To learn new things is beneficial at any age, and any kind of learning can benefit other aspects of your life. For instance, taking music lessons can increase your language skills. If you’re interested in a topic, study it. If you’d like a new skill, practice it. Your life is ever-changing and infinitely complex, and your ability to experience it depends on your willingness the learn. The more you learned, the more you live.
Embrace failure and confusion. When you are learning a new thing, you are entering into unknown territory. Allow yourself to experience the confusion of unanswered questions and unfamiliar parameters. When you study a new topic, don’t look up answers to your questions right away. Instead, spend some time trying to figure the answers out on your own. This kind of trying (and failing) helps you better understand what you are learning.
Learn, the Strategies for Management Conflict in Organizations!
What is conflict management? Conflict Management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of the conflict while increasing the positive aspects of the conflict. The purpose of conflict management is to learn, including the effectiveness or performance in an organizational setting and to increase the results of the group. Properly managed conflict groups can improve the results. Also learn, the Conflict in Organizations or Organizational, What are the Strategies for Management Conflict in Organizations?
The Strategies for managing conflict, Mainly three different strategies are used for handling conflict in organizations:
1. Stimulation of Conflicts!
The following methods may use the management to stimulate conflict.
Reorganization!
Changing the structure of an organization is an effective method of stimulating conflict. When work groups and departments are reorganized, new relations and responsibilities arise. Members try to readjust themselves and in this process, improved methods of operations may develop.
Use of Informal Communication!
Managers may manipulate messages in such a way as to stimulate conflict e.g., a department is to abolished can reduce apathy, stimulate new ideas and force revaluation of existing practices. Rumors may intelligently plant in the informal communication system. Conflict can also stimulate by redirecting message and altering channels of communication.
Encouraging Competition!
Healthy competition between individuals and groups may stimulate through properly administered incentives. Bonuses, incentive pay and rewards for excellent performance can foster the competitive spirit in the organization. As one group struggles hard to out-perform the other, constructive conflict will occur.
Bringing in Outsiders!
Management may shake up a stagnant organization by bringing in people whose attitudes, values and styles differ significantly from the prevailing norms. When such heterogeneous persons join an organization, status quo is disturbed. Divergent opinions, innovative ideas, and originality can develop. Also read, What is the Sources of Conflict in Organizations?
2. Prevention of Conflicts!
To prevent conflicts, the following strategies may employ:
Reducing Interdependence!
The potential for conflict is very high when two or more departments are interdependent and share scarce resources. Therefore, conflict may minimize by reducing interdependence among departments.
Rotation of Personnel!
Rotation of employees between interdependent departments can improve perception and mutual understanding. Employees may see the big picture and exchange views with one another. Employees become more considerate and co-operative.
Establishing superordinate Goals!
A difference in goals is a common cause of conflict in organizations. Goal differences can avoid by establishing mutually agreed goals. A superordinate goal is a common goal that appeals to all the parties and cannot achieve by the resources of any single party. In order to achieve the superordinate goal, conflicting parties sink their differences and cooperate together. For example, severe competition may force different departments to work together to ensure the survival and growth of the organization. Thus, a common threat or enemy may act as a great unifying force.
Creation of Mutual Trust and Communication!
The greater the trust among the members of the unit, the more open and honest the communication will be. Individuals and groups should encourage to communicate openly with each other so that misunderstandings can remove and able to understand the problems of each other.
3. Resolution of Conflicts!
Some of the common approaches towards conflict resolution are as under:
Compromise!
This is the traditional method of resolving the conflict. It is a process of bargaining wherein the parties negotiate on the basis of giving and take to arrive at some agreement. There is no distinct winner or loser because each party is expecting to sacrifice something in exchange for a concession. Compromise is commonly using where the conflict involves differences in goals, values or attitudes. It is effective when the sought-after goal, e.g., resources can divide between the parties.
Smoothing!
It is the process of suppressing differences existing between parties to the conflict and emphasizing common interests. Sharing of opinions removes misunderstanding and both parties realize that they are not far apart. Smoothing or accommodating may be useful when the conflict is associated with aggressive feelings among the parties. However, it can use only as a short-term measure for resolving the conflict.
Problem Solving!
In this technique, an attempt is made to bring the conflicting parties together and to share the mutual problems. The focus is on sharing of information to avoid misunderstanding and to find out areas of common interest. The question of who is right or who is wrong is avoiding. This method is suitable for resolving conflicts arising out of misunderstanding.
Dominance or Confrontation!
In this technique, parties to the conflict are left free to settle their score by mobilizing their strengths and capitalizing on the weaknesses of others. Parties use weapons like fights, arguments, and intimidation to win over each other. One party’s gain is another party’s loss. This technique is adopting when both the parties adopt a very rigid stand. Confrontation may aggravate the struggle and contribute little to finding out innovative or constructive solutions acceptable to all. The stronger party ultimately dominates the weaker party.
Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
Learn, What is the Sources of Conflict in Organizations? Explaining!
In organizations, conflicts can be intra-personal, inter-personal, intra-group or intra-organizational in nature. Intra-personal conflict refers to the conflict within an individual. It arises from frustration, numerous goal which requires equal attention but is not possible to devote and goals having both positive and negative aspects. Inter-personal conflict refers to the conflict between two or more individuals with a group. It arises due to differences in personalities, perceptions, temperaments, values, socio-cultural factors and role ambiguities. Intra-group or intra-organizational conflict refers to the conflict between two or more sections, groups or departments in an organization. The conflict between groups is frequent and highly visible. Also learn, the Conflict in Organizations or Organizational, What is the Sources of Conflict in Organizations?
Intra-personal conflict arises within an individual member of the organization. It is same as the individual conflict but the organizational problem may be that none of the individuals has a known acceptable alternative in terms of his own goals and perception. Intra-personal conflict generally arises because of between individual goal and organizational goal and other situation where there are widespread uncertainty and scarcity of acceptable alternatives. Uncertainty in a situation may cause by the complexity of the problem and lack of past experience in handling such problems. Conflicts also arise because the organizational alternatives are not acceptable to the individual.
Intra-organizational conflict encompasses vertical, horizontal, line-staff, and role conflict. Let us briefly examine these.
Sources of Conflict in Organizations: Vertical conflict!
Refers to conflicts that occur between individuals at different levels. The conflict between the superior and subordinate is an example of vertical conflict. Such conflicts could happen because of perceived transgression of psychological contract, inadequate and /or ineffective communication, selective perceptions, misperceptions, incongruence in goals, values, cognition, affect, and behavior and any number of other reasons. Also read, How to Development of Human Resource in an Organization?
Sources of Conflict in Organizations: Horizontal conflict!
Refers to tensions between employees or groups at the same hierarchical level. Horizontal conflict occurs because of interdependence among the parties concerned in the work situations and /or the common pooled resourced shared. Incompatibility of goal and time orientations often results in horizontal conflict. Differences in time orientations are also instrumental in inter-unit conflicts. Also learn, The Objectives of Human Resource Management!
Horizontal conflict increases as:
Functional interdependence increases among people or groups at the same level (i.e. one has to depend on the other for the completion of its goals).
More units depend on common resources that have to share, for e.g. raw materials, and.
The fewer the buffers or inventories for the resources shared.
Sources of Conflict in Organizations: Line-staff conflict!
Refers to the conflicts that arise between those who assist or act in an advisory capacity (staff) and those. Who has direct authority to create the products, processes, and services of the organization (line)? A Staff manager and line managers usually have different personality predispositions, and goals, and come from different backgrounds. Staff managers have specialized skills and expertise acquired through training and education and have greater technical knowledge. Which is intending to help the line managers who are basically money makers for the organization.
The Staff people serve as advisors for the line people in as much as they have the expertise to streamline methods and help in cost-cutting mechanisms. Line managers may, however, feel that the staff people are a nuisance, coming in the way of their performance by always telling them how to do. Their jobs and thrusting their ideas and methods. It is not unusual for line people to resent the fact that they have to “advise” by the staff people. The staff people often frustrated that the line people do not consider all the ideas put forth by them and thereby fail to benefit.
Sources of Conflict in Organizations: Role Conflicts!
Arise because different people in the organization are expecting to perform different tasks, and pressures build up when the expectations of the members clash in several ways.
This could be either because of:
Inter-gender Role Conflict – different role senders (bosses) expect the individual to perform different things and these expectations and their messages conflict with each other.
Inter-Role Conflict – role requirements associated with membership in one group conflict with role requirements stemming from membership in other groups.
Intra-sender Role Conflict – when the same boss expects different incompatible behaviors from one person
Person Role Conflict – where the role requirements of an individual conflict with the individual’s moral and ethical values.
An example!
The inter-gender role is the president asking the manager to write up the report on the new project and submit it in the next four days, and the auditor asking the same manager to go with him to audit the branch offices today, tomorrow, and the day after! Here, the manager cannot possibly fulfill both role expectations. Inter-role conflict can experience by a supervisor who just attended the manager’s conference. Where he has been told that strict action should take against a group of strikers and the same supervisor. Who is also the member of the union being told that “supervisors should protect the employees from harm”.
Here the supervisor’s membership to the two groups results in conflicting loyalties and role expectations. Intra-sender role conflict will experience a supervisor. Who is asked to get a lot of her section’s work done? While also being asked to take charge of another section because the supervisor of that section is on a week’s casual leave without a replacement. Person-role conflict is likely to experience by an individual. Who is asked by the boss to bribe a government official get the job done for the department?
Thus, interpersonal and intergroup conflicts often arise when there is disagreement regarding goals or the methods of attaining them. These conflicts can be either constructive or destructive for the people involved. Several methods exist for resolving conflict and they vary in their potential effectiveness. A key revolves around intended outcomes for oneself and others.
Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
Learn, What is the Conflict in Organizations or Organizational Conflict? Meaning and Definition!
Meaning of Conflict in Organizations: Organizational conflict, A Conflict occurs at various levels within the individuals, between the individuals in a group and between the groups in an organization. An issue between two or more parties who have (or think they have) incompatible goals or ideas. A Conflicts may involve deep-rooted moral or value differences, high stakes distributional questions, or can be about who dominates whom. Also learn, The Theory of Human Relationship Management, What is the Conflict in Organizations or Organizational Conflict?
The Conflict is the perpetual giver of life, although varying views of it may hold. Some may view conflict as being a negative situation which must avoid at any cost. Others may see conflict as being a phenomenon which necessitates management. The Still, others may consider conflict as being. An exciting opportunity for personal growth and so try to use it to his or her best advantage.
Conflict in Organizations or Organizational Conflict: Organizational conflict, or workplace conflict, is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived. An opposition of needs, values, and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in organizations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those individuals and groups affecting. Also, disputes over how revenues should be divided, how the work should do, and how long and hard people should work.
There are jurisdictional disagreements among individuals, departments, and between unions and management. There are subtler forms of conflict involving rivalries, jealousies, personality clashes, role definitions, and struggles for power and favor. Also, conflict within individuals – between competing needs and demands – to which individuals respond in different ways.
Definitions of Organizational Conflict!
“Working together is not always easy”, it is because of conflict. Conflict is a part of everyday life of an individual and of an organization. It has a considerable impact on employee’s performance, satisfaction, and behavior. It’s not possible to compress the essential ingredients of conflict in a precise definition because it may take several forms.In simple words. It can explain as a collision and disagreement. The conflict may be within an individual, between two or more individuals or between two or more groups within an organization. Also learn, What is an Organization?
Some important definitions of conflicts in organizations (organizational conflicts) are:
1. According to J.W.Thomas, “Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about”.
2. According to Hocker, and Wilmot Conflict, “An expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce rewards, and interference from the other party in achieving their goals”.
3. According to Follett, “Conflict is the appearance of difference- the difference of opinions of interests”.
Learned, What is Recruitment? Meaning and Definition!
People are an integral part of any organization today. No organization can run without its human resources. In today’s highly complex and competitive situation, choice of the right person at the right place has far-reaching implications for an organization’s functioning. Employee well selected and well placed would not only contribute to the efficient running of the organization but offer significant potential for future replacement. A Recruitment comes at this point in time in the picture. The Recruitment is a strategic function for HR department. Also learn, The Theory of Human Relationship Management, What is Recruitment?
Recruitment: means to estimate the available vacancies and to make suitable arrangements for their selection and appointment. Recruitment is understanding the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for the jobs, from among whom the right people can select. Also read, Partnership: How Does it work in Business?
Meaning of Recruitment!
Recruitment (hiring) is a core function of human resource management. It is the first step of appointment. Recruitment refers to the overall process of attracting, shortlisting, selecting and appointing suitable candidates for jobs within an organization. Recruitment can also refer to processes involved in choosing individuals for unpaid positions. Such as voluntary roles or unpaid trainee roles. Managers, human resource generalists, and recruitment specialists may task with carrying out recruitment. But, in some cases, public-sector employment agencies, commercial recruitment agencies, or specialist search consultancies are using to undertake parts of the process. Internet-based technologies to support all aspects of recruitment have become widespread.
A formal definition states, “It is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for the employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applicants are submitted. The result is a pool of applicants from which new employees are selecting”.
In this, the available vacancies are given wide publicity and suitable candidates are encouraged to submit. The applications so as to have a pool of eligible candidates for scientific selection. Also, in recruitment, information is collecting from interest candidates. For this different source such as newspaper advertisement, employment exchanges, internal promotion, etc. are using. Also learn, What is the Deductive Method of Economics?
Definitions of Recruitment by Different Authors!
The process of finding and hiring the best-qualified candidate for a job opening, in a timely and cost-effective manner. The recruitment process includes analyzing the requirements of a job, attracting employees to that job, screening and selecting applicants, hiring, and integrating the new employee into the organization.
According to Yoder “ Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force.”
According to Edwin Flippo, “Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.”
Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
Learned, explaining, the Development of Human Resource in an Organization!
What is Development? The systematic use of scientific and technical knowledge to meet specific objectives or requirements. As well as, An extension of the theoretical or practical aspects of a concept, design, discovery, or invention. The process of economic and social transformation that is based on complex cultural and environmental factors and their interactions. Also, The process of adding improvements to a parcel of land, such as grading, subdivisions, drainage, access, roads, utilities. Also learn, the Inductive Method of Economics, How to Development of Human Resource in an Organization?
Benefits/ Advantages of Human Resource Development:
Development of current employees reduces the company’s dependence on hiring new workers.
