Retailing and Direct Marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Retailing and Direct Marketing - Article Example It means sending a message regarding a product directly to the customer through various means like direct email, telemarketing, broadcast, integrated campaigns, direct selling and door to door leaflet marketing. Direct marketing depends on measurable and track-able consumer responses concerning the product. Ethics and social responsibility is a key component of any business enterprise, which ensures that the customers’ needs are addressed in a business’ policies. This paper aims at addressing the impact of ethics and social responsibility in retail and direct marketing. Observation of sound ethics in business practices has been shown to boost consumer confidence in a retail outlet’s products and services. This is because customers recognise these efforts and they in turn reciprocate by being loyal to that retail outlet. A business should always strive to do what is right and good for its clients by upholding their ethical principles of operating business (Pride & Ferrell, 30). ‘Beyond Scarcity’ is an article by Doug Wallace that he wrote for the The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility. In the article, he highlights the ethical dilemma faced by a company of whether to accept a take over bid or refuse the bid. Accepting the bid means making a handsome profit because the take over bid offered to buy the company’s shares at the double their value. By doing this, the company will be abandoning their shareholder’s and customer’s welfare. The company offering the bid only interest is in the company’s substantial reserve fund which they aim to use in boosting their diminishing financial position (Wallace, 14). This is interesting because the prospecting company is likely not to care about Kemper Products’ customer satisfaction. There is also the issue of the fate of junior employees because the prospective company does not offer welfare packages for them as it did for the senior management. This an ethical question because

Nurse Roles & Functions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nurse Roles & Functions - Essay Example Alternatively, nurses also play instrumental roles in CQI by ensuring that they follow the prescribed rules and systems set by the healthcare organization. Nurses must also improve their service provision approaches to avoid errors experienced in the workplace. The various types of organizational hazards encountered while working at a local hospital entail injuries, accidents, inadequate equipment and congestion (Vincent, 2010). The preventive strategies that should be implemented to prevent workplace-related injuries include the provision of safety gears like gloves, cleaning the wards and the procurement of more equipment. The safety issues in health care, such as prevention of blood borne illnesses is to ensure that nurses use gloves when attending to patients (Vincent, 2010). The prevention of needle stick equipment is by disposing all the used syringes at the correct dump bins where children and other people cannot access them. The prevention of back injury can be handled by avoiding carrying of heavy items or placing medical equipment at places where others cannot overstretch to reach them (Vincent,

Education for Rizal... Education for me... Essay Example for Free

Education for Rizal Education for me Essay Every now and then my parents keep on telling me that my education should be in the number one slot in my list of priorities. They keep on telling me that I should put a great deal on finishing my studies. They say (like every parents say), it is the only thing they could leave to us when they pass away. So, without thinking about it thoroughly, this idea was instilled in my mind right away. But now that we were asked to write our idea about education and relate it with Rizals, this may serve as an opportunity for me to assess and reinforce this thought. As what the books say, the importance of education is quite clear. Education is the knowledge of putting ones potentials to maximum use. One can safely say that a human being is not in the proper sense till he is educated. The training of a human mind is not complete without education. Education makes man a right thinker. It tells man how to think and how to make decision. Only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint himself with past history and receive all necessary information regarding the present. Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards outside world. The thought that education is indeed very critical for a nation to be at its best is not new to us. Right? Even our national hero has a say on this. In his works and writings, his educational philosophy is the most emphasized. Philosophy may be defined as the study and pursuit of facts which deal with the ultimate reality or causes of things as they affect life. Rizals concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of teaching. He maintained that the backwardness of his country during the Spanish era was not due to the Filipinos indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the peoples mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could the country be saved from domination. Rizals philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation in order to strengthen the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the youth an innate desire to cultivate his intelligence and give him life eternal. Another thing, Rizal also sees education as the basis for his idea of an ideal Filipino. We can even observe in all his works and writings education plays a very important role. His characters are greatly shaped by education. For instance, in his Noli Me Tangere, the character of Crisostomo Ibarra, the elements of knowledge and education is clearly depicted. This is the reason why it is said that Ibarra is the character representation of Jose Rizal. He used education as a means towards attaining his aim of Philippine independence. Upon searching for our report in PI which is the Second Wave of Rizals Travels, I came across his letter to the women of Malolos. This letter is a way of extending his admiration to the said women. This also make my previous statements true, Rizal really puts much value on education. In this letter of his, Rizal pleads to the mothers for them to teach their children to love our mother nation and to fight for our liberty. Through this end also, our children will be able to acquire their worthy education. The thoughts of Rizal on education and how he used it as weapon for attaining Philippines independence made me realize its true meaning and importance. I remember, when I was still young, education for me is being able to go to school, nothing more. But it is a whole heap more. Education is a word with too many dimensions, too many to mention. Education plays an important role in the progress of an individuals mind and country. Ignorance and poverty are major speed-breakers in the swift developing country and can be overcome easily through education. You cant really call yourself educated if you can read and write or get flat 1s in every subject. A person who is educated has a certain atmosphere around him, of dignity and wisdom. If you are educated, you dont need to abide by the facts that the book recites, or follow Aristotles philosophy. Like Jose Rizal, an educated person builds on the facts the book says and has his own philosophy. If you are educated, you cant have a wrong philosophy. Education is everything. People are made aware of what is going on in the wide world and can understand these issues and take necessary measures. The quality of human resource of a nation is easily judged by the number of literate population living in it. This is to say that education is a must if a nation aspires to achieve growth and development and more importantly sustain it. This may well explain the fact that rich and developed nations of the world have very high literacy rate and productive human resource. In fact these nations have started imparting selective training and education programs so as to meet the new technical and business demands of the 21st century. The importance of education cannot be neglected by any nation. And in todays world, the role of education has become even more vital. It is an absolute necessity for economic and social development of any nation. Source:Life, Ideas, and Works or Rizal by Zalde.

