Indian Biscuit Market: Segmentation and Customer Analysis

Indian cooky Market Segmentation and Customer AnalysisFor an effective and efficient subdivisionation, however, a mix of on the whole(a) of these in a spunkyer place mentioned parameters hire to be used. Extending the higher up creation of buns of segmentation, the criteria of segmentation crossways contrary conditions is natur wholey different. For example, for the general instinct of a food securities pains, one should keep in take care the benefits sought, convergency get and usage patterns, needs, dishonor fealty and switching patternsOn the separate hand, for aligning studies, ware usage, harvest preference have to be taken into account. On one hand, incase of advertise decisivenesss, when media usage and psychographic /lifestyle is considered seriously, on the otherwise hand for distribution decisions, store loyalty and patronage clubbed with benefits sought in store selection is contemplated entirely oer. Also, it has been often concluded that th e segment profitability is unnatural by five-spot principal factors Industry Competitors and the threat of segment arguingPotential entrants to the mart and the threat of mobilityThe threat of substitute overlapsBuyers and their relative queenSuppliers and their relative powerLast but not the least, to ascertain on segmentation, a k in a flashledge of following five patterns of mart coverage is authorised . They argon - Single segment concentration, selective specialisation, product specialisation, grocery specialisation, full phase of the moon market coverage.PROMOTION -For any promotion strategy to be successful, it is in the premiere place essential that the flow of thought process behind it be understood. A market Plan is essentially a mix of ingathering, Place, Price, Promotion, physical tell and Process charge . This merchandising Plan is a derivative of Marketing strategies and objectives, which is in turn derived from Corporate Objectives. And on an overall le vel, all of these are derived from the Final Corporate Strategy . Amongst these, the Promotion mix consists of a simple variety of selling tactics like Product Placement, advertize and advertorials, Packaging, face-to-face Selling, P.O.S., Publicity .Sponsorship, gross sales Promotion, Exhibitions, E-Mails, Text messaging etc. While ontogenesis the talks Plan, the following crests have to be kept in mind by a Marketer -The nature and detail of the target audience.The short-term and Long-term communication objectivesThe messages that are to be usedThe colloquy take that will carry the messageThe BudgetThe Mix of communication tools that is to be used and how the elements of the promotion mix are to be integrated and how, in turn, the promotions mix is to be integrated with the selling mix.The measure of the ROI of the campaigning.Apart from the above mentioned, approaching the guest in a Integrated Marketing Communication Channel is the most effective. i.e. by achieving a higher level of consolidation among the individual elements of the communication mix, the contriver should achieve a greater level of clarity and consistency, with the result that there will then be a seamless integration of messages and a broader r distributively . grime ManagementA fundamental element of any product strategy is the piece played by the flaw. Brands are designed to enable customers to identify products or services that promise specific benefits. As such they are a skeletal frame of shorthand in that they create a set of expectations in the mind of customers about purpose, performance, quality and hurt. This in turn allows the strategists to build added evaluate into products and to differentiate them from competitors.To be truly effective, a dishonor strategy has to gird over time and reflect environmental conditions. There is therefore a need from check off emergence, the key elements of which involve a detailed dread ofCurrent perceptions of the bran d amongst customers and the tradeThe expectations of both customers and the tradeThe strengths and weakness of separately brand within the portfolioThe value of each of the brandsThe links that exist between the different brands owned and the nature and significance of any overlaps and gapsThe dangers of brand cannibalizationWhen and where sunrise(prenominal) brand works need to be wearedThe opportunity for brand stretchingProbable competitor movesThe starting point for this involves analysing the brand in order to understand detail what it means to customer and how much it is worth. In doing this, the strategist needs to identify the core values, the scope that exists for extending the brand name into other product or market sectors, and the areas that must be avoided at all costs.Developing a brand strategyFor many placements, stigmatisation is a fundamental element of the product strategy and provides the basis for a consumer franchise that, if managed effectively, allows fo r greater merchandise flexibility and a higher degree of consumer loyalty. However, it needs to be recognised that branding involves a great potful more than than simply putting a name on a package. Instead it is about creating, maintaining and proactively developing perceived customer value, it is only in this way that the organisation is able to promise and continue to deliver to the consumer a superior value than that twistinged by competitors.It follows from this that any brand strategy is, of necessity, a persistent term process that involves an investment in and commitment to the evolution of the brand over time. This long term perspective involves the dovetailing of a satisfactory turn of issues, but in essence can be seen to be interested with the two principal issue that emerge from the discussion above1. Where the brand is currently and how it is perceived2. How the brand is to be perceived in three, five and ten eld time, and how this might best be achieved.With regard to the first off of these, the starting point for any brand strategy involves identifyingThe brands current market slipingCompetitors positioning strategies and resource basesThe way in which the market is presumable to develop, and the implications of product, brand and market life cyclesCustomers perception of the portfolio of brands in the marketCustomers expectations and the effect to which these are be met both by the brand and its competitorsLevels of customer loyalty across the marketThe financial, managerial and operational that can be called in managing a brandThe bases for competitionThe relative importance of the brand to the organisationManagerial expectations of the brandIt is only against this background that the strategist is able to develop a vision for the brand.Finally in developing the brand strategy, the planner needs to give consideration to a series of financial issues, including the boundary lines and component part that the brand is required to generate in both the short and the long term, and the levels of investment that the brand needs if it is to achieve the objectives set.Consumer BehaviourFrom the viewpoint of the marketing planner, the mix of cultural, social, in the flesh(predicate) and psychological factors that baffle behaviour is largely non-controllable. Because of the influence they exert upon patterns of acquire, it is essential that as much effort as practicable is put into catch how they interact and ultimately, how they influence obtain behaviour. in doing this, it is main(prenominal) not to lose sight of the differences that exist between customers and consumers, and the implications of these differences for strategy.Against the background of an soul of the factors influencing motivation, the marketing strategists needs them to consider the influence of perception, since it is the way in which incite individuals perceive a presumption situation that determines precisely how they will behave.Cons umer is at the centre of all decision making in an organisation. The linkage of the consumer to other aspects is shown in the following diagram. We can see that on the left, the consumer interacts with his perception, understanding (cognition), beliefs and social influences. These aspects determine the behaviour of the consumer. The search for this behaviour is through market research and insight mining. The market question gives fodder for the strategy to be formulated.MARKSTRAT SUMMARYBefore entering any market, it is important to understand what the market stands for, the kind of products in the market, the competitors that the party will face and various orthogonal and internal factors that will play a crucial role in making decisions by and by every quarter/ extent. The Industry chetah has 6 players in the Market namely A, E, I, O, U, Y.After the initial feelers of the whole simulation, it was transparent that we would have to focus on certain key areas and others woul d be on low priority. The key-focus areas that were decided were -Philosophy, Guiding Principals and OrganizationProduct PortfolioResearch tuitionAdvertising and Sales Force DecisionsPricing EffectsCompetitor dynamicsNew Product LaunchesProduction Planning and Inventory Managementfiscal FocusAfter setting the above agenda, the next step was to decide what needs to be done in the first period. The single point agenda in this case was to enter the Sonite market while tutelage away from the Vodite market . The logic behind this was that to, make Vheetah Y the convey price malarkyer clubbed with highest ROI. A snapshot of results varying across different periods are as follows - tooth root (period 0) 1000 full point 11 (End) 1687Highest 2485 ( layover 6 End)Lowest 1000 (base)Highest Stock Price in Industry 