Mass Media

Pop art was simply a reflection of consumer society and mass media, not a critique. Discuss with reference to the work of 3 artists. Pop Art was one of the major art movements of the twentieth century. It brought art back to the material realities of daily life, in which ordinary people derived most their visual pleasure from popular mass culture, such as advertising, television, magazines, or comic books and comic strips. As it emerged from the experiments of the fifties, was the ideal instrument for coming to grips with the American urban environment. Stangos, 1997) As the post-war generation and the stable political situation, it drove people back to the qualities of life. At the same times, America urban environment was influence by industrialism, consumer society and the mass media explosion. The pop artists have found subjects, which have previously been ‘invisible’ because they are so much a part of our surroundings that we don’t see them. These things now begin to appear, once the artists have pointed them out, and we discover that the world is full of ‘Pop object,’ which are expressive of our times and our values for better or for worse. Mahsun, 1989, p. 163) Pop art was established from the reality of basic consumer society; therefore, it was accepted by the society easily.

Pop art is said to be a reflection of culture as artists are giving new interpretation to different ordinary objects in their art works. Jasper Johns establish his career in art in 1954, he uses flags, numbers, letters and maps these kind of common symbols in daily life as element or theme of his art work. Jasper talks about his work, ‘Flags’ (fig. ), in which he thinks that flag this kind of most ordinary objects ‘can be dealt with without having to judge them, they seem to me to exist as clear facts, not involving aesthetic hierarchy. ’ (Harrison and Wood, 2001, p. 721) He adds that ‘one thinks it has forty-eight stars and suddenly it has fifty stars; it is no longer of any great interest. ’

‘The painting of a flag is always about a flag, but it is no more about a flag than it is about a brush-stroke or about a color or about the physicality of the paint, I think. (Harrison and Wood, 2001, p. 723) People will not care anymore about the cultural meaning of a flag, such as the meaning behind the number of stars of flag, but it transforms to a new representation of merely art element—- brush-stroke, color and paint. The deform of ordinary objects is reformed into a new image using oil and collage on fabric. By looking at the quality of work, one may say it is unfinished, however Jasper said it is his intention. ‘I think a painting should include more experience than simply intended statement.

I personally would like to keep the painting in a state of ‘ shunning statement’, so that one is left with the fact that one can experience individually as one pleases; that is, not to focus the attention in one way, but to leave the situation as kind of actual thing, so that the experience of it is variable. ’ (Harrison and Wood, 2001, p. 726) Besides he is interested in deforming objects, he also intended to leave the painting not ‘perfect’ as people usually conceived, to let viewer to ‘experience’ and interpret the painting in their own way.

Lippard (1966) also said that he has neutralized the gap between life and art by composing ‘imperfect synthesis of motif and treatment’. The question about is it a painting or flag is no more important. He integrates art and life with the use of ordinary objects and the imperfect way to treat his art. The new interpretation of ordinary culture is arousing resonance of viewers rather that a voicing out a statement to challenge the society. Andy Warhol, another master of pop art giving a new interpretation of mass production. For the most 1950s he was a successful graphic designer, particularly in the field of shoe illustration.

In 1960, Warhol, produced his first canvases depicting comic strip characters. The canonical repeated Soup Cans, Disaster, Elvises and Marilyns followed in 1962. Warhol talks about his work, ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans,’(fig. 2), for the reason he start painting soup cans ‘because I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day, for twenty years, I guess, the same thing over and over again. ’(Harrison and Wood, 2001, P. 732) Painting usually reflects the painter’s mind, which is happening around them. And the Soup cans totally reflect what Warhol’s life had and what he concerned.

Daily objects are used again as the theme of art work which is reminding viewers about very common objects, which Warhol is placing a new value and thought into them through his work. Another series of painting, the death series (fig. 3), and the reason to start this series is because there was lots of disaster news from the mass media. Warhol realized that everything he was doing must have been Death. That started it. But he believed when one see a horrible picture over and over again would lose the effect (Harrison and Wood, 2001, P. 732).

He even wants to repeat the images like what a machine does. In the 60s, most of the American similar to Warhol repeating their life likes a machine. No one would like to be a machine, but Warhol does. Warhol said that ‘I want to be a machine, and I feel that whatever I do and do machine like is what I want to do. ’ (Harrison and Wood, 2001, P. 732) In 1963 Warhol was mass-producing the images by silkscreen technique, for the repeated images ‘makes us aware again of objects which have lost their visual recognition through constant exposure.

We take a fresh look at things familiar to us, yet uprooted from their ordinary contexts, and reflect upon the meaning of contemporary existence. ’(Stangos, 1997, P. 229) Warhol wants an art that will appeal to everybody, and his ‘products’ range from soup to cheesecake, Brillo to Marilyn Monroe, nose surgery to Jacqueline Kennedy, as he mention ‘everything is beautiful, Pop is everything. ’ (Stangos, 1997) Once again, his art work reflects the mundane daily life of Warhol. It becomes widespread and popular because of the objects are so attached to everyone’s common life in America, which recalls people’s memory.

It is more probably that he is playful to ordinary materials, giving new look to them, mass producing them, rather to give a critical statement to the contemporary society. Roy Lichtenstein, who was a founder and foremost practitioner of pop art, he interest in the comic-strip cartoon and blown-up enlargements of things as an art theme probably began with a painting of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, ‘Look Mickey’ (fig. 4). Although he was initially dissatisfied with his technique and uncomfortable with direct appropriation, he took great pleasure in presenting well-known comic-strip figures in a fine art format.

He thinks that Pop art is commercial art which is used as subject matter in painting. (Franciz, Mark and Foster, 2005) He is interested in signs and comic strips because they are ‘usable, forceful and vital about commercial art…. We are using those things—- but we are not really advocating stupidity, international teenagerism and terrorism. ’ (Franciz, Mark and Foster, 2005, p. 229) The use of ‘comic strips’ itself already brings the cultural effect which everyone could digest easily, while he did not intend to give a judgment to the culture or society.

