Leadership Style Essay

As indicated by Reh (2014), a pioneer is a â€Å"person who has a dream, a drive and a promise to accomplish that vision, and the abilities to make it happen† (para. 2). I need to be a pioneer; anyway I should comprehend my administration style right now to comprehend where I am at, where I need to be, and what I have to do to arrive. Raines (2014) states â€Å"your style characterizes your qualities and point of view, and monitoring it will help your correspondence with those you work with† (para. 1). With the end goal of this paper I have picked previous President Bill Clinton as a pioneer that I appreciate. I will investigate his administration style to recognize attributes and will give explicit instances of initiative characteristics that I accept added to his prosperity. I will at last analyze my administration style and offer thoughts and plans for improving my adequacy as a pioneer dependent on my work with my guide. Peruse more: The individual whom I respect Bill Clinton Previous President Bill Clinton is a transformational style pioneer. A transformational pioneer collects â€Å"trust, regard, and reverence from their followers† (Cherry, 2014, para. 4). President Clinton began his way to incredible authority at 13 years old when he turned into a comic book business person (Florida, 2013, para. 1). He discovered that he could bolster himself and that gave him a trust in himself that stays with him right up 'til today. The characteristics that I find in President Clinton that make him an incredible transformational pioneer is that individuals truly trust and appreciate him. When requested to depict his initiative style he states â€Å"explain where we are andâ decide where we need to go. Make sense of how to arrive, get great individuals and trust them to carry out the responsibility as long as they’re able, practical, and adaptable when change is required† (Florida, 2013, para. 10). He likewise accepts that the principle aptitudes important to persuade a group are â€Å"good tuning in and the capacity to manufacture agreement for action† (Florida, 2013, para. 16). President Clinton is additionally extremely charming. It has been informed that he can cause somebody to feel like they are the most notable individual in a room of numerous when he converses with you. He is a visionary, as found in his numerous philanthropic endeavors, and has that talent to cause you to put stock in his vision. By and by, when I hear him talk I feel a quieting nearness, he talks in a language I can comprehend, and I confide in him. Probably the best case of his authority capacities in play was his capacity to work beneficially with the Republican Party to tackle the multi-billion dollar national obligation during his term of administration. It is notable that our present president infrequently has bipartisan help in anything he needs to do. My Leadership Style In the wake of checking on all the administration style theory’s and talking about this with my coach it became obvious that I am at present thought about a participatory pioneer. WiseGeek (2014) characterizes participatory initiative as a â€Å"style of authority that includes all individuals from a group in recognizing basic objectives and creating methods or procedures to come to those goals† (para. 1). This is the way I lead, by including others in the whole procedure. While this is certifiably not a terrible sort of initiative style, the rationale behind why I do these things enlightens a defect in my authority capacities. I tend to need more trust in myself to settle on choices without a great deal of contribution from others and authorization chasing. My coach used to be my chief and he disclosed to me that while I was at last one of his best program executives he had ever managed; my excursion to the directorship was depleting and once in a while somewhat baffling for him. He expressed that I would pose inquiries consistently detail since I appeared to fear committing an error. He said that for me to turn into a pioneer I have to have faith in myself, have certainty that I am fit and I do comprehend what I amâ doing. He revealed to me that until I figure out how to confide in myself, I will make some troublesome memories getting others to confide in me as a pioneer. He likewise disclosed to me that I have the ability to turn into a transformational pioneer, which is my objective, yet I need to relinquish the dread, and permit myself to commit errors. As per him, botches show significant exercises, and the manner in which I respond to the misstep fabricates character. My Plan My arrangement to change into a transformational pioneer is to face challenges, permit myself to commit errors, and discover the exercises in them. I am going to start by stepping up to the plate at work and in my own life. I have generally stepped up to the plate when I knew (generally) that things would work out. I can’t consistently have that extravagance of seeing into the future, I simply need to put stock in myself and my capacities. I additionally plan to take a gander at disappointment as a chance to begin once again and improve. I am not modest in requesting help, or posing inquiries when I am uncertain of something. I do need to quit posing inquiries when I truly know the appropriate response and take responsibility for my choices. I am an awesome talker, and I can cause befuddling circumstances to appear to be obvious to other people. For instance, on our learning groups, I am the one that can separate the task and bode well for other people, so it doesn’t appear to be so overpowering. I intend to take that equivalent certainty and apply it to all perspectives with the goal that I may one day become a pioneer like previous President Bill Clinton. End All in all, President Clinton is a notable transformational pioneer and the one I respect the most. He began youthful having confidence in himself and it has converted into extraordinary accomplishment for this man. I will likely turn into a transformational pioneer and keeping in mind that I have attributes of a participatory pioneer, I accept that it is conceivable to turn into the pioneer I seek to be. I simply need to have confidence in myself so others will have confidence in me. References Florida, R. (2013). President Bill Clinton: Don’t stress over yesterday, grasp tomorrow. Recovered from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rana-florida/president-charge clinton-do_b_3697725.html Raines, S. (2014). The upsides of knowing your initiative style. Recovered from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/points of interest knowing-authority style-18924.html Reh, F. J. (2014). What is a pioneer. Recovered from http://management.about.com/od/initiative/a/whatisaleader.htm WiseGeek.org. (2014). What is participative administration?. Recovered from http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-participative-leadership.htm

The History And Evolution Of Saarc Politics Essay

The History And Evolution Of Saarc Politics Essay The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) includes eight nations of South Asia, for example Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. The possibility of territorial participation in South Asia was first mooted in May 1980 by Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman. President Rahman tended to letters to the Heads of Government of the nations of South Asia, introducing his vision for the eventual fate of the district and the convincing contentions for local collaboration with regards to developing worldwide real factors. The Foreign Secretaries of seven nations in South Asia met without precedent for Colombo in April 1981 and recognized five expansive zones for territorial participation. A progression of gatherings followed in Nepal (Kathmandu/November 1981), Pakistan (Islamabad/August, 1982), Bangladesh, India (Delhi/July 1983) to upgrade local participation. The following stage of this procedure was the Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi in 1983 where they embraced the Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC). During the following two years South Asian countries invested in structure this South Asian collusion and the procedure finished in the First SAARC Summit hung on 7-8 December in 1985 in Dhaka where the Heads of State or Government of seven nations, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka received the Charter officially setting up the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It is an Association dependent on the cognizance that in an undeniably reliant world, the destinations of harmony, opportunity, social equity and monetary thriving are best accomplished in the South Asian district by cultivating shared seeing, great neighborly relations and significant collaboration among the Member States which are limited by ties of history and culture The destinations and standards contained in the SAARC Charter are as per the following: Goals a) To advance the government assistance of the people groups of South Asia and to improve their personal satisfaction; b) To quicken financial development, social advancement and social improvement in the locale and to give all people the chance to live in poise and to understand their maximum capacity c) To advance and reinforce aggregate independence among the nations of South Asia; d) To add to shared trust, comprehension and valuation for one anothers issues; d) To advance dynamic cooperation and shared help with the monetary, social, social, specialized and logical fields e) To reinforce collaboration with other creating nations; f) To reinforce collaboration among themselves in worldwide gatherings on issues of regular interests; and g) To help out worldwide and local associations with comparative points and purposes. Standards a) Cooperation inside the system of the Association depends on regard for the standards of sovereign equity, regional uprightness, political autonomy, non-obstruction in the inward issues of different States and common advantage; b) Such participation is to supplement and not to substitute reciprocal or multilateral collaboration; and c) Such participation ought to be predictable with reciprocal and multilateral commitments of Member States. Prelude to the SAARC Charter The prelude to the SAARC Charter explains the goal of shaping this South Asian union as We, the Heads of State or Government of BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, INDIA, MALDIVES, NEPAL, PAKISTAN and SRI LANKA; Desirous of advancing harmony, solidness, friendship and progress in the locale through exacting adherence to the standards of the UNITED NATIONS CHARTER and NON-ALIGNMENT, especially regard for the standards of sovereign fairness, regional honesty, national freedom, non-utilization of power and non-impedance in the inside undertakings of different States and serene settlement all things considered Cognizant that in an undeniably reliant world, the goals of harmony, opportunity, social equity and financial thriving are best accomplished in the SOUTH ASIAN district by cultivating common seeing, great neighborly relations and important collaboration among the Member States which are limited by ties of history and culture Mindful of the normal issues, interests and goals of the people groups of SOUTH ASIA and the requirement for joint activity and improved collaboration inside their individual political and monetary frameworks and social conventions' Persuaded that provincial collaboration among the nations of SOUTH ASIA is commonly helpful, attractive and essential for advancing the government assistance and improving the personal satisfaction of the people groups of the district; Convinced further that monetary, social and specialized participation among the nations of SOUTH ASIA would contribute fundamentally to national and aggregate independence; Perceiving that expanded participation, contacts and trades among the nations of the district will add to the advancement of fellowship and comprehension among their people groups; Do thusly consent to build up an association to be known as SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION hereinafter alluded to as the ASSOCIATIONà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Changes in SAARC over some stretch of time After over two decades since its establishing at the activity of General Zia-ul - Rahman, the then President of Bangladesh, the quantity of individuals is being expanded from seven to eight. Also, just because a part with no regular fringe with India Afghanistan joined SAARC. Likewise China, Japan, US, South Korea and the European Union went to the Summit as eyewitnesses. It is just sensible that in the not exceptionally inaccessible future Russia also will be added to the rundown of spectators. SAARC was imagined as an association to advance territorial financial and mechanical collaboration. It was normal that such participation, on the off chance that it is continued will prompt expanded political and security collaboration. Both on account of European Union and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) the nations concerned had a common view of their security challenges. This didn't occur if there should arise an occurrence of SAARC. There was a war between two individuals from the SAARC in 1999 and a military encounter in 2002. In this way supporting SAARC as a territorial association has been an unquestionably more testing task than those looked by associations like the European Union and the ASEAN. Truth be told one individual from SAARC (Pakistan) will not expand the ordinary most preferred country treatment to its neighbor (India) however this is a fundamental essential under the World Trade Organization guidelines. In spite of the fact that there has been a conventional consent to change over the SAARC district into an unhindered commerce territory, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been hesitant to move towards the satisfaction of that objective. Actually SAARC is to a great extent a name board with yearly customs, not in every case routinely watched. While in different pieces of the world, the pattern is towards nations meeting up to frame bigger markets, in South Asia this estimation wins just among Sri Lanka, Bhutan and India. Pakistan and Bangladesh don't add to the overall shrewdness that nations meeting up to frame bigger markets is a commonly advantageously proposition.â â In Europian nations like Germany and France got over their hundreds of years old hostility. This happened when nations like Germany, Italy, Spain disposed of their dictator systems and became majority rule governments. In ASEAN too Indonesia and Malaysia closed harmony following quite a while of encounter. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia who battled long wars with the US, which was upheld by other ASEAN nations have now become monetary and political accomplices of nations which assisted with taking up arms against them. Shockingly such extreme change has not occurred in South Asia. There are motivations to accept that hidden this distinction being developed might be that religion-based personality practices more noteworthy strength in certain nations of South Asia than patriotism based character. In conceding various effective monetary powers as eyewitnesses to the SAARC, the desire is that such association may assist with changing over the mentality of the nations which despite everything oppose territorial financial participation and combination in a world which is quickly globalizing. India has endeavored to get Bangladesh into a BIMSTECH course of action comprising of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Such an adjustment in attitude is a tedious procedure and hence there ought not be overstated desires with the fresh start with section of Afghanistan into SAARC and five new onlookers. The eventual fate of SAARC gives off an impression of being more splendid on the grounds that in the past.â SAARC was rocked by Cold War pressures and Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh were endeavoring to abuse the contrasts among India and China and India and the US. Ongoing changes in the direction of US arrangement and the Washington discernment about the need to have a level of influence in Asia and resulting need to upgrade Indo-US relations have radically affected Indias relations with China and South East Asia.â â Progressively India is alluded to as one of the six balancers of intensity in the rising worldwide framework. India today has a vital association with Russia, the US and the European Union and a key discourse with China and Japan.â â The visits of Premier Wen Jia Bao of China, President Vladamir Putin of Russia, Prime Junichiro Minister Koizumi of Japan and President Bush to India and greeting to India alongside China to go to the G-8 culmination of cutting edge modern forces has assisted with changing the circumstance in the SAARC district towards expanding cooperation.â â There is currently better acknowledgment that neither India-China nor India-US relations can be misused by different countries as occurred during the Cold War. In the SAARC locale majority rules system is making progress. Afghanistan has a chosen government just because. Ongoing developmen