If employees are developed, the job openings are more likely to fill internally.
Promotions and transfers also show employees that they have a career, not just a job.
The employer benefits from increased continuity in operations and from employees who feel the greater commitment to the firm.
Increase the productivity of employees.
It helps in the career development of organization and employees too.
Human resource development is also an effective way to meet several challenges, includes:
1. Employee obsolescence!
Obsolescence results when an employee no longer possesses the knowledge or abilities needed to perform successfully.Or
It may result from a person’s failure to adapt to new technology, new procedures, and other changes. Also, The more rapidly the environment changes, the more likely it is that employees will become obsolete.
Employers are reluctant to take strong action and fire an obsolete employee, particularly employees who have been with the company a long time.
Proactively assessing the needs of employees and giving them programs to develop new skills can avoid employee obsolescence.
If these programs are designed reactively, after obsolescence occurs, they are less effective and more costly.
When an employee reaches a career plateau, obsolescence may be more likely.
A career plateau occurs when an employee does well enough no to be demoted or fired but not so well that s/he is likely to promote.
Motivation to stay current may reduce when an employee realizes that s/he is a career plateau.
2. International & Domestic Workforce Diversity:
Workforce diversity causes many organizations to redesign their development programs.
Role-playing and behavior modeling are more effective ways to train and develop employees for facing the challenges the workforce diversity.
3. Technological change:
Rapid changes in technology require the firms to engage in nearly continuous improvement.
Technological changes having a profound impact on training and development increases the need to assess the developmental requirements of current and future managers, professional and technical peoples.
Turnover – the willingness of employees to leave one organization for another.
Departures are largely unpredictable, development activities must prepare employees to succeed those who leave.
Some employer with excellent development programs finds that training programs contribute to employee turnover. Therefore, they are reluctant to invest money in workers who may then take their new skills to a new job at a higher-paying competitor.
After evaluating the importance of training and development programs, the organizations realize that it is better to have some trained employee who may leave than to have an untrained workforce that says.
Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
Learned, The Theory of Human Relationship Management!
It is important to separate the theory of human relations management from the broad concept of human resource management. The second word is different in every context in which it is using because it is difficult to explain. On the other hand, the principle of human relations is particularly focusing on the quality of relations between managers and subordinates in an organization. Also learn, The Objectives of Human Resource Management, The Theory of Human Relationship Management!
Change the style of Management!
Principles of Human Relations Management Today’s business organizations include important evidence of changing the style of management. Employees in the 21st century who are not managers occupy the important role. Also, they have more rights than line workers and non-managers of the past and because the number of managerial layers in one organization has decreased in this new century and also because the machines and computers used workers to perform. The performance part of consultation managers Without making decisions, to perform. Risk Management Definition!
Management Theory!
This principle is also a principle of management in itself. It is an organization, just paying attention to human dimensions of employees, rather than. Their benefits as human capital, or property. Managers value their relationships to their direct reports and place a high value on how they feel about their membership in organizational culture. To make a commitment to staff achievement, and to get a high level of worker morale for managers, the concern is concerned.
Investment!
Investment in human relations management staff is involving. Workers do not enjoy a high level of decision-making, empowerment and indulging in strong worker morale. They also get to improve as a professional and increase their value for the organization. Also, in the future – an employee in the form of managerial and technical expert roles – enough financial investment in employee training and professional development, the preparation of the staff makes it assume big roles. What are the Features of Sole Proprietorship?
Stakeholders!
Every employee is seen as an important stakeholder in the firm. The managers have to buy into the success of the firm. Because it focuses on getting the employees and employees as the entire organization. Every change that will affect employees will study for its effect on human relations. Therefore, managers will work with the staff, their support is getting so that in implementing the changes. Also, in order for the employees to become a part of every change in the organization. It is necessary to experience success.
Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
Learned, The Objectives of Human Resource Management!
Successful human resource management enables a firm to flourish, but for the success of human resource management, the team must have a clear objective. Guide to three different types of objectives for human resource management. HR professionals should know how to understand and select these basic objectives. Also, How is important change Management the Success of a Business? The Objectives of Human Resource Management!
Objectives for Employees!
An essential component of human resource management involves establishing objectives for employees. When selecting objectives for employees, managers should consider whether the business is the most important. For example, if sales are important for businesses, increasing employee sales skills is an example of an intelligent purpose. According to “Managing Human Resources Through Strategic Partnerships,” Employees with the skills to activate employees to make. The advances of improvement in the process, to communicate effectively with the most important human resource objectives, to employees Training, and awareness of the employees and the understanding of the needs of the customers are increasing.
Strategic Objective!
Strategic objectives in human resources management are not related to individual employees, but in the form of a whole, with employees. Common strategic human resource objectives include reducing employee turnover, increasing employee morale and reducing employee absence. Also, in order to achieve these goals, human resource managers should implement specific measures aimed at fulfilling them. For example, to increase employee morale, a Human Resource Manager might increase employee profits, add financial incentives to reduce workloads or perform employee performance. Definition, Importance, and Affected Factors of Manpower Planning!