Roy also said that he painted directly. To express the things in a painterly style would dilute it; the techniques he uses are not commercial, they only appear to be commercial and the ways of seeing and composing and unifying are different and have different ends. Roy believes pop art looks out into the world; it appears to accept its environment, which is not good or bad, but different-another state of mind. And the tension between apparent object-directed products and actual ground- directed processes is an important strength of pop art. Mahsun, 1989,) When the curator at the modern museum has called pop art fascistic and militaristic, ‘the 1st televised war’ (fig 5), Roy said that ‘The heroes depicted in comic books are fascist types, but I don’t take them seriously in these paintings- maybe there is a point in not taking them seriously, a political point. I use them for purely formal reason, and that’s not what those heroes were invented for…. Pop art has very immediate and of the moment meanings which will vanish- that kind of thing is ephemeral- and pop takes advantage of this ‘meaning’ which is not supposed to last, to divert you from its content.

I think the formal statement in my work will become clearer in time. ’ (Mahsun, 1989, P. 113) It is clear that Roy does not take the heroic effect of cartoon strip itself seriously, even agrees with the fading meaning of pop art it may convey. It does not matters to him whether the effect will be long-lasting. He takes the immediate effect of cartoon images which are popular and influential in the moment. One could hardly think about he is criticizing the culture from his own statement. In 50s to 60s America societies, pop culture is the product of the Industrial Revolution, and of the series of technological revolutions that succeed it. Nikos Stangos, 1997) The impact of Mass media from radio, television or magazine advertising was fully influenced in America urban environment, who can live without this complicated mass media element. According to impact of mass media, the commonplace objects (such as comic strips, famous star and commodities) were used as subject matter in pop art. When the pop artists discovered those ‘invisible’ objects, they realized that there were full of new interesting art element surround them. When the daily commodities become an art piece, the relationship between the commonplace objects and the consumer are resonating easily.

That is the reason why pop art acceptance and recognition by the consumer society and become a fad quickly. (Harrison and Wood, 2001,) It is more prone that Pop art is reflecting the society and culture rather than judging it. ‘Everything about pop art was, and is, transient and provisional. By embracing these qualities, the pop artists held a mirror to society itself.

Reference list:

1. Francis, Mark and Foster, 2005, Hal (eds).
2. Pop, Phaidon, New York Harrison, C and Wood, P 2001,
3. Art in theory: 1900-2000: and anthology of changing ideas, Oxford, Blackwell. Honnet, K 2007,
4. Andy Warhol 1928-1987 commerce into Art, Taschen, Germany Lippard,L. R, 1966,
5. Pop Art, Thames and Hudson, London Livingstone, M, 2000,
6. Pop art a continuing history, Thames and Hudson, Singapore Mahsun, C. A. R, 1989,
7. Pop Art the critical dialogue, UMI Research Press, London Stangos, N, 1997,
8. Concepts of Modern Art, third edition, Thames and Hudson, Singapore

I’ve known for some time now that I need to do more video. The cost and time required, however, kept me away from the medium. Besides, I could always justify my delay with the longstanding conventional wisdom: Brands should operate like publishers.

My priorities truly started to shift a few months ago, when  that brands needed to prepare for video as a replacement for the written word. The rise of live-video solutions makes me wonder if brands and businesses should operate more like broadcast news stations instead.

Early adopters

Live video has been an exciting fringe content-creation activity during the past decade. Some early social-content marketers embedded platforms such as Ustream and Livestream into their Facebook pages. Then Google+ allowed Hangouts to be livestreamed on YouTube.

Today, nearly every social platform has a live-video streaming integration or solution. The explosion of , Periscope and Twitch tipped the practice even further. Business owners can’t put off video content any longer — myself included. I finally acknowledged that I need to really delve into the topic, but I still didn’t know the best way to do it on the cheap.

New features

A few weeks ago,  scheduling on its live platform. Content creators can schedule a live broadcast up to one week in advance. This also enables them to embed links to a future broadcast in websites, blogs, emails and other digital materials.

For me, this planning capability and the audience’s greater acceptance of live-video streaming signaled it was time to take the plunge. And viewers’ expectations mean my wobbly mobile phone’s vertical view wouldn’t cut it.

Before I invested in new equipment, I spoke with , a communications designer at Microsoft who works on . His recent book,  shows how live video enhances brand awareness and engagement. Colon’s tips can help every brand — from small, local businesses to startup tech conglomerates — operate like a billion-dollar live video network.

Low cost, high impact

Colon noted in a recent how business owners can build a high-quality, live-video studio setup for less than $2,000. And most of that cost is the device you probably already own: your smartphone or tablet.

Colon breaks it down into four parts. “Every brand needs to think about four essential items that are now universally available to use, which democratizes this ability,” he says. They are:

1. Branding
2. Devices
3. Lighting
4. Sound

“What used to cost upwards of $15,000 is now available to everyone for a fraction of that price,” Colon says, “and no professional knowledge is necessary based on the ease and experimentation of using the app software.”

The team at Microsoft starts with Bing-branded microphone blocks ($35 each) and a unit called a ($190) that holds an iPad mini, an iPhone or a Microsoft Surface — depending on the type of content. The rest consists of an ($90), two ($140 each), a ($160) to mount the Padcaster and the  (pronounced Live to Air) app. It’s this last piece that Colon believes is most essential. Live:Air helps stream content to a variety of platforms. You also can use the Pages Manager for Facebook app to stream directly to your Facebook page.

“I used this arsenal to broadcast live from Advertising Week in New York,” Colon says, “and it gave Bing a huge advantage over our competition. Not only can you build a setup that streams from a dedicated room in your office, but you can easily make it mobile-to-broadcast from any street corner, at any event.”

Stellar sound quality

If you go mobile and cover events, it’s important to pay equal attention to sound and picture. Jonathan Keith, Vice President of Content Development for Magnetic Agency Group, shoots brand-sponsored live video at events where sound matters — Winter Music Conference, Coachella, Art Basel and more.

