worker is incompetent at their job, and deserves to be fired, surely their ethnic background should not have anything to do with the decision. But wait, dig a little deeper. If the laying off of a singular ethnic minority worker affects the company’s ethnic make-up so deeply, does this imply a fundamental discriminatory policy towards hiring workers?
The question I want to pose to you, oh faithful reader, is the following: is this indeed a form of discrimination? Or merely more American, over sensitive, P.C. nonsense? If a worker is incompetent at their job, and deserves to be fired, surely their ethnic background should not have anything to do with the decision. But wait, dig a little deeper. If the laying off of a singular ethnic minority worker affects the company’s ethnic make-up so deeply, does this imply a fundamental discriminatory policy towards hiring workers?
Food for thought; let's hear you sound off in the comments.
- Manuel
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Smart Man, Smart Words II
Brooding on the past seems counter productive, and given the right circumstances, destructive. Focusing too much on the future leaves you blind to the here and now. I think this quote captures that message:
Monday, July 20, 2009
Smart Man, Smart Words
My friend Ed always has quotes up on his blog, and I'm going to take a page out of his book and put one up here. It just really caught my eye as being truly insightful and I felt like sharing it with others.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Technological mistakes can be costly
I was reading the headlines over at CNN and came across this story ($23 quadrillion charge) which I thought was pretty comical.
It appears that this poor guy (no pun intended) was just checking his balance, nothing out of the ordinary, until he noticed this ridiculous, astronomical charge. However, what I think is most comical is that, instead of assuming it was a mistake, the guy actually believed he somehow spent such an absurd amount of money in one go (at a petrol station no less). Then again, CNN may be trying to make this story out to be funnier that it truly is. Either way, the story is worth a chuckle or two.
-Manuel
It appears that this poor guy (no pun intended) was just checking his balance, nothing out of the ordinary, until he noticed this ridiculous, astronomical charge. However, what I think is most comical is that, instead of assuming it was a mistake, the guy actually believed he somehow spent such an absurd amount of money in one go (at a petrol station no less). Then again, CNN may be trying to make this story out to be funnier that it truly is. Either way, the story is worth a chuckle or two.
-Manuel
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Film Review: Rudo y Cursi (2008)
Following on from the theme of having no theme, my next post is a film review. I suppose it's important to note that I love movies; watching them, making them, discussing them....you get the idea. As such, I've been looking forwards to writing a review for a while but have been waiting for a really good film to get the ball rolling (the last film I saw before 'Rudo y Cursi' was 'Transformers 2'....don't even get me started on where that one went wrong).
First off, if you've seen 'Y Tu Mamá También' you'll be familiar with the cast (Diego Luna from 'Milk' and Gael García Bernal from 'The Motorcycle Diaries') and it really has to be said, these two are brilliant opposite each other. Here they play brothers from a random small village in Mexico. Turns out they're both amazing at football and both end up playing professionally...on different teams. The lads are totally convincing as brothers who have their fair share of luggage and manage to bring the audience to laughter, joy, anger and even despair without missing a beat.
The direction was a bit obvious but still without flaw. Carlos Cuarón follows in the footsteps of his big brother Alfonso ('Y Tu Mamá También', 'Children of Men'). His solid choice of shots can be equated to a comedian delivering the punch line and just the right time: it makes a decent scene into a great one. I won't get to technical into all the nitty gritty of good directing but suffices to say that, as his first directorial outing 'Rudo y Cursi', while not a masterpiece, certainly makes me want to watch out for his next film.
It would be wrong to say that there aren't some major flaws with the film though. It changes in tone very drastically from comedy to drama to comedy to drama etc. Possibly just a problem that we could attribute to the directors lack of actual experience, but a problem none the less. Does it ruin the movie? Absolutely not, but something that Cuarón will have to watch out for in future. As a Spanish speaker, the dialogue makes a lot of sense to me, and as I've often seen with subtitles, I'm sure a lot of the subtleties and local sayings get lost in translation.
Worth a watch for football fans and avid cinema goers alike.
**** Four out of Five.
Manuel
First off, if you've seen 'Y Tu Mamá También' you'll be familiar with the cast (Diego Luna from 'Milk' and Gael García Bernal from 'The Motorcycle Diaries') and it really has to be said, these two are brilliant opposite each other. Here they play brothers from a random small village in Mexico. Turns out they're both amazing at football and both end up playing professionally...on different teams. The lads are totally convincing as brothers who have their fair share of luggage and manage to bring the audience to laughter, joy, anger and even despair without missing a beat.
The direction was a bit obvious but still without flaw. Carlos Cuarón follows in the footsteps of his big brother Alfonso ('Y Tu Mamá También', 'Children of Men'). His solid choice of shots can be equated to a comedian delivering the punch line and just the right time: it makes a decent scene into a great one. I won't get to technical into all the nitty gritty of good directing but suffices to say that, as his first directorial outing 'Rudo y Cursi', while not a masterpiece, certainly makes me want to watch out for his next film.