Music Downloads From The Internet

Music Downloads From The Internet A big question in the music industry has arisen. It is the one about music downloads, whether free or paid for or illegally downloaded (piracy). People were and are still keen to know whether these downloads have an effect on the price of CDs and the sales of CDs. Many studies have been done in this regard as will be shown below. Some of the studies concluded that the downloads did not affect the Music CD industry negatively, but rather helped it to achieve higher sales. Others report that the industry has suffered. This paper will look at the different studies undertaken. It is a general trend and decision of music-lovers worldwide, to download music instead of buying CDs. Downloads are seen to be more convenient. Music CDs appeared in 1982 and became the medium for commercial music. The Internet and technology gives music lovers the ability to download music. It is this new technology and convenience that threatened and threatens the music CD sales. Consumers now have the luxury to handpick the songs and music that they prefer and like. The supply and demand of CD sales are influenced by the downloads. When a CD comes out, there are between 11 and 15 or more songs on the album. However, not all the songs are liked by music lovers. This is one of the main reasons for music downloading (Harrell 2007). Price, Demand and Elasticity Price elasticity is the reference to price change in connection to demand. Demand can also change in relationship to price. Price elasticity also refers to the amount of money a single consumer wants to pay for something. Consumers with lower incomes have lower price elasticity for they have less disposable income. This means that higher income consumers have higher price elasticity because they can pay more. Depending on the product and the value of it, even low income or low spenders with low price elasticity, will want to pay more. In the case of the music CD sales, both low and high income spenders, like to download music which is cheaper than a CD and they also have the luxury of choosing what they want (Ellis-Christensen 2011). Downloaded music and CDs are substitutes for each other. The downloaded music is on the rise. Downloaded music prices went down as a result if access to the internet on a worldwide scale as more music sites became available. Because of the fall in the pr ice of the substitute (downloaded music) decreases the demand for Music CDs. Thus the price drop in downloaded music is resultant of the decrease in demand for CDs ( Lee Gosain 2002; Leung 2009; Liebowitz 2005). Studies done in Music downloads and the effects on CD sales: The first such study was done in the US. It was undertaken by researchers of Harvard University and the University of the North Carolina. They kept track of music downloads over 17 weeks in 2002. These were then compared to the markets sales of CDs against the ones downloaded. The conclusion reached was that the multiple and numerous downloads had limited effect on record sales A study of file-sharings effects on music sales says online music trading appears to have had little part in the recent slide in CD sales. Furthermore, the authors of the report related that they think that those who downloaded music would not have bought the CD. The big culprits of downloads were identified as Kazaa and Morpheus who offered a link for people to use in downloads. Music producers and CD companies reported lower sales and blamed the loss on downloads where some music offers are for free. Besides the downloads lower incomes and the recession were also blamed. Then there is also the possible impact of other forms of entertainment such as DVD movies, video games for TVs and computers. The study has aroused interest to the effect that some people felt that the music industry should make music available on a peer-to-peer basis on networks to distribute the music. The feeling is that the download companies such as Kazaa and others should negotiate and cooperate instead of fighting and opposing each other. This study was done by professors Oberholzer (Harvard) and Strumpf (Univ. North Carolina). They used logs amounting to 1.75million downloads over a period of 17 weeks.This research showed that some people only did a logon twice and downloaded about 17 songs, while others logged on much more and downloaded more. In one case, one person downloaded 5,000 . The next step was to choose songs and then made a comparison of the albums with that of the downloads of the same songs. The researchers concluded that it would take about 5,000 downloads to upset and displace the sale of one CD. Even if millions of downloads were done worldwide, it would only affect the sales minimally. They even felt that the downloads could even push sales up a little. People who read and studied the report were critical of its findings. They feel that other studies showed both positive and negative effects. The Recording Industry Association of America was dismissed the results as inconsistent with earlier findings. This body referred to a study by the University of Texas who concluded that the downloads did affect the music industry (Borland 2004). The above report attracted many online comments. One highlighted the fact that CDs were too expensive compared to the records sold in the late 60s and 70s and teenagers then could buy one easily by just doing household chores such as lawn mowing or babysitting. In the present time, the costs of CDs are high and will require many lawn mowing and sessions of baby-sittings. Thus, teens are not to blame if they rather download music. These teens are afraid to buy a CD incase the rest of the music on it is not too good. Another person complained that modern technology makes the production costs of CDs, and questions the high cost in the shops. Therefore, people rather download (Oberholzer Strumpf 2004). Fisher (2007) reported that the music industry suffered a decline in sales of CDs. The drop is reported as high as 20%. Answers were sought for the drop in sales. According to the