Consumer Attitudes and Behavior Towards Ikea

Consumer Attitudes and Behavior Towards Ikea 1. Introduction: IKEA is one of the main home furnishing chains in the world and especially in Malaysia. As IKEA originated in Sweden and have a strong position here it is motivating to study the consumers attitudes toward the company in Kualalumpur, Malaysia. IKEA companies have information about their customers opinions, attitudes and behavior .They will have the greater effect in comparison to their competitors. To analyze the attitudes to IKEA I prepared a questionnaire in Kualalumpur. The respondents are chosen randomly between Iranian people, after an overview the paper designed the methodology part, its describes how the proses have been done. The chapter explains the hypothetical framework, which absolutely contracts with attitudes. In the analysis chapter each question in the questionnaire is offered and explained separately. The study is then used to make decisions. Some of the decisions ended were: Ikeas main target group is well-represented customers nowadays. IKEA have very strong position in the home furnishing market. The price and product kind is the key reasons for purchasing at IKEA . A Better Everyday Life Organization: VISION: Ikeas vision is to create attractively home furnishings to a great customer segment, if you noticed to other main furniture stores; good design is offered only for a small part of the people who can have enough money. It means that IKEA have to answer to the home furnishing requirements of people all over the World Ikeas strategy: People have different needs and wants, ideas, aims; all these people need to design their home and provide a beautiful environment in which to enjoy. In selection a better everyday life, IKEA suggestions an extensive choice of home furnishings in IKEA stores. IKEA is well branded worldwide. Their product variety (18 000 products) is almost similar in All countries. This indicates that IKEA have a global product strategy that is extremely standardized. Ikeas marketing concept is Low price with meaning. When introduction of IKEA in Porters 3 Basic Strategies, IKEA enter by directing on low prices. The main target group is young families who build up their first home. But all customers who think through price as an important argument when purchasing home furnishings are an important target group. Consumers within the organization feel to clearly knowing the I Keas purpose. It is also important that they need a strong sense of fitting. The characteristics of the company must spring from the own origins. IKEA have undoubtedly been able to use their origins. 1.2. History 1943 the creator of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, records the name IKEA. 1950 was the first time furnitures go into the IKEA product collection. In 1951 the first IKEA list was issued. First furniture showroom was opened in 1953 in Älmhult, Sweden. 1955 was the year IKEA brings into being to design its own furniture. The first IKEA store opens in Älmhult, Sweden in 1958. In 1963 IKEA opens a store in Norway. The store in Stockholm, inspired by the Guggenheim Museum in New York, opens in 1965. 3.Vision: Was self-service, open warehouse would help customers cut down on Waiting time. 1969-1996 Stores were opened in: Denmark, Germany, Australia, Canada, Austria, Singapore, Netherlands, the Canary Islands, France, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Kuwait, USA, UK, Hong Kong, Italy, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Mallorca, Slovakia, Taiwan, Finland, Malaysia and Spain. 1.4. The purpose: Is that the home furnishings are associating good design, good purpose and good quality with low prices so that as many people as possible can pay for them. IKEA sold their World Wide Living Room Web Site on the Internet. In 1998 the first IKEA store was opened in mainland China. Literature review: Analysing consumer behaviour is perceived as cornerstone of a successful marketing strategy (Papers4you.com, 2006). Consumer behaviour is the mental and emotional processes and the observable behaviour of consumers during searching purchasing and post consumption of a product and service (Batra Kazmi, 2004). Similarly Engel (et al, 1990) refers consumer behaviour as the action and decision process of people who purchase goods and services for personal consumption. WHAT IS CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR? It is necessary to understand consumer behavior; this is based on the activities leading to the acquisition and use of goods or services, including decision-making processes that determine a purchase. In this process the consumer performs actions such as search, purchase, use and evaluation of products expected to be used to meet their needs (Solomon Michael, 2007). The activities, processes and social relations to which reference has been made include various actions of the consumer: knowledge of a need, when you make a comparison between stores, the simple reasoning of information that are available in regard to the benefits and risks of the desired product, or seek advice from a friend about a new product. The purchase of a product includes experiences such as mental and physical stimulation, social changes, the more status and power. (Kollat David). Attitude has a significant effect on purchasing a brand and choosing the place for shopping, moreover new products emerge in the market or exiting products future demand can be predicated by measuring consumers attitude.(Blackwell et al,2001). Method Approach The ways to pay attention to different situations vary due to several factors. There are numerous different methods of looking at the same phenomenon. My perception of this paper is mostly unbiased by the facts that I am a business Management student with put emphasis on marketing and I have a great attention in internal design. People have different methods to set situations due to attitude to behavior and individual norms. Past experiences and demographics also create a difference in approach. In making I have tried to be as unbiased as possible when studying collected material. It is important to mention that it is difficult to be one hundred percent neutral and without bias. What is understood depends on who understands it and what is to be understood. 