3244 (Cpny. I) nearly of the pertinent stock prices Index observations over the periods were - SPI amplifyd by 68.7% after 11 periods compared to base value. A very encouraging positive suppuration was seen from item 0 to Period 6 (138.9% egression from Period 0 to Period 6) On the Contrary there was a continuous hang in SPI from Period 7 to 11 (32.11% decline in Period 7 to period 11). The high-point of the SPI plunk for was that at the end of Period 6, Cheetah Y was the market leader in terms of SPI.A company vs Company comparison of SPI shows the following results -The next focus shifted to pushing the Product through Sales and advertising .The logic behind our heavy Advertising Budget was that there was no point in having a thoroughgoing(a) product if the target market does not know about it. A fine balance of quality and quantity does the trick.Down the line, Cheetah Y excessively realised that it is wisest to allocate the money to the products with the highest Return on Investment. Also, from a strategical point of view, it makes a cluster of sense to be opportunistic and increase the advertising money when the competitors are squeezed for money . In this regard, the most important function is Competitive Advertising which defines a product (in this case SYGU and SYCA) against what its communication ratios and message quality are. Initially, the dimensions Economy and Performance and Performance and Convenience fared jolly badly . But towards Period 7 (from Period 3 to Period 7), it reached the message Quality Excellent. Parallely, in the Vodite Market, the product VYLE on the communication dimension Economy Felxibility it scored a message quality of Excellent.A combined overview of how the sales department fared for Cheetah Y is given below. Also, it gives the insight into what cheetah Y fared vis-a-vis competitors and current market scenario.Base (Period 0)(a) Sales Volume 167.53 kg Units(b) Revenue K$ 48659.3 MillionPeriod 11 (End)(a) Cumulative Sales Volume 539.60 Kilo Units(b) Cumulative Revenues K$ 1463564.9 MillionHighest Sales in any Period (Units) 788.4 (Period 7 End)Highest Sales in any Period (Revenue) K$ 193776 (Period 7 End)Lowest Sales in any period (Units) BaseLowest Sales in any Period ( shelter) BaseHighest Cumulative Sales ( revenue) in industry after 11 periods K$ 1949822 (Company I)(A snapshot of Sales Volume across all the competitors)After investment funds in adequate sales force across lastingness Stores, segment stores and Mass Merchandise, the next logical step was to analyse the Market role after each period. Some of the key highlights in case of market divvy up were -Market Share at Period 11 (End) 7.03%Highest 28.35% (Period 5 End)Lowest 7.03% (Period 11 End)Highest Market Share in Industry (Period 11 end) 38.88% (Company U)The broad strategy to achieve the initially set agenda is that first we enter the Cheetah market with minimum number of products, and with zero product in the Vodite Market. Also, offering the same product across multiple segments enhance the revenue base. There was an overall increase emphasis on targeted advertising to increase brand aw areness. The Pricing strategy also worked in this direction, i.e offer the product at a cheaper price than the competitors (even when the product is superior) . But as dynamic as our market strategies, even the Market threw up a lot of surprises. There were the constantly changing consumer needs, aggressive product development of competition, large disparity in growth rates in different segments of the two markets. Thus a snapshot of the strategies pursued are given below, vis-a-vis what actions were taken .Thus, from the above describes strategies pursued and an analysis of their results, the following lessons were learnt broaden customized products to each segment in the marketKeep track of changing consumer needs modify products accordinglyIf the product is not performing well, ingest from marketPay emphasis to RDObserve competition and their strategy touch strategy suitablyAdvertising swing does not necessarily lead to greater salesLowering price will not better sales even in a price sensitive segmentPossible Applications of the learnings -There is space for growth for additional brands in the customer segments of Buffs and Singles as the entire market is concentrated in alone a couple of players. A well positioned and well priced brand by all odds has a lot of promise in these segments.We need keep a tap on ideal value evolution of the physical characteristics or dimensions. Continuous re-evaluation and modification of existing brands like SYGU and SYCA should be done and marketing and advertising efforts should be employed keeping the changes in mind.The position of SYGU brand needs to be questioned and, if need be, repositioned with a modified RD project.A product/brand catering exclusively to the Followers segment in the Vodite should be launched with the desired physical characteristics.Need to define the space for competition so that maximum efforts can be employed there with minimal overlap and wastage with any concurrent efforts for any oth er brand of the company a case in point is Company I which has excellently delineate brands in each of the customer segments of Singles, others and followers.Need to use the MDS and SEMANTIC scales more precisely for setting advertising objectives for SYGU and SYCA.COMPANY STRATEGY -Biscuit industry is the third largest producer and fastest growing industry in FMCG sector.Its Estimated Value is approximately Rs 5000 Crore. It forms a part of the Organized sector 60% (approximately). major Segments in which it operates are Glucose, Marie, Cream, Crackers, Milk. Major Brands in the industry right now are Britannia, ITC, Parle, Priyagold, Dukes etcCOMPANY OVERVIEW - Britannia is Indias second largest food company with Sales most to Rs. 20 billion. Over the years it has shown a Consistent annual growth rate of 15-20% . It Sources products from more than 50 factories spread across the country. Key product lines include Biscuits, Bread, Cakes and Rusk .Product range serves to the who le spectrum from mass market to the tribute segment .FINANCIAL psychoanalysis -An indepth analysis of ult few years shows that the Gross sales increased to Rs 2317.11 Cr in 2006-07 indicating a growth of 28% . Britannias Profits declined by 33% due to increase in input prices and stiff competition (like Parle, itc, Priya ). An interesting trim showed that Dividends of the order 100-150% were provided for the past 5 years. Although Britannia followed the industry growth rate for the past 3-4 years, the profit margin followed a zigzag pattern. But owing to Inflation, Costs have increased significantly on the production as well as on selling front. Company has very small debt and its Debt-Equity ratio is 0.01. Company is maintaining good debt rating for future requirements.PBITDM (Profit Before Interest Tax Depreciation Margin) denotative as a destiny of Sales is 6.58.ROE is at a wakeless Rate of 21.14% .Current ratio has been improving over the years and hence the solvency posi tion of the company.COMPETITIVE ANLAYSIS -(Marketing Mix of Britannia )PRICING -On the basis of price, the biscuit market can be segmented into the followingLow Range Biscuits (less than Rs 40 per kg.)Medium Range Biscuits (Rs. 40-70 per kg.)High Range Biscuits (over Rs.70 per kg.)Britannia caters to the upper middle and high end of the market with a touch of premium to it. On the price quality matrix, Good Day biscuits can be classified as following a High-Value strategy.PROMOTION -Britannia has engaged into various Integrated Marketing Communciation activities some of the more prominent ones are mentioned as follows. Since Consumers are go more health conscious Swasth Khao Tan Man Jagao (Eat Healthy, Think Better) campaign directly addressed this new cut off (Tiger Biscuits). A new logotype was created encapsulating the core essence of Britannia healthy, nutritious and optimistic. Good Day is positioned as a healthy and nutritious product and it advocates values that stand f or health, hygiene, family, trust and taste. Since events form a major chunk of the Brand visibility agenda, Britannia sponsors a lot of Sports and sporting events as key channel for promotions. One of the majorly acclaimed campaigns of Britannia is Britannia khao, World form jao campaign in 1999 and 2003 and was awarded the most recognized sales promotion among all Cricket World Cup-related sales activitySEGMENTATION AND CUSTOMER ANALYSIS -Before delving slurred into Segmentation Targeting and Positioning, it is important to identify what the Key breeding areas are, specially the Demographic profile of the consumer on the parameters age, sex, income level and occupation. Some of the personal characteristics of consumers include the identification of When do customer consume biscuits, Type of biscuits consumed, Where do the customer barter for, Purpose of buying (personal consumption, gifting, serving guests), How much do consumers spend on biscuits, Factors Affecting the buying decision, order of preference etc. polar products will have different target group depending on the above mentioned factor. Though a Good-day would appeal to the consumers as a mid-range biscuit, a save extension of that product called Good-day Choco-nut falls in the category of High-end biscuits. RD - Qualitative Research includes an in-depth analysis of the consumer needs and wants and for this, a wide variety of tool may be used. For example, FGDS with a set of consumers to identify major factors influencing the purchase decision of biscuits (and Interacting with friends and family Quantitative Research Customer survey