“The top priority is professional sound,” Keith says. “An audience’s threshold for bad sound is much lower than bad video. Think about it: How much dodgy web video have you looked at? Chances are, a ton. But crappy sound is a non-starter for everyone. Do yourself a favor: Don’t rely on the internal microphone on your device. Invest in a decent handheld or lavalier mic. It won’t break the bank and will instantly make your video feel pro.”

Emerging business models

Live video is much more than cost-effective and popular. It’s quickly becoming the way to build business models that didn’t exist even 12 months ago. Colon cites several interesting players who are building their names strictly around live video. In the process, they’re disrupting how audiences perceive content delivery.

“Entirely new business names are being built on the back of live video now,” Colon says. “One prominent example is , who launched live with a small crew, two personalities (one of them ex-Buzzfeed ) and guests from tech companies from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. They now are a reputable source for business news in a matter of months, not years, and did it at a fraction of the cost of what it takes both CNBC and Fox Business News to air live.”

• Analyse their strategic choices with their options- why they made the choices that they did and recommendations. Has their strategic focus changed?

Look for critical success factors, matches and mismatches. Identify any key areas that have affected Nike. Look at tools of analysis e. g. swot analysis, pestle, value chain, porter’s 5 forces, shareholder matrix, resource view, 4 p’s, BCG matrix. etc and others to come to your answer. Introduction Nike operates within the sports footwear and apparel market.

Originally designing and producing running shoes, their portfolio has broadened to include a wide range of sports and leisure wear. This is all endorsed by top sporting personalities. This environment is fairly stable although terrorism and Sars has affected consumer confidence and supply networks. Mission Statement In its mission statement Nike expresses that it requires doing business in a responsible way, leading to sustainable financial growth. With the advances in technology, HR practices, the well informed and trained work force, there is very little left to differentiate organisations.

Being seen to go further than the minimum required on social issues can attract and retain customers. This green cleansing attracts attention to the organisation; they are viewed as caring and social responsible (Mullins, L. 2005). A report, on the business practices of Nike through its supply chain accused the organisation of being involved in poor working conditions, violations of labour rights, low wages and harassment of its workforce. Nike takes these reports seriously. On the basis of the research findings the company has intensified the monitoring of its suppliers (Hummels, H and Timmer, D. 004)

Past options

To build its business with all of its partners based on trust, teamwork, honesty and mutual respect; this is expected to be returned, expecting business partners to operate on the same principles. Rationale Nike does not want to only do what is required by law, but also do what is expected of a leader Future Options Review and monitor closer the actions of business partners Rationale To prevent bad publicity, which can damage the organisation Critical Success Factor To demonstrate to consumers the high value within the organisation to CSR.  This reduces long term debt has the benefit of not tying capital up in plant and equipment Future Options Rationale Critical Success Factor Reduced size of premises therefore reduced costs. Vital to have innovative employees. Products are viewed as innovative Change of Focus Theorist Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004 agreed that this was a cost effective method of production

Production

Within several of these countries there have been problems with production, distribution and political problems. With the change in relationship between the USA and Vietnam and China, these are new production venues that Nike could explore. Past options Produce goods in the Far east Rationale Keeps costs down Future Options Vietnam and China Rationale New trade agreements, present sites are switching manufacturing to electrical goods Critical Success Factor Maintaining current standards, closer working relationships, retaining customer loyalty by guaranteed standard of product

A shift to a more managed production Theorist All organisation need to watch changes in political and economical factors in their outsourcing. Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004, Shareholder Matrix Surrounding all organisations are stakeholders, all with varied levels of authority, power and interest towards the organisation Mendelow (1991) considered a matrix that classifies the level of power and interest a stakeholder has in an organisation. Although once each group of stakeholders is recognised, it cannot be assumed that their level of interest will remain the same (Mendelow (1991) cited in Scholes, K. Johnson, J 1997:198). Jones (1995) argue that the stakeholder framework is practical for considering business and society issues, because it identifies the sources of a corporation’s social obligations and its set of stakeholders (Jones (1995) cited in Rowley, T. 1998:28). Therefore by Nike concentrating on their stakeholders it has placed Corporate Social responsibility high on their agenda. The organisation has to demonstrate transparency in all actions and reporting. This can cause conflict with the shareholders.

Common in stakeholder theory is compromises on both sides that can obviously haze over differences; this primary characteristic is accepted as contra-distinctiveness from the shareholder value. This was discussed by Friedman, (1993) that the ultimate purpose of a company should be serving the interests of its shareholders (Friedman, (1993) Value Chain Nike’s supply chain provides a clear view of the extent of the global nature of the company. Nike’s headquarters are in America; however, virtually all of its production takes place outside of the United States.

Nike’s supply chain upstream begins with the materials used in the production of its products. Many of these materials used in production are available in the locations which the manufacturing takes place, but some specialised materials have to be imported to the manufacturing company. Past options Outsourcing of all production Rationale Reduced costs Future Options Outsource with stronger control Rationale Speed up reporting of any problems in production, the supply chain, the greater the distance the slower the reporting of problems Critical Success Factor Reduce problems associated with distance, i. e. uality, consistency and value Change of Focus Although still outsourcing, they would gain more control over production. Theorist Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004, agreed that Nike can be too far from the site of production Past options Target USA Rationale Demand and growth for footwear in the US was rapid.

Future options

Future option is to enter EU markets Rationale To expand into growing markets as US is near saturation. Critical Success Factor organic growth as well as by acquisition, also brand name, goodwill- therefore there is a match is CSF to succeed Change of Focus Maybe have to target marketing in a different way.

Theorist

When markets are reaching saturation, new markets need to be identified to prevent decline in sales. Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004, Distribution And Retailers Nike has a strong network of retailers in 200 coutries world wide through distributors, licensees and sudsiduaries. Within the USA there are 18000 stores that retail nike products. These are well established channels. Nike made itself heavily dependant on one retailer Footlocker, representing 10% of their revenue. When Footlocker reduced their purchasing form Nike, it created a reduction in turnover in the short term.