Health Informatics Essay

History of Healthcare Informatics It wasn’t until the 1950’s, that informatics began to take off, when Robert Ledley utilized PCs in dental undertakings with the National Bureau of Standards. In the 1960’s specialists, graduate understudies, and PC pros started making analytic frameworks and other clinical PC programs. In the late 1960’s, the MUMPs programming framework was made to coordinate clinical databases is as yet utilized today (â€Å"The History†, n.d.). Lately, wellbeing informatics has detonated with president Obama’s 2009 Federal Stimulus Package, which has distributed a great many dollars for subsidizing of medicinal services informatics improvement and usage. The bundle expresses an objective that by 2014, each occupant will have an electronic wellbeing record (Sorgen, 2010). Given this upgrade, the U.S. Branch of Labor predicts a 49% activity development and the U.S. News and World Report named Healthcare Informatics as one of the top vocations today (â€Å"Health Informatics Career†, n.d.). What is Healthcare Informatics? As indicated by the American Health Information Management Association, human services Informatics was adjusted from the French expression for software engineering (Informatique), in the 1970’s so as to catch the developing study of data and PC innovation that was utilized in social insurance. Wellbeing and Medical Informatics is regularly utilized conversely yet both relate to Healthcare Informatics. Human services Informatics â€Å"is the multidisciplinary logical field worried about the securing, stockpiling, recovery, correspondence and ideal utilization of wellbeing data for critical thinking and dynamic. Wellbeing Informatics improves the turn of events and evaluation instruments utilized speaking to clinical information, helping clinical dynamic, characterizing clinical language and arrangement frameworks, too PC supported learning and human services IT strategy† (Health Informatics Career†, n.d.). A portion of the innovations that Healthcare Informaticians oversee incorporate PDAs, telemedicine, computerized imaging, advanced libraries/sites, email framework and clinical emotionally supportive networks, and electronic clinical records. As per Worldwidelearn.com, so as to prevail in Healthcare Informatics, one ought to have certain abilities and aptitudes. These incorporate yet are not constrained to; tender loving care, incredible verbal/composed correspondence, issue solver, capacity to work autonomously, cozy information on PC equipment/programming, great client assistance aptitudes, beauty under tension, capacity to work with a wide assortment of partners (specialists, attendants, software engineers, directors, managers), and a longing to support the clinical network. To check whether this vocation is the appropriate for you; you can do look into on the web, go to classes, take inclination tests and converse with working experts in Informatics. Instruction and Training Requirements There is by all accounts a wide assortment of preparing and instructive foundations for experts as of now working, in Healthcare Informatics. Numerous medical attendants working in this field have gotten hands on preparing or finished online accreditation programs. Numerous experts as of now working in this field have additionally gotten a degree in other claim to fame territories. As per the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s 2011 review, fifteen percent of respondents got hands on preparing while fifty six percent revealed having Post-advanced educations in Nursing or different claims to fame. Fifteen percent were by and by taking an informatics class on the web or through their organization. There are online accreditation programs that exist for caught up with working human services experts that as of now have gotten a bachelor’s qualification. These projects instruct individuals on the essential aptitudes and information expected to configuration, execute and screen electronic clinical information frameworks. A portion of the coursework incorporates: electronic records, information gauges, framework examination, and plan and data education. A bachelor’s qualification in Healthcare Informatics, gives a sound information base of electronic clinical frameworks so as to improve illness avoidance, social insurance repayment and asset assignment. A portion of the coursework incorporates: clinical phrasing, life systems/physiology, insights, income cycle the executives, fund, PC frameworks and wellbeing records. Experts and PhD programs center more around the structure of clinical data frameworks. A portion of the coursework incorporates: developing social insurance advancements, Informatics plan and ease of use, genomics/bioinformatics, explore, change the executives, and database security and structure (â€Å"Health Care Informatics Education†, n.d.). Numerous degree programs additionally offer chances to have practical experience in specific territories, for example, nursing informatics, dental informatics, pharmaceutical informatics, general wellbeing informatics, bioinformatics, investigate informatics, imaging informatics and purchaser wellbeing informatics (Hersh, 2009). Organizations will now and again train workers at work, on the off chance that they take certain accreditation programs. Notwithstanding, with higher trainings comes a pay raise, advantages and occupation positions. Many post-advanced educations open entryways for the board and official chances. Confirmation in Nursing Informatics Tragically, with regards to working in nursing informatics, having a degree in the field isn't sufficient. Confirmation can likewise be helpful. Being guaranteed includes breezing through a test indicating capability in the particular information, aptitudes, and capacities related with nursing informatics. A few advantages of affirmation incorporate acknowledgment for proficient accomplishment, more significant pay, and more open doors for advancement (Lewis, 2011). Right now, there are two different ways an attendant can be guaranteed in nursing informatics. The most widely recognized path is through the American Nurses Association Credentialing Center (ANCC) (HIMSS, 2011). The ANCC offers a test for qualified people. So as to sit for the test, the individual must hold a present RN permit, have in any event two years full time understanding as a RN, have a bachelor’s qualification or higher in nursing or a bachelor’s certificate in an important field, finish 30 hours of proceeding with training in informatics in the course of recent years, and complete the suitable number of practicum prerequisites. Practicum necessities incorporate the accompanying: at any rate 2,000 hours in informatics nursing in the course of recent years; 1,000 hours over the most recent three years and finished in any event 12 semester hours in an alumni level nursing informatics program; or graduation from an alumni nursing informatics program where at any rate 200 hours of administered practicum occurred. An assortment of study aides, gatherings, an d courses are accessible for the individual wishing to take the ANCC Nursing Informatics Certification Exam (Lewis, 2011). HIMSS likewise offers a possibility for medical caretakers to get affirmed in nursing informatics. As indicated by the HIMSS site (n.d.), applicants who wish to take the CPHIMS test must meet one of the accompanying necessities. The individual ought to have a bachelor’s qualification notwithstanding five years of involvement with related data and the board frameworks, with three of them occurring in the human services field, or the competitor ought to have a master’s certificate notwithstanding three years experience, with two of them in medicinal services. The related data and the executives frameworks experience could occur in organization or the executives, clinical data frameworks, data frameworks, e-wellbeing, or the board building. Remuneration and Benefits Nursing informatics is a profession where its laborers have seen a critical pay raise since 2004 (HIMSS, 2011). As indicated by the HIMSS 2011 Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey, the normal pay of nursing informaticists in 2004 was $69,500, however in 2011 it had expanded to $98,703. Announced pay rates would in general be higher in the New England and the Pacific locales. When taking a gander at the various settings one can work in, those utilized by counseling firms had the most noteworthy normal compensation ($153,576) with those utilized by merchant associations accomplishing the second most elevated normal pay ($108,773). Those working in scholastics saw a pay raise since the 2007 review with a normal of $101,346. Affirmation in nursing informatics likewise had any kind of effect. Medical caretakers affirmed by ANCC found the middle value of $119,644 and those guaranteed by CPHIMS arrived at the midpoint of $110,291. Then again, medical caretakers who didn't achieve confirmati on had a lower normal pay of $93,787. A considerable lot of the respondents to the HIMSS (2011) study additionally detailed accepting advantages notwithstanding their compensation. Clinical and dental protection were the most well-known advantages followed by 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plans. Other every now and again included advantages were disaster protection, short-and long haul inability protection, and educational cost repayment. It was noticed that 34 percent of respondents got a reward. Workplace One of the benefits of turning into a medical attendant informaticist is the wide assortment of workplaces. Most work in a medical clinic setting, investing almost no energy in clinical exercises. Some work at corporate workplaces of social insurance frameworks and others work in scholastics (HIMSS, 2011). Few respondents to the HIMSS (2011) review worked for counseling firms or sellers. Medical caretaker informaticists can likewise discover work at mobile offices, home wellbeing organizations, oversaw care or insurance agencies, and government or military offices. References American Health Information Management Association (2012). Joint AMIA/AHIMA Rundown of their Relationship and Link to the Informatics Field. Recovered from http://www.ahima.org/about/informatics.aspx Manual for College Majors in Medical Informatics. Recovered from http://wwwworldwidelearn.com/online-training guide/wellbeing clinical/clinical informatics-major.htm Medicinal services In