using questionnaire.Survey done through both face to face interviews as well as online. Tools use are Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Fishbein analysis .Consumer Behavior and marketplace RESEARCH IN CHEETAH YMarket Research forms the basis of almost all of the strategically important decisions that a Company makes over a period of time. Consumer psyche, Brand perceptions, Buying behaviours, Priority or preferences, all of these form the building blocks of information, on the basis of which a decision shaper even goes to the extent of changing the very core proposition of a Brand BRAND AWARENESS - To understand the awareness level of brands across our own company Cheetah Y and across competitors, it is important to have a comparative analysis. This has been make possible by Consumer Survey on brand Awareness Segment by Segment . The report delves deep into what exactly is the level of brand knowledge amongst the following segments - Buffs, Singles, Pros, HiEarners and Others. Initially when the game began, the product SYGU set-aside(p) highest mindspace care amongst Singles while the product SYCA occupied highest mindspace amongst Pros. At the end of all 12 periods, SYGU continued to occupy the highest share amongst Singles while also c intelligenturing a significantly high percentage amongst Buffs. On the Contrary, the mindspace percentage of SYCA increased excessively for Buffs and Hiearners.Also one more product SYCO was introduced which managed to gain the highest mindspace . This helped in taking proper measures to increase brand awareness amongst the desired segment and helped in understanding the impact of increasing advertising expenditure .The next logical step after studying the Brand awareness is to find out that how much of it is actually getting converted into Purchase. To study the Purchase aims, the report Consumer Survey-purchase Intentions is the apt report. Here we inferred that purchase intention for SYGU was the highest amongst the Singles, which is in synchronise with the level of Brand awareness amongst them. Also the purchase intention for SYCA was highest amongst the Hiearners which is again in sync with the Brand awareness.IF we analyse the trend across 12 periods, we notice that there is a visible trend reversal i.e. SYGU purchase intention was highest amongst the segment Others while incase of SYCA, the PROS showed the highest purchase intentions . This can be attributed to the fact that a lot of investment was made in the Advertising research and hence overall advertising budget which increased the brand awareness and purchase intention considerably.BUYING behavior of consumers - So where exactly are Cheetah Ys target audience buying from This is important to understand because it helped us plan the salesforce and distribute the salesforce accordingly amongst the Speciality stores, departmental stores and Mass merchandise stores. At the start of period 1, Buffs were by and large buying from Speciality stores, Singles were mostly buying from speciality and Departmental stores while 50% professionals were buying from Speciality stores.High earners preferred to buy through Departmental stores. However, after understanding the buying behaviour, appropriate salesforce was installed in each of these store types. Hence after period 12, singles ended up buying equally from Speciality, Departmental stores and mass Merchandise stores.The result of all the efforts and budget put into Marketing has a direct impact on the market share and stock prices. In this regard, the Report Consumer Panel- Market Shares found on Unit Sales provide the perfect insight into the market share distribution of the two products amongst Buffs, Singles, pros, Hiearners and others. In the Period 1, the highest share of revenue for SYGU was coming from Singles, while highest share of revenue for SYCA was coming from Hiearners (this is in sync with the BRAND AWARENESS report). However, down the line after 11 periods, the highest share of revenue for SYGU was coming from Others while major revenue contributors for SYCA was the segment pros. Since the brand awareness for the product SYCO was low, this duely reflected in in share of revenue beingness almost nil from each of the segments.After understanding the current scenario and facts and figures related to Brand a wareness and Brand purchase intentions, it becomes imperative to do an apt amount of Advertising Research and an estimate of Competitive advertising. The Market research report tells us that initially all the products in the Sonite Market had a rating of poor against the various communication dimensions, except SULI . But over a period of 12 periods, while the communication dimensions and ratings and its corresponding ratings for all the products (and companies) changed, the ratings for SYGU AND SYCA remained poor and only SYCO got a message quality of Good. This can be analysed through the fact that though investment in advertising was being made, simultaneously the changes in the parameters Design, Power, Weight etc through RD was not made. This resulted in a mismatch between the product quality and what is being advertised, hence resulting in poor message quality.

Analysing The Fostering Industry Social Work Essay

Analysing The advance Industry Social Work turn outThe opp onent analysis consists of finding out how otherwise firms debate with promote solutions in the market. What they argon doing or providing that desexualise them different from reproduction solutions and how hold dearing solutions push aside improve upon to become a much(prenominal) than efficient, much more profitable and provoke more entertain circumspectionrs.This has been through by discretion the current situation of the comforting fabrication, the ch all in allenges its facing. Also the role the local anaesthetic sureness plays in harboring assiduity and finding where the demand exists crossways UK. later on this the competitors atomic number 18 assessed acquit been assessed on turn over, profit margin, ofsted ratings, location, emoluments put forwardd, posts turn ind and entertain wish considerablyr payment nonrecreational.This gives an idea as to how these firms compete directly w ith comforting solutions in the industry.Competitor analysisThe rearing industry is dismissal through a frame of challenges. there is a deficit of over 10000 cherish cargon families in UK. Because of this local governance in England, Wales, Scotland and northern Ireland argon labored to harbour agreement of children with respect to valueable vacancy rather than meeting outperform ask of child.( encouragenet,2010)Accurate information on the do of hold dear c atomic number 18rs in to all(prenominal) one country and spot of surrogate c atomic number 18rs recruited by each free lance self-confidence is less readily obtainable, but statistics compiled by the promote electronic net relieve oneself for England by Ofsted suggest that there has been an increase in consequence of cling to carers by 12.6% since two hundred4. However the growth was only when 7.2% in England whereas it was up by 60% in Wales. (update represent cling tocare, 2010) A musical composi tion from researchers at Loughborough Universitys Centre for infant and Family Research (CCFR) and leading charity the encourage Net cogitation has identified a shortfall in funding for foster care in the UK.The address of shelter Care, a report published around the lift industry analysis, shows that fostering industry is an to a lower placefunded get to, with a need of around 580 million across the UK immediately to develop a efficiently resourced fostering service that fulfils the needs of children in care.(lough,2010) Following the Governments decision to assert the local politics more flexibility on making savings, the genteelness Network is of the belief that both reduction in spending on foster care would make the system ineffective, unsustainable and hinder the improvements made in outcomes for children. It warns funding for foster care must be maintained otherwise societys most vulnerable children testamenting suffer. nurture is under immense pressure due to c ourse of instruction-on-year increases in the number of children coming into care and the chronic shortage of 10,000 foster carers. (bbc,2010)Statistics on lifeed by and by(prenominal)ward children at that place are over 83,000 children and untested mickle looked by and by in the linked Kingom. appear of these children, around 70,000 are looked after away from home, over 54,000 of whom (around 77 per cent) live with at to the lowest spirit level 45,000 foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010)Statistics by dry landThe statistics below rear a picture of the care system on just one day of the year. M both more children and juvenility sight move in and out of public care over the origin of 12 months.EnglandAs of 31 manifest 2009 60,900children drop been looked after.Over trine fourthsof children are being looked after away from home (44,200 or 78 per cent) were living with foster carers.It is presaged that in England there are at least37,000 foster families.An estimate by the fostering network shows a shortage of at least 8200 foster carer families. (fosteringnet1, 2010) Federal IrelandAs of 31 March 2009 2463 children pass been looked after.Around sixty six percentof children looked after away from home (1,607 or 65 per cent) wereliving with foster carer families.It is estimated that in the Federal Ireland there are approximately1,800 okay foster familiesof which 450 are family and friends carers.An estimate by the genteelness Network shows ashortageof around 200 long- end point foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010)ScotlandAs of March 2009 around15,288children are looked after by local authorities in Scotland out of whicharound 6,366are children looked after away from home and their family.Overtwo thirdsof children being looked after away from home and their family (4,497 or 71 per cent) were living with foster carer families.thither are approximately3,300foster familiesin Scotland.An estimate by the lift Network shows there is ashortageof a t least1,700 foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010)WalesAs of 31 March 2009 around 4,705children looked after.Overfour fifthsof children looked after away from home (3,630 or 86 per cent) were living with foster carers. or so 3000 foster families are there in Wales.An estimate by the fosterage Network shows there is ashortageof at least750 foster families in Wales. (fosteringnet1, 2010)DemandLocal authorities were asked how many foster families they would flummox to recruit in order to offer billet choice to the children in their care. Placement choice designates having a sufficiently wide jackpot of foster families so that each child can live with a family that meets their individual needs.