Organisations that are over dependant on one retailer are open to cash flow problems, if the retailer switches suppliers, reduces purchasing or ceases trading (Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004).

Past options

Although they have numerous retailers, they were heavily dependant on one out let chain Rationale To sell top of the range products Future Options To negotiate partnerships deals that allow for the choice of product for the retailer Rationale To prevent sudden withdrawal of products Critical Success Factor Customer being able to rely on source of product. If withdrawn they may find an alternative product

Change of focus

Closer working partnerships Theorist Organisations that are over dependant on one retailer are open to cash flow problems, if the retailer switches suppliers, reduces purchasing or ceases trading. Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004 Nike has a futures, but can also ship overnight when needed. Although the futures method is currently working for Nike, Past options Futures ordering system Rationale a 6 month lead time for product orders, always knowing what is needed in production. This is responsive to the market trends, but can also help retailers plan stock.

Any change or threats within the markets could leave them overstocked (Groucutt, J. et al 2004) Sales In addition, consumer sales outside of the United States exceeded sales in the United States in 2003 with only 43% of the company’s sales coming from the US In Europe there are difficulties in entering the market, the single currency and the trade rules make entry difficult for large organisations. Past options Target the US Rationale Growing market, but is now reaching saturation Future Options Target new markets, including e-commerce Rationale To avoid a reduction in sales Critical Success Factor

Entry to the markets, by advertising and targeting the audience. Ensuring accurate and quick picking of the customers order Change of Focus Shift to global marketing, selling world wide from the web targeting Generation Y. Theorist By tailoring marketing to the customer needs Nike has been successful in the past and continues to be today (Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004) Nike Branding Past options global brand Rationale Consumers are willing to pay a premium price for; as they imply credibility, high quality and up-to-date global trend. Future Options When companies are bought trade under their name Rationale

Moving into a new market with a brand that is already global you can reduce cost of introductory and follow-up marketing programs. Critical Success Factor Ensures customer loyalty and to widen portfolio Change of Focus Concentrating on core products as Nike, allowing growth in new diverse markets Theorist significant scales of economy are achieved Aaker 2000, this is in terms of brand development, packaging and manufacturing Marketing Sports personalities have endorsed the Nike product, although with numerous different sports and countries targeted this has been costly. The amount each personality has received is considered high.

This forces the competitors to market their products in the same way. Trends within the industry have increased the number of female consumers. With advertising Nike has targeted segments of the market, this costly. Nike should review their advertising policies (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). Past options Sports personalities have endorsed the Nike product, although with numerous different sports and countries targeted Rationale To target all types of sport by choosing personalities which are at the top of their sports.  To chose personalities that appeal to a wider audience Rationale To reduce advertising costs

Critical Success Factor

The athletic shoe industry is highly competitive as well as a demanding market where fierce competition, price conscience consumers, and constant changing market trends and fads have all been attributing factors in how a manufacturer responds. Highly focused brand includes Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, they target a precise market. However, there is evidence that a brand will widen its target market as it reaches a greater level of maturity. In the case of Nike, for example, there was a move into new sports areas away from the running heritage.

Nike’s target audience has moved from more masculine towards female and Generation Y. Price is related to Product, through the characteristics of the brand, it’s packaging and overall image. People are buying into an ideal, not just the item. Consumers believe that there is a link between quality of a product and the price. Consumers question what they are getting for their money. Brand Management, customer awareness and loyalty, is directly linked to the price, therefore maintenance of the relationship between brand images; quality and price have to be consistent (Johnson, G & Scholes J 2004). Models Used In Analysis

Swot analysis

This analysis will summarise key issues from the business environment and the strategic capacity of Nike. This can be used to judge future strategic options. Strengths Product Range Capacity for innovation Distribution expertise Single Brand Stars endorsement Contract manufacturing Large portfolio of products Weaknesses Single Brand Too many stars endorsement Contract manufacturing Spread portfolio of products Reliant on retailers Reduction of target market Opportunities New Markets E commerce Research and development Increase product line Product diversification Change target market New manufacturing countries

Threats Competition Fashion Trends Contract manufacturing and copying of product (intellectual property) Consumer lifestyle changes Competition Bad press associated with Nike Outlets cancelling orders Sars Pestle This will consider environmental influences on the organisation, both in the past and with future strategic plans. Political Striking dock workers Political unrest in the production countries Terrorism in the home country Economic Slow down in the economy Reduction in consumer confidence Barriers of entry to the EU Contract manufacturing Socio-cultural Brand conscious consumers Change in buying habits in younger people

Generation Y prefers other types of footwear Increase in the female share of the market Corporate social responsibility Technological Speed of change of product Design Ability Speed of News reporting Environmental Re use a shoe Sustainability philosophy Climate impact Legal Threaten action by underage workforce Poor employment record Corporate social responsibility Contract manufacturing and copying of product (intellectual property) Trade agreements Supply Chain Like every large IT undertaking, the team responsible for the implementation of Nike Supply Chain (NSC) began with a set of specific, stated goals:

Enhancing Nike’s ability to respond to changing conditions; Reducing inventory and capital investment risk; Improving service to meet customer/consumer needs; Improving process, information and product quality; and Providing an efficient global supply chain with local implementation Porter’s 5 Forces This model is used to identify the sources of competition, and how to gain advantage over them. Potential Entrants Other sportswear manufacturers expanding their portfolio Cheap copies from the Far East Buyers The buyers of sports footwear have changed in the past decade.

There has been and increase in women purchasing the shoes, Generation Y has a different tastes and purchasing methods. Substitutes When required for professional use there is no substitute goods, but as a fashion item there are many other goods that could be purchased. Suppliers Using production facilities in the Far East has give Nike economies of scale. Although there are now problems arising from these factories, they are switching to making there own goods, labour and political unrest causes delays in manufacturing and shipping of the goods, Competitive Rivalry Reebok, offering more choice of shoe, introducing endorsement by sports personalities, sponsoring sporting leagues Adidas have recovered from the problems that plagued them, and have a good product mix, covering a wide range of sports. BCG Matrix Nike is established within its markets, benefiting from economies of scale. This places them in the Cash Cows category on the Matrix. Cash cows market growth has slowed, and the products hold a fairly stable market share.

