Fast Food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast Food - Research Paper Example Nonetheless, it does not make it an easy endeavor, as it also requires strategic thinking concerning how to undertake it. There are those that will shy away from it due to high costs incurred at the beginning and those who embrace it simply because there is a constant market. In the same way, consumers have become more aware of health hazards associated with fast food forcing restaurants to come up with healthier options. Outline of Opposing Side The most pressing challenge facing the fast food industry is the fact there is an increasing awareness of health implications of fast foods. Previously, the fast food was the go-to business owing to its cheap aspect in the face of hard economic times. Fast food outlets were able to cash out on such times by offering promotions, discounts and cheap combination meals. At the same time, consumers enjoyed convenience in form of fast deliveries. Presently however, fast food outlets have been faced with challenges stemming from health concerns suc h as the health reform bill passed in 2010 aimed at combating obesity that calls on fast food restaurants with 20 or more outlets to reveal the calorie content of their meals on the menus. This has called for innovation in the industry where restaurants have to look for ways in which they can package their meals in a healthy manner while still making them attractive. This is particularly so with children meals that are usually offered with toys making them more attractive to them; for instance Happy Meals offered by McDonalds. Legislators suggested that such complementary items attracted children to unhealthy meals. Coming up with healthy alternatives costs more and as such restaurants are faced with an uphill task of creating consumer loyalty where for instance consumers will be encouraged to purchase more expensive items after getting them ‘hooked’ on the low-priced ones (â€Å"More than menus†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Second to health concerns is loss of family tradition as a n effect of dependence on fast food. This comes from the fact that fast foods offer convenience and low priced items at a time when most people are leading hectic lifestyles defined by long working hours and work plus school routines leaving no time for getting home to prepare a meal. Getting a meal has become a matter of picking up the phone and making an order that is then delivered in no time. Traditional family bonding that happened during meals has faded because of this as people eat away from home so dinner conversations that created time for catching up have become a thing of history. Even with expensive meals, many young people are able to afford them, as many are keen on making extra money after school or during school breaks (Hager 5). It has been reported that approximately 25 percent of adults eat at a fast food restaurant where a typical meal comprises of three hamburgers along with four packets of French fries every week. Such meals are considered junk foods, as they a re high in fat and salt and if a soda accompanies them there is high sugar and calorie contents summing up the junk food definition as being low in nutritional benefits. Sugar-sweetened beverages that have over time increased in portions served account for nearly 20 percent of calories consumed by Americans. This is what causes type 2 diabetes and increased body weight where one consumes this continuously without exercising. High saturated fats along with salty meals cause heart disease, blood

Marketing - Critical Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing - Critical Marketing - Essay Example Several monographs and edited volumes on critical marketing have been published†. The first use of the term ‘critical marketing’ in relation to the critical cultural as well as social theories is in the work of Hansen (1981). (Moufahim and Mitussis 2009). Critical marketing in general sense implies that any marketing idea has to be discussed threadbare focusing on its positive attributes as well as its faults, thereby coming up with necessary modifications and corrections. This point was put by forward by Friat and Tadajewski (2009, p.127) who stated that critical marketing involves â€Å"any position that judgmentally evaluates a body of discourse (including marketing) with the intention to find any faults or problems to be challenged and modified or corrected.† However, the key fact that has to be considered when viewing ideas critically is the time-bound factor. That is, what is/was viewed critically could change with time and context. Certain critical pe rspectives about an idea that gets formed during earlier periods of history could change now with contribution by other experts and thinkers. Thus, the crucial point is, critical perspectives will be mostly dynamic with the change of time, situation, contexts, etc. This is particularly relevant to the critical marketing idea of cultural stereotyping. As Hackley (2008, p. 154) with the aid of Tadajewski and Brownlie (2008) point out Marketing is a field of social and cultural studies as well as a set of social practices. That is, while launching marketing campaigns targeting a particular customer base, organizations will focus on that customer base’s various attributes including cultural attributes. The most common cultural attributes will be congregated and viewed stereotypically by the marketing team, to come up with effective and at the same time relevant marketing campaigns. However, at the same time, these stereotypes may not be accurate all the time, and as Hackley (2009 , p.155) states there are micro-level criticisms regarding the â€Å"promotion of stereotypes of race, gender and body type† through advertising campaigns. Cultural stereotype is the term given to a commonly held view about people belonging to a culture by the public, particularly the ‘outsiders’, which can include the other cultures as well as business organizations. Basically, different cultures and other entities will have different stereotypes of their own cultures and importantly about other cultures. For example, â€Å"The Germans think the French are resourceful; the British think they are humorless and short-tempered. The Dutch think the French are not very serious; the Spanish think they are cold and distant. The Americans think they are pleasant and intelligent, yet pretentious.† (de Mooij 2005, p.41). Thus, cultural stereotyping includes certain abstract familiarities as well as key commonalities that could be seen among the individuals belongin g to a particular cultural group. In a way, cultural stereotyping is a standardized and at the same time a kind of simplified view about particular sections of the people, based on commonly visible attributes or assumptions. However, those assumptions could be mainly generalizations in sizable cases, and so could be inaccurate at certain times. Bennett (1990, p.17) defines cultural stereotype as a social or mental grouping among individuals based on common, exaggerated and even inaccurate