3.2 Method: As we know market research is only one type of marketing research. The resolution is to make the study standardized. This is able by giving the same Questions and answer to all respondents. There is no warranty that the information collected from the questionnaire is relevant to the case recognition. I have selected to use very short questions to insure that they would be easy to Understand and to decrease the risk of misunderstanding. When dealing with short questions the Respondents have to think noticeably and ignore redundant parts. The information I needed was collected by using a quantitative method and questionnaire. After gaining the information, I used SPSS statistic 17.0 for analyze my data. 3.3 The questionnaire: One of the most important points in this plan has been designing the questionnaire. I have chosen to use short question that would be easy to understand. The price of creating a questionnaire is half of what a phone discussion costs and a tenth of the cost of an individual interview33 I have chosen close questions because I want to consider the population in general terms. It makes it easier to create a general picture of the respondents opinions I designed 6 questions for 50 respondents 3.4 Conformation of population: The population in my case is IKEAs Iranian customers in Kuala Lumpur. It is hard to find out, how many Iranian customers of IKEA has in Kuala Lumpur, and then it is quite unmanageable to know how many times each customer visit to the store. 3.5 Method of selection: I chose to use the non-probability selection (quota selection). This method is versus the random sample. The sub-group that I have been selected is: Age Average income Educational level Gender Theory 4.1 Consumer Behavior: Consumer behavior is one of the main parts in marketing; there are many different ideas about it. The basic principal of marketing are needs and wants, these two factors make the process of buying decision. One of the most popular theories is the Consumer Decision. My study emphases on the attitudes and behavior before the buy, what defines the buy and not the actual buy? Companies succeed if and when considerate what consumers want. This of course makes them very interested in how to effect on consumer behavior. The process of the buy is as important. Consumer behavior is included to: Consumer expectation, store image, needs, wants, culture, age, education, income level. 4.2 Marketing Mix: The marketing mix is the base of marketing tools a company practices to chase its marketing Goals in the target market. The most popular way to consider the marketing mix is over the eyes of the supplier. The 4Ps: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. When considering the marketing mix from the buyers opinion you catch the4Cs: Customer needs and wants, Cost to the customer, Convenience and Communication. The companies that can meet the 4Cs will be winners. By a multifaceted contact between the individual and environmental factors and the marketing mix the consumer estimate the stimuli. When taking done the process the consumers have got a conclusion about the product or service. If the decision is positive it does not mean that the consumer really will purchase the product or service. It is one thing to consider about doing something. Truly doing it is a much bigger stage. Attitudes designed directly are showed to be steadier than indirect formed attitudes like questionnaires. Finally it is meaning that defines what behavior the consumer will selected there are many factors that control the consumer behavior process. Many of these are fairly difficult to influence for a marketer. They have to focus more on the factors they can affect. The most vital factor one can use to influence is perception. The motivation that information gives is there for the factor that initiates the process that tends to the consumers decision. 4.3 Buying behavior: There are many main aspects that effect on a consumers purchasing behavior: Culture Social Personal Psychological Depending on the kind of product a buyer wants to purchase the buying behavior differs. Costly, complex products that a customer does not purchase often calls for high involvement decisions. The customer looks for information about the Low involvement decisions or unchanging problem resolving follow a somewhat different purchasing design. The consumer knows what he/she want and do not gauge different changes IKEA emphases a lot on trying to impact customers when the turn through the store. This is ended by setting products with very competitive prices at tactical spaces in the store 4.4 Attitudes: This cause is one of the most motivating and vital factors for marketers. Attitudes to a company make a company image. Therefore, a strong company image offers good business. The Attitude is often supposed to reproduce a persons deep values; it means that the attitudes are used as an evaluative tool. We weigh products, people, and events and so forth by using our involvements and attitudes the first parts of the consumer behavior process is the base that leads to the consumers final decision-making. So one realizes why it is of importance for the companies to study about the consumers attitudes.    5. Survey In the text below I will consider each question in questionnaire separately to evaluate the Respondents answers. The questionnaire is bounded in the end of this paper. 5.1 Demographic Variables: To conclusion and analyze the respondents attitudes one need to select related Demographic variables. I have therefor used age, income and geographic area, And gender as variables, I follow them to be related and exciting in my study. The demographic variable was offered first in the questionnaire. 5.1.1 Gender: The consumer behavior and attitudes vary among the sexes. Usually women have a more attention to home furnishing compare to men. In my survey 40 percent of the respondents were men and 60 percent women. It is a good proportion . 