References

1. Books Aaker, D. (2000) Brand leadership Free Press, New York Doyle, P. (1998) Innovation in marketing

2. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Drawbaugh, K. (2001) Brands in the balance meeting the challenges to commercial identity Pearson Education,

3. London Groucutt, J. et al (2004) Marketing Essential Principals and New realities

4. Kogan & Page, Great Britain Johnson J & Scholes K (1997)(4th Edition)Exploring Corporate Strategy Prentice Hall, Hemmel Hempstead.

5. Johnson, G & Scholes J (2004) (6th Edition) Exploring Corporate Strategy Prentice Hall,

6. Hemmel Hempstead. Mullins, L. (2005) (7th Edition) Management and Organisational Behaviour Prentice Hall, Pearson, Harlow.Journals

7. Hummels, H and Timmer, D. (2004) Investors in Need of Social, Ethical, and Environmental Information Journal of Business Ethics Jun 2004Vol. 52, Iss. 1

8. Kaler, J. (2003) Differentiating Stakeholder Theories Journal of Business Ethics Aug 2003. Vol. 46

9. Rowley, T (1998) A normative justification for stakeholder theory Business and Society. Mar 1998

10. Welch, J. (1997) Business ethics in theory and practice: Diagnostic notes. A prescription for value Journal of Business Ethics, Feb 1997. Vol. 16,

Modernization in this contemporary world gives birth to emerging access to technologies that lead to the growth of social media platforms. The existence of present-day devices provides the creation of applications, programs and other networks that portrays an important role to every individual in terms of convenience. Social media platforms serve as interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the emergence and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks.

It provides the ability to create a mere connection in the present society and to the functions of social media. However, social media platforms transmit messages and source of effective connectedness, there are factors that contribute to its negative impacts that affect every individual in the society.

The social media platforms would formulate conclusions that want to give emphasis to the factors that cultivate the anxiety within a certain individual with the usage of the media that produces a certain condition of depression. While the Social Media platforms offer a lot of benefits, this will prove that there are instances that they have disadvantages that trigger to doubt, fear or uneasiness and literally to depression.

There are studies that would link between spending extended time on social media and experiencing negative mental health outcomes. The benefits of the social media platforms will provide contrast to determine whether these media channels take advantage on the development of modern technologies in the virtual world and just simply produce the impact that would lead to the association of depression and anxiety.

The traditional forms of communication are in the modes of television, radio, newspapers, magazines and other printed materials. As time goes by, developments sprouted that leads to the discovery of technology that brings life to modern devices. Advancements are very rampant until social media platforms are created.

Different kinds of applications and functions are available to the people to give the easiest accessibility in the form of communication. People grab the opportunities that will lessen their difficulties especially to connect to all individuals in the world in just one click. The social media platforms continue to provide all the needed operations of the people on an everyday basis. In this certain situation, the forms of social media grow depends on the demand of the people.

People are introduced to modern devices like cell phones, tablets, laptops, and computers. The growth of social media platforms formed a vital role in the lives of the people. Nowadays, people only think in reaching out to social media platforms in terms of challenges and difficulties because the mere fact that revolves around their mind is that everything can be found on the Internet.

The Global Digital Report of 2018, provides a data that shows that there are 7.60 billion of people in the world and the number of internet users worldwide in 2018 is 4.02 billion up 7 percent year-on-year, social media users worldwide comes with 3.20 billion up 13 percent year-on-year and users of mobile phone is 5.14 billion up 4 percent year-on-year. This only exhibits almost half of the total population in the world are now swallowed by the means of the usage of social media.

The total data continues to grow that would greatly conclude that social media platforms effectively influence and encourage the people to be updated and enjoy every feature that they can provide. The Delvalle organization classifies the social media platforms into; social networking, microblogging, blogging (publishing websites), photo sharing, video sharing, and crowdsourcing.

The Social Networking includes; Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn, Microblogging is composed of; Twitter and Tumblr, Blogging includes; Wordpress and Blogger, photo sharing composed of; Instagram, Flickr, Snapchat and Pinterest, Video Sharing includes; YouTube, Vimeo, and Periscope and Crowdsourcing are formed with Ushahidi, Inc. Among these categories, there are applications that made a name on the Internet especially on how they are adopted by the people.

According to Digital Guide 1&1, Facebook is widely considered to be the mother of all social media platforms and its most basic functions consist of providing an outlet for its members to communicate with each other as well as with private companies. The power of social media platforms gives complex perspectives on the range of its usage and the extent of people they have reached out in order to portray interaction in social, economic and even political views. As social media continues to develop, the scope of the people that use its features does not limit however it increases and form a society of innovations and susceptibility.

In today’s generations, every individual is much thankful to acquire all the developments from their ancestors that contributes to the idea of transformation and development of new phase and era. People don’t need a lot of effort and hard works to achieve their desires and necessities.

Even if you are just sitting down with the presence of modern devices, anything can be access, there a lot of things you can, A lot of the parents told their children that in their times, they have to exert all their strength and perseverance to overcome every challenge in life, unlike in this current situation we are facing, everything can be controlled in your own hands.

The situations in the past are the major causes of advancements because there are people who are willing to discover new things and ideas to produce a different kind of impact that would change the world for the better. Sahara Donnely as an entrepreneur in a private company states that “In every era, cultures go through numerous changes, and in recent years ours have been more impacted than anything else by social media”.

The generation today cannot deny the fact that the most influential factor that brings influence and convenience to each and everyone is the discovery of social media platforms. The forms of communication have grown efficiently to unite the people and to make an impact on the progress of the country even in the world with the appearances of the platforms of social media. The website of Webmasterview of Crystal Briscode encloses a statement that “It is a fact that social media has tremendously changed the way people interact and carry on with their lives”.