It would be wrong to say that there aren't some major flaws with the film though. It changes in tone very drastically from comedy to drama to comedy to drama etc. Possibly just a problem that we could attribute to the directors lack of actual experience, but a problem none the less. Does it ruin the movie? Absolutely not, but something that Cuarón will have to watch out for in future. As a Spanish speaker, the dialogue makes a lot of sense to me, and as I've often seen with subtitles, I'm sure a lot of the subtleties and local sayings get lost in translation.
Worth a watch for football fans and avid cinema goers alike.
**** Four out of Five.
Manuel
Monday, June 1, 2009
Pierre Bourdieu's 'class tastes' in an Irish context
Well, I studied sociology for three years in UCD and as I leave I feel I can comment on it. Here I particularly want to discuss a theory that, since I first studied it, has impressed me but also left me feeling that something was missing. The theory I'm talking about in Bourdieu's views on class being the be all and end all factor in defining social tastes.
Bourdieu views class distinctions (in terms of their tastes) as being cause and consequence of the division of society. His idea of a habitus that we inculcate and subsequently reproduce makes a lot of sense...in 1970s (and potentially modern) France. If you study it in depth, it's fairly compelling stuff. But drawing upon Irish society as a counter example I think we can see that class plays a role in defining taste, but isn't the deciding factor. The most obvious examples are clothes, drinks and sports. Wearing track suit bottoms is completely acceptable today in Ireland, whereas a decade ago (maybe slightly longer) it was viewed by many as being 'lower class'. It is typical to see guys wearing a shirt with a collar and track suit bottoms. Similarly, you often see people from lower classes dressing with a 'posh' fashion sense. I'm not making any judgement here on the character of any of these people, just stating a phenomenon I notice more and more. You can also see this when it comes to drinks and sports.
I used to work in a very typical Irish pub here in Dublin, and I met a lot of people there. From the lower classes to the very wealthy, I met (and befriended) tons of interesting characters. What I noticed is that people don't drink based on supposed class tastes as Bourdieu indicates. A man with fewer economic means might drink the same whisky as the rich entrepreneur with his own company. Sporting events is another perfect example. Golf, traditionally a game for the higher echelons of society, whilst boxing used to be a working class sport. Now, both are enjoyed by all levels of society. This strongly goes against Bourdieu's assumptions that class defines taste (unless we assume that class tastes have blended together in which case the whole theory is rather pointless - however I won't make this assumption).
Really the point of this argument isn't to attempt to debunk Bourdieu (which would be no small feat) but rather to shed on light on the fact that nowadays class distinction isn't as prominent a factor in society as it once was. Yes, of course it still predetermines a lot of the decisions one will make in life (thus Bourdieu's theory is still very valid) but these decisions aren't rigid and unchanging. A rethinking and consequent expansion of Bourdieu's views is necessary in order to truly understand social tastes.
Manuel
Bourdieu views class distinctions (in terms of their tastes) as being cause and consequence of the division of society. His idea of a habitus that we inculcate and subsequently reproduce makes a lot of sense...in 1970s (and potentially modern) France. If you study it in depth, it's fairly compelling stuff. But drawing upon Irish society as a counter example I think we can see that class plays a role in defining taste, but isn't the deciding factor. The most obvious examples are clothes, drinks and sports. Wearing track suit bottoms is completely acceptable today in Ireland, whereas a decade ago (maybe slightly longer) it was viewed by many as being 'lower class'. It is typical to see guys wearing a shirt with a collar and track suit bottoms. Similarly, you often see people from lower classes dressing with a 'posh' fashion sense. I'm not making any judgement here on the character of any of these people, just stating a phenomenon I notice more and more. You can also see this when it comes to drinks and sports.
I used to work in a very typical Irish pub here in Dublin, and I met a lot of people there. From the lower classes to the very wealthy, I met (and befriended) tons of interesting characters. What I noticed is that people don't drink based on supposed class tastes as Bourdieu indicates. A man with fewer economic means might drink the same whisky as the rich entrepreneur with his own company. Sporting events is another perfect example. Golf, traditionally a game for the higher echelons of society, whilst boxing used to be a working class sport. Now, both are enjoyed by all levels of society. This strongly goes against Bourdieu's assumptions that class defines taste (unless we assume that class tastes have blended together in which case the whole theory is rather pointless - however I won't make this assumption).
Really the point of this argument isn't to attempt to debunk Bourdieu (which would be no small feat) but rather to shed on light on the fact that nowadays class distinction isn't as prominent a factor in society as it once was. Yes, of course it still predetermines a lot of the decisions one will make in life (thus Bourdieu's theory is still very valid) but these decisions aren't rigid and unchanging. A rethinking and consequent expansion of Bourdieu's views is necessary in order to truly understand social tastes.
Manuel
Friday, May 29, 2009
Is the customer always right?