Financial Objectives!
Many financial objectives can measure human resource management. Common measures include HR return on investment, HR expenditure ratio, and HR revenue ratio. The Human Resources withdrawal benefit from the investment is made by the firm divided by the labor and profit costs. Also, Calculating the HR expense ratio by simply dividing HR expenditure by all operating expenses. Human Resource Revenue Ratio is a computation of total revenue divided by the number of employees. Each organization will have specific human resources finance aims that. This achievement will want to allow these metrics to assume higher management personnel against the actual realization of these goals.
Selection of the Objective!
The manager should select the human resource objectives according to the Smart Criteria. Which say that the objectives are specific, measurable, which action should be relevant and timely. For example, a firm not only aims to increase the employee’s performance. A better aim is to increase employee sales to 35 percent in the next six months. The objective is that the smart criteria are likely to be easy and more successful to keep an eye out. International and Comparative Human Resource Management!
Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
Learned, How is important change Management the Success of a Business?
The term change management approach is a way to describe uses for implementing controls on an organization that is either planned or unplanned. Change constantly, whether good or bad. How the organization tackles change often has the difference between success and failure. As the economy becomes more global and as technology should advance so early, change management should be a continuous, rapid-fire process. Also learn, the Methods of Economics, How is important change Management the Success of a Business?
Managing Change!
When an organization is working on a project, change management is important for the success of the enterprise. According to the Transformation Management Study Center, the direct relation exists between management change and success of a project. The Transformation Management Study Center refers to a 2002 study by a writer, McKinsey on the website, and the company has done more than 40 projects that study how effective management of investment-on-investment (ROI) was changing.
When change management methods were used, the principles of this project were 100% effective for the projects not implemented, compared to 50% of expected results. An example of this makes a new product a company. Every step in the way of making product changes can bring. Packaging can be different, marketing strategies may be different and even product testing may be different. People do not consider change on the project, or opposed to change, the product may fail.
The Pace of Change!
The author of Change Management Studies Center has said that not only changes happen all the time, but the speed of change is increasing. Staying With Rapid Changes There is a difference between getting a business or memorizing opportunities. Consider your company is selling a product in a regional area and you are contacting a national company that wants to distribute your product across the country. Within very short time, you will have to increase production, rent new employees, new distribution and possibly brand your product again, while maintaining its current sales while doing all this. If a change management process is not in place, any failure point can fail the whole project.
Contest!
Companies that produce similar products have always been in competition with an other-however, the competition has rapidly increased intensely. Principles of Change Management can help a company stay competitive. As an example to consider, a computer company that produces a new feature such as an interesting case design. Consumers buy the product due to “cool” factor. How quickly competing computer companies can influence the sale of similar product designs can amplify by offering. Partnership: How Does it work in Business?
Overcome Obstacles!
The overall concept of competition consideration, the speed of change and management of change is an underlying main issue. Change management is very important because it is the principle of identifying its essence and removing obstacles. An obstacle can be from a simple internal issue for multinational agreements. Consider an organization that buys a new piece of software. The issue is only that the staff needs to train on its use. The Steps of Manpower Planning with Features!
However, employees can resist changes or the software may not be compatible with some hardware. The way of managing organization software is to talk about the obstacles that arise to remove systematic. Consider, on a large scale, a product your company would like to implement within a country. Obstacles can be with the country’s government or with such a power supply that adheres to the rules of the country, it is necessary to have specific features product. Even in the US dollar, there may be a hindrance in changing the country’s wealth. Good honed change management quickly shows obstacles and develops ways to remove them.
Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
Nike Brand Image Case Study; Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that engages in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company headquarters is near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue over US$24.1 billion in its fiscal year 2012 (ending May 31, 2012). As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. In 2014 the brand alone was valued at $19 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses. As of 2017, the Nike brand image value at $29.6 billion. Also learn, a Case Study on the Marketing Strategy of IBM!
Case Study on Nike Creating a Global Brand Image!
The company was founded on January 25, 1964, as Blue Ribbon Sports, by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The company takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Blazers, Air Force 1, Nike Dunk, Air Max, Foamposite, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Brand Jordan, Hurley International, and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) from 1995 and 2008, and previously owned Cole Haan and Umbro. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of “Just Do It” and the Swoosh logo.
Nike Brand Image History!
The idea of Nike began way back in the 1950s. A track coach by the name of Bill Bowerman was at the University of Oregon training his team. Bill was always looking for a competitive edge for his runners, like most of us today look for any advantage we can get. He said he tried using different shoes for his runners as well as trying other things to try and make his athletes better. He tried to contact the shoe manufacturers in an attempt to try out his ideas for running shoes. This however failed.
1955;
In 1955 a track runner by the name of Phil Knight enrolled at Oregon. He was on the track team under Bill, Phil graduated from Oregon and acquired his MBA from Stanford University.