Wall Street Journal, the closure of more than 800 stores in 2006, is one of the reasons for the decline. Legal downloads are growing, but the money paid via the internet is not closing the gap in revenue. One argument is that legal downloads (paid downloads) decrease the money of CD sales. In the first quarter (2007) 81.5 million CDs were sold. It was 20% down on the previous sales figures (2006). In contrast, Apple iTunes sales grew 54%, accounting for 175 million songs sold and paid for. It is clear to see that the volume of downloaded songs were more than the actual CDs sold. It is estimated that the songs are mostly singles instead of whole albums. Figures quoted are: $2 billion from online music sales; of this $800 million were single-track sales.The argument still stands that people buy downloaded tra cks instead of buying the album unless it is a hit album. In the past consumers were prepared to pay for an album even if they did not like all the songs on it. Now they have the opportunity to just buy what they liked. This translates to CD sales going down and digital downloads are on the increase. Fisher argues that, Generally speaking, it takes 10 songs to reach the cost of an album (if generalized to $10), so even someone buying a handful of songs off an album leaves a revenue gap compared to a whole album sale. He also cites the competition of other forms of entertainment such as DVD or CD movies. Moya (2007) reported about a study done in Canada. This was a research study done by university professors. It was to make a comparison between CDs bough and the music downloaded. This study was conducted by Birgitte Andersen and Marion Frenz of the Department of Management at the University of London in England. It concludes that illegal file-sharing does not cause a decrease in music sales as the music industry has insisted. They argue that the opposite is true. According to them , downloads cause an INCREASE in music purchasing. These researchers argue that whereas earlier studies show a decline in CD sales due to P2P file-sharing, they find that P2P file-sharing actually increase rather than decrease music purchasing in Canada. The research delivered the following key findings: That for every 12 P2P downloaded songs, music purchases increased by 0.44CDs. This means that downloading about 1 CD increases the buying of half a CD approximately. There was no relationship between P2P file-sharing and digital purchase via for example iTunes. About half of P2P tracks were downloaded because people wanted listen to songs first, before buying. They did not want to buy an album , but rather what they wanted. Illegal downloads had an effect, but minimally; a 1% increase in such downloads, is linked to a 4% increase in CD sales. Owners of MP3 players were less keen to buy CD albums. The study further found that other forms of entertainment that was cited in other research as a reason for the decline in sales of CDs, actually did not stand up to their results. Andersen and Frenz (2008) argue that an interest in music translates to music purchases on CDs. Theoverall conclusion of this study is that there is a strong link between file-sharing and CD purchasing. For Canadians, it means that P2P file-sharing increase the sales of CDs. This comes about through the opportunity of people to listen to music and then decide to buy it (Andersen Frenz 2007). A study conducted in Japan (Tanaka 2004) also tested the notion that downloaded music hurt the sales of CDs. Tanaka (2004) researched the topic and looked at music downloads in Japan. In Japan the downloads are being done over anonymous file servers, so people who download are less concerned with copyright laws. He looked at many variables of sales and downloads. His final conclusion was that there is no evidence to suggest and show that downloaded music affected a drop in sales of CD sales. Another study conducted by Liebowitz (2005) returned some results. One main conclusion was that more research was needed to test the thesis that file-sharing and downloading hurts the music and CD industry. It is clear that academics do not agree with research findings to this effect. Liebowitz contends that his research shows that sales have been affected, however, it is not a cut and dried decision. He recommends that more economists should be engaged in the study of the effect of downloads and file-sharing of music on the music CD industry. His argument is that economists will draw more on sales figures and profits and losses and present a clearer picture of the thesis of the effects of music downloads on CD sales. Leung (2009) conducted research to test two beliefs of music piracy. The first one is whether music piracy hurts CD sales and the second about the idea that copyright laws might stop music pairacy. His research reveals that the music industry is hurt by music piracy, however, he disagrees with the results of Oberholzer and Strumpf (2007). Furthermore, he links music piracy to sales of Apple iPods and argues the case that more piracy will prevail and that in turn will enhance the sales of iPods. This stands to reason ,as iPods are favored to listen to music and the music for the iPod is downloaded, either legally (paid) or pirated. CONCLUSION: An ongoing debate prevails about whether music downloads affects price and demand as well as the sales of music CDs. From the various researches that had been conducted, different researchers delivered different results. Oberholzer and Strumpf (2002) contend that the CD sales did not suffer much. According to them, sales could increase slightly as people are exposed to more songs and go and buy the album. Tanaka (2004) asserted that the downloads of music in Japan did not affect the sales of CD s there. Andersen and Frenz (2007) found that sales increase in Canada as a result of downloading. They argue that music lovers could be exposed to certain music songs and then decide to go and buy the album.Leung (2009) argues that the music industry suffers due to pirated music downloads as a result of the popularity of the iPod listening device.