(fosteringnet2, 2010)England8,200 of which normality atomic number 74 1,700North eastern hemisphere 1,300West Midlands 650East Midlands 450East 650South West 600South East 850capital of the United Kingdom 2,000Northern Ireland200 (updated in March 2009)Scotland1,700 (May 2005 figure)Wales75 0(fosteringnet2, 2010)There is maximum demand for foster carers in London and North West of England.Research by the valueing Network alike appoint 82% of local authorities adage a rise in the number of children coming into care and needing foster homes in 2009-10. (bbc, 2010)Local confidence as a competitorWhen a porters 5 forces model is developed, the local ascendance is a supplier, buyer as well as a competitor in this industry.The local authority buy the service of the fostering federal agency, they supply the children for placement to the fostering agencies and they too place children on their own hence they are a competitor. similitude of Approved foster carers in year 2008-2009 between Local authorities and individual promote agenciesLocal potentiality freelance agencies occur number of foster carers approved 3423 2088 total number of foster carers held as 23195 9893on 31 march 2009Comparison of placements stick outd between Local authorities and Independent foste ring agencies in year 2008-2009Total number of long enclosure placement 6146 3758Total number of continuing care placement 1655 1149Total number of time poseed placement 12879 4877Total number of tweak care placement 824 2013Total number of intensive fostering placements 1016 874Total number of treatment care placements 86 150Total number of short hoo-ha for disabled children 2876 398Total number of short break for non disabled children 534 50(fostering agencies and fostering run dataset,2010 )The local authority has situated more children in the 2008-2009 period as compared to the autonomous fostering agencies and are therefore identified as one of the bigger threats to fostering solutions on with the top two fostering agencies Foster care associates and National foster association.On discussion with Michelle about this we came to a conclusion that the reason could be that local authorities do not strive for the inspection grapheme in their approval process that the self- employed person agencies might be doing. And this was found out to be true when we chose 6 local authorities in random and checked their ofsted ratings. None of whom had outstanding ratings, 2 had satisfactory and 4 had solid. (refer to appendix c1) government issue of applications from prospective fostering households receivedLocal Authority 7253Independent agencies- 6607The statistics show that even though the independent fostering agencies are providing better remunerations the prospective foster carers prefer the local authority to independent fostering agencies.The reason here could be because local authorities are key authority in placing children to the foster carers. Hence the myth that if foster carers join the local authority fostering they could fare children placed speedy with them.How many foster carers roaringly completed the Childrens Development Workforce Councils award in Training, Support and development Standards for Foster Care?Local authority- 825Indepen dent fostering agencies- 529(fostering agencies and fostering serve dataset,2010 )Local authorities are consequently a serious competitor(substitute) for the independent fostering agencies.Competitor analysis- fraternity reportsThe fostering industry is going through a challenge to recruit foster carers to look after children who are in abundance. In the fostering business agencies recruit foster carers, who are when placed with children or young people get paid for the placement from the local authority.In consultation with fostering solutions we reserve identified the top 9 independent fostering agencies who directly compete with fostering solutions in the industry.Foster care AssociatesNational Fostering surenessOrange GroveSWIISPathwaysBarnardos stretcher FostercareTACTBy the Bridge FosteringIn the Appendix C2 shows the upset, profit margin, ofsted ratings, foster carer allowance paid equation of the 9 competitors.Below is a detailed report on each of 9 fostering companies in terms of location, ofsted ratings, services provided, placements provided, number of employees and foster carer allowance paid. By doing so we can find out how each of these companies compete with Fostering solutions in the industry. After each troupe report we look at a findings/strategy/comparison section to emphasise how they compete in the industry and vs fostering solutions.Due to word limit a detailed analysis of services comparison is provided in the appendix. (refer appendix m3)Foster Care AssociatesOver 80 Offices in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. (fca1, 2010) set out of Core assets group.The Core Assets Group of Companies provides an inter subject portfolio of tender care services, whirl innovative business solutions to the care sector.Foster care associates has subsidiaries in UK.Fostering First (Ireland ) LimitedFostering people LimitedOutcomes (UK) LimitedFostering First International, a sister companyto Foster Care Associates Ltd, is currentlyloca ted in 7 different countriesRepublic of Ireland,Finland,Sweden, Germany,Australia,New ZealandandCanada.(fcacorp, 2010) go provided to foster carers(fca2, 2010)They provide a Respite of up to 21 nights per year.They avail the service of a TherapistThey hold Regular group meetings held at local fca powerThey give Membership to foster talkThey clip for Organised activitiesThey hold Foster care develop programThey provide for Children and young people support workersPlacements provided(fca3, 2010)EmergencyShort term languish termRespiteParent and child placementPlacement for recourse seeking children and young peoplePlacement for disabled childrenShort term breaksOFSTED ratings (ofsted,2010)2 Outstanding and 7 goodFoster carer allowance- 390 Pounds / Week (fca4, 2010) monetary data( FAME) th gbp 2008(data visible(prenominal) only for financial year end 2008 perturbation 119612 internet onward tax 10074Number of employees 871Key Issues and Facts(fca5,2010)2400 children placed as o f December 2009. Highest number of placements across all IFAs in the UK.(fca5,2010)Foster carer recruited in year of 2009 preceding(prenominal) 360 .94% of local authorities present in England have piece of musicnered with them.They train 66% of the Scottish Local authorities work as partners with them.They involve 95% of the local authorities present in Wales work as partners with them.They claim that 100% of Northern Ireland local authorities work in partnership with them. (fca6, 2010)Findings/ system/ComparisonFCA have heading internationally whereas fostering solutions is based only in UK. Therefore having comportment internationally could be a benefit to FCA over fostering solutions. There is a credibility, brand image and recognition that comes with being present in multiple countries.FCA has presence in North Ireland whereas fostering solutions has no righteousness/branch in Northern Ireland. FCA have a monopoly in Northern Ireland as none of the 8 competitors and fos tering solutions do not have an office there.* disturbance is the luxuriouslyest, but profit margin is not whitethorn be because the cost is also high. We assume that it could be because it maintains high cost to maintain quality and good service.*financial data of 31-12-2008 only was available for FCA. Thomson research database showed inconclusive data of FCA having round about same overturn for 2009.ServicesTherapist available for consultation for Fca, whereas Fostering solutions has no relate of providing such a service in their brochure.Supporting foster carers in negotiating with schools and promoting the childs trainingal needs, no mention of providing such a service in their brochure.21 days paid respite per year vs 2 weeks paid respite provided by fostering solutionsFCA provides placement for disabled children which fostering solutions do not provide.On consulting with Michelle she highlighted the costs associated with providing such a service and the specialized modul e that would be required. In addition to this she added that placement of disabled children is only a small number. Nonetheless its a way in which foster care associates are competing with fostering solutions since they have the staff and specialisation to provide the placement even if its for a small number of placements.LocationTheir major(ip) strengths are their presence in divers(a) locations across UK, with over 40 offices. They claim you are never more than 40 miles from an FCA office and their kinship with local authorities as highlighted above, since its the local authorities who are going to give them the placement for their foster carers. People prefer companies/agencies that are local in their presence in the fostering industry. Therefore FCA promotes themselves locally to be able to recruit foster carers efficiently.National fostering agencyThey are located at Cardiff, Lowestoft and Stirling with Head Office at Uxbridge.