5.1.2 Acceptation: The buying behavior and attitudes differ between the occupations. In my survey students were in majority compare to others. Student Dr. Secretory lecturer house hold 60% 8% 4% 4% 24% Obviously, international students have limited budget for buy, especially furniture. 5.1.3 Age: The respondents age, always, impact what kind of home furnishing they need. Young people are launching their first home 0-15 16-30 31-40 41-5 4% 24% 48% 24% Age 31-40 is over-represented and 0-15 is under re -presented .0-15 years old do not have their own money to buy. The most important target group for IKEA among Iranian is 31-40 years old. 5.1.4 Marriage: In my survey, 28% of respondents were single, 72% were married. This is a good proportion. People who married, they are more interesting to furnish the house compare to singles. Single married 28% 72% Number of children: 0 1 2 3 40% 12% 20% 12% 6. SURVEY QUESTION 6.1 QUESTION ONE: I am in IKEA (timely/y) 1-2 3-5 56% 44 There is no any reason for other times; it means respondents never go to IKEA more than 5 times a year. According to analysis 56% of respondents go to IKEA1-2 times a year. 6.2 QUESTION TWO: What the respondents have bought at IKEA during the past five years? Bed couch kitchen bookshelf kitchen appliances 36% 24% 12% 16% 12% 6.3 QUESTION THREE AND FOUR: According of IKEAs position in the market, the question is: Where they buy most of their furniture? Which company has the best quality? 100 percent of respondents answered were (IKEA), IKEAs strategic plan (high quality, low price, good service) is making the consumers loyal to company and it seems that the IKEA is successful. 6.4 QUESTION FIVE: I wanted to know how different aspect of IKEA was graded (1-5) Product quality: Very good Good Ok Not so good 40% 28% 28% 4% Product quality compared to price: Very good Good Ok Not so good 56% 36% 8% 0% The store location: Very good Good Ok Not so good 8% 8% 36% 44% Disposition of the store: Very good Good Ok Not so good 12% 40% 48% 0% Service: Very good Good Ok Not so good 48% 40% 12% 0% Payment method: Very good good ok not so good 20% 68% 12% 0% 7. RECOMMENDATION: According to result of survey: 100% of respondents chose IKEA for satisfying their needs of furniture instead of LUZINI, EMPIRE, and HOMES HARMONY. IKEAs target market could be women (60%),student(60%), between age31-40(48%), married(72%), who visit IKEA 1-2 times a year(56%),they bought bed(36%)and couch (24%). Respondents believes that IKEAs product quality compare to price, is very good (56%) and good (36%). IKEA location for (44%) is not so good and for (36%) is ok. IKEAs service for (48%) is very good and for (40%) is good. Around (68%) of respondents are satisfy about payment system. IKEAs furniture is more familiar between Iranian who is resident in Malaysia. Majority of respondents are satisfy about price and quality of IKEAs furniture because they are student and have a limited budget for purchasing household items. As Iranians are influenced by peer group, they are not looking for other brands such as LUZINI, HOMES HARMONYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The other reason that IKEAs furniture is well-known between Iranian is excellent IKEAs advertising. Price, quality, advertising, innovation in producing new product, are the basic points to attract positive attitude toward IKEAs furniture. IKEA adopted its products to global market. 8. Conclusion In this part, it is obvious that many of Iranian people know very well IKEA products and also they included to middle consumer income group. Understanding, what different consumers purchase is the basic information and very interesting for IKEA. IKEA, recently has improved the rang of its products, especially in terms of furniture with approximately the same price. The majority of IKEAs consumers between Iranian are student with limited budget. I think Iranian people who staying in kualalumpur, are not familiar with another brands as much as IKEA. They introduce IKEA to each other based on their past experience and friendly recommendation. These consumers of are interest when encourage the more expensive products and have to thinking about it. IKEA advertisement for Iranian is very interesting, and consumers from low -income areas tend to buy more from IKEA. Since the price is low, the quality is high and everyday innovation in IKEAs products is obvious. IKEA gives the new idea to consumers who do not know which products they need for their house. IKEAs product attracts consumers with its innovation and considering consumers expectation. It is understandable that IKEA pay more attention on its consumers, their needs, wants, expectations, images, culture. Different age, job, purchasing power, culture, attitudes and habits needs different marketing, setting price, quality and store location because these factors obviously influence the consumers. REFERENCES: IKEA.2011.01.21 IKEA facts figures.ikea.com IKEA student information www.701 pandan.com www.Marketingpilgrim.com/2010 www.mpdailyfix.com/IKEA Blackwell, R, D;Miniard,P.W;Engel,j.f.2001 consumer behavior [13] Hyunjoo Oh, So-Yeon Yoon and Jana Hawley, what virtual reality can offer to the furniture industry, journalof textile and apparel, technology and management. Volume 4, Issue 1, summer 2004 Shiv, B. and A. Fedorikhin (1999), Heart and Mind in Conflict: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making, Journal of Consumer Research, 26 (December), 278-292. Cacioppo, J., S. Harkins, and R. Petty (1981), The Nature of AttitudesandCognitive Responses and Their Relationship to Behavior, Cognitive Responses in Persuasion, R. Petty, T. Ostrom, and T. Brock, eds., (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates). Zajonc, R. (1968), Attitudinal Effects of Mere Exposure, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 1-27. Petty, R., R. Unnava, and A. Strathman (1991), Theories of Attitude Change, in Handbook of Consumer Behavior, T. Robertson and H. Kassarjian eds., (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall).