Enemy at the Gates :: essays research papers

Enemy at the Gates Cast: Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins, Ed Harris, Ron Perlman, Gabriel Thomson Written by: Jean-Jacques Annaud and Alain Godard Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud Running Time: 131 minutes Synopsis: Enemy at the Gates was inspired by a true story and set against the siege of Stalingrad during World War II. This is the tale of a young Russian sharpshooter, Vassili, who becomes a legend by shooting numerous high-ranking German officials. When his friend, Danilov, a soviet political officer, realizes the propaganda value in Vassili's skill as a sniper and makes him the hero of his propaganda campaign and the hero of Russia with the help of Khrushchev, who was sent by Stalin to oversee the Russian effort. Stalin ordered that the city not fall†¦whatever the cost. It was a battle that the Russians had to win. To not overcome would have meant the complete collapse of Russia and its ultimate takeover by the German forces after Russia had already lost numerous battles to the Germans. So thousands of poorly trained and ill-equipped (many actually unarmed) Soviet troops were poured into battle, motivated by Russian security forces who followed with orders to kill anyone who might try to flee or retreat. Russia was in need for a hero. The Germans outnumbered in men and weapons compared to Russia. Everyday numerous Russians were being killed, either by Germans bullets or Russian. Vassili gave the Soviet troops the courage and bravery to fight despite the overwhelming odds. The friendship between Danilov and Vassili is threatened when Danilov become jealous of the man he created and he too falls in love with an attractive, and intelligent female soldier, Tania. As the battle for the city continues, Vassili faces his ultimate challenge when the Nazi command dispatches its the best marksman of the German army, Major Konig, to hunt down and kill the man who has become the hope of all Russia. Though out the movie they remain in a cat and mouse chase both showing extreme patience and skill and setting traps for each other. While Sasha, a young Russian boy, passes between the Russian and German camps passing information to Major Koenig by bribes and using Sasha as bait and then passes information to the Russians. From this Sasha gets hung by Major Koenig, upsetting Vassili and Tania because Sasha was so close to them. When Tania and Vassili go to tell his mother what has happened Tania is was hit with shrapnel.