(nfa1, 2010)Services provided (nfa2, 2010)The nat ional fostering agency believes that fostering is a service which is to be provided at a local level to be a successful fostering agency. They pride themselves in believing they provide a fostering service with local care and support along with national expertise.Most of the change functions occur through their head and regional offices, the key job involving high quality placements for children remains with the local foster carer. The National Fostering potency claim the foster carers are supported on a 24 hr solid ground by local professionally qualified and undergo Supervising Social workers.The foster carers are provided support from a professionally qualified kindly workerThey provide a 24 hour telephone advice and support to the foster carers.The provide one monthly prate and a weekly telephone callThere are various training and development opportunitiesThey provide foster carers the opportunity to meet with other foster carers at support groupsThe foster carers are gi ven up good financial support for caring for the childThey provide membership of the Fostering Network to the foster carers.They provide good legal protection insurance policyThe foster carers are provided regular foster carers news and information.Placements provided (nfa3, 2010)Emergency Placements designate Centred PlacementsParent Child PlacementsBridging PlacementLong Term PlacementsFoster carer allowance 366 pounds GBP PW(nfa4, 2010)Financial Data FAME database th Gbp 2009Turnover43122Profit before taxation6623Number of employees171OFSTED Ratings(ofsted, 2010)2 goodFindings/dodge/ComparisonWhen compared with fostering solutions NFA more or less provide the same range of basic services to foster carers.They have just 4 offices across the UK but their turnover and profit margin is more than fostering solutions. (appendix c2). Their way of operating is, all referrals for placements throughout the UK are allotd by four teams located in their offices at Lowestoft, Uxbridge, Ca rdiff and Stirling. They work in close ties with the regional social workers and thus manage to provide efficient placements.Inspite of being present in only 4 locations their method of working closely with regional social worker staff gives them a local presence.NFA have an interesting strategy to recruit foster carers. They have advertised on job search websites such as reed and jobsite for foster carer recruitment. This strategy has been followed by a number of companies though fostering solutions have not used this method of recruiting foster carers.(reed, 2010)SWIIS Foster careLocation ( sw1,2010)SWIIS Foster Care was formed in the year 2000 as an Independent Fostering Provider within the already successful SWIIS group of social care related companies.They have their Head office in London with 6 more offices/branches in England and 4 offices/branches in Scotland.Services provided (sw2,sw3, 2010)SWIIS is devote to creating the best opportunities for children and young people in foster careThey believe in creating the best outcomes for children and young people in foster care.They provide a comprehensive package of social work, education and wellnessThey work in close relations with placing authority social workers, local education, health and therapy providersThey provide each child or young person with a care package that addresses all of their needsThey claim to offer the best value for children, carers and placing authorities alikeThey claim to work with local authorities to help them meet required Performance IndicatorsThey claim their placements provide demonstrable positive indicators of improvement for young people in the five key outcome areas namely being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-beingThey provide all the approved SWIIS foster carers extensive pre and post approval training including the opportunity to clutch relevant social care training modules and NVQ programme s with the priority being given to issues such as Safer Caring and Managing Challenging BehaviourHealth(sw3, 2010)They provide designated health professionals to support children for their health and is an outstanding provision in this area.EducationThey make sure every effort is taken to ensure children and young people can reach to their potential in education by dedicated staff.There are efficient resources in place to support the children with their education.Types of Placements available (sw4, 2010) short term placements longer term. bridging placements respite placements placements provided for all age groups which includes high(prenominal)(prenominal) aged teenagers, sibling groups and disabled children. short notice unplanned placements provided. Foster carer allowance 400-580 PW- best in the industry.(sw5,2010)Financial Data th GBP 2009Turnover 13362Profit before taxation 1074Profit margin 8.04%Number of employees 81OFSTED ratings(ofsted- sw, 2010)2 outstanding 3 good and 1 satisfactoryFindings/Strategy/ComparisonThere is a designated education officer to help children with studies, no mention of any such service in fostering solutions brochure.There is a designated health officer to advice foster carers on health issues for the children, no mention of any such service in fostering solutions brochure.They provide the best financial package of all the fostering companies with 400 580ppw.This could mean since they provide the foster carer a high allowance, they could be charging the local authority a high amount. There is lack of data available regarding charges to local authority by independent agencies and children placed.By looking at their turnover and profit margin we can see that they have done well and ranked sixth in the turnover/profit margin index. This nitty-gritty they have been placing children from local authority to the foster carers.(refer to appendix c1 or above for turnover/profit margin)They have the specialisation and staff to pr ovide placement for children with disabilities provided, whereas as we have already looked above fostering solutions do not.By The Bridge FosteringThey have branches/offices at Sittingbourne, Kent, Regional offices in Essex and Warwickshire and West London.(bythebridge1, 2010)OFSTED Rating 1Only one ofsted report was found at ofsted inspection reports.Outstanding (ofstedbythebridge, 2010)They achieved iso 9001 accreditation in 2009Advertising board deal with crystallisation palace football club- Marketing strategy to increase its brand awareness and reputation.(bythebridge2, 2010)Therapeutic FosteringThe by the bridge foster carers are perpetrate and have a unique opportunity to enrol into a degree certificate in therapeutical fostering from the University of Greenwich.(bythebridge3, 2010)Financial data th GBP 2009Turnover 10132Profit before taxation 2451Profit margin 24.19%Number of employees 40Findings/Strategy/ComparisonBy the Bridge fostering is a small agency with just 40 employees, but they have higher profit before taxation than fostering solutions. This could be due to lesser administration overheads due to its small size.They are recruiting in East, South east, London and Midlands region.(refer to appendix c2)Its key to note that by the bridge fostering has the best profit margin of all the 10 agencies.( refer to appendix,c1)The foster carers are committed to a degree in therapeutic fostering. Thus they have an added incentive of becoming a foster carer as well as a chance to earn a degree certificate in therapeutic fostering. This could be a major attraction to foster carers in joining by the bridge fostering. This unique certificate in therapeutic fostering is provided which is a one year course covering transactional analysis theories combined with social work ideas to help understand what children and others do what they do and how can they be helped, no such service provided by fostering solutions.Orange GroveLocation (og1, 2010)The Orange G rove fostering agency was taken over by Hillcrest foster care to operate under the Orange Grove Fostercare.They have 10 Offices in England.Types of placement available(og2, 2010)Teenagers blood relation groupsParent and baby for young people chance to become a parentSpecial needsUnaccompanied asylum seeking young peopleSolo placementsServices provided to foster carers(og3, 2010)They provide a marginal of 12 supervision visits by a local Social workerThey provide additional support visits on a needs-led basis by our approved Social Workers or Family Support WorkersThere is a negligible of 1 unannounced visit per annumThere is provision for 1 independently-led yearbook review per annumThey provide Psychological support on a needs-led basis plus additional support groups/surgeries as requiredThey provide Out of hours 365/24/7 on-call support service by local social work staffThey provide 14 nights of respiteThey offer companion payments (subject to qualifying criteria)***There is a monthly carer support meetingThe agency will endeavour, with the help and support of carers, to ensure that all carers have a Schedule 3 Respite Carer in place***They provide a published programme of regular trainingThey provide training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (Fostering)/Management of Aggression with regular follow-up trainingThey provide birthday, Festival and Holiday allowances at The Fostering Network orderThere is a target of 4 regional activities per office for carers and children, e.g. Pantomime, etymon Parks, BBQs, etcThey provide a weekend break for birth childrenThey provide an independent Childrens Helpline to foster children and birth childrenThey provide an Independent allegation support serviceTheir Social Workers attend at all meetings, conferences, reviews, etcThey provide Educational supportThere is an annual carer conference.Hillcrest ( Orangegrove ) Financial data th gbp 2008Turnover 23993Profit before taxation 1906Profit margin 7.94Number of empl oyees 526(FAME,2010) to be done referencingFoster carer allowance 320-461ppw (og4, 2010)OFSTED ratings(ofsted-og, 2010) 4 good 1 satisfactoryFindings/Strategy/ComparisonServices Target of 4 regional activities per office for carers and children, e.g. Pantomime, case Parks, BBQs, etc, no mention of providing such a service by fostering solutions in their brochure.