How to Set Goals - Free Essay Example

Leadership styles can affect the performance of each employee in an organization. An effective leader is the one that ensures that they use the desired manner for them to achieve the desired goals that have been set by the team. Different leadership styles will effectively affect the performance of the organization in one way or the other. Leaders are people that can adapt to different situations by using the necessary elements and solving the various problems that arise in an organization in a different perspective that will bring an impact to the performance of the team. As a leader, one is responsible for making sure that they maintain the communication with the other employees in the organization. This is because they will encourage the development of the team and this will be effective through innovation and motivate all the staff. There will be the generation of new ideas making the organization achieve all the set goals and objectives. Leadership styles The autocratic leader is the leader that always has total power over the entire subordinate whereby he carefully observes all the work that they do and is always strict and keeps in touch with them. The team members are not involved in the process of making decisions for only the leader is entitled to this particular role. The members are as well not in the position where they can suggest or make any suggestion about the improvement of any activity that is carried out in the organization. The employees are only told what to do, when to do it and how they do, and this is exactly what they should adhere to for they are the instructions given to them by their seniors. When they follow all these instructions, it is sure that they will achieve the goals that have been set for the organization. The new ideas that have been implemented will all be executed if they follow the instructions given. This style of leadership is instrumental since all the decision that is made is swift and jobs ar e efficiently delivered. This particular approach is resistance and unstable when it comes to the side of the employees. This is commonly used when the decisions to be made are needed urgently. Secondly, there is the transactional leadership style. This is the leadership style that focuses more on trades that are conducted between the leader and the follower. For this particular case, the member is compensated for the specific goal or the performance that they meet or the performance criteria. The transactional leader has the responsibility of validating the relationship between the performance and the reward that is to be given and then they can go about with the exchange so that to get the response that will encourage the subordinate to improve their performance. This type of leadership plays a role between the managers and the subordinates. The style can be said to be an exchange of the reward and the target by the management for the achievement of the set goals and the objectives. Communication skills Communication skills are necessary for the aid to practical innovation for the organization. Many of the organizations have the belief that when there is a communication skill in their organization, they will increase their organizations ability to innovate. Innovation is very critical when it comes to knowledge economy for it encourages growth, new products in the market and various new methods that are used in delivering value to the customers. The managers of an organization are in a position where they can manage all the risks that may come across a company. They are people that can experiment the new ideas that may come along them. They can quickly analyze the risk and the amount of risk that the company can come across. The managers can quickly come up or develop a way in which they will minimize the risk and identify the place where it is needed most. The managers can quickly seize an opportunity. The leaders are proactive, and they are fast at taking the initiative and owners hip for success. They anticipate the potential obstacles before they decide on taking any action and they are quick at avoiding over-analysis. They are people who push for personal performance, and they often work independently for long periods of a minimal support. These leaders that have this particular skill are in the position to take advantage of a new idea that comes along or any opportunity that will have an impact on the organization. Describe the communication strategies you would use to introduce the proposed changes to your work team. Communication strategies are the ways that can be used for exchanging information. There are various ways for passing or exchanging information in the organization. For this project, it would be effective for the manager to share the information that he or she has by using the following strategies. To begin with is the verbal communication strategy. The verbal communication strategy can be broken into two forms which are written or oral. The manager can consider the written policy, where he can send the proposed project via the email, text or by chat. Doing it orally can also be effective for this includes the use of phone calls, video chat or a face to face conversation where the employees and the manager can discuss the proposed project. Also, there is the nonverbal and visual communication strategy. Describe the organizational culture and its readiness for team creativity and innovation. Change is inevitable in most of the organizations. Organizational cultural issues are getting significant as well as them becoming a strategic competitive advantage. Corporate culture leads to competition for there are several dramatic changes in strategy that are required. Creativity and innovation play a role in making change for the organization. A team culture should be one that is interpretive. A manager should be able to describe all the steps that they took and the change that has been impacted to the organization from the time when they came into the team. For a team to be or remain innovative, then it requires the leaders to foster and develop a system that will be innovative among their followers. The actions that are to be taken by the managers should be related to the creativity that the organization will produce in the later years. With the in-depth leadership training, accountability and the daily communication that goes on about the leadership responsibilities and the ability to foster trust and creativity, the managers can quickly rise to the standards that are necessary to inspire innovation and growth of the next generation and innovative leaders. Explain the causes of resistance to the changes and the similar tactics you would use to address each cause. Causes of resistance to change In an organization, a manager will come across one or two employees that are against change. Change is constant in every organization, and the employees are the first opponent to change. Some of the causes of resistance to change include the bad management of change in the workplace.   A bad management of change can make most of the employees to hate change in the department that they are working. The managers and the advisors are the people responsible for implementing the change in the organization, and this is the place where it becomes a challenge. When the managers are the only ones that will pass the information about an individual product in the organization they will not possess the training and knowledge that is necessary for them to be competent for them to be agents of change in the organization. This is the reason that leads to poor communication in the organization between the C-suite and the general employees.   It happens that most of the employees will not respond to change that has been the case in the group with happiness. The company has to understand that there will be resistance. Some of the causes include: job loss is the primary reason as to why most of the employees are likely to resist change in the organization. When a company comes to change most of the employees are worried for there is a time when the agency will be required to downsize some of the employees or create new jobs. This causes the fear of job loss.   Also, there is poor communication and engagement. Again there is the lack of trust and poor timing that is among the employees and the management. How to overcome resistance and implement the change The company should be in a position where they can overcome the opposition. Despite how the company can manage change, they will be faced with resistance often. The companies should come with a strategy where they can quickly engage the people that are against the modification. By doing this, they will be able to see their concern, and they will be able to alleviate the problem by time.   The second way to overcome resistance is by ensuring that they effectively engage the employees where they can listen to what the employees have to say about change. There is the implementation of change in various stages and communicating the change effectively. These are the several ways in which the organization can overcome resistance to prevent the consequences. Describe the manner in which the changes will be implemented, applying the 8-Step Process for Leading Change The first step for the manager to implement change is by creating urgency. The manager should be in a position where they can develop a sense of urgency to improving the organization this is important for the company will be able to get things moving. Forming a powerful coalition can also help for the manager will be having people that will be supporting him in emphasizing the necessity of change in an organization. There is the creation of a vision for change. When a person starts thinking about change, many things and ideas float around. One can determine the necessary values and create a strategy that can be bringing out the change effectively. Conclusion Change in many organizations has a high impact on the organization itself and the people that are involved in the entire process. The group as a whole should be included in this particular step or process for the team as a whole to be able to achieve the goals and objectives that have been set. They will be able to innovate more for different people that are in the organization will be able to come up with various new ideas that can be implemented by the company.

The Electoral College. Is it Equal Representation Pros and Cons Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Electoral College In U. S. presidential elections, close races occasionally occur. The Electoral College is a mechanism, by which ties are nearly impossible, which if that should happen, the nation would have found itself in a predicament and heated controversy. This appears to be a complex solution to a simple problem, a redundancy to a simple popular vote, a one person one vote approach. Voters often question not only what the Electoral College is but also why it is. It seems to exist simply to amplify the margin of victory in the popular vote and is exclusively employed in presidential elections. Advocates of election reform wish to either do away with the Electoral College system completely and replace it with the direct popular vote or repairing perceived defects in the existing system by implementing one of several Electoral College reform proposals. This discussion addresses the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the system and provides a brief overview of the alternat ives. States that have a small population contend that if the electoral system were eradicated, presidential candidates would have no reason to campaign there or to advertise. We will write a custom essay sample on The Electoral College. Is it Equal Representation Pros and Cons or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now â€Å"Why visit a small state with a media market that reaches, say, 100,000 people, when a visit to a large state can put the candidate in touch with millions? † (Gregg, 2001). The McConnell Center for Political Leadership at the University of Louisville studied the rationale behind the public’s perception that a direct, one-person-one-vote system would be more equitable than the electoral system. The findings debunked popular perceptions that abolishing the current system of presidential elections would improve the process. Popular opinion is that if the 2000 election had been based on a national popular vote, the Florida debacle of hanging chads and dimpled ballots would not happened but in reality, the Electoral College saved the nation from a much worse problem. Imagine the distress of the nation in such a close election if a simple plurality of the national vote determined the outcome of the election. â€Å"With just a few hundr ed thousand votes separating the candidates, every vote in every precinct, in every state would have been worthy of a recount and every recount in every county subject to suit and countersuit† (Gregg, 2001). We still might not know who won. Opponents of the Electoral College argue for a direct national election, arguing that it would more represent the diversity of the nation.