Feminism Essay

INTRODUCTION From the early days until now, women are exploited in their daily life especially by the labor market. In this paper, we are going to see how women are exploited in the labor market. Exploitation of women is a social fact in the world, so I chose this topic because it started to be a social problem after the Second World War period and Industrial Revolution. In the Second World War, most of our women faced many problems by participating and aiding the men. Actually, if we go back in time, we can see the gender-based division of labor typical of hunting and gathering societies. For example, most forms of farming were characterized by a distinction between ‘‘men’s work’’ and ‘‘women’s work.’’ In horticulture, the chief task for men was to clear the land. After this was done, women performed the more time-consuming tasks of planting, weeding, and harvesting. As with economies based on hunting and gathering, economies depe nd on horticulture were much more affiliated to the labor of women than the productive activities of men. Men, however, took on a larger role when horticulture gave way to agriculture. Also, in prehistory, women have always worked as hard as men to support their families and build the cultures that dominated the ancient world. During the early Stone Age, when humans first appeared and lived in hunting and gathering, most of scientists support that women did most of the gathering while men did most of the hunting. Women always took part up to now. Thus, women in the ancient world worked hard. They were always overwhelmingly responsible for care of children and their ill, for providing food, and clothing for the household. In addition, most women took on the duties of bringing in some income for family or working in the family  businesses. These facts remained constant. What did change over time was the degree to which women’s contribution was valued: As life became more urban, women’s contribution within the home was valued less than it was when life was more rural. It was with city life that labor outside the home which brought in money as a profit was valued more than labor within the home. This shift caused women’s work to be devalued. This devaluation began in the ancient world and continues into the present to the detriment of women without whose labors families and societies would not have survived. With the development of agriculture, societies grew larger and more complex. The increased population also permitted more specialization of labor, and women’s labor remained essential and varied. After the Agricultural Revolution, the technological and organizational changes that were the basis of some transformation have been labeled the Industrial Revolution which is first in Britain and then in many other parts of world. One of the conspicuous social changes was movement of women into paid employment in Industrial Revolution. This was not the same thing as an increase in number of ‘working women.’ Women have always worked hard up to now. The Industrial Revolution gave women new wage-earning opportunities, especially in the textile industry and the majority of the workforce was made up of young, unmarried women. Most of employers and factories benefited from women’s work, as their employment drove down the cost of labor. The Industrialization creates new opportunities for women in job creation especially in textile, clothing, and food industries. Also, during the industrial revolution, the emergence of factories opened many doors for women in the working world. It gave them opportunities for work outside of the home, mostly in factories. During the early years of the Industrial Revolution when a multitude of factories were emerging, between the years of 1780 and 1840, women are dominated by the labor forces. Even though these women were unskilled laborers, they worked quickly and productively yet were paid half or less than half of what men received. However, in the long run it did not change the female workforce. Although the Industrial Revolution provided independent wages, mobility and a better standard of living, for the majority, factory work in the early years of the nineteenth century resulted in a life of hardship. With the Industrialization, women’s life conditions started with many difficulties. They are suffered by lots of  stress and pain as a result of the conditions in which these women were working lon g hours, little food, crowded factories, overall unsuitable conditions. Most of women claimed that they have to study and bring home the bacon even they have a low-paid job. At this time, the early Industrialization did not invent large numbers of jobs for women. Despite it resumed to employ large numbers of women for the production of textiles and clothing, household-based manufacture persisted important aspects of the national economy. Moreover, with the development of mechanized textile industry and other industrial enterprises, many women continued to work with long hours and low wages. Finally, the most part of women worked long hours for low wages from ancient times to date. They have faced many difficulties in their daily life in both inside and outside the home; however, I will emphasize women’s work outside the home in the labor market. In the project, we will see exploitation of women in the labor market from Marxist-Feminist perspective with the examples. WHAT IS FEMINISM? Although there are many definitions of feminism and some disagreement concerning specific definition, there is agreement on two core principles underlying any concept of feminism. First, feminism concerns equality and justice for all women, and it seeks to eliminate systems of inequality and injustice in all aspects of women’s lives. Second, feminism is inclusive and affirming of women; it celebrates women’s achievements and struggles and works to provide a positive and affirming position toward women and womanhood. Feminism is a personal perspective as well as political theory and social movements. Feminism denotes to social theories, economic ideologies, political movements, and moral philosophies aimed at bringing equality to women. Also, it refers to complex set of political ideologies used by the movement in order to advance the cause of women’s equality, to end the sexist theory, and to practice of social oppression. Feminism has been classified in differen t groups and issues over the history. The first wave feminism gave rise to liberal feminists who make a struggle for the vote, access to education, and marry law reforms in the 1800s and 1900s. In the second