Shrinking Middle class Essay -- essays papers

Shrinking Middle class The Incredibly Shrinking Middle Class I never thought I would find so much information on the incredibly shrinking middle class until I searched around for it on the Internet. In the United States, the middle class is put into a strange socioeconomic category. Although it is not easily defined everyone believes they belong in that class. I guess what you can do is look at it in two different ways. First ask the question â€Å"What percent of all income is distributed to the middle class at any time,† then think about â€Å"How many families obtain enough income to achieve a middle class standard of living at any point of time.† Basically these are two ways of approaching the middle class called either the percentile approach or the class share approach. What comes into my mind when thinking on how to categorize those people that belong in the middle class, I look at such things as education, race, family, income, gender and how many people are in your household. I look at it as those people who are making between $40,000 and about $85,000 to be in the middle class while the next step would be the upper middle class and then to the upper class. Maybe I am wrong here, but like I said before, everyone wants to have that â€Å"I am middle class† attitude. The most recent Census Bureau survey data shows that the share of households with incomes of $75,000 or more has doubled in the past 24 years. Other studies, however, discover that more people who depart the middle class move down than up, at least temporarily. The most often cited cause of the decline of the middle class in the United States is stagnant wages. Between 1955 and 1970, real wages adjusted and inflation rose by an average of 2.5 percent per year. Between 1971 and 1994, the average growth of real wages was 0.3 percent a year. The stagnation of wages has been especially noticeable to middle-class people, who rely very much on the money they make at their jobs. Recessions seem to hit higher income households much harder, which sends them down to the middle class. Middle-income households may or may not be more likely than higher-income households to qualify for unemployment compensation when jobs are scarce. But those who do are more likely than high-income households to receive benefits that replace a greater share of their regular wages, which helps them maintai... ...ocess. Data generated by the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve and other nonpartisan sources oppose claims commonly made. For example, data from such agencies show that differences in family income largely reflect differences in how many members of a family actually work and how hard they work. Americans in all income groups have prospered, or have failed to prosper, together. Gains by upper-income Americans have not come at the expense of middle or lower-income Americans. Nor has anyone else gained in those periods when higher-income families have lost ground. The best era in recent history for middle-income and lower-income American families was the Reagan era, which lasted from 1982 to 1989. During that period, middle-class families saw their real incomes grow by an average of 12.6 percent, while lower income families saw an average increase in real earnings of 12.9 percent. The wealth inequality debate should focus on what public policies will aid the accumulation of wealth by more, not fewer, American families. The first step American’s need to make toward transforming our consumer culture is to understand it better.