-Training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Birthday, Festival and Holiday allowances at the Fostering Network rates, Independent Childrens Helpline for foster children and birth children-Independent allegation support service, no mention of providing such a service by fostering solutions in their brochure.Strategy- orange grove provide a combination of an array of services to foster carers with an stop number limit of allowance of 461ppw as compared to 390 being upper limit paid by fostering solutions. They are a wet competitor as they match with fostering solutions on services provided and also pay a competitive allo wance whose upper limit is higher than fostering solutions.BarnardosWide coverage in UK with presence in London, Yorkshire, Midlands, North West, Scotland, Cymru, Northern Ireland. (barnardos,2010)FundraisingFostering and adoptionResearch and influencing practiceBarnardos have more than around 100 years of experienced in the fostering industry. They have above 30 services recruiting a variety of carers across the United Kingdom.(barnardos, 2010)What facilities they give the foster carersThey provide on-going relevant/specialist trainingThey provide 24-hour advice and back-upThey provide regular supervision from their friendly teamProvision of a generous fee and allowanceThey provide careful and considered matching with a childThey provide the opportunity to lead the way in setting the highest standards for children and young people in foster care.placements provided(baplacements, 2010)-permanent and long term-bridging placement-short term-emergency-parent and childFoster carer allo wance- 100-200ppw (cypnow,2010)Current and future strategies and objectivesmaking barnardos influencing work more effective looking to improve the extent to which lessons learnt from its work on the ground leaed to better outcomes for disadvantaged children.Brand and image enhancement- it recognises it needs to be better at explaining to the public exactly how it works and what it stands for so that it can generate more support for its influencing work- Believe in Children- Strap line.Implementing smart strategies for participation and volunteering.Increasing net return from fundraisingImproving cost authority of support functions both at head office and locally.Loss before taxation -27358Profit marginNumber of employees 7085OFSTED RATINGS(ofsted-ba, 2010)2 outstanding 8 goodFindings/Strategy/ComparisonThey compete as a reputed company with 100 years experience in fostering. Its a charity organization in existence for a long time with presence in number of countries. They do fos tering also as a part of helping children and young people.Prospective foster carers might be attracted to foster with barnardos due to its brand name and reputation which could get them a placement quickly. They pay lower allowance to foster carers than any other company which means they might be charging the local authority less than any other independent agency.They being a charity scheme, the prospective foster carers could feel a sense of social cause attachment to the organisation and could be a big plus for an agency like barnardos.Capstone fostercareLocations7 offices atBirmingham, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Somerset, Kent and London.(cap1, 2010)Services provided(cap2, 2010)All those preparing to become foster carers will attend two days of Skills to Foster training followed by one day of CWDC Workshop training. This gives a detailed picture of what fostering is about and looks more closely at developing the skills and kno

Social Stratification And Inequality Sociology Essay

well-disposed social stratification And Inequality Sociology Essaysociable higher(prenominal)tail iter social social stratification is a sociological phenomenon in which muckle in the comp any(prenominal) atomic number 18 placed in contrary ranks with part to same scotch conditions. Normally, in that location be those of a high standard and early(a)s of a low standard. brotherly stratification borrows splitification from earth sciences and thus it refers to its course of studyes as strata. The difference in economic characteristics of persons leads to domination of advocator by genius group to a nonher. Social Stratification is characterized by four core principles namelySocial stratification has been express to be transferable from generation to a nonher. Every generation adopts the classifications that had been band by a generation that proceeded.Social stratification is a social characteristic and not an idiosyncratic view. The lodge forms a uniform office of life of grading persons which is not a sole persons objective.Social stratification is said to be universal and also variable. Though this statement seems contradictory, it subject matter that classification is uniform in a certain hostel but entrust vary when comp atomic number 18d with other societies.Lastly, social stratification is not all near equality of persons, but also the beliefs that they harmonise. This means that social classes in the high fellowship argon also found on greens beliefs.The classification of the ships company into respective(a) ranks brings about inequality. In the western communities, social stratification adopts leash key the upper, middle and inflict class. It is due to these classes that inequality is developed. Those of upper class view themselves as superior and having more prestige compared to their counterparts in lower ranks. at that placefore, sharing of common resources in the union is found on the stratification rank s. Inequality is a social evil that emanates from social stratification (Bottero 3-8).Origins of the Social Stratification TheoryThe above theory is said to throw off emanated from the Judaeo-Christian record book which presents the social idea of the Greeks. Though the idea was not extremely straightforward at the beginning, it has gone through various transformations to the present day where it presents itself clearly.The sociological View of Social Stratification and Inequality mingled sociologists keep back had different views and interpretations on social stratification. For suit, Talcott Parsons who was an American sociologist emphasized that stability of social stratus cloud is partly influenced by universal determine. On a different note, Marxism identifies nonequivalent distribution of resources and limited mobility to be factors of stratified societies.However, numerous sociologists fork over had a uniform view with reference to the fact that the wealthinessy in t he inn control the political magnate. In such a case, the poor ought to set back to orders from the rich. Several sociologists had diverse views on the origin and form of the social stratification theory. Below are some of these sociologists and various discussions regarding each one of them.Karl MarxIn his theory of Marxism, Karl asserted that social stratification in the fraternity is based on the way people are related to the factors of production. In such, there exist two different categories of persons those that own the factors of production and those who campaign for the possessor of the factors of production. The classification by Karl Marx seems to be inadequate especially in the new view of economics. This is because there exist various aspects of the present economy that have been left unsolved by the Marxism theory. For instance it does not provide faithful categorization as to creative, occupational and economic aspects of society. advance(a) scholars of econo mics have said that the issue of social stratifications requires in depth classifications other than the conclude one provided for by the Marxism theory. In fact, theories behind social stratification exigency to draw a clear cut in the midst of the economic aspects of handy and unskilled labor, owning and managing a business and also between business and master occupational us boards.Secondly, the Marxism theory appears to be so generalized to the effect that it overlooks various decisive social-structural phenomena that are of a great influence in the society. These hold ethnic affiliations, kinship and lineage affiliations. Modern sociologists have however not ignored these crucial aspects the way Marx did. Thirdly, the theory of Marx on social stratification seems to be so limited in defining the image of ethnic factors in social classification. Cultural factors include legal practices, religious norms and scientific ideas among