Phil went on to write a paper that talked about how quality shoes could makeover in Japan and they would be cheaper. He called a company in Japan and became a distributor of Tiger shoes in the United States of America. He sent some pairs of shoes to his old track coach trying to get Bill to buy the shoes. Instead of buying these shoes, Bill offered Phil a partnership to create better running shoes.
1964;
In 1964 Bill and Phil shook hands and formed Blue Ribbon Sports. The companies’ first move was to order three hundred pairs of shoes from the company in Japan. While Bill examined these shoes and tried to make them better Phil was outselling the shoes.
Bill had his track team at Oregon try out his new creations. This became the foundation of Nike. Because Bill and Phil still had full-time jobs, they hired Jeff Johnson as their first full-time employee. Jeff soon became an invaluable utility man for the company.
1971;
In 1971 Jeff created brochures, marketing materials and even shot photos for a catalog. The very first Blue Ribbon store was opened by Jeff. Meanwhile, the relationship between Blue Ribbon and the company from Japan was starting to deteriorate. Bill and Phil made the jump to manufacturing and designing their footwear. The trademarks swoosh which was introduced at this time.
The Nike line of footwear was unveiled in 1972, during the U.S. Track and Field Trials. One pair of shoes had a huge impression on a dozen multiple runners that wore the new shoes. These shoes incorporated a new style of soles that had nubs on them that resembled the ridges of a waffle iron. These shoes were also a lot less heavy than most running shoes at the time.
With the new image, Nike started looking for athletes to wear, promote and elevate the new shoes. The first athlete they found was Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine never lost a race that was over a mile in distance in his college career between 1969 and 1973. Prefontaine challenged Bill, Phil, and their new company to stretch their talents. In turn, Prefontaine became an ambassador for Blur Ribbon Sports and Nike.
1975;
In 1975 Prefontaine died at the age of 24, but his spirit still lives on within Nike. Prefontaine became the “soul of Nike”. When 1980 hit Nike entered the stock market and became a publicly-traded company. Once this happened many of the people that started the company moved on with their lives. This included Phil Knight who resigned from his president spot for over a year. In the mid-1980s Nike started to slip from the top of its industry. This started to change when Michael Jordan released a new shoe through Nike. When this happened Nike’s bottom line got a boost.
1988;
In 1988 the slogan that we all know today “Just do it” was introduced as a way for Nike to build on its momentum from their “Revolution” campaign. The Just do it campaign included three advertisements in which a young athlete by the name of Bo Jackson was involved. By the end of the decade, Nike was at the top of their industry once again. The ’90s brought a series of outreach for Nike. At this point, Nike deepened their commitment to other sports such as soccer and golf. In 1995 Nike signed the whole World Cup-winning Brazilian National Team. This also allowed Nike to create jerseys for the team.
Nike also landed contracts with both the men’s and women’s teams for the United States. The biggest thing that Nike existed criticized for was when they signed a young golfer by the name of Eldrick “Tiger” Woods for the huge deal. All of the competition said this was a dumb idea till Tiger won the 1997 Masters by a record 12 strokes.
2000;
In 2000 a new shoe existed introduced. This shoe went by the name of the Nike Shox. This shoe combined more than 15 years of dedication and perseverance. Nike is still the industry leader in its markets and continues to grow more and more each year around the world. This company will have much more to offer in the future.
Brand Equity!
Having and holding customers is likely to be a competitive battle which each brand tries all efforts to win. They compete for functional attributes, distinctive services, or innovative technologies. So what are the emotional and functional benefits which Nike provides for their customers?
Since Nike stood set up by someone who has a deep passion for athletics and running; it should come as no surprise that the product is important. Products that are comfortable, authentic, functionally innovative, and uniquely designed. The innovative technology considers as one of the defining dimensions of Nike’s brand identity and corporate culture.
The simple driving concept has led to some impressive innovations; which consider as one of the defining dimensions of Nike’s brand identity and corporate culture. The first highlight was Air cushioning, using pressurized gas to cushion impact and new materials such as Urethane; which existed used first with the Air Max running shoes.
More recently, to obtain maximum performance, Nike Sports Research laboratory has discovered innovative technology such as Shox; which make most of rubber and spring back adding more power to a runner’s stride, and Total 90 Concept, a range of equipment to help players perform over 90 minutes of a soccer match. Such innovative technology which Nike has used has gained a stronghold in consumers’ perceptions.
The functional benefit is the fundamental and classical features to communicate with customers. However, if Nike just provided high-quality running shoes to enhance athletic performance, Nike would not be a strong brand. Big brands need to be beyond purely functional relationships. They should create a more strong emotional attachment with core consumers because emotional benefits add richness and depth to the brand and the experience of owning and using the brand.