Th Future of Hip Hop Essay -- Hip Hop Music, Total Chaos

From its conception in the 1970's and throughout the 1980's, hip hop was a self-contained entity within the community that created it. This means that all the parameters set for the expression came from within the community and that it was meant for consumption by the community. Today, the audience is from outside of the community and doesn’t share the same experiences that drive the music. An artists’ success hinges on pleasing consumers, not the community. In today's world, it isn’t about music that rings true for those who share the artists' experiences, but instead, music that provides a dramatic illusion for those who will never share the experiences conveyed. This has radically changed the creative process of artists and the diversity of available music. Most notably, it has called in to question the future of hip hop. In Total Chaos, Jeff Chang references Harry Allen, a hip hop critic and self-proclaimed hip hop activist. Harry Allen compares the hip hop movement to the Big Bang and poses this complex question: â€Å"whether hip-hop is, in fact a closed universe-bound to recollapse, ultimately, in a fireball akin to its birth-or an open one, destined to expand forever, until it is cold, dark, and dead† (9). An often heard phase, â€Å"hip hop is dead,† refers to the high occurrence of gangster rap in mainstream hip hop. Today’s hip hop regularly features black youths posturing as rich thugs and indulging in expensive merchandise. The â€Å"hip hop is dead† perspective is based on the belief that hip hop was destined to become the model of youth resistance and social change. However, its political ambitions have yet to emerge, thus giving rise to hip hops’ criticisms. This essay will examine the past and present of hip hop in o... ... in which the expansion never ends, but all vitality is lost. The past shows us that hip hop has transformed and evolved; it doesn’t have to end and it doesn’t have to lose its momentum. Works Cited Chang, Jeff. Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-hop. New York: BasicCivitas, 2006. Print. Farley, Christopher J. "Rapper Nas Says Maybe Hip Hop Isn't Dead After All." Wall Street Journal, 20 May 2010. Web. Merwin, Scott. "From Kool Herc to 50 Cent, the Story of Rap -- so Far." Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, 15 Feb. 2004. Web. Nas. 2006. â€Å"Hip Hop is Dead.† Hip Hop is Dead. Def Jam Recordings. Nas. 2006. â€Å"Hope.† Hip Hop is Dead. Def Jam Recordings. Rose, Tricia. The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk about When We Talk about Hip Hop - and Why It Matters. New York: BasicCivitas, 2008. Print. Williams, Saul. 2004. â€Å"Telegram.† Saul Williams. Fader Record Label.