others. It is crucial to note that scien ce has played a key role in maintaining social classes. In summary, Marx defined the carnal knowledgeship between people and property as the key aspect behind social stratification (Jackson chapter 2).Max WeberWeber was thrilled by the propositions of his predecessor, Marx, and hence he thought of making corrections to Marxs theory. Weber designed a archetype based on post, class and a more explicit and dogmatic differentiation with reference to social stratification. Unlike Marx who identify property to be the sole determining factor in social stratification, Weber identified status and class as additional factors. Weber built an unite personate that would define the relationship between these three factors. Any one of factors can affect the other two, and in any case any of these factors can be replaced with another. In his model, Weber also did not mantle several key influencing factors like teaching, ethnic and kinship factors.Below are the definitions that Weber gave to his three factors of influenceHe defined class as an individuals economic position in the society with reference to birth and their ad hominem achievement. Secondly, he defined status as the position occupied by an individual in the society as a result of their social honor, popularity and prestige. Weber also defined power as the ability of an individual to progress despite various factors offering resistance in the society (Rossides, 186).Wright moveWright sought to advance Webers thoughts on social stratification with no discrimination whatsoever. Similar to Weber, he identified power to be economic oriented but in addition to be influenced by political and military domains. Through his famous book titled The Power Elite, Mills brings out a clear connection between political power and social status in the society. He asserted that the very power embodied persons occupy a certain class in the society. In order to keep themselves relevant in the society, the power elite group te nd to develop close ties in ideas, work and marital issues. To him, the power elite are clearly defined in education institutions whereby the persons of the high status group attend prominent schools thus preparing them for high class ordinal schools.Conceptual Model to Social StratificationA conceptual model for the current nature of social stratification ought to be 3-dimensional. It should have strong measurement techniques and be flexible to accommodate various ideological biases. There appears to be two factors that have led to the resistance of such a conceptual model. These are ideological and methodological oriented. Looking at ideological issues, we find sociologists who unbosom hold on to the traditional ways of classifying people. They pauperization to maintain definitions that are straightforward, clear and self explanatory. However, straightforward definitions have prove to be incompetent in the current nature of society that presents ever-changing and complex s ituations.With reference to methodology aspects, scientists have had fear of exploring a multidimensional concept because they fear the complex resources and methods that could be involved. The more differentiated a model is the more involving it give be in terms of equipments require to analyze and the processes that will be involved. Researchers have committed themselves in exploring models that are multidimensional however significant success has not been realized. Studies by the Hindu caste society show that a multidimensional model is necessary.Various dimensions of stratification are closely related to one another, but this does not mean that they are not exclusively autonomous. For instance, such dimensions as power, prestige, income and education are in a way related to one another. However, in some cases, it can be noted that power is independent of the other factors. In fact, in certain circumstances, power may be succeed irrespective of occupational prestige. Again, a certain take aim of education causa may not be strong enough if not attended by money. The key role of a multidimensional model is to apportion issues of interdependence and independence of social stratification factors.Key Dimensions of Social StratificationPowerAs defined earlier in this paper and with reference to Karl Marx, power refers to the ability to pursue goals despite resisting factors. Power will be addressed with reference to size and various natures of societies. The degree of division of labor in the society is related to the way typical social classes will be formed. Power exists in two diverse forms legitimate and motherfucker and hence there cannot be established a direct relation between power and social stratification.Occupational PrestigeThe various productive roles in the society are accorded different level of prestige. It has been evident that though societies may be different, there will always exist a similarity in the way they accord prestige to vario us occupations. For instance some employments like law, medicine and pilot, are given a high level of prestige because they are associated with good aggregates of money. The variability of the way occupations are valued is dependent on the way the society values those occupations. Therefore, it is vital to note that prestige accorded to various occupations will differ with reference to the values of the societal setting.Income/WealthWealth plays an extremely significant role in social stratification. Whether earned or inherited, wealth will impact the class that a person will occupy in the society. Various profession and business roles in the society offer diverse opportunities in accumulating wealth. Sometimes, the so high ranked roles have proven to accumulate low wealth when compared to low prestige roles. Looking at the example of a superior doctor who uses intellect and professionalism to accumulate his wealth yet he may not gather a lot like a bandit. The last mentioned ca n accumulate in one night, money equal to that a professional doctor earns in an entire month. When money is used as the determining factor in social stratification, business and professional roles wishing relevance.Social stratification on the basis of income influences to a significant extent other dimensions of societal classification. For instance the level of education gained by a person may be resolved by the relative amount of income they have. Disposable income has also not been left out in canvas how it influences social stratification.Family and EthnicityThe status of kinship groups and family lineage plays a vital role in determining the social classes in the society. Not once and not twice have persons being seen as wealthy and hence esteemed because their fore fathers were wealthy. The role played by a family in the society in terms of monetary contribution and influence holds a significant support as to why it holds a certain class in the society. The class occupie d by a certain family in the society determines the social class it occupies and hence the treatment they will be accorded by the entire society. Family and ethnic position do not however hold a one to one relationship in far as social stratification is concerned.Local Community StatusIndividuals and families do not live in isolations or islands in the society. Their day to day activities are influenced by norms set by the nature of the community. Families and individuals by extension are given placed under certain social classes due to the way the society operates. The position of the local community in the society is determined by the nature of influence it has on the entire community (Andersen 216-220).Modern Stratification SystemsIn the contemporary world, there exists three key systems of stratification which are slavery, the caste system and the class system. Despite various laws regardless slavery, many people in the world today live in conditions that can be classified as s lavery.SlaverySlavery is still eminent in nations such as Ghana, Benin and Mauritania among others. Also, Asia has been mentioned numerously for prevalent cases in awake slavery.Caste SystemThe above is a social system that is based on characteristics and traits those persons posses by virtue of their birth. These traits include body type, race, gender and age among others. The caste system is said to be a rigid one. This means that it assigns various unchangeable castes to persons which cannot be varied. However, persons have in various situations try to change their ascribed statuses by lying about their age, changing nationality or execute plastic surgery, but not at all times do these attempts yield positive results.Class SystemClass system classifies individuals in reference to statuses earned and not those individuals were born with. Persons born in a certain social class can choose their careers, education level and spouses. The class system is characterized by social mobi lity nature. Social mobility refers to the act of base either up or down the various social strata (Levine) endingEvery society has various classes that are assumed by members of the society based on various factors. Common held belief in the society model the way a society sets up these classes. Most common factors that determine classification are education and knowledge, power, prestige, and religion among other factors. Sociologists have formed various theories to address the determining factors of social stratification though no one theory seems to have provided comprehensive coverage. Every society exhibits unique factors and believes, but there exists a close relationship between the way these diverse factors influence social stratification.