wave feminism, we can see it with the emergence of radical feminists who protested for work and reproductive rights in the 1960s and 1970s. The third wave feminism associates with all forms of oppression (such  as racism, globalization) from 1990s to date. Also, the second wave of feminism spread across the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. By 1970, women’s liberation was in the news and a part of many women’s lives. For example, feminists protested women’s magazines at the Ladies’ Home Journal sit-in and the nationwide Women’s Strike for Equality featured creative protests from women in cities across the United States. In Turkey, it has started in the Ottoman Empire in order to have right to education, right to labor, right to respectability in family, etc. in the 1870s. After these events, women’s studies improved and increased by women in the world and it has come to these days. I think, although most of societies take action about like violence, oppression, discrimination, and trafficking of women, exploitation of women cannot take care in the world. For example, most of women protest some actions like violence against women, but when it comes to the exploitation of women in labor market, there is no action in the society. In this sense, feminism is not just sexism, discrimination, oppression, etc. Feminism is having the equal rights like men and avoid from sexism, discrimination. ORIGINS OF FEMINISM The existence of the term feminism or the movement it has come to represent. The term feminism comes from the French word ‘fà ©minisme’ and was popularized by Hubertine Auclert in 1882 when she organized the first women’s suffragist society in France. However, prior to the advent of the word, there were publications that fell within the purview of feminism. Some feminists suggested that women should build their own cities, free of men, so as to avoid men’s violence and oppression. In this sense, the history of feminism is the chronological narrative of the movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. While feminists around the world have differed in causes, goals, and intentions depending on time, culture, and country; however women’s right should be considered feminist movements, even though they did not apply the term to themselves. Also, as I mentioned before, feminism is a movement which is a collection of loosely connected groups and individuals committed to organized action, including changes in behavior and members of movements. Feminist ideas and social movements emerged in Europe,  Great Britain, and the United Sates in an international context that promoted the migration of people and ideas across national boundaries. At this time, Mary Wollstonecraft has published ‘Rights of Women’ (1792) and John Stuart Mill has broadcasted ‘The Subjection of Women’ (1869). Between these times, ideas, social movements, and individual feminists migrated across land and sea for generating a powerful new context for women’s rights. Therefore, these publications illuminate the process of this movement. Also, in Turkey At the end of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century educated women began organizing themselves as feminists within the elites of Istanbul. These feminists fought to increase women’s access to education and to work low- paid, to abolish polygamy, etc. Early feminists printed woman magazines in different languages and established different organizations for women. Also during this time the Ottoman Welfare Organization of Women was first women association which was founded in Turkey in 1908. During the turn of the century accomplished writers and politicians such as Fatma Aliye Topuz (1862-1936), Nezihe Muhiddin (1889-1958) and Halide Edip AdÄ ±var (1884-1964) also joined the movement not only for advocating equality of Muslim women, but for women of all religions and ethnic backgrounds. ON THE HISTORY OF FEMINISM Feminism, in the most generic of definitions, is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes, and organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and common interests. There are many feminists and many different theories. However, feminism can be broken up into three waves; first-wave which was seen from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, second-wave which lasted from the early 1960’s through the late 1980’s, and the third-wave which started in the early 1990’s, and it continues through present time. In this sense, feminist history is divided into three waves. A) First-wave Feminism The first-wave of feminism began in the United Kingdom and the United States around the nineteenth century and lasted until the early twentieth century. It focused on gaining the right of women’s suffrage, the right to be educated, better working conditions and sexual standards. The term, ‘first-wave’ was coined after the term second-wave feminism. The goal of  this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. The wave formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 when 300 men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women. Also, it emphasized mandated inequalities; but primarily gaining women’s suffrage. In this part, some feminists suppose inequality, patriarchy, lack ok distinction between men and women. For example, one of the earliest manifestations of first-wave feminism in Europe, Mary Wollstonecraft’s ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’ (1792) which was written in the wake of the Frenc h Revolution and Simone de Beauvoir’s ‘The Second Sex’ (1949) are central to the canon as well, even though both authors were also laying the groundwork for radical second-wave feminism. Beauvoir introduced the notion of women’s radical otherness or, rather, the cognitive and social process of â€Å"othering† women as the second sex in patriarchal societies. Finally, first-wave feminism has been clarified as socialist/Marxist feminism in workers’ unions in the United States, in reformist social-democratic parties in Europe, and during the rise of communism in the Soviet Union. Liberal and socialist/Marxist feminism shared a basic belief in equity and equal opportunities for women and men, but the latter focused particularly on working-class women and their involvement in class struggle. B) Second-wave Feminism The term second-wave feminism refers mostly to the radical feminism of the women’s liberation movement of the late 1960s and early 1990s. The second wave focused on the link between societal and cultural inequality and political inequality. This wave unfolded in the context of the anti-war and civil rights movements and the growing self-consciousness of minority groups around the world. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues. second-wave feminism is a period of feminist activity. This phase began with protests against the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City between 1968 -1969 in terms of women’ s beauty dominated by patriarchy and low-paying jobs. For example, there was a worldwide movement called ‘Women’s Liberation Movement’ which was seen in Europe and Turkey. For example, most of women who work in clothing and textile factory staged a protest to these factories in terms of unhealthy working conditions, low-paid, poor sanitation, etc and it started with strike. When the police attacked to women, it broke out fire and many women died because of fire in Europe.  Finally, at this stage, women’s liberation grew out of the New Left and provided alliances with socialist/Marxist feminisms in areas such as the criticism of the dual workload for women working outside as well as inside the home, the demand of equal pay for equal work, a breakdown of the gendered division of the educational system and the labor market. C) Third-wave Feminism The third wave began in the 1990s as a response to the perceived failures of second wave feminism. It is a more holistic approach and it seeks to fight inequality that occurs as a result of age, race, sexual orientation, economic status and education as well as gender. Third wave feminism is also known as a variety of other names including girlie feminism, lipstick feminism, and etc. Also, it currently emphasizes the concepts of globalization, post colonialism, post-structuralism, and postmodernism. Third-wave feminism is tied up with the effects of globalization and the complex redistribution of power, which challenge feminist theory and politics. It also mirrors the diversification of women’s interests and perspectives and the breakdown of master stories of oppression and liberation. Finally, Third-wave feminism manifests itself in â€Å"grrl† rhetoric, which seeks to overcome the theoretical question of equity or difference and the political question of evolution or revolution, while it challenges the notion of â€Å"universal womanhood† diversity, and multiplicity in transversal in theory and politics. TYPES OF FEMINISM Feminism, like Marxism, takes a macro approach to studying society. They argue that there is inequality between genders. Feminist sociologists argue that, on account of their sex, women experience injustices in favor of men. For Feminists, it is living in a patriarchal society that leads to inequalities for women. This means that men have tended to determine the lives of women. However, there are striking differences between feminists in their values and perspectives. These differences can be divided into three broad tendencies like Liberal Feminism, Radical Feminism, and Marxist/Socialist Feminism. Also, there are other feminist ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women such as; ecofeminism, multiracial feminism, moderate  feminism, etc.; but, these three main types of feminism is the most important ideologies in feminism. 1) Liberal Feminism Liberal feminism is a form of feminism that argues that equality for women can be achieved through legal means and social reform. Liberal feminism leans towards an equality or sameness argument with men. It primarily focuses on women’s ability to show and maintain their equality through their actions and choices. Liberal feminists argue that our society holds are false belief that women are, by nature, less intellectually and physically capable than men, it tends to discriminate against women in the academy, the forum, and marketplace. Liberal feminists seek equal rights with men and believe individuals should be treated in accordance with their talents and effort etc. as opposed to characteristics of their sex. They campaign to remove any obstacle, be it political, social, legal or economical that gets in the way of women having the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Gender prejudice is based around individual ignorance. Education is seen as a valuable tool in the battle against discrimination based around ignorance. It is possible to legislate against sexual discrimination as a way of changing individual attitudes and behavior. For example, this action came up with the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts in the 1970s in Britain. Liberal feminists also tend to support marriage as an equal partnership, and more male involvement in child care. Abortion and other reproductive rights have to do with control of one’s life choices and autonomy. Liberal feminism conceives of politics in individualistic terms and looks to reform present practices in society, rather than advocating for a wholesale revolutionary change. Feminist writers associated with this tradition include early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and second-wave feminist Betty Friedan. 2) Radical Feminism Radical feminists believe that the main rival of women is patriarchy, which guarantees male supremacy and the subordination of women at work and in the home. Patriarchy has existed in all known human societies and, as such, pre-dates capitalist forms of gender inequality. Patriarchal relationships are considered to have paved the way for capitalist forms of economic and  gender exploitation. In their view, men inflict physical and sexual violence over women and commandeer the majority of material rewards. They believe that men are able to justify their actions by persuading people. It is natural that men should be the dominant sex. For radical feminists, sexual inequality is institutionalized in society. It is not possible to achieve sexual equality through legal means or by â€Å"changing people’s attitudes†. Radical feminism advocates lesbian relationships to free themselves from men. They argue that new technology eliminates dependency on men as a means of conceivi ng. This group views the oppression of women as the most fundamental form of oppression, one that cuts across boundaries of race, culture, and economic class. This is a movement intent on social change, change of rather revolutionary proportions. Some radical feminists argue that female emancipation can be achieved technologically like women being freed from childbirth. In general, radical feminists see the exploitation of women as involving both the public sphere like work and the private sphere like in the home. Finally, radical feminism locates the root cause of women’s oppression in patriarchal gender relations. In this sense, radical feminists believe that gender inequality is a result of the collective efforts of men to dominate, control, and exploit women. 