Offers;
Nike offers emotional benefits which are “the exhilaration of athletic performance excellence; feeling engaged, active, and healthy; exhilaration from admiring professional and college athletes as they perform wearing “your brand” – when they win, you win too”.
The associated brand with the top athletes, Nike tells the story of brands whose main themes are sportsmanship and unrelenting effort. These are the story of Michael Jordan who won a record 10th scoring title and existed selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in American’s National basketball association championship. Lance Armstrong survived and won a second straight Tour de France while Tiger Woods completed the career Grand Slam, ensuring his place in golf history at the age where most of us are still wondering what we will do when we grow up.
The most three prominent athletes have generated inspiration for the young and next generation of athletes. Nike has succeeded to transfer their inspirations to every single purchaser. Wearing every pair of Nike shoes is to engage a passion for excellence and encourage you to do your own thing. “Just do it” – the tagline could sum up all the greatest values of the brand which is.
“Just Do It” Campaign!
Products are no longer just products, they move beyond the functional meanings. Nowadays, they are social tools serving as a means of communication between the individual and his significant references. Product considers as a symbol of individuality and uniqueness, and also the symbol of affiliation and social identification. It’s particularly true with fashion brands. Fashion brands such as clothes, bags, shoes, etc satisfy opposing functions, both social identification, and distinction among individuals.
Nike must have understood the recipe well. The “Just Do It” campaign in the early 1990s would be a perfect example. Losing ground to archival Reebok which was the quick initiative on designing “style”, “fashion” aerobics shoes in the 1980s, Nike responded dramatically and forcefully by launching the “Just do it” campaign which was mainly focused on the person wearing on products instead of the product itself.
Sales;
Purchasing an athlete-endorsed product is one means of symbolically and publicly demonstrating aspirations to be a part of the group and such behaviors direct influence by the extent to which a fan identifies with an athlete endorser. Heroes and hero-worship were being built as the main themes of advertising. Celebrity endorsements such as Bo Jackson, John McEnroe, and Michael Jordon appealed to the consumer’s sense of belonging and “hipness”.
In other words, American consumers were convinced that wearing for every part of their life was smart (the shoe design for comfort) and hip (everyone else is wearing them; you too can belong to this group). “Just Do It” campaign succeeded (Nike increased its share of the domestic sports shoe business after launching this campaign in America from 18 percent to 43 percent, regained the leader position) because it could fascinate customers in both separating ways. Wearing Nike as a self-fulfilling image declaration – “if you are hip, you are probably wearing Nike”. But perhaps most importantly, it could create the desirable needs -“if you want to be hip, wear Nike”.
Brand Loyalty!
Luring by the good shoe with innovative functionality and athletic aspiration value, Nike has indeed come to the mind and heart of its customers. By the mid of the 1990s, 77 percent of male Americans from the age of 18 to 25 chose Nike as their favorite shoe. The figure remains stable despite that “up” and “down” year Nike has been experiencing, gaining the high score of customer satisfaction at 79 percent rated by The American Customer Satisfaction Index Organization.
It could say that loyalty to the Nike brand image stands driven by many external and internal factors such as brands’ subjective and objective characteristics and loyalty-building programs. One visible example of creating an innovative method to capture the strong relationships with Nike users is that creating Joga.com, a social network site for football fans.
Launching quietly in early 2006, the site became an instant hit, peaking at 7.5 million viewers when Nike showed Ronaldinho video clips. More than 1 million members from 140 countries signed up by mid-July. On this site, fans can create their blogs, build communities around favorite teams or players, download videos and organize pickup games. By enrolling consumers in building and shaping the content of the website, Nike pulled their loyal customers closer, nurtured deeper bonds of loyalty and advocacy.
Brand Awareness!
Brand awareness is the first and crucial stage of a consumer’s preference. It refers to the strength of a brand’s presence in the consumers’ minds. Nike has been successful in building awareness. The “Swoosh” symbol has been appeared everywhere, on shoes, hats, billboards, and soccer balls across the globe too remarkably to such extent that one author used the title “The Swooshification of the World” on Sports Illustrated column that imaged a future in which the swoosh could surpass sports to become a letter of the alphabet and the new presidential seal, among other things. True told the recognition of the ‘swoosh’ is extremely high.
As of 2000, 97 percent of American citizens recognized the brand logo, as the strong brand penetration. Nike could recognize consistently without the identification of the brand name, even by the youngest group (aged from 4 to 6 years old). This perhaps may reflect the general level of advertising and promotion that children expose to.
How has Nike done to build brand image awareness?
Sponsorships, advertising, and experience-focused retailing (Nike town) are three vivid channels that Nike has applied to enhance its brand image and awareness. Among these strategies, athlete endorsements could consider as the most significant success of the Nike brand image.
Nike has been invested millions of dollars to associate their brand names with easily recognizable athletes with the aim of brand image building. Athletes at the top of their respective sport such as Micheal Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong who are well-liked and respected by members of the brand’s target audience chose as endorsers to associate the Nike brand image with the athlete’s celebrity image. This strategy has been paid off; for example, since Tiger Woods and Nike cooperated, annual sales for Nike Golf have exceeded nearly 500 million dollars with an estimated 24 percent growth per year in the first five years of the agreement.