High School Reunions Essay

An observation of a high school re-union was followed by an interview with two of the people attending for this ethnography. The two attendees used for the interview were one male and one female. After identifying some of the possible rationales regarding the culture of the reunion in the observation, the interview was conducted on the basis of the rationales. This was then analysed and compared to some of the findings from cultural research and theory before a conclusion of sorts was made. Observation The group environment and context for the observation was that of the Aliso Niguel High School Class Reunion, Class of 1999. The High School is located in Aliso Niguel CA. The reunion being observed took place in Irvine, CA. There were approximately 300 people present. The general patterns of behaviours amongst the people consisted of lots of mingling and idle chat. Some of the people were notably more reserved than others. It seemed as though the single people were working harder to start conversation and were far more approachable. In contrast, couples didn’t seem to portray the same type of inviting body language when on their own, but became more confident when with a spouse or friend. Approximately, 80% of the attendees held drinks in their hand as a norm and there were also presents and cards being exchanged from the outset. From overhearing the participant’s conversation it seemed as though many of them still lived in the Southern California area and this became a main source of conversation throughout. The interaction was generally based upon excitement, smiling and heightened voices at notably louder than normal volume. With regards to dress codes, there didn’t seem to be much evidence of diversity. This was particularly notable in the case of the females. The majority of them had light hair past their shoulders and the clothing style that was adopted by the attendees was strikingly similar. There were very few obese or overweight people that attended. These people perhaps did not attend as failed invites were not taken. There were clear indications of sub-groups at the gathering, although they seemed to carry conversation with the rest of the attendees in accordance with the larger group. Amongst the males there were indications of many stereotypes such as â€Å"meat head† or â€Å"gym jocks†, as I overheard one female state. Although as many of these people are now approx. 27-30 years old, it was harder to categorize them in such terms. There did seem to be a stronger merge between coupled groups and singled groups rather than any cross over. There appeared to be a symbol of people trying to meet a certain criteria throughout. For instance, there was a group of approximately 15 females. I overheard that all of them got married within the last 2 years and many of them either attended and/or where present at each other’s wedding. This could be indicative of a desire to follow patterns and trends in behaviour as though as everyone else is getting married then so must they, so that they aren’t left behind. Contrastingly, the males seemed to compare status in relation to possessions, such as career, cars, and houses paying particular attention to the location of the houses. There appeared to be a great deal of stereotypical role playing. This was perhaps due to the situation and the fact that earlier identities were known by other attendees. Expectation of success may have accentuated the desire for the attendees to exaggerate their status so as to appear successful. I felt that many of the attendees really liked re-living the past. They may have either really enjoyed their high school years, or were very curious as to what their classmates were doing now. However, this could also be a test of identity or serve as a self measuring experience on the basis of their peer’s behaviours and successes. Interviews The questions that I asked were qualitative, semi structured and thematic in nature focusing mainly upon stereotypes and reasoning. This was to see if the thoughts of the interviewees compared with what seemed apparent about the culture of the re-union gathered from the observation. That is to say, was this something of a self regulation exercise for the attendees or was it an exercise in cultural normality? On being asked for their reasoning in relation to the re-union, the male interviewee stated that: ‘No one takes it seriously. Certainly not me. ’ The second female interviewee stated in relation to the same question that: ‘You kinda get to know everyone personally again‘. These responses suggested two different rationales. In the case of the male, it appeared as though the reunion was something of a casual affair that could turn out to be fun as long as it wasn’t taken seriously or that anything was invested in the occasion. Whereas the female’s response indicated that there was a personal form of intimate gratification involved in seeing other people again. The latter response would suggest that there is some form of self regulation going on in relation to peers (Devine, 1989). Whether this was merely for the purposes of satisfying interest or to measure oneself against the progress of other peers was less clear (Tajfel, 1982). On being given and questioned about some of the stereotypes of others observed at the re-union, the male interviewee stated that: ‘The stereotypes you have mentioned are generally applied to people you haven’t interacted with. They’re based upon ignorance. They go away once you get talking’ This indicates a difference between known and unknown people, which is common in western individualistic society (Hofstede, 2001). It appeared that the male attendee was not willing to accept or perhaps did not realise the significance of stereotypical role playing and instead took everyone at face value once a conversation took place with another. This rejection of stereotypes was also found in the response of the female attendee who stated that: ‘I don‘t really know, I always talk to people at parties and they always seem friendly, bar one or two. Is that a stereotype? †¦ha ha! ’ This raised some interesting points. For instance, although the attendee may well have pre-conceived notions about certain stereotypes, the individuals may have felt that they were the only people that perceived them in that way (Devine, 1989). Due to the experience of the situation that reinforced certain social norms, this stereotype may diminish or grow regardless of the former social group. This was put forward by Gudykunst, who suggested that, â€Å"Some of our stereotypes are unique and based on our individual experiences, but some are shared with other members of our in-groups. The stereotypes we share with others are our social stereotypes. We may know what the social stereotype of a group is, but still hold a different view of the group. † (Gudykunst, 1997, p127) On asking about what they felt they had gained from the experience of the re-union and what others may have also gained, the male attendee stated that: ‘I found out all the different directions that people have taken. It’s not just about getting married, buying a house and having kids. Most people have branched right out since then’ The second female attendee stated in relation to the same question that: ‘I feel good that everyone seems to be doing so well. Everyone’s the same, but do their thing differently, if you know what I mean’ The notion of difference was clear in the responses of the interviewees. It would appear that although the roles and social norms were fairly similar and the content of the conversations were uniformly based upon success, the overview was based upon everyone’s success and happiness maintained through a degree of different life styles. This was again perhaps unsurprising given the individuality that is so common to western cultures (Hofstede, 2001). The emphasis on success and progression was also unsurprising for similar reasons. However, the amount of actual difference that was displayed at the re-union in terms of dress code and normative behaviour could be seen in contradiction of this difference (Tajfel, 1982). It would appear that such difference was only referred to in conversation rather than in actual behaviour. It would appear that sub-cultures were compromised at the re-union and stereotypes were overlooked as long as the attendees followed the correct social norms whilst at the re-union. Bibliography Devine, P, G. , (1989) Stereotypes and Prejudice: Their Automatic and Controlled Components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 5-18. Gudykunst, W. , & Bond, M, H. , (1997) Inter-group Relations Across Cultures. In J. W. Berry, M. H. Segall, & C. Kagitcibasi (Eds. ) Handbook of cross-cultural Psychology: Social Behaviour and Applications, 3, 119-161. Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Tajfel, H. , (Ed. ) (1982) Social Identity and Inter-group Relations London: Cambridge University Press.