My Life Experience And My Outlook Essay - 1627 Words

At this point in my life, as a person retiring out of an industry, and going back to school for a second career, my outlook is certainly different than it was when I was in college 23 years ago. I think that is primarily from life experiences, and having particular life experiences along my journey. I loved the philosophy class as it seemed to help me answer some of those questions that were lingering in the back of my head for years. And if it did not answer the questions, it certainly gave me the tools to dig deeper into my own thoughts, and ideas, and challenge them. I start off with what philosophy called metaphysics, the study of existence. Growing up in a fundamental religion I always had questions about our beginning, or arche’, as a human race. I was taught the preverbal Adam and Eve idea, but that brought about so many other questions. Who was before them? What if there was an alternative? Can we trust the historical data in the Bible? Where is God? Why is God â€Å"above us†? How do we know? All of these questions I had put away, thinking I must have been the only one that must think this way. Don’t misunderstand me there are elements of my religion that I cherish and it will provide me the ethical structure for my being. I understand that if society understood in the arche’ of our religion, we would find that we have more similarities than differences. During the time we studied Plato, and his ideal forms, I saw how not only myShow MoreRelatedCareer Plan For Training And Career Development1384 Words   |  6 PagesThe purpose of this paper is to present a career plan using lessons learned on training and career development. It will reveal various skills, training, and recommendations for work-life balances needed to pursue and achieve career objectives. â€Æ' Individual Career Plan When deciding on a career plan, I think it is most important to list the activities that are of interests to do in service of finding a path that suits you best. For the past few years, I have gone back and forth about what I wantedRead MoreWhy Nursing is Best for Me632 Words   |  3 Pagesour jobs.’ †. My goal is to become one of those nurses. I have thought long and hard, and have taken into consideration many other careers, but I feel nursing is what I was born to do and that it is the right career path for me. There may be a lot of college and challenges ahead of me, but in the end all the hard work will pay off. Although many people think nursing is dirty, difficult, and disheartening, I believe it is the best for me because I enjoyed health as a child, the outlook for nursing isRead MoreWhat Is Sumtotal Lms For Outlook1117 Words   |  5 PagesMini-Guide: SumTotal LMS for Outlook 1. Overview E-mail is an essential part of your daily work, allowing you to stay connected with the staff you manage. Your SumTotal LMS platform is equally important to your daily work, helping you constantly stay on top of learners’ progress. What if there was a way to oversee your learning initiatives and monitor your emails at the same time, without having to tab back and forth between programs? Earthly’s SumTotal for Outlook can make it happen. ThisRead MoreI Did Not Start Out At The University Of Florida1449 Words   |  6 Pagesstudying Finance. However, I did not start out in the Finance field. At the beginning of my Freshman fall semester, I was enrolled as a Nuclear Engineering major. After taking Chemistry and other introductory engineering courses, I realized the science aspect of it all was not for me. I came to the conclusion that I was more interested in the math side of things so I switched to a math-related major, Finance. My aunt was a Finance major here at UF and I have always been fascinated when she talks aboutRead MoreMy Life Of Becoming A Doctor1098 Words   |  5 Pagesambition in my life, I don’t have any desire to be the richest man in the world nor do I dream of becoming a doctor. The sole purpose of my life is to live a life of simplicity and devote my time making our world a better place for humanity. My parents have always taught me when it comes to deciding my career; I should always choose a career that interests me. Based on these beliefs, I think my experiences in the past best reflects my interest. Growing up in a family of engineers where my father andRead MoreHamlet And Divisadero Analysis975 Words   |  4 PagesDivisadero, proves Hamlet’s circumstance does not only pertain to the play, rather in other scenarios, further confirming that it is relatable to people in real life. In addition to examining Hamlet, reading other pieces of literature is beneficial in further understanding the play. Comparing Hamlet to Divisadero and my personal experiences validates the relevance of the play, Hamlet, and demonstrates the importance of studying it today. It is evident that Marie-Neige from the story, Divisadero,Read MoreEssay on Hospice: My Life Changing Experience740 Words   |  3 Pagesinsignificant I cant even place them, but others I will remember until I take my very last breath. I will never forget what happened to me and my family since the time my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Because my mom had cancer for a good portion of my childhood, I became very mature, gained a new respect for people, and I have developed a new outlook on life. I had to become very mature very quickly after my mom got sick. My mom was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2008. I was only elevenRead MoreThe Concept Of The Self Essay1258 Words   |  6 Pagesor social beings. As compared to animals, humans have the ability to interact and cooperate in discovering solutions to the issues of everyday life in relation to survival and reproduction. Within the social world, the concept of the self is used to refer to an individual’s attitude toward the world. In this case, it refers to an individual’s outlook of the world in relation to understanding, expectations, and fears of the various elements in the world. In order to understand the concept of selfRead MoreMy Life Of Becoming A Nurse1533 Words   |  7 Pagesheat wave, I made a decision that changed my life forever. Two months leading up to this day, I had just graduated high school, and eager as ever to start a new chapter in my life, college. One problem stood in my way though. I had no idea what career I wanted to pursue. I was planning on attending York College, because of the central location, but with no direction as to what major in. On this day, I finally realized that I wanted to be a nurse. Throughout my college career, I have faced countlessRead MoreComparing the Young and the Old Essay948 Words   |  4 Pagesyouth is their outlook on life. A. Young adults are more optimistic about the future B. The elderly tend to be more pessimistic C. You will hear from the majority of young adults, I will be rich someday but an older adult will say, Money is not everything 4. Older people seem to get set in their ways and typically resist change. A. The elderly get comfortable with a certain pattern in their lives and do not like this pattern disturbed B. My Grandparents have

Reaction Paper Teachers Effectivenes free essay sample

Capabilities that are not exclusively pertaining to their educational background but also on how competent, skilled and how they handle their pupils in a right attitude. Those traits that make these teachers a competent one focuses on different aspects namely: physical, intellectual, social and emotional. In other words, teachers should fit in each aspect for them to provide good teachings. Aside from that a teacher should consider knowledge of subject matter and be flexible enough in different situations and individual differences. Teacher’s personality traits contribute very much to their efficiency and effectiveness with which they achieve their roles and responsibilities. It is also a big impact to the environment in a classroom because a teacher who shows care not only to their subjects but to their students as well will then give a feeling of human worth to their students. Their personal characteristics also play a great influence to pupils. On physical aspects, a teachers grooming and poise can be a model for their pupils. On the mental aspect, an alert teacher is good in decision making and can easily identify insights into the abilities and needs of their pupils. And on the social aspect, teachers should have a good understanding of the nature of the child, their ability to deal with others and their genuine sympathy and care for welfare for others. Scholastic qualifications are the other side of the coin in which a teacher must have. While maintaining the commitment of the chosen profession, a eacher must continue to grow professionally so that they can inspire confidence to their students and of course to enhance more their mastery of the subject because this helps stimulate the attention of the pupils knowing that that their teacher is going to teach them the right things in their subject. II. Reactions First, there is no hard and fast list that tells you who is a good teacher or who is not a good teacher. However, there are traits that excellent teachers have in common. These are not the usual qu alities such as being a good friend or having a nice personality. These are what researchers from around the world have found when they watched those teachers whose students excelled once they left that teachers classroom. Of course, not every teacher is going to be a skillful teacher for every child and a child spends only about 8 percent of the year in school, which means that regardless of the quality of teacher, a supportive home environment is essential to excellent learning. To be a good teacher, one must first understand the concept of personality. Personality refers to all aspects of a person that influence his characteristics, ways of performing, thinking, and feeling. A teacher should also have an attitude of openness. It stands to reason that an educator must be open to new ideas, have an appreciation for adventure and bring to the table a variety of experience. An educator must be ready to embrace new concepts in order to bring them to his or her students. A teacher who is stuck in the past will soon be passed by the students. A teachers job is to ensure the success of his or her students, not the failure! A teacher also needs to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic. That is not to say that teachers should be doormats, but instead should be approachable. Students need to know they can trust their teachers and that their teachers are not out to hurt them in any way. A teacher needs to create an environment of safety, trust, and positive learning without crossing over the line to letting students take advantage of his or her agreeable nature. Among all the traits mentioned in the article being knowledgeable is of great importance for me. A teacher who possesses a deep knowledge of the subject matter and are able to manipulate, simplify, and individualize this data more easily because they are a master of it. To gain this they are not just hard workers, but have a passion for the subject. They are able to empathize with students who might not like that subject and turn that lack of enthusiasm around by presenting the facts from a different angle. That’s why teachers must be a good learner for them to become knowledgeable. They are always eager to learn new things, expand their knowledge base, experiment with better ways to achieve success. They are lifelong learners and they produce lifelong learners. So, a teacher must have the trait of being unsatisfied with what is. In other words, the best teacher is always a student. I agree that a teacher should utilize varied methods, strategies and techniques proficiently; a teacher must provide quick and accurate assessment of student work. Tests and other projects are evaluated in a timely manner. The student work may not be filled with red marks or gold stars, but it is returned with the understanding of what was right and what could be improved. Without constant evaluation a learning child cannot make the progress of a student who is guided. A helpful teacher does not discourage original thinking, but it must be proven. At all times, the best educator is looking for the students reasoning, rather than the answer. In other words, for the insightful teacher, student assessment assesses the teachers performance and provides ideas of what changes both need to make to improve. On the other hand, children are still children. They have playful and imaginative mind. As mentioned in the article, being a cheerful and friendly teacher contributes to solve disciplinary problems. Because of this, a teacher must also possess a good sense of humor. They make jokes and accept jokes. They are not comedians, but they are entertaining. They tell stories, point out silly things, bring joy to difficult situations, and are not afraid of laughter. They use humor to connect to their students. In other words, excellent teachers keep the students attention without fear. Lastly, as I see this profession as a call, it is much important for me to motivate myself through my commitment to this profession by enhancing my capabilities to make my work meaningful and worthwhile.