3) Marxist/Socialist Feminism Marxist/Socialist Feminists believe social class affects the life chances of women; it is a key factor in the relationship between men and women. They believe capitalism has led to amplification of conflicts between the sexes and that introducing communism would solve this. Under capitalism women are a ‘reserve army of labor’ who are excluded from crafts and exploited for free labor in the home. They believe men are socialized into exploitative roles. The phrase â€Å"socialist feminism† was increasingly used during the 1970s to describe a mixed theoretical and practical approach to achieving women’s equality. Socialist feminist theory analyzed the connection between the oppression of women and other oppression in society, such as racism and economic injustice. Socialists had fought for decades to create a more equal society that did not exploit the poor and powerless in the ways capitalism did. Like Marxism, socialist feminism recognized the oppressive str ucture of capitalist society. Like radical feminism, socialist  feminism recognized the fundamental oppression of women in patriarchal society. However, socialist feminists did not recognize gender and only gender as the exclusive basis of all oppression. For Marxist feminists, the concept of social class is considered to be more important than the concept of patriarchy since the latter is seen as a form of ideology that stems from class exploitation. Women are not a sex class because the only thing they have in common is their sex as an upper class woman. Women’s work and their social status are highly marginalized by their potential / actual â€Å"dual role† in modern societies (baby sitter and worker). Employers are able to exploit this dual role to pay women lower wages. Men are able to exploit this dual role by receiving â€Å"unpaid services† within the home. The main reason for women’s lower status in relation to men is the fact that they are generally economically dependent upon their male partner. MARXIST FEMINIST THEORY AND EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN IN LABOR MARKET To begin with, most of women are exploited by both work inside and outside the home and this condition is not recent origin. It started with hunting and gathering societies, but they have been very active in the labor market since the Second World War period. Women are exploited by discriminating, oppressing, working, etc. and their live always face with difficulties by these causes. However, if we analyze the background of exploitation of women, it partially comes from inequality because in the contemporary world, inequality is manifest in the economic and social class which affects women more than men in the world. It still continues to increase in every part of the world because of the capitalism. In this sense, Marxist feminism emphasizes the social institutions of private property and capitalism to explain and criticize gender inequality and oppression. Private property gives rise to economic inequality, dependence, political, and is the root of women’s oppression in the social context. Capitalism still alive in the society and with growth of the capitalism, exploitation of women increases continuously. Capitalism gave to women in an insignificant way. Marxist feminists view the capitalist drive for profits as responsible for women’s second-class status and other forms of oppression such as racism or discrimination. Moreover, Marxist feminism believes that women are an exploited class in the capitalist mode of production, both by their   within families and by employers in the paid labor market and the theory indicates that men are in bourgeoisie and women are in the proletariat. Marx showed that how the working class is exploited for profit by capitalists who gain wealth by paying workers a bare minimum of the value that they produce. Marxism and feminism complement one another in many ways, as both are centrally concerned with oppression and inequality. Marxist theory states that people are oppressed by the ruling class and that production, namely capitalism, is the ruling force of society. According to feminist theory, women are oppressed by a male-driven society. Marxist feminism, the intersection of the two philosophi es, calls for the dismantling of capitalism to free the proletariat and promote gender equality. Karl Marx critiqued the capitalist power structure that oppressed the proletariat, and which also oppresses women. Marxism and feminism complement one another in many ways, as both are centrally concerned with oppression and inequality. Marxist theory states that people are oppressed by the ruling class and that production, namely capitalism, is the ruling force of society. According to feminist theory, women are oppressed by a male-driven society. Marxist feminism, the intersection of the two philosophies, calls for the dismantling of capitalism to free the proletariat and promote gender equality. Also, scholars influenced by Karl Marx have seen capitalism as an inherently exploitative system one in which capitalist workers, whose low wages do not fairly compensate them for the work that they perform. Others have taken opposite position, arguing that capitalist industrialization, although uneven in its consequences, brought about a rise in incomes and living standards for the bulk o f the working population. Furthermore, women have been always worked in the labor market, factories, marketplace, etc. They are partially seen in subordination status. The main reason for women’s lower status is relation to men is the fact that they are economically dependent upon their male partner. Sometimes women have to dependent on their male partner because men always work in a factory and marketplace and most of men seem like ‘breadwinner’. In this sense, patriarchy is an ideology that comes from male attempts to justify the economic exploitation of women and patriarchal forms of exploitation have existed in all known societies, not just capitalist ones. In addition, they argue that patriarchy predates capitalism which makes it more  significant explanation of female exploitation. In some Mexican and Central American plants, women expose to pressure in order to not to become pregnant so that companies do not have to pay maternity leave. This exploitation is in form of ‘sweatshop’ like working conditions. They give