The Inductive Method: Induction “is the process of reasoning from a part to the whole, from particulars to generals or from the individual to the universal.” This article explains the Inductive Method of Economics; Bacon described it as “an ascending process” in which facts are collected, arranged and then general conclusions are drawn. Also learn the Methods of Economics.
Here are explaining and learn, What is the Inductive Method of Economics? Steps, Merits, and Demerits.
The inductive method was employed in economics by the German Historical School which sought to develop economics wholly from historical research. The historical or inductive method expects the economist to be primarily an economic historian who should first collect material, draw generalizations, and verify the conclusions by applying them to subsequent events. For this, it uses statistical methods. Engel’s Law of Family Expenditure and the Malthusian Theory of Population have been derived from inductive reasoning.
The inductive method involves the following steps:
The Problem:
In order to arrive at a generalization concerning an economic phenomenon, the problem should properly select and clearly stated.
Data:
The second step is the collection, enumeration, classification, and analysis of data by using appropriate statistical techniques.
Observation:
Data are using to make the observation about particular facts concerning the problem.
Generalization:
On the basis of observation, generalization is logically deriving which establishes a general truth from particular facts.
The best example of inductive reasoning in economics is the formulation of the generalization of diminishing returns. When a Scottish farmer found that in the cultivation of his field an increase in the amount of labor and capital spent on it was bringing in less than proportionate returns year after year, an economist observing such instances in the case of a number of other farms, and then he is arriving at the generalization that is known as the Law of Diminishing Returns.
Merits of the Inductive Method:
The chief merits of this method are as follows:
Realistic:
The inductive method is realistic because it is based on facts and explains to them as they actually are. It is concrete and synthetic because it deals with the subject as a whole and does not divide it into component parts artificially
Future Inquiries:
Induction helps in future inquiries. By discovering and providing general principles, induction helps future investigations. Once a generalization is establishing, it becomes the starting point of future inquiries.
Statistical Method:
The inductive method makes use of the statistical method. This has made significant improvements in the application of induction for analyzing economic problems of the wide range. In particular, the collection of data by governmental and private agencies or macro variables, like national income, general prices, consumption, saving, total employment, etc., has increased the value of this method and helping governments to formulate economic policies pertaining to the removal of poverty, inequalities, underdevelopment, etc.
Dynamic:
The inductive method is dynamic. In this, changing economic phenomena can analyze on the basis of experiences, conclusions can draw, and appropriate remedial measures can take. Thus, induction suggests new problems to pure theory for their solution from time to time.
Historico-Relative:
A generalization drawn under the inductive method is often historical-relative in economics. Since it is drawn from a particular historical situation, it cannot apply to all situations unless they are exactly similar. For instance, India and America differ in their factor endowments. Therefore, it would be wrong to apply the industrial policy which was following in America in the late nineteenth century to present-day India. Thus, the inductive method has the merit of applying generalizations only to related situations or phenomena.
Demerits of Inductive Method:
However, the inductive method is not without its weaknesses which are discussing below.
Misinterpretation of Data:
Induction relies on statistical numbers for analysis that “can misuse and misinterpret when the assumptions which are requiring for their use are forgotten”.
Uncertain Conclusions:
Boulding points out that “statistical information can only give us propositions whose truth is more or less probable it can never give us certainty”.
Lacks Concreteness:
Definitions, sources, and methods using in statistical analysis differ from investigator to investigator even for the same problem, as for instance in the case of national income accounts. Thus, statistical techniques lack concreteness.
Costly Method:
The inductive method is not only time-consuming but also costly. It involves detailed and painstaking processes of collection, classification, analyses, and interpretation of data on the part of trained and expert investigators and analysts
Difficult to Prove Hypothesis:
Again the use of statistics in induction cannot prove a hypothesis. It can only show that the hypothesis is not inconsistent with the known facts. In reality, the collection of data is not illuminating unless it is related to a hypothesis.
Controlled Experimentation not Possible in Economics:
Besides the statistical method, the other method used in induction is controlled experimentation. This method is extremely useful in natural and physical sciences which deal with the matter. But unlike the natural sciences, there is little scope for experimentation in economics because economics deals with human behavior which differs from person to person and from place to place. Also, What is Demand? Meaning and Definition.
Further, economic phenomena are very complex as they relate to the man who does not act rationally. Some of his actions are also bound by the legal and social institutions of the society in which he lives. Thus, the scope of controlled experiments in inductive economics is very little. As pointed Out by Friendman, “The absence of controlled experiments in economics renders the weeding out of unsuccessful hypo-these slow and difficult.”
What is the Inductive Method of Economics? Photo Credit to Pixaby, More free Images, Also, Thanks!