Unit 5 Essay Example

Unit 5 Paper What is frost wedging ? Mechanical weathering occurs when physical forces break rock into smaller and smaller pieces without changing the rocks mineral composition What is frost wedging ? After many freeze-thaw cycles, the rock breaks into pieces by a process called frost wedging When water freezes, it volume _______. Its volume expands by about 9%, exerting a tremendous outward force. This force is great enough to burst water pipes during the winter Which of the following is NOT associated with mechanical weathering ? Reactions with oxygen What is chemical weathering ? Chemical weathering is the transformation of rock into one or more new compounds Which of the following is the result of chemical weathering ? a rock that has been changed into one or more new compounds The atmospheric gas forms a mild acid when dissolved in water is _______. Carbon dioxide what would cause the inscription on a marble gravestone to become harder and harder to read over time ? Chemical weathering What climate does chemical weather favor the most ? Climates with high temperatures and abundant moisture What are the major components of soil ? a. mineral matter or broken down b. organic matter or humus, which is decayed remains of organisms c. water d. air A soils texture is determined by ______. you use categories of clay, silt, and sand in the soil The main source of organic matter in soil is _______. plants Use figure 5-1 to determine what soil is called if it has 20 percent clay, 60 percent silt, and 20 percent sand. Silty loam What are the proportions of clay, silt, and sand shown at point B in figure 5-1 ? Clay 20%, silt 40%, sand 40% What are the proportions of clay, silt, and sand shown ate point A in figure 5-1 ? Clay 60%, silt 20%, sand 20% What are the proportions of clay, silt, and sand shown at point C in figure 5-1 ? Clay 10%, Silt 20%, sand 70% A soil associated with the hot and wet tropics is _______. laterite Pedalfer soils contains high amounts of _______. Iron oxide and aluminum- rich clays The process responsible for moving material downslope under the influence of gravity is called ________. Mass movement What is the force of gravity behind