People are contented with the offerings of social media and they are afraid to offer themselves in the opportunities in the real world. The application of social media platforms serves as an avenue where you can communicate, purchase and even form transactions. The functions of social media help the people to be informed and updated to every activity that made up our environment. The modern technologies and also the products itself through social media platforms brought changes in the habitual practices of an individual and affects also their ability to adapt in terms of the resiliency of life.

Social Media platforms have molded the life of every individual to have comfort and happiness. The Internet has its own attributes to enhance the connection within the people. As life continues to provide us with different challenges, we must not be contented with the benefits of social media platforms.

It is important to find your own self with your own purpose on this earth. People must not be deprived of the advantages of social media platforms, however, we must acquire the value of learning is able to face every difficulty with confidence. Social media platforms as the major contributors to accessibility and effective communication, they provide risks also in this digital world.

The children of this modern generation focus on the benefits of the modern technologies especially on discovery of new gadgets, they are not even expose to their environment. They are lost in their own world and let the social media conquers them. One Report by the Royal Society for Public Health in the UK surveyed 1500 young people, ages 14-24, to determine the effects of social media use on issues such as anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and body image.

The findings show that YouTube had the most positive impact, while Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat all had negative effects on mental health. The social media platforms are used by the people to find connection, acceptance, and happiness that they could not find within their environment. Heavy use of these media channels contributes to other harmful actions and addiction that let every individual be swallowed by the chances of innovations.

According to Kessler et al., 2010, Mathers and Loncar, 2006, Depression and Anxiety are associated with substantially increased morbidity and mortality and one of the victims are the young adults and youth who are engaged with social media. It may also be that using a wide variety of different social media platforms subsequently leads to depressive and anxiety symptoms. Participation in many different social media platforms may lead to multitasking between platforms, which is known to be related to poor cognitive and mental health outcomes. (Becker et al., 2013).

Another assumption that would provide an explanation to the usage of social media platforms states that a study published online in Computers in Human Behavior on December 10, 2016, found that the use of multiple social media platforms is more strongly associated with depression and anxiety among young adults than time spent online.

Every social media platform is a different kind of world, people cannot resist the factors that affect them and leads to mood disorders. The engagement on the Internet does not free an individual to compare and be jealous thus it triggers to a more complex disorder of anxiety and depression.

In the book of David Amerland entitled “The Social Media Mind”, he states, “Social Media is addictive precisely because it gives us something which the real world lacks; it gives us immediacy, direction, and value as an individual”. The social media platforms serve as our pathway in this digital world, it gives us the enjoyment of accessibility, communication, and entrepreneurial transactions. Anything that we need in our everyday living can be made through the Internet.

The current events and opportunities nowadays are driven mostly by social media platforms. Even the modern technologies produced already a platform in the industry, the people behind it must focus also on the negative impacts of these channels to control any disorders that people can acquire because of different factors.

Social media platforms serve as an awareness to limit oneself with the benefits they provide and most especially with the conflicts they produce in different circumstances. People in this world must learn how to make an impact on society and not focus on how to impress other people.

Anything that can be found in social media platforms that can build anger and boastfulness must be prevented instead people must focus on the positivity in life that would implant the value of happiness and contentedness within themselves so that depression can be control and mitigates its unexpected effects.

William Randolph Hearst was born in San Francisco, California. He received the best education that his multimillionaire father and his sophisticated schoolteacher mother could buy”private tutors, private schools, grand tours of Europe, and Harvard College. Young Hearst’s Journalistic career began in 1887, two years after his Harvard expulsion. “l want the San Francisco Examiner, ” he wrote to his father, who owned the newspaper and granted the request.

When William’s father died, he left his millions in mining properties, not to his son, but to his wife” ho compensated by giving her son ten thousand dollars a month until her death. The Daily Examiner became young Hearst’s laboratory, where he gained a talent for making fake news and faking real news in such a way as to create maximum public shock. From the outset he obtained top talent by paying top prices.

To get an all-star cast and an audience of millions, however, Hearst had to move his headquarters to New York City, where he immediately purchased the old and dying New York Morning Journal. Within a year Hearst ran up the circulation from seventy-seven thousand to ver a million by spending enough money to beat the aging Joseph Pulitzer’s World at its own sensationalist (scandalous) game. Sometimes Hearst hired away the World ‘s more aggressive executives and reporters; sometimes he outbid all competitors in the open market.

One of Hearst’s editors was paid twice as much in salary as the sale price of the New York World. Hearst attracted readers by adding heated reporting of sports, crime, sex, scandal, and human-interest stories. “A Hearst newspaper is like a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut,” said Hearst writer Arthur James Pegler. Hearst’s slam-bang showmanship attracted new readers and nonreaders. During the last five years of the nineteenth century, Hearst set his pattern for the first half of the twentieth century.

The Journal supported the Democratic Party, yet Hearst opposed the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) in 1896. In 1898 Hearst backed the Spanish-American War (1898; a war in which the United States aided Cuba in its fight for freedom from Spanish rule), which Bryan and the Democrats opposed. Further, Hearst’s wealth cut him off from the troubled masses to whom his newspapers ppealed. He could not grasp the basic problems the issue of the war with Spain raised.

Entering politics Having shaken up San Francisco with the Examiner and New York City with the Journal, Hearst established two newspapers in Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago American in 1900 and the Chicago Examiner in 1902; a newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston American; and a newspaper in Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Examiner in 1904. These added newspapers marked more than an extension of Hearst’s Journalistic empire, they reflected his sweeping decision to seek the U. S. presidency. Perhaps his ambition came from a desire to follow in his father’s footsteps.

His personality and fortune were not suited to a political career however. In 1902 and 1904 Hearst won election to the House of Representatives as a New York Democrat. Except, his Journalistic activities and his $2 million presidential campaign lett him little time to speak, vote, or answer roll calls in Congress . His nonattendance angered his colleagues and the voters who had elected him. Nevertheless, he found time to run as an independent candidate for mayor of New York City in 1905, and as a Democratic candidate for governor in 1906. His loss in both elections ended Hearst’s political career.