Brand Awareness and Perception towards Branded Jewellery Essay

The gems and jewellery industry occupies an important position in the Indian economy and is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. In the late 1990s, the Indian jewellery market witnessed a shift in consumer perceptions of jewellery. Apart from its historical religious significance, Jewellery is valued as an important savings and investment vehicle in India. Even in present times, Jewellery remains the Indian bride’s `Streedhan’, the wealth she takes with her when she marries and which remains hers. Gold jewellery is the preferred jewellery worn by women in India irrespective of their religious beliefs. In marriages, gold jewellery is the gift preferred by the near relatives of the bride and the groom. Jewellery is very popular among farmers, with an upsurge in gold sales after a good agricultural season. Buying of gold is an important part of every stage of an Indian citizen’s life— at birth, marriage, construction of home, festivals, relig ious ceremonies, setting up of new business, and death. Instead of being regarded as only an investment option, jewellery was being prized for its aesthetic appeal. In other words, the focus seemed to have shifted from content to design. Trendy, affordable and lightweight jewellery soon gained familiarity. Branded jewellery also gained acceptance forcing traditional Jewellers to go in for branding. As India makes rapid progress in the retail arena, the Indian Jewellery market is undergoing a gradual metamorphosis from unorganised to organised formats. Jewellery retailing is moving from a ‘storehouse of value’ to a precious fashion accessory. Plain gold is gradually easing its stranglehold on the Indian consumer psyche to give way to diamonds, platinum and coloured gemstones. The way jewellery was worn before is undergoing a tremendous change. However branded jewellery players will continue to face lot of competition from local jewellers. In order to gain market share, they will have to come up with designs that customers want and win the trust and confidence of consumers by hallmarking and demonstrating the purity of the gold used by them. To compete with traditional players, branded players must also find some way to differentiate themselves. While the success of a particular brand will depend on differentiation, affordability and quality will be a key element  in sustaining a brand. The present study will help us to understand the brand awareness and perception of the customers towards MALABAR GOLD jewellery in Bangalore. 3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In the emerging knowledge based economy it has become necessary to know how much market power lies with the brand name. Awareness and Perception are the two key metrics that any company would use to measure their brand strength. The study of brand awareness and perception is essential in marketing planning. Customer needs and preferences keep changing where brands ultimately command customer’s loyalty. Without brand awareness occurring, no other communication effects can occur. For a consumer to buy a brand they must first be made aware of it. Brand attitude cannot be formed, and intention to buy cannot occur unless brand awareness has occurred. Brand perception is created by consumer experience with the brand’s product or service. In other words, perception is the values consumers attach to a brand. After the purchase of specialty goods or shopping goods, the customer exhibits post purchase behaviour. It may be either cognitive consonance or cognitive dissonance. The consonance leads to dissatisfaction. But when it comes to customers going in high value premium segment goods such as gold, diamond and platinum ornaments, in a high competitive with too many players in the market, then the customer surely has a wide range of choice to choose from and carefully evaluates the different showrooms before making a purchase decision. In such a situation, any purchase dissonance will lead to very high degree of dissatisfaction, which may also lead to spreading negative opinion to the prospective buyer of jeweller’s outlet. Hence a research is undertaken to understand the brand awareness and perception towards branded jewellery with specific reference to Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Bangalore. 4. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY Primary objective The main objective of the study is to determine the level of brand awareness  and brand perception of Malabar Gold Jewellery, and the use of it as a measure to increase the marketing effectiveness of Malabar Brand Jewellery. Secondary objectives i. To compare the customer preference between the branded and non branded jewellery ii. To understand the parameters the customers consider while buying jewellery iii. To know how brand preference is formed in purchasing Malabar Gold jewellery among customers iv. To measure the level of satisfaction of customers of Malabar Gold v. To analyze the marketing strategies of Malabar Gold with regard to brand awareness and perception 5. RESEARCH DESIGN TYPE OF RESEARCH The study will be descriptive in nature POPULATION Customers buying gold in Bangalore City SAMPLE SIZE The sample for the study would be limited to 105 respondents. SAMPLING UNIT For this study the respondents will be the customers buying gold and diamond jewellery TYPE OF SAMPLING Simple random sampling method will be used for the study. TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION Primary data: Primary data will be collected using a structured questionnaire as well as personal interview method. Secondary data: The secondary data for this work will be obtained from company magazines and brochures, website, newspapers, internet, text books, reports and other promotional materials. HYPOTHESES STATED FOR THE STUDY: Hypothesis 1 Null Hypothesis (H0): Gender of customers and preference for branded and non-branded jewellery is independent. Alternative Hypothesis (H1): Gender of customers and preference for branded and non-branded jewellery is independent. Hypothesis 2 Null Hypothesis (H0): Marital Status of customers and purchase of jewellery is independent. Alternative Hypothesis (H1): Marital Status of customers and purchase of jewellery is dependent. PLAN OF ANALYSIS The data collected from various sources will be tabulated and represented using the percentage and ranking method. Graphical tools like bar diagrams, pie charts etc., will be used to illustrate the tabulated data pictorially. Inferences and interpretation of the data will be done on the basis of tabulated data. In both Hypotheses 1 and 2, the null hypotheses will be tested using Chi-Square test for independence of attributes at 5% level of significance. 6. PROPOSED CHAPTER SCHEME: a. Introduction b. Review of Literature & Research Design c. Profile of Industry/Business/Selected Organisations d. Results, Analyses and Discussions e. Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations.

Taking a Look at Islam and Judaims - 777 Words

Introduction Apart from Christianity, Islam and Judaism are two of the most influential religions in the world, particularly in the Middle East. Although Judaism is not as large as Islam, it has impacted on the world in a profound manner. While it’s quite evident that both Islam and Judaism appear to be having conflicting differences in terms of their doctrines, they are both know as Abrahamic religions because they share a common origin in the Middle East through Abraham in the Hebrew Bible. Nevertheless, Judaism is often considered to be the oldest of all the Abrahamic religions. Most ethnographers have been more interested in understanding on how the convictions between the two religions compare, based on their religious believes about God, afterlife, the universe and people. This can be attributed to the fact that the conflict between Islam and Judaism has been viewed as a result of irreconcilable clash of religious doctrines. But, I do not believe that this is really the case. This essay will focus on drawing a comparison between Judaism and Islam so as to establish the similarities and differences that exist between them. The comparison will then be used to support my opinion based on the ides that these religions can live together peacefully and that they are not destined for perpetual conflict. Similarities There are several doctrines and historical events that can be linked to the two religions. Both Islam and Judaism believe in the existence of one creator