Television Advertising and Gender Stereotypes Essay

Television Advertising and Gender Stereotypes - Essay Example It should not be surprising then that gender roles are already fully enforced by the time the child leaves for school since daytime television represents the most egregious period for the reproduction of traditional gender stereotypes that coerce a commitment to meeting them from both the impressionable child and, typically, the mother whose influence over the child's developing mind is in conflict with the most entertaining and available substitute for the missing father, the television set. Television commercials are among the most effective when it comes to media reproduction of the existing gender ideologies by simple virtue of the ubiquity of the set itself. In the United States, for instance, it has been estimated that the percentage of population that has at least one television inside their home is a staggering 98%, and further the average member of these households spend more than the equivalent of one full 24 hour day per week watching television (Coltrone, Adams 325) Throughout the history of television advertising right up to contemporary times, the images that are projected and reinforced in commercials have been unsatisfying at best and demeaning at worst. Invariably, female characters are presented as objects of sexual domination who seem to exist entirely to prepare themselves for the approval of the male. At the same time, male characters are typically portrayed in such a way as to intensify the acceptance of aggressive behavior and the urge to dominate while engaging in every imaginable activity (Ruth 388.) Stereotypes are reinforced with more attention paid toward the gender dependent upon the demographics of the viewing audience, and within these minor recalculation there exists ever more subtle calibrations of the effect. For instance since the beginning of television history the daytime has been devoted to viewing aimed predominantly at females in the form of soap operas, cooking shows and children's cartoons. The demographics have certainly changed over the decades with more women entering the workplace and more men staying at home, but contemporary daytime television is still dominated by soap operas and discussion shows like Oprah Winfrey. As a result the changing lifestyles, often the gender stereotyping becomes so subtle as to be unobserved by casual viewers (Craig 209). Men are most often portrayed as confident and independent while women are generally more passive and less ambitious. This engendering of hidden stereotyp es can be as thinly veiled as showing men in suits and a tie acting in a corporate setting while women are shown dressed more casually and hanging out with friends. Commercials and advertisements offered during the daylight hours have traditionally served the purpose of reinforcing the ideological naturalization that places men firmly into the authoritarian and patriarchal role while strengthening the belief that women should associate femininity with submission (Perse 167). Even on 21st century television commercials women are invariably shown to be primarily interested in household duties and motherly obligations. The role of the housewife and by extension all women is to not only service the male and his

London Life Insurance Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

London Life Insurance Company - Assignment Example Sales and administrative operations of the company were supported by a professional team of around 2,700 and 2,600 working as the sales and administrative workforce for the company respectively. The product mix of London Life Insurance Company was duly optimized through encompassing a large number of benefits pertaining to life, disability, medical and group insurance products with also existence of other retirement and saving plans. Through the use of the Group Insurance Plans the company was able to enhance its sales network with the corporate client base encompassing around 16,000 different concerns. The management and administrative functions within the London Life Insurance Company was effectively synchronized through the use of information technology connecting the activities of the different branches. Moreover, London Life Insurance Company being a member of the Trilon Financial Corporation concern an its enhanced affiliation with the Royal Trust in the region contributed in d evelopment of its network base in gaining potential customers in the region. Strategic activities carried out by the company relating to market and product development along with restructuring the organizational objectives contributed to the gaining of assets amounting to around $ 8.5 Billion. Enhanced focus rendered to the parameters of customization and personalization helped the company in becoming a market leader pertaining to financial and insurance products in Canada (London Life Insurance Company 854-855). Problem Statement The main problem that Ralph Simon faces relating to the salespersons pertains to the failure in understanding of the process of motivating them to sustain and enhance their sales activities pertaining to insurance and financial products. The compensation received by the people in terms of commissions and bonuses failed to effectively distinguish between the new sales force and the old thereby reflecting a lack of motivation in terms of enhancing the spirit of the new members. Ralph Simon also countered a problem relating to the Monthly Activity Report for the Points rendered refer more to the ‘Efficiencies’ of the individuals in gaining appointments and closed and open deals rather than assessing the ‘Effectiveness’ of the individuals based on the amount of insurance business sourced from the market. This feature was inferred by Simon in reducing the operational effectiveness of the company for increasing the inability of the company in gaining new leads. Simon also visualized the existence of a problem wherein the new sales persons were required to handle surmountable amount of work loads and responsibilities pertaining to the meeting of targets and gaining new contacts while the experienced sales people enjoyed over the existing contacts and other renewals carried out by the customers. This feature reflected the existence of role conflicts and role ambiguity that in turn contributed in reduction of the mot ivation of the sales people and thereby required adequate management intervention (London Life Insurance Company 858-859). Analysis of Alternative The first alternative that can be sought relates to the creating of a basic salary slab for the sales people in the concern. This salary slab can range from $20,000 to $52,000 relating to the composition of new and old people in the sales tea