I guess the idea behind this blog is that I, as a person who comes from a different background than all of my Irish compadres, might have a fresh view on things. There's one facet of Irish consumer habits that has irritated me for as long as I can remember. It seems that in Ireland, the moto 'the customer is always right' doesn't really seem to hold much importance. A few examples:
1. On numerous occassions, I encountered really annoying problems with my (ex) mobile phone provider. Handy for me, they have this nice hotline I can ring; how good of them. When I switched to bill pay, not only was I essentially told I was 'wrong' (not necessarily in those words) about several issues (from an additional deposit needed for roaming charges that I wasn't told about, to a mixup porting my number over even though I was on the same network originally) very rarely did they feel they had wronged me. Only after I complained, a lot, did I finally get to discuss things with some type of manager. All the while, the staff made me feel like me ringing them was quite bothersome. How very helpful.....
2. One time, myself and my family were 'lucky' enough to get to dine in one of Dublin's supposed 'best' restaurants. As our table was not ready when we arrived we went up to the bar for a drink. My brother orders a drink not very common in Ireland called a Tom Collins. "Could I have a Tom Collins please? The reply? No. Ummmm, sorry? No you can't. What do you mean, no I can't?" And back and forth for a bit until the young bartender finally felt it prudent (after my brother began to lose his temper) to explain the fact that he didn't have the necessary ingredients. Wouldn't that have been easier to say instead of just: No?
3. Last one. No particular example but something that is extremely common in Irish shops. Clothes shops, dvd shops, food, games, books etc.... I should point out that I'm not saying that this is an absolute occurrence, just a bit too common for my liking. In some parts of the world (the USA) attendants come up to you straight away and say "Can I help you?" Though some find this annoying, it's a simple matter of just saying "No, I'm ok thanks" and the pestering attendants will leave you alone and find another customer (or get distracted by something shiny). In Ireland, I often feel asking the shop attendant for help is highly impertinent of me....rude even! They'll slouch on over and mumble a one word response to all of your questions all the while texting on their phones and looking around. Sorry to bother you mate, my mistake.
All in all, whenever I've had a job, I make 100% sure that customer is always right. The customer may be an idiot, and trust me once they leave I'll turn to someone I work with and say "What a jackass" but while they're there, I'll make sure they get whatever they need. In the past this has resulted with better tips, increased sales figures and a more pleasant overall work atmosphere.
In conclusion, it's a small little thing to be helpful to customers. And if you don't like doing it, well, I suppose you don't have to. Oh wait, you're getting paid to so stop being an asshole to me when I walk into your shop!!!
Manuel
1. On numerous occassions, I encountered really annoying problems with my (ex) mobile phone provider. Handy for me, they have this nice hotline I can ring; how good of them. When I switched to bill pay, not only was I essentially told I was 'wrong' (not necessarily in those words) about several issues (from an additional deposit needed for roaming charges that I wasn't told about, to a mixup porting my number over even though I was on the same network originally) very rarely did they feel they had wronged me. Only after I complained, a lot, did I finally get to discuss things with some type of manager. All the while, the staff made me feel like me ringing them was quite bothersome. How very helpful.....
2. One time, myself and my family were 'lucky' enough to get to dine in one of Dublin's supposed 'best' restaurants. As our table was not ready when we arrived we went up to the bar for a drink. My brother orders a drink not very common in Ireland called a Tom Collins. "Could I have a Tom Collins please? The reply? No. Ummmm, sorry? No you can't. What do you mean, no I can't?" And back and forth for a bit until the young bartender finally felt it prudent (after my brother began to lose his temper) to explain the fact that he didn't have the necessary ingredients. Wouldn't that have been easier to say instead of just: No?
3. Last one. No particular example but something that is extremely common in Irish shops. Clothes shops, dvd shops, food, games, books etc.... I should point out that I'm not saying that this is an absolute occurrence, just a bit too common for my liking. In some parts of the world (the USA) attendants come up to you straight away and say "Can I help you?" Though some find this annoying, it's a simple matter of just saying "No, I'm ok thanks" and the pestering attendants will leave you alone and find another customer (or get distracted by something shiny). In Ireland, I often feel asking the shop attendant for help is highly impertinent of me....rude even! They'll slouch on over and mumble a one word response to all of your questions all the while texting on their phones and looking around. Sorry to bother you mate, my mistake.
All in all, whenever I've had a job, I make 100% sure that customer is always right. The customer may be an idiot, and trust me once they leave I'll turn to someone I work with and say "What a jackass" but while they're there, I'll make sure they get whatever they need. In the past this has resulted with better tips, increased sales figures and a more pleasant overall work atmosphere.
In conclusion, it's a small little thing to be helpful to customers. And if you don't like doing it, well, I suppose you don't have to. Oh wait, you're getting paid to so stop being an asshole to me when I walk into your shop!!!
Manuel
First Post
Right so; for a long time I wasn't sure what to write about in my blog. Beyond that, I wasn't sure anyone would want to read it either. But my good friend Ed (his very informative blog can be found at http://cube1986.blogspot.com) encouraged me to write about anything that I find interesting. To that end I don't suppose this blog will have a theme as such, just whenever I find something good to write about, I will. I hope people enjoy it.
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