Fashion Brand Louis Vuitton Essay Example

Fashion Brand Louis Vuitton Essay Example Fashion Brand Louis Vuitton Essay Fashion Brand Louis Vuitton Essay The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand Received (in revised form): 9th September 2008 Antoinette M. Fionda is a PhD student specialising in Luxury Fashion Marketing at Heriot-Watt University. Previously, Antoinette worked in both the Fashion and the Luxury Fashion sectors in a variety of areas from design to management and consultancy. Christopher M. Moore is Chair in Marketing and Head of Fashion, Marketing and Retailing at Glasgow Caledonian University. Prior to his appointment at GCU, he was Professor of Marketing and Director of the George Davies Centre for Retail Excellence at Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh. A graduate of the universities of Glasgow and Stirling, his doctoral research was in the area of fashion retailer internationalisation. His current research interests include business models for luxury fashion retailers; fashion brand management issues and trends in fashion retailer internationalisation. ABSTRACT Purpose: To explore the critical dimensions necessary to create and maintain the success of a luxury fashion brand. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a qualitative approach in the form of case studies of 12 international fashion retailers. This involved semi-structured interviews with management to explore their knowledge and experiences, supported by secondary research such as internal documents and media reports. Findings: Identi? es nine interrelated key luxury fashion brand attributes that are crucial in the creation and maintenance of the brand proposition. The management of the luxury fashion brand is complex, and requires a consistent and coherent approach. Originality/value: An empirical understanding of the luxury fashion brand’s critical dimensions will assist in effective and ef? ient luxury fashion brand management. Journal of Brand Management (2009) 16, 347–363. doi:10. 1057/bm. 2008. 45 Keywords: luxury fashion branding; brand management INTRODUCTION The luxury goods market is signi? cant, not only in terms of its market value (estimated to have exceeded US$130 billion in 2007),1,2 but also in terms of its rate of growth – which has in the past 10 years signi? cantly outpaced that of other consumer goods categories. The rate of growth has been driven by a variety of factors, the most signi? cant of which has been the : Correspondence: Antoinette M. Fionda School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK increase in the number of high-net-worth individuals with an appetite for luxury brand consumption. In response to signi? cant consumer interest and demand, the suppliers of luxury fashion goods have developed business strategies that seek to better service consumer demand by increasing availability through the extension of their geographic coverage and their market accessibility via the opening of  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 6, 5/6, 347–363 www. palgrave-journals. com/bm/ Fionda and Moore dedicated points of sale. 3–5 Fuelling and supporting this development of the luxury market has been increased media interest in luxury goods consumption, and the emergence of luxury brand awareness as an integral element of consumer culture. Consequently, a variety of studies have noted that luxury brands are among the most recognised and res pected of consumer brands the world over. 5,6 Within the luxury offer, there is an everexpanding offer of luxury categories. There are four principal categories of luxury goods: fashion (couture, ready-to-wear and accessories), perfumes and cosmetics, wines and spirits and watches and jewellery. 7 More recently, the categories of luxury automobiles, hotels, tourism, private banking, home furnishing and airlines have been added. 8 The focus of this study is the luxury fashion goods category. Firstly, this focus is justi? ed on the basis that it accounts for the largest proportion of luxury goods sales, with a 42 per cent share in 2003,9,10 and the strongest product category growth in 2007. 1 Secondly, previous studies have suggested that the branding of luxury fashion goods is more complex than other sectors by virtue of the speed of change within the sector (the majority of luxury fashion goods are dormant at the end of the fashion season),2,7,12,13 as well as the scale and number of fashion items that are marketed using a single luxury brand name. Thirdly, the marketing of fashion goods is typically more complex and costly as a result of differences in product numbers, operating scale and the tendency for luxury fashion companies to take direct control of the distribution of their goods within markets. As such, these costs and the complexity of managing the marketing of this category of luxury goods have previously been shown to exceed those of the other luxury brand categories. 8,12,14,15 Yet, despite the signi? cance of the luxury sector in terms of the insights that it could provide with respect to contemporary business practise and the nature of consumption, it has been recognised that the sector has been under-represented within the academic literature. ,12,16 Furthermore, although the literature relevant to the branding of consumer goods has grown hugely in the past decade, the application of branding within the luxury goods sector has received minimal attention. In particular, although various recent studies have sought to delineate the form and function of consumer brands, there have been very few empirical studies that have sought to identify and understand the processes that support the creation and maintenance of the luxury fashion brand. This study is based on the propo sition that the luxury brand – and speci? ally the luxury fashion brand – is distinctive because of its application to diverse, ever-changing product assortments (from underwear to business suiting), that it invariably operates as an experiential brand (within the retail space), and that it functions as a means of creating and communicating an identity for the brand user. As such, it is suggested that the delineation of the form and dimensions of the luxury fashion brand will not only contribute to an understanding of the nature of luxury marketing, but will also offer further insight into the functioning of branding in general. Therefore, it is within this context that the aim of this study was to provide a framework incorporating the dimensions of the luxury fashion brand. Given this uncertainty and neglect, and mindful of the opportunity to contribute to a wider debate concerning the nature and characteristics of product branding, two principal objectives were identi? ed for this study: 1. to identify the dimensions of the luxury fashion brand; 2. to create a framework depicting the luxury fashion brand. 348  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand RELEVANT LITERATURE De? ning the luxury fashion brand Conceptualisations of luxury are typically derived from either a consumption perspective5,17–20 or from an application as a product branding device. 7,21–23 There has emerged a strong strand of literature that seeks to explain luxury consumption, particularly in terms of having a symbolic function that operates at the individual and collective level. As such, luxury is identi? ed in terms of its psychological value,5 its function as a status symbol20,24,25 and as a highly involved consumption experience that is strongly congruent to a person’s self-concept. 7 From a product perspective, luxury brands are frequently de? ned in terms of their excellent quality, high transaction value, distinctiveness, exclusivity and craftsmanship. 21,23,26,27 Jackson7 proposes the following as the core characteristics of the luxury product: ‘†¦ exclusivity, premium prices, image and status which combine to make them more desirable for reasons other than function’. (p. 158) Research on luxury brands Research relevant to the creation and development of luxury brands is limited,12,16,26 and previous studies have recognised a lack of clarity with respect to what de? es a luxury brand. 5,17,28 Instead, the research examining the marketing of luxury goods has tended to take a consumer perspective,1 speci? cally in terms of motivations for purchasing luxury goods. 20,29,30 These studies are often criticised for their over-reliance on student samples and lack of appropriate external controls. 16 Other key research areas within luxury include the development,12,31,32 the protection33–36 and the brand extension. 37–39 More recently, great attention has been given to a consideration of the dimensions of the luxury brand (Table 1). Nueno and Quelch23 highlight the importance of product excellence to the development of a credible luxury brand, in addition to the signi? cance of controlled distribution. Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of? cer (CEO) of LVMH,41 emphasises the signi? cance of corporate identity, culture and spirit, and furthermore indicates the importance of creative excellence in luxury brand development. Similarly, the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter40 model considers the dimensions from a practitioners’ viewpoint. Phau and Prendergast28 highlight four key luxury attributes, although indicating that their identi? d attributes of recognised brand identity, quality, exclusivity and customer awareness are critical elements of the luxury brand. Beverland16 maintains that this is not an exhaustive list. Indeed, he proposes that these are instead the characteristics of any successful brand and not only that of a luxury brand. Consequently, Beverland provides additional dimensions within his frame work, and these include elements such as external endorsement, corporate culture, brand/corporate heritage and product integrity. In 2003, Alleres22 suggested six characteristics of a luxury fashion brand that is derived from the strong in? ence of the French luxury heritage brands. Considering the Italian model, Moore and Birtwistle12 examine Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole’s strategy for the repositioning of Gucci as an authentic luxury fashion brand. They identify dimensions that all require careful management to develop and create a successful brand. Although the authors make no claim that the Gucci template can be universally applied, they argue that it serves to provide a more comprehensive account of luxury brand development when compared with other studies. One of the most recent models is provided by Okonkwo,2 in which she identi? s 10 core characteristics of the successful luxury fashion brand.  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347à ¢â‚¬â€œ363 349 350 Fionda and Moore Table 1: Overview of the key models identifying the luxury fashion brand dimensions Arnault (2000)26 Phau and Prendergast (2000)28 Marketing The brand name Critical mass; Global recognition Product integrity Quality Recognition symbols; Creations Marketing; Value driven emergence Alleres (2003)22 Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (2000)40 Beverland (2004)16 Moore and Birtwistle (2005)12 Oknokwo (2007)2 Critical dimensions Nueno and Quelch (1998)23 Brand/marketing strategy Well known brand identity Relevant marketing programme; Global reputation A distinct brand identity; A global reputation; Emotional appeal Product and design Premium quality; Heritage of craftsmanship; Element of uniqueness to each product; Recognisable style or design; Ability to time design shifts when category is fashion intensive Brand image; A drive to reinvent oneself to be the best Product quality; Creativity Core competences and other products Product integrity; Iconic products/ design; Control over product manufacturer Premium price Innovative, creative, unique and appealing products; Consistent delivery of premium quality; Heritage of craftsmanship Price Exclusivity Powerful advertising Evoke exclusivity Increase brand awareness Limited production run Communications strategy Premium price Exclusivity in goods productions High visibility Brand leadership/ designer Personality and values of its creator Company sprit  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 Distribution strategy Immaculate ? agship stores Superb customer service Endorsement Endorsement; Fashion shows, store displays, PR, product packaging The creators Culture Culture Designer PR face of the brand Locations Flagship store and Tightly controlled store brand concept distribution Controlled distribution of the brand History History Heritage Heritage . Adapted from references 2,12,16,22,23,28,40,41 The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand And although Okonkwo2 states that this is not a de? nitive model, she does maintain that it provides an insight into the management of a luxury brand. Key luxury fashion brand characteristics As Table 1 highlights, there are a number of reoccurring and divergent identi? ed key attributes within the literature, in order to create and maintain luxury fashion positioning. Within the luxury proposition, the concept of brand – speci? cally the brand name and identity – is considered fundamental. 2,7,22,42 The luxury brand requires a relevant, clear and de? ned marketing strategy. 12,16,23 The strategy is formed to assist in developing the global reputation and presence of the brand, and to leverage the brand status and awareness. 8,28 In conjunction with the concept of brand, various ther attributes are considered crucial for creating a luxury brand, including product and design attributes of quality,2,7,9,12,16,21,23,25,27,28,42 craftsmanship,2,7,19,21,23,26,42 and innovative, creative and unique products. 2,12,22,23,40,42 Bruce and Kratz13 highlight the fact that the iconic coveted products are central to the luxury product offer. These iconic products are typi ? ed by authentic, quality and exclusive characteristics26,27,38 that are aspirational. These key products often epitomise the brand signature or ‘brand DNA’,23 as they can assist in portraying the personality and values of the creators. ,13 The appointment of the high-pro? le fashion designer enhances the appeal of the products,7,13 and subsequently increases their relevance to a current market. The premium price of luxury goods is only explicitly referenced in two of the frameworks within Table 1. 2,12 Although it has been acknowledged previously that a high price positioning need not necessarily equal a luxury positioning, there is a consensus in the literature that luxury goods typically command a premium price differential when compared with other products within the same category. 1,26,43 The components of rarity and exclusivity are considered a signi? cant trait of luxury brands. 21,23,26,27,44–48 The Nueno and Quelch23 and Okonkwo2 models both identify th at limited production is fundamentally linked to the maintenance of the brand exclusivity. The aura of scarcity adds to the appeal of luxury brands. 49 Managers can sustain the exclusivity of the brand through advertising, endorsement, controlling distribution and price,49 and producing limited editions lines. 2,23 The environment and service provided by luxury brands are considered a crucial attributes in the luxury proposition. ,12,22,40,50,51 Luxury stores are considered shopping cathedrals52 that use architecture to convey a sense of splendour,13 and de? ne the shopping experience for wealthy customers. 13,52 The luxury environment and experience of a brand is showcased in the ? agship store, which is de? ned as a major outlet generally located in a capital city, retaining the full collection of a fashion brand’s merchandise. 52 These stores typically enjoy signi? cant ? nancial investment, and are considered crucial to a brand’s marketing communication process and reputation, and as a support for the wholesale business. 3 Company own-stores allow the companies to manage the customer experience at the point of sale. 7 Customer service is also vital in the luxury consumption experience. 2,24 Within fashion, branding has become as much about branding the experience as the product. 