unproportional wage compared to male workers. Today, it still continues like that. For example, in Nike companies, women face to some difficulties such as low wages, poor sanitation, no break, unhealthy environment, no security. Women are mostly seen like slave and victim in every sector of market. They do not say anything because most of women want to be independent individual and make money for their family. Also, textile and food industries are mostly preferred by women even the working conditions are not convenient. According to Marx, society is broken up into two classes containing those who own the means of production (factories, tools, capital) and the laborers who are exploited to produce the items demanded by the ruling class. Marxist feminists are primarily concerned with the division of labor that keeps women in the domestic sphere and men in the workplace. In addition to this, when women enter the workforce, they are delegated to jobs that are deemed appropriate for their gender and are usually underpaid for their work. Working-class women are clearly the most oppressed, super-exploited sector of the entire proletariat. Also, Engels said that ‘‘†¦These measures are not aimed at driving all women permanently out of the work force. Rather, they make women more vulnerable to increased exploitation, by driving down their place in the work force (lower wages, fewer hours, less job security, fewer holidays, and more piece work, less safety and less unionization). Thus this attack is focused on a sector of the work force whose place in the work force has traditionally been seen as marginal, but its overall effect is to exert a downward pressure on the wages and conditions of all workers’’( Engels, 2004:8). CONCLUSION As a conclusion, women are generally underpaid compared to men in every part of sector and working conditions; but not just labor market. Also, they expose to discrimination, pressure, sexual harassment, exploitation inside the home. They are exploited more by capitalism than male workers in the labor market. In this sense, Marxist feminist theory attempts to explain the  structure of modern industrial society with special emphasis on class and labor and women workers are exploited at a higher level than male, with women of color suffering the highest degree of exploitation because of gender and race discrimination. In my point of view, exploitation of women is a social fact in our society, not only in labor market but also in other aspects of their daily life like at home. Ä ±n the contemporary world, inequality is manifest in all sectors, most of companies, factories applied to pressure to the women like pregnancy, low wages, no security. Although, Industrial Revolution gave new opportunities in terms of jobs, exploitation of women continued to expand in the world. Today, thanks to the institutions, women are more outgoing in the society, even the exploitation of women still grows up. As a final point, exploitation of women is seen like a normal action in the society, at least others are not like that. In this sense, women are not classified by their race, gender, inequality, etc. References 1. Salisbury, J. E. (2001) ‘‘Encyclopedia of Women In The Ancient World’’ 2. Volti, R. (2008) ‘‘An Introduction to the Sociology of Work and Occupation’’ 3. Binder, C. & Richmann N. (2000) ‘‘Feminist Movements in Turkey’’ 4. Vinteuil, F. (2010 September 27) ‘‘Marxism and Feminism from Critique Communiste’’ from http://www.internationalviewpoint.org 5. Shaw, S. M. & Lee, J. (2012) ‘‘ Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: classic and contemporary readings ’’(5. Edition) 6. â€Å"Working Women in the 1930s.† American Decades. 2001. Retrieved January 09, 2014 from Encyclopedia.com :http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3468301237.html 7. Brewer, P. (2004) ‘‘Frederick Engels: The Origin of The Family, Private Property, and the State’’ from http://readingfromtheleft.com/PDF/EngelsOrigin.pdf 8. Kabeer, N. (2012) ‘‘ Wo men’s economic empowerment and inclusive growth: labor markets and enterprise development ’’ 9. Knaus, K. (2007) ‘‘ Turkish Women: A Century Of Change ’’ 10. Iternational Labor Office, Geneva (2010) ‘‘ Women in Labor Markets: Measuring progress and identifying challenges ’’ 11. Freedman, J. (2001) ‘‘ Feminism’’ Open University Press 12. www.sociology.org.uk 13. www.dosomething.org/background-sweatshops

The Americans With Disabilities Act - 3247 Words

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, â€Å"it is discriminatory to deny a person with a disability the right to participate in or benefit from the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation† (Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Regulations, 2010). The Americans with Disabilities Act is applied to any public place such as a place of employment, a school, any public offices and prisons. However, most prisons in the United States are not able to follow the regulations set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Many prisons are overcrowded with decreased funding so they simply do not have the resources to provide inmates with the equipment or services they†¦show more content†¦In state and federal prisons, this means that all prisons are required to provide the necessary equipment or services for inmates with disabilities so they can attend and participate in services and programs. H owever, there has been incidents where prisons have not provided disabled inmates with the proper equipment and services. While the exact number is unknown, inmates who are deaf or hard of hearing are said to make up a small percentage of the prisoners within the correctional system in the United States. The reason for an unknown number of deaf inmates in prison is because a lot of inmates are not properly tested on hearing during their entrance physical examination which means their needs could go unnoticed by the prison for awhile (Vernon, 2010). Unless there is a story in the news, it is fairly common for people to not even consider the treatment of deaf inmates in prison because the vast majority of people in prison are hearing and the deaf inmates are often forced under the radar. According to the American’s with Disabilities Act, deaf or hard of hearing inmates are to be provided the appropriate accommodations such as a teletypewriter, a certified sign language interpre ter and appropriate equipment for sending information such as flashing lights to inform the inmate of an incoming announcement or to warn the inmate of an emergency. While these accommodations are said to be