Prevalence of Traumatic Injuries to Anterior Teeth

Prevalence of traumatic Injuries to Anterior TeethMedident Prevalence of injurytic injuries TO preliminary TEETH IN CHILDREN AGED 8-12 YEARS IN KANPUR CITY g obsoletebrickAims This force field was carried out to evaluate the preponderance, causes and anatomical lay on the line factors of detrimenttic injuries to former teething among the 8 to 12 years old prep are personnel casualty children in Kanpur city, India.Material Methods The sample size included 2913 inform children venerable 8 to 12years from 30 both private and government schools. Simple ergodic sampling technique was use to draw the sample. To record teeth injuries the motley of Ellis (Ellis et al 1970), as modified by Holland (Holland et al 1988) was utilize. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out in the take under foundation. Chi-Square Test and Z-test for a coincidence (Binomial distri exclusivelyion) was used during statistical analysis. P values P 0.05were considered statistically pro found.Results The learning shows preponderance of 10.57% of combat injurytic injuries to antecedent teeth among 8-12 years old school going children (prevalence of 8.25% at the days of 8 years which reached to 14.12%% at the years of 12 years). Boys were more(prenominal) involved (14%) than girls (6.7%). The maxillary central incisors (89.29%) were the close to affected teeth followed by the lateral incisors (6.82%). Fractures involving only enamel (79.87%) were the roughly shop at type of traumatic dental consonant injuries. Falls (46.75%) were the most frequent cause of trauma followed by collisions (7.14%).Traumatic Dental Incisors were more prevalent among those with overjet 3.5mm and inadequate lip reportage.Conclusion Children being male and having an overjet 3.5 mm inadequate lip coveragewere associated with a mellowed probability of having a traumatized tooth.KeywordsPrevalence, Traumatic dental Injuries, Anterior teeth, overjet gatewayTraumatic dental injuri es to the permanent incisors are common amongst children. They draw an unfavourable social and psychological clash on the quality of life of children and adolescents when they do not receive adequate give-and-take. The resolution from the fact that it mainly affects the anterior teeth, causing physical and psychological discomfort, pain, loss of function of mastication and phonation, lessen self esteem and embarrassment when smiling, in that locationfore has a direct impact on the social life of affected individuals1.Dental trauma is associated with some(prenominal) etiological and risk factors. Data from dental clinics and hospital based studies have shown that falls, collisions, sports activities, traffic misadventures and high levels of violence are the main etiological factors2.epidemiologic studies reveal that one out of two children sustains a dental injury, most often between the ages of 8 and 12 3. Despite its importance, thither are few reports available on the epid emiology of injuries to the teeth of children in exploitation and industrialise countries, in particular when compared to epidemiological data on dental bodily cavity and periodontal diseases4. The prevalence of traumatic dental injuries amongst school going children in different parts of the world varies from a low 2.6 (Macko et al 5) to a high of 43.8 % (Marcenes and Murray6).The purpose of the enter study was to evaluate prevalence, causes and the anatomic risk factors of the traumatic injuries to anterior teeth among 8 12 years old school going children in Kanpur city.Material MethodsEthical approval The study was approved by the ethical committee of the Rama Dental College, Hospital question Centre. The examinations were conducted with permission from the education authorities and head teachers and the informed consent of the childrens parents.Study group Three thousand school children between the age group of 8-12 years were randomly selected from both the Government an d Private schools of Kanpur were ab initio examined. Eighty seven children were excluded from the study because they had a history of or were shortly receiving orthodontic treatment. Thus the total repress of children included in this study was 2913. Data was collected by an interview and oral examination. A Performa was ready to collect data during oral examination and brief face-to-face interview. A single examiner trained and calibrated for the criteria used, conducted both the interview of the parents and the clinical examination of the children. The children were examined at their schools under natural light. Children who participated in the study were examined at the schools during school hours, in a predetermined timetable, as arranged with the school authorities.Data collected during the interviewTime of the accidentType of accidentPlace of accident.Data collected during Clinical ExaminationTo record teeth injuries, the classification of Ellis7, as modified by Holland et al.8 was usedClass 1 Fracture of enamel only.Class 2 Fracture of enamel and dentine without soma involvement.Class 3 Fracture of enamel and dentine with pulp involvement.Class 4 Discoloration of the tooth, with or without a sinus.Class 5 Displacement extrusion, intrusion, and lateral displacement.Class 6 Tooth loss as a issuance of trauma.Class 7 Tooth restored by composite or meridian following fracture.At the time of survey the soft tissue injuries were not always enter. In addition, vitality tests and radiographic examinations were not carried out therefore, al-Qaida factures were not recorded.Endodontic treatment could not be recorded, and endodontic treatment needs were calculated based on the presence of discoloration, fistulous nerve tract and fracture with pulp exposure.The horizontal relation of the incisors was measured with a CPITN periodontal probe.The measurement was done holding the CPITN periodontal probe parallel to the occlusal plane.The children were disjo inted into two groups according to overjet of less than 3.5mm and 3.5mm or more than 3.5mm.Incisal overjet was not recorded where there was a loss of upper incisors or if a linguistic cross bite was present.To record lip pattern, each child was instructed to stand in a specified eyeshot and the lip line guardedly discover. If in the rest position, the incisors were covered completely by the lips, the lip coverage was scored adequate otherwise an inadequate score was recorded.Results put back 1 shows the number and proportion of children who had at least one traumatized permanent anterior teeth.Table 1 The number and proportion of children with traumatized anterior teethDiscussionThe prevalence of trauma to anterior teeth in this study (10.57%) corrobo grade the assertion that dental injuries among children frequently present between 10% and 20% (Dearing et al9, 1984).The fact that in this study, boys had suffered more traumatic dental injuries than girls (boys-53.14%, girls-46.86 %) is basically explained by behavioral or even cultural factors, in that boys engage in leisure activities or sports of generally more aggressive nature or with a great accident risk than girls do. This research agrees with most other studies that show higher incidence of trauma in males10-14. However, few authors have shown similar trauma in boys and girls15, 16.The most common cause of traumatic dental injuries, observed in this present study was falls. The difficulty of grouping falls as a cause of trauma was reported in 1970. In the present study, the children that suffered dental trauma were asked just about the causes of fall for the purpose of distinguishing falls without move from the ones in which the individual was pushed, which were grouped in the violence category, because they represent a form of aggression. The percentage of schoolchildren that did not remember the accident was also high, which could result in the under reporting of violent incidents.The school goi ng children examined, suffered trauma mostly at home and on the streets. Thus the discussion about wellnessy environments becomes highly relevant, because environment and health are interdependent and non-separable. Therefore, all(prenominal) place, appraised as alive territory, where exists a relation between children and nature (family, make water relationship, leisure, education), are environments that must be favorable to health17.Maxillary central incisors (89.29%) were the most commonly involved teeth during dental trauma than other anterior teeth because of their morphology and location which makes them more susceptible to traumatic injuries18. The result agrees with the findings of Chen et al10(77%), caliskan Turkun14(66.2%), Zaragoza et al19.(87.9%), Zermancavarella12(80%) and Borssen Holm20(67%).Fractures involving only enamel (79.87%) were the most frequent type of traumatic dental injuries observed in our study sample, agreeing with other studies22-24.Vernier caliper s offer up an accurate measurement of overjet under ideal conditions. However, since the study was carried out under field circumstances CPI style periodontal probe was used to measure overjet as it was more feasible.In relation to overjet, different authors have argued over which particular value should be regarded as an increased overjet or not. Thus, some recognize an increased overjet when the value is more than 3 mm, and others when it is more than 5 mm. Normal overjet was considered to be in the range of 0-3.5mm9. The CPITN probe served the need, since its markings were located at 3.5 and 5.5mm which facilitated the grouping of the children into ranges of 3.5mm.In our study we found that the risk trauma increased as the overjet increased, the finding was similar to various previous studies25-27.Traumatic dental injuries are also associated with normal function deviation and position of perioral tissues. As was seen in several previous studied29-32, it was observed in the pre sent study that the schoolchildren that presented inadequate lip coverage showed a statistically signifi crappert association between the presence of this condition and the occurrence of dental trauma. This can be explained by reduction of cushioning effect in presence of incompetent lips.This study showed that 92.21% of children with dental trauma remained untreated and thus there was a need of dental treatment in 92.21% of children with dental trauma. The reasons for much(prenominal) neglect are unclear. One could suggest that in develop countries, the absolute majority of the population cannot afford private dental treatment and the dental macrocosm services are unable to offer more complex treatments. Nevertheless, high levels of untreated traumatized teeth were found in developed countries as well, much(prenominal) as the UK where quality public dental services are approachable to the majority of the population. One factor that could be determining low rates of treatment i s related to the fact that traumatic dental injuries is not a disease and parents might not pay the necessary attention to it. This could be related to the severity of the dental injury. As the majority of traumatic dental injuries affect only the enamel this could have a lower probable to produce a negative impact on children and their parents.Another conniption that could be enhancing the treatment neglect is the dentists lack of companionship regarding the treatment of dental trauma, both in developed and in developing countries17.In conclusion, the dental injuries are frequently occurring during the different stages of life but they are particularly common in childhood.Although dental injuries are seldom life-threatening, they are of public health importance due to their high prevalence and impact on individuals and society in terms of pain, discomfort, social and operational limitation and handicap, and the effect on the childs quality of life. Thus, there is need to form dental awareness through dental health education amongst school going children to improve their quality of life.Furthermore traumatic dental injuries are preventable therefore public health incumbrance and promotive programmes should be encouraged to reduce the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries in school going children. Health promotion policies should aim to create an appropriate and safe environment. Soft flirtground surfaces, school-crossing patrols, marked zebra crossings and bicycle lanes would attend to create a safe environment. The use of seat belts, air bags, finicky car seats for children and bicycle helmets should be enforced. Mouth guards should be used when playing sports, in particular contact sports.Public Health learning regarding the epidemiology of dental injuries and its prevention through health promotion may play a major role in reducing the prevalence of traumatic dental injury and avoiding the financial costs of treatment, especially in developing c ountries.