54 The consumption experience provides an insight into the brand lifestyle by making it a reality. 8 Along with the control of the consumer experience, Moore and 12 2 Birtwistle and Okonkwo also state the importance of controlling the manufacturer, particularly within license agreements, to ensure that the brand positioning is not compromised. 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 351 Fionda and Moore Brand heritage is considered prevalent in Alleres’,22 Beverland’s16 and Moore and Birtwistle’s12 models. Many luxury brands have a long history, which adds to the authenticity of the brand,21 and is considered one of the hallmarks of a luxury brand. 49 The retention of heritage has the ability to create nostalgia and credibility for a brand,55 and is often correlated to the heritage of the country of origin. 6 Powerful marketing co mmunications are considered key to building the luxury brand image. 2 Relevant advertising can provide support in establishing the brand image, which consequently assists in creating identity and attraction,53,57 and generates awareness. 58 Other means of luxury brand communication are celebrity endorsement, public relations (PR), events and direct marketing. 2,12,16,52 Finally as highlighted in Arnault’s model (cited in Kapferer),26 the company spirit is considered key to luxury fashion brand success. The investment in the spirit or culture of a ? m allows the support for a brand to extend to the internal as well as an external commitment to the brand. 59 Internal branding assists the employees in understanding desire, and encourages them to deliver on the brand promise. 60–62 Despite the fact that many of the dimensions of luxury branding are identi? ed in the literature, it is unclear whether and how these attributes are connected. Nor is it clear whether this is a de? nitive listing. Furthermore, as highlighted in the review of the frameworks of the luxury brand, there is a dearth of research that empirically considers the dimensions. Beverland’s16 paper, the only empirical investigation in Table 1, is considered narrow in its scope and therefore in its application. 12 Given this uncertainty and neglect, and mindful of the opportunity to contribute to a wider debate concerning the nature and characteristics of product branding, this study will identify the dimensions of the luxury fashion brand and depict within a framework. METHODOLOGY In order to investigate these issues, an interpretive qualitative case study research methodology was adopted, as it is considered to be the most appropriate for an exploratory theory building approach. 6,63–65 Furthermore, the number of research studies adopting case study design is increasing within a marketing context66–68 and within a luxury marketing/branding context. 12,16 There are three main reasons that support the implementation of a case study design for this research. Firstly, as the key aim of this study is to investigate the means and methods of l uxury fashion brand creation and development, the use of the case study method assists in providing in-depth descriptions and illustrations rather than surface-level observations. 6,68 Thus, within this context, the close proximity with those involved in the management of luxury fashion brands provides the opportunity to obtain an intimate understanding. Furthermore, the case study method can provide contextual and historical dimensions to research,65,69 thus providing a means to consider the unique history and heritage of each brand and how these in? uence their decision-making today. 16,70 Secondly, because of the lack of empirical work in the area, this approach provides a means of extracting rich and relevant data. Both Yin71 and Perry67 suggest that the case study method can assist in compensating for a lack of established theory and/or where accepted principles and constructs have not been established and are clearly inadequate. Thirdly, there is a dearth of conceptual development within this ? eld. The case study data facilitate the identi? cation and construction of conceptualisations of the luxury brand building process. 352  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand Preparation for data collection Case companies were chosen based on literal replication following strict criteria. The study focuses on British luxury brands because of access restrictions. The criteria for case study selection were established as follows: 1. The cases should be identi? ed as luxury fashion brands through both the ? rms and established databases, principally Walpole, Mintel and Euromonitor, positioning the brands as a luxury fashion proposition; 2. The potential selected brands should have been in existence for a minimum of 2 years. This allows for a historical review of the luxury fashion brand development; 3. The ? agship stores should operate in prestige locations; 4. The potential companies should operate at least one luxury fashion store in the UK. In order to identify companies that meet these requirements, four resources were consulted: Walpole, a British luxury association;74 Mintel’s9 ‘Luxury Goods Retailing’ report; Euromonitor,3 ‘The World Market for Luxury Goods’ report; and various leading fashion journals including Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Arena and GQ. From these, 26 British luxury fashion brands were identi? d. Initially, all 26 companies were contacted, allowing them all an equal opportunity to take part in the study. This became a process of self-selection. Out of the 26 companies contacted, 12 agreed to participate. To preserve anonymity in report ? ndings, companies were coded (Table 2). The case brands differed in their luxury brand orientation towards heri tagebased image ‘history’ or a design ‘story’based image, corporate size and the product offering. Multiple sources of evidence, documentary evidence and interviews, were used in the data collection phase to protect the research from bias. 5–77 In all the cases, a tape-recorded interview with the CEO, managing director or marketing director was conducted, which lasted between 1 and Table 2: Key to case companies and similarities and differences Company Interviewee Country of parent origin America British Japan British France Japan British France Italy Japan Japan Japan Sector A B C D E F G H I J K L Managing Director Marketing Director Managing Director Managing Director Marketing Director Managing Director Brand Manager Marketing Director Managing Director CEO CEO CEO Heritage Brand; Jewellery extended into fashion (menswear and womenswear), accessories and home Heritage Brand; Accessories extended into fashion (menswear and womenswear) Lifestyle purist brand; Fashion oriented (menswear, womenswear and childrenswear) Savile Row Tailor; Fashion and accessories (menswear) Heritage Brand; Fashion and accessories Heritage Brand; Fashion (menswear and womenswear), and accessories Savile Row Tailor; Fashion and accessories (menswear) Heritage Brand; Fashion and accessories (menswear) Fashion oriented; Fashion (menswear and womenswear), and accessories Department Store and own fashion brand; fashion (menswear and womenswear), accessories and home Savile Row Tailor; Fashion and accessories (menswear) Heritage Brand; Fashion and accessories (menswear and menswear)  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 353 Fionda and Moore 2 hours. In order to ensure the quality of the research design, Yin71 suggested four criteria: construct validity, internal validity, external validity and reliability, which were jointly considered at each stage. This investigation, as an exploratory case study, satis? ed Yin’s criteria (Table 3). The interview questions focused on the history and origins of the brands; the characteristics that differentiate the selected case companies as a luxury brand; the marketing actions and investments that they invest in to assure, maintain and protect the brand over time; their manufacturing and distribution policies; and how these affect their brand management strategy. Finally, the interviews considered the critical success factors relevant to a luxury fashion brand. The interviews were transcribed, and all the data and case materials analysed, so that a general sense of the data could be established. The important themes, the frequency of occurrence, relative importance to the interviewee, emergent patterns and areas of contradiction were identi? ed in accordance with established protocols. 82 The analysis Table 3: Case study tactics for four design tests Phase of research which tactic occurs Research design/ preparation of data collection Case study topic Tests was conducted on a case-by-case basis and then by cross-case analysis. 3,65 Thereafter, the conclusions were all veri? ed and con? rmed. The ? ndings and themes were compared with the literature on the subject area and through case report veri? cation by the interviewee and other academics. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS The cross-case analysis revealed a number of key themes that emerged from the d ata. The proposed themes are identi? ed as the principal dimensions of a luxury fashion brand. Within each of these key themes, various sub-themes illustrated within the cases exist (Table 4). The following presentation of the key research ? ndings is developed from nine principal luxury brand dimensions and the evidence from the case data, which is identi? d by quote number (Q1, Q2, and so on). Clear brand identity The importance of a clear brand identity and a clear understanding of the brand Reference Use theory in single-case studies Use replication logic in multiple case studies Use multiple sources of evidence Establish chain of evidence Use case study protocol Develop case study database External validity External validity Construct validity Construct validity Reliability Reliability Internal validity External validity Construct validity Yin (2003)71 Data collection Data analysis Do pattern-matching Comparison of evidence within the literature Have key informants review draft case study report Yin (2003),71 Riege (2003),72 Eisenhardt (1989)63 and Parkhe (1993)73 Yin (2003),71 Riege (2003),72 Flick (1992)76 and Perakyla (1997)77 Yin (2003),71 Riege (2003) and Hirschman (1986)78 Yin (2003),71 Riege (2003) and Eisenhardt (1989)63 Yin (2003),71 Riege (2003) and Lincoln and Guba (1985)79 Yin (2003),71 Riege (2003) and Huberman and Miles (1994)80 Riege (2003) and Yin (1994)65 Yin (2003),71 Riege (2003) and Le Compte and Goetz (1982)81 Composition Source: Adapted from Yin, 2003,71p. 34. 354  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand Table 4: Case study evidence Case study evidence Components inherent to the creation of the luxury fashion brand Clear brand identity Emotional appeal/ aspirational Brand values/DNA Global marketing strategy Q1: ‘Our brand has a strong aspirational appeal. Our customers want to buy us not just for our beautifully crafted products but for our prestigious image and to buy a piece of our heritage’ (Company, J) Q2: ‘All luxury fashion brands need to be clear on their DNA†¦ what makes it different and relevant as it is a very competitive ? eld out there. Everyone here works towards the blueprint for the brand and the brand values’ (Company, F) Q3: ‘(the designer) would consider us as a fashion orientated brand which has greater emphasis on classic than say avant-garde’ (Company, C). Q4: ‘We create trends- we are fashion! That is why out customers comes to us’ (Company I)S Q5: ‘We have a three year plan to develop the (brand) further internationally as well as nationally though investment in directly-owned stores, advertising and our product offering’ (Company, L) Q6: ‘The communications strategy is critical within the luxury fashion sector. We use a combination of advertising, PR, celebrity endorsement and direct marketing to the customer. We need to be in the key magazines and broadsheets to ensure we are increasing awareness about the brand and the products’ (Company, H) Q7: ‘We need to show in Milan. It is vital for us. It is the place to show if you are serious about fashion’ (Company, I) Luxury communications strategy Direct marketing; Sponsorship; Fashion shows; Celebrity endorsement Advertising; PR Product integrity Functional, quality and craftsmanship Innovation and seasonal offer Q8: ‘Quality, it is all about quality. It should be the best materials, best craftsmanship and hand ? ished†¦ to me luxury is something I buy today and will have in ? fty years. ’ (Company, J) Q9: ‘We invest in craftsmanship. In our ? agship store in London we have a unique workshop on the top ? oor which our VIP can visit and see their investment piece be created. ’ (Company, A) Q10: ‘As a luxury fashion brand we need to develop both a fashion and a classic offer in our range – we introduced over 10 000 products obviously not just in clothing and accessories but the greatest level of involvement comes from fashion. We have classics pieces which re? ect our heritage but we also have fashion ‘show pieces’ which keep it fresh and exciting! ’ (Company A). Q11: ‘Compare us to luxury cars for example- we have to design, sample, manufacturer, distribute, create our own stores, sell and eventually discount on at least a bi-annual basis, although that is changing, literally hundreds of products, styles which is huge in terms of investment†¦ whereas luxury cars or hotels have in comparison a far easier job in my opinion’ (Company, F) Q12: ‘†¦we always have to consider the brand handwriting, to ensure it is in keeping with the brand image†¦ it is our iconic products which truly epitomize the brand. ’ (Company B) Q13: ‘We have just completely redesigned all of our packaging and packaging accessories as they were off-brand. It is so important that it (livery) enhances the luxury product’ (Company, B) Q14: ‘We have a very strong design handwriting. Our products and everything else for that matter must be inkeeping with that’ (Company, C) Q15: ‘For us the designers very muc h personify the brand- they are our spokesperson’ (Company, D) Q16: ‘†¦we have to be sure that prices are relevant to what they are today and to luxury’ (Company D) Brand signature Iconic products Brand livery Recognisable style Creative direction Prestige price Consistent with positioning Exclusivity Limited editions Controlled ranges and locations Q17: ‘†¦ Managed scarcity it is a game all luxury fashion brands are playing. We all must manage the availability and exclusivity ratio. In reality, this is the management of the pro? tability and luxury exclusive image’ (Company, F) Q18: ‘We had to close a number of licensees as they were not in keeping with our repositioned brand image. We also stopped selling to a number of our wholesale clients as they no longer matched our stockists criteria’ (Company, L)  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 355 Fionda and Moore Table 4: Continued Case study evidence Components inherent to the creation of the luxury fashion brand Luxury heritage Brand history and/or story Q19: ‘Our heritage is extraordinary so of course we are going invest in it and try to educate customers through our museum archives and website, and the products and product ranges. ’ (Company, H) Q20: ‘Everything is based around him (the designer) he controls everything. It is all about his personality’ (Company, I) Q21: ‘Our ? agship stores were designed by truly amazing architects, in an amazing building to create an amazing space to showcase our brand in a completely controlled environment which allows our customers to experience the lifestyle at our ‘Motherstores’. We aspire to create the ideal international luxury experience’ (Company A) Q22: ‘Service is key in the luxury environment thus our staff are carefully recruited and trained to be approachable and friendly to add to the (consumption) experience’ (Company, E) Q23: ‘†¦the culture of the company is important you can not create a successful brand without the right management team, internal commitment to the brand and the brand vision and right external partnerships’ (Company, C) Q24: ‘We have exceptional partnerships