Personal life In 1903, the day before his fortieth birthday, he married twenty-one-year-old Millicent Willson, a showgirl, thus giving up Tessie Powers, a waitress he had supported since his Harvard days. The Hearsts had five boys, but in 1917 Hearst fell in love with another showgirl, twenty-year-old Marion Davies of the Ziegfeld Follies. He maintained a relationship with her that ended only at his death. When Hearst’s mother died, he came into his inheritance and took up permanent residence on his father’s 168,000-acre ranch in southern California.

There he spent $37 million on a private castle, put $50 million into New York City real estate, and put another $50 million into his art collection”the largest ever assembled by a single individual. Hearst publications During the 1920s one American in every four read a Hearst newspaper. Hearst owned twenty daily and eleven Sunday papers in thirteen cities, the KingFeatures syndication service (organization that places featured articles or comics in multiple papers at once), the International News Service, the American Weekly (a syndicated Sunday supplement), International Newsreel, and six magazines, including

Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Harper’s Bazaar. Despite Hearst’s wealth, expansion, and spending, his popularity with the public as well as with the government was low. Originally a progressive Democrat, he had no bargaining power with Republican Theodore Roosevelt (1859-1919). Hearst fought every Democratic reform leader from Bryan to Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945), and he opposed American participation in both world wars. In 1927 the Hearst newspapers printed forged (faked) documents, which supported an accusation that the Mexican government had paid several U. S. senators more than $1 million to support a Central

American plot to wage war against the United States. From this scandal the Hearst press suffered not at all. In the next ten years, however, Hearst’s funds and the empire suddenly ran out. In 1937 the two corporations that controlled the empire found themselves $126 million in debt. Hearst had to turn them over to a seven- member committee whose purpose was to save what they could. They managed to hold off economic failure only by selling off much of Hearst’s private fortune and all of his public powers as a newspaper owner. William Randolph Hearst died on August 14, 1951, in Beverly Hills, California.

Social Networking is a platform made and used by humans to interact and help one another. But are we making a better use of this social platform is a question to be discussed? In today’s world even if people don’t possess common sense they do have access to Social Networking. While one aspect of this tool involves help and aid the other aspect is negative which includes fake posts, posts with hate crimes and ethnic discrimination. The Rohingyas in Myanmar had to face the latter.

So, who are Rohingyas?

Rohingyas are a Muslim ethnic minority group that has lived as a people in Myanmar for centuries. (Citation needed 1). Today, more than a million of them live in the country, most in the western coastal state of Rakhine, where they make up around a third of the population. (Citation needed 1).There are frequent clashes between Rohingyas and the Myanmar security forces, as well as other ethnic groups in Rakhine, which are predominantly Buddhist. (Citation needed 1).

Facebook is one of the top Social Networking sites where people interact and share information. Facebook has been accused by the U.N. investigators of playing a role in inflicting harm that drove nearly 700,000 Muslim Rohingya out of Myanmar and killed at least 6700 people. (Citation needed 2,1). Facebook is so popular and widely used in Myanmar that the around 85% of the country’s Internet traffic flows through the network and the platform was used by the president for his resignation. (Citation needed 2,3).

So, why is Facebook popular in Myanmar and what makes it accessible?

Many people in Myanmar, where until recently Internet penetration was among the lowest in the world, pay for smartphones to come preloaded with Facebook accounts and pre-liked pages. (Citation needed 2, 4).So, as the smartphones are loaded with pre-liked pages then those pages have content which might influence people in a certain way or other. I believe the social media giant should be looking to remove this pre-liked functionality.

The negative thing as I mentioned earlier with the Social Networking platform is the availability of fake news and posts related to hate crimes. As the virtual world is swift as compared to the real world in the production of news, so the virtual news is certainly going to direct people in one direction. So, as most of the population in Myanmar is using facebook they are relying on Facebook for news. The news provided through Facebook in Myanmar reflects the situation in the country as the posts display ethnic discrimination, use of foul language and fabricated articles on Muslims and are being shared by government officials and hardline factions. (Citation needed 2, 3).

Facebook claims that its platform could be misused and had prevented the circulation of two inflammatory chain messages in Myanmar. (Citation needed 2, 2). But these claims were challenged by the Myanmar civil society groups who criticized the Facebook’s algorithm to detect improper content. (Citation needed 2, 2). These groups were the ones who reported these messages to Facebook that had already caused a lot of damage in Myanmar. (Citation needed 2, 2).

I am of the opinion the current Facebook platform can’t prevent the posts relating to hate speech or ethnic discrimination, so Facebook should look forward to building an algorithm to prevent these. Facebook should build an algorithm that blocks Facebook and third-party services in regions that are affected by hate crimes or posts related to them.

I believe Facebook couldn’t have stopped the spread of hate in Myanmar but could have prevented the dissemination of hate crimes. As humans, we are mostly responsible to stop such hate crimes from happening. So I believe people living in Myanmar should be educated about the hate crimes and vandalism affecting innocent human lives. Educating people is the way to enlighten them and make better individuals in the society.

One of the most common criticism of the internet based ‘new media’ is that compared to ‘old media’ such as print and television, those at the helm of ‘new media’ feel little need to project a balanced view point. While traditional news media outlets are also seen as being advocates of one thing or the other, they do traditionally offer some place to opposing viewpoints. Even in the case of news channels like Fox News, for example, which is widely seen as heavily biased towards the republican party, Democratic or liberal guest do appear now and then to offer their viewpoints.

The ‘new media’ on the other hand has blogs, websites and internet video channels devoted to showcasing just one opinion only. This then perpetuates a uniformity of thought and an absence of critical thinking. On these new media platforms like minded people get together and repeat the same opinions over and over again creating what is called an ‘echo-chamber’ effect. This ‘echo-chamber’ effect is particularly effective in legitimizing fringe political and social opinions in the minds of the ‘new media’ consumers to the extent they may seem to be inhabiting a world different from everyone else.

An example of this can be seen on various message boards and blogs dedicated to conspiracy theories such as the idea that the moon landing was faked or the idea that the ruling classes of all countries of the world are actually reptilian aliens from another planet in disguise. ‘New Media’ also has the power to distort media coverage heavily in favour of Digital ‘haves’. For example after Iran’s presidential elections in June 2009, news organizations such as CNN, BBC and Fox News featured blog posts, twitter ‘tweets’, pictures and amateur video footage from anti-government protesters.

The whole media coverage was dominated by the idea that the Iranian president Mahmood Ahmedinejad was extremely unpopular with the population of Iran and that there was no way that he could have won a majority in the country. However several independently conducted studies belie this idea. A pre-election survey by the non-partisan, not-for-profit organization Terror Free Tomorrow showed President Ahmedinejad leading his main rival by a large margin (Balen ; Doherty, 2009).

Analysis of post-election surveys also shows that most Iranians regard Mahmood Ahmedinejad as their legitimate leader (World Public Opinion. ORG, 2010). Obviously the foreign policy agenda of the western governments has a lot of effect on the western media’s coverage of the Iranian elections. But there is another factor at work here as well. The factor is that of the ‘digital divide’. Only about 40% of the Iranian population live in large cities. Large cities are also where the main population base of the opposition figures lie (Balen ; Doherty, 2009).

Internet access is available to at most about one third of Iranians. Most of these Iranians are young urban and affluent (Balen ; Doherty, 2009). Like in most other countries, urban Iranians tend to be much more liberal than their rural counterparts, similarly university students and graduates tend to be the most liberal sections of the society. According to the experts behind the first survey: “The only demographic groups in which our survey found Mousavi leading or competitive with Ahmadinejad were university students and graduates, and the highest-income Iranians” (Ballen ; Doherty, 2009).

Denizens of large cities form a minority of the Iranian population, however partially due to the fact that they have access to the internet, they are able to take over or dominate the global discourse on the issue of the Iranian elections and present their views as the views of the majority of Iranians. Another example is the issue of Female Circumcision, which is often referred to pejoratively as ‘Female Genital Mutilation’ in the Western media. The campaign against Female Circumcision is lead mostly by western feminist organizations, along with a few female African immigrants to the west.

In many African countries there is widespread support for the practice among women (AWA-FC, 2009). According to the beliefs of some traditional African societies, the clitoris on a female is like a vestigial penis, which has to be removed in a traditional ceremony in order for a young girl to grow into womanhood. In African countries like Sierra Leone, women have carried out protests against what they perceive as west-inspired anti-female circumcision campaigns.

However the discourse in the western news media is entirely in the hands of feminist organizations that have a prejudiced belief that Female Circumcisions are something imposed on the African women by the ‘Patriarchy’. News stories of the issue in Western media often give voice to the sexual anxieties of African Immigrant women to the west that through assimilation in the western society, have come to believe that their bodies have been mutilated. The sexual anxieties of traditional African women who may believe that they need to undergo excision of the clitoris in order to be complete women are completely disregarded.

In the words of Dr. Fumbai Ahmedu, an American researcher of Sierra Leonean heritage: “I am concerned that current U. S. and global polices on African forms of female genital surgeries discriminate against the bulk of circumcised women because of their social, ethnic, cultural and gender identity. This is made possible because of the high levels of illiteracy and low socio-economic status of circumcised women in sub-Saharan Africa as well as the socio-political disenfranchisement they face as immigrants in western countries.

In particular, I am concerned about the official and exclusive reservation of the term “mutilation” to describe circumcised African women. Not only is this institutionalized discrimination but it is personally offensive to the majority of circumcised African women and to the cultures which practice female (and male) initiation” (Tierney, 2008). In this case too, the lack of access to any sort of international media that would air their views rends the traditional African women voiceless. People who presume to speak in their name do not actually represent their views.

If these women had access to the internet it would be a lot less easy for mainstream news media to disregard their voices to be and vilify their cultural practices in a completely biased and one-sided manner. Thomas Friedman in ‘The World Is Flat’ argues that the outsourcing of business processes to developing countries with a large base of educated people leads to an evening of the playing field between the people of developed and developing countries and contributes to the ‘flattening of the world’ (Friedman, 2005). Most forms of outsourcing depend on instantaneous digital communication between countries.

This means that developing countries that have not invested heavily in laying down the infrastructure for high speed internet access and in creating an “internet literate” population are likely to miss out on the opportunity to close the gap with developed countries with the aid of business process outsourcing. As digital communication costs come down, the digital divide is reduced as well (Dyer-Witheford, 2002). However will the decrease in the digital divide foster an increased understanding among the people of the world or will it only serve to harden existing attitudes and confirm existing biases and prejudices is anybody’s guess.

Works Cited African Women Are Free to Choose (AWA-FC). (2009, February 20). Statement by African Women Are Free to Choose (AWA-FC), Washington DC, USA. Retrieved February 08, 2010, from The Patriotic Vanguard: http://www. thepatrioticvanguard. com/article. php3? id_article=3752 Ballen, K. , & Doherty, P. (2009, June 15). The Iranian People Speak. Retrieved February 05, 2010, from The Washington Post: http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/14/AR2009061401757. html Dyer-Witheford, N. (2002) ‘E-capital and the Many-Headed Hydra’, pp. 129–163 in G. Elmer (ed) Critical Perspectives on the Internet.

Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Friedman, T. L. (2005). The World is Flat. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Tierney, J. (2008, March 19). A Compromise on Female “Circumcision”. Retrieved February 05, 2010, from The New York Times: http://tierneylab. blogs. nytimes. com/2008/03/19/a-compromise-on-female-circumcision/? apage=2 World Public Opinion. ORG (2010, February 2) Analysis of Multiple Polls Finds Little Evidence Iranian Public Sees Government as Illegitimate. Retrieved February 08, 2010, from World Public Opinion. ORG: http://www. worldpublicopinion. org/incl/printable_version. php? pnt=652