with our licensees and manufacturers. We are strict in our management and control but we are very proud of our partners and hopefully this is reciprocated’ (Company, K) Environment and consumption experience Globally controlled distribution Superior service Flagship stores Luxury culture Internal commitment to the brand External partnership commitment to the brand values were apparent in each of the case companies (Table 4, Q2). Nearly all of the brands discussed the importance of a clear brand identity and values that truly differentiate and entice the consumers on a functional as well as emotional level (Table 4, Q1). The ‘fashionability’ element was considered a brand value that was apparent in each of the brands, although with differing degrees of importance. The heritage in conjunction with the legacy of the original creator of the brand prompted the level of importance of each of the brands placed on this element (Table 4, Q3 and Q4). Each of the case companies had a developmental strategy to invest in the distribution, awareness and positioning of the brand over a 3- or a 5-year period (Table 4, Q5). proposition, the case companies employed all or a combination of the following marketing communication tools: fashion shows, advertising, PR, direct marketing and celebrity endorsement (Table 4, Q6). All of the brands considered direct communication with the customer on a personal level an area of growing importance. They all partook in direct marketing to ensure that a relationship was developed with the customer. The investment in PR made, ‘†¦ the brand interesting and attainable’ and raised awareness. A number of the brands also invested in catwalk shows and considered these a vital element of luxury fashion positioning (Table 4, Q7). These brands tended to place greater importance on the fashion element of the brand. Marketing communications All of the brands invested in a communications strategy. The methods differed between brands, however. To increase brand awareness and a luxury fashion brand Product integrity This key theme emerged as signi? cant in the case companies, and within each there were several sub-categories, which included ‘product quality’ (Table 4, Q8) ‘craftsmanship’ 356  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand and ‘attention to detail’ (Table 4, Q9). To achieve their ‘fashion status’, each of the case companies invested in innovation and creativity. A parity between the classic luxury and the fashion directional pieces was achieved through balancing the collections (Table 4, Q10). Many introduced fashion ‘show pieces’ for press or VIP customers. Case Company J highlights the difference between managing luxury fashion and luxury goods which require higher levels of investment in management, time and resources (Table 4, Q11). of developing the luxury status of the brand. The price not only re? ected the handmade product and quality attribute associated with luxury, but also suggested the element of exclusivity of a product, as high price creates a barrier of entry (Table 4, Q16). A number of the cases employed strategies to increase exclusivity, including limited edition products and ranges, and through strategic alliances. Exclusivity Exclusivity is inherent to luxury brand positioning (Table 4, Q17) as de? ned by the literature. Each of the case companies strictly controls the distribution and accessibility of the brands to ensure exclusivity (Table 4, Q18). Furthermore, the ? ndings revealed that exclusivity can be controlled through limited production runs and the number and typology of distributors in each of the cases. Brand signature Each of the companies recognises the importance of the brand signature and iconic products, referring to them as the ‘designers’ style’, ‘handwriting’ or the ‘brand DNA’. Each considered these inherent to the luxury fashion brand. All of the brands produce or sell numerous product categories that need to be internal, consistent and coherent, which will minimise the damage of confusing the consumer (Table 4, Q12). Each of the brands ensured that the whole collection had a clear signature through comprehensible managerial direction initially, and then repeated meetings to ? nalise the products (Table 4, Q14). The iconic product epitomises the brand signature (Table 3, Q12). In a number of the cases, the iconic products have close connections to their heritage. The design is extended to the packaging and livery (Table 4, Q13). Each company considered it vital that the packaging cohered with the brand image. All of the case companies identi? ed the importance of a design team (Table 4, Q15) and invested in eminent designers to work on various products of their collections to ‘†¦ raise and punctuate the fashion element of the brand’ (Company D). Heritage All of the case companies have extremely interesting histories, and each has highlighted the value of remaining faithful to the historic positioning (Table 4, Q19) or the founding and current designer (Table 4, Q20) of the brand because this strategy has the ability to add and maintain the brand’s authenticity. For example, Company C produced a book illustrating its history, and retained original features from the leather production process; and Companies A, J and H preserved their history through an extensive exercise of attempting to buy back archive pieces and by reproducing products or design-based products from their archive collection. Luxury environment and experience All the representatives identi? ed the signi? cance of both the store environment and superior service to brand luxury creation. Firstly, the store environment is typi? ed by the ? agship store, which was considered Premium price The importance of price was clearly identi? ed by all of the respondents as a means  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 357 Fionda and Moore crucial by the Chief Executive of Company C, as ‘it is an important part of what the consumer is paying for’. Company A considered the London ? agship the ‘motherhouse’, as it is the home of the brand (Table 4, Q21). The ? agship was considered to require the greatest investment but it provided the paramount experience. A number of the representatives also highlighted the fact that the ? gship store actually assisted their licensing and wholesale business. For the business-tobusiness customer, the store provides an insight into the personality and soul of the company, which assists in the development of a working relationship. Other distribution methods included boutiques, wholesale and licensee. The level of investment decreased accordingly, however, as did the level of control. The service provided by all the case study companies was considered superior to other fashion brands and the more diffused luxury brands. The companies claimed to provide this level of service for their customer, as it added to the experiential dimension, which was considered essential for luxury (Table 4, Q22). Many of the brands offered personalised service, which included staff spending hours with a client, direct personal phone calls and merely ensuring the shopping experience is made as easy as possible. Clearly, each of the companies views this as an inherent quality that a brand should offer their consumers. Control over the distributors, suppliers, manufacturers and licensees was considered crucial in the creation and maintenance of the luxury fashion brand. nies recognise the importance of the right people working internally to create the brand, from management to the staff on the shop ? oor. Furthermore, within the organisation there is a need for honesty, integrity, morality and teamwork, as without these the message created would be false. In conclusion, each of these aforementioned components is considered important in the creation of a luxury fashion brand, as each add to the luxury brand image and positioning. The research ? ndings identi? ed the interrelated components of a luxury brand through an examination of the actions undertaken with each of the representatives of the case studies. This builds on the ? ndings of the literature, which either discussed luxury brands on a surface level or considered the concept from a generic perspective rather than speci? cally to the luxury fashion market. Discussion Figure 1 illustrates the various components inherent to the luxury fashion brand as derived from the ? ndings of the research. The model identi? es nine key components that are inherent to the creation of a luxury fashion brand. Each attribute consisted of a number of sub-categories, which all must be consistent in order to create the brand. The ? rst major dimension identi? ed was the clear brand identity. Clear brand identity relates to the symbolic nature and the intangibles of luxury brands and the future development and investment into the brand. The fashion element of each of the brands has a strong correlation to the brand values. Although each of the brands clearly has a fashion element, they place differing levels of importance on and investment into the fashion factor. The second component, marketing communications, refers to the common methods employed to create awareness, which include fashion shows, celebrity endorsement, advertising, direct marketing, events sponsorship and PR. Each of these Culture The management of the internal and external relationships with the brand was developed through the company culture (Table 4, Q23 and Q24). This aspect assisted in the luxury brand proposition authenticity, according to Case Company C. The culture of a brand refers to the expertise behind the brand. All of the Case Compa- 358  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand Recognisable Style Brand Livery Direct Marketing; Sponsorship; Fashion Shows; Celebrity Endorsement Advertising; PR Innovation Seasonal Products Functionality, Quality Craftsmanship Global Marketing Strategy Creative Direction Iconic Products Brand Values/DNA Marketing Communications Emotional Appeal/ Aspirational Product Integrity Design Signature Consistent with positioning Clear Brand Identity Premium Price LUXURY FASHION BRAND Culture Exclusivity Internal commitment to the brand External Partnership Commitment to the brand Environment and Service Globally Controlled Prestige Distribution Superior Service Heritage Limited Editions History and/or Brand Story Exclusive Ranges DOS Flagship Stores Figure 1: The components of a luxury fashion brand. methods needs to be coherent and to work towards a common goal of increasing consumer awareness. The subsequent category considers the product integrity, and includes various elements such as quality, craftsmanship and attention to detail. The fashion element within the product is derived from investment in innovation, creativity and the appointment of an eminent fashion designer, which together allow a company to achieve the luxury fashion status and integrity in this attribute. Within the product range, the importance of design signature along with iconic products, eminent designers and brand livery was considered vital in the creation of a luxury brand. The importance of price relevance was clearly identi? ed in the literature19,26,43,83–86 and similarly by each of the case companies. The following component, exclusivity, relates to accessibility of the brand and the need for this to be strictly controlled, in terms of product availability and distribution, in order to be coherent with the rest of the attributes. The subsequent component relates to the history and heritage of a luxury brand, which  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 359 Fionda and Moore was considered crucial for the brand, as it brings an element of authenticity. The store environment and service appear together, as each of the case companies considered the store environment part of the service. The environment within the context of the luxury fashion market is encapsulated in the form of the ? agship store and the superior service, which provide customers with the ultimate brand experience. Culture, the ? al component, refers to the expertise behind the brand, which must be coherent and consistent from management, manufacturers and designers to th e sales staff, to ensure the success of the brand. All of these elements are interdependent and need to be maintained simultaneously, as independently they do not infer luxury status. In each of the cases, however, the ? rms placed varying levels of emphasis on each of the components illustrating the path-dependent nature of luxury fashion brand creation and development. ?agship experience and ? nally, Milan, New York, Paris or London fashion shows. All of these are considered vital in the quest to achieve ‘fashion’ status. The greater the emphasis placed in these characteristics, the greater the fashion orientation of the luxury brand. This study has identi? ed an empirically developed model, the elements of which are interdependent and cohesive. These attributes must be managed concurrently in order to create and maintain a luxury fashion brand positioning. Thus, the management of the luxury brand demands a consistent and coherent approach. Limitations and future research It is noted that this study has limitations, most notable of which is the scale of the research. Moreover, all of the case companies were British, because of accessibility issues, which results in the study being culturally narrow. Although the brands’ country of origin is limited to the British perspective, the parent companies of the brands are diverse, with representation from France, Italy and Japan. There are a couple of areas that could be considered for future research. Firstly, there is an opportunity to extend the study to a larger number of companies, which would help to identify the extent to which these ? ndings have a wider application. Secondly, investigating the brand crossculturally would provide an insight into any cultural differences in the marketing of luxury. CONCLUSIONS Despite the importance and growth of the luxury sector,3,5,16,19,42 investigation into the creation and maintenance associated with luxury fashion brands has received limited empirical exploration within the research literature. 6,28 The research that is available, despite Beverland’s16 study, which is con? ned to the wine sector, is not developed from an empirical basis or directly focused on the fashion sect or. Therefore, this investigation sought to address research neglect through the provision of a framework for luxury brand marketing in the fashion sector. Although these components could arguably be applicable to a generic luxury brand, the differences among luxury fashion brands stem from the emphasis placed on the speci? c elements, namely, the investment into innovative and seasonal new product development, the appointment of a renowned fashion designer as a creative director, directly owned stores and CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY This study has examined the issues intrinsic to luxury fashion marketing, and has identi? ed the areas that need to be considered by brand managers and marketers, although creating and maintaining the luxury fashion brand. The key ? ndings include nine inherent interrelated attributes crucial for creating a luxury fashion brand in the context of the luxury fashion market, and the 360  © 2009 Palgrave Macmillan 1350-23IX Brand Management Vol. 16, 5/6, 347–363 The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand successful management of the luxury fashion brand demands a consistent and coherent approach from the brand custodians. Furthermore, it can be concluded from the key ? dings that the process of creating and maintaining the luxury fashion brand is an extremely complex activity that requires continual planning and investment of resources in conjunction with coherent and consistent marketing and management decision making to generate the possibility of achieving success. Finally, thro ugh an in-depth analysis of the marketing issues inherent to luxury fashion branding, this study has contributed